My First Dish

So yesterday we decided that a little sight seeing was in order, I mean after all we are in Sicily. It was a beautiful spring day even though it is the beginning of February. We went up into the hills and visited a town where the Godfather II was filmed, but that is a blog for another time. Suffice it to say I felt well rested today and a bit ambitious, so I decided to move on from the soup category into the antipasti category.

I read where Julia Child was critical of Julie and Julia because Julie didn't say how the food tasted or what she learned. So, in order not to make that mistake, here is what I have learned so far.

1. Check to make sure you have all of the ingredients before you start...duh...but I have made this mistake several times. Is this because I'm old or is it because I'm impetuous and eager to get started, or is it both? Sigh.
2. Next make sure you have all of the kitchen equipment, such as knives, bowls, etc, before  you start.
3. Finally when you are learning something new, it is going to take you longer than you think to get it done. This is very true of me and cooking. Things I think will take 30 minutes have taken 3 hours!


On to today's challenge. I decided to make a Tortino di Zucchini or Zucchini Pie. It is officially classified as an Antipasti in the big book. The following information is thought to be helpful...
"...antipasti must be served and enjoyed in sensibly limited quantities so that your guests will be able to do justice for the courses which follow...." I wonder what the authors would think of American all-you-can-eat buffets? 



Here is the recipe that I thought I could get done in 40 minutes max.

 How many places do you think this could go wrong? You won't be suprised when I tell you both the Stoic One and Luca were hiding at the end of this attempt.

First off, we must go to the market. We skip the butcher lady and go straight to the market where they sell fruit and vegetables. In Sicily, these are places of beauty. I stare and fret looking for zucchini or something that resembles zucchini. Finally a nice lady rescues me and asks what do I want. Zucchini I say. Why she asks. 

Okay a comment here. I have this theory in Italy that you can't get something you "want" if it isn't something that is commonly asked for, such as air conditioning in your house, unless you can show a factual need. Then you must go past the want case into the need case. So, I'm at the fruit vendor wondering if I need to express a want or do I need to come up with a need. Example...I want 4 zucchini...I need 4 zucchini because I am in the middle of a recipe and I have guests coming and I promised them zucchini. You get the drift.

While I was trying to decide a strategy for my purchase, the shop keeper asked what I was going to do with the zucchini. I say make a tortino (or tart). She is ever so happy and says, you must use these. They are less bitter than the other ones and will bake better. We both smile and go on. First hurdle accomplished.

I get the cheese, the eggs and the salami knowing we already have milk. Simple I think. We can have this for lunch. I do have that slight tingling feeling that I have thought this before, but I have a KNIFE this time, I tell myself. Maybe I better take off my scarf before I start, it seems like someone was strangled with her scarf, or was that the dancer in the convertible? Whatever, scarf is off.

Now I can be serious. The first page of my cookbook says, in large font, "Eating is a serious matter." 

I decide I better read the recipe through again. I know, now, to get out all of the ingredients before I begin chopping. I have everything out, including nutmeg I brought from Umbria, and then, I look for the flour. Where is the flour, I call out to the Stoic One. What flour, he responds. No flour. Is this one of those make or break things? I decide not, and proceed with the recipe.

I have parmesan cheese, already grated, that I brought from Umbria, so I dump it in a bowl. I take one egg, beat it, put it another bowl. The zucchini...It doesn't mention peeling..so I look at them and fret. I decide I should probably wash them off, but what exactly am I washing off? I mean if they have some heinous thing on them washing them in cold water won't help. Should I use soap and water? Probably not. Should I scrape them? That's probably the same as peeling them. The recipe says "trimmed and sliced into rounds". No cubes thank god. But what are the size of the rounds supposed to be? No clue. I start to chop.

There are a lot of them. I have my bowls of egg and cheese and my frying pan. Whopee. No problem. Look at what a wonderful color the egg yolks are here in Sicily.

So I have my little assembly line going...no problem!

My frying pan has olive oil in it and I dump one round in the egg one in the cheese and throw it in the pan. Okay as time goes on this gets tedious and the egg and the cheese are starting to clump together and my hands are yucky. How long is this going to take? Then I remember Molly saying something about patience.

Then I start messing with the little rounds. They aren't getting very brown. I move them around and start to flip them over. Hmmmmm.
Finally I decide maybe I should leave them alone for a few minutes. That worked better, but it still looks like a hot mess to me.

Now they have to come out, get drained on paper towel, and then moved to the roasting pan and then I have to start with another batch. I'm beginning to feel Lucille Ball and the chocolate factory.

Now I run into problems. The recipe says "Separate the remaining eggs." Which I do. Hello...put all of the yolks in one bowl and the egg whites in another bowl...(Note to self, should have gotten the bowls out and checked to see if the electric beater fits in the socket before I started.) Gary, help, I call out. He comes to the rescue finds my bowls, plugs the beater into the socket and goes back to his timed driver's license test. He seems less stoic this morning.  Anyway...

Next I am to put the butter, the cheeses the remaining flour, which I don't have any of, in the frying pan. Here is the nicely CUBED two types of cheese which I got at the market. BTW 5 oz. is 150 grams...Fontina and Swiss. Lovely. I should just have a cheese sandwhich for lunch.

Back to the book. It says "melt, stirring constantly." What a mess. What kind of sauce is this? It looks like bad fondue. I go back to the recipe, and realize I have forgotten to add a "scant" cup of milk. Since I don't have a cup I just take a coffee cup fill it with milk add it and hope for the best. Now it looks like fondue with a glass of milk poured over it. What should I do now? I stir but it still looks gross. I've decided cooking basically looks gross most of the time, or at least mine does.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. I get so entranced with the whole nutmeg and the cute little grater that I forget about the salt and pepper. 

(One more distraction!)

Now I am to remove the skillet from the heat and add the salami and the egg yolks, ONE AT A TIME. Geez Louise...my egg yolks are altogether in a bowl..I try to estimate what one yolk looks like, and then I slide it into my gooey, fondue mess. I put in the salami and then dump the rest of the egg yolks. Live dangerously I say.

Now, whisk the egg whites...thank God I brought that electric beater from home, and fold into the sauce. Really???? What exactly does "fold" mean? It's not in the worthless glossary, but I decide, for better or worse, it means a light mix.

Okay, that looks kind of cute like little clouds floating in the fondue. 

Now pour over the zucchini and bake.

totally disgusting looking. I think it mattered about the flour...

Brown...eat hot....

It was a lot of work for melted cheese and zucchini. The Stoic One...happy again now that he can eat is being Stoic once more...He gave it 2 out of 3 stars. Maybe for an appetizer cut into little tiny squares...I don't know...How did it taste? Cheesy with chunks of salami. I liked the zucchini. Also it tasted better, once we salted and peppered it at the table!

Next time I must make sure to have ALL of the ingredients ahead of time. I think this matters. Buon Appetito.

By the way, it took me almost 3 hours, again to get this done. I need to get up earlier!