Oven Roasted Heriloom Tomato Pasta

Any juicy fresh tomato will do, but I had heirlooms.

1. Preheat Oven to 350
2. Core and Cut 5 or 6 Tomatoes in half. Put on baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle olive oil and grind fresh pepper on them. Put in oven for about 50 minutes, until they look a little dry on the top.
3. Meanwhile, start your pot of salted water.
4. Finely Chop 1/2 a red onion. I would have used Shallot if I had it.
5. Mince 1 clove of garlic.
5. Sliver lots of fresh basil. (I probably slivered a cup).

6. When tomatoes are done, roughly chop them up and throw in a big bowl with the onion, garlic and basil, some olive oil and lots of good salt and pepper.

7. Cook pasta. Tonight we used the egg pasta from Farmer and the Cook.
8. Drain Pasta and Toss with Tomatoes.

Serve. Yum.

Thomas Meyerhoffer Returns Home

Our pal thomas showed up yesterday night for 2 days. I love when Thomas comes to visit.

Tonight we made this:

Grilled Scallops on Fennel, Radish and Lemon Salad

1. Start the grill.

2. Prep the giant diver scallops from Ric and Alicia with a little olive oil,pepper and salt. 3 to a skewer.

3. Slice some Pink and Red French Radishes and bulb of Fennel super thin and toss with a little lemon zest, lemon, olive oil, fresh ground pepper and good salt. Divide among 3 plates.

4. Finely chop some Tarragon.

5. Grill Scallops Perfectly like Eric did tonight.

6. Arrange scallops on the fennel salad, sprinkle tarragon and serve with a lemon wedge.


Yum. Then me and Thomas had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Surrender to the Meat Party: A Cooking Anxiety Dream

Had my first dinner party anxiety dream last night. Compelled to share it. Reveals my cooking control freak perfectly.

I had invited a group of people over to my house for dinner, but had been somewhat lame in making sure to invite everyone and not committed enough to really make sure they were coming.

Instead of preparing for the dinner party, I spent the day snorkeling with Allison and giant earthworms underwater. (This was a whole separate bizarre chapter of the dream).

When it struck 6:00pm, the time when people were supposed to be arriving, I had not yet started to cook anything. Of course, I had bought ingredients to that would require at least 5 hours to prepare and I was debating what to do, I resolved that we would all just get burritos at Jim n' Robs.

When I came downstairs, my little brother Geordie and friend John Fonteyn had cooked up all the food, but not in the way I would have. They had created a 1950's style meat fest. All the food looked like those funny colorized photos from the late 50s, early 60s cookbooks. So as I was scanning the crown roast with ham cold cuts tucked inside, the dried up pork chops slathered in ground beef and onions, the roasted chickens all torn up in caveman portions, and the maraschino cherry pot roast, I was in suspension between feeling grateful and frustrated. Dinner had been made unasked and lovingly, but it was not the way I wanted it. People were already arrived and more were coming, and I was going to be judged on the food.

The tension was unbelievable. And as I watched John from Krotona, a strict vegetarian, scan the offerings and not find anything, my sense of failure was immense. I woke up feeling helpless and ungrateful.

The advice I am gleaning this morning:
1. When you put something in motion, it will happen and you better show up for it.
2. If you are going to insist on doing it all yourself, then really do it.
3. But instead, why don't you notice the support that is there for you and work with it.
4. Your ideas about the way things should be will keep you from growing.
5. Soften your food snobbery.
6. And say thank you.

Old Skool New England Scallops and Sketti

1. Bring pot of salted water to boil.
2. Thinly slice up 2 leeks and saute in butter and olive oil. Set aside.
3. Mince up a clove of garlic and about a teaspoon of fresh green peppercorns.
4. When water boils throw in Spaghetti. You have about 12 to 13 minutes from here till done.
5. In same pan as you cooked the leeks, add more butter and olive oil. Salt and pepper 6 beautiful diver scallops from Alicia at GeeWhataDeal Seafood. When fat is ready, add scallops to pan. Saute until browned, but not cooked though. I partially covered the pan to speed up cooking. Set aside.
6. Add leeks back into pan. Add garlic and peppercorns. Add some white wine and allow to cook off. Add a little Dijon mustard. Put scallops back into pan and cover.
7. Slice up some fresh arugula from Steve's Farm.
8. When pasta is done, drain and add olive oil and lemon and salt to toss.
9. When scallops are done, pull from heat, add sliced arugula and some lemon juice to pan and stir.
10. To serve, put spaghetti in 2 bowls and dish out Scallops and sauce on top. Salt and pepper to taste.


Eric loved this. Reminded him of Boston where he went to college but also of Ojai where we live now. I ate my entire dish. He only ate half. Haha!

Breakfast from Last Night Leftovers

1. We fried up the leftover french potato salad from last night in Olive Oil.
2. In same pan, fried up our local organic eggs.
3. Served eggs on top of potatoes with leftover tomato salad from last night.

YUM!

French Potato Salad

1. Boil 4 delicious red potatoes from Steve's Farm

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing:
- minced shallots mixed with red wine vinegar (let this sit for a while)
- salt and minced garlic
- chopped capers
- good Dijon mustard
- pepper
- olive oil

3. When potatoes are done, drain. Cut up into desired size and mix with the dressing.

We served the potato salad along side the fish.

Seared Miso Ahi Tuna with Fennel, Daikon Salad and Leeks

1. Thinly slice one leek from Tutti Frutti.
2. Saute up leek on medium/low heat in olive oil. Set aside when done.
3. Thinly slice 2 fennel bulbs from BD and squeeze with lemon juice.
4. Thinly slice daikon radish from Rainbow and squeeze with lemon from Eric's tree. Create a "salad" with the fennel and the radish on the plates.
5. Grate zest from one or two lemons.
6. Finely chop super thin scallions from B.D.
7. Slice hunk of tuna from Alicia at GeeWhataDeal into four 1" steaks. Smear with Red Barley Miso from Farmer and the Cook. Heat olive oil and once hot, put steaks on. Sear on one side (about 2 minutes and then sear less on the other).
8. To serve, put pieces of fish on top of the radish fennel salad. Scatter leeks, lemon zest and scallions on top. Along side, serve Tamari soy sauce, wasabi, pumpkin seeds. The fish did not need the condiments, but Eric prefers it like that.