Wait, Wait, Don't Go Yet!

I don’t know what the weather is like where you live, but here in Atlanta it has morphed into autumn. One day it was hot and humid, then suddenly the air had that “cool” freshness to it and our sunlight became mellower and more golden. Today I saw a family of gold finches in our backyard, clearly on their migratory trail to warmer climates.  Summer, where did you go?

Despite the fact that I had a crazy, busy summer, I did manage to cook a lot. I just didn’t get around to blogging about it. In a perfect world, I would post every recipe immediately for you but hey – that’s not my reality. Unfortunately, I got too distracted with things like moving kids, wedding cake and other road trips, ailing parents, flat tires, varmints in the back yard and misbehaving washing machines. You get the picture. It’s called Life.

But even though it’s the end of summer, I have to give you the scoop on some of the best seasonal salads I know. It’s not too late to make them, as all of the vegetables and herbs you will need are still in abundance. It’s not too difficult to make them, as all of these recipes are a snap. In fact, the mushroom salad is so easy, you will probably laugh at me. Just remember my mantra that sometimes the sum is greater than the whole of its parts!

MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PARMIGIANO REGGIANO

12 oz. fresh white mushrooms, wiped clean
4 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved
¼ cup best quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Several sprigs of Italian parsley

Trim mushrooms and cut into paper-thin slices. Arrange them decoratively on a round serving platter.

Sprinkle the shaved Parmigiano Reggiano over, then drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice. Season assertively with salt and pepper to taste. Tear the parsley leaves into small pieces and scatter over the salad.  Let sit at room temperature until ready to serve.  May be made one hour in advance.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

COUSCOUS AND BLACK BEAN SALAD

3 cups cooked couscous (I really don’t need to explain this, do I?)
1 ½ cups cooked, drained black beans (canned are fine, just rinse and drain them)
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (if you hate cilantro, you can use Italian parsley)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine couscous, black beans, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro and cumin in a large bowl. Stir well to combine.

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over couscous mixture and stir gently. Taste to adjust seasonings.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

DILLED CORN SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK DRESSING (adapted from food52)

For the salad:
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed with a sharp knife
½ of a European (seedless) cucumber, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
¼ cup minced Italian parsley
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

For the dressing:
¼ cup buttermilk
2/3 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon champagne (or white wine) vinegar
½ of a Vidalia (or other sweet onion), minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine shallot, corn, cucumber, red pepper, dill and parsley. Stir to blend.

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, onion and garlic. Whisk to combine then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing over corn mixture. Taste to adjust seasonings, then sprinkle with the crumbled feta cheese.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

GREEK PANZANELLA (adapted from Ina Garten)

For the salad:
6 cups diced rustic bread (1-inch cubes)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 European (seedless) cucumber, halved and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and large-diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and large-diced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

For the dressing:
¼ cup good red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

To assemble:
1 cup diced feta cheese
½ cup pitted kalamata olives
¼ cup drained capers

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Toss the bread cubes with the olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet. Season well with salt and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning once, until bread is toasted and lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl and toss together.

For the dressing, place the vinegar, garlic, dried oregano and mustard in a bowl and whisk together. Season well with salt and pepper and whisk in the ½ cup of olive oil in a slow stream until mixture emulsifies. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Add the cooled bread to the vegetables in the bowl and toss to combine. Pour the dressing over and mix well. Stir in the feta, kalamata olives and capers. Taste to adjust seasoning and serve.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

*  Now I realize I'm not giving you any ooey-gooey dessert recipes in this post, but bear with me here.  It's not always about sugar (and butter) in this blog!  Go ahead - treat yourself to one of these lovely salads instead.

*  I'm thinking I might make all 4 of these and invite some friends over for an end-of-summer salad party this weekend.  I'll mix up some pitchers of sangria and pomegranate cosmos and we can enjoy an evening on the patio.  Sounds like a plan - I'll just need to remind everyone to bring sweaters!



Hazelnuts, Continued

In my last post, I failed to mention that Henry also loves beets. Again, not my favorite, but when we were up in North Georgia recently and stumbled upon some at a local farmstand, I caved and bought a few.  Anything for Henry, right?

Of course, since I was in the middle of testing hazelnut recipes, the challenge then became how to pair them with beets.  Well, why not?  A beet salad with goat cheese and candied walnuts is certainly not unheard of.

But the idea of candied hazelnuts did not excite me.  Nor did yet another variation on a beet and goat cheese salad.  I perused a few cookbooks.  Nothing.

Then I picked up my copy of "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook" by Judy Rodgers.  (This book was published in 2002 and it is a treasure.  If you can get your hands on it, I would strongly advise adding it to your library).  I came across her recipe for Watercress Salad with Beets and Walnut-Mascarpone Crostini.  Hmmm....

I replaced the watercress with arugula (because that's what I had on hand and I couldn't find watercress anyway) and the walnuts with hazelnuts.  Here is the delicious result:

ROASTED BEETS WITH ARUGULA AND HAZELNUT-MASCARPONE CROSTINI
(adapted from "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook" by Judy Rodgers)

For the beets:
1 lb. whole, fresh beets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups arugula leaves, washed and dried

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Scrub beets well and trim both ends. Place in a baking dish and add enough water to come up to ¼-inch. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake until beets are tender, about 35 – 45 minutes, depending upon size of beets. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer or cake tester into the center of a beet. Remove from oven and leave covered for about 5 minutes to finish cooking. Let cool briefly until they are easily handled.

Rub or peel skins from beets (it’s a good idea to wear plastic gloves if you have them so your hands won’t turn purple). Trim ends again and slice beets into wedges. Place in a bowl and dress with salt and pepper, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Let marinate 10 minutes, then add arugula. Toss gently and taste to adjust seasoning. Place in serving bowls or plates and garnish with the crostini.

For the crostini:

8 small baguette slices, toasted

½ cup mascarpone cheese

½ cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Spread each bread slice with mascarpone and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

Serves 4

As you know, I am a salt freak and it is a rare day when I don't use it.  My instinct was to sprinkle a little over the crostini but I resisted the impulse and I was right.  The richness of the mascarpone paired with the sweetness and crunchiness of the hazelnuts was subtle and perfect - and it would have been ruined by the added salt.  Trust me on this one!

Final Farewell

I'm not referring to anything serious here.  Lucy is still okay as are all my dogs and all the people in my life.  Believe me, I count my blessings every day ....

No, this is about Durham.  One more time.  You may remember my post about the place and about Watts Grocery a few months ago.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/05/bye-bye-durham.html

I still love Watts Grocery.  But we had a memorable "last supper" at Vin Rouge and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about it.

A French bistro in Durham?  Yup, and a damn good one.  This was not our first meal there; indeed it was usually on our list of favorite places everytime we visited, but this meal was particularly wonderful. 

http://www.ghgrestaurants.com/vinrouge/vinrouge.html

It started with our server, Jason.  He is what every server (even the ones at the French Laundry and Per Se) should aspire to.  Professional yet personable.  REALLY knowledgeable about the menu and the wine.  When it came time for dessert, we were too satiated, but Henry lamented the fact that chocolate mousse was on the menu.  Several minutes later, Jason quietly slipped a mini-serving in front of him and we never saw it on our check at the end of the evening.  Now that's what I call exemplary service.

When it came time to order a bottle of wine (de rigueur at every meal for us, duh, no wonder we aren't skinny), General Manager Michael Maller showed up to help.  He and Henry had a spirited discussion about French reds at which point Michael said, "Wait, I'll be right back.  You have to try this."  THIS turned out to be a taste of - you won't believe it - wine FROM A BOX!  Surprisingly enough, it was really good!

It came from St. Joseph in the northern Rhone valley of France.  It is made by Eric Texier who is Michael's favorite producer.  Apparently he only made two barrels of it in the 2008 vintage and all of it came to Durham.  Vin Rouge is the only restaurant in the world to have it in the boxes.  What fun!

I was smart enough to order the Dijon mussels, which were fabulous.  Even more fabulous though, was the bowl they came in.  It was cast iron, slightly tilted and had a grate along the side which allowed for the Dijon butter sauce to flow out unimpeded so you could dip both mussels and bread into it.  Brilliant!  Check it out:

http://www.chefsresource.com/11025.html

The chef at Vin Rouge is Matt Kelly.  I don't know him personally, but I can attest to the fact that he knows his way around a kitchen.

My favorite salad at Vin Rouge involves Bibb lettuce, haricot vert, radishes and Dijon vinaigrette.  Here's my take on it.

BIBB LETTUCE SALAD  (in the style of Vin Rouge)

Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Haricot vert (French green beans), trimmed and blanched
Radishes, thinly sliced

Dijon Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of granulated sugar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive (I like Olio Santo)

Place Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar in a bowl and whisk together.  Add olive oil in a think stream and whisk to emulsify.  Taste to adjust seasonings.

*the above is the classic way to make a vinaigrette.  If you want my down and dirty way, just put everything in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to blend.  I'm just sayin'.

Place lettuce leaves in a bowl with blanched haricot verts and radishes.  Add a minimal amount of dressing (less is more) and toss gently.  Plate and serve immediately.


Note:  in the interest of full disclosure, I couldn't find haricot vert at Whole Paycheck Foods, so I had to settle for locally grown green beans.  Fair enough.

Henry's Birthday, Part One

Henry's birthday was last week.  Now, we've been together for a lot of years, so I'm pretty burned out on ideas about what to get him or how to celebrate.  I mean, how many shirts does he need, anyway?

Besides, he could care less about clothes.  Those of you who know him can certainly attest to that!  He does care about wine, but he is far more knowledgeable about it than I, so forget it.  What to do?

Fortunately, I waited until the last minute because I couldn't think of anything (that, however, reminds me of the time my ex-husband didn't buy me a Christmas present for precisely the same reason - need I mention again why I am no longer married to him?)  In this case though, my procrastination paid off.

Our awesome friend Lynne (Sawicki) is the owner/chef of Sawicki's here in Decatur.  If you want it, she's got it or can get it.  Her sandwiches and desserts are legendary.  She specializes in meat and seafood but has expanded her scope to include catering services as well.  She knows her way around a kitchen like nobody's business.

http://www.sawickisfoods.com/

She decided it was time to host a farm-to-table dinner at the shop.  The date coincided with - you guessed it - Henry's birthday.  Way to go, Lynne!

Here is her menu.  Click on it so you can read it.  We could not have had a finer meal in the most expensive restaurant in Atlanta.   AND we got to bring our own wine.  That 1977 Chalone Pinot we rescued from Henry's collection was
P-R-E-T-T-Y wonderful.  Happy birthday, Henry!

Watermelon gazpacho with squash blossoms

The roasted trout with peeled cherry tomatoes, no less.

I could have made a meal of this!

The pork.  Picture doesn't do it justice.

I would SO order this again!

The cheese course.  You're kidding me, right?

Here is my adaptation of Lynne's baby squash salad.  So good and so refreshing.  It was a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the roasted pork and the potato tartilette.

SQUASH SALAD  (adapted from Lynne Sawicki)

2 organic yellow squash (the smaller, the better)
2 organic zucchini (the smaller, the better)
1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Slice squash and zucchini into very thin rounds.  (If possible, use a mandoline slicer as you want the thinnest possible slices).  Place into a bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together sherry wine vinegar and honey.  Drizzle olive oil in a thin stream, whisking well to emulsify.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Taste to adjust seasonings.

Sprinkle cilantro over squash.  Stir to combine.  Pour about 1/4 cup of the dressing over the squash and toss well.  Add a little more dressing if needed but do not overdress.  Any leftover dressing can be refrigerated for another use.  Taste to adjust seasonings.

Serves 4

So no worries, after this meal, I'm a long way from being a skinny cook.  Trust me on that one!  But, it was SO worth it.  Lynne - when is the next one?  We're there!

Teaching Mom to Cook

Henry and I have long believed that, at some point in life, your parents become your children.  That's fine and we can deal with it when it happens but here's the scary thing:  we're the parents! 

Sometimes I see it when we're around the kids and we do or say something they think is idiotic (which is frequent) and they just look at each other and roll their eyes.  You know that look.  It's something like "did they really just do that?  Clearly they are starting to lose it."  They're probably thinking about what nursing home they're going to put us in and how in the hell they're ever going to get the basement cleaned out.  Whatever.

I will admit though, when Andy was home recently, I learned a few cooking tricks from him.  Lord, I hope he never reads this blog!  But as I mentioned before, he's got that food gene and he knows how to balance tastes.

Since he was keeping kosher for Passover while here (which meant no restaurants, bummer), he stocked my kitchen so he could prepare meals for himself.  I cringed when he brought home dehydrated minced onion.  He also brought something called "zahatar."  It's an Israeli spice mix, primarily with sesame seed and coriander.

One day he made himself a salad for lunch.  I wasn't paying much attention, busy doing whatever (probably making gefilte fish) so I didn't notice what he put in it.  Then he offered me a taste.

Holy crap, it was amazing.  It was crunchy, salty, savory, lemony, oniony and flat-out delicious.  What on earth did he put in it?

Turns out it was similar to a salad he had in Israel (he loves the place).  He recreated it.  I can't give you an exact recipe, but I can tell you what he put in it.  Make it according to your taste, but trust me (you can, I'm not skinny) MAKE IT!

ANDY'S SALAD

Salad greens (he used heirloom lettuce leaves, slightly sturdier than mesclun mix)
Dehydrated minced onion, to taste
Pistachio nuts, to taste
Crumbled goat feta, to taste
Zahatar seasoning, to taste
Fresh lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place salad greens in a bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and toss well to blend.  That's it.  Make it for 1 person or make it for 20. 

So much for my food integrity.  Those dehydrated onions turned out to be crucial to the salad.  Who knew?

Oh, and remember that macaroon recipe I posted recently?  He tweaked that one also.  He made it into a macaroon pie (again kosher for Passover) and he added orange and cardamom.  It didn't look pretty, but it sure tasted good! 

ANDY'S MACAROON PIE

10 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
20 oz. almonds (not roasted)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 9 extra-large eggs)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon orange zest
Candied orange zest for garnish (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Lightly grease two 9-inch glass pie plates or baking dishes.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler over very low heat until smooth.  Set aside to cool.  In a food processor, grind almonds and sugar together (in batches) until very fine and almost powdery.  Place in bowl of electric mixer and add remaining ingredients.  Beat on low speed until just blended; do do overbeat.  Alternatively, you could do this by hand with a whisk or large wooden spoon).

Pour mixture into prepared pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.  It will still seem soft in the midde, but it will firm up as it cools.

Let cool to room temperature before serving.  Top with candied orange peel and whipped cream, if desired.

Serves 12-14

Well, if I do end up becoming their children, at least they know how to cook!