Sweet Corn and Mascarpone Lasagna

While I had a month off between switching jobs, I watched a lot of TV. Particularly, cooking shows and one of my faves is the lovely Giada DeLaurentiis. Not only do I find her recipes are often successful and delicious, but I just enjoy her show. It feels like I’m in the kitchen with her when she’s cooking and I also love the episodes where she is cooking for a party she is throwing with her friends or an outing with Jade. So, for this past round of cook club (check out everything that was made out of Plenty by Ottolenghi here!), I snuck in one of Giada’s dishes for our DC cook club party – her SWEET CORN LASAGNA that she made with her Aunt Raffy. It was the perfect dish to add in because all the other dishes were vegetarian.

The dish was a huge hit! As my friend Rachel said, it is the perfect dish to convince non-vegetarians that vegetarian food can be delicious and filling. It is a bit sweeter than your typical lasagna with the base of the dish consisting of sweet corn and mascarpone. I didn’t mind that at all. In fact, I taste-tested the corn mixture a few times to make sure it had enough seasoning and by the end, I could have just eaten the corn mixture by itself.

On another note, I had been concerned that it would be overly citrusy / lemony based on the reviews listed under the recipe, so I ended up zesting just half the lemon. The lemon notes definitely shine in this dish, but I thought it was a nice complement to the richness of the cheeses. I also forgot to completely thaw the corn before throwing it in the food processor, which turned out ok, just took a bit longer to whizz around.

Lastly, Giada made these lasagnas as “mini-lasagnas” in small ramekins – so, single serving lasagnas. Because I was making this for a crowd, I cooked this up in the traditional lasagna way in a lasagna pan. I used three layers of noodles (so four layers of sauce) and cooked initially for about 40 minutes, checked it, and cooked for probably another 10 minutes. I will definitely be making this again!

Sweet Corn and Mascarpone Lasagna (courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis with slight adaptations)

Ingredients
Butter, for ramekins
12 lasagna sheets
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (4 ounces) finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus 1/2 cup (2 ounces)
1/2 large lemon, zested
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp Provolone
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter lasagna pan. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain.

In a food processor, blend the corn, cream and garlic until chunky. Add the mascarpone, 1 cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese, the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and pulse until just combined.

Spoon some of the filling into the lasagna pan and spread enough to cover. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the provolone. Layer four lasagna noodles on top of the sauce and provolone.

Put another layer of filing on top of lasagna, making sure to cover all the noodles so they don’t get too dry in cooking. Add more provolone on top. Layer with four more lasagna noodles. Repeat once more.

On the top layer, spoon any remaining filling on top of the pasta. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Continue baking longer if necessary. Cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cook Club: Giada's Kitchen

SEPTEMBER COOK CLUB: GIADA'S KITCHEN
FINAL SCORE: 3.87

Top Scoring Dishes: Asparagus Lasagna & Roasted Eggplant Salad

Lowest Scoring Dishes: Linguine & Proscuitto Frittatas & Whole Wheat Linguine with Ricotta, Green Beans, and Lemon

For our first Cook Club cookbook, I picked out Giada DeLaurentiis's "Giada's Kitchen." I ADORE Giada, got the chance to meet her at the SOBE Food and Wine Festival a few years back, saw her this past year in DC, just love love love her. Plus, I feel like she offers a good variety of dishes, something for everyone to make. I picked her newest cookbook, Giada's Kitchen, which focuses on her love for fresh flavors.

Below are all the dishes that we tried with our comments, thoughts, and various musings. Each dish is given a score by the chef -- the scores on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best. These scores were tabulated to come up with the final cookbook score!

Enjoy all the dishes -- and let us know if you've also tried dishes from Giada's Kitchen in the comments :)


Jazzie's Pick: Mini Calzones
Score: 3.4 (average of her score -- 2.7, and her husband's score -- 4)

Jasmine's Thoughts: I made Giada's recipe for mini calzones, however when I completed this dish, it was more like 2 large jumbo calzones. I didn't do the best job managing the dough so instead of the 8 mini rectangles that the recipe calls for, I got frustrated and ended up making 2 giant rectangles and thus, 2 jumbo calzones (my husband didn't mind this, but I could only eat one half of a calzone).I love spinach (what can I say, I was a big Popeye fan when I was younger) so I substituted the arugala that Giada uses for the calzones with spinach. I also added a layer of marinara inside of the calzone prior to adding the filling (only because I didn't read the recipe all the way through and just assumed that the marineria went inside, lol). I also added a layer of fresh mozarella cheese on top of the filling inside the calzone.I like the way the mozarella cheese melted inside and stretched all out when I opened the calzone after it was cooked. It looked really tasty. I wasn't really a fan of the cream cheese filling and in the future, I will only use mozarella and parmasean (I think that will just taste more fresh and authentic). All in all, the calzones were good.

Lisa's Crostata with Pancetta and Mushrooms
Score: 3.5

Lisa cooked up two of Giada's recipes this month. The first, the crostata with pancetta and mushrooms. Her thoughts: The crust was rather dry compared to other crust recipes I have used previously. The topping, which consisted of thyme, garlic, shallots, mushroom, and pancetta was delicious.

Lisa's Linguine and Prosciutto Frittatas
Score: 3

Lisa's thoughts on the linguine and prosciutto frittatas: The texture of the frittatas was dry and the linguine was hard. Smoked mozzarella was the dominant flavor in this dish.


Michelle's Curried Chicken Sandwich
Score: 3.5
Michelle enjoyed the flavors but found that the sandwich was just too dry. Next time, she would definitely add more moisture with either some mustard or soy mayo.

Anjali and Amanda's Creations :) (Anj and Amanda threw a party together filled with Giada food. Below are their reviews)

Watermelon, Tomato, Basil Skewers with Balsamic Reduction

Score: 4.5

Anjali: So I picked this recipe when it was a bit more summer-ish, then realized it might be difficult to find good watermelon. And I was correct. Nevertheless, I have been curious about savory watermelon dishes, so I marched on. The recipe was straightforward, as was the preparation: a lot of chopping. The balsamic reduction takes time, and though it says to cool it down, I was in a rush and it wasn't exactly cool when I poured it on the skewers. We waited about 20-30 minutes until we actually ate; this may have been why the reduction was sticking to the top of my mouth. Odd feeling, but otherwise a great dish. Definitely simple, light, and fresh, and would be even better in the peak of summer. Discovering a way to keep the balsamic reduction from being too gooey would be nice. :)

Amanda: Nice pairing with the halibut and eggplant. The balsamic syrup sat just a little too long before being served, so it was a bit sticky. Giada should have a included a time frame for cooling the syrup. To be fair to my co-chef, we had a dinner guest who was running late; the stickiness resulted from that, not from her inattentiveness. Overall, we loved the classic combination of tomato and basil, with the fun twist of watermelon.


Roasted Eggplant Salad
Score: 4.75 (averaged between 4.5 and 5)

Anjali: Again, this was a very straightforward recipe with simple preparation. I must be honest, I just used regular eggplants instead of Japanese, based on availability. I don't think it changed the end result too much. The hardest part was grilling the eggplant, since I only have George Foreman grill (no grill pan to speak of). My guests and I really enjoyed the dish! Again, light and fresh. You cannot go wrong with goat cheese, pine nuts, and basil. Perfect for anytime of year.

Amanda: Awesome! Very flavorful, such a great combination. No complaints, except as my co-chef mentioned the ridiculous amount of chopping required... I think this dish is worth it though.


Roasted Halibut with Fennel and Grapefruit Salsa
Score: 4.0

Anjali: So I picked this dish because I have never had halibut and...I dislike fennel. However, as a foodie, I don't think it's realistic to dislike a food that is used so much, so I knew I had to get over my fear. I first discovered that 1) halibut is hard to find and 2) when found, it is expensive. Oh well, on we go. Again, the recipe seemed straightforward. Once I started the prep work, however, I realized it would not be pain free. The grapefruit work is tedious and was the most time-intensive part of the dish. I also felt like the recipe asked for too much juice (one cup), as my grapefruit itself was also juicy. However, I might have created too much juice due to lack of precision when cutting my fruit. So, depending on your skill, either cut the fruit/juice down or getting a highly skilled grapefruit carver. :) The rest of the dish was easy and came together nicely. The finished product was pretty and...delicious! It was light, the right amount of savory, sweet, and sour, and I managed to put together three ingredients I am not a fan of (fennel, olives, and grapefruit) and come out with a tasty dish! Success!

Amanda: Very flavorful, with nice contrasts. The salsa went well with the halibut; I think it would also be fantastic with salmon. The dish was very “juicy”. I think I would reduce or eliminate the grapefruit juice next time around.

Whole-Wheat Linguine with Ricotta, Green Beans, and Lemon
Score: 3

Amanda: This dish did not transfer well…it sounded fantastic, but was a bit bland. It needed more salt to bring out the lemon, and pepper. We were also curious…what motivated the choice of whole wheat linguine? I think this dish would be much improved if Giada had chosen regular linguine instead. Wheat pasta is a great base, but cannot handle such delicate ingredients. I will try it again soon and substitute the pasta.

Anjali: The pasta was bland, but when salt was added, the flavor of the lemon came out. Why did Giada decide to be a health freak with the whole wheat pasta, which notoriously does not absorb flavors well?

Amaretto Sour with Prosecco
Score: 4

Amanda: Confession…I did not make my own sour mix. Given that the dinner party was thrown on a weekday, and that most busy, working women would prefer drinking a cocktail to creating a sour mix, I thought Giada was a little idealistic with the recipe. Despite this fact, I give my interpretation of it a 4. As the dinner guests said, “anything with prosecco is fantastic!”

Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate Score: 4

Amanda: Despite the heavy title, the cake was light. The mascarpone was a fluffy contrast to the chocolate cake, and the orange zest only added to the flavor. We would have liked more crunch, which probably means my caramelized sugar technique needs work. I would have liked the recipe more if Giada would have included how to toast and shell hazelnuts. This was not a huge deal, a little googling answered my question, but it would be nice if the information was included with the recipe. Overall, the cake was great, and fun to make.

Elaine's Smoked Mozzarella with Fig and Honey
Score:3
The recipe called for smoked mozzarella which the local supermarket near me didn't carry and the specialty cheese shop had run out as well. So the cheeseman suggested that I go with a brie or camembert (I went with brie) to acheive creaminess and instead of the smokey element he suggested I grate some truffled cheese over the brie as the shop sells a truffled honey that sells well and should acheive the same effect since this recipe also uses honey. When making the parcels, they seemed thin so for some I used 2 sheets of filo but this wasn't necessary as 2 sheets made them way too thick. One thing I might do different next time is try to bake them in the oven instead of frying them in oil. I though this was a very heavy starter but good for a winter night.

Elaine's Asparagus Lasagna
Score: 5

This lasagna was absolutely fabulous, everyone enjoyed it and was surprised at how well the asparagus remained quite firm. As I didn't have a food processor handy I didn't make the sundried tomato pesto according to the recipe. Instead I used a ready made one by Sacla which I tried out beforehand to make sure it wasn't too salty. This worked really well and complimented the other ingredients perfectly. One confusing thing about this recipe was that you are asked to brown pancetta and remove before cooking the onion, garlic, and asparagus but the pancetta isn't used in the rest of the recipe so I don't think you actually need to bother with that step since it doesn't seem to contribute much. This was a very easy lasagna to make and I will definitely make it again.

Jackie's Orzo-Stuffed Peppers

Score: 4.5

I went back and forth about which recipes to try from this cookbook -- too many to choose from! -- and narrowed it to a few and had Mr. J pick. He picked these orzo-stuffed peppers. I was pretty excited because I've never made stuffed peppers before and they presented so well in the cookbook. I must say, I was very pleased with how they turned out. The recipe was simple to follow (although included quite a bit of chopping as in Anjali and Amanda's recipes). I had read reviews that the recipe was too bland, but I didn't find that to be the case (even though I was sick was a stuffy nose, I could still taste all the rich flavors). I added in some ground turkey for protein and was quite generous with the cheese (how could I not be, I love cheese). I thought that the fresh mint was an interesting twist -- very flavorful, but I grew tired of the mint after eating several leftover stuffed peppers. Would probably use basil or another fresh herb in its place next time. In any case, would definitely make this again!

Jackie's Tuna Sandwiches

Score: 4

We're a big football watching house, so I wanted something perfect for game watching... and this recipe contained some of my most favorite sandwich ingredients -- tuna, artichokes, olives, a "hummus-like" spread, and arugula. The most time consuming part of this recipe was making the hummus, but believe you me, I had leftover hummus that I used on other sandwiches for the rest of the week! I enjoyed all the flavors -- they blended so nicely together. And be sure to get the right type of bread -- we got baguette rolls that were ideal with these sandwiches. Regular bread would have become instantly soggy. I would make this again!

So there you have it folks, Giada's Kitchen. That was a fun one to start with... tune in next month for another tasty round of Cook Club: Cook the Books. Cheers!

Cookie Carnival: Lemon Ricotta Cookies

This month's Cookie Carnival invites us to join the lovely Giada de Laurentiis in the kitchen (who I love!!). Ok, so not "literally" in the kitchen with Giada, but we bake up one of her dessert recipes -- LEMON RICOTTA COOKIES WITH LEMON GLAZE.

Now when I say cookies, I really should be saying CAKE here. These somehow decadent but light cookies came out to be more like cake (think...the top of a cupcake) -- which really, I don't mind. The lemon is fresh and really brightens the cookie, but is not overwhelming. The icing on the cookies came out a little bit thin for me, but added a sweet kick to the cookies.

Loved these. Would definitely make them again. And they were so easy to make! (Although I did cut myself on my lemon grater... oops.)

RECIPE: LEMON RICOTTA COOKIES WITH LEMON GLAZE
Ingredients:
Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

DC's Food Show -- The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show Part I

Months ago, I first heard about the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show being held at the DC Convention Center... I admittedly have an addiction to food festivals and food shows... particularly those that feature chefs that I adore. Word was out that Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, and (my fave) Giada de Laurentiis would be guest starring at the show, but tickets were not yet on sale.

Fast forward about three months to last Friday. I had completely forgotten about the food show (how work gets in the way...!) until a friend mentioned that she was going to go see Bobby Flay's presentation and asked if I was going to go. I nearly leaped out my seat! Sure enough, tickets were still available (according to the founder of the DC food show, 16,000 tickets were sold to the two day show!) and I bought two tickets. Our tickets bought us entry into Giada's hour long cooking demonstration (YES!) and general admission to the show.

I had no idea what to expect! I have been to the South Beach Food and Wine Festival (let's see... chef demonstrations? Wine tastings? Book signings? on the beach? fabulous...) but not to too many other food shows. When we arrived though, I was amazed by the massive number of booths set up (more than 200! see above).

There was everything from horseradish cheese (yum)
to fudge, embroidered glassware to healthy food cooking demos, a booth dedicated just to Paula Deen and her products (I didn't even know she had all those products!),

beautiful and unique cakes from The Sweet Life (co-owned by Norman Davis (a Food Network competitor!) and Zane Beg),

mustards a plenty,

and the list goes on and on. We spent about an hour (and could have spent many more) wandering and sampling from the local purveyors of delights.

A laundry list of some of DC's best and favorite chefs presented at the show as well: Cathal Armstrong (Restaurant Eve, Eamonn's), RJ Cooper (Vidalia), Roberto Donna (Bebo Trattoria, previously Galileo), Jacques Haeringer (L'Auberge Chez Francois), Jamie Leeds (Hank's Oyster Bar), and so on...

We didn't get a chance to see the "Nation's Capital Chef's Association 3rd Annual Culinary Salon," a competition judged by a group of Certified Master Chefs. Honestly, I'm a bit fascinated by the Certified Master Chefs after reading Michael Ruhlman's "Soul of a Chef" -- but that's a discussion for another day.

In addition to Food Network competitor Norman Davis above, Food Network competitor fruit and veggie carver James Parker (Veggy Art) had a booth:

After a morning (and early afternoon) of samples, we concluded that some of our favorites include... (perhaps coming to a holiday gift near you!)

• Confection Diva (Toffee, Caramels)


• Japonica Tafe (Tea)


• Trader Joe's (Samples: Chicken Teriyaki)


• River City Bean Co. (Coffee, but loved their "Cafe Crunch" mmm)


• Yancey's Fancy (Horseradish Cheese, Buffalo Wing Cheese)

More in the next post about Giada's cooking presentation!

Giada's Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Toasted Hazelnuts

As a tribute to Pumpkin Day (i.e. Halloween), I'm posting a pumpkin recipe that I've been wanting to try by one of my faves, Giada De Laurentiis. If anyone has tried this, would love to hear feedback before I make it! Seems like a great quick meal. (Or if you have suggestions on making your own pumpkin ravioli...)

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage and Toasted Hazelnuts

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings

1/2 cup peeled hazelnuts

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 pound fresh pumpkin ravioli

1 stick unsalted butter

6 fresh sage leaves

Large pinch grated nutmeg

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 amaretti cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread hazelnuts onto a baking tray. Toast hazelnuts in oven until light golden brown and fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Coarsely chop the cooled hazelnuts and set aside. In a 10 or 12-inch saute pan with high sides, bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add the vegetable oil to prevent the ravioli from sticking to one another. Add ravioli and cook for 4 minutes or until they float to the top. Using a spider strainer, carefully remove ravioli to a large platter and tent with foil to keep warm.

In a small saute pan, melt the butter. When butter is sizzling and starts to brown, tear sage leaves into the pan and fry for about 20 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg. Pour butter sauce over ravioli and sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts. Grate amaretti cookies over the dish and serve immediately.