Just Peachy : Prosecco Sangria

During the summertime one of my favorite drinks to whip up for BBQs is sangria. Now mind you, the sangria that I make is no frou-frou lightweight cocktail garnished with some citrus...no ma'am, it's a knock-you-on-your-butt weapons grade sangria. Sure there's some fruit in it but a good portion of it is made up of red wine which I then I fortify with rum. Anyhow, as of late I've been getting some rager migraines when I drink anything more than a glass of red wine so when I offered to make a batch of sangria to take to a friend's on Thursday night, I decided to dig up an alternate recipe. Something milder, lighter and without red wine. I looked at a few white wine recipes but then came across this gem from Martha Stewart (yep, Old Jailbird Marty). The recipe actually came out really good...sweet but refreshing...I'll probably make it again this summer.

Prosecco Sangria  (Martha Stewart)
Yields About 2 Quarts

Ingredients

1 peach

1 nectarine

3 apricots

5 ounces peach brandy

1 bottle (750 mL) chilled Prosecco, (Italian sparkling wine)

1 cup peach nectar

Superfine sugar (optional)


Instructions

- In a pitcher, combine peach, nectarine, and apricots, all pitted and cut into wedges.

- Stir in peach brandy; let sit at least 1 hour.

- Stir in Prosecco and peach nectar.

- Add superfine sugar, if desired.

- Serve chilled or over ice.

Ooo-la-la, Cookies!

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.” ~ Robert Fulghum


My friend Mary is an inspiration. Seems whenever I talk to her she's attending a new cooking class, going to an interesting lecture or taking on a fun sounding project like making a batch of homemade limoncello. Recently she took a class at the Whole Foods Culinary Center on how to make french macarons and asked if I'd be interested in attempting a batch at home. Would I? Does a bear poo in the woods?

Anyhow, the cookies came out a bit (ok, a lot) bigger and flatter than they should have (we think it may have been due to the weird weather we had that day -high humidity- and that we didn't have a #5 pastry tip and went with another size) but we had a lot of fun and they were extremely delicious. And I'll take tasty over pretty any day.

* Listed below is the recipe we used for the cookie batter and buttercream that Mary was given in class. We did not make the buttercream at my home, since she had some strawberry buttercream left over from the class she attended.

French Macarons  (Chef Christa Colardo, Marin Cooking)

Ingredients

7 oz. confectioner's sugar

4 oz. blanched almond meal

3 oz. egg white, room temp., preferably aged overnight

Pinch cream of tartar

1 oz. granulated sugar

Food coloring

Lemon zest (optional)


Instructions

- Sift together confectioner's sugar and almond meal. Set aside.

- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and pinch of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar and whip to stiff peak. Whites should be moist and not dry. Add food coloring (we skipped this step, preferring to go au naturale, and added some lemon zest instead).

- Add sugar-almond mixture to whites and fold until completely incorporated. The mixture should be smooth, shiny and able to flow off a spoon.

- (Using a #5 pastry tip) Pipe small rounds (about 1 1/2') onto parchment covered sheet trays. Let macarons dry at room temp 30-60 minutes.

- Bake at about  300 degrees for 16 minutes. Cool completely before filling.


Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

4 egg whites

8 oz. sugar

1 lb. butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla extract


Instructions

- Whisk egg whites and sugar in bowl of stand mixer. Place bowl on bain-marie and heat, whisking constantly until mixture is warm and sugar is completely melted-- you should feel no graininess when you rub it through your fingers.

- Remove mixture from heat and whip at high speed until it is cooled to room temperature and is light, resembling marshmallow fluff.

- With mixer on medium-high speed, add soft butter a few tablespoons at a time, allowing each addition to fully incorporate before adding another. Add vanilla and blend well.

* Note buttercream will look broken partway through the mixing process. Continue adding the butter and it will come back together.

(May be refrigerated for 5 days or frozen until needed. Return to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment of stand mixer until smooth, warming with torch if needed.)

Yield : about 5 cups.

Osaka-ya

2215 10th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818. (916) 446-6857.


How do you make a 12 year old grin from ear to ear for less than $3? Take him to Osaka-ya for a sno-cone.

Mr. S. and I found ourselves one Saturday morning recently with only one kidlet in our possession. (Kidlet #2 was at a sleepover.) We decided to pile into the car and take an excursion to the Sac Zoo and perhaps stop off for some frozen yogurt or an ice cream scoop along the way as a treat. When I mentioned Osaka-ya as an option, I got two blank faces staring back at me. Turns out neither Mr. S. nor Kidlet #1 had ever had an opportunity to experience a sno-cone at Osaka-ya before! I was a bit shocked as Osaka-ya is a downtown Sacramento institution. I believe it's been around since the mid-60's. The little mom and pop store on 10th street sells various homemade Japanese confectioneries like mochi and manju and a smattering of dry goods. When the temperature begins to creep up, they open up a walk-up window where you can order ice cream, freezes and the aforementioned delicious sno-cones. The sno-cones here are actually made from shaved ice; so they're soft, flaky and easy to spoon not those hard-as-a-rock mounds that you get at the State Fair or sporting events. There are a rainbow of flavors to choose from and for the more adventurous type, you can get a scoop of ice cream or some azuki beans thrown into the center of your frozen concoction. (Note: the portions are HUGE. We got the smaller size and were still unable to finish.) Anyhow, Kidlet #1 had a blast and has already asked when we can return to Osaka-ya. With the dog days of summer just around the corner, I'm sure we'll find ourselves at their sno-cone window soon enough.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

Sacramento has some great restaurants but some of the best dishes I've eaten in town have been at friends' homes. Last weekend Mr. S. was on a trip to Miami with his brother so I accepted invitations to two parties being thrown by friends and went alone. The first was at the Casa de Queso and was being thrown by one of the cutest couples in town, Cary & Jenny, to celebrate the 100 year birthday of their Sacramento bungalow (aka the Casa de Queso). It was a BBQ/potluck so I went simple and made some of my carmelized onion-goat cheese tartlets. The food that everyone brought was delicious and I hope to share Cary's Chile Colorado recipe in a future post. It was so good, I went back for seconds!

The second party I attended was being thrown by my friend Melanie, who's a sweetheart and quite hilarious. The party was touted as a "Gourmet Ghetto" party and the idea was to bring a non-fancy "ghetto" dish and gourmet it up. I showed up over a hour late but was still able to taste several of the dishes. It was quite the creative spread. For my contribution, I decided to make smoked salmon deviled eggs using a recipe I found on The Red Spoon.The recipe is listed below:

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs  (Adapted from Fine Cooking)
Yield 24

Ingredients

12 large hard-cooked eggs

6 ounces cold smoked salmon, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup chives, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish

1/4 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons red onion, finely minced

4 tablespoons capers, rinsed and finely minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Ground black pepper


Instructions

- Peel and halve the cooked eggs lengthwise.

- Scoop out the yolk and crumble them into a medium sized bowl.

- Add the salmon, chives, mayonnaise, onion, capers, lemon juice, lemon zest and a few good grinds of pepper (about 1/8 teaspoon).

- Stir until well combined, if too dry add 1 tablespoon of mayo at a time until desired consistency is achieved.

- Mound the filling into the cavity of the egg whites.

- Garnish with chives and several grinds of black pepper.

Babies, babies, babies are far as the eye can see...

It's been Baby Week here at Girl and Her Fork. Visited with Misa & Baby Eri on the patio of Pangaea Cafe on Monday. Brought a cherry-almond clafoutis to Amy & Baby Enza yesterday. And today is a double whammy- I get to see new momma Carren with Baby Oliver (I'm baking some fresh spanakopita to bring over to her family) and Mr. S. and I are stopping by this evening to drop off some homemade jams to Cousin Sarah and newborn Baby Jane.

The Gerber Baby, created in 1928.

Ingredient Spotlight: Beet Greens and Fresh Garbanzos

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."

~Doug Larson

Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up early all bright eyed bushy tailed and rarin' to go? Me neither...just kidding! Usually I'm crabby in the morning and the promise of a fresh cup of coffee is the only thing that lures me out of my comfy bed; but once in a awhile, I have that rare morning where I'm up at at 'em and this past Sunday was one of those days. I hit up the farmers' market, picked up my homemade jam and even swung by the awesome Mexican mercado by my house-- all before noon! While I was at the farmers' market I ran across some fresh garbanzo beans. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but I bought them anyway. I was a bit surprised when the vendor handed me a monster-sized bag with the plant, roots, pods and all. I had a fun time though plucking them off the plant and then shelling the pods. It one of those activities that's simultaneously tedious and relaxing. All I was missing was a rocking chair for the porch.

Come Monday night, Mr. S. and I decided to grill up some fresh swordfish that we had procured from the Nugget in West Sac. We served it up with some delectable truffle butter, basmalti rice and some sautéed beet greens. Have you had beet greens before? They're fab! We love them. Kind of like chard but a tad sweeter and super easy to cook. Anyhow, I wanted to serve up the fresh garbanzos but wasn't quite sure how I wanted to cook them. On the web, I found suggestions for eating them raw or roasting them in the pod, so I decided to just wing it.

Beet Greens

Ingredients

Greens from 2 bunches of beets

1 T olive oil

1 small sweet onion, diced

Fresh ground pepper & salt, to taste


Instructions

- Wash the greens in cold water. Tear into 2-3 inch pieces.

- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat

- Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Simmer until translucent.

- Add the beet greens. Stir continuously. Cook until wilted.

- Season with salt and pepper.



Feisty Fresh Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients

2 cups fresh garbanzo beans, shelled

1 t or T sriracha, depending on how spicy you'd like it

1 T olive oil

Salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste

Half a lime


Instructions

- Boil a pot of water. Once water is at a rolling boil, blanch the beans for about two minutes.

- Remove beans from water. Drain. Then shock the beans in ice water. Drain and dry.

- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.

- Add blanched beans. Sautée.

- Add sriracha. Stir well.

- Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

- Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the top.

Cheese Making Part I : Must-Try Mozzarella

John Lennon was once quoted as saying, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Wise man, that John Lennon.  I know that my life always seems to fly by and before I can get a blog post written, I'm off to another activity. So pardon my tardiness but this should have been completed back in late April. Yes, I said late APRIL (hangs head down in shame). What can I say? I've been busy living. ;) 

Anyhow around Easter time, I was singing the blues and my friend Cate took it upon herself to break me out of my funk by graciously inviting me to her family's home and vineyard (Twisted Roots Vineyard) in Lodi. I took her up on her offer and am so glad I did. Her family was so hospitable and friendly, Easter dinner was delicious and look at how beautiful the view from the patio was:

Though we were just a hop, skip and a jump away from Sacramento, it felt like we were much farther away. I relaxed, drank some wonderful wine and came back refreshed. Anyhow, this same awesome friend recently hosted a cheese making night at her own home here in town. Her and my friend Katie allowed us to pick what kind of cheese we wanted to make and assisted us with instructional tips. We made mozzarella, cream cheese and chèvre. (Can you guess which one I made?) Anyhow, all three types turned out outstanding. The chèvre and cream cheese had to sit overnight but the mozzarella was pretty much devoured while we hung out afterwards. It was a night of giggles, chatter and cheesy goodness (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

Can't wait until the next party!

[The mozzarella recipe we used is posted below. Stayed tuned for the chèvre recipe in a follow-up post.]

30 Minute Mozzarella (recipe by Ricki Carroll, New England Cheesemaking Supply Company)

Equipment

-A 6 to 8 quart stainless steel pot. Aluminum or cast iron will not work.

-A stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon.

-A two quart microwave safe mixing bowl

-Measuring spoons

-A thermometer which will clearly read between 80 - 120 degrees F.

Ingredients

The Milk:

Make sure the milk you use for this cheese is NOT ULTRA-PASTEURIZED. Homogenized milk will work fine. Fresh farm milk will also work well but we encourage you to try with 1 gallon of store bought whole milk first. Low fat milk will work but the cheese will be drier and less flavorful.

1 1/2 teaspoon citric acid

1/4 tab or teaspoon rennet

Instructions

- Crush 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve it in 1/4 cup of cool unchlorinated water and set aside to use later.

- Add 1.5 tsp. of citric acid (diluted in 1 cup cool water) to 1 gallon of cold milk and stir well. (Add the citric acid solution to the empty cold pot.)

- Now pour cold milk into your pot quite quickly to mix well with the citric acid . This will bring the milk to the proper acidity to stretch well later. Next heat this milk to 90F. As you approach 90F you may notice your milk beginning to curdle slightly due to acidity and temp.

* NOTE: if you're having problems with milk forming a proper curd you may need to increase this temp to 95 or even 100F.

- At 90F, remove the pot from the burner and slowly add your rennet (which you prepared in the previous step) to the milk and stir in a top to bottom motion for approx. 30 seconds, then stop. Cover the pot and leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes.

- Check the curd, it will look like custard, with a clear separation between the curds and whey. If it's too soft or the whey is milky, let it set for a few more minutes.

- Now cut the curd into 1 inch squares with a knife that reaches the bottom of the pot. If a drier cheese is desired, carefully cut and stir this curd to release more whey.

- Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105F, while slowly stirring the curds with your ladle. (If you will be stretching the curds in a hot water bath then heat to 110F in this step.)

- Take the pot off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes. (More time will make a firmer cheese)

- Then scoop the curds with a slotted spoon into a heat proof bowl to be used in the microwave. (If the curd is too soft at this point let sit for another minute or so)

- You will now press this curd gently with your hand, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve this whey to use in cooking. (We used gauze as a filter for this portion)

- Next microwave the curd on high for 1 minute. You will notice more whey has run out of the curd. Drain off all the whey as you did before. Quickly work the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch (rubber gloves will help since the cheese is almost too hot to touch at this point)

- Microwave 2 more times for 35 seconds each and repeat the kneading as in the last step. Drain all of the whey off as you go.

- Knead quickly now as you would bread dough until it is smooth and shiny. Add salt near the finish.

- At this point the cheese should be soft and pliable enough to stretch like taffy. It is ready to eat when it cools.

- Form it into a ball and drop it into ice water to cool and refrigerate.

- When cold, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and it will last for several days but it's best when eaten fresh.