Cuckoo for couscous!

On a recent trip to the new Whole Foods in Paramus, I encountered their copious offerings of dried beans and grains. I have come to find that buying these items in bulk is inexpensive compared to their boxed or bagged, or even canned, counterparts. I find this to be especially true of couscous. For under $1, you can get two cups of this versatile "pasta" (couscous isn't really a pasta, but it's remarkably similar).

The nice thing about couscous is that you don't need to cook it. It's a grain that simply needs to be reconstituted. On a warm day like today, the last thing you want to do in the kitchen is cook! Couscous is the answer. All you need to do is boil some water or stock (this can even be done in the microwave if you don't even want to turn on a burner!), add it to the couscous, and in five minutes you have the base of a tasty lunch or light dinner. Just add a few simple ingredients like toasted pine nuts (which can easily be toasted in the toaster oven!) and some dried spices to that and presto! Dinner is served!

Couscous with Raisins, Cinnamon and Pine Nuts

1 1/4 cups water

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dark seedless raisins

1 tablespoon unsalted butter*

1 cup dried couscous

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine 1 1/4 cups water with cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, salt, raisins and butter; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous; immediately remove from heat and cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then toss in the toasted pine nuts. Using a fork, fluff couscous and place in a serving bowl.

*If you don't have unsalted butter, it's ok to use salted butter but omit the teaspoon of salt from the ingredients.

Enjoy!

There is no Giada, only pasta fazool!

Ok, I admit, the title of this post is corny. But what is Corno-copia without a little corn?

One of the greatest Italian peasant-style soups ever created is the often mispronounced Pasta e Fagioli. The reason for the great variety of renditions on the name of this dish stems down to three basic issues: 1. Regional Italian dialects (mainland vs. Sicily), 2. Poor education in America regarding foreign language, and 3. Food Network hosts who suffer from varying degrees of a combination of #1 and #2. The main Food Network culprit is Giada de Laurentiis with her vulgar pronunciations of all things Italian. Recently I saw Ms. de Laurentiis bastardize pasta fagioli, or, as she calls it, "Basta e fazheeoli and bean soup." The last time I checked, "basta" is informal Italian for "enough," I have no idea what "fahzheeoli" is, and to say "and bean soup" after all that is either redundant or an apology. I haven't figured that out yet. Nevertheless, this blog is about pasta fagioli and not the need to find Ms. de Laurentiis and slap her silly.

To put an end to the "great debate" over how to pronounce this dish, and to save you 5 embarrassing seconds when ordering this soup in a real Italian restaurant where the waitstaff is in fact Italian and not Portuguese or Greek, this is how you pronounce "pasta e fagioli": "Pasta," like pasta. "vFajole," with the hint of a soft v before the f. The e in the middle blends into the end of "pasta" so there's absolutely no need to make an attempt to get the e in there. If you try, you will look like a retard. And please forgive me my fully-Italian cousins (blame your Aunt Elva for making me half Irish!), it's not "pasta fazool" unless you're in South Philly or Sicily.

Again, this is one of the best peasant-style soups out there. When I say "peasant-style" soup, I mean "anything you have in your pantry will work nicely in this" soup. It's also a severely regional dish. So depending on where you are in Italy, your pasta will range from acini de pepe (Italian for "peppercorn" these look like tiny little beads) to orecchiette (Italian for "little ears" these look like, well, little ears). My recipe calls for acini de pepe. I find that you can bombard the soup with these itty bitty bits of pasta and still not overwhelm it. I find that the common problem in pasta e fagioli is either way too much pasta, or not nearly enough. I like to think I've solved that problem and therefore I present you with my own recipe for pasta e fagioli.

Pasta e Fagioli

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can (14.5 oz) good quality organic chicken or vegetable broth
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can (8 oz) good quality organic tomato sauce
1/2 cup uncooked acini de pepe
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, with liquid
Freshly grated, good quality Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until it glistens. Add the celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes and cook until the onion is translucent (about 4 minutes). Stir in the chicken (or vegetable) broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the pasta and cook another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Add the undrained beans and mix well. Heat through, about 1 minute. Serve hot with grated cheese on top.

Buono appetito!

Presto Pesto!

One of the very first sauces I learned to make as a teenager was a simple, yet flavorful basil pesto. Right now basil is in season and you can find it fresh in your grocery store or right in your very own garden. Basil pesto is a timeless Italian sauce that is so easy to make and incredibly versatile. All you need is basil, pine nuts (pignolas), garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil. How great is that?

Pesto is always made to taste and what one person's "amazing" pesto is may not be your idea of an "amazing" pesto. Nevertheless, once you master the basic basil pesto, you can tweak it to your own preference - more pine nuts, less oil... more garlic, less pine nuts. It's completely up to you. Some people even substitute walnuts for pine nuts, it's all a matter of personal preference!

Today I brought home some great fresh basil from the Greenmarket, planning some great comfort foods for this dreary week ahead. You can actually freze pesto for up to a month if you aren't going to use it all, but keep in mind that parmesan cheese does not freeze well. So if you decide you're going to have some now and freeze the rest for later, hold off on adding the cheese to the portion you're going to save. You can always add it when you've defrosted your frozen pesto!

Fresh Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed tight
1/2 cup pine (pignola) nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more. Slowly add 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Start the processor again and slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a constant stream. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Mojito magic!

In my opinion, one of the best things to come out of Cuba (and not on a floating door) is the mojito. Created in the 16th century to honor Sir Francis Drake and originally called "El Draque" (I kid you not!), the mojito is a simple concoction of mint leaves, sugar, white rum, lime juice and soda water.

It's amazing how many interpretations of the classic mojito are out there with bartenders trying to outdo one another in the eternal quest to be ever more trendy and make their bar "hip, now, and wow." You go into a bar and ask for a mojito and depending on where you are, the bartender will either give you some premade syrup from a bottle splashed with a hint of rum (aka the restaurant's "signature blend" sold at most liquor stores to the average college kid who fancies themselves a dorm room bartender), or you'll get this insane drink that tastes like rancid mint leaves splashed with rum they made in the bathtub.

You can create a deliciously light and incredibly refreshing mojito right from the comfort of your kitchen to enjoy on a sunny Saturday afternoon out on your patio. All you need are a few simple ingredients, and you have yourself the perfect lazy-day cocktail!

The Mojito

3 parts light rum
1 part lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
3 or 4 sprigs of mint, stems and leaves
soda (seltzer) water

ice cubes

In a shaker, add (in this order) the sugar, the mint sprigs, and a splash of soda water. With a muddler, muddle the ingredients until you can smell a strong mint fragrance. Add the lime juice, rum, and ice cubes. Close the shaker and shake for about 30 seconds to ensure the sugar has melted. Strain into a chilled highball or a collins glass filled halfway with ice. Top with soda water and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Enjoy!

The Cosmo

One cocktail that stands out from all the others is the Cosmopolitan. The "Cosmo" is the granddaughter of an evolution of drinks that began with vodka and gin in the 1950s and 1960s. You remember the Gimlet from the 1930s and 1940s? Vodka and Rose's Lime, that's a Gimlet. That goes back 100 years. Then 40 years later you add triple sec to it and orange liqueur and that makes it the Kamikaze. Then Ocean Spray developed cranberry juice out of New England. That gets added and then you have the Cosmo.

A great Cosmo recipe I developed last Summer is true to its roots, but I made a change to the proportions of its ingredients.

The Cosmopolitan Cocktail

2 parts Smirnoff citrus vodka
1 part Boulaine's triple sec
1 part Ocean Spray pure cranberry juice
1/2 part Real Lime lime juice

Put ice into a cocktail shaker and add all the ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail (martini) glass and garnish with a slice of lime.

Greenmarket, your organic friend

Welcome to the inaugural post! In this blog, I'll explore the New York City music scene as well as its vibrant food scene. Also, I'll share with you some of my personal favorite recipes, including my own creations.

What's really fantastic about living in the New York metro area is I have access to amazingly fresh ingredients at the myriad of farm market opportunites offered in Manhattan. One of those outlets is the Union Square Greenmarket, held every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 6pm, 365 days a year.

The Union Square Greenmarket offers locally grown, and often organic produce, dairy and even meats. You can get hard-to-find mushrooms, incredibly fresh tomatoes, crisp salad greens, artesanal hand-crafted cheeses, locally brewed wines, even cider that was pressed only hours earlier! Virtually anything you need you can find there.

This morning I set out for the Greenmarket to see what they had to offer and, to my immense delight, I was able to get a variety of wild mushrooms for a fraction of what I'd spend at Whole Foods. I was also able to pick up some very fresh parsley, rosemary, garlic and onions as well as locally made organic butter and a few bottles of wine from the Finger Lakes. On a dreary and somewhat chilly day like today, something I enjoy is an earthy wild mushroom risotto and the Greenmarket was able to give me what I needed to make this customarily Fall dish.

Armed with a canvas bag of wonderfully earthy delights, I set off for home to prepare my wild mushroom risotto; a great comfort food for a chilly Spring (or Fall) evening!

Wild Mushroom Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 garlic clove, finely diced
1 pound wild mushrooms, cleaned and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
Leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups risotto rice

1/3 cup dry white wine
4 c. vegetable stock, warmed
1 T finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 T butter

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent then add the garlic, mushrooms and rosemary. Stir to mix well. Add the rice and stir to mix. Sauté briefly (a minute or two) until the rice is shiny and appears translucent. Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed. Add the stock gradually in half-cup increments. Stir regularly until the broth is nearly absorbed (you can hear a faint sizzling noise) before adding more.

When done, the rice should be al dente; tender with just a hint of firmness in the center. If you've run out of broth and the rice is still not done, you add additional water or vegetable stock in half-cup increments until the rice is done, which is approximately 35 minutes. Add parsley, butter and parmesan cheese, stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

One last thought: If you have some hiding in your pantry, a small drizzle of white truffle oil would be an amazing finish to this dish. Serve this along with a crisp, chilled pinot grigio (preferrably the same pinot grigio you used in the preparation). Enjoy!