Mmmmmango & Ahhhhhvocado

Mango - Avocado - just the sound of these two words invoke a hot summer day for me!  Close your eyes - can't you just feel that warm breeze on your face?  Can't you smell that salt air coming off the water? 

I can.  Even though it is currently 49 degrees here in New Jersey on an October day, I can still imagine myself in Florida enjoying a Mango Martini with a creamy bowl of fresh guacamole in the company of my Floridian family.  

Even though mango's are not in season right now, not that they are every truly "in season" here in NJ, there is a beautiful thing called mango nectar that is available in your local grocery store.  Avocados are still pretty plentiful as well.  You just have to know how to pick them.

So, the other day, I mixed myself up a batch of these wonderful concoctions and brought myself back to August.  Hope you will do the same.  Put on some Buffett, kick back and enjoy...................................

Mango Martini

2 parts your choice of Vodka
1 part Triple Sec
2 parts Mango Nectar
zest of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
ice
cocktail shaker

If making one Martini (seriously - are you really making one?  Don't you have a friend nearby?  If not, find one, if you still can't find one, plan on having 2 ) fill your cocktail shaker 1/2 full with ice.  Like I said, if just making one - the 2 parts can equal 2 ounces.  If you found that friend, the 2 parts can be 4 ounces - are you getting my drift?

Okay, back to business, 2 parts vodka (if you want to turn this into a margarita, substitute the vodka for tequila), then add 1 part triple sec and then 2 parts Mango Nectar*. Add the zest of 1/2 a lime.  You just want green here, no white pithy pieces - they will be bitter. Use a microplane grater, it will give you the best results.   If you can't figure out the zest, come over and I will show you - otherwise, leave it out.  Squeeze some fresh lime juice into that shaker with a citrus press or the back of a spoon jammed into half a lime.  Shake well.  Strain into a ready and waiting Martini glass and have at it.

** Mango Nectar can be found in a variety of places in your local store.  Sometimes you can find it in the produce section near the specialty juices.  These tend to run you a bit more money but they are typically a better quality. You can also find them in cans or resealable containers in the Spanish or Latin section of your grocery- near the Goya products.  These have a longer shelf life.  If you are not going to use it all that day or within the next few days, you can freeze the juice in ice cube holders.  Once frozen, pop them out into a freezer safe bag or container and keep them for when you need them again.  This way, you can use the mango ice cubes to chill your martinis in the future and they won't get watered down by regular ice.

Here's a picture...............

The little green bits is that zest we were talking about. 

On to the guacamole.........

I LOVE GUACAMOLE!!  After 16 years of convincing, so does my husband - and he has become somewhat the guacamole snob at that! 

Following is how I make mine.  This is not a technical recipe.  You should base it on taste and the ingredients you are working with.

Guacamole

2 avocados, peeled, pitted and removed from skin (if you want the technicalities of how to do this, e-mail me or bring your avocados over to share - seriously, no one has taken me up on this yet!)

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 chopped tomato

1/4 chopped onion

handful chopped cilantro

1/2 - 3/4 chopped jalapeno pepper

juice of 1/2 lime

salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, add your avocados and garlic.  Mash with the back of a fork.  Do not overmash, you want some texture.  Then add in garlic, tomato, onion, cilantro and jalapeno and mix again with fork.  Squeeze in the juice of the lime and salt and pepper.  Taste it, if you like it hotter, add more jalapeno. 

Remember, as with anything, adjust it to your taste.  Here's a picture of the one I made this weekend..........

I will work on getting a new camera to take some better pictures!

In the meantime, cheers to all my wonderful friends and family who have been so supportive!!  And thank you to you all for all your comments!







Fresh Pasta

I'm talking handmade fresh egg pasta.  The good stuff!

There are 2 basic kinds of pasta, the fresh which is made with a soft wheat flour and egg or the boxed kind made with hard wheat or semolina flour and water.  The homemade egg pasta usually includes the flat noodles, fettuccine, lasagne, etc. and the stuffed pasta; like a ravioli or tortellini.  The boxed kind is the solid shapes which could include the fettucines, lasagne, farfalle, penne, ziti, etc.

One of the biggest differences in these pastas, aside from taste, would be the texture.  The homemade is smoother and more porous.  It sucks up the sauce.  The boxed pasta has more of a bite to it and embraces the sauce more than sucking it up.

Does this make sense?  You've got to try them both to really understand.  If you have a pasta machine at home (the hand cranked variety) pull it out, dust it off and have a go at it.  If you don't have one and you're in the neighborhood, drop by, I'm happy to loan it to you.  Otherwise, give me a call and we can make it together.  If you are really feeling adventurous, you can roll it out by hand the real old fashioned way!

Now, most of my pasta inspiration has come from the great Marcella Hazan, the Godmother of Italian cooking.  If you are not familiar, pick up one of her cookbooks and check it out.  She is inspiring! Her book Marcella Cucina is probably one of my favorites.  There are beautiful pictures and recipes.  She is a wealth of information.  I read this book like a novel.  Starting on page 112 is the pasta section.  Read through it before you start because she gives great tips and information on working with the dough.  There are step by step pictures which makes it even easier.  

So, the basic recipe for egg pasta is flour and of course, egg.  The basic ratio is 2 large eggs to 1 cup of flour.  Now, this can vary based on the eggs as well as the humidity in your kitchen.  I have made this pasta before where the ratio was perfect.  Yesterday, I needed to add more flour and had to use almost 1 1/2 cups of flour.

I was going to give you a condensed version of how to make the pasta but there really is no way of cutting it down to put it in this blog.  You really need the details.  Definitely consult Marcella's book for a full detailed explanation.

Couple tips, though....

*As with any recipe, make sure your workspace is set up with everything you need.  Set up the pasta machine or a large workspace if you are rolling out the dough by hand.  Have some clean dry kitchen towels laid out to put your pasta on and of course, your eggs and flour and a fork.

*Start with a clean dry cutting board, preferably wood.  Put the flour in the center of the board and make a well.  Now, why don't I do this in a bowl, you might ask?  It is better on the cutting board because you can control the amount of flour you are using.  You may need more, you may need less.  This way you can push it to the side if you are not going to need some of it.  Crack the eggs into the well and beat with a fork as if you are making scrambled eggs. 

*Knead the dough by hand for 8 minutes.   Then, divide the dough.  Use the ratio of the amount of eggs you used times 3.  This is how many pieces you want to divide your dough into.  For me, it was 2 eggs so I divided it into 6 pieces.  This is important!  The pieces of dough may look small.  You may be tempted to work with the one big piece of dough (as I was and did the first time).  The end result will be you trying to crank the dough through the machine while walking a huge ribbon of dough across the room (like I did)!  Eesh - don't question Marcella!!

Following is one of my favorite recipes.  It consists of some of the things I always have in the refrigerator and pantry.  If you don't have or don't like white wine - what?! - you can substitue chicken broth.  If you don't have fresh, substitute your favorite boxed pasta. 

Fresh Pasta with Bacon & Rosemary

Quick note before you make this - it's a good idea to heat the serving bowl before adding the pasta.  If you have an oven safe bowl, put the bowl in the oven at 100 degrees so it is warm.  If you do not have have an oven safe bowl or you are not sure if it is, add some of the boiling pasta water to the bowl to heat it and then drain the water before adding the pasta.  The reason you heat the bowl is so the pasta does not get cold right away and it helps the cheese to melt into the pasta quicker.

 

1 lb fresh homemade pasta

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin

1/2 chopped onion

3/4 pound chopped bacon

4 Tbsp butter

2 sprigs Fresh Rosemary

White Wine

Parmiggiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese (the hard cheese for grating - not the preshredded stuff or the fake stuff that comes in a green can - this I must insist on!)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a large skillet, cook the chopped bacon until nice and crispy.  Remove bacon from pan to a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour off all but about a Tablespoon of bacon fat. 

Add pasta to boiling water. 

While pasta is cooking, to the skillet, add 2-3 Tablespoons of butter and the chopped garlic and onion.  Saute until onion becomes nice and soft.  Add rosemary and give it a few turns in the pan until it becomes nice and fragrant.  Carefully, add a glug or two of white wine. (always be careful adding any alcohol to a skillet as it is very flammable!) Cook for a minute or two then remove rosemary.

Drain pasta and pour into heated bowl.  Add grated cheese to pasta at this point and toss so the cheese melts and clings to the pasta.  Add sauce, reserved bacon and 1 Tbsp remaining butter.  Toss together with some salt and pepper and serve immediately.  You can add some additional cheese and red pepper if you like - which I do. 

Now, you may be saying - "Oh, all that bacon and butter!" Get over it! Remember, you're not eating like this everyday.  Have a salad tomorrow and redeem yourself.  It is SO worth it!

  

A Bowl of Soup

Just the sound of that is comforting isn't it? 

It's been a crazy week and the other day, I was trying to think of something for dinner that wasn't complicated and I could throw together with what I had on hand.   Chicken Soup popped into my mind and that was it, it was all I could think of.

I did have to stop at the store for the chicken and also picked up a nice crusty loaf of Rosemary Herb bread because, hey, why not, you have to have something to sop up those last bits of broth at the bottom of the bowl that you can't get with the spoon.

So, here is how I made it.  (Now, forewarning, there are no measurements here and most are guesstimates so don't get mad if you are a very strict, measure everything kind of person.  There will be recipes here in the future with actual tablespoons and teaspoons and cups but not for this one.  Comfort food just needs to come together, it can't be predicted and precise - it needs to be made from the heart.)

Take a little olive oil - enough to just barely coat the bottom of a pot and add 2 half chicken breasts on the bone patted dry.  Dry the chicken so the oil doesn't splatter when you put the chicken in. Sear the chicken well on both sides.  Remove the chicken from the pot to a plate.  Add diced onions and garlic - as much or as little as you like.   I used a small onion and 3 cloves of garlic.  Saute them around a little until they start getting soft.  Add some white wine - gotta have the wine, remember my last post? How much?  A couple glugs or I guess about 1/4 cup.  Cook about a minute or so.  Then add the chicken back to the pot and pour in about 6 cups chicken stock. (If you don't have the stock, add water, the stock will give it a richer flavor though.)  Heat the chicken stock to a slow simmer, then add your veggies.  Now this is where you can get crazy!  Add any kind you want! I cut up a redskin potato, 4 peeled and cut carrots and celery.  I let that cook about 15 minutes or until the potatoes started to get tender and the chicken is cooked. (use your meat thermometer and check the  chicken-when it hits 165 degrees, its done).  Take out the chicken, pull it off the bone, and throw the meat back in. Then I added cut up zucchini, mushrooms and a dekerneled ear of corn.  Throw in some salt and pepper and let the party come together!  In a separate pot, I cooked some pasta to add but you could leave it out, otherwise, add some cooked rice. I finished it with some chopped fresh parsley and basil from the garden and some grated fresh Parmesan cheese.  Oh, and I added some red pepper cuz I like it spicy!

And, in the meantime, while it was cooking, I did homework with the kids, set the table, went for a bike ride, etc.  With this kind of soup, you can just let it simmer.  It doesn't require a whole lot of attention.

Now, if you don't have the chicken on the bone, you can use chicken breasts or tenders, just reduce the cooking time on the chicken.  If your not a fan of the bird, leave it out and make it a vegetable soup. If you don't have fresh veggies on hand, throw in a bag of frozen.  There are so many variations.  Don't try to over complicate it - substitute with what you like.  That is what cooking is all about, taking a basic recipe and making it your own.  It's your kitchen and your soup, add what you want, the food police aren't coming.  They are home having dinner.

Oh boy, here we go......

my first post - my husband made me do it!

I love food - all food - and everything food related. I love cooking food, eating food, talking about food, reading about food and growing food! 

And drinking, I love drinking - not like I need to be in a 12 step program kind of drinking - just sitting and having a cocktail, glass of wine or even a good cup of coffee with friends kind of drinking. Or sometimes a drink alone is good.........wait, maybe I do need that 12 step program!

Seriously, though, I am starting this blog with the little push/shove of my wonderful husband who has been so supportive and encouraging as I try to get my toes back into the food service industry.

I have been a stay at home Mom for the past 8 years and my food service skills have gotten a little stale to say the least.  Can you say frozen chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese?

So, I decided I would like to further my education and get my Associates or Bachelors Degree in Culinary/Restaurant Management.  I graduated many years ago from the New York Restaurant School but, unfortunately, it will not get me to where I want to be these days.  Where I would like to go with this is hopefully into some form of Food Writing, Culinary Producing, R & D, Test Kitchen work, etc. 

Hence, the blog.  Mike (my husband) suggested I start one to get some practice in food writing and thought it would be helpful for my resume as well.  I also think he is getting tired of my rantings and figured this would be a good way for me to get it out of my system so he won't have to hear it anymore!

So starts my journey of brushing up on my culinary knowledge, refining my knife skills, practicing the Mother Sauces, etc.  I thought I would chronicle it and use this as an online journal of my ventures.  I promise to include some recipes and probably some funny stories, and like I mentioned earlier, some good drinks along the way as well.

No more boxed cakes or jarred tomato sauces here.  I hope that you will check back in and read of my adventures.  I'll be practicing alot so if you are in the neighborhood and are looking for a bite to eat, stop by.  Bring wine.