definition: french gnocchi

photo from North Point Journal

Last night on the Top Chef finale, Dale had planned to do a gnocchi dish which I'd never heard of, French gnocchi.

Curiousity peaked, I did a bit of research. In French gnocchi, there is no inclusion of potato. The dough instead, is a pâte à choux, or a common pastry dough used for cream puffs, eclairs, and gougeres. The dough is cooked over a low heat, to dissipate any moisture, eggs are then added one by one. The dough is then piped into little nuggets and dropped into boiling water to cook. The resulting gnocchi is incredibly light and tender.

Of course, there are so many other types of gnocchi out there:

potato gnocchi- traditional, made with boiled mashed potato
gnocchi gnudi (from Tuscany) - also called "strozzapreti", made with spinach and ricotta
gnocchi alla romana- made with semolina, then baked

Due to the large population of Italian immigrants in Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, gnocchi has made its way into South American cuisine. They are referred to as ñoquis, and are traditionally eaten on the 29th of each month., when families had fewer funds, and this was a means of getting by.

chorizo

Ahh the mighty pig. From this noble beast we extract so many comfort foods, hearty, stick to the ribs kind of food that makes us want to roll up our sleeves in preparation. I grew up eating so much pork that I had tasted every single part of the animal by the age of 3. I loved it all, no wonder my family gave me the nickname "piglet." Because I hit my pork peak so early on, I haven't eaten much of it since I was a kid. But I can easily understand how pork lies at the heart of so many comfort foods.

Chorizo, a spicy pork sausage, hails from Portugal and Spain, and is usually cured and cooked/served sliced in the casing. The Mexican form tends to be made from fresh ground pork, to which spices are added, and cooked without having gone through any drying or curing process. This latter form can easily be made in your own kitchen. Best yet, you can control the amount spice and the cleanliness and leaness of the meat you use.

Chorizo

1 lb. ground pork

1 heaping Tbsp paprika (preferably smoked spicy Spanish paprika**- pimenton picante)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 heaping tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch ground coriander
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano (regular is fine)
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/4 cup white vinegar or sherry vinegar

1. Mix together all the dry spices. Set aside.

2. With the pork at room temperature, in a large bowl, mix together spice mix with the pork, adding in the garlic and vinegar. Mix well.

3. A) You can fry up the meat at this point, flattening and chopping it up in the pan as you cook it. Taste the meat, and as always, you can adjust the spices to your taste. B) If you have sausage casings available, you can stuff them with the meat mixture. C) Take a large rectangular piece of saran wrap, and form the meat into a log shape, rolling it tightly with the wrap, eventually sealing the ends by twisting. Cover in a layer of foil, and boil in a pot of water for about 10 min. Let cool, unwrap, slice into wedges, and cook in your favorite chorizo recipe.

**Spanish paprika is made from pimientos (a Spanish pepper) that are slowly smoked and dried over a duration of ten to fifteen days. They become completely infused with the intense smoky flavors of the oak chips over which they roast. The flesh is isolated and ground to a super-fine, deep red powder. There are three kinds of smoked paprika- sweet (dulce), spicy (picante), and bittersweet (agridulce).

For dinner, I made chorizo con huevos- a scramble of eggs and chorizo, which I topped with melted cheddar cheeses and salsa.

retro recipe: lime fluff

With a population of less than 400, Smith Island, Maryland, lies in the Chesapeake Bay, accessible only by boat. It remains isolated from the rest of the world, yet preserved. Crabbers and fishermen still carry on the 300 year old tradition of harvesting from the water to support their families and their small community. Generations of fishermen's wives toil away in their kitchens, making the most of the abundance of the bay, passing on family recipes and traditions.
Ms. Frances Kitching, an island native, owned one of the most loved inns and restaurants on the island. Her recipes are passed down from her grandmother. Her fame began when in the 1950's she volunteered to cook for workers installing electric lines on the island. She later published a compilation of her recipes in 1981 simply titled Mrs. Kitching's Smith Island Cookbook. Some of these time-honored dishes include stewed crabmeat and dumplings, pan-browned wild duck, cracker pudding, Smith Island ten layer cake, and pickled watermelon rind.

For the Food Maven's Retro recipe challenge, finding a "wobbly" recipe (gelatins, aspics, molds, etc) from before 1985 was in order. I decided to make Mrs. Kitching's Lemon Fluff. It's ethereally light; it melts on your tongue! More so than ever, I found myself enthralled by the wonders of Jello.

When I recreated this recipe, I used lime Jello instead of lemon for a bit more tartness. The color reminded me of seafoam. The texture was that of mousse, but even lighter, and just as creamy. Best yet, the recipe is incredibly simple, my pet monkey could make it! This challenge definitely forced me to park myself in front of the Jello shelf (for the first time ever) in the baking aisle at the store. (When did there get to be so many flavors?? Anyway I'm certain I'll be making more frequent stops here.) Most importantly, retro recipes are really just snapshots of a moment in time, the mood and the trends of the people of that era. It teaches us the origins of many of the dishes we eat today, and recipes like Mrs. Kitching's teach us about good honest American food.


Lemon Fluff
From Mrs. Kitching's Smith Island Cookbook

1 3-oz. package lemon jello (I used lime)
1 cup water
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
vanilla wafers

Chill evaporated milk. Dissolve jello in one cup water. (my recommendation: use hot water) Let gel slightly. Whip evaporated milk (after chilling) until stiff. To milk, add sugar, lemon juice, and jello. Line shallow baking dish with vanilla wafers. Pour jello mixture over top. Crumble wafers on top and refrigerate until firm.

caipirinhas, grand cru

Uh oh, I took one sip of my caipirinha, and I knew I was in trouble.


But then again, I have never had one of these without getting into some kind of mischief.

I was first introduced to this Brazilian cocktail when Mr.S took me to Cafe Atlantico in DC for my birthday. Wow, and what a happy birthday it was (as far as I can remember). Made with cachaça, a distilled liquor made from sugarcane juice, caipirinhas are also flavored with muddled limes and sugar. There are over4000 brands of cachaça available in Brazil, yet only a handful of these are exported to the U.S. One of the most popular ones is Pitú. You'll recognize it by its distinctive large red crawfish on the label. Cachaça may be hard to find here in Baltimore, but I have seen it at Wells Liquors on York Road, as well as the Wine Source in Hamden.

Some friends and I met up after work at Grand Cru, a wine bar in Belvedere Square, over the weekend. Its a favorite spot of mine for sampling from an ever-eclectic selection of wine, many of which are from local vineyards, people watching, and sharing a fresh baguette and cheese plate with good friends. The staff is knowledgeable, generous with their pours, and best of all, unpretentious. On this particular night, we started off with mojitos and caipirinhas, and some bread and cheeses from nearby Atwater's. The mojitos tend to be hit-or-miss, as they are either pretty good or not sweet enough. These were the latter. My caipirinha was well, capable of bringing a grown man to the floor. It was served in a pretty collins glass, but aesthetics aside, should have been in a short tumbler glass, so that the limes can be muddled properly. We moved on to share 2 bottles of white, of which I'm sorry to say I can't remember the names. Four and a half hours into the evening, and we were happily light-years away from our busy days at work.

Few bars in Baltimore carry cachaça and so caipirinhas are a rarity on drink menus. Grand Cru is the only venue which I have found them. If anyone knows of anywhere else, drop me a line!

Grand Cru
527 E. Belvedere Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21212

tater tot: a biography

I remember lunch in elementary school as my favorite part of the day. Once again, the lunchlady would hand me some misshapen, previously frozen pizza-spaghetti hybrid (which I always enjoyed) and a side of golden tots in a white paper tray. Crispy, chewy bits of potato in every bite, left my hands delightfully greasy. In middle school, I subsisted on a strict diet of cafeteria tots and a package of generic brand Ms. Fields butter toffee cookies everyday for lunch. (Brain fuel for all that long division!) Sadly, I'm well beyond the age of being served tater tots in a cafeteria line. But never fear, both Ore-Ida and McCain offer tots in the frozen foods aisle. And if you happen to live in Baltimore, go to Ale Mary's where tots are served alongside sandwiches and wraps. We were there last week with Rachel of Coconut and Lime and her husband. Yet again, the tots did not disappoint!

In 1953 the Grigg brothers of Ore-Ida, when posed with the problem of what to do with all the leftover potato pieces from fries, brainstormed up the tater tot. A tot is made from grated potatoes, rice flour or some form of starch as binder, powdered garlic and onion, then shaped into miniature shapes we know and love, then fried. Potatoes are a good soure of vitamin C, but fried baby tots are probably not the best nor most healthful way to get your daily dose.

Try layering tots in a casserole dish for breakfast, or dusting them with cayenne and cumin, or even using them as croutons in a salad. My personal favorite: sandwich tots between 2 slices of buttered white bread for an authentic British chip butty! Seems like the cafeteria tot is actually quite the versatile ingredient!

**picture from BikeNerd

boiled peanuts

I found myself with leftover mustard greens last week in my fridge and decided to make a salad with edamame. At the last minute, I boiled up some peanuts and tossed those in as well. Boiled peanuts has always been a favorite snack of mine since childhood. I love them plain, in cold salads, and sprinkled on congee.


Chinese-Style Boiled Peanuts

1 cup raw peanuts, with skin on
1/2 tsp five spice powder
2-3 star anise, whole
1/2 tsp chinese peppercorn, whole
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a pot of water and let it come to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and simmer with lid on, for 30 minutes or until peanuts are soft and yielding, but not mushy.

It came as quite a surprise to me when I learned from an episode of Paula Deen that Southerners also enjoy their share of boiled peanuts, low-country style. I did some research into the subject and found that they are a traditional snack in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Boiled peanuts are green or raw nuts that are boiled in salty water for hours outdoors over a fire. The shells turn soggy, and the peanuts take on a fresh, legume flavor. They have been around since the Civil War when, in times of meat and bread shortage, the Confederate troops were given peanuts as an important source of protein. The salt works as a preservative, and the boiling kills impurities and bacteria.

A traditional way that old-timers like to eat boiled peanuts is to drop the shelled peanuts into a bottle of cold RC Cola and gulp down the combo. Southerners will tell you boiled peanuts should always be accompanied by a beer, sweet tea, or a soft drink.

Low Country Boiled Peanuts

4 to 5 pounds green (raw) peanuts in shell
4 to 6 quarts water
1 cup plain salt

Wash unshelled peanuts thoroughly in cold water until water runs clear; then soak in cool, clean water for approximately 30 minutes before cooking.

In a large pot, place soaked peanuts and cover completely with water. Add 1 cup of salt per gallon of water. Cook, covered, on high heat for 4 to 7 hours.

Boil the peanuts for about 4 hours, then taste. Taste again in 10 minutes, both for salt and texture. Keep cooking and tasting until the peanuts reach desired texture (when fully cooked, the texture of the peanut should be similar to that of a cooked dry pea or bean).

Remove from heat and drain peanuts.

Peanuts may be eaten hot or at room temperature, or chilled in the refrigerator and eaten cold, shelling as you eat them.