Cook & Be Merry » Salads

Orange Salad with Avocado Green Olive Salsa

Lynne — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:29:10 +0000

When I moved into my new house in June 2011, I was very happy to have all the mature trees, rose garden and an established lawn. The back yard had two big palm trees and two smaller green leafed trees which provided really nice shade. Well, I was busy moving in and unpacking, then working and blogging and I didn’t go in the back yard at all, until a couple of months later. And lo and behold, one of the small trees had little green citrus fruits of some kind all over it. A couple of months after that it was covered with hundreds of huge oranges. So many, we didn’t know what to do with them. You guys with all the zucchini have nothing on us, believe me.

I have never had any kind of fruit tree in my yard anywhere I’ve lived, so this is such a revelation. If I want an orange, I walk 20 feet and pick one. We even found an orange picker on a pole in the garage, so we could get the ones on the top. So we have been eating a lot of oranges and I have had to get creative to use them up. That is where this recipe came from. Desperation. To use up the oranges. And now that there are only a few oranges left on the tree, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of new little ones about the size of a walnut busily growing bigger. And bigger. It’s a good thing they are seedless, brightly sweet-tart, juicy and really delicious.

While I was shooting this salad, my 24-year old son, Brian, came in and asked what smelled so good. Orange salad, I answered. He came over and inspected my photo setup. Oh, that’s really beautiful, he said. He wandered into the kitchen and discovered the bowl with the remainder of the salsa. He grabbed a spoon and took a big bite. Oh my god, this is delicious!!, he exclaimed. Can I have the rest of this? I’m eating this, he proclaimed, whether you like it or not. And waltzed off with the bowl.

Well, maybe it won’t be so hard to use up all those oranges after all.

Orange Salad with Avocado, Green Olive & Orange Salsa

Serves 1 as an entrée or 2 as a starter

Ingredients
2 large oranges
1 small avocado, ½-inch dice
5 large green olives with pimento, chopped
1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley leaves
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons olive oil
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon Poupon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Reserve.

2. Remove peel from oranges with a large sharp knife. Slice oranges into ½-inch slices.

3. Cut rounded end pieces of orange into ½-inch dice and place in a large bowl along with the diced avocado, chopped green olives and parsley leaves.

4. Pour enough of the reserved vinaigrette over salsa ingredients to thoroughly moisten.

5. Layer orange slices on serving plates and place salsa over or next to oranges. Drizzle orange slices and salsa with remaining vinaigrette. Lightly dust orange slices with kosher salt and black pepper if desired. Serve.

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Wheat Berry, Green Olive & Roasted Pepper Salad

Lynne — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:16:05 +0000

I decided to make this Wheat Berry, Green Olive and Roasted Pepper Salad after paging through the January 2012 issue of Sunset Magazine. It featured several absolutely gorgeous salads made with grains, which reminded me I had a package of Bob’s Red Mill Soft White Wheat Berries languishing in my cupboard. Plus I have to laugh and admit I am one of those people who have “Eat Healthier” on my New Year’s Resolutions list. You know, along with get more sleep, go for a walk three times a week, save ten percent of my paycheck and clean out the garage. So I made this salad and I’m feeling just so danged righteous right now. One day at a time, right?

Around 13,000 BC, hunter-gatherers in modern Syria harvested wild cereal grasses, such as einkorn wheat and emmer wheat. It was first domesticated around 9,000 BC in Lebanon, Syria, the Levant, Israel, Egypt and Ethiopia. Because wheat could be grown on a large scale and be stored for a long time, it was a key factor in hunter-gatherers transitioning to city-based societies which were emerging in the Fertile Crescent.

Common wheat was first domesticated in Western Asia and spread from there to North Africa, Europe and East Asia. Wheat first reached North America with the Spanish missions in the 16^th century.

Wheat berries are the entire wheat kernel (without the hull), which includes the bran, germ and endosperm. One fourth cup of raw wheat berries has 7 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and 10% of the daily value of iron, with only 1 gram of fat and zero cholesterol. You need to make this salad right now!

Wheat Berry, Green Olive & Roasted Pepper Salad

Serves 2 to3 as a side dish

½ cup raw wheat berries, rinsed
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut in quarters
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut in quarters
Cooking spray, such as Pam
Salt & pepper

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup green olives, pitted, cut in fourths
¼ cup goat cheese, crumbled (or feta or queso blanco)

Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon Poupon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place wheat berries, water and salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for one to 1 ½ hours or until tender. Drain and cool spread out on a foil-covered sheet pan.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cover a sheet pan with foil and spray lightly. Place pepper quarters on pan and spray lightly with cooking spray. Lightly dust with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Cool on pan. Cut into ¾-inch squares.

3. In a large bowl combine wheat berries, pepper squares, olive pieces and parsley leaves.

4. Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Pour over wheat berry mixture and toss to thoroughly coat salad ingredients.

5. May be eaten immediately or chilled overnight. At time of service, garnish with crumbled cheese.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Cumin Garlic Roasted Carrots & Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing, Arugula and Sesame Seeds

Lynne — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:23:14 +0000

The full title of this post should be “Cumin, Garlic, Chile de Arbol, Thyme Roasted Carrots and Avocado Salad with Sour Dough Croutons, Roasted Orange and Lemon Dressing sprinkled with Sesame, Poppy and Sunflower Seeds.” Ok, so it’s a little long. It could have been even longer because I left out the Mesclun and Watercress. Also the olive oil and red wine vinegar.

The carrots are par-boiled, coated with a paste made from cumin, garlic, arbol, fresh thyme, olive oil and red wind vinegar, and roasted with the oranges and lemons.

I didn’t have anything, really, to say about this salad, except that it tastes fabulous and you should make it as soon as possible. So when there is no cute story and no fancy technique photos, what do you do? Well, I was going to tell you that the carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange, but it can also be white, yellow, red or purple. Its wild ancestors originated in Iran and Afghanistan and a few of its nearest relatives are parsley, fennel, dill and cumin. Only 3% of carrot’s beta-carotene is released when you eat it raw, but that is improved to 39% by pulping, cooking and adding cooking oil. And, very important, massive over-consumption of carrots can cause a benign condition called carotenosis in which the skin turns orange.

However, I decided not to do that. Instead, I took all of my leftover salad ingredients that I had used the previous day for my beauty shots and dumped them all in a bowl. I sat down at my computer to write this post and realized how delicious my salad looked, so I decided to shoot my bowl at various locations around my house. Much more interesting than those dry carrot facts.

The problem was that it was cloudy and rainy outside, and dim and sunless inside. Well, what the heck, I cranked my ISO up to 3200 and put my white balance on florescent, and let the pics fall as they may. Just pretend these photos look like they were taken in beautiful natural light falling blissfully through a south-facing window. Oh, and if, the next time I see you, your skin is orange, I will know what you have been doing.

Cumin Roasted Carrots & Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing

Serves 4

1 pound medium carrots

2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 dried chile de arbol, seeds discarded
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 fresh peeled garlic cloves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 orange, halved
1 lemon, halved
1 lemon, for additional juice, if needed

Three ½-inch-thick slices country sour dough batard or ciabatta
2 avocados, peeled and cut into 6 wedges each
3 packed cups assorted greens, such as watercress, arugula, mesclun

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons salted roasted sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Trim and peel carrots and cut each into 3-inch segments. Cut each segment lengthwise in half, or if larger, into pieces no larger than 3/4-inch wide. Add carrots to water, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to prepared sheet pan.

3. In a large heavy mortar, crush cumin seeds with chile de arbol, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper to a powder. Add garlic cloves and thyme leaves and pound to a paste. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

4. Pour cumin dressing over carrots and toss to coat. Add orange and lemon halves to pan, cut side down. Roast for about 25 minutes, until carrots are tender.

5. Meanwhile, toast or grill the bread slices until edges are golden brown. Tear bread into bite-size pieces. In a salad bowl, gently toss avocado wedges, salad greens and toasted croutons.

6. In a small sauté pan, toast sesame seeds until starting to brown. In a small bowl, combine sunflower, poppy and sesame seeds.

7. Using tongs, squeeze orange and lemon halves into a measuring cup until you have about 1/3 cup of juice. If less than 1/3 cup, add additional lemon juice. In a medium bowl, whisk the citrus juice with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1/3 cup olive oil. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper.

8. Add roasted carrots to salad bowl with avocado, greens and croutons. Drizzle citrus dressing over and toss to coat.

9. Transfer to salad plates and sprinkle with seed mixture. Serve.

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Blue Baby Potato Salad

Lynne — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:03:37 +0000

I have several ways I usually prepare potatoes: mashed, baked, fried, in latkes, in potato salad, Potatoes Anna, scalloped potatoes, the usual American fare. So when Frieda’s Specialty Produce Company contacted me and offered to send me some little potatoes, I decided I wanted to do something different with them, that I had never done before. Time to get creative.

A couple of days later, the FedEx man was knocking on the door and my babies had arrived. Frieda’s had sent me two different varieties. One package was called Terrific Trio, which contained yellow, red skin and blue baby potatoes. The other package was called Piccolo, which were teeny yellow potatoes, none larger than 1¼ inch. They were so cute!

I thought I would start with the Terrific Trio, because I had never seen a blue potato and I wanted to see if it was also blue inside. These are grown by The Little Potato Company, which is based in Canada, and they harvest their potatoes in Nebraska and Washington. LPC is a small, family business, with a woman CEO, Angela Santiago. Their potatoes are not runts or rejects, but are a special small potato variety. And guess what? You can find them at Ralph’s Stores throughout Southern California! You can rush right out and get some, and make this terrific recipe!

Since these potatoes are little, they are perfect for appetizers, which is what got me thinking about how I could create a one-bite item. Initially I was going to make potato salad, but when I cut open those blue babies and saw the amazing color, I decided to make a deconstructed version, putting the egg-y salad part in the potato, instead of the potato in the salad. So that’s what I did. The contrast between the brilliant color of the potato and the yellow egg salad with the radish haystack on top looked so happy to me. These are one bite, maybe two, and would look great on your buffet table or passed hors d’oeuvres.

Did you know that Frieda’s Inc. is celebrating its 50th birthday? It is a woman-owned family business that was founded in 1962 by Frieda Caplan, who is an icon in the produce industry as the first woman to own a produce company in the United States. Her mission of changing the way America eats fruits and vegetables is credited with introducing such table-staples as Kiwifruit, Brown Mushrooms, Spaghetti Squash, Shallots, Donut Peaches and a wide variety of Latin and Asian Specialties. They are based in Los Alamitos, California, where Frieda serves as Chairman of the Board, and her daughters are President and CEO. Thank you Frieda’s for sending me these great little Baby Potatoes!

So you may be wondering about the Blue Baby Potato Salad in the top photo. After I filled enough potatoes to photograph, I still had some of the egg salad mixture left over. I also had all of the little scooped out blue potato rounds made with my melon baller. I didn’t want to throw them away, so I folded them into the egg mixture. It was so pretty I had to shoot it and that’s where that photo comes from. I think I will use these in a potato salad in the future. They are pre-washed; thin skin, so no peeling; microwave in five minutes and they’re at Ralph’s! What could be better?

Blue Baby Potato Salad Deconstructed

10 small potatoes 1½ – 2-inch diameter (preferably blue)

2 hardboiled eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons minced celery
1 tablespoon minced red onion
½ teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper

3 radishes, sliced in small batons, for garnish

1. Fill a large sauce pan with enough water to cover potatoes. Add two teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, add potatoes and when water returns to a boil, start timer for 15 minutes. Test biggest potato with the point of a sharp knife for doneness.

2. When potatoes are done, drain and cover them with cold water. When cool enough to handle, remove to paper towels to drain and dry. Set aside.

3. Fill a sauce pan with enough water to cover eggs. Place eggs in cold water and bring water to a boil. When water begins to boil, turn off heat and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 minutes.

4. Drain water from pan and cover eggs with cold water. Peel when cooled.

5. Cut eggs in half and place cooked yolks in a medium bowl. Mash yolk thoroughly with a spoon, then add mayonnaise and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Mince the egg white very small and add it to the yolk mixture along with the minced celery and onion. Mix well to incorporate.

7. Cut the baby potatoes in half length-wise with a sharp paring knife, being careful not to tear the skin.

8. With a small melon baller, remove the inside of the potato, making a round well about the diameter of a cooked egg yolk, leaving 1/8-1/4-inch rim. With a sharp paring knife, remove a small slice off the rounded bottom of the potato half, being careful not to break skin, so it will sit flat and not roll around

9. Fill the potato with the egg salad mixture, mounding it about ¾-inch high. I used a spoon and pushed the egg mixture off of it with my finger. If mixture flattens, pinch it back into the dome shape with your fingers.

10. Garnish with a stack of radish batons.

Note: If you don’t have radishes, you could garnish with basil chiffonade, a parsley leaf, a triangle of red pepper, an olive slice. Use your imagination.

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Quinoa Salad with Pistachios, Currants and Dried Apricots Kissed with Orange, Rice Vinegar and Sesame Oil

Lynne — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:30:44 +0000

This week we had a potluck at my work and when it was announced, I knew I wanted to make this quinoa salad. So I made my shopping list and headed off to my local Ralph’s Market. I looked everywhere for the quinoa and couldn’t find it, so I buttonholed the manager and asked him where it was. He replied, “What’s quinoa?” Can you imagine a grocery store manager not knowing what this food item is? I mean, maybe they don’t carry it, but he should know what it is. Just sayin’.

So I traipsed off to Whole Foods where I knew they had it and bought two 16 oz. bags for $3.50. They had about five different kinds and ten different brands. Quinoa is mainstream, guys. Get with it.

Quinoa originated in the Andean region of South America, where it was successfully domesticated 3000 to 4000 years ago. It is now primarily grown in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The Incas held the crop to be sacred and called it the “mother of all grains.” The Spanish colonists forbid the Incas to grow quinoa and forced them to grow wheat instead.

Quinoa is not a member of the grass family; therefore, it is not a true cereal or grain. It is closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source, which is unusual among plant foods.

What I like about it, besides its being good for you, is its texture, which is a cross between crunchy and al dente pasta. I ate my leftovers from the potluck the next day and the quinoa had the same bite as it did originally. No sogginess here, people. I love this stuff.

P.S. Every once in a while someone else actually makes one of my recipes and it makes me feel so honored and happy. A big thank you to each and every one of you. If you would like to see an absolutely spectacular photo of my Quinoa Salad, hop on over to Carolines Blog post of August 19th. Bravo, Caroline!

Quinoa Salad with Pistachios and Dried Apricots

Note: I used salted pistachios in the shell when I made this dish. To compensate, I added very little salt when I adjusted the seasoning at the end. If you use unsalted pistachios, season accordingly.

Serves 4

2 cups water
2 cups quinoa, rinsed

1 ½ cups dried apricots, ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup currents, soaked 10 minutes, drained, dried

2 tablespoons mint, minced
¼ cup cilantro, minced

Vinaigrette
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate (I used Minute Maid)
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, decrease heat to low, and cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

2. Fluff grains with a fork and transfer to a medium bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature.

3. Add the apricots, almonds, pistachios, raisins, currents, mint and cilantro to the quinoa. Stir to combine.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, cinnamon, rice vinegar, orange juice concentrate and sesame oil.

5. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Beet, Red Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Seeds, Currants and Orange Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Lynne — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 07:02:53 +0000

In the past three weeks I have made a Blueberry Cake, Checkerboard Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. I also made a Plum Tart, which I haven’t even told you about yet. That is four desert items. Ahem… I rarely make deserts around here, because then I eat them. You know what I mean.

So to get myself back on track, I decided to make a really healthy salad. And this Beet Salad has got to be one of the healthiest salads on the planet. Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, four kinds of Seeds and a bunch of Spinach. Plus Orange Juice. Oh man!

The colors in this salad are spectacular with the red cabbage and red onions, orange carrots, beets the color of red wine and the greens of the spinach and mint. Beautiful.

This is how the salad looks when you are actually eating it. The dressing turns a brilliant red from the beets. There is something that happens when you taste the orange zest, cumin seeds and currents together. Some kind of magic on your taste buds. You’ll have to try it and see what I mean.

And this is what my leftover salad looks like in its plastic container, ready to go in the frig. I love leftovers, as you know. I saved the dressing separately so tomorrow when I get home from work everything will be ready to mix up. No cutting or chopping! No measuring or whisking! I can hardly wait!

P.s. My Fourth of July guests ate the Blueberry Cake. My husband liked the Checkerboard Cookies a lot, so they’re gone. The Peanut Butter Cookies are in the freezer. Now, about the Plum Tart, um, it’s in the frig and is being slowly reduced by one 1-inch-wide piece per day. Truly. I’m being good, I promise.

Beet, Red Cabbage & Carrot Salad with Seeds, Currants
and Orange Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Serves 4

¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1-2 teaspoons cumin seeds, to taste

¼ red cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot , grated
1 cooked beet, grated, dried between paper towels
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves, stemmed, finely chopped
¼ cup red onion, ¼-inch dice
¼ cup dried currants
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Dressing

Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Note: To cook beets, trim both ends and rub with olive oil. Roast in 400 degree F oven for one hour. When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins with a paper towel. Chill.

1. In a medium pan over medium heat, toast all the seeds together until slightly brown, 3-5 minutes. Stir frequently. You will know they are done when the pumpkin seeds start popping.

2. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the Dressing ingredients. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the toasted seeds, cabbage, carrot, beet, spinach, red onion, currants and mint.

4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve.

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Blueberry Pudding Cake for My 4th of July BBQ

Lynne — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:57:17 +0000

I was so happy for the 4^th of July to roll around, because we were having our first holiday feast in our new house. I actually cooked in my new kitchen and our guests got to see the new place for the first time. It’s so much fun to give the grand tour. It was also the first time I grilled outside this summer, so I was really happy to see that black char on all the meats and vegetables. You know how good it makes everything taste. I made a charmoula sauce to drizzle over everything, which is similar to a chimichuri, adding the herbal notes of Italian parsley and cilantro. And to top it all off, a Blueberry Pudding Cake. To me, the 4^th of July wouldn’t be complete without blueberries. Oh yeah!

Ready and waiting in all their colorful and beautiful glory.

A big platter of grilled veggies. I love those black-edged red onions, soft and sweet in the center and the crusty little red potatoes. The veggies were simply brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled. The potatoes were boiled until done, cooled, cut in half, skewered, brushed with olive oil and then BBQ heaven. With grill marks.

Grilled Rib Eye, black on the outside and red in the middle. Yes!

Grilled shrimp, which was marinated in the sauce from my Bacon Wrapped Shrimp recipe, and grilled pineapple. I love that sweet caramelized stuff.

My plate of grilled deliciousness, with charmoula spooned over all. Perfect.

I hope your summer is filled with family, friends, BBQ’s and charred grilled food. Hooray!

Click here for Blueberry Pudding Cake and Charmoula Recipes

Blueberry Pudding Cake

1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup cold water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups blueberries (approx 10 oz)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
½ cup sugar
½ cup whole milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with oven rack in middle position. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together 1/3 cup sugar, water, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small saucepan until cornstarch is completely dissolved.

3. Add blueberries and bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ½ cup sugar.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, cooled melted butter and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and whisk together until just combined.

6. Pour batter into baking pan and spread evenly. Pour the blueberry mixture evenly over batter (berries may sink).

7. Bake until a knife inserted into center of cake portion comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. Best eaten warm with vanilla ice cream.

Note: Cake can be made 1 day ahead, cooled completely uncovered, then kept at room temperature, securely covered with foil.

Charmoula

¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
dash cayenne
dash cumin
½ cup Italian parsley, minced
½ cup cilantro, mince
½ to 3/4 cup olive oil, to your taste
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly before spooning on vegetables or meats.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Strawberry Glazed Italian Ricotta Cheesecake from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

Lynne — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:25:40 +0000

The theme for my recent visit to Grace-Marie’s Kitchen Cooking School was Italian Cucina Sunday Supper, which I was looking forward to very much, because Grace-Marie grew up in an Italian American family and has been to Italy five times eating her way through the Northern half of the country, so she knows her Italian food. The Chicken, Sausage, Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta we had was very similar to a dish she had in Italy, but instead of asparagus, the original had fresh artichoke hearts.

“I always try to explain to the students that my dishes may not be 100% authentic,” Grace-Marie said, “but they are my version of what I’ve experienced based on what is fresh and available where we live, thereby, ‘making it my own’ … something I encourage them to do — change the recipe however they like, making it their own version, but most importantly, inspiring them to get in the kitchen and cook!”

Here you can see Grace-Marie using a microplane to zest the lemon to flavor the cheesecake. She gave a demonstration on how she separates the egg yolks from the whites, before mixing the yolks with the ricotta, sugar and zest in the food processor. The heavy cream is beaten with cream cheese and sugar until thick, and a cup folded into the ricotta mixture. Then the egg whites are beaten with sugar until thick and also folded into the ricotta mixture. It is poured into the cookie crumb coated pan and baked until the top is barely browned and the center is a bit “jiggly.” Before serving, the sliced strawberries were mixed with fruit preserves, then spooned over the cheese cake with a dollop of whipped cream. It was divine!

Our starter salad for the luncheon was a Provolone Bruschetta topped with Spring Cucumber & Roasted Red Pepper Salad. The crusty Italian bread was first spread with garlic that had been simmered in olive oil and then mashed into the oil. This was topped with slices of Provolone cheese and baked until melted. Over this bruschetta went the roasted red pepper, cucumber, parsley and caper salad which was dressed with an olive oil and lemon juice vinaigrette. This salad was so beautiful with shards of Parmesan cheese on top for garnish.

An exciting thing that happened in January was that I had one of my photos on the cover of a magazine! You can see that the photo is of Grace-Marie’s Fiesta Papaya, Pineapple and Avocado Salad which I posted about in May 2010 and had also been in the Beach Magazine. The editor liked the photo so much he decided to use it for the South Bay 2011 Menu Guide cover. Grace-Marie and I were very proud of ourselves, let me tell you.

Here are the friends who came to the Italian Cucina Sunday Supper cooking class. Thank you for coming and sharing this wonderful food from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms.

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the new schedule of cooking classes, visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Click for the Italian Cheesecake Recipe

Strawberry Glazed Italian Ricotta Cheesecake

Crust
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup Almond Biscotti or Amoretto Cookies (purchased), finely ground

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Coat bottom and sides of a 10”-12” spring form baking pan with the butter. Sprinkle the ground cookies over the bottom, then tilt the pan to coat all sides with the crumbs. Place onto the baking sheet.

Filling
2 pounds ricotta cheese, drained well if necessary
1 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
½ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons orange zest, finely grated
3 tablespoons Amaretto Liquor
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 pint heavy cream
4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup granulated sugar

6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 /4 cup granulated sugar

1. Combine the ricotta, sugar, egg yolks, flour, zest, Amaretto, vanilla and salt in a food processor. Process until blended well. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the heavy cream, cream cheese and sugar until thick. Fold 1 cup of cream mixture into ricotta mixture. Reserve the remaining cream for the garnish.

3. In a stand mixer, in a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar until thick and creamy. Fold into the ricotta mixture. Transfer to the prepared spring form pan.

4. Bake 60 minutes until risen, the sides begin to pull away from the edge of the pan, the top is barely browned and the center is a bit “jiggly”. Run a knife inside the outer ring of the spring form pan, then cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Serve
2 pints strawberries, sliced or diced
1 cup preserves (strawberry, raspberry, fig, apricot, etc), warmed and cooled

To garnish – powdered sugar
To garnish – reserved whipped cream

1. Combine strawberries and preserves.

2. Remove outer ring on the spring form pan. Sift the powdered sugar over the top of the cheesecake. Slice into portions, plate and garnish with a spoonful of strawberries and a dollop of cream.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Blackened Salmon Tarts With Mango Salsa

Lynne — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:18:27 +0000

The inspiration for this Salmon Tart came from a photo I had in my file. I have a big collection of food photos going back about twenty years and I have no idea where I saved them from. I had been wanting to create this dish since I started my blog, because it was so pretty, and recently I had some good mangoes on hand and I decided to get busy. The photo showed pea shoots and I really liked the way they looked, so I went on a big hunt to find some. Ralphs, Bristol Farms and Whole Foods didn’t have any and I finally discovered them at a nearby Korean market. I found the Pillsbury pie crust at Bristol Farms, which is a big circle of dough rolled into a tube, and the salmon roe was finally located at Whole Foods. It took me about a week to collect everything I needed. Actually my first set of mangoes died and had to be replaced. But today I had everything I needed, at last.

I made the tart shells about a week ago and stored them in an air-tight container at room temperature. Above you can see the unbaked and baked shells.The tart pans I used were 3 ¾ inches in diameter on the bottom and 4 inches at the widest on top. I made a paper template circle 5 ½ inches in diameter to cut out the dough rounds with a paring knife. I cut parchment paper circles 3 ¾ inches in diameter to line the inside of the dough. I used the paring knife to trim the excess dough from the pan rims so it was flush. I used aluminum pie weights, but you can use rice or dried beans if you prefer. I stored the tart shells in the pans so they wouldn’t break. I think the next time I make these I will make some pate brisee so there will be that buttery flavor component.

When I was making this, I tasted as I went along to see how the different parts fit together. As soon as the salmon was out of the pan, I put a bite in a big spoon with some crème fraiche and mango salsa to see how it worked together. And Lynne said, it was damn good. It occurred to me that just those three ingredients together in a Chinese soup spoon would make a really delicious amuse-bouche. Maybe garnish it with a wisp of pea shoot. (Sorry for subjecting you to my stream of consciousness here.) I had a lot of fun with this project, so I hope you enjoy the photos.

Blackened Salmon Tarts With Mango Salsa

Serves 4

2 sheets purchased pie dough (I used Pillsbury), homemade pate brisee , or 4 savory tart cases

Mango Salsa
1 teaspoon brown sugar or palm sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce

1 mango, 3/8-inch dice (about 1 cup)
½ English cucumber, peeled, seeded, 3/8-inch dice (3/4 cup)
2 small red chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped (1 ½ tablespoons)
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
3 tablespoons red onion, very small dice

Blackened Salmon
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon dried oregano, rubbed
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne

2 4-ounce skinless, boneless salmon fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil

Garnish to serve
3/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
2 tablespoons orange salmon caviar (optional)
Pea shoots, or other greens

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Use the pastry to line four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms. Prick the bases with a fork and place on a sheet pan. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Line pastry shells with parchment paper circles the diameter of the bottom and fill with pastry weights or rice. Blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove paper and weights. Bake for 5 more minutes or until golden. Cool.

4. In a small bowl, mix the palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce together. Mash the sugar against the side of the bowl with a spoon until it is incorporated. For the salsa, combine the diced ingredients in a bowl and pour the lime juice mixture over. Stir to coat ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

5. For the salmon, combine spices in a shallow bowl. Coat the salmon in mixture and chill for 30 minutes.

6. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook salmon for 2 minutes each side or until blackened all over, but not burned.

7. Spoon crème fraiche into tart cases. Flake the salmon into pieces and divide among the tarts. Top with salsa and caviar. Garnish with pea shoots or other greens. Serve.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Pear, Blue Cheese & Watercress Salad

Lynne — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:18:40 +0000

This Pear, Blue Cheese & Watercress Salad is my favorite sweet little starter salad. Actually, my mouth is watering as I write this, thinking about the sweet pear juices with the salty buttery cheese and peppery watercress. If you are having an elegant dinner party, where you are plating each course, this is the perfect little plate to begin your feast. The salt and pepper on the pears is really an interesting flavor combination, and the lemon juice and blue cheese get your taste buds singing in anticipation for the dishes to follow.

If you can find Comice pears, definitely use them in this recipe. Bartlett will work, but in my opinion, Comice is the Queen of Pears. They’re juicy and sweet, and seem to melt in your mouth. Pears are never allowed to ripen on the tree, so be sure to buy them unripe, take them home and put them in a paper bag for a few days. Pears ripen from the core outward, so if the outside is soft, it is already too ripe and should only be used in cooking and baking. To test for ripeness, press the flesh near the stem and if it yields slightly, it’s ready.

Pear, Blue Cheese & Watercress Salad

Serves 4

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 ripe Comice or Bartlett pears
1 bunch of watercress, large stems removed, washed and dried
4 ounces blue cheese, such as Maytag or Stilton, crumbled

1. In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice into the olive oil until emulsified. Whisk in the salt and pepper.

2. Peel, halve and core the pears, then slice lengthwise ½ inch thick. Fold the pears into the dressing and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. Add the watercress to the pears, toss well and arrange on 4 plates.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

4. Sprinkled the crumbled blue cheese over salad. Serve.

Thousand Island Dressing & an Act of Desperation

Lynne — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:15:52 +0000

Last Sunday I was going to the grocery store, so I asked my husband if there was anything he wanted me to get for him while I was there. Yes, he said, get me some Thousand Island Dressing, the one that sits upside down on its cap. He couldn’t remember the brand. So I found the one he was talking about and brought it home. It sat on the counter and the more I looked at it, I realized I hadn’t eaten Thousand Island Dressing for about thirty years. However, I did have fond memories about it, especially the black pepper sprinkled on top, so I thought maybe I would have some the next day.

Monday at work, I continued to think about that salad I was going to make, and by the time I was driving home, I was really looking forward to it. I went to the market and bought a nice big, fresh head of iceberg lettuce, one of those heads that feel solid and you know will be crisp and sweet.

When I got home I got out my salad bowl and chef’s knife. I ground some fresh black pepper. I unwrapped the head of lettuce. I looked over on the counter expecting to see the Thousand Island Dressing bottle, but it wasn’t there. I looked in the refrigerator, thinking he might have used some and put it in there. No sign. I looked in all the cupboards. I looked in the garage. I felt a little panicky. Maybe I was having a Senior Moment and had just missed it. It had to be around here somewhere.

So I called up my husband and asked where he’d put the Thousand Island Dressing. Oh, he said, I brought that to work with me so I can put it on my salads for lunch. Cr*p! Foot stomping. Teeth gnashing.

The Act of Desperation

Well, I stood there with this profound feeling of disappointment. I was so looking forward to that salad. I wanted it bad. And then it came to me that, guess what, I am a chef. I know how to cook and make things from scratch. It was a Eureka Moment. By golly, I would make my own Thousand Island Dressing and never have to depend on some huge corporate entity for my dressing fix again. So there, you guys.

I went online and looked at about 30 recipes for Thousand Island Dressing. I checked a few of my cookbooks. They were all similar. I checked my fridge and, lo and behold, I had all the ingredients. So I recorded the amounts I used as I made it and it was indescribably delicious. So much better than any bottled or restaurant memories of mine. And I hope you enjoy it, too.

Thousand Island Dressing by Lynne

Yields 1 ½ cups

1 cup mayonnaise (Best or Hellmans)
¼ cup ketchup (Heinz)
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (Heinz)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Thai sweet chili sauce or 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk or more for consistency
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
½ teaspoon Kosher salt

Optional: one hardboiled egg chopped fine

Freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling over salad

1. Mix all ingredients together, except black pepper, in a bowl. Store in airtight container.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

End of Summer Zucchini Soup & Smoked Salmon Tomato Cups From Grace-Marie’s Kitchen

Lynne — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 07:24:48 +0000

The theme for the Saturday Tea class this week at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach was Back to School Autumn Tea. This week the menu was End of Summer Zucchini Soup, Smoked Salmon Tomato Cups, Apple and Cheddar Bread, Caramelized Onion and Brie Croissants, Autumn Harvest Brandy Pear Cake and Autumn Berry Tapioca Parfaits. This is Part Three with the last two recipes from that class. I wanted to post about all of the recipes because all of them were wonderful.

I have to tell you, I love Bristol Farms Market. And no, they’re not paying me to say so. The store is five minutes from my house and I have been shopping there for about 20 years. They have all the items I can’t find anywhere else, for instance, within recent memory, Red Pepper Jelly, Sriracha, lamb shanks, Harissa, Red Current Jelly with Port, jarred chestnuts, apple smoked bacon and Parmigiano-Reggiano. They have the most marvelous cheeses. And if they don’t have what you need, they will get it for you. Recently I wanted to have some Mexican achiote paste, so I talked to the grocery dept manager, and he said he would get it and call me when it arrived. He has a little notebook in his pocket for this purpose. And sure enough, a couple of weeks later, my phone rang. Don’t you just love it when people follow up?

The End of summer Zucchini Soup started out with diced onion, chopped garlic, diced zucchini and chicken stock, with Italian Dried Herbs. This smelled so good when it was simmering away on the stove. I took lots of photos of it so I could get close and let the aroma waft into my nose.

While the soup was bubbling away, more zucchini was sliced into little thin strips and sautéed for the garnish. Grace-Marie sliced the zucchini into ¼-inch slices lengthwise, then turned the stack over flat and sliced them into ¼-inch lengthwise strips. These were sautéed in olive oil and butter until just tender.

When the zucchini and diced onion in the chicken stock was tender, the basil was added and it was pureed with an emersion blender until smooth. It smelled soooo good. And when I finally got to eat, it was so perfectly creamy and zucchini-y. *sigh*

This is an Afternoon Tea and the different treats are put on trays in the metal stands. There is every kind of tea you can think of in the baskets – I had Chamomile – and boiling water is poured out of thermos tea pots. The tea was really good with the Apple and Cheddar Bread.

Next Grace-Marie prepared the Smoked Salmon Tomato Cups. The filling was a tasty mixture of cream cheese, mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce, horseradish, smoked salmon, cucumber and sundried tomatoes. The Roma tomatoes were cut in half, the seeds scooped out and the filling spooned in.

This filling is very adaptable and I think you could substitute the salmon with chicken, ham, shrimp, crab, cooked egg or leftover fish from last might’s dinner. Add your favorite herbs. Be creative.

For additional recipes from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen, look under Categories in the right-hand column.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at gmj@bristolfarms.com.

End of Summer Zucchini Soup

Serves 8

Soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups sweet onion, diced small
2 tablespoons garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Italian dried herb mix (any favorite)
To taste – kosher or sea salt & ground black pepper

4 pounds zucchini squash, ends trimmed and diced medium
1+ quart chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup basil, loosely packed
½ cup heavy cream

1. Warm the oil and butter in a large soup pot over a medium flame. Stir in the onions, garlic, herb mix, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are slightly tender (5 minutes).

2. Add the zucchini and sauté for another minute, then pour in stock (just enough to cover the mixture by 2 inches). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are fork tender (15 minutes).

3. Puree the soup and basil (in batches) using a blender. Return to soup pot. Stir in cream (add less if you prefer) and reheat just until warmed through.

Garnish
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound zucchini squash, ends trimmed and diced medium or cut into thin strips

To taste – kosher or sea salt and ground black pepper

1. Warm the oil and butter in a skillet over medium flame. Add zucchini and sauté until just tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve
Ladle warm soup into bowls and scatter garnish over top.

Smoked Salmon Tomato Cups

Serves 8

Filling
1 8-ounce box cream cheese, room temperature (not whipped or lite)
¼ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoon Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, such as Mae Ploy
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained well
½ teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
2 cups English hot house cucumber, unpeeled & diced very small
¼ cup sundried tomatoes, diced small
¼ cup chives, snipped small
2 tablespoons dill, roughly chopped

1. Using an electric mixer or food processor, blend cream cheese, mayonnaise, chili sauce, horseradish and salt.

2. By hand, fold in the salmon, cucumbers, sundried tomatoes, chives and dill. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tomatoes
24 small Roma tomatoes (or any small variety)

1. Cut the tomatoes in half, crosswise or lengthwise. Slice a tiny portion off each bottom so that the tomatoes will sit upright onto a serving platter.

2. Remove seeds and juice. Arrange top side down onto paper toweling to drain out any excess liquid (15 minutes).

3. Generously stuff each tomato with the filling, then arrange on serving platter.

Serve
Sprinkle any of leftover herbs used in the recipe over the platter and serve.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

BALEEN at The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club and Warm Asparagus & Mushroom Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette

Lynne — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:54:52 +0000

Recently I had the great good fortune to be invited to review BALEEN, the signature restaurant at The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. And I want you to know, before you read the rest of this post, that the food at this restaurant is absolutely amazing and beautiful, and this is now my most favorite restaurant in the South Bay. You must go eat there.

The restaurant is housed in its own separate two-story building across from the hotel and adjacent to the marina. The inside has a tropical feeling with shiny wood floors and walls, and a bit of whimsy as monkeys cling playfully to the chandeliers. On the water side there is a full length, massive wall of windows through which you can see the grand vista of hundreds of boats in the Portofino Marina. Upstairs is the dining room and lounge, and down stairs is the terrace, part of which is inside across from the kitchen area, and part is outside enclosed in a long curtained alcove.

I arrived a half hour early so I could walk around and take photos before I was scheduled to meet the chef. The Hotel is located on a private peninsula and you drive into a circular driveway, with the Hotel on the ocean side and BALEEN on the right hand harbor side. They have free valet parking, so my car was whisked away. I was a little nervous because it was late afternoon, the sun was going and I wanted to be able to take really fabulous photos of the food. I had not seen a menu, so I had no idea what the food was going to be like.

Executive Chef Jesse Souza has been at BALEEN for seven months, after two years as executive chef at La Playa in Naples, Florida, where he ran 4 kitchens with 4 chefs, a private club and a beach kitchen. He told me all he did was solve problems. Finally he said to himself, “I want to cook. I want to make a menu!” and that’s why he came here. Chef Jesse started as a dishwasher out of high school at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, Maine. He worked his way up in the pantry, doing prep work, then as sous chef. At the Clarement Hotel he was executive sous chef for 2 years. He worked with Robbin Haas and Adam Votaw, and opened Chispa where he was chef d’cuisine and executive chef. At Chispa the food was Nuevo Latino and he learned the dishes of South America, Spain and the Carribbean. So now we can all benefit from his extensive and varied experience.

I set up my photo area on a little table across from the kitchen. You can see them in the photo above with the little colorful lights hanging down. They weren’t seating anyone there, so it was a perfect place. I had no idea what the dishes were going to be, so when Chef Jesse brought out the first plate, I had to gasp. The Cane Sugar Seared Ahi Tuna with Coconut Rice, Spicy Papaya Salad and Avocado Wasabi Sauce was like a beautiful painting. The best way to photograph this masterpiece was from straight overhead, so I stood on a chair to get the shot. There were customers walking by and rubbernecking. I ignored them. I couldn’t decide which of these two photos of the Ahi Tuna to put in this post, so I am putting them both in.

I showed Chef Jesse the shots of the Ahi Tuna and he was very happy about them. So he started bringing out more dishes for me to photograph. Next was the Duck Carnitas & Cornmeal Crepes with Chipotle Blackberry Sauce and Appleslaw. The long rectangular plates were hard to shoot and get everything in. Also if I got the duck with the right light, then the appleslaw was overexposed. If the appleslaw was correctly lit, the duck looked like a black blob.

Finally, Chef Jesse suggested we plate a duck carnita and see what that looked like. He had fun drizzling the sauce while I took multiple shots, catching the sauce in mid air. There were so many good photos from this that I couldn’t put them all in. So I picked the one that looked the most gorgeous and mouth watering. When you come to eat at BALEEN, you absolutely must order this dish. The Chipotle Blackberry Sauce is sooo good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

The Portofino Hotel is owned by Seattle-based Noble House Hotels and Resorts. They own and manage 13 unique boutique hotels and resorts located across the country including Riviera Palm Springs in California, Little Palm Island Resort in the Florida Keys, and The Edgewater in Seattle, Washington. So there is a BALEEN in Naples, Florida, and one in San Diego. Chef Jesse said the menu is made up of Corporate dishes served in all of the NHHR restaurants and then there are his signature dishes served only at this BALEEN. And these works of art he was presenting to me are those very signature dishes. I asked if any restaurant reviewers had visited and he said he thought two had been there, but he didn’t know they were coming and they didn’t order any of his signature dishes. So he was very happy I was photographing them now. I was very excited to get this post up so all of you could see them, too.

The next dish to come out of the kitchen was Roasted Sea Scallops & Braised Beef Short Rib with Vanilla Parsnip Puree, Glazed Carrots & Mustard Pan Sauce. The plates were now totally covering the small table where I was working. This beautiful plating was set before me and I just had to shake my head. I didn’t want to mess up the way it looked before shooting it, so I stuck my finger in the sauce where it wouldn’t show. I just had to sit there, shut my eyes and go Mmmm. This was another of those long rectangular plates that I stood on my chair to shoot. This photo doesn’t do justice to the way it looked in person. But imagine a bite of the sweet parsnip puree with the beef and sauce all mingling in happiness on your tongue. Heaven.

We had been photographing about 2 hours at this point and I asked Chef Jesse if we were through yet. His eyes lit up and he went back in the kitchen, reappearing minutes later with this Dungeness Crab Cake with Shrimp Mousse, Lobster Lemongrass Sauce and House Made Tomato Jam. He said he’d made the crab cake a little bigger than they normally do so it would photograph better. He liked the way the snipped chives showed up.

I was done shooting all the plates on the table and Chef Jesse said there was one last dish. So I followed him into the kitchen and watched as he plated the Warm Asparagus & Mushroom Salad with Brioche “Hole In One”, Reggiano & Truffle Vinaigrette. I love to watch a chef plate a dish, with all the care of an artist.

This was my favorite dish of the whole night. Hands down. That creamy truffle vinaigrette is the most…I’m at a loss for words. My first bite stopped me in my tracks. I had to shut my eyes and just savor it. Chef Jesse came over and saw my rapture, picked up my knife and sliced open the egg. The brilliant yellow yolk ran out onto the plate and we both just stood there looking at its perfection. He said there was something about the synergy of the yolk and truffle sauce that was so splendid. I had to have this recipe. And Chef Jesse happily gave it to me. It’s at the end of this post.

It was time to pack up my camera, but I shot these two dishes as the servers walked by my table from the kitchen.

The prices at BALEEN for breakfast items are from $7 to $14 and lunch from $7 to $17. Dinner entrée prices range from $13 to $36. The entrees also come in half portions. For instance, the Roasted Sea Scallops & Braised Beef Short Rib for half $16 / full $28. And the Duck Carnitas and Asparagus, Mushroom, Brioche “Hole In One” are both only $13. Don’t forget that there is free valet parking also.

Thank you Chef Jesse Souza for one of the most memorable experiences and for letting me photograph all of your beautiful food. Thank you for taking your valuable time to prepare each dish and your patience as I took hundreds of photographs. And for ignoring the fact that I was standing on one of your chairs (I did take off my shoes). I enjoyed our conversation very much and the tips you gave me about truffle oil. I will be bringing all my friends to eat at BALEEN and I will be telling everyone I know to come and visit. Soon.

BALEEN at The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club
260 Portofino Way
Redondo Beach, CA 92077
Phone 1-310-372-1202
Hotel 1-310-379-8481

“Hole In One” Warm Asparagus & Mushroom Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette

Serves 4

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 1-inch thick slices brioche or other rich bread, cut in a 4-inch square
4 eggs

1 tablespoon butter
12 ounces mushrooms, preferably shitake and crimini, cut bite-size
¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
24 small asparagus, trimmed to 6-inch length, blanched 1 minute
Salt and pepper

Parmigiano reggiano, 24 shaved pieces

Truffle Vinaigrette, recipe below

1. Make the Truffle Vinaigrette

2. With a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut a disk out of the center of each 4-inch bread square. Reserve cutout bread disk.

3. In a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add mushrooms. Cook until browned. There will be a small amount of reduced liquid remaining. Add the asparagus and broth and cook until a glaze is formed and the asparagus is crisp tender. Season to taste.

3. In a large flat pan or griddle, melt the butter and olive oil together. When sizzling, add four slices of brioche and the cutout discs. When starting to brown, break egg into each hole. Cook until bread is a deep golden brown and egg is cooked on that side. Cook the bread discs until brown on both sides.

4. Using 2 spatulas, slide one under toast and pick up. Place other spatula on top of toast and flip over. Place spatula with toast touching pan, and with free spatula, slide toast back into pan. Cook until toast is browned and egg is cooked, but yolk is still runny.

5. Drizzle about ¼ cup of Truffle vinaigrette in a 5-inch circle around each plate. Place the toasted square in the center of plate.

6. Re-warm the asparagus and mushroom mixture slightly. Using a tongs, place ¼ of asparagus diagonally across the toast square. Place ¼ of mushrooms on top of asparagus. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of Truffle Vinaigrette over center of mushrooms. Lean the bread disc against the side of the toast.

7. Place 6 shards of Parmigiano reggiano around on each salad. Serve.

Truffle Vinaigrette
1 cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 oz truffle peel, drained, such as J. Gaillard 7oz. can
2 tablespoons truffle oil
½ tablespoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place all ingredients, except sour cream, in blender.

2. Puree until truffle peel looks like ground black pepper.

3. Fold puree into sour cream. Check seasoning.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Shredded Potato Crust and the Top 10 Googled Recipes

Lynne — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:25:59 +0000

If you have been following along with me, you know I am fascinated with the search engine terms people use to get to my blog. So the other day I asked Google what the most googled food recipes are. Apparently there aren’t any lists compiled for 2010 yet, but there were several lists for 2009 that I thought were really interesting. For instance:

Top 10 Most Googled in U.S. in 2009
(per Serious Eats)

Chili
Meatloaf
Cheesecake
Banana Bread
Pancakes
Salsa
Hummus
Lasagna
Apple Pie
Meatball

Top 10 in Australia in 2009
(Brisbane Times)

Pancakes
Banana Cake
Banana Bread
Scones
Pumpkin Soup
Quiche
Cheesecake
Fried Rice
Tiramisu
Pavlova

Top 10 in U.K. 2009
(The Sunday Times UK)

Butternut Squash Soup
Fondant Potatoes
Banana Bread
How to cook perfect Steak
Cauliflower Cheese
Eton Mess
Homemade Garlic Bread
Potato Dauphinoise
Coronation Chicken
Blueberry Muffins

So far from these lists I have Chili, Meatloaf, Cheesecake, Pancakes, Quiche and Banana Bread recipes on my blog. I also have a recipe for Maple Pecan Bread which is a very similar quick bread. Do you notice that all of these recipes are for everyday comfort foods? And Banana Bread is on all three lists.

I was intrigued as to what Eton Mess was and found it is an English desert made up of strawberries, broken meringue cookies and whipped cream.

Fondant Potatoes are cut in a barrel shape, poached in chicken broth until it is a glaze, then roasted in the oven until crisp and brown.

Cauliflower Cheese is a cauliflower gratin made with cheddar cheese. Similar to mac and cheese.

Coronation Chicken is a mayonnaise-based chicken salad usually flavored with curry powder and eaten cold as a salad or on sandwiches.

So now I’m adding another quiche recipe and it’s a really good one. I love the shredded potato crust and the peppery green salad on top. This is perfect for a light lunch, brunch or a starter for a special meal. I cut it in serving size pieces, wrapped them in plastic wrap in a zip-close bag and froze them. Today I microwaved my portion for about 3 minutes, covered, and it was as good as when it came out of the oven. I just love food you can freeze!

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Shredded Potato Crust

Serves 4 as entrée

3 tablespoons butter
4 Idaho Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled
½ cup finely minced onion
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Two 5-ounce containers fresh baby spinach, stems removed
¼ cup water
8 ounces mushrooms, ¼-inch slices
3 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup milk
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salad
4 cups mixed whole arugula and Italian parsley leaves, plus other herbs of your choice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoon sherry vinegar, or your vinegar of choice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate with 1 tablespoon (or less) butter.

2. Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the potatoes. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, onion, cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer the potato mixture to the skillet and pat into a 10-inch disk. Cook about 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown.

4. Loosen potatoes and place pie plate top side down onto crust. Flip over, browned side up, onto the pie plate. Using your palm, move crust so edges are even around rim of plate. Bake about 20 minutes.

5. While the crust is baking, heat the skillet over high heat. Add the spinach and ¼ cup water. Keep turning with a tongs until completely wilted. When cool enough to touch, squeeze out as much water as possible by hand, then wrap in paper towels and squeeze again. Chop in small pieces. Reserve.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until brown and liquid has evaporated, stirring several times, about 10 minutes.

7. Add the spinach to the mushrooms and season with salt. Put half of the spinach mushroom mixture in the crust, sprinkle the Swiss cheese evenly over, then the parmesan. Put the remaining spinach mixture on top.

8. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, egg whites, milk, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoons pepper and nutmeg. Pour over the filling in the pie plate. Elevate the top mushrooms that are submerged so they will show when finished. Think presentation.

9. Bake 20-25 minutes until set. Let cool about 20 minutes before cutting.

10. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the salad greens and toss to coat.

11. Cut quiche into quarters, place on serving plates and top each with 1 cup of salad. Eat!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Soba Noodle Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Lynne — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:52:51 +0000

In one more week it will be August and we still haven’t had summer here in Manhattan Beach. Today the high was 69 degrees F. I am hopeful that warm weather is right around the corner, so in anticipation, here is a cold Soba Noodle Salad that will be great to enjoy outdoors when the sun is shining and palm trees are waving in the warm ocean breezes. It’s going to happen, right?

I love the peanut butter dressing that goes on this salad. It has every taste sensation possible: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Then there are the soft noodles, and the crunchy cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and peanuts. It has the whole sensory board covered: looks great, smells sensational (especially the sesame oil and ginger), feels soft and crunchy, sounds enticing with the slurping of noodles and crunchy veggies. Come on sun, where are you?

Soba is made with buckwheat flour. Buckwheat is a grain-like crop, but is not a cereal or grass, and has no gluten. It’s called a pseudocereal to emphasize it is not related to wheat. Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in inland southeast Asia around 6000 B.C., and spread to Central Asia and Tibet, then to the Middle East and Europe.

The fruit is an achene, similar to sunflower seeds, with a single seed inside a hard outer shell. The starchy endosperm is white and the seed coat is green or tan, which darkens the buckwheat flour. The hull is dark brown or black and some may be included in the flour as dark specks.

Buckwheat noodles play a major role in the cuisine of Japan (soba), Korea (naengmyeon) and the Valtellina region of Northern Italy (pizzoccheri, a flat ribbon pasta). The difficulty of making noodles from flour that has no gluten has resulted in a traditional art developed around their manufacture by hand.

This Soba Noodle Salad can be eaten at room temperature, cold, warm or the leftovers stir fried. The next photo shows how I ate them cold the second day with tomatoes, avocado and sliced green onions added. It was really wonderful!

Soba Noodle Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Serves 4

6 ounces soba noodles, broken in half

½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar or palm sugar
¼ cup cilantro

1 cucumber, peeled, sliced lengthwise in quarters, then crosswise ¼-inch pieces (1 ½ cups)
1 red bell pepper, sliced in bite-size pieces (1 cup)
1 large carrot, grated, large holes on box grater, blot dry with paper towels
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

Optional: cherry tomatoes, seeded and quartered; diced avocado; sliced green onions, cooked chicken

1. Cook noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under sold running water.

2. Puree peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, sesame oil, brown sugar and ¼ cup cilantro in mini food processor until smooth and creamy.

3. Toss together noodles, cucumber, bell pepper, carrot and peanut butter mixture. Garnish with remaining cilantro and chopped peanuts.

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