R.I.P Tablespoon

It is with a heavy heart that today we say goodbye to Tablespoon.  You have served us well and, on occasion, served us.  You have scooped many an ingredient but, sadly, rice croquettes were literally the death of you.  You will be missed.

I'm not going to lie.  I was just a bit more than devastated to hear and feel the cracking of my tablespoon as I pulled up some rice mixture.  Making these little nuggets was already a test of my patience.  They did not want to stick together on their own and the stickier my hands became, the harder it was to form the balls.  Then the tablespoon snaps in half...a truly sad moment.  I've had that tablespoon for YEARS.  What made it even worse was that I thought back to my very first tablespoon, a tablespoon that is still living comfortably in my mother's kitchen.  It's part of a multicolored set of measuring spoons that came with my very first cookbook Kids Cooking: A very slightly messy manual.  How can a set of measuring spoons that must be at least 20 years old by now have lasted longer than the tablespoon of only 8 years?  Probably because I would never dare use that precious set to scoop rice balls.  Whenever I cook at my mother's I go for those measuring spoons immediately. I love those tablespoons...they may go "mysteriously" missing the next time I visit. I'm going to have to move on now, I'm getting way too nostalgic over baking utensils.

Rice croquettes!

Let's just say there is a reason I do not fry anything...and it's not for health reasons.  My fry skills are less than stellar.  Maybe it was the tightness of my rice balls, maybe it was the temp of the oil, or maybe it was the amount of time the rice balls spent in the oil.  Whatever it was, it produced a comedic show of me desperately trying to rescue disintegrating food from a vat of bubbling oil.  I did manage to rescue several that could sort of be considered croquettes.  Thankfully, as happens in these situations, they tasted better than they looked.

Rice Croquettes Roman Style

Crochette di Riso alla Romana

Ingredients:

2 c. rice

3 Tbsp tomato sauce

4 Tbsp butter - melted

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese - grated

2 eggs - beaten

1 c. mozzarella cheese - diced

1 c. bread crumbs

2 c. vegetable oil

Directions:

Cook the rice in salted boiling water until they are tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.  Drain and set aside to cool.  Once it's cool enough to work with, mix in tomato sauce, butter, Parmesan cheese, and eggs.

Shape into an oblong croquette by spreading 1 tablespoon of rice in the palm of your hand,

place a piece of mozzarella in the center,

top with another tablespoon of rice, and firmly press it all together.

Roll in the bread crumbs.

Repeat until all the rice is used.  I was able to make 34 croquettes.  Fry a few at a time in hot oil until golden on all sides.

As you can see, I was not lying.  These guys came out looking less than amazing.  Thankfully, they tasted great.  The ones that did manage to stay together held up well.  They were firm but soft inside with a nice surprise of mozzarella cheese in the middle.  

If you choose to make these or anything similar, ever, I wish you well!  I think it will be a long time before I tackle croquettes again.

Salmon-Stuffed Tomatoes

Full disclosure...I did modify this recipe to make it more party app -esq.  It is in Maria Luisa's hors d'oeuvres section, but it calls for large tomatoes.  That would have been fine for a sit-down dinner first course.  However, these little nuggets were going to accompany me to a family reunion picnic so I went with campari tomatoes.  Campari tomatoes were a perfect choice because they are firm and can be quite meaty.  They are also large enough to be stuffed while remaining bite sized.

I also chose not to use her mayonnaise recipe.  Eventually, I will jump feet first into homemade mayo.  However, I decided not to risk exposing my entire family to salmonella.  I will allow Maria Luisa to teach me how to make mayonnaise when the only person consuming it will be me.  Once I am confident in my mayo-making skills, I'll force it onto others.

For about half a second I was deluded enough to think I would use fresh salmon.  Who was I kidding?  Not only would fresh salmon be cost prohibitive but, I don't have time for that nonsense.  It would need to be baked, skin removed, then shredded.  Can, can, can.  Though, as a little PSA, if you go the canned route, know what you are grabbing off the shelf.  Depending on the brand and style of canning, you might have to pick through and remove the bones.  I could provide some imagery to reinforce my suggestion, but I'm sure your own imagination is good enough.

In the end, all turned out well.  The stuffed tomatoes were well received, both in look and taste.  There is something about anything stuffed that immediately gets people interested.  It's like there is a secret treasure inside and everyone wants a chance to discover it.

Salmon-Stuffed Tomatoes

Pomodori Ripieni di Salmone

Ingredients:

4 pkgs. campari tomatoes

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 lb canned salmon - drained

4 Tbsp whipped sweet cream butter

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Slice about a quarter of an inch off the top of the tomato and carefully scoop out the center.  Sprinkle the inside of each with salt, pepper, and vinegar.  Chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.  Turn them upside down for about 10 minutes to drain the juices that the seasoning has brought out of the tomato. 

While the tomatoes are chilling, prepare the filling.  Using an electric beater, combine the salmon, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a large bowl until thoroughly whipped.  Using a piping bag (or in my case, a zip lock bag with the end snipped off), fill each tomato just to the top.  Put back in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  This made 36 stuffed campari tomatoes.

My only complaint really came under her ingredient list.  She suggested using tuna as well.  Why call the recipe "salmon-stuffed" just to say salmon or tuna in the ingredient list!  Continuity people, is it too much to ask?  If she wanted to give a variety of options, this recipe should have just been called Stuffed Tomatoes.  Okay, end of rant.

Ending on a high note, these really were very tasty.  Whipping all the ingredients together created a nice light texture and the tomatoes remained firm throughout the picnic.  Well worth trying for your next get together

Fillets of Cod Florentine

Oh Maria Luisa, how I wanted to hate this recipe, especially since you required me to make a sauce for this dish.  However,  it is pretty tasty and rather simple, so I am forced to put this one in the win column and save it for future use.

Of course, this recipe is not without its faults.  The cod fillets are both simmered on the stove and then baked in the oven, which I find to be overkill.  Why it was too difficult for her to just pick one is beyond me.  Cod does not require a long cooking time and therefore can easily be overcooked, which results in a rubbery texture.  No one wants rubbery fish Maria Lusia!

My other issue is with the spinach.  Granted, we do live in a time of pre-cut, pre-washed, bagged spinach. Maybe cooking the spinach in salted water THEN sauteing in butter was necessary for edible spinach in 1950.  Today, that translates to cooking your spinach to within an inch of its life.  Have I steamed and then sauteed greens before?  Sure, greens like swiss chard that are typically a bit tougher.  The leaves may be soft but the stems and veins are not.  But seriously, overcooked spinach just looks sad and we do not want unhappy food.

For the sake of being true to the recipe though, I prepared it as instructed.

Fillets of Cod Florentine

Filetti di Merluzzo alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

8 small fresh cod fillets

2 lbs spinach - bagged, cooked in salted water then sauteed in butter

1 1/2 c. dry white wine (I chose Sauvignon Blanc)

1/3 c. Parmesan cheese - grated

1 c. Mornay Sauce (recipe below)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the spinach first.  Using a large sauce pot, bring just an inch or two of salted water to a boil.  Add the spinach and cover, cooking for just a few minutes.  Once the spinach on top begins to darken in color, drain the spinach, and transfer it to a large saute pan with melted butter.  Saute for about 5 minutes.  Drain the excess liquid then put the spinach in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Next, make the Mornay Sauce...

Mornay Sauce

Salsa Mornay

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. butter

1 heaping Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 c. milk - whole or 2%

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese - grated

1 egg yolk

dash of pepper

dash of nutmeg

Directions:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan then add the flour.  Stir until smooth (you are making a roux).  Add the milk and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring continually.  The sauce should thicken.  Add spices, stir, then remove from heat.  Rapidly stir in the cheese and egg yolk.  This should make about 1 1/2 cups.  Store in an air tight container if not using immediately.  It should last about one week in the refrigerator. 

Now, on to the fish....Place the fillets in a large saute pan.  Make sure there is no overlap.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper then add the wine.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the fillets and place them on top of the spinach.  Pour on the Mornay Sauce and sprinkle on the cheese.

Place in an oven preheated to 350F and bake for 15 minutes.

I paired my Cod Florentine with purple fingerlings from the farmers market.  They were boiled and mashed with just a bit of milk, butter, and garlic.  Mmmm, purple mashed potatoes.

My advice after doing this...pick one of the cooking styles for the cod.  If the Mornay Sauce is being prepared at the same time, just simmer the fish in the wine.  If the sauce was made previously, jump to the baking portion.  As for the spinach...buy it bagged and only saute it in a little butter.

Aside from the complaints, this is a good meal.  It's also easily increased or decreased so it is a great meal to make when company comes over.  A few extra cod fillets, a little more spinach, and you have a meal that will taste good and presents well on a large platter.  So, for the American hostess for which Maria Luisa's cookbook was intended, it is a win.

The Italian Cookbook Challenge

At a girls' night several weeks ago I introduced some of my friends to a gem of a 1950s cookbook, Maria Luisa Taglienti's The Italian Cookbook.  I had taken it as one of my keepsakes when my family cleaned out Poppy's house.  I'm calling it a gem because it has such choice sentences as "And, as with every recipe in this book, they have been carefully tested and have been set down in a form of measurement and direction that will be familiar to the American housewives and hostesses for whom this book is intended" (p. vi).  Oh 1950s, may your views on the home go the way of the Dodo.  The ladies did comment that it is a shame neither of my grandparents had written comments into the margins and maybe this is my opportunity to pull my own version of a Julie and Julia.

Truth be told, considering the fact that we found this cookbook in the bedroom not the kitchen, its rather pristine condition, and that generation of my family is straight from Italy makes me think possessing this book was actually a joke.  It's in my hands now though, so we are going to embark on a Brianne and Maria Luisa adventure.  This book is going to get the margin comments it deserves and I'll chronicle the exploits here as I have with everything else.  I won't go recipe by recipe, but I'll do my best to make all of them... there are a couple of recipes that use eel and I have no idea if I'll be able to find eel around here, but we'll see.  I'll also break it up with non Italian Cookbook recipes.  This may sound blasphemous, but even Italy will get old after awhile.  So buckle up my people, things are about to get interesting!

Adventure number one from The Italian Cookbook is Loin of Pork in Red Wine, Maiale al Vino Rosso.  After my initial read-through of the recipe, I have to say that this is not a book for beginners, contrary to what a few Amazon reviewers said.  [I did my due diligence on both this book and Maria Luisa and there really isn't much to say on either subject.  There are still a copy or two of either the first or second printings of this book, but they are way overpriced.  Maria Luisa is allegedly a member of a family that, at least at the time, was quite well connected both socially and politically.  She moved to the United States after World War II with her husband, an American soldier, she met during the war.  Internet searches will only produce results that are based on this one cookbook and one very random college blog post written by a grandchild discussing her.  None of this put me off from questioning her book's subtitle claiming she is an "Italian expert".  I may be an American, but I'm not about to move to another country and claim to be an expert on burgers and apple pie.  But I digress and you all can judge for yourselves.]

So, before my tangent we were discussing how not basic this cookbook is.  Maria Luisa reduced the cooking instructions to such a bare bones level, if you do not already know your way around the kitchen you might easily get lost.  In this recipe in particular she lists "1 clove garlic" as an ingredient and then instructs you to rub it on the pork loin.  Honestly, I have visions of 1950s housewives rubbing down a pork loin with a whole garlic clove then wondering what sort of voodoo flavor infusion is supposed to be occurring.  I think it's time we just straight to the recipe and I'll air my grievances as we go along.

Loin of Pork in Red Wine

Maiale al Vino Rosso

Ingredients:

5 lbs. pork loin
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 c. red wine (full bodied, Maria Luisa suggested Barolo)
1/2 c. tomato pasted diluted in 1 c. water
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Mince garlic onto the meat and rub in along with the salt and pepper.  Heat up a medium sauté pan over medium high heat.  Make sure it's heated before putting in the meat.  You are going to brown the pork in its own fat therefore you want to hear it sizzle as soon as it hits the pan.  Brown for about 3 minutes on each side.

 Reduce heat, add wine, cover, and simmer until the wine has evaporated - approximately 15 minutes.  You should notice a distinct change in smell; the hot wine scent at the start will have gone away.  Turn at least once during this time so that the meat is cooking evenly.

In case you were curious about what wine I chose, I went with a Toscana from Monte Antico.  It's a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from various Tuscan vineyards.

Add the diluted tomato paste and simmer pork for another hour, turning occasionally.  Before taking the meat off the stove, be sure to check its temperature with a meat thermometer.  You'll want it to be between 145F and 155F.

Now, at this point Maria Luisa says you can serve the pork with or without the sauce and that the sauce will be a treat when served with pasta.  No, just no.  The sauce is fine being served with the pork, but I do not think it's necessary and frankly, adds nothing to the enjoyment of the meal.  As for "being a treat," absolutely not.  The sauce, as a standalone item, tastes like you boiled a pork chop in tomato soup.  Why you would then wish to add that to your spaghetti is beyond me.  In my humble opinion [which, as we have all realized by now, is anything but humble] you do not need the tomato paste at all.  Add a little thyme and rosemary to the garlic, salt, and pepper rub and forgo the tomato paste all together.  If you are worried about the amount of liquid in the pan add a little bit of water, maybe some vegetable stock, or if you happen to be me, more wine.  The meat will come out beautifully and the gravy will be better for it.

The being said, I stuck to the cookbooks original recipe and am still quite pleased with the result.  The pork is very tender and juicy.  It was also a good meal to cook when temperatures are still on the high side since cooking on the stovetop does not usually spike the temperatures in the apartment the way roasting something in the oven will.

So, that is one recipe down and only 419 more to go!