In Anticipation of Summer Cold Pasta

This pasta is best in the late summer when the tomatoes and cucumbers are unbelievable. But we swung by Farmer and the Cook tonight after a long hike and the produce, as always looked great, so we decided to give it a try.

Start a pot of water boiling for the pasta.
Start preparing below. Once water boils, add some salt and the pasta.
(Tonight we used Bionaturae's Organic Fusili)

As you prepare below, add to a wide deep bowl.

1. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and mash with some good salt
2. Thinly quarter 1/2 a red onion
3. Chop about a pound of the best tomato's you can find.
4. Thinly slice and then mince between 5 and 8 marinated sun dried tomatoes.
5. Add too much good quality olive oil and stir the mixture.
6. Peal and half and slice 2 cucumbers into half moon shapes.
7. Finely grate zest of 2 lemons into bowl. Then slice and squeeze the juice, being aware of keeping the seeds from getting into the bowl.
   
8. Add a shy 2 tbl. of drained capers.
9. Add about 1/2 cup of pitted halved kalamata olives.
10. If I had had fresh herbs like Tarragon or Basil, I would have used them. But instead, I used some dried Mexican Oregano and Red Pepper flakes.
11. Open and remove pits of 3 avocados. Keep avocado in skin and Using Sharp knife, slice in two directions to get 1/4 inch pieces. Reserve and do not add to bowl.
    

Stir the above and add too much salt and ground pepper.

12. Once pasta is done, drain and run cool water over it, stirring to bring temperature down evenly.

13. Add pasta to mixture and stir. Use spoon to scoop out avocados and gently add to pasta mixture.

Angel Hair with Prosciutto, Pine Nuts and Basil

Today I bought some fresh angel hair from Karl at Oak Tree Bakery. Jim Churchill and Lisa Brenneis told me that fresh angel hair was just not right, and all the Italians dry it. They warned that I was going to end up with a gloppy bowl of mush. These guys are Foodies so I left the bakery wondering if what I had understood to be the nature of angel hair was just an ignorant inexperienced unsophisticated understanding.

But we just finished dinner, I thought the pasta was great. I love what Karl is doing, and I hope he continues to grow and expand and do well. And I will buy his pasta again.

1. Start a pot of salted water boiling.

2. Slice up some prosciutto and fry in a little olive oil. Put into a large bowl.

3. In same pan, toast up the pine nuts. Put in same bowl as prosciutto.

4. In same pan, saute up some minced shallots. Just before shallots are done, add some minced garlic and barely saute. Add to same bowl.

5. Slice/Shred some basil and add to the bowl.

6. Zest 2 lemons into bowl and add the juice of one of the lemons.

7. Add some olive oil and too much fresh grated Parmesan. Lots of fresh ground pepper and salt.

8. When water is boiling, throw pasta into water. I counted to 30 (prob, about a minute) and then drained it.

9. As I added the pasta to the bowl, I poured in a little half n' half to help blend the flavors.


I chose the flavors for Eric, my main squeeze and food muse. He liked it a lot. And that is what matters most to me.

Butter Lettuce Salad with Sauteed Asparagus, Leeks and Smoked Ahi Tuna

1. Wash and Dry Lettuce.

2. Wash and Dry Arugula.

3.Thinly Slice and Wash Leeks.

4. Heat a little olive oil in a saute pan and add leeks, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 minutes. Remove to a small bowl or plate.

5. Add more olive oil to the pan and add Asparagus to pan and saute until done. (I left these asparagus whole cuz they were short beautiful thick stalks from Nancy Pepper's garden, but you could also cut them into pretty diagonal pieces). About 10 minutes.

6. Tear lettuce into desired pieces and thinly slice arugula (shred). Mix Lettuce, Arugula, and sauteed leeks together and toss salad with lemon and olive oil and salt and pepper.

7. Arrange lettuce on plates. Lie asparagus over the salad and sprinkle arrange slices of smoked ahi tuna on top.

Potato Salad with Mustard Dill Vinegrete

1. Cover small red potatoes with salted water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer till potatoes are done. With small red potatoes, I set the timer for 10 minutes and check with a fork for doneness. Then I reset the timer for appropriate time.

2. While Potatoes are cooking, chop 1 shallot and mix with 3 tbl. of red wine vinegar. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes.

3. Mix in :
about a tbl. of grain mustard
about a tbl of chopped capers
2 to 3 tbl of dill
good salt and fresh ground pepper
I usually let this part of the dressing sit until I am almost ready to serve and then i slowly stir in about 3tbl. or more olive oil.

4. Once potatoes are done, drain and allow to cool a little before trying to handle. While still warm, slice up into halves or quarters depending on size and mix with dressing. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.

Karl's Turkey Sanwiches

We have been eating lunch at Karl's Oak Tree Bakery in Ojai, Calif. a lot.
He makes the most delicious roast turkey sandwiches.
As good as you would make them the day after Thanksgiving if you had homemade bread and olive tapenade available.

Fresh Roasted Thickly sliced Turkey
Homemade 9 grain bread
Fresh Olive Tapenade
Mayo
Lots of Salt and Pepper

Served with a yummy Balsamic Dressing Salad.


Thanks, Karl!

Romaine Salad with Blue Cheese, Maple Syrup Pecans and Mint

1. Cut and Wash One Head Romaine Lettuce...( I usually do this in a bowl of water. I drain it and rinse in a "colander") and then...Allow to Dry.

2. Heat Butter in a skillet. Add Pecans and Coat and Toast. Allow about 3 minutes. Add some maple Syrup and continue to brown. Remove from heat and place pecans on a paper towel to drain.

3. Toss Lettuce with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil. (I kept it light cuz the Potato dish I was serving this with was so saturated).

4. Separate into two bowls and Sprinkle with finely Chopped Mint.

5. Sprinkle Toasted Pecans over Lettuce.

6. Thinly Slice (almost shred) Point Reyes Blue Cheese over salad.

7. Salt and Pepper.

8. Serve.

(Tonight I felt like my grandma, Elsie Sykora. Cuz I kept affirming how good it was!)

Red Potato and Heirloom Tomato Gratin, Thursday, April 19th

I have been trying to hit this for a while. I started making a version of it from Deborah Madison's Green's Cookbook when I first started cooking. I was drawn to it cuz she said that she had gotten it from a Cookbook by Picasso and it had all of Eric's favorite ingredients in it.

We stopped by FnC on our way home after a hike on Willis Canyon and got the goods. We also picked up 2 delicious cappuccinos at Coffee Connection. We only had a Credit Card and Taylor trusted us to come back the next day. We put Steve and Olivia down as references.

So I am writing this as I cook, cuz these the first step of browning the potatoes takes time.

Get your OVEN ready. Preheat to 400 degrees/BAKE.
You will need an Oven Proof Pyrex-like Dish and A High Sided, Flat Bottomed Wide Skillet.

The POTATOES
1. Slice Potatoes as Thin as you can without hurting yourself.(Thank you, Edna).
2. Heat too much Olive Oil in the high sided flat skillet.
3. Brown the Potato Slices. You will need to work in batches. As they are browning, sprinkle fresh chopped ROSEMARY, good quality SALT and fresh ground mixed PEPPERCORNS on them. I seem to brown one side more than the other, guessing that this allows it to be both crispy and soft. I think I could have made them more like potato chips as they soften in the oven. Once browned remove to a plate. (If you want a drier dish, drain the chips on a towel. I ususally use paper, but I would love to learn how to use cloth. Maybe cheese cloth could work.)


THE ONIONS
4. While the potatoes are frying, slice up a large RED ONION. I chose to slice it in rings, cuz I thought it would look the prettiest.
5. Once the potatoes are all browned up, start browning the all onions in the same pan.

THE GARLIC
6. While the Potatoes are Browning or while the Onions are softening, Mince the GARLIC.

THE TOMATOES
7. While the Potatoes are Browning or the Onions are browning, core and slice the heirloom tomatoes.

THE OLIVES
8. While the Onions are browning, chop the BLACK OLIVES to a consistency of "chunky". I had a combination of herb cured and kalamata.

Once onions are browned, add the garlic, olives, DRIED THYME, a hint of RED PEPPER FLAKES, more salt, more ground pepper. Saute another 2 minutes or so, or until you first smell the garlic.

THE OVEN DISH
9. Poor a little olive oil into your PYREX-LIKE dish. Tonight I used this pretty Blue Crueset Oven Dish I have.

10. Spread Onions over the Bottom.

11. Layer first layer of potatoes on top of the onions.

12. Layer the slices of heirloom tomato. I had a combination of dark red and orange and I spread them out to create some contrast.

13. Layer the top layer of potatoes on. (I saved the most attractive (to me) potatoes for the top layer.)

14. Put in Oven. Set for 20 minutes

15. During this time, make the SAUCE and prep the SALAD.

16. At 20 minutes, check. Turn the pan 180 degrees to even out oven heat's effect on the dish. And set for 10 to 15 more minutes.

17. When done, remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes or so to cool to a reasonable temperature. As a cook who tastes all the time, you build up a tolerance for heat. People that are not used to tasting HOT food, need more cooling time than you think.

18. THE SAUCE
By hand, mix mostly sour creme, some meyer lemon juice , a smidge of grain mustard and some dry (fresh would be better) dill together.


19. TO SERVE
Use a serrated spatula (I love my Cutco one) to cut the Gratin into a serving portion. Tonight's gratin did not hold and was loose and "Country Style" in the shallow bowl. I kind of like this aesthetic, but it you want a tighter hold, you will use less oil, maybe add a binder, like egg or milk, and allow to cool a little more.

20. Serve the Sauce on the side.

Pappardelle Pasta with Sausage, Kale and Mozzarella

We have made lots of different versions of this and will continue to vary it depending on what is available. Tonight I have started to record them.


1. Start the Water for the Pasta and add some salt.
2. In a separate heavy pot, heat some olive oil. (Probably about 2 tbl.)
3. Break up Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage into the hot olive oil and allow to brown. Stirring as required to get all sides.
4. As Sausage is browning, dice up 1 leek, 2 carrots and 1 clove garlic. (Sometimes the leeks will be super sandy and you will need to wash them once cut).
5. Once sausage has browned, remove from pan with slotted spoon into a bowl and add a little extra olive oil to the pot.
6. Add Leeks and Carrots to the pot and saute until desired softness and color is achieved. (I usually error on the side of browned and soft). While carrots and leeks are cooking, chop up Fresh Rosemary. (We are lucky enough to have this growing in our yard, so I use it a lot).
7. Once Leeks and Carrots are done, add minced garlic, Rosemary and dried Mexican Oregano. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or so.
8. Add enough Pernod to the pot to deglaze and simmer the veggies for about 2 minutes. (You could use almost anything here. I chose Pernod cuz it was in my cupboard).
9. Add enough Beef Stock (prob. about 1/3 cup) so that you can throw the sausage and slivered kale back in and cook it down into almost a sauce. (I slivered about 1/2 a head of beautiful black kale).
10. Add a smidge of the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles. Add Good Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper.
11. Put the wide egg noodle Pappardelle into the salted boiling water.
12. By the time the pasta is done, about 6 minutes, your 'sauce' is ready.
13. Drain Pasta and mix with sauce. Add some butter to bring flavors forward.
14. To serve, scoop into shallow pasta bowls. Add a bit of lemon zest. Chopped fresh mozzarella and toasted almond slivers.

Asapargus and Spinich Salad with Toasted Pecans, Point Reyes Blue Cheese and Figs

Making dinner from what is already in your house can be a good way to stimulate creativity.

Toast the Pecans, set aside

Saute up and caramelize a thinly sliced shallot
Barely Saute Asparagus
Put Shallots and Asparagus in Salad Bowl

Barely Saute the Fresh Spinach
Add to Asparagus and Shallots
Toss with some Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

Divide Salad onto to two plates or bowls
Scatter toasted pecans, blue cheese shavings and chopped dried Turkish Figs

Salt and Fresh ground pepper.

Roast Chicken and Veggies

Eric and I make this a lot.
Here is how we do it.

1 Organic Free Range Chicken
2 Medium Size Red Potatoes
2 or 3 Carrots dep. on size
1 to 3 Parsnips dep. on size
2 yellow onions
1/2 head of garlic cloves
1 lemon
Fresh Rosemary
1/3 Stick Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper


I use a cookie sheet with sides instead of a roasting pan, cuz more of the chicken can crisp up.
Oven at 400 degrees.

Prepare the Chicken
Remove all the included innards.
Rinse and pat dry.
Put in middle of baking sheet. The direction you face it depends on your oven. Give the chicken a "massage." Rubbing the skin and flesh. (This feels totally weird).

Prepare the Vegetables.
Potatoes
Cut the potatoes lengthwise in half. Then cut into wedges, with point ends.
Toss with Olivie oil. Herb of choice, fresh chopped rosemary or dried tarragon or other. Salt and pepper. Scatter on baking tray around Chicken.

Onions
Cut Onions in Half lengthwise. Cut into Wedges. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Scatter on baking tray around Chicken.

Carrots
Peal and cut so pieces are about equal. So some pieces you will leave whole, some you will halve, and some you will quarter. Toss with Olive Oil and mix with rest of vegetables.

Parnsips
Treat like Carrots.

Garlic
Leave cloves whole and with peal still on. Toss with Olive Oil. Stuff at least 4 in the chicken cavity and scatter the rest around vegetables.

Lemon
Cut into quarters and put in chicken cavity.

Rosemary
Stuff into chicken cavity.

Melt butter and pour all over chicken. Liberally grind fresh pepper and sprinkle good salt all over bird.

Put in Oven and set timer for 20 to 25 minutes.
At half way mark, turn Pan around so opposite side of chicken is facing the back wall and reset timer for 20 to 25 minutes.
At end of time, check thigh.

I have recently been turned onto the meat thermometer method. Very cool and usually works, Thigh should register 170 degrees or so. In the past I would stick a knife into the thigh and wonder if it was clear or pink.

Eric and I like our meat as moist as possible, so we push it a little. Let the thermometer read 175 to 180 if you feel otherwise.

After you have taken it out of the oven, scoop the vegetables into the serving bowls and let the bird rest at least 5 minutes before carving. A pair of good strong scissors are great for removing the parts, esp. for two people.