Cliff and Cathy Dinners

Back to India

2009-10-13T09:36:00.001-07:00

We are off to India!

You can follow us by clicking: Cliff and Cathy in India.

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne

2009-10-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Cathy loves Butternut Squash with all kinds of pastas. She Googled Butternut Squash Lasagne and found a recipe Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne on Epicuirious.com. We made the Butternut mixture ahead of time and then assembled the lasagna when we were ready to make it, a few days latter.

We really liked this dish. The flavors and colors remind us that winter is approaching. It is a great treat to eat because of the crunchy texture of the nuts combined with the soft texture of the lasagna. We know we will make this lasagna again, perhaps we will add some bacon (my favorite seasoning). I think it will enhance it.

We used Lasagne from Rustichella d’abruzzo. It is hard to find, we bought ½ a case via Amazon. We think it is the best pasta and try to always use it.

We started with a Pear Salad. We use lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and topped with prosciutto and balsamic. It was our first pears of the season. The salad was a treat.

Epicurious.com

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 1 1/2 hr
Total Time: 2 1/2 hr

For squash filling
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted , loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped

For sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce while squash cooks:
Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Assemble lasagne:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' note:
• Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

T and T Dinner (Tart and Tagine)

2009-10-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Bea came over for dinner. We made a recipe for Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton from the New York Times. I really liked it, very rich! It reminded Cathy and I of a Pizza we use to get at Café Quattro in San Francisco.

We then made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from The Food of Morocco. Susan had recommended the cookbook to us. I loved this recipe. It was a combination of tastes of both Moroccan Spices and the sweetness of the Potatoes. The meat was extremely succulent. We used the Tagine maker that Courtney had given us, it gets very hot and steams the meat. Plus it is beautiful!

We served Couscous with it.

New York Times
________________________________________
September 30, 2009
Recipe
Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton
Time: 1 1/2 hours
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions (1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 sprig rosemary, more for garnish
Pinch sugar
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour for dusting
3/4 pound prepared puff pastry
1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled (about 6 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Good-quality honey for drizzling, optional.
1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet.
3. Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over pastry (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs, cut-side up, in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Use a pastry brush to dab edges of tart with egg mixture. Gently fold over edges of tart to form a lip and brush with more egg mixture.
4. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with rosemary needles and drizzled with honey, if desired, warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings.

THE FOOD of Morocco
TAGINE LAHM BIL BATATA HELWA

BEEF TAGINE WITH SWEET POTATOES

USE THE ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO AS IT IS MEALY AND. SWEET, AND KEEPS ITS SHAPE COOKED. THE TAGINE IS FINISHED AND BROWNED IN. THE OVEN; IN TRADITIONAL MOROCCAN COOKING, IT WOULD BE COVERED WITH A METAL LID WITH GLOWING CHARCOAL PLACED ON TOP.

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) blade or chuck steak
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tomatoes
500 g (1. lb 2 oz) orange sweet potatoes,

TRIM the steak of any fat and cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat half the oil in a saucepan and bi the. beef in batches over high heat, adding a more oil as needed. Set aside in a dish.

REDUCE the heat to low, add .the onion and the remaining oil to the pan and gently cook 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger and paprika, cook for a few seconds, then add 1 teaspoon salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Return the beef to the pan, along wi parsley, coriander and 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) Cover and simmer over low heat for 11/2 hour until the meat is almost tender.

PEEL the tomatoes. To do this, score a cross in the base of each one using a knife. Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of cold water to cool. Remove from the water and peel the skin away from the cross the skin should slip off easily. Slice the tomatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes cut them into ¾ in chunks and leave in cold water until required, as this will prevent them discoloring. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

TRANSFER the meat and its sauce to the ovenproof serving dish (the base of tagine would be ideal). Drain the sweet potatoes and spread them on top of the beef. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Cover with foil (or the lid of the tagine) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 F and raise the tomatoes and sweet potatoes are flecked with brown and are served tender. Serve from the dish.

Last Pre-Indian Dinner

2009-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

We decided to cook one last Indian dinner before going for the real thing. We made two of our favorite dishes. Goan Style Shrimp Curry is delicious and rich with coconut milk. I really like it. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we bought beautiful large shrimp from the fish truck. I wonder if we will have lots of Goan Shrimp when we go to Goa on our next trip. Hope so! It will be interesting to see the difference. One difference, I am sure, is that it will be a lot spicier in Goa! We use a recipe adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, from the restaurant Devi in New York City. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Aug. 9, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also made Gobi Jalfrezi (Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar) from Rocky Mohan The Art of Indian Cuisine. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we picked up probably the last tomatoes of the season, and candied them in the stove. We then used them in this delicious recipe. The Indian’s sure have a way with vegetables! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Sep. 11, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fig Pasta

2009-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fig season is growing to a close. We made Fig Pasta once last time. It is unusual in that it is a sweet pasta. We use the recipe from Lynn Rossetto Kasper in her cookbook: The Splendid Table Cookbook. It is very simple and delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of Aug. 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a salad of White Nectarines, Prosciutto, Almonds and Saba. We love salads made with fresh fruit!

Moroccan Tuna on Skewers

2009-09-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

We were so impressed with the quality of the fish from the truck at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we decided to make another Moroccan Dish. We used the cookbook: The Food of Morocco – a journey for food lovers. Susan had the book in Santa Fe and we decided to purchase a copy. The recipe is called: Tuna Skewers with Herb Marinade. Doesn’t sound that special in English but it tasted great!

The J & P West Coast Fish truck had fabulous fresh Sushi Grade Tuna. It looked like giant steaks. I wondered if the tuna would fall apart when skewered but it held together. The herb marinade is really a Chermoula. Nice and spicy!

The tuna grilled very fast on the grill (just a about 1-2 minutes per side.
We made another Moroccan dish to go with it. Grilled eggplant covered with onions that had been slow cooked in spices. It was OK but not great. Win some loose some. The Tuna is a keeper! We served it with Tunisian Couscous.

We had also made Corn Pasta. It will probably be our last fresh corn dish of the year. You can find the recipe for the corn pasta in our blog of: Aug. 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

QUOTBAN DEL TON BIL CHERMOULA
TUNA SKEWERS WITH HERB MARINADE
From the food of Morocco a journey for food lovers

TUNA IS IDEAL FOR SKEWERS AS IT IS A FIRM-FLESHED FISH AND DOES NOT FALL APART DURING COOKING. THE CHERMOULA GIVES THE TUNA A FLAVOUR BOOST AND KEEPS IT MOIST. WHILE MOROCCANS COOK TUNA THOROUGHLY, YOU CAN SEAR IT AND SERVE RARE IF DESIRED.

1 Ib 12 oz tuna steaks, cut into 1 1/4 in cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

CHERMOUUX
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
3 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 1/2 fl oz/1/3 cup lemon juice
4 fl oz / 1/2 cup olive oil

SOAK eight bamboo skewers in water for 2 hours, or use metal skewers.

PUT the tuna in a shallow non-metallic dish. Combine the olive oil, cumin and lemon zest and pour over the tuna. Toss to coat, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes only.

MEANWHILE, to make the chermoula, put the ground coriander, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Combine with the remaining chermoula ingredients and set aside.

THREAD the tuna onto the skewers. Lightly oil a chargrill pan or barbecue grill and cook*the skewers for 1 minute on each side for rare, or 2 minutes for medium. Serve with the chermoula drizzled over the tuna.

A Taste of Morocco (Tagine)

2009-09-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and bought a beautiful piece of fresh Halibut from J & P West Coast Fish. They sell fresh fish from their truck - that kind of looks like a typical Los Angeles roach truck (for those of you not from LA – there is some seriously good food available from these trucks). Their truck has been modified to sell fish and has lots of ice to keep the fish fresh. The fish is better than most of the fish you would get in a market. It is straight from the boat to San Pedro to the truck to us!

We have been on a bit of a Moroccan quest and found a recipe for a recipe for Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons in Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook. This is a fish dish we will definitely make again! It is great. I usually don’t like leftover fish, but this dish re-heats well in the microwave. Part of the reason it is so good has to be the quality of the fish. It was very firm and cooked perfectly!

Cathy made our favorite Couscous from Tunisia to go with it.

Two days later Kashmera and Krushna stopped by to say goodbye (they were returning to India). We offered them some leftover Tagine but they demurred saying they had a big lunch and had to get on a plane. We let them smell the tagine and they decided they wanted some. It was cute they kept eating it. I think we will continue to expand their food horizons.

Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons
From Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook

SERVES 4

A popular Moroccan green-hued sauce used in fish stews, or tagines, is called charmoula, a balanced combination of quantities of flat-leaf parsley and fresh coriander, oil, cumin, paprika, and hot pepper. I love it for its powerful taste and the way it permeates the delicate flavor of fish, and in this dish especially it makes marvelous eating. You can make it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated for 1 or 2 days.

In Morocco fish stews are always cooked in earthenware, which is especially helpful when the stew contains tomatoes. (Tin-lined copperware and aluminum definitely alter flavor.) In this Moroccan fish tagine, the rich tastes of tomatoes, green peppers, and hot peppers are offset by the tart, briny flavor of preserved lemons. Traditionally this tagine would contain an entire fish with head intact, but I have found it easier to make with thick fillets. Serve the fish directly from the baking dish. Pass slices of anise-flavored Moroccan bread, and accompany with a light, dry red or white wine.

CHARMOULA
1 large garlic clove, crushed with 2
teaspoons salt in a blender or mortar
until smooth
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian fiat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red-pepper flakes, seeds removed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fruity olive oil
4 thick lean fish fillets or slices, about 8 ounces each: monkfish, red snapper, sea bass, tilefish, or other ocean fish
1 large carrot, sliced very thin
1 pound red, ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
small green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
1 small green or red hot pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
Sea salt and pepper
2 wedges of Preserved Lemons, rinsed and drained, pulp discarded, peel sliced thin
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Sprigs of fresh coriander, for garnish

Early in the day, or the day before, make the charmoula: In a blender, combine the garlic, spices, herbs, and pepper flakes. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a small saucepan and heat it slowly, stirring, until hot and aromatic, about 30 seconds; do not boil. Let it cool, then divide the spice mixture, or charmoula, in half.

Rinse the fish and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub one portion of the spice mixture into the fish and let it stand at least 1 hour, or overnight. Add 1/2 cup of hot water to the remaining spice mixture, cover, and refrigerate separately. (The recipe can be prepared to this point a day ahead.)

About 1 1/2 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 300° F. Spread 2 tablespoons of reserved charmoula over the bottom of a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking-serving dish (about 10 inches in diameter). Scatter the carrots on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with a little charmoula. Add half the tomatoes, bell peppers, and chili pepper; sprinkle with a little charmoula. Lay the fish over the vegetables and cover with the preserved lemon peel and the remaining tomatoes and peppers in a decorative pattern. Spread the remaining charmoula over all. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Pour off the liquid from the fish into a small non-corrodible saucepan. Bring it to a boil over moderately high heat, and boil until it is reduced to 1/2 cup of thick liquid. Pour it back over the fish. (The dish can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead to this point.)

Raise the oven temperature to 500° F. Uncover the baking dish, baste with the pan juices, and bake in the top third of the oven for 10 minutes, or until a nice crust has formed over the vegetables. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with sprigs of coriander. Serve warm.

Not Very Indian Dinner

2009-09-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our friends from Bollywood Kashmera Shah and Krushna were in the town so we decided to invite them to dinner. We also invited Tim who introduced them to us. Just about dinner time I received a call from Harsha who was calling from the top of a Griffith Park Mountain he had just climbed. He was in town. I invited him to join us for dinner but didn’t tell him that Kashmera and Krushna were coming.

He was very happy to see them and was tickled to meet two Bollywood Stars!
We planned to grill steaks but realized that we would need some vegetable offerings for those that don’t eat meat. We also grilled a Salmon. The steaks of course were Dry Aged Porterhouse Steaks from Harvey Gus Meats. They are the best!

We found an absolute fantastic cauliflower recipe from a cookbook we had purchased on our last trip to India. It is called GOBI JALFREZI (Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar) the cookbook is called: The Art of Indian Cuisine by Rocky Mohan. It calls for tomato paste but we have frozen oven dried tomatoes this summer and defrosted and used them. It was far better than any tomato paste. We liked the idea of frozen tomatoes so much, we plan to go to the farmer’s market and buy a lot of tomatoes this weekend and freeze some more.

Tim brought a Bollywood Cake for dessert.

After dinner we played some Bollywood Dance Music and Krushna and Kashmera showed us some dance steps. They promise to teach us some more. We would really like to learn!

GOBI JALFREZI
(Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar)
From Rocky Mohan The Art of Indian Cuisine

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Cauliflower (phool gobi) / broccoli florets
1/2 cup Clarified butter (ghee) / refined oil
4 Red chillies (lal mirch), dry
1 1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds (jeera)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Peppercorn (kali mirch) powder
2 tsp. Ginger (adrak), juliennes
1/2 cup Tomato (tamaiar) puree
1 Tbsp. White vinegar (sirka)
1 Tbsp. Coriander leaves (hara dhaniya), chopped

METHOD

Heat the clarified butter / oil in a wok (kadhai); add the dry red chillies, then stir and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the cauliflower, salt, peppercorn powder, and ginger. Stir well. Cover the wok and reduce the heat. Cook on a slow fire until almost tender.

Add the tomato puree and white vinegar. Cook until the cauliflower becomes tender. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Malaysian Chicken

2009-09-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

When we were in Bali we met the author of a Malaysian Cookbook, Christina Arokiasamy. Her cookbook is called: The Spice Merchant’s Daughter. Her mother obviously was a spice merchant and she grew up loving to cook. We bought a copy of her book and asked her to recommend some recipes. She recommended several. We decided to make Whole Roasted Chicken in Tamarind Butter Sauce.

It is one of several recipes that we have made that roast chicken on a rack over water. It is an excellent way to roast chicken because the steam keeps the chicken very moist. We made Couscous to go with the chicken. It is a great recipe!
We have found one particular brand of Couscous that we really like. It is called: m'hamsa hand-rolled couscous from Tunisia. It is far better than any other couscous we have ever eaten. Click herefor their web.

We started with a Corn and Avocado Salad with Cherry Tomatoes.

Whole Roasted Chicken in Tamarind Butter Sauce
From The Spice Merchant’s Daughter by Christina Arokiasamy

My mother was celebrated for her roasted chicken, which was tender and flavorful right to the bone. She first made this recipe for one of our regular customers at our spice stall and soon enough could hardly keep up with the orders. I enjoyed standing beside her as she made it, watching the palm sugar, butter, and tamarind as they caramelized. In this recipe, we never used the reserved juices from the pan as the tamarind sauce was so delicious on its own. However, you may serve the reserved sauce on the side if you wish. Just before
serving, my mother would sprinkle in a handful of fried chiles for an extra kiss of flavor. serves 6 »

Chicken
2 TEASPOONS CORIANDER SEEDS
4 STAR ANISE
ONE 4-INCH CINNAMON STICK
2 GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED
'A CUP SOY SAUCE
ONE 41/2- TO 5-POUND WHOLE CHICKEN

Sauce
1 TABLESPOON UNSALTED BUTTER
1/2 CUP PLUS 2 TABLESPOONS TAMARIND LIQUID
2 TABLESPOONS FISH SAUCE
1/4 CUP SOY SAUCE
½ CUP PALM SUGAR SYRUP (OR BROWN SUGAR
1/2 TEASPOON CAYENNE

Tamarind Liquid

MAKES 2 CUPS
Put half of a 14-ounce block of tamarind in a medium bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups hot water and allow the tamarind to sit for 10 minutes to soften. Using your fingers, squeeze the tamarind block (like you would squeeze a sponge) until the pulp separates from the seeds and dissolves in the water. Strain the tamarind liquid into a medium bowl. Discard any seeds and pulp that have not dissolved. The strained tamarind liquid should be reddish brown. Store tamarind liquid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Palm Sugar Syrup
MAKES 1 CUP
To facilitate using a small amount of palm sugar at a time, make liquid palm sugar by cooking an 8-ounce block of palm sugar in 1 ½ cups water over medium heat until melted, without stirring. The syrup is ready when large bubbles appear on the surface. Let it cool before pouring it into a glass jar. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. You may substitute Lyle 's Golden Syrup (available at gourmet markets) or brown sugar for palm sugar, although the taste will not be as mellow

To prepare the marinade, put the coriander, star anise, and cinnamon in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant and slightly darkened. Set aside to cool.

Put the toasted spices, garlic, and soy sauce in a food processor or mini-chopper. Blend until you have a smooth paste.

Put the chicken in a glass baking dish and pour the marinade over the chicken, rubbing inside and out with the spices. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours,
preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the chicken on a rack, reserving the marinade, and then place the rack on top of a baking pan. Fill the pan with 1/2 inch of water.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting the chicken with the reserved marinade every 20 minutes.

Roast for 30 minutes longer without basting, until the juices run clear when you prick the thigh with a fork. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

While the chicken is resting, put a saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, tamarind liquid, fish sauce, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the palm sugar syrup and cayenne, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, until the sauce is deep reddish brown in color and slightly thickened.

Carve the chicken, arrange the pieces on a platter, and pour the sauce over them.

Lobster Left Overs

2009-09-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Wine: Benovia Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2006 La Pommeraie
Riveras

We had left over lobster and invited Bea over to continue our Lobster-a-thon. She brought a fabulous wine with her! We also had left over grilled corn on the cob. We read the Sunday New York Times and in the magazine they had a recipe for a Shrimp Chowder. Since we had the lobster we decided to make the recipe substituting the lobster for shrimp. The Lobster Chowder was wonderful, we will make again!

Matt Poley is The God of Lasagna. His catering company is: Heirloom LA. He is the caterer of choice in Silverlake. One of his specialties is the creation of different types of lasagna. He sells them. He brought a Smoked Cheese Lasagna over to Bea and she brought it to the dinner. It was quite good.

We started with a Lobster Parfait from The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant Seafood Cookbook. . Lettuce topped with lobster and dressing served in a chilled parfait glass.

Lobster Dressing
½ cup Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chili sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh chives minced
½ teaspoon horseradish
1 tablespoon celery, minced

Mix ingredients and chill, then pour over lobster.

Red Shrimp Chowder With Corn
4 cups fish stock, clam broth or water
2 pounds shrimp, shelled, chopped into pieces roughly 1/2-inch thick, shells reserved (see note)
4 ears corn, shucked, kernels cut off, cobs and kernels reserved
2 basil sprigs, leaves cut into fine ribbons, stems reserved
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4-inch dice
Half a fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
Freshly ground black pepper.
1. In a medium pot, bring the fish stock, clam broth or water to a boil with the shrimp shells, corncobs and basil stems and simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. In a large pot set over medium heat, melt the butter and fry the bacon in it. When the bacon is crisp, fish it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Fry the onion, garlic, celery, fennel and carrots in the hot fat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Strain the shrimp-flavored broth into the pot. Add the corn kernels, potatoes, bay leaf and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush a third to a half of the potato chunks against the side of the pot. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and juice, return to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Add the shrimp, stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt, black pepper and more red pepper flakes to taste. (The shrimp will cook from the heat of the soup.) Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the basil ribbons and some bacon.
Serves 4 to 6.
Note: For a richer meal, lobster may be substituted for the shrimp. To prepare, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Drop in 2 lobsters (2 pounds each), cover the pot tightly and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lobsters and let them cool, keeping the water at a simmer. Pry the meat from the claws and tail, reserving the shells, and roughly chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Return the shells to the pot and proceed from Step 1 above, using the lobster water instead of fish stock or clam broth.

Lobster and Hot Dogs

2009-09-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

We were planning to grill Hot Dogs. We really like the ones we pick up at The Cheese Store of Silverlake. They are called: Let’s Be Frank. Bea contacted us and was up for Grilling Lobster Tails. So we decided to combine the two and serve grilled Hot Dogs and Lobster (sort of a version of surf-n-turf).

It was a warm summer night and we started with drinks on the deck. We had eaten at Rivera and really liked a drink they served called: Rivera. It is made by crushing some cucumber in a glass, adding vodka, lime juice and simple syrup. Shake well over ice and sprinkle some salt on top. It is very refreshing.

We then proceeded to grill the hot dogs and lobster tails on the egg.

We started with a Summer Corn Salad. I stripped the corn kernels from some cobs we had previously grilled on the egg and added cherry tomatoes, avocado, chopped fresh tarragon and chives. We combined the corn mixture with a small amount of mixed greens and then added vinegar & olive oil. The salad was a winner!

I think that Bea really liked the Hot Dogs!

Gratin and Ham

2009-09-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

We made a salad that we really like. We first saw it made at The Hungry Cat one night when we were eating at the raw bar. It doesn’t have a name so we call it The Hungry Cat Salad. It is a simple but delicious salad. Leafy lettuce, lemon juice. Avocado cut into pieces, sea salt, olive oil and Pecorino Cheese, grated hard boiled egg. No recipe just mix the ingredients to your taste. We usually don’t use avocado, but really liked this salad!

We made an absolutely delicious Potato and Cabbage Gratin from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen Cookbook. We had never made this particular Gratin before. We loved it. Anything with crispy potatoes we love! This is a good one!

We served with it Sliced Ham we had purchased from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. The ham is made by Fra’ Mani it is very good.

Potato and Cabbage Gratin
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

In this superb southwestern French gratin, a base of silky soft leaves of green cabbage are topped with a layer of crusty potatoes plus a second super-thin layer of cheese custard. The whole is baked to a golden brown crust.

SERVES 6
2 pounds green cabbage, quartered
Salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or duck fat
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 juniper berries, gently bruised
3 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
½ cup poultry, pork, or vegetable stock
2 ounces dry-cured ham, such as Bayonne or serrano, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 to 1 1/4 pounds red potatoes (about 3 medium), sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup milk
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ounces imported Cantal, aged gouda, or Swiss Gruyere, shredded

1. About 3 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 325°F. Slip the cabbage wedges into a large >t of boiling salted water until tender but still green, about 12 minutes. Drain the cabbage and ise under cold running water. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water. Cut e cabbage into 3-inch pieces, discarding the core.

2. Meanwhile, put i tablespoon olive oil and the butter or duck fat in the center of a 10-inch -cup capacity) baking-serving dish. Add the garlic, juniper berries, thyme, and bay leaf, cover with a lid or foil, and set on the lowest oven rack. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Add the cabbage, stock, and ham to the baking dish and stir to mix; then spread evenly in the dish, arrange the potatoes in overlapping circles over the cabbage. Cover with foil and bake for I hour.

4. Remove the foil and lightly sprinkle the remaining I teaspoon olive oil over the potatoes, raise the oven temperature to 4OO°F, transfer the dish to the upper rack, and bake for minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly browned.

5. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, flour, and nutmeg, Whisk in the hot milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the pota¬toes, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake on the upper rack of the oven for 30 minutes, or until browned. Serve hot.

Bad Viking

2009-08-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Our dinner was a disaster adverted. We were cooking two separate dishes in our Viking Oven. First we were going to cook a Mushroom Tart then for the main course we were going to make chicken with figs. Cathy turned on the oven and it wouldn’t heat up. We checked and could see the gas flame, but the oven wouldn’t heat. I had recently bought a silicon splash guard to be placed on the bottom of the oven (I placed it on a lower rack). When the oven wouldn’t heat, remarks were made to the effect that I had broken the oven, etc. The next morning the Viking repairman appeared and announced the starter for the oven had gone out. He replaced the two of them. The splash guard was not at fault.
We decided to cook the tarts on the Egg outside and then braised the chicken on the top of the stove (the burners worked). One strange thing about the stove when the starters go out there is no warning. They either work or they don’t work. So you never know when it will go bad.

In late summer Chanterelle Mushrooms are at their peak. We made a Wild Mushroom Tart from a recipe in Sunday Supper at Lucques. The appetizers at Lucques are always fabulous. This recipe we modified slightly because we didn’t have any spring onions.

This is one of our favorite summer chicken dishes, we only make it when there are fresh figs at the market. The recipe is from The Zuni Café Cookbook. It is easy and very tasty. The dish is called. Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar. The name tells the story. You can get the recipe from out blog entry of June 23, 2008. To get the recipe click the link.

We served it with a great recipe from Saffron Rice from The Food of Morocco by Whitecap. We previously had always made this dish with cous-cous. The Saffron Rice was excellent and we will make it again.

wild mushroom tart with gruyere, young onions, and herb salad
Sunday Suppers at Lucques

1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry
2 extra-large egg yolks
1 ¼ pounds wild mushrooms, cleaned
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sliced young onions, plus 1/4 cup diagonally slice young onion tops
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
½ cup whole milk ricotta, drained if wet
¼ cup creme fraiche
¼ pound Gruyere, thinly slice
½ cup flat-leat parsley leaves
¼ cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup chervil sprigs
½ cup 1/2-inch-snipped chives
A drizzle of super-good extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, for juicing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Give me almost any combination of toppings, and I'll turn them into a deli-cious savory tart. The formula is always the same: the crispy, buttery puff pastry crust; a creamy base of ricotta and creme fraiche; a layer of oozing, usually pungent cheese; and then, of course, the topping. In this case, I saute an array of win¬ter wild mushrooms until they're tender, chewy, and still a little crisp. Since they seem to make everything taste better, I can't resist tossing in a few handfuls of sweet young onions with their spicy green tops. As they all bake together, their flavors unite into this decadent and sophisticated "pizza."

NOTE Assemble the tart in the morning, cover, and refrigerate. Bake just before you're ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 4oo°F.
Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it onto a parchment-lined
sheet. Use a paring knife to score a %-inch border around the edge of the pastry. Make an egg wash by whisking i egg yolk with % teaspoon water, and brush the egg wash along the border. (You will not need all of the egg wash.) Return the puff pastry to the freezer until you're ready to use it.

If the mushrooms are big, tear them into large bite-sized pieces. (Not too small, as they will shrink when they're cooked.)

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait i minute. Add i tablespoon butter, and when it foams, scatter half the mushrooms into the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a healthy pinch of pepper. Saute the mushrooms about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender and a little crispy. (The cooking time will depend on the par¬ticular mushrooms you use.) Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a baking sheet, and repeat with the second half of the mushrooms.

When the second batch of mushrooms are just cooked, reduce the heat to low and toss in the spring onions, thyme, and % teaspoon salt. Stir gently i to 2 minutes, until the onions are just wilted. Stir in the onion tops. Transfer to me baking sheet, and stir to combine with the first batch of mushrooms.

Place the ricotta, remaining egg yolk, and remaining tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth, and remove to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the creme fraiche, and season with a healthy pinch of salt and a few grindings of black pepper.

Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry within the scored border. Place the Gruyere over the ricotta. Arrange the mushrooms and spring onions on top. If you aren't ready to bake it yet, cover the tart with plastic and chill.

Bake the tart 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Lift the crust to peek underneath the tart to make sure the crust is really cooked through. (If you underbake the tart, it will be soggy.)

Toss the herbs in a small bowl with salt, pepper, a drizzle of super-good olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Let the tart cool a few minutes, and serve it on a cutting board at the table. Serve the herb salad on the side in a small bowl or scatter it over the tart.

wild mushroom tart with gruyere, young onions, and herb salad
Sunday Suppers at Lucques

1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry
2 extra-large egg yolks
1 ¼ pounds wild mushrooms, cleaned
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups sliced young onions, plus 1/4 cup diagonally slice young onion tops
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
½ cup whole milk ricotta, drained if wet
¼ cup creme fraiche
¼ pound Gruyere, thinly slice
½ cup flat-leat parsley leaves
¼ cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup chervil sprigs
½ cup 1/2-inch-snipped chives
A drizzle of super-good extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, for juicing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Give me almost any combination of toppings, and I'll turn them into a deli-cious savory tart. The formula is always the same: the crispy, buttery puff pastry crust; a creamy base of ricotta and creme fraiche; a layer of oozing, usually pungent cheese; and then, of course, the topping. In this case, I saute an array of win¬ter wild mushrooms until they're tender, chewy, and still a little crisp. Since they seem to make everything taste better, I can't resist tossing in a few handfuls of sweet young onions with their spicy green tops. As they all bake together, their flavors unite into this decadent and sophisticated "pizza."

NOTE Assemble the tart in the morning, cover, and refrigerate. Bake just before you're ready to serve.

Preheat the oven to 4oo°F.
Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it onto a parchment-lined
sheet. Use a paring knife to score a %-inch border around the edge of the pastry. Make an egg wash by whisking i egg yolk with % teaspoon water, and brush the egg wash along the border. (You will not need all of the egg wash.) Return the puff pastry to the freezer until you're ready to use it.

If the mushrooms are big, tear them into large bite-sized pieces. (Not too small, as they will shrink when they're cooked.)

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait i minute. Add i tablespoon butter, and when it foams, scatter half the mushrooms into the pan. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a healthy pinch of pepper. Saute the mushrooms about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender and a little crispy. (The cooking time will depend on the par¬ticular mushrooms you use.) Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a baking sheet, and repeat with the second half of the mushrooms.

When the second batch of mushrooms are just cooked, reduce the heat to low and toss in the spring onions, thyme, and % teaspoon salt. Stir gently i to 2 minutes, until the onions are just wilted. Stir in the onion tops. Transfer to me baking sheet, and stir to combine with the first batch of mushrooms.

Place the ricotta, remaining egg yolk, and remaining tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth, and remove to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the creme fraiche, and season with a healthy pinch of salt and a few grindings of black pepper.

Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry within the scored border. Place the Gruyere over the ricotta. Arrange the mushrooms and spring onions on top. If you aren't ready to bake it yet, cover the tart with plastic and chill.

Bake the tart 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Lift the crust to peek underneath the tart to make sure the crust is really cooked through. (If you underbake the tart, it will be soggy.)

Toss the herbs in a small bowl with salt, pepper, a drizzle of super-good olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Let the tart cool a few minutes, and serve it on a cutting board at the table. Serve the herb salad on the side in a small bowl or scatter it over the tart.

Pizza on the Egg

2009-08-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

Billy has been talking about making Pizza on our Egg. I finally went out and bought a Pizza Stone that fits in the egg and a Pizza Peel to remove the cooked Pizza.

We went to Mozza2Go and bought the flour that Nancy uses. Billy made the dough he also made dough using regular flour. He brought the dough and homemade sauce over to our house. I went to Barbrix and purchased some of their custom made Wild Boar Sausage to go on top of some of the Pizza’s.

We started with Pappa al Pomodoro Soup. This is a thick Italian Tomato soup we love to make in the summer when tomatoes are at their best. We use the recipe from the Italian Country Cookbook by Rogers and Gray.

The Egg can get very hot. We heated it up to almost 1000 degrees. The Pizza cooked in about 3 minutes. The bottom of the Pizza was burnt, the top was great. We learned that we were greatly overheating the Egg. In fact the felt gasket burnt off. I must not have been the first person to do that, because they sell replacement gaskets. Live in learn. We then let the Egg cool down and made 4 more Pizza’s at lower temperatures. They kept improving in quality.

For dessert we served Ginger Cookies from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

We subsequently told our T’ai Chi instructor Michael about our experience. He is a Pizza devote. He directed us towards a web site that is the ultimate site for finding out about Pizza. If you like to make Pizza or are interested in Pizza check this out: Jeff Varasano's Famous New York Pizza Recipe. Billy is inspired by this site and is going to try again!

Repetition makes for perfection!

Pappa al Pomodoro
From: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook

Serves 10 (but leftovers are so good, serves 2 - 5 times)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers
¼ cup Olive Oil
9 pounds ripe sweep tomatoes, peeled and seeded, or 4 ½ pounds canned plum tomatoes, drained of most of their juices
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 loaves stale bread, we use La Brea loaves
1 large bunch fresh basil
extra-virgin olive oil

Put the garlic and olive oil into a heavy saucepan and cook gently for a few minutes. Just before the garlic turns brown, add the tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes become concentrated. Season with salt and pepper, then add 2 ½ cups water and bring to a boil.

Day before, cut most of the crust off of the bread and break or cube in large chunks to allow it to get stale.

When soup is ready, Put the bread into the tomatoes mixture and stir until the bread absorbs most of the liquid, adding more boiling water if the soup is too thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. If the basil leaves are large, tear into pieces. Stir into the soup with ½ to ¾ cups of extra virgin olive oil. Let the soup sit before serving to allow the bread to absorb the flavor of the basil and oil.

Serve in bowls and add a dollop of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on top.

Expatriate Chicken

2009-08-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

We made Expatriate Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. This is a very easy chicken to cook and the Moroccan flavors are exceptional. You need Preserved Lemons which you can either buy or preserve yourself. I love the taste of the olives and the preserved lemons.

With the chicken we made Cous-Cous, the traditional side for this dish. It absorbs all of the great sauce that the Chicken recipe creates. The recipe is on our blog of: Aug 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made a Caesar Salad. We always use the recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook. The best part is that you don’t break up the large Romaine Lettuce leaves. Instead of using a fork you use your fingers! The Caesar Salad recipe is in our blog of: July 25, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Multicultural Meals

2009-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

We had some Vicolo Frozen Corn Meal Pizza Shells, they are the best. We coated the crust with mustard and then placed Aged Gruyere Cheese. We had some fantastic French Ham we picked up at The Cheese Store of Silverlake and shaved it upon the cheese. We then took some Heirloom Tomatoes and sliced then thinly and topped the ham. Finally with dusted with grated Parmesan Cheese. The Pizzas were fantastic. Not only did we enjoy them but Billy and Kevin stopped by and had a slice.

We then put together a meal from leftovers and other things we had on hand. Bea joined us and brought two great bottles of wine.

We started with Cavion Melon. I splashed them with fresh lime juice and covered with Prosciutto. We had some extra Persian Mulberries and I added them. It was a delicious and refreshing treat.

We then made Pork Fried Rice using a trick we picked up in Hong Kong on our recent trip. The Fried Rice we had there was always very light and there were large chunks of egg in it. What we found out was they cook the fried rice and the egg separately. When the fried rice is almost done, they add the cooked egg and mix them together. It makes the rice much lighter then adding the raw egg directly to the rice.

We ended the dinner with cookies from Mozza2Go. Bea loved them. She couldn’t stop eating them!

Pork with Egg Two Ways

2009-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had some left over lobster (not a bad thing to have as a leftover). We started with prosciutto and melon with lobster. It was great. We found a recipe for Carolina's Tenderloin of Pork in Cooking with Fire and Smoke. We wound up eating the pork the first night with my favorite eggplant / tomato gratin. It is called Baked Eggplant and Tomatoes with Bread Crumbs and Basil. It is from the Chez Panisse Cooking cookbook by Alice Waters and Paul Bertolli. This is a delicious dish, and it reheats well.

Matthew Poley, of Heirloom LA has a line of Lasagna Frozen Cupcakes in a single serving looking like a cupcake. The lasagna comes in several flavors. We picked up a few of them from him at Silverlake Wine. Matt often is a guest cook there.

We had the beet lasagna cupcake as a side with the eggplant. It was great. It is a treat to have a selection in the freezer just waiting for the right time to be eaten!

CAROLINA'S TENDERLOIN OF PORK
COOKING WITH FIRE AND SMOKE
BY PHILLIP STEPHEN SCHULZ
The best thing about tenderloin of pork is that it takes only half the time to smoker-cook as a larger, rolled roast. This version, with its mustardy basting sauce, is a specialty of the redoubtable Carolina restaurant in New York City.

2 pork tenderloins, about 3/4 pound each
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1. Pat the tenderloins dry with paper towels. Combine the pa¬prika, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Rub this mixture into the meat.

2. Preheat a water smoker. (Charcoal smokers will require a
full pan of briquets.)

3. Meanwhile, combine the mustard, vinegar, and butter in a
small saucepan. Heat to boiling; remove from heat.

4. Add presoaked wood chips or chunks to the heat source. Put
the water pan in place and add water to fill the pan. Brush the tenderloins with the mustard mixture and place on the highest food grid.

5. Cover and smoker-cook, keeping the temperature in the 180-degree range, basting twice more during cooking, until the juicesrun clear when pricked with a fork, 3 to 4 hours (internal tempera¬ture: 170 degrees). Serve hot or cold, thinly sliced.
Serves 4 to 6.

Baked Eggplants and Tomatoes with Bread Crumbs and Basil
Chez Panisse Cooking

For 8

At the restaurant, where large numbers of people are served at definite times, the success of any dinner, from the standpoint of the kitchen, depends upon how well prepared we are. Timing is critical, and accordingly, many dishes that would be impossible to assemble and cook to order are designed so that they can easily be finished and served. This logic and organization is valuable at home as well and can often help to simplify the work of the cook, particularly just before mealtime, when many tasks need to be attended to simultaneously. This eggplant dish may be prepared well in advance of being served.
I have never liked to cook eggplant in oil as it acts like a sponge and becomes heavy and indigestible. So before even assembling the ingredients for this dish, the eggplant is salted and peppered and baked in a little water. Precooking the eggplant also releases its brown, sometimes bitter juice and insures that the raw tomatoes, which will later be layered with the cooked eggplant, will finish cook¬ing at the same time. The bread crumbs are also precooked for proper texture. An important part of this recipe is the reduction that occurs in the final mo¬ments. As the vegetables cook they release their juices, which mingle with the vinaigrette, basil, and garlic. Serve this dish with grilled meats, lamb, in partic¬ular. It is also excellent with grilled chicken, salmon, sea bass, or cod.

3 globe eggplants (2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
3 large beefsteak tomatoes (2 pounds)
12 ounces sourdough bread, to yield 2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the vinaigrette:
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 4oo°F. Put a pot of water large enough to hold the tomatoes on to boil.

Peel the eggplants with a sharp knife. Slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch rounds, discarding the hard end piece near the stem. Lay the eggplant out on a cutting board and salt and pepper one side. Then turn them over and arrange them, slightly overlapping, in a non-corroding baking dish approximately 16 by 10 inches. Pour over enough water (about 1/8 inch) to come barely up the sides of the eggplant. Lightly salt and pepper the other side of the eggplant. Cover the dish and bake about 1hour, until the eggplant is soft but not mushy.

Core the tomatoes and drop them into the pot of boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove from the water. When cool, remove the skins and cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch slices.

Cut the crust off of the bread, break the bread up into small chunks, and grind into coarse crumbs in a food processor. (If you have no processor, pull the bread apart and break it up by hand.)

Melt the butter, add to the bread crumbs, and mix well so that all pieces are coated. Spread the crumbs on a baking sheet. Put into the oven with the eggplant and bake for about 15 minutes. Or until golden brown. Turn the bread crumbs over with a spatula every so often, so they will brown evenly.

Prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk the garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper together until the salt is well dissolved. Add the olive oil and 2 tablespoon of the basil and whisk until blended.

When the eggplants are ready, remove from the oven^ transfer to a plate to cool, and discard any juices remaining in the pan.

Cut the eggplant and tomato slices in half, making half-moon shapes. Layer them, by alternating and overlapping them in the same pan used for baking the eggplant. Fit any extra pieces into the cracks. Stir the vinaigrette again and spoon it over the slices, distributing the basil and garlic evenly. Lightly salt and, pepper. At this point, the vegetables can be covered and held 3 hours being baked.

To finish: Scatter the Parmesan evenly over the top. Put the dish in the oven, reduce to 35o°F, and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and bake 15 minutes more. Let cool slightly, garnish with the re tablespoons basil, and serve.

A Turkish - Moroccan Dinner

2009-08-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Billy and Roger had given us some tomatoes and we continued to make use of them. It is really nice having neighbors that share their bountiful harvests! We made a Turkish Salad. It is very unusual in that all of the ingredients are chopped to a similar size and then yogurt and browned butter are poured over the salad. The recipe is from Casa Moro The Second Cookbook. You can find the recipe for the salad in our blog of: Aug 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

For the main course we had Expatriate Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. It is one of my very favorite ways to roast a chicken. You can find the recipe in our blog of Aug. 2, 2008. You can find the recipe by clicking the date.

We also had Roasted Potatoes. Cathy modified a recipe from the The River Café in London. Basically cube potatoes, cube onions to a similar size combine with balsamic, salt and pepper and roast till brown at 350 degrees. The balsamic really adds to the flavor of the potatoes!

This is one of those dinners that give lots of leftovers! Yea!

Fantastic Birthday Leftovers!

2009-08-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

We ate the leftovers from our birthday dinners all week long! We made a stock with all of the leftover lobster shells. The broth tasted like the sea (if there were lots of lobsters in it). We then made Risotto using the lobster broth and placed leftover lobster meat on top. Later in the week, we created Fried Risotto Cakes. We fried the risotto in butter untill they cakes were crispy and then put lobster on top. Both presentations were great. The first time I ever had risotto cakes was at Campanile. They usually are on the menu there.

We stretched the risotto into one more fantastic meal. We were at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and they had the very first Chanterelle Mushrooms of the season. Unlike most foods, chanterelles are best early in the season. So these first picked chanterelles are the best of the year. We sautéed them and spooned over the reheated risotto.

Palate had given us some Suckling Pig from the birthday dinner to take home. Cathy found a recipe for a Gratin of Flageolet Beans in Chez Panisse Cooking cookbook. We went to The Santa Monica Farmers Market and ran into Jason from Palate who told us where we could find fresh Flageolet Beans. They were beautiful. We then made the Gratin with the beans using the leftover pig. It was outrageously good! I actually took some to Jason at Palate. Guess you would call it: Take In.

Andrea stopped by and joined us for dinner on the patio. It was a warm night and we ate out on the deck.

We started with a delicious Tomato Salad with Burrata.

Gratin of Flageolet Beans
From Chez Panisse Cooking – Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters

For 4

1 1/4 cups flageolet beans, washed, soaked in cold water overnight
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 small carrot (2 ounces), finely diced
1/2 large stalk of celery (2 ounces), finely diced
1 small yellow onion (5 ounces), finely diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 leafy sprigs thyme
4 tomatoes (14 ounces), peeled, seeded, diced
Piece of prosciutto hock with rind attached (j ounces)
5 cups beef broth or water
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 A cups bread crumbs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan

Warm the olive oil in a 6-quart noncorroding pot. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften slightly and release their perfume. Add the thyme, tomatoes, prosciutto hock, and beans. Cover with the broth and stir in the salt. Bring the beans to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover after i hour, raise the heat slightly so that the liquid bubbles all over its surface, and allow the liquid to reduce during the last 30 minutes so that it is at the same level as the beans. When stirred, the beans should appear saucy.

Preheat the oven to 35o°F.

Remove the prosciutto hock and the thyme sprigs. Cut the meat and rind from the prosciutto, chop it into coarse bits, and add it to the beans. Stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons of the parsley.

Pour the beans into a baking dish (10 by 8 by 2 inches). Mix the crumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, extra virgin oil, and Parmesan and spread them over the beans in an even layer. Bake the beans in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the edges bubble and the crumbs are evenly browned.

Cliff Turns 65!

2009-08-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous birthday party at Palate Food + Wine in Glendale. It was really fun for Cathy and me and the guests. Special kudos go to Joy and Brenda who drove down from Napa. They joined us for 4 days of dining!

Billy and Kevin invited us over for Dungenesse Crabs cooked on his outdoor wok. I went downtown to Chinatown and personally picked out the live crabs. They were some of the best I have ever had! Lots of great wine from Kevin's seemingly unlimited supply.

The next night we went to Barbrix our favorite local restaurant in Silverlake. We ate outdoors (always a treat in LA) and had a wonderful dinner. Yea Don!

Monday night we went to Osteria Mozza. I had asked them grill some Lobsters as an appetizer. They went overboard and planned a whole dinner for us. Chris served us a Burrata sampler plate, then the Lobster with a Fantastic Salad. They then served Lobster Pasta two ways, one with tomatoes one without. An assortment of delicious desserts capped off the evening. It was mind-blowing!

I have NEVER had lobster that came out of the shell so easy. Grilled Lobster is definitely my favorite way to have it prepared. Cathy had the fantastic idea to bring home all of the leftover lobster shells and lobster meat, so that we could make a lobster stock and lobster risotto. I will never leave lobster shells again at a restaurant. It was an inspired idea!

For the party on the day of my birthday, we invited our Silverlake neighbors and some close friends and family. Palate outdid them selves. Of course we planned a meal around Suckling Pig! The food was exceptional everyone commented on how great it was. A Tomato Salad with Watermelon in it was a great hit. You thought you were biting into a red tomato and you got a piece of sweet watermelon. It was a very cleaver idea. Then then served Scallops with Truffles. What more can I say? The Suckling Pig was the best ever, it had been confied in duck fat, making the skin really crispy. It was served with an incredible Potato and Corn Succotash. For dessert: a Rosemary Bread-pudding to die for. In addition the setting in the library at Palate and drinks outdoors on the patio only added to the joy. I have attached a link to some pictures from the party. It was truly memorable.
Thanks to Octavio / Jason and Steve (for the great wines). It was a memorable night!
See pictures of the party here.

Gaspacho, Steak, Corn and Potatoes!

2009-07-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wine:

Muralhas de Moncao Vinho Verde Branco 2008
Chateau St Jean 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon
Macvin du Jura Domaine Rabet Dessert Wine

Bea joined us for dinner. The weather has been drive with your top down, enjoy wine on patio overlooking the city weather. We started the evening outside. We decided to grill some steaks. This could only mean DRY AGED Porterhouse from Harvey Guss Meats!

Summer also means tomatoes every way you can make them. The recipe for Yellow Tomato Gazpacho from The Sunday Supper at Lucques Cook Book is my very favorite. We have made it many times.

Summer grilling steaks demand Corn on the Cob – Grilled.

With the corn and steak we made a favorite: Potatoes with Onion and Balsamic recipe that Cathy invented.

We finished with Chocolate Cupcakes.

Cathy Potatoes
============
3 pounds potatoes ¾ inch cube skin on
2 medium red onions or 12 cippolini onions chopped
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 - 6 Tbl melted butter

Mix all ingredients well back uncovered at 350 till crispy!

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
====================
From Sunday Suppers at Lucques

2 1/2 pounds ripe yellow tomatoes
3 Persian cucumbers, or 1 hot-house cucumber
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and cut in half
4 sprigs cilantro, plus 12 cilantroleaves
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons diced red or orange sweet pepper
3 tablespoons diced red onion
18 small cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Super-good extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

This recipe was developed by Julie Robles, longtime Lucques cook, then sous-chef, then chef de cuisine. It's one of those magical recipes in which you combine a few simple ingredients and end up with an unexpectedly dramatic result. It's a foolproof recipe, but, tasting it, you'd never know how easy it is to make. As long as you have a blender (it doesn't work as well in a food processor) and really great tomatoes, this refresh ing gazpacho is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Blanch the yellow tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Cool the toma¬toes in a bowl of ice water a few minutes, and then use your fingers to slip off their skins. Remove the cores, and chop the tomatoes coarsely, saving all the juice. Reserve the ice water.

Seed and dice three tablespoons' worth of unpeeled cucumber, as prettily as you can manage, for the garnish. Set aside. Peel and coarsely chop the remaining cucumbers.

You will need to make the soup in batches. Place half the yellow tomatoes, coarsely chopped cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro sprigs, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil in a blender with i% teaspoons salt and some pepper. Process at the lowest speed until broken down. Turn the speed up to high, and puree until the soup is com¬pletely smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little of the reserved ice water. Strain the soup and taste for seasoning. Repeat with the rest of the soup ingredients. Chill the soup in the refrigerator; it should be served very cold.

Toss the diced pepper, diced onion, and diced cucumber together in a small
bowl.

Pour the gazpacho into six chilled soup bowls, and scatter the pepper mix¬ture over the soup. Season the cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper and place three cherry tomato halves and two cilantro leaves at the center of each bowl. Fin¬ish each soup with a drizzle of super-good olive oil. To serve family-style, place the soup in a chilled tureen or pretty pitcher and garnish with the tomato halves and cilantro; pass the diced vegetables on the side.

Black Truffles from Italy!

2009-07-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Palate Food + Wine was selling beautiful Black Truffles from Italy. We purchased a truffle that was 1 ½ oz. You can see from the quarter next to it that is fairly large.

We decided to make a Truffle Risotto. We went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake and picked up some Parmigiano Romano to blend into the risotto. We also got Vermont Cultured Butter. It is an excellent butter for cooking!

We made a standard risotto recipe and then used our truffle cutter to slice extremely thin slices on top of the risotto. It was delicious!

We started with a Caesar Salad, using The Zuni Café recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. It was especially good this time. I think it was due to the fact that I used a little more garlic than usual. One of the joys of the salad is that you don’t break up the romaine lettuce and you eat it with your hands! The recipe is long, the time to make it is easy. We cheated and used store bought crutons!

It was a nice night and we ate outside once again on our deck. We plan to make fried risotto cakes with the leftover risotto. They are a staple at Campanile often on the menu. I always like them.

zuni caesar salad

Nothing strikes such a resonant note among Zuni Kitchen Alumni and current staff so much as memories of working the salad station, often referred to as "Caesar's Palace." The Caesar outsells every other salad, indeed every other dish, every day by a factor of three, and after three or four hours, the ritual of cracking, whisking, tasting, tweaking, tasting again, and so on takes its toll on the sturdiest palate.

There is nothing clever, original, or mysterious about this Caesar salad. The main "trick" we rely on is top-notch ingredients, freshly prepared. If you use a lesser cheese, or grate it too soon, you will get a different salad. If you squeeze the lemon juice ahead of time, it will have little or no fragrance. If the eggs are not particularly fresh, or you beat them into the dressing too far in advance, the dressing will not have body. Old or harsh-tasting garlic will dominate every other component and spoil the dressing. Likewise, fresh croutons are exciting; stale ones are dull. And look for salt-packed anchovies; more delicate and nutty than oil-packed fillets, they give the Zuni dressing its distinctive flavor. (But if you can't find salt-packed fish, and must use oil-packed ones, make sure you rinse them in warm water and press between clean towels to extract as much of that oil as possible. Even fillets packed in "good" olive oil can have a vaguely rancid taste or smell straight from the can or jar.) Finally, make the effort to use very fresh romaine; after a few days in the refrigerator, or on the shelves in the produce department, its sweetness fades and it can become muddy, metallic, or bitter.

As you assemble your impeccable ingredients, bear in mind that most vary from day to day and place to place. Red wine vinegar varies in flavor and acidity, as do olive oils. Lemons vary widely in size, juiciness, fragrance, and acidity. Romaine varies in sweetness, "amount of heart," and the texture of the leaf- smooth or crinkly. [The latter needs a lot more dressing per leaf.} And garlic varies in pungency. All this notwithstanding, the proportions below are good guidelines, if making tens of thousands of salads means anything. Start with them, then smell and taste each component each time you make the salad, adjust¬ing for your palate, and remember what you like and how you got there. If you know you love garlic, or anchovy, prepare extra, to make the adjusting easy,

I will be forever thankful to Paula Blotsky, who distilled our daily tweakings into these basic guidelines. Her name is on the greasy, dog-eared recipe card I wrote out fifteen years ago and still refer to.

FOR 4 TO 6 SERVINGS:

For the croutons:

A 4- to 5-ounce chunk or slice ofday-old levain or sourdough bread or
other chewy, peasant-style bread

To finish the salad:

1 to 3 heads romaine lettuce (to yield about 1-1/2 pounds usable leaves)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2/3 cup mild-tasting olive oil
About 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped salt-packed anchovy fillets (6 to 9 Fillets)
About 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 to 3 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil

Salt
2 large cold eggs
About 3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (1-1/2 cups very lightlypacked)
Freshly cracked black pepper About 1-1/2 lemons (to yield about 3 tablespoons juice)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the bread into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes, toss with oil to coat evenly, salt lightly, toss again, and spread on a sheet pan. Roast, rotating the pan as needed, until golden all over, about 8 to 12 minuses. Taste a crouton; it should be well sea¬soned and slightly tender in the center. Leave to cool on the sheet pan.

Discard the leathery outer leaves of the romaine, then cut off the base of each head and wash and dry the leaves. Go through the leaves, trimming them of dis- ' colored, leathery, bruised, or wilted parts, but leave them whole. You need about 1-1/2 pounds of prepared leaves. Layer the leaves with towels if necessary to wick off every drop of water-wet lettuce will make an insipid salad. Refrigerate until ,5 just before dressing the salad.

Whisk together the vinegar, oil, anchovies, and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Add the eggs, a few sprinkles of the cheese, and lots of black pepper. Whisk to emulsify. Add the lemon juice, squeezing it through a strainer to catch the seeds. Whisk again, just to emulsify. Taste the dressing, first by itself and then on a leaf of lettuce, and adjust any of the seasonings to taste. If the romaine is very sweet, the dressing may already taste balanced and excellent ~ if it is mineraly, extra lemon or garlic may improve the flavor. If you like more anchovy, add it. (You should have about 1-1/2 cups of dressing.)

Place the romaine in a wide salad bowl. Add most of the dressing and fold and toss very thoroughly, taking care to separate the leaves and coat each surface with dressing, adding more as needed. Dust with most of the remaining cheese, add the croutons, and toss again. Taste and adjust as before. In general, the tastier the romaine, the less you will need to emphasize other flavors.

Pick out first the large, then the medium-sized, and then the smallest leaves and arrange on cold plates. Add a last drizzle of dressing to the bowl to moisten the croutons if they are at all dry and stir them around in the bowl to capture dressing on each of their faces and in their hollows. Distribute the croutons among the salads and finish each serving with a final dusting of cheese and more pepper.

Delicious Pasta!

2009-07-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Now that tomatoes are at their peak we have been trying to include them in lots of our dinners. Stone fruit is also delicious right now. The Hollywood Farmers Market is a treat right now!

We started with a Nectarine Salad, Lettuce, Almonds, Saba and Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We really like salads with stone fruit! Saba makes a great dressing for a salad.

For the pasta we made one of our very favorite tomato based pastas. Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar from: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook.
We purchased a very unusual pasta from The Cheese Store of Silverlake: Cannolicchi. We never have eaten a pasta like this. It unravels when cooked into string like pasta. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Oct 26, 2008. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had fresh Grapes. They have finally arrived in the market and are very good.

Grilled Lobster

2009-07-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly to us, we had never made lobster. I purchased 4 lobster tails and we decided to Grill the Lobsters. Apparently lobster tails arrive frozen. We kept them on ice until we were ready to cook.

This is a simple task! Heat the grill. Place lobster on grill shell side down. Grill for 5 minutes or so. Apply melted butter to lobster and flip. Grill to lobster is shell is red.

We started with a salad from Mozza2Go. Mozza Restaurant has opened a takeout facility. I purchased several items including Nancy’s Chopped Salad that we ALWAYS order at the restaurant. It was delicious. The only difference was that we got to eat it on our deck overlooking a beautiful Silverlake Sunset!

We only ate two of the lobster tails. We kept the other two and made a Lobster Salad from them. Tomatoes are at their summer peak. We really enjoy eating outside now that the weather is so nice!

A Rice Find!

2009-07-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes are finally at their peak at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market! We started with a Salad that we topped with sliced tomatoes, Burrata Cheese, Chives and Basil. We get the fresh Burrata at The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

I then grilled a salmon filet that we had purchased at the fish monger at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. We of course used the Egg to smoke the salmon, low and slow! We have used this recipe before and think it is excellent. The recipe is called Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon and it is from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. You can find the recipe in our Blog of Jan 15 2009. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

Cathy found a recipe for a Squash or Pumpkin dish called: Jewelled Pumpkin Rice in the Moro East Cookbook. This was a first time making it, and it definitely is joining the repertoire of rice dishes that we will make again. It is delicious. We also found out it re-heats! This is a great one, and not very difficult. Give it a try!

Jewelled Pumpkin Rice
From Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark

This pilav is areal winner. For those who need convincing about pumpkin or squash,
this is the dish to try.
Serves 4-6

1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash (from 1 ½ lb squash), cut into 1/3 in dice
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
a big pinch (about 50 strands) of saffron
3 ½ oz unsalted butter
2 ½ in piece of cinnamon stick
4 allspice berries, crushed
1 large or 2 medium onions, thinly sliced across the grain
½ oz dried barberries (or currants)
2 oz shelled unsalted pistachios
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2/3 lb basmati rice, soaked in tepid, salted water for 1 hour
16 ounces vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 400

Toss the diced butternut squash with half of the salt and the olive oil. Spread it in a single layer in a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Mix the saffron with 3 tablespoons of boiling water and add1 ounce of the butter, which should melt. Set aside.

Heat the remaining butter in a medium saucepan with the cinnamon and allspice until it foams, then add the onion and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Fry over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft and starting to color.

Add the barberries, pistachios and cardamom and cook for 10 minutes more, until the onion is golden and sweet. Now drain the rice and add to the pan, stirring for a minute or two to coat, then pour in the stock. Taste for seasoning then scatter with the roast squash. Cover with a circle of greaseproof paper and a tight-fitting lid and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a final 5 min¬utes.

Remove the lid and the greaseproof paper and drizzle with the buttery saffron water. Replace the lid and leave to rest, off the heat, for 5-10 minutes.