Tuesday

FIFTEEN ~ NINETEEN : TIME TO MAKE FRESH PASTA

JUNE 28 2011

FIFTEEN : RED WINE VINAIGRETTE 
SIXTEEN : ARUGULA, PECORINO & RED WINE VINAIGRETTE SALAD
SEVENTEEN : BASIC PASTA DOUGH
EIGHTEEN : VEGETABLE BROTH
NINETEEN : LINGUINE WITH FAVA BEANS, GARLIC, TOMATO & BREAD CRUMBS

Today I am taking on fresh pasta. I even bought the pasta attachments for my KitchenAid so I am fully invested. Frankies is full of encouragement that fresh pasta really isn't that hard, but I am not convinced. I've made it before and always got angry. But back then I had a hand crank thingy that squeaked and the handle would fall off while I was cranking it. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe it will all be okay.

Step one is to make the pasta dough. Not too hard. Just mix it all in the KitchenAid and chill for an hour. Then I take a look at the recipe for the pasta with fava bean. Wait, what!? I have to make fresh vegetable broth?! This is too much. I almost order a pizza. But first I flip to the blurb about the broth and realize it's actually super easy. Just simmer some chopped veggies (any will do) for 15 minutes then let steep for 30. Okay, calm down, that is totally doable. Pasta is back on! And the veggie broth actually smells quite nice as it simmers.

Time to tackle the fava beans. Did you know the inside of a fava bean pod is fuzzy? I sure didn't. Looks so nice and cozy for those little guys!

Sunday

FOURTEEN : THE TOMATO SAUCE

JUNE 26 2011

I've been excited about this one! I made the short-cut version a few weeks ago and was so impressed by the difference that authentic Italian tomatoes make in flavor. So good! Four hours is a long, long time to simmer something, but I'm dedicating a large chunk of my Sunday to doing just that. Start by gently frying 13 garlic cloves in one cup of olive oil 10 minutes until nicely browned. Then four 28oz cans whole Italian tomatoes that I crushed by hand are dumped in and the whole mess is simmered for 4 hours, stirring often.


After one hour the house is smelling amazing and by the end of the four hours, I am positively drooling.

Saturday

ELEVEN ~ THIRTEEN : SWEET POTATO CROSTINI

JUNE 25 2011

ELEVEN : TOASTS FOR CROSTINI
TWELVE : PARSLEY PESTO
THIRTEEN : SWEET POTATO CROSTINI

There are 7 kinds of crostini in the antipasto section of Frankies and they all start with the toasts-for-crostini recipe that also requires the parsley pesto recipe. So when I decided to finish off the leftover sweet potato from Monday's dinner by trying the strange-sounding Sweet Potato Crostini, I had to start by making the other two.

Basically the crostini recipe requires brushing sliced baguette with parsley pesto and broiling for 2 minutes. No sweat! The parsley pesto is a blend of 1 cup parsley and 1 cup olive oil (yikes!) with garlic and seasoning. I would call it more of a parsley oil, myself. It is nice on the bread, although I feel it could use a little acid.



Crostini finished, I whipped the remaining sweet potato with olive oil, salt and white pepper until creamy and dolloped it on the toasts. My suspicions were confirmed; it was weird. There was something slightly appealing about the fluffy potato against the crunch of the crostini, but overall it was just weird.



For my second one, I brushed off all but a thin slick of potato and it was a little bit better. The parsley pesto could be tasted with just a hint of the potato. But, I will not be making this again. Just plain weird.

Monday

SEVEN ~ TEN : FAMILY DINNER PARTY

JUNE 20 2011

SEVEN : CARROTS
EIGHT : SWEET POTATOES
NINE : PATE BRISEE TART SHELL
TEN : CHOCOLATE TART

That's right, FOUR recipes conquered today! We hosted a little dinner party for some family this evening and picked up an enormous salmon from the farmer's market for the main course. There aren't any salmon recipes in Frankies, so I chose a couple simple sides to accompany the fish.

Since there were going to be eight people and I'm not a huge fan of dessert, I jumped at this chance to get one of the desserts out of the way. After consulting with hubby, who will end up having to eat any leftovers (poor guy), I picked the chocolate tart for tonight. Mostly because it's the most decadent dessert and we will need all the help we can get eating it.

Luckily, I was able to make the tart shell and the roasted carrots last night. The pate brisee came together quite easily, thanks to my handy KitchenAid mixer. Half of the recipe goes into the freezer to be used for the cheesecake recipe. The rest is pressed into a tart pan with removable bottom, baked, cooled and popped into the fridge to wait overnight. Thankfully I was able to borrow said tart shell with removable bottom because I really don't want to buy something I will only use once. Speaking of... where am I going to find a springform pan for the upcoming cheesecake? That is a question for another day.


Wednesday

FIVE ~ SIX : QUICK EGGPLANT MARINARA

JUNE 15 2011

FIVE : FENNEL, CELERY ROOT, PARSLEY & RED ONION SALAD WITH LEMON & OLIVE OIL
SIX : EGGPLANT MARINARA ("QUICK EGGPLANT FIX" VERSION)

My plan was to make the eggplant marinara when I got home from work today. But I hadn't thoroughly read the recipe and didn't realize it took 7.5 hours! Four hours to simmer the tomato sauce then 3.5 hours to bake the assembled dish. Oh man! That means we would be eating at approximately midnight.

Lucky for me, the Frankies acknowledged that 7.5 hours is a long time to wait for dinner so they included a short-cut version that only takes 2.5 hours. I can handle that! But I got to get that sauce going as it has to simmer for an hour.

Hmm... somehow I don't have any Pecorino Romano or fresh mozzarella. Dang! Gonna have to go to the store while the sauce simmers. Note to self: read the recipes thoroughly and make sure I have every ingredient on my shopping list!





Tuesday

FOUR : ASPARAGUS

JUNE 14 2011

It's asparagus season! I love, love, love asparagus. So I'm making myself a little snack :) This is one of the super simple recipes; blanch and eat. But, it's telling me to peel the ends of the asparagus. Argh! Normally I would totally skip this step (can't make that much of a difference, right?) but I can't today or I would be breaking the rule.


Okay, asparagus ends are peeled and the well-salted water is boiling. In go the asparagus for 2 minutes then immediately into an ice bath (another step I often skip). Arrange cooled spears on the serving platter, drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Done. Yum.

I wouldn't mind a splash of balsamic or lemon juice and will probably add that in the future, but these are some very nice asparagus.

It turns out that peeling the ends is totally worth it! So tender yet crisp at the same time. And somehow they end up much brighter and greener. I can see one spot that didn't get peeled (oops) and it's gone kinda brown-green, but the peeled parts are vibrant! It's a revelation!

Hmm... maybe I should peel the stems of the broccoli rabe next time.

THREE : RADISH SALAD WITH PARSLEY, CAPERS & ANCHOVIES

JUNE 7 2011

This is one of the few recipes I have previously made. But, as I'm sure I was unable to resist the urge to add something extra and probably didn't use the prescribed amount of olive oil, I am making it again (which is a good thing, because it is excellent!).

I know what you're thinking: a salad with chopped raw anchovies? Could that be good? Oh yes! It's definitely not fishy. The anchovies give it a lovely saltiness that balances well with the peppery bite of the radish. And the parsley freshens up all those intense flavors.


Pretty, isn't it? And it does pair nicely with a cold Clamato Chelada :) I am happy to point out that the radishes and parsley are products of my very own garden (yay!). Next time, I will probably scale back the olive oil a little as I don't think a salad needs to leave an oil slick in the bottom of the bowl. But other than that, this version is as good as I remember.

Sunday

TWO : FRANKIES CORN SALAD

JUNE 5 2011

Tonight we BBQ'd at a friend's and it was the perfect opportunity to make a Frankies recipe! I settled on the grilled corn salad from the "Grilling" appendix. But, there were a few challenges to my plan because before the BBQ I was going on some distillery tours, by bike, and wouldn't be coming back home.

I decided to prep the ingredients I had at home, stop at the store on the way to the BBQ to buy corn and tomatoes, then grill the corn and assemble the salad once we got there. In advance I made the dressing and packed a little container with chopped mint and sliced red onion which then came along with me on my bike.


Saturday

ONE : BROCCOLI RABE

JUNE 4 2011


I've already had to make a new purchase for
this project: white pepper. The Frankies swear
it's so much better than black pepper. More elegant,
they say, and the funky flavor stand up well to
their food. Feeling skeptical that I can distinguish
the difference, but am switching nonetheless.

I can't break my only rule on the first day!

FRANKIES A~Z : THE BEGINNING

JUNE 4 2011

This year, like every year, New Year's Eve came and went without me ever considering what to declare as my "resolution", something I should do or change for 2011. I know that's the tradition, but I've never given it much thought. Why must I change my life today? Why not in March or October when the mood strikes me to exercise more or take a trip or whatever it is people resolve to do? This year, the thunderbolt came around three days ago when I was flipping through a cookbook I've had for about a year and quite enjoy, The Frankies Spuntino : Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual. I've made a few things from this book that have all been awesome and was blown away by their restaurant, where I spent an evening for a friend's wedding.

Maybe, I thought, I should make all the recipes in this cookbook. Yes!!


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