Let's Cook with Titina

It was of my dear friend's birthday this past week, so I tried finding something fun and different to do to celebrate.  We both love to eat and cook, and I remembered taking a cooking class at Capri Flavors, a Italian food distributor in Morrisville, NC.  Perfecto!  I had her go to their website and peruse the menu - there are four different menus offered in a three month span, and the menus change quarterly.  She settled on the Bologna menu, and settled on a Friday evening class.  (They also have classes on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings, as well as private classes).

We arrive about 15 minutes before our class, and we walk into a small store stocked with all Italian specialties, from Italian pastas and tomatoes to cured meats, cheeses and wine.  Costanzo, one of the proprietors, greets you and checks you in for class.  Through the store, there is a beautiful kitchen with twelve barstools lined around it, and Titina, Costanzo's wife, greets you with an apron and name tag.  Her son, Ugo, was also assisting in the kitchen this evening.  We go back out into the shop and purchase a bottle of Sicilian wine to enjoy while taking our class.

Titina and Costanzo came to the United States from the small island of Capri back in 1994, settled in North Carolina after spending a couple years in Rhode Island.  They had run a hotel back in Capri, and desired to bring all the Italian specialties to the United States.  Titina's mother is credited for creating the caprese salad back in her restaurant in Capri.

We begin our class by preparing a simple bruschetta, which my friend and I are asked to help assist by chopping grape tomatoes, while Titina puts the olive oil, garlic, and parsley together.  Then we mix our chopped tomatoes in, and top some warmed ciabatta bread.  Once assembled, each student gets a couple pieces to enjoy as class begins.

Titina starts preparing dinner by preparing the dough to make fresh sheets of pasta for our lasagna bolognese, which one of the students helps mix and knead, then lets set.  While the dough is resting, she begins teaching another student to make prosciutto and peas, by simply crisping up some proscuitto in olive oil, onions and garlic, then adding peas to a pan and letting simmer.


We continue through the class making a fine meal - watching two gentlemen cut dough and make the fresh pasta sheets, another student help make the bolognese and bechamel sauces, and my friend and I help assemble the lasagna.

Not to forget a dessert, two students help assemble a tiramisu.  Although it needs overnight to properly set up, another class graciously assembled the one we got to eat.  Tiramisu always seemed like it was a daunting task, but after this class, I am ready to add it to my dessert recipe arsenal.

Lastly, we make a quick opening plate of prosciutto and melon and a salad with a light lemon dressing.  Once everything is ready, we sit at a family style table with the entire class and Titina and Costanzo, and exchange stories of Italy and good food.  The food you are taught to make is not only delicious, yet relatively easy to make, and if you don't have the tools (like a pasta rolling machine), Titina will take questions and help you make simple, wonderful Italian food in your home.  The cost of all this is only $60/person, and with the $13 bottle of wine we bought (which would have been $40-50 in a restaurant), you get a high quality restaurant meal, without the restaurant price, and you get the recipes to try your hand at it.

My friend absolutely loved her gift, and we are looking forward to doing the same thing for Christmas. Hopefully, we can get in the class where we can make gnocchi, and enjoy yet another fabulous Italian meal with two wonderful hosts from Capri.

Capri Flavors
1012 Morrisville Parkway
Morrisville NC 27560
www.capriflavors.com

Buffalo Cupcakes? Really?

I love to cook, but I've never been a big baker, probably because I'm not a huge sweets lover. I would much rather have a plate of cheeses for dessert than a triple layer chocolate cake.  When I make a trip to my local cupcake shop, I usually choose carrot cake, since it's not overly sweet.

A couple weeks ago before the super bowl, a friend tweeted me a recipe for buffalo chicken wing cupcakes, since she enjoys my Required Chicken Wing Dip (which was required for her baby shower...).  At first I was scared by the concept, but wanted to see how this would turn out.  The recipe called for full sized cupcakes with a huge chicken wing placed on top, but I'm a functional eater - I'm not going to eat a cupcake where I have to take something off to eat.  Also, I thought these would be better as a mini cupcake, given it's not your typical cupcake, as well as being the perfect size for a party. 

While not a typical cupcake, they are quite delicious.  It's like a spicy cornbread.  The cake itself holds some heat from the 1/2 cup of hot sauce (which I had used wing sauce, which had already been cut once with butter), so you can tweak the amount of hot sauce to your liking.   The blue cheese buttercream frosting helps balance the heat, so you get that sweet and savory mix.  Since there is no chicken in them, my vegetarian friends can enjoy the taste of chicken wings without the meat, which is why I took "chicken wing" out of the name of my recipe.

I took these to a super bowl party, and bite size was definitely the way to go, since everyone had the same reaction...."Buffalo Cupcakes?   Really?" Really.  And delicious. 

Buffalo Cupcakes 

Makes 36 mini cupcakes

Cake:

• 1/2 cup hot sauce or chicken wing sauce (Frank's Red Hot) - cut the amount of hot sauce to your liking.
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium-sized saucepan on medium-high heat, heat hot sauce and butter until butter is melted. Add the blue cheese and mix periodically until blue cheese is melted. Remove from heat and mix in the sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg.  Once the hot sauce mixture is cool enough to touch, mix the sour cream mixture into the hot sauce mixture. In another small bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda. Fold the flour mixture into the hot sauce mixture. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blue Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Mix blue cheese on high speed until smooth. Add the unsalted butter and mix on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully combined. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Required Chicken Wing Dip

I am an appetizer freak.  Specifically, a dip freak.  I love dips - dunking veggies, chips, or bread into a mass of gooey goodness makes my tummy happy (and my waist line expand, but whatever....).  I always like making them, but there is one that entered my recipe repertoire that has become required at parties.  Seriously, people have told me that I cannot enter a house without bringing this dip.  In fact, effective immediately, I am changing the name of this dip.


Buffalo Wing dips have been showing up on more and more menus over the past few years.  Now, being from the city where the wing gets its namesake, we NEVER refer to them as Buffalo Wings. First sign of an outsider.  They are Chicken Wings, or more simply, Wings.  So to take the wings, hot sauce, and blue cheese and transform them into a dip makes for a delicious party appetizer, without the need for a wet nap(kin).


I received this recipe from my Mom about six years ago. I've tweaked it a bit, but always brings rave reviews.  It's a little more cheesy and messy, but better than anything you'll get in any restaurant.  In fact, I'm waiting for the chicken to cool to assemble said dip for my New Year's festivities tonight.  My ride won't even let me in the car without it.


Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Required Chicken Wing Dip


1 - 8 oz package cream cheese, softened (I usually use low fat cream cheese)
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (for that Buffalo authenticity....) - alter to your desired heat level.
1 jar blue cheese dressing (found in produce department, not salad dressing aisle) - again, true Buffalo authenticity. Substituting ranch dressing is frowned upon.
1 package shredded Monterey Jack Cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread cream cheese along bottom of 9x13 casserole dish.  Toss hot sauce and chicken in bowl until chicken is well coated; layer on top of cream cheese.  Layer blue cheese over chicken, and top with shredded cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Serve with bread, tortilla chips, or celery.

Green Bean Casserole Upgrade

Every year for the holidays, I made the holiday staple green bean casserole.  It's easy, but so processed - condensed soup, canned green beans, can of french fried onions you use only for this specific purpose. I watched Guy Fieri make homemade green bean casserole on his Thanksgiving special, and he made it look easy.  So this Christmas, I decided to make his homemade green bean casserole..  All I can say is WOW.  The mushroom gravy is packed with flavor and fresh green beans make a world of difference.  On top, I flash fried some shallots.  The recipe is a little high in calories with the cream, but will experiment trying to bring down by using skim milk as a substitute (and of course I used heavy cream first time out - it was the holidays, of course!)

Was it as easy as pouring things out of a can into a casserole dish?  Of course not.  But the effort was really minimal and the end product was 100x better than the recipe on the soup can.  This is immediately entered into my recipe book, and looks to be a holiday staple, if not a weeknight staple, for years to come.

Green Bean Casserole with Mushroom Gravy


Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound mixed gourmet mushrooms, such as shiitakes, creminis and oyster, cleaned and quartered
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I did use vegetable broth as a vegetarian option).
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
4 medium shallots, sliced and separated into thin rounds
1 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until they just turn bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. (You don't want to cook the green beans through as they will cook in the oven also.) Strain and plunge the green beans immediately in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool, drain and set out to dry on paper towels.

Set a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and vegetable oil. Once the butter is melted and the pan is hot, add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed so the mushrooms sear nicely, about 1 minute. Add the thyme and garlic and continue cooking the mushrooms to achieve some nice color. Season with the salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg. Cook 2 to 3 more minutes longer, dusting the mushrooms with some of the flour as they release moisture. Stir with a whisk to incorporate the flour (just like making a roux) and gradually add in the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and add the sour cream and cream. Stir gently and cook over low heat until gravy thickens, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the blanched green beans to the pan and fold together so everything is mixed well. Spread out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the green beans with the grated Parmesan and transfer to a roasting tray (to catch any spill-over). Bake until the casserole is bubbly and the top is melted and golden, 15 minutes.

Pour the vegetable oil into a deep skillet and heat to 350 degrees F. Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Toss the shallot rounds in the seasoned flour, then place in a strainer and shake off any excess flour. Fry the shallots in the hot oil in small batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while still hot.

Top the green bean casserole with the fried shallots and serve.

Olive Oil Heaven

In years past, buying olive oil and balsamic vinegar was simply a guessing game for me - I'd just pick up a container at the grocery store, or buying the mamma jamma container at the warehouse store.  It never really mattered to me.  I didn't buy the best, but I didn't buy the cheapest either...just something serviceable.

That was until I found the Olive Oil store.  Olive oil stores have popped up throughout the U.S., and here in Raleigh, we have the Midtown Olive Press, located in North Hills - a growing trade area with trendy shops, restaurants and condos for those work/live/play types.  You walk in this small shop filled with tables set up with silver barrels of a variety of olive oils and balsamics.  There are your standard olive oils, oils infused with herbs like basil and garlic, and fruit-infused oils like blood orange.  The balsamics run the gamut from a standard 12 year aged dark balsalmic, to jalapeno white balsamic.  All oils and vinegars drums have spigots and can be tasted, as sample cups and fresh bread samples are available for tasting.  Recipes and suggested balsamic/oil combinations are available to expand your culinary horizons.

My eyes has been opened to this wonderful world, and subsequently, my pantry has now been stocked with several olive oils and balsamics.  My personal favorite is strawberry balsamic, which I eat with some goat cheese and fresh bread.  I could eat this as a dessert every day.   

The new items in my pantry help me experiment with different flavors to change every day dishes.  I encourage you to find your local olive oil store and explore. If you don't have one in your town, check the web - my store has a very interactive website with recipes. You'll never buy the 20 lb drum of olive oil at Costco ever again.

Midtown Olive Press

The Lassiter at North Hills

4421-205 Six Forks Road

Raleigh NC 27609

www.midtownolivepress.com

Lasagna? Not so fast my friend....

On a trip to Trader Joe's the other day, I made the impulse purchase of fennel.  I'm not a huge fan of licorice, but I am a huge fan of fennel (see Blue Monk post).  I mentioned the purchase to MM and said "I have no idea what I'm going to do with it."  His suggestion?  Chicken fennel lasagna.  Done and done.


So where did MM dream this up?  Our favorite Italian place in Raleigh, Bella Monica, serves great Italian classics and specialize in their weekly specials that spin the classics. Every Tuesday, they serve Chicken Fennel Lasagna as a special.  It's so special that if you go for dinner at 7pm, it's long gone.  I have been fortunate enough to have this special, and can see why it sells out so quickly.


So as I start perusing my normal recipe websites for a chicken fennel lasagna recipe, I can't find anything.  I'm surprised, so I google chicken fennel lasagna, and the only recipe that comes back is from the Sorrento Cheese website (Sorrento is based in Buffalo - home bias already).  The recipe is for Chicken Lasagna with Fennel and Cauliflower. Cauliflower? on lasagna?  As I read the recipe, I realized the cauliflower is actually a substitution for the ricotta.  So a random trip to the grocery store turns into an opportunity to tweak a favorite meal of MM's into a healthy, low fat alternative.


The lasagna was delicious!  Using chicken and cauliflower made this much lighter than being weighed down by 4 pounds of cheese.  Roasting the cauliflower and fennel enhances the flavor of the vegetables, and making my own bechamel sauce helps to control the fat of the sauce. The roasted cauliflower is softened and gives a similar texture to the ricotta that it is substituting. I opted to use ground chicken instead of cut up chicken, and omitted the bread crumbs (didn't seem to fit in lasagna).  I cut the vegetables as the original recipe called, but felt they were a little too large.  I'd advise chopping them into smaller pieces to fit.

Chicken, Roasted Fennel, and Cauliflower Lasagna

Ingredients

• 16 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 Fennel Bulbs, sliced and chopped
• 1 Cauliflower, cut into florets and chopped
• 2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 lb ground chicken, cooked
• 2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce, divided
• 2 cups Bechamel sauce, divided
• 12 sheets Lasagna Noodles, cook as directed

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Toss fennel and cauliflower with oil in a large mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper. Roast in single layer on a baking sheet until caramelized, about 30 minutes.  Toss ½ of the chicken in 1 cup tomato sauce and the other in 1 cup of the béchamel. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 cups béchamel sauce on the bottom of the dish. Top with 4 sheets of the lasagna noodles and then the tomato-chicken mixture. Top with ½ of the vegetables  and ¼ of the mozzarella. Continue to layer with 4 more lasagna noodles, the béchamel-chicken mixture, the rest of the vegetables and ¼ of the mozzarella. Finish layering with the last 4 noodles, 1½ cups tomato sauce, and the remaining mozzarella. Cover with parchment and then aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes until slightly bubbling. Remove foil and parchment and continue to bake until top is browned, about 10 minutes more. Cool 15 minutes before serving to allow lasagna to set up.

Mac and Cheese? Not so fast, my friend...

• If I was granted one last meal before I parted this earth, I'm 99.9% sure I would have macaroni and cheese.  And not that blue box powder stuff....REAL mac and cheese with REAL cheese and noodles....from scratch. As a good catholic girl (at least one that still doesn't eat meat on Fridays during Lent), I will make a big pan of homemade mac and cheese.  Eating as a full meal is a lenten treat to help me forget I can't have chicken or steak on Fridays for eight weeks, but the fat and cheese and all things that make it the king of comfort foods makes me sadly keep it out of my diet on a regular basis.

  I have always loved butternut squash, which has its own comfort quality about it.  It's a sign of fall - crisp air, walking outside in a light sweater, leaves morphing into beautiful hues of reds and yellows.  I always jump at the chance to have butternut squash at a restaurant, but usually don't cook with it.  Fortunately, my friendly produce delivery service forces my hand, and now to find something for butternut squash....
  
  
  So when I stumbled upon a lighter version of mac and cheese substituting butternut squash for some of the cheese, I was immediately intrigued.  I did opt for a lower-calorie recipe, as I wanted to pare down the recipe as much as I could.  Looking at this picture, could you tell this isn't full-on homemade mac and cheese??
  
  
  
  
  
  The squash once mashed down and combined with the cheese gives that cheesy consistency, as well as acts as a binding agent.  Yes, it tastes like butternut squash, but it gives the illusion of that warm comfort yummy-in-your-belly while sneaking in some veggies and fiber.  I used high fiber pasta to even get a little more fiber in the recipe, which does help fill you up faster so you only eat a cup, instead of the entire pan.

  Macaroni & Cheese with Butternut Squash

• 
  
• 1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock, skimmed of fat (vegetarian option - swap for veggie broth)
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound elbow macaroni (I use Barilla Plus to get that extra punch of fiber)
• 4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
• 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 ounce)
• 2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs (I omitted this, as to reduce carbohydrates/not a fan of crumb tops)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Olive-oil, cooking spray
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
3. Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking dish (4 inches deep) with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
4. Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

What in the world do you do with.....purple basil?

When I get my weekly e-mail from my home produce delivery service, I always peruse the list of available products for funkier things...the things you aren't going to see in your produce section at the local grocery store.  As a lover of basil, I immediately jumped at purple basil.  I had never seen it nor known what to do with it.

A small package arrived and the leaves look like regular basil, but have a vibrant purple color, and also had some small white flowers.  Its taste is a little more bitter than traditional basil.  So OK...what in the world am I going to do with this?

Pesto was an obvious choice, but wasn't sure, given the potential color of it might make it look unappetizing.  However, I found a recipe for a purple basil pesto included tomatoes, so I tried it, and WOW.  The help the color factor, and help cut the bitterness.  It would make a great bruschetta, served w a small piece of fresh mozzarella and a green basil leaf for color.

Purple Basil Pesto

 1/4 cup pine nuts (you can substitute walnuts or almonds)
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups purple basil leaves, packed (green if no purple)
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard cheese)
1 medium tomato, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste

Chop pine nuts and garlic in food processor until finely chopped.  Add the basil, cheese, tomatoes, and salt, and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like.  With the motor running running, slowly drizzle the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if desired. Store your pesto in the refrigerator for several days or freeze.

When we play the nightly game of "what do we have to get rid of" when we make dinner, we had some pesto and some fresh mozzarella to use, so we decided to make a pizza.  I rolled out some dough, brushed it with some basil-infused olive oil, used the pesto as the base, and topped with 4 oz fresh mozzarella and 1 cup of freshly roasted red peppers.  The result was this beauty:

The pesto made the perfect base with the fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers added a little something to the mix.  Tasted like something you'd get at a gourmet pizza joint, but even better.  Doubt they use purple basil.

Habanero Mango Guacamole

So on our culinary adventures in Vegas, we needed a quick snack to hold us over before our dinner reservations at Bouchon.  We stopped at Dos Caminos at the Palazzo.
We were intrigued by the crab guacamole, but saw for the same price we could get a sampler of all 3 of their guacs - original, crab, and mango habanero.  We opted for the sampler. 
As a self-professed wuss when it comes to heat, I was leery of the mango habanero, but knew my husband (once dubbed Mr. Spicy) would like it. But, the mango habanero was my favorite of the three. The habanero wasn't overpowering and mango gave it a nice cooling agent.
When we returned home, we thought we'd take a stab at recreating it. Just as delicious, and wasn't 18 bucks. Heat was constant, but mildly warm.
Mango Habanero Guacamole
3 avocadoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup white onion
1-2 habanero peppers, finely chopped (used 1 first time out)
1 large mango, diced
1/3 cup cilantro finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt as needed
Combine all ingredients in bowl and mash together. Let set for 1 hour for flavors to combine.