"AUSTRALIAN" PASTA

There is nothing actually Australian about this pasta dish. The misnomer is the result of my boyfriend's affinity with my half-homeland (my mother is an Aussie and he insists on telling everyone that his girlfriend is a full-blood Australian, as if this gives him some cache among more pedestrian boyfriends who have bagged less "exotic" flames), and since this was the first meal I ever made him, there you have it: Australian Pasta.

And the reasons this was the first meal I ever made him are simple: 1. it’s impossible to mess up, 2. it’s made of things I had lying around the house.

However, this time around, I went on a very easy to mess up limb. Home-made pasta. I found a Kitchen Aid pasta attachment at my mom's house and decided to dedicate a Sunday afternoon to being elbow deep in flour, scraping hardened dough off of my nails for days to come. There's something fascinating about the transformation of flour and eggs from a shaggy, dry mess to beautifully elastic dough by your own hands. It's empowering. My arms throbbed with the pain of a great creator, molding and transforming a primeval lump into silken, translucent sheets. It was like Pygmalion but better, wherein I get to eat my creation!

Or, if you're my dad, like a Samurai Sword Master. Whose process, he mused, is extremely similar to the constant folding and rolling of dough to create firm but silky pasta. In order to have a sharp hard blade, but a flexible sword, Japanese sword makers hammer together layers of steel of varying hardness, welding them into a metal sandwich. It is then reheated, folded back on itself and hammered out thin again. After this has been repeated about a dozen times, the steel consists of thousands of paper-thin laminations of hard and soft metal (Similar to making pastry dough too). When it is ground to a sharp edge the hard metal stands out and resists dulling, while the soft steel keeps the sword from breaking.

Yes, we’re not working with steel here, but the idea is the same: folding layers together to create durability and suppleness. And you’ll find that it is actually quite simple.



Fresh Pasta Dough

For 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup all purpose flour
2 extra large fresh eggs
2 extra large fresh egg yolks

A Kitchen Aid Mixer, with a pasta roller and fettuccine cutter attachments.

Directions:

You have two options here, both I have tried: 1) the well method, where you knead the dough entirely by hand, or 2) with a mixer, where you finish kneading the dough by hand. I found that the second version produces the most consistent results, but please try it by hand at least once. It’s like being a kid with play-do.

THE WELL METHOD:
Pile the flour into a well and place the eggs and yolk into the center. Using a fork, gently mix the eggs with the flour, dusting flour into the well until it forms a paste (you should have incorporated about half of the flour by now). Careful of rivelettes of egg sloshing down the side of the well—this happened to me, and almost avalanched into an open drawer. Luckily catastrophe was averted by some quick motion and extra flour.

Using your hands, form the mixture into a ball shape (if it’s too sticky, add a little extra flour). Discard of any dry bits that may have fallen off and flour a clear space. Knead the ball for about 6 minutes, until it has formed a firm yet elastic and slightly sticky ball (If it is dry and difficult to work, add a tablespoon of water). Cover the ball in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes, you don’t want to overwork the gluten in the flour.

The steps after that are the same as the Mixer Method, so I’ll jump back to that briefly…

THE MIXER METHOD:
Attach the dough hook to your mixer (you must use a dough hook, as paddle attachments don’t actually knead the dough). Pour the flour into the mixer’s bowl, and form a slight well. Add the eggs into the well, and start the mixer on the lowest speed. If the yolks aren’t breaking, feel free to break them yourself with a fork. Blend for about 3 minutes on low speed, until the mixture has formed a ball on the hook. If it hasn’t, and is instead sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl or crawling up past the hook, add some flour and give it a few more rotations.

Put the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes, or until the dough is firm yet elastic.

The easiest method for kneading is pushing the dough forward, folding it once, turning it 90 degrees, and repeating. This is binding and developing the gluten in the flour, to ensure elastic silky pasta dough. When you have reached your desired results cover the ball in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Rolling the Pasta:

This is a little time consuming, but it gets quicker each time you do it.

Cut off (never tear dough) a quarter section of the dough and roll it into a 3/8 inch thick strip and coat lightly in flour if the dough feels sticky. Set your pasta roller on level 1, and carefully feed the dough through. Fold the dough, and do again. If it ribbons form (meaning, there’s a ruffle in the middle of the dough) add a little more flour. On the first setting, I usually roll the dough through once, then fold and roll the dough twice, then roll it through one final time. On the next layers (I do 1, 2, 4, and 6 on my roller) I roll it through once, fold and roll once, and then roll it through a final time. Eight is the highest setting and excellent for delicate pasta dishes, such as ravioli or agnolotti, but for my fettuccine I wanted there to be something to chew on so I went with 6.

Repeat this process until all of the pasta has been rolled.

If you are not planning on cutting your pasta right away, flour the pasta and cover the dough in wax paper. Seriously, do this. I didn’t flour and chose plastic wrap instead and had to pick off dough with my fingernails and start over completely. It was one of those bizarre moments when cooking almost made me cry.

When you are ready to cut, place a large plate underneath the cutter so it can catch the pasta. Feed each sheet through the cutter, and lightly dust with flour to keep the dough separated. It sounds like a lot of flour, but my dough was on the sticky side, so use your judgment. If it’s not sticky, no need to add flour.




To Cook the Pasta:

Boil a large pot of water with a large handful of salt. It should have the taste of sea water, as this is the only thing flavoring the pasta (the sauce is meant to be like a condiment…imagine French fries with no salt and too much ketchup, that is how pasta becomes without salty water and too much marinara).

Cook the pasta for 3 minutes, drain and run cold water over it. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss.

PASTA SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 lbs heirloom tomatoes (I use Cherokees for their color, but whatever has the best flavor), chopped
1-2 small zucchinis (I’m not a huge zucchini fan, so I opt with 1), sliced thinly and halved
1 yellow onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced/pressed
4 tablespoons julienned basil
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 drop white truffle oil (optional, but its pungency is excellent in the dish)
Salt and Pepper
6 raw chicken Italian sausages (I usually do 3 mild, 3 spicy; you can do pork too if you want)
Cheese for grating (I choose Robusto by Unie Kaas, a nutty aged gruyere that’s absolutely delicious)

Directions:

Heat a large saucepan on medium-high with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cut one end of the sausage and push out small one inch balls into the pan (it squeezes out like tooth paste and they look like small meatballs). Do this to all of the sausages and allow them to brown on all sides. Then add the onion, garlic, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, and a tablespoon of butter.

Allow the onions to soften, and be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the tomato, zucchini, a pinch of salt, the remaining butter, and a few drops of the truffle oil. Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Cook for about 45 minutes (you can make your pasta dough during this time), stirring frequently. Taste as you cook and adjust with salt, pepper, and the truffle oil. In the last 10 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of the basil and stir. When it is done, it should appear saucy, not watery.

Toss the cooked pasta in the sauce and serve with a freshly grated cheese and the remaining basil. Enjoy!

JAM

I don't make my own pastry dough, and I don't have side of beef dry aging in my fridge (give it time, and both will eventually happen I'm sure), so consider my endeavors in jam making a toe-dip in the pool of DIY Gourmet. It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Fruit and sugar. Pectin too if you like. And though it is that simple, there nuances and a balance that must be achieved for delicious jam.

1. Flavor. The key to big flavor is cooking the jam as quickly as possible, and trying to cool it quickly as well. Think of it as "blanching" the fruit in sugar.

2. Consistency. The first time I attempted strawberry jam, I waited until the hot mixture looked "jammy." Once it cooled the result was strawberry candy that hardened together in a sticky mess. The next time I was overcautious and got strawberry pancake syrup (not a terrible thing, but still not jam). The trick is to wait until the mixture looks like melted jam. It sounds silly, but it was an epiphany for me. A more specific tip is stirring the mixture with a metal spoon, and if you can see the bottom of the pan as you stir, you're on the right track. It should cling to the spoon and slowly drip off as well.


Pictured: White Peach/White Nectarine, Seascape Strawberry, Mixed Berry (Red and Blonde Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries)


Ingredients:

3 lbs of fruit (ie 3 baskets of strawberries, 6 half pints of raspberries, etc.)
3 cups of sugar (this is for sweet strawberry jam, a little more for tart fruit (raspberries), a little less for sweet fruit (peaches)
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of liquor (optional) I used chambord for the mixed berry jam and grand marnier for the strawberries.

Directions:

Cut the fruit into the size you’d like it to be on toast. For strawberries I quarter them if they are on the smaller side, for berries they will fall apart so no worries about the cutting, for peaches halve and slice very thinly)

Put the fruit into a large bowl and cover with the sugar, lemon juice, and alcohol (optional). Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it macerate in the refrigerator over night. The sugar is acting like salt does in the preservation of meat; it will cause the fruit to leech out its liquid, creating a fruit-sugar syrup.

On the second day, pour the syrup into a pan and heat until it bubbles (about 5 minutes on med-high) and then add the fruit. Stir until the entire mixture is bubbling (about 5 more minutes) and return to the bowl and refrigerator for another night.

On the third day, put the entire mixture in a pan and let it start bubbling over medium heat. Stir frequently so no part is boiling.

Meanwhile, boil you jars and their tops in water for at least 10 minutes, then allow them to dry out on a clean kitchen towel.

When the mixture is ready (this is after about 10 minutes of bubbling, with the mixture clinging to the spoon—DO NOT OVER COOK) take it off the heat and ladle the jam jars until almost full, leaving about a ½ inch open at the top. Secure the tops to the jars and clean off any excess jam, and then place on a plate, upside down. The plate is just in case some jam leaks out. Place the plate of jars in the refrigerator to cool over night.

The next morning, you will have a perfect partner for toast!

If you like the jars I used (i love their voluptuous shape) you can get them at Weck Canning at a very reasonable price.

RICOTTA STUFFED FRIED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

Whenever I see bushels of these delicate flowers piled high at the farmer's market, I sigh wistfully, wishing I could be ambitious enough to actually do something with them. It's the frying, really. I find frying things to be time consuming and stressful and usually a complete disaster when I have a hand in them. All that hot oil and then plopping the stuff in the pot and cowering from the backsplash followed by the intense vigilance necessary to make sure the food isn't either over or underdone. I'm accident prone, and my mother harrowed me with stories about how she lit her entire kitchen on fire while she was making chips as a girl. To squelch the small fire, she poured water on it, which of course caused the fire to explode from the stove, engulfing the entire kitchen in flames.

I got over myself and pushed the images of fire trucks racing to my family's rescue out of my head, and with my fry-master dad (whose recipe for the absolute BEST french fries will soon follow) and boyfriend at my side, I proceeded to fry up a storm. And surprise surprise, it was easy, fast, and delicious.


Ingredients:

25 squash blossoms, with stamen removed (the little nub inside the blossoms)
1 plastic freezer bag
24 oz vegetable oil (or enough for 3 inches deep in a large pan)
8oz ricotta
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon of finely chopped thyme, sage, oregano, and chive mixed together (you can vary it, but choose leafy herbs and be sure to include chive, as it's pungency livens up the creamy ricotta)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 lemon halved

Directions:

While prepping blossoms, heat the oil on high. It needs to reach about 350 degrees to be ready. The best way to test if the oil is ready is to toss a prepared blossom in, and if it bobs to the top and cooks in about 1 minute, 30 seconds if it's unfilled, you're good to go.

Mix the ricotta, cream, herbs, oil, and 1 teaspoon of pepper until blended. Spoon the mixture into a plastic freezer bag, and push down into a corner, cut the tip of the corner. You now have a pastry bag! Using the bag, fill each blossom, leaving an inch of the petals free. After you have filled the blossom, twist the petals to close the blossom. Do this with each blossom. If you have extra blossoms, save them for dredging, they're delicious by themselves.

Set up a dredging station. Beat the eggs in a bowl, and in a separate bowl mix together the flour, breadcrumbs, salt and remaining pepper. To dredge, dip the blossoms in the egg mixture, then gently roll in the flour mixture until completely coated.

After testing that the oil is ready, fry the blossoms in batches, about 30 seconds on each side, or until entirely golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and squeeze some lemon over them, and you're ready to go.

EULOGY FOR SUMMER

It's officially over. Summer is dead. But instead of slipping straight into butternut squash and roasted meat, why not watch Summer die in style? Throw it a wake! Here are some ideas for sending off summer in style:

Tequila Strawberry Lemonade


This drink is dangerous, with the tequila and lemon adding a pucker to the sweet strawberries, disguising the alcohol almost completely.

Ingredients:

3 pints fresh strawberries (I used the seascape variety for their deep berry flavor)

1/2 cup strawberry jam
½ cup sugar
15 lemons (you want about 5 cups lemon juice)
¼ cup Grand Marnier
1 ½ cups Tequila (sounds like a lot, but really, it's only 1 oz for 12 people, also, because it's going in a mixed drink, there's no need to use the fancy stuff. That's for sipping.)

Directions:

Halve the strawberries and cover with the sugar, jam and juice of one lemon. Let macerate overnight. This will create a syrup-like mixture to sweeten the lemonade.

Next day, pour the strawberry mixture into a blender and blitz until pureed. Add 3 cups of the lemon juice and mix again. Taste to assure the sweetness is to your liking. It's best to keep it on the sweet side at this point, because the addition of tequila/grand marnier neutralizes the sugar. But if it feels saccharine, keep adding lemon juice. Add booze and you're good to go!

Bacon Wrapped Hotdogs with Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish

Could there be anything more satisfying than satiating a crave a good hotdog? And boy, does Sue Moore, the meat forager for Alice Water's Chez Panisse, know how to make a good hotdog! Sue's brainchild is Let's Be Frank, delicious organic hotdogs sold from an adorable cart next to Helms Bakery in Culver City. You can get a dog right there or buy a four pack. The all-beef franks are made from 100% grass-fed beef and natural spices. Like the lady says: "No fillers. No hormones or antibiotics. Dairy Free, Gluten Free, No added Nitrates or Nitrites. No junk." So to compensate for all that "health," I wrapped mine in bacon.

Ultimate Hotdogs:

8 hotdogs
8 slices of bacon
1 maui onion (or yellow) roughly chopped.
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon pepper
Fresh Cucumber Fennel Relish

For the relish:

1 small fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb finely chopped
1 lb seedless cucumbers halved lengthwise, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (you don't have to skin them if you choose a cucumber with a delicate skin, such as lemon cucumbers, or persian cucumbers)
4 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Mix it all together and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can make it a day ahead, but it loses some of the bright color.

For a delicious dog:

Wrap a thin slice of bacon around the hotdog and cook on a griddle as usual. In a seperate pan, melt the butter and saute the onion until it loses it's harsh acidic flavor and is just caramelizing. Don't add salt, as this will cause the onions the completely caramelize, turning soft and sweet. Now, this is wonderful for a soup, or maybe a roast beef sandwhich, but for hotdogs I prefer a stronger texture. And be sure to use white buns. I once tried wheat, and while watching it crumble into a soggy mess in my hand, my dad made a good point: "You already wrapped the thing in bacon, why scrimp on the bun?" Indeed, father.

Grilled White corn salad with Thai Basil and Honey Chili Vinagrette

Sweet white corn is one of the stars of late summer, and luckily, is still in season. This salad pairs well with anything barbequed or grilled.

For 8

12 white corn cobs
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped Thai Basil (this strain of basil is a lovely purple color, with a spicier, less sweet flavor, though mint and basil are lovely substitutes)
3 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce (this is a Thai ingredient that is available in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

Drizzle the olive oil over the corn, rolling the cobbs to completely coat. Then grill for about 5-7 minutes over high heat, getting some nice browning all over. (this can be done on a barbeque, on the stove with a grill pan, or par boil the corn for 3 minutes and finish over a flame on the stove top)

Finely chop the red onion, and squeeze half a lemon over it. This blunts the sharpness of the onion, letting it be spicy without being overpowering. Cut the kernals off of the cobs, and combine the onion and corn in a large bowl. Chop up the basil leaves (I usually make a pile of the leaves, roll them up, slice finely, and then chop over it. This is known as the julianne method and gets a consistent size of basil throughout the dish) and toss through the mixture as well.

In a separate bowl, mix the sweet chili sauce, honey, and remaining lemon. Pour over the corn mixture, tossing to coat. Taste and adjust. Salt and pepper to taste, I use a ton of pepper, just to counter the sweetness, and voila!

Dad's Guacamole

My dad wanted me to be very clear: this is Uncle Tracy's recipe. But my dad makes it so often every summer (flecks of green are near-permanent under his fingernails from this), that it's always been "dad's guacamole" in my mind. I am of my dad's school of guacamole thought and prefer lots of cilantro, chunkier red onion, and lots of hot sauce and salt. It doesn't make the guacamole spicy, it just contrasts the bland creaminess of the avocados with a nice smoky, background heat. I asked him to email me the recipe, and I thought the annotations were kind of funny, so I left them in.

"I usually do this:

6 ripe Haas avocados
1/2 red onion (Mom likes it finely chopped, I prefer it coarser)
1/2+ bunch of cilantro (Mom likes this finely chopped, I prefer it coarsely chopped)
Pico Pica hot sauce--add to taste (I like more, Mom likes less)
salt liberally
cracked pepper
add 1/2 lemon juice--this keeps it green, as well as adding the taste."

Halve the avocados and remove the pit. This is done easiest (though not safest) by hitting the sharp edge of your knife into it and pulling back--it usually pops right out. Using a large spoon, remove the creamy content into a large bowl. Then add the onion, cilantro, lemon juice and hot sauce, mixing with a spoon to mash up the avocado. Taste and adjust. Add the salt and pepper liberally, taste and adjust again. Enjoy!

KITCHY SUPPLIES

I absolutely love the femme graphic design look coming from Pop Ink.  These plates are a steal at only $9 a pop.  I use them for serving snacks as they're the size of a large dinner plate.  And finally I can give guests actual napkins rather than endure the embarrassment of the paper towels I've had to offer before.  Click here for the cute goods.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

This is one of my family’s official cakes. We have it every other birthday (it seems to switch off with my family’s other favorite, the Australian dessert Pavlova). It’s also a very polarizing cake, half of my family LOVES it and the other half, the Pavlova half, well….don’t. I’m on the loving half. How you couldn’t love velvety soft uber-chocolate cake with fluffy marshmallow-y frosting is a mystery to me. Maybe it’s this difference that makes birthdays such divisive, uncomfortable holidays. I kid. We love each other as much as we love our respective cakes.

This cake also represents a spirit of manifest destiny for me. I vaguely remembered my mother owning a butane torch, back when crème brulee was en mode. After digging in all of her kitchen drawers, I finally found one. My dad helped me turn it on, because that’s what dad’s are for, and bob’s your uncle, I turned the glossy white frosting of my cake into a massive toasted marshmallow. It adds a delicious crunch and caramelized note to an otherwise simple cake. It also looks outrageously fabulous.








INGREDIENTS

4 oz butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate

3 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, loose
2 eggs
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9 inch round pans.

Melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cream together the sugar, butter and add the eggs one at a time until a pale yellow. Add the melted chocolate to the eggs mixture by pouring it in slowly while beating at medium speed. This is to ensure a smooth mixture, rather than scrambling the eggs.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Mix together the coffee, vinegar and the milk. It sounds weird but it curdles the milk slightly and gives it an extremely moist, rich texture. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients on low speed, ending on the wet ingredients.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely.

Marshmallow Frosting (AKA Seven Minute Frosting)

INGREDIENTS

4 egg whites
3 cups baking sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1½ teaspoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients, except for Vanilla, in a large double boiler over rapidly boiling water. Beat constantly with a hand mixer for 7 minutes. At this point it should be white and frothy. Remove the icing from heat and add the vanilla. Continue beating until the icing becomes shiny and spreadable.

If you don’t have a large double boiler, do it in two batches in a regular sized double boiler.

To ice the cake, put a large dollop in the middle of the bottom level cake and spread outward. The icing should be about ¾ inch thick and consistent throughout. Then gently place the other level of cake over the bottom level, careful not to push down (you don’t want to squeeze out the icing). Using the same method as before put a large dollop on the top of the cake and work your way out, spreading any excess to the sides. For aesthetics, try to spread the icing in a back and forth motion, creating ripples and peaks all over the cake. This improves the look of the cake if you intend on toasting it, as the torch will have more to cling to as you go over the cake. Always use what looks like an ungodly amount of icing. Better to have too much than use to little and accidentally scrape devil’s food cake into the white icing—I’ve been there, it sucks.

To toast, get your butane torch going (you can get these at any Kitchen store, such as here) and move it across the top of the cake, about 4 inches away, not staying on one spot for longer than 3 seconds.

Enjoy!