Chicken Bowl

For those of you familiar with Noodle Bowl, this is simply not it. But it is something we make extremely often... euhr,... something Sean makes extremely often. He's better at it than I (KK).

Just like a good pretentious salad, chicken bowl's ingredients are shifty. You can switch around the spice, the carbohydrate, and even the veggie. We normally do it without veggies, but KK always tries to get in more veggies during the week.

Chicken Bowl is pan-seared and spice-coated chicken, with a simple pan sauce over rice, and often accompanied by green beans. The combination is really yummy in several varieties:

• Spices: We use different Penzey's spices, like Bangkok Blend, Shanghai Spice, Northwoods Fire, Ozark, or even just dried marjoram or italian mixed dried herbs. You could use powdered curry, or Seasoned Salt (easy on this one). This is the place to customize to your favorite whim.


• Chicken: This element is the only one that doesn't change. Just pound it out to a more-or-less uniform thickness (not thin at all). Salt it if your spice is salt-free, and sprinkle the spice on. Sear in a "stick" skillet on medium high heat, each side takes about 4-5 minutes.


• Carbohydrate: We started just using regular jasmine rice, which is still our favorite. But lately we've been more adventurous (and healthy) and used quinoa (super yummy in this, and one of the healthiest grains on the planet), or even orzo or long pasta. I'd even do polenta or buckwheat noodles. You just need something to soak up the rest of the sauce.


• Veggie: This is totally optional. We often don't use one, but green beans go really well (see the Simple Green Beans recipe from earlier in July), as do sauteed mushrooms. Just keep it a veggie you can quickly prepare while your chicken and carb are cooking.
  

The sauce is where the flavor really counts. After your chicken has cooked, put it on plate and either tent it with foil or put in the microwave to keep warm and collect extra juice. In the same pan you cooked it in, add as many minced shallots as your husband will allow and saute till a bit soft, scraping up all the bits in the pan as you go. (This is your only chance to cook out the raw shallot flavor.) Then add some dry white wine, say, 1/2 cup. After a few seconds, add about a cup of broth. Let this all reduce on high(er) heat till a bit syrupy, about 1/2 cup. It will get darker and mix with all the spices or herbs you chose earlier. Then throw in a tablespoon or two of unsalted butter and mix off the heat.

Slice your chicken and place it in a warmed bowl on top of the rice (or whatever you chose). Divide the sauce on top and add your veggie. I've simply got to tell you that this is almost as comforting and delicious as a slower processed baked chicken and rice. Make as much sauce as you like and really sop it on, or keep it fairly dry if that's your style. We often make this an embarassing 2-3 times a week, but when you change it up, it is something new every time.

The picture is Chicken Bowl with Bangkok spice, quinoa and green beans. And lots of different wines go fantastic with this.

One Perfect Meal

I'm simply here to say, last night dinner nearly killed us it was so good.

There are times when the food is good, and the wine is good, and together they're pretty good. But last night, I'm saying everything worked. The pasta might not look like much in the picture, but it was really, really yummy. And we picked a cheap red from our wine cellar to go with it, but it ended up being one of the best $10 wines we've ever had. It was like a mini mid-week vacation without the hotel bill.

So we're HIGHLY recommending this combination, or its parts.

The pasta recipe came from Giada DeLaurentiis, Giada's Family Dinners, and we made a half recipe. The trick is the frozen artichokes; they don't fall apart like the canned ones. We found Bird's Eye in the frozen section. And the sun-dried tomatoes we used were not oil-packed; I found some in a zip-bag that were super moist on their own so no extra oil was needed. However, I cut them up and tossed them with some oil and water just in case. I also used fresh olive oil to cook the sausage, and drained almost all of it off to cook the artichokes. I also could have done without the mozzarella just fine.

Penne with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

¾ c drained oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 T oil reserved
1 lb Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 (8oz) pkgs frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 ¾ c reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ c dry white wine
Salt
12 oz penne
½ c freshly shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 c chopped fresh basil
¼ c chopped fresh parsley
8 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed (optional)

Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes (or not) in a large heavy frying pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-sized pieces, about 8 minutes. Transfer and drain the sausage to another bowl.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Add the artichokes and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat till the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced slightly, about 8 minutes. This is also a good time to cube up the mozzarella (if using), place it on a plate in an even layer, and pop it in the freezer. It only needs about 8 minutes in there.
Drain the pasta and add it to the artichokes, along with the sausage, ½ c of the parmesan cheese, basil and parsley. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed. Take off the heat before you stir in the mozzarella (from the freezer, remember?), season with salt and pepper and serve.

The wine was from Taurino, Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva 2001, from the heel of Italy. And no lie, it was under $10. The grapes are Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, totally new to us. First taste was almost like cherry Kool-Aid, with such a strong berry flavor lasting till the end. The wine got even better with the pasta dish, and the food was even better with the wine. It was like a great marriage. We're really grateful God made grapes like this. The wine was purchased at http://www.sherry-lehman.com/ and they still have it, I think.

Anniversary Dinner

We had Charlie and Kay over for dinner on their anniversary last night. I wasn't crazy full when we finished, but very, very close! We owe them a lot, so we wanted to make it really special. We took no pictures so as not to freak out our guests, but I'll share the menu and recipes.

Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto
Lemon Pasta with Parmiggiano and Basil
Peppered Filet Mignon with Green Beans

Cheese course: Delice de Bourgogne and Pagnotta
Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp with Amaretti Cookie Topping

The asparagus really impressed Sean and he'd do it again. It is an ideal starter since they should be served room temperature. Toss asparagus spears with bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 450 degrees for about 7 minutes (for skinny stalks). Cut paper thin slices of prosciutto (paper thin cuts provided by professional meat cutter at meat counter, NOT at home) in half and wrap each stalk with half a slice of prosciutto. Done.

The Lemon Pasta I would tweak a bit differently next time, but it wasn't bad. It's nice to have a simple pasta if you're going to do a pasta course. Boil 1 lb of some long pasta (like fettuccine or linguine) and while it's cooking, in a bowl squeeze 2 lemons, grate about 3/4 c of parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper and whisk with some oil, about 1/3 cup if your calorie count can handle it. I also grated some of the lemon zest in there for added zing. Add the pasta once it's done, tossing some of the pasta boiling water in there to keep it loose. Chop some basil and sprinkle on top, adding more cheese and zest as you feel led.

Sean has a way with steaks done indoors. We are apartment dwellers with no grill, so we do them stovetop and oven. And no one complains. I do love a good char from a grill, but until we have one, this is fine with me. Let me know if you're interested and we'll pass on the rules.

The green beans have long been one of my favorites; most of my family has eaten this recipe of mine at some point. No one can turn these down. No one. (Chris). It's a nice change from the "boil 'em till they can't fight back" method we use down south. These are practically a Pretentious Salad in themselves. And no matter when you ask me, I want them right now.

Irresistable and Quick Green Beans

Handfuls of green beans (snap beans), sliced in half length-wise if you wish
Lemon zest
parsley
Olive Oil, salt, pepper

Pine nuts, toasted

Boil the beans in salted water until just tender. Toss with chopped parsley, lemon zest, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. Devour. This can almost always be done from start to finish while the main course is cooking. Yes, it sounds simple, but something about it is so savory.


This dessert recipe is from Giada DeLaurentiis. You can use any fruit you want, but this was definitely a great combo for last night's dinner. I would sweeten the mascarpone next time or use lightly sweetened whipped cream. P.S.: I found the amaretti cookies at World Market for $2! Awesome!

Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp with Amaretti

Topping:
1 c AP flour
1/3 c brown sugar, packed
1/3 c white sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c crushed amaretti cookies, coarsely crushed
3/4 c sliced almonds

Filling:
butter for baking dish
2 T white sugar (granulated)
2 T AP flour
3 lbs nectarines, cut in wedges (about 4-5 huge necs)
8 oz blueberries
3 T amaretto liqueur, or 1 T almond extract
1/2 c mascarpone cheese (substitute whipping cream)

To make the topping: Stir the flour and sugars in a medium bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub between your fingers to make moist clumps, then mix in amaretti crumbs and almonds.

To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter a 9x13x2 inch glass baking dish. Stir the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add nectarines and blueberries and toss to combine. Stir in the liqueur.

Spoon the fruit into the prepared dish and sprinkle the cookie mixture on top. Bake until fruit is tender and top is golden and crisp, about 40-45 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and serve.


We served two wines for this dinner, since there were 4 of us. We started with a Vinho Verde from Portugal (all VVs are from Portugal), which was slightly bubbly and low in alcohol content. We mentioned one earlier, the Famega, and this one (Casal Garcia) was maybe $1 more expensive at $8. It is one of KK's new favorites for summer. Next was a Pinot Noir from the Central Coast by someone I can't remember. It was nice with food, fairly smooth and refined for the steak.

Li'l Kathryn's Birthday Dinner, 2007

I must be a pretty cheap sister, since I rarely get my sister gifts for her birthday. Since we all love food, I just make her a multiple-course dinner. Anyone can get one, and most of my family has, except those who don't come near us for their birthdays. She picks out her favorite foods and we work the menu until she likes everything; she usually has to help clean up afterwards.

This year it seemed like every course she picked had cheese in it. I asked her, "You don't really want every course cheese-heavy, do you?" And she said, "What better idea for a multi-course menu than a tribute to cheese?" So, cheese, it was. Mostly.

First course: Stuffed Baby Potatoes. We had something like this for a Christmas Eve dinner one year, and Kathryn has asked for them ever since. I think I got the idea from something similar with caviar on top. I'm not a caviar girl. Basically, you boil/steam small baby potatoes. Once they cool enough, you core out the center of them (apple corers work great, so do vegetable peelers) and fill them with sour cream, top with caviar. But to dodge the caviar, I stuffed the cavity with a mixture of cheddar, cream cheese, bacon and chives and baked them in the oven. If the potatoes are all small and uniform enough, you can slice off a sliver from the bottom and they stand up. Three are enough for a first course, but eighteen are nice for a midnight snack. These potatoes were so long, we just split them length-wise and stuffed them like regular twice-baked potatoes. Still yummy, though. There's no real recipe here, just rig something you like inside.

Second course: Baby Romaine with Pears, Parmiggiano, Walnuts and Herb Vinaigrette. A Pretentious Salad classic! Remember the formula: greens+fruit+nut+cheese. It will never fail you. The pears were sliced, the cheese peeled with a veggie peeler (and actually was an aged goat cheese rather than parmiggiano), and nuts are toasted. Keep all the elements separate from the greens. Mix the dressing first and toss the greens with that, then layer everything else on top.

We literally make the basic version of this everyday. It is mis-titled, since I use lemon instead of vinegar, but you can use vinegar if you like it. Stretch the dressing as you need for as much greens as you prepare. We use 1/2 lemon for just me and Sean, but we are heavy greens consumers. And are not fans of gloppy salad dressings.

Basic Vinaigrette

Juice of one lemon
1 T dijon mustard
1-2 T olive oil

Combine lemon and mustard first, then whisk in oil with a fork. Toss with greens just at serving time or they wilt. If you need to get rid of the bowl and are not ready to serve just yet: Put the dressing in the tossing bowl, and add the greens on top but do not toss. They can stay there for about 30 minutes or so before combining. I usually mix the dressing in the serving bowl so I don't have to wash extra!

Herbed Vinaigrette: Chop any or several herbs and add just before pouring on greens. Combinations are nice, and we used Dad's fresh oregano and purple basil, plus Heidi's fresh green basil.

Sorbet course: Watermelon. As many of you know, I am a melon-hater. But I know lots of people like watermelon. We happened to have some cut-up watermelon on hand at my 'rents house, so we made a Watermelon Sorbet to serve just before the main course. Boil equal parts sugar and water in a pan until dissolved. I wanted to put mint in the syrup, but we didn't have any. However, herbs work really well in sorbet, so be adventurous. Puree fruit in a blender/food processor until smooth and add sugar syrup. If you have a sorbet or small electric ice cream maker, use the manufacturer's directions. (My parents have one.) But if your kitchen is limited (like mine), pour the fruit concoction in a pyrex dish and put it in the freezer. Every so often, scrape and stir it with a fork, keeping it fluffy. It will take about a couple of hours, but no one will care. You can serve this one on squares of watermelon rind and it looks cool, or in sake cups.

Main course: Chicken Cordon Bleu with Baby Carrots. The carrots recipe is in an earlier blog, and I added peas for color. The chicken can be made ahead and baking while you are eating the earlier courses.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (healthy version)

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness, and layer on slices of ham and swiss cheese, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides. Roll chicken up and squeeze to set, using toothpicks if necessary. In bowl #1, add 1 t. salt to 1/2 c. of flour. In bowl #2, add 1 t. water to one beaten egg (or 2 whites). In bowl #3, add 1 t. dried thyme (or fresh) and 1 t. oil to 1 c. panko bread crumbs. Dip chicken rolls in flour first, then egg, then bread crumbs. Place in a greased pyrex dish, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. Slice each roll into little pinwheels of chicken goodness and serve.

Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake. This selection arose after Kathryn rejected Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee. And the whipped cream layer on top is covering the overdone quality it seemed to pick up when Mom was in charge. It just proves you cannot ruin this. It still tasted great.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

7 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
7 oz. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated

Butter a springform pan with removable sides, or a 9 in. cake pan. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. You don't have to own one, just rig it with bowl on top of a pan of boiling water. Don't let the water touch the bowl, though. Once it is melted, add the butter until it melts and then set off heat to cool.

In a standing mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy, then add 1/2 c. of the sugar until soft peaks form. In another bowl, whisk the yolks with the other 1/2 c. of sugar until pale. Add a bit of the chocolate into the yolks until the temperature starts to warm up (avoiding scrambled eggs with choclate- yuck!) Once it is warm, dump in all the chocolate and mix till combined. Add about 1/3 of the whites and mix vigorously. Then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour in prepared pan and bake at 350 for AROUND 35-40 minutes. A toothpick or knife should come out clean when stuck in the center. The cake will deflate, and that is normal, as it cools. Cool to room temperature, and remove from cake pan if you wish. Fresh whipped cream is nice, too.

We served an Albarino with the first courses, Martin Codax Albarino, 2006. All the female Callaways love Albarino, and we previewed it at a tasting a few weeks prior. It did not disappoint. The main course wine was a Pinot Noir which was forgettable. I still hold firm that a light red is the best choice for the chicken course, just not that particular Pinot Noir. It was something like Huntingdon, but you can forget it.

It's All Greek to Me, Part 2

A bit more about Greek wines...

We drank our other Greek wine last night, the Boutari Santorini Assyrtiko, 2006, 7.50 Euro, or around $14 domestic. It was really likeable, nice and crisp but with a fair amount of sweetness, which worked with our blackened red snapper really well. Sean liked the first one from yesterday's blog a bit better, but enjoyed both equally. The other wine was maybe a bit more like Sauvignon Blanc, but this one was plenty full-bodied and citrus. Sean pointed out that wine is supposed to be best where it is grown, not where you take it after buying it. We've had that experience before and didn't bring home any Italian wines because of it. But these 2 wines were really far and above the white wine we had while actually eating IN Greece.

No recipe needed for the snapper. Just coat it in cajun or blackening spices and sear on top of the stove in a bit of oil, then let it spend about 5 more minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.

But the warm potato salad we had with it could use a bit of recipe. I got this one from... my Dad! Dad publishes the recipes the Callaways use the most, and thankfully I remembered it while running through the grocery store yesterday. We had it warm last night, but I'll be having it cold for lunch. I also think green beans would work instead of asparagus. And, you might notice the dressing is almost identical to our daily salad dressing, just adding garlic.

New Potato and Asparagus Salad

16 small baby potatoes (red, purple or yellow), cut in bite sized pieces

1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut in bite size pieces

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, smashed into a paste

1/2 t salt

fresh ground pepper

herb of any kind

Boil or steam the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes. While they are boiling, chop the asparagus and get it ready to cook, and make the dressing: Combine mustard and lemon until smooth, add oil, garlic and salt and whisk till smooth. Place dressing in a medium bowl and add the potatoes when they finish. Toss to combine. Cook the asparagus in salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes, until tender, then refresh under cold water. Add to the potatoes. Chop any herb, really, any herb works great, and add to the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.

It's all Greek to Me

Please forgive me, all you Greek speaking individuals out there. I am so weak at even recognizing the Greek alphabet, as I never really even did the sorority thing well in school.

We went to a few locations in Greece this summer with our friends, Charlie and Kay, aka, our eye doctors. At least our vision was safe! We had heard about some Greek wines, and none of the reviews were raves. So we sampled some ourselves at a little cafe in Santorini and found it sort of ok. Especially with a Greek salad. Kathryn asked me, "What do they call a Greek salad in Greece?" And, of course, they call it Greek salad. It was on my list of "must eats" while travelling in Greece. It is basically some greens, black olives, sliced green pepper, tomatoes, and a thick slice of fresh feta cheese, covered by some herbed vinaigrette. I did enjoy that. And the house white wine was sort of unremarkably nice, although much better than the weather at the time.

We found a local supermarket and checked out the wines. Sean picked out two bottles, and we drank one last night. Pleasant surprise! It was really delightful. And, after much symbol selection in Microsoft Word, its title is Boutari Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη, 2006. Oh there is lots of other stuff on the label, and I cannot read a letter of it, but I can make out the 11.5% alcohol level. That made it even better on a hot night. We had it with really simple herbed pasta. And hummus. (Here's an easy wine/food pairing: hummus goes fantastic with white wine... any white wine. And even red. It goes fantastic with wine. Period.) I'm just so proud of my symbol selection that I'm going to do it again.... Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη! The wine title is sort of mock-handwritten on the label and therefore super-hard to make out, so it took me about 10 minutes to find the approximate blob in the Greek symbols. And then I turn the bottle around. Yep, its in regular type. All that for nothing!

We also have a wine from Santorini that is supposed to be good with seafood. And after this Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη wine's success, I'm getting sort of excited about the Santorini one.

We actually passed a real wine store in Santorini before leaving the town and saw these two bottles that we picked up in the supermarket. Sean checked out the prices as the vendor came up to him. When he saw our bag of wine bottles, he asked "Supermarket?" As we said yes, he just shook his head and muttered in Greek and walked off. I think we got a really good deal at the supermarket.
So, to sum up: Greek wine can be really ok. Especially Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη. (Had to get it in there one more time!)

You Only Live Twice

... and twice is the only way to eat... caprese.

We just love tomatoes, and often forget that not everyone does. That used to include me. In fact, besides melon (see July 6), there are a few things that I've hated in the past but gave a second chance at some point in my life. "They" say you should try foods after 7 years of hatred because your taste buds change every 7 years. Eggs, for example, have always been anathema to me. Some people hate them certain ways; I just hate them always. I gave them a chance around year 17, and could choke down scrambled eggs with about one solid inch of ground pepper on them, but even that ended about 1 month later. I'll be saving eggs for others from now on.

Again, "they" say it could be a texture thing, and "they" might be right. Sean hates... well, dill. And dill has no texture. So there blows their theory. But even Sean tried to expand his horizons and pretended to get it down when I made a simple side dish of baby carrots with dill...


Sauteed Baby Carrots with Dill

2 pounds baby carrots (I found super cute baby red carrots and baby parsnips as well as the orange ones, but truly, all carrots work)
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 T chopped dill or parsley (dry or fresh)

Peel the carrots and cut them diagonally (on the bias, for added pretentious), in 1/4 inch slices. This is all so ridiculously simple but quite a taste-o-rama if you like veggies. You should have about 6 cups of carrots. Place the carrots, 1/3 c water, the salt and pepper in a large (10-12 in) saute pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes, until the carrots are just cooked through. Add the butter and saute for another minute, until the water evaporates and the carrots are coated with butter. Off heat, toss with dill/parsley and sprinkle with salt and pepper.


So, see? Carrots can be simply fantastic. Or fantastically simple. But, I digress. Ah, yes, tomatoes. I used to hate fresh tomatoes, but then I discovered there were other kinds of tomatoes. Ones that were not mealy or dried up, or black. When you eat a really good tomato, it brings you closer to God. He makes such wonderful food that it causes us to be grateful for all of it; really, truly grateful. And in such variety!

If you eat a really good tomato, like the ones from Ben Wheeler, Texas, you just might change your mind. Our tomato buddies at the Farmers Market downtown call us the Newlyweds. They think we are so crazy in love. And they're not wrong. We just "look so happy together," they say. I'm not saying go out there and fake publicly-displayed-attention, but there have been a few times we were short of cash and a bag of tomatoes was still brought home... I'm just saying, is all.

Insalata Caprese was in my first blog, and it is one of the better 4 ingredient combinations in the world. Almost as good as the Beatles. But when you can have almost the same thing, but with pasta... now, that's just beautiful. And, beware; this is 20 minutes, from cold stovetop to eating.


Caprese Pasta

Pasta for everyone (1 lb for 4 servings, 1/2 lb for 2 servings), stubby-shaped
3 ripe tomatoes, not Roma tomatoes
fresh mozzarella, as much as you want, but it must be fresh
basil, as much as you want
olive oil, as good as you can find

Boil a copious amount of water for the pasta. We like shorter, stubbier pasta for this. There are so many shapes to choose from, and pasta can never be wrong, but some work better in some dishes than others. The large conch shell pasta is great here, as is penne rigate, something to hold the juices. And, no matter what Sean says, salt the water!

If you wish, before boiling the pasta, peel the tomatoes. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and immerse in the boiling water for about 10-20 seconds, until you see the skin split. Take them out and run them under cold water, peeling as you go. Cut each tomato equatorially in half. Squeeze each half to remove the seeds. You can skip all the peeling if the tomato is absolutely gorgeous. We usually skip this peeling unless we are making Puttanesca (see tomorrow's blog), which uses a partly cooked sauce.

Dump in the pasta and set the timer. Dice up the mozzarella and put it in the freezer on a plate while the pasta is cooking. Chop the 'toes in medium dice and wait for the pasta timer. Once the pasta is done, drain it, and chiffonade the basil (stack the leaves, roll them up and start slicing). Divide the pasta among bowls, add tomatoes and cheese on top, swirl a fair amount of olive oil and lightly toss each bowl. (You could do this in the pasta pot, but I'm lazy). Top with basil and salt and pepper. If you like tomatoes, I guarantee you will devour it. It can be refrigerated, but hold off on the basil till right before you eat it. I'm ashamed to say, we would eat this everyday if we had all the ingredients on hand all week.

We had a little red blend with this pasta. A GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Merlot) from Oxford Landing (2005) for about $8. We found it in a restaurant in Huntsville and had it with steak, and liked it muchly. But we split it over 2 nights, so we had it with steak the first night, and the Caprese pasta on the second night. It wasn't bad, but we'd do differently next time for the pasta; maybe a lighter red, like Beaujolais, or a Rose. This wine was very raspberry when we opened it, and was fairly delightful, but started to turn a little tannic after about 90 minutes. However, we still enjoyed it on the second night, and for $8, we'd do it again, just different food.

Tapas

What to make when its searing hot outside? Things that don't heat up a small apartment kitchen. Boy, if our A/C would just learn how to efficiently cool, we'd be doing Pizza Building dinners, and open-pit bbq roasting, and flambe (how do you do pretentious accents on letters in this get-up?). Tapas with minimal cooking.

Now, to answer the recent Pinot Grigio bashing comments: First, you must get over your bad selves, Chris and Beth. And re-read. We were not bashing the P.G. realm; it is just not an overwhelmingly complex wine. We do actually drink it, but find the ones we really like are more pricey. For example, Alois Lageder 2004 Benefizium Porer, a P. G. from Alto Adige. Nice apple and crispness, but $20.00. That is about our wine limit unless a special occasion calls for something pricier. This was probably our favorite P. G. and we DID enjoy it.

The Pinot Grigio of all Pinot Grigios, the standard by which all other P.G.s are rated, is the Santa Margherita. Santa Margherita selects their grapes from the Alto Adige/Valdadige region in Northern Italy. We were very excited to try this one, but were underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, highly drinkable, but not very "special." And although we found it for about $17, it often retails for more like $20-25. We didn't regret it, but have found many more wines for less with more character (to us). Everyone's tastebuds are their own authority, of course. Unh! Sean should be doing this part! But I haven't trained him on blogger yet.

Last night, we had Sean's dad over for dinner and did our own tapas. With tapas (small plates), simple is absolutely the best. Remember the bruschetta from your layover, Corner-Pocket Callaways? (that's Chris and Beth) Caprese salad first, of course, since the tomatoes were good and the mozzarella cheese was about 2 minutes old when we bought it. Then on to sliced avocados with lime juice, zest and cilantro.

Then we got experimental and tried a new PRETENTIOUS SALAD. This one was from one of our cookbooks called New American Cooking: California, by Williams-Sonoma. I had tried smoked trout on some pretentious bruschetta (please get everyone you know to call it Broosketta- thank you) at Chef's Table in Huntsville and it won me over. This one was fine, but Sean would just use smoked salmon next time and skip the salad part. It breaks the traditional Pretentious Salad formula, but fennel is always allowable in our salads.

Smoked Trout, Fennel and Arugula Salad

2.5 T. olive oil

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 small shallot, minced (less for Sean)

salt and pepper to taste

1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, then sliced thin crosswise

1 whole boneless smoked trout (about 1/2 lb)

5 oz. young arugula leaves

Make the dressing about 30 minutes before serving this salad. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, shallot, salt and pepper. Let stand for 30 min to allow the shallow flavor to mellow. We used a trout that had been shrink-wrapped or vacuum packed; the whole thing was just too scary for me and had too many bones to worry about. Still had skin on it, but was easily removed. Toss the trout with 1 T of the dressing.

In a large bowl, combine the arugula and fennel with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper now (or later if you want), and divide among salad plates. Arrange the trout on top.

Our last tapa was seared ahi tuna with lime crust. Oh the picture in the cookbook was gorgeous, and it's from Flavours, a Donna Hay cookbook. We would change it a bit next time, of course, and add much, much more pepper to the crust. You can overcook the tuna if you need to, but rare to medium rare is actually quite nice.

Seared Tuna with Lime Crust

12 oz. tuna fillet

1 T grated lime rind

1/3 c. lime juice

1/4 c finely chopped dill (I used cilantro as Sean detests dill)

2 T chopped parsley

2 small red chilis, seeded and chopped (I used crushed red pepper flakes-- chili-shy)

2 T. olive oil

sea salt and cracked pepper

13 oz. fettucine

1 T olive oil extra

3 1/2 oz. arugula leaves

Trim the tuna of any sinew and place in a shallow dish. Combine the next 7 ingredients and pour over the tuna. (I did half and saved half for later). Refrigerate for 20 minutes, turning once.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the extra oil in a frying pan on high heat. Remove tuna from marinade and cook 1 minute on each side or until well seared, then slice.

Pile the pasta on serving plates (or cool bowls) and top with extra marinade (the part I saved for later), arugula leaves (slightly chopped if you wish), and tuna slices. Drizzle with extra oil and lime juice before serving. Serves 4.

We had all this with mint juleps to start, and a Sauvignon Blanc for the rest. Groth 2005 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, about $16. It's one of our favorites of this varietal, super citrus and mineral but just a hint of smoke. When you cook with lots of herbs, a Sauvignon Blanc is almost a sure-fire guarantee fantastic pairing.

Salad Nights

For the 4th of July, Sean was jonesing for chicken salad. That's my man! I like it too, and it seemed like a great idea. And what better to go with chicken salad than bread salad?

We had a Pinot Grigio with our salads. While we are BIG Italian white wine fans, we haven't been overly bowled over by P. G. Maybe if they made a PG-13, but probably not. We find it a highly serviceable wine, totally unoffensive and overwhelmingly unremarkable. We had it, and we're fine, but there are so many wonderful Italian whites. The WSJ wine index has an article out today about non-Grigio Italian whites and you'll have to hold us back to not buy some of them. We felt bad about not drinking a domestic wine on the 4th, but got over it when we realized the bread salad was Italian.

Anyhoo, chicken salad is a southern staple. We rig it every time. Sometimes with grapes and such, sometimes not. This one was pretty standard so as not to mess with wine. But now we're getting to recipes that we more or less make up, so the science is not exact.

Chicken Salad

Chicken, torn up after cooking (Cook it how you like, grilled is great but we have no grill, poaching is fine, but take note how you poach it: Poach it in chicken stock, and throw in some aromatics like celery and carrots and peppercorns and bay leaves.

Celery, sliced really cool on the bias, or chopped

Pecans, toasted and crunched up a bit

water chestnuts, chopped

sour cream/mayo, which ever you need (we are a mayo-hating household)

salt and pepper, of course

parsley, chopped

Just mix it all up as dry or wet as you like. Often we put sliced red grapes and walnuts in it, which is yumms as well. I've even whacked it way out and twisted it like one of our favorite Pretentious Salads which I have yet to include. Truly anything goes but possum. And we're in Texas, too.

Bread salad is a hard sell. It's a Tuscan dish, probably made primarily in the summer. I have 2 different recipes of it from a cookbook called Italian Intermezzo, by Sharon O' Connor, along with a nice collection of dinner music. I think she has a few cookbooks out with music cds. I adapted our bread salad from her 2 recipes. The idea was great, but I think I'll tweak it differently next time. The one pictured is more like the first one.

Savory Bread Salad (1)

(Panzanella)

1 loaf day-old Italian or French bread, crusts removed, sliced

3 tomatoes, peeled/seeded/chopped in 1/2 in. chunks

1 red onion, thinly sliced and omitted because of Sean

1/2 small cucumber,thinly sliced

1/3 c. olive oil

S&P

1/2 coarsely chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish

2 T. red wine vinegar

Put bread slices in a med. bowl and add cold water to cover. Soak for 10 minutes or until bread is spongy. Using your hands, gently squeeze out all the water. Rub bread between your palms to make coarse crumbs.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs with everything else but the vinegar, and set aside for at least 30 minutes, room temp. Just before serving, toss with the vinegar and extra oil.

Bread Salad (2)
(Panzanella Toscana)

1 day old ciabatta loaf, crust trimmed, 3/4 in. dice

2-3 med. tomatoes, or 5-6 Roma tomatoes, peeled, halved

1 garlic clove crushed to paste with a bit of salt

1/3 c. oil

4 t. red wine vinegar (3 for the dressing, 1 for the capers)

2 T. capers (soaked in 1 t. of the vinegar, then drained again)

1/4 brine-cured black olives (please save the canned ones for your garbage disposals)
1 each, red and yellow bell pepper, roasted, peeled, cut in strips

3 anchovy fillets, chopped (and omitted for KK)

1/2 c. chopped fresh basil leaves

Put all the bread in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, squeeze the tomatoes (to seed them) through a sieve and retain juice. Stir in the garlic paste, and salt and pepper. Whisk in the oil (1/3 c. if you can handle it) and 3 t. of the red wine vinegar. Pour over the bread and toss until all liquid is absorbed. If the bread is still too dry, add more oil.

In a serving bowl, you will be making 3 layers of all of this stuff. One layer should involve bread,then peppers, then tomatoes (which you have now chopped), capers, anchovies, olives and basil. You need 3 of these. Set your concoction aside, room temperature, for at least 1 hr. Drizzle with oil, good oil, when you serve.

Carmen Miranda Would Be Proud

(KK:) Most of you know, I hate melon. Watermelon, honeydew melon, melon candy, cantaloupe, even papaya gets to me. Melon is probably one of the foods I cannot even fake in public. You know, you're at some gathering and Melon Something Or Other is served; most people would be okay, since melon "doesn't have much flavor." I cannot do it. Not even on my plate to be pushed around and toyed with. Its juice would taint something worth of my taste buds.

Sometimes this bothers people. Mom: "What would a piece of watermelon ever do to harm you? Just try it, this one's really good." Chris: "[insert anything taunting and menacing, with watermelon]". However, if the melon of the moment really IS good, they don't offer it at all. That's how I know. They were trying to set me up. I just hate it, and there are so many wonderful foods out there that could use my attention. Like cucumber. And that leaves more melon for the rest.

Anyhoo, I saw this recipe for a fruit salad (Ginger, Honeydew, Mango, Blueberry Salad) from an email from Cook's Illustrated and I thought: "Hmm, I hate melon, but this looks really good for the melon-loving population. I could take it somewhere for melon-lovers!" Which is what I'm going to do. I made it up today and the syrup alone smelled like I started a Lime Sherbet factory in my kitchen. I can't tell you how it tastes because I won't taste melon. But it smells pretty good. And its probably the prettiest combination of colors ever imagined with fruit. Maybe. I'm taking it to a family brunch tomorrow, so I'll let y'all know how it's received.

Ginger, Honeydew, Mango and Blueberry Salad (Cook's Illustrated, as is)

1T. lime zest (about 4 limes)

1c. lime juice (additional 3-4 limes)

1/4 c. sugar

pinch salt

1 inch ginger, peeled and minced (1T.)

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 small honeydew, cut in 1 in. pieces (2 c.)

1 mango, in 1/2 in. pieces (1.5 c.)

1 pint blueberries

Zest limes while you can, and mince ginger. On high heat, melt sugar and lime juice and salt, about 15 minutes until honey-colored. Off heat, add zest, ginger and lemon juice; steep 1 minute then strain. Toss with fruit and chill 4hrs or serve immediately.

KK version: I did all that, but added a cantaloupe and papaya, plus doubled the other fruit as we needed fruit for a crowd. I chopped the fruit all up while the syrup was boiling. Then when the syrup was done, I just strained it right over the fruit. I love to save a bowl. It does really smell good. Hope it lasts till the morning!

The Year of the Crab

Lump crabmeat happened to be on sale, so its what we're having tonight. We actually rig ours everytime, but I thought I'd put in a real recipe just for reliability.

We start with the schmoo: chopped celery, shallots and sometimes red pepper (all very finely chopped). Toast some nuts, like macadamia or pine nuts, and chop them a bit. Add some sour cream and/or mayo, dash Worcestershire, a bit of lime juice and zest, some chopped herb (usually cilantro), salt, pepper. Then toss with the crab. Add panko crumbs if you need more heft. Shape into cakes of any size you are willing to flip (smaller is better, as these are always delicate), and sprinkle panko crumbs on cakes. Refrigerate for awhile, like 30 minutes. Then shallow-fry in oil. These are absolutely yummy with an avocado salsa (chopped avocado, chopped tomato, a touch of lime juice, zest, S&P, and blink of oil). Salsa is also absolutely yummy on salmon cakes, which we like even better. I'll save that for yet another blog, as we're not having them tonight.

We're doing a Vinho Verde tonight, I think. (VV is from Portugal, white and citrusy, low alcohol, great with seafood of all kids, and super refreshing. And CHEAP!) But SBs (Sauvignon Blancs) are also fantastic, as are Chablis, Tocai, and, I'm guessing, a Terlaner. We have an Alto Adige Terlaner (Italian white, fruity and floral) that I think will be great, but I'll keep you posted.


CRAB CAKES (Cook's Illustrated)

The amount of bread crumbs you add will depend on the crabmeat's juiciness. Start with the smallest amount, adjust the seasonings, and then add the egg white. If the cakes won't hold together at this point, add more bread crumbs 1T at a time.

Serves 4
1 lb fresh crabmeat (lump or jumbo lump) picked over
4 scallions, minced green parts only
4 t. minced fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, basil, or parsley)
1 t. Old Bay Seasoning
2-4 T plain dried bread crumbs (although I prefer fresh bread crumbs in a little processor)
1/4 mayo (reduced fat is ok, even preferred)
2 T Dijon
S & P
1 egg white
1/4 c AP flour (that's All Purpose)
2 T vegetable oil
1 lemon, wedged

Combine the scallions, herbs, Old Bay, 2 T bread crumbs, mayo and mustard together in a medium bowl. Fold in crab gently. Season to taste w/ S&P. Fold in egg white with spatula until the mix just holds together, then add more crumbs if necessary.

Divide the crab in 4 equal blobs and shape each into a cake, about 3 in across and 1.5 in high. Arrange on a baking sheet lined wtih waxed paper. Cover with plastic and chill at least 30 minutes (important!) or up to 24 hours.

Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge the crab cakes in the flour and shake off excess. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet on med hi heat until shimmering. Cook the cakes till outside is crisp and browned, 4 to 5 min per side. Drain and serve with lemon wedges.


CILANTRO-LIME CRAB SALAD IN AVOCADO HALVES
1/3 c finely chopped red onion
3 T mayo
2 T. chopped cilantro
3 t. lime juice
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t. lime zest (zest before juicing)
8 oz. crabmeat
1 ripe avocader

Stir red onion, mayo, cilantro, lime juice and zest, cumin in med bowl to blend. Fold in crab and season with salt and pepper. Brush avocado halves with lime juice and mound salad in each avocado pit hole. Serve with lime wedges, and love.

Welcome

As one of the least technologically-inclined people in America, I thought I should be the one to welcome you. I'm fairly confident that only family and friends we already know will be checking out our little blog.

Pretentious Salad is a name we devised for really cool, out of the ordinary salads. We often get them at restaurants and adapt them for ourselves at home. It is basically a formula of salad greens tossed with a 1) a Fruit, 2) a Nut, and 3) a Cheese. You will amaze your friends with any combination of these elements. Some work better with others, like strawberries, walnuts and goat cheese, or pears, pecans and parmiggano, but still a winning combination anyway you twist it. We use the same salad dressing just about everytime, and whipped up fresh for each salad: 1/2 t. dijon, 1/2 lemon (juiced), and olive oil. Add only as much oil as you need to toss with the greens, usually about 1/2-1 T. Mix all this in the bowl you are mixing the salad and you save on dishes, too.

I'm also delegating all things wine to Sean, my partner in crime, my fresh-squeeezed lime, my very last dime, my Bustarime, my right-on-time, my deafening mime. Sean loves wine; Sean loves reading about wine; Sean loves buying wine; but mostly, Sean loves drinking wine responsibly. Most of our wine dinners are for the two of us (since we have few friends and are currently Baptist) while we are at home (since we enjoy our food creations just as much as a restaurant and we can wear pajamas). If we're going to throw back a bottle of wine, it better be over a 3-4 hour period and some fantastic food better be involved. We like wine for the taste, not the effect, and if it makes food even tastier, well, then, that's a great meal.

So, as soon as I can figure out how to incorporate an extra column, we'll start with the wine.

However, some of our best dishes have so few ingredients. One of our regulars is Insalata Caprese. I'm sure Capri is worth the trouble just for this salad.



Insalata Caprese
(don't even think about making this salad unless you have excellent tomatoes)

One tomato per person, sliced and salted lightly
One slice of fresh mozzarella per tomato slice
One fresh basil leaf per mozzarella slice
Good olive oil

Arrange the tomato slices on a plate in your favorite design. Top with a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf (the order doesn't matter, stick the basil in the middle if you're feeling wild). Drizzle oil on top.

We like American Sauvignon Blanc with Caprese.