zuchotto

(daddy, mama, michael, nardo, kevvie, j, bill, sue, mary, frankie-baby, james, moi, joseph, jim & joe. mara & col were gone by then and old greg graciously took this one for us. and i have no idea where steven was. i kept asking and never got an answer.)

this past weekend, we had my favorite annual tradition: gaining four pounds in two days while the ice in our drinks melts way too fast in the sweltering northern virginia august. also known as the hughes cousins convention at uncles jim & frank's.

after a solid year of emails and obsessive, mouth-watering discussion, jim & i finally got to make our zuchotto. bill recorded it for posterity. because by the time it was unveiled, jim & i were SEVERAL margamaritas in. what? they're GOOD.

zuchotto is a dome-shaped confection compromised of layers of pound cake "bricks," whipped cream with roasted hazelnuts and whipped cream with chocolate chips, all generously doused with booze and set in the fridge for several hours.



so, basically, you line a bowl in cheesecloth, spray booze, then line it in bricks. which you spray with booze.


does my family turn it ON when there's a camera, or what? this was about 10am. if mama didn't do it, kevvie would have had to, but he was busy JUMPING OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AIRPLANE at the time.



then a floor of whipped cream with whichever mix-in. you want to alternate. then bricks. then booze. repeat as necessary.



we used about five 8" pound cakes, 2 quarts of heavy cream and... um... some nuts & chips. and booze.


young james was SUPER helpful with disposing of leftover bricks. spread with nutella, natch.



did i say REAL whipped cream? cause: REAL. and unsweetened. trust me.







after a good spraying, wrap her in cheesecloth, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 7-24 hours.







perfect!


and HUGE. cutting through it wasn't doing my tendinitis any favors, let me tell you. so uncle jim took over and people started sharing cause-- whoa-- my uncle cuts a serious piece of cake.





(i mean, he DID jump out of a perfectly good airplane that morning!)

lomo saltado

more from our ironic columbus day peruvian feast...


ingredients:

• 3 pounds frozen french fries
• 2 lbs beef tenderloin (i bought "stir fry beef" in strips)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• oil for stir frying
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1-2 thai red chile or fresno chili, seeded and finely minced (i could find neither so i settled for anaheim chilis-- that's near fresno, right?)
• salt
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 medium red onions, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise ½ inch thick
• 1 ½ lb plum tomatoes halved, seeded and cut into sixths
• 3 aji peppers, seeded and finely sliced
• 6 tbs soy sauce
• 4 tbs freshly chopped cilantro
• (steamed white rice on the side. yes, seriously, fries AND rice.)
  

prep:

• bake fries according to package directions, keep warm in the oven
• chop & measure everything
• toss beef with pepper, cinnamon, cumin and 1 tbs soy sauce

actual cooking:

• over medium heat, in your largest frying pan or wok, heat oil to cover the bottom
• saute garlic and chili for 2 minutes
• add beef and turn heat up to high
• season with salt and remove to a large casserole
• stir fry onion
• add salt & pepper
• add some vinegar and fry until evaporated, then repeat
• remove onion to casserole with beef
• repeat vinegar thing with tomatoes
• return beef and all to the pan
• add ajies and remaining soy sauce
• add cilantro and toss
• serve over fries (with rice)
  

leonardo celebrates columbus day with lomos saltado, pappas rellenas, sea bass ceviche and an inca cola or four. and promises that the meal reminded him of when he was "a wee baby."

pappas rellenas

sunday afternoon (at "italian time"-- which is NOT the actual, politically-correct terminology the mimer uses-- 1pm) we enjoyed an ironic native feast for columbus day. it was meant to be a peruvian feast, but apparently pappas rellenas is cuban and mexican tres leches cake was irresistible, but it was still ironic, damnit!


i remember eating something very like pappas rellenas the first time i went to a peruvian restaurant. i don't recall it being deep fried (nor were these, and that was a mistake) or spicy, but i was probably ten and it wasn't beef heart or raw fish, so i counted it a success.



ingredients:

• 8 large potatoes
• 1/2 finely chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped green bell pepper
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 tsp tomato paste (half a can?)
• 1 tbs vinegar
• 4 beaten eggs
• bread crumbs
• flour
  

prep:

• mince & chop

actual cooking:

• boil potatoes
• mash with 1/2 tsp salt (no fat or liquid) and allow to cool
• in a large frying pan, saute onions & green pepper until limpish
• add garlic, beef, remaining salt, pepper, cumin, tomato paste & vinegar
• cook until meat is done
• allow to cool
• okay, now, take a handful of potato and split it in half (i went slightly smaller than a tennis ball cause i don't have all day)
• flatten each half
• cup the palm of your non-dominant hand and lay one disc of potato in it
• add a spoonful of meat
• put the other disc on top and press into a ball
• repeat until the potatoes are gone (you might have leftover meat-- i did)
• roll each ball in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs-- at this point, you might enjoy enlisting the help of any uncles you have laying around while you move on to... another meal entirely (thanks, joe!)
• chill for a couple hours
• deep fry until golden or bake (sprayed with oil) at about 350* for a half hour or so

smack & cheese

to go with saturday's ribs, i made a classic mac & cheese, the way my mama taught me when i was about eleven. sure, i could use fancy cheeses or put bread crumbs on top, but the only alterations to this recipe i can get behind are 1) fresh ground sea salt & pepper and 2) more interesting macaroni than elbows-- mom uses whatever she's got, i like cavatappi or pipetti.

this is for a standard-sized batch, though i made double this over the weekend (in case of hungry marines, naturally).

ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• sea salt & pepper
• 1 quart milk (whatever kind you like is fine)
• 1/2 pound american cheese, torn into shreds
• 1/2 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 pound pasta

prep:

• preheat oven to 350*
• shred cheese
• cook pasta according to package instructions

actual cooking:

• melt butter in a large saucepan
• add flour and whisk until combined (this is your roux)
• add milk and whisk until smooth (now you have bechamel!)
• add salt & pepper
• slowly add cheese
• pour cheese into pasta or pasta into cheese & combine
• pour the whole shebang into a casserole and bake until as brown as you like it
  

guest blogger: mama's deliciousest brussels sprouts with bacon

This is so easy it's not really even a recipe.


Cut the brussels sprouts in half lengthwise. Microwave them, covered, with a little bit of water for about 5 - 7 minutes. They should be brighter green and a little softer than they were to start with. Then chop about 3 strips of bacon and microwave or fry till crisp. Toss the bacon and about 1/2 of the drippings with the sprouts. Throw in some pine nuts. Roast uncovered at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. They should be a little bit brown and roasty looking. Taste for seasoning. Depending on how salty the bacon is, you might need salt.

pear-champagne cupcakes

i found this recipe through the lovely and talented lexa. it's perfect for if you need an excuse to drink most of a bottle of cheap sparkling wine alone in your jammies.

and for your mother's birthday.


cake ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 pears
• 1 cup sparkling wine (j. roget "champange" in this case)

frosting ingredients:

• 1/4 cup softened butter (no, seriously, if it's not really softened it will be gross)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• splash "champagne"
  

prep work:

• preheat to 350*
• peel & quarter pears
• grate them in the food processor, ohmygod, not by hand
• combine flour, salt & baking powder

actual cooking:

• beat together sugar & butter
• beat in eggs one at a time
• add dry mixture
• add vanilla & "champagne"
• add pear
• distribute into lined muffin tins-- they won't rise much, so feel free to fill them a bit more than usual
• bake until a toothpick comes out cleanish (lexa says 12-15 minutes, my experience was more like 25)
• beat together frosting ingredients
• frost
• use leftover frosting to take a funny picture of any brave soul you can convince to eat frosting at nine am to star on your blog (thanks, pop)
• have four beers and forget to take a picture of, oh, i dunno, your mom blowing out her birthday candle or ANYTHING