Found my way back home- Happy St. Joseph's Day

Been missing from here but now I am back thanks to Emily who is always an inspiration. Em just got a pizzelle iron and has already started making and adding recipes on her site The Insomniacs Kitchen. Since it is St. Joseph's day I will post the recipe for Zeppole's- I received from my cousin Cyn. It is ambitious, not sure if I will get to it today but maybe someday .. enjoy:

Zeppole di San Giuseppe
Italian cream puffs for St. Joseph’s Day
Chef David DiGregorio

This zeppola recipe was given to my Cousin Cyn many years ago by Chef David DiGregorio, now chef-partner at Osteria Via Stato in River North, which will be serving the pastries free to diners on March 19.

Pastry shells:
1 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Filling:
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 ounce cornstarch
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
Powdered sugar for garnish
Dark cherries for garnish
Make the pastry: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a saucepan, boil the water with the butter, salt and sugar. Add the flour all at once and cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides without sticking. Remove from the fire and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Let cool.
Line a sheet pan with baking paper. With a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe the dough into puffs on the sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 10 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove and let cool.
Make the filling: Beat the yolks with the sugar until very light. Add the flour and cornstarch to the yolk mixture. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a boil slowly, and add the yolk mixture while beating until smooth. Over low heat, cook until thickened, stirring all the time. Remove from heat and add the rum, orange zest and vanilla. Let cool completely and fold in the whipped cream.
Fill: Split the pastries and hollow them out; fill and put the tops back on. Dust with powdered sugar. Top with cherries. 4 servings.

corky octopus

My spoon came home yesterday with not one but THREE pretty big fresh OCTOPUS' ... Kills me. I guess since it is such a nice day out there that the best thing to do is to grill them. But first to tenderize them you must steam them with cork (wine corks will do I am told).. So into a pot of steaming water they went with corks, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and crushed red pepper flakes, a splash or two of white wine. After about 30 minutes, when the corks were kinda 'soft' I guessed the octopus' were ready to take out. So after cooling, I cut them (tentacles) into reasonable pieces I brushed them with olive oil and grilled. Spoon said real good and tender, I personally don't eat octopus, squid I can tolerate somewhat but octopus no... don't know why I guess it is the way the look at me........oh so sorry........I have the same reaction with lobster...oh boy......... hope spoon doesn't bring octopus home any time soon........

here comes the gas

2 weeks ago a new green grocer shop opened and I was instantly in love with it. All fresh veggies and fruits all the time... you would think that is not a rarity but it is because what most green grocers do here is they don't restock until all is sold which means wilted greens and ready to be buried fruits stay on the shelves …yuck! Anyway, so of course I overbought (roka, broccoli, eggplant, cukes, carrots, etc) and so found myself overeating in order not to waste anything. But I was still left with one hearty huge ball of red cabbage… what to do with it? Now 2 weeks later and it is starring me in the face… screaming at me … eat this … eat this… so bravely I decided that today is the day I will cook red cabbage (not just use it raw in a salad), (but how and why?)After looking through many recipes in the cookbooks I have on the shelf and what I found online I really could not find one I liked because most were the pickled or sweet types of recipes. I remembered that my mom use to fry r/cabbage with tomatoes and onions so I decided to give that a try. My biggest Dilemma was what spices of course besides garlic, salt and pepper? I decided to give it a north African twist and used some crushed Coriander seeds... not bad ...not bad at all... now we have to eat it for days and days .... here comes the gas..........

FIG SEASON IS HERE

I absolutely love fresh figs, so of course when in the local farmers market yesterday I saw them bathed in a beautiful color purple I just had to gather some up for that nights desert. Once home I found I had a tub of Mascarpone cheese that just had to be used before it expired so I decided to use it along with these beautifully just picked figs. You could easily replace the Mascarpone with cream cheese. Don't be afraid of the flower flavored waters they are just so wonderful with soft cheeses as well as in cookies and can be found in most supermarkets or make your own!

FIGS WITH MASCARPONE CHEESE

INGREDIENTS :

6 black figs
25g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoons of almond flavored liquor or any liquor you desire
1/2 teaspoon of honey
2 teaspoons of rosewater or orange flower water
250 grams of mascarpone cheese
slivered almonds

1. Preheat a broiler or oven to the hottest temp it will go.
2. Quarter the figs, so that they open like flowers, taking care not to cut them all the way through. Place them in a heatproof dish into which they fit comfortably.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the cinnamon, vanilla, honey and flower water. Stir to combine and pour onto the figs, save some to serve over the cheese.
4. grill under the broiler or bake in the oven for a few minutes and then serve with some mascarpone or cream cheese over which you drizzle some of the left over syrup.
5. sprinkle with the slivered almonds (pistachio or pine nuts can also be used.

Enjoy!

grilled Ratatouille

It has been since mid June too hot (over 100f) here in Cyprus therefore haven't been hanging out in the kitchen unless you call opening watermelon and tuna cans an abstract form of cooking.
But sadly in my fridge there lies, calling out, a lonely eggplant, some half dead cherry tomatoes, red peppers and a very lonely limp yellow squash. Found a great grilled ratatouille recipe by Bobby Flay, served it over angel hair pasta... it was delightful! All done on the barbecue outside! (I cheated and cut my vegetables first, worked fine)

Here is the recipe from his website:
Grilled Ratatouille
Directions

2 zucchini, cut into quarters lengthwise

2 yellow squash, cut into quarters lengthwise

2 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered

2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered

2 red onions, quartered

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Place all cut vegetables and the tomatoes in a large shallow baking dish, add the 1/2 cup of olive oil, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time. Remove the tomatoes, cover grill, and cook the remaining vegetables for 2 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop (leave tomatoes whole). Place the chopped vegetables and tomatoes in a large bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, oregano and parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Champagne Risotto

I finally figured out what to do with that leftover champagne taking space in my fridge from last New Years Eve. CHAMPAGNE RISOTTO What else?

EASY Champagne Risotto

3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
2 SMALL FRENCH SHALLOTS, finely chopped
1 lb of ARBORIO RICE
21 fl oz of CHAMPAGNE
4 cups of hot water
2 oz of PARMESAN CHEESE, grated, plus extra, for serving
3 oz of SCARMOZA CHEESE, grated
1.5 oz of Butter


Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan with high sides. Sauté the shallots for
5 minutes until they are softened and slightly golden. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds (or so, until it is well coated with the oil)
Add 10.5 fl oz. of the Champagne and stir until absorbed.
Add one ladleful of hot water stirring continuously to prevent the risotto sticking. Continue this way; making sure the water is absorbed before the next ladleful is added.
After 20 minutes you should have added about 4 cups of water.
When the rice has absorbed all the water, add the remaining Champagne. Stir well and then stir in the cheeses and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper and extra grated parmesan.

Wonderful Maple Syrup

I was jumping for joy when I spotted organic maple syrup on the shelf in our neighborhood supermarket, it is an unusual find. Ran home and couldn't wait to open it up and pour some of this wonderful gooey amber colored gel onto my fingertips for licking. Yummy... I remember once when searching for pancake recipes I found a great one by Emeril but never gave it a try. Since now I have the one missing ingredient it is on the menu for supper tonight! (maybe I will leave out the banana and serve baked sweet potatoes on the side with it???)
Emeril's Cornmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup of yogurt (plain or flavored)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 ripe banana, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Vegetable oil or Margarine for cast iron skillet
Garnish:
• Unsalted butter, softened
• Maple syrup
Directions
Heat a cast iron pan over low heat to warm up for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl combine the cornmeal and flour. Stir the cinnamon, baking soda and brown sugar together and add to the bowl. Add a pinch of salt. In another bowl combine the yogurt, vanilla and milk. Using a wooden spoon, stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Lightly fold in the bananas and melted butter. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the egg whites.
Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and add 1 tablespoon of batter to the pan, spreading the batter to form even 2-inch pancakes. Cook until bubbles cover the surface, flip and cook until golden underneath, about 30-40 seconds. Continue with the remaining batter. Serve immediately with butter and syrup.