Brown Chicken Stock

Mario's brown chicken stock recipe is used on several occasions throughout the cookbook and is definitely something every home cook should have in their repertoire.  You really don't even need a recipe for stock, but if it's your first time making one then this will serve as a perfect guide. 

The good news is that you can make as much or as little stock as you desire at a time and it freezes very well for later use. There are several ways to make it, none really better than the other, but doing it this way produced a rich stock nonetheless. 

The main point behind making your own stocks is threefold. First, you'll find stock used in many sauces and soups so you'll certainly need it. Second, the end product is so much better tasting than any store bought stock or broth. And third, it really nails home one of the themes of this book that nothing goes to waste. 

I started by browning some chicken bones and scraps in a stockpot with some olive oil. I didn't buy the bones, that would defeat the purpose. I keep a bag of bones in my freezer and when it is full, it's time to make stock. I had just the right amount that I needed. Get some good caramelization on those bones too. 

There's also another approach at this stage, besides using chicken parts, that will work just as well. I often cook a whole roasted chicken for dinner and after removing what pieces everyone wants to eat, what I have left is a carcass that's well browned and perfect for stock. It can also be frozen until needed at a later time. Again, nothing goes to waste. 

Next, I remove the bones and cook some roughly chopped mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery) until soft. 

I then returned the bones back to the pot with the mirepoix and added some peppercorns, parsley stems, and tomato paste. It gets covered with water and simmered for several hours until reduced by half. 

When finished it gets strained well, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. 

Then cool it down and put it in storage containers for another time. Oh, and don't forget to label and date the finished results. Chefs are always this organized at work and it makes sense to be the same way at home. How many times have you looked at that thing in your refrigerator not knowing what it is or when it was made?

Like I said, this is a solid approach to stock making. With this stock out of the way, I can save lots of time later on when I make a dish out of the cookbook that requires it. In fact, I used some of this stock for the next recipe. 

Until next time...

Meyer Lemon Semifreddo

Well have I been quite the busy bee. This is the third recipe that I have managed to knock out of The Babbo Cookbook this week. As I said earlier in a previous post, some of these recipes are fairly quick and simple to make. In fact, most people would be surprised to see how quickly a four star meal can come together with the proper tools, equipment, and knowledge. 

Completing some of these simpler dishes is all part of my strategy for making this project work smoothly. I figure that as the intricacy of the food increases, I will need to take more time in between recipes to prepare everything. This of course could all backfire on me when I'm knee deep in calf's brains and tripe, wishing for a break with none of the simpler plates left to make. We'll see.

It just so happens that my fiancé picked this next recipe out for me to make. We also had some friends over on the same night that I finished preparing it and we asked, 'hey, wanna be guinea pigs and try something new?'

While they all loved this dessert, and some practically licked their bowls, I, however, did not. Sorry Mario, I'm not saying that I hated it, or that I wouldn't make it again. I just felt that this dish needed something else as I found it a bit one sided and just sweet upon sweet. 

I love lemon, really I do. And Mario was right when he described that this dessert packs a powerful punch of lemon. But even with the weather rebounding to make it once again feel more like spring has sprung, I just couldn't get into this dish much. Maybe it'll be your favorite, who knows. 

In Italian, semifreddo means half frozen. Texture wise, semifreddo is like a cross between a gelato and sorbet. The pros of making a semifreddo is that it's super easy to assemble, it doesn't require a ice cream churner, and the kids won't have to wait overnight for this frozen treat to be ready on a warm day. 

I started by whipping some heavy cream to stiff peaks. Once the peaks form, it can be transferred to a bowl and kept refrigerated until needed later. 

While that was working, some sugar and water get put into a pan and brought to a boil. You will want this sugar mixture to reach what is known as the hardball stage. In the wonderful world of sugar cookery, the hardball stage is reached at around 247° to 250°, so you will need a candy thermometer to make sure that you don't over or under cook the mixture. I used to hate when we would do sugar work in culinary school because my sugar mixture seemed to always crystallize. So the sugar and I have a sort of love-hate relationship. 

As the sugar mixture is cooking, you should have the mixing bowl freed up to whisk some egg yolks until they become slightly pale and a little thick. 

At this point while the mixer is running slowly, you will want to carefully add the sugar mixture to the egg yolks in the mixing bowl. Here I would like to emphasize the term careful, because a splash of wicked hot sugar on any part of your skin is not a fun way to spend your day. 

Keep the mixer running and once the bowl has cooled down to the touch, I added some lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. 

Once that was incorporated well, I carefully folded the whipped heavy cream into the egg yolk mixture, and it looked a little something like this:

This mixture then goes into a plastic wrap lined loaf pan and then gets placed in the freezer until it firms up. 

There are two sauces that accompany this dessert. The first one is the huckleberry sauce and it is super simple. You take some huckleberries, or if you can't find them (and my local stores had none) use wild blueberries, with a little bit of sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the juices are slightly thickened. This can then be transferred to another bowl and put in the refrigerator to chill. 

The second sauce that accompanies this desert is a lemon brodo, or broth. See I told you it would be a powerful slap of lemon! For this part, all of the ingredients, (lemon juice, sugar, an egg yolk, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt) get combined in a blender and chilled until ready to plate. 

I used a bowl for the final plating. Spoon a little bit of the lemon brodo on the bottom of the bowl, cut a slice of the semifreddo and put it on top of the brodo, then spoon some of the huckleberry sauce right on top. 

Visually, it is very simple and the huckleberry sauce does make the semifreddo stand out a little. As I said before though, it's just a little too much of sweet on sweet for me. Maybe I will try it again during the summer when I have a craving for cold lemonade on a hot day. The good news is that so far everyone who has tried it has really liked it. So this will probably be a keeper for a future repeat performance. 

I want to take this point to say thank you to all of you who have made a visit to my blog. As it currently stands, I have a little over 100 page views so far. I hope I can keep this momentum going and reach as many people as possible. And of course, feel free to post a comment or send an email about anything on this blog or cooking in general. I would love to hear from you. This is a real labor of love and is something that will challenge me for many months to come, so I welcome all of the support that I can get. 

The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy for me so I will probably continue attacking some of the quicker and easier recipes in this book. It's really not a copout, it's just that as of today, I will be getting married in exactly 2 weeks! I am so excited. As you can imagine, these last two weeks are going to be filled with lots of last-minute wedding chores, but I still want to continue with the steady pace of knocking out as many of these recipes as I can. 

Until next time...

Asparagus Vinaigrette with Black Pepper Pecorino Zabaglione

Leave it to Mother Nature to turn beautiful 70° weather in the beginning of the week to 30° just a few days later. Gotta put those shorts back in storage again. I knew it was too good to be true. It's New England, I get it. I've lived here my whole life. But that dusting of snow was uncalled for. 

Moving forward, I must say that I didn't think that I was going to like this dish as much as I did. The snow wasn't altering my culinary judgement, it's just that the combinations on this plate seemed a little unconventional to me. Zabaglione is a sweet Italian custard. Granted this recipe used no sugar, but I have never seen zabaglione used for savory purposes. I got the impression that this was Mario's Italian take on the classic Asparagus with Hollandaise. 

As in previous posts, I brought some salted water up to a boil and cooked the asparagus until al dente. It was then shocked in an ice bath to stop the cooking. 

Next up was to make the vinaigrette. I minced a shallot and added sherry vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper. It then gets carefully emulsified with some extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle the oil slowly while whisking vigorously and it shouldn't break and separate on you. 

I didn't throw out the pot of water that the asparagus was cooked in because that was going to be used as my double boiler to make the zabaglione. In a bowl, I added egg yolks, Marsala wine, and freshly cracked black pepper, whisking until foamy. 

Then the bowl goes over the pot of water. I kept whisking the zabaglione until it thickened substantially which took about ten minutes. Once it was thickened enough, the bowl was then transferred over to an ice bath to get the zabaglione chilled quickly. 

As that cooled, I whipped some heavy cream to stiff peaks. 

Next, the cream was folded into the zabaglione with some pecorino and more cracked pepper. All of the ingredients then get chilled. 

The asparagus was plated with a spoonful of the vinaigrette and a dollop of the zabaglione. More pecorino gets grated over the top. 

So what did I think? Wow! What a nice surprise this was. The chilled slightly crisp fresh asparagus tasted amazing when I mixed both the vinaigrette and zabaglione together with each bite. My fiancé and I fought over the last few pieces. 

I cut the yield for this recipe in half, simply because of my doubt on whether I'd like it or not. That was a mistake! There I go thinking again. I followed the proportions to the letter, but I could have kept eating more of this and should have made the full yield. I would certainly recommend this dish in place of a boring old salad as a spring starter course for dinner. 

There are a few points that I would like to get across before I close off. For one, the recipe calls for a minced shallot to make the vinaigrette, but I would recommend using only half of one. A whole shallot was too overpowering. The vinaigrette also called for prepared mustard. The only kind that I had at home was yellow mustard. While it worked, it really needed Dijon mustard instead. Lesson learned, check your mise en place!

Okay, I've had my fix of asparagus for the time being. It's time for something different. I let my fiancé pick out the next recipe and I'm quite excited to try it. Until next time...

Asparagus and Ricotta Ravioli

What a beautiful week it has been. The past few days have brought 70° weather to the great city of Holyoke of which I am so thankful for. It felt like a Florida vacation after the bitter cold winter we have had this year. I got to sit outside in my shorts, crack open a cold beer, and even fire up the grill a few nights for this week's dinners. I've also managed to set aside some time to make the next dish for this blog, asparagus and ricotta ravioli.  

This next dish is similar in theme to the previous one that I posted in that it involves a few great ingredients, minimally altered, and perfectly combined in harmony. A common theme throughout this book. However, unlike the first post where I made pappardelle noodles out of Mario's basic pasta recipe, making ravioli requires a little bit more technique and attention to detail. This is why I have included some extra photos at key points throughout the making of this dish.

I assure you that mastering this technique will open up a whole new realm of possibilities for you the home cook. Ravioli can be filled with virtually anything, made ahead of time and frozen, and quickly retrieved and prepared for a fast meal during the week when time is not on you side, or should an unexpected houseguest pop up at the last minute. 

I started by making Mario's basic pasta recipe, beating the eggs and oil in the middle of the well, and slowly working in more flour as I go along the wall's edge until the egg/oil mixture and flour start to come together. 

Once this happens I start the kneading process. It will start to come together and form what looks like a shaggy ball. 

It looks quite dry at this stage doesn't it? Just keep kneading and the proper amount of flour will incorporate into a dough while the rest will just fall to the side. 

In total, it will take about 6 to 8 minutes of straight kneading to get it to look like this:

Next, take 20 good-sized spears of asparagus and slice them thinly on the bias. They get blanched for about a minute and a half and then submerged in an ice bath. You will want to reserve a small handful for the garnish. 

The filling is pretty simple. It includes the rest of the blanched asparagus, ricotta cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, olive oil, and a little bit of salt-and-pepper. Mario doesn't pulse the filling in a food processor, but if you prefer to have a smoother mouth feel in your ravioli by all means go for it. 

After rolling out the pasta sheets on the thinnest setting, place a spoonful of the filling on the sheets about an inch apart. 

Next, the pasta sheet gets folded over and sealed. Make sure to get all of the air pockets out and form a really tight seal. Otherwise when they are dropped in the water to cook, the edge of the dough will open and separate, causing the filling to ooze out into your pasta water. 

I used a pasta wheel cutter for the final shaping. It's a good idea to double check the seal of the ravioli at this point, again to avoid future mishaps. When finished, they can be set aside for cooking or frozen to save for a later date. 

The final assembly is really quick and simple. As the ravioli cook in boiling salted water, you melt some butter in a seperate pan and heat the reserved asparagus. When the ravioli are fully cooked, toss with the asparagus and shave some good Parmigiano-Reggiano over it, adding a few tablespoons of the starchy pasta water which will help bind it all together. 

This makes an excellent appetizer or main course and is perfectly light and so tasty. I opted not to cook all of the ravioli that I made, and I froze the rest for a future Meatless Monday. 

I recently listened to a YouTube video of Mario being interviewed and he was asked about meals at the Batali household. His family observes a growing trend amongst many chefs and celebrities called Meatless Monday. It's quite self explanatory. You give up eating meat on Mondays. I haven't officially made the pledge yet but it does intrigue me. It lowers our carbon footprint, reduces the home food bill, and adds the possibility of variety in the weekly meal. Its origins come from the food rations of World War II, when many Americans sacrificed their daily pleasures for the good of the war effort. It kind of ended after the war was over, but regained momentum in 2003. Maybe I'll give it a try. Who's with me?

What do I tackle next? Hmmm...hard to pick. I'll bet sitting out back watching a warm April sunset with a plate of these ravioli will help me decide. 

Until next time...

Asparagus Milanese with Parmigiano and a Duck Egg

April has finally arrived! Along with it, a nasty sinus infection which explains the time taken between my last post. But with antibiotics being the miracle cure that they are, it's time to get back to work.

Besides the days getting longer and a bit warmer, April also brings us asparagus. There are several asparagus recipes in The Babbo Cookbook because it marks a time for chefs when we switch from the braised meats and root vegetables of the winter to the fresh crisp produce varieties of the spring and summer. 

These next few asparagus recipes are featured in the antipasto section of the book and make for excellent side dishes or light main courses. But regardless of the meal that you eat these plates or in what quantity, the main culinary message here is freshness, seasonality, and quality of ingredients. This holds especially true for this recipe which has so few ingredients that each one needs to stand out and shine. 

As Mario states in this chapter, 'Italians walk into every store with the intention of taking home the very best stuff. They think of this as their God-given right and responsibility, not just an option when they feel like splurging. This does not mean buying veal chops every time you hit the store, but talking with (your purveyor) to find what is really special this week.'   With asparagus season in full bloom, it was an easy choice. 

I bought some beautiful asparagus from a farm in South Hadley, just the next town over from where I live. South Hadley was once the asparagus capital of the world, but any grocery store will have fine options. 

First, I brought some water up to a boil, added some salt, then started cooking the asparagus. 

The asparagus, after a quick boil, gets blanched in an ice bath. While that's shocked, heat a pan with some extra virgin olive oil and add the asparagus. It gets a quick sear then is plated.

 

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil and crack open a duck egg in the pan making sure to keep the yoke intact.  Cook sunny side up. 

The egg gets plated with the asparagus and seasoned with some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. I added a little extra virgin olive oil to this which wasn't in the recipe but fit the theme well. 

It's quick, simple, and so tasty. The duck egg really made this dish for me. Duck eggs have a more intense flavor than chicken eggs. I was able to get duck eggs from my friend Andrew who raises ducks and chickens, but if you don't have a connection like that and can't find them, then regular chicken eggs will do. 

Next I'll continue with the asparagus extravaganza by making some ravioli. Until next time...




Alan Hogan
Alanhogan28@gmail.com
Sent from my iPad

Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake

Well our Jack & Jill went off without a hitch. Family and friends gathered from all over New England at the local country club to eat, drink, and boogie down with us. It's hard to believe that in about one month I will be married! It was truly a fun time, hangover and all. 

Back in the kitchen, as I alluded to last week, our next project is the Maple Mascarpone Cheesecake. My fiancé has been eyeing this recipe for a while, as have I, so once the hangover wore off I got to work.

While you can find all of the ingredients for this dish year round, it's probably, to me, most appropriate to serve this in the early fall. There's something about the smell of warm maple on a cool night that makes fall seem all the more official to me. It's been equally cool here this week so I just couldn't wait to give this a try. 

First, I brought the maple syrup to a boil, then reduced to a simmer for roughly 30 minutes or  until it was reduced by two-thirds. This really intensified the flavor. It was then finished with heavy cream.

Next, was to butter some ramekins and dust with sugar. I couldn't for the life of me find the exact foil ramekins that Mario mentions in the 'Tools of the Trade' section at the back of the book. My local grocery store only had foil muffin tins, but I used some kitchen shears to separate them and it worked out really well. 

Time to fire up the mixer to beat some cream cheese and sugar. 

Some eggs and vanilla were added in installments, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl well. I then added the mascarpone and some of the cooled maple mixture and beat again. Mario noted to not over mix at this stage, as it can lead to the batter breaking. 

The batter goes into the ramekins, which are then placed in a water bath before going in the oven. Don't over fill these because they will expand a little. Then wrap in foil. 

The recipe calls for roughly 50 minutes of bake time which was spot on. These are done when the center isn't jiggly and is set. Something should be said about our will power to wait until they have chilled over night in the refrigerator before digging into them. 

I used a large dinner plate for the final plating, along with the reserved sauce and the roughly chopped walnut shortbread cookies from the last post. As you can see, it made for an elegant looking dessert. It's understandable that Mario says that this is Babbo's most popular one as well.  

I actually preferred using the smaller sized ramekins. Anything bigger would have been overkill to me. This would also make a perfectly sized final course should you attempt to put together one of the recommended tasting courses at the back of the book. 

I will get into tasting courses a little bit later. In fact, because we love hosting dinner parties, my plan is to create my own tasting menu experience here at home and post about it on this blog. But before I sign off for today, I want to talk about Mario's approach to desserts. 

Mario explains that 'in Italy, the dessert is always appropriate to their surroundings. In a fancy ristorante I may be served an exquisite panna cotta scented with a hint of seasonal citrus; a casual trattoria may offer a traditional crumbly cake with a glass of local dessert wine.'  Sometimes you might just have ripened seasonal fruit. Whatever it may be, it's fresh, handmade, and tasty, along with being appropriately portioned. Mario wanted to make sure that this was the focus of the Babbo dessert menu, and I think it's important to have these approaches to dessert in your repertoire.  As I mentioned before, and of course this is totally a personal preference, I think that it's better to offer a dessert that's smaller than larger to your guests. Especially after having a few other courses before it. I like the dessert to be just big enough that upon finishing it I say, 'ah if I only had one more bite.' 

In America, we tend to supersize everything, desserts especially. By doing this, we fail to make anything a special treat. When I can go out at any time of the day or night and get a snack to appease my sweet tooth, then sweet confections merely become a means to an end. And like most addictions, it's never enough nor are you ever really satisfied. Yes, I said addiction, because in 1900 the average yearly consumption of sugar per person in America was 20-30 pounds. Today, it's nearly 120 pounds. Factor in the added unnatural chemicals and preservatives in that crap that we eat and your health becomes a ticking time bomb. 

For some in our government, they believe that the solution is to increase taxes on junk food. Instead, I feel that there is a better solution. I suggest we take the Italian approach. I suggest we take some personal responsibility, get rid of all of the processed junk food in our diet, enjoy fresh fruit, but make a special homemade dessert or treat every once in a while. Invite some friends and family over to share it with. Make it with real food and with real ingredients that you can pronounce. It'll be much better for you and you'll feel great knowing that YOU made it and not some food lab thousands of miles away. 

Okay rant over. That wraps up this post for now. Next, I want to make a few dishes featuring asparagus. Asparagus season is in full bloom and the chefs at Babbo get really excited for it this time of year because it signals the end of winter's long braised food and cold weather. Until next time...