The Washburns come to Dinner

Barabra and Derrick are some of my favorite people in Ojai and I was super excited to have them over for dinner.

We started with:

Smoked Whitefish and Crab Stuffed Jalapenos with Tomotillo Salsa

Then, for the main event, we ate:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guajillo Sauce
Oven Baked Polenta
Poblanos Rajas
Spicy Cesear Salad

We drank Titus 2004 Cab.

For Desert, we ate:

Ginger Cake with whip creme, blackberries, pistachios and mint
Coffee

Some of the recipes are right below, some reference

Tomotillo Salsa

1. Under the broiler, roast about 18 Tomotillos (skins removed and washed) under the broiler until blackened. Turn and blacken other side.

2. While tomotillos, are roasting, pan roast 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic and 2 Serrano chilies on a flat cast iron pan on top of the stove.

Once everything is blackened, pour tomtillos and collected juices, peeled garlic and Serrano chilies into your food processor. Pulse to combine.

(You can vary the above to your tastes, making it hotter).

Pour into a bowl and mix with enough water to make the consistency more spoonable. Just before serving, stir in about 1/3 cup or more of finely diced white onion and about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. Add salt and sugar to balance out the tanginess and heat.

Keep in fridge, till ready to use.

Stuffed Crab and Smoked Whitefish Jalapenos with Tomotillo Salsa, Avocado and Feta

Chile Rellenos are one of my most favorite foods, but I have always been intimidated about working with that huge chili, hoping it won't fall apart as I fry it up. Working with jalapenos has been a good way to gain confidence. And one day I'll tackle the poblano.

I have stuffed these with cheese, pork, chorizo, chicken and various other experiments. Tonight, I decided to try a crab and smoked white fish filling since we were having pork tenderloin as the main dish.

I served these as a first course for 4 peeps and made enough so everybody could have 3 each. The jalapenos are fresh and plentiful this time of year. I got mine at Farmer and the Cook who got theirs from Tutti Frutti.

Preparing the Jalapenos
1. Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Add 2 roughly chopped small cones or 1/3 of a big come of piloncillo (Mexican cane sugar) or about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Bring to a boil as you prepare the chilies.

2 Make a "T-shaped" slit in each chili. The top of the "T" should be near the stem (about a thumb width) and the slit should go almost to the tip of the chili.

3. When water is boiling and sugar has dissolved, add chilies to the water. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (I usually use a small lid to press the chilies down cuz they have a tendency to bob on the top of the water).

4. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain cut side down.

5. When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and veins with a small spoon. Be diligent about this. Any seeds left in there make it almost inedible for most people.

The Filing
As I mentioned above, you can stuff the chilies with anything, but tonight we used crab and smoked whitefish.

1. Heat some water and pour over a handful of Flame Raisins to soften.
2. Finely chop about 1/3 cup of white onion.
3. In a saute pan, heat a little olive oil. Add some freshly ground cumin and coriander and a hint of garam masala. Once fragrant (only about 20 seconds or so), add the onions and turn the heat to low. Saute until onions are super tender and the spices have blended. (I usually let this happen for at least 15 minutes)
4. While onions are cooking, chop about 1/4 cup of cilantro, a tbl. of capers and the warmed raisins.
5. Mix the onions, cilantro, capers together, mashing a bit with a fork.
6. Grate zest of one lemon into mixture and offer the juice of half of the lemon.
7. Add a generous 1/3 of a cup of crab meat and 1/2 cup of smoked whitefish. Blend well and taste for needed tweaks. Salt is usually required. (I do not add pepper cuz of the spiciness of the chilies).

Stuffing the chilies
Carefully Open and stuff the chilies with amount of stuffing that allows you to close the chili back up into its "original" shape. Store on plate with Plastic Wrap and put in fridge. 30 Minutes before frying, put the chilies in the freezer so they hold together better. (Thank you Rick Bayless for this tip).

Battering and Frying the Chilies
This is what makes this dish difficult to do for company. Cuz you really want to do this right before you serve it. So, I only serve it when pals who don't mind you in the kitchen when they come over.

1. If you want to keep them warm while you fry the whole lot up, turn the oven to its lowest setting. (I had polenta cooking in the oven tonight, so I did not have this option).

2. Heat a massive amount of oil in a deep dish heavy skillet. You want at least 1/2 inch of oil. Tonight I tried Spectrum's High Heat Sunflower oil and it worked great.

3. Separate eggs, letting whites fall into big bowl and keeping egg yolks in a smaller bowl.

4. Spread about 1/4 flour on a plate.

5. Add about 1/4 tsp. of salt into egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Then, with mixer still going, add a tbl. of flour and the yolks one at a time until blended.

6. Working quickly, hold onto the stems as you dunk chilies in flour, shaking off the excess and then dip them into the batter to coat fully. Then place them in the hot oil to fry. Work in small batches to allow plenty of frying room. As they set, spoon some of the hot oil on the sunny side up. Turn after about 2 minutes and fry other side.

7. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and keep in oven if you have that option.

To Serve:
Tonight I smeared a platter with tomotillo salsa and layed the chilies on top. Sprinkle with cilantro and feta and serve with extra salsa and avocado slices to cut the heat. Might have been nicer to make everyone individual plates of them...but it worked out fine. Sour creme would also have been welcomed as these jalepenos turned out to be on the spicer side.

Spicey Ceaser Salad

This is a nice change from the usual Cesar salad. Almost works like a palette cleanser. Again, thank you Rick Bayless for the idea.

One way make the croutons:
- Cube your favorite bread. Country Sourdough or Pane Rustica are my favorites lately. Toast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes in oven @ 400 degrees until dry and toasty.
- Meanwhile, gently warm 1/4 cup or more of olive oil with hunks of garlic. After about 20 minutes, gently mash garlic into oil and then strain.
- Toss croutons with garlic oil and put back in oven until golden brown. (About 5 more minutes).

The dressing:
In a food processor, combine
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 halved Serrano chili with half the seeds removed (or more to make it hotter).
- 4 tsp. Worchestshire Sauce
- 1.5 tbl of Sherry Vinegar
- Zest from 1.5 limes
- Salt

Blend for about a minute.

Remove from Processor and whip rest of 1/2 cup olive oil in by hand.
(Last night, we were only making salad for 4, so i divided the dressing in half, whipping only 1/4 cup of oil into the blended mixture).

The Lettuce
Trim 2 heads of romaine lettuce down to the more tender leaves. Tear or chop into bite size pieces and wash and dry.

When ready to serve the salad, toss the lettuce with about a 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro. Toss with desired amount of dressing. Add croutons and crumble Feta or Queso Fresco cheese all over it.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guajillo Sauce

I was inspired to make Guajillo Sauce from Rick Bayless. But once I had made it according to him, it was not quite right to our tastes. So below is my recall of his instructions and our additions

1. Slowly roast 6 unpeeled garlic cloves on a cast iron skillet until blackened. (About 15 minutes).
2. Stem, open, seed and devein two 2 oz. bags of Guajillo Chillies. (Skinny bright red ones).
3. Start kettle of water.
4. Once garlic is done, toast chillies briefly on both sides and remove to a bowl. (I like to press them down into pan to blister them a bit). Pour hot water over them and allow to soak about 30 minutes to rehydrate.

5. In food processor, puree chilles, garlic, 1/3 cup beef broth, a couple pinches freshly ground cumin seed, Mexican oregano, salt and fresh ground pepper until smooth.

6. Press mixture though a sieve to get smooth paste and discard of skins.

7. Heat enuf olive oil (about 1.5 tbl) in big heavy dutch oven-like pan. Add puree and allow to cook until it "rounds out", loosing the chili edge and turning a darker brick red. Slowly begin to add the beef broth. Rick's recipe called for 3 cups of beef broth. I only added 2 to get a thicker sauce. At the end of dinner, I had no sauce left over, so I might add more broth next time.

8. Cook for 30 minutes over a low simmer, partially covered.

9. When we tasted it, we wanted it to be sweeter. So, I added a canela cinnamon stick, some flame raisins and a little molasses. If I do this sauce again, I would add the cinnamon stick in the beginning.

These additions, plus lots of salt, allowed the sauce to find it's footing and reveal something really yummy.

Because we were uncertain of the heat of the sauce, we grilled the pork tenderloin with just olive oil, salt and pepper.

To serve, I spooned some of the beautiful red sauce on a plate along with lots of the raisins. I sliced up the tenderloin on the diagonal and arranged on the platter. I scattered with chopped cilantro and toasted slivered almonds.

That Ginger Cake

No recipe has elicited as much love as this adaptation from Joy of Cooking's Fresh Ginger Cake. I have given this recipe out a million times and I always hear back that no matter how you make it, it turns out totally delicious.

Derick said it was the best desert he had ever had.

Tonight, I had all the mixings fixed so just before I served dinner on the table, I mixed them up and threw the cake in the oven so it baked while we ate.

Tonight I served it with soft whipped creme sweetened with a little maple syurp, blackberries and pistachios.

Here is the blueprint:

Heat oven to 350 and grease a round cake pan. (I like the 9" kind whose sides "pop off" to make for easy cake removal).

In a small bowl, combine
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup dark corn syrup (or golden syrup, honey or light molasses...maple syrup would probably also work...)
- 1 large egg

Melt a stick of unsalted butter, and add to the molasses mixture with 1/4 cup water.

Add a very generous 1/2 cup of minced fresh ginger to the molasses mixture and stir.

Stir in flour mixture.

Pour cake batter into greased pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes until ye olde fork in the center trick reveals a clean fork.

Let cake cool enuf to remove from pan.
Slice and serve warm.

Grilled Cheese Take 2

A while ago I published instructions for my first foods. The things I first learned how to make. One of them was a grilled cheese sandwich for my dad. Today I updated it with my beuaitul Southern California life vegetables.

1. Turn on broiler.
2. Slice Ciabatta bread to desired thickness.
3. Put toast on cookie sheet and toast one side under broiler.
4. Thinly slice the raw hard goat cheese they carry at Rainbow Bridge and put on non-toasted bread side. Put under broiler to melt.
5. Meanwhile, in the nooks and crannies of toasting time, halve or quarter your favorite delicious cherry tomatoes. (Lately I am using the big orange ones from Farmer and the Cook). Toss tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, some shredded lemon basil and salt. (Some chopped shallots might have been good too).
6. When cheese is at desired meltiness, remove toasts to a plate and spoon tomato mixture on top. Grind some fresh pepper on and serve with knife and fork.

Cardamon Pod Tea with Maple Syrup and Lemon

It's just turned to fall. The light is softer and the mountains are blushing in the mornings.
I am just starting to make tea again. This is the one I made tonight and used to make a lot.

Start the water.
Lightly Crush 6 or 7 Cardamon Pods
Slice a piece of lemon (tonight i sliced a round one).

Pour a hit of Mountain School in Vermont maple syrup into your mug. Put the lemon slice and crushed cardamon pods in. When water is boiling, pour water onto. Let steep for about 5 minutes. If you want, filter, but I usually just drink it with all the stuff still in it.

Steve Sprinkle's Cherry Tomatoes with Blue Cheese

Last night we were on our way to the OVLC Moonlight on the Meadow Fundraiser. Seemed like a good idea to make a little snack before going. Steve Sprinkle had gifted me a basket of the most beautiful orange sweet small tomatoes. They are bigger than cherry tomatoes and probably have another name. Be sure to get some before they are gone.

1. Quarter 6 of the delicious small orange tomatoes from Framer and the Cook.
2. Drizzle with the Balsamic Vinegar that Kim brought you back from Argentina
3. Crumble the blue cheese that is in your fridge over the tomatoes
4. Drizzle some good olive oil over the tomatoes
5. Sprinkle some good salt

We ate it with forks.

Poblanos Rajas for BFF

My BFF (that's Best Friend FOREVER) just asked me to post this recipe. I did not make it up. It's a classic Mexican thang. The ratio of onions to poblanos can vary depending on your taste and aesthetics.

1. Roast 3 or 4 Poblanos under the broiler, turning occasionally so they are totally charred and black. (If the cute boy next door is grilling, you can put them on the grill and char them there). Time varies depending on the shape of the peppers and your broiler. Once charred, you need to steam them. You can do this is a zip lock bag or in a brown paper bag. My favorite technique is in a bowl covered with that new amazing Press n' Seal. Let them rest at least 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice up a big white onion into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Mince a clove of garlic.

4. When poblanos are ready, remove from "steamer set up" and peel off the skin. This is where you will wish you really charred them, cuz if you got lame in step 1, it will be hard to peal here.
Remove the stem and seeds and then thinly slice.

5. Turn on heat under a pan and add some olive oil. Add the onions and saute until softer, but not brown or soggy. I think the dish tastes better when the onions still have a little crunch, so usually no more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add the poblanos strips and and heat through. Add some crumbled Mexican Oregano.

6. Remove from heat and when you are ready to serve, add a hit of heavy creme and good salt.

A Variation on a Theme: Pasta with Tomotoes and Other Stuff

Eric says I have been dialing this dish in since the winter. Using canned tomatoes and chard and sausage and some other unusual things like adobo sauce from the chitpole pepper can and sun dried tomatoes, the first version of this dish made Eric say, "Wow, this dish would make Uncle Cuccio so mad. Because he would love it and it would be like nothing he ever tasted before."

The ingredients keep changing with the seasons. Here is the version that we made tonight:


1. Start a pot of water boiling
2. Start Heat under your favorite meat searing pan. (Tonight I used non-stick cuz I am going out of town tomorrow and did not feel like having a lot to clean up).
3. Remove casing from Hot Italian Turkey Sausage (or other sausage of choice) and pull into bits and add to hot pan. Brown and when done, turn off heat and leave in pan.
4. Meanwhile, finely mince or press 2 cloves of garlic. Mash with some salt and throw in large bowl with some olive oil.
5. Half a small red onion and slice half moon shapes out of one side. Add to bowl.
6. Core and chop 4 large Delicious Big Beef or Heirloom Tomatoes.
7. Thinly slice about 7 marinated sun dried tomatoes and add to bowl.
8. Drain and add about 1/2 a jar of pitted Kalamata olives.
9. Pull Lemon Basil Leaves off the stems and add to bowl.
10. Stir and pour some more olive oil in, along with some Balsamic Vinegar and lots of Ground Pepper. Allow to sit while sausage finishes cooking and water begins to bowl.

Tonight, Eric and I were working and he asked me to delay dinner an hour, I turned water off and once sausage seemed done, turned it off to, but the tomato mixture was allowed to marinate. This seemed to work out.

11. Once sausage is done, turn off heat and let it rest till needed.
12. Once water is boiling, throw in pasta. I have been a huge egg pasta fan lately and tonight we used the fettucini width egg pasta noodles.
13. When pasta is done, drain. Add Sausage and lots of salt to tomato mixture. Mix with pasta and serve with chopped fresh mozzarella on top.