Cilantro-Scented Navy Bean Mash, Smoked Fish

Cilantro-Scented Navy Bean Mash

Smoked Salmon Rosette

Cook navy beans in chicken stock with smashed garlic cloves. Add cilantro sprigs for the last half hour of cooking. Let cool. Remove the sprigs and garlic.

Mash the beans with a potato masher, add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Fold in crème fraîche and rough chopped cilantro leaves.

The Navy Bean is a mild-tasting, smaller-sized dense white bean that got its name from being a staple food for the US Navy, as they do not spoil and provide excellent nutrition.

Courtney of Chicago's Coco Cooks blog is hosting this month's My Legume Love Affair, a wildly successful event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. April is its tenth incarnation, and one of which I am excited to participate in once again. Next month's host will be yours truly, Taste With The Eyes.

Courtney's challenge was to create a starter or dessert with legumes. For this party, I am serving a starter of cilantro-scented navy bean mash on spoons topped with a rosette of smoked salmon or a morsel of smoked trout.

My friends Heather and Abbi, stopped by during the creative stage. I served them the cilantro-scented navy bean dip with toast points brushed with olive oil. Cooking the beans with garlic cloves, stock, and cilantro imparts a wonderful depth of flavor to the beans. My vegetarian friends would love this too, just use a rich vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.

Another post, another thank you to my brother. This one, to my brother Don. You see, he waited in a not-so-short line last December to get an autographed cookbook by Charlie Trotter. Those of you who have been following Taste With The Eyes may recall that my birthday gift from Don & Kristy last year was Guest Chef For The Day in Charlie Trotter's kitchen. I am a big fan of Charlie, and this cookbook, Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter, is a favorite; with casual recipes for the home chef, focusing on crisp flavors and straight-forward presentations. That's where the idea for cilantro-scented navy beans came from! 

Next up for MLLA 11, Three Bean and Potato Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette, inspired by Charlie, too.  Bean aficionados, won't you please join us in May and share your favorite legume recipe?

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Veal, Portobello, Fried Sage

Grilled Portobello Mushroom 

Sautéed Veal Medallion

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

Pinot Noir Veal Stock Reduction 

with Crème Fraîche & Fried Sage

Thank you to the folks at Foodbuzz and Buitoni for the sample of the new Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. We had a great time cooking up a unique presentation for this delicious pasta! 

Portobellos are seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper then grilled until tender.

Veal medallions, cut into the same size as the portobellos, are seasoned with salt and pepper, dusted with flour and sautéed until golden brown over medium heat in a mixture of half olive oil half butter. Squeeze 1 T. fresh lemon juice over the veal then remove from the pan. Keep warm.

Add 1/4 c. minced shallots and 1/2 t. thyme to that same pan and sauté briefly. Add 1 c. Pinot Noir, raise the heat to high, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of pan. 

Continue cooking over high heat until the wine is reduced to about a quarter cup. 

Add 1 c. veal stock to the pan and reduce again.

Meanwhile, cook the agnolotti according to the instructions on the package in boiling water with  1 T. olive oil.

When the veal stock has reduced by half, whisk 3 T. crème fraîche into the sauce. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Sauté a handful of fresh sage leaves in 1 T. butter, turning once, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove sage leaves to a paper towel.

To assemble: Place the warm portobello in the center of the plate, top with a fried sage leaf then a medallion of veal. Take 3 wild mushroom agnolotti and surround the mushroom cap. Sparingly ladle warm Pinot Noir Cream Sauce over the pasta and veal. Crumble fried sage leaves by hand and sprinkle over dish. Garnish with a whole sage leaf.

Why we loved this: Different textures and flavors that complemented each other well. The sauce was a high-note accent to the dish, adding flavor, color, and elegance. The fried sage melts in the mouth and tastes like savory candy.

Alternative plating idea: We served the sage leaves whole and add crumbled blue cheese.

We are excited to enter this dish in the Buitoni recipe contest. Come join in the fun, the contest is open until April 30th. Go to Foodbuzz and click on Flavor-of -the Month for details. The prize is an All-Clad Copper Core Cookware set.

And I want to thank my brother Bill. You should all be so lucky as to have Bill helping in the kitchen. I think from his military training and years as a Captain, he takes orders like a professional sous chef, pays attention to every detail. Although he does not answer me with "Yes, Chef" he will not leave my home until every dish is washed and the entire kitchen is spotless. And he gave me a good chuckle when said he would be happy to take that All-Clad Copper Core Cookware for his new home in the Florida Keys. Such a nice supportive brother! Anybody in that area that can cook for him? He likes everything but peanut butter.

Saint André - Cheese of the Month

Saint André on Puff Pastry

Pear Balsamic Reduction

Rare Hawaiian White Honey

Fried Leek with Muscat Grape

Slice of Saint André

Sautéed Pear

Fresh Muscat Seedless Grapes

Pear Balsamic Reduction

Rare Hawaiian White Honey

Toasted Baguette

We are cheese lovers over here. If you are too, you just might be interested in these previous posts:

• Tartiflette
  
• Soufflés au Comté
  
• Restaurant Cheese Offerings

Today, however, we have fallen head-over-heels for the cow's milk, soft-ripened, triple cream cheese from the Normandy region of France called Saint André. They say, "Imagine the satiny paste of a perfect Brie mixed with equal parts of whipped sweet cream and heavy sour cream." Oy. Oy. Oy. 

Many of the lovely flavors of Brie are there, and they are so right-on with sweet cream and sour cream notes, but my other favorite attributes of this cheese are the texture and the rind. The texture is drier than Brie yet still creamy. Extraordinary really. And the bloomy rind is creamy, white and soft, slightly fuzzy. Mold spores help transform the curds, then the cheese is allowed to ripen in a humidified room. During this affinage the mold grows, or blooms, to form the rind. Are you fond of the rind? Go here to read more.

Saint André Cheese Course:

So, I wanted to create a cheese course where the texture and rind of this rich heavenly cheese could be appreciated. Due to the richness of this course, I am serving a fresh and forceful Champagne (Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label to be exact). What would you serve?

Teaser: A warm small round of puff pastry is topped with a slice of Saint André, drizzled with pear balsamic reduction and a touch of rare Hawaiian white honey, finished with fried leek with muscat grape. 

Platter: Sautéed pears are served over pear balsamic reduction, with a drizzle of rare Hawaiian white honey and fresh muscat grapes with a generous slice of Saint André, toasted baguette on the side.

To My Fellow Cheese Aficionados 

Please visit Ile de France's Portal of the French Cheese Community informative site, especially the Saint André page to learn more about this enchanting cheese and other marvelous French cheeses.

L2O

Sublime: 

tending to inspire awe 

usually because of elevated quality 

or transcendent excellence

Our favorite beginning...

Billecart-Salmon Rosé

Spiegelau Champagne Saucer

Spiegelau, my new favorite stemware. 

Elegant. Brilliant. Gorgeous.

Attention to detail. 

Butter dish. It glows?

Bread & Butter

All made in-house.

Smoked Salmon, Earl Grey, Ginger Noodle

Shimaaji, Red Miso, Radish, Soy Salt

Shimaaji is one of the chef's favorite fish. It is a young yellowtail with a high fat content and a mild sweet flavor.

In addition to falling in love with the stemware, we were also smitten with the dinnerware. German artisan Stefanie Hering founded Hering Berlin "The Language of Porcelain" in 1992. She works with the purest form of porcelain called bisque. Hering Berlin is porcelain of extreme volume, some of the pieces have a stacked look (see photo above), some with rims of great width and at the same time very thin. Laurent Gras chose Hering Berlin pattern "Puls" for the gorgeous way it frames the food. 

The Raw fish courses are genius, but if that is not your cup of tea, not to worry, you can begin with this lovely salad. The menu is divided into three groups, Raw, Warm, and Main. There is also a tasting menu. 

So, the occasion was my birthday, and my brother and sister-in-law treated me to this over-the-top dinner at  Laurent Gras' fabulous L2O restaurant located in the Belden Stratford Hotel in Chicago. The room was stunning, the service impeccable, and the food was everything you've heard, and more. I read an article in Food & Wine a while ago, they joked that the French-born chef's name translates to "Fat Larry" and that he was an avid cyclist who says, "Cooking is also and endurance sport..." 

Chablis Premier Cru Monts Mains 2002 from the domaine of Francois Raveneau epitomizes Chablis' steely magnificence. One of the few producers to neither fine nor filter the wines, this wine is an elegant reflection of the terrior. We were fortunate to enjoy this extraordinarily complex, sophisticated wine with our first courses. A special thanks to sommelier Chantelle Pabros.

Escolar Jamon, Espelette

Pappardelle, Morel, Asparagus, Parmesan

Diver Scallop, Sauvignon Blanc, Passionfruit-Vanilla

Pork Belly, Truffle, Potato

Smoked Ribeye, Black "Mole," Olive, Bok Choy

Soufflé

Was I dreaming?

Passover Round-Up 2009

Herbed Matzoh Balls

What would make the perfect introduction to this year's collaborative Passover meal? I think Matzoh Balls says it all. Come, have a seat at our Seder Table, and Taste With The Eyes.

Our Collective Meal Served by Course:

First Course

Karen's Haroset

Stacey's Haroset

Giz's Gefilte Fish

Soup

Julia's Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup

Salad

Zahavah's Fennel and Pistachio Salad

Father Adam's Spinach Salad

with Mandarin Oranges, Olives, Oakwood Smoked Bacon

Main Course

Zahavah's Moroccan Meatballs in Saffron Sunset Sauce

Amy's Baked Tilapia with Lemon Parsley Matzah Crust

Father Adam's Roasted Leg of Sonoma Lamb

Elra's Braised Cornish Hen with Coriander

Kirmizi Biber and Preserved Lemon

Sides

Father Adam's Fresh Asparagus with Garlic and Butter

Lori Lynn's Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots

with Olives and Gremolata

(Brisket in background)

Father Adam's Scalloped Russet Potatoes with Cheddar

Dessert

Penny's Chocolate Cloud Cake

Penny's Low Fat Cherry Cheesecake

Penny's Peach Melba Torte

Penny's Strawberry Shortcake

Penny's Hazelnut Pear Tort

Stacey's Chocolate Covered Macaroons

Après Passover

Phyllis' Tempura Gefilte Fish

Contributors (alphabetical):

Amy

Calm in the Kitchen

"As our ancestors ran from Pharaoh's army on their escape from slavery and their journey out of Egypt and into the promised land, they had no time to wait for their bread to rise. Instead, the bread baked unleavened on their backs in the hot desert sun. This was the first matzah, and we eat it today to remember the sacrifices that our people had to make so that we could be free. The following is an application of matzah that I doubt our ancestors would have ever imagined, much less had the time or ability to prepare on their backs!"

Elra

Elra's Cooking

"The Kirmizi Biber will add a little bit of spiciness to the dish."

Father Adam

Monastery Daily Photo

"On Holy Thursday, our meal is a little nicer than usual. On that night, we remember Jesus' Passover Meal (the night before he died) and the night he instituted our Eucharist. We don't imitate the Seder meal, but we do remember that Jesus was an observant Jew and that he would have celebrated the Passover just as Jews have done throughout the ages. As Roman Catholics, we are proud to look at this as our heritage."

Giz

Equal Opportunity Kitchen

"Here's babba's recipe that's been kept under lock and key. We think it's 'the best'."

Julia

Grow. Eat. Cook.

"Finally, finally this year, I synthesized all my mistakes and wisdom to create feather light matzo balls. The secret is to make the batter as wet as possible and still hold together when cooked. The water in the batter turns into steam when cooked, pushing against the dough, expanding it to create air pockets. When the matzo balls “set” (i.e. the proteins coagulate and the starches gel), the air bubbles are trapped inside."

Karen

Gastronomic Ruminations

"I was supposed to prepare Haroset (aka Charoset) for a "Last Supper" reflection in my parish on Maundy Thursday (9 April 2009). The first time I tried making Haroset (using a recipe that I had randomly come across while surfing the web) about 3 -4 years ago, the results weren't good. This year, I was given a "killer recipe" except that it came without any measurements, indication of proportions, and the directions were simply to mix everything together then refrigerate for 2 days. Panic, panic...what if I got the proportions or sequence wrong etc?"

Lori Lynn

Taste With The Eyes

"Our Passover Menu does not change much from year to year. We always have matzoh ball soup, tomato onion brisket, chicken with honey orange ginger glaze. This year I did change up the vegetable dishes however, one of the new dishes we made was Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots with Olives and Gremolata inspired by Marie, the Proud Italian Cook."

Penny

Amazing Dessert Recipes

"We didn't have anyone who was kosher this year, so I opted to make lowfat dairy desserts, which I made by mixing recipes from my CD, Amazing Passover Desserts, with some of the recipes from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts. We had 4 desserts: Lowfat Strawberry Shortcake - made with Passover Genoise, Strawberry Filling and Lowfat Whipped Cream, Chocolate Cloud Cake with Lowfat Ganache, Lowfat Cherry Cheesecake, and Coconut Macaroons. Each cake was made in miniature so that the portions were small and no one felt stuffed even tasting all of the desserts."

Phyllis

Me Hungry

"But wouldn’t this be a great way to use up leftover gefilte fish once Passover is over?"

Stacey

Stacey Snacks

"Here is my recipe for Haroset. It is more of a Sephardic, Middle Eastern version with different nuts and dried fruits, unlike traditional haroset (also spelled haroseth & charoset). It is absolutely delicious. I always say each year 'why don't I make this all year long? It would be a great appetizer, and great on a turkey sandwich!' But, I never do. It wouldn't be as special, if I did."

Zahavah

Kosher Camembert

"On Wednesday, April 8, the morning of the first Passover seder, many Jews will partake in a rare ritual called Birkat HaChamah (”blessing over the sun”) after sunrise...Supposedly every 28 years, the sun is in the exact same position that it was in on the fourth day of creation, and many take advantage of this opportunity to remember creation and bless our Creator. The prayer said roughly translates to, 'Blessed are you, Eternal our Lord, who makes the work of creation.' "

As our virtual Seder draws to a close I wish you peace and extend my sincere thank you to all the cooks of this exceptional meal.

Passover Seder & The Kids

The tables are set early in the day.

Passover begins after sundown.

And there is much to prepare!

The kids have their own table. Stone is six years old and Jett is four.

They have their own Seder plate, just like the adults.

Passover Seder Plate contains symbolic foods having special significance in retelling the Passover story: z'roa (roasted shankbone), charoset, chazeret (romaine lettuce), karpas (parsley), beitzah (roasted egg), maror (horseradish).

What is the significance of all these frogs?

We have new people at our Seder every year, and they ask, what can I bring? Since the food is already planned, we say, please bring a frog. Our frog community has grown over the years.

It is very important that children are involved in the Seder. The frogs, the place mats for coloring, helping with the washing of the hands, and ultimately the hunting for the afikomen help to keep even very young kids engaged and excited about Passover. My nephews are two energetic little boys who are well-behaved and respectful throughout the evening. I am a proud Aunt, can you tell?

My favorite, the Chef Frog (bottom left). Is he holding a brisket?

When Pharaoh refused to set the Israelites free, God punished the Egyptians with Ten Plagues. Frogs are one of the Ten Plagues.

We recognize guests who are attending their first Seder. Lena, Kim and Viktoria are from Germany and are working in Chicago for a year as au pairs.

Everyone is seated. There is Stone at the kids table by the window. Everyone gives him their attention as he welcomed everyone to our Seder with his own poem.

My brother, Don, is the leader. Everyone participates. We read from the haggadah. We recite the blessings. We tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We sing. We drink. We eat. We laugh. We get teary-eyed. Our story is being retold all over the world on this day.

Seder means order. Here is the order of the Seder:

• Kaddesh - Saying a blessing over the first cup of wine in honor of the holiday.
  
• Urechatz - Washing the hands, no blessing is said, prepare to eat karpas.
  
• Karpas - Eating parsley dipped in salt water, representing the tears of our ancestors.
  
• Yachatz - The middle of the three matzohs on the table is broken, the larger piece becomes the afikomen.
  
• Maggid - The story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold. It starts with asking of the Four Questions by the youngest at the table.
  
• Rachtzah - Hands are washed for the second time with a blessing, prepare to eat the matzoh.
  
• Motzi - A blessing for bread or grain products is recited over the matzoh.
  
• Matzah - Blessing specific to matzoh is recited and then matzoh is eaten.
  
• Maror - Blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable such as horseradish, symbolizing the bitterness of slavery.
  
• Korekh - Another set of bitter herbs known as Chazeret is eaten as the sandwich to replace the paschal offering. We make a matzoh sandwich with maror and charoset.
  
• Shulchan Orech - A festive meal is eaten.
  
• Tzafun - Piece of Matzoh hidden for the children to find and is eaten as the 'dessert' or the last food of the meal.
  
• Barech -Grace is recited over the third cup of wine and then it is drunk. The fourth cup is poured along with the cup set aside for the Prophet Elijah. The door is opened to invite him in.
  
• Hallel - Several psalms are recited followed by a blessing over the last cup of wine.
  
• Nirtzah - A wish is made that Jews may celebrate next Pesach in Jerusalem or that the Messiah may come again next year.
  

Jett is ready to help with The First Washing of the Hands.

Lena and Stone assist with the washing of the hands, here, with Cousin Vicki. Vicki had been the youngest in our family until Stone and Jett were born. The youngest is the one to ask the Four Questions. This year, for the first time in almost three decades, Vicki did not ask the Four Questions. Stone did. (Maybe you remember Cousin Vicki from my posting about her beautiful wedding to Jonah in the Sonoma wine country last Fall here.)

We eat matzoh on Passover to remind us that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste, they could not wait for the bread to rise. Additionally, matzoh is the "bread of affliction" - the food of slavery, it reminds us to be humble and to appreciate our freedoms. Don places 3 matzohs in a special cloth. The middle matzoh will be broken in half, the larger piece placed in a little bag and hidden. The kids hunt for this piece of matzoh called the afikomen after dinner and receive a cash reward for "returning" the afikomen to the adults.

Stone asks in English and Hebrew:

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Mah nishtanah halyla hazeh mikol halaylot

1) On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice.

2) On all nights we eat chametz or matzoh, and on this night only matzoh.

3) On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night maror.

4) On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline.

A second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in preparation for eating the matzoh.

As Lena and Stone help with the hand washing at one table, Kristy and Jett assist the other table. One of the objectives of the Seder is to retell our story and teach the next generation about the rituals, symbols, and meaning of the holiday. Next, we recite a blessing for matzoh and maror, eat a Hillel sandwich of charoset and maror, then serve the meal.

Please stop by on April 17 to see the food from this Seder and others!

Later that night:

"I found the Afikomen!"

Happy Easter & Eggs

 Passover Seder Plate

Which Includes The Beitzah  (Roasted Egg)

I would like to wish a very Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating tomorrow! May it be a glorious day for you and your families, full of blessings and love.

For our family, Passover began at sundown this past Wednesday. Needless to say, I had been quite busy shopping, cooking and preparing for Passover. I look forward to sharing more about our Passover meal in an upcoming post. Today, in honor of Passover and Easter, I thought it might be neat to put together a compilation of some of the egg dishes that have been featured on Taste With The Eyes.

My nephew, Stone, peels the hard-boiled eggs for Passover.

Passover

The Beitzah (roasted egg) on the Seder Plate reminds us of the the festival offering brought by our ancestors to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence. At the Seder in our home, we serve hard-boiled eggs with the first course, which can be dipped in salt water, representative of the Israelites' tears over suffering and slavery.

Easter

Throughout history, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations. The egg is seen as symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. A red colored-egg symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world and human redemption through the blood shed in the sacrifice of the crucifixion. The egg itself is a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. (from Wikipedia)

If you have something to share regarding the symbolism of the egg in your religion or culture please leave a comment, it would be very interesting to hear about it.

Eggs, Any Style

(click on the name to link to the related post)

Filet Mignon on Toast, Wasabi Butter, Poached Egg

Steamed Savory Custards

Artichoke and Cambozola Quiche

Hangtown Fry with Bacon and Fried Oysters

Egg Foo Young

Chorizo and Cheddar Omelette

Poached Egg over Lentils

Breakfast Borscht

Schnitzel à la Holstein

Steamed Green Curry and Shrimp Custards

Salmon, Goat Cheese and Dill Quiche

Corned Beef & Cabbage Brunch

Soufflés au Comté

PASSOVER ROUND-UP 2009

It's not too late to join in the Passover Round-up 2009! It will post on April 17th. If you participated in a Seder this year, I hope you will join us. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo. 

Wishing you a very special Easter.

"Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life."

- S.D. Gordon

P.S. In honor of Easter, you might enjoy the beautiful photos and interesting text on the blog of my dear friend of many years, Father Adam. It's called Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within a Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Kasha Varnishkes

Kasha Varnishkes

 Kasha & Bows

One cup of kasha (granulated roasted whole grain buckwheat) is toasted in a dry non-stick pan for a few minutes, then cooled. A beaten egg is added, stir to coat all the grains. Cook briefly over medium heat until the egg has dried. Add 2 c. seasoned hot chicken stock plus 1 T. vegetable oil, stir, cover and cook on low heat until the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile sauté a chopped yellow onion in  2 T. vegetable oil, or in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), as my Aunt Edythe did. When the onion is nice and browned, toss with al dente bowtie pasta and then add the kasha. This is usually served as a side dish but along with a salad, makes a tasty weeknight meal as well. 

Yesterday was the anniversary of my father's passing, 38 years ago. I always light a Yahrzeit candle in his memory on this day, say a personal prayer, and spend a few moments "in conversation" with my Dad.

This year I made Kasha Varnishkes, like my Aunt Edythe (his sister) used to make and served it on my parents' old china, Franciscan Apple. Also known as Kasha & Bows, this is a traditional Russian Jewish dish, one no doubt taught to my Aunt by my Nana, who was from Kiev. 

I find the annual act of lighting the Yahrzeit candle on this anniversary very comforting, and along with the cooking of traditional Jewish foods, it helps to keep the memory of my Dad, Aunt, Nana and Papa alive.

Now, Passover is just around the corner, starting at sundown on April 8. And like last year, I am excited to host a Round-up of Passover Photos. If you are participating in a Seder this year, I hope you will join in. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. If you would like to use my Passover Round-up badge in your blog post, please feel free. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo. I am hoping that those readers without a blog will participate as well. Let's share! I will post the round-up after the eighth day of Passover. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Pesach.