Greek Feast

Friends Who Feast's own Kaitlin Doubleday and I made a lovely Greek inspired dinner last Wednesday. Our evening began with a nice clusterf*ck adventure at Eilat Market where elderly Persians shove you out of the way with blatant disregard, however we managed to leave in one piece and with some fun ingredients.

We started with a Meze Platter consisting of hummus, shrimp salad, marinated artichokes and cucumber salad - all served with some toasted pita.



Hummus::
2 15- to 16-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoon paprika plus additional for sprinkling
*blend all ingredients in food processor and garnish with olive oil, paprika and garbanzos.



Shrimp Salad:
16 grilled large shrimp with tails left intact
16 pitted Kalamata olives halfed
1 cup diced seeded tomatoes (about 3 medium)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
*Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



Cucumber Salad:
3-4 unpeeled Perisan cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, whisked to loosen
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
*Arrange cucumber slices on plate; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon yogurt over. Sprinkle with feta cheese and oregano.





For the main course we scooped up some beautiful Mahi Mahi, which we seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with a mixture of light mayo, crumbled feta, dill, mint and lemon juice. We finished that with thin lemon slices and broiled for about 15 minutes. We served the fish over cous cous with a tomato salad in red wine vinegar and evoo.

Christmas Tamales

Tamales are a traditional staple for Mexican holidays, including Christmas. This year we decided to host Christmas dinner for our families and make smoked pork and green chile & cheese tamales - and it was a success!



We made the batter from 3.5 C Masa Harina (ground dried corn flour), 1.25 C Crisco *yum* and about 2 C chicken stock. We blended those ingredients together in our stand mixer with a 2 t salt and 1.5 t baking powder until the batter was light and fluffy. We put the batter in the fridge for about an hour - which was recommended to get the fluffiest result.

Meanwhile we made two different salsas: spicy arbol and salsa verde.

Arbol Salsa:
20 dried arbol chiles seeded
1 dried Guajillo chile
4 tomatillos
3 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
salt to taste
*Toast the chiles for 30 seconds in the oil, then brown the tomatillos and garlic. Blend all ingredients together and add water to desired thickness

Salsa Verde:
1 lb of tomatillos
2 cloves garlic
.5 C cilantro chopped
2 Serrano chiles
salt to taste
*Boil the tomatillos for about 10 minutes, then blend all ingredients to a smooth, but not runny texture.



Once our guests arrived we began to make the tamales! We soaked dried corn husks in boiling water until they were pliable (about 30 minutes) and were ready to assemble. Ethan's dad kindly donated some smoked pork butt (hehe, butt) he had made at an earlier date - it was very delicious. The pork tamales had the masa batter, smoked pork and Arbol salsa.



For the green chile & cheese we chopped up some Hatch chiles we bought from Bristol Farms on a special annual sale. They are grown only in Hatch, New Mexico and are only in season a couple week out of the year, so it's a very rare chile to have. We piled on some sliced Monterey Jack cheese, the chiles and the salsa verde. We wrapped up the husks and tied them closed.



We then steamed all the tamales together in a pot with a steamer basket for about 2 hours. We served them with black beans and cabbage salad. On the table were both salsas, cotija cheese and sour cream. The dinner was delicious and fun to make. We all later enjoyed some spiked eggnog and decadent brownies made by my sister.



Merry Christmas everyone!!

Rainy Day Brunch

It's a rainy day in Los Angeles so I wanted to make a comforting brunch. I decided on eggs poached in tomato sauce. I made a quick sauce by sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil and 1 T of butter, then added some San Marizano tomatoes, oregano, black pepper and salt. Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes and dropped in 4 large eggs. I let them cook for about 10 minutes until the whites were done and served with some fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.



I toasted sliced baguette to help scoop up the sauce, and made a green salad on the side.

Deviled Eggs - Spotted Pig Style

In NYC we dined at The Spotted Pig and had a fantastic meal. I decided to make these deviled eggs paired with a side of football one Sunday.



Recipe:
12 large eggs hard boiled and halfed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
Maldon sea salt

Peperoncino red chili flakes, pulsed in a spice grinder into approximate 1/16th-inch
pieces.
3 tablespoons thinly sliced chives

Puree the yolks and all ingredients through the salt in a food processor and put into a pastry bag. Pipe the puree into the egg whites and garnish with the chives, chili flakes and sea salt. Finish with some extra virgin olive oil. Delish!

Hanukkah Dinner

On the first night of the Festival of Lights I decided to make a little Jewish din din. Latkes and Kugel.

Latkes:
I grated about 6 potatoes and drained the water from them. Then I mixed in grated onions, salt, pepper and 2 T of flour...didn't have Matzoh meal...I heated up a cast iron skillet with canola oil and fried them to a golden brown - about 4 minutes per side. They were crispy on the outside, yet still soft in the middle. Served with sour cream and apple sauce. (Disclaimer: I forgot to take photos until after we started eating, so they aren't the best visuals.)

Kugel:
I par boiled 1/2 a lb of egg noodes and mixed them together with:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 pound cottage cheese
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup golden raisins raisins

Baked for about 30 minutes and served.

Pretty good for Jew food.

Bakula Beef Stew

Well winter is slowly creeping to the east coast and nothing is more warming, filling, and satisfying than a good stew.  I'm not sure where this recipe came from, grandma, or a cookbook, but all I know is that my Dad made this for me 2 years ago, and Chelsea was kind enough to pass on the recipe.  So.....the Bakula beef stew!   EVERYONE MAKE IT!!!

3 large leeks

2 tbls olive oil

1 1/2-2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast cut into 2in chunks

2 tbls all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

3-4 cups water

-       cut leeks in half long wise, and then into ½ inch pieces.  Cut all BUT the last 2 inches of dark green.

-       -heat olive oil in skillet over med high heat.

-       Add beef to brown 8-10 min

-       Add all leeks but ½ a cup (for garnish) to the beef and stir often for 4-5 min

-       Sprinkle all with flour, salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 more min to brown flour

-       Add balsamic and de-glaze (bring to boil to lift burnt bits off the pan)

-       Add 2 cups h2o and bring to boil.  Continue stirring

-       Reduce heat and cover pan.  Simmer stew till the 

     sauce is thick and the meat can be cut with 

     a fork, aprox. 2 hours

-       Add water as you need to keep meat moist. I added 1 cup after about an hour and a half.

This is supposed to be made with popovers.

FRESH CHERRY ICE CREAM

Around the beginning of this past summer, Rob and I invested in an ice cream maker!!  So far we have just made basil ice cream, lemon sorbet, and chocolate ice cream.  In preparation for all my wisdom teeth coming out I knew I had to make some ice cream for the recovery.   I walked into whole foods and the first thing I saw was beautiful red Cherrys and thought "that might be interesting."

After de-pitting them, which was a little tedious, I simply pureed them and put them aside (roughly 2 cups of whole fruit) With a hand beater on low I mixed 3/4 cup whole milk, a pinch of salt, and 2/3 cups sugar until the sugar dissolved.  Then I added 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and lastly the cherry puree.  The mixture sat covered in the fridge for about an hour and then I poured it into my ice cream maker and BAMM! Such a fun treat.

The secret weapon Cuisinart ICE -21 makes ice cream in literally 15 minutes!

It Looks Like Vomit But Tastes Like Heaven Soup

Just kidding, that's not really what its called....it's a corn, wild-rice and sausage soup. I have to say it was really easy and probably the best soup I've ever had. (next to the corn chowder at the Ivy) I started with the sausage since I use the fake stuff and it is a little difficult to time cooking wise, cut them into bite-size pieces, browned them then added 3 diced carrots and 2 diced onions. Then I added a purree I'd made with 3 3/4 cup frozen corn with 1 1/4 cup chicken broth and threw that in. Sauteed all that for about 15 minutes then added about 3 cups wild-rice (however much cooks in 5 cups water, I forget). Lastly I added about 2 cups of frozen corn and 1 1/2 cup half and half. Garnished it with fresh chives and parsley. So yummy!

I served it with my favorite salad which is a roasted cauliflower and radicchio salad. That's pretty self explanatory, but I must include the key ingredient....toasted hazelnuts. The dressing is made with white wine vinegar and shallots.

what the DUCK?

Considering I am the only one who posts on this blog...here comes another little diddy!

After a stop at our butcher shop we picked up a duck breast and got cookin. I made a mushroom risotto (see any standard recipe) and seasoned the duck with salt and pepper. While the risotto finished soaking up the liquid I seared the duck skin side down for about 5 minutes and then flipped it and did the same on the other side. It actually took longer than I had thought, but finally reached a perfect temperature for med rare.

I braised some chard in chicken stock and butter with a little nutmeg, salt and peppa and then threw everything on a plate to enjoy. Pretty festive for the holidays, don't ya think?

Creamy Italian Bean Soup

I was skimming through my Nancy Silverton's cook book A Twist of the Wrist to find a fun recipe and stumbled upon this super easy yet delicious bean soup. I combined 3 cans of Canellini beans and 1 can on Pinto (not drained) with fresh thyme, basil leaves, 5 cloves minced garlic, 3 tsp kosher salt and 2 cups water. Brought that to a boil and then simmered for 5 minutes. I removed 1 1/2 cups of the beans and pureed the soup, then added the whole beans back in with 2 cups of shredded Napa cabbage. Cooked that for another 5 minutes and divided into bowls. I drizzled some extra virgin on top and grated some fresh Parmesan as well. Then finished it with some torn fresh Prosciutto and served!

I also threw together a salad of arugula with gorgonzola cheese and avocado in a balsamic vinaigrette, and served the soup with some fresh multigrain bread.

Seared Scallops & Risotto

I have been wanting to try the diver scallops from McCalls Meat and Fish for months and finally broke my wallet to buy some. I decided to make farro risotto, which is the same method as regular risotto but I used farro instead, as it is a healthier alternative. When the risotto was almost finished I added in some shitake mushrooms, minced beets and beet greens. At the very end I added some fresh grated Parmesan and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, I seared the scallops in bacon fat and olive oil to a nice medium. I also baked some sweet potatoes that I brushed with honey, brown sugar, whole grain mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper. I served those on the side for a sweet bite.

The scallops were perfectly juicy and salty like the ocean. The risotto was rich and creamy and the potatoes were crispy, sweet and spicy.

MNF - Monday Night Fish

Ok Ok - I know one is supposed to gorge on nachos and hot wings whilst watching Monday Night Football, but isn't MNFish just a little more nfl-chic?

I threw together a pretty loverly dish of Dover sole, sauteed shitakes and beet greens in a white wine garlic sauce. I sauteed the shrooms in butter and oil and then added garlic, white wine, chicken stock and thyme. Threw in the beet greens and the fish and simmered for 5 minutes.
Super easy, delicious and nutritious. A perfect way to watch the Titans annihilate the Jaguars...even with MJD on my fantasy team.
(Sorry for all the football references.)

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Saturday means brunch - and this time it was homemade. I bought some smoked salmon and other fixins and began my masterpiece. I placed the items in this order: toasted fresh-baked multigrain bread, smoked salmon, fresh arugula, poached egg, homemade hollandaise and chives from our garden.

On the side I made some cast iron breakfast potatoes with onions, garlic and lipstick peppers. What are lipstick peppers? The best-named, intensely rich bell pepper.

The hollandaise ended up "breaking" at the last minute, so it doesn't look very appetizing, i know, but it sure was delicious. We dined with fresh brewed coffee.

The meal at 8:01

My first post! Thanks so much for having me, girls. My kitchen and I feel honored. Here's a little photo by way of introduction: that's me trying to imitate a tomato, which was the inspiration for dinner that night.

Last week I began to lament the fact that the end of the tomato season is upon us (here on the east coast anyway), and so I wanted to take advantage while I still could. At the farmers' market, I picked up some colorful heirlooms, fennel, and basil. At Whole Foods I picked up some pre-made pizza dough because I was feeling lazy.

I decided to make a pizza with marinated heirloom tomatoes, pecorino, pancetta, and basil, as well as a side dish of roasted tomatoes with white beans and fennel. There was also an arugula salad for good measure.

First I chopped the tomatoes and put them in a bowl with some nice olive oil, salt, and pepper and let them marinate for about an hour while I rolled out the dough.

Once the dough was ready, I simply smothered it with the tomato mixture and all its juiciness, then added the cheese and chopped pancetta, which cooked right in the oven. Here's a trick that you may already know: if, like me, you don't have a pizza stone, you can use an upside down sheet pan instead. Anyway, I cooked the pizza for ten or twelve minutes at 500, then topped it with fresh oregano and basil.

The beans were super easy too. First you slow-cook the fennel in olive oil and salt for about ten minutes, then you just fold everything else in - tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, herbs, etc. - and let it finish in the oven. The beans go in at the very end; follow the recipe here.

And voila! The meal at 8:01.

Happy cooking!

Flatbread Pizza

I wasn't planning to post this meal, but since entries are sparse these days I figured what-the-hay. A craving for pesto came over me as I was counting down the minutes before work was over. I decided to make something lighter than pasta, so flatbread pesto pizza sounded perfect.

I made some basil almond pesto - since pine nuts cost more than all the other ingredients combined. I processed 2 cups basil, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup almonds, 1/2 cup parmesan, salt, pepper & evoo. I spread the pesto onto the whole wheat flatbread, then dolloped on some fresh ricotta and tossed on some sliced zucchini and tomatoes. I finished it off with some shrimp and parmesan cheese, then threw it in the oven for about 12 minutes.

HOMEMADE PITA CHIPS

In the  latest edition of REAL SIMPLE there was an article about  homemade pita chips.
I decided to give em a try.  After cutting the pita bread in half, and then into triangles, coat each one with a light layer of olive oil.  I them sprinkled salt, pepper, finely grated parmesan, and oregano on each one.  Turn your oven up to 400 degrees and voila!!  Tasty, delicious, and CHEAP pita chips.

Chilled Bean Soup

This soup comes as an inspiration from Mr. Nicholas Ali.  On a recent visit up to Ojai, Rob and I had the pleasure of enjoying this delicious lunch.  Rob usually doesn't really enjoy soups, and heaven forbid, a COLD soup, but he flipped out over this.  I decided to TRY and recreate it.  Now Nicholas is the spice king, so his definately had a greater depth of flavor, but I think I got the gist.

Start off by boiling some mixed beans.  The more variety the better!  I only had black beans and kidney beans.  I boiled them in some chicken stalk with onions, garlic, salt pepper, red pepper flakes for a kick and thyme untill they got very very soft and the flavors had really blended.  Once it cools down, puree it as finely as possible.  Top with sour cream, avocado, and cilantro if you have some (we didn't)  This lasted a few days and the best part is you don't have to reheat it.  Lots of room for improvising here!

Power Breakfast

Ok, so this wasn't exactly cooking as defined by merriam-webster, however I did subject the eggs to heat. More importantly, the relevant verbiage here is "feast" and that we did.



A wonderful new little market opened up in our neighborhood called Cookbook that sells fresh local produce, cheeses, dairy, herbs and most importantly prepared salads, sandwiches and fresh baked breads from Heirloom LA - who happens to be catering our wedding. I picked up some fun ingredients and headed home to make a power breakfast. I call it that because it's fairly high in protein and good fats, nutrients that help start your day off right.

Breakfast was some sliced purple heirloom tomato, avocado, toasted baguette with butter, smoked marinated trout and scrambled eggs. Light, bright and satisfying.

Cookbook
1549 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, Ca 90026

Cedar Plank Salmon

A very special occasion when three Feasters got together in one house to make a fab meal. With the addition of a couple boyfs and a native New Jerseyite we started off the evening with crisp refreshing Pimm's Cups made by Chelsy & Rob. Cool as a cucumber.

Emily presented some delectable cheese from a local Silver Lake cheese shoppe. Sharp Gruyere, Humboldt Fog Goat and a nice salty Halloumi we threw on the grill for some added flavor.

The salmon was seasoned with salt and pepper and placed delicately on the cedar planks to be grilled for about 15 minutes. Make sure those planks catch on fire! Chelsy mixed herbed lettuce with hearts of palm, beets and blue cheese and tossed it in a dressing of more cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and good ol' H2O (secret ingredient.) We dined with some local Cali beers and fabulous conversation.

My FAVORITE Scramble

i don't really know why this scramble tastes so heavenly, but i would HIGHLY suggest trying it. totally delicious.

i usually try to use mostly egg-whites but this day i was cooking for 12 people and i started to run out of eggs, so there are a few yokes in this one. i flavored the eggs with a little bit of ground mustard seed, salt and pepper. i then fried up some morning star sausage links as well as the "smart" fake sausage (they sell it everywhere, and i've used it all sorts of ways and its delicious).

threw the eggs in and cut up some fontina cheese and green onions. last key ingredient...thyme. so good!

cut some fruit up to serve the eggs with... here's a pretty pic of some of it.