On sympathy carbo-loading (a.k.a. gratuitous carb consumption)

For many years, the arrival of fall meant the anticipation of race day for whatever marathon I was running that year and, most importantly, carbo-loading. For several years, I was one of those crazy people who thought running 26.2 miles for fun was enjoyable.

Turns out, my hip flexors didn’t find the same enjoyment. After my eighth race, I have hung up my sneakers for a bit. A couple weekends ago, with the Marine Corps marathon approaching in my city, I was having marathon envy. Other than the high of crossing the finish line intact and knowing a humongous diet coke and Swedish fish were awaiting me, the best part of the lead-up to marathon day for me was always carbo-loading.

Carbo-what you ask?

That’s right, for one week every year I would eat as many carbs as I wanted to help fuel my system through the upcoming race. Now, complex carbs are recommended but damn, if I was running a marathon, I was having whatever carbs I wanted as a reward.

There were a lot of moving parts involved in running marathons and my mom and dad were there every step of the way.  Including, for the eating leading up to the race.  They were loyal spectators –okay, groupies-- at all my races. And being a groupie ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, even if it’s for your own child.

Being part of my marathon posse meant schlepping with me to the starting line of my first race in Chicago on a very cold and blustery morning and traipsing all over the city in the cold to see me at various mile markers. It also meant getting up at 3:30 am with me to catch the bus to the starting line of the Disney Marathon on a chilly January morning in Orlando. Not sure that was the “Happiest Place on Earth” that morning.

Bleary-eyed with my dad at the Disney Marathon before heading to the starting line.

But my parents did it with a smile. And signs. Lots of signs that said “Run, Little Flower, Run.” My dad was not shy about advertising my nickname.

Being my marathon groupies also meant that my parents joined me for the massive carbo-loading dinners on the eve of race day. As you may have gathered, my dad loved nothing more than to eat. Gosh, he would have been a good marathoner because he could carbo-load with the best of ‘em.

It was at the carbo-loading dinner before the Disney Marathon in 2001 that my dad coined a term non-marathoners and anti-Dr. Atkins folks all over the world should embrace and adopt.

After two huge bowls of pasta from a huge buffet of every kind of pasta and sauce imaginable and a huge pile of bread, I put my fork down and said UNCLE. Same for my mom. My dad sat at the table looking a bit full but not quite and with a twinkle in his eye asked me if he thought it was okay for him to keep eating even if the marathoner had stopped. Before I could answer he said, “Oh what the hell, I am sympathy carbo-loading for you, Little Flower! I’m going back for another round.”

Sympathy carbo-loading!? Right on, Dad!
My mom and I couldn’t stop laughing as my dad lurched toward the buffet and proudly told everyone that he was “sympathy carbo-loading because did you know my Little Flower is running the race tomorrow?”

Earlier this month with marathons on the brain, I decided to sympathy carbo-load as well for all my friends running races this month. Well, um, actually, I don’t really know anyone running. To be honest I really just needed some gratuitous carbs. BAD. And that’s why I made pumpkin biscotti with a cinnamon glaze.

The biscotti are incredibly easy to make. Simply combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another and then combine the wet to the dry. I suggest dusting your hands with flour before combining the two as the dough will get sticky as you mix it together using your hands. The flour will keep most of the dough from sticking to your hands.

On a baking sheet and with the oven heated to 350 degrees, I arranged the dough in two loaves on a silpat mat.

After baking the biscotti for 30 to 40 minutes Bake for 30-40, I removed the biscotti from the oven and cooled until just slightly warm. Using a serrated knife (I recommend this one), I cut the biscotti into 1 inch wide pieces and laid each piece flat on the silpat mat. Then, I turned the oven down to 300 degrees and baked the biscotti for an additional 15-20 minutes. This will ensure they start to harden a bit to give you that nice crunch that really good biscotti have.

While the biscotti were cooling, I mixed up the cinnamon glaze which is very simple to do. Once the biscotti cooled, I dipped a spoon in the glaze and drizzled it over the biscotti.

The finished product

I pulled Davis in to the sympathy carbo-loading once he woke up from his nap. It’s never too early to start training.

Pumpkin Biscotti with Cinnamon Glaze

(Makes 25-30 biscotti)

Ingredients

For the biscotti:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmet

Pingch of ginger

Pinch of cloves

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Details

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and spices in medium bowl.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla extract.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture.  Lightly dust your hands with flour and use your hands to incorporate the ingredients or use a medium spatula.  Dough will be crumbly once it is ready to be baked.  Knead dough gently in the bowl.

Deposit dough on silpat-lined baking sheet (or use parchment paper if you don't have a silpat mat.  Form the dough into two loaves.  They should be fairly flat and about 1/2 inch high.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until center is firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and let biscotti cool.  Once cool enough that you can touch, using a serrated knife, cut into 1 inch wide pieces and lay flat on the baking sheet.  Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.  Cool completely.

While biscotti are cooling, mix powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon in a small bowl with a whisk or fork.  Mix until smooth.  Dip a spoon in the glaze and drizzle glaze over biscotti.

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Zuppa and Lucca

Almost four years ago when my husband and I set out for Italy on our honeymoon, I had no idea the adventure and gastronomical delights that awaited us.

And Italy didn't disappoint on either count.

We started out our honeymoon in Rome, seeing the major sights and settling into large lunches every afternoon where we occasionally ended up with three entrees instead of two. Damn that language barrier ... but not really since it worked to our advantage enabling us to sample more of the local delicacies.

Lunch in Roma circa November 2006.

Lunch was capped off by my daily visit to a gelateria. Occasionally, I even had gelato for dinner.  Is there anything more gluttonous?  After several days in Rome, we drove into Tuscany to a beautiful villa that was awaiting us.

There was only one problem.

The villa didn’t exist.

Details, details.  (It's a long story and if you're ever over for dinner, we'll recount it for you but for now, back to the blog post.)

Ah yes, an early test for our very young marriage. After driving around for two hours looking for the villa and discovering it did not exist, we headed back in the direction we had come from trying to re-calibrate our plans.

We rebounded nicely and settled in the charming small town of Lucca for two days as we figured out our game plan for the rest of the honeymoon. I also introduced Dan to a McCarthy family rule of thumb: when all else fails, EAT!

And so we found ourselves in a small trattoria in Lucca for dinner after a very long day of driving on Italian roads with me navigating which was a debacle in and of itself given my very poor map-reading abilities. It was a slightly chilly November night and the restaurant was bustling with families and young couples. At this point, I think we were both a bit homesick for the States given our tough day.

As I eyed the menu, my eyes lit up when I discovered Zuppa di Lenticchie on the menu. Lentil soup!  My mom makes the most wonderful lentil soup and a bowl of it was just what I needed to put the day behind me and make me feel at home in this town we hadn't expected to be in.

The soup was divine.  It was thick and stew-like.  The lentils were cooked perfectly and the soup smelled and tasted of herbs including rosemary, just like my mom's.  I can't even tell you what the rest of the meal consisted of because I was so taken by the soup.

As it turned out, that dinner was the start to a terrific two days in a town we would have never visited but for our villa catastrophe.  I credit the Zuppa for getting us back on the right track.

A bowl of Zuppa di Lenticchie alla Diane I made recently.

Zuppa di Lenticchie alla Diane
This soup freezes well and is delicious on a cool, fall or winter's day.

Ingredients:
2 celery stocks, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 large container Chicken Broth
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup dry lentils, rinsed
3/4 cup barley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crushed (you can use fresh if you want)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Details
*In a large soup pot, melt the butter and saute the celery, onion and garlic until tender.
*Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, lentils, barley, oregano, rosemary and pepper, bring to a boil.
*Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until lentils and barley are almost tender.
*Once cooked, you can garnish each bowl of soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me

Dear Dad,

Today I was listening to the Beatles song, “When I’m 64” and thought of you, even though today you would have turned 65!

As you know being the Beatles fan that you were, the refrain to the song goes, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64.”

And, even though you’re 65, I like to think I am still feeding you vicariously every day. You inspire my cooking and were the inspiration for me to begin this blog. Whether it is the apple crumble I made a few weeks ago (recipe is below if you want to make it for your friends up there or the Big Guy … if he could turn water into wine, who knows what he could do with this crumble), your orzo salad or trying something new like Indian Chicken. You are with my every time I enter the kitchen.

You’ve also made me realize the importance of including my son and your grandson, Davis, in the cooking process. He loves to be in the kitchen to see what is going on. He has now mangled my whisk which has become his beloved kitchen tool of choice. You would be so proud of the way he manhandled his tortellini last weekend.  Here's a picture of the aftermath:

As I have on your birthday since you passed away way too soon almost six years ago, I went out to lunch with Dan to celebrate what would have been your 65th year. I know, I know. I am sure you did think I was really just looking for an excuse to eat an insanely delicious, gluttonous lunch. That’s only partly true.

Today we celebrated your life by eating a few of your favorite things that you taught me to enjoy and toasting to you. I had a divine pizza with provolone cheese and homemade soppresata. You would have loved it. Salty and authentic perfection. I can still remember when you introduced me to soppresata for the first time at 9 years old at Glorioso’s, a small Italian grocery store in Milwaukee. I could hardly pronounce the word but oooooooooh did I love that piece of Italian goodness that the lady behind the deli counter sliced for me. I remember that you said to me, “See Little Flower, you try something new and you might like it. I would never lead you astray when it comes to food.” As usual, you were right.

And then, we finished with a homemade cannoli, one of your all-time favorites, for dessert today. No, we didn’t share one either. We each ordered our own because you always thought people shouldn’t have to share if they didn’t want to … they should order their own, no matter the cost and in your words, “ENJOY, DAMNIT because you only live once!”

And how true those words are.

You showed me how to live life to the fullest, particularly when it came to food -- both eating and consuming it.

To enjoy every meal like it was your last.

To worry about watching your weight another day but definitely not on the day when you had the chance to eat something amazing or try a new dish for the first time.

To understand how feeding people brings a group together.

As for the other part of the Beatles song (‘Will you still need me?’), the answer is Y-E-S.

Even at 31 years old, I need my dad. Thanks to your gentle nudging from above, I have found that the way to stay connected to you is through cooking. And it has brought me more comfort and enjoyment than you will ever know. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction and I will keep ‘feeding you’ from down here.

Xoxo
Little Flower (a.k.a. your daughter, Colleen)

Dad's Birthday Apple Crumbly
(Serves 6 to 8)

The remains of the Apple Crumbly

Filling
5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Crumble topping
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats or quick cooking oats

Details
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
*To make the filling, combine the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmet and kosher salt in a baking dish and mix well.
*To make the streusel topping, melt the butter.
*Remove the butter from heat and stir in the brown sugar and kosher salt.  Add the flour and oatmeal and stir until incorporated.
*Crumble the mixture over the apple filling.  Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling for 50 to 60 minutes.

**Weekend Gourmet's note: You can make the filling 6 to 8 hours in advance but do not crumble the topping over the filling until ready to bake.

Recipe courtesy of Bride & Groom Cookbook