Monday night dinner

Well, that's it. My wife is sick, can't really eat and have had to cancel reservations all over town. So much for some R&R in Italy. We stayed in today and I cooked up some simple fare for Jen.

Insalate
Mache, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olive oil marinated tuna.
Lemon zest with local made red wine vinegar viniagrette.

Primi
Artichoke & spinach rissoto.
No cream, just butter, stock and grated aged parmesan.

The saddest meal ever. Jen cried through the meal. Not sure if it was the illness, ruined plans or not getting to see Florence. I like to think it was because the food was soooo good.

Sunday dinner with my wife

Jennifer has arrived from NYC jet lagged and with a head cold. Not good and not up for a walk about. Looks like a home cooked meal Florentine style...

Insalate
Aged parmesan, 15yr balsamico, Sicilian tomatoes & marinated artichoke hearts

Primi
Potato ravioli with pancetta & garlic infused pomodoro sauce. Basil chiffonade.

Secondi
Osso bucco with salsa verdi & lemon

Last dinner for one.

Wanted to do something simple and hearty. I've had variations on this dish a few times now during my stay. Usually it's done as a lasagna with layers of polenta cake, ragu and bechamel. But i'm craving mushrooms, pancetta and creaminess.

Prima: The four p's

Sausage infused polenta cake with porcini, pancetta and parmasan bechamel

Recipe: depends on portions needed.

Polenta cake

-Rehydrate dried porcini mushrooms in hot water.
-Saute sausage meat with minced shallot and sage in pan using butter.
-When sausage meat is broken up and just cooked through add water following instant polenta recipe on box. When water is boiling stir in instant polenta and follow directions to finish.

-In oiled small rectangular pan, pour in polenta sausage mix and smooth out to fill pan.
Ideally you want a polenta cake 1" high.
-Cover with cling wrap and into fridge at least 1 hour to chill.
-When firm, remove pan and cut polenta into individual portioned squares.

Bechamel sauce
-Saute till cooked; minced pancetta, shallot, and rough chopped porcini mushrooms in at least 2 tablespoons butter.
-Stir in same amount flour as butter and stir to blond color.
-Add some vin santo or white wine, at least 1 cup mushroom water and milk or cream.
-Raise heat and whisk well to create bechamel. (Check online for exact ratio for your servings.)
-Add grated parmasan and touch grated nutmeg to bechamel. Mix well.
-Reduce heat and keep warm.

-In new pan with little butter, pan fry polenta cake both sides to reheat and lightly brown.
-Plate the polenta cake and spoon over bechamel sauce.
-Garnish with fresh or fried sage leaves or just some parsley.

Enjoy.

Valentine's dinner for Jennifer

Hope you are all getting cozy with that someone special.

Tonight I cook not for myself but for my wife Jennifer who is at home in the states.
I love ya darlin'.

Valentine tasting menu

Insalate roll: Proscuitto & dolce gorgonzola with baby arugala and aged balsamic vineger

Steamed artichoke with garlic & lemon aioli

Pecorino cheese with sliced pear and pepper jelly


Olive oil marinated tuna in tomato with lemon vinaigrette


Fresh made tortolini with spinach, pancetta and mushroom broda


Ameretti Virginia, Vestri hazelnut dark chocolate bark and strawberries.


Hope you enjoyed looking at your dinner as much as I enjoyed cooking and eating it.
Happy Valentine's day!

What to eat on a cold day.

Saw the weather report for back home. Cold and nasty (insert joke here if ya know it). So I thought a nice hot meal for the folks at home should do it.

Went to Ristorante del Fagioli (on the map) for something i'd been craving. My own steak. Haven't done that yet. Observe what some flame, salt and pepper can do to a fine piece of Bistecca alla Fiorentina. 600 grams of pure high grade beef. Zero marbling, buttery tender and tastes like heaven.

And this is what it should look like towards the center.
Such good healthy product that rare/raw is the norm for all steak. I swear it's delicious. Raw here tastes better than any cooked piece of meat in the USA.

And for dessert, something I saw the other day at Grom.
Cioccolata al latte (hot) with hazelnut gelato.
I think this one speaks for itself.

Note to wife: I walked about 4 miles today to work this off, really.

Table for one please.

Remembered to shop today. Did it between Mario's and meeting friends for lunch. I wanted to do Braciola but with a twist. Usually it's made with breaded thin cut and pounded beef fillets which are fried then simmered in a simple pomodoro sauce with chopped parsley and garlic. But tonight was my last home cooked meal for a few days so I had to clear out the pantry.

Decision: Bracialo with a veal and mushroom Toscano ragu.

Recipe

Ragu:
-In plenty of olive oil saute: 2 minced shallots and 2 cloves garlic followed by 1/4lb ground veal meat and then 6 sliced mushrooms. Saute on high heat till shroom liquid is gone.
- 1 cup red wine and reduce
- 1 can whole tomatoes in juice, break up in your hands first. + 1 can water.
- Salt, pepper and spice Toscana (corriander,cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg,anise,cumin)
- Simmer for 40 minutes

NOTE: Mild jerk seasoning is pretty much the same thing. At the very least add a 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Meat:
- Egg wash & plain bread crumb two thin sliced and pounded beef fillets.
- Fry in enough oil to cover. Flip and finish other side.
- Place in baking dish, Sprinkle over some chopped garlic and parsley. Cover with sauce and into low oven for 45 minutes to heat and combine.

Typing this I thought of a change that will work nicely. Instead of garlic & parsley in the baking dish, how about a gremolata? After all this dish is similar to an Osso buco and it will really liven up the dish.

Gremolata:
1 cup parsley
2 teaspoon lemon zest
4 clove garlic

Rough chop or processor.
Sprinkle over the Braciola when plated

Pasta al forno OR how to eat 1000 calories and feel good about it.

Spent my last day at Trattoria Mario observing in the kitchen. Saturday is a day of plenty. A day to sit back and eat some stick to your ribs foods. Florentine steak, Osso bucco and Pasta al forno. Let's talk about that last one. Forget baked ziti and really forget lasagna (way too much work). Pasta al forno is a dish of ease, of richness, of well o.k. i'll say it. A fat mans meal but in a good way. Little work, big return, sumptuous, warming and oh so rich in that creamy, heavenly and childhood happy sort of way.

It's such a good dish that I bet you are still drooling puddles after that description. I wish I had a pic but alas the drooling clogged my head and I just stared at it.

Recipe: Cook off medium shell pasta, drain and into pan. Take left over meat ragu and mix with fresh made bechamel sauce. Take this creamy oozing meaty sauce and mix it into the medium shells reserving some to spread over the top. Sprinkle this lovely mess with grated parmesan cheese and now spread over the reserved ragu bechamel sauce. Into the oven to combine and reheat. Serve with some good chianti and as many friends as you can cram around the table. It will feel like mama's house on a Saturday afternoon somewhere in Toscano. Keep dessert simple, maybe some biscotti and vin santo or perhaps some bacci (chocolate and gianduja, a hazelnut and chocolate paste.). After all a meal like this is about pleasure, family and friends.

The crew of Trattoria Mario.

From left to right: Fabio, runs front of house. Brother of Chef Romeo. Translator.
Andrea, Cook. Part of the family. Good man.
Chef Romeo. Great chef, generous with time and recipes.
Francesco: Up and coming future head chef. Son of Chef Romeo. Translator.

A great family run restaurant. Good people and delicious food.
They took me in, showed me their secret recipes and made me part of the family for a short period of time.

And God bless Fiorentina (the Florentine soccer team)
Forza Viola!

Quick fire challenge: Friday night dinner

Too busy enjoying the sunshine and forgot the markets close at 2pm.
The challenge: What do make for dinner???

Grab an espresso and start thinking. Ok, back at the flat got anchovies, dried porcinis, gorgonzola, pasta, vin santo, eggs and truffle honey. Went to a supermarket and picked up Sliced proscuitto Toscano!, bread, crimini shrooms and a baby basil plant.

Results: I think Padma would have flirted with me for sure on this one. Crazy.

Pappardelle with porcini & crimini mushrooms plus anchovy garlic paste.
Proscuitto 2 ways. 1st with gorgonzola & basil. 2nd with olive oil fried egg and truffled honey.
Wine: Benanti Biancodicaselle Etna, Sicily.


Let's get a closer look at the Crostini.

Dessert
Sicilian oranges with home made chocolate hazelnut salami.
Dessert made during class with Divina cucina.

Thursday dinner or home home on the range.

Tonights 2 course meal

One is the traditional bean & bread soup of Florence called Ribollitato (means reboiled) and the recipe (the beans must be cooked already).

The other is mine. Veal polpette with rosemary & lemon, inspired by the wonderful meats of Tuscany. Simple as can be because you do not want to interfere with the fantastically fresh ingredients.

Veal polpette: 1/2 pound rough ground veal (best you can get), 1/2 lemon zest and juice, 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground (equal parts) rosemary and sea salt, 2 grinds black pepper.
Mix and form into 2" balls.
Heat enough olive oil in small pot to cover halfway the polpettes. When at fry temp. add meatballs and fry till just brown on both sides. Remove and rest on paper towels to remove oil.

Presentation: Very thin slices of lemon, short 2" sprigs fresh rosemary. place one slice lemon on each polpette then skewer on top with rosemary sprigs. The lemon juice will seep down into the polpette. Enjoy.

By the way, I've had two 2003 Chianti classico reserve and it seems to be an amazing year.
Try these two companies: Antinori & Leandro.

Monday night dinner.

Another cold and wet day. Looks like a big hearty meal of pasta to the rescue. Decided on a Meat sauce recipe from Judy Witts @ Divina cucina. We did this one in class with her last week (more about that later). I also wanted to create something new for a starter; Crostini with sliced egg over anchovy butter. Very pleased with the results. Tasty too.

Tonight's ingredients.

The results

Antipasti: Sliced egg over anchovy butter crostini

Hard boil 1 egg and slice. Mash 2 tbsp butter, 1/4 lemon juice, 1 anchovy fillet, 2 turns cracked pepper. Sliced bread squares.


Primi: Rigatoni with sugo di carne.

Recipe

Stay tuned for more meals, pics and adventure. Go Giants! Was that a great 4th quarter or what?

Fri Feb 1st. A day, a perfect day.

Started the day waiting on a street corner at 5am for Stefano and Manuel (father & son), part of a family run shop called Conti at the Mercarto Centrale. Sellers of fine produce & food products. A beautiful family. They took me on the wholesale market run to pick up supplies. Picture a warehouse the size of two football fields. One for each type. Produce, meats, fish and flowers. Plus old men in the parking lot selling organic herbs and vegetables from their own gardens.

And now, the produce. Mostly from Sicily, some organic, all fresh and gorgeous. Stephano had the vendors give me samples of many different oranges. Seem to be developing an addiction for the stuff. By the way, all the produce looks like this. Everything pops out at you, vibrant and fresh. All you need is a knife and something to cook on.






The guys told me stories of their families. The shop Conti has been in their family for 4 generations. Stefano Conti hunts whatever is in season with friends at a hunting cabin in Puglia. Manuel and his sister Stella both study business and have modeled part time. The wife, Grazia is lovely and pretty much runs the whole operation. They will be opening a shop in San Francisco this year plus a USA retail website.

Back to the market and then home for a nap by 7am.

At 10am Will (25yr old chef friend. The future great chef of America and currently private chef for a billionaire in NYC. ) and I headed off for shopping. A kitchen shop for roasting pan and utensils to round out my kitchen needs. Then back to Mercarto centrale for ingredients. At Stefano's shop I purchased unfiltered olive oil, black truffle honey, fennel pollen, 15yr balsamic vinegar, sea salt, canned tomatoes, two fresh pastas and produce for the nights dinner. Then another shop for aged parmesan and anchovies in oil.

Previously in the week had gone to Divino, a small shop with bulk supplies. You bring in bottles and they fill them. Picked up vin santo, red wine vinegar and red wine. All for cooking. Great place with 3 lovely ladies. Grandma (Nonna), Patricia her daughter and Sara the niece.

Casa del Vino
A perfect establishment for wines and small dishes of panini and crostini. More on that later. For now I purchased a bottle of Fruili Pino Grigio from Gianni the owner and wine master. He has a wine cellar that would blow you away. Food too. Stop in for a snack and glass of wine sometime. Standing room only.



Lunch at Trattoria Mario right on Plaza Mercarto Centrale. This is the place I will be observing at for a week starting Monday.

A moment is needed to talk about my mentor and chef instructor Judy Witts of Divina cucina.
We booked her for a 4 day class to see, learn, taste and cook all things Florentine. More about her in a separate blog. For now know that she helped me over 4 months to create this trip, advise me on an apartment to rent and places to visit. While here she has taken us on a tour of Tuscany to meet the great local restaurant and shop owners. Walked us all over Florence to meet the locals, the best purveyors and what to know for an extended stay. Worth every cent and a wonderful person to befriend.


And now for my first dinner in the apartment
(located 3 blocks from the Duomo and 6 blocks from Mercarto Centrale. )

Primo

Parmesan cheese with black truffle honey and 15yr balsamic vinegar.

Secondi

The ingredients for a no stir Artichoke risotto with no cream.

2 artichoke hearts cleaned and sliced thin
2 shallots minced
1 garlic clove minced
3 leaves sage chiffon
2 cups aborio rice 1 cup whine wine
3 cups water or vegetable broth. 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil grated parmesan cheese
Salt and little pepper to taste
Fresh grated lemon zest to tast.

In med pan. Saute shallot and then garlic in 1/2 the butter & oil. Add artichokes & sage, saute.
Add rice then stir to mix with oil then the water and wine. Let simmer 14 minutes. Taste, should be just done. Add remaining butter, olive oil plus grated parm, salt and pepper to taste. You want the fats and cheese to cream the dish. If you want cream then now is the time to add some. Now add a little lemon zest to perk up the dish.

The dinner. Don't forget the wine.
Dessert was dark chocolate bark with hazelnuts from Vestri

A cold Monday night dinner

After a day of running errands around town and freezin' me butt off it was time for a warm and tasty dinner. Off the subway and strolling home I stopped by the fish store to see what was what. Wanted an easy meal and simple flavors. Grabbed 1lb. sliced calamari rings and some aromatics from the grocer then an Italian bread from the baker on the corner. Back at home, put on some tunes and got to work.

Spicy Calamari over spaghetti with herb garlic bread. (based on leftovers and pantry items).
-1lb sliced calamari rinsed and in colander to drain.
-Into a medium pot with oil and saute: chopped red onion, mince 6 cloves garlic, 4 anchovies in salt. When wilted and aromatic add 1 cup white wine, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregeno.
-Add two 28oz cans diced tomato with liquid. Bring to boil and then a low simmer. Simmer 20 minutes.
-Add calamari, handful basil chiffonad and parsley, zest and juice 1 lemon.
- Check calamari after 3 minutes to see if it is just done. Adjust for salt, Fresh back pepper.
-Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1tablespoon olive oil.

Place cooked spaghetti on plate and ladle over some calamari and sauce. Garnish with lemon wedge.

Garlic bread made with mashed garlic cloves, fresh thyme, rosemary and oregeno. Mix with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serve with white wine, extra napkins and basket of garlic bread. Light some candles and make wife happy.