Gnudi

Very risque, I know.

Gnudi is actually a lot what is sounds like. Nude.

Nude ravioli to be more exact, and believe me when I say that it is going to blow your mind!

These have gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, mainly because they were a huge hit at The Spotted Pig in NYC, which i have never been to, but that is completely beside the point. For about a week straight, this recipe is all that I talked about.

I told a co-worker about this amazing culinary revolution and she said to me "those are just ricotta balls, we used to make them all the time." She then gave me a look that only an Italian lady can... half "are ya stupid?" and half pity for being a non-Italian.


Well, now that I have been schooled, it is now time for you to learn.

Gnudi

1 lb ricotta cheese
2 eggs, 1 yolk
1/2 cup flour
1 cup grated parmesan
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper




Ok you ready? good.

Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix.

Now is the really interesting part.

Pour a layer of semolina flour into a dish. Roll your gnudi into about 1 inch balls and gently place them in the semolina, making sure not to let any of them touch. When you run out of room, pour more semolina over, burying the gnudi, and make another layer, repeating the process until your gnudi dough is all gone.




And now comes the part that sucks.

You need to let it sit overnight in the fridge. Boo I know, this is so easy, it would be a great last minute weeknight meal, but No. It needs time to chill out.

The next day, put a pot of salted water on the stove to boil. When you've got a good boil going, gently unearth the little balls of wonder and delight a few at a time and put in the pot.

They will float to the top, let cook for about a minute more and pluck them out with a slotted spoon. Repeat with however many you are going to eat that night (they last a while if you keep them in the semolina)

note: when I cook for my kids, I let them cook a bit longer, just because of the raw eggs.

You can serve these babies up with anything you feel like. Butter and grated cheese, pesta, marinara, or the fab Mario Batali sauce that I am completely in love with. I cooked up a tomato sauce with ground wild boar and garlic. I just threw it all in the pot and let it cook. Nothing fancy.




I don't have any pictures of them post cooking. Maybe I can take some tonight. Because guess what? I've got a batch of em waiting for me in the fridge at home.

Happy Birthday!

As I am sure you are all aware, today is my birthday. So, to help celebrate the big 2-9, we cooked up a delicious lunch

First, A baked potato. I know, many people find them boring, but have you tried "top the tater?" It is a lovely potato topper that we picked up in MN yesterday!

Second, a salad with fresh mozz, avocado, and grilled nectarines, topped with pesto.

And last but not least, filet mignon cooked on the grill.





We washed it all down with a strawberry rhubarb wine made in Northern Minnesota.



What a lovely day!

For dinner....Caribou!

One Year

I can't believe that an entire year has passed since I decided to start this Blog! I know that there have been significant lulls in activity at certain times, but with work and 2 kids, finding time is sometimes hard.

When I started Relatively Gourmand, it was with the intention that Kim and Chris were going to write here as well, but I think that I am alone on this one, but that is ok. Last year at this time the baby was only 2 months old, and I was on Maternity leave. Now he is running all over the place, and starting to talk (though his vocabulary seems to be limited to Woof, Bottle, Ball and Choo-Choo)


This upcoming year, I resolve to work more on this blog. I will also have a second blog, at TBNewswatch.com, which will focus on eating locally with local ingredients, and looking at Local restaurants. I only have one post there so far now, but I am really looking forward to seeing how that all turns out.

That is all for now. Thanks for reading!

Muffaletta

No, it isn't my stripper name.

It isn't even an alternate persona at all.

It is a sandwich!

An oddly named one at that... people don't generally want to eat anything with "muff" in the name... not in public at least.

The Muffaletta sandwich originated in New Orleans. It is a round loaf of bread loaded with meats, cheese, and topped off with an olive salad mixture.

A Jar of this happened to find its way into my possession, and I thought it sounded like a a great lunch idea.

I got a small round loaf from Maltese, added a layer of lettuce (to keep the bread from getting soggy,) tomato, red onion, ham, salami with proscuitto, provolone and at last the olive salad!



This seems to be traditionally served on a loaf of bread a bit hollower than this, so I carved a little bread out to make a nice little niche for the olive salad.

I cut into it, and from the side it looked almost like layers of rock. It is very colorful, and even more importantly, it is very delicious.



Though, I must point out the obvious and mention that if you do not like olives, you will hate this sandwich. Unless of course you love olives, then you will likely love eating it.

Farmers Market

Heirloom tomatoes.

Check

Eggs.

Check

Local Beef.

Check.





This morning Felix and I got up bright and early to head out the the Thunder Bay Country Market.



We bought lots of delicious food.






Felix even got to sample a delicious pig shaped cookie.

And of course had to come home and make ourselves a nice little snack from the delicious things we bought!

Biscotti

Who the heck puts spicy pancetta in biscotti!?!


I'm pretty sure you know the answer to that.






I decided to make a batch of biscotti this evening. I actually made 2 different kinds. I chose the flavours based on what are often thought of as being manly, or girly foods.

Girl-Scotti.

White Chocolate chips, dried cranberries, lemon zest, cinnamon and pink Himalayan salt.

Man-Scotti

Spicy Pancetta, Smoked Salt, and Dark Chocolate (we have no whiskey, or else that would have gone in too!)

BBQ

There are few things in life more spectacular than good barbeque. Tender and juicy, smoky flavours mingling with the sweet spiciness of a good sauce. Falling effortlessly off of the bone.

Thats right Ladies and Gentlemen. I am in love with BBQ. Head over heels.

The day began just as many others before it. We got up WAY too early for a Saturday, courtesy of the children, and I made us some breakfast. Eggs and Sausage.

At 9:30 breakfast was eaten and the dishes were done.

I turned to Nathan and said. "Ok, time to start cooking."

Cooking what." He replied

"Dinner!"

I don't know if he believed me, but I am certain he is no longer shocked my any of my culinary eccentricities.

I fired up the grill, and by 10am the brisket and a whole lot of ribs were on their way to awesometown.





200 degrees over indirect heat, with a plate of woodchips for some smoky flavor.




I admit I was apprehensive cooking this way with a gas BBQ, and not using charcoal, but it worked out well enough!

After 3 hours, I covered the ribs with foil, and started putting bbq sauce on the Brisket. Checking on them every hour or so.

By Dinner at 6, we had a delectable feast of brisket, ribs, baked potatoes, and cornbread.



Gotta Love weekends!