Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Easy and Quick Hor d’Oeuvres October 25, 2009

For this month’s installment of the Foodbuzz 24 event I did a spread of easy and quick hor d’oeuvres. I had some good ingredients in my pantry already so I whipped them up for a lunch with a few good friends.

Piquillo Peppers, Lemon Oil & Zest, Sherry Vinegar

Piquillo peppers are such a delicious ingredient. They are northern Spanish peppers which are hand-picked, roasted, peeled, seeded and jarred. All the work is done for you beforehand. I seasoned them with lemon oil, sherry vinegar, lemon zest and a pinch of orange-thyme salt.

Pecorino Bean Crostini, Pickled Zucchini

I’ve made bean crostinis countless times. What can I say? I love them. They are really versatile, inexpensive and of course tasty. This time I added pecorino to the bean puree and paired it with Zuni Cafe’s pickled zucchini. The tangy crunchy pickles were a nice contrast to the creamy bean puree.

Pickled Cherry Peppers, Tuna, Basil, Pinenuts

I had pickled some cherry peppers recently which were sitting in the fridge unused. They make a perfect hor d’oeuvre base once its top is cut and it’s deseeded. I stuffed them with a salad of tuna, basil and toasted pinenuts. I used imported Spanish tuna which is higher quality and more delicious than the domestic stuff. The cherry peppers had a pleasant kick of spiciness.

Crostni with Dry Rubbed Home-Cured Bacon, Crescenza Cheese

I made a simple mix of smoked paprika, brown sugar and black pepper and rubbed this over thick-cut home-cured bacon and let it marinade overnight. After baking them off in the oven I combined it with creamy Bellwether Farm’s Crescenza cheese on a crostini. Needless to say these were very popular. Even all the leftover bacon was polished off. Easy and quick hor d’oeuvres, always a pleasure to host with.

Green Bean & Sungold Tomato Salad with Mustard Seeds, Marjoram October 19, 2009

If a salad could convey summer, this salad must be it. Barely cooked green beans and sungold tomatoes tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. Seasoned and flecked with crunchy toasted mustard seeds and fresh marjoram with its intoxicating scent. A wonderful combination of flavors and texture. Juicy and crunchy, sweet and herbal, tart and nutty. Sure, it’s almost Halloween, but rest assured this being LA you probably can still make a summer’s salad to satisfy your vegetable needs.

Ricotta Gnocchi, Succotash with Bacon, Heirloom Tomato Confit October 6, 2009

I don’t think I’ve ever made the same dish twice in such a short amount of time. Four days to be exact! The initial results were great but I wanted to twik it just a tiny bit. Here’s the new and improved version. The ricotta gnocchi are smaller. The succotash has homemade bacon in it along with red pepper instead of purple pepper that was used previously. I also decreased the amount of tomato confit that was served in each bowl since it is pretty potent and I wanted the succotash to be the star. This time I finished the dish with basil instead of chives. My eaters agreed the sequel was more tasty and attractive. I really love the mouth feel of ricotta gnocchi. It has a soft chewiness that is downright pleasant. I made a whole batch and the leftovers are freezing right now, to be then bundled up and put away for a busy day. All I have to do is throw them in boiling salted water in their frozen state and cook them until they float to the top and voila the meal is practically ready.

Ricotta Gnocchi, Succotash, Heirloom Tomato Confit October 5, 2009

I came across lima beans at the farmer’s market and knew I just had to make succotash. Succotash is Narragansett for “boiled corn kernals”. Succotash differs regionally though but the common link is the combination of corn and beans, which together are supposed to create a complete protein. I was excited to cook with lima beans as I’ve never had them before.

Succotash is a delicious side dish on its own but I wanted to do my own twist on it as a whole meal. I thought ricotta gnocchi would go great with the vegetables. I was so nervous to make this since my first and only time was such a disaster. Flour and I don’t mix very well. But they turned out great! I already got another tub on ricotta for my second batch. Yay.

I also wanted to add tomatoes to the mix but not actually cooked with the other vegetables. I made an heirloom tomato confit following the Lucques recipe for its yellow tomato confit. The tomatoes are cored and cooked in a 400 degree oven with red onion, chile de arbol, garlic, water and olive oil. This produced a pan of cooked tomatoes that smelled more fragrantly delicious than I had ever imagined. I pureed this in the blender and sieved it.

Once the ricotta gnocchi was boiled I sauteed them in butter until slightly browned and then combined it with the succotash. The final plate featured the flavorful tomato confit topped with the gnocchi and succotash and minced chives. I garnished the plate with a ricotta stuffed and roasted cherry pepper. I’m going to give dish another go this week with a minor changes so expect a sequel!

Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup with Watermelon, Basil, Habanero September 29, 2009

It’s almost the end of September and yet I find myself holding on to the heels of summer. Feeling like I was running out of precious time I loaded up on heirloom tomatoes, corn and peppers from the farmer’s market last weekend. Feeling inspired by the produce I wanted to keep things very simple but unique at the same time. I tried out the combination of tomato and watermelon. I had felt hesitant about this pairing when I’ve seen it on menus before but I knew with sweet heirloom tomatoes it would be delicious.

I skinned and pureed reddish hued heirloom tomatoes and seasoned it with fleur de sel and freshly cracked black pepper and placed it in the fridge to chill. I plated cubed watermelon in a soup bowl with basil, minced habanero, lemon oil and freshly cracked black pepper. The soup was poured at the table. I forgot to take a picture after the pour though because I was in such a hurry to eat it. Summer is staying alive in my kitchen at least a little while more.

Apartment Therapy’s Quick Weeknight Meals Contest! September 28, 2009

I entered Apartment Therapy’s quick weeknight meals contest! I made a delicious meal of Dry Rubbed Steak & Shrimp with Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad. Please vote for me if you get a chance by Wednesday 11:30AM! You have to register in order to vote but it only takes a minute.

VOTE HERE

Thank you!

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Not From Scratch with Trader Joe’s August 29, 2009

For this installment of the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 event I made a meal utilizing premade items from Trader Joe’s. And not from scratch! I really enjoy making food from scratch but a lot of people I know do not. But it doesn’t mean you can’t make a great meal with quality store-bought ingredients.

Trader Joe’s is filled with so many delicious packaged foods, both savory and sweet. Although they lack in produce quality they surely make it up with their ready to eat foods. For the first item of the night I hit up their green olive tapenade, which is actually more of a green olive, tomato and red pepper spread. I wanted to make mini green olive tapenade and brie pastries but only to be thwarted by the fact that Trader Joe’s does not carry puff pastry anymore. Perhaps turnovers using pie crusts? Nope, they discontinued that also. Boo. So I went with green olive tapenade provlone toast which were a hit.

If there is one thing I really dislike doing in the kitchen it’s cleaning artichokes. So behold jarred artichokes. What convenience they are. I initially made a salad of arugula, prosciutto and artichoke but got inspiration in the middle of the night and made this layered salad with harissa chickpeas, artichoke hearts and early girl tomatoes. I added a dollop of yogurt on top and some fresh thyme leaves. A drizzle of lemon harissa oil decorated the dish.

Trader Joe’s boxed butternut squash soup has many fans. Because of the oppressive heat I ended up serving this soup cold for an impromptu twist. The twist resulted in a delicious success though with the creation of chilled butternut squash soup with yogurt, garlic almond pangritata. I sprinkled piment d’espelette and mint chiffonade on top. This turned out to be a great combination of flavors and textures. Thank goodness I had yogurt sitting around in the fridge because it made the chilled aspect of the soup work well with its refreshing tanginess.

Trader Joe’s also carries cooked black lentils, another super convenience item. Sure lentils don’t take a long time to cook but it saves a lot of time to not have to wash the pot and what not. Channeling Cobras & Matadors’ sauteed green lentils I made a crispy black lentil and sungold tomato salad with goat cheese mousse. I fried the black lentils in about a half inch of olive oil and threw in sliced serrano ham and scallion at the end. I drained it on a paper towel, salted it and tossed with sungold tomato halves just with a light drizzle of red wine vinegar. The creamy tangy goat cheese mousse was a perfect match to the salad which had a lot going on but oh so harmonious. I served toasted baguette slices to that the items could be scooped up together and devoured.

So if you’re afraid to take the plunge and make a multi-course meal from scratch or are just strapped for time gather some inspiration from your quality store bought items and make a great meal for yourself or your loved ones. Or impress a date! Cheat a lil bit and you can still enjoy the pleasures of cooking.

A Summer Dinner August 25, 2009

I made dinner for a few friends the past weekend at my friend Ellen’s place which she has renovated with an awesome kitchen. It houses an island over 16 feet long with its own sink, wine fridge, shelves for cookbooks and a microwave, and tons of very organized storage area for all the kitchen tools and tableware. And the best of all a six burner Viking stove and french door Viking fridge. As you can imagine I was super excited to be cooking in this kitchen. Could I possibly have more surface area to work on? I think not.

Here was my summer menu:

Vadouvan Gougeres

These look like typical gougeres but I added a spoonful of vadouvan to the batter. They came out golden, puffed up and with a hint of earthy curry.

Scallop Ceviche, Elephant Heart Plum Salsa, Habanero, Chives

Raw scallops have to be one of my favorite edibles ever. And lucky for me even the anti-scallops people loved this dish. I sliced the scallops thinly and marinated it in lime and lemon juice. The salsa was made with super sweet and juicy elephant heart plums, habanero, minced onion and lemon juice. I finished it with lime zest and a scattering of minced chives. The well seeded and deveined habanero added just a hint of spice. I am becoming very addicted to this chile and its fruity flavor. If you come across a habanero cut it open and take a big whiff. The aroma is so floral and fruity and intoxicating.

Chopped Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, Pepper Salad, Yogurt-Tahini

My other favorite thing is salads featuring tomato (if you couldn’t tell already) and the combination of tomato and cucumber. I combined heirloom tomato, pepper and cucumber and added few slices of lemon peel stuffed olives, yogurt tahini dressing and mint. The crisp looking thing is garlic wafer which I made following the Chefs Arzak’s recipe. It is basically boiled and mashed garlic that’s been spread thinly and dehydrated in the oven. So simple but so genius. Mine got a lil over toasted because I had them in the oven with the gougeres but it made it out just in time.

Asparagus Mornay, Ham Powder, Piment d’Espelette

Next up was something classic and homey – asparagus mornay. Mornay sauce is bechamel with the addition of cheese, in this case gruyere. The asparagus were trimmed, ends peeled and blanched in salted water. Then blanketed with the warm mornay sauce and sprinkled with serrano ham powder (another brilliant Arzak idea) and piment d’espelette, a Basque pepper.

Flat Iron Steak Bordelaise, Sweet Corn Oatmeal, Rosemary

From the moment I was planning the menu I knew I would have to cook steak bordelaise. Since I made veal stock and demi-glace I have not used any of it up. The day before dinner I salted and peppered the steaks so that it would be well seasoned and juicy. To pair with it I made a savory oatmeal sweet corn, parmesan, onion and thyme. I finished the dish with finely chopped fresh rosemary. The bordelaise sauce was so deep and flavorful. I made the sauce by reducing some red wine and adding in the demi-glace. I whisked in a bit of cold butter at the end. Bordelaise sauce rules. Period.

Homemade Ricotta, Plum, Cantaloupe, Honey

Dinner concluded with Ellen’s summery dessert of homemade ricotta, plum, cantaloupe and honey. It was a perfect simple end to the dinner and the ricotta was delicious.

Just Another Salad August 24, 2009

Chopped salad of heirloom tomato, yellow pepper, Persian cucumber with red onion, habanero, mint and yogurt-tahini dressing.

Braised Lamb Shoulder, Vadouvan, English Peas, Cilantro Orange Gremolata August 18, 2009

At the end of May I figured I still had a small window to sneak in a hearty braise before the warmth of summer took over. I got a whole lamb shoulder from the butcher and had him cut it up into six chunks with the bones in. The meat was browned in olive oil and then chopped onion, garlic and vadouvan in the meat drippings. After the pot was deglazed with red wine and chicken stock the lamb chunks were added back in the pot and the whole lot simmered for about two hours. When the braise had cooled down a lil bit I separated the meat from the bones in large chunks and added a healthy squeeze of lemon juice.

Rustichella d’Abruzzo’s cencioni pasta was perfect match for the braise. They were huge ovals, smooth on one side and the other side so scraggly that any sauce that would befall it would get stuck for a totally flavorsome bite. When the braised lamb was brought back up to a simmer and I added the fresh English peas and cooked pasta and let it soak up the sauce. Finished with a sprinkling of refreshing cilantro orange gremolata the braised lamb pasta made for a delicious hearty meal.