I say Tomato, You Say Toe-ma-toe

I went to the grocery store this morning after Emma, Holly Bear's trainer left. We just love Emma, she is the female equivalent to Caesar, the dog whisperer. Holly Bear needed a nap after her training session, so it was the perfect time for me to see what was new in the produce aisle.

Now, I try not to go to the grocery store with a menu in mind, rather, I try to let the grocery store plan my menu. Today's good find were fine, fresh, English peas. English peas reminded me of a Tyler Florence recipe for Potato Gnocchi with Peas and Prosciutto and Ricotta.

TBHITW and I originally hail from different parts of the country. He comes from Michigan with a stop in New Orleans for a few years before settling in the Northeast. Me, I come from Pennsylvania with a stop in Orlando, Florida before arriving here in New Jersey.

This difference in our origins leads to different pronunciations of certain words. For instance, he says crik when referring to a small stream (creek), I say creak. He says ruff for roof, I pronounce it, well, roof. You get the idea. We usually agree to disagree, except in the case of Gnocchi. I say, Knee-owe-kee, he says No-key. Sometimes, just to really get my goat, he says Knock-key, insisting that both are correct. He is an annoying man sometimes.

If anyone out there has the absolute correct pronunciation of these little pillows, keep it to yourself. Unless of course it is Knee-owe-kee.

Potato Gnocchi with Peas, Prosciutto and Ricotta - serves 4

2 pounds (about 4) russet potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

a few fresh gratings nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon)

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 egg white

1 to 1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) peas

1/4 pound prosciutto

1 large shallot, finely diced

extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 Tablespoon butter

grated parmesan

2 cups Lemon Ricotta (recipe follows)

bunch watercress

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scrub, dry, pierce, oil and salt potatoes. Bake to 45 to 60 minutes until knife easily pierces. Cool slightly. Scoop potatoes out of skins, mash with hand masher or put through ricer. Add salt, nutmeg, baking powder, grated cheese and egg white. Add flour a little at a time, starting with one cup. Mix with your hands until a rough dough forms. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Gently knead until smooth, adding a little more dough to keep from sticking.

Break off a piece of dough, roll back an forth into a rope about the thickness of your index finger. Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces. Gently roll each piece down the prongs of a fork while pressing a dimple into the back side of gnocchi. This will form ridges that will hold the sauce. Place on a floured cookie sheet. Continue rolling and cutting until done. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook. You can also buy store bought Gnocchi.

Meanwhile, make the lemon ricotta:

2 cups whole milk ricotta

zest of one lemon

salt

Mix it all up and set aside until ready to cook gnocchi. This should be close to room temperature for plating. If you make it in advance, remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking gnocchi.

Blanch peas in boiling, salted water. Set aside. Reserve salted water for cooking gnocchi

Bake 4 pieces of prosciutto in 350 oven for 5-8 minutes until crisp. Watch carefully. Set aside.

Dice shallot and saute in olive oil in large saute pan until soft and translucent. Add drained peas and toss to coat.

Cook gnocchi in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes after they begin to float. Transfer by slotted spoon into pan with peas. Add a ladle of cooking water. Add 1 Tablespoon butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Plating:

Spoon a dollop of lemon ricotta in center of plate. Top with peas and gnocchi. Top with small handful of fresh watercress. Top with 1 piece crumbled prosciutto. Optional: drizzle with a scant half of thimble full of white truffle oil.

Now put down the Websters Dictionary and enjoy your meal.

Going Camping and Summer Pizza

We are getting ready to meet my son, daughter-in-law and the littles for a weekend of camping. 

Tent camping to be specific. 

According to my oldest KidAdult I have been whimping out over the years as our camping escapades involved some 25ft. of metal that housed pretty much the contents of my entire house plus air conditioning. 

He said when he was small we roughed it. In a tent. That statement makes me laugh. He sounds like an old man. Like, When I was boy we didn't have no RV... we did it the hard way, in a tent, barefoot. And we had to walk 100 miles in a thunderstorm to get to pitch it. And we had to hunt our food... LOL.

Anyway. The Best Husband In The World reluctantly agreed with me and we agreed with KidAdult #1 to meet him and the girls and camp. The old way. 

So we're off to the great outdoors. I am in charge of Saturday night dinner. 

Actually I love to cook outdoors. Food always tastes so good cooked over charcoal or an open camp fire, especially after a day spent swimming and sailing on the lake. 

So all this planning and talking and prepping and packing reminded me of something my dad used to make on a summer's evening. He always made this for a snack, not a meal and it was always a delicious surprise when my mom would call us in from catching fireflies or playing flashlight tag with a gaggle of neighborhood kids. 

We'd come roaring up the stoop all barefoot and dirty, just as the streetlights came on and the smell of Summer Pizza would hit us full in our happy faces. 

I've updated this a little bit - but the taste still takes me back to the warm summer nights of my youth. 

Summer Pizza: 

1 pizza shell (store bought, pizzeria bought or home made*)

2-3 fresh tomatoes, sliced

10-12 slices fresh mozzarella

2 tablespoons fresh ricotta cheese (optional)

10-12 fresh bay leaves

drizzle of olive oil

Optional: mushrooms and artichoke hearts (quartered) tuck these under the cheese (hey, my tastes have matured!)

Preheat grill to medium low.

Drizzle one side of pizza dough with olive oil and using your hand, smear it all around. Place this side down on the grill. Close cover and grill 3-5 minutes until JUST done on one side. 

Place dough ungrilled side down on floured board. On grilled side place sliced fresh tomatoes, top with bay leaves, then mozzarella, drop fresh ricotta randomly by teaspoon full on top. 

Carefully slide dough back onto grill. Grill until dough is puffed and cheese is melted. 

Serve with Kool-Aid and we're back in the 60's. 

*Your neighborhood pizzeria is usually happy to sell you a pizza dough. It will cost you about $2.00 to $3.00 and will always be expertly made. But if you're ambitious, try this:

Pizza Dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F) this is important - use your meat thermometer to test temp. Too hot - kills the yeast, too cold - won't grow.

1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the flour and salt and set aside. Dissolve yeast in the warm water, let sit for 5 minutes. Add the oil. Stir in the flour / salt mixture. Turn out on lightly floured baord and knead until smooth and elastic. 

Lightly grease a medium bowl and place the dough in the bowl. cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about an hour)

When the dough has doubled, punch down and turn out on floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes, then "toss" if you're good or roll out to a round.

If you make this right after dinner it will be raised enough just when the fireflies come out and the street lights come on.