walnut stuffed figs

we really didn't eat a lot of desserts

when i was a kid

usually

after dinner

a pot of coffee was brewed

and 

bowls of

fresh fruit

and

nuts

were heaved to the table

one particular treat

at holiday time

was

freshly cracked walnuts

stuffed into

dried figs

this year

i gave the treat a little update

by dipping the figs

in 

bittersweet chocolate

a sweet

with 

benefits

walnut stuffed figs

12 dried figs
12 large walnut halves-toasted


warmed honey and flavorful cheese
or
bittersweet chocolate-melted and tempered

using a sharp knife, make a split in the fig without cutting all the way through
like this

push a walnut into the fruit
like so

and close it up

leave as it, 
drizzle with honey and serve with cheese as a savory snack
or
dip in chocolate for a great sweet

gravlax

we had a gorgeous feast 

for 

christmas dinner

a feast

of seven fishes

actually

i was excited to present

home cured

gravlax

during cocktails

many years ago

before i had cable

leaving me with 5 channels

(and surprisingly a lot more interesting tv)

i watched a lot of julia child on pbs

each episode

numerous times

an episode i distinctly remember

is one where she made gravlax with a seattle chef

i was amazed

but never actually made it

truthfully

i'm not much a fan of salmon

but this

this gravlax

is something really special

pure in flavor

sweet

salty 

briny

fresh

my family

never shy to poke fun

was primed to make bait jokes

but

 found it difficult

to utter much of anything

through their stuffed gullets

 

 gravlax

(printable recipe)

this takes several days to cure, plan accordingly

1 1/2 lbs fresh salmon filet (you must use salmon in season)

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vanilla sugar*

1 Tbs grapefruit zest

1 heaping Tbs pink peppercorns

1-2 sprigs thyme

rinse and dry the salmon filet.  line a casserole dish with plastic wrap, overlapping considerably.  place salmon filet in dish.  in a bowl mix together the salt, vanilla sugar, brown sugar, grapefruit zest, peppercorns and thyme.  coat the salmon heavily with the mixture...be generous and make sure the entire surface is covered. close the salmon in the plastic wrap, making sure it is well covered. 

 place a board or casserole dish on top of the fish, then use cans or bottles to weigh it down.  place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  

after 24 hours, remove the weight, open the plastic wrap, you will see that the sugar and salt are now liquid, use it to baste the fish. wrap again in plastic and place the weight back on.  place in the refrigerator for another 24 hours.  on day three, repeat the process.  on day four, your fish will be cured (if you are using a larger piece of fish, it may well take a bit more time).  your fish should be firm and have become a bit deeper in color.  remove from the cure and gently rinse with very cold water.  dry.  slice off a thin piece and taste.  if it is overwhelmingly salty, place cold water in a casserole dish and put the fish in meat side down. cover and place in refrigerator and let sit for 1 hour.  remove from water and taste again. if the fish is still unbearably salty, soak it again for a maximum of 1 hour.  

serve with blini, creme fraiche and dill or chives

*to make vanilla sugar, whirl 1 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 dried vanilla bean pod in a food processor. 

feast of seven fishes

christmas eve dinner

has always been a bit of a hodgepodge for us

growing up

my mom and i would do most of the cooking

relatives would contribute to the bounty

with a specialty or two of their own

the only constant

baccala

and

linguine with clam sauce

the rest

a crap shoot

as the crowd grew from 20 or so people

to upwards of 70

my folks began having the affair catered

among the large chaffing dishes of gorgeous catered food

there was always a platter of

baccala

and

linguine with clam sauce

always

for the first time

in the 40 plus years my folks have lived in california

we are doing an immediate family only christmas eve

which means

instead of 70 people

we will be 

17

also

for the very first time 

we are doing a traditional italian christmas eve supper

a feast of seven fishes

(for more on this tradition click here)

but

because i am italian

which means

my fear of not having enough food for people to eat

supersedes my need for stress reduction

we are having

2 by land and 8 by sea

because

what is christmas without just a little bit of pork?

because

i am not crazy enough to make the food twice

(once for the blog and once for real)

i will be sharing the recipes

post christmas

but

i wanted to share our menu

just in case 

you are looking for last minute ideas

A Feast of Seven Fishes

Christmas Eve

roasted shrimp cocktail
gravlax with blini
calamari fritti
bluefin tuna tartar
cheese platter

linguine with clam sauce
orchiette with sausage & spinach
king crab
swordfish siciliano
baccala pugliese
kalua pork

arugula salad
braised leeks
roasted asparagus

cream puffs
cannoli
chocolates
cookies

Merry Christmas 
to those of you who celebrate
...a weekend filled with joy
for all

chocolate dipped

i'm a chocolate girl

when i was young

young, like grammar school, young

my sister and i had a chocolate business

we spent our evenings

melting chocolate

making caramels and creamy marshmallows

filling

chocolate

eggs in spring

christmas trees in winter

chocolate lollies for every holiday in between

as an adult

my choice in chocolate

has become a bit more sophisticated

now

i prefer dipped confections

to molded ones

for the holidays

i made a few of my favorites

"100grand bars"

chocolate dipped grahams

gingerbread "mallomars"

for the 100Grand bars

 i like this caramel recipe from joyofbaking

just add a nice pinch of sea salt

cut into squares

mix crispy rice in the tempered chocolate and dip the caramel into it

for the gingerbread mallomars

the gingerbread marshmallow recipe can be found

here

place on top of a graham cracker and enrobe in tempered chocolate

for the chocolate covered grahams

i simply cut the graham crackers into 4 pieces and dip them in tempered chocolate

the design on the top is made with a chocolate dipping tool

i buy my chocolate 20 lbs at a time and to be frank, only use callebaut 63% and 70%

i find it is terrific both in sweets and baking

here is a great video showing you an easy way to temper chocolate using your microwave

like anything, the better the ingredients, the better the result

happy dipping!

cake decorating birthday

yesterday was my niece's 7th birthday

a cake decorating party

she was very specific

about the cake

white

one layer

vanilla frosting

with

rainbows

sprinkles

and

chef hats

 

 (i took a bit of artistic license and made clouds out of the fondant chef hats)

for the cakes to decorate

hot pink fondant

and

lots of candy

some of the candy made it onto the cakes

but mostly it was being "taste-tested"

it was unanimous

fun party

decidedly

not "christmasy"

which was all part of the plan

happy birthday

sweet isabella

tomato chutney

basically

i am obsessed with this stuff

its a recipe

i swiped

from my visit to

ca' di gosta

in the hills of umbria

it was served one afternoon

and

 after catching me

licking the jar clean

jenny shared the recipe with me

great on a turkey sandwich

or a perfect condiment to

kalua pork

make it

make.

it.

now.

tomato chutney

(printable recipe)

makes approx 6 pints

3 lbs cherry tomatoes-cut in half

1 head garlic-peeled and finely chopped

1 heaping tsp crushed red pepper

about 2" root ginger--peeled and finely chopped

10 oz cider vinegar

1 1/2-2 lbs dark brown sugar

generous pinch of kosher salt

place all ingredients in a large pot, stir and allow to sit for 30-60 minutes.  place over medium heat, stirring occasionally and allow it to get to a dark, jammy like consistency.  this should take the better part of an hour. when you think the chutney may be ready, taste for flavor. you can adjust the sweet/sour/spicy at this point by adding more sugar, vinegar or red pepper.  test for doneness by placing a small bit of the chutney on a cold plate. if the chutney allows you to run a finger through it leaving a clean break, it is ready. you do not want it to get hard like a candy. place in glass jars and store in the refrigerator or if you are familiar with proper canning procedures, process for 15 minutes (at sea level) in sterilized jars.

gingerbread side-cars

i have made

gingerbread villages

chateaus

houses

for as long as i can remember

last year

i spotted

little gingerbread houses perched on a mug

from

not martha

(as far as i can tell--this is her original idea)

giddy and obsessed

as i have been known to get

i went to hubster

 he agreed to

make cookie cutters

(so i wouldn't have to knife cut each piece)

blowtorch in one hand

pliers in the other

he made these

i

in turn

made these

use your favorite gingerbread cookie recipe

bake as directed

cool

assemble and decorate

tip:

i plane the sides with a microplane to ensure straight edges

 these attach quite easily with

royal icing

(make it nice and stiff)

the wreaths are also made from royal icing colored green

piped with a no.63 tip onto parchment paper

sprinkles for berries

allow to dry overnight--remove carefully--attach with royal icing

i am using them this year

as place cards

piping names on the broad side of the house

and 

packaging them

like so

as gifts for friends

(you can get a template for the house from the not martha link above)

linking up to:
design dazzle
rook no.17
504 main

carciofi alla giudia {jewish artichokes}

much like finding

crawdads in louisianna

brisket in texas

and

barbeque in  memphis

you can find 

specialties in each italian region

rome is no exception

but

it also has something really special

the 

jewish ghetto

it is very small

virtually abandoned come dusk on fridays

it has

a cuisine of its own

the most famous item

possibly

the fried artichoke
carciofi alla giudia
(printable recipe)
serves 4-6
4-6 chokeless or baby artichokes
lemons
olive oil for frying
salt and pepper
italian parsley (for garnish)

fill a large bowl with cool water. squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the water and stir. trim each artichoke, removing all tough outer leaves and trimming the stem (do not remove entirely).  toss the trimmed artichoke into the lemon water to prevent discoloration.
*if you cannot find chokeless or baby artichokes, you can use any artichoke, however, you must trim it to the tender leaves, cut off the prickly tops and remove the choke prior to placing in the water.
heat at least 3-inches of oil on the stovetop to 325 degrees.
meanwhile, remove the artichokes from the water and place on paper towel to dry.  place each artichoke stem side up on the counter and gently push to flatten, being careful not to break the leaves.  place in small batches in the hot oil and cook until soft, but not browned.  remove from oil and place on paper towel or kitchen paper to drain and cool.  allow to sit at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 hours.  just before serving, heat the oil to 375 degrees and fry the artichokes, careful not to crowd the pan, until they are browned and very crispy. depending on the size of the artichokes this can take as little as 5 minutes and as long as 10 minutes.
remove from pan, drain slightly. sprinkle with salt and pepper. serve with a garnish of chopped parsley and a lemon wedge.