Cooking Lesson!

 This year's Piccina cooking lesson bid went to Megan Richer! Megan, like Greg before her, chose risotto (this time, with parmesan and arugula), with a side of Brussels sprouts (which Jason prepared expertly), also with parmesan. Joef taught hot fudge, one with naga jolokia, and one without. There's nothing better than cooking (and even more so, eating) with friends, and we had a fantastic time with everyone!

Cooking Lesson!...and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries

Back in April, I auctioned off a La Piccina Cucina cooking lesson to support Yale SOM's summer internship fund. Greg, a good friend of ours, was the "lucky" winner! He and his fiancee Jen came over last week to cash in on their winnings. It was a blast - for me, at least! Greg did great, too.

Greg made the excellent choice of Risotto with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta. Not only is this delicious, but it's a useful recipe - risotto is a nice, fancy-seeming dish that's actually pretty simple, and really, once you've learned how to make basic risotto, you can really improvise with all kinds of additions. AND, this particular risotto recipe basically also teaches you how to make broccoli rabe as a side.

We also made a quick salad - Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries. Really, the name is the recipe. I wanted to do a salad to show how to make a basic olive oil/balsamic dressing. We used a bag of arugula, about 4-5 strawberries, sliced, and a healthy sprinkling of goat cheese  crumbles. We dressed it with 4 large spoonfuls of olive oil and 2 of balsamic. (2:1 ratio!) If you want the salad to stay pretty, dress the strawberries and arugula first, then just sprinkle with goat cheese. Or, do as we did (after this photo was taken) and dress it all together and mix (it won't look pretty anymore, but the cheese and dressing will coat the salad nicely).

We ended the night with a lesson from Joef on hot fudge (no Indian Ghost Pepper this time, to his chagrin) - probably one of the more fickle recipes we know, but definitely worth the effort.

Thanks to Greg and Jen for bidding on the lesson and for letting me geek out about cooking all night! Can't wait to do it again.

HOT Fudge (with Indian Ghost Pepper)

Ah, the quest for the elusive Indian Ghost Pepper. Last week, Joef and I were visiting our friends Ali and Patrick in Boston. We found ourselves at a local spice shop, where Joef asked if they sold Indian Ghost Pepper. The reply: "Yes, we do." (Joef's heart leaps.) "But we don't have it today." (Joef's heart falls.) "We usually have it every day." (Joef's heart falls further, and he proceeds to pout for the next few hours.)

This past weekend in New York, we were taken to another spice shop - and this time, we called ahead. Yes, indeed, they could supply Indian Ghost Pepper. And so we came to possess a probably lethal quantity of this spice, which, you see, is generally recognized as the hottest chili in the world. And now Joef can be happy again.

Then it came to what we might actually do with this stuff, and Joef's sister had the rather brilliant idea of adding it to hot fudge. Joef's mom, Betty, whipped up a batch of her unbeatable hot fudge sauce - half made with ghost pepper powder, and another half made with raspberry flavoring for the more sane among us.

Alright, so - was it good? Joef loved it. I have to admit that it was a really nice combination of flavors, the sweet and the smoky-spicy. I also have to admit that it had a semi-numbing effect on my mouth, and yes - it's crazy spicy - and yes, I just had a taste. But we did what we set out to do, and I can now say that I've truly had hot fudge.

Betty's recipe:
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder (like Hershey's)
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp white caro syrup/corn syrup
Half-and-half - enough to make kind of a chocolate "soup" - Maybe 1/2 cup
1 tbsp butter
Flavoring of choice:
-1 tsp vanilla, or
-1 tsp raspberry flavoring, or
-Dash of Indian Ghost Pepper (which was quite spicy - adjust to taste)

Combine all ingredients except the butter and flavoring in a small pot. Bring to a boil while stirring. Cook until chocolate will completely coat a metal spoon - dip a spoon in, and if it comes out patchy, keep cooking until it coats the spoon. Remove from heat and add butter and flavoring of choice. Let the butter melt, then stir just enough to combine (stir too much, and it'll get grainy and loose the right consistency). Serve over ice cream!

(UPDATE: As of 12/3/2010, Naga Jolokia has been replaced by the Naga Viper chili pepper as the hottest in the world. But when we made this, Naga Jolokia reigned supreme!)