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.

Grilled Pot Roast a la Frugal Gourmet

We had lunch today at a little slice of NOLA heaven called B’s Poboys in Fountain Square that Derek recently discovered.  It’s a much nicer place than the equivalent in New Orleans is likely to be, with photos of The French Quarter and voodoo dolls decorating the walls, but they actually get their French bread from Leidenheimer’s, which is one of the oldest French bread bakeries in my hometown.  I had a BBQ shrimp poboy, which was fabulous, although unlike any I’ve ever had back home; it was grilled shrimp with actual barbecue sauce.  I had it dressed with lettuce and pickles, just like I would at Guy’s on Magazine St.  Derek had a fried oyster poboy, of course, after discovering that they have Gulf oysters flown in, too.  Their red beans and rice with andouille were real New Orleans style, too.  I couldn’t be happier unless I was twins!  For one thing, it’s very close to home, across the street from the Fountain Square Brewery, in a funky neighborhood of Indianapolis and close to where I work downtown.  I bought a T-shirt and can’t wait to take my Indianapolis friends there to introduce them to an authentic poboy.

Barbecued potatoes, squash and zucchini

Tonight I’m making The Frugal Gourmet’s Graduate School Pot Roast with barbecued potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, and a salad made with Butter Crunch lettuce right out of our garden.  Here’s the recipe from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American:

Update:  Well, folks, I wasn’t paying attention and I really overcooked the roast, so no pictures of that this time.  There were some salvageable bits that were actually very tasty, so I’m going to try this again sometime.  Maybe I’ll prep it and let Derek cook it!

Graduate School Pot Roast

1 3-lb chuck or pot roast; 1-inch thick
1 T Water
1 T Powdered meat tenderizer
2 T Light soy sauce
2 T Kitchen Bouquet
1 t Coleman s Dry English Mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lg Yellow onion; sliced thin
Wood chips or sawdust (optional)

“Using a metal pot fork, poke holes in the meat. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of water and then one half of the meat tenderizer. Rub it into the meat and then turn the meat over and repeat the process. Let the meat stand for 1/2 hour. Use a salt-free tenderizer such as Adolf”s Salt Free and please understand that there is nothing strange about the contents of this product. It consists of an extract called papain. It is made from the papaya fruit and it is not harmful in any way. After the meat has sat for 1/2 hour, mix the soy, Kitchen Bouquet, mustard, and black pepper together and rub this mixture into the meat on both sides. Grill the meat over a low to medium charcoal fire. Turn over the meat after about 45 minutes. Place the sliced onion over the meat and grill about another 45 minutes. Be careful not to dry out the meat or burn it. If you wish a smoky flavor, sprinkle water-soaked wood chips or sawdust on the fire during the cooking. The result will be a tender and flavorful roast that will be a bit crunchy on the outside and pink and lovely on the inside. This meat is perfect with Barbecued Potatoes” (see recipes below).

The Frugal Gourmet Barbecued Potatoes

4 unpeeled potatoes, washed
3/4 c. vinaigrette dressing
salt and pepper
Bake potatoes in their skins about 30 min. at 450 deg.  While still hot, cut the potatoes lengthwise in half and each half into quarters.  Place in glass baking dish and cover with the dressing.  Let stand 1 hour turning once.  Remove from the dressing and place on the grill.  Salt and pepper to taste and grill the pieces until golden, about 10 min.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. rosemary
1/4 t. Coleman's dry mustard
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 c. olive oil
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
2 T. water
2 t. fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Happy Memorial Day, peeps!

Butter Crunch





Barn in Field Acrylic

Well, so much for my new year’s “intention” to write more.  I have no excuse, but I will say that I didn’t want to post with text only, and I hadn’t figured out how to download and save photos on the computer I’m currently using (which I don’t like, by the way).  I finally had a chunk of time and just sat down and figured it out.   Derek accidentally knocked my laptop on the floor when he fell asleep on the sofa, and sent it to an untimely death.  I was very lucky, though, that he was able to retrieve and save almost everything on the hard drive, including all of my food blog photos.  When I get a little cash set aside, I think it’s time to buy a new computer.  In the meantime, I’ve been taking some painting classes, starting with Wine and Canvas, which is a fabulous idea, by the way.  I started playing with watercolors when I lived in Mexico 25 + years ago, but I think my medium is oil, so I coughed up the cash to take an eight-week oil painting class. That’s wiped me out for a little while, especially after just getting back from New Orleans for Jazz Fest, where we spent a small fortune eating!  Big Surprise there, huh?

Anyway, I have a little time at work this morning while waiting for the last minute rush of psychiatric and detox admissions before the long weekend, so I thought I’d say hello.  We’ve had an extraordinarily mild winter here in Indianapolis; in fact, it would not be completely inaccurate to say winter this year has been a long spring.  I’m afraid we may pay for that with a super hot summer, but I’m not going to dwell on that yet.  We’ve been enjoying fresh herbs for months now, and our tomato plants are happily in the ground.  Derek picked our first lettuce from the garden this week and it was so gorgeous and delicious I could have wept.  We tried some Butter Crunch for the first time this year, and I think it may be my new favorite lettuce.  It has the creamy buttery taste of a Boston, with just a little of the crunch of a Romaine, and it’s spectacularly pretty.  In a week or so, we should be picking baby arugula and mixed baby lettuces.  I can’t wait!

This weekend I’m going to make The Frugal Gourmet’s recipe for Graduate School Pot Roast on the grill with grilled vegetables.  Pictures to come!

Happy Birthday, Drew Brees! Sunday, January 15, 2012

Alas, the Saints will not be coming to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl this year.  It would have been so cool to see my hometown team in my current town – not that I would have actually gone to the game, of course, but I might have caught a glimpse of Voodrew Breesus at the temporary practice field at University of Indianapolis, just a few blocks away from our house.  At any rate, although my heart is heavy, he’s still our hero, and I’m looking forward to next year with the Saints at the Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII!  Geaux Saints!  Who Dat?!  Voodrew Dat!

Osso Buco with Parmesan Polenta

Meanwhile, I will console myself with Osso Buco tonight, and the fact that tomorrow is a holiday.  It seems that I’m experiencing a temporary anhedonia when it comes to cooking.  I can’t seem to work up much enthusiasm for the process these days.  I will rally today, though, and put on my chef’s hat and apron.  It’s unbelievably difficult to find a real butcher in Indianapolis these days, and when you do, the selection of meat is very limited.  I have not been able to find veal shanks anywhere until yesterday at Fresh Market, on the way home from our semi-annual trip up north to Trader Joe’s for supplies.  After re-stocking our kitchen cupboard, we went to our little slice of Louisiana heaven for lunch up in Carmel; if you haven’t been to Mudbugs, you need to get there pronto.  Owned by Abbeville, LA natives Roy and Belinda Leblanc, Mudbugs serves the real thing.  We’ve been there twice now and had the oyster poboy dressed with remoulade sauce; it’s a little different from an oyster poboy in New Orleans, but it combines a couple of classic items in a different way that results in a mouthful of heaven.  Their chicken sausage gumbo is as good as any I’ve had anywhere in Louisiana, including gumbo I’ve made.  Yesterday I tried the daily special: Crawfish corn chowder.  It was yummy.  We’ve also tried the red beans and rice, and let me tell you, it puts YATS to shame.  When I talked to Roy about Louisiana food and told him I detected cumin in the red beans and rice at YATS, he replied, “What was he smoking?” 

Yesterday I was wearing my Saints sweatshirt, and when we walked in, the young lady at the register exclaimed, “Drew Brees!”  She ran back to tell her father that there were Saints fans in the house.  I considered it all a part of drumming up some mojo to help Voodrew Breesus and his incredible teammates win the game.  It didn’t work out that way, but I did find my veal shanks on the way home at Fresh Market.  That’s a good thing. 

Happy New Year/end of the world!

Black-eyed peas, cabbage and roasted beets

Happy New Year, peeps!

Derek and I have had a low-key holiday season this year, the first since 2007 that we didn’t go to New Orleans to be with family and old friends, so I was a little sad and homesick.  We’ve had some fantastic meals, though, and spent some time with our great Indianapolis friends.  2011 was a rather hectic year with a lot of changes that I hope to assimilate this year.  I’m not big on resolutions, since I tend to sabotage them.  As one of my dear New Orleans friends once said, and absolutely without irony, “I can’t make a commitment to anything I can’t divorce myself from.”  That’s kind of how I feel about resolutions. Having said that, I do have some intentions, one of which is to take better care of myself.  It shouldn’t be at all difficult to improve since I haven’t been doing it at all!  Another is to write more often.  I enjoy it and it stimulates the creative part of my brain that’s been in retirement for a while now. 

So here’s to a new year and a new chance.  Now on to some of the great things we’ve been cooking.

Rack of Lamb

Derek cooked a rack of lamb for the two of us for Christmas dinner.  I made creamed spinach and Brandy Milk Punch, which we forgot to drink.  I set the table with our new Dollar Tree $1 plates, candles and a poinsettia.  On New Year’s Eve he made jambalaya for the party at James’ and Shelley’s house, and I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t go and forgot to take a picture.  I will say this: Derek’s jambalaya is as good as any I’ve had in Louisiana, and better than most. 

Yesterday I made the requisite black-eyed peas and cabbage, accompanied by some oven-roasted beets.  I don’t know what they’re supposed to bring you in the new year, but if it’s anything that’s the color of beets, I’ll be happy.  Tonight Derek is making a Nicoise Salade with fresh grilled tuna.  I love it and always feel healthy when I eat it, so it’s a good way to start what is likely to be a grueling week at work. 

Happy New Year, peeps, and I wish you all the best of life this year and every year.