Cycling Foodie

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The proud gardener showing off her garden.

I had a lovely visit with Mom yesterday. We had a nice chat.  She proudly showed me her garden.  We visited with my brother-in-law to snip some fresh herbs and lettuce from his garden. We went for a walk around the park. We had a nice dinner and Mom even let me use her grill. This is a big deal, and a big honor, you see, because Mom is of the school of thought that women do not grill. She firmly believes that grilling is a man’s duty. Well, it was a girl’s only night, so be default I got to grill.

Our walk … 

Neighbor's Ice Plant

Neighbor's sculpture

We couldn't quite shake that feeling that we were being watched ...

Sometimes it's important to stop and smell the flowers.

Not sure what this was, but I liked the light reflections.

Cactus flowers

Marigolds

Neighbor's pomegranate tree

Hmm ... still feeling like we're being watched ...

Our menu … 

We started with freshly cut artichokes from Mom's garden.

Then a nice, light salad with some garden fresh lettuce.

Farm fresh lightly steamed corn on the cob.

Grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast marinated in olive oil, Meyer lemon, and lemon balm.

We marinated the chicken breasts for about an hour with a Meyer lemon, some olive oil, and fresh lemon balm. I started grilling it on high, turned it once to get the grill marks, then turned the temperature down to medium-low. I cooked it to 170 (a little high for me, but this is what Mom likes).

Dessert

Mom had promised her special apple cake for my visit, but didn’t have time to make it, so for dessert we had Spumoni and a homemade mincemeat cookie.

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After a day of feeling sorry for myself for the unfortunate bike mishap this morning, I needed a little TLC tonight. I caught up with an old friend for dinner. Her favorite Davis restaurant is Little Prague (http://www.littleprague.com/). I’ve only been to Little Prague once before, and it wasn’t the best experience. That had nothing at all to do with the restaurant, and everything to do with a blind date that I got talked into a while back. It was one of those epically bad blind dates where right after you leave you grab your cell phone and the instant you shut your car door you call your friend to say, “What were you thinking?!” But that’s a story for a different blog.

Being such a beautiful evening, we wanted to sit outside.

We started out with a cold cucumber dill soup. I’m not usually big fan of any cream soups or sauces, but my friend had raved about how fabulous this was, so I had to try it. I was rather pleasantly surprised.

Chilled Cucumber Dill Soup - surprisingly light & refreshing!

My friend had the Chicken Schnitzel with Czech Potato Salad (Kuřecí řízek), and I had the Grilled Basil Salmon.

Chicken Schnitzel with Czech Potato Salad (Kuřecí řízek)

Grilled Basil Salmon (Losos na bazalce)

Salmon is a dish I am always hesitant to order at any restaurant, because it is too often overcooked. Again, I was pleasantly surprised that my salmon was perfect – moist, flaky, and delicious. I requested the sauce on the side, because I don’t typically care for any kind of sauce on fish. It was a rich, creamy sauce that I did enjoy dipping a potato or two in. Everything was nicely seasoned, nothing was overly salted.

I enjoyed a glass of an Alexander Valley Syrah. We chatted and savored the food, the service, the atmosphere. The service was very attentive, gracious, and friendly. Our server, Jason, listened very patiently and kindly to the story of my bike crash today. My friend insisted that I show him my bruised shoulder. I did.

I played with the new camera, experimenting further with the various settings. I caught some nice shots.

Iced Tea

Just playing ...

A moment of reflection ...

I particularly like these; they just sort of captures the homey, comfortable atmosphere.

Charming string lighting ...

Black Forest Cake

And then there was dessert … such decadence! Normally I don’t eat dessert like this unless I have done a significant ride, but tonight was an exception. I needed a little TLC and pampering. And that is exactly what I got at Little Prague in Davis tonight. My friend has been a regular at the restaurant for many years, so we also enjoyed the pleasure of a visit from the head chef, Karel.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

The only disappointment for the evening was when I realized on the way home that I had left my take home box with the other half of my cake in it on the table.

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I tried some “hard” polenta at a restaurant last week. It was OK, but it had been sauteed or fried in too much oil, and that made it a bit heavy and unappealing. A few days later, I was shopping at Trader Joe’s and saw their Stone Ground White Grits. I got to wondering … what is the difference between grits and polenta? The only ingredient listed on this package was “corn,” just like unprepared polenta. Aside from yellow (polenta) versus white (grits) corn, they look pretty much the same to me. OK, maybe the grits are a little more coarse, but could I use these grits to make a polenta-like dish? Hmm …

Tonight, I was cooking dinner for my training partner. I forgot to start the brown rice on time for dinner, so I decided to experiment the grits. I found a very simple polenta recipe (http://www.cookthink.com/recipe/3996/Simple_Polenta) and made a small batch based on this recipe.

1 cup water
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup Trader Joe’s Stone Ground White Grits
1 -2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or your choice of fresh herbs)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Bring the salted water to a boil. On medium heat, whisk in the grits and continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Whisk in the herbs and olive oil, and continue to cook until desired thickness. The grits can be served immediately for “soft” texture or poured into a ramekin or other container to cool and firm to a “hard” stage.

For a first try, I liked it. I thought it needed a little more salt, and will definitely play a bit more with this. It’s a hot evening, so I wanted something on the lighter side, therefore no cheese. Perhaps on a cold, rainy wintery night I’ll try this with cheese.

These were a side dish to grilled chicken breasts, steamed veggies (asparagus, brussel sprouts, organic broccolette, and organic sugar plum grape tomatoes), and brown rice (the timing worked out just fine, and I wanted to serve the rice just in case the grits were awful). I think tomorrow I’ll try grilling the leftover piece of “hard” polenta-grits on my George Foreman grill. I have to come up with a name for this. Grilenta? Polrits? Oh, no, no, no … those won’t do.

The chicken tonight was Rocky free range chicken. When I went to the store to buy it, I noticed that whole Rocky Junior chickens (http://www.petalumapoultry.com/rocky_jr) were on special, so I got this brilliant idea … why not buy a whole chicken and cut it into pieces and make my own boneless skinless chicken breasts and save $2+ per pound? I know how to do this! A little out of practice, maybe, but … I know how to do this. It’s much more cost effective this way.

Let’s just say … I’m really out of practice and I’m going to be eating chicken all week.

I marinated the breasts in a little olive oil, fresh squeezed organic lemon juice & zest, and fresh organic thyme. They marinated for about 2 hours, then I cooked them on my George Foreman grill. This little machine was a terrific investment.

Low Fat Lemon Curd with Fresh Berries

For dessert … I made low fat lemon curd (recipe posted previously) and served this with fresh organic strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.  This is the only item from the entire dinner that I photographed!

This curd is a little different from the original recipe because I used organic blue agave sweetener, which is a low glycemic sweetener. From what I understand, lower glycemic level (or index) foods are better at maintaining even blood sugar levels. I’m just learning about this, and it seems that there are a lot of factors involved, but it seems to me, the less processed (whole wheat vs. white, brown rice vs. white, juices vs. whole fruit, al dente vs. soft-cooked) the lower the glycemic index (“GI”).

The end result was a yummy lemon curd!

Here are some links to more information about glycemic index:

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/glycemic-index-diet/MY00770
• http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#What_is_the_glycemic_index

I still think, for me, that balance is the most important eating habit. I am fortunate to have, for the most part, pretty healthy food preferences. I don’t like “diets” because I find them to be too restrictive and I like to have a lot of variety in my diet when it comes to food. I guess that’s my inner foodie.

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I stopped by Nugget tonight on my way home from work and picked up a few goodies for dinner tomorrow. Wanna’ see?

Organic Heirloom Tomato

Sweet & Fragrant Organic Basil

Tomato and Basil Salad

Organic Lacinato Kale, AKA Dino Kale

Oragnic Kale

Steamed Organic Kale, with a touch of Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon

I’m also making boneless skinless chicken breasts, which I’ll marinate briefly in fresh lemon (hmm … Meyer or Eureka?), fresh thyme, and extra virgin olive oil, then cook on my George Foreman. I’ve got a little bit of Forbidden Rice (an incredibly delicious and healthy short grain black rice) that I’ll mix with some short grain brown rice. If you’ve never tried Forbidden Rice, I highly recommend it. I think that the Co-Op in Davis has it in bulk, which ends up being more economical to buy than the 15-ounce packages. Here is a link for information on it: http://www.lotusfoods.com/Forbidden-Rice/p/LOT-00210&c=LotusFoods@All

Dessert

And, of course, what dinner would be complete without …

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Traditional lemon curd his loaded with fat from butter & egg yolks. This version is just as delicious, but far lighter. Tart and refreshing, it is lovely on its own, with fresh berries, or in a tart.

Low Fat Lemon Curd

2 eggs
2 lemons
½ cup sugar

1. Zest the lemons, then juice them.
2. Whisk the eggs with the lemon zest.
3. Place the juice in a sauce pan and whisk in the sugar. Place on medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil. However, if it boils, let it cool a bit before introducing into the eggs.
4. Temper the eggs and lemon syrup—slowly whisk in some of the hot syrup into the eggs.
5. Once all syrup is incorporated into the eggs, then return to a low heat and cook gently, stirring or whisking constantly until thickened.

If you want a smoother curd, simply press it through a fine strainer to remove the lemon zest.

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Start with some fresh blackberries.

Wash fresh blackberries with cool water and set to drain on towels. You’ll want to make sure they’re dry when you assemble the tarts.

Prepare the shortbread crusts  (see “As Promised … Tartlets”).

Prepare the honeyed mascarpone filling. Place the contents of one 8-ounce container of mascarpone in the bowl of a mixer. Add the zest of one lemon. Beat at low speed, drizzling in honey to taste. Add half and half to the desired consistency.

Yes, I know seems very vague, but … to make these tartlets perfect for you, you’ll have to adjust the ingredients to your own taste. I don’t like the filling too sweet, but some do.

Place the mascarpone filling into a pastry bag. In a pinch (like discovering that your very own pastry bags are all still in storage and not in your kitchen) you can use a Ziploc (or other brand) bag. Spoon the filling into the bag and pipe into the shells.

Make-shift pastry bag

The filled shells ...

Top each with a blackberry.

Make sure the jelly is very liquidy when you put it on the fruit, or you will end up with a glob, like this.

You can glaze these with any clear jelly (not jam), but apple is the most neutral. It will add a little sweetness and some shine, but will not overpower the berries and mascarpone filling.  I tried spooning a little over, drizzling a little, and using a pastry brush, but wasn’t very happy with any of the results. In hindsight, I liked the tarts better without the glaze. 

Blackberry Mascarpone Tartlets

However, if you want the perfect looking glaze, there are tools out there that will allow you to spray a glaze on the fruit, so if it’s really that important, then invest in a glaze sprayer. Then again, the glaze that is often used in this sprayer can be a chemical concoction that I personally would rather not ingest or inflict on others.

These tartlets are the perfect bite of sweet after a rich meal. They’re just sweet enough, but if you want to add a little decadence to them, you can brush a little melted dark or white chocolate in the shell before piping in the mascarpone filling.

Enjoy!

 

 

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 Caramel, Nut, and Dark Chocolate Tartlets

These tartlets were really quite simple to make. All it takes is a basic shortbread crust, mini muffin tins, some good quality caramel sauce, dark chocolate, and nuts. You want to make sure that you have all of your ingredients ready before you bake the crusts.

Shortbread Crust
makes about 24 mini tart shells

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse briefly to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the dough begins to to come together. You don’t want to overmix this dough, but make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Depending on your tastes, if you are using unsalted butter, you can increase the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.

Turn the dough out of the food processor bowl onto a large piece of plastic wrap. If necessary, knead every so slightly to incorporate any unmixed flour. Let the dough rest.

Prepare mini muffin tins. This dough has a lot of butter in it, so you’ll only need to spray or “grease” them if they’re not non-stick.

Pull off small pieces of dough (the size of a non-shelled almond) and press them into the mini-muffin tins. You’ll want the dough to be fairly thin at this stage. When you’ve filled the pan, then dock the bottom of the shells with a fork 2-3 times. This will prevent the shells from puffing up while they bake. Place the pans in the freezer and chill for at least 20 minutes. This will also prevent the dough from sliding down into the bottom of the pan while they bake. Use this time to assemble the other ingredients: nuts, chocolate, caramel.

You can prepare these ahead of time and keep the shaped dough in the freezer. If you’re going to freeze the shells for more than 1 hour, you’ll want to wrap them well.

When you are ready to bake them, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Keep the shells in the freezer until you are ready to bake them. Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 13-15 minutes, rotating once if necessary. Watch your time carefully. These shells go from not done to too well done very quickly.

While the tarts are chilling in the freezer, lightly toast your nuts of choice. You can use almonds, pecans, macadamias, walnuts, or any nut you’d like to try.  I used almonds, pecans, and walnuts because that is what I had on hand. These would be fantastic with macadamia nuts.

Nuts can be toasted in the oven while it is preheating. Just be careful because at this temperature, the nuts will toast very quickly and there is very little time between perfect and burnt. When done, remove from the oven and cool. Save 24 whole nuts for garnish, and chop the rest into small pieces, but not too fine, maybe about 1/8 inch chunks.

Somewhere I have a fantastic recipe for homemade caramel, but it makes a huge amount and you really only need a few ounces for this recipe. For the caramel sauce, I used Trader Jacques’ Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. It was fantastic. You want to pick a caramel sauce that is fairly firm when at room temperature. A thin caramel sauce won’t give you the chewy bite you’ll want in these tarts.

For the chocolate, I used Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips. I think next time I’ll make a ganache because the chocolate  bloomed a little after it cooled and the tarts did not turn out as pretty as I had hoped. They were still quite delicious, though!

When you have all of your ingredients assembled and ready to go (i.e., mis en place*), then place the shells in the oven to bake. While they are baking, heat up the caramel sauce so that it will be easy to pour into the shells. When you pull the shells out of the oven, you will want to fill them immediately.

To assemble the tarts:

If using chocolate chips, then place 1-2 chocolate chips in the bottom of the shell as soon as it comes out of the oven. Place a few pieces of chopped nuts, then pour in the caramel. Top with another 2-3 chocolate chips and allow to melt slightly. Then press a whole nut on top for garnish. Press it in slightly. Allow the tarts to cool.

If using ganache, you can allow the shells to cool. Place a few pieces of chopped nuts into the shell, pour in the hot caramel. Cool. Prepare the ganache (it can be as simple as 1 part heavy cream to 2 parts dark chocolate – heat the cream to just below boiling, remove from heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth).

When the caramel has cooled completely, carefully spoon a little ganache on top of the tart, then place a whole nut on top.

Voila! You have tartlets!

We paired these with a Mendelson late harvest pinot gris (http://www.mendelsonwines.com/index.php/wines/pinot-gris-1.html).

The blackberry mascarpone tart recipe will have to wait another day …

These we paired with a Mendelson late harvest muscat canelli (http://www.mendelsonwines.com/index.php/wines/muscat.html)

Now that was a little piece of heaven on earth!

* Mis en place means to put everything in its place.

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So I’ve been struggling for a few weeks now about what the heck to make for a potluck we’re going to tonight. Having worked as a baker for many years, I typically whip up some yummy baked goods, but I wanted this to be different. Potlucks always seem to have so many desserts, I wanted to make something else. Stumped. I was completely stumped. What was everyone else bringing? What did we NEED? Inspiration eluded me.

We had dinner with a friend last week and he gave us a bottle of wine, a 2009 DeLoach Sonoma County Chardonnay Vinthropic Cuvee.

When it comes to wine, I like white wine, but I will almost always go for red. So this posed a fun challenge for me. What the heck could I make to pair with this wine?  I Googled it. This is what DeLoach recommends:  “a perfect complement to alfresco dining, and pairs well with creamy risotto with shitake mushrooms or a freshly tossed Caesar salad with grilled prawns” ( http://www.boissetfamilyestates.com/products/ProductDetails.aspx?PrdId=767)

Caesar Salad … that’s a possibility … but I’d like to take something warm.

Mushrooms. What can I do with mushrooms? Potluck … finger food … stuffed mushrooms? Nah. Skewers? Nah … that would take waay to long on my George Foreman.

What about quiche? Frittata? Tartlets?

Hmm … tartlets. In search of a recipe, I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, but one that sounded really good:  Hot Mushroom, Toasted Walnut, and Camembert Filo Tartlets (http://www.food52.com/recipes/11179_hot_mushroom_toasted_walnut_and_camembert_filo_tartlets).
This was my inspiration.

Mushroom, Walnut, and Smoked Gouda Tartlets

So, with this in mind, I set out shopping. I picked up some mini filo shells, baby bella mushrooms, fresh thyme, garlic and shallots. While I was shopping, I came upon a sample of a fantastic smoked gouda cheese and thought that would be amazing in the tarlets.

Here is my version of the tartlets …

1/2 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/2 pounds baby bella mushrooms (cremini)
1/2 cup white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)
salt & pepper to taste

45 mini filo shells
7 ounces smoked gouda, cut into small cubes or shredded

Chop mushrooms into small pieces (~ 1/8-inch dice) and set aside.
Strip thyme leaves from stems and set aside.
Saute garlic & shallots in olive oil and butter. Be careful to not burn.
Add mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid has reduced. Add wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Add thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember the cheese will add some salt, too, so depending on the cheese you use, you’ll want to adjust the salt accordingly.
This can be prepared up to a day ahead.

When it’s time to assemble, preheat oven to 350-degrees (F).

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and line up the filo shells.Place a small amount of cheese (2-3 small cubes, depending on size) in the shell. Bake about 5 minutes, until the cheese begins to melt. Remove from the oven and top off the tarts with a spoonful of mushroom mixture. If you’ve prepared the mushroom mixture ahead of time and refrigerated it, you’ll want to heat it up a bit before assembling the tarts.
Top the filled tartlet with some additional cheese.
Bake about  5 more minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted.
Garnish with additional thyme, and/or chives.

 

Enjoy!

Expect to have some filling leftover. I suspect it will make a lovely omelet or frittata, savory pizza or focaccia topping, or filling for thinly prepared chicken, pork, beef rolled up. Or, even stir fried with some brown rice, or with hearty grain like barley. I will have to experiment with this.

Oh, I also made these …

Blackberry Mascarpone Tarlets

Caramel Nut Chocolate Tartlets

I’ll post those recipes soon.