Summer Dinner

Some friends came over for dinner and I put this menu together from The Summer House Cookbook. I was trying to find things that took little-to-no prep time and would allow for everyone to help. Even one friend who didn't cook did a mash-up job on the guacamole! This is what I chose:

French Potato Salad
Baked black cod
Grilled fruit (peach, nectarine, plum) as fish topping
Guacamole with blue corn chips
Berries with fresh whipped cream for dessert (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)

First, I chopped up all the guacamole fixings and threw them into a bowl for mashing. Our guac was 4 tiny organic avocados, 1 shallot (finely minced), 1 garlic clove (through the press), 1 tbsp lime juice, salt and pepper, and several tiny tomatoes from the garden.

The cod fillets were rubbed with salt and pepper (no oil; this is a very oily fish), placed on a rack and thrown into the oven at 375 for 20 minutes.

The fruit was sliced into halves, tossed with olive oil and grilled for 10 minutes. Then I sliced them into quarters and tossed with 2 tsp balsamic to serve as a topping for the fish.

The potato salad was a little more time-consuming than anticipated. Steaming that many potatoes takes at least 25-30 minutes. Then they have to cool for 10 minutes. The dressing is a two part build mixing a champagne vinaigrette with the mustard. We all ended up loving the potatoes though; they were well worth the extra time!

I made the biscuits from Cooks Illustrated but they totally fell flat and dry (what?!) so I should have just done the berries alone. Ah well.

Pork Fried Rice

I've been on a bit of a pork fried rice trip lately. I recently thawed out a hunk of Smithfield ham I had saved and I'm using it in everything. Fried rice is a comfort food, easy to make, and you can put just about anything in it. Last night I made it with a twist: Forbidden Rice. This stuff smells so amazing; it has a sweet, nutty aroma and only takes 10 minutes longer to cook. It has amazing health benefits as well as being extra tasty so I think this will be the standard for our rice from now on!

This can be served as a main course; put any leftovers you have into it! Also makes an excellent side to teriyaki chicken.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 ½ tablespoons peanut oil
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
8 ounces small shrimp (I used frozen shrimp)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup carrot, ½" dice
8 ounces smoked ham cut into ½" cubes
1 clove garlic, minced
5 cups cooked rice, cold

1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (I had cremini, but you can use shiitake)

5 medium scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin (about ½ cup)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with 1 cup hot tap water. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Lift mushrooms from liquid, trim stems, and slice into 1/4-inch strips.

2. Combine oyster sauce and soy sauce in small bowl; set aside.

3. Heat 12" nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add 1 ½ teaspoons oil and swirl to coat pan bottom. Add eggs and cook without stirring, until they just begin to set, about 20 seconds, then scramble and break into small pieces with wooden spoon; continue to cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer eggs to small bowl and set aside.

4. Return skillet to medium heat and heat until hot; add 1 ½ teaspoons oil and swirl to coat pan bottom. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until opaque and just cooked through. Transfer to bowl with eggs and set aside. If using frozen shrimp, dump out excess water from pan.

5. Return skillet to burner, increase heat to high, and heat skillet until hot; add remaining 2 ½ tablespoons oil and swirl to coat pan bottom. Add carrots and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add peas, mushrooms, and ham; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add rice and oyster sauce mixture; cook, stirring constantly and breaking up rice clumps, until mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, shrimp, bean sprouts, and scallions; cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Pasta Alla Norma

I made this dish the other night using tomatoes from the garden and an eggplant from the farmer's market. Yowza!

Pasta Alla Norma
(for 2)

1 large eggplant cut into ½-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1½ tablespoons olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves pressed through garlic press
2 anchovy fillets , minced (about 1 generous teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
½ lb fettuccine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces grated parmesan

1. Toss eggplant with 1 tsp kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon regular salt) in medium bowl. Line surface of large microwave-safe plate with a paper towel and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spread eggplant in even layer over towel; wipe out and reserve bowl. Microwave eggplant on high, uncovered, until dry to touch and slightly shriveled, about 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through to ensure that eggplant cooks evenly. Let cool slightly.

2. Transfer eggplant to now-empty bowl, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and toss gently to coat; reserve plate. Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add eggplant and distribute in even layer. Cook, stirring or tossing every 1½ to 2 minutes, until well browned and fully tender, about 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer eggplant to now-empty plate and set aside.

3. Add remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil, garlic, anchovies, and pepper flakes to now-empty but still-hot skillet and cook using residual heat so garlic doesn’t burn, stirring constantly, until fragrant and garlic becomes pale golden, about 1 minute (if skillet is too cool to cook mixture, set it over medium heat). Add tomatoes, return skillet to burner over medium-high heat, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

5. While pasta is cooking, return eggplant to skillet with tomatoes and gently stir to incorporate. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring gently occasionally, until eggplant is heated through and flavors are blended, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir basil and extra-virgin olive oil into sauce; season to taste with salt. Add sauce to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that sauce coats pasta. Serve immediately, sprinkled with parmesan.

Rösti

We have recently discovered Rösti and we're totally freaking out over here.


At Surfas' BACON DEMO last week (Chef Amy Jurist proves that everything is better with bacon. Watch as she performs culinary magic with bacon "the Candy of Meat".) We drooled over the yummy treats that were prepared before our eyes. I was frantically writing lists of new tools for the kitchen and products to try (Vegalene, pre-cut parchment paper, Thai peanut sauce...on BACON). One of the recipes made used this potato in a foil bag called Rösti. They sold it there and I picked up a couple. It's just boiled potatoes but it's so yummy and easy to prepare. You open the bag and fry (no oil needed!) for 15 minutes, then flip and fry 6 more. That's it.

Tonight for dinner I prepared a bag with the rest of the prosciutto and some melted cheese. OMG. The taste of this dish took us back overseas...the potatoes tasted so different than what we have here. Must be the water...

Dining Al Fresco featuring the new table

al⋅fres⋅co
  [al-fres-koh]
–adverb
out-of-doors; in the open air: to dine alfresco.

We arrived home from a week away to an empty refrigerator and a full bounty in the garden. While we were away, our new pergola was stained with "fresh brew" and our patio furniture from Room & Board arrived this morning. This afternoon we went to "Entertaining with Bacon" at Surfas and picked up some 8oz martini glasses (finally a normal size!). Cupboard staples of olive oil, garlic, capers, parmesan, and angel hair pasta combined nicely with basil and two kinds of tomatoes from the garden. That along with Chianti and the sunset, and our new patio table is at home.

Curtis' Crumbed Chicken Breasts

Okay these are a fabulous take on the standard Chicken Cordon Bleu.  They are from "Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone" and the recipe is called Crumbed Chicken Breasts. We used prosciutto & sliced swiss from the deli, didn't fry (just baked) and it was awesome. Served with Israeli couscous and wilted spinach.

Christmas Feast

What a fabulous meal! A meal that almost wasn't, for so many reasons. I'm so glad we moved back from NYC to continue this tradition here together with our family. 

But the other reason this almost wasn't....the ham. Last time we got the Smithfield Ham online, but this year I found them sold at Pavillions. However when I went to pick one up they were sold out! I went to four different stores before I secured the "last one"...whew!!! I hugged the ham AND the butcher and sauntered off to my car with a grin on my face, relieved that the holiday dinner was saved. 

There is simply no substitute for a Smithfield Ham (unless you made Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding, ahem). Anyway, this dinner rocked. Ham, cranberry ginger chutney, cranberry bread, no knead bread, summer squash from dad's garden, spinach salad, and parmesan smashed potatoes. YUM! Best of all every last bit of it was made by us! Everyone was in the kitchen cooking together. I'm so blessed to have a big enough space and a family so gifted. I love you guys.

(Recipes from Barefoot Contessa (Potatoes), Smithfield (Ham), NY Times (No Knead Bread), Murina (Chutney) then adapted from this, Mom (Cranberry Bread), Dad (Squash), and ourselves (Spinach Salad--see earlier post).

Thanksgiving Feast at home with a Chef

Our host was chef Rodelio Aglibot, a friend of CC's. There were about 10 people for dinner at his home in Santa Monica, along with a few people who stopped by afterwards for karaoke and dessert.

Starters
-Steamed mussels
-Dungeness crab
-Albacore & cucumber salad
-Fresh farmer's market figs with goat cheese

Main Courses
-Mango mustard ham
-Kobe beef loin
-Free range turkey
-Rosemary leg of lamb
-Roasted pork shank
-Brussel sprouts with chanterelles & sweet corn
-Curry roasted cauliflower
-Cranberry stuffing
-Potatoes
-Sweet potato & yams with cinnamon béchamel
-2 kinds of gravy (turkey & brown giblet)
-Fois gras
-I baked bread my no knead with a 14 hour rise

-Champagne, wine, and Muscato from around the world.

Desserts
-Chocolate cream cheese bundt cake
-Pumpkin pie with ginger-honey whipped cream
-Blueberry pie
-chocolate pecan pie (I brought this)
-apple-cranberry-currant-blueberry cobbler (I brought this)
-chocolate bread pudding (from chef Oratzio, Akwa Resaurant)

The company was wonderful and the conversations were about food, music, and film. We began our meal by going around the table and saying what we were thankful for. Plus, we got to bring Bean! He was on his best behavior and a complete clown. He socialized with everyone, didn’t jump up and even danced with a couple who was salsa dancing. It was hilarious (he barked and jumped around on his hind legs).