Negative Nancy Meets Debbie Downer...

I've been neglectful and for that I'm truly sorry - that is, if anyone actually reads this blog. No really, I haven't had any followers join since March and barely any comments. WTF? Even my own Mother hasn't read in months and I've seen Jared skim it at best.

I can't say I blame them. I suppose my participation has dwindled as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm still cooking but the GDL recipes are few and far between. When I started this project I had a lot of time to myself to prep, cook, eat, ponder and write frequent and witty entries. I'm trying to commit to one Everyday Italian recipe a week but then also finding the time to write hasn't been easy.

Part of that is due to the fact that I'm enjoying my life with Jared in Richmond - that's a happy reason at least. But the other part is due to utter exhaustion. I’m recalling an entry from January in which I describe a miserable day at work during ad close. That’s when I worked for a publishing company that produced monthly and quarterly magazines.

Cut to Julie working for a major metropolitan daily newspaper. Yeah, it’s ad close everyday. And on top of that, I work with preprints (those circulars and coupon books that spill out of your paper on Sundays) and we’re approaching Thanksgiving – the largest preprint day of the year – when every advertiser comes out of the woodwork with a 60 page Black Friday/Holiday insert in every newspaper in every zip code.

So lately, I’m a little on edge. A little frustrated with a tedious workload. A little tired of the people I work with. A little drained. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Everyone has bad workweeks and these are mine.

So forgive me if I’m not regaling my dozens (if that) of readers with tales of perfect homemade pastas or sauces gone wrong and I can’t say I’m very optimistic about getting through the entire Everyday Italian cookbook before the end of the year (the original intention of the blog) but for now I’ll leave you with this…

Last Sunday I made GDL’s Classic Italian Lasagna. It was delicious. End of story. Julie’s sleepy. Goodnight.

Fabulous Fall Weekend...

I get excited about fall like a pre-teen backstage at a Justin Bieber concert. Like a wino at a vineyard. Like a cop at a doughnut factory. Like a shop-a-holic at a sample sale. Like a... have I made my point? I love everything about fall. And I especially love relaxing weekends spent cooking and baking up the flavors of the season.

With five cans of pumpkin puree in my pantry I got to work on my Great Pumpkin Feast. GDL's Pumpkin Ravioli called for toasted hazelnuts and a butter sage sauce. Simple and delicious. Poured over pumpkin or squash ravioli it was a spicy decadent dinner. That was it for Everyday Italian though.

Next, I pulled out my crockpot for my Curried Pumpkin Soup. It's thick and creamy and quick to assemble. There's something so comforting about lying around the house with a cool fall breeze coming through the window and the smell of a soup or stew permeating the house. If the Pats were playing it could have been any number of fall weekends at my parents’ house. But in Virginia, Jared and I read and walked to lunch and dozed on the couch and it was fabulous.

Finally, dessert was in order. Another fall tradition of mine started with my roommates in college. Every October and for the last five years, we would get together at the Jones Family Farm in Shelton, Connecticut for pumpkin picking, cider and big, flat, chewy pumpkin cranberry cookies. The recipe can be found on their website JonesFamilyFarms.com. While they still tasted delicious and were fairly easy to make, mine weren't quite so flat. More scone-like which was fine by me. One bite and I was back on the farm watching kids get their faces painted and dad's carrying as many pumpkins as possible through the cashiers line and laughing with my roommates like 13-year old boys at the unusually shaped gourds.

Not being able to get up to Connecticut or home to Boston this fall kills me but my Great Pumpkin Feast gave me a taste of New England here in Virginia.

Cruising into Fall...

I've returned from the islands of the Caribbean and though I didn't have much contact with Pirates, I'm pretty sure my booty is more bountiful. All the warnings were right! You do eat and drink gluttonously on a cruise. And it was fabulous!

Inspired by so many different delicious dishes last week, after sleep and laundry the next thing on my agenda was cooking! I chose a simple spinach pesto from Everyday Italian and it was like reuniting with an old friend. I chopped and cooked with a cool glass of wine and a smile on my face.

Spinach, toasted pine nuts and lemon juice get combined in the food processor with a touch of olive oil and salt and pepper. It is blended on whole wheat pasta along with Parmesan cheese and my first GDL meal back from vacation is complete.

It was fresh and delicious although I treated it like a basil pesto where a little goes a long way. I could have doubled the recipe for the pasta I made. But all in all, this was a simple no muss no fuss pesto that I thoroughly enjoyed making.

As difficult as it is to see a vacation come to an end, it does give you a whole new appreciation of home. My apartment looks cozier than ever and with the fall coming to Virginia, I am so genuinely happy to be home.

In honor of fall, next up - Pumpkin Ravioli!

Licking my Ladyfingers...

There is a long running Tiramisu joke in my family. After a snooty waiter once described the dessert with his nose in the air as "ladyfingers dipped in espresso" our family has regularly repeated the statement in our best pitchy British accent when we find it on a menu. But me? Make my own ladyfingers dipped in espresso? Absurd!

But not so much! Good ol' Giada takes all the snootiness away and leaves you with a decadent but simple dessert. While brewing my espresso, I whipped my heavy whipping cream with a little added sugar. A whole container of Mascarpone cheese gets folded into the whip cream - but not over stirred. This direction always shakes me to the core. It's almost a threat - "stir - but don't over-stir!" Lord, what would happen?! And when have I reached over-stirring status? I mean give me a number of stirs or appropriate turning pressure or some gauge! I'm stirring blindly over here!

But moving on...

Giada says to next add Zabaglione to the whipped mixture. Now last time I made Zabaglione in my little Connecticut kitchen (see Indulgences post from January), it was OK but a lot of work for basically melted creamy chocolate. So rather than go through the messy process of Zabaglione again, instead I melted some chocolate chips and stirred in a bit of cream and voila- lazy woman's Zabaglione!

So the "Zabaglione" gets added to the whipped cream and Mascarpone and chills in the fridge. Meanwhile, you line a loaf pan with plastic wrap so the edges hang over. Giada says to then dip the ladyfinger cookies into the espresso but my cookies fell apart instantly in the hot cupful so instead I lined the cookies into the loaf pan and drizzled the espresso on top of them. A third of the whipped mouse mixture spreads over the cookies before you add another layer of ladyfingers. Then more mouse and more ladyfingers to top.

Next you test your patience by letting it set in the fridge for two hours! The cool dessert smells absolutely divine. By lifting the edges of the plastic wrap the Tiramisu gets flipped onto a plate, topped with a dusting of cocoa powder and served. My presentation might not have been as lovely as those fancy restaurant Tiramisu but my God does it taste just as good.

Go Big or Go Home...

As you can see, August has been a slow cooking month. I've been totally consumed with our September cruise and all the preparation leading up to it- swimsuit shopping, boot camp fitness classes to make sure I can fit in the swimsuit, etc. I figured if I was only going to cook one GDL meal this month I better go balls to the walls and tackle a challenging one.

When I hear Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli I think Buitoni in boiling water for 8 minutes, sauce from a jar, voila! But Giada has a different plan. The idea of making my own ravioli from scratch sounded like a daunting task but GDL says it's easy when you use frozen spinach, pre-sliced mushrooms and egg roll wrappers as your pasta noodles. Sure! No sweat!

The mushrooms get sautéed in olive oil until the liquid has evaporated. The thawed and dried frozen spinach gets added to the pan and heated through. This smells delicious and I had high hopes especially after the mushrooms and spinach get chopped in the food processor and combined with mascarpone and Parmesan cheese. But then my egg roll wrappers started curling up on me and refused to stick together with my egg wash mixture. And maybe I should have looked harder for egg roll wrappers rather than spring roll wrappers because the see-through factor kinda through me for a loop.

I warned Jared we might be eating mushroom spinach slop with floating spring roll pieces, said a quick prayer to the pasta gods, and threw about 12 "ravioli" in my big pot of boiling water. The result? Basically mushroom spinach slop with floating spring roll pieces. The ones that did stay together had a slimy texture that I could not stomach. Not sure if it was Jared's unwavering love for me or if the man truly will eat anything but he managed to devour not only his bowl but my practically untouched bowl as well. God bless him.

So while Jared seemed satisfied, I was truly disappointed. This recipe was a lot of work, a lot of dirty pots, pans and utensils, an unpleasant presentation and in my opinion overall kinda nasty. But I plan to redeem myself and attack the most impressive GDL dessert - homemade Tiramisu.

The Quest Concludes Victoriously...

I knew Whole Foods couldn't let me down! Just 3 feet from the entrance, what do I see but an iced barrel full of mascarpone cheese on sale! It's as if the Whole Foods gods looked down at me from their tree-huggin' temples and threw me a bone. I got some odd stares from my overly excited reaction to this cheese. I even saw one woman walk over to it after I moved on to inspect what was so arousing. Needless to say, she wasn't as impressed.

So with my genuine mascarpone cheese in hand I can finally make some GDL fruity desserts including Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cheese.

It's a beautiful presentation for such a simple preparation. You start by juicing a lemon and combining it with sugar and brandy. In another bowl, the coveted mascarpone cheese gets mixed with a hint of vanilla. These get set aside while you brush a grill or grill pan with olive oil. Pitted and quartered peaches are grilled until golden with obvious grill marks. Add the peaches to the lemon mixture to coat. White wine is poured over the sweet lemony peaches and topped with a dollop of the mascarpone topping.

The textures of this dessert are so sensual you could melt. It's creamy coolness over soft warm fleshy peaches with a slight tingly buzz from the alcohol... mmmmm. I feel like I'm writing a harlequin romance novel. But seriously, it's that good. Enjoy it with someone you love! Bow chick-a bow-wow.

The Quest for Mascarpone Cheese...

Richmond has quickly become one of my favorite places. As a big-little city, it offers quiet quirky neighborhoods with all the conveniences of a large metropolis. One thing it doesn't have... Mascarpone Cheese!!

What is wrong with this city? How can you deprive yourself of this cool creamy sweet cheese? It's not right and to be honest, I'm a little pissed off. Yeah, I'm talking to you Richmond! You're on my list!

It all started with my decision to make GDL's Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cheese. Sugar, check. Lemon juice and vanilla, check check. White wine, please- it's a staple in my kitchen. So out I go for the remaining ingredients- fresh peaches and mascarpone cheese.

My first attempt was the little market behind my apartment building creatively called The Market. No go. Mealy peaches and not a hint of mascarpone to be found. Bummer. A short car ride and I'm at my favorite Kroger that is the most "gourmet" and "organic" of all the Kroger's in Richmond. Trust me, I've been to them all. As loyal readers know, I'm quite particular about my supermarkets and the right store can make grocery shopping an absolute thrill for me (see Organic Heaven post from February).

But alas, no mascarpone cheese. I even go so far as to ask the bakery if they have some in the back that maybe they could just package up for me. But you would think I asked for them for the oven itself and they shooed the crazy cheese lady away. At least they had nice peaches.

Check.

OK, Whole Foods has never let me down. I drive across town to the one and only Whole Foods in Richmond. I walk out of the 100-degree heat and through the glass doors. A cool fruity breeze greets me and I get a burst of confidence- I will find my mascarpone here! I fly past the rows of colorful organic produce and round the corner to the dairy/soy case. Vegan cheeses, organic varieties, tofu this and soy that but no go on the mascarpone.

Over to the deli/bakery/prepared foods area that has the big refrigerated case with the most expensive and most pungent cheeses in the store. I look and look, sniff and sniff, debate just buying brie for dinner to make me feel better after this cheese debacle but eventually walk out empty handed with a growling tummy.

No Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cheese tonight. Maybe not ever while in Richmond. But one silver lining came today. Googling 'Mascarpone Cheese' generated a mere 364,000 results one of which led me to a mascarpone substitute! It sounds a little heavy and I'm sure it won't compare to the cool silky smoothness of mascarpone but I'm giving it a whirl.

This weekend, I will whip up one 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese with a quarter cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons softened butter. You will get my full report next week. Stay tuned.