Aye, surrendered. Namely, to the lure of a new food processor. The old one burned out a couple of years ago and we've been honing everyone's knife skills ever since.
Why did I go do such an uncharacteristic thing? It isn't as if I can't live without a food processor. It's not as though I have all kinds of counter space or storage room for more kitchen goodies. It isn't even a wonder processor from Europe that does everything but wash itself (although I sure would like one of those.)
I finally got the unit because, regardless of medical science's best efforts, my hands are just not working well enough to use a knife correctly. Not for more than 5 minutes at a time, at least. Carpal tunnel, due to a lifetime of piano and 20+ years in IT, is a daily problem. Arthritis in my thumbs, due to some cruel trick of the kitchen gods, has become bad enough that I simply can't hold a knife correctly. The up-and-down motion sends my hands into spasm and gripping the handle of the knife at all is simply impossible some days.
So, here I am, faced with making the nosh for our driver friend's party tomorrow and I can't hold a knife to do the prep work. This presents me with a couple of choices: draft DS3 to do all the prep work or buy a new processor. Since my trusty assistant kid will be leaving for culinary school this summer, leaving me to me own devices, I bought the food processor.
To tell the truth, I had forgotten how handy the things really are. The filling for one of the appetizers whipped up in about a quarter of the time it would have taken without the processor. For another dish, I will grind the bread crumbs, chop the onion, mix the meats and seasonings, all in one unit. This will save me a lot of time and a very sore arm because those meats must be mixed until smooth. That takes some doing.
While I was spending hard earned cash, I also replaced my mini-prep machine with a 3-cup model that has two speeds. I've lost track of how many of those little wonders I have gone through but it's several. The duxelles will be done in record time using the mini-prep. Chopping small amounts of the trinity will be much faster, too. We do a fair amount of Cajun and Creole food and the dicing and chopping gets darned tedious for large batches of etouffe or creole.
So, here I am, the proud owner of 2 brand-spankin' new toys.
Now, just need to figure out where to keep them.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Swedish Meatballs
As long as I was looking at Aunt Eva's recipe for supper tonight? Might as well put it up here. The key to these meatballs is mixing the 3 meat combination until it's a paste. Yes, a paste. That is one of the hallmarks of this perennial favorite, far as I can tell. Unless you have a heavy duty stand mixer or a bog food processor, I guarantee you're likely to have a very sore arm after you're done with the mixing.
Yield varies according to how big you make your balls. Should feed 4 people with ease.
1 lb beef round (or ground beef)
1/2 lb veal steak (ha ha. veal? use ground turkey)
1/4 lb fresh fat pork (or plain old ground pork)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs (dry is preferable)
2 eggs
1 medium onion, minced
3 T butter
1/8 tsp allspice
1 cup boiling beef (or chicken stock)
1 cup sour cream, room temperature (if desired)
Beat eggs, add the milk and bread crumbs. Set aside to soak.
Grind meat finely.
Brown the onion in 1 T butter. Cool.
Mix all ingredients, onions last, together and stir like a crazy person until it's all smooth and pasty.
Form into balls and brown lightly in remaining butter.
Pour boiling stock over balls in pan and simmer around 30 minutes.
Remove meatballs to a platter.
Reduce heat in meatball pan, stir in sour cream. Heat through, pour over meatballs.
I actually prefer not to use sour cream, just thicken the remaining stock, pour into a bowl and return meatballs to the bowl.
Serve over noodles or rice.
Yield varies according to how big you make your balls. Should feed 4 people with ease.
1 lb beef round (or ground beef)
1/2 lb veal steak (ha ha. veal? use ground turkey)
1/4 lb fresh fat pork (or plain old ground pork)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs (dry is preferable)
2 eggs
1 medium onion, minced
3 T butter
1/8 tsp allspice
1 cup boiling beef (or chicken stock)
1 cup sour cream, room temperature (if desired)
Beat eggs, add the milk and bread crumbs. Set aside to soak.
Grind meat finely.
Brown the onion in 1 T butter. Cool.
Mix all ingredients, onions last, together and stir like a crazy person until it's all smooth and pasty.
Form into balls and brown lightly in remaining butter.
Pour boiling stock over balls in pan and simmer around 30 minutes.
Remove meatballs to a platter.
Reduce heat in meatball pan, stir in sour cream. Heat through, pour over meatballs.
I actually prefer not to use sour cream, just thicken the remaining stock, pour into a bowl and return meatballs to the bowl.
Serve over noodles or rice.
State of demi-Emergency
I have only two tablespoons of demi glacé left.
This is a true emergency. A honest to goodness really and truly emergency. Pardon me for panicking.
The locker is saving knuckles and joints for me and I do have pork and poultry bones in the freezer, ready to go. The problem that presents itself in my tiny kitchen?
It takes around 7 to 10 days to complete a batch. I start with well over 20 pounds of beef bones which must be roasted in small enough batches to get done right. The other bones must be roasted. Vegetables have to be prepared and roasted. The roasting pan must be deglazed numerous times. All that takes up a full working day and makes a HUGE mess.
The final result goes into every last stock pot I own. That initial cooking process takes up the cooktop for a period of about 3 days. This annoys the denizens of the Homestead as it really leaves only one useful burner which happens to be a simmer burner. By the time things cook down so only one huge pot is needed, the Herd has become restless and more than a tad cranky.
We need that demi. Really, we do. I suppose I should just buck up and get to it.
Monday.
This is a true emergency. A honest to goodness really and truly emergency. Pardon me for panicking.
The locker is saving knuckles and joints for me and I do have pork and poultry bones in the freezer, ready to go. The problem that presents itself in my tiny kitchen?
It takes around 7 to 10 days to complete a batch. I start with well over 20 pounds of beef bones which must be roasted in small enough batches to get done right. The other bones must be roasted. Vegetables have to be prepared and roasted. The roasting pan must be deglazed numerous times. All that takes up a full working day and makes a HUGE mess.
The final result goes into every last stock pot I own. That initial cooking process takes up the cooktop for a period of about 3 days. This annoys the denizens of the Homestead as it really leaves only one useful burner which happens to be a simmer burner. By the time things cook down so only one huge pot is needed, the Herd has become restless and more than a tad cranky.
We need that demi. Really, we do. I suppose I should just buck up and get to it.
Monday.
Apologies and a Stuffed Mushrooms recipe
I promised cassoulet and do have the ingredients, with the exception of the sausages and wine. It simply occurred to me a few moments ago that it will take 2 or 3 days to finish. Even as the confit is draining it's lovely fat into a bowl, I remembered that Himself has promised our presence at a Super Bowl party Sunday.
I don't mind football, really, as long as I don't have to watch it. So attending a party celebrating a bunch of big guys running around with a ball, smashing into each other, couldn't really be called a highlight of my week. I don't play poker, either. I am totally unable to remember the rules of the game from one hand to the next and it's pretty much guaranteed that the other players will become increasingly annoyed with my obtuseness, likely in direct relation to the amount of booze they consume. Never the less, I'll go.
I do suspect that the only reason the host of this party invites me along with Himself is because I usually end up pulling his cooking chestnuts out of the fire for him. Each year his culinary reach far exceeds his grasp. Note I didn't actually say he can't cook, it's just that he can't cook at the level he tries to attain each year. He does great with simple things like loose meat sandwiches or chili but get much beyond that and he is well and truly over his head. This year I'm thankful that potential messes will be limited to oyster stew and stuffed mushrooms. How can you go wrong with that?
OK, yeah, a lot of ways. Mostly involving bad oysters. He has assured Himself that he will be purchasing pre-cooked oysters which, although much better from a food safety standpoint, doesn't body well for the stew. I suppose I could have offered to go to the market for him but he didn't ask and I do have other things to do. We'll see how it goes. I may get a small container of the guest of honor for the soup, pre-clean them and take them along, just in case.
This brings us to those mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms of most any type aren't hard. Some involve numerous steps but the preparation and general cooking isn't a big deal. The problem with Host doing the recipe he has planned is simply that of total ignorance and the lack of a food processor. He is unfamiliar with the process of roasting red bell peppers and couldn't find the ones in jars at the market. Questions about substituting sour cream for the cream cheese brought a small silence on my part, then an assurance that he didn't want to do that. Just use the regular cream cheese, it will be fine. Cut those garlic cloves up into the tiniest pieces you can manage. When you do find the peppers, cut them up into tiny, tiny pieces or they won't incorporate as necessary. OK, yes, go ahead and use that "parmesan" you have in the green box in the cupboard. (forgive me for I have sinned.) No cayenne? *sigh* Do you have chili powder? Go ahead. You don't need to cook the mushrooms, just make sure they are nice and clean. Take off the stems and remove any dark gills with a spoon. Either fill the mushrooms with a pastry tube or use a spoon. No biggie.
I really have no idea how this particular recipe could be messed up nor do I know what else Host is planning on putting on his buffet. Throw it to the gods of football parties and don't worry. Now, here is the recipe for the mushrooms:
Roast red pepper stuffed mushrooms
yield is around 16, depending on mushroom size
8 ounces real cream cheese, softened
1/2 red bell pepper, roasted and peeled, 1/4 cup reserved
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound fresh white mushrooms, cleaned, stems and gills removed.
Place all ingredients but the mushrooms in bowl of food processor with wing blade installed. Pulse until all ingredients are well blended, the peppers are no longer visible and the mixture is getting slightly fluffy.
Using a pastry bag with a large tip, fill each mushroom cap with the mixture.
Garnish as desired.
I should note that my food processor died over a year ago. When I make this recipe I cut the cheese up very finely before softening it, mash the minced garlic and peppers. That way I can use my electric mixer and it comes together nicely. The garlic and roasted peppers can also be pureed, sort of, in one of those shrunk-down versions of a processor called a mini-prep. These are tasty mushrooms and go over well for something so easy to prepare. Not pricey, either. That's always a good thing.
Eat on. The promised cassoulet will appear, in due time. Promise.
I don't mind football, really, as long as I don't have to watch it. So attending a party celebrating a bunch of big guys running around with a ball, smashing into each other, couldn't really be called a highlight of my week. I don't play poker, either. I am totally unable to remember the rules of the game from one hand to the next and it's pretty much guaranteed that the other players will become increasingly annoyed with my obtuseness, likely in direct relation to the amount of booze they consume. Never the less, I'll go.
I do suspect that the only reason the host of this party invites me along with Himself is because I usually end up pulling his cooking chestnuts out of the fire for him. Each year his culinary reach far exceeds his grasp. Note I didn't actually say he can't cook, it's just that he can't cook at the level he tries to attain each year. He does great with simple things like loose meat sandwiches or chili but get much beyond that and he is well and truly over his head. This year I'm thankful that potential messes will be limited to oyster stew and stuffed mushrooms. How can you go wrong with that?
OK, yeah, a lot of ways. Mostly involving bad oysters. He has assured Himself that he will be purchasing pre-cooked oysters which, although much better from a food safety standpoint, doesn't body well for the stew. I suppose I could have offered to go to the market for him but he didn't ask and I do have other things to do. We'll see how it goes. I may get a small container of the guest of honor for the soup, pre-clean them and take them along, just in case.
This brings us to those mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms of most any type aren't hard. Some involve numerous steps but the preparation and general cooking isn't a big deal. The problem with Host doing the recipe he has planned is simply that of total ignorance and the lack of a food processor. He is unfamiliar with the process of roasting red bell peppers and couldn't find the ones in jars at the market. Questions about substituting sour cream for the cream cheese brought a small silence on my part, then an assurance that he didn't want to do that. Just use the regular cream cheese, it will be fine. Cut those garlic cloves up into the tiniest pieces you can manage. When you do find the peppers, cut them up into tiny, tiny pieces or they won't incorporate as necessary. OK, yes, go ahead and use that "parmesan" you have in the green box in the cupboard. (forgive me for I have sinned.) No cayenne? *sigh* Do you have chili powder? Go ahead. You don't need to cook the mushrooms, just make sure they are nice and clean. Take off the stems and remove any dark gills with a spoon. Either fill the mushrooms with a pastry tube or use a spoon. No biggie.
I really have no idea how this particular recipe could be messed up nor do I know what else Host is planning on putting on his buffet. Throw it to the gods of football parties and don't worry. Now, here is the recipe for the mushrooms:
Roast red pepper stuffed mushrooms
yield is around 16, depending on mushroom size
8 ounces real cream cheese, softened
1/2 red bell pepper, roasted and peeled, 1/4 cup reserved
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound fresh white mushrooms, cleaned, stems and gills removed.
Place all ingredients but the mushrooms in bowl of food processor with wing blade installed. Pulse until all ingredients are well blended, the peppers are no longer visible and the mixture is getting slightly fluffy.
Using a pastry bag with a large tip, fill each mushroom cap with the mixture.
Garnish as desired.
I should note that my food processor died over a year ago. When I make this recipe I cut the cheese up very finely before softening it, mash the minced garlic and peppers. That way I can use my electric mixer and it comes together nicely. The garlic and roasted peppers can also be pureed, sort of, in one of those shrunk-down versions of a processor called a mini-prep. These are tasty mushrooms and go over well for something so easy to prepare. Not pricey, either. That's always a good thing.
Eat on. The promised cassoulet will appear, in due time. Promise.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Meatball Soup
This is tasty stuff even if the concept seemed a bit odd at first. Then Italian Wedding Soup came to mind and, since I adore that, I figured this one should be pretty darned tasty. Turns out it is. It can be a simple as you want or as complex as your ability and imagination allow. I like something in the middle. Besides, even though I will agree that fresh pasta is the best, I'm too lazy to make it. If you like, add carrots and celery and green beans to the soup. A Parmesan rind would be a nice addition, too. It's all good.
Let's get started...
48 ounces canned tomatoes or the equivalent in peeled fresh tomato royale
1 large red onion, medium dice (half for the soup, half for the meatballs)
3 garlic cloves, minced (2 for the soup, 1 for the meatballs)
1/4 cup green and red bell peppers, fine chop (optional)
Anise, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes and oregano to taste
bay leaf
2 cups beef stock (more if needed to thin soup)
2 cups water
Put all that stuff (minus the bits for the meatballs) in a medium stock pot. Stir it up well, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
I just put mine on at noon for a meal that will be this evening around 6 p.m. This is what it looks like at this point:
During the course of the afternoon, I will check and stir this every half hour or so. If needed, I will add more beef stock. Water would do fine, as well. Come to think of it, if I had a half cup or so of a dry red or white wine, I think I would put it in around now, after an hour at simmer.
Sometime during the afternoon, or 45 minutes or so before serving time, combine:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound italian pork sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs (soft, not dry)**
remaining half onion
remaining garlic
2 eggs
herbs as desired
4 T grated parmesan cheese (please don't use that nasty stuff in the boxes from the market. ugh)
snipped parsley to taste
dash ground black pepper
Mix all this stuff together well. Do the "pitcher's toss" to form your meatballs, cover and set aside until 30 minutes before serving.
I didn't use ground beef, I ground up a pound of stew meat, alternating the beef with pork sausage, onions, garlic and the bread crumbs. Ground everything up and mixed it pretty well at the same time. This is the freshly ground goodness:
(Please forgive the bad photos. One of the kids has my Nikon so am using the backup, a small Kodak.)
Brown the meatballs* well, remove from pan and drain them. Set aside.
Bring the soup up to a boil. Add:
1 cup tiny pasta (or your choice of small starch)
15 ounces cannelini or other white bean (I'm using pearl barley because I have some but no beans)
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (use canned if you want)
Cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is done as you like. Return heat to medium-high and add:
cooked meatballs
3 cups fresh spinach torn into pieces (if using frozen, drain in the morning and let sit. Squeeze well and rip up before adding. Canned spinach doesn't work well but if it's what you have, go ahead. My only problem is that it usually has big stems and seems to be bitter.)
Cook for another few minutes to heat meatballs through and wilt the fresh spinach or heat the frozen through.
That's it. If you want, put everything but the meatballs and spinach in your slow cooker. The pasta should be fine. If you don't like that idea, cook your pasta separately when you are cooking your meatballs, then add those and the spinach at the very end. Will work just fine.
* The way I like to do this is in a 350°F oven on a parchment or foil lined baking pan. They don't burn nor get rubbery that way and it saves standing at the stove pushing the meatballs around.
** Had a bit of a problem with the crumbs. Only bread in the cupboard was that awful chewey white junk Himself likes. So? Had a loaf of homemade sundried tomato and rosemary bread. Thawed part of it, crumble and? voila! Kicker bread crumbs. yum!
Coming soon... Cassoulet with confit de canard from a friend in France.
Let's get started...
48 ounces canned tomatoes or the equivalent in peeled fresh tomato royale
1 large red onion, medium dice (half for the soup, half for the meatballs)
3 garlic cloves, minced (2 for the soup, 1 for the meatballs)
1/4 cup green and red bell peppers, fine chop (optional)
Anise, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes and oregano to taste
bay leaf
2 cups beef stock (more if needed to thin soup)
2 cups water
Put all that stuff (minus the bits for the meatballs) in a medium stock pot. Stir it up well, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
I just put mine on at noon for a meal that will be this evening around 6 p.m. This is what it looks like at this point:
During the course of the afternoon, I will check and stir this every half hour or so. If needed, I will add more beef stock. Water would do fine, as well. Come to think of it, if I had a half cup or so of a dry red or white wine, I think I would put it in around now, after an hour at simmer.
Sometime during the afternoon, or 45 minutes or so before serving time, combine:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound italian pork sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs (soft, not dry)**
remaining half onion
remaining garlic
2 eggs
herbs as desired
4 T grated parmesan cheese (please don't use that nasty stuff in the boxes from the market. ugh)
snipped parsley to taste
dash ground black pepper
Mix all this stuff together well. Do the "pitcher's toss" to form your meatballs, cover and set aside until 30 minutes before serving.
I didn't use ground beef, I ground up a pound of stew meat, alternating the beef with pork sausage, onions, garlic and the bread crumbs. Ground everything up and mixed it pretty well at the same time. This is the freshly ground goodness:
(Please forgive the bad photos. One of the kids has my Nikon so am using the backup, a small Kodak.)
Brown the meatballs* well, remove from pan and drain them. Set aside.
Bring the soup up to a boil. Add:
1 cup tiny pasta (or your choice of small starch)
15 ounces cannelini or other white bean (I'm using pearl barley because I have some but no beans)
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (use canned if you want)
Cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is done as you like. Return heat to medium-high and add:
cooked meatballs
3 cups fresh spinach torn into pieces (if using frozen, drain in the morning and let sit. Squeeze well and rip up before adding. Canned spinach doesn't work well but if it's what you have, go ahead. My only problem is that it usually has big stems and seems to be bitter.)
Cook for another few minutes to heat meatballs through and wilt the fresh spinach or heat the frozen through.
That's it. If you want, put everything but the meatballs and spinach in your slow cooker. The pasta should be fine. If you don't like that idea, cook your pasta separately when you are cooking your meatballs, then add those and the spinach at the very end. Will work just fine.
* The way I like to do this is in a 350°F oven on a parchment or foil lined baking pan. They don't burn nor get rubbery that way and it saves standing at the stove pushing the meatballs around.
** Had a bit of a problem with the crumbs. Only bread in the cupboard was that awful chewey white junk Himself likes. So? Had a loaf of homemade sundried tomato and rosemary bread. Thawed part of it, crumble and? voila! Kicker bread crumbs. yum!
Coming soon... Cassoulet with confit de canard from a friend in France.
Some folks do
Enjoy cooking, food, eating and everything related.
Some folks don't. Never have. Never will.
Case in point is a couple who are close friends. They built a new house 2 years ago. It's a lovely place, out in the country, with a 3 stall garage, full basement, 2 1/2 baths, 3 bedrooms, fireplace, all the amenities.
It also has a kitchen to die for! Crescent shaped, huge windows, top end cabinetry and appliances, gorgeous stone counters, a huge island with storage plus all the electrical outlets a person could possibly want.
They don't use it.
As the lols say, "srsly."
About the only thing that actually gets cooked is a pot of chili now and again. Or a quick batch of the stuff Americans call Lunchroom Goulash.
That's it.
I just don't understand that.
Never have. Never will.
Next post? Food, again.... Meatball Soup. Yum!
Some folks don't. Never have. Never will.
Case in point is a couple who are close friends. They built a new house 2 years ago. It's a lovely place, out in the country, with a 3 stall garage, full basement, 2 1/2 baths, 3 bedrooms, fireplace, all the amenities.
It also has a kitchen to die for! Crescent shaped, huge windows, top end cabinetry and appliances, gorgeous stone counters, a huge island with storage plus all the electrical outlets a person could possibly want.
They don't use it.
As the lols say, "srsly."
About the only thing that actually gets cooked is a pot of chili now and again. Or a quick batch of the stuff Americans call Lunchroom Goulash.
That's it.
I just don't understand that.
Never have. Never will.
Next post? Food, again.... Meatball Soup. Yum!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cannolis, anyone?
Ladies and gentlemen, I have now made my very first, inaugural batch of cannolis from scratch.
Not bad, for a first try. Especially for someone who really doesn't like pastry-making and abhors deep frying stuff.
I used a pretty basic recipe, a standard butter pastry, for the shells. The only past experience I have had with deep-frying a pastry kind of thing was Swedish rosettes, which really isn't the same thing at all, except for the hot fat part. To my total surprise, after frying in 360° F oil for 60 seconds, the shells were flaky, golden-brown and not the least greasy. Success! Woohoo!
The filling? Well, ricotta goes in lasagna, manicotti and shells but not dessert shells. Isn't that right? Naaaaaah. It also goes into desserts. So does mascarpone. No need to raise an eyebrow like that, really. It works nicely.
How does a cook turn cheese into a filling for dessert? First, by draining that ricotta really, really well. Hanging it in a muslin bag over a bowl for 12 hours or so works very well. Dump the cheese into a large bowl, discarding the drained liquid. Get your mixer out and beat that stuff until it's smooth, then add 8 ounces of room temperature mascarpone. Continue beating as you want the two cheeses incorporated together as much as possible. After all is mixed together nicely, add 1 1/2 cups of powdered or confectioner's sugar in small amounts, beating well after each addition. Add whatever flavoring you want at this point, whether a small amount of liquor or extracts, whatever. (Citrus zest is traditional, most likely because it would cut the astounding sweetness of the filling.)
I made another change, one suggested by a lovely Italian friend: whipping 1 cup of heavy cream and folding it into the filling as the last step. The plain cheese mixture is too heavy for our tastes and the whipped cream lightens the texture and gives it a better mouth-feel.
So we have successfully fried pastry and made the filling. Now, to fill the shells in what always turns out to be a life-and-death struggle with the pastry tube. Go ahead and laugh, it's fine. Everyone around here thinks my struggles with the tube and tips is a bit on the far side of hilarious and makes for many titters, giggles and outright guffaws. This particular outing was no different.
Dutifully stuffing the white bit down the tube, sticking the tip on it and screwing the locking ring wasn't too difficult. Dropping the filling, 1/4 cup at a time, into the tube was a snap. Twisting the top of the tube to press the filling down was done in a trice. Pick up shell, insert tip into shell. Squeeze. Now, wait a minute. What's that tiny, thin stream of filling? Is the tip clogged? Well, no. Carried away by the success of the frying, I had put the piping tip on rather than the large filling tip. This led to a somewhat protracted struggle to remove the lock ring, pull the tip off, replace it and put the ring back on. All the while leaking copious amount of white stuff all over the counter and my apron. For all you accomplished bakers, cake decorators and pastry makers this probably sounds too stupid to believe. Believe it. The lock ring wouldn't go back on the tube straight, being slippery from the filling. The bottom of the tube had gotten rucked up and the tip wouldn't fit over the fabric. Coordinating tip, ring and filling was truly beyond the ability of someone with a very high in-born level of klutziness, not withstanding the fact that even with filling leakage the tube was half full. By the time the ring was back on, albeit not straight, yours truly had filling all over hands, arms, apron front, counter and unfilled shells. My imagination gathered generations of Italian nonnas around, clucking disapprovingly.
After surmounting the obstacle of the Deadly Pastry Tube, the actual filling process went smoothly. I had used the large star tip and beating the cheeses thoroughly had created a very smooth, velvety filling that held it's shape at the end of the shells. They came out very nicely, if I may say so myself.
The mixing process for the cheeses involved periodic taste-testing so I already knew the stuff was incredibly sweet*. Not being a lover of anything sweet, I volunteered DS2 for the final vetting of the cannolis. He took one bite, gulped and rushed to the refrigerator for a glass of milk. Sweet, indeed. DS3 appeared some time later and tried another cannoli. He thought they were very good and not at all too sweet. Just shows you can't tell what people will like.
The end of this particular saga has turned out thus:
Himself doesn't want any cannolis, although he is the reason I tried them in the first place.
DS2 won't eat any more because he says he doesn't want to go into sugar-shock.
DS3 thinks they are fine but would rather snack on cheddar cheese.
What did we do with the remaining 11 cannolis? Giuseppe the Body Man turned up late in the afternoon, tried one and took the rest of the bunch home with the expectation of eating the whole mess before bed.**
All in all, it was a successful experiment. Those lovely stainless steel shell forms will be used again, but not to make cannolis. Once is enough.
* In fact, after the final addition of whipped cream and subsequent taste tests, I ate 4 dill pickles and drank several glasses of water to forestall the eventual overload from the sweetness.
** Our cannoli lover isn't anywhere to be found today. I suspect that may be because he's been admitted to the hospital. Too much sweetness isn't good for anyone, even a true-green/white/red Italian gent.
Not bad, for a first try. Especially for someone who really doesn't like pastry-making and abhors deep frying stuff.
I used a pretty basic recipe, a standard butter pastry, for the shells. The only past experience I have had with deep-frying a pastry kind of thing was Swedish rosettes, which really isn't the same thing at all, except for the hot fat part. To my total surprise, after frying in 360° F oil for 60 seconds, the shells were flaky, golden-brown and not the least greasy. Success! Woohoo!
The filling? Well, ricotta goes in lasagna, manicotti and shells but not dessert shells. Isn't that right? Naaaaaah. It also goes into desserts. So does mascarpone. No need to raise an eyebrow like that, really. It works nicely.
How does a cook turn cheese into a filling for dessert? First, by draining that ricotta really, really well. Hanging it in a muslin bag over a bowl for 12 hours or so works very well. Dump the cheese into a large bowl, discarding the drained liquid. Get your mixer out and beat that stuff until it's smooth, then add 8 ounces of room temperature mascarpone. Continue beating as you want the two cheeses incorporated together as much as possible. After all is mixed together nicely, add 1 1/2 cups of powdered or confectioner's sugar in small amounts, beating well after each addition. Add whatever flavoring you want at this point, whether a small amount of liquor or extracts, whatever. (Citrus zest is traditional, most likely because it would cut the astounding sweetness of the filling.)
I made another change, one suggested by a lovely Italian friend: whipping 1 cup of heavy cream and folding it into the filling as the last step. The plain cheese mixture is too heavy for our tastes and the whipped cream lightens the texture and gives it a better mouth-feel.
So we have successfully fried pastry and made the filling. Now, to fill the shells in what always turns out to be a life-and-death struggle with the pastry tube. Go ahead and laugh, it's fine. Everyone around here thinks my struggles with the tube and tips is a bit on the far side of hilarious and makes for many titters, giggles and outright guffaws. This particular outing was no different.
Dutifully stuffing the white bit down the tube, sticking the tip on it and screwing the locking ring wasn't too difficult. Dropping the filling, 1/4 cup at a time, into the tube was a snap. Twisting the top of the tube to press the filling down was done in a trice. Pick up shell, insert tip into shell. Squeeze. Now, wait a minute. What's that tiny, thin stream of filling? Is the tip clogged? Well, no. Carried away by the success of the frying, I had put the piping tip on rather than the large filling tip. This led to a somewhat protracted struggle to remove the lock ring, pull the tip off, replace it and put the ring back on. All the while leaking copious amount of white stuff all over the counter and my apron. For all you accomplished bakers, cake decorators and pastry makers this probably sounds too stupid to believe. Believe it. The lock ring wouldn't go back on the tube straight, being slippery from the filling. The bottom of the tube had gotten rucked up and the tip wouldn't fit over the fabric. Coordinating tip, ring and filling was truly beyond the ability of someone with a very high in-born level of klutziness, not withstanding the fact that even with filling leakage the tube was half full. By the time the ring was back on, albeit not straight, yours truly had filling all over hands, arms, apron front, counter and unfilled shells. My imagination gathered generations of Italian nonnas around, clucking disapprovingly.
After surmounting the obstacle of the Deadly Pastry Tube, the actual filling process went smoothly. I had used the large star tip and beating the cheeses thoroughly had created a very smooth, velvety filling that held it's shape at the end of the shells. They came out very nicely, if I may say so myself.
The mixing process for the cheeses involved periodic taste-testing so I already knew the stuff was incredibly sweet*. Not being a lover of anything sweet, I volunteered DS2 for the final vetting of the cannolis. He took one bite, gulped and rushed to the refrigerator for a glass of milk. Sweet, indeed. DS3 appeared some time later and tried another cannoli. He thought they were very good and not at all too sweet. Just shows you can't tell what people will like.
The end of this particular saga has turned out thus:
Himself doesn't want any cannolis, although he is the reason I tried them in the first place.
DS2 won't eat any more because he says he doesn't want to go into sugar-shock.
DS3 thinks they are fine but would rather snack on cheddar cheese.
What did we do with the remaining 11 cannolis? Giuseppe the Body Man turned up late in the afternoon, tried one and took the rest of the bunch home with the expectation of eating the whole mess before bed.**
All in all, it was a successful experiment. Those lovely stainless steel shell forms will be used again, but not to make cannolis. Once is enough.
* In fact, after the final addition of whipped cream and subsequent taste tests, I ate 4 dill pickles and drank several glasses of water to forestall the eventual overload from the sweetness.
** Our cannoli lover isn't anywhere to be found today. I suspect that may be because he's been admitted to the hospital. Too much sweetness isn't good for anyone, even a true-green/white/red Italian gent.
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