Posts tagged ‘food’

Oct 16

green salad with caramelized pears, walnuts & cheese

I have a thing for pears. I didn’t always have a thing for pears. But today my thing for pears is huge. And I think perhaps you need no more of my words on pears, but only to gaze (with your own eyes) upon their shapes, their colors, their stems, their dimples and imperfections, to know why it is I have this thing called love of pears.

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pears in pairs

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Of course it’s not all about their looks. They’ve got that whole flavor and texture thing going on too. Here’s one delicious way to enjoy these beauties. For this recipe, I like d’Anjou or Barlett or Comice – and since you want them to stand up to the heat of caramelizing, begin with under-ripe fruit.

My husband’s got a thing for blue cheese. So, that’s one way you could make this salad (and I did for him) – but just as good (and far better if you don’t happen to like blue) is Parmigiano-Reggiano. Each of these cheeses pairs up beautifully with pears.

I told you in an earlier post about this Olive Oil store near us. (Also on line www.oilerie.com) We were in there the other day to re-stock on our lemon-olive oil. (So good!) Do you think I could walk past the pear balsamic without tasting? Do you think I could walk out of the store without a little bottle tucked under my arm? (oh it was paid for!) The salad I made for us last night was made with pear balsamic and walnut oil – neither of these are necessary – at all! Olive oil and any good balsamic will do perfectly. But I had them, and it was good. Very good.

Green Salad with Caramelized Pears, Walnuts & Cheese

with Walnut-Balsamic Vinaigrette

for the salad:

arugula or lettuce of your choice
walnuts (toasted for 10 minutes approximately, in 350º oven) (or candied pecans or walnuts – see post May 9th, 2011)
cheese of your choice (gorgonzola, other blue, parmiggiano – or perhaps you have another in mind)

for the vinaigrette:

good olive oil (or walnut oil)
balsamic vinegar (infused or not)
kosher or sea salt & pepper to taste

for the caramelized pears: (these quantities are for 2 salad servings)

1 pear (see above for varieties)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it on hand)
balsamic – a splash – optional Read more

Oct 13

10 Comments

chicken tortilla soup

Here’s a soup that pleases crowds. Everyone in our family makes and serves this soup and everyone, from little kids to (occasionally) grumpy grandpas, loves it. A fairly long list of ingredients, but it’s a soup easily concocted, and easy to double or triple when entertaining bigger groups. If a soup can be casual and fun, this one is.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

(serves 6)

four 6-inch corn tortillas
about 2 teaspoons olive oil (to brush on tortillas) + 1 Tablespoon (to sauté vegetables with)
2 – 14 ounce cans low sodium chicken broth (or 28 ounces of your very own!)
2 cups water
1 -14.5 ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with juice (or see photo for alternative)
1 small can of green chiles, chopped (mild)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cream of corn (the only time I ever use this stuff!)
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
½ large yellow onion, chopped (1½ cups)
½ red pepper, chopped (about ½ cup)
2 generous Tablespoons fresh lime juice
12 ounces chicken breast meat (from a grilled, roasted or rotisseried chicken) (see NOTE)
2 green onions, sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro

(NOTE on the chicken: If you use an home-done oven-roasted chicken, save the juices from the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate and remove the fat from the top, and incorporate the tasty juices into your soup.)

Garnishes:

sour cream
tortilla chips (Tostito lime chips are great here!)
grated cheddar cheese
sliced or chunked avocado
a drizzle of hot sauce of your choice – or a sprinkle of the seasoning blend of your choice (like the fabulous “Uncle Jim’s Secret Spice” – if you’re lucky enough to be Jim’s sister)

(Please imagine shredded cheddar on the bowl below. Sadly, I forgot to add it before I grabbed my camera, so anxious to lift the spoon, I was!)

If you wanted to add rice, or zucchini, green beans, mushrooms, or a little sweet potato, you could customize this soup entirely to suit your tastes. Didn’t I tell you it was fun?

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Sep 29

3 Comments

biscotti – two ways

Biscotti are rustically charming Italian twice-baked cookies. Dough is first formed into a long roll and baked, then cut on the diagonal and baked a second time to dry them. They’re a delicious, even politely meant-to-be-dunkable treat. In Italy, biscotti are dunked into coffee and enjoyed for breakfast. In the evenings, after one of their famously-long and leisurely dinners, biscotti might be dipped into wine (especially vin santo.) In that sense, they’re a sort of chewable, meltable, endlessly-adaptable delivery system for the beverage being enjoyed alongside. Biscotti have made their way stateside, though some of them are highly sweetened and fancified and bear little resemblance to their Italian ancestor. I’ll offer the more traditional sort here.

What we love about biscotti:

they’re positively delicious when, bite-by-bite, they’re softened in coffee

they fall into the “treat” category without being overly sweet

even after weeks (if they last that long) they’re as good as ever

they make someone a sweet little present

they look so cute in a jar

I sent out sample packages of two versions for a vote. The results were close, but the lemon-aniseed version narrowly beat out the orange-walnut among testers. This was a very limited sample so I wouldn’t read much into it if I were you. They’re each good, and each has a following, but my husband and I come down on the side of the Grand Marnier-walnut. With fans in each camp though, I thought it only fair to let you decide for yourselves. (I’d start with the walnut – but you already knew that.) Post a vote if you like! And if you find a way of pairing your biscotti up with a favorite beverage or frozen dessert, I’d love to hear your discoveries.

Grand Marnier Walnut Biscotti

3/4 cup walnuts
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier (or substitute a brandy or Cognac of your choosing – see NOTE)
zest of 1 orange – about 1 Tablespoon
2 cups plus 2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting your board)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Sep 27

7 Comments

looking ahead

The other day, I spent an afternoon meandering through a local community farm, breathing in the last fragments of our warm, blue-skied days. For half of us, summer’s quickly leaving town, moving south. For us up north, no more lolling away the days on lawn chairs (did we get around to doing that?) No more sipping piña coladas while nightly grilling up our dinners (oh how romantically we remember it!) or tossing our bountiful summer salads (now that we did.) Autumn’s come. It’s not all bad. Yes, rain and wind and chill. But also, the gathering in of family and friends; and still, food and drink to delight in, warm to, and share.

(For a closer look, you can click on an image to open the photo gallery. Click on it again to enlarge.)

So, with billowy clouds climbing fast through a nearly-saphire sky, dry leaves flying in crazy circle patterns, and my stomach growling because I haven’t fed it lately, here are my thoughts for autumns’s table. Things may change, much like the weather, but that’s to be expected. I’ll happily share everything that’s good with you.

Sep 3

6 Comments

gazpacho

Have you ever wondered how to take a refreshing summer salad and turn it into a soup? I hadn’t either, but apparently the Spanish had, and the result is gazpacho: Cool refreshing gorgeous coral pink velvety deliciousness! If you’ve never tasted gazpacho, this is far better than you would imagine. (Believe me, this is nothing like v-8 juice.) If you’ve had and appreciated gazpacho before, you may very well love this version! With the incorporation of country bread, very good olive oil and aged sherry vinegar, it’s got a depth and complexity of flavor that leaves you licking your happy lips and holding out your glass for maybe just a little more. This can be a first course, served in champagne glasses if you like! Or serve it for lunch or on a hot summer evening along with some crusty bread and cheese. Absolutely no cooking required.

Classic Gazpacho

(serves eight)

For the Soup:

2 cups cubed day-old country bread, crusts removed
2 medium-size garlic cloves, chopped (see NOTE)
1 small pinch of cumin seeds or ground cumin
coarse salt (kosher or sea)
3 pounds ripest, most flavorful tomatoes possible, seeded and chopped
2 small Kirby (pickling) cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 large Italian (frying) pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (see NOTE 2)
1 medium-size red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped red onion
1/2 cup fragrant extra-virgin olive oil (of very good quality)
1/2 cup chilled bottled spring water, or more as needed (optional – I didn’t use, and was very satisfied with the result, but you may choose to add)
3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar, preferably aged, or more to taste

For the Garnishes:

Finely diced cucumber
Finely diced peeled Granny Smith apple
Finely diced slightly under-ripe tomato
Finely diced green bell pepper
Slivered small basil leaves
Toasted, Herbed coarse bread crumbs

Place the bread in a bowl, covered with cold water and allow to soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the bread, squeezing out the excess liquid.

Place the garlic, cumin, and ½ teaspoon salt in a mortar and, using a pestle, mash them to a paste.

Aug 24

3 Comments

the rest of summer – & stuffed red bell peppers

If you’ve been following along, you know that for me this summer has not been about maintaining a steady, even pace. For at least four weeks, it almost seemed as though you’d need to poke me to know I was still alive. : ) There were whole days in fact when I could do little but stare out a window. Then the pace, following surgery, suddenly changed. Daily, for the next three weeks, I was shot out of a cannon. My youngest brother was marrying his sweet love at our house (!) and I had everything yet to do! Inside, outside, all around the house! I’m delighted to say that they were married this past Saturday…and everything was . just . plain . lovely ! Sixty or so of the nicest people, a beautiful and moving ceremony, a stringed trio, a veritable feast, and so much love it was contagious. Quite a few of us left euphoric…but no one more so than my brother and his new wife.

Health, happiness and a long, sweet life together, Jeem and Darlyn!

Today I think I may be hitting one of the gears I missed between the two extremes of summer. I am back to humming in my kitchen, and happy to be back in your company again. Expect me to be keeping it in third gear for the rest of summer, with a steady stream of food-stuff I’ll be wanting to share.

But I begin by emptying my refrigerator. I have a few too many red bell peppers and oodles of feta. I have farro (that wonderful nutty Italian grain tasting something like barley, but actually an old-world wheat.) And oregano (passed down from our Greek Yaya) is spilling out of the herb garden. So let’s stuff ourselves some peppers!

These can be served as a side-dish or as the center of a vegetarian meal. Perhaps with green salad or fresh green beans drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with coarse salt and thin strips of fragrant, fresh basil.

(If you don’t have or can’t find farro – it is worth the hunt – substitute with brown or white rice – or barley – or that little pasta, orzo.)

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers with Farro and Feta

4 red bell peppers, medium to medium-large – (peppers with broad bottoms will stand up better)
1 cup farro
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil) – diced
1-1/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes (along with their juice)
3 – 4 green onion, thinly sliced
1-1/2 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped, or 2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
4 cloves of minced garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Pepper and salt to taste (keeping in mind that the feta will impart its own)
A little extra sauce from the the crushed tomatoes (or catsup if you like) to spread over the top

Optional: 10 black or Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

Garnish: toasted (& herbed) bread crumbs for the peppers once they come out of the oven (see NOTE)

Set a large pot of water to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Cut off the top 1/2 inch of the peppers (reserving these tops for later) and remove and discard the cores and seeds. Submerge the peppers in the boiling water and boil for about 3 minutes – peppers will just be starting to soften. With slotted spoon, remove the peppers to a paper towel to cool and dry. (Place open-side up to prevent over-softening.) No need to discard the cooking water.

To the boiling water add one cup farro and cook for about 15 minutes or until done al dente. (Depending on the type of farro you use, cooking times can vary by quite a bit.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Read more

Aug 8

4 Comments

Zucchini pancakes with feta & mint

Can we all just agree that we have very little interest in hearing more abdominal surgery or recovery-complication stories? Can we agree too that surgical scars really aren’t all that attractive, and most aren’t even very impressive, so they’re probably best kept under wraps? Can we all agree that what brings us here is either the necessity of putting full plates on the table, or the sheer Love of doing so? Oh good, thank you! You don’t know how happy that makes me!

For the remainder of the summer and probably through September, I’m focusing my food-related attention on all the fresh, eye-poppingly colorful bounty in farmers’ markets or – if we’re so lucky – our own overflowing gardens. And, just to be a tiny bit contrary, I’m beginning with Z.

A dear aunt of ours – Maureen – was an artist. She was one of those rare individuals who created beauty out of whatever materials her hands touched. She painted hundreds of beautiful canvases; she was a master gardener whose green thumbs astounded; and she was a pastry chef whose desserts had to have been divinely inspired (or maybe Maureen was always an angel.) I think she’d be surprised to know though, out of all the beautiful and spectacular things she left us, this humble little vegetable pancake is one of the things I remember most fondly. Somehow, it just takes like home.

Tonight it’s an easy dinner for us. A short stack of these lacy little cakes, juicy slices of heirloom tomatoes with coarse salt and olive oil, a Greek flatbread with olives and mint, and a little leftover grilled halibut.

I never heard our Greek Ya-ya refer to these as anything. I doubt that she ever tasted them. But I love to imagine what she’d call them if she had. I think something like: zucchini pana-cake-ya’s. Maureen simply called them zucchini patties.

zucchini pancakes with mint and feta

(or what Ya-ya would have said)

3 medium zucchini, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 (or 2) cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 finely sliced green onions
1 cup flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup grated feta (about 5 ounces)
3/4 cup grated Fontina, Monterrey Jack or other mild white cheese (about 2-1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan (about 1-1/2 ounces)
oil for frying (grapeseed or canola both good)
pepper (add salt to taste if needed later) Read more

Jul 24

2 Comments

Ali’s Summer Salad

My daughter Ali is an enthusiastic, aproned artist in the kitchen, and is all about putting love on the table. She called the other day to say that while at play she’d created a salad she thought I’d like. I’ve been impatiently waiting for my appetite to return because (even while sick) the sounds of this salad set off sweet harmonies and the songs of birds in my head! : ) Last night I was finally able to make it, and once again, the birds did sing!

Ali’s Champange Summer Salad with Chicken, Peaches and Avocado

(serves 4 generously)

Salad Ingredients

2 quarts (8 cups) salad greens – (a salad mix, with some of the spicier, more peppery greens is great – or arugula)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and sliced (see preparation options below)
2 firm-ripe peaches, medium-thinly sliced
1 avocado, cut in chunks or thinly sliced
5 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pepitas (optional)
1 – 2 Tablespoons Lemon Verbena minced (very optional, but wonderful if you have it)

Champagne Vinaigrette Ingredients

1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
1-1/2 cups canola oil

Options for the Chicken

Quick & Easy – Preheat oven to 350°F. Place breasts on rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Brush both sides of chicken with olive oil and generously sprinkle with coarse salt and a little pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes (depending on size and thickness, or until chicken registers 160°F on and instant-read thermometer.) Allow chicken to cool to room temperature. Just before combining with other ingredients, slice diagonally across the grain in 1/2-inch slices.
Slow & Scrumptious – Marinating the chicken before cooking using the following marinade (good also for shrimp or any white fish) and then preparing in the oven or on the grill will add more juicy flavor to your chicken.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 t. dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in a gallon-size zipped plastic bag. Pound chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic until uniform thickness, around 1/2-inch. Marinate refrigerated for 4 to 24 hours. (Even after several hours, there is plenty of good flavor.) Grill or cook using any method you prefer until internal temperature reaches 160°F. (See #1.)

Champagne Vinaigrette

This makes a LOT of dressing, and you certainly won’t need it all for this salad. But it IS very delicious and if you look, you’ll have no trouble finding other places to use it during the next week or so. (Virtually any combination of greens and fresh summer fruits would likely do very well dressed in this. That being said, you could easily halve this recipe and still have leftovers.) This could well be a dressing you’ll go to again and again. ( It can keep quite well for a week or so refrigerated.)

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients except the oil. Using a whisk, gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream until creamy.

Jul 13

5 Comments

a bowl of irony & a jar of sunlight

Spree’s been down with a stomach bug – blech! The doctor has called for bland. For the last several days, no appetite at all. My husband’s gone to the store (twice) to fill my wish list – and then, not meaning to be ungrateful – I turn my nose up. How in the world does spree do bland? What an irony!

Spree’s White Rice

2 teaspoons clarified butter (or olive oil if you haven’t any)
1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white basmati rice
2 cups water
chopped cilantro as garnish, optional, but just about perfect

Put clarified butter (Ghee, in India) into a heavy pot. Add cumin, fennel and coriander seeds and toast over medium-low heat until (as my friend from India says) “they go chit chit,” which is to say they crackle and get medium-toasty brown. Add the rice, salt and stir to coat with butter. Add your water and bring to boil. Stir once. Reduce heat to simmer for 18 minutes. (Don’t peek.) Turn heat off and allow rice to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and serve with something colorful and savory…if you can. (But even unaccompanied or unadored, it satisfies.) A sprinkling of chopped cilantro over top, nice!

A Jar of Sunlight – Clarified Butter

Butter is a combination of butter fat, milk solids and water. Clarifying removes the water and milk solids, leaving pure buttery goodness and elevating the smoking point. With clarified butter, you can now turn up the heat without risk of smoking up your kitchen or blackening your lovely meal plan. It has an absolutely wonderful aroma and delicately-toasty taste. It keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a month. (Some grocery stores will sell ghee in the refrigerated section.)

a jar of sunlight

8 ounces unsalted butter

a heavy pot
a jar
a piece of dampened cheesecloth

Jul 4

7 Comments

Tuna Salad Nicoise

If ever I see Salad Niςoise on the menu, my choice might just as well have been made for me. Every other listing on the menu gets obscured behind shower-glass. I can’t quite make it out. Reading glasses don’t help. That’s how much I love Salad Niςoise!

The first time I tried this salad, years ago, I prepared it myself. Even though as newlyweds we were counting pennies, I was wanting, so badly, a new cookbook – something really amazing to add to my “library” of two. (Or was it only one?) I’m still kind of perplexed at my choice, because I had next to no experience in the kitchen, but I thought at the time my selection made sense. “Why not start at the top and learn from Julia Child? She has her own TV show! And she speaks French! She probably knows just about everything.” It was blind luck I suppose that I stumbled upon this salad before trying my hand at (deflating) a souffle, or braising beef tongue for Pot-au-feu (gag reflex), or making oeufs en gélee (poached eggs in aspic, if you can imagine!) I fear I never would have found Salad Niςoise if I hadn’t happened upon it before the others! Over the years, it’s undergone a few changes – but nothing major. Some things just possess that kind of status. They’ve earned their place. It’s the sort of thing that you’re a bit awed at the very sight of, you dip your head with respect, allow for a moment of silent appreciation, give in to the smile that’s forcing its way up, then raise two forks and begin! (OK, just one.) For me, that’s Salad Niςoise. It gets me every time.

Tuna Salad Niςoise

(serves 4 main course meals)

This salad originated in Nice, France. It’s fresh, clean, light, summery, deliciously lemony, a little salty here and there…and is one of those things that’s far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a composed dish – arranged in any manner that suits the artist – that would be you. The key though is to treat each component in a way that brings out the delicious best in it. The ingredients that are cooked are done so separately, and most are then tossed in a little vinaigrette before being arranged on the platter. The components of this salad can ALL be prepared ahead of time, put in their own containers, loaded in the cooler and taken on a picnic, then artfully assembled on site! Can’t you just hear Julia now? “Tres chic picnic!”

I happen to love seared Ahi. Rare. For me, a little satisfies deeply. But, if you don’t have access to it, or aren’t enamored of it, you can use a good canned albacore tuna – when packed in extra virgin olive oil its taste is very good. For years, I bought tuna packed in water, but I’ve learned since that loss of flavor is the price you pay for that exchange. Because more of you will probably opt for the canned tuna, I’ll write the recipe for that. If seared ahi is your preference, I’m assuming you’ll know just what to do – sear in very hot pan one minute or so per side.

Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced (or to your taste)
3 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon wine vinegar (not balsamic)
1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard or 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & Freshly ground pepper to taste
Fresh or dried herbs – especially fresh thyme leaves

Make a smooth paste of the minced garlic, combined with the salt. Whisk in lemon juice and wine vinegar. Add mustard. Slowly whisk in olive oil, or place it all in a lidded jar and shake until emulsified.

Salad Ingredients

1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch watercress (optional)
8 plum tomatoes, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, (tossed with 2 T. olive oil & 1 T. balsamic vinegar)
5 – 10 sprigs of thyme or lemon thyme
1- 6 or 7 oz. can of albacore tuna in extra-virgin olive oil (preferably troll caught)
3/4 pounds fingerling potatoes (or small white or Yukon Gold potatoes)
4 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half
1/3 cup (or more) Niςoise olives
1/2 pound fresh green string beans
5 anchovies packed in salt (or a 2-oz. tin of flat fillets in olive oil) – Optional !
lemon cut in wedges for serving

Serving suggestion: Serve with toasted crusty bread drizzled with olive oil.

I’m about to give you directions for slow-roasting the tomatoes with olive oil and thyme. They’re really delicious this way, and add a different dimension to this salad, but if you haven’t the time, or would just prefer them un-roasted, then skip to the next step.

Roasting tomatoes. Prepeat oven to 300°F. In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper and place cut side down, with a sprig of fresh thyme tucked beneath. Bake for 45 minutes or 1 hour, or until tomatoes are “sun-dried” and lightly caramelized. Read more