Ladies Who Lunch

Maybe those southern belles were onto something...lunch with the ladies...bridge games...gossip...giggles and above all a hat and gloves. Very demure! We are posting a light lunch recipe...perfect for having some girlfriends over. 

Pictured are some of the ingredients we used for this demo.

We are making lettuce/herb bundles, Thyme-Lemon Vinaigrette, Pesto/Mascarpone Cigars and Toasted Camembert Cheese for our luncheon. 

Thyme-Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest from the rind (careful not to get into the white part of the skin--bitter)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste--it won't take much

Combine ingredients in a mason jar, place the lid on tightly and shake away. Now your done with the dressing-set it aside 

Phyllo Dough aka Filo Dough

We used these "pesto/mascarpone cigars" as a garnish for our salad. You could make a cigar bar if you used this recipe for a party. Would be fun! We love fun food!

Ingredients:


6 ounces mascarpone cream or cream cheese room temperature very important for the spreadability factor when you make the cigars. 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 green onion or scallion
1/8 cup pre-made pesto (you can get this at most markets)
1 box phyllo dough, you will find this in the frozen section of your market-thaw in the fridge overnight. Do not attempt to use phyllo dough frozen...it will crack. 
1 stick melted butter

In the work bowl of a food processor, add all the above ingredients. Pulse until this mixture is blended, but still a little bit chunky. See below. Set aside until your phyllo dough is prepped. Don't refrigerate unless you are doing the next step another day. In that case make sure the pesto/cream mixture is at room temperature. 

The funky picture below is an illustration of how we made the phyllo dough cigar bar holder. The shape was made by rolling aluminum foil into cylinders to create forms. Just remember to gently remove the foil right after it comes out of the oven and it is still malleable for removal. We scattered grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper over the surface. 

There are some rules for using phyllo dough. It dries out very quickly, but once you have lightly covered the surface with melted butter or olive oil, it becomes pliable. You must keep the unused dough covered and protected from air or it will dry out and crack. Caution if the damp towel you have covering the unused dough is too wet, it will act as glue and stick all the sheets together...it will become unusable. 

To begin, remove unwrap and unroll the thawed phyllo dough. You will remove 1 sheet of dough at a time and work very quickly. Remember cover the unused dough. Have 1 stick of melted butter and a pastry brush ready to go. 

Make sure your work surface is large enough to lay 1 sheet of filo dough out flat at a time. Gently lift 1 piece off the top of the dough. Cover the remainder with the ever so lightly dampened towel. Place the first sheet down on your work surface~lightly brush 1/2 of the surface with melted butter (go easy with the butter/it just takes a dab) and fold in half. Spread more melted butter on the newly folded surface. Using a spatula, quickly and lightly spread some of the pesto/cream mixture all over the surface. Cut the pesto covered sheet in 1/2  and roll each piece into a cigar. Brush each cigar with a little butter and cut into 1/2 again. Each sheet of phyllo dough will make 4 cigars. Repeat. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. If the cigars are not brown yet, return cigars to the oven for a few more minutes. They should be lightly golden brown.

Just before serving lunch, remove the wrapper from the room temperature Camembert cheese and return it to the bottom of the wooden box it came in. Score the top with a sharp knife as in the photo above to make 8 sections. Add 1 clove (not head) of crushed garlic to 1/4 cup olive oil. Brush the top of the cheese with this mixture and then top the cheese with black pepper and salt. (you can do this part ahead of time and just have it ready to go) Place under the broiler of your oven. Leave the door cracked and don't leave it's side--that would be a disaster waiting to happen. In a few minutes the cheese will be browned and bubbly. Place the cheese in the center of your composed salad bundles and serve right away. 

Composed salad bundles were made from alternating a handful of red leaf and green leaf baby lettuces into a posy of sorts with a sprig or two of herb garnish such as parsley, dill, etc. Each bundle was tied with a long strand pulled apart from a green onion top. Tie loosely, you won't need to tie a knot. We did this ahead of time and placed them all on a tray covered with damp paper towel and plastic wrap to keep them fresh in the fridge. Assemble everything just before serving and drop the cheese right in the middle. 

Have fun with this...remember it's all in the planning and details. These are not difficult recipes with the exception of getting the hang of how to use phyllo dough. Now who do you want to have over?

The inspiration for this segment came from viewing cook your dream. Though we have posted recipes before using this cooking method for cheeses such as feta, we were reminded of just how fun it is to serve cheese this way.

Roasted Heirloom Carrot Soup

Our guest is motoring down for the holiday weekend...it's raining cats and dogs...a roaring fireplace and a cup of hot Heirloom Carrot Soup w/Parmesan Croutons awaits them. It's easy to whip up a creamy vegetable soup, but we are continuing down the coast with them for a holiday weekend sooo.... we'll post this recipe when we return...

Happy Holiday!

Toss carrots, onions, celery, garlic and sage with Olive oil and salt and pepper. Sometimes simple things are the best 

Garnished w/Apple Smoked Bacon Bits, Creme Fraiche, and Parmesan Crouton.

I Heart Tea

Why not try making your own heart teas to give for Valentine's Day. We used coffee filters~double stacked them~cut out heart shapes with pinking shears~used double thread of embroidery floss to sew around the edges (start in the top center) and stop about 1 1/2 inches from the end. Fill with 1 serving loose tea~continue stitching up~leave the tails long~glue a saying or heart to the end~see above sample.

Getting to the heart of the matter!

Side view

Do something good for others and yourself, invite a friend to tea and a "chic-flick" movie.

Sprinkle the sugar with colored nonpareils. Delighting in good conversation is a gift you can give a friend. 

Plaid, Plaid, Plaid for Christmas

There is something comfortable and familiar with plaid. Plaid is a bit agey and old, but it can surface as fresh and modern

Plaid can be done in fresh and new ways. It fits perfectly into the holiday season. Torn strips of plaid fabric can wrap a package covered in brown butcher wrap or go to the ball as a gown or maybe a kilt????

Don't you agree~plaid, whether subtle or all encompassing~an old friend done in a new way.

pictures from various sources found when searching under the title: plaid.

Sugar Cookies

Every single Christmas for all of our life, we have had a batch of these cookies. They go back generations and generations, rooted in our German ancestry. Grandma Mathilda made them for me, and her mother made them for her and my mom made them for our children and so on. My Grandma was an amazing cook, a real Renaissance woman~she made just about everything whether to eat or wear or adorn a home. Every year at Christmas time a big box would arrive from the post office. All of the contents would be packed in popped popcorn. There were these sugar cookies, fudge, penuche, divinity, something gingery, etc. A real eye-popping assortment. Now mind you I struggled to do 2 batches over the weekend and I was exhausted. How did grandma do it??? I was in a hurry to get these off to siblings who live a distance, otherwise it works best to cut out and bake these cookies over a weekend, freeze them, and frost the following weekend.

~The finished product~

~The Sugar Fairy would surely approve~

~Some of the items you will need~

~German Sugar Cookies~

1/2 Cup vegetable shortening (we found some trans fat free at Whole Foods)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups all purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon real vanilla

{we don't add this, but Grandma Mathilda did~ 1 1/2 teaspoons anise seed}

To Begin:

In a large mixer bowl, add the vegetable shortening, butter, and sugar- beat until creamy. Add the eggs and continue beating until well combined. Add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix just until it comes together~and is fully mixed. Don't overdo it. Cut in half and form into a disk. This is a soft dough. It is meant to be rolled out with lots of flour. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to get cold. (1/2 to 1 hour)

To roll out:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need 2 cookie sheets, something to line the sheets with,i.e. parchment, silpat, etc., a flat surface to roll cookies out on, flour, cookie cutters, rolling pin spatula, bench scraper and pot holders.

Add some flour to the surface you are rolling your cookies out on. Cut 1/2 of the disk off. Lay the dough on the floured surface and flip it over so that both sides are floured. Flour your rolling pin. Roll the dough out 3/16 inch thick. Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut out shapes and transfer them to your prepared cookie sheets. Leave about one inch space between cookies. Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Make sure your rack is centered in your oven.

Remove baked cookies from oven and place aside to cool. Meanwhile, have your next batch ready to go into the oven.

How did Grandma do this with a wood burning stove??

Have all your baked cookies ready, a spreader spatula, cookie sprinkles and bits and goodies, food coloring. We collect all sorts of sugars, sprinkles, non pariels, silver and pearl balls, etc., not to mention all the cookie cutters we have collected old and new. This year we found some gorg silver and gold sprinkles at Williams Sonoma. They really dress up the cookies.

To Frost:

(Grandma used 7 minute icing) Mine is a lot easier!

1 box powdered sugar (1 pound)

3 tablespoons meringue powder (See pictured above. Purchase at Joann's or Michael's in the bakery section)

6 tablespoons warm water

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed). Working quickly, place some of the frosting in small bowls to color or keep white. Frost and sprinkle each cookie as you go. Teamwork is best, grab some extra hands. Let the cookies dry a couple of hours and then package them up.

A few of our tree cookie cutters were used here.

~pearl sprinkles and snowy sprinkles~

Silver sprinkles and agey blue frosting, Tiffany blue with matching sugar and peachy-pink stars.

The packages of cookies are in the mail, going to some special homes. These cookies are even better after a few days, they taste like Christmas to us.

Thanksgiving Menu

Herb Buttered Roasted Free Range Heritage Turkey

French Chestnut Heirloom Stuffing (the basic part of this recipe goes back many generations in the south)

Buttermilk Chive Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Turkey Gravy

Triple Cranberry Conserve

Roasted Vegetable Platter

(Heirloom Carrots & Thyme, Haricot Vert with Smoky Niman Ranch Bacon, Baby Broccoli with Red Bell Pepper, Leaves of Brussels Sprouts with Date Vinaigrette)

Classic Maple-Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallow Topping

1950's Scalloped Corn (been a part of our families Thanksgiving since we were little)

Homemade Yeasty Dinner Rolls with Creamery Butter

Dessert

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Warm Apple, Pear, Cranberry Crisp and Vanilla Ice Cream

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping & Gingersnap Crust

Jen's Famous Cookies

Our Thanksgiving will be an all day affair. We are taking some time at noon to deliver food to a local church that is feeding those in the community most affected by the economic downturn. Then back home to serve our meal. We eat and then we eat some of the leftovers later. We will be posting our recipes all week. Michael Symon, one of the Iron Chefs made a statement recently, he said, "I can teach you a recipe and you will have learned that recipe, but I can teach you technique and then you can make hundreds of recipes."

Our goal this week is to give you the techniques that will give you the results you need to ensure your efforts do not go un-rewarded. Let's face it, Thanksgiving is a labor of love, (even with the best laid plans) so let guests bring some of the side dishes or desserts, or buy some of it pre-made. Plan, write up your menu. Make a list of all the things you will need at the store and don't forget things like foil, or extra paper towels, etc. We even plan to have extra fresh bread on hand for turkey sandwiches later. Next clean out your fridge and food pantry. This way you will know what you have, what you need, and plenty of space to store the big items like the turkey. Tomorrow, we will pull out all our dishes, utensils, napkins and serving pieces and make sure they are refreshed and ready to go. When we hit next weekend, we just want to shop and get our home ready.

The best way to look at this ~ is to think of Thanksgiving conceptually. You are putting together all the parts that create a loving environment that allows our guests to reflect on the joys of being with family and friends, for the guests at our table to feel special and included; to look back on this past year and give thanks. Surround those you have in your home with a sense of appreciation. It is an honor to create all of the components that allow others to walk into our home and feel the warmth of togetherness and belonging.

Tomorrow we will post our French Chestnut Heirloom Stuffing Recipe.

Holiday Musings

click on the pictures to enlarge them and see all the little details.

We've settled on a centerpiece this year of large fall branches. A couple of days before Thanksgiving we'll go to our favorite spot and get some branches. All on the up-and-up mind you. They will get a good bath and then be placed in a large rustic vase. We're loving the woodland textures this year. One of our co-workers is lending us their small chainsaw. Some of the trees in our backyard will yield some nice pieces for our table that we will combine with some other French wood pieces we've collected. Now we just have to pull out our family's signature recipes and order our free-range, humanly treated turkey (I hope you can support those that really care about how humanly an animal is treated and not kept in small boxes and tiny pens. Animals were meant to roam and roast and have a normal life. We can so easily do away with the inhumane treatment so prevalent in the USA. We'll jump down off our soap box now). Yippee, Thanksgiving is almost here! Look for our special recipes here over the next couple of weeks.

Anthro holiday post

Trees made with green plastic twist ties and beige tissue paper are so charming. So much creativity and we love the organic quality to all of their visuals.

Joan's On Third

Our "foodie" guests wanted to eat at Joan's On Third. There are now 2 locations, we went to the original one. This place embodies the LA food scene. Getting a table is an art, our patience won out and we had a front row seat. When you step inside you can order your food at any register location however, on the left side are all the specials of the day!~go there if you can. The dishes are displayed with a rustic elegance, we mean really "eye-popping" gorgeous. We even found our former neighbors cheese there, Fiscilini, they live right down the road on Beckwith. Do you want to buy the best of the best honey, or chocolate, or olive oil or crackers or amazing cheeses, etc???? It's all there and it would be a breeze to pick up something to take to the Hollywood Bowl. So here's what we had--beginning with dessert first. Priorities! Priorities!

Cupcakes, they are known for their cupcakes, these are red velvet and vanilla.

Strawberry Pop Tarts. Lovely crumb on the crust, large bits of strawberries inside with a good jammy taste!

Fig, Rosemary and Toasted Walnut Foccacia~This was delish!

One of the specials of the day, Piadini~ Grilled flatbread topped with Robiola Cheese (a soft ripened Italian cheese) , Arugula and Soppressata Salami. Oh was this great! Still can taste it!

A salad of roasted Brussels sprouts leaves with dates, toasted chopped almonds, and shavings of Manchego cheese. Really a great combination.

Pressed Chicken, Brie and Bacon with caramelized onions on a French baguette with a flattened potato topped with red pepper flakes in the foreground. The kind of food you dream about.

Joan's works magic on their signature dressings and this salad of baby spinach, arugula, toasted pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese was simple and perfectly executed. It's not trying too hard, it just is.

A peek inside!
The view from our window seat. We left with bags and bags of specialty items, desserts, etc. and yes we will be back for more food adventures. It's just that good!

Tartine, San Francisco, California

One weekend several years ago we drove feverishly through San Francisco trying to find Tartine Bakery. We never could find it! We gave up and moved on to the next place on our list of places to visit. It haunted us that this great bakery could be so hard to find. Last week, one of our "foodie" coworkers dropped off a Tartine postcard and announced everything they had was "devine".

So we post to those of you who read our blog and live close to the Bay Area, please go and try Tartine. There are 2 locations. 600 Guerrero St at 18th, and 561 Valencia Street in San Francisco. Elisabeth Prueitt and her husband, Chad Robertson are the proprietors. They are well travelled and both trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. They bake their rustic breads in a wood fired brick oven. They have lots of accolades and are found in the "Best Of" San Francisco. We have their first cookbook and intend to put it to good use until our next visit up north.

Most products are organic, meats come from Niman Ranch, the coffee is organic, from Four Barrel, and most dairy comes from Straus Family Creamery, which is huge in the food movement in the Bay Area.

~Look at the lovely rustic crust on these slices of country bread~
~The crumb is just right and this bread appears to be studded with nuts~

~Elisabeth is an award winning pastry chef~

~Elisabeth and Chad~

~Views of Bar Tartine~

561 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 487-1600

Beehive Cheese

~Beehive Cheese~

Barely Buzzed Cheddar

It's Sunday evening and the Santa Ana Winds have spread warm summer-like weather across our city. It seems fitting to have some appetizers and wait until it cools a little more to have dinner. Our find and recommendation for our appetizer tonight is: Barely Buzzed Cheddar by Beehive Cheese.

Beehive cheeses come from Utah. Two brother-in-laws, Tim Welsh and Pat Ford left their software and real estate jobs in 2005 to begin an artisan cheese company. They claim they make cheese from some of the creamiest and cleanest milk in Utah.

We tried their Barely Buzzed Cheddar. Wow! We have never tasted anything like it! You can see in the picture above that there is a sprinkling of what appears to be pepper on the surface of the cheese. We were amazed to find out that this cheese is hand rubbed with a Turkish grind of Colorado Legacy Coffee Company's Beehive Blend. The blend consists of a mix of 3 coffee beans from South and Central America and Indonesia. They are roasted to different styles. Then French Superior Lavendar buds are ground with the coffees and the mixture is diluted with Canola oil to suspend the dry ingredients in the rub. The rub imparts notes of butterscotch and caramel which are prevalent near the rind and work their way into the center of the cheese. The cheese is aged in temperature controlled caves. This cheese has taken 1st place for the last three years in the Flavored American Cheddar Cheese Society's annual competition.

This is how we served it up with grapes, nectarines, a good "toothy" bread and the delectable bites of Beehive Cheddar.

If you have a Whole Foods in your shopping area, they most likely carry this cheese. Try it! You will be amazed at the creamy, lovely flavor.