Lulu's Cocina

Beer Cheese Soup

2011-06-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

In Portland, there are a lot of big brewpubs, little brewpubs, or just pubs that serve craft beer scattered throughout the city. Every neighborhood has at least one. Now before you go thinking that us Portlanders are just a bunch of alcoholics or rather beeroholics, understand this, Portland is known for it's beer and the city and citizens pride themselves on the quality and quantity of their breweries. In fact, Portland has more microbreweries within city limits than any city in the world. So you see, we've earned the right to take our beer seriously! The abundance of pubs also has a lot to do with the weather, which is often grey, drizzly, or just downright rainy. A warm wooden booth and a pint offer a nice refuge for anybody wanting to relax, by themselves, with friends, or with family. I am not trying to make this post become a travel advertisement for Portland (and trust me it is not, especially if you are a hipster or man that wears skinny jeans, please stay away, thank you!) I am simply trying to get across to you this whole culture of cozy pubs with yummy food and delicious beer. Due to the fact that I am a stay at home mommy of two (or you can use the all encompassing job title: Domestic Goddess), it is not always possible to hop down to the pub for a beer whenever I get the hankering. So, on weekend afternoons when the chill never seems to quite leave, and the rain starts to fall, I like to recreate a pub atmosphere in my own house. This generally involves a pint of something good and a warm bowl of beer cheese soup. (See this is why I prefer Domestic Goddess!) Hopefully the next time you are in the mood for something comforting, you will make this soup and enjoy a bowl too!

Beer Cheese Soup
Adapted from The Taste of Oregon Cookbook
Serves 4-6

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (I use Tillamook Extra Sharp Vintage)
12 ounces FLAT beer (I used Widmer Citra Blonde, but Hefeweizen would work well too.)
Make sure to have all ingredients prepped BEFORE you start cooking, because the process goes fast! Melt butter over medium heat in a large soup pot, when butter starts to froth (not brown!) add vegetables. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Slowly stir in flour, turning heat down if necessary, add salt and dry mustard. Cook the mixture until it begins to brown, 3-5 minutes. Add cayenne pepper. Add chicken broth and turn the heat to high. Add the cheeses, stirring constantly. Add beer. As soon as soup reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium low. Let soup cook to desired thickness, generally 5 minutes more. Serve immediately!

North Coast Brewing Company Belgian Style Abbey Ale

2011-06-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Has anyone (male or female) noticed that when the male species decides they like something, they really like it, I mean, they get really, really into it? For example, your man hears a band he likes, and then of course he needs ALL the albums, right now? Or he decides he wants to get into fishing, so he goes and purchases tons of fishing supplies, that he may or may not need? Do I have the only husband that does that? In everyday life this trait can be slightly exasperating, but in the grand scheme of things, I think it's probably a good thing. This very same quality comes across when a man is falling in love too, if he is into you, he's all in, and you'll know it, if he's not that into you, he just isn't, and he shows it.... Whatever this characteristic truly is, biological, genetic, or emotional, it's part of the man. Or at least my man, and it is for this exact reason that I just smiled when he announced a few weeks ago that his new favorite kind of beer was "Sour Belgians." I kept smiling about this until the first time I attempted to buy him a bottle from the store..... that is when I discovered that Sour Belgians are the most expensive types of beer! We are talking around eleven dollars for 12 ounces! Now it is my belief that every hard working man deserves a beer, but almost a dollar an ounce? Crazy talk! So until we win the lottery, the Sour Belgians are going to have to wait for special occasions. In between, he'll just have to be content with IPA and "bargain" Belgians I find. Like this Belgian from North Coast Brewing Company that I found at my local Costco for only $5.99 for a 750 ML. This is a smooth Belgian with a nice malty finish and should be drunk from a specialty Belgian beer goblet, but if you don't have one, just use a big, round red wine glass.

Portuguese Beans

2011-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Sofia browning the sausages & onions

If you grew up where I did in the Central Valley of California, chances are you have had some version of these beans, whether you are Portuguese or not. Every family generally has their own "special" recipe for these, this is the recipe I happen to like, which is actually my stepmom Diane's recipe. She had this recipe passed down to her from her Aunt. And so it goes, and so it goes, every family has their own secrets, and every Aunt has "the best recipe", it's a pride thing. Tweak as you go if you like, but I suggest following this recipe to a tee, the first time through, because you see, it really is the best!!

These beans are great for barbecue season as a side dish, but they also make a comforting meal with some garlic bread and a simple salad. Whatever you do, don't forget the garlic bread!

Portuguese Beans
Serves 6 as a meal, 15 as a side dish
olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 lb Linguica sausages or rope of Linguica, cut into thin 1/2 moons
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes or plain tomato sauce
2 (28 oz) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained (this gets rid of the added starch) You can also use dried beans, soaked overnight.
Brown Linguica and onion in a little olive oil over medium heat. When onion and Linguica are browned put them into a crock pot with beans and tomatoes. Cook 2-3 hours. The LAST 1/2 hour of cooking, add spices, mix together and cook another 1/2 hour. These beans will keep for hours after being cooked, simply set your crock pot to the WARM setting. You can also use a covered pot on the stove for this, but I find a crock pot is easier to control even cooking for long periods of time!


Beans don't photograph well, but they should look something like this!

The First Dish I Ever Cooked: Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

2011-05-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

If you had a conversation with my mom about my teenage years you would probably walk away thinking that she should be put on the fast track to sanctification and that man, I was kind of a brat. I'm not sure if 'brat" is exactly the right term, but I did have a cavalier attitude about most things, and this includes school and my personal safety. Like most young people I thought I was invincible and could do anything. This attitude meant that I thought high school attendance was flexible, speed limits were simply a suggestion , and that the only good food existed in the form of Reese's peanut butter cups and Jack In the Box containers, oh yeah, and that adults were complete idiots. I know I wasn't alone in this line of thinking, these are all pretty standard reasons for why most people can't stand teenagers. It took a few years and some hard life lessons for me to realize that I couldn't just run through life doing whatever the hell I wanted or saying whatever the hell I wanted. For the most part, I now think mainly good things come with age and maturity, but there is a little part of me that wishes I still had a little bit more of my spirit before it was tamed. Not the reckless, ignorant part; but the confident part, that narcissistic (in a good way) thing that only young people possess. That brief moment in time where you think you can do whatever you want to, be whatever you want to, all because you want to.....

This was the kind of confidence I had the first time I decided to cook a meal. I had collected cookbooks long before I ever thought about actually putting them to use, I just liked reading them. Then one day, I was flipping through a book on Italian cooking, and I came across a recipe that sounded good. Right then and there I decided I'd make it for my high school graduation party. I didn't know how to cook at all, but the meal turned out great. Yes, this was probably due to luck and good ingredients, but I think it also had a little to do with a confident spirit. From then on, I started cooking all kinds of things, some great, some terrible! (I once made fish and chips that were completely inedible and homemade aioli where I didn't peel the garlic cloves! Yikes is right...) The other day I was at the farmer's market and bought a bunch of fresh asparagus and started contemplating what to do with it, when I remembered this old recipe and decided to revisit this meal again. The recipe turned out just as good as I remembered; which I like to think was due to a different confidence, one learned over years spent in the kitchen, prepping and executing. However, I know I don't know everything about cooking yet, I don't believe anyone ever can, for there is always something new to learn. So this summer I made a promise to myself to be more confident and experimental in the kitchen. I have a couple ideas, one of them being that I am going to try canning. The process intimidates me, (fear of botulism; hello East of Eden.....) but I hope to tackle the task with a bit of my old youthful fervor! How about you? What intimidates you in the kitchen? How did you try and overcome your culinary fears? What was the first meal you ever cooked?

Fettuccine with Asparagus
Adapted from "The Italian Collection" by Food & Wine Books
Serves 6
1 pound this asparagus
6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced and cut into thin strips
1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and then chopped. (I use Muir Glen Organic for quality flavor.)
1 pound fettuccine pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Snap the tough ends off asparagus and discard. Cut the fresh spears into 1 inch pieces. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the asparagus just until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in a colander, shocking them with cold water. (This stops the cooking process.)

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, usually 8-10 minutes, then drain. While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, melt 4-6 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, turn the heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 Minutes. Add asparagus and cook a minute or two more until heated through. Add sauce to pot with pasta, adding Parmesan and a tablespoon more butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It is important to mix pasta and sauce together for about 30 seconds as this ensures that all the flavors develop and that each piece of pasta is coated with sauce! Serve with a crisp white wine and enjoy!

Twitter

2011-05-27T12:51:00.001-07:00

Admittedly Twitter intimidates me. However, I think it can be a great tool for sharing inspiration, ideas, and news for all things food related, so I joined. If you are on Twitter follow me @luluscocina and maybe you can help me figure out how this thing works too!

Vacations

2011-05-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Bodega Head

The past few weeks we have been fortunate enough to take in a couple little vacations, one to Bodega Bay/ West Sonoma/ San Francisco and the other to the Oregon Central Coast . When we have been home I have been making really healthy, easy dishes to try and counterbalance all the extra indulgences and imbibing we have been doing on our travels. With no new recipes to post, I thought I might share some of the places/treats/drinks we enjoyed during our getaways. I have to confess that by doing this post I am also satisfying my own desire to rehash my vacation food memories. Hopefully these memories will stay in my head a long while, because my only regret is that I didn't take more pictures of the food. The thing is, if I am truly enjoying my food, the last thing on my mind is to stop stuffing my face and whip out the camera. When I am tempted to do this in a restaurant there is also the thought lingering in my mind that I don't ever want to be THAT girl. You know the type, the girl who whips out her camera and starts snapping away before she has even tasted the food, all with blogging, tweeting, facebooking, or yelping in mind? In my book, nothing is more mood killing then when you are sitting there enjoying yourself and the flash of a Nikon goes off in your face. Some places food picture taking is acceptable, outdoor markets, most brewpubs are so noisy nobody really cares, and your own home. However there are some places where it is not acceptable behavior, for example, the Casino Bar in Bodega where we had one of our best meals; I would have been 86'd immediately had I whipped out my camera to document it. So although I can't leave you with a lot of "food porn" pictures, I can post scenery ones, in hopes that this will entice you to try some of these places for your next getaway .....

Sonoma Coast:

Occidental, Ca

St. Theresa of Avila Church , Bodega, Ca

Ferry Plaza Market Building, San Francisco, Ca

Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, Ca- Our first stop on our way west to Bodega Bay. Don't go here for the food or atmosphere, go here for beer. A 16 beer taster? Sure, why not? "The River" has so many interesting and tasty beers on tap it is hard to choose a favorite, but mine was the Belgian brewed "Damnation", and the hubby's was the Sour Belgian "Redemption".

Spud Point Crab Company, Spud Point Marina, Bodega Bay, Ca- Two words: crab sandwich. This sandwich might actually be the best thing I ever ate. I even moaned out loud, and my table manners are better than that. Tons of pure crab, no fillers, lightly dressed in red pepper mayo, stuffed in between in two thin pieces of toasted french bread.....so perfect I had one two days in a row!

Gourmet Au Bay, Highway 1, Bodega Bay, Ca- This wine shop gets a mention, not for the excellence of their wines, (they were hit or miss) but for the location, cool "wine surfing" concept, and friendly owners. They have a lovely back deck where you can sit out over the bay and enjoy your wine.

Casino Bar & Grill, Highway 12, Bodega, Ca- Funky old saloon right next to the St. Theresa of Avila Church from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. On certain nights, talented chef Mark Malicki comes to the bar and cooks a set menu of his own creation. What you get is gourmet food at pauper's prices. On the night we visited, we ordered the Crab Cobb Salad, Fishermen's Clam Chowder (with clams in shell, and short ribs with potatoes and creamed spinach. Grand total? 30 bucks! The food draws in an ecclectic group, to our left were locals and bikers, to the right were ladies who lunch. Coors Light and white wine spritzers all mixed together! The bar owners are super welcoming, but be aware that this is a beer, wine, or straight up liquor establishment, don't go in expecting or wanting to order a specialty drink, there are no cocktail shakers or glasses in sight. The poor guy next to us made the mistake of ordering a gin martini and he got a shot glass with ice, gin poured over, and a martini olive on top! When in Rome........

Hog Island Oyster Company, Ferry Plaza Building, Embarcadero, San Francisco, Ca- The original Hog Island Oyster Farm is located in along Highway One in Tomales Bay, Ca. Picnicing outside eating oysters along the Pacific sounded wonderful, but I get easily carsick. Not wanting to upchuck the schucks so to speak, we decided it was best to visit their space in the Ferry Plaza building in San Francisco. There are an overwhelming array of food establishments in the Ferry Market, but I was extremely pleased with our meal at Hog Island Oyster Company. Sipping Pinot Grigio and slurping up fresh oysters while looking out over the bay was the perfect way to end our vacation.

Oregon Central Coast

Gleneden Beach, Oregon

I got a chance to spend Mother's Day weekend at the Oregon Coast with both my mom and grandma. Since my family lives in California, the last time I got to see them for Mother's Day was over ten years ago! We prepared most of our meals at the beach house, prefering to lounge with a glass of wine and eat at our leisure, rather then rushing around trying to get everybody up and out the door before breakfast hours were over. This didn't mean that the food we ate wasn't special or restaurant worthy though, it was just simple. Breakfasts of fried eggs and thick cut Pendelton bacon, dinners of fettucine pesto, butter lettuce salad, barbecued oysters, tri-tip, and shrimp cocktail, and bay shrimp melts with beer-steamed clams , we really took advanatage of Oregon's bounty and our time together. However, we did eat out a few times, and had a noteworthy lunch at these two places:

Tidal Raves Seafood Grill, Highway 101, Depoe Bay, Oregon- Tidal Raves holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons, a major one being that I have had the chance to break bread here with many people I love. The food is always fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced. I also think this restaurant has the most spectacular dining view on the Oregon Coast, and I would even venture to say the entire state. I reccomend the calamari, pan fried oysters, and Seahawk Bread for appetizers, all of their outstanding soups (personal favorite: Smoked Salmon chowder), cioppino, and pan fried snapper topped with shrimp salsa over a potato/smoked salmon cake. For dessert, try their bread pudding with bourbon sauce, it is so so good!

J's Fish and Chips, Highway 101, Lincoln City, Oregon- A little hole in the wall in a rundown shopping center, it's not much to look at, but the place serves up great fish and homemade chips. The Fish is fresh, and the panko breading is crisp and not too thick, no soggy breading here! Try the combo basket or the super fresh halibut!

Random Food Finds
If there are two things that really get me excited it's good beer and cheese. Here are some from our trips that made me happy!

Beer:

Damnation, Russian River Brewing Company
Cappucino Stout, Lagunitas Brewing Company
Racer IPA , Bear Republic Brewing Company
Boont Amber Ale , Andersonville Brewing Company
Tsunami Stout, Pelican Brewery

Cheese:

Mt. Tam Triple Creme Brie, Cowgirl Creamery
Pt Reyes Blue, Point Reyes Cheese Company

Vintage Extra Sharp White Cheddar, Tillamook Cheese Company

Chicken with Tomatoes, Dried Apricots, and Garbanzos

2011-04-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

This past March in the Pacific Northwest has been an especially soggy one. There (may) have been one whole day without raindrops but don't quote me on that. Now that April and spring have officially arrived I am hoping for a few more clear days, but I know the weather won't really be balmy until July. In Portland, summer and (gulp) bathing suit season come later then where I grew up in Central California, where it is definitely bikini time by Memorial Day. However, I'm okay with that this year especially after just having a baby. I need the extra time. So I've been trying to focus on meals that have lean proteins and healthy ingredients. You know a little less carbs and cheese, a little less (fat) action. This is particularly hard to do when one is in the middle of a cheeseburger obsession, but I try......

These ingredients sounded a little strange together at first, but they actually pair very nicely , creating a great balance of sweet and savory. This recipe is healthy, but doesn't sacrifice on flavor at all. Serve with a nutty couscous. If your grocery store carries them, get dried Turkish apricots from the bulk bins. I prefer their less sweet, jam like flavor over regular dried apricots.

Chicken with Tomatoes, Apricots, and Garbanzos
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
Serves 4
4 Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots (Turkish, if available)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Kosher salt and pepper
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add cumin, coriander, and cayenne; cook 1 minute to heat spices, stirring constantly. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add tomatoes, apricots, sugar, and garlic to pan and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and return chicken to the pan. Cook, covered until chicken is heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in garbanzos and parsley and cook until heated through.

BBQ Chicken Cheddar Burgers with Spicy Slaw

2011-04-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Cheeseburger. Cheeseburgers. That seems to be all I can think about these days. I finally know how Jimmy Buffett felt when he wrote his slightly annoying but catchy little ditty "Cheeseburger in Paradise." He was obviously in the middle of his own cheeseburger obsession and also probably really stoned, so maybe I don't Totally know how he felt, but I finally get this whole cheeseburger thing.

Born and raised in California, I was fortunate to be well accustomed to the whole In n Out burger phenomenon, but I was always more interested in their animal fries than their double doubles. I just was not a burger girl, ground beef really wasn't my thing . Maybe I had just never had a really good one? Maybe I just preferred having tri-tip at bbqs? Who knows, but thankfully (and not so thankfully to my wallet & waistline) I've had the privilege of tasting some delicious burgers in recent months, and this has turned me into an unabashed cheeseburger lover. Where I live in Portland, Oregon there seems to be a bit of a burger boom right now, which has only been aiding in my burger addiction. My ultimate favorite place to get a cheeseburger is at Lucy's Original food cart. My favorite menu options are the Messenger (blue cheese, apple butter, bacon, & arugula) and the Pineapple Express (cheddar, grilled pineapple, bacon, sriracha mayo, & peanut sauce). Insanely good. For a little finer dining, the burger at Tasty N Sons & Toro Bravo is top notch. If I'm in the Pearl, and in the mood for a more fast food type atmosphere, I also really like Little Big Burger (think perfectly cooked french fries spritzed with truffle oil!).

Have I made anyone hungry yet? Where are your "best" burger places? At home, what are your favorite special toppings or condiments?

BBQ Cheddar Chicken Burgers with Spicy Slaw
Adapted from Rachael Ray
I can't always go out for a burger, nor can I successfully recreate the above burgers at home. So when I am wanting cheeseburgers, I will usually make this version at home. The spicy slaw is really what makes this burger feel special. It would also work great on a french roll with some grilled chicken too, a la "bahn mi" style.

For the Spicy Slaw:

1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon habanero hot sauce
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (if you don't like cilantro, substitute Italian parsley)
1/2 small red cabbage, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
In a bowl combine all ingredients and set aside. Season with salt and pepper.

For the burgers:

2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup bbq sauce
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cut into tiny diced pieces
4 kaiser rolls or pub buns
In a bowl combine chicken, bbq sauce, cheese, and salt and pepper. mix together and divide mixture into 4 patties. They should be about 1 inch thick. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat (electric skillets work great for this) Drizzle with olive oil if necessary to keep from sticking. Cook burgers about 7 minutes on each side until cooked through. Toast buns, top with burgers and spicy slaw!

Humble (Hangover) Biscuits

2011-04-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

One Sunday morning we woke up feeling a little groggy after a particularly long game of Trivial Pursuit the night before and a little over indulgence with some Russian Imperial Stout..... (Aren't our Saturday nights exciting??) I needed to find something hearty to fill our bellies with and I was out of bacon. Did you know that bacon cures everything? Really! It does! I decided to try this biscuit recipe off one of my favorite food blogs the Orangette. Molly Wizenberg's writing is so honest and thoughtful, if you haven't already done so, check her blog out! Like most recipes she posts these biscuits were delicious and super simple! They won't win any beauty awards, but it's the taste that counts! I have already taste tested them on my mom and good friends and they were a big hit all around. Serve with Jam!

Cream Biscuits
Makes 12

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon TABLE salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it really well. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl with a fork. Slowly add about a cup of cream, stirring. Gather the dough together, when it starts to hold together it's ready to knead. If it feels shaggy, add a little more cream. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute. form the dough into a square about a 1/2 inch thick. With a knife, cut into 12 equal squares. Place on baking sheet and brush all biscuits with melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes.

Stir Fry Sauce

2011-04-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

During the Lenten Season, it's hard for me to think of tasty meatless Friday night solutions. We have meatless dinners, plenty of nights without even thinking about it, so what is my problem during Lent? It must be that whole "you shouldn't eat meat thing" that makes me want it! The minute I know I can't use certain ingredients to cook with, I get immediate writers block of the culinary kind, sending me into a panic mode, and before you know it, I am reaching for the fish sticks in the freezer case of my grocery store. Um, yikes is right. Then I feel like a really horrible mother because what exactly am I teaching my daughter? Certainly not any type of problem solving, or creativity, most certainly not that fish should taste like fish and last but not least "there go all my Top Chef dreams! Do you see how I can go from zero to sixty (in my head) sometimes with very little provocation? Yeah I know, I'm working on that whole "chill out" thing.....Thank goodness I have this tasty little sauce to fall back on, making many nights a lot easier, not just Fridays and helping to eliminate the mommy guilt.....

This sauce is wonderful with shrimp, chicken, tofu, or just veggies!

Stir Fry Sauce:

6 tablespoons soy sauce (I recommend Yamasa)
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth. then add the other ingredients and mix together well. Set aside.

For Stir fry:

1-2 pounds sliced, chopped vegetables. (Bok Choy, Red Bell Pepper, Cabbage, Broccoli, Carrot, Snap Peas)
3/4 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp
( 3/4 pound firm tofu or 1 pound chopped chicken breasts)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
In a wok or large skillet heat sesame oil over medium high heat. Add shrimp. Add vegetables. Cook 4-5 minutes until about done. Add stir fry sauce and continue cooking until heated. Serve with rice!

Lasagna with Chicken Italian Sausage & Spinach

2011-03-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

I'd like to sit here and pretend that we always have a big Sunday meal, with five choices of sides, three of which are freshly cooked vegetables, but most Sunday nights that is not even close to reality. Sundays around here are family days, which means depending on our moods and the season we can usually be found doing one of these activities or a combination of: sleeping in, cooking a big breakfast, going to church, gardening, watching football, going for a Sunday drive, a long walk, doing puzzles and reading with our girls. Sundays pass too quickly, and by evening I am feeling rather lazy in regards to dinner. But some Sundays, when I have been extra organized with my time and my shopping list, I can put out a meal worthy of a Sunday dinner, family style........

Don't be afraid of lasagna, it's not as time consuming or as complicated as you might think. This whole meal from start to finish only took me a little over an hour, and more than half of that is just cooking time. A really great tip I got from watching an episode of The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) is to put your uncooked lasagna noodles in a bowl of piping hot tap water for 20 minutes, then drain. The lasagna noodles end up perfectly par boiled without the hassle of actually par boiling!

Lasagna with Chicken Italian Sausage and Spinach
Serves 6-8

1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage (casings removed)
1 10 oz bag spinach
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3 tsp italian seasoning (seperated)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 oz Ricotta
8 oz Lasagna noodles (1/2 package)
12 oz FRESH Mozzarella (cut in thin slices)
1 cup Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, cooking until fragrant about a minute. Add sausage cooking until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add spinach in batches until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning. Simmer 20 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put lasagna noodles in bowl and pour the hottest tap water over them. Let sit 20 minutes, then drain. In a medium bowl combine Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. The only good way to do this is by using your hands! Set aside.

In a 13x9x2 baking dish, spread 1/3 of the red sauce on the bottom of baking dish. Then layer half the pasta noodles. On top of that half the Mozzarella, then half the Ricotta mixture. After that 1/3 more of the sauce, rest of the pasta, then the rest of the Mozzarella, followed by the Ricotta mixture, then the last 1/3 of the sauce. Bake for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with salad, and like all lasagna the leftovers taste even better!

Special French Bread

2011-03-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Special French Bread

This bread will make you fat. (If you eat it every night.) So use your judgment and only fix it for special occasions.

1 loaf Sourdough or French bread
1/2 cup sour cream
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
Parmesan cheese
pinch of pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix sourcream, butter, garlic and pepper in a bowl. Spread on two halves of bread evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake @ 400 degrees until golden and bubbly about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then slice and serve!

Vacation

2011-03-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

I am so so excited to say that we are planning a small but much needed (childless) vacation to the Sonoma Coast (lodging in Bodega Bay). We hold Mendocino (and it's county line) near and dear to our hearts, but this time we wanted to take the road less traveled, and that road was to Bodega Bay. My husband's ideal vacation differs from mine and generally includes a comfy bed, room with a view, ESPN, and laying around enjoying all those things. My ideal vacation includes all of ,the above but I also have to incorporate my type A and ADD into all that...(do those two even go together???) I happen to think they do, meaning we are going to do everything the Hubs wants to do BUT also check out the best food, restaurants, shops, and markets, wineries, and breweries around and also enjoy the scenery, ie; eat, drink and be lazy! So far I have on my must stops : Lagunitas Brewery, Russian River Brewing, Andy's Produce Market, Casino Bar and Grill, Sonoma Coast Fish Bank, Barley & Hops Tavern, and Gourmet au Bay. Does anybody have any tips or suggestions in this neck of the woods??? Our last vacation alone was 4 years ago when I was pregnant with Sofia, so we are long overdue, and really needing this one! Until then, I'll be dreaming of this view.......

Cream of Asparagus Soup with Applewood Smoked Bacon

2011-03-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

The best meal I've had in my life (so far) was in Reims, France, at a restaurant called Le Continental. I hadn't researched the place, heard of the place, nothing. By luck and lack of patience, (not wanting to wait in the long line at the restaurant next door) I just wandered in. Only 18 and a bit naive, I could have cared less about being in Reims and didn't expect much. To me, it was just a stop on the way to grand old Paris. It was New Year's Eve, I was hungry and they had a table, that was good enough. When walking into the dining room I was actually feeling disappointed because the sign outside only had 2 stars (I didn't realize they were Michelin stars, I had been accustomed to my mom's AAA guides where only 2 stars meant sort of sh**ty in American standards.) The waiter took full advantage of the fact that I didn't speak a lick of French and shortly thereafter I was served duck pate on raisin toasts, a dozen oysters, salad with champagne vinaigrette and fromage blanc, poached lobster tail sauteed in a mushroom champagne sauce, fillet of beef smothered in some other mushroom sauce followed by a course of cheeses that I am ashamed to say I can not recall the name of a single one, except for the fact that they were utterly delicious. It wasn't until my return home that I actually read a guidebook and realized that Reims was in the heart of Champagne country in France. Talk about traveling blind..........

The magical thing about traveling blind is that it can lead to what I like to call "stumbleuponedness" (I know, that's not an actual word, thank you.) The stumbleduponess factor is quite often the most memorable thing about traveling. When you stumble upon something truly special, you get that wonderful feeling of the excitement of discovery combined with comfort and happiness, because you swear it seems like you've been waiting to find that spot your whole life and then wa-la! there it is. For instance I will never forget getting lost in a maze of medieval streets on a snowy day in Marburg Germany and stumbling my way into a bowl of creamy asparagus soup. I could have sat there forever in that cafe, my bowl of soup, my little miniature coca cola bottle, people watching, wondering if I was going to miss my train but not wanting to leave that place.

The funny thing about food memories is that sometimes they don't surface again for a very long time, years actually. It was in fact exactly 10 years later when my asparagus soup food memory overtook me and man, oh man, I just had to have some. I don't know if this recipe is similar or resembles anything like the soup I had in that Marburg cafe, but when I fix it, it warms me right up and takes me back to a simpler time when I didn't have any agenda but escaping the snowfall.

Cream of Asparagus Soup with Applewood Smoked Bacon
Serves 4

8 oz Applewood Smoked Bacon, chopped
1 Bunch asparagus (roughly 1 lb) cut into 2 inch pieces
1 Yellow onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves (kept whole)
4 Cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and pepper
In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. When bacon is crisp, remove from pot and set aside to cool on paper towels. In the same pot, saute onion and garlic cloves in leftover bacon grease until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and saute until tender, about 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock, increase the heat, bringing the soup to a boil. Simmer (not boil) soup for 30 minutes. Stir in cream. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender, but be careful it's hot!) Puree soup. Season with salt and pepper. Top soup with bacon pieces. Serve with hot buttered sourdough bread!

Bacon "crisping"

Asparagus, onion, & garlic sauteing!

Show Some Love: Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab & Chocolate Fondue

2011-02-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. Sure, I have a taste for conversation hearts like everyone else, but other than that I'm just not into it. Where does all this scroogy cynicism come from? Well, in my mind, Valentine's Day might as well change it's name to Anxiety Day, based off my angst ridden collage of Valentine memories. Memories of early grade school crisis's of choosing the perfect Garfield valentine for my crush, awful Valentine's dances in high school (which really only served the purpose of confirming, yes, yes, I'm breaking up with him), getting sent roses in college from that stalkerish guy in history class, that jerk who forgot about Valentine's Day, all the way to those anti-Valentine's Day man bashing sessions you have with your girlfriends (they only leave you feeling like the pettier sex, because once again you've wasted your entire evening talking about them). And what about worst of all when you are just starting to date someone and V Day rears it's ugly head? You look everywhere but you just can't find a card that says " I might like you a little bit, but I'm not crazy in love with you yet, so don't go getting any ideas." Hallmark doesn't make that one, but they really should. Then when you are in a relationship those dreaded Valentine's Days spent at work where your heart jumps a little every time the UPS guy walks in? And you told your man, not to waste his money on flowers, they die, etc, etc, but you didn't mean it, did you? (Men, we never really mean that. Seriously we don't.) Then the Valentine's day you realize you have your good man because he sent you the perfect bouquet of non-roses in your favorite flower color, with no trace of baby's breath in sight, and it was just slightly (but significantly) bigger than all the other girl's bouquets? Then it hits you that you have spent your whole entire day waiting to be sad, mad, happy, or worst of all disappointed. All in the name of love and chocolates?? What other holiday causes so much turmoil, make-ups and break-ups?(The holidays you spend too much time with your family don't count....) Do you see how awful my attitude is? Atrocious. Just terrible.

At least it was until the other day. The other day I was helping my 3 year old stuff her cute "Disney Princess" valentines when she asked me "Mommy, what is Valentine's Day?" I was about to launch into the history of St.Valentine, the Emperor Claudius and Victorian greeting cards, but instead I told her "Valentines Day is a day where we tell the people we love, we love them." In that moment, I knew what I just said wasn't the normally contrived answer used to placate my curious child, it was the truth. I started thinking of the good Valentine memories, like when my dad used to bring my little sister and I teddy bears and flowers, making us feel so very special. Life has come full circle and now and I have two little girls of my own and the opportunity to show them that same love. I started thinking about the past Valentine's Days spent with my husband, and all the future ones to look forward to. I thought about the fact that while the main gift may change, he can always be counted on to bring home a good bottle of red wine and some dark chocolate. Now who wouldn't want to be able to circle a date on the calendar every year and say to themselves "today I am going to get some wine and chocolate!" I mean, that is pretty cool right?

The truth is Valentine's Day is about love and the celebration of that love. Your "true love", your dog, your grandbabies, your best friend, it doesn't matter who is on the receiving end of that love, the point is you are just supposed to show them love. You can show them that love with cut out paper hearts, two dozen roses, or simply by telling them. The only point is to express your love, the vehicle in which you do it in really doesn't matter. Sometimes it seems like there is hardly enough love to make the world go round, so WHY NOT celebrate a day that is specifically designed to be about love? I have given myself a major attitude adjustment. Now give yourself one too. Go spread the love.

Oven Roasted Dungeness Crab with Fresh Herbs & Lemon
Serves 2
This recipe is so delicious! I always make this during Dungeness Crab season (December-March) for either birthdays or Valentines Day.

6 ounces unsalted butter (divided into 4 oz and 2 oz pieces)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Habenero hot sauce to taste (I use a tablespoon)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons shallots, minced
2 cooked, cleaned Dungeness crabs*
6 Tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped (I used tarragon and parsley, but you could use thyme, cilantro, arugula)
1 Large lemon, juiced and zested
3/4 cup Riesling, Gewurztraminer, or Champagne
Salt & pepper

* Buy the freshest crab possible, preferably live, have the fishmonger kill and back crabs for you. Cook within 4 hours. To cook, boil in salted water for 17 minutes. Drain in colander. If buying crab already cooked, make sure crabs are not missing any legs, as this is a sign crabs are not fresh. The crabs with the biggest legs have the most meat.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Rinse crabs. Crack the legs from the cooked crab and section the breasts. Melt 4 ounces of the unsalted butter and the olive oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof saute pan or deep skillet. Add garlic and shallots and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in hot sauce to taste. Add crabs, season with salt and pepper and stir, sauteing for another minute or two. Add 4 tablespoons of the chopped herbs and half of the lemon zest. Stir.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10-12 minutes. (Stir once halfway through.) Remove pan from oven and transfer crab to a big platter. Cover crab and keep warm. Put saute pan back over medium heat and add lemon juice and Riesling. Increase the heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce by half (about 4 minutes). Stir in 2 ounces reserved butter. Pour sauce over crabs and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of herbs and rest of lemon zest. Serve immediately with sourdough bread!

Chocolate Fondue

8 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate (60% cacao) (Try Trader Joe's chocolate baking disks)
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Cabernet, Syrah, or Zinfandel

Dipping ideas:
Strawberries
Bananas
Brownies
Pound Cake
Cheesecake

In a medium saucepan, over medium low heat melt chocolate, butter, and cream. Stir until smooth. Add wine and stir again. Transfer to a fondue pot with a flame going underneath. Serve with dipping items, enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day! Don't worry, it's cranberry juice!

Ramen

2011-02-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Trying to knock myself out of the winter doldrums, I have been on a big Asian food kick lately, craving Thai curries, fusion stir fries, and Japanese Ramen. I used to be afraid of cooking any type of Asian food, but as with any cuisine that is foreign to you, all that is needed is a little research. Like all cooking, once you familiarize yourself with key flavor combinations and ingredients, it's actually pretty easy. There is also the added reward of satisfying your taste buds at home, rather than going out to eat, which isn't always plausible with 2 children, especially if you have a 3 year old with a taste for sushi. !$$$$!

I struggled with wanting to call this post " Semi-Homemade Ramen" but decided against it because I really can't stand that particular food network show. I'm sure Sandra Lee is a nice enough person but her tacky kitsch decorating that goes along with every single one of her blue cocktails topped with shredded coconut meals really creeps me out..... However, the truth of the matter is that this ramen is not the "authentic" ramen you would get from a Japanese chef. I don't make my own noodles, and my broth isn't homemade dashi, however I think it still tastes better than other versions I've had in a few restaurants (that will remain unmentioned) around town.

Locally, I like to shop for Asian ingredients at Uwajimaya. However, you can find all these ingredients in any well stocked market. The great thing about cooking Asian style food is that once you load your pantry up with a few essential ingredients, they'll last you a long time. An important ingredient in Asian cooking is actually sesame oil, just a little goes a long way in developing lots of flavor. Make sure to use sesame oil in your stir fries too, rather than vegetable oil, it makes such a difference!

Udon Noodles, Chili Garlic Sauce, & Ginger

This ramen is pretty inexpensive, costing around 5 dollars to make. But if you are anything like my husband you are probably thinking to yourself "What, the Ramen I made in college only cost 15 cents!" Of course this tastes so much better, but besides all that do you really want to eat the way you ate in college??

Ramen
Serves 2-3

1 Tablespoon pure sesame oil
2 Garlic cloves, minced fine
1 Tablespoon ginger, minced fine
1/2 Tablespoon Thai chili garlic paste
4-5 Cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
4 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 package original flavor Udon noodles, plus seasoning packet
2 eggs

Note about ingredients: I love my ramen extra spicy, so I actually add a whole tablespoon chili garlic paste, but only do this if you like a lot of spice. If you prefer no spice, just omit the chili garlic paste all together!

In a large soup pot heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and chili paste, mix together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, cook another minute or two more. Add your broth and bring to a slow boil. When water is boiling, add noodles and udon seasoning packet, stir. Add eggs, dropping in one at a time. (you are basically poaching the egg in the broth). Let everything cook about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately!

And on a completely unrelated note, meet my Eva, the newest addition to our clan. Isn't she cute?

Best Appetizer Ever: Prosciutto, Pear , & Cambozola Bruschetta

2011-02-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

When we used to live in Eugene, I would take a few cooking lessons at Cooks, Pots & Tabletops. The owners Kathy and Keith are a charming couple who really put a lot of thought into their store and have a wide variety of quality chefs and instructors from around the country that come to teach cooking sessions. Some of my favorite classes to take were the ones put on by Denise Marshall, who owns The Last Bite Cooking School in Eagle Point, Oregon. I was fortunate enough to take 2 classes from her and everything she prepared, was simple but oh so delicious. I hope someday I can take a class or culinary weekend from her down in Eagle Point (hint, hint, hubster...) One evening she did a whole class on pears and that is where I learned this gem of a recipe. Every time I make these they are a huge hit. Which for me, means there are never any left, no matter how many you make and people are literally licking their fingers! To make these vegetarian, just leave off the prosciutto, they will still be amazing!

The ingredient that ties the whole appetizer together is the balsamic reduction. Do not leave it out!!! To save yourself the step of the balsamic reduction, I would suggest investing in a bottle of Napa Valley Naturals Organic Balsamic Vinegar. This Balsamic is only 4% acidity, and so sweet enough to serve by itself without a reduction. We go through a lot of this in our house, as a dip for bread and drizzled over pizza. Otherwise, just follow the steps for the balsamic reduction and keep it on hand in a squeeze bottle. You won't be sorry, this stuff is like candy.

Napa Valley Naturals Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar

Don't think you have to wait to entertain to make these, I often will just serve these for dinner with a salad. This dish is also super wine friendly and would pair well with many reds and whites. I would suggest a fruit forward Cabernet or a Pinot Grigio.

Prosciutto, Pear, & Cambozola Bruschetta
Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 Cup good balsamic vinegar (6% acidity)
6 slices country style or french bread cut about 1/2 inch thick
12 slices prosciutto (domestic is fine to use in this case)
1 wedge Cambozola cheese cut into 12 slices (about 8 ozs)
1 Pear, cut in half, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch slices

Note about ingredients:
Make sure your pair is ripe, but still a little firm. I like to use a D'anjou pear for this recipe, but have also had success using Bosc. Bartletts can be a little too grainy for this recipe. Cambozola cheese is a hybrid cheese that is half camembert, half gorgonzola. I have found the best prices on Cambozola at Trader Joe's and Costco.
Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat and reduce down to a 1/4 cup. Take off heat and cool completely. Put into a squeeze bottle or small bowl until ready to use. If you are using the Napa Valley Naturals Balsamic, SKIP THIS STEP!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place bread slices on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cut each toasted bread slice in half (to make 12 brushcetta.) This step can be done ahead of time and the rest assembled when the guests arrive. Place one slice of prosciutto on each half, folding to fit. Top the prosciutto with a slice of Cambozola and top the Cambozola with 2 slices of pear. Place back on baking sheet and bake in oven just until cheese melts and prosciutto begins to crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven, and drizzle with 3-4 drops of the balsamic reduction. Serve immediately and let the finger licking begin!

Cioppino

2011-01-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hello? Is anybody still reading me? Probably not, and that's understandable. It has been about 15 months since my last blog entry. No, I didn't go to rehab, to prison, or stop eating, though that seems to be pretty fashionable these days. I was pregnant, we moved, and then we welcomed our little blessing into our new home. So now that I am no longer sleep deprived or wine deprived, I'm back. But I didn't want to come back and start off with just "any" blog. I wanted an "amazing" dish, and that dish would be cioppino.

I'm not sure if cioppino is my absolute favorite dinner or not, but it will definitley be involved in my last meal (when i'm 103, of course) right next to the BLT on sourdough and chocolate shake.
This is my grandma's cioppino. She makes it every Christmas and Christmas just isn't the same without it. One year I couldn't make it down to California for Christmas, and I was also on bedrest and couldn't cook, so my sister made it for us; that way we still felt like we had a little bit of Grandma on Christmas. Jon (my hubby) looks forward to this every Christmas now too, and I love seeing the excitement on everybody's faces as the cioppino is about to be served. It's not just food that ties us together, but the traditions that go with it. My grandma knows this better than anybody. She is one smart lady.

My grandma turns 70 on Groundhog's Day, but you wouldn't know it. She even text messages. Now how many people have a grandma that texts? Yep, she's that cool. My grandma is the best cook I know, she just understands flavor and even makes leftovers taste like a gourmet meal. When I think of a woman with great character that I love and admire the most, I think of my Grandma. My cousins, sister and I are all convinced that we are each her favorite, arguing over our lists of reasons why. We all fervently believe that we are the favorite, because she makes us all individually feel that way. Now that's one good grandma.

Happy 70th Birthday Grandma Londa !!
This is P & G. After 53 years, a picture of my grandma without my papa is next to impossible to find.

Now go make this cioppino. This recipe can be easily doubled, or tripled, just make sure you have a big stock pot. This recipe is also best when served to all your "favorite" people.

Cioppino (Serves 6)
Note: Use a big soup/stock pot. Use whatever fresh fish and shellfish you like. Sometimes my grandma adds clams and mussels and sometimes she just uses shrimp, fish, and crab. Lots of crab.

1/4 cup good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red or green pepper, finely chopped
1 28 ounce can stewed tomatoes, chopped up
2 cups tomato juice or clamato (if you like it spicy, use 1/2 tj, 1/2 spicy clamato)
2 cups dry red wine (decent)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
16-24 clams/mussels or both in shells
1 large halibut, rockfish, or snapper steak or thick fillet (skinned and boned)
1 large dungeness crab in shell
1 lb sliced fresh musrooms

Lemon wedges for serving
Hot, buttered sourdough bread

Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Saute peppers, onions, and garlic, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, liquids and seasonings. cook covered, for one hour. Remove bay leaf. Refrigerate until shortly before serving time. (I like to do this the night before, it lets all the flavors meld.) Devein and shell shrimp (keeping tails on). Clean, clams and mussels in salt water, rinsing several times to get rid of grit.) Remove crab legs, break body into sections, save any loose body meat. Cube fish into 1-2 inch pieces. Twenty minutes before serving time bring tomato mixture to a boil and add mushrooms; simmer 10 minutes. Add Crab and shellfish, simmer 10 minutes, then add shrimp and fish. When shrimp curl up and clams all open, cioppino is done! (Discard any unopened shells) Serve with lemon wedges, and hot sourdough bread!

Spaghetti Carbonara

2009-10-12T20:25:00.001-07:00

I have always been a little scared to make this, for a long time it didn't sound that appealing, and for a shorter amount of time I didn't think I could do it, I just knew I would end up with scrambled eggs and spaghetti noodles.....and to be honest, when I was testing out different recipes, I did end up with just that! Practice makes perfect though, and I wish I had discovered spaghetti carbonara a long time ago! There are oh so many different versions of spaghetti carbonara out there, but I like this one, simple, comforting and quite a mouthful!

Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 4

5 ounces pancetta, thinly sliced or finely diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely grated or pressed
3 eggs
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup pasta water
1 pound spaghetti
3-4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Salt and Pepper

Start a pot of salted water to boil. In medium saucepan, heat olive oil and pancetta over medium/medium high heat until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 6 minutes. When pancetta is brown, add in finely grated garlic and cook until just fragrant, about a minute. Remove from heat. (You might want to keep this on a very low flame to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the dish!) In a small mixing bowl, whisk together Parmesan and 3 eggs until mixture is smooth and free of lumps, set aside. Cook Spaghetti until al dente, about 9-10 minutes, making sure to reserve about a 1/2 cup of pasta water. Now this is the part you have to be precise and quick about or you will end up with scrambled eggs!! Drain pasta and immediately toss hot pasta with olive oil and pancetta until all the pasta is completely coated in pot. Make sure there is no heat still on/under pot! As soon as pasta is coated, add egg mixture tossing pasta and eggs rapidly with tongs until well combined. Don't worry, the heat from the pasta will cook the eggs! Add pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately!

French Apple Tart

2009-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

I made my first apple pie as a sophomore in high school for my crush at the time, Aaron. I worked diligently all day making this humongous apple pie with the fancy lattice work and everything. My motivation was based on the philosophy that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I still believe this rule with 2 exceptions: one, food is the way to any person's heart, not just a man; and two, the food needs to actually be good for the rule to work. I never even tasted that first apple pie, and the relationship went nowhere, so I can only conclude that the pie was a dud, but that turned out to be a good thing because the guy was a dud too.

Nevertheless, I stayed far away from any kind of pie making and anything to do with apples for quite some time. I was in truth intimidated by apples, I thought you needed one of those fancy Pampered Chef apple peeler/corer tools. I thought wrong. All you need for baking apples is a vegetable peeler and a melon baller. Peel apple, cut in half, take out core with melon baller, slice , done. This is a great method when working with pears as well!

I use apple butter on this tart, which is widely available this time of year. I buy mine at this wonderful little cafe, thats food probably deserves it's own post! If you don't have any apple butter, try reducing some apple cider, and topping the apples with that. This tart will make your house smell so so good, be sure to serve a la mode and I think you will have a sure fire path to anyones heart, whomever that may be!

French Apple Tart
Serves 6-8

Tools: One 8 or 9 inch tart, quiche, or creme brulee pan

Pastry

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
1/4 cup ice water

Note: Instead you could use a 1/2 sheet premade puff pastry, but only do this if tart is going to be eaten all in the same day. Roll out puff pastry into tart pan and proceed to the apple step!

Place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in small bits and looks like little peas. With the processor running, pour in the ice water and pulse until dough is combined. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a hour and up to one day.

Apple Topping

2 green apples, such as Gravenstein or Granny Smith
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced into small pieces.
1/4 cup apple butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line your tart pan with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a circle. Dough may be sticky, if so just keep adding a little flour until dough is manageable. Place dough in the tart pan and using a knife, trim the edges. Refrigerate prepared dough until ready to use.

Peel and core apples. Slice the apples into half moons about 1/4 inch thick. Place apple slices overlapping in diagonal rows, until the pastry is completely covered. Sprinkle with the sugar and dot with the butter. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the pastry and apples start to brown, rotating once. When the tart is done, heat up the apple butter and brush over apples. Serve warm with ice cream! I recommend Haagen Dazs Dolce De Leche!

Basil Aioli

2009-10-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

BLTS, other wise known as bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches have always been my ultimate comfort food. When I was little, my mom would make BLTS and chocolate shakes as a special dinner for my sister and I. Now, whenever I need a little pick me up, guess what I'm having? Even if I am feeling lazy, I'm lucky enough to live just down the street from the best little diner. A diner that has cornered the market on this particular combination.

The first year Jon and I were married we ate BLTS for dinner EVERY Sunday night. Ten newlywed pounds and a high cholesterol diagnosis for the hubby later, we cut out that Sunday night ritual, saving those comforting bacon sandwiches for "special" occasions. "Special" occasions where I can think of a better reason besides just wanting to eat bacon and mayonnaise together, and what is more special than mom coming to visit? On her last trip up, inspired by my abundance of basil, (and basil being the one herb that I didn't kill in the heat wave!) I decided to experiment with a basil mayonnaise, or basil aioli. This basil aioli is fantastic! The aioli elevated my BLT from ordinary to definitively "special occasion-ish".

After reading this list of ingredients, you might be thinking to yourself: anchovy paste? Seriously? Seriously. This is the secret ingredient. And if you are thinking what am I going to do with the leftover anchovy paste? Well, it keeps forever, you will want to make this aioli again , and anchovy paste is a great ingredient to add to zesty tomato sauces. If you aren't a fan of the bacon sandwich, don't worry, this aioli would be wonderful on any sandwich! I often use the leftovers to dress a simple sandwich of lettuce and roast chicken.

Basil Aioli

Adapted from a recipe in the July 2008 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine

Yield: 1/2 cup , recipe can be easily doubled!

1/2 Cup mayonnaise (Best Foods!)

10 leaves fresh basil

1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon warm water

generous dash of cayenne pepper

In a food processor combine mayonnaise, anchovy paste, basil, garlic, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce until smooth, slowly add in warm water, lemon juice, and cayenne. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Keep refrigerated until using.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Figs, Apples, Marsala, and Honey

2009-10-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

This pork roast is juicy, sweet, savory, and will make you glad the rain is back and there is a chill in the air. This roast can easily feed 4-6 people and is wonderful for entertaining. If you want to, tie the roast into 2 inch sections for even cooking, but if you are like me and forgot to buy kitchen string, it's okay. The roast won't look quite as pretty, but it will still taste delicious!

Pork Tenderloin with Marsala, Honey, Figs, and Apples
Serves 4-6

2 pounds boneless pork tenderloin, tied together in 2 inch sections
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 fresh figs, sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons clover honey
1/2 cup dry Marsala, plus 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
Salt & pepper
Rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional)

Bring Pork loin to room temperature from the refrigerator. (This is an important step when cooking beef and pork, making for more even cooking.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub pork tenderloin with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Transfer pork to pan and place into oven for 10 minutes until the meat browns. Remove from the oven (keep the oven on!). Scatter the garlic, apple slices, and fig slices around pork in the pan. Drizzle honey over pork and fruit in pan. Pour Marsala over pork and return pan to the oven. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until meat is 145 degrees. remove pork from pan. Cover pork with foil to rest while making the sauce. Place roasting pan over medium heat on stove. Add the flour and butter to roasting pan with the fruit and stir until the sauce thickens. Add 1 tablespoon more Marsala. Add UP to 1/2 cup chicken broth to thin the sauce. Pour sauce over roast, garnish with rosemary sprigs, slice and serve! This roast goes well with mashed potatoes, or any other fall vegetable puree, such as carrot, cauliflower, or sweet potato.

Tailgate Food

2009-09-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

My favorite time of year is fall for many reasons, from pumpkin patches to that first cozy fire but a major one is that it is college football season. I love watching most sports but there is nothing so familiar and yet so unpredictable as a college football game. Even if your team is having a down year, it is so rejuvenating to pack up your ice chest and head down to the game amongst all your flag waving people. (Beaver Fans on I-5). You feel hopeful and excited as you near your Alma mater, and absolutely can't wait to park & open that cooler! Be sure to make lots, you'll want to share and you'll also need some nourishment as you sit in game day traffic. You might even want to double the cupcake recipe, either for a celebratory dessert or to drown your sorrows afterward. I am not sure what can be more comforting than peanut butter & chocolate. Be sure to pack something equally satisfying to wash it down with, game days can make you unusually thirsty!

For the cupcakes use your favorite chocolate cake recipe, the richer the better!

Peanut Butter Frosting
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

1 Cup powdered sugar
1 Cup creamy peanut butter (I like Jif)
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher salt
1/3 Cup heavy cream

Beat powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until creamy. Add the heavy cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth, about 2 minutes.

My girlfriend used to make these sandwiches up for what we called the after after party. For when the hot food is gone, but you need a little snack. On a croissant they also look elegant enough for a buffet, I have made them for baby showers and birthday parties. To make the celery more tender and less stringy, peel the outer layer before chopping There isn't really any measurement to the chicken filling, just make as little or as much as you need! Make the filling a day ahead to let the flavor develop! My sister claims she doesn't like pickles, but when I made these and left them in the fridge overnight, they we gone the next morning!

Croissant Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Croissants
Sliced Swiss cheese
Dill pickles , chopped
Celery, chopped
Roasted chicken, chopped (Roast your own, or use a store bought rotisserie chicken)
Mayonnaise
Ranch dressing (preferably homemade , if not use Hidden Valley)
Salt
Lots & lots of pepper!

Mix chicken with equal parts pickles and celery. Then mix in equal parts ranch and mayo until desired consistency. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Put in Tupperware to sit overnight so the flavors can develop! When ready to assemble, cut croissant in half horizontally. Place chicken salad mixture on bottom of croissant. Place half a slice of Swiss cheese on top. Place top of croissant down making a sandwich, cut in half!

Why I Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Computers

2009-08-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

My computer has a virus. =(

So I have to send off my computer to who knows where to get fixed. I actually have been cooking and testing new recipes so I can't wait until it comes back and I can actually post the triumphs!

Chicken Piccata

2009-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just needed a go-to recipe? One that can be concocted of mainly pantry staples for when you are in a funk and don’t know what to fix or unexpected guests drop by? If any of this applies to you then you need this chicken piccata recipe. There are lots of versions of chicken piccata, some recipes call for white wine, some for crème fraiche, some for pasta, etc etc. Over the years, I have tried many different versions, and most have been at least good, many excellent. However time and time again I fall back on this recipe, because it is so basic and easy to perfect but also packs a ton of flavor. This recipe also gets a plus from me for using chicken stock instead of white wine, the chicken stock being easier to have on hand at all times (wine in general doesn’t last long in this house. I like to think of our house not as a cellar but more of a tasting room environment!) Chicken Piccata makes a wonderful meal anytime, but is also fancy and tasty enough to serve to guests, expected or unexpected! My absolute favorite way to serve this is with creamy mashed potatoes. You just can’t go wrong with the combination of butter, capers, and lemon…yum!

This recipe is adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

Chicken Piccata
Serves 4

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Cup All-Purpose flour
½ Teaspoon salt (Sea or Kosher)
½ Teaspoon pepper
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter , divided
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ Cup chicken broth (the fat-free, reduced sodium kind)
3 Heaping tablespoons capers
Juice of 2 average size lemons
3 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Season the chicken with salt & pepper on each side. Dredge the chicken in flour to lightly coat, shaking off any excess. In a large pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. (Melting equal parts butter and oil is the best way to sauté most things, meats, fish, vegetables, etc!) Add the chicken to pan and cook until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer just the chicken to a plate. (Not the sauce!)

Add the lemon juice, broth, and capers to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil, scraping up all the brown bits. (Brown bits = flavor!) Put the chicken back in the pan and simmer until cooked through about 5 more minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the sauce, let melt, about 1 minute. Add chopped parsley. Pour sauce over the chicken and serve immediately!

Fabulous Summer Sides

2009-08-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

It’s been awhile. So far August has proved to be the craziest month in the Markum house this year. Between family visiting, birthday parties, and weekend trips, I’ve barely had time to sleep, let alone blog. The crazy train doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon, so I figure I just better get on board and enjoy the ride!

August is the ultimate month for summer produce, our CSA box was so full this week, we could barely carry it out of the market! With almost everything at peak season , it's the perfect time to enjoy lots of delicious vegetable side dishes!

Sautéed Sweet Corn with Basil
Serves 4

6 Ears of corn
2 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon pepper
7-8 Leaves Basil, julienned

Shuck the ears of corn, making sure to remove all the little strings. Stand corn upright on cutting board. Run a knife downwards, removing corn kernels. In a large sauté pan, add corn, butter, salt and pepper, cook over medium high heat. After about 8 minutes of cooking, add basil. Cook until corn starts to pop, about 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Garlic Green Beans

Serves 4

1 Pound green beans, ends trimmed
1 Clove garlic, finely grated
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Boil large pot of salted water . When water is boiling, add green beans and boil 4 minutes. Immediately drain green beans in colander and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. (at this point the green beans can sit for awhile while you prepare other parts of the meal.) Using the same pot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add green beans. Grate garlic clove over the green beans and sauté about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

California Barbecue

2009-07-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

The Northwest has been experiencing a record breaking heat wave the last few days (107 degrees today!) With no a/c in the house, not even I am crazy enough to cook in this weather, so I thought I would post a recipe from my trip back to California last weekend. As always, we barbecued! Californians love to barbecue, especially my family, and especially tri-tip. On a 4 day trip we had tri-tip 3 different days, cooked by 3 different relatives, and served 3 different ways: My grandma barbecued hers beforehand and then warmed it back up in the oven for a wonderful pool party lunch, my sister cooked hers in the oven to very well done, cutting holes in the meat and filling the holes with Worcestershire sauce, and my dad barbecued his rare, pouring apple cider vinegar on top (he is on a apple cider vinegar kick these days!) After all that tri-tip we still weren’t tired of it, or of barbecuing. I mean, what’s not to like about sitting outside enjoying great food with friends and family? California barbecue is meant to be fast and quick, allowing you to cook with drink in hand and then sit down and enjoy a meal with your guests. There is no special process or method, just a few required ingredients: fresh food, a nice cut of meat, good wine, and some friends!

My step mom Diane made this salad with the seasons first zucchini, this is an adapted version of a recipe she got from the health section of the New York Times. The salad is creamy and delicious, you would never know it was actually good for you ! The salad made an excellent side dish to the barbecued chicken and fresh grilled corn. If you wanted, you could leave out the lettuce and then the dish would be more like a salsa that you could serve with chips!

Zucchini-Avocado Salad

Makes 8 side-dish servings

1 Head Romaine lettuce, chopped for a salad
1 Medium zucchini, finely diced
5 Medium tomatoes, chopped
2 Jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro
1 Large avocado, finely diced
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Croutons (optional)

Sprinkle the zucchini with salt, and drain in a colander for 15 minutes. If the zucchini tastes too salty, give it a rinse. Combine the tomatoes, peppers and cilantro in a serving bowl. Mix the zucchini, avocado and lemon or lime juice in another smaller bowl. Season to taste with salt. Add zucchini/avocado mixture to tomato/cilantro mixture and toss gently. Toss in lettuce leaves and season to taste. Garnish with Croutons and serve!

Shameless Self-Promotion

2009-07-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Some of you may or may not have noticed that my posts lately have been less frequent than usual. A small part of this can be blamed on the summer weather and the fact that I would just rather have my feet in the kiddie pool than in the kitchen. The bigger part of this story is also that my mind and energy have been on other things, like starting a little business with my girlfriend Julie. The company is called Pookie&theBean, and we specialize in hair accessories for little girls, or clippies. We have been very excited about this project for a long time and thanks to Julie's tech savvy husband Gavin, our website is finally up and running! We are also on Facebook so if you are a member look us up! Please tell your friends & family about us and if you can, come visit our booth at the Multnomah Days Celebration in Portland, Oregon on August 15th! Our clips will also be available at the Felicity Boutique in Salem, Oregon starting in September!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-07-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, two dessert posts in a row! With this summer heat, we've really been eating very simple, grilled meats and veggies, light pastas, that sort of thing. The only reason I have turned on my oven is to bake, I like to think no matter how hot, most people would, in the name of chocolate....

In the heat of summer I like to mix this cookie dough up at night and then bake them first thing in the morning, before it gets too hot. After making the best cookies ever, I am also now a firm believer in the refrigerated dough method. This cookie recipe is for a small batch of cookies, if you want more, just double it. I like the fact that this recipe only makes a small batch, with only 2 adults in the house, we really don't need to be consuming 3 dozen cookies, and if they were there, well, we would!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 18 2-inch cookies

2 Sticks (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 Cup peanut butter
1 Large or XL Egg
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips

With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined. Add in egg, stir well, then vanilla also stirring well! Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a spoon, drop little scoops of dough on parchment. Press down on the centers slightly to flatten a little with the spoon. Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown. When done, remove cookies and place parchment paper with cookies on wire rack to cool.

Ice Bath Brownies

2009-07-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

The greater part of seven years ago, I was out on my own for the first time, and learning how to cook by myself. My kitchen was carpeted (horrible I know, I know!) One evening while pulling my mastered specialty of Gouda stuffed chicken breasts courtesy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook out of the oven, I accidentally set the glass baking dish on a burner I had forgotten to turn off. In less than 5 seconds, there was a loud popping sound and glass shards and Gouda stuffed chicken were everywhere, including that lovely carpet. Luckily no one was in the kitchen at the time, and I considered it a lesson learned, and vowed to never do something like that again.

Time passed, I learned to be more careful and during the next 7 years, exploding glass didn‘t occur in my now un-carpeted kitchen again, until last week that is.... In a previous post I mentioned my brownie recipe disaster. Now the recipe itself was not disastrous, but the baking methods of a tired mama were. This specific brownie recipe calls for the brownies to be placed directly in an ice bath after coming out of a 400 degree oven. Due to the whole ice bath thing, the brownies need to be baked in a tin pan, and I unfortunately baked them in a glass pan. Well what happens when you put a 400 degree glass pan into an ice bath? Um, it uh, explodes and you end up with soaking wet brownies and little pieces of glass all over your kitchen! Using a glass pan is not recommended! PLEASE WHEN MAKING THESE BROWNIES USE A METAL PAN! If you use a metal pan, these brownies will come out moist, fudgy, and decadent, the way they did the next time I attempted to make them. The ice bath method creates a brownie that is crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, equalling brownie perfection! These brownies would taste even better if you added walnuts, I did not because the hubby is a not a walnut fan. Next time I make them I think I will use walnuts, and then I can have them all to myself……

When choosing a chocolate for this recipe, use something decent, like Ghirardelli. Don’t be tempted to buy the Bakers chocolate because it is cheaper, it tastes cheaper too!

Ice Bath Brownies
Makes 16 2-inch brownies

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 ¼ Cups sugar
¼ Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Large eggs
½ Cup all-purpose flour
2/3 Cup walnuts (optional)

1 8-inch square metal pan, lined along the bottom and sides with parchment paper or tin foil.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Position the rack in the lower third of the oven.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan or double boiler. When the mixture is melted and smooth, remove from heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour and beat with a spoon until the batter in smooth and glossy. The batter is ready when it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Stir in the nuts. Spread the batter into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or just until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan. The center of the brownies will still be gooey when tested with a toothpick. While the brownies are baking, prepare and ice bath. Fill a large baking pan or roasting pan with ice cubes and water until about ¾ inches deep. When the brownies are ready, remove pan from the oven and set immediately in the ice bath. Be careful not to splash any water on the brownies. Cool the brownies in the ice bath, and then cut and serve!

Twilight Ale

2009-07-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

I have to say that when it comes to beer, I am usually a self-proclaimed Widmer girl, as in Hefeweizen. In fact, today, driving through town running errands, I pulled up next to a Widmer delivery truck. As the truck turned off onto a side street, for a split second I felt the urge to follow it, but just for a split second. That is how much I like that yellow and black labeled brew! But lately in the name of education*, I have been trying to expand my beer palette. I have been venturing out to different brewpubs and when picking up a 6 pack at the store I will mix and match it, creating my very own sampler pack, instead of just buying a 6 pack of all the same brewskis. (I am pretty sure by now the beer stocking guys at Fred Meyer have me on a hit list!) Mixing up a 6 pack is lots of fun actually, and a lot more economical than say buying 6 bottles of wine when you want a little variety in life. Holding our own little beer tasting is also a favorite activity at the Markum house for a stay at home date night. This last time I mixed up a 6-er of Deschutes Brewery Beer. In the pack I had selected a bottle of their seasonal brew, Twilight Ale. I really liked it! Twilight Ale is a light, drinkable summer beer, but still has a nice malty character. I love what the website says about it " Best when served chilled and consumed outside." Doesn't that already sound like a good time? Deschutes Brewery also makes my favorite Porter: Black Butte. Try that one as well if you haven’t already. Plus, if you are in the state of Oregon, July is Oregon Craft Beer Month, so a part of the proceeds of beer sold during this month will help go to support the Oregon Food Bank. The breweries I have confirmed to be participating are Deschutes, Widmer & Bridgeport. So in celebration of Craft Beer Month and in the name of charity and education* go mix up your own 6 pack today!.

Linguine with Snap Peas, Zucchini, Basil, & Gremolata

2009-07-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

I was busy rifling through recipes to utilize some snap peas I had received in last week’s CSA box. Inside the box, I had found the attached instructions on how they should be eaten to be completely unacceptable. They were to: “just eat the snap peas, raw.” No thank you! Healthy eating can only take me so far, and it doesn’t take me far enough to sit and eat raw vegetables with no seasoning for dinner. If I died the next day I don’t want my last meal on earth to be raw snap peas, or carrots, or cauliflower, you get the idea. This was this reason for my fervent pursuit of a recipe, so I could use up the snap peas. I ran across this one, in the May 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, adapted it a little, and it turned out to be a pretty darn good summer pasta. I got my flavor kicks and also ate my veggies. Now that is a healthy compromise!

Serves 4!

Gremolata is garnish of parsley, lemon and garlic. In this recipe capers are substituted for the garlic.

Gremolata:

3 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon lemon peel finely grated
1 Tablespoon capers drained & chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Mix parsley, lemon peel, capers and olive oil in a small bowl set gremolata aside.

For the Pasta:

¼ Cup olive oil
12 Ounces linguine
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Red jalapeno chiles, thinly sliced
2 Zucchini cut crosswise into 1/3 inch slices
1 Cup snap peas
1Cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Make sure to reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. I like to do this buy sticking a heavy mug into the boiling water and scooping some out. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapenos, sautéing until soft, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and snap peas and sauté until tender about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add drained pasta, the cooking liquid (salted boiled water), basil and grated Parmesan cheese to the skillet. Toss until the basil is wilted and the pasta is coated. Season with salt and pepper. Top with gremolata and extra Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna, Mexican Style

2009-06-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast predicts low 90’s this weekend in Portland. Growing up in the Central Valley of California, I am no stranger to hot summer weather, but everyone also had air conditioning and my grandparents had a swimming pool. But that is not the case up here, and 92 degrees in PDX feels like a 102 degree day in Merced because of the humidty. However I am not going to complain about it, the rain will be back soon enough and then you may/will hear me whining! In the meantime we will try and stay cool by finding a piece of shady grass or maybe a fountain to splash in, blowing up the kiddie pool, and grabbing a cold beer....

No matter how hot that thermometer reads outside, on Sundays I always turn on my oven, even if that means being uncomfortable while I cook. There is just something about Sundays that calls for something comforting and warm to fill your plate a little fuller than usual. Whether it be pot roast, baked penne, or this Southwestern take on lasagna, Sundays are just better with a hot family style meal. Even this Sunday after I recover from my 4th of July hangover of too many hot dogs, root beer floats and sun, I know I will turn on the oven, perhaps attempting yet again to make the brownie recipe (the one that turned out so disastrous last night!), despite the heat…...

Mexican Lasagna

Feeds a crowd! 8-10 Servings

1 Pound ground beef
1 Can (15 oz) golden corn, drained
1 Can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 Cup salsa , mild, like picante
1 Tablespoon chili poweder
1 ½ Teaspoons cumin
16 Ounces Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs, beaten
¼ Cup Parmesan
1 Teaspoon Oregano
½ Teaspoon garlic salt
1 Cup Cheddar, shredded
12 Corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in medium pan over medium high heat. Add corn, tomato sauce, salsa, chili powder and cumin. Simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, beaten eggs, parmesan, oregano, and garlic salt. Set aside. Grease large 13 x 9 baking glass baking dish. Place 6 corn tortillas on bottom. Top with 1//2 the cottage cheese mixture, then half the beef mixture. Repeat with tortillas, then cottage cheese, and then beef. Just like if you were making lasagna! Then top with the shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes!

A typical Sunday afternoon family portrait....

Ode to Strawberries Part 3: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

2009-06-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we picked up our first CSA box of the season and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. We received a nice assortment of fruits and vegetables and even a potted plant. Picking up the box is also kind of exciting, because you don’t really know what you are going to get. It reminded me of the feeling I used to get as a little kid buying one of those “mystery” goody bags at the toy store, and then eagerly ripping open the bag to see just what treasures it held. One of the treasures this week were 2 pints of fresh, red strawberries. But like anything in life, along with the treasures also come the challenges. This weeks challenge was the rhubarb. I have never cooked with rhubarb, and really know very little about it. What I did know was that it needs to be cooked for awhile, and that it supposedly goes well with strawberries. Looking at the rhubarb itself was a bit daunting. Raw rhubarb basically looks like a big fuschia celery stick. I toyed with the idea of making some sort of jam, cake, or crisp but ultimately decided on this crumble. I also toyed with the idea of not using the rhubarb at all, but that would be wasteful and I promised myself that if we purchased the CSA box this summer I would utilize every last piece of produce, so I made the crumble. And I am so glad I did! This crumble was very simple to prepare, smelled great while baking and came out of the oven, gooey, sweet and well, crumbly. This crumble topping is super versatile and I can’t wait to use it again in a month or so when raspberries and blackberries are in season!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

For the Filling:

1 Cup rhubarb, chopped roughly into 1 inch pieces
1 ½ Cup strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/3 Cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Topping:

1 1/3 Cup flour
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an 8 x 8 pan, (you could use a 9 inch pan, or a pie pan, I actually used a 10 inch oval gratin dish.) mix the ingredients for the filling together. Your hands work best for this! Spread filling evenly over bottom of pan. In medium bowl, mix together ingredients for the crumble topping until small and large lumps form. (I.e; crumbles). Sprinkle topping generously over filling. Bake in oven until topping is golden brown and bubbly, about 45-50 minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Daddy's Barbecue Ribs with Pomegranate Glaze and Grilled Vegetables

2009-06-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

My dad is a real grill master. He can make any cut of meat taste and smell delicious on his barbecue, and even tempt me to try proteins that I would normally shy away from. Um deer anyone? While deer wasn’t my favorite, it wasn’t that bad either. Whenever we have the chance to get together, I look forward to him barbecuing, it never gets old, and there always seems to be a new technique for me to learn or pick up. Last weekend, my dad was up visiting and on Sunday evening we decided to barbecue. My husband Jon really wanted to learn how to cook ribs, and my dad was going to show him how. We barbecued pork spareribs, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and onions studded with garlic. At the last minute, I realized I had no barbecue sauce, so I whipped one up, using pomegranate molasses. The sweetness of the molasses complimented the spiciness of the pork perfectly. The meal turned out so wonderful, that I thought I would share the whole thing with you. The only thing I would change about it is that I wish could enjoy barbecues with my dad more often!

Happy Father’s Day Daddies!

Barbecued Ribs

1-2 racks pork spareribs (about 5-6 pounds each)
Brown sugar
Oregano
Red pepper flakes
Dried garlic
Sea Salt
Pepper

In prepping the ribs, you will need to estimate the quantities based on the size of your rib racks. Basically, you are making your own rub and you want all the meat covered in a thin layer of seasoning. Rub seasonings all over the top side (meat side) of the ribs. On the bottom side (bone side) season with some more salt. Cook ribs covered on heated grill over low, medium-low (this part depends on how hot your grill runs!) for 1 hour, 40 minutes, turning occasionally. After an hour and 20 minutes, brush ribs with a light layer of barbecue sauce and let cook another 15 minutes. Remove ribs from grill, place on large tray, cover with tin foil, and place in oven to keep warm while you make the rest of the vegetables.

Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce

enough for 1 rack of ribs....

¼ Cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ Tablespoon Pomegranate molasses
1 Teaspoon Honey
1/8 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together and brush on meat!

Roasted Onion and Garlic

1 Large Walla Walla or Vidalia Sweet onion, peeled
1 Clove garlic, cut into slices
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Take onion and cut in half horizontally. Top with garlic slices, trying to wedge the garlic into the onion. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap each onion half tightly in aluminum foil and put on the grill with the ribs for 1 hour, 40 minutes . Remove from grill, keeping onion wrapped in tin foil until the other vegetables are ready.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes & Asparagus

2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch wide long slices
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

Toss sweet potatoes & asparagus in olive oil until well coated. (It is best to use your hands for this part!) Season with salt and pepper. Put on the grill over low heat until asparagus is cooked through and sweet potatoes are slightly caramelized about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat, put vegetables in serving dish. Open up onions and garlic and put on top of sweet potatoes and asparagus. The juices from the onion and garlic will run down onto the other vegetables. Don't worry, this is what you want!

Take ribs out of the oven and enjoy your barbecue!

Shell Pasta with Pancetta, Leeks, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

2009-06-17T16:48:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile. We have been busy with house guests the last week, I am in the middle of trying to start up a little business venture with a girlfriend (I will let you all know when that is up & running!)and my newly engaged sister is now visiting so of we have also been immersed in wedding planning! Of course we have still been eating delicious food, both dining out and eating in. Today for example, we trekked to the SE side to try the infamous "Reggie" at Pine State Biscuits. It was worth the wait and the 8 mile drive out of our way! We also had this pasta dish tonight for dinner.

I have really been into leeks lately, and this is a great way to use them. If you haven't cooked a lot with leeks, they are sort of like an onion, but milder and sweeter, they are incredible sauteed and caramelized as well. The shell pasta in this dish act as little spoons so you get bite sized scoops filled with all the ingredients. Bacon can be substituted for the pancetta, just be aware that the bacon has a much more aggressive smoky flavor than the pancetta. Bacon is more economical, but I really like the subtleness of the pancetta because it allows you to taste the blend of all the flavors! This recipe is loosely adapted from Gordon Ramsay's cookbook Fast Food.

Serves 4

1 Pound pasta shells also can be found as Conchiglie
3 Tablespoons olive oil
5 Ounces pancetta, sliced
3 Leeks, trimmed and finely sliced (white & pale green parts only)
10 Ounces Cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 14 1/2 Ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained
6 Ounces creme fraiche
salt & pepper
parsley, chopped for garnish

In this dish it is very important to season every layer as it cooks, and not just at the end! Heat a large pot of salted water, bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown, then add the leeks, season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook on high heat about 8-10 minutes until leeks are tender. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add in creme fraiche, and parsley, stir and season with salt and pepper, remove from heat. Toss in cooked pasta shells. Season to taste. Serve immediately!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

2009-06-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Growing up in California, you eat a lot of ranch dressing. Ranch dressing is a permanent part of the California food culture, and it certainly was a part of mine as a little girl. I admittedly took it a little too far as a child, refusing any other kind of salad dressing, dipping everything from carrots and chicken tenders to French fries in the stuff. French fries with a side of ranch. Now that is quite possibly my absolute favorite way to eat ranch dressing, with fried artichoke hearts running a close second. In California, ordering French fries with a side of ranch, doesn’t bat an eye. Up here in Oregon, 90% of the time you are accommodated, but try ordering that in the Midwest, and then wait for the strange looks. In Europe, well forget about it, they don’t serve ranch there….I am glad nobody told me ranch dressing wasn’t as widely available everywhere else in the world back then, because at that age, I might never have left…..

Has all this talk of ranch dressing made you want some? Well I hope so, because it is ridiculously easy. I wish I had known how to make some years ago, I could have cut down on the home sickness! Homemade ranch dressing is also much better than that stuff from Hidden Valley.

I “borrowed” this recipe from the Gluten Free Girl , who had borrowed it from somebody named “Cookiecrumb” and I am sure Cookiecrumb borrowed it from somebody else, it is after all just a basic ranch dressing, classic and at its best.

Makes 3 cups

1 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup mayonnaise
1 Cup whole fat yogurt
1 Teaspoon dried dill
1 Teaspoon dried oregano
1 Teaspoon dried garlic
1 Teaspoon kosher salt
1 Teaspoon pepper
Juice of ½ a lemon

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into container and refrigerate. Let dressing sit for 1 day before eating, this allows all the flavors to blend together! (This is important! Leave it alone, or it won’t taste right!) Serve with anything and everything =)

These veggies are just begging for some Ranch lovin!

Ode to Strawberries Part 2: Strawberry, Walnut, & Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

2009-06-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

The weather yesterday was crazy, like a scene out of the Wizard of Oz. Sofia and I were cruising the farmers market (a mini one in the park behind my house, just started, yay!) and buying strawberries. Well I was the one buying while Sofia was “sampling” more like grabbing at all of them on the table and trying to stuff them in her mouth…Anyway, it was hot and sunny, humid, and downright uncomfortable. We walked back to the house and I stripped my little bug down to her designer Costco diaper, filled our glasses with ice water, opened all the windows and tried to cool off. Then within minutes, the wind picked up, the sky turned dark, lightning and thunder ensued and it began to hail. Yikes! Then again, it did add a dose of excitement to our day. The power in the Pearl District (where Jon works) was knocked out still today so Jon got an impromptu 3 day weekend….

Those strawberries? Well, I made a salad with them. The type of salad that makes a fantastic lunch, but add some grilled chicken and you have dinner. It is also the type of salad that comes in handy if say a thunderstorm rolls through and your power is knocked out….

Riesling would go very well with this salad!

3 Ounces goat cheese, crumbled
½ Pint sliced strawberries, sliced
½ Cup walnut halves, toasted
10 Ounces fresh spinach
¼ Cup apple cider vinegar
½ Cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon pomegranate molasses or syrup*
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

* You might be asking yourself what you would do with the rest of a bottle of pomegranate molasses, besides making the obvious vinaigrette. Pomegranate molasses actually makes an excellent marinade for meats (I have coated a turkey in it several times) and also can be used in mixed drinks.

Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, pomegranate molasses, and thyme until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper, set aside.
Place spinach in serving bowl, top with strawberries and walnuts. Sprinkle with goat cheese, and drizzle the vinaigrette over! Serve!

Ode to Strawberries Part 1 : Lemon Yogurt Cake with Strawberry Sauce

2009-06-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

June marks the start of the strawberry season up here in Oregon. The return of the strawberry really does scream “summer has arrived!“. (If strawberries could scream that is….). The lines outside the booths selling them at the farmers market this morning looked like something out of 1980’s Moscow. (I would have taken a picture but it was way too crowded!) Despite all that wading through the crowd in the heat, it is definitely worth it for a pint or flat of the season’s first strawberries. The different booths offer samples to customers, so you can decide for yourself which farm offers the best berries. The added bonus? Most of the strawberry farms are from Corvallis, so if you wear your Oregon State gear, (which my husband always does) you will probably wind up with a few extra berries!

Fresh berries from the farm really do taste better! They are redder, naturally sweeter, and juicier than the ones at the grocery store, because they get to ripen on the vine before being taken to market. So go and buy some strawberries now while you can, whether it be from your local farmers market, farm, or roadside stand!

Coming home with this bounty of strawberries, I was so excited! Would I make lunch with them? Dessert? Or would I just eat them all plain, straight out of the basket? After calming down from my strawberry euphoria, I realized that I could do all those things and if need be, go back and push through the crowds to buy more.....

I have a confession to make. As much as I have stated in this blog and proclaimed aloud to my family, that I hate baking, I have started to like it. Maybe it is the controlled process, the concentrated measuring, or the gleeful smile on Jon’s face when I pull something sweet out of the oven, but baking has really started to appeal to me. This weekend, I really had an urge to make some sort of lemon cake. The two recipes it came down to were by Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and Molly Wizenberg (The Orangette). Molly’s French style lemon yogurt cake won out for two reasons: one, her chocolate chip banana bread recipe totally rocks, and two, I read that she met her husband Brandon via this recipe. Um, how romantic is that? So I had to make this cake, and of course I also had to make a strawberry sauce to serve alongside it! The way I make my strawberry sauce is more of a jammy consistency then a refined sauce. If you would like the sauce to be more syrupy, add another ½ cup of sugar, if you don’t want seeds, then pour sauce through a mesh strainer. This cake is wonderful, lemony, and crumbly, without being overly sweet. We found excuses to eat it all weekend, justifying our gluttony by insisting that the strawberry topping somehow made it healthy. I made this cake Saturday afternoon and it was gone by Sunday evening!

Makes 8 Servings

For the Cake:

1 ½ Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
2 Teaspoons lemon zest
Pinch of salt
½ Cup plain WHOLE milk yogurt
1 Cup sugar
3 Large eggs
½ Cup vegetable oil

For the Lemon Syrup:

¼ Cup powdered sugar
¼ Cup lemon juice

For the Lemon Icing:

1 Cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons lemon juice

For the Strawberry Sauce:

1 Cup sliced strawberries
¼ Cup sugar
½ Cup water
1 Teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper, grease that too. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest and mix well. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt sugar and eggs, stirring to mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add the oil and stir well, until it becomes a smooth yellow batter. Pour into the pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. (Insert toothpick into center of cake, if toothpick comes out clean, cake is done!) Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, using a butter knife along the sides of the pan, invert the cake onto a plate. Remove the parchment paper, and invert the cake back onto the cooling rack. Set the rack on a baking sheet so that it will catch the dripping icing.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon syrup ingredients. Spoon the syrup over the warm cake slowly. Cool cake completely.

Meanwhile, combine strawberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice and bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Let cool.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon icing ingredients. Make sure to mix well so the sugar is completely dissolved. Spoon the icing over the cake. Let sit about 1 hour. Serve cake with strawberry sauce.

Grillin & Chillin: Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Glaze

2009-05-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been absolutely gorgeous here in Portland. In fact, I have developed quite a crush on the weather lately! I also have a little crush on this balsamic vinegar. Our friends Gavin & Julie over at The Haute Kitchen were generous enough to give us a bottle. Ever since, I have been trying to figure out ways to use this balsamic on anything & everything! ( If you want to know more about it, click here.) In the midst of trying to balance these two current infatuations, how might you ask do I show my affection? By cooking outside of course, grilling chicken and pairing that with a balsamic glaze. (Love is better when shared!)

Brining is a great method to use on meats that can often turn dry and tasteless after being cooked. The brining process lends itself well to cuts like pork chops and boneless, skinless chicken. These particular chicken breasts get a huge boost from a little overnight skinny dip in the brining liquid, which might seem a bit tedious, but isn’t at all, promise! You make the brine the night before and by the next evening your chicken is ready for the grill! Brining flavors the meat all the way through, the sugars and salt seep in through the whole piece of meat rather than just the top layer. After brining, there is really no need to add any extra seasoning, the chicken will be succulent and flavorful enough as is. The balsamic glaze is sweet, savory, and just a little bit sticky, giving the chicken that extra bit of oomph! This recipe can also be efficiently divided and conquered by one person grilling the chicken and the other person busying themselves with making the glaze.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Glaze
Serves 4

For the Brine:

3 Tablespoons kosher salt
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
6 Thyme sprigs
2 Garlic cloves, halved
¾ Teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
4 Cups water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Transfer to a container large enough to hold all the brine and chicken breasts. Let the brine cool completely add the chicken breasts and refrigerate over night. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged in the brine and nor floating or anything!

For the Chicken:

4 Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

Remove chicken breasts from brine. Throw on a grill, either over medium low or low, depending on how hot your grill gets. Cook chicken breasts, about 8 to 10 minutes on each side. When chicken is done, add the chicken to the pan with the balsamic glaze, and cook on low, about 1 minute, turning the chicken in the sauce until coated.

For the Balsamic Glaze:

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 shallot, minced
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh sage, minced
1 Cup low sodium or light chicken stock

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter melts add the minced shallots, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, bring to a boil, and let reduce by half, about a minute. Add the stock and sage, turning the heat to high and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce until sauce is a 1/3 cup, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat, adding the remaining butter and swirling until the butter melts. When chicken is done, add chicken to pan on low, about a minute. Make some sides and eat up!

Fish Tacos with Avocado & Tomato Salsa

2009-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have decided this is going to be my shout out blog post . So please oblige me on these 3 shout outs. I am afterall, still sharing a recipe with you. The # 1 shout out is to my little cousin Aaron ( he is actually not so little anymore, but to me he will remain for all intensive purposes, my little cousin.) Aaron is serving over in Iraq right now. Thank you for the great job you are doing, we love you!! The #2 shout out is to 2 of my oldest friends, Liz & Kim who came up to visit this weekend. Thanks for coming and sharing your love for breakfast & beer! And finally my 3rd shout out is to my Aunt Wendy, who has to eat gluten free and often can not make the recipes I post. The following recipe however she can, so here is to you Wendy, cook this!

After a fun-filled but exhausting 3 day weekend, (Thank you Kim & Liz!) I am finally back into the cooking swing of things. I made these fish tacos tonight and they were really fresh, light , and tasty, basically the quintessential summer dinner. I used Rockfish (abundant in the PNW) but you could use Red Snapper, Cod, or even Catfish. You basically just want a light fish that won’t be too overpowering, that will absorb a lot of flavor, and stand up to broiling. This recipe is healthy & figure friendly, not to mention gluten-free (Wendy, make this!)

This recipe serves 4!

For the Salsa:

4 Plum/Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 Large Hass avocado, peeled & chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
½ Jalapeno, minced with seeds.
Salt & pepper

Mix in medium bowl, season with salt and pepper. Let the flavors hang out and come together while you make the rest of the meal.

For the Fish:

1 Pound fish fillets, skinned & de-boned
2 Garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ Jalapeno, minced with seeds
2 Cups thinly sliced leaf lettuce
¼ Cup pepper jack or Cotija cheese
6 -inch corn or flour totrtillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place fish fillets in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt & pepper. Mix garlic, lime juice, and jalapeno in a small bowl. Drizzle half the lime juice mixture over fish, reserving remainder. Let fish stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and place in oven until heated through (about the 15 minutes). Remove tortillas, keeping them in foil until ready to serve. Preheat broiler. Broil fish until just opaque in center, about 6-8 minutes. Cut fish into 1 inch pieces. Top each tortilla with lettuce, fish, and some of the reserved lime juice mixture. Spoon salsa over and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy!

This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, if you didn’t notice. We don’t just get a 3 day weekend at the beginning of summer so we can all barbeque and work on our tan. Men and women that have served and are serving our country as we speak, are the reason we celebrate this holiday, so please don’t forget that! Miss you Aaron! (Aaron is the Airman 3rd from the left, shaking hands.)

Parmesan & Fresh Basil Cream Sauce

2009-05-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

I recently bought these very rich smoked salmon raviolis by Monterey Pasta Company. The first time I had these, I made a simple pasta sauce out of olive oil and fresh basil but it just didn't pair well together, the smoked salmon was a little too strong for the basic olive oil dressing. The ravioli really needed a sauce that was equally rich and indulgent to balance out the flavors, so I decided to make an Alfredo type sauce for them. Typically I don't cook a lot with cream or make cream sauces, but after experimenting a little, I think this one came out just right; not too heavy and the basil adds a nice freshness. Next time I make this sauce I think I will toss it with some fettuccine and sauteed mushrooms or shrimp. Of course, I won't be making this sauce weekly, it is not exactly bathing suit season friendly!

This sauce makes enough for a pound of pasta. If you are using one of those 8 ounce fresh pasta packages, then just divide this recipe in half!

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Shallot, minced
10 Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
1/8 Teaspoon white pepper*
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher salt

*White pepper adds a much more subtle flavor as a seasoning to cream based dishes and fish, such as salmon.

Melt butter in a medium/large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and shallots. Cook, until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add cream, Parmesan, and basil, increase heat to high and bring to a slow boil, reducing the sauce, about 4 minutes. When sauce is at desired consistency reduce heat to medium and add white pepper and salt, cooking an additional 2 minutes. Serve over pasta! You will probably want to serve it with some garlic bread to mop up all the yummy sauce as well!

Summertime Stimulus Package: 2 Bargain Whites

2009-05-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

* I did not take the above picture but I would have liked to *

I am really more of a red wine girl, never really liked whites, in fact, I was downright snobbish about it. When I went wine tasting I would skip the whites and go straight for the reds, either handing the whites off to my husband, or just bypassing them all together. When you think about this, how sad and just plain ridiculous is it that I missed out on all that free wine? Good thing I have become more open minded, and in the name of palette training, over the years I have really come to appreciate a decent white. I enjoy white wines that are crisp and smooth, bottles that are especially good on a warm day, or when you want a glass of wine but nothing heavy or too sweet. White wine is the perfect companion to an outdoor barbecue or a beach picnic and also makes an excellent mask for pretending that you are not really drinking before cocktail hour…ha ha….

Fetzer Pinot Grigio (2006) is from California and can be found for around $6.99 a bottle. This wine is crisp, with hints of apple and pear, but not in a pear juice Chardonnay kind of way. This wine pairs well with spicy foods such as Thai and also went well with strawberries!

In a previous post I mentioned that I had yet to try Colombia Crest Vineyard 10 White Wine (2007). Well now I have, and this wine is a fabulous find at about $5.99! a bottle. This wine is smooth, with hints of citrus and apple. The Vineyard 10 has great drinkability and doesn't need any food, just a comfy chair and a patio!

"Take Me to a BBQ Salad": Lemon Penne with Tomatoes, Bell Pepper & Feta

2009-05-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I made a version of this pasta salad for a barbeque but I had since lost the recipe. With this weekend’s gorgeous weather I decided to try and recreate something similar to what I remembered. This salad turned out delicious and would be a great addition to any summertime picnic or get together, plus it keeps really well and makes for excellent leftovers! You also wouldn’t have to worry about it getting too warm, because there is no mayo involved. To elevate this pasta salad from a side dish to a meal, add some store bought rotisserie chicken. Let’s get real, during a hot summer day the last thing you probably feel like doing is turning on a hot oven.

Lemon Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Red Pepper & Feta
Serves 4 as a meal, 8 as a side dish

For the dressing:
7 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
3 Tablespoons whole grain mustard *I actually used whole grain mustard with garlic. If you don’t have whole grain mustard with garlic, then use 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard with 2 minced garlic cloves.
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the Salad:
12 Ounces Penne pasta
2 Cups grape or cherry tomatoes halved
2 Red bell peppers, chopped
10 Ounces crumbled Feta cheese

Start a large pot of salted water to boil.

Whisk oil lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and lemon peel in a small bowl until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook Penne pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain pasta. In a colander, rinse pasta with cold water until cool to the touch. In a large bowl, toss pasta with tomatoes, bell pepper, and feta cheese. Pour dressing over and toss until well coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

* If you have it on hand, top with some chopped fresh thyme.

We might see a lot of rain during the other 3 seasons of the year, but the Portland summers can't be beat! Lovin' it!

Side Dish Perk-Up: Green Beans with Lemon & Thyme

2009-05-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

To tell you the truth, I have been in a weekday food rut. I blame this on the manic weather we have been having this May in the Northwest . Just when I get into my spring/early summer cooking groove a cold winds strikes up, the sky gets dark, and the rain starts pouring down, washing away my visions of dinner alfresco. The weekends have made it easier to be inspired, I have more time for one, and there always seems to be something going on or guests to cook for. Plus the local Farmers Markets to feed both literally and figuratively, my culinary soul. However it is mid-week and I have been struggling.....

Whenever I am experiencing a cooking block, I like to leaf through old food magazines or cookbooks hoping to get inspired. 99.9 % of the time it works. I found this recipe in a Bon Appetit from June 2007. This rendition of green beans helped make a boring meal of roasted chicken and red potatoes a little more jazzed up for Thursday night dinner. Sometimes it just takes a little twist on something to get you right back on track. For me that means thinking about what I am going to be making for dinner this weekend. I haven‘t quite decided yet, but the forecast says warm and sunny; so this much I know : dinner outside!

Green Beans with Lemon & Thyme
Serves 4

1 pound green beans (fresh & tender, skinny ones, Blue Lake if possible (Trader Joe‘s)
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme/lemon thyme
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
Salt & pepper

Cook green beans in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and pat dry. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add thyme, lemon peel, and green beans. Season with salt and pepper. Toss until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Clam Dip Craving

2009-05-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

I try hard not to eat junk food, much less feed my family junk food. I think I am pretty successful at keeping it out of the house, we don’t ever have packaged chips or sweets on hand, not even ice cream, and I finally got rid of the soda pop during Lent! I find it is far less tempting this way, out of sight, out of mind. (Don’t worry I am not about to go into some health food spiel right now!) My point is, despite these efforts to keep my family junk food-free (for obvious health reasons but also to try and set a positive eating example for my daughter) there are just those times, days, and weeks where you want to sit back and enjoy a good salty chip (Lays, Ruffles, Kettle, name your brand….) I finally caved to my chip craving this afternoon, and I made my favorite dip too. After all, everyone knows chips go better with dip! So tomorrow I will eat my veggies, but today I am eating chips……..

This clam dip is pure comfort food to me. When I was pregnant and dealing with morning sickness, clam dip and those little hostess chocolate donuts were the only thing I craved and wanted to eat. Weird and a little gross, I know. In college, I would make a big bowl of this anytime I was in the middle of exams or writing a big paper. I would eat it all week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, totally disgusting my poor roommate. (When you open the clams, the smell is less than appetizing, but once it is all mixed together, the smell fades away, promise!) The resulting dip is creamy, salty and super addictive. (My dad and I once chowed through a whole bowl of this one Thanksgiving day, it was just us two, so there was no one else around to bear witness to our gluttony!) I like to serve this dip alongside Reduced Fat Ruffles. Not sure how much lower in fat they actually are, but that label sure makes me feel better!

Clam Dip

1 lb lowfat sour cream or IMO substitute (If you want a light and airy dip, go with sour cream, if you want it thicker go with the IMO.)

1 6.5 ounce can minced clams, drained (reserve 1 tablespoon of the clam juice)

1 tablespoon clam juice (reserved from the canned clams)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Potato Chips

In a medium bowl put sour cream, mix in clams, clam juice, Worcestershire, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper. Taste, and add more garlic salt or Worcestershire as necessary. Indulge a little!

Busy Mom's Lemon Chicken

2009-05-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

I was given this recipe several years ago by a very busy working mother. She was a professional and worked very long days but she always managed to put a nice hot meal on the table for her family. While I think she was a great mother, I don’t think there was anything extraordinary about that. Most moms I know or grew up with did the same. That is the wonderful thing about moms. They can take a simple recipe and with a little love, it becomes a tasty and comforting dinner time staple.
Happy Mother’s Day Mama’s!!

Lemon Chicken

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons , 1 sliced , 1 grated and juiced
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Flour
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make 2 plates, one with the juice of 1 lemon and the other with a cup of flour mixed with ½ teaspoon salt.

Dip each piece of chicken 1st in the lemon juice and then dredge through flour, shaking off excess. Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large frying pan over medium high heat. Brown chicken breasts 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in 8 x 8 pan. (Grease if not using a glass pan!) Top chicken with the broth, rest of lemon juice, and minced garlic. Sprinkle chicken with lemon peel and brown sugar. Top with lemon slices and bake covered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Pour lemon sauce over rice and serve!

A Light Lunch : Goat Cheese & Tomato Tarts

2009-05-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

My sister is the pickiest eater I know. She is getting better as she gets older, but her specific food likes/dislikes are known to drive the sanest of people a little crazy: "I don't like pasta, but I like linguine." and " I only like chocolate chip cookies, nothing else." that is only a small sampling of her many "foodisms" , which make me loco, especially when she is my house guest! Over the years I have learned not to cater to it, if she wants something she can go to the store and get it herself, but it is always nice when she actually likes the food I make. It never ceases to surprise me when she bites into something I have cooked and instead of making a face says "Lyndie this is pretty good."

Last Sunday afternoon when my sister was visiting, I made these for lunch, and they were a big hit all around, not a bite left. The flavors are light, summery, and fresh, balancing each other out and not overwhelming at all. I know it isn't tomato season yet, but there is a vendor at my farmer's market who sells these big, hydroponic, beefsteak tomatoes. They aren't quite up to the late summer standard, but they are ripe and juicy, just the thing you want to taste after a fresh tomato deprived winter. My sister called these "pizzas" even after I corrected her in my big sister voice that they were "tarts". But who am I kidding? Potato, patata.

Tomato & Goat Cheese Tart
Serves 4
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

1 package puff pastry (2 sheets) I prefer Trader Joe's Artisan brand
2 large sweet or yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese
1 large tomato cut into 4 slices (about 1/4 inch thick)
3 tablespoons basil, julienned
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more for sprinkling
Parmesan cheese shaved with a vegetable peeler

Roll out a puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry out into about an 11 x 11 square. using a 6 inch wide circle, saucer, or other round object as a guide (I used a salad plate) cut two circles out from the puff pastry. Repeat with the 2nd sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place circles on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to use. (This part is important, you don't want the pastry dough to be warm or it won't rise properly!)

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over med/med high heat. Add the onions and garlic. Saute for 20 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are soft and almost all the moisture is gone from the skillet. Add salt, pepper, thyme and the wine. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Using a sharp knife, score a 1/4 inch wide border around each pastry circle. Make pricks inside the inner circle of the scored border of the puff pastry with a fork. Divide the grated Parmesan cheese into 4 , sprinkling the cheese on the inside of each scored border of the puff pastry circles. Place 1/4 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions on each pastry circle. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Sprinkle each tart with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. Shave pieces of Parmesan on top of each tart. (About 5 to 6 shards).

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve!

Cookies for Mama

2009-05-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

My mother is a cookie fiend. Now before you go picturing a 500 pound woman, think again. She is annoyingly skinny. She passed the cookie fiendishness down to my little sister and I (still waiting on the annoyingly skinny part!) When she and my sis come to visit from California, we usually go through dozens of cookies. We have been known once or twice to special order chocolate dipped shortbread and drive 40 minutes out of the way for a COOKIE. So with their impending arrival this weekend I wanted to make a very special batch of cookies, a batch that could also masquerade as a Mother’s Day gift. I knew there was nothing my mama would like more….

I am not going to take any credit for this recipe, not for improvising and not even for finding it. Many food blog readers have probably ran across this recipe by now, since it was published by David Leite in the New York Times last July. The recipe kept popping up with rave reviews everywhere, so I just knew I had to make them, because they were going to be oh so good. I really feel like the biggest secret to this recipe is the dough refrigeration time, Leite does an excellent job explaining the reasons for this in his NYT article. For his original recipe, click here. For a good adaptation click here. And for a gluten free version click here. I used the Orangette’s version. The only thing I did different was I used all purpose unbleached flour and all purpose bleached flour instead of the cake flour & bread flour. I also just used Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips 60% cacao. I tried the 1st batch with sea salt on top, like the original recipe, but my family requested that the next batches be left salt free. They liked them better without the sea salt! In case you’re wondering I did make these myself, not the baker in the family (aka, Jon). The hardest part of this recipe? Leaving the cookie dough sitting in the fridge UNEATEN for 36 hours before baking!

They turned out delicious! These are the perfect cookies: big, chewy, soft, sweet, salty, and oh so chocolaty! By Sunday morning there were only 2 left. I probably would drive 40 minutes out of my way for these cookies….Thank God I can just make them at home.

Tomato Orange Soup

2009-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those cooking moments where after tasting a dish in a restaurant once or twice (or in this case for years) you manage to go home and recreate the dish in your own kitchen? These moments of accomplishment are some of the best around. I was lucky enough to have one of those moments tonight and with this soup…..

For several years I have been buying quarts of Tomato Orange Soup from Elephants Delicatessen in Portland. I love this soup. Even when I was in college, if I was in Portland I would always manage to pick up some and take it back with me to Corvallis. Now a days, I like to stop by and grab a cup on my way to play at Washington Park for the afternoon. But lately, I have been frustrated with the service at the delicatessen. There are always plenty of staff but they never seem to be organized and as a result there are a lot of customers left waiting. I don’t mind waiting for good food. However, I do mind waiting when all I want is a pint of pre-made soup, there is nobody in line in front of me and employee after employee keep walking by but not assisting me in spending my money. Not to mention a toddler on my hip who wants “DOWN!” So on this day, after not being helped in above manner, I left with toddler in tow, and headed up to the park frustratingly soup-less. I might not have had any soup with me, but I still had that pesky tomato orange craving hanging around…..

When I got home, my hankering still had not eased, so I decided to do a little internet research to see if I couldn’t come up with a comparable recipe. To my delight I found out that the soup was so popular at Elephants Delicatessen in 2002 (which coincidentally is right around the time I discovered it as well) that they let the Oregonian run the recipe. So I had the exact recipe for the soup at my fingertips! Better yet, the ingredients were very simple and I had everything I needed right in my pantry to make the soup. I did change the recipe a little bit, using what I happened to have on hand. The most notable change was that I didn’t use any cream. I was able to create a whole pot of soup for less than $5 and it tasted incredible! If you think tomato and orange don’t compliment each other, think again! I even thought my version tasted better than the original, in that completely satisfied way you can only get from making something yourself…..

I served this soup with Tillamook Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese sandwiches for dipping of course!

Tomato Orange Soup
Serves 4

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
½ tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
28 ounce can Muir Glen Organic whole peeled tomatoes in juice*
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup whole milk

* you don’t have to use Muir Glen brand but I feel like they are the best tasting , readily available canned tomatoes.

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add fresh thyme, tomatoes , baking soda , salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.* Add cup of orange juice and stir. Bring the soup back up to a gentle simmer, add whole milk and stir until blended. Season to taste. Serve!

*You can use a blender or food processor, but be careful, hot liquid expands when blended and this part can be tricky. I highly recommend buying an immersion blender it will make your soup making so much easier!

A Tale of Two Sauces: Yogurt & Salsa Verde

2009-04-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

So I know I said I would post the Bouchon Au Thons recipe from the book I am currently reading, A Homemade Life: Stories & Recipes From My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg ( also known to many as the Orangette)but instead I am going to post a different recipe from her book: Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower with Salsa Verde. The Bouchon Au Thons (basically mini tuna quiches) weren’t bad, I have already made them twice, but I feel like the following recipes are a better crowd pleaser overall. If I am going to post something, I want it to be a dish (or in this case two dishes) that can be shared and savored, making someone want to “kiss the cook“, so to speak. Plus I love the idea of reinventing classic dishes and jazzing them up with sauces to bring them out of the ordinary everyday. These two recipes were written about separately but I thought the two would go well together to make a meal. I also happened to have a lot of cilantro on hand that needed to be used. But honestly, it is really hard not to read this book and want to make everything in it right away! However, I will probably make these dishes separately from now on, mainly so that I can enjoy each one on its own. It was too much of a dilemma trying to decide whether to fill my belly with the meatballs or with the cauliflower…..

The meatballs take a little time to cook, but are well worth it. Plus, they can be assembled raw a day ahead and then cooked the next night. They would make a great appetizer for a dinner party. I used lamb, but you could also use chicken or turkey. If you are using chicken or turkey make sure to use half dark & half white meat. Cooking with cumin is something I have tried to avoid, due to the fact that it has a tendency to smell a bit like body odor and I have flashbacks to an overcrowded Parisian subway (yes, the stereotype in my experience has proven to be true!) Now doesn’t that make you want to cook with it? Seriously though, cumin does wonders to ground meat dishes, so don’t be afraid, even if you are not accustomed to the smell. The little bits of golden raisins are the secret ingredient, creating the perfect balance between sweet and savory, and the yogurt sauce is the perfect accompaniment, making the dish come together. There will be some yogurt sauce leftover and I suggest saving it for another meal with some warm flat bread and fresh veggies , maybe steaming an artichoke….. Trust me you won’t want to waste any of this sauce!

The roasted cauliflower was the big eye opener of the evening. It was so tasty with the salsa verde that I made it again the very next night. (Alongside the hodgepodge meal of flat bread, veggies and the leftover yogurt dip!) I had roasted cauliflower before but never with a dressing, much less a dressing with these kind of flavors. This dish was a real aha! moment for me (I know it is an Oprah quote, but it works!), before this I thought the only thing to do with cauliflower was to drown it in melted cheese…..The salsa verde is the definitely the sumthin’ sumthin’ that takes this roasted cauliflower to a whole new level. Between the three of us (and let me add that the 3rd diner is a 1 year old) there wasn’t a crumb left!

Meatballs with Pine Nuts, Cilantro and Golden Raisins
Makes 30 Meatballs

½ cup finely minced yellow onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
½ cup chopped pine nuts
½ cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped or halved
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup fine bread crumbs
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound ground lamb , turkey , or chicken
4 tablespoons olive oil (for cooking)
Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain yogurt (not low or nonfat)
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

First, make the yogurt sauce, you will want a little time for flavors to develop. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, cumin , and salt and whisk together. Set aside while you make the meatballs.

To make the meatballs, combine all the ingredients except the meat and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the ground meat and using your hands, break it up into small pieces and then gently kneading the mixture to incorporate all the ingredients. Be careful not to over mix, or the meat will get tough! Pinch off hunks of the mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Set aside on a large plate. (These can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.)

Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add about half of the meatballs, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Let them color on each side, turning them gently with tongs. The meatballs are ready when they are evenly browned and feel firm but not tough. Cut a meatball in half, just to be sure. Transfer the meatballs to a paper towel lined plate. Add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and repeat with the remaining meatballs. This part takes some patience, and it will be tempting to turn the heat up a little, but if you do, you will end up with the outside of the meatball cooked and a raw inside, so let them hang out and do their thing. Serve with the yogurt sauce!

Roasted Cauliflower with Salsa Verde
Makes 4 side dish servings

Salsa Verde

1 medium jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped.
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 medium garlic cloves, minced with a pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons fresh limes juice (I found 2 ½ to be about right)
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Roasted Cauliflower

1 medium cauliflower (2 to 2 ½ pounds)
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

First prepare the salsa verde. Just like the yogurt, you want it to sit. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, whisk together and set aside for up to an hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and dry the cauliflower well. Put it on a cutting board, stem side down and slice it vertically from the top down into ¼ inch slices. You will get a bunch of cauliflower crumbs and only a few intact slices, this is fine. Put the cauliflower in a bowl and toss with olive oil until all the pieces are lightly coated. Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a heavy baking pan. If too crowded, use two pans! Salt lightly. Bake until the cauliflower is golden and tender, even browned in spots, turning once with a spatula 20 to 30 minutes. Salt lightly again. Serve with the salsa verde. I just tossed the warm cauliflower directly in the salsa verde bowl like a salad rather than served on the side, but you could do it either way.

Footnote: Radishes with Unsalted Butter and Sea Salt

Another snack that this book made me want to try: Radishes with Butter and Salt on Toast. This snack is not a new concept, it is very popular with French mothers everywhere, but reading Molly describe it, gave that extra push to try it. It also helps that radishes are in season and also super cheap! My grocery store has them on sale 2 bunches for 88 cents, you really can’t beat that! Now I am hooked and have been enjoying these just about everyday. These make a great afternoon snack or appetizer.
Here is what you do: Take a slice of bread/baguette, either plain or toasted (about 1/3 inch thick) spread with unsalted butter (chilled works great, enabling you to taste thicker chunks of butter) and then top your bread with thinly sliced radishes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Be careful these are addicting!

Thin Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

2009-04-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves spaghetti. This is not a newsflash, I mean who doesn’t like spaghetti? The problem is that some days I just don’t have the time or the want to make a spaghetti sauce that takes all day to cook. Yes, a good red sauce needs to cook all day, preferably be cooled down after cooking, and then reheated to get the most developed flavors. My Grandma Londa, who also happens to be an excellent cook, taught me this and is pretty adamant about it! So I usually try to reserve my spaghetti making to days when I am going to be home all day. Those days are usually Sundays, but there are just times during the week when I want that comfort of those flavors and I want Sofia to eat a big dinner, so I was delighted when I ran across this pasta recipe.

This sauce is super easy and quick, and can be made with items in the pantry. The use of sun-dried tomatoes gives this dish that deep slow cooked flavor you get from homemade spaghetti sauce, but the whole dish can be thrown together in less than 20 minutes. I get my sun-dried tomatoes at Trader Joes, they are much cheaper there than the grocery store and you can buy them already julienned, thus reducing your cooking and cleanup time, which is exactly what you want in a good weeknight dinner. This recipe also calls for goat cheese, but this part is completely optional, I truthfully don’t think leaving it out takes away anything from the dish. If I have it on hand, I throw it in, if not I don’t. My daughter loves this dish almost as much as my trusty spaghetti (if it had ground beef, it would be a tie!) and I love that I can throw this dish together any old night and my taste buds are truly satisfied!

The idea for this sauce has been adapted from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentis, serves 4!

1 10 Ounce Jar Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil, Chopped. (Reserve the Oil!)
1 Small Yellow Onion, Chopped.
4 Garlic Cloves, Pressed or Grated (You can do minced, but I don't like big pieces of garlic in my sauce)
2 Cups Dry White Wine
¼ Cup Tomato Paste
1 Pound Thin Spaghetti (I always use Barilla)
3 Tablespoons Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
S & P
3 Ounces Fresh Goat Cheese (Optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water is boiling add thin spaghetti and cook until al dente (about 6-7 minutes). I usually start the sauce (below) and try to drop the thin spaghetti into the water about the same time I add the wine to the sauce.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir about 30 seconds. Immediately add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and simmer bout 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water. (I do this by sticking a mug into the pasta water before draining.) Add the pasta and parsley to the sauce, toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. If using, sprinkle with goat cheese and serve!

Sofia enjoying some weeknight spaghetti!

Thank You!

2009-04-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a big "Thank You" to everyone who supported the March of Dimes this year, either financially or by walking in your own community. We had a great time walking the 10k and getting to see our city from a new perspective! Again, thank you for all the generous donations and moral support!

The Westside view of the river, the Eastside view of the river, & crossing the Hawthorne Bridge

Banana Bread with Valrhona Chocolate

2009-04-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

So I just recently bought Molly Wizenberg’s book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table and have been trying out her recipes. Albeit slowly, with only a few chapters a day. (It is hard to get in a lot of reading time with a 1 year old….) Her book is wonderful, not only the recipes, but the stories she tells about the recipes, just make you want to run out and cook the food she is talking about. I have already cried at least 3 times (but in a good appreciating life and love kind of way) and I am not even halfway done with the book….

The recipes that I have so far attempted are her Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Crystallized Ginger and Bouchon Au Thon (Basically tuna soufflés.)Well, not just I , but we. Jon has become the unofficial Markum family baker. I don’t like baking. I am a walking contradiction in that I am not a very good rule follower but I am also Type A. So baking does not suit me, when baking you have to follow the recipe precisely or it will not come out perfect or even close. The Type A in me can not stand for things to come out of the oven deflated and sad, undercooked/overcooked, etc. When you are cooking, you have the freedom to improvise, add a little of this, a little of that, and your dish more often then not, comes out not only edible, but even sometimes rather improved from the original version. You also have to have a lot of patience to be a good baker, a virtue I am not blessed with…. So Jon has become the baker in the family. He has a lot of patience, (He married me didn’t he?) and he is very good at making exact measurements (the cost engineer in him, I think.) He also doesn’t act too annoyed when I hover over him while he is baking, trying to make sure he is doing it right (The type A in me…) and asking annoying questions like “Are you sure you used the right amount of vanilla? Are you sure?”. So Wednesday night, he made us this banana bread (I did try to help by chopping the chocolate and not hovering too much) and it turned out delicious. I had not just one, but two slices. Make this banana bread. Better yet, have someone make it for you, it tastes sweeter that way….

This recipe is adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table. We didn’t have any crystallized ginger, so we didn’t use it. Instead of chocolate chips we used semisweet Valrhona chocolate. Valrhona chocolate is amazing, perfect for baking, and also makes excellent chocolate chip cookies. (Now I finally discovered the secret to the chocolate chip cookies they serve at Ken’s Artisan Bakery in NW Portland and can quit trekking up there all the time and just make my own, or um, more like have Jon make me some!)You see it is all about the chocolate! I strongly suggest using Valrhona if you can find it. I found it at Trader Joe’s. This bread tastes great warm or cold and can even be frozen and enjoyed at a later date. Jon enjoys a slice in the morning with a cup of coffee!

6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
¾ Cup Sugar
¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¾ Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips or 5 Ounces Chopped Valrhona Chocolate
2 Large Eggs
1 ½ Cups Mashed Bananas (About 3 Large Ripe Bananas)
¼ Cup Stirred Whole Milk Plain Yogurt (not low fat or nonfat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure rack is positioned in the center. Grease standard size loaf pan with cooking spray or butter. In a small bowl, microwave the butter until just melted. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate and whisk well to combine. Set aside. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla and mix well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides as needed until just combined. Be careful not over mix. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.

Bake until the loaf is a deep golden brown, about 50 minutes to an hour. Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack and then tip it out of the pan onto the rack. Cool completely before slicing. If freezing, Molly suggests to wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to keep out frost!

Note: Don't be afraid to add more chocolate! It depends how sweet you want it but on average I always add a another handful of chopped chocolate or chips!

Sofia enjoying a slice!

MARCH FOR BABIES

2009-04-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hi! So this post has nothing to do with food at all....(gasp here!) but it does have to do with babies; specifically saving babies lives so that one day they can grow up and be little foodies too! This Saturday, Jon, Sofia and I will be walking in the March for Babies walk in Portland for the March of Dimes. We are only $70 short of our goal of $200, so if you feel the urge, or know of somebody who might have one, follow the link above to my walking site and donate!

My Love Affair with Zinfandel

2009-04-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

I love Zinfandel. Maybe it is because I am a native Californian and will always be at heart, no matter how long I live in Oregon, that I love this grape so much. Zinfandel is a grape native to California, thriving in climates that are hot and get extreme sun during the day. The hot sunlight makes the Zinfandel grapes juicy and bursting with bold multidimensional flavor. My favorite Zinfandels are Old Vine, which come out of the Lodi/Stockton area, this area stays hot all day and doesn‘t cool off at night, unlike the other Zinfandel growing coastal areas. The term "Old Vine" means that the grapes are more than 50 years old. Old Vine Zinfandel grapes don’t yield as bountiful as a crop as new zinfandel grapes and so are not always popular with vinters, but in my opinion, the Old Vine grapes produce the most rich, intense, big flavor Zinfandels. Another popular area known for growing Old Vine Zinfandels are the Amador County/Placerville areas. Old Vine or not, the Zinfandel regions in California all put their unique stamp on the varietal; with each region producing distinctly different Zinfandel wines . The good thing is you don’t have to be choosy, Paso Robles, Sonoma , Mendocino , Lodi , Amador, And Russian River Valley are all turning out stellar zinfandels.

The grape is catching on in popularity in other wine regions throughout the United States, but the best ones come out of California. I have tasted some expensive bottles from Oregon and Washington, but they don’t measure up to even the cheaper California ones. Zinfandel tends to be higher in alcohol content than other varietals and Old Vine wines usually run in the 14.5 % plus category. Because of this, Zinfandels lend themselves very well to food, especially meat, pastas, tomato based dishes, and other outdoor barbecue fare. If you haven’t tried Zinfandel yet, or are looking to try others, these are 2 affordable Old Vine wines that can be found pretty easily: Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel 2007 (Lodi) contains those classic bold berry smooth flavors and Renwood Old Vine Zinfandel 2005(Amador County) for those who like a spicier kick to their Zin. Gnarly Head was the first wine I had after being pregnant, and what a moment of bliss that was after 9 months, even if after half a glass I loudly declared “I feel drunk!” to my father no less. The first time I tasted the Renwood was alongside a savory goat cheese crepe at Le Happy in Portland, and boy did it make me happy =)

Goat Cheese

2009-04-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Among a long list of foods I can’t get enough of is goat cheese. Goat cheese is fantastic because not only does it taste great, but it is also a really versatile cheese, it can be used in recipes both sweet and savory. You can even plan a whole menu around the cheese though this is not recommended unless you have checked that all dinner guests are fans of the goat. Imagine my embarrassment when I cooked a dinner using goat cheese in all 3 courses, only to find out after the appetizer that my step mom Diane didn’t like goat cheese. I felt like such a bad host, so check first before you go goat cheese crazy like I did, which is easy to do because it is such a good cheese…..

Goat cheese is also a wonderful alternative for those that are lactose intolerant and it also has less fat then cow milk cheese. Trader Joe’s carries a goat milk yogurt from Redwood Hill Farms in Sonoma. There are many goat cheese artisans throughout Oregon and California producing local, fresh, exciting cheeses. You can often find them at Farmers Markets or specialty food shops, but there are also affordable, tasty chevres to be found at your supermarket. Try Laura Chenel, Redwood Hills , or Trader Joe’s brand. My local picks are Alsea Acres and Fraga Farms. Goat Cheese pairs really well with Pinot Gris/Grigio. Try Sweet Cheeks Winery Pinot Gris (2007) or Fetzer Pinot Grigio (2007). I use goat cheese a lot in my cooking, so I am sure this is just the first of several posts to come….

I made this goat cheese dip as an appetizer for Sofia’s BFF’s Ciana’s birthday party this past weekend. (For pic see above.) Happy 1st birthday Ciana! The dip was a big hit, (no leftovers is a good sign!) it was lemony, fresh and just screamed SPRINGTIME!

The Fairy Princesses: Kamryn, Sofia, & Ciana. The bday girl was turned away from the camera but her purple wings look fabulous!

Goat Cheese with Lemon and Herbs
4-5 Ounces Plain Goat Cheese/Chevre
Zest of 1 Lemon
Juice of Half a Lemon
3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley and Lemon Thyme
Sprinkle of pepper

Take goat cheese out of fridge and bring to room temperature. Mix in small bowl with lemon juice, zest, herbs and a little pepper. Mix altogether and mold into serving dish. Sprinle with a little more zest on top for presentation. Pop dip back into fridge until guests arrive, serve with your favorite crackers!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
I served these Goat Cheese stuffed chicken breasts with my potato and parsnip puree.

Serves 4, but recipe can be easily doubled!
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 Ounces Fresh Goat Cheese
½ Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Herbs (Parsley, Thyme , Chives)
½ Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Clove Minced Garlic
Kosher Salt & Pepper
¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
For Breading:
1 Cup Flour (All-Purpose)
2 Tablespoons Paprika (Hungarian)
1 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs
1 Large Egg
2 Teaspoons Water

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Put chicken breasts on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep pocket into the thick side of the chicken. Try to cut about ¾ of the way through, being careful not to cut through the chicken. Cut a pocket about 2.5 inches by 1.5 inches. Cut this pocket into all the chicken breasts. In a small bowl, mix together the goat cheese, butter, herbs, lemon juice and garlic. Season with S & P. Divide mixture into 4 equal pieces and stuff inside the chicken breast pockets. Press the edges of the chicken to seal. Season chicken with S & P. See Picture below, this is what the chicken should look like.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and paprika. In another bowl beat the egg with water. In a another bowl, put the breadcrumbs. Set it up assembly line style: flour, egg , breadcrumbs. Take each piece of chicken, dip both sides in flour, then egg, shaking to remove excess, then into the breadcrumbs. Set Aside. In a large, oven-proof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Place skillet in the oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 10 more minutes. This dish tastes great with mashed potatoes and asparagus!

Potato & Parsnip Puree

2009-04-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

The weather in the Northwest this time of year can be a bit manic depressive. For example yesterday was sunny and a balmy 67 degrees. I say balmy, because at temps in the high 60’s, Portlanders will come outside in droves, busting out their barbecues, new running shoes, and filling up the sidewalks of outdoor cafes. This took a lot of getting used to when I first moved to Oregon. Growing up in California, anything in the 60 degrees mark would be sweatshirt weather, but after several years in Oregon instead of the sweatshirt, I bust out my flip flops too. So yesterday was spent outside all day soaking up the Vitamin D, but this morning I woke up to dark skies, drizzly rain , and temps in the 40’s. What can I say? Spring in Oregon. The weather shapes the selection at the farmers markets too, so while there are some asparagus and herbs, there are still the root vegetables and dark greens from winter hanging around. We are kind of stuck in the middle with it not being quite time for the produce bounty of late spring and summer, and the enthusiasm for root vegetables is about zapped up.This can keep you in kind of a cooking rut, so this time of year I am always looking for ideas to jazz up dinner. I came up with this potato and parsnip puree because I was tired of boring potatoes and the ubiquitous roasted parsnips. I decided to combine the two. By doing that, I add a little dimension to the potatoes, and my tato loving husband still gets his mashers. Roasted parsnips taste a lot like a roasted carrot but not as sweet.

Using a ricer is essential to making this dish. I discovered ricers about 2 years ago and it has changed my potato making forever. You know how restaurants always have creamy, starch-less mashed potatoes? Well it is because they use ricers. You can buy a domestic, handheld metal one for less than $15. I got mine from a local kitchen store. How you use the ricer is simple. You take your boiled potatoes/roasted parsnips (still hot) and push them through the ricer. The ricer retains all the starchy skin from the vegetables, creating creamy spirals that come out, resulting in smooth mashed potatoes, no masher required. The best thing about using the ricer? Eliminating the starchiness, enables you to use less butterfat, etc to have creamy mashed potatoes. Using the ricer just makes the potatoes taste better, it changed my potato making life, and I hope it changes yours……

I served this puree alongside Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts and asparagus, which will be my next post!

Serves 4!

4 Yukon Gold Potatoes
4 Parsnips
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
6-8 Tablespoons Whole Milk (Cream or ½ & ½ can be substituted, but with a 1 year old we go through whole milk like it is going out of style.)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Boil Yukon Golf Potatoes over medium heat until tender. (About 45 minutes.) Toss Parsnips in Olive Oil & roast at 350 degrees in a covered baking dish for 60 minutes. Pass potatoes and parsnips through a ricer (food mill will work too.) while still hot. Put Puree in pot on low/med heat. Add butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir and serve!

Lemon Linguine with Artichokes

2009-04-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is the springtime (Yes, underneath this cloudy Portland weather), but I have been craving lemons and fresh greens lately, so I decided to make this pasta tonight for dinner. I usually make this recipe with shrimp. However last time I made it was for a girlfriends lunch and my girlfriend Julie proceeded to pick out all the shrimp and just eat the pasta. At first I was embarrassed that maybe my shrimp tasted terrible or something, but later found out she had developed an aversion to seafood during her pregnancy and was still not in the swing of things yet. That incident got me thinking about what might be a good shrimp-less substitute and I came up with artichokes. Also, I decided to try the artichokes, because they don’t have any cholesterol, whereas shrimp is actually very high in cholesterol. This dish is fast and simple for weeknight but also makes an elegant presentation if you were having guests over. Frozen artichokes (and artichokes in general) can be expensive, so whenever I go to Trader Joes (The cheapest I have found) I just stock up on them. If you wanted only pasta, this dish would still be tasty without the artichokes, the lemon really being the main flavor spot of this recipe. And of course, the little bit of wine used is just an excuse to open a bottle with dinner. Enjoy!

Also a quick money saver that anyone can do. (Yes, even while city living!) I have 2 window size boxes on my deck that I have planted herbs in. Sage, oregano , lemon thyme , thyme , chives , and parsley. Basil needs another month or so. Basically it cost me about $10 to plant all this, but is going to save me lots more than that by making it easy to have fresh herbs for cooking all spring and summer and not have to buy any! I think of it as sort of an herb pantry, knowing I always have these fresh on hand. Now just wish me luck remembering to water them!

Serves 4!

¾ Pound Linguine
1 Shallot (Finely Minced)
4 Cloves Garlic (Finely Minced)
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ Cup Dry White Wine
12 Ounces Frozen Artichoke Hearts (Dethawed)
¼ Cup Chopped Parsley
1 Lemon zested
Juice of 2 Lemons (Small) or 1 Large (About ¼ Cup)
¼ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Kosher Salt and Pepper

Cook Linguine in salted boiling water. Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped shallots. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minutes. Add artichokes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add white wine. Cook altogether at a simmer until wine reduces, about 5 minutes. Add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper. Remove from heat. Toss with linguine and serve!

Spring BBQ: Cedar Planked Salmon with Fresh Herbs

2009-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday night. 8:30 PM. Animal Fries from IN N OUT. Not really. I tried channeling that lady from those old Mervyn’s commercials ( “open, open , open”) to no avail. It was Easter Sunday and they were closed. For the first time ever on a trip home to California I did not get to eat at In n Out Burger. Even though this now means my craving for it will be twice as bad next time I visit; it was also a good sign. It meant that I had been eating so much wonderful fresh homecooking, I hadn’t even had time to think about it until the night before we were supposed to leave. On our trip, we ate at a few good restaurants, but we also had a couple great barbecues out at my dad’s house. My favorite was Saturday night when we made Cedar Planked Salmon. I had bought my dad the cedar planks 6 years ago, but they had gotten pushed to the back of the cupboard and then were recently rediscovered. Saturday evening they were finally put to use and were well worth the wait. The cedar plank allowed the salmon to cook perfectly through and still be moist. All the fresh herbs mingling with the cedar gave the salmon a remarkable flavor. It was hands down the best salmon I had ever had, and it was hard to stop eating it. I will definitely be cooking salmon this way all summer! Maybe next time I have it, it will be after an appetizer of those addictive Animal Fries…..

It is very important that you soak the cedar planks in water first or the wood will catch on fire! Cedar planks can be bought at most larger grocery stores in the fish section , ordered online , or even cut at your local lumberyard. Try to use wild salmon, if using farmed, try to avoid using Atlantic Salmon. (For more information see: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/s eafoodwatch.aspx )

This recipe is for 1 salmon (serving 4) but can easily be doubled. (We made 2!)

1 Cedar Plank
1 2-3 Pound Salmon Fillet (Skinned and Boned)
3 Tablespoons McCormick’s Salt Free Parsley & Herb Blend ( contains oregano, crushed red pepper, basil , rosemary , parsley, paprika, and lemon pepper)
3 Sprigs Rosemary
3 Sprigs Lemon Thyme
3 Sprigs Dill
3-4 Lemon Slices

Place salmon on soaked cedar plank. Sprinkle seasoning blend on salmon. If you don’t have that seasoning blend, make up your own, but try to use much of those same ingredients. Lay the fresh herb sprigs on top of the salmon, with the dill on top. Place lemon slices on top of the dill sprigs. Barbecue salmon over a medium high flame on a gas grill for 25 minutes. We served this salmon alongside garlic bread and a jazzed up caeser salad. Add some wine to this mix and you have the perfect outdoor spring dinner party!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Happy Easter & Sweet Passover (I think that is what you say, correct me if I am wrong please..) We are headed to California and will be visiting Monterey so I hope to bring back a new artichoke or fish recipe...I will post again early next week! Have a great holiday and make some sangria =)

Sangria

2009-04-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with sangria one hot July evening in Sevilla , Spain. I had stayed away from ordering sangria because I couldn’t quite get the concept, I mean why in the world would you serve red wine cold and with fruit? But evening after evening, regular wine, beer , or soda could not quench my thirst or cool me off. So after a few days I ordered a big glass of sangria with my dinner, just to see what all the fuss was about. After my first taste of a red wine &brandy soaked bit of apple, I knew there really was such a thing as love at first bite…..

Upon returning home, I became obsessed with sangria. No restaurants around where I lived served it, and if they had, I wasn’t 21 yet, so it wouldn’t have mattered. (Don‘t get me started on this country‘s drinking age laws….) So with Spanish cookbooks in hand, I set out perfecting my own sangria, testing it out on friends & family along the way. And in the end, I think I ended up with a pretty dang good recipe. To this day, my first batch of sangria symbolizes to me the start of summer , and all the wonderful memories it brings: pool parties, backyard bbqs, and hot Spanish nights. So whip yourself up as many batches of this you can this summer, because Christmas will be here before you know it…..

Sangria is traditionally made with a Spanish Rioja, but I find any dry red wine will do, I often use Colombia Crest Vineyard 10 or Barefoot Cabernet (the cheaper the wine, the more pitchers you can make!)

Red Wine Sangria

1 Bottle Red Wine (Medium Bodied)
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3 oz Brandy
1 Lime, Sliced
1 Orange , Sliced into ½ Circles
1 Lemon , Sliced
1 Red Apple, Cored & Chopped into Bite Size Pieces
Club Soda
Ice
In a large glass pitcher, combine all the fruit. Add brandy and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour in the wine, stir to combine. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, fill glasses with ice cubes, pour in wine and top off with club soda. The club soda is traditional to top off the Sangria, but I personally don’t use the club soda because I feel that is dilutes the wine taste too much, but it is a matter of preference.

After “perfecting” my red wine sangria, I sought out different versions of sangria, using white & sparkling wines. This was a version I made last summer for my sister in law Alexandra’s baby shower. It was a big hit with the ladies!

Jude’s Cava Sangria

1 Bottle Champagne or Cava (Dry or Extra Dry, none of that sickenly sweet Spumante stuff!)
1 Pink Grapefruit (Sliced into ½ circles)
1 navel orange (Sliced into half circles)
4 oz Grand Marnier
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 oz Lemonade
Ice Cubes
In a large glass pitcher, combine the fruit, lemonade, Grand Marnier, and sugar. Using a long wooden spoon, muddle the mixture to release the fruit juices and until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to overnight. When ready to serve, fill glasses with ice cubes. Slowly add the Cava to the pitcher, stirring gently to combine. Pour into glasses. Salut!

White Bean & Garlic Soup - Legume Recipe # 3

2009-04-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

So I know I am overdue to post Legume Recipe # 3. As I mentioned, we were all battling the stomach flu last week so cooking anything with beans did not sound appealing. But by Sunday night we were all on the mend, so this soup was calling my name. When I was pregnant my girlfriend Julie told me about a version of this soup she had made and how wonderful it was. Being a fan of all things Giada, I couldn’t believe I had missed this recipe in her first 3 cookbooks ( I think it was because she hadn’t posted a picture until her 4th book, Giada’s Kitchen , I guess I am just a sucker for photos…) So having seen that she had printed this recipe in all of her cookbooks, I figured she was trying to tell us something, like maybe, “make this“….The first time I made this soup it was great, but I felt like it needed a little something, so I added some dried rosemary and it gave the soup a much better depth of flavor. I also don’t add the cream, the soup is creamy enough, and I don’t miss it, plus no cholesterol! Which means Jon can eat bowlfuls without the guilt......gotta keep my man from wasting away! I always serve this with hunks of sourdough, ciabatta , or crostini for dipping!

Makes 6 Servings
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Shallots , Chopped
2 Sage Leaves
2 (15 oz) Cans Cannelini (White) Beans, Rinsed & Drained
4 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Halved
4 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ Tsp Dried Crushed Rosemary
Salt & Pepper

Place soup pot over medium high heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened about 3 minutes. Add the sage, beans, garlic, rosemary and stir additional 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook about 15 minutes until the garlic is softened. Use immersion blender (you can buy a decent one for as little as $10, and they are great for all things soup! I have a fancy Kitchen Aid one (Thanks Mary!) and they are a great kitchen tool.) if you don’t have an immersion blender then use a real blender but be careful, because the soup will be very hot and expand. Blend until creamy and smooth (about a 30 seconds). Season with salt and pepper, add more rosemary if needed. Serve with hot crusty bead and a little olive oil!

The Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes....Oh the Decadence!

2009-04-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

My family has been battling the stomach flu this week. I haven’t felt like cooking or eating much at all. After being sick, I really wanted, no needed , something good to eat, something good being something chocolate. After all I needed nourishment. Besides I am pretty sure my recent health kick of no chocolate, no soda , no French fries, etc is the reason I got sick in the first place. Cutting out all that made my body go into shock and hurt my immune system of this I am convinced. So I needed to make something that would rejuvenate me and make me like food again. While lying on my sick couch I was watching an episode of the Barefoot Contessa and when she started making these, I just knew I would have to make them too.

I looked the recipe up online and got a little scared of the reviews. They were so varied, ranging from 5 star excellent to 1 star, a few reviewers actually called them “disgusting”. This was scary to me, I mean I have never had a disgusting cupcake. Even the cupcakes that are old and crusty or have that fake confetti frosting from the grocery store bakery are still kind of good……but being a lover of all things ganache, I decided to try these out, hoping that the 1 star reviewers were wrong…..and they were! These cupcakes turned out great! They were dense and chocolaty almost more like a brownie. The perfect treat that I needed after a week lacking in the food department but full of baby puke; not to mention the 2 hours spent Friday morning trying to fix my computer with the Dell technician over in India. After frustrating communication breakdowns, my computer is finally fixed and I am thinking these cupcakes are well deserved.

Makes 12 Cupcakes or 1 8-inch Cake

1/4 # Unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Cup sugar
4 Extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 (16 oz) can chocolate syrup (recommended: Hershey's)
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 Cup all-purpose flour
½ Tsp instant coffee or espresso powder

For Ganache:
1/2 Cup heavy cream
8 oz Semisweet chocolate chips
¼ tsp Instant coffee powder

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Do all of this on low. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, fill to almost full because these cupcakes don’t rise very much .Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water (or you can just do it a small pot like I did, just pay close attention to it!) until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Need I say more? Go eat them!!

There will be extra ganache leftover so save it to dip some fresh fruit in!

A Quarter Century Old: Widmer Bros. & Jillian!

2009-04-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

So today I would like to give a big shout out to my sister Jillian who is turning 25 tommorrow. Coincidentally, so is Widmer Brewery. Jillian is a beer girl and I am a wine girl, (among the many differences between us..) but we both love Widmer Hefeweizen. The last time she visited we went to their brewery after a baseball game and had a big pitcher of that cold, lemony , cloudy goodness. Widmer Hefeweizen is hands down my favorite, but by no means the only good beer that Widmer makes. Some family favorites include Drop Top Amber Ale, Broken Halo IPA , and Drifter Pale Ale. Living in Portland we are lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great breweries & beer pubs, but we always end up going to the Widmer Gausthaus. (This is saying a lot because we have a brewpub 2 blocks from our house, but we'd rather drive across town.) They have great food, and they are really family friendly. The waitstaff always bring us milk and crackers for Sofia and never charge us for them. One time Sofia even knocked over and BROKE a big Weizen glass (see pic) and the staff was very nice about it even though I was quite embarrassed at her party foul. I am thinking she might have inherited my clumsiness….

Tommorrow, April 2nd the Widmer Gausthaus Brewpub is offering $1.50 pints of all their beer all day. A holla back to their original 1984 pint prices(those must have been the days….) So if you are in town, go grab yourself a pint (yeah, it might be crowded, but in a fun, Ocktoberfest kind of way.) If not, go buy yourself a 6 pack of Widmer (insert name here) and drink a prost to their successful 25 years of beer making and to my little sister’s successful 25 years on the planet!
Happy Bithday Tia!

Pasta e Fagioli Legume Recipe # 2

2009-03-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

This spring has been a typical Oregon one, cold and wet. Needless to say I have been making a lot of soups. This recipe for Pasta e Fagioli will help take the chill off. This recipe is from Giada de Laurentis, but of course I changed some things around a bit. Sofia loved it and ate a whole bowlful and didn’t throw one bite on the floor ( a big deal at her age!)

Makes 6 Servings:
4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
1 Bay Lead
(If you don’t have fresh, use dried.)
1 Tb Olive Oil
1 Tb Unsalted Butter
1 Med Yellow Onion, Chopped
3 Slices Bacon, Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
6 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Cup Elbow Macaroni
2 (15 oz cans) Red Kidney
Parmesan Cheese
Pepper

Heat olive oil and butter, in a large pot, over med heat. Add the onion and bacon, sauté until onions are tender about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, sauté 1 minute. Add the broth, beans , and herbs. (You can make a sachet of herbs but since I am normally cooking with a baby on my hip, the whole sachet thing doesn’t work for me. If you don’t use a sachet, just pick the herbs out at the end.) Bring to a boil over high heat. Then decrease heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. In a blender, puree 1 cup of the mixture until smooth, then return puree to saucepan. Bring the soup to a boil. Add the macaroni noodles and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Discard herbs. Season with pepper. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Note: The leftovers may need to be thinned with a little more broth.

Grandma Julie's Sweet Iced Tea

2009-03-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows my Grandma Julie knows that she makes the best iced tea around. On any given day, she goes through at least 2 pitchers of the stuff. As a little girl I think I drank more of this tea then I did water or milk. When you visit her, you can refuse all you want, but by the time you leave you will have consumed at least one large glass of sweet tea. Really though, no one is complaining. The tea is great, and I miss it dearly when I am in Oregon. I tried recreating it several times, thinking it would be easy, how hard could tea be? It wasn’t easy though…I never seemed to get the balance of sugar and tea right and some pitchers turned out just awful. I finally broke down and asked my grandma what her secret was. She sent me a letter containing her recipe, and to my surprise it involved microwaving the tea, not brewing the tea in a kettle. After a few attempts at her recipe, I think I finally got it right. Now I can enjoy that sweet tea whenever I want to at home, but somehow it always tastes better at her house.

Take a large Pyrex measuring cup or microwaveable bowl and place 4 small or 1 large family size Lipton Black tea bags in 4 Cups water. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Let sit at least one hour. (The longer it sits, the stronger it gets.) Put 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar in pitcher (I start with 1/2 cup and then taste before adding more.). Pour 2 cups COLD water into pitcher and stir. Add tea mixture and ice. (Don’t add the tea mixture hot or it will crack your pitcher!) If you like your tea strong, add another tea bag to first step, if you like it weak, add more water, if you don’t like it sweet, add less sugar (you can always add more later!) Make yourself a pitcher and sit on the deck, maybe give your grandma or mom a call, she just might have that little secret that will make your recipe perfect.

Grandma Julie & Sofia

Tuna & White Bean Salad : Legume Recipe # 1

2009-03-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

So I have decided to do a 3-part recipe series, on beans. Yes, beans. Maybe I will call them legumes just because it sounds better….The reason I have been trying out recipes using legumes, is because beans are high in fiber and high in protein but don’t have cholesterol. The protein part is key because it means, they actually fill you up. Normally I just breeze right past any recipes that include beans. All fart jokes aside, just due to the fact that I didn’t like them. After testing out some recipes though, I have found that you can actually make some pretty tasty stuff using beans. The benefits to cooking with them? 1. They are good for you. 2. They satisfy (I.e.; fill you up!) 3. They are an inexpensive protein. 4. And probably most important at least to my family, they don’t have any cholesterol.

All 3 recipes I am going to use come from spin offs of Giada De Laurentis recipes. They are changed only slightly because her recipes just don’t need that much tweaking! The first is a tuna & white bean salad. I make this salad and then put it on a Ciabatta sandwich roll (like the kind they sell @ Costco) with some Romaine lettuce. This salad is really tasty and eliminates any need for mayonnaise. (Shocking!) Tuna does have some cholesterol, but it is the good kind, loaded with Omega 3’s. You can eat it without the bread, but I feel like turning it into a sandwich leaves everyone walking away from the dinner table full. Personally speaking, if I try to limit my dinner I just end up snack binging later on in the evening.

This recipe serves 4 easily:
2 (5 oz) cans chunk light tuna in OIL
2 (14 oz) cans canellini or white beans , drained and rinsed
½ pint grape tomatoes (halved)
3 tablespoons capers (drained)
1 small red onion thinly sliced into half circles
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Place beans, tomatoes, capers, onion , canned tuna IN ITS OIL, S & P all together in large bowl and mix. Pour red wine vinegar over salad and mix again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place salad on one half of Ciabatta. Place Romaine leaves on other half and put together like a sandwich. Easy & tasty!

Spring Risotto with Roasted Asparagus & Peas

2009-03-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Risotto is something that I had always stayed away from cooking. Mainly for two reasons : #1. I am not a huge fan of rice and # 2 cooking it seemed complicated and I was intimidated (okay, so that is the real reason….). Over time, it seemed that Risotto was popping up on more and more restaurant menus and Giada was always busy whipping up a different version on the Food Network. Slowly, the dish became harder for me to avoid; and one winter day while trying to figure out how to use a bunch of frozen peas, I came across a recipe in the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook and I found inspiration. So for the first time, I tried cooking risotto and was not disappointed, the risotto turned out creamy and delicious, with a great depth of flavor. That first time making it I served it alongside salmon but quickly discovered I was getting ahead of myself, because risotto does not leave a lot of room for multitasking. That is probably where my initial fear of risotto stemmed from, because you must give the dish your undivided attention , and you can’t set limits on the cooking time, because it will only be ready when it’s ready. Not being very blessed in the patience department and having the inability to stand still, this aspect of the dish was frustrating to me, even if this coddling produced such great results. Then one evening after a particularly stressful day, while standing there stirring the Arborio over and over, I realized that the process was actually relaxing. I don’t know if it was the fact that the risotto requiring all my attention blocked out all other worries from my brain; or just the repetitive motions of stirring that calmed me, but after that first bite of creamy goodness, I knew that this risotto was truly therapeutic.

After trying out several different risotto recipes, I still found the Barefoot Contessa’s to be my favorite, especially this time of year, with all the spring flavors. I have changed it a bit, cutting out the mascarpone cheese (not because it doesn’t taste good, but it cuts the fat & cholesterol, and I didn’t really miss it, plus, the Contessa is great but I really don‘t want to be as wide as her in 30 years!), cutting out the fennel , and the way she cooks the veggies…(ok, I changed a lot, so if you want to cook hers, then look it up online or buy her book…)

The Arborio rice needed to make risotto used to be hard to find but now can be found at most

grocery stores, my preferred brand is Trader Joe‘s…..

This recipe serves 4.
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks chopped. white and pale green parts
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
¾ cup dry white wine ( Pinot Grigio , Sauvignon Blanc)
4 cups chicken stock
2 pounds asparagus, (fairly thin) trimmed to 1 ½ inch lengths
10-12 oz frozen peas, defrosted
Fresh zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Heat olive oil and butter in large saucepan over med heat. Add leeks & sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat. Add the white wine, and simmer, stirring constantly, until wine is absorbed. Add the chicken stock by the cupfuls, stirring constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process will probably take you about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place trimmed asparagus on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 6 minutes and remove from oven. Set aside. Continue stirring rice mixture constantly. ( At this point, pour yourself a glass of that wine!!) When you are down to your last cup of chicken broth, add peas, roasted asparagus, lemon zest , salt and pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock until the rice is tender. (But not mushy!!!) Add lemon juice. Turn off heat, add parmesan cheese. Season to taste with S & P. Grate some extra parmesan over the top and serve. Curl up on the couch with a bowlful and the rest of that bottle!

Note: Depending on your stovetop, the heat may need to be turned past medium to a higher cooking temperature for the rice to absorb the liquid.

Note: One time I had forgot to buy lemons, but I had grapefruit, so I used that instead of the lemon and it still turned out great!

Grass Fed Beef...It's Whats For Dinner...

2009-03-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

I was never much of a beef eater, unless it came on a rib from the Elegant Bull , or a Mcdonald’s cheeseburger plain (super classy, I know.) That was until I was fortunate enough to gain a freezer full of beef. Not just any kind of beef, but the grass fed, hormone & pesticde free , “free range” beef….. (Thanks to my daddy, who killed me a cow…) Just kidding, he actually humanely owns some cattle and breeds them, and occasionally a few get chosen to well, y’know provide sustenance. Um…but back to the meat in my freezer….so at first I had no idea what to do with the meat packaged and labeled so prettily in the Frigidaire. I mean, I was coming to the realization that I was in fact a meat racist. I never actually cooked red meat, maybe the occasional sausage, but basically I was being so narrow minded. Red meat, outside of prime rib and hamburger could actually be delicious, and there were so many ways to cook it…

Armed with my freezer of meat, I started trying out cooking techniques on many different cuts of meats, some I had never heard of Coulette? Bifanes? What? Maybe it was the not feeling guilty about the actual dollars$ the meat was costing me..(Thanks Dad..) but I really let loose and had a number of “winning dishes “ So many in fact that it got me thinking. Was it my fabulous cooking….(obviously!) or was it simply the result of a quality product? My answer: a quality product. The thing is, grass fed beef is just plain better. Everyone knows that ground beef they buy for their burgers in the store; with sometimes highly questionable smells and color, the worst wrapped in rolls looking like they are something to be popped at New Years. That was the ground beef I was familiar with. But natural, grass fed ground beef is just different; for one, no smell (good sign!), good color , and very lean. For the first time in my life I made an excellent Bolognese sauce. No gritty, chewy, fatty beef tendrils here! In short, it tastes so much better!! Knowing where it comes from also helps, not sitting in a packaging plant and then being shipped across the United States, just leads to better flavor & quality. The worst thing I have noticed? You need to use more seasoning because grass fed beef naturally has a lower fat content, so more flavor is needed. And last but not least you need to make sure to know your product beforehand, meaning where it is from and who produces it. (Note: when buying grass fed beef it is often frozen, to instill freshness for local producers.) You can find local sources of Grass fed beef by going to www.gowild.com . Another suggestion is to actually just ask around at your locals farmers market. Many small cattle ranchers can’t afford to market & advertise their meat, so it is all really done on a first come, word of mouth basis. You can almost always visit these farms/ranches to ensure quality also (just don’t go naming the cows…) Cattle “season” generally lands in August/September but check around. That is also my dad’s season, so contact me if you are interested in getting a hold of some of that yummy red meat…

Recipe from the woman who swore she would never make pot roast or meatloaf: Bacon & Beef Meatloaf. This recipe was greatly inspired by a recipe in the January 2009 Bon Appetit but has very much been changed.
1 # grass fed beef
10 slices bacon
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2/3 cup ketchup
2 eggs
2 slices whole wheat bread
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
Kosher salt & pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Preheat onion to 400 degrees. Grate onion and garlic into large bowl. Add beef, 1/3 cup ketchup , 2 eggs , parmesan , thyme , salt and pepper. In food processor chop up bread and 7 slices bacon until well minced. Add to bowl. Add chopped parsley. Mix well. (Let’s be honest, spoons don’t work. Get in with your hands and work it!) When mixed, put in loaf pan. Slice remaining 3 bacon slices in half. Wrap slices around loaf leaving ½ inch spaces. Fill in spaces with remaining ketchup. Cook for 1 hr, 10 minutes. (You want the meat to caramelize along the edges!) Let rest 10 minutes (This is important, don’t skip this step!) and serve with some potatoes!

Maximizing Your Budget Pt. 2 : Black Bean & Chicken Empanadas

2009-03-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

So now what to do with that leftover chicken? Make empanadas!
Empanadas are a Spanish dish consisting of a pastry dough with either a meat or fruit filling. The word empanada literally means “in dough.” In Spain they are typically larger and made with a savory filling and in Latin America they are typically smaller and made with a sweet filling. Doesn’t matter which you prefer, the bottom line with Empanadas is that they are supposed to be extremely flavorful and satisfying. This version, is filled with chicken & black beans and is a weeknight standby , because I don’t make my own dough , and the recipe is simple. I have a few more elaborate empanada recipes that I will post when I get the free time to make them!

1 package puff pastry (I like Trader Joe’s Artisan brand, but just use a good quality one & don‘t forget to thaw it !)

Filling:
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic (either pressed, or I like to grate them since I don’t own a press!)
1 tsp cumin
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
½ cup cilantro leaves
YOUR LEFTOVER DARK/WHITE MEAT CHICKEN (about 1 ½ to 2 cups)
S & P
Heat oil over med-high heat in skillet. Sauté onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add spices and garlic, stirring and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add chicken and black beans and season to taste with S&P. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add cilantro leaves. Cool. (THIS CAN BE MADE THE DAY BEFORE.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out puff pastry onto a lightly foured surface. Roll the dough out until the pastry is about 12 by 16 inches. Cut into 4 inch squares (you should get about 12 !) You will probably need to use both sheets of puff pastry.) Lay each dough square like a diamond. Put 2 tablespoons of filling in the bottom half of the diamond. Fold over the top half to meet the bottom half.. (Like a triangle) Use a fork to pinch & seal the edges. Also poke a few holes with the fork in the top of the dough. Lightly brush the tops with vegetable oil. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Cilantro/Lime Sour Cream and/or any type of fruit salsa!

Cilantro/Lime Sour Cream:
Measurements vary, depending on how much you are making. Place Sour cream , cilantro leaves and lime juice in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds and serve!

Ideas for leftover puff pastry? Cut out circles and top with fresh fruit, bake @ 350 degrees for 30 min!

Low Cholesterol Version: Take some of the filling, put in a cholesterol free tortilla and top with chopped pineapple or mango.

P.S. Sofia loved these!

Maximizing Your Budget

2009-03-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone! Don’t worry this won’t be an Irish recipe…..there is a very good reason the Irish are famous for their whiskey and Guinness..... This post is about making the most out of your food budget, so hopefully you will have enough money left over for that pint of green beer! Slainte!
Recently, I was watching a DVR’d episode of Oprah and she had (Iron Chef) Cat Cora on talking about how to get the most value out of your grocery shopping. Chef Cora said when you “don’t eat leftovers or let produce go bad it is like folding up a $20 bill and throwing it away.” That really rang true with me! In a time where every dollar counts in most households, it can be challenging to make it out of the grocery store under budget and still have tasty meals. So I decided to do a 2 part blog about how to get the most out of leftovers by stretching a simple rotisserie chicken into 2 different meals. The idea is to utilize the same protein two nights in a row, but use completely different flavors & textures, so as not to feel like you are having two boring (ugh!) chicken dinners in a row. Rotisserie chickens can be found in just about every market these days, but I prefer to buy mine at Costco when I can. (At Costco they are priced at $4.99 versus the supermarket which is usually more in the $7 range.) The first thing you will want to do with the chicken when you get home is separate the white meat from the dark. Put the dark meat in a Tupperware container and save it for tomorrow’s recipe : Black Bean & Chicken Empanadas. Put the white breast meat aside and choose which recipe you are going to make: Chicken Salad with Lime Vinaigrette or Chicken Soup, Mexican Style.

The chicken salad is very simple, it really is what you want to make of it. What makes it special is the vinaigrette for the salad. I “borrowed” the fresh lime vinaigrette recipe from my friend Gavin, who is the author of the blog the Haute Kitchen. See sidebar or go to http://thehautekitchen.com/the-simplest-vinaigrette-ever/ for more details. For this salad, I mixed baby romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado , cucumber , croutons and then topped with the vinaigrette. I just used what I had on hand, there is no real “recipe” to the salad. We like a lot of dressing on our salad so I doubled Gavin’s original recipe below:
Fresh Lime Vinaigrette:
Juice of 1 lime
4 TB Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
½ c Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
*Whisk together until well blended!

Chicken Soup, Mexican Style:
4 Tb Olive oil
1 Yellow onion , chopped
4 Cloves garlic , minced
2 Jalapenos , seeded & diced
1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes
Shredded Cooked Chicken (2-3 cups)
4 Cups low sodium chicken stock
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1 Lime
1 Tb Dried oregano
1 tsp Cumin
1 Cup cooked rice
Optional Toppings: Sour Cream & Cilantro
Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onion & sauté for 2 minutes until translucent. Add jalapeno & cook another 2 minutes. Add garlic , cumin & oregano and cook another minute. Add tomatoes , chicken , Worcestershire & chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook up 1 cup rice in a separate pot. (Instant is fine). After 20 minutes, squeeze the juice of the lime into the pot. Add cooked rice and simmer another 5-10 minutes. Season with S&P. Garnish with sour cream & cilantro. Enjoy!
Any extra white meat chicken that wasn’t used can be added to the Tupperware of dark meat chicken. Check back tomorrow to see how to use the leftover chicken in Black Bean & Chicken Empanadas!

Light & Easy Avocado & Red Grapefruit Salad....Maybe it will make the rain go away

2009-03-16T12:52:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous blog, my husband has high cholesterol. With that being said, it means that sometimes I make small (albeit big for animal fat loving me) sacrifices to serve healthy, cholesterol -free meals. So from now on when I am posting recipes, if possible I will also note changes you can make to the meal to cut the cholesterol .

One evening I had Costcoed up on avocados and needed to use them before they went bad so I came up with this easy salad. We had this for dinner, but I think it would be a lot more satisfying as a brunch/lunch dish or as a side dish. The vinaigrette really complimented the grapefruit, (it cut the tartness) in fact you could even omit the avocado and add more grapefruit and just have a grapefruit salad. This salad serves 2 as a meal.

Ingredients:
2 Avocados
1 Ruby Red Grapefruit
Chopped Almonds (optional)

Vinaigrette:
The juice of 1 lemon (Tip: if you don’t have a juicer just twist a fork inside the lemon to get all that juice!)
1 tb mustard (I used Guldens brown mustard but a whole grain or Dijon would work just as well.)
1 tsp kosher salt
Pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
Combine first 4 ingredients and then whisk in olive oil slowly until emulsified.

Directions:
Cut open avocados, pit and slice. (You will get about 6 slices out of each half of avocado.) Segment the grapefruit, removing any peel. Place avocados on plate and then top with grapefruit. Pour vinaigrette over. Sprinkle with chopped almonds for added crunch.

Bogle Petite Sirah

2009-03-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Back in the Corvallis days this was me and my roommate Julie’s favorite wine. It was rare for us not to have at least one bottle of this in our wine rack. When Jon and I started dating, we drank this all the time, usually consumed with a big plate of Otis Spunk Meyer chocolate chip cookies. (A brilliant combination that needs to be tried by all!) And then suddenly, we all stopped drinking it. No reason why, other then it just sort of fell out of fashion at the Daylily townhouse. Then on my _ th birthday this year Jon brought home a bottle of Bogle Petite Sirah. We (Jon & I , Gavin & Julie ; see www.thehautekitchen.com) all laughed remembering our indulgence of the vintage a few years back. The bottle was opened and in-between the sips of wine and bites of garlicky Pizzicato pizza we all looked at each other and asked the big question : WHY DID WE EVER STOP DRINKING THIS? A few weeks later at Julie’s _ th birthday dinner we once again asked ourselves the same question. It then became clear that in our quest to find other great wines we had abandoned what we knew to be true : Bogle Petite Sirah is really, really good. Not only is it delicious, but it can usually be found for about $8.99.
Bogle winery is in Clarksburg California, just a little southwest of Sacramento. Their philosophy is refreshing : Make great tasting wines at affordable prices. Now that is a philosophy I could get used to! The Petite Sirah might be a personal favorite, but is by far not the only style that is worth trying. Their Old Vine Zinfandel is exactly what a Zinfandel should be , intense , dark fruit flavors , high alcohol content and a subtle sweetness that bodes well for pairing with dark chocolate. Last time I was in California, Costco had the Old Vine Zin for $7.99. In fact, all of their wines I have tried have been good , and at bordering in the $10 and under range are a steal. Besides their Sirah and Old Vine, I have also tried their Cab , Merlot , Chardonnay , and Sauvignon Blanc. They make more than that too, so next time you are in the market pick up a bottle or check them out at http://www.boglewinery.com/ .

Cheese Tortellini with Pesto , Grape Tomatoes , & Parmesan Cheese

2009-03-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I was faced with the dilemma of making a lot of vegetarian food for a party. I got a little panicky. I mean, I just don’t do well with rules. I always want to add a little crumbled bacon , some chopped anchovies , or place a giant meatball on top of everything. My mind was racing, how was I supposed to make a vegetarian dish that would fill guests up and actually taste good? So I came up with this meal; the recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or in my case, quadrupled. It was so easy to make and was ready in less than 20 minutes. In fact, it was so stress-free that I felt a bit like I was cheating. The best part? The dish was a big hit and it looked pretty too, even without that meatball…..

1 # Cheese Tortellini (My personal favorite is Arthur's or Monterey Pasta Co.)
1 Cup Basil Pesto
1 Pint Mini Pearl Grape Tomatoes
Shaved/grated Parmesan (really, whatever you have on hand!)
*Lemon (Optional)

Basic Pesto Recipe:
2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves, packed
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2-3 Tablespoons pine nuts
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (it really depends on how garlicky you like it)
* Blend the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in food processor for about 10 seconds. Slowly adding in the olive oil. Add the parmesan cheese until mixture resembles a thick paste. Season with salt & pepper. You can also add a little rice vinegar if you would like the pesto to keep in the fridge more than 3 days.
(Note: For those of you who don’t have a food processor or just want to save yourself time, using a pre-made pesto from the store, still tastes great too! I prefer Cibo Naturals basil pesto. You can buy a big jar from Costco and use the excess for other meals. (Spreading pesto on top of grilled salmon or chicken is delicious !)

Boil tortellini in water until al dente. Drain. Toss with pesto. Add grape tomatoes. If grape tomatoes seem to big, just cut them in half. Toss all together. Top with shaved parmesan and drizzle a squeeze of lemon on top. (The lemon isn’t necessary but I feel that it gives a lot of depth to the pesto!) Serve immediately and enjoy!

How simple is that? And ladies, your husbands will like it too, even the ones that think they are being punished if they don’t get meat for dinner! Also, I added some leftover roasted chicken (See previous blog) to my daughter’s portion to give her a little extra protein…..

Carrots, Carrots, Carrot Tops?

2009-03-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have always found carrots to be boring and lacking of flavor, unless of course they were covered in ranch dressing. (I will save my proclivity for all things ranch and mayonnaise for another post though.) That was until I discovered using fresh carrots in season and roasting them. All you do is lop off the tops and clean the carrots. Next, put them on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil , salt and pepper. (If you have it on hand some chopped fresh thyme is nice too.) Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes depending on size of carrots to desired doneness. I personally like them to cook longer about (35 minutes) because then they start to caramelize, but it is really a matter of preference. The carrots will be soft & tender, sweet & savory! My favorite way to serve these is as a side dish to roasted chicken. My weeknight roasted chicken is simple and easy to do with a baby on your hip or the phone at your ear. First off, I don’t do the whole roasted chicken. (This eliminates the mess and cleanup of the giant roasting pan.) Instead, I use a package or two of the split half breasts with rib meat. Economical at $2-4 a package depending on store sales. Note: Foster Farms is my go-to brand. No, they are not organic and free range BUT they are fresh, hormone and antibiotic free. Plus they are a good company that employs a lot of people in Oregon and California. I always buy Foster Farms because it makes me feel that I am indirectly supporting friends and family. Okay, I will now get off my stump post and continue about the chicken..... Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take the breasts, wash and clean, pat VERY dry. Place on baking sheet. (Line with foil for easier cleanup.) Liberally season with Kosher salt and pepper. I also like to sprinkle with fresh thyme. Put enough salt that you can actually see the salt crystals on the skin. (This is what makes the skin so tasty, and lets be honest, isn’t that the reason we make roast chicken in the first place?) Some people like to put a pat of butter under the skin , but if you are like me and watching your hubby’s cholesterol don’t do this…..Plus, I feel this can create steam, which you don’t want if you like really crisp skin! Anyway, roast chicken at 400 degrees for 45 minutes and enjoy your weeknight chicken! As for the aforementioned carrot tops….I always thought carrot top greens were just fodder for the likes of Bugs Bunny, and well it turns out I was right. I searched around on the internet looking for recipes using carrot greens and found surprisingly few. (That should have been my biggest sign!) Even with this foreshadowing, I decided to experiment cooking with them anyway. I sautéed finely minced celery, yellow onion , and garlic in olive oil until translucent. I then added the greens and a little chicken broth until wilted down and then seasoned with salt and pepper. Okay, so the taste was not bad, fresh & herby tasting kind of like parsley BUT the texture was terrible, scratchy and chewy. Maybe you could get rid of that texture by boiling them for 2 + hours or more but next time I would let the clerk at the market cut the tops off for you or take them home and feed them to your rabbit………….

A Wine of the Times

2009-03-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

With everyone feeling the weight of the economy these days, it is nice go home after a long day , put your feet up and enjoy a glass (or two!) of wine without the guilt of the money factor. This is where Colombia Crest's Vineyard 10 Red Wine comes in. At $5-6 a bottle , it is inexpensive (sounds better than cheap!) , a lot of bang for your buck flavor wise, and best of all it actually tastes good! I usually am a California wine snob, not for any particular reason, maybe it is just the roots of my raising...(you can take the girl out of California but you can’t take California out of the girl…) but those guys up in Washington know how to make a decent bottle of red! Vineyard 10 is a bold red wine with a lot of big jammy flavors. This wine pairs well with pastas but is also great just on its own. For the white wine aficionados, Columbia Crest also makes a Vineyard 10 White, but I have yet to try it. For those of you that are feeling rich, Colombia Crest Grand Estates also makes a nice Cabernet Sauvignon (preference 2006) at $9-12. So sit down and unwind with your Thursday evening glass (it is after all, almost the weekend) and don’t feel guilty about it!

1st Blog Attempt Ever!

2009-03-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I am brand spanking new to blogging and not exactly tech savvy, so if anyone has any suggestions or tips they would be much appreciated.....I am excited to see the sun shining today and hopefully get out of this winter cooking rut. It makes me start thinking about well, food....For the 1st time this year our family is subscribing to a 1/2 share of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) basket from Sungold Farms. Basically once a week starting in June we pick up a box from our local farmers market filled with fruits, veggies, and herbs of the season. I think it will be a great opportunity for us to stay on the path to eating healthy and also force my creative juices to start flowing. For example, what in the world do I do with a Khalorobi? It will also force us to eat things we usually avoid at all costs in the Markum household....like eggplant. I am making it my special project for us to not only eat everything we get in our box, but make it taste good and enjoy it as well. I will be posting my misadventures right here. For anyone interested about CSA boxes and how to subscribe follow this link:
www.localharvest.org
http://www.portlandcsa.org/oregon-csa-farms.php#OtherCSAs

It is a great way to support your local economy and eat healthy and organic!