recipephile

Ratatouille

I wrote earlier about the Oscar-movie themed dinner that Jeffrey & I made this past Sunday for several friends. Last week, we brainstormed about what foods to prepare, and settled almost immediately on meat pies and ratatouille as our core dishes. For both of us, Sweeney Todd and Ratatouille were among our favorite films last year, and of course they both tied in perfectly to a concept dinner served on Oscar night.

Jeffrey had made ratatouille twice last fall, but I was out of town for both occasions. During our menu planning for this past weekend, he told that he first tried to make the dish as was done in the movie, with the vegetables sliced thinly using a mandoline and then delicately arranged. This effort, in Jeffrey's words, fell flat on its face. Rather than being delicate, he said, it was just mushy. Frustrated but undaunted, on his next attempt he took what I thought was a daring risk and went robust instead of delicate. He abandoned the artful thinly sliced presentation, and he grilled the vegetables rather than sauteeing them. This was a departure from tradition. While I usually advocate for a skilled and reasoned sojourn away from convention, this time I was suspicious. He assured me that it had come out brilliantly. And after we made it together this past Sunday using that same method, I was convinced. The result is an unconventional but marvelous ratatouille.

Jeffrey's Ratatouille:

Ingredients:

2 t. salt, divided
4 eggplant (see note 1 below), cut into long thick slices
6 small zucchini (or 3 larger ones), cut into long thick slices
2 medium-large red onions, cut into ¾" slices
2 large red peppers, cored, cut in half and flattened
3 T. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 Roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 15½ ounce can crushed tomatoes, including the juice
¾ t. dried savory
¾ t. dried crushed fennel seed
¾ t. dried thyme
¾ t. dried oregano
½ t. fresh cracked pepper
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, cut into long slices

Rub in half of the salt onto the thick eggplant slices in order to leach out some of the bitterness. Set aside for an hour or so and then use a paper towel to pat dry the beads of liquid that collect on them.

Grill the vegetables: Scrape your grill and then spray a bit of non-stick spray on it. Fire it up on medium high heat (to about 375-400 degrees). Working in batches if you need to, grill the eggplant, zucchini, onion and pepper. About 3-4 minutes per side, perhaps a bit more time each side for the onion. Take special care not to overcook the eggplant and zucchini – you want the result to be firm, not mush. Remove the veggies from the grill, and let cool a bit. Dice everything into 3/4" to 1" cubes.

Make the sauce: heat olive oil in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, the remaining salt and the dried spices. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, until the fresh tomatoes have softened and some of the liquid from the can of tomatoes has evaporated. You will have what is basically a very savory tomato sauce.

Fold in the diced grilled vegetables and the fresh basil leaves into your tomato sauce, and serve.

This quantity easily fed 14 people as a side dish, and provided some leftovers to boot.

Note 1: on eggplant. We bought the very long skinny kind from Jeffrey's local farmers market at United Nations Plaza in San Francisco. It's fine to make this with the more traditional football shaped eggplant, but if so, then of course only use 2 eggplant rather than 4.

Note 2: Jeffrey, like me, is usually a fiend about using fresh rather than dried herbs. But we both agreed that in this dish, the smoky flavor of the veggies complemented the dried herbs. But I'm sure fresh would perfectly fine.

Seared Tuna on Toasts with Clotted Cream Wasabi Drizzle

In honor of the Oscars my friend Jeffrey and I made an entire meal that was totally dedicated to the Oscars.  From appetizers through desert every dish was inspired by a movie.  The toughest part of the meal was figuring out what we would make as an appetizer. 

While we were standing in the meat and fish section of Tower market in San Francisco a piece of fresh tuna caught my eye.  It made me think of my very good friend John who moved away to London.  It also made me think of this amazing appetizer he would make of seared tuna on toasts with wasabi drizzle. 

Then Jeffrey mentioned the movie Elizabeth and that made me think of London again and when I thought of London I thought of clotted cream and then we both looked at each other and said... "clotted cream wasabi drizzle".  A quick walk to the dairy section of the grocery store and we had clotted cream in our hands.

We also learned on Wikipedia that you can make a reasonable facsimile of clotted cream by combining two parts whole milk with one part whipping (heavy) cream, heating at the very lowest possible heat for a couple of hours until a skin forms, leaving it undisturbed overnight, and then harvesting the skin and its underclots. The remaining milk may be consumed or used in any number of recipes.

Before I tell you how to make this I must give credit to another friend of mine, Dan, that said we could also dedicate this recipe to Atonement, by calling it Atunament.  See how versatile food can be.

So here is how to make this recipe.

- 1 baguette
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1.5 pound fresh tuna filet
- 1 small jar of clotted cream (about 6-8 oz.)
- 2 tbsp of wasabi powder

Slice the baguette into very thin (1/4 inch) slices and toast in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Check frequently to make sure they are not burning.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a sautee pan.  When good and hot sear the tuna for about 3 minutes on each side and set aside.  (We put the tuna in the freezer for 15-20 minutes after cooking.  This made it easier to slice when we were ready to assemble the appetizer.

Combine the clotted cream and wasabi and mix well.

Slice the tuna into small and thin pieces that will fit onto each piece of bread.  Place a small amount (about a tsp or two) of clotted cream on each baguette slice.  Place a piece of the tuna on top of each.  Arrange on a platter and serve.

 

Quick Bites - Salmon Mousse on Cucumber Rounds

You may have read my posting the other day about the cucumber salad that my new BFF Tina made.  I had leftover cucumbers and had to figure how to use them before they turned into mush.  Another good friend, Colette, had said to me the night before that I should use them as the base for a canape. 

Hmmm....  My head was spinning with what to place atop cucumber rounds.  It needed to be something of substance and, in my opinion, intense and well balanced flavor.  Jeffrey had trout the night before and as he was telling me about it all I could think of was mousse.  First I thought I would make trout mousse, but while I was shopping at the market the salmon looked so good I settled on using a deliciously pink slab of one of my favorite, Omega rich fishes for the appetizer.

This is pretty easy to make:

- 3 cucumbers sliced into rounds (each round should be about 1/2 - 3/4 inch)
- 1 lb piece of salmon
- 8 oz of whipped cream cheese
- 6 oz of sour cream
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare your salmon by pan frying over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil.  In a large bowl add all of the ingredients (except for salt and pepper) and mix well with a hand blender.  Place in refrigerator.

Scoop out seeds of each cucumber round without going all of the way through.  Place about a tsp or two of mousse into each round and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Arrange on a platter and serve.

DELICIOUS!

 

Courtney's Poached Eggs Atop Fontina Tomato Bruschetta

My very very close friend Courtney just bought a beautiful new home. Her boyfriend Chris has been literally slaving away every weekend building closet organizers, installing cabinetry in the laundry room, perfecting the backyard, adding lighting both inside and out and making sure the house is more than livable, but also functional and beautiful.

There are a few more things that needed to be done so Chris invited us over to be his helper monkeys for a day. Courtney, Jeffrey and I painted the garage, while Jim and Chris installed a water drainage system and a shelving unit in the garage.

Before all of this work started Courtney prepared us a wonderfully hearty and energizing breakfast. The main feature on the plate were her Poached Eggs Atop Fontina Tomato Bruschetta.

Here is how you make this delicious dish:

You will need an egg poacher, which can be purchased at any kitchen supply store:

For five people:

- 1/4 lb Fontina cheese, grated
- 10 pieces of thickly sliced Sourdough bread, brushed with Olive Oil and salt, toppped with about 1 tbsp of grated fontina. Place these in the oven and let toast until golden brown and all of the cheese has melted.
- 3 Roma tomatoes chopped and tossed with about 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and chopped basil (about 4 or 5 leaves).
- 10 eggs poached

Once the bread is ready place about 1-2 tbsps of the tomato mixture onto the top of the bread. Top with the poached eggs, place on a plate and serve.

Sam's Pizza Sauce...

My nephew Sam loves to cook. He is very opinionated about food and at age 12 has a highly sophisticated palette. He'll eat anything from imported proscuitto to stinky morbier cheese. He also LOVES sushi. He has definitely inherited the foodie gene that seems to run in the family. So last weekend we decided we wanted to make homemade pizza and Sam was in charge of the sauce. He let it cook down for a while and would then taste, add more tomato paste and herbs and then taste again. He reminded me of Ratatouille.

Here is his version of delicious pizza sauce:

- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp of tomato paste
- 2 tbsp fresh herbs (we used rosemary and oregano)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Over medium heat place the oil into a sauce pan and sautee the garlic cloves until the scent of garlic fills the air (be sure to stir constantly and not burn the garlic -- this should take about a minute or so). Add the onions and sweat until translucent. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and let cook down for about 30 minutes. About a tbsp at a time, add the tomato paste and mix well into the sauce, stirring constantly. Once all of the paste has been added let cook down for another 15-20 minutes.

Finely dice the herbs and ad to the sauce. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

This is great on pasta or when used as a pizza sauce.

Quick Bites - Jelly, Chili Sauce and Cheese

The title sounds odd right??  How can these three things ever go together??  Well they do and while I was traveling in Indonesia and Thailand I made a point of sharing my love of sweet, hot and savory foods combined into one delicious appetizer. 

Sambal Asli is a very popular brand of chili sauce in Southeast Asia.  It has a distinctively sweet and hot taste that matches perfectly when mixed with pineapple jelly or orange marmalade and then served with sharp white cheddar cheese.

While in Bangkok I met a wonderful woman named Karen Jones.  Karen works as a principal and Reiki specialist and took me under her wing after my friends left to travel on to Vietnam.  She introduced me to some incredible people, took me to great restaurants and so I decided to return the favor by welcoming she and some of her friends to my hotel room for appetizers and drinks.

As I strolled around grocery store (I love going to grocery stores in other countries) I stumbled upon Sambal Asli and immediately thought that it should be mixed with marmalade and served with sharp white cheddar cheese and crackers.  I felt that the juxtaposition of the Asian chili sauce with a more western style jelly and cheese was a perfect complement.

This is very easy to make and if you cannot find Sambal Asli, it can be ordered online (http://importfood.com/sakm1401.html), then use the hot chili sauce that is often found in grcery stores throghout the USA.  It is called Serachi and has a green top with a rooster on the front.

Here is what you will need...

Spicy Panko Crusted Tilapia with Cilantro Ranch Drizzle

Last weekend my niece and nephew came for a visit and Maggie (my niece) really wanted carrots with ranch dressing.  I abhor store bought dressing and Maggie was more than willing to learn how to make ranch from scratch.  The recipes requires buttermilk and the only size I could find was a 1 litre container.  So after the recipe was prepared there was a lot leftover. 

Not wanting to waste the buttermilk I called my mom and we brainstormed on what I could make using buttermilk.  My head kept saying fish and my mother thought that I should dredge fish in flower, coat with spicy panko breadcrumbs and bake in the oven.  There was some leftover ranch, so when the fish was ready we drizzled each piece with some of the ranch dressing.  The fish was close to perfection.

Here is what you will need:

1 cup of flour (add more as needed)
2-3 cups of buttermilk
1 bag of Panko bread crumbs seasoned with 3 tsps of chili flakes, 1 tbsp kosher salt and 2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
5-6 tapia filets

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dredge the tilapia filets in flour and then coat with buttermilk.  Cover with seasoned Panko and place onto a cookie sheet for baking.  Once all tilapia filets have been prepared transfer to the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

While the fish is cooking prepare the ranch dressing by mixing together 2 cups of buttermilk, the juice of 2 small limes, chopped chives (about two tbsps) and chopped cilantro (about two tbsp).  Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When the fish is ready drizzle each piece with the ranch dressing and serve.

Quick Bites - Tina's Cucumber Salad

My friend Tina is visiting from New York and what better reason to throw a dinner party... right?  Together we made a delicious fish and rice dish and Tina suggested we pair it with her easy to make cucumber salad.  This Asian inspired dish has the most amazing flavor and can be prepared in minutes.  According to Tina, it is best after it sits for a while.  So make it about 30 minutes ahead of time and stir about every 5-10 minutes.

Here is how you make this dish. Remove the skins from four cucumbers with a peeler.  Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard. Add equal parts, 1/4 cup of each, of rice vinegar and white sugar. Throw in a pinch of salt and a dash or two of sesame oil.

Serve with fish or chicken or just eat it up all on its own.

Quick Bites - Pea Soup With Carrots, Onions and Brown Rice

On my way home from the gym I realized that hunger was setting in so I decided that a nice warm soup on this rainy and chilly day in the city by the bay would be perfect.  This is where I ended up breaking some of my rules.  For the longest time I was a purist and would never think of using canned chicken broth or vegetables, but I wanted soup and I had no homemade broth in the freezer.

So I bought 1 qt of organic free range chicken broth and a can of peas.  After arriving home I noticed a 1/2 bag of mini carrots and a medium sized red onion in the fridge.  They were both chopped and placed into a soup pan with all of the chicken broth, the peas and about 4 tbsp of brown rice.  It took about 1/2 hour to get the rice to the proper consistency and when it was I used my hand blender to thicken the soup.  Salt and freshly ground black pepper was added to taste.  You will love this soup and it is so very easy to make.  Top it off with some parm cheese and it is ready to go.

Cheese Fondue with Sam and Mag

My sister Amy and brother in law celebrated their anniversary yesterday and my present to them was to spend the afternoon with my nephew Sam and niece Maggie so that they could have some time alone and go to Gary Danko. My plan was to spend the day with them shopping and cooking food for a little movie watching party.  The menu included fondue and homemade pizza.

The three of us headed to Cowgirl Creamery to taste cheese and find the best of three cheeses to include in our fondue.  We tasted many and in between Sam's comments about some of the cheeses being too complex, he decided that he wanted to taste the stinkiest cheese in the shop -- Morbier.  In addition to the Morbier, which did not go into our final fondue, we purchased 1/3 lb pieces of Tomme de Savoie, Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Mezzo Secco. Those were the three that Sam and Mag liked best, but you can use whatever cheeses you want to make your fondue.  Just step up to the cheese monger and start tasting.

To make the fondue you'll need to rub a sauce pot with a clove of garlic.  Break the garlic in half or smash it with the flat side of a knife and rub the entire inside of the pot. Bring  2 cups of dry white wine to a simmer (we used a rich and oaky chardonnay) over medium heat.  Add the cheese (chop it up into little chunks first) and stir until completely melted. In a small bowl whisk together 2 tbsp of flour and 3 tbsp of brandy until smooth and then slowly add this mixture into the melted cheese.  Stir constantly with a whisk and make sure that there are no lumpy bits of flour.  The mixture will thicken as you stir. Transfer to a fondue pot with a Sterno or tea light underneath to keep warm.

We served our fondue with crusty Italian bread, baby carrots, prosciutto and salami. It can also be served with other veggies like broccoli or cauliflower.  My recommendation is to blanch veggies before serving so they are easier to eat.

Enjoy!