Yup, Campania will be featured in a two hour season premiere of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares tomorrow night.  So what’s Gordon got to say about Campania since his last visit? Check it out on Fox 5, the show begins at 8 pm. And leave a comment, let us know what you think of the show…

Any one who frequents the restaurant knows I change my dessert menu regularly- during the summer its somewhere between 3 to 4 times a month. It’s tough for the wait staff to keep up with the new additions, and today won’t be any different because I’m rolling out a sweet new menu. A creamy lemon budino (budino is an Italian pudding cake) with homemade raspberry gelato is a new comer. Also new is a trio of granita, which includes sugarplum, black cherry and cantaloupe all served with vanilla bean semifreddo, which I think is the perfect accompaniment. I love the whole icy-creamy combination (think Creamsicle).

Granita is a super easy frozen treat that anyone can make at home, because you don’t need an ice cream maker. Basically you mix a liquid with simple syrup, pour the mixture into a pan, throw it in the freezer and scrape it every hour or two to break up the ice crystals. I love to make fruit granitas in the summer, and in the colder months I make espresso granita or almond granita which both are amazing with softly whipped cream. Simple and good.

I took a trip to Farm’s View this week, picked up a bunch of unbelievable fruit, went back to the kitchen and hacked and pureed and froze everything I came back with. The granitas turned out amazing, and it’s all because I used perfect fruit. The entire kitchen staff, including myself, agreed that cantaloupe is our favorite granita flavor.

Cantaloupe Granita

1 ripe cantaloupe

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

In a saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil and then set aside to cool completely. Cut melon in sections, remove seeds and remove rind. Put the melon pieces and 1-½ cups of simple syrup in the bowl of a food processor and puree until mixture is smooth. Strain mixture into a freezer proof pan, and stir in the lemon juice. Taste to adjust sweetness- stir in more simple syrup if needed. Place mixture in the freezer. Every hour or two use a fork to agitate the granita until frozen. (Granita usually freezes within 8 hours.) To serve, use a fork to scrape the granita into a bowl. This granita goes great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Apologies for the 3 week hiatus! I’ve been itching to write, and everyday that went by without an entry was really getting to me. So we’re back!! and I’m really going to try my best to keep this forum up to date. Well somewhat up to date. But the good news is that while we were away from our blog, we were not away from the kitchen. Joe and I have come up with some really awesome dishes in the last month. Joey’s soft egg yolk ravioli was ridiculous. Fresh ricotta, pecorino, lemon and an egg yolk encased in homemade pasta dough, cooked just for a couple of minutes so that the yolk is still soft and becomes a part of the buttery sauce when broken into. To me it was comfort food redefined. I have been making lots of sweet treats with jersey blueberries, including a lemon polenta blueberry cake, blueberry crostata, but my favorite was the blueberry ricotta zeppole. I fried up the little berry studded donuts then coated them in granulated sugar with a touch of cinnamon and served with over a scoop of vanilla bean semifreddo. Yum.

I can’t forget to tell you guys about the nifty little trick I picked up this week. While cutting butter into tiny uniform pieces for a tart crust, I was thinking there has got to be an easier way. I looked through my pantry hunting for some sort of tool that would be able to cut, dice or slice butter fast. The first thing I picked up worked like a charm. A box grater. I used the side with the larger holes to grate my cold butter. I was done in about 15 seconds and the pieces were perfectly small and uniform. The baked crust was super flaky and crisp, I definitely attribute it to the grated butter technique. I’m not saying I invented this method, but it is something that I have never read about or seen before. But I must say, I am very excited I discovered it. Try it next time you’re making pie. 

As promised, here is my shortcut focaccia recipe that I spoke about in the cheese making class Joe and I taught last week. Thanks for all the input, comments and questions Can’t wait to see you guys in our upcoming classes!

By the way, this focaccia makes the best sandwich bread ever! 

Focaccia

makes 2 loaves 

equipment:

2 sheet pans or baking pans, lined with parchment

stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment 

ingredients: 

for dough- 

9 cups all purpose flour

4 cups water, about 105 degrees 

2 tablespoons dry active yeast

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 

for topping-

olive oil 

course sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

method:

Dissolve the yeast in the 4 cups of warm water, let stand 15 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, kosher salt, sugar and thyme, stir. Add water/yeast mixture, set at low speed until dough smoothes out a bit. (At this point, the dough should look like a very thick lumpy pancake batter. If the dough is clumped up in one mass, adjust by adding more warm water. If the dough is too thin, add more flour.) Turn mixer to medium-high and mix for about 15 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Lightly oil the parchment. Dividing the dough in half, turn out onto the prepared pans. Lightly sprinkle the dough with oil, cover with plastic and allow to rise for one and a half hours in a warm place. Preheat your oven to 475 or as high as it will go. After an hour and a half, carefully uncover dough and shape into a rectangle about 1 1/2″ thick. Press your fingertips into the dough to create dimples. Top with more olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and a little fresh cracked pepper. Let rest 20 minutes. Bake focaccia at 475 (or as high as your oven will allow) for 25 minutes, or until the bread is a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for a few minutes before digging in. This recipe can easily be cut in half or doubled. 

Ah yes, semifreddo. I absolutely love the stuff. This silky smooth half-melted ice cream is my idea of the ultimate dessert. From raspberry to pistachio to mint, give me any flavor and I will have it devoured in no time. It really surprises me that all these gelato shops popping up around the area don’t offer semifreddo. It is the creamiest, richest custard, but at the same time it is so light and ethereal – I can’t help reaching for seconds. If you were to walk into the Campania kitchen, chances are you will see me (covered in flour from head to toe) whipping up some new frozen creation, some sort of gelato, semifreddo, granita or sorbet– Especially this time of year when we are getting our daily share of perfectly ripe delicious fruit from Farm’s View. As soon as that fruit comes marching through the kitchen door, I am ready – armed with a rubber spatula and my cherry red Kitchenaid (nick-named Betsy). I don’t waste any time getting down to sticky sugary business. And then later on..  the guys accuse me of “stealing” all the fruit in the kitchen. Which is true. I can’t help it.

I just got my hands on some of the first Jersey blackberries of the season, and already I am overwhelmed with all the sweet possibilities. This is what I first dreamt up; creamy, cold blackberry semifreddo paired with crunchy buttery roasted hazelnuts. The fragrant hazelnuts sitting atop, slowly melting into the cold sweet-tart berry cream sounded amazing. I got to work ASAP.. and after spending some quality time with Betsy, I felt pretty confident that I nailed this one. After waiting a very long 8 hours for the semifreddo to set up, I finally got to taste it, and yes, it was sooooo good! Here is the recipe. It is quick and easy to prepare and can even be made up to 3 days in advance.

Blackberry Semifreddo with Toasted Hazelnuts- serves 8

equipment needed: 

loaf pan 9”x5” (or similar size) lined with plastic wrap

food processor or blender

stand mixer or hand mixer

fine mesh strainer

ingredients:             

2 pints ripe blackberries, washed, plus more for garnishing

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 cups heavy whipping cream

6 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

½ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped

method:

Using a food processor or blender, puree the two pints of blackberries with the lemon juice. Strain the puree using a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Set aside puree. Using a stand mixer (fitted with the whisk attachment) or hand mixer, beat the yolks and ½ cup sugar on high speed until very light and pale in color, about 8 minutes. Transfer yolk mixture to a large mixing bowl. In a clean dry bowl, beat heavy cream with remaining ½ cup of sugar on medium speed until soft peaks form. On low speed, slowly pour the blackberry puree into the whipped cream (at this point it’s okay if mixture is streaky). Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the yolk mixture, making sure there are no large streaks. Transfer semifreddo to the prepared loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.

To serve, invert pan onto a serving plate, slice into 1 ½” wedges. Lay each piece down on a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts and garnish with a few ripe berries. Allow the semifreddo to soften for a few minutes at room temperature before serving.

 *** and just a little note on buying berries…

It is mid July and berry season is pretty much in full swing in the garden state. All sorts of delicious berries grow here in New Jersey, including the more common strawberry, blueberry, blackberry and raspberry. So if you plan on eating berries this summer, buy them local! It is definitely worth it. Local berries are picked when truly ripe, making them juicer, sweeter and more nutritious than their supermarket counterpart. There are open-air farm markets and farm stands all over North Jersey- they will definitely have what you are looking for plus so much more. Plus, by buying your produce directly through a farm, you are supporting New Jersey agriculture. To find a farmer’s market in your area check out www.farmersmarket.com.

Also, many Jersey farms have “u-pick” berry patches- a great weekend activity with the kids. Not only do you get to savor the best fruit around.. but the kids get a hands-on mini lesson in food science (where does our food come from?) And what kid doesn’t love playing in the dirt? Find a “u-pick” farm herewww.pickyourown.org/NJ.htm. 

Alright, I’m a novice blogger and the site is still a bit “awkward”.  But have no fear, I’ve taken some down time to sort out the kinks  with a few of my techi friends.  Here’s what I see, but feel free to weigh in with any ideas to make this a more user friendly page.

1) As you may have seen in Second Helpings  (thanks Bill!), you currently have to scroll all the way down the page to read my most recent posts.  Seems like an easy problem to fix - we’re on it.

2) THE PICS - WE NEED PICS (AND VIDEO)!! - Jesse shot a great pic of that Spaghetti w/ Pancetta, Chard and Egg dish, but currently we’re the only ones that can appreciate it.

3) I need to figure out how to hyperlink within my posts, that way I can point you towards anything of interest with a click.  

4) Looking to set up a few interesting add-ons at the side of the page, including things like Campania’s friends, our favorite books, kitchen tools, restaurants, etc. and maybe a bio section on the “cast of characters” here at the restaurant with pics (so that Dave can finally show off his new dreads to the cyberworld).  

Once again, if you’ve got any ideas, feel free to comment in.

At Campania, our menus change, a lot.  During the summer, they change as many times as Todd from the farm calls to tell me that he’s finished on a certain vegetable.  This time of year, swiss chard is full swing and I can’t currently think of a better way to eat it than with spaghetti, pancetta and eggs.

The idea for the dish came to me after I picked up a copy of Arthur Schwartz’s Naples at Table and saw a simple yet inspiring dish of spaghetti tossed with some fried eggs, pecorino and olive oil.  As it was throughout the poorer regions of southern Italy, a dish like this was perfect  - it was equally as delicious and filling as it was economical.  And, as Schwartz put it, the farmers didn’t have to spare their chickens for a meal like this, just their eggs.

From there I thought that we could add a bit of cured pork, along with a bright seasonal flavor to cut through all of that richness.  The dish was initially conceived with our own cured guanciale (pig’s cheeks), but our sous chef Dave (in quite typical fashion) fell off of his curing rotation and we didn’t have enough of it to carry us through this menu run.  So we opted for pancetta, which was certainly the next best option. While a dish of pancetta, cheese and eggs would be perfectly suitable throughout the winter months, we felt it needed something clean and sharp to cut through the richness and to provide a lighter balance for the warmer weather.  So here, we opted to toss in a quick little sautee of Todd’s swiss chard and picked it up a bit with some lemon zest, shallot and chili flake.  A quick little test run with some of the staff and it was quickly unanimous - this dish should be on the menu.  Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti

2 tablespoon olive oil

6 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch dice

1/2  shallot, sliced thin

2 cloves of garlic, smashed with the back of a knife

3-4 loosely packed cups swiss chard, rinsed well, chopped into 1-inch pieces (use mostly the leaves, with a few pieces of the white ribs for texture and bite)

zest of 1/4 lemon (use a microplane here if you have one)

pinch of chile flakes

approx. 1/3 cup pecorino

4 very fresh eggs

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the spaghetti.

In the meantime, heat about a tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sautee pan until very hot.  Add the pancetta and cook just until it begins to brown around the edges.  Adjust the heat down to medium, add the shallot and garlic and cook just until the garlic begins to brown around the edges.

Add the lemon zest and chile flake and stir for about 5 seconds, then add the swiss chard, along with about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.  Cook, tossing frequently, until the chard is tender.

Once the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the sautee pan, reserving a little more of the pasta cooking water on the side just in case.  Toss well.

Now, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sautee pan (just large enough to hold the 4 eggs) over medium high heat until hot.  Carefully crack the four eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are completely cooked and the yolk is just beginning to set.  **The yolk should be custardy, yet not too loose and runny.  Transfer the eggs to the pan and toss well, breaking up the eggs into little bits.  Add a few drops of the pasta water to make a light sauce, if necessary.

Toss in the cheese and season with black pepper (and a bit of salt and/or more chile flake, if necessary).

Turn out into small bowls and pass the cheese.

**As always, play around with this dish according to your own taste.  Try substituting the chard with asparagus, your favorite mushrooms or  some wilted bitter greens (dandelion, beet greens, kale, arugula, etc).

If you attempt the dish, let me know what you think!

The idea to start a blog came to us when we were redesigning our website.  I told our web designer to go ahead and put a link up to our blog, since I would probably have my first entry within a week or so.    That was almost a year ago.  My life is a blur, and a year just blurred by. 

If I were to step outside of myself and view my existence as a chef, I would see a core of intense energy - that part of me that is coordinating and executing the logistics of any given night at the restaurant.  Around that core is a more diluted layer of energy that feeds the core - sleeping, eating and a precious few down moments with my boys.  Just beyond that  is the layer that I so desperately need to get to - the guilt belt.  This layer sucks away at the core, like so many jabs at a bull in a ring, and its many notches include relatives that I haven’t seen or spoken to, full mailboxes of voicemails that I’ve begun erasing in batches, just because I cannot bear to hear the potentially pleading voices from days or weeks ago, missed games with the boys, missed birthdays, missed weddings, and missed oppurtunities to write about the things that I really want to write about.

So here, at least I get to chip away of one of those notches on that belt - one more step in the direction of balance and sanity.

I purchased Campania 2 1/2 years ago, and it has evolved.  The people involved in it have evolved.  We have all evolved in a common direction.  We have all learned immensely and we are blooming, yet  we continue to discover and each time that we do, we remember just how little we all really know.  For me, that’s the draw - the real excitement.  The excitement of stumbling  across a scape while pruning back a garlic plant at my friend’s farm (Todd, about to toss them before asking me if I could use the things, packs a bag for me), and bringing them back to the restaurant to cook them every which way imaginable.  Then at night, googling the odd ingredient only to find out that chefs have been paying a premium for these short-seasoned gems for years.  Today its a scape, tomorrow may be a new technique for making pasta.  What’s the fun of keeping all of this to myself?!

This blog will evolve and may,  organically,  take on a life of its own, as did Campania.  Now that we have started the ball rolling, we will continue to update with stories, recipes, methods, and anything else that we think matters to our fellow guests and foodies. 

So here’s what you can expect:

Jessica, our pastry chef, has been on fire lately - words don’t do much justice for the ciabatta that she churns out each day for the tables .  Look forward to her methods on bread baking and ice creams - she’s a bit obsessed lately.  Jessica’s dessert roster changes constantly - give her a flat of of fruit and in an hour she’ll have it pureed, poached, turned out into gelato, semifreddo or granita, or just use it in a way that my savory mind would not quickly comprehend.

Everald is one of the best chefs that i’ve had the oppurtunity to work with.  When I arrive back from the farm, him and I survey our landscape of ingredients, spend a few minutes talking about our options, and within minutes come up with some great menus.  Him and I can communicate with very few words - when I express an idea for a dish, he’ll just nod and I know he’s got it.  That natural synergy is irreplaceable. 

Dave, our new sous chef, seems to have plenty of interest in curing meats.  We’ve already rolled out our house cured guanciale (pigs cheeks).  Looking to start up pancetta and sopprasetta soon.  What you guys will probably enjoy most are funny Dave stories (oh, there will be plenty). 

The Keuhm family supplies us with most of our vegetables throughut the spring and summer.  We’ll keep you up to date on what’s eating well locally.

Jessica and I will be doing a free cooking class at Chef Central this Saturday (June 21st) at 12pm and a 3hour paid cooking class at Adventures in Cooking in Wayne on Monday July 21st (we’ll be making mozzarella, burrata, and lots of our signature cheese courses).  We’ve got plenty more classes coming up and will keep you current as the dates roll out.

So let’s make this a great forum - we give us your thoughts, you give us yours.   Let us know what you think along the way and what you’d like to hear about.  And, have some patience - i’m sure there’ll be kinks and lapses.  But one thing is for certain - you’ll be learning and discovering in real time with us chefs just as quickly as we can get to our computers!

Joe Cerniglia

Chef