I Love You More Than Food

Author: Caroline

  • Floored Eggs (Egg Scramble with Smoked Pancetta, Chard, Chevre)

    Floored Eggs (Egg Scramble with Smoked Pancetta, Chard, Chevre)

    This morning started out really well. A friend came to be my running partner, another showed up for the breakfast we were to make afterwards. We enjoyed the back yard for a sunny, late morning breakfast, and followed it with bellini’s for most of the rest of the day.

    Serves 3:
    6 large eggs
    2 oz chevre (fresh, soft goat cheese, I like capricho di cabra)
    1 cup chopped, clean rainbow chard, no stems
    1 1/2 inch piece smoked pancetta

    Whisk the eggs and add salt & pepper. Dice the pancetta very finely and add to hot, non-stick pan. Let cook until craips and reduced by half. Oil is now in the pan as a result. Reduce heat from medium high to low, add eggs. Stir and move constantly at low heat–this will take longer than you may be used to, but will result in a creamier, more tasty egg.

    When starting to firm up, but still runny, add the chard. Fold to incorporate to cook. As it begins to wilt and incorporate, add the chevre, cubed or in rough chunks, about the size of 1/2 a kumquat.

    When still wet looking, but without being runny, and before it browns, serve the eggs. Try not to let the pan slip from your hand and land on the floor, but if it does, then you’ve made floored eggs too.

  • Creamy Baby Arugula Salad with Cajun Prawns & Baby Fingerlings

    Creamy Baby Arugula Salad with Cajun Prawns & Baby Fingerlings



    12 blue mexican prawns, cleaned & deveined
    cajun spices
    salt & pepper
    1/4 lb baby fingerling potatoes, blanched and sliced
    1 T butter

    Coat the prawns in seasoning. Heat the butter in a nonstick pan, and fry the potato slices. When starting to crisp and color, turn up heat from medium to medium high and add the shrimp. Cover the pan if necessary to encourage quick cooking. When shrimp turn all white, and are firm and curled on edges, serve.

    1 lb baby arugula
    1/4 C grated Parmesan
    2-3 T heavy cream
    2 T olive oil
    2 T apple cider vinegar
    juice 1/2 lime
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    salt & pepper

    Whisk the above ingredients vigorously together. if too thin, add more parm. Toss the cleaned arugula with it and serve with potatoes & shrimp on top.

    Serves two.

  • Apple Turnovers & Chocolate Croissants

    Apple Turnovers & Chocolate Croissants

    So I’ve been trying to be part of the blogosphere, become integrated with the already successful foodies, you know, catch up. Make this serious. Realllll serious.

    So I was reading Orangette (for the uninformed of us, who have not done their food blog research, behind it is Molly, who, after writing a quality food blog for some time, managed to nail down a monthly column in Bon Apetite), and wandered to Bon Apetit’s website, and found a recipe for Apple Turnovers.

    I tried to make some a few weeks ago but was a little retarded in using my DuFour pastry, and they blew up the size of bike helmets and it was pretty ridiculous. So while I made my own filling, I did follow the method and sizing used in the article and then made some mini or skinny or plain different chocolate croissants as well. It worked out since I rarely get through the fruit in my CSA delivery, and had several near bad apples hanging around, ready to be made into a delicious chunky apple filling.

    We spent yesterday exercising and cleaning the yard, ending the day with an evening walk (read: hike–we’re talking 55 minutes of over a hill and down a hill walking!). Today, we got to bake the pastries I prepared last night (I froze them in their shapes and put the egg wash on the outside this morning before baking) and enjoy the garden.

  • Pasta Bolognese (From Marcella Ansaldo at Apicius in Florence)

    Pasta Bolognese (From Marcella Ansaldo at Apicius in Florence)

    tagliatelle bolognese

    I’ve posted about my favorite Italian comfort food before, but I’ve decided it’s time to wow you with its deliciousness in a way that will allow replication. This dish was the very first recipe (and demonstration of technique) I learned in Marcella Ansaldo’s introduction to Italian Regional Cuisine course at International Culinary School Apicius in Florence.  Marcella was fabulous and ended up to be one of my very favorite and most professional teachers while I was there.

    Typically you’d make your own pasta (once you’ve done it a few times, it’s really not overwhelming), but if you’re in a hurry you could use dry pasta, preferably something with texture like rigatoni, penne, or egg fettucini.

    Mirepoix (celery, carrot, onion small dice)

    All of the measurements below are approximate. You’ll develop your own liking over time. Serves 4.

    1 large carrot, small dice
    2 stalks celery, small dice
    1/2 medium/small onion, diced
    1/2 C red wine
    1/3lb lean ground beef
    1/4lb ground pork
    50g (1 quarter inch thick) slice of pancetta (if you can get it smoked, that’s the best option)
    1.5-2 C san marzano or other good quality tomatoes, preferably whole
    1 tsp chili flakes (this is non traditional)
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Heat about 1T olive oil in a large sauce pan. Start your water to boil at the same time, or soon after. Sautee on medium low heat the onion, carrot, and celery which are chopped a small dice, evenly sized. You do not want to caramelize anything here–simply soften and cook. I remember Marcella telling us that Italians 1) do not like to see their vegetables and 2) do not over cook them like the French. Don’t forget the salt at this point, either.

    Once softened but not brown, add the pancetta, diced the same size, and if it’s not smoked, allow it to cook until almost crispy (you may need to adjust the heat upwards). If it’s smoked, cook together for 1-2 minutes, and add the ground meat. You should mix the meat together first and make sure not too add too large of chunks. Once the meat is mostly cooked, crank the heat a bit up and add the wine*.

    When the vapor coming from the pan is no longer astringent, add the chili flakes and the tomato, and reduce to simmer. Adjust salt & pepper.

    Mix your sauce and pasta well in a large bowl/in the pasta pan and serve with good Parmesan (I will cry if you use the pre-grated stuff, seriously).

    *If you’re smart, you’ll buy a dry, red Italian wine that you might actually want to drink not only because it will taste better, but because then you’ll have an appropriate wine to go with your dinner.

    As a side note, we ate it up with some Liguria Bakery Foccacia, which I am very pleased to say is being retailed at my neighborhood Andronico’s, for four times the price as at the bakery and not as fresh, but it is so freaking good and so inconvenient to get at the bakery that I am happy to pay it.

  • Grilled Tri Tip & Favas with Pecorino Ginepro

    Grilled Tri Tip & Favas with Pecorino Ginepro

    For the Tri Tip (can sub skirt or flank steak, etc)
    1 tri tip, marinaded at least 2 hours, up to 36
    marinade:
    1/3 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup teriyaki or similar sauce
    1/4 cup oil (your choice)
    1 tbsp chili flakes
    2 shots whiskey/brandy/etc
    2 cloves garlic
    salt & pepper

    Grill to your best ability.

    For the Favas:
    1-2lb fresh fava beans in their pods
    2 large shallots*
    pecorino ginepro (romano will do if you live in the middle of nowhere, but if you don’t i expect you to seek a better alternative, really, for shame)
    juice of 1/2 lime
    salt & pepper

    Boil water, salt it, and put the fava beans in (take them out of their pods first). Cook 1-2 minutes until color has brightened a little. Drain them and put them into iced water, and immediately use your fingers/nails to remove their outer shell. Set aside the inner meat/bean.

    Heat a bit of olive oil in a non stick, and add your shallots sliced in rings, with some salt & pepper. When softened, add your favas, salt, and pepper, and cook quickly until warmed and coated. Add juice of 1/2 lime (a tart orange is ok too). Serve with shaved pecorino ginepro or other firm, sheeps milk, salty cheese.

    *If you’re feeling naughty you could add some pancetta at the same time as the shallots and skimp a little on the oil.

  • Mixed Spring Vegetable Ragu on Polenta

    Mixed Spring Vegetable Ragu on Polenta

    It’s been hard to write lately, to give you something tasty to look at. I’ve been counting calories, learning to run, humbly saying no to my favorite morning pastries and the breakfast burritos I’ve become so fond of.

    So tonight, I’ll try to sate you. I delighted in some zucchini from my farm shipment, fava beans from farmer’s market, celery that needed to be used (leftover from last week’s stock making), leftover san marzano tomatos and more.

    1 cup polenta, cooked (3 cups water & 1tsp salt boiled, add the polenta and stir well for 10 minutes, add 1T butter & lots of grated parm at the very end)

    1 lb fava beans (weight in pods; prep them by blanching in salted water, putting in cold water, removing skins)
    1/2 large zucchini, sliced
    1/2 large carrot or equivilent, medium dice
    1/2 large yellow onion, large dice
    2-3 stalks celery, diced
    8-10 black olives (for shame, mine were from a can–thanks Mom!), rough chop
    3-4 san marzano tomatoes or 1 cup marinara sauce
    1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
    1 tsp chili flakes
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    For the sauce, start in a non-stick pan by heating 1 T olive oil. Add the celery, carrot, and onion, cooking at medium/medium low heat until carrots are bright, celery is more dull and onions are almost translucent. Add the minced rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 minute. Add the olives and zucchini, cook until zucchini have some color at medium/medium high heat. When zucchini still firm, but colored, add marinara sauce/tomatoes, fava beans, and chili flakes if desired and turn to medium low to simmer and combine.

    Serve on top of the delicious polenta, or mixed with rigatoni. Serves 3-4.

    Wine: A dry, hearty red like Chinati would be great with this. You could also go Sicilian with some Nero d’Avola

  • Sunday at the Market & Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf alla Smitten Kitchen

    Sunday at the Market & Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf alla Smitten Kitchen

    The recipe from Smitten Kitchen was rather perfect (if not caloric–mine, the way I followed, served 12 peices, each I figured out has 260 calories, 12 grams of fat (2 are saturated), 60mg of cholesterol, 145mg of sodium, 1mg of potassium, 33 carbs (20 are sugar), 5 grams of protein, 2% vit A, 4% calcium, 3% iron (based on 2000 calorie diet). I used Face Greek Yogurt (full fat) and organic, wild frozen blueberries.

    As you can see, even with all the calories and fat and sugar and oh my!, two of us managed to nearly kill the damn loaf in a matter of two days. Yeah, heathens.

    I haven’t been posting as much because there has not been as much worth sharing lately. My produce shipment has been much the same (chard, oranges, apples, blah), and most of our meals have been grilled this and that and nothing terribly exciting or new. (Last night we had some sockeye salmon in a lime-cilatro marinade that I wouldn’t make again grilled alongside some zucchini and swiss chard with caramelized shallots).

    I did make my way to the Ferry Building in San Francisco this morning for the first time in probably a year. It happened to be one of the 6 Sundays a year the mayor decides is “good for business” to shut down the embarcadero and allow bikes, skateboards, and walkers to take over the street in front. I was chatting with the gentleman who helped me at Cowgirl Creamery (I found half a mt. Tam, some pecorino genero, and a small goat-looking cow’s milk cheese from the soft case that tickled my fancy at the moment, thanks for asking) about this and then we both stared at the 3 sets of double doors which had not seen a single body enter them for several minutes. I commented that Mr. Newsome probably does not buy his hair gel at the ferry building, and the gentleman added “even when he is in town.” ;)

    I very rarely shop at the building because despite the quality, there is hardly anything I’d consider a bargain. The $1.80 I spent for a grapefruit macaroon from Miette? Probably the best value of the day.

    I picked up some organic russets to add to the leeks that came last week in my shipment, some ginger, some garlic, some shortbread and a Pain Epi from Acme. I grabbed a beautifully trimmed pork tenderloin (you’ll perhaps see him later this week), and some very thick bacon. I came home, we gorged on Mt Tam with our Acme, went for a run, then a long bike ride (the man managed to kill a tube on his bike again so he walked half the way), and then proceeded to make more Potato Leek Soup, sans 1/2 the butter and thankfully with homemade stock from the attempt at chicken pot pie I made last week (sorry, no pictures). So alas, all I can do today is point you towards old and other recipes (I made Katie’s artichoke and chard dip yesterday for an afternoon snack with Rainbow Grocery‘s flax tortilla strip chips. It turned out great but I used Canadian cheddar and imagine the mozarella would have been better).

  • Amazing Educational Resource on Chocolate & Chocolate Terminology

    In my quest to find the word “Palet” when thinking of chocolate disks used for melting, I came across an incredible chocolate resource for information on the process, terminology, and styles of chocolate.

  • Damn Fresh Sesame Crusted Halibut (Gomashio Halibut)

    Damn Fresh Sesame Crusted Halibut (Gomashio Halibut)

    Dropped into the store looking for a good white grilling fish to go with some Urad Dal I made and some delicious organic salad greens, stared at the case for a minute a little disappointed at the two remaining halibut filets and spotted the fishmonger slicing and dicing a huge halibut! Well you can bet your pretty penny I did score myself some of that!

    Just use your gas grill (and get yourself one, dummy, if you don’t have one!) and top your halibut in macadamia oil (or other high heat oil) then gomashio (ground toasted sesame seeds and sea salt). Don’t overcook it! Halibut dries out easily, and when you score something this fresh, you better respect!

    Wine: We had some delicious, inexpensive Broadbent Vinho Verde.

  • Grilled Garlic Prawns with Avocado Collards

    Grilled Garlic Prawns with Avocado Collards

    We had a little surf n turf on Friday evening–a little inspiration from my love/hate visit to Andronico’s in SF. I picked up more of those delicious blue Mexican prawns, and a really gorgeous rib eye steak. Our grill had a little party. Here’s how I warmed up the guests:

    Prawns
    Marinate in 1-2 T olive oil, juice of one lemon or lime, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt & pepper. Clean them first by removing the vein on the outter curve (not the leg area) and removing the shell.

    Steak
    Coat it generously in large rock salt (for eating) and fresh cracked pepper.

    Toss the steak on the grill ahead of the prawns, which should cook while the steak is resting.

    Collards
    Clean and chop your collards, and sautee a small amount of onion (1/4 medium one) in olive oil until almost translucent. Add salt & pepper, add your collards and cook until well wilted and deep in color. Top with some avocado slices. You could also whip up some green goddess dressing and mix the collards in that instead.