Catching up - step back to Sunday

Lidia's pasta, with slight variations

I'm not sure how the days get away from me. It's not like I have so much to do here, and really, I feel like I could be accomplishing so much more. I am managing to get my workout in most mornings though, but by the time I have breakfast, work out, and shower, most of the morning is gone! So, I am a few days behind on my menus. I'll start where I left off... Saturday we had crepes. Sunday I made a simple pasta. I tend to do one day of something a bit complicated, and the next day I do a simple meal to offset it. This is a pasta dish that I first encountered during a pledge drive for KQED, our local public TV station in SF. Yes, I'm that much of a celebrity stalker that I volunteered to answer phones during a pledge drive because Lidia Bastianich was going to be there. She made this dish during one of the pledge segments, and then we (the volunteers) got to eat it! Lots of people go to Lidia's restaurants, but how many people can say that they had food that she actually cooked herself - while you watched! I was super happy. And then, she autographed books, and spent time chatting with everyone. I spoke to her in my limited Italian, and could not have been more thrilled. She is truly a gracious person. This has become one of my go-to pasta dishes, as I generally have most of the items on hand. Often, I will add peas (as I did Sunday) or maybe eggplant, just to give it a twist, but I always use the fennel and sausage, although not always Italian sausage - if I have wild boar on hand, I'll use that, and sometimes I'll use a mix of sweet and spicy sausages. Disclaimer: the photo above is of a different time when I made this pasta, as I forgot to take a photo the other night! Here's Lidia's version, direct from her website, lidiasitaly.com:

salt for the pasta water
1 pound ziti
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, without fennel seeds
1 large fennel bulb, about 1 pound
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, cut in half-moon slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup tomato paste
3 cups finely chopped fennel fronds
1 cup freshly grated pecorino, or Grana or Parmigiano

Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling for the pasta. Drop the ziti into the boiling water, then bring back to a boil and cook until the ziti are not quite al dente. Drain, reserving 3 cups of the pasta water. While the pasta is cooking, remove the sausage from its casing and break the meat up a bit with your fingers. Trim the fennel bulb, removing any tough outer parts, reserving the fronds. Slice the bulb in half lengthwise, remove core then slice each half in ¼- inch- thick lengthwise slices.

Separate the slivers of fennel if they are attached at the bottom; cut the long slivers in half so you have about 3 cups of 2- inch- long matchsticks of fennel. Heat the olive oil in a skillet set over medium- high heat. Add the sausage meat, and cook, stirring and breaking it up more with a wooden spoon, until it sizzles and begins to brown, about 1½ minutes. Push the sausage to the sides of the pan, and drop the onion slices into the clear part of the pan; sauté, stirring, until they sizzle and wilt, another 2 minutes or so, then stir them in with the meat. Clear a new space, and drop in the fennel; let it heat up and wilt for 1 minute or more, then stir to combine.

Sprinkle on ¼ teaspoon salt; drop the hot red pepper flakes into a cleared hot spot, and toast the flakes for ½ a minute, then stir to combine. Clear a good sized hot spot in the center of the pan, plop in the tomato paste, and cook, stirring it in the spot, for a good minute of more, until it is sizzling and caramelizing. Then stir it in with everything else.

Ladle the reserved pasta water into the skillet, stir well, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and let cook until the flavors have developed, the sauce is thickened but not too thick, and the fennel is soft but not mushy, 6 minutes or more. (Add more water if the sauce reduces too rapidly.) Season to taste.

Drop the cooked ziti into the simmering sauce. Toss everything together, then sprinkle over it the chopped fennel fronds, and continue to cook until the ziti are perfectly al dente and cooked with the sauce.

Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the grated cheese over the ziti, and toss it in. Serve the hot pasta right from the skillet into warm pasta bowls.

Savory Bread Pudding

Once again, I've neglected my blog... but now I'm feeling inspired again so here's a new recipe. I made this last night and it was soooo good! Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo, but might try to get one of the leftovers later today. Stay tuned! So here's the recipe for a savory bread pudding. You can add pretty much anything you want to it. My inspiration was the bread pudding at Serpentine, which is to die for. They change the ingredients depending on the season, and so should you. You can easily make this vegetarian by omitting the sausage, but I'm afraid there's just no way to do this vegan or carb-free. The first bread pudding I made was in my class at Tante Marie (we made one with wild mushrooms) and I was hooked. It's really very easy to do, just takes a bit of time. This one I made with some Acme bread, but you can also use challah or brioche, in which case you could leave the crust on.

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

1 acme bread sweet batard, crust removed and cut into 1” cubes
1 italian sausage
1 leek, chopped
1 large fennel bulb, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup white wine
8 asparagus spears
½ bunch swiss chard
1 cup swiss cheese, grated
1 cup fontina cheese, grated
½ cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
4 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 cups milk
thyme
rosemary
salt
pepper
small grating of nutmeg
chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss bread cubes with olive oil and some chopped thyme and rosemary. Spread on a baking sheet and put in oven for about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and sauté in some olive oil till browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Add leeks, fennel, and red pepper to pan with a bit of salt and cook till softened, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch asparagus in a pot of salted water for about 2-3 minutes till just tender. Remove and spread out in one layer to cool. Remove stems from swiss chard and blanch in same water. Drain and chop, add to leek mixture.

Add wine to leek mixture and cook till reduced.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, add cream, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, chives, swiss, fontina, and half the parmigiano. Chop asparagus and add. Add leek mixture. Add bread cubes and stir well, press down and let soak for 10-20 minutes so that milk is well absorbed into bread, pressing down every now and then.

Butter 6 ramekins and set into a baking dish with high sides.

Fill each ramekin with bread mixture, pressing down and doming a little at the top. Top with a sprinkle of parmigiano.

Bake in water bath for about 40 minutes, till set and the top is golden brown and crunchy.

Remove from water bath, let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Recipes from my January Meetup

Tuesday night was my first cooking class Meetup of the year. We had a great turnout with some regulars and some newcomers. The food was delicious, and we had a great time eating and watching the innaugural balls while we ate. We made Chicken Cacciatore (a la Valerie), Creamy Herb Polenta, and Fennel & Apple Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.

Chicken Cacciatore

Serves 6 Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 50 minutes

1 whole Chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt & pepper to taste
Flour for dredging
Olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 28oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
1 cup sliced green olives
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock

• Coat the bottom of a heavy skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt & pepper and dredge in flour. Brown in oil on both sides, then remove to a plate.
  
• Add onions to pan, season with a little salt and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, juice, olives, wine and stock and bring to a boil. Nestle chicken pieces into sauce with any juice on dish, and about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper
  
• Cover and simmer very gently for about a half hour. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. If sauce is too thin, remove chicken and reduce sauce over high heat for about 5 minutes. Serve with creamy herb polenta.

Creamy Herb Polenta

Serves 6-8 Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

1 1/2 cups polenta
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bunch sage
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• Bring stock to a boil in a large pot, then add salt. Make a whirlpool in center with a whisk and slowly pour polenta into center. Turn heat down to a low simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for about 20-30 minutes until tender to the bite.
  
• While polenta cooks, gently heat cream and herbs in a small pot.
  
• When polenta is done, strain herbs out of cream and stir cream into polenta. Stir in butter and cheese. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Fennel & Apple Salad

Serves 6 Prep time: 15 minutes

2 Granny Smith Apples
1-2 Fennel bulbs
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 small shallot, chopped very fine
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• Put lemon juice, zest, shallot, salt and pepper in a salad bowl. Whisk in olive oil.
  
• Slice apples and fennel on a mandoline on a very thin setting (or slice very thinly with a sharp knife) and place immediately into vinaigrette to prevent discoloration. Add cheese and pecans and toss to combine.