I love how this cookbook is set up, with detailed instructions on how to make the pizza or piadina dough, including pictures. I found this to be really helpful when rolling out the pizza dough and when grilling it. Since I have not grilled pizza before, it was nice to be able to refer to the pictures and the instructions so that I knew when the crust was ready to be turned. The basic pizza crust recipe is very simple to put together and can be made in advance without issue. I made the dough on a Sunday, and then made the pizzas 2 days later. The grilled crust came out nice and crispy and not too thick, which has been a problem for us when we would bake pizzas in the oven. 

If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you don’t have to avoid this cookbook, because it gives instructions on how to cook on an indoor grill, Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler Panini and Sandwich Press or a George Foreman GRP99 Next Generation Grill with Removable Plates, Silver Metallic Finish. 

Rather than follow an exact pizza recipe for my first grilled pizza, we used the guidelines on choosing topping ingredients. We used a marinara sauce that I keep on hand for the sauce, pesto and sliced mushrooms, black olives, and finally shredded mozzarella. One thing that I liked from the book was that when you are placing your ingredients on the grilled crust, you don’t need to perfectly spread them throughout the pizza.  Rather, place them randomly on the pizza so that each bite brings a new flavor to your mouth. This really made the pizza different from anything we’ve had before. Once the toppings have been added, it only takes another 5 -10 minutes before you are digging into a crispy slice of pizza.  Really just long enough to heat it and melt the cheese.

I’m really impressed with this cookbook and the variety of recipes included. In the next few days, I plan to make one of the dessert pizzas, S’mores. I am sure my family will be in love with it at first bite! With all the summer get-togethers we host and go to, I hope to put this cookbook to good use over the next few months.

Basic Grilled Pizza Dough - makes two 12-inch pizzas

Ingredients

3/4 cup warm water

1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons cornmeal, preferably white, plus additional for the pan

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus 1/4 teaspoon for the bowl.

Directions

Making the dough:

Pour the warm water into a small bowl or measuring cup.  (If the water is too hot, the yeast will die.  If too cold, it will not activate.)  Add the yeast and sugar and stir until the yeast dissolves into a smooth beige color.  Let it stand on the counter for about 5 minutes to prove that the yeasted water is active.  A thin layer of foam will appear at the top, indicating that the batch is good.

Kneading with a stand mixer:  Add the flours, salt, and cornmeal to a 4- to 5-quart standing mixing bowl.  Use the dough hook attachment on the lowest speed to mix the dry ingredients.  Add the yeasted water and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix on the slowest speed to allow the ingredients to come together. You may need to scrape down the sides with a spatula. Then, move to medium-high speed and knead for 2 minutes.  The batter should form a ball, unless it’s too wet or sticky. If so, add only enough flour to prevent it from sticking. The dough should come off the sides cleanly and form a ball.

Put the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of EVOO in a medium bowl. The dough will be sticky, so flour your hands before picking it up, and place it in the bowl. Turn it over several times until it is coated in the oil. This prevents a crust from forming on its surface as it rises.

Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a draft-free, warm place (70 to 80 degrees F), for 2 hours, until it rises to almost double in appearance. 

Chill the dough in the refrigerator overnight, or for 1 hour to firm it up.  Since this dough is slightly sticky, chilling the dough makes it easier to roll out.  Chilling it overnight gives the dough more flavor and texture. Dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Rolling out the dough:

Your refrigerated dough should have doubled in size.  Punch it down gently to remove gas.

Lightly flour about a foot of space on a clean, dry countertop.  Flatten the dough with your hands to about 1-inch thickness.  Cut in half with a knife.

Put one piece of dough in the center of the floured space and sprinkle a little flour over the top. Using a rolling pin, make smooth strokes to roll out the dough starting from the center out to the edges.

Work around the diameter of the dough to form a circular crust with an even thickness.  It is not necessary to maintain a perfect circle.  Roll the dough out to about a 12-inch diameter, about 1/9-inch thick.  Sprinkle the crust with a fine layer of flour; it will make the dough easier to handle and prevents stickiness.

Position 2 cookie sheets with no sides, or 2 pizza screens, next to your dough.  Sprinkle them generously with flour or cornmeal, so the dough will not stick.  Pick up the dough with two hands and fold it gently in half.

Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet.

Unfold the dough onto the pan to make it flat.

Stretch out the dough to an approximate 12-inch diameter.

Repeat with the second piece of dough on the second cookie sheet.

Grilling the Crust:

When your grill is at the right temperature (400 degrees F), hold the cookie sheet close to it and slide the dough onto the grill. If the dough folds onto itself, try to move the edges out quickly to form a flat crust (without burning yourself).  As long as the crust is about 12 x 12 inches, don’t worry that the shape is irregular. 

The dough should take about 3 minutes to cook. Watch for bubbles. The crust will be soft at first and tear easily, so try not to touch it. Soon it will set and firm up.

To check whether your crust is done, lift the underside.  it should be an even light brown with brown grill marks. A charred crust adds to the flavor.

Pick up the crust from the middle, using tongs, and place it on your cookie sheet.  Flip it over so the grilled side is faceup. This browned side becomes the top of your pizza.

Cookbook photo courtsey of Amazon.com

The cookbook offers 125 scrumptious recipes, gorgeous photographs, and additional information about the country of Spain, including a map to get your bearings. Also provided are descriptions of the regions and their culinary specialties; a list of vendors for Spanish products; and pages about Spanish cheese, sherry and wine, and specific ingredients such as saffron, olives, and salt cod.

All of the recipes are accessible to the home cook. Variations on the ubiquitous Paella Valenciana include a Paella With Vegetables and a thoroughly modern Sushi Paella. The Tapas offerings include Mission Figs Stuffed With Spanish Blue Cheese, three kinds of Bocadillos, Chorizo Stuffed Mushrooms and Japanese fusion Red Tuna Bites. The seafood and meat chapters include simple supper recipes and more labor intensive, gourmet offerings. The dessert chapter offers a range of mouth-watering recipes such as Spiced Almond Brittle, Hazelnut Passion Fruit Ice Cream, and a traditional Crema Catalana.

Choosing a recipe to make was easy. This white gazpacho is a cold soup that I’ve seen on menus in Spain and have always wanted to try. The flavor was brilliant!
I found it refreshing and tangy and think it would be a perfect dish to serve on a hot summer day.

Cold Almond and Garlic Soup - Ajo Blanco
serves 8

2 cups loosely packed day-old country-style bread or fresh bread, torn into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
6 2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
2 cups blanched almonds
2 ½ teaspoons salt - divided use
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
16 medium green grapes, halved and seeded, for garnish
2/3 cup toasted sliced almonds

1. Soak the day-old bread in 1 1/3 cups of water in a medium bowl for 10 minutes. If using fresh bread, there is no need to soak it.
2. Process the garlic and almonds in a food processor fitted with the steel blade for 1 minute, or until finely ground. Stop halfway through the process to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the soaked bread and any soaking water (or the fresh bread), 2 teaspoons of salt, vinegar, and oil, and blend for 2 minutes, or until a smooth paste forms. Add 2 cups of the water and blend for 2 minutes longer, or until smooth.
3. Transfer to a medium nonreactive bowl and stir in the remaining 3 1/3 cups of water (use 4 1/3 cups if using fresh bread). Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until well chilled.
4. Stir the soup well, reaching to the bottom of the bowl, just before serving. Taste and adjust seasoning with ½ teaspoon of salt, or more if desired. Ladle 1 cup of the soup into each chilled soup bowl, garnish with the grapes and toasted sliced almonds, and serve.

So each and every week my husband does kind things for me, and how do I return the favor? By continuing to have some version of tacos on our menu. Great for me! I love tacos! Hubby? Not so much. Since the beginning of our marriage, hubby has made it very clear his detest for tacos. He doesn’t like raw tomatoes, he hates just about any kind of bean, sour cream, and guacamole. He is one of the few people in the world who doesn’t go crazy for Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I, however, love all things Tex-Mex and Mexican and so do my kids. This is why on a weekly basis, some form of taco-type dish hits our dinner table. You really can’t find anything easier that is as filling as tacos.

Every week, hubby sits down to dinner with a sigh and struggles through yet another taco meal. What can I say? He is so much nicer to me than I am to him. As the youngest of five, I have a bit of a selfish streak, and I don’t believe I should eliminate making what I like for dinner just because he doesn’t like it.

If you are on the “I like tacos” side like me, then let me share this quick and easy (plus light!) taco salad recipe from a back issue of Cooking Light magazine. If you don’t like tacos, tough! You can just sit there and pout while the rest of us enjoy.

Three Step Taco Salad

(Cooking Light magazine, July 2003)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
2/3 cup bottled salsa
8 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
4 cups (4 ounces) bite-sized baked tortilla chips
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 (15-ounce) can kidney or black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sliced ripe black olives ( I omit)

Cook the beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.Combine sour cream and salsa in a small bowl.

Combine the beef mixture, iceberg lettuce, tortilla chips, tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese, and beans in a large bowl. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the salad, and toss gently. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and black olives. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 2 cups)
CALORIES 217 (24% from fat); FAT 5.7g (sat 2.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 16.8g; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 171mg; SODIUM 757mg; FIBER 5g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.1g

Now, when it comes to a new cookbook, the first thing I look at are the pictures. This book does not disappoint; there are pictures of almost all of the recipes. I like to know what the finished dish should look like before I attempt it, and sometimes a picture will inspire me to try something I might not have if I didn’t know what it looked like in the first place. I agree with the saying that you “eat with your eyes”; presentation is everything. 

There are recipes for everything from beverages to desserts.  We adore blueberry muffins, so the Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins were a perfect first recipe to try from this cookbook. This recipe uses sour cream, and it helps create a nice cakelike texture in the muffin. Each muffin was bursting with blueberries, and they were a huge hit with my oldest. I am sure I’ll be revisiting this cookbook frequently during the summer months whenever we have friends over. I have a list of recipes I still want to try, such as: Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms, Grilled Chicken with Rosemary White Barbecue Sauce, Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Asian Plum Sauce, and Fettucine with Creamy Zucchini Sauce - just to name a few. 

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup full-fat sour cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
11/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 10 muffin tins with paper liners.  (I was able to get 12 muffins from this recipe.)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.  Beat the eggs until combined in another medium bowl, then stir in the sour cream and melted butter.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into each muffin tin.

Bake until the muffin tops are golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cake rack. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature. (The muffins are best served the same day that they are baked. Freeze leftovers, stored in a self-locking plastic bag, for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature.)

Cookbook photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

Allison had to fight the TV personality for her lunch, but that’s a fair exchange for being able to tell people that Alton Brown tried to steal her Reuben.

When Mr. Brown returned to St. Louis for his most recent book signing on April 27, the crowds far exceeded the small bookstore quarters. They nearly overwhelmed the St. Louis Ethical Society. The sanctuary was filled to standing room capacity with a room of overflow fans in the basement who listened to Mr. Brown’s presentation through the intercom. It was an affair large enough to merit a catered meal by a local culinary school, so Mr. Brown probably didn’t have to battle for boxed leftovers this time.

The Alton Brown who came to St. Louis on that earlier book tour was merely the guy from Good Eats, who’d just released his first book, I’m Just Here for the Food: Food + Heath = Cooking. That was before his hosting gig on Iron Chef America, two successful seasons of Feasting on Asphalt, and the books I’m Just Here for the Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking and Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen. St. Louis was the only city Alton visited during both seasons of Feasting on Asphalt, so it makes sense that his local following would rival that of a rock star. And yet, in his seersucker suit, he still blushed a deep beet at the wild applause that greeted him from a crowd eager to ask questions and hear his tales from the road.

While watching both seasons of Feasting on Asphalt, where Alton and crew motorcycled the backroads of the U.S., spontaneously eating at whatever mom ‘n’ pop joint caught their attention, I kept hoping for at least a DVD set. It never occurred to me that the show was perfectly suited for book format. As Mr. Brown told the St. Louis crowd, photographer Jean Claude Dhien took so many wonderful photos during the second season that it was a shame for them to not be seen. Thus, the TV show evolved into the book, which not only features those gorgeous photos of the people and food that line the small towns between southern Louisiana  and northern Minnesota, but tales from the road and over 40 recipes.

In the preface Mr. Brown specifies that some of the cooks they met in their travels happily shared their recipes, while others were more secretive. The book gives credit to those generous cooks and indicates which recipes were altered for home cooks or inspired by the trip and developed by Mr. Brown afterwards. In christening my newly autographed copy of the book, I opted for two restaurant original recipes: Nana Deane’s Pecan Coconut Pie from Ray’s Dairy Maid in Barton, Arkansas, and Hot Chick on a Stick from Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air in Alton, Illinois.

Nana Deane’s Pecan Coconut Pie
Courtesy of Ray’s Dairy Maid, Barton, Arkansas.

• 10.5 ounces sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 4 ounces buttermilk
• 3 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 ounces chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Prebaked 9-inch pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, butter, buttermilk, coconut, pecans, flour, vanilla, and salt. Pour into the pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown and the center is barely set. Let cool for 40 to 45 minutes before serving.

Hot Chick on a Stick
Courtesy of Fast Eddie’s Bon Air, Alton, Illinois

• 16 chicken drummettes (about 2 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (homemade or Lawry’s)
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (like Emeril’s or one of your choice)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Place the chicken drummettes in a large mixing bowl, add the seasonings, and toss to coat well.  
3. Place the drummettes  on 4 kebob skewers. Lay the skewers on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Place the skewers in the refrigerator until cold, at least 1 hour.
4. When ready to serve, preheat a grill to 350 degrees.
5. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place on the grill. Cook for five minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 appetizer servings

This coffee table-worthy book is presented by Renewing the Countryside. Quoting directly from their website:

Renewing the Countryside strengthens rural areas by championing and supporting rural communities, farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, activists and other people who are renewing the countryside through sustainable and innovative initiatives, businesses, and projects. We do this by sharing stories of rural renewal, building awareness and support for sustainable endeavors, connecting people interested in sustainable rural development to each other, providing practical assistance and networking opportunities for those working to improve rural America, and fostering connections between urban and rural people.

The cookbook features local restaurants and merchants who live close to the land of Minnesota and are all about keeping it local. The book gives a marvelous travel tour across the state via the various communities and restaurants featured in the book. You’ll learn many interesting factoids, including: why the trout is so angry and just what the Scandinavian link to Minnesota’s cuisine is.

The recipes range from exotic and fairly difficult to very basic and simple. I tried 3 recipes from the book. All were a success. My family especially enjoyed the Tourlou recipe from page 129 (which is pictured above). But we also enjoyed the Salsa and the Hummus recipes from page 99!

I’ve never been to Minnesota. But after reading this local cookbook, I think I’ll be planning a trip soon! The photography alone makes the book worth it’s $29.99 price. You can purchase the book by clicking here.

Recipe for Tourlou

Serves 4-5
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1 fennel bulb plus the fennel fronds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped or 1 tsp. dried basil
2 bay leaves
4 cups peeled and diced eggplant
4 cups zucchini, thinly sliced
4 cups fresh green beans, with the ends trimmed
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes or 2 cups canned diced tomatoes

Preheat the oil in a dutch oven on medium and cook the onions and fennel with all the seasonings until the onions are tender. Add eggplant and cook about 5 minutes. Stir the eggplant to coat with the seasonings and oil. Add zucchini and green beans, stirring to coat with seasonings, and cook until the green beans start to change color. Add tomatoes and stir gently. Let the mixture simmer until it’s to the consistency that you prefer. Serve immediately and sprinkle with feta cheese and serve with crusty peasant bread.

Pure Food by Christine Cushing is a book that offers a wide variety of dishes that focus on freshness and flavor. The recipes are straightforward and emphasize using seasonal ingredients in a way that suits them best. The layout is clean and the photos are bright and inviting. The book begins with a shopping, organizing, and produce companion that provides suggestions for a well-stocked pantry as well as tips on how to use ingredients that you may not be as familiar with. The recipes are divided into seven chapters: Salads, Dips & Starters, Fish & Seafood, Poultry, Meat, Grains & Starches, Veggies & Sides, and finally Fruit & Desserts.  Prep time and cooking time are listed with each recipe and are generally under an hour with some being much less so. Seasonal availability of ingredients is also given with each recipe, which is a nice touch.

As Christine describes at the beginning of the book, there are five very important factors that are woven throughout the book:

Flavour, Flavour, Flavour

Quality of Ingredients

In Season

Ease of Preparation

Health

Those, combined with the implied factor of fun (as all cooking should be fun), create a nice balance of recipes and tastes. The Strawberry Mango Mojito Salad looked too delicious for me to pass up, and it was the first thing I made. I added some kiwis because I had them on hand and opted to rim the class with sugar, but otherwise stuck to the recipe.

Strawberry Mango Mojito Salad (from Pure Food by Christine Cushing)

1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 medium Atulfo mango, peeled and diced (Atulfo is less stringy than other varieties)
¼ cup granulated sugar (60mL)
½ bunch fresh mint leaves, washed and chopped finely
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 oz white rum (50mL) or to taste

Combine the strawberries and mango in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with sugar, mint leaves, lime juice, zest and rum.

Let stand for about 30 minutes to develop its flavour.

For maximum impact, serve in a martini or rock glass with fresh mint sprigs and a lime slice on the rim of the glass.

New Yorker David Gelin publishes a book on Southern BBQ. The 43-year-old Gelin’s opus, BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes From the Barbecue Belt (Gibbs Smith Publisher, $15.95) is less a book about BBQ recipes and more an exploration of the people who devote their lives to “Que.” Gelin traversed the Southern states in search of the best, most authentic “joints” in the country; he lists 60 in all. According to the author, “They don’t have these kinds of places up North, and I believe we all ought to seek them out and celebrate them.”

Coastal Living magazine has just released its list of the Top 25 dives in the country. The list includes places like Bozo’s Seafood Market in Pascagoula, MS, R&O Seafood in New Orleans, and Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile, AL. The list appears in the April 29 issue of Coastal Living.

What is Kindle? Imagine carrying only one book with you the rest of your life. It is a magic book, mind you, that mystically changes its pages to provide whatever book you want to read. Sounds like science fiction, right? Kindle is Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device and it does just that. Kindle allows you to download hundreds of thousands of books in less than a minute, as well as magazines, your favorite blogs, and even newspapers. Available publications include the New York Times (home of the best food and restaurant section in the country), Vineology (a wine blog), and hundreds of books on diet and nutrition.

Photo courtesy of amazon.com

Okay, I admit it.  I love Top Chef!  Its one of my “must see” TV shows of each week.  I watch for the drama, the cheesy preening of the Cheftestants, the snarky guest judges, Padma’s outfits, and, of course, the food.  The show is in the midst of its fourth season and I can honestly say that I’ve never missed an episode.  So when I found out about the recently released official companion cookbook to Top Chef, I had to have it!

For those of you who have recently returned from an extended stay on the planet Mars, Top Chef is only the hottest cooking competition on television.  It is an exciting and slickly produced weekly reality show airing on Bravo TV, featuring sixteen aspiring chefs from around the country who compete for the title of Top Chef. Each episode features two challenges. The Quickfire Challenge is designed to test the chefs’ basic knowledge of cooking skills. The winner of each Quickfire is usually afforded immunity in the ensuing Elimination Challenge. The Elimination Challenges are themed challenges where the chefs, affectionately known as the Cheftestants, compete against each other to show their creativity and versatility in the kitchen.  Each week a different celebrity chef joins the regular panel of judges to determine who will be asked to “pack their knives and go.”

The winner of the competition receives $100,000 to be used in the furtherance of his or her career, a feature spread in Food & Wine magazine, a gourmet trip to the French Alps, and a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.  

The Top Chef Cookbook contains over 100 recipes, as well as cooking tips, interviews, chef profiles, and behind-the-scenes stories from the series.  The book is clothed in a white canvas cover inspired by the chefs’ jackets worn by the Cheftestants on the show.  Cute, huh?  Actually, it is a really sharp-looking cookbook with easy-to-follow recipes and lots of great big colorful pictures. If you’re a Top Chef fan, this book is definitely one to have for your collection. Heck, it’s a great book even if you hate the show!

My first creation from Top Chef: The Cookbook is a dish that I have been dying to try ever since I watched Padma practically lick her plate clean while eating it. I’m talking about the Fideos with Clams and Saffron that the infamous Ilan prepared on the show in Season 2.  Ilan, himself, describes it as “one of the most delicious things on Earth.” 

The recipe calls for fideos, which is a type of Spanish pasta similar to angel hair. It is also known as vermicelli. In Spain, fideos are broken into short pieces and used in place of rice in some dishes.  The other main components of the dish are fresh clams, cream, and saffron. The pasta is baked in the oven and then cooked on the stove with the clams, white wine, and tons of caramelized garlic. Then, a saffron cream sauce with tender caulifower is mixed in and the whole thing is browned under the broiler. It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn’t.  From start to finish, this recipe took me less than an hour to prepare. 

I’m telling you, words cannot adequately describe how wonderful this dish was! The briny saltiness of the clams melded right into the mellow sweetness of the cream sauce, creating taste sensations that were out of this world!  

Whether you loved Ilan, hated Ilan, or loved to hate Ilan, you must try his dish. I promise, you won’t regret it.  I really think it just might be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted!

Fideos with Clams and Saffron

1 pound capellini pasta
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons saffron
2 cups cauliflower florets (I lightly steamed mine until crisp-tender first.)
1/3 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled, but whole
1 pound fresh clams (I used cherrystone clams.)
1/2 cup white wine or seafood stock (I used wine. The clams make their own stock when they cook.)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Break capellini into 3-inch pieces. Arrange pieces in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Heat broiler in oven.

In a small saucepan, combine heavy cream, saffron, and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk to dissolve saffron. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, stir in cauliflower florets, and set aside.

In a medium straight-sided skillet, heat olive oil and garlic over low heat until garlic begins to soften. Add clams, wine, and capellini to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Increase heat to medium and cover skillet. Cook about 4 minutes. Most of the clams should be opened. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams.

Carefully divide clam and pasta mixture between four ovenproof dishes, filling each about half full. Top with cauliflower-and-cream mixture.
 
Transfer dishes to oven and broil until golden brown.

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.