Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving so the flavors have a chance to blend.
Prepare a large bowl with ice and cold water, set aside to blanch the asparagus.
Bring a saucepan big enough to hold the asparagus to a boil, add a heaping tablespoon of salt and plunge the asparagus into the water, boil for 2 minutes. Drain the asparagus and put into the water bath until cooled, drain and set aside on a baking sheet covered with paper towels.
Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and anchovy paste in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. While whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Toss the romaine with a little of the dressing. Transfer to a serving platter and top with asparagus and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve extra dressing on the side.
Combine the cooked shrimp, tomatoes and avocado in a bowl, season with a little salt and gently toss to combine.
For the vinaigrette, mix together the shallots, Dijon mustard and sherry vinegar. Whisk in olive oil until slightly thickened. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Toss the greens with enough dressing to coat, then top with cooked shrimp, tomato and avocado mixture and add the remaining dressing if necessary.
*You can get sherry vinegar from a store that sells fine vinegar and oils or order it from www.ooliveoil.comYou could also use champagne or red wine vinegar, but it will change the flavor of the salad slightly.
So have you been baking all that bread? Well, now you need something to go with it. Here’s my recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup using pantry items from my first book ‘What’s In Your Pantry’.
There are as many recipes for Tuscan Bean Soup as there are Italians, everyone makes their soup slightly different. Sometimes I like to use an immersion blender and mash some of the soup when it’s finished. Serve with lots of crusty bread and fresh butter.
Heat a Dutch oven over a medium high heat, add oil and when hot, sauté onions until lightly translucent. Turn down the heat to medium; add garlic and pancetta, stir to cook but do not brown the garlic.
Stir in the celery and carrot, season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Add the tomato paste and stir until the vegetables are well coated.
Add the stock, beans, tomatoes, cheese rind and seasonings. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and let the soup simmer for at least 30 minutes. The cheese rind should have melted into the soup, but, if there is still a hard piece left, remove it and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 4.
Fresh Autumn-Winter Salad with seasonal fruit, walnuts and feta cheese.
Serves: 4-6
In a medium bowl make the vinaigrette by whisking together all the ingredients except the oil. While constantly whisking, drizzle in some of the oil, stopping to taste occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Bring to room temperature before serving.
For a creamier dressing add 1 Tb. mayonnaise
Core and chop apples (thin slices or 1 inch chunks). Toss lettuce, apples, walnuts, feta, and cranberries together in a large bowl. Add a little dressing and toss, taste for seasoning and adjust.
*If conventional apples are used, peel first.
A fresh and light French Salad for spring and summer.
Look for a trick to cook perfect poached eggs!
Place the friseé into a large mixing bowl.
Cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, place on paper towels to drain.
Keep the pan and it's rendered fat.
To poach the eggs, fill a saucepan with 4 inches of water and add the white vinegar. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Break each egg into small bowl, With the egg still in the strainer, carefully lower it into the hot water so that the egg is completely submerged. Gently shake and swirl the strainer and use a slotted spoon to shape the egg. When the edges of the egg white start to turn opaque (30 to 60 seconds), use the slotted spoon to carefully release it from the strainer into the water.
Cook the egg, flipping it occasionally with the spoon, until the white is opaque, and firm and the yolk is plump and jiggles slightly to the touch, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. As the first egg is cooking, repeat steps to cook additional eggs, but keep an eye on which egg went in first. Use a timer to avoid overcooking.
When the egg is done, use the slotted spoon to carefully remove it from the hot water. To serve immediately, place a paper towel under the spoon and shake gently to remove some of the excess water.
Reheat the skillet with the rendered bacon fat over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels briefly and set aside. In a medium bowl add the red wine vinegar and mustard and whisk to combine. Add the bacon pieces and shallots, slowly whisk in the oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Toss the friseé with the dressing and divide the salad on two plates topping with one egg, Don’t forget to season with sea salt and pepper to the top of the egg as well.
Join us in Seal Beach
NEW DATES/DAYS
Thur. Jan 10th
Tue Jan 22
6:30 – 8:30, approximately
Menu
Pink Grapefruit, Avocado & Watercress Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Spaghettini with Vodka Cream Sauce
Winter Roasted Vegetables with Basil Vinaigrette
Lemon Curd Cream Puffs
$45.00
Taking reservations now, call:
Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach
(562) 296-5421
Sponsored by our friends at
Poach chicken or purchase 2 cups cooked chicken.
To poach the chicken, bring chicken stock to a boil, turn heat down so the stock is just barely simmering. Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion and add to the stock along with the chicken, season with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and simmer for 20 min. to ½ hour or until chicken is cooked through but not dry. Remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bone, discard skin and bone. Shred or chop the chicken into pieces and strain the stock through cheesecloth and reserve.
For the soup:
Cut celery, carrots and onion into bite sized pieces. Heat a Dutch oven or lg. saucepan over medium high heat, add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan, add the vegetables and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and sauté until lightly translucent and soft. Add enough chicken stock to the reserved stock to measure 6 – 8 cups and add to the vegetables. Add remaining ingredients except the lemon juice and simmer until the spinach is barely wilted, adjust seasonings and serve with a little squeeze of lemon juice.
*See How to Cook Barley, Debskitchen.com
Barley Basics
There are several types of barley, flaked, flour, grits, hulled, pearl and more. Most of the barley you’ll find in the supermarket is pearl barley or polished barley, which has had its hull removed, and most of the nutrients that go with that, but also reduces the cooking time (slightly). An un-hulled barley can take up to 20 minutes longer to cook but it’s an excellent source of fiber and keeps you fuller longer. Bob’s Red Mill has a great ‘hull-less’ barley that still contains the bran. It’s an ancient variety that grows in a loose hull thus saving much of the nutrition but it does take as long to cook as the un-hulled barley. Use 3 parts water or stock to 1 cup of barley; if using pearl barley start checking after about 20 minutes of cooking, barley can take up to 1 hour to cook. Try using a pressure cooker making a larger batch than you need and freezing the cooked barley in 1 or 2 cup packets for later use in soups or salads or as a side dish.
Some people like to soak their barley overnight or even for just a few hours. It doesn’t cut down much on cooking time and may alter the appearance or color of the grain but if you have trouble digesting whole grains this may work for you. Whole grains contain an anti-nutrient called phytic acid which binds with certain minerals (e.g. zinc, phosphorous, calcium and iron) and prevents them from being absorbed by the body. Phytic acid is also very hard on the digestive system. Most of the phytic acid is contained in the exterior bran and germ layers of the grain. Ironically, whole grains are much higher in minerals than polished or refined grains, but we won’t receive those benefits unless we neutralize the phytic acid. Soaking your grains before cooking them will neutralize the phytic acid and release the enzyme inhibitors, making them easier to digest and the nutrients easier to absorb. Soak overnight with a little squeeze of lemon juice or other acidic liquid (apple cider vinegar etc.), drain and rinse before using.
To make in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot check the manufacturer’s instructions or try this website for info, https://instantpot.com/instantpot-cooking-time/
Combine the barley and water or stock in the saucepan. Add the salt if using.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat, cover and simmer, checking at 20 minutes for pearl or polished barley. Keep an eye on the pot as barley will give off a lot of foam at first and can cause the pot to boil over, for hulled barley, start checking at 40 minutes. The barley is done when it has tripled in volume and is soft yet chewy. Add more water if the pan becomes dry before the barley has finished cooking; check every 5 minutes until desired chewiness is reached.
When the barley is done, it will have absorbed most of the water. If there is a little water still left in the pot, just leave the barley to sit for 10 minutes, covered, until it has all been absorbed. If there is a lot of water left, drain the barley. If you want to cool it quickly to freeze, spread it out on a half sheet pan until cool, then measure and freeze.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Trim any excess skin and fat.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat a large Dutch oven, add the butter and oil. Season the chicken with sea salt and pepper, place the chicken pieces skin side down in the pan and brown well on both sides. Don’t crowd the chicken in the pan, do this in 2 steps if needed.
Set aside and pour off most of the drippings leaving about 2 Tablespoons in the pan. Sauté the onions, carrots and celery, return the chicken to the
pan and add chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, tomatoes, white beans and a little salt
and pepper. Cover and place into oven and cook 30 minutes.
Check to make sure that chicken is nearly cooked.
Add bread crumbs and return to the oven, uncovered. Cook until crumbs are
lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Photo: Christina Peters
I love fall and winter and I love to cook hearty stews and warming soups. One of the most important ingredients is stock or broth for your dish and homemade is the best. Most of the time spent making stock is hands off, it needs to simmer for a good 4 hours so prep time in the kitchen can be limited to about 1/2 hour. Cut most of that time in half by making the stock in your pressure cooker but I like the results better just simmered slowly on the back of the stove. (Besides it makes your house smell wonderful!) I’ve included a list of descriptives for stock, broth, stew, soup etc. And my recipe for a perfect stock; stock is made with bones and broth is made with pieces of meat and vegetables and is a little less hearty than stock. Keep some stock in your freezer for quick meals during the winter season. Recipe below but here are some descriptives of soups, stews etc.
Bisque: a rich, thick usually smooth soup. Thickened either by pureeing or adding cream and usually made with some kind of seafood.
Chowder: a thick, chunky soup
Stock: clear savory liquid made from vegetables or meat on the bone
Broth: similar to stock but made with just meat or vegetables, not a hearty as stock
Gazpacho: a cold vegetable soup usually with tomatoes as main ingredient
Gumbo: thick broth with creole seasonings and chunks of meat & vegetables
Stew: thick soup with chunks of vegetables and/or meat
Soup: thinner than a stew with less chunks
Guides for making stocks
Use mild flavored vegetables, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes
No oily fish such as salmon
Beef bones with marrow will have more flavor
Use chicken feet for great taste and lots of natural gelatin
Do not season stock with salt until after it’s cooked
For making soups or stews
Any fresh or frozen veggie can be used. Do not defrost vegetable before using, just toss it into the stock.
Onion, peas, broccoli florets, celery, carrots, potatoes (will help to thicken soup also), corn, zucchini, peppers
Herbs
Basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley, crushed red peppers, Italian seasoning
Beans
Keep canned or frozen beans such as kidney, navy, white beans, pinto, black beans
Grains (pre-cook and freeze) Add at the end of cooking time
Farro, barley, rice, pasta, quinoa, beans
Place the chicken into a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to a simmer and skim any foam that rises to the surface. This should take about 15 minutes.
After removing any foam add the cider vinegar (for bone broth), vegetables and herbs, bring back to a boil, turn heat to a simmer and cook 2 – 2 ½ hrs.
Remove from the heat and let the stock sit for 10 to 15 minutes, remove large chicken pieces and strain remaining stock through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Cool by placing the container of strained stock in an ice water bath in the sink and then refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove the fat from the stock by skimming with a ladle. The stock will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Be sure to label and date before freezing.
To adapt the recipe for Turkey Stock, roast a turkey back, neck, 2 wings and 1 package of chicken feet (yes, chicken feet have tons of flavor!) in the same manner as above.
For a deep rich flavor you can brown all your chicken pieces and vegetables, if desired, before making stock.
*Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot Directions
Place all pieces into the pot along with herbs, vegetables etc. Add 10 cups of cool water, cover and cook on high for 1 hour in your electric cooker. Let pressure cooker release naturally, strain and cool as above.
A perfect summer salad that you can make ahead; it actually is better the next day! An easy ‘from the pantry’ salad, adjust ingredients to what you have on hand, what you find from the farmers market or your own garden, or even some of last nights grilled chicken or shrimp. Serves 6
Couscous
In a saucepan, add the stock, butter and couscous; bring to a boil, remove from heat stir in garlic and green onion, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove garlic and fluff with a fork. Set aside to cool.
Vinaigrette
In a small bowl add vinegar, mustard and shallot, whisk together. Slowly whisk in the oil in a thin stream to emulsify. Add seasonings to taste. Can be refrigerated for 3 weeks, bring to room temperature before using.
Salad
In a large bowl, add all chopped ingredients and toss with a little of the dressing. Let stand for 5 minutes. Toss couscous and vegetables together adding a little more dressing as necessary, to taste.
