Italian Food Love Story and Easy Roasted Peppers

In my past life, I think I was an Italian living in the Old Country. If I could eat Italian food alone for the rest of my life, I think I would be quite happy. As I mentioned in my last post, pasta is just about the best food there is, and I could easily eat it everyday. Though I know much of the Italian food I've consumed in my life is the Americanized version of the "real" Italian classics, I'm fine with declaring my love anyway, inauthentic or not.

My favorite Italian food, however, is perhaps the simplest, most casual appetizer there is: the Antipasto Platter. I'm obsessed with Antipasto Platters -- I literally love everything about them. I think it's all about the balance between the cheese, meat, vegetables, and bread. Really, what more could you want in a meal? I like to serve mine with a nice salty Mozzarella, a hard firm cheese like an Aged Gouda (if you've never tried this before, please do. you'll thank me), some nice salty salami or prosciutto, an assortment of marinated, flavorful vegetables, and some nice Ciabatta bread. Perfection on a plate and sure to please any crowd.

When I'm at the beach in the summer, I don't like to spend much time in the kitchen doing prep work. Sure, I'm happy to quickly assemble breakfast, appetizers, or prepare dinner, but doing a lot of "work" is not exactly appealing, when I could be swimming in the ocean instead. However, this weekend I had a major craving for some nice, marinated roasted peppers to serve alongside the rich meat and cheeses on my platter. Sure, I could have bought some peppers at the Italian deli, but I really like these to taste homemade. I just did not have the energy to stand in front of the oven for 45 minutes while the peppers roasted, so I heeded Ina's advice, once again, and "took some help from the store." You see, I bought a nice jar of yellow and red roasted peppers, packed in water, drained them, prepared a marinade, and left them in the fridge overnight. I was wow-ed at the results.

Roasted Peppers
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 large jar of Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers (should contain 4-6 peppers) packed in water
2 cloves of garlic, very finely minced
1/4 Cup EVOO
3 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons capers, drained
1 Cup fresh basil leaves, packed
Salt
Pepper

Drain the jar of peppers and cut into fairly thin strips; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, EVOO, Balsamic, capers, salt and pepper; whisk to combine. Pile the basil leaves, one on top of the other, roll into a tight sphere, and cut into strips. Place the basil and peppers in the marinade and stir. Store in an airtight container overnight in the refrigerator.

One of the Best Pasta Dishes Ever?

Last night, my dear friend and old boss K and I had dinner at 10 Downing, a new-ish restaurant in my neighborhood. I had been once before, in the winter: I really enjoyed the ocean trout tartare with a quail egg - the texture of the trout was almost like a cross between tuna and beef; very interesting - and some sort of steak special. This time, however, I went for the beet with grapefruit and blue cheese salad (quite good) and the Montauk fluke with watermelon (I was not crazy about this).

The star of the meal, however, was K's pasta with prosciutto, peas, and summer truffles. I looked for the exact name/description of this dish, but I cannot find it online, unfortunately. Interestingly, I have never one to get too crazy for winter truffles, which seem outlandishly expensive and have a very strong flavor. These summer truffles, which are much more reasonably priced, were so delicate and delicious and added so much great flavor to the pasta. Of course, it didn't hurt that the pasta was dripping in a delicious butter sauce, that I slathered all over my last bite of bread. Summer truffles. Who knew?

Gazpacho

I like to eat gazpacho on a warm summer day. It's not something I feel especially passionate about, but it is a light refreshing snack or lunch when the mood strikes me. I am also a huge salad fan, as I have mentioned numerous times, and this is really a blended, finely chopped salad. I have thought about making gazpacho at home many times, but until recently, I did not have a full-size Cuisinart, and I there is just too much chopping involved to do it by hand.

When I began browsing recipes, I realized many instructed you to blanch and peel the plum tomatoes, and remove the seeds. See, I'm not one for adding extra steps, and what's a few seeds in a salsa-like-soup, flush with so many other flavors and textures? So, I turned to my BFF Barefoot Contessa, with her very simple and straightforward recipe. As always, she did not call for anything special - just good quality, fresh, tasty ingredients. I was not disappointed with the result, and plan to make it again this weekend when we have guests over for lunch.

Gazpacho
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, cored and seeded
  
• 4-5plum tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces V8 vegetable juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• dash of hot sauce
  
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapeno pepper, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped.

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, V8, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Pack for a delicious, healthy lunch all week long.

Blog Hiatus

I have been on a blog hiatus. I have to get it together to blog again.

Restaurant Dining

Sarah is taking me to Babbo in a mere twelve days. This is one of the most exciting things to happen to me in a long time (gastronomically). I have been wanting to go to Babbo for so long, I cannot even remember when and where the desire began. Because of these special circumstances, I am breaking my cardinal rule of NYC dining: I am staring and studying the menu to decide precisely what to order.

Usually, I limit myself to a quick glance at the menu, and never (NEVER) make a decision before I actually am sitting down at the restaurants. There are many reasons for this, that all make complete sense, if I do say so myself:

• I do not want to get myself too set on any one dish
• The menu can change, and this sets me up for disappointment
• There are usually specials, and the specials tend to be some of the best choices
• I want to decide what I am in the mood for at the moment the server asks for my order
• It spoils all the fun and surprise of looking at all the delectable choices on the menu
  

However, this is the worst idea for any dieter. Any diet advice for dining out tells you to look at the menu and decide what you're having beforehand, so you don't fall into any of the "traps" (read: delicious, fatty foods). I think this is one of the reasons that the aforementioned Sarah usually picks out all of her options before stepping foot in the restaurant. And hey, I don't blame her for it - it's probably healthier.

Babbo, on the other hand, is a mecca. I have read so many reviews about the specific dishes on the menu, I have known for a long time the names of some of the best dishes they offer (mint love letters seems to be an especially popular dish on sites like Chowhound. Here are some of the things I am considering ordering:

Grilled Octopus with “Borlotti Marinati” and Spicy Limoncello Vinaigrette $15
Warm Lamb’s Tongue Vinaigrette with Hedgehog Mushrooms and a 3-Minute Egg $13
Pig Foot “Milanese” with Rice Beans and Arugula $15
Spaghettini with Spicy Budding Chives and a One Pound Lobster $26
Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage $20
Goose Liver Ravioli with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Butter $24
Beef Cheek Ravioli with Crushed Squab Liver and Black Truffles $23
Pumpkin“Lune” with Sage and Amaretti $19
Fennel Dusted Sweetbreads with Sweet and Sour Onions, Duck Bacon and Membrillo Vinegar $27
Rabbit with Brussels Sprouts, Parsnips, Babbo Pancetta and Carrot Vinaigrette $28

My dear friend Sarah, who is not the most adventurous eater on earth, has been instructed that she will have to take one for the team while dining at Babbo. I'll let you know how this turns out.

Convincing Yourself.

Hello, my devoted followers. All four of you. While I was away, sitting on the beach, (and looking way too serious to be sitting on the beach)

eating some sliced avocado sprinkled with a little salt, I got to thinking about foods that I have "forced" myself to learn to eat over the years. Avocado is definitely one of them. For years, I poked the tiny slice of avocado out of my california roll with the back of the chopstick. I think it's a texture thing for me, although I'm not one to be squeamish about texture. I still prefer avocado plain than in a sandwich, salad (sorry Guy and Gallard salad man), or sushi, which is pretty strange. Avocado has all that good fat, though, and is one of those things that I just feel is healthy -- even though they cost me a decent amount of calories. Here are some of the other health foods I have tricked myself into eating.

Beans. Nope, never liked 'em. Too mealy tasting. I ate them, in chili, soups, and Mexican food, but they were never my favorite. I forced myself to start on pre-made chickpea or lentil salad, drenched in vinaigrette with some veggies. This soon led to black beans, white beans in my salad, and any other bean you can think of. I can't say I'm a true bean lover, but I trained myself to eat them.

Yogurt. Shudder. I have tried every way in the world to make myself eat yogurt. It started in middle or high school, when I used to stare at my friend S, wondering how on earth she made that Dannon yogurt into a meal. It was clearly low cal and filling, but I just hated the tart taste. Now, I have literally tried every single flavor and brand of yogurt in the grocery store, and I still think it is "just ok". Mike tries to make me yogurt parfaits on the weekends sometimes (he loves yogurt) and I end up asking for more and more granola, until it ends up being granola with a tiny bit of yogurt on top. In fact, at this very moment I have the latest in trendy yogurt in my fridge. Siggy's, some shit from Iceland. Edited to add: the Icelandic yogurt was a disaster. $2.50 down the tube.

Oatmeal. Really? Do people like this? I get it, if it's cooked with whole milk and doused with brown sugar it is tasty, but I can't really see the healthy version of oatmeal being super appealing to anyone. I found some tasty instant apple/cinnamon oatmeal at Trader Joe's but it's 150 calories for a tiny pouch that doesn't keep me full for an hour. The gloppy, tasteless kind keeps me pretty full all morning and, I don't think, costs me as many calories. Do I like it? No. Do I manage to eat it? Yes.

White meat chicken. Meh! Chicken breasts are so incredibly boring. Mike's dad told me that he was forced to eat the dark meat of the roast chicken as a child so all the adults could have the white meat. But why?! The dark meat is clearly where the flavor's at. I am much more likely to eat white meat if it is 1) cooked by me or 2) actually flavorful. White meat chicken is clearly a very lean protein, but guess what I heard on the today show? Lobster is just as lean with fewer calories. I wish I could eat that every day.

Are there others out there that feel me on this?

Unhealthy Eating Thought of the Weekend

Ham and cheese lean pockets (like hot pockets, but lean, sort of) are amazing.