Niçoise, of sorts

I love a Niçoise salad when the weather agrees. I had some fresh yellow tail that I used for this salad. I think tuna on the grill is the best to get a little of that charred flavor but still keep it rare in the middle.

Also, for this particular salad I did not have fresh haricots verts but I did have a perfectly ripe avacado and some thin asparagus so the substitution was made. 

I think trusting yourself to use recipes as suggestions and not an absolute is what transforms one into a cook. 

So here is a suggestion from which you can do your thing:

4-5 oz. of yellowtail or ahi per person

Baby bib lettuce or Boston lettuce or any soft lettuce

3-4 small baby new potatoes or fingerlings per person

1 perfectly ripe avacado

1 egg per person

3-4 radishes sliced thin

4-6 spears of asparagus per person

1 lemon cut into small wedges

Dressing:

1/2 c. Extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot minced

1 T. Whole grain mustard

2T. Capers

1/4c. White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste 

Place eggs in a saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil , turn off the heat and place a lid on the saucepan. Let set for 5-6 mins. Then remove the eggs to a bowl of cold water and set aside to cool.

Put all dressing ingredients in a lidded  jar and shake to mix. 

Boil new potatoes until they are soft enough to prick through with a fork. When done, cut the potatoes in half and toss with a couple Tablespoons of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool a bit. 

Toss the asparagus in a bowl with a couple dashes of olive oil and salt and pepper..

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter.  

Peel the eggs and cut into quarters.

Slice the avacado.

Grill the asparagus until soft but still slightly crisp and grill the tuna so it is seated on the outside but still pink in the center.

Slice the tuna

Assemble the salad on the platter layering all of the components. Including the sliced radish and lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper and pour the dressing over the top.

Serve with a crusty bread.

Banana Blossom salad

 I have found myself in some great places recently whilst chasing the producer. My current location is Vietnam. I have taken advantage of my location and procured a couple cooking classes and market tours. One of my newly aquired favorites is Banana blossom salad.  I have often seen banana blossoms in the Thai markets of Los Angels, but never knew what to do with them. I am so happy to have another delicious salad option in my repertoire which I can post here.  This recipe will be just for the vegetarian version but you can add and grilled meat to turn it into a more substantial main.

Banana Blosom salad serves 6 as a side

1 banana blossom should be firm and fresh looking

2 medium carrots 

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch mint

1 cucumber

1/2 c.vietnamese fish sauce ( available on line and more subtle thanThai fish sauce)

1/2 c. Sugar 

1. C. Water

1 Thai chili or substitute a more mild red chili if you don't like spicy

1 clove garlic

1/3c. Roasted salted peanuts

1 T. Sesame seeds

Peel off the outer leaves of the banan blossom and collect all of the baby banana flowers from the inside ( they look almost like a bean sprout) soak them in cold water. Ave a few of the outer blossom petals to serve the salad in ( as in the photo). Stack and roll the remaining banana blossom petals so that you chan slice them into very thin chiffonades.  Soak them in ice cold water for at least 1-2 hour to remove all of the tannic sap.  Cut the carrots into thin matchsticks. Do the same for the outer sections of the cucumber, not including the seeds.  Rough chop the herbs. Prepare the dressing. Mix the water, fish sauce, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Fine chop the chile and garlic and add them to the dressing and stir all ingredients together.  If the blossom bits have soaked for a half hour, drain them very well and put in a bowl big enough to toss all ingredients together. Dress with just enough dressing to moisten all ingredients, but don't drown them. Top with peanuts and sesame seeds.

I have had this salad both with grilled shrimp and char shui pork...both yummy!

Kind of a quiche yet kind of a frittata

I had some amazing tomatoes from the Farmer's Market and thought of making a tomato tart but didn't really want the calories from the crust so I came up with an alternate. 

Fresh tomato and corn quichetatta.

1/2 c. Seasoned bread or cracker crumbs

Non stick spray

1 large flavorful tomato

1 ear fresh corn

1 can Ortega chiles

5 large or jumbo eggs

1/3 c. Lebneh or sour cream plus 1/4 c. Water or sub with 1/2 c. Milk

1t. Chopped fresh dill

1/2 c feta cheese

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray and scatter the crumbs over the spray to cover the bottom of the pan. Slice the tomato into slices and lay over the crumbs.

Peel the corn and slice off the fresh kernels. (Tip: put a small bowl upside down inside a larger bowl.Place the ear of corn on the smaller bowl and slice the kernels off and they will fall into the large bowl instead of onto the floor.) Sprinkle the corn kernels over the tomatoes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the tomatoes and corn. Slice the chiles and lay over the corn. Sprinkle the chopped dill and feta over the chiles. 

Break the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk in the lebneh and water OR milk. Stir in a pinch is salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cheese and place the baking pan in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until set in the center and golden on top. 

Enjoy!

MamaP

An egg poached in an avacado..oh my!

This is an idea I saw on The Chew on ABC a couple weeks ago and was reminded of by my sister. So credit to Chef Symon. I just bumped it up a notch.

Being an Angeleno I just can't get enough avocado on a daily basis. It's a well supported habit since my favorite market in Altadena, Super King sells big beautiful Haas avocados for about 79 cents per. Crazy!!! I buy them by the half dozen and always have them in the fridge at a ripened state and assorted degrees of ripening on the counter.
Anywhoooooo onto the recipe.

1/2 avocado per person not too ripe and slightly under ripe is OK.
1 egg per person
1-2 oz. sliced smoked salmon per person
6-8 cherry tomatoes per person cut in half
fresh tarragon
lemon zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
1 T. capers
good olive oil
salt/pepper
1T. coconut oil or olive oil

In a saute pan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. place each avocado face side down on the oil and allow to get a little caramelized. After about 2 minutes gently flip the avocado over to its back side. Try to get the avocados nestled together and flat so that you can crack an egg into each little bowl where the seed sat. Put a lid on the pan for 1 minute then add 1/4 c- 1/3 c. water to to the pan and return the lid to create steam to help finish the eggs.  The eggs only need 3-5 minutes of cooking time just to set the whites but don't overcook the yolks. While the eggs are cooking, prepare the tomato salad. Mix the tomato halves, tarragon, lemon zest, lemon juice a drizzle of good olive oil and salt and pepper together. I also like to stir in 1T. of capers. If the eggs are set, remove the avocado with egg from the pan to a bowl. sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Lay the salmon over the egg and spoon on the tomato salad.
Find a lovely place to eat this and prepare yourself because its going to be a party in your mouth!
Enjoy!
mamaP

How many claws does a bear have?

Some products are not worth making yourself and puff pastry is one of those. One of the many fabulous things you can create at home using store bought puff pastry is Bear Claws.

It is much simpler than one would think and can be made with great success. The most important thing to know with puff pastry is KEEP IT CHILLED! It is the ice cold butter in the many layers of pastry that creates steam when baked at a high heat and causes the pastry to puff. So if I forgot to tell you later, if you are not directly in contact with the pastry, keep it in the fridge.

The process is simple.
1. Thaw your puff pastry ,in the box, overnight in the fridge.
2. On the next day, preheat your oven to 425F and make the filling and glaze (see below).
3. Once you have the filling made put it into a piping bag or large zip top bag with the corner cut off. Beat an egg in a bowl with 1 tsp. water to use a the egg wash and have a pastry brush at the ready.

You will also need to have sliced almonds ready.
4. Assemble the bear claws. Unfold the dough and if needed roll into a rectangular shape or cut into 2 pieces in order to obtain rectangles. you should work on a Silpat or parchment paper to facilitate getting the pastry onto a sheet pan. Orient the rectangle so it is horizontal in front of you. Using a piping bag or zip top bag, pipe the filling along where the middle fold of the rectangle. You can make 2-3 strips of filling depending on how much you like. 

Egg wash the bottom and sides slightly and the fold the top half of the rectangle down over the lower half so that the filling is now at the top of the folded pastry where the fold is. Press the edges closed so no filling escapes. Cut the length of pastry into individual bear claw portions. 

If you are work on a Silpat, be careful not to cut the Silpat. Separate the individual portions and cut the toes along the bottom edge.

 Egg wash the whole bear claw and sprinkle a generous amount of sliced almonds over it. Get it into the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until nice golden and delicious! remove from the oven and brush the glaze onto the hot pastries.

Bear Claw filling:
1/2 c. almond paste
1/2c. butter
2 eggs
1/3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. cake flour
In a mixer, using the paddle, mix half of the butter and almond paste on medium for 1-2 minutes until light and smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium until well blended.

Apricot glaze
1/4 c. apricot jam
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. corn syrup
1 T.  brandy
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until the jam is melted. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. It is ready to use once it has cooled to room temperature.
These would make lovely Christmas morning gifts for neighbors! 

Enjoy!
xo MamaP

My final day at the CIA

Sadly my time at the CIA has come to a close. I learned quite a bit at Bistro Boot Camp and am so looking forward to preparing Bistro food for my Fam!
Day 4 presented us with the challenge of desserts and baked goods. My team was responsible for cheese souffles, quiche with caramelized onions and brie, and chocolate mousse.
Since I have had experience preparing all 3, my team mates asked me to help with all 3 and they would each take 1 as their responsibility. I started by helping to prep the mis en place for the cheeses souffle.

With that done, I moved over to help with the syrup for the chocolate mousse. We got it to the point of just going from little bubbles to big and went to whip it into the egg yolks and ended up making egg hard candy.  I was totally perplexed.  So... OK,  call chef... she too was perplexed! That made me feel much better! We pulled out the hard lumps, made another syrup and ended up with much better looking stabilizer so we slowly mixed in the melted chocolate which I though was about to seize so I quickly turned off the  mixer and summoned chef again. She took it out and said the chocolate had not seized but somehow we had made the consistency of truffles. She told us to try to get the whip cream folded in but that was not going to happen. So, we scalded some cream and slowly stirred that into what was now truffle dough and voila'! We got it back to mousse base. We then let the mixture cool a bit and got it folded into the whipped cream to make an outstanding mousse, worth the effort.

As with the rest of my life,  I learned the most from my mistakes. If I hadn't had the lecture on understanding of the process of what occurred in that process of stabilizing the base, I probably would have thrown everything out at the first mistake and started again. However, continuing to push forward gave me even more confidence in the kitchen. As chef reminded us, it's food and unless it's burned to a crip, there is almost always a way of saving a mistake!
I will work on a user friendly chocolate mousse recipe to share with you later. But for now, don't give up on your mistakes and trust your instincts!
xo MamaP

CIA Day 3 Breakfast!

My favorite meal out is breakfast and that is what day 3 was all about! One would think breakfast is so simple but I learned the most by far on this day and had the most fun! My assignment was to make English muffins for our team.

Not as difficult as I first thought and very fun!  There will probably not be a lot of commercial English muffins in our house from this point forward. I have included the recipe so you can try them at home. 

Please note that all credit for this recipe goes to the Culinary Institute of America.
In addition to the responsibility of our recipe to fulfill the team's menu for the day, we each had to prepare a perfectly cooked French omelette and a perfectly poached egg.  Since I pretty much subsist on poached eggs, that one was a no brainer, but the omelette proved a bit more challenging. If you know Julia Child's story of culinary school, then you know how many omelets she prepared before success. While I would not say mine was perfect ( a wee bit of color on the exterior) I did get the inside just right and Chef was very pleased! Be still my heart!
Our presentation buffet was at least 3 dozen poached eggs in various forms of bennies. We also got puff pastry 3 ways, apple turnovers, bear claws and tomato tart. Add to that lemon soufflé pancakes, cream scones, muesli in the French style ( folded with whipped cream and fruit!) and grapefruits a la Salvor Dali! It was quite a spread again.

 Technically, we are not supposed to take any food away from the building,for liability, but somehow when I got home, I discovered 2 English muffins in my bag. I thought the Producer needed to reap some benefits for his investment! ; )
Enjoy the English muffin recipe!
Xo MamaP