I'm back!

I haven’t been doing much cooking lately (or writing either, duh) because I’ve been so busy working, but I decided that this weekend I was going to do more of what I actually enjoy doing. 

Last night we cooked some beautiful Mahi Mahi over the embers of our fire by the creek.  I also tossed some little teeny tiny potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh parsley, then wrapped them up tight in heavy duty aluminum foil and roasted them next to the embers.  Derek grilled some radicchio that I had cut in half and brushed with olive oil, and I made a dressing of espresso flavored balsamic vinegar that we bought at a cool little place in Asheville, NC this summer, with roasted walnut oil and a dash of sherry vinegar.  Damn, I wish I had bought a big bottle of that vinegar!  I topped the radicchio with some pecans I had roasted in the oven with olive oil, butter, a dash of Lea & P, a tiny squeeze of lemon and some Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.  I would have used Cosmic Cajun Seasoning, which my high school classmate (Mary Jewell Isolani) and her husband created, but we ran out, alas.   I also wish we had gotten to know each other better in high school, but thank God for Facebook!  Truth be told, I could hardly get Derek to leave those pecans alone; they smell so good while roasting.  If there are any left, I’m going to use them as a garnish for the pasta dish I’m making for tonight’s dinner, which is a celebration of fall.  I’m cooking some spinach penne that I’ll serve with Bob Evans’ breakfast sausage (I actually have to add a little olive oil, it’s so lean), some oven roasted butternut squash, sautéed onions, and a sprinkle of salty, nutty Parmigiano Reggiano.  I garnish it with some whole fried sage leaves.  I’ve made this before and Derek just loves it, but I never thought of finishing it with a handful of chopped roasted spiced pecans.  I think that will add the perfect amount of ooh la la!

I’m not always this thoughtful, but Derek has been doing the vast majority of the cooking lately, since I’ve been teaching a class on Monday nights after my regular job, and then having to work late every other night to catch up with the tremendous volume of work we’ve been getting.  I’m also making a braised chicken dish that he can reheat and have for dinner tomorrow night while I’m teaching.  I browned some chicken thighs (with bone and skin), added onion, leeks and garlic, then added white wine, chicken broth, some of the gorgeous tangy sweet orange cherry tomatoes and a handful of the little “Sugary” red tomatoes we’ve had in our garden this summer.  I love the little tomatoes; they’re so aesthetically pleasing.  I threw in some fresh thyme and parsley (also from our garden), a little tomato paste and some carrots.  It’s cooking in the oven right now, and the smells from both dishes are divine, if I do say so myself.  I can’t decide whether to make polenta for the chicken, or roast the rest of those tiny potatoes, but either way, I’m eating it for lunch on Tuesday!

Maybe next weekend I’ll finish my first attempt at abstract painting.

Russian Salad, or Salad Olivier: a cool meal for a hot night

Russian Salad, or Salad Olivier

After hearing rave reviews from a friend who recently had this in Spain, I experimented earlier this week with a salad whose history is as rich as its flavors. Called Russian Salad in some countries, it's known as Ensaladilla Rusa in Spain, but the Russians know it as Salad Olivier, named for the Belgian chef who created it at the famous - and expensive - Hermitage restaurant in Moscow. The story goes that the recipe was stolen by Chef Olivier's assistant, who then quit and took the recipe with him to a less expensive restaurant where it became knows as Stolichny Salad, or Capital Salad. The ingredients of the original recipe were a well-kept secret, but reportedly included such exotic ingredients as grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crawfish tails, capers, and smoked duck, although it seems likely that the recipe varied somewhat from season to season. The original Olivier dressing was a type of mayonnaise, made with French wine vinegar, mustard, and Provençal olive oil; its exact recipe, however, remains unknown.  At any rate, it was a lovely meal salad, perfect for the hottest night I’ve ever experienced – I'm not sure what the low was but we had a high of 106!  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it, so the picture here is borrowed from Google images, but here’s my version:

2 C leftover cooked chicken, cut in bite size pieces (you can substitute other meat; ham is sometimes used in this salad, and it would be delicious with leftover boiled shrimp, too)

3 medium potatoes (1 lb), whole

1 large carrot, whole

2/3 C frozen green peas

2/3 C cooked green beans, cut in tiny pieces

1 large shallot or red onion, finely minced

1 stalk celery, very thinly sliced

4 cocktail gherkins or 6 cornichons, very thinly sliced

12 green olives, very thinly sliced

2 T non-pareil capers (optional)

3 hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced

1 C mayonnaise, preferably homemade with extra virgin olive oil

1 T lemon juice

1 t Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black and/or white pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Put the potatoes and the carrot in a medium saucepan of water; bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and add a little salt.  Cook about 10 minutes and remove carrot.  Rinse the carrot in cold water to stop cooking and slice very thinly.  Continue to cook the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them, about 5 – 10 minutes more, depending on the size. Rinse in cold water and cut open to allow them to cool off.  When cool, chop in small cubes and add to the carrots.  You can peel them if you prefer; it’s traditional, but I like the skins.

Meanwhile, put the peas in a fine mesh strainer to defrost.  In a large bowl, add shallot, celery, green beans, gherkins/cornichons, olives, capers and sliced egg.  In a separate bowl or blender, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard, then add to serving bowl with the shallot, gherkin/cornichon mixture and fold together gently.  Add the cooled diced potatoes and thinly sliced carrot and mix with other ingredients.  Add the chicken and defrosted peas and fold all ingredients together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for 30 minutes and serve garnished with chopped parsley.

You can make this ahead, but don’t serve it cold; it’s better just slightly chilled, or even at room temperature.  This is a great way to use up leftover boiled potatoes, meat and/or cooked vegetables.

Painting

After looking at houses in different neighborhoods for a few weeks now, we’ve realized that we probably can’t afford what we want, so for the moment at least, we’re back to the idea of adding on to our house.  This suits me just fine.  I love our neighborhood.

September Rain, my version 2012

September Rain, artist's original

I haven’t made anything terribly exciting or photogenic this week since the turkey lettuce wraps I’ve already shared with you.  Last night I went to another Wine and Canvas event with a friend from work.  It was so much fun, and it’s so interesting to see the different versions of the painting that come out of that class.  I learned a few new things about painting in general, and I was pretty pleased with the painting I did.  There are a few details I’d like to improve, but I can see progress in my work since my first one.  I’m looking forward to my oil painting class tomorrow night!  Here’s my latest effort, entitled September Rain, my version.  I’ve also included a photograph of the original by the artist who taught the class.

Simple things

Lettuce Rollups with ground turkey and vegetables

When I was a kid, I used to get such a sense of peace and contentment when I would organize my chest of drawers.  In fact, sometimes when I was supposed to be asleep, I would get my Girl Scout flashlight and just look at an open drawer, marveling at the order.  So I guess I've always known this about myself, but today it became crystal clear that nothing makes me happier than drinking a glass of wine, listening to music while I create a meal for/with friends in my own clean, organized kitchen, where everything is in its place.  It really is the simple things...

Here’s a simple recipe:

Lettuce Rollups

Ingredients

·         1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey, or leftover pork roast, minced

·         1 medium carrot, minced or grated

·         1 cup minced leftover broccoli, asparagus, string beans, snow peas, etc.

·         ½ C finely chopped onion

·         ½ C finely chopped celery/bell pepper or other aromatic vegetables

·         1 head romaine lettuce, separated, washed, and dried

·         1 C cooked brown rice

·         Chopped unsalted peanuts or cashews, water chestnuts, jícama and/or green onions for garnish (optional)

Sauce:

·         3 T soy sauce

·         ¼ cup chicken broth or water

·         1 tablespoon cornstarch

·         1 t minced fresh garlic

·         ¼  t grated fresh ginger

·         ¼- ½ t Chinese Five Spice

·         1 T toasted sesame oil

·         Dash of red pepper flakes or Sriracha (optional)

Directions

Preparation: Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a large sauté pan or wok on medium-high heat. Cook the meat, untouched, until juices start to be released.

Add the carrot and broccoli or any other vegetables you like.  Break up the meat and continue stirring until the meat is thoroughly cooked.  If the meat is producing a lot of grease, drain it before adding the sauce.

Turn the heat down to medium-low, whisk the sauce again, and add it to the pan. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes more, until well coated.  Add the rice just to heat through.

Serve the meat in a bowl and arrange the lettuce leaves separately on a plate; put the meat mixture in the leaves with a spoon, then sprinkle with whatever garnish you’re using and eat like a taco.

Pantries are Us!

As it turns out, finding a house we can afford with the features we want in a neighborhood we like is no easy endeavor.  We’re going to keep looking, but we’ve decided that in the meantime, if we can address some of the ongoing issues we have with this house, our lives will be simpler, easier, and less annoying.  That can only be good!  So Saturday Derek put together a pantry in the basement from cabinets that were taking up space in the garage. All of our pantry items are now easy to find because they're organized by category, frequency of use and expiration date, and I'm so happy I could wee wee on myself!  Last night I was tempted to get liquored up and just sit downstairs and look at it all night.

Baked penne with mushrooms and broccoli

Last night I made baked penned with chicken, broccoli and mushrooms, and three Italian cheeses: Asiago, Romano and Parmesan.  I had planned to make it on Saturday, but I was too tired from all the organizing, so we ordered Chinese.  I like to use a combination of spinach and whole wheat penne, and we had some leftover broccoli from our garden that’s a lovely bright green.  I used some fresh white mushrooms and an assortment of dried mushroom.  We still have a lot of arugula from our garden, so I made my favorite salad of arugula, tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts and parmesan curls with lemon vinaigrette.  I had every intention of grilling some sliced ciabatta brushed with olive oil, then rubbed with garlic and tomato.  I completely forgot about it!

Earlier this week, I tried Cooks’ Illustrated’s recipe for thin grilled pork chops.  The trick is you pat them dry, salt them and freeze them for a half hour or so, then rub them with a compound butter that has a little brown sugar in it.  Freezing them for a bit keeps them for getting overcooked inside while you’re getting them nicely browned.  This week I’m going to try them again with a black olive tapenade spread on them at the end.  If they look good enough, I’ll post a picture. 

Hope you all had a great weekend.  I think I’m going to go downstairs and gaze at my pantry for a little while.

House hunting

Tilapia Veracruz with Spanish Rice

The weather this weekend has been lovely: cool and crisp, almost like autumn.  Yesterday we met some friends for lunch at our new favorite lunch place, B’s Poboys, that I mentioned last weekend.  Mark and Julie love good food and both are big fans of New Orleans.  They go to New Orleans at least annually, so we were excited to share our new discovery with them.  Before lunch yesterday we drove around looking at houses.  Derek and I need more space, both in the kitchen and in our living areas.  We love our neighborhood and the convenience of it, so we go back and forth about whether to add on to this house and build a new garage, or take advantage of the current low interest rates and buy a new house with more space and more of the features we want.  For me, what is first and foremost is a bigger and more efficient kitchen adjacent to open space for entertaining.  I would also love a swimming pool, but of course, that’s not at the top of Derek’s list.  For him, it would be a Garage Mahal, as he and his dad call it.

Grilled salmon with herb butter and sweet potato grits

Derek's Greek Salad with Lemon Herb vinaigrette

Last night I made Tilapia Veracruz and Spanish rice with peppers and onions.  Before that, we had a simple salad of lettuce from our garden, tomato, avocado and red onion with citrus vinaigrette.  Friday night Derek prepared grilled salmon with herb butter preceded by a Greek salad with Lemon Herb vinaigrette.  So we’ve eaten pretty healthy food this weekend.  Tonight I can have some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with no guilt attached.  And tomorrow night is my first of eight oil painting classes.  J

Remembering Dan Wheldon

 Ribs with grilled sweet potato fries and broccoli salad

Derek made his nonpareil ribs today and I experimented (again) with sweet potato fries.  This time I tried them on a cookie sheet on the grill, and I tried two different methods: one with a kind of glaze I found on Food.com and the other with my go-to recipe of peanut oil and a combination of salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, cayenne and dried thyme leaves.  The ones with the glaze looked good and Derek liked the flavor, but even after twice as much time, they weren’t cooked all the way through, and they certainly weren’t crispy.  The broccoli salad was redolent with garlic and lemon zest, though, just the way I like it.  It’s really pretty, too.  The ribs were so good I could have cried: moist and tender, but not too tender, and with a crunchy salty sweet crust that just could not be better.

Grilled sweet potato fries

We’re watching the Indy 500 on television; it was just too hot to actually go to the track.  I already know who won, but Derek doesn’t, so I’m not saying anything yet.  This post goes out to Dan Wheldon’s widow and their kids.  God bless you.