My top 5 pasta dishes

Excitement is in the air. After spending two months into what can only be described as a slump —a psychological one, mind you— here I am ready to leave for a new adventure. Two short ones, actually. Tomorrow morning I'm flying to Stockholm, Sweden, to meet up with a friend who's at a conference there. I'm thrilled beyond belief, not only because Stockholm is said to be one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world, but also because salmon is one of my all time favorite ingredients, so you know what I' will be doing from tomorrow until Monday. Yes. Salmon, salmon, salmon, in all its glorious forms, and especially in its most glorious one: Gravlax. Now, of course I make my own rendition and you can find the recipe here, but eating it at the source, surrounded by frozen lakes and people eating herring for breakfast will add a certain something to it, I'm positive. 

Then, after only one brief day of relax spent at home and running herrands, on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. (gotta love those cheap Easy Jet flights), my best friend and I will leave for Amsterdam to celebrate her birthday. I've never been there either, so I'm equally stocked... although I am aware that Dutch food isn't necessarily famous for being exciting or flavorful. Which is why I already have my eye on a couple of Indonesian and Sumatran restaurants that serve exactly what I like: spicy, savory concoctions of meats, vegetables, rice and noodles.  

  

Because I'll be gone for a week, I want to leave you with yet one more of my "best of" posts, one that is 100% Italian: pasta dishes. I've cooked tons of pasta in my life and I've posted many different recipes on this blog, but I think the following five are my all time favorites. At least for now. 

 PASTA ALLA VODKA

If you ask any of my American friends what is my best loved, most famous recipes, you'll hear one answer only: vodka pasta! Creamy, spicy, boozy, this pasta dish is sophisticated yet fairly simple to make. The ultimate decadence? Eating it while sipping an ice cold vodka martini. You can find the recipe here.

 LOBSTER PASTA

Ever since watching "Julie and Julia", every time I hear the word lobster I find myself singing to myself "Lobster killer" to the same tune as the Talking Heads "Psycho Killer". That said, when I lived in Florida I used to catch my own lobster while scuba diving so no, I don't feel bad for killing lobsters. There are plenty of them in the Atlantic, as there are plenty of them in Sardinia, where this recipe hails from.

 SICILIAN PASTA WITH ONIONS AND CRUMBS

This recipe is relatively new to me, mostly because I grew up thinking I loathed anchovies. And although I still won;t gorge on them, I've reached a point in my life where if anchovies are few and only one of many ingredients I actually enjoy their natural saltiness. This Sicilian dish is the perfect example. Try it ones and you won;t get enough of it. Click here for the recipe. 

SPAGHETTI WITH SHRIMP AND ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

I've learned to make this dish last summer, on a torrid July evening during 2010's only heat wave. The lake was still. The air was humid and felt heavy. There was no way in hell I would even consider leaving my a/c. So I had shrimp and zucchini blossoms in the fridge and thought, why not? The result, even if I do say so myself, was amazing. A star was born. Here's the recipe, and I can assure you that's worth making regardless the outside temperature. 

PASTA WITH SAFFRON AND CLAMS

If you are wondering what is up with me and saffron, the answer is easy. First, I find it to be one of the most satisfying and fragrant spices in the world. Second, believe it or not, saffron is not that expensive in Italy. So when I found both littleneck clams and cherry tomatoes on sale on the same day I just knew I had to whip up some type of pasta concoction. With saffron of course. Because, just like butter, it makes everything better. 

Moroccan chickpea stew

Three years ago while spending a few days in Paris, the friends my boyfriend and I were staying with took us to their favorite Moroccan restaurant, a sumptuous number close to their home in Versailles. I had never been to a Moroccan restaurant before. It's funny how depending on where you grow up and live, you end up becoming an expert on certain ethnic cuisines and knowing squat about others. 

Milano in the 80s was packed with Chinese restaurants and for most of the decade that was the only ethnic options available to us. At the end of the 80s the first Japanese restaurant opened in town and we all flocked to try it and walked out of it fascinated by the tasteful decor, the clean simplicity of the food and the fact that we didn't smell like frying oil. During the 90s we got our fair share of Indian and Ethiopian restaurants, followed by Thai and several fusion options. Moroccan? Not so much. There's virtually no Moroccan community in Milano, therefore there are no proper Moroccan restaurants —just a lot of little kebab joints that are absolutely fantastic after a night of drinking.    

But having a full, scrumptious Moroccan dinner is much different that standing in the street chowing down kebab to soak up one too many gin and tonics. Sitting on plush cushions in that beautifully decorated room, taking in the scent of cumin, ginger, saffron and cinnamon, I instantly knew I was in for a treat. And I was right. Everything I tasted that night —from the appetizer onion salad to the tagine to the lamb stew— was vibrant with color and exploded with flavor. And because I seem to constantly be moving to place where there are no Moroccan restaurants —Bonita Springs and Lugano, for instance— I had to take the matter in my own hands and learn to make some of those dishes. The good news is, Moroccan food is easy to prepare, it just takes a long time to cook. So it's perfect if you have a crock pot (which I don't have over here, but a regular pot on very low heat works just fine) and you want to come home to the sweet scent of spices wafting through the air. 

MOROCCAN CHICKPEA STEW

(Adapted from Cooking Light)

• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  cup  chopped celery
• 1  cup  chopped carrot
• 1  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 2  tablespoons  ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon  paprika
• 1  teaspoon  ground ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground turmeric
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1 1/2  cups  water
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 2  (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in spices and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. 

Add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Thai green curry

I'm back. I didn't actually go anywhere, but I have barely posted anything in January and I haven't really read any of your blogs... so I guess that I'll spend the rest of the day doing that, catching up with what has been going on with you in the past three weeks. See, the thing is that I haven't felt very well since the beginning of the month and both cooking and writing about it seemed like a chore instead of the fun activities I've always considered them to be. But I feel better now, and cooking and writing about it once again sound like a great idea. So here's a recipe I've made last week for the first time, although I have eaten it hundred of times at Thai restaurants: green curry with chicken.

THAI GREEN CURRY

1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil
2 onions, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
3 tablespoons green curry paste
2 pounds chicken breast, cubed
4 tablespoons of shredded fresh basil
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)

Heat up the oil in a wok and saute the onion for a couple of minutes. Add curry paste, stir well and let cook for two more minutes.

Add zucchini, chicken, basil, coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened. Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

Shrimp carpaccio

So the new year is here. I had such high expectations for the beginning of 2011 and, not so oddly, I was bitterly disappointed. I mean, what the hell is wrong with me? Don't I preach every year that I don't care about New Year's Eve ans so on? So why do I end up caring when nothing goes the way it was supposed to? I guess I'm delusional. Or to be a little less tragic, let's call me a dreamer and be done with it.

Anyways, the point is that yesterday was the first day of 2011 that didn't majorly suck —which put me in a great mood I have to say. For the first time in a week I felt healthy enough to leave the house, which did me a world of good since I had spent day after day on the couch with a blanket and a frown on my face. But last night I was and about in Lugano, drinking drinks I don't usually, eating pizza and catching up with old friends. It was a better medicine than any traditional one and totally worth the slight headache I woke up with this morning. 

I have to say that now I have a brighter outlook on the new year, which also translates in the renewed resolution of eating healthy meals and living an altogether healthier life. So here's my first recipe for the new year: butterfly some good size shrimp, season with salt, pepper, and a mixture of evoo and lemon juice. Sprinkle with chives and serve cold as an appetizer. 

Happy 2011!!!

The New Year is here. So happy new year everyone!

2010 wasn't a bad year, but it wasn't great either. It was definitely different and it brought lots of changes in my life, some orchestrated by me, some imposed to me by others. But all in all, because I'm a firm believer that change is always good, 2010 was a fairly good year. 2009 was shitty, 2010 was ok... does this mean that 2011 will be awesome? I sincerely hope so. I could definitely use some awesomeness right now. I'm sure that it will be another year of great changes —after all the future belongs to  those who keep moving— and hopefully it will bring me peace of mind and financial stability, two things I need greatly.

Mushroom "strudel"

• So what are you all doing for New Year's Eve? 
• I feel like it's finally time to ask you. I hate people that start asking in November... I mean, are they insane? I usually don't even know what I'm doing the following weekend, let alone the following month. Plus, I've never been a fan of New Year's Eve. There's that moral obligation to have the time of your life that to me is such a buzz-kill. What if I don't have fun? Does that make me a big fat loser? 
• Apparently yes.
• And then there's more. Overpriced prix fix menus, grumpy waiters, slow service. And all the amateur drinkers, getting wasted on two glasses of sparkling wine, the pukefest in the bathrooms, people sitting at a table sending Happy New Year text messages to everyone they know instead of wishing it to the friends they are sitting with. The list is endless.
• So, as you might have imagined, I'm not going out tomorrow night. I opted for the lesser evil, which is throwing a house party. I was even excited about it up until everyone started being a pain in my ass about it. But that's another story. It must be some kind of NYE curse I have. 
• Anyhow, if you are throwing a party and don't know what to serve as a vegetarian appetizer, here's an idea. It's easy to make and it'd delicious... just what you need if, like me, you can't wait until this whole NYE thing is over on Saturday.  
• MUSHROOM STRUDEL
• Adapted from Cooking Light
• 
  
• 3/4  cup  dried porcini mushrooms (about 3/4 ounce)
• 1  pound  button mushrooms
• 1  large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 ounces)
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly grated nutmeg
• 6  ounces  1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 24  (18 x 14-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• Olive oil-flavored cooking spray
• 
  Cover porcini mushrooms with boiling water in a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain well; chop.
  Place half of button mushrooms in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Remove from processor. Repeat procedure with remaining button mushrooms. Add onion to processor; pulse until finely chopped.
  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add button mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are tender and liquid evaporates (about 10 minutes). Stir in porcini mushrooms, oregano, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until cheese melts. Stir in parsley.
  Preheat oven to 375°.
  Place a few phyllo sheets on a large work surface (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying). Spread mushroom and cheese filling evenly on the phyllo dough, leaving a half inch boarder. Roll up jelly roll style. Lightly coat top with cooking spray.
  Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas 

from my kitchen to yours!

Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Christmas cookies)

 

More cookies coming your way! I've never been much of a cookie baker, to be honest, but this year I've baked quite the selection of sweet treats. The main reason is that being unemployed I actually have the time to bake cookies. Also, being unempoyed means that this year I don't have the money to spend on Christmas presents, which led me to the idea of baking cookies and giving them to my friends as gifts. The third factor that tranformed into a cookie baker is the fact that when the weather outside is snowy and cold, warming up the kitchen with the oven sounds like a good idea. So here's the recipe for some vanilla cookies that are popular in Austria —where they originally come from— Germany and Switzerland. 

VANILLEKIPFERL

For the cookies:

2 oz. ground almonds 

3 1/2 oz. cold butter

6 1/2 tbsp. icing sugar

1 egg yolk

the pulp scraped from 2 vanilla beans

2 1/3 cups flour

A pinch of salt

For the finishing

1 to 1 1/2 cups icing sugar

vanilla powder

1. Brown the ground almonds in a hot skillet and allow to cool.
2. Quickly knead the butter, icing sugar, egg yolk, vanilla pulp, flour, almonds and salt into a smooth dough. Let the dough rest in a cool place for 2 hours.
3. Form the dough into about 30 crescents and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 200°C / 400° F oven for about 10 minutes.
4. Roll the still-warm crescents in the vanilla icing sugar. Store the crescents in a cookie tin, each layered separated by parchment paper.

Brunsli (Swiss cookies)

This is going to be my first "Swiss" Christmas, so I thought it would be nice to publish a typical Swiss Christmas recipe. I am very much enjoying the cold weather, the lights, the snow and the winter foods I've experienced so far, but most of all I'm re-discovering the pleasure of drinking hot tea in the afternoon, which inevitably brings you to want some good cookies to go with it. Brunsli are usually rolled out and cut with cookie cutters, but can also be rolled into pralines, which is what I decided to do to give them somewhat of a different look. Out of all the different cookies I've made for Christmas (yes, there is more to come!) these were my favorite ones. Maybe it was the dark chocolate. Maybe it was the spices. Maybe it was the fact they are soft and decadent and bite-sized. Whatever it is, they are definitely something to try.

BRUNSLI

From about.ch

• 5 ounces sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 9 ounces ground almonds
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch of clove powder
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 fresh egg whites 
• 3.5 ounces bitter chocolate
• 2 teaspoons of rum

1. Mix sugar, salt, almonds, cinnamon, clove powder, cocoa powder and flour in a bowl.
2. Add white of egg and stir until ingredients are evenly distributed.
3. Cut chocolate in real small pieces, pour hot water over the chocolate, let rest for about 5 minutes, then pour off all water except about half a tablespoon, stir until even. Now immediately proceed with the next step.
4. Add melted chocolate from the previous step and the kirsch, knead to a soft dough.
5. Roll out dough on a flat surface (it may be slightly covered with sugar), approximately 10 mm (0.4 inches) thick. Put out different shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
6. Let them rest for about 5 to 6 hours or over night in a dry place.
7. Bake for about 4 to 6 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 250 °C (480 °F).
8. Let cool completely before serving.

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Market in Val Gardena