Stoneview

I’ve been working on things this week to be mailed out in packages. Yesterday’s effort included these delicate cookies. I think they’d be greatly improved by a drizzle of dark chocolate but I’d rather not add anything melty to something I plan to mail so they’ll have to go as is.

Lemon Ginger Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
grated zest of a lemon
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely minced

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the sugar and butter at medium speed for about five minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well combined. Sift together the dry ingredients in another bowl then stir in the ginger. Add this mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time at low speed until fully incorporated. Drop by small spoonfuls onto the baking sheets, spaced a few inches apart, and bake 14 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I forgot to do Daniel’s pizza Wednesday night so he had a Thursday pizza instead. I think pizza night is going to happen on Mondays henceforth while I’m away at yoga since Jason eyes the pizza longingly every week. I thawed the frozen crust overnight in the refrigerator then shaped it in the morning and let it rise in the pan in the refrigerator most of the day taking it out about an hour before baking. Just before baking I added tomato sauce, pizza seasoning, mushrooms I sauteed earlier and turkey pepperoni. This baked at 350 for 25 minutes. I’ll definitely be doing more of the frozen crusts, it seems to work quite well.

Hand-made pasta and gnochi are two things that have always intimidated me in the kitchen. Yesterday I decided to tackle the gnochi and though I have no idea what they are meant to taste like, we were all pleased with the results and that’s what counts in the end. The recipe was a bit larger than anticipated so it did take awhile to execute and I’ve frozen half for later.

Gnochi

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper
2 cups flour

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with with water. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and let sit 10-15 minutes to cool a bit. Peel potatoes and grate into a large bowl. (You can use a food mill for this but as I didn’t have one a grater seemed to work quite well.) Mix together the heavy cream, egg, salt and pepper and pour this over the potatoes mixing it in gently with a spatula. Gently cut in the flour just until it’s shaggy and not quite a dough.

On a floured cutting board, scoop out 1/4 of the dough at a time and knead once or twice. Form into a long rope about an inch thick and cut off 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each piece down the tines of a fork to form a slightly ovoid shape. These may be frozen or cooked within the hour. (You can refrigerate briefly but after some hours they will oxidize and turn grey.) Cook in boiling water 4-5 minutes or until they float to the top. Remove to a serving dish and toss with melted butter. Mine were topped with crushed tomatoes and fresh basil.

This week I have "Cooking By Hand" from the library and have really enjoyed looking through the recipes. This book is pretty much just a love letter to food. One of his recipes for green tomatoes led me to make this sort of chutney. Unfortunately, mine has air bubbles in it so it won’t keep long and I’ll have to find homes for some of it. I spent most of the afternoon giving it the occasional stir as it cooked down.

Green Tomato Chutney

5 pounds green tomatoes, chopped
2 large sweet onions, chopped
1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, cut into thick sliced
1 cup golden raisins
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons brown mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 star anise

Combine tomatoes through allspice in a dutch oven over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Wrap spices in a cheesecloth pouch and add that to the pot as well (I used a spice infuser ). Cook for 2-3 hours or until the liquid evaporates and you’re left with a glossy jam. As it cooks down you’ll need to gradually lower the heat and stir more and more frequently to prevent burning. Then transfer to sterile half-pint canning jars and process in a water bath to cover at least 1 inch for 15 minutes.

I had a little taste and I think this would be great with spicy Indian food so that might come into the picture later this week.

Saturday is grocery shopping day at our house. I make my list either Friday evening or early Saturday morning and most of the time we go out together to do the shopping. If we haven’t got leftovers we need to finish up then sometimes we’ll pick up the makings for bruschetta which makes a quick and satisfying lunch.

Grocery day Bruschetta

1 ball fresh mozzarella
cherry or grape tomatoes
fresh basil
fresh bread
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Slice and toast the bread then top with sliced mozzarella, halved tomatoes, basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can also add lemon zest, capers, olives or garlic to this if you’d like to fancy it up. Alternatively, instead of using it as bread topping, it makes a lovely pasta dish, particularly in the summer time when tomatoes are at their best. In winter it is nice with sun-dried tomatoes instead for a nice punch of flavor.