Burrata....

This post is a duplicate, from my new blog http://mauricesvalumart.blogspot.ca/...

What is burrata, you might ask???? It's a soft cheese made of mozarella and cream. Basically, there is an outer shell (or bag) that is filled with cream and mozarella pieces, creating a very soft interior. "Burrata" means buttered in Italian, and unsurprisingly it therefore has a rich, buttery flavour (thanks to the cream!). It should be served at room temperature (like most soft cheeses), or at least not cold right from the fridge, unless you can't stop yourself.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

Okay, that title is going to be a bit misleading, because there were very few differences between the two pizzas that were made today.... the differences were that one was made by my daughter Somerset, for the kids, since she is developing a keen interest in cooking... and the other by me (for me and Steve). She has always loved to "cook" and even from the age of nine or ten was able to make things like Kraft Dinner, noodles with butter, Chicken nuggets, Minute rice...that kind of stuff...so once in awhile I could say "Why don't you make supper for your brother and sister" and she would...all served with fresh carrots, since we all prefer to eat raw vegetables and that is one everyone eats!!



Pathfinder Badge Meal.

 A year ago at Girl Guide Camp she helped make tacos for dinner and this became one of her new favourite foods and a milestone, to some degree, in her culinary tastes....it's the first "spicy" food she has liked, and made me realize there is hope for my picky eating children that their tastebuds will develop.... A few weeks ago, for part of a Pathfinder badge, she had to plan, shop for and execute a meal for her family and she came up with Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Bread and yep, raw carrots.... which EVERYONE actually ate, and I was thrilled... and she has made it again since, with even less guidance from me, so win win.... We do occasionally bake, but I know that when there are fresh baked goods in the house we all kind of eat until we feel sick and there is nothing left! I know I know, self-control and all that, but it fresh baked yummies are impossible to resist.... I LOVED to bake when I was a kid, and was also allowed to use the stove from a fairly young age once my mother knew I could handle it.

So, wanting to broaden her culinary talent horizons,  we decided to make pizza from scratch, and we each made our own batch of dough. I found an easy recipe online at All Recipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Dough-III/) ....so I will just copy it from here since we all know it isn't my original recipe (I actually wanted to make David Rocco's pizza dough for the grown up pizza since it has wine in it, but I didn't think I had any....although I found some later to enjoy with my pizza...NEXT TIME wine goes in the dough too! Yum). So, while the end result of this recipe wasn't as perfect as I wanted, I'll talk about what I think could have gone better as I go.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
**dissolve yeast in water and let stand "until creamy", @10 minutes**

in a bowl combine
2 cups bread flour
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
2 t white sugar
yeast mixture;
beat well until a stiff dough has formed, cover, and let rise until doubled, or @ 1/2 an hour.

The recipe tells you to turn the dough onto a floured board and roll it out, but we oiled up our hands and baking sheets with olive oil (I found a baking stone for Somer to use which I've owned about five or six years but never used because I can't stand the way it feels...ugh..it's like scraping my fingernails down a blackboard...)...and stretched the dough onto the baking sheets. Anything to add more olive oil is fine with me, although it turns out I didn't use quite enough underneath because it kind of stuck around the edges...

Stretching out Dough.

Adding Bocconcini pieces.

Heat oven to 350 and  bake for twenty minutes until golden, according to the instructions. I found that it took almost twice as long (maybe because there were two pans, but I rotated them from one shelf to the other every ten minutes). I think that is too low to bake pizza because the bottoms were barely done, and the top was overdone....

While the dough was rising, we got out our Bocconcini (little fresh mozzarella balls), and split them up....she cut hers daintily, and I just ripped mine in shreds.... in hindsight, there was not enough cheese on either pizza, so one container per pizza would be great, and I ripped up a handful of fresh basil leaves.... I decided to make my own sauce for the grown up pizza, because I found a recipe online that had lots of stuff in it, including some spiciness, which I love, and since I was making a basic Margerita (just mozzarella and fresh basil leaves), I thought it would be great to have a spicy sauce, and it was super-easy to make. Here is the recipe I used, also from All Recipes:

 Exquisite Pizza Sauce.

1 can tomato paste (6oz)
6oz warm water (just use the now-empty tomato paste tin)
3 T grated Parmesann (didn't have any of this either, but it was good without it too)
1 t minced garlic (I still have no fresh garlic, gasp, so I used more of the puree I had bought)
2 T honey (I had none, so used agave nectar)
1 t anchovy paste (optional...of course I didn't use any myself...but I know some people love it)
3/4 t. onion powder (I used onion salt because that's what I had, and since I didn't use the above)
1/4 t. each dried oregano, basil, marjoram & ground black pepper
1/8 t. each cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes (I used two pepperoncini)
salt to taste (I didn't add any, party because I didn't see this instruction, and I also used onion salt)

Exquisite Pizza Sauce + Bocconcini + Fresh Basil = YUM.

That's it. No heating up, just combine it all and let it sit for 1/2 an hour (which is perfect since that is how long the dough takes to rise).

So, details.... I have no idea if the dough was doubled, it looked bigger to me, and I was good to go, I always feel that things will work out all right in the end, and although the yeast mixture also didn't really look "creamy" so maybe the water wasn't warm enough the crust baked up nicely and wasn't too thick...just right...... and like I said, the cooking was a little uneven for some reason. However, it tasted GREAT (other than that the mozzarella pieces had cooked into crispy little discs on the pizza, which is so not the point of pizza!!)

The dough had a nice hint of sweetness (although I just caught Somer before she put in a whole tablespoon of salt, instead of a teaspoon).....and I love the spicy kick in the homemade pizza sauce... I also like using just some crushed tomatoes with a bit of oregano as the sauce...it is even simpler, and sometimes it is the simplest recipe which tastes the best....but I always like to change it up too. Somer used a very light coating of store-bought pizza sauce. So there we go, a Tale of Two Pizzas: One plain cheese, and one Margerita with spicy sauce.... YUM.

Blizzard Salsa and Guacamole

A few seasons ago, I started to go over to my mother-in-law's to watch "Dancing with the Stars" with her, and my friend (and cousin-in-law) Mila. I had never seen it before, and quickly got hooked into the campy, fake-tan, and glittery fabulousness of it all. Sometimes I am not even sure who the celebrities are to begin with (like pro football players, or well, pro athletes in general), but it doesn't really matter, it's just fun to watch people develop as amazing ballroom and latin dancers (or, not so much...)



I really managed to only eat one!! Yummy, can't wait for more.



Anyway..... like DWTS or not, this season was the All Stars, and the third season I've watched..... and tonight is the FINALS!!! So, while last year we wore glittery tops and feasted on some of the treats I brought back from Italy.... this time we are having a potluck pj party....and I'm bringing my favourite snack...tortilla chips with fresh salsa and guacamole. It's my "Take That, Winter!!!" contribution in defiance of the snow piling up outside. I always meant to post this recipe in the summer, which is when I make it most often, so maybe I was just hankering for a taste of summer, but here goes!!! (Okay, the lighting in my kitchen sucks, and thanks to WINTER the daylight is nonexistent before 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (feels like)....so pictures are crappier than usual.

Both of these recipes are best made a couple of hours in advance, but I wouldn't make it the day before (partly, because I'm not usually that organized, and mostly because it doesn't always hold up well).

Guacamole:

1/2 t. sea salt, mix with

4 crushed garlic cloves (to form a paste)

 **(I have to admit I cheated this time, and used Ontario grown Organic garlic puree, 2 teaspoons, or maybe it was 3.... can't have too much, but it seemed a lot milder than usual, I suspect it was cooked first).

1 t. lime juice

1 t ground cumin

1 handful of fresh cilantro (about 1/4 cup pressed in, if you don't have it, don't substitute dried leaves)

2 avocados, mashed up

This was the perfect ripeness....no blackness inside, just
nice and green outside edge....



 **if you have never used fresh avocados, or don't know this tip, cut the avocado in half around the pit (lengthwise, see photo), and tap the sharp edge of a knife into the pit. It should come out easily. If it doesn't it probably isn't ripe enough, so look for avocados that feel soft but not squishy (yucky), and where the skins are mostly black (brownish  on top of that tends to mean overripe, I think...). Those should be the best ripeness.



Blend it all with a fork and let sit for a few hours to let flavours combine (you can use your food processor, but I like it with a few chunky bits of avocado, and why add more dishes to clean??) Be sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the guacamole, because in turn black or grey... then it is ugly guacamole. And unappetizing, and possibly even inedible...

Fresh Salsa

4 vine-ripened tomatoes (not huge ones), or use whatever you like

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (optional) 

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 t. lime juice

1 t. sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 cup chopped red pepper (optional)

a few more handfuls of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (maybe 1/2 cup, or til you feel you have enough!



Salsa Ingredients

Mix everything together, and refrigerate for a couple of hours, and flavours will combine.

(I used to hate the smell of cilantro when I first met it as a cashier seventeen years ago. I literally had to hold my breath as it journeyed along my conveyor belt to be rung in. Now it is one of my absolute favourite herbs...although I could really say that about all of them : )

Feel free to use 1/2 a jalapeno, or 2, whatever kind of heat you like (I used a whole one and hope it isn't too much for this company)!



For the tomatoes, slice them in half and scoop out the seeds/pulpy liquid, it just ends up being "salsa juice" otherwise. The tomatoes will still emit liquid, and there will be some "juice", this is normal. Then chop them. I tend to like finely chopped vegetables, but if you like big chunks, go for it (okay, big chunks sounds unpleasant.... how about large morsels? Not tomatoey enough?? You get it, and I'm rambling.

So that is what I am bringing tonight, along with the PC Korean meatballs and the Mini Cheesy Bees Nests from Recipe to Riches that I loved so much.... And, so take that snow...I am having tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole

....which would NOT be complete without my favourite pre-blended margarita (it's been in the fridge since the summer, so I'd better pay it some attention now)!!!  I have still not perfected the margarita from scratch, so anyone with an awesome recipe, please share!! I've tried a few, but like this blend best so far.

Florence - The Best Day Ever - Part 2

I can't believe it has been four and a half months since my last post, but we had a very busy summer, and culinary inspiration seemed to dwindle for awhile. I did start a couple of posts that never made it to the light of day, so since I've had a few requests for more blog posts, I thought I would resume with more posts of my trip to Italy, which is a little bittersweet in retrospect. It seems surreal to look back on that trip, but it was such a beautiful two weeks in so many ways, you leave a part of your heart behind and it is always calling you back. So that is the bittersweet....knowing that I can't go back any time soon. The good thing is that I will always love Italian food, and be able to make it in my own kitchen!

So, hopping in the time machine in my mind, let me take you back to a sunny afternoon in late April..... Barb and I had spent the morning around the Duomo, climbed the many stairs to stand at the top of the world there, eaten more burrata for lunch, and meandered through the streets back to our hotel to relax a bit before heading to the International Artisan Trade Fair going on just a few blocks from our hotel, and one of the reasons we had gone to Italy ahead of our culinary excursion in Umbria the following week.

Along the way back, we stumbled upon a little wine shop, and what could be more perfect in the mid-afternoon, but a nice glass of wine? Inside, we met a woman living what seemed to be the perfect life.... she was from Chicago, I think, and thirty years before had married a Florentine man and moved to Italy, where she eventually opened a wine shop.

We chatted for quite awhile, and eventually came away with a bottle of red wine called Morellino di Scansano. (Morellino is the name for the San Giovese grape varietal, in the region where this particular wine is produced). And, in the way of the greatness of Italy, the proprietress produced a corkscrew and opened the bottle for us, so off we wandered back to the Hotel Merlini, full of happy thoughts, an open bottle of wine, and pleasant anticipation of the beautiful Tuscan wine we were about to savour, and hey, at 14% alcohol, it was more fuel for our euphoria. I wish I could remember what it tasted like, all I know is that it was really good, like bottling a ray of Tuscan sun as it shines on Michelangelo's David. :)

We got back to our room, kicked our shoes off our weary feet, and enjoyed a glass of wine, with fresh air blowing through the open window. With the  afternoon wearing on, we decided to save the rest of the wine for later, and headed out for lots of browsing and buying at the trade show. I think I can speak for both of us that I have never been more thankful to have skipped  a second glass of wine in my life EVER. (Okay, I'm already tearing up). We approached the Fortezza da Basso where the fair was being held, and heard some music. We picked up our pace, thinking "ooh, maybe there's a parade",  (we had seen a strange kind of parade earlier in the day, kind of randomly wending its way by the Duomo, seeming to pick up people from the crowd, beginning with historically-dressed Florentine people, and ending with some modern-day politcal types. It was kind of strange, but fun).

But no, it wasn't a parade. (Just a quick divergence here..... very soon after Barb and I had met a couple of years ago, we watched the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", which was one of my favourites but which  Barb had somehow never seen, and well, this movie is probably the whole inspiration for us wanting to ever go to Italy together in the first place. Any woman who has ever seen this movie will understand; how could you not want to move to Italy after watching this movie? I think I might just have to watch it again).

So, up ahead, we saw some flashes of colour, and hurried up where a crowd was beginning to gather to watch....can you guess???? A real live trumpets-blaring, drum-rolling, cannon-firing, medieval costumed nobility, tights-wearing Italian men flag throwing festival!!!!!! REALLY!!!! And it was just starting!!!! Barb had tears pouring down her face while taking pictures, I thought I was filming it (wasn't,  but I will always have the memories).....it was such an incredibly blissful moment. Somehow the universe had come together in a cataclysmic way, and we knew we were meant to be in Italy at that very spot in that moment in time,  basking in the Tuscan Sun, watching a flag-throwing festival. Serendipity.