Happy Thanksgiving, from Italy!?! - Winter Squash Risotto

When someone mentions winter squash, I will be the first to admit, Italy is the furthest thing from my mind.  Let's face it; I have been conditioned to respond with, "MMMMMM, Pie".  Especially around the Thanksgiving season.  But American cooks are not the only ones who prepare this New World vegetable.  Oh no.  In fact, there is a traditional Risotto recipe from Lombardy (Italy) that is centered around winter squash.  Which makes me VERY happy, because I love all things risotto anyway.

OK, I will admit that I am not making this in the traditional way.  I am using some turkey stock instead of the traditional vegetable stock of Onions, Carrots, Celery and Leeks.  I did add part of a Leek to the Turkey Stock while it simmered though.  So I guess this is Pseudo-Traditional.  ;)

I chose Red Kuri squash because it has a chestnut like flavor (very northern Italian) and is only mildly sweet.  Most importantly though, is that it's a dryer squash.  This means that it will hold it's shape better while cooking.  Kobacha or Hubbard would be another great choice if you cannot find a Kuri or any of the actual Italian varieties like Berettina Piacentina or Zucca Blu.

I went with the traditional Grana Padano from Lombardy as opposed to Parmigiano-Reggiano from Emilia-Romagna.  I think its flavor pairs a little more smoothly with the squash.  A touch of Chervil rounds the flavors out nicely, but it's not an absolute necessity.

Risotto con Zucca

12 oz Kuri Squash
3 1/2 - 4 cups Turkey Stock
2 inches of Leek, split
4 TB Butter (divided)
1 Shallot Minced
1 1/4 cups Arborio Rice
1/2 cup Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay
1/3 cup Grana Padano, grated
1 TB Creme Fraiche or Mascarpone
optional - Dried Chervil

First you must dissect your squash.

Slice it in half. (Unlike Butternut squash, Kuri has less meat and more seeds)

Scoop out the seeds (being a dryer squash, the seed come out fairly easily in one large lump)

I usually quarter the squash, simply because it makes peeling a little easier. (12 oz is about 1/2 of a Kuri squash)

Peel and slice the squash into fairly thin slices.

Then cut the slices into little "elongated cubes" (the smaller you dice the squash the faster it will cook)

Begin heating the Turkey Stock with a split Leek in a small saucepan.

Melt 2 TB Butter in a separate saute pan.

Add Squash and Shallot, sauteing until the shallot is translucent. (Yes, it looks like a lot of squash, but the rice swells, it will be OK)

Add Rice and saute until it smells nutty.

Pour in the wine and stir until the wine is absorbed.

Begin adding the Turkey Stock, one ladle-ful at a time, stirring until each addition has been absorbed before adding the next.

Once the rice is al dente, remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 TB of Butter, Grana Padano and Creme Fraiche.

Cover with a towel and allow to set for 3-5 minutes.

If you like, and I DO like, hit it with a little dried Chervil before serving (I cannot find fresh Chervil at this time of year)

Then dish yourself up a huge helping and enjoy not only a taste of Italy, but a taste of Thanksgiving as well.

Mangia!!
~~

A Toast! to Belgium - Belgian Toast

Sadly this post is not going to be about beer. ;) Although I think I need to have my brother do a guest post, because he just finished his Oatmeal Stout, but more on that later. It is also not going to be about French toast pressed in a Belgian waffle iron. (an inspired idea to be sure). This is going to be about what *I* know as "Belgian Toast"; better known as "uitsmijter" in it's country or origin.

Granted this is not a sweet dish such as French Toast or a Belgian (Brussels or Liège) Waffle, but it does contain toast and most importantly, CHEESE. And as you all know, anytime there is cheese involved, I am all over it like wax on Gouda. (Har Dee Har Har! Cheesy Humor)

This is really more of a hybrid recipe between Julia Child's Oeufs en Croustades and the ever popular Oeufs en Cocotte; with a twist of course. Cause ya just gotta have a twist. ;) Everything's better with a twist. Scotch and Soda has it; good detective novels have it; some cinnamon doughnuts have it; even Chubby Checker had it.... Well, so too does Belgian Toast.....

OK, I think I have established that this recipe contains toast... and a twist. My personal preference is sourdough, I find it to be great for these sorts of breakfast/brunch type foods containing eggs and cheese. That pretty much sums up the ingredient list as well; Toast, Cheese and Eggs. Oh, and some butter, but that kind of goes without saying I guess. I suppose olive oil would work just as well, that is also a personal preference thing. So It is OK to use Olive oil and Whole Wheat Bread or Canola Oil and French Bread or even cottonseed oil and Buttermilk or Potato Bread..... :) Don't ya love it when a recipe is open to so much interpretation?

While the ingredient list is fairly simple, the presentation is still mighty impressive. Proof positive that you don't need a million different ingredients to make a delectable dish of fluffy heaven. This is primarily to do with the fact that eggs are just about the most miraculous natural food on the planet. (Aside from cheese, though cheese requires human intervention)

Belgian Toast

For each person you will need.....
2 slices of Sourdough Bread
a little butter (or oil of your choice) for a baking dish
2 Large Eggs, separated
Slices of Grana Padano (though Parmigiano-Reggiano works too)
Salt and Pepper
A little Shredded Grana Padano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
So this morning I sliced up my Sourdough "Long" into 3/4 inch slices.

Then "toast" the bread in the toaster... (Did I mention that I really like sourdough?)

Now, crack and separate your eggs, making sure that no yolks contaminate the whites.

Butter an oven proof dish and arrange the toasts in the dish.

Lay thin slices of Grana Padano on each toast.

Beat the egg whites, with a pinch of salt, to firm peaks.

Divide the fluffy egg foam between the toasts. (I have no idea what else to call it, cause it's not a meringue due to lack of sugar)

Make a well in each egg foam mound with the back of a spoon.

Carefully ease the yolks into the wells.

Sprinkle the yolk with shredded Grana Padano and season with fresh ground pepper, if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the white is nicely browned.

Remove the dish from the oven and gently move to a plate.

MMMMMMM Cheesy golden goodness on a fluffy cloud of deliciousness!

Mangia!!
~~

Bodacious Bouchons - September BakeSpace Challenge

It's that time of the month again... My Bakespace buds and I participate in the BakeSpace Challenge. This month, the challenge was to choose a recipe from another participating member's Recipe Box, and make it. We did a round robin drawing so my friend DDpie (DD) was cooking from my recipe box, and I was cooking from Gigi421's (Karen) recipe box, who was cooking from DajaD's (Dajana) recipes.... and so on and so forth... Did that make any sense?

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to cook from Karen's collection. There were SO many great things... Braciole from her grandmother, Savory Italian Herbed Muffins, Zabaglione with Strawberries (that she had made for the Strawberries and Eggs challenge from earlier this year), as well as Sauerkraut Balls, Veal Capricosa and something I have made many times before because they are absolutely delicious.... Ricotta Gnocchi. But I finally decided on Tuna Corks, because I had friends over for lunch this afternoon, and I thought it would be a great little repast.

I made two changes out of necessity, because I was missing 2 ingredients... Onion and Gruyere. So I resorted to Shallot and Uniekaas Alpenhorn, which is a dutch cheese that is kind of a cross between Gruyere and Emmental. I also separated the eggs to see if I could get a little height to the finished product. This did increase my output from 8 bouchons to 11. Here is my slightly altered version, and YES, they were DELICIOUS!!!!! Something delightfully different from Tuna Salad or a Tuna Sandwich... YUM!

Bouchons au Thon

(Tuna Corks)

Vegetable cooking spray
6 oz Chunk-Light or Albacore Tuna in spring water, drained
2 TB finely chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 TB Tomato Paste
3 large Eggs, lightly beaten (I separated 2 of the eggs and beat the egg whites then folded them in)
1/4 cup finely chopped Yellow Onion (Shallot)
1 cup (4ozs.) shredded Gruyere cheese (I used Uniekaas Alpenhorn)
1/3 cup Crème Fraîche

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Lightly grease 8 wells of a standard muffin tin with the cooking spray.

Place the tuna in a medium size mixing bowl; use a fork to break up any pieces larger than a dime.

Add Parsley, Salt, Tomato Paste and Eggs stirring to combine thoroughly. (I added 1 egg and 2 egg yolks)

Stir in the shredded Gruyere.

Fold in the Crème Fraîche.

Beat the Eggs Whites to firm peaks.

Fold into the mixture.

Divide the mixture evenly among the 11 muffin-tin wells. (filling about 3/4 full)

Use water to fill any empty wells halfway full to prevent those wells from scorching.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops and edges of the bouchons are set.

Dislodge the bouchons by running a knife around the inside edges of their wells.
Let them sit for 2 or 3 minutes, then carefully extract them and transfer to individual plates with Bay Leaves, Lemon Leaves, Dill Sprig or Parsley Sprigs and a slice of Lemon to garnish.

Mangia!!
~~

Omelette Au Fromage? Omelet di Formaggio?

This really isn't anything new coming from me. I already talked about the whole "how to make an Omelet" thing back in my Caprese Omelet post. But the omelet is of such divine construction, that it bears repeating. So, my breakfast... a simple Omelette au Fromage or rather, since I am using Parmegiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano, I guess it would be an Omelet di Formaggio. Then again, I am adding sliced leeks, chili flake and parsley so I guess even that doesn't truly convey the the filling contents...

I do have to say that this is the one time that I will ever recommend a non-stick pan. I have a cheap one that cost me $5.00 that I use JUST for making omelets. I am uncomfortable with Teflon for any other purpose. Not only because of potential gasses released when it is overheated, but I am a rather 'fond' of deglazing... Har dee Har har ;)

Cooking Humor!!! I know, I know, I have no plans on quiting my day job any time soon. But the theory is this -- If nothing sticks, then there is no fond, if there is no fond, then deglazing becomes a mere shadow of what it could be... Give me a little stick-age, cause a little stick-age means lots of potential flavor. :)

Anyway, back to the omelet....

Omelet di Formaggio (and xtra stuff)

3 eggs
Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Shredded Grana Padano
Red Pepper Flake
Cracked Pepper
Sliced leeks
Chopped Parsley
a Non-Stick Skillet
A little bit of butter to lubricate the pan and add a little flavor

Crack the eggs into a small glass pitcher or bowl (something easy to pour from)

Place a non-stick 10-12 inch skillet over medium-low heat and rub it very lightly with butter.

Beat the eggs vigorously with a fork until homogeneous.

When the butter foams, pour the beaten eggs into the pan.

Begin stirring, just keep the eggs moving for about 30 seconds.

(I use this handy dandy bamboo spoon that came with the rice cooker, that I never use)

Clean the edge of the omelet by pushing the edges back towards the pan. (my edges were a little raged this time)

Apply a sprinkle of each of the cheeses,

Sprinkle with a little cracked black pepper, some chili flake, a few sliced leeks, and a little chopped parsley.

Hold the handle and flip the forward edge over.

or use the spoon to make the first fold.. (I noticed the brown when I flipped, sure sign that my heat was just a little bit too high, an omelet should be golden yellow, never browned - this means the it will be slightly tough)

Remove pan from the flame and slide the omelet onto a plate, catching the unfolded side with the edge of the pan and folding it over, like a business letter.

Sprinkle with a little more cheese and parsley.... and serve Warm..

Mangia!!
~~