While Jamie’s Italy was the main inspiration for our meal, we did wander away from it for a few courses, namely fish and dessert. My roommate had just picked up a nice piece of salmon, and suggested that we incorporate it into the meal. We wanted something easy and flavorful and so we turned to Alice Water’s The Art of Simple Food. This recipe is hidden away as a variation to her “Baked Wild Salmon with Herb Butter.” And all I have to say, is if this kind of genius is hidden in the variations, I’m going to have to start paying more attention to variations. The slow roast technique cooks the salmon perfectly: it remains moist and tender without any rawness or fishiness. We can’t wait to try this again

Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Herbs (from Art of Simple Food)

1 to 1 1/2 pounds wild salmon fillet with skin on
herbs (we used basil, oregano, and parsley)
olive oil
1 lemon
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste.

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Oil a baking dish, and sprinkle the bottom with herbs.
3. Place salmon skin-side down on top of herbs. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 30 minutes until just set.
5. Make a lemon vinaigrette: combine juice of a lemon with a tablespoon of zest. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and three times as much olive oil. Adjust to taste and add salt and pepper. (I didn’t measure while making vinaigrette and Alice Waters doesn’t give a precise recipe either, just taste frequently and you will be fine.
6. Serve fish at room temperature, topped with lemon vinaigrette.

The second course, of our extravagant Italian meal, was a salad course, featuring another dish from the Almalfi coast. Jamie says that the key to this salad is to slice everything very thin, the thinner the better. Unfortunately, my knife skills are a little lackluster and I don’t own a mandolin, but we persevered anyway. This salad was a nice fresh light contrast to some of the heavier dishes with a lovely combination of flavors and textures. The vegetables are very crunchy with a strong bite, the orange has a pleasant softness and sweetness, and the vinaigrette complements them both.

insalata amalfitana (from Jamie’s Italy)

1 bulb of fennel, washed
1 red onion, peeled
1 cucumber
a large handful of radishes, with tops, washed
2 tablespoons good-quality herb or red wine vinegar
good-quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oranges, peeled, segmented, and seeds removed

1. Remove herby tops of fennel and reserve. Trim fennel on both ends and remove outer layer if tough. Split the fennel in half and slice lengthwise as thin as possible.
2. Slice the cucumber finely.
3. Leave about 1/2 inch of stem on the radishes and slice a little off the tip. Roll the radish onto this flat edge and slice finely.
4. Put all the vegetable in a serving bowl and add a couple of ice cubes. The ice cubes will make the vegetables even crunchier. Remove them after a couple of minutes (it helps to know how many you put in)
5. Make the dressing: mix together wine vinegar with 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well and then taste. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Dress the salad and add orange segments and any juice. Toss a few times and plate. Sprinkle with the saved fennel tops. Serve.

When my friend Shannen came to visit me last weekend, we had already spent months talking about what we would cook. The gamut ran from the aforementioned croissants, to another round of homemade pasta, to a particular fried chicken recipe we’ve both wanted to try for a long time. However, when she actually showed up, it was with an early birthday present in tow: Jamie’s Italy. Suddenly, all other cooking plans dissipated and we found ourself building a menu for an Italian five course dinner. Being certifiable, we crafted the menu around noon, spent the afternoon shopping for ingredients, started cooking around 4:30, and actually managed to start eating at 7:30. We were very impressed with ourselves.

The food was fabulous, the wine was plentiful, and the company was amazing. What more can you ask of from an impromptu dinner party? In the next week, I will slowly unfold our menu, course by course. First up was the antipasti course, which involved two dishes. The first was a meat platter, which we crafted from the bountiful selection of Star Provisions. We built the platter around three meats: hot sopressata, bresaola, and pancetta. With the help of the cheese monger, we paired the sopressata and the bresaola with very different pecorinos, and we had our first dish. I believe that the pecorino we used with the sopressata was a pecorino sardo, it was mild and creamy and played well off of the spiciness of the sopressata. With the bresaola we used a classic pecorino romano, sharp and salty, shaved over the meat.

Our second antipasti dish was limoni di amalfi cotti al forno or amalfi baked lemons. We all agreed that this dish was one of the best of the evening. The cheese really picks up a strong lemon flavor and the anchovies melt away, leaving only a feint nuttiness. I had some trepidations about using the anchovies, having had a bad experience in the past. But apparently the key is getting jarred instead of canned, and splurging on higher quality anchovies doesn’t hurt either. Basil, picked fresh from my garden, and organic cherry tomatoes from my CSA finished off the dish nicely.

limoni di amalfi cotti al forno (from Jamie’s Italy)

Jamie says this serves 4, I think it more accurately serves 2. I would make sure each person has a lemon.

2 large unwaxed lemons
1 or 2 5 oz. balls of buffalo mozzarella sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
4 fresh basil leaves
2 anchovy fillets
2 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove the ends of the lemons and discard, then cut the lemon in half crossways, giving you 4 1-inch circles.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut the flesh of the lemon out of each slice, leaving a hollow circle.
4. Place a square of waxed paper under each lemon ring (or a lemon leaf, if possible).
5. Cut a piece of mozzarella to fit in your lemon ring, then lay a basil leaf, half an anchovy fillet, and half a cherry tomato on top with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Put another slice of mozzarella on top.
6. Repeat with each of the other rings.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
8. Remove from oven and serve with rice crackers (or grilled crostini), simply scoop the mozzarella out of the ring, and eat. If you have crostini, be sure to mop up the juices.

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of, dare I say it, fun? Fun is a little dangerous in my world, with my PhD exams looming and a lot of reading on my plate. But it is refreshing sometimes to just let loose and live a little. Still, I haven’t been spending much time around the blog, and I realized today that I’m late to two blogging events I signed up to participate in: Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger (hosted by the Book of Yum) and Kate’s gluten-free barbecue.

When I signed up to Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger, my plan was to make Naomi Poe’s croissants. Coming off of the Daring Baker challenge, croissants seemed suddenly doable. Also, Shannen was visiting me, and she and I share a love of croissants and a fascination with making them. Unfortunately, while last weekend involved a lot of food, it did not involve croissants, and I can’t bring myself to make them today. Call it sugar over-load, or just an excess of rich food, all i want to eat are salads and veggies, and I have so many leftovers in the fridge that I can’t. So I’m sorry Naomi, and I’m sorry Book of Yum, eventually I will make those croissants but not for this event.

For the gluten-free barbecue, I pulled the letter “G.” Try as I might, I couldn’t really think of anything I wanted to bring more than guacamole (perhaps with an accompanying margarita). On a very early post, I mentioned that the guacamole I grew up with, was a bit, untraditional. It involves serious quantities of mayonnaise. Most days, now, I make cleaner, more classic guacamole: avocado, garlic, onions, lime juice, tomatoes (rarely). But every once in awhile I crave my mom’s: extra-creamy, decadent version. It is great comfort food, and highly addictive. So, don’t blame me if you eat an entire bowl.

My Mom’s Guacamole

2 avocados
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T lemon juice
6 T mayonnaise

Mash the avocados with a fork; add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 6 to 8.

I know my posting has been a little erratic of late, but I have lots of posts on the back burner, so bear with me, they’ll get here soon.

Tonight I have an easy recipe to share with you. I’m always looking for weeknight dinner recipes that I can pull together largely from the contents of my pantry. I’m not really the queen of meal planning, largely because I so often give into cravings. But I don’t like grocery shopping every day either. This meal was delicious, and fairly easy. The original recipe called for beef and some vegetables that I didn’t have on hand, but a few substitutions left me with a dinner I would happily repeat.

Malaysian Stir-Fried Noodles with Chicken (adapted from Williams-Sonoma Asian)

3/4 lb fresh or dried rice stick noodles
1/2 lb chicken
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha chile sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts (I didn’t use these and it was still tasty)

1. If using dried noodles, soak them in warm water to cover for 30 minutes and then drain.

2. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Combine with cornstarch, salt, sugar, baking soda, and one tablespoon of water. Cover and marinate for thirty minutes in the fridge.

3. In another bowl, stir together broth, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and chile sauce. Set aside.

4. In a wok or large pan over high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil until very hot. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, 4-5 seconds. Add the onion and broccoli and stir-fry until just tender. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.

5. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Discard the marinade. Add the to the pan and stir-fry until almost cooked (about 5 minutes). Transfer the chicken to a colander and drain.

6. Return the pan to high heat and add the fish sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and add the noodles and vegetables. Cover and simmer until most of the sauce has been absorbed by the noodles, 2-4 minutes. Uncover, return the chicken to the pan, add the bean sprouts. Stir fry until chicken is cooked through (about 3 additional minutes).

Serves 4-6.

This month’s Daring Baker’s challenge, hosted by Kelly of Sass and Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’ was to make a braided Danish. The second I saw the challenge, I started sweating bullets. This seems to be a theme for me with Daring Bakers. I had no idea how gluten-free flours would behave in a laminated dough, and I planned for failure. Actually, I planned for multiple failures, going so far as to find an alternate recipe in case I really struggled. Surprisingly though, my braid came off without a hitch. I tried sharing my technique, but other gluten-free bakers using similar flours struggled (nobody used the exact same combination). Over the course of the month, it became clear that part of the problem was the way gluten-free doughs behave in the fridge. Sweet rice flour (also known as gelatinous rice flour) holds up to refrigeration better than most, but refrigerating a dough overnight or for five hours, might not be the best plan. Several other gluten-free bloggers had success cutting the fridge time down to 10 minutes between turns and 30 minutes in the freezer before the final shaping. I think these times sound a little quick… the butter needs a chance to harden again or you will lose the flakiness. If I did it again, I would still let the dough rest 30 minutes between turns. But I would definitely cut the final fridge time down from five hours to something more like one or two (or use the freezer for 30). I have changed the directions to reflect these changes.

For the record, I would definitely make these danishes again. In fact, I meant to, all month. But, I’m trying to look good in a bathing suit this summer, and I devoured my entire braid in less than 24 hours, with minimal sharing. Needless to say, a repeat performance was not going to help my waistline. Still, my braid was flaky and flavorful. I loved the flavor of cardamom and orange in the pastry and the simplicity of the cinnamon-sugar and walnut filling. I will play more with the filling next time, but sometimes combinations are classic for a reason.

You can almost see the flakiness in this picture:

DANISH BRAID (adapted from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups Walnut & Pistachio Filling (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface (I used parchment paper), roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick (my rectangle was not that big, don’t push the dough beyond where it wants to go). Place the dough on the baking sheet (I placed the parchment paper on the baking sheet).
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking

1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch. (My braid needed a little help from the oven to rise, I heated the oven slightly and turned it off and let my braid proof there).
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 10 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup millet flour
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup sweet rice flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto lightly floured parchment paper (I used sweet rice flour). Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for 2 hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Walnut & Pistachio Filling

This should make enough for two braids. I winged it a bit when I made the filling, so if any of this seems off to you, just follow your instincts.

Ingredients
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 cup pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl.

I had a little extra dough, which I used to make pinwheels:

Nothing gets this girl as excited as the words “pig roast” or “pulled pork.” I think I could live without chicken, and maybe even beef, but not pig. I love me my pig. So last weekend, I went with a friend to a pig roast. I imagined heaping platters of all you could eat pork, unfortunately, there was nothing “all you can eat” about this roast. Still, we happily licked our platters clean and moved on to the drinking portion of the evening. Until midnight rolled around and I exclaimed, “I want more pig.” We didn’t actually satisfy that craving on the spot, but the next day, still craving some good southern comfort food, I proceeded to make pulled pork. I don’t have a smoker, so I made my pork in the slow cooker. It still tasted great, and while it lacked a little smoky flavor, I will definitely make this again (though I’m curious what the effect of some liquid smoke might be). I also made the Gluten-Free girl’s arepas, and the combination was spectacular. So if you are craving some pork-y goodness, give this recipe a try.

Pulled Pork (from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker)

Canola or corn oil, 3 tablespoons
Boneless pork shoulder, 4 lb (2 kg), cut into 3 equal pieces (I cut the recipe in half and used a boneless rib roast, because I had trouble finding boneless pork shoulder, it worked well, but cooked a little faster)
Yellow onion, 1, finely chopped
Cider vinegar, 3/4 cup (6 fl oz/180 ml)
Tomato ketchup, 3/4 cup (6 oz/185 g)
Brown sugar, 1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz/75 g) firmly packed
Light molasses, 1/4 cup (2 3/4 oz/80 g)
Red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons
Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon
Dry mustard, 1 teaspoon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Soft sandwich rolls, split and toasted, for serving

1. Brown the pork.
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the pork pieces and brown well on all sides, about 12 minutes total. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker.

2. Make the sauce and cook the pork.
Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the frying pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown, about five minutes. Add the vinegar and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until the mixture begins to bubble. Pour over the pork. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours or the low-heat setting for 8-10 hours. The pork should be very tender.

3. Shred the pork and serve.
Transfer the pork pieces to a platter. Using a pair of forks, shred each piece of pork, removing and discarding any large pieces of fat. Skim off the excess fat from the surface of the sauce and return the pulled pork to the sauce. Stir together to combine. Serve the pork and sauce atop the sandwich rolls.

Serves 6-8

So this post is officially almost an hour too late… But Kristen, I love you, and I wish I was there to bake you another cake like this:

Happy birthday darling! For those of you who are curious, what you see pictured is a chocolate cheescake, on a chocolate wafer crust, with chocolate chunks and a chocolate ganache. The raspberry is just there for color, after all, my Kristen is a chocoholic. Can’t you tell from her face?

Today I was trying to have a perfect day. I slept in, I spent a little time this morning relaxing on my deck and watching my garden grow. Then I read for a couple of hours, biked to the coffee shop, and read for a couple more hours, before allowing myself to venture out on a shopping mission. I explored a new (to me) bike route from Decatur to Little Five Points, bought my baby sister a birthday present, and biked home. Soaring along alone on my bike, I felt perfectly happy, and I was convinced the day was only going to get better.

After all, I was planning on seeing Casablanca at the Fox theater tonight. I’ve never been to the Fox, and Casablanca on the big screen in an old school theater sounded amazing. Unfortunately, life intervened in the form of unexpected and unwarranted ugliness, and before I knew it I was canceling on the movie and wallowing on my couch. But that isn’t really where I want to be, or how I want to feel. So I’m choosing to let go and move on. While it is too late to catch the movie, it isn’t too late to stop wallowing.

But before I get off my couch, I’m going to leave you with a recipe, or two. I made this dinner last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The margarita shrimp taste perfectly summery and pair beautifully with the coconut rice. I found that I liked the rice best with both raw coconut and toasted coconut mixed in and spring onions sprinkled on top, but it is also good plain.

Margarita Shrimp

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, smashed
salt and pepper to taste

1. Make the marinade by mixing all of the ingredients except the shrimp. Taste for salt and pepper.

2. Pour marinade into a zip lock bag and add shrimp.

3. Marinate for at least 1/2 hour and up to 4 hours, I did mine for about 1 hour and the taste was perfect.

4. Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in cold water for an hour (or use metal skewers).

5. Thread shrimp on skewers. Grill on medium heat, approximately 4 minutes per side, until shrimp is pink.

Coconut rice

1 cup rice
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup toasted sweetened coconut
2 tablespoons sweetened coconut

1. Mix together water, coconut milk, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add rice and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover until liquid is almost absorbed.

3. Turn off heat and let sit for five minutes, with lid on.

4. Stir in sweetened coconut and serve. Top each serving with a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

I came across a recipe for saffron and cardamom panna cotta the other day and thought to myself, why make panna cotta when you can make ice cream? So, I played with the recipe a little bit and ended up feeling quite smug when I tasted the results. Imagine the best rice pudding you’ve had at an Indian restaurant, minus the rice, and cold. It was perfect for these 90 degree days we’ve been having, and also a great follow up to curry.

Saffron and Cardamom Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
5 cardamom pods
1/8 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
5 egg yokes
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1 cinnamon stick

1. Heat 1 cup heavy cream, milk, and sugar until steaming.

2. Add saffron and cardamom. Cover and let steep 25 minutes.

3. Reheat. Remove cardamom with a slotted spoon.

4. Put the remaining 1 cup of cream in a medium bowl and set it in an ice bath.

5. In another medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly add hot cream mixture to egg yolks, whisking continuously. Scrape mixture back into saucepan and return to heat.

6. Heat custard stirring constantly, until custard thickens and coats back of spoon. If you have a candy thermometer, this should be between 170 and 175 degrees.

7. Immediately pour custard into cream. Whisk continually, until mixture cools. Refrigerate until well chilled.

8. Churn in your ice cream maker.

9. Pistachios can be added in the last couple of minutes of churning, or you can add them as a topping. Garnish with grated cinnamon and enjoy.