Fun at Cannoli Joe's

I was invited to a free cooking class at Cannoli Joe's a few weeks ago, which is an Italian buffet restaurant in South Austin. Seeing as I rarely eat Italian food out (not a whole lot of options here in town!), I was excited to give it a shot, especially since there was a chef demo by chef Bob Hauser. Bob was engaging and informative, balancing tips and techniques with the actual cooking method, and peppering in stories from his days at the Culinary Institute of America and top New York restaurants.

There was a three course menu and plenty of wine to go around. One complaint I had was that the wine paired for each course was white. I'm a red drinker myself, however the whites they paired were tasty, so I made sure to enjoy some anyway :)

The first course we sampled was a Bruschetta al Pomodoro. This was my favorite since it combined the tasty bright flavors of bruschetta with a zing of pesto. I never thought to pair the two before, but the punch of flavor was delicious!

Next chef Hauser showed us Agnolotti con Gamberi (or shrimp in ravioli) using fresh pasta stuffed with a shrimp potato stuffing with a creamy pesto sauce.

We finished things off with a smooth Frangelico Bread Pudding, which was surprisingly easy to make.

Bruschetta al Pomodoro (courtesy of Cannoli Joe's)
*sorry, didn't get a picture of this one!
Toasted baguette slices
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced tomato
6 cloves roasted garlic, shopped
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons basil pesto
Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Slice baguette on a diagonal, brush with olive oil and toast until golden brown.

In a bowl, combine diced tomato, chopped roasted garlic cloves, balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Place half of leaf of fresh basil on top of each baguette slice. Spoon one tablespoon of dressed tomatoes onto each baguette slice. Garnish be squeezing two teaspoons of fresh basil pesto on top, then top with a slice of freshly-shaved Parmesan cheese.

For those of us who stuck around too late chatting (you know who you are @misohungry and @hungryengineer :) ) - chef Hauser was kind enough to give us a tour of the kitchen! I snuck a quick pic :)

Cannoli Joe's is looking to start offering classes to the public soon, so if you're interested in learning more about Italian cooking, be sure to check it out!

Italian Meatloaf

I love a good meatloaf, but it's surprising how rarely I eat or make it. Ever since Cooking Light did a feature on meatloaf in a fall 2006 issue, I've realized there's more that you can do with it than the traditional.

I also recently visited the Austin downtown farmer's market and picked up some really delicious fig and red wine jam from Watson Farm in Fredericksburg, which I thought would be the perfect topping for a rich Italian meatloaf- boy was I right!

Italian Meatloaf

2 pounds ground sirloin
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup fig and red wine jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 9 ingredients (through basil) and form in 2 9 by 13 loafs. Mix cheeses and top on one of the loaves. Place the other loaf on top and seal edges. Spread jam over it and bake an hour and 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

I served these with some really simple mashed potatoes that complimented the meatloaf marvelously.

Sun Dried Tomato Mashed Potatoes

1 pound small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes in salted boiling water about 20 minutes, until soft. In the mean time, pulse tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until creamy. When potatoes are done, drain and place back in warm pot. Mash with a fork until slightly lumpy. Mix in sun dried tomato mixture and serve.

This wasn't my prettiest meal, but it sure was tasty!

Mexican Zucchini Lasagna

I love following What's Cooking from my blogger friend Ben. Not only is he a fellow mango lover, but he's always using familiar ingredients in unfamiliar ways. I saw his recipe for Mexican Zucchini Lasagna and had to try it. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed!

Zucchini and Chicken Mexican Lasagna
Makes: 4-6 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes

For this recipe you will need:

For the “lasagna”:

2 large zucchinis
2 cups shredded chicken breasts
1/2 lb ricotta cheese2 eggs
1/2 cup Romano cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

For the green creamy sauce:

2 poblano peppers
1/2 onion2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
salt to taste

Preparation:

Roast poblano peppers (click here to watch a video) and put them in a thick plastic bag for 10 minutes. Peel them, cut the ends and discard seeds and ribs. Rinse well.

In a blender mix poblano peppers, onion, garlic and chicken broth until smooth. Pour sauce into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat. Add cream, sour cream, salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons. Kat recommends using a peeler, a mandolin or a Y peeler. In a bowl mix together ricotta, Romano and mozzarella cheeses along with the 2 eggs, oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper.

Spoon some of the green sauce into a baking dish. Lay 1/3 of the zucchini slices, 1/2 of the cheese filling, 1 cup of the shredded chicken and some more of the sauce.

Repeat with another 1/3 of zucchini, the rest of the cheese and chicken. Finish with the last 1/3 of the zucchini and pour the remaining sauce into the dish. Bake for 40 minutes until the zucchini is cooked and the sauce is boiling.

This was an exciting change to typical lasagna, and even the boys liked it, which goes to show you don't need pasta to be happy! Though I couldn't serve the meal totally devoid of carbs, so I made my Honey Cilantro Lime Rice to accompany this dish.

Honey Cilantro Lime Rice

1 1/2 cups rice
3 cup chicken broth
1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare rice as instructed, substituting broth for water. In the meantime, combine lime zest and juice and honey in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. stir to combine. When rice is done, stir in honey mixture, cilantro and salt and pepper.

Not your average lasagna!