Italian Almond Tart

If you're looking for a decadent, simple to make, yet not too sweet of a dessert, or even a little something to accompany your coffee or tea, then look no further.

It's rustic form is charming in it's own right, but once you've tasted the sweet almond and slight orange tang, you realize there's much more to this tart than meets the eye.

Don't be fooled into thinking that a small chunk will be enough. Sure, you'll walk away satisfied but mark my words, it won't be long before you return for just one more bite. Then another.

And another.

Italian Almond Tart

Recipe found on Food and Wine

3/4 cup raw almonds
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons fine cornmeal (I used regular cornmeal)
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350' F
Butter a 9" springform pan

Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in the oven.

Leave the oven on.

Allow the almonds to cool a bit, then roughly chop. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, orange zest, almond extract and vanilla extract. Set aside

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal and salt. With a pastry blender, or a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a course meal (which means it's not a fine powder, it's not large lumps, and it hasn't yet come together like a dough). Stir in the sugars and chopped almonds. With your hands (yes, you're going to down and dirty for a minute), gently work in the egg yolk mixture. The resulting dough should be crumbly.

Loosely press the dough into the buttered springform pan. Don't get all 'perfectionist' on me here. Remember, this is a rustic dessert. The surface should be uneven and bumpy.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a golden brown.

Allow to cool completely before unmolding.

Break the tart into chunks.

Go ahead...have a bit of fun with it. Break off chunks in all different shapes and sizes. Forget about even trying to be symmetrical here. It seriously isn't gonna happen. And don't even think about breaking out the knife.

Now that you've been inundated with the aroma, you know you're going to have to give it a try. Why don't you make yourself a hot cup of tea to go with it. Put on an old movie (Breakfast at Tiffany's perhaps) and relax a bit. No matter what kind of day you've had, you deserve it.

Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions, and the Dodgers

When you think of the Dodgers, several things may come to mind. I'm guessing hot dogs would be amoung the top 5. The other 4 will depend on how much of a die-hard baseball fan you are.

I think of Dodger Blue, 7th inning stretch, the wAvE and memories.

Growing up in Los Angeles lends to a lot of Dodger memories. (I might be showing my age here...) Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela, and of course Tommy Lasorda.

Yes...the Dodger legend, Tommy Lasorda. Not only did he start his baseball career with the Dodgers back in 1945 when they were still in Brooklyn, but to this day he is still a True Blue Dodger where he is a Special Adviser to the Chairman.

And....he just opened a restaurant at Dodger's Stadium called Tommy Lasorda's Tratoria.

Do you know what that means? There's Italian food being served....to everyone at Dodger's Stadium! Right there....behind the right field bullpen.

You'll see a huge outdoor bar aptly called Bullpen Outlook Bar (there is one behind left field as well, but we'll go there in a minute), you'll hear the dj, see the outdoor seating area...and people. Lot's of people enjoying Italian food.

What might you find on the menu? Well, let me tell you...

The most perfect pizza ever! You know how when you go places and order a pizza and you ask for extra cheese? And you look at it and think...wth...this is extra cheese?! Tommy's pizza comes standard with more than extra cheese...and the best ever thin crust. Trust me...you wont want to leave those end crusts on the plate. It's that good!

Then there's the pasta with marinara sauce and huge amazing meatballs! Great texture, great flavor...and, according to Tommy, almost as good as the ones his mom made, and she made the best meatballs ever.

I didn't get to taste everything on the menu...which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I mean...that would be a lot of food to eat but I'd really love to try it all! One thing that I wanted seconds on...seriously, (besides the pizza) was the Italian sausage with peppers and onions. Let me just go on record here, The.... Best.... Italian sausage.... EVER!

Perfect snap, perfect mix of seasonings. And when I say that...I'm saying, not overloaded with fennel or anise, like most of what you find in the markets.

I tried making my own. And they were good. But not as good. I got my sausage at a local Italian market, which I love....but I really like the ones at Tommy Lasorda's Tratoria better.

I just sliced up some red and green bell peppers and onions. Cooked my Italian sausage in a greased pan, covered, turning occasionally. Added the vegetables towards the end and continued cooking until the sausage was done and the vegetables were tender.

It was delicious. Especially on a homemade roll. But not as good as Tommy's. Wouldn't it be nice if he opened up a local restaurant so we all could enjoy his food year round?

So...I mention the left field Bullpen Outlook Bar earlier...and yes, same set up..only over there they have another new restaurant called Think Blue Bar-B-Que

There you'll find (among other things) a melt in your mouth beef brisket and the best corn on the cob you've every had!

The brisket is smoked for 17 hours....fat untrimmed, self basting. The corn, precooked then grilled to perfection, smothered in...yes...mayo...then rolled in seasonings that includes cumin, cardamom, bbq seasoning, a bit of cinnamon and lime juice. WOW!!! Seriously. WOW!!!

Now I'm not trying to take you away from the famous Dodger Dog.

There are plenty of those to choose from....L.A. Extreme Bacon Wrapped Dog (yes...I said bacon! 3 slices to be exact), Frito Pie Dog which is covered in red chili, shredded cheese and Fritos.  I've heard that the Brooklyn Dodger Dog is rather amazing too.

If you're lucky enough to spend some time in one of the event suites...be prepared....

For the dessert cart

If it's in season and you see the Lemonade Cake...eat it! Delicious, fresh sweet lemon, And the chef's personal favorite is the Root Beer Cake....Holy moly!! Someone, somewhere, figured out how to infuse chocolate ganache with root beer!!!

Speaking of the chef...Executive Chef Jason Tingley is doing an amazing job. He's a local guy who has taken rustic California flavors, fresh new concepts and has incorporated them into a new cuisine fit for today's Dodger fans.

Food at the ballpark has been taken to a new level! Get there early and explore. They have so much to choose from. Much more than what I'm able to cover here. Besides the handcrafted BBQ and the classic Italian, you have the Home Stand Hot Dogs and for the more health conscious, look for the Club Marketplace.

Yes, the Dodgers won that night. It truly was a grand evening all the way around. Great food and a great game!

Here's wishing the Dodgers 

a very successful season! 

Ravioli, Pasta and OMG my arms are killing me!

So innocent. So unassuming. So.....misleading!! Look at that soft, fluffy mound of flours. Run your fingers through it and feel it's powers to soothe. But when it's around a certain crowd of "friends", it's whole character changes. I don't even recognize it. It becomes stubborn and unyielding. It's almost as if it loses it's identity.

Or does it?

Maybe it becomes something better, stronger. Something with substance. Substantial . More enjoyable and actually versatile.

Something that can kick my butt!

Let me tell you the sequence of events that led to my ass kicking. It started out so pretty (that's how you get sucked in you know). I had won a $100 online Gift Certificate for CSNStores.com from a giveaway over at BigBlackDogs.net (Thank you sooooo much Michelle!!!) Oh man, can you say Excited?! I had some stuff tagged on CSNStores.com that I'd been wanting for a while and here was my chance.

I have to say, my experience with CSNStores.com was wonderful!

So...I bought a Belgian Waffle Maker, a Double Sided Grill / Skillet and

this Ravioli Tray:

(photo is not one I took....and those are not my ravioli's either)

I've been flirting with the idea of making pasta for quite some time. Now was the perfect opportunity. Only I don't have a pasta rolling machine thingy. But I watched lots of videos. I found one in particular that was wonderful! I just couldn't find it again (and still can't) when it came time to begin.

I did come across a recipe (found here)...although I'd like to try a different one next time (oh shit...did I say "next time?"). One that uses olive oil.

Pasta Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (un-bleached)
1/2 cp semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Combine the flours and salt and make a nice "soothing" mound on the counter or whatever work area you'll be using. Make a "well" in the center of your flour mixture and crack the eggs into the center. With a fork, break the yokes and gently beat while carefully incorporating the flour into the mixture, gradually. Keep the walls of the flour in tact as you work your way around, clock-wise, incorporating the flour, being careful not to break through the walls, until you have a ball of dough that holds together and is not longer soupy.

Now for the work out.

Knead the dough until you have a nice smooth ball, adding flour if the dough is sticky but being careful not to add to much dough. In one of the videos I watched, they said that the kneading process would take about 5 or 10 minutes. For this novice....it took more like 20. Or maybe it took that long cuz I added a little too much flour? I dunno....I'm new to all this pasta making stuff.

Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Then on a lightly floured surface, evenly roll out one piece of dough until you have a nice thin sheet

Turn and roll and turn and roll....and discover something wonderful. As tired as you are....and your arms might feel like they're about to fall off.....pasta dough is amazing! It's not sticky like pastry or bread dough. It holds it's shape and even though you have to really "work" it....it does what it's suppose to....and you get this beautifully thin dough

Never did I dream that I could do that! See my hand through dough without my fingers poking through? OMG...I love this stuff!!

So...at some point (most likely while the dough was "resting), make a ravioli filling. I had some Roasted Winter Squash from a soup recipe that I had tried of Michael Chiarello (awesome stuff!!). Thats what I had decided to put in the center of my raviolis

So I put a sheet of dough over my floured ravioli tray...pushed the little "pockets" in and then filled each pocket with a teeny tiny amount of roasted squash. Applied a second sheet of dough and then rolled over the top with a rolling pin to cut through the dough and separating the raviolis. Only....Something went terribly wrong. Squash squished everywhere and I ended up with an awful wad of yuck.

omg....all that work and the dough is a slimy mess!!!

Ok, ok....pull youreslf together. Maybe a teeny tiny amount of squishy squash was too much. Thank God I still had a couple of balls of dough. I tried it again and used even less squash. Only this time I didn't really roll the rolling pin over the top, except for a little. Oh ya, and this time I wet the dough around each ravioli and along the edge to "glue" the two sheets of dough together. I then angled the rolling pin along the edge to cut the excess dough off. Then I dumped the tray over, releasing the sheet of 24 ravioli....grabbed a handy dandy steak knife and cut the them apart

After all that, I still had some dough left but by now I was so over the squash. I think next time I need a different filling....something that holds together really well. And doesn't squish.

With the remaining dough, I made some sort of noodle.

I fried the ravioli as an appetizer

(which puffed the ravioli and shrunk the squishy squash?)

They tasted really good. But like I said, next time they need a different filling

For the noodles, I just made a Mornay Sauce and poured that over them

Loved the noodles!!! I'd make the pasta dough all over again, just for the noodles.

This is my entry this week for the Two For Tuesday Blog Hop....Click on the photo below to visit Heather's place and see all the Real Food that the others are cooking up

Oh, and about my arms....3 days later...they're still attached. And I think the soreness is almost gone. 

Garlic & Basil Pesto

Pesto....pesto.....pesto

It's been a weird day. I've been in a really goofy mood so you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little...I dunno....weird?

Pesto. I can't stop saying it. And for some reason I want to perform magic.

Abracadabra...make good food appear.....and PESTO!!!

Taaa taaaaaaas...errr....I mean.....Tada!!!

The first pesto I was ever introduced to was a store bought kind. And I thought it was great! Then I found out how easy it was to make so I had to try it.

WOW....huge huge difference. I don't even know what to compare it to....ok...have you ever had store bought alfredo after tasting homemade alfredo? Not even close!

Well, ok, store bought pesto isn't as awful as alfredo in a jar. I was just trying to prove a point. Plus...its super easy. Minimal ingredients. Minimal effort.....extreme results. (well...homemade alfredo is unbelievably easy too....but we'll talk about that later.)

Are you wondering why I'm making pesto when fresh basil isn't even in season yet (at least it isn't in the USA)?

1. this really cool middle eastern market that has fantastic prices had fresh basil for a lot less than the supermarket
2. the next HBin5 bread assignment calls for pesto.

(Stay tuned for that tantalizing outcome.)

Anyways....here's how I make my pesto.

2 cups packed basil leaves
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is the first time I've done this...but this time I decided to toast my nuts

I did notice a difference in the flavor of my pesto....LOVED IT!!!

In your handy dandy food processor, process your basil until fine

Look at the difference. 2 packed cups of basil leaves....before and after.

Add the garlic, nuts, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper....

Process until fine......it'll look like green paste

Slowly add the olive oil and process for a few seconds more

And all that basil made this much pesto.

Taaaaa taaaaaaaaaaaaasssss

Anyways...I only need about 1/2 cup for my next bread project. I could store the remainder in the fridge...oooooor...save it for later by placing it in an ice cube tray

Once the pesto is frozen, I store it in a freezer bag. It defrosts really quickly and is great in a pinch for all sorts of stuff.

Add a little mayo for a nice sandwich spread....top your pasta with it or make a nice creamy pesto sauce by adding to that easy alfredo sauce I mentioned (I think I'll post that recipe soon...one I got from an Italian I went to school with). Crostini? ooooh ya...that would be good too.

Printable Version: Pesto

Meatballs by chance?

Nope....didn't see the movie.....something about being cloudy and meatballs? I dunno. My kids aren't little anymore so that movie will just have to wait for cable or something.

Anyways....maybe it's because of the movie and all the previews but I've had meatballs on the brain lately.

I've made meatballs several times over the years. All from beef. My youngest child is on a no-beef kick for a month and requested turkey meatballs.

Sure...no problem. Let's make meatball sandwiches!!

And it just so happened that I saw a great sounding recipe for Marinara Sauce over at Michele's blog, My Italian Grandmother. Michele is one of my great buddies over at BakeSpace.com. Ya, I'm a regular in BakeSpace. If you haven't noticed from several of my posts, there's a lot of interaction between the members there. All sorts of stuff going on in the forums. We get tips and ideas about food, review wines, challenge our skills with a different food theme each month and basically have a whole heck of a lot of fun.

Ok, back to the Meatball Sammies....

I basically have 2 recipes here. I spose you should start with the marinara sauce and while that's simmering away, you can make the meatballs.

For my purposes (and thinking ahead) I doubled the recipe for both the sauce and the meatballs and froze what wasn't used for the sammies.

Marinara Sauce

2 - 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

(I just realized I didn't use the basil as specified in the recipe, which should be 4 - 6 tsp chopped fresh basil, less if using dried...like maybe 1 or 2 tsps?)

2 - 4 tsps Italian seasoning

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (this is the first time I had ever heard of adding this ingredient to marinara sauce and it's an awesome addition. Adds a depth and a slight bite. I only used a tiny bit though and smashed them up with my mortar in pestle first.)

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 tsps sugar

EVOO

Add the EVOO in a large pot and saute the onions until just tender. Add the Italian seasoning (and basil if you remembered LOL) and crushed peppers.

Then add all that garlic!!!

Saute for just a minute or so....the aroma is incredible!!

Stir in the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 - 40 minutes.

Adjust seasoning according to your taste and serve however you wish.

I have to say that this is the best marinara sauce that I have ever made. The crushed peppers made it just slightly spicy...but not enough to be concerned about. You couldn't tell if it was hot from the temperature or from an ingredient. I was great! My daughter thought it was store bought. Now I take that as a compliment because of the thickness of the sauce. When I use the jar kind I always season it up...adding more garlic, Italian seasoning, etc. So trust me, she didn't mean that it tasted like a jar of spaghetti sauce cuz she's never been served Prego, straight up! LOL

Now...while thats simmering away....get ready to get down and dirty!!!

(this recipe was also doubled)

Turkey Meatballs

2 lbs ground turkey

1 cup dry bread crumbs, w/ Italian seasoning

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp pepper

1 large onion, diced

2 eggs

1 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat your oven to 400' F

I like the flavor of sauteed onions....so I always saute them in butter prior to adding 'em to the meat. Just let them cool a bit before working with them cuz they're hot.

Put all the ingredients into a good size bowl...

Now it's time to get down and dirty. No spoons allowed....use your hands to mix it all up

Hmm....because turkey is a bit "wetter" than beef, I think this needs some more bread crumbs...

More mixing.....

aaaaaah.....much better!! You want the meat to hold it's form so they don't become mini patties while cooking.

Wash your hands and then here's a little tip for you. Cover your hands with some oil... get it all in between your fingers before you start forming those meatballs.....

Keeps them from sticking to your hands. Works wonders!!!

Grab a tablespoon and scoop up enough meat to make your meatball, you want them to be about 1 - 1 1/2". When forming your balls, you don't wanna work the meat tooo much. They become too firm or dense or....something. (I know one particular blogger who would have a hay day with that statement!!! LMAO)

Now I use to plop the meatballs into a frying pan and fry them up. But I always ended up with these oddly shaped, 3 dimensional triangles. Tasted fine...but I dunno....they need to be round, right? So now I just put them on a cookie sheet and bake them. Soooo much easier.

Because this is turkey and not ground beef, and there's a lot less fat in them, I sprayed my pan with cooking spray. If it were beef, that wouldn't be necessary.

Put them into your 400' F oven and let them cook for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until the insides are no longer pink. (you just might have to sacrifice a meatball to check on that, no worries, you can just stuff that one into your mouth and no one will know the difference).

Now I have to tell you. These are different. The flavor is wonderful. But the texture is not the same as ground beef. They are more dense....and the outsides are...I dunno....almost smooth. It's hard to explain. It's almost like the meat "sealed" during the baking process.

Ok...time to assemble. Whew...this has been quite the process but the outcome really is worth it.

Grab a nice big roll and slice it in half, lengthwise

I like my bread toasted so I sprayed some cooking spray on it and stuck it in a hot pan for a minute or so...

Got a little crispy on one side but thats ok....just means more flavor!! YUM

I then wrapped the outside of the roll in tinfoil and placed a few meatballs inside....

Poured the marinara sauce over it and topped it with a few slices of mozzarella cheese..

Then....comes the piece de resistance! Put that sucker into a really hot oven or under a broiler and let the cheese get all melty and browned....

Now THATS a meatball sandwich!!!