Change the way people look at food

now working on this goal professionally, at The Corson Building.

Thought I’d capture this tummy-warming soup i threw together tonight:

sweat some diced (large) carrots, yellow onion, parsnip, and celery in olive oil until just translucent (seasoning with sea salt, of course). Squeeze a quarter of a lemon and add a carton of low-sodium chicken broth, bringing to a full boil. Squeeze in another quarter of lemon, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover. While this broth was getting nice and tasty, I steamed up a piece of fish with a sprig of dill. Just before serving, add to the soup some frozen peas, and chopped dill. A healthy handful of spinach at the last second is nice too. Squeeze in the remaining half lemon and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Place a piece of just-barely-steamed fish in the bottom of your bowl, and let the hot broth that you ladle over it finish the cooking. Slurp away!

A great batch of granola just came out of the oven.
This is a recipe i’ve been formulating in my head for some time now.

Ginger, blood orange, and grey salt granola with pistachios (and mango – last minute addition).

It’s yummy.

First, I melted some butter (who’s measuring) and GOOD honey in a saucepan. While that’s getting nice and foamy, slice up some orange zest. Squeeze the blood orange juice into the melted butter and honey, and add about a 1/2 teaspoon of gray salt, stirring to dissolve. Be careful not to let the butter burn. After these ingredients have simmered together for a bit, I stirred in about a teaspoon of powdered ginger, a few drops of vanilla, and a little bit of canola oil to increase the volume of liquid. Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit before tossing in a large bowl with your rolled oats (to coat).

Spread the goodness into thin layers on greased (spray) cookie sheet pans and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, stirring about 3 times to make sure nothing burns. In the meantime you can shell your dry-roasted pistachios and chop up some dried (unsweetened) mango into nice bit size chunks.

As soon as the oatmeal is lightly golden and toasty, slide it onto an unused sheet pan on a rack to cool, immediately stirring in the nuts and dried fruit.

This not-too-sweet mix would be great mixed in with some thick greek-style yogurt.

It seems that warm salads (specifically grilled romaine) are showing up more frequently on restaurant menus these days. I first encountered grilled romaine cooking at an Outstanding in the Field event, and have been noticing it menus ever since.

I just enjoyed my own spin on the basic technique, by topping a bed of grilled romaine (cut into thirds, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper before placing on a hot grill, flipping once) with smoked trout, capers, and slivered hearts of palm. A killer homemade creamy, garlicky dressing made the meal.

This homemade “caesar” dressing is easy to make, and cut through the rich, smoky fish quite nicely: two smashed garlic cloves, minced mixed with juice from one half a lemon, about a teaspoon of dijon, and salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle olive oil to emulsify (1/4 cup? But who’s measuring…) and then whisk in about 1 tablespoon (adding in thirds) of non-fat, greek style thick yogurt.

Initial menu thoughts:

passed: goat cheese and poached pear crostini

plated:
•shaved fennel and blood-orange cream tart “salads”

•caccio e peppe – pasta with fresh parmagiano and cracked black pepper

•pan-seared sea scallops (or sea bass) with watercress aoli

•lemon-scented kabocha squash with wild mushrooms
or
•warm salad of roasted red and golden beets with arugula and olives

•pine nut torte with cinnamon ice cream

I spent a great holiday weekend with friends and family in the Great Pacific Northwest. Dad and I made a customary trip to the market on Saturday morning, and I spent the evening preparing the following meal for a few guests they had over. All of the dishes were met with rave reviews, so I thought I’d record them here for future use:

Hors ‘devours: beechers honey walnut crackers topped with humboldt fog cheese and a sliver of roasted golden beet

First course: pan seared giant sea scallops drizzled with a roasted red pepper aoli (roasted red bell peppers, smoked paprika, cayenne, olive oil)

Second course: mache and butter lettuce salad with satsuma orange slices, shaved roasted ricotta cheese, toasted pistachios, and a pickled red onion vinegarette (simmer champagne vinegar with sugar until dissolved, and pour over minced red onion. let cool on the kitchen counter and when whisk with olive oil and season to taste to finish the dressing).

Third course: petrale sole stuffed with spinach, leeks, cipollini onion, and green olives, served atop roasted pumpkin puree and garniched with rye bread crumbs (toast rye bread and chop into breadcrumbs; add chopped flat-leaf parsley, meyer lemon zest, sea salt, and olive oil)

Fourth course: sliced comice pears served with 82% caco chocolate

wine pairing with fish course: elk cove (oregon) pinot gris

I had my first encounter with a feijoa at the farmer’s market this weekend, and had to buy a pound. Delicious enough raw, tonight I stuffed them with some salty feta cheese and roasted them until gooey for a great little appetizer.

I had also picked up a sugar pie pumpkin, which I sliced in half, drizzled with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted for 45 minutes. Once caramelized on top, I scooped out the good stuff and blended it with a little pipe stock and two garlic cloves that i had lightly browned in oil in a stockpot. Once the pumpkin attained puree status in the blender, i added it back to the still-garlicky pot with the addition of some butter, a little bit of soy milk, and some more water, s&p until i had a wonderfully seasonal pumpkin soup. If i had had a few sage leaves lying around i would have deep fried em for a little garniche.

Some chicken tenders seasoned with curry powder hit the grill pan to complement my pumpkin soup. The meal turned into a bit of an orange affair, but these flavors just go so well together…

Last night I pulled a stage for a personal chef friend of mine. It was great to see her again and always a joy to cook with someone you just click with in the kitchen. A simple but elegant goat cheese crostini topped with poached red bartlet pear for starters; a butter lettuce salad with macerated red onion vinegar, great olive oil, toasted walnuts, thinly sliced pear finished with shaved point reyes fog hollow blue cheese (this salad just looked like fall); next we served stuffed petrole sole, with a spiniach/leek filling and steamed to delicate perfection, plated over roasted butternut squash pureé. A sprinkle of toasted bread crumbs with parsley and lemon zest finished the fish. Desert was a spicy (not hot) ginger molasses cake with carmelized apples over the top. Hey, I got sole, do you?

Trail Mix & Potato Salad – Samovar Tea in San Francisco

I love unexpected ingredient pairings. Specifically, most folks wouldn’t be surprised at the suggestion of butternut squash with pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, clove). But the mention of cayenne pepper might throw a few people off. Well, don’t underestimate this delicious combination. Especially when pureed with a little bit of butter, salt, and soy milk for creaminess (of course you should cube and steam the squash first).
This lovely fall-orange puree served as the base for some pan fried red snapper filets that I had marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, pimentón (smoked spanish paprika), garlic and onion powder. A bowl of brussells sprouts sauteed (always par boil and shock first) in olive oil, butter, and minced shallot with fresh farmer’s cheese crumbled on top played a supporting role. If you’re snapper and squash and greens got yo’ back, you know it’s goin to be a good night.