Tag Archives: Foodies

Minestrone Soup

minestronesoup

 

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This is my favorite cold weather soup, I love it with a little squeeze of lemon juice, it brightens up all the flavors in the soup. Served with a big chunk of homemade bread, it’s a meal all of it’s own. Make a big pot, the flavors get better the second day as it all marries together.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, approximately
  • 1/4 pound diced pancetta*
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, minced
  • 1 can roma tomatoes, crushed, 15 oz.
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, crushed or ground, or as needed
  • 2 salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups cooked mixed beans, red kidney, cannelini, black and borlotti
  • ¼ pound small pasta, cooked and cooled
  • 1 cup Swiss chard or spinach, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced, to taste
  • ½ cup pesto sauce or
  • 2 tablespoons Chef Debbi's Romano Herb Seasoning Mix**
  • Parmigianno-Reggiano, for garnish

Serves 6

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil; when hot add pancetta and sauté until lightly browned. If needed, add another tablespoons of oil and onions, carrots, celery; sauté until the vegetables are translucent, approximately 3 - 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley and then add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

If using canned beans, rinse and drain them before adding to the soup. Add Swiss chard or spinach to the soup and cook until slightly wilted. Add pasta and lemon juice, stir to mix well, adjust the seasoning and ladle into bowls.

Swirl a little pesto on top or Debbi's Romano herb mix and garnish with Parmigianno-Reggiano.

*Omit for vegetarian version

**Romano Herb Seasoning Mix available www.debskitchen.com

Clafoutis

cherry clafoutis
Photo: Merlin Menu

Clafouti

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I am all about easy baking and this is about as easy as it gets. This country-French dessert adapts well to almost any fruit and is topped with a batter and baked til bubbly brown. It can be served warm or room temperature.

  • Batter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • Fruit
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 cups fruit, if whole, peel and chop or slice
  • Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Heat the oven to 400°F.

Beat together all the batter ingredients until smooth and frothy. Set aside to rest while preparing remaining ingredients.

Pour melted butter into a 9 or 10” shallow pan, quiche pan or cake pan and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of sugar spreading evenly. Place fruit over the sugar and cover with the batter.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the clafoutis is puffed and brown on top. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.

Clafoutis will collapse quickly but will still be delicious.

Cioppino

Cioppino

Image: Wikipedia

 

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San Francisco style cioppino will warm you up on a cold day; serve with warm crusty bread and you could even imagine you heard a foghorn. This is my adaptation of a favorite dish, don’t let the long list of ingredients dissuade you; this is quite easy to make.

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups dry white wine
  • 1 quart chicken stock, or fish stock
  • 1 lg. can whole plum tomatoes with juice
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro -- chopped
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 pound white fish, halibut, sea bass, cut into large pieces
  • 1 pound small clams, washed
  • ½ pound calamari, cleaned and sliced
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 pound Dungeness crab, cut into 3-4” pieces, shell on
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • ¼ cup lemon zest
  • red pepper flakes, optional
  • Lemon wedges

Serves 6

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add oil and butter; when butter has melted, add onion and celery; sauté until translucent. Add garlic and stir briefly, do not brown. Add wine, stock, tomatoes with juice, herbs, lemon zest and salt and pepper; bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Add fish and clams to simmering broth, cover and cook 5 minutes.

Add calamari and shrimp, cook until shrimp are barely pink; then add crab and press gently to immerse in broth; cover and cook just

until hot, 2 to 3 minutes.

Ladle cioppino into wide bowls and sprinkle with parsley and lemon zest. Serve with lots of crusty bread and lemon wedges.

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

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Such a quick, easy recipe for a seasonal dessert; can be a great breakfast treat for those with a sweet tooth! Use an apple that is best for baking such as:

Jonathans and Jonagolds, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Melrose, Winesap, Braeburn, Rome Beauty.

  • Serves: 8
  • 4 cups sliced or diced apples
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • ¾ cup oatmeal
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the first three ingredients and place in a greased 8×8 baking dish.

Combine the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the apple mixture.

Bake 30 minutes. Serve warm

apple crisp

 

Photo: All Recipes

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

brussels sprouts cut

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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The secret to great roasted brussels sprouts is to lightly blanch them in salted water for a few minutes before roasting. They can be blanched up to a day ahead of time and roasted at the last minute.

  • 1 pound baby Brussels sprouts – shaved or halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked crisp
  • 3 Tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1 dab unsalted butter, optional

Preheat oven to 400°.

Blanch brussels sprouts in boiling, salted water, drain and plunge into an ice water bath. Drain and dry.

Mix brussels sprouts with olive oil and vinegar, spread on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Season with a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Roast for 45 minutes, or until fork tender, turning several times during cooking for even browning. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Toss with toasted almonds and bacon pieces and a dab of fresh unsalted butter if desired. Serve hot.

Marinated Olives

Olives-Fair 2011

Marinated Olives

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There are a million ways to adapt this recipe to your liking. Marinate the
olives for at least 24 hours and serve at room temperature. Try different
herbs, spices, fruit zest and vinegar. Look to see what’s in your pantry.
This is great served with a little Baked Goat Cheese and a baguette.

  • 1 lb. mixed olives, not pitted
  • 1 lemon rind, cut from the lemon without removing the white pith beneath the skin
  • 1 tablespoon mixed dried Italian herbs, crushed
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup Zinfandel vinegar
  • 1 cup (or more) lemon flavored olive oil or use an extra virgin olive oil

Place the olives into a jar so they fit snug.

Chop the lemon rind into fine strips, mix with remaining ingredients and pour over the olives to cover. Add a little more oil if it doesn’t quite cover the olives. Place the lid on the jar and refrigerate overnight.

You can store these olives for several days in the refrigerator but serve at room temperature

Paella

 

Paella-0177

 

Paella

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  • 1 package chicken thighs
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 shallot, minced or ½ onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
  • 4 cups short grain Spanish rice
  • 6 cups stock, warmed with a generous pinch of saffron thread
  • 1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
  • 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 1-2 pound mussels
  • 1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a paella or sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to the chicken and brown skin-side down both sides. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sautéing the shallot, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Add the wine and cook until it reduces some, about 5 minutes, stir in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Add the crushed tomatoes and stock and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, clams, mussels and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. Let the paella simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 10 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan add the peas.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

Paella for a Crowd

Having a houseful of people for days at a time can be tough to figure out just what to feed everyone. I love quick and easy dishes that don’t require a lot of my time or attention. Once you get all the ingredients into the pan, it’s an easy go. You don’t even need a paella pan, a regular sauté pan or even a large electric skillet works beautifully.

Paella-0177

You’ll want to use Spanish rice and Spanish saffron if you can for the best flavor but any short grain rice will do nicely such as an Italian Arborio which can be found in your local supermarket. Sauté a little shallot, preferred, or onion, garlic and infuse some chicken or vegetable stock with the saffron to start. Choose some protein to mix into the rice such as chicken, shrimp, scallops, mussels or chorizo and the dish comes together quickly. Follow the recipe or be creative and enjoy your company for the weekend! Mangia~

Chicken and Shellfish Paella

1 package chicken thighs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 shallot, minced or ½ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
½ cup white wine
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 cups short grain Spanish rice
6 cups stock, warmed with a generous pinch of saffron thread
1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1-2 pound mussels
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a paella or sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to the chicken and brown skin-side down both sides. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sautéing the shallot, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Add the wine and cook until it reduces some, about 5 minutes, stir in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Add the crushed tomatoes and stock and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, clams, mussels and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. Let the paella simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 10 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan add the peas.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

Windrose Farm

windrose-farm-valley copy

I met Barbara and Bill Spencer sometime around 2004 when I was scouting heirloom tomatoes from Paso Robles farmers market. Barbara invited me out to the farm and so my husband and I trekked out there one morning. We didn’t want to disrupt their farm work but yet they stopped working when we arrived and gave us a thorough tour of their lovely little farm. It is such a peaceful unique farm you just want to lie down in the grass and daydream watching the clouds pass by. But a farmers work is never done and we wanted to get out of their way so they could return to their chores. Absolutely not! They insisted we stay for lunch and Bill pulled a beautiful roasted mutton out of the refrigerator and a loaf of freshly baked bread, yes Bill makes his own bread! Barbara foraged for greens and veggies for a salad and whipped up a delicious little dressing. We ate and chatted about life and the farm for what seemed like all afternoon and with sadness had to depart and leave this magical place.

bill bread 2

 

I host several tours to Cambria and Paso Robles and I always finish the tour on Sunday with a day at Windrose Farm with Bill and Barbara. No-one ever wants to leave! I wish all of you could join us for a weekend discovering food and wine and a central coast lifestyle but if you can’t, I’d like to share a piece of Windrose Farm with you. Following is an excerpt from their website and a glimpse inside the magic of Windrose Farm. Join us Oct 24th – Oct 26th for a trip that includes a visit to Windrose.
Windrose is a small family farm located east of Paso Robles and tucked into a unique valley of 50 acres, 12 are in vegetable rotations, 6 are in apples and stone fruit and 5 are sheep pasture. The rest is habitat – full of animal, bird and insect life.

Owners Bill and Barbara Spencer have been certified organic from August 1999 to 2009, but are currently transitioning to biodynamic! The farm has been “clean” for twenty years; since its purchase in 1990.

Cambria Tour-4848

In 1993 Windrose began going to the Farmer’s Markets with produce from their first small market garden. Having already discovered the enjoyment of growing many “specialty” varieties of vegetables – most particularly heirloom tomatoes and potatoes, they also found they loved selling to wonderful restaurants as well as to their friends at Farmer’s Markets.
In addition to tomatoes and potatoes, Windrose grows onions, garlic, green and dry beans, peppers, eggplant, winter squash, carrots, turnips, beets, cucumbers, melons and many varieties of greens. They also have apples and stone fruit. Their little valley is a unique micro-climate that is good for the diverse crops of lilacs, apples, super-sweet onions and melons.
Bill & Barbara state that “The longer we farm, the more enthralled we are with the old traditional seeds and plants. We strive as much as possible to use open-pollinated or heirloom varieties and have begun our own seed-saving program. Every day brings us more knowledge and a stronger belief in the principals and practices of sustainable organic farming. It is complex and labor-intensive – but the burst of life in the soil and the habitat of our little valley is astonishing.”

 

Our Philosophy

Barbara and Bill have often sought to better explain their philosophy about the environment that is Windrose Farm.

In this years Biodynamic calendar we found the following by Patrick Holden, a soils expert, long time organic farmer and advocate of the ‘biodynamic‘ philosophy:

“We subscribe to Rudolph Steiner’s* philosophy that the farm should be seen as an ecosystem in its own right, and that our striving should be to move towards building and maintaining plant and animal communities, which are ecologically suited to its unique combination of soil, climate and place.”

Barbara and Bill cherish their time at the ecosystem that is Windrose and sharing the bounty that it produces.
* Rudolph Steiner founder and creator of the “Biodynamic philosophy and principles.

Visit Windrose Farm at www.windrosefarm.org 

 Join Chef Debbi and The Debettes for our

Fall Farm, Food and Wine Tour

of California’s Central Coast

for more info click here

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

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Store these tomatoes in a jar covered with olive oil, use a lemon olive oil if desired. For a quick appetizer see below.

 

1         pound Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼       cup olive oil

1         tablespoon basil, chiffonade

1          teaspoon thyme

1         clove garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 350∫F. Arrange the tomato halves cut side up and close together on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, and herb. Drizzle over tomatoes and bake until the tomatoes are soft and shriveled but still retain some moisture, about one hour.

Let cool completely. Tomatoes can be stored in a glass jar, cover tomatoes with olive oil, seal and refrigerate.

For sauce: Process in a food processor and warm in a large saute pan.

 

For a quick appetizer, stuff roasted tomato halves with the following.

Mix together 1 log of goat cheese, 2 Tb. fresh chopped herbs and 1 -2 Tb. of heavy cream.

Mix until goat cheese is soft but not runny.

Spoon or pipe herbed goat cheese onto dried tomato, serve with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

What To Do with all those Luscious Summer Peaches!

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Oh all those beautiful rosy peaches from the farmers market! They smell like summer and I don’t know about you but I wait all year for them to show up!
I have a peach tree but that in no way yields enough peaches to satisfy my sweet tooth. Seasonal peaches are available in California from June to Sept.. Peaches from other parts of the world are usually picked hard and mostly premature and will never develop that sweet summer flavor.

The following is part of the prologue to David Mas Masumoto’s book ‘Epitaph for a Peach’, he is talking about the Sun Crest peach but I think it reflects all good peaches. “Sun Crest is one of the last remaining truly juicy peaches. When you wash that treasure under a stream of cooling water, your fingertips instinctively search for the gushy side of the fruit. Your mouth waters in anticipation. You lean over the sink to make sure you don’t drip on yourself. Then you sink your teeth into the flesh and the juices trickle down your cheeks and dangle on your chin. This is a real bite, a primal act, a magical sensory celebration announcing that summer has arrived. “ That sounds like a juicy summer peach to me, what about you?

Choose peaches that yield slightly to pressure, hard fruit isn’t ripe and though it will get softer, it won’t get tastier. Peaches need to develop flavor and sweetness while still hanging on the tree, color will vary with peach varieties but avoid peaches that show any sign of green. Smell the peach for sweetness and you’ll be fine.

Peaches should be kept at room temperature until soft and then refrigerated but don’t wait too long to eat them or they’ll over ripen.

I find it pretty easy to peel a ripe peach with a sharp paring knife or you can blanch in boiling water for a few seconds, don’t over do or you’ll start to cook the fruit flesh.

Here’s my favorite cobbler recipe that I pieced together from two different recipes that I love. One from my favorite boysenberry pie and the cobbler batter from Marcy Masumoto’s ‘French Peach Cobbler’ recipe in the Masumoto Families new book,  The Perfect Peach: Recipes and Stories from The Masumoto Family Farm.

 

Peach Cobbler

peach-cobbler-2

Filling

4          cups peeled, chopped fresh peaches
1           cup sugar, approximately
¼        cup cornstarch
pinch sea salt
1          teaspoon cinnamon
1/3      cup Grand Marnier
1          tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Batter

½        cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3      cup sugar
½        teaspoon baking powder
¼        teaspoon sea salt
2          tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1          egg, lightly beaten

 

Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a 9” square baking pan and set aside.

Filling:

Add peaches to a medium sized bowl and toss gently with sugar. Depending on how sweet the peaches are, add more or less sugar.

In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sea salt, cinnamon and Grand Marnier. Toss the peaches with the cornstarch mixture and lemon juice.

Add the filling to the prepared pan.

Batter:

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt, mix well. Add the butter and egg, stir together until the batter is smooth.

Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the fruit mixture and bake 40 – 45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Remove from oven and cool before serving.

 

 

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