Goat cheese appetizer balls

It seems like yesterday that I was thinking about Thanksgiving being two months away. And now it's here. Only two days away. Of course I havn't even started cooking or prepearing for it, mostly because this working full time thing has kind of gotten in the way ;-) Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Europe I had to take the day off and, while I was at it, I also took tomorrow off, so I have two days to prepare the feast! I have to say that I'm super excited about cooking. I hadn't really noticed it, but since I've started working I have been cooking less than I used to and I really, really miss it.

It sounds a little crazy, but it's true.

So tonight I'm baking cornbread that I will use for the stuffing, so that my celiac friend can eat it too. Tomorrow I'll make what can be made ahead: my famous homemade patê, a pumpkin spread for my vegetarian friend and, most likely, the pumpkin cheesecake I intend to serve as dessert. Thanks to Debbie at Feast for the eyes I will also make the gravy ahead. That way on Thursday I only have to make the turkey and the side dishes. Sounds like a good plan, right? We'll see if I actually follow it through. I'm famous for not following through, so chaos and disorder are always around the corner...

Anyhow... if you are looking for an easy to make and cool to look at appetizer, here's a recipe for you!

GOAT CHEESE APPETIZER BALLS

2 goat cheese packages

2 tablespoons ground almonds

EVOO, 1 tablespoon

2 teaspoons honey

Salt and pepper

Mix cheese, oil, honey in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Place in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

Using your hands make balls out of cheese mixture. Dredge them into ground almonds.

Serve with a honey drizzle over it.

Things I loved about Prague

Back from 48 hours in Prague, Czech Republic. The place is absolutely fantastic, so great I wish I could have stayed there at least twice as long. To see the whole photo album, here's a link you can use even if you are not on Facebook.

Prague ham... at all times of the day, even for breakfast. Alwaya accompained by creamed horseradish and a Pilsner Urquell beer. The smokiness of the ham goes together well with the smooth, bold pils. A breakfast (or lunch, or snack) made in heaven.

Gorgeous, colorful houses in Mala Strana and Stare Mesto, the two oldest neighborhoods in town. One on each side of the river Moldava, they are so pictoresque they almost look fake. The best thing about them is they are 100% real.

Old Town Square and its Astronomical Clock looking dramatically beautiful. The square has been the heart of Prague since the 10th century.

Amazing doors and doorknobs that lead into even more amazing churches and sinagogues.

A Middle Ages themed tavern, where the waiter slams a tray full of grilled meat in front of you and says "Eat with your hands!"... what's not to love about that?

Art Deco everywhere. I swear, you cannot turn your head without bumping into some of it.

Grilled vegetables mock lasagna

 

One thing I miss about summer the most once fall sets in is eating flavorful fresh vegetables. Fall veggies are fine, but they are definitely not the same, not just because of their color, but also because of their flavor. Let's face it: parsnips are ok, but they are no fresh baby zucchini.

Still, I have promised myself that I wouldn't buy out of season vegetables that come form the other side of the world this year, that I would make more sustainable choices in the months ahead. And, to be honest, summer veggies don't taste that good when you eat them in the fall, they just aren't the same.

Unless you grill them, of course.

See where I'm going here?

I bought a last batch of summer veggies -zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant- grilled them and used them to make this mock lasagna. Again, I call it "mock" because it's not made with lasagna noodles, but with pane carasau, a Sardinian flatbread.

 

This isn't really a recipe. I just grilled the vegetables, chopped them and alternated layers of flat bread, layers of veggies and sprinkled them with shredded mozzarella. Then I baked it at 350°F for ten minutes and... voilà. Dinner is served!

 That's all floks. I won't be around for a few days, I'm going to Prague tomorrow... so have a great weekend everyone, and see you on Monday!

Wordless Wednesdays: Locarno, Lake Maggiore, Switzerland

A guest post: gluten free carrot cake

I'm proud to announce a guest post for today. Last week, I was checking out Facebook while at work and saw that my coworker Samantha had posted a picture of a gorgeous looking carrot cake on her profile. Later that day, she showed up in the newsroom with a generous amount of it and she put it on the meeting room table for us to try while we discussed news and pages. It was delicious. And, to my amazement, it was gluten and butter free. So I asked her to write a post on my blog and she graciously accepted. So here she is and here's her recipe:

"As soon as I found out I couldn’t eat any wheat anymore I felt desperate. I thought it was a complete nightmare, also because I love every kind of baked sweets. Ok, after a few months I have to admit it’s not actually nice, but from that day I tried to cook my own dishes a little more and discovered that gluten-free food can be delicious as well. I tried many carrot cake recipes but this is my favorite, both because it’s really simple to make and because the result is great. That’s why I’m writing this post for my new colleague and I’m really honored to!"

Ingredients

300 gr (10 ounces) carrots 

300 gr (10 ounces) grated almonds

300 (10 ounces) gr sugar

80-100 gr (3.5 ounces) gluten-free flour (or simply white flour)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

grated lemon rind

Eventually, to decorate:

icing sugar

marzipan carrots

Peel and grate the carrots. Mix them with the grated almonds, the sugar and the lemon rind. Add the eggs and stir. Finally add the flour and the baking powder and keep mixing for a couple of minutes. That’s it, you can now put the mixture in an oiled  baking pan (no matter what shape, I actually like ring shaped cake). Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes at 175° (aria calda). When the cake got cold, you can decorate it with icing sugar and marzipan carrots or with a lemon frost made with water, lemon juice and icing sugar. Enjoy!

The 2011 Thanksgiving Challenge

Holy crap, Thanksgiving is almost here! Seriously, it snuck up on me this year. While I usually plan the meal well in advance, this year I had no idea the holiday was upon us until I started notcing everyone posting Thanksgiving recipes on the web.

For the second time in a row I'm hosting a European Thanksgiving extravaganza, where the extravagant part is cooking it all in a ridicolously small kitchen. For about 15 guests. I know it sounds crazy, but I did last year, I can do it again this year, right? Not to mention that this time my mom and dad will be here, so they can help too. On top of that, I had my mom bring me some brining begs form the U.S., so I can prepare the turkey like I did in 2009, which was the best bird ever... ruined only by the fact that I broke my knee while preparing the meal.

So since I'm a little bored today I thought that planning this year's menu would be a good idea, even though every year I end up changing some of it at the last minute. And this year, other than the tiny kitchen challenge, I have a second one: one of my guests is a vegetarian, another one has to eat gluten free. Here's what I have so far:

Homemade patê

Pumpkin Spread (vegetarian and gluten free)

Mushroom Crostini (vegetarian and gluten free)

Maple-Cider Brined Turkey with Bourbon-Cider Gravy (from Cooking Light)

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Garlic (from Cooking Light)

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes (vegetarian and gluten free)

Apple and Cranberry Sauce (vegetarian and gluten free)

Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Raisins (from Cooking Light) (vegetarian)

Corn Bread Stuffing with Sausage and Apples (gluten free)

Pumpkin Almond Cheesecake (from Cooking Light)

The travel bug

...I admit it. I'm sick. The travel bug is back, stronger and meaner than ever. This time it looks like it's going to take over my body, my mind, my whole life worse than the other times before.

It got into me a little bit last year, but the problem was I had no freaking money to travel with, so I couldn't do too much about it. Then I got a job and, almost instantly, I started itching for some more travel. New destinations. New adventures. Even if just for a weekend.

Then this morning, while I was looking for a my scarf, I came across a travel wishlist I had scribbled when I first moved to Switzerland, a year and a half ago. I have it here, on my desk. And it makes me smile, because it's awesome. But it also makes me want to pick up my crap and just go.

Seriously, every time I walk by the Lugano train station I feel this urge to jump on a random train and go wherever. But since working is a necessary condition to have money for traveling, I won't do it. What I will do is make sure I go to each and every place on my list as soon as possible.

EUROPEAN TRAVEL WISHLIST

Lisbon, Portugal
Madrid, Spain  (July 2010)
Barcelona, Spain  (August and October 2010)
Bilbao and San Sebastian, Spain
Stockholm, Sweden  (February 2011)
Dublin, Ireland
Oslo, Norway
Tallin, Estonia
Bruxelles, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Prague, Czech Republic (going next weekend!)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Krakov, Poland
Berlin, Germany  (October 2011)
Reykjavík, Iceland
Sicily, Italy
Belgrade, Serbia
Croatia
Greek Islands  (July 2011)
Istanbul, Turkey
Zurich, Switzerland

Acquacotta... much more than just "cooked water"

Acquacotta in Italian means, literally, cooked water, but as you can tell by the picture, there's much more to this Tuscan soup than just cooked water. There's a poached egg, there's a rich mushroom and tomato broth and, underneath it all there's a thick slice of bread sprinkled with Pecorino cheese. It's a very comforting dish, easy to make and, above all, it's very cheap. Mushrooms are plentiful in this season, but I had so many bags of dried porcini (don't ask, I'm not sure why) in the pantry I used those, and it turned out great.

ACQUACOTTA

Serves 4

2 large onions, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

Extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds mushrooms, sliced

5 tomatoes, cubed

5 cups tasty stock

Grated Romano cheese

4 eggs

4 large slices country bread

Salt and pepper

Dried marjoram

Heat a bit of EVOO in a large dutch oven, add onions and sautee on medium heat for a ten minutes, stirring so it doesn't burn. Add garlic and mushrooms, sautee for three minutes. Add tomatoes, season with salt, pepper and marjoram and cook for about ten minutes. Add broth, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

In the mean time, toast bread and place each slice on the bottom of a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheese. Pour very hot soup in each bowl. Crack an egg in each one. The broth will cook the egg. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Things I loved about Berlin

The Riverside Lodge Hostel, Berlin's tiniest hostel. And I'm not exaggerating: it consists of two rooms and two bathrooms, all spotless and clean, with cool murals and a super nice host, Enrico. The bed was comfy and warm and I loved how everyone had to take their shoes off at the hostel entrance.

Art on every wall, around every corner. Even at a small playground in the middle of the Turkish quarter. My playground, as a kid, never looked this cool.

Beer gardens. Despite the temperature (it barely broke 50F during the warmest hours of the day) everyone enjoyed sitting in the sun, sipping on a good, cheap, draft beer. 

The incredible architecture. The Berliner Dome and the Alexanderplatz needle are just two of the many amazing buildings you see as you stroll down the roads in Berlin.

Street vendors still capitalizing on Berlin's DDR past, selling CCCP flags and other (fake) communist memorabilia to tourists. 

The sky over Berlin. No wonder Wim Wenders named his movei, Der Himmel uber Berlin, after it. It's temperamental and dramatic, just like the city below it.

Branderbourg Gate. Because seeing it on tv is one thing. Hanging out below it, remembering people cheering for their newfound freedom in 1989 is priceless.

Amazing city sunsets, which are always my favorites. Because let's face it: it's easy to see a great sunset on an island in Bora Bora, but it's much more scenic when you see a monument in the way.

The East Side Gallery, aka what remains of the Berlin Wall. Hundreds of incredibly gifted artists from all over the world have contributed to transforming a symbol of repression into one of freedom and hope. 

Street musicians, playing, singing and smiling despite the cold Northern wind that blew relentlessly throughout the day.

Feeling part of a history that, until now, I had only seen on tv and read in books. 

Impromptu art galleries placed in abandoned buildings, where mostly homeless artists place their sculptures and live together.

Paying my respects to the victims of the Holocaust. A sobering experience that anyone who's visiting Berlin should partake in.

Drinking beer for breakfast. Scratch that: drinking incredibly good, tasty German beer for breakfast, and not being the only one in the bar to do so.

And most of all, hanging out with my old friend Cass, who invited me to meet her in Berlin while she was visiting the city. 

Risotto with pumpkin and pancetta

Happy belated Halloween everyone! I hope you are not tired of pumpkins and pumpkin recipes because lately I have been cooking a loooooot of pumpkin. I just haven't had time to post any recipes, nor have I had time to visit other people's blogs. I'm not sure why, exactly. Maybe because I have been traveling and when I was home I went out to restaurants a lot. Maybe I've just been lazy. Maybe I was trying to enjoy the last few days of warm fall weather because, so far, we have had the most amazing October I've ever seen. So it was a great time to take walks by the lake and go to outdoor festivals. Next week, though, we are supposed to get some really shitty weather, so I guess I'll have tons of time to dedicate to my blog then.

Back to pumpkin, though. Here's a recipe to make risotto with pumpkin and smoked pancetta which is very, very good. And I'm not just saying so because I invented it. It was truly amazing, perfect for any fall dinner party you might be hosting. Or even for a family dinner, really.

PUMPKIN AND PANCETTA RISOTTO

1/2 cup EVOO

2 cups finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped pancetta

2 cups arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

About 6 cups of hot vegetable stock

1 pumpkin, one half baked in the oven and then pureed; the other half, peeled, cut into small dice, and sauteed in a little oil and butter until tender

1 cup grated Parmesan

4 tablespoons butter

In a medium-size heavy dutch over, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and a tablespoon of butter. Add the onion and pancetta and saute, stirring continuously, just until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and continue to stir, using a wooden spoon, to coat the rice with the oil.

Add the white wine and continue cooking, stirring often, until it has been absorbed by the rice. Pour two ladles of broth to cover the rice and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed.

Pour in 1 cup more of the remaining stock and stir and cook until it has been absorbed. Repeat with 1 more cup. Add the remaining cup and cook, stirring, until the rice is al dente, tender but still very chewy, and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the pumpkin and reduce the heat to very low so that the risotto doesn't simmer anymore. Stir in the cheese and butter to give the risotto a nice, creamy finish. Spoon it immediately into heated shallow serving bowls.