Nectarine Chutney and Sun-Dried Apricot Vinegar
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Strolling happily into my favorite grocery store, I was drawn as if magnetically to a display of beautiful nectarines. I instinctively picked one up, held it to my nose and took a deep breath. The smell was ripe and richly sweet, reminiscent of its cousin the peach. Like big baseballs of burgundy, red and gold, their skin was smooth and soft. Who could resist. I had to bring a few pounds home.
Besides eating one out of hand, I love to make nectarine chutney. For me, it’s one of the pleasures of summer cooking. Nectarine chutney is a quick and delicious accompaniment to sautéed or grilled chicken and grilled or roast pork tenderloin. Spread a thick layer on a turkey sandwich for a fantastic twist. Plop some on a plate next to skewers of sizzling grilled shrimp.
So what is chutney? According to The New Food Lovers Companion (a must have reference book for any food lover), chutney is a spicy condiment that contains fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices with textures ranging from smooth to chunky and from mild to hot in terms of spice.
The recipe I use is from the July 2001 issue of Gourmet Magazine. It calls for apple cider vinegar, which works fine and is always in the pantry. If you want to try something different, and I think better, try Sun-Dried Apricot Vinegar from Cuisine Perel. It’s usually available from Gourmet Country and other online gourmet suppliers. Treat yourself to a bottle. While you are at it, you may want to try the blood orange or spicy pecan flavored vinegars. Both have wonderful flavors. After you’ve made your chutney, make sun-dried apricot vinaigrette for a tossed green salad with nectarine slices.
As many chutney recipes do, this recipe uses curry powder. Like chili powder, curry powder is a blend of spices. These aromatic blends range from mild and sweet to pungent and hot. I like sweet curry powder from Penzeys which has little heat. It’s a blend of turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, white pepper, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Penzeys offers eight others blends for you to choose from so check out their website. If you are unsure of cooking with curry powder in terms of flavor, the sweet curry powder is a good one to start with.
For a simple vinaigrette, whisk together three parts oil to one part vinegar. Layer nectarine slices on a plate and top with cool, crisp Arugula or Mache leaves, then drizzle with your vinaigrette. Add glazed pecans and blue cheese crumbles. The richness of the blue cheese and pecans is wonderful against the sweetness of the fresh nectarines. The flavors work beautifully together and the colors are a treat for the eye.
At the end of last summer I promised myself I’d make some of this wonderful chutney and can a few jars to enjoy during the winter and give as Christmas gifts. A new 10-quart pressure canner is waiting in my cupboard. I’d better get busy before they are gone, leaving me longing for next summer’s crop.
Nectarine Chutney (original recipe Gourmet Magazine, July 2001)
Yield: 4-6 side servings
This is my version of the Gourmet Magazine recipe which was accompanied by chicken breasts. The original is a bit more chunky. I love to use sun-dried apricot vinegar versus the apple cider vinegar, but either will work. You can also try spicy pecan vinegar or the blood orange. Here is the link to the original recipe if you are interested.
Ingredients
1 lb ripe, firm nectarines, skinned, flesh cut from the pit and diced small
2 Roma tomatoes, quartered, gutted and diced small
1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced fine
1/4 cup sun-dried apricot vinegar, cider vinegar, blood orange or spicy pecan vinegar
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Penzeys Sweet Curry Powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Finely chopped cilantro, flat leaf parsley or chives for garnish (optional)
In a 2-quart heavy saucepan simmer nectarines, tomato, garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, curry powder, and salt, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened but still saucy, about 20 minutes. Serve warm, room temperature or cooled. What you don’t use will keep for a few days refrigerated.
Sun-Dried Apricot Vinaigrette
Yield: ½ cup
For a clean, bright tasting vinaigrette all you need is good quality, fruity olive oil and the sun-dried apricot vinegar plus salt and pepper. Simple! Sometimes I add a little finely minced shallot, but the apricot is more pronounced without the shallot. Try it both ways. On oil, you can also use grapeseed oil. It has a light, neutral flavor, which really allows flavored vinegars to shine through.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons good quality olive oil
2 tablespoons sun-dried apricot vinegar (or blood orange, spicy pecan or apple cider vinegar)
Salt and pepper, to taste.
1 teaspoon finely minced shallot, optional
In a small bowl whisk all together until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Always seeming to be on the run, the first half of the year went by in a blink. With trips to Santa Fe, New Mexico and Washington DC, then the Chef Challenge I didn’t have time to write about one of the most fun things we did in the first half of the year – the Food Styling and Photography Workshop.
Offered by Food Fanatics, the dynamic duo of Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan taught the food styling side of the workshop. Denise and Cindie, both professionally trained chefs and incredibly experienced food stylists, are also authors of several books. The talented and tattooed twosome of Matt Armendariz and Adam Pearson, professional photographer and blogger and professional food stylist, taught the food photography side of the workshop with more insight on food styling. Getting the opportunity to learn from such top-notch professionals was fantastic! Gathered were a great group of fellow food bloggers and photographers eager to learn. We had a fun and information packed two days.
The workshop took place at Matt and Adam’s studio in Long Beach, California. It’s a loft space with a kitchen to prepare food, lots of space for tables to set up and a place for Adam’s incredible collection of props, dishes, antique bread boards, fabrics, and more. Yes, it’s prop heaven for food photography.
Day One – Making Food Camera Ready
Our first day focused on food styling tips and making food ready for the camera. We learned that food styling is about control. Denise and Cindie taught about color and movement in food that is going to be photographed. What your eye sees is not what the camera sees. I’ve learned this working with Kent shooting food for my blog. It’s amazing how looking through the lens changes everything.
Because your eye moves but a camera lens is still you have to create the movement. It’s hard to make food look good for the camera. For each beautiful, enticing, mouth-watering food picture you see in glossy magazine you can bet a hundred, possibly hundreds, of photos were taken to get that one perfect shot.
Professional chefs are trained to get food to the table, to a waiting client, while its hot. The reverse is true for most food photography: cold food works better. It’s different with food styling and that has been been a tough mindset to change…but I’ve now learned this. And after shooting food for several hours you are not going to eat it. After being poked, moved, “painted”, sprayed and messed with, most of the time it won’t be appetizing and it won’t be safe to eat. You just have to get over it. Food stylists are paid to make food look beautiful, not edible.
As I am an avid note-taker (my mother swears I was born with a note pad and pencil in hand) I have great notes from the workshop. A few tips from the teachers:
- Pick good subjects for the camera in terms of shape and color
- Food must be identifiable to the camera
- Consider contrast, elevation and texture
- Think about your garnishes
- Keep props simple, remembering that utensils create movement
- Every picture tells a story, so decide on the story you are trying to tell
- Please yourself and develop your own style
- Shoot “tethered”, which means with a cable attached between your camera and a computer monitor so you can see the results of shooting instantly. We do this and it saves us a lot of time.
- Use a tripod
Cindie shared the professional food stylists tricks for making pancakes, salmon and hamburgers look beautiful to the camera and how to make bowls of pasta look perfect. Amazing!
A big part of food styling is about having the right tools. Cindie and Denise definitely had their bags of tricks, an amazing collection from years of experience. In their bags were all manner of spray and squeeze bottles, paint brushes, Scotchguard, measuring cups, Pam spray, cosmetic sponges, heat guns, Karo syrup and Kitchen Bouquet, Crisco, rubbing alcohol, poly grip, Windex, paper towels, plates, plastic cups and spoons – even a charcoal starter to enhance those fancy grill marks we all love.
I’m still building my own bag of tools, a Husky tool tote from Home Depot. I was lucky enough to snag a fancy set of tweezers from Denise to help me along the path of food styling enlightenment. Thanks Denise!
Day Two – Every Picture Tells a Story, Don’t it?
Day two of the workshop was about putting teaching into action. The fantastic teaching team of Matt, Adam, Cindie and Denise were ready to guide us through a day of food styling, shooting and implementing what we had learned day one.
Professional photographer and author of highly the acclaimed food, photography and travel blog, MattBites.com, Matt Armendariz kicked off day two teaching us about food photography. Matt then worked with each of us hands on through the day helping to make our food photographs professional quality.
One of the neat things about the studio is that it had a rollup metal garage door. When up, it acts like a giant window and floods the studio with natural light, perfect for “available light” food photography. A gauzy panel stretched on a wood frame the size of the door acted as a giant diffuser. It was a great setup and made us want to build a studio!
The Apple of My Eye
At the end of day one we were challenged to come up with a dish we wanted to shoot as our project. With salmon just coming into season, I chose my pistachio crusted salmon recipe. Everyone arrived early armed with groceries to prepare then shoot their chosen project.
Some students did their own food photography. Several of us had our partners in crime (photographer husbands) in tow. Luckily, Kent was with me. Although I have a good eye, I’ll stick with preparing the food and styling and let Kent do the shooting.
Our worktables were large boards covered with heavy felt on sawhorses. An ironing board and steamer were ready to press linens as we set our scenes. Food was prepared in the studio kitchen and we had the privilege of choosing from Adam’s huge prop collection.
Matt explained what makes for a great food photograph and what we had to consider: light direction, light quality, how to diffuse, how to change the light. Light, light, light. It’s ALL about the light. The right light makes all of the difference in the world between an average photo and a breathtaking one. Matt also discussed the importance of the food subject, choosing the best lens, camera angle, and more.
Most students had digital SLR cameras from Canon and Nikon. One student came armed with a point and shoot and got beautiful photos, proving you can get great photos with any kind of camera. It’s not necessarily the camera: it’s what you do with it. That’s part of what we were learning.
Part of the fun and education of the second day was watching as every student’s project came to life. The food was plated on specially chosen plates or boards to compliment the story being told. Linens and utensil were selected. Plates were set down, viewed from behind the lens, and the tweaking started.
As each project was a work in progress, we gathered to listen to Matt, Adam, Cindie and Denise coach us through the small changes that would eventually result in a professional looking food photograph. It was exciting and educational to watch each student’s project from beginning to end and the beautiful photographic result.
In regards to the salmon recipe, I adapted it from two other recipes and made my own version. As my husband’s family grows 10 acres of pistachios in central California, I wanted to create a recipe with those beautiful green and tasty nuts. What’s not to love about pistachios! This recipe is easy and has great flavor and texture. While salmon is in season, take advantage of it and try this recipe.
We were really pleased with how our project came out and learned a lot of valuable information. If you’ve thought about taking a food styling and photography hands-on class, this was a fantastic experience. I definitely plan to continue my food styling education. So Denise, where is that next workshop? Maybe I should camp out on Matt and Adams’ doorstep and beg to apprentice.
And this post would not be complete without a mention of the soon-to-be-released book by Denise entitled The Food Stylists Handbook. You can pre-order it on Amazon. I’ve already order my copy. Can’t wait to receive it!
Pistachio-Crusted Roast Salmon
This recipe was adapted from two others: the first a Bon Appetit recipe for halibut in October 2007 and the other from another USPCA Personal Chef, Judi Eidam. The crunchy pistachio and herb crust works well with the richness of salmon. Out of the oven, finish your salmon with a drizzle of good olive oil or pistachio oil. A note on roasting time for the salmon. My salmon filets were 1 1/4″ thick. I did them for 12 minutes in a convection oven at 375 degrees and they were perfect. For slightly rare salmon roast 11 minutes. The more you do this, the more you will develop your feel for roasting salmon and how you prefer to enjoy it. Don’t be afraid! It will be great!
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 ½ – 2 pounds salmon, preferably fresh wild, skinned
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, toasted and finely chopped (if you use salted pistachios you may need less salt when seasoning your salmon)
1/4 cup Japanese Panko crumbs or unseasoned breadcrumbs, toasted
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or pistachio oil to drizzle at end
Directions
1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees (375 convection)
2) Carefully turn the salmon skinned side up and with a very sharp, thin knife (like a filet knife) trim out any dark purple areas. This is the salmon’s blood line and it can be strong tasting. If you don’t mind that, you can skip the trimming. Portion the filet into four pieces. Place filets on a foil covered rimmed baking sheet.
3) In a small bowl, mix the Dijon mustard, butter and honey into a smooth paste. Set aside.
4) In a small bowl, mix the pistachios, crumbs, parsley and chives.
5) Season the salmon filets with salt and pepper to taste. Spread a little of the butter mixture on top of the filets. Coat the top of the filets with some of the nut-crumb-herb mix patting lightly. If you have extra of the herb crust mix it keeps for a few days refrigerated.
6) Place the salmon in the oven and roast for 12-14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets.
7) Serve with lemon wedges
If you’ve been following my posts on the Sears Chef Challenge, it’s now time to vote! Click this link and then click on the big orange button. Voting started June 26 and ends on July 10, which is next Saturday. The voting has been fiercely competitive and I need your votes each day to win and bless the two charitable organizations I am competing for – The Saddleback Church Food Pantry and The Sheepfold.
This is an amazing opportunity to bring essential funds and resources to The Saddleback Church Food Pantry and The Sheepfold Women’s Shelter. The food pantry supports more than 450 families per month and the number is rising in these difficult economic times. The Sheepfold has been helping abused women and their children to turn their lives around for more than thirty years. Both are incredible organizations worthy of everyones support.
Casting your vote for me is easy. Just log on to searschefchallenge.com. Please vote once a day now through July 10th. There is big competition for this challenge, so remember to come back daily to cast your votes and help me raise big donations for charity. Every vote counts, so tell your friends, family and post it on your FaceBook and Twitter accounts!
Competing in the Sears Chef Challenge has been a great experience. Doing all four in-store cooking demonstrations was a blast! I was recently featured in an article in the Orange County Register newspaper talking about the challenge, my background and business. Click here to read the article. I was also interviewed on Restaurant Radio by Dane Neal and Tom Reboletti. What great guys! They were so much fun to talk with. The show is syndicated across America. Here is the link to listen. It takes just a few minutes. Click here to listen to the interview: Restaurant Radio Interview. If you have not seen my cooking video segment with my recipe for Grilled Jalapeno-Mint Shrimp with Hominy Succotash click here. If the link takes you to the general Sears Chef Challenge site and not right to my video, you can click at the right where it says June 5th demo. The recipe is in a previous post.
Please vote each day, once a day, from how ever many emails you have, such as business and personal. Any single emails that look as if they have been entered more than once a day will be removed via validation at the end of the voting period. The four city winners will be announced Monday July 12. Then the winners move on to Chicago for a head-to-head cooking competition. At stake is up to $20,000 in cash donations as well as a full suite of brand new Kenmore kitchen appliances and a $20,000 kitchen makeover.
Thanks for your support everyone! I’m working on posts for pistachio crusted salmon and several people have written and asked for my meatloaf recipe. Will do!
Hard to believe that today was the last and final event in the Sears Chef Challenge! It’s been great fun and an incredible experience. Best of all, I’m competing for two wonderful charitable causes – the Saddleback Church Food Pantry and The Sheepfold. Individual videos of each chef are being created from event 3 for voting, which begins on June 26 through July 10. Please, vote for me daily and help me win for these two giving and caring organizations!
Today we were at the Sears in Buena Park, CA. It’s so close to Knott’s Berry Farm that you can see the roller coasters. My roots go back to Buena Park as my family lived there until I was five. My dad’s first church was the little white Church of the Reflection in Knott’s, long before it was an amusement park. Walter Knott himself agreed to allow my dad to hold services there if he would also hold a service for employees on Sunday before the park opened. My history with Knott’s is still to this day why I am completely crazy about boysenberries! But today we are talking about salmon. In season right now, what could be better (not to mention good for you) than fresh, wild salmon.
Our recipe today came courtesy of Chef Rachelle Boucher of Drawn to the Kitchen With Chef Rachelle. Have fun reading her terrific blog. She’s always up to something special! Chef Rachelle created a simple and colorful Asian-inspired salmon entrée and side dish of gingered Chinese long beans.
When I tested the recipe earlier this week the salmon was beautiful but the Chinese long beans were either non-existent or looked terrible at the market. When this happens to you – an ingredient is not available or not up to standards – find a logical substitute. Rather than driving out of the way to an Asian grocer I opted to use baby green beans. You’ll also find them labeled by their French name, haricot vert. Haricot vert, or baby green beans, are one of my favorite vegetables. They cook quickly, are tender to the bite and very versatile. Baby green beans work beautifully as a warm side dish and chilled as a green bean salad, nice as we anticipate hot summer weather.
To get the green beans ready ahead of time for today’s demonstration, I blanched them in boiling salted water for 4 minutes, then “shocked” them in a bowl of ice water. Shocking in ice water stops the cooking process and sets the bright green color of the beans. After chilling down, the beans can be drained and held refrigerated until needed. All you need to do is heat them up and finish with a sauce, in this case tossing with soy sauce and a little brown sugar.
To finish the green beans, heat up a sauté pan, fry pan or skillet. Cook the garlic, ginger and the white portion of the green onions in a little oil for a minute or two. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the green beans, stir together and heat through. Remove the green beans from the heat and add soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir to coat the beans and season with salt and pepper, to taste. You can use kosher or sea salt and fresh ground pepper, but I have another suggestion – roasted Szechuan pepper salt from Penzeys. Lightly spicy, aromatic Szechuan peppercorns are roasted then ground with flake salt to a fine powder. It’s a fantastic, almost floral-smelling pepper and salt blend that is a natural for Asian recipes. I’m hooked on it and use it for all kinds of seasoning needs.
For the salmon I mixed both black and white sesame seeds for a striking presentation. Marinate the salmon about 30 minutes at room temperature in oil and orange zest. To coat the salmon in the sesame seeds place the seeds in a pie plate or other shallow rimmed dish. Place salmon presentation side (opposite side of the skin) down into the seeds and press gently so the seeds adhere. Gently turn the salmon filets over keeping as much of the sesame coating intact as possible. If a few seeds fall off, sprinkle extra seeds on to cover the spot. Cook in a hot non-stick fry or sauté pan, sesame seed side down, until the sesame crust is crisp and the white seeds are becoming golden. Turn salmon over and lower heat; cook salmon to completion.
This dish can be enjoyed two ways – either warm or cool. For the cool presentation, cook the salmon and set aside or even chill in the refrigerator. Fill a dinner-sized plate with crisp salad greens of your choice. I used organic baby arugula which has a lightly peppery flavor. Top the greens with the green beans. Top with the salmon. Spoon orange segments around the salad plate and drizzle the greens with the sauce as a dressing. Sprinkle with sliced green onions if desired for garnish.
For the warm presentation I change the sauce a bit. Heat a non-stick sauté or fry pan over medium heat. Pour the orange sauce in the pan and cook briefly until it gets bubbly. Add 1-2 tablespoons orange liqueur such as Grand Mariner or Cointreau and cook for 1-2 minutes. If you’d like the sauce thickened add 2-3 teaspoons of cornstarch slurry (equal amounts of cornstarch and cold water stirred together). Whisk into the orange sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Place hot green beans on a warmed dinner plate and top with the warm salmon. Pour the orange sauce around the green beans and serve. Steamed brown rice or black Chinese Forbidden Rice would be a beautiful accompaniment. Forbidden rice is one of my favorite rices. It has an incredible deep purple-black color, nutty flavor and cooks perfectly in 30 minutes. Garnish with sliced green onions.
A few more notes on preparing these recipes. Use a microplane zester to get fine zest from the oranges and the fresh ginger root. Start by preparing the sauce, then move on to the salmon and green beans. I’ve arranged the recipe so you read it that way and made a few edits. Considered a vegetable oil, I use grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil has a clean, light neutral flavor and a high smoke point. This means the oil can reach a high temperature before burning, making it great for sautéing and stir-frying. If you are not familiar with grapeseed oil, give it a try.
Orange-Sesame Crusted Salmon with Gingered Chinese Long Beans
Recipe Courtesy Chef Rachelle Boucher
Serves 4
Sauce Ingredients
2 oranges, peeled and segmented (zest oranges before segmenting and reserve for salmon)
2 teaspoons natural rice vinegar
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon good quality mustard (like Dijon)
Salt & pepper to taste
Salmon Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (6-8 oz each), skinned, pin bones removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup good quality white or black sesame seeds (combination of two is best visually)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for pan searing
Gingered Chinese Long Beans Ingredients
1 large bunch Chinese long beans, cut into 1 1/2” pieces, stem ends removed (or baby green beans, see above)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons grated ginger
6 green onions, thinly sliced white and pale green parts only (green tops thinly sliced, reserved for
garnish)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock or water (not needed if using baby green beans)
1 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1) For the sauce – stir together orange segments, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and mustard. Season to taste. Set aside.
2) For the salmon – in a medium bowl stir together 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons orange zest. Place salmon in the bowl and gently turn to coat. Remove salmon to a plate and season both sides with salt and pepper. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3) On a clean plate sprinkle approximately 1/4 cup sesame seeds and place a salmon fillet on top of seeds presentation side down. Press gently so the seeds adhere. Gently remove salmon to a clean plate or piece of waxed paper. Coat remaining fillets and set aside, adding seeds as necessary. Discard any unused seeds that have touched raw salmon.
4) Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat and add vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add fillets and cook on medium for approximately four minutes on each side. You may need to cook for a minute more depending on the thickness of fillets. Remove fish to a plate just before desired doneness and let rest for 5 minutes to come up to finished temperature.
5) For the beans: Wipe out non-stick pan with a paper towel and place on medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp sesame oil. When oil is hot, add long beans and stir-fry for two minutes. Add stock or water and reduce heat to medium, cook until beans are al dente and liquid is evaporated, add more liquid if needed. Add chopped garlic, ginger and the white portion of the green onions and stir-fry for one to two minutes. Remove from heat and add soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir to coat the beans and season with salt and pepper. Alternatively – follow my directions above for using baby green beans.
The third of four events in the Sears Chef Challenge took place this weekend. I was cooking and teaching at the Sears store in Orange, California. Another terrific day, thanks to Linda Cooper and the Sears team. We were fortunate to have the vivacious Chef Rachelle Boucher in attendance. So good to finally meet her face to face as she definitely added her own special spice to things!
This was a market basket event where the chefs were given three ingredients and asked to create their own unique recipe. The three ingredients were shrimp, jalapenos and hominy. I love working with shrimp and was thrilled that the shrimp basket won the vote on the Sears Chef Challenge website.
The Beauty of Shrimp
Shrimp are:
- Endlessly versatile – they can be prepared by many different cooking methods from grilled to broiled, pan roasted to sauteed, steamed, boiled, baked, fried or poached. Shrimp can be used as an appetizer or a main course, in soups, stews, salads, as fajitas, risotto, tossed with pasta, rolled into rice paper wrappers, and of course skewered for brochettes, just to name a few! Every cuisine from around the world offers shrimp dishes with their unique ingredients and flavors.
- Fast and easy to cook – what other ingredient tells you when it’s ready? When shrimp turn pink they are done, and it usually takes just a few minutes.
- Available year round – as most shrimp are frozen they are available year round. Even when you see them thawed and ready to go at the market, they usually arrive frozen and the store thaws them. Shrimp are sold by the count and come in many sizes from tiny bay shrimp to extra colossal shrimp weighing in at 2-3 ounces each. If you are not familiar preparing shrimp, visit What’s Cooking America for helpful information on buying and cooking shrimp.
Creating the Recipe – Shrimp, Hominy and Jalapenos
Notepad in hand I sat down and brainstormed ideas and ingredients for a dish with shrimp, jalapeno chiles and hominy. I wanted to create a recipe that was simple yet elegant, with ingredients that are easily available, and easily do-able for a home chef. A southwestern, “fresh-western” pattern began to emerge. I quickly had an idea what I wanted to do. Shrimp with a mixed vegetable side dish – hominy succotash.
Hominy is made from corn kernels where the bran and germ layers have been removed. The kernels are dried, boiled, then soaked in lime until the kernels are plump. Available in both white and golden colors, hominy looks like puffy corn. Commonplace usages for hominy include grits in the South Eastern US and in Mexican dishes like Pozole and Menudo.
Traditionally succotash is a dish of corn and beans plus cream or milk and maybe butter to make it creamy and saucy. Many people think of succotash as corn and lima beans, although there are many variations. The term succotash has become a loose term for a mixed vegetable side dish. Historically it’s a Native American dish which was taught to newly arriving colonial settlers.
A few years ago I created a version of a succotash to go with my spiced apple-glazed pork tenderloin recipe. It included sweet red bell peppers, roasted corn kernels and edamame (soy beans), shallots, garlic, herbs and crisp crumbled bacon. All I had to do was switch the roasted corn to hominy for a new and different twist!
Plain shrimp would never be able to compete with the talented chefs recipes in the Sears Chef Challenge, so I decided to marinate them in a versatile vinaigrette I created to go with a seared Ahi appetizer. This vinaigrette has bright citrus flavors, jalapeno chile, fresh mint, a touch of honey for sweetness and a little Dijon mustard to help it emulsify. After marinating the shrimp just 30 minutes then grilling them, the shrimp were delicious to taste and a beautiful golden-pink color. The vinaigrette even works as a finishing sauce for the dish. I had my recipes for event three!
Love In Action – The Saddleback Church Food Pantry
From today’s videotaping by Penny McLean of Small Potatoes Productions, a short compilation will be created and put on the Sears Chef Challenge website on June 26. Starting that day until July 10 you can go to the Sears Chef Challenge website and vote for your favorite chef (hopefully me!) each day.
If I win the Los Angeles semi-final round the Saddleback Church Food Pantry will receive a $5000 donation. That will help put food on the tables of hundreds of families in need in Orange County.
In May the one year old food pantry had a record number of guests serving 453 families and almost 1700 people. There is a large and growing need as so many people are out of work. That donation would buy a lot of food to help support hungry families.
As well, I would win an appliance of choice to donate to the The Sheepfold, an organization who helps abused women and their children get a new start in life.
This is why I want to win. It’s not for me. These organizations can win only if you vote and tell everyone you know to go online and vote as well!
Please enjoy these recipes, from my kitchen to yours. The flavors are fresh and bright. It’s easy to prepare and wonderful going into summer. Try the shrimp without the succotash as a chilled appetizer and use the jalapeno-mint vinaigrette as the dipping sauce. The shrimp also make a great picnic dish packed right and kept chilled, and try the vinaigrette on salad greens, grilled or roast vegetables. It even works over cooked potatoes as in a potato salad.
For more photos of this weekends Sears Chef Challenge event or the Saddleback Church Food Pantry please click these links:
http://kentcameron.com/Food/Sears-Chef-Challenge-Orange/12461442_RVGgp/
http://kentcameron.com/Food/Saddleback-Church-Food-Pantry/12461933_A6dQG/
Grilled Jalapeno-Mint Shrimp with Hominy Succotash
Use large shrimp for this recipe, approximately 12-16 pieces per pound. The hominy succotash, a twist on the traditional dish, is a colorful accompaniment and also works well with pork tenderloin and chicken. Serve a side salad and drizzle with additional jalapeno-mint vinaigrette for a complete dinner. Look for hominy in the Mexican products aisle of your grocer. If you like smoky flavors like I do, finish this with smoked black pepper!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Shrimp
1 ½ pounds large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tail section intact
¾ cup jalapeno-mint vinaigrette (see recipe)
Succotash
3 slices bacon
1 large shallot, sliced thin crosswise, rings separated
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
1 cup (6 ounces) shelled edamame (soy beans), fresh or frozen, thawed
1½ cups (8 ounces) canned hominy, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro, plus extra for optional garnish
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano leaves
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives or green onion
Fresh ground black pepper*, to taste
½ cup jalapeno-mint vinaigrette (see recipe)
Optional Garnish
1 medium jalapeno thinly sliced crosswise into rings
1 lime, cut into quarters
Directions:
- Prepare the jalapeno-mint vinaigrette
- Place shrimp in a ziploc bag and add 3/4 cup of the marinade. Turn shrimp to coat and allow to stand at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. While shrimp marinate, start the succotash.
- In a medium fry pan over medium heat cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Crumble or chop bacon and set aside. Drain bacon fat from pan leaving 1 tablespoon to cook shallots.
- Add shallot to pan and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add red bell pepper and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add edamame and hominy and heat through, about 5-7 minutes, stirring all ingredients to heat thoroughly.
- Remove pan from heat. Add herbs and crumbled bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
- Heat a grill pan* over medium heat. Remove shrimp from bag and discard marinade. Place shrimp in hot grill pan. Cook just until one side of shrimp are pink with grilled edges. Turn shrimp over and cook 1 minute more until just pink on second side. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- To serve, mound succotash in center of the plate, place shrimp on top and drizzle reserved vinaigrette over top and around edges of the plate. Serve extra vinaigrette as a sauce on the side.
- For garnish sprinkle extra chopped cilantro and a few thinly sliced jalapeno pieces around the edge. Add a lime quarter to each plate.
*Note – If you don’t have a grill pan you can cook the shrimp on an outdoor grill, under the broiler, or in a fry pan over medium heat. If you enjoy smoky flavors, try smoked black pepper. It adds wonderful flavor to this dish.
Jalapeno-Mint Vinaigrette
Yield: about 2 cups
This brightly flavored and versatile vinaigrette is a true multi-tasker in the kitchen. Great on fresh salad greens, it also works well as a marinade or a sauce. Try it with fish, shellfish and chicken or toss it with roasted or grilled vegetables for additional flavor. The heat level in this recipe is mild. If you like things spicy, add more jalapeno to your taste preference or use chiles with a higher heat rating.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice, about 1 large orange
4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice, about 2-3 limes
4 tablespoons finely minced shallots
1 large pinch kosher or sea salt, plus more to season at end
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced fine
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a medium bowl mix together orange juice, lime juice, shallots and salt. Allow to stand for 10 minutes for shallots to soften.
- Stir in mustard, honey, mint, garlic and jalapeno.
- Add the olive oil to the bowl in a slow stream whisking to blend until emulsified.
- Taste and season with additional salt and fresh ground pepper as desired
Vinaigrette can be made ahead and refrigerated. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature. Will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator but it’s best when the herbs are fresh.
Double Strawberry Ice Cream and Quick Strawberry Muffins
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I have fond memories of making homemade ice cream during the summer as a kid. Mom placed the noisy electric ice cream maker (an upgrade from the hand crank model which you had to fill with rock salt) outside the kitchen door on the patio, filled it with creamy strawberry ice cream base and turned it on. When we heard the noise of that motor cranking away we knew that a special treat was awaiting us after dinner. We waited with anticipation for the cold, pink, creamy sweetness of homemade strawberry ice cream. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!
Bakersfield Beauties
Visiting family in Bakersfield this weekend we decided to pick up some fresh local strawberries. Bakersfield is the southern end of the great central valley, the vast agricultural heartland of California. My father-in-law had been telling me about a local farmer who grew the best strawberries, so we decided to go get berries in the morning as they sell out later in the day. The stand is on Snow Road near Old Farm Road. Just look for cars pulled over at the little green and white shack.
As soon as I opened the car door I was flooded with the incredible smell of fresh strawberries being warmed by the sun. Their fragrance was thick and sweet in the morning air. The open window to the stand was filled with basket upon basket of rich red strawberries. The berries were smaller and nicer than at the stands around our house and although the sign out front did not say organic, I figured they were.
Wanting to know more about these berries we wandered around back and found the grower, Chai Saechao, holding pails piled high with just picked strawberries. His family has been farming strawberries in the area since 1988.We talked with Chai about his beautiful strawberries. The small red ones were Chandlers. He was also growing a few rows of the Albion variety. Chai picked a huge Albion strawberry right off the plant and handed it to me. Warm from the sun, this huge perfect strawberry was amazingly sweet and juicy. The flavor was incredible. He said the Chandlers were even juicier! And yes, Chai’s berries were organic. Truly, these were the sweetest strawberries I’ve ever tasted, like they were dipped in sugar syrup.
You can find conventionally grown strawberries everywhere during the growing season but organic strawberries are more difficult to come by. Why go the extra mile for organic strawberries? Because the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group focused on public health, lists strawberries as number three on their “Dirty Dozen” list. If you are not familiar with this list, it helps consumers make healthier food choices in regards to pesticides when grocery shopping. Check out the link and print a copy for yourself to take shopping. Even more, make time to read through EWG’s website for more helpful information.
Strawberries – Baked and Frozen
With a half flat of sweet red treasure in my arms we headed back to the house. I planned to take these berries home with me later but couldn’t wait to do something with them. With soup already made for lunch I thought about a quick batch of strawberry muffins. I turned to the web and found a quick, simple strawberry muffin recipe. Heavenly aromas filled the house as they were baking. Warm from the oven and flecked with diced strawberries just hours from the field they were light, tender and not too sweet. Perfect after lunch and equally good for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
At home, I made a batch of easy double strawberry ice cream for dessert, a sweet end to our Memorial Day dinner of grilled baby back ribs, macaroni salad and deviled eggs. With strawberries this sweet, no additional sugar was needed. Just two ingredients made for wondeful ice cream - strawberries and sweetened condensed milk. Try this simple recipe and freeze extra berries for strawberry ice cream all summer long.
Strawberry Muffins
Recipe by Carol Pellegrinelli, Desserts and Baking Guide at www.about.com
Yield: 6-7 huge, 9 large or 11-12 regular size muffins. I used muffin cup liners rather than greasing the muffin cups. Try using coarse sugar for the topping. It adds extra sparkle and crunch
Ingredients
2 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (check the expiration date)
1/2 teaspoon salt (table salt)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
1 cup milk (whole milk)
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted cooled butter (I used butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12-cup muffin pan (or use paper muffin cup liners). Combine dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup sugar with a wire whisk. In a seperate bowl, combine wet ingredients, egg, oil and extract. Add strawberries. Combine wet and dry ingredients only until moistened. Spoon batter* into muffin cups. Combine remaining sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
*For huge muffins only fill 6 to 7 muffin cups.
For large muffins fill only 9 muffin cups.
For regular to small muffins fill all 12 cups.
Please be sure to half-fill empty muffin cups with water to ensure even baking.For extra special muffins, top each with a strawberry slice or a few blueberries for the red, white and blue touch for patriotic holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
Simple Double Strawberry Ice Cream
If strawberries are ripe and very sweet, no additional sugar is needed to make terrific ice cream. Let the flavor of the berries shine. This recipe has just two ingredients!
Yield: about 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, stemmed, washed and quartered, about 4 cups
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces fresh strawberries, stemmed, washed and diced small, about 1 cup
Directions
1) Puree 4 cups of strawberries in a food processor fitted with a steel chopping blade. Add sweetened condensed milk and puree together to make the ice cream base. Place a fine sieve over a large bowl and pour the ice cream base into the sieve. With a large ladle push the ice cream base through the sieve to remove the strawberry seeds and refine the base.
2) Chill the base until very cold. Process the ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. Towards the end of the freezing process, add 1 cup of diced strawberries or fold in by hand. Ice cream will be soft when finished. Place ice cream in the freezer for several hours to firm up.
On the Road: Spring Cherry Blossoms & Washington DC
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Spring in Washington DC is lovely and the blooming of the famous cherry trees makes it a special time to visit this great American city. We had a busy week visiting family, seeing the sites, enjoying great food and of course taking lots of photos of the beautiful pink cherry trees blooming in all of their glory. Our timing was perfect as we hit peak bloom weekend.
With so much to do in the Washington DC-Virginia area and only nine days we had to pick and choose what we wanted see. Crowds limited what we could do (no museum visits) without spending all day in lines, but we had our list of monuments and famous sites to visit. For dining, between my sisters research, Washingtonian Magazine, Gayot and Open Table we had lots of options for the week.
We took the metro into the city just to walk around a bit. Lunch was at a favorite east coast seafood restaurant – Legal Seafood. Dinner was at a friends. But before then we stopped at a terrific wine shop, The Wine Cabinet in Reston, VA. They had a great selection of wines, cheeses and goodies, even locally made French macarons. That made me think of Laduree’s In Paris, world famous for their light French confections. These small, round cookie-cakes are crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle. If you’ve never had a French macaron, you must try them! We could not resist taking a favorite Chardonnay, wonderful cheese and macarons to the hostess.
Easter Morning at The Jefferson
Easter morning we got up at 5:00 AM, painful as it was, and headed into the city. We wanted to get photos of the Jefferson Memorial at sunrise across the tidal basin through the cherry trees. If we did not get there before the crowds we would not get the shots we wanted. One thing I’ve learned about photography is that the best shots are done at sunrise and sunset. Not always convenient, but worth it when you look back at the photographs.
As the sun rose and the light warmed to a beautiful Easter morning we were glad we had crawled out of our warm beds. Hymns wafted across the morning air from another park area. Crowds gathered on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial for worship and prayer. Starbucks in hand, we enjoyed the cool early morning air and got our shots before the crowds arrived.
The rest of Easter Sunday we relaxed, napped, and watched Saddleback Church’s 30th anniversary service on the web. For dinner we roasted fresh spring halibut with a nut-herb crust and opened a nice bottle of Chardonnay to celebrate the most important day in the world together.
Arlington National Cemetery
Monday we started the day at Arlington National Cemetery and The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to see the changing of the guard. It’s been guarded around the clock every day, rain or shine since the 1930’s. Watching the precision of the guard in perfect dress uniform execute their duties was solemn, respectful and impressive. Walking the grounds surrounded by thousands of white crosses across rolling green hillsides was a powerful reminder of the cost of freedom and human sacrifice.
A Family Affair – Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday afternoon family came for dinner. I wanted to do something easy that everyone would love and you couldn’t go wrong with. That would be my version of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and baby green beans. Considered an American classic, meatloaf is something many of us grew up with. My mom made meatloaf regularly and I always got my hands dirty helping mix the ingredients.
With it’s origins in German, Belgian and Dutch cuisines, it’s a cousin to the Italian meatball. American meatloaf has its origins in a Pennsylvania Dutch dish called scrapple, and that was my mom’s background. It’s traditionally a mixture of ground meat and breadcrumbs often topped with ketchup. Recipe to follow.
Many of my clients wrinkle up their faces at the mention of meatloaf, but I guarantee my recipe is not your mother’s meatloaf. It’s moist, flavorful and combines lean ground sirloin with ground turkey for a good base. And yes it sounds strange but I add finely diced Granny Smith apple to the mix, which adds moisture and healthy fiber that you will never know is there. Trust me! Add Dijon mustard, horseradish and a few other ingredients and you’ll have a terrific meatloaf for dinner, and if you are lucky a sandwich the next day. Instead of the traditional ketchup I top mine with a spiced apple-barbecue glaze. You can use your favorite barbecue sauce as is or thinned down to use as a glaze.
Dinner was a hit and we had a wonderful time talking, sharing stories and looking at old family photographs. It was more than it sounds. For the group that gathered, it was bringing together the pieces to a puzzle we never thought would come together, yet it did after more than 50 years. Food, family, fellowship, what is more important and satisfying.
Something Out of Harry Potter
We headed to Old Town in historic Alexandria. We spent the afternoon enjoying the shops along Kings Street, walking the streets of Colonial style townhomes with brick and stone facades and colorful shutters. We had lunch at a cute little French place with good pate for an appetizer but saved room for rich, creamy homemade ice cream at The Creamery. Walking off our ice cream we came across an old apothecary.
The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary opened in 1792 and closed during the Great Depression. One day the owners locked the doors and walked away. This untouched piece of history was turned into a museum in 1939. For $5 you can take a guided tour. The first floor is interesting enough, but when the guide takes you behind the scenes to the closed off second level it’s like entering the world of Harry Potter. Totally preserved and untouched, it feels like stepping back in time with old boxes of Dragons Blood and Unicorn Root in a musty, dim room where you expect a wizard to greet you. We could have spent all day there it was so interesting.
The National Cathedral and Great Pizza
Visiting the Washington National Cathedral was on our list. Wherever you are driving in Washington DC, the monumental visage of the National Cathedral looms on the horizon. From miles away it looks enormous, and it is. It’s the sixth largest cathedral in the world. We expect to see great Gothic style cathedrals in Europe, not in the US, but yes, we have one in our nation’s capitol. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 and construction completed in 1990. This spectacular house of worship was 83 years in the making. We could have spent all day there, basking in the multi-colored light that shown through the brilliant stained glass windows, but our tummies were growling.
A short walk from the cathedral was 2 Amy’s Neapolitan Pizza. With black and white checked floors and pale buttery yellow walls, it’s a neighborhood kind of place. It was also a busy place and we were too hungry to wait, so we opted to sit at the bar and order lunch.
2 Amy’s makes authentic, thin-crusted Neapolitan pizza from a wood-burning oven. According to Italian law, only soft-grain flour, fresh yeast, water, and sea salt may be used for the dough, and only Italian plum tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil or dried oregano may be used for the toppings. No wonder it was so incredible; just terrific pizza. The next day we were still thinking about the pizza, wishing it was not such a long drive or we would have gone for more!
Restaurant Eve and PX Speakeasy
The most anticipated dinner of the week was a reservation at the top rated Restaurant Eve in Alexandria. Reservations were made months in advance to get us into the Chef’s Tasting Room.
With the kitchen headed by acclaimed Chef/owner Cathal Armstrong, a Food & Wine Hall of Fame 50 Best new Chefs recipient and the front of the house run by the boss, his wife Meshelle, we knew we were in for a special dining experience. Using only the freshest ingredients from local farms and markets, the menu changes frequently. Sipping a glass of Champagne we mused over the menu options, knowing it was going to be a very hard decision. We opted for the five-course menu. I loved the way the menu was divided into Creation, Ocean, Earth & Sky, Age and Eden for first through dessert courses. Very creative and inventive.
Deciding to go all out for the evening to see what this kitchen could do we started with the Foie Gras en Croute with Preserved Troigo Orchard Peach Jam and Peach-Sauternes Jelly for our Creation course. Normally I’m not a big fan of rich Foie Gras, but here I had to try it. This tiny box of pastry arrived, beautifully and artfully plated. The pastry was warm and the Foie Gras melted in your mouth. The fruity peach jam and glistening jelly were a perfect complement to the richness of the “fat liver” and golden buttery pastry.
For the Ocean course we enjoyed the Butter Poached Maine Lobster with Heirloom Carrots, Ginger and Micro Cilantro. It too was fantastic. Every dish arrived on beautiful plates looking like an edible work of art. We were going to try and take pictures, but it was too difficult. Sometimes you have to put the cameras down and just enjoy!
The Earth and Sky course was venison and Korubuta pork. Each course was paired with its own wine, so we had the pleasure of tasting many fantastic wine selections over the course of the evening, each a beautiful compliment to the individual dish. Todd Thrasher, General Manager, Sommelier and partner, took care of us for the evening for our wine pairings explaining each selection and sometimes even providing tastes of two different wines so we could understand the differences between them with the dish. We finished off our evening with a cheese selection and a little dessert. Restaurant Eve definitely lived up to our expectations and it’s much heralded reviews. It was a wonderful evening.
Afterwards we walked down the block and around the corner to a door with a blue light glowing. No sign. Just a blue light. We knocked at the door. A small window opened, checked us out and quickly closed. The door opened. We were ushered up a narrow stairway into the PX Lounge, a new age speakeasy! Shrouded in secrecy due to their illegal serving of alcoholic beverages, speakeasies came to be during the Prohibition-era of the 1920’s-1930’s. Decorated in art deco style, PX is a hip little jewel box hidden inside a historic building.
Owned by Restaurant Eve, PX is the hot place to go for a hand crafted cocktail. Now I’m not much of a cocktail drinker, but we had heard so much about the trend setting cocktails made at PX that we just had to go for a nightcap. PX specializes in creating incredible artisan cocktails like you’ve never had using the freshest ingredients like painstakingly house made bitters and hand squeezed juices. Again at the helm, acclaimed and talented spirits Wizard of Oz Todd Thrasher, who executes magic taking a chef’s approach to the bar with whimsical cocktails like the Plight of the Honey Bee, the Black Bass and I Cuddah Binnah Contendah. The cocktails were amazing!
After getting home at an hour I had not seen in many years, we slept in Saturday and finished the day at sunset, shooting again at the Lincoln and Korean War Memorials to end our trip to Washington DC. We drove past the tidal basin and the Jefferson Memorial one last time, and the beautiful but short-lived pink hues of the cherry trees had already turned to green, gone until next spring.
Where next? Hmm, maybe Italy in the fall.
We had another fun weekend with the Sears Chef Challenge! This weekend was event number two. We were at the Sears in Brea, California. My thanks to tore Manager Phil, Operations Manager Darlene Lima, Sebastian and the Sears Blue Crew for a great setup and successful event! If you missed the first post, please check it out for details on the Sears Chef Challenge and be sure to visit the website for recipes, games, information and an update on the competition.
I’m competing for two wonderful charitable organizations; monetary donations will go the Saddleback Church Food Pantry feeding the hungry in our community and appliances will go to The Sheepfold, an organization serving abused women and their children. These two organizations can only win if you vote for me on the Sears Chef Challenge website. Voting starts June 26 through July 10 so please pass on the word! You can vote once a day!
The next event, number three on June 5, will be our own recipe. The chefs do not yet know the ingredients we will be allowed to use. The ingredients are being voted on by visitors to the Sears Chef Challenge website. Check it out and vote for your favorite ingredient list. I’m voting for pork tenderloin or shrimp!
This Week’s Recipe – Nicoise Salad
Thanks again to Chef Rachelle Boucher for her recipe. Rachelle authors the fun food and cooking blog Drawn to the Kitchen with Chef Rachelle. Be sure to check out her blog.
Pronounced “knee-SWAHZ”, the Nicoise Salad is one of the great classic salads along with the Caesar, Cobb, Louis, Italian Panzanella, and Waldorf.
The Nicoise Salad originated in the city of Nice, France. Nice is France’s second-largest city and queen of the Cote d’Azur – the “blue coast” along the Mediterranean Sea in the beautiful south of France. The salad incorporates fresh salad greens, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, haricot vert (French baby green beans), tiny black cured Nicoise olives, and traditionally tuna. The salad is dressed with Dijon vinaigrette with capers, another very Mediterranean ingredient.
A Nicoise is a hearty main course salad that gives every diner a bounty of enjoyment. I’ve made Nicoise Salads for picnicking and tailgating before summer concerts. The perfect picnic entrée, all of the elements are easy to prepare, package and transport. All you have to do is assemble at the site on a big platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Offer extra dressing on the side and a fresh loaf of crusty French bread, a little dessert and you have one fantastic picnic. But don’t save this just for picnics, try it tonight or the next time you have friends over for dinner. They will be impressed! Like it’s said, we eat with our eyes first, and this salad is filled with lots of color and texture not to mention fabulous flavors.
I’ve usually made my Nicoise with seared Ahi tuna. Rachelle’s recipe uses smoked salmon, another one of my favorites. It was a terrific twist on the classic recipe and even easier to prepare as you can purchase good quality smoked salmon almost everywhere these days. If you have a smoker, try smoking your own salmon.
For this salad I used smoked salmon from the Honey Smoked Fish Company. It’s available at a few Costco stores in California and Texas, at Bristol Farms or online from their website starting with a 4 pound package. If that is more than you think you can use, get a friend to go in with you and split an order. I used the Lemon Pepper flavor for this salad. They offer smoked trout as well, which would be fantastic on a Nicoise Salad. If you are not a fish fan, try making a Nicoise with chilled and sliced grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast marinated in olive oil, lemon and herbs.
My Recipe Notes
For my Nicoise salad I chose to use the baby green beans, but Rachelle’s recipe notes asparagus as an excellent alternative. For the green beans, blanch them in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes, then chill in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and keep the green beans a nice bright green. Drain and chill. If you prefer to use asparagus, Rachelle notes you can blanch them as well. Another option is to roast or grill the asparagus. Depending on the thickness of the stems, roast at 425 degrees on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet for 3-4 minutes and test for tenderness.
For potatoes I chose Dutch Baby Golds. You can use baby red potatoes or small fingerling potatoes as Rachelle lists. For the olives, pitted Greek Kalamata olives work very well if you can’t find Nicoise olives. Nicoise are traditional but they are very small and do have the pit.
Rachelle notes a one pot cooking method for the beans, potatoes and eggs. If you want to do your eggs separately place cold eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Cover with one inch of cold water. Bring water to a just under a boil, cover, remove from the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then run under cold water to cool. Peel when ready to proceed with the salad.
The vinaigrette is absolutely terrific! Try it with any salad for a nice change. It also works well with grilled or roast chicken and as a dressing for a cold potato-style salad. Vinaigrettes are not just for salads. Use them as you would many other dressings and sauces. You’ve got to try this salad!
Nicoise Salad
Serves 4-6 as an entrée
Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon minced shallot (approximately 1?2 of one medium shallot)
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard 1
1?4 cup good quality champagne or white balsamic vinegar
3?4 cup good quality lemon or mild olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh thyme or lemon thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Chopped chives and/ or basil chiffonade or leaves to garnish
Salad
1 lb. spring mix, butter lettuce leaves or a combination of both, washed and dried
1?2 lb baby green beans or thin asparagus, stem ends trimmed
1 lb. small fingerling potatoes or other small new potatoes (all the same size)
8 eggs, warmed in a bowl of hot tap water to cover
7 oz. dry cured black olives, or Niçoise style olives
1 pint red cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
1 pound of Smoked Salmon, or large flaked white albacore tuna
Directions
One pot cooking method
1) In a large, deep pot bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil. Meanwhile prepare an ice bath: in a large bowl, add about 3 cups of water to about 4 cups of ice. Set aside. Drop green beans or asparagus into boiling water, stir and cook 2-3 minutes or until tender.
Quickly scoop vegetables from water with a small strainer or slotted spoon and spread out evenly on clean paper towels to cool (or into an ice bath). Next in the same boiling water, keeping the smaller potatoes whole, cut only the larger ones so the potatoes are nearly equal in size. Place potatoes into boiling water, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-12 minutes until they can be pierced through with a paring knife. Remove potatoes with a strainer spoon when they are done. Cool and cut in half if they are small or into bite sized pieces if you prefer.
2) Remove eggs from warm tap water and gently lower into the same pot of simmering water. Return to a full boil, then turn off heat and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Leave eggs in hot water for 15 minutes. When eggs are done, chill in ice bath for 5 minutes, peel and cut in half lengthwise with a wet pairing knife.
3) In a medium bowl blend shallot, mustard and vinegar. Slowly drizzle oil into mixture and whisk until emulsified. Add capers, parsley, thyme and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4) In a very large bowl, lightly toss greens with just enough of the vinaigrette to evenly coat the leaves. Arrange the beans or asparagus and potatoes in groups on a large platter or on individual chilled plates. Mound greens in the center of plates or platter. Lightly toss the tomatoes with a small amount of vinaigrette. Arrange tomatoes and olives in groups around the greens on the plates. Add 2-4 egg halves to each plate. Season eggs and potatoes with salt and pepper. Finish the salad with large chunks of smoked salmon. Drizzle a little dressing over the salmon, beans and potatoes. Top with chives and/or basil chiffonade.
The Sears Chef Challenge – Event 1
What an exciting weekend! I was selected to participate in the Sears Chef Challenge representing the Los Angeles area. Saturday May 8th was the kickoff event.The Sears Chef Challenge is taking place in four major cities across the U.S. – Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York and Chicago. There are twelve chefs, three per city, competing to win money for our favorite food related charities.
Competing for Charitable Organizations
For my food-related charity I chose The Saddleback Church Food Pantry. This food pantry is currently supporting more than four hundred families every month. Their mission is to provide food and spiritual encouragement to the needy in our community. People from all walks of life, all backgrounds and all faiths are welcome. Whether working in the warehouse unloading and sorting food donations, stocking shelves, assembling boxes or serving guest families, I volunteer with them each week and it’s a blessing to do so.
The winner of the first phase wins a $5000 donation for their food-related charity and an appliance of choice. If I win…no WHEN I win, thinking positively…that $5000 will help feed a lot of hungry families. Included with the first level win is a beautiful new Kenmore appliance of choice. I will choose a new Sears Kenmore refrigerator to donate to my second charity, The Sheepfold.
The Sheepfold has been helping homeless and abused women and their children for more than thirty years. Many have found shelter, safe refuge and a new beginning in life as a result of the Sheepfold ministry. This organization has helped thousands turn their lives around. I would love to give one of their special safe homes a new refrigerator! Check out their website.
Back to the Challenge
My first chef challenge was held at the Sears Cerritos store. Sears is providing a terrific setup for all of the chefs to cook on for the demonstrations. I was cooking on a brand new Jenn-Air Induction cooktop and it was really nice. We also had a Kenmore portable induction cook top to use. If you are not familiar with induction cooking, it has been used around the world for some time. Now that the technology is improving and costs are dropping you should start to hear more about it in the U.S.. It’s more energy efficient than regular electric, safe, fast and only the burner and pan get hot, not the entire cooktop because it works magnetically. Very cool, no pun intended.
We arrived two hours ahead for the setup and to meet the Sears support team. Everyone was so friendly, helpful and excited about hosting the first event. Next, the videographer and her assistant arrived. I was truly wired for sound between the videographer’s wireless microphone and the store setup!
Sears is taping every demo with the critical demo being week three. Our week three video will be put on the Sears Chef Challenge website. The area winner will be determined by web voting. Voting begins June 26 and ends July 10. Please vote for me every day voting is open! I’m competing with two very talented chefs for the Los Angeles leg of this phase so winning won’t be easy!
This Week’s Recipes
This week’s recipes were Thai Lemongrass Chicken in Lettuce Cups and Tahitian Ahi Tuna Salad with Coconut and Lime. Both recipes were easy, tasty, healthy and colorful. As we head into warm summer weather, having cool easy recipes in your repertoire is a good thing. And if you are not familiar with some of these ingredients it will help you to learn something new.
A big thanks to Chef Rachelle Boucher for the recipes. Rachelle authors the fabulous food and cooking blog, Drawn to the Kitchen with Chef Rachelle. Be sure to check out her blog. Chef Rachelle is also the Culinary Marketing Manager for Standards of Excellence, a subsidiary of Sears. I’ve shopped there for several kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects. It’s a place you can lost in drooling over all of the gorgeous appliances, but a knowledgeable staff helps you hone the best options based upon your requirements.
Recipe Notes for Thai Lemongrass Chicken in Lettuce Cups
If you are not familiar with lemongrass, it’s a stiff, pale greenish-yellow stalk very common in Southeast Asian cooking. It has a lovely lemony fragrance and can be found in many regular grocery stores and always at Asian-style markets. If it has not been trimmed, cut off about a third of the top and the very bottom of the stalk. Then peel off an outer layer or two until you reach a lighter color. I find it’s easiest to work with a microplane zester rather than mincing with a knife as it’s a bit tough.
Kaffir lime leaves are another unique ingredient in Southeast Asian cooking. The shiny green leaves can be found both fresh and frozen. They have a unique sort of double eight shape and tropical lime fragrance different than regular or Persian limes. The lime fragrance becomes more predominant once you mince the leaves.
I could not find roasted rice powder in my local Asian market so I made it myself per Rachelle’s directions. I used white rice, toasted to a golden brown in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, cooled, then ground fine in a coffee grinder I keep for just grinding spices. The rice threw off a lot of smoke so open a window or turn on your vent system. Keep stirring or tossing it for an even color and toasting. Use ½ a cup of rice and store what is left in the pantry.
Thai Lemongrass Chicken in Lettuce Cups
Yield: approximately 3 cups.
Serves 4 as an entrée, 6 as a first course or 10-12 as an appetizer
Ingredients
1 pound boneless ground chicken (or turkey)
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, peeled & finely minced
3 large kaffir lime leaves, finely minced
1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce (adjust to your taste preferences)
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1?2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoon roasted rice, ground (or powder)
1 green onion, minced
6-8 sprigs cilantro, finely chopped
12 mint leaves, finely chopped
1 large head butter lettuce leaves, washed and dried, leaves separated
Sliced green onion & sprigs of mint for garnish
Directions
1) Heat a medium non-stick frying pan on medium high. Cook chicken in 2 tablespoons water, stirring constantly until just done. Drain well and add warm to a medium bowl with lemongrass and lime leaves. Stir to mix and set aside to cool.
2.) After chicken is cool add Sriracha, lime juice, and fish sauce and mix well. Stir in roasted rice powder, green onions, cilantro, and mint. Taste and adjust lime, fish sauce or herbs as needed. Serve cold or at room temperature on top of a bed of lettuce leaves. Garnish with green onions and mint leaves. For more color, try garnishing with finely diced red onion.
3) To serve as an appetizer, scoop onto mini lettuce cups or place in a shallow bowl on a decorative platter with lettuce leaves placed around.
Recipe Notes for Tahitian Ahi Tuna Salad with Coconut & Lime
Our second recipe was also light and clean tasting, healthy, tropical and no cooking required! The colors of this salad are as beautiful to the eye as they are tempting to the palate. Serve chilled in lettuce cups or in a martini-style glass for a more elegant presentation. Be sure to buy fresh, high-quality Ahi tuna from a reputable fish market. When you purchase it fish should always smell like the ocean, fresh and clean.
As Ahi can an expensive ingredient, using it as an appetizer or first course with a recipe like this is a wonderful way to stretch your entertaining dollars and yet serve an impressive and tasty dish.
Tahitian Ahi Tuna Salad with Coconut & Lime
Ingredients
3/4 lb. highest quality (sushi grade) Ahi tuna
1 large or 2 small heads of butter lettuce
3 medium tomatoes, approximately 1 pound (I use Roma tomatoes)
1 large mango, about ¾ pound
3/4 pound seedless cucumber, English or Persian
½ pound carrots, about 4 medium
4 green onions
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2-3 medium limes)
1 can light coconut milk (shake the can well before opening)
1 tsp. kosher salt plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Directions
1) Leave tuna in the refrigerator until needed. Gather all remaining ingredients. Wash and dry all produce, starting with whole leaves of lettuce. Dry lettuce in a salad spinner or with paper towels. Gently roll dry lettuce leaves up in paper towels and place in a plastic bag. Chill in refrigerator until needed.
2) Gather a large bowl for tossing salad components. Cut tomatoes in half through the equator and using your finger, gently scoop seeds out of each half. Do not squeeze. Discard seeds and cut tomato into 1?2 inch cubes. Place into large mixing bowl.
Alternatively (how I do it) cut a small slice off the top of a Roma tomato. Cut the tomato into quarters lengthwise. Holding your knife parallel to the cutting surface, cut the seeds out and discard. Then cut the “petals” into small dice. This is a great way to dice tomatoes. Do what is easiest for you.
3) Cut the bottom 1/4 inch from the mango and peel with a vegetable peeler. Stand mango upright on the flat side and using a chefs knife, cut the usable flesh away from the large center fibrous oval seed that goes through the fruit. You should have two large slabs of fruit. Cut away any remaining fruit and cut mango into 1?2 inch cubes. Place into bowl with tomatoes.
4) Peel cucumber (or leave skin on) and cut in half through the middle to yield two short pieces. If the cucumber is large, cut each piece in half lengthwise for easier handling. Using a spoon, gently scrape out seeds. Cut into ½ “ cubes and add to large bowl.
5) Peel carrots and grate on largest holes of a box grater to yield approximately 1 1/2 cups of grated carrot, add to large bowl. Carrots can also be diced into ½” cubes. Add to large bowl.
6) Slice thin rounds of green onion (green parts only) and measure out ½ cup. Add ¼ cup to large bowl and save ¼ cup for garnish.
7) Remove tuna from refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut tuna into ½” cubes. Add to large bowl. Salad can be refrigerated for up to three hours at this point.
Before serving, whisk lime juice and coconut milk together. Add enough to bowl to dress salad and toss gently with clean hands. Season salad with salt and pepper. Offer extra coconut-lime dressing on the side. The salad can be refrigerated up to one more hour at this point if needed.
9) To serve, place lettuce leaves on plates or a platter and mound salad mixture onto leaves. Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.
On The Road: Enchanting Santa Fe
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Red or green? When you travel to New Mexico it’s all about the chiles.
I recently arrived in Santa Fe just in time for dinner. My taste buds were clamoring for a plate of real New Mexican food and a great margarita. New Mexican cuisine is influenced by the cuisines of Spain as well as Mexican and American Indian cultures and relies heavily on their wonderful chiles. They are generally red or green with the green chiles being the same chile as the red before it ripens on the vine.
To take care of my dinner requirement we headed to Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, famous for their traditional New Mexican food and margaritas since 1950. I ordered chicken enchiladas with both red and green chile sauces. It definitely took care of my chile craving. Deep, rich flavor and a heat that sneaks up on you rather than hits you in the face. By the end of dinner I was smiling and breathing very clearly!
My husband and photographer, Kent, had spent the week at famed Santa Fe Photographic Workshops for a special lighting class with photographer and teacher extraordinaire David Tejada. I flew in for a long weekend to explore the food, culture and history of this creative and enchanting city.
Santa Fe is renowned as a destination for fine food and dining, art, culture, shopping, and history. Founded in 1610, the city is celebrating the 400th anniversary of it’s founding this year. At 7000 feet the air is cold, dry and crisp and the skies a remarkable blue. It snowed earlier in the week and there was still a dusting of snow on the mountain tops.
Exploring Santa Fe
The first day I was on my own exploring the city on foot. This California girl was channeling her inner Pillsbury Dough Boy with many layers of clothing on to stay warm, but it was also invigorating. I headed to historic Santa Fe Plaza in the heart of the city, walking along old streets that were a part of the famed Route 66, enjoying the distinctive pueblo architecture and warm colors at every turn. I managed to stay out of trouble while browsing in and out of the many art galleries, jewelry stores and quaint shops but losing track of time my stomach reminded my I had skipped lunch.
Cold and hungry, I walked into La Fonda on the Plaza. La Fonda means “The Inn” and this historic place has been hosting travelers since 1607. A step off the Santa Fe Trail, La Fonda is steeped in history. You feel transported back through time when you step through the doors of this national treasure. A big bowl of hot, brothy chicken tortilla soup with crisp tortilla strips on top and a glass of wine warmed me up. Check out their website for history and great old black and white photographs of days longs gone in Santa Fe.
With a happy tummy I spent the afternoon touring the Cathedral Basilica St. Francis of Assisi, the little jewel Loretto Chapel (reminiscent of St. Chapelle in Paris) and walking the streets discovering the charm of Santa Fe.
Dinner Friday was at the Inn and Spa of Loretto hosted by Santa Fe Workshops for students to share their best work of the week. We were treated to more fine New Mexican cuisine and fantastic images taken by the students from various photography classes.
Saturday, I heard that there was a farmers market, which I always look for when we travel. It’s a great way to learn about what is grown in the area and discover wonderful products produced by local artisans. Santa Fe’s Farmers Market is in the train rail yard. My treasure hunt netted me a jar of gourmet Green Chili Mustard from Mike Jaramillo at Old Pecos Foods, a bear bottle of raw honey the color of dark brown sugar from Steve Wall at Buckin’ Bee Honey, freshly ground whole blue corn meal from Talon de Gato Farms (Cat’s Claw) Farm and bags of ground chile powder and whole chile pods from the family of Trujillo Farms. Grandma Rose, famous for her tamales, was there at the table helping eager customers.
Lavender in the Land Of Chiles
The biggest surprise in the land of chiles was lavender! I found local area lavender and lavender products like we’ve seen in the south of France. Wondering how I was going to get all of this bounty home in my suitcase I added a package of dried culinary lavender and a new lavender cookbook from growers at Purple Adobe. What I could not bring home was wonderful goat cheese from award winning Old Windmill Dairy. They had flavors like Holy Chipotle, The Great Caper, and Pesto and Pine Nut that made for fantastic Chevre. Big flavors with the tang of fresh goat cheese. I was happy to sample them but wished I could have brought them home for a party.
With the workshop complete, Kent arrived back at our inn and announced he was starving so lunch was first priority. We walked over to Palace Avenue to find a place on our restaurant list – La Casa Sena, which means the Sena House. If you get to Santa Fe, be sure to put this restaurant on your list.
Blue Corn Muffins and Ristra
Sena Plaza is one of the oldest surviving houses in Santa Fe and is across from the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi. The restaurant is in an old hacienda style adobe originally built in 1868 and restored to its former grandeur in 1983. The main dining room stands where stables once stood. Its rustic and elegant inside with dark wood beamed ceilings and white tablecloths, a quiet and warm respite from the blustery, busy Saturday streets of Santa Fe. The interior courtyard must be beautiful in the spring and summer when weather is warm and flowers are blooming.
With a contemporary Southwestern menu, our lunch began with a basket of warm blue corn muffins studded with yellow corn kernels. They were hard to resist devouring smeared with soft butter before we took a picture. As I was writing this post I emailed La Casa Sena and asked if they would share the recipe and they happily agreed, saying that it’s the most requested of their recipes.
For lunch I enjoyed a La Casa Sena Classic Caesar salad and Blue Crab Enchilada in a white corn tortilla with Asadero cheese, red chile sauce, salsa fresca and sour cream. Kent had a Barbecue Shrimp Quesadilla in a white corn tortilla with Asadero cheese, avocado, tomatoes and roasted peppers. Everything hit the spot, thanks to Executive Chef Patrick Gharrity and his team. With a menu that showcases seasonal, locally farmed and sustainably raised foods whenever possible, we were wishing we had time to go back and try La Casa Sena for dinner. Next trip!
Being in Santa Fe we focused on experiencing the flavors of New Mexico. Reading about a restaurant called Ristra really caught mys eye. Ristras are long strings of dried red chile pods that hang decoratively all over Santa Fe. Ristra Restaurant combines the flavors of the New Mexico and France. What interested me as a chef was how Chef Grenet blended these two different cuisines, so I talked to him about it before dinner that evening. Executive Chef Xavier Grenet has been at Ristra’s helm for ten years.
Once living and working in the suburbs of Paris and spending two years with the great Joel Robuchon, Grenet came to Santa Fe years ago and enchanted by the area never left. He strives to use local ingredients like chiles and spices balancing them so that they compliment rather than overpower a dish. He particularly likes red chiles from Chimayo, squash and squash blossoms when available, corn, and working with seasonal ingredients to the delight of Ristra’s diners. Grenet mentioned using the green chiles of late summer in his green chile mashed potatoes, which sounds terrific.
Dinner started with Ristra’s famous Black Mediterranean Mussels. Being a mussel lover, they were heaven for me. I loved his Southwestern twist on the classic French Moules Marninieres using chipotle, mint and aromatics. I’ll have to try that mext time I make mussels. I was happy to sop up the spicy, minty broth with bread and I appreciated that Chef left tiny diced sweet carrot, onion and celery for texture. Kent started with the Grilled Quail Salad. Rich flavors of quail, fresh crisp greens and bacon with black olive vinaigrette. We were off to great start.
For our entrees Kent had Grilled Venison Tenderloin accompanied by sweet potato puree, poached pear, snow peas & red wine sauce. It was tender, flavorful and not at all gamey. The sweet potato puree was silky smooth, which reminded me to get a new food mill. It’s the only way I know how to make those really silky purees.
For my entrée I enjoyed Crispy King Salmon served with fennel and roasted potatoes in a saffron-pepper broth. Topping my crispy salmon was a Rouille – another classic French sauce served with fish. Made with olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and sometimes chile peppers it has a mayonnaise kind of consistency. Although we were full, we couldn’t resist the bittersweet chocolate soufflé that arrived for dessert. We had a wonderful dinner. Ristra is another restaurant you should put on your list when visiting Santa Fe. Thank you Chef Grenet and team.
History and Happy Endings
With only one day left we wanted to visit one of the ancient historical sites but most were too far of a drive for this trip. El Santuario de Chimayó was within reach so we drove there. This Catholic sanctuary and pilgrimage site is a National Historic Landmark located in the town of Chimayo. The tiny adobe chapel was built in the early 1800’s. About an hour from Santa Fe, we explored the grounds and took some interesting photographs. Next trip we’ll make time to venture further.
For our last evening in Santa Fe we decided on a small tapas style restaurant. It gave me a great idea for an appetizer I’ll have to try creating at home. It was a disk of polenta (corn meal) topped with a Romesco sauce, Spanish sausage and shrimp. Originally from the Catalonia region of Spain, Romesco is one of my favorites sauces. I have both quick and long version recipes. Both are terrific but the long version has incredible rich deep flavor with dried chiles, ground almonds and hazelnuts, smoked paprika and breadcrumbs as a thickener. Definitely worth the effort. It’s inspiration like this that makes traveling so fun.
Our trip to Santa Fe was a delight, definitely a place we will return to. For now, I need to get back to the kitchen to make the La Casa Sena Blue Corn Muffins!
Recipe notes: Get your butter out about 2 hours before hand to allow it to come to room temperature. You will usually see this note in baking recipes as room temperature butter creams better with sugar. To roast chile, place over a low gas flame directly on the grate and turn as it blackens and chars. If you have an electric stovetop, broil the chile in the oven instead on a foil covered sheet pan. When it is evenly charred all over, wrap the chile up in the foil and let it stand until cool enough to handle. This allows the charred skin to steam off for easy removal. Remove the stem, spit open the chile and remove seeds. Do not rinse or you’ll lose some of the wonderful flavor.
Blue Corn Muffins
La Casa Sena, Santa Fe
Yield: 12 Muffins
We get more requests for these muffins than for any other item on our menus. Many food magazines have also asked us for the recipe. These colorful muffins are quintessentially Southwestern with green chile and blue corn that is grown by the Native Americans of our region.
Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 New Mexico or Anaheim green chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and
chopped (about ½ cup)
½ cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 ear), steamed until just tender
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese
½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup blue cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
1) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and chopped green chile. Add the corn, cheeses, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and milk, and mix just until blended.
2) Divide the muffin dough into 12 pieces and place in a well-greased, 12-muffin pan. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out dry.
Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.
It's all about sharing a passion for cooking and photography at home and when we travel. You’ll find new recipes, ideas and old favorites too. It’s also about resources, tools, tips, and techniques I’ve discovered as a professional chef and caterer. Thanks for reading my blog. I hope it brings you inspiration and enjoyment!