Battle of the tarts

It takes two

I have always been fascinated with the art of proper pairing of food and alcohol, and recently I have come across 2 very helpful online sources of sorting out the recurring ignorant confusion.

Of course you can find many books on the subject, but unless you have the time to read them, they may end up sitting on your coffee table and not help you solve your dinner's drink issues.

I think having such a book is essential, and an excellent such guide is "What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

However, as I said, this is about the ease of browsing through this information quickly online.

I loved the two following websites: http://www.nataliemaclean.com/ and http://www.winedinetv.com/cheese-pairing.

Natalie Maclean

Natalie Maclean is a sommelier, wine judge, wine and food writer with a vast knowledge of wines and how to pair them. Her website is a source for all things wine. You can find wine reviews by price or grape, or food pairing, articles and recipes.

Natalie has created this very helpful Wine and Food Matcher application on her website that allows you to choose red or white and pair it with any food you may have in mind.

There is enough choice to let you play around and explore potential pairings and at the same time teaches you about the similarities of foods through their accompaniments.

This has even been made into an iPhone and now Blackberry application which you can download for $2.99 that will allow you to be a wine connesoir anywhere you are

I like to consider how to create combinations of foods in a dish, according to how they all fit with the wine of choice, or realize that a proposed combination might make a tasty dish, but when wine is added, it might come short and lose its interactivity of flavors.

WineDineTV

WineDineTV, another destination for wine information, wineries and makes, has also provided us with an application that pairs wines with food, but this one is specialized to cheeses. Personally I love wine and cheese but I am of the opinion that if you are to host a wine and cheese night, then you might as well do your homework and provide guests with an educated offering.

This website allows you to choose your beverage, between whites, reds, beer and spirits and their subcategories, making it easy to make a choice. With its simplicity and the basic feel it has, it refines your search enough, without limiting your choices.

To me, these websites are a starting point, a first step to exploring and reading up on what sparked your interest, and I hope you find them helpful enough.

LM

Craigie on Main

My friends took me to Craigie on Main, all the rave in Boston lately, for a most wonderful birthday dinner. Needless to say I Was Happy!!

Thinly sliced yellow-tail sashimi on avocado, with sweet red onion and shiso miso.


Duck two-ways, roasted and confit roulade
Fresh fruits with yodurt ice cream and peach soda foam.

Berries and shortbread

Corn bread with house made ice cream.

If you don't know Craigie on Main, and you love in Boston, shame on you.

Parsley Salmon and Asparagus

I love salmon. Love, love, love. When I was young and I hated eating any fish, salmon was the exception to the rule. I secretly adored it. Now, it no longer is a secret. The only problem with salmon is, it is heavy. Salmon is a very fatty fish and has to be cooked in smaller quantities, or else you will be really full and feel it sitting in your stomach.

It is because of this heaviness that you also have to give some thought on what you are serving it with. In my opinion, a light veggie mix that complements the fish, without overpowering it is best. My choice is asparagus and watercress salad, however you have a large choice of greens.

What i would try to avoid is legumes which may be excellent coupled with white fish, such as zucchini, but too much with the pink salmon.

There are many ways to season and cook the fish, put today I used parsley, lime and shallots.

Parsley has a strong aroma and flavor, but lime and shallots with some EVOO allow the parsley to blossom in your palate.

Ingredients
1/2 pound salmon fillet, skinned
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 shallot diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 lime juice
1 lime's zest
8-10 asparagus stalks




1. In a pan add all the ingredients except the salmon and asparagus and simmer for a minute

2. Place the salmon in the hot pan and let it cook on each side for 2-3 minutes

Rasberry-Coconut Smoothie

For breakfast I always have a fresh fruit smoothie. My favorite is raspberry, coconut.

I juice 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1 cup coconut juice and 1/2 cup water.

The best way to start my day.

LM

Purple Salad

I always prefer a home cooked meal at work, rather than restaurant/take out bought.

Though, it takes planning on your part, to pack enough food to not leave you hungry still, or be too heavy.

What I like to do, to make sure I strike this balance is prepare food and then serve it on a bed of spinach that will hep fill me up, while not changing the dish or adding to the calories. A great thing about salads is that you may use all the leftover veggies to create a new meal and avoid waste in your kitchen.

My Purple Salad is the prime example of an office lunch salad that is both healthy and filling.

As it happens, i had many sorts of veggies left over from, but each not enough to make a side on its own and here is the result.

1/2 cup quinoa

2 beets diced

2 ounces smoked salmon cut is thin slices or squares

chopped cooked asparagus

1/2 avocado

1 1/2 cup spinach

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon EVOO and a tablespoon balsamic vinegar

the juices from the vegetables are already enough flavor for the spinach and you don't need any more dressing

2. lay out the spinach on your plate and place the veg mix in the center

The quinoa and the salmon are sources of protein and fiber, so this 1 plate is packed with nutritious ingredients and fairly balanced.

Enjoy

LM

Frozen lemon mousse and lemon meringue topping

A few days ago my roommate Jaclyn and I watched the Martha Stewart video on how to make a frozen lemon mousse and I thought, "I absolutely have to make that!" Though I have to say, I very rarely make deserts and it was a challenge but I took a crack at it.

So, I went out and got the necessary ingredients:

Frozen Lemon Mousse
2 cups fresh lemon juice
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cup heavy cream

An all necessary sifter
A spring form (Martha Stewart's is the best!)

1. In a pot, over medium heat I mixed the lemon juice, butter, eggs and sugar. I mixed and stirred till the mixture boiled and bubbles appeared. (approx. 10 mins)

2. I put the mixture in a glass bowl (through the sifter), sitting in a bowl that is itself sitting on ice water, cover with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours

(now you have successfully prepared lemon curd, which you can use as jam spread or on top of melted cheese, or goat cheese...but I digress)

3. In a bowl whisk the heavy cream till it becomes creamy and sticks to your whisk instead of falling off of it. Once it reaches this consistency you can add the lemon curd and fold over until the curd and cream are fully combined and there is no white or yellow.

This new mixture can be placed in the springform and left in the freezer for at least 4 hours, but I left it in for 6 to be sure...



Candied Lemon Zest

1. Peel a lemon and cut very thin stripes of the zest, making sure you only have the yellow part and not the white spongy pat of the lemon peel. Put the strips in a bowl and add boiling water, leave for 20 minutes and drain.

2. In a small pot over medium heat add 3/4 cup water, 1 1/2 cup sugar and the lemon peels. Cook for 12 minutes and then cover the pot and leave for at least 6-8 hours.


Now, Martha's way of serving this mousse is on a layer of lemon curd and syrup topped with whipped creme fresh and candied lemon zest. However, since this desert was following fish and I am not a huge fan of creme fraiche I made my own variation of toppings.

The thing is I love lemon pie, it is a real family favorite, and I wanted to get close to a lemon pie, but with a frozen base an dno pie crust. One of the great variations of the lemon pie is the meringue on top of it.

Lemon Meringue Topping
Since I had the 8 egg whites left from the eggs used for the lemon curd, I added 3/4 cup of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of sugar and beat the eggs.

I then poured the meringue in a foil pie pan and put in the oven (preheat at 250F) and let it bake for 35 minutes.


Once the mousse has been frozen and taken out of the freezer I topped it with the lemon meringue and dipped my knife in warm water to cut through the mousse easily and served with the candied lemon zest.

It took a while, but the result is most rewarding.

LM

Summer Salmon Tartar

Tonight I had a few friends over for dinner and I made a new dish, appropriate for the humid summer, Summer Salmon Tartar.

In the summer, I find that all dishes get a more refreshing flavor if fruits are added to them. You can simply edit your recipes and add the yummy summer ingredient that is fruit.
Mangoes, raspberries, strawberries, lemon, pineapple, etc. are all full of flavor that can complement and accentuate a dish, fill you up and at the same time give you a break from the heat.

So Summer Salmon Tartar is the fruity take of normal tartar.

Whenever my sister goes to a sushi restaurant she asks if they have a salmon Avocado and Mango handroll. She clearly knows about flavor pairing! It is she, and this order that inspired me to make my own handrolls.

I made salmon tartar, diced mangoes and paired it with an avocado-basil-lime rice. To honor my sisters beloved nori handroll, I have my own take of a roll. I love to lay out a lettuce or cabbage leaf, (alternatively a rice paper cake) and put a spoonful of each mixture and wrap it, to create a pouch of summer.

Et voila.




Recipes (for 4-6)

Salmon Tartar
1 pound sushi grade salmon
1 shallot
extra virgin olive oil
1 lime's zest
1/2-1 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin

1. Dice the salmon in as small cubes as you can and in a bowl cover with the EVOO and mix. You will see all the pieces get shiny once covered with the oil. Let sit while you prep the rest.
The smaller the fish cubes, the better your dish will be.

2. Very finely dice the shallot and add to the salmon, along with the rest of the ingredients.

3. Mix everything together till the salmon becomes pinkish.

For variation, you can add 3-4 leaves of cilantro for a completely different taste.
Typicallyyou dont find cumin in tartar recipes, but I cant get over the tang n the tatse that cumin offers, so I include it. If you want it to remind you more of what you have had in restaurants though, you can leave it out.

Mango
Just 2 mangoes diced in cubes preferably the same size as the fish.

Avocado Rice
3 cups of rice
2 avocados
a few basil leaves (up to you)
extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lime's juice
1. Cook teh rice according to the box's directions. Add 3 cups of water and either cook it in the microwave for 10 minutes, or in a pot on low heat for 25 minutes.

2. In a mixer/blender, combine the avocado, basil, oil, salt and pepper with 1/4 cup of water, until smooth and creamy.
You can also add cilantro if you want your mix to tast somewhat like guacamole.

3. In your rice bowl mix the avocado cream with the rice and it's ready.

(I saw a version of this recipe on Food Network and it was called the Green Goddess rice)

Plating
There are 2 ways to plate this dish of summer flavors.

a. You combine all the ingredients in a lettuce leaf and wrap it or
b. You plate them separately, or combined on a plate, letting your guests choose how much of each ingredient they'd like to have.

LM

My salt and pepper is lemon

I can't help myself, I just need to have lemon.

In my kitchen, you can never have too much lemon. In my kitchen, lemon is King. I like the juice, I like the zest, i like the smell and I adore its brother Lime.

Of course, where would I be without sea salt, olive oil, cayenne pepper and Co., but the citric acid juices, just have a hold over me.

However, today I learned a very valuable lesson. No matter how much you love to cook with certain ingredients, you should always make sure to stock up on ingredients you are likely to use, even if not often, but at some point.

When grocery shopping for a dish you have in mind, you might fall in one of two nasty pitfalls:

a. You might forget an ingredient, because of it is so common, you forget you need to buy it to have it at home. For example, I forgot to buy sugar today. And I was making mousse!

b. You may very well remember you need an ingredient but the packaging is so big, when all you need is a teaspoon. It happened to me when I wanted to make guacamole and I wanted a pinch of cumin and the corner store only sold it by the half pound.

Every ingredient counts, and yes the dish could be made without that pinch or teaspoon, but it just won't be the same.

So, the lesson of the story is, however much you love lemons, you still need sugar to make lemonade, and a full pantry will tie the bow of flavors perfectly.

LM

About this blog

When I was young, about 10 years old, I hated cooking. My mother and my sister where kitchen geniuses and I steered clear, famously (in my family) declaring, "When I grow older, I will have a house without a kitchen, instead I will only use mail order food. You can be the fat cooks and I will have a career, and no time to cook."

As it turns out, it is possible to have a life, a career and a very healthy kitchen, just as much as it is pleasurable to spend 5 hours preparing a heavy cream filled pie, you can't wait to have melt in your mouth.

I discovered somewhat recently, that I have a ritual. Everyday, on my way back from work I try to think of ways to combine foods, of ways to marry food I grew up on with what I see in the best of restaurants. So I come home, and put my pink polka dot apron on and create my lemon filled sanctuary. It is in cooking, in chopping mostly, that I find and absolute calm and build up anticipation, on what this dish is actually going to taste like.

And so with that, I bring to you my exploration of things said and recipes explored.

As they say in Greek,
Kali Oreksi

LM