Almond Crusted Snapper, Heirloom Tomato-Picholine-Caper Salad, Pea Shoots June 22, 2008

I have so many nuts I need to use up from my pantry! A quarter cup here and there of six different varieties doesn’t really help to get to the bottom of the bags. Now that the poppy seeds are almost done I am ready to move a new pantry challenge. I have some of sliced almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts, pinenuts and blanched almonds. And TONS of pistachios. There must have been an accidental I-definitely-don’t-have-that-at-home purchase sometime. I also have almost full containers of walnut oil and hazelnut oil. Yikes.

Today’s lunch was about attacking some of the almond meal which had been long forgotten in the freezer until recently. I dredged snapper in almond meal and sauteed it in olive oil and butter. The almond meal added such a nice nuttiness to the fish. I served it with a salad of heirloom tomato, picholine olives, capers, lemon juice, olive and tons of fresh herbs including parsley, persian mint, cilantro, and marjoram. A few wedges of lemon and a small bundle of pea shoots and the dish was done. Summery, simple and super quick!

Duck Confit, Parmesan Pudding, Summer Squash & English Peas, Vadouvan Butter June 19, 2008

Last weekend the farmer’s market was loaded with beautiful spring and summer produce. The fragrant aroma of sweet peaches and apricots hit me as I shopped. Such a nice thing to experience after waking up. Along with yellow peaches I snagged up adorable baby summer squashes and the long-ignored English peas. It was my first time getting peas at the farmer’s market this whole year. I’ve been so neglectful. I cooked the vegetables in olive oil and butter and served it with the last of the duck confit and leftover parmesan pudding. I finished it with a drizzle of vadouvan steeped butter.

Pork Katsu, Parmesan Pudding, Peach Succotash June 18, 2008

I wanted to make use of leftover peach succotash which had been a victim of my chicken and waffle redo attempt. While things didn’t work out for the succotash at that end I wanted to revive it in another dish so my efforts wouldn’t goto waste. Sweet corn polenta was the easiest choice considering I already had polenta and an ear of corn at home. Eventually I decided on making pork katsu. If you’re like me cutting down on grocery time is important sometimes. I’ve already gone to the market four times this week – once to the Korean market, once to a produce market near my work, and twice to Trader Joe’s. But I’m so glad I made the extra trip for the pork because it was a great match to the peach succotash and Suzanne Goin’s parmesan pudding.

Each component of the dish was very simple – panko breaded cutlet fried in olive oil; peach succotash composed only of peaches, corn, roasted red pepper and butter; parmesan pudding made with cream, milk, egg and grated parmesan. The last minute addition to the dish was the katsu sauce. I sweated onion and rosemary in olive oil and butter, deglazed it with white wine, added chicken stock and bottled katsu sauce. Once it was reduced I sieved it to get all the solids out. I returned the liquid to the pan and mounted it with butter over low heat. The sauce was so delicious. My parents really enjoyed the food.

We drank Taburno Falanghina, a Piedmontese white wine, with the meal. This was also used in the katsu sauce.

Poppy Seed Crusted Scallops… June 17, 2008

Poppy Seed Crusted Scallop, Avocado Puree, Pickled Cherries

I made two versions of poppy seed crusted scallops. Both were paired with an avocado puree and the first one was paired with pickled cherries, a French Laundry recipe that is an accompaniment to a slice of foie torchon. I thought the lightly pickled cherry would be good with a sweet succulent scallop. The creamy buttery avocado would be another layer of delicious flavor. This dish was tasty but it was missing an element. In retrospect I should have made a marinated red onion and herb salad to strew over the scallops and avocado puree.

Poppy Seed Crusted Scallops, Avocado Puree, Cherry Salsa

The second version of the poppy seed scallops was paired with a cherry salsa. The salsa was made with pitted bing cherries, onion, lemon juice and olive oil. So simple. This version of the scallops was the winner with the combination of the sweet scallops, creamy avocado and the sweet and tangy cherry salsa. The crunchy raw onion bits in the salsa made such a difference between the two versions. The first one just needs a lil tweeking. Perhaps it’ll make a comeback!

Poppy Seed Waffle-Eggs Florentine with Parmesan Hollandaise June 16, 2008

Believe it or not I still have some poppy seed dishes left in me. Waffles have been on my mind lately from my feeble attempts to rethink the popular chicken and waffle. I made poppy seed belgian waffles and topped it with sauteed spinach and shallots, eggs mollet and parmesan hollandaise. Voila! A waffle version of eggs florentine. It happened by accident actually. First I thought of which vegetables to pair the waffle with. Then I thought real hard about the sauce and I could not come up with much but hollandaise. Parmesan hollandaise? Even better. Bacon lardons were also part of the mix but I made the dish vegetarian this time around for my vegetarian friends. Do include bacon lardons in yours!

Ooh look at that yolk oozing out. I loved the poppy seeds in the waffles too. They added a nice crunch of course and extra nuttiness. My friends loved the dish.

Happy Father’s Day! June 15, 2008

I made my dad waffles this morning – whole wheat Belgian waffles with dried blueberries in the batter with fresh farmer’s market organic strawberries and peach, cinnamon sugar and warm maple syrup.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there!

Buttermilk-Poppy Seed Biscuit, Duck Confit, Savory Cherry Compote, Creme Fraiche June 10, 2008

Biscuits – another way to use poppy seeds! Fresh from the oven the warm buttermilk biscuit was fluffy, buttery and now also pleasantly crunchy from the black seeds. I paired it with duck confit (also begging to be used up) for a little appetizer. I topped a biscuit half with shredded duck confit and savory cherry compote made with fresh cherries, red wine, orange juice, sugar and spices. The lovely duck confit and cherry compote pairing is straight out of Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook. I finished the dish with a quenelle of tangy creme fraiche to contrast with the earthy spices of the duck and compote. A few sprigs of microgreens later and the cute appetizer was ready to be consumed. I saved the skin from the duck leg and made a cracklin out of it. Delicious!

The original inspiration for this dish was the Thanksgiving-themed sandwiches of deli turkey, cranberry sauce and cream cheese that I used get at a sandwich shop during the college days. Duck confit for turkey, cherry compote for cranberry sauce, and creme fraiche for cream cheese. And of course , the touch of poppy seeds.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread June 8, 2008

I wasn’t going to skip out on making lemon poppy seed bread in my poppy seed endeavors. It’s old-fashioned and downright delicious. This is because I absolutely love lemony baked goods. Lemon bars would be my downfall if I ever made them. Ooh, how about lemon bars with a poppyseed shortbread base? If I don’t show up at the end of this week it would be safe to assume I’ve overdosed on lemon bars.

But let’s get back to the task at hand – lemon poppy seed bread. Who doesn’t like pound cake? Add the zesty flavor of lemon and the crunch of poppy seeds and you’ve got one edible quick bread. The only thing I would change next time is to increase the amount of lemon zest. Otherwise the bread was quite delicious!

—

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
from JoyofBaking.com
adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s recipe

3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin of the lemon)
3 tablespoons (30 grams) poppy seeds
13 tablespoons (184 grams) unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Syrup:
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch) (20 x 10 x 7 cm). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds until combined. Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute. This aerates and develops the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition. This will strengthen the structure of the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may have to cover the bread with buttered foil after about 30 minutes if you find the bread over browning.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with about half the hot lemon syrup. Cool the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes then invert onto a greased wire rack. Brush the remaining syrup onto the bottom and the sides of the loaf. Reinvert the bread so it is right side up and then cool the bread completely before wrapping. Store at least overnight before serving to allow the lemon syrup to distribute throughout the loaf.

Makes 1 loaf.

Kolachy June 7, 2008

A few weeks ago when a friend was talking about kolachies I had no idea what they were. I got on the net of course and thought “oh those!”. Although I didn’t know the name of those tasty treats I definitely remember eating these many times. The more research I did the more I learned about the various kolachy, kolach, kolacky and kolache recipes out in the world. It was confusing at first since the spellings were only slightly different from each other but basically it came down to Czech yeast-based breads or Polish cream cheese dough pastries. The reason I was doing my little research was because my Polish friend Kasha’s birthday was coming up and I wanted to make something nice for her. Good thing I figured out which pastry was right for her.

I made two varieties – one with apricot jam and the other with a homemade poppy seed filling. Yay another reason (and a very legitimate reason at that) to use my poppy seeds. I adapted a recipe I found on the web substituting black currants for dates since that is what I had around. The filling never thickened though probably because I use the currants which are quite unstickier than dates. I loved the crunch of the seeds but the filling was not sweet enough. For next time I was thinking of combining poppy seeds and fruit preserves into a single filling. The jam would hold everything together and make an actual filling, not scattering seeds. Is that totally against kolachy rules though? I made a few hybrid ones today with the leftover dough scraps and they were pretty good. Fruity, sweet, jammy and with the unmistakable crunch (and look) of little poppy seeds.

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Kolachy – Polish Cream Cheese Pastries
recipe from Epicurious

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons water for egg wash

Make dough:
Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl until combined.

Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with a paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld. Reduce mixer speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

Assemble and bake cookies:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining pieces chilled) between 2 (12-inch) sheets of well-floured wax paper with a rolling pin into a roughly 11-inch square. (If dough gets too soft, transfer dough in wax paper to a baking sheet and chill until firm.) Discard top sheet of wax paper and trim dough with a pastry wheel or sharp knife into a 10-inch square. Cut square into 4 equal strips, then cut crosswise in fourths again to form a total of 16 (2 1/2-inch) squares.

Working quickly, place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in center of each square. Brush 2 opposite corners with egg wash, then bring corners together and pinch firmly to adhere. (If dough becomes too soft, freeze it on a baking sheet for a few minutes.)

Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until golden, 17 to 20 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and filling on a lined cooled baking sheet.

*I used Trader Joe’s Organic Apricot Preserve for one of the fillings which was delicious! and easy.

Leek & Goat Cheese Tart with Poppy Seed-Goat Butter Crust June 5, 2008

Another thing I wanted to try with the poppy seeds was to make a lemon meringue tart but with a poppy seed crust. Since I have more savory tendencies though I ended up making a savory tart. First I made the tart dough using a pate brisee recipe substituting some of the flour with poppy seeds and unsalted butter with goat butter. For the filling I sauteed pancetta, leeks and peas, seasoned simply with salt and black pepper. I filled the blind baked tart dough with the filling once it had cooled a bit and poured over the custard mixture which consisted of a eggs, cream, crumbled goat cheese and chives. I sprinkled a bit of grated parmesan on top and baked it off. This was pretty easy to whip up and I got to use up about 1/2 cup of the poppy seeds! That’s good news. I’ve got another ball of poppy seed-goat butter dough in the freezer for another day when I want to whip up another easy tart.