Grape, Ricotta, Rosemary Pizza recipe

As I mentioned earlier, I recently bought Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver. I already thought I was in love with Cook with Jamie but, alas, that affair wasn't meant to me. It's all about me, Jamie, and Italy.

So the cookbook has a whole section on pizzas, and I want to try every one of them; truly, that's how good they sound. So this is my first go. Jamie, naturally, has a recipe for homemade pizza crust. That's all well and good, but here are my problems with that: 1) I've had horrific luck in the past using fresh pizza dough, 2) I don't have time on the weeknights to make fresh pizza dough, and 3) I have yet to find time on a weekend to make fresh dough and freeze it. So we're left with naan, thanks to Nigella Lawson's recommendation. I know naan may be difficult for some to find - I think you can easily try pita bread and/or flatbread instead. Hell, Giada De Laurentiis made something similar to this on her show*, except that she pressed the grapes into foccacia bread, sprinkled rosemary and pine nuts on top, and omitted the ricotta. So feel free to experiment, people!

So I used naan. And Jamie asks for a handful of green and red grapes, but I could only find red and black. Halve them. Put them in a medium bowl with 1 tbsp. pine nuts, "small handful of fresh rosemary", and 1 tbsp. white wine. Allow it to sit for a few minutes. Now I went renegade here: Jamie also asks for 2 tbsp. of vanilla sugar and suggests this dish as a breakfast or dessert with vanilla ice cream. Give that a try, if you'd like. But I made this savory. I added salt and pepper to the bowl of marinating grapes.

I then scattered the mixture over two naan, including the sweet juices. I added fresh, crumbly ricotta on top. Put it on a pizza stone in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes. When it was done, I drizzled extra-virgin olive oil over the top, and served it with a salad on the side. We drank a Spanish Rueda with this, 2006 Las Brisas, which was the same wine I used for the marinade. The label describes the ripe flavors as "racy". Indeed!

Shazam! A weeknight dinner that took me just under a half-hour to make. Take that, Rachael Ray!

Eat, drink, and don't sweat it on the weekdays.


*I tried to look up Giada's recipe for all of you, but Food Network won't give it up.

My Favorite Food Places in NYC

Nicole at Art and Aioli is coming to NYC and asked me for restaurant/foodie recommendations. Rather than respond directly, I thought it would be fun to turn it into a post: My Favorite Food Places in the City. Keep in mind, however, that I don’t go out to restaurants a lot – I only go out about twice a month (babysitters are expensive here!). Nevertheless, here are my favorite food places:

Upper West and East:

Eli’s Manhattan * 1411 Third Ave. Between 80th & 81st (gourmet grocery haven - spendy but you'll be on too much of a natural high to care)

Café des Artistes 1 W. 67th (Great place for Sunday brunch, pre-theater)

Popover Café 551 Amsterdam Ave. Corner of 86th (Close to the Museum of Natural History. See my review here)

Between 59th & 23rd:

Campbell Apartment In Grand Central Terminal (drinks only, no jeans or sneaks, very "old New York". I've only been on Saturday nights - the jazz band is old school...in a good way)

Rare 303 Lexington at 36th (expensive, high-quality burgers and some of my favorite fries in the city. You can even top your burger with truffles!)

Gaby 45 W 44th Street, in the Sofitel hotel (pricey, perhaps overly so, but one of the most memorable meals of my life here. Quiet, soothing atmosphere.)

Ginger Man 11 E. 36th St. between 5th and Madison (avoid this place at night unless you reserved the private room or you don't mind crowds - on the other hand, sitting on the couch, drinking a beer at 2pm on a Saturday is sublime. Try the pretzel with the spicy honey mustard sauce. Here's my review.)

Shake Shack Madison Square Park (you'll wonder if the line is worth it for burgers and shakes. Yes, it is.)

23rd to 4th:

Chelsea Market 75 Ninth Ave. between 15th & 16th (Food shopping, restaurants, desserts, coffee, bread...this place has it all. Check the list of events - watching people tango right there in the market is truly a NYC experience)

Billy’s Bakery 184 Ninth Ave. (Take my word for it - skip the hype and tourists at Magnolia and come here instead for the best cupcakes in NYC)

Union Square Greenmarket (go before 10 a.m. on Saturday to see the chefs and locals, and to actually talk to the purveyors; avoid it after noon, unless you don't mind insane crowds)

Fig and Olive 420 W. 13th between Ninth Ave. & Washington St. (there are other locations, but I've only been to this one in the Meatpacking District - check out my post about it here)

Below 4th:

Home 20 Cornelia St. (one of my favorite places - cozy, casual, great food - but I haven't been there since the owners have changed. The patio is the best place for a warm summer evening!)

A Salt and Battery 112 Greenwich Ave. between 12th & 13th (it's been awhile but I have nothing but fond memories. They recently went local/sustainable, and the shop feels like a little piece of London here in NYC.

Gray’s Papaya Various locations (some people may disagree with me, but I say skip Papaya Dog and Chelsea Papaya. Stick with Gray's. For better or for worse, a NYC institution)

Oliviers & Co. 249 Bleecker St. (so, okay, I know it's a chain, but I fell in love with this store instantly when I entered. The staff is unpretentious and friendly, and you get to sample oils and vinegars before buying. Don't want to haul those bottles around? They'll ship for you. There's also a location in Grand Central Terminal)

Eat, drink, and visit NYC

* Note: Yeah, that's right - I left off Zabar's. I've only been there once, very briefly, and I haven't been motivated to return. I found the space claustrophic in a way I've never experienced and, because of all the people and lack of space, everyone seemed to be ruder than usual. Not a good experience for me. Let me know if you've had a better one. Eli's was infinitely more enjoyable.

Another Edition of Foodie Books for Kids

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve created a big ol’ long list of delicious books for kids. The young are incredibly impressionable – now is the time to indoctrinate them*!

-- Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman (McElderry, 2003)
-- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett (Atheneum, 1978)
-- Cooking Rocks!: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals for Kids (Lake Isle, 2004) - say what you want about her, but this is one of the only kids’ cookbooks I’ve discovered that was actually written with kids in mind
-- Dish series by Diane Muldrow and Barbara Pollak (Grosset & Dunlap)
-- Fast Food! Gulp! Gulp! by Bernard Waber (Walter Lorraine, 2001)
-- I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child (Candlewick, 2000)
-- Maple Syrup Season by Ann Purmell, illustrated by Jill Weber (Holiday House, 2008) - yes, there’s a season for it!

Stay tuned - I still have more on my list!

Eat, drink, and help your kids do so healthfully.

*I do say this with tongue-in-cheek. I always encourage individualism and free-thinking in children.

Bacon and Bleu Cheese "Cake"

When Confections of a Foodie Bride shared her recipe for Bacon and Bleu Cheese "Cake", I knew I must make it. First, I have a deep love for bleu cheese (any cheese, really) and, second, Adam is fond of saying that "bacon makes everything better." When I told him that the recipe required that the loaf pan be greased with the rendered bacon fat, I think he actually swooned. Here are the results and Foodie Bride's recipe:

Bleu Cheese and Bacon “Cake”
8 strips (5oz) of bacon or pancetta, cooked to a crisp, grease reserved for later use*
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 small bunch of chives, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup) or scallions
5 oz well crumbled bleu cheese or Roquefort**
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

**To make the bleu cheese easier to crumble, put in in the freezer to firm a bit.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, reserving the grease. When the bacon has cooled, crumble.

Grease a 9-inch loaf pan (or a 10-inch pan) with reserved bacon grease and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, chili powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, yogurt, mustard and chives until smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to stir in the wet mixture, stirring just until the wet ingredients are almost incorporated. (there should be a bit of flour still visible). Do not over mix. Fold in the bleu cheese, parmesan, and bacon bits until everything is just moistened. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour (45 minutes was enough for a 10-inch pan), until the top is golden brown and the cake springs back when you gently touch the center. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then tilt it out onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the parchment paper and let cool upright before slicing.

Storage: The cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept for up to three days. It can also be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to two months.

Yields: One 9-inch loaf cake
Source: Adapted from Parisian Desserts, by David Lebovitz

I served this as a main dish with a light salad on the side. It was very interesting...it took us a couple bites before we got used to eating bacon...in a cake. But overall the effect was surprising and unique. I used bacon, but I felt that the smoky flavor was too overpowering so I'll try pancetta next time. Also, I would have liked more punch from the bleu cheese so, next time, I'll crumble some over the top 5 minutes before the cake is done. Last, I used the 9-inch loaf pan and thought it was a bit too dry so I'll cut the time by about 10 minutes next time and see how that goes. I drank Bridlewood Viognier with this, which was a good fit since it was light enough for the salad but still full-bodied enough to match the bacon (Adam drank a glass of Blue Point's Toasted Lager).

Eat, drink, and put bacon in everything

Ode to my new knives

So I'm done talking about my new knives. This time I'm going to show you:


The 10" wide-blade chef's knife was actually really difficult to get in the frame - that's how bad-ass it is. And they both slice through a piece of paper with no effort. Mm-hmm. Raaaad.

The coolest part? Now, don't get jealous... They retail here for $189.99 (and often more than $200 at other places)...I bought mine, as a bonus for taking the class, for $108. Shazam!

ShelfTalker, Bloomsbury, and Editorial Anonymous

Okay, so I’m long overdue to do some children’s literature chatting. I have a couple fun things:

First, Alison over at ShelfTalker has riled everyone up again by asking which books were loved by everyone but you. There’s lots for me, but what sticks out is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (likewise, Great Joy), Wrinkle in Time, Artemis Fowl, Kitten’s First Full Moon, Stinky Cheese Man, anything by Giselle Potter. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying I loathed these books (okay, well, I did a couple…). I’m just saying that so many looooooved them and thought they were wooooooonderful. And I just didn’t get the big deal. Either way, check out Alison’s post – last I checked, there were 86 responses and climbing.

Second, Editorial Anonymous has a post up about why publishers don't seem to work more closely with librarians and teachers to publish the sorts of things we find important, useful, and interesting to children. After all, we're on the front lines, right? EA was honest in her opinion, which I happened to agree with. Think about your colleagues, whether they be teachers or librarians. Thinking? Okay, how many are dedicated to children, know children's interests, work with children all the time? Most of them, right? But how many can you honestly say are up-to-date, current, in-the-know with children's literature? Not as many, I would venture. At least, that's the case with me and my workplace. Likewise, most of them also don't understand or have access to the business of publishing. It is a business, after all. And while we might find a book useful for reports (why, oh why, aren't there more books published on Verrazano?!), if it's not going to also appeal to bookstores and other outlets, then the publisher most likely can't make a profit. And they need to make a profit to stay in business. Also, I argue that publishers make lots of effort to connect with librarians and teachers: conferences, publishers previews, sales reps, etc. Anyway, lots of posts over at EA on the topic - go take a look.

Third, remember I went to lunch with David Fickling last week? Well, what I didn’t talk about in that post was that I visited Bloomsbury Children’s afterwards. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure I did an internship with Bloomsbury back in 2005 when I had just earned my Master’s and wasn’t sure what direction I was heading in, and I have kept in touch with a few people there in the past couple years. Anyway, so I stopped by, mostly as a social visit. Naturally, I wasn’t there for five minutes and Stacy Cantor, editor at Walker Books, hands me a galley of her first solo book: Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning by Danette Haworth. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but I’m assured that this first-time author is very promising. And then, besides gossiping, the rest of my time there was spent trying to pilfer a copy of Rapunzel’s Revenge, Shannon Hale’s upcoming graphic. Victoria Wells-Arms, editor-at-large and mother of the cutest damn twin girls ever, had already left for the day but, when we stopped by her office, she had THREE copies of Rapunzel’s Revenge there. Oh, you guys, it’s so RAD - I couldn't stop delighting in the eye candy. Did I dare take one? Of course not, Victoria wasn’t there. Deb Shapiro, publicist extraordinaire, could hook me up. But she was out too! What does a woman have to do to get a copy of this book?!?! That’s right – I have to blog about it.

(And lest I forget to mention her, one of the best people at Bloomsbury is Liz Schonhorst who hooks me up with all my galleys, introduced me to the Flatiron Grill and Go Fug Yourself, and generally keeps me in the loop)

Eat, drink, and don't be ashamed to beg for Rapunzel's Revenge

Knife Skills class and Ham, Asparagus, and Pecan Salad

I had the best time last night - the best! I took the Knife Skills 1 class at the Institute of Culinary Education, the first culinary class I've ever taken. Naturally, I was intimidated as hell walking up to the building but, as you can guess, my worries were completely unfounded. The school was gorgeous: shiny stainless steel countertops, intoxicating smells wafting around every corner, everyone wearing aprons... It was love at first sight, I tell you.

The professor was Norman Weinstein, which was hilarious because he is the author of the knife skills book (Mastering Knife Skills) I was eyeing in Barnes and Noble last weekend. I had no idea when I was browsing through the book he'd be the instructor. It was a small class, and there wasn't a single person over 35. Coincidence? Or is culinary passion becoming a generational thing?

On a side note, a former colleague told me that "knife skills" sounds an awful lot like "life skills". So true. Two important things to remember when using your knives? No pressure and follow-through. Indeed, those are life lessons. Not to mention that Norman Weinstein said these two principles apply to golf and tennis - he has had students come back to the class to thank him for helping them improve their game.

We worked with Wüsthof knives and they were so beautiful. Chills. Chills. The instructor complimented my form during carrots and celery...but I really struggled with onions. It was a whole new experience to cut vegetables with a perfect knife, using little to no effort in my arm. I had to concentrate, I had to remember not to tense my shoulders, I had to remember to breathe. A few people in the class, after three hours of being told that how they did it before was wrong, were mildly irritated by the end. But I could have stood there for hours longer, chanting "ohm" and "teach me, Obi-Wan." If you have a culinary school nearby, I highly recommend indulging in a class. Needless to say, I also walked out of class with two new knives, purchased at 50% off from the school - a steal.

So I get out of class at 9:00 pm, and the school is at W. 23rd St. So it's going to take me almost an hour to get home. I hadn't had dinner yet and forgot that I was going to finally make a fellow blogger's recipe (being a relatively new blogger, I haven't tried anyone else's recipe yet). So I call up Adam and told him I needed him to get started on For the Love of Food's Ham, Asparagus, and Pecan Salad. With his newfound confidence lately, he readily agreed. By the time I got home, he was finished and this is what he created:

Here is the recipe per FTLOF:

Ingredients:

200 grams (I used 1/2 lb.) deli-sliced Ham, cut into think strips and chopped
250 grams Asparagus (I used 1/2 lb.), dry ends removed
2 Cups Pecans
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Chicken BullionSaltPepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to broil/grill.
In a medium-sized casserole dish, lay the asparagus out in a single layer. Pour olive oil over them and sprinkle with chicken bullion, and salt and pepper to taste. Place them in the oven and broil for 5 minutes, mix them with a fork, and broil for another 5 minutes. If the spears are really really thick, you may need to broil them longer. Just remember you want them roasted and not burnt!

In the mean time, place the pecans on a baking sheet and place them in the oven under the rack with the asparagus on them to warm them up. Once you pull out the asparagus, move the pecan baking sheet up to the top and toast for 1 minute.

Place ham pieces in a large salad bowl; add the pecans. Once asparagus are done, carefully move them to a cutting board and cut the spears into pieces. Place the pieces in the salad bowl. Then, drizzle the oil mixture from the roasted asparagus over the salad.*

Makes 3-4 main dish servings.

Oh, you have to try this! It is the ideal late spring dinner (or lunch) - salty, sweet, green, substantial, flavorful. You might not normally think of these three things going together (I didn't) but the combination is surprising and interesting. And, yes, we ate this as our main dish...in fact, our only dish. It was the perfect light dinner at 10-friggin-o'clock at night, and the leftovers made a wonderful lunch for me at work today (even if the pecans had softened a bit...). Not to mention that it was one more dish Adam made that satisfied his debt to me. Thanks to For the Love of Food for the lovely dish.

Note: we also drank a luscious Pinot Blanc that paired well with this, and it's not always easy to find something that'll pair with asparagus. Unfortunately, I don't have the name available to me now - I'll edit this post later with the name. (Edit: it was the 2005 Leon Beyer Pinot Blanc from Alsace, which I bought from my local wine shop for $12. It was fruity, but crisp with a dry finish. It'll be a go-to wine for me this summer.)

*2nd Note: Adam didn't broil the asparagus, per the recipe. He grilled it on our stovetop grill instead and drizzled fresh olive oil at the end.

Eat, drink, and learn how to use your knives

Guest Blogger: the Husband is getting the hang of it!

Shhhhhh, don’t say anything, but I think I like cooking!

In my ongoing quest to make the most out of a lost wager, (frickin’ Wesley Snipes) I chose to explore the world of the sea. No more meat with feet for me, only the best the ocean has to offer. Well, sort of…is chorizo from the sea? Better check on that one.

Octopus Stew! My office mate just so happens to have been a restaurant consultant for many years in the city. Ever heard of the Spice Market? Yeah, that was her. So it hit me one day. Um, she might have a great receipt or two. Ya think?

“Hey Kim, I lost this bet with my wife and I have to cook 7 dinners at my house. What do you love to cook at your place?” After a sizable pause, “Um, I don’t really cook much.” What?! How does that work? Turns out, the hubby is the cook in the family. Who knew?!? Not to worry, Mrs. Kim flipped open ye olde cellular telephone and dialed up the man. After a very touching conversation, out popped the following:

OCTOPUS STEW*
courtesy of Gary Maurer

Ingredients:

1 link andouille or chorizo sausage, cut in half moons
Half medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Crushed red pepper (optional, to taste)
3 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
½ cup white wine
¾ cup water or shrimp or fish stock (just no meat)
1 cup tomatoes (crushed or chopped with juices
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Handful parsley, chopped
½ lb. baby octopus or squid, cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces

Add sausage to large sauce pan over med-high heat and cook through.

Remove from pan (careful not to cook too long as it will become hard as a rock)

Without draining rendered fat, add onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper, if desired. Cook in fat until soft.

Add rosemary and wine and let it reduce by half.

Add stock and tomatoes. Put sausage back in and add salt to taste. Check the consistency – it should be brothy, not thick tomato sauce. Add water if it’s too thick.

Add chick peas and parsley. Add octopus. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes.

Serve in shallow bowls or plates drizzled with olive oil. Make sure to have crusty bread on hand to soak up the juices.

The only change I made to the above was to use squid in place of octopus. Other than that, I did it just like the man said. And in the spirit of all the Food Network chefs, I did good, my meal rocked!

Eat, drink, and get your recipes from a husband

* Laura’s Note: Adam wrote the text above, but I did heavy editing to the recipe so that it made better sense to everyone. This is really a phenomenal recipe because you can create enormous variations on the theme. Adam and I agreed that we could do this in summer with shrimp in place of the squid and cilantro in place of the parsley. Instead of bread, serve with tortilla chips. Local store doesn’t have squid or octopus? Experiment with another meaty fish (but watch the cooking time – you might need more than 3-4 minutes). What about pancetta in place of the sausage? Have fun with this one!