brunosdream

Armando Pasetti, the former owner of Volpi, was friends w/ my parents. He still works at Volpi almost every day, but in 2002, Armando’s daughter, Lorenza, took over ownership and running the company. The retail store is still located in the same spot on “The Hill” (the Italian neighborhood in St. Louis), even though you can now find Volpi products in most St. Louis grocery stores and in many food stores across the country. My parents would go to Volpi almost every Saturday to buy their meat products and other Italian food that was, and still is, available in the store. Me, my brother and sister would go along w/ them because we were too young to stay at home alone. Armando would often invite us into the back so he could chat w/ my parents. He would sometimes fix us kids a sandwich made w/ Volpi salumi and Italian bread from the neighboring bakery. I have fond memories of those delicious sandwiches!

I hadn’t been to Volpi in over 20 years, so I decided to take a trip there to say hello to Armando and get a tour of one of the manufacturing facilities that is adjacent to the store. I was also hoping to get invited to the back for a sandwich just like old times! As we were touring the factory, Armando told me they now have 3 manufacturing facilities in St. Louis and about a year ago they launched a new product line called Un Mondo, which offers salamis from around the world. They also use heritage pork, such as Berkshire, from local farms in their products.

Well, after the tour, my sandwich wish was granted!! I also took home some Fontina cheese and some of the Un Mondo salamis to sample (I bought one that is laced w/ herbes des Provence and another laced w/ porcini mushrooms, and Armando gave me the Un Mondo fuet, which is a Catalan style salami). Thanks Armando… it was great seeing you after all these years and it was a pleasure to meet Lorenza too!

Here are a few pictures from my visit:

 Store front

 Inside

 The finished product

 The meat counter

 Some choices

 Armando Pasetti

 Inside the factory

 Filling the casings

 Drying room

 Another drying room

 Yet another drying room

 Mortadella being finished

 Sorting the casings

 Shipping room

  John Volpi & Gino Pasetti

  Armando Pasetti in the dark shirt – pre World War Two

  Old photo of the factory

If you like charcuterie, you’ll love Volpi Salumeria!

Bruno

Hello! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and mostly stress-free holiday season. I did, because I’ve learned to pace myself and not feel obliged to attend every holiday gathering if I’m not feeling up to it. This philosophy has helped tremendously in allowing me to enjoy the holidays and significantly reducing my stress level.

I prepared this pate’ for the Christmas festivities I attended. I had the lamb liver from the whole lamb I purchased from a foodie farmer and fellow food blogger who lives here in Missouri. (Thanks for sharing your delicious lamb w/ me Susan!) Instead of sauteeing the liver w/ some onions I decided to try my hand at making a pate’ en croute (i.e., in pastry dough) to share w/ my friends. The end result was good, but if you don’t like the flavor of lamb, this pate’ is not going to be to your liking. For those of you who do like lamb, here’s the recipe.

Lamb Liver Pate’ En Croute w/ Apricots, Chestnuts, & Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 bottle champagne or sparkling wine

14 ounces lamb liver

10 ounces chicken liver

1/3 cup fresh chestnuts (boiled, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

1/3 cup cognac soaked dried apricots (soaked for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms (rehydrated and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

2 large shallots (peeled w/ a whole clove inserted in each)

5 sprigs dried thyme

2 sprigs dried tarragon

2 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 stick) at room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

salt and pepper

1 egg (to brush top of  pastry dough before baking)

** for pastry dough I used the following recipe  (doubled)

*** prepare dough and liver the day before assembling and baking

Procedure:

1) In a large pot, pour champagne and add liver; poach over medium/low heat for 1/2 hour

2) Strain liver from poaching liquid, remove shallots and herbs, let cool, then cut into small pieces

3) Place liver in food processor, add butter, sprinkle w/ 1/2 teaspoon salt and 15 grinds of pepper, then pulse until smooth; taste mixture and add more salt and pepper if needed

4) Place liver mixture in a large non-metallic bowl, then mix in apricots and mushrooms (both drained) and chestnuts by hand to distribute evenly; cover bowl and place in fridge overnight (unless you are making the pate’ on the same day)

5) Remove liver mixture and dough from fridge

6) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

7) Roll first disk of dough to 1/4 inch thick and to the size of your mold (to get approximate dimensions, put mold on rolled out dough, then cut to size – remember that you will need enough to line bottom of mold plus about 1/2 inch extra dough over the sides); set aside for assembly

8) Roll out second disk of dough to 1/4 inch thick large enough to cover the top of your mold with about 1/4 inch extra on all sides

9) Spray mold w/ cooking spray for easier unmolding (I used one w/ canola oil)

10) Line bottom of mold w/ dough, gently pressing dough to the shape of the mold

11) Fill mold w/ liver mixture, gently spreading to fill evenly

12) Place top layer of dough on and pinch edges all around to seal

13) Cut vent holes using a small dough cutter, then decorate top as you wish w/ leftover dough (I decorated mine w/ a holly leaf and berries)

14) Brush top w/ egg wash and bake on center rack of oven  for 40 minutes, rotating pate’ after 20 minutes for even browning

15) Remove from oven and let cool completely before unmolding and serving (I loosely covered mine and placed it in the fridge overnight, then sliced it in half the next day so I could take half to each friends’ home)

16) Serve w/ thinly sliced whole grain cocktail bread or by itself

May you all have a wonderful, healthy, happy and prosperous 2010!!

Bon Appetit…

Bruno

I made this dinner for a friend and he snapped a few photos w/ his phone. The picture doesn’t do this meal justice due to being taken w/ a phone camera (I have yet to see a high resolution photo taken w/ a cell phone!), but it was so tasty I decided to post the recipe anyway.

Appetizer:  Missouri goat cheese from Baetje Farms w/ crackers

Entree:  Asian marinated grilled halibut, Israeli couscous blended w/ roasted butternut squash and red onion, Chinese broccoli

Dessert:  Baked apples filled w/  rolled oats, pecans, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and raisins (baked at 425 degrees F for approx. 45 minutes)

For Entree:

Ingredients:

2  8 ounce halibut filets (1 1/4 inches thick)

1 medium sized butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/4 red onion roughly chopped

olive oil

1 1/2  cups Israeli couscous

1 bunch Chinese broccoli

3 cups veggie stock

For marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

4 scallions (green part only) –  finely chopped

3 cloves garlic  – minced

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 1/2  tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 limes – juiced and peel grated 

 Procedure:

1) Whisk together marinade ingredients

2) Place halibut filets in a deep dish then pour marinade over the fish; cover dish and refrigerate for 2 hours (after one hour turn fish over and spoon marinade onto the top of the filets); remove from fridge 1/2 hour before cooking

3) In a large bowl, toss butternut squash and red onion w/ 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then place on a parchment lined sheet pan and season w/ salt and pepper;  preheat oven to 400 degrees F, place pan in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender (check after 20 minutes, rotate pan and return to oven)

4) Place veggie stock into a medium size pot and bring to a boil

5) Add couscous to veggie stock, stir and return to a boil while occasionally stirring; lower heat to medium, continue to stir, then when most of stock is absorbed cover and remove from heat

6) Cut broccoli into 1 1/4 inch pieces; bring a pot of water to a boil, generously salt the water, then add thickest pieces of broccoli to the water and cook for 2 minutes, add the thinner broccoli pieces and cook for another minute then add the broccoli leaves and cook for one more minute; when done cooking, strain in colander

7) Preheat grill, set flame to medium heat, remove halibut filets from marinade and grill for 4 to 5 minutes on each side

8) 4 minutes before fish is done, return couscous to a medium heat, gently stir in roasted squash/onions and cook until warmed throughout

9) Broccoli can be served at room temperature or warmed before plating

10) To plate, place couscous in center of plate, lean halibut filet on couscous then place Chinese broccoli around one side of plate

11) Pour wine and dig in!!

This is a good meal to re-energize yourself during all the holiday hustling and bustling!

Happy Holidays…

Bruno

From market to table…

I bought this squash at one of the farmers markets here in St. Louis. The farmer said it’s great for a soup, but I had other plans for this beauty! The squash tasted like a cross between butternut squash and pumpkin, but a bit sweeter.

The red, green and orange of this gelato reflect the festive colors of the Fall holidays.

I brought this and the oatmeat wheat bread in the previous post to my friends’ Thankgiving feast.

Roasted Curry Squash Gelato w/ Pistachios and Candied Red Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

1  6 pound curry squash

1/2 cup candied red bell pepper

1 cup unsalted dry roasted pistachios

2 cups roasted curry squash pulp (follow same procedure as roasted pumpkin)

1/2 cup sugar

6 large egg yolks

1 quart half & half

Procedure:

 **For candied red bell pepper, use 1 pepper and half the amount of sugar, cider vinegar and water. Follow the same procedure as in the candied jalapeno post 

***Stir pistachios into candied red bell pepper before adding to gelato

1) Puree squash in food processor w/ a small amount of half & half

2) In a metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow

3) Place half & half in a heavy pot and heat until scalded 

4) Very slowly add warm half & half to egg/sugar mixture so as not to curdle the mixture

5) Place bowl w/ mixture over a pot of simmering water, stirring continuously until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon (do not let mixture exceed 170 degrees F to prevent curdling), then quickly place bowl in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and promote rapid cooling

6) Whisk squash puree into cooling mixture

7) Once cool, refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight

 This is a great bread to bring to a Thanksgiving feast to share w/ your friends. It’s quickly becoming my favorite bread recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour

2 1/2 – 3 cups bread flour

1/2 cup bulgar

1/2 cup toasted rolled oats

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups  tepid water & 1/4 cup

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Procedure:

1) Put yeast in a large bowl and pour 1/4 cup of tepid water over it; let sit until it becomes foamy

2) Add olive oil and remaining 1 1/4 cups tepid water to yeast

3) Mix salt, bulgar and oats into 3 1/2 cups flour (use remaining half cup of bread flour if dough is too moist, slowly adding to dough during kneading)

4) Slowly add flour mixture  to yeast mixture until fully combined, remove from bowl then kneed for 10 minutes on lightly floured surface

5) Place dough ball back into bowl,  dust w/ flour, cover bowl w/ plastic wrap  and let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes (I use a disposable shower cap because it’s reusable and fits tightly over the bowl) 

6) Remove dough from bowl and shape into 2 boules, place on pizza peel dusted w/ corn meal, dust tops w/ flour, cover loosely w/ a plastic bag, then let rise for 45 minutes

7) Preheat oven and baking stone (on middle rack) to 425 degrees F, place empty oven proof baking dish on the rack below the stone

8) After second rise is complete, snip pattern into tops of  boules w/ scissors, then slide directly onto the baking stone in the oven, place 1 1/2 cups of ice cubes into dish on the rack below (the steam from the ice helps promote the “oven spring” and crust gloss)

9) Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 F, rotate loaves and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes (until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom)

10) Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and let cool completely befor slicing

Long live bread!

Bruno

Well, it’s time to say goodbye to my garden for another year. 2009 was a fantastic year in my garden. I figured out how to keep the squirrels and rabbits out w/ a strong fence and marigolds so this year’s bounty was incredible!! An opossum managed to lethargically climb into the garden on 2 random nights and snatch a couple of ripe pineapple tomatoes, but he or she never returned after that (I heard some rustling in my yard, thought it was a prowler, but it turned out to be a big old ‘possum!).

I’ve picked the last of the ripe veggies and got quite a haul as you will see in the photos. Last weekend I decided to pick the green tomatoes and immature red bell peppers before the first frost. I ended up w/ 25 tomatoes and 8 little green bell peppers. I placed the tomatoes in my kitchen window in hopes for them to eventually ripen.

Here’s a photographic chronology of the last couple of months in the garden:

August 23rd

Bounty from August 23rd

Bounty from September 3rd

Bounty from September 9th

Bounty from September 18th

October 5th

Bounty from October 16th

That’s all folks…

Bruno

For LiveSTRONG Day – A tribute to all those living w/ cancer. Barbara of Winos and Foodies is once again hosting A Taste of Yellow to support LiveSTRONG Day and to raise awareness of cancer issues worldwide. She’s asking food bloggers to cook up something yellow as a way of showing support for this cause and for sharing their cancer related stories if they have one.

My contribution to A Taste of  Yellow 2009 is this carrot gelato which is orangish yellow but it’s the thought and effort that counts – For LiveSTRONG Day – A tribute to all those living w/ cancer.

Carrot Gelato w/ Roasted Hazelnuts & Rum Soaked Raisins

Ingredients:

1 cup grated carrots (packed tightly)

3/4 cup roasted hazelnuts (skins removed)

1/2 cup raisins (soaked in dark rum)

1 cup sugar

1 quart half & half

6 large egg yolks

Procedure:

1) Puree carrots in food processor w/ a small amount of half & half

2) Place rum soaked raisins in a small pot and heat to burn off alcohol

3) In a metal bowl, whisk egg yolks and  sugar until mixture becomes smooth and pale yellow

4) Place half & half in a heavy pot and heat until scalded 

5) Very slowly add warm half & half to egg/sugar mixture so as not to curdle the mixture

6) Place bowl w/ mixture over a pot of simmering water, stirring continuously until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon (do not let mixture exceed 170 degrees F to prevent curdling), then quickly place bowl in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and promote rapid cooling

7) Stir carrot puree into cooling mixture

8) Once cool, refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight

 Stay STRONG!

 Bruno

from this…

to this…

to this!

Candied Jalapenos

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons water

1 cup sugar

8 large jalapenos

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

 Procedure:

1) Remove seeds and ribs, then cut jalapenos into ¼ inch squares

2) Sauté jalapenos on a griddle (wiped w/ olive oil) until lightly browned and blistered

3) Put sugar and water in a heavy bottomed pot and boil until light amber in color (333 -335 degrees F on a candy thermometer), brushing inside of pot w/ water occasionally to prevent crystals from forming

4) Stir in vinegar, then stir in jalapenos

5) Let cool in pot, then pour into a jar

Ideas for use:

· Apple topping or topping for your other favorite fruit (use as a spicy alternative for caramel apples)

· Finishing glaze for BBQ’ed fish, meats, or vegetable

· Spread for toast (I use it like a fruit jam)

· Ice cream topping (as you would a caramel sauce)

Cooking notes: The sugar crystalized as it cooled down so the end product was not right.  I decided to do this post anyway because it gave me the opportunity to show you what it’s not supposed to look like (i.e., the sugar is supposed to be a transparent amber color, not an opaque caramel). I was in a hurry when making this batch because I was leaving town the next day. Lesson learned… always leave time for a redo so your finished product will be the way you want it to be.

However, if this ever happens to you, don’t throw it away, just microwave the open container for 30 – 45 seconds (depending on how powerful your microwave is) to melt the sugar crystals, just like you can do w/ honey when it begins to crystalize.

Until next time…

Bruno

I’ve been wanting to try this bread recipe for quite awhile to test it out and see if it’s a quicker and better recipe than other baguette recipes I’ve tried. Well, Farmgirl Susan was spot on. This is a great recipe w/ great results! It took me about 4 hours from start to finish and produced 3 beautiful, crispy and delicious loaves!!

Click on the following link for the recipe: Parisian Daily Bread

Happy Baking…

Bruno

Asparagus; other veggies

Zinnias; herbs; yard

Everything is in the ground and doing well! This year I planted 4 types of tomatoes (pineapple, black krim, cherokee purple and yellow plum), broccoli, yellow and red bell peppers, Swiss chard, jalapenos, a variety of onions and two types of zinnias for color (state fair mix and dreamland mix).  I sprouted butternut squash from seeds and they’re now large enough to put in the ground. A new rosemary plant and purple and green basil were added to the herb garden.  I also built a better fence and put marigolds around the edges to deter the rabbits and squirrels… we’ll see how well these methods work! The photos above were taken a couple of weeks ago and everything has grown substantially since then because the weather has been much better than last year. The photos below were taken on May 31st.

Happy Gardening!!

Bruno