Cauliflower Mash

OK Kleopatra... You are most correct: It has been too long since my last post and it's time for something new...

Life has kept me quite busy these last few months and I've been living mostly on these wonderful frozen meals I blogged about on my other site. There simply hasn't been much time for trying out or creating new recipes.

Tonight I was prepping my terracotta roasting pan for a lamb roast (already rubbed and marinated courtesy of one of my favorite grocers, Trader Joes) when I was struck with the dilemma of what to serve with it. I opened the fridge and stared at it's contents. Hhhmm, been a week since I did any shopping and my choices were limited. I did have one russet potato and a whole head of cauliflower that definitely needed to be used soon. Then it came to me. Cauliflower mash. Now, I've never made cauliflower mash before. My use of cauliflower was limited to either steaming and serving as a side dish with butter or my most favorite way to serve it, lightly blanched and then tossed in with eggs, onions, cilantro and chopped tomatoes for a yummy scramble on Sunday mornings.

No finished photo as my poor digital camera battery was quite dead from non-use. But the experiment proved quite tasty and I will most certainly use this approach again soon... Maybe next time I'll even subject guests to it! :)

Enjoy!

CAULIFLOWER MASH

1 large russet potato, peeled and rough chopped
1 whole head of cauliflower, rinsed, leaves trimmed off
1 tsp pasilla chile powder (to add a hint of smoky flavor -- it isn't a "hot" spice)
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cp parmesan
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cp nonfat milk (or heavier milk if you prefer like whipping cream or even buttermilk; I only ever have skim in the house)
kosher and/or sea salt

Place the chopped potato into a pot with a steamer insert. Add cold water to cover the potatoes. Add a pinch or two of sea salt. Boil on high for 15 minutes.

Quarter the cauliflower and break into florets. Chopped the core and stems a little finer so they will cook as fast as the flower portion of the vegetable. When the 15 minutes for the potatoes are up, drain the water out of the pot to just below the steamer insert. It's important that the water NOT touch the cauliflower or the mash will wind up being too watery. Toss in the cauliflower over the potatoes (potatoes will still be just slightly underdone at this point). Toss a pinch of kosher salt over the cauliflower, cover the pot and let steam for about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You don't want it mushy but fork tender.

While the cauliflower is steaming, place the milk and butter in a microwave safe measuring cup and warm for 60 seconds. Remove and stir until butter is no longer solid. Set aside.

When the vegetables are ready, pull them out of the steamer basket and place in a large serving bowl. Working quickly so as to not let the veggies cool, pour the milk in and sprinkle the pasilla, garlic, pepper, parmesan. Using a potato masher, gently mash stopping occassionally to stir the mixture. Add kosher salt to taste.

Tortilla Española

My tapas cookbooks have been on my coffee table for the last six months. I'm dying to throw a tapas party again. Up until three years ago, I would host a yearly White Elephant party every December. Yes, it was about celebrating Christmas, about friends gathering and laughing and seeing who got the biggest gift and who brought the funniest White Elephant. But most importantly, it was about the FOOD! The parties were themed -- a different cultural experience every year. By far, my most successful was Spain and tapas!

Last Saturday morning, I was sitting on my sofa sipping my nice hot quad-shot nonfat latte made with my lovely, still newish Kitchenaid Pro Line Espresso Maker (more on that lovely another time) and the tapas cookbook was sitting there. Staring at me. Taunting me. You see, I hadn't had breakfast yet and here it was already 11am.

I picked up the cookbook, flipped it open and it landed on the gorgeous photo of a Tortilla Española. Now, being from Southern California and just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Mexican border, I grew up thinking that the tortillas I had been eating all my life were Spanish in origin. "Tortilla" to me was the flatbread – made of stone ground corn or flour – that we ate at every meal. But my first tapas experience taught me otherwise as I found that the Spanish tortilla was actually an omelet much in the same vein as an Italian fritatta.

Even the casual reader of my blog can tell by now that a) I love eggs and b) that I've never met a potato I didn't like. Tortillla Española is three ingredients: eggs, potatoes and onions. Can you say "Heaven?"

The recipe in my cookbook is enough to serve 12, tapas style. Since obviously I was eating alone and whatever I made would most likely be lunch and quite possibly dinner as well as my breakfast, the thought of that much egg and potato was a bit frightening. Yes, even this egg and potato lover has her limits. But the recipe was easily modified as basically 3 eggs to a potato. So that's what I did. Making the entire recipe should create a lovely 1/2" thick tortilla. Mine, as you can see, was about 1/3" in thickness. But being short on thickness didn't mean it was short on taste. A simple, uncomplicated, yummy eggy potatoey goodness (Ohmy! I'm making up my own words now! That's how much I loved this recipe!)



TORTILLA ESPANOLA

5 large peeled potatoes, thinly and evenly sliced
2 large onions, thinly sliced
15 eggs
olive oil
salt

Heat a large skillet with olive oil until nearly smoking. Starting with the potatoes place a single layer down, then the onions alternating until all of the potatoes and onions are in the pan. Lower the heat to medium and cook them until tender flipping occasionally and being careful not to brown. While they are cooking, whisk the eggs together in a large bowl. When the potatoes and onions are ready, remove from the pan and wipe it clean. It's crucial that there is no residual bits in the pan that might make the tortilla stick (I had to scour mine quickly). Place the cooked potato mixture into the eggs and toss well to coat. Let stand for 15 min. Put olive oil in the pan and heat. When pan is ready, pour egg mixture back into pan, using a spatula to push the potatoes down into the egg throughout the cooking process. Use a knife to keep the tortilla loose and away from the edge of the pan. Constantly shake the pan to keep the tortilla from sticking. When the the bottom of the tortilla is golden brown and set, place a large plate on top and flip the tortilla onto the plate. Quickly wipe the pan clean, add a little more oil and carefully slide the tortilla back into the pan to finish cooking off the top of the tortilla. Cook for no more than 3 minutes at this point. You don't want it overly browned like the "crust" side, you just want it a bit of crispness. When ready, place plate back on top of the pan and flip it out. Let stand. Traditionally, this is served at room temperature and sliced into pizza-like wedges. I enjoyed mine with a raspberry mimosa. OK, so not traditional for tapas fare but damn good combination anyway!

Heaven.

YOUR TURN: What's your favorite theme for entertaining?

Let's hear it for peanut butter!

College, as I imagine it is for most, was not easy on the wallet for me. Especially once I transfered to an art college in the Bay Area... Oakland, California to be exact. So, aside of having to buy tons of art supplies weekly for various projects on a full 15 unit schedule, I had to eat.

Peanut butter became my best friend. I'd have it on corn tortillas (yes, I still do!) sometimes with strawberry jam, on toast in the mornings with a cuppa joe, used to thin out a can of chili beans and tossed with spaghetti... and in peanut sauces over whatever pasta was on sale that week.

The latter is what I was in the mood for a few days ago. Of course, I'm not on such tight budget constraints these 22 years later but I still find ways to work in peanut butter to many a meal.

Peanut sauce recipes vary from culture to culture and chef to chef. I don't have a hard and set recipe myself. I use what's on hand and whatever I'm in the mood for.

This particular night, the sauce started with organic creamy peanut butter, a little coconut milk, tamari, Asian chili oil and a couple dashes of chicken stock to thin it out a bit. Because I have to limit the amount of soy I eat, I also added some kosher salt to taste in place of adding lots of tamari (I use soy sauce and tamari sparringly -- mostly for color and a hint of taste as soy and I aren't friends). I tossed it with spaghetti and left over rotisserie chicken that I chopped and topped it with crushed salted roasted peanuts and chopped scallions. (Tip: I put a handful of peanuts into a snack or sandwich sized ziplock bag and give the bag a couple of good whacks with my rolling pin or kitchen mallet -- whichever I find first. Less trouble than pulling out a food processor for such a small amount of chopping.)

What's great about this dish is that it tastes equally delicious as a cold or room temperature pasta "salad" so it's perfect for packing for lunch for work or a lazy Sunday afternon at the park with a good book. Which is what I did with the leftovers.

YOUR TURN: Do you have food "obsessions" from your youth that still make appearances at your dinner table?

Cafe with a view

When the weather gets warm and the sky as clear and blue as the ocean, I crave the outdoors and views and the sea 'breeze'...

A few weekends ago, I met my friend Michelle for a late breakfast at Pacifica Breeze Cafe in Del Mar. It's the casual breakfast and lunch cafe attached to Pacifica Del Mar Seafood Restaurant. Even with the packed house and longish wait, we nonetheless had a great visit and a wonderful meal. I had the Arugula Mushroom Omelet with a cup of their Pacifica Blend house coffee and Michelle had the Caramelized Pecan Waffle with a mocha.

I love eggs. I don't love them overcooked so it's a little iffy for me when I order eggs at restaurants as they tend to be browned. But this omelet was perfectly cooked. No brown outer crust just a light, soft and perfectly cooked egg.

The sauce had a light mushroom flavor but with 'mushroom' in the name of the dish, I expected chunks or slices of earthy mushrooms peppering the omelet. Besides a teeny bit of chopped mushroom here and there, they were virtually non-existent. I also would have preferred a bit more arugula in the omelet or perhaps even a few freshly chopped leaves dressing the plate. The accompanying potatoes were perfectly crisp and well seasoned.

Michelle loved her waffle. Not being in the mood for sweet, I didn't taste it but it did look great. It was golden, topped with chopped apples and a maple flavored whipped butter that I did taste and found it fluffy and tasty. But an entire waffle spread with it would definitely tire my taste buds. I'd use it quite sparringly myself.

Our time there certainly left me with a craving for a little more.

So, I played hooky on Monday and invited my mother out for breakfast. She doesn't go out for meals much and I wanted it to be fun and special for us both. I told her I was taking her to Del Mar which is about 30 min north of downtown San Diego (that is, if there isn't traffic!) and she exclaimed, "Yay! It'll feel like a vacation!"

Del Mar was almost as buzzing at it had been on the weekend. I forget that it's summer and San Diego is definitely a summer vacation destination. Our beach communities get bombarded. But luckily for us, the cafe had a few empty tables so we grabbed menus and sat down to decide.


Independently, mom and I both settled on the same dish, the Chef's scramble. It's ground beef scrambled with mushrooms and onions served in a pastry shell.

It was a definite winner. The eggs were lightly scrambled and there were plenty of large mushroom chunks. The pastry was light and golden and was a nice change from the toast and eggs which is the normal pairing at my house. The dish also provided nice fodder for my own future experiments with puff pastry.

After a leisurely breakfast with gorgeous views what else to do but go to the beach and dip our footsies in the wonderfully warm Pacific Ocean?


Ah, the joys of living in this wonderful beach town...Outdoor cafes with views of a seemingly endless expanse of crisp blue water.

Great suggestions guys!

Since I received such wonderful suggestions via comments to "YOUR TURN: What's your favorite way to salvage fruits or veggies that are slightly past their prime?" I've decided to make them a post for anyone who hasn't gone back to read the comments.

Anyone who especially enjoys stone fruits as I do, see Michelle's suggestion for peaches. I especially like the balsamic grilled suggestion!

Enjoy!

Darlene said...
To answer your question about salvaging veggies, I usually incorporate them into a stir fry. Fruits, mostly bananas, go into a banana bread recipe.
But if they're turning watery (you know what I mean), I pitch them into the canyon at night so they can decompose naturally!

Patricia Scarpin said...
"Old" veggies go in omelets and fruit go in cakes and muffins.

KleoPatra said...
Hmmmmmm... fruits and veggies past their prime in my fridge either end up as compost, mixed with my dog's food (she's mostly vegetarian) or sneaked (snuck?) into some sort of batter for muffins (i.e. soft zucchini, limp carrots), liquified and added to cake mix (i.e. mushy bananas) or mashed up and put into cookie batter (the most convenient way i've found to use most "on-their-way-out" fruits!).

Anh said...
I normally use leftover fruits in baking. For veg, I throw them into stir-fry or soup.

Michelle said...
Veggies usually end up as pizza toppings, in a stir fry or sauteed and tossed with pasta. Slightly mushy tomatoes will end up as a pizza or pasta sauce.

One of my favorite things to do with abundant fruit is to use it as a dessert topping, especially on ice cream. This is really yummy with bananas (think Bananas Foster) as long as they aren't too soft. I also love to just slice up some apples or peaches and saute for just a few minutes with brown sugar, cinnamon and sometimes a splash of liquer. It's quick and fabulous over ice cream.

Another favorite is what my Mom used to make growing up in England -- a fruit crumble. I've never quite seen the same thing here, but it's somewhere between a cobbler and a crisp. Excellent to use up extra fruit and also quick.

I know this is getting long, but I have to say something about peaches before I go. I LOVE peaches, but tend to have too many around the house in the summer. That's because I refuse to buy them at the grocery store any more. They're as hard as hockey pucks when purchased and often do not ripen into the juicy delicious fruit that I love. I bought them at Costco once and they were perfect. I now buy them there every summer and have never been disappointed. The trouble is you get 12 really large peaches. I'm the primary peach eater in our household and there is no way I can get through all of them before they spoil so I incorporate them into dinners and desserts a lot. Here are some of the things I like best:

Cut them in half, remove the pit, then fill the center cavity with balsamic vinegar. Grill on the bbq or bake in the oven. Yummy with fish, chicken or pork, or even as dessert.

For a yummy dessert, do the same thing as above, but fill the cavity with some brown sugar and your favorite spices. After grilling dinner, turn the heat to low, put the peaches on, close the lid. They'll be done when you've finished eating and ready for a scoop of ice cream and fresh berries on top.

One more word on the bananas, definitely banana bread if they're beyond edible. My husband is the expert there. I especially like it when he adds a little Ibarra Mexican chocolate (chopped into small pieces) to the batter. It's out of this world!!

Pesto use #1::Eggplant Imbottiti

I love eggplant. I recently found out that it's related to potatoes. No wonder I love it so! I've never met a potato I didn't like...

But the weird thing is that eggplant is one of those veggies I rarely think to make.

Why is that?

Eggplant is at every market I frequent and inevitably my hand passes right over them for asparagus or zucchini.

I blame food ruts.

When I get busy, cooking becomes less therapeutic and creative. Instead, it's a means to an end: it's simply easier to throw something on that you don't have to think about or fuss over because you've done it a hundred times before.

But this weekend, I was in an aubergine mood. I was cooking for a friend Saturday night and I wanted to make something that would be light, would look gorgeous plated and of course, taste yummy. Holding the big beautiful eggplant in my hand in the middle of the aisle at the market, I knew immediately what it was going to be.

A few years ago, I dined at Trattoria Fantastica in the heart of Little Italy just north of Downtown San Diego. I discovered an eggplant dish there that just about made me swoon! It's called Imbottiti: thin slices of eggplant rolled with pasta and cheese and topped with tomatoes.

I have since spent some time trying to recreate the recipe from memory and although my version doesn't taste exactly like theirs (I don't use the mozzarella), I do like what I've come up with. It's a great alternative to the heavier eggplant parmigiana found on most Italian restaurant menus.

It was a hit this weekend. I hope it is in your home too! Oh, and of course, it's one of my favorite ways to use the pesto I posted about last month.


STUFFED EGGPLANT

2 large firm eggplants
4 oz. angel hair pasta
1/2 cp prepared pesto
1/2 cp ricotta
1 egg, slightly beaten
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 cp of your favorite pasta sauce (I LOVE the sauces from Coppola Vineyards called Mammarella Sauce and for this dish used the Puttanesca Sauce)
fresh basil leaves
1 tbs capers
2 large garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the tops off the eggplants. In order to keep the eggplant stable when slicing, cut the bottoms off as well. Stand the eggplants bottoms down and carefully slice as evenly as possible from top to bottom. From a large eggplant, you should be able to get eight slices not counting the first and last thin slices that are pretty much all skin. (I find mandolins cut the eggplant too thin so they burn during the roasting stage. I like the control of using a good sharp 8" chef knife.) Sometimes, eggplant can be a bit bitter. I salt mine to draw some of that bitterness out. In a colander, put a single layer of eggplant down and generously salt. Continue layering and salting until all of the eggplant is in the colander. Place a paper towel on top and cover with a bowl or plate with a little weight. Leave the colander in the sink or in a shallow bowl for 20 minutes or so. In the meantime, preheat oven to 425º.

2. While waiting for the eggplant, boil and cook the pasta to al dente. When ready, immediately rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a bowl. Add the pesto (minus 2 tbs) and toss to coat well. Set aside.

3. Place the tomatoes, capers, garlic and basil in a bowl. Toss with a 2 count pour of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 cp of pasta sauce. This will be to top the rolled eggplants. Set aside

4. Rinse the eggplant throughly. Pat dry. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the eggplant in single layer on the baking sheets. Drizzle olive oil over the slices. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Flip the eggplant slices and repeat. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven and carefully so as to not tear the slices, flip the eggplant. (Any slices that are starting to brown and are tender, remove from the sheets and set aside so they don't burn.) Place the baking sheets back in to the oven for another 5 - 8 minutes until tender. Remove when ready and set aside. Lower oven temperature to 350º.

5. While the eggplant is roasting, place the ricotta in a small bowl and whisk in the egg and the reserved 2 tbs of pesto. Season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.

6. Spread some pasta sauce (not the one with the fresh tomatoes) on the bottom of a lasagna pan. On a plate, take a slice of eggplant and starting on the big end, spread a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture stopping about a 1/3 of the way to the small end. Fingers work best so use your hands to get about a tablespoon or so of the pasta, bunch it up and place at the large end of the slice. Carefully roll the eggplant, catching whatever pasta spills out and push it back into the roll. Place end down in the prepared lasagna pan to help keep te roll from unrolling. Repeat with all the slices. Put a tbs of the fresh tomato mixture atop each roll. Bake for 15 minutes. Let stand for five minutes before serving.

Serves 4 as an entré or 8 as a side dish.

Mmmm...Tarts'n'Plums

While blog trolling during my late night bouts of insomnia last week, I found so many recipes utilizing puff pastry. Never having worked with it before I was quite intrigued. I found several I liked both sweet and savory but a savory one on The Village Vegetable was the most inspiring as it incorporated two of my favorite greens: asparagus and arugula.

Since the original recipe was vegetarian and I am most definitely a carnivore, I tweaked it a bit more to my taste.

I invited a good friend over for dinner Saturday and with the weather having been so unbelievably hot, I definitely didn't want to serve anything heavy. So the tart fit the bill perfectly.

I paired it with a lovely salad of baby greens with sliced plums, pomegranate seeds and an orange vinegarette. I also served some crusty bread, paper thin slices of asiago and genoa salami to munch on.

My friend had found some recommendations for wine in Cooking Light and brought over a bottle of St. Supéry Moscato (98pts /Best in Class - Gold). The wonderful peach and apricot notes were a wonderful compliment to the plums, oranges and pomegranate of the salad. The slight sweetness balanced the saltiness from the pancetta on the tart.

ASPARAGUS TOMATO PANCETTA TART
1 sheet puff pastry
6-8 asparagus spears
3 small roma tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cp purple onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cp chopped pancetta
3 oz. goat cheese
2 tbs rosemary, finely chopped
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 egg
handful of arugula
grated Parmesan cheese

1. Leave sheet out covered with a dish towel to defrost for 40 min. While it's thawing, heat a skillet, add a little olive oil and sauté onions. Add pancetta and garlic. Brown. Remove from pan and let drain on paper towels.
2. Preheat oven to 400º. Bake the puff pastry for 9 minutes. When done, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350º.
3. Slice tomatoes, place in a bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over them. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and a pinch of the rosemary. Set aside.
4. Lay the asparagus spears out on some wax paper. Drizzle or mist a little olive oil over them. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and a pinch of the rosemary. Grasp both ends of the wax paper and roll the asparagus back and forth to coat well. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the goat cheese with the egg. Add the rest of the rosemary. Evenly spread the goat cheese mixture over the baked puff pastry. Sprinkle the pancetta and onion mixture over the top. Neatly place the tomatoes in rows across the pastry. Repeat with the asparagus spears. Bake for 14 minutes or until the asparagus is done to your liking (I like mine al dente so 14 minutes was perfect).
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan and top with some arugula leaves.

Serves 2 as an entré or 4 as a side dish.

BABY GREENS WITH PLUMS
For the vinegarette
1/4 cp orange juice
1/4 cp red raspberry vinegar
3 count pour of olive oil
2 tbs red onion, minced
1 tsp honey
pinch of kosher salt

For salad
baby greens
1 small plum of your choice per person
goat cheese
pomegrante seeds

Whisk together all the ingredients for the vinegarette. Assemble the salad on individual salad plates: first the baby greens, then the sliced plums, sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds, then crumble the goat cheese over each plate. Drizzle the vinegarette over the assembled salads.

YOUR TURN: What do you crave when the weather turns warm?

Strawberries for breakfast

Last weekend I went to the farmer's market with my friend Darlene and picked up a trio of strawberry baskets. I live alone and although I love strawberries, three baskets all to oneself was a bit much. I had originally intended to make a jam recipe that I found on Rice and Noodles but never made it to the store for jars. Fast forward a week later and I still had a basket in the fridge which were probably about 3 days past their prime. They were still edible so I didn't want to toss them but I knew I had to do something before they started to get a little, a-hem!, hairy.

Balsamic vinegar to the rescue!

Now... what to put them on? Hhhhmmm...

Enter. Stage left. Waffles.

I had a friend who used to make me yummy healthy chalk-full-o-nuts (literally!) waffles all the time. In fact, I'd never even tasted waffles before he came into my life. But I rarely think to make them for myself even with a lovely Belgian waffle iron sitting in my cabinet. The last time I took out the waffle iron was during one of my mom's overnight stays late last year. But I was inspired to make waffles again after reading a post yesterday on Ooh, you tasty little things (check out her savory waffle sandwich! It looks right up my alley!).

So while the berries were macerating, I plugged in the waffle iron and made some fresh waffles from scratch. By the time the waffles were all done cooking, the berries were ready. And then... Yum! Breakfast was served.

STRAWBERRIES WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR

1 basket strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 tbs aged balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fine caster suger

Put the strawberries in a bowl. Drizzle the vinegar over the berries and add the sugar. Toss well. Let macerate in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. The longer, the better. These are great atop freshly baked scones or buttermilk biscuits, waffles or with just a fork right out of the bowl.

BASIC WAFFLES

1 cp milk
3 eggs
1 stick melted butter
2 tbs sugar
2 cps flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt

In a bowl or stand mixer (yay! Using my new KitchenAid again! gotta justify the purchase after all...) whisk together the liquid ingredients and the sugar. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Gradually add to the wet mixture. Serves 4.

YOUR TURN: What's your favorite way to salvage fruits or veggies that are slightly past their prime?

Light painting

I shot this for a story we did advancing the home brew competition at our local county fair. The designer and food editor at the time gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted to illustrate the story... which is the best kind of assignment and so rare!

I bought the barley and hops from a local vendor. The lighting was hit and miss as I choose to light paint. First, with a softbox directly overhead, you pop it off about 2 stops under. This is to light the shadows so there isn't a huge disparity between the painted highlights and the unpainted areas of the scene. Then working in a pitch black studio with the camera shutter open you walk around the scene with a black card and shutter release cable in one hand and a strobe head (modeling light on only) in the other hand. Working quickly, you basically "brush" the light over the areas you want lit using the black card to shield the light from the camera in between "strokes." The resulting image is aglow in a soft warm light. It took about 10 shots to get this one.

Too add to the soft glow, I used a black nylon over the lens. You take old black stockings, cut out a square, then using a rubber band, put it over the lens. It's a darkroom trick I used to do when I was a custom darkroom printer. It's like using the Gaussian blur tool in Photoshop pre-Photoshop! Even being a Photoshop master, I still use this trick as it produces a more natural softness than Photoshop does. Especially wonderful on portraits.

Also, another low-tech solution for light painting if you don't own studio lights – a hazard flashlight! I don't have studio strobes at home and that's how I shot this jewelry I made for a friend. This was lit completely using a $12 hazard flashlight from a local hardware store. The flashlight uses a quartz so it produces a real clean neutral light. Perfect for digital photography!



YOUR TURN: What's you favorite "low-tech" gadget?

Pignoli Fried Chicken w/ Pecan Wild Rice

What to do for dinner? Life has been "nuts" all week and I hadn't made it to the grocery store in over a week. I also didn't want anything too fussy. Good thing since the pantry and fridge were running a bit low. After two or three episodes of standing in front of the open refrigerator and then the freezer and then the open pantry cabinets (you know what I'm talking about, don't you?), I finally settled on the frozen chicken breasts.

Grilling was out of the question since my propane tank has been empty for two weeks now having had no time to run to Home Depot for a replacement. I had a good handful left of pignoli's left over from a previous dinner experiment and found breadcrumbs in the pantry. I didn't want anything heavily fried but a fried-like chicken sounded good. With a lack of fresh veggies in the fridge, I eyed the wild rice and knew I wanted to do something with that to compliment the chicken. The key to this "fried" chicken was using my Le Creuset Grill Pan (what a great investment that was!) and finishing it off in the oven. The meal was light and satisfying. I paired it with a lovely chilled Bogle Sauvignon Blanc.

PIGNOLI CRUSTED FRIED CHICKEN

2 large chicken breasts
1/4 cp pignolis
1/2 cp plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cp grated parmigiana
1/4 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten and in a shallow dish
olive oil
Pam or other Olive oil mister

Preheat oven to 400º. Preheat the grill pan on low to medium heat (Le Creuset is an excellent heat conductor and doesn't need to be on higher than medium heat).

1. Place a small dry sauté pan on medium heat and place the pignoli's in it to dry toast them stirring them constantly so they don't burn. You want them golden brown as evenly as possible. Remove them from the pan and place in a mortar and pestle and rough grind them. Don't overdo it. You don't want a paste.

2. Split the chicken breasts in half so you have four similar sized pieces. Place them, two at a time, in a gallon sized Ziplock bag and lightly pound them so they are even - about 5/8 of an inch thick (not having a meat tenderizer I use my rolling pin).

3. Using a paper towel or a pastry brush, lightly brush a little olive oil on the ribs of the grill pan. (That and a quick spray of Pam before placing in the oven is it for the added fat! See, "fried" but not fried.)

4. In a shallow dish, mix together the breadcrumbs, pignolis, cheese, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Dip a breast into the slightly beaten egg and then dredge in the crumb mixture. Carefully lay the breast in the pan. All four pieces should fit in the 10" pan. Cook on each side about 3-4 minutes. Very lightly spray the Pam on the top side of the chicken then place the pan in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink (the Pam helps give that fried-like crunch to the chicken).



PECAN WILD RICE

2 cps organic chicken broth
1 cp wild rice and barley mix (plain brown rice works well too)
2 tsps butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of half a lemon
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cp rough chopped arugala
1/4 cp diced red onion
1/4 cp candied pecans, chopped
freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place the broth, butter, garlic and a pinch or two of salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil. Add rice and bring to a boil again. Then cover and turn the heat down to low. Set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes. DO NOT LIFT THE COVER. When the timer goes off, turn the fire off and set the timer for another 10 minutes to let the steam continue to cook the rice. (This technique works great for white rice too. Just lower the time to 12 minutes and steam for 5.)

2. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon. Add the onions. When the rice has finished steaming, fluff it with a fork and then add to the bowl. Toss in the arugula and pecans. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My First Cookbook

Don't judge a book by its cover.

This book's cover has even worn off the binding. It's edges are frayed and tattered. The pages within, some loosened and falling out from years of use, others smeared with small fingerprints of ages old batter, butter, jam.

from the inside book cover:

To Annie–
with love,
Tio and Aunt Margaret
Christmas 1975

32 years. That's how long I've had this book in my possession. I was 9 years old that Christmas and it was one of the few that my aunt and uncle spent in San Diego.

Mom would turn the kitchen over to me and Celina, my oldest friend who lived next door. I remember countless days over the years pouring over the book together trying to decide which recipe we would tackle next.

Cookies were often high on our list. Besides mom usually already having the ingredients in the pantry, truth be told, baking was the most fun for us. I remember oatmeal for dad, chocolate chip for mom and peanut butter for us kids.

As a kid, peanut butter was one of my favorite foods. I could live on it if I had to! As an adult, it's become a minor obsession. I love using it in sweet and savory dishes. The cookbook has three peanut butter cookie recipes of varying levels of difficulty. Hands down the easiest used yellow cake mix, removing the need for lots of measuring and sifting flour. It was the first recipe I remember learning and wanting to perfect.

Now for the "guilty" admission portion of this post: to this day, this recipe remains in my repertoire – modified for more adult tastes – but basically the same recipe. And you know what? Everyone who tries all my variations of this cookie, love it.
The changes include the following:

• butter instead of oil
  
• in place of water, freshly pulled double shot of Illy Dark Roast Espresso
• Philsbury Dark Chocolate instead of the yellow cake mix
• I often add an inclusion such as peanuts, chocolate chips or raisins

I love uniformity in my homebaked cookies. I use a Pampered Chef large scoop and a knife to pack and level before dropping the dough balls onto my cookie sheet.

DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES
1 package Philsbury Dark Chocolate cake mix
1 cp room temperature peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 cp cooled espresso
1/4 cp room temperature butter
1 cp dark chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe's brand)

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a stand mixer, mix half the package cake mix, peanut butter, eggs, espresso and butter on medium until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining cake mix and the chocolate chips. Blend on medium until dough forms a ball. Drop level scoopfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Carefully remove from cookie sheet immediately and place on a cookie rack to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen.



YOUR TURN: What's your earliest childhood cooking recollection?

Food page design … a current passion

This post is dedicated to sharing a little of what I do on a daily basis.

With 15 years spent as a photo editor for our local newspaper, the bulk of my duties included photo editing the food section and working closely with the page designer and the food editor to come up with concepts and shape the visual language of the section.

Several months ago I had an opportunity to leave the photo department and move to the design desk.

After 17 years in photo, a change sounded great! I dove in to learning a completely new way of getting the vision in my head into the computer and eventually onto the pages of our newspaper. Funny how life works... Originally I accepted the design job with the caveat that I would see myself not only returning to the food section but also on a case by case basis be given the opportunity to photograph or illustrate concepts I came up with. Personally not thinking myself quite ready, two months ago I came full circle when I was given the Food Section to design and art direct.

So far, I'm having fun again and finding that page design suits me well. These pages are some of my favorites. I'll probably post more from time to time.

It's strange how a simple shift in focus can rejuvenate. For the first time in years I'm feeling filled with creativity at work again. The icing of course is the privilege of being able to combine two of my passions: food (discussion / taste testing) AND design. Blessed. I am truly Blessed.

Happy Monday and well wishes for a great week!