{palermo photojournal} Leave the Gun, Take the Cannolis

Karen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:24:54 +0000

Palermo, Sicily is a city of contrasts. It’s the fifth largest metropolis in Italy, with over a million people in the metro area. It’s also a very old city–almost 3,000 years of continuous existence. Most people think of the mafia when they hear “Palermo”–but the city is textured and interesting far beyond the Cosa Nostra connection.

Sicily’s location placed the island at the geographical crossroads of pretty much every major empire (save the Mongols) throughout history. At various times, Palermo was ruled by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Aragonese, and Bourbons, before Sicily finally became a part of unified Italy about 150 years ago. Because of this complex history of upheaval and constant change, there are remnants of past glories and injustices alike evident in the peeling layers of Palermo’s facade.

The Quattro Canti and many of the churches and theaters in town show a heavy baroque influence.

Like much of southern Italy, Palermo is a little rough around the edges and feels slightly more exotic, and slightly less modern, than the rest of Italy.

I love these ornate Tabacchi stands found on so many corners.

The Arab and Byzantine influences are noticeable in the souq-like alleyways that haphazardly and confoundingly shoot off from the main roads. Many are too small for cars, so are by default given over to strictly pedestrian or 2-wheeled locomotion. And nearly everywhere you look, there’s a church of a distinct architectural style peeking out!

The Vucciria Market is an open-air market with fluid boundaries and an old-world feel. It’s a teeming cacophony of buyers and sellers on Saturdays, closed like a hangover on Sunday, and a bit sleepy again on Monday in build up to the weekend’s events. Transactions still have a very old-fashioned feel to them, and you can buy anything from a whole side of beef to a 4 foot long cucumber to a plastic bag full of live snails (a Sicilian delicacy.)

(The snail guy was cranky and wouldn’t let me take a picture of the snails unless I was buying, so needless to say, no snail picture…)

Palermo was also hard hit during World War II. In 1943, Allied forces descended upon Sicily and gained their first piece of European ground back from the Axis powers. In Palermo’s Kalsa neighborhood, adjacent to Vucciria Market, you can still find significant remnants of the immense damage wrought during the war, underpinning the quotidian activities of this vibrant, if somewhat eerie, working class neighborhood.

A 15 minute ride on a public bus takes you to a completely different world: Mondello Beach. Here, the rented yellow umbrellas are plentiful, the boats are old-fashioned, and the water is such a crystal clear turquoise blue that you can see to the bottom. People of all ages bake themselves to a crisp bronze, eat snacks from street carts, and play in the water.

Smitten teenagers lock their love on the rusting pier.

Even the inanimate fish are theatrical.

There are plenty of Sicilian snacks to be had, like panelli (chickpea fritters) or arancini (deep fried risotto balls.) Of course, the beach is hot, so you will probably want gelato! In Palermo they don’t put ice cream in a cone, but rather in something they call a brioche, which is really more like a hamburger bun. Fun to try, but I’ll stick with a cup or cone from now on.

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{recipe} Nutty Soba Noodle Salad

Karen — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:28:43 +0000

I am in LOVE with cold peanut noodles, but they always have a ton of peanut butter and sesame oil in the sauce which is incredibly caloric, and noodles aren’t exactly low cal either. My muffin top is big enough already so if I want to eat these I feel I have to make them a slightly different way, wherein the noodles are augmented by lots of colorful vegetables and the caloric parts of the sauce are cut down a bit. After much experimentation, this is the happy medium I came up with!

It’s a pretty easy recipe- I do the noodles and the broccoli in the same pot, and the sauce is just a food processor thing, so you can make this from start to finish in under 20 minutes. Of course, any vegetables of your liking will work. It’s a good dish to make for vegetarian company. Actually, I totally just realized this is VEGAN. I can’t believe I like something vegan! I think I just saw a pig fly. A delicious, delectable little pig. Mmmmm. Bacon.

Nutty Thai Noodle Salad
serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, peeled
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup almond butter (or just use more peanut butter)
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tblsp sesame oil
2 Tblsp white wine vinegar
2 Tblsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard (smooth, not grainy)
1 bunch broccoli or baby broccoli, trimmed and chopped
1 large or 2 small red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts finely chopped
12 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
red pepper flakes or sriracha to taste
sesame seeds to taste

Method:

Put garlic and ginger in a food processor and pulse to chop. Add nut butters, hot water, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, honey and mustard and chop in the food processor until well mixed. Add red pepper flakes or sriracha to taste if desired and pulse again. Set aside.
Heat a large pot of salted water on the stove. Add the broccoli and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, rinse with cool water, drain, and set aside.
In the same pot of water, add the soba noodles and cook according to package. Drain and rinse with cool water.
In a bowl, combine noodles, broccoli, scallions, bell peppers, and dressing. Toss everything together to coat evenly. Sprinkle with a small handful of sesame seeds if desired and toss again. Serve immediately.
This keeps for about a day if you want to eat the leftovers, but after that the noodles start to get a bit broken down.

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{recipe} Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Karen — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:25:40 +0000

My friend Laura likes chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I told her husband I would surprise her with a very special version of that flavor combination so I made her some homemade Hostess cupcakes. These are fun because they look like a boring chocolate cupcake with shiny glaze, but they have a surprise inside- a big yummy blob of vanilla frosting!

The question everyone asks is… how do you get the frosting inside? Once the cupcakes have cooled, you can make the frosting and put it into a large pastry bag with a big star tip. Turn the cupcakes upside down, shove the star tip into their behinds, and squeeze. The cupcake has some air pockets in it, so there is a surprising amount of space for the frosting. You will be able to feel when it’s “full” and the tip will sort of pop out.

Once you’ve filled them all, you can pass over with a knife to clean up any excess icing. To put the glaze on, I take the filled cupcakes and gently swirl them in the warm chocolate glaze. You have to use the glaze at about 100 degrees F or it won’t set properly. Since 100 degrees is just above body temperature, there is an easy way to test for 100F without a thermometer. Dab a little glaze in the indentation that’s just below the middle of your lower lip (a very sensitive part of the body that interprets temperature well.) The glaze should feel just slightly warm but not too hot.

To make the designs on top, just hold out a little of the vanilla frosting in a bowl. Thin it out with milk a bit and put it in a ziploc bag. Cut a small hole and start looping. If you really want it to look right, with the chocolate and the loops melded together, prepare your bag of piping icing before you start the glaze process and do it right away. Then the loosened vanilla frosting will melt into the glaze a bit and look authentic. Since she’s a Laura I made the loop-de-loops more L-like in her honor.

I have also made these with a filling more akin to a whoopie pie filling, which is also a very good way to go, and even more Hostess-like.

Here are the recipes to go with the process described above:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
5 1/2 Tblsp butter, cut in pieces
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 cup water
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk

Method:

Heat oven to 375. Prepare cupcake pans with foil liners and nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, sift together sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda.
Over low heat, warm the butter, oil, cocoa powder, and water, until the butter is melted. Whisk until smooth.
Stir the warm liquids into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula to fully combine.
Add eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and stir until smooth. You may need to use a whisk to get it completely smooth.
Fill cupcake liners to 3/4 full. Bake about 15 minutes until center of cupcakes spring back when you touch them. Cool completely before filling.

Vanilla Frosting Filling

The secret to making this frosting light and fluffy is just to beat the hell out of it.

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
about 4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Put butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat a few minutes on high, until very creamy.
Add remaining powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and continue beating until thick and creamy. Add more powdered sugar as needed to get the desired thickness.
Keep beating on high for about 5 more minutes and the frosting will be fluffy as a cloud!
This icing will harden if chilled, so use at room temperature and don’t make it too far in advance of when you’ll be using it.

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut in pieces
1 Tblsp corn syrup

Method:

Heat everything together in a saucepan over very low heat so you don’t burn the chocolate. When the chocolate is about half melted, turn off heat and keep stirring to fully melt.
Use this at about 100 degrees F or it won’t set properly. Since 100 degrees is just above body temperature, there is an easy way to test for 100F without a thermometer. Dab a little glaze in the indentation that’s just below the middle of your lower lip (a very sensitive part of the body that interprets temperature well.) The glaze should feel just slightly warm but not too hot.

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{shortcut} How To: Make a Parchment Cake Circle With No Scissors

Karen — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:49:12 +0000

I used to shudder when a cake recipe said “line the bottom of the cake pan with a circle of parchment” because unless you’re a bakery you don’t just have differently sized circles of parchment in your life, so you have to trace one and cut it out and that’s just a drag. I’m trying to make a cake over here, not do a damn craft project. And then I went to pastry school and learned this trick of how to make a cake circle with no scissors or hassle. Totally worth the 30 grand or so. I mean I learned a few other things too, but this is one I use a lot.

Step 1: Rip off a square piece of parchment that’s a bit bigger than your pan. Fold the paper in half, then in half again. Keep folding it over itself along the same axis until it’s a skinny triangle, about 4 folds.

Step 2: Hold the tip of the triangle at the center of the overturned cake pan. Note where the parchment stops at the edge of the pan and put your thumb and forefinger there.

Step 3: Carefully rip the paper at the place where your thumb and forefinger have indicated as the edge of the pan.

Step 4: Open it up and you will find you have a near-perfect circle. It’s kind of like when you make snowflakes as a kid by cutting paper out and then opening it up.

Step 5: Butter the pan and stick the circle down inside. Voila!

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{the unkitchen} Kitchen Remodel Phase 1 – In The Beginning

Karen — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:20:01 +0000

This is what the kitchen formerly known as my kitchen currently looks like.

2 days ago I had a kitchen that looked like this:

It was OK, but it had some flaws. Like…

Not nearly enough storage. Dishes drying have nowhere to get put away!

Hardwood scratched beyond belief… abutted by the ugliest peach tile you ever did see.

A big ugly washer and dryer and no room for the recycling. Constantly shuffling things to get the laundry in and out!

Only 1 cabinet to store all the food. No Costco for me!

But, there were some good things too. Like,

the panoramic view of San Francisco.

The way it flows nicely into the living room.

And of course, all of the wonderful meals, parties, and other fun times shared with friends in family in this kitchen!

So what’s happening now?

Well, you already saw what the kitchen looks like… but the rest of the house is a mess too.

The guest room’s only guests are the living room furniture.

In the office, the Transformers are forced to commingle with the fine crystal!

And the current “kitchen” setup?

(I use the term loosely as you’ll see…)

:0 :0 :0

Please invite us over for dinner.

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{wordless wednesday} The Neverending Staircase (Dubrovnik)

Karen — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:11:50 +0000

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{wordless wednesday} Why Yes, I AM Extremely Immature, Why Do You Ask? (London)

Karen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:18:08 +0000

The worst part is that I don’t even know this guy. But he knows what I’m up to and he is not amused.

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{recipe} Heirloom Tomato & Nectarine Panzanella

Karen — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:50:21 +0000

Last week, we had a terrific meal at Picán Restaurant in Oakland. One of the highlights was a seasonal tomato and peach panzanella (bread salad). I did my level best to re-create it at home and it made for a hearty, simple, summery side dish. Of course, the one at Picán had bacon in it, so that’s always an option…

Heirloom Tomato & Nectarine Panzanella

serves 4

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized heirloom tomatoes
1 nectarine
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
about 3 cups of bread cubes, cut from a crusty loaf
olive oil
white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
shaved or crumbled cheese of your choice (parmigiano, pecorino, feta, goat cheese, etc.)

Method:

Heat oven to 400. Prepare a sheet pan or cookie sheet with a piece of foil.
Cut tomatoes and nectarine into 1/4 inch cubes and place into a large bowl with their juices.
Put the bread cubes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil (1-2 Tblsp) and white wine vinegar (2-3 tsp). Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper and toss together.
Spread bread cubes on sheet pan in a single layer. Cook until browned and crisp, about 10-15 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven.
Add bread cubes and spinach to tomato/nectarine bowl. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and vinegar and mix together with your hands or with tongs. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add more oil or vinegar if necessary.
Let sit about 5-10 minutes before serving. This salad is best when the bread is half crunchy and half soggy.

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{recipe} Fettucine with Roasted Corn Cream & Crispy Portobellos

Karen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:42:33 +0000

Back when I worked at Azie, we made a lovely sauce for salmon by steeping corn cobs in a cream and broth mixture, and then adding back the roasted corn. The other night, when I needed a vegetarian meal for my visiting in-laws, I reworked it with crispy portobello mushrooms–an excellent complement to the creamy, sweet corn–and served it over fresh fettucine noodles. A perfect summer meal!

Fettucine with Roasted Corn Cream & Crispy Portobellos

serves 4

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned
2 Tblsp olive oil, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 portobello mushroom caps, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 shallots, sliced
1/3 cup grated or shaved parmigiano
12 oz. fettucine noodles
salt and pepper
handful of chopped parsley, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.
Using a sharp knife, cut the corn kernels off the cob and put them into a roasting pan with 1 Tblsp olive oil and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Place in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes, until corn is cooked and starts to brown, stirring occasionally.
While corn is roasting, put corn cobs, cream, and broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off heat and leave to steep cobs in broth and cream.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 Tblsp olive oil in a saute pan. Add portobellos and cook about 5-10 minutes, until crispy. Add shallots and cook another 1-2 minutes, until shallots are softened. Turn off heat.
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.
Put about 1/3 of the roasted corn into the portobello and shallot pan and set aside.
Remove the cobs from the cream and broth mixture and discard. Pour the liquid into a blender with the remaining 2/3 of the roasted corn and most of the parmigiano (reserving a bit for garnish.) Puree until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Mix cooked fettucine, corn cream, and mushroom/shallot/corn mixture together with tongs. Garnish with a bit of parmigiano and serve immediately.

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{wordless wednesday} Watermelon Truck (Guadalajara)

Karen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:07:42 +0000

Fun fact! Did you know someone from Guadalajara is called a Tapatío? Like the hot sauce?

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