A month or so ago  Barbara of Winos and Foodies put out the call for help in pulling off a blogger event to celebrate the Tour de France and since she is one of the most fabulous people I know, I agreed to do my part. I was assigned Stage 17 and more specifically the [...]]]>

A month or so ago  Barbara of Winos and Foodies put out the call for help in pulling off a blogger event to celebrate the Tour de France and since she is one of the most fabulous people I know, I agreed to do my part. I was assigned Stage 17 and more specifically the mountain town of Col du Tourmalet in the Midi Pyrenees, which suited me well since the food of the southwest of France is an obsession of mine. The French border region is heavily influenced from both sides and among those with their spoons in the pot are the Basque and Catalan.

The food and drink from this region is varied and beautiful from Prunes in Armagnac to Duck Confit to Cassoulet and Poule au Pot with each one deeply ingrained in the lives of the people of the region. Col du Tourmalet itself is known for the production of the hard sheeps milk cheese Tourmalet, while the region at large is known for Roquefort, Tomme Pyrenees and Cabecou. They are also known for producing and raising the finest foie gras, black truffles, sausages and fowl such as geese and duck. There is some wine production in the region, but it is not known as one of the great growing regions of France. The drink most commonly associated with the area is the much venerated armagnac.

Something I love about the southwest of France is the staple ingredients of peppers, onions, anchovies, olives and ham. Everything is brightly colored and bursting with flavor lending itself  to a simple, often ingredient driven cuisine (you know I love that). I chose to do a salad that celebrates both Basque and Catalan tastes, by Caroline Conran from her lovely cookbook Under the Sun. I love how it represents two rich cultures of the region on one plate.  The combination of luscious, ripe tomatoes with pan fried and toasty green peppers is absolutely gorgeous with oil cured black olives and pungent anchovy. It is summer on a plate.

I did decide that since we are discussing French soil that the French should be represented on my plate as well. Go figure. So I fried up a couple of gorgeous Toulouse style sausages courtesy of the Fatted Calf in Napa. They went perfectly with this salad, it was sort of a French version of sausage and peppers, but so much better. The vinegar, tomatoes and peppers really played well with the sausage and I think next time I may even load it all into a bun!

Thanks for checking out my contribution to Project Tour de France 2010. To find out a little more about it click this link: Winos and Foodies or visit the entry for Stage 16 from Molly at Seasonal Seattle . Stage 18 Salies-de-Bearn to Bordeaux will be posted tomorrow by Gilli of So Simple.

Salade de Tomates aux Piments Verts

By: Caroline Conran

2 Green Bell Peppers, sliced in quarters

1/2 tsp Salt (I’d use sea or kosher)

1/2 cup Olive Oil

5 Tomatoes, peeled and sliced ( don’t think the peeling is at all necessary)

4-5 TBS Olive Oil, for Serving

2 TBS White Wine Vinegar

1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped

1/4 cup black olives (I used oil cured and more of them), pit removed

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

6-10 Anchovies (optional, but you should really choose this option. Also, try to find salt cured it is worth it)

Salt the bell pepper on the inside and allow to sit for 1 hour or so. Rise the salt out, drain and cut into wide strips.

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the peppers on both sides until they begin to brown. Remove, cool and remove the skin.

Arrange the peppers and tomatoes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, olives and anchovies.

Note: I fry the quartered peppers before slicing them again, it is a lot less fussy to remove the skin this way. Also, Caroline recommends long thin skinned peppers. I do not have long sweet peppers available to me so I subbed in plain old bell peppers which worked quite well.

**I love this salad, but disagree a lot on the preparation. No offense to the author, she makes beautiful food and I really love her book. I just have my own ways of doing things and really hate using recipes.**

I have had the idea for this recipe on the brain ever since I posted my recipe for a Northwestern inspired salad a couple of weeks ago which contains a few similar ingredients. I finally made it last night and couldn’t wait a week to share it with you and so my original post will [...]]]>

I have had the idea for this recipe on the brain ever since I posted my recipe for a Northwestern inspired salad a couple of weeks ago which contains a few similar ingredients. I finally made it last night and couldn’t wait a week to share it with you and so my original post will just have to wait. It all started when I was thinking about local ingredients and how in the Northwest we tend to stuff our salmons full of lemons and began to wonder if there was a local alternative. As it turns out there is a fabulous alternative in the form of the tart and flavorful raspberry.

For the salmon, I wanted to enhance the its naturally sweet qualities and so used a combination of soy sauce and brown sugar and an indirect grilling method. The result is a slightly lacquered piece of fish somewhat reminiscent of smoked salmon that still retains the tender sweetness of the fresh salmon. The interplay of the raspberry and grilled salmon is astonishing. The raspberry not only gives it a bit of acidity, but lends it a complexity beyond that of a lemon.

I chose sorrel for the salad for its green yet citrusy flavor. I wanted to add a bit of flavor and interest instead of simply plopping on a bunch of micro greens and calling it good.

Creating this recipe was a lot of fun. It is sort of funny how when you impose limitations such as diet and locality how it forces you to be creative in ways you hadn’t thought of before. I hope you enjoy this one, I certainly did. In fact I’m making it again tonight!

The Salmon

4 servings Good Quality Salmon (about 1 lb) skin on, pin bones out

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar

Stir the soy sauce and brown sugar together dissolving as much of it as possible. Marinate the salmon in it for 30-60 minutes.

Heat your grill over low heat and add the salmon skin side down, positioning it away from the direct heat source. Grill slowly for 30-35 minutes or until flaking. Use a little extra brown sugar and soy sauce for basting .

The Raspberry Sauce

2 cups Raspberries

2 TBS Honey

Pinch Sea Salt

Combine the ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook down to release the juices, stirring often. When the raspberries have broken down, transfer them to a blender and puree, all the while being very careful to avoid burning yourself of course. Run the sauce through a sieve to using a rubber spatula to eliminate the seeds and get all of the thick yummy juice. Keep warm over low heat until serving time and give it a stir to ensure cohesion between all of the juice and berry matter.

Note: The addition of freshly cracked pepper or a bit of thyme would be lovely additions, but not necessary.

The Salad

A large handful of Sorrel, well cleaned, dried and sliced

Another large handful Microgreens, well cleaned and dried

Yet another handful, but this time raspberries, rinsed and carefully pat dry

3 tsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Rice Vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Cracked Pepper, to taste

Whisk your ingredients together to form an emulsion in a small to medium sized bowl. Add in the greens and raspberries then toss. Serve with the salmon and raspberry sauce

I miss trees. Of course we have trees here in California. Funny little trees that look like broccoli against the parched hills of summertime, trees that make me laugh. But, I miss tall formidable fir trees that smell fresh and make me feel so small. I want to be watched over by snowcapped mountains, to [...]]]>

I miss trees. Of course we have trees here in California. Funny little trees that look like broccoli against the parched hills of summertime, trees that make me laugh. But, I miss tall formidable fir trees that smell fresh and make me feel so small. I want to be watched over by snowcapped mountains, to be enveloped by salty air while watch ferries gliding across the water. In short, it has been more than a year since I was in Seattle and I want to go home, but my trip was canceled and I am feeling a little bummed about it.

When I am missing home there are a few things that help; first there is my wallpaper of the Olympic Mountains as seen from the balcony of my old apartment. No luck. I see it every day and  need something a little more powerful. I could make myself a cup of Market Spice Tea, if I wasn’t out. Third, I could try to pick up a bottle of Washington wine, but this is Sonoma County, you can’t find good Washington wine anywhere. My fourth option is one I am thankful for, because it is not an option that has always been readily available to me; hot smoked salmon.

Most areas of the country and world for that matter think of nova lox when they think of smoked salmon, ask a Northwesterner and you will get a different answer. I like lox, but I grew up on salmon smoked over a fire in the traditional way practiced by Costal nations from the Chinook to the Makah*. In school we took field trips to salmon hatcheries and fish ladders. I could name every type of salmon swimming through the waterways of Washington State when I was 8 years old. So, where I can easily pass on lox, I hone in on a plate of hot smoked salmon like a hunger crazed mosquito to well, me.

When we lived in the Hamptons I could never find hot smoked salmon and after having a steady supply for 25 years, it was a bit of a shock. But, since there were many things I could not find there, such as pho, eventually I became more industrious and like any food lover ended up making it myself. My neighbor Rob was my smoked salmon guru and even supplied me with an entire Copper River salmon (from Alaska) that I used for my first attempt. I loved tending a fire on a dreary day and the result was not only phenomenal, but made me feel a little closer to home.

Here in California I am not as lucky and it would seem that smoking salmon on my little balcony is frowned upon by the landlord. Go figure. But, thankfully I can find hot smoked salmon almost as readily as I could at home. For a while we would drive up the coast to buy it from an old hippie selling it out of a homemade trailer on the side of Highway 1. It was not exactly consistent and half the time it was amazing while the other half was like eating a vaguely fishy salt lick. So the other day when I saw SeaBear smoked salmon for sale I jumped. While it may not exactly be local, SeaBear is a producer of quality sustainable smoked salmon and is just what the doctor ordered. Normally I would tear into the smoked fillet like a starving Kodiak, but I decided to be a little more civilized than that and put it into a lovely salad that reminds me of the beautiful dishes of Washington.

Before I go on I should mention that while certain dishes are Northwestern in feel, our cuisine is very ingredient driven. We don’t have many traditional recipes like they do in the South and Northeast which leads many to mistakenly believe that food is an afterthought to Washingtonians and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Our cuisine generally starts in the oyster beds or berry thickets with inspiration and creativity taking the lead from there. The food is gorgeous and we tend eat it simply dressed so as not to lose what makes it so utterly beautiful.

All right, enough on that, back to my salad. While not everything in here is traditionally Washingtonian there are a few things I used to remind me of home. I paired the salmon first with raspberries, the natural sweet tart flavor of a raspberry is as natural a pair to salmon as a lemon. Berries grow beautifully in Washington and are often found in salads as well as other savory applications. Greens grow extremely well in Washington and I chose the lambs ear over a traditional lettuce for two reasons, I love the body and crunch. Another ingredient that thrives in the rich soil of Washington is the shallot. In this recipe the robust flavor of a shallot is tempered by frying it into crispy little pieces to garnish the top of this lovely salad. Finally I used another Northwest mainstay, sorrel, to give my dressing a piquant citrus element  that works so well with all of my ingredients. The salad is crunchy and full of different flavors and perfect for a summer evening whether you are looking out at Puget Sound and the Olympics or the hills of Sonoma County. I would serve this salad with a cool, crisp white wine (preferably from Washington) such as a dry riesling with a lot of minerality or a citrusy peach heavy sauvignon blanc.

Smoked Salmon Salad

4-6 ounces Hot Smoked Salmon, flaked (I used King)

4 cups Lambs Ear (mache), rinsed and dried

2 cups Pea Shoots rinsed and dried

1-2 Small Zucchini, cut into relatively thin sticks

1 1/2 cups Raspberries

1 Golden Beet, roasted, chilled and diced

1 recipe Crunchy Shallots

Prepare your ingredients. Separately, toss the lambs ear, pea shoots, beets and zucchini in the dressing and arrange on the platter. Add the salmon, raspberries and crunchy shallots.

Note: If you wanted to make this salad a bit heartier, I suggest slicing up some rounds of cold chevre, rolling them in chopped hazelnuts and toasting them in the oven. They make a lovely addition.

Crunchy Shallots

1-2 Shallots, sliced thin

1 Egg

1/4 Flour

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Canola Oil

Add the egg to a smallish bowl and beat with a fork. Combine the flour, sea salt and pepper in another bowl. Add the sliced shallot to the egg, tossing to coat and then transferring to the flour mixture, coating well.

Heat the oil to 375F and add the shallots and fry until brown, just a few minutes. Remove and drain on a towel before topping the salad.

Dijon Sorrel Dressing

1/4 cup TBS Olive Oil

3 TBS cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 TBS Dijon (try Maille, it is very creamy and perfect for this)

A Good Handful Fresh Sorrel Leaves

Sea Salt, to taste (maybe go a little light since there will be plenty of salt from the salmon)

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Add your ingredients to a blender and puree until well combined.

*Makah means generous with food, how cool is that?

I normally only post a potato salad recipe once a year on Memorial Day weekend, but this year you are getting an extra one. A few weeks ago Phil and I drove out to a winery in Yountville to bring dinner to my editor Alan, staff photographer Ian and his assistant Chris (who is also [...]]]>

I normally only post a potato salad recipe once a year on Memorial Day weekend, but this year you are getting an extra one. A few weeks ago Phil and I drove out to a winery in Yountville to bring dinner to my editor Alan, staff photographer Ian and his assistant Chris (who is also a photographer) who were in need of a good meal. I am currently (once again) on the injured list and so I haven’t been doing a whole lot kitchen-wise  lately, so this completely gorgeous salad  was the perfect thing to cook while elevating my leg* on a barstool.

This recipe was really just a happy accident. I had planned to visit my fellow Mutineers, but due to my injury had no plans to bring a meal. But then I started thinking about what they would be eating and the fact that they had been on the road for so long at this point, fueled by fast food and Red Bull. My obsessive nature took over and I felt compelled to serve them a home cooked meal, no matter how simple. So, as I can’t drive myself to the market right now I took look around the kitchen to see what ingredients I had on hand.

I found green beans and basil in the crisper, a jar of roasted peppers in the pantry, a pile of potatoes and meyer lemons and a bottle blood orange olive oil. Now, normally I don’t like to use a specialized ingredient like blood orange olive oil, but you can easily create a substitute by infusing olive oil for a few days with your favorite citrus zest.

I love this salad, because it tastes like summer. This is the time of year when I am worn out on winter vegetables and I need a hit of fresh summer flavor. The fragrant citrus and herbal aromas of this salad are the reason I cook.

Citrus Potato Salad

1/4 cup Blood Orange Olive Oil

Juice of 1- 1 1/2 Meyer Lemons (or your favorite small citrus)

1 1/2-2 TBS Dijon Mustard

2 TBS Fresh Thyme Leaves

1/2 cup Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced or grated

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

6 Medium Potatoes (use your favorite), baked, cooled and diced

2-3 Roasted Red Peppers (I used preserved peppers), sliced into strips

3 cups (or so) Green Beans, trimmed, blanched and chopped in 1 to 2 inch pieces

In a large bowl, combine the oil, juice, Dijon, thyme, basil, garlic, salt and pepper, whisking to combine. Add in the potatoes, roasted peppers and green beans, tossing to coat before serving.

Note: Many potato salad recipes call for you to boil your potatoes, I do not recommend this. I think you get a much more pure potato flavor and a more pleasant mouthfeel to the salad if you roast your potatoes instead.

*I am fine. I have an owee (owee is a technical term) on my knee. I’ll be in a brace for a while, but will survive.

Two years ago I clicked the publish icon for my first post, and what an amazing time it has been ever since. At the time I was living out in the Hamptons in New York, and had just finally figured out that I wanted to spend my life writing and creating recipes. Since then I [...]]]>

Two years ago I clicked the publish icon for my first post, and what an amazing time it has been ever since. At the time I was living out in the Hamptons in New York, and had just finally figured out that I wanted to spend my life writing and creating recipes. Since then I have moved home to Seattle, then away again to Petaluma, contributed to a book, become a columnist, and have learned that despite a slight rough patch in the kitchen this fall. There is nothing I like better than to spend my days stirring, chopping and writing recipes to share with you. I cherish the thought that with constant upheaval in my life that wherever I go, I am able to take you all with me.

In this next year, I hope to get to know some of you shy readers a little better. Whether it is to comment on a post or just to introduce yourself, drop me a line. One of the greatest things about a blog is the people who visit it.

Thank you all for visiting The Endive Chronicles, I hope you enjoy this years endive recipe.

Warm Anniversary Endive Salad

2 Bacon Strips*, chopped (I recommend getting a nice thick bacon from your butcher)

3 Endive Heads, sliced in half

2 TBS Butter

2 Cardoon Ribs, julienned  trimmed with the fibers removed

10 oz. Crimini Mushrooms, sliced (I wanted to use chanterelle, but it is way late in the season and I am so not paying California prices)

2 Shallots, sliced

2-3 tBS Fresh Lemon Juice

1 TBS Dijon

1 TBS Marjoram

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste (you may not need it depending on the saltiness of your bacon)

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

In a large skillet, brown the bacon over medium heat and drain on a paper towel, leaving the excess bacon grease in the pan. Add in the endive and brown on both sides before removing to a baking pan and set aside in a baking dish. Add the butter and cardoons to the pan and saute for a few minutes before adding in the mushrooms and shallots.

When everything is tender and cooked through add in the lemon juice, Dijon, most of the marjoram pepper and any salt, stirring well to coat. Keep warm on low until serving. Sprinkle the endive with some of the parmesan and run under the broiler until the cheese is brown.

To plate, arrange the endive on a platter and top with the rest of the marjoram, parmesan and the bacon. Serve warm.

*The bacon was a gift from my wonderful friend Chef Jen of the hilarious and delicious blog Diary of a Knife Thrower . You should seriously check it out. I totally recommend her recipe for Santa Fe Thanksgiving Custard.

The 2009 Endive Chronicles Holiday Bonanza

It’s that time of year again, the moment you’ve surely all been waiting for, The Endive Chronicles 2009 Holiday Bonanza. For those of you who don’t know, I am one of those strange people who love the holidays and I looks for any excuse to celebrate. So, for the second year in a row I am bring the celebration to The Endive Chronicles to share with you. This year’s holiday bonanza will consist mostly of dessert and sweet breakfast recipes. They’re not foods I do very often, but apparently I have sugar plums dancing in my head these days. Maybe it’s too much Tchaikovsky. I’ll be posting every few days throughout December, so don’t miss out!

Happy holidays everyone!

You know, I truly believe that beans get a bad rap. It’s true that they are finding their way into more and more gourmet kitchens, but overall beans are still generally treated like the smelly kid who sat in the back of your fourth grade class. Aside from the odd pot of baked beans, I [...]]]>

You know, I truly believe that beans get a bad rap. It’s true that they are finding their way into more and more gourmet kitchens, but overall beans are still generally treated like the smelly kid who sat in the back of your fourth grade class. Aside from the odd pot of baked beans, I never really ate them as a normal part of my diet until a few years ago and I never dreamed there was such an amazing array of shapes, sizes and flavors.

I think one of the coolest things about the bean is the versatility. True the most common way to cook them is to simmer them for hours with various ingredients and served as a stew of sorts. But, it is so simple to take them out of the pot and imagine something beyond the bowl and spoon.  In India dosas have been made for years from gently fermented daal. One of the most beloved of all dips hummus is an amazing way to use beans, and Clotilde Dusoulier has a recipe for a wonderful white bean dip that I highly recommend. Whipped cannelini beans have been making gains against mashed potatoes for sometime now.

When many of you think of potato pancakes, no doubt you think of latkes. Not me. I grew up eating creamy smooth potato pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes (good excuse to mash a few extra!). I started thinking about them a few weeks ago and the idea of using beans in their place really captured me. After a whirlwind of mixing, testing and tasting I have come up with this weeks recipe.

The pancakes contain a large amount of parmesan cheese, but are not overtly cheesy and it compliments the richness of the cannelini. I added a touch of garlic, but this definitely does not follow my usual trend of the more garlic the better. I really think too much garlic would really detract from the finished product. I decided to make this dish a sort of fun play on breakfast through the addition of warm infused olive oil in place of the syrup most eat with their short stack. I think it is a fun little dish and hope you enjoy it.

Cannelini Bean Parmesan Pancakes

3 cups Cooked Cannelini Beans

1 cup Parmesan, grated and at room temp

3 eggs

1 TBS Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper, make it a coarse grind

1/4 cup Milk

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 1/2 TBS All-Purpose Flour

Pine nuts, for garnish

Rosemary Sprigs, for garnish

Warm Infused Oil

Combine your ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat up a non-stick or other well seasoned  skillet, adding a glug of olive oil to the pan.  Using a small measuring cup or good sized spoon add the batter to the pan, being sure to keep the pancakes relatively small. Think biscuit instead of frisbee. Cook on both sides, being careful when flipping, until they are golden brown. Set on a towel to remove any excess oil.

Arrange on a plate sprinkling with pine nuts sprigs of rosemary and drizzling with the warm infused olive oil.

Warm Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Oil

3/4 cup Olive Oil (use something rich and flavorful)

1 Sprig Rosemary

1 Garlic Clove, lightly smashed and peeled

Place your ingredients in a sauce pan and heat up to a simmer, keep a watchful eye. Reduce the heat to low and allow to sit for 15 minutes before turning off. Allow the ingredients to infuse for 1 hour at the very least. I gave mine overnight. Before serving warm up the oil gently, being absolutely careful not to over heat and burn yourself. It should be warm enough when you can feel warmth radiating off of the pan. Do not, I repeat do not test it on your skin. I am sure most of you know that, but we all know there are a few who don’t.

Serve drizzled over my cannelini bean pancakes.

Note: These can also be used as a base  for a larger dish.  Maybe topped with an herb salad, roasted tomatoes or some sort of seared seafood. As usual, the possibilities are endless. 

Normally when I have a new recipe to share I have thought about it for a while or set out to create something new from my latest market haul. But this recipe seems to have almost happened by itself. You see, I like to keep a container of cold marinated lima beans in the refrigerator [...]]]>

Normally when I have a new recipe to share I have thought about it for a while or set out to create something new from my latest market haul. But this recipe seems to have almost happened by itself. You see, I like to keep a container of cold marinated lima beans in the refrigerator for snacking purposes and this week I decided to add in a few chopped artichoke hearts. It turns out the two are a miraculous pair and I have been enjoying them all week.

Occasionally what I like to do in the kitchen is to challenge myself to take a recipe further.  Sometimes I take it far, transforming something simple into something fancy. Other times, I make just one simple change and it becomes something wonderful. Next time you make your favorite snack or salad try and look at it a little differently  and imagine the possibilities. Today for lunch, I made a simple change to my lima bean snack by adding a poached egg. The result is one of the best things I’ve had for lunch in quite a while. It is light, creamy and filling. You could eat this on it’s own or accompanied by toasted bread such as pain levain or sourdough.

Isn’t food fun.

Poached Eggs with Lima Beans and Artichokes

16 ounces Lima Beans, boiled for 5 minutes, strained and cooled

12 ounces Frozen Artichokes, Steamed, cooled and sliced (or 6 fresh artichokes, trimmed, de-choked etc)

1 Recipe Vinagrette

Fresh Eggs + vinegar and salt for poaching

1/4 cup Pistachios, chopped

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste

Parmesan, at room temp and grated to garnish

In a medium bowl combine the lima beans, artichokes and vinagrette mixing gently to coat. Allow the flavors to meld in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Fill a wide shallow pan halfway with water, add in a small splash of vinegar, a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Crack your eggs into cups and gently slip into the simmering water (do not fill the pan cook a max of 4 at a time), spoon water over the top until the white is set. Remove the eggs to a cold bath to arrest the cooking process and then drain on a towel.

Place the egg at the bottom of your dish, sprinkle it lightly with sea salt and pepper, and surround it with the lima bean salad. Top with parmesan shavings and the chopped pistachios

Serves 4-6, (the number of eggs will be determined by you and your guests)

Notes: Since we aren’t exactly in prime artichoke season, use good quality frozen artichokes. Trader Joe’s carries a good one.  In the springtime I would definitely use fresh.

As for the lima beans, I have never seen them fresh, but I can’t resist. Buy them frozen, because the quality and texture will be much better that that of the can. Normally with beans I would buy dried and go from there, but I can never seem to find real lima beans dried although many bags of butter beans and others make the claim.

Also, and maybe most importantly; make sure the poached egg is well drained and pat dry. If it is water logged that the flavor of the dish will be diluted and disappointing.

This dish may also be served warm, simply skip the cold water bath and warm the lima bean salad.

Vinagrette

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TBS Balsamic

2 TBS Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

1-2 tsp Dijon

2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced or grated

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste, but give it a healthy dose

Combine your ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk until emulsified.

** In case you were wondering, Phil did not take this weeks photo. I did. You can tell by the way I have the lighting reflecting off of the bowl.

Last week I shared a few of my party planning ideas and in the process promised a few simple yet elegant recipes for your party table. This week I am making good on that promise using the perfect little zucchini at the Petaluma Farmers Market. I resisted the urge to slice them up into paper [...]]]>

Last week I shared a few of my party planning ideas and in the process promised a few simple yet elegant recipes for your party table. This week I am making good on that promise using the perfect little zucchini at the Petaluma Farmers Market. I resisted the urge to slice them up into paper thin pieces for Clotilde Dusoulier’s zucchini carpaccio as I usually do, instead whipping up a light herbal marinade for these gorgeous zucchini.

The technique I employ here is very simple and one I’ve used often when making certain types of achar. You simply prepare the vegetables and herbs in a bowl, heat up the vinegar solution on the stove, combine and marinate. This ensures the vegetable doesn’t just turn into a soggy, soppy mess. There is nothing worse that turning a beautiful zucchini to mush.

One of the great things about this recipe is its versatility. The solution can be drained off, perhaps a bit of cheese added and the zucchini can served as a salad. You can chop up a few pieces and toss them with pasta, use a slice to garnish a Bloody Mary, or even for an elegant wrapping for sea scallops. One of my favorite uses is as a topper for toasted baguette with a well seasoned ricotta.

Herb Marinated Zucchini

4-6 Small Zucchini, sliced into long, thin strips

1 Red Bell Pepper, roasted, skin removed and sliced into thin strips

1 large handful Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped

1 Handful Fresh Basil, roughly chopped

1 -2 Garlic Cloves, minced or grated

1/2 to 1 tsp Coarsely Ground Pepper

3/4 cup Water

3/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Sea Salt

Spread the prepared zucchini, red pepper, parsley, basil, garlic and pepper out in a wide baking dish.

In a sauce pan combine the water, vinegar and salt then bring to a boil. You may want to turn on the fan if you’d care to avoid the fumes. When the solution has been brought to a boil, pour it over the veggies very carefully, to avoid splashes and burns. Make sure the vinegar solution hits all of the zucchini. Cover the dish and allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!

This recipe is intended to be consumed within a week.

Note: You can use pre-roasted red peppers, but I urge you not to. The texture is usually soggy and for this recipe you want to be sure they stay structurally sound. Also, the solution they are stored in will interfere with the overall quality of the dish, clouding not only the herbs, but the true flavor of the vegetables themselves. That is also the reason I have added water to the dish, I don’t want the vinegar to take center stage, but to be a supporting actor.

For topping a toasted baguette: slice a strip of zucchini in half through the width. Toast baguette slices and spread with ricotta mixed with parsley, basil garlic and seasonings then top with two sliced of zucchini in a little X.

If you seem to be having a feeling of deja vu upon visiting my site lately, not to worry, you’re not alone. You see this time last year I was eagerly awaiting a platoon of movers to descend on my home and in a tornado of wooden spoons, finials and woven baskets to help me [...]]]>

If you seem to be having a feeling of deja vu upon visiting my site lately, not to worry, you’re not alone. You see this time last year I was eagerly awaiting a platoon of movers to descend on my home and in a tornado of wooden spoons, finials and woven baskets to help me move to a new home. This time last year, I was also writing a recipe for potato salad to share with you and by complete happenstance I have found myself, this very week, writing another one for you. I debated on whether or not I should share it with you because of that. But, as this weekend it is the unofficial kickoff to summer here in the United States, I have decided to go with it. Maybe I’ll even make it a Memorial Day weekend tradition.

I love potato salad, always have, but I’m tired of the traditional kind. The salad I shared with you last year was packed with herbs, lemon and smoked salmon, but still had a base of mayonnaise. This year I have decided to shake things up a bit. I used a dressing of chevre that I drenched over a canvas of roasted potatoes, fresh zucchini with a few added flavor sensations in the form of Niman Ranch apple wood smoked ham and roasted piquillo peppers. As with most of my recipes this is not the same old potato salad you grew up with. I hope you enjoy this latest incarnation of potato salad.

Potato Salad with Chevre and Zucchini

6 ounces Chevre, at room temp

1/4 cup Natural Yogurt

1 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar

2 Small Shallots, sliced thin and caramelized

1-2 TBS Flat Leaf Parsley

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste (I like a good healthy dose)

Sea Salt (optional, between the ham and chevre you may find you don’t need any)

6 medium sized Red Potatoes or Yukon Gold, roasted, cooled and sliced

2 small Zucchini, sliced

1 1/2 cups good quality Smoked Ham, diced

2 Roasted Piquillo Peppers, sliced into thin strips

A huge handful of Micro Greens or sprouts (I used an assortment)

In a large bowl combine: chevre, yogurt, vinegar, caramelized shallots, parsley, pepper and salt and mix well. Add in the prepared zucchini, ham, piquillo and mix to coat. Add in the potatoes and micro green, folding gently so as not to destroy the potatoes in the process. Check for seasoning and chill for an hour or so before serving.

Leftover notes: I had some left over ingredients after making this salad and used the to make a lovely lunch for Phil and myself. In a small bowl I tossed some diced, ham chevre and a bit of pepper together and used it to stuff the remaining piquillo peppers and served them on a bed of lightly dressed micro greens. It was a lovely, fresh tasting lunch and made the most of my excess ingredients.

** Wish us luck this week, the movers will be here on Friday and we shove off on Sunday the 31st! Petaluma here we come!**

It seems as if a century has passed since that ridiculously snowy day in December. The day when the Metro bypassed my stop. The day I struggled and froze that mile and a half from downtown to my apartment with a box containing a brand new tripod (a Christmas gift for Phil), under one arm [...]]]>

It seems as if a century has passed since that ridiculously snowy day in December. The day when the Metro bypassed my stop. The day I struggled and froze that mile and a half from downtown to my apartment with a box containing a brand new tripod (a Christmas gift for Phil), under one arm and a fresh duck under the other. As I slipped and slid across the frozen streets I reminded myself that this recipe would be worth it, even if my timing was a bit off.

I jointed and salted my duck generously, allowing it to sit overnight before poaching it in an gluttonous generous amount of duck fat in the classic confit preparation before placing it in the fridge to hibernate for the next few weeks. Finally, after these long weeks of torment it is time to reveal the precious duck, which brings me to the recipe that started it all.

On occasion, I like to take myself out to a quiet lunch, to write and contemplate, one of my favorite places to do so is Cafe Campagne in Post Alley. Two months ago I decided it was time to put a stop on my streak of only ordering oeufs en meurette and sample something different when I chose the salade au confit de canard served with duck liver toasts. I forced myself to savor this meal despite wanting to devour it with great gusto, my notebook lay forgotten. The texture of the duck went beautifully with the cabbage and were matched with creamy chevre, tangy vinegar, crunchy pine nuts and the woodiness thyme. I am such a sucker for the characteristics of this dish, and after ordering it again on a few other occasions I decided that I must recreate this dish at home. A task which frankly was quite simple to do considering the fact that despite the strong flavors of each ingredient they all manage to shine through beautifully. I did not make the duck liver toasts with my salad, I ate it long ago.

I hope you enjoy this hearty winter recipe and I hope you recreate it at home. You can buy duck confit prepared, but it is such a simple preparation, I encourage you to try it yourself. I have never had the ready made kind and can not attest to it’s quality. Besides, making it at home leaves you with way more leftover duck fat to cook with!

Warm Duck Confit and Cabbage Salad

1 Duck, prepared in the style of duck confit

2-3 TBS Rendered Duck Fat

1/2 cup Bacon, diced (pancetta is also acceptable)

2-3 Shallots, sliced thin

1/2 of a Head of Red Cabbage

1/2 of a Head of Savoy Cabbage (I forgot and bought green cabbage, still good)

Sea Salt, optional (I’d try it first, the duck confit can be quite salty)

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

2-3 TBS Sherry Vinegar

1 TBS Dijon

1/2 cup Toasted Pine Nuts + a bit more to garnsh

1-2 TBS Fresh Thyme Leaves

Chevre, for sprinkling

Melt a small amount of duck fat in a large skillet. Remove the duck pieces from the fat, brushing off any excess and sear until crisp. Set aside and allow to cool before shredding.

Pour the duck fat in to a large pot fry up your bacon until crisp, adding the shallots about half way through. When the shallots are soft, toss in the cabbage and allow to wilt a little before adding the sherry vinegar, Dijon and pepper. Toss in the duck confit, thyme and pine nuts just before plating. Top with chevre and a little extra fresh thyme.

Serves 4-6 as a main course

Enjoy!

Tips: Save the skin to fry up for duck crackling and the bones for some yummy duck stock.

If you are located in the greater Seattle area, check out Uwajimaya for the rendered duck fat, they have the best price hands down.

I bought my duck from Don and Joe’s Meat in Pike Place Market, their ducks looked great and the price was right.

Here are some links to some great duck confit posts:

Burnt Lumpia

David Lebovitz

Chocolate & Zucchini