Pork Belly

This past weekend was the first proper summer-like weekend we have had in TO this year. There have been some nice sunny weekends but still with a bite in the air, this weekend was beautiful. When I first saw this recipe in the New York Times last week, knowing that we were heading up north and that the weather was supposed to be ideal I knew we had to make it. First because it feeds 8 and there is usually about that many people there when we visit and also because it just sounded so delectable and perfect that I couldn't wait more than a few day to test it out. I've been wanting to work with pork belly for awhile, specifically I'd love to make my own bacon, but I was willing to bypass that experiment for this recipe. I sent it along to the boy and being a lover of all things pork he was immediately on board. So, I called my local butcher and ordered a 4 pound pork belly for pick-up on Friday and started to make a grocery list for the weekend. Friday rolled around and the boy went to pick up the meat, only to find out that the butcher didn't receive any of it's pork delivery for the weekend, major bummer for more than just us. While he was there the boy asked what exactly pork belly is (I had "forgotten" to mention to him that it is essentially bacon), well when he found that out he wasn't letting us head north without having this delicious slab of meat. After a quick Google search of "Toronto Butchers" and 20 or so calls later and he managed to find a small butcher shop that had pork belly with the skin. It's amazing how driven he can be when it comes to meat! We of course get to the cottage to find there will only be four of us with a huge hunk a meat, but at least we got it!


Crisp & Unctious Pork Belly
from the New York Times

MARINADE
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
10 cloves garlic - peeled and halved
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 Tbsp sliced serrano pepper (our store didn't have serranos so we used yellow hots which have a similar heat rating)
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

PORK
1 4-pound piece of pork belly - skin on
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp chives, chopped
salt & freshly ground pepper

1. In a blender, pulse marinade ingredients until roughly chopped. Transfer to a 1-gallon freezer bag and add pork belly and 1 cup water. Squeeze to remove air, then seal and refrigerate at least 12 hours.

2. When ready to cook, heat oven to 275 degrees. Place pork in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with marinade, butter and water to cover. Cover with heavy-duty foil, crimping edges tightly. Braise in oven 5 1/2 hours; let rest in pan, covered, 2 hours.

3. Meanwhile, simmer bourbon in a small pan over medium heat until alcohol aroma fades. Stir in sugar, parsley, vinegar and pepper flakes. Cover and set aside.

4. Heat a grill. Carefully remove pork from pan and place in a grilling basket. Grill skin-side down over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until skin is crisp and golden. Remove from heat and brush skin side with 1/4 of the bourbon glaze, then return to heat, skin-side up, for another 5 minutes. Remove pork from heat once more and brush meat side with 1/4 of the glaze, then return to heat, meat-side up, for another 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining glaze on both sides.

5. Dress a cutting board with half the olive oil, lemon juice and chives, and salt and pepper. Place pork skin side up on cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining olive oil, lemon juice and chives, and salt and pepper. Cut into 1-by-4-inch pieces and serve.

Now none of us had ever had pork belly and really didn't know what to expect, but this was delicious and so worth the whole day it took to marinate and cook. The meat just fell apart and was so juicy, tender and flavorful four of us finished a piece of meat that should serve 8! So much for leftovers, I loved how the flavors were layered from the marinade to the glaze to even the final step of dressing the cutting board and sprinkling the meat with spices as it rested. In each bite we could taste every flavor from the spicy to the sweet glaze to the freshness of the lemon. Delish! Do yourself a favor and make this sometime soon. Enjoy!

Strawberry Cupcakes

I think it's safe to say that I've gone out of control with the whole cupcake thing. I've probably got more cupcake posts than pie posts and I LOVE pie. I think it's the cute little individual size, how easy they are to give to people. I'm not sure. Recently it was the boy's friend's 40th bday (trying saying that five times fast). Well, with these guys you just know that any party they throw will have tons of beer and beef but little by way of birthday cheer. So to combat that I texted the Birthday Buddy (as he will now be referred to) to see find out his favorite flavor. After a ridiculous response of "blue!" I got him to own up to liking strawberry. So 40 Strawberry cupcakes it was, the boy was pulling for a cake in the shape of the number 40 but a cake sculptor I am not and we couldn't find number cake pans on such short notice.

I remembered reading somewhere about how Candace from Sprinkles Cupcakes (one of the best cupcake shops in LA) shared her strawberry cupcake recipe with Martha Stewart. I found the recipe online and set about to quadruple it for the necessary amount of cupcakes. I decided to do 2 double batches as it was much more manageable. The first batch turned out great, nice and soft with the perfect strawberry flavor. As I set out to make the second double batch I realized that in my first go I doubled everything but the eggs! But the cake worked and I really liked it so I decided to just keep going with it.

Strawberry Cupcakes
adapted from Sprinkles Bakery recipe
makes 20-24 cupcakes

1 1/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.


Strawberry Frosting
adapted from Sprinkles Bakery recipe
enough frosting to pipe 20-24 cupcakes

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.


The one word I have for these cupcakes is "ice cream." The batter tastes like strawberry ice cream, the frosting tastes like strawberry ice cream and the whole thing put together tastes like strawberry ice cream. I have to say while it wasn't my favorite cupcake, it was pretty tasty and a hit with the boy and Birthday Buddy which is who mattered most. Even if it wasn't my favorite, I do think it's one of the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made and extremely feminine. Probably too feminine for a macho Special Effects guy, but no one complained once they tried them which is always a good sign. Enjoy!

Arugula Salad

With the warm days we've been having recently and after my recent trip back to LA I've been on a bit of a salad kick lately. Arugula is one of my favorite greens, it's got a nice peppery bite and is perfect mixed in with other greens or on it's own. Citrus season is just about over, but as I was putting this salad together I had one last blood orange that I wanted to put to use and decided to make it into a vinaigrette which along with the arugula and fresh raspberries made the perfect salad for a warm day.

Arugula Salad

4 cups fresh arugula - washed and dried
1 pint raspberries
2 Tbsp blood orange juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 + 2 Tbsp cup - extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt & Pepper

1. Place arugula in a salad bowl.
2. Put the blood orange juice into a small bowl and stream in the olive oil, whisking the whole time. Taste and add salt & pepper to your preference.
3. Pour dressing over arugula and add in 1/2 of the raspberries. Toss and top with remaining raspberries and a pinch or two of sea salt.


This is my favorite kind of dish, so simple in preparation and yet so full of flavor. The peppery arugula goes so well with the sweet dressing and tart berries, and then the occasional crunch of the seas salt. It's something I anticipate making many different variations of as different fruits and vegetables come into season. On a side note, I just recently converted to using sea salt as my main salt in the kitchen and I have to say I LOVE it. It has made such a difference in everything I make, whether it is cooked into a dish or sprinkled on top of eggs, it's wonderful. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Biscuits

I like biscuits, now I'm not from the South, (although according to my Canadian boy the US as a whole is the South) but I've spent some time in both North & South Carolina so I'd like to say I know what good biscuits are. That being said I've never had much luck making my own. I recently had a serious craving for biscuits but knowing that that much dough is never a good idea especially when I've been trying to use more whole grains at home, I thought I could somewhat keep in line with my whole grains goal by using whole wheat flour. So I did a web search for whole wheat biscuits and happened upon the recipe over at RecipeZaar. RecipeZaar is a resource my friend Suz over at You Can't Eat What swears upon, but I just don't use that often. After my winning banana cupcakes and this recipe I've decided I should. Not only do the recipes seem good, but they have this amazing feature that lets you change the amount of servings you want for a particular recipe and their handy calculator then alters the ingredient amounts to what you need, no more futzing around trying to figure out how to cut a recipe down by a 1/3. It's pretty brilliant with a recipe like this where it makes 12 biscuits but the boy and I so don't need 12 biscuits kicking around the house.


Whole Wheat Biscuits
from recipezaar.com

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp margarine or butter (we had I Can't Believe It's Not Butter in the fridge so I used that)
1 cup skim milk

1. Combine flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives. Add milk, mix quickly.
2. Turn out onto a floured board. Knead 6 to 8 times. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 12, 2 inch round biscuits or into wedges or squares.
3. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a 425°F oven 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned.

A concern with using whole wheat flour was that you wouldn't get light a fluffy biscuits, well for me making biscuits with any flour that is a concern. You can work biscuit dough too much or you end up with hockey pucks, which I have many times before. It's funny to me that using a flour that many people had problems getting to rise allowed me to finally get a light and fluffy biscuit. I'd like to think it's because my baking skills have improved that much since my last biscuit attempt over a year ago. These were delicious and at only 95 calories a serving, something I'd be happy to make the next time a biscuit craving hits. My one complaint was that in using the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter my biscuits didn't get golden brown, I may try using real butter next time to see if it makes a difference. Enjoy!

Uma Cupcakes

First off Happy Birthday to my good friend Uma! Her birthday was on Saturday and to celebrate I made her some Piccante Dolce cupcakes. About a week ago, I asked her for her favorite flavors without telling her why I wanted them. After first saying she would try anything I made, I love how she just assumed it was for me to make something which of course was correct, I got her to own up to liking white chocolate and raspberry. I made a white chocolate cake back in February that was good, but not perfect so I was excited at the prospect of a challenge to improve upon a recipe. I also knew I wanted to do a filled cupcake because they are just more special and give the opportunity to add another flavor component. I settled upon White Chocolate Cake filled with Raspberry Curd topped with White Chocolate Buttercream and a fresh raspberry. Thus the Uma cupcake was born! My friends and co-workers have been on me to name my cupcakes so this first one will be named after my friend who inspired it. Follow me on Twitter (@piccantedolce) as I may ask for some help in naming the cupcakes from time to time.

White Chocolate Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

12 oz imported white chocolate
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
4 egg whites
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Using a double boiler melt the white chocolate, stirring until it is all melted and smooth. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg whites 1 at a time. In a medium bowl mix together dry ingredients. Mix the vanilla in with the milk.
3. Add the dry ingredients and the milk into the butter, alternating the dry with the wet, beginning and ending with the dry. Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3 full.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before moving onto next steps.

Raspberry Curd

I used this recipe from my Resolution Breaker Tart, the full recipe makes enough to fill 20-24 cupcakes.


White Chocolate Buttercream

1 lb of butter - at room temperature
1 lb or more icing sugar
24 oz white chocolate
1 tsp vanilla

1. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over a pot of simmering water. Set aside to cool, but not set.
2. Using a mixer, mix butter until it is light and fluffy. Add in icing sugar 1-2 Tbsp at a time until stiff.
3. Mix in melted white chocolate and vanilla until just combined. Icing will be soft. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set-up.

Assembly

1. Once cupcakes are cooled, cut a cone shape deep into each cake. Remove cone and fill hole with raspberry curd.
2. Cut almost all of the pointy part of the cone off to make a top and place it on top of the raspberry curd filled hole. Repeat with all cakes.
3. Ice with cooled icing and garnish with a fresh raspberry.


These cupcakes were a hit with the birthday girl, the boy and everyone the birthday girl shared them with. The boy at two full sized, iced cakes which he rarely does, so that tells me they were really good! I was really pleased with how they turned out and really enjoyed just the cake on it's own, my first real attempt at my own cake recipe. I really liked being able to give someone something that I made as a gift, especially if I am able to incorporate their favorite flavors. Enjoy!

Orechiette con Pomodori

One of my favorite things about food is that it can be as tied to time and place as anything else. Specific foods or flavors of scents of cooking always remind me of people or places. I loved cooking my grandmother's rolladen because it just brings me back to the smell of her kitchen and being young and playing with my grandfather. I can't smell a burger being grilled without remembering how delicious a burger tastes at our lake house. This dish is one of those too. I first learned to make it when I studied in Florence, Italy during my undergrad years. It was the first dish we learned in my regional Italian cooking class and I have remembered it ever since. I don't have it written down and honestly am not completely sure I even make it the way I was taught. It has become one of my signature dishes with my family and something I love to make the second the weather starts to warm up, which it has finally started to do.

I most recently made it for a Sunday supper when I had my fabulous friend/co-worker over for dinner. She's here from London and working like crazy with little down time. In an effort to get the boy to help me take the house from bachelor pad to dinner party appropriate (ie chairs for our dining room table among other things) I invited her over for a much needed home-cooked meal. Not only did we have a fabulous evening but I feel so much better knowing that I can go back to having the dinner parties I became so accustomed to while I was living in LA. I often serve this pasta as a main course but on this night is accompanied a delicious grilled steak to be posted soon.

Orechiette con Pomodori
serves 6

4 pints of cherry tomatoes
200 grams of pecorino romano cheese - finely grated
6-10 cippoline onions - how many you use depends on how big they are, the larger ones you should only need 6
2-3 ribs of celery - again determined by how big they are
1/2 tsp or more crushed red pepper
1 small bunch of arugula - washed, dried and sliced into ribbons
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

1. Wash the celery ribs and using a knife peel the outer string from each rib. To do this, tuck the blade of the knife just under the very top of the skin (you can usually see the string at the top) and just peel down. Repeat this on both ribs. Roughly chop the celery. Peel the skin from the cippoline and roughly chop. Combine the chopped celery with the chopped onions, add in the crushed red pepper and finely mince everything together.
2. In a large saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat. When heated add in celery, onion and red pepper mixture and salt. Saute until onions become translucent and everything is soft but not browned, lower heat if necessary.
3. While the other vegetables are sauteing wash and remove stems from cherry tomatoes. Cut the cleaned tomatoes in half, quarter the larger ones to ensure that the pieces are all roughly the same size.
4. Add tomatoes to the saute pan cook for 5 minutes uncovered at medium heat. Cover pan and lower heat to low and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Tomatoes are done when they have softened and can be gently smooshed using the back end of a wooden spoon. Taste at this point and adjust salt.
5. While the tomatoes are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook orechiette according to directions for al dente.
6. Toss cooked pasta with tomato sauce and pecorino cheese. Toss in the arugula just before serving.



I truly love everything about this dish from doing the prep work to the simplicity of the flavors and the ingredients to the fabulously fresh flavor. I should have waited a bit to make this until tomatoes were in season but I had a craving and decided to give in. I don't regret it, it's one of those dishes that always takes me back to that January in Florence when I first learned to make it and I remember that two days later I cooked it for some of my friends from school. I remember sitting in my tiny one room apartment and eating this with a fabulous bottle of $3 Chianti and my new friends. It was my time in Florence that really cultivated my love of cooking and being in the kitchen, which is funny, because my tiny one room apartment barely had a proper kitchen. Two gas burners, a tiny dorm sized fridge and no oven, but it worked and I think made me the cook I am today. Enjoy!

Two annoucements and a request for feedback

I rarely write a post without a recipe, but I wanted to share two things as well as get some feedback from me readers on something else. So please excuse my diverting from all things foodie related.

Firstly, I got a puppy! Her name is Stella, she is a puggle and adorable! Here's her first photo:

She's settling in at home and at work quite well and is training as well as can be expected for a 7 week old puppy.

The next announcement is....I placed in a recipe contest! I entered the Safeway Cheese Champions Recipe contest and was chosen for publication in their Cheese Champions Cookbook that will be sold at Safeway stores in mid-July. I didn't win the big prize which was a trip to Napa, but am excited to be published somewhere other than here! Keep an eye out for the book in your local Safeway mid summer. The recipe I won with is my Raspberry Mascarpone French Toast Strata, which is so very tasty, please try it and let me know what you think!

In an effort to continue to learn about blogging and improve upon this blog that I started on a whim almost a year ago, I decided to do an exercise called "31 Days to Build a Better Blog." (or 31DBBB) Every day for 31 days I will receive and email from Darren (the guy who runs it) with a lesson and an exercise that is designed to help further develop and improve my blog. I will not often post 31DBBB specific posts, but I would really love some feedback on this first exercise and I figured who better to ask than my readers. My new friend and fellow food blogger Tania over at Love Big Bake Often is my buddy in 31DBBB, hopefully we'll be able to help motivate each other! Definitely check out her site, he food looks delish and her boys are ADORABLE!

Our first assignment is to write an "elevator pitch." It's what we call in film the logline, a quick 1-2 sentence description of your blog, something you could easily tell someone in an elevator. It should convey or at least hint at you purpose, goals, and target (if there is a specific one) while also having some personality. There are often longer and shorter versions of it, I came up with two completely different versions that I like and decided to incorporate both into my blog. Please take a look and let me know what you think. The first is the new tagline in my header:

"The recipes and musings of a 30-something foodie who thinks food and life should be spicy and sweet."

The second I have used as a re-written description:

"Piccante Dolce is a collection of recipes borrowed, adapted and/or created in the spirit of all things spicy & sweet. It was born out of my love of cooking and a desire to share with family, friends and other foodies. "

Basically I question if I need both and wonder which one does a better job at describing my blog and me. Thoughts?? Please post what you think here or shoot me an email piccantedolce [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks!

Proscuitto and Melon Salsa Crostini

And we're back with the second crostini I made for my recent dinner party, I love prosciutto and melon and while I could have just wrapped some prosciutto around pieces of melon and been done with it. I had a whole baguette worth of crostini that I wanted to put to use which is how I decided on the melon salsa atop of prosciutto ribbons.

Prosciutto & Melon Crostini

Crostini - made using the same method as with the White Bean Puree
1/4 lb of prosciutto - sliced into ribbons
1/2 cantaloupe - cut into a small dice
2-3 slices of red onion - finely diced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
handful of flat leaf parsley - chopped
sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

1. Toss the diced melon, red onions and parsley in the red wine vinegar. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. To slice the prosciutto into ribbons roll a few pieces together lengthwise and slice along the roll 1/2" pieces. Unroll and separate into a pile of beautiful prosciutto ribbons.
3. Top each crostino with 3-5 pieces of prosciutto and a Tbsp of melon salsa. Sprinkle sea salt and fresh cracked pepper over each costini.


While both crostini were good these were a clear winner. The boy and my guest went back for more of this one much more than the white bean. As my readers know I love the blending of salty and sweet and this is a classic combination of those flavors. It was a bit messy, in that after a bite everything kind of fell off the crostino, I think the next time I make them they need to be more of a one bite treat. Get the whole thing in there so as not to loose any of the delicious bits. Enjoy!

Crostini with White Bean Puree and Rosemary Olive Oil

I've finally hosted my first little dinner party at the boy's, sorry OUR, house here in TO (he likes me to call it our house and I'm getting there). Yes I've been here almost 6 months and I'm not sure what my excuse is for not doing it sooner. Much is attributed to the brutal winter that, although I grew up in it, I just wasn't quite prepare, then there is the instability of the film industry during an almost actors strike (that has finally been resolved) and mainly moving into a house that was truly a bachelor pad and not a home has been the biggest stumbling block. I need a home and moving up here and going right to work and then on any long weekend or break heading out of town didn't exactly offer the time necessary to transform a bachelor pad, with little furniture and whole ton of clutter into a home.

As it has warmed up and motivation has increased, about a week ago I told the boy I invited some friends over for dinner. His face initially dropped as he looked around our living room and at our dining table, with no chairs. I told him not to worry we had the time needed to get it together. Some progress had been made over my time here, but we (and more specifically he) needed that extra push, that deadline and pressure of a set time when we would have guests. A day of cleaning and trips to IKEA, Home Outfitters, Rona and Wal-Mart later we had a proper home. While it's rental with awful light fixtures and pink carpet, it finally feels like a home. A home we are both comfortable having friends over to.

After putting in all that work I needed to put together a meal fitting our cozy place. I was up for the challenge having not cooked for anyone other than the boy and I in almost 6 months I had all kinds of ideas stored up. I decided to start with two different types of crostini, simple in preparation but big on flavor. The first one is inspired by Nancy Silverton's Crostini with White Bean Puree and Rosemary Olive Oil. Below is how I did it, with a link to the original recipe


Crostini with White Bean Puree and Rosemary Olive Oil
inspired by by Nancy Silverton's recipe

INGREDIENTS
(for the rosemary olive oil)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

(for the white bean puree)
1 15-ounce can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

(for the crostini)
1/2 inch thick slices of baguette
1 cup arugula
good olive oil
aged balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
sea salt

METHOD
To make the rosemary olive oil, combine the olive oil and rosemary in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and continue to gently simmer the oil until the rosemary sizzles. Turn off the heat and let the rosemary steep in the oil for 1 hour.

To make the crostini, place the bread slices on a baking sheet, brush with the olive oil and place oiled side down on a grill heated to medium low. Brush the other side with more olive oil and flip after 2-3 minutes or when you see the edges getting nice and toasty. Get the second side nice and toasty and remove to baking sheet.

To make the white bean puree, combine the beans, 2/3 cup of the rosemary olive oil, garlic and kosher salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle or in a medium bowl and using a potato masher, mash everything together until everything is combined. The texture should still be slightly chunky.

To assemble the crostini, place a few arugula leaves on each crostino and spoon about 1 tablespoon of the white bean puree in a generous, even layer, over the arugula. Using the back of the spoon, make a small crater in the puree and spoon in a little of the rosemary olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with sea salt.

This became my own version mostly because I forgot to rub the crostini with garlic and forgot to drizzle with balsamic! It was delish all the same. So much so that the boy couldn't wait until our guest got to the house, he had me assemble one for him to test and then I think made one more himself! Stay tuned for the other crostini I made (seen in the photo above), prosciutto with melon salsa and the rest of our meal. Enjoy!

Rosemary Rubbed NY Strip with Chianti Butter

Here's a little tease of my most recent guest post over at Domestic Divas! Check out the full post here.

Stay tuned here for some yummy crostini recipes, perfect for any parties you'll be hosting in this gorgeous warm spring weather. Enjoy!

YWPWT: Family Favorite Pie

This month's You Want Pies With That Challenge is brought to us by Natalie of Oven Love. She chose the theme:

Family Favorite Pie

This month's theme comes from
Natalie at Oven Love

Everyone's family has traditions, including favorite desserts. What's your family favorite? Is it your mom's brownies, your grandmother's banana pudding, your brother's famous chocolate chip cookies? Whatever that favorite dessert is, take it and turn it into a pie! If it already is a pie, make the recipe with your own special twist. If you're feeling extra energized and willing to divulge family secrets, include the original recipe!

When I first started thinking no clear family favorite came to mind for me, then I realized the one dessert we have at least once a year, that everyone gobbles up while it's till hot and even eats the leftovers for breakfast is Apple Crisp. Now we are pretty specific about apple crisp, we are of the no oatmeal variety, just butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon and super golden and crispy! Now, to turn that into a pie, I could have just made an apple crisp pie, sounds easy enough, maybe a bit too easy! I then remembered that the boy loves Apple Blueberry pie. So in a effort to combine my family's favorite with his I developed these Apple Blueberry Crisp Tartlettes. It was still pretty easy, but I liked being able to incorporate something I grew up on with something that's newer.


Apple Blueberry Crisp Tartlettes
makes 2 6" Tartlettes

1 sheet of puff pastry - defrosted
1 large granny smith apple
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup of blueberries - washed
2 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt

1. Place oven rack one step about the middle (where you'd normally bake a pie). Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Peel and core apple and slice thinly. Place in a large bowl. Add in blueberries and toss with lemon juice.
3. Unroll puff pastry and cut two circles (approximately 6" in diameter). Place circles on a prepared cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray and line with parchment). Place a single layer of apple slices on the dough, leaving 1/2" border around. Top with as many blueberries as will stay. Fold and press the edges, covering just the very edge of the apples.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Rub in the cold butter making crumbles. Top each tartlette with the crumbles.
5. Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, until puff pastry and crisp become golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Serve while warm.

I wish I could have had my family try this one to get their take on it. I loved it! The boy liked it but though some honey drizzled on top before baking would've been better, he found it to be not quite sweet enough. I think it's because I used granny smith apples, which I always use in my pies but not often in apple crisp. A sweeter apple (like and empire or macintosh) and piling a bit more of the crisp on top of the pie would give him the sweetness he is missing. That being said he gobbled up the tartlette and I enjoyed it, so I'm calling this one a winner. Don't forget to check out the other entries over at You Want Pies With That. Enjoy!

Almost Churro Cupcakes with Mexican Chocolate Frosting

With Cinco de Mayo tomorrow I knew I wanted to make something Mexican in flavor. I've posted quite a few recipes on here of different savory Mexican dishes and decided for this I wanted to make something sweet. The boy and I recently ate a Cava, a restaurant here in Toronto and in addition from a completely wonderful meal we had a wonderful dessert of Churros and Chocolate. Ever since I moved to Southern California 4 years ago I fell in love with churros and loved them even more dipped in a fabulously thick and rich Mexican hot chocolate. The churros and choclate at Cava were fabulous! This was my attempt to recreate this fabulous treat. I call them Almost Churro Cupcakes, because they are good but not exactly what I was going for when I started this. The cupcakes taste a bit too cinnamony and the chocolate icing isn't exactly what I was going for, not rich enough. That being said we had some friends over to watch hockey last night and they thought they were fabulous. With that kind of a criticism, I figured I'd still share the recipe. Plus I think the photos cam out pretty well.


Churro Cupcakes
makes 12-16 cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup room temperature milk
1/2 cup room temperature butter
1 room temperature egg
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder salt and cinnamon. Add flour and milk alternately to the butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
4. For regular cupcakes, place 2 heaping Tbsp of mix into paper lined cupcake tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.



Mexican Chocolate Frosting

2 sticks butter - room temperature
1/4 sour cream
pinch of sea salt
3 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1. Mix butter and salt until fluffy. Add icing sugar a few Tbsps at a time until frosting is stiff enough for piping.
2. Beat in sour cream and add a few extra Tbsp of icing sugar if it loosens up too much. Add in cocoa powder and spices mixing until well combined.

My problem with these cupcakes is they taste too much like the Cinnamon Brown Sugar ones. I think I'd like more of a white cake with cinnamon swirl, but I still consider myself a fairly novice baker and am not quite sure how to get that. The chocolate icing was close but would have been better if I had remembered to pick up dark chocolate. They taste very good, just aren't exactly what I was hoping for. Does any one have any thoughts or tips? If so I'd love if you'd post them in the comments or shoot me an email or tweet me @piccantedolce.

Enjoy!

Domestic Diva's Fennel & Apple Poached Halibut

The Diva here with another fab guest blog for Piccante Dolce! To celebrate spring, I wanted to do cook a recipe with clean, crisp flavors. Halibut, one of my favorite fish, has just come into season. Usually, I grill or saute it, but I decided to do something different this time around. I opted to make a homemade vegetable stock with a fennel and apple base. Then, I poached the halibut in the stock and served the warmed broth with the fish. Poaching is a great way to cook fish - and also very healthy. I added whole wheat noodles and delicately poached cremini mushrooms to the recipe to give it an earthy touch. I topped the fish with fresh drizzled olive oil and julienned granny smith apple. The resulting dish felt like the very epitome of spring! Light, fresh, clean, delicious!

Domestic Diva's Fennel & Apple Poached Halibut (inspired by Charlie Trotter)

2 4oz halibut fillets (salmon also works great)
3 cups homemade vegetable stock (see ingredients and recipe below)
1/4 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 granny smith apple, julienned
1 small fennel bulb, julienned with tops preserved
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 cups whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
salt and pepper

Vegetable Stock:

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
1 tbsp peppercorns

Directions:

To make the vegetable stock, simmer all of the ingredients in filtered water for at least an hour. Strain and return to stovetop.

Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer. Add the julienned fennel and mushrooms, cooking them in the broth for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Next, add the fish to the broth and poach for a few minutes until cooked through. Remove from the broth and season with salt and pepper.

Finally, season the broth with salt and pepper, keeping it warm.

To plate, place the noodles in the bottom of a wide bottomed bowl. Place some of the mushrooms and julienned fennel around the bowl. Add the fish and then ladle some of the warm poaching liquid around the bowl. Top with the julienned apple and drizzle with good olive oil. Sprinkle some fennel tops around the bowl. Enjoy!

Wine Tasting Notes: Sea Smoke 2005 Southing Pinot Noir

To go with the clean, crisp flavors in this dish, we decided to pair a nice pinor noir from Sea Smoke, one of our favorite California producers. The 2005 pinots have been drinking great these last few months, and this was no exception. This wine, made from grapes grown in the Santa Rita Hills, one of my favorite places to find great pinot noir, had great cherry fruit on the front end, good tannins and nice acidity. I recommend checking out Sea Smoke and getting on their mailing list. Suggested Retail Price: $50