Fridgg: What's For Dinner?

Ricotta Gnocchi

Ricotta Gnocchi

I’ve been busy lately. Really darned busy. I’m loving all this work and these rehearsals (the show’s this weekend… eeek!) But… this means I got the very first Daring Cooks challenge done half an hour before midnight. On the reveal date. Oops.

I’ve wanted to try gnocchi for a while, but… I’m easily intimidated by foods. Especially if I’ve never made them and they seem even the least bit challenging. And this one certainly did seem so. But ignoring my complete fail at making homemade ricotta for the gnocchi, it actually wasn’t that difficult. All you have to do is mix everything together, form the little blobs of gnocchi, roll them in flour, then boil them, mix with the sauce, and serve. Easy as pie. (Ignore, of course, my past difficulties with making pie.)

And how did I like them? Well. Plain, the gnocchi seemed very, very bland. With just butter, it was a little better, but still needed some sort of oomph. But as some beautifully browned sauteed onions to the sauce, and OH… that hits the spot.

Definitely comfort food.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh ricotta
• 2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• about 1/4 teaspoon salt
• all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi
• 8 tablespoons butter, sliced
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 large sweet onions

Cooking Directions

1. Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in a sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it with a rubber spatula or a large spoon.
3. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.
4. Melt the tablespoon of butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.
5. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.
6. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).
7. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer.
8. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s 1/2 an inch deep.
9. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the center of your bowl.
10. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.
11. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.
12. Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.
13. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.
14. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.
15. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.
16. Store the gnocchi in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.
17. Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.
18. In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.
19. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.
20. Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).
21. While the gnocchi cook, place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.
22. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

Homemade Thin Mints

Homemade Thin Mints

I’m a bit of an odd one. I have no problem using store-bought foods for myself – I have a favorite salsa that I always buy, and cans of chili, soup, and roast beef hash sitting in my pantry. But if a friend tells me he or she likes a certain store-bought product, you’d better believe I’m going find a way to make it from scratch. It doesn’t always work (I tried making homemade ricotta cheese the other day… big fat FAIL.) And sometimes it works so well that we’re converts (Son has been forever banned from buying pico de gallo from the store. Seriously, when it’s so easy for me to make it at home? Not happening, dude.)

So when my good friend Nicole told me that her favorite type of cookies are Thin Mints… well, I couldn’t let her birthday go by without at least attempting them.

Chocolatey, minty…

So how’d they turn out? Well, you’d have to ask Nicole to see how she liked them. But they were a hit with my family, even though I may have over-baked them a little. They were more bricks than crispy cookies… oops.

I adapted the recipe from one I found on Baking Bites. The only changes I made were to decrease the baking time, and to add peppermint extract to the chocolate coating so it has even more of a peppermint flavor – I found it to be a little too subtle with the small amount used in the cookie.

…an American classic.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 c all purpose flour
• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1/3 c milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 10 oz dark or semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 c butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp peppermint extract

Cooking Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk, the vanilla extract, and the 3/4 tsp peppermint extract. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
3. Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.
4. Preheat oven to 375F°.
5. Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick – if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp – and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate. Don’t over-bake them, or they’ll be hard as a rock.
7. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on High in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.
8. Mix the remaining peppermint extract into the chocolate.
9. Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.
10. Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Camembert Cheese French Toast

Ile de France Camembert Cheese

I love cheese. My lactose intolerant, high cholesterol body hates me because of this. But my love of cheese and all things dairy can’t be ignored so I take Lactaid, excercise a little more… anything so I can have all the cheese (and other bad-for-me things) that I want.

But despite my love of cheese, I haven’t actually tried that many cheeses. Growing up, we were a very basic family when it came to our culinary preferences. So of course we’ve had basic cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan… but none of this “exotic” camembert cheese.

So, though I was a little nervous I might not like it (a silly fear indeed), I jumped at the opportunity to try an Ile de France camembert cheese for free.

Between 2 slices of bread smothered with jam…

This delicious cheese is buttery, mild, and ever so delicious. I love it. I would have eaten the entire disk of cheese just with bread, if I could have. But we were given the challenge of making a recipe using the cheese, so I had to put my creative skills (or lack thereof) to work.

The first thing that came to mind was sushi. Because, well, you know me. I’m the sushi girl. But I couldn’t come up with a good sushi recipe, and I’ve been so crazy busy with rehearsals that I just didn’t have the time to pull that off. But then I thought… grilled cheese… french toast… OOOHHH… and that’s how I ended up with this.

So how did it turn out? Very delicious. I would make it again… it would make a fantastic brunch dish.

…makes an excellent French toast.

Ingredients

• 8 slices of bread (I used Hawaiian Bread)
• 4 tbsp strawberry jam
• 7.7 oz (1 package) camembert cheese
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp butter

Cooking Directions

1. Spread one side of each piece of bread with strawberry jam.
2. Layer slices of camembert cheese on top of the jam on four of the slices of bread, then cover with the other four slices of bread to make four sandwiches, jam side in.
3. Whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together.
4. Dip the camembert sandwiches in the egg mixture, making sure to coat both sides.
5. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a frying pan, then place two of the sandwiches in the frying pan.
6. Let cook until the bottom has browned, then flip and cook the other side.
7. Remove to a plate and cover with a clean towel to keep warm.
8. Melt the other 1 tbsp of butter in the pan, then repeat with the other two sandwiches.
9. Top with maple syrup or chopped strawberries mixed with sugar.
10. Enjoy!

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Chocolate-Orange Cheesecake…

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

For many months I have watched the Daring Bakers from afar, as they tackled baking challenge after baking challenge. At first my feelings were of curiosity – what is this super secret baking group, and how do they manage these amazing challenges every month? Then, insecurity – man, I would love to be a part of the Daring Bakers, but… but… just look at those crazy challenges they complete every month! I could never ever be a good enough baker to keep up with them! Finally, these feelings became those of hope – what’s the worst that could happen? Well, I suppose I could end up with something completely inedible if I completely screw it up, but in the months since I first saw the Daring Bakers challenges around the food blogosphere, I’ve become much more confident in my baking skills. So… heck, why not? I decided to take the leap.

…with chocolate ganache and candied orange peels.

I have to admit, when I saw the challenge was cheesecake I was a wee bit disappointed. Heck, I wanted a challenge. Cheesecake? Been there, done that, and I already have a tried and true recipe that I love dearly. But this cheesecake ended up being more of a challenge than I could have imagined.

You see, my friends, I am not a creative person. Logic is my best friend, but creativity? Ergh, not so much. You give me a blank slate and infinite options for how to fill it, and I freeze. So given a basic cheesecake recipe and being told to make it my own, using whatever flavors or garnishes I wanted… I was like a deer in the headlights of a monster truck.

You can see the different layers…

So how did I remedy this problem? I asked mom, of course. Her birthday is in April, and she likes cheesecake, so I figured I’d make her choose the cheesecake flavorings that she wanted. She picked citrus, and it’s common knowledge that my mom loves anything chocolate, so it was the next logical step to think of making a chocolate- and orange-flavored cheesecake. Combine that with a chocolate ganache that is a regular in my family, and some candied orange peels that I recently posted about on Fridgg… and we’ve got a cheesecake. And a damned good one, at that.

… of chocolate- and orange-flavored cheesecake.

Of course, I made quite a few changes to the recipe to accommodate my preferences. I have an irrational but deep-seated hatred of water baths, so that was out of the question. (Not to mention, I don’t have a casserole dish that could fit my cake or pie pans, so… not going to happen.) Since my all-time favorite cheesecake recipe is made in a pie plate, it was natural for me to want to use a pie plate for this as well and press the graham cracker crust all the way up the sides. Of course, a 9″ pie plate has a smaller volume than a 9″ springform pan, and since I added a whole bar of chocolate and an orange-worth of juice into the batter… I had way too much batter for one cheesecake. So I made another, flatter one, in a 9″ cake pan. (You’ll have to make an extra batch of crust and an extra batch of the chocolate ganache if you want to do this.) This actually worked out excellently in my case, because I brought the cheesecakes to my family’s Easter celebration and several of us are either lactose intolerant or pre-diabetic or both – so the thinner cheesecake was actually pretty popular.

Everyone loved the cheesecake, but it was very, very rich. If you like those little chocolate oranges (that you smash against the ground to break apart!) and like decadent cheesecakes, then you would love this. As for me, I still prefer my grandmother’s lighter cheesecake recipe, but it was nice to have a change from my usual cheesecake routine, just this once.

Perfectly decadent.

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake

• 3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
• The juice of one orange
• 1 tsp orange extract
• red and yellow food coloring (optional)
• 1 batch of chocolate ganache
• candied orange peels

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate, or into the bottom of a 9″ springform or regular cake pan. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and cream together until smooth.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg.
5. Add heavy cream and vanilla and blend until smooth and creamy.
6. Divide the batter into two equal portions.
7. Melt the chocolate, and mix into one half of the cheesecake batter.
8. Mix the orange juice, orange extract, and food colorings into the other half of the cheesecake batter.
9. Alternating between chocolate and orange cheesecake batters, pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface.
10. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage.
11. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top.
12. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill.
13. Top with the chocolate ganache, then garnish with the candied orange peels.
14. Refrigerate for another hour until the ganache has set, then enjoy!

Roasted Garlic

A whole head of freshly roasted garlic… NOM.

As many of you know, cancer has unfortunately touched my life quite a few times. My dad had prostate cancer a few years ago, and my brother has just gotten past the section of intense treatment in his second battle with leukemia. It’s a difficult thing for any family to deal with – seeing your younger brother, or father, or any other family member looking so frail and in pain. Cancer isn’t something I would wish upon anyone.

Cloves of roasted garlic, extracted from the head.

Which is why when I heard about the Cooking to Combat Cancer event, I knew I had to participate. All you have to do to participate is cook something that uses an ingredient (or several) that is known to help prevent cancer. I glanced through the lists of foods known to help prevent cancer, and found one that I knew I had to use – garlic.

Between Son and myself, a lot of garlic gets eaten in this household. Given free reign Son would eat it raw at times, but I prefer a more subtle approach to my garlic consumption. Roasted garlic is something we both can agree on, anytime. It doesn’t have the unpleasant bite that raw garlic has, but instead has a gentler, somewhat caramelized, almost sweet taste that even I can find enjoyable raw. As for Son… when I mentioned I was going to make some roasted garlic, his ears perked up.

“How many should I make?”

“Ten!” He sounded like a little boy in a candy shop.

“Be reasonable… do you think four heads is enough?”

“I guess…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Don’t worry, I can always make more when you’re done with this batch!”

Roasted Garlic Hummus… looks so delicious, right?

And what did we do with the roasted garlic? Some got eaten by itself, of course. One head got made into some roasted garlic hummus which, while the pictures of it turned out beautifully, I’m ashamed to say the hummus tasted terrible. So no, you’re not getting the recipe for that. *sigh* And we had such high hopes for our own homemade hummus…

The rest of the roasted garlic has gone onto pizza. Because ohmygod roasted garlic on pizza? Amazing. With bacon, and pepperoni, mozzarella, red onion, and of course pizza sauce… not on a pizza crust, but on a regular flour tortilla that crisps up just right like thin crust pizza, only better. I’m not ashamed to admit that this has been lunch or dinner more than a couple of times in the past weeks. Really. You should try it.

Sadly, not so much. Epic FAIL.

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic
• olive oil

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Remove the loose papery outside skin of the garlic head, but keep the cloves together.
3. Slice off the top 1/2 inch of the head of garlic and discard. (If you’re like me, you can save the discarded garlic bits in the refrigerator for another use.)
4. Wrap the head of garlic in a small square of foil and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Roast the head of garlic in the oven until the garlic is very soft, about 40 minutes.
6. Unwrap and cool. Enjoy!