I Scream, You Scream

When I posted earlier this year that David and I were going to Rome, I received a couple of impassioned pleas to go check out particular foodie haunts.  One reader--I think it was Mike from The Culinary Lens--told me to go visit Gelato di San Crispino.  After a long, hot, jet-lagged day slogging around the Colosseum, Roman Forum and having the gates to the Baths of Caraculla closed on us because we were too late to get in, we decided to cut our losses and go get some gelato.  Smart decision.

Gelato di San Crisipino is tucked away on a tiny side street not terribly far from the Trevi Fountain.  It has a small sign out front, but the best way to locate it is a line of people out the door.  Once inside, there is a list of about twenty flavors, both fruit and cream, all made in-house.  Decide quickly, because the line moves fast and you don't want to be stuck stammering at the counter.

On that hot Monday, I selected zabaione, a cooked custard flavor, and chocolate rum.  David stuck with fruitier flavors, and we trekked up the hill to sit on a set of stairs and eat.  Let me tell you, it is worth the hype.  The flavors are pure and intense, and even the fruit flavors are unbelievably creamy.  It was almost enough to snap us out of our jet lag.  Almost.



That's David's "This is really good" face.

We went back two days later to see if it was as good as we remembered.  It was.

I once read that Alaskans eat more ice cream per capita than any other state in the country.  It seems a little random, but it's true that everyone is happy to see ice cream, particularly when it's homemade.  For a friend's birthday party, I made this gelato-like concoction.  It tastes like the best vanilla malt you've ever had.  Malt powder can be purchased from King Arthur's Flour.

This recipe has a softer consistency.  If you like your gelato firmer, freeze it in smaller containers.

Vanilla Malt Gelato

Adapted from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Dessert Book

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

4 cups heavy cream

2 cups 2% milk

2/3 cup malted milk powder

4 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until they are fluffy and pale yellow, then gradually whisk in the sugar.  Pour in the heavy cream and milk and whisk until thoroughly blended.



The gelato was particularly good with a homemade caramel sauce.



Whisk in the malt powder and vanilla, then allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes.

Pour into an ice-cream freezer and process until it is a soft-serve consistency.  For my freezer, this was about half an hour.

Transfer the gelato to a large storage container and stash in the freezer.

Makes 2 quarts.

Bit o' Honey

This week would have been kind of comical had it been someone else's life.  Let me count the way that things have gone wrong:

Eleemosynary:  Looked so good last week, total nightmare this week.  The set carpenter hasn't shown up for two days and one of the actors has taken it upon herself to declaim that she doesn't like the set or her costume.  Le sigh.

Deposition:  I went to Oregon Tuesday night, a trip that was ill-timed to begin with, to take a deposition on Wednesday morning.  Cue freak snowstorm that shut down parts of Oregon, including the one where the person I was deposing had to travel from--deposition cancelled.  The trip was all for naught.  Le sigh again.

The new living room furniture arrived--good news--and requires assembly.  However, the couch box wouldn't fit through the front door and the couch is in pieces in the garage.  In the meantime, my mother-in-law Hope arrives next week and David is going on a business trip.  See the problem?

I need a good night's sleep, enough time to exercise, a good opening night and perhaps a Valium.  Maybe not in that order.

Enough with the kvetching.  As part of my marathon cooking therapy session (I'm making that up, but maybe there should be such a thing) last weekend, I made gelato.  Our old ice-cream maker died an ignominious death a while ago, and we weren't motivated to replace it until a particularly unfortunate incident last month when the gorgeous vanilla ice cream base fully refused to freeze despite hours in the ice-cream maker.

But I didn't want ice cream:  I wanted gelato.  That's right, I'm dreaming of an Italian vacation that is two months away. 

This is a very basic gelato recipe that seems more or less fail safe.  The only word of caution is to use good-quality honey, because you really can taste it.  I used a clover honey, but next time I will use fireweed honey, which is flavored with the quintessential Alaska flower/weed that blooms everywhere in the summer.  Lavender honey would also be gorgeous.

Honey Gelato

Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

3 3/4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup clover honey

Follow the instructions for your ice-cream maker;  the bowl of mine needs to be frozen overnight and this base needs to sit overnight, so start your prep the night before.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cream.  Transfer three tablespoons of this mixture to a a bowl and stir in the cornstarch.

Heat the saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil.  Whisk in the cornstarch mixture, corn syrup, granulated sugar and sea salt.  Allow it to boil again, whisking often.

Strain the milk mixture through a cheesecloth or very fine sieve to remove any solids and stir in the honey.  Let the mixture come to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When you're ready to make the gelato, give the mixture a good stir and pour into the bowl of the ice-cream maker.  Process until the mixture is the consistency of soft-serve frozen yogurt, then remove the bowl from the maker and return it to the freezer.  It will harden a bit more, but not much.

Makes approximately 1 1/2 quarts gelato.

And the Crowd Goes Wild (for Arancini)

Happy new year to everyone!

Like most people, I will be eating more salads and upping my exercise to get over the excess of the holidays.  The jeans still fit, but I know I've eaten too many bad-for-me foods over the past two weeks. 

But before I head into healthy-recipe season, I want to share the last of the fried recipes from Chrismukkah dinner.  To say these were crowd-pleasers is an understatement.  They disappeared just as quickly as I could set them out.

This recipe is ripe for experimentation, and you could make it with other varieties of risotto.  Just make sure to keep the mozzarella cubes small enough to pop in the middle of the rice balls, and after experimenting on the size I recommend keeping them about the size of ping-pong balls.

Arancini di Riso (Deep-Fried Risotto Balls)

Adapted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

5 cups low-sodium chicken stock

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)

1/2 tsp. truffle or kosher salt

1 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup fresh Parmesan, finely grated

12 basil leaves, chopped

4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten

2 cups fresh bread crumbs, toasted

Vegetable oil for frying;  enough to have an each deep in the frying pot

Heat the chicken stock over medium heat in a small pot;  keep warm on the stove.  In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil.  Then add the onion and cook until lightly browned.

Add the rice to the onion, and toss to coat the rice.  Add the wine and bring the pot to a simmer. 

Add three cups of the chicken stock, the salt and pepper.  Bring the pot back to a simmer, stirring frequently until the stock is absorbed.  Then add the remaining stock in two installments and cook until the rice is al dente.  You will want to use all the stock.

Stir in the peas, then spread the risotto out on a baking sheet and allow it to cool to room temperature.  When it is cool, add the cheese and basil and fold to combine.

To assemble the arancini, wet your hands and take a quarter-cup of rice at a time and roll it into a ball.  Poke a cube of mozzarella into each and patch with a little more risotto to cover if necessary.

Prepare the breading station by putting the flour, eggs and bread crumbs into bowls.  Heat vegetable oil in a large deep pot;  make sure the oil doesn't exceed 350 degrees. 

Roll the arancini in the flour and shake off any excess.  Then dip the ball in egg and roll it in bread crumbs.

When all the arancini are assembled, add them a few at a time to the oil.  Fry until a deep golden color, turning them over with a wire skimmer to ensure they're browned on all sides.

Drain the arancini on cooling racks covered with paper towels.  Makes about 30 arancini.

Cuckoo for (Good) Crackers

While David and I were cooking some of the Chrismukkah food, we had the film Julie & Julia on the computer in the background.  I haven't seen this movie in a while, and definitely not since I started a blog this past July.

I've read both of Julie Powell's books;  while I liked Julie & Julia well enough , I had to skip over large portions of her follow-up book, Cleaving.  I really didn't want to hear about her affairs, particularly since I thought her husband was a little bit of a saint based on the portrayal in her first book.  Powell was somewhat more likable in the movie, but I've concluded that it was only because she was portrayed by Amy Adams, who has made a good career out of being cute and likable.

Anyway, Powell's reaction in the movie to the first comment on her blog rang true.  However, she becomes self-centered about the whole process, very "me, me, me."  Admittedly, she had a job she hated and she was basically living to blog and perhaps ultimately to get a book deal.  I'm pleased to say that the bloggers that I have met in the past five months bear no relationship to Julie Powell.  Rather, I've found the blogging community friendly and welcoming.

Getting off that tangent, I'm continuing to post recipes from the Cucina49 Chrismukkah, which peaked with a large dinner party on Christmas Day.  There were two menorahs a-blazing, competitive dreidel-spinning (our friend Nick always wins--he's got the technique down), David's brightly shining Christmas tree and, of course, lots of good food, including a decidedly non-kosher charcuterie platter.

It's easy enough to put together a good chatterer platter:  I like at least one hard and one soft cheese, preferably one cow's-milk cheese and one goat's or sheep's milk cheese.  Usually I will also have at least two types of cured meats, black olives and perhaps some mixed nuts.  Cashews and cheese are an irresistible combination.  Sliced fresh baguette or good crackers is also a must. 

Can you tell we nibbled off the raclette while we were cooking?

Note that I say good crackers, not crappy commercial crackers with lots of hydrogenated soybean oil or preservatives.  Stonewall Kitchen makes my favorite store-bought cracker, but when I have time, I prefer to make them myself.  The following recipe can be adapted to other fresh herbs and hard cheeses that may be lurking in your refrigerator.  They are buttery, flavorful and worth the relatively small amount of time and effort involved.

Rosemary-Parmesan Crackers

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup good-quality Parmesan cheese, finely shredded

1 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter with the paddle attachment on medium speed until it is creamy.  Turn the mixer to low and add the rosemary, Parmesan, salt and pepper until just incorporated.

Add the flour all at once and continue beating until the flour is incorporated.  Every time I've made the recipe, the dough at this stage refuses to hold together.  Add two tablespoons of warm water and combine again--this should make the dough come together, although it will still look crumbly.

Dump the dough onto a floured cutting board and roll it into a log about one inch in diameter.  Wrap the log in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour or overnight--this is a great item to make ahead of time. 

When you're ready to bake the crackers, heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the dough into rounds about 1/4 quarter inch thick, or thinner if you prefer.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then space the rounds on that sheet--there will be about 24 crackers, depending on how thickly you've sliced them. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through.  The crackers will be done when they are a light golden color.

Cool on wire racks. 

Of Zombies, Half Marathons and Office Lunches

The words "office lunch" don't conjure up images of great food, do they?

Today we had a bosses' day lunch, which mostly meant that everyone brought bags of chips and trays of cold cuts, as well as sweets.

I like sandwiches, but I prefer something warm for lunch.  And if given the opportunity to bring food to work and cook here, sending good smells throughout the office, why wouldn't I do that?

I have a beautiful All-Clad slow cooker that I think I received as a wedding present when David and I were married two and a half years ago.  It almost never leaves its perch on the top shelf of the pantry--maybe it's been used about three times, but I can't get rid of it because it's so shiny, pretty and potentially useful.  A friend once called me a raven because I was attracted to shiny things.

I prepped everything last night, all 15 minutes of it, and started the slow cooker at 7:30 this morning.  By 10 a.m. the office was filling with the mellowing smell of onions and black pepper, and by 10:30 everyone was asking when lunch was.  It's the perfect dish for throwing together and setting aside while actual work is being done.  It's like the Filipino variant of Southern, vinegar-based barbecue:  savory, meaty and tangy.

On another note, I finished my last race of the season on Saturday, the Anchorage Running Club's Zombie Half-Marathon.  Although many people dressed up, I have wicked sensitive skin and didn't think a layer of zombie makeup would help matters any.  Here are a few friends and David just before the start of the race:



Check out my friend Arlitia and her nephew, dressed as "preppie zombies."



Although I wasn't out to set any records that day, I finished the race with a personal best time that shaved about a minute and a half off the time of my last half-marathon.  This really confirms that I'm dropping from a marathoner to a half-marathoner for future races!

Coming up soon:  The delayed reviews of three Portland restaurants--Gruner, Beast and Irving Street Kitchen--along with a recipe using this month's "mystery ingredient."

Slow-Cooker Chicken Adobo
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma FoodMadeFast:  Slow Cooker Cookbook

4 halved yellow onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1.5 tbsp. fresh-ground pepper, plus more to taste
3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of residual fat
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
Cooked jasmine rice

Add half of the onions to the bottom of the slow cooker in an even layer.  Add the two bay leaves.

Layer the chicken thighs on top of the onions, then cover with the remaining onions.  Sprinkle with pepper and add the vinegar, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Sprinkle with the sugar.


I mixed the wet ingredients ahead of time, but strictly speaking it's not necessary.

Cover and cook on the high heat setting for four hours, or the low heat setting for eight hours.



OK, so the presentation isn't super-pretty, but this was all that was left after my office chowed the entire contents of the slow cooker.

 This serves 6-8 as a main course, ladeled over jasmine rice.  Your hungry office (or family) will love it.

Comfort Me with Apples

My kitchen is imploding.

All right, not really, but we're starting a long-delayed minor kitchen renovation.  Although I've now grown to (mostly) love my kitchen, we almost didn't buy the house two years ago when I saw it.  First there was what I like to call the Backsplash from Hell, which started at one end of the kitchen, looped around the refrigerator and went aaalll the way around to the other side.  I like the gray-green Corian for the countertop.  For the entire decor, not so much. 

I mean, really?  It's just odd.

there were the 1980s vanilla-colored appliances, especially the less-than-standard size refrigerator (also known as the Vegetable Killer, see more on that here).

And the lack of a good vent.  I could go on.

The renovation is going to happen in pieces, as our contractor is available, but it could make cooking interesting for a while. 

Well, in all reality it's been interesting since David karate-chopped the 1980s vanilla oven closed during his birthday party, damaging one of the door hinges and resulting in the door not closing all the way.  I wish I could say that when this happened, I ran in slow motion toward the oven and flung myself on top of it screaming "NOOOO!" at the top of my lungs, but that didn't happen.  I was on the other side of the room serving up smoked gouda and caramelized onion quesadillas when I heard the squeak-thud of the unhappy oven.

I wanted to make a good dinner before the kitchen became even partially unusable.  Yesterday I started looking for recipes for Rosh Hoshanah, which is next week.  It is the start of the Jewish high holidays and has several traditional foods, including apples and honey, to signify wishes for a sweet new year. 

This recipe incorporates apples into a main course, and has several virtues:  It's healthy!  It's hearty!  It takes a total of an hour and forty minutes, of which less than twenty are active time!  Joan Nathan, you doyenne of Jewish cooking, you know how to get a frazzled cook's heart a-flutter.

If you have the advantage of more time, I would recommend salting the chicken, covering it with plastic wrap and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.  This draws out moisture from the skin and makes for a crispier chicken.

Rosh Hoshanah Chicken with Apples and Onions

Adapted from Quiches, Kugels and Couscous by Joan Nathan

1 3.5-4 lb. chicken
1 yellow onion, peeled
3 Fuji apples, cored and cut into 6-8 pieces each
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/3 cups dry white wine
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
Kosher salt
Fresh-ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Pat the chicken dry and season it lightly with kosher salt, fresh-ground pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.  Place it in a large baking pan--I put mine breast side down, so the white meat would stay in the marinade and not dry out during the long cooking process.

Cut the onion into large slivers and scatter it around the bottom of the pan.  Pour the chicken stock and wine on the onions and bake for 45 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, toss the apples (I prefer leaving the skin on, but you can peel them if you wish) with the tablespoon of sugar and remaining cinnamon.

At the 45-minute mark, remove the chicken from the oven and add the apples to the pan, spooning the broth-wine mixture over them.  If the apples still look a little dry, add another bit of broth.

Cook for another 45 minutes, or until done.  The thickest part of the breast should register 165 degrees on an oven thermometer.

Allow to sit, tented with foil, for a few minutes.  The pan juices are delicious, but you could turn them into a thicker gravy if desired.

Serves 4-6 as a main course.  Spoon the pan juices over the sliced meat and serve with a side of the apples and onions.

Food/wine pairing:  You're going to be tempted to pick a sweeter wine because of the apples.  Don't do it.  This dish hails from my mother's ancestral region of Alsace-Lorraine in France.  Either a bone-dry German riesling or a French or German Pinot Blanc would be perfect.

To Pork or Not to Pork: That Is the Question

Once again, that sounds dirty.

But really, it refers to my conundrum:  if I am going to cook through Italian cookbooks, to really learn Italian food, what is a semi-religious Jew to do?

I am a reform Jew, and a twice-a-year Jew at that:  the high holidays and Passover, although I would say that being Jewish, the ethics of being Jewish, inform my daily life.

You see the problem here:  Italian cooking inherently involves a lot of pork.

I admit, I cheat:  a little salumi here and there, but that's about it.  On Sunday, I found myself staring at the extensive pork section of A16:  what is a Jew to do?

I'm deferring that answer for another day and substituting chicken.  Fortunately, it turned out delectably, tender and toothsome with a salty-sweet relish.  To die, I tell you.

This recipe is perfect for either a weeknight dinner or, if you're feeling like you want to impress people, an appetizer for a dinner party. 

I'm deferring the inherent conflict for another day.  In the interim, this recipe is brilliant.

Chicken Spiedino with Pine Nut, Garlic and Currant Soffritto
Adapted from A16 Food + Wine

2 pounds skinless chicken thighs, cut into even chunks
Kosher salt
1/2 cup dried currants
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup roughly chopped garlic cloves
2 ounces arugula
Wooden skewers

After cutting the chicken thighs into chunks, toss with aproximately 1 tablespoon salt.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Put the currants in a small bowl and cover with warm water to rehydrate, for at least 20 minutes.

While the currants are hydrating, put the pine nuts and all but a tablespoon of the olive oil in a small pan over low heat.  Warm to a low simmer, stirring often--this will want to stick--for about 6-7 minutes, or until the pine nuts start to brown.

Add the garlic and simmer for about 8 minutes, until the garlic turns golden.  This mixture takes some careful watching and stirring, as you don't want to scorch the garlic.

When the garlic is golden, drain the currants and add them to the pan.  Remove the pot from the heat and cool on the counter.  The soffritto can be made ahead of time.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes.    Toss the chunks with the reserved tablespoon of olive oil.  Soak approximately 10 wooden skewers in warm water while the chicken is coming to room temperature.  20 minutes out from cooking, start a hot charcoal grill--stack all the coals on one side, so you have both direct and indirect heat.

String the chicken chunks onto the skewers, with no more than five chunks per skewer.  When the fire is ready, put the skewers on the direct-heat side of the grill for approximately a minute, until they become less pink and have grill marks.  Then transfer the skewers to the other side of the grill and cook until fully cooked, approximately 10 minutes.

In the interim, arrange a platter with a bed of the arugula.  When the chicken is done, place the skewers on the platter and drizzle with the sauce.  You will have plenty of extra sauce;  save it for future dishes, including the panino that I will share later this week.

Serves 4 as a main course;  6 as an appetizer.