pasta with shrimp

Tonight, we had penne with shrimp. I made a basic tomato sauce, which started with some sauteed onions and garlic. Then I added a splash of red wine to the pan, followed by crushed tomatoes. I let the sauce simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, and seasoned it with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and dried basil and oregano. Meanwhile, I cooked penne in salted boiling water. Ten minutes before serving, I added the shrimp to the sauce to cook. Finally, I tossed the pasta with the sauce and served it with crusty bread.

banana bread

This banana bread is the best I've ever made. The recipe comes from the famous Boston bakery, Flour.

Banana Bread
From Gourmet, August 2003

3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 1/3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. coarsely mashed very ripe bananas, about 6 large
1/4 c. creme fraiche (or substitute whole milk or greek yogurt)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9x5 inch metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together 3 1/4 c. flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.

Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium-high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture and walnuts gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter between loaf pans, spreading evenly, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.

cannoli

My mom came home with cannoli shells from an Italian supermarket. My family loves cannoli, but we have never tried making them at home before. With the shells already made, it was a super easy dessert to make.

Cannoli Filling

15 oz. fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Place ricotta in a cheesecloth, and let drain for 2 hours.

Using an electric mixer, combine drained ricotta with sugar and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Place in a piping bag, and fill shells.

Note: To make these cannoli more special, dip ends of shells in chocolate before filling.

apple walnut cinnamon bread

There is a nearby farmer's market that sells a sweet bread made with apples, walnuts, and cinnamon. Here, I tried to replicate it. I decided to use a recipe for cinnamon rolls for the bread base and made a swirl using apples, cinnamon-sugar, and chopped walnuts. It is best eaten warm out of the oven.

Apple Walnut Cinnamon Bread

For bread:
Adapted from Cinnamon Rolls with Pecans, Bon Appetit, October 1999

1 1/2 c. warm whole milk, 105 to 110 degrees
3/4 c. sugar
2 envelopes active dry yeast
4 tbs. butter, room temperature
1 tsp. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour

For filling:

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 apples, peeled, cored, diced
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. walnuts, chopped
1 egg, beaten

Combine 1 1/2 c. warm milk and 3/4 c. sugar in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over and let stand until foamy, about 6 minutes. Mix in butter and salt. Add enough flour, 1 cup at a time, to form soft dough. Turn dough onto floured work surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes.

Lightly butter another large bowl. Place dough in bowl; turn to coat with butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then cover with kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Beat butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in medium bowl to blend.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Turn dough onto floured work surface. Divide dough in half Roll out gently to 9 x 10 inch rectangle. Spread half butter-cinnamon-sugar mixture onto dough. Sprinkle half of apples and walnuts on bread. Roll to form loaf. Press seams closed. Place in buttered 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush with egg wash.

Bake until golden and cooked through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

mozzarepas

One of my mom's favorite things about New York street fairs are the mozzarepas that they often sell. Mozzarepas are corn cakes that are filled with mozzarella cheese. They are served warm, so that the cheese oozes out of the slightly sweet corn pancakes.

I combined a couple of recipes to make my mozzarepas. I made a thick, cornmeal-based batter, and panfried them in butter. Then, I sandwiched the arepas with grated mozzarella cheese, placed them back in the pan, and cooked them until the cheese melted.

Mozzarepas

1 1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 c. whole milk
1/2 stick butter, plus more for panfrying
1 c. grated mozzarella

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Heat milk and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, and simmer until butter is melted. Remove from heat and add to dry ingredients. Let stand until batter thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.

Heat butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Drop 1/4 c. batter in pan, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels, and repeat with remaining batter. Place 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese between two arepas, and return to pan to heat through, so that the cheese melts.

cream puffs and profiteroles

I made cream puffs and profiteroles today. The puffs themselves were light, airy, and perfectly complemented by the rich pastry cream. The profiteroles were filled with ice cream and enjoyed by my dad.

Cream Puffs
From Epicurious, October 2004

1 c. water
5 1/3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 tbs. plus 1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. all-purpose flour
4 to 5 eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour all at once, and stir rapidly with a stiff heatproof or wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean, with no dough sticking to it. The dough should be glossy and smooth but still damp. Continue to stir for about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent the dough from coloring. A thin coating will form on the bottom and sides of the pan. When enough moisture has evaporated, steam will rise from the dough and there will be a nutty aroma of cooked flour.

Immediately transfer the dough to the mixer cowl and mix for a few seconds to release some of the heat from the dough. WIth the mixer on medium speed, add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one; scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn off the machine. Lift some of the dough on a rubber spatula to let it run off: It should fall off the spatula very slowly; if it doesn't move at all or is very dry and falls off in one clump, beat in the additional egg.

Place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe discs about 1 1/2 inches across and just under 1/2 inch thick on Silpat-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between them. Bake the puffs for 10 minutes, turn the sheet around, turn the oven down to 350 degrees, and bake 15 minutes more. Remove one puff and break it open: It should be hollow inside and not gooey or eggy; if it is still moist, return it to the oven and check it in 5 minutes. Pierce a hole in the bottom of the cream puff to let the steam escape. Cool the puffs completely on the baking sheet.

Pastry Cream
From Epicurious, December 2008

2 1/4 c. whole milk
6 large egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla

In medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 c. milk, egg yolks, 1/3 c. sugar, and cornstarch.

Transfer remaining 1 3/4 c. milk to heavy medium saucepan. Add vanilla, and sprinkle remaining 1/3 sugar over, letting the sugar sink undisturbed to bottom. Set pan over moderate heat and bring to simmer without stirring.

Whisk hot milk mixture, then gradually whisk into egg yolk mixture. Return to saucepan over moderate heat and cook, whisking constantly, until pastry cream simmers and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk cream until smooth. Transfer to bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill until cold, about 4 hours.

linzer cookies

Linzer cookies are my dad's favorite, so I usually make them at least once a year. Usually, the cookie dough contains nuts, but they tend to make the cookie a little tough. This time, I used my favorite butter cookie recipe instead. It turned out to be a great alternative.

Linzer Cookies

2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 c. flour
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Seedless raspberry jam
Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla until it comes together. Wrap in plastic, and shape into a disk. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Roll out dough, and use a fluted 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter to shape cookies. Use a smaller cutter to remove centers of half of the cookies. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned.

When cool, separate the whole cookies from the cut-out cookies. Dust center-less cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread the bottom of one whole cookie with seedless raspberry jam. Place sugar-dusted cookie on top to make a sandwich.