Monthly Archives: September 2012

Jumbo Shrimp South Beach Approved

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I’m on a quest to find flavorful dishes that are easy on my waistline, and came across this shrimp recipe on the Epicurious website.  The shrimp are grilled and served alongside a chile, cilantro and lime dipping sauce.

Peppers in the food processorMy Latin market, Baja Ranch, didn’t have red Anaheim chiles (what’s up with that??!!!) but the green ones worked great.  I piled the peppers with fresh chunks of ginger, cilantro, a serious amount of garlic cloves, fish sauce and a couple tablespoons of oil into my food processor and a few pulses later, the dipping sauce was done.Asian slaw  Several reviews suggested using half as much fish sauce as the recipe called for, so I went with this plan.

Another great suggestion in the reviews was to serve the shrimp alongside an Asian slaw.  I snagged this recipe from Epicurious, as well.  The snap peas and red pepper really jazzed it up, and this was super easy to make.

Asian Slaw with Peanuts
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons soy sauce

6 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage
6 green onions, very thinly sliced
6 ounces snow peas, stringed, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper.  Mix cabbage and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Jalapeno poppers

I was at a party a few years ago and had these jalapeno poppers for the first time.  Friends of ours were hosting a dinner to benefit the organization my husband works for, Lake Avenue Community Foundation, and … talk about the “hostess with the most-est” … Robin knows how to do DO IT RIGHT!  She and her close friend Jackie have a fun blog … check it out here.  These poppers are absolutely delicious, and totally work if you’re going low-carb.  Slice jalapeno peppers lengthwise, remove the membrane and seeds, place a slice of good quality dry salami in the pepper, spread cream cheese on top of salami, and top with grated sharp cheddar.  (I used reduced-fat cream cheese and cheddar.)  Grill on a barbecue until the pepper is soft, charred a little, and the cream cheese is gooey and delicious.  These taste even better if you cook in a smoker rather than BBQ, so if you have one, definitely use it!

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

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It’s funny how people think pork is dry.  It just needs a little extra time and love.  I’ve made several pork dishes from Alton Brown’s collection, Epicurious and Cook’s Illustrated and have learned how important it is to brine pork.  Don’t skip this step!  After brining the roast for 24 hours, I prepared a fruit-based filling with leftover dried fruit from the pantry.  Next time I think I’ll try adding cashews.

Serves 6-8
THE BRINE

  • 8 cups water
  • 1/3 cup kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 3 sprigs fresh sage
  • 1 large garlic clove, smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 (4- to 4 1/2-lb) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed

Combine all ingredients except roast in a large pot; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the salt is dissolved.  Cool completely, then immerse roast in brine and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

THE FILLING

  • 1/3 cup chopped dried figs
  • 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried bing cherries (optional)
  • 1/4 cup carmelized onions
  • 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ground black pepper
  • pinch ground cumin
  • pinch ground coriander
  • pinch ground cinnamon

THE ASSEMBLY

Remove the roast from the brine, and rinse thoroughly; pat dry; butterfly (check out this YouTube if you need a refresher on how to butterfly a roast).  Sprinkle flattened roast with salt and pepper.  Combine remaining filling ingredients, then spread over the roast.

Roll tightly in the shape of a log, then use kitchen string to tie together in 2″ intervals.  Place in a roasting pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/4 hours, until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.  Remove from oven, and tent with foil for 5 minutes.  Slice, and serve!

A Night at the Bowl

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FigsIs there anything more wonderful than a night at the Hollywood Bowl?  Last night we joined several friends for an evening under the stars to hear The Brian Setzer Orchestra.  Although I’m a big fan of Brian’s, I was most excited to see Leslie Spencer making her debut at the Bowl.  Go Les!

You never can be sure if there will be an opening at a picnic table, so we decided upon a simple tapas dinner.  My colleague Sonya had generously shared with me a bowl of figs from her tree, and I found an idea for them on one of my favorite food blogs, A Feast for the Eyes.  I wrapped each fig with a slice of proscuitto, with a dab of brie cheese tucked inside, then placed them on a skewer.  I finished them by placing on the grill for a short time, so the cheese would soften a bit.  Delicious and so very easy!  Thanks, foodiewife, for a great idea.

Having spent half the day meeting with a new client and at a property inspection, I didn’t have a whole lot of time for food prep before hopping on the shuttle for the Bowl, so I decided to keep it simple and made goat cheese crostinis.  I thinly sliced a baguette, drizzled each piece with olive oil, and toasted the crostinis in the oven.  Fortunately I had a few toppings on hand from recent canning experiments, including: tomato basil marmalade, pickled fennel with orange zest (both from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook), and rosemary onion confit (The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman).

Welcome to my new blog!

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The way I see it, the only thing more fun than cooking is eating!

Why do I enjoy hosting a meal?  It gives me a chance to be creative, to collaborate with my friends, and banter about how much salt is too much.  Then of course there’s the wine.  I think Julia Child had it right when she used to say, “I always cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in my food.”

Paul Bertolli, on the essentials of menu planning, says “The only thing to remember is that the palate should be kept fresh, teased, surprised, excited all through a meal.  The moment there is danger of fatigue, it must be astonished, or soothed into greater anticipation, until the sublime moment of release when one moves away from the table to relax with coffee and an alcool.”  I’d love to be his dinner guest!

So … let the new adventure begin.