Smell, Taste, Love - Escapades of a Foodie

Ghirardelli, My Love!

2009-04-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

So, with my Swiss exchange buddy visiting me this week, I am eating a lot of food but finding little time to write about it! It's quite funny because I feel like we Americans eat so much more - we find ourselves getting hungry or even snacking when we are not while the Swiss girls protest. They also say food is a lot cheaper here - everything, actually, from clothes to dinners out. Another thing about dining in Switzerland (and I think a lot of Europe) is that it is very rude to take home food from a restaurant. It's a "what, that girl does not get enough at home?" thing; also, portions are smaller and can be more easily finished.

It's been a really fun weekend so far! We went up to the Boardwalk and the big city, did some shopping and ate chocolate at Ghirardelli. You can view chocolate machinery demonstrations and gorge on creamy, delicious sundaes with freshly made fudge and whipped cream. My friend and I split a Mint Bliss Sundae, below - aptly named. I really like chocolate, but I honestly can't have too much of it, so mint is a very refreshing accompaniment.

The official suggestion:
The next time you get up to San Francisco, take the cable car ride (so fun!) all the way to Fisherman's Wharf, then get off and walk one block to Ghirardelli Square where they have the chocolate shop we ate at and a Kara's Cupcakes. Two perfect indulgences within walking distance of each other. The hardest part is making room for both...

Daniela

What Now?

2009-03-31T20:45:00.001-07:00

Chocolate cake and sparkling apple cider from Filoli's Garden Café.

Today is the last official day of this blog being a school project. But when dinner's over, there's still dessert. :) I will definitely continue posting as often as I can. Honestly, even this 20-30 days has pushed me to cook way more. I think I'm starting to get a bit more of the instinct of what to do without a recipe - just a bit, but it's getting there. Just like everything else, experience will get me the rest of the way, so good night and stick around if you'd like!

Daniela

Site Spotting: Scanners + Sandwiches = ??...

2009-03-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

...Scanwiches!
"Scans of sandwiches for education and delight."

People (I like to think ones at ultra-conservative and boring corporate offices) got tired of lunch-hour tedium and combined two miracles of modern technology into this one clever site.

The result is very weird, kind of artistic cross-sections. Potential inspiration for the bread + filling fan.

My favorite scanwich - the only one of its kind on the site:

Surrounded by salami and pastrami, the ice cream scanwich made me laugh.

Daniela

[Meez Ahn Plahs]

2009-03-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

What is a mise en place? Only one of the best "tools" in the kitchen!

In French, it basically means "put into place."

In cooking, it means that a lot of preparation that helps things go a heck of a lot smoother and prevents you from rummaging through your cupboards while your chicken is burning, yelling "WHERE IS MY LEMON ZESTER?!"

A large part of mise en place is having a lot of different bowls that you measure things into, in advance. For example, to bake cookies, portion your flour and sugar and chocolate chips and everything in the respective ratios into separate bowls before you officially start mixing them together to make the dough. This will help you clean up as you go and keep the dough from sitting on the counter half-mixed, which often makes it denser or worse in other ways.

Also, if you are cooking something on a fry pan, or especially something with meat, having a mise en place can totally de-stress the process: trust me, I have many times tried and failed to chop my herbs in the 1-minute window between the meat being perfect and it being charred to death. Do it ahead of time, put the fresh greens into a bowl, and cover with a moist paper towel.

Do this with tools as well, rather than hunting for the cheese grater just as the cheese is already supposed to be grated and added in. Think of what you need, and it will save you a lot of pain later.

I've read that in a professional kitchen, chefs guard their mise en place ferociously. They all take the tools they want, the ingredients they favor, and practically hoard them underneath the floorboards.

Although I doubt your parents/roommates will really want your paring knife, having a mise en place every time you step up to the plate - even if it's as simple as getting the salt and serving plate out before you fry an egg - is a really good strategy to successful, simple cooking.

Daniela

Extremely-Mini-Quiches

2009-03-26T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ah! As promised: actual cooking.
So, I've had my mind on this mini-quiche recipe from Just Bento, a food blog about arranging bento, the lunch boxes popular in Japan. I love quiches, I love "mini" things... why not? Even though I'm not Japanese or capable of being filled up by one of those tiny bento boxes.

Go read the recipe for actual instructions - I followed the Quiche Lorraine, with some notable exceptions:

Replaced zucchini with 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
Forgot to put in sour cream... oh, well. Adding it in would have made the egg fluffier.
Used pre-made, frozen puff pastry squares from Slavic Shop, down the street from school. Great store! They even sell real Italian gelato in take-home containers.
Baked on the convection bake setting at 250 degrees for 40 minutes, realized something was wrong, switched to convection roast and let it finish up in 10. The whole thing is supposed to be done in 10. From my messed-up oven to yours, this is some advice - check on the quiches after you put them in with the filling and 5ish minutes have passed - if they're not getting fluffier/browner, change your settings.
Used a 12-muffin tin rather than a 6-muffin tin, meaning my quiches were even smaller than intended (used about half a pastry square for each quiche). Worked well. More snackable - would make good appetizers.

They turned out really well. I didn't get mine too browned, and it took a lot longer (see above), but they were delicious. Also, you can apparently freeze them and reheat them in the microwave. Take a look, and then go make some - they'd properly take about 25 minutes:

Muffin tin lined with puff pastry dough and a bit of aluminum foil to keep the edges from sinking in (see recipe).

The egg filling mixture.

The finished mini-mini-quiches cooling on a rack.Dinner!

These definitely differed from the typical quiche in size, but also in dough: the crust is usually thick, like a graham-cracker pie crust, but more compressed and savory. However, I actually like using puff pastry - it's very rich and makes this mini quiche unique and tasty.

Seriously, trust me when I say you do not need "to know how to cook" to do this one. Just do it - it will be fabulous. Now that I think about it, that philosophy can be applied to most things in life.

Daniela

"When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls"

2009-03-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

NY Times: Go read the article about sugar and savings.

It's pretty interesting, and understandable: after all, if you can't have a Lamborghini anymore, I bet you can still afford a lollipop. Sorry about the lack of actual food preparation lately. I've been surviving on grandparent-made Russian food and bland Chinese takeout. Bleh. Must make something tomorrow.

Daniela

Happy National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day!

2009-03-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

yum9me's Flickr photostream.

This wonderful and delicious holiday is celebrated every year on March 24th! According to holidayinsights.com, it was probably created by candy makers rather than written into religious texts... but it's still tasty, right?

Health notice: Chocolate-covered raisins may not be that bad of a movie theater snack... at least compared to the other options. A Nestlé Raisinets Movie Pack has 380 calories per 3.5oz box, compared to a package of plain M&Ms with 776* calories per 5.3oz package.
Munch away!

Daniela

Edit: *753 cal

Humor from a Genuine Food Nerd

2009-03-22T19:41:00.003-07:00

I Want to Wake Up in the City That Never Sleeps

2009-03-22T17:09:00.001-07:00

I am quite sorry that blogging from NYC did not work out. However, I still took pictures of my food a lot of the time, so, this is a super brief culinary overview of my fabulous trip in which it was sunny, rainy, and snowing - all in four days!

Delicious scallion pancakes from Ollie's, across from Columbia University. They also had the best chow fun I've ever had.

I think even this dark shot can give you an idea of Max Brenner's, a small chain of restaurants on the East Coast that have a primary focus on their chocolate menu. I had a crêpe with turkey and swiss for my "real meal" and then proceeded to have a dense chocolate drink that you create over a candle flame and an Ivory Heart, a chocolate cake filled with white chocolate and dark chocolate cream and topped with ice cream and berries. Mm. A must-visit in NYC. Although I did nearly fall into a sugar coma.

Goat-cheese and tomato confit omelette from French bistro-type restaurant Le Monde, nearby Columbia, as well. Get the Prix Fixe, but avoid the bread pudding. Beautiful, but cold and eggy:

Bread pudding... exposed.

Honorable mentions: rarely eating breakfast, iced caramel macchiatos at Starbucks (how foreign!), really good miso soup at Ollie's, stellar matzah ball soup at Junior's, potato pancakes + apple sauce + AMAZING cheesecake also at Junior's, Jackie's demented lox bagel, the surprisingly good turkey sandwich on the return flight. The delicious-as-usual Russian food my grandparents made for me upon my return.

I'll be back to posting normally about fabulous and tasty food tomorrow!

Daniela

Air First Class... Not

2009-03-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

I hate airplane food with a passion. It can't actually be called food.
The only good stuff I've had was on Qantas - it was heavenly! But again... for an airplane.
So, whenever I travel, I load up heavily on snacks.
What I'm bringing this time on the plane to NYC:

Orbit Citrusmint gum
Werther's caramels
Ritter Sport chocolate bar... milk chocolate with cornflakes! Haha, I think I'm the only one who enjoys it.
Chicken salad.
Whole-wheat crackers.
Apple sauce.
A LUNA bar - chocolate/peppermint.
Fork + spoon.
A plum.

Although my choices might seem a bit eccentric, they make flying like first class to me... who needs a menu of soggy chicken caesar sandwiches when you've got exactly what you want? Once, when I was going to Japan, I even brought a whole (but small) stick of salami, a piece of cheese, and a box of crackers. Now that was tasty.
Ta-ta for now, and I will be food blogging from NYC the next time I write!

Daniela

Tomatoes Are my Friend

2009-03-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Refer to the pasta sauce recipe previously published in the Winged Post. I have a lot of work to do, but this delectable concoction required only 10 minutes of my time and some mini baguettes crisped in the oven for 4 minutes at 350F. I am so lazy that I even used a garlic press - see photo - rather than mincing garlic.

Toodle-oo.

Daniela

Lemony Love

2009-03-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I went to Kara's Cupcakes on Santana Row by fortuitous circumstance... and I got a piece of happiness... aka a Meyer Lemony Lemon cupcake! According to Kara's filled cupcakes menu, it is a "vanilla cupcake with a tart lemon filling and lemon buttercream." Witness the $3.25 beauty:

You should really try it. I thought the quality of Kara's Cupcakes was dubious since I absolutely hated the dry, crumbly Kara's Karrot cupcake, but this more than made up for it. The buttercream was rich and creamy without feeling too heavy, the inside was neither burning acid nor pure sugar - perfect, fresh Meyer lemon. I'm glad they didn't make the cake part lemon-flavored - the plainness of not-too-sweetened vanilla balanced out the strongness of the cupcake's other components. Go get it! It's fabulous. Maybe that saying about bad circumstances should be changed to "When life gives you lemons, go make a cupcake!"

Daniela

Prep-Free Latté Parfait

2009-03-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite breakfast! Super quick, you probably already have the ingredients, and it's perfect for a sweet tooth or a coffee addict.

Dump 1 fat-free vanilla yogurt cup into a small bowl. Add 1 tsp of instant coffee powder and stir it in with a fork until the yogurt becomes golden and the powder chunks dissolve. Take a taste - if you want a stronger coffee flavor, add more powder in 1/4 tsp increments. This is optional, but to give a chocolate twist to your dish, add 1/2 tsp of Nutella and mix it in thoroughly. It also serves to thicken watery yogurt. Tap the bowl on the counter to jiggle the yogurt into a flat surface, and sprinkle the top with cocoa powder and crushed crunchy cookie or cereal - I used Cheerios, but biscotti, amaretti cookies, or anything else sweet would work.

There you have it! Although a parfait usually implies layers of things, I like my recipe names to rhyme. :)

Have a nice day!

Daniela

Asian-Italian: Pesto Potstickers

2009-03-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today was both a failure and a discovery. I started out trying to make a pesto sauce, visions of a creamy liquid which I would dip warm breadsticks into (inspired by Amiti and Shreya!). In a blender, I attempted to liquefy 2.25 cups of whole basil leaves, .5 cup pine nuts, 2/3 cup pre-shaved parmesan, and 1/3 cup garlic olive oil. This didn't work out so well, as the meager metal spinner of my blender could not process big, thick leaves:
So, in exasperation, I remembered something in my refrigerator that I had desperately wanted to experiment with - Azuyama round pasta wraps, which are like pre-made potsticker dough that you just fill and fry - you can find them or similar products at Asian or specialty groceries (I bought mine at Gene's Fine Foods in Saratoga):
I blended my "pesto" mixture as much as I could, until it was a goo the consistency of very chunky peanut butter, at which point I spooned it all into a bowl and added 1/4 of a finely diced medium tomato. I also squeezed on a bit of lemon and liberal s&p.

I followed the instructions on the pasta wrapper package, laying each circle out flat, putting a teaspoon of pesto filling in the center, moistening the edges of the wrapper, and pinching the halves together like a potsticker - meanwhile, I was heating 1.5 tsp olive oil on a small frying pan on high:
When I had made a couple of pesto potstickers, I placed them as instructed, firmly and as flatly as possible onto the pan to fry for about 1-2 minutes per side, until they became golden, from this:
To this:

I took a tentative bite of this random creation, and I liked it! They taste like pesto tortelloni but in more of an appetizer/hors d'oeuvre form. Serve them up on a long plate, lined up in a row, garnish with some basil - you can even put thin half-slices of fresh tomatoes on each potsticker if you'd like - and watch guests, family, and friends snap them up. Or, eat them yourself with some jasmine rice! It's like vegetarian Asian-Italian fusion. Try other cooked fillings with pre-made pasta wraps if you're feeling creative: sautéed mushrooms, for example. No harm trying, because in cooking you can really eat your mistakes, eh?

Daniela

Quote of the Day: "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." ~ Samuel Beckett

Why the Kitchen?

2009-03-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I came to cook because of a love-hate relationship with food; my mother hardly cooked at all, so I went to school with my Lunchables and ate kids' frozen meals for dessert. Nearly everything I ate was highly processed and not very tasty, but how could I know the difference?

Finally, when I was around 8 or 9, I had an epiphany: my parents and I were at a winery and I pick up a recipe card for sautéed mushrooms. For some reason, I could not tear my mind away from the prospect of actually making the dish - we picked up the ingredients from the grocery store on our way home. I spent probably triple the time suggested to prepare the mushrooms, having barely ever cooked in my life before, but when I was finished slaving away, it was a triumph. They were delicious, and my family sat around eating them until the pan was empty. Having not shown any particular talent in my art class, or in piano - this was something that worked. I made it. And people liked it! Pretty much the beginning of my obsession with food. The moment when I prepared something fresh, delicious, and by myself. Today, I have composed a brief list of reasons of why should cook, too, or at least let food be a significant part of your life:

Art exhibit on Nevskiy Prospekt, St. Petersburg, Russia.

1. Food is universal. Food unifies hundreds of thousands of people in their cultures; food is a basic need that people bond together to maintain; it has been the subject of art for centuries; food is a global commonality. Can you imagine, all of the 6 billion people in our world sit down at relatively the same time in a day, to share in the specific act of eating with the people nearest them? It is peace, it is growth, it is life, it is community. Breaking bread doesn't need a language.

Bowl of cherries fresh from a Moscow "rinok", a kind of farmer's market.

2. Food is beautiful. Religious people say you should appreciate a piece of fruit as a gift from God, and scientists say that slowing down may help you eat less and feel more satisfied. The real reason why we should pay attention: simple beauty. Painters depict still-life fruits and people marvel at the shades of a gorgeous autumn apple. Before looking at a painting, take a look at the subject: food is unique, and food is gorgeous. Often, fresh produce is one of the most uncorrupted, simple, natural, beautiful parts of life. The simple pleasures are just as thrilling as a superbly plated restaurant dish, too.

Valentine's Day cupcakes.

3. Food conveys love. Does your mom make you soup when you are sick? Has a friend ever baked you cupcakes? Have you ever begged for homemade treats? Spending time in the kitchen is an act of caring - someone took time and effort and sometimes a lot of frustration to create something you would enjoy. Food is also part of many celebrations of life, death, and holidays. It is clear why gifts of food have been around for ages; they provide instant satisfaction, instant smiles, and an instant connection.

A simple salad from scratch.

4. Food nourishes your body and keeps it healthy. Although we hear on a daily basis what we should and should not eat, Michael Pollan says "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And I agree. Going to the farmer's market, choosing fresh foods, bypassing the potato chips for a sweet Yukon Gold - it gives me a sense of pride and happiness from consciously contributing to my physical well-being. I've heard that "all good things in life are illegal, immoral, or fattening," but food can be delicious without being a sin. Go try a Lokelani tomato on the Big Island or a sweetly pungent, organic carrot from the Saratoga farmer's market and get back to me on that.

There seem to be a million types of interesting pastas in the world!

5. Food is fun! Cooking amazes me with its infinite possibilities: combinations of ingredients, slight tweaks, global cuisine, cooking for different audiences, techniques, dietary restrictions, meals, snacks, everything. I can never get bored with it, because hey, I'm bored with cupcakes - what about muffins? Oh no, moving on to bread... Cooking food requires imagination, and imagination relies on you to be unlimited. When you expand your mind to create wonderful things, the feeling is inimitable.

Have a good evening and dinner if you have not eaten already.

Daniela

Dinner for One: Turkey + Spinach

2009-03-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Quick pic... I was hungry!

When you come back from your five AP classes, from volunteering in Africa and building the next oxygen-powered nuclear rocket.... or whatever it is you do after school, food is on your mind. However, what's not? A long wait, super-fancy presentation, or obscure ingredients like gouda aged for 29 years in a cave in Southern Mexico.

You want simple, tasty, easy food - just like this meal of lemony marinated turkey and sautéed spinach that I put together tonight.

This highly flexible "recipe" will have a total active prep time (meaning you're actually doing something in the kitchen) of about 20 minutes, and I have made the ingredients come out to a serving for one:

First, you want some turkey or chicken cutlets (preferably not frozen). Low in calories, and really easy to work with, find them in the meat department of any grocery store.

Find some marinade, a seasoned liquid used to flavor and tenderize food before cooking. It is sold in glass/plastic bottles in various types: lemon-pepper, for example. You probably have some in your fridge, so pick one according to your preference (excluding BBQ). Because I did not have any, I used a bottle of French Vinaigrette salad dressing - really, it's the same thing: acidic and seasoned. If you go that route, just make sure it's not a cream: pick oil-based dressings.

Rinse the cutlet under cold water in your sink and pat dry, placing into an air-tight plastic container. Pour the marinade over the meat, soaking the meat through and leaving a small puddle around the cut to be absorbed. The more marinade - the stronger the flavor of the meat. Refrigerate this container, closed, for anytime between 40 minutes and 24 hours. The flavors of the marinade will steep into the meat and also make it softer. This preparation can be planned ahead.

When you are ready to prepare the meat, preheat an oven to the "bake" setting at 250F (preheat means turn it on and leave it for about 7 minutes). Place the meat onto a rimmed baking dish of any accommodating size, and pop it into the middle rack of the now-hot oven for about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse about 1.5 cups of baby spinach, packed into a cup for measuring, and pat each leaf dry with a paper towel - the key to sautéeing, or frying over high heat, is working with dry ingredients. Set aside.

Pull the meat out of the oven briefly, flip the cutlets, and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Now, on the stovetop, set a small saucepan on medium-high heat to warm up. When it begins to get warm but not super-hot, add about 1.75 teaspoons of olive oil to it.

After 5 minutes have elapsed since you flipped the cutlets, pull the cutlets out, sprinkle some bread crumbs on top of them (buy the pre-prepared ones or just skip this part), and put them back in the oven. Raise the temperature to 350F and change the setting to broil. Leave in there for about 4 minutes while you fry the spinach:

When the pan is hot (an added drop of water should sizzle), add the spinach to it and briskly stir it around with a spatula, coating each leaf with the olive oil. Continue watching it, stirring frequently, until it wilts - get softer and darker - when you can liberally sprinkle on some s&p. Fry it up a bit longer until it's slightly crispy in some parts, and squeeze a couple of drops of lemon juice over it. This whole process should take about 4 minutes. As soon as it is cooked to your desired consistency and taste, slide the spinach onto a plate.

Immediately after the spinach is done, or as soon as 4 minutes have passed since the broiling began, remove the poultry from the oven and serve onto a plate with the spinach. Feel free to add salt, lemon, and pepper, as well as any other complementary herbs you like.

The poultry meat should be completely opaque (meaning it's cooked-through) and relatively juicy from the marinade, while the spinach will have a lemony zing.

That wasn't hard, was it? Bon appétit!

Daniela
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Chef's Notes:
When working with any kind of raw meat, always make sure to disinfect surfaces that came in contact with it thoroughly, as well as washing your hands and avoiding cross-contamination. Good stuff. You can read about food safety here.

Oh, use potholders when using the oven, too. I have more burns than I can remember the stories for.

Omega // "Oh My God!"

2009-03-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

What lurks in the juice bottle?

Shopping at one of my absolute favorite grocery stores, Trader Joe's - they always have unique prepared foods and good prices - my eye was drawn to a glass bottle with a bright orange, velvety-looking liquid inside. Mmm... this might be the only carrot juice that has ever tempted me to buy it, I thought. Omega-fortified, too - "omega-3s" are controversially beneficial fatty acids that allegedly help brain function, prevent coronary heart disease, and lower the risk of some cancers. 100% juice. Bright orange. Tempting.

Since I am on an anti-preservatives binge from reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan [different story], I checked the ingredients list for quite a surprise. Tilapia gelatin?! What? Two other fish oils, including tuna? I thought this was carrot juice. Suddenly, this bright and happy concoction lost its appeal to me and I walked away.

Apparently, the American Heart Association says "Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids." Hm.

I guess in light of research, having a bit of fish oil in your carrot juice might be a stomachable way to take it. But take this as a warning, all you non-meat-and-fish-eaters - maintain suspicion with anything enriched by omega-3s.

As for me, I prefer my juices vegetarian. What are your thoughts? Do you see this as bizarre or completely ordinary?

Daniela

No Vampires Here: the 3-minute Garlic Mince

2009-03-09T22:03:00.001-07:00

Garlic is definitely my favorite seasoning/condiment/spice/bulbous plant. It is a key component of sauces, dips, roasts, pizzas, Italian cuisine, and much more, as well as being good for your health (antibacterial!) and very pungent.

Since even the most basic (and frequently the tastiest) recipes call for "minced garlic", this is a super easy tutorial on how to finely chop away. Total time: about 3 minutes. So...

A head of garlic, its natural state when you buy it from the grocery store:

Heads contain individual pieces called cloves, enclosed in a papery white skin. Attack the skin at the top of the garlic, not at the roots, and just peel it away with your fingers until you see cloves:Pull the recipe's required amount of cloves out of the head of garlic (it's easy). Now, each will be enclosed in its own thin, papery skin - follow the same procedure and peel it off completely until you see a slightly sticky, whole, white clove:

Now is when the chopping begins. Lay the clove with the flattest side down on a cutting board and utilize a sharp (and not jagged/serrated) knife comfortable for your hand (I prefer a really long, wide one). Carefully holding the two long sides together with two fingers, like pincers, make close-together slices down the long end of the garlic clove. Keep holding it together, and rub a little salt all over the surface without disrupting your arrangement. The salt crystals bond with the stickiness of the garlic juice to prevent garlic pieces from shooting out as you chop. Do your cuts look like this?:

Good. Now, holding the slices together as you did before (be careful), make close-together cuts width-wise on the garlic clove (perpendicular to your previous cuts). At this point, allow the pieces to come apart into a chunky pile like this:
Now, the reason why I use a big knife is that it helps in making those big garlic pieces fine, tiny bits. Here it goes: arrange the garlic pieces you have into a tight lump, maybe adding a sprinkle of salt. Position one hand firmly around the handle of the knife, and the other hand flatly against the top, dull side of the knife at the tip. Yes, you're going to rock the knife back and forth on the garlic pile, twisting it this way and that until you get the fineness you want. I made a video to illustrate it! Please excuse my bad knife-holding form at the tip - it's not a very safe example, but effective if you are careful.*

And.... voilá!
You have well-minced garlic, ready to be used in a number of tasty foods. Spaghetti sauce, perhaps?

The finishing tip: rub a little fresh lemon juice on your fingers to help erase the strong smell, and enjoy!

Daniela
*[Note: You always follow my instructions at your own risk!]

I Never Knew...

2009-03-08T19:13:00.001-07:00

Mouth-watering Nutella panini from creampuffsinvenice's Flickr photostream.

... that the singular form of "panini" is "panino." Ha!

Since I seem to be on a roll of Italian dishes, a panino is a sandwich, usually made with ciabatta bread that is put into and grilled in a panini press. The grill flattens it and scores it in a pretty way, melting the ingredients inside, and panini can look anything like the wonderful dessert confection pictured above or a classically savory sliced salami, mozzarella, basil, etc.

Panini Happy is a thorough resource with gorgeous pictures of this popular kind of sandwich as well as recipes and tips for making your own! In fact, they even have a page explaining that you luckily do not need a press to make your own panini.

Daniela

Quote of the Day: "I thought I had an appetite for destruction, but all I wanted was a club sandwich."
- Matt Groening, The Simpsons

Dol-chay Spot-zee-o

2009-03-07T18:13:00.001-08:00

[Dolce Spazio]

Ice cream is an American concoction of frozen sugar and cream, something to cool you down in the summer. Gelato is an Italian concoction of frozen sugar and cream from Heaven that has been given to mankind as a form of edible bliss.

If you don't believe me, head over to Dolce Spazio in downtown Los Gatos, CA, and try their Amaretto Almond in a cone for $3.75. From then on, you'll only resort to Safeway's freezers in a dire emergency... like Dolce's closing!

Unlike the stuff at Big Basin Café in nearby Saratoga, it doesn't become a race to eat the gelato before it melts down your arm: the consistency is creamy and soft, but not liquid. They had 11 or 12 flavors - 9 standards, a couple more rotating [including a sorbet], with cup sizes from uno to quattro and a crunchy waffle cone. Menta Chip and the amazing Amaretto have both been simultaneously rich and light, without leaving an artificial taste in your mouth - the latter tastes like you're eating the world's best biscotti in a less crunchy form.

Dolce Spazio seems cute and genuine, like a place people come back to because they know the other people who go/work there. Charming outdoor tables and pretty late hours... new post-show hang-out? I'm dead serious - if you haven't been there already, take this as a sign. Andare!

------------------------------------
Kitchen Lingo:

Yum, right? But, I know what you're thinking... what is the difference between gelato and ice cream? Sorbet, too?

Well, according to the website World of Ice Cream, ice cream has up to half of a carton of air whipped into it, meaning it "scoops more easily and melts more quickly." While high-quality ice cream has less air added, gelato has none at all - giving it higher density. That allows it to deliver rich creaminess with less fat than the average ice cream.

Unlike the dairy bunch, sorbet is practically fresh fruit and sugar - no fat, icier, often very tart, and a completely different dessert altogether.

So... now that you know... which one do you want in your freezer?

Daniela

Quote of the Day: "If I had to live my life over... I would eat more ice cream and less beans."
- Nadine Stair

On Food Writing

2009-03-06T21:11:00.001-08:00

Chicken and wild rice soup, made by me from an Everyday Food magazine recipe.

Smell, taste, love: the perfect sequence for appreciating the stuff coming out of kitchens worldwide that we call food. With myself being the Foodie, this here blog will serve to enrich your basic culinary knowledge and awareness of what you shovel into your mouth on a daily basis. Cooking tips, resources, links, cookbooks, recipes, restaurant reviews, humor, quotes, photos - you name it, I'll whip it up. After I'm done with the meringue.

Daniela
- Amateur Chef and Definite Gourmet -
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Chef's Notes

Quote of the Day: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." - Harry S. Truman

Kitchen Lingo:
meringue (n.) [mihr-ang] - a mixture of beaten egg whites and sugar, often used to top pie.
gourmet (n.) [goor-may] - someone with a deep appreciation of good food, living to eat rather than eating to live.