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