How To Make Italian Sushi

Christmas Sushi

 A few years back, I 'invented' something I call Italian sushi.  I'm usually in charge of apps for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner, and this dish has become a staple at the Christmas appetizer spread for my Italian family.  It's got the red and green, lots of flavor and they're simple to eat-just pop those suckers in your mouth.  I'm often asked how to make this party-perfect treat, so I'm sharing my recipe with you.

All you need for Italian Sushi

 First, you need your ingredients.  You need good, imported prosciutto-this is your seaweed.  If you want this to work, you need to get fine prosciutto like Di Parma or San Danielle, you have to be willing to get the 24.99/lb or over stuff, it makes rolling and keeping it together easier.  Next you need your risotto-this is your sticky rice.  I make a batch of risotto milanese-the recipe is usually found on the back of any package of arborio rice.  When my risotto is warm, I toss grated parmigiana or grana padano and black pepper into it, which kind of thickens it and makes it a little sticky-perfect for rolling.  Then you need your filling.  I prefer some sauteed asparagus, or some thinly sliced roasted red peppers with some basil that you can chiffonade.

My little sushi rolling diagram

 So, when you're ready to roll, you could take a piece of quality saran wrap, although I prefer to use the waxy film from the prosciutto that separates the layers, this is heavy duty, and rolls the sushi nice and tight.  This is when a bamboo roller would come in very handy.  So, lay about three slices of prosciutto on the 'prosciutto wrap', then spoon and flatten out some risotto on top, add your filling straight across, and roll it up, presses tightly to ensure the roll won't fall apart.  I like to keep the 'prosciutto wrap' around the roll, and I refrigerate it for at least a couple hours.  I usually prepare this the day before serving.  When the sushi is just out of the fridge, it's still really hard so it's easy to cut cleanly with a sharp knife.  Let it sit out for at least 20 minutes before serving, just so it isn't too cold. The flavors will be better.  If you want to make a dip for it, a simple one would be balsamic vinegar, honey and some olive oil.  Get creative if you want, but I prefer the taste of the roll to not be lost to the taste of the vinegar. 

Italian Sushi with Balsamic Vinaigrette

 I did change things up at the last book club dinner for Bel Canto by drizzling Hollandaise sauce over the sushi-fancy time.

The Bel Canto Roll

So there you have it, you too can make Italian sushi.  Give it a try for your next party-you can't really beat something that can be made ahead, and gets eaten almost as fast as bacon at a party.

The Year in Review

The Astoria Book and Supper Club is a year old!  To celebrate I've decided to share some of my favorite dishes that came from recipes I found on the internet, so you too can cook these dishes at home.

The first dish was one of my favorite dishes I've served, and it's from the first meeting for Game of Thrones.  It was my Boeuf Bourguignon Meat Pies.  I made my own pie crust, but to save a little time, you could use store-bought.  I have a copy of Julia Child's famous cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but here's an online copy of her recipe: http://cooking.knopfdoubleday.com/2009/07/13/julia-childs-boeuf-bourguignon-recipe/
I cooked the Boeuf the night before the dinner, and let the flavors develop overnight in the fridge.  I reheated it the next day, skimmed off some fat, and kind of shredded the beef just a little to make a better texture for the pies.

Boeuf Bourguignon Meat Pies just out of the oven

A little interior shot-yum

The next dish was from The Great Gatsby brunch.  One of my favorite dishes I've ever served was the East Egg Vs. West Egg dish, but alas, that all comes from my mind, so you can't have that recipe for now.  I was a big fan of the Pork Wellington dish, I thought it was unique and great tasting.  It comes from Alton Brown, who's just such an entertaining and knowledgable chef.  There's also a video that makes it super easy to follow.  I did make some changes to the recipe, like I used dried apricot instead of apples, but here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pork-wellington-recipe/index.html

Pork Wellington with Apricot Filling

Next up is the Paella I made for The Shadow of The Wind dinner.  I did a lot of research on Paella, and I used inspiration from many recipes I read, but I followed the steps on this one pretty closely.  The author of this blog is obviously very knowledgable about Paella, and it was very helpful: http://www.paellaguy.com/paella-recipe-2/ 

My Paella

Paella is served!

Moving on to Bel Canto, this was one of my favorite dishes for sure, the Salmon Rillettes over Potato Pancakes.  I wanted to make this dish ever since I read this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.  I love salmon, and the combination of fresh poached salmon and smoked salmon together, just sounded DIVINE.  It didn't hurt that it's Eric Ripert's recipe.  So, I made the salmon rillettes and topped a potato pancake with it and then topped that with Wasabi-infused flying fish roe from Russ and Daughters.  I loved how this looked on the plate, and I loved the way it tasted.  Here's the salmon rillettes recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/09/salmon-rillettes

Salmon Rillettes over Potato Pancake

If I had to choose a favorite dessert I guess I would go with the lemon tart from Game of Thrones OR the King Cake for A Confederacy of Dunces.  The lemon tart had a great balance of sweet and tart and it was very tasty, a great recipe!  The crust and the lemon filling came from this blog: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/06/lemon-tart-recipe.html#.URmz-aXhBhA

My Lemon Tart

As for the King Cake, yes, it came in a box, but I don't care.  I liked it!  It's called Mam Papaul's and here's a link to buy it, but the site also has a recipe.  It comes with the little plastic baby Jesus and everything, perfect for Mardi Gras!

http://www.mardigrasoutlet.com/catalog/1881.html

Mam Papaul's King cake mix purchased in New Orleans

The result

So there you have it, some of my secrets.  Looking forward to another year of recipes!

The Godfather: The Menu

So, I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse (yeah, I went there).  I will be cooking Mario Puzo's book, The Godfather, you may have heard of it, on Sunday, April 14th at 7:00PM.  It'll be a real Italian Sunday dinner, and I'm very excited to cook and host this!

Course one will be a family-style spread:

Stuffed Calamari (my version is lemon, the tentacles, capers, pignoli nuts and parsley)

Caponata (fried eggplant, onion, tomatoes, peppers and olives)

Prosciutto and Soppresata from Calabria Pork Store on Arthur Avenue

Fresh Mozzarella and Talleggio from Casa della Mozzarella on Arthur Avenue

Pork Bread from Rose and Joe's Bakery in Astoria

My Homemade Sweet and Hot Red Onion Marmalade
Arancini 

Course Two:

Sunday Sauce (with sausage and my Nonna's meatballs) over

Fresh Colossal Homemade Rigatoni

Course Three:

Veal Chop Milanese topped with an arugula fennel and citrus salad.

Course 4:

Nutella and Mascarpone Filled Cannoli

Peaches, Oranges and Grapes in Red Wine

Dinner and a non-stop flow of Chianti will be $60, or you can BYOB for $50.  So, get yourself a copy of Mario Puzo's The Godfather, start reading and let me know if you want to attend!

Try the Veal...

After some debating I've decided that the next book to cook will be Mario Puzo's The Godfather.  Before the deservedly infamous movie came out, it was a book.  I've always been kind of interested in reading it, and I've been wanting to cook some Italian food for a book club meeting.  I think this is the perfect book, because everyone could have a lot of fun with it, and eat well too!  I'll be pulling out all the stops, and it will be held on Sunday, April 14th. Once I've read the book, I'll post the menu as soon as possible.
So, 'save the date' and start reading The Godfather if you want to come to Sunday dinner, and don't worry, I won't hide a gun in the basin of my toilet!

Bel Canto: The Dinner

My South American themed table

 Last night was the Bel Canto dinner.  The theme of the night was cultural mash-ups.  The book centered around a bunch of people from all over the world living amongst each other as either hostages or terrorists.  I decided that I would make each course a fusion of flavors and techniques from different culinary backgrounds.  Ones that aren't too obvious but end up working well together.

The Place setting

St. Germain Cocktail

 I started the guests off with a St. Germain Cocktail, made with, yes, St. Germain (which is an elderflower liquor) soda water and freshly squeezed limes. 

The Bel Canto Roll

The First Course

The first course was the "Bel Canto Roll".  I've been making 'Italian Sushi' for a few years now, and it's just a fun appetizer.  It's easy to eat and kind of tasty, and also kind of different.  I use risotto as the rice and prosciutto as the seaweed.  In this version, I stuffed them with sauteed asparagus, and then drizzled hollandaise sauce over them.  Asparagus and Hollandaise was served in the book, so it was nice to be able to incorporate a little of the book into the meal.  So the countries represented in this dish are Japan, Italy and France.

Salmon Rillettes over a Potato Pancake topped with Wasabi Roe

The Second Course

 This was probably my favorite dish of the night, but also the one I was most looking forward to making.  I had the rillettes recipe for a while, it's Eric Ripert's recipe he uses at Le Bernardin.  The potato pancake seemed like a great way to serve the rillettes, and the wasabi-infused flying fish roe was a stroke of luck.  I came across it at Russ and Daughters last Saturday afternoon when I was buying the smoked salmon for this dish.  I had been wanting to top the dish with Caviar, but didn't really want to spend $250 on some.  I love the way the colors work on the plate, and I must say, biting into this was pure decadence.  It was great.  This dish whisks us off to Germany, France and Japan.

Shrimp Ceviche

The Third Course

 The third course was Shrimp Ceviche.  It had a nice little kick to it, because I used two types of chili peppers in it, and also avocado, orange bell pepper, cilantro and lots of lime.  It was a refreshing dish, and lightened things up since it was served between two fried dishes.  This dish ended up not being a culinary mash-up, it's basically just Peruvian.  It's never actually stated, but most people agree that the book is set in Peru.

Panko Crusted Weinerschnitzel over Warm Potato Salad topped with a Raw Beet Salad

The Fourth Course

The fourth course was not too shabby.  This dish took us to Germany, Japan and Russia.  The warm potato salad was tossed with olive oil, rice wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, scallions and my homemade seasoned salt.  The weinerschnitzel (I used a pounded pork tenderloin) was nice and crispy and very juicy and tender.  The raw beet salad was derived from a few Russian beet salad recipes.  The shaved beets were tossed with some mayo, dill, grated cucumber and garlic.  It had such a nice refreshing taste, and the color on it was just gorgeous.  I love how this plate looked, because the colors and textures were just so visually pleasing.  It was a great finish to dinner.

Panettone Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Syrup

The Fifth Course

On to dessert, a Panettone bread pudding.  I had never made bread pudding before, and it's quite easy, and uncomplicated which is what I look for in a dessert.  The cinnamon syrup really added a nice layer of sweet and warm flavors at the end.  I consider this dish Italian American.

So that was the Bel Canto dinner.  I think it was very successful, and I could NOT have done it without my sous chef, Liza, she's the best!  Also, thanks to my guests, they were very into the discussion last night, if you've read the book, you know there's lots to discuss.

I just need to figure out the next book to cook!

Bel Canto Menu & Questions

So, I just created and printed up tonight's menu and discussion questions, which I leave at each place setting at every dinner.  Each course gets a question, and this really keeps conversation flowing well.  Bel Canto is a wonderful book, and I'm excited to see what my diners thought of it.  Now I just need to concentrate on cooking!