Daring Cooks/Sushi

At 10 am today, when I was reading over this month's Daring Cooks challenge, I realized that the reveal date was today and not tomorrow like I had thought. A quick trip to the supermarket and a bunch of dirty dishes later, I am very proud to say, mission accomplished. I never thought that I would actually get through this challenge in time, but somehow I made it and I had a great time doing it.

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

Daring Cooks/Pho (Fuh?)

So apparently, the classic Vietnamese noodle dish Pho, is actually pronounced fuh? Yes, the question mark is part of the pronunciation. I am all about authenticity, but fuh?, seriously? I was home this weekend and I kept talking about the pho (fuh?) I had to make for this month's Daring Cooks challenge. Each time I said pho the Americanized way I would correct myself, try to say fuh? and then my sister and I would just erupt in laughter. Maturity central. I eventually had to resort to mispronouncing this dish because the absurdity was getting really out of hand. I am all about authentic flavors, but when it comes to pho, I think I am going to have to stick with the inauthentic pronunciation.

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Daring Cooks/Indian Dosas

I have officially been shoved right back to reality, and I don't like it one bit. In August when I was still reveling in the joys of vacation and studying abroad I made this month's Daring Cooks challenge: Indian Dosas with Chickpea filling. The September Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Debyi from Healthy Vegan Kitchen. She choose Indian Dosas. This was a huge hit, I made it out of the beach for a big family dinner and everyone just could not get enough. Luckily I doubled the recipe and we had leftovers for days, so they really had no choice but to keep eating it.

The only aspect I struggled with was the dosa pancakes themselves which for some reason were not cooking and just wound up being soggy and somewhat flavorless. I also made jasmin rice to go along with this dish, so I would say that that was a much better accompaniment. I absolutely LOVED the curry sauce, I made 4 quarts of it and froze it because it was just so tasty and versatile that it is something I always want to have on hand.

Daring Cooks/Dumplings

So, when this post is posted, I will probably still be dancing away at the wedding I am going to this weekend. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have learned how to post-date posting. So far the word post has appeared five times in this post (6). At least I will be dancing because seriously after all the dumplings I have made and ate this week, I am starting to look like one.

This month's Daring Cook's Challenge was hosted by Jen at Use Real Butter. And boy, did she pick a challenge. Aside from the fact that I really have no experience in dumpling making, nor have I ever watched anyone make a dumpling, we also had to make the wrappers ourselves. Jen obviously gave us perfect instructions on how to make and fold them, but I still faced some challenges determining how thick they should be. I ended up making them twice, because the first time the dough yielded about 10 dumplings, with absurdly thick wrappers, so I knew that wasn't right. When I finally understood (I think) what 1/16th of an inch means I got the hang of rolling and wrapping pretty fast.

We had creative license on the filling, but I wanted to try to stick to Asian or Asian-inspired flavors. That is not easy in Italy, where the supermarket doesn't even have a foreign foods aisle, so I made the pork potstickers that Jen suggested. I am very glad I did. They were perfect, my hands still smell like garlic and onions from all the chopping, but they are worth it. Tender and flavorful, I finally got my Asian food fix, which totally surprised me because I really have very little experience making Asian food. Although I am surprisingly good at eating it.

Speaking of surprising, in my rice pudding post I mentioned that there was a super top-secret surprise coming your way. Drumroll please. For this challenge, I took my creative license to another level and decided to make a sweet dumpling, a Coconut-Ginger Rice Pudding Dumpling with passion fruit curd to be exact. This was a bigger surprise than I expected, because even though I theoretically knew what was coming, I actually had no idea. These plump little rice pudding clouds exploded in my mouth. The passion fruit curd was the ideal contrast to the creaminess of the pudding, and complemented its coconut and ginger undertones. I cannot wait to make them again for someone other than myself, not only because I practically ate all of them myself, but also because they are so good that I just want to share the love.

Recipes:

• For the dumplings visit Use Real Butter, Jen has all the info there and great step-by-step photos and instructions.
• For the Rice Pudding, Coconut Ginger Rice Pudding

Passion Fruit Curd
(adapted from Martha Stewart)

3 large egg yolks, strained
Zest of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup passion fruit juice (I pressed the inside of about 6 passion fruits in a sieve, to yield this)
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1) Combine yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
2) Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.
3) Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Daring Cooks/Ugly Pictures

This month's, and the inaugural, Daring Cook's challenge was to make Ricotta Gnocchi inspired by the recipe in Judy Rodgers' The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Aside from my lame, embarrassing photos the challenge was a smashing success. I had such a fun time through the whole process of making these, and the result was little clouds of goodness floating on my plate (I repeat, this is NOT represented by my pictures.) I decided to make an event out of this challenge and invited 10 friends over for dinner. Not only was I amazed that I fit 10 people into my apartment, but also that I made 120 gnocchi and fit them all in my mini fridge.

Yup, now you get it that's the fridge in my "angolo cucina" (tr. kitchen corner). It is just that, a corner of my living room, but last night, I was pretty glad that my kitchen is in my living room. Although the gnocchi were pretty straightforward they did include a decent amount of hands-on time right before serving, which would have kept me in the kitchen and away from guests, that is if I had a kitchen. So not only did I get to make something new and tasty but I also got to spend time with my friends. Given that I was making so many gnocchi and that this is a Daring Cook's challenge I decided to make three different types of: Lemon Scented Gnocchi with Anise Seed Butter (picture above, yuck, don't scroll up), Smoked Ricotta Gnocchi with Arugula Pesto, and Classic Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter and Sage. I wish I could pick a favorite but they were all really tasty and different, personally I was all about the smoked ricotta one's because they were the furthest from anything I have ever tasted before. Also, I got the ricotta at my family reunion so I was excited to use it. Luckily my guests all had different favorites and before I got the chance to take a decent picture, I swear that's the reason, they were all gobbled up.

I really hope some of you are inspired to try this recipe yourselves, because not only is it manageable but it's also fun and it leaves you feeling really accomplished, I mean its not very often I can say I made 120 of something. Like Mitch Hedberg said, "I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something."

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook.
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)
Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.

Notes:
• fresh ricotta. If you can find it, use it. Fresher=better. Always.
• make sure the ricotta is well drained, this is just going to make your life easier. I drained mine for 2 days, but 24 hours will do.
•watch a video, it helps you get an idea of what the forming part should look like.

For the gnocchi:

1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.
If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.

Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.

To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it’s best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.

Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.

Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.

Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.

Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep.

With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.

Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.

Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.

In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it’s wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won’t bump into each other and damage each other.

Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.

Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).

My Variations

•Lemon Anise:
Exclude the sage. Add a heaping teaspoon of lemon zest. For sauce melt a stick of butter with 3 tbsp anise seeds and pour over prepared gnocchi.

•Smoked Ricotta:
Replace half the ricotta with smoked ricotta. Exclude sage.
Make an arugula pesto by combining, 4 c. arugula, 1/4 c. parmiggiamo reggiano, 1/4 c. pine nuts, 1/4 c. olive oil, in a blender, blend until smooth add olive oil as needed.
Pour over prepared gnocchi.

•Sage:
Follow the recipe. For the sauce melt 1 stick of butter with a 1/4 cup of chopped sage, pour over cooked gnocchi.