Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on July 20th, 2009.
1. Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes.
2. Thick slices of fresh mozzarella burratta on top of the tomatoes
3. Freshly picked basil right out of the garden
4. Drizzles of Spanish extra virgin olive oil
5. Little drizzles of strawberry balsamic vinegar
6. Oops, forgot the grind of salt and pepper. Didn’t miss it, did we?
Posted in Salads, Veggies/sides, on July 16th, 2009.
Since I was just talking about corn yesterday, this seems like a perfectly appropriate time to share a corn salad recipe. There must be as many variations for such as shells in the sea. This one is on the sweet side (sugar – or Splenda – in the dressing) and it’s marinated for a minimum of 8 hours.
When we visited our friends at Cardwell Hill (the winery in Oregon) a few days ago, Nancy served this salad for our late lunch. It was SO good, I asked her for the recipe. It popped into my email inbox yesterday.
The recipe calls for canned corn (shoe peg actually, but my DH did the shopping and he couldn’t find any shoe peg white corn) so this is just ordinary canned corn. You could easily use fresh corn too. Instead of pimientos, I used peppadew peppers. There’s a picture (left) of the jar, one whole pepper, and several of them minced up. I’ve talked about peppadew peppers before – they’re favorites of mine and are grown in South Africa. Some olive bars at upscale markets have them. They’re sweet and tart at the same time.
I didn’t have any green bell pepper (could have used some red, yellow or orange just as easily).
Because I try to reduce sugar anywhere I can, I used less than the original recipe called for – and I used Splenda – so if you think it tastes too vinegar-y, by all means add more sweetener. It’s really tasty – can be made up ahead – and likely will keep for several days. The dressing can also be used again, so don’t throw it out – just add different veggies to it for a 2nd rendition.
So thanks, Nancy, for this great recipe.
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Recipe: Adapted from my friend Nancy Chapel of Cardwell Hill Winery
Servings: 8
NOTES: You could use fresh corn, but one of the nice things about this salad is that if you have the cans on hand, it can be made any time of year.
DRESSING:
1/2 cup sugar — or Splenda [I used less]
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
SALAD:
11 ounces white shoepeg corn — drained
11 ounces black beans — drained, rinsed
4 ounces pimiento — or Peppadew peppers if available
1 large green bell pepper — or red pepper
1 large onion — chopped
1 cup celery — sliced
1. DRESSING: In a food processor combine all ingredients except the oil. Turn on processor and add oil in a steady stream until emulsified. Refrigerate.
2. SALAD: In a large ziploc bag combine the salad ingredients with the dressing and refrigerate for about 8 hours (or up to 24), if possible to let flavors develop. Drain salad before serving.
Serving Ideas: The salad dressing can be reused – i.e., add more cans of corn and black beans (or corn and other kinds of beans, even green beans) to make the dressing.
Per Serving: 319 Calories; 15g Fat (39.4% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 232mg Sodium.
A year ago: Flank Steak with Orange Marinade
Two years ago: The BEST Bean Salad (a family favorite, low calorie, but you’d never guess it)
Posted in Salads, on June 22nd, 2009.
This salad was served at a group function last December. As soon as I saw it on the potluck table for my book group, I knew it was this recipe I’d just read in Food & Wine (November ‘08 issue). I’d clipped it out, actually, because it was different. I thoroughly enjoyed the salad, and vowed I’d make it soon.
In my lifetime, I don’t think I’d ever eaten a CELERY salad. Waldorf yes. Celery no. But this salad just has the most wonderful combo of flavors. Let me try to give you a verbal picture. The celery is thinly sliced (thinner the better). I happened to have added some Belgian endive to mine, but was for no particular reason. The dates are pitted and sliced lengthwise. The walnuts are toasted and chopped. The dressing is simple – sherry vinegar, walnut oil, extra virgin olive oil and a shallot. Simply whizzed up in the blender, but it can be done by hand easily enough. THEN, you add the pecorino cheese as a garnish. My salad didn’t even need salt. Pepper, yes, salt no. When you put a bite in your mouth the sweet of the dates provide a perfect counterbalance to the salty of the cheese. And the minced toasted walnuts add even more crunch than the celery.
Dates are generally not one of my favorite things. I don’t really like the soft, mushy texture. Don’t really like dates in a quick bread, for instance. But I REALLY liked them in this salad. Medjool dates are very large. Next time I might chop the dates into smaller pieces because I really enjoyed having some date with every bite.
Now, pecorino cheese is a unique flavor. It’s Tuscan. Kind of like Parmigiano-Reggiano, but a bit more sharp. Almost meat-like to me. More dry and crumbly somehow. Can be young or old, dry or more moist. Very salty or not. Even softer or harder. It depends on the cheese producer. The last time I was in Italy I made a point of trying pecorino every chance I got. Bought it in a deli and in a grocery store. Here at home I buy my pecorino from a local Italian deli. Theirs happens to be moderately salty, so I’m always careful about not overly salting whatever I’m using it for.
printer-friendly CutePDF
Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open in MC – 14 contains photo)
Recipe: Melissa Rubel in Food & Wine, 11/080
Servings: 12
1 1/4 cups walnuts
1 small shallot — minced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 bunches celery — 2 pounds, thinly sliced on the bias
3/4 cup dates — Medjool, dried pitted, quartered lengthwise
3 ounces pecorino cheese — dry type, shaved with a vegetable peeler
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Let cool completely, then coarsely chop.
2. In a small bowl, combine the shallot with the sherry vinegar. Whisk in both oils and season with salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, toss the toasted walnuts, celery, dates and pecorino. Add the dressing and toss. Serve at once.
Per Serving: 152 Calories; 12g Fat (66.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 7mg Sodium.
Posted in Appetizers, Salads, Veggies/sides, on June 15th, 2009.
You’ll have to take a gander at these little baby globe-shaped eggplant (below) – they’re called Hindu, or Indian, or Indian Paint. They’re full grown, not really babies. Cute little buggers. Offered at the local farmer’s market last week, and I wanted to do something easy but fun with them.
I cut them in half (although you don’t have to) and baked them (drizzled with olive oil) at 375 for about 45 minutes, until the skins had begun to shrivel. But not enough that they’d dried out. I had ample ripe on-the-stem tomatoes, some red onion, green onion, fresh mint and parsley. Then I made a dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. The recipe came from Chow.com. I’d never looked at the website before, but the recipe is credited to a restaurant called Nopa (in San Francisco). Chef Laurence Jossel. This could also be an appetizer, I think – the original recipe sounds more like one since you scoop it onto pita bread. So think of that as an option. I made it as a side dish with grilled lamb chops.
The salad, to be served at room temp, was easy. Just a bit of chopping and mincing involved. Be sure to include the wine vinegar – lemon juice isn’t enough to give this salad it’s bright flavor. The original recipe said just wine vinegar – I used sherry because I have some good stuff and like to use it in a salad such as this one when the flavor shines through. These small eggplant don’t need to be skinned – their skin is quite thin and quite edible.
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Recipe: Nopa Restaurant (Chef Laurence Jossel)
Servings: 3
1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons red onion — minced
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt — or more to taste
1 medium tomatoes — diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons basil leaves — finely chopped
3 tablespoons mint leaves — finely chopped
1 small scallion — thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon Italian parsley — finely chopped
1/2 medium garlic clove — minced to a paste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat (375°F). Add the whole eggplant and allow skin to char all over, turning every 5 minutes. After about 30 minutes, the eggplant will collapse. Remove to a colander and allow to cool. Alternately, bake eggplant at 375 for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until you’ll see the flesh is collapsing inside and the color has taken on a golden hue.
2. Combine red onion, kosher salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Allow to marinate at least 5 minutes.
3. Once the eggplant is cool, scoop flesh from charred skin and coarsely chop. Combine eggplant with marinated onions and remaining ingredients. Mix together gently and season well with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
4. Serve at room temperature with grilled pita or baguette toasts
Per Serving: 140 Calories; 9g Fat (56.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 952mg Sodium.
A year ago: Asparagus (everything you ever wanted to know about)
Two years ago: Bacon & Tomato Dunk (oh yes, one of my fav’s)
Posted in Salads, Vegetarian, Veggies/sides, on June 12th, 2009.
Okay. Attention here. (Teacher rapping her ruler on her desk) This is your homework for tonight. You must go home and make this recipe, suit it to your tastes, and report back tomorrow on the results. Got the assignment? Good.
When I read about this recipe over at Farmgirl Fare, Susan raptured on about how delicious it was. Yea, yea, I thought. What’s another garbanzo bean salad? And yet there was something about what she had to say that piqued my interest. Maybe the feta? The cooked onions? The garlic? All those things in a cold salad? All of the above were reasons. And probably the photo doesn’t do it justice. My first bite, as I was making it, was sublime. How could those ingredients – all simple things, all items I had in my refrigerator or pantry, taste so darned good? Don’t know the answer, but it just is. Good. Susan mentioned that whenever it’s in her refrigerator somehow her fork finds its way into the bowl. Yep. I understand perfectly. Our leftovers probably won’t last through tomorrow (although I did make only half a recipe – using one can of garbanzos). Note to self: buy more cilantro and red onion (so I can make more in a few days).
Susan’s recipe called for kalamata olives (or oil-cured). I chose to eliminate those, but that’s just my personal choice. You can add them in. I also added some tarragon just because I had a small package of it about to go south. I may not have had enough green onion tops, but I think this salad is flexible. If there are ingredients in this you don’t like, switch them out, that’s all. Oh, I also used lime juice because I had fresh limes. There wasn’t time to chill it, but it made “no nevermind,” as they say. I’ll have to let you know if the leftovers are even more off the charts. The recipe came from a cookbook called Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros.
So, friends. Are you going to make this right now or later? I recommend right now.
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Recipe By: Adapted from Foodie Farmgirl Fare blog 6/09, who got it from a cookbook called Falling Cloudberries
Servings: 5
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil — plus more if desired
3 cups red onion — chopped
1/4 cup fresh garlic — finely chopped
2 cans garbanzo beans — (15 ounce) drained & rinsed (or 3 cups cooked garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro — (packed)
3/4 cup Italian parsley — (packed) chopped fresh flat leaf
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions — green parts only
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice — (or lime juice)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon — minced (my addition – optional)
1. Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large frying pan and add the red onion, stirring to coat it with the oil. Cook the onion gently over medium or medium-low heat, stirring often, until the it is soft and starting to brown, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute; don’t let the garlic brown. Remove from the heat and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the garbanzo beans, cilantro, parsley, green onions, and lemon juice. Add the cooled onion garlic mixture. You can also mix the onions and garlic into the beans while they’re still warm, and the other ingredients will help cool them down. Mix in the crumbled feta cheese and olives (if using). Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (remember that the feta and olives will already be salty) and up to ½ cup more olive oil if desired. Add tarragon, if using.
3. This salad tastes best if made ahead and allowed to sit for a few hours before serving. Serve at room temperature, with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil if desired. Note: Susan adds kalamata or oil-cured olives to hers. You can too.
Per Serving: 585 Calories; 26g Fat (38.6% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 70g Carbohydrate; 19g Dietary Fiber; 27mg Cholesterol; 381mg Sodium.
A year ago: Watermelon Blueberry Soup (cold)
Two years ago: Baby Back Ribs with Peanut Butter Slather (oh yea, those ribs were amazing)
Posted in Chicken, Salad Dressings, Salads, Veggies/sides, on June 10th, 2009.
If you leave out the chicken, this could easily be a side dish too.
If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, then you know right off the bat that after reading the title, this must be a recipe from Phillis Carey. She doesn’t want you to miss anything about the dish, and perhaps pass it by, so she tempts you with the major ingredients. To make sure.
And indeed, I might have passed on this recipe (I don’t make couscous very often since there isn’t much of anything healthy about couscous – it’s just tiny pasta). I don’t dislike couscous, but know that’s it’s just a high glycemic carb and has next to no nutrition in it. But after tasting it, well, yup, I’ll be making it. In my book the clincher was the lemony flavor (there’s a LOT in the dressing). Oh, and the dried cranberries were also mighty tasty too. You don’t expect dried cranberries in a couscous salad, but they add a lovely sweet zing to it. The garbanzos add some healthy protein and fiber, and you could probably add more veggies to this if you’d like. Phillis told us that when she makes this and she thoroughly enjoys the leftovers for days after, since it keeps well in the refrigerator. The thing about couscous is that no matter how much dressing you put on it, it’ll absorb more and more. So that’s why you don’t want to add the lemon curry dressing until just before serving. That way some of it will still be moistening the salad and not soaked into the pasta. Yet.
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Recipe: Phillis Carey, instructor and cookbook author
Servings: 6
DRESSING:
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic — minced
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce — or other hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
SALAD:
3 pieces chicken breast, no skin, no bone, R-T-C — (breast halves)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups couscous
1 large tomato — seeded, diced
3 whole green onions — thinly sliced
15 ounces garbanzo beans — drained, rinsed
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper — diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons Italian parsley — chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts — toasted
1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, whisking to mix. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Trim chicken and pound to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Remove 1/3 cup of dressing and pour over chicken, turning chicken to coat well. Let stand 30-45 minutes or refrigerate up to 2 hours.
3. Grill chicken 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Cool and dice into 1/2-inch pieces.
4. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and let stand 10 minutes, or until broth is absorbed. Fluff couscous with a fork and spread out on a baking sheet to cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
5. Just before serving, toss chicken into couscous. Mix in tomato, green onions, beans, yellow pepper, cranberries and parsley. Add dressing and toss well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Sprinkle with pine nuts just before serving. Garnish with additional Italian parsley if desired.
Per Serving (yikes, I’d say this probably serves more than 4 people based on these statistics): 864 Calories; 32g Fat (33.4% calories from fat); 51g Protein; 95g Carbohydrate; 17g Dietary Fiber; 48mg Cholesterol; 595mg Sodium.
A year ago: Sarah’s Ginger Scones
Posted in Salads, on June 8th, 2009.
I just had to do a reprise on this recipe. I posted the Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad with Caper-Parmesan Dressing back a week ago. Phillis Carey prepared it at the cooking class my friend Cherrie and I attended. I said I was going to make it for dinner one night. And yes, I did. And it was just so sensational, I had to give you some photos of it, and do everything I can to encourage you to make this. Prepared as is, it’s an entree salad, but you could eliminate the chicken and just serve it as a spectacular salad course. Don’t serve with other things – you want the grilled Romaine to be the star. I served it with some toasted garlic bread (and the chicken). There are some ifs:
1. You like garlic and Caesar dressings (but want one that’s easier than the real thing)
2. You like Romaine lettuce (the salad needs a sturdy lettuce to stand up to the grill)
3. You have the real-thing Parmesan cheese (the Reggiano-Parmigiano type)
If those are check-marks next to each, then this salad is a must-fix. I think I mentioned that our grandkids and their mom just luv Caesar dressing. Dana makes a couple of my salad dressings already, but this is a new one she says she’s adding to the repertoire. It is very easy, although you do have to make it in the blender. Their family couldn’t get enough of this dressing.
First you cut up the Romaine into halves or quarters and slather some of the dressing on the cut edge(s). I have this new tray (the green one pictured) that’s plastic, sits on little knobs on the bottom, but the tray is slightly tiled (to drain whatever). You’re viewing the high side.
Dave fired up the grill. I told him medium-heat, but he didn’t quite do it high enough, so it took longer than planned and we didn’t quite get the grill marks the way I’d visualized, but it worked eventually. Just so you know – heat the grill to the high side of medium (remember, either indoor or outdoor – if indoor stovetop grill you can heat it higher) and you only want to lay these puppies on the grill, cut side down (if you’re using quarters, you grill the two – smaller – cut sides) for about a minute. You’re not really “cooking” them, just giving them some grill marks. In reality, this is mostly for show – the inner leaves don’t really even get warm. You’ll wilt the cut edges just a bit. The dressing/slather gives the grill something to char. That’s all you want. Here’s the photo of them on the grill.
See, the edges just barely brown. That’s all you’re looking for. Note that the stem ends are still attached. You can cut off the stem if you prefer, but we left them on to serve. And here below you can see the finished heads. There wasn’t any meat type bacteria on the board, so you can take these on and off the same board.
If you enjoy croutons, here’s a simple method. Mix up some unsalted butter, minced fresh garlic, even some grated Parmesan if you have some. Melt the mixture and pour it over the fresh bread cubes (I used a baguette, sliced and cubed), toss with your hands so all the cubes have a bit of butter on them.
Just bake them at 400 for about 4 minutes.
So now you know how simple this is. Wow some dinner guests with this salad sometime soon. This recipe is going on my “Carolyn’s Fav’s” list, it’s that good. And thanks again, Phillis. The post/recipe again: go to Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad with Chicken and Caper-Parmesan Dressing.
printer-friendly PDF recipe
A year ago: How to Pick a Peach (about a Russ Parsons book)
Two years ago: Cream of Tomato Soup (oh my, yes, one of my fav’s, and I have some in my freezer)
Posted in Chicken, Salad Dressings, Salads, on June 4th, 2009.
At the Phillis Carey class the other night, she made entree salads. That’s what it was all about. Great for summer, for eating outdoors, for cooking early so you don’t have to heat up the oven or the kitchen. But satisfying salads, nevertheless. Chinese Chicken Salad is a favorite in my book, but other Asian-style noodle salads I might not seek out, usually (too many carbs, for one thing). BUT, this salad was just wonderful. What makes it unusual is the orange-scented dressing. And it’s lemony. And slightly sweet (from honey). If you want more vegetable ratio here, just ramp up the amounts of sugar snaps, red bells, celery, for instance.
The salad dressing was ever so tasty. I might make the dressing for something else, although with sesame oil in it, it wouldn’t go with just any salad. Since I’m a bit on hiatus buying shrimp because of all the health scares about it, I might make this salad, though, with scallops perhaps. Or even chicken.
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Recipe: Phillis Carey, instructor and cookbook author
Servings: 4
DRESSING:
6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds — freshly toasted
3 tablespoons fresh ginger — finely minced
2 cloves garlic — minced
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes — 3/4″ thick
3 tablespoons sesame oil
9 tablespoons vegetable oil — preferably grapeseed
SALAD:
16 large shrimp — use as large as you can afford
1/2 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup sugar snap peas — sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup red bell pepper — slivered
1/2 cup celery — sliced
1/4 cup green onions — chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro — chopped (or more to taste)
1. Dressing: combine all ingredients, whisking to combine and thicken slightly. Remove 1/3 of the dressing to a medium bowl and toss the shrimp in it. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Soak bamboo skewers for about 30 minutes in water, then put shrimp on them. Grill shrimp about 3 minutes per side. Discard the dressing used to marinate the shrimp.
3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain and immediately toss with the snap peas, red bell pepper, celery and green onions. Add the dressing and toss to coat well. Serve warm or at room temp, topped with shrimp and cilantro.
Per Serving: 756 Calories; 44g Fat (51.6% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 78g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 1089mg Sodium.
A year ago: An essay about the myths of searing meat
Posted in Chicken, Salad Dressings, Salads, on June 3rd, 2009.
This snapshot is just part of a wedge - for the class we didn't get an entire one.
Every time I go to a Phillis Careycooking class I learn something new. That alone keeps me going back to her classes. But heading the list of good things about Phillis’ classes is the taste of the food. She is just a wizard with a spatula, a pounder, a stovetop grill and chicken! As I’ve mentioned here before, she has several cookbooks to her name (I own them all) and she’s working on another one, about entertaining.
Grilling Romaine lettuce isn’t exactly new. I’ve ordered it twice – out at a restaurant – but had never seen it done before. It’s easy. I may make this salad later this week because our daughter Dana positively loves-loves Caesar anything. So do the grandkids. And I thought this dressing was simply fab – and easy. I mean – it’s nothing more than mayonnaise with Caesar-type ingredients added to it. How easy is that? Phillis used capers (she doesn’t like anchovies), which was delicious in this rendition of salad.
The Romaine heads – use smaller ones if you can find them – or remove the outer leaves of a bigger one and use those leaves for something else – are cut in quarters (including the root end – which holds the salad together while it grills. Some of the dressing gets slathered on the two cut halves of the lettuce and it’s put on an grill for just a minute – all you want to do is get some grill marks if you can – on the cut sides, so you grill for just a minute on each of the two cut sides. If you happen to have really small Romaine heads, you can serve each person a half of one, in which case the lettuce might only need a minute on the grill. Any more than that and you might get lettuce mush.
Once off the grill you add some more dressing, then top it with the already grilled chicken, tomatoes, croutons and big wide Parmesan shards, shaved off of a block of good cheese. Simply delicious.
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Recipe: Phillis Carey, instructor and cookbook author
Servings: 4
DRESSING:
3 large garlic cloves
3/4 cup mayonnaise — low-fat is okay
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon capers — rinsed, drained (or substitute 1 tsp anchovies)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
CHICKEN & MARINADE:
2 whole chicken breast, no skin, no bone
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic — minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
SALAD:
1 head Romaine lettuce
12 whole cherry tomatoes — halved
1/2 cup croutons — garlic flavored
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese — shaved in shards
1. Dressing: combine all ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. Can be made up to 2 days ahead, or at least 2 hours ahead.
2. Chicken: Trim and pound chicken breasts to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Combine marinade and add chicken, turning to coat well. Let stand for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Grill chicken about 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Cool slightly and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
4. Romaine: Remove any outer bruised lettuce leaves and quarter the heat lengthwise, keeping the root end intact (so the lettuce will hold together when it’s grilled). Preheat grill (if on an outside grill heat to medium-high; if an indoor stovetop grill, heat to medium only). Brush the two cut sides of romaine quarters with a bit of the salad dressing, then grill, cut side down, until lightly browned. This will grill about 2 minutes total, so 1 minute on each cut side. Do not turn the lettuce over onto the back side.
4. Immediately remove grilled wedges to a serving plate and brush some of the dressing over and under the leaves. Sprinkle salad with chicken, tomatoes and croutons. Drizzle decoratively with more dressing and top with Parmesan shards.
Per Serving: 712 Calories; 61g Fat (74.8% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 92mg Cholesterol; 798mg Sodium.
I don’t get very many comments left on my blog. To those of you who do leave them occasionally, a thank you is in order. But when I read other people’s blogs, and write a comment there, some people have 30-80 comments on each one. Some of the comments don’t say a whole lot (like “looks good,” or “great photo,” or perhaps the most common . . . “can’t wait to make this.” But I get the feeling that those people aren’t really going to make the recipe, whatever it is. They’re just saying something nice.
Some people, I assume, are scared to leave comments – they’re not very savvy about blogging, and want to protect their anonymity. Comments left here on my blog go nowhere but here on my blog. No one tracks them, sells email addresses or anything like that. It’s just little-old-me. And you can leave a comment without your name appearing, although your email address is required to submit a comment. But it doesn’t get published with the comment. Lots of people have screen names they use like “cookiebaker,” “grillerman,” “sadiesmom,” etc. That’s fine. Some bloggers and commenters use their real names, others don’t. I guess it’s up to you. I do approve/screen all the comments, so I won’t get any crackpot messages. Spam is something you don’t see on my blog – I get somewhere between 60-100 a day left on various posts on my blog. Fortunately some free software called akismet runs in the blog background and captures those, which I delete every few days. I don’t even look at them anymore, just do a global delete.
So all that rhetoric is a preface to say that last week I was absolutely thrilled to receive a comment from Joanne Weir. She’d read my write-up about one of her recipes (stewed eggplant & tomatoes) from one of her cookbooks. Although I’ve attended numerous cooking classes with her, she doesn’t know me at all. Her classes were always very full, and I was just another face in the crowds. I’d drive miles and miles to go to a Joanne Weir cooking class, if she’d ever have any here in Southern California. She lives in San Francisco, and you can see her PBS TV series (filmed in her own kitchen) if you hunt for it in the listings. She has her own website – and does offer culinary tours in Italy and France, but they’re very pricey. Two or three of my friends and I keep up with anything-Joanne-Weir. We tell one another if we’ve made another Joanne recipe from one of her books (I don’t own her newest book Tequila).
So, I was very presumptuous and sent her a private email. Thanked her for leaving a comment, told her I was a huge fan of hers, owned most of her cookbooks, and that my all-time favorite recipe of hers (and expected her to laugh) is Sicilian Tuna Salad. I also asked about her fiancé (she’s recently engaged). I follow her own blog too.
She was kind enough to respond back, and said “Sicilian Tuna Salad?” What cookbook of mine is that from, she asked? Well, it’s not in any of her cookbooks that I can find. But it was at one of her classes. Or perhaps it was one of the Sur la Table’s group recipe classes – where the staff combed through and demonstrated their favorites from all the cooking classes that year from various chefs. But the recipe was credited to Joanne. Unless the folks at Sur la Table made a mistake. Well, it’s still a favorite anyway.
I do have some other favorite Joanne Weir recipes – some of them I haven’t posted here on my blog – note to self – make the warm chocolate cinnamon and coffee tart sometime soon. Also the white peach belllinis. Check out the fiery Feta & pita bread appetizer. Maybe the escarole salad too. Nevertheless, it’s still the tuna pasta salad that trumps them all. It’s just so simple, really. I decided to fix the salad, because I haven’t made it in a long time. I posted about it in 2007, but I’m going to repeat it here since I know I have new readers who likely haven’t read through my ancient posts.
If you like tuna and pasta, but don’t like the usual mayonnaise-based gunk that goes on it, you’ll enjoy this salad. It’s full of herbs (basil, cilantro and Italian parsley) and a bit of capers too. And lemon juice. All those kinds of things that make it Sicilian. It’s a relatively dry pasta salad, so if you prefer a wetter one, add some more olive oil just before serving it. I make it with pennette (little penne) as my first choice of pasta.
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Recipe: Joanne Weir, author and instructor
Servings: 4
COOK’S NOTES: Buy the oil-packed tuna, since the flavor is significantly better. The salad is really good and can be made up ahead. It keeps for 4-5 days with little or no deterioration. It is a fairly dry pasta salad – you can add more oil if you want to. If it’s summer and you can find good tomatoes, they are a wonderful addition to the top of the salad or on the plate with it.You can use different pasta if you would prefer.
6 ounces tuna in oil — drained
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound penne pasta [preferably pennette – baby penne]
2 tablespoons lemon juice — must be fresh
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons capers — rinsed and drained
1/4 cup Italian parsley — chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil — chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro — chopped
1. Drain the tuna as much as possible. Place tuna in a large bowl and using a fork break it into flakes. Set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt, then add the penne, stir well, and cook ONLY until pasta is “al dente,” firm to the tooth. This will be about 10-12 minutes depending on the brand. Drain well.
3. Meanwhile, into the bowl add the lemon juice, olive oil, remaining salt, and the pepper. Then add the hot, drained pasta and stir well.
4. Add the capers, parsley, basil, and cilantro and mix gently. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
5. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl or divide amount individual plates. It is better if it is served at near room temperature. Garnish with additional Italian parsley sprigs or basil leaves.
Per Serving: 359 Calories; 11g Fat (28.4% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 970mg Sodium.
A year ago: Apple Buttermilk Scone Round
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