Fritatta, Pork Roast & Torta di Riso

I have been sick with a terrible cold for the last two weeks, so I haven't been doing too much cooking. But there's only so much "feeling sick food" - soup, macaroni, scrambled eggs, etc. you can eat, so here are a few fun foods I did manage to cook.

Last Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market in the rain, probably not the smartest thing to do when you're sick. Two of things we brought home were fresh eggs and baby broccoli - sounds like a frittata to me! First I blanched the cut-up broccoli - which means I put the broccoli in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drained the pieces into ice water and then as soon as they were cool, drained on paper towels. This keeps the broccoli a nice bright green color when it is cooked. I sauteed the broccoli and some garlic in olive oil and butter, until almost tender. Next I poured eggs beaten with a little asiago cheese over the broccoli. A little fresh ground nutmeg is also good, but I left my nutmeg grinder with Sarah & Jeff at Thanksgiving and keep forgetting to pick up another one. Cook the eggs over medium-low heat, lifting the edges with a spatula to let the uncooked eggs move to the bottom of the pan until the eggs are almost set. You can finish the frittata under the broiler to brown the top, but what I like to do is put a plate over the top of the pan, flip the frittata over and slide it back into the skillet to brown the other side. Top with a little more freshly grated asiago cheese and cut into wedges. The frittata can be served warm or at room temperature. What a beautiful fresh lunch!

Sunday was a "stay inside, keep warm and cook something low and slow" kind of a day. I decided to make Michael Chiarello's Forever-Roasted Pork with Spice Rub. The spice rub is made with fennel seed, coriander seed, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, chili powder, kosher salt and cinnamon ground in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add a few whole garlic cloves until they start to color. Add fresh sage leaves, sizzle for about 10 seconds and add thinly sliced onions. Cook the onions for a couple of minutes, add water, cover and cook until the onions are quite soft, about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until most of the liquid evaporates, do not let the onions color. Let cool to room temperature.

With a boning knife, cut between the muscles of a pork shoulder so that it lays flat like a book:Rub the surface with a little bit of the rub, then spread the cooled onions on top:Reshape the shoulder to enclose the onions and tie with kitchen string:Rub it all over with olive oil, then with the spice rub. Line a roasting pan with foil, I didn't and I was sorry when it came time to clean up! Put celery stalks, peeled carrots and onion halves in the bottom of the pan and top with the pork:Roast at 275 degrees until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 7 hours. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before removing the string. Discard the vegetables. To serve, pull the roast apart into large chunks with a meat fork rather than carving it into neat slices.

I thought twice about posting this picture, since it's not very attractive, but I wanted to show how tender and easy to pull apart it gets. Let me tell you, with that crispy spice rub on the outside and the the tender onions in the inside, this is delicious - and the leftovers make great tacos!

John has been craving a Torta di Riso (Rice Cake) that his grandmother used to make. I decided to surprise him and try a recipe I found in one of Biba Caggiano's cookbooks. The cake is supposed to be made in a springform pan, but when I went to get mine out from under the galley sink it kind of disintegrated into a pile of rust, so I ended up borrowing a square brownie pan from my neighbor Bonnie.

To make the cake, you combine milk and sugar in a saucepan until it comes to a gentle boil. Then add arborio rice (the rice you use in risotto) and cook, stirring, until the rice is tender and the milk is all reduced, about 40 minutes. Transfer the rice to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Add lightly beaten eggs, Grand Marnier, vanilla and orange zest. Fold in egg whites that have been beaten with sugar until stiff peaks form. Pour into the baking pan and cook until the top of the cake is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature, remove from the pan and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
John loved it - just like grandma used to make!!