The nut’s ‘n bolts of this spring were nut’s ‘n beans.

This Spring I had a good time with green almonds and fava beans.  Favas were a revelation. I finally started grilling them whole and eating the entire pod.  Great food can be so staggeringly simple that it makes you question your own mental capacities.  I mean really!?  I never oiled that friggin’ thing up and threw it on the grill? Seriously though…treat a fava bean like asparagus on the grill and you’ll have a nice appetizer or side dish.  The younger and fresher the bean the better, and don’t eat the fibrous string.

Fresh almond

I had plans of a macadamia tree in my front yard. Had being the key word here.  Almonds are now the new plan, as they can be eaten in 2 or 3 stages. Before the nuts mature and dry, there is an early green stage. The shell and young nut can be pleasingly consumed.  The soft, fuzzy, soon to be hard shell is very tender in this early stage. For this stage, the earlier and fresher the better.  The almond itself in this stage is crazy, as it’s delicate and white with virtually no flavor. It has a thin tender skin with insides like a delicate grape.  I like to slice the whole thing or or bite into ’em when they are really fresh. You can also peel off the fuzzy shell and eat the “grape”.  

Almond grape is actually a great description.  They provide wonderful shape and interest to all things delicate and garnishy.  I’ve used them in a multitude of mélanges. I do whatever I can to keep the shape, texture and color intact. To the left they are seen sitting in cold water. Just waiting to be thrown into a topping for chunky salsa verde. Obtained easily in late spring from your local Mediterranean market.  

A couple weeks ago I cooked for 125 people at the Portuguese Hall in Shelter island. While i think all ovens are rad. This behemoth oven was over the top.

 This was the first time in years that I had been around any serious cooking equipment.  As I was turning on 3 different ovens to bake my cakes, the guy that oversees the place said (with a twinkle in his eye); “come over here; you wanna use this oven?”  Not being one to impose and being a little intimidated, I initially said no, but the guy insisted it was easy and he’d show me how.  This oven was friggin’ huge.  In the picture you see below, those are my cakes.  Each pan is a hotel pan…a chaffing dish pan for those not down with the lingo.  Roughly 20″x 12″.   

Please note the rack with which the cakes sit; yeah, there are 6 of those, all rotating within the oven.  I could have cooked 24 of those cakes all in 45 minutes!  And since it is always rotating it cooks everything totally even.  Sorry I’m nerding out on you here but the magnitude of it makes me proud of human engineering.

Here was the menu:

Appetizers:
Olives, flatbread and cut veggies with fresh hummus and babaganoush

Dinner:
Marinated and grilled garlic chicken thighs 
Beef kofte (Mediterranean grilled meatballs) 
Grilled peppers and onions
Greek salad- feta, romaine, fresh dill-parsley-cilantro, green onion, sumac, red wine vinaigrette
Yellow rice
Tzatziki
Warm pita

Dessert:
Honey and olive oil pound cake with vanilla whipped cream, toasted almonds and seasonal fruit

Dinner for four in a villa? No problem. Almost zero kitchen space with a tiny oven and wonky electric burner? Sure. Miniscule sink and short, undersized table? Bring it.

Ahhh, another day and another little adventure.  With “little” being the operative word, I was assigned the task of cooking a multi-course birthday dinner for four lovely ladies… in the kitchen you see above.

This picture shows a kitchen in a bungalow at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach.  I was pretty excited to go; being a native, I’ve always passed by those little shacks but never actually went into one.  They’re cute and cozy but still full of energy since the pier is open to the public and the waves are heard around you.  This ill- equipped kitchen saw this impressive menu:

Roasted grapes with fresh ricotta and French bread with oregano and thyme
Asian glazed chicken wings

Salmon/corn soup/salted avocado/citrus supreme salsa
Raw salad: Shaved and pickled beets, cucumber, shallots/julienned kohlrabi, fuji apple, pistachios, herbs
Whey poached chicken breast/peeled blanched celery/smothered with sour cream dumplings, fava beans, caramelized sweet onion
Chile seared yellow fin/garlic butter sautéed fresh artichoke hearts/capers and red walnuts
Mint syrup/strawberries/mascarpone/fresh sweet butter biscuit

Even though the food was delicious, fresh and fun; the party was great because the people were great.  That’s why cooking privately rad.

In addition, there was little table to use as well…

I support the Military.  Not only do I respect and appreciate what they do, but my brother proudly serves in the USAF.  “For those who serve,” is always a real and heartfelt assignment.

Romance is needed

Recently, I cooked dinners for two wonderful military couples during their anniversaries. In addition to a first anniversary dinner. There was an equally important fifth anniversary dinner that doubled as a belated honeymoon. With me being married with children, I get fired up when parents get away for a couple days with just each other. It gives them time to let go of some of those daily peripherals.  Furthermore, what made the belated honeymoon extra cool, was they had rented a beach bungalow on a private beach.

Being a native; this was enlightening to find out about. Camp Pendleton has a beach for the exclusive use of military members. Moreover, it’s really nice and very reasonably priced.  Next summer would be relaxing to have my brother come down and spend a weekend there. Maybe he can babysit the kids.

Here are the menus I specifically created those two nights.  As per usual, most of the ingredients are procured at local farmers markets and butcher shops.  Whatever looks in season, cute, ripe and glowingly fresh, makes the menu. Thankfully, the review up on Yelp for this one :-)

The first menu

Asian Caesar salad
Truffle, garlic parmesan and herb potato skins
Seared pork with French gnocchi, fava beans and squash blossoms
De-boned and stuffed chicken wing filled with sunchoke mash and served over black lentils and sherry butter sauce
Lamb stuffed carrots with purple snow peas and chermoula
Asian marinated skirt steak with Chinese broccoli, caramelized shallots and pickled Persian cucumber
Vanilla mascarpone stuffed strawberries with maple lemon glaze and honey tuile

A second menu

Finally, some pics below to go along with this menu.
Grand Cru Original crostini with thyme, sherry gastrique red onion
Garlic, herb, parmesan and black truffle potato skins
Chicken fat hollandaise smothered roasted orange cauliflower
English pea soup with granny smith apple, soft boiled duck egg and togarashi tempura squash blossom
Honey roasted salmon with roasted pickled baby turnips, egg yolk gnocchi over lemon, truffle chicken broth
Sea bass ceviche with avocado and granny smith apple
Grilled ribeye, beef fat/thyme roasted carrots, chile/garlic/dark soy gai lan
Chocolate torte with roasted almond whipped cream and Justin port wine

Last spring we had one of those Sunday dinners that transcended what we knew of happiness and comfort.  It was a simple request and a simple dinner.  But like most things food–simple, done properly…is fekkin’ ridiculous. Soup and samich night ftw.

What does “properly” mean? It means care and attention.  You can still be attentive and caring, while keeping it simple.  Simple just means not having too many steps or ingredients and no stressful time crunch.  The following recipe is for tomato soup and was adapted from one of Bobby Flays books over 15 years ago.  This was my first tomato soup and is still my favorite.  The sandwich can be anything you like; that memorable night was probably Gruyere or Manchego and serrano ham with sourdough.  Just make sure it has melted cheese and isn’t burned ;-)

Tomato Soup

10 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
olive oil
salt
2T chopped garlic
½ onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1tsp fresh chopped fresh thyme
at least 1qt. veggie broth
1c cream

Preheat oven to 325°. Toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Place on a sheet pan and roast for an hour. Heat a large sauté pot over medium high an add 1T of olive oil. Saute in the onion and carrots to cook until softened, stirring regularly. Add the thyme and sauté one minute more. Pour in the tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the optional cream, and puree everything. Season to taste and strain through a chinois for a little unnecessary refinement.

Sourdough with Jarlsberg and caramelized onion grilled cheese taking a dip in creamy tomato soup.

 Living reflection, from a dream.”

This cake is indeed a dream come true.  I once again was a non-paying customer of McAnally Farm Organics–growers of premium citrus and avocado trees since 1975.  Tangerine season is upon us and although we’re just fine using them for juice, snacks and cocktails. Tangerines have found a new place in our home for this Tangerine Olive Oil Cake.

Quick back story:  I teach cooking classes with Big City Chefs.  One of their menus listed a tangerine olive oil cake.  I’ve made and had orange but never tangerine…so I made one. This is one of those recipes where your ingredients matter if you’re looking for ecstasy. Yes, Ralphs olive oil and tangerines will give you a cake.  But, if you want your eyes to roll to the back of your head, you’ll want farmers market tangerines and kind olive oil.  I can’t get enough of The Groves On 41 Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil; it’s ridiculous.  They actually have a tangerine arbequina oil but I didn’t have any on hand when I did the recipe.  Speaking of the recipe, here ya go.

Tangerine, Olive Oil Cake

4 medium-large tangerines
1c sugar
1/3c crème fraîche or sour cream
3 large eggs
2/3c Arbequina olive oil
1¾c all-purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
¼tsp baking soda
½tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 350º and position rack in the middle. Line a 9×5″ loaf pan with parchment or grease and flour it.
Zest 3 of the tangerines, then peel and chop all 4.  Set that aside and rub the zest and sugar together with your fingers until the sugar is evenly moistened, (I used a processor).  Add in the eggs and cream, blend and add the oil while the machine is running along with 1/3 cup of tangerine juice.
In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk in the batter confidently but with as few strokes as possible. Fold in the chopped tangerine.
Pour the batter into the parchment-lined loaf pan, and bake until deeply golden on top and a tester comes out clean (i.e., sharp knife or toothpick or skewer) inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Use the parchment to lift out the cake and let cool.  Serve with plain sweet cream or flavor the cream with praline, tangerine, raspberry or regular olive oil.  About 1T or more will work for 1 pint of cream.

Here are some pics to help you along :-)

Damn I love steak. Maybe vegetables are good because they are next to steak?

Recently we had some friends visit their family in New Mexico where grandpa raises cattle.  For shits ‘n giggles they decided to slaughter Jo Jo the cow.  I saw the video and don’t worry; Jo Jo never saw it coming.  Cows apparently don’t have the intelligence horses do, cause the horses knew what was up.  It was interesting to see them freak out a bit while the cow was all…”whut?”

So, our dear friends came over for a wonderful dinner with slices of Jo Jo ready for the grill.  This is usually where I tell you how to grill a steak, but I already did that here.  No charcoal on hand so I just made a fire out of some pine I had from a neighbor tree we cut down last year.  In addition, the meal was capped with one of my favorite salads I like to call, Debbie’s Salad, here’s the recipe.

Romaine or spinach or both as the salad base then top with everything.
Canned sliced beets
Hard boiled eggs
Shredded cheese
Sun flower seeds
Cooked bacon
Cucumber
Homemade ranch dressing from the dry seasoning packet