"We should have this salad more often," Larry says. Well, that's the problem, isn't it? Maybe I should call this post Stone Salad. Here's how it works:
You'll need a bag of baby spinach. No problem. ( I hope you pull the stems off the spinach before serving it to anyone . . . I never feel more like a large farm animal than when I'm forking a bite of that mesclun, or baby spinach, into my mouth and having to deal with the stems, which never quite make it entirely inside. I don't care if all the Vitamin C resides in the stems.)
How about some basil, whole, which you just harvested before the predicted frost turns all the bright greenery to compost. Snip the leaves off into the bowl of spinach.
Some red onion, sliced whisper thin, maybe soaked for the duration of cocktail hour in cold water to mitigate it's intensity.
Half an avocado, chunked.
A good start. What else is in the refrigerator?
Aha! Here's where this recipe takes off. That lovely grilled, lime-scented corn which friend Viki gave you last week. That would be so good (and it was), but you have to have been lucky enough to know Vik. Maybe you have something of the sort yourself.
And that piece of smoked chicken breast? Absolutely.
Anything else? Well, now for the dressing.
A clove a garlic, mashed into a paste with some large salt crystals, preferably acquired at that cute little salt shop over on the other side of the river.
A few tablespoons of red wine vinegar, about twice as much olive oil. Put these things into a pint mason jar so you can shake them into emulsion.
Now the recipe you may have been following, sort of, suggests 2 teaspoons of sugar. Really? In an olive-oil based dressing. Hmm. I decided not. Might have been good, but I'll never know.
Pour the dressing over, toss everything together. More salt? Pepper? You just have to taste it, always the cook's special appetizer course.
That's how it goes. At our house, Larry will say: "We use more spoons than any other family I know!" I think, but do not say, How do we know how many spoons other families may use? Still, he is right. If we want a fork, we reach into the silverware drawer. If we want a spoon, it's most likely in the dishwasher, not washed, of course. So, in the interest of scientific inquiry, how many spoons do each of you use in the course of a dishwasher's cycle? There seems to be some difficulty in commenting on this blog, but if you'd try again, I would really like to know the answer. Just how weird are we?
Now, at 8:00 in the evening, Larry is beginning to make a pot of chile for us to take across the mountains tomorrow. It has been cold here lately, and I hope we may find snow at elevation tomorrow. The winter lights are showing on all the trees along the city streets, Halloween decorations up. It's still dark late into the morning, and a season has turned. Trick or treat, and goodnight.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
THE RIVER
My so-called trainer, from the gym across the street, has been on maternity leave for several months, therefore, I'm on maternity leave as well. A darn good excuse, but not quite good enough. The weather has been fine, we live short blocks from the river, I have a step-counter and a nodding acquaintance with the idea of 10,000 steps a day, so life, now, looks like this. We wake, we brush our teeth, get dressed and head out to walk along the Willamette.
Here's what we saw, today: a freighter loading with wheat, we suppose, the letters on its side proclaiming Happy Results! under a Chinese character presumably making the same claim. It has sunk lower since yesterday, and must be shortly on its way across the Pacific. A fisherman down the tumbled rocks of the river bank, his coffee steaming beside the pole he judiciously adjusts to attract a salmon passing upstream to spawn. A fat man walking a tiny dog (his wife's?). A yellow tug positioning twin barges loaded with gravel, aiming downstream. Trains maneuvering along the east bank, whistles shrill against the morning sunlight. Above all, the whisper of a half moon in the bright sky, looking like a broken button, of no consequence.
This blog is supposed to be about recipes, about family. And on my return to my computer I learn that Roger has to wait another two weeks to learn, we hope, finally, how the doctors will plan to remove the shoe from his chest. How long oh Lord?
That's the family part, for this post.
As for a recipe? Thinking about the lone fisherman, here is a favorite of long standing. The kind to which the cookbook automatically opens when you take it from the shelf. In this case, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. It's not the sort of meal that your kids will love, but it's easy when you're just cooking for the grown-ups. The recipe, which I'll copy exactly, says it's for two people. In my opinion you don't need quite that much rice, but you should probably start with the stated amount and down-size next time if you agree.
2 firm fish fillets or steaks, 5 - 6 oz. each (halibut, after many iterations, my favorite)
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups coarsely chopped bok choy
2 scallions, chopped
sliced water chestnuts (as many as seem right to you)
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated ginger root
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 TBS soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
chili oil (optional)
(See below for editorial comments)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Take two 12 x 24 inch sheets aluminum foil, fold each to make a double thick square. Brush a little oil in the center part of each square.
Spread half the rice on the center of each square, then layer the bok choy, fish, scallions on top of the rice.
In a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and a few drops of chili oil if desired.
Pour half the sauce over each serving. Carefully fold into airtight packets. Bake for 20 minutes.
To serve, carefully open packet and transfer the contents to plates or bowls.
Comments:
1. Brown rice is best. You can use leftover rice from last night, or make the rice specifically for this recipe.
2. I haven't tried this with salmon, but I think it would work.
3. I make one and a half times the sauce recipe, as we like it deeper in flavor than as suggested by the author. And always use the chili oil.
4. You can make the packets up and put them in the refrig for a few hours ahead of time.
5. The packets have never leaked, but you should put them on a cookie sheet or tray in the oven, in case.
See, pretty easy, and the halibut, being steamed in the aromatics is fabulous. Yum!
Here's what we saw, today: a freighter loading with wheat, we suppose, the letters on its side proclaiming Happy Results! under a Chinese character presumably making the same claim. It has sunk lower since yesterday, and must be shortly on its way across the Pacific. A fisherman down the tumbled rocks of the river bank, his coffee steaming beside the pole he judiciously adjusts to attract a salmon passing upstream to spawn. A fat man walking a tiny dog (his wife's?). A yellow tug positioning twin barges loaded with gravel, aiming downstream. Trains maneuvering along the east bank, whistles shrill against the morning sunlight. Above all, the whisper of a half moon in the bright sky, looking like a broken button, of no consequence.
This blog is supposed to be about recipes, about family. And on my return to my computer I learn that Roger has to wait another two weeks to learn, we hope, finally, how the doctors will plan to remove the shoe from his chest. How long oh Lord?
That's the family part, for this post.
As for a recipe? Thinking about the lone fisherman, here is a favorite of long standing. The kind to which the cookbook automatically opens when you take it from the shelf. In this case, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. It's not the sort of meal that your kids will love, but it's easy when you're just cooking for the grown-ups. The recipe, which I'll copy exactly, says it's for two people. In my opinion you don't need quite that much rice, but you should probably start with the stated amount and down-size next time if you agree.
2 firm fish fillets or steaks, 5 - 6 oz. each (halibut, after many iterations, my favorite)
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups coarsely chopped bok choy
2 scallions, chopped
sliced water chestnuts (as many as seem right to you)
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated ginger root
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 TBS soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
chili oil (optional)
(See below for editorial comments)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Take two 12 x 24 inch sheets aluminum foil, fold each to make a double thick square. Brush a little oil in the center part of each square.
Spread half the rice on the center of each square, then layer the bok choy, fish, scallions on top of the rice.
In a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and a few drops of chili oil if desired.
Pour half the sauce over each serving. Carefully fold into airtight packets. Bake for 20 minutes.
To serve, carefully open packet and transfer the contents to plates or bowls.
Comments:
1. Brown rice is best. You can use leftover rice from last night, or make the rice specifically for this recipe.
2. I haven't tried this with salmon, but I think it would work.
3. I make one and a half times the sauce recipe, as we like it deeper in flavor than as suggested by the author. And always use the chili oil.
4. You can make the packets up and put them in the refrig for a few hours ahead of time.
5. The packets have never leaked, but you should put them on a cookie sheet or tray in the oven, in case.
See, pretty easy, and the halibut, being steamed in the aromatics is fabulous. Yum!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
PAELLA SALAD
So my friend Molly sends me an e-mail:"See you tonight at Meriwethers!" I stare at the computer, shocked. What? It's not that I hadn't remembered, I simply have no memory at all of making dinner plans with her. I scare myself. However, anyone would drop everything to have dinner with Molly, you would, too, so of course I jump at the chance. "See you there!" Actually, I had nothing to drop, wasn't doing anything, no plans, so kind of a win-win, except for the big blank space in my head.
Turns out the mistake was on Molly's calendar, not in my brain. Whew. We laugh, have a good dinner in the outdoor garden in the gentle evening air, lots of flowers in bloom, twinkly lights everywhere. Perfect. As was the scallop salad, which got me thinking about the following recipe.
It's been a workhorse for me, and although it seems a little daunting, you can put the ingredients together the day before a party, if that's how you're planning to use this.
Small digression here: my first thought was to pass along a recipe for scallops which was the first Julia Child recipe I ever attempted, "Coquille St. Jacques a al Parisienne." It's truly wonderful, shows up in the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I dragged the stepladder out of the closet and into the kitchen so I could reach Julia, who lives on the top shelf (for no very good reason), and found the page. But I would change nothing, so it seemed more sensible to simply point you to the recipe than copy it here. I don't know if you can find it on line, but you really should have the book, anyway.
Instead, this morning, here is "Paella Salad," as interpreted after many iterations. This recipe comes from another favorite book, the Nantucket Open-House Cookbook, which I must have come across while visiting Jenny on the magical island that summer. This cookbook is fat with recipes I like and is unusual in that I haven't simply parked on one or two recipes, but keep turning the pages for new treasures.
I've cut the formula in half for you, but even so you will end up with a party-sized amount. If this is just for 6 or 8 people, you can pare it down further (although it's darn good the next day as well, if you like left-overs)
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
1/2 tsp. fennel seds
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 large red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 whole boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh dry scallops
1 TBS each butter and oil
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 red pepper, seeded, small dice
1 yellow pepper, seeded, small dice
1/2 cup pitted black olives, sliced
2 cans marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil in large skillet. Stir in onion and garlic, cook, stirring 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in chicken stock. Simmer, covered, until liquid has been absorbed (approx. 35-40 minutes). (At this point you can put rice into large bowl, cover and refrigerate over night. )
2. Chop the vegetables and add to rice mixture
3. Saute sausage meat in skillet until cooked through, add to rice mix. In the same skillet, add oil if necessary, and saute chicken pieces until cooked through. Add to mix. In same skillet, saute shrimp until done, add to mix. The flavors of all these meats will blend if you don't wipe out the skillet between one meat and another.
4. Now clean skillet, return to burner and allow to get very hot. Add butter and oil and then scallops. Allow to sear on one side, then turn and sear other side until cooked through. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and add to mix.
5. Add all vegetables and olives to mix and toss well. Combine lemon juice and mayonnaise and pour over salad, tossing and mixing well. Season to taste. And that's it.
I like to cook all the meats and chop the veggies and keep everything in the refrig overnight. Several hours before serving, set everything out to bring to room temperature, then combine everything and add the dressing. Kind of a lot of prep, and this way, you can get the kitchen clean, go pick up the kids from school, take one of them to soccer, get pizza for dinner and have a great dish ready for the party the next night.
And don't forget to put Julia Child's volume on your letter to Santa, if you don't have it already!
Turns out the mistake was on Molly's calendar, not in my brain. Whew. We laugh, have a good dinner in the outdoor garden in the gentle evening air, lots of flowers in bloom, twinkly lights everywhere. Perfect. As was the scallop salad, which got me thinking about the following recipe.
It's been a workhorse for me, and although it seems a little daunting, you can put the ingredients together the day before a party, if that's how you're planning to use this.
Small digression here: my first thought was to pass along a recipe for scallops which was the first Julia Child recipe I ever attempted, "Coquille St. Jacques a al Parisienne." It's truly wonderful, shows up in the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I dragged the stepladder out of the closet and into the kitchen so I could reach Julia, who lives on the top shelf (for no very good reason), and found the page. But I would change nothing, so it seemed more sensible to simply point you to the recipe than copy it here. I don't know if you can find it on line, but you really should have the book, anyway.
Instead, this morning, here is "Paella Salad," as interpreted after many iterations. This recipe comes from another favorite book, the Nantucket Open-House Cookbook, which I must have come across while visiting Jenny on the magical island that summer. This cookbook is fat with recipes I like and is unusual in that I haven't simply parked on one or two recipes, but keep turning the pages for new treasures.
I've cut the formula in half for you, but even so you will end up with a party-sized amount. If this is just for 6 or 8 people, you can pare it down further (although it's darn good the next day as well, if you like left-overs)
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
1/2 tsp. fennel seds
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 large red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 whole boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh dry scallops
1 TBS each butter and oil
1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
1 red pepper, seeded, small dice
1 yellow pepper, seeded, small dice
1/2 cup pitted black olives, sliced
2 cans marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups mayonaise
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil in large skillet. Stir in onion and garlic, cook, stirring 5 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with oil. Cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in chicken stock. Simmer, covered, until liquid has been absorbed (approx. 35-40 minutes). (At this point you can put rice into large bowl, cover and refrigerate over night. )
2. Chop the vegetables and add to rice mixture
3. Saute sausage meat in skillet until cooked through, add to rice mix. In the same skillet, add oil if necessary, and saute chicken pieces until cooked through. Add to mix. In same skillet, saute shrimp until done, add to mix. The flavors of all these meats will blend if you don't wipe out the skillet between one meat and another.
4. Now clean skillet, return to burner and allow to get very hot. Add butter and oil and then scallops. Allow to sear on one side, then turn and sear other side until cooked through. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and add to mix.
5. Add all vegetables and olives to mix and toss well. Combine lemon juice and mayonnaise and pour over salad, tossing and mixing well. Season to taste. And that's it.
I like to cook all the meats and chop the veggies and keep everything in the refrig overnight. Several hours before serving, set everything out to bring to room temperature, then combine everything and add the dressing. Kind of a lot of prep, and this way, you can get the kitchen clean, go pick up the kids from school, take one of them to soccer, get pizza for dinner and have a great dish ready for the party the next night.
And don't forget to put Julia Child's volume on your letter to Santa, if you don't have it already!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)