rice noodle soup

lunch.

yes, that is a giant pile of noodles. and yes - i ate the entire thing.

these are my most favorite mushrooms found at the saturday farmer's market.

cravings are odd. i was wanting noodles for days but wanted something easier than a traditional Pho and this fit the bill perfectly. i know - i can be terribly lazy sometimes. and the above noodles are available at the local grocery - thus saving me the journey to the asian market - again...so lazy. 

all the other produce was collected at my last market visit so it was time to satisfy a craving.

give this a go.

you will need

4 cups chicken broth 

1/2 cup mirin

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon chili paste (another teaspoon if you want the extra heat)

juice from 1 lime - plus additional lime wedges for serving

1/2 package rice noodles

2 cups mushrooms - i used beech and shiitake 

1 inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled and sliced into matchsticks 

4 cloves of garlic - peeled and sliced thin (think tiny garlic chips)

2 shallots - sliced thin

1 bunch baby bok choy - washed and separated

2 star anise

cilantro

salt

pepper

to do

pour the chicken broth into a large pot and cover - heat to high.

once boiling add the matchstick ginger, garlic chips, shallot slices and star anise.

reduce heat to medium high - cover and let cook for ten minutes or so.

in a separate bowl add the mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, chili paste and lime juice.

give it a good whisk for a few minutes to try and get everybody to come together.

check the garlic and ginger pieces in the large pot.

if they are softened add the bok choy.

let cook four or five minutes (i don't like mushy vegetables so i only do a quick blanch - do this part the way you like best)

scoop the bok choy out and set aside - cover to keep warm.

check also that you didn't scoop out your anise - they need to stay in the pot.

now add your mushrooms.

cook four or five minutes.

scoop these out and add to the bowl with the bok choy.

bring the broth back to a boil - putting the lid back on helps here.

once the broth is ready add the soy sauce mixture.

give this all a good stir then add your noodles.

these cook really quickly - should only take three to four minutes, or so.

when the noodles are done add the bok choy and mushrooms back to the pot.

another good stir.

taste for salt and pepper addition if needed.

serve immediately garnished with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.

TK dinner ~ August 2014

This month I was told "you sure aren't very good at telling people No". 
I guess this might be a true statement since we had the biggest dinner yet! We usually have ten to twelve people for these dinners and they can pretty much fit around the dining room table. This month? Twenty! 

Yikes!

Now twenty persons in our house is not an unusual event. But this many people at a sit down dinner gets a little tricky. My servers ran like mad for most of the night. In and out of the kitchen with plates and platters and water jugs and anything else the guests might have asked for.

Madness...

So fun...

We started with a Caprese salad. Classic. Easy.

Heirloom tomatoes are all over the Farmer's Markets right now so grab as many as you can until there are no more. They are gorgeous and delicious and need nothing but some Mozzarella, fresh basil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe some fresh ground pepper as well. Quick and easy.

Next I did pluot crostinis because, again, they are in season and homegrown. Another quick to come together appetizer that I will serve as long as I can. 

These were done with ricotta cheese, sea salt, wildflower honey and mint.

Thank you to elizabeth d. photography for the above photo - is it weird that I love all the hands in action?

Next up was a watermelon gazpacho. Made with tomatoes, cucumbers and jalapeno peppers. Topped with a sour cream and Feta crema, a drizzle of olive oil and some toasted almond slivers.

Several bowls of fresh grapes went out next.

(pic? what pic?)

Then main course.

Individual plates of a nicoise salad.

This salad is a little crazy to assemble and then deliver twenty individual plates out at the same time. But manage they did and happy everyone was.

The above is loaded with a medley of potatoes, haricot verts, radish, green olives, kalamata olives, capers and a hard boiled egg. Finished with a dijon vinagarette and anchovies. 

Next I did the big family style serve thing and sent the main entree out on big platters.

(I highly recommend this technique for future use)

Roasted chicken with kalamata olives, white wine, peppered bacon and loads of garlic cloves. This we served over an orzo pasta done with heirloom tomatoes and chickpeas. 

Almost nothing was left to scrape off the dinner plates when we were cleaning the kitchen.

Finally, dessert.

Homemade HoHo's and mint chocolate ice cream. Yes, you read that correctly.

I was noticing that this year I seemed to be always doing variations of classic treats from my childhood. Figured HoHos were a logical next step? And mint-n-chip ice cream? Yes please!

We finally finished with what I named "The Meringue Mushroom Forest"

Little bites of meringue cookies held together by a dot of orange chocolate ganache, sitting on a swirl of lemon curd. So delicious and So fun to create.

then WHEW! Another dinner on the books. 

THANK YOU to all the attendees! My apologies again that I do not get to sit down and visit with every one of you - but hopefully I will see you somewhere soon.

And as usual, I will TRY to get all these recipes posted to share with all of you - as soon as I can.

Until then, invite twenty people over and have a party!

:-)

zucchini soup

It is hot. We do not have air conditioning in this house. I do not want to be in the kitchen. But then the new issue of Food & Wine shows up so here I go, into the kitchen. 

I had picked up a few zucchini from Hearty Fork Farm last weekend which I did not use during the last TK dinner event. And then today my neighbor left another bag of zucchini on my porch. 

How cute are my neighbors?

I've made a few recipes out of this issue already (for last weekends TK event) But decided I would share this soup recipe first. I know. I just said it is HOT and here I am making soup. Welcome to my addled little brain.

I imagine you can add whatever additional ingredients you love with your zucchini. I added lots of pepper, a dollop of sour cream and some fresh dill. I had a moment where I thought it should have a little cream in it and maybe some more spices, but then decided no, I enjoyed the purity of flavor and the uncomplicated ingredients list (and did I mention it is HOT in my house?)
And then a friend of mine said "it NEEDS bacon!" 
Noted...next time.

recipe below adapted from July 2014 Food & Wine magazine


you will need:

tablespoon butter
couple tablespoons olive oil
1 sweet onion - diced
2 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
4 medium zucchini - washed, halved lengthwise and sliced into moons
2/3 cup vegetable stock
1 cup of water
salt
pepper

for garnish:
julienned raw zucchini
sour cream
chopped fresh dill

to do:

In a medium soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil.
Add the onions and garlic.
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
Cook until the onions are translucent.
Add the zucchini moons (see below)

Cook about ten minutes.
Add the vegetable stock and water.
Bring to a boil for five minutes.
Turn heat down to medium and simmer another ten minutes or so.

Remove from the heat.
Puree the entire thing - I used my immersion blender, but you can use a regular blender and just do it in batches.
Taste, then add more salt and pepper as desired.

Ladle into bowls, garnish and serve.
Enjoy!

black truffle french fries

There is a photo of this dish floating around the internet. I saw it. Then later could not locate it. So, I kind of made this up as simply as I could. I do happen to have a small container of black truffle oil. And I always have potatoes. Let's give it a go?

I did a little test this past Saturday evening. Served to the family. They completely ignored the roasted chicken and mashed potatoes I had actually made for dinner. Ate all of these fries and several of the Milano cookies!

I guess sometimes we just need to let it go and not freak out about trying to cover all the food groups during a meal, yes?

Let them have French Fries?! OKAY.

This recipe was created for 12 people.

I imagine you may have to adjust the amounts accordingly - or not...

you will need:

8 large Russet potatoes - scrubbed and dried (dry them - or the oil wont stick)

4 tablespoons black truffle oil (maybe more...a lot more...)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (again...maybe more...)

salt

pepper

fresh Parsley for garnish

2 half sheet baking trays (again...this was for 12 people)

to do:

oven to 425

Wash the potatoes.

Slice into wedges.

Use a paper towel to pat everything dry the best you can then toss all the wedges into a big bowl.

Add the truffle oil and mix very well.

About a tablespoon of sea salt.

Half a tablespoon of pepper.

Mix again.

Lay half of the wedges onto a baking sheet. Try to make sure you have a single layer. If the pan is too crowded your potatoes will 'steam' instead of 'crisp'.

I had to do two trays of potatoes.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

CAREFULLY turn over as many as you can and rotate your tray.

Back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so - edges and some of the smaller pieces need to be brown and crispy.

As soon as the wedges are out of the oven add the grated Parmesan cheese.

Maybe a little more salt and pepper.

Garnish with the Parsley and serve.

Watch them disappear...

pan seared scallops with raisin caper sauce and cauliflower puree

My summer of seafood continues. This past dinner at Tate's Kitchen featured these buttery, pan seared scallops served on a bed of roasted cauliflower puree with a golden raisin and caper sauce.

Yikes that is quite the mouthful when I say all of it out loud. 
Anyway, I got this idea from a very late night episode of Iron Chef - very late. One of the chefs made a cauliflower puree and this sauce and served both over some sort of fish. I knew I wanted to make scallops for the next dinner so I figured this would be a fun experiment! Yes, a rather pricey experiment, but why not right? Let's try something new!
Totally worth it!
I hope you can give it a go.

YOU WILL NEED:
roasted cauliflower puree
scallops
raisin caper sauce
fresh parsley for garnish

roasted cauliflower puree - 
Here's the link since I've posted this before - but I'll do a quick review below.

1 head of cauliflower - washed and broken apart
1 red onion - very large chop
5 cloves of garlic - sliced
fresh thyme
pecorino cheese - grated - you will need about 1/2 a cup
(you could also use Parmesan - but I actually prefer Pecorino)
1 cup milk or heavy cream
olive oil
salt 
pepper

oven to 425

chop everything and spread out on a baking sheet.
drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
toss in 4 or 5 thyme sprigs.
into the oven for about 20 minutes.
remove - carefully toss all this and add the cheese.
back into the oven about 15 minutes - or just until the vegetables are tender.
let cool.
when ready - add all the cauliflower, a couple chunks of onion and 2 large garlic slices to the food processor.
pulse 5 or 6 times.
add 1/2 cup of the milk or cream.
pulse a few more times and see if you like the consistency.
add more cream as needed.
add salt and pepper as needed.

golden raisin and caper sauce - 
1/4 cup golden raisins (do not use regular raisins - only golden raisins)
1/4 cup capers - rinsed
2 tablespoons water

all of this goes into a small saucepan.
bring to a gentle simmer.
once it is simmering let it cook just until the raisins are plump.
let cool.
dump all of it into the food processor.
pulse until you are happy with the consistency.
add a few turns of salt and several turns of pepper.
set aside.

scallops - 
couple things about this...
- I don't think it should be done in a non-stick pan - you just do not get the same crispy caramelization thing happening as you do when using a regular ol stainless steel pan 
(in my personal opinion) (and what a horrible sentence)
- Everything else needs to be done and pretty much ready to serve before you do scallops. They are definitely a cook and serve immediately type item.
- Do not add too much butter and oil to the pan - again, you will not get the crispy browned sides. They are still tasty but they are now poached instead of seared (another horrible sentence...sorry) I only add a pat of butter then a tablespoon or so of oil and just add more butter and oil as needed.

okay.....the scallops...
gently pat them dry.
salt and pepper both sides.
sprinkle a scant amount of sugar on them as well - sugar helps with the whole 'crispy caramel outside edge' thing

in a saucepan heat a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil until bubbly and browned.
sugared side first - gently lay the scallops in the pan - no one should be touching.
if you purchased the large scallops they will be ready to flip in two or three minutes - as soon as you see a lovely caramel color forming around the edges.
flip and cook the second side - adding a little more butter if needed.

little cauliflower puree on the plate.
the scallops next.
drizzle with the raisin caper sauce.
garnish with some fresh parsley and a lemon wedge if desired.
serve immediately.

dinner @Tate's / july 2013

Another dinner on the books! I guess this is becoming somewhat of a habit? This summer I wanted to do the "Summer of Seafood" which is trickier than it sounds since no one in this house will eat it! Husband is allergic and daughter refuses to eat anyone that might have been friends with Nemo (yes...the animated clown fish - Dory's buddy -you know who that is right?) I decided to muddle forward anyway and carry out my plan. They can have hotdogs.

The July dinner started with two appetizers,
Olive oil bruschetta with a lemon, honey ricotta spread, seasoned with herbs de Provence - topped with macerated plums, tart little cherries and fresh mint,

Followed by lemony grilled shrimp and a homemade thousand island dressing - which I am now serving with everything (the sauce that is)

Entree for the evening was buttery, pan fried scallops served on a roasted cauliflower puree, topped with a golden raisin and caper sauce,

Sides were straight from my morning visit to the Farmer's market (actually most of this menu was and usually is) - green beans and caramelized onions garnished with toasted almonds and parsley,

And oven roasted baby carrots finished with a little butter, brown sugar and thyme, not real pretty but definitely tasty, 

I also did some small accordion potatoes with bay leaves and thyme and which could have used a touch more salt - but were still pretty good,

Bittersweet chocolate filled beignets for dessert (everyone's favorite)

And a little scoop of homemade cinnamon, vanilla ice cream,

Hopefully no one left our house hungry?
(silly....i know)

Thank you again to all the attendees!
Hope to see you soon.

avocado lime soup with fresh crab

What can I tell you about this? I served this soup as one of the appetizers at my last TK dinner and it received quite the rave reviews. I could probably have served this as a meal in itself with just some good bread - but there was a lot of food still to come out so appetizer it was. It comes together pretty quickly and in this Sacramento heat is quite refreshing. I think I originally found this in an old issue of Food and Wine. I of course made a couple changes based on flavor and the need to prep ahead of time. I also HIGHLY recommend you only use fresh crab - we did do a tasting with imitation crab and that was a definite "no go". If you love avocado you will truly enjoy this dish.

YOU WILL NEED:

4 avocados - pitted, peeled, cut into chunks

2 or 3  cups vegetable stock or broth

1 cup cold milk

3 to 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice

(I like lots of lime juice - I may have used almost 1/2 cup)

about 1/4 pound crabmeat

4 radishes - sliced thin

cilantro - rough chop

salt 

pepper

cayenne pepper

TO DO:

puree the avocados in a food processor with half the lime juice, the milk and 2 cups of vegetable stock until smooth.

add a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and pepper.

give it a couple more pulses and taste.

here i added another couple tablespoons of lime juice and a couple more pinches of cayenne pepper.

at this point it's pretty thick - keep adding vegetable stock until you reach a consistency you like.

taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

when ready - ladle into bowls, garnish with a sprinkling of fresh pepper, the sliced radishes, the crabmeat and the cilantro.

serve immediately.

kale and zucchini bread pudding

True confession time. I don't really like bread pudding. I usually find these dishes to be too mushy, too dry, too lacking in flavor, too just plain yuck (did I already mention mushy?) So when I see a recipe in a magazine that uses broccoli and Pancetta I think maybe it is time to give this another go - Pancetta? Yes please! And the family loves broccoli and croutons so how bad could this be? I didn't love it - but liked it well enough to give it one more try with a few alterations. The next time around I used kale - since it is overflowing at the farmer's market right now. I used a grated zucchini to help with the moisture factor - you're not really going to taste the zucchini, but it did make a big difference in the texture of this dish. I used the fresh garlic as well as garlic powder for a little smokiness. Added some red pepper flakes for a little heat. And just a little more Pancetta in the egg mixture because...why not...

Here's the final dish,

and here's how I went about this...

YOU WILL NEED:

3 garlic cloves - minced

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

7 cups good white bread - cut into small pieces

1/2 cup parmesan cheese - plus more for topping

1 medium zucchini - grated

1 bunch kale - washed, dried, stems removed (or most of them anyway)

1 sweet white onion

8 to 10 thin slices of Pancetta - set 6 aside for topping

1 or 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons garlic powder.

salt

pepper

a tablespoon or so of olive oil

TO DO:

oven to 350

lay all those pieces of bread on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes.

remove and set aside.

prep the kale.

grate the zucchini.

chop the onion.

chop the garlic.

chop up all but 6 pieces of the Pancetta.

heat the oil - then add the garlic and pepper flakes.

cook until fragrant then add the chopped onion.

cook 8 to10 minutes until translucent.

add the kale.

add the garlic powder.

stir well.

cook just until softened.

add the Pancetta - mix all this up.

add salt and pepper and taste - add more if needed.

remove from heat and set aside.

in a large bowl whisk the eggs and milk with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and a few turns of pepper.

add the parmesan cheese and mix well.

add the bread and stir to coat all the pieces.

add the grated zucchini.

add the kale and onion mixture.

mix all this then pour into a casserole dish.

lay the 6 reserved slices of pancetta on top of the pudding.

sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top.

grate some fresh pepper all over this.

into the oven 40 to 45 minutes.

Now if you are as neurotic as I can be (sometimes)

You will happen to have a cookie cutter that is the exact size of the Pancetta slice and will use that cookie cutter (and a spatula) to get each piece out of the casserole - and it will look like this when you serve it,

I know...I have got to learn to let things go...

...enjoy...

spring salad with Cacio e Pepe dressing

Cacio e Pepe dressing? This is basically cheese and pepper - and in this case a few other ingredients - and it is delicious! This was Food and Wine magazine's salad of the month with fava beans and fresh peas. I didn't have fava beans and only had a bag of frozen peas (gasp!...frozen?...) but I imagine you could use most any spring vegetable you like and it will be great.
This was the salad I served for the March dinner @Tate's. After collecting all the plates from the table husband came back and told me to not bother washing them because they were spotless!

I hope you can try this soon.

I am posting the recipe here as I made it the other night.
The original recipe is in the April issue of Food and Wine.

My daughter said "that's a mess of a salad mom?!"

I guess it does look like that - but it was fantastic!

I used asparagus and the aforementioned bag of frozen peas 

Doesn't everyone always keep bags of frozen peas available? I do! Who has time to shell enough peas for a serving? No thank you!

For this salad I used mixed herb greens and added a lot of arugula.

Also added white kidney beans (rinsed first) and soft boiled eggs. Grated more Parmesan cheese on top and more fresh pepper then served.

YOU WILL NEED:

greens

1 bunch of asparagus - ends trimmed - cut into large chunks

1/2 a bag of frozen peas

avocado

soft boiled eggs - if desired

white kidney beans

buttermilk dressing - recipe follows

salt

pepper

parmesan cheese

dressing:

1 large egg yolk

3 tablespoons buttermilk

1 garlic clove - finely grated

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese - finely grated

(plus more for garnish)

fresh black pepper

TO DO:

in a food processor, pulse the egg with the buttermilk and garlic until creamy.

with the machine running - slowly drizzle in the olive oil until mixture is fully incorporated.

add the cheese and several turns of fresh pepper.

puree until smooth.

taste for seasoning.

add salt as needed.

That's it. Your dressing is done. This will keep in the refrigerator for several days. But leave it on your counter top for 10 minutes or so before adding to your salad. Makes it easier to pour out.

for the vegetables:

bring a large pot of water to boil.

add salt then gently add the cut asparagus.

cook 2 or 3 minutes.

remove and run under cold water or immerse in an ice bath.

back to the pot of boiling water - gently add the peas.

cook 1 minute.

remove and give cold water treatment.

done.

rinse the beans.

slice the eggs in half.

slice the avocado into thin planks.

lay 4 or 5 slices of avocado on a plate

(do this step first because you really want the avocado to soak up the dressing that inevitably goes straight to the bottom)

add the greens.

add a couple spoonfuls of the vegetables.

sprinkle some of the beans all around.

drizzle dressing all over the top of this mound of greenery.

garnish with the egg, fresh pepper and more parmesan cheese.

serve immediately.