The memory of a peach

Many people use food in writing to evoke memories, create a mood or tell a story. While I love cooking I don't often remember things via food. Part of why I have this blog is so I can keep a log of some of my cooking and parties as I forget what I make. I have people who remember my summer parties by the food theme vs the year but I can't really keep the menu's straight anymore-yet another sign I'm getting old.

However the other day the simple smell of a fresh peach triggered memories from almost 30 years ago. Not long ago a friend posted something on facebook asking her friends to write a memory that included her and her friends. We spent lots of time together as kids so there are plenty of memories but at the time my memory seemed more like an amalgamation of images from the past vs any single point in time. Then, as is the case on facebook, the post was off the first page to make room for newer topics and I never went back to post anything.

Then last week while buying peaches, the smell and feel took me right back to a couple summers in Toppenish and a slew of vivid memories. Because this is a food blog I'll leave off how, of my own accord, I used to alphabetize the paperback books in local library-hey it was cooler in there. We lived in a converted cannery and among other things picked and process fruit. One summer I remember bins and bins of peaches. They started out delicious but by the end of the summer I never wanted to see another sweet sticky, bee attracting peach again. At the time I never really thought of Toppenish as much in terms of food but looking back I see we had an abundance of fresh food all the time along with the best tortillas ever. It was also a place where lots of memories with good friends were made.

Dinner for a friend-takes me to 30!

A beautiful Seattle Saturday, a new grill, dinner with a friend and more than a couple dozen recipes left to go... what ever shall I cook!

Menu
Grapefruit Gimlets
Cheese, bread and ham tray leftover from other recipes
Spinach salad
Grilled onions
Grilled Leg of Lamb w/Red wine, garlic, mustard and sage (pg90)
Sliced strawberries w/Grand Marnier Zabaglione (pg85)

Okay you are seeing some repeats but trust me once you try that gimlet you will repeat!

As I was cooking for 2 vs 12 I actually used two lamb shanks that were much smaller. I could have gotten away with one but I'm sure someone will eat the leftovers. Also learned that I only have a candy thermometer, not the best for testing the meat temperature. I rectified that today. I did cook for the time noted in the recipe and it was pretty rare, which I don't mind but others might want to check a piece to be sure before taking off the heat. The marinade had good flavor and I used almost the full recipe even though the serving of lamb was 1/2.

As for desert how can you really go wrong-fresh berries & Zabaglione. I added a few raspberries in the mix which were not as sweet and I think improved on the dish.



All and all a good meal and a good day.

All that and I'm left with 30 recipes to go. I guess some friends who like my cooking are going to have to invite themselves over for some more dinners.

Week of 5/25-The quest continues

Well I have crossed the 1/2 way mark and managed to make 15 new items this week. I am going to have to ramp it up a bit to finish by the July edition.


Week 3 dinners
Mon-Asparagus Vichyssoise (pg41)
Tue-Bulgar Salad w/Grilled Chicken (pg47)
Wed-Shrimp Scampi w/Green Onions & Orzo (pg105)
Thu-Mexican Seafood Saute w/Avo Mango Salsa (pg
Rice w/Summer Squash, Red Peppers & Roasted Pepitas (pg81)
Rose Sangria w/Pineapple & Guava (pg78)
Toasted Coconut Caramel Ice Cream (81)
Fri-Spanish Ham and Cheese Monte Cristo Sandwiches (pg105)



Asparagus Vichyssoise. Easier to make that it might seem. Needed a little more flavor but might be truer to the original a little bland. Would be a good first course with just a small serving.

Bulgar Salad w/Grilled Chicken. Typically I am not much of a grain person but this was actually pretty good. Easy to make, good flavor and good as a leftover lunch the next day.

Shrimp Scampi w/Green Onions & Orzo. I would recommend this one be added to any one's weekday meal rotation. Quick, very simple ingredients and does not taste like you only spent 15 minutes making a meal.

Modern Fiesta. I did not make every recipe in the menu from Bon Appetit but this was a very nice mid week meal. Note to self-Sangria is NOT juice even if it tastes that way!. For the coconut sundaes I used non fat yogurt and just a touch of coconut milk vs the very high calorie coco lopez and everyone still enjoyed. The marinade on the seafood was nice and I will use it again on other seafood.

Spanish Ham and Cheese Monte Cristo Sandwiches.. Friday is our movie night and we usually have something simple like pizza or a cheese and veggie plate. This was a perfect dish for movie night. I did add tomatoes just to be a little different.

Improving the all day meeting

I was supposed to be working on a PowerPoint presentation for an ALL DAY meeting but decided to procrastinate by making treats for said meeting. This procrastination technique start back in my collage days. I would make dozens of different types of cookies right around midterms and finals. Maybe I should have taken culinary arts instead of business class then I would have whipped up some great spreadsheets during cooking finals. But I am glad I can do both today.

Really which do you think people will prefer, some snappy PowerPoint slides or some homemade pastries? As I'm still working away on my Bon Appetit project everything of course had to come from the magazine.

Luckily the presentation and the treats were both well received.

Meeting improvement treats
Blueberry Jam Cookies (pg111)
Brown Butter Raspberry Tart (pg111)
Spiced Plum-Cherry Turnovers (pg41)


For the first two I really did not mess with the recipes much. The blueberry jam cookies were better than I expected. The light cookie with the freshly made jam is a great combo. I did double the tart recipe and tried to do one in a regular pie pan but it got stuck and broke (not that the people in the office minded eating the reject).

I did change the turnovers a bit. Firstly there are no plums in Seattle this time of year so I switched to peaches. The recipe is actually for 4 turnovers. I doubled the recipe and then cut the pie crust into much smaller pieces and made 24. Instead of folding the crust in half I started from the wide end of the sliced crust and rolled and then folded the flaps over. Each piece was 2-3 bites, much better for a large group. If I made them again I might use a little less liquid as the peaches added more and it was messy to work with.

45 more to go!

Okay I got the June Bon Appetit about 2 1/2 weeks ago and start on my quest to make all 68 recipes. I've been very committed except a couple dinners out and hardly made anything not in the magazine. After 2 weeks of dinners, a staff lunch, a potluck, a PTA request & a spring party I still have 45 more to go... I have 7 planned for the coming week but as you can see there are clearly more recipes than someone can make in a month. Hope that July issue is held up in the mail.

Guess I will have to make treats for work this week-11 of the 45 are desserts.

Oh and remember my earlier posts on eating to save money and shed pounds... These are not the same type of posts. Though you can make most these recipes more healthy with a few treaks.

I will complete the quest but maybe my next quest should be something I need more like walk 5 miles a day or remove weeds from my yard :)

Spring is Late Party...

To understate the Seattle weather this year-it's been awful. Finally in the last couple weeks we have had a hint of that long lost friend the Sun.

So a little sun, a new gas grill and a 68 recipes to finish. I think a party is in order!

I always just mean to have simple, easy, casual parties. I think my parties are are all that except there is a small possibility I go a bit overboard with the food. I guess no one really complains. The menu below served 12 adults and 6 kids.

Menu
Grapefruit Gimlet (pg28)
Peach Royal (pg84)
Grilled Flatbread w/Caramelized Onions (pg89)
Tomato-Cucumber Gazpacho (pg78)
Artichoke, Cherry Tomato & Feta Salad (pg90)
Green Bean Salad w/Radishes (pg54)
Grilled Sweet Peppers & Corn (pg91)
Tofu Stacks w/Hoisin Sauce (pg104/pg40)
Pork Tenderloin w/Red Wine, Garlic, Mustard Sauce (pg104/pg90)
Blueberry/Mixed Berry Shortcakes (pg108)

Now how I messed with the recipe's and other comments.

Drinks. The Gimlet was a big hit. I never knew that gimlets were this good. I actually have been thinking about when I can make these again-is that a bad sign? I ran out of the ingredients as I had no idea this drink would be so popular. No worries I did not run out of alcohol-that would never happen at my house. The Peach Royal was not so popular. It was too sweet and the prosecco was too light to cut the sweetness. Luckily the prosecco was good w/o the peach.


Grilled Flatbread. I guess you need something to hold the fantastic onions, although I am not above making these again and eating them all by their lonesome. My crowd includes some vegetarians and vegans so to simplify I started by leaving off the sausage and adding some of the sliced grilled peppers from the peppers and corn recipe. I also used two versions of purchased Pizza Crust/flatbread including one w/o eggs. I don't think the sausage was necessary but did I mention the onions were GREAT.

Tomato-Cucumber Gazpacho . I've made this twice now. This version I left out the mayo & anchovy paste and cut back on the onions a bit (but had a bowl of extra chopped red onion on the table for those who like more). A few people had seconds so I take that as a good sign (although not all the kids felt the same way). I have had left overs of this at work for lunch and dinner w/a small salad. A nice easy healthy meal.

Artichoke, Cherry Tomato & Feta Salad. Also the second time for this salad. Easy quick and this time I skipped the crostini which was so so anyway.

Green Bean Salad w/Radishes. People kept picking at this dish before I served the food and there were a whole 2 green beans left that someone put away. I left out the prosciutto but used a really nice cheese (except for the vegan version of course). I also grated the cheese much more finely than called for which coated the beans and made them addictive.

Grilled Sweet Peppers & Corn . Easy, yummy. Good add to many BBQs.

Tofu Stacks w/Hoisin Sauce. Second time for this dish but this time I used the sauce meant for the pork tenderloin. The Bon Appetit plating is nicer than mine.


Pork Tenderloin w/Red Wine, Garlic, Mustard Sauce. Again getting a little liberal with my version of making every recipe. Luckily there are no rules. I used the marinade intended for Leg of Lamb (except no sage as I did not have any and the choice of marinades was not preplanned). I let the pork soak for about 3 hours. I used three 1 lb tenderloins and sliced them fairly thin. There was not a piece left. Next time I will add a sauce or something for visual appeal.

Blueberry/Mixed Berry Shortcakes.. Sometimes mistakes work. I intended to make this a blueberrie and raspberry shortcake but somehow when I heated the mixture it turned to soup. I had meant to make 1.5 times the recipe but I must have been moving to fast and added more water and sugar. I ended up slicing strawberries between the biscuits and pouring a ladle full of the blueberry raspberry mixture over the top. Add a dollop of fresh whipping cream and well a great finish to a good meal...

Staff Appreciation Lunch

A little bit of food is small thanks for the long hours of a systems upgrade, but it is a start. As I am busily working away at the June Bon Appetit I made a brunch like menu for the team. As we have no stove at work the trick is to find foods that taste good cold or room temp.

Menu
Sausage Fontina and Bell Pepper Strata (pg41)
Spinach salad with Pecorino, Pine nuts and Currents (pg49)
Cheddar Cheese Biscuits (pg12)
Giant Chocolate Cake (pg91)

I can't find my camara charger so I hope Bob Appetit will forgive me using their photo. I will give their new website a plug-it is much easier to find things than it was on epicurious!


Now the liberties I took with the recipes and some commentary.

Strata. Not much change although I did not have Fontina so I used a little more parm and a few other hard cheeses I had leftover. Very easy dish to make and not bad room temp. Probably a little better warm, but if you need to take a dish that looks and smells great to someones house this is a good choice.

Spinach Salad. I've now made this twice and it is a big hit. One person gave it 10 stars and my scale is 1 to 3. Both times I have substituted chopped dried cranberries for currents just because that is what I had in the house. I also used slightly different cheeses but in the same family. The dressing is simple but the shallots add something that makes this one a new regular.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits. I am going to have to remake these. I decided to do a smaller version in mini muffin tins and while I adjusted the cooking time it was still too much and the biscuits came out dry. As an aside mini versions are great because you get more and people can take one if they just want a taste or a few if they want more. Eliminates the Phenomenon where people keep slowly cutting the food smaller and smaller.

Giant Chocolate Cake. Really can you go wrong with a big chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache. I cooked mine in a 10inch removable bottom pan as I did not have a 12 inch round (or more honestly could not find it). This meant the cooking time to get to the center was a little longer. I also did not have the time to wait for the ganache to cool all the way, so it was a little messy but still looked good. I also did not do the flowers but served with some sliced strawberries on the side. Chocolate cake usually makes people just a little happier.

Bon Appetit-Weeks of 5/18

Okay full swing into trying to cook all the June recipes... Are you thinking Why oh why? Well there is no good why -how about just because... I also purchased a new gas grill hence the theme.


Week 2 Dinners
Grilled Salmon (pg68-but not really)
Grilled Veggie & Tofu Stacks (Veggie and Vegan) (pg40)
Portobello Burgers w/Pesto & Roasted Red Peppers (Veggie) (pg105) w/grilled finger potatoes.
Grilled Halibut w/Coriander Pepita Butter (pg47) & Spinach Salad (pg49)

Yes I went a little grill crazy but it is a fun new toy.

I liked the burgers but not sure my dinner companions thought they were as good. I used a tiny bit of blue cheese instead of the provolone as that is what I had in the house and I don't need to buy more cheese. These where very quick and easy so a good midweek meal. For the potatoes I boiled them a bit before adding to the grill for quicker cooking.



The Halibut was beautifully fresh and great grilled but in the future I would use olive oil, this was one of those cases where the fat really did not add much to the flavor. If you have a good fresh fish you just want a hint of something to heighten the flavor. The grilled red onions where delicious.

A month of Bon Appetit.

Years ago someone asked me why I needed another cookbook if I had not cooked all the recipes from the ones I already had. Sadly the person was serious. If someone asks a question like that you know that it is not even worth answering. It would go down with questions like why do you need more than one pair of shoes and why try another wine if you've already tried one you like.

Anyway for fun or just for something to write about I thought I would try to make every recipe out of this months(June)Bon Appetit. (Sorry Ruth, I'll try this with Gourmet when I have a tad bit more time.

If I have counted right there are 68 recipes including drinks and desserts. In about a week and a half I have completed 9. Not sure how long it will take me, but I am trying to only cook from Bon Appetit and I do have a few events coming up. So this is no Julie and Julia but it should be fun.

I have had to improvise a bit. I will take that into account as I rate the recipes. So far we have had one 3 star (out of 3) dish, five 2 stars and two 1 stars.

The one recipe I could not follow through with was Cream Fraiche Salmon. Not only does my behind not need the cream fraiche, but it seemed a shame to put on a first run of copper river salmon.

One of the early winners. Chile and Cheese Tart. I added a few more veggies (red peppers and mushrooms) than called for and decreased the cheese. Was easy and could be breakfast, take to work lunch with a salad or a dinner with a cup of soup (this months Gazpacho of course).


More to come

Wines by the Glass

I know nothing about these fancy new wine systems that make it possible to serve nice wines by the glass. But I can say it's nice to see DeLille and Leonetti by the glass (even if the prices of teh Leonetti was a bit over the top).

Ruth Reichl

Rocks!

Went to a words and wine event for her new book "Not Becoming My Mother". She was very down to earth and enjoyable to hear speak about her book and life.

I have enjoyed all her books. This one is a very short book but written in the same funny and accessible style.

Food was provided by SeaStar and was a cut a above the standard for an event like this. The wine was not top notch but after 45 minutes in traffic to go from ballard to the ferry to denny I might have even downed a glass of gallo.