TRIP TO TUSCANY





Antignano - Livorno



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San Gimignano Siena Tuscany Italy

San Gimignano Siena Tuscany Italy

Sito Ufficiale del Comune di Montalcino

Sito Ufficiale del Comune di Montalcino

Cooking School - Cooking Classes

PCCooking School - Cooking Classes

Blueberry Jam

Every year Lauro and I go to the blueberry farm in Niagara On The Lake. We buy lots of fresh sweet and juicy blueberries so we can enjoy them all year round.

500 grams sugar

1 kg blueberries

     Wash the blueberries. Place them in a large cooking vessel, preferably a heavy duty one such as a copper or a cast iron pot. Bring the berries to a boil, stirring often. Add the sugar. Stir the jam often with a wooden spoon to avoid scorching. Cooking time depends on how much water is in the berries. I test it placing a few drops of jam on a plate, I tilt the plate and if the drops of jam stop running after about 1 inch the jam is done. Ladle the jam into previously sterilized jars. Cover with a lid. Do not tighten the lids to much. Sterilize all the jars in a boiling water bath for about 10 minutes. With a jar tong remove the jars from the water to cool off. While cooling the jar lids should pop. You can hear the popping sound. When the jar lids are all popped and caved in give them a final sqeeze to sicure the seal.

                                                   

LOBSTER ADVENTURE

Sept 3rd , the day of Lauro's 63rd Birthday. Whenever I have an event I celebrate it by preparing a special dinner. I like to flip through page after page of cook books to get inspired. Glancing at one of my newest acquisition, a beautiful coffee table cook book by Gordon Ramsy, I saw a picture of an oversized Raviolo stuffed with lobster, and that was it! I knew what I was going to make for Lauro's birthday dinner that evening. I didn't read the recipe, the picture was inspiring enough. So I decided I was going to create a recipe of my own: "Ravioli stuffed with Lobster over Artichoke Velluteé, drizzled with basil oil". After a trip to the store to get fresh lobster and other ingredients I needed, I headed back home with my treasures and the adventure into a new recipe creation began. I prepared a large pot of water, flavored with celery, onion, carrot, anise, parsley and salt. When the water reached the boiling point I grabbed the over three pounds clawed beast. Avoiding eye contract with my future dinner I submerged the lobster into the boiling liquid. As if she knew her destiny she extended her claws. Consequently the claws hit the sides of the pot. She was holding on for her life. To overcome the feeling of cruelty I was inflicting on this unaware and helpless crustaceous I redirected my thought to the scrumptious Ravioli we where going to taste for dinner that evening and my pity went away. After all I was following the food chain Mother Nature intended. Removing the flash from the carapace, especially from the claws, was a hazardous and laborious task. Equipped with gloves, towels, scissors and claw cracker I began the infamous and dangerous job. I grabbed first the head with one hand and the body with the other. With a twisting motion I separated the two parts. That was easy. With a pair of scissors I cut the underside of the body, where all those little legs are, and I extracted the flesh. That was easy too. My tension subsided. I was doing well and I was proud of myself. But my self esteem was soon shattered as I began tackling the claws. The first attempt was a complete failure, but that didn’t discourage me from pursuing the claw breaking. I kept thinking of the dinner my guests and I were going to savor that evening. With that thought I HUFFED, PUFFED, SQUEEZED, YANKED; nothing would break those evil red monsters, not even my expensive, fancy Cuisinart lobster crackers (what was I thinking when I bought them?). And then, finally, the miracle happened. Covered with lobster juice, shell debris, and a few scratches, the beautiful meat inside the claws was in my hands. After a thorough clean up (I think next time I will hire a cleaning agency) I proceeded with the pasta making. But this will be another chapter. Excerpt from my Cooking Diary September 2009.