Pom Prosecco & Popcorn

Pom Prosecco

Popcorn with Truffle Oil

Pop regular popcorn in canola or peanut oil in a heavy, covered pot. Ratio: 3 T. oil to 1/2 c. popcorn kernels. Add fine sea salt then drizzle the warm popcorn with truffle oil. Extraordinary! 

I don't make popcorn very often, and in recent years, when I did, it was in the microwave. I am so glad to have rediscovered the old-fashioned way to make popcorn. I want to thank my blogger friend Thatgirl for the suggestion. Simple and really really good.

Great start to a cocktail party!

A Pom Prosecco was a great complement to our Miso Glazed Swordfish luncheon too. This is a mighty tasty cocktail, and food-friendly. Simply pour a few ounces cold pomegranate juice into a flute and add cold Prosecco, a dry Italian sparkling wine. Personally, I am not a huge fan of adding juice to Champagne, but Prosecco is different. The method used to produce Prosecco is much less costly than Champagne, yet still produces a high quality dry sparkling wine, which is meant to be consumed young. 

And POM Wonderful is a perfect addition because it is not too sweet, gives the Prosecco that awesome pink color and depth of flavor, and you can take an inexpensive bottle of this bubbly and have a really nice fresh, crisp, refreshing drink. I purchased this bottle of Prosecco at Trader Joe's for $5.99 US.

Thanks to the folks at POM Wonderful for the gift of the delicious anti-oxidant juice! I highly recommend a visit to the POM website to check out the pomegranate recipes and beautiful food photos too. I definitely look forward to using this juice in future recipes.

Browsing through my photo library recently and noticed a recurring theme, Glassware. Thought it might be fun to compile some of the photos here:

Glassware

1. Alex, Las Vegas
   
2. La Mar, San Francisco
   
3. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
   
4. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas
   
5. Per Se, New York City
   
6. Gramercy Tavern, New York City
   
7. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
   
8. La Mar, San Francisco
   
9. Per Se, New York City

Cheers!

Miso Glazed Swordfish, Cannellini Asian Slaw

Miso Glaze

• 1/2 c. Miso 
  
• 2 T. Sake
  
• 1 T. Sugar
  

Thanks to Jenn, The Leftover Queen and the Foodie BlogRoll for the gift of a subscription to Saveur. In the very first issue I received, there were many exciting recipes and ideas including this one of Miso Glazed Fish, issue No. 118.

To accompany Saveur's miso glazed fish recipe we prepared an Asian-style slaw with cannellini beans and miso sesame dressing.

Dressing:

• 1 t. Miso (I use Akamiso, red soybean paste)
  
• 1/4 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
  
• 1 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
  
• 1 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
  
• 1 t. Fresh Yuzu (or lemon) Juice  
  
• Black & White Sesame Seeds 
  
• Minced Ginger
  

Whisk first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust ingredients to your liking as some miso is more salty than others, you might even want to add a little sugar. Add a pinch of minced ginger and a small amount of sesame seeds for color.

Cannellini Asian Slaw

Miso Sesame Dressing

Cannellini beans are tossed with shredded napa and red cabbage, sliced scallions, shredded carrots, radish sprouts. Tossed with Miso Sesame Dressing.

My Legume Love Affair Contribution:  It continues to be one the best monthly events, created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. This month hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. Say Laurie, I've been reading about the eruption of Mt. Redoubt on the Kenai Peninsula, spent some time there in the '90's! Beautiful place indeed! Hope everyone remains safe.

Are you a bean aficionado? Make sure to check out Legume Love!

Fresh swordfish steaks are seasoned with fresh ground pepper then coated with Panko breadcrumbs, sautéed in canola oil until a nice brown crust forms. Flip the swordfish and brown the other side.

Spoon miso glaze on the browned crust and cook briefly under the broiler until the miso glaze is caramelized.

Miso Glazed Swordfish and Cannellini Asian Slaw

My dear dear longtime friend Charlotte and her husband Mark are in So Cal for a few days to visit family and a friend (me). 

Charlotte and Mark drove to my town, San Pedro, where we checked out a neat landmark at the Port of Los Angeles: The SS Lane Victory, a WW II cargo ship. Then went back to my house and cooked this miso glazed swordfish, together, like old times. 

You see, she and I met as prep cooks in a restaurant called the Ute City Bank in Aspen, Colorado in 1978. (Over 30 years ago, how is that possible?) We became friends, then roommates, cooked together, skied and partied together and then went our separate ways...pursuing our careers and our lives. And we remain forever forever friends. Love you KH (my nickname for her) Charlotte!

Deconstructed Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

 Egg Noodles, Micro Greens

A little after 3 PM today there was a knock on my office door. It was first-grader Myles. He came to thank me for a "really good" dinner last night. He told me he ate "a lot."

Myles' dad is my colleague and his wife just had a baby. To help out, we all signed up for days where we fix dinner for their family. We bring the packaged dinner to work in the morning and my colleague takes it home with him at the end of the day. My day was yesterday. I thought of preparing something green for St. Patrick's Day, but um, Myles and his little brother, a pre-schooler, might not be too impressed.

So I called my sister-in-law, Kristy, to get her recommendation as she and my brother have two boys just about the same ages of Myles and his brother. I told her I was thinking about turkey meatloaf, and she nixed that right away, my nephews would not be impressed with any kind of meat loaf. She recommended Chicken Parmesan.

Upon further consideration, this was a brilliant idea. I would fix all the components separately. Mom and Dad could put it all together and heat it up in the oven as a casserole. Perhaps Myles would like just the chicken, with the melted cheese, cut into strips, like gourmet chicken fingers. And the little one, he could eat noodles with butter? Right? And it turns out, that is how it went down. Myles told me they added more Parmesan cheese too, perfect!

Procedure:

Chicken - Organic chicken breasts were pounded thin, seasoned with salt and pepper, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, coated with a mixture of panko bread crumbs and Parmesan, sautéed in olive oil. Transferred to a platter then topped with a slice of Provolone.

Marinara Sauce - Finely chopped onions and garlic are sautéed in olive oil with red pepper flakes, add a little dried basil and oregano, then crushed peeled tomatoes, simmer for about 30 minutes, salt and pepper to taste.

Noodles - Curly egg noodles cooked al dente.

And Micro Greens - my new favorite garnish.

Congratulations to the new big brother for a second time, Myles, and his family on the arrival of their beautiful new baby! And a big thanks to Kristy for the awesome idea!

Farmers Market Tamale

Handmade Chicken Tamale

Pico de Gallo

Micro Greens

Farmers Market in San Pedro

Fridays 9 AM to 2 PM

San Pedro is a community that is part of the City of Los Angeles

Baby Bouquet $3.00

Berries!

Pico de Gallo

Cherry tomatoes, quartered

Garlic, minced

Onion, finely chopped

Serrano Chile , finely chopped

Cilantro leaves

Olive Oil

Fresh Lime Juice

Salt

Ranunculus $4.00

One of my favorite stalls at the Farmers Market is the tamale stand. You can enjoy a hot steaming tamale with salsa roja there, or take some home and serve with the fresh vegetables picked up at the market: micro greens drizzled with olive oil and sea salt, and my fresh pico de gallo.

What is your favorite item at your Farmers Market?

Pi Day Math for Cooks

First of all - Happy Pi Day!
If you are a math nerd, this is a fun day!
March 14 or 3.14...and I did not just admit to being a nerd?!?

What is pi?
It is the ratio of the circle's circumference to its diameter.

So here, my lovely Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Tarte Tatin pan has a diameter of 9 1/2 inches. What is the circumference you ask?

That is where my handy little mysterious irrational number comes in! The circumference is the diameter (as measured by my whimsical tape measure) multiplied by pi.

The circumference of my Le Creuset pan:
pi d = C
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884+ X 9.5 = 29.845130209+
About 30" around. 

OK, I am off to bake a 30" circumference apple tarte tatin!

Did you enjoy some pie on Pi Day?

(Portions of this post were written for Pi Day 2008, as some things never change, and pi is one of them).

Salade des Haricots Verts et Pâté

A Salad of Haricots Verts and Chicken Port Pâté

Over Butter Lettuce

With Shallots and Parsley

Drizzled with Dijon Vinaigrette

As you may have read in a previous post, we are hosting another themed dinner party soon, this one honoring Jackie. So I am researching my cookbooks for the party's menu. First I came across the fabulous green risotto in Cooking for Madam, and now I am inspired by Marta's Salade D'Haricots Verts. This is no ordinary green bean salad! It is paired with pâté! Marta prepares hers with foie gras. It would be excellent with a salmon, or seafood, or vegetable pâté as well.

Here, tender butter lettuce leaves are arranged on a plate with lots of chopped fresh parsley, add haricots verts and similar sized slices of chicken port pâté. Drizzle with Dijon vinaigrette and garnish with thinly sliced shallots.

The haricots verts were pre-cooked until just tender, shocked in ice water to preserve color. Serve all the ingredients at room-temperature for full flavor. The textures are luxurious and the cut of the pâté mirroring the beans makes a lovely presentation.

Great for a luncheon with crusty French bread and a glass of Grüner Veltliner, or as a smaller portion for a start to an elegant dinner.

We continue to be in love with Grüner Veltliner. This darling Austrian white wine pairs so well with many luncheon salads. I suspect it has something to do with the time of day as well as the wine's character: Fresh. Juicy. Complex. Bright. Balanced. Intriguing.

If you have any ideas for our upcoming Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dinner party please leave a comment!

More Beets

The Beet Fest Continues...

Breakfast Borscht 

With a Poached Egg and Rye Toast

We were pleasantly surprised at this wonderful pairing for breakfast. The gooey poached egg took the place of sour cream, and with the earthy, slightly sweet and sour borscht, it was a winning combination. And the rye toast was the perfect complement. If you happen to make A Borscht Like Nana's do keep some aside, or freeze, to serve for breakfast or brunch. You'll have a delightfully unusual breakfast dish, with the simple addition of a poached egg and toast.

When making A Borscht Like Nana's, the greens are removed from the root. The beets are simmered in water until tender. I kept the greens refrigerated until a few days later and made this vibrant side dish.

I also reserved one of the cooked beets, it didn't go into the borscht, it was wrapped up and went into the refrigerator to pair with the greens later on.

Beet Root, Beet Greens 

With Garlic, Shallot, Raspberry Vinegar

Briefly sauté minced shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes in half olive oil half butter. Then add chopped beet greens, cook until just about wilted and tender. Add the one diced beet and heat through. Finish with a splash of raspberry vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

This concludes The Beet Fest:

• Beet Soup with Truffle Oil
  
• A Borscht Like Nana's
  
• Breakfast Borscht with Poached Egg
  
• Beet Root, Beet Greens with Raspberry Vinegar

Oh, and here's one more, a great beet recipe from my archives:

• A Salad of Steamed Baby Beets, Frisée , Cumin-Paprika Fried Organic Garbanzos, Shallots and Greek Feta
  

What is your favorite way to serve beets?

Green Risotto

Recipes and Reminiscences

from the Home of

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

My foodie friends and I are having another themed dinner party soon. The theme is going to be a tribute to Jackie Kennedy. We will wear pill box hats and pearls, and cook dishes of White House Chef René Verdon and of Marta Sgubin, Jackie's personal chef. 

So I've gotten out my Kennedy cookbooks and started to look for inspiration. That's where I found the amazing Green Risotto. In Cooking for Madam by Marta Sgubin.

Marta said, "I loved to serve this for lunch in winter, because it was food with such a beautiful color."

Heat 1/2 c. olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add a finely chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown.

Add 1 1/2 c. arborio rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil. Add 1/2 c. white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add about 5 c. hot chicken stock gradually as absorbed, stirring continuously until the rice is al dente.

Liquefy fresh spinach leaves with a small amount of water in a food processor.

Add the liquid spinach to the risotto.

Serve with Parmesan on the side.

Oh! Have you heard that there's a huge virtual party going on? Legendary Italian cooks Marie and Maryann are hosting the second annual Festa Italiana. A grand buffet bigger and finer than any you'll find in Vegas! Come join us for an Italian party like no other.  I'm bringing Marta's Green Risotto.