Flavors 518

My in-laws bought me a gift certificate to the Arts Center of the Capital Region for Christmas last year, and last week I used the certificate on a cooking class. It was so fun. Have you seen the Dancing Ewe Farm at the Troy Farmer's Market? They usually have a line of admiring onlookers and really attractive looking charcuterie. Dancing Ewe Farm is a farm in Washington County ran by Louisa and Jody Somers. They have 150 sheep , spend part of the year in Italy harvesting olives to make olive oil, and are all around really impressive, laid-back people. The class that I took was about how to make things with ricotta. I personally love ricotta, but I don't ever really know what to do with it. First, Jody explained to us the whole history of making ricotta in Italy and what it is used for over there (hint: its not globbed into lasagna the way it is here, its more likely to be served with an appetizer plate and some bread slices). Then, we made a dessert. It was a really deli...

Tonight I went to a ravioli making class at Gio Culinary Studio in Voorheesville . It was ridiculously fun. We recently got a pasta machine , so my husband signed me up for it. I guess I just first want to say that my interest in cooking stems from several factors, including that it can create a loving feeling in the home ,  and a larger sense of community . Coworkers also seem to like when I bring in cookies . But here is another important thing that cannot be forgotten - learning how to cook is great because with not very much money and not really too much effort you can, on a regular basis, make food for yourself as good as or better than food that is served at any restaurant. This last benefit of my interest in food and cooking was what came into my mind tonight. With common everyday ingredients and a simple sequence of steps your mind can be blown completely. I went out to Voorheesville to his little storefront that has pictures of wedding cakes in the window. An adorable...

It has been a long running joke between Scott and me that we have too much pasta. He ate pasta a lot more as a bachelor, and I have always felt like we had pasta coming out of our ears, pasta falling out of every cabinet, pasta taking over our lives. So I put it all in airtight containers and mason jars, and then he said he didn't know how long to cook all of it because they weren't in their boxes anymore, so now we just have tons of pasta we don't use. He used to love Raffetto's in NYC , and never stopped talking about how he could not find a place to buy fresh pasta in Albany. So partially as a pasta joke, and partially for practically reasons, I bought him a class at Different Drummer's Kitchen for Christmas to learn how to make fresh pasta . Then, we had a coupon to Different Drummer's that we got from having our wedding registry there, and with that we purchased a pasta making machine . Pasta making turns out to be the most fun ever. I used Mario Battali...

We wanted to do something nice for Easter dinner, so we decided to visit one of our favorites. It's always nice to be back to the Grand Street landmark , and while perhaps because of the holiday most of the familiar faces weren't around our server Charity was excellent. There was an Easter prix-fixe that was tempting, particularly since one of the entree choices was lamb with artichoke and fennel. But we both decided to order a la carte. For the appetizers, we went with Italian classics. We split the greens and beans Passannante, which we had never had here before although it's one of my favorites. It was divided into two portions for us: A very nice balance between firm white beans and butter greens, with a tasty broth. We also split an even more banal appetizer, a caprese salad: This is all about the ingredients, and given how rare it is to get tasty, juicy tomatoes at this time of year it was a godsend. The homemade mozzarella is also terrific. For the main...

The other night we checked out MezzeNotte Ristorante in Guilderland. We sampled some very tasty risotto balls from there at the Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts . Also, my husband took a class from the chef at Different Drummer's Kitchen and really liked Mark Graham. So we decided to check it out. I got the Caesar salad which I really liked because it had a strong lemony flavor. My husband got the Zuppa di Polpetti (meatball soup, with mushrooms, farro, cippolinis and spinach in a rich broth), which was deeply flavorful and really satisfying. For my entree I had Lasagna "Matta" - free formed lasagna tossed with Chef's three meat Bolognese, which I really, really loved. It was a pretty big portion, and Scott helped me, but we definitely polished off the whole thing. It is a world of difference between this fresh conventional pasta and dried pasta.. Also, when I went to the bathroom you could really smell either fresh pasta or bread coming out of the kitchen and ...

Today I went to a pizza making class at King Arthur Flour that my parents signed me up for as a Christmas gift. They are located in Norwich, VT. I had a great time driving out there with all of the beautiful scenery populated with ski resorts and small cheese farms. I got there early and checked out the store. Browsing the store was a great time for me, as I am sure it would be for anyone who is really interested in baking. They also sell supplies online, and you can order a catalogue . They had pretty much any kind of flour you can think of, probably 10 different kinds of vanilla extract, endless decorating supplies, bread cookbooks, and much, much more. They also sold some local Vermont products. I bought some Grafton cheddar cheese , Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon , and some tart pans. Then I went to their cafe. I got a spinach and feta croissant and a coffee. The croissant was very flaky, very fresh, and totally amazing. The Baking Education Center was really professional and...

I love Valentine's Day. Are you one of those people who hates Valentine's Day and thinks it is just for marketing purposes and making single people feel bad? If I bake you a red velvet heart shaped whoopie pie will you shut up about it? I am a subscriber to Martha Stewart Living magazine, and while the December holiday issue makes me feel anxious every year, the February Valentine's issue always gets me excited. The cards! The amazing desserts! The cheesy little presents you can make for your love! I know Caitlin Flanagan is weirdly against date night for couples in relationships, but some people who are in long-term relationships or married actually do enjoy their partner's company - imagine that! Now, I am a person who likes to stay home for New Year's Eve ,  but I always, always like to go out on Valentine's Day. And by this I do not mean actually on Valentine's Day - that would be too crowded, no doubt. I mean the 13th or the 15th, when it is eas...

Now I am a big fan of the Cook's Illustrated Pizza Margherita recipe, as discussed here . But I recently tried Mark Bittman's pizza dough recipe from the New York Times Essential Cookbook, and that is very good too. I like the idea of mixing half wheat flour and half white flour in a lot of bread recipes because I feel you get some of the health benefits of the wheat flour, and some of the texture benefits of the white. I think it is a good mix, so I've been doing this in my pizza dough too. I went to Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, MA ( as discussed here ) earlier in the week and got some Maplebrook mozzarella and no joke - the best pepperoni I have ever had in my life. It is from Vermont Smoke and Cure and oh my goodness was this good. I cannot wait to try all of their other products like summer sausage, ham, bacon, and sausages. So delicious it was unreal. The same day I bought these products earlier in the week I had one mishap after another - through bad plannin...

As a Christmas gift I signed my husband up for a pasta making class at Different Drummer's Kitchen in Stuyvesant Plaza. The instructor was from MezzeNotte in Guilderland. We sampled some food from this restaurant at the Albany Wine & Dine for the Arts and really enjoyed what we tried. He said they made some risotto, ricotta gnocchi, and a couple kinds of long fresh pasta. He said it was all hands-on and that the staff was very helpful. He said that in the class he learned the having a Kitchen-Aid mixer with a pasta attachment is the easiest method of making fresh pasta at home. He said that the hand crank ones really need two people - one person to feed in the pasta to the machine, and another to crank it (sometimes a third person is also needed to keep the device steady on the counter). Check out some of his photos - it all looks delicious! Apparently it was not difficult to learn.

The winter holidays obviously can cause a whole range of emotions in people - they are weighed down with memories of past Christmases, especially if people or things are now gone. Also, places that mean one thing on other days of the year can have other connotations on Christmas. They are weighed down with expectations, pressures, and comparisons. The sentence "But its Christmas!" seems so much of a stronger thing to say than "But it is President's Day!" It seems a bit like weddings - what other thing has such strong expectations attached to it because it happens to be a certain day on the calender? That being said, most other Christmas breaks I have had I have traveled farther than this year. The college where I work does a campus shut down during this week to save money with energy costs. It is the sort of thing where you don't want to know what day it is, because you don't want to know how fast it is going by ( like our honeymoon ). It makes me thin...

 We first went to the Delmonico's in Utica when we were visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown a couple years ago. We also visited the Ommegang Brewery, and had worked up strong appetites. I consulted my guidebook I bought when we first moved here, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot in Utica listed, but Delmonico's sounded interesting ( here is the menu ). We went there, and I got the full pound lasagna  (wow), not sure if I finished it all or not (I definitely haven't since then). I remember liking the cocktail glasses, and liking how many celebrations seemed to be taking place all at once (birthdays, family get togethers, couples on dates). Going to Delmonico's  seemed like a super popular thing to a certain group of people - and I immediately liked it for what it was. Sure it is not Italian-Italian but as far as Italian-American goes, I think it is great. It is so much better than it needs to be. Upon coming home we realized there was one i...