Monte Cubano - Gourmet March 2009

How to Make a Monte Cubano

Me...

Well I have to admit to giving the cover another one of those...oh, come on...a sandwich? How special can a sandwich be?  Well...make this one and see.

 After I did and loved it I thought again and said...Sally, how dare you ever question a cover again...I mean come on...Ruth Reichl is the editor she knows her stuff has written two memoirs and edited countless cookbooks...my apologies go out to Ruth.  Oh  and the addition of pickles in this not so little sandwich...genius!  I loved it.  It was quick easy and very tasty.  Then  I had a thought...what a great little appetizer for a cocktail party.  Make them on those little tiny loves of cocktail breads.  At any rate they’re a huge hit in any size!

p.s. the link above will take you right to the recipe on Gourmet.com

Luke...

This was a good idea Mum...a change from my normal pasta for lunch.  I liked the pickles since they were small slices and the cheese was good.  You grilled it to perfection and it was big enough to keep this hungry man fed!  Thanks for lunch Mum

Lamb and Eggplant Sheperd's Pie - March 2009 Bon Appetit

Lamb and Eggplant Shepherd's Pie 

Me....

Well…I was pleasantly surprised with this and I’ll tell you why.  I know spring lamb is all the rage in spring.  And I like lamb.  I love s roasted rack of lamb, I adore a boneless butterflied leg marinated and thrown on the grill.  I don’t like a Bolognese sauce with lamb, just don’t so I didn’t hold high hopes for me liking this…

And as I said, so pleasantly surprised.  The lamb was tasty and I loved the eggplant in the filling!  I did peel the eggplant even though the recipe said don’t bother…I bothered and was happy.  I made the filling a day before and the flavor was better after 24 hours.  The recipe states you can make it three days ahead, so I bet it just keeps getting better.  Kasseri cheese and Hilton Head Island…ah, I would have a better chance catching a bus to the moon than I would finding Kasseri cheese...so....Pecorino it was for the mashed potato topping and that was just fine.  All in all a nice easy twist on an old favorite. I would make this again in the dead of winter!

Sophie...

I liked it very much except for the eggplant, I picked it all out.  Mom says she doesn’t like lamb so much in this kind of stuff, but I thought it was yummy and tender.   I always liked shepherd’s pie and was glad there weren’t any peas in it…I hate peas.

Luke...

Don't like shepherd's pie, never liked shepherd's pie, never will like shepherd's pie...I had it too much of it in school and it was horrible!  So I didn't even try this even though Mum did make it and promised it would be good.  I'm not a shepherd's pie kind of guy...ever.

Spaghetti and Meatballs - January 2009 Gourmet

Spaghetti and Meatballs - January 2009 Gourmet

Me

Okay…as I’ve mentioned I’ve become a little bit of a meatball snob.  I like my meatballs with ricotta cheese now, but on to the task at hand. The Gourmet meatball recipe was good.  The recipe said it made 70 meatballs to served 12-16.  I decided to half the recipe since I had seven mouths to feed.

  There was lemon zest in this recipe, which was supposed to add a punch, but I didn’t taste it.  I prefer a sprinkling of red pepper flakes for a punch.  There seemed to be adequate amounts of oregano and garlic (I thought) but the meatballs came out on the bland side anyway…for my taste.  This recipe used bread soaked in milk, which kept the meatballs moist, but I probably needed to tear the bread up into smaller pieces. Also, I’m a convert to roasting my meatballs in the oven and then covering in sauce, it intensifies the flavor.  This recipe called for browning then adding them to the sauce you make – the sauce recipe was fine, nothing to rave about.  Gourmet used the combo of beef, pork and veal, cooked onions and garlic…really pretty much basic, but I think I’ll stick to my own recipe for more flavor.  I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone has their own tastes for spaghetti and meatballs.  Everyone thinks theirs is the best and you know something?  That’s just fine.  That’s what makes the world of spaghetti and meatballs go round.  Click on the link below the cover picture and it will take you right to the recipe page on the Gourmet site.  

Mom

These were good; I thought they were a little bland.  The bread in them reminded me of how my grandmother used to make meatballs.  I definitely prefer the other ones Sally makes.

Luke

These were good Mom.  I love meatballs.  I think I like yours better, but I don’t know why.

 Jack 

I liked them and thought they were delicious.  I never had Sally’s other ones.  But these were good in my book.

Manda

The meatballs were fork tender and delicious.  I love meatballs!

Sophie

I picked out all the bread pieces.  I didn’t like that part.  I liked that there was beef in them and wish Mom put beef in hers.  But theses still were yummy in my tummy and I love my mummy.

Maddy

Meatballs knock my socks off!  I would trade meatballs for sleeping any day – I really liked them.

Fettuccine Carbonara with Pancetta and Broccoli Rabe - January 2009 Bon Appetit

Dish of the Year

Photo by Misha Gravenor

Here's the link to the recipe on Epicurious. 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fettucine-Carbonara-with-Fried-Eggs-351015

Me

I really really liked this!  At first when I read ....Dish of the Year...I thought....oh come on.  And then I thought how many eggs are in this?  And there's no way the boys are going to eat pasta with eggs on top.  But I was very wrong and this was very tasty, very easy, and very delicious.  The pancetta makes it! This is another keeper.

Mom

I liked it, I thought it was good...it tasted like a fettuccini with a rich cream sauce.  I couldn't eat a steady diet of it, once in a while though is nice.

Luke and Reed

Luke; It was delicious.  I enjoyed it and it was delcisous.  I like pasta with eggs on it and I loved the spice crispy salty pancetta...perfect Mum!

Reed; Enjoyed the simple light tasting pasta and especially the bits of ham and broccoli spread throughout

Note from Me:  it was broccoli rabe and pancetta Reed!

Jack our guest in-house expert

I liked the egg.  It complimented the rest of the dish and I really liked the flavor.

Devil's Food Cake With Peppermint Frosting - December 2009 bon Appetit

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Devils-Food-Cake-with-Peppermint-Frosting-350770

Me

I loved the cake.  As I said, it was a bit fiddly to make but well worth it.  The devils food cake was perfect!  Moist and chocolaty.   I liked the ganache layer, but may have spread it too thick.  The peppermint white chocolate filling was wonderful.  And the marshmallow icing took longer than 8-9 minutes to make, more like 15-20.

 I followed the instructions to a tee and it was nice that there was enough of icing and fillings to complete the cake. The quantities were spot on.  Now, what I didn’t do was cut off the domes on the layers, hence the Dr Seuss kind of look to it.  I should have but the recipe didn’t suggest it…what I did do was stabilize the layers with straws stuck in through to the bottom.  Even if I had cut the domes off, I still would have stuck skewers of some sort in it.  The recipe doesn’t suggest it, but based on the cakes height, there was no way I wanted to open up the fridge and see my beautiful cake disassembled on a shelf.  I also thought that each component of the cake, ganache, actual cake, white chocolate filling…etc, are good recipes to keep in mind when you might think about making a run of the mill everyday kind of cake.  My friend Cindy is going to make this using just one layer split, which would be much more manageable and less Dr. Seussy…definitely going to whip another one of these up for Christmas day!

Mom

I thought it was good.  I didn’t care for the ganache though; it was too firm for me.  The devils food cake was delicious, not over powered with chocolate.  I didn’t taste the peppermint in the filling, but did in the marshmallow. 

Luke

Good really good.  I’m not one for peppermint but I liked it.  I’m more of chocolate kind of guy.

Sophie  

OHMYGOD, Mom it was soooo good.  Will you make it for Christmas day?

“Yes, Soph, I will!”

Reed 

It was awesome.  I really liked the icing it wasn’t too sweet like other cakes.  It could have been smaller and a little less of the hard chocolate inside.