Marcella Cooking Stuff • August 2nd - August 8th
August 2nd - August 8th
Surprise! It's me, in your inbox on a Friday. We are leaving to go camping today and I'm not taking my computer. This week is short and sweet but we are going to talk a little bit about one of your cooking best friends, your freezer!
I'm sure your freezer has stuff in it. My guess would be some ice cream, frozen fruit, and maybe a pizza? You can store so so much more in there. When you put a little thought into what you freeze it can help you cut back on food waste (something I'm passionate about) and it will help you have a better-stocked kitchen. Better stocked kitchen = more cooking on the fly.
Let's break down what is in my freezer and how I use these items.
Butter and whole milk. I buy butter in bulk and freeze it right in its original packaging. When I'm going to bake something, I pull a stick out and let it thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Milk is something I rarely use. We usually have goat milk on hand, so I will use that as a substitute. When I do buy milk, I freeze the leftover in one cup deli containers and thaw them in the fridge as needed. Say for...croissant dough!
Eggs. Eggs can be frozen! But don't pop a whole egg in its shell in the freezer. Whisked whole eggs and egg whites freeze nicely but yolks pick up a weird texture. When I make challah or ice cream I freeze the unused whites. I label them by how many whites are in a container and put the weight in grams on the label. This way I can pull them out and make meringues. I currently have 25 frozen egg whites LOL.
Wine. The last time I made risotto I opened a bottle of white wine. I only used a cup for the recipe. The rest of the bottle got frozen in one cup portions. Next time I need a cup of white wine I can pull it out and let it thaw on the counter for 30 minutes. This works with red wine too.
Baked goods. Challah, french bread, gluten-free bread, English muffins, banana bread, snickerdoodles, and bagels. All gluten-free baked goods are best stored in the freezer. Any time I bake something, about half goes in the freezer. This way we 1. don't eat a whole batch of cookies in one night and 2. I never have stale bread. I buy french bread from a local bakery slice it an freeze it. Pull out a piece as needed. I have done this with two dozen bagels from Montreal as well. Gallon Ziplocks are best for this.
Unbaked good. Cookie dough, pie dough scraps, and tart shell scraps. Wrap them tight in plastic wrap and make sure to label them! This way I can bake fresh cookies as needed or whip up a mini dessert. When I had a 1/2 cup of leftover pastry cream. I pulled out the leftover tart dough and made a mini tart for the two of us. Well, I actually pulled out pie dough because I didn't label them 🤦🏼♀️. Learn from my mistakes!
Fruits. When berries are on their last leg I freeze them for smoothies. There is also pumpkin puree that I made from roasting the pumpkin decor last fall.
Meats. Chicken thighs, ground bison, chicken backbones, and roasted chicken bones. Meats can be defrosted for cooking and bones are collected until I have enough to make broth or stock.
Veggie scraps. I have a few Ziplocks where I collect scraps until I have enough for stock. Things I keep are carrot peels and ends, celery, onion ends and scraps, ginger, parsley stems, leek greens, etc. Just avoid brassica family vegetables like broccoli and cabbage.
I have some tortillas, fresh udon noodles, Ben and Jerry's, and chicken soup in there too. As fall comes and I prepare more soups and stews, I always freeze a portion for later.
I don't freeze my nuts and seeds because we burn through them in my house BUT the oils in nuts cause them to go rancid quickly. If you buy in bulk or just don't eat a lot of them store them in your freezer. This applies to almond flour too.
Next time you have leftover milk, eggs, fruits, bread, or soup don't toss it instead freeze it! It will save you a trip to the store in the future, it will reduce your waste, and you will be able to whip up a snack anytime you have a craving!
Sunday
Salt Salmon
I didn't post this on Instagram simply because couldn't make this look pretty. Salt salmon is a Marcella classic. I used to make it every other week when we lived in LA and it's Marco's favorite way that I make salmon. I haven't made it or posted about it because it seems silly how simple it is. When we had it this week I was quickly reminded why we used to eat it all the time. It's delish.
You only need three ingredients: Salmon, salt, and olive oil. I like to use fine ground salt and I had Himalayan pink salt on hand. Try to get a super fresh piece of fish. It really does make a difference.
First, you are going to pat your salmon with a paper towel. Then generously, I mean generously, season the flesh side with salt. Season the whole thing with salt and then season it again with salt.
In a cold pan, I like stainless steel but a nonstick works great too, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Place your salmon salted flesh side down and place your pan on the stove over medium-low heat.
As your pan heats up, it is going to slowly cook your salmon. I can't give you a time for this because it depends on the thickness and size of your fillet. Go low and slow and you can check the side of the fish to see how much has cooked, it will turn opaque orange. Use your fish spatula, or a rubber spatula for a nonstick pan, to lift the fish up. When you have a crispy golden crust, it is time to flip.
Flip your fish skin side down and cook until it is done. I just check the sides to see if they are all the way opaque. You can use a thermometer. Medium rare is around 110-125 degrees. Go a bit further if you like your salmon cooked well.
Serve over white rice like a little kid is eating it. Sometimes simple really is best.
Monday
Goat Milk Ricotta
Grilled Shrimp Summer Rolls
I can't even tell you guys the last time I had ricotta. Since Marco can't eat it, I never use it. Goat milk ricotta was on my list of things to experiment with. I had great success but with a huge failure the first time around.
Super early in my robe, I heated four cups of goat milk, added lemon juice, and stirred everything together. I had no curdling. Nothing. I let it sit and nothing. I read a handful of articles and found my problem. Determined to make ricotta I threw on pants and ran to the store. I got another quart of goat's milk plus a quart of cow's milk. Just in case the goat's milk didn't work, I would make cow's milk ricotta.
Second time around I heated the milk. I added lemon juice and a little white balsamic and I didn't touch it at all. Five minutes later I had curds. So lesson learned. Don't stir your milk, just let science do its thing and leave it alone.
Turned it into a Goat Milk Ricotta and Roasted Blackberry Toast. Topped with maple almonds.
Summer rolls!!! I think this was the first time I've made summer rolls? The only other time I would have made them would have been in culinary school.
You might be thinking "Marcella this is a spring roll." Nope, it's a summer roll. I now know this thanks to the Google. The names get used interchangeably but they are, in fact, different. Spring rolls are wrapped in dough and fried. Summer rolls are wrapped in rice paper and served cold.
I wrapped cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, vermicelli noodles, Thai basil, cilantro, mint, and grilled shrimp in rice paper. I dipped a piece of rice paper in warm water for 10 seconds. Transferred to a slightly moist cutting board, layered in the ingredients, and rolled exactly like a burrito. Here is a good picture to show how I rolled them. They were served with Peanut Sauce, Scallion Ginger Sauce, and a traditional Nuoc Cham (no garlic).
Scallion Ginger sauce doubles as a great marinade for grilled shrimp. That's what I used!
Tuesday
More Ricotta
Ratatouille Tart
I bought the cow's milk as a backup but then had success with the goat milk ricotta. I made a half recipe just to test it out and do a taste comparison. I only used 2 cups of milk and it came out perfect.
This is what I learned about ricotta from my two days and three attempts. Goat's milk has much smaller and delicate curds. It has a little tang, think goat cheese, and stays moister. In theory, I could probably hang it and get it drier. That I will try next time.
Cow milk has bigger, firmer curds. It dried out a lot faster. I think I actually prefer the goat's milk ricotta but I did use different acids for them so it isn't a totally fair taste test. Give ricotta a try at home. It's not very hard and is a fun project.
Another project for this week was making a Ratatouille Tart. Ratatouille is all over Instagram right now and I wanted to join the party. My friend Sam made mini ratatouille tarts in a french cooking class this weekend and I knew I had to make a tart.
I made a different crust than I have been making and it turned out way better! It was incredible flakey. I also added black pepper to the crust for a spicy savory touch, I am going to update my fruit tart recipe as soon as I can test out a sweet version.
Ratatouille is stewed vegetables in a tomato sauce. If I poured a sauce into crust it would just get soggy. Instead, I caramelized onions and simmered bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, basil, and oregano with them. I let them get bubbly and breakdown but then reduced the mixture so there wasn't a lot of extra moisture. It was more the consistency of onion jam.
Layered it with Chinese eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash slices. I am proud of myself. It turned out beautifully and tasted just as good.
Marco rating 10/10
"Incredibly beautiful, tasty, and gluten-free. I'm impressed we ate it all in one sitting."
Wednesday
Garlic & Rosemary Challah
Sesame Honey Challah
I taught a challah class on Zoom!! It was so much fun! I'm thinking I need to start offering Zoom classes 🤔.
I made two loaves. One was my olive oil challah and I mixed in fresh garlic and rosemary. It tasted heavenly! Our whole house smelled with fresh garlic bread.
The second loaf was the one I made in the class. It was my honey challah with sesame seeds. I tried something new here. Instead of sprinkling with seeds after braiding, I rolled each strand in seeds and then braided. It was a really gorgeous loaf.
I made these by hand, because the group taking the class didn't have stand mixers, and these turned out to be the best loaves I have made yet. So I'm reopening the challah book and I am going to start experimenting again. I love challah!
Thursday
Sausage + Eggplant Pasta
Sausage and Eggplant Pasta is maybe one of the easiest pasta recipes I have. You boil pasta in one pot, make your sauce in another, combine the two, and done! No fancy cooking techniques or tools. Just yummy creamy easy pasta!
I make my own version of Italian sausage because most premade sausage contains garlic. If you pick up premade sausage it makes this recipe even easier.
Random thing of the week:
The gnomes and fairies that made a home along our neighborhood walking trail now have a resort!!
P.S. I may or may not have bought some supplies to add something to the trail too.
Pet photo of the week:
This is a mama deer that comes to rest and snack in our yard. She came by when she was pregnant but we haven't seen her babies yet this spring. Sunday she was resting and a baby, no more spots but still little, came running over and started nursing. 😭😭😭 Pretty amazing to watch from our living room.
Thing everybody needs:
Three things this week.
Three kitchen staples for storage and organization. Like in your freezer.
There will be lots of cooking on this little camping trip. Camping cooking is one of my favorite ways to cook. It forces you to get creative with your ingredients, tools, and space.
Check my Instagram stories this weekend to see what I end up making!
P.S. There is a gelatin shortage. I went to four grocery stores to find some. They were all out and having a hard time restocking. No homemade marshmallows for this trip 😢.
See you next week,
Marcella