Sip Quips

After a long day, sometimes you just want easy food. The other evening, I was beat, I was starving, it was 6:45, my husband was just getting home from work, and I hadn’t even considered what to fix for dinner. Appetizers to the rescue!

We had a bit of smoked salmon leftover from one of our favorite Jamie Oliver recipes, some horseradish cream, leftover bread – so smoked salmon crostinis seemed a natural extension. The abundance of radishes quickly taking over our veggie drawer, and a recipe that my hubby emailed me from the kitchn and dinner was rapidly taking shape.

We toasted off thin slices of yummy bread, topped them with a little smoked salmon, a dollop of horseradish cream, and a sprinkle of dill and we had one facet of our appetizer dinner. For the other half of the schizophrenic meal, I sliced radishes, spread a little Laughing Cow cheese on top (as we didn’t have any cream cheese – but work with what you’ve got I say!), and cut some garden fresh chives over the top. Naturally, a bottle of bubbly was popped to celebrate an instantaneous appetizer feast, and because it seemed like a great choice for both the salmon and the radishes.

The meal was perfect! Quick, easy, satisfying, and absolutely delicious. In fact, we loved the radishes so much that I have fixed them three out of the past four nights. Somehow, I don’t foresee us having trouble using up our radishes any longer. I love finding new favorite things!

Recently my husband has had to work late a few evenings, leaving me on my own for dinner. Rather than resorting to fast food, or ‘college food’ (you know….ramen, frozen pizza, mac and cheese…the foods that are easy, mindless, and generally soulless as well), I’ve been trying to make the same types of meals I would for my husband and I, when it’s just me.

I figure it is a good habit to get into now that I’m a parent, because I don’t remember my mom cooking up MSG laden ramen whenever my dad was out of town or had to work late. Parents do things like make a well-balanced, nutritious meal every night of the week. I should figure out all of these good parent habits now before my little girl is old enough to realize that mommy would normally just indulge her bizarre food cravings (American cheese, pickles, a few slices of salami, and a half-pint of ice cream) when daddy works late.

Last night I made myself a grown-up meal of lamb chops, lemon orzo salad, and summer squash hash. Granted, it was a little bit of a cheat because the orzo salad was leftover, so all I really had to do was grill a couple of lamb chops and sauté some grated summer squash in olive oil with garlic. But, as a new mom, I think I’m entitled to take a shortcut to get dinner on the table. Especially when I’m cooking with only one hand since my wee one is a burgeoning gourmand, and loves to watch me cook. 

Dinner was so quick and easy to get on the table, I wondered why lamb chops aren’t on the menus of more busy American families. I know, I know, picturing a big-eyed, wobbly-legged lamb on your dinner table can be hard to swallow (pun shamelessly intended), but lamb packs so much flavor into those quick cooking little chops. With fifteen minutes of total cooking time I had a delicious meal to rival many a restaurant menu. Nothing more than salt, pepper, garlic powder and a smoking hot grill pan, pour a glass of Pinot Noir rosé, and dinner is served. So very quick, so very easy, so very tasty. 

It is amazing how much our diet has changed since we became part of a veggie share, aka CSA. I used to peruse through my various cooking magazines at the beginning of the week, pick out a few for the week, then head to the grocery store to pick up all of the ingredients, in season or not. These days I get all of my seasonal veggies from a local farm and then figure out recipes from there. The pressure of my weekly veggie pick-up forces me to get creative with different ways to incorporate the veggies so that they stay not only literally fresh, but the recipes stay fresh and interesting as well. 

As our veggie share pick-up is on Wednesday, Tuesday night dinners are almost always dictated by the veggies that we have on hand. Last night, I needed to use onions, squash, and mizuna, so roasted chicken breast with summer squash hash and wilted mizuna salad was on the menu. As for wine pairing – time to break out a summer-time favorite, a Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio if it is coming from Italy), light, fruity and fresh, and perfect with all our veggies.

Since joining a veggie share, I am reminded of my mom’s stories of summer when she was growing up in the midwest. My grandmother was forced to cook seasonally, because seasonal veggies were all that you could get. My mom fondly recalls having fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes, green beans for every meal, lunch and dinner, until they were no longer in season. There was an anticipation each vegetables commencement, then you would stuff yourself silly with it, and by the time you were growing tired of that veggie, it’s season would conclude.

Personally, I think this is a heck of a lot better way to eat, rather than having veggies transported from the far reaches of the globe just so you can have a tomato (that doesn’t actually taste like a tomato, I might add) in the middle of winter. I know I’m not the first to stand on this soapbox (and hopefully not the last), but food just tastes better when you eat seasonally an locally.

Yeah, it can be daunting to come up with yet another recipe to use radishes when you are up to your eyeballs in every variety of radish known to man, but at the same time you step outside your proverbially recipe box, and try recipes you would have overlooked.

As if delicious food, trying new recipes, and vegetables that actually taste like vegetables weren’t enough of a reason to eat seasonally, taking part in a veggie share has made both of us much healthier. In yearly check-ups my husband’s cholesterol went from pushing 240 to just over 100, and the only major change we’ve made is diet. I’ll take a salad, green beans and curried cauliflower over Lipitor any day!

Recently we had the pleasure of having an old college friend in town for the weekend. Concurrently, I have been speaking with both my mom and my mother-in-law about their respective trips to visit us and see their granddaughter. It’s not uncommon for folks to stress about house guests, myself included. After the arrival of our little one, I was quite sure that there weren’t going to be enough hours in the day to get everything done, much less prepare for and host company. That’s where I was wrong. I had a bit of an epiphany after our friend left – we planed ahead for meals, had everything on hand (okay, I admit it – there was an ‘emergency’ trip to the store, but I inevitably always forget at least one ingredient), and popped open a bottle of wine while we were cooking, and our friend couldn’t stop raving about our hospitality. Having been in the restaurant business for so long, I am inclined to think of hospitality mainly as a function of food and beverage, and it seems that with a bit of forethought in planing simple, delicious, easy-prep meals, a little wining and dining goes a long way in being a great host, especially since I never got around to vacuuming before our company arrived – oops! The first night I planed a simple pasta and prepped the few ingredients that required prep before our company arrived, so that I could toss dinner together whenever we were ready, and it would be on the table within fifteen minutes. Since travel plans are always subject to change, I thought a simple supper suited the evening best, that way there was absolutely no stress about timing.  Night two – pork chops, mashed cauliflower, sauteed chard – homey, comfortable food that everyone loves, and no the cauliflower was not because we are on some crazy Atkin’s diet, merely because we had cauliflower on hand, not potatoes. Again though, an easy meal to get from fridge to table quickly, and super satisfying. On night three, we changed it up a little and made my all-time favorite Chicken Enchilada recipe (thank you Tyler Florence). It’s not hard, but it does take a bit longer, but you can get everyone in the kitchen together and have a little cooking party to assemble everything and suddenly dinner becomes entertainment.  Night four, Memorial Day, it had to be burgers. The great part about this menu was that my husband, aka Grill Master, took care of most of the cooking, and there was minimal clean-up. Delicious and low maintenance - what could be better. I guess my epiphany boils down to this – your company is there because they want to see you. What better way to reconnect than around the dinner table. Good food, good wine, and good times. 

I realize it may be hard for you to believe, but you may, occasionally, find yourself with a bit of wine left in the bottle. Call it the homesteader in me, or a trait passed along to me from my mother, but I cannot bring myself to throw anything away – wine, food, or other. So over the years I have found a few ways to use that last glass of wine, even if it is something that I don’t want to drink.

One possibility is to use it for cooking. As they say ‘don’t cook with something you wouldn’t drink,’ and isn’t drinking the wine the reason you’re left with a partial bottle. I typically reserve this application for bottles that are still quite fresh, typically two to three days on the counter or a week in the fridge. You can use the wine as poaching, or braising liquid, in place of vinegar in a vinaigrette, to brighten a dull sauce, or even in desserts. I posted a few interesting recipes for small quantities of wine.

If faced with lots of open bottles after hosting a party, pour the leftover wine into ice cube trays. Then, the next time a recipe calls for wine, pop a wine cube straight from the freezer into your sauce and you’re set. Another option for massive quantities of leftover wine is to mix it all together with sliced fruit and some fruit juice, make a big batch of sangria, and throw another party, but that’s another blog post.

Once a bottle has been around too long, and started to oxidize, it is no longer good for cooking. Cooking will concentrate all of the flavors, including any bad, or off, flavors.  If the wine starts to turn, I say go with it. Let it turn.

Online or with a quick trip to a local home brew shop you can purchase a ‘mother of vinegar,’ a bacterial culture that converts alcohol into vinegar. When you have your mother, take a clean, empty gallon jug (glass works best), pour the mother of vinegar in the jug, and then continually add little bits of leftover wine to the jug. Shortly you will have some absolutely delicious red wine vinegar. Plus, for the one time investment in a mother of vinegar, you have a never-ending supply of vinegar. Not a bad use for wine you weren’t going to drink.

As I type this I have carnitas bubblin’ away on the stove as well as some beans, and in a few hours, probably about the time I put the carnitas in the oven, I’ll get some yellow rice started. My house already smells fabulous, and I am so happy to have an excuse to try new recipes, and explore culinary tradition other than my own. 

I am a big fan of pairing food and wines regionally – who am I to refute years of evolving culinary tradition to suit the wines from that region? Tonight, I will be sticking with regional pairing, but rather than searching the Bay Area for one of the grape wines now made in Mexico (yup, even Mexico is making wine), I’m going with Tequila, although I did contemplate good Mexican beer as well. While not traditionally Mexican, I plan to mix up a batch of really delicious margaritas – silver tequila, lots of fresh lime juice, and a scant splash of Cointreau. Now that’s what I call cultural appreciation!

I do love holidays like Cinco de Mayo & St. Patrick’s day. For me they are an excuse to have a celebration (not like I really need an excuse), and investigate culinary traditions. Rather than ‘Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are,’ I think the Brillat-Savarin quote would ring more true, if phrased ‘tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.’ To know a people’s food is to know a people. Why else would food be the one cultural institution that immigrants cling to for generations? While international travel may not be in the cards for us right now, we’ll have a little mini-break as we sit down to dinner tonight. Mmm….Carnitas!

French food gets so much attention – coq au vin, hollandaise sauce, crepes, croque monsieur – all wonderful, all delicious, but they aren’t exactly what you would call ‘go to’ foods, but there is one find in your French cookbook that will change your culinary repertoire – the quiche. You probably hear quiche and think of stuffy ladies luncheons, or stale, tired brunch menus, but don’t be fooled. Quiche is simple, tasty, and a fantastic way to clean out your fridge.

I’ve taken to keeping a couple of pie crusts in the freezer for emergency dinner fixes. On a moments notice I can pop a crust out of the freezer, pull all of the leftover veggies from the fridge, fry up a little bacon, toss it all in the oven and dinner is ready momentarily. While the quiche is in the oven, I’ll make a nice green salad and pop open a bottle of rosé, or a pretty little Sancerre and suddenly the last night’s leftovers aren’t looking too shabby. 

It is sheer genius – a dish that can transform pedestrian leftovers and a couple of eggs into something so delicious and elegant. You get to clean out your fridge, and depending on what you fill your quiche with, you can pair it with almost any white or rosé in your wine rack. My favorite quiche complement would have to be Sauvignon Blanc, but I have been known to chill a Pinot Noir a touch with a heartier quiche. 

How do I perform this culinary alchemy – transforming old ingredients into delicious cuisine? Simple. Take a store bought crust and fill it with a half cup of sauteed onions or leeks, and a cup or so of some veggies – broccoli, spinach, chard, asparagus, mushrooms or any combination thereof, a half cup of bacon, ham, turkey, and good handful of cheese – anything shredded will work very nicely. For the custard whisk together three eggs, some salt, pepper, and nutmeg with 1½ cups milk, cream, ½ and ½, sour cream, or cream cheese or any combination of the dairy products. Pour the custard over all of your leftover goodies and pop it is a 350° oven for 30 minutes and voila! You have a delicious, elegant, and filling supper – how can you beat that?

Occasionally, the stars align and the act of something as utilitarian as cleaning out the pantry can make you seem like a culinary genius. Since our little girl arrived cooking has taken a whole new life in our household. No more popping out to the store to pick up just one ingredient. Going to the store is now a major event – car seat, diapers, extra clothing. All that effort isn’t worth it for just one thing, so I have begun to master the art of making do with what’s on hand. Sometimes the end result is merely servicable, but sometimes the culinary gods smile down upon me and I make something that surprises me.

Case in point – stale pistachios. I inherited my mother’s hoarding gene, and find it nearly impossible to throw anything out. I certainly wasn’t going to eat them, as stale as they were, so pistachio crust came to mind. Having never crusted anything with pistachios I figured I needed a little breading, half of an english muffin from the freezer (I really can’t throw food away), some dry herbs, and my stale pistachios head into the food processor.  After getting it all down to breading size, the mixture seemed kind of  gummy. Hmm…how to get rid of  the moisture? Ooo…toasted pistachio crust here I come and into the toaster oven until my kitchen smells yummy.

Now, what to crust? Tillapia sounds like a good option, so I pull some fillets from the freezer and set them out to thaw. I wonder what goes with pistachio crusted tillapia, well, let’s check food network.  After searching for a variety of pantry staples and getting lost in recipe-land for a bit, an Emeril Lagasse recipe for Swiss Chard Boules Stuffed with Lemon Barley “Risotto”  jumps out at me. I’ve got barley, swiss chard that I have to use because it’s almost veggie share pickup day, and my daughter is totally amused as I’m dancing about the kitchen singing show tunes to her, so I’ve got a little more time to cook.

The recipe has a roasted red pepper coulis to accompany the barley risotto.  I’m sure that I have roasted red peppers floating around the jars of condiments in my fridge so I search through mustards and chutneys to find them. Peppers in hand I realize I’m missing most of the rest of the ingredients, so I toss several red peppers, a tablespoon, or so, of yogurt, some lemon juice and S&P into the bowl of my mini-food processor and away we go.

Having grown tired of my South Pacific repertoire, I move on to Neil Diamond, much to my daughter’s delight, and contemplate getting the crust to stick to the fish. The traditional flour/egg combo seems a bit much for tillapia, so I opt for yogurt instead. Now that I have raw fish slathered in yogurt and topped with an oddly green mixture of pistachios and english muffin crumbs it’s to decide upon cooking method. Baking seems best, so I toss my Le Creuset grill pan on the range to preheat and the oven is already going for the Boules. Fish on the pan, pan in the oven, I’m feeling like Martha freaking Stewart right about now.

I should go pick an array of local herbs and knit a basket for them from fallen redwood duff, because, afterall, it’s a good thing, but instead I peer into the veggie drawer to see if there is anything else I can clear out. Veggie share is looming right around the corner and the crisper is way to full, so another vegetable for us. Asparagus, olive oil, salt, pepper, toss to coat on a wee little sheet pan and into the oven with the rest of dinner. 

Now, the really important question – what to drink with dinner. I opt for white because the fish should be pretty mild, and the coulis is not too strong or too smoky, both of which could warrant a red wine. To the wine fridge! Hmm… Sauvignon Blanc seems to acidic, not good with the peppers, Riesling too flowery and fruity. I finally decide upon a French Chardonnay, Joseph Drouhin Chardonnay Bourgogne, for the mild applely flavors and clean mineral notes. It was phenomenal! The wine had the right balance of richness and acidity, the barley risotto was fantastic despite my skepticism of lemon and bacon and the coulis was awesome with the fish and the risotto. I wonder to myself why I don’t cook like this every night, and remember, my little girl isn’t always so amused by my antics as to sit in her Sesame Street chair and listen to my wretched renditions of show tunes, laughing all the while. My husband and I toasted to a happy baby, Neil Diamond, and great food.

Yummy pairing last night, it made me remember how nice a good Brouilly can be! Honestly it was a meal of convenience – the pork chops were in the freezer, I had some turnips and kale that needed to be used soon as we were getting a new CSA delivery, so there’s the basic ingredients for dinner.

I brined the pork chops (thank you Cook’s Illustrated for saving me from dry meats) in a salt/brown sugar/cider vinegar and water solution, then tossed them on the grill pan – or rather the husband did the grilling, our daughter was in need of a change when dinner needed to hit the heat. Then the turnips were steamed with a potato, mashed and finished with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Finally after the kale was boiled for ~ 3 minutes, it went into a hot pan with butter, s & p, and a little balsamic when we (or should I say he) pulled it off the heat. Simple? Yes! Delicious? Definitely!

The wine? A Brouilly from from Pierre Dupond. What is Brouilly, you ask. Well Brouilly is one of the ten Cru villages in Beaujolais. Yes, these are light bodied wines from the same area as those electric labeled Beaujolais Nouveaus you see around Thanksgiving, but the Cru villages are set apart as being the highest quality locations to grow Gamay in all of Beaujolais. 

The wines of Brouilly are light-bodied and packed with bright strawberry and raspberry fruit and a pretty little floral characteristic. It was such a perfect complement to last night’s meal because the simply prepared pork needed a fairly straightforward wine, and the sweetness of the turnips and the balsamic were really nice with the bright, red fruits of the wine. We served the wine with a slight chill, not intentionally, but because I forgot to pull the bottle from under the house until right before dinner, and it was a excellent choice. All in all, better than most restaurant meals, and a heck-of-a-lot cheaper than restaurant meals. Especially since the wine was from our last stock up at the BevMo 5 cent sale, but unfortunately it’s not around this time. It may take a little effort and thought, but we are eating and drinking like the recession has already recessed. 

Pornography: creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire. Food Porn, according to wikipedia, is a sarcastic term variously applied to a spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating in advertisements, infomercials, cooking shows or other visual media, foods boasting a high fat and calorie content, exotic dishes that arouse a desire to eat, or the glorification of food as a substitute for sex. 

If you happened to see the Anthony Bourdain Food Porn special last night you may question the sarcasm of the term. Damn – that was hot! And honestly how often do you here the comment, ‘ooh…that is better than sex,’ at the dinner table? It’s really not a stretch to tie up sensual side of food with the sensual nature of, well, sex. It also makes sense that the puritanical sensibility of American society would be scandalized by the immense pleasure that people derive from food.  

Granted Tony Bourdain does cross the line a bit, but honestly would we love him if he didn’t? The cheesy 70s porn was a bit much, but it did prove the point. The scandalous, sexy side of food is obviously still something we feel a little dirty about, otherwise the segment wouldn’t have worked.

Yes, its true that food is sexy but that’s no reason to feel dirty about it. Enjoy the pleasures that food has to offer, hell even lick the spoon. It’s good isn’t it? Good and oh so bad.