(The Tucci Cookbook, page 37)
Ziti With Broccoli
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 137)
Fried Cookies
(The Tucci Cookbook, page 329)
Spagliato Granita
(The Tucci Table, page 200)
This challenging menu required us to make multiple stops to pick up several unusual ingredients. We returned to Little’s Fish Market for four essential items for our venetian seafood salad … a pound of fresh gulf shrimp, a pound of fresh squid, a half pound of sea scallops, and one whole octopus.
Harvey carefully picked out and weighed the best shrimp for us. Our octopus was frozen into a softball-sized ice cube that would need a lengthy thawing before we could prepare it.
Next Chapter: Beauty And The Beast
Harvey carefully picked out and weighed the best shrimp for us. Our octopus was frozen into a softball-sized ice cube that would need a lengthy thawing before we could prepare it.
On the way home, we stopped at Midtown Wine & Liquor, where we picked up prosecco, Campari, and red vermouth for our “spagliato” granita cocktail. There were literally dozens of choices for these liqueurs, however in an effort to keep the result more authentic, we made sure they all were of Italian origin ... and we picked the prosecco with the tied-string cork on top because it looked really cool.
Although our plan was to prepare the meal on Sunday, we opted to make the fried cookies on Saturday afternoon. We had some special guests in town, including Michelle’s niece, Grace, who wanted to help with the project.
And once again, we learned that 'baking' is far more complicated and demanding than ‘cooking’.
And once again, we learned that 'baking' is far more complicated and demanding than ‘cooking’.
After our other adventures with pan-frying, and with the prospect of deep-frying cookies in several inches of oil on an open-fire gas grill, Tom ventured to Williams Sonoma and found a Waring deep fryer for a deeply-discounted hundred bucks. He bought it thinking that it might provide a safer alternative to hot grease in a pan. Predictably, he failed to read the instructions, and as we were cracking our eggs into the mixing bowl, Tom opened the box and realized that the fryer required two and half gallons of cooking oil to make it work. We had one bottle of Wesson.
Lesson number one ... again … read the instructions completely first.
Back to the fry pan.
After a quick briefing on grease-fire safety and a search for the nearest fire extinguisher, we began.
Making the cookie dough was fairly straight-forward, although the recipe specifically required that it be stiff and uniformly dry throughout. This took a bit more flour and hand-mixing, but we achieved the desired result. A highlight of the endeavor was the addition of a tablespoon of Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack to the mix.
We took a bite of the dough, and it seemed somewhat flavorless, and we both agreed to split the dough in half, add more sugar to one half and leave the other unchanged.
We took a bite of the dough, and it seemed somewhat flavorless, and we both agreed to split the dough in half, add more sugar to one half and leave the other unchanged.
The most challenging part of this recipe was that the dough had to be rolled ‘paper-thin’ on the counter and cut it into narrow strips (we didn't have a pastry wheel so we used a pizza cutter). Then Michelle braided three of them at a time into a wreath-shape before going into the oil. This was exceedingly difficult, as we never could quite get the dough thin-enough (even using a mixer pasta attachment) … and the thinner we made it, the more difficult it was to braid the dough without it tearing apart or having it sag into a pile of mush.
Our first few samples had the same general appearance as the gorgeous photo in the cookbook, but they did not look nearly as delicate, or made with the same 'crispy-light' precision.
Jeez ... Grandma Tucci must have the hands of a neurosurgeon!
Instead, ours looked a little bit like they had been made with Play-Doh. We worked at improving our skill with each successive cookie, and we made some decent ones, but we never quite approached the beautiful finesse and perfection of the ones displayed in the book. However, when covered with enough confectionary sugar, we could almost pull it off.
Jeez ... Grandma Tucci must have the hands of a neurosurgeon!
Instead, ours looked a little bit like they had been made with Play-Doh. We worked at improving our skill with each successive cookie, and we made some decent ones, but we never quite approached the beautiful finesse and perfection of the ones displayed in the book. However, when covered with enough confectionary sugar, we could almost pull it off.
Like the orange cookies we baked on Super Bowl Sunday, they lacked the ‘sweetness’ that we anticipated they should have, even the ones with the added sugar. Instead, these cookies tasted more like deep-fried county fair food. In other words ... like fried dough ... really yummy!!
Tom had improved his grill-top deep-frying skills, and was able to keep the spatter somewhat under control. He had to frequently manage the temperature controls to keep the oil from smoking and burning the cookies, and the near-gallon of roiling-hot oil on an open flame demanded his constant attention.
Eventually, Michelle threw in the towel, and with the help of niece Grace, started making braided ‘churros’ and other assorted shapes. All in all, it was another excellent learning experience and we were reminded, once again, that doing pastry is hard.
The next day, late Sunday morning, Tom began by slicing a pound of whole calamari squid into rings, poaching it in a vegetable stock (ever so briefly - no more than three minutes), and then placing it in a large ceramic dish in the refrigerator. Then he also poached a handful of large sea scallops for two minutes, removed them, horizontally sliced them into two and added them to the dish.
The next day, late Sunday morning, Tom began by slicing a pound of whole calamari squid into rings, poaching it in a vegetable stock (ever so briefly - no more than three minutes), and then placing it in a large ceramic dish in the refrigerator. Then he also poached a handful of large sea scallops for two minutes, removed them, horizontally sliced them into two and added them to the dish.
Michelle, moving slower than usual (she had an argument with her dinner the night before) helped peel, de-vein, and halve the shrimp after they had been boiled in a colander for four minutes. They joined the other two items in the refrigerated ceramic pot.
Then Tom pulled the octopus from the kitchen sink, where it had been thawing. The purple gelatinous mass was dropped directly into the boiling water, where it simmered for forty-five minutes.
Several times during cooking, the creature would rise from the depths, latch onto a nearby onion or carrot, and peer out of the pot ... then roll over and disappear again.
Several times during cooking, the creature would rise from the depths, latch onto a nearby onion or carrot, and peer out of the pot ... then roll over and disappear again.
Meanwhile, Michelle had schooled herself via YouTube in the art of matchstick-cutting vegetables.
With this new-found knowledge, she sliced carrots, celery, scallions, parsley, garlic, and red and yellow peppers. These, too, were added to the salad potage.
With this new-found knowledge, she sliced carrots, celery, scallions, parsley, garlic, and red and yellow peppers. These, too, were added to the salad potage.
Both of us watched another online instructional video on how to carve a cooked octopus, and eventually, Tom dove in with a small paring knife and dissected it. After removal of the head-sac and pressing the hard beak out of its bottom from inside, each arm was removed and a thin, slimy skin was scraped off. Tom then washed each arm thoroughly before cutting them into bite-sized portions and throwing them into the seafood-vegetable mix.
To finish it off, we added white wine vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. The ingredients had blended into a fantastic seafood medley, similar to that of ceviche. It looked and smelled incredible!
We placed the pot into the fridge to keep it cool while we moved on to the pasta.
Meanwhile, Dan was busy squishing oranges into a container as he began to make ‘spagliato granita’. To the juice he added Prosecco De Paolo Vino Frizzante, Campari, Mancino Vermouth, and shaved ice.
Yes, we had, once again, failed to completely read the instructions. We were supposed to allow the cocktail to form its own crystalized ice in the freezer over the course of several hours. It was too late for that now, so we made our own ice ... but holy cow, what a concoction!!
Yes, we had, once again, failed to completely read the instructions. We were supposed to allow the cocktail to form its own crystalized ice in the freezer over the course of several hours. It was too late for that now, so we made our own ice ... but holy cow, what a concoction!!
Michelle had trimmed off the florets from a large head of broccoli, peeled the stems (as we had also recently done to asparagus), and tossed them into boiling water for a quick four minutes. Tom removed them with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a bowl. We poured a box of ziti pasta into the same boiling water and cooked it several minutes longer than prescribed by the instructions. Surprisingly, it took more than thirteen minutes to make al dente pasta.
We pulled the colander and set it aside while we emptied the pot of water. Then we threw the noodles back into the empty vessel, added a quarter-cup of olive oil, a half-cup of reserve water from the boil ... and then the broccoli. These were gently stirred together until mixed and plated onto a serving dish.
We pulled the colander and set it aside while we emptied the pot of water. Then we threw the noodles back into the empty vessel, added a quarter-cup of olive oil, a half-cup of reserve water from the boil ... and then the broccoli. These were gently stirred together until mixed and plated onto a serving dish.
We were ready to present the meal. Michelle served our venetian seafood salad onto large leaves of hydroponic butter lettuce, and it looked delicious!
The pasta was also a grand success.
And this time, we remembered to garnish it properly with a drizzle of olive oil and perfectly-placed broccoli florets.
The pasta was also a grand success.
And this time, we remembered to garnish it properly with a drizzle of olive oil and perfectly-placed broccoli florets.
We could barely get Tam to set her cocktail glass down for the photograph. Immediately afterward, it was consumed and refilled several times.
The meal was as good as it looked. Simple and light on a warm spring day. Afterward, we relaxed at the table and chatted about how flavorful, yet clean, the salad was … and how the pasta balanced the meal so well.
Dan commented on how funny it was that Michelle and Tom took four hours to make something that was devoured in ten minutes. The two chefs looked at each other, slightly chagrined.
Dan commented on how funny it was that Michelle and Tom took four hours to make something that was devoured in ten minutes. The two chefs looked at each other, slightly chagrined.
The fried cookies soon joined the party and completed another great celebration of food and fun.
This one goes in the “win” column.