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Next Weekend’s DIY project…Infuse Your Own Olive Oil!

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If you love olive oil like I do, you probably use it for everything, every day, every meal. It’s a staple that is always present in your kitchen, and if you’re out, then you’ve only got about 24 hours to go buy some before you’re going crazy trying to cook without it.  Shopping for and tasting new olive oils of different flavors from various locations around the world is exciting to you like how shoe shopping is exciting for your fashion obsessed friend. Do we agree? If so, keep reading.

The problem is, olive oil can be expensive, especially when they are infused with different flavors. Solution to getting your many varieties of olive oil without breaking the bank? Infuse it yourself! Infusing olive oil is extremely easy, fun, creative, and relatively cheap. It allows you to have multiple flavors of olive oil at your immediate disposal, and allows for some creative mixing and matching of flavors when cooking. If you’re sold, here’s how you’re going to do next weekend’s DIY infusing olive oil project…

  1. Find glass bottles. You can simply go buy some glass bottles at your local cooking store, or you can get creative. Find bottles with unique shapes and designs, often for real cheap, at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, thrift stores, flea markets, or garage sales. Make sure bottles are glass, and wash well with hot water and soap to make sure no residue is left from the product that was previously inside. Allow the bottles to dry completely before using to prevent bacteria buildup (this is very important!). IMG_7516
  2. Select olive oil. There’s no rule here, but I personally go for a olive oil of “medium” quality for infusing. I never buy super cheap olive oil because you don’t know where it comes from and whether it’s authentic (yes, there’s actually a major fraud problem with olive oil), but I also don’t like to waste extremely expensive olive oil on infusing. In my opinion, if it’s expensive, the experts have alraedy taken the time to make sure it’s supposed to taste the way it’s supposed to…don’t ruin it! So just go with a decent, middle priced olive oil, $12-20. Determine if you want regular or extra virgin….I personally always use extra virgin, but either works.
  3. Determine the herbs and spices to add. This is where you get to be creative! If possible, buy organic and/or pick them from your yard. There’s many, many options for herbs and other items to add, but here are the combos I made this time around. I always use an herb, as that is the main provider of flavor, and then sometimes add a spice or additional item that compliments that herb.
    • Rosemary and lemon rind
    • Oregano and garlic
    • Jalepeno and red chili flakes
    • Mint
    • Other options: thyme, basil, fennel greens, shallots, specialty salts that come in small chunks/flakes.
  4. Dry the herbs and additional spices/items. It is advised against using fresh herbs as they contain moisture which can harbor bacteria growth, so after washing the herbs, dry them at least overnight or up to a handful of days. This goes the same for the additional items like garlic, jalepenos, lemon rind, and spices. I just dry them on a paper towel on my counter, but I’ve also heard the tip to use a dehydrator if you have one (putting on my future to do list!). *Just note that you’ll have to use the olive oil in a much quicker period of time if you add additional items with the herbs because they retain much more moisture and will be harder to dry out.
  5. Arrange herbs and additional items in the bottles. Gently push items into each bottle. Don’t allow herbs to stick out of the top where they won’t get covered by oil.   IMG_7523
  6. Add oilve oil to bottles. I would suggest using a funnel to avoid spills and dripping. Slowly pour olive oil into each bottle. Make sure the oil completely covers the herbs. IMG_7524            IMG_7525
  7. Add caps. Personally, I like the rustic look, so I add used wine corks to the tops of my bottles. I also need to find ways to reuse my hundreds of collected wine corks that I’ve convinced myself I need (but see, I do need them!). You can also use olive oil pourer tops in anticipation for later use (easier to manage pouring volume). IMG_7529
  8. Get cookin’! I don’t follow a rule about how long to wait before using the olive oil, but give it at least a few days for the flavors to start combining. Use the oil within a month or so, and remember, that if you added extra items in addition to the herbs, try to use the oil more quickly. Pay attention to the appearance of the herbs and items inside to make sure they look fresh and haven’t started to go bad. IMG_7536

When you finish using your delicious infused oil, remove the contents inside, throw them away (don’t reuse!), wash the bottles, and start the process again!

Enjoy and mangia.

Italian word of the day:

Fare (far-eh) = to make

 

Farmers Market Inspiring Ingredients…Part II

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As I mentioned in my last post, squash has always been a fall favorite in my family. Various types of squash were prepared in chunks, brushed with olive oil, and topped with fall spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, which would roast in the oven until tender. I still enjoy eating squash this way, but recently I’ve been addicted to a fantastic, mouth watering spaghetti squash recipe my boyfriend and I came up with, while deciding what veg to buy at the farmers market one weekend.

When cooked spaghetti squash is shredded with a fork, the strings of squash that are created resemble spaghetti, just as it’s name suggests. Taking a pile of shredded squash, placing it in a bowl, and topping it with homemade tomato sauce makes for a delicious and healthy alternative to pasta.  Unlike traditional flour pasta, this is such a nice, light meal, filling you up just right. Once you make this once, it will be your new fall go to recipe!

And remember, all these ingredients can be found at your local farmers market.

Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Tomato Sauce (serves 2)

The sauce:

1 medium cippolini onion (cippolini is a sweet, Italian onion variety which adds a bit of necessary sweetness to the sauce)

1 medium shallot

3 cloves garlic

1 1/2 pounds San Marzano tomatoes (or another variety if these are not at your farmers market. I actually used Early Girl tomatoes the last time I made this and they worked very well too)

1/4 cup red wine

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp raw sugar

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup water

The squash:

1 medium spaghetti squash

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg

3-5 strands of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

Ready to cook! The sauce takes 1.5 – 2 hours to cook, so plan accordingly and give yourself plenty of time. Cooking homemade tomato sauce in a short period of time doesn’t allow for the tomatoes and acidity to break down or the flavors to blend.

1. Chop the cippolini, shallot, and garlic. Chop the tomatoes into medium pieces. Drizzle the bottom of a pot with olive oil, and heat over medium low.

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2. Add the cippolini, shallot, and garlic to the pot and sautee for 6-8 minutes until tender.

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3. Add the tomatoes, red wine, balsamic vinegar, all the spices, sugar, tomato paste, and water. Give a stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer (medium low), and cover. For the next 1 1/2 – 2 hours, give a quick stir every 10-15 minutes.

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4. Prep the squash. Cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise. Place both halves on a baking sheet with the inside of the squash face up.

5. Drizzle each squash half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your liking.

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6. Heat the oven to 350°. The squash takes 45-55 minutes to cook, so place the squash in the oven 45 minutes before the sauce is done. This way the sauce and squash can be done approximately at the same time.

7. Remove the squash from the oven. Poke with a fork; the fork should easily enter the squash which is a sign the squash is finished and tender enough. Let cool for a few minutes.

8. Take a fork, turn upside down, and with some pressure pull the prongs along the inside of one of the halves. Repeat this “shredding” motion until all the inside of the squash is removed from the skin and has created a pile of strings of squash, resembling spaghetti. Repeat this step for the second half of the squash.

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9. Place a pile of squash into the bottom of two bowls. Top each pile of squash with a couple spoonfuls (ladle size) of the sauce.

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10.  Roughly chop the 3-5 strands of fresh parsley and top each dish with it.

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Serve and mangia! Don’t forget to pair it with a glass of red wine- a good red goes perfectly with the tomato sauce full of dried herbs.

 

Italian word of the day:

Pomodoro (n) = tomato (or pomodori = tomatoes)

*(pronunciation: poh-moh-door-oh)

 

Handmade Gnocchi with my Italian Grandmother

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I didn’t make gnocchi with my Grandma until I was 22 years old, despite being surrounded by her Italian culture and traditions since I was born. It was one of those experiences we unfortunately never made time for; either school, sports, or childhood activities got in the way, filling up my sisters’ and my own schedule every weekend. There are always moments like these that are regrettable, but in the same thought though, I feel truly blessed to have finally had this cooking experience with her, even though it was much delayed.

Although my Grandma enjoyed cooking and had her share of family recipes, I wouldn’t say she was the typical Italian Grandmother in the kitchen, the cooking guru who cooked day in and day out, teaching the rest of the family these important skills. I actually learned most of what I know about cooking from my dad; a bit of a break away from the tradition of the Italian mother or grandmother being the family cook. My dad fulfilled this role instead, passing on the necessary skills to prepare Italian cuisine to my sisters and I. What my Grandma contributed though was the culture, the language, and the tradition behind the cooking. A significant aspect that could only be taught by someone from the older generation, who lived the first generation experience in America, directly learning all she knew about Italian culture from her immigrant parents.

This is what made the day my sister and I made gnocchi with my Grandma so special. Not only did we learn how to make gnocchi, we learned the tradition behind the process from the way you knead your dough with your hands, to dropping the egg into the middle of the flour, to the use of the fork and rolling the gnocchi down the fork, “giù,” to create the authentic indents in each gnocchi piece. As the four year anniversary of her death recently passed, I dedicate this July post to her and to our once in a lifetime experience of making gnocchi with our Italian grandmother.

Now, we begin! This recipe will feed a family of 5. (Gnocchi is very filling; servings are not as large as other types of pasta)

Tools you will need: Flat workspace (pastry mat works well, cloth or silicone), potato masher, knife, table fork, baking sheet, large pot

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Ingredients:

2 pounds brown russet potatoes

Pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour (*this is not exact; may need another 1/4-1/2 cup if dough is still sticky)

1 egg

1. You will begin the process by boiling the potatoes. To prep the potatoes for boiling, wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into halves. Place the potato halves into a bowl of cold water, and let the potatoes sit and soak for 30 mins. This is a trick I learned to ridden the potatoes of some of their starch. As you are waiting, fill up a large pot with water, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Drain the potatoes out of the bowl of cold water, and add them to the pot with the boiling water. Cook potatoes until tender. Test tenderness by sticking a fork through a potato piece; the fork should easily slip into the potato. The potato should not break apart though and that would be a sign they are too soft and overcooked. Drain potatoes into a strainer and let cool for a few minutes.

2. Move to your work surface: place about half of your flour (1 cup) on the surface. Then directly on top of the flour, take your potato masher, place one potato half at a time in the masher, and squeeze out over the flour. Repeat this until all the potatoes have been mashed. Add the rest of the flour (1 more cup) on top of the mashed potatoes, and mix the heap of flour and potatoes with your hands. Mix just until ingredients are combined. (In the photo below, the potatoes are being mashed into a bowl first, and then transferred to the flat mat. This is not necessary; they can be mashed right onto the flour.)

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3. Make an indent or small hole in the middle of the mixture with your hand. Drop the egg into the indent, and slowly mix egg into flour and potato mixture. It is crucial you make an indent to add the egg. Otherwise it just slips off the top of the mixture and runs all over your work space. This part can be a bit messy! Knead with hands until dough is no longer sticky. Test by poking with your finger- the dough should not stick to your finger. This is where you can add a little extra flour if the dough just won’t loose it’s stickiness. Be careful to not over knead; stop as soon as the dough is not sticky. I find it helpful to wash my hands at this point as there’s usually dough all in-between your fingers. This will make it easier to handle the dough in the next step.

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4. Clean or wipe your workspace, or move to a new one if you have the option. Lightly flour the workspace. Divide the dough evenly into four parts. Working with one part at a time, roll out a part with your hands into a log about 3/4in-1in in diameter. Apply pressure evenly with your hands, and roll by moving hands from center towards the roll’s ends. Repeat this until the log has lengthened and about the diameter mentioned above. Log should be even from one end to the other.

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5. Take a knife and cut the log into approx. 3/4in long pieces.

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6. Now it’s time for “giù!” As my Grandma and her mother did, the traditional way to shape each piece of gnocchi is to push each piece down the ridges of a table fork. As my Grandma taught us this motion she would say “giù, down the fork!” as giù in Italian means down or downwards. This is a tricky motion that takes some practice; I squished enough gnocchi pieces in my experience by applying too much pressure. Be light with your hands and find a consistent pressure and motion. Here we go-

Hold your fork in one hand and lean the bottom of the prongs against your work surface. Take one of the 3/4in pieces of dough and place at the top of the fork’s prongs, holding it with your thumb. Then with your thumb, press lightly and roll the piece of dough downwards to the bottom of the fork’s prongs. The piece of dough should roll as it’s moving and when finished is covering your thumb. And that is how gnocchi pieces have lines on one side and an indent (from your thumb) on the other side! Cool huh? There are lots of tools and makers available these days to assist you, but I think it’s much more rewarding to do all this by hand, knowing your hands created the design and shape of each individual gnocchi piece.

  

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Repeat the motion of rolling the dough pieces down the fork until you finish the roll you cut up. When finished repeat steps 5 and 6 for each dough part, until all dough has been made into gnocchi pieces. After 100 or so giù motions down the fork, you will be an expert! 😉

7. Line up the gnocchi pieces as you work on a baking sheet; there will be many pieces and you may need more than one sheet. Do not stack the pieces as they will stick and their forms will be ruined. If you want to freeze the gnocchi and save for later cooking, place gnocchi is large, flat container with lid, keeping the gnocchi in flat layers, dividing each layer with wax paper. This has worked very well for me in keeping the gnocchi separated.

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8. If you want to cook immediately, boil a pot of water with a pinch of salt. Add gnocchi pieces to the boiling water. They only take a few minutes to cook so don’t walk away! As soon as the gnocchi rises to the top of the water and floats on the surface, they are done. Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the water and place into a large bowl. Do not drain water as it will take many batches to finish boiling the gnocchi; you do not want to boil them all at once and crowd the pot. As you are working on the batches, add a little olive oil or butter to the already cooked gnocchi in the bowl to keep them from sticking.

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Cover with your favorite sauce, and your gnocchi is ready to eat! Sauces for gnocchi can range from simple, like butter and sage, or olive oil and herbs, to more complex, such as a red tomato sauce or Italian cheese sauce (usually a mix of Italian cheeses and referred to as “quattro formaggio.”) I will cover some sauce recipes for pasta in a future post.

You will never look at store bought gnocchi the same way again! Homemade pasta is a truly authentic experience, and I am grateful I have experienced this tradition to be able to pass this on to my own kids one day. Molto grazie Grandma————————♥

If this post has inspired you to try making gnocchi, please post a picture of your own gnocchi making experience below- I would love to hear about it!

Enjoy & mangia!

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Italian word of the day:

Cucinare (v) = to cook  *(pronunciation: coo-chee-nar-ay)

 

The Famous Italian Lunch Spread: A How To.

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Have you ever seen a picture of an Italian lunch spread sprawled out across a table and wonder what goes into creating it? I know the food options seem endless and it looks like a lot of work, but it’s actually quite easy if you understand the main concepts and ideas behind it. In this post, I’m going to share with you those concepts, so you can attempt to put together your own Italian lunch (or dinner) spread, and have an authentic Italian eating experience. It’s more than just the type of food included in the meal; it’s the way we eat it that makes the experience complete. So get ready……to eat A LOT.

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One of my favorite and most exciting foodie memories were the occasions my Dad would call home from work and ask my mom if we all wanted “pucha” and cold cuts for dinner. We would be soooo excited, as this was a once in while treat and our absolute favorite. Then there was the most exciting moment of all, when we would come to the table and give drooling stares to the plates of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and breads lying out all over the table.

“Pucha” in my family means “to dip” but overtime it also became the noun we called the olive oil dip that we would dip our food into when having a large Italian spread for dinner. I can’t say where it’s derived from. I can’t locate it in the formal Italian language, but it is a term my great grandparents and grandparents used which was passed down to my dad and us kids over the years. I’m assuming it was short for a word in their specific Italian dialect. Either way, it stuck and I’m going to use the term throughout this post.

Ok, so let’s start prepping our spread by beginning with the dipping oil!

The key to good “pucha,” or the seasoned olive oil that food is dipped into, is to use high quality olive oil. Cheaper olive oils can be used for cooking, but you’ll want to buy a higher grade for dipping. Some tips on how to determine and buy a good olive oil-

1. Higher quality oils usually start at about $12 and go up from there. They can be extremely expensive, but I usually stick to around $12-20 and have found some great options such as: Lucini (any large grocery store), De Cecco (any large grocery store), Colavita (any large grocery store), Sicilian Olive Oil (Trader Joe’s), and Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Trader Joe’s).

2. If you want a traditional Italian experience, always buy oil “imported from Italy.” Be diligent about checking the back of the bottle for this information, because it’s not uncommon to turn the bottle over and read that the olives come from various different countries even though it’s called Italian olive oil on the front of the bottle.

3. Try specialty food stores- they will have much more variety than a large chain grocery store.

4. Buy extra virgin!

Once you have your oil, it’s time to prep it:

  1. Start with olive oil and pour as much in a shallow bowl as you think you’ll need for the amount of bread you have or the amount of people you are serving.
  2. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar; not too much as it will be too acidic and salty. Sometimes balsamic isn’t added and you can just do olive oil and seasonings, but this is to your personal liking.
  3. Once you have the oil and vinegar splash, add in seasonings. There aren’t rules on exactly what to put in your oil. The best way is to experiment and try different variations each time you make it. Again, it’s all to personal taste and liking. Here’s some suggestions though: pepper, sea salt, dried basil, dried italian seasoning, dried herbs de provence, or dried thyme.

Tip: Don’t add all of these- just a combination of a couple to a few. Growing up, we sometimes just added salt and pepper and that is delicious alone; but some dried green herbs add great flavor. I also sometimes add chopped garlic, and if you’re a garlic lover like me, this is the way to go!

 Now for the huge table spread!

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Us Italians love our variety, which is why our spread usually takes up a whole table. You can break up the variety into four groups: vegetables, cold cuts (meats), cheeses, and bread. When planning this for a group of people, make a grocery list of what you want to buy, but you can also just do this on the whim at home for you and your significant other by using what you have. This has always been my dad’s biggest rule. You obviously have to shop in a way on a regular basis so you have some of these options lying around, but once you introduce these things into your diet and shop in this manner, you can open your fridge at any given time and throw together a spread. There are endless options for each group, but here are my family’s favorites:

Vegetables Cold Cuts/Fish Cheeses Bread
Green onions Toscano salami Blue cheese Sourdough baguette
Fennel (anus) Soppressata salami Pecorino Focaccia
Tomatoes Genoa salami Mozzarella Rustic Italian
Garlic Prosciutto Parmigiano Bread sticks
Mushrooms Coppa (hot or mild) Brie Sicilian parchment crackers (my new fav from TJ’s)
Broccolini Mortadella Swiss
Radish Head cheese Goat cheese
Endive Sardines Munster
Raddichio Anchovies Really any fun variety you find!
Sundried tomatoes
Marinated peppers
Raw peppers
Artichoke hearts
Marinated button mushrooms
Olives (all kinds)
Avocado

Once you decide on the options you want, pull out large serving platters. Ones with separations in them are good for the marinated veg so their juices stay contained in one place. As for the raw veg and the cold cuts, put all veg on one or two platters and the cold cuts on the other (usually we keep the fish like sardines and anchovies separate from the cold cut platter.) Fyi, all these items are served cold- there’s no cooking involved! To save room and for nice presentation, cold cuts can be folded in half or rolled up as placed on the platter. The picture below is of our Palm Sunday lunch this year……for five people. Bet you can guess we had quite a few leftovers…..

photo-4Lastly, how to eat it! Yes, I am giving you tips on how to eat because as I mentioned in the beginning, this is significant to the experience and the best part! The idea behind the variety of cold cuts, veg, bread, and dipping oil is to be able to make endless combinations as you eat.

Simply do it in this order: pick, dip, combine, and eat.

Then you repeat, switching to a new combo. A combo usually consists of a piece of bread, hunk of cheese, piece of cold cut, and maybe veg on top, which are dipped into the oil. Sometimes in between my mini open face sandwhich combos, I pick up a strand of green onion or other veg, pucha (dip), and eat. This is all done with your hands. The only silverware present are the cheese knives or the forks to pick up marinated veg. This is not to be a super neat process, have fun and get your fingers oily!

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Since my blog also focuses on healthy eating and being aware of processed food, some tips: Pay attention to the quality and ingredients in Italian cold cuts you buy. Cheap brands will have unnecessary added ingredients like corn syrup….(really!?). Unfortunately, a lot of types of salami have some sort of added sugar for preservation reasons, but just try to find brands with as little as possible. As for prosciutto- there should never be any other ingredients except pork and salt. Traditional prosciutto is made through a curing process, where the ham is cured with salt, making no other preservatives necessary.

Also, you may be thinking “those cold cuts sure have a lot of fat.” I’m here to remind you that some fat and especially healthy fats, like those found in avocados and olive oil, are not your enemy- sugar is! So enjoy your fatty prosciutto, cheese, and olive oil- just do so with the meats and cheeses in moderation. This is why this kind of spread isn’t eaten every single day, and is a once in while lunch choice. There’s a reason 90 year Italians in Italy are riding bikes and zooming past out of breath tourists up steep staircases……..

I hope this has helped and that you enjoy creating your own Italian eating experience. After a few dips of this or that, don’t forget the most important part, which is to wash it all down with a big glass of vino!

Mangia.