Arugula Toasties

We loved the other night's arugula pesto so much we are finding excuses to use it. Today I topped thick slices of wheat bread with the tasty pesto and slivers of buffalo mozzarella for a quick broiled open-faced sandwich. Delicious.

Flank Steak On The Grill

I know I've said it before, but when I need an idea for meat I turn to Bruce Aidells. He wrote the book on meat, the bible of beef, the tome I wish I wrote, The Complete Meat Cookbook. It's not exhaustive by any means (or else why would we need Aidells' Complete Book of sausage and Complete Book of Pork) but the book's collections of marinades, rubs and cooking techniques can still rescue a cook lacking ideas. Today I decided on a Bourbon marinade for our flank steak. I mixed 3 TB olive oil, 1/4 cup bourbon, 2 TB dijon mustard, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 TB minced red onion, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 TB salt, 2 TB red wine vinegar, 1 TB worcestershire sauce, and a good sized pinch of crushed red peppers (my addition not Aidells') and let the meat marinate in the fridge all day. If we weren't still celebrating the official grilling weekend I might have left it in the fridge for another day to let the flavor really soak in. I grilled the steak over medium-high flame for about 15 minutes, turning every 3 or 4 times as it cooked.

As a side I put sliced potatoes, olive oil, butter, fresh oregano, sliced garlic, thyme and marjoram in a tin foil packet and cook those on the grill for about 1/2 hour.

Welcome summer.

Grilled Chicken

Memorial Day Weekend -- the official holiday of grilling.

I soaked chicken drumsticks in a mixture of buttermilk, S&P, and cayenne for about 12 hours to tenderize the meat, and then laid them on the hot grill, along with a load of sliced vegetables, to crisp on each side. Then I turned the grill to medium and let everything cook through (about 15 minutes for the chicken). As the vegetables came off the grill I drizzled them in a fresh parsley sauce (1 cup parsley, 6 TB olive oil, juice of one lemon, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp crushed red chiles, salt mixed in the food processor). To give the chicken a bit of lemony flavor, just before the piece were cooked through I rolled them in a mixture of 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 TB olive oil (I cooked the garlic in the olive oil until it just started to sizzle), 1/4 cup lemon juice and a tsp of dried oregano and placed them back on the grill to crisp.

Impromptu Raclette

I dug up a hill of potatoes today. I needed to make some room in the garden. Bean plants had to go in. So let's call these very new potatoes -- a small harvest of small Russian Banana Fingerlings.

To show off our harvest I decided to go simple. I boiled the potatoes until tender, laid them in a baking pan with a bit of butter and olive oil and chopped garlic sausage (french style -- a salami really) and topped them with melty, creamy, luscious, Morbier cheese.

After a couple minutes under the broiler James had a mini-raclette all his own.

Pesto Spaghetti

Every now and then (more often than not) I wake up in the middle of the night and flip around for something to watch on TV. Last night I caught Chef Sara Foster of Foster's Market, a cook I have long admired, showing Martha Stewart how to make a green bean salad with arugula pesto.

Through the day I couldn't stop thinking about that pesto. I had all the ingredients in the house. I just wasn't sure how James feels about pesto -- whether an uncooked sauce on his pasta would be a disappointment.

None the less I loaded the food processor with 4 cups of arugula, 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of slivered almonds, juice of one lemon, 4 peeled cloves of garlic, S&P, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. I pulsed a couple times along the way adding ingredients and gave everything a final whirl to arrive at a chunky texture. I cooked green beans and peas in boiling water and tossed them, along with the drained pasta and a good sized dollop of the sauce for James' dinner.

This pesto is so delicious I may forget all about basil. I will certainly make it again, and I may conveniently forget it is not my recipe. It would be perfect as a dressing for summer salads, spread onto a grilled sandwich, or as a topping for house appetizer favorite caprese salad. It is light and rich and playful all a once.

James went back for seconds.

Everyone Loves Pie

Truth be told, the other night's pie was nice to look at but not a good crust. Just not a good pie. I tried a new recipe and let's just say I was not happy with the result. I felt the need to redeem my pie making abilities (and reputation) with another effort. Today's dessert, cool creamy buttermilk pie, one of my favorites. I made a flaky crust (back to Nick Malgieri's fool proof recipe) and laid it into a pie plate. Then mixed 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 3 TB of flour, 1 stick of butter (melted), 1 TB of bourbon, and 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk. I poured the filling into the fluted crust and baked for 40 minutes at 325º. Let the pie cool before serving and you will be rewarded with a slightly tangy, almost lemony (though there is no lemon in the recipe) delicate custard filling.

Dinner With Shari

A little after work dinner with our friend Shari. I planned to make scallop and corn fritters, using up some of our leftovers from the other night. I must have been talking or distracted and not measured the flour correctly because my usually puffy thick fritter batter (oyster fritters are a specialty) ended up more like batter fried bits of scallop and corn. Not at all what I intended. Not that pretty to look at. But a happy accident just the same. Crispy and delicious.

The salad was a quick combo of Rosette de Lyon salami (mild and yummy), red onion, honeydew melon, fresh mint and loose leaf lettuce with a peppery vinaigrette. Simple and fresh.

Dinner With Denny

I needed an easy, make-ahead, look like I can do it in my sleep kind of dinner for a friend of James' that was coming to dinner. Costco had a big tray of scallops on a super sale. I figured I could build a dinner around them.

We started off with a tray of cheeses and paté easy and always a hit. And, another good excuse to use our home candied kumquats. Then for our meal I steamed some asparagus and dressed them with sliced blood oranges, olive oil, sesame oil, and toasted hazelnuts.
Though they got a little crispy on top these baked scallops really are the ultimate convenience food. With the oven set to 375º I melted some butter with white wine and snippets of prosciutto and sliced garlic in an enamel pan. Then I added in the scallops and coated them in the sauce, and topped the whole dish with crumbled ritz crackers (I can hardly believe it myself) and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The scallops baked for 10 minutes and then I put them under the broiler for 3 (should have been two) to crisp.
As a second side dish I pulled our a recipe I have been saving for eons. Roasted radishes. The trimmed radishes are sautéed for two minute sin hot oil and then put into a 500º over for 15 minutes to cook through. Then back on the fire I added in butter, lemon juice, and the reserved radish greens just until they wilted. The radishes were the hit of the night. Now there is a seldom heard phrase. But, it'll be more common around here soon.

Always Room For Dessert

Lemon meringue pie.

Meyer lemon curd I made and froze during our short lemon harvest. A quick, pre-baked crust and a mound of meringue. A classic American dessert.

Antipasto Salad At Home

The other night, though I didn't report on it, James and I joined our friend Shelly for dinner at local legend Casa Bianca. This humble neighborhood joint with well worn red-checkered tablecloths and cozy vinyl booths is the kind of place you might think didn't exist anymore -- especially within driving distance of LA. But, pretty much any night Tuesday through Saturday you'll find a line at the door (no reservations, no credit cards) waiting for hearty (dare I say it heavy) Italian American specialties and crispy pizza. This is not gourmet. Yet there is something so friendly and nice (and affordable) about Casa Bianca that we keep going back, especially with Shelly.

Though we had our usual dishes of Shelly's spaghetti al burro and James' sausage pizza, the highlight of the night (at least for me and James) was the antipasto salad. We've had it before and always liked it but tonight it just hit the spot. So much so that a few days later James mentioned he could have just had that for dinner (of course that would have kept him from cold pizza snacks the next day) and could we have something like it.

Never one to shrink from a challenge, especially if it involves culinary one-upsmanship, I set to work designing our dinner salad. I boiled some eggs. Then I chopped a mound of iceberg lettuce and radicchio and mixed in some loose leaf mesclun. Next came dry salami, mortadella, prosciutto, black and green olives, sliced pepperoncini, and fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes. I dressed the salad with lemon juice, olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of oregano then topped my creation with the eggs and a dollop of fresh ricotta -- just like at Casa Bianca.

For The Halibut

I don't make fish very often. But, I found this lovely recipe in Food and Wine for Thyme Crusted Buttery Halibut with Parsley Sauce. And, the author suggested serving the delicately pan fried fish with mashed potatoes. I knew that would be a winner with James -- and I have freshly harvested potatoes from our garden. Shallots, lemon juice and olive oil are mixed in the food processor to form a simple sauce. The fish is coated in thyme and seasoned Wondra flour and pan fried in, you guessed it, butter.

The result is a crisp fillet nestled in fluffy mashed potatoes and brightened by the colorful parsley oil.

Fish for dinner. Not so bad.

Spaghetti Bolognese

We've had funny weather here lately. Threatening to rain, wind blowing, cold for this time of year. It's the kind of weather that makes you glad you have no where to go. The kind of weather that begs for something bubbling on the stove.

I had already defrosted a package of our Hearst Ranch ground beef and was just waiting for inspiration to strike. The weather inspired a hearty Bolognese sauce

I chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the food processor and cooked it (seasoning with salt and pepper) in olive oil until the moisture had just about evaporated and then added in the beef (and more salt to season) and turned to heat to high. The meat browned in about 15 minutes. Following Anne Burrell's lead I added in a bottle of red wine and let that cook down for about 5 minutes then stirred in 3 small cans of tomato paste, 2 bay leaves, and a bunch of thyme, tied with kitchen twine. I poured water to just cover and let the mixture simmer for the rest of the afternoon, periodically adding more water and letting it cook down to intensify the flavor.

To serve I mixed a good knob of butter into the drained pasta along with a ladleful of sauce. I topped the spaghetti with a bit more sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Just the thing for a wintery day in May.

Duck, Duck, Kumquat

Now that I have candied our kumquats I am seeing them everywhere. Baked into delicate pistachio financier's, dotting the cream cheese frosting on a gingerbread layer cake, and this recipe I found in Food and Wine, Duck Breasts with Mustard and Candied Kumquats. Completely unexpected. I had to try it.

Skinless breasts marinate in wine, mustard and rosemary before being sautéed in olive oil. As the duck is resting, shallots, jalapenos and more minced rosemary cook down in the same skillet. The remaining marinade is added in and cooked to an almost syrupy consistency, followed by more mustard (both grainy and Dijon) and the candied kumquats. the resulting sauce is sweet and spicy and the perfect foil for the full-flavored meat.

I can't let good fat go to waste. I rendered down the duck skin and fried up a platter of duck fat potatoes for James' side dish. Duck two ways.

Salad and Dessert

Save room for dessert. Salad for dinner.

To start I roasted cauliflower florets and rinsed salt-packed capers dressed with a little olive oil in a 400º oven. I let the vegetables cool and then tossed them together with chopped chives, radicchio, shaved pecorino romano cheese and a lemon juice and olive oil dressing. Simple light and delicious.
For an easy follow up I roasted summer squash and tossed the still warm slices with fresh marjoram from our garden. To finish I drizzled on a buttermilk herb dressing: 1 part olive oil, 1 part white balsamic vinegar, 2 parts buttermilk, S&P, finely chopped chives and thyme leaves.
I know it's not the 80's anymore but I am still a fan of panna cotta. When I need to make dessert and don't feel like making too big a mess or need a do-ahead sure-fire hit I turn to panna cotta. For today's version I dissolved one packet of gelatin over one cup of cream in a saucepan. After five minutes or so I added in another cup of cream, one cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of sugar and heated the mixture gently until the sugar and gelatin dissolved. I added in a large bunch of basil, covered the pot, and let the milk steep for about 20 minutes to subtly flavor the dessert. I served James' milky dessert topped with candied kumquats. The tangy fruits and gentle herb flavor made what might seem a dated dessert feel very today.

Chicken Club

Sandwiches for dinner. A grilled chicken club sandwich. Simple.

Following a recipe from Bill and Cheryl Alters Jamison, I marinated chicken breasts in worcestershire sauce and a tiny dash of canola oil for about an hour in the fridge. Meanwhile I cooked up a couple slices of bacon and made up a spicy pecan butter by cooking 1/4 cup of diced onion in 6 TBs of butter, along with a good dash of cayenne, until the onion had softened. I brushed the chicken with the butter and grilled for about four minutes on a side until just cooked through.

I layered mustard, red onion, lettuce, chicken, and bacon -- drizzling with pecan butter as I built -- and topped the now towering sandwich with a slice of Swiss cheese. After a turn under the broiler to melt the cheese I served up James' dinner with a side of olive oil fried potatoes -- home-grown, of course.

Grilled Shrimp

When I spied these more than jumbo shrimp at whole food I decided to grill them with a little spice and serve them with a cool, light salad.

I marinated the shrimp (in the shell) in a mixture of garlic, cayenne, paprika, olive oil and lemon juice for about half and hour and grilled them on each side until just pink and cooked through. The salad was a hurry up mix of cooked bulgur wheat, chopped cucumbers, diced red onions, parsley and mint (just a little bit) dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

A light dinner to remind us summer is on the way.

Candied Kumquats

When I bought my house it came with a not quite impressive looking kumquat tree. Each year in spite of cold and shade this little tree grows stronger (though not particularly more beautiful) and produces more and more fruit.

It's nice to walk by and pop one of the tangy orange fruits in my mouth (you eat them rind and all) or use the leafy branches in flower arrangements. But each year I find myself wondering . . . What am I going to do with all those kumquats?

There have been shaker-style pies where sugar and fruit melt to an ever so tart custard. Last year brought a batch of dark marmalade, surprisingly delicious with pungent cheeses. I've salted them, brandied them, even cooked them in a Moroccan chicken tagine.

And there are always the seeds. Little fruits with lots of little seeds.

Recently I've spied quite a few recipes online for candied kumquats and tantalizingly elegant ways to use them, alongside roast duck, as a condiment for cheese, adding punch to a chocolate torte, creating a sauce for delicate panna cotta. I was so delighted with the idea of little glistening fruits propping my dishes I set to slicing hardly noticing the seeds that in other years have kept me away from the kumquat harvest.

To candy I gently simmered the slices in simple syrup until the orange skin became translucent. I processed the jars in my hot water canner so we can add our home grown candied fruit to dishes all year long.

I can hardly wait for next year's harvest.

A New Pizza

Tonight I was feeling a little bold. I wanted to try something different.

I layered fresh ricotta, red onions, thinly sliced cauliflower, bits of ham, with compté cheese, parmesan, and of course a drizzle of olive oil.

I always know I've done okay when James goes back to the fridge for cold pizza later that night or the next day. I might just make this one again.

Cauliflower Spaghetti

I generally feel that pretty much anything can be made into spaghetti sauce, or more properly a "condimento" as Mario Batali would no doubt clearly annunciate. Though in all my years in Italy I never heard it said. Hmm must be the company I keep.

In any case for James' pasta tonight I sautéed cauliflower florets in olive oil until they were just a bit brown and added in a good handful of chopped pancetta, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes and let the mixture cook over medium heat until the bacon was crispy. I deglazed the pan with a splash of white wine (I had some open) and added in about 2 cups of chicken broth. I left the cauliflower to simmer until tender with the pan partially covered. All of the similar recipes I read said to toast breadcrumbs in olive oil and set aside before cooking the cauliflower. I was just to lazy to involve more dishes and for just a minute after the cauliflower was cooked and the liquid evaporated off, I moved the vegetables to one side of the pan, added in a couple TB of olive oil and toasted a handful of breadcrumbs right in the same pan.

I added my "condimento" to the drained pasta along with a handful of shredded parmesan cheese and about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. After a good hard stir the cheese and water formed a creamy sauce to coat the bits of bacon and cauliflower. The bread crumbs gave the dish a little crunch and body.

Fava And Asparagus Panzanella

Today I harvested the last container of fava beans. I wanted a dinner dish that showcased my beloved beans, no heavy sauces or cover ups. I wanted my favas to be front and center. I glanced through a couple cookbooks and landed on a fava bean panzanella (bread salad) in Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. (James gave me the book for Christmas and this is the first recipe I've made) I decided to riff on this simple salad for James' dinner.

In the past I have always made bread salads (usually with tomatoes) with stale bread that gets ever so slightly mushy as it sits in the dressing. Robertson opts for crispy pieces of bread, so first I made a tray of croutons by tossing chunks of bread (torn not cut) in olive oil and salt and a sprinkling of herbes de provence. That was Robertson's idea but I thought it was a nice touch. The croutons baked for 15 minutes at 400º.

Next I turned my attention to the vegetables. I thinly sliced one red onion and soaked it in 1/2 cup red wine vinegar and water to cover for 30 minutes. A quick pickled onion for the salad. I shucked, blanched and peeled my precious fava beans and steamed asparagus (cut in bite sized pieces) for the salad. I tossed the salad (bread and vegetables) with a handful of fresh mint leaves and a quick dressing made from the zest and juice of one lemon combined with 1/2 cup olive oil and salt. Since ours was a main course salad I topped James' panzanella with a lightly poached egg and shavings of parmesan cheese.

James is a big bread lover so I thought this salad would be a giant hit. Turns out James said the bread made it harder to get to the fava beans. He had to dig for them. So, I guess my beans were the stars after all.

Whole Grains For Dieting

I really like brown rice. I thought I'd try a diet friendly pilaf -- well, steamed rice and vegetables. All I did was mix rice, dried mushrooms, chicken broth, chopped carrots, chopped onion, garlic, thyme and a pinch of salt in the rice cooker and turned it on to cook. When the rice was finished I fluffed it with a fork, mixed in some frozen peas and parsley and let the rice steam until the peas were cooked (about 5 minutes). To give james a little extra flavor I sautéed some fresh mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, butter and thyme and laid them on top of the rice.

Tomorrow I'll make something just for him.

Another Try

James is pretty supportive of my constant and vacillating efforts to lose weight. This time it's a try at Self Magazines Drop 10 Challenge. First diet dinner? A turkey and spinach meatloaf that I have to admit was pretty good (1 lb of turkey, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs, 1/2 chopped onion, lots of minced garlic and several handfuls of chopped spinach made four servings after baking for 40 minutes at 350º). It's not pizza but it's not bad.

Just Plain Steak

Everyone needs an easy night now and then. I took a couple steaks out of the freezer. I coated the steaks in crushed peppercorns (black, red and green) and smoked salt and placed them on a hot iron skillet to sear on all sides (about six minutes total). The steaks finished in a 500º oven for about five minutes. Although I generally don't like smoked salt just sprinkled on food, as a crust on a steak or added to a pot of beans it adds a welcome depth of flavor -- a little bit of campfire, in a good way.

Broccoli Telefono

"Honey, if I put on some water can we have spaghetti?" James called from the kitchen.

I had just walked in from work and started to type up some notes from the day -- forgetting, for a moment all about dinner.

The water was already boiling when I popped up so I decided on a quick broccoli sauce (I had a bag of florets in the fridge). I dropped the spaghetti into the salted, boiling water and when it had four minutes left to cook added in the broccoli. I saved about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid and put the drained spaghetti (with the broccoli) back into the cooking pot along with a large handful of shredded pecorino cheese, lots of cracked black pepper, about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and a good sized knob of butter. I gave everything a good stir combining the broccoli (and breaking it up a bit) and the cheese into a light sauce. Somehow I felt a little extra cheese might be right and I added some cubed, fresh mozzarella to the pot and let it melt and form the long chewy strands the Italians call "al telfono."

Grilled Pork Chops

A week or so back I put some pork chops with a buttermilk marinade in the freezer for a future meal. Today I defrosted the package and heated up the grill for James' dinner.

After I drained the chops from the buttermilk (the marinade had onions and hot sauce and garlic in addition to buttermilk) and coated them in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano, and S&P. The breading on grilled food may be unusual but I find with pork chops that can easily dry out it helps protect the meat and keep it nice and juicy. All it takes is five minutes on each side over a medium hot fire. On the side I served lemon roasted potatoes and a frisée salad with crispy radishes, roasted asparagus, and tangy sheep's milk cheese.

Mortadella Pizza

I don't know why I never thought of it before. I love mortadella, the Italian smoked bologna studded with pistachio nuts. I love buffalo mozzarella. Mortadella pizza, what have I been waiting for?

I spread the crust thin and topped it with a drizzle of olive oil and rounds of fresh mozzarella followed by wide slices of the delicious smoked bologna (how did I come to love Mortadella I never eat American bologna) and a dusting of parmesan cheese. I sprinkled the top with chopped garlic and fresh thyme leaves and popped our dinner pizza in the oven for 17 minutes.

Really, what have I been waiting for?

Sort Of So So

Some nights, though I am embarrassed to admit it, dinner is just okay.

"It's still better than what anybody else is having," James will cheerfully say. My ego likes to think he is right, but I'm not so sure. I found this recipe on-line while looking for ideas of what to make with fregola, the Sardinian toasted and rolled pasta specialty that is often slow cooked like risotto. I wanted to do something new and found this potato and fregola soup recipe. Pancetta, onions, celery, carrot, leeks, potatoes and fregola, I actually pretty much followed the recipe except for adding some diced zucchini -- and a bit of butter and a dash balsamic when the soup seemed a little bland. But still, it was just okay.

Trader Joe's Strikes Again

I like to think I am too grass-fed, seasonal, locavore, food snob to be seduced by Trader Joe's. But I am not. Okay, we buy our meat on-line, get our fruits and vegetables either from our garden or the farmer's market, and cheese is now a regular gourmet affair (except for fresh mozzarella and the occasional tub of shredded parmesan I grab from Trader Joe's). It hardly confirms my food pedigree but I kinda love TJ's. It helps to stock the kitchen with -- dare I say it, convenience foods. Ingredients perfect for dinner in a hurry.

I had a class to dash out to a class and so I needed something quick cooking for James' dinner. I turned to a package of arugula and parmesan ravioli (cooks in four minutes) I found in the TJ's cold case. I topped it with a make-ahead ragú of mixed mushrooms. First I soaked some dry morels I happened to have in hot water for about 30 minutes. Next I sauteed sliced mushrooms (a mix of cremini and oyster I found at the farmer's market) and chopped rosemary in olive oil. After about five minutes I added a chopped onion and minced garlic and continued to cook for about three minutes more. When the onion was soft and the mushrooms were just getting a bit brown, I added in the drained and chopped morels, 1 cup of red wine, and 1 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid along with S&P and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms were soft and flavorful. I finished the sauce with a knob of butter.

Once I drained the ravioli I added them to the pan with the sauce along with about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and a handful of parmesan cheese. I gave everything a couple gentle turns over very low heat and dinner was ready to serve.

More Clams

We eat a lot of clams. Whenever I feel like I haven't been very nice to James. Or he does something particularly thoughtful. I generally think I should make clams for dinner. I'm not even sure James likes clams as much as I think he does, but still I present them as a recurring special treat -- and I never like to serve them the same way twice.

Tonight I stared off with diced bacon. The meat crisped in the pan in a little olive oil and rendered out some tasty fat. Next I added in chopped garlic, crushed red chiles, sprigs of thyme, chopped parsley, chopped chervil, one cup of white wine and diced home-grown potatoes. I covered the pan and let the potatoes simmer (maybe a bit more than simmer) for about 5 minutes and then added in the washed clams and a good sized (dare I say it almost a stick) of butter. I turned the heat up to high and let the clams steam, covered, for about another 6 minutes (these were small clams). After the clams were opened I let the sauce boil just a bit longer (I should have done this after removing the clams but with the potatoes and bacon it was just too busy in there) to thicken up.

I served up this latest clam recipe with lots of crusty bread to soak up the deliciously buttery sauce.