recipephile

Fava Bean Bruschetta With Mint and Basil

On Saturday mornings in Noe Valley on 24th a farmer's market takes place. This is nothing like the big farmer's market that takes place at the Ferry Building downtown. The Noe Valley farmer's market is very small, only about 15 vendors, and it is difficult to walk out of there without spending the prior week's paycheck. You do get what you pay for however and last Saturday was no exception. My friend Jeffrey and I were strolling the aisles of a vegetable purveyor and there they were. Big and fat and green fava beans... AND... they were already shelled.

If you have never shelled fava beans before I recommend staying away from the task. It is daunting, time consuming and a big pain in the butt. To have access to shelled favas was something that we could not pass up, but what to do with these tasty lime green delicious treats?

During a recent dinner at Bar Bambino, an amazing Italian restaurant in the Mission District of San Francisco, my friends and I sampled some creative bruschetta, the best was the Chickpeas With Minced Roasted Olive Bits. Thinking back on this experience I was inspired not only by the bruschetta at Bar Bambino, but also by the fresh herbs and Meyer lemons that were staring me in the face.

So I picked up about 3 cups of shelled fava beans, fresh mint and basil and Meyer lemons. Jeffrey chose a rustic wheat bread to toast and serve the fava beans with.

Here is how you make this amazing bruschetta.

- Whichever you choose, baguette, rustic wheat, etc. slice thin and toast in the oven until crispy and golden brown.
- 2-3 cups of shelled favas (steamed for about 5 minutes or until soft to the bite, but not mushy)
- 2 tbsp each of Fresh mint and basil, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp Olio N'uovo or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix very well. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust flavor accordingly. You may need or want to add more Meyer lemon juice.

Serve atop toasted bread.

Maury's Fruit Salad with Basil, Mint and Meyer Lemon Juice

My good friends Maury and Willa brought their two friends from LA over to my house yesterday for brunch   We collectively decided that each of us would prepare something for the meal.  Tim and Jim made banana bread French toast (AMAZING!), I prepared muffin tin eggs (DELICIOUS!) and Maury prepared a fruit salad that he dressed with basil, mint and meyer lemon juice. The mint and basil gave the salad such an interesting flavor and the meyer lemon, which is a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange, gave the fruit salad  just the right amount of zing!

- 2 mangoes - chopped
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 1 pint of strawberries, halved
- 3 Clementine oranges
- 6 basil leaves, chopped
- 6 mint leaves, chopped
- juice of 1 meyer lemon

 Mix everything in a bowl, let rest for about 20 minutes to let the flavors meld, mix again and serve.

Quick Bites - Olive Tapenade with Toasted Baguette

Olive tapenade is one of the simplest dishes to prepare, people love its flavor and always gobble it up. One of the best things about this simply delicious appetizer is that it keeps for days. It also freezes beautifully so you can pull it out at the last minute, defrost, toast up some baguette and be ready for company in minutes.

This is very easy to make.

- 1 baguette, sliced thin and toasted. I do this first and make the tapenade while the bread is toasting. SET THE TIMER or your mind will wander and you'll end up with burnt toasts.

- 3 cups of pitted Kalamata Olives
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- A few fresh rosemary sprigs (about 1 tsp)

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and chop until diced (not smooth). Remove and serve with toasts.

Orange Chicken and Shrimp with Shitake Mushrooms and Bok Choy

The other day I posted a recipe Chicken and Shrimp Chop Suey. When I opened my fridge I realized that I had some ingredients left over so I decided to make it again.

The only thing that I did not have was chicken broth so I substituted it with orange juice. It was really good. Kind of like orange chicken. So all you need to do to make this recipe is substitute the chicken broth with orange juice.

Garnish with orange slices and serve!

Chicken and Shrimp Chop Suey

I have been reading a book called the Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee. It is an amazing book filled with some fun stories on the history of American Chinese food. One of the stories is all about Chop Suey and the origins of this famous dish. The literal meaning of the term ‘chop suey’ is mixed pieces and, next to General Tso's is one of the most famous Chinese dishes that we come across.

So last night I had friends over for my very own version of this famous dish. My good friend Marc help me slice and dice and make the sauce. Most of the recipes I came across suggested that it be served over rice, but we decided to serve ours over Soba noodles. Since I had not used a wok in centuries Marc and I headed down to Sur La Table to purchase one. We first stumbled across an All Clad $160 wok that I came dangerously close to purchasing. And then my eye caught another one that was considerably cheaper - $25 to be exact. The traditional carbon-steel construction of this wok ensures quick, efficient heating throughout. Its professional-quality, flat-bottom design is compatible with electric, gas and ceramic stovetops. Burnished bamboo handle and helper handle for easy, safe handling.

This dish will serve 5-6 people.

- 2 packages of Japanese Soba Noodles
- 4 boneless chicken thighs sliced into thin strips
- 1 lb extra large prawns (peeled and deveined)
- Sesame oil
- Mirin
- 10-15 medium sized shitake mushrooms
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 4 staks of baby bok choy (separate the leaves from one another and clean)
- 2 handfuls of bean sprouts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

The sauce

- 1 can of chicken broth
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 3 tsp fish sauce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp cornstarch

For the sauce mix all ingredients together, whisk to incorporate the cornstarch and set aside. Boil the water and cook the soba noodles and set aside.

I sauteed each of the veggies separately (except for the bok choy and sprouts) and set aside. Before sauteeing I would put a little bit (1 tbsp) of sesame oil on the bottom of the wok and while cooking douse the veggie with a little bit of mirin to deglaze the pan (about 1/2 cup) and steam the veggie. Cook the chicken and shrimp together and when almost done add in the sauce, bok choy and sprouts. The sauce will thicken. Once the bok choy has wilted and the sauce is thick taste and add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve over the soba noodles.

Notes on Creativity - Enlist Your Friends and Make it Fun

My friend Jeffrey sent me this posting for RecipePhile. I loved it and thought it would make a GREAT Note on Creativity. Thanks Jeffrey

Sometimes cooking is about the personal process of making something spectacular and elegant for your friends. Other times it's more of a pleasant necessity leading up to a social engagement. This past Saturday it was reminiscent of the arts and crafts table in kindergarten.

My roommates and I had some friends over to watch a movie, and we tricked out this otherwise sedentary evening with a make-your-own-pizza dinner theme. We loaded up their kitchen island with bowls and bowls of various toppings, sauces and cheeses, and the guests took turns making their own personal pizzas from whatever they chose. What fun!

We gussied this up with some 'fancy' stuff – grilled chicken, grilled veggies (onion, pepper, eggplant, zucchini), toasted pine nuts, ricotta and gorgonzola cheeses in addition to already shredded part-skim mozzarella, fresh minced basil and oregano, and pesto as well as a traditional tomato sauce. I am personally a fiend for anchovies, and seem to have been the only one who availed himself of this particular topping.

Really, though, no ingredient list or recipe is needed here. Each of you knows what you and your friends want on your pizza. Pick up some fresh pizza dough and encourage your friends to get their hands dirty and play!

But here are a few tips to get you going:

On selecting toppings: if you want an everyone shares everything kind of tapas evening, go for toppings that pretty much everybody likes.

On the dough: Most grocery stores offer bags of bread or pizza dough and a few even offer whole wheat versions. If you get desperate, there are always those pre-fab pizza shells, but avoid them if you can. A tablespoon or so of olive oil smeared on your hands will help prevent sticking when stretching out the dough, and a sprinkling of corn meal on the baking sheet or pizza stone will accomplish the same thing during the baking process.

On baking: Bake your completed pizzas in the oven, preheated at about 425 or 450 degrees. Depending on their thickness, they'll need about 12 minutes, but watch them closely starting at 9 minutes. If you want to save time or if your friends are persnickety about getting messy, then I suggest you pre-bake the pizza crusts for about 7 minutes before the assembly begins, and then reduce the second post-assembly cooking time to about 6 minutes.

Pounded Veal Cutlets with Roma (Rona) Tomato Salsa

The title is a perfect accompaniment to this recipe. Last Thursday, while visiting New York, I reconnected with a close friend of mine from High School. Rona Mark, a filmmaker whose latest piece was just accepted to two film festivals (the movie is called Strange Girls), and I found each other on Facebook. I swore I would never create a social networking page, but the pressure got to me and the opportunity to play Scrabulous with friend all over the world became a big lure.

Rona and I met for drinks and then she joined my friends and I for dinner. We had pasta, veal and a deliciously simple salad. The veal has been adapted from the Claretta Ristorante version, which is basically a pounded veal cutlet that is dredged in seasoned flour, lightly fried in olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side and topped with a mixture of Roma tomatoes, garlic, red onion, fresh oregano. The topping is dressed with Olio N'uovo and balsamic vinegar.

This is pretty easy to make and absolutely delicious.

Head to the meat man and pick up six veal cutlets. They can pound them down for you until they are very thin. Refrigerate and start making the Roma tomato topping.

- 8 Roma tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium red onion finely diced
- 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup Olio N'uovo (newly pressed olive oil)
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Combine tomatoes, garlic, onion and oregano into a bowl and mix well. Set aside. In a separate bowl add the vinegar and slowly whisk in the Olio N'uovo. Toss the dressing with the tomato mixture, add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for about an hour. Mix once or twice while in the refrigerator.

After an hour remove the veal cutlets from the refrigerator and place them onto a plate. Also remove the topping and bring to room temperature. Liberally coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and turn onto medium heat. While the olive oil is heating season 2 cups of flour with 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper, mix well. When the oil is heated (I throw in a small tsp of flour and if it sizzles the oil is ready) dredge one of the veal cutlets in the flour. Make sure to liberally coat each cutlet on both sides and place into the oil. Cook on both sides for about two minutes and remove onto a paper towel. Repeat until all cutlets are cooked.

Arrange the cutlets onto a platter, top with the tomato mixture and serve.

Fortune Cookie Chronicles

The other day I was reading old issues of either the Times or USA Today and stumbled across a review for a book called the Fortune Cookie Chronicles. This book takes readers on a remarkable journey that is both foreign and familiar: penetrating this subculture by traveling the world (and almost every American state) in her quest to understand Chinese food and the people who make it.

It is a great read and I highly suggest you pick it up.

CORRECTION - Chicken and Lamb Marinated in Yogurt

I was just having lunch with my god friend Jessica and we spoke about the Chicken and Lamb Marinated in Yogurt recipe that I posted a few weeks ago.

She added a few cloves of garlic and about 3 tsp of lemon zest to her yogurt before marinating and said that it turned out awesome. Jessica also told me that she thought the lamb came out a little tough.

As I thought more about a solution came to me. Marinate the meats separately and put the chicken in the oven first. After about 10 minutes of cooking add the lamb to the baking sheet and finish off. The total cooking time should be 25 minutes.

This will allow the chicken to cook all the way through and keep the lamb tender.

Interesting Foodie Magazines...

While I was searching the depths of the food blog world I came across an interesting post by Blake Royer at The Paupered Chef. He talks about the food magazines that he reads and as I followed the comments a few others popped up. Of course Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Cook's Illustrated and Saveur made the list. Others mentioned the more obscure publications like Gastronomica and one of my favorites, Meat Paper. Meat Paper was the inspiration behind a recent post. Go check out what Blake and others have to say about interesting food magazines and post your comments.