In My Kitchen - Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

I love cooking and the kitchen is definitely my happy place. There is a certain rhythm to cooking that soothes me and provides comfort. There are the tasks that become rote not in a boring way but in a way that signals comfort and a reassuring predictability. This part of cooking is meditative and for a person like me, with a mind that feels as though it is almost always on overdrive, it is a welcome retreat. The other side of cooking is the creative. New recipes, new ingredients, new techniques. It is challenging and stretches my abilities and ideas. I love this artistic side. Most of the time I feel like a creative person without an outlet, I cannot paint or sing, but cooking provides me that space. In honor of my love of cooking, I would like to start a series on the blog called In My Kitchen where I can share recipes and cooking related experiences with you.

Today, I would like to share a recipe I have made twice now, which says a lot in itself as I do not tend to repeat recipes, and which has become an instantaneous favorite in our house.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread!

This bread is really delicious! The yogurt in the recipes ensures that the bread turns out moist and remains so even in the days after baking. My favorite part of the recipe is the genius, lemon syrup which you pour over the bread after it is done cooking. This infuses the bread with a bright, tangy lemon flavor.

Usually, on the weekends we head out to our favorite pasticcerie (bakeries) for breakfast so it says a lot that we happily stayed in and enjoyed this bread on both Saturday and Sunday.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread 
Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup of poppy seeds

Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix in the poppy seeds. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

When the bread is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the bread is still warm, make a series of holes in the top of the bread with a toothpick - this will give the liquid a place to go and it will help ensure the bread is evenly and completely saturated. Then pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the bread and allow it to soak in. Cool.

Making Gnocchi

The other weekend when pondering what to make for dinner, I looked around our kitchen and saw we had a bag of potatoes and really not much else so I decided to make gnocchi. I looked at the recipe and it seemed doable until I got to the step where I had to add the flour to the mashed potatoes...for the quantity of flour the recipe said q.b. which stands for quanto basta and basically translates to "enough". This is a common notation for measurements in Italian recipes. It is as if the recipes assume that we all grew up in the kitchen helping our nonne (grandmas) and mamme (moms) make pasta and sauces and such. As I did not have any such exposure growing up, I just winged it and as a result my first batch of gnocchi had a much too high potato to flour ratio. They barely survived being cooked in the boiling water and were a mushy mess. Into the compost bin they went. I added more flour to the dough and it transformed into something much more malleable. Rolling the dough into a long, snake like shape and cutting it into small pieces reminded me of so many times during my childhood when I did very much the same thing with playdoh (so maybe I did have a little childhood gnocchi training after all).



My gnocchi - waiting to be cooked.




The cuoco (chef) and her gnocchi with a much deserved glass of vino.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the finished product. As soon as the gnocchi were done cooking (which is remarkably fast - it takes only 2-3 minutes after being dropped in the boiling water for the gnocchi to rise to the surface signalling they are done) I mixed them with the sauce and served them. Andrea ate his with a tomato sauce and I had mine with gorgonzola (if you are a fan of gorgonzola, the easiest sauce ever for pasta is to heat up a little milk and a hunk of gorgonzola cheese in a small sauce pan until the cheese melts and then pour it over your pasta. Yum!) much to Andrea's olfactory dismay.

This recipe made a ton of gnocchi and I found the leftovers to be even better the next day - it seems the gnocchi firmed up a little more being left overnight in the refrigerator. I also sauteed the gnocchi a little after cooking them in the boiling water. This gave them a nice, slightly crispy edge and immensely improved the overall texture and flavor.

I am excited to try these again. Next time, I would like to do spinach and ricotta gnocchi for a lighter take or gnocchi made with squash instead of potato like we tried last year at a restaurant up in the Dolomites.

I highly recommend trying your hand at this dish. It is an economical dish to make and it gives you an excuse to get your hands dirty and reconnect with childhood pleasures.

Lunch in Florence

The other day I had to go to the US Consulate in Florence to renew my passport so Andrea and I decided to make a day of it.

We strolled around the city and finally ended up at the Trattoria Sostanza. This restaurants second name or nickname is Il Troia which is quite funny as it means the whore. The restaurant is one long, narrow room and as soon as you enter you can see all the way back to the open kitchen where quite often the chef, who also serves as the butcher, is wielding a cleaver and butchering the famous Fiorentina steak.

The Fiorentina, a Tuscan specialty, is the Cadillac of steaks. It is huge and it is normally served nearly raw and often quite bloody.

We ordered a quarter of a kilo - the smallest portion it was possible to order and which is normally intended for only one person.



This is my half of the steak along with the cime di rapa (broccoli rabe) and of course, vino rosso.

 As you can see they leave the steak quite rare in the middle - essentially they just char it on either side and call it good. Although I must say that this was probably the most well done Fiorentina I have ever seen. The taste was incredible! When they cook the meat they only add olive oil, salt and pepper and as a result the taste of the meat is showcased.

After lunch we went to Piazzale Michelangelo above the city to admire the panorama of Florence. The view never fails to take my breath away.

Ponte Vecchio is to the left and the Duomo in the center.