Bambino Watch

I think we’re in the final week!! Last night the LOML and I went with some of our friends to Lovoy’s Italian restaurant. Supposedly, if a (pregnant) woman orders the lasagna (near her due date), it will induce labor shortly thereafter. We actually went a few weeks ago (on the 29th or 30th?), but our waitress said it wouldn’t work that early (and she said it’s worked on every woman who’s worked there).

24(ish) hours later, and still no baby, so I’m not sure how much I believe it. Last night, our waitress did say the LOML needed to finish the entire meal for it to work, but since she took some of it home (garlic bread is so filling), I guess she’s disqualified.

Fresh Mozzarella, Unbound

A few months ago, after Gourmet announced it was shutting its doors, a new food blog popped up to celebrate the legendary (and influential) magazine. Since I missed the deadline for December, I was determined to submit something for January. Ironically (sadly), I had only been a subscriber since December 2008, but since I kept all my old issues, I turned to the January 2009 issue for inspirado.* (to find out what exactly I’m talking about, click here)

Why did I pick one of the most difficult recipes in this issue?? I don’t know . . . Is it because I like a challenge? Maybe it’s my Italian heritage?? Too much Schnookie and DJ Pauly D?? Whatever the situation was, I spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon trying my hand at HOMEMADE MOZZARELLA!

Fresh mozzarella only has 3 ingredients: Milk, Citric Acid, and Rennet. After calling every grocery in BHM (and a few kitchen supply stores), the only place I found that carried this elusive Rennet was WHOLE FOODS. A pack of 8 tablets was about $1.50 and the Citric Acid (in the hippie herb/supplements section) was around $5. The Rennet also came with a handy little recipe guide that had more recipes for homemade cheeses (so folksy!).

The Gourmet instructions/recipe seemed time consuming, but not overly difficult. You basically combine Milk and Citric Acid, Heat, add Rennet/Water, Heat, Stir Curds, Drain in Cheesecloth, and then form Curds into Mozzarella. To quote Tom Petty “The Waiting is the Hardest Part.”

I thought the first hour went pretty well. Looking back, I probably stirred my milk too often, but I did start to see some curds form. After the first hour was up, I stirred in the warm water and Rennet mixture, and waited for the magic to happen . . . and waited . . . and waited. Another hour went by, and I never achieved the “stiffened milk mixture.” I mean, I achieved a few more curds, but nothing firm.

I might not have achieved mozzarella curd perfection, but I decided to strain what little I had and drain them in the cheese cloth. If you had seen the pictures in Gourmet, it looks like you would get about a basketball sized portion of curds from 1 gallon of milk. I got about a tennis ball’s worth. Maybe.

After hanging around for about three hours, the curds did lose some moisture, and even looked to be compacted into a little mozzarella ball shape. But this final step is where the curd really becomes mozzarella.

You’re supposed to ladle hot salted water on top of the milk curds, and let it slowly melt into a gooey mixture, which you’re then able to form into mozzarella balls (before suspending the process in cold water). I’m sure my curds weren’t robust enough in the first place, but when I placed them in warm/hot water, they just seemed to dissolve. And I definitely couldn’t form them into a ball.

After a minute or two, I ended up draining the curds and wrapping them in saran wrap to shape into some type of ball. The consistency was about the same as really soft, milky cream cheese, but not exactly what I had hoped for.

Looking back, I don’t think it was a complete loss. I bet my “cheese” would be half-way decent on pizza, but I’ll definitely try this again. What else am I gonna do with all this rennet and citric acid???

* For January 2009’s Pancetta & Pea Risotto I made last year, click here.

Baked Sausage Pasta Party

So, we had my mom and sister in town for Easter (two weekends ago), and made a “Baked Pasta with Spicy Tomato and Sausage Sauce.” It’s from a cookbook the Mrs. got a year or two ago called Seriously Simple (I think they sold it at Anthropologie?).

It’s a pretty simple recipe and starts off by browning some Italian Sausage in a Dutch oven (or trusty Le Creuset). The recipe said to keep on cookin’ with the rendered sausage fat (flavor!), but I went ahead and drained it. Looking back, I’m thinking this would have been tastier with the grease. I mean, if I was gonna eat an Italian Sausage on a bun, I wouldn’t drain it first, right?

After you brown the sausage, you basically add Onion, Garlic, Pesto and Marinara sauce and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Then you throw in baby spinach, cooked Penne/Rigatoni, and diced Mozzarella or Smoked Gouda cheese (next time I’d shred it). Have any of you (ones of readers) ever bought Smoked Gouda cheese?? It smells like Summer Sausage which is AWESOME!!

You top it with Parmigiano/Reggiano and throw it in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes or so. This recipe makes a ton of food, so we ended up freezing a smaller (loaf pan) portion for us later.

(Bronson) Arborio Rice

I mentioned last month that I received a gift subscription to Gourmet magazine for my birthday. It's a pretty sweet magazine and this past Sunday, the LOML and I tried out another recipe from the January issue, Pea & Bacon Risotto.

I thought I'd class up this recipe by substituting Pancetta for the Bacon. Doesn't saying "Pancetta" just make you feel classier?

"Ohhhhhh, I had Pancetta-wrapped ____ at the Country Club. It was so luxurious and foodie-riffic. Much healthier than the Bacon Explosion."

Sunday was my first time to cook Risotto and I was impressed with the results (although you literally have to baby sit the rice for 20-25 minutes, adding a little more liquid every couple of minute, stirring, repeat). The finished product was a rich, semi-quick meal, and one we'll definitely try again.

Here's a list of the Top 10 Risotto Recipes from Wikipedia's entry on the subject (although this list seems a bit arbitrary to me)

I think we'll try Butternut Squash in our next Risotto, or maybe I'll try and replicate the Seafood Risotto served at GianMarco's?? Mmmmmm, GianMarco's . . .