Beef Stroganoff

I'm sorry guys, I've been on a streak this month with updating but it might get a little slow in February. Why? I blame it on myself. You see, even though Christmas is over, that doesn't mean that SALES are too. I've caught on to the tail of the last discount weeks and somehow drained out the remaining funds in my checking account, hahaha. But just so you know, i'm not a shopaholic or anything... cuz #1, i didn't have much in that account to begin with and #2, i really don't like to shop. Wait, don't get me wrong, who doesn't like getting new clothes and shoes, right? But it's the process of shopping that I hate. Returning home empty-handed after a whole afternoon of window-shopping and skimming through hangers just isn't my thang. I only enjoy shopping when there's a specific thing i have in mind, and sometimes that means taking a few days going through a few malls before I finally find it. So you see, shopping is more like a biannual activity for me. But I guess these modest shopping habits are partly why the sudden emptying of my bank account came as such a shock. It was just supposed to be: errands--> quick lunch--> home--> done, BAM! I wasn't expecting to be spending any money on that woeful afternoon but it just sorta happened. So now with pockets short on cash, it's probably best that I catch an early start on the dieting plans that I've been thinking about since the return from my all-inclusive (food and drink) trip in Egypt.

So before i get into my penny-pinching mode, here's a recipe for an extravagant Beef Stroganoff. Okay fine, beef stroganoff isn't an extravagant dish... but since I never use red wine when i cook, it's definitely extravagant when i finally get a chance to do so (even with just a quarter cup)! See? i'm so easily satisfied, living on a budget shouldn't be a problem at all. Let's just hope the currency exchange rates gets better soon... i'm in desperate need of złotys!

Beef Stroganoff
from Fast Food

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 pounds beef rib-eye or rump steaks
• 1/2 cup seasoned all-purpose flour
  (season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper)
• 3/4 pound fettuccine / tagliatelle / pasta of your choice
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 3/4 cups button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream (i used 200 mL)
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente [picture 1].
2. Pound the slices of beef between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin until they are half their thickness. Cut each slice into strips, about 1/2 inch wide. Place in a pastic bag with the seasoned flour and shake to coat the beef [picture 2]. [Remember to coat it with flour just RIGHT before you pan-fry it, or else the meat will stick together if you leave it for too long].
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 2 minutes [picture 3].
4. Add the beef in batches and cook for 5 minutes or until evenly browned [picture 4]. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
5. Heat the remaining butter in the pan and add the mushrooms, stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes or until soft and lightly browned [picture 5].
6. Add the tomato paste and the red wine [picture 6, stirring continuously for 2 minutes or until the sauce has reduced [picture 7].
7. Add the beef [picture 8], stir in the cream [picture 9], then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for another minute or until the sauce has thickened.
8. Serve warm with the pasta.

Beef Stroganoff

Ricotta Gnocchi

OMG... I thought the posting date was May 15th!! If it wasn't for the comment i just got from Olga, i would've been completely oblivious of the fact that I missed the posting date or the first ever Daring COOK'S challenge...*whew* thank-you, Olga! This month's Daring Cook's challenge was to make our own Ricotta Gnocchi. I've never had gnocchi before in my life-- i always thought they were just ball-shaped pasta that didn't look too appetizing... it never crossed my mind to order/try gnocchi. I didn't know what i was missing out on until i made them myself... they were delicious! The inside turned out light and airy... nothing close to the dense pasta balls i imagined. For the sauce, I followed "culinary adventures of a new wife"'s recipe and made Gnocchi with Spinach & White Beans with half of my batch... it tasted amazing! JLo is on his special work-out diet now so he didn't have any... I gave my brother 1/3 of the gnocchis and finished the rest all by myself! XD! For the second batch, i topped them with a homemade Gorgonzola sauce with spinach and mushrooms, these tasted even better! I'll save the Gorgonzola sauce recipe for another entry since I'm running out of time... gotta post this up before I forget about it again. Till next time, everyone! Hopefully it won't take me another two weeks to update my blog...

Ricotta Gnocchi
A Daring Cook's Challenge (makes about 90 gnocchis)
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
• 2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
• 2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
• ½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
• about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
• all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

DIRECTIONS:

• Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.
  If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta’s wetness. To test the ricotta, take a teaspoon or so and place it on a paper towel [picture 3]. If you notice a very large ring of dampness forming around the ricotta after a minute or so, then the ricotta is too wet. To remove some of the moisture, line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place the ricotta in the sieve. Cover it and let it drain for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can wrap the ricotta carefully in cheesecloth (2 layers) and suspend it in your refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours with a bowl underneath to catch the water that’s released [picture 1, 2]. Either way, it’s recommended that you do this step the day before you plan on making the gnocchi.
  
  
• Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.
  
  
  1. To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible [picture 4, 5].
  2. Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta [picture 6].
  3. Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture [picture 7].
  4. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.
  5. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt [picture 8].
  6. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well) [picture 9. 10].

• Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.
  
  1. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.
  2. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep.
  3. With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl .
  4. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour [picture 11].
  5. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump [picture 12, 13].
  6. To test the gnocchi, Gently place them in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.
  7. If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.
  8. Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don’t overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.
  9. Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.
  10. You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.
      
      
• Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.
  
  1. Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi) [picture 14]
  2. When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce (of your choice) while you wait for them to finish cooking.
  3. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water [picture 15] and gently drop into your sauce of choice. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.

• Freezing the gnocchi: If you don’t want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don’t want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Gorgonzola Sauce


Ricotta Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Ooops, It's been quite a while since i updated. March has been pretty stressful/busy for me due to our Pharmacology NBME finals. Never ever have i started studying 2 weeks before a test. You'd think 2 weeks would've given me a sufficient amount of time to cover all the subjects and have a least a good night sleep on the night before the test but, NOPE! Once again, i took my time and procrastinated... had to pull many all-nighters on the last few days . And having a 1 week accumulation of caffeine and theanine in my system didn't help w/ the anxiety either, sigh... i need a lot of work on my time/stress-management skills!

If it wasn't for the Daring Bakers Challenge, i'd probably put off updating for another 2 weeks (muahahhaa), but since i just joined DB, skipping the 2nd challenge didn't seem like the responsible thing to do. SO! Here it is, my 2nd challenge-- Lasagna with homemade Spinach Pasta! When i first found out this month's challenge, I was a bit reluctant about trying out the recipe cuz making my own pasta just sounded too hardcore... I didn't make the lasagna until 2 days before the posting date (today), muahaha. [Seeee, Pharmacology can just drain the life out of you] I used my own ragu and white sauce recipe for the challenge... i was afraid I'd fail on both the pasta and the sauce recipes DB provided, so i cooked from my old tried and true recipes to make sure SOMETHING wouldn't go wrong, bahaha. The spinach pasta was quite easy (but messy) to make and it turned out GURREAT! Not to mention super healthy and fresh :D JLo loved IT! Thanks, DB! Wonder what's in store for the April challege, I'm excited!

Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)
Preparation: 45 minutes
Equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
The halved recipe makes enough pasta for a 9x13 inch baking pan.
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
• 10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped [picture 1]
  [or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry]
• 3 1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose plain flour
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle [picture 2].
   
2. Add the eggs and spinach [picture 3]. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach.
   
3. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump [picture 4].
4. With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic [picture 5]. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step.
   
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours [picture 6].
6. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. For lasagna, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours [picture 7, 8].
   
7. Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag [picture 9].

Lasagna
INGREDIENTS:

• Homemade Spinach pasta sheets
  (If using dried, store-bought pasta sheets, just assemble them as indicated in the directions and pour 1/2 cup of water down the sides of the lasagna before baking.)
  
• 3/4 cup of cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan (to top the lasagna)
  
  
• RAGU (Red sauce)
  
• 500g ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 3/4 cup onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2 - 3 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1 teaspoon basil
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
  
• CHEESE SAUCE
• 3 cups cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 egg, beaten
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the Ragu, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high heat.
   
2. Stir in onion, green pepper, garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
   
3. Add the ground beef and cook until almost brown in color.
   
4. Pour in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, parsley, basil, sugar, and salt. Stir often and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside [picture 1].
5. If the ragu is too dry, add in more tomato sauce or 1/2 a cup of water or stock.
   
   
6. To make the white cheese sauce, in a medium pot, add all white sauce ingredients together.
7. Place it over medium-low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often to prevent the bottom from burning. Set aside [picture 2].
   
   
8. Drop about four pieces of pasta in boiling salted water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes.
   
9. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender [picture 3].
10. Lift the lasagna from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.
11. Spread a thin layer of Ragu (red sauce) over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish [picture 4].
    
12. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the red sauce [picture 5].
    
13. Spread a thin layer of Ragu (red sauce) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the Cheese sauce (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls). Then sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese [picture 6].
    
14. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with Ragu (red sauce) [picture 7].
15. Seal the baking pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes [picture 8].
16. Remove the foil and top with a generous dusting of cheese and Parmesan. Bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
    

Lasagna with Spinach Pasta
(sorry, i kinda burnt my cheese topping this time)

Feta Couscous Salad

So after spending a week and a half observing sick kids, i have officially crossed out Pediatrics from my list of potential specializations. Hmm... actually, Pediatrics isnt permenantly ruled out, but for now it is. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE kids. But even though I'd be trying to make them feel better, i still think i would kill myself if i had to inflict pain on them every single day. Argh, i just can't stand babies cry! The occasional wail for attention is okay... I'm talking about the screaming and kicking, big fat tear drops, ceaseless sobbing type of cry. Breaks.My.Heart. And to think that I would be feared and hated by kids of all ages just beats the purpose of being a pediatric. I don't know why they say dentists are more prone to comit suicide when pediatrics have it 10x worse than them! Waaha, but that's just my screwed up point of view so we'll see... i still have 2 more years of pediatrics to go before I make my final decision. So anyway, here's the recipe for a couscous salad that I made for my 15 minute hospital lunch breaks. I've always thought couscous was some type of rice but it's actually pasta formed into little grains (Wiki it). This is the first time I ever cooked couscous and I'm starting to really like it! It only takes 5 minutes to prepare-- all you have to do is pour hot water into it and let it steam! Take another 10 to chop up your veggies and toss it around and there you have your instant healthy fast food.

Feta Couscous Salad
derived from allrecipes.com and videos.about.com
INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/4 cups couscous
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced [soak it in water so they won't be so overpowering]
• 2-3 stalks spring onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the couscous in a big pot and drizzle with the olive oil. [picture 2]
2. Use a fork to coat the couscous with oil (couscous should resemble wet sand). [picture 3]
3. Boil the chicken stock and pour it into the pot of couscous. [picture 4, 5]
4. Cover the pot with a lid (or foil) immediately to let it steam and cook by itself. [picture 6]
5. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and use a fork to fluff up the couscous. Let it cool. [picture 7]
6. Add the cucumbers, red bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, spring onions, feta cheese, and vinegar to the couscous and mix well. [picture 7]
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate.

NOTE: i spiced up my couscous with shredded pork knuckles from the previous entry.

Feta Couscous Salad

Salmon Pasta

I think almost everyone in Eskulap can unanimously agree that Donatello has the best Salmon Pasta in POZ. Not only is their pasta good, almost everything in there is worth a try. But maybe it's the fact that its located so close to the dorms, or the fact that its food delivery is so convenient... Donatello is almost never our 1st choice restaurant to dine in. Since i almost never go there anymore, i started missing their salmon pasta. I tried making it once in March but that didn't really turn out well- it was still salmon pasta, but just not quite right. So throughout the last month I've been keeping an eye on the veggie and fish section in PP cuz they rarely sell salmon and fresh spinach at the same time! (Or maybe they do, just that every time i go it's always sold out) Well, I gave up waiting on Saturday and decided make it without the spinach-- i mean, the salmon's the star of the show after all. I've googled and searched for many Salmon recipes trying to find one that fits most closely to Donatello's... it took me a while to finally mix and match a few and come up with my own. It's not exactly like Donatello's (not as good, of course... and ingredients might be different), but it's still Salmon Pasta... and satisfactory for something home-made. Here it goes:

Salmon Pasta
NOTE: I didn't use the exact amount as below, just guesstimate or use as needed.
INGREDIENTS:

• 3 small or 2 big pieces of salmon
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup white wine, or as needed
• 1-2 cups of 12% or 18% cream, or as needed
• 2-3 tablespoons tomato concentrate/ sauce
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Fresh spinach (optional)
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fettuccine pasta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Add fettuccine and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente.
3. Boil, steam, or pan fry the salmon until cooked.
4. Break the cooked salmon into small pieces, set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic and onion.
6. Add in the salmon pieces, spinach, and a bit white wine and let cook for 1 minute.
7. Stir in the cream, tomato concentrate, flour, spinach (optional), and Parmesan cheese.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for 3 minutes.
   (If it gets too dry, add in more cream or white wine).
9. When the sauce is ready, add in the pasta and toss until coated.
   (Or you can just pour the sauce over the pasta).

Things you'll need:

Salmon pieces -- Fresh spinach -- Onions -- Fettuccine pasta

Parmesan Cheese -- Tomato concentrate -- Cream -- White wine

with onions

with spinach

Salmon Pasta