Posts tagged ‘food’

Jul 3

Mixed Berry Cobblers

Happy 4th of July everybody! I hope you have something fun cooked up for yourselves!

I’ve been waiting for this day! Well, more precisely, I’ve been waiting for this month. We’re in full-berry season now! Oregon’s own deep-red-to-the-core strawberries, plump sweet blues and earthy blackberries, and delicate deep-pink raspberries. Why not put them all together and bring them to the picnic? I’ve got some wonderful simple ways to enjoy the fruits of berry season, but I’ll begin here, with these little mini-cobblers. Maybe something like this will make it to your 4th of July table.

But if not today, then maybe soon, while the berries are sun-filled and still sweet with summer.

Mixed Berry Cobblers

(Makes enough for about 8 servings)

These cobblers can be made in little ramekins or mini-casseroles, or mini-cocottes (like the one pictured above.) Or if you’d prefer, you can make one large 2-quart cobbler. The directions up until the end are identical.

Biscuit Dough

1-1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading surface
3 Tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup cold whole milk

Filling

1/2 cup sugar (or vanilla sugar – see NOTE at bottom of recipe)
1-1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
7 cups mixed fresh berries (but not more than 1-1/2 cups of strawberries) (if the strawberries are large, cut them in half)
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped of its seeds – (berries love vanilla, but this is a completely optional addition)

For Serving

Vanilla Ice-Cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream (with a dash of vanilla extract)

Preheat your oven to 400°F; place the rack in the middle position.

Prepare the filling: In a large bowl whisk together the cornstarch and sugar (and the seeds from the vanilla bean if using.) Add the berries and toss to coat evenly. Spoon the mixture into small pots to within 1/2-inch of their tops, or into a 2- quart casserole.

Make the dough: Whisk together the sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter, and using your fingertips, rub the butter in with the flour until the resulting mixture resembles a coarse meal, with butter pieces the size of small peas or smaller. Add the milk and stir just until dough forms. Gather dough together into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured surface where you’ll knead gently 5 or 6 times. (Add flour to the board if necessary to keep dough from sticking.)

If making mini-cobblers: Pat the dough to about 1/2-inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter the appropriate size for your mini-casseroles, cut out enough biscuits to cover your cobblers. Place them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling up and tops are nicely browned. Allow to cool for at least 15 to 20 minutes before topping with vanilla ice-cream or slightly sweetened whipped cream.

Jun 23

3 Comments

Roasted Whole Chicken on the Grill

This dinner all started with kumquats – even though, in the end, it had absolutely nothing to do with kumquats. Now that I think longer about it, this dinner actually started with going out to lunch and trying to avoid a parking ticket.

Maybe it’s just me…but sometimes I like to figure out exactly how I came to be where I am from where I’d just been. It’s often an odd, circuitous path to trace – kind of like that “six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon” thing, if you know what I mean. Have you ever taken a long road trip with someone and after some lively conversation, there’s a period of prolonged but comfortable silence? You think what you’re doing is watching the road or taking in all this amazing scenery, when actually, for some mysterious span of time, you’ve not been where you are at all, and suddenly out of your mouth comes something completely random and seemingly related to nothing. Do you ever then try to figure out (or even explain) how you came to be thinking that particular disjointed nonsensical thought? Well, this night’s dinner happened something like that.

Kumquats - having nothing to do with dinner

My husband and I have kind of a “custom” of going out to lunch on Saturdays. We’ll run a few errands and then pass the ball back and forth until one of us finally makes up our mind about where we’d like to eat, and then we sit across from one another talking about the week, news, politics…or sometimes something even more scintillating (if you can imagine!) We love our Saturdays together. Last week, we were following our usual practice and decided on a great little spot for lunch. We started to park in the lot across from the restaurant but realized it was designated for patrons of a grocery store. We parked there anyway – but felt quite legal about it because we’d just drop into the market first, and then walk across the street for lunch. We had no real reason to be grocery shopping, other than ticket avoidance, but there we were.

The produce aisles always seduce me first, but for my husband, it’s the wine section. So we went our separate ways to meet up later. Weren’t kumquats all done for the season? I thought so, and had said my sad goodbyes – but no! There they were, and they were huge! – well, the biggest I’d ever seen. I was downright delighted to see them and filled a small bag. My heart soon returned to its normal rhythm, but a little further down the aisle, the cutest little potatoes fanned out, in reds and yellows and purples! And they were smaller than the kumquats! Who ever heard of such a thing? I hadn’t, so I got handfuls of potatoes, simply because they were smaller than kumquats. And then, there was asparagus – now that’s gorgeous! That’ll be so good with those potatoes! I’ll do them together, with lemon and salt on the grill! Ah yes, the grill. Hmmm, I’ve never tried roasting a whole chicken on the grill before. I wonder if I can do that successfully? I think I’m just going to need to find that out! And that is how I came to be here:

(You are so incredibly patient with me! Are you like this with everyone?)

Roasted Whole Chicken on the Grill

What I love about roasting a whole chicken: It’s far less expensive than buying the individual parts. It’s so straightforward and simple and after the first little bit, largely hands-off. It can be done in so many different and delicious ways…influences of French, Moroccan, Mediterranean, Spanish. Stuffed or not. Surrounded by vegetables of all different types. Sauce or not. You can cook two at once with almost no additional labor. There’s (almost) always leftovers to turn into another meal. Then there’s the remnants that become a great stock for soups. And my husband loves it. So what’s not to like?

Cooking something on the grill for more than an hour at 400°F+ can only be done successfully using an indirect method. (In other words no coals or gas flames directly beneath the chicken.) So if you know how to cook on your grill using an indirect method, this will be easy! (If you don’t know how, just check the instructions from your grill’s manufacturer, or on line.)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (preferably free-range, organic, humanely raised)
2 lemons, 1 cut in half, the other juiced for basting
fresh herbs of your choice (rosemary, oregano, marjoram, parsley, sage, etc.)
whole garlic cloves, 2 or 3 or more, crushed but not minced
olive oil
salt & pepper

Jun 17

9 Comments

Vanilla Cardamom Ice-Cream with Grilled Peaches

It seemed like such a good idea. The organic peaches had just arrived at the market and were irresistibly beautiful! Plump and fuzzy little things in colors of the summer sun, deep coral, and bright, flushed cheeks. Gently going through dozens, I found six or seven that were perfectly ripe.
I held a notion that peach galette and vanilla-cardamom ice-cream would be a heavenly combination. With the taste already in my mind, I was anxious to get started. I set the bags of groceries on the counter and began making the dough for the galette. I prepared the beautiful peaches, assembled that rustic little pie and popped it in the oven. In the meantime, I made the ice-cream. When everything was done, it all looked quite pretty so I snapped some photos. Then I plated it and took that much-anticipated bite. Everything about it was lovely…except the taste. The ice-cream was fragrant-like-a-flower delicious! But the galette – I don’t mean to be rude – but she was boring! It really didn’t matter how pretty she was…once you got past her looks, there was nothing there.

I knew it wasn’t the fault of the peaches. (Naturally, as I was slicing them I’d slipped a few into my mouth.) I’d sweetened them some and spiced them nicely. Maybe somebody out there has a better idea, but I concluded that peaches and galettes, no matter how good they are on their own, don’t make a good pair. I haven’t had much experience cooking peaches…I love them fresh and bright and dripping juice. My thoughts then went to, Well, how do I cook them in a way that all those lovable things about peaches are preserved? How about if I grill them?! Of course this could be another good idea gone bad, but I had to find out.

I headed back to the store, found a few ripe peaches I’d missed before, brought them home, and fired up the grill. Just a few short minutes later, I was sitting in the sun with my bare feet up, eating heavenly mouthfuls of cold ice-cream and warm peaches!

Vanilla Cardamom Ice-Cream

The very first recipe I posted for this blog was an apple crisp. Here’s the ice-cream I’d promised to go with it. It’s almost indescribably good. Its speckled with black bits of vanilla bean and its flavor is carried on a cloud that touches your nose before the spoon meets your mouth. And if you try it, you’ll know what I mean when I say you’ll never be in a rush to swallow it. Its one of those things you’ll want to savor until the very last, melted spoonful.

2 cups milk or light cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 whole green cardamom pods, lightly crushed (see NOTE)
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (see NOTE 2)

Preparation

Jun 12

7 Comments

Halibut Tacos with Tequila-lime Marinade

It’s becoming apparent, isn’t it? We eat our share of seafood. In these pages what you’ll mostly see is what I get excited about – and this time of year it’s the bountiful variety of fresh-picked produce, grown nearby – and fresh fish, line-caught. Yesterday felt remarkably like – well, summer – and fish tacos seemed like such a festive way to celebrate a day so beautiful.

Halibut Tacos with Tequila-lime Marinade & Red Cabbage Slaw

(serves 4 ~ or more)

For the red cabbage slaw

3/4 pound red cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and grated
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the tequila-lime marinade

1 lime, first zested, then juiced (about 1 tsp. zest and 2 Tbl. juice)
2 Tablespoons tequila
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 small jalapeños, halved, seeds and membranes removed, sliced crosswise into half rings
1 small red onion, cut into thin half moons (about 2/3 cup)
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the halibut

1 pound halibut fillet, skinned
1 Tablespoon high-heat vegetable oil

For the taco bar

Flour tortillas, warmed
Sour cream
Guacamole (for a quick, easy home-made version see NOTE below)
Extra limes

To prepare the slaw, toss the cabbage with the salt. Place in a colander and put the colander in the sink. Using a bowl that fits well into the colander, fill with water and place on top of the shredded cabbage. The weight of the water-filled bowl will force moisture from the cabbage, concentrating its flavor.

In a large bowl, mix together the shredded apple, mustard seeds, cilantro, vinegar and olive oil. Then, using your hands, lift the cabbage and squeeze it well. Rinse the salt from the cabbage with plenty of water, then squeeze again, getting all the liquid out. Combine the cabbage with the rest of the slaw ingredients, stir and season with salt if needed. Set aside.

To prepare the marinade, combine all of its ingredients in a small bowl.

To prepare the halibut, place it in a large pan (glass or ceramic preferably) and pour the marinade over the fillet. Set aside for 20 minutes.

In a grill pan or sauté pan over high heat, add the vegetable oil. Add the halibut, reserving the marinade, and cook until the fish is browned on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully flip the halibut over and continue cooking until the fish is not quite yet flaking (in other words, just slightly underdone. It will continue to cook removed from the heat.) Total cooking time will be about 8 minutes per inch of fish, measured at the thickest part. Transfer the fish to a platter. Then add the reserved marinade to the pan (or get a fresh pan if you grilled the fish) and cook the marinade over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the onions and jalapeños are beginning to char. Then pile this mixture back onto the fish (which should be just perfectly flaking by now.)

Jun 8

1 Comment

Citrus Broiled Shrimp

Apart from the hours the shrimp spend soaking up the marinade, this dish is quick and easy to prepare. These delicately-flavored, citrusy shrimp are especially delicious (if a little finger-lickingly messy) dipped in melted butter. Though the instructions here are for broiling, they could just as easily be cooked over a hot fire on the grill instead. If set to marinate in the morning, they’d make a fast summer dinner with corn on the cob and a fresh salad. (serves 4)

for the marinade

grated zest and juice of 3 oranges
grated zest and juice of 1 grapefruit
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. fish sauce (Asian section of your market)
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 tsp. fresh thyume leaves

the shrimp

2 pounds extra-large shrimp (16 – 20 count)

additions

coarse salt (especially Fleur de Sel)
Melted butter for serving (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the marinade together.

Spread the cleaned, shelled and de-veined shrimp in a single layer in a baking dish. Pour over the marinade, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 4, and up to 8 hours.

Jun 3

8 Comments

Greek Salad with Farro

This refreshing salad, with its bright, fresh herbs, crisp cucumber and sweet red bell pepper, its chewy farro, and bits of salty feta, tastes like summer! It can be the central part of a vegetarian meal, or a side dish for roasted or grilled chicken, or grilled salmon.

Farro is one of those ancient grains making a “come-back,” showing up on modern grocery shelves. It has a nutty flavor and a pleasingly chewy texture, similar to barley and whole wheat berries (which you could substitute in this recipe if you can’t find farro.) Like many other ancient grains, it’s nutrient-rich.

Salad Ingredients

1 cup farro, rinsed
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (see NOTE)
1 red bell pepper, cored & seeded, cut in medium dice
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh dill or parsley (I prefer the dill)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 cup crumbled or diced feta cheese
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes

NOTE: I prefer the long English cucumbers – if you use these, it’s unnecessary to remove the seeds

Red Wine Vinaigrette

3 Tbl. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Place rinsed farro in a large saucepan and cover with 2 quarts of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 to 35 minutes. (Farro will have a similar texture to barley when cooked.) Drain it well and set aside to cool completely.

Jun 2

7 Comments

Grandma Bea’s Banana Bread with Chocolate

Makes two 5 x 9-inch (or 4-1/2 x 8-inch, taller) loaves

Ingredients

3 cups mashed banana (6 – 7) (ripe & soft, but not mushy)
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 eggs
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, plus more for the top (nuts are optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter your loaf pans or line them with parchment paper.

With a fork, mash the bananas well in a small bowl. Add lemon juice to prevent discoloration; stir and set aside.

May 29

4 Comments

Mediterranean pizza from the grill

There will be two of us for our pizza party tonight. Happily, we each love the clean and fragrant flavors of the Mediterranean. So, for us, what we’ll put on our grill-fired pizzas is easy. Tonight, Greeks and Italians join hands and toss a mess of really good things on our pies!

the goodies:

grilled chicken, marinated Mediterranean-style (now this will not be the star of the show, because really, a wonderful pizza doesn’t need meat! – my prejudice coming out! That being said, it IS really tasty.)
roasted red peppers
roasted garlic
drizzles of basil-thick pesto
mozzarella
toasted pine nuts
crumbled feta cheese
fresh herbs (mostly Greek oregano)

Simple, no? Absolutely!! So here’s how:

prepare:

(These preparations can all be done day-of, or day before. It’ll take you maybe forty-five minutes total prep time, depending on whether you’re working alone or with a buddy, and how many children or dogs you have chasing tails underfoot.)

Chicken – At least two hours before dinner, prepare the marinade for the chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 Tbl. olive oil
4 Tbl. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3 whole garlic cloves, crushed with the back of a knife
1 tsp. dried Oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp. lavender flowers (COMPLETELY optional! but fun)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl and put the chicken in to marinate for a couple of hours (if you have the time.) Turn occasionally.

The dough – You’ve already got your pizza dough from yesterday, right? About two hours before dinner, remove the dough from the refrigerator, deflate it, and cut it into four pieces. Form each piece into a ball, cover with plastic. Allow them to come up to room temperature. Deflate again (because they will have been slowly rising on the counter) and form into four discs, 3 to 4 inches across. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Just before piling with sauce and goodies (see below), roll it out (1/4 to 1/3 inch approximately.)

NOTE: When it comes time, you’ll be taking it out to the grill to bake on one side, then bringing it back to the preparation table to top with the good stuff – and returning to the grill to finish cooking.

Cheese -grate or thinly slice the mozzarella. Crumble the feta – reserve the feta for when the pizza comes off the grill. Refrigerate both.

Roasted garlic – you can see how to roast garlic in my recipe on white bean purée dated May 9, 2011. (You can do this the same time you roast the red peppers. Temperatures vary, but you can compromise.)

Roasted red pepper – Either buy them in a jar, or — Cut a red pepper in half from top to bottom, removing the seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet (or in the toaster oven, along with your garlic). Roast until the skin blisters and bubbles and begins to blacken. (This would take about 35 minutes in a 450° oven.) Remove from the oven with tongs and drop into a brown paper bag. Close the bag up and allow the peppers to steam in there for maybe ten minutes or so. The skin will peel right off. Slice the roasted peppers into long thin strips.

Pine nuts – In the same oven or toaster oven, set temperature to 300° or so. Roast your pine nuts, tossing a time or two, and watching carefully because they will go from just right to burnt in a flash.

May 27

3 Comments

Rubbed Grilled Salmon

Once salmon season has finally arrived, this is one of our very favorite ways of enjoying it! It’s anything but ordinary, it’s easy, it’s memorable and it’s positively delicious. It all starts with the rub, a collection of whole spices dry-roasted, then ground. I know the list of ingredients may give the appearance of complicated and time-consuming – but the rub will take you about 15 minutes to prepare, and likely last you all summer and maybe months beyond. The rest of the dish is a snap! You like salmon? You will love this! (You might want to keep the recipe handy – you’ll likely be getting plenty of requests for it.)

The Rub:

In a heavy hot skillet, toast the following ingredients for approximately 4 minutes. You want them to brown slightly and begin to release their aromas. But stop short of smoking!

3 Tbl. coriander seeds
3 Tbl. mustard seeds
3 Tbl. cumin seeds
3 Tbl. dry dill seeds
6 Tbl. fennel seeds

Remove the seeds from the hot pan and allow to cool slightly. Grind in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle. My preference is to have a few whole seeds remaining, but you can grind them as finely as you like. Then add:

6 Tbl. sugar
3 Tbl. kosher salt or coarse sea salt
1-1/2 tsp. finely ground pepper

Mix well. Stored in an air-tight jar, it will keep for months.

The Fish:

Enough salmon fillets to feed your crowd – steelhead fillets are a good substitute

Sprinkle a generous amount of spice rub over the flesh of the salmon and then pat it in place. If you’re going to be using an oven, preheat it to 400°F. If using an outdoor gas grill, bring it up to the same temperature.

May 20

5 Comments

Crepes

When I was a newly-married, very young and inexperienced cook, I decided to make crêpes for my mother’s birthday. Bold move! I’m not sure if I’d ever even eaten a crêpe before, but I’d surely seen them, and knew I’d adore them if given the chance. So I turned to Julia Childs (one of only three cookbooks I had at the time.) Her fully-detailed recipe and the accompanying illustrations gave me all the assurance I needed. The next day, voila! savory chicken crêpes for dinner! And they were a huge hit, talked about for years in our family! I’m thinking that the memory of those crêpes far exceeded their deliciousness, but that’s what happens when the telling of anything gets all wrapped up with love.

There was nothing wrong with that crêpe recipe, in fact it was good, but I’ve found one better. Chef Alice Waters, after spending years in Paris, once thought of opening her own crêperie. Friends prevailed on her though and eventually she opened Chez Panisse, the now-famous restaurant in Berkeley, instead. Still, her long-time love of crêpes is evident in every tender bite of these delicate little pancakes. You’ll taste it, I promise.

Here I’ve filled them with whole-milk yogurt (or substitute sour cream) and ladled on strawberries, sweetened and bathed in Grand Marnier. We have a couple family birthdays this weekend and this will be a treat worthy of the occasion. Breakfast or dessert? Must we choose?

(The batter is best made a day in advance. Julia advised the same.)

Buckwheat Crêpes

(makes about 4 cups of batter, enough for 30 crêpes)

In a small saucepan, warm the following:

2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
4 Tbl. (half stick) butter

Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and cool.

In a bowl, measure and stir together:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buckwheat

Make a well in the flour and with a wooden spoon, stir in

1 Tbl. vegetable oil
3 eggs

Stir until the batter is smooth and free of all lumps. Then, beginning with just a spoonful at a time, add the milk and butter mixture, incorporating fully with each additional spoonful. About half way through the process, you’ll be able to add the remainder all at once; whisk to blend thoroughly. (If you have any lumps remaining, put the batter through a strainer.) Finally, whisk in:

1/2 cup beer

Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator one hour before frying.

With a moistened cloth or paper towel dipped in vegetable oil, lightly grease a 6- to 8-inch fry pan (with shallow, sloping sides). Put the pan over medium heat. Using a small ladle or large spoon, pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter. Tilt and rotate the pan quickly, spreading the batter out to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. Cook until brown, just a minute or two. Lifting one corner of the crêpe with a very thin spatula or a butter knife, pick the crêpe up with your fingers and flip it over. Cook briefly on the other side, no more than a minute. (As with other pancakes, you can consider your first two or three to be trials. I should add that the buckwheat will continually drift to the bottom of your bowl, so give the batter a stir each time you ladle new batter out.) You can stack the crêpes on a plate as you go, covering with a tea towel. Just before serving, spoon in the desired filling, fold crêpes in fourths like little handkerchiefs, and put them in a hot oven for just a few minutes. Then spoon on the topping of your choice and dust with a sprinkling of sugar.

These are also tasty with good jam or marmalade folded inside, topped with either sour cream (that’s been thinned with a bit with cream), or crème frâiche, then dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

For Savory crêpes: These crêpes are equally delicious as a main course when filled with a savory filling. (Think mushrooms, crab, chicken, vegetables, cheese, etc etc etc.! If I get any specific requests, I’ll be happy to share!)