Salad of Heirloom Tomato Fresh Mozarella and Basil

This is a bit of a cop out as this entry is simply an assembly of excellent ingredients, no real recipe involved. And its a classic known to mankind for generations - nothing new here. But as summer comes to a close, it is worth stepping back and celebrating all the great stuff you get to eat in summer, like real tomatoes!Gnarley, multicolored and misshapen - but delicious, Heirloom tomatoes are becoming available in many shops and at least for now are the real McCoy. Not the industrialized tomato so many of us have come to hate. So take advantage of them while you still can, and make the classic tomato and mozzarella salad with basil and balsamic. At least for now.
2 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes, ideally varied heirloom, sliced
8 fresh basil leaves
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Assemble the ingredients, alternating in layers. Sprinkle oil and vinegar on top.

Rice Timbale, Bean Compote, Roasted Squash and Eggplant

1 cup rice (or mix or rices and grains)
2 cups water

2 cans pinto beans, drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced

4 fresh plum tomatoes, diced, or 1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained and squeezed dry, juice retained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 eggplant, cubed about 1/2-inch ( about 3-4 cups)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed about 1/2-inch (about 3 cups)

Preheat oven to 425F. Prepare the rice with with water according to package directions. Alternatively, prepare your favorite rice dish!

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, sauté the onion, carrot and pepper in a bit of olive oil, until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the beans and the juice from the tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often. Add water as needed to produce a nice creamy consistency.

Meanwhile, toss the squash and tomatoes with about a tablespoon of olive oil, a good dash of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, and spread on an oiled jelly roll pan. Roast veggies in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning a few times, until nicely browned. Meanwhile, toast the eggplant in a large non-stick skillet for about 3-5 minutes, dry. Then add a few glugs of olive oil to allow the eggplant to brown. Re-oil as necessary and sauté until nicely browned, turning often.

Mash the beans a bit to produce a nice creamy mixture. To serve, firmly fill an oiled 6-oz ramekin with rice and reverse onto a serving plate. Surround the rice with bean mixture and then scatter eggplant and squash mixture about the beans. Top with cilantro leaves.

Fingerling Potato and Fresh Pea Salad

Any nice small potatoes will work wonders here - I cut the bigger ones in half after cooking so they absorb the dressing well. I find nice fresh peas in a local market (Trader Joe's English Peas are highly recommended by my sister-in-law Claudie), and I used fresh here. But I find frozen peas are really not bad, especially if you use 'Petite Peas'. They could be substituted here just fine.Dressing:
Juice of half a lemon
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried dill weed
dash (1/8 tsp or to taste) red pepper flakes

1 lb small fingerling potatoes
3/4 cup fresh peas

Place potatoes in a pot and just cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, salt generously and cook until just tender to the prick of a sharp knife. Drain, replace in pot and keep warm. Meanwhile bring about 2 cups water to a boil. Add peas and salt generously. Cook for no more than 2 minutes. Drain and toss with potatoes.

While everything is cooking, whisk together the dressing. Toss with the potatoes and peas. Let marinate at least 20-30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Variation: here I used mixted artisan purple, golden and red potatoes, and added about half a can of Navy Beans.

Mahi-Mahi Skewers with Grapefruit Herb Dressing

Dressing and Marinade

1/2 cup grapefruit juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

3 clove garlic, minced

1-inch fresh ginger, minced

2 green onions finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

1 lb Mahi Mahi, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 ripe pineapple, peeled and cubed to 1-inch pieces

About 4-6 cups spring mix greens, or a mix with radicchio and Belgium Endive

Mix the ingredients of the dressing together well. Transfer half to a small non-reactive small dish and fold in the Mahi-Mahi cubes. Let them marinate about half an hour - you want the edges to just 'cook' from the acids in the citrus, and they will turn a bit white.

You really don't want to marinate for more than 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile get the grill heating, whichever way you do it!

Thread the fish, pineapple and pepper on 4-6 skewers. Grill for a total of about 10 minutes, turning skewers several times.

While the skewers are grilling, put together the greens base on a platter to hold the skewers. Put the sizzling hot skewers on the greens base and dress with some of the remaining dressing. Serve with lemon wedges and remaining dressing.

Cook's Note: You can modify this by changing what's on the skewers and what's in the base greens - that's the fun.

Chipotle Molasses Grilled Sweet Potato

When you are out back grilling, getting a side dish together inside the kitchen can be a trick. Here's one you can finish where you are grilling!
2 large sweet potatoes, cut on a bias, 1/4-inch thick
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp molasses
freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) rosemary
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt
freshly ground pepper

Heat grill to medium. Toss all ingredients into a bowl to mix well. Turn into a glass bowl or casserole and microwave for 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and grill potato slices on one side, about 3-4 minutes, until good grill marks appear. Flip and cook on other side another 3-4 minutes. Finally, flip and cook on first side again, until potatoes are cooked through, about another 3-4 minutes. Watch carefully so slices do not burn - the sugars in the molasses can burn quickly.

Goes great with steak!

Chicken Apple and Onion Loaf

I am now grinding my own meat with my KitchenAid - nice to know exactly what is in your ground meat. Ground chicken breast is wonderful with apples and onions, baked in a loaf.1 lb ground chicken
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced to 1/4-inch pieces
1 small purple Bermuda onion, diced
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3-5 fresh basil leaves, julliened, about a rounded Tbsp
2 fresh sage leaves, finely minced (or 1/2 tsp favorite fresh herb)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (or other) cheese
1/4 cup Panko (or fresh) bread crumbs
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375F. Sauté the onion and apple in a bit of olive oil in a large skillet, for about 10-12 minutes, until onion softens and begins to caramelize. Meanwhile, toss all remaining ingredients except the egg into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the egg together and add to the meat mixture.

When the onion and apple are cooked, toss in the bowl with the meat mixture. Toss mixture together gently with a fork or clean hands, being careful not to crush or over mix the loaf ingredients, which could make the loaf tough.

Tip meat loaf into an oiled loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until meat thermometer inserted in center of loaf registers 135F. Remove loaf from oven and allow to rest for 8-10 minutes to redistribute the juices within the loaf. Slice and serve.

Honey Lemon Chicken

1-1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, 2 large or 3 medium
2 Tbsp butter
1 large (12-oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
4 green onions, coarsely chopped
1 orange sweet pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

Sauce:
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water
Palmful fresh parsley, minced

Slice chicken breasts 1/4-inch thick, at a steep angle and at a bias across the breast, to form about 2-inch by 2-inch 'paillards' of chicken. Pour artichokes into a strainer and rinse briefly with water and drain well. In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the chicken breast paillards in a bit of olive oil over fairly high heat for about 2-3 minutes until browned on one side. Flip the chicken and cook another 2 minutes. Set chicken aside on a plate, covered in a 150F oven to keep warm.

In the same skillet, melt butter and sauté the peppers, onion and artichokes for 8-10 minutes, until the peppers begin to brown and caramelize. Salt and pepper to taste and stir every few minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two. Set aside on top of the chicken, and re-cover to keep warm.

Heat same skillet to high and add the sauce and bring to a boil. Stir the cornstarch-water mixture and whisk into the boiling sauce to thicken. Turn the chicken- veggie mixture back into the skillet to reheat with the sauce. Turn out onto a serving platter, scatter with parsley and serve with lemon wedges. Serves 4.

Cook's note: you can substitute cider, wine or white vinegar for the rice vinegar. You can also substitute the veggies - for example you could use leek, black olives and capers or asparagus, mushroom and pineapple as nice alternatives. Or don't use any veggies, and serve on a bed of sautéed spinach.

Boeuf Bourguignon. Happy 100th Julia!

Thank you Julia for all your wonderful work! We continue to cook in your honor, and we do save the livers :-)) !! Happy 100th anniversary.

Here is one of her signature dishes - Boeuf Bourguignon. Don't be intimidated - this is actually just a bit easier from Julia's - but the basics are the same. You can make this!This is taken from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child et al, p. 315. You can follow that recipe and get the same result. Or...Here I modify just a bit based on the easier way I made this. What a wonderful, classic dish - best made the day before if you have time!

¼ lb bacon, diced (the thicker the cut the better)
2-½ to 3 lb chuck roast, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp flour
3 medium carrots cut into quarters diagonally
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 12-16-oz package button mushrooms, washed and halved
2-3 dozen pearl onions, peeled - see cooks' note
3 cups dry red wine
about 2 cups beef stock (or you can use chicken stock)
2 Tbsp tomato paste

Preheat oven to 375F. In an oven-going Dutch oven, brown the bacon until just crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Make sure your beef is dry (pat with a paper towel if necessary) so that it browns well, as Julia insists (and she is correct)! Heat bacon fat in Dutch oven until just smoking and add half the beef. Make sure beef cubes are well separated. Brown all sides well and remove to a bowl. Repeat with other half of beef. Remove beef to bowl, leaving oil in pot.

Add the flour, carrots, onions and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring often, for about 8-10 minutes, until vegetable begin to caramelize. Turn heat to high and add the wine, carefully. Stir in the tomato paste, to combine completely. Bring to a boil and stir down all the brown bits in the pot. Return the bacon and beef to the pot and nestle in the wine. Add just enough stock to cover the beef, with tips sticking out. Cover Dutch oven and place in oven. Cook about 2-2½ hours, stirring once or twice, gently. Check meat for tenderness, and cook more if necessary.

Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms in a bit of olive oil, until browned through. Set aside. In same pan, sauté the pearl onions over medium-low heat in a bit of olive oil and butter (2 Tbsp each) until just browned on the edges and beginning to soften, about 20-30 minutes. Stir into beef mixture and adjust sauce consistency with water or broth. Make sure everything is cooked through - sertve over mashed potatoes or pasta.
Cook's Note: This is a quick way to peel pearl onions! Bring a smal pot of water to a boil and drop the pearl onions in the water. Blanch for about a minute and turn our into a strainer. Cut a slice into one end of the onion, and slip the onion through the cut - make the cut big enough.

The Wide World of Hummus

Our friend Kini always brings hummus to our son's road bike races - a great quick energy boost. We asked each other why we didn't eat hummus more often, because it's so good. So I have been making much more of it lately and finding many great variations. It is great as a dip for veggies, pitas or crackers if you are 'carbing-up'! But it is also great as a sandwich or wrap filling.

The first recipe is basic hummus, but I add cilantro and green onion for deeper flavor - you can omit them if you prefer, for a great basic hummus. The variations are endless - try hummus with roasted garlic, or sun-dried tomatoes, or olives - or variations below.
Cilantro Green Onion Hummus

Palmful cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 can chick peas, drained
Juice of 1 lemon, about 1/4 cup
3 Tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp sesame oil

about 1/4 cup water, as needed

In a small food processor, process the first set of ingredients to mince. Add the second set of ingredients and process until creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add as much of the water as necessary to make it creamy - this will depend on the moisture content of your lemon, tahini and chick peas, and how creamy you like your hummus.

Variation: Sweet Potato Chipotle Hummus
1 medium sweet potato
Grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp powdered chipotle chilies, or to taste

Pierce the potato with the tines of a dork several times. Bake the potato in a microwave for 10-15 minutes, turning at least twice, until very soft. Remove from oven, slice in half and scoop out potato to a bowl. Mash and mix with a generous amount of nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. This should give you about a cup of potato.

Process 1/2 cup of the potato with the humus and chipotle in the processor to form a smooth dip. Swirl humus in a serving bowl, forming a well in the center. Spoon remaining potato in the center of the humus.

Variation: Roasted Red Pepper HummusAdd 1/3 cup roasted red pepper
Omit the green onion and parsley or cilantro

Swirl in a serving bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil over the hummus - always a welcome enrichment!

Hummus makes a great wrap - just add some grated carrot and greens like baby spinach or cilantro.

Catfish with Orange Ginger Pesto and Almond Crumb

This is a quick and simple way to prepare fish - catfish works well here, but many other fish you may have on hand should work as well - Swai, Tilapia, Sole, Red Snapper, for example. Use whatever pesto you have on hand, or make this wonderful orange-ginger pesto. Either way it will turn out great, and quickly!
4 catfish fillets, cleaned and dried
1/3 cup slivered almonds
4 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp dried dill weed
½ cup Orange Ginger Pesto, or any other favorite (thick) pesto

Preheat oven to 400F. Tip almonds and garlic into a small food processor and pulse until a coarse crumb is achieved. Do not over-process. Transfer to a small bowl and toss with the Panko crumbs. Salt and pepper to taste (I like a bit of red pepper flake here as well). The oil from the garlic should bind the crumbs, but if the garlic is a bit dry, add a few drops olive oil to make a crumb that holds well together.

Lay catfish fillets on an oiled baking sheet. Divide pesto among fillets, and evenly spread pesto to cover fillets. Top each fillet with one fourth of the almond crumb topping. Then top each fillet with one quarter the dill, and bake for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully so that the crumb does not burn. Remove when crumb is well browned and fish is just cooked through. Serve with lime wedges.