Senin, 24 Januari 2011

Caesar Salad with Toasty Garlic Croutons

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
4 anchovies (oil packed)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or 2 coddled or raw egg yolks)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon
1 teaspoon capers
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

for the croutons:
3 cups cubed bread
olive oil
dried basil
dried parsley
garlic powder

3 heads romaine, roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of the spices. Toss and sprinkle with spices again as needed. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes then toss again. Bake an additional 2 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool. This can be done the night before you want to eat the salad.

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a blender. Pulse until smooth.

Toss the lettuce with the dressing. Sprinkle liberally with croutons and Parmesan.

My thoughts:

I made Caesar Salad recently and it was an unexpected delight. I, of course, have had it out but I had never made it myself before. It had so much flavor from the fresh dressing and homemade croutons.

Caesar Salad is a great salad for wintertime because it doesn't require any of the usual salad ingredients (tomato, cucumber, radish etc) which are all out of season. It is pretty easy to find tasty, crisp greenhouse romaine all winter.

The 'official' recipe for the dressing is a bit vague so I cobbled together what I thought might be the best version. The trick is to use the best olive oil, anchovies (although some argue these were not in the original recipe) and cheese you have.

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Roasted Bay Scallops with Spinach

Ingredients:
1 lb bay scallops
1/2 cup defrosted, drained frozen chopped spinach
1/3 cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
zest of 1 lemon

for the breadcrumbs
3/4 cup freshly made bread crumbs
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. In a medium bowl, combine the scallop ingredients. Pour into an oiled baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the breadcrumb ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes or until the scallops are just cooked through and the breadcrumbs are toasty.

My thoughts:

These are dark days, food wise. We are in the dead of winter and there is not much growing out there. The perfect time to make the best use of frozen spinach possible. In this case, I paired them with bay scallops. Tinier and sweeter than regular scallops, they are also really affordable. Which, makes me far more likely to experiment with them than I normally would with seafood. I like to bake bay scallops at a lower temperature than a lot of recipes I've seen. Since they are small and vary in size (and occasionally are broken up) they cook somewhat unevenly. I find that if I cook them at a higher temperature, a few will be perfect but a larger number will be rubbery and overcooked.

My husband had these with rice but I had these on their own. Between the breadcrumbs, scallop, and spinach it isn't a bad, light complete meal.

Banana Maple Walnut Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mashed overripe banana
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup maple sugar
1/3 cup coarsely chopped black walnuts
2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons grade b amber maple syrup
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease, spray with baking spray or line 18 wells in a muffin tin. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, baking powder and flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, oil, banana and maple syrup until smooth. Add the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Fold in the nuts. Divide evenly into wells. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

My thoughts:

I have to admit something. I don't particularly like overripe bananas. Or maple syrup. Or nuts in muffins. Luckily, these muffins are not for me! My husband loves all of the above so I made these for him to take to work for breakfasts this week. I made these with canola oil so they'd be extra fluffy and because somehow we seem to have run out of butter (the horror! the horror!). Using oil instead of butter also speeds up the muffin making process because there is no creaming of butter into sugar or having to wait for it to soften. I got up, started measuring and had batter in the pan in about 10 minutes. Perfect for mornings when you are only half awake but want something warm to eat. Even though I personally am not the banana muffins number one fan, my husband assures me these muffins are 100% moist and delicious.

If you are unfamiliar with maple sugar and are a maple fan, it is worth checking out. You can use it in the same way you would regular white or brown sugar but it is made with 100% maple syrup. The brand I used is Coombs Family Farms.

Peppered Oranges

Ingredients:
3 Cara Cara oranges
3 navel oranges
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons tangerine or orange juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Peel the oranges as if you were going to supreme them but instead of sectioning, slice them horizontally into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange in bowls. In a small bowl, whisk together the pepper, juice and golden syrup. Drizzle over the fruit.

My thoughts:

I almost hesitated to share this recipe because it so simple, but it was so good I had to share. Citrus is at its peak right now and Cara Cara and navel oranges are so juicy and flavorful they scarcely need adornment. But I couldn't help making a simple syrup to drizzle over them. Not too sweet but pretty peppery, it brings out the oranges' sweet-tartness even more. A refreshing change from the usual. Great alone or over yogurt or (I bet) ice cream.

Potato, Leek & Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 or 4 leeks, sliced (white parts only!)
1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets
6 cups chicken or ham stock
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 cup cubed smoked ham*

Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter. Saute the potato until just turning golden. Add the garlic, cauliflower, leeks. Saute a few minutes just until the leeks start to soften. Pour in the broth and spices. Simmer until the liquid has reduced a bit and the potatoes and cauliflower are soft and starting to fall apart. Meanwhile, lightly brown the ham on all sides in a dry, nonstick skillet. Using an immersion blender or work in batches using a regular blender, blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the ham. Heat for couple minutes.

*I used one of those boneless ham steaks that are always on sale. Leftover ham would be good too.

My thoughts:

This is sort of a twist on the classic potato-leek soup. Cauliflower can be somewhat of a polarizing ingredient but in this soup, it is mild and adds body and creaminess. I don't like soups that are entirely smooth so after blending it, I stirred in some ham that I had sauteed (to deepen the flavor) so there was some texture contrast. Of course, if you wanted to leave it out and use water instead of stock, it would make a wonderful vegan soup. At any rate, it is a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables on a cold winter's night.

Rubber Duckie Tea Infuser

Who can resist this cute thing!?? Rubber Duckie Tea Infuser at Fred Flare $12 (via @alltop)

©Steamy Kitchen, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments

Food Blog Camp 2011

Just last week, 40 or so of us food bloggers headed over to Grand Velas Riviera Maya for our 3rd annual Food Blog Camp that Elise, David, Matt, Adam, Todd, Diane, Kate and I coordinate. I guess the name is a little misleading, as “camp” is really a beautiful beach side resort in some tropical location. The only roughing it we have is choosing which of the four 5-star fine restaurants to eat in each night.

photo by Acorns & Apples

If there was any place to fall and sprain your ankle, it would be at this resort, the Grand Velas Riviera Maya….I think from the photo there’s just no explanation needed.

It was entirely my fault, not seeing the two little itsy bitsy step by the pool. Easily distracted me was too busy greedily taking in all the sights, from the curvaceous, endless pool, swim-up bar, sandy beach as fine as powdered sugar and ahem, the human eye candy….that I just missed the steps and found myself so ungracefully splat on the ground.

Our little group of bloggers all crowded around me, three others who saw me tumble from the other side of the pool ran over to see if I was okay.

“Ice! Ice! Need Ice!”

“Ooooh that looks bad”

“Does that hurt?”

“What happened!?”

then the crowd parted….

and entered Roman, pronounced “rrrrro-MAAAAHHN” (you need to roll your “r” and drag out the “aaaahhh”), the lifeguard with a first aid kit and a wheelchair.

I quickly patted down my dress, crossed my good leg as lady like as I could and readjusted my hat.

All smiles. No pain.

photo by Diana Johnson (plus of the 3 photos below)

Someone handed me a margarita. And that’s David taking a photo of me. Oh and that’s Stephanie who took this photo of David taking a photo of me.

Pain? What pain? I’m getting a free foot massage!

I honestly don’t remember anything he said, in fact, I don’t think he even spoke to me other than “does this hurt?” and “let me massage it for you.”

For real!??? Oh yeah baby, for R.E.A.L.

Thumbs up Grand Velas! Now that’s what I call great hospitality!

Oh but WAIT! There’s More!

It took 5 handsome, strong men to lift me up the stairs!

I spent the rest of the stay at the resort in a wheelchair, and as Diana, Todd and Diane can testify (they were my gracious caretakers, pushing me around), it didn’t at all affect my level of happiness, fulfillment and well being.

Especially since Grand Velas’ all-inclusive fine dining and top-shelf bar at my disposal.

Except in my wheelchair I was too short to see above the bar.

HOLA!!??? ¡Pardón Señor!

Drats! Too short! He didn’t see me. Boo. No drinky for me.

Thankfully, we had a tequila tasting…..

Lots of tequila.

I even snagged a bottle tried to put it in my dress with a long straw.

And pretty soon, this was how I felt.

After that, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. If I didn’t see these photos — and if a certain someone has a VIDEO of me — I wouldn’t have ever believed that I grabbed Todd and Diane’s video camera monopod and did a wheelchair pole dance.

YES. A monopod. Like a tripod with one leg to steady a video camera.

I guess after that much tequila (and great pain meds!) I though I was pretty hot.

I scare myself sometimes.

***

Despite the mishap, we had a lovely time, meeting new friends, teaching as much as we could fit about photography, writing, styling, business and best practices of food blogging in 5 days.

Miss Diana, one of my favorite people on earth, always has a smile, a flower and can dance like crazy.

Diane, Todd and Matt led the photography section with hands-on instruction.

Adam was the master of food styling — funky knuckles and all.

these two beautiful shots are from Renee and Ari of Kitchen Conumdrum

gorgeous shot from Foodie Bride – cutest couple ever.

May I intro you to Procopio. Michael Procopio. We call him by his Hobbit name, Berilac Sackville-Bracegirdle….and soon one day I’ll be able to share with you why.

photo by Food Woolf

Me with Diana, Lucy Lean (Ladles & Jellyspoons) Carrie (Deliciously Organic Cookbook just launched last week!) and Marla (Family Fresh Cooking who has more energy than a jackrabbit on sugar and can make you laugh like crazy)

photo by Family Fresh Cooking and Food Woolf

You just have to take a look at the video that Todd and Diane put together – they just happened to whip this up quickly – it’s fun!!!

So happy happy!

And if you want another laugh, check out Matt’s video (but you must see his post and beautiful shots too!)

Explore more Food Blog Camp 2011

Big thanks to our sponsor Grand Velas Riviera Maya (lovely lovely hosts) and Kerrygold Butter (who provided scholarships for participants!)

Food Blogger Camp (David Lebovitz)
Food Blog Camp and Dancing Video (White On Rice Couple)
Food Blog Camp 2011 (Matt Bites)
Food Blog Camp Re-Cap (Deliciously Organic)
Food Blogger Camp 2011 (Kitchen Corners)
Food Blog Camp: Seeing the Light (Confections of a Foodie Bride)
Food Blog Camp-Cancun (What’s Gaby Cooking?)
Food Blog Camp 2011 (Mommy Cooks!)
What I learned…Food Blogger Camp 2011 (A Communal Table)
Playa del Carmen, Mexico: Food Blog Camp 2010 (Adventures of an Amateur Foodie)
Hola from Riviera Maya (Savuryandsweet)
If You’re Happy and You Know it, Eat Foie Gras (FRANtastic Food)
Food Blogger Camp: Molecular Gastronomy Demonstration (The Recipe Renovator)
Food Blogger Camp Riviera Maya (Family Fresh Cooking)
10 Lessons Learned from Food Blog Camp 2011 (Food Woolf)
Community Across the Globe: Food Blog Camp 2011 (The Urban Baker)
Food Blogger Camp Overview ( Recipe Renovator)
Mango Grand Marnier Margaritas & Food Blog Camp 2011 (Sally Cameron)
Food Blog Camp 2011: The Whole Enchilada (Acorns and Apples)
Food Blog Camp: Highlights From Paradise (Daily Nibbles)
Food Blog Camp Recap (Kitchen Conundrum)
How to Eat Gluten Free on Vacation (Recipe Renovator)
Mexico Food Blogger Camp (Bake Cupcakes)
Food Blog Camp 2011 (Ladles & Jellyspoons)
Life Lessons from Food Blogger Camp (Together in Food)
What I Learned in Mexico (Pinch My Salt)

Food Blogger Camp (Website)

Food Blogger Camp Photos (Flickr)