Linguini alla Marcella with Mozzarella

I have to share this recipe with all of you before you make your New Year’s resolutions. Why? Well, it is exquisite in its decadence, clever in its simple execution and I think everyone should taste it at least once. This pasta was introduced to me several years ago by my then roommate and food guru, who based it off of a Marcella Hazan recipe. I made it our special way many times before I learned of her influence. The recipe was initially tweaked by my roommate and I have added my own touches, most notably, the addition of melty fresh mozzarella and a tiny burst of heat to compliment the rich, sweet sauce.

Use whichever type of pasta strikes your fancy. I usually make this with spaghetti, but I had linguine on hand.

Do try to get a dark honey, such as buckwheat. Those molasses notes make an absolutely stunning addition and elevate the tart, brassy flavor of tinned tomatoes. I usually find my buckwheat or wildflower honey at farmer's markets or small specialty grocers.

Linguine alla Marcella con Mozzarella

Makes 8 servings

1 1/2 lbs pasta of choice
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2“ pieces
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 - 2 teaspoons buckwheat (or similar) honey
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste


1. In a medium pot over low flame, combine tomatoes, onion, butter and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce will need to simmer on low for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. In the last 20 minutes of cook time for the sauce add honey one teaspoon at a time, until it is as you prefer it (should be just a touch sweet, like a bursting-ly ripe cherry tomato) adjust for salt and pepper. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions.
3. Strain pasta and reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. In a large mixing bowl mix pasta, sauce, mozzarella and pasta water together.

Serve garnished with chopped flat leaf parsley.

Fruitcake French Toast

What to eat the morning after a decadent, delicious Christmas meal? It feels as though it should be special, something interesting and festive. Well, this spice packed french toast with boozey citrus maple syrup is a wonderful option for your Christmas day breakfast or brunch. And the syrup can be made ahead of time. It will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Since we don't have that much time before Christmas it will do just fine made the day before.

If you took a poll about how people feel about fruitcake it would probably--though half in jest--be described as extremely unpopular. I’ve had passable and even bad versions of fruitcake. But I’ve also had fabulous versions. Done well it is a real treat: a moist, dense spice cake with deliciously sweet and warm, fiery booze soaked candied fruit.
Since the flavors are really fabulous but the execution leaves much to be desired, I decided to try to honor the spirit of fruitcake in (hopefully) the best possible way: turning it into a moist, spicy, sweet brioche french toast topped with boozey candied orange peels accompanied by a maple orange cognac syrup.

I candied my own orange peels, a byproduct of which is orange simple syrup. If you can get them at your store just leave the orange simple syrup out. If you'd like to make your own candied orange peels, skip to the recipe at the bottom. These can be made up to two weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Fruitcake French Toast

Serves 6

For the syrup:

1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup cognac
2 Tablespoons  (approx 3/4 of an entire orange peel) candied peel, diced
1 teaspoon orange simple syrup

1. Combine all ingredients in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over the lowest heat setting.
2. Cook for 20 minutes to infuse flavors and cook away some of the alcohol.

Serve warm over spiced brioche french toast.

For the toast:
6 thick slices stale brioche loaf
6 jumbo eggs
3/4 cup half n half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon orange simple syrup
(Up to) 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a bowl whisk together eggs, spices, vanilla, half n half, and syrup.
2. In a single layer soak bread slices for 2 minutes.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a small pat of butter and swirl to coat pan.
4. Flip bread and soak on opposite side for 2 minutes.
5. Shake excess egg off of bread and lay in pan. Turn heat down just a bit and fry for 5 minutes. Flip and fry for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve with Maple orange cognac syrup.

Candied orange peels

Peel of one orange, cut into long, 1/2 centimeter wide strips
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons cognac
1/2 cup simple syrup

1. Combine sugar, water and cognac in a small heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat. When sugar has dissolved, add orange peel slices.
2. Cook at a lazy simmer for 25 - 30 minutes, or until white pith turns translucent.
3. Remove peels from pan, shaking the excess liquid back in the pan.
To make orange simple syrup: strain liquid. Stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator, it will keep for up to two weeks.

Champagne and Elderflower Liqueur Cocktail

Tis the season to enjoy a good stiff drink or two. And I’ve got just the drink for the hectic holiday season: a strong, fancy, delicious champagne cocktail. Perhaps you can help me name it. I’m thinking some sort of play on a Bellini. How does a champagne and elderflower cocktail resemble a Bellini? Well, it also has fruit in it; a refreshing splash of ruby red grapefruit juice. What I didn’t realize when I mixed it up was that elderflower liqueur and champagne are a pretty popular combination. For good reason, as the strong, sweetly herbaceous, vaguely medicinal and liquorice notes of the liqueur are a fabulous fiery counterpoint to the light, tart effervescence of brut champagne. I found the combination to be a bit overwhelming, so I decided to add ruby red grapefruit juice. Together with vodka, elderflower liqueur and grapefruit juice are one of my favorite potent potable combinations, the reason being that the fresh, tart-sweet taste of the juice mellows out the liquorice and herbal tincture notes the perfect amount to make the two a highly enjoyable drink combination. Replacing vodka with brut champagne puts a fancy holiday twist on this scrumptious combination.

I use my homemade elderflower liqueur, but if you haven't any homemade on hand you can use St. Germaine.

Champagne and Elderflower Liqueur with Ruby Grapefruit Juice

1/2 flute (approx 2.2 ounces) brut champagne
3/4 ounce elderflower liqueur
3/4 ounce ruby red grapefruit juice

1. Fill a champagne flute halfway through with chilled brut champagne.
2. Combine juice and liqueur in a shaker over ice. Shake for a few seconds, then strain into the flute over the champagne.

Serve garnished with grapefruit twist.

Garlic & Rosemary Braised Carrots

Well, I've been away since Thanksgiving. The holidays with a toddler have been rather hectic. To make it up to my readers I'll be updating the blog with multiple posts this week. To start it off I'll be sharing a recipe from our cookbook, Foodies+ Christmas Around the World (see purchase links below). All of the proceeds are going to action against hunger. This recipe for deliciously savory braised carrots is from a good friend of mine, Lisa Watson, who blogs over at http://www.italiankiwi.com
For more great recipes, please purchase a copy of our cookbook and help support Action Against Hunger!

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M5IPAIR
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5IPAIR
AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01M5IPAIR
France: https://www.amazon.fr/Foodies-Christmas-Recipes-Around-English-ebook/dp/B01M5IPAIR

(From the cookbook)

This recipe is eaten as a side dish every year at our Christmas meal in Italy. The carrots go very well with any type of main dish. They take quite a bit of time to make, but the effort is worth it. The long cooking time concentrates the sweetness of the carrots, and the final browning caramelizes them, so don’t skimp on the time needed.

You can prepare the whole recipe up to 2 days in advance and keep the carrots in the fridge, in an airtight container, until needed. They can be heated up on the stovetop on a low temperature. Stir them occasionally when reheating.

Rosemary & Garlic Braised Carrots

Timings Prep Time: 15 – 45 minutes (depending on tools used)

Cooking Time: 1½ hours Total Time needed: 2 - 3 hours

Serves 4 people

Ingredients
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) carrots
2 sprigs rosemary
1 clove garlic
8 Tbsp olive oil
Water as needed
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Slice the carrots into rounds that are about 1 cm (½”) thick. Do not slice them too thinly, or they will fall apart when cooking. If you have a mandolin or food processor that does this for you, use it to save time. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the whole clove of garlic and the whole rosemary sprigs. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the carrots and salt. Sauté them on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add enough water to cover the carrots. Wait until it is simmering, and then turn the heat down to medium. Continue to cook the carrots, uncovered, for approximately 1 hour, gently stirring occasionally. If the water boils off too quickly, add more. You should be left with a bit of water in the bottom of the pan at the end of the hour. Turn the heat up to medium-high again and cook for 20 -25 minutes, until the water has boiled off and the carrots are browned. Stir often, otherwise the carrots will burn, but stir gently, otherwise they will break apart. Check seasoning, and serve immediately.

Coming up this week: an absolutely amazing champagne cocktail; later in the week a decadent breakfast dish perfect for a fancy Christmas breakfast. Stay tuned. ;)

Thanksgiving Feast, Part III: Peruvian Stuffing

For Part III I'm going to share a wonderful family recipe from my husband's side of the family, specifically from his aunt, Savory and sweet Peruvian sausage stuffing!


To my husband and his family this rich, zesty, sweet stuffing is the very epitome of home cooked holiday meals. This recipe for Peruvian Stuffing is straight from my husband’s tia Lilita. Ground beef and pork sausage are marinated with fragrant spices and browned with garlic and onions. It is then simmered in wine and applesauce (I highly recommend Lin’s simple applesauce under sides) and studded with raisins and crushed walnuts. Lastly it is garnished with the exceptionally popular boiled eggs. It really represents the bold yet harmonious flavours that characterize much of Peruvian cuisine. It is really a great stuffing because if your main protein dries out a bit it is the perfect side to revive it and give it lots of flavorful interest. This can also be made with turkey sausage if your family doesn't eat pork.


Peruvian Stuffing

Makes 10 servings

Prep time: 4 hours
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 4 hours, 40 minutes


1 lb lean beef mince (5% or 10% fat)
1 lb pork sausage
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
2.5 cups plain apple sauce (Lin has a simple apple sauce in Sides)
half cup white wine
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
3 hardboiled eggs, sliced thinly


Instructions

Remove sausages from casings.
In a large bowl, combine sausage meat, beef, cumin, garlic powder and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
Cover tightly with cling film and marinate in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Saute onions until they begin to soften (5 minutes).
Add garlic and cook for an additional minute, or until garlic becomes fragrant.
Add meat and brown. This will take 10 minutes
Add wine to deglaze, scraping all the lovely bits at the bottom of the pan. If you have rendered too much fat to deglaze the pan (i.e. there is visible liquid in the meat) add the wine at this juncture and allow to cook into the meat.

Add apple sauce, bring back to simmer and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

Add raisins and walnuts, and cook, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.

Scatter the egg slices all over and serve alongside your chosen roast.

From Scratch Green Bean Casserole

Whether you've been assigned this one dish or you're cooking an entire Thanksgiving feast there's one thing we can all agree on: we eat to excess on Thanksgiving. If that weren't enough, we eat many dishes loaded with fat, salt and other unhealthy things. In other words: flavor.


Green Bean Casserole, which is a must have at any Thanksgiving dinner, is loaded with all of that tasty stuff and more. This is because it is almost always made entirely out of cans and boxes. While this saves on time it also saves on taste. And nutritional value. But most importantly, taste. If you want to bring the most delicious, most talked about version of this dish to your thanksgiving, cook along with me and make it from scratch.


The green beans and mushroom/onion/shallot mix can both be made up to one day ahead of time. You'll simply need to cook the casserole longer (say 5 minutes) to account for the cold ingredients.


If, like me, you're cooking the entire meal, you'll still have time to make this if you prep properly. Believe it or not, it's not that much harder than the out of a can version. The most labor intensive part was chopping the green beans into little pieces. If you have the luxury of a kitchen minion or two, I'd suggest putting them on green bean chopping duty.


If this is the only dish you've signed up to bring, why not make it the best possible version?


Green Bean Casserole

Makes one 9” x 13” baking dish


32 ounces green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1” pieces


6 ounces fried onions


16 ounces sliced mushrooms


1/2 yellow onion, minced


1 large shallot, roughly chopped (about 2 Tablespoons)


32 ounces low sodium chicken stock


3 cups whole milk


4 Tablespoons butter, separated


2 Tablespoons mirin


3 Tablespoons all purpose flour


1 small pinch cayenne


1 teaspoon olive oil


1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


Salt, to taste


Pepper, to taste


1. In a large pot combine green beans and stock. Add pepper if desired. Bring to a full boil, then reduce to an active simmer. Simmer until green beans are very soft (about 20 minutes). Drain beans and set aside.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan melt 1 tablespoon of the butter along with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Saute the minced onion and chopped shallots with a pinch of salt over medium heat until caramelized ( about 10 minutes). Stir infrequently. In the last minute add thyme. When onions and shallots are browned deglaze the pan with 1 tablespoon Mirin or Sherry.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add mushrooms another pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Saute until mushrooms are cooked through. Deglaze with remaining Mirin/Sherry.
4. Set mushrooms onions and shallot mix aside. Spray or grease a large baking dish. Lay green beans in a single layer. mix in 2/3 cup by volume fried onions.
5. Melt remaining butter in the same large saucepan over low-medium heat. Add flour & cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until the mix has turned golden. Whisk in milk, roughly 1/3 cup at a time.
6. Allow to thicken, stirring frequently. Reintroduce mushroom, onion and shallot mix. Pour milk mixture (gravy) over beans in baking dish. Bake until bubbling (about 15 minutes). Cover entire casserole with fried onions and bake for 5 additional minutes.


Serve at Thanksgiving as a side dish.

Thanksgiving Feast Part I

Life has been hectic lately. I am planning a Thanksgiving for five and even though I know it will be far too much food there are certain dishes I simply have to bring to the table. It just won’t be Thanksgiving without them.


Even though my life has been a bit busy I still can’t seem to keep myself away from blogging. From sharing my fun in the kitchen with all of you. I think of you as my friends. And what kind of friend would I be if I left you hanging during the biggest cooking holiday in the country? You don’t have to answer that.


So, hopefully this three part series will help you up your Turkey Day game. I’ve got a lot planned for mine. Wish me luck!


If I get time for it I will be publishing a basics guide with substitutions and a glossary as part IV.


Part I: tips for the perfect mashed potatoes & how to homemake your cranberry sauce (so worth it and easy!)


As it turns out I’ve already posted about Part I. Here’s my post from two years ago.


Part II is going to consist of from-scratch green bean casserole, so stay tuned!


Bonus pic of my mashed potatoes: