Month: December 2011

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Top 10 (Things I Love) :: 2011 / Happy New Year!

New Year 2012

2012

Well the end of 2011 is finally here. WOW. What a crazy, awesome, long year it’s been! I started my food blog last year around the holidays, and since then I have met so many amazing people in the food industry, learned amazing skills in my cooking classes, food styling and photography and food writing classes that I feel like a whole new person and am so happy I have paved new paths and opportunities in my food media career. Hoping everyone has also had an amazing year, with lots of love, laughter, cooking and eating – wishing you all a prosperous and Happy New Year 2012! 

Here are a few of my favorite posts, recipes, people and more from 2011 ::

IACP Conference, Austin TX

Food Network Wine and Food Festival, NYC

Tasting Table/KitchenAid Event in Soho, NYC

Favorite Recipes

Favorite Culinary Markets

Favorite Culinary Tools

Favorite Cooking Spices, Oils and Sauces

Favorite Cookbooks

Favorite Restaurants

Favorite Cooking Websites and Blogs

Of course there is plenty more things I loved in 2011, but this is just a list of my favorites. Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous New Year 2012. Happy eating, cooking and living! ~AG

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Braised Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs are one of our family traditions for the holiday dinner table – not only are they easy to make but a great dish for a buffet dinner or cocktail party. There are many variations to the recipe you can make: a white sauce with dill and sour cream, a red wine or tomato sauce, or a brown beef gravy sauce with allspice and sour cream which is my Grandmother’s recipe that my Mom always used to make.

You can also substitute frozen or pre-made meatballs (Swedish meatballs or plain, not Italian-style) if you don’t feel like making your own, but either way they are delicious and a surefire hit at the dinner table.

The meatballs are great served over hot buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes with a side of Lingonberry or Cloudberry sauce, which you can find online at Swedish and Finnish grocery sites and Amazon.com. Saute some julienned veggies such as carrots and zucchini and squash to serve on the side along with a glass of crisp white wine or Glogg, a Swedish mulled wine that is a traditional drink served at Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Print
Braised Swedish Meatballs

Yield: Makes approx. 50 meatballs. 

Ingredients

  • 2 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 lb lean ground pork
  • 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
  • 1 egg, well beaten
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced parsley, plus 1 tbsp for garnish
  • 1/8 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp salt
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • dash of celery salt
  • dash of allspice or nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 jar beef gravy (or homemade gravy if you prefer)
  • 1-2 tbsp sherry (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp allspice or nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream
  • hot buttered noodles or mashed potatoes
  • Lingonberry sauce or Cloudberry sauce

Instructions

  1. Combine first eleven ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown meatballs in 2 tbsp oil; pour off fat. Alternatively, you can bake the meatballs on a cookie sheet for 15 mins on 350 degrees F., drain grease and then bake another 10 mins. and pour into a large dutch oven or casserole on the stovetop.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients (gravy, sherry, allspice or nutmeg) except for the sour cream; pour over meatballs. Simmer 20 minutes. If the gravy seems too thick, you can thin it with a bit of water to the desired consistency. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream; continue cooking until heated through. Do not boil. Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes, garnish with additional parsley and a side of Lingonberry or Cloudberry sauce. Goes great with a crisp, Alsatian white wine such as Riesling or Gerwurstraminer, and a side of sauteed veggies.
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Spezzatino D’Agnello E Finnoccio (Lamb and Fennel Stew)

Lamb and Fennel Stew

 

In the dead of Winter, there’s something comforting about cooking on those cold, dreary days. One-pot dishes are ideal when you don’t want all the fuss and they’re easy to make too. Just throw all your ingredients in a big pot on the stove, and then cook slow and low… the end result is a big pot ‘o goodness to warm up your toes. This lovely dish is a slowly cooked Italian stew made with lamb and fennel, onions, garlic and wine – it’s also perfect for the holidays to feed a big crowd..enjoy!

Spezzatino D’Agnello E Finnoccio (Lamb Stew with Fennel)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces (can substitute beef if desired)
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
3 fennel bulbs, quartered
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy casserole, heat ¼ cup of the oil over high heat. Add the lamb and brown on all sides, 5-7 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl.

Add onion to casserole, reduce heat to medium and sauté onion until softened, 7-10 minutes. Return lamb and its juices to the casserole, add the wine and deglaze until reduced. Season the meat and onion with salt and pepper, transfer casserole to the oven, cover and braise for 1 hour.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add fennel and sauté until browned, 10-15 minutes. Transfer fennel to a plate, add the garlic to the skillet and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar and mix well.

After meat has braised 1 hour, add the fennel mixture to the casserole. Cover and braise until meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Serves 6. 

Recipe by Institute of Culinary Education, NYC



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Italian Free-Form Apple Tart (Crostata Di Mele Alla Romana)

Freeform-Apple-Crostata

I have been taking an Italian cooking series at the Institute of Culinary Education and it’s been an amazing opportunity to make fresh pastas, risottos, sauces and classic Italian dishes and desserts. I’ve decided I want to start baking more and was thrilled to learn how to make a lovely free-form apple tart called Crostata Di Mele Alla Romana. This delicious dessert is basically an Italian version of an apple pie but without a pie dish, made on a baking sheet. Super easy and super delicious, and perfect for the holidays.

The handmade dough is rolled out on to a sheet pan, with a delicious warm apple, rum, butter and cinnamon filling, then topped with a lattice crust and sealed together around the edges with rolled dough. The crusty is golden and flaky, with a buttery cake-like texture and is topped off with sprinkled confectioner’s sugar. You won’t be able to resist the smell of warm apples and cinnamon that permeate the kitchen making this the ultimate comfort food for your friends and family. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Pasta frolla:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter
3 large eggs

Apple filling:

3 lbs. tart apples, such as Granny Smith
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp dark rum
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Egg wash:

1 egg well-beaten, with a pinch of salt

For the dough, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until finely mixed in. Add the eggs and continue to pulse until the dough forms a ball. Shape into a disk, wrap the dough and chill it for at least 1/2 an hour.

For the filling, peel, core and slice the apples thinly. In a medium saute pan, combine the apples with the sugar, butter, rum and cinnamon and simmer uncovered, over low heat until the apples exude their juices, about 10 minutes. Continue to simmer until the filling is fairly dry, about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Cover a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment or foil.

making the crostata

Divide the dough in half, roll half into a 12 inch disk and transfer it to the pan. Using a plate or platter as a pattern, cut the dough into a perfect 11-inch circle. Spread the filling to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the dough.

Cut rolled pasta dough

Roll 2/3 of the remaining dough into an 8 by 12-inch rectangle and cut into sixteen 1/2-inch wide strips.

Making the lattice crust

Brush the strips with egg wash and arrange them on the filling in a diagonal lattice. Use the remaining dough and scraps to make a long cylinder.

Making the tart dough edge

Egg wash the edge of the tart and apply the cylinder. With the back of a knife, make diagonal impressions in the cylinder.

Bake the tart until the dough is nicely colored, about 30 minutes.

Italian Free Form Apple Tart

Top with powdered confectioner’s sugar, let cool slightly and slice. Serve with French vanilla ice cream.

*Note: You can also substitute 2 1/2 lbs pitted sour cherries or blueberries, (fresh or frozen) for the apples.

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Big Pot ‘o Goodness: Pasta Fagioli

pasta fagioli soup

pasta fagioli soup

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do in the Winter – there’s something comforting about the delightful smells that warm up my apartment on a cold, dreary day.

Pasta Fagioli is an Italian soup made with herbs, beans, pasta, tomatoes, garlic and broth, topped off with some fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. And it’s easy to make too – just throw all the ingredients in a large soup pot and cook it slow and low for an hour or so. The end result is a big pot ‘o goodness to warm up your toes.

Print
Big Pot ‘o Goodness: Pasta Fagioli

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 pound pancetta, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
  • 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
  • 1 spring rosemary
  • 2-3 springs fresh thyme
  • cheesecloth, for rosemary and thyme herb sachet
  • 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 pound ditalini pasta (or any short-tube pasta)
  • Basil leaves, torn for garnish
  • Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish
  • Extra olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions

  1. Coat a large, wide pot with olive oil and add pancetta. Bring to a medium heat and cook the pancetta until it starts to crisp, 4-5 minutes.
  2. Toss in the onion and season with salt and red pepper; cook until the onion is soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
  3. Add tomatoes and chicken broth, rosemary and thyme sprigs (in cheesecloth sachet), season with salt and black pepper, and bring to a boil; then reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the herbs sachet and discard.
  4. Add the cannellini beans and chickpeas to the pot and cook for 20 minutes more.
  5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta two-thirds of the way until it is still fairly hard in the center. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
  6. Add pasta and cooking water to the soup pot with the tomatoes and the beans and continue to cook until the pasta is done, another 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Serve with some torn basil leaves, grated Parmigiano cheese and drizzle with some extra olive oil for garnish.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Anne Burrell, Cook Like a Rock Star

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