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Name: Home Made Mayonnaise
Yield: 10/15 sandiwches
Ingredients: 3 large egg yolks; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 1/2 cup olive oil/ seed oil for a lighter taste; 1/2 juice 1 lemon; 1 teaspoons white vinegar; salt/pepper

Tramezzini Turin Style

July 7, 2015 By Silvia Baldini

“A good dinner is of great importance to good talk. One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,
if one has not dined well.

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Words I live by and the opening quote for “Time Table. A Tavola Nei Secoli”, a spectacular exhibition at Palazzo Madama, and the Queen Palace in Turin, my hometown in Italy.
The show is a time travel through the centuries of table’s settings, manners, social rites and a showcase of stunning china and objects created by artists and artisans to adorn meals and dining tables. It takes place in the palace from June 24 to October 18.

Since I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to table settings I feel lucky to have been invited to see a preview of the show the week before its opening, when I’ll be a guest speaker at TurinEpi a 3 day food event organized by a true Food Goddess and friend Lucia Hannau. Lucia is featured this week in my Sharing Corner where you can read about her, her cooking tips and her food philosophy.

Immediately following the talks, and the eye feasting at Palazzo Madama, I intend to plant my self at Mulassano, one of the oldest bars in the historical center and quickly put my mouth to a more concrete use, and enjoy a full scale aperitif and to dig in to as many tramezzini, salatini and a negroni or two, while checking out the beautiful and well dressed passers by.

Tramezzini, shot by Silvia Baldini

While Torino and Piedmont are known for big wines, truffles, and a variety of truly impressive dishes, tramezzini are by far my favorite treat when I go home. They are the perfect food to share at a meal that is casual but refined. They are small and delicate and they showcase local ingredients in combinations that range from classic pairings to more surprising and complex combinations.

Of course no cutlery is necessary, but they should be served on fine-looking china, showcased on gracious trays, with pretty pressed linens.
They, at times, require some operational dexterity and manners when eaten while gossiping, checking out the latest fashion under the portici or chatting about the malevolence of the Euro, but they are sure to please the palate and the eye, something very necessary in Italy, a country where food is as important as “Bella Figura”.

It’s important to remember, when making tramezzini, the bread must be fresh, soft and never dry.
I often place a humid piece of cloth on the bread while working and preparing them and I take care to wrap them in film immediately after making them; I also always keep them sealed in the fridge until I’m ready to serve them.

White Bread, By Silvia Baldini

Butter, mayonnaise or a sauce has to be used for flavor and to keep the fillings in it’s place. The ingredients must be fresh and of good quality because there is not too much cooking involved and the flavor comes from the produce not the technique.

Fresh Ingredients By Silvia Baldini

Below is the top ten lists of my favorite combinations, the recipe for a good home made mayonnaise and the link to a Negroni recipe from the NYT made with Punt e Mes a vermouth invented in Torino by the Carpano family. I also have updated my Tray Chic page with some new ideas for table settings.

Cin Cin!

Proscitto Cotto , Mozzarella Mayonnaise
Tuna, Cured Artichokes , Mayonnaise
Tuna, Tomatoes, Black Olives and Mayonnaise
Hard boiled Eggs, Tuna, Lettuce, Mayonnaise
Butter, Prosciutto di Parma
Mortadella, Sweet Pickles Relish, Butter
Steamed Asparagus, Hard Boiled Eggs, Mayonnaise
Steamed Sweet Shrimps, Lettuce, Aurora Mayonnaise
Smoked Salmon, Butter, Caviar
Soft Creamed Gorgonzola, Mascarpone, Toasted Walnuts

Bonus Tramezzini:

Herbed Frittata, Lettuce, Mayonnaise
Breasaola, Creamed Herbed Goat Cheese
Olive Paste, Hard Boiled Eggs, Roasted Peppers, Anchovies
Sliced Truffles, 8 Minutes Eggs, Lettuce
Mulassano Lobster Salad

Home Made Mayonnaise

Yum

CourseAppetizers, Breakfast, Salads, Sides

Servings

10/15 sandiwches

Servings

10/15 sandiwches

Home Made Mayonnaise

Yum

CourseAppetizers, Breakfast, Salads, Sides

Servings

10/15 sandiwches

Servings

10/15 sandiwches

Ingredients

3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cup olive oil/ seed oil for a lighter taste
1/2 juice 1 lemon
1 teaspoons white vinegar
salt/pepper

Servings: sandiwches

Instructions

Place the egg yolks, the mustard, the salt and pepper in a blender. Blend at medium speed. When all combined and emulsified start pouring the olive olive with the motor going slowly. Add the lemon and the vinegar and taste for seasoning. If your mayonnaise splits, add one or two spoon of warm water and an extra egg yolk, then blend again.

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When things go OOPS in the kitchen.

June 2, 2015 By Silvia Baldini

There are glorious moments in the kitchen when things go exquisitely well and we picture our face,
in all its sweaty glory, on the cover of Bon Appétit and then, there is that slow motion, non returnable instant, when all goes terribly wrong. Every chef, every cook knows disaster can strike
in a split second.

We get distracted, we make mistakes, we make a mess, we don’t follow directions, or simply there is mechanical failure. Even Julia Child was no stranger to dropping the occasional raw chicken or letting her flambé’ turn in to serious flames.

I’m no stranger to those “OOPS Moment” myself. I have for sure had my share of flat cakes, bland soups, raw chickens, dry breads, explosive blenders, and bloody fingers. I could go on for days. Luckily, no one has to know. That’s when I’m in the privacy of my own little kitchen.
And that’s when I always leave my self some extra time to either cook something new or run out for rotisserie kitchen.

However there are those times when I have to cook live and I only have 30 minutes to do it right. I’m talking about this past weekend at the Audubon Greenwich, where I had the pleasure and the honor to be invited to do 3 cooking demonstrations during the Sustainable Farm Expo.
I was excited to work with fresh farm eggs, marinate and grill a yummy bavette steak, show how to home cure a salmon and use some great organic, local produce form the Westport Farmers Market.

Poached egg. 3 minutes.

While the eggs and home cured salmon where smooth sailing, my mise for steak was not in place and when I went to cook the beautiful grass fed steak, the burners were not working and the grill pan was cold.

Bavette steak demo.

There is a nothing fun about 50 piercing eyes, including the ones of the butcher, staring at you and the hungry silence that descends during a cooking demo going south. But there is always a way to come back north. Luckily I had an electric pan in the back. The steak was saved and so was lunch.

Following are a few tips for when Murphy’s Law “If anything can go wrong, it will” rears it’s ugly head and my recipe for home cured citrus salmon.

Never try something new and don’t improvise or substitute ingredients when cooking for guests.
Prep everything ahead. I mean everything.
Make lists of what you will need. Don’t forget your list.
Even ovens with the best intentions may be off, but an oven thermometer will solve the mystery of the real temperature.
Hot liquids will explode in a blender. Cool everything off before pushing the start button.
Keep your knives sharp.
Try everything before serving and before cooking.
Salt is your friend.
Don’t panic. Think.
Make ahead some pizzas, a meat stew, meatballs, soups, a pasta-bake and freeze all for emergencies.
Never apologize. If you are cooking for someone you are doing him or her a favor. Whatever the out come is they should kiss the ground you walk on or at least do your dishes.

Home Cured Salmon.

About Bavette

A Perfect Meal

May 13, 2015 By Silvia Baldini

Some pine for the perfect storm, I hunger for the perfect meal.

I spend hours of the day and sometimes of the night exploring and obsessing about ingredients and flavor combinations to create a flawless meal to share with people, no matter if I’m conceptualizing for one of my more intricate events or a laidback dinner with friends.
Some might think of it as OCD, I call it love for both scrumptious food and dedication to my guests.

Elegant, no frills, standing up, meat, vegetarian, kids, no kids, celebratory, winter, summer, only a nosh. The possibilities are endless.

Then, there are certain times in life when nothing will do but a steak.

When steak is king, a vast selection flows in to my brain while I go through the different textures, flavors and degrees of tenderness. Rib eye, sirloin, t-bone, dry aged, Fiorentina, Porterhouse, these are all cuts with merits and singular degrees of juiciness and oral pleasure.

If I want flavor and texture, one cut is firmly lodged in my mind and that’s undeniably flap steak. And since the name it’s a bit unappealing, you can add a bit of je ne sais quoi and call it Bavette like the French, or go south of the border and refer to it as Fajitas. I name it my favorite.

And I’m not the only one. Before becoming a darling of the hipster chefs in Brooklyn, it was known as the butcher best-kept secret.

The Bavette is similar to skirt and flank in that it comes from the less tender regions of the animal. Often cheaper than more popular cuts, this little underdog of the beef world has a wonderful meaty flavor and a fine texture.

It demands a good marinade, high heat quick grilling, a mandatory slice against the grain at an angle, and resting time.

This is a steak I would serve to my close friends, at boy’s night or perhaps the poker crew but I’m certain it would impress any diehard foodie hanging around.

My marinade of choice for Bavette is a whiskey, honey, coffee and garlic marinade. Salty and slightly bitter from the espresso powder but with a hint of sweetness from the honey, it enhances the already powerful flavor of the, if cooked right, charred but tender meat.

Photo by Beatriz da Costa, styling by Erin Swift

I like to serve the steak, medium rare, sliced, with a caramelized onion marmalade I have learned to make at Ritz in London that I adore for its sweetness and silky texture and a simple but bright and slightly vinegary salsa verde. Nothing else.

Photo by Beatriz da Costa, styling by Erin Swift

Except, speaking of talented hipsters, a glass of my friend Sarah’s whiskey from Van Brunt Stillhouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn that I like to use for the marinade as well and of course good bread for mopping up the juices.

van brunt stillhouse

If you cannot find Bavette steak, a flat iron, a flank or a skirt steak would be a beautiful and equally tasty substitutes.

A generous helping of coffee affogato could end the evening well, making this, in my mind, a perfect meal and for others a fun poker night.

If you want to learn more about how to prepare and cook steak come by May 31^st at the Sustainable Food and Farm Expo at Audubon Greenwich where I’ll be doing 3 demonstrations during the day and using some great cheaper cuts from the skillful and renowned Fleisher’s Craft Butchery.

The Farm Expo will be from 10 am to 5 pm and it will showcase twenty food exhibitors and vendors plus talks, demonstrations, and tastings with a wide range of experts every thirty minutes. The Sustainable Food & Farm Expo is a production of Audubon Greenwich, the Fairfield Green Food Guide, and Strawberry and Sage.

For more information and to purchase tickets click on:

Sustainable Food and Farm Expo

Or get them directly at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1568464

Whiskey Espresso Marinated Steak

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Recipe by Silvia Baldini—Flank demands a good marinade to add flavor but also to promote browning and crispness. It needs high heat quick grilling, a mandatory slice against the grain at an angle, and resting time. I marinate the meat for thirty minutes to two hours. For rare steak, I grill it on really high heat for three to five minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Larger steaks might take longer.

CourseMain Dish, steak
KeywordBBQ, family meal, grill, large crowd, steak

Servings	Prep Time
4	20 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minutes	2 hours

Servings	Prep Time
4	20 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minutes	2 hours

Whiskey Espresso Marinated Steak

Yum

CourseMain Dish, steak
KeywordBBQ, family meal, grill, large crowd, steak

Servings	Prep Time
4	20 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minutes	2 hours

Servings	Prep Time
4	20 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
15 minutes	2 hours

Ingredients

1 2-3 pounds bavette or flank steak
2 cloves peeled garlic
2 tablespoons whiskey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Honey maple syrup
2 tablespoons espresso powder brewed strong coffee can be substitute
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
salt/ black pepper
olive oil

Servings:

Instructions

Marinate the steak. Place the steak in a ziplock bag. Mix the garlic, whiskey, honey or syrup, soy, coffee and vinegar until well combined, then pour over the steak and close the ziplock bag. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours in the fridge. Return to room temperature before cooking.
Remove the steak from the marinade. Put the marinade in a small sauce pan and reduce over medium heat, Bring to a boil then simmer until thickened. About 5 minutes. Reserve.
Cook the steak. Season well with salt and pepper. And drizzle a little oil on it. Heat a grill pan or a regular pan over high heat. Grill the steak 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium rare.
Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes. Slice at an angle and against the grain. Drizzle the reserved and warmed marinade over the steak before serving.

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Caramelized Onion Marmalade

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CourseAppetizers, Sides

Servings	Prep Time
2 cups	15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
2 cups	15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Caramelized Onion Marmalade

Yum

CourseAppetizers, Sides

Servings	Prep Time
2 cups	15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
2 cups	15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Butter
4 large sweet onions cut in to thin slices
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Servings: cups

Instructions

In a large pan, heat the olive oil until shimmering add then butter and melt. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15/20 minutes.
Tie the bay leaves and rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine. Add the herb bundle to the onions and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and cook, without stirring, until the sugar melts, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until an amber-brown caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and simmer over low heat, stirring a few times, until the jam is thick, about 5 minutes. Discard the herb bundle. Season the jam with salt and pepper and let it cool to warm.
MAKE AHEAD The caramelized onion jam can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Salsa Verde

Yum

CourseAppetizers, Sides

Servings	Prep Time
4	10 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4	10 minutes

Salsa Verde

Yum

CourseAppetizers, Sides

Servings	Prep Time
4	10 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4	10 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups flat leaves parsley
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 fillet anchovies
1/4 cup drained and rinsed capers
1/4 cup stale bread crumbs
1/2 clove peeled garlic you can omit the garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt an pepper

Servings:

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. You can also use a mortar or a hand held blender.

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The Art of Picnics

April 25, 2015 By Silvia Baldini

Location:

The park, the beach, a shady spot, your favorite secret corner. Like in real estate, location is everything when scouting for a picnic site. Keep it simple, easy to reach and close to a storm shelter.

Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Sunday on the Banks of the Marne, 1938

Semantic:

Picnic, or pique-nique, is of French origin, formed from piquer, the French for “to pick at food”, and nique meaning something small of no value.

The word picnic has existed in English for a long time, with different meanings including a kind of hat and a morally suspect club started by lord Chesterfied in 1748 that was associated with card-playing and drinking. No matter.   Picnicking is what you make of it. I call mine alfresco dining and I pack it as tasty and as fun as I can.

Thomas Cole’s A Pic-Nic Party, 1846

Style:

The art of the picnic should require resolute rejection of plastic when it comes to food packing. Plastic makes everything smell funky and it’s, in my opinion, unbecoming.  Paper, glass, cloth, cardboard, wax paper, are all beautiful alternatives.

Alcohol:

Don’t forget the bottle opener for the booze. Or better forget it and stick to champagne.

Packing:

At the beginning of times a picnic was a way to take a whole meal outside. Originally servants and coaches used to come at 4am to pick up a picnic hamper. Well I have news for you. Times have changed. Keep you packing light and organized. Select fresh ingredients and recipes that are easily sharable with your tribe. On the other hand, if you have kids in the group, by all mean, load them up.

Food:

In the end, packing good food is what a picnic it’s all about. It doesn’t have to be fine dining or complicated but it has to be memorable and refreshing. Jars salads are a great idea. Dressing goes on the bottom, veggies and other goodies get piled on top. Everything stays separate and dressing-free until you toss the salad together, you’ll never eat another soggy salad.

A pressed sandwich is another fabulous idea. You can prepare it in advance, by cutting a good loaf of crusty bread, loading it with layers of greens, creamy cheese, salty cured meats, a good drizzle of strong olive oil and wrap it in lots of cellophane. Put it at the bottom of the picnic basket and weight it down with all the other goodies. Once you a get to your spot, ask the kids to sit on it. It will help you flatten the sandwich, and making sure all the flavors are properly combined while giving you the time you need to unpack in peace. Don’t forget scotched eggs and an aioli for dipping, I’m partial to my tarragon infused recipe, some pickled veggies for tanginess, and of course strawberries because it’s not a proper picnic with out sweet strawberries to stain your clothes.

All the recipes from my lecture at Olivette are now online.

The Art Of Picnics at Olivette

Avocado, Lentils, Pistachio and Arugola salad

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Servings	Prep Time
4	20

Cook Time

Servings	Prep Time
4	20

Cook Time

Avocado, Lentils, Pistachio and Arugola salad

Yum

Servings	Prep Time
4	20

Cook Time

Servings	Prep Time
4	20

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the salad

2 bunches arugola salad washed
2 cups puy lentils cooked
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
1 whole avocado rubbed with half a lemon and diced
1/2 cup pistachio nuts unsalted
1/4 cup mint leaves chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped

For the dressing

1/2 cup lemon infused olive oil substitute with olive oil and half a juice of a lemon
1/4 cup aged dark balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons pistachio oil
salt an pepper

Servings:

Instructions

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well.
Add all the salad components and with a rubber spatula, mix all the ingredients making sure to coat well. Serve room temperature.

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Pressed, layered Sandwich

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Pressed, layered Sandwich

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Ingredients

Vinaigrette

1 small shallot
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar pinot
3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
salt and pepper

Sandwich

1 loaf round bread focaccia or muffaletta
4/8 tablespoons olive oil
6/10 leaves lettuce
8 onces Brie cheese cut in slices
3/4 cup black olives pitted and roughly chopped
1 large tomato sliced
2 ounces anchovies in olive oil, drained. Optional.

Servings:

Instructions

To make the vinaigrette, mix the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl, and gradually whisk in the oil with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the bread horizontally into even top and bottom layers. Turn the top over, then drizzle olive oil all over the cut sides of both layers, using 2 or 3 Tbs of oil on each.
Make layers of all the filling ingredients. First, completely cover the sandwich bottom with 5 or 6 lettuce leaves, then arrange the slices of Brie on top. Scatter the chopped olives and cover with the tomato slices in a single layer.
Spoon about half the vinaigrette over the tomatoes, then separate the anchovy fillets and distribute evenly. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette and the oil from the anchovy can all over the filling. Finally, replace the top layer of the bread to close the sandwich.
Wrap the sandwich well with several layers of plastic wrap and place on a cookie sheet or pizza pan or tray. Lay another tray on top of the sandwich and center some heavy items to press and flatten the loaf (a heavy pan and a 5-lb bag of sugar, for example).
Place the weighted sandwich in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours or overnight. Before serving, remove the weight, unwrap the compressed sandwich, and let it come to room temperature. Cut into serving-size wedges or, as an hors d'oeuvre cut in thin parallel slices, and again into short, bite-size lengths. 1 large sandwich makes 8 large wedges or 24-hors-d'oeuvre-size pieces.

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A family feud.

The Easter Feast.

April 20, 2015 By Silvia Baldini

Forget Chopped, Bologna, Italy is were the real war is. Every year, my mother in law Betta and her Sister Giorgia have a food competition. Betta takes on Easter lunch and Giorgia rebuttals with the Christmas meal. I don’t know how far back this tradition dates, but I can assure you , the competition is brutal.
Months before the meals, family recipes are sourced out from books, secret phone calls are made, and long consultations with other close family members and sometimes Guido, the local butcher and known gourmand, take place behind closed doors. Food creativity, presentation, and table settings are taken in consideration. No detail is overlooked.

Me, I stay out of it. If consulted I just make up an excuse and change the subject. I have learn not to come between the sisters. But I reap the benefits. I, in fact, have had the pleasure to attend Betta’s Easter feast for 2 years now, and enjoy the creations while sinfully indulge in the verbal banter between the sisters.

And let me tell you, Betta didn’t disappoint this year. The spread was spectacular, each dish was designed with a nod to local ingredients and family recipes. Some of my favorite dishes were: buttery and flaky parmigianini, handmade sting nettle tortelloni, inspired by a recipe from signora Patrizia’s arsenal, stuffed guinea hen, veal mosaic, and a stunning fruit aspic.

Betta also scored extra points not only with the menu design, that with the help of my brother in law, his girlfriends and pinerest, was designed to resemble a cootie catcher, but also with the place settings, which were hand carved by my father in law Gigi, from local walnut trees and esquisitely hand painted with everybody’s first names.

Menu by Francesco and Irene

Place Setting by Gigi

Augusto and Valentina settings

Parmigianini are a tradition at Betta’s table. They are small, buttery, flaky, loaded with parmigian, crunchy biscuits. They are served as an aperitif. Once I locate them, I cannot stop eating them. They are evil and addictive. This time, they were accompanied by Crodino’s and Aperol. These are bitter orange drinks meant to stimulate the appetite at the beginning of the meal.

Parmigianini

Crodini and Aperol

I was told the sting nettles for the tortelloni were picked in the fall and frozen especially for this meal. They are mixed in, while making the dough, lending not only a beautiful green hue to the tortelloni, but also a very distinctive aromatic flavor, reminiscing of mint and spinach. The tortelloni were a work of art. The dough was thin, slippery and encasing fresh, just made, salty ricotta and chopped sting nettles. Dressed in a creamy sauce reduced with parmigiano, these tortelloni are possibly one of the more remarkable pasta dish I have ever had. I could taste the love, the passion and the patience of the experienced hands of Betta and Patrizia in each one of them.

Sting Nettles

Dough

Betta’s tortelloni

I loved the stuffed guinea hen. It’s a beautiful and decadent dish, perfect for company. The veal mosaic was silky and tender, I would say it is the elegant cousin of the meatloaf. It came at the table all dressed up and studded with emerald green pistachios and specks of delicate pink prosciutto.

Veal Mosaico

There were many other side dishes, salads and desserts served. This was not a meal for the faint of heart. Once it was time for the grand finale, the fruit aspic, took the cake. Aspic is an old fashion and sentimental dish in Italy. Every family has a recipe and it appears at times, at the end of the meal in all it’s trembling glory. Some people might over look the aspic and go for the creamy and more chocolaty contenders, but, I just love the refreshing qualities of it. Betta aspic is loaded with berries, fruit and encased by a delicate sweet but tangy gelatin. Of course to be fair, I also tried the famous chocolate sandwich cookies and all the other dessert. and enjoyed all of them, but the aspic is were my heart and taste buds were at.

Aspic

Filling the chocolate cookies

I cannot wait to go back next year. I can not even imagine how Betta will top her self. Truth is, I cannot imagine what her sister Giorgia will do at Christmas. She sure has a tough act to fall. Although I have heard through the grapevine, she has already started looking trough the books, and I can hear her wheels turning from here.

The sting nettel tortelloni, courtesy of Patrizia is posted below.

Betta and Gigi, the hosts and winner of this year feast. For now.

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