Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love

by Cristina Ferrare

  Preheat oven to 375°F.

  Rub the spaghetti squash with canola oil all over, and place it on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 1 hour, or until a knife can be inserted all the way through and the squash is tender. Remove from oven and cool for about 45 minutes.

  Cut open the squash lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with a fork; discard the seeds. Slide a fork along the inside of the squash from top to bottom to release the strands. You will see they will look like long pieces of spaghetti.

  Place the strands in a baking dish, add salt, and mix well. Spread 2 ladlefuls of sauce on top to cover the squash. Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.

  Heat the rest of the sauce together with the meatballs on low heat for about 6 to 8 minutes on low heat to make sure the meatballs are hot and the sauce is heated through.

  Serve individual portions in heated pasta bowls with extra sauce and at least 2 meatballs per serving. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, basil, red pepper flakes, and kosher salt to taste.

  GRILLED VEGGIES

  6 TO 8 SERVINGS

  I grill up vegetables on my indoor grill pan almost every night. It’s easy and fast, and the results are so delicious—not to mention healthy.

  I like to make more than I need because I use the leftovers for grilled panini sandwiches or vegetable burritos, chopped up with salads, or tossed into a pasta dish.

  1 bunch asparagus (about 12 to 14 stalks), rinsed and bottoms snapped off

  2 zucchini, sliced on a diagonal ¼ inch thick

  4 Japanese eggplant, sliced on a diagonal into ¼-inch-thick pieces

  2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters

  1 large yellow or red onion, peeled and sliced into round ¼-inch pieces

  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  Reduced Balsamic Syrup

  (Reduced Balsamic Syrup)

  Kosher salt

  Fresh oregano, for garnish

  Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill pan until hot. Brush the vegetables with olive oil all over using a pastry brush (you can use any combination of vegetables you like). Add the vegetables to the hot grill in batches, and keep an eye on them, since some veggies grill up quicker than others.

  Arrange the grilled vegetables on a platter, and drizzle extra olive oil and reduced balsamic syrup over the top. Finish with a sprinkle of French or kosher salt and fresh oregano. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.

  BLACK BEAN

  CHEESEBURGER

  6 SERVINGS

  There’s always at least one vegetarian in the group, so I make these tasty and oh-so-good burgers made with beans. When they’re served on toasted whole wheat buns with all the condiments, you don’t miss the meat at all!

  This is also a great way to save on your grocery bill. You get the protein you need, and it cuts down on fat and cholesterol too! I’ve served these to my family and guests often, and they think they’re genius.

  2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed well

  2 scallions, finely chopped

  ½ red bell pepper, chopped into tiny pieces

  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

  1 jalapeño, chopped into tiny pieces (optional)

  ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  1 egg yolk

  ¼ cup canola oil

  6 whole wheat hamburger buns

  6 slices of sharp cheddar cheese, or Monterey jack cheese

  Lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, and ketchup, for garnish (optional)

  Guacamole (Guacamole), for garnish

  Tomato Salsa (Salsa Verde), for garnish

  In a mixing bowl, combine the beans, scallions, red bell pepper, mustard, jalapeño, salt, and egg yolk. With your hands or a fork, squish the beans until all the ingredients are incorporated. You are not making a smooth paste; you want to see some of the whole beans mixed in. Cover with plastic wrap and put the mixture in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. Shape the cold bean mixture into hamburger patties. They will be sticky and a bit loose. Handle gently.

  Heat a cast-iron skillet until hot. Add the oil. When the oil is hot enough (you can test by putting one bean in; if it starts to sizzle, you’re good to go), lift the burgers one at a time with a spatula, and slide them into the pan, spaced 1 inch apart. Sauté for 2 minutes. Turn over carefully and sauté for 2 more minutes. If they start to fall apart on the sides, just gently press them back using the spatula. While the patties are cooking, start to toast the hamburger buns. Turn the patties over once more, and add the cheese. Cover and continue to cook for 1 minute, allowing the cheese to melt.

  Place the patties on buns and add the condiments. Serve with Crunchy Coleslaw with Creamy Poppy-seed–Lemon Dressing (Crunchy Coleslaw With Creamy Poppy-seed–Lemon Dressing).

  DESSERTS

  I was born without a sweet tooth. Desserts were never my thing. Frankly, I was and still am intimidated by baking. Baking takes time, thought, and precise measuring, all the things that take up too much time and for which I have no patience. When I cook a meal, I don’t use measuring spoons or cups. My hands are my measuring spoons, and I eyeball everything else, and that’s not good if you want cakes to rise, frostings to spread smoothly, piecrusts to be flaky, and cookies to be crisp and chewy.

  I have over the years tried my hand at baking, only to become frustrated over the fact that I suck at it. I make too much of a mess, get flour over everything, don’t have enough measuring cups or spoons so I’m constantly cleaning them out for the next ingredient, and then freak out because I find out that I’m out of baking soda so I have to rummage through the refrigerator to find the open box of soda that keeps my fridge free of odors. After I finally get everything mixed together, I remember that I didn’t grease and flour the cake pans and I forgot to preheat the oven. Instead of calling it a dessert, I call it a disaster. Yes, I actually ask my family what they would like for disaster. One day I finally decided to do something about it. I called a professional cooking school and took a baking course along with my daughter Arianna, who loves baking. I was determined to conquer my fear of measuring.

  Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

  Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

  Pumpkin Cheesecake

  Phyllo Cups with Greek Yogurt, Fresh Peaches, and Honey

  Melon Medley with Lemon Sorbet, Cool and Refreshing

  Strawberry Shortcake

  Brownies, Rich and Chocolaty

  Chocolate Valentine from the Heart

  Flourless Chocolate Cake

  Super-duper Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

  Fourth-generation Rice Pudding

  Blackberry Cobbler

  Peach Crumble

  Fresh Figs with Port Wine and Balsamic Glaze

  Warm Pear Streusel Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

  READ BEFORE BAKING

  Baking is a science, and if you follow the simple rules (although I didn’t know how simple the rules really were until I stopped fighting it), you will have amazing success. It still takes time and precision, especially measuring. Once you apply the rules and understand why molecules need their environment to move around in order for them to do their thing, why you mix wet ingredients into dry, why butter and eggs should be at room temperature for cakes and chilled for pies, along with other simple rules, you will have amazing results.

  The secret here is patience, a preheated oven, and everything measured out and ready to go beforehand, referred to in the culinary world (I learned this in class) as mise en place, a French phrase that means “put in place.” I’m proud to say that Arianna and I received our graduation certificates, and I now have a chef’s jacket with my name embroidered on it from the cooking school.

  I enjoy baking now so much, and even though I still don’t have a sweet tooth, I love baking for my family and friends. Following are some simple tips and suggestions to make your baking experience more enjoyable and successful too.

  Before Yo
u Start to Bake

  Have your oven checked out to make sure it is properly calibrated.

  If the oven is too hot or not hot enough, I promise you, you will not be happy with the results.

  Remember to preheat your oven before you start to bake.

  Read the whole recipe before you start baking.

  Have all of your ingredients measured out and lined up.

  If You Are Baking a Cake

  Grease the bottom of the cake pan first with butter; this will help the parchment paper stay put.

  Line the cake pan with parchment paper cut into rounds to fit.

  Grease the top of the parchment paper.

  Coat the bottom and sides of the pan with 2 tablespoons of flour.

  Tap the pan on the counter to release excess flour, and discard.

  Use of Butter in Cakes

  To cream butter is to beat tiny air bubbles into it that will result in a light cake. Let the butter sit at room temperature right from the refrigerator for 30 minutes before mixing. Lightly poke the butter with your finger. Your finger should be able to make a dent in the butter but should not be able to go through the whole stick. There should be some light resistance. Creaming the butter with sugar is a very important step to ensure a light and airy cake. You should mix the butter and sugar until the mixture has increased in volume and turned a pale yellow, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stop at least twice to during creaming to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl.

  Use of Butter in Pies

  The use of butter in a piecrust makes all the difference if you want a tender, flaky crust. I like to use European-style butter because it’s richer and creamier, has a high fat content, and is tastier and easier to work with. The temperature of the butter or fat and the water is crucial to a flaky crust. The butter should be cold and the water ice cold to ensure a flaky crust. I place the cold butter in the freezer for 10 minutes before cutting it into small cubes. Refrigerate the dough before you roll it out.

  Eggs

  Eggs should be at room temperature and added into batter slowly, one at a time, to help to them to emulsify, which is important for the texture of the cake. If you add all the eggs at one time, the cake will lose volume and will not be as light.

  If you are whipping egg whites, it’s important to whip them at room temperature. You will get more air and therefore more volume, which is important if you are making meringue or a soufflé.

  Prepared batter needs to go into the oven immediately; if you wait too long, you will end up with a cake that won’t rise or a cake that falls in the middle.

  Measuring Flour and Sugar

  I was surprised to learn on my very first day of baking class that I was measuring my flour all wrong. I always scooped the flour from the bag with a measuring cup and leveled it off with a knife, then poured it in the mixing bowl. Wrong! My cakes always came out with puffy domes, or too dry or too dense. The culprit is excess flour in the batter, which absorbs way too much liquid and makes the batter heavy.

  The best way to measure dry ingredients is to spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup (rather than dipping the cup into the flour), and never pack the flour down. Drag a knife sideways across the top of the measuring cup to get rid of excess flour.

  I find that when I measure my dry ingredients this way, instead of dipping a measuring cup into them, my results are amazing.

  Note: Remember that when you are measuring by volume, there is a difference between 1 cup of flour, sifted, and 1 cup of sifted flour, so read your recipes carefully.

  Mixing Wet and Dry Ingredients

  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients in stages, as this will prevent the formation of gluten in the flour. Your cake will end up tender and moist. Make sure you follow the method suggested in the recipe for the best results.

  CARROT CAKE

  WITH CREAM CHEESE

  FROSTING

  10 TO 12 SERVINGS

  This carrot cake is thick, rich, and delicious. A great cup of coffee, tea, or ice-cold milk (my personal favorite), along with a great book, my husband, a warm blanket, and music, and I’m so happy. What more do you need? This a true guilty pleasure.

  To prepare the pans

  Unsalted butter

  2 tablespoons flour

  Carrot cake

  2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

  1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

  1 ¼ teaspoons salt

  1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

  1 ½ cups canola oil or safflower oil

  4 large eggs, at room temperature, slightly beaten

  6 medium carrots, rinsed, peeled, and grated on a box grater (this should yield about 2 cups)

  ½ cup flaked coconut

  ¾ cup chopped walnuts

  ½ cup raisins

  Cream cheese frosting

  8 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese, softened

  8 tablespoons unsalted butter

  (1 stick), at room temperature

  1 tablespoon sour cream

  2 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  ½ to 1 cup sliced almonds, chopped pecans, or walnuts, to sprinkle over the cake

  Adjust the oven racks to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. To prepare the pans, butter the bottom and sides of 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the top of the paper. Add 1 tablespoon of flour on top of the parchment in each cake pan, and shake the pan back and forth to dust the bottoms and the sides of the pans. Then tap the cake pans on the side of the counter to get out the excess flour; discard the flour.

  To make the cake, sift together the 2 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into a mixing bowl for a mixer fitted with a paddle. Add the sugar, oil, eggs, carrots, coconut, walnuts, and raisins. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix. Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 5 minutes; then use a butter knife to loosen the cakes from the sides of the cake pans. Turn over onto a cooling rack, and let rest until completely cool.

  To make the creamy cream cheese frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle, and mix together for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, and whip until creamy smooth.

  To frost the cake, cover the top of one layer of the cake with a thick layer of frosting. Place the second cake layer on top, and use the rest of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the whole cake. If desired, use a cake decorator with a tip that makes pretty floral designs to embellish the top of the cake. Sprinkle sliced almonds, chopped pecans, or walnuts over the top, if desired, for a professional-looking cake.

  CHEESECAKE

  WITH FRESH BERRIES

  10 TO 12 SERVINGS

  I love to put fresh strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries on top of this cake; it looks so beautiful and makes an impressive presentation. Keep the cheesecake in the refrigerator until ready to serve to keep the berries from running, as they have a tendency to release their juices. In fact, I usually put the berries on at the last minute or no more than 2 hours before I am ready to serve to keep that from happening.

  Graham cracker crust

  1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

  ¼ cup sugar

  ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

  cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  Filling

  3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

  1 cup sugar

  3 large eggs, at room temperature

  ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  1 ¼ cups sour cream, at room temperature

  3 tablespoons sugar

  Topping

  2 pints f
resh raspberries or strawberries; if using strawberries, slice in half and lay flat on top of cake.

  Preheat the oven to 325°F.

  To make the crust, in a medium-size bowl stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter until moistened. Using your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of a 10-inch by 3-inch springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes, and cool completely.

  To make the filling, in a mixer using the paddle attachments, mix the cream cheese for two minutes, stopping twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 1 cup of sugar in an even stream, and mix for 2 more minutes, until light and fluffy. Remember to stop at least twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, processing after each addition to incorporate thoroughly, and scrape down the bowl each time. Add the ½ cup of sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Process until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour the filling into the crust, and spread evenly in the pan. Lift the pan and tap it on the counter several times to release any bubbles in the batter. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is set. Use a toothpick; if it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it still wiggles in the middle, you need to bake it more. Do not overbake.

  While the cheesecake is baking, combine the 1 ¼ cups sour cream and 3 tablespoons sugar. Spread this mixture over the cheesecake immediately after removing it from the oven. Return the cake to the oven for 5 minutes to set. Cool completely on a wire rack, then cover with aluminum foil and freeze overnight.

  Take the cheesecake out of freezer the morning you are going to serve it. After 1 hour, release and remove the pan sides. Top with berries and serve.

  PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

  10 TO 12 SERVINGS

  This is the perfect cheesecake for the holidays, and I always end up making two because this is the first dessert to go. When it’s baking, you can smell the aroma of the cinnamon and spices all over the house. It’s a beautiful dessert too, with its rich, creamy texture and deep golden color. Add a dollop of fresh whipped cream, if you like, and your favorite store-bought caramel sauce over and serve with spiced hot tea. It tastes like Christmas.