Pickled

...vegetables, that is, although I wouldn't be that surprised if my liver were in the same condition. The Christmas period can be quite punishing what with work parties, catching up with old friends, and any other excuse to go out and celebrate.

Recently, myself and a bunch of food blogger friends went for a quick bite after a wine tasting at Ping Pong, a chain of dim sum restaurants. The dim sum is pretty average, but what stood out was a dish of pickled celery (right) which was immediately ordered due to my love of all

things, excepting eggs and walnuts, pickled. It was a rather meagre dish which was wolfed down with gusto, and I decided then to have a bash at making it myself.

So, a month or so later, my sister gave me Yan-Kit So's Classic Chinese Cookery book for Christmas. It's a lovely book with a great chapter on Chinese ingredients and full of brightly coloured and well styled photos. A quick flick through drew my attention immediately to a recipe called 'Chinese Pickled Vegetables' - just what I wanted. So, armed with the recipe, I set about making it last night, with some minor alterations.

Yan-Kit So's recipe doesn't use chillis or sesame, but I added these as I couldn't see it working out badly.

Chinese Pickled Vegetables

Makes enough to accompany a meal for 4

1/2 a cucumber
350gr carrots
5 sticks of celery
2 tbsp salt
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 red chillis
A small pinch of chilli flakes
1 tsp sesame seeds
A drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Slice the cucumber in half lengthways and deseed. Slice into even batons. Peel the carrots and slice into the same sized batons as the cucumber, and do the same for the celery. I find that if you run a vegetable peeler down the length of the celery, it'll get rid of any unwanted stringy bits. Put all the vegetables in a colander and sprinkle with the salt, tossing it all together so that it all gets an even coating. Leave to drain for 2 1/2 hours. While draining, the vegetables will limpen slightly, but this is normal.

Next, give the vegetables a quick rinse and pat dry, leaving them still slightly damp. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the vinegar (don't do what I did and mistaken mirin for rice wine vinegar - luckily I noticed in time!). Add the chopped up chillis, the chilli flakes and the sesame seeds, then add the vegetables. Toss well, so that all the vegetables get a coating, then drizzle with the sesame oil and toss again. Cover, and put in the fridge overnight.

I had a quick taste of them today, and the result is delicious. The celery loses it's raw flavour (which I'm not a huge fan of) but still keeps it's crunch, as does the carrot and the cucumber. It's sweet yet salty, and a nice subtle tang from the rice vinegar. It packs quite a punch, so if you're not a big chilli head then perhaps leave out the chilli flakes. I doubt these will make it to the table; I keep nibbling on them here and there. The sesame also enhances the sweetness of the vegetables, although next time I think I will up the cucumber and decrease some celery, as I think the cucumber is the star of the show.

Sometimes Simple Is Best

When does the meat feast end? When I said my parents go over the top with Christmas food orders, I really wasn't joking. By the time we'd whacked this hefty three-rib of beef in the oven, we'd already had goose, ham and pigeon breasts in days previous. Morning, noon and night was domintated by conversations of "so, what shall we have with the (insert meat here)?"

Christmas dinner has to be fairly extravagant, or else it just ends up being another roast dinner. Time is taken over what to enhance the stuffing with, and what can be done to jazz up the sprouts. Some, I hear, even make roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes! It's an event in itself, one that many people get worked into a stressful frenzy about.

Similarly, as pigeon is such a treat, we spent a good while thinking about what would work well in a salad to accompany it. As it happens, a soft leaf with toasted pine nuts, red onions, beetroot, tomato and grilled fennel work very well indeed.

So, when it came to the beef, we were exhausted of ideas. Simple is best, I declared - roasted garlic mash, green beans and red wine gravy, mustard and horseradish on the side. It was a heavenly piece of beef; well-aged, cooked to rare and extremely tender and succulent. As I learnt from my steak at Hawksmoor, no fiddling is required when you have a quality piece of meat.

A Festive Salad

There are many things I love about Christmas, mostly revolving around food and drink. It doesn't hold any religious significance for me whatsoever, but rather a time to see family and to indulge a bit (a lot).

As good as the main event is (and it definitely was; goose is king of the birds), it's often the bits around the main event that excite me the most. The Gravadlax is something I get particularly excited about as Pops makes it so well - who can resist dill cured salmon? Boxing Day breakfast MUST consist of bubble and squeak, one of the only times I have the chance to eat it. Branston pickle, pickled onions and ketchup are the perfect accompaniments.

There must also be a ham and lentil soup along the way, made from the ham bone. Much to our distress, there was a mix-up at the butchers and we got a boneless gammon. But, no matter, a gammon shank was found at the trusty supermarket. All is not lost.

Of course, a family of four doesn't easily eat a 5.6kg goose and a 2kg ham in two days (though we gave it a good go) without a fair share of leftovers. The beetroot and tomato salad is pretty and festive, and provides a nice healthy side for the cold cut meats and pickles. A salad? At Christmas? Well, there's only so many sprouts one can eat...

Beetroot & Tomato Salad

Serves 4 as a side

250gr cherry tomatoes, halved

250gr cooked (not pickled) beetroot, quartered

1 large shallot, sliced finely

A handful of curly leaf parsley

A large pinch of salt

A small pinch of sugar

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Plenty of black pepper

In a large bowl, combine the pepper, salt, sugar, balsamic vinegar and the oil. Whisk into a dressing, then add the parsley chopped finely with the shallots. Leave for 10 minutes to let the flavours steep, then add the tomatoes and the beetroot. This goes very well with cold ham and hot boiled new potatoes.

Merry Christmas!

Gravadlax & Guinness:

Roast Goose:

Vino:

Board games:

The aftermath:

Chocolate and Pistachio Yule Log

The traditional Christmas yule log has been our dessert of choice for years during the holidays - and this year I finally made my own. The versatility of this dessert is great. You can flavor the filling however you choose and add flavoring to the genoise cake too. You can also make a simple whipped cream to cover the cake instead of the more traditional Christmassy buttercream. I loved the green color of the cake - it made it look wonderfully festive for a night of family gathering around a plethora of food.

Recipe
For the genoise:
4 eggs
120 grams of sugar
60 grams of flour
60 grams of powdered pistachios
A pinch of salt
For the filling:
1 container of mascarpone
2 tablespoons of melted dark chocolate, cooled
For the buttercream:
2 eggs
100 grams of confectioner's sugar
250 grams of butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

For the genoise:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Separate the yolks from the whites. In a bowl, mix the yolks and sugar until the mixture whitens. Add the flour, and powdered pistachio gradually. In a separate bowl, add the pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites in the yolk mixture until the mixture is homogeneous and smooth.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the batter to form a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Even out the batter using a spatula. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cake is done when you can gently press the cake with your thumb and the imprint disappears after a couple seconds.
Filling:
Mix the mascarpone and melted chocolate in a bowl while the cake is baking, and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Lay a damp dish towel onto a flat surface and cover with a large piece of parchment paper. Once the cake is done, immediately invert it onto the parchment paper. Gently start rolling the cake (as you would sushi) until you form a log. This must be done while the cake is still warm in order for it not to crack. Leave the rolled cake to cool down.
Buttercream:
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk while progressively adding the sugar. Continue beating it over a bain-marie until the mixture thickens. Remove it from the heat and continue beating it until it cools completely. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and salt using an electric mixer until it ressembles whipped cream (5-10 minutes). Add the vanilla. Add the butter to the cooled egg mixture. The eggs must be cooled in order not to curdle. Mix until the buttercream is homogenous.
To assemble:
Unroll the cake and gently spread the mascarpone mixture on one side. Make sure the layer is even and not to close to the borders. Gently roll the cake up again. An additional, optional step is to wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, twist it at the ends, and let sit in the fridge for 20 minutes to compress the layers together. Cover the cake with buttercream and decorate as you please. Enjoy!

Venetian Food Delights

Recent traveling has made it difficult to post as much as I would want, but here is a little taste of the beauties found in the fish and vegetable market in Venice. More is to come, this is just a little amuse-bouche!

From left to right, red beans by the dozen, fruit and vegetables ready to be tasted by a passing bird, fresh sardines, purple artichokes, zucchini flowers, fresh scallops being served, octopus and a view of the Venice outdoor fish market at closing.

Leftovers - Egg Fried Rice

Fried rice dishes are one of my favourites; for me, they're easy to make and are a good one dish meal that you can chuck all your leftover odds and ends into. It's best to use cold, cooked rice preferably from the night before. Usually, I purposefully make extra rice for this.

Many people have different methods of making egg fried rice, such as making a thin omelette and then shredding it to add to the rice, or cooking the egg first and then adding the rice. I like all my grains of rice to be coated with the egg, so I whisk up the egg and then add it while stir-frying the rice.

You can use almost any vegetable you have that needs using up. What I have set out below is just what I used in the picture, but shredded cabbage, fine green beans, peppers, or even broccoli (steamed till al dente first) work very well. Whatever you have lying around, really. Just add the vegetables that take a little longer to cook first.

Egg Fried Rice

Serves 2

200gr cold leftover rice

2 eggs, beaten in a bowl

2 cloves garlic, minced

1" ginger, chopped finely

2 red chillis, chopped finely (optional)

200gr leftover meat, such as roasted chicken or pork. Alternatively, raw chicken or prawns can be used

A handful of frozen peas

2 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

1 carrot, diced

A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

A few sprigs of coriander

3 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese rice wine

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the wok or a non-stick frying pan (must be non-stick or you'll have a miserable mess) until nearly smoking, then add the oil until it shimmers. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry briskly, taking care not to let it burn. Add the carrot, then add the rice, breaking up any clumps with wet hands. Then add the peas, the rice wine and the soy sauce. Stir fry briskly on a high heat and then add the cherry tomatoes. Lastly, the egg is poured in. Stir fry only until the egg has just set and take off the heat immediately. Add the spring onion and the coriander, and serve.

For any already cooked meat or prawns, add this just before the egg so that it just heats through. For any raw meat, brown in the oil before the garlic, ginger and chilli and remove; add it back in when stir-frying the rice before the egg goes in, to cook it through.

Chilli oil or chilli sauce complement egg fried rice perfectly.

Grapefruit, Avocado and Mint Salad

As I can tell from the recent pictures I published on tastespotting, Christmas spirit in truly taken over the food-blogosphere! I couldn't get enough of all your wonderful cookie pictures, and published a dozen in the past hour alone. Well, I am in the Christmas spirit too, and have a list of cookies and treats I want to make for the celebration. I'm sure you all agree that the holidays can however also be a little over-bearing. Sometimes, as a counterpart to all the craziness, I need a simple salad to get me through. This does it every time. Although, this salad is wonderful on a warm summer day, I also find it deliciously refreshing when you want something light but still satisfying in the winter. So here goes! I also love this salad because the acidity of the grapefruit helps to keep the avocado nice and green (as does the lemon in the dressing) so it's easy to make in advance for entertaining. However, if after a light meal you still want a treat, chocolate truffles, lemon ricotta cookies or panettone and chocolate bread pudding should surely do, right?

Recipe (for 4)
1 large grapefruit, cut into wedges
1 large avocado, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
A handful of mint leaves

Mix the grapefruit and avocado in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil and lemon. Taste the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the salad and garnish with fresh mint. Enjoy!

All Sausaged Out

Oof. Having just returned from 4 days in Berlin, I don't think I'll be eating any wurst for a while.

It's tricky travelling with a vegetarian, especially in Germany. She didn't suffer too badly, but it also meant we didn't go anywhere really traditional to eat. Still, I didn't do too badly; above, currywurst from Konnopke's Imbiss, a snack stand under the U-Bahn rails, recommended to me by two separate friends.

We went to a couple of Christmas markets too; drank the ubiquitous Glühwein, made arses of ourselves on the ice rink, and ate some bratwurst. Good times!

I love Berlin; I wish I hadn't left. I found it strange that there wasn't one main central area, but I liked how there were lots of little centres dotted around. I liked how you could get a seat on the U-Bahn, and there was no pushing around; some areas were positively deserted (until Friday night). I also liked how everyone doesn't go out until quite late, like in a lot of European cities - and smoking in (some) bars! There were snack stalls everywhere; I'd heard that Berliners like to eat on the go, and yet there wasn't much rubbish around at all.

I couldn't leave Berlin without eating potatoes and Sauerkraut. We went to a restaurant called Chez Gino and tried to decipher the menu. In the end, I asked the waitress for a recommendation. She told me the Boudin Noir with potato puree and Sauerkraut is what she would have picked. With some apprehension as I'm not even a fan of black pudding, I went with her suggestion (more sausage!).

Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a photo at the beginning, so I have just a half eaten one. I loved the sauerkraut; it's tang cut through the richness of the sausage perfectly. My dining companions (especially the veggie) turned rather green when I explained what the sausage consisted of, but I actually really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would. It's texture was very soft, with a nice, almost crunchy casing.

What I have also discovered is that Jagerbombs are bad.

Panettone and Chocolate Bread Pudding

Bread pudding has always been a great way to use up stale bread and give it a wonderful luscious second life. In French, bread pudding is called "pain perdu" which literally means lost bread - and was one of the great recipes cooks came up with to use leftovers. So by all means, this recipe could be made with sourdough stale bread, or any kind of bread that can be sunk in a flavorful liquid, but I cheated a little. I used panettone, a wonderfully fragrant Italian bread that resembles coffee cake. You can find panettone made with dried fruit, and all kind of elaborate concoctions. The bread itself is slightly sweet and dry and soaks up custard in the most beautiful way. I'm not sure the picture really does the dessert justice: when you take it out of the oven, the bread puffs up, the custard is almost bubbly and the chocolate seeps through. I took the picture a little late (yes.. I had to taste one of the batches first) so the bread isn't at its puffed potential, but I'm sure you get the idea!

Recipe (serves 4)
2 eggs
1 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of white sugar
1 teaspoon of Grand Marnier
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small panettone loaf with candied lemon and raisins
2 tablespoons of bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Butter, to butter the ramekins
4 oven-proof individual-sized ramekins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sugar, Grand Marnier, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Roughly slice the pannetone into one inch cubes. Butter the ramekins and place half of the panettone cubes at the bottom of each. Disperse 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate in each ramekin and cover with the remaining panettone. Pour the egg mixture over the panettone, and lightly push down with a fork until the panettone is covered with egg mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the egg mixture is just set. Serve warm with chocolate shavings. Enjoy!

Herbed Shrimp Brochettes with Mango and Red Onion Salsa

This recipe is inspired from a dish I used to make when I worked in the catering business. We used to serve individual bite-size shrimp skewers with a dipping mango sauce as a canape to be passed around by waiters at cocktail parties. The basic premise is that mango and shrimp are a great pairing, and that marinating the shrimp in herbs gives it great freshness and flavor. I like to serve it in a more casual way for family and friends, but it's easily made suitable for a fancier occasion.

I find shrimp to be a surprisingly easy ingredient to use. Meats, chicken and fish can be a little tougher because you often have to use a thermometer, or know how to touch the product to know its level of done-ness. Shrimp however, is done when it's entirely pink in color, which is generally very fast! The trick, I think, is to not overcook it, because it can quickly become rubbery and chewy. For this shrimp marinade, just be sure never to use the juice from the lime because the acidity in the juice will cook the shrimp in no time. To me, the more shrimp, the merrier!

Recipe (for 8 brochettes)
32 medium sized shrimp
2 green onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup of parsley, coarsely chopped
12 large mint leaves
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Freshly ground pepper
8 skewers

Salsa:
Juice of 1 lime
1 mango, finely diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
5 mint leaves, roughly chopped

In a blender, add the green onions, garlic, cilantro, parsley, mint and zest. Blend until the mixture is homogeneous. Continue blending while slowly adding the olive oil. The final result should look like a thick and chunky pesto. Season with black pepper. Place the mixture into a sealable plastic bag. Add the uncooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp. Close the bag and move the shrimp around to make sure the marinade coats each and every one. Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour, but preferably for 24 hours in the fridge.

Take the shrimp out of the fridge half and hour before you want to make it. Soak the skewers in a bowl full of water for 20 minutes to prevent them from burning. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Season the shrimp with salt and place 4 shrimp on each skewer. Place the skewers in one layer on an aluminum-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the shrimp has just entirely turned pink in color.

While the shrimp is cooking, make the salsa. Add the diced mango and red onion in a bowl. Add the lime juice and stir. Add the chopped mint and stir again.

Serve the warm shrimp with the salsa. Enjoy!

Whitley Neill Gin - My Favourite Cocktail

I love gin. Gin is my favourite spirit; it's great with ice cold tonic and a big fat wedge of lime. I never used to like it when I was younger, especially when everyone said it makes you cry and it has a bad reputation for being 'Mother's Ruin'. A holiday in Goa changed all that; fresh lime juice, soda, a little sugar and a shot of gin converted me nicely. On occasion, I have been known to drink gin n' juice (of the orange kind, or sometimes even pineapple). So it was with great excitement that I attended the Whitley Neill 'Top of the Tree' Challenge bar crawl, to taste the original cocktails in four different bars, created with Whitley Neill gin.

Whitley Neill is made in England and inspired by Africa. At the event, I met Johnny Neill who started the company. He told me that this gin is made with nine different botanicals, two specifically from Africa to make a warmly spiced gin. What's more, a part of the profits is donated to Tree Aid; even more of a reason to drink it.

We started off at the Lobby Bar at One Aldwych and kicked off with a cocktail called 'Africa', spiced with star anise and cinnamon. I'm not a great fan of cinnamon, but the Amaretto that was also in the drink mellowed it out somewhat. The bar snacks at the Lobby Bar were gorgeous; crystallised physalis, of which I haven't eaten before, bursted in the mouth through the initial hard sugar coating. We also had some huge, buttery and luridly green olives that got exclaimations of deliciousness. I wanted to eat them all.

With four bars in total and many cocktails to sample, we moved through each one fairly quickly, but not so that we were rushed. The definite highlight for me was a cocktail pictured above, called 'Passing Thyme'. We had it at a bar called Bureau in Kingly Street; as we all traipsed in we inadvertently gate-crashed Labour MP Diane Abbott giving a speech about Barack Obama winning the election. Rather surreal!

Here is the recipe:

Cocktail: Passing Thyme

Bar: Bureau

Bartender: Lewis Wilkinson

50ml Whitley Neill

3 x sprigs fresh Thyme
20ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
2 dash of peach bitters
Top with soda

Glass: Collins.

Muddle, shake, strain, top with soda. Garnish with lemon wedge and thyme sprigs.

This cocktail was great. I've had a thyme sorbet before and thought it worked really well, perhaps better than in savoury dishes. The peach bitters really complemented the gin and made for a very refreshing drink and I did comment that it was perhaps the only one I could have had more than one of so far.

So there it was, my new favourite cocktail. Other bloggers were invited and have written up about it (with better photos than mine): Niamh, Helen, Chris, Tim, Melanie, tikichris, Annie, and Life On The Edge. Tikichris especially has a good set of photos of all the cocktails on Flickr, here.

4 Ways with Chocolate Truffles

I love making these truffles anytime there is something to celebrate: they're always a great treat to bring over for a dinner party or for a potluck and are delicious. I used to make regular cocoa-dipped truffles for years, until I started dipping them in different coatings. I always serve truffles like this now - they are easy to make, lovely to serve and the toppings add a nice crunch to the velvety and smooth chocolaty inside.

I think Christmas platters should be able to please all tastes, which is why I would serve these rich balls of decadence with some lighter cookies (like the ricotta lemon cookies with lemon glaze). It's all about balance, variety and moderation is it not?

Recipe
Makes about 50 truffles
1/2 pound good quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound good quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of heavy cream
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier
1/2 teaspoon of good vanilla extract
One handful of shredded coconut
One handful of cocoa powder
One handful of chopped pistachios
One handful of ground almonds

Place the chocolates in a heat-proof mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to bubble. Pour the cream over the chocolate. With a wire whisk, stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the Grand Marnier, orange zest and vanilla. Refrigerate for an hour or until the chocolate mixture has hardened.
Using 2 small spoons, form round balls of the chocolate mixture. Then, using the palm of your hand, make the balls as round as possible and dip in the respective toppings. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for another hour. Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving.

Orzo Pasta

I often go through stages of eating one thing somewhat obsessively (I've only just kicked my Hula Hoop addiction). I recently picked up some orzo, meaning 'barley' in Italian, from a local deli and was instantly hooked. It looks a lot like rice, so there was no surprise that I'd like it, really.

I've had it before at barbeques, deliciously dressed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and oregano but I wanted to make a more substantial meal of it. I had also had my eye on this recipe, and decided to incorporate the two as I was a little short on time, resulting in a rather Italian-Turkish twist.

Lamb & Aubergine Orzo Pasta

Serves 2

200gr orzo pasta
200gr minced lamb
1 medium aubergine
1 red pepper, chopped roughly
1 red chilli, sliced finely
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 spring onion, sliced finely
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
A handful of frozen peas
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped roughly
The juice of half a lemon

In rapidly boiling salted water, cook the orzo for about 8 minutes until tender. Drain and toss with a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil (I used Good Oil). Meanwhile, slice the aubergine into large chunks. In a non-stick frying pan, heat some oil up and fry the aubergine chunks until they're browned. Set aside on kitchen paper.

Minced lamb can be quite fatty, so I fried the lamb in a dry pan and then drained the fat off. Add the clove of garlic, minced, and stir-fry on a high heat. Add the red pepper, chilli and the frozen peas, then add the aubergine back into the pan. Carry on frying until the aubergine becomes soft and the peas are tender. Add the pomegranate molasses, the lemon juice, spring onion and the parsley, then toss through with the pasta and season.

I ate this warm rather than piping hot, and it tasted great with a complexity of flavours. The pomegranate molasses (unsurprisingly) lent a fruity background and the lemon and parsley cut through the rich flavour of the lamb.

Ricotta and Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze

It seems that Christmas started even earlier than usual this year. The Christmas lights have been put up for weeks in downtown Montreal screaming for me to get into the kitchen and start baking. It took me a little while to get into the spirit, but I think I'm finally there. I had seen these little Giada de Laurentiis' cookies on Deborah's blog, and I immediately knew I wanted to try them. Ricotta and lemon are a true match made in heaven in my book, and ricotta is a great way to ensure that cookies and cakes stay moist and light. Light and moist they were. I am adding these to my holiday favorites.

Recipe (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Store in an air-tight container.

Penne with Prosciutto, Broccoli Rabe and Artichokes

As I have already mentioned, I am always trying out new pasta recipes to make on those days where you don't have too much time but still want something hearty and comforting to fill you up. I made this pasta a couple days ago, and I think it fits that motto pretty well. I used some leftover prosciutto from my eggs baked in tomatoes recipe, and some delicious broccoli rabe I had picked up this weekend. I've also taken a liking to using jarred artichokes. I usually try to get good quality ones that are stored in oil and spices and I find myself coming up with new ways to use them all the time.

On a different note, I will be taking Chocolate Shavings to France very soon! I'm going home for the holidays as well as a couple days to Venice which I am very excited about. I have a list of French cookbooks I can't wait to pick up, local markets I am planning on visiting and foods that I've missed and am looking forward to indulging in. As an early Christmas gift to all of you, I am taking any France-related food requests - so if there's a French dish you want to know more about or a type of recipe, ingredient or store you've been looking for, I am offering to be your official guide to Paris! I hope to hear from all of you!

Recipe (for 2)
180 grams of penne
4 cloves of garlic
2 small bunches of broccoli rabe, stems removed
8 artichokes, jarred
2 thin slices of prosciutto
2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan, and extra for serving
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. In a separate pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for 2 minutes. Immediately strain, and transfer to a bowl of water with ice to stop the cooking process. In the meantime, thinly slice the garlic. Add a good drizzle of olive oil to a pan, add the garlic in a single layer and place the pan on medium heat. Cook the garlic on one side for 2 minutes and then flip them and cook for another minute. Add the broccoli rabe and saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Coarsely chop the artichokes and add them to the pan. Cut the prosciutto into bite-size pieces and add to the pan. Make sure that the prosciutto has direct contact with the bottom of the pan, and don't move it for a couple minutes so it has a chance to crisp up.

Strain the pasta adding a couple teaspoons of the cooking water to the pan. Add the pasta gently, and mix the ingredients so they meld in nicely. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the Parmesan and stir. Transfer to a bowl and serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and some Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!