Orecchiette Pugliese

Being a quote-unquote "foodie" I like to have a lot of variety in the type of foods that I eat. I get bored quite easily with dishes and have been known to say that I have "overdosed" on a particular dish after having it one too many times within a short period of time. Despite my, let's call it "fickle" palate, when it comes to the food that I consume at work, it's all about routine and repetition. 

Pretty much every single time that I have a shift at the restaurant I will order myself a big ol' bowl of either Funghi Risotto or Orecchiette Pugliese. It may be the fact that there are only so many dishes that I can quickly wolf down at work while standing in a small corner of a hidden server station, without having to use more than one utensil, and that I can easily digest, or it may be because they're just so damn good that I have no problem eating them on a near-daily basis. I'd say it's likely a combination of all of the above, but the fact that our Funghi Risotto and Orecchiette Pugliese are just so knock-your-socks-off delicious certainly makes it easy to consume almost every day.

Although I look forward to going into work just for our risotto and orecchiette, and despite the fact that I already eat it way more times in a week than I care to admit, I still find myself craving both dishes on my days off at home. Being such a simple dish, I have tried to recreate the orecchiette from work several times at home, but each time something was slightly off. I would never follow a recipe, simply winging it with the ingredients that I knew were present in the dish, which always seemed to result in a dry, oily, and quite bland bowl of pasta. With such an incredibly simple dish, it's easy for things to go wrong. You really have to have the highest quality ingredients in order to get the optimal flavour, as well as be spot on in your execution and quantities of ingredients. 

Desperate for my homemade orecchiette to be just as fantastic as the one from work, I finally gave in and started working with the very same recipe we use at the restaurant. Though I was fortunate enough to get an exact copy of the specs that our chefs use in the kitchen, lucky for you our Executive Chef Doug Neigel's recipe for Mercatto's Orecchiette Pugliese was featured in the Toronto Cooks cookbook for you to enjoy! 

This is one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes thanks to its simplicity and perfect balance of flavours and textures. I love the way the rich and salty fennel sausage plays off of the bitter and crunchy rapini, and that bit of heat that lingers on the tongue from the razer-thin slices of fresh hot peppers. In my opinion its the Padano cheese that ties the whole dish together, which I both toss in and grate on top with reckless abandon (the chefs all know I always order my orecchiette with a request for "CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE" typed into the chit). 

TIPS FOR COOKING ORECCHIETTE PUGLIESE:

Undercook Your Pasta - In order to achieve the best results with this dish I recommend undercooking your pasta, taking it out even before it reaches al dente. Remember that your pasta will continue to cook when you toss it together with the other ingredients, so ensuring that it's still fairly tough when taken out of the boiling water will save you in the end. 

Keep Your Rapini Crisp - Just like you don't want mushy noodles you also don't want mushy rapini. When boiling your rapini, you are literally dropping it into the heavily salted water, and then taking it straight out. Fifteen seconds in the boiling water and straight into an ice bath is all you need to get tender, yet still crunchy rapini. To reduce any chewiness in the rapini, I like to peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove any of fibrous strands. 

Use The Best Sausage - I also recommend finding the absolute best fennel sausage you can get your hands on! It's the flavour of the sausage that will really permeate into the whole dish, giving it it's addictive flavour. Though the fennel sausage I buy at my local market isn't quite as good as  the one used in Mercatto's kitchen, I add in some extra fennel seed and dried chilli flakes to amp up the flavour. 

Season Every Step - Lastly, it's super important to season every step of the way in order to get that great hit of flavour when ready to serve. Season your pasta water well as well as the water to boil the rapini. Also, be sure to season your rapini and when you sauté it in the pan and, if needed, add additional seasoning to your sausage. This will all help to build the flavour naturally. 

Check out Chef Doug Neigel's recipe for Orecchiette Pugliese featured on Style At Home.

Listening To:

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes

Food Court Presents Cooking By Hand

2015, the year I fell in love with food photography! Getting to work as a brand ambassador for Kraft Canada last year was an extraordinary experience for me in so many ways, though, more than anything the most important thing that it did for me was spark my interest in food photography. Having the responsibility of putting out fresh content and alluring photos each week for a year motivated me to learn more about the craft that I have always been so fascinated in, and continue practicing on a near-daily basis. 

Since my year-long stint with Kraft ended in September, I've had to find clever new ways of inspiring unique content and different foodie subjects for me to photograph. In the midst of the service industry holiday madness, with barely a moment to catch my breath, I was given the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes as the exclusive photographer for Food Court's latest pop-up event Cooking By Hand. Despite my extreme need to Netfix-and-chill at the time, I happily sacrificed my one night off to get the chance to take my still-foreign-in-my-hand camera out for a spin to capture someone else's foodie creations for a change. 

I had previously heard about Food Court through social media, as their striking progress and recipe development photos would pop up on my feed. I was completely taken by the attention to detail and care that was so obviously taken in creating these beautiful, handmade Italian classics-with-a-twist. It was truly a treat to get to literally go behind-the-scenes in the kitchen and capture all of the exciting action as each dish was thoughtfully executed and plated by Chef Jeffrey Bovis. Here's a little taste of my experience at Food Court Presents Cooking By Hand. 

Stay up-to-date with all of Food Court's upcoming events by following them on Instagram and Facebook! 

Listening To:

Grimes - Flesh Without Blood 

Ricardo's Chicken Curry with Red Peppers and Coconut Milk

With thousands upon thousands of recipes from all different cultures from all over the world right at our fingertips at all times, it's become pretty easy these days to find a great recipe. We all have our favourite sources that we feel confident we can turn to when looking for a knock-your-socks-off recipe, but whether that recipe will be easy, time efficient, and will be something that I feel motivated to cook up on a busy weeknight, well, that's another story. 

I can tell you first hand that it can often be a chore in itself just finding a trustworthy recipe that you can whip up in the midst of all of your responsibilities, commitments, and stresses that wull have your tastebuds dancing, and leave you feeling satisfied. I have a few recipes in my weeknight rotation that I can turn to in a hurry, but I'm always looking for new ones to add to my repertoire to keep things interesting and different. 

Recently I was approached by Ricardo Cuisine asking if I would be interested in partnering with them on a blog post to test out and review one of Ricardo's most popular recipes. Being someone who is always on the lookout for new and delicious weeknight meal ideas, I jumped at the opportunity to be apart of the campaign. I was provided with a list of Ricardo's most popular recipes and could choose whichever one I wanted to recreate. With Asian flavours grabbing my attention as of late, Ricardo's recipe for Chicken Curry with Red Peppers and Coconut Milk was the first one to grab my attention. 

Asian cooking is still very much unfamiliar territory for me, as I continue to learn the vast array of spices, herbs, vegetables, and techniques that go into the flavourful cuisine. In the past I've stayed away from a lot of Asian recipes, intimidated by them and the amount of exotic ingredients that are often required. What I loved about Ricardo's Chicken Curry was that I already had almost every ingredient on the list in my kitchen! The only ingredients that I had to go out and buy were fresh chicken breasts and turmeric (a spice that I had previously never cooked with). 

You know me, I always give you my honest opinion, so I have to be straight with you once again and say that when I first started cooking up this recipe I was a little skeptical that I would like the final results. It all seemed too easy! I didn't believe that a curry recipe so simple and with so few ingredients could actually have that hit of flavour that I yearn for when diving into a dish of curry. I was completely shocked to find that after I allowed the coconut milk to simmer and blend with the spices, chicken, and vegetables I was left with the type of wonderfully flavourful curry that I had hoped for! Though the curry was already delicious on its own, especially when topping fluffy basmati rice, I wanted to round out the flavours just a touch. In order to do so, I added a few drops of fish sauce and about 1 tsp of tomato paste, which I happened to have on hand in my fridge. That little bit of umami and acidity took the dish up a level, helping to balance out the flavours and contribute to the overall mouth-feel of the dish. 

Though I may have been skeptical at first based on how easy the recipe was, I was so pleasantly surprised at how successful this dish turned out! I was able to get everything prepped, cooked, and on the table in just over a half hour and still had leftovers for lunch the next day! I would highly recommend this recipe to any curry lover looking for a quick and simple weeknight dinner idea! Thanks to the big flavours in this dish and the ease of preparation, this is a fantastic option for serving to guests to both wow them and allow you time to enjoy yourself as well!

Find the recipe here!

This post is sponsored by Ricardo Cuisine. Opinions are my own. 

Egg Nog Punch for Fredi Magazine

How is Christmas already next week?!?!?! Insanity! Get yourself into the Christmas spirit quickly and easily by making this fantastic egg nog alternative! Though this was one of the craziest recipes I have ever heard of, the results were delicious and perfect for your next holiday party! I love the wild mix of ingredients that go into this festive cocktail, which somehow end up tasting like an expertly made egg nog, minus all of those raw egg yolks! Check out the recipe in the latest issue of Fredi magazine and on their website! 

Pro Tip:
Make a festive cocktail stirrer by stringing fresh cranberries through rosemary sprigs! The rosemary looks just like Christmas tree trimmings and will add an aromatic note to your bevvie. The stunning contrast of colour between the vibrant green from the rosemary and the deep ruby red from the cranberries add a striking detail set against the off-white drink.  

Listening To:

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus & Lucy

Lemon Cranberry Crumb Cake

There are two types of people in this world, sweet and salty. Me, I've always been more of a salty kinda gal, choosing eggs and bacon over french toast and pancakes and french fries over...well, let's be honest french fries trump everything! My attraction towards all things salty runs strong from Spring through to Fall, but as soon as that first evening of frost sets in at the end of Fall or the beginning of Winter, my sweet tooth starts to emerge! 

As I find myself pulling out my wool and cashmere sweaters and scarves, a hankering for all things sweet has begun to follow me around all day long! From the moment I wake up and choose a bowl of brown sugar and maple oatmeal over my usual scrambled eggs and toast, to just before I go to sleep as I eat a handful of Cap'n Crunch in bed, it's clear my sweet tooth has officially bubbled to the surface for the season. 

With sweets on the brain 24/7, I wanted to make a simple and not-too-sweet cake to have around my home that could satisfy my cravings whenever they should strike. With a fridge drawer full of fresh cranberries and lemons, my brain went straight to recreating my favourite crumb cake recipe with a lemon cranberry twist. This crumb cake recipe has been a family favourite for years thanks to its ease of preparation and moist and delicious results! I love that I can throw this cake together in next to no time and sub in whatever fruit I happen to have available. This recipe is so forgiving that in the past I've even subbed in non-fat yogurt for the suggested sour cream when the latter was unavailable. 

With the holiday season in full swing, this is a fantastic recipe for serving to guests or bringing to a party! It holds up well for a few days and travels very easily, making it the perfect addition to your holiday table! Give it a try and let me know how it went on Twitter: @thisgingerrose.

Notes:

• This is one of those recipes where fresh lemon juice is essential! None of that bottled business!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream (you may use full or reduced fat)

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

zest of 2 lemons

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In the bowl of a food processor add flour, sugar, and butter and pulse until crumbs form. Remove 1-cup of the mixture and set aside.
3. Place sour cream in a small bowl and stir in baking soda until dissolved.
4. Add sour cream mixture to the processor bowl. Add baking powder, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice and process until just combined. Do not over-mix!
5. Gently stir in cranberries by hand.
6. Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured 9x9-inch square baking pan. Top evenly with the reserved crumb mixture.
7. Bake for 40-45-minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (I start to check the cake around the 36/37-minute mark, and allow the toothpick to have just a little batter on it to ensure the moistest cake).

Listening To:

Do Make Say Think - It's Gonna Rain