Cooking Class: Calzone

20 March 2009 Filed In: broccoli, calzone, cooking class, Fall, lunchbox, Main Dish, Snacks, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, tomato, Winter






“Are the cow-zones, ready, Mama Cate?” the mini-chefs asked, peering into the oven.  Who could not love teaching this bunch of children week after week?

Because, as I explained to the mini-chefs, calzone are sort of like a little pizza that you fold in half, they worked with great concentration and-as always-great abandon.  My mother-in-law, Linda, made a guest appearance at class last Wednesday, and seeing as she’s a smart lady who wears fancy white shirts to these appearances, she played trucks and trains with Liev while the other Yummies slung tomato sauce around and flour flew.  Our calzone, overstuffed, came out unsealed for the most part, with cheese and sauce bubbling enticingly out of them.
On a sort of mama side note, here, I also made some of these in bulk later in the week to take to a food swap,  cranked out 34 of them in the course of an afternoon, stuffing them with (cooked) ground turkey meat from our little Saturday greenmarket.  The turkey got added to the rest of the ingredients listed in the recipe below.  A bunch went into my freezer for lunches and whatnot, a bunch got swapped with friends for their delicious treats, and one got devoured right then and there (that would be by me).  They were the perfect thing to make en masse as you can make a vat of sauce, a heap of dough, switch up the veggies and other stuffing ingredients easily, and because they freeze so beautifully.
Get ready to turn that oven light on.  Your Yummies, too, will probably be hanging around asking when the cow-zones will be ready.

Calzone

*one recipe of Ari’s Artisanal pizza dough (recipe here)
*2 c. marinara sauce
*1/4 c. parmesan, grated
*8 oz. ricotta cheese
*a large ball of fresh mozzarella, grated
*2 c. broccoli florets, chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
*1 T. olive oil
*salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Line two (un-rimmed) baking sheets with parchment.  

Together: Place the broccoli and garlic onto the rimmed baking sheet, and toss them with the olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Spread them out in one even layer. 

Big Person:  Roast this in the oven till the broccoli turns bright green, about 10-12 minutes.  Then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and roast another 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool while you start to work with the dough.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F now in preparation for baking the calzone.

Together: Put the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses in a large sealable plastic bag.  Seal well.  Let your mini-chef knead the bag till the two cheese are nicely mixed together.

Sprinkle your work space with extra flour and rub some onto your hands.  Separate the dough into little lumps, big enough to be able to fill but small enough for your Yummy to handle easily.  Working together, roll each lump into a ball.  Pat each ball down into a pancake by clapping your hands together.  Now, working around the perimeter of each pancake start to stretch the dough into a bigger and bigger circle.  If this is really difficult for your mini-chef, put the pancake in both of your hands and work together, allowing your mini-chef to pull the dough on one side of the circle while you pull away on the other side.  Keep rotating the pancake around as you do this till the dough is about 1/4-inch thick (or so).  

Place a small spoonful of sauce in the middle of each circle.  Then another small spoonful of the ricotta-mozzarella mixture will go on top of that.  Last, place a bit of broccoli on top.  Fold your circle in half, sealing in your filling.  Press down on the outer edge of the calzone and decorate in your favorite way: pressing with a fork, pinching it with your finger, etc.  

Place the calzone on the parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake 12-16 minutes or until the tops begin to turn golden.  After you pull them out of the oven, cool the calzone a few minutes and eat warm.

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Yummy Shepherd’s Pie

17 March 2009 Filed In: carrot, Fall, Gluten-free, lamb, lunchbox, Main Dish, meat, pies, potato, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Winter


When Mira and her friends were still one-year-olds and in that pickiest of picky-eating phases, I cooked up these shepherd’s pies for them as an experiment. Some of them, who ate most everything anyway, did not surprise us when they gobbled it down. Others, my daughter included, really did. Mira happened to be going through an exclusive rice-and-beans, Indian curry, and Quiche Lorraine phase at the time. She wouldn’t eat so many things. Still, when I put this down in front of her, she ate, if not the entire ramekin, a very nice Mira-sized helping.

The reason I mention this is that this is one of those dishes that is so easy to make in bulk, to freeze portions of, or serve to a crowd. You could easily swap out the meat involved depending on the time of year (ground lamb right now is too expensive, so we used ground beef). I’ve made a vegan version of this in the past by adding extra veggies to the bottom mixture and using olive oil and soy milk to make the mashed potatoes instead of the butter, and you can feel free to use sweet potatoes instead of the russets if you prefer the flavor or the color. That is to say that it is a dish of possibilities.
Oh, and while Shepherd’s Pie doesn’t technically hail from Ireland, it’s definitely from the other side of the Pond and would do well for those of you mums and dads today who, well, need something to soak up with after the partying. See. Possibilities. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Yummy Shepherd’s Pie

*1 1/2 lbs potatoes (russet, creamer, or sweet)
*6-8 T. butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks
*1/2 c. warm milk
*1 lb. ground beef, lamb, turkey, or chicken
*one large onion, finely chopped
*3 large carrots, minced (about 1 1/2 c)
*1/2 c. corn off the cob (frozen works well)
*1/2 c. peas (again, frozen is just fine)
*1/2 cup spinach, chopped
*1 t. Worchestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
*1 T. tomato paste
*1 T. flour
*salt and pepper to taste
*1 c. cheddar or Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Take out a 13×9-inch baking dish and a few small ramekins and set aside till ready to use.

Big Person: In a large skillet, cook the meat on medium heat till throughly browned. Place the meat in a fine mesh sieve with a bowl set underneath it so that the fat drains off of the meat.

Together: Meanwhile, you and your Yummy can fill a very big pot with water and throw in some salt (coarse salt is nice here if you have it)-just like you were salting pasta water, which is to say that it should taste roughly like sea water. Big Person will carry that over to your work space. There are two options now. If you’re working with a very small Yummy, you might want to go for the rustic version and simply scrub the potatoes together with a veggie brush. If, however, you are working with a Yummy who is 3 1/2 or older, try showing them how to peel the potatoes WITH you. Always peel away from your bodies, and please remember that peelers are sharp. i.e. Use your judgement.

Big Person: Chop the potatoes into large chunks.
Yummy: Put the potatoes chunks into the salty water. Then, go and draw a picture of shepherds, pies, and lots of vegetables.

Big Person: Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 10-20 minutes depending on the type of potato you are using.

In the same skillet you used to cook the meat, melt a tablespoon of butter. Saute the onion and the carrots till soft and translucent. Add the rest of the veggies and cook another two minutes. Pour in the meat, adding the tomato sauce and the Worchestershire sauce. Sprinkle the flour over everything, and give the mixture a good stir, cooking it a minute or two longer so that the flavors come together. Take this off of the heat and place in a bowl to cool down enough that your Yummy can work with it in a few minutes.
When the potatoes are tender, take the pot off of the heat and drain the water. Place the potatoes in a large bowl.

Together again: Have your Yummy mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a potato ricer. Add the rest of your butter. Pour in the milk. Now, whip this all together. You can use an electric mixer or a wooden spoon to do this part. Add a bit of salt and pepper at the end and give it a good stir.

Assemble: Cover the bottom of each ramekin and the baking dish with the meat mixture. Smooth out the layers. Then put the mashed potato layer on top and smooth with a rubber spatula.

Place the ramekins onto a rimmed baking sheet. slide both the baking dish and the rimmed baking sheet into the oven. Bake the little ones for about 15 minutes or until browned. Bake the big guy about 30 minutes, or until browned. You can add the grated cheese at the very end, about 5 minutes before you pull these out of the oven. Turn the broiler on to brown the cheese.

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Guest Bloggers Natasha and Hannah Make Hamentaschen

12 March 2009 Filed In: Chanukah, Christmas, cookies, Desserts, Fall, guest blogger, jam, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian, Winter



Because this week is Purim in the Jewish tradition, I asked Natasha and her beautiful and talented daughter Hannah to share a special recipe with us.  Little did I know that Miss Hannah was not only a chef but also a writer like her mama.  The text covering the meaning of Purim is all hers.  Natasha, who writes 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures and keeps her blog stocked with recipes that I often just have to try, must already be totally aware of how her daughter rocks and is a major smarty pants, but now you can be, too.  Take a look:

Purim is a Jewish holiday.  Haman, the King’s advisor, wanted all the people to bow to him.  But Queen Esther told the King that Haman was bad so the King sent Haman away and Jewish People were free.  So, on Purim we celebrate that we are free.  We dress up in costumes, put on masks and crowns, and make loud noise with special shakers called graggers.  We eat sweet cookies called Hamentaschen.  These cookies are not like other cookies because they are shaped like a triangle to remind us of Haman’s hat.

This is how we made our Hamentaschen.  I mixed flour, and baking powder, and salt together.  Mommy mixed the butter and sugar together and then I helped her to add the eggs.  Then, we mixed all ingredients together and made a dough.  Then we put the dough in the refrigerator.  After a while, Mommy rolled the dough and I cut the circles out.  I put the fillings-chocolate or cherry or blackberry jam.  Mommy made the cookies into a triangular shape.  Then we baked them.  They were delicious to eat.

We got the recipe from Grandma but we changed it a lot.

Hamentaschen

*2 1/2 c. flour
*2 t. bakingpowder
*1 c. sugar
*1 stick butter
*2 eggs
*1 T. almond extract
*chocolate chips, cherry preserves, blackberry jam or other fillings

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and sugar.  In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar, mix in eggs and almond extract.  Slowly add the flour while mixing.  Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or place in a freezer for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Roll out half the dough in a disk about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut circle shapes out with a glass or a cookie cutter.  Place a little bit of filling in the middle of each circle.  Pinch the sides of the dough together to form a triangular shape with the filling being open.  Arrange on baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until just starting to turn golden.

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Cooking Class: Brazilian Cheese Bread

04 March 2009 Filed In: Appetizers, bread, Breads, cheese, cooking class, Fall, Gluten-free, Halloween, Soy-free, Spring, Vegetarian, Winter




Usually, when somebody hands me a recipe, I can look it over, and everything will make perfect sense.  This one, which is a mixture of two recipes given to me from my Brazilian friends Fabienne and Roberta, really surprised me.  We had tasted these pao de quejo at Fabienne’s a few months back, and they were puffy little creatures.  The recipe had no leavening, just tapioca flour.  
Last Wednesday, when we made these in class, the kids got to mix and to roll out the little balls and place them on the baking sheets.  After all the gleeful mauling of that dough that went down-they dipped it in water, threw it across at their friends, rolled one piece of it in a transfixed state for several minutes, and probably did some other nefarious things that none of us Big People caught-I figured that our class version would never, could never rise or puff.
You know what?  They were gorgeous, tasty, and puffed up just right.  Perhaps all of that extra loving that went into them just made them all the better.  So, I write this post in awe-of Brazilians, of tapioca flour, and of the mini-chefs who teach me things each and every time, like how pleasurable it is to establish new techniques.
Brazilian Cheese Bread
*4 1/2-5 c. tapioca flour
*1 t. salt
*2 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
*2-3 eggs (depending on the size of egg you are using)
*1 1/2 c. milk
*1/2 c. vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  

Together: Line a 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the salt and the tapioca flour together.  Set that aside for a bit.

Big Person: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the oil and the milk to a boil, whisking now and then to prevent the milk from scorching.  Once the mixture comes to a boil, take the pan off of the heat and whisk it for a few seconds and then set aside to cool for a minute.

Scrape and pour the the milk mixture into the flour mixture.  Add in the grated parmesan cheese as well.  During the initial mixing, the Big Person stir well with a wooden spoon.  

Together again: Now that the mixture has cooled down a bit, knead it with your hands.  Then you can set the dough aside for another 5 minutes or so to cool further.  It will look a bit dry and scraggledy  before you add the egg.

To finish making the dough add the eggs.   Use your wooden spoon again for a few strokes so that the eggs begin to become integrated.   Knead with your hands till the dough is smooth but not sticky.  If the dough is too wet, add some tapioca flour.  If it is too dry, add some more cheese or a tiny bit more milk.  You should be able to easily form it into balls.

Set a little bowl of water on your workspace.  Dip both hands into the water, and have your mini-chef do the same.  Grab a little piece of dough, roll it between your fingers and shape it into a ball.  Put each little ball onto the parchment paper-lined sheets with a bit of space around it.

Big Person: Put the baking sheets into the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.  These are best served warm, but the actual uncooked dough balls can be frozen and baked off later if you want to save some for another day.  

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Black and White Butter Cookies

04 March 2009 Filed In: chocolate, Christmas, cookies, Desserts, Fall, Halloween, Soy-free, Spring, Summer, vanilla, Vegetarian, Winter





What do you do when it’s a snow day, too cold and windy to actually play outside for very long, and you only have basic ingredients on hand to bake something-as per request-“chocolate and guh-nilla”?  Time to crack out the cookbooks that have been languishing on our shelves.

After bundling both kids up, which of course took about two hours, bundling myself up, trudging out to the park near our building, and trying to get the kids psyched about playing in the tundra-like environment, we had trudged out into the day.  It was soon clear that we would not be having a good deal of outside time.  Inside, there was hot tea and chocolate, warm shepherd’s pie (which I will post about soon), and many crafts, games (including pretend trips to Florida, of course), and books to entertain the kids.  
However, when both children refused to go back outside in the afternoon so that we could trek to our Monday afternoon playgroup, it was time to call in the big guns: chocolate and vanilla.  With our few ingredients in mind and wanting something that both kids could do almost completely by themselves, I found the “Chocolate and Vanilla Cookies” in Tessa Kiro’s Apples for Jam cookbook.  For some reason, before this, the recipes, while so beautifully pictured and organized by color group (drool!), did not call out to me.  
Now all I can say is that I’m sorry that I was so remiss in the past and thank goodness for the recipe that saved the afternoon.  Our brown and cream cookies were so cute and tasty.  As Tessa suggests, we doctored the flavors a wee bit for some interest, but the best part was being able to let the kids do almost everything.  Including use their imaginations to fit the chocolate and the vanilla dough together.
Black and White Butter Cookies
adapted from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros
*1 stick plus 5 T. butter, room temperature
*3/4 c. sugar (turbinado is fine)
*1 egg, room temperature
*1 1/2 t. vanilla
*3 child-sized pinches of salt
*2 c. flour
*1 t. ground cinnamon
*2 T. cocoa powder (we used Jacques Torres’s Wicked)
*a pinch of cayenne (Big Person will do this)
In a big bowl have your mini-chef beat the butter and the sugar together.  Crack the egg into a little bowl and beat it with a fork.  Add that to the butter/sugar mixture and beat the mixture some more.  Pour in the vanilla, and, yes, beat some more.  
Now let your Yummy pinch in the salt and give the dough a quick stir to distribute it.  
Have two medium-sized bowls at the ready.  In one of them, measure out the flour.  Then, scoop 1 1/2 T. of THAT flour into the other bowl.  Dump the rest of the flour (from the first bowl) into the dough bowl with the cinnamon, and stir them in.  Divide your dough in half.
Add half of the dough to the medium bowl with the extra flour.  Your mini-chef can knead the dough his or her hands to incorporate the flour.  Shape the dough into a big ball, place it on plastic wrap, and smish (technical term) the dough down into a pancake.  Wrap the dough pancake completely with the plastic wrap and put in the fridge.
Measure the cocoa powder and (optional) cayenne into the other medium bowl which will be empty and perfect for the chocolate half of your dough.  Add the other half of the dough and stir it a bit at first to get the cayenne, in particular worked into the dough.   Switch to kneading and pass the dough to your mini-chef so that they can use their hands.  Your Yummy will knead this till the chocolate is incorporated nicely.  Do the same ball, smish to pancake, wrap with plastic, into the fridge process you did with the vanilla dough.  Chill both doughs for at least 30 minutes.  Talk about some plans for creating black and white shapes, patterns etc. for your cookies.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.  
Using a little bit of flour on your counter and your rolling pin, roll out first your vanilla dough and then your chocolate dough to about 1/4-inch thickness.  Cut out shapes or freestyle it as you like.  Place the creations on your baking sheets.
Big Person: Slide into the oven and bake for 12-16 minutes or till beginning to brown around the edges (this will be more apparent with the vanilla cookies, so look at those).

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