pizzeria delfina’s broccoli rabe pizza

We went to Pizzeria Delfina a little while ago, and were instantly smitten with their pizza. With the help of a friend, we polished off two pizzas (although I probably could have finished an entire one on my own), in addition to a couple of appetizers. Imagine my surprise when, the day after our visit, I flipped open Sunset Magazine while at the gym (their reading selection was greatly limited to beauty and golf that day) and spied a recipe for their Broccoli Rabe pizza. While we didn’t try this pizza at the restaurant, I was still eager to follow the recipe at home. Until that moment, pedaling on a stationary bike had never been more exciting. (Am I the only one who reads about and salivates over food while working out?)

Making the pizza was even more exciting, as this was my first stab ever at making pizza dough. Sad, but true! Sad, because pizza dough is actually very easy to make. You mix yeast with water, flour, a drop of oil and some salt. After some kneading, this forms a dough that you let rest for a short time. Then, you divide the dough, playing with and shaping the pieces into nice, round lumps. These are left to rise for four hours. That’s it. The dough is done.

The next step is just as easy — preparing the toppings. Mix the cheeses, cream (I used milk), and buttermilk, sauté the broccoli rabe with garlic, olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes, and tear the olives into smaller pieces. Decorate the top of the stretched out pizza dough with the broccoli rabe, cheese mixture, and olives.

“Slide” the pizza onto a 550°F-hot baking pan (see notes below) and jump up and down for ten minutes in anticipation for the pizza to brown, bubble, and sizzle.

Now, I’m not saying that a 550° F oven comes close at all to competing with the wood-fired pizza ovens you find in restaurants. (In those ovens, pizzas are fired at 650° F – 800° F.) But there’s something about a chewy and crisp, airy crust that holds just the right amount of toppings that makes this pizza so gratifying to make at home. And if we’re ever in the mood for more blistery pizzas and the complete dining out experience, it’s nice to know that we’re just a short walk (and a long wait) away.

Pizzeria Delfina’s Broccoli Rabe Pizza
Adapted from this recipe (as many readers before me have discovered, the original pizza dough recipe is full of errors). I also reduced the dough recipe by one-half.

Makes: 3 (12-in.) pizzas
Time: About 2 hours, plus rising time

Dough:

* 1 tsp dry active yeast dissolved in 1 cup warm water (original recipe calls for fresh yeast)
* 3/4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 cups “00” pizza flour, preferably Caputo*, or all-purpose flour (I used 00.)
* 1 ½ tsp salt
* extra water to add to dough if too dry

Topping:

* 10 oz. fresh mozzarella packed in liquid
* 1/3 cup liquid from mozzarella container
* ¼ cup shredded caciocavallo or parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup each heavy cream (or milk) and buttermilk
* A couple pinches of salt
* 1 lb. broccoli rabe (about 1 large bunch)
* 2 garlic cloves, well smashed
* 4 tbsp olive oil
* About 1/4 tsp chili flakes (I used crushed red pepper flakes)
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup oil-cured black olives (soaked in water and drained if salty), pitted and torn in half
* Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Make dough:

1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water (about 5 minutes). Put dissolved yeast in water and oil in a large bowl. Add flour and knead with hands for about 5-6 minutes. Add more water if dough is too dry, 1 tbsp at a time.
2. Add salt and knead for a few minutes more.
3. Cover dough in bowl with a damp towel and let dough rise 20 minutes.
4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into 3 equal portions. Roll each into a tight ball. Place on a lightly floured tray.
5. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at least 4 hours at warm room temperature. Dough balls have risen properly when they are soft, pillowy, and full of air. (I like to place my dough in a preheated oven. I heat up the oven at the lowest temp beforehand, and then give it some time to cool off before putting in the dough.)

Make topping:

6. With flat side of a chef’s knife, mash a third of the mozzarella into a pulverized mass. Dice remaining mozzarella into 1/2-in. cubes. In a medium bowl, mix both mozzarellas with mozzarella liquid, shredded cheese, cream, and buttermilk. Season with a pinch of salt.
7. Cut broccoli rabe into 1-in. sections, discarding tough lower stems.
8. In a large frying pan over very low heat, cook garlic in oil, stirring often, until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add chili flakes and toast for a second, then add broccoli rabe. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper.
9. Crank heat to medium-high, stirring and cooking broccoli rabe until liquid starts to evaporate and broccoli rabe is tender.

Make pizza:

10. Heat a pizza stone or baking sheet on lowest rack of oven at 550° F (or as high as oven will go), at least 30 minutes.
11. Set 1 dough ball on a well-floured pizza peel or baking sheet and stretch into a circle, 11-12 inches in diameter.
12. Spread about 2/3 cup cheese mixture over dough. Top with 1/2 cup broccoli rabe, a sprinkling of chili flakes, and 2 tbsp olives.
13. Shove pizza onto stone. (I don’t have a “shover” or a stone, which made the transfer a bit difficult. The pizzas didn’t come out the prettiest, but they were good enough for me.) Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until puffy and browned (Mine took about 9-10 minutes). Drizzle with oil. Repeat with remaining 2 dough balls.

Make ahead: Chill dough balls overnight or freeze up to 2 weeks (let come to room temperature before stretching).

*Find at well-stocked grocery stores and Italian markets.

sometimes…

Sometimes, you just need ice cream for dinner.

Last weekend, we had a big late lunch at a Oaxacan restaurant. We needed a light dinner that night.

We tried out another ice cream shoppe in the Mission, Humphry Slocombe.

I had the Secret Breakfast (Bourbon and Cornflakes) and Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee flavors.

J had the Poppyseed-Kumquat and Malted Chocolate.

All SO good.

Can’t wait to go again.

mochi experiment #1

As a lover of filled mochi, I’m lucky enough to be able to pick them up at any one of the numerous Asian supermarkets we have in San Francisco. I’ve often wondered whether they were simple enough to make at home, but have been slightly intimidated by the stories I’ve heard concerning the mochi-making process.

Traditionally, mochi is made by pounding steamed glutinous rice with a giant wooden mallet, a practice that takes a bit of patience, some skill, and a lot of hard work. These days, you can find mochi-making machines that do all the work for you. Synonymous to a bread maker, the mochi machine steams the rice, pounds, and mixes, and leaves you with sticky rice dough that is ready to be eaten or filled.

My mom learned how to make filled mochi from a friend once. It apparently required being able to handle scalding hot, sticky mochi dough with your bare hands. After a couple of attempts at making it, my mom decided that she would find an easier way to make mochi. Her new method? Boil frozen filled sweet rice dumplings (the kind that you can find at the Asian supermarkets), and then roll them in corn starch.

Ta-da! Homemade filled mochi! My mom is a resourceful one, she is.

Suffice it to say, I’ve been more than happy buying my mochi at the supermarket. That is, until recently. A couple of weeks ago, my aunt and I had a conversation about mochi. She asked me, “How is it that store-bought mochi can stay fresh and soft for more than several days?” My aunt told me that the kind of mochi she was used to making would harden after a day, even when stored in an air-tight container. It didn’t make much sense to me, either. I remembered seeing no preservatives in the list of ingredients on the packages of my previous mochi purchases. I was equally puzzled. “Auntie,” I said. “I’m going to find out for you.” And with that, I have challenged myself to some mochi experiments.

Not blessed with asbestos fingers, a fancy mochi maker, or the desire to wield a heavy wooden mallet, I searched for alternative methods for making mochi. Thankfully, the recipes available called for the use of glutinous rice flour, bypassing the need to start from sweet, sticky rice itself. The most popular recipe written about online, however, uses a microwave. Since we don’t have a microwave, that method was out of the question. After more searching, I found a strange video demonstrating mochi dough being cooked on the stove top. Strange, because a poodle is the “host” of the show, but also useful, as I was interested in the methods shown. Because I could not decipher the recipe and proportions spoken in Japanese, I relied on this informative blog for a basic recipe for mochi dough.

Let’s just say that this mochi experiment started out okay, but turned out to be a disaster when I tried cooking the mochi batter — a combination of glutinous rice flour, sugar, water, and food coloring — on the stove top. Stirring and cooking over low-medium heat eventually turned the batter into a thick dough, which was fine, but it was still RAW. As in uncooked. Raw rice dough tastes like chalk. Not a good thing.

Raw. Gooey. Ick.

Knowing that keeping the goo on low heat would burn it and not cook it very much, I decided that something needed to be done to salvage my dough. I stirred in a cup of boiled water, hoping that it would help with the cooking, but all it did was give the goo a thick pudding-like consistency. Finally, I thought of my rice cooker (which is essentially a steamer). “Well, if the rice cooker doesn’t cook rice dough, I don’t know what will!” So I added water to the bottom of the ricer cooker, scooped the dough into a big bowl, and dropped it in. Twenty minutes or so later, I opened up the rice cooker to find a more translucent dough, deepened in color. It was no longer raw. Hurrah!

Cooked. Peachy.

I allowed the dough to cool in a shallow dish before proceeding to nip pieces of dough with corn starched-hands, forming them into disks. I then filled each disk with a pre-formed mound of red bean paste (store-bought, in a can).

Ta-da! Homemade filled mochi!

The mochi dough that resulted from this experiment is soft and a little bit chewy. It remains soft even when stored in the fridge, which is a VERY good thing, in my opinion. Before I share the recipe and methods with you, I am experimenting some more with the texture and trying to work out some kinks in the procedure.

p.s. As for the answer to the shelf-life question, I have a feeling that it has to do with the water content. I’ve read that mochi made in the microwave hardens up rather quickly. Food cooked in the microwave tends to dry out, as microwaves heat up the water molecules and cause them to evaporate. The same thing most likely happens with mochi, too. Steaming, on the other hand, will not decrease the amount of water present in the dough. While I cannot directly test my theory with the microwave, I plan on varying the amount of water I incorporate into the dough prior to steaming.

weekend breakfast

Did I mention how much I love a good, hearty breakfast? I would have eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, pancakes, and french toast every day if I could, but as much as I crave harmonious plates of starch, protein, sugar and grease (and maybe some veggies thrown into an omelet), it probably does me good to show some kind of restraint.

We have a couple of good breakfast spots within walking distance that we like to go to when we’re feeling lazy. Sometimes, we’ll go for a little drive to try out a greasy spoon or cafe in the city, hoping to find ourselves some new favorites. Having eaten a lot (and I mean A LOT) of breakfasts, though, I must say that my favorite breakfasts have been ones served at home.

During the week, breakfast is a quick and simple affair. Coffee, orange juice, and some cereal, toast, or yogurt. Come weekend, after a good long sleep, I am dancing in my pajamas at the thought of having a substantial breakfast for lunch.

Lately, it’s been the thought of homemade pancakes that excites me. (Okay, okay, so it happens more often than not.) Sadly, though, the one thing that kept me from realizing my pancake dreams for two whole weeks was the absence of maple syrup at home. After all, what good is a fluffy pancake when it’s not cloaked in maple syrup? I also blame my forgetfulness. Why maple syrup didn’t make the shopping list — twice — is beyond me.

By Saturday, a jar of maple syrup still had not magically materialized in the cupboards. It suddenly struck me that we had a full jar of lemon curd sauce in the fridge, sealed and left over from the holidays, just waiting to be used. Who needs maple syrup when we can have lemon curd sauce-covered pancakes?* Content with this happy solution, I whipped up a couple of short stacks of buttermilk wheat pancakes, and dribbled on them a generous amount of warm lemon curd sauce.

These fluffy, pretend-it’s-good-for-you pancakes topped with a creamy, zesty lemon curd sauce were TO. DIE. FOR. Like dessert for breakfast, which is what pancakes are, really.

They have me dreaming of pancakes again; only this time, without the maple syrup.

Buttermilk Wheat Pancakes

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter, melted
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
6 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp melted butter

1. Melt butter in pan you will use to cook the pancakes. Pour melted butter into medium bowl and add buttermilk and egg. Whisk together. Use paper towel to wipe up excess butter in the pan.
2. In another bowl, mix all-purpose flour, wheat flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pour flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir until dry and wet ingredients are just incorporated.
3. Heat pan to medium-high and ladle the batter into the pan, spreading and ladling less/more batter to form pancake to desired size. Once bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, flip them over, and cook them on the other side for about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. In between pancakes, swipe the end of a stick of butter around the hot pan. Makes 4 large diner-sized pancakes or 6-8 smaller pancakes.

Lemon Curd Sauce
Elegant Comfort Food from Dorset Inn
by Jane Stern and Michael Stern
via Cookbook Heaven at Recipelink.com

Juice and grated zest of 6 lemons
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

Combine the lemon juice and zest, eggs, and sugar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk over low heat until the mixture coats a spoon. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter a small amount at a time. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.
(Makes approximately three to four 8 oz jars. I would recommend using canning procedures if this is more sauce than you’ll need. You could also halve the recipe for a smaller batch.)

* This idea is not entirely my own. I was reminded of a brunch item shared with a friend — a gingerbread pancake topped with lemon curd sauce and slices of poached pears. This dish also inspired me to make a gingerbread cake for the holidays, for which I made a huge batch of lemon curd sauce.

snowflakes & we saw santa!

This is a little late, but we hope you had a merry holiday with your loved ones. We are so thankful that we were able to have a joyful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with both our families. It was a very good holiday for us.

Although Christmas is over, I am not ready to let it go just yet.
Here are some more images from Holiday 2009.

Paper snowflakes hanging from our Christmas tree. They were cut from pages of magazines.

More snowflakes adorned our wrapped presents.

A neighborhood Santaland that J encountered on one of his walks with Sara…

…with a giant live pine tree dazzling the entire block, enormous presents, ferris wheels, stuffed animals, trains running on tracks,

ornaments bigger than the size of your head,

and Santa! He was passing out candy canes and giving kids advice on how to be good.

When we visited a week before Christmas, we overheard Santa saying that he would be there every night until Christmas Eve. What a generous way to spread the holiday cheer!

And finally, photos of Sara unwrapping her present (we wrapped one of her usual raw hides and tied it with a ribbon). She was really excited about her gift.

pumpkin cake and fa la la

When the holidays come too early by showing up in the stores immediately after Halloween, you can say that we become Grinches, snarling at the loud decorations and getting more and more annoyed by the second at the mechanical Santa Claus doing his belly jiggle dance. But we have fully embraced the holidays now that they’re here. J and I like to sit in front of the small Christmas tree we picked up from a neighborhood tree lot and watch its glowing lights every night before we go to bed. While we sit there, we cut out paper tree decorations and listen to the holiday music playing on the radio — songs that we’ve heard and sung along to year after year. Now, we belt along in our loudest singing voices together (without disturbing our neighbor, of course). Somehow, this being our very first Christmas together makes this season all the more special to us.

We have been working on our Christmas tree decorations for more than a week now. The first thing we did was buy a short string of lights, but that happened to cover only a third of our tree. Severe underestimation. We exchanged the strand for a longer one, and all was well. Then we created a paper chain garland, which required a lot of cutting and taping, and at least several days. Now that the garland is finished, we are cutting out paper snowflakes for our ornaments. More pictures to come soon!

For the past few nights, our tree-decorating madness has been accompanied by this madly delicious and moist pumpkin cake. This cake contains crushed pineapple and coconut flakes, which do wonders to subtly flavor the cake and give it texture. And the spices and pumpkin are perfect for the season. I left out the currants because I didn’t have any at home, but it still turned out wonderfully. Instead of the suggested cream cheese frosting, I used a batch of leftover cream cheese frosting I had sitting in the freezer. (Cream cheese frosting freezes extremely well, in case you were wondering.)

Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Epicurious | November 2009
by Diane Morgan
The New Thanksgiving Table

Cake
Butter for coating cake pans, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup canned crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1/3 cup dried currants

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch sides. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper. Sprinkle the pans with flour, tap the pans to evenly distribute the flour, and then shake off the excess flour. Set aside.

To make the cake, in a large bowl, sift together the 2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and vanilla. In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin purée, coconut, crushed pineapple, and currants.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, spreading it evenly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks and let cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely before frosting the cakes.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 3 minutes until smooth. Add the butter and beat for about 2 minutes until combined. Add the pumpkin purée and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or platter. Using an offset spatula, spread half of the frosting over the top of the first cake layer. Spread the frosting right to the edge of the top without frosting the sides of the cake. Carefully place the second cake on top, lining up the edges. Spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake without frosting the sides. Swirl the frosting to decorate the top. Refrigerate the cake to set the frosting. Remove from the refrigerator 30 to 40 minutes before serving.

a bowl of comfort

We can’t complain too much about the weather in San Francisco, but it has gotten noticeably chillier over the past two weeks. Any outing requires us to bundle up in thick sweaters, coats, and mittens in preparation for the nippy air. On days like these, all J and I want after coming in from the cold is a steaming mug of mulled cider or hot chocolate, or even better — a big bowl of soup — to warm our insides.

Like a bowl of this potato and leek soup. This soup is hearty and smooth without being heavy, and will have you warm and toasty in no time at all.

I loosely used this recipe and followed a reviewer’s suggestions to add fried bacon pieces and bacon fat to the recipe.

Potato and Leek Soup
adapted from Gourmet | March 1992
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
Yield: Makes about 4 cups, serving 2 generously

a couple strips of bacon, chopped into 3/4″ pieces
white and pale green parts of 2 large leeks, split lengthwise, washed well, and chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
1 pound boiling potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

First, fry bacon pieces to a crisp, and then set them aside. Using only about a third or half of the rendered bacon fat (discarding the rest) plus a pat of butter, saute the leeks with salt and pepper until they are soft, tender, and golden around the edges. Add chicken stock, water and cubed potatoes. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer for about twenty minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Using a blender, carefully puree the soup (in batches, if necessary). Season to taste with salt and pepper, and if needed, thin out soup by mixing in more stock or water and reheating. Ladle soup in bowls and top with chopped parsley and fried bacon bits. Serve with crusty bread.

thanksgiving

It is December 1st, and we are still working on leftovers. It’s been delicious (we’ve also had turkey soup and turkey melts), but I think it is now time to stop.

Here are just a few photos of our Thanksgiving dishes. We made roast turkey with herbs and shiitake mushroom gravy, cornbread stuffing, roasted butternut squash & purple sweet potatoes with sage, braised brussels sprouts with lemon and thyme (a favorite of mine), brown rice with black barley & radish seeds (a mix from TJ’s) with crimini mushrooms, and fresh cranberry sauce with orange zest. I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture of our table when we sat down to dinner.

Turkey, three quarters of the way through. It turned a richer, deeper brown after all the basting towards the end. (Yes, that is my foot in the picture.)

Stuffing.

Cranberry sauce.

And there was dessert. Butterscotch budino (pudding).

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were in Los Angeles for a friend’s wedding. J planned ahead and got us a dinner reservation at Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza. While the pizza was delicious, I was turning cartwheels over the butterscotch budino that we had ordered for dessert. Luckily for me, after a quick internet key word search upon our return home, I was able to find the recipe for Mozza’s butterscotch budino. I then turned some more cartwheels and instantly decided that this year, butterscotch pudding would take the place of pumpkin pie as Thanksgiving dessert.

With multiple components, the recipe (thank you, NY Times!) is a bit involved, but the pudding, caramel, and creme fraiche topping can all be made ahead of time. You may choose to scale down if you have a smaller party, but trust me, I wouldn’t. These are leftovers that you would love to have again and again.

Butterscotch Budino With Caramel Sauce (10 servings)
Adapted from Dahlia Narvaez of Pizzeria Mozza; Time: 1 hour, plus 3 hours’ chilling

FOR THE BUDINO

3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/8 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2teaspoons kosher salt
5 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum (I used 2+ tablespoons, and it was just right)

FOR THE SAUCE AND TOPPING

3/4 cup heavy cream
Scrapings from 1-inch piece of vanilla bean, or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons fleur de sel (I pounded coarse sea salt into fine flakes using a small plastic sandwich bag and a rolling pin)
3/4 cup crème fraîche.

1. For the budino, combine cream and milk in bowl or pitcher, set aside. Whisk egg, egg yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl, set aside.
2. Combine brown sugar, kosher salt and 1/2 cup water in pot. Place over medium-high heat and let sit until edges start to brown. Tilt pot as needed to even the browning until caramelized, nutty and deep brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Immediately whisk in cream mixture, mixture will steam and caramel will seize. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Whisk a cup at a time into egg mixture until half is incorporated. Remove from heat, and immediately whisk egg mixture back into pot until custard is very thick, about 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in butter and rum. Pass through a fine mesh strainer and divide among 10 6-ounce ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap, allow to cool, and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or up to 3 days.
5. For sauce, combine 1/2 cup of cream and the vanilla in medium saucepan. Heat until simmering. Add butter and remove from heat; set aside.
6. In large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar and enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make a wet, sandy mixture. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling pan for even cooking, until mixture is medium amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in cream mixture; set aside and let cool. (May be refrigerated and reheated before serving.)
7. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup cream in a large bowl until it begins to thicken. Add crème fraîche and whisk until thick and fluffy. To serve, spoon a tablespoon of warm caramel sauce over each budino. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel, and add a dollop of cream topping.

the pumpkin patch

A couple of weekends ago, J and I decided to go apple-picking. After some research on the internet and a long drive, we arrived at a farm in the east bay, only to be told that the orchards were closed due to storms that had hit just a few days before. Our disappointment upon hearing this was only fleeting — this farm also had a pumpkin patch!

So, instead of picking apples, we went in search of the perfect pumpkins.

It took a lot of walking back and forth to find just the right one.

Our final picks:

Last night, we finally carved our pumpkins.

I carved a monster  from Where The Wild Things Are (It was named “Carol” in the movie). I think it ended up looking a lot like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It must be the toothy grin and the stripes.

J carved a sinister-looking Garfield. He half-carved some details which you can see more easily with better lighting.

Happy Halloween!

casa de los sabores

The next day in Oaxaca we took a class in Zapotec cooking, offered by Casa de los Sabores. Our instructor, chef Reyna Mendoza, is a native of Teotitlan del Valle, a Zapotec village where she grew up learning traditional cooking techniques from her mother.

Our class began with a trip to a market nearby, La Merced, where we could find the freshest ingredients for the meal that we were about to prepare.

At the market, Reyna showed us the differences between several kinds of chile. I believe the two shown are guajilla (left) and ancho (right).

Oaxaca is known to be the “land of seven moles.” Chocolate, which is a component in some of these moles, is an ingredient commonly sold at the markets. These chocolate chunks are usually made of chocolate mixed with cinnamon and sugar.

We picked up some fresh chicken,

tomatoes,

tomatillos,

cheese,

squash blossoms,

and homemade flour tortillas from a woman who comes to the market to sell her steaming hot, towel-wrapped tortillas.

We also got to sample empanadas de huitlacoche con quesillo (empanadas with corn fungus and Oaxacan string cheese), cooked on a large comal.

Huitlacoche is harvested and available fresh only during the rainy season.

We returned to the kitchen, where the five of us, along with our instructor and assistants, created the following menu. We were not allowed to take photos during the class (too distracting), so here are photos of the completed dishes.

Enchiladas de Mole con Pollo (mole enchiladas with chicken)

Ensalada de Nopales con Aderezco (cactus salad with dressing)

Indias Vestidas (figurative name for fried, cheese-stuffed squash blossoms)

Salsa de Miltomate y Chile Pasilla de Oaxaca (tomatillo and Oaxacan pasilla chile salsa)

Helado de Frambuesa (raspberry ice cream)

We are excited about recreating these recipes someday, and sharing the recipes and results here.