Diced Pineapples

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Smelly Danielly

I went to Matt’s for dinner last night. I cooked him two types of pasta; Amatriciana (tomatoes with onions and pancetta) and a pesto made with walnuts and ricotta. It was all so good and so damn filling. Look at how classy our dinner set up was. Ugh. I want to steal everything that Matt owns. He has the most amazing design eye. I know I always say that but it is always true. The man is a GENIUS. Sometimes I just can not handle it. Every time I need to be inspired I should just go to his place.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the Nanny, because its the best show of all time and watching rap videos. I discovered the formula for creating a rap video, which I am sure most of you have. Ciroc, dudes in chains, mostly naked woman shaking there ass, and a lot of talk about cats, but not actual cats. We also watched Drakes newest video, because we are that predictable. It’s filmed inside a Shoppers Drug Mart which is hands down the most amazing thing of all time. Really!? Shoppers!? LOVE.

The great thing about staying late in the city is that driving home is so much easier then during rush hour, that is unless a Canucks game has just let out, the hwy was previously closed because of an accident, there is construction on said hwy, and it is raining like a mother trucker. I encountered all 4 of these things last night. Sweet Mother of Mercy. There was a point in time where there was so much rain and so much construction I could not tell where my lane was, you know, because they like to move the lanes every other day and there are no proper lines on the actual road. Worst ever.

Also, Rick Ross is really unattractive.

A Smitten Bakeaholic

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting two people – the lovely Alicia from Bakeaholic and the amazing Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen.

I used to read the Smitten Kitchen almost daily until I went through the tragedy of losing my kitchen. While living with the parentals I did minimal cooking and reading food blogs was like a knife through the heart because there were so many tasty and inspirational things I want to make and no space in which to do so (my Mom can sometimes be a Kitchen Nazi). So, instead of torturing myself, I banned myself from reading food blogs. I know, harsh, but it had to be done.

Then, a friend of mine, someone I had never met before but whose blog I loved, the very talented Alicia – my last name should be Baker – asked me if I was going to the Smitten Kitchen book signing. What! There’s a book signing!

I knew that Deb had written a cookbook and had put it on my list of things I NEEDED for Christmas but didn’t realized she was actually coming to Vancouver to do a book signing. I was ecstatic that I was going to be able to meet her (and finally Alicia!).

Having never been to a book signing before I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got to Chapters early, bought my book and enjoyed a hot chocolate while I waited for Alicia. I didn’t realize there was going to be a small Q&A session before the signing which you could get a seat for, so by the time we made it to the section they had set up all the seats were taken. There was such a big turn out for the signing, people were lined up everywhere.

Meeting Deb was awesome. I was kind of star struck and had no idea what to say to her, so I started telling her about how I haven’t had a kitchen for a year and it was killing me.

Then we had, what I think, is a very Jewish Italian moment.

I love Deb. She is so funny, personable and the sweetest thing ever. I adore her blog and her recipes. It was an honour being able to meet her.

The great thing about Debs recipes is that she uses basic ingredients, and if she decides to use something a little out there that you may not have in your kitchen, then she gives you options. Deb is an obsessive cook and a lot of the things she talks about on her blog and in her book I can totally relate to.

I’ve read about half of the book so far and I am dying to try so many of her recipes. The intros to each recipe are filled with Debs witty personality and each recipe has a photo which I love, because as you know, you eat with your eyes too.

It was a great evening meeting Alicia, who by the way I have 100 things in common with and we might end up having the exact same home (no white leather couches!), and meeting Deb. It was very inspirational and the perfect kick start to a new adventure in the land of cooking!

Blue Cheese Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

A little while ago we went for dinner at the Tyrrells house where Elise pulled out all the stops and made one of the most amazing Pork Tenderloin recipes I have ever taste. So good in fact that I went to work and told everyone about the dinner we had and they all insisted I pass along the recipe to them.

This is one of the easiest yet most impressive recipes I’ve made to date. Of course, you have to like blue cheese to agree with me, but if you do, this is going to be something to will want to make for everyone you invite over to dinner.

We start off by making the Blue Cheese Crust. The first time I made this I did not have the food processor so it was a little more difficult to do, however, with the food processor it is a breeze.

Take 8 ounce of blue cheese, cubed whole grain bread (2 slices with out the crust) and a chunk of butter. Throw that into a food processor with some fresh fresh rosemary and ground black pepper and mix until everything is combined. It is up to you as to whether you want it a bit more chunky or if you like it well blended.

Cut the tenderloin into 4 even pieces. This may be a bit difficult given the size of your tenderloin, so just make a mental note that the small pieces will need less cooking time.

Season the fillets with olive oil, salt & pepper and rub them. Then sear the meat in the skillet for 1 minute on each side on high.

Place the tenderloins on a rack and set the rack over a baking sheet. Divide the blue cheese mixture and pack it onto the tenderloins.

Place in the oven at 400 degrees and cook for about 20 minutes. You want to make sure that the internal temperature of the pork is at least 145 degrees, so using a meat thermometer works perfectly. You also need to keep in mind any smaller pieces you may have.

Pull the meat out and tent it in tinfoil for 10 minutes allowing the pork to rest and finish cooking.

In the mean time, make a balsamic reduction. Put 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar in a pan and cook until it has reduced to half. Drizzle on the meat and then serve it.

Served with a side of Caesar Salad, Roasted Carrots and Fresh Bread. What more can you ask for!

As a lover of blue cheese, I adore the recipe, but if you are NOT a lover of blue cheese, do not fret. The flavour is not over powering by any means and adds a lot of complexity when pairs with the pork loin and balsamic reduction.

If you want a recipe that will blow your guests mind, I suggest you try this!

Stuffed Pasta and Naked Gnocchi

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

On Tuesday Shaz and I attended the second level of the Pasta Making course the Italian Center was putting on. It had been a very long day for me as I had just finished working at our Spring photo shoot and was super pooed, but the idea of making and eating fresh pasta had me very excited.

On the menu for this class was…

Tomato Pasta Dough
Cheese Cappelletti
Mushroom Ravioli
Veal & Spinach Cannelloni
Seafood Messalune
Spinach Gnocchi Nude
Beurre Blanc Sauce

We started off by learning how to make the Tomato Pasta Dough which was very simple. We also learned that you can replace the Tomato Paste (which gives the dough its flavour and colour) with Basil Pesto or other ingredients to change it up.

Next we learned how to make the fillings for all the different types of pasta we were going to make. This was the one thing I was looking forward to the most as I was totally stumped on ideas.

We were then given a demo on how to make Cannelloni (one of my Nonnas specialties).

We were split into groups of three and I gave Shaz the honour of making the dough from scratch since I had already done it quite a few times. I’m glad we were given this opportunity this time as it allowed us to really get a feel for the dough and when the consistency was right. Our dough was too dry and Chef Rebecca showed us how to slowly add more water until everything felt right.

These are Spinach Gnocchi Nude. When Chef asked us if we knew what the Nude part meant we all assumed it meant the Gnocchi were done in a butter sauce. Turns out we were wrong. Nude meant with out potatoes. What!? No potatoes!? How is that even possible!?

Oh, it’s possible! We mixed together all the ingredients (spinach, cheese, egg, flour, nutmeg) and then created the shape using a spoon technique. The shape / technique is called a Quenelle. It took us a while to get the hang of making them as you have to make sure they are very tight and compact. You also have to cook them a little longer than potato gnocchi, but they taste amazing in a butter sauce!

Chef Rebecca also showed us this neat technique of adding herbs to your pasta dough and rolling it out to create patterns. Fancy!

We tried our hands at making the Seafood Mezzelune (half moons) while some of our other classmates made the Mushroom Ravioli and Cheese Cappelletti (little hats).

Nonna Shazzi and I moved on and made some Veal & Spinach Cannelloni with the Tomato Pasta Dough. Talk about flavours!

After we were done making all of the pasta, we sat down for a taste test.

Stuffed pasta is where it’s at! My favorite by far were the Mushroom Ravioli and the Spinach Gnocchi. I am on a huge Mushroom kick right now and the ravioli were melt in your mouth good!

I love making fresh pasta, and while its nice to make linguine and spaghetti, I think using the fresh dough to make stuffed pasta is really the best way of using it. Experimenting with different fillings and pasta shapes, the possibilities are endless.

I also want to experiment more withe flavoured pastas. I tasted a piece of the raw Tomato Pasta Dough and it was quite good. So many options!

I am totally inspired now!

Can’t wait for Pasta Making Level 3!

Homemade Pasta, Homemade Sauce & Homemade Wine!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

So, that blog is fixed! Praise the Lord!

Chad and I spent most of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning fixing it all. We have updated the theme and made a few changes here and there. More things will probably be changed, but for now, I am pretty happy. Two specific things you will notice…

1) Yes, there are 8 different rotating headers. It’s like Pokemon, you will want to collect them all.
2) When you click on a specific blog post (or if you come directly from a facebook or twitter link) you will no longer see all the side bar bits. This allows you to solely focus on the post itself. If you do however really want to see all the side bar bits, just click home!

For my first entry back, post hacking, I thought I would fill your computer with yummy goodness, because really, that is what I am good at!

Growing up my Mom always made the same pasta sauce. It was her traditional recipe that she always made in big batches, and whenever we had pasta, that was the sauce she use.

The base of the sauce was crushed home grown tomatoes and ground beef. Now, as you may remember, I have a love/hate relationship with ground meat in that I mostly hate it, so after 20 odd years of eating this pasta sauce, I kinda, sorta, got sick of it. Sorry Mom.

When Chad and I started dating the first meal he ever made me was Penne with his Moms famous pasta sauce. While the ingredients seemed typical, the method was something I had never heard of, and after the first bite, I was in LOVE!

So I present to you, Mamma Ciavarros Famous Pasta Sauce!

It’s Italian cooking so the measurements are kind of rough.

3 cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
2 Pork Shoulder Steaks
4 crushed Garlic Cloves
a dash of ground Allspice
1 tbsp dried Oregano
a dash or two for Red Pepper Flakes (Chads new addition)

Trim some of the fat off the pork steaks

Throw all the tomato sauce and spices into a pot and mix around.

Add the two pork steaks and cook for 3 – 4 hours on low heat until the meat falls off the bone. This sauce loves to bubble (it should be cooking at a mild bubble) so keep your eye on it or prepare to have a stove covered in sauce. Mix every 20 or so minutes.

As the pork steak cooks the meat softens and begins to shred. Essentially what you are doing is making a pulled pork pasta sauce. Use a wooden spoon to help the process along. Once the meat is soft enough that it had completely fallen off the bone, remove the bone and begin to mash it up with your wooden spoon so that the meat falls apart even more. Your goal is to have fine strips of pork meat, not giant chunks of it.

While Chad made the pasta sauce, I decided to use Lidia’s cookbook to make some Middle Class Pasta.

I realized that dividing the dough into even pieces at the beginning really helps to make sure your strips of pasta are all the same size / length.

I rolled out all the dough into long flat sheets and then Shazzi came over and helped me cut them into Linguine using one of the Pasta Machine attachments.

I double the recipe and then ended up using about 3/4 of the dough. I froze the rest to make later. Four trays of Linguine later I was ready to start cooking!

Always remember to shake off the excess flour before cooking!

I cooked them in batches. Then I burnt myself!

Mamma and Shazzi had to take over. I was rather injured.

As Mom pulled out the pasta she threw it in a big pot where Shaz would ladle a spoonful of sauce. 10 minutes later we had one big plate of pasta!

Does that not look amazing!?

Homemade pasta definitely has a very specific taste and texture compared to dried pasta. In some instances I like dried pasta better and in others I prefer homemade pasta.

While my parents were a little skeptical of this new pasta sauce (Shredded Pork!?) they ended up loving it. I mean how can you not!?

This is what I call a Sunday Dinner.