Salad Fetish

My friends tease me about loving citrus in my salads. (I know I know - "what's wrong with your friends that they think that's so weird?" you're asking. J)

But I do love citrus in salads, and it makes the winter months as lovely a salad season as is summer, in my book.

Here is a simple, delicious salad of organic spinach, yellow bell pepper, English cucumber, green onion, and a blood orange (from my friend Marcia's tree).

I dressed it with a simple vinaigrette of Meyer lemon juice and a rich flavored olive oil from Figone's (Sonoma County residents - check them out!). Some black pepper and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Wonderful!

Beautiful Side Dishes

Readers may remember that I love to cook from Joanne Harris’ and Fran Warde’s cookbook, The French Market. If I ever come close to cooking every recipe in a particular cookbook, this may be the one I'll choose. (I won't do it in a year, and I won't blog about it.) I've made a number of dishes from this book: I love the Poulet Chausseur (a sort of French Cacciatore), the Chèvre aux Figues, which always gets rave reviews when I bring it to gatherings, and the wonderful and homey Lentilles du Puy, which I've posted about before.

The book contains wonderful side dish recipes for all seasons. As all manner of greens are beautiful in my area this time of year, I elected to try the Bettes du Vigneron, or Vineyard-Style Swiss Chard.

This recipe calls for Swiss Chard, a sliced onion, garlic, raisins, toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. So I assembled my ingredients. I toasted the pine nuts, gathered some raisins, a Meyer lemon, and sea salt.

I washed and chopped my Chard.

I sliced my onion (I chose a red onion - I thought its sharpness would be great with the other flavors), and sautéed it with the chard stems. When they were soft, I added the chard leaves, the minced garlic, and some salt and pepper. I upped the heat a bit and sautéed them just till the leaves were softened. Then I added the raisins and pine nuts, sprinkled on the lemon juice, and mixed it all up.

Wow! The slight bitterness of the chard, the sweetness of the raisins, the sharpness of the onions and lemon and the nutty crunch of the pine nuts were such a lovely flavor combination! So much better than the quick sauté in oil and garlic that I usually do with chard!

I suppose one would normally serve a vegetable like chard with a white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc. However, I think that the addition of the raisins and onions provides opportunity for fuller bodied whites - perhaps a Viognier - or a light bodied red. Quite delicious!

Farmers' Market Eggplant and a Favorite Recipe

I love eggplant.

I especially love small, tender young eggplant!  I don't know the names of these varieties, but I know they are among my favorites, and I bought some at a recent Farmers Market.

One of my all time favorite eggplant recipes is Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant with Ricotta Salata.  See the link for the recipe; here's what I did.

I caramelized sugar in some water in a saucepan, and then added vinegar, tomatoes, garlic and oil.  I seasoned with salt and white pepper (the white pepper really makes a difference).  This simmered for about 1/2 hour.
 

Meanwhile, I sliced up my eggplants, laid the slices out on a baking sheet, brushed them with oil, seasoned them, and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, turning them in the middle.
 

I then spooned tomato sauce over it to cover, and baked it for 20 minutes more until it was bubbling and browning.  When it came out of the oven, I sprinkled over the mint and cheese.  I substituted a Greek feta - I've used this substitution in the past, and it works just fine if ricotta salata is difficult to find.
 

The finished dish can be served, hot or room temperature, with any remaining tomato sauce on the side.  I think the flavor is beyond compare - the combination of the sugar and vinegar in the sauce taste almost candied, and the slightly bitter and salty flavors from the eggplant and cheese soften the sweetness.  It's a wonderfully rich taste experience!

While the recipe suggests serving this with a Sicilian white or a Pinot Grigio, I really love it with a medium bodied red, such as a Chianti or Barbera.  Enjoy!

Inedible Rubber

That’s my sorry verdict on my first pasta making attempt.  Here's the story.

My friend Joseph, a Personal Chef and one of the chefs at the CIA in St. Helena, was among the folks sharing a glass or three of wine in honor of a friend’s birthday a while back.  We were chatting about cooking matters, and he gave me a pasta making challenge.  I told him I didn’t own a pasta maker, and he said I didn’t need one.  This is the recipe Joseph gave me:

1 cup semolina flour
2 eggs
Pinch of salt

He told me to mix, knead, and roll out the dough as flat as possible, cut and cook for a short period of time.

Joseph was – intentionally I'm sure – vague about any additional instruction.  I think he wanted me to learn stuff for myself.

I confess I did consult a few cookbooks for guidance.  None of them contained Joseph’s exact recipe.  However, they all generally discussed kneading the dough (5-8 minutes), rolling the dough out, and cutting it or putting itthrough the pasta machine.

So here is what I did.

I measured 1 cup semolina flour, and got out two eggs.  I threw a pinch of Kosher salt into the flour.  I beat up the eggs with a fork. 

 

I poured the beaten eggs into the flour.  At first, I mixed the eggs into the flour with the fork.  Once it was pretty much blended, I turned the dough out onto a lightly floured plastic sheet and began kneading.  After some kneading and adding small (very small) amounts of flour, the dough stopped sticking to my hands.  I found it very difficult to work, and it felt tough and very un-pliable to me.  Here is my dough after about 8 minutes of kneading.  Looks tough, doesn't it?
 

I rolled the dough out as best I could.  It was very difficult to do.  Getting the dough to budge took all my strength, including leaning on the rolling pin with my elbows.  I couldn’t roll it out any larger than this.  The sheet was, I would estimate, 1/8 inch thick.
 

I cut the dough into very thin little strips about the size of linguine with my sharpest paring knife. 

However, I may as well not have done this, since I realized once it was time to pop the pasta into the boiling water that it was stuck to the plastic board.  I had to pry it up with a knife, and the effect of all my carefully cut almost perfect little strips was lost.
 

I didn’t want to overcook it (I wonder if it would have mattered); the mess boiled somewhere between 2 and 4 minutes.

Well as I say, the result was, sadly, pretty inedible.  It tasted like polenta and that was fine, but the texture was hard and rubbery.
 

What went wrong?  Clearly the problem occurred in the mixing or kneading stages.  I intentionally didn't consult any pasta making videos before my attempt, but I have done so since (and I did find something very close to Joseph's recipe), and the texture of the dough in the videos was very different from mine - much softer.  If I had to speculate, I’m guessing either I worked the flour into the eggs too quickly, or there was perhaps a bit too much flour, or perhaps it was something about the temperature of the eggs (they were straight from the fridge), or perhaps all of the above.

So it was an amusing little experiment (fortunately it didn’t take long), and I’ll be going back to Joseph for a good laugh and, finally, some real instructions.

Or better yet, I’ll see if I can convince him to give me and some of my friends an in-person lesson, because I have a feeling that this is one of these cooking techniques I have to watch, preferably in person, in order to learn.

So stay tuned for the next installment of pasta making experimentation.  We have only one direction to go, my friends, and that is up!

All my pasta making friends out there - give me some advice in the comments, I beg you!

P.S.  The pesto I made to go with this pasta was killer – and the pesto, at least, has not gone to waste!

The Great July Supper Club Antipasto Challenge!

Back in 2000, Food and Wine magazine sponsored an Antipasto Challenge between none other than famous chefs Mario Batali and Michael Chiarello.  The magazine declared the competition a draw – you can read the article here.

Our amazing supper clubbers decided we would attempt to reproduce the challenge and see if we could determine a definitive winner.  We made a few substitutions due to dietary issues, and prepared 8 dishes total – 4 Batali and 4 Chiarello.  For pairing, we served the 2005 Milliaire Winery Primitivo Jeunesse, a very food friendly Zin from Amador County, and the 2007 Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, an equally lovely food wine.  This is a chronicle of our noteworthy (if I do say so myself) efforts!

Batali presents first!

We enjoyed Batali’s Grilled-Fig Salad with Prosciutto, and as you can see, Rose’s presentation was gorgeous!   Figs and prosciutto are a classic combination, and this dish was rich and earthy and paired nicely with the Sinskey, though the Primitivo worked as well.  Rose felt the dish could actually have been improved by a bit less arugula so that the flavors of the fig and prosciutto were truly at the forefront.

Also in the line-up was Batali’s Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano and Mint, prepared by yours truly.  This dish was easy to make, well received, and one I know I will make again and again.  If I had an improvement to suggest, I think I might slice the squash thinner than called for (which will likely reduce the cooking time), to create smaller servings.  I actually liked this dish with both the wines.

Our next Batali dish was a substitution – Black Kale with Ricotta, prepared and modified a bit by Bon Vivant.  I loved the freshness and simplicity of this dish, and it was a hit as well!  I liked it with the Primitivo; it was very nice with the Sinskey too.

Last up for Batali, and my personal favorite dish of the day, was the Goat Cheese Truffles with Peperonata.  We had fun discussing which of the three truffle flavors we liked best – I favored the fennel pollen, but many preferred the sweet paprika – all three were killer!  I loved this dish with the Sinskey, but the Primitivo paired nicely with it as well.  Richards thought she would make the truffles a bit smaller next time (again, it was a large serving), and several of us thought that while the peperonata was delicious, the truffles were the main event and could easily stand on their own with the arugula (again, less of it) to garnish them.

 
On to the Chiarello dishes!

We loved the Marinated Vegetables – one half was prepared largely as written but with tuna substituted for the anchovies, and the other half omitted the tuna.  Both versions were great – I liked the one with the tuna best.  My opinion was that, perhaps due to the vinegar, neither wine paired especially well with it.  Also, BV reported it was quite time consuming to prepare – but well worth the effort I say - delicious!
 

Then we had the fabulous Italian Tuna Mousse!  This dish had a perfect texture, light, airy and delicious, and I thought the Mousse with the Sinskey was the most perfect pairing of the evening!
 

The Wild Mushroom and Tomato Panzanella is a most unusual and interesting version of the classic Italian bread salad (and a recipe I have actually prepared numerous times, though I didn't prepare it this time).  It was beautiful and tasty, and paired particularly well with the Primitivo.
 

And our last Chiarello dish – and the favorite of many in the group (the dish we all had seconds of!) – was Zucchini Saltimbocca.  Each bite was a treat, with an intriguing balance of flavors, and I loved it with the Sinskey although it certainly stood up well with the Primitivo as well.

Because Supper Club isn’t Supper Club without dessert, although not a part of the official challenge we had a melt-in-your-mouth delicious Berry Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream – it doesn’t get better than that! 

So what were the votes?  Well, we had three votes for Chiarello and four for Batali, but all agreed that it was very close, and that every dish was interesting and delicious.  In fact, we wondered whether, if our club had 8 rather than 7 members, we wouldn’t have come up with a tie as well! 

My own vote (for Batali) had nothing to do with the relative quality of the two sets of dishes, because both were superb, with beautiful presentations and an intricate balance of flavors.  For me it simply came down to food preferences.  Winter squash, figs, goat cheese and kale are simply among my favorite foods on earth to eat.

Regardless of the votes, we had a splendid time enjoying amazing antipasti dishes and lovely wines out on the patio on a gorgeous Napa summer day!

Mole Adventure (the sauce, that is . . . )

I have always wanted to learn to make mole, and I finally got my chance!  The occasion?  Our May Supper Club, the theme of which was Mexican cuisine, in honor of Cinco de Mayo!  It was also my first opportunity to use my new Rick Bayliss cookbook, Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.  I’m going to enjoy this cookbook immensely, I know.  Bayliss’s recipe instructions are very clear and easy to follow, even when the recipe is complex, and his explanatory notes about the history and regional variations of the dishes are a delight to read.  

For my Supper Club selection, I decided to make Bayliss’s Ayocotes en Coloradito, or Runner Beans in Brick-Red Mole.  Bayliss describes this dish is a Oaxacan specialty, pairing one of the region’s simpler moles with flavorful heirloom beans.  The mole sauce was one of the easier ones (albeit time consuming), and can be used with any number of other dishes.  I can’t wait to make it again!

My first step was locating the ingredients.  As is true in many parts of California, we are fortunate here in Sonoma to have access to a host of Mexican ingredients in grocery stores and specialty Mexican markets.  At one such local Mexican market, I found the dried ancho and guajillo chiles I needed in bulk, so I was able to buy just the amount I needed.  I also picked up Mexican canela cinnamon, which the folks at Rancho Gordo describe as softer and less astringent, warmer and more woodsy than cinnamon from cassia bark.  I also tracked down some Mexican chocolate, and Mexican oregano, again described by Rancho Gordo as similar to European oregano, but with a slight citrus twist.  Finally I needed the Ayocotes, or heirloom scarlet runner beans, which I picked up at Rancho Gordo’s store in Napa.  Add a couple of ripe tomatoes plus the remaining ingredients which I always have on hand, and I was ready to begin!

I sliced open my dried chiles, and removed the seeds and stems.  I heated a skillet without oil, opened up the chiles to flatten them, and toasted them briefly before popping them into hot water for 30 minutes to rehydrate.  Then I placed some foil over half my skillet, and put my tomatoes on it to toast.  I toasted some unpeeled garlic on the unfoiled part of the hot skillet.  I toasted both for about 10 minutes until they were blackened.  I peeled the garlic and the tomatoes, and popped them into my blender.  I toasted some sesame seeds next, rolling them around in the pan until they were browned, and added them to the blender.  I drained the chiles and added them to the blender too.  Last into the blender were the cinnamon, oregano, chocolate, some black pepper and 1 ½ cups chicken broth, and I hit the puree button.  This next bit required elbow grease.  I put my small mesh strainer over a big bowl and poured in the contents of the blender.  Then I took a large spoon and pressed and pressed with all my might until I got as much liquid out of the blended concoction as I could, because I didn’t want to miss a delicious drop!

 

Look at that brick red color!

Next, I heated olive oil in a saucepan.  (I’m pretty squeamish about lard from a health standpoint, and did not use it, although Bayliss lauds the flavor it adds.  I used his oil substitute instead.)  The mole sauce went into the saucepan with more broth, and simmered for an hour or so.  Then I seasoned with salt and sugar.

Meanwhile I cooked the runner beans in water as directed – they took about 2 ½ hours.  I drained them, poured them into my mole sauce, corrected the seasonings, and whisked them off to my Supper Club, where they were a big hit!

By the way, here was the lineup of the rest of our fabulous meal!

Fresh guacamole three ways
A delicious chorizo cheese dip with chips
Pasilla chiles stuffed w goat cheese
Pork Roasted in Banana Leaves
Mexican Rice and fresh homemade tortillas, of course!
Pastel de tres leches
(Note: there was also the special treat of Bon Vivant’s fabulous caviar torte – not Mexican, but ever amazing and delicious!)

Good times, good food!

Sauvignon Blancs From Around the World: First Wine/Food Pairing Event

The Objective:

I want to experiment over the next few months with home wine and food pairing events, so that I can try to develop a workable model for a marketable business involving food and wine pairings in the future.  Lucky for me, I have several wine loving friends who are enthusiastic about joining into my experiments!  I recently hosted my first such event, and here's the report.

The Format:

Four guests and I brought wine.  The only criteria were that the wine be a Sauvignon Blanc varietal, and be above a certain modest price.  Three guests and I prepared food we thought might pair well with Sauvignon Blanc.  There was a sea of glasses on the table, because the five wines were served in flights.  Guests were invited to take their time, first sampling each wine without food, and then trying each of the wines with the food offerings.  All were provided with charts on which to take notes if they wished.

The Wine Lineup:

• 2007 Domaine Cordaillat Reuilly "Les Sables"  12.5% alcohol
• 2007 Highfield Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) 13.0% alcohol
• 2008 Domaine Patrick Coulbois Pouilly-Fumé "Les Cocques"  12.5% alcohol
• 2009 Guenoc Lillie's North Coast Sauvignon Blanc, California.  13.5% alcohol
• 2009 Aresti Reserva Sauvignon Blanc D.O. Curico Valley, Chile.  13.0% alcohol
   

The Cuisine: 

A young goat cheese gouda with crackers

Potato Chips with Chèvre, Pepper Jelly and Bacon

Basil Leaves Stuffed with Chèvre and Pine Nuts

Herbed Tomato and Zucchini Gratin

Asparagus Salad with Herbs and Parmesan

Grilled Shrimp with Citrus-Sambal-Oelek Dressing

Smoked Salmon with Crème Fraîche and Capers

And for dessert,

Marcia’s Zippy Lemon Bars (Recipe below)

The Votes:

There were wild and interesting variations in individual pairing preferences, which was a lot of fun.  However, here are some generalizations:  The Chilean wine got raves with the goat gouda.  The two chèvre appetizers got votes with the New Zealand wine, although they also got some votes paired with the two French wines.  The two vegetable dishes were favored with the Guenoc.  And there were several votes preferring the shrimp and salmon with the two French wines.   

A couple more personal pairing notes:  I thought the shrimp dish paired nicely with all of the wines, and was not surprised at that.  However I was somewhat surprised to find that Ialso enjoyed the Asparagus Salad with most of the wines - I expected that to be a tougher pairing.  My favorite wine to just sip was the Pouilly-Fumé ( a view not shared by all), but interestingly, the Guenoc and Chilean wines I thought were the best food wines overall, working with the largest number of the foods, even though they were the ones I enjoyed a bit less on their own.

Parting Thoughts: 

It is endlessly fascinating to me, observing the different taste notes people will pick out of  various wines and pairings, and the different preferences guests experience.  After the obvious pleasure of enjoying great wines with great food, this is the most exciting thing to me about wine and food pairing events: the subtle differences in people's palates, and the things I can learn from others as we discuss what we taste!  We all had a great deal of fun, and we're all looking forward to the next party!  Here is a final picture of a well used table!

Marcia's Zippy Lemon Bars

Prep time approx. 40 minutes.

BASE:
2 c flour
½ c powdered sugar
1 c butter (softened)
 

Mix above and press into 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 minutes @ 350 degrees. Let cool a little. Top should be slightly browned with a bit of lighter color showing thru. Watch the corners and edges for faster baking than the middle.

LEMON CUSTARD TOP:
4 beaten eggs
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp lemon juice and a bit of rind

Mix well and pour over warm base. Bake 25-30 minutes longer until top is slightly browned. Cut while slightly warm. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar by hand or w/sifter when cooled. Top must brown before removal from oven. Custard topping may be quite runny if undercooked or cut while hot. Let it cool and settle before cutting. Seems to form a bubbled up thin, caramelized crust w/even browning.

NOTES: I stick to basic baking practices not outlined in the original recipe: I blend the butter and sugar first, add the flour in stages, etc. I use my fist and arm to spread out the base in the pan. Otherwise it is a bear to spread out with a spoon or scraper. I use a whisk on the eggs and remaining ingredients. Meyer lemons don’t have enough zing and acidity, use regular lemons. I don’t measure the amount of juice. I’ve used b/w 1-2 lemons in the past to no measurable difference in texture or flavor. Same with the rind. The more fresh rind, the better though. I use a Pyrex baking pan. Metal seems to induce more dry out in the baking process. I cover all with foil for keeping for a few days. I’ve heard it helps to dip a knife in hot water to aid in cutting, but I’ve no definite answers this works great. Just be gentle.

Too Bad I Can't Photograph An Aroma!

Because this dish smelled insanely good while cooking!
 

I love Joanne Harris’ and Fran Warde’s cookbook, The French Market, which I bought a while back when our then-Supper Club was planning a French meal.  Since then, I’ve prepared a number of delightful dishes from it.  I had been eying their recipe for Lentilles du Puy, or Wine-Braised Puy Lentils, for quite some time, and I finally decided the time had come.  It’s easy, and I often have all the ingredients on hand.  I cut the recipe in half, but it calls for:

¼ c. olive oil
2 red onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups Puy lentils or brown lentils (I used brown)
2 cups hearty red wine (I used a simple, fruity Shiraz)
1 (14½-oz) can chopped tomatoes in juice
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs oregano (I didn’t have fresh oregano, used thyme sprigs from my garden instead)
2 sprigs rosemary (I used a bit of dried)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 350, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe covered pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic, cook for 5 min. Add all the remaining ingredients PLUS ¾ cup water, and bring to a boil.  Cover and bake for 30 min.  Stir, and continue baking till the lentils are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 min. more.

The heady aroma of this dish while it baked was amazing, and I loved the hearty, rustic flavors.  I enjoyed the lentils with left-over pork roast and an arugula salad, with the same Shiraz I used in the dish.  The Shiraz was lovely with the lentils, not a perfect match for the pork but not at all bad.  A very satisfying meal, and I’m sure I will be making these lentils again and again.

Note:  They are even better the next day!

Cooking by the seat of my pants

When and why do I modify recipes? Because I lack one or more ingredients. Because I think an ingredient will clash with another dish I’m serving. Because I’m in the mood!

Sometimes a recipe serves more as a description of a technique for preparing a particular ingredient, and then I modify the ingredient list to suit my needs. The Quinoa pilaf I made for the dinner party (see previous post) is an example.

The original recipe (Food and Wine Jan. 2003) calls for 12 ingredients, creating a wonderful blend of strong flavors. I followed it exactly the first time I made it, and I loved it! But this time I just needed a refresher on making a pilaf with quinoa – how long to cook it, the proportion of grain to liquid (although I modified that as well!). I planned to serve this pilaf with a braised chicken sort of stew with an assortment of root vegetables, seasoned with paprika and herbs, and I wanted more of a savory accompaniment, less of a bold statement. I didn’t have the zucchini or fresh tomato on hand, plus I felt that the more summertime feel of tomato and zucchini wasn’t appropriate for the meal. I also thought the mint might clash with the other flavors I was serving. While I like the flavor of the chili powder the recipe calls for, I wanted a rich rather than tangy flavor, so I used Ancho chili powder instead. I kept the turmeric, which created a lovely color, and kept the sautéed onions but also added scallions (the whole thing, white and green parts) for color and added sweetness. I garnished with parsley, and the result was a savory but subtle, nicely textured accompaniment to my chicken dish.