Palmabella's Passions

On Thursday evening, thirteen of us met in North Hollywood at Firenze Osteria, after flying in to LAX or driving on our way to the Slow Trav Slow Bowl weekend in Los Alamos. Dinner was great and the company was even greater. The wine consumption began in full form. People sampled burrata salads, gnocchi with rabbit ragu, trofie with anatra sauce, lobster mac & cheese, ravioli stuffed with ricotta, spinach and polenta, linguini with seafood, gnocchi with pesto, and a veal chop.

Here we are, ready for a fun weekend:

It's that time of the year. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Another excuse to bake! Jerry and Paul are visiting after Slow Bowl, so I made them some cookies. They miss the holiday cookie production, so I made the red velvet shortbread cookies into hearts this time!

2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 c. sugar
4 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks), cut into small pieces
2-3 T. red food coloring

6 oz. white chocolate melting pieces or white chocolate chips
holiday sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Pulse until combined. Add cut butter (I used unsalted) and red food coloring. Process until mixture looks like crumbs, then comes together as a ball. Carefully remove dough. Knead it slightly until smooth. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out hearts. Place cutouts on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and repeat until all dough is used. Bake 20-22 minutes until centers are set. Let cool.

Heat white chocolate in microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring until melted and smooth. Dip cookies into white chocolate, then add sprinkles. Makes 30 hearts.

This week on the FLAVORS blog, the ingredient is BANANAS. I have been doing a TON of cooking and baking for the upcoming Slow Bowl weekend (LOTS more on that soon), so I needed something simple for my banana recipe. I love Nutella, and Feb 5. in "World Nutella Day", so this is what I came up with:

Triple Nutella Cake with Bananas

Nutella Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 c. Nutella
2 t. hazelnut extract (or Frangelico liquore)

Bake the cake in two round cake pans according to package directions. Cool.

Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

4 T. unsalted butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. Nutella

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add Nutella and beat until blended. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.

Assembly:

Cut the cakes into individual round “cakelettes”, using a 3” round biscuit cutter, or a knife around an inverted glass. (I got 8 cakelettes, and froze them in pairs in ziplock bags for whenever I need a quick dessert for guests.)

Cut each cakelette in half horizontally. Spread bottom half with Nutella Buttercream.
Place top of cakelette on top of frosting. Slice bananas, and arrange on top. Melt a little Nutella for 40 seconds in the microwave, and pour over bananas like sauce.
I had one bite of Brad's. AMAZING

Tom Colicchio, that is! He'll be in Palm Desert on Thursday, February 23!

From the McCallum Theater website:

"One of the culinary world's most celebrated figures, James Beard Award winning chef and head judge of television's Emmy winning "Top Chef," Tom Colicchio makes his first appearance at the McCallum. It's an evening of talk about food, cooking, restaurants, questions and answers, and whatever else is on Tom's mind."

I'm ready with questions about the BEST pork belly I ever tasted at Craftsteak in Las Vegas, and where his favorite restaurants are in Italy?

Anyone else have a question for Tom?

I needed some raisin-walnut bread, and couldn't find what I wanted at any local store or bakery, so I made some! I used a recipe from the Zesty Cook blog, and it turned out great.

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
3/4 cup raisins
2 cups lukewarm water (105° to 115°)
2 Tbs. honey
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 – 2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
1 cup walnut halves, coarsely chopped

In a large mixing bowl, stir together honey and 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water.

Add whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of white flour and salt. Stir until well combined. Add enough of remaining white flour until dough leaves sides of bowl. (I did this in my mixer.)

Sprinkle flour on a flat dry surface. Turn dough onto the surface and knead 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic. Don’t make the dough too dry.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover with damp cloth and set aside in warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
Punch dough down and turn on to floured surface. Knead raisins and walnuts into dough.

Shape (round, long, square,) into 1 large loaf and place on prepared baking sheet. I made two baguette shaped loaves for crostini.

Cover with damp cloth and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a spray bottle spray loaf with water. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake 30 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool on rack before slicing.

***Adjust baking time if making 2 loaves. My two baguettes took a total of 22 minutes.