I love the new pan Nick got me for Xmas!

Moo Shu

I got a new cast iron wok for my birthday from my mom. Coincidentally, this is my third week on Weight Watchers. Turns out stir frys make healthy eating delicious!

I made Moo Shu, using ground turkey. The recipe can be found at http://m.myrecipes.com/details/searchR.rbml?id=10000000223157.xml&bcat=search&cat=Search%20Result&fl=recipe/moo-shu-pork-with-mandarin-pancakes-10000000223157/

I think I'm gonna live this wok!

Caramel Pecan Tarts

This last summer we went on an incredible sailing trip up in the San Juan Islands. Half way through the trip we harbored in Victoria, and while we were there we had a luxurious high tea at the Empress Hotel. Now that several months have gone by we thought it would be a great idea to get our fellow sailors together for high tea and a viewing of our San Juan photos.

For the tea Peter made these incredible tarts. They were so good I thought you all might enjoy them. In fact, I think I’ll be swapping these in the place of pecan pie at this year’s Thanksgiving.

Caramel Pecan Tartlets

Pastry
2 yolks
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, cold

Caramel
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup water
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

Toasted whole pecans

For the pastry, whisk together yolks, cream and vanilla and set aside. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt on low speed in a Kitchen Aid with a paddle attachment. When the mixture becomes sandy, add the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. Chill.

Roll the cold dough out and cut circles to fit pastry tins. Once the tins are lined with dough place them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer to chill. Pre-heat the oven to 350. When you are ready bake the tart shells at 350 for 5-7 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.

Caramel can be kind of tricky. Luckily all of the ingredients are cheap, so give it a try and if it doesn’t turn out, do it again. I like to get my caramel as dark as I can without it tasting burnt. It can take a couple of tries to get it just right, so do be scared and go for it.

Before you get started get all of your equipment and ingredients in place. Once you’ve started cooking the sugar you don’t have time to go looking for things. Over medium high heat combine the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. The sugar will melt and begin to boil. After a few minutes the boiling sugar will start to turn a light amber color. You want to continue cooking the sugar until the sugar turns a medium-to –dark amber color and you smell little whiffs of caramel smoke. If you go too far the caramel will taste burnt. When the sugar is a medium-to-dark amber add the cream. Don’t be scared, but it will boil up violently. Have no fear; it will stop after a couple of seconds. Remove the caramel from the heat, stir in the butter and vanilla.

Toast the pecans at 350 until fragrant and beginning to brown.

To assemble, unmold the tart shells. Spoon one tablespoon of caramel and top with toasted pecans. Enjoy…

Roasted Chanterelle Pizza with Sausage and Parmesan Cream

My friend Dennis texted me yesterday and asked if I wanted any of the chanterelles that he and his partner John picked a the coast. What was I going to say but, "Of Course!"

I emailed Keith and asked him to come over today and cook them. As we traded emails with ideas, nearly instantaneously we emailed each other that we wanted to make a pizza with them. "White sauce and sausage," he said. "Broccoli and cream," I pleaded. This is what came of it:

2 lbs. chanterelles or other wild mushrooms

1 red onion

1 bunch broccoli

1 lb. hot Italian sausage

grated parmesano reggiano

cream

crushed red pepper

coarse salt

2 1lb pizza doughs, homemade our bought but not in a can!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Clean and tear mushrooms into medium pieces. Cut broccoli crowns into bite -sized pieces. Cut onion into 1/4 inch slices. Coat in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until just browning and no longer steaming, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a skillet, breaking into 1/2 inch pieces. Set vegetables and sausage aside.

Increase oven temperature to 550 degrees and put a pizza stone on the bottom third of oven. Roll out dough and put on a pizza peel coated with corn meal. Sprinkle a small coating of parmesano on dough. Arrange half of the toppings on pizza and drizzle pizza with cream. Sprinkle a small handful of parmesano on top and season with salt and crushed red pepper.

Transfer the pizza from the peel to the pizza stone and bake 10 to 12 or until the crust is crispy. Remove to a cutting board and slice after the pizza rests for a couple minutes.

Special thanks to John and Dennis for the generous gift of seasonal mushrooms!

Domino Potatoes

Mmm...bay leaves plus potatoes and butter, garlic and fleur de sel. Bake at 425 degrees for an hour for crispy, creamy, savory bliss.

The Simplest Pleasure of Summer

Summer has officially ended and with the turn of the season came the tomato harvest. This year’s harvest was somewhat limited, but the fruit we did get was perfect. Whenever I eat a tomato right out of the garden I always think to myself, why would I ever eat a tomato any other way? Deep natural red, juicy, acidic, and herbaceous.

Tomato Bruschetta

6 slices of good crusty bread
¼ cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic
4 ounces fresh soft goat cheese
2 medium fresh ripe slicing tomatoes
Basil leaves
Salt and pepper

Slice the bread and brush with olive oil on both sides. Toast the bread on both sides under the broiler. Don’t be scared if there are edges that get charred. You can scrape off what is inedible, but the dark toasted bread is great. Rub the toasted bread with the clove of garlic. Spread with goat cheese, and layer with tomato and basil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Seared Ahi Flatbread with Tahini Yogurt Dressing

After returning from our recent sailing trip to the San Juan islands, it was time to reboot the diet. After all, we had 5 meals a day for a week while on the boat (breakfast, elevensies, lunch, cheese plate, and dinner).

Eating healthy food doesn't have to be boring. In fact, it's challenging and exciting to use some new ingredients and flavors to make a "diet" easier to maintain.

Tonight's menu featured these tasty seared ahi flatbread sandwiches. Easy for a weeknight dinner!

1 lb. ahi tuna
cherry tomatoes, halved
pitted kalamata olives, sliced
Italian parsley leaves
sliced roasted red peppers

6 whole wheat flatbreads

Dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup tahini
1 T honey
1 T olive oil
1 cup low fat plain yogurt
pinch crushed red pepper
salt and pepper

Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk until incorporated, adding water as necessary to thin the sauce to desired thickness.

Sear the tuna to medium and cut into large dice. Toast the flatbreads, top with tuna, pour a spoonful of sauce, and garnish with the tomatoes, olives, red peppers and finally a few parsley leaves.

Zucchini Pickles

This week I went back and read one of my favorite cookbooks, The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. The Zuni Café has exerted a strong influence in the restaurant world since the early nineties.  If you look in any chef’s cookbook library you are likely to see this book, dog eared and well worn.

These pickles are especially popular. If you look, you’ll find them adorning some of the best burgers in town. I’ve seen them used at Zefiro, Blue Hour, Castagna, Ripe and others.

Zuni Café Zucchini Pickles

1 pound zucchini
1 small yellow onion
2 tablespoons salt

Brine:
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 ½ crushed brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Slice the zucchini and onion 1/16th inch thick. Place the Zucchini and onion in a large bowl and toss with salt. Cover them with water and ice cubes and let soak for one hour. After an hour, drain the zucchini and onions and dry them between towels or in a salad spinner.

In a sauce pan combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric. Simmer for three minutes. Once the brine has cooled combine it with the zucchini and onions and let them soak in the brine overnight. The pickles will be crisp and bright chartreuse in color.

Apricot Salsa

Summer fruit can make particularly great salsas. All through the summer we use peaches, mangos, apricots, berries; really anything we can get our hands on. This salsa is great on fish tacos.
Serves 6

4-5 apricots, peeled and medium diced
½ red onion, medium dice
2 jalapenos, quartered lengthwise and diced small
2 cloves garlic
½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
Lime juice
Salt and pepper

Combine the diced apricot, onion jalapenos, garlic and cilantro. Add lime, salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Tuna Tacos with Apricot Salsa

 

French Fries

I recently heard Michael Pollan in an interview talk about his food rules. There was one that I really liked. He said, “You can eat as much fast food as you like, as long as you make it yourself.” Because really, how often are you going to make French fries at home? Not often…

Making French fries from scratch can be a tricky process. Most recipes you find call for a two step frying process in order to get that great crispy golden texture that everyone loves. This recipe we saw on America’s Test Kitchen simplifies the process and delivers great crisp fluffy fries. We have dubbed this method “cold fries” because you start with cold oil, but there is nothing cold about the end result.

Even though this recipe simplifies the process, I still only see myself making fries at home a couple of times a year. Enjoy

French Fries (Cold Method)
Serves 3-4

2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ¼ inch batons
6 cups peanut oil
Kosher Salt
1 spring of rosemary

Combine the potatoes and oil in a large Dutch oven. Cook over high heat until the oil has reached a rolling boil. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the potatoes are limp but the exteriors are beginning to firm, about 15 minutes.

Using long tongs or a wooden spoon, stir the potatoes, gently scraping up any that stick and continue to cook until golden and crisp, about 5-10 minutes longer. In the last few minutes as the fries brown add in the rosemary. The rosemary will crisp and can be used to crumble over the fries while seasoning. Using a skimmer transfer the fries to thick paper bag to drain. Season with salt and crushed rosemary. Serve immediately.