So, for now, I’ll re-cap some of the things we have been learning about lamb, veal, and pork:

On Lamb night, we learned about a fabulous Merguez lamb sausage with harissa-mayonnaise  dipping sauce. The sausage is formed into log shapes and grilled. It is made with Ras el Hanout, an Arabic spice blend that is available in some supermarkets and specialty stores. It was amazingly spicy and wonderful, and I am so excited to make it. I made a large order from a spice retailer called The Spice House that just arrived over the weekend, and I am hoping to make and post about Merguez sausage very soon.

On Lamb and Veal night we also made a lamb tenderloin (a cut you would have to request from the butcher) which was coated in a wine reduction and sprinkled with herbs before being seared and then finished in the oven. The wine reduction was made by reducing an entire bottle of wine very very slowly over a long period until there was just about a half cup of syrupy liquid left. The fun part about this preparation is that you could vary the meat (pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, or even a piece of salmon), the type of wine, and the herbs and/or spices used to make some fantastic pairings.

We also made individual portions of Moussaka. Moussaka is a Greek dish made with eggplant and grilled lamb. In this version, slices of grilled eggplant were layered in small ramekins with alternating layers of seasoned cooked ground lamb, parmesan mornay sauce, and tomato sauce.

Finally, we made Veal Blanquette a white-on-white type of stew that cooks pieces of veal very low and slow so that the meat is extremely soft and tender. The sauce is made by cooking down the stock that the veal cooked in with a cold roux and adding cream. This is definitely a comfort food dish, and I haven’t tried it at home yet, as stew just seems like a cold weather meal. It’s hard for me to think about stew when we are having 93 degree days in April! I am also not a huge fan of veal. I’ve always kind of been turned off by it, on principle. We had a very interesting discussion about this in class, and although you may not like to think of it this way- if you drink/ purchase dairy you are also supporting the veal industry. We can’t have dairy without veal. It’s just a simple fact. That being said, I still find it a little soft and bland. Maybe I will change my mind someday…but I am not rushing out to buy any veal at the moment.

Last week was the much anticipated Pork night. Chef Patterson made his signature BP’s Dry Rub Spare Ribs for us. These ribs were thickly coated in his own dry rub and cooked at a very low temperature for 10 hours. They were really amazingly good- super tender and full of flavor without being overly spicy. They were so delicious in fact, that I have gotten really excited about grilling and hopefully smoking this summer, and I am even considering a new griller/smoker! I would promise to post the recipe, but since this is Chef Patterson’s special recipe, I can’t in good conscience share it. He has encouraged me to make it and put my own spin on it, and when I do that- THEN I will share it.

We also got to learn about sausage. The great thing about sausage is that there are so many possible combinations of fat, meat, and spice. In class we used a food grinder/ sausage stuffer attachment that hooks onto the kitchen aid stand mixer. The classic standard when making sausage is that 1/3 of the overall weight is fat, with the remaining 2/3 being lean meat which could include pork, chicken, …even seafood. Once you have your meat and fat weighed and cut into small cubes, you add 1/3 oz. of salt per pound of sausage. You can also add a dash of pink salt for color if you so desired. Then you add your spices which could include pepper, garlic, cayenne, fresh sage, or others depending on what type of sausage you were making. Everything is mixed up and then passed through the grinder. At this point, a good cook would take a small piece of that sausage and cook it in a pan, so that they could taste it, and see if it needed more salt or spice. When you are happy with it, you could shape it into patties and cook it on the stovetop, or be really professional and stuff your own sausage. This would require casings (which I am told you can find at the store, but I have never seen). I won’t lie to you- this part is not pretty. It is also seems to take two people, so you will have to find a like-minded friend who is willing to handle animal intestines to get the job done. Good luck with that.

Last but not least, the Chef showed us how to make Pork Chops with a lovely sauce inspired by a Charcuterie plate. Charcuterie is traditionally  pâtés, rillettes, sausages, bacon, trotters, and head cheese. A Charcuterie plate is usually a mix of cooked and air dried meats offered with something acidic such as cornichons, which are a small tart pickle, as well as condiments such as mustard. Charcuterie is huge right now, and many restaurants such as The Wine Kitchen in Leesburg, VA offer a cheese and charcuterie selection. Apparently some restaurants such as Black Jack in the District, even have Charcuterie inspired cocktails like The Cigar, which features smoked peach ice and proscuitto on a stick. After researching the local offerings a little bit, I am dying to try some local charcuterie such as that of Red Apron Butchery, which offers locally-sourced charcuterie available to order online and pick up at VA and DC markets. I am also anxious to try the goods at Three Little Pigs downtown, which offers not only Salumi and Charcuterie but also housemade sandwiches and sodas. They even offer classes. I see a BBQ class in my future!

These past few cooking classes which were based on meat-cookery have really gotten me thinking about meat, where my meat comes from, and how I feel about it. As a little extra research I have been reading The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat by Joshua and Jessica Applestone. Even though I am only halfway through it, I can’t recommend this book enough. It tells the history of butcher shops, discusses why pastured meat is preferable to factory-farmed meat, and also gives recipes and tips for meat preparation. As someone who flirts with vegetarianism and veganism in fits and spurts, I got a kick out of the fact that Joshua Applestone was  a vegan when they opened their shop and he started carving meat. He says in the book that their bacon is what put him over the edge. In fact they even sell a T-shirt that says “Bacon: The Gateway Meat”.The book also doesn’t shy away from the realities of slaughterhouses and animal treatment, while at the same time embracing the fact that as humans, we just like to eat meat. Their focus is on supporting a system in which the meat we eat is rased in a sustainable and humane way, both for our health and the health of the environment. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I highly recommend this book.

Okay, okay…back to the pork chops.

To make my chops at home I purchased fairly thick bone-in chops. As Chef Patterson would say, ” …and where is all the flavor coming from?? It’s in the bones!” We were instructed to score the fat on the sides of the chops, because as they cook, the fat constricts and scoring them keeps the chops from shrinking up while cooking. I seasoned the chops liberally with salt and pepper, and cooked them in a hot saute pan with enough canola oil to throughly coat the bottom of the pan. Don’t use a non-stick pan here. You want to get the fond (in french meaning “base” or “foundation”) which is the brown bits left in the pan after cooking your meat. This will help to flavor your sauce later. Just be sure that when you are cooking your chop, you wait for the chop to release itself. This means if you try to move or flip the chop and it is sticking, don’t mess with it! It will loosen itself from the pan when it is ready to be flipped. This will work- I promise, as long as you have enough oil and a hot hot pan. The goal is to brown the chops throughly on each side, and then if the chops still require more cooking, you can move then onto a sheet pan in a 325 degree oven to finish cooking. 135 degrees internal temperature is what you are striving for here.

The Mise en Place for the sauce Chef Patterson taught us includes julienne of a few small cornichons, some white wine, a generous splash of white wine vinegar, a sliced shallot, a big spoonful of dijon mustard, a couple cloves of minced garlic, a big knob of butter, 1/2 cup or so warmed veal stock (or rich chicken stock) and a little freshly chopped sage. I also added a few spoonfuls of cream to my sauce to balance out the acidity of the vinegar.

Once the chops are in the oven, you pour off the fat in the pan, and carefully wipe it out with a paper towel. The shallots are sauteed in the dry pan (see the fond still in there?) with a pinch of salt.

Once softened, white wine is added to the shallots, as well as the garlic, and cooked until nearly all of it has evaporated.

Next, a large dollop of mustard is added to the pan, and then the vinegar.

This is stirred and reduced a bit. Next, the cornichons are added, and then the warm stock.

After this has simmered  for a few minutes, the sage is added. By now, your chops should definitely be out of the oven, and resting. You can tent them with a piece of foil to keep them warm. If any juices accumulated in the pan from the chops, pour them into the sauce.

Now you can remove the sauce from the heat, and start adding your butter a piece at a time. The sauce will thicken and lighten a bit. Taste it, and add salt as needed. If you find it too acidic you can add a little cream to balance it out, as I did. A grating of fresh pepper will finish it off nicely.

Slice the pork chop off the bone, and cut into slices against the grain. Spoon the sauce over the slices of pork, and serve.

So that’s it! I will keep updating on all of my cooking in progress.

By the way, L’Academie de Cuisine has their summer catalogue of classes available online now. They do fill up quickly, so if you are interested in taking any classes this summer I encourage you to sign up soon. If the culinary arts are your passion, I would highly recommend the classes at L’Academie de Cuisine. I am enjoying my time there so much, and it is has really transformed my cooking.

Happy Cooking!

Melissa

I’m still recovering from all that cooking. I am also picking up that plastic easter basket grass from the carpet of every room in my house. Feeling so tired, but so blessed.

Here are a few of the highlights from yesterday. I have more pictures of the appetizers than the main course, because once it was all ready…we were ready to eat!

Our Easter Menu

Green Goddess Garden Shooters from Friday Night Dinners by Bonnie Stern

Brie and Cherry Pastry Cups from Eat Yourself Skinny Blog

Radish Tartines from thekitchn.com

Tortellini Skewers and Parmesan Creme Fraiche Dip from danatreat.com

Spinach and Strawberry Salad from Paula Deen

Roasted Asparagus Bundles from Jamie Oliver

Peas and Watercress with Spring Onions and Mint from Food and Wine Magazine

Pommes Puree with goat cheese and thyme infused cream from my class at L’Academie de Cuisine

Salmon with Herb Butter and Cucumbers with Cream and Mint from Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food

Roast Leg of Lamb stuffed with goat cheese, herbs, and Kalamata olives

Delectable Desserts brought by guests…

Strawberry Shortcake from my multi-talented sister-in-law.

Lemon Meringue Pie…my mother-in-law makes the best pies.

Hummingbird Cake…made with bananas, pineapple, and a cream cheese icing. Really yummy. Thanks, Betty!

I hope your Easter Celebration was as enjoyable as mine!

Happy Cooking!

Melissa

We gathered with some friends in our driveway last night to let the kids play, and the grown-ups relax and catch up. This a weekly tradition we started last year, and I have been anxiously awaiting warm weather so we could start back up again. I made a cocktail for the occasion with Rose wine, blackberries, a little Grand Marnier, and a splash of seltzer. Ever since reading Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton; I have been wanting to sip Rose wine all summer long and have cold apricot juice and espresso every morning as she does in the book. She drinks hers at a villa in Italy. I’ll have to savor mine in a lawn chair on the driveway. Almost as classy, right?

Spring in Virginia is fleeting and before we know it summer will be here, so right now I want to focus on the joys of the season. The roast beef we learned in class last week at L’Academie de Cuisine makes a wonderful spring dinner served with potatoes and asparagus, peas, or another seasonal vegetable. I loved making this beef because it was simple, but it looks fancy, and tastes wonderful. This is not a great recipe for those who like their meat well-done. This roast is beautifully red and juicy inside. You don’t need much equipment to pull it off: a saute pan, some kitchen twine (optional), an instant read thermometer (or one of the fancy wireless ones), an oven rack (I used a cookie cooling tray set inside a pan), some kitchen tongs are helpful, and a sharp knife to slice your meat.

Ingredients:

Canola oil – to sear the roast

Salt and Pepper – lots!

Garlic – as much you like

Rosemary – a few sprigs

a Top Round or Sirloin roast – size depends on your family, I made one that was about a pound in class, and this past weekend I made one over 3 lbs. when we had family over for dinner

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

To start, you will want to peel your garlic, and slice any large cloves vertically into a few smaller pieces. You will also want to cut your rosemary into pieces that are roughly the size of your garlic. Using a sharp knife, pierce the roast to the depth of your garlic clove, and then using your fingers, stuff the hole with a piece of garlic and a little sprig of rosemary. You want the garlic and rosemary to fill the hole without too much hanging out because those pieces will burn in the oven. Repeat this all over your meat, until you are satisfied with it. Salt and Pepper liberally- all over the roast. Don’t skimp!

Next, you can truss your roast, although you don’t have to. I wish I had picture instructions for this. It is very hard to take pictures when you are working with raw meat. You have to wash your hands off before handling your camera, and then go back to the meat, repeat, repeat, repeat. I kind of gave up. Here is a great tutorial, that can get you started:

Next you are ready to sear the roast. Don’t rush this. You want a very dark brown crust all over your meat. You need to get your pan HOT before you even think about putting the roast in. Hold you hand over your pan, and if it doesn’t feel uncomfortably hot to hold your hand there- it’s not hot enough. Add a layer of canola oil to the pan- enough to cover the bottom of the pan completely. Then using your tongs, grab your roast and put it in the pan. You should hear a LOT of sizzle. Peek under the meat after a minute or two to make sure it is browning. When you get a good brown sear, then turn the meat. Brown it throughly all over- top, bottom, front, back, sides- everywhere.

Next, remove your roast to a rack set in or overtop of a pan. Nothing fancy here- just so the roast isn’t sitting in the pan.

Now you can put the roast in the oven. You are cooking it at 325-350 degrees, until the middle of the roast has reached an internal temperature of 110-115 degrees, which is medium-rare. If you started with a smaller roast, I would check after 10 minutes with an instant read thermometer to see how fast it is cooking, and then again periodically depending on what temperature you are at. My roast in class was pretty small, and cooked within 20 minutes. The roast I made at home was pretty huge, and it probably took 45 minutes to an hour to cook. The timing will also depend if your roast was straight from the fridge or came to room temperature before you started to cook it.

Once the internal temperature is 110-115 degrees, pull the roast out of the oven, lay a piece of aluminum foil over it (not too tight- just to hold a little heat in) and let it rest for at least 10-15 minutes. This is very important. You meat should generally rest 1/3 of the total time it took to cook. When the temperature increases, so does the pressure inside the meat. This drives the moisture to the center of the meat under pressure. If you cut your meat while it is still hot from the oven those juices (still under pressure) are just going to burst out all over your plate, and the meat will be left dry. If you wait and let the meat rest and cool a little, the pressure decreases and the juices re-distribute throughout the meat.

Once you are ready to slice your meat, you want to make sure you are using the sharpest knife you have, preferably a meat slicing knife. You want to cut against the grain of the meat, in very thin slices. This will maximize the tenderness of the meat.

So there you have it. You can serve this with delicious mashed potatoes (pommes puree if you are French), or on a sandwich with cheddar, horseradish creme fraiche, and arugula. Or, you can both- one for dinner and one for lunch the next day, like I did.

I hope you will try this out, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Happy Cooking and Enjoy your Spring!

Melissa

Two weeks ago we had poultry night. When Duck Confit was explained to our class at L’Academie de Cuisine, I immediately wanted to make it. I knew it would be challenging and time consuming, but it just seemed like one of those things that “real” chefs do, and I wanted to see if I could do it.

Confit is actually a method of preserving. There are two types of confit: a confiture in sugar (as with fruit), and a confit of meat cooked and preserved in it’s own fat. Confit has been around for awhile, since back when food preservation was not as easy as just sticking something in the fridge. Duck confit will last at least a month in your refrigerator, if you can keep it around that long.

There are a few steps in the confit process, and different ways of going about it. At the end of this post I have listed some links from other bloggers (some more famous than others) who have their own instructions for duck confit. I chose to take what I learned in class and combine it with what I read online (mostly from Michael Ruhlman’s blog) to make the preparation more suited to my kitchen and timeline.

The Duck

I had never bought a whole duck before last week. I got my duck from Whole Foods Market in Fair Lakes. It was a Bell & Evans duck, and it cost me about $20. Not cheap…but I did use it in a few different ways which I will highlight later. The first order of business, was to get it home, and get the duck broken down into the pieces I needed for confit, and the other preparations I planned to make. Chef Patterson has told us in class that when it comes to poultry it is the, “same designer, just slightly different architecture.” I used what we had learned about breaking down a chicken, to break down the duck in a similar way. For confit you need the legs, so I cut these first. I also carved off the duck breasts to make grilled duck breasts for dinner (pan-seared breasts are better but I’ll save that for another post), and kept the liver separate to make a pate. Next, I trimmed off all of the fat from the duck carcass, and stored that separately. Duck Confit takes a LOT of rendered duck fat, and while the fat from this one duck did not come close to being enough to confit the legs, I used as much as I could. I stored the carcass in the freezer, and one day soon I will use it to make a rich duck stock for a fabulous soup and/or base for sauces.

The Cure

Once you have removed your two duck legs, the next step is to cure them. This requires salt, and a mix of spices that vary depending on who you talk to. Professional cooks also use something called Sel Rose or pink salt in their cure. Sel Rose has sodium nitrate, and is used primarily to keep the duck a nice pretty color. I decided to forgo the sel rose, as it would have taken time to source, and frankly…kinda freaked me out.

For my cure I used:

Salt (8 grams per every 500 grams of duck, plus a little extra)

A couple garlic cloves, sliced

2 bay leaves,one pressed into each leg

8-10 peppercorns

a few sprigs of thyme

a sprinkling of fennel seeds

I made sure the legs were coated in salt and spices, and then covered them with plastic wrap and set a mixing bowl with a large can of tomatoes on top, to press them slightly. I left the legs to cure in the salt and spices for about 36 hours, but you can let them cure from 24 to 48 hours.

Rendering Duck Fat

This part is not so pretty. First, you need to cut the fat into small pieces. I forgot to do this, until half way through when it was taking forever and it dawned on me that I had forgotten this step. Second you need to add a little water to the fat. I forgot this step all together. Oh well. You put all the fat in a large pan and heat over a low heat. The fat melts into liquid, and the skin and any meat left on the fat gets crunchy and rises to the surface. If you have ever had pork rinds, it is kind of like that, only with duck. Some people do use these duck cracklings as “duck bacon bits” (see the link to Foodie with my Family blog at the bottom of the post). I was mostly just after the fat to make my confit.

The process of melting down the fat took quite a while, and made my whole house smell like duck fat. While this was rendering, I removed the duck legs from their cure and wiped off as much of the salt and spices as I could. Now, I had read that some people rinse the cure off the legs, rather than just wipe it off. I chose to just wipe it off, and I ended up with some SALTY duck confit (which is saying something because I am not shy with salt). If I were to do this again, I would rinse the legs quickly and pat them dry with a paper towel. The picture below shows the cured legs, ready for their duck fat submersion.

The goal with the duck fat is to have enough to cover the legs in whatever vessel you cook them in. The fat from the duck did not make enough to cover the legs, and I ended up adding some extra duck fat I had in my fridge (don’t ask me why I happen to have extra duck fat in my fridge) as well as some olive oil, until I was sure that the legs were covered.

Low and Slow Cooking

The duck legs slowly cook in their own fat at a low temperature of 185 to 200 degrees for 3-6 hours. I cooked mine at 200 degrees for 4 hours, and they were very tender at this point. You can tell by gently wiggling the bone, or using a fork to poke at the meat. Don’t touch the skin on the top as it will tear incredibly easily. This is only an issue if you were planning to sear your duck legs and serve them whole. Leaving the skin intact would look much prettier in that case.

Once I was sure they were tender, I let the pan cool awhile, and covered it with plastic wrap. You want to make sure that the legs are totally covered by fat, as this will keep them from going bad if you were going to be storing them for longer periods of time. Pop the whole thing in the fridge where the fat will thicken and solidify.

From my reading, it seems that many people think the legs develop more flavor if they are allowed to sit in the fat for at least a week, but I could only hold out for 6 days before I had to try them.

Eating the Confit

So what do you do with duck confit? Well, duck confit is incredibly rich. Moisture is pulled out of the meat during the cure, and then the thirsty dry meat sucks in the fat while it cooks making it very, very tender. A good comparison Chef Patterson used was with pulled pork which also cooks slowly at a lower temperature in it’s own fat. In class we were served our duck confit shredded on a salad with some bitter greens, a shallot vinaigrette, blackberries, and raspberries. The tartness from the sherry vinegar and the berries, as well as the bitterness from the greens helps to balance out the richness and saltiness of the confit. I really loved this in class, so I tried to replicate it at home.

I put the cold pan of confit in a pan of warm water until it liquified just enough for me to remove the legs. I removed as much fat as possible from the legs, and then cooked them in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Looking back I probably could have/ should have cooked them at a much lower temperature, as I wasn’t really concerned with getting them browned. I was going to remove the skin and shred the meat for the salad. You could also pan-sear the legs in their own fat, if you so desired. You can use some of the leftover fat to make some killer potatoes,too…but that is another story.

Once the duck was heated through, I removed the skin, and shredded the meat. It was tender and delicious, but it was very salty folks. If I do this again I will definitely be rinsing those legs after curing them. The finished salad is in the picture below. I think it looks beautiful, and it was very tasty, although I did long for it to be a little less salty.

I am definitely NOT a liver fan, but I did make a liver pate in an effort to use as much of the duck as I could. The link to the recipe is below, and I have to say if you want to try liver, this was a good one, as the flavor of the shallots and garlic were stronger than the actual liver flavor.

I am not posting about the duck breasts on purpose. That saga continues. I made seared duck breasts in class, but overcooked them just slightly. At home, I decided to try them on the grill. Guess what- overcooked again! I was not happy. It’s not like I get duck breasts to cook everyday. I really wanted them to be great. I think grilling them was all wrong, and when I try it again, I will pan-sear them as we did in class, and try to cook them right this time. I don’t know if you can tell, but I am still really, really, really bitter about the duck breast fiasco.

So that’s it! The journey duck is over…for now. I don’t know when (if ever) I will make duck confit again, but I am glad I know how to do it, and it was fun to try it out. Try new things- everyday. It makes life so much more fun!

This week’s class was beef night, and we made an amazing and very simple roast beef that I would love to share. I’ll be making that for family tomorrow night, and hope to post the details very soon. But first, I have a sinkful of dishes and a 19 mile run with a good friend in the morning. With much rich food, must come many dishes and much running. It’s all about balance, right?

Thanks for reading, and Happy Cooking!

Melissa

Duck Confit Links

Duck Confit…It’s what’s for lunch from Michael Ruhlman

Cook the Book: Duck Confit from Serious Eats

Duck or Goose Confit from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Duck Confit from Nook and Pantry

Confit Duck Legs from Gourmet

Other Duck Links

Duck Liver Pate from Epicurious

How to Render Duck Fat and Make Duck Cracklins from Foodie with my Family

Duck Prosciutto from eat.live.travel.write

Even before I started cooking class, I knew there would be several days of meat cookery involved in the class. Although, I felt a little conflicted about it, I decided to embrace it. I feel pretty strongly (for myself anyway) that if you do choose to eat meat, you have to be real with the fact that what is on your plate was an animal. It’s easy to divorce yourself from that fact in our society where you often order parts of animals shaped into nuggets and pretty little fillets. It’s easy to forget where meat actually comes from! So, I told myself if I choose to eat meat, I will prepare it from start to finish. If I decide one day in the near or far future that I am not okay doing that, I will stop eating meat again. For now, I am okay with it.

So driving to class this past week, I was feeling okay about the fact that I was no-doubt headed into a night of working with all types of poultry. I turned on to the street which leads to the L’Academie de Cuisine parking lot, only to hit the brakes for a pair of Canadian Geese crossing the road in front of me. I stopped as they slowly waddled their way across the road. As the last one crossed in front of my car, it actually turned it’s head and gave me a long steady stare down! Just stopping and looking at me. I kid you not!

The sensible part of me knows this goose had no knowledge of what I was about to do to his brethren in class, but I tell you people…it was a little freaky.

Nonetheless, I shook it off, straightened my chef’s jacket, grabbed my knives and headed into class.

This was another super long class with lecture lasting from 6:30 until 9:00pm before we even got into the kitchen. All in all I was there for four hours.

We learned:

-How to break down a whole chicken

Here is a pretty good picture tutorial from Bon Appetit about how to break down a chicken.

By the way- when you break down a chicken, you will be left with the chicken neck, back, and wing tips which you probably don’t intend on eating. Don’t throw these away! Respect the chicken and use all of it! You can freeze those parts of the chicken until you have a few more and then     make chicken stock, or if you already have stock you can make a wonderful sauce. Cut up the chicken parts and saute them with a little oil and salt and pepper until very brown. Add mirepoix to the chicken in the pan, and then some wine. When the wine has cooked down until almost dry (au sec) add a good amount of your chicken stock. Let the stock cook down until it thickens a bit, and taste and adjust seasoning. Voila! Now you have a wonderfully flavorful sauce to serve with your chicken.

-How to break down a whole duck

If you know how to do the chicken, you can pretty  much do the duck. Chef Patterson says, “Same designer, just slightly different architecture.” Love his quotes.

-We watched the process of making Duck Confit. Complicated. I am going for it. More on that later.

-We watched the Chef roast two whole chickens. The man can truss a chicken like you would not believe. This part went pretty fast, so I intend to watch this video of Brian Polcyn from Michael Ruhlman’s blog, to help me practice:

The Chef’s method for roasting a chicken involved stuffing the chicken with mirepoix, salt, and pepper. This is not to eat, but rather to flavor the bird. Stuffing birds with stuffing intended for eating is not recommended, and here is why: while you are busy waiting for your stuffing to cook to a safe temperature, your bird is getting dry, dry, dry! If you want stuffing cook it in a seperate pan with your homemade chicken stock. This will give your stuffing all of the chicken flavor you want, without sacrificing the flavor, texture, and moisture of your roast bird.

Chef also trussed the chicken, seasoned the outside liberally with salt and pepper, and seared the chicken everywhere EXCEPT THE BREASTS in a hot roasting pan on the stovetop before putting the chicken in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. Why not the breasts? They will get more heat from the top of the oven while roasting, and they also take less time to cook than the legs. This helps everything cook at a more even temperature in the oven. Check that your chicken is done by using an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the legs. 165 degrees is safe according to the USDA.

Although we did not discuss it in class this time, we have previously discussed the necessity of resting cooked meat before slicing. Tent your roast chicken with aluminum foil to keep warm and let it rest 10-15 minutes before slicing.

-We poached chicken legs in chicken stock, and then made the cooking liquid into a veloute sauce by using a cold roux. Veloute is one of the five “Mother Sauces” in French cooking. Here is a good resource on the mother sauces.

*Hint: When making sauces with a roux, you always add hot to cold and cold to hot. For example, when making a bechamel sauce you start by making a hot roux, so you add cold milk. When making our veloute, our stock was already hot, so we added pre-cooked cold roux. Make sense?

- We made pan-seared duck breast with L’Orange sauce.

For the pan-seared duck breast, we seasoned the breast liberally with salt and pepper and started it skin side down in a cold saute pan. The duck is cooked over a low to medium heat so that the meat under the thick layer of duck skin and fat gets a chance to cook. Many chefs like to sear the skin side in a hot pan and then the other side in a hot pan, but Chef Patterson doesn’t like this because although you are left with a nice pink center (the goal for duck) the meat and skin is not properly cooked around the outside. The trick here is not messing with the duck breast while it is cooking skin side down. It will stick to the pan at first, and you will be concerned, but when the skin is ready, it will release itself from the pan and only then can you flip it. This took a LONG time. I kept wanting to fidget with it, but my cooking partner kept telling me to walk away. Good advice. Once you have flipped the breast, it does not take long to cook on the other side. You want to cook it only long enough that the outside is done, leaving a fairly pink center. This part just takes practice. I will admit that my duck breast in class was sadly a little overcooked. It just takes practice to know how cooked the meat is inside, just by touching it.

The L’Orange sauce is made by cooking sugar until dark brown and then arresting the cooking by adding an equal amount (by weight) of sherry vinegar. Once that has settled down, you can add in stock (in class we used veal stock) and bring to a simmer. Once it has thickened slightly add a supremed orange and it’s juices. The sauce is reduced slightly and served with the duck breast. L’Orange sauce is a gastrique sauce and it really, really good.

-Finally, we learned how to grill marinated quail to serve over a  salad. The quail cooked very very quickly. This seemed like it would be a great summer meal. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to try it in class. So much poultry…so little time.

So that’s the poultry update for now. This weekend I am frying chicken, and hopefully starting my duck confit.

Happy Cooking,

Melissa

This weeks class was all about sauces. Needless to say there was a lot to talk about in class, and our lecture went much later than usual. We watched the chef’s demos and listened to him instruct us on how to make wonderful sauces for nearly two-and-a-half hours before even getting into the kitchen.

The sauces we learned were:

Cream Sauce for Fish- The fish is cooked with a small amount of white wine, and aromatics. When cooked, the fish is removed from the pan and fish fume (fish stock), cream, lemon juice, and seasoning is added and reduced to make the sauce.

Beef Bordelaise- A sauce served with sliced steak. This sauce is made by browning some scarps of fresh lean red meat in a pan, and then cooking shallots in the same pan, and adding lots of red wine, beef stock, and aromatics.

Steak Au Poivre with Brandy Cream Sauce- For the Steak Au Poivre in class, our instructor used  Top Butt steaks. He seasoned them with lots of coarsely ground black pepper, and cooked them in a saute pan over very high heat. Then he wiped the oil from the pan, and added equal parts of brandy, brown stock, and eventually cream. The sauce was simmered briefly with thyme and more black pepper.

Tomato Sauce- For this version, mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) was cooked in a pan with olive oil. A quart of whole stewed tomatoes from San Marzano was added and after simmering, and the sauce was passed through a food mill to get a more uniform consistency. The sauce was brought back to a simmer and thyme was added along with seasoning. Tender herbs (parsley and basil) were added towards the end of cooking. If your tomato sauce is too sweet (sometimes the tomatoes can be very sweet) you can finish it with a little red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Don’t forget to adjust the salt!

Fruit Coulis- Three fruit coulis sauces were made in class: blueberry, raspberry, and kiwi. Fruit Coulis is a simple sauce made by blending simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water cooked until sugar is dissolved), fruit, and a little lemon juice. You can serve this with other desserts, and even get fancy and make pretty designs with the sauce on a plate using squeeze bottles. You can pass the sauce through a strainer before serving to get a uniform consistency. The kiwi sauce was not passed through a strainer because it actually looks very cool with the bright green sauce and the little black seeds.

Caramel- Oh yeah! 1/2 cup of sugar is cooked in a small pot over high heat (be careful- sugar burns are the worst!). When the sugar gets pretty darn dark, 2 cups of cream is added (carefully). The sauce will seize up and then dissolve back down again. The sauce is whisked and at this point you can add a shot of bourbon. When the cream has mixed in, the pot is plunged into a shallow ice bath to cool the mixture quickly. The Chef served this with an Apple Tart he made for us in class. Yum!

Creme Anglaise- This can be a sauce or a base for ice cream. It is made by mixing 5 egg yolks and 5 oz. of sugar (by weight). 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream is brought to just under a simmer with a vanilla bean pod and perhaps some orange rind. The egg-sugar mix is tempered with the hot liquid, and then slowly mixed together and returned to the heat. Stir the mixture over heat, but do not let it boil. You don’t want your egg yolks to turn to scrambled eggs! The Creme Anglaise is done when it coats the back of a spoon and you can draw a line with your finger in the sauce on the back of the spoon. The sauce must be cooled quickly (you can sit the pot in a shallow bowl of ice water), strained, and then refrigerated. It will only last a day or two in the refrigerator. I made a strawberry Fruit Coulis and the Creme Anglaise sauce and served it with a millet cake recipe called Gracie’s Yellow Birthday Cake from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. The cake tasted like moist sweet cornbread (according to my friend Mike), and went really well with the two sauces. I think my husband may have preferred it as ice cream, but it was still pretty darn good.

Another interesting discussion which came up during class was pairing wine with food. It was recommended by the Chef that the easiest way to make a successful pairing with your food and wine, is to use the same wine in your food that you are drinking with the meal. If you are planning on drinking an expensive bottle of wine, at least use a good bottle of the same varietal in your food (example: if you are drinking a very expensive bottle of Chablis, use a less expensive but still good bottle of Chablis to cook with for that meal). Makes sense, right? I know you have heard this before, but you never want to cook with wine you wouldn’t want to drink. Also, if you have a really great bottle of wine, and you want that to be the star of the evening, serve it with good simple food. Uncomplicated food will let the wine stand out. If you are serving something a little more “economical”, you can make your food the star and the wine will just be a nice accompaniment.

One more little tip that came out of class, was a new cut of beef. We were using Top Butt Steak (funny name, huh?) in class. Apparently, you have to ask for it. It is similar to a sirloin steak, but at round prices. The cuts we had looked almost like slightly bigger filet mignon. Also, remember when buying beef, the more that muscle was used, the more flavorful it will be. However, the more the muscle was used, it will also be less tender.

The sauce recipe I thought I would share with you this week was a variation of the Beurre Blanc sauce we learned in class. Beurre Blanc means white (blanc) butter (beurre) sauce. I made my variation of this sauce this week using citrus including a blood orange. This meant that my sauce was more of a “Beurre Rose” or pink butter sauce. You can also use red wine vinegar instead of citrus to make the sauce, which is the way we learned it in class.

To Make Beurre Rose:

1/4 lb. butter (1 stick)- cold, but cut into pieces

a couple spoonfuls of flour

salt

fresh ground pepper

canola oil

2 tilapia fillets

a large shallot, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup white wine (I used a Chenin Blanc- Viognier Blend as that was what I planned to drink with dinner)

fresh juice from a blood orange and lemon

about 1/2 cup a garlic clove, peeled

a few peppercorns

a few sprigs of thyme

1/4- 1/2 cup cream

steamed asparagus as an accompaniment, if desired

chiffonade of fresh basil

First, I preheated my oven to 180 degrees (my oven’s lowest setting), and stuck our dinner plates in the oven (be sure your plates are designed to withstand heat first). This way my plates would be warm and keep my fish warm while I finished the sauce. I also lightly dredged the tilapia fillets in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. I then, added a little additional sprinkling of salt to the flour-dredged fish. This allows you to cook the fish in a regular saute pan, and not be reliant on a non-stick pan to cook fish properly.

In a small pot, I deposited equal parts of juice and white wine, the garlic, peppercorn, thyme, and shallots. I brought the liquid to a boil over high heat. The goal is to let the liquid cook down and evaporate.

As the sauce was cooking, I cooked my fish. I heated enough canola oil to coat the bottom of my saute pan over medium high heat. I cooked the tilapia 3-4 minutes per side (until it was golden brown on one side), and then flipped it and finished cooking on the other side. When the fish was finished cooking, I removed it from the pan letting as much oil as possible run back into the pan, and put the fish on the warm plates in the oven. I cooked my fish one piece at a time, because of the size of my saute pan, and so I could give each piece my full attention.

*By the way- when cooking fish you want to cook the prettiest side (generally the side facing the bone not the skin) first. So, start with the skin-side of the fillet facing up in the pan. It makes for the best presentation.*

Meanwhile, I steamed my asparagus, for just a few minutes and then plunged them in ice water to stop their cooking. I drained them, and put them in the warm oven to reheat a little just before I was ready to serve the food. When the liquid in your pot has mostly evaporated, and the mixture is approaching dryness (au sec), carefully stir in your cream.

Now you will want to have your pieces of butter and a whisk ready. You can add just a tablespoon of warm water to your sauce to help the emulsion. After the cream has cooked down slightly, you can start dropping the pieces of butter into the sauce one piece at a time, whisking constantly over high heat. If the mixture looks like it is getting too hot, you can pull it off the heat for a few seconds to cool down and adjust, but you do want to be incorporating the butter over fairly high heat. As each piece of butter is incorporated, add another one. Keep whisking and adding butter, and your sauce should start to take on a thicker, creamier consistency. As soon as your last piece of butter has emulsified into the sauce, you can remove it from the heat, and strain the sauce.

Taste it, adding a good amount of salt and pepper. If needed you could add a little extra lemon juice, but this sauce made with lemon juice and blood orange juice will probably be fairly acidic already. Don’t be afriad to get a little aggressive with your salt. I was advised by one of the assistant Chefs in class to do this, as the sauce will mellow out slightly when combined with the other elements you are serving. When you are happy with the salt-acid balance, you can gently pour the sauce over your tilapia and asparagus. I topped mine with a chiffonade of basil. As with many of the preparations we have learned in class, this is not a “light” dish, but it didn’t taste too heavy either.

My husband took this picture, and thought in the interest of honest representation, I should show what else I was serving at this dinner:

Although my son ate some tilapia and asparagus and liked it, the girls had white cheddar mac and cheese with asparagus – and they refused to eat the asparagus. Oh well! We enjoyed the tilapia, and I think it was a pretty elegant dish, which wasn’t too difficult to prepare. Just pay attention to the sauce, and avoid the extremes of too hot, too cold, not enough whisking, etc.

Next week we move on to poultry and game birds…should be interesting. I am guessing there is duck in my future.

Happy Cooking!

Melissa

This past week, I learned how to make one of my favorite brunch foods- Eggs Benedict. I’ve always been a little too intimidated to try making it at home. I watched a friend’s parents make it one time, and timing everything as well as getting the hollandaise sauce right seemed pretty difficult. The good news is that parts of this dish are pretty easy, and you can even poach the eggs the night before you need them. The biggest challenge is the hollandaise sauce.

So, I’ll start off with the poached eggs. First, you will want to get a good amount of water at a very low simmer. You only want to a few sparse bubbles here- just enough to keep the eggs from wanting to hug the bottom of the pot. 3-4″ of water to submerse the eggs is plenty. You should also add a little acid ( in the form of vinegar) to the water to help set the whites. Just a couple teaspoons should be plenty. Also, get a bowl of ice water ready. Crack the eggs into separate ramekins, and then gently lower the eggs into the simmering water.

These eggs should take 3-4 minutes for the white to set, and the yolk to remain mostly liquid.

Retrieve them from the hot water with a slotted spoon, and gently lay them in the ice water. This will keep them from cooking any farther. When the eggs are cool, you can retrieve them with your slotted spoon, and move them onto a paper-towel lined dish. You can trim off any undesired parts of the white with kitchen scissors to get a more uniform looking egg. Now, you can put these in the refrigerator until  you are ready to make your Eggs Benedict. You can re-warm the poached eggs very briefly in the same temperature water you cooked them in (for less than a minute), and then move them to a paper-towel lined plate again before assembling your Eggs Benedict.

If you were going to be making traditional Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon, you would also want to cook the Canadian bacon. Canadian bacon is quite lean, and care should be taken not to overcook it. You want to cook it briefly in a pan with butter over medium heat. I opted to make a smoked salmon eggs benedict, which did not require any cooking.

To make the hollandaise sauce you will need 2 oz. of clarified butter per egg yolk. To make enough hollandaise sauce for two people (with plenty extra), I used 2 egg yolks and 4 oz. of clarified butter. A stick of butter is 4 oz., but you will lose some of the volume during the clarification process, so make more than you need, and store the rest in the refrigerator for another time. Making clarified butter is easy. David Lebovitz does an excellent job of explaining how to do it in his post, How to Clarify Butter. Please take a peek.

Once you have your room temperature or slightly warm clarified butter, assemble your other ingredients. You will want to get a pot with a few inches of water barley simmering. You will be making your hollandaise sauce in a heat-proof mixing bowl over the gently simmering water. It is good to have a damp dish cloth folded on the counter next to the pot, as well. This way, if your hollandaise starts to get too hot, you can remove the bowl over to the dishcloth, and it will help keep the bowl from wiggling around as you stir your sauce.

You will also want fresh lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper in arm’s reach.

Separate your eggs, and deposit the yolks into a large metal mixing bowl. Add about a tablespoon of warm water to the yolks and whisk. This will help to stabilize the sauce. Now, move the bowl on top of the simmering water. You want to whisk the yolks continuously until they thicken a bit, and turn a really pale yellow color. Do not be afraid to take the bowl off the heat as needed if you feel things are getting too hot, or cooking too quickly. You can move it on and off the simmering pot of water and adjust the water temperature, or stir off the heat as necessary. You want to get to the point where you can see the path of your whisk in the eggs.

Next, you will add in the clarified butter in a slow stream, whisking constantly. If the sauce is getting too thick, or too hot, take it off the heat and whisk, then resume. Eventually you will add all 4 oz. of the clarified butter in, but don’t be in too big of a rush. Pay attention to the sauce. Give it what it needs. Too thick? Maybe add another tablespoon of warm water. Too thin? Let it cook a little more, still whisking vigilantly. Chef Patterson told us in class at L’Academie de Cuisine this week that the enemies of hollandaise are, “too hot, too cold, too thick, and too thin.” Adjust as necessary.

Once you have incorporated all of your clarified butter, you will want to taste your sauce, and then add in salt, lemon juice, and a tiny pinch of cayenne, to taste. Turn the simmering water off. You can hold the hollandaise and keep it warm over the warm water for 45 minutes. Actually this is a Montgomery County law. We learned that in class, too! Don’t hold your hollandaise over 45 minutes in a restaurant in Montgomery County or they will come to get you!!

The finished hollandaise should have a texture which should just coat the poached egg without running off and certainly without laying on it like a lump. Don’t be afraid to whisk in a tablespoonful of warm water to thin it out before assembling your benedict. Just add a little at a time and whisk in throughly. Sitting over the warm water can still cook the sauce a little bit, so pay attention to see of your sauce needs any doctoring before serving.

Toast your english muffins, top with a few slices of smoked salmon (or Canadian bacon), and a warm poached egg. Put your egg bottom side up, so it sits up nicely. Then, top with a large spoonful of hollandaise. I topped mine with a few sliced chives, as well.

Voila!

I highly recommend you try this. It is beyond yummy. Don’t try to do it on a morning when you are rushed or stressed. It takes a little effort and care, but it will be delicious and worth your effort. Make yourself a mimosa while you are at it.

Happy Cooking,

Melissa

This week in class at L’Academie de Cuisine, it was all about eggs.  I have never eaten so many eggs in such a short time frame.

Eggs are kind of a big deal in the culinary world. There all the eggy favorites like eggs benedict, french toast, omelettes, and on and on. There are also meringues, emulsions with egg including mayonnaise, baked goods, sauces, etc. The egg is used both as the star of the show, and also for it’s binding properties in countless preparations.

Chef Patterson made it clear in class that he is a firm believer that farm-fresh organic, free range, and even predator-friendly eggs are worth the extra money. These eggs taste better and it is my understanding that chickens raised in more natural conditions with room to graze and move about outside are not subject to many of the health issues which are common in factory-farmed chickens. I am lucky enough to live in a county where we have access to farm fresh eggs. I have even taken my kids to a local farm in Purcellville called Chicama Run where they have fed the chickens and plucked freshly laid eggs from the chicken coop. I am in agreement with the Chef, that these eggs are worth the extra money.

In class, we learned all about the structure of eggs, and what to expect from a fresh egg. Fresh eggs will have a yolk which “sits up”, a firmer white, and not a lot of watery stuff floating around the white when cracked open.
Have you ever wondered whether to use an egg which has those little red dots in it? The verdict is- it’s nothing to worry about. Also, that white stringy thing in the egg (that freaks some people out) is just a protein structure which helps to hold the yolk in place. It is safe to eat as well.
Although super fresh eggs are great, you don’t want to hard-boil them. You need a little air between the shell and membrane which develops after a little time. This helps you to peel a hard-boiled egg without marking the egg up while doing so.
Another thing to note- most recipes are based on large size eggs. The cooking times we learned are also based on a large sized egg, and would differ if you purchased super-dooper jumbo size eggs. Do yourself a favor, and just get in the habit of always buying large eggs. I am guessing it will make your food turn out better.

So, what did we learn to cook with the “incredible edible” egg?

Scrambled Eggs
The best scrambled eggs take at least 20 minutes to cook, with CONSTANT stirring. These aren’t your Momma’s scrambled eggs! These eggs are closer in texture to custard. They are cooked in a bowl placed over gently simmering water (a bain-marie). Careful attention is payed to constantly stirring these eggs, and making sure they do not get too hot, too quickly. It takes a long time, but finally some curds begin to form in the eggs, and after about 20 minutes your eggs will be done. These eggs do not need any cream or butter to make them creamy; the cooking process makes them that way. All they need is salt and pepper.

Omelettes
Omelettes are cooked much quicker than scrambled eggs. In fact, the whole process is so quick, that it is especially important to have all of your ingredients ready (remember- mise en place?). If you will be using any fillings in your omelette such as mushrooms you will want them not only ready, but warmed. For omelettes you want to use a nonstick pan or omelette pan.

First, you will want to preheat your broiler. Whisk your eggs and then strain them so that you have a uniform texture. If you want to add herbs to your omelette (basil, thyme, chervil, chives, etc.) they can be finely chopped and added to the strained egg. You can also add a pinch of salt.

Heat some clarified butter in your pan over medium to medium-high heat. The reason for using clarified butter versus regular butter is that as regular butter cooks, the milk solids brown and will leave little brown flecks on your omelette. In clarified butter, these milk solids have been skimmed off, so you should end up with an omelette of uniform color.

When the butter is fairly hot, you can add your egg. Be ready to stir the omelette with a heat-proof spatula. Keep gently stirring the egg on the bottom of the pan in circles, while at the same time moving the pan back and forth. The egg should start to form curds, and set quickly. Keep the spatula and pan moving until much of the egg has set. If any holes are created in the base of the omelette, just tip the pan so that wet egg fills the whole. or gently use your spatula to cover them with the wet egg. When the bottom of the omelette is set, and the top still has some wetness to it, you want to add your toppings. Sprinkle your toppings along the middle of the omelette, and then quickly put your omelette in the oven, on a top shelf under the broiler. You want to watch this baby like a hawk, and can leave the oven door ajar just slightly so that you can really watch it closely. You want the top of the omelette to be just set. When set, remove the pan from the oven. Grab the pan “like a dagger”. Tilt the pan downwards slightly towards your plate, allowing the top edge of the omelette to fold over halfway on itself. Next, fold the omelette over on itself onto your plate, so that the resulting omelette is a “log” shape.

The whole process is very very quick. The goal is to get a uniformly light yellow colored omelette. If you want to be extra fancy, you can split it lengthwise, and top with a little dab of butter.

Hard-boiled/ Deviled Eggs

I’m sure you are thinking- how can I mess up a hard-boiled egg? Well, it can be done. Have you ever had those hard-boiled eggs that look blue. Not pretty.

The proper way we learned to boil an egg (a large sized egg), is to start with a pot of boiling water. Once the water is at a full boil, get another bowl ready with ice water.

Gently lower your eggs into the boiling water with a slotted spoon. Once the water has returned to a bowl- check the clock. Your eggs need to cook exactly 12 minutes. Remove the eggs from the boiling water with the slotted spoon and submerse in the bowl of ice water.

To peel your eggs, peel them under the ice water or running water. As the water gets between the shell and egg, it will make your peeling easier, and that will keep your egg from getting marked as you peel it.

For deviled eggs, you can mix the yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, capers, cornichons, etc.- go crazy! Don’t forget to taste for salt and pepper. Pipe the egg mixture back into the halved egg whites with a pastry bag or plastic bag with the tip snipped off.

We also learned traditional Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine. I am hoping to make both of these and report back with pictures sometime soon.

A couple egg links for you:

Korean-style Steamed Eggs from The Kitchn

Perfect Sunny-Side Up Eggs from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (I used this technique to make the eggs in the photograph above)

Mayonnaise recipe from Alton Brown

Happy Cooking!

Melissa

]]> http://melissaiscooking.com/2012/03/12/cooking-class-day-7-eggs-eggs-and-more-eggs/feed/ 1 IMG_1409 melissaiscooking IMG_1409 http://melissaiscooking.com/2012/03/07/how-to-make-gnocchi/ http://melissaiscooking.com/2012/03/07/how-to-make-gnocchi/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:47:26 +0000 melissaiscooking http://melissaiscooking.com/?p=1080 Continue reading »]]> My family has a history with gnocchi. We lived in Italy for two years when I was younger. While there, my parents took a cooking class from an Italian women named Miriam. The class was in Miriam’s kitchen where they would watch Miriam cook, practice, and most importantly…eat. The class they still talk about was the gnocchi class. I was able to attend the class with them. I was six years old, and got to help roll the gnocchi.

Me, 1985

Maybe, that is one of the reasons I was so excited when Chef Patterson demonstrated making gnocchi in class this past week. I remembered all those stories about the cooking class in Italy (about 25 years ago), and wanted to re-create that with my family.

Making Gnocchi (a la Chef Patterson)

First, let me start by telling you, there is some equipment needed to make gnocchi. You will need a potato ricer, or a food mill. One of my fellow L’Academie de Cuisine classmates asked if we really needed to have a potato ricer in our kitchens. The answer was “yes”. I was gifted with a potato ricer from Williams and Sonoma, last week. It worked great, although it is a little tricky to take apart.

Oxo Adjustable Potato Ricer 

In class, it was also recommended that we use Type 00 flour, which is a very fine Durum Wheat flour. Mine came from the Italian Store in Arlington, and cost about $3.99. If you don’t have Type 00 flour, you can still make gnocchi. In fact, many of my cookbooks with recipes for gnocchi, just list all-purpose flour as their preferred ingredient.

For gnocchi, you will start with Russet or Idaho potatoes. You can easily make a large batch of gnocchi (for 4-6 adults+) with two large potatoes. You will want to boil the potatoes in very salty water, in their skins, or in chunks as you would for mashed potatoes. The potatoes are tender when you stick a knife in them, and the potatoes fall off the knife easily.

After the potatoes are cooked, you can drain them, and put them back in the hot pot (off the heat), allowing the heat of the pot to dry them out a little. The goal is not to have too much moisture. Peel when cool enough, if you left the peels on.

Next, pass the potato chunks through the potato ricer, and spread out on a cookie sheet or work area to cool. The riced potatoes should be dry and fluffy.

At this point you can add pesto, parmesan, or spices to the riced potato, if desired. The standard would be to add salt and pepper, and perhaps a grating of fresh nutmeg.

In the center of the potatoes make a well, and crack one egg per potato used, in the middle of the riced potatoes.

Work the egg into the potatoes gently with a wooden spoon, or fork. Once the egg is worked into the potatoes, you can start adding flour. You can start by adding a half cup, work it into the dough with a bench scraper, or your hand, and add more flour as needed. You will need to keep flouring you work area as well. It’s messy, but it’s a good messy.

The goal is to keep adding flour and gently working it in and gently kneading until you stick a clean dry finger into the dough, and it doesn’t come out goopy. This took about 1 1/2 cups for the chef, when demonstrating. When I made the gnocchi at home, I felt like maybe I was adding too much flour, and later, when rolling the gnocchi, found them to still be sticky. Just be gentle and keep working the flour in, until you have a workable non-goopy dough. It may be more or less than 1 1/2 cups depending on the size of your potatoes, type of flour, etc.

Next, you will want to cut the dough into four sections (as pictured above) and then roll each of those sections into a long broomhandle shape.

Try to get the diameter as even as possible, as this will result in your gnocchi being a more uniform shape. Next, use a bench scraper or knife to cut the gnocchi into little pieces, about 3/4 inch long.

Now, the fun part- the rolling. Some people use a special gnocchi roller, and some use the back of a fork, so I wanted to try it both ways, and see which worked best. I was lucky enough to find a gnocchi roller in the clearance bin at Williams Sonoma last week for about $3. Unfortunately, it came with no instructions, whatsoever. It looks like a mini ridged cutting board, and has a little wooden stick that comes with it. We weren’t really sure if the stick was to help stand the board up, or to help roll the gnocchi, so we tried it both ways. In the end, we liked using the stick to help roll the gnocchi. The goal is to get a ridged impression on one side of the gnocchi, while making a little indentation on the other side (for sauce) by letting the gnocchi roll over on itself. This sounds really complicated, but is actually not too tough. That being said, I have seen a lot of different kinds of gnocchi, some with ridges, some with indentations, some with both, some with neither. Don’t stress about it.

Gnocchi rolled on roller:

Gnocchi rolled on the back of a fork:

Transfer the rolled gnocchi to a lightly flour-dusted surface. At this point, you want to cook or freeze the gnocchi right away. You will want to cook the gnocchi in gently boiling salty water, until they float to the surface of the water and have puffed up slightly.

At this point you can transfer the gnocchi directly to your simmering sauce. Alternatively, you can slightly undercook, the gnocchi, rinse them under cool water, and dry them in between clean kitchen towels (gently).

Then you can make the most delicious sauce that Chef Patterson taught us. This is not a light sauce, so I decided to make it for a celebration dinner after my husband and I ran the B & A Marathon and Half Marathon this past weekend. I figured if there is ever a time for really rich food, it is post-race, right?

I think this will now be our special occasion gnocchi, because we liked it that much!

To Make Gnocchi with Cream Sauce:

You will need:

up to 1 pint heavy whipping cream

a large amount of fresh grated parmesan (at least 1- 1 1/2 cups- the more the better)

at least a half pound of good bacon, diced

4-5 fresh sage leaves

a good amount of freshly ground black pepper

salt

brown butter, clarified butter, or plain butter

Have your gnocchi, mostly cooked, rinsed, and dried.

In a saute pan, crisp 1/2 lb. of diced bacon. I used black forest bacon from the Whole Foods Meat Department. Cook until crisp. At the point the bacon had some color, Chef Patterson added some butter to the cooking bacon. I leave this decision up to you. We were using really good bacon, and I didn’t feel we needed it. When crisp, remove bacon from pan to a paper-towel lined plate with a slotted spoon.

Drain and discard the bacon fat, and wipe out the pan.

In a small bowl combine a good amount (I used about 3/4 of a pint) of heavy whipping cream with a large amount of freshly grated parmesan. It should be enough parmesan that the cream looks a little chunky. Add a good amount of freshly grated black pepper and a generous pinch or two of salt.

Over medium heat, add a good dollop of brown butter (or clarified butter, or just plain butter). To hot butter add 4-5 sliced sage leaves. Stir frequently, allowing sage to fry in butter for a minute or two, then add your gnocchi. Toss them butter for a minute or two to warm. Pour cream sauce over gnocchi a bit at a time, until you have a nice saucy consistency. Stir in bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with an additional sprinkling of parmesan.

This sauce is soooo good, and I imagine it would be good with tortellini or ravioli as well.

So, I have to say that I think this gnocchi was a real success. Was it perfect? No. My gnocchi were not all the same size, or perfectly rolled. With practice, I think they could be lighter, as well. They were delicious. They all got eaten. They got many compliments.

The six-year-old, gnocchi rolling girl inside me was happy.

Gnocchi is one of those things that just takes practice to master. I will definitely be trying again soon. Maybe after our next race.

Everybody seems to make gnocchi a little differently. If you want some more gnocchi resources, these look good:

• from Serious Eats – How to Make Potato Gnocchi
• from 101 cookbooks – How to Make Gnocchi like an Italian Grandmother
• from Food Nouveau – How to Make Gnocchi – A Step-by-Step Recipe

A Video from Anne Burrell:

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I hope you will try making gnocchi, and let me know how it goes! One of my classmates recommended I get the kids to try making pasta with me, and read them the story of Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola afterwards. Strega Nona has a magic pasta pot. I think this sounds like a great idea.

One last thing…

If you are wondering how the gnocchi I learned compared to Miriam’s gnocchi from Italy, here is the original recipe from Miriam in Naples, Italy, 1986:

Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina

(Potato Dumplings Sorrento Style)

Serving for 4 persons.

1-lb. of dry potatoes (molto ascutto) such as russet potatoes

¾ cup of flour – you may need a little more for work area and your hands

Pinch of salt

1 whole medium size egg

250 grams of fior di latte sliced or fresh mozzarella di bufala, cut into cubes

Parmigian cheese to sprinkle.

Sauce recipe follows.

Boil whole potatoes with the skins on until they are soft.  When they are done, drain the water out of the pot and let the potatoes sit until they are cool enough to peel. Peel potatoes. Using the smallest disc pass the potatoes thru the pasta tutto (food mill).  They must be lukewarm when you work with the potatoes.

Flour your work area and place the potatoes on top.  Now, making a well in the center of the potatoes put salt and egg into the center and place flour all around the outside of the potatoes.  Bring the dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. To check for doneness put your finger quickly into the dough; if your finger comes out dry then the dough is ready.

Now make snakes out of your dough by cutting a slice off the dough and using your fingers roll the wet dough from the center out making a long snake about the size of your little finger; just like you use to do when playing with play dough.  Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces.  Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

Bring a pot of water to boil and when the water boils add some salt.  Carefully drop your gnocchi pieces into the water a few at a time.  When the gnocchi begin to rise, they are ready. Continue to cook all the gnocchi this way until they are all cooked.  Spoon out the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place the prepared gnocchi on a dish cloth to drain.

Alla Sorretina (The Sauce)

850 grams of whole canned tomatoes (2 large cans) cleaned & mashed reserving all the liquid.  Miriam would remove the skins and then break open the tomatoes and remove the core with her fingers.

1/3 cup of olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced and diced small

8 oz. glass of white wine

20 basil leaves, chopped.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the white wine, and cook the onions covered on a low flame.  Check and stir occasionally and after 20 minutes take off the lid, raise the flame, and let the liquid evaporate.  With flame on high add the tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper, bring to a boil and then put the pan on a gas spreader* (1 or 2), if you have them or not,  turn your flame down and let simmer between 30-45 min.

Prepare your pan:  Put some sauce on the bottom and about half of the gnocchi, your sliced fior di latte and parmigian cheese, more sauce the rest of the gnocchi, more sauce and end with the fior di latte parmigian cheese and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven un-covered.  Check after 20 minutes.  Place fork into the center and if the fork comes out stringy it’s ready.

Suggested sides:  Good crusty Italian bread and a nice green salad or wilted spinach and garlic.

Happy Cooking,

Melissa

They are soooooo good.

The recipe is from Cassie of Bake Your Day, in her guest post at Krissy’s Creations:

Salted Turtle Cookies.

Make them immediately- you won’t be sorry.

Happy Cooking,

Melissa