Antipasti!
Jun. 16th, 2010 06:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coffeesnob318A couple of weeks ago, I had Mel, Adam, Maggie, and Ben over for Antipasti. Oh, and Olive. Mustn't forget sweet baby Olive. She's an easy dinner guest. And she makes a lovely addition to our former Monday Night Margaritas group, although she won't be trying a margarita of her own for quite some time.
Mmm...margarita...but I digress.
I figured this was the perfect group with whom to try some new recipes. It was also shortly after I had read through Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express. This is book 8 of my 100, and first 11 of 100, as it is the first cookbook I have flat out sat down and read cover to cover. I am looking forward to trying a lot of these recipes, especially the desserts. For some reason, I always make dessert out to be the biggest challenge of the meal, but there are quite a few simple recipes in here. I thought reading a cookbook like a novel would be hard, but it was a delight. This could be partially due to little quote gems like, "Oh, and if you don't have any bourbon in the house, first may I say, please consider is, and second, replace it, rather, with rum," and "Incidentally, this is one of my children's favorite desserts, though I leave out the rum and coconut for them. For me, both resolutely stay in. I am of the More is More school in this regard." I found the book (and its author) very charming. This also means many, many dinner parties, as most of the recipes therein are not recipes that I need to eat alone (but really, how many recipes are?).
We had the standard antipasti spread - prosciutto, nice cheese (a good manchego and some goat cheese, specifically), crackers, roasted peppers, etc. Then we added three specialty items to dinner:
10. Nigella Lawson's Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata
Rating - 4
I love, love, love fresh mozzarella. This is something festive and simple to do with it.
1. Slice 2 balls buffalo mozzarella into 1/4-inch rounds and arrange them on a plate.
2. In a bowl, mix 1 long red chile, deseeded and finely chopped, with 6 black olives, finely chopped, zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, and 1/2 clove of minced garlic.
3. Tip in 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley; stir together.
4. Spoon gremolata down the center of the mozzarella.
Next time, I will probably make the gremolata about an hour ahead of time and let the flavors mix together a little more before pouring it over the mozzarella to serve, but it was delicious just the way it was, too.
11. Marinated chickpeas (from Real Simple, June 2010)
Rating - 4
This is good on bread. Or with crackers. Or just eaten as a salad. Unless you're Maggie, and you have attitude about things that contain raisins. Then it's not good. But it's become an easy, light lunch at my house.
See recipe online
12. Rustic Multiseed Wheat Bread (Vegetarian Times, February 2010)
Rating - 4
I love the way my house smells when I bake bread. Here is a no-knead bread that is gorgeous to look at and tasty to eat.
See recipe online
I used sesame seed and golden flax seeds for the "mixed seeds" part and baked it in a dutch oven. It was beautiful. I really should have taken a picture of it.
Then, we had dessert.
Before I tell you my ratings for the recipes, let me explain something. I am not the biggest fan of chocolate. It's ok. I'll eat it. I enjoy it. I just don't LOOOOOOVE it the way many people do. So the ratings are probably not a reflection of the end product so much as they are a reflection of my take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward chocolate.
13. Nigella Lawson's Budino di Cioccolato
Rating - 3
It's just chocolate pudding, but I agree with Ms. Lawson that it just sounds prettier in Italian.
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz. dark chocolate (I used 80%), finely chopped
1. Warm milk and cream together.
2. Put sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sift in the cocoa. Add 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.
3. Whisk in egg yolks, one at a time. Whisk in warmed milk and cream and then vanilla extract.
4. Scrape down sides of pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking 3-4 minutes or until the mixture thickens [took me about 6 minutes] to the consistency of mayonnaise.
5. Take off heat and whisk in chocolate before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses.
6. Cover tops of cups with plastic wrap (laying wrap directly on top of pudding will prevent it from forming a skin) and refrigerate once they've cooled.
I had doubled the recipe in order to have enough for the five of us, so I had some left over.
That is when I discovered that the best way to eat this recipe is to drink it like hot chocolate when it's still hot. That bumps my rating up to a 4.
Otherwise, however, this recipe is a pain in the ass. Between all the constant whisking and the chopping of the chocolate (Neiman Marcus cookies are the only things that have ever been worth chopping chocolate to me), I needed a nap by the time I was finished. And it was very rich, which I understand is a good thing in a pudding for most people, but it was a little too rich for us.
14. Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Macaroons
Rating - 3
These were a big hit. They are also super easy to make.
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup ground almonds
3 tablespoons cocoa
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix egg whites (unbeaten) with powdered sugar, almonds, and cocoa until you have a sticky but cohesive mixture.
3. Fill a bowl with ice water, dunk your hands, and roll mixture into balls the size of walnuts. Keep re-wetting hands as you go.
4. Arrange balls on trays, at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes.
These turned out great. Mine were a little bigger than they were supposed to be, which is something that often happens when I make any sort of cookie. They didn't seem done when they came out of the oven, but they hardened up a bit after they cooled. They remain moist and gooey inside, which is awesome. They also pair nicely with the pudding, and when you make them at the same time, you can use the egg whites for this recipe and the egg yolks for the other. No waste = yay!
So that was our antipasti night. Good food, good company, good wine, and dessert. Great evening.
And seriously - you should get this book. Nigella Lawson - Nigella Express. You won't regret it.
Mmm...margarita...but I digress.
I figured this was the perfect group with whom to try some new recipes. It was also shortly after I had read through Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express. This is book 8 of my 100, and first 11 of 100, as it is the first cookbook I have flat out sat down and read cover to cover. I am looking forward to trying a lot of these recipes, especially the desserts. For some reason, I always make dessert out to be the biggest challenge of the meal, but there are quite a few simple recipes in here. I thought reading a cookbook like a novel would be hard, but it was a delight. This could be partially due to little quote gems like, "Oh, and if you don't have any bourbon in the house, first may I say, please consider is, and second, replace it, rather, with rum," and "Incidentally, this is one of my children's favorite desserts, though I leave out the rum and coconut for them. For me, both resolutely stay in. I am of the More is More school in this regard." I found the book (and its author) very charming. This also means many, many dinner parties, as most of the recipes therein are not recipes that I need to eat alone (but really, how many recipes are?).
We had the standard antipasti spread - prosciutto, nice cheese (a good manchego and some goat cheese, specifically), crackers, roasted peppers, etc. Then we added three specialty items to dinner:
10. Nigella Lawson's Mozzarella with Crazy Gremolata
Rating - 4
I love, love, love fresh mozzarella. This is something festive and simple to do with it.
1. Slice 2 balls buffalo mozzarella into 1/4-inch rounds and arrange them on a plate.
2. In a bowl, mix 1 long red chile, deseeded and finely chopped, with 6 black olives, finely chopped, zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, and 1/2 clove of minced garlic.
3. Tip in 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley; stir together.
4. Spoon gremolata down the center of the mozzarella.
Next time, I will probably make the gremolata about an hour ahead of time and let the flavors mix together a little more before pouring it over the mozzarella to serve, but it was delicious just the way it was, too.
11. Marinated chickpeas (from Real Simple, June 2010)
Rating - 4
This is good on bread. Or with crackers. Or just eaten as a salad. Unless you're Maggie, and you have attitude about things that contain raisins. Then it's not good. But it's become an easy, light lunch at my house.
See recipe online
12. Rustic Multiseed Wheat Bread (Vegetarian Times, February 2010)
Rating - 4
I love the way my house smells when I bake bread. Here is a no-knead bread that is gorgeous to look at and tasty to eat.
See recipe online
I used sesame seed and golden flax seeds for the "mixed seeds" part and baked it in a dutch oven. It was beautiful. I really should have taken a picture of it.
Then, we had dessert.
Before I tell you my ratings for the recipes, let me explain something. I am not the biggest fan of chocolate. It's ok. I'll eat it. I enjoy it. I just don't LOOOOOOVE it the way many people do. So the ratings are probably not a reflection of the end product so much as they are a reflection of my take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward chocolate.
13. Nigella Lawson's Budino di Cioccolato
Rating - 3
It's just chocolate pudding, but I agree with Ms. Lawson that it just sounds prettier in Italian.
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz. dark chocolate (I used 80%), finely chopped
1. Warm milk and cream together.
2. Put sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sift in the cocoa. Add 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.
3. Whisk in egg yolks, one at a time. Whisk in warmed milk and cream and then vanilla extract.
4. Scrape down sides of pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking 3-4 minutes or until the mixture thickens [took me about 6 minutes] to the consistency of mayonnaise.
5. Take off heat and whisk in chocolate before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses.
6. Cover tops of cups with plastic wrap (laying wrap directly on top of pudding will prevent it from forming a skin) and refrigerate once they've cooled.
I had doubled the recipe in order to have enough for the five of us, so I had some left over.
That is when I discovered that the best way to eat this recipe is to drink it like hot chocolate when it's still hot. That bumps my rating up to a 4.
Otherwise, however, this recipe is a pain in the ass. Between all the constant whisking and the chopping of the chocolate (Neiman Marcus cookies are the only things that have ever been worth chopping chocolate to me), I needed a nap by the time I was finished. And it was very rich, which I understand is a good thing in a pudding for most people, but it was a little too rich for us.
14. Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Macaroons
Rating - 3
These were a big hit. They are also super easy to make.
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup ground almonds
3 tablespoons cocoa
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix egg whites (unbeaten) with powdered sugar, almonds, and cocoa until you have a sticky but cohesive mixture.
3. Fill a bowl with ice water, dunk your hands, and roll mixture into balls the size of walnuts. Keep re-wetting hands as you go.
4. Arrange balls on trays, at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 minutes.
These turned out great. Mine were a little bigger than they were supposed to be, which is something that often happens when I make any sort of cookie. They didn't seem done when they came out of the oven, but they hardened up a bit after they cooled. They remain moist and gooey inside, which is awesome. They also pair nicely with the pudding, and when you make them at the same time, you can use the egg whites for this recipe and the egg yolks for the other. No waste = yay!
So that was our antipasti night. Good food, good company, good wine, and dessert. Great evening.
And seriously - you should get this book. Nigella Lawson - Nigella Express. You won't regret it.
