Peppers
The peppers are suddenly multiplying, outside. What started off as a pretty dismal season has finally turned fruitful. I had enough to can and Victor had enough to make pepper bread.
Pepper Bread. It's one of those things that is just fantastic in its simplicity. It bursts with flavor - and the spicier the peppers, the better the bread. Even Nonna likes it.
Pepper Bread
- 2 cups peppers
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Slice peppers lengthwise and fry in olive oil until limp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside and cool.
Mix yeast and water in mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, and olive oil and mix about 3 minutes.
Scrape down bowl and mix, adding the last 1/2 cup flour, as necessary, until dough is smooth and silken.
Roll into a ball and let rest 10 minutes.
Roll into a rectangle about 15" x 8". Spread cooled peppers on dough.
Roll tightly and place on sheet pan.
Bake at 400° about 25-30 minutes.
And while that was cooling, I cut peppers.
Hot Pickled Peppers
- 6 lbs hot peppers
- 6 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 tsp kosher salt
Wash and cut peppers to desired size. (I made rings. )
Pack peppers into mason jars leaving about 1/2″ headroom.
Combine and heat sugar, salt, vinegar, and water. Bring to boil and then simmer about 5-6 minutes.
Pour over peppers, leaving the same 1/2″ headroom.
Wipe rims of jars, top with lids and rings.
Process in a boiling water bath about 10 minutes.
And, because we needed something to eat with the pepper bread, I made soup.
Beef, spicy andouille sausage, lots of veggies and elbow macaroni.
We're eating good.
Chocolate Cookies
I was really in the mood for cookies, tonight.
I suppose I'm always in the mood for cookies - which is why I make them and don't buy them. We try to keep the instant gratification foods to a minimum around the house. If we want a treat, we have to make it. It's not like either of us can't have a batch of cookies out of the oven in 20 minutes or less, but it's still more effort than going to the cupboard and getting down the box. Treats take a modicum of planning.
My first thought was a basic chocolate chip - I can make those in my sleep - but as I was starting to pull ingredients together, I remembered a double chocolate cookie that starts off with a pound of melted chocolate. And I just happened to have a pound of chocolate waiting to be melted!
The joys of a well-stocked larder...
All I needed to do was find the recipe - which I did in a matter of minutes.
I'm glad I found the recipe. These are some fine cookies! Much more cake-like and really really chocolaty. They're light, fudgy, and and intense - all at the same time! I ate four of them - and then went back for one more!
As with all things, the better the ingredients, the better the end result. I used a really good 72% dark chocolate. I wouldn't waste my time melting chocolate chips...
These would handle crushed peppermint candy really well. I may have to think about making a batch at Christmas...
Double Chocolate Cookies
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pound good-quality dark chocolate
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line cookie sheets with parchmant paper.
Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Coarsely chop chocolate. Melt together 3/4 of the chocolate and 1 cube of butter in medium bowl - in double boiler or microwave. Stir in sugar.
Stir in eggs 1 at a time and then add flour mixture until just combined.
Chill dough about 20 minutes.
Use a 1 tbsp scoop and dish out cookies about 1" apart. Bake in middle of oven about 8 minutes.
Cool cookies on sheet pan about 5 minutes and then place on rack to cook completely. Makes about 42 cookies.
Yeah... I definitely see more of these in our future...
Feed A Cold...
The Dreaded Summer Cold.
It really is one of the worst (non-life-threatening) illnesses out there. Ya feel like crud, there's nothing you can take to make you actually feel better, you lose your sense of taste and smell... It is just no fun.
Mine has been lingering in the peripheral of life - just enough to feel headachy and out of sorts. It's hit Victor Full-Tilt-Boogie. Imagine hacking and coughing and mountains of Kleenex and you get the picture. I merely feel meh - he feels really rotten.
So we started the week with a thin-broth Chicken Soup. There are a score of studies out there that show the medicinal properties of chicken soup. It really is Jewish penicillin. It hasn't seemed to cure anything this time around, though, but I'm going to make another batch tonight.
I also made some Beer Bread because it's easy and can be on the table in an hour. The recipe is totally no-brainer and can be played with to your liking.
I used Guinness in this batch because it's what I had in the 'fridge.
Since man - or Nonna - cannot live by soup alone, I stayed with the chicken theme, but added a twist - pureed carrots and peach-pepper jam. Capsasin is also a miracle food. We had the carrot puree at my sister's house in Portland a few weeks back - under her famous crab cakes.
I grilled the chicken and topped it with the Peach-Pepper Jam.
For the carrot puree, I cooked carrots until they were really soft, and then blended them with salt, pepper, butter, and a bit of maple syrup. I saved a bit of the cooking water and used it to get the right consistency.I used my immersion blender but a regular blender will work just fine.
One of my favorite Lundgerg rice blends on the side...
Feeling the need for Comfort Food, I next made a beef pot pie with biscuit topping. And I used canned biscuits. Yes, it's true. I was sick. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
And while they weren't horrible, there really is a reason why I make my own. Homemade really are better. The big secret to making a biscuit top is to make sure the filling is REALLY hot before putting the biscuits on and placing everything into the oven. If the filling is cold, the biscuit will burn before the bottom cooks. Ask me how I know.
I made a pretty basic beef stew - another item I really don't have a recipe for - put too much into the casserole, and it bubbled over everything. I did place it on a sheetpan in the oven, so I spared us the billowing clouds of smoke I'm famous for.
Still looking for Comfort Food, I next went for Tortellini with sauce made from fresh tomatoes out of our garden.
Victor made the sauce. It's pretty much just throwing tomatoes in a skillet with some onion, garlic, red wine, some grated cheese, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs from the garden. Hit it with an immersion blender.
One of the bigger mistakes a lot of people do is try and replicate jarred sauces or flavors from packaged foods. Food manufactures are chemists who manipulate foods, ingredients, enhancers - you name it - to trick the brain into thinking it's good. Even All-Natural-Organic foods can contain ingredients like carrageenan that create an otherwise unnatural creaminess. It's like the biscuits I used. The ingredient list was a mile long - and they're "all-natural."
Real food tastes like real food. It's okay if your sauce doesn't taste like Ragu. in fact, it's better if it doesn't!
In the meantime, I'm off to make another pot of soup.
Peach Pepper Jam
I had peaches. I had fresh peppers from the garden. I had canning jars. Time to make some jam.
Every summer when peach season hits its peak, I think of my sister, Arlene, and the peach orchard she used to live on. It was peach-everything back in those days. Pies, cobblers, salsa... just eating them out-of-hand with juice running down your arm. Good times, indeed.
Fast-forward to today, and I have 4 pounds of pretty awesome California peaches and a dozen or so long hot peppers that are just waiting to be chopped and boiled and placed into sterile jars.
I don't have any fancy canning equipment, so I stick with high-acid items and the basic water bath. Maybe one day I'll get a pressure cooker - but it probably won't be this week.
Canning is not difficult and it's not even particularly time-consuming. That being said, I remember my grandmother canning vegetables and jams back when I was a kid in a sweltering kitchen. She mostly did paraffin-topped canning where thin layers of paraffin wax were poured into the jars and built up to about a half-inch to seal them before the lids were added. My mother flat-out refused to can. Being able to buy frozen and canned vegetables at the store was a luxury she totally took advantage of.
And I tend to make smaller batches of things. It really is different doing it because I want to rather than having to in order to feed my family. Talk about being spoiled. Today was just 24 4-ounce jars. Perfect for gifts at Christmas!
The peppers we're growing are pretty hot when left unseeded, so I seeded them before chopping them in the food processor. And I didn't peel the peaches. I rarely peel anything. I also chopped the peaches in the food processor but left a few chunks for texture and interest.
24 jars later... 15 minutes in the water bath, and every one sealed.
Peach Pepper Jam
(makes about 24 1/2-cup jars)
- 4 lbs peaches, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups minced hot peppers
- 2 cups white balsamic vinegar
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 pkg powdered fruit pectin
Finely mince peppers in food processor. Finely chop peaches in food processor.
Mix pectin with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Add it, along with the peppers, peaches, and vinegar to saucepan. Heat to boil, stirring occasionally.
Add remaining sugar, stirring well, and let boil at a full rolling boil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, skim foam from top, and place in hot sterile jars.
Wipe rims, top with lids and rings, and process in boiling water bath about 15 minutes.
It came out spicy-sweet! Perfect for topping chicken or pork - or on a cracker with cheese...
I don't know how many more peppers we're going to be getting... I'm hoping to be able to can a bunch of them, as well - I just used up my last jar from last year - but the bounty doesn't seem as prolific as last year...
We shall see...
Stuffed Shells
I was walking through the grocery store today, and while looking for my favorite mini rigatoni, I saw a box of shells. Large shells. The kind of shells you stuff with cheese. Never one to fight an impulse-buy, I grabbed one and started planning a meal...
Stuffed Shells isn't my normal August-Go-To-Meal, but it wasn't sweltering, today, and Nonna does like her pasta. And even though Victor and I both like our pasta, too, it's much easier to blame things on the little old lady living in the house, ya know?!?
So through the store I went, finishing my shopping. The only thing I needed was the cheese for the filling - I had everything else at home. I grabbed ricotta, farmers cheese, and fresh mozzarella.
This was definitely a wing-it recipe. I took pieces-parts of things already in the house for the sauce, blended a couple of cheeses for the filling, and popped it in the oven.
First was cooking the shells...
I cooked the whole pound not really knowing how many I was going to need. I ended up with about 8 extra.
And then I started the sauce.
I pureed about 5 tomatoes from the garden and added about a cup of oven-roasted plum tomatoes in olive oil.
In a skillet, I browned off 6 spicy Italian sausages, added a container of sauce from the freezer, and the fresh and oven-roasted tomatoes, above.
I also had about a quarter-head of cauliflower that had seen better days, so it got chopped up and added to the pot. Waste not, want not.
Next came the filling.
The filling was simplicity, itself. A container of ricotta, 8 ounces of farmers cheese, 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, and about 2 ounces of granna padano. I put it all into the food processor with a handful of parsley, a pinch of garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I didn't add any binder - no eggs or any of that stuff. I figured the cheeses would stand up on their own. And they did.
I filled the shells using a pastry bag because it's a lot easier than trying to do it with a spoon. Go out and buy a couple of pastry bags. They're cheap. And they come in handy.
I added some sausage to the pans, added more sauce, covered one and baked it at 350° for about an hour. The other was frozen and then vacuum-packed for later.
We had lots of thick-sliced Italian bread and butter to sop up the sauce.
Nonna cleaned her plate. So did we.
New York, New York
I grew up calling the strip loin steak a New York Steak. The restaurants where I worked had New York steaks on the menu. Not that I bought many in my youth, but it seems to me that at Lou or Phil Lehr's Steakhouse in San Francisco - the scene of a couple of pre-prom dinners - it was called a New York, as well. The Lehr brothers both had steakhouses and I think they both had a "by the ounce" menu. You chose your steak from a huge refrigerated case and they cut your steak in front of you before cooking it to perfection. The eyeballs were always bigger than the pocketbook. Not an inexpensive dinner, but always good for a prom. They're both gone, now, but the memory lingers on...
I'm not sure when I even became aware of the numerous different names for the cut - strip steak, sirloin strip, Kansas City steak, club steak - to name but a few, but regardless of what it is called, my mind sees New York. It just is. And I also see Ernie, the butcher at the Hyatt in Cambridge when I worked there in the early '80s. I learned more about quality beef from him than anyone else. He would come out of his butcher area when a shipment of meat arrived and wordlessly go through, check, and accept or reject pieces. It was classic the way he could wither someone with a look. I was the receiving manager when I first met him and even though I had cut and cooked a bazillion steaks by 1980, I hadn't really purchased them. I really learned a lot from him.
It was a definite impulse-buy when I saw the package of them at the store the other day, but they just looked right. The fact that they were on sale pretty much clinched the deal. They still weren't cheap, but they were affordable.
Quality means simplicity, so they only got salt and pepper before going on the grill. They didn't require anything else after coming off the grill, either. Ernie would have been proud.
I had some cheese that needed using up, so cheesy scalloped potatoes were a natural addition. I made them slightly different, this time - I heated the milk and started with only half the cheese. And I cooked them a lot longer.
I do have to admit that they came out pretty stellar. I used red leister, havarti, and gorgonzola cheeses in the dish, but about 6 or more ounces of any cheese or cheese combination would work. Use what you have in the 'fridge. It's how I make mac & cheese, as well.
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
- 6-8 oz freshly-grated flavorful cheese - any combination
- 2 lbs potatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter oven-proof baking dish. Mix cheeses and set aside.
Layer half of potatoes in pdish. Sprinkle with flour. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter and dust with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of cheese mixture over. Top with remaining potatoes, dust with salt & pepper, and dot with butter. Save remaining cheese for later.Bring milk to simmer and pour over potatoes.. Cover tightly with foil and bake about an hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Return to oven uncovered and bake about 45 more minutes or until cheese is crusty-golden-brown.
I hardly ever peel potatoes - I see no need to and I like the skins - so peel or not as you desire.
And having nothing to do with dinner tonight, I roasted a bunch of plum tomatoes from our yard.
I sliced them in half, laid them out on a sheet pan, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled them with salt & pepper, and then roasted them at 350° for about an hour. When they came out, I placed them in a container and added more olive oil.
They have a really awesome concentrated tomato flavor and the oil will be great for salads or other drizzling.
Happy Birthday To Me!
Another birthday. How sweet it is!
61. A nice number. Other than a few aches and pains, I'm feeling pretty good. And today, I've been eating good!
Victor decided to cook for me - something that is always appreciated. What was even more appreciated is he made a dish he'd never make for himself - even though he does like it. Stuffed Cabbage.
But first - birthday cake.
This is a knock-off of a Flourless Chocolate Cake from Tyler Florence. Victor's been making it for years, now and I really - really - like it.
Nonna took one look at the cake and said "Is that the cake? What happened to it?" We laughed and told he that's what it was supposed to look like. She was unconvinced.
Victor’s Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
- 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1 stick butter
- 9 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pt raspberries, mashed with a fork
- 1/4 cup strong espresso coffee
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Melt chocolate and butter together.
Beat egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Stir in a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs then mix in the rest of the chocolate mixture. Stir in coffee and raspberries and mix well.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.
Mound some raspberries on top and voila! Dessert is served!
It's rich, it's fudgy, it's mouthwateringly delicious.
And then we have the stuffed cabbage. We did eat this before cake. Really.
This is an Ina Garten recipe. We can usually count on the Barefoot Contessa to have a decent recipe.We both like her style. Victor made this a couple of years ago for the first time and really enjoyed it. Cabbage is not anywhere on his top 100 list of foods, so I was actually surprised the first time he made it. And pleased. I love cabbage and just never cook it.
Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large head Savoy or green cabbage, including outer leaves
For the filling:
- 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
- 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Remove the entire core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as it s flexible. Set the leaves aside. Depending on the size of each leaf, you will need at least 14 leaves.
For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, breadcrumbs, rice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly with a fork.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
To assemble, place 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Remove the hard triangular rib from the base of each cabbage leaf with a small paring knife. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in an oval shape near the rib edge of each leaf and roll up toward the outer edge, tucking the sides in as you roll. Place half the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, over the sauce. Add more sauce and more cabbage rolls alternately until you ve placed all the cabbage rolls in the pot. Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with the lid and bake for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and the rice is tender. Serve hot.
Everything about it was good. Nonna almost licked her plate. After wiping mine with bread, it was clean enough to go back in the cupboard.
I liked it. A lot.
It was a successful meal and a successful day!
I'm thinkin' 61 is gonna be a good year.....
Pesto alla Genovese
Victor and I both have made pesto for years. It's one of those things you just make. It's always good, but sometimes it can be a bit grainy, a bit bitter... I usually just blame the basil. It never stops me from eating it, but sometimes it's just not perfect.
Today, Victor found the solution - and it was perfect. Blanching the basil leaves!
We received the latest copy of La Cucina Italiana and there was a cover story about making the silkiest pesto ever. Being the cynic that I am, I rarely believe such claims, but our basil plants overfloweth... Victor decided to make a batch today.
Like most things, you get out what you put into something. The article went into detail about the proper basil leaves (Genovese basil, rarely found in the US), how to prep the leaves (triple washing in cold water and then soaking for 15 minutes or blanching and then plunging into ice water.) The soaking/blanching removes bitterness and the unwanted licorice notes. It also helps set the vibrant green color.
The La Cucina article detailed freezing the glass - not plastic - blender jar, using a microplane to grate the garlic and cheese, and shaking but not completely draining the basil. The little bit of extra water helps in emulsifying the sauce.
The extra steps really made for a perfect dish. I'm hooked.
Pesto alla Genovese
6 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts, preferably Italian
1/3 small garlic clove
1/2 cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
2/3 cup pecorino romano cheesePlace blender jar in freezer to chill. Soak basil in a large bowl of cold water; let stand 5 minutes. Lift leaves from water. Repeat two more times using a rinsed bowl and fresh water each time. Rinse bowl again and fill with cold water. Soak the cleaned leaves in the water, 15 minutes or quickly blanch and immediately plunge into ice water.
Combine nuts and garlic in chilled blender jar and add the olive oil. Purée until nuts are very finely chopped and mixture is creamy. Add salt.
Lift a handful of basil from water, shaking off excess water from leaves and add to blender. In four additions, Use 3 or 4 short pulses and purée just to combine (do not overblend). Add cheese, then, using 2 or 3 very short pulses, purée just to combine.
Place in bowl and cover with a thin film of oil.
I mixed a bit with rigatoni and froze the rest.
I browned bone-in chicken breasts in a bit of olive oil, added about a half-cup of red wine, plum tomatoes and basil from the garden, a bit of garlic powder, salt and pepper. I covered the pan nd let it simmer on the stove for about 40 minutes. I took out the chicken and reduced the sauce a bit and served it over the top.
It was all over the top! The tomatoes were really sweet and the pesto was perfection.
I need to come up with a few more ideas for using this!
Beer Can Chicken
I did it! I finally made a Beer Can Chicken!
And I'm glad I did!
I'm not sure why it took me so long to make one of these. Might be the fact that we never have cans of beer in the house. Ever. In fact, I had to drink a can of seltzer and then fill the can from a bottle of beer. Bottles we generally have.
I used a bottle of Downtown Brown from Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, CA. We were just up the road from them last week... I always keep a few beers on hand for beer bread or other cooking - or the occasional beer-drinking guest.
I rubbed it thoroughly with some of the Kansas City rub we're still working our way through. I love having all of this stuff right on hand. I preheated the gas grill, placed the chicken on the can, turned off the middle burners, turned down the end burners, and let it go for about 2 hours. Crispy, crispy skin and succulent meat. I had a vertical roaster for the longest time and used to prop a chicken up on it now and again, but I haven't seen it for 25 or so years... The concept is kinda the same. Almost. The vertical roaster doesn't get that slightly-beery taste.
It really did come out good. Even Nonna cleaned her plate. I'll be doing this, again.
And speaking of again, I made Mac and Cheese to go with it.
I made a lot. It's one of those things I just can't make a small batch of, no matter how hard I try. It's okay, though, because it makes good leftovers...
This was a three-cheese batch with jack, cheddar, and havarti. No peas. No ham. But I topped it with crushed potato chips instead of bread crumbs.
It is simplicity itself to make. Make a medium white sauce (flour, butter, milk) and then add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco cause, and a splash of soy sauce. Stir in garlic powder, salt & pepper. Add some grated cheese - your choice - and you're on your way. Add cooked elbow macaroni, top with buttered crumbs, and place in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350°.
Really simple.
Family, Friends, Food, and Fun
Back to reality after a most-fantastic 10 day trek out west.
The impetus for the trip was my nephew, Bill's, wedding. Christine, his new wife, is an absolutely fabulous young woman and a great addition to the family. She's the perfect yin to his yang - something almost a bit unusual, nowadays. I see a long and loving life with these two. Sometimes you can just tell. They just seem totally right for one another.
And I do have to admit I shed a few tears. Okay, I shed a lot of tears. I saw hin walking down the aisle with his mom and that was it - they just came a-wooshing down. Without saying a word or turning his head, Victor handed me a handkerchief. Hell, I was there when the little bugger was born - and shed more than my share of tears, that night. Glad I'm not the emotional type.
They were married in Arcata - in the redwoods. The weather could not have been more perfect. The most glorious blue skies, high 70s... Arcata is tricky. It could have been 58° and foggy. But the weather-gods got together and gave them a great day.
The minister was also the best man - a dear friend who got his mail-order license, the bridesmaids and groomsmen were all family and friends, the venue was set up and decorated by family and friends...
Victor, my sister Phoebe, and I cooked the rehearsal dinner - in a beautiful building overlooking the Pacific ocean. With no cooking equipment. Of course, we didn't know there was nothing to cook with until we got in and started to cook. We pulled it off using pots and pans from Bill and Christine's house. Dinner for 40 on a dinky 4-burner stove. I think I may have said a few bad words when we started off, but we were laughing and joking soon enough! All in a days work.
They did some fun things at the reception - like set up a kids table to keep them occupied.
Tons of activities to keep the little blighters happy. Big family. Lots of little ones. It was genius.
No cake-in-the-face or any of that stuff. Just fun and good times. The family rented several houses - much better than hotel rooms - and we congregated at one after the reception to continue the party. It was the wee hours before my head saw my pillow.
The following morning saw us at The Golden Harvest Cafe in Arcata for an intimate breakfast for 30. Our waitress, Jeanette, was perfect! She took control, had fun, and served up some fantastic food.
I had a buckwheat crepe with sausage and eggs that was eye-watering-spicy. I loved it! It was so good to be back where people know how to use and are not afraid to use spices! I really do miss west coast food. Everything on the menu was unique.
And speaking of unique... How about a Dungeness crab melt?!?
Folks east rave about soft shell crab, and others rave about king crab legs, but the true crab is Dungeness. There really is nothing finer. It's another thing I miss from home. And this was just so simple - Dungeness crab, swiss cheese, tomato, and avocado. The beauty of knowing how to use spices shares the plate with the beauty of knowing restraint - letting the food speak for itself. This rocked the Casbah!
We headed up to Seattle for a couple of days to see our friends Bonnie and Nancy. While Nancy worked, Bonnie took us on a locks cruise through Lake Union and Puget Sound. What a fun time! More glorious weather.
We started off down at the Seattle waterfront, eating hot dogs. Seafood, everywhere. We wanted hot dogs. And then we started the cruise.
It goes through Lake Union and all of the houseboat communities, maritime activity...
Somewhere in there may be the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat. I wouldn't mind living on a houseboat, but I'd rather it not be right up against another.
The weather was just great but I did have to wear a hat to keep my already-burnt-bald-head from getting any crisper.
The locks themselves are pretty cool. All done with gravity - they fill or drain to bring the boat to the proper height or depth.
It's just like the Panama canal - only smaller.
Puget Sound is simply gorgeous and the Seattle skyline is pretty spectacular. I'd like to see this view at night.
I've been to the top of the Space Needle a couple of times so we passed this trip. I remember when it was built.
Then there was more fabulous food and Bonnie and Nancy's!
Their next door neighbors came over for a BBQ and we started off with salads and then to grilled salmon.
It was spectacular. We also had a tri-tip...
And beans, potato salad, luscious libations, and lots of good ol' west coat liberal conversation. The finishing touch was grilled peaches with homemade vanilla bean ice cream!
Total decadence.
The food didn't stop in Seattle. We had several totally fabulous meals in Portland! Phoebe came up with Dungeness Crab Cakes on Carrot Puree that was stupendous.
Totally spectacular. Crazy good. We ate well.
And then we decided we needed to cook for Phoebe and Nancy since they were taking such good care of us.
We started off with a big salad - because folks out west always eat big salads.
And then we did a shrimp risotto.
Ahhh... To live where one can eat shrimp risotto outside in July. Have I mentioned just how perfect the weather was every waking - and sleeping - moment?!? Perfect.
Dessert was a simple grilled peach with homemade ricotta, maple syrup, and pistachios.
Victor has the ricotta-making down to a science. It really is delicious. It's not cheap to make and a container from the grocery store is pretty inexpensive by comparison, even for the good stuff, but what a difference it makes in something like this. Over-the-top good.
The flights, themselves, were pretty uneventful. We started off late from Philadelphia because of weather issues and didn't get into Portland until almost midnight. The car rental couldn't find our reservation and wanted to charge us almost double what the original cost was. I found the confirmation code, the woman made me an Executive Club member and we drove off in a 2013 Camry for the super-economy price. Comfy.
And now we're home wishing we were Jake and living a dogs life...
One more flight west in October for my niece Julia's wedding, and then we're looking at Sicily in May 2014.
Can't wait!
July 4th Food Fenzy
Happy July 4th. I find it pretty interesting living a mere 2 miles from Valley Forge and less than 20 miles from the building where the Declaration of Independence was written. It's fascinating history.
But history or no, I'm not sure those original signers would be all that happy to see the current state of the government they were fighting to create 237 years ago. The Lofty Ideals vs The Reality. It's kinda scary when you think about it.
But 237 years after the fact, the day means hamburgers and hot dogs more than anything else, so... I made hamburgers and hot dogs. Even my left-leaning liberal self has to take a day off, once in a while.
Burgers and dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans... All the traditional stuff. We ate well, today.
I even served some homemade chipotle mustard. Yum.
I made my sister, Phoebe's Baked Beans and Mom's Potato Salad, because there's just nothing better than the two of them together.
And burgers and and dogs and corn on the cob... Nothing fancy - just the basics with the basic toppings...
Plus a great big mixed green salad with Victor's homemade goat cheese! The cheese rocks the casbah!
And, of course, we had some pretty good desserts - because we always have some pretty good desserts.
I started off with a Peach and Apricot Crostata. This really rocked. The crust is like a cookie. Really good!
Peach and Apricot Crostata
Dough
- 1 3/4 sticks butter
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla
Filling
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup gooseberry jam
- 1 peach, sliced
- 1 apricot, sliced
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut butter into chunks. Place flours, sugar, and salt. in a food processor and blend. Add butter and process until coarsely blended. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Process a moment and then turn out on a board and gently knead mixture just until it forms a dough.
Reserve one third of dough for lattice top. Crumble remainder into an 11-inch tart pan pat out dough to evenly cover bottom and up sides. Spread preserves over bottom. Place sliced peaches and apricots over preserves.
Roughly form remaining dough into strips and place on top of fruit. Don't worry about making them perfect - it's supposed to be rustic.
Scatter walnuts over the top and bake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes.
Cool and enjoy!
I used gooseberry jam but any flavor you have will work.
And then we had cookies that Marie brought. Totally fabulous.
Too bad those Founding Fathers weren't around today to share some of this - and to talk some politics.
Sesame Crackers
Victor decided to make some homemade cheese today. Naturally, a homemade cheese calls for a homemade cracker, right?!? I mean, you can't just put a luscious, creamy, bursting-with-flavor cheese on a Hi-Ho! There are standards one must uphold!
I went searching around for a cracker recipe - I wanted something simple but not entirely plain - and found something in an old Saveur that looked promising. It was a flax cracker, so I reworked it a bit and made it sesame.
And it worked!
This one is really easy to make and comes together really quickly.
Sesame Crackers
adapted from Saveur Magazine
- 1 1⁄2 cups flour
- 1⁄2 cup sesame seeds
- 1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
- 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 1⁄2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp coarse salt
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Combine flour, sesame seeds, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Work butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles cornmeal. Gradually add milk, stirring until a crumbly dough forms (dough will be on the dry side but moist enough to hold together). Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to let relax for 10–15 minutes.
2. Divide dough in half. Roll first piece on a lightly floured surface to a 1⁄8"-thick rectangle, about 10"× 12". Brush dough with half the oil and sprinkle with half the salt. Cut dough into rectangles. Using a thin metal spatula, transfer dough rectangles to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet about 1⁄2" apart and set aside. Repeat process with remaining dough, oil, and salt.
3. Bake crackers until golden brown, about 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time.
I used Maldon Salt from England to top the crackers because, well... I have a box. I think I'm up to about a dozen different salts, all of a sudden. Don't ask me how it happens. It just does.
They rolled out really easily. I wasn't concerned with making them all the same size, but I did trim the sides to make them all even.