March 2009 Archives
This month, I got to pull out the pasta attachments for my Kitchen Aid mixer. We made spinach lasagna - this was super simple to make, and was loved by some our good friends. As for baking - I put that at a bit of a stretch, but I followed the recipe none the less. I already have a pasta maker, so no amount of pushing or pleading will get me to make pasta by hand again.The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
The first thing I did was to make the Ragu alla Contadina. I used the meats I had on hand (and I can't stand to use veal) - so we had sirloin steak, buffalo, and a pork loin. To that I added some prosciutto and panchetta, celery, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and some other ingredients. This slow cooked for about 2 hours.
Next up was the pasta - this was fun. I used organic frozen spinach, eggs, and flour. This is where a pasta machine is your friend. I've made pasta by hand before, and it is so much more enjoyable when you have something to help flatten the pasta for you.
I took it all the way to the thinnest setting. It was remarkably thin. I could see the wood grain of the butchers block through the pasta. Once rolled and cut, I laid out the pasta to dry. I wanted to keep it flat, because I dislike cooking the pasta ahead of time, especially if is homeade.
Some of it curled up, but a little time with the ragu/bechamel sauce, they quickly hydrated and flattened out. though I did run into one problem when assembling. This recipe did not scale well to my lasagna pan. I could not find a pan size in the instructions, so I went ahead and started with my normal, straight edge, shart corner metal lasagna pan. Well, after the first layer, I realized the pan was way too big. I only got in five layers, and I stretched one of those. Only two layers had meat. This meant short and wide slices, insted of tall and narrow slices. Next time I will double the recipe.This was excellent hte first day, and just as good the second. I think it could have used a little more cheese, and a slight touch of spice. Unfortunatly, we didn't get any pictures of the night of service, but I remembered to take a shot of the last piece before it was eaten.
It's been a while since I've updated here, as I said before, I got in a
slump. Well, I resurrected my sourdough starter, and started baking
again. I'll start my first sourdough in three month tonight (possibly
tomorrow - depending if the sky's are clear).
This
last week we had come company over for dinner. Can't talk about the
main course yet, but I can talk about the rustic bread I made, the
sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and tomato bread dip, and the other dishes.
First up - we have the bread, this was a cold fermented rustic recipe.
Most doughs require room temperature proofing to get the yeast growing.
I really like the texture and flavor of this bread, but I am deeply
saddened that my stone is sitting in 4 pieces in the garage. The tops
browned very nicely, but the bottoms were very weak. you just can't
get good browning with metal pans. I'll have to go get some tiles
tomorrow morning.
Next up was a basic for me. Marshmallows. This time we have passionfruit marshmallows. These were made with concentrated passionfruit juice (since you cannot buy them in richmond). I used two egg whites in this recipe, so they are a little fluffier then the gelatin only recipe that is most common.
As for the stars and the sky - I got a great shot of a crescent Venus with my Nikon D40 with a telephoto lens.
This
last week we had come company over for dinner. Can't talk about the
main course yet, but I can talk about the rustic bread I made, the
sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and tomato bread dip, and the other dishes.
First up - we have the bread, this was a cold fermented rustic recipe.
Most doughs require room temperature proofing to get the yeast growing.
I really like the texture and flavor of this bread, but I am deeply
saddened that my stone is sitting in 4 pieces in the garage. The tops
browned very nicely, but the bottoms were very weak. you just can't
get good browning with metal pans. I'll have to go get some tiles
tomorrow morning.
Next up was a basic for me. Marshmallows. This time we have passionfruit marshmallows. These were made with concentrated passionfruit juice (since you cannot buy them in richmond). I used two egg whites in this recipe, so they are a little fluffier then the gelatin only recipe that is most common.
As for the stars and the sky - I got a great shot of a crescent Venus with my Nikon D40 with a telephoto lens.
It's been a while since I've updated here, as I said before, I got in a
slump. Well, I resurrected my sourdough starter, and started baking
again. I'll start my first sourdough in three month tonight (possibly
tomorrow - depending if the sky's are clear).
This
last week we had come company over for dinner. Can't talk about the
main course yet, but I can talk about the rustic bread I made, the
sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and tomato bread dip, and the other dishes.
First up - we have the bread, this was a cold fermented rustic recipe.
Most doughs require room temperature proofing to get the yeast growing.
I really like the texture and flavor of this bread, but I am deeply
saddened that my stone is sitting in 4 pieces in the garage. The tops
browned very nicely, but the bottoms were very weak. you just can't
get good browning with metal pans. I'll have to go get some tiles
tomorrow morning.
Next up was a basic for me. Marshmallows. This time we have passionfruit marshmallows. These were made with concentrated passionfruit juice (since you cannot buy them in richmond). I used two egg whites in this recipe, so they are a little fluffier then the gelatin only recipe that is most common.
This
last week we had come company over for dinner. Can't talk about the
main course yet, but I can talk about the rustic bread I made, the
sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and tomato bread dip, and the other dishes.
First up - we have the bread, this was a cold fermented rustic recipe.
Most doughs require room temperature proofing to get the yeast growing.
I really like the texture and flavor of this bread, but I am deeply
saddened that my stone is sitting in 4 pieces in the garage. The tops
browned very nicely, but the bottoms were very weak. you just can't
get good browning with metal pans. I'll have to go get some tiles
tomorrow morning.Next up was a basic for me. Marshmallows. This time we have passionfruit marshmallows. These were made with concentrated passionfruit juice (since you cannot buy them in richmond). I used two egg whites in this recipe, so they are a little fluffier then the gelatin only recipe that is most common.
Ever feel like you are stuck in a rut - I guess this is a type of cooking writers block.
Well, it appears the snow has left, I guess I should start a fire under me and get some new posts up. Also - the site is broken in Safari 4, and the database is having issues on the "non-blog" site. I should get that started.
Well, it appears the snow has left, I guess I should start a fire under me and get some new posts up. Also - the site is broken in Safari 4, and the database is having issues on the "non-blog" site. I should get that started.
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