Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

During the holiday season, there is no shortage of pumpkin puree, whether a can or freshly pureed. With extra pumpkin, I decided to make gnocchi. I always eat gnocchi when I go out, like the ricotta gnocchi at Zuni’s or chard gnocchi at Café Eloise, but I have never attempted to make it myself. There are different methods to making it. I made a pate-a-choux type dough, cooking in a pot, until it forms a smooth orange ball. This is the recipe I used as a basis for my pumpkin gnocchi. In this recipe, they use shaved white truffles in their brown butter. I was not so fortunate to acquire these. Rolling out all the gnocchi took some work, but it was well worth it. The gnocchi turned out excellent, delicate soft pillow with a wonderful pumpkin flavor. The sage gets nice and crispy and imparts an earthy herbal tone to the nutty butter. Brown butter is simply with the milk fats becoming caramelized, this doesn’t mean burnt, but brown, smelling nutty and fragrant not acrid. The only challenge in the dish is trying to serve a crowd at the same time, due to the fact you need to cook the gnocchi in batches. If you have a solution, other than making people wait, let me know. And enjoy some gnocchi!

Braised Scillian Lamb Patties with Eggplant

After reading Bon Appetite, I found an intriguing recipe that I had to try out: Sicilian Lamb Patties braised with eggplant pepper and tomatoes. Delicious lamb patties (or flattened meatballs) seasoned with herbs (mint and oregano) and Parmesan, braised in roasted eggplant spooned over creamy polenta makes for a great Italian inspired meal. Click here for the recipe.
Here are my tips and tricks:
Start the polenta as early as possible. Mario Battalli cooks in for 4 hours, Judy Rodgers of Zuni cooks it at least an hour. WHY? For extra creamy polenta. Instant polenta just doesn’t give you the same creaminess. Stir as often as you can, but don’t fret if you forget for a little bit. I bump up the creamy factor by adding a bit of butter at the end.
I did make a few substitutions, instead of pecorino I used Parmesan, just because I had it and I used oregano instead of marjoram, which I think was better suited for this dish. I topped it off with fresh mint. Make sure to get the pan really hot when searing the lamb patties, you want a nice crust.

So you bought a bunch of mint and all you need is a tablespoon: My short list for what to do with leftover mint:

Use it in your vinaigrette or add it to your next salad

Sautéed zucchini with garlic red pepper flakes and topped with mint (eat as is or toss with pasta)

Melon tossed with fresh mint and simple syrup (or agave)

Mint Pesto

Help fill out my mint list… tell me what you would do

Easy Summer Pasta: Summer Squash with Basil and Mixed Mushrooms

I make this pasta way too often, but with different combinations depending on the season. For fall I do roasted cauliflower, mushrooms and roasted peppers. Or asparagus, peas and mint for spring. But for each one, I use oil with garlic, lemon zest, red chili flakes. It works well with an assortment veggies, while providing a little heat, a nice acidity and of course garlic goodness. For this variation, the summer squash and basil is light and summery while the mushroom brings this airy combination down to earth. This makes an easy weeknight meal without too much fuss but an outcome that’s just simply delicious.



Recipe

1 box Fusilli Pasta
4 summer squashed, halved and thinly sliced
A handful Crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
A handful of oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
A handful of shitake, roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 zest of a lemon
½ bunch of basil – chiffonade
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus more for sautéing and roasting.

Spread the mushrooms on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and olive oil and roast for 10-15 minutes at 425 until cooked and lightly caramelized. In a sauté pan, coat with olive oil and place squash and 2 cloves of the chopped garlic in a pan over medium heat. Boil water for pasta, and heavily salt. Cook pasta for indicated time, make sure it is a little al dente. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil, the rest of the garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Heat up and toss over strained pasta. Add sautéed squash, roasted mushrooms, and fresh basil. Then, season with pepper and salt to taste. And don’t forget some freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano.
Enjoy!

San Francisco's SPQR

SPQR is replacing a long time favorite Chez Nous for unpretentious locally inspired Italian food, with lots of antipasti and wine to choose from. It had big shoes too fill…but with all the hype, I expected great things.
Antipasti are by far the star of this restaurant choosing from cold, hot, or fried. The wild arugula salad with ricotta salata, figs and peaches was delicious and summery. The fried sardines (eaten whole) were crispy, delicate and aromatic of the sea and were served with pickled cucumbers and bean puree. The fried cauliflower was tender, crisp, with a nice lemony note and saltiness from the capers. The cecini beans were equally delicious done with onions and kale. The kale slightly disintegrated created a quasi-sauce for the beans. It was earthy, warm and flavorful.
The pastas were all quite good, but lacked in finesse that what would have been expected. The pasta is home made and keeps that feel in both presentation and flavor. A pork ragu, a tuna puttanesca, and cannelloni stuffed with beef and kale all seemed like something your grandma could make (or at least mine could make it.) While the pasta was good, the flavors were homogeneous and to be quite honest, since I love making pasta, I am uber-critical.


Dessert was not quite what we expected or wanted. The plum fritters, deep-fried plums, lacked sweetness in the batter, which was needed for the tart plums, even despite the sweet crème anglaise dipping sauce. The panna cotta was not so much a panna cotta but a parfait of cherries, chocolate pot de crème, cake, and whipped cream. While this is partly the fault of the menu, inaccurately describing the dessert, panna cotta is best without all the embellishments. Cake simply wasn’t necessary and detracted from the creamy panna cotta. To be honest the panna cotta lacked all gelatin, so more of a pot de crème, yet not creamy enough to be able to be called such.
Overall, go there; get some wine, and delicious antipasti. Perhaps SPQR has the curse of Chez Nous, excellent small plates. Hey, I don’t think anyone would mind that curse.

SPQR
1911 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 771-7779

Delitia Italian Butter

The Italians may not be known for their butter due to Louis XIV of France refusal to use oil and make butter the national fat of choice. Italy does have cows, and does make some pretty good butter. Butter de Campagna, a country style butter wrapped in paper, taste very creamy and delicious. It is light in color and is made in the region where they make Parmesan Reggiano. I like to use this butter for pasta, but its light flavor makes it great for composed butters.


Where to find this butter:

In San Francisco:
Rainbow Grocery Store
1745 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-0620

In NYC:
Commodities Natural Market
165 1st. Ave.
New York, NY 10003
Cross Streets: (between 10th and 11th St.)
(212) 260-2600

If you can’t find this butter, Fork and Bottle blog does a review of various artisinal butters. Delitia is reviewed along with others. So, if you can’t find Delitia, you are bound to find one of these delectable butters at the store.

Also, I was just written up on Becks and Posh for my blog. So, a big thank you to Sam.

Panna Cotta with Berries

When I was in Rome, I had the most delicious panna cotta, milk custard, topped with wild berries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. It was creamy, sweet and just plain comfort food. I had to go back to the restaurant to get it again.
I have even adored and lusted over the panna cotta with pomegranate sauce at Incanto (San Francisco restaurant known for its offal). After wanting it more than I had opportunities to eat it, I decided to make it.
Its simplicity surprised me, and made me realize why did I ever pay so much money for this dessert out at restaurants. A few ingredients, which included, cream, half and half, sugar, vanilla bean, and gelatin with a minimum of cooking makes this a perfect dessert for a dinner party. A beautiful presentation, a creamy decadent taste with minimum effort. I topped mine with crushed raspberries and sliced strawberries from our garden:
I am giving you the link from epicurious in which I cut this recipe in half to make 4 ramekins.
Click here for the recipe.
I did substitute the vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. I think it gives a more complex yet mellow vanilla flavor. I scraped the bean and placed it in my cream mixture with the pod. Before adding the cream to the gelatin, I removed the pod. I love to see a sprinkling of vanilla bean. I also think it is important to use quality cream. Since cream is the predominant flavor, pick the very best. I enjoy Strauss’s cream; it is sweet and ultra thick, perfect for this dessert. Panna Cotta is quite versatile; in The French Laundry Cookbook they serve a cauliflower panna cotta, making it savory. But the creamy milk custard allows you immense creativity, plum sauce, kumquats, three citrus etc…
Enjoy this delectable Italian dessert!