Ever had skirt steak? It’s an odd piece of beef – also called a flap steak. Comes from the belly of the steer, sometimes covering part of the ribs or below. Often it’s covered in silverskin (which needs to be removed – get your butcher to do it for you ). It can be chewy – that’s why you marinate it. It’s tasty, though, and perfect for grilling. The steak itself is thin – very thin actually – and when it cooks it shrinks, big time. You can grill it on an outdoor, or stovetop grill, either one. Cut it up into manageable pieces (like it halves or thirds (about the size of your hand). It cooks up in no time (remember, it’s thin) so it only takes a couple of minutes per side (until it’s still pink in the middle). You remove it to a cutting board and slice it across the grain (there’s a definite grain to skirt steak) into small strips (as in the photo above).

In this salad, the meat is marinated with lots of garlic, olive oil and pepper (and some fresh thyme sprigs). Meanwhile you make homemade croutons which are baked briefly, then combine with some tomatoes, onion, olives and arugula. Add a bit of basil and you’re done. It’s not required, but there’s a little bit of blue cheese-butter that tastes fab on the meat. That’s it. And oh, is it wonderful! The recipe came from Food & Wine, but is Suzanne Goin’s creation (she’s the chef at Lucques, in Los Angeles). If this is any representation of her recipes, I’m going to be paying a lot more attention!
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A year ago: Green Salad with Chevre Dressing
Two years ago: Cauliflower, Bacon & Mushrooms

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A black bean mixture with roasted poblano chiles, onion, spices, spread with a layer of sour cream and topped with a roasted New Mexico chile salsa

Making this a couple of days ago, I could hardly keep my tasting spoon out of the food processor as I was whizzing up the bean mixture. Oh is it good! Thanks to Phillis Carey, who made this at a recent cooking class. It took me about 3 days to decide this needed to be on the menu for our weekend family birthday.

Now, I’ll be the first one to tell you that there is a moderate amount of prep to making this – it’s not like buying canned bean dip and spreading on some sour cream and jarred chile salsa and calling it done.

There’s a fairly simple chile salsa to make (dried chiles, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, cider vinegar and salt) first. The bean layer isn’t all that hard exactly, but you do have to char the chiles first (poblano/pasilla), peel, seed and chop them. With onion, garlic, fresh lime juice, cilantro, then some seasonings, it does take a few minutes to prep too. A note about the chiles . . . New Mexican chiles are nothing more than dried Anaheim chiles (they’re not hot). You may also see them as “California chiles.” I believe they’re the same thing. These are not necessarily chiles FROM New Mexico – but once Anaheims are dried they seem to be attached to New Mexico (they do grow thousands of pounds of them).

The bean layer is spread into a flat dish (like a decorative pie plate at right) and allowed to chill awhile. Meanwhile you can make the chile salsa (including a bit of broiling and baking time for the tomatoes, onions and garlic). The food processor makes simple work, though, of the sauce once the ingredients are all ready to go. The salsa recipe makes more than you’ll need, but it can be used for other things (another recipe from the class that I’ll share soon). I actually used two poblano chiles when I made it, but I like that chile flavor.

An hour before you’re ready to serve this, remove the bean mixture from the refrigerator (so the dip isn’t chilled-cold), then just before serving you spread on the sour cream, then the salsa. Done. Your guests will just not recognize this from the throw-together-from-cans-type of layered bean dip. The flavors are deep (not hot) and complex. Serve with tortilla chips, and I defy you to stop at one! I heard comments like this: “wow, what’s IN this,  “Mom, this is amazing,” and “is this ever GOOD!”
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A year ago: Lemon Rice Pilaf

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If you enjoy margaritas, but prefer just a little bit of sweetness, this recipe is for you. It’s still got the margarita kick, but it’s not sickeningly sweet like some of the fruit concoctions made at restaurants. Usually they are simply too sweet for me. But this one, from a Phillis Carey cooking class, was just great. A little bit of fruit, a little sugar on the rim, and a goodly sock of tequila. [I had a 3 ounce margarita total, so don’t get excited.] Don’t use frozen strawberries, as that will make the margarita more like a smoothie. As usual, photographing beverages is a bit difficult – I snapped this at the class, balancing a cafeteria tray on my lap with nothing but the printed recipes as my decorative backdrop!
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Every few days I look at some new food blogs. Surely I shouldn’t be spending any more of my time reading more and more food blogs, but I can’t seem to help myself. If you notice the Foodie Blogroll thing on my sidebar, it lists a bunch of blogs. That list changes every day. They aren’t my lists (my personal blogroll is down on the bottom of my page – those are the ones I follow regularly), but is a commercial site that gives food bloggers some visibility. Once in a great while my blog shows up on the list.

Sometimes the blogs linked there are in foreign languages. Scratch those. Sometimes they’re ones I’ve already examined or watch regularly. This time it was a new one, so I started reading LaDue & Crew’s last month of posts. And what did I spy but a kumquat recipe. Hmmm. I still have oodles of kumquats. Well, I did – most of what’s left (below) will be used in a reprise of this recipe it’s so good!

You know about kumquats, right? They look like miniature elongated oranges. But boy, do they pack a punch. It’s the SKIN that’s sweet. The juice inside (which unfortunately contains a few seeds) is super-tart. The kind that makes your mouth pucker and you stand taller for a few seconds. If you eat them out of hand, you simply must chew some of the rind with the juice or you’ll be shaking your head and wanting to spit it out.

This comprises the end of my kumquat harvest.

So, what I found over at LaDue & Crew was a story about an Asian pear dessert with poached kumquats in a vanilla-scented syrup. What can I tell you about this dish: my DH said “fabulous, honey.” Then he said “it is so unusual, and different. I expected something kind of blah from looking at it. It didn’t LOOK like how it tasted, that’s for sure. It just looked like slices of apple” [no, it was Asian pear, though they have the texture of apple]. THEN, he said “wow, it is just this unbelievable combo of the pear, kumquat with the mint.” I garnished with the mint, and it’s a super addition to this recipe. Our recommendation: each and every bite must include a piece of pear (about thumb size), one slice of kumquat, AND a tiny slice of mint.

It took very little time to make this – except for slicing and de-seeding the little kumquat gems. That probably took 15 minutes. Maybe you can recruit one of your children to help with that, if you have some around. You make a simple syrup, really (half sugar, half water) with some lime juice added. I used Splenda so my DH could enjoy this too. The syrup is simmered very briefly with a half of a vanilla bean (the seeds scraped out into the syrup as well as the pod). That’s it. Then the warm/hot syrup is poured over the pears, and it’s allowed to cool, then you refrigerate it. I think next time I’ll just put the whole batch into a plastic bag so you can turn the bag over a few times during the cooling process, because the pear slices that were IN the syrup had a much more vanilla-accented flavor than the ones on top which had almost no contact with the syrup. The benefit to using Asian pear is that it can sit for hours without darkening. Because the pear isn’t cooked, you see.

Next time I think I’ll make a double batch of the syrup, because it is scrumptious. I wanted more of it. The next morning, after the pears had soaked for 12+ hours, the flavor was sensational. I think marinating overnight, or at least 8-12 hours is essential. I might also try putting a dollop of creme fraiche on top too. Just for fun. We ate the remainder yesterday with some Fage Greek yogurt – for breakfast. The flavors were still fabulous. Thanks to LaDue and crew for this great recipe.

I also made a kumquat salad dressing (for greens). I’ll be writing that up in the next few days. So stay tuned if you’re searching for kumquat recipes.
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A year ago: Grilled tri-tip roast with tequila marinade and cherry tomato relish
Two years ago: Tangerine vinaigrette

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When I bought my Fagor pressure cooker, I recall watching a video (on a DVD included in the package) and one of the recipes was for risotto. Really, I thought? You can make risotto in a pressure cooker?

Well, I’m here to tell you this recipe worked like a charm. I rarely make risotto, for two reasons: (a) rice is a high glycemic carb; and (b) it’s labor intensive. But, as you probably know, risotto is also downright delicious. It’s probably been 2 years since I’ve made risotto, but I think I might make it slightly more often with this new recipe.

We had a nice thick ribeye steak for dinner, a green salad, an artichoke, and this risotto. Arborio rice always lives in my cupboard, even though I rarely use it.  I had some already-prepared mushrooms (leftovers) so I decided to add them to the mixture. I wasn’t sure the mushrooms would withstand the pressure cooker method, so I added them in at the end (along with the garlic and parsley and Parmesan cheese).

First you saute the onion, then add the rice and cook it briefly in olive oil. You add the white wine and let it evaporate, then broth is added and you let it do its pressure cooker thing. Mine pressured for five minutes. Once I removed the lid there was just the perfect amount of liquid in the pan, but once I added the mushrooms, it thickened up some, so I did end up adding a bit of water. Taste the rice to see if it’s cooked perfectly – still slightly firm to the tooth. You do not want to overcook it, that’s all. You may need to try your pressure cooker. The creaminess was perfect. And it was really tasty. Next time I might add a bit more Parmesan. If you’re eating this as your entree, it’ll serve 2. As a side, it’ll serve at least 4, maybe 5.
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A year ago: Brownie-Bottomed Pudding Pie (easy)
Two years ago: Mexican Chopped Salad (oh, a real favorite)

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Well, it’s a good thing my friend Norma needs some “new” kind of cookie, because I’d about run out of recipes to try, to make soft chocolate chip cookies. Her doctor has told her she can’t have any more chocolate or nuts (too much potassium). She said coconut sounded really good.

Nary a coconut cookie recipe did I have in my collection because it’s not a flavor I crave. Well, I do have a cranberry noel that has coconut on the edges, really nice for Christmas, but I don’t usually make them other times of the year. They also have nuts in them, so that one’s out.

I turned to an ancient cookbook that belonged to my mother, called The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day and Lillie Stuckey. It has recipes of ALL kinds from soup to veggies, but using spices. Sure enough, it had an orange coconut cookie that sounded good. I wanted to use butter instead of shortening, and I only had low-fat sour cream. Plus I had tangerines instead of oranges. No matter. All those substitutions worked just fine.

These cookies are soft. The batter is soft too. Just what Norma likes. And believe it or not, I liked them too. They were easy to throw together, easy to bake, and very easy to eat! The lemon and tangerine rind in the cookies gave it a lovely citrusy flavor. The coconut isn’t overwhelming, but I used shaved coconut (dried), not covered in sugar. If you use the store-bought shredded coconut I’d reduce the amount of sugar in the cookie batter by a couple of tablespoons. I haven’t heard back from Norma yet as to how these cookies taste. . . I’ll report later on that.
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A year ago: White Chicken Chili

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A chicken breast with the garlic flavored panko & Parmigiano crumb crust

We eat a lot of chicken around our house. I don’t always blog about it because I’m making chicken by recipes I’ve already posted here at Tasting Spoons. The other day I got a hankering for some Italian flavors, and I remembered a chicken dish  grandmother Ethel made (a grandmother through a former marriage). She’d dip chicken pieces in egg, then a dry herb mix, then in bread crumbs that had a lot of canned Parmesan added to it. Well, I never, ever buy that stuff anymore, so I decided to play around with what I would use.

Evaporated milk on the right, crumb cheese mix on the left

Knowing that sometimes Southern cooks soak chicken in buttermilk before they pan fry it, I thought maybe I’d soak the chicken in evaporated milk to which I’d add some garlic powder (you could add some onion powder instead or in addition to). I didn’t have time to soak the chicken much (ideally do it for a couple of hours), but I did while I put together the panko crumb topping. I grated some fresh Parmigiano, gathered some fresh herbs from my garden (Italian parsley, oregano and thyme) and put them into my separate dipping trays.

Meanwhile, you need to prepare a big flat baking sheet, line it with foil and give it some pan release spray. Dip the pieces into the milk again, then into the crumb mixture, put them on the baking sheet (without pieces touching) and bake for an hour at 350. Pretty darned easy, really. You want the garlic flavor to predominate. Using panko assures you the crumbs will be nice and crunchy on top. You can use boneless, skinless chicken, but I usually include the skin to bake, but I don’t eat it. Only problem with that is that all the tasty cheesy crumb topping sticks to the skin. But it you use skinless, the chicken will likely dry out more. You can’t have it both ways, unfortunately. This was really good. Next time I might add in some lemon zest to the crumb mixture. Italians are crazy about lemons, so that would be a natural fit.

Serve this with some colorful, green vegetable (I did green beans) and a green salad. In the past, before I was concerned so much about carbs, I served this with herbed, buttered noodles.
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A year ago: Mango Strawberry Salsa
Two years ago: Lemon Velvet Gelato/Ice Cream (a real favorite around our house)

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A week or so ago we had SO much fun with our friends Barbara & Bob, visiting this restaurant in Indio. It’s new. We’d not heard about it, but Barbara said, trust me, you’ll like it. Oh my, yes we did. With a very Southwest-looking gate entrance, valet parking available, huge grounds, and a fantastic building, there wasn’t anything not to like.

Obviously you need to be in or around the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area to visit this place. So I’m sure I’ll lose a bunch of readers right now . . . that’s okay. Those who do visit the area or live nearby will be glad to know more about Jackalope Ranch. The restaurant is part of a group that includes several other Valley restaurants (Kaiser Grille, Prime Chop House, Hog’s Breath Inn).

As the population boom has expanded in the valley east of Palm Springs, it’s spread further east toward Indio. More and more subdivisions have popped up, more and more shopping attractions too. Our second home is in Palm Desert, about 5 miles away, west of Indio. We met our friends at Jackalope. Go to the patio outside they said – we’ll meet you there. The only hitch was that we had to BE THERE at 3:15 pm. WHAT, I said? 3:15? Really. Barbara said yes. Again, she said, trust me. We didn’t have lunch, which was a good thing.

The bar area outside probably seats about 100 people. If you sit closer to the restaurant, around a huge bar, there are misters to keep you cool. They spit out a fine mist about every 3 minutes or so. We, instead, sat further out, to what we hoped would be a less noisy space (yes, it was). We overlooked the pond and waterfalls pictured above. Listened to the birds. We sat carefully in the shade. Bob kept moving our cantilevered umbrella to keep all 4 of us out of the sun. It was in the low 90’s the afternoon we were there, but comfortable enough (dry heat, remember, in the California desert).

Jackalope Ranch is a huge restaurant – done in dark woods and kind of upscale country/cowboy decor. They have a mammoth indoor bar too, where there is a large digital indicator of the temperature of the draft beer they draw from a tank. Bob, who is a beer drinker, thinks that’s really “cool.” Every time they pull a tap beer, the temperature rises a degree or two, so it’s a game to see how long it takes to get the temp back down. The restaurant features barbecue (all kinds) and steaks. And a bit of everything, really. We didn’t eat in the sit-down restaurant, but spent all our time out on the patio.

So now, on to the food and drinks outside. Seven days a week from 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm, Jackalope Ranch offers all their bar food, margaritas, well drinks and house wine at HALF PRICE. What a huge bargain. You can easily eat your (early) dinner there, which is what we did. If  you get there later than 3:30, you may not find any outdoor seating. It’s very popular, although now that the weather is warming up, you might have a better chance.

We had their homemade guacamole and multi-colored chips. We had their version of nachos – with some pulled pork sprinkled all over the top (yum). We had margaritas and wine. Then Bob ordered a pulled pork sandwich. I didn’t taste it, but since I’d tasted the pulled pork on the nachos, I’d say it was delicious. Barbara and I ordered a wedge salad that was really refreshing. We were there for exactly 3 hours and 15 minutes. What fun we had. Would I go again – you betcha – in a heartbeat. Except that during the summer months it’ll be hotter than heck on the patio, so we may not go until late Fall. But go again we will.

It’s located right on Highway 111 (that’s the main drag all the way through the Coachella Valley). It’s east of Jefferson, on the left, about a half a block past the date shake place. Look for the big gate.

A year ago: Dijon Chicken Breasts with Panko Crust

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Last week I went on the Tustin Garden Tour. As with lots of communities, I suppose, there are garden clubs here and there. Every year our local one offers up 4 or so home gardens to view. Always fun and interesting. Fun to see other people’s back yards (of course, it’s mostly about the plantings, but you get to see everybody’s outdoor patios of all shapes and sizes, from small to gigantic, humble and elaborate). You also know that for weeks prior the homeowners labored like slaves to get their yards looking the way they do on garden tour day.

Another view in the same garden - isn't that just beautiful?

At one of the homes, as we entered around the shady side of the house, what did we see but this lettuce garden (above photo). It’s a riddling rack – that’s a wine thing – vintners (champagne makers in France started it, I think) poke filled bottles of champagne in these racks and periodically the bottles are turned – which helps the sediment to drop into the neck – makes for easier removal before corking the bottle permanently. And here (right) was a doorway into a cottage (or maybe it was a garage) in the lovely backyard.

Back to the riddling rack – this gardener (Rosemary) had somehow fitted all the holes of an old rack with something (either draining cups or mesh and wire) to hold a small amount of soil. And she’s growing all kinds of lettuces in them. She bought small plants (not grown from seed) and they’d been growing to reach the state you see. She hadn’t yet harvested any of the lettuce. It looks SO pretty. So fresh and fun.

Sometimes you can find riddling racks at junk or antique stores. Most people wouldn’t even know what they are. Now you do, and maybe you too can grow your green salad in it.

A Year Ago: Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette

Two Years Ago: Caramelized Carnitas Tacos (part of a Cinco de Mayo celebration)

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