Tuscany Remembered

This is a “new to us” menu, and a trip down memory lane to Tuscany, inspired by Ina Garten’s re-creation of a meal that she shared there with friends.

The Duomo as seen from Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square).

Sue’s favorite city in Italy is Florence and when she saw this episode she declared, “We have to make to this!” Fortunately, Meg just did the bobble head thing and let Sue have her way. Sometimes, an inspiration turns into a plan that comes to beautiful fruition. Such was the case today.

Mary, Sue’s cousin/travel companion on her two trips to Italy was in town for a girls’ weekend. It was the perfect occasion to reminisce while sharing good food and great wine. 

The bonus was a Total Wine “Under the Tuscan Sun” wine tasting this afternoon.  We tasted seven Tuscan (red) wines and learned the history of the region, including family histories going back thousands of years. Meg and Sue were in wine nirvana – seven, count them, seven reds! We chose a wonderful Chianti for this meal. Forget about the candle-melting straw bottle Chianti we all remember from college – this is good stuff! And yes, we blew our wine budget, but it was worth it.


La Castellina Chianti Classico Riserva, 2007 - $19.99 on sale at Total Wine

So on to the Florence inspired meal:

The cod ready to be sealed in the parchment packets.
 

Herb- Roasted Fish out of the oven and ready to eat!

Herb-Roasted Fish

2012, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:  10 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  15 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  1 serving

Ingredients

For each serving:

• 8 ounces boneless fish fillet, such as snapper or cod
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 large sprig fresh thyme
• 2 Ceregnola or other large green olives with pits

Extra-large egg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the fish fillet on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the top of the fillet. Lay the thyme on top and place the olives next to the fillet.

Beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of water for an egg wash. Brush the egg wash around the edge of the parchment paper and fold it in half. Carefully fold the edge of the parchment paper under and around the fish to make a package. Place the package on a sheet pan and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve hot in the parchment paper.

Weight Watchers: 8 points

Celery Salad without the garnish.

Celery Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Shaved Parmesan.

Celery and Parmesan Salad

2010, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:  15 min
Inactive Prep Time:  2 hr 0 min
Cook Time:  --
Level:  Easy
Serves:  4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups thinly sliced celery hearts, tender leaves included, sliced on an angle (about 12 stalks)
• 4-ounce chunk aged Parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
• Whole flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions

 

At least 1 hour before you plan to serve the salad, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, the shallots, celery seed, celery salt, anchovy paste, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place the celery in a mixing bowl and toss it with the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (Even though these ingredients are in the dressing, believe me-this step makes a difference.) Add enough dressing to moisten well. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the celery to crisp and the flavors to develop.

When ready to serve, arrange the celery on a platter, shave the Parmesan onto the celery with a vegetable peeler, then sprinkle with walnuts, parsley leaves, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

Weight Watchers: 10 points

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

2010, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:  10 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  25 min
Level:  Easy
Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

Directions

 

Place the chicken stock in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over medium-high heat until the stock comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and very slowly whisk in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring almost constantly, for 10 minutes, until thick. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly while you're stirring. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, creme fraiche, and butter. Taste for seasonings and serve hot with extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

Weight Watchers: 6 points

 

Affogato Sundae

Affogato Sundaes

2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:  10 min
Inactive Prep Time:  --
Cook Time:  --
Level:  Easy
Serves:  4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pint hazelnut gelato or hazelnut ice cream
• 1 pint vanilla gelato or vanilla ice cream
• 8 tablespoons Tia Maria or Kahlua liqueur
• 8 tablespoons freshly brewed hot espresso
• Sweetened Whipped Cream
• Chocolate-covered espresso beans, chopped or whole

Directions

 

Place one scoop each of hazelnut and vanilla gelato in each of 4 dessert or cafe au lait bowls. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Tia Maria and 2 tablespoons of hot espresso over each serving. Dollop some whipped cream onto each serving and garnish with a handful of chocolate-covered espresso beans. Serve immediately.

Weight Watchers:  15 points
 

Our biased and unsolicited opinions:

 

Celery salad? You bet! It is crisp, fresh, full of flavor and nothing like we imagined. This is totally do-ahead, portable and absolutely delicious! If you are hesitant to use anchovies, remember that anchovies are teeny-tiny little fishes and in this recipe they subtly marry the lemon juice and the olive oil. The dressing was tangy and the celery stayed crisp after 5 hours of marinating. Neither of us had celery salt and Meg, being Meg, made her own by combining ground celery seed and salt. We would totally do this again. We think it will keep well, which makes it even better.

The parmesan polenta was rich and gratifying. What’s not to like about butter, cheese and crème fraiche?

We thought our fish was slightly overdone, because it continued to steam in the unopened packets while we were busy taking pictures. If you omit the lemon juice when you make the packets, they can be assembled as early in the day as you would like. The lemon juice will not cook the fish. We think adding long strips of lemon zest and a few red pepper flakes to the packets and a splash of fresh lemon juice when the packets are opened would give a different dimension of lemon flavors. We used cod. It was on sale. It was beautiful.

Affogato is our favorite dessert of the week. Affogato is "drowning" in Italian and the gelato drowning in espresso and Kahlua was sublime. We omitted the whipped cream. (Give us a break! It was eleven o’clock and we were tired.)

 

 Ciao!

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy