Pantry Cannoli in a Pinch

The sudden need for a cannoli sprung up but we weren't exactly prepared to cook up the shells.

Elizabeth rolled up two tubes of heavy duty foil, then sprayed it with oil.



Next, she wrapped the foil rolls with a sheet of spring roll wrapper, kind of like a wonton wrapper but thinner and more pliable. To give it some sweetness, Elizabeth made a small batch of cinnamon sugar, which was sprinkled over a sheet of the wrapper...she then laid a second sheet over it, sealing in the spicy sugar between the layers of crispy wrapper.



The wrapperss went into a 375 degree oven until slightly golden brown, then we uncoiled the foil slowly to reveal just the shells.

Next, Elizabeth mixed some powdered sugar into fresh ricotta from Claudio's, which was piped into the shells. Finished with a dusting of powdered sugar and some dark chocolate 'snow', grated off a fine mesh microplane, and you've got a much lighter version of cannoli straight from the pantry.

Ricotta Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Earlier in the Fall, Headhouse Farmer's market had some bright little Pattypan squash showing - Elizabeth picked up a pint and proceeded later that evening to adapt a recipe from her childhood to reduce our ricotta stockpile.

Claudio's ricotta, at $4 per lb. is a steal - we're basically trying to work it into every dish imaginable. This was one of the better experiments...a gratin of sorts placed into the hollowed out squash.

A mix of sautéed squash & shallots, along with some seasoned ricotta, go back into the squash and into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until warmed through.

We served the squash alongside roast leg of lamb and prosciutto-wrapped fingerling potatoes for a comforting Sunday Night meal; the fingerlings were a take on something I saw over on Studiokitchen earlier this year, fingerlings cooked in peanut oil, then wrapped in Iberico ham and deep fried. I didn't go as luxe as Shola's version, just boiling the potatoes, wrapping them in prosciutto and finishing them with a pan-fry...neglected to snap a photo of mine but they looked something like this...photogenically nowhere near as close to what Studiokitchen cranks out though.

Fava Bean Ravioli

After several abortive attempts to make ravioli by hand, we finally broke down and bought a press from Fante's in the Italian Market.


It took us a few moments to figure out how it worked, but the friendly matriarch that mills about the kitchen ware shop gave us a quick lesson on how you used the press, along with a tip to put egg-wash or water on the edges of the ravioli sheet just before you lay them together.



On our way through the market, we spotted some great looking Fava Beans; we picked up some fresh ricotta from Claudio's and then settled on Fava Bean & Ravioli.



Here we've shelled the beans, then boiled them for a few minutes and finally shocked them in cold water before removing them from the husk, revealing that emerald green beauty within.

Meanwhile, our ricotta filled ravioli were all pressed and prepped for the boiling pot of salted water.



Once the beans were shelled, we threw them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and butter...we've also used pancetta or proscutti & minced shallots or just good old diced bacon and minced onion to go into the sauteed beans...it mostly depends on how much oomph you want to give those beans. I think the olive oil & butter kept it naked and simple so that the fava flavor could announce itself.



Plating was a breeze...ravioli, fava and some grated pecorino romano with a dusting of black pepper.

You could also serve this fava bean saute with gnocchi to get a similar effect without all the hardware.

Marc Vetri's Ricotta Gnocchi & Crispy Artichoke

I've been working my way through the more interesting yet simple recipes in Marc Vetri's Il Viaggo and this seemed like one that was right up our alley.

Ricotta Gnocchi & Crispy Artichoke (follow for the detailed recipe)



Of course we use nothing but the creamiest stock ricotta around...at $4.00 #, Claudio's ricotta is a staple in our pantry.

Mix:
1lb Ricotta Cheese
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup flour, all purpose (reserve 1 cup for dusting your board as you roll the dough out)
2tblsp kosher salt

Read the procedure here ....



The 'chokes were $1 ea. at the Italian Market. I cleaned them, then slivered into thin matchsticks so they would fry up similar to Durkee Onions



Here you see Elizabeth in action cutting the gnocchi 'snake' into the little pillows that are ricotta gnocchi. These little guys are much fluffier than potato gnocchi and you need to handle them gently as you roll, cut, boil until floating and then transfer to a warmed plate.



The finished result is a very clean presentation; Vetri simply has you transfer the gnocchi to a plate, sprinkle with Parmesan, drizzle with the oil the artichokes cooked in and then top with your crisped artichoke bits.

Braised Artichoke & Tarragon-Butter-Cream Ricotta Gnocchi

We spied these Globe Artichokes at the Italian Market...2 for $3. One cookbook we have based on Roman cuisine had a recipie for braised artichoke that we wanted to try out.



After cleaning and breaking down the artichoke to the stem and heart, you place it in a saucepan for a snug fit, add olive-oil and sear the chokes. Once the chokes take on a slight sear, you add the braising liquid.

I used aboout 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese Sake cooking wine) and then enough water to cover the artichokes.



Simmer the braising liquid, covered, for about 30 minutes or until a knife goes through the cap completly. Then remove the cover and reduce the liquid. Take the artichokes out carefully, now that they're delicately cooked.



The finished results are an intense, almost nutty flavor...immediately Elizabeth smelled buttered pecans when I pulled the chokes from the braising liquid. Cooked tender, these were the perfect alternative to a starchy potato and accompanied our grass-fed strip-steak we bought at D'Angelo's.



Although the artichokes were a flavorful surprise, the star of the meal were Elizabeth's pillowy soft ricotta gnocchi.

We served these gnocchi in a sauce that was inspired by the escargot dish that we enjoyed at Zinc last weekend. We sauteed high-quality butter, shallots, garlic & tarragon in a pan for about 15 minutes, then finished it with another tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of cream and a teaspoon of Pernod...the anise-fennel liquor rounded out the unctious buttery sauce, already made sweet by those sauteed shallots.

Christmas Dinner: Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter & Olives

Ahh...pillowy soft ricotta gnocchi. Elizabeth has always done a great potato gnocchi and got a grip on the techniques you need to keep them light, fluffy bites of pasta instead of small, gummy bullets of dough, but when she tried the ricotta gnocchi at Mercado last month, she knew that potatoes are second fiddle to the wonder that is cheese.

We were visiting my family in D.C. and wanted to share with them our new-found primo pasta. I waited in line nearly 40 minutes the day before Christams at Claudio's just to make sure we'd have the freshest ricotta to use for this dish...after all, it's all about the cheese.



Since we were going to do Ricotta Gnocchi with Olives & Browned Butter, I splurged and bought some Italian butter as well. It ended up making a slight positive difference...more on that later

The recipe itself is simple and fun to make. But getting the right dough consistency was crucial and you cant' do a straight potato-to-ricotta swap. After perusing the internet for consensus on how to get a light dough that won't break apart we came to the conclusion that:

• ratios vary because of the moisture content of the ricotta...start with a firm ricotta (Claudio's FRESH ricotta from the case does it for me) or drain the store-bought stuff over a strainer for at least several hours
• alot of people load up the dough with extras to overcome runny cheese or to avoid excessive flour...a favorite is to use finely grated Parmesan, some potato or eggs.

We decided to keep it simple and only use ricotta & flour...no matter what, you season the ricotta (salt, pepper...some people use nutmeg).



Elizabeth dumped out 1 cup of flour then slowly added it, 1/4 cup at a time, to 2 lbs of Ricotta...I don't think she used all the flour, but I could be wrong. The main thing to remember here is that you get the dough firm enough to be rolled out like a 'snake' or a pretzel...Elizabeth & Taylor played with the dough until it got to that stage, then got to work.

It was great watching Elizabeth and our niece Taylor mixing the ricotta & flour together, then rolling the dough out and cutting it.

Drop your little pillows in a pot of GENTLY boiling water, then pull them after they've floated to the top and bobbed about for a minute. I offered to be the lifeguard and taste them to make sure they were ready to get out of the pool.




So I bought some 'Parmesan Reggiano' butter from Claudio's and sauteed the gnocchi in it as they came out of the boil. The butter added a little more flavor than your average Land O'Lakes...it didn't seem as cloying...more subtle. Plus, it didn't foam nearly half as much, so I guess it has less solid fats in it, which was nice because I didn't have to worry about scorching it.




I apologize for the blurry photo here, but we were plating for a party of 9 and I rushed it...still you can make out the snowfall of Parmesan, the glistening butter-coating and meaty slivers of Cerignola olives all resting on fluffy pasta pillows.



After the pasta course, we served a side of Broccolini & Plucked Brussel's Sprouts, roasted in garlicky olive-oil.



Along with the roasted greens went a heavy dose of veal sausages I picked up from Martin's Meats in Reading Terminal Market.

We had started the meal with a Seared Scallop, Arugula & Clementine Salad...the scallops were bought from Johnny Yi's in RTM as well...and ended it with a Strawberry Panna Cotta.

That's the basic run-down of our "All-Philly Ingredients" dinner that we cooked for the family in D.C....all of which was good...but the gnocchi were my hands-down favorite.