Summer Corn Salad

We have a big debate with our Long Island family (hubs), whether LI corn or Jersey corn is the best. I brought home a bag of Harb's corn on the cob (Northfork). We soaked it in a bucket of water for an hour and threw it on the grill, silk removed of course. Was good the first night. As usual though when I grill there is a need to use up the heat as so not to waste the coals, so we grilled quite a lot of corn.

A few nights later I took three ears corn and sliced it off, and added- 1/2 cup cherry heirloom tomato mix, sliced into quarters if large enough; 1 avocado cubed, 1/2 cup slow roasted tomatoes with herbs and white balsamic vinegar, 3 grilled artichoke (steamed and cooled), and 1/2 red onion small chop.

Heat up a non-stick pan and add a drizzle of olive oil, onion, and saute.  Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed and chopped garlic, salt and pepper; then add corn, blacken a bit, and remove from heat. Add rest of ingredients and stir gently. It is alright if the avocado spreads around.

Serve room temp or chilled. We like ours slightly room temp. Some heat adds a nice tone, so dash some of your favorite hot sauce, or even salsa to this. We grilled pork chops and I made an additional pan of summer squash casserole...another post!

Oh, and is my household going to sway the Long Island corn over Jersey corn debate? Not sure, we just like eating fresh summer corn.

Monk Fish and Hake Carpaccio

Summer is officially over since last Friday, but not for many ingredients at the market...

One dish I had not tried to tackle yet, key word yet- seafood carpaccio. We love the beef version, and have had venison in Italy, but for some reason I have not tried fish version at home. Because it's really easy to make!

I infused 1 and 1/2 cups olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter with (1) lemon grass (cleaned and beaten with mallet), sprigs of cilantro, 2 cloves garlic (mash with mallet), tablespoon sea salt and squeeze of half lemon- after heating it to about one hundred and eighty degrees (check with candy thermometer, or butter will burn). Put aside and let the ingredients do their thing. Strain and use as you see fit.

Rub this mixture into the chilled plates. Then cover with the very finely sliced raw monk fish and hake filet and sprinkle the fish with the remaining infused olive oil mixture. Make enough to drizzle on salad mixture as well.

I sliced heirloom tomatoes and artichokes into thin slices as well, placing them on top of fresh mache salad. Place the carpaccio around edges and serve as an appetizer. We were almost too full for the main course, and thought it would be a great entertaining dish for next time.

Place medium pieces of sliced fish in between plastic wrap and gently pound with a mallet. Don't worry if the pieces do not come out perfectly round, and the tenderloin area of the fish is especially fragile. The monk fish worked best, but the hake had the best flavor to me.

Enjoy! and serve with a Gruner Veltliner, or an un-oaked Chardonnay to compliment the texture and acidity of the fish.

St. Augustine Minorcan Clam Chowder

Long overdue post from April, since the oil spill and all, but we are still seeing clams in our NJ market as of this moment- the devastation in the Gulf however is horrible. When visiting St. Augustine, Florida a few months ago we enjoyed a good seafood meal at a small sea side shack. While looking at the menu I noticed this bottle of hot sauce sitting on the table.

Are you a hot sauce head like me? Do you put it on most foods you eat?

The Minorcan hot sauce had a unique flavor, so I stuck the bottle in my pu...no I resisted! They had bottles for sale, so I purchased one to take home- AFTER I ordered a bowl of their clam chowder, Minorcan Clam Chowder. Hooked and reeled in was I.

Normally I do not order clam chowder, not even Manhattan versions. Just not a favorite of mine, but this was good, unique flavor, and full of clams.

I found a local Florida blog who has a recipe on her site. She says adjustments were made, so I made my own pot, making adjustments as well.

I sliced a baguette and we sopped up the juice as we ate...

Minorcan Clam Chowder 

1/8 pound salt pork or smoked bacon chopped fine (I used thick cut bacon from whole foods)
2 large onions chopped

1 pound fresh clams (local NJ coast)
1-2 datil peppers, minced
3 cups canned plum tomatoes drained, seeded, and chopped
1/2 tablespoon thyme, crumbled
1/2 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons Minorcan Datil Pepper Hot Sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 bay leaves crushed
2- 8 ounce bottles clam juice
3 cups fish stock
2 cups red bliss potatoes, diced

Saute pork in large pot over medium heat until fat is rendered. Remove pork and set aside. Add onions, bell pepper, and cook until softened. Add datil pepper sauce, tomatoes, seasonings, clam juice, fish stock, and reserved pork. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes to meld flavors. Add potatoes and cook 30-45 minutes more. Add clams and once they all open, the chowder is ready. Discard any un-open clam shells (I separated the ingredients from the soupy part, and put the clams in to cook, let them open up and left them for presentation once I re-assembled the soup together in bowls, then saved a few for stuffed clams in the future).

Her recipe called for simmering one hour, I cut the time back- took off 20 minutes. There is room to play here. When chowders, soups, and chili sits it begins to meld, and plus I left out her original tomato puree addition to make it a bit more soupy; it thickens over night.

I Love Tomatoes, but Mango will have to do

Okay, want the scoop on Velva of Tomatoes On The Vine?

• She has a beautiful house 
• A wonderful Martini Shaker named Fred (husband) 
• Can put together a dinner party like no tomorrow 
• Cooks great food, along with Fred 
• Have great funny friends who kept us laughing 
• She IS one of  the best tomatoes on the vine! 

After hearing our sob story about how our trip was not the best we had ever experienced, she assured me a martini would be waiting. Ahhh as I hopped up on her bar stool and watched Fred make (shake) us a lemon-cello 'Lemon Drop' Martini. I drank almost two and lets just say when the second one hit me- I was ready to discover just how welcoming her guest room mattress was!

The food, especially the shrimp, onion, capers, with olive oil and lemon dish (on the left) was the bomb! Well, that is until she began making a curried chicken dish over rice, then finished us off with Tres Leches Cake. One of hubby's favorites! (my camera died on the trip, so I had to use hubby's old one, thus the dark photo)

They truly made our trip. I would hope she would have us back again, as I would love for her to visit Princeton. That family is a well oiled machine!

Now- I thought about duplicating her recipe for the Curried Chicken dish she served us, but ripe mango was calling on the counter so I went for Spicy Mango Chicken. However it was too late to run to the market when I realized I did not have enough rice. Hubby asked if I had Farro, as he loves it. So, as usual Italian meets Thai. This dish worked out so well, and I will be making it again!

Now mind you this is not the same dish, but you can only imagine her jumping in the conversation as I watched her prepare toasted nuts on the stove, while she prepped a wok with seasonings (working effortlessly with Fred in unison to get us feed in a timely manner), put chicken into the mixture, and began to simmer the most aromatic curry.

Velva took rice from the steamer, and carefully placing it on a large platter, it was then covered with this succulent chicken and its sauce. topped off with the nuts and other beautiful garnish- we feasted upon the patio while great wine and conversation flowed down the long table. Rain had graced the area earlier that day, so it made for a wonderfully cool and pleasant evening. Did I mention their friends were a double hoot. My hubby and the other guest wife were out of control, and from what I hear her usual quiet self, and hubby's as well (I hardly said a word, yeah I know, but believe it!).

This evening the duplicated Velva meal does not look quit the same, but in the best way possible with mango curry infused chicken stock over chicken breast, slowly cooked in the wok, and placed upon the farro- then topped of with what I could muster up to emanate that fond garnish memory was as close as I could get.

Hospitality in the highest (Chris @ Nibble Me This in TN I have to say, provided the same).

Thanks Fred and Velva for showing us a wonderful time!

I am on my way out the door to buy myself a new camera- three years of my Nikon 8.1, but now I will be a kid in a candy store, and am hoping my days of that light box may be over!

Ooops I did it again!

October will be a year since I started this food blog. I have enjoyed my life with all its changes, and ignoring the negative to live a healthy existence. Even my son changes every six months by way of maturing, and through changes I have seen via phone calls and visits. He is in college, and a big time bachelor. Aaron has lived in his own apartment for three years now. Yes, this mom is proud as he works as a butcher's assistant, and can cook...almost as good as I can. I was at his place in December and made the same dish above. I make this every time he is around. Why?

As mom's go we all know what it is like when they want us to cook favorite dishes for them when we are around. Smothered Steak is his favorite, and has been since he was small. I came through St. Louis on my way home from Texas, and we visited the meat department he works in full time. I selected an unusual cut that he said they are playing around with for customers, English Steak. A cut that come from the shoulder clod. Shoulder clod is part of the beef chuck. The meat resembles smaller round steak.


















"This cut is not sold conventionally" he shared with Lisa and I. He also told us that they do not come up with the names, and there is no reason he knows of for English Steak except it is used in Kidney Pie. We took home three pieces for $5.99 a pound, minus his discount. These make for fairly tough steaks in the skillet; unless you slow cook them in a liquid, or marinate it overnight; then cook it on the grill.

My son went behind the counter (his day off) and proceeded to tenderize them, but the machine used had been bent; therefore he could not tenderize them commercially for our dinner. I told him that it was alright, and that we could use a can of mushroom soup to pound it out. We laughed as I described how my own mother did that when I was young, before gadgets existed, and I promised him it would not take long. His job starts at four in the morning, so early to bed he must go.



















As a side dish we had tomato jalapeno greens with bacon and red onion. Cook in olive oil, garlic, black pepper, salt, and paprika to give it a good flavor. We also picked up some roasted garlic bread to sop up the gravy. Aaron has decided to make this on his own after cutting the bread up, spreading some gravy on top, and toasting it off with cheese would be a great super bowl party dish. We dubbed it 'Aaron's Leftover BS', and then we laughed. He will let us know how it goes over with the guys in February.



















Maybe he was just a little too hungry when it came out of the oven!

Abundance; Its In The Sauce

My original post for today was going to be on the value of the fresh fish market, but after visiting Greg @ Sippitysup and seeing his post on a cocktail that includes basil, well, I changed my mind. His post reminded me that a month ago hubby had purchased a few pounds of cherries. I took the opportunity to use them in a variety of dishes over a course of the week. We ate our fair share on their own, but I do believe in trying to conquer the inevitable waste factor. There was a dish I had made that made it to the cutting room floor, but it sat on the shelf until now.

I took about two cups of cherries, some remaining heirloom tomatoes, plum tomatoes, onions, lemon, garlic, herbs, pistachios, homemade Greek oregano lamb meatballs, and placed them all together in my Tagine (slow cook for an hour; then high for the last thirty), or a baking dish if you like to make not the prettiest dish, but a darn good saucy one! The flavor was rich from the melding of all the flavors into the yummiest mouthful I could ever ask for. Just cook up some couscous, and in this case I dog boned some brown rice. Spoon a ladle over, and you got a nice comforting meal.



















I mentioned to Greg that while at the market a woman next to me was complaining that when she needed cilantro in a dish, she only needed about two or three handfuls; once its was no longer needed, the cilantro was mush within a few days. We can all relate to this. I asked how she was containing the cilantro in her cooler. She responded that she had just kept it in the plastic bag, and on one of the shelves. I suggested that she simply wrap a moist paper towel around the bunch (no plastic bag for airflow), and store it in her bottom high humidity storage drawer. I even simply leave it in a glass jar on the counter in cool water, and it keeps just fine for up to three days.

Our family is not going to notice if we build meals around ingredients; unless it is the main course, or over kill on quantity. This is how I learned to cook, even in my personal chef business- I use tomato, onion, and garlic on a regular basis, so why not throw in a little cilantro into the pot. Side course, main course, and even dessert can each conceal the reuse of something as simple as cilantro; unless you simply do not like the taste.

Organizing the weekly meal plan is really not that hard. I always approach the market each week with an idea of what it is I want to produce for my family, and clients. Unfortunately in our society today we are busy, have access to ready made foods, and have a tendency to eat according to our sudden cravings. Stick to your guns, and try at least once a month to use a few recipes that require the same ingredients, and see if you can reduce the waste factor.






















Keep an eye out on Greg. I do. He presents a weekly post of 'Tomatomania', and is going to be posting a week's worth of recipes that will use 'Basil'. I and others are looking forward to some new ideas for my own usage of this beautiful green plant. Abundance can work in our favor!