Barb Designs

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Caprese salad any time of the year March 27, 2009

Filed under: Cooking, Food — Barb @ 6:51 pm
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Roasted Caprese Salad in March

Roasted Caprese Salad in March

Caprese salad isn’t a dish I normally crave in the middle of winter. Although caprese-quality Ttomatoes are usually scarce this time of year, it can be done with Romas. Yes, I said Romas—those tomatoes that are usually tasteless, gritty and unremarkable. The trick is to slow roast the tomatoes until they are sweet and concentrated.

I used Ina Garten’s recipe for Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad and was happy to taste summertime in March.

Ingredients

  • 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
  • 12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

 

Best bacon ever March 27, 2009

Filed under: Cooking, Food — Barb @ 6:26 pm
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Mmmmm...bacon

Mmmmm...bacon

A long, long time ago I was a quasi-vegetarian for about 8 years or so. Then I remembered bacon.

Heather and I got Ryan and Eric a delicious holiday gift…two nights of cooking school at In Good Taste. The class, Charcuterie 101, taught the basics of curing, smoking, salting and devouring various meats—from duck to pork belly to trout. Chef Ben Bettinger of Clyde Common (and of the future Beaker and Flask…we hope) helped his pork disciples deliver some of the best bacon I’ve ever tasted. It was think, smoky, and salty…and almost too good for words before it was devoured.

 

Coq au Riesling December 7, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 8:20 pm
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Coq au Riesling

This dish reminds me off something my mom would make on a Sunday evening. It has down home chicken, noodles and broth but is updated with mushrooms, Riesling and leeks. I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe but added a dollop of beurre manié at the end to thicken the sauce. Use a California, cheaper Riesling to cook with and a nice bottle of German or Alsace Riesling to savor with the meal. Be sure to use skinless chicken thighs, not breasts (I don’t know why everyone loves breasts…but that’s another topic).

This is a perfect winter dish to enjoy on a Sunday evening or any day of the week.

Nigella’s Coq au Riesling

Directions

I have always loved the Alsatian version of coq au vin and this is it in a stunningly streamlined version. I replace the onion with leek, buy lardons ready cubed and buy chicken thighs. The brown meat is always best in a stew. In fact, nearly always best full stop. I don’t bother to sear the meat, which really means you need skinless portions; unbrowned chicken skin is not pretty. If you’re not buying thighs, but thigh fillets then it is probably more helpful to think in terms of boned weight, rather than number of portions: go, here, for about a kilo and a quarter/ two and three quarter pounds.






Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons garlic oil
  • 1 cup bacon lardons
  • 1 leek, finely sliced
  • 12 skinless chicken thighs or 2 3/4 pounds thigh fillets
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 ounces oyster mushrooms torn into strips (4 cups)
  • 1 bottle Riesling
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill leaves
  • Buttered noodles, optional

Heat the oil in a casserole or large wide pan and fry the lardons until crisp.

Add the sliced leeks and soften them with the lardons for a minute or so.

Tip in the chicken thighs, bay leaves, torn mushrooms and wine.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer gently for an hour. Like all stews this tastes its mellowest best if you let it get cold and then reheat the next day. But it’s no hardship to eat straight off. Whichever, serve sprinkled with dill and with some buttered noodles, if using.

 

Perfect Roast Chicken December 7, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 10:45 am
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Even though the Food Network has a talent for taking decent TV cooks and turning them into dancing, babbling puppets à la Rachel Ray, they seem to keep their hands off Ina Garten. Ina, aka Barefoot Contessa, still seems grounded and makes simple yet elegant fare. Plus, who can resist her cute husband Jeffrey who comes home just as the cookies are coming out of the oven?

Ina’s line of baking mixes at skyrocket prices makes me cringe, however I still enjoy her staple recipes like this one for the Perfect Roast Chicken. Add any kind of vegetable to the roasting pan and they will caramelize and suck up the chicken juices.

Ingredients

  • 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
  • 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
  • Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

 

Make your own marinara November 2, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 10:53 am
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Marinara Sauce

Marinara Sauce

Just because it’s easy to open a jar of Bertolli marinara sauce doesn’t mean you should. Sauce in a jar tends to have that metallic, stale taste that ruins a bowl of spaghetti. It’s just as easy to make a pot of fresh marinara and freeze it in 2-cup increments. Then you have fresh-tasting marinara that you can add just about anything to like meatballs, olives, tuna, spinach, eggplant, etc.

Even though she has become a giggling pawn of The Food Network and NBC, Giada DeLaurentiis has a decent recipe for marinara that I tend to use. It’s easy to make and freezes well. It makes a thick sauce, so just throw a little in the blender if you prefer a smoother consistency.

Overall, the recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and then an hour to simmer. Mangia!

 

Get salmon in the Gorge October 26, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 10:16 am
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The most popular spot to buy salmon in the Gorge is in Cascade Locks, but I prefer the mysterious salmon sellers in White Salmon across from the fish hatchery (go left off the Hood River Bridge). Sometimes there is a sign that says “Fresh Fish Here” and other times you just have to go wonder around until you see someone who looks like he/she might have a catch.

Yes, the fishing encampment looks sketchy, but the fish is fresh and cheap. I’ve even made steelhead trout sashimi from a catch of the day. Just check that the fish’s eyeballs are clear and look alive and that it smells like water, not like fish.

Roast the fish hole at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes with some lemons, thyme and salt & pepper stuffed in the cavity.

 

Do not hate on cauliflower October 13, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 5:24 pm
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Cauliflower and Romanesca

Cauliflower and Romanesca

I used to loathe cauliflower—the rubbery kind that restaurants throw in salads to take up volume. It never really tasted like anything and is usually accompanied by the phrase, “Roughage is good for you.”

But hold on fellow cauliflower haters out there: Cauliflower can be delicious! I tried a recipe from The Oregonian’s Mix Magazine and was surprised at how much I liked cauliflower. All it took was some lemon, capers, parsley and a hot oven to help the misunderstood vegetable shine. Check out the recipe here or below.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, add or substitute romanesca (the broccoli/cauliflower alien veggie) to the mix.


















Roasted Cauliflower with Lemons, Capers & Parsley

From “Dirt Divas,” by Leslie Cole, Aug./Sept. 2008

Makes 4 servings

2 small to medium heads cauliflower
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or lemon thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons drained capers, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into florets, mostly the same size, but a few smaller ones are OK (they will create extra-crispy bits). Cut any large florets in half lengthwise. In a large bowl toss cauliflower with the olive oil and thyme; season generously with salt and pepper and toss again until everything’s evenly distributed.

Spread the cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet (you may need two) and roast until florets are tender, collapsed and golden brown on their cut faces and around the edges, at least 20 minutes, possibly longer. Meanwhile, stir together the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic and capers. When the cauliflower is ready to serve, toss it with the lemon mixture and the fresh parsley and serve right away.

 

Best pancakes ever September 28, 2008

Filed under: Baking, Cooking — Barb @ 9:48 am
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Huckleberry Pancakes

Huckleberry Pancakes

Why people use Bisquick…I will never understand. All you need for good pancake batter is ingredients that are most likely already in your pantry and refrigerator. Like most baking mixes, all Biquick is a box of flour, baking powder, salt, etc. And by the etc. I mean that there’s probably some sort of strange filler ingredients and/or preservatives.

So do yourself a favor and make pancakes from scratch. I found what I deem the best pancake recipe ever online—they’re called simply Good Old Fashioned Pancakes. You can add blueberries, huckleberries, nuts, and other accoutrements to the batter while it’s in the pan (just drop the ingredients on the pancake, push them down a bit, and then flip).

The pancakes turn out light and fluffy just like they should be.

 

Roast Chicken Vermentino, et al. September 25, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 12:46 pm
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Roast Chicken Vermentino

I often like to take a recipe that I find and add a bunch of ingredients to it. In this case, I took a New York Times Magazine recipe for Roast Chicken Vermentino and added haricots verts, fennel and some grape tomatoes at the end. The recipe is simple but calls for lots of dried porcini mushrooms, which can be quite expensive. So I used 1 oz of dried porcinis and morels and then made up the difference with fresh cremini mushrooms.

If you can’t find Vermentino, you can substitute Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, or even opt to the dry side with a Sauvignon Blanc.

 

Magic bean September 10, 2008

Filed under: Cooking — Barb @ 8:10 am
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Hovering Bean

Hovering Bean

So my groggy morning routine of making coffee got exciting this week. I opened the bag of coffee beans to pour them in the coffee grinder just like I do everyday. But all of the sudden, a bean came flying out and then magically hovered in mid air (my photo does not do it justice).

I rubbed my eyes repeatedly to try to process this new morning phenomenon. How can a coffee bean jump out of a bag and hover in mid air?

After investigating the strange occurrence, I discovered an almost invisible spider’s silk spanning from the bean all the way up to the ceiling light fixture. Somehow a spider had descended from the light onto the coffee beans, and I disturbed his slumber.

Eric and I let the bean hang for several days…until we ran into it often enough that it fell to the ground.

Bizarre.