The BEST cheesecake to ever grace my tongue!

Honey Ricotta Cheesecake

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

I am not a baker.  Baking requires too much chemistry, too much precision and I am much too impatient for it.  Before a concert in Seattle one night, we were trying to get into the very hip, very now, The Walrus and the Carpenter but they don't take reservations and we couldn't wait an hour.  (I've still heard great things about them!).  Instead we went around the corner to the less known, but equally fabulous Staple and Fancy where we were seated at the bar immediately.  At the bar, you get to see the action.  I love to watch the kitchen preparations the sweating, slicing, and saucing - we got to witness it all.  The Staple and Fancy had a great chef's tasting menu that they wouldn't (couldn't?) even describe to you because it was presented at the whim of the chef.  So we ordered and dug in.  The first "course" was actually seven dishes all fantastic on their own, but more fun because they exceeded expectations in sheer quantity.  The rest of the meal went well, everything great.  The crowning glory was dessert.  The most luscious, creamy, light, ricotta cheesecake I could imagine.  Topped with fresh figs and some kind of sauce I couldn't identify...balsamic reduction, perhaps? 

What I'm presenting here in no way replicates that experience but this recipe is a darn good substitute!  Its something different than the heavy cheesecake we're used to.  The crust is made of biscotti and the ricotta gives a light fluffy texture to this cheesecake.  Instead of figs, I used Ina Garten's balsamic strawberries recipe which is the most amazing find on its own.  You have no idea what strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper will do to your taste buds.  Try it!

Recipe Riff:

For the cheesecake crust I used 2 boxes of Nonni's Original Biscotti that I found in the cookie isle at Central Market.  The biscotti is essential but don't use anything covered in chocolate or flavored with coffee.

With Ina's Balsamic Strawberries, I used a much smaller amount:  1 pint strawberries, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 3 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.  These only last 3 days maximum in the refrigerator, but are good if you make them an hour in advance so they can marinade.

Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops

These prosciutto-inspired recipes both came from a cooking episode Giada did on the Today show.  I watched it on mute since I work from home, but went to the website for the full recipe.  Prosciutto is wonderful stuff if you want all the flavor of bacon without the fat.  Its a little hard to work with because its always sliced thin.  Its best to take it immediately from the refrigerator and try to work with it cold. Its cured so you can eat it right out of the package or it can be chopped and added to any dish.  I love the method Giada mentions on the show - baked until crispy and used as a topping in soup, salads, or pasta dishes.

Recipe Riff:
Use large scallops and they can be frozen prior but thawed before cooking.  Don't use the tiny quarter-sized scallops for this recipe.

With a knife, slice the prosciutto down the center length-wise.  A whole piece overwhelms even a large scallop.  Otherwise, follow the recipe as written.  15 min. in the oven is enough even for large scallops.

Capellini al Forno (Baked Angel Hair Pasta with Prosciutto & Smoked Mozzarella)

This was my favorite of the episode...Italian comfort food like mama used to make.  Cheesy goodness with no redeeming nutritional value.  I would recommend this as a side dish to a lovely GREEN salad instead of the main course.  It does have some "wow factor" but is a caloric splurge.  Don't skip the marinara sauce on the side, it cuts the richness of the cheese.

Recipe Riff:
I used 3/4 box of angel hair pasta and broke it in half before cooking so I could manage it better.  I only did two layers of ingredients starting with bread crumbs then pasta, prosciutto, cheese and then another layer of pasta, prosciutto, and cheese.  I topped with more breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan and dolloped some butter around the top. 

I baked mine in a spring-form pan as the recipe indicates, but you'll want to cover the bottom in foil since the butter drips onto the oven floor and burns there smoking and smelling awful.  Lesson learned.

This recipe would be so much fun for appetizers and could easily be done in one of those mini-muffin tins with just one layer of ingredients topped with breadcrumbs.  I would break the pasta in smaller pieces before cooking.  Someone try this and tell how it worked!

Beef Tenderloin Roast with Horseradish Cream

Your cooking evolves over time and things you never thought you'd try last year, suddenly become inspiration for dinner tonight.  This one came from and old issue of Food & Wine from August 2010.  I'd never tried beef tenderloin but thought it must be like any other roast and easy to find.  Perusing Central Market I found every cut of meat except the large tenderloin roast this recipe called for.  Central Market has a great meat / seafood department with knowledgeable staff who are willing to cut, skin, de-bone, or recommend a cooking method for anything they sell.  Often they'll ask me what I'm making and give me the best gift - validation!  If you have a great butcher, or a store with an exceptional meat department, ask their advice especially when it comes to possible substitutions.  It turns out that a beef tenderloin roast isn't part of the displayed offerings, but it is one of their standard cuts and they can have it ready for you in just a few minutes.  Be prepared for the sticker shock and only get what you really think you'll eat.  This amount of meat could easily feed 6 - 8 people.

The recipe can't be found online so here are the directions with my own modifications:
Beef Tenderloin Roast
One 2-3 lb. beef tenderloin roast
1/4 cup very coarsely ground black pepper
salt
vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the tenderloin in half crosswise.  Rub each piece generously (sides and ends) with pepper to create a good crust. Season with salt and rub with vegetable oil.  Sear the roasts in a cast iron pan over high head for 8 minutes turning so you sear each side including the cut ends.  Transfer the pan and roasts to the oven and insert a thermometer.  Roast 30-40 min. or until the thermometer reads 120 for rare or 130 for a medium rare roast.  The key to tenderness on this roast is allowing for some good pink in the middle so don't over cook.  Once they've come to desired temperature, remove from the oven and lloosely cover the pan with foil to allow the roasts to rest for 30 min.  Slice in thin rounds.  This roast can be eaten warm but its even better served cold with horseradish cream.

Horseradish Cream
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
a few drops of red wine vinegar to taste
salt to taste

Well Traveled Finger Food

Spoiler Alert: concert buddies read at your own risk! 

I went crazy this weekend trying recipes for an up-coming concert-in-the-park evening with friends.  I was looking for recipes that could be eaten cold or at room temperature straight off the skewer.   While these recipes came from my own cookbook collection – all can be found online proving once again that COOKBOOKS ARE OBSOLETE and a great recipe can come from any source!  Chances are, even your favorite family recipe can be found online.  If not, it’s time to share it with the world!  I hit 3 out of 4 in this marathon culinary event.

Shrimp with Green Chili Pesto

 

There are a million ways to make pesto this one calls for green chilies in place of the basil.  They add a great tanginess perfect for shrimp.  The finished shrimp are fabulous hot but great even cold the next day.  My photo shows them cold since the theme is finger food that travels.  I put these on small bamboo skewers but you could use toothpicks or place 2-3 on a longer skewer as a single serving.

Spanish Meatballs with Almond Sauce 

These need to be made either right before your picnic or reheated before traveling so they can be served warm or at room temperature.  The almond sauce is creamy goodness so serve these with crusty bread.  

Recipe Riffs:

Meat – the recipe calls for beef or lamb but I used ground pork which worked equally well

Bread – I used 3 slices of a medium sized French loaf.  I toasted them lightly and only dunked them in water instead of soaking for 5 min.  Rip the bread into tiny pieces with your fingers

Spanish olive oil can be replaced by any good olive oil

Dry white wine can be replaced by 2/3 cup additional vegetable broth and another squeeze of lemon juice while cooking

Freshly grated nutmeg is the best but you can use the bottled version

Salmon in Mojo Sauce

I’m not done yet!  The mojo sauce in this recipe is just charmoula in disguise (see July).  I had run out of cumin so I used Mexican chili powder which contains a little cumin.  The sauce turned very RED and mixed with oil this can be a deadly combination!  Provide long skewers and watch your clothing…

Recipe Riffs:

Ground Cumin – I used Mexican chili powder in a pinch and it turned out great

Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad

This is your Tuesday night throw-it-together dinner!  This salad has so many good things going for it.  Arugula is the peppery flavor base.  Creamy cannellini beans mean you won’t miss the cheese.  Toasted pine nuts give you the crunch you need.  Finally, roasted red pepper strips for the color you eat with your eyes.  Fresh herbs are a must in this recipe don’t use anything else.

Saucy Tips:

*Roasting a red pepper is easy – follow the instructions in this recipe but use a zip lock bag for steaming them prior to removing the skin.

*Roasted pistachios or macadamias would be a great substitute for pine nuts

*The vinaigrette in this recipe (starting with the lemon rind through pepper) isn’t enough for the amount of salad you’ll produce. Double the lemon juice, olive oil, and add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a spoon full of the chopped herbs.
*If you don’t like chunks of raw garlic in your salad dressing, mince it and place it in a pile on your cutting board with a little salt.  With the tip of your knife, smash the garlic and salt to make a paste.  In this form, the garlic will mix into your vinaigrette evenly.

*You eat with your eyes first, so I layered the salad on the plate instead of mixing it together:

RayFactor: 7

Falling On The Swordfish

Grilled Swordfish with Lima Bean Herb Butter

Lima Bean Herb Butter???  You heard me.  The only thing better about butter is COM-POUND butter!  The swordfish is great but its merely a vehicle for this butter.  You don't even have to be a fan of the lima bean.

Recommendations:
Swordfish can be expensive and you can easily feed two adults with one steak.  Unless you're planning a dinner party you only need 1-2.  I dusted the steaks with salt and pepper but fried them in a corrugated grilling pan instead of using the grill.  This method worked great and produced a moist fish.
I doubled the lima beans in the compound butter and it was much better.  Don't compromise on the fresh herbs though, they are the main attraction.

Serve With:
Wild Rice
Sauteed Broccoli with Parmesan and Garlic

RayFactor: 8

'Q it Up!

North Caroline BBQ Pulled Pork



Mustard Slaw

Grilled Pound Cake & Peaches



There’s something about the open air, the hiss of the grill, and the smell of charring meat. Any time the rain stops is the perfect time for BBQ in the Northwest. Since we grill year round, it’s good to have a few stand-by menus to take advantage of when the mood strikes. Steven Raichlen is the Guru of BBQ. In his cookbook BBQ USA, he gives detailed instructions to walk you through the charcoal or gas grilling process of virtually every BBQ region and technique in the United States. I found a couple of my favorite Raichlen recipes online, very close to the cookbook version.

Before You Dive In:
This recipe calls for hickory wood chips. These can be found at any hardware store selling grills but smaller bags are often found in the picnic isle of your grocery store. If your grill doesn’t have a smoking box, you can easily make a smoking pouch with the soaked wood chips and some heavy duty aluminum foil (www.grillingcompanion.com).
Place 1 cup of the soaked wood chips in a sheet of foil and wrap like a burrito. Poke several holes in the foil with a knife and lay it on or to the side of a heat shield under the grate of the grill. When the pouch begins to smoke, you’re ready to grill. I also tried this without soaking the wood chips first but they burn too quickly and the amount of smoke just about choked me each time I opened the grill.
Time – the prep time is quick but cooking takes several hours so plan ahead and allow 4 hours before this roast is ready to eat.

North Carolina Pulled Pork

The recipe calls for a 5-7 lb. bone in pork shoulder. I used a 2.5 lb. boneless pork shoulder which cooked in about half the time but only yielded about 4-6 sandwiches. If you’re going to spend the time cooking this, make it worth your time by choosing the larger roast.
I used the rub Raichlen suggests but put it on the grill immediately instead of refrigerating. He tells you to cook to an internal temperature of 195°. This seemed way too high for pork, but trust him, it works! The sauce made with the Mustard Slaw is perfect for the pork as well.

Mustard Slaw
A perfect side dish for the pulled pork is this Mustard Slaw. If you like to “hit the sauce”, double this recipe so you have enough for the slaw and the pulled pork. Better yet, pile the pork and slaw on the same bun for a perfect sandwich!

Grilled Pound Cake and Peaches
Grilling dessert is just fun and it impresses the guests. This one is simple but the grilling process makes it so much better.

1 bakery fresh or frozen pound cake
6 ripe peaches – halved and pitted, skin on
Whipped Cream

Slice the pound cake. Place the pound cake and peaches, cut side down, on indirect heat on the grill. Grill slowly until the cake is a little crispy on the outside and the fruit has nice caramelized grill marks. Once removed from the heat, the skin of the peach slides off easily. Serve a slice of cake with 2 peach halves and a dollop of whipped cream.