I wasn't going to do desserts, but had a panna cotta at a restaurant and fell in love. Well, who wouldn't. Cream and sugar. So, Simonetta taught me how to do pizza dough today and panna cotta and a great pasta sauce (with aromatic herbs) and turkey breast cooked in milk.
The pizza dough was lots easier than I had imagined.
It took only one rising, and the formula was a lot like the focaccia from the other day. We made tiny pizzas, with plain tomato sauce and mozzarella. They were tasty. The crust was very thin and crunchy.
The panna cotta was just cream, confectioners sugar, vanilla bean and sheet gelatin. We put the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a double boiler and put it over heat until the sugar dissolved. Then added the gelatin (which had been sitting in some milk) and removed the vanilla bean. This sat in the fridge for an hour. It could be made the day before, then taken out of the container to be served.. Simonetta melted chocolate and put it on top. It hit the spot after the meal. It was more solid than the one I fell in love with in the restaurant, so I think that I will reduce the gelatin by half and see what that does.
The pasta sauce was the best I ever had. First you fry onion and garlic in olive oil until just before it gets brown. Then you add chopped up (with a mezzaluna to be authentic) parsley, sage and rosemary. Salt and pepper, too. Fry this for a few minutes, then add tomato sauce and a half glass of water. This needs to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Peperoncini can be added, also. The taste was great. It was served with penne pasta and grated parmesan. I wanted three or four helpings, but limited myself so I could have some of the turkey breast.
The turkey breast was rolled and tied, then rolled in salt and pepper and allowed to sit while the sofrito was prepared. The onions, celery and carrots were fried in half olive oil, half butter. When it was halfway done the turkey breast was put in the pan to brown on all sides.
Next came the fun part. 4 tbs of red wine vinegar were added, then reduced by 3/4. Then milk was added about 2/3rds of the way up the turkey. When it started to boil we turned down the heat, partially covered the pan and let cook for ~30 minutes. Tender and tasty. Yes the sauce looked 'curdled', but tasted yummy.
If you want to see more pictures, and a movie of the pizza dough being made, go here.
The pizza dough was lots easier than I had imagined.
It took only one rising, and the formula was a lot like the focaccia from the other day. We made tiny pizzas, with plain tomato sauce and mozzarella. They were tasty. The crust was very thin and crunchy.
The panna cotta was just cream, confectioners sugar, vanilla bean and sheet gelatin. We put the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a double boiler and put it over heat until the sugar dissolved. Then added the gelatin (which had been sitting in some milk) and removed the vanilla bean. This sat in the fridge for an hour. It could be made the day before, then taken out of the container to be served.. Simonetta melted chocolate and put it on top. It hit the spot after the meal. It was more solid than the one I fell in love with in the restaurant, so I think that I will reduce the gelatin by half and see what that does.The pasta sauce was the best I ever had. First you fry onion and garlic in olive oil until just before it gets brown. Then you add chopped up (with a mezzaluna to be authentic) parsley, sage and rosemary. Salt and pepper, too. Fry this for a few minutes, then add tomato sauce and a half glass of water. This needs to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Peperoncini can be added, also. The taste was great. It was served with penne pasta and grated parmesan. I wanted three or four helpings, but limited myself so I could have some of the turkey breast.
The turkey breast was rolled and tied, then rolled in salt and pepper and allowed to sit while the sofrito was prepared. The onions, celery and carrots were fried in half olive oil, half butter. When it was halfway done the turkey breast was put in the pan to brown on all sides.
Next came the fun part. 4 tbs of red wine vinegar were added, then reduced by 3/4. Then milk was added about 2/3rds of the way up the turkey. When it started to boil we turned down the heat, partially covered the pan and let cook for ~30 minutes. Tender and tasty. Yes the sauce looked 'curdled', but tasted yummy.If you want to see more pictures, and a movie of the pizza dough being made, go here.
