NICE in my KITCHEN

Okay so maybe they aren't exactly like the Socca you would find in Nice but hey I am a Polish Italian American who has never been to France. I would love to travel to France and try some there. I took one year of French in high school and absolutely loved it. My mother strongly discouraged me from taking more years of it. Why you ask? She felt French was just not really spoken in the North East, save for Canada, Montreal, Quebec). She thought I should take Spanish or Italian. I listened to her advice and took Italian. I just wasnt into it. I did not continue and poor Genevieve never learned a language : ( Genevieve was my French name, oh I just loved how it sounded, the French way. So pretty. That's the thing about the French language, it's beautiful. And so are their pastries, wine and cheese.

I found out about socca in Patricia Wells book, The Paris Cookbook. I also read about socca on David Lebovitz blog. Both the book and the blog are very good reads. The recipe I made was kind of a combination of what I read and my own ideas. The family enjoyed it, so I guess I can call it a hit and well worth making again.

Socca
(based on Patricia Wells, The Paris Cookbook)

2 cups chickpea flour (available at health food stores and Indian markets)
2 cups water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Whisk one cup of water with chickpea flour and slowly add remainder of the water in to avoid lumps. Stir in olive oil, salt and garlic powder. The batter should be the consistency of crepe batter.

Ladle mixture onto hot greased griddle and heat until socca is a nice golden color, flip and heat other side the same way.

Sprinkle with additional salt if desired. A great snack or accompaniment to almost any meal.

MARTHA and ME

I love Martha. Previously , not so much, now, I do. Ever since her jail term, I like her. She became real to me I guess. I think she took the jail experience well and I admire the fact that she has spunk to bounce back from such an event. Does it matter whether she was guilty or not? Naw. Thats between her and her maker. I am willing to bet that if she was guilty she was just the fall person because I am quite sure insider trading happens all the time. Anyway, that's old news. And this dish, well this is some good news on a plate. Lots of nutrition, low in fat and high in fiber.

For Martha's Version, you can check it out here at What Did You Eat blog!

Here is what I did. I am allergic to scallops so I switched to shrimp.

SHRIMP with EDAMAME SALAD and PUREE

Puree:
2 1/2 cups edamame
juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 garlic cloves 1 T garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup mint
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salad:
1/2 cup edamame
juice of half of a lime
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Shrimp:

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined

Make the puree. Place garlic in food processor first, pulse until it is minced up. Add the remainder of ingredients and process until a nice puree is formed. Set aside.

Make the salad:

Combine chopped red pepper, soy beans, black sesame seeds, salt and lime juice. Set aside.

Make the shrimp:

Prepare shrimp. You can grill it or fry it in butter. You can even boil it. Use whatever method you prefer.

To plate:

Place puree in a circle. Lay shrimp on top. Finally place soy salad on top.

Bon Appetito

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

I was checking out Serious Eats when I saw this recipe for strawberry cupcakes. The recipe sounded really good and the book sounded like something I would like. I went to the library and borrowed, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, by Martha Hall Foose . I bookmarked all of the recipes that I wanted to try and lo and behold discovered I liked nearly the whole book. This is when I know I must own the book. I highly recommend it folks.

I made a few changes to the recipe because I either didnt have it or felt it would work better for me and my taste. So here is the recipe with my adaptations in red.

Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes

- makes 24 cupcakes -
Adapted from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose.

Ingredients

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract , 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed fresh or frozen strawberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest, 1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the frosting:
1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons strawberry jam, 2 tablespoon black raspberry jam
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, 1 stick butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted or more until it is stiff.

Procedure

1. Make the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil baking cups.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and almond and vanilla extracts; set aside.

4. In an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed.

5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the strawberries and the orange zest. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling them two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or when cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then unmold the cupcakes and cool on racks.

6. Make the frosting. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, jam, and lemon juice. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, or until the jam is melted and the strawberries are soft. Press any big pieces with the back of a spoon to mash.

7. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy. At low speed, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined. Add the strawberries and mix at low speed until blended.

8. When the cupcakes are completely cool, spread with the frosting.

A Toast To The Past

This brings back my days in Arizona, sitting by the pool on a Friday night with my friend S. Talking about men and fashion. You know the important things in life. We drank way too many strawberry daiquiris. They were usually smothered in whipped cream as well. Something about the milk element really kicks it up. So there I was eyeing my strawberries and I thought what the heck I don't really drink that much. I might as well make my husband and myself one and enjoy the fresh strawberries in a more spirited way ; ) So glad I did, it was a nice blast from the past and it went down super easy. Always a bonus to enjoy these with some chips and pico de gallo.

Two Big Strawberry Daiquiris

3-4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
4 oz rum
1/2 cup milk (whatever you have, the more fat it has the tastier it is)
some ice

Blend. Pour. Enjoy.

GREENS CAN'T BE BEET

No, I did not spell that wrong. Beet greens have lots of nutrition for you. Well, any greens do really. Beet greens are high in Vitamin A and they also have more than half of the daily recommendations for Vitamin C. So don't throw away those beet greens. Cook them up in borscht or just saute them with some olive oil and garlic.


Taste the yummy flavor when you mix lentils, feta, green onions and this wonderful dressing.

Lentil Salad Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon cumin
s an p to taste

SQUASH BLOSSOM DELIGHT

(Kind of looks like a Degal painting). Have you ever noticed the way you gravitate toward the dishes of your youth as you get older? When you are younger you just don't see food like your parents do. It takes maturity to appreciate the finer things in life. Food is no exception.
Take these squash blossom fritters. I absolutely did not like them as a kid. Now here I am with a garden growing out back, calling my Mother, Mom how did you make those blossom fritters? I think we eat deep fried food one to two times per year. I would have to say that these are worth it. They arent big on flavor, they are quite delicate but its something about the texture that really takes you.

See how light they are with the blossom whole on the inside? YUM.

So if you are lucky enough to grab some at the farmers market or you have them in your garden, here's how you do it. There are two kinds of blossoms, male and female. The females are the ones with the zucchini or other type of squash growing out of them. The males are just the blossom. Leave the females alone, just pick the males (leave some behind in the garden). Unless the squash is a couple inches long then you can take the female. Once you have picked them, clean any bugs out of the flower and pluck the stamen out. You are now ready to use them. They do not keep for long so use them right away. If you need to store them for a couple hours, wrap them in paper towel and place in a plastic bag and refrigerate.

The Batter

1 cup ap flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup peccorino romano
1 egg
1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup of water, beer or milk

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth. The batter should be the consistency of ketchup. Hold squash blossom at the bottom and dip into the batter, coating all over. Place in about an inch of hot oil. I use canola. Fry till a light golden color and turn over. Place on paper towel and salt lightly.

Bon appetito!

THE OVER ACHIEVERS strike again

On to chocolate biscotti, Dorie Greenspan style. Let me say right up front I have made a whole lot of different kinds of biscotti in my time. I was going to sell it a few years ago. So I consider myself somewhat of a person in the know about biscotti. This recipe is my second favorite. Thats pretty good! My first favorite is William Sonoma orange pistachio biscotti. Oh, its good. However in a chocolate mood, Dorie's chocolate almond biscotti would switch to number one. They were incredibly good. I ate two, my kids ate two each and they were promptly shipped out of the house after that! They are on the list to be made again as we approach the holidays.

The only change I would make the next time is to toast the almonds before hand to bring out some more of their flavor. I know other DB'ers did changes to theirs but I liked them as is. However I do really like the toffee idea that Ivonne from Cream Puffs In Venice did.

CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI
Baking from My Home To Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBSP instant espresso powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts, almonds
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working together with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until pale, about 2 minutes; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl , add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead un any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into a 12 inch long logs. Flatten both logs with the palm of your hand, so that they are 1/2 to 1 inch high, about 2 inches across and sort of rectangular, then carefully lift the logs onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack-and that’s fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack and cool the logs for about 20 minutes.(Leave oven on)
Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet-you’ll have an army of biscotti-and bake the cookies again, this time for just 10 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.