Fish Salad and Lentil Pasta

We still had some swordfish left, so I made a Seafood Salad for a starter with avocado, hazelnuts and oil. The Swordfish was a gift that keeps on giving.

We then made one of our favorite pastas: Lentil Pasta from

the restaurant Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles it is one of the best pasta dishes. It is so rich, you would swear it was made with meat. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 22, 2008. Click the date to get the recipes for both the pasta and the tomatoes.

Black Cod

We decided to cook Black Cod with Miso Sauce again. We absolutely love this dish. Pat stayed for dinner, as the doors were nearing completion. This is one of the easiest, best possible ways to cook fish. The key is: Fresh Black Cod, White Miso Sauce. Both are available at McCall’s Meat and Fish. With the cod we served rice topped with Caviar, black garlic and Asian Micro-Greens we also served Seaweed Salad. The recipe for the Black Cod is on our blog of: May 12, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe. This is a fantastic great dinner!

Corn Pasta

When summer is just starting, we look forward to the fresh corn at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. One of our favorite dishes that we make with corn is: Corn Pasta. Every year we make is several times. It is a wonderfully easy and rich dish. Lots of butter and Parmesan Cheese makes for a rich pasta. When ever we make pasta at the very end of boiling the pasta, we save about a cup of the water that the pasta was boiled in. When we reheat the pasta, we use that saved pasta water to moisten the pasta. It gives the reheated pasta an extra kick.

We use the recipe for Corn Pasta from The Zuni Café Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of August 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

Learning from the Master

Ryan, Pat’s son who is in school to become an architect joined his dad to work on our garage for a day. We needed to replace the header over the door and it was a huge piece of wood. Ryan assisted his dad in removing the old beam and replacing it with the new. He has a real master to teach him! It is always great to have an architect understand the realities of the construction that he is designing. By working with his dad, Ryan will have a real grounding in what is possible.

We made a lunch for them to eat on the back deck. We made a Salad with the Swordfish we grilled the previous night. With it we served Surprise Tatin from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. This is a great summer dish. We used our own candied tomatoes. We will definitely make this again!

Surprise Tatin

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

Filling a tart with potatoes is a real treat for potato lovers. Serve it with a green salad and you don't need much else. You can use commercial sun-dried tomatoes in oil to save yourself making the oven-dried tomatoes.

Serves 4

1-1/2    cups cherry tomatoes

2          tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling over the tomatoes and for the pan

salt and black pepper

1 lb         new potatoes (skins on)

1            large onion, thinly sliced

3            tbsp sugar

2            tsp butter

3            oregano sprigs

5 oz        aged goat cheese, sliced

1            puff pastry sheet, rolled thinly

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Halve the tomatoes and place them skin-side down on a baking sheet. Drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven to dry for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 25 minutes. Drain and let cool. Trim off a bit of the top and bottom of each potato, then cut into 1-inch-thick discs.

Saute the onion with the oil and some salt for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once you've prepared all the vegetables, brush a 9-inch cake pan with oil and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. In a small pan cook the sugar and butter on a high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, to get a semi-dark caramel. Pour the caramel carefully into the cake pan and tilt it to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom. Pick the oregano leaves, tear and scatter on the caramel.

Lay the potato slices close together, cut-side down, on the bottom of the pan. Gently press onion and tomatoes into the gaps and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread the slices of goat cheese evenly over the potatoes. Cut a puff pastry disc that is 1 inch larger in diameter than the pan. Lay the pastry lid over the tart filling and gently tuck the edges down around the potatoes inside the pan. (At this stage you can chill the tart for up to 24 hours.)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the tart for 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350CF and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is thoroughly cooked. Remove from the oven and let settle for 2 minutes only. Hold an inverted plate firmly on top of the pan and carefully but briskly turn them over together, then lift off the pan. Serve the tart hot or warm.

Fish Sticks

We made a fun dish. Grilled Swordfish on Rosemary Branches from Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at Home. Our friend Shu joined us for dinner. We grow lots of Rosemary in our backyard, I harvested many sprigs for this recipe. Cathy made a Rice Flavored with Saffron to accompany the Swordfish.

Many times we have made Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes from: The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. When I was looking up the recipe, I noticed a recipe on the next page I had never considered. As I read it, I was amazed this recipe is my type of food. It is called: Signora Bimbi's Peppers (I Peperoni delta Signora Bimbi). The taste of the grilled peppers, the olives, vinegar and bread crumbs makes for a fantastic presentation of Red and Yellow Peppers. This recipe is a keeper!

Grilled Swordfish on Rosemary Branches

Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at Home

Swordfish is the steak offish—meaty, flavorful, and very well suited to grilling, especially when threaded on fragrant branches of rosemary. Even when stripped of their greenery, they infuse the fish with a light perfume.

4 rosemary branches, about 10-12 inches long, stripped of all leaves except for 1-1/2 inches at top, opposite end sharpened to a point

1/4 pounds swordfish, cut into about 16 pieces, 3/4 X  1-1/2 inches

12 bay leaves, soaked in water for 30 minutes if dried

3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

½ teaspoon coarse salt

Prepare a barbecue grill.

Alternate swordfish with 3 bay leaves on each of the rosemary skewers.

Stir together the olive oil, tarragon, parsley, and salt.

Coat all sides of the fish with the mixture.

(This step may be done several hours ahead. Refrigerate, covered, and bring to room temperature again before grilling.)

Grill for about 2 minutes per side, or until the fish is still slightly pink inside. It will continue to cook after being removed from the fire. Remove from the skewers and arrange on plates with the bay leaves.

Serves 4

SIGNORA BIMBI'S PEPPERS

I Peperoni delta Signora Bimbi

Serves 3 to 4; doubles easily

The Itialian Country Table

Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Yellow and red, sweet and juicy, these wedges of roasted peppers are covered with garlic-toasted bread crumbs and leaves of fresh herbs. You can serve them right away, or let the peppers wait at room temperature for about an hour, making them a fine dish for entertaining. The recipe comes from the turn of the century, proving how timeless good food can be. I discovered it in the old scrapbook of a Signora Bimbi, who back then was the mistress of II Frantoio, an olive estate deep in the Puglia countryside, where I stayed.

2 each large sweet yellow and red peppers

8 herbed or oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs

1 tightly packed teaspoon each fresh Italian parsley and basil leaves, chopped

Using a wood fire, gas flame, grill, or broiler, roast the peppers, turning them so they blister on all sides. Place the peppers in a paper bag and let rest about 30 minutes.

Slip off the skin from the peppers, remove the cores, and scoop away their seeds. Cut the peppers into wedges about 3 inches long and 1-1/2 inches at their widest. Toss with the olives and vinegar, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover and hold at room temperature for several hours.

In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, bread crumbs, and a little salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, toast the crumbs to golden, about 3, minutes. Immediately turn into a bowl. At this point, you can hold the peppers and crumbs separately for several hours. Don't combine them until just before serving, so the bread crumbs are crisp.

To serve, arrange the peppers on a platter. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and herbs and set out for dining.

Fava Bean Pasta and a Cherry Salad

Probably for the last time this spring we made Fava Bean Pasta. We love it, especially in the spring when the fava beans are young, fresh and very tender. Later in the season they get bigger and become starchier. The pasta isn’t quite as good. You can read the recipe for this favorite on our blog of: April 30, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a most unusual and good salad. It is made with warm cherries and cheese. Cherries are fresh in the market now and very sweet. This is a tasty, unusual salad – I highly recommend it. Mixed Lettuces with Roasted Cherries, Hazelnuts, & Warm Saint-Marcellin from the The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. The recipe is in our blog of: May 4, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Mushrooms and Copper River Salmon

Pat works on the doors and we cook for him! We are getting the better end of the bargain. The doors look wonderful!

We started with Baked Ricotta Cheese Topped with Mushrooms. This is a fantastic dish. I just love it. We got the recipe from Cotogna Restaurant in San Francisco. You can read about in our blog of June 4, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. We served it with smoked salmon. We served it with toasted Brioche from Proof Bakery.

The main course was Copper River Salmon. Now that it is Copper River Salmon season, we are getting a lot of it at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We cooked it using a fabulous recipe from Paula Wolfert’s World of Food. The actual name of the dish is Oven-Steamed Salmon with Chive Oil. The extremely rich and moist Copper River Salmon is served on a bed of cauliflower and topped with chive oil. This is a very special dish. It is fabulous! It is probably my favorite preparation of Salmon. You can find the recipe in our blog of: June 4, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

This was a great dinner!

Garlic Soup & Moroccan Fish

Doshi drove up and joined Pat for dinner. The door project is coming along and looks fabulous due to the fact that Pat is such a perfectionist. He also appears to have every tool ever invented by man.

We started with Garlic Soup - Brisighella Zuppa di Aglio from a recipe in the great cookbook: The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. This is a house favorite. It is easy and it isn’t as garlicky as you might think. It is very good. The recipe can be found on our blog of: March 18, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

We then had Baked Fish Fez Style, from a recipe in the New York Times. When we were in Morocco, we loved the cooking with all the spices and olives. Moroccan food is wonderful, and we often make it. This is an interesting recipe because the fish is baked over potatoes. I like anything with olives (especially Martinis!). Of course we got the fish at McCall's Meat and Fish.

For dessert we had Cherry Tarts from Valerie Confections. They have fantastic chocolate as well as baked goods. It was wonderful being able to share a dinner with Pat and Doshi who made our new doors possible!

May 8, 2012

Baked Fish, Fez Style

New York Times

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

At lunchtime by the pool at La Mamounia, the lavish hotel in Marrakesh, the buffet is global. The grilled lobsters were tempting to be sure, but a highlight was fish boldly baked Moroccan-style, with spices, herbs, tomatoes and olives. I left Morocco a few weeks ago with the recipe in my notebook and thought of it for our Greek reds. Though the wines could accept a broad range of dishes, one might detect a Greek accent in the fish dish, with its garlic, lemon, parsley, peppers, tomatoes, olives and olive oil. It’s an easy all-in-one recipe that can be served at room temperature. Double or triple it and you have the anchor for a summer party menu, even on a buffet that is less copious than the one in Marrakesh. Cool some Greek reds to pour alongside.

Baked Fish, Fez Style

Adapted from La Mamounia, Marrakesh

Time: 1 hour

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tablespoon minced cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika, preferably hot

1 pinch saffron threads, crushed

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 pounds fish fillets (4 fillets): fluke, black sea bass, hake

1 pound large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, in 1/2-inch-thick slices

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper

1 red bell pepper, cored and slivered

1 pint (1 pound) cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives.

1. Combine garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika and saffron in a dish big enough for the fish. Mix vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste in a small bowl. Add to dish and mix. Place fillets in the dish, turning to coat them, cover and set aside to marinate 2 hours at room temperature, 3 if refrigerated.

2. Place potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Drain.

3. Brush a baking dish that can go to the table and will hold the fish in a single layer with a little of the oil. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread potatoes in dish, season with salt and pepper, and place fish fillets on top. Scatter peppers and tomatoes over fish. Add a little more salt and pepper. Spoon any excess marinade over fish, strew with olives, drizzle with remaining oil and bake about 30 minutes, until fish is just cooked through.

Yield: 4 servings.

Soft Shell Crab and Black Cod

Robert joined us for a joint dinner. Shu also joined us. Robert and Darryly brought Softshell Crab and cooked it at our house. God, I LOVE softshells! Robert cooked it and it was excellent. He also brought a garlicly side and made a sauce for the crab! Great appetizer.

We made Black Cod with Miso and Japanese Rice. We first had this dish at Matsuhisa Restaurant. It is amazing that we can make it almost as well as Nobu.  The trick is to have great ingredients (what else is new). McCall’s Meat and Fish had a fantastic White Miso which we used. Of course we got the Black Cod from them. We topped the rice with caviar. It was exceptional.

For dessert we had an Almond Cake from Proof Bakery. This was a GREAT dinner!

Black Cod with Miso

Nobu Matsuhisa

3 tablespoons mirin

3 tablespoons sake

1/2 cup white miso paste

1/3 cup sugar

Six 6- to 7-ounce skinless black cod fillets, about 1 1/2 inches thick

Vegetable oil, for grilling

Pickled ginger, for serving

In a small saucepan, bring the mirin and sake to a boil. Whisk in the miso until dissolved. Add the sugar and cook over moderate heat, whisking, just until dissolved. Transfer the marinade to a large baking dish and let cool. Add the fish and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Heat a grill pan and oil it. Scrape the marinade off the fish. Add the fish and cook over high heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the fish onto a heavy rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, until flaky. Transfer to plates and serve with pickled ginger.

MAKE AHEAD The marinade can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Green Taste of Spring

Our neighbor Tom had returned from his travels and he and Scott dropped in to tell us they had brought us a bottle of wine from Spain. They suggested we go out for dinner.

We decided to cook a dinner for them instead. We have suspended our Hindi lessons for a while we are having construction done at our house. It is just too chaotic with the constant flow of workers. Our Hindi lessons were on Wednesday morning, the same time as the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.

On Tuesday night, I woke up in the middle of the night and said to a sleepy Cathy “Hey we are free on Wed. morning, we can go to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market”. I promptly fell back asleep. Cathy didn’t fall back to sleep immediately. When she did, she had a bad dream where she wanted to make a Spring Green Vegetable Risotto, with Fava Bean Puree, Peas and Asparagus from the Chez Panisse Vegetable Cookbook, but couldn’t find the recipe. When she awakened in the morning, she found the cookbook, found the recipe and was ready to head to Santa Monica.

We bought all of the ingredients for the risotto.  David the Mushroom Man, had the very first Morel Mushrooms of the season. We bought Purple Asparagus and served the Morels over the Asparagus. With the addition of Brown Butter it was beyond perfect! We served Toasted Brioche Bread to mop up the sauce.

When we got home from visiting the market we had a peel-a-thon, peeling the fava’s (twice) and then peeling the pees. The freshness of the final risotto made it all the work worthwhile.

So out of my waking up in the middle of the night, we switched from going out to cooking a fabulous risotto.

We started with drinks on the patio, it was a warm windless night. We have been drinking a lot of Floc de Gascogne, a wonderful aperitif. It is perfect on a warm night.

For dessert we had a Lemon Cake from Proof.

It was a very special dinner. One could be a vegetarian with food like this! 

Green Risotto with Fava Bean Puree, Peas, and Asparagus

Chez Panisse Vegetables

Alice Waters

½ pound young fava beans

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

¾ pound fresh green peas

4 spears asparagus

1 medium onion

7 to 8 cups chicken stock

4-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cup Arborio Rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

¼ cup grated Reggiano Parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish

Shell the fava beans and discard the pods. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the favas, and simmer for 1 minute. Drain them and cool them im­mediately in cold water. Pierce the outer skin of the beans with your thumbnail and pop out each bean with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand. Put the beans in a pot with a little olive oil, a little salt, and water to just about cover, and cook slowly, until they are soft enough to puree but haven't lost their color, about 15 to 20 minutes. If necessary, add water as they are cooking to keep them from sticking. Drain them and pass them through a food mill.

Shell the peas. Cut the asparagus on the diagonal into thin slices. Peel and chop the onion into small dice.

Heat the stock and keep at a low simmer. In another, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the butter, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until it is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and a pinch of salt and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, stirring often, until the rice has turned slightly translucent. Turn up the heat and pour in the white wine. When the wine has been absorbed, add just enough hot stock to cover the rice, stir well, and reduce the heat.

Keep the rice at a gentle simmer and keep adding stock, a ladle or two at a time, letting each addition be almost completely absorbed by the rice be for adding the next. After about 10 minutes, the grains of rice will be softened somewhat but will still be hard in the center. Stir in the peas and asparagus. Continue to ladle in more stock, stirring before and after every addition. After 5 minutes, add the rest of the butter, the cheese, and the fava puree. Stir well. Add more stock if needed: the , risotto should have a saucy consistency. Adjust the seasoning. Serve in warm bowls, garnished with more of the Parmesan.

Serves 6 to 8.

My Kind of Leftovers

Bea stopped by to checkout the progress of our patio construction and see our new Mini. We invited her to join us for leftovers. We had been cooking a lot and wanted to have a simple meal.


We had eaten at Mozza Pizzeria and had ordered more Pizza then we could eat, so that we would have Pizza to take home! The Pizza is fantastic made with Chris Bianco's magic tomatoes. They are unbelievably sweet. In addition, we had defrosted a Mushroom Lasagna. It is from the cookbook: Plenty by Ottolenghi. The recipe can be found in our blog of: Aug. 19, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

It was a delicious dinner with lots of excellent wine. In addition, like we often do when we have leftovers, we augmented the dinner with some Vegetable Sides from Forage.

For dessert we had some Pecan Cookies from Forage. They are like eating a Pecan Pie. Wonderful!

Smokin' Lamb

Ready to start smoking

Garlic Soup

The Lamb bone is connect to the....

Lamb and Fava Bean Hash

Pat joined us for dinner and we made Leg of Lamb, the Best (Rosemary) from Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at Home. This is a fun recipe to make. We harvested a whole lot of rosemary from our garden, several cups worth, and completely surrounded the lamb with the rosemary. The lamb is then cooked, covered, in the oven. When it is done the covered dish is taken outdoors and briefly opened. The rosemary is now like dry kindling surrounding the lamb. You light the rosemary and let it all flame up, smoke rising everywhere. As soon as all of the rosemary is on fire you return the lid and let the lamb smoke. It is easy, fabulous, fun and impressive to see. The resulting lamb is smoky and succulent. You can get the recipe in our blog of: Dec. 17, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the lamb we served a Fava Bean Hash. This is a creation of Canele in Atwater Village. It is a great combination of flavors and is perfect with the lamb. You can get the recipe in our blog of: April 3, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.