gnocchi gone wild, making it for my first time

Picture this: I'm flipping through Cook With Jamie, trying to find the perfect meal to impress our friends George & Kara. They were driving in from Toronto so I wanted to make something special. I noticed a recipe for Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms & Sage. Yum, right? Best of all, it appeared I could make the gnocchi a day ahead and then cook them for a fabulous Saturday night dinner.

The first step in the process was finding a potato ricer. That only took three stores...I should have hit Little Italy first! Next, I baked the potatoes...easy peasy.

Once I turned the potatoes into dough, I placed the gnocchi on a semolina flour lined cookie sheet and left them in the fridge overnight. Pretty.

The following day, I made crispy sage and sauteed wild mushrooms for the sauce.

When the sauce was almost ready, I placed the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water. And, here is our "gnocchi" with wild mushrooms and sage.

Wondering what happened to my beautiful homemade (filled with love) gnocchi? Well, something went terribly wrong and I had a total gnocchi fail -- they disintegrated. My hard work disintegrated in front of my very eyes...and my guests' eyes. So I did what any good hostess would do, I pretended that I wasn't absolutely heartbroken and I threw a bag of brown rice pasta in another pot of boiling water. And, then proceeded to talk about how F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S brown rice pasta is for your health...it's lot easier to digest and much better for you than regular pasta or gnocchi, ya know!

la creuset...finally

During one of our recent visits to HomeSense, I put a La Creuset French Oven in our shopping cart. Hubby was stunned by the price tag. I was stunned too, because I knew we were saving a whack of money by purchasing a "second" (I think we saved about $100!).Well, this little French oven did not disappoint. Yesterday, I made a Bolegnese sauce and was thrilled to see how evenly everything was cooking. Nothing burned. Nothing got stuck to the bottom of the pot. Best of all, it made me happy to see the little red French Oven sitting on top of our stove!

metabolic cleanse menu #4: grilled chicken with brown rice pasta

Earlier today, I was trying to follow a Bob Lutz Twitter chat at work. Shortly after it finished, this tweet from Canadian culinary personality Lucy Waverman caught my eye:

Butter 2 slices challah on both sides. Add 1/2 cup taleggio, 6 thin slices crisp apple,1T chutney.Fry slowly on each side pressing down.#yum

I almost stopped my cleanse on the spot. Luckily Maria from Fresh Eats was nearby. She talked me out of aborting the cleanse during a moment of severe weakness. A few hours later, I was still planning my "quit" but my Pilates instructor half-told me to keep on truckin'. {wow! just realized how chi chi this all sounds}

So, here we are. I've now completed four days of detox. I feel great on the inside but I've become completely ambivalent about food. I don't really care what I eat, nor do I really enjoy it. And, that's bothering me a lot! The only thing I'm craving is to start caring again.

Metabolic cleanse dinner menu #4

Red leaf lettuce and grape tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Grilled chicken on top of brown rice spaghetti and store-bought tomato sauce

Big unknown: Will I make it through detox day #5?

Guest blog by Lauren: Long Weekend Vegetarian Feast

We had such beautiful weather today, my husband and I decided to make a late lunch/early dinner and eat outside on the patio. Since I'm a vegetarian and my husband isn't, it can often be difficult to make meals that appeal to both of us. All of the dishes we made today are tried and true vegetarian recipes that we both love. They're all great recipes for a meat-free Monday meal! The Best Caesar Salad Recipe
This recipe is from one of our favourite restaurants - Daiquiri Dick's in Puerto Vallarta. It's an eggless recipe (actually dairy-free if you omit the parmesan cheese) and is absolutely amazing! It's not truly vegetarian because of the anchovy fillets but you can remove them if you don't eat seafood.
1 3/4 oz Onion (roasted or caramelized)
1 clove Garlic
5 Anchovy Fillets
1/4 tsp Ground dry mustard
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 TB Worcheshire sauce
1 TB Soy Sauce (yes, soy sauce)
1 TB Lemon juice
2 oz Apple cider vinager
1 drop Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup Canola oil

In a blender combine all of the ingredients except the oil and Parmesan cheese. Allow it to spin away, adding the oil in a thin stream. Once all the oil has been assimilated, taste and if necessary, adjust seasoning. Use the nicest, crispest Romaine leaves in with the dressing and before serving, dust with Parmesan cheese, fresh ground black pepper. I also add croutons and a handful of sliced up cherry tomatoes. We typically put in about 1/2 the amount of oil but you'll need to adjust based on your preference.
Bruschetta on ACE Rosemary Focaccia Bread
4 large ripe tomatoes
Fresh basil (handful)
Olive Oil
Balsamic drizzle
Salt & Pepper to taste
Garlic (1 clove)

Slice and chop the tomatoes after removing the core. Loosely chop a handful of fresh basil and squeeze in the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil (roughly about 2 TB - enough to lightly coat the tomatoes) and season with salt and pepper. Last but not least, we've found an amazing balsamic drizzle that we use when we make bruschetta. We add a touch in the bruschetta and then top our bread with some as well. This is optional but well worth it if you're able to include it. Before serving the Focaccia we lightly grilled the bread on the BBQ. Simple pasta with cherry tomatoes

This started out as a simple pasta recipe from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. I've experimented with it over the years and made some changes based on what I like best. I believe the original recipe had cherry tomatoes, arugula and squashed olives.
3-4 containers of cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil (handful)
Olive oil
Chili flakes
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional: I kept it simple today but you can easily add a few additional ingredients to give this pasta a bit of a twist. Arugula is great in this pasta (include at the end) or you could add in some shrimp/scallops to make it a seafood pasta - we cook them in a separate pan in butter, garlic and white wine and then add them to the pasta when it's all done. This is a great vegetarian pasta but it's yummy to add in some seafood as well.

Loosely chop up the tomatoes. In a pan on high heat, drizzle some olive oil and add in garlic, a sprinkling of chili flakes and the basil. Once it starts to sizzle add in the tomatoes and turn the heat down to medium. Stir the sauce occasionally. You can start boiling the water for the pasta at the same time that you start the sauce. We like it with linguini but you can use any pasta. By the time the pasta is ready your sauce should be done. Top the pasta with some fresh Parmesan cheese and you're ready to go.

*To read Lauren's fashion blog visit http://ladauphinestyle.blogspot.com/

summer italian

My inlaws are wonderful people. They are funny, generous and just generally great to be around. Many summer Sundays are spent at their home taking a dip in the pool and gathering around the table for grilled lamb chops, tomato salad, and local corn on the cob.

This week, we wanted to say thank you for everything they've done for us lately. We invited them over for an Italian summer meal...truly inspired from a number of Jamie Oliver cookbooks.

Fava been and fresh pea crostini
~Grill a dozen slices of baguette. Brush with a clove of garlic and drizzle with the best extra virgin olive oil on hand. Top with a puree of canned fava beans, freshly shucked green peas, parmesean cheese, salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.~

Peach, prosciutto (in this case, Serrano ham), fresh mozzarella, mint salad

Wild mushroom pappardelle

Our pasta needed a little extra "something", so I pulled out an amazing/outstanding/out-of this-freaking world extra virgin olive oil that our interior designer gave us. It's from a small property in France and is made by his friends. What I love about this olive oil is the pungency. It tastes like olives. And, it was the perfect complement to our meal.Buon appetito!

P.S. If you want my interior designer's name, you'll have to wait. Just a few more weeks, I hope.

garlic, chili & parsley pasta

One of hubby's clients gave him garden fresh garlic...thank you!

Fireman Terry, my cooking mentor, suggested that I buy Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers' River Cafe Cookbook Easy. Why? Because you can easily make good things to eat. Rose and Ruth own the River Cafe, which apparently is a lovely Italian restaurant in London. I really, really, really want go there. Initially I heard about the ladies through the Jamie Oliver cookbooks; he worked with them in the early days. Needless to say, I'm excited to get started on the recipes.

Tonight's menu:

Spaghetti with Garlic, Chili and Parsley

~Took 15 minutes total to make and was a household hit~

~I use brown rice pasta because it's easier on our digestive systems~

Green salad with cannelini beans and heirloom tomatoes

~Not from the River Cafe Cookbook but cannelini beans are Tuscan so it works~

Have you been to the River Cafe? Do you know someone who's eaten there? Fill me in. If you'd like to try some River Cafe recipes courtesy of The Guardian click here.

P.S. Garden fresh garlic is outstanding. It's easier to take the skin off, it's not quite as pungent and the taste is not lingering in my mouth. Must plant next year.

weeknight italian

It was a dreary day in Windsor and Detroit. I'm thinking that's why I felt like making tomato sauce. It started with a can of San Marzano tomatoes that I found in our cupboard. Most chefs deem the San Marzano tomato superior to other varieties. I now believe.

Seriously, the San Marzano tomotoes yielded a much sweeter and less seedy sauce than the typical Roma.

For our evening's appetizer, I painted sliced Calabrese bread with olive oil mixed with minced garlic and kosher salt. Next I topped it with crumbled feta and dried thyme. After 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees, we enjoyed garlic bread with a glass of Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon.For the main, it was breaded veal scallopine with brown rice spaghetti and tomato sauce. We've been stuck on brown rice pasta for the past year or two. It just digests better. There is never a feeling of cement in your stomach. In Martha's words, that's a good thing!

To make the tomato sauce: Saute a chopped clove of garlic and chopped basil stalks in olive oil. Add a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add a hunk of Parmesan rind. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Throw in splash of your best extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef)

To make the veal scallopine: Put a handful of flour on a plate. Lightly beat an egg in a bowl. Mix bread crumbs or panko with freshly chopped garlic, dried oregano, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Drudge the veal in the flour, next dip the veal in the egg and lastly in the bread crumbs. Fry in a non-stick frying pan. Probably 3-4 minutes per side on medium.

Buon appetito!

healthy spring pasta

I like to make this recipe, or a version of it, when I can't figure out what else to do with all the ingredients that are generally in our home.

If you can't find fresh peas, use frozen peas or fresh aspargus. I buy the Rizopia brand brown rice penne at Zehrs and I think there is a President's Choice version as well!

Ingredients:

• half a bag of organic brown rice penne
• 2 cups of fresh peas (shucked)
• container of grape tomatoes
• lean prosciutto (omit if you're a veg or kosher)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• olive oil
• freshly grated parmesean cheese
• handful of fresh chopped basil
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

What to do:

• Follow the instructions below while the pasta is boiling for approximately 10 minutes
• Heat oil in large pan on medium-high
• Add the garlic
• Let sizzle for a few moments
• Add grape tomatoes
• Stir around and cook for about 5 minutes
• Add the peas
• Stir around
• Add the prosciutto
• Stir around
• When ready remove pasta and rinse in cold water
• Put pasta and tomato mixture in a large bowl
• Toss with grated parmesean cheese and top with fresh basil

Serves 2 hungry people or 4 not-so-hungry people.

Vito's Pizzeria in Walkerville

Windsor is a difficult city for restaurants. As the job losses mount, the restaurants close. So Vito's Pizzeria is a welcome addition to the dwindling scene. We stumbled upon Vito's during the week and decided to return with friends on Saturday night. Our server recommended that we make reservations for weekend dining. It was a good idea for our party of six. It was so busy that people were sitting on stools around the wood-burning pizza oven.

We began with prosecco cocktails. um...what's a better appetizer than that? I love bubbly wine! Next we moved into the white wine sangria and then a bottle of red. Fun times!

The Sicily's Golden Orbs (rice croquettes) and Nana's Polpette (meatballs) were hearty appetizers. The meatballs consisted of veal, pork, beef and you could actually see chunks of garlic! We also ordered the Brie al Forno which was essentially a sweet baked Brie. This dish was underwhelming...it was too small to share for more than two people. I guess I wasn't surprised since it wouldn't typically be my first choice with an Italian meal. Remember, I'm a matchy-matchy menu maniac!

Wherever I go for dinner, I must try the Caesar salad. It's old school but I'm obsessed. The Caesar at Vito's does not disappoint. Their creamy dressing is garlicky and parmesany (is that even a word?) with perfectly toasted homemade croutons.Our main courses included pastas and pizzas galore! My favourite dish is the Prosciutto Funghi pizza. I love that it's topped with an egg. Usually I don't like cooked prosciutto but they have found a way to keep it from being too mushy. Back to the egg...WOW! Earlier this year, there was a recipe for pizza with eggs in Gourmet Magazine. I think I'm going to finally have to try it at home.
The Pasta all Bolegnese is outstanding. The sauce includes veal, pork and beef; just like the meatballs. And, all of the pasta dishes are made with fresh pasta from the kitchen.

The Pasta Carbonera is super creamy. We all agreed that it could have used a bit more salt but would order it again.
The Patate Pizza has potatoes and onions on it. We couldn't really taste the onions and the potatos might be cut too thickly. My recommendation would be for the chef to drizzle some really good quality extra virgin olive oil on it. In fact, I wish that they had olive oil and spiced olive oil on the table for dipping and drizzling.
Overall, it's a fun new restaurant! I know that we'll be back soon. They've been open for about three weeks which tells me that things will only get better.

To see Vito Pizzeria's menu, visit http://www.vitospizzeria.net/menu.pdf

P.S. I should also mention that the restaurant doesn't have a large freezer on site so the food is brought in fresh daily. Let's hope this practice continues!