Eve Ate The Apple

Heh heh…so a month or more, eh?

Wow, am I embarrassed. I’m not going to make any excuses…well, just one. The past week has been taken up by this man.

We did some cookin’, some lovin’, and went to see a lot of movies. (Quick tip: Hellboy 2, yes; The Dark Knight, yes; The X-Files, run as fast as you can.) And he asked me to bake him a cake.

Now I was no longer coasting on my previous cake success from April, but he was insistent—nay, demanding—about a cake. So I searched and found this little gem from my one of my fave cooking sites, Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

It involves chocolate and beer so it can’t be all bad.

Anyway, since I have been so remiss lately, I promise a post everyday this August. Sometimes they’ll be recipes, sometimes they’ll be reviews, or other times, they’ll just be something food-related I like. (Wait until I rave like a loon about anything from Trader Joe’s!!)  See you tomorrow and here, have some more cake!

Sometimes it’s not so much that I am lazy, it’s that I can’t be bothered to saute, chop, mince, mix, sweat, braise, or anything of that crap when all I want is a simple meal. Usually I’m quite gung-ho about such things, but not this week. I already made a fairly useless meal involving marinated chicken and a corn/pepper relish that didn’t live up to my expectations, but such is life. This, on the other hand, was so easy-peasy that it made me happy for the past two days.

My collection of newspaper recipe clip-outs is (are?) huge. And this gem came from the New York Times Dining Out section back around late fall of 2007. What could be simpler, less stress-inducing than softly scrambled eggs streaked with pesto and dotted with ricotta cheese? Pair with some small crusty warm ciabatta rolls and you’ve got yourself a meal worthy of curling up with a good book at the dining table. (And yes, I do that.)

Ah, sweet timeless elegance that can easily lend itself to a leisurely weekend brunch or an intimate romantic morning meal.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Pesto and Fresh Ricotta

courtesy Melissa Clark/The New York Times

(to be fair, I didn’t use fresh ricotta; I just found the best possible one at my favorite organic market. And this recipe makes only 1 serving. You can easily double or triple it.)

1/2 tbs. butter

3 large eggs

pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tbs. Parmesan cheese (optional, but for me, it was not)

1 heaping tbl. pesto, store-bought or homemade (and you know which I’d say)

3 tbs. fresh ricotta, broken into clumps

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a nonstick skillet. Beat eggs separately with salt, pepper and, if using, Parmesan cheese. Pour eggs into pan, swirl and turn heat to low. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir eggs constantly until very loosely set and slightly runnier than you like them. Remove pan from heat and drizzle pesto on eggs. Off the heat, give eggs a couple more gentle stirs—enough to finish cooking them and to distribute pesto in dark green streaks. Scatter ricotta on eggs and drizzle with more pesto if desired. Serve at once.

FYI: I’ll be in DC for the next few days, kiddies, but I’ll post pics of my good meals and good times when I return. I look forward to it. So should you.

I’m not saying I’m poor by any means; I make a decent enough living, the cats and I never go hungry, and the bills get paid. But nevertheless, I always feel bad when I can’t properly buy someone I care about a present when their birthday or a holiday rolls around.

But I’ve been experimenting with giving food away as gifts. Or recipes, or whatever takes my fancy.

My friend Clarissa’s birthday is (was) June 11th, and if there’s one thing I know she likes—well, make that two things—it’s food and booze. I’m sure a nice bottle of wine would’ve sufficed, but who doesn’t want cookies? And birthday cookies at that?

I made them, only they turned out…well, they turned out merely okay.

Now I never said I was an excellent baker, nor have I ever tried to be. Baking is a fairly new territory for me but so far, I feel that I have been relatively lucky in those endeavors. I wonder if the reason that these turned out to be, yes, edible, but lacking something is because I fudged with the recipe a bit and that I found the recipe in a diabetic cookbook. (No, I’m not diabetic, but these sounded really good.) The recipe called for light brown sugar and all I had was dark brown sugar so me being me, I figured what the heck. I think maybe I added just a pinch too much cinnamon and that resulted in a slight spiciness.

As I said, they’re still edible. And I don’t think of them so much as failures as brave attempts. If you have better luck with them—y’know, by actually using the correct ingredients and measurements—let me know. Or if you think they can be improved upon, also let me know. They’re a good springboard for variation. In any case, I hope that Clarissa, being a fan of food, will still enjoy them. If not, then I guess I’ll stick to bottles of wine. Moderately priced, of course.

Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup LIGHT brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional for me as I didn’t use them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until fluffy. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, blending well. Stir in the oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts, if using. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto a nonstick baking sheet coated with vegetable oil spray or parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Oh, summer: why must you torment me so?

Humid sticky days here in Atlanta are no fun, but I guess since I’ve been living with them for, oh, say, nearly 32 years now, I should probably stop complaining. But whinging about the weather is something the English and I have in common, so bitch on! Let’s discuss how horrid it is outdoors and oh my those nettles are absolutely wilting in this dreadful heat…

Sticky days and torrid nights call for something light and tasty; something that requires minimal kitchen time, but something—I dunno—citrus-y. I am fond of fish, but also fond of actually paying the money for said fish (something that I will not do at the local big chain; their fish counters always smell bleachy and unpleasant) . I found some lovely tilapia at Whole Foods and it was off to the races!

A quick aside: I am inordinately fond of Cook’s Illustrated, so much so that I hope against hope that one day someone in my family will procure me a subscription for this very clever, if a bit dry and scientific, magazine. Well, in their readers’ notes section was a question about the sometimes murky flavor of catfish and tilapia and how to combat it. Skip to the end, the culprit is the algae these bottom-feeders eat and one very reliable method is to soak the fillets in buttermilk for an hour before cooking. Having encountered this before with said fish, I gave it a whirl.

Get a large container and place the fishies in it then pour buttermilk over them. Rinse them after an hour—for I assume you will be cooking them after you rinse and pat them dry—and voila! Vive la difference! It really makes them so clean tasting, I couldn’t get enough!

I placed mine over some exquisite jasmine rice for an amazing tasty light dinner. In hindsight, it could also benefit from a sprinkle of sesame seeds or chopped green onion for a bit of color and texture.

Citrus Tilapia

1 tbl. butter

1 lb. tilapia fillets

2 tbl. AP flour

1/2 cup good quality orange juice

2 tbl. fresh squeezed lemon juice

In a lightly oiled large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Season tilapia with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Shake off excess, then cook until golden about 2 to 3 min. Turn and cook until golden and cooked through. Remove fish to a plate. Pour orange and lemon juices into the pan, increase heat and boil until thickened into a saucelike consistency, 1 to 2 min. Return fish to skillet and coat with sauce.  Cook briefly until heated through. Serve over rice or noodles.

With bathing suit season coming on, I have all this cheese in my fridge. It’s my fault because I can’t seem to go to Trader Joe’s without buying one of their marvelous cheeses for cheap. The ones wrapped in foil—and yes, I know that is cheese-storing blasphemy— are a rind of high-quality Parmesan, a large ball of fresh mozzarella, and extra sharp aged Vermont cheddar. But dammit, I love cheese. I’m like a giant mouse.

Now back to my Doctor Who marathon…

Breakfast today with the LSFamily at the Aragon, easily the best breakfast place in Sherbrooke. Rather than natter on at length, I will say “it was good” and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Mom and I both had Gaufres Normandes: that’s waffles with sliced apple, cream cheese and bacon, served with maple syrup.

My sister had some sort of rolled crepe thing.

Dad had a crepe stuffed with a spinach omelet. Which sounds weird but was really good. They also make kickin’ home fries.

And that is how Canada rocks the breakfast.

The end.

Since the seasonal swelter has decided to grip the city in its teeth early and not let go, there are some choices a girl has to make. Shorts or skirt? (Skirt.) Flip-flops or Chuck Taylors? (Chuck Taylors.) Pizza or….sushi?

Ah, sometimes the choices are all too easy to make. Off the beaten path, worth every second and dime you spend there, is Wasabi. This is a place that my friends the Matts introduced me to sometime last year and I am happy to say I have found myself there many times since. For romantic dinners with the fiance, for my 31st birthday dinner, for dinner to celebrate a promotion, for the company Christmas party, for the joyous visit of Shaz, I’ve been here many a time. I plan on continuing to patronize it up until the U-Haul pulls in front of the house and packs my things for Canadia.

It’s just so good!

I rarely spoil myself with a really nice lunch, much less a fancypants cocktail in the middle of the afternoon, but after the sticky hot drive over there, it was a blessing to enter the chilled confines of the lounge. They were playing the Lucy station on XM—a favorite at my store as well—and I decided that I really did need an icy drink. Now, usually I opt for the Japanese Bellini; this concoction is comprised of peach nectar, sake, and champagne, and it’s probably the drink I want served at the LSC and I’s wedding.

Today I went for the Basil Mojito (aka the Mojito de Asia); this is little number has coconut rum, fresh basil, fresh lime, and basil syrup. Now it may sound a bit strange as most people associate basil with savory, but it works here quite well. The only disconcerting thing was getting little pieces of basil stuck in my teeth from the straw.

I had the spicy tuna roll first. I had to. Every time I’ve had it here it has been nothing short of phenomenal. I realize it’s a standard and not so exciting, but I don’t care.

I’m probably about midway with my sushi adventure threshold. There are some things I don’t like no matter what—eel, octopus–and some things I like okay—like any roll involving cream cheese. I’m not as dull as first glance, but not as exciting as, say, a clown on fire. I travel the middle road when it comes to eating sushi and it seems to serve me pretty well.

I followed the spicy tuna roll up with the Supercrunch roll. This roll has those weird delicious little crispy rice thingies in the center surrounded by shrimp, avocado, and eel sauce.

Another favorite I like is the Aloha roll which has: tuna, shrimp, avocado, mango, and red onion. I came very close to getting it but went with the Supercrunch instead.

Nothing quite like sushi and a yummy cocktail to take the edge off the heat, I tell you. Jen was my amiable and awesome chef; of course, she did an excellent job.

Ah, I have really stayed away from Wasabi too long. I might need to make another trip there this weekend.

I realize that June 21st or 22nd heralds the beginning of this most ungainly season, but for crying out loud: It is already too hot. And I’m a girl that likes her some warm.

Roxie here likes all the sunlight she’s been getting and so far my agenda of not having her devoured by cats is working. (A spray bottle filled with one part vinegar and one part water, in case you’re curious.)

I really have meant to update this thing much more than say, two times a month, but some of my recipes have failed me—and the LSC says I should document those  as well, but he’s not me, is he?—and my sister just had a baby, so I have been absent for that. And since it’s hitting about 94 today in Atlanta, I can’t really think much past flinging myself onto the A/C unit in search of relief.

Now, before I post this recipe, I don’t own a grill. I have never lived anywhere that was allowed me to either own a grill or feel the need to purchase a grill. That being said, I made these French bread pizzas with my broiler—which Alton Brown says is just an upside-down grill.

Except for some charred edges, they turned out delicious.

If you have a grill, then by all means, grill these babies up. Impress your girlfriend. Impress your neighbors.

Grilled French Bread Pizza

4 diagonally cut French bread slices, about 7 to 8 inches long and 1 inch think

3 to 4 tbl. olive oil (I just eyeballed it)

2 large ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced

4 oz. fresh (and I mean, FRESH) mozzarella, thinly sliced

12 basil leaves or 4 thin slices prosciutto

Preheat a lightly oiled grill (or broiler) to medium. Brush bread with oil on both sides. Grill bread for about 1 minute, or until just lightly marked. (If you do this with a broiler, keep a close eye on it or it will burn.) Flip and top with a layer of tomatoes and mozzarella slices. Reduce heat to low or cook over indirect heat until cheese is melted and bottom is golden. Use caution to prevent the bottom from burning. (Again, so important if you’re broiling.) Add basil leaves and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper, if you wish.

I really really need to tear myself away from the guilty pleasure that is Skins.

Anyway, summer is coming, folks, and with that, it means it’s getting close to time to setting your heavier recipes aside and letting lighter meals come through. I am never ever 100% on board with this idea, but I am trying, seeing as how I am determined to keep this gym regimen up. Lighter simpler meals means less guilt about certain things (I’m looking at you, Trader Joe’s Ice Cream Sandwiches).

I prepped quite possibly a perfect hands-off grain salad on Sunday; I knew I was going to be out with the boys and the idea of having something ready for me to eat as soon as I staggered home was a relief. Having found a recipe from the AJC food writer John Kessler praising the simplicity of this meal, I set to. In no time—well, a few hours because I wasn’t home whilst the salad was coming into its own—I had something I could sink my teeth into as I shrugged off my party boots and snuggled on my sofa.

I’ve already mentioned to the LSC that it’s interesting and slightly scary that I own no less than five different kinds of vinegars, but it seems as though I am going to start a grains collection soon. I’ve already mentioned my experiment with quinoa last month; this month the star is bulgur. Don’t get me wrong: I like rice—in fact, I’ve recently come to adore jasmine rice–but it can so dull, so staid. And trying new foods is what any lover of cooking should do.

I think this salad is perfect for those of you who take their lunch to work. You prep, arrange it, pack, and wait in your little cubicle until noon. And two hours later: voila! It’s like delicious magic.

Oh yeah, in the interest of total disclosure, I totally placed dollops of fresh goat cheese on mine. I didn’t have to, but ohmigod, it sure was good. Some protein probably wouldn’t be out of line here, either. Use what you’ve got!

Tomato & Bulgur Salad

1/2 cup of bulgur (be forewarned that while bulgur looks teeny tiny, it expands)

3 medium sized tomatoes

2 tbl. olive oil

juice of 1 large lemon

1 minced shallot

1/2 tsp. dried mint

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

salt & pepper to taste

1 small cucumber (I used half of a very large seedless one)

Rinse the bulgur under warm tap water in a colander, then spread in the bottom of a food storage container that is large enough to toss the ingredients in. Quarter and slice the tomatoes and layer them on top; do the same with the shallot. Sprinkle the oil, lemon juice, mint, oregano, salt and pepper over the tomato and shallot. Peel and slice the cucumber and place the slices over the top. Snap on a lid and let it sit at ROOM TEMPERATURE for at least 1 1/2 hours. Before eating, toss the ingredients.

The bounty of spring has me gasping at the veggies that are coming into their own as the weather warms. I gave you asparagus last week—also a fantastic veggie to tinker with in the following method—and this week I give you cauliflower. Yes, that seemingly dowdy and dull albino sister of broccoli: cauliflower.

Wait…where are you going?

Don’t you know that cauliflower has so many other uses other than lying crisp and bland in your garden salad? Than being lifelessly steamed and put to use as a side dish for an apparently dead boring diet? In fact, have you ever had cauliflower roasted?

No? Oh my, you are in for a treat, friend. Crispy bits with tender insides, the very essence of golden, you really need to take advantage of spring’s bounty in every way possible.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head (about 2 lbs.) cauliflower, trimmed of leaves and cut into bite-size pieces

2 tbl. olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 450. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the oil and salt and pepper. (I’m a bit salt sensitive so I found one large pinch of kosher salt worked just fine for me.) Spread on a nonstick foil lined baking sheet. Roast 25 to 35 minutes, stirring to make sure everything gets a nice crust in places.

*You could also add some garlic or herbs if you wanted to go a bit more fancy. Remember: you can do this with asparagus, snow peas, carrots, turnips/rutabagas. Whatever’s in season!