Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Blueberries, Ginger, and Lemon


Our friend Sue reported that she had made the blueberry pie recipe from the Fiddlehead Cookbook and really liked it, so another day just cooked up the blueberries according to the recipe. She had noted that there was a suggestion in the sidebar to add a bit of candied ginger to the whipping cream on top of the pie, so, because it was her daughter's birthday and ginger is her favorite flavor, topped ginger ice cream with the blueberry sauce. Apparently it was incredibly delicious. (Wild blueberries make all the difference. Domestic blueberries just don't have the same "flavor profile" as John would say. Get free range blueberries for this.) Sue actually went up to Eaglecrest and picked a little pot full and gave them to me!

So, I had one of Mrs. Rizzo's Almond Cakes (Let me know if you need the recipe for this), all ground almonds, lemon, eggs and sugar, in the freezer. We had the family over for Sunday Dinner (now that Ren has moved out, we decided to try to have a regular family night dinner just like the good old days). I cooked up the blueberries, and we poured them over the cake, topped with vanilla ice cream, shaved a bit of candied ginger on top, and served. Pretty dang good. If I do say so myself.

Go now. I think there are still blueberries out there. Let me know, I'll email the cake recipe.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Remembering Brown Rice Salad

John has this dish he calls "Open Frig, Cover with Cheese, Bake" which is a tasty way to use up leftovers.

The other day, I got home first, so dinner was my task. In the frig: yesterday's Dominican Republic Chicken (an old TimeLife Cookbook recipe that involves rum and is pretty tasty), some rice, some tomatilla sauce (goes well with the DR Chicken), lettuce, and some patty pan squash.

Scott Miller developed this wonderful Brown Rice Salad at the Fiddlehead, and the recipe is in the cookbook. (favorite memory of this is some coworkers at UAS ordering one to go, opening it up and enjoying the better portion of it before realizing they'd forgotten to put in the rice). For some reason, a Brown Rice Salad seemed like the way to go.

In place of the green peppers: Squash.
In place of the tofu: slices of chicken.
Added to the vinaigrette: Tomatillo sauce.

So. Sprinkle the lettuce with a bit of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Sauté the squash and some diced onion untill wilted. Stir in the chicken slices, add the tomatillo sauce, and some salt and pepper. Stir in the rice, and cook until heated through. When John walked in, put the rice and chicken mix on top of the lettuce, top with grated cheddar, and eat.

Fruit salad, and wine.

We hadn't had Brown Rice Salad in a while, and John requested it again on Saturday, using the leftover bottom round. It is a tasty and flexible way to use leftovers.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

International Bacon Day

In honor of International Bacon Day, we had Spaghetti Alburezzia tonight. Pretty darn simple:

3 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 cup fatty bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 Tblsp parsley, chopped
4 leaves Basil, chopped
S & P to taste
2/3 cup Pecorino cheese, grated
fettucini pasta

Heat oil; Add bacon and onion, Fry gently, five minutes; Add stock, parsley, basil, S&P; Cook gentle simmer until slightly reduced.
Cook fettucini in boiling salted water until al dente; Drain well, place in warmed serving bowl. Add sauce and cheese.

Started with homemade avocado/lime juice/garlic/salt/salsa dip on Kavli (ultrathin crispbread). Manhattans.

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