La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

I realize that I rarely cook with so much dairy, but I had to try this baked pasta dish because of how simple it seemed. I tend to use penne a lot, but that is because it is my favorite cut of pasta, especially if it is rigate, with the little ridges running down the tube. This recipe is also a good way to use some ripened vine tomatoes if you have any on hand.

You will need:
- 2 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 small white onion or 1 whole shallot finely diced
- 1 c cream
- 1 egg yolk
- handful of basil leaves, minced
- 1 c bread crumbs
- 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step One: Boil water and 1 tsp of salt for pasta; when water boils, add 2 c of dry pasta. While that cooks, saute the garlic, butter and onions in a saute pan over medium heat until translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste, and tomatoes; saute for another 7 minutes until tomatoes soften.

Step Two: Pour contents of pan into a blender and blend for 45 seconds until mixture becomes smooth. Return contents to the pan and add basil.

Step Three: Whisk cream and egg yolk together in a bowl. Add egg and cream mixture to pan, whisk well and let thicken over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until mixture coats a spoon. Turn off heat. Add cooked and drained penne pasta and mix well.

Step Four: Place pasta in a casserole pan and layer with Parmesan cheese. Top off with bread crumbs and bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Labels: cream, Parmesan, pasta, tomatoes

The sweetest thing is having a zesty and elegant tart in a hurry. After preparing the tart crusts in advance, making this sweet tart from Once Upon a Tart was easy and rewarding. The best part about making this tart was that the ingredients were simple and few compared to others I looked at. I suggest that if you make this tart, you par-bake the tart crust so that the custard doesn't seep out and stick to the sides of the tart pan. So how many times can you say "best part about this sweet tart?"

You will need:
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 c sugar
- zest of one lemon
- juice of 3 lemons
- 3/4 c of heavy cream
- 1 par-baked flaky tart crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step One: Whisk eggs and yolks together in a medium sized bowl. Add sugar while whisking and pour in lemon zest and juice. Still whisking, pour in the cream.

Step Two: Slowly pour in the custard into your par-baked tart shell and ensure that none spills over. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it doesn't jiggle. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

I think this tart would go best with a dollop of cream and a piping hot cup of Earl Grey tea with milk. So far my tart making has been a success. The cookbook from Once Upon a Tart was worth every penny and makes a great gift for a first time or well experienced baker who enjoys classic pastries like scones, muffins, and these savory and sweet tarts.

Labels: cream, dessert, eggs, lemon, tart

I tried to use the last of the swiss chard bundles I bought on sale last week from Whole Foods. In doing so, I decided to revise a recipe I saw in Lidia Bastianich's cookbook for arugula and potato soup. I deviated a little, and it appears that this was not so wise as the roomie did not care for the creamy texture. The dish is still very tasty, but sans the cream (although Rick Bayless has a very similar recipe that uses cream). I say, divide the soup and try a batch with and without the cream and judge for yourself.

You will need:
- 1 bunch of swiss chard, washed and cut into ribbons
- 1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 or 3 potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced into rounds
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 c of vegetable stock
- salt and pepper to taste, and a few pinches of chile piquin (crushed red pepper)
- olive oil or vegetable oil
- optional 1/2 c of cream

Step One: In a large stock pot, add 4 tbsp of olive or vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the sliced potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook the potatoes until golden brown, stirring every few minutes to avoid sticking. I cooked these potato rounds for about 8 minutes (after the oil and pan were hot)

Step Two: Add the onions and minced garlic cloves and cook for another 4-6 minutes or until the onions soften. Add the swiss chard and toss. Cover the pan and cook for about 3 minutes so the chard just begins to wilt.

Step Three: Pour in the stock. At this point, you can let this soup cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the stock is nice and hot, or you can also add the cream. Add chile piquin to taste and enjoy. You can also add a nice handful of fresh grated Parmesan to taste.

I thought that the soup was rather tasty with the cream. The purpose of cooking the potatoes in advance is to give them a crispy texture and withstand the stock. I think that this soup is a lot like the Roman Beet Greens soup, and the main difference being that the swiss chard is a little more hearty and gives a better texture, even after sitting in the fridge overnight. Again, the cream is entirely optional, so experiment a little and see what you think.

Labels: cream, potato, soup, swiss chard

Here he is again, this time making a "real" mushroom soup that surprisingly contains no cream. The only problem I had with this recipe was that I had a very hard time finding dry porcini mushrooms. I finally had success at Whole Foods, although I am sure I could have found them at an Italian or import gourmet grocer much cheaper. The good thing was that Whole Foods had a wide selection of mushrooms, so I was able get all of my ingredients at once.

You will need:
- 1 package of dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 handfuls of fresh (washed) oyster, chitake (shiitake?), and cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked over
- 4 c of chicken or vegetable stock
- handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- Optional: 2 tbsp of marscapone, or substitute 3 tbsp of heavy whipping cream

Step one: Place the porcini in a bowl and pour 2 c of boiling water over it, soaking while you cook.

Step Two: In a large stock pot combine the olive oil, garlic, onion, butter, thyme, and mushrooms over medium heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until mushrooms start to sweat. Stir and add your soaked, chopped porcini mushrooms (drain well first, reserving liquid). Season with salt and pepper.

Step Three: Add the rest of your porcini reserve liquid, stock, white wine and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Step Four: After cooking, remove half of the soup and puree it in a blender; return puree to the pot. Add parsley and marscapone or cream. Serve the soup in bowls with a crostini toast, a squeeze of lemon juice and pinch of lemon zest.

This soup is a bit of a labor of love, so if you don't feel like going through the trouble of finding porcini mushrooms, I suggest leaving this soup to the more inspired cooks.

Labels: cream, mushrooms, soup

I was so sad that the NY Times decided to place their review of Ann Quatrano's restaurant outside of Atlanta into the Times Select edition on-line requiring purchase. Lucky for me, however, I downloaded the recipe for her classic eggs in cream while it was still free and I give it to you--my dear and loyal reader--free again.

This recipe is served best with a side of roasted heirloom tomatoes. Alas, there were no heirloom tomatoes in the grocery store today, so I made do with vine ripened tomatoes instead.

For the Roasted Tomatoes:
- 3 sprigs of rosemary, picked and minced
- 4 vine ripened tomatoes, halved
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 c olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

For the tomatoes: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the tomatoes, rosemary, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until tomatoes are wrinkled and collapsing.

For the Shirred Eggs:
- 1/2 c heavy cream
- 8 large farm fresh eggs
- 3 tbsp of finely minced herbs (Italian parsley, rosemary, tarragon, chervil, use your imagination here)
- 4 ramekins

Step One: Boil a small pot of hot water (about 4 cups). Keep hot.

Step Two: In a separate small sauce pan, combine cream with salt and pepper over medium heat until just steaming.

Step Three: Place 1 tbsp of cream in each of 4 ramekins (small porcelien baking bowls that hold about 1 cup). Crack 2 eggs in each ramekin, keeping yolks intact. Top with 1 tbsp of cream and sprink herbs over each. Repeat until all 4 ramekins are filled.

Step Four: Place the ramekins in a small roasting pan (or cake pan), and gently pour that boiling water into the roasting pan (not in your ramekins, silly!) so that the water comes halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake at 350 degrees until eggs are just set, about 20-30 minutes.

To serve: Place ramekins on a plate with 2 halves of the roasted tomatoes and a side of bread. The taste of these eggs is fantastic, as long as you don't overcook them like I did!

Labels: breakfast, cream, eggs

I often go to my local bookstore and sit in the cooking section, browsing for cookbooks that I covet for my shelf of cooking wonders. I usually attend these leisurely reading sessions with pen and paper so I can jot down the ingredients to recipes that my catch my eye, or multiple recipes for the same dish so I can compare the ingredients. Recently, thumbing through the pages of the Barefoot Contessa's many cookbooks, I found a very simple recipe for corn chowder. I insisted on modifying her recipe, however, because she always adds way too much fat (butter, bacon grease, and cream) to her recipes and I just think that grease swimming at the top of your soup bowl will only bring you pesadilla and indigestion throughout your sleepless belly-aching night. I have modified what was obviously a recipe to feed a football team, and I have embellished the recipe with some of my own typical recipe touches (read garlic and fresh herbs here). Feel free to alter the recipe with the "optional" ingredients listed here, or not at all. This recipe is not gluten free, nor is it lactose free, so if you are either/or, adjust with corn starch and try a plain soy milk.

You will need:

- 3 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, cut in half, then sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 c flour
- 5 c of vegetable or chicken stock
- 6 small boiling potatoes (I used golden potatoes)
- 10 ears of fresh corn, kernals off the cob, or use 1 pkg of frozen sweet summer corn
- 1/2 c of cream or half-and-half
- 2 sprigs or 1 tsp of thyme
- optional: in lieu of olive oil, cook 6 slices of bacon or pancetta until slighlty crispy. Chop up bacon and set aside, and use 3 tbsp of reserve bacon fat for soup (I know some of you are just wincing in pain and disgust, but hey, if you see what the Barefoot Contessa actually looks like, and you still want to follow her instructions on using ALL the reserve bacon fat, more power to you)
- optional: 1 tsp of turmeric

Step One: In a large stock pot, saute the onions and garlic in the fat (whatever fat you choose above) over medium-high heat. After 7 minutes, add the flour, pepper to taste, and optional turmeric. Stir this around so the flour becomes totally incorporated into the mix and thickens into a roux, (like a paste). This takes about 5-8 minutes, depending on how often you are stirring. Add the stock and quartered boiling potatoes. Let this boil for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Step Two: Meanwhile, in a separate small pot, bring 4 c of water to a boil, then toss in the corn to blanche for 4 minutes. Drain immediately and add 1 c of this cooked corn to the stock pot with the potatoes and onions. Reserve the rest of the corn. Take the contents of the large stock pot and puree them in a blender. You may have to divide this up into two "trips" because the blender could overflow otherwise. Return the puree into the large stock pot and add reserved corn, and bacon if any. Pour in the cream and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve soup with fresh thyme. Barefoot Contessa served her soup with large handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese, but I find this combination to be vile and only suggest it if you'd like to further clog your arteries. The soup as is (minus the bacon and cheese) is like velvet with the bits of corn contributing to the overall look of the soup. I left a couple of potatoes to the side and chopped them up for more texture. Feel free to experiment with this recipe, it is very basic and yearns for your creativity.

Labels: corn, cream, onion, potato, soup

I learned to cook Alfredo sauce at a restaurant almost 8 years ago and it is the tried and true recipe in my pasta arsenal. There is no "fat-free" version, so just plan on eating a small portion with a glass of white wine and a side salad.




You will need (for 3):
- 1 pint of heavy cream;
- 3 minced garlic cloves;
- dash of white wine;
- 1/2 c of grated parmesan;
- 4 egg yolks (separate the whites and discard).

For pasta, use DeCecco brand dried fettucini or fresh pasta from a local Italian grocer.

Step One: Boil water for pasta with 1 tsp of salt. Cook according to directions.

Step Two: In a skillet, cook garlic in 2 tblsp of olive oil over medium heat fro 5 minutes. Add dash of white wine to cool off.

Step Three: In a bowl, combine cream and yolks, wisk until smooth. Pour into skillet with garlic and cook over medium heat for 8-12 minutes or until it thickens (will coat a spoon without coming off completely). It is okay if this simmers a little but DO NOT BOIL or you will burn the cream. You must stir this constantly to avoid overcooking.

Step Four: Take off the heat, add parmesan & salt to taste. Ladle over cooked pasta and garnish with Italian parsley. For this occassion, I added sauteed shrimp with garlic on top.

Labels: cream, pasta, sauce, seafood, shrimp