Antipasto the Second, Esq.

Antipasto! I love to eat little samples of things instead of a main meal. This combination was particularly refreshing, especially after eating heavy winter food for awhile. It consists of brussels sprouts roasted with pine nuts, steamed broccoli raab with lemon, and a white bean and tomato salad; all were eaten at room temperature, as is the Italian style, I think. If it is not, then it should be because it's fantastic.

The brussels sprouts I quartered, tossed with salt, walnut oil and pine nuts, and roasted until lightly browned. Walnut oil, by the way, is worth the price every time. I personally don't love olive oil because it's too heavy- walnut oil is very light and flavorful and great on pretty much everything.

I had antipasto at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last month, and I really enjoyed the broccoli there which was just barely steamed. So I steamed this broccoli raab for only a minute or two, so that it was still crunchy, then seasoned it with salt-- the end!

The whitebean salad is also very simple-- boiled beans, salted, tossed with olive oil, cherry tomatoes, and fresh parsley. Delicioso.

--Pam

Antipasto

Tongiht's antipasto featured homemade pesto, roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella, boursin, grilled bread, roasted artichokes, and a pasta salad of orzo puttanesca.

Orzo Puttanesca

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
28.2 oz can of peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives halved & pitted
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp capers
1tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup orzo
2 Tbsp fresh copped flat leaf parsley
greated parmesan

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat, add garlic and saute' until fragrant. Add tomatoes, olives, anchovies, capers, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Simmer sauce over medum low heat until thickened, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, about 8 mins. Season with salt and pepper. Add Parsley at the end.
Meanwhile, cook orzo in pot of 2qt boiling water, 1 tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Let boil about 8 mins, drain, and add sauce. Toss to coat, serve with cheese : )

I skipped the olives and anchovy, feel free to add or subtract from this recipe to fit your personal taste. Also this sauce can be used on any kind of pasta, the first time I made it was with homemade fettuccini noodels which was very tasty. I chose orzo this time because I think it lends itself well to the idea of pasta salad. This is a sauce that will stick with me for life because it is so easy and so delicious.

...All else are recipes from my repitoire that I just wing the measurments on according to taste.



Roasted Artichokes started with a recipe from my anut Nancy. In my opinion this is really the best way to eat artichokes. 1 can artichoke hearts, seasoned with butter, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and thyme. Sometimes I use olive oil, a splash of white wine, or a sprinkle of parsley.

The pesto was made from fresh hydroponic basil, toasted pine nuts, salt & pepper, and peccorino romano. This turned out DELICIOUS! I'll be using in on toast, sandwiches, ect. all week until it sadly runs out.

For the roasted garlic I cut off the top, drizzled with olive oil, and roasted for about 45 mins. at 300F.

The Bagette was sliced, seasoned with olive oil, salt & pepper, and parsley, and tossed on the grill until toasty

Scott made homemade lemonade tonight. A great paring for italian food, and very refreshing.

-Jackie

Rosemary Sea Salt Focaccia & White Bean Soup

Not sure where I found this recipe, no doubt while cruising other food blogs. And by the way let me have it stated for the record that I am am definately a cook and not a baker. Almost every baking attempt I have made has resulted in faliure. My Focaccia never rose for some reason, I waited for much longer than the recipe called for and it just never did... perhaps the temperature in the house. Anywho, even though it didn't turn out as desired it was tastey none the less. Actually it reminded me alot of the homemade pretzles we used to make when we were little. Anything with sea salt is delicious.

Ingredients:
.25 oz packet of yeast

280 ml water ( room temperature )

6-7 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

2 Tblsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus extra to sprinkle on top

about 17.5 oz white wheat flour

2 tsp coarse sea salt
A greased baking tin (about 10 x 12")

Place half the flour in a large bowl, add the salt and rosemary and mix briefly. Pour in the yeast and mix well. Pour in all the water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Gradually work enough of the remaining flour to make a soft but not sticky dough. The amount needed will depend on what flour you use, and also the conditions on the day.
Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and silky.
Leave to rise until doubled in size at cool to normal room temperature in a lightly oiled mixing bowl covered with a damp cloth for about 2 hours.

Once risen, press into the shape of the pan making sure the dough is spread evenly and to the endges and corners.

Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Flour fingertips and make dimples in the dough about 1" or 1/2" apart. Cover and let double again (45 minutes). While dough is rising again, preheat oven to 430F

Once risen, sprinkle sea salt and rosemary and drizzle olive oil on top. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. The bread should be golden brown.

Tuscan White Bean Soup

I Started off by putting a few tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a large pot and browned some chopped garlic in it. Be careful not to burn the garlic, I added a splash of chicken broth to the pot to stop the garlic from cooking once it reached its desired color. Added some chopped aromatics (carrots, zuccini, tomatoe) let them saute for a bit and added some sea salt, pepper, rosemary, and a wee bit of honey ; )

Then added the rest of the chicken broth (used a 32 oz carton) and then some fresh chopped spinach.

Once this came back to a boil I added one can of great northern beans, and half a can of cannalini. I added a sprinkle of corn starch to help it thicken, and let stew for maybe 20 mins.

As far as measurements go I usually wing it according to taste and my own likes and dislikes. (guess this is partially why I am not a good baker, I don't exactly like the follow recipes word for word)

The broth of this soup was fantastic, the beans a tad dry but expected with canned beans, Had a good consistency, and made a good portion for 2 with some left overs (I always make sure I have leftovers when it comes to soup)

- Jackie

Hydroponic Farm Visit!

This afternoon I took a tour of a local farm, Butter Valley Harvest, that has just started working in hydroponics. The plants here are grown in a greenhouse with controlled temperature and humidity, without soil; instead, they are fed with water fertilized with all the essential nutrients for a plant.

baby lettuces

look how green the romaine is, in the back on the right!

What this means is that the plants get absolutely everything they need to be healthy and none of those diseases that come from dirt and insects, resulting in the greenest and most fragrant lettuce I have ever known! When we walked into the greenhouse, everyone gasped and smiles broke out all around. It was so breathtakingly green! In the middle of January! They are the types of lettuces you imagine Peter Rabbit nibbling on in the English countryside. So tender and crisp.


baby bibbs

After the tour, we were all given a free head of lettuce. I also bought some extra, so as to have every variety for sampling. Right now they are growing bibb, romaine, and an experimental mix of seven varieties that includes some asian types. There is also some beautiful basil, and the tomatoes are just about to be planted. They can be expected around April. All of these goodies will be readily available to the public this spring at the farm, or they can be purchased now if you give them a call, for two dollars or less a head! Don't hesitate! Even if you want just a single head of lettuce, they are extremely welcoming to local patronage. Check them out at http://www.buttervalleyharvest.com/. Now to think up some recipes worthy of such glorious greens!

salad blend

--Pam

Herbed Poppyseed Bread

What a handsome loaf! This was one of those recipes that comes into creation when the pantry is low-- and thank goodness!

Now, there is nothing so wonderful to me as a fresh loaf of rosemary and roasted garlic bread. However, having made it many a time over the last year, I wanted to try something new. So... how about some fresh herbs? and poppyseeds? and a wee touch (or not so wee) of honey? Savory and sweet, a wonderfully surprising crunch of poppyseeds, and a crust to tell the grandchildren about.

The basic bread recipe is one I've been using for about a year now, from Vogue's Jeffrey Steingarten. This is the recipe as I've made it here.

Herbed Poppyseed Bread

• 3 cups flour
  
• 2 tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp active dry yeast


• 1 1/2 cups water


• 2 tbsp honey


• 1/4 cup poppyseeds


• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley


• 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil


• 1 tsp dried rosemary


• 1 tsp dried oregano

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients and stir until honey dissolves completely. Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix with hands until it forms a ball. Cover and let rise 18 (anywhere from 12 to 24, depending on temperature-- 18 is usually safe) hours.

Over a floured surface, invert the bowl and scrape the dough out. spread the ball out with your hands to form a 10" square. Fold the dough in thirds lengthwise, then again in the other direction, to make a smaller square pouch. Smooth the creases and return to a floured bowl to rise another 2 hours.

After 1 hour of rising, put a casserole or bread dish, with lid, into the oven and preheat at 450 to 500 degrees (I keep it at 470). After the second hour, slide the dough into the dish. Bake 30 minutes covered (the lid keeps in steam, creating a crispy crust). Remove lid and bake an additional 15-25 minutes.

If possible, refrain from eating until it is just warm to the touch-- supposedly some flavor is lost if you cut it too early. But who can resist?

I think nothing does justice to fresh bread like a bowl of soup-- so I had it with a fresh vegetable soup. This one has tomatoes, basil, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, and dun dun dun... ONIONS! (Which I have always hated, probably because when I was little someone made me eat their onion stew, which was onion grass mashed up with a rock, with hose water poured over it.) But believe you me, they actually make this soup better. So they can stick around in soups, but that's it!

Hot soup is some kind of miracle on days like today, when it's about five degrees and dark by five o'clock. And it goes great with the movie Manon of the Spring, if you get the chance. Sometimes you have to say Hooray for winter! Without it, we may not love hot soup and warm bread.

--Pam