Sorry Mr. Fishy...

Red Snapper with Rosemary sounded exciting to make, mostly because I never worked with an entire fish before. This Red Snapper, scaled and cleaned, would be seasoned with salt & pepper, olive oil, and filled with lemon, fennel bulb (never had it before, but was very aromatic and had a slightly sweet flavor), onion, rosemary, and garlic in it's cavity. I prepared all the ingredients that would go into the snapper's cavity according to the recipe. Once I noticed how small the cavity of my Red Snapper was, I didn't think it was big enough to hold all of the ingredients needed. So Giada's Red Snapper was probably much bigger than mine. Nevertheless, I stuffed the Red Snapper's cavity to it's maximum capacity (that rhymed!) and baked it at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
While the Snapper was cooking, I made Lemon Spaghetti, by tossing cooked spaghetti with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and parmesan. If the spaghetti was too dry, you could add cooking liquid leftover from the cooked pasta.

It didn't look this scary in person!

Once the fish was flaky and done cooking, my mom (I was too scared to do this part) removed the head and the  backbone from the fish, resulting in two pieces of the fish. This recipe was something I was very interested in making, because it wasn't a typical recipe. I didn't taste a lot of flavor from the fennel and onion, but the lemon in the fish was very apparent. The Red Snapper wasn't amazing, but I liked it! The lemon spaghetti was the perfect side dish for this fish. I think the Lemon Spaghetti will be my go to fish companion when I make fish in the future. I didn't really like using an entire fish because it was so much more of a hassle than just buying fish fillets. Although, I'm really glad I got to experience how to roast and entire fish, and what kind of flavors go well with fish.

Time Spent: 2 hours

Verdue al Forno

Before baking

Prior to starting the E.V.P., I had no idea what Verdue al Forno ("vegetables in the oven") was. It's basically baked zucchini with heavy cream, cheese, and breadcrumbs. Giada has a description for every recipe, sometimes containing tips or a fact about where the recipe came from. For the Verdue al Forno recipe, Giada said to feel free to use another vegetable replacing the zucchini. Not being a fan of zucchini, I decided to substitute with cauliflower, although many vegetables would be pretty tasty with cream and cheese. To start, I cut the cauliflower and shredded mozzarella & fontina (YES!) cheese. In a dish coated with olive oil, I put one layer of cauliflower, followed by salt and

After baking

pepper. I decided to add a small pinch of red pepper flakes and garlic salt to avoid any blandness. Heavy cream is poured onto the cauliflower, followed by fontina, mozzarella, and romano cheeses. Breadcrumbs are sprinkled onto the top and two more of these layers are added. The problem with using cauliflower was that I had no idea of how much time to bake it, since the time listed in the cookbook was for cooking zucchini. I decided to cook it for the time the book said, taste it, then see how tender it was. So I let the Verdue al Forno bake for 40 minutes, tasted it, and let it cook for 20 minutes more. The end result was pretty good! I thought I would absolutely love it because it sounded like my kind of dish, but it was a little boring to me. I didn't mind eating it at all, but I just wish it had some "wow" to it! Maybe I can try to improve the recipe to my liking another time!

Time Spent: 2 hours

For breakfast this morning - waffle with peaches, a drizzle of syrup, and cannoli cream :)

When Something is Bitter...

... you add a little sweetness! :)

The only thing I knew about broccoli rabe was that Giada used it a lot on the Everyday Italian show, and that it was a leafy green vegetable. What my mom told me before I started cooking it was that it had a very bitter flavor. She liked the bitter flavor of broccoli rabe, but that information made me not so excited to make it. I knew raisins and pine nuts would be added to the broccoli rabe, but I was still anxious to see just how bitter the leaves were after they were cooked. I blanched the broccoli rabe VERY quickly in boiling, salted water and shocked it ice water to stop the cooking process. Afterwards, I sauteed red pepper flakes and garlic in olive oil, then added the blanched broccoli rabe and raisins. Once everything was cooked together for about six minutes, toasted pine nuts were tossed in for the finishing touch. First, I tasted the broccoli rabe without raisins in order to experience its true bitterness. My mom was right; the broccoli rabe wasn't so bitter that I couldn't eat it, but it was bitter enough for me not enjoy it very much. Next, I tasted it with the raisins and pine nuts and it was much better. This vegetable dish was quick and simple, and had an awesome depth of flavors. The only thing wrong was that I didn't like eating it unless there were raisins and/or pine nuts in every bite. I never would have tried raisins or pine nuts with a leafy green if it wasn't for this recipe. I would use the recipe again, but probably use spinach instead.

Along with the broccoli rabe, I completed Giada's recipe for Grilled Jumbo Shrimp.

Althoughhhh, I kind of cheated with this recipe because the shrimp were kind of jumbo... and I kind of grilled them... Jumbo shrimp are defined as shrimp that are 11 to 15 per pound. Extra large shrimp are defined as 16  to 20 per pound. My grocery store didn't even sell the 11 to 15 per pound shrimp, and even if they did they would have been way to pricey. I decided to use 16 to 20 per pound. Next was the grilling part. This past Sunday when I made these recipes, it was a very rainy day, meaning I couldn't use the grill outside. I had no choice but to complete these recipes that day, sooo I plugged in my good ol' George Forman Grill. While the grill was heating, I seasoned the shrimp in a little Olive Oil, garlic salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I left the top of the Formal Grill open and grilled the fresh shrimp until they were pink. They were delicious!! In the past I have only been eating shrimp that were already cooked and frozen, so fresh shrimp was something new to me. I really liked the fresh taste of these shrimp and I would definitely make them again. Putting these shrimp in some spaghetti would be a nice dish too!

Time Spent: 1 hour and 30 mins

I've decided to update my "time spent"s on all my blog posts because I've realized that cleaning up after making dishes takes up a lot of time, so it's only fair to include that time in my hours spent on this project.

Ciao!

FIRST EVER COOKING VLOG

This was sooo random, but really fun!! My brother and I decided to create a video of me making one of Giada's dessert recipes. This was much more work than a typical blog post, but it was cool to switch things up and it'll (hopefully) be a nice addition to my graduation project presentation that I'll eventually have to make.

A high five goes out to Tobin John, my older brother who filmed and edited this video. Enjoy!

Time spent: 35 minutes

Video filming/editing: 2 hours

My Biggest Fears About Grocery Shopping Revealed!

Mushroom Blend

Today was my first day of cooking since I started school, and I'd say it went pretty well! After cooking I still had enough time to clean up, get my all homework done, relax, and even write this blog post! The whole getting out early on Wednesdays thing really helps me out. On the menu for today was Wild Mushroom Risotto with Peas, and Risotto al Salto. With mushrooms being one of my most favored vegetables, I was looking forward to making this risotto. Last month, I made basic risotto and I really liked the flavor, as well as the texture of Giada's recipe. For this risotto it was the same method, but with a few extra steps. The recipe called for dried porcini mushrooms, which I never heard of, but assumed the grocery store would contain. Sadly, I was wrong. When grocery shopping, one of the things I fear the most is not finding an item on my list... and running my cart into someone else's when turning around a corner.... Once I can't find an ingredient, (this brings me back to my smoked mozzarella/pepper jack fiasco) I think of a substitute, or look at the situation as an opportunity to experiment with other ingredients. Once I figured out dried porcini mushrooms were no where to be found, thoughts flowed through my head on what to do, while I skimmed through the mushroom section in the produce aisle. I noticed a package stating "Mushroom Blend." Ah ha! I figured this blend of baby portabellas, shitake, and oyster mushrooms would add a depth of flavors that could maybe make up for the absence of dried porcini mushrooms. The recipe also called for some white mushrooms, so I purchased those as well.
To make Wild Mushroom Risotto, you start with sauteing onions in butter and adding the mushrooms and minced garlic once those onions are tender. After the whole mushroom/onion mixture is cooked for about 10 minutes, arbrio rice is added, followed by white wine. If you remember the last time I made risotto, I wasn't able to get... or rather, go with my parents to get dry white wine in time to make the recipe. This time I was able to get the dry white wine, also known as Chardonnay (according to the guy at Wine and Spirits) for my risotto. So, I added the white wine and cooked the mixture until the liquids were absorbed by the rice. In one cup intervals, I added simmering chicken broth to the rice mixture, giving the rice enough time to absorb the broth slowly. After about 30 minutes of slowly adding broth, the risotto was cooked. Thawed frozen peas and Parmesan cheese were the finishing touches to this risotto. This was a very good recipe, and an awesome side dish! The white wine really added a nice flavor to the risotto, which surprised me because I usually don't like the flavor of wine in food. The Chardonnay complemented the other flavors very well. The mushroom blend didn't make as big as a flavor impact as I had hoped. I couldn't really tell the difference between the shitake, oyster, and baby bellas, from the normal white mushrooms. I hope to eventually try this recipe with dried porcini mushrooms as Giada intended. Although I really liked the flavors in the risotto, and I would say this was successful.

Once the risotto was done, I realized there was a recipe in Everyday Italian that used Wild Mushroom Risotto as its main ingredient. Risotto al Salto, translated as "rice cake," consists of Wild Mushroom Risotto with extra Parmesan mixed in, pressed into a skillet and cooked until it has a brown crust. I didn't want to use all my risotto for this recipe, so I made a mini Risotto al Salto. Like the Arancini di Riso I made last month, it was a really abnormal recipe that I never would of thought of making. The golden crust on the bottom was interesting and I liked the taste, but I didn't think the recipe really had a point to it. I prefer just to eat the risotto in its basic form. It was still cool to try out a different technique though!

Time Spent: 2 hours

Ziti, Breadsticks, Hurricanes, and High School

               My disappearance from the blogging world has been the result of loosing power thanks to Irene, and going back to school after three, wonderful months of summer. I was worried about continuing to work on the E.V.P. (Everyday Italian Project...abbreviating makes things so much easier) because being in 11th grade now, I know it's going to be a challenge balancing school work with the project. Last week was just so hectic, I decided to hold off on the cooking in order to get my head on straight for school. I am LONG overdue for my post about the Ziti with Smoked Mozzarella, Asparagus, and Prosciutto as well as the  Cheese and Rosemary Breadsticks, which I completed about two weeks ago. When I went to the grocery store that Monday, I found every ingredient on my list EXCEPT smoked mozzarella. I thought, "What could I use to replace smoked mozzarella??" I could have just used normal mozzarella, but I wanted something with a little more oomph. I looked around the cheese isle and saw pepper jack cheese. Hmmm... it was completely different type of cheese than mozzarella, that I actually never saw used in a pasta dish. I grabbed the pepper jack anyway, thinking it would add a good kick to the dish. To make this Ziti dish, you start with boiling pasta, and when it is half-way cooked you add in the asparagus in the boiling water. Once both the pasta and asparagus are cooked, you drain them both, and saute minced garlic cloves in olive oil for about a minute. Then, you add the ziti and asparagus into that olive oil. If the pasta is looking a little dry, you can add some reserved cooking liquid from the boiled pasta & asparagus. Next, sliced prosciutto, cheese, and basil are added to the dish. The dish was very simple and fresh!! I don't think it was a good idea to use the pepper jack, only because it didn't melt well. The spicy-ness from the cheese really did add a nice kick that I wanted for this dish. If I were to make this dish again, I would use normal mozzarella and add in crushed red pepper flakes.

              The Cheese and Rosemary bread sticks seemed like a fun, easy side dish to make. I was right! You start with pre-made bread stick dough, and roll it in a Gruyere, Parmesan, and rosemary mixture. Gruyere cheese was a cheese I never tried before, and I got a little worried when I smelled an aroma of pineapple while grating it. After tasting the Gruyere cheese I was pleasantly surprised - it was nutty with a little fruity flavor, which explains why I smelled pineapple. Giada instructed me to cut each pre-cut piece of bread stick dough in half so the end result would be crispy, thin, bread sticks. I twisted these bread sticks to give a more interesting presentation. The end result was delicious! The Gruyere and Parmesan's yummy, nutty flavor increased after being toasted in the oven, and the rosemary added a pleasant fresh, woodsy taste. I would definitely make these again and I wouldn't do anything to change the recipe! I had trouble staying away from these bread sticks - I could eat 5 without even realizing! Delizioso!!
             Now that has school has begun, I need to figure out a game plan of how I'll get to complete a good amount of recipes each week. As of now, I think it's best to make two dishes every Wednesday (since I get out from school early every Wednesday), and two dishes on the weekend, or when I have free time during the week. I will think this current game plan through, and hopefully start cooking again this coming Monday!

The result of having one bread stick-dough piece left, and no more cheese mixture - Sugar coated bread stick heart dipped in nutella :)

Time spent: 2 hours