Individual Apple Crisp Recipe

Last week I got a shipment of SweeTango apples to try. New varieties of apples appear up now and again and the SweeTango is a relatively new one that's harvested the end of August and beginning of September. It's a very pretty apple with a bright mix of golden green and bright red. The SweeTango is a cross between a Honeycrisp and a Zestar apple. Honeycrisp is sweet and crisp and Zestar is juicy and zesty. The cross is a very good eating apple but you can use it for cooking too. It's a juicy apple so it doesn't need additional liquid and is best for recipes that are fairly quick cooking because it gets very soft when cooked. 

The SweeTango is perfect for apple crisp, which is super easy to make, easier than pie or even a cobbler. It's the kind of thing that takes only minutes to prepare, then you can pop it in the oven after or even during dinner. The smell of apples, butter and cinnamon might be the best thing about autumn. 

If you've ever ordered apple crisp in a restaurant, no doubt it was served in some kind of ramekin. Making individual portions of  apple crisp is particularly convenient for my household of two. Each apple crisp uses a single apple. I like adding cinnamon to the apples, but you could add it to the crumble topping if you prefer.

Individual Apple Crisp

makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1 medium apple such as SweeTango, peeled and diced

1/2 teaspoon sugar 

Cinnamon

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Pinch salt

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon rolled oats

1 Tablespoon walnuts or pecans chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to at 375° Toss apples with sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place apples in a ramekin, pressing down and compressing the apples so they fit snuggly.  In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Blend in oats and nuts. Sprinkle over apples. Bake, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes or until brown on top.

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I received a sample of apples but was not paid to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy

Chef Marc Forgione & Chef Michelle Bernstein Cooking Demo

The America's Cup has come to town, and that doesn't just mean sailing, but also parties. And chefs. And plenty of food and drink. Nespesso is one of the sponsors and they have been hosting some very exclusive events. I've not been invited to anything by Nespresso, but I did get a chance to catch a demo with two chefs who were flown into town for a Nespresso event. 

I've been a big fan of Michelle Bernstein ever since I dined at her restaurant Michy's in Miami. Marc Forgione is also on my radar, though I have yet to make it to any of his restaurants, they are definitely on my list to try. Both chefs are also part of Macy's Culinary Council so naturally they did a demo at Macy's using Nespresso coffee, of course. 

Forgione, inspired by the classic Reuben sandwich, created a dish of swordfish, fennel kraut/slaw, grain mustard, coffee and wild juniper smoke. He used Nespresso Rosabaya coffee in his spice rub with cumin, black pepper, chili and kosher salt. For the demo Forgione skipped the smoking but cured the fish then seared it. 

Here are some tips from Forgione:

1. Use fresh juniper in a smoker to add flavor

2. Chill dry rubbed fish in the fridge, but keep it uncovered to allow the surface to dry

3. Can't or don't want to use swordfish? Use sushi grade tuna or any other sushi grade firm fish for smoking or curing and searing. 

4. "Cook YOUR food" says Forgione, take recipes and add what you want, make it your own. Don't let a chef or a recipe boss you around. 

Chef Bernstein admitted to being a bit out of her element when it came to the dish she prepared, because it was dessert. Not being a pastry chef, she did manage to put her own spin on the chocolate dish by adding chorizo. Bernstein loves chorizo, and chorizo fat in particular. Her dish was inspired by a sandwich too, a toasted bread, chocolate and chorizo sandwich she had in the Basque region of Spain. 

How else does Bernstein recommend using chorizo fat?

1. For cooking spanish tortillas 

2. For cooking potatoes

3. For cooking fish

4. In cremeux, a vey rich chocolate mousse

If I can find the recipes online, I will share them! In the meantime, here is a link to recipes from the Macy's Culinary Council chefs. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this or any other post on this blog. 

Savory Roasted Pears Recipe

I am an impatient person. I hate to wait. While some of the pears my mother gave me from her trees are ripe, others are not. Is there something you can do with not quite ripe pears? Yes! I discovered you can roast them. 

Pears are sometimes added to savory dishes to add juice and moisture, or to make a sauce. My idea with this recipe was to make a side dish, something that could be served with pork chops, roast chicken, pork tenderloin, sausages, tossed with salad greens, on top of a pizza or maybe even used in a sandwich. Most recipes for roast pears call for pear halves or quarters, but dicing them just means they cook faster. You could also include pears with potatoes, parsnips, onions, beets or other similar vegetables that are good for roasting. 

I really love the silky texture of cooked pears. The flavor intensifies too, which is why pears are so good in cakes and tarts. But you can get the same texture and flavor by roasting pears without baking them in a batter or crust. Necessity is the mother of invention and my mother's prolific pear trees accounts for the plethora of pear recipes I've created. Currently I'm really enjoying maple roasted pears with oatmeal or yogurt, but as the season progresses I'm sure I'll find even more ways to use them. 

Savory Roasted Pears

Ingredients

4 firm pears, about 2 pounds 

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core and dice the pears. Toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Place pears in a foil or parchment-lined baking dish and roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Time will vary depending upon the type of pears and their level of ripeness. 

Enjoy! 

Free Italian Cooking Classes & Dinner in San Francisco

Next week there are a number of spaces still open at the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco for free pasta classes with the "pasta sommelier" of Delverde pasta. Check the schedule, choose a class and register. The dishes being served are: 

- pasta salad with eggplant, rocket, crispy bread and Pecorino cheese

- vegetarian pasta with egg

- mushrooms and leeks pasta stirred with a Ricotta cheese and thyme sauce

- salad pasta with pesto, zucchini and crispy ham

- sausage pasta with sun dried tomatoes, black olives, capers and onions

- cheese and pepper pasta sauce with a mint aroma

Tickets are FREE! 

On Wednesday September 11th I'll be one of the judges along with my friend and colleague Viola Buitoni of Italy’s famed Buitoni pasta making family, at the IMAF Chef's Cup. It's the grand finale of a competition between Michelin starred Italian chefs Rosanna Marziale and Stefano Cerveni of Le due Colombe a Corte Franca. The two chefs will present dishes they created inspired by films. 

Chef Rosanna Marziale will present Spaghetti Gragnano, served with San Marzano tomatoes dripped in Mozzarella di Bufala.  The dish was inspired by the famous Italian film, “Poverty and Nobility.”   Chef Stefano Cerveni will showcase his Bread Soup with diced, crispy free-range Chicken and Black Truffles inspired by the Academy Award-winning movie "Babette's Feast". Tickets are $100 / person for the wine paired dinner and include gratuity.  Reservations online or with Il Fornaio by calling (415) 986-0100.

I am also giving away a pair of tickets to the grand finale! Simply leave a comment with your favorite Italian dish and be sure to include your email in the proper field (only I will see it). Please only enter if you are available to attend this coming Wednesday September 11th at Il Fornaio in San Francisco from 6:30-9:30 pm. Winner will be chosen the morning of September 10th. 

Buon Appetito!

My Berlin Kitchen Review & Giveaway

If you are a fan of The Wednesday Chef blog, there's no question, you will enjoy My Berlin Kitchen: Adventures in Love and Life by Luisa Weiss now out in paperback. The book is a memoir with recipes and Weiss traces her journey through her memories of food in vivid detail. The style of writing, like Weiss herself is a bit of a mishmash. Her parents are Italian and American but she was born and partially raised in Germany. She is very precise when it comes to recipe writing yet there are splashes of sensuality and emotion in her prose as well.

Weiss is a good writer and a master of detail. Her experiences and recollections of her time in Germany, the US, France and Italy are often snapshots of times and places and really have the ability to transport you. The book follows a romantic storyline, with some funny bits interspersed with plenty of angst, and it's generally pleasurable to read, although she's clearly not a happy-go-lucky live-for-the-day type. 

Memoirs require a certain level of introspection and self involvement and as a result the subject can come across as self-absorbed at times, especially when written by someone who is fairly young. Ultimately I didn't find Weiss as endearing as I would have hoped. Frankly I had the same issues with the Julie/Julia Project. I also found some gaps and unanswered questions perplexing--why did she live with her father in the US instead of her mother?  Why did she accept the job in San Francisco when nothing about living in San Francisco appealed to her? Once she moved to Berlin did her career end in favor of writing her memoir and nothing more? That said, I enjoyed the book, particularly the German comfort food recipes (Gooseberry cream cake, Alsatian flatbread with bacon and creme fraiche, spiced plum butter and spiced cookies) and I do recommend it. 

Viking is giving away one copy of this book to a Cooking with Amy reader, US resident only. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite recipe from The Wednesday Chef blog or the German recipe you'd most like to learn to cook. I'll choose a winner at random on September 5th. You must include your email address in the appropriate field so I can contact you. It will only be visible to me.

Disclaimer: I received this book as a review copy. I was not paid to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

LUCKYRICE comes to San Francisco

I don't write about events very often, especially ones I haven't been to before, but I'm excited to tell you about LUCKYRICE, an Asian food and drink festival coming to San Francisco. 

LUCKYRICE was created by Danielle Chang a Bay Area native and has seen success in NY, LA, Miami and Las Vegas. I'm not sure what took so long for the festival to come to San Francisco, home of so many fantastic Asian cultures and cuisines! 

Chefs participating include some of my favorites like James Syhabout of Hawker Fare, Azalina Eusope of Azalina's, Alexander Ong most recently at Betelnut, Frances Ang, pastry chef at Fifth Floor, Greg Dunsmore of Nojo and Preeti Mistry of Juhu Beach Club. 

Other chefs include Masaharu Morimoto, Sharon Nahm of E&O Asian Kitchen, Kyle Itani  of Hopscotch Restaurant and Bar, Kathy Fang of House of Nanking and Fang, as well as chefs from Izakaya Yuzuki, Ichi Sushi, M.Y. China, Pabu, Roka Akor,  The Slanted Door, Spice Kit, Tacolicious and more. 

This event will create a one night only night market style event. Some of the top bartenders in town will be participating including some of my personal favorites, Kevin Diedrich of Jasper's Corner Tap, Martin Cate of Smuggler's Cove, and H of Elixir. 

I can't wait to try some of the slated dishes like beef tart ate, Mendocino uni with chiccharones and lime, beef tendon and squid salad and Taiwanese corn soup with poached quail egg. I hope you'll join me! 

The details:

LUCKYRICE

Friday, September 6 from 7-10 pm

Ferry Building

Tickets are $88 (a lucky number)

VIP tickets are already sold out so don't delay! 

Cherry Tomato Pizza Recipe

It's hard to say no to cheese. Since I never tasted Parrano cheese I was more than happy to accept a sample to try.  Apparently it has been around since the 1970's but I can't recall ever seeing it at the market. It's a semi-firm cheese created by a Dutch cheese maker who went to Italy and was inspired to create a Gouda that would be reminiscent of Northern Italian style cheese.  It's aged for at least 5 months and often described as tasting like a cross between Gouda and Parmesan. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, but I can tell you it's buttery and has a caramel like flavor that complements tomatoes beautifully. 

I've been inundated with cherry tomatoes recently and decided I would use them on a pizza with Parrano cheese. I also happened to have some grilled marinated artichokes and that combination is really something. I added chives for a little color and oniony flavor, but really, just a plain cherry tomato pizza would be delicious too. The good thing about using cherry tomatoes instead of tomato slices and Parrano cheese instead of mozzarella is that neither will make your pizza soggy. That said, biting into a cherry tomato half can be a deliciously juicy experience. 

I love artichokes, but mostly the marinated ones available in jars are not very good. Recently I found Cucina & Amore  grilled marinated whole artichoke hearts in a local grocery store and decided to given them a try. They are now a staple in my pantry!  They are all natural and I think the grilling is what really makes them so outstanding. If you can find them, give them a try. 

Cherry Tomato Pizza 

Two 10 inch pizzas

Ingredients

1 lb pizza dough, at room temperature

Olive oil

2 cups parrano cheese

2 cusp cherry tomato halves

2/3 cup drained marinated artichoke hearts, preferably roasted (optional)

1 Tablespoon chopped chives

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide the pizza dough in half. Lightly oil pizza pans and push the pizza dough into the pans, until it reaches the edge, if if shrinks, gently stretch it back into shape. Top each pizza with 1 cup of cheese and 1 cup of cherry tomato halves. Tuck 1/3 cup artichoke hearts between the tomatoes. Bake until the crust begins to turn brown around the edges and is crisp, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle chives on the pizza before serving.

Enjoy!