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 very quick!

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!

Turmeric Shrimp Noodles April 11, 2008

I’m still waiting for my brand new spankin camera to arrive in the mail so I’m hailing back to some old dishes I never posted about. A while back my friends and I headed to Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater for a leisurely weekend lunch. I had a delicious bowl of dill & turmeric fish noodle. The fish is marinated in soymilk with turmeric. Hence the beautiful golden hue. I rather enjoyed this light and clean Hanoi-style noodle dish so I decided to make a quickie version at home with shrimp. I marinated peeled and deveined shrimp with turmeric, soymilk, garlic, and fish sauce. I boiled some rice stick noodles which never softened up enough for my taste but did its job anyhow.

However the shrimps were so plump and tasty. I topped the shrimp and noodles with crispy fried shallots, refreshing cilantro, and toasted peanuts. I also made a little sauce with minced Thai chili peppers, fish sauce, garlic, and lime juice. I need my spice you know. Delicious.

Dinner for the Folks March 28, 2008

Often when my parents have relatives or friends visiting they ask me to cook dinner for them. My immediate answer is usually maybe since I would have to give up a chunk of my leisure hours to undertake the project. But then my mind gets churning with ideas and I start thinking of menus. There’s no turning back at that point. Plus since my parents would be paying for the ingredients I have an opportunity to be a bit more extravagant than usual [although trying to convince my parents they must have Champagne and caviar on their menu hasn't come to fruition]. My great aunt and uncle were visiting recently and here is what I cooked for them and my parents…

Gougere - Lillet Blanc

I started off the meal with hot gougeres straight from the oven accompanied by a glass of lillet blanc on ice. Gougeres will be the death of me - I inhaled three as soon as they were puffed, browned, and crusty on top. As you can see these were huge.

Scallops, Forbidden Rice, Braised Endive, Vandouvan Butter - Donna Luna Fiano

Next was seared scallops served on forbidden rice with braised endive and a drizzle of vadouvan butter. To my delight Julie got me a bag of vadouvan, a French curry mix, from Le Sanctuaire for my birthday which inspired this dish. I paired this with Donna Luna Fiano which I previously had with my truffle butter pasta. The medium body of the fruity wine and the touch of acidity paired well with the butter sauce and the touch of citrus in the curry spice mix.

Romanesco Veloute, Foie Mousse, Crispy Pork Belly - Domaine La Bastide Roussane

For the third course I served romanesco veloute with a quenelle of foie mousse and deep fried slivers of pork belly. I was planning to make the foie mousse myself but once I got to the store they told me I had to preorder them. Duh! So instead I got premade foie mousse I think from D’Artagnan, which actually saved me some time and sanity. For the soup I made a light veloute sauce in which I simmered the romanesco florets. Once tender I put the mixture through the blender and sieve to ensure a velvety texture. Then finished it with butter, cream, and egg yolks to enrich and thicken it. This dish was inspired by the veloute and royale I had a Manresa. Taking a cue from their wine pairing I wanted to pair my veloute with a Roussanne also. Simon over at Larchmont Village Wines chose the inexpensive Domaine La Bastide for me which went great with the velvety soup and the bit of rich foie mousse.

Red Wine Braised Beef Tenderloin, Aligot, Shiitake Frites - Red Shed Cabernet Franc 2004

The final savory course was beef tenderloin that I had seared and braised in red wine and beef stock. I served it with aligot potatoes and “frites” for a meat & potatoes or steak & frites kind of deal. Aligot is a potato dish from Auvergne, France, made with tomme cheese and beat into an elastic texture that leaves it with a cheesy-stringy texture. I substituted Cantal since I could not find tomme d’Auvergne. I didn’t achieve the correct texture perhaps because I didn’t put enough cheese in. For about 2lbs of potatoes I put in 1/2lb of cheese. However the potatoes were soooo tasty. I mean really tasty. The “frites” were made my dredging shiitake slices with panko and deep frying them. I salted them when they came out of the oil. Simple as that and also very addicting.

Cowgirl’s Creamery Red Hawk & Gruyere

I added a small cheese course and served Cowgirl Creamery’s delicious triple creme Red Hawk and Gruyere.

Boca Negra with Dark Chocolate-Orange Ganache, Pistachio

Then finally dessert. I stick to easy things when baking since I’m really more of a savory person. I baked a boca negra which is a flourless chocolate cake loaded with chocolate and eggs and also a good amount of booze, in this case it was whiskey. I topped it with a warm dark chocolate ganache flavored with orange zest and sprinkled toasted and chopped pistachios on top.

There was a lot of room for improvement but in the end I was happy with what I cooked because more importantly the diners were happy.

Tapas & Cocktails March 13, 2008

I apologize for the lack of posting! My head’s been loopy between the SF trip, my birthday weekend, and having relatives over. Yes I turned one year older! Twenty-seven to be exact. My friends Matt & Andrei graciously hosted a party in my honor. I decided to make it a tapas & cocktail party. You may be thinking I’m crazy for cooking on my own birthday but cooking for my friends always makes me happy.

Here was the spread…

pimenton stuffed olives, olive oil toasted almonds with fleur de sel

manchego, cabrales & honeycomb
(thnx tash!)

bacon shortbread, salchichon & chorizo

tortilla espagnol

romesco onion tart

arroz negro-shrimp croquettes, saffron aioli

cocktails:
*tangerine juice, maker’s mark, limoncello, cava
*asian pear puree, gin, elderflower liquer, lemon wedge, cava

Yes I made those irregularly large ice cubes. My friend Imani volunteered to make the ever so popular tapas, deviled eggs. It was seasoned simply with mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika, and topped with chopped piquillo. The party was also graced with Bunny’s delicious Champagne sangria.

All in all, a good party filled with good food, drinks and of course good company.

Petrale Sole, Ham Hock Heirloom Beans, Black Truffle Butter February 6, 2008

While perusing the bean section at Surfas I saw this gorgeous heirloom bean mix. I was planning to make a simple bean and kielbasa stew but I remembered my friend Imani’s delicious black eyed peas cooked with ham hocks and quickly changed my mind. I wanted to give the beans the same treatment - simmered for hours with smoky ham hocks. I looked up a recipe and saw how very simple it was. All it took was chopped onion, ham hocks, beans and a few hours on the stove. It only seemed right to accompany this with homemade cornbread.

Then I recalled having a delicious petrale sole dish at AOC that had split peas, ham hocks, and truffle butter. So another AOC-inspired meal was born. The mock version is similar to the original except for that fact that I used heirloom beans.

I seasoned the petrale sole with cayenne, salt and pepper, dredged it flour, and sauteed it. I topped a plate of hot ham hock beans with the fish and dabbed it with a generous dot of black truffle butter and served grilled cornbread on the side to soak up all them smoky bean juices. A satisfying warm dinner for a cold night.

Albacore, Black Rice, Pomegranate Salsa January 31, 2008

I was checking out AOC’s menu to what new delicious dishes climbed onto its seasonally driven menu. I spotted albacore, black rice and pomegranate salsa. Sounded like a great combo. I had already bought some pomegranate seeds (I was feeling lazy) to make the salsa for another dish and knowing there’d be some leftovers. The albacore dish seemed like a perfect way to promote some pomegranate salsa double duty. Since I’ve made the black rice and also the pomegranate salsa before from the Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook putting together a mock version at home was pretty easy.

Since I haven’t had this dish before at the restaurant I wasn’t quite sure how they cooked the albacore. I just seared mine in a pan after seasoning it with chopped parsley, chile de arbol, salt and pepper. I topped the delicious black rice with sliced albacore and generously spooned over the tart and sweet pomegranate salsa. In trying to follow up on my efforts to drink more wine I paired this dish with a glass of Basa Rueda Blanco 2005. It’s made from a blend of Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc and Viura grapes and is soo good. It’s a really enjoyable wine a great bargain at $10! The tartness of the wine worked really well with not only the pomegranate salsa but the brininess of the black rice. The wine just tastes so clean and has a good mouthfeel to it. I found myself happily drinking two glasses of this during dinner.

Halibut Cheek with Couscous & Meyer Lemon Relish January 16, 2008

I didn’t want the leftover meyer lemon relish to goto waste so I went to Whole Foods to look for another seafood to pair with it. Halibut cheeks quickly caught my eyes. I’ve never had halibut cheeks before but I know fish cheeks are supposed to be tender. Perfect match! I seasoned the cheeks with salt, pepper, and paprika, then sauteed it a few minutes on each side. I served the tender halibut cheeks over whole wheat couscous and the tangy bright meyer lemon fresh.

Baked Scallops with Prosciutto & Meyer Lemon Relish January 15, 2008

I was wondering why the name of this Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook recipe is just Baked Scallops with Prosciutto with no mention of Meyer Lemon Relish. I see now that the scallops are a base dish that can be paired with a number of sauces “depending on the season and our mood,… such as green olive and almond tapenade, salsa verde, or roasted pepper relish.” The meyer lemon relish that was paired with the scallops in the book was stellar though. Meyer lemons are really a delicious winter treat. This citrus which came over from China tastes like a cross between a lemon and an orange and has a thin edible rind.

The meyer lemon relish was made with very thinly sliced meyer lemon, shallots, lemon juice, parsley, chervil, and olive oil. I seasoned the scallops with salt and pepper and placed them in a very hot cast iron pan with some olive oil. Then quickly turned them over to the 475 degree oven for a quick bake. After a few minutes when they were done I plated them with prosciutto slices draped around them and a spoonful of the relish over each scallop. The flavor contrast between the mildly sweet scallops, salty prosciutto, and bright meyer lemon relish worked really well together. I gobbled this up in no time. Another quick, simple and delicious recipe for a weeknight dinner.

Kampachi Crudo with Green Harissa, Citrus Avocado Salad January 10, 2008

Thanks to Boy I recently got my fill of delicious food from Lucques. I started off dinner with The Persimmon which was a cool cocktail shaken up with fresh persimmon, maker’s mark, elderflower liqueur and champagne. Doesn’t this sound amazing? I’m craving one right now. The dish that really made an impression on me though was the Market Fish Crudo with Green Harissa, Avocado, Chili and Lime. The fish was kampachi and it was beyond delicious. The fish was so fresh and melted away into my mouth with a touch of the fresh green harissa made with jalapeno and spiced with coriander and caraway. I could have had a few more plates of this.

So I went ahead and fixed myself a homemade version over the weekend. I picked up a fillet of super fresh sushi-grade kampachi from Santa Monica Seafood. I minced a few jalapenos and then crushed them into a paste in my mortar and pestle. I added ground coriander, caraway, cumin, parsley, and olive oil. For the citrus avocado salad I supremed and diced up some oro blanco, meyer lemon and orange. I added diced up avocado, minced onion, olive oil and a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity a little bit. An equal proportion of avocado and citrus would have been better but alas my some of my avocados were trouble makers and weren’t good enough to use.

Since reading about Matt’s enthusiasm for O Olive Oil’s meyer lemon version I had picked up a bottle. I opened it up for the first time for this crudo. It’s very tasty! I have a feeling a few more bottles of theirs is going to fill up my pantry. To plate the dish I sliced up the kampachi thinly, fanned it out on a plate and drizzled it lightly with the meyer lemon olive oil. I dabbed a bit of green harissa on each slice and served it up with a spoonful of the citrus avocado salad.