Thanks to Jen at My Kitchen Addiction for hosting the Kitchen Bootcamp Challenge.  This month’s challenge was salad or salad dressing. I created a Cilantro Pesto Vinaigrette to top my Mexican version of a Caprese Salad.

This challenge was exciting to me because you won’t find a bottle of salad dressing in my house.  I think that store bought salad dressing is an insult to tastebuds.  Salad dressing is so easy to make and so much better than anything you can buy there is no excuse not to make your own.

When I first started thinking about this challenge I was overwhelmed by the options for creativity.  A salad can be made of anything – cold cuts, vegetables, grains, fruits, shellfish, pasta … and you can combine it any way you want.  As it’s summer and tomatoes are at the height of their season; I decided to build tomato salad.  Once that decision was clear I thought about my favorite tomato salad, the Caprese.  While I love it, I wanted to make it my own.  I’ve been really into Mexican flavors lately so I decided to spin the Caprese.

I started with pesto, replacing basil with cilantro and pine nuts with pumpkin seeds.  I added the lime loosen it and make it more of a salad dressing using an oil to vinegar ratio of 1:1 (the standard American ration is 3:1 but I find that too oily and not sharp enough).

For the salad I replaced Buffalo Mozzarella with  Queso Blanco and used my vinaigrette instead of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

We’ve all been there — great bottle of wine and no corkscrew.  If you wear dress shoes… no problem!

I am excited to enter the Kitchen Bootcamp Sauce Challenge with my authentic Mexican salsa recipe  for Salsa Verde which is also known as green sauce.  This sauce isn’t covered in the Professional Cook but my green sauce recipe is so simple and tasty I’m sure you’ll be making it for your family.  It’s similar to a French sauce Tomate or Italian marinara sauce in terms of preparation and is based on cilantro, tomatillos, yellow bell pepper, garlic and chicken stock.

Setting about making my green salsa and writing this post took me back to why I started making it.  The thing about being spoiled is that you  don’t know you are spoiled until something changes.  I’m from California.  I grew up not realizing that Mexican food is ethnic food, I just knew it as good food.  I assumed that everyone had access to hand made salsa, tacos, tamales and little off the wall restaurants where the sauces were made fresh using family recipes handed down for generations.  I lived in a version of food paradise and I took it for granted.

Then, I moved to Florida.  Sure, we have “Mexican” restaurants here.  The quotation marks are there to indicate that these restaurants impersonate, possibly even insult real Mexican cooking.  Sauces come in 100 oz cans tortillas in bags.  I searched and searched for a restaurant to become my regular place, but alas it was to no avail.

And so, I learned to cook the foods I craved.  I searched online for people sharing their family secrets and I started making my own sauces.  Living in California, Salsa Rojo was my favorite but now that I make my own, Mexican green sauce is my hands down favorite.  Once you have it on hand it’s perfect for making chicken, pork or cheese enchiladas, chilaquiles, chile verde, green rice, tamales or simply having special chips and salsa.

Making it reminds me of making my Italian red sauce.  I never quite make it the same.  Poblano chili’s have amazing flavor but they aren’t consistent in heat so you have to taste it.  If you want this sauce to be amazing use home made chicken stock you can also slow simmer pork or chicken in it to make the flavor even richer.  Another hint don’t salt it until it’s reduced to the point you want — otherwise you may end up oversalting.   I posted on making turkey stock, the method is the same for chicken.

Mexican Green Salsa Recipe

2 large yellow bell peppers
4 Poblano chilies
2lbs Tomatillos
1 large white onion
6 cloves garlic
2 bunches Cilantro
2 Tbsp Mexican oregano
2 Tbsp Cumin
3 cups Chicken Stock (roughly)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Optional:
Grill the bell peppers, chilis, tomatillos and onion after lightly coating with vegetable oil this will give you great smoky flavor.

If you choose not to grill them then sweat the vegetables until soft in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat.

When vegetables are soft puree in a food processor, add one bunch of cilantro and garlic.  Return to Dutch Oven and add chicken stock, oregano and cumin.  Simmer for at least 2 hours until it reaches the consistency you desire, I shoot for something similar to spaghetti sauce.  Return some of the sauce to the food processor and puree with the remaining bunch of cilantro.  (I like to add the cilantro in two phases as you get brighter flavor).

Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.  You can also add sugar.  If your taste buds crave more heat add one or two Jalapeno chillies at the beginning.

Tip: This Salsa freezes well so double the batch and keep some on hand!

I used this last batch for Pork Enchiladas!  I slow cooked a pork but with onions and garlic, shredded it and combined with flour tortilla’s, Monterey Jack Cheese, and baked them until golden brown (about 45 minutes at 375 degrees)

Enchilada Assembly Station

When assembling the enchiladas, coat the base of your pan with green sauce, dip each tortilla in sauce, fill with cheese and meat, roll tightly and place in the pan.  Top with more cheese.

Assembling the enchilada

Ready for the oven!

Unfortunately I got so excited about eating that I forgot to take pictures of the final product!

If you are coming to my house for dinner, I have one bit of advice; come hungry.  Especially right now as I’m playing with my MATOFC (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) trying to satisfy my yearning to go back to France when my financial reality does not include a ticket.

Recently we had friends over for dinner and the 5 of us dined on French Onion Soup, Spinach and Mushroom Turnover, Baked Chicken with Lentil and Chocolate Pots de Creme.  Our meal spanned two hours and three bottles of wine.  I had cooked all day to prepare the meal and enjoyed lingering over it as I would have in Paris.  Treating each course as an event and eating in moderation so we could try the next taste.

I’ve been quite obsessed with Julia Childs .  Believe me there is a monster post or series coming on this topic but as a teaser;  I believe I know why she didn’t warm up to Julie Powell and neither should we!  My obsession includes reading four books and watching somewhere in the  neighborhood of 12 hours of “The French Chef”  Mostly I’m watching to see Julia in action, but one meal struck me, “Spinach Twins” in which Julia collaborates with Simca and they produce a beautiful Spinach and Mushroom turnover.  I had to make that dish and I was thrilled at how beautiful and tasty it turned out.  Julia made her own pastry dough, I cut myself some slack and used Pepperidge Farms dough from the freezer otherwise I did everything as Julia did.

As with much French cooking, the dish is deceptively simple.  I say deceptively because you could indeed slap this together quickly, but the beauty of French food is preparing each element separately then composing the dish so that instead of one blended flavor (think spaghetti sauce) you get a complete bite with delightful layers of flavor where each component is recognizable and delicious on its own and the combination is a gastronomic delight.

The base of the dish is blanched and chopped Spinach.  Plunge fresh spinach into boiling water for about 2 minutes then immediately shock it in cold water.  This preserves the spinach flavor, and color (we all remember that black oozing mess they called spinach in the school cafeteria, you didn’t like it then, you won’t like it now.  Squeeze out all the water and then chop up the spinach.  Place it in a pot and set aside.  I used one large salad bag and had a little too much use about 2/3 bag if you are concerned about waste, but spinach is cheap and I’d rather have too much than too little.

Quarter and saute 8 oz of mushrooms, set aside.  Dice 1/2 cup of ham and saute it, set aside.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan dice one onion and sweat it over low heat with about 1/4 cup butter.  Put half the onion in with spinach.

Now comes the Sauce Bouilee.

add 1/2 cup flour to the onion and cook the roux.  Whisk in 1 2/3 cup hot milk.  This sauce is going to be THICK, like paste.  It’s not really a sauce, but a filling.  you want it this thick.  Take the pan off the heat and beat in an egg.  salt and pepper to taste, add a wisp of nutmeg if you like.

put about half that sauce in with the spinach.

Now you are ready to assemble the pastry.

Unroll the dough and coat the inside with an egg wash (1 egg, 1 Tbsp water)

Place roughly half the spinach mixture on one half the pastry sheet

layer in mushrooms and ham

top with a final layer of spinach

Fold the pastry top over, seal the edges, brush with egg wash and bake in a 350 degree oven.

If you have 45 minutes, watch the video.  Julia is just lovely.

]]> http://www.whineaux.com/2010/03/11/spinach-twins-a-la-julia-spinach-and-mushroom-turnover/feed/ 1 http://www.whineaux.com/2010/03/08/i-still-have-all-my-fingers-knife-skills-classes/ http://www.whineaux.com/2010/03/08/i-still-have-all-my-fingers-knife-skills-classes/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:58:58 +0000 dawn http://www.whineaux.com/?p=391

For years my knife skills have been a point of insecurity.  If you watch enough cooking shows, you too may share my issue.  I have bought DVDs, books and eagerly gone to demonstrations.  I had a friend who is a CIA graduate spend some time with me trying to show me how to use my knife properly so that I can gain speed and consistency without losing a damn finger.  My husband has treated me to several wonderful knifes that I love.  Knifes so sharp that I think if you mess around you could take your hand off at the wrist; forget about shortening a finger tip.

As I’m writing about knife skills you may be wondering why I have a photo of a De Buyer Mandoline at the lead of my post. Please be patient with me.  I’ll get there.

Finally, I found the Rolling Pin, a place in my area that teaches cooking classes and more importantly teaches KNIFE SKILLS 1 and KNIFE Skills 2.  Reading the description I really was not sure if I was going to learn much.

Choosing the correct knife for the job and knowing how to properly use it is the secret to fast, easy cooking.
Learn the basics of knife construction, how to choose the correct knife, safety, sharpening, and proper storage of knives.

You will practice proper techniques for chopping, mincing, slicing and julienne.

We will use our skills to make Homemade Winter Vegetable Soup and Designer Grill Cheese.

I felt pretty confident on all of these topics, however, KNIFE SKILLS 1 is a prerequisite to KNIFE SKILLS 2; and there was lunch, wine and an afternoon away from the house all for $35 so I went for it.  My $35 was VERY well spent.  I know about knife construction, I’ve educated myself on cutting boards and proper sharpening; and I know the mechanics of a dice, julienne, mince etc.  But I couldn’t seem to move the food and knife across the board in a harmonious manner — I looked something like a caveman trying to pull a square wheel.  It wasn’t pretty.

In 2 minutes Chef Dave (an owner at the Rolling Pin which also offers demonstration classes and stocks an amazing array of kitchen implements) had me cutting faster and more consistently than I’d been able to do on my own in a year of practicing.  I had been trying to circumvent nature and cut in a right angle where my left hand fed the food to my right (knife) hand at a 90 degree angle.  I was always fighting with getting the food to move, cutting felt clumsy, and I thought I was never going to get it right.  I began to feel that knife skills were like basketall and I would never have the coordination to do it right.  Nope, I just needed the right coach.  Chef Dave taught me about my cutting triangle and I’m extremely grateful for that lesson.

I liked class one so much that I instantly signed up for class 2 which took place this past Saturday.  In retrospect I wish I had let a few weeks pass rather than jump on my enthusiasm train.  This way I could have practiced more and came with more questions.  In Knife skills 2 we did cover how to sharpen and care for your knifes a little more and I think the information was presented really well, especially for people who want to cook more but aren’t cook book, cooking magazine, cooking blog, cooking TV junkies like myself.  Not many people read Larousse Gastronomique or McGee like a novel – I’m that dork who does.

In KNIFE SKILLS 2 We diced, we julienned, we peeled onions and then — we broke out the mandoline.

I have a few silly fears; such as  I’ll run right off a cliff to escape a honey bee (true).  I watch too much “Criminal Minds” which leads to all kinds of irrational fears.  I am also afraid of cutting my damn fingers off.  I don’t think this is totally irrational, as  it’s a common injury.  What is irrational is the certitude with which I believe(d) my mandoline was going to cut my damn fingers off (When I’m talking about the loss of them, they are indeed my “damn fingers”  as in “Honey can you hurry home, I cut my danm finger off trying to make french fries with the mandoline, I think I need to go to the hospital.”)

Each of our  stations had a mandoline to practice with.  We were cutting long strips of eggplant and zucchini to grill and making apple matchsticks for a salad. Not wanting to be a complete sissy or get caught hiding in the bathroom, I used the mandoline (without a finger guard as I was instructed because the core acts as a natural guard) to julienne apples into matchsticks.  At first I struggled;  I couldn’t get the apple to go through the mandoline because I was hesitating.  Then I did what Chef Dave told me to do and focused on the bottom of the mandoline vs the blade.  Voi La! I made that mandoline sing.

I had a very dusty De Buyer mandoline at home.  Yesterday I busted it out.  I made ratatouille (Julia Childs Recipe) and a roasted duck (also Julia).  I went through several potatoes (tonight is steak with frites)  and made fries.  I used the finger guard, but I made friends with the mandoline.  And for that I thank Chef Dave.

April 6 I’ll be starting the Cooking 101 class — join me!

If you are in the Tampa Area:

The Rolling Pin
2080 Badland Drive
Brandon FL 33511
813-653-2418

I bought this little dandy a couple weeks ago thinking I’d use it to make sauces in my non-stick pans.  It’s cute, heat resistant and safe on non-stick coating — what’s not to like?  After plunking down my $18 and it finally arriving in the mail I couldn’t wait to use it.  So I made Chocolate Pots de Creme.  I learned the answer to my fate tempting question (what’s not to like) the hard way.

The problem is that the tines of the whisk are too flexible to stand up to a thick substance so you are barely stirring and certainly not whisking the ingredients.  I was hugely underwhelmed by this product.  The tines are not strong enough to whip volume into egg whites let alone whisk a heavy sauce.

Whineaux Verdict:  Keep your money!

I don’t “whine” on a rainy day, I wine, because they are days that God created so we would make time to enjoy good books and good wine.  In January I had a customer visit in Half Moon Bay which is on the Pacific Ocean about a 45 minute drive south of San Francisco.  It’s an adorable little town with lots of antique shops, coffee bars and restaurants.  Lucky for me, the Ritz is the only approved hotel in Half Moon Bay

The truth is that the night I had a room there I checked in at 10:00 p.m. and checked out at 6:30 a.m. so I did not live the life of a princess, rather a road warrior.  The next night I moved into a much more sensible hotel in San Jose, but I was in the hotel long enough to see that going back for a day trip during the weekend was a MUST.  The picture above is taken from the wine bar which has floor to ceiling views of the ocean in an area where there are no people on the beach and you can allow yourself to be mesmerized by the waves.

The service at the Ritz is so good it bordered on creepy.  I pulled into valet the car and check in; the valet radioed the front desk told them I was coming and what I was wearing.  As I approached the desk I was greeted by name, after leaving the desk three other employees greeted me by name and when I went to the lounge for a late night dinner-snack, they greeted me by name.  As I was alone, the staff made an effort to talk to me but sensing I wanted to dissolve into my glass of wine and the ocean they let me have my alone time as well.

On Sunday morning, the day I had planned to return to the hotel wine bar with my book (I am the last person in the food world to read Julie & Julia which has since spawned an obsession that will fuel future columns), I awoke to heavy rain.  Most people would be disappointed, but I was thrilled.  The Pacific Ocean is a beautiful, dark, mysterious lady during a storm and I could not wait to see her.  I had my favorite breakfast in San Jose and made my way to the Ritz only to discover that they put on an incredible Sunday Brunch.  No matter — how can a day with a book and wine be bad?

I sat with my glass of wine, the book and the ocean for about an hour and a half.  Again, the staff was impeccable.  As I paid my bill and prepared to leave I discovered that Stage Left Wines was hosting a tasting at the wine bar so I decided to stay.  What a treat!  This is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

Stage Left was pouring three wines, their Viognier, the 2006 Syrah and the 2006 Breadwinner.  I selected a seat at the bar between a couple and a woman who was sitting alone.  The couple to my left who were celebrating their anniversary were having so much fun it would have been impossible not to “catch” their good mood.  In another stroke of good fortune, the woman to my right was none other than Melinda Doty, owner of Stage Left.

Stage Left is a small operation that gets its grapes from some of the best vineyards in California and Oregon.  The company grew from passion and enjoyment of wine.  Anyone who reads my blog knows I have a soft spot for the smaller vineyard and Stage Left hit that spot.  The wine is hard to come by, but you can join their mailing list if you are interested.  You can find Stage Left on twitter @stageleftist

The first wine was the Viognier.  For my pallet it had a little too much acid, but then again I was drinking it without food so it’s quite possible that if I’d had food my opinion would have been different.  It had a lot of citrus and a creamy texture.  This was the only tasting glass I did not finish.

Next up the Syrah: The grapes for this wine come from the central coast of California so they get a nice cool down period after dark but sun during the day — not so much sun that it’s over ripe though.  There was a great fruit opening that you’d expect, berries all over the place, but it had a complexity at the end that made me think of wines that are more aged than this one.  I really enjoyed it.  This wine would compliment any of the typical “red wine foods” but it made me think of a good grilled burger.

The Breadwinner, this is the flagship wine for Stage Left.  It runs $42 a bottle if you can get it.  If you can get a bottle, you should.  It’s a blend of Syrah and Grenache made with more central coast California grapes.  I tasted this one immediately (I know, I know, light to dark but I couldn’t help it) then came back to it.  In the 45 minutes or so it was in my glass the wine opened up immensely. The first taste was mostly fruit.  When I came back it opened up with many other flavors including an earthiness that they call “stone” on the website.  I’ve never eaten a rock so I can’t argue with that description but I probably would have just gone with earthy and maybe a hint of mineral.

The best part of this tasting experience was the “bartender.”  Bartender is in quotation marks because I feel like I’m insulting him and his knowledge by using that word. I beleive he was studying for his sommelier exam.  He kept pouring blind tastes for Melinda and then they’d discuss what they were tasting.  It was very educational and enjoyable.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday.

Hip Hostess Aprons

I love the fabrics and the very feminine details on these aprons, they are pretty enough to wear when company arrives.  Too often aprons are covered in silly slogans or logos.  The aprons made by Hip Hostess are adorable, and if you want to coordinate your apron, magnets and tea towels — it can be done, they have the products.  A great gift for the cook in your life!  Check them out on the web or follow them on twitter @TheHipHostess

Michael Ruhlman has a great post on his blog today asking if Americans are too stupid to cook.  I don’t typically link to other people’s articles, but if you haven’t read this I think it’s worth your time.  http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/america-too-stupid-to-cook.html

Happy New Year!

Gazing into my Crystal Ball, I thought I would share my top 10 food predictions for 2010 in no particular order.

1.  Latin favors will reign supreme. I don’t think this one is a stunner to anyone.  Rick Bayless and others are driving a Latin flavor revolution not to mention that the Latin population is one of the fastest growing in the United States.  I grew up in California, I didn’t know Mexican food was “ethnic” or “exotic”  I just thought it was food and everyone had a neighbor that made tamales at Christmas.  (I’ve since learned the hard way that isn’t true! *pout*)

2.  Locally owned restaurants will gain favor over chains. This one is a bit of a risk, but I think there’s a reason that Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives is one of the top shows on Food Network.  We all long for something with more character than the bland salty food proffered by national chains.  Not to mention that even though the economy is coming back right now we all have less money to spend.  It feels better to support your neighbor than a huge faceless corporation.  Help me out — replace one of your regular chain dining evenings with a local restaurant.  I don’t want to be right just to be right, I want the neighborhood joints to succeed.

3.  Locally grown moves to the backyard. There is a lot of talk about reconnecting with your food.  It seems like a lot of marketing speak dreamed up by PR people.  I think the media is trying to convey understanding where your food comes from is becoming more important, knowing where your fruit and veg are grown and how the livestock/dairy/poultry in your personal food chain are raised is important.  The quality of homegrown food cannot compare.  We can’t all raise grass fed beef, but certainly we can plant herbs and small plants even on a balcony.

4.  Cooking skills will continue to suffer. A vast majority of people have no idea how to cook.  Just because you turned on your oven doesn’t mean it’s homemade.  Economics are forcing more people out of restaurants and into the grocery store but they still aren’t filling their carts with fresh meat, dairy and produce.  This statement is based on my totally unscientific, self congratulatory observations at the grocery store.  A quick glimpse into other customers’ buggies reveals a lot about them.  Most of the time it tells me that people are super dependent on heat and serve foods.  That’s because there is a perception that it’s easy and “homemade” because they used a skillet or the oven.  If only they’d read the ingredient lists.  Dear friends and readers share your knowledge; save a diet save the world — teach someone to cook basic food at home.

5.  Organic is not going to grow much as a segment. People desire the benefits of organic, but faced with the price tag they opt out.  We have to find a way as a country to make organic food more affordable.  I remember a time that dairy farmers were paid not to produce.  Perhaps we could consider government subsidies to make organic more affordable.  Pesticides, hormones and antibiotics are harming people’s health but we talk and don’t act.

6.  We return to our roots. Three times in 2009 humble spaghetti and meatballs graced the cover of high profile epicurean food magazines (i.e. not Family Circle).  Food offers memories and comfort.  Think of how a whiff of a perfume or other scent can take you to another place, food does that tenfold.  In a world where people try to blow up planes on Christmas day we need comfort anywhere we can find it and simple rustic food is an easy place to turn.  People are going to return to childhood foods, mac and cheese, soups, roasts, fried chicken, breads, culinary comforts.  This doesn’t have to mean we’ll quit being inventive — perhaps truffle salt will grace your mashed potatoes.  We’ll blend today and yesterday with gusto on our plates.

7.  Fat Free, Carb Free will be replaced by additive free. We Americans love to obsess about our diet and search for the miracle cure in the form of food.  We feast on acacia berries, anti-oxidants, free radicals and so on.  In 2010 we’ll stop looking for the mystery additive and seek natural foods.  Probiotics will replace preservatives.

8.  Artisinal Foods become the hottest luxury item. Forget caviar (assuming you could ever afford it) the new chic food to treat your friends to on special occasions will be small batch artisinal foods, handmade sausages and salumis, locally cured hams, specialty chocolates; small batch liquors and so on.

9.  Eco Friendly Packaging. I don’t think we are ever going to give up the convenience of single serve foods because there are too many lunches to pack but manufacturers are going to look for new forms of packing that are more friendly to the environment.

10.  Real cheese comes to the table. There’s nothing wrong with cheddar, mozzarella or provolone but there’s a groing interest in locally crafted cheeses.  Countries are starting to recognize the importance of stamping area of origin on their cheese (France & Italy were way ahead on this one).  There’s a huge interest in uncommon or if you prefer “gourmet” cheeses.  This will grow in 2010 and more dairies will begin producing specialty cheese using their environment and techniques vs. quantity to differentiate themselves.

And as a bonus:

11.  Whineaux.com has more readers than Rachelray.com. LOL  A girl can dream!

Here’s to you and an amazing 2010!