Celebrate N: Happy Easter!

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. -Dalai Lama

Happy Easter to all my friends and family!

Simon and I are taking it easy today, so there will be no serious holiday cook' n in the Cook home this afternoon. We have a 4:30 reservation at Palisade Restaurant in Seattle with Grandma Elaine. We are also celebrating her 80-something birthday.

We have been doing this fine dining thing for holidays recently, mostly because we don't have a lot of family close by. I like not having to clean up and I like a gourmet meal, but I have to admit that I miss having my family gathered, an easter egg hunt, and a good home cooked meal that once defined our Easter holiday. Making new traditions is necessary, but not easy.

At any rate, we have a beautiful day today- after a fairly stormy week. We are planning a walk and you never know...we might spy a rabbit..or score an easter egg if we are lucky.

Happy Easter to you!

Cook N Comfort Food: 4 Cheese Penne with Proscuitto and Peas

I have been craving homemade mac n cheese for weeks now, so when I came across this recipe I knew it would be on our menu this week.



Not sure what the fat and calorie count is for this recipe, but I served it up with a nice green salad and I ran on the treadmill earlier in the day, so I think the indulgence was justifiable.

The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. The goal was to create a cheesy pasta dish that actually tasted cheesy and creamy. This recipe achieved that goal, and Simon really liked it, so we are both going to keep working out and have it again soon!

We added Proscuitto and Peas (and a little leftover pancetta too). This summer I will definately try the tomato basil version, using fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden.

INGREDIENTS:

(1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
•¼-teaspoon salt
•1/8-teaspoon ground black pepper
•Pasta and Cheese
•4-ounces Italian Fontina cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
•3-ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
•½-cup (1 ounce) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
•¼-cup (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
•1-pound penne
•1-tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
•2-teaspoons unsalted butter
•2-teaspoons all-purpose flour
•1-1/2 cups heavy cream
•¼-teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1.For the topping: Pulse bread in food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses (you should have about 11/2 cups). Transfer to small bowl; stir in Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Set mixture aside.
2.For the pasta: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
3.Bring 4-quarts water to rolling boil in stockpot. Combine cheeses in large bowl; set aside. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water; stir to separate pasta. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk flour into butter until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in cream, increase heat to medium, and bring to boil, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute to ensure that flour cooks. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; cover cream mixture to keep hot and set aside. When pasta is very al dente (when bitten into, pasta should be opaque and slightly underdone at very center), drain about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet. Add pasta to bowl with cheeses; immediately pour cream mixture over, then cover bowl with foil or large plate and let stand 3 minutes. Uncover bowl and stir with rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl, until cheeses are melted and mixture is thoroughly combined.
4.Transfer pasta to a baking dish, then sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs, pressing down lightly. Bake until topping is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
5.Variations:
6.Baked Four-Cheese Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil
7.Follow recipe for Creamy Baked Four-Cheese Pasta, adding one 14½-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, to pasta along with cream mixture and stirring in ¼-cup coarsely chopped basil leaves just before transferring pasta to baking dish.
8.Baked Four-Cheese Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas
9.Follow recipe for Creamy Baked Four-Cheese Pasta, omitting salt from cream mixture and adding 4-ounces prosciutto, chopped, and 1 cup frozen peas to pasta along with cream mixture.

Temper N: Chocolate for Easter Candy-Part 1

I picked up this little bunny chocolate mold while shopping in the local Snohomish antique shops recently. The 4-inch bunny is a reproduction. I think he is the perfect size for a solid chocolate treat. I like the simplicity of him.

After I purchased the bunny, my curiosity was piqued. I went on ebay and bought a really cool chocolate egg mold. It has three different egg designs. My favorite is the basket weave. These are half eggs which will be marvelous filled with coconut or peanut butter cream, or some type of ganache.

Tonight I decided to try my hand at tempering chocolate.

When tempered properly, chocolate will solidify with a glossy smooth sheen that is ideal for chocolate easter bunnies and chocolate filled eggs. If chocolate is not tempered correctly it tends to develop a white powdery coating called "bloom". Bloom isn't harmful, it just isn't very attractive.

The task of tempering is a little intimidating- but, the good news is that if you mess it up, you can just start over and no harm is done. So there really is nothing to be afraid of here

Callebaut and Valharona are two types of excellent quality chocolate preferred by expert chocolatiers. Unfortunately, I was not able to find these (I confess I did not look very hard). I selected Dilettante because they are a local operation and their quality is high.

I set to work and followed chef, David Lebovitz',advice for tempering. He makes it sound so darn easy:

Tempering Chocolate

(excerpt from: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/08/tempering_choco.html)

1. The first step is melting the chocolate in a clean, dry bowl set over simmering water, to about 115° F.


2. The second step it to let it cool to the low 80°s F. I drop a good-sized chunk of solid (and tempered) chocolate in, which provides insurance by 'seeding' the melted chocolate with good beta crystals. While cooling, stir frequently. Motion equals good crystallization, aka, tempering.


3. The last step is the most important.

It's bringing the chocolate up to the perfect temperature, where it's chock-full of those great beta crystals. This occurs in most dark chocolates between 88° and 91° F. (Check with manufacturer if unsure about your particular chocolate.)


4. Remove what's left of the chunk of 'seed' chocolate, and your chocolate is dip-worthy: you can dip all the chocolates you want and all will be perfectly tempered. Don't let it get above 91° F or you'll have to begin the process all over again. If it drops below the temperatures, rewarm it gently to bring it back up.

My Result: Overall, I found the process really was quite easy. It takes a little while for the chocolate to cool to the 80 degrees and I caught myself a couple of times wanting to move on before the temperature was right. However, I stayed the course and my tempering results were pretty good.

The molding process was not so successful...

The bunny came out of its mold easily, but I was immediately aware of several air bubbles that formed. This causes the bunny to look a bit tattered. He is still cute though and I am pleased with this first attempt. I will have to find a better way to fill this mold so that bubbles are prevented.

The eggs were a bit more difficult. I had trouble removing these from the mold and it shows. I need to research better options for extracting these. Overall, though I like how the patterns are going to look on the chocolate.

The beautiful thing about working with chocolate as a medium is that tastes so good. I am sure that I am well over my calorie count for today from all of the tasting I have done. These delicious little mishaps are going right back into the double boiler and I will need to apply a little research to solve these chocolate molding issues (hopefully, before Easter next Sunday). I will keep you posted on the progress of that.