All about Parmigiano Reggiano & Parmigiano Reggiano Night

Last year I got a chance to visit a caseificio, or cheese maker where Parmigiano Reggiano is made. I had to go early in the morning so I could see the cheese being pulled from curds out of large copper vats. 

I also saw where the cheese rested, where it was bathed in a salty brine and the delicious smelling room where it was aged. And of course I got to try the cheese at various ages.

The main way to distinguish between different types of Parmigiano Reggiano is by age, 14-18 months, 24 months, which is most popular with Italian consumers and 36 months.

Generally speaking, 14-18 month Parmigiano is paler and fruitier, with notes of citrus and pineapple. 24 month Parmigiano is nuttier and more buttery. 36 month Parmigiano is drier and spicier. As it ages, the cheese develops more crunchy crystals and more intensity.

Here in the US we buy Parmigiano Reggiano grated or in chunks, but we don't usually pay much attention to the age, season it was produced or the types of cow's milk. In Parma I brought home Parmigiano Reggiano that was made from the milk of red cows or Vacche Rosse, and also some cheese made in the Summer from cows who graze at a high elevation. Recently I spoke with Nancy Radke, Director of the US information office for the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano about the different special varieties and how to best use the cheese for cooking, and here's what she told me:

"Available in the US in addition to Vacche Rosse, but with more limited distribution, is Bianca Modenese, a Parmigiano Reggiano made with the milk of the other historic breed, the White Modenese. There is one other single breed Parmigiano Reggiano, Solo La Bruna, which is made only with the milk of one of the first Alpine breeds used--the Brown Swiss. 

All of these cheeses are made with milks that have more casein. Higher casein means that longer aging is possible, which allows the cheese to develop a more complex aroma profile. The milk of these breeds is also just a bit more fatty, which makes for great mouth-feel. So when you combine great mouth-feel with complex aromas, great solubility, and a big umami persistent finish, you have the perfect eating cheese, which should be savored the way one would a fine glass of Barolo.

For all purpose cooking, grating, and shaving the 24-month is ideal. For snacking (especially for kids) or making long glorious shavings the 16- to 18-month is great, because it is the least friable and crystalline, so it has a creamier mouth-feel and won't crumble when shaved. The 36-month has the most umami flavor, friability,and solubility, so this is the cheese to grate over pasta, stir into risotto, blend into an Alfredo sauce, layer into lasagne and use in pasta fillings."

If you've ever had a hard time getting Parmigiano Reggiano to melt, now you know why!

Last year Italy was still reeling from the effects of a massive earthquake that destroyed millions of dollars worth of cheese. So the first Parmigiano-Reggiano night was a national celebration of both the cheese, which is a national treasure, and to aid the cheese makers. 

This year marks the second annual Parmigiano Reggiano Night, and it falls on Saturday, November 30th. It's a celebration of the cheese and virtual dinner party the world over. It's also a great time to learn how to taste the cheese try some Parmigiano Reggiano recipes, and get to know and appreciate the cheese. 

Macaroni & Cheese Cookbook Smackdown!

There are plenty of macaroni and cheese cookbooks, and some of them are quite good. So do we need another one? That was my question when I heard about both of these new books, The Mac + Cheese Cookbook and Melt. Coincidentally both books are from renowned Northern California food bloggers. 

Out first and in a small format is The Mac + Cheese Cookbook, 50 Simple Recipes from HOMEROOM, America's Favorite Mac and Cheese Restaurant. The subtitle really tells it all. These are recipes from Allison Arevalo (her blog Local Lemons is no longer being updated) and Erin Wade's darling restaurant in Oakland. While the recipes are creative, they are straightforward, uncomplicated and fairly simple really. The ingredients are good quality but not particularly expensive or exotic. The book rounds out the mac and cheese recipes with side dishes and desserts. 

It's not a traditional restaurant cookbook, but rather very practical. Some of my favorite recipes in this book are actually not mac and cheese but the Brussels sprouts with bacon and apple cider vinaigrette and the peanut butter pie. 

It's not a ground breaking cookbook, but a good choice for mac and cheese fans and beginning cooks. Want to find a vegan mac and cheese recipe? A version of mac and cheese with blue cheese and walnuts? Or a "trailer" version with hot dogs and crushed potato chips? This is your book. Visit their restaurant Homeroom in Oakland.

Melt The Art of Macaroni and Cheese was written by two food bloggers I know and adore, Stephanie Stiavetti, The Culinary Life blogger and Garrett Cord the blogger behind Vanilla Garlic. So I was particularly concerned when I heard about the book.  But that was before I got a chance to see it. It is groundbreaking. If The Mac + Cheese Cookbook is a lifestyle book akin to the brand Target--think a little retro in style, mainstream and accessible--then Melt is practically the opposite--it's extremely innovative, sexy, and exotic. Frankly, it's a game changer. It redefines macaroni and cheese through the use of artisanal cheeses, many generally relegated to cheese plates, to wild combinations and new categories like salads, soups and desserts composed of noodles and cheese. 

I have to admit while there are a couple of recipes in this book that don't appeal to me, (I can't quite wrap my mind around the combinations of cheese and seafood or pasta and fruit) but most of them are just plain genius. That said they will take planning ahead to source some of the ingredients. My bookmarked recipes to try include Tomato Soup with Star Pasta and Vella Dry Jack Crisps, Pumpkin Stuffed with Fontina, Italian Sausage and Fontina, and Bianco Sardo with Collard Greens Pesto over Penne. 

Stephanie and Garrett are hosting a Le Creuset giveaway in honor of the book. Find out where they are appearing or attend a book signing. 

So do we need another macaroni and cheese book? I'm going to say an enthusiastic YES! 

Disclaimer: This post includes Amazon affiliate links

Savory Roasted Pears Recipe

I am an impatient person. I hate to wait. While some of the pears my mother gave me from her trees are ripe, others are not. Is there something you can do with not quite ripe pears? Yes! I discovered you can roast them. 

Pears are sometimes added to savory dishes to add juice and moisture, or to make a sauce. My idea with this recipe was to make a side dish, something that could be served with pork chops, roast chicken, pork tenderloin, sausages, tossed with salad greens, on top of a pizza or maybe even used in a sandwich. Most recipes for roast pears call for pear halves or quarters, but dicing them just means they cook faster. You could also include pears with potatoes, parsnips, onions, beets or other similar vegetables that are good for roasting. 

I really love the silky texture of cooked pears. The flavor intensifies too, which is why pears are so good in cakes and tarts. But you can get the same texture and flavor by roasting pears without baking them in a batter or crust. Necessity is the mother of invention and my mother's prolific pear trees accounts for the plethora of pear recipes I've created. Currently I'm really enjoying maple roasted pears with oatmeal or yogurt, but as the season progresses I'm sure I'll find even more ways to use them. 

Savory Roasted Pears

Ingredients

4 firm pears, about 2 pounds 

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core and dice the pears. Toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Place pears in a foil or parchment-lined baking dish and roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Time will vary depending upon the type of pears and their level of ripeness. 

Enjoy! 

Watermelon Summer Smoothies Recipe

Recently Safeway invited me to visit a watermelon grower, Perry & Sons. Safeway has been working with Perry & Sons for 60 years and wanted to put a draw attention to their commitment to local growers. I learned a lot about watermelon, enjoyed some lovely watermelon cuisine but to be honest, I was a little disappointed. The watermelon I took home was a seedless variety and it lacked the depth of flavor and sweetness of a seeded watermelon. It was good, just not as sweet as I would have liked. 

I tend to shy away from buying watermelon because it's such a big fruit. So what do you do with lots of watermelon? In addition to making wonderful salads, I discovered it's terrific for smoothies. The trick is adding another fruit to complement it. I tried cantaloup, banana and blueberries and each were wonderful. It makes sense since watermelon is so good in agua fresca. I bet just about any other summer fruit would be great with watermelon such as peaches or raspberries. And no yogurt or milk needed. Just fruit! 

Interestingly enough my favorite bite of watermelon served on the tour was a chunk of watermelon marinated in balsamic vinegar, it intensified the flavor and balanced the sweetness. If you've got a lot of watermelon on your hands, try it in savory dishes such as salsa, wrapped in prosciutto, in gazpacho with shrimp or in a ceviche. And you can whittle a watermelon down to almost nothing if you blend it up in a smoothie...

Watermelon Summer Smoothies

1 serving

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup diced chilled watermelon 

1/2 or more frozen fruit such as banana, blueberries, strawberries, etc. 

Instructions

Place the fruit in the blender and blend until smooth. Ok that's it! Nothing more to it. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Safeway and received a watermelon, I was not paid to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Ginger Peach Preserves Recipe

I am happy to be a "canbassador" for SweetPreservation.com, a community site of the Northwest cherry growers and soft fruit growers of Washington state. They sent me a big box of juicy, sweet, ripe Country Sweet peaches which I agreed to preserve, of course. A post from Dorie Greenspan on Facebook about ginger, peach vanilla jam inspired me to create preserves with the same flavor combination. 

The difference between preserves and jam is sugar. Jam uses a lot of it and preserves use less. I like the flexibility of preserves. You can use preserves in place of jam but you can also use preserves in recipes or as a dessert topping. It's particularly good mixed with plain yogurt. The ginger and vanilla complement the tangy sweet flavor of peaches. I used a combination of fresh ginger and candied ginger, something I found in a ginger peach jam recipe. The ginger is very subtle, you just get a hint of it towards the end of each bite. 

SweetPreservation is a good starting point for canning and preserving. It offers how-to and safety basics, downloadable labels, gift ideas, instructions for throwing an at-home canning party as well as the health benefits of canning. Just so you know, I don't have a canner, funnel or jar lifter. I used a big pot that holds 12 half pint jars, a small plastic scoop instead of a funnel and regular tongs instead of a jar lifter. So give canning a try! You don't need special equipment (or mad DIY skills).

More peach preserving ideas at Punk Domestics. 

Since we're on the subject of peaches, and how you should make the most of them while you can, I highly recommend, The Perfect Peach by Marcy Nikiko and David "Mas" Masumoto, a great book of recipes and stories. 

It's the book for peach lovers, since the Masumoto family lives and breathes peaches and has explored every way and shape of using them.  I've been inspired by the soups, salsas and salads already this season and I know you will be too. 

Ginger Peach Preserves with Vanilla

Makes 12 half pint jars, plus a little more, so fill another jar to keep in the fridge

Ingredients

12 cups peeled, pitted and chopped peaches

1/4 cup minced candied ginger

1 Tablespoon microplaned fresh ginger

2 large vanilla beans or more if small or skinny

2 1/2 cups sugar or more to taste

1/3 cup no/low sugar needed pectin

Instructions

Set up your space for canning. I put out towels and paper towels for cleaning and drying the lids and tops of the jars. Sterilize the jars and lids and put a spoon in the freezer.  Put the peaches and any juice in a large pot (at least 5 quarts) Slice open the vanilla beans, strip out the seeds and add the seeds and pods to the pot along with the ginger. Bring to a boil then simmer and stir for about 10 minutes until the peaches are soft. Remove the pods. 

Whisk the pectin into a cup of sugar. Add the sugar and pectin and bring the preserves back to a boil. Taste it for sweetness and add more sugar as needed. Dip your frozen spoon into the preserves. Run your finger through it, if the path stays clear the preserves are done.

Fill each jar to the first thread so that there is 1/4 - 1/2 inch head room. Clean and dry the rim, place a dry top on and secure with a ring. Process (boil) the jars for 10 minutes then remove them and let them sit undisturbed until completely cool, 12 hours minimum. Test to make sure they are properly sealed and you are good to go. 

Enjoy! 

Sea Urchin Spaghetti Recipe

Sea urchin or uni is rich and creamy. It tastes very briny and yet sweet. Emulsified with some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, it makes a wonderful sauce for pasta. The type of pasta you use is up to you of course, but isn't it gorgeous on squid ink pasta? I love the look and flavor of squid ink pasta. It's such a treat! I got mine from Mattarello, a fresh pasta company run by John Pauley and his wife Anna.

I was a fan of John's pasta back when he was still cooking at Rex Cafe around the corner from my house. Now he sells his pasta at pop ups, generally at either Gourmet and More on Franklin or Biondivino wine shop on Green Street. His squid ink pasta is so good you can enjoy it with just a simple olive oil, garlic and white wine sauce with a little bit of chili flakes or parsley. He also sells lasagna, tortellini and some different shapes and styles of pasta, all made by hand.

This pasta is really a showstopper. I'd recommend serving it for a special occasion or dinner party. I adapted the recipe from one by Sara Jenkins I found in La Cucina Italiana, "spaghetti ai ricci di mare" but I simplified it a bit and didn't use any garlic.

Note: Another option is to make the sauce and top the pasta with another type of seafood instead of just more sea urchin. It's delicious with sautéed scallops or shrimp.

Sea Urchin Spaghetti
Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

Ingredients

About 4 ounces fresh sea urchin, divided
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound fresh pasta preferably squid ink spaghetti
2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tablespoon finely chopped chives

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Combine 2 1/2  ounces sea urchin and lemon juice in the blender, purée until smooth. With blender running, add oil in a slow and steady stream until you have a thick emulsified sauce, the texture of mayonnaise. Transfer the sauce and parsley to a large bowl.

Cook pasta until just al dente. Drain and place in the bowl with sauce and parsley, and toss together. Let pasta sit just until it absorbs some of the sauce, about 1 minute, then season with salt to taste. Portion pasta onto serving plates. Top with remaining uni and garnish with chives.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Whole Foods for providing a sample of sea urchin for this recipe.