Tasting Spoons

Our newly replastered pool, and the view to the west.

In case you hadn’t heard, we had a significant 5.4 magnitude earthquake here in Southern California on Tuesday. At 11:42 am. It lasted for about 15 seconds, although the most severe portion was only about 8 -10 seconds, then it gradually faded after that. If you’ve never been in an earthquake, it’s hard to describe. It is a very deep roaring-wrenching sound first - you hear it initially, in the half second before you feel the earth start to shift. I was near a major beam in the house, so I didn’t move. Light fixtures swayed, the water in both our pool and spa began sloshing around, although no water lapped over the edges. (Ten minutes later the pool water was still moving.)  The wrenching noise continues. It feels like forever. It’s frightening, yes. The fear, of course, is that maybe this is going to be the BIG one, the one that’s going to bring down the house. Sometimes I run to a doorway; other times, depending on the severity, I’m frozen, in suspense, listening for sounds that indicate major damage. glass breaking, pictures falling and shattering, or worse. Part of the wrenching sound is the house itself, the structure, the beams and wood screaming against the bolts and screws, leaning from the nails that hold a house together and to a cement slab foundation.

People who don’t live here wonder why we’d possibly live in earthquake country. Well, for me, this is paradise. We’re some miles away from the San Andreas (an-DRAY-us) Fault, the deep, underground schism that the experts tell us has been caused by thousands of years of shifting ground, where the greatest amount of movement comes. There are many other fault lines here in California too, but that’s the major one, the San Andreas. We, perhaps, delude ourselves, that since we’re so many miles away from the Fault, therefore we’ll be immune from significant damage.

In response, I ask - why do people live along the shores of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, in known hurricane country? Why do people live in the midwest in the land of tornados? There are negatives, I suppose, about lots of places to live. For us, it’s earthquakes.

Did we have damage? Yes and no. Yes, we had some damage, but no it wasn’t major as far as we know. During the hardest wrenching when the noise was near-deafening, we didn’t even hear the cans and bottles fly off the shelves in the pantry just 10 feet away (albeit behind a stained-glass door). They landed in piles, some shattered - jam, jelly, salsas, oozing out on the hardwood floor and glass shards flew in every direction. About 10 bottles made huge dents in the wood floor as they broke. Sardines in a tin were hit with something which made a hole in the metal, so the area smelled of fish for awhile. Sigh. Dave made a quick survey upstairs - nothing major. Later I did discover about 15 books had fallen off shelves in my office upstairs. Drawers throughout the house (except in the kitchen where they’re held by a magnet) were ajar. No windows broke. No pictures fell off walls. But we had aftershocks for hours. About 2 hours later I was sitting at my office computer. The screen has a partial reflection of the window across the room. Although I couldn’t feel it at first, suddenly the screen/reflection began shaking. Concentrating, yes, I could feel the movement. We had several of those.

Our biggest concern was our newly replastered pool and spa. Fortunately there appears to be no change there; no drop in water level. The picture above is of our main pool and the view toward the ocean. You can vaguely see the mound of fog way out there, that usually bothers us in June, not July, coming in from the sea. [And yes, I know, I need to write up a post about our back yard . . . I’ve had a couple of people email me privately asking about the status of our leaning flagpole and our hill/patio/leaks. I promise, I will do it soon . . . just when I think we’re “done” with our back yard, something else happens, and we’re not finished with our 6 months and counting problems.]

The epicenter was about 15 miles away as the crow flies, about due north, in an area called Chino Hills. There, there were broken water mains, some ceiling falls, a Macy’s had to close because of water damage, broken windows in businesses and homes. But I haven’t heard that anyone was injured. Thank goodness.

As a native Californian, I read, years and years ago, a fascinating book called The Last of the Late, Great State of California. It’s a novel, based on an earthquake aftermath when the western half of California sinks in the ocean after the BIG one. It addressed issues (some immediate, most long term) that one wouldn’t think about. Huge problems. Financial and political mostly. I thought the author was brilliant in analyzing how such a big one would affect those left behind.

We have earthquake insurance for 3 of our 4 houses (2 homes we live in and 1 rental home are covered; the rental condo isn’t covered) - a very expensive proposition, I’ll tell you! But if we did have a big one, once we paid the huge deductible, we’d be covered. Most people don’t have it. I understand why, because it’s so costly. Life has returned to normal here, however. For now. Until the next one, which we know is coming.

Once a month I get together with two friends for about three hours of Scrabble. The hostess serves, usually, some cookies, fruit and hot tea, even in the summertime. (Of course, the A/C is running, so it’s comfortable inside, but it’s part of our ritual – we have TEA.) So, I needed to fix something to serve with the tea – maybe something different this time. I scrounged around looking at my heap of recipes to try, and this one stood out – it required some Bailey’s Irish Cream, which I happened to have in my refrigerator. The recipe came from Cooking Light in October, 2006, and dozens and dozens of people who made it gave these high marks. Providing you cut them in 16 pieces, it’s just 6 grams of fat each. They’re very fudgy and chocolatey. The author cautioned readers not to overbake them – they need to be slightly underdone, so they’ll be soft in the middle. The recipe has been altered to 18 minutes baking time (my oven bakes hot, so I reduced it to 340).

My DH and I enjoyed one small brownie with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream after dinner last night. The photo is a tad bit misleading - the brownie is quite small - but on that small plate and with the globe of ice cream, it looks gigantic. It wasn’t. But certainly ample. The Bailey’s is very subtle - in fact I don’t think you can exactly detect it, but these are delish. Yes, I’d make them again.

Irish Cream Brownies

Recipe: Ann Pittman, Cooking Light, October 2006

Servings: 16

1 cup all-purpose flour — (about 4 1/2 ounces)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup egg substitute — or 2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3.  Place the chocolate chips and the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until the chocolate chips and butter melt, stirring every 30 seconds.  Cool slightly.  Add sugar and next 3 ingredients (through vanilla extract), stirring well with a whisk.  Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring every 30 seconds.  Fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Spread batter in a thin layer into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350° for 20 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Per Serving: 155 Calories; 6g Fat (33.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 103mg Sodium. 

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Every time our family gets together for a big confab, there are always logistics – the date, the time, who can bring what, and what’s convenient for which family, depending on soccer games, and traveling requirements. Originally our daughter Sara and her family were going to bring salad, but with the heat and a two hour drive, she thought that likely wasn’t a good idea, so we switched – she bought a big fancy sheet birthday cake (and tried to keep it out of the sun in the back of their car) and I made the salad, but used her recipe.

Although we eat at Soup Plantation now and then (their salad bar is par excellence), I’d never had their summer lemon salad. Sara had raved about it last summer, but somehow we missed the window of opportunity and it was gone by the time we went there. Sara had the recipe in her head: spring mix (“you know, Mom, that big bag from Costco” she said), pecans (“I make your recipe, Mom, for the peppered pecans instead), dried cranberries and gorgonzola and this lemonade dressing. She said 1 ½ cups mayo, 1 cup of lemonade concentrate, sugar and Dijon. That’s it. She didn’t give me specifics on the sugar and Dijon, so she added more mustard once she tasted it. I added too much sugar, I think, but it was fine. I found the recipe today on the ‘net, and it has more specific quantities and uses a spicy candied pecan. It’s a “copycat” recipe, so we don’t know for sure if it’s Soup Plantation’s version, although on the ‘net it indicates the recipe came from an institutional restaurant magazine.

It was easy enough to put together. The dressing took about 2 minutes to mix up. I did make my peppered pecans (took about 10-12 minutes, I’d suppose). After crumbling the blue cheese (I had that on hand, so didn’t buy Gorgonzola) it was a simple matter of tossing it together just before serving. It’s a delicious salad – everybody loved it – there was none left. We had friends over for dinner the next night and served it again, with the leftovers from the big family dinner. I still have dressing, and will make this salad again in the next few days. I’ll add some regular head lettuce to it, though. The spring mix is so fragile – I think the dressing could stand to have some more sturdy lettuces. After 5 minutes the salad is wilted, so really do toss it the very last thing before dishing it up. It’s tart and sweet and crunchy. A lovely side for a summer’s evening.

Summer Lemony Green Salad

Recipe By: Supposedly a Soup Plantation recipe, served only in the summer months.

Servings: 10

8 cups lettuce leaves — fancy spring mix, or a mixture

1/2 cup pecans — “peppered pecans”

1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese — crumbled, or blue cheese

1/4 cup dried cranberries

SUMMER LEMONADE DRESSING:

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup frozen lemonade concentrate — thawed

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon sugar

1.  In a bowl combine the dressing ingredients and whisk (wire whisk) until completely mixed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2.  In a large salad bowl combine the lettuces and crumbled cheese, then pour on some dressing.  Sprinkle the pecans on top.  Don’t add too much dressing - try less and taste as you go.  Serve immediately!

I’m not including the nutrition on this one - it’s not bad, but it assumes you use all of the dressing on a small salad, so it’s waaaay off. 

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Very rarely do I fix the kind of old-fashioned summer outdoor dinner menu for which our fore-mothers are so remembered – can’t you just picture them in their long dresses and bonnets, stirring the fire? Adding more wood to the indoor range? Whether they made hamburgers or not, I don’t know. Likely hot dogs didn’t come into existence until the last 1800’s. But the menus I’m talking about include hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, pickles, baked beans, strawberry shortcake and watermelon. You know, that kind of thing. Preparing that hasn’t appealed to me for several decades. The outdoor part, the barbecuing . . . all that’s just fine. I guess the food is just a bit too . . . uh, something. I’d be happy to have it at someone else’s house, but to fix it myself? No.

So, when I was planning our family’s annual 5-birthday get-together (we have five immediate family birthdays between July 26th and August 9th), as I mentioned a day or so ago, I didn’t want to do all the cooking for this crowd (ended up being 18). So we purchased ready-made Que and I made the sides. The day before, I made and posted the story about KFC’s cole slaw. I had made this before – and in case any of you printed the recipe – it’s NOT the same as KFC’s, but it’s close. Close enough? Well, only you can judge. I decided this time that maybe 4-6 hours of marinating is enough – by the next day the cabbage seemed kind of wilted. By yesterday it was over the hill.

Then I made a really nice green type salad I’ll post tomorrow from a recipe brought by my daughter, Sara. It’s supposedly a Soup Plantation version. I like it, whatever it is, although it’s also on the sweet side. I also made the oh-so-tasty watermelon with feta and mint that my friend Kathleen fixed for us last month. It was a big hit at this party – it mostly disappeared, and it’s so darned easy, and amazing how the combination of the salty feta and the sweet watermelon and mint is like a marriage made in heaven. I added more feta and more mint than Martha’s recipe indicated, as you can see from this picture.

And then I opted to make one high-carb side that just seemed right for the menu – baked beans. In my book there are two kinds of baked beans – barbecue type and sweet baked beans. Barbecue beans are more savory tasting. With things like onions, garlic, celery maybe, some tomato sauce perhaps, ham hocks or bacon for flavor. And probably some herbs or spices to liven it up. Baked beans, on the other hand, were developed in New England during the early frontier days of America’s founding. The early settlers must have found good land for growing beans, and they discovered the sweet syrup from maple trees. Combine them and you have “Boston baked beans.” Over the hundreds of years since, maple syrup leaned toward molasses (the early settlers probably had molasses too, brought in from the Caribbean). I don’t know any of these things for sure; it’s just my conjecture. Year ago I bought an old New England style bean pot (crockery type), and used it for a long while. I made baked beans in it many a time. I don’t recall what happened to it – maybe it cracked? People who live in New England and make baked beans regularly swear by the crockery style pot – they believe the flavor is immensely enhanced by using that vessel.

I’ll wager that I hadn’t made this in 20+ years. In my old recipe book, it’s written out in longhand, with cryptic notes (no measurements). Here’s what the list says:

1 huge can B&M baked beans

brown sugar

cinnamon

ground cloves

salt pork

Then, in red ink, I’d written in on the side:

Pineapple (crushed)

So, you see, although this little list comprises mostly ingredients for sweet beans, I added salt pork (from the savory side). Never let it be said that I prepared any recipe (except baked goods) exactly as written. I tampered. When I made it this time, I used bacon instead of salt pork. I added some onion. I left out the ground cloves and the brown sugar (because I thought the canned beans were sweet enough as is). Rather than keep them simmering on the stovetop, I opted to put them in the oven. And because they were quite soupy, I left the lid off. Probably a mistake. They lost way too much fluid, even though the oven temp was about 250. So they were almost dry and had almost reached the point of mush by the time dinner was served. I will say, though, that everybody ate them with relish – there are only a few spoonfuls left. Enough for leftovers. And you know what? They tasted even better the next day. To me anyway.

Baked Beans

Recipe: my own concoction

Servings: 8

44 ounces B & M baked beans

10 ounces crushed pineapple — drained

3 ounces bacon — or salt pork, chopped

1/2 cup onion — minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon [and ground cloves if you’d like to add it, probably ¼ tsp]

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1.  In a large pot (I used my deep Le Crueset covered roasting pan) sauté the bacon until it’s rendered out its fat.  You may discard the fat in the pan if you choose to.  Add the chopped onion and continue frying it until it’s begun to brown.  Add the canned beans, pineapple, cinnamon and mustard.  Stir to combine.

2.  Bring to a simmer on the stovetop and cover.  This can heat in a low oven (250 or so), covered, for a couple of hours, or you can just simmer it on the stove for an hour or so to blend the flavors and cook the onion through.  Use a slotted spoon to serve if it’s still too soupy.  If you bake it at a higher temperature or longer, it will cook out most of the liquid and reduce it to a thicker mush consistency.  Serve. Add brown sugar if you would prefer a sweeter dish.

Per Serving: 290 Calories; 8g Fat (23.8% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 15mg Cholesterol; 658mg Sodium.

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I’m old enough to remember when Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) first opened doors around here in California. And for lots of years since then we never knew how they made their chicken (a combo of pressure cooked and fried, I believe I read or heard), how much fat was in the food (more than we’d like), or what they put in their fabulous cole slaw. We don’t eat there except on a rare occasion when I’m desperate, but every once in awhile we’ll go buy just the cole slaw, because it’s so darned good.

Over the years, though, the mysteries of the KFC’s calories, methods and ingredients were revealed here and there. I once found a recipe that purported to be KFC’s cole slaw, and it contained a lot of grated apple and apple juice concentrate. It seemed possible, since it’s quite sweet. But it didn’t taste the way I thought it should. Then some months ago I was sent an email with lots of restaurant recipes, and this one was included. The results? Very good. If it’s not the real thing, it’s very close. I think theirs is bit sweeter, so sometimes I add some apple juice concentrate to the dressing, or some additional sugar.

When I make it, I put all the grated cabbage and carrots in a large plastic bag, make the dressing and pour it in the bag. That way I can roll the bag around a little bit to marinate the cabbage. It’s much better if allowed to sit for 24 hours, providing you have the time.

We’re having a big dinner at our house for 17 (actually 18 if you include the 11 1/2 month old baby) today, so I made this yesterday. Cooking for that many people is just more than I wanted to tackle, so we’re buying barbecued pork, beef brisket and smoked sausage from a local restaurant (The Beach Pit, in case you’re interested), and I’m making the sides (my old tried and true baked beans, a huge green salad with peppered pecans, watermelon salad and this cole slaw). The bean recipe will get posted, and the green salad, which is a new recipe. The watermelon/feta/mint salad I posted a few weeks ago. Somebody else is bringing appetizers, and we’re having a ready-made cake. Every summer around this time, our family celebrates a bunch of birthdays. Today is my DH’s, next weekend is mine, and two of our grandchildren’s, and the following weekend it’s our daughter’s. We couldn’t possibly have 5 birthday parties in two weeks, so we have a combined one.

KFC Cole Slaw

Recipe: Found on the internet with the above title

Servings: 10

8 cups cabbage — grated in food processor

1/4 cup carrot — grated in food processor [I use 4-5 carrots, just because]

DRESSING:

1/3 cup sugar [or more, or apple juice concentrate too]

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1.  Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.

2.  Mix dressing ingredients and stir to make sure all the sugar has dissolved.

3.  Pour dressing over cabbage and toss well.  Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight.

4.  Stir well before serving.

Per Serving: 131 Calories; 10g Fat (62.0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5mg Cholesterol; 193mg Sodium.

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This is another posting in my series about fruits and vegetables, all using information from Russ Parsons’ book, How to Pick a Peach. Cucumbers, although available here in So. California all year around, are at their peak this time of the year.

What I Learned:

• It took centuries of breeding to get what we know today as an edible cucumber.

• Wild cucumbers (from the Himalayan foothills) were impossibly bitter. They’re all part of the Cucurbit family.

• Basically the flesh of all cuke varieties is the same. It’s the skin that’s different, and the fact that one or more varieties are grown with no seeds (the supposedly burpless, hothouse type). They are grown in “cucumber convents,” so that bees can’t pollinate them, which would create seeds.

• News to me is that recent studies have shown that it isn’t the seeds at all that cause indigestion. Actually, it’s the bitterness in cukes that causes the indigestion part. That bitterness is mostly in the skin and around the stem. Remove those and you have mostly a burpless cuke.

• The hotter the weather, the more bitter the cucumber.

• Georgia and Florida grow about half of the cucumbers we eat, followed by Mexico. [Mine were grown here in California.]

How to Choose & Store:

• Moisture loss is the biggest problem for a cucumber, so select ones that aren’t shriveled or wilted. If you buy the greenhouse type, cut off what you need and leave the rest sealed in its plastic cocoon.

• Seal tightly in a plastic bag.

• Use them quickly.

Parsons included two recipes in this chapter: Cucumber Gazpacho (some stale bread, cukes, sorrel, garlic and yogurt) and a Cucumber, Beet and Feta Salad.

I’ve only posted one recipe using cucumbers – a recent one – for Cucumber Soup. And it’s a really good one, given to me by my friend, Jackie. That’s what made me think of this – I have two large hothouse cukes in the refrigerator now and need to make another batch of that soup. It’s so refreshing since we’re having hot weather here in Southern California.

My mother used to make a simple pickled cucumber - in a refrigerator container she’d put in some water (let’s say about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup), some cider vinegar (maybe 1-2 T.), a sprinkling of sugar (probably about 1 tsp). She’d taste it and adjust it for sweet/sour balance, add some salt and pepper, then pile in the thinly sliced, peeled cucumbers. The liquid needs to cover the cukes. They would sit, refrigerated, for several hours or overnight having been stirred around a couple of times the first several hours.  If you happen to have dill weed (not seed), throw a bit of that in there too. My dad could just about eat his weight in those. My DH adores these, and I forget to make them. Adding Splenda instead of sugar works just fine.

Have you ever heard or read about how hard it is to photograph brown and beige things? Hope you can even figure out this is onions! I had to balance some of the onions on a fork with my left hand and try to hold the camera steady AND click the shutter with my right hand. All to show some added depth to the photo. And although this may not look all that appetizing, it’s actually very good. Would I kid you?

After just stating yesterday that I didn’t have any posts waiting in the wings, I looked, and oh yes, I had this one. I hadn’t posted it because I made the onion pepper relish to go with the beef sliders for the 4th of July, and thought the two were too similar. This one is less sweet than the relish - more suited for a slab of grilled meat probably, than the burgers and accompaniments. I still have some of this in the refrigerator (as well as the relish from the 4th), and assume it will keep for another few weeks since it’s “pickled,” so to speak, with the vinegar. Hope so, as it was delicious and very suitable for some meat things. I used it on a sandwich last week too.

We had some friends over for dinner a few weeks ago, and with the pork roast we did on the rotisserie (that I’d brined) I wanted to serve some kind of sauce or salsa, or something. Found a recipe for a pork rib roast with this onion marmalade. It was just a perfect fit. And oh-my-goodness deliciousness. It’s not difficult, although it does take some time (total cooking time about an hour) to sweat down the onions, then to continue to cook them down to a jammy consistency. If you started this first (when about to make a dinner) it would be done by the time you were ready to sit down).

The recipe came from Food & Wine magazine, May 2008. If you want to do the pork roast, just brine it, bake or rotisserie it until it reaches an internal temp of about 133 degrees (still pink in the middle). Remove and let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving with this cold, room temp or hot onion topping. The leftovers will keep for several weeks.

Balsamic Onion Marmalade

Recipe By: Food & Wine, May ‘08.

Servings: 8

4 whole onions — peeled, sliced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pinch ground cloves

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large pot (large enough to barely hold all the onions) heat the oil until it starts to shimmer.  Add the onions and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 20 minutes.  Do not let them burn or brown.

2.  Season the onions with the ground cloves, salt and pepper.  Add the brown sugar and cook over moderately low heat until the skillet is dry, about 10 minutes.  Add the balsamic vinegar and orange zest and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the marmalade is very thick, 30 minutes.  Transfer the marmalade to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.  Reheat, if you prefer it hot, just before serving, or serve cold, or at room temperature.

Per Serving: 65 Calories; 2g Fat (23.0% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 5mg Sodium.

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I’ve had very few days since I started this blog when I didn’t have a recipe to post. Uh, that’s today. Having been away for the weekend, I enjoyed preparing a simple meal on Monday night. Yesterday I spent catching up on one thing or another. My 2nd book club met in the morning and we discussed A Kiss From Maddalena, a touching story which takes place in WWII Italy. It was my suggestion we read it, and we all enjoyed it. It’s not really a romance, although from the title you’d think so. Sure, there is a romance in it, but mostly it’s about the hell that happens to the village itself and all its inhabitants during and after the war. The book is a tad bit hard to find. I read about it in Bas Bleu, a book catalog that I so enjoy reading. Sure, I can buy books cheaper at Amazon, but I like to support the little guys too, so at least once a year I order books from their online store. The book is no longer available there, though. What I love about Bas Bleu is the write-ups about books. My other book club is reading another Bas Bleu recommendation for our meeting tonight, The Covenant by Naomi Ragen. Really interesting read about an abduction in a Palestinian neighborhood in Israel. I’m leading the review tonight, so have some homework to do about that. It’s deeply discounted at Amazon, and no longer available at Bas Bleu (just a guess - because the author has been sued or accused by two different people/publishers for possible plagiarism in writing two other books).

Last week I made another batch of the roasted balsamic strawberry ice cream from a couple of weeks ago. That ice cream is so darned addicting. In my first batch I used a product called Tulocay’s Made in Napa Valley Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar with Pear. Having made the ice cream a second time with more pedestrian balsamic, I’m now craving more of this pear balsamic. So far I’ve been unable to find it. I’ve phoned several sources listed on their website, but they don’t carry that particular product. Will have to widen my search, or pony up to have it shipped from the producer. I bought it last year in Healdsburg (wine country) near where it’s made.

A second batch of the Thin & Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies yielded a different cookie altogether. I made an alteration (know that it’s problematical anytime you make a change in a baked good) by using some Splenda instead of white sugar. I wanted my DH to be able to enjoy some of them. It totally changed the chemistry. Not a great cookie did it make. Although maybe it’s a good thing because I’m not craving them like I did the first, the virgin batch. I suspect, however, that I will make these again using the original recipe. They’re that good.

Last night my DH and I went to Laguna Beach. First it was dinner, at the Sundried Tomato Café, a fabulous restaurant (serendipity, since we didn’t have a plan about where to eat). I had a glass of Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc (one of the few white wines out there – other than champagne – that I truly enjoy, since I’m mostly a red wine drinker), an exceptional Caesar salad and a perfectly ripe avocado stuffed with a spicy-dressed Oregon bay shrimp salad (an appetizer, but was ample as an entrée). We ran into friends, Jackie & Don, as we were leaving. The restaurant is one of their favorites! Then we walked to the Laguna Playhouse to see The Marvelous Wonderettes. That may have been one of the best plays (actually this was a musical) I’ve ever seen there. We both just loved it. It’s all the music from our past - a step back in time to 1958 with four girls who are friends, who are asked to sing at their Senior Prom. In the first half they tell their stories (of love, school, teachers, growing up, etc.) using music of the era. In the second half they have returned for their 10-year reunion, and sing more of the 50’s and 60’s era songs. The costumes were just darling (I can’t believe we wore stuff like that, but sure enough, I did) and the four women had great voices. If you live in Southern California, I highly recommend you try to see this musical. It’s playing through August 31st. (And it’s opening in New York at the end of August.) Go have dinner (at about 5:45 pm to give yourself ample time to walk back to the theater for the show at 7:30) at the Sundried Tomato over on Forest.  

After a weekend of consuming more fried things than I normally eat, I wanted to cook something a bit more simple. Last week I’d purchased a big bunch of Poblano chiles and red bells, just for this recipe. Yesterday morning, while the weather was still very cool, I broiled the peppers and removed the skins. My DH grilled the chicken thighs (that’s what I had in the freezer) which I’d marinated in lime juice, olive oil and garlic, along with some planks of eggplant, and it took just a few minutes to make the sauce. The longest step was browning the onions.

I didn’t really want to use heavy cream, but decided to thin it out 50/50 with fat-free half and half. The only problem with that is that the sauce would be too thin, so I just whisked in two tablespoons of flour to the broth when it was added, and it thickened the sauce just fine. I didn’t have any Jack cheese, so found some soft herby cheese in the refrigerator that worked fine. I used less cheese than the recipe indicated. This was delicious. I liked the sauce, liked the strips of poblanos (they’re very mild; in fact they really have no heat whatsoever), and the cream sauce was quite light. The onions added a nice sweetness to the dish. I happened to have had chicken thighs instead of breasts, but that probably didn’t matter a whit. This is pretty enough to be a company meal – would be especially good with some rice on the side to sop up some of the sauce.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Creamy Chile Sauce

Recipe: adapted a little from Phillis Carey, Fast & Fabulous Chicken Breasts

Servings: 4

CHICKEN:

4 pieces chicken breast halves without skin — boneless, or thighs

6 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

3 whole garlic cloves — minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

CREAMY CHILE SAUCE:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions — peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise

2 whole Poblano peppers — roasted, peeled, cut in thin strips

2 whole red bell peppers — roasted, peeled, cut in thin strips

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup heavy cream — or substitute some fat-free half and half

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup jack cheese — grated

1.  Trim chicken and pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness (place between two pieces of plastic wrap).  Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in a flat casserole.

2.  In a small bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and cumin.  Pour over chicken, turning to coat.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

3.  Creamy Chile Sauce: heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Toss in the onions and cook, covered, stirring often, until onions are starting to brown.  Uncover and continue cooking until onions are golden throughout.

4.  Add the roasted and peeled Poblano and red bell pepper strips to the onion and stir in the oregano.  Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add the cream and broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 4 minutes to reduce the sauce and thicken slightly.  Just before serving, stir in the Jack cheese until it melts.

5.  Meanwhile, remove chicken breasts from the marinade and grill 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Serve chicken topped with the onion-chile sauce.

Per Serving (assuming you use all whipping cream): 586 Calories; 45g Fat (67.4% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 150mg Cholesterol; 297mg Sodium.

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A few shots from a very fun weekend in San Francisco. My daughter, Dana, has not, in previous decades, been all that interested in traveling. She WANTS to travel, but leaving home and hearth gives her a bit of trepidation. She has been to New York and Philadelphia (when her brother graduated from Wharton School with his MBA), Hawaii (family vacation we planned), Baja California (on a cruise) and Seattle (another family trip we did). I lured her out this time by offering her a trip to San Francisco for a mother-daughter “bonding weekend,” I called it. I packed the calendar with activities from the moment we arrived until we left mid-afternoon yesterday.

We actually met in Berkeley on Friday night at Chez Panisse. I think this is the 4th time I’ve been there now. It was delicious, as usual. Then we parked my daughter’s car at one of the BART (rapid transit) stations in Oakland and whisked on over (under the Bay) to the city late that evening.

We stayed at a hotel near Union Square (Hotel Rex - okay, not exceptional, rooms are a little tired), used the cable cars many, many times, to get from there to the Embarcadero, the marina area and Columbus Circle. They are just so fun to ride. I never tire of the cable cars.

They’ve re-done the Square (a good thing) and it’s now a teeming center of activity. A concert was a-happening as we left yesterday.

Uh - not one of the glamour shots of the century, but we were having lots of fun here. This was with the Segway Electric Tour Company. These things are just the greatest. I took a segway tour in Paris two years ago - one of the most fun things I’ve ever done, IMHO. This time it was with about 16 others, and we toodled all over the wharf, North Beach and the Embarcadero area. They have several tours (about $70 each, online), including an advanced one that goes down Lombard Street (wheeeee), and a nightime one too, all about 2 1/2 to 3 hours long, including at least 45 minutes of training. We did the beginner’s because my daughter hadn’t ever done this before.

We also went to see Beach Blanket Babylon, a very funny, corny musical revue with garish costumes and comedy. Very entertaining. Might not have been my first choice of something to do, but knew my daughter would like it. Indeed she did.

Yesterday we had a lunch tea (Tea for Two, they call it) at the Leland Tea House about 8 blocks from Union Square. I chose it because it’s a more casual atmosphere than some of the starched tablecloth kind of establishments that serve afternoon tea in the area. The tea and food were delicious. I’d go back there. All the food is made on premises, fresh every day.

We really didn’t go to San Francisco for the food, although we certainly ate well enough. We had lunch on Saturday at Castagnola’s in North Beach. Right on the wharf. Food was really quite good, although overpriced. The waitress steered us to choices that were out of the mainstream for tourists (i.e., she said no on clam chowder, lobster wontons and fish and chips). The food was actually better than I would have expected (we had calamari, oysters rockefeller, caesar salads, and copious amounts of sourdough bread and butter from Boudin). We had dinner at an old-time Union Square restaurant called Sears Fine Food. Nothing remarkable, but good, plus we got in and out there in time to get to the theater.

Yesterday we did the tea thing, some shopping, took the BART from the city to Oakland. Then it was time for tearful goodbyes as I flew south and Dana drove back to her home in Placerville, about 2 hours away. Dana had a great time. (That’s progress.)

My DH spent the weekend on our boat in San Diego, took our other daughter and her family plus a group of their friends out sailing for several hours on Saturday, then took some other friends sailing yesterday. He drove north just in time to pick me up at the airport last night.