So Sunday Busy Sunday...
Well, not as busy as it could have been, but definitely busier than last Sunday. I have discovered one of my many quirks, it only happens when I'm plating. I hum when I get busy. Specifically I hum classical music. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto 1, Beethoven's 5th, when I get to Mozart's Magic Flute, I am starting to panic.
I'm slowly learning all the platings, and soon they will be reflex. Hopefully, soon I won't make it all the way to the Flute.
Have a good night everybody.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Vinegar Thrills
It’s not just for cleaning your windows anymore. Next time you’re at the supermarket, take a look at the vinegars there. Chances are you will see some new faces on the shelf. As American consumers become more food savvy than ever, we demand more than just white, cider and red wine vinegars.
Now we have port wine, champagne, pomegranate, citrus and white wine vinegars to play with. And boy are they fun! Pick one up next time and add it to some olive oil for a zippy salad dressing. Try it with spices and oil for a marinade. Put it on shrimp and have ceviche.
Here’s a pic of my favorite vinegar right now. It’s called Cuvee and it’s a champagne vinegar. It has proven itself essential to my salad dressings and shall have a home in my kitchen for the rest of its days.
Now go, play with your food.
Now we have port wine, champagne, pomegranate, citrus and white wine vinegars to play with. And boy are they fun! Pick one up next time and add it to some olive oil for a zippy salad dressing. Try it with spices and oil for a marinade. Put it on shrimp and have ceviche.
Here’s a pic of my favorite vinegar right now. It’s called Cuvee and it’s a champagne vinegar. It has proven itself essential to my salad dressings and shall have a home in my kitchen for the rest of its days.
Now go, play with your food.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Salad Days
Very few things you make will be as simple or as complicated as a salad. A good salad must combine sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami with judicious abandon, striving for balance on the seesaw of flavors. Too much in any one direction leads to inedible misery. I will confess to not being a huge salad fan. Nothing I can think of is less appetizing than a bowl of greens with a few toppings, drowning in House dressing. (What the devil is House dressing exactly? Does anyone know?) My father, however, is a salad connoisseur, devouring one or two a day. So I thought I should give greens a chance.
The trick of this recipe is to use good ingredients. Because you are not going to be baking, boiling, or otherwise transfiguring your salad, it matters what you use. As my father says, “Garbage in, garbage out”.
Sea Scallops on Butter Lettuces with Warm Peach Dressing
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 sea scallops, side muscle removed
1 medium peach, quartered
½ small shallot, chopped
3 slices center cut bacon slices
1 tsp. Ground ginger
¾ cup white wine
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 bag fresh baby butter lettuces
White Wine Reduction
1. Place white wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat slightly and cook until wine is reduced to about ¼ cup and has a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.
Dressing
1. Cook bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and pour out all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Add chopped shallot and peaches to the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add White Wine Reduction, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow a few minutes for ingredients to combine.
Sea Scallops
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.
2. Season scallops on both sides with salt, pepper and ginger.
3. Add scallops to skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until done.
Salad
1. Add a handful of greens to a big-ish bowl and pour dressing over the top. Toss to distribute dressing.
2. Place greens on a plate, add peach quarters and scallops.
Cook’s Notes: When you add the scallops to the skillet, resist the urge to move them around a lot. It is a sauté, but you want the scallops to caramelize on each side. So, place them and leave them.
The trick of this recipe is to use good ingredients. Because you are not going to be baking, boiling, or otherwise transfiguring your salad, it matters what you use. As my father says, “Garbage in, garbage out”.
Sea Scallops on Butter Lettuces with Warm Peach Dressing
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 sea scallops, side muscle removed
1 medium peach, quartered
½ small shallot, chopped
3 slices center cut bacon slices
1 tsp. Ground ginger
¾ cup white wine
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 bag fresh baby butter lettuces
White Wine Reduction
1. Place white wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat slightly and cook until wine is reduced to about ¼ cup and has a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.
Dressing
1. Cook bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and pour out all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Add chopped shallot and peaches to the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add White Wine Reduction, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow a few minutes for ingredients to combine.
Sea Scallops
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.
2. Season scallops on both sides with salt, pepper and ginger.
3. Add scallops to skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until done.
Salad
1. Add a handful of greens to a big-ish bowl and pour dressing over the top. Toss to distribute dressing.
2. Place greens on a plate, add peach quarters and scallops.
Cook’s Notes: When you add the scallops to the skillet, resist the urge to move them around a lot. It is a sauté, but you want the scallops to caramelize on each side. So, place them and leave them.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
How Pie I Am
Everyone should keep a pie crust in the freezer. Actually, they should keep a few, because if they are like me, they will try to unroll the crust before it's defrosted and botch the silly thing. Backup plan: Prepanned frozen pie crust. Just add filling. Filling was some frozen blueberries I had in the freezer that I added sugar to and cooked for a bit to thicken them. That botched crust? I cut circles out of it and used it for an art nouveau design top crust. Yum.
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