Yes, Mom... it's National I Love Food Day!

Are you like me... there's just too many to list!

The following are my favs, and in no specific order...

1.  See's dark chocolate scotchmallows

2.  Hot cinnamon rolls with raisins (Fred's has the best!)

3.  Toast with something savory and something sweet (cottage cheese and fruit or honey)

4.  Onion rings (well done, of course)

5.  Grilled salmon where it's crispy on the outside

6.  A yummy veggie salad with a little drizzle of olive oil, lemon & salt

7.  A deliciously BBQ'd hamburger, rare

8.  Tropical fruits

9.  Delicious tomatoes, red onions, basil, israeli feta and herbs

10.  Melon with cottage cheese

11.  Ice cold, crispy fresh veggies

12.  A white pizza with extremely thin and well-done crust (pref. Pizzeria Mozza)

Yes, i do love food!

Now please tell me... what are your favorites?

Bon Appetit!

A healthy Saturday lunch...

I had Rho and Izzy over for lunch and immediately knew what i wanted to make -- the vegetable torte posted by both Stacey Snacks and Proud Italian Cook.  It sounded easy and healthy, while at the same time is apparently quite a presentation.  I was at the Century City farmers market on Thursday and picked up eggplants, squash and tomatoes, and then went to the market and got broccoli, red peppers, zucchini, shallots and whatever else looked good to be grilled.  Let me tell you, it does come out beautiful (although Stacey's topping looks much more delicious than mine.  I didn't both drizzling olive oil on top of the breadcrumbs -- i thought there was enough oil in the dish.  My mistake.), but is definitely a time consuming project.

I picked up Parmigiano Reggiano which i put into a middle layer, and on top -- just beneath the breadcrumbs.  Rho & Izzy thought it was very good, but they both thought it could have used more layers of cheese, which might also hold it together a little better.  For me, this meant it was healthier than it could have been.

I found the breadcrumbs got a bit lost among all those vegetables, but they did add a nice crunch.  I also enjoyed the tomatoes not being grilled, but just cooked into the dish.  Added a slightly different texture.

An assortment of fresh veggies

Ingredients -

• 2 large italian eggplant
• Vegetables
• More vegetables
• and even more vegetables
• 1 cup of caramelized onions
• 1 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano
• 1 cup of fresh ricotta cheese or mozzarella*
• 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 Roma tomatoes (not grilled)
• fresh basil leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

*Although i didn't use ricotta or mozzarella when i made this dish, i would definitely use it next time around.  I would combine it with the parmigiano on probably 2 or 3 separate layers.  I grilled all of the vegetables separately the night before.  While grilling, i seasoned the vegetables with salt & pepper and fresh chopped basil.

I then layered everything in a 9" spring form pan.  As you can see, my veggies didn't layer quite as neatly as Stacey's or Marie's.  Perhaps i grilled the veggies a bit too long.  One piece of advice is to use the eggplant on the bottom and top layer.  The only thing i put on top of the top layer of eggplant were grilled shallots, grated Parmigiano and the breadcrumbs.  Oh, and a drizzle of olive oil will make the breadcrumbs golden brown.

Bake in a 350°F. oven for about 45 minutes. 
Let cool for about 15 minutes before removing the side of the pan.  It will be much easier to cut.  Oh... and use a serrated knife!

The ultimate protein 
   (part chicken, turkey, dinosaur)...

I wanted to serve a protein with the vegetable torte.  I was tempted to make grilled shrimps, but after seeing Marie's roasted chicken, i just had to give my hand at this one.  I had never made a roasted chicken, and i figured we could have roasted chicken served room temperature.  I bought what i'm thinking was a cross between a chicken and a turkey, or maybe some kind of prehistoric dinosaur.  This chicken was enormous!  Unfortunately, i forgot to see how much it weighed, but it took just over 3 hours to cook.  When i took the chicken out of the oven, Rho commented that she was surprised i cooked it breast side down.  Much to my surprise, i somehow mistook the chicken's "rump" for the breasts.  Unfortunately, the very crispy skin was the underside of the chicken.  Oh well, once you cut it apart, nobody would know the difference.

Crispy and filled with aroma, but cooked upside down.

 I slathered it with olive oil that i infused with lemon zest and chopped rosemary, and then seasoned with kosher salt and pepper.  I then stuffed the cavity with a couple lemon halves, a head of garlic and some rosemary.  Rarely have i had a chicken where i taste much flavor; i sometimes think it's more of the aromas that surround the chicken.  I was hoping to have plenty of "aromas" surrounding my chick-turk-asaurous.   I think it was good, but not outrageously delicious.  (But is any roasted chicken outrageously delicious?)

Side note -- i've now been back to the market and i think the chicken/turkey/dinosaur weighed about 7.5 pounds.  (Not 75 pounds; 7 and one-half pounds.)

Fresh Fruit for dessert --

For dessert, i served green muscato grapes, white figs that i lightly sauteed in a balsamic, and blackberries.  I'm just learning to enjoy figs.  I LOVE the dried variety, and fig jams too, but the raw figs -- not so much.  

Green muscato grapes, blackberries, and white figs sauteed in balsamic.

Unfortunately the foods didn't turn out quite as delicious as i had hoped.  Maybe this is a sign i should have done "summer salads" or something chilled.  But regardless, we had a great afternoon.

Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta Cheese and Balsamic

Ever since i can remember i've thoroughly loved ricotta cheese.  But not just any ricotta - i prefer Poly-O ricotta.  Even their "part skim" is very good.  When Amanda worked for me i turned her onto it and i remember she told me her mother bought ricotta as she requested, but she bought Precious brand, which just won't do.  Once a Polly-O girl, always a Polly-O girl.  Um... until you learn to make it yourself.

After completing my new kitchen i thought it would be fun to take a cooking class or two.  I then decided a mozzarella or ricotta cheese making class would be ideal.  Low and behold, HipCooks in West LA had just listed a new class entitled "The Cheese Whiz", where we would learn how to make mozzarella, ricotta, chevre, mascarpone and fromage fort.  I was in heaven!  Not only would i learn to make these two wonderful italian cheeses, but i got mascarpone and goat cheese as a bonus. 

We did a lot with the various cheeses, and i was impressed with how easy it is to make these different cheeses, as well as the lovely hors d'oeuvres we made in order to sample the goods.  I decided that, since this is the height of our tomato season, i would make the roasted tomatoes stuffed with ricotta cheese and then drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  Yummm.  Other than the small amount of fat in the cheese, it's actually a healthy and low calorie dish that can be used as an hors d'oeuvres, a snack, or have one or two along with a green salad and call it lunch!  Also, the nice thing about making ricotta is that you use buttermilk, which contain the enzymes necessary to turn the milk into curds and whey.  No necessary cheese-making enzymes necessary for ricotta.  We'll save those for the mozzarella.

RICOTTA CHEESE
Ingredients and necessities -

• 1 gallon of organic, whole milk*
• 1 quart of buttermilk**
• thermometer
• a large, non-reactive stock pot that holds at least 8 quarts

1. Pour both containers of milk into the pot and place on a medium burner.
2. Slowly and occasionally stir the milk ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.  Just stir occasionally; you don't want to stir too often.
3. When the milk gets to about 120°F., you will notice the curds forming.  
4. The goal is to get the milk to 180° F.
5. Turn your stove off and remove the pot.
6. You now have a pot of curds and whey.
7. Carefully, and with a serrated spoon, scoop out the curds and place into a cheesecloth lined colander or strainer.  Use about 4 or 5 large layers of cheesecloth.  
8. Gently pull together and twist the top of the cheesecloth so that it compacts the curds (which is now ricotta). 
9. Place it in the colander or strainer and put that over a bowl in the refrigerator.  
10. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours and then your ricotta is ready to be eaten.

The whey, or liquid extracted from the cheese, is actually an excellent source of protein.

*I tried making this with low fat milk, but i was only able to get about 2 tablespoons of cheese out of a gallon of milk.  Apparently, for this recipe, you must use whole milk.

**Buttermilk is actually a low-fat milk product, and not made from butter.  In fact, it's the remaining liquid after churning milk into butter, which is why you might see very small flecks of yellow in the milk, which are tiny pieces of butter that didn't make it to the top in the skimming process. 

Bon appetito!

ROASTED TOMATOES
Ingredients -

• Any kind of delicious tomato (I find compari, or roma tomoatoes are a great size and work well for roasting.  Heirlooms are too large, although they would be delicious.)
• fresh oregano or basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• fresh garlic is optional

1. Slice the tomatoes in half (lengthwise).
2. Scoop out the seeds.
3. Lay the tomatoes face up (scooped out side face up) on a cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle the chopped herb, salt and pepper so that each tomato half has a little of each.
5. If you want the garlic flavor, now's the time to add it.
6. Brush a little extra virgin olive oil on top of the tomatoes.
7. Slowly roast in a 300°F. oven for about 4 hours or until the tomatoes look shriveled up enough, yet you don't want them charred. 
8. After the tomatoes have cooled down, fill each one with some of your homemade, delicious ricotta cheese.

BALSAMIC REDUCTION
Over a low heat, pour 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into a pan, stirring occasionally.  The heat will slowly reduce the liquid, turning the balsamic into a delicious syrup.

Drizzle a little onto the top of each tomato stuffed with cheese, and enjoy.