Summer Cocktail Series: The Long Island Iced Tea

I think you are allowed to begin wearing white pants and shoes now. Also, and perhaps more significantly, it is now time to kick off our Summer Cocktail Season. We had a preview with The Diablo but that was just a warm-up born out of necessity and an early LA heat-wave. Now its time to get serious and today we are starting with a doozy that should really get your festivities started. I've had Long Island on the brain recently as just about all of my very best friends (we actually call each other a family) are either on Long Island or heading there and will be spending a great deal of their summer there. I'm missing them today and feeling a bit removed so I'm joining them via a good stiff drink.

This genius of this drink is it's successful alchemy. What's more, an appropriately stocked bar should have all the necessary ingredients so there is nothing special to buy. Have you ever wondered who it was who figured out that you could combine so many different types of alcohol and come up with such a sublimely refreshing, not to mention efficiently intoxicating summer beverage? Well guess what? It really was invented in Long Island in the early 1970's by a bartender at the famous Oak Beach Inn. This establishment was in Babylon, NY which is really just a stone's throw from Fire Island -- where most of my friends are right now. (This drink is for you ladies!) I first encountered this drink in the late 70's in a bar in Westwood, California that had a reputation for not checking IDs. That proves that a really good drink recipe will get around fast if it is worthy and this one surely is. My recipe is probably like most except that I refuse to use sour mix in my cocktails and I think a dash or two of Angostura Bitters adds even more magic to this now classic cocktail.

Long Island Iced Tea

1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1 oz rum (I prefer gold)
1 oz white tequila ("oaky" dark tequilas don't cooperate as well as the 'silver' styles)
1/2 oz Cointreau (triple sec in a pinch)
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 T simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Coca Cola
Lemon slice to garnish

Put gin, vodka, rum, tequila, cointreau, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters in a mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir gently. Strain into highball filled with ice cubes until 3/4 full and top with Coca Cola. Garnish with lemon.

To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar and 2/3 cup water in a small saucepan andheat until sugar dissolves. Store in mason jar in refrigerator for several months. Commercial version always use sour mix instead of the lemon juice and syrup but this way makes a more refreshing drink and allows you the ability to adjust the sweetness level to your own taste.

Saturday Haiku: Its here!

I have been waiting.
Long time no see my good friend!
Summertime is here.

The Importance of Earnestly Plating Your Food.

After all those cookies and in keeping with my schitzo relationship to food, its time for another post on: my diet. No, I don't want to talk about the food itself or even my progress. (Its been GREAT, thank you for asking.) Lately, I have just been thinking about the importance of making a nice plate for myself before I eat it the food. Seems simple enough but how many people actually do it? Lets face it, if you are dining solo or eating diet food its an easy task to let slip by. I've been thinking of it lately as an act of 'self love' so I wanted to pass that thought along in the hopes that more will adopt it because it is really so simple.

Each day I've been get a bag of food delivered from the folks at The Fresh Diet and then I have to actually eat it. It comes in several plastic containers which are actually quite easy to eat out of but I've been taking great pains to actually plate the food and try to make it look as nice as the marketing photos do. These shots are from my last two dinners. All they are missing is the parsley!

Greek Meatballs with Green Beans and Black Bean Orzo

Chili with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Asparagus Spears

(I don't get much light in my kitchen and I've been trying to learn natural light photography -- my photos have been suffering lately so I hope I master it soon! )

I recall my grandmother who lived alone for the 40 years of my life I knew her -- she would make an entire formal dinner tray each night for herself. Her tray would make a room service tray at The Browns Hotel look bad! Her good china and silver was her "everyday" china and silver and she would garnish her plate and put a flower on her tray without fail. Every night. I once asked her why and she said, "who better than me to do this for?"

Indeed. Now go buy some parsley.

Note: this post got mentioned on The Fresh Diet Blog!

Wisdom: When Everyone Around You is in a Panic...

Hot Cookies On Call.

We had an impromptu Lost Finale Party on Sunday and I was too lazy to cook anything last minute so we ordered Persian take out. One look and you'll see why I'd hardly call it a consolation meal -- even though it did lack a certain creativity called for for such an event. My friend Rick over at Bittersweet was in the spirit, however, and served up some Dharma Truffles for the occasion. Do check out his blog. I know of no other blogger courageous enough to experiment with Nyquil as an ingredient in baking. (Now, I did once use cherry flavored hydrocodone syrup in an attempt to update the classic cosmopolitan but you certainly won't see me admitting that public do you?)

No, my guests weren't treated to anything cute and thematic, nor were they treated to anything from the medicine cabinet. My guests had to make do with plain old fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Again. I know...this blog has been nothing but chocolate chip cookies lately but really, when one is tired of chocolate chip cookies, one is tired of life. Right?

Last week when making that last batch by Jacques Torres I actually thought ahead and scooped a bunch into some containers for freezing. Wallah! Cookies on call for just such an impromptu event. 15 minutes of thaw, 15 minutes of bake and there you have it. A plate of warm cookies to serve with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Not too exciting or creative but seriously, we all needed some comfort food to mourn the loss of our favorite show, Lost. (And in case my trainer is reading this, yes, I did eat one with vanilla ice cream. I was distraught I'm telling you. )

Saturday Haiku: Cookie Quest Winner!

Chewy or crunchy?

The very best cookie is...

The one in your hand.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest - Pt. 2: Getting Trendy

I made two different batches of Chocolate Chip Cookies this past week. I had purchased several varieties of chips and wanted to nail down a good recipe. First up was the Alton Brown's "chewy" recipe that I posted earlier. While it certainly did not disappoint I thought I owed one more entry in the contest before I called it a winner. What good is first place if there were no other competitors? When I saw the picture on the web page for the New York Times "ultimate chocolate chip cookie" I had to try it. It's based on NYC chocolatier JacquesTorres' famous recipe and it is finished with a sprinkling of fluer de sel. Naturally, I was intrigued given my love of the chocolate and salt combination.

Can you see the salt? Before it closed, New York's Chocolate Bar in the East Village had a french bread, chocolate and salt sandwich on their menu! (Is that place open again?) The pairing of dark chocolate and salt is is extraordinary and I thought it was worth tinkering with here as well. Glad I did. I used a combination of chips. 1/2 of the chocolate was a 70% dark organic flat chip from Whole Foods and the other 1/2 was a 65% bittersweet. The salt really requires a darker chocolate. There was a very sophisticated taste to these. I really loved it and the salt got a lot of attention when I passed them around the office. (I do think it was a conceptual stretch for one or two... but they got over it and devoured them nonetheless.) The mixture of flours gives these cookies the best of all possible worlds. Chewy and delicate with just a bit of lift. Do not overbake if you prefer a softer cookie. I baked 15 minutes and they were perfect.

So as you can see from the last few posts I've been bringing in lots of cookies to share with the office. Its reminded me of an odd lady I used to work for nearly 25 years ago. On special occasions she would bring in 3 or so dozen chocolate chip cookies to share everyone in our department. 1 dozen would be milk chocolate, one dozen dark, one dozen with nuts, etc. They were incredible! So perfectly round and delicious. Her secret recipe? She bought them at Mrs. Fields and reboxed them into her own Tupperware! I never blabbed that I knew and I didn't really want to know if anyone else knew either. Whenever anyone would ask her what the recipe was she would just say "I use the recipe on the bag of chips and then I just double everything." Uh huh. Very odd indeed... but generous as that must have set her back a lot of dough. (Yes, I said that.)

Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from The NYTimes

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate (no less than 60% cacao.)

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 17 minutes.

Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Korova Cookies aka "World Peace Cookies"

If it weren't for the fact that the recipe for these cookies was already plastered all over the internet I would probably refuse to post it and never tell a soul how they are made. Things of high value are meant to be protected and kept scarce.

Alas, they come from Dorrie Greenspan and she has already published them under two different names in her baking books. Personally I prefer their first name, "Korova", to their rechristened name "World Peace Cookies" so I will call them by their former name when asked. No matter what you call them, they are quite simply the best chocolate cookie I have ever tasted. I proudly walked around the office last week handing these out -- call me the cookie fairy (ha!) -- and by the time I had circled back to the kitchen my coworkers were fighting each other for the few remaining cookies left in the box. So much for world peace. Here is a link to Dorrie herself discussing the cookie on her own blog. (She mentions the blog group Tuesdays with Dorrie that is making its way through her book. I don't have the discipline for that sort of thing though it is fun to follow them.)

The secret to these cookies is the fluer de sel. Their slightly salty essence kicks the chocolate up a notch and contributes to their addicting nature. Think french fries. These aren't your children's chocolate cookies. Salt and chocolate is quite trendy right now and for good reason. I was recently in NYC and all the fancy schmantzy haute chocolate places are featuring sea salt chocolates and it got me to thinking about applying the concept to baking. (Dorrie, of course, already had that base covered.)

Don't skimp when making these. Use the finest cocoa powder you can get your hands on and try to get semi sweet chocolate with at least 65% cacao. Break up some of those fancy bars they sell at chocolate boutiques. I found some chi-chi dark chocolate chunks at Whole Foods. You can use mini-chips if you want but I think that its the details that matter and even the shape of the partially melted chunks added to the flair of this particular cookie.

Korova Cookies (or "World Peace")
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chunks from Whole Foods) 

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel.

Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate. T

urn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

 GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Leeks and Tarragon

I Blogstalked "Barrister Bites" for this delicious recipe:


My friend  Barrister Bites routinely offers up great, healthy  recipes that are not only good but also easy to prepare. I happen to know she has a punishing commuter schedule so how she manages to knock out a steady stream of winners every night I just don't know. Seriously. Every night.

They must not eat leftovers over there.  She manages to shave a few calories off just about everything she makes! With this one she even managed to shave a few off even though it was originally a recipe from Eating Well...and STILL she adapted it by sub'ing in some Smart Start Lite or something like that. (Do you buy that at the hardware store?)

My version corrects for this this calorie saving overkill and adds a hint of tarragon to the mix -- I love tarragon when white wine is added for reductions.  Leave it out, however,  if it's not your thing.

I've also adapted this recipe for the tenderloin which I prefer to the actual pork loin as it is, um,  more tender.  Oh, and it also takes flavor better and cooks a lot faster.

Unfortunately, what you see here isn't really a tenderloin at all but rather it is our market's (Albertsons)  idea of a joke.  He took a regular center cut pork loin and cut down its length so it would be in two long pieces.  Do people really get fooled by that?  Remind me never to buy meat there again.

 (It was still good!)



Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Leeks and Tarragon

• 6 large leeks
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter, divided
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 2 pork tenderloins (these are usually packaged in pairs)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon or 1/2 T fresh, minced.
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Remove roots and tough upper leaves from leeks. Cut each leek in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Soak in cold water to loosen dirt; rinse and drain.

Heat the sliced leek, 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large Dutch oven or deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or until the leek has wilted. Pour into a bowl and set aside. This can be done in advance and kept in refrigerator until you cook the pork.

Heat 2 teaspoons butter and olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and wine; cook 15 seconds, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return leek mixture to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until pork is tender or registers 140-145 on a meat thermometer. Remove pork from pan; add tarragon and increase heat to reduce leek sauce. Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with leek mixture; garnish with parsley, if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: The Quest Begins

Can you believe that I've never made these before?

Its true. I set out this week to tackle the "chocolate chip cookie thing" and realized that I had never actually made one before. Weird, huh? I've made lots of cookies. Just not this kind. Lots of people make lots of chocolate chip cookies, they are fairly ubiquitous, and everyone seems to have a differing opinion on what makes a good one. Can you blame me for avoiding them until now? But then I read around the blogs and saw this quote from a New York Times article: "Like the omelet, which many believe to be the true test of a chef, the humble chocolate chip cookie is the baker’s crucible." I knew I could avoid it no longer. I'd already tackled the omelet and so I knew what was meant here. Just read the reviews on any recipe site and you will see how widely the results can be for bakers working the exact same recipe! For a cookie where there are only a few universal ingredients it is in the subtleties --the nuance of technique -- that the "good enough" is made into the "truly great". We live in a world after all, where the question of "chewy", "cakey", or "thin" can pit worker against co-worker and split families. This is what one is up against when one decides to bake this American classic for the very first time. Can you blame me for waiting so long?


So I offer this recipe up after what was only my first try. It is the recipe that is that good, not me. However, not exactly being a novice in the kitchen, I did know enough to do a bit of reading and research before cracking an egg. I sleuthed my way through a few recipe books, blogs and websites, reading comments and reviews on dozens of different recipes all the while trying to determine which comments came from experienced bakers and which came from "newbies". "I didn't have butter so I used margarine and boy were these disappointing!" No duh! Also, while I'm at it, if a reviewer says a particular cookie recipe makes lousy cookies and you can see they are living in the Sierra Nevada, move along and pay no attention. It is probably the baker and not the recipe at fault since so few "mountain people" know how to adjust a recipe. I like chewy chocolate chip cookies with just a enough firm to hold together but will still keep moist inside after a day or two. I settled on this recipe here from Alton Brown who usually does a really good job with classic recipes. I only changed it slightly in that I specified a 65% cacao chocolate chip and he doesn't tell you how long to chill the dough. (2 hours minimum.) Remember how I said it was the small things? Well then, splurge on the chocolate and use good quality and the best butter you can get. The bread flour will help the cookies keep some rise and shape while baking but these will still be good if AP is all you have. Being the purist I gather, Alton left out the walnuts and so did I. I wanted to evaluate the base cookie itself before I adding anything. These definitely have the strong flavor needed to support walnuts (by special request of my husband) or (gulp) pecans.


Be sure to consider these tips I think are critical to this recipe. The dough must be chilled thoroughly. At least 2 hours. Since you melt the butter rather than mix it in solid like in most recipes, the dough needs to be chilled back up or the cookies will end up flat and oily. Part of the reason these are good is that the warm butter starts in on the sugar so don't shortcut this part or you will be sorry. If you don't have the time to fully chill it, leave it in the refrigerator overnight and scoop and bake the next day. In fact, if you can, plan on leaving it in overnight. Cookie dough is a lot like soup in that it gets better the next day. That is a little cookie secret you don't often see spelled out in recipes but I will share it with you here. The flavors will get just a bit more intense and the bake will get more evenly golden without drying out. If you like, you could scoop this dough into balls and flash freeze them in a freezer bag to bake out individual portions on demand. (Bake at 375 for 15 min). Also, before I forget, be sure to melt the butter slowly, in a broad saucepan over low heat. DO NOT LET IT BUBBLE or it will separate and cause you to have oily cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies ("Chewy Style")
adapted from Alton Brown

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar (packed)
  
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups chocolate chips made from 65% cacao

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until fully incorporated and sugar is somewhat dissolved. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 2 hours, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets with a 2 oz disher, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake one tray at a time for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

A "Fresh Win" !

Haven't you always wondered what she keeps in her purse? (Read on!)

I won something! Free, healthy food!

I'm a huge fan of this diet program and since I blog about it now and then (passing on good info is what a maven does) I thought that in the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that I received some of it for free recently. I realize that if I could cook light more often I wouldn't need The Fresh Diet but that just isn't me. To each his or her own and having this available to me to help me control my universe has been a huge help. So, not to toot my own horn, (yeah right, this is a blog for god's sake!) but when I want to be I can be pretty creative and persuasive, especially when it comes to contests for free stuff. So when The Fresh Diet was offering free deliveries of their delicious, healthy, delivered to your door meals via their Face Book page I was all over that one and it paid off!

The company frequently runs contests on its Face Book page and I try to enter them in order to help bring down the cost of my own plan. Usually its a "caption this" contest of a photo of some sort (someone holding their cooler bag or, oddly, one of their employees) and the winner gets a free week or so of the plan. Non customers seem to win more than customers (surprise!) so head on over to their page if you are interested in trying it.

The photos you see here were among my entries in the last contest where they asked us to submit a photo of us holding their cooler bag. After submitting a proper entry I thought I would take the opportunity to hone my Photoshop skills. These made me laugh so I thought I would share.



That head belongs to their CEO. I took it off an earlier "caption this" photo. It won a prize but I really like the other ones better -- they made for a better marketing message if you ask me. Oh well, not complaining. I really do love the diet. See you at Face Book where I will be trying to win more!

Stuffing Mushrooms and Thanking Mom.

Today is Mother's Day (and this is my 100th post!) and I think it is perhaps the first Mother's Day that I am not actually going to see my Mom. Long story, nothing tragic, but I thought since I won't see her I would connect with her by sharing one of the early recipes she taught me back when she inspired me to cook -- Champignon Farci, which is just a fancy French way of saying "stuffed mushrooms". They are quite delicious and can be served as a passed appetizer or as a side dish. I often serve them with roasted meats like rack of lamb. They are great for parties because they can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days, if necessary. I made the batch seen above by special request of my mother-in-law. I served them to her a few weeks ago and she enjoyed them so much she asked if I wouldn't mind making some for a party she was having. We are new in each other's lives so this request was saturated with meaning for me. As such, I don't have a picture of the finished product to show you as these were packed up and sent to her house to be finished off in the oven for her own guests to enjoy. (I'm sure you can use your imagination and figure out what they looked like -- they are stuffed mushrooms after all!)

In addition to giving me this recipe for stuffed mushrooms nearly 30 years ago, my mom is the one I credit with showing me the value of connecting to other people through good food and thoughtful entertaining. Back then when I went away to school for the first time I was a shy, reserved and probably a bit frightened young man. Certainly, I had not yet grown into my own skin. Even though I tried very hard to fight those tendencies I'm sure that outwardly, I was still quite socially awkward. I joined a fraternity to get a sense of group belonging but I still had a difficult time setting out any identity as an individual. As silly as it sounds today, I didn't think I had any talents to rely on -- and one of my more central identity traits was not quite ready to be dealt with. I wasn't any good at sports and my near encyclopedic knowledge of Disney movies and Broadway's leading ladies wasn't going to win me many fans in that particular environment. I searched around for an 'angle' and then after a year or so I began to see how my mother used cooking and entertaining as a means to take control over her own shyness with people. In her own home, and presenting a well thought out party for her guests, she shined! I will always remember the night that one of her friends told me that being at one of my mother's dinner parties was the one place on earth he enjoyed most! That's a pretty incredible statement when you think about it (and all the other places in the world he could have chosen.) It wasn't long after that I asked Mom to help me learn to cook. Everyone has to eat, after all.

I would come home from college on the weekends and she and I would plan out a dinner menu and she would give me xerox copies of the recipes. (I still have them.) We would talk out the recipes and she would tell me why certain foods were good together or why some things were perhaps better choices than others. We would then often make the recipes together for our Sunday family dinner or I would head back to school and try to duplicate the meal for my room mates and their girlfriends. Those early dinners were mostly comprised of the basics like meatloaf, lasagna, and roast chicken. After college we tackled more advanced fare including basic French cooking. I would spend hours going through her extensive cookbook collection and watch her prepare for her parties and our family holiday feasts. She knew that you started your meal with your eyes and so setting out a good table was key to her planning. She even showed me how to take apart and debone a chicken in one piece and then sew it up back together for her signature dish, Chicken Ballantine. (A triumph that was actually photographed and published in Orange County Magazine who was sent to actually cover one of her fêtes!) My college friends who came to visit following graduation started to notice a certain uptick in the menu quality. "Taco Night" became "Tournedoes aux Poive Verte"night as Mom and I spent the requisite hours in the kitchen together making our own classic brown sauce and the Glace de Viande that I learned true chefs used to transform a good sauce into amazing. She didn't cook like this nightly, but she knew that to make a special meal you had to pull out all the stops and do it right. Good times indeed and I really enjoyed those times with her.

She initially showed me Champignon Farci as a side dish to that last meal but she herself usually served it as a passed appetizer. You know its good 'cause it has bacon in it! Just about anything in this can be substituted but the recipe as written is my favorite for sentimental reasons and I will make it this way forever. Thanks Mom!

"Champignon Farci" - Stuffed Mushrooms:

• 12-18 mushrooms of a good size as a first course, allow 3 per person.
• lemon Juice
• 3 T. melted butter

1. Quickly clean mushrooms under cold water and dry on paper towels. Slice off stems and reserve.
2. Sprinkle caps with lemon juice.
3. Pour melted butter in a baking dish and place mushrooms in it.

For the the Stuffing:

• the reserved mushroom stems, finely chopped
• 3 T. shallots, finely chopped
• 3 T. butter
• I 1/2 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs - 1 slice bread, approx.
• 3 T. parsley, finely chopped
• 3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• salt-pepper

1. Saute stems and shallots in butter until mushrooms start to render their juice. Turn up heat and cook
until liquid is nearly gone.
2. Add cream cheese and bacon, stirring to blend.
3. Off heat, add enough bread crumbs to bind, then add parsley. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

For the assembly, mound stuffing into caps. Combine some bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over stuffed mushrooms.

The entire recipe may be prepared to this point and covered tightly, rest in the fridge several hours. When ready to bake, dot the caps with butter and
cook in 375 degree oven for 15 min;; 20 min. if refrigerated.

Saturday Haiku: Haikus for the week

A rentboy, young and taut
I would travel with one as well.
can make you see God?

(I am sick this week.
Why cook when you can not taste?
cough, cough, hack. sniff. snort. )

Lamb Kebabs in a Hurry! (Another secret revealed.)

These tasted as good as they looked. There is only one problem with them which I will share with you later. Obviously I didn't just serve my family artichokes for dinner! I had to have a 'main course' and even though a nice, fleshy 'choke is quite satisfying it is just not enough for a real dinner celebration. I had gone into the weekend with great intentions of laying out a Italian feast featuring Leslie's meatballs but fate conspired against me and I was left with only two hours of party prep-time and a scratchy throat notifying me that I could be in for an early 'summer cold' the next day. Kebabs are perfect since they can be quickly put together and laid out on a platter ready for serving. The actual cooking can take place after the guests have arrived leaving you more time to get everything else ready.

Here is my recipe for marinated lamb kebabs:

• 1 large container plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 t lemon zest
• juice of two lemons
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 5 T rosemary
• 1 t dried fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots

Combine ingredients in a gallon sized zip lock. Cut lamb into 1 1/2 inch cubes and put in the bag. Set bag in a bowl so that marinade covers up all the meat. This can marinate overnight and up to 2 days. Thread onto skewers and grill over hot coals turning every few minutes for 10-15 minutes until done.

I love this recipe because the yogurt marinade really keeps the meat tender and moist. You can use this as the base for any grilling meat, even chicken. So what was wrong with my lamb kebabs? Simple: I didn't make them. I bought them! Yeah, I know. But I was quite pressed for time and unless they read this blog, none of my guests will ever know. As you can see, I still had the time time to put them on a platter with some fresh scallions and rosemary so as not to ruin the illusion for my guests. Yeah, I'm guilty of a dinner party "cheat" now and then so sue me. Ina always says on her show "make something - buy something" so I'm in good company. I already knew that these would be great since I'd had them before. Don't discount some of the good food available in the higher priced supermarkets prepared foods sections! To spruce them up a bit I did make the tzatziki sauce that was served alongside of them. This not only added an air of Greek authenticity to the meal but also served to camouflage my deceit.

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 18 oz container Greek yogurt
• 1 hothouse cucumber
  
• 3 T lemon juice
• 2 T white wine vinegar
• 1 T minced fresh dill
• 1 1/2 T minced garlic
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1/2 t pepper

Grate the cucumber using a large grate setting and squeeze out all the moisture. Mix together other ingredients in a bowl, add cucumber, and then keep refrigerated until serving. Adjust seasons to taste. A good variation on this is to substitute mint (fresh or dried) for the dill and then your sauce will travel away from Greece and into Persia!

Artichokes: A Simple Pleasure

I don't think there is a person alive who hasn't scheduled a family get together and then wished they hadn't. I'm sure this happens for all sorts of reasons. But just to be clear here, (and because my family reads this blog!), I never regret the occasions --I just regret it when I invite everyone over and then life decides it is going to suck away all of my free time leading up to the night. Thats just what happened this past weekend. I thought we had no plans so I would have the whole weekend to plan, shop, and cook. Turns out we had plans that were going to occupy me and leave me with only a scant couple of hours to throw it all together. Add to that the fact that I had been feeling a little under the weather and I was regretting my decision to have the gang over for one last casual dinner before all the wedding festivities start to take over our lives. Then I remembered that my 'secret weapon' was in season: the artichoke.

The best part of serving a good artichoke its not in how it is prepared but in the very act of its eating. There is something quite disarming about a group of people eating artichokes that make it the perfect dish to serve your own family. All pretense, inhibition, expectation, or awkward silences go away as your guests pull apart the artichokes with their hands and scrape the flesh from its leaves with their teeth. It is as if this allowable deviation from normal table manners puts everyone in a good mood! I enjoy discerning various personality traits by watching how each guest approaches the task of stripping back the artichoke to get to the delicacy of its heart. And even though I put out a large platter in the middle of the table so everyone can just chuck the leaves onto it, there are still those (the more uptight and control oriented who shall go nameless) in the group who will fight this urge and attempt to stack them evenly on their plate. Order at all costs! Eventually, even they give up and join the party!

I'm told that this year was the "perfect storm" as far as weather and crop plantings go as artichokes are more abundant and as flavorful as ever right now. You won't have to twist my arm. I'll be dusting off some of my favorite recipes and serving them up a lot so stay tuned. Of course, stuffing them with breadcrumbs is very popular, easy to do, and guests are quite impressed with it. Also, if you remove the chokes you can stuff them with all sorts of goodies making them ideal for re-purposing leftover veggies. Leslie makes a light version that is definitely worth trying and Greg even fries up the minis in case you were wondering what you are supposed to do with those cuties when you next encounter them at the farmer's market.

Personally, I like them at their simplest: steamed. I steamed these in a couple inches of water with a liberal amount of lemon juice, peel and salt in the water. If you like they turn out great just plain but its so easy to add a few cloves of garlic, a couple sprigs of rosemary, or even steam them in chicken broth. (That is good for certain stuffed 'choke's too!) Slice off the stem and about 1/2" of the top, snip the leaves (or not) and rub the cut ends with lemon to keep them from browning. (Or not. You really can't mess these up.) Steam for 30-40 minutes until the hearts are tender. Test by pushing a sharp knife into them from the top. It should go through easily. Or pull off a leaf and try it. Let them cool. I like to plunge them into ice water to refresh and cool them down rapidly so they don't get too mushy but this really isn't necessary. I also think they are best when cooled down to room temperature or with an ever-so-slight chill. This is another plus when you want no-fuss food for company as they can just sit out while until its time to eat. Like these:

But do get creative with dipping sauces. Lemon mayo (called "aioli' amongst the foodie hoi polloi) or melted butter are the standards and while you really ought to offer these for the 'purists' at your table you should also serve an alternative or two since they are so easy to dream up. Put a dash of rosemary in your melted butter or a drizzle of dijon mustard. Or lemon. Add a dab of pesto to your mayo or just dice up some shallots or green onion to put in it. My mother gave me some smoked tomato pesto from a restaurant she had visited recently and a dab of that in our mayo this time around was quite a hit.

Saturday Haiku: Thank you for your kind emails & comments.

That post without food...
My blog just has to be [me!]
Thanks for your support.

(Oh, and that hate note...
Your anger tells me plenty.
You sound very 'scared'.)