HibiscusTea

This brew made from dried Hibiscus flowers is very common through out the world and here in California. It is a common drink in Latin cuisine called Jamaica and is commonly served as a aguas frescas. The dark red dried flowers are steeped in boiling water then strained. The infused liquid is strong and somewhat tart so will need to be sweetened with sugar and diluted with more water to taste. Try serving it cold with ice.  It has a flavor very similar to cranberry juice and that gives me the idea of maybe a vodka-hibiscus drink? ...or maybe a Latin Cosmo using white tequila and hibiscus tea?

Fresh Chickpea Hummus

This Middle Eastern staple just might be one of the World's oldest food with origins dating back to the ancient Egyptians. Nutritionally its a super food that's high in iron, vitamin C, also a good source of protein and dietary fiber. Eat it with the classic combination of pita bread and it's a complete protein. I have seen and used fresh-in-the-pod chick peas before, but still get excited by it's rare appearance. One pound of fresh pods will yield about 2 cups of hummus. It has a creamy texture with a rich nutty taste and over tones of citrus, garlic and oregano.

Fresh Hummus

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh shelled chickpeas

1 clove garlic

2 T sesame tahini paste

Pinch fresh oregano or dried

juice of one lemon

3 T extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Method:
1. Cook chickpeas in boiling salted water for about a minute, drain.

2. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend till smooth, a touch of water might be needed.

3. Add salt to taste.

Serve with a flat bread such as pita and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note: the color is not wrong -it really is green when fresh.

Latin Style Breakfast

This was a saute everything in the pan type of thing using ingredients I had on hand. Torn corn tortillas, black beans, Queso fresco, eggs, chopped cilantro, diced avocado and my own very hot sauce. This type of breakfast is closely related to the classic Chilaquiles recipe using some of the same ingredients. I just like the flavors and make this on most Sunday mornings.

Lamb Loin Salad

Tied and Marinated

Pan Roasted Lamb Loin

Lamb and Arugula Salad

A popular Springtime food is lamb and I wanted to use it in a simple salad. I made a variation of this salad for a cooking interview with Chef Bradley Ogden many years ago. This time a lamb loin was tied with kitchen string and marinated overnight with Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary and garlic. Next I seasoned it with salt and pepper and browned in a hot saute pan in a touch of olive oil, then put the pan into a hot oven to finish cooking. While the lamb was cooking, I put together a few ingredients for a simple salad, arugula, caramelized onions and a creamy tarragon dressing. The cooked lamb after a brief rest was thinly sliced and place on the dressed greens. I did get the job many years ago, and doing this salad always reminds me of that.

Fresh from the Garden

This variety of radish is known as French Breakfast Radish, these are very easy to grow and only take about a month from seed to harvest, I am going to experiment with other varieties as well.

Friday Night Burgers

Painted Hill Ranch Burgers

Fontina Cheese melting on the grill
Balsamic Red Onions

Fontina Cheese Burger with Balsamic Red Onions and Arugula

Eating hamburgers is a very rare thing for me, maybe only one or two a year, I really have to be in the mood for them. Tonight as the standard what to make for dinner question is asked, my daughter said "lets make burgers" So off to the store with burgers in mind, the trusted guys at the meat counter recommended a sirloin 80/20 blend of Painted Hills Ranch natural ground beef, so I ordered a pound, next I picked up crusty bread, arugula and Fontina cheese. At home I made a relish of red onions and balsamic vinegar slowly simmered till glossy and tender. With all the hamburger ingredients ready the hand formed burger patties go on a hot grill pan with the Fontina placed on top after they are flipped, when the burgers are done they go on sliced grilled bread with a bed of arugula and a spoonful of red onion relish. Wow was it good, I might have to eat three burgers this year.

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos are the primary ingredient in Mexico's other common salsa, they are in the same family as tomatoes just green with a paper like husk covering them. To make the salsa, remove the husk and wash the sticky green vegetable, it will need to cook in a pot with a touch of water, jalapeno, diced onion and garlic. This simmers for about 20 minutes, then into a blender it goes with salt and lots of cilantro, blend till smooth and its ready to eat. Mild and tangy with a good fresh flavor. Fresh avocado blended in is a really delicious addition.

My kind of fast food

The kitchen is clean and I don't want to make a big mess or spend a lot of time cooking tonight. With just a few ingredients, dinner's ready fast.
To start Asian egg noodles go into salted boiling water to cook while sliced mushrooms, bok choy, grated ginger go into a hot saute pan with a touch of vegetable oil. When the noodles are done they are strained and added to the cooked vegetables with a splash of soy sauce and scallions to finish.

Creole Style Pacific Snapper

A nice bite of Fish

Blackened Red Fish with Creole Sauce

The Cajun and Creole foods of the state of Louisiana are one of the big draws to this Southern United States region, I am not even close to being a expert on the cuisine but I have learned the basics and when I am in the mood I will cook the classics. I really like the regions bold and spicy flavors and when I came across some nice looking local Snapper at my local market I thought of doing this immediately I made a dry spice rub for the fish which the fish was dredged in and sauteed in a very hot pan with a touch of vegetable oil. The sauce for the fish is tomato based with the famous Louisiana "trinity of aromatic vegetables" green bell pepper, celery and onions. Many years back chef Paul Prudhomme became known as the godfather of Cajun cooking and this dish was one of his signatures, he was responsible for the whole blackened redfish craze and his famous restaurant K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans became the place to go when in that region. I met Chef Paul many years back when he was visiting the kitchen a was working at in San Francisco, I was very impressed by him and remember him even shaking hands with the dish washers and saying "everyone one is part of the team and is important" The fish turned out great and reminds me that I need to visit the Southern region soon.

Farmers market baby Carrots

I know carrots are considered a common vegetable, but sometimes you can get excited about them.
These little farmers market beauties are only about 3 inches long, but as thick as normal size carrots and they are so fresh that the dirt they grew in is still on them. I washed and peeled them before I quickly blanched them in salted water, then they were finished in a saute pan with a dash of butter and a pinch of fresh chopped parsley. Simply delicious.

Roast Duck

Ready to Roast




Golden & Crispy

I was in the mood for duck, but what to part to eat first? the moist duck meat or the crispy skin? Its all good. To start the skin was scored to help release some of the fat while cooking and then into a hot 350F oven to roast for about an hour, next plum sauce was thickly brushed all over in the final stage of cooking, this glaze caramelizes to a dark golden brown with the plum flavors becoming sweet and intensifying. Carved thin and served with Chinese pancakes and scallions, a classic! Note: Be sure to save the rendered duck fat, very good for use in cooking potatoes.

Thai Style Fish Curry

There's nothing quite like a good Thai curry, those exotic flavors that I grew to love during my first trip to Thailand many years ago. I like to make curry when ever I get that urge and its really not that hard either if you keep common curry staples in your house. Some of the ingredients I always like to have on hand are Thai curry pastes (red, yellow and green) ginger root, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, canned coconut milk, cilantro and kaffir lime leaf from the tree growing in my back yard. With these simple ingredients you just add your favorite choice of meat or vegetables. I had some uncooked Rock Snapper from a previous nights dinner that went into my curry. I used cooked Chinese Lo mein noodles to be tossed and served with the fish curry. Easy, fast and good!

Pacific Rock Snapper with Avocado

When I came across some nice looking Rock Snapper the other day, I just had to buy a few of the fillets. My plan for these beautiful pink fleshed fish are to saute them skin side down till golden and crispy. I normally try to stay away from heavy cream style sauces, so some type of salsa will go with it. For the salsa I diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and plenty of lime juice. The cleaned and scaled fish fillets are seasoned with salt and pepper and go skin side down in smoking hot pan with a touch of vegetable oil, when browned they are flipped for about a minute then onto a warm plate with a generous dollop of the avocado mixture.

Okinawa Purple Sweet Potato

I went to visit my favorite Asian market in San Francisco during the last weekend. I like going there because there is always some new product or food to see, this time in vegetable department.
I discovered what appeared to be normal sweet potatoes, but upon removing the brown skin a bright purple center was exposed!  This variety of sweet potato is called Okinawa originally from the Yomitan village in the Okinawa region in Japan. I wanted to simply cook them so I would be able to taste the sweet potatoes in there purest form. I roasted them with their skins on for about an hour in a 350 degree oven. When soft, I split them in half and scooped out the purple flesh, then a little sprinkle of salt to finish. They were really good, but if you did not see the color they would have tasted like any other sweet potatoes.

Spring is very Close

Spring time! the awaking of dormant plants. I look forward to this time when young plant shoots begin to grow in the warm and longer daylight of the new season. Classic spring foods such as asparagus, fava beans, artichokes and peas will begin to flood the local markets. I can't wait to start cooking all of these foods. Today I saw a display of first of the season asparagus and I had to buy a bunch, my plan was to simply grill them and finish with sprinkle of sea salt and splash of extra virgin olive oil. I stuck to my plan and was rewarded with a plate of amazing asparagus, I will do other recipes soon but for now I wanted to taste nothing but pure asparagus flavor.