Italian Culture

Antipasti

Roasted balsamic-glazed shallots

Home-baked

Lets eat already!

Cannoli!

He's Italian, right?

Garlicky Garlic Pasta

My dad always made this when I was a kid.  He still makes it, but I'm not a kid.

1lb wheat fettucini
A boat load of garlic, then a few more cloves
12oz whipping cream
1/2 stick of butter
2 bunches of scallions
a few handfuls of crimini mushrooms
Parmesan
Salt
Black Pepper

First, melt the butter and fry the whites of the scallions, the mushrooms, and half the garlic.  Once the flavors mingle and get to know each other, add the the whipping cream and the rest of the garlic.  Whisk the sauce for a little bit.  Let that sit for a little while, whisking every so often.  Once you think the flavors are all good friends with each other, grate a bunch of parmesan until the sauce is at your desired consistency.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.  Boil the fettucini at some point, but not too early or too late, obviously.  Make sure you boil it with a splash of oil, too, so it doesn't stick together--this is too often overlooked.  Combine the pasta with the sauce and voila!

Gnocchi


Since gnocchi is one of my all-time favorite foods, and Italian is my favorite cuisine, and gnocchi is Italian, I figured I owed it to gnocchi and Italy to give homemade gnocchi a go. My indulgence in gnocchi is generally limited to restaurants, and the occasional store-bought variety, though I have yet to find a brand that truly matches up to the real thing. I was pretty damn nervous about making this, given what a painstaking and finicky process making your own gnocchi can be.  Many gnocchi recipes use a potato ricer or potato mill, though you can also hand mash the potatoes (it just can take a lot longer to get the consistency right). It's all about the consistency, and although I can't claim to be a gnocchi expert (well, I can claim it, I just can't back it up) after my single gnocchi-making experience, I did recognize my downfall was in cooking too many potatoes. I figured since Potluck Culture has gotten so popular and has become so well-attended (people are lining up in the streets! There's a 2-year waiting list just to be invited), I'd better make a ton, which equals roughly 4 lbs of potatoes. This was a mistake. It takes an absurdly long time to knead all that dough, and mine never fully lost its stickiness. While it did taste pretty damn good nonetheless, there was so much that we had to make huge gnocchi, which were pretty soft and kind of fell apart when tossed with the pesto (fresh basil, shaved parm, walnuts &olive oil). No matter how much flour I added, it just wouldn't quite make up for the mass quantity of potatoes. Less is more.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/how-to-make-gnocchi-like-an-italian-grandmother-recipe.html

2 lbs potatoes (I used close to twice this amount, thinking I'd just double- don't make my mistake!)
Egg
1 c. flour

Pesto or any light sauce - don't over sauce b/c gnocchi's delicate and you want the flavor to stand out.
When you've been kneading the dough all night and you're covered in flour and you don't even know who's @ this potluck b/c you're stuck in the blazing hot kitchen kneading gnocchi dough and guzzling wine (don't forget the wine, an essential ingredient to gnocchi-making. Just not for putting in the gnocchi.) while dancing around singing Mambo Italiano, then it's time to call in the big guns (ie. Chris & Pippa) to help you roll it out, boil/toss in sauce and get it on the damn table. Look out for Gnocchi: Take Two (the True Story), featuring far fewer potatoes and hopefully less time. Buon appetito!


Roasted Shallots with a Balsamic Reduction

This is the best smelling, best tasting Italian veggie side on the planet. I got my shallots at the O.N.E. farmers market hours before the potluck. $3/lb for organic shallots, dude, try and beat that. The sauce is sweet and tangy, and the roasted shallots make your apartment smell like heaven.

Ingredients:
whole shallots, peeled
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
brown suga
butter

First cut the ends of the shallots and peel them. Melt some butter and mix in sugar, salt, and pepper, then toss the shallots around in this mixture. Caramelizing, mmmmm. Toss the shallots in the oven at about 425. Put a bunch of balsamic in a saucepan. You want to reduce it to about a third of the original volume. Reducing is pretty easy, just cook the stuff on medium heat, add a little brown sugar if you want, and just stir it around making sure it doesn't burn. You know its done when its all dark and syrupy. Cover the shallots with the reduction and serve either warm or room temp.

Eggplant Parmesan
Linguini Bolognese
Bruschette

N'awlins Culture

Fried Okra

King Cake

The King

Pig's feet, yo

Shrimp'n'grits


Simple and simply delicious!  The trick to this dish is to make sure you get enough spice and flavor in everything, because shrimp and grits can be pretty plain tasting.

60 small to medium sized shrimp - detailed, like a car
1 cup grits - cooked with 4 cups water
2 bunches of scallions
A few handfuls of mushrooms - I prefer crimini
Parmesan
Cheddar
1 habanero
1 lemon - or lemon juice if you're a sucker
Garlic
Creole Kent's Spice Mix - you can't just find this stuff anywhere
Bacon fat - you should be keeping some handy in your freezer
Salt
Black pepper

Cook the grits with the diced habanero, some bacon fat, and salt.  Once the grits are at a good thick (but not too thick) consistency, add a good amount of both parmesan and cheddar.  You want enough so you can taste it, but not so much that the flavor is totally overpowered by cheese, unless you just really, really like cheese.  After the grits are done, or when they are close to done, cook everything else in a pan with a good deal of bacon fat--don't be shy.  I also whisked some flour in towards the end to thick up the bacon fat/lemon sauce.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.

"Black-Eyed Pea" (or Black Bean) Salad


Traditionally made with Black-Eyed Peas, if you Northerners can't come across 'em canned and you're shopping last minute, black beans are pretty dern tasty, too.

Black-Eyed Peas or Black Beans (canned, or if you have the time soak them the night before)
Lima Beans or Fava Beans
(Corn - I didn't have any in this particular instance and since we were already having corn maque choux didn't find it necessary)
Avocados
Fresh Basil
onion/scallions
Green pepper (red works too, but I had green)
garlic
Tomatoes (I just used some spicy salsa)
juice from a lemon
apple cider vinegar

Chop the onions and/or scallions, pepper and garlic and saute them in butter (til lightly browned, but still crunchy). Dice the avocado in chunks and mix with drained beans, basil and diced tomatoes or salsa. Toss in sauteed veggies and mix it all up with the lemon juice and vinegar. The avocado will sort of melt into a thick delicious consistency. Fresh with a nice crisp crunch!

African Culture

Samosas made egg roll style

Ingredients:

4lbs potato
8-12 small shallots
hot chili peppers
garlic
peas
turmeric
shredded ginger
ground ginger
chili powder
paprika
cumin
spring roll wrappers

All the ingredients for this dish can be easy located at any of your friendly neighborhood Asian markets.  I went to Thai Phat on North St. to get mine and just had a wonderful experience.

First your going to want to boil the potatoes until you can stab them with a fork pretty easily.  When they are ready, let them cool and in the meantime fry up the shallots, onion, garlic, peppers and peas for a little to soften them up. Next roughly mix in bowl the potatoes, fried veggies and all other ingredients. It should turn an interesting yellow color. Next wrap up in spring roll wrappers however you please. I found the egg roll strategy was the easiest, rolling them up like mini burritos.
 

Yam + Muffin = Yamuffin

The Aftermath

Sor Patel

Liver in the shape of Africa!

A collaborative effort from both Dan and Dylan was necessary considering the great lengths that they went to in order to create this magnificent dish.  First, we had to get pig kidney and pig liver.  This does not entail just some stroll down to the local grocery store meat deli.  We're talkin' a half hour drive down to Ferrisburg to get the offal from Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing.  Dan and I drove there and picked up about three times more offal than we even needed and it was five bucks, which was clearly an arbitrary price because they never sell this stuff (see picture below).  Everyone at the the slaughterhouse thought we were freaks.  We then went from there to the Brixton Halal Market on North Street where we got cubed camel to replace the traditional pork.  Pretty weird, but this is potluck culture, and how often do you get an excuse to cook camel?  It's pretty much like a fattier, gamier version of beef--be sure to stew it for a while to tenderize it.  Essentially, all you need to do is throw all these ingredients in a pot and stew it for 24 hours:

...unless you get it directly from the slaughterhouse.

3 pounds of cubed camel
1 pound of cubed liver
11 oz of cubed kidney
A bunch of the following:
      tumeric
      paprika
      black pepper
      hot pepper
      garlic
      ginger
      apple cider vinegar
      salt
      cloves (5 or so)

Before adding the spices, you can make an amazing paste by crushing the spice on a cutting board with a rolling pin and putting it in a bowl with the vinegar.  This paste looks and smells amazing--I dream about it.  Basically all you have to do to cook this is to simmer it until the offal breaks apart.  The recipe I got this from said that it disintegrates into the sauce in about an hour.  That is bullshit.  We simmered it for about 20 hours and there were still good chunks in the stew.  We ended up boiling the hell out of it and crushing the obvious chunks against the side of the pot with a spoon.  It comes out tasting like a super-flavorful African-spiced chili, and we chose to serve it with rice.

Thai

Pad Kee Mao aka Drunken Noodle


Drunken noodle is the favorite dish of wasted Thai folk because its so packed with spice and flavor that even someone as wasted as Elysia can still taste it. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: the trick to this dish is to use an excessive amount of basil and hot peppers. If you're not sweating like Bread when you try it, add more spice. If you're not as basiled as Dylan on a hot tin roof, add more basil.


Ingredients:
Wide rice noodles from Thai Phat
Hoisin Sauce
Holy basil
Secular basil
Hot peppers galore (serranos will do the trick)
Garlic (duh)
Your favorite seasonal stir fry veggies


First things first: soak the rice noodles in warm water for 45-60 minutes, or until white and soft. Drain the noodles, then fry them up in the hoisin sauce and a bunch of garlic until they soak up the sauce and have a nice light brown color. Remove the noodles from the frying pan, and then stir fry the veggies, hot peppers, and more garlic. Don't overcook the veggies, please. Next, toss the noodles in with the veggies, add the holy basil, and fry for a few minutes. Right before you serve the dish, VIGOROUSLY chop the secular basil and mix it in raw.

 Thai Curry Sloppy Rice with Pineapple

      1  fresh pineapple

·         3  cups cooked rice, preferably several days old (Tip: if fresh, leave for an hour or more in the refrigerator uncovered)

·         3-4 Tbsp. chicken stock

·         2 shallots, finely chopped

·         3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

·         1 red or green chili

·         1 egg

·         ½ cup frozen peas

·         1 small carrot, grated

·         ½ cup roasted unsalted whole cashews

·         3 spring onions finely sliced

·         1/3 cup fresh coriander

·         STIR-FRY SAUCE:

·         2+1/2 Tbsp fish sauce, OR 3 Tbps. soy sauce if vegetarian

·          Thai or Regular curry powder

1.       If using old rice, pour 1-2 tsp. coconut oil or other vegetable oil onto your fingers and then run fingers through the rice, separating any chunks back into grains. Set aside.

2.       In a cup, stir the soy sauce/fish sauce together with the curry powder. Set aside.

3.       Drizzle 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a wok/large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying until fragrant (1 minute). Whenever the wok/pan becomes dry, add a little stock (1/2 to 1 Tbsp. at a time to keep ingredients sizzling).

4.       Push ingredients aside and crack egg into wok, stirring quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs).

5.       Add the carrot (if using) and peas. Stir-fry 1 minute in the same way, adding more stock if needed.

6.       Now add the rice, pineapple chunks, cashews, and raisins/currents. Drizzle the fish/soy sauce mixed with curry powder over and gently stir-fry to combine over medium-high to high heat until the rice "dances" (begins to make popping sounds) - about 3 minutes. Tip: Avoid adding any more stock from here on, or your rice will turn out soggy. Add a little more oil if pan becomes too dry (this is how the restaurants achieve that special 'shine' on their fried rice).

7.       Remove from heat. Do a taste-test for saltiness, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce until desired taste is achieved. If you happen to over-salt the dish, add a squeeze or two of lime juice.

8.       To serve, scoop rice onto a serving platter or individual plates and top with spring onions and coriander. ENJOY!

Thai Mango Chicken

Ingredients:
2-3 Ripe Mangos
2 lbs Chicken
Coriander
Basil
Hot Peppers
Soy sauce
Fish Sauce
Chopped Cashews

Red bell pepper
Garlic
Red Curry Sauce
Lime Juice
Lime zest or leaf
Flour
Salt, Pepper
Oil

Dice up the chicken into bite size pieces and then cover all the pieces with flour, salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken in skillet over medium high heat until cooked and nicely browned.  Set aside.  Next cut the mango away from skin and pit and but 3/4 of it into processor.  Add hot pepper, garlic, red curry sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce lime juice and zest, coriander and basil to taste and blend up. Make sure you taste it to make sure that you have achieved the perfect balance of spicy and sweet.  Heat mango sauce in skillet till it boils, turn down heat and add chicken, left over mango chunks and red bell pepper.  Cook for about 5 more minutes, top with cashews and serve.


Green Papaya Salad


This is apparently a popular street food in Thailand.  Because of this, it is important that you serve this fresh.  As soon as it is made, it should be eaten, otherwise it gets all mushy and watery.  I had the leftovers the next day--not nearly as good.  Still good, but just made me really want the freshies.

One large papaya
About four medium carrots
A few handfuls of dried shrimp--yes, dried shrimp.  It's the beef jerky of the sea.
A handful and a half of green beans
Four or five mediumish tomatoes
A few hot peppers
A few cloves of garlic
A few tablespoons of:
      fish sauce
      apple cider vinegar
      brown sugar
      cilantro
A few teaspoons of:
      salt
      black pepper
      fresh ginger
      lime leaves
5 or so cloves

First, put the black pepper, cloves, hot peppers, garlic, ginger, and dried shrimp all in a bowl.  Grind this all together like using a mortar and pestle.  Get creative--I just used the end of a rolling pin to grind it in the bowl.  Once ground, add the green beans--cut into 1-inch pieces--and the tomatoes--cut into bite-sized wedges.  Lightly crush these into the mix.

So make sure you get a green, or unripe, papaya.  I learned this week that papayas turn yellow when ripe, and they have a bunch of black seeds inside (who knew?!).  Anyway, you want to peel, deseed, and shred the papaya.  Shred the carrots as well and add both.  Lightly bruise the papaya and carrot in the mix.

Then add the rest of the ingredients, mix it up, and eat!

RAW

Asian Slaw


It really felt great ridding Erika's blanket hatred of slaw.  I was able to do this because this recipe doesn't require mayonnaise, so even those mayo-haters will like it.  Also, I have to thank Russell James of the Raw Chef Blog for this fantastically flavorful side dish.


1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 a head of Napa cabbage, sliced thin
1 medium carrot, ‘ribboned’ with a peeler
1/2 a red bell pepper, julienned fine
1/2 a yellow bell pepper, julienned fine
1 Thai chili, minced fine
2 green onions, finely sliced
Small handful cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons chiffonade mint


Blend first 5 ingredients in a high-speed blender.  Combine with remaining ingredients in a bowl.


Gazpacho

Ingredients:
2 Cucumbers
1 Summer Squash
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
Red Onion
Yellow Onion
whole garlic
spicy peppers
4 large tomatoes
Large can of crushed tomatoes
Various herbs
salt, pepper
Balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Having a food processor is pretty much necessary and makes this dish extremely easy.  Dylan tried to make it without one once and had cucumbers seeds stuck in his toes for 4 days.

First off, your going to want to make sure you get a bunch of fresh-ass produce.  Cool. Now, gather all the ingredients on a mondo sized cutting board and chop everything into good sized cubes that would be good for loading into your processor.  Next you are gonna start blending everything.  You wont be able to do it all at once so really think about which things you want to blend together. Start adding each mixture to a large pot or container until all the veggies are mixed together.  Don't forget to add the can of crushed tomatoes and also a generous amount of S&P.  Top with about a 1/4 cup of vinegar and maybe twice the amount of olive oil.  Garnish with your favorite herbs and make sure to get it nice and cold before serving.

You are really going to want to eat this soup with a nice baguette. Raw culture really kept my gazpacho from reaching its full superior, but magnanimous potential.





GUAC


4 avocados
1 chopped tomato
1 large clove of garlic minced
half a red onion chopped
dash of lemon juice
pinch of salt, pep, cumin, and cayenne
3 red bell peppers cut into strips for dipping


Mix everything together and dig in with the peppers!!!!!!

Breakfast Culture

Extra Spicy Bloody Marys

Nothing wakes you up in the morning like a scorching hot concoction of tomato juice and vodka.  I was never a huge fan of Bloody Marys, but now I know the reason was that I only tasted ones made by bland freaks. Also, I didn't use no stinkin' V8... only homemade tomato juice made with fresh, local tomatoes. Check it!

Ingredients

So many tomatoes it seems ridiculous
a bunch of basil and parsley
onion
hot sauce
lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce
prepared horseradish (extra horsey, if available)
salt and peppa
Vodka (gag)
Breads Hot Hot Hot Dilly Beans

First, toss the tomatoes, herbs, and onion in a food processor and puree um.  Put the puree in a pot and simmer it for 20-30 minutes. Strain out all the gunky stuff with a colander. Transfer the juice in to a big ol' mason jar. Next add the lemon juice, about 1 part lemon juice for 6 parts tomato juice. Add the rest of the ingredients to taste. You want this to be a real kick in the mouth, because nobody wants to taste nasty fucking vodka in the morning. NOBODY.  Once you get to Dylan's place, mix in the vodka (maybe 1 part vodka for every 3 parts tomato juice, unless you're an alcoholic or something) and pour over ice. Garnish with 2 spicy dilly beans, cuz no one really likes celery.


Three Egg Omelet


I made these omelets in the "French" style, as they say.  The ingredients I used were as follows, and, yes, I just had to get more lox and throw them in because they're just so damn delicious:

Egg - three per omelet
Lox
Crimini mushroom - sliced
Caramelized onion
Goat cheese
Avocado - sliced and salted
Garlic - sliced and diced
Milk
Salt
Pepper
Butter - yeah, you slather that pan, don't be shy

First, I cracked the eggs and wisked some milk into them.  I then added salt, pepper, and garlic.  Then, heat up a pan with a good deal of butter to a little hotter than medium heat.  Once hot, add the egg mixture (3 eggs at a time, of course), and let that fry for a few seconds.  When the bottom seems like it's solidifying, slide your spatula underneath and tilt the pan so the remaining liquid flows onto the frying surface.  Then add all the lox, mushroom, onion, and goat cheese to the middle area of the egg.  When the egg is mostly cooked but still moist, fold an outer third of the omelet over the filling.  Continue cooking for a few seconds longer, then fold the other third over.  Ideally, the outer egg will be browned and a little crunchy, while the inside is moist and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  Oh and don't forget the avocado slices on top with salt and sprinkled on them.

Tapas!

Fennel-Fig-Almond-Olive-Grape Salad

(there's more in it, but it doesn't really roll off the tongue)

This cold salad takes very little preparation or skill, just fresh, quality ingredients & a little chopping. Everything in here is native to Spain and/or other parts of the Mediterranean region, but I used Vermont's versions wherever possible. Inspired by a recipe I found on http://whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/

Fennel (1/2 bulb or less- that shit is potent!), sliced thin and chopped small

raw almonds, chopped into large pieces

red grapes, halved

kalmata olives, halved

dried figs, chopped up into chunks

Manchego, Pecorino,  fresh Parm or other hard, sharp cheese shaved thin (I used Grana, which is Italian, not Spanish, but slightly cheaper and no one seemed to notice the difference...)

basil

I threw some mint in there too cause it's one step away form blocking the entrance to our house

sunflower seeds (or any seeds you prefer)

lemon

balsamic vinegar

dash of honey or honey cup mustard, which I put on pretty much everything

Chop up your ingredients in a big ol' bowl and mix 'em up with the balsamic, honey and lemon juice (from a fresh lemon, not the bottle, you cheater!). Let it soak up all the flavors and experience a texture/taste overload.

Lox-wrapped cantaloupe with four-pepper goat cheese


Real simple; real delicious.  Someone who doesn't know you at the potluck might mistake you for a fancy person if you make these.


Lox - 12oz
Cantaloupe - about one
Goat cheese - 10oz
A bunch of toothpicks

 Cut the melon in half and gut it.  Scoop little balls out with a spoon--I used a measuring teaspoon because of its ideal circular shape.  Then pack a pinch of goat cheese on it, wrap it all up in the lox, and spear with a toothpick.  You should just buy the lox trimmings if your local deli offers it, or you can buy the fancy, perfectly sliced, thin lox if you're a richie who wants to pay three times the price.  Also, a fresh, local (Intervale Community Farm) cantaloupe really makes all the difference in both moisture- and flavor-factor.

Stuffed Jalapenos Wrapped in Bacon


Ingredients:
10 Jalapenos
Package of cream cheese
Garlic
Cheddar
Mexican Seasoning
Bacon
Herbs

Cut the Jalapenos in half and scoop out the seeds.  Mix the cream cheese with Mexican seasoning chopped garlic, cheddar and any herbs you desire.  Stuff the mixture into the jalapeno halves.  Next cook the bacon moderately so it is easy to work with. Wrap the bacon around the stuffed jalapeno and secure with a tooth pick.  Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes on 350 and you are all set.





Baked Cilantro Feta Tomatoes

The folks down at the Intervale Community Farm sent us home with a 20 tomatoes and some cilantro this week, so I figured I'd put them both to use.  Make sure to stuff these babies with some local cheese, and don't even think about using dry herbs or conventional tomatoes. Come on... tomatoes are in season here you dingus!

Ingredients:
Small, local tomatoes
Feta cheese
Smoked mozzarella
A bunch of fresh cilantro
Garlic
Butter
Bread crumbs

Chop up the cilantro and lots of garlic, then mash them in with the butter.  Vertically slice the tomatoes in half, scoop out the innards, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Add a piece of feta and a piece of mozzarella, then cover it with garlic cilantro butter. You can also add some of the cream cheese mixture used in the stuffed jalepenos. Generously cover them with bread crumbs, then cook in the over for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.