Well, I did it. The key word here today, folks, was rustic. Rugelach sticking to the counter because the dough had warmed up too much so the little pastries were kinda torn in places and not remotely even? Rustic. Gnocchi ruining your life and sticking to the finger to the point where you're trying to fling them off your hands and into the pot and they finally blop in after losing all semblance of traditional round gnocchi shape and kinda now resemble little pellets with angry poky areas? Rustic. More importantly, did everything taste good? Why, yes. Yes it did.
It was a long day. There was a really nice block in the middle of it where my mom, dad and I went and got pedicures, but other than that I was pretty much either glued to the kitchen or to my homework. The kitchen part was a house of my own building, I know, and overall I was really happy with what was made, plus feeding one's parents every two hours or so tends to engender some very good feelings. So when I had my gnocchi meltdown my mother, instead of telling me that I was embarrassing myself and would I please get up off the floor, came up, cracked my back, told me what a poor thing I was, and saved the day. Just goes to show you, moms are pretty awesome.
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Breakfast:
Scooby Goes to Mexico
This is a fun little twist on one of the Black Dog classics, the Scooby Goes to Amsterdam. "Amsterdam" features corned beef patties, but as I couldn't find any corned beef without sodium nitrate I decided to make little patties out of some leftover shredded potatoes and chorizo. It's very similar to the Galveston--toasted English muffin, poached egg, sausage patty, tomato and cheese, broiled briefly. I will say that the quality of this dish relies pretty heavily on the quality of the sausage, so I'd recommend shelling out a little extra for the good stuff.
Lunch:
and
Notes: Keller calls for you to grill the asparagus, but I prefer to roast it; in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and maybe studded with a few skin-on garlic cloves to infuse some flavor. Roast at around 375 degrees until the asparagus is dark and tender.
We wound up eating this delicious meal on our back porch, which is really the perfect place to enjoy it. Deliciously flavored fresh veggies (we were lucky enough to get the asparagus straight from the garden), but lest things get too healthy there's plenty of mozzarella and prosciutto for you. I can't tell you how great the asparagus, prosciutto, and little hit of balsamic tasted together--you're just going to have to try it yourself.
Appetizer:
Keith's Sausage and Fried Bread Bites
I know. Time to eat again? Hard to believe. Keith Marcott, Peter's dad--Argentine enthusiast and overall chef extraordinaire--asked me for my white artichoke lasagna recipe and offered any recipe of my choice in return. As choosing from the delicious things we ate during our visit was akin to choosing from among the stars in the sky, I asked him what he would serve as an appetizer if James Taylor were to come to dinner. This is what he suggested: a delicious little bite of crisp fried bread and spicy sausage. The recipe is at the bottom of the post.
Main Course:
(We served a basic green salad on the side with a homemade vinaigrette)
Ah, the gnocchi. I'd stumbled across this recipe a while back and thought it sounded mouth-wateringly good. I've only had gnocchi a few times, and had never made it but knew that I might be in for something difficult as Deb warned in her Smitten gnocchi recipe that they were pretty temperamental. The gnocchi may have been temperamental, but I was even more so. To make a long story short, these little poop-faces wouldn't stop sticking to EVERYTHING and I'd been cooking since 9 a.m. so I sort of gave up on life. The trick is a lot of flour on everything--hands, surface, etc, while rolling. Try not to incorporate the flour, just use it to deter the stickiness. I did make the sauce, though! See? I can do things.
Though these are difficult, the final result bears some really fantastic flavors so I'd still recommend giving them a try. Besides, now that I've tried them once (and given up, but we'll ignore that part), the hard part's over. And remember, when in doubt, call it rustic. Or call your mom.
Dessert:
These pastries, as much as I kind of maybe want to complain about them, are actually fairly easy and extremely rewarding. The trick is just to keep everything as cold as you can and be sure that you flour everything super well--I'd recommend rolling out the dough on a sheet of wax paper to avoid it sticking to the counter and becoming hard to roll. Like mine did. Grr. But you know what? I persevered and these things were really amazing. Light, flaky pastry, and a really complex interplay of raspberry jam, chocolate and pecans (or the nut of your choice--I used our great Texas pecans and would highly recommend you using the same). It's a perfect combination, with no single flavor outweighing the other. Amazing at the end of a long, cooking-filled day.
What's to come in Day Three? Right now, even I don't know!
Here's the recipe for Keith's appetizer. As with the patties, the quality of your sausage is of utmost importance. These call for a sausage with a kick and for some paprika. I would really suggest getting some super kick-y sausage and some decent smoked paprika (from the grocery bulk section if you have one, so that you don't have to necessarily shell out the big bucks). Our sausage was a little nancy-boy-ish for my taste but did that stop the Cains from descending on this bowl of goodies like a swarm of locusts? No, it did not.
Keith's Spicy Sausage and Fried Bread Skewers
8 oz chorizo cut in 1/2“ thick slices (since the
recipe is Spanish, one would think Spanish style chorizo. However, Keith
used a very smoky spiced Hungarian sausage called Gulya which he really favors. Andouille might also be close)
4 thick slices day-old bread (e.g., a crusty Italian), cubed to match size of sausage slices
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Parsley (flat leaf)
Paprika
Enjoy!
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