Zoe Cuisine

Antipasto Pasta Salad

I know I just posted a pasta salad recipe, but I feel the need to post another. First off, I love having pasta salads on hand in the fridge for a quick lunch or dinner in the summer. I almost always bring some version of an orzo pasta salad to every bbq I attend, although there haven't been many of those lately with this horrible weather we have been having. Lets cross our fingers that the meteorologists are right about this coming weekend being sunny and hot so we can all enjoy our Independence Day outdoors with great food, family, friends, and perhaps some pasta salad. Now when I talk about pasta salad I don't mean the traditional variation that is bound together with mayonnaise. I like my salads to be dressed lightly with a vinaigrette or pesto, and to include lots of veggies and of course some cheese. 

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

This is a recipe from one of my favorite domestic divas, Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa. I know a lot of people find her a bit on the annoying side, but I love her. There is something about her voice and mannerisms that I find very soothing. Whenever her show is on the food network I am totally transfixed by seeing what delight she is cooking up for her husband Jeffrey or her posh South Hampton friends. She is always putting together an effortless but elegant dinner party or lunch in her gorgeous home or gardens. And by the amount of champagne that is always flowing, I can tell that Ina knows how to throw a good party. Now I know this is television and much of her show is scripted but she does actually cook in her own kitchen which is to die for. All of the amazing Hampton's scenery and story line aside, Ina cooks up some seriously good food. What I love about her recipes is that they are so simple but are packed with so much flavor. You do not need to be an expert cook to recreate her menus at home and she doesn't use hard to find ingredients. This roasted shrimp and orzo salad recipe is from an episode where Ina makes a picnic to eat on a friend's boat that is docked in a nearby harbor. Unfortunately I do not have a yacht nearby to eat my shrimp and orzo on (someday, sigh), but it is good to know that this salad travels well if you are looking for ideas for what to bring to a summer potluck. This can be served as a main course or a side dish and makes great leftovers.

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad Ingredients: Kosher salt Good olive oil 3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta) 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons) Freshly ground black pepper 2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts 1 cup chopped fresh dill 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced 1/2 cup small-diced red onion 3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced Instructions: Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well. Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Don't overcook! Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving. Serves 6.

View Printable Version

Recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa, 2006

Herb Batter Bread

The culinary program I recently completed at BU devoted only one day to the art and science of bread making. I assume that most culinary schools devote weeks or even a whole semester to baking breads. Alas, with just under four months of instruction on everything from stocks and sauces to Indian cuisine, we had to settle for the crash course on bread 101. Our lesson focused on baking traditional French baguettes and bagels, both of which I love immensely, but to be honest I don't think I will be making very often at home. I definitely left class that day feeling very overwhelmed and not at all capable of baking bread on my own. So in my quest to become a better baker, which I think means that you feel totally comfortable working with doughs, I enrolled in a one day bread making class at BU's competition - The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I had always been curious about the facilities at this rival institution so I was excited to spend an afternoon there checking them out.

The class I signed up for was called "All You Knead" and the description claimed that we would be making six different styles of bread, from the traditional baguette to grissini (breadsticks), cinnamon swirl bread and even a beer bread. When I got there, I learned that each of the six students could choose one of the recipes offered to make in the class. I'm not going to lie, I felt a little jipped. I was looking for a really intense bread making workshop and I guess this was not it. I understand that it would have been nearly impossible for each student to make so many different breads in a four hour class since each dough has to proof (when dough rests and doubles in size) twice for almost an hour each time. But still, they should have been more clear in the course catalog. So I chose to make rosemary olive rolls, which came out great. I did appreciate the instructor's advice about how to properly knead the dough and what it should feel like when it is ready. I also learned about "crashing", which basically just means you pick up the whole ball of dough and hold it as high as your head and then smash it down on the table. It is a great stress relief, although extremely loud. I am still not exactly sure what the benefit of "crashing" is, but I need to look into it. At the end of the class we got to sample all the different breads that everyone made. Although my bread was pretty damn good, I was in love with another student's herb batter bread. So much so that I took a mini loaf home and ate the whole thing while it was still warm. I remember her saying that it was really easy to make because you don't have to knead it at all, you just mix everything together in a bowl. This sounded like the perfect foray into home bread making for me. 

So this past rainy New England Sunday, when I should have been relaxing at the beach (except that it was raining -AGAIN), I was inside wrapped in a sweater trying to recreate the herb batter bread. I am very proud to say that it was a complete success! My dough rose and baked beautifully. I used a variety of herbs from our tiny urban balcony herb garden. Instead of making one loaf, I decided to make multiple mini loaves using ramekins. They were so darn cute! If I can make this bread work then I'm sure others can too. This isn't the healthiest recipe as you will see from the fact that it calls for butter and sour cream, but making this every once in a while won't kill you. I hope you try it, it is absolutely delicious. This would be the perfect accompaniment to a hearty soup in the fall or winter, or even a rainy day in June.

Herb Batter Bread Ingredients: 2 scant tablespoons dry active yeast 1/3 cup warm water (not more than 100 degrees) 1/3 cup warm milk 1 cup sour cream, room temp 6 tablespoons butter, softened 2 eggs 1/3 cup sugar 2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon or chervil, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped 4-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour Instructions: Dissolve yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, sour cream, butter, eggs, sugar and salt, whisk to combine. Add the herbs. Using a wooden spoon, beat in 3 cups of flour until well blended. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. You may not need it all. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes to an hour). Stir down the dough with a spoon or your fist. Put the dough in a buttered 2 quart casserole dish or 9" loaf pan. You may also divide the dough between individual ramekins. Cover the dough again and let rise until doubled in size (about an hour). Bake the bread in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes for a large loaf, or 20-25 minutes for a small loaf. The bread is done when a thermometer inserted into the center reads 200 degrees. Let the bread cool completely before cutting it.

Recipe courtesy of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

View Printable Version

Israeli Couscous Salad

This recipe is an adaptation of the one I cooked with chef Jeff Fournier of 51 Lincoln this past Tuesday night. Since we were making a Mediterranean meal, it made sense that this was one of the side dishes. I had never made Israeli couscous before, although I cook the standard variety all the time. I really like the texture and appearance of these tiny pasta balls. I think the key to this recipe is chopping the ingredients into very small pieces so that they are almost the same size as the couscous. Now I know this is virtually impossible, but just try to get them as small as you can! I think onions are much better when they are in small pieces in salads. Although I loved Jeff's recipe, I decided to jazz it up a little when I made it at home by adding some fresh mint and crumbled feta. Lets face it, I add feta to just about everything! I think next time I would add some finely diced red or yellow bell pepper and maybe some cucumber for added crunch and color.

Israeli Couscous Salad Ingredients: 1 cup dry Israeli/Mediterranean Couscous 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (you can also use water) 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 Spanish onion, small dice 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley 1/4 cup finely chopped mint 1/4 red onion, small dice 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or to taste 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese salt and fresh ground pepper to taste Instructions: Sauté the chopped spanish onion in a medium size pot (make sure you choose one that has a lid) in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until just soft and translucent. Do not brown the onion! Add the couscous and toast in the pan for a few minutes or until just lightly golden brown. Add the white wine and stock or water. If you are using water, add some salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for about 10 minutes. You should keep an eye on the couscous as your stove may take a little more or less time. You want most of the liquid to be absorbed, but it should not be as dry as when cooking traditional couscous. Test the couscous by biting into a piece, it should be tender. When the couscous is done, empty the contents of the pot onto a cookie sheet and spread into a single layer so it can cool more quickly. Once it is cool, mix it in a bowl with the vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs and feta cheese. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 3 as a side dish, or 2 with leftovers.

View Printable Version

International Food Styling and Photography Conference

This past weekend I attended the International Food Styling and Photography Conference hosted at Boston University. This is the second time BU has hosted this event, the only one of it's kind in the world. The Gastronomy department at BU encouraged all the students to attend to get exposure to the industry and I am so glad I took them up on the offer. The conference pulled together an impressive roster of photographers and food stylists, of course, but also advertising gurus, marketing mentors, chefs, magazine editors, cookbook authors and food writers. There were 18 sessions lead by panel presenters who covered topics ranging from tips for a traveling photographer, sustainable styling, growing your visual awareness and producing jobs that sell for TV and print. There was as much focus on business as there was on the art of creating beautiful food images.

To me, it was especially interesting and exciting to hear the life stories of the different speakers. I heard Christopher Hirsheimer (who is actually a female) recount her career path from New York caterer to food stylist and professional photographer to founder of Saveur magazine. One of the most inspirational speakers in my mind was Beatrice Peltre, author of the blog La Tartine Gourmande. Bea is a French ex-pat who lives in Boston with her American husband and six month old daughter. In 2005 she decided to start a blog recounting tales of her life with her favorite recipes, just for fun. She needed to find a creative outlet that would allow her to do the things she loved, cooking, writing and photography, in one space. There was no job that would have allowed her to do this, so she started the blog. Since launching La Tartine Gourmande four years ago, Bea has had over 1 million visits to her site - that is staggering!! The blog has landed her jobs as a food stylist for the Boston Globe, among others. She has no professional photography training and shoots all of her images in her living room. She receives countless emails a day from people asking her and "her team" to do work for them. With Bea there is no team, she is a one woman show. Her latest endeavor is a cookbook which will be published in 2010. She is creating all the recipes, shooting all the photos and writing all the copy. This woman is truly amazing and her whole career started as the result of a little blog, just for fun. Hmmm...

The other great part of the conference was just getting to meet so many talented people. One day at lunch my friend Lisa and I sat at a table with a group of women we didn't know. We all went around the table and introduced ourselves and told what we did and why we were there. Two women worked for Paula Deen of the food network, one was her personal food stylist on the show and the other was part of her marketing team. Apparently Paula is much cooler in real life, not as country bumpkin as they make her out to be on TV, they told us. There was also a Spanish pastry chef turned blogger who has a gorgeous site, Canelle et Vanille, that has parlayed her culinary experience and passion for blogging into a food styling career. Then there was Lara Ferroni, an author, photographer and food stylist who contributes to countless food publications such as Epicurious and Gourmet. For a career changer like me, it was so refreshing to hear how these women have all made careers out of their passions. None of them studied to become a food stylist, photographer or author, their choices in life happened to lead them down this exciting and fulfilling path. Hopefully that is what this decision to leave my corporate career and pursue the culinary arts is for me too. If it has worked for them then I have hope. Fingers crossed!

Gluten Free Gourmet

My friend Annie from culinary school recently launched her new business venture as a gluten free consultant, called Enjoy Life Gluten Free. Annie has been living with celiac disease for the past twelve years. For those who don't know what celiac is, it is an autoimmune disorder caused by the body's inability to digest gluten, the protein found in wheat. Gluten is in everything from pizza to pasta, cakes, cookies, beer and even some soy sauce and vinegars. Many people completely freak out upon being diagnosed because they think that they can't eat any of their favorite foods anymore. Imagine how depressed you would be to think that you could never eat bread again!! Dining out becomes very challenging as only a handful of establishments understand the extent of celiac disease and take the necessary precautions in the kitchen to prevent cross contamination. For example, someone with celiac can eat french fries, but not if they are cooked in the same frialator that breaded chicken fingers are cooked in. Dealing with life with celiac disease can seem daunting at first, which is why hiring someone like Annie to counsel and teach you about how to shop, cook and eat out gluten free can be a great idea. Annie will even come to your home and teach you how to make gluten free versions of your favorite foods, like chocolate chip cookies. Annie went through the entire culinary program at BU with me and made almost each and every recipe in a celiac friendly way, so she knows how gourmet gluten free can be! She recently launched a blog which she will be updating often with great recipe ideas and tips for how to live a fulfilling and delicious life with this disease. Please check it out and refer her to anyone you know that is celiac and would benefit from her culinary expertise.

Cooking with Jody Adams

This week I had the honor of cooking with Jody Adams, head chef and owner of Rialto restaurant in Cambridge, for four consecutive nights. Jody is one of those amazing career women whom I truly admire for being able to juggle a successful and demanding business with a family life. Jody opened Rialto in the Charles Hotel in 1994 and immediately won many accolades for her cuisine, including a James Beard award, a 4 star rating from the Boston Globe and being named one of the top 10 best chefs in America by Food and Wine magazine. You would think that a woman with a bio like this would be very intimidating to work with, but she is honestly one of the coolest chefs I have met. Don't get me wrong, she likes things to be done her way, such as a precise 45 degree angle on the celery slices for the salad course. But you know that a chef like Jody has a reason for that kind of specific direction and you just want to please her so you do it. 

Jody was at BU this week to teach an enormous group of law interns (sent by their head office as a perk) how to cook a Mediterranean meal. Four culinary program graduates, including myself, assisted Jody by executing each one of her recipes with a group of 8-10 students. I was on chicken duty for the four nights, which meant that I had to instruct the group of novice cooks on how to prepare Jody's braised chicken thighs with garlic, mustard and mascarpone. I showed them everything from how to trim the fat off the chicken to how to peel ginger with a spoon, to how to dice garlic and how to know when chicken is ready to be flipped in the saute pan. Many of these students had never cooked before so it was a bit of a challenge but they all rose to the occasion and were able to pull off this pretty complex recipe night after night. You might think that cooking the same dish for four nights would get a little boring, and it might have if this chicken hadn't been SO delicious. Everyone raved that it was their favorite dish out of the six that were made at every class. The sauce is so rich with flavor from the ginger, garlic, dijon mustard, vinegar, tomato paste and creamy mascarpone cheese. The sauce is an explosion of taste that you can't help mopping up with lots of crusty french bread. I don't even have a picture of it to post because it got gobbled up so fast every night. I promise to make it at home soon and post pictures and the recipe. Besides the chicken, the other dishes that Jody had the team make were pan seared squid over spicy chickpea puree, curried carrots, fregola with ginger and lemon, seven herb salad and blueberry peach crostada. I really enjoyed all of Jody's recipes, many of which are on the menu at Rialto. She loves to play with unexpected flavor contrasts, such as the use of ginger with mascarpone in the chicken which I would never have thought to put together. If you haven't made it out to Jody's restaurant, put it on the top of your list. It is definitely on mine!

Blueberry Peach Crostada

Mango, Avocado & Chicken Salad

I had lunch with a friend on Friday at Burton's Grill, an upscale New England chain restaurant that I have found to be consistently good. I always order one of their interesting and delicious salad creations which you can add your choice of grilled or pan seared (they like to call it "bronzed") protein to. My favorite beet and goat cheese salad had found it's way off of the menu, so I settled on the mango, avocado and tomato salad with spinach, pea tendrils and pepitas. With some seared scallops it made quite a tasty lunch. In fact, I so enjoyed the fresh flavor combination of the salad that I decided to make a version of my own a few nights ago. In my mind, the spinach, mango and avocado were the key ingredients. I improvised the rest of the salad with ingredients I had on hand, such as red onion, cucumber and dry roasted peanuts. The recipe for the lime vinaigrette is a combination of two recipes I found on foodnetwork.com, neither of them just right on their own but great when melded together. This is another healthy summer meal idea.

Mango, Avocado & Chicken Salad Ingredients: 1 mango, peeled and sliced thin 1 avocado, peeled and sliced thin 8 cups fresh baby spinach or salad greens of your choice 1/4 red onion, shaved 1/4 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced 1/2 cup snap peas, halved 1 lb cooked chicken thinly sliced or shredded (I used de-boned & skinned rotisserie chicken) 1/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts Lime Vinaigrette Ingredients: juice of 1/2 lime 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 1 teaspoon grated lime zest 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon cumin 4 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper to taste Instructions: Make vinaigrette by adding all ingredients (except salt and pepper) to a tupperware container. Put on lid and shake vigorously until thoroughly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. For Salad: Mix all ingredients except mango, avocado and peanuts in a bowl. Toss with vinaigrette (you might not need all of it so add a little at a time). Gently add in the mango and avocado. Divide among plates and sprinkle with crushed peanuts. Serves 3-4 as a main course.

View Printable Version

Prosciutto & Melon

 

Sometimes the simplest combinations are the best. Take prosciutto and melon for example. This is a staple on many Italian restaurant menus and for good reason. Salty prosciutto and sweet, juicy melon are a fantastic juxtaposition of flavors. I love mixing sweet and savory elements as much as possible. Now that it is summer it is great to have a few no-cook meal ideas in your back pocket for those hot nights when you can't bear to stand in front of the stove. This Italian favorite is perfect as an appetizer or as a light supper with a green salad and some crusty bread. Since you are only using two ingredients, the key is that they both be the best quality you can find. You can use honeydew or cantaloupe or a combination of the two. Make sure you buy prosciutto from a specialty grocery store like Formaggio Kitchen or Whole Foods. I have made the mistake of buying prosciutto many times at the local Shaws or Stop and Shop and the issue is not that it is poor quality, it is that the deli staff have no idea how to cut it properly. Prosciutto needs to be paper thin, almost transparent. When it is cut this thin it tends to stick together which is why a skilled deli will layer the slices with sheets of wax paper. This makes all the difference. When the ham is cut too thick it is hard to chew and the flavor overwhelms the fruit. So I believe it is definitely worth paying a bit extra to have it sliced perfectly. There is no recipe for putting together the prosciutto and melon. I recommend cutting the melon in slices or bite size chunks, whichever you prefer although chunks is the way to go if you are serving this to a crowd. A slice will need to be wrapped in a full piece of prosciutto and a chunk will only need a half a slice. I think a great way to finish off this super simple dish is to do what Cooking Light recommended this month which is drizzling it with olive oil, fresh lime juice and thinly sliced mint. The combination of the citrus and the fresh herbs complement the fruit and meat perfectly. An interesting experiment would be to throw prosciutto wrapped melon slices on a hot grill for just enough time to gently crisp and warm the ham and get some great looking grill marks. If any of you have a grill try it and let me know how it turns out!

 

Amaretti Cookies

This is a great cookie recipe I picked up this week while assisting with an Italian cooking class at BU. Since we had limited time to create a multi course meal, this cookie was chosen for dessert because of its simple preparation and quick cooking time. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the list of only four ingredients and saw that the recipe called for no butter or oil. These cookies could technically be called low fat, and are definitely gluten free. They have a crunchy exterior and chewy interior which reminds me of the French style macaroon cookies that I ate in Paris. The almond flavor is the star in this recipe, so if you love this nut as much as I do you have to give it a try. These are a great way to end a meal when you want something slightly sweet but not heavy. These are also great when crumbled over fresh fruit. 

Amaretti Cookies Ingredients: 1 lb. shelled blanched almonds, whole or sliced 2 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 large egg whites, at room temperature Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut sheets of parchment to fit 4 cookie sheets (or make in batches). In a food processor, or by hand, finely chop the almonds. Do not over process. You don't want a fine powder, and it is ok to have some chunks of almonds, you want some texture (see picture). Place the almonds in a large bowl, add the sifted sugar and baking powder. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. You can do this by hand, with a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Gently fold the egg whites into the almond/sugar mixture with a rubber spatula a little at a time until combined. The batter will be very thick. Using a tablespoon, shape the batter into small balls and place on the cookie sheet leaving about 1" space between the cookies. They will spread considerably while baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch and golden brown. Let them cool completely before removing from the tray or they will break. You can slide the parchment paper with the cookies on it onto a rack to cool. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies. Adapted from Mary Ann Esposito

View Printable Version