running with tweezers

france is for lovers

More specifically, this dish - pissaladiere - is for lovers. At the very least, its for people who like each other a lot. I decided to make this dish for IMBB #23, graciously hosted by Cucina Testa Rossa, for two reasons. The first is my love for stinky food. Filled with olives, anchovies, and onions this definitely fits the bill. Like a dish with roasted garlic in it, anyone within 20 feet of you should also have a piece of this. Those who eat together stink together.

My second reason is my new found fascination for puff pastry. The fact that you can put a sheet of "plain ol pastry" in the oven and have it come out like that is incredible to me. Its only slightly less amazing than where babies come from and Hilary Duff's teeth.

Pissaladiere is a street or snack food all along the Cote D'Azur, especially in Nice. It is available as a nosh the way pizza is in New York City. It gets its name from pissala, which is a mashed up paste of marinated sardines and anchovies. This paste traditionally makes the topping for pissaladiere.

I strayed from the traditional recipe in two ways. The first being the puff pastry. Normally, this dish would be made with either a pizza style dough or a shortcrust pastry dough. To me, puff pastry would be light and counterbalance the heaviness of the onions and big flavors. The second alteration I made was to substitute anchovy paste for whole anchovy filets. I adore the taste of anchovies but eating the whole filets is a little dicey for me. Plus, I thought using the paste would ensure that there was anchovy taste throughout the pastry.

For the wine pairing, my initial thought was a French Rose. Something that was dry and had some tang to balance the saltiness and the buttery crust. When I consulted my wine friends at Atlanta Cuisine, they suggested an Alsatian Pinot Gris. Running into the store with little time and not a ton of options, I bought this Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Blanc. You read it right - I bought the wrong wine. Oops. Next time, I'll get it right. Thanks anyway, guys!

Pissaladiere - serves six as a starter

1 kg onions (which converts to just a smidge over 2 pounds)

1 tube anchovy paste

1 piece pizza dough or shortcrust dough

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Nicoise olives

freshly ground black pepper

- Preheat oven to 180C/350C

- Peel the onion and slice into thin slices. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil under medium heat and add the onions. Stir to distribute oil and allow to sweat until they soften and then add the balsamic vinegar. Stir frequently to make sure onions are not browning. When they are soft and translucent, remove from heat and allow to cool.

- Roll out pastry and spread anchovy paste on top. Top with cooled onion mixture, Nicoise olives, and fresh ground black pepper. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until onions are cooked and golden brown. Serve hot or a room temperature.

The original information and recipe can be found here.

in the spirit of mardi gras

When I ran across this post in The Savory Notebook's blog about her Mardi Gras-themed Virtual Recipe Club, my mind didn't go to etouffe, jambalaya, or beignets. In my eyes, the Bloody Mary should be the official food/beverage of this wild celebration. It's your morning pick me up, the perfect accompaniment to rich eggy brunch dishes, or it's your hair of the dog after nights of debauchery.

They really are, as far as I'm concerned, the perfect drink. They have a little spice (or a lot if you're me), a little heat (or a lot if you're me),  and a little booze (or a lot if you're me). Plus, they have VEGETABLES in it, which means they are good for you.

This recipe is a great mix between gazpacho and a bloody mary, both of which are two of my favorite things. I used Absolut Peppar vodka instead of regular for a little extra oomph. I think it would be a great amuse before a Cajun themed meal - you could top the soup with crawfish or oysters instead of the crabmeat, as well. Of course, you could also bottle it, stick it in the 'fridge, and use it in place of your favorite bloody mary mix.

While you're in the kitchen working on this soup or kicking back enjoying your vodka-spiked treat, please keep in mind this Mardi Gras those people still affected by Hurricane Katrina. For the residents of that region, the relief efforts continue. For more information about you can do to continue to help, please visit the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation or The American Red Cross.

Bloody Mary Soup with Crab - serves 10 (recipe from about.com)

- 6 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into chunks

- 4 red peppers, seeds removed and cut into chunks

- 2 green peppers, seeds removed and cut into chunks

- 2 cucumbers, seeds removed and cut into chunks

- 3 stalks celery, strings removed and cut into chunks

- 1 clove garlic

- 1 red onion, peeled and cut into chunks

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- juice of 2 limes (or more to taste)

- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

- 2 tablespoons horseradish

- 1/2 cup vodka

- salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste

- 1 pound lump crab meat

1. Toss all of the vegetables together and divide into three batches. Using a food processor, puree the vegetables in three batches, adding one tablespoon of olive oil to each batch.

2. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.

3. Add the lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking.

4. Stir in the vodka. Cover and chill at least 2 hours to overnight.

To serve: Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Ladle into serving bowls and top with about 1/4 cup lump crabmeat in the center of each bowl.

sweet-tart

A few months back, on a trip to the mountains in North Georgia, I made a pit stop at Panorama Orchards in Ellijay. It was quite a find, really. They had shelves and shelves of apple-based products they had made - apple BBQ sauce and apple salsa being two of the scores (the salsa was great on grilled pork!). They, of course, had apples for purchase. One variety that was new to me was the Mutsu apple.

After trying it, I decided that the Mutsu was the perfect apple. It's has firm flesh and lots of crunch & bite to it. It tart like a Granny Smith but not quite as sour with enough sweetness to balance it out. It was a treat to eat alone...but it made me start thinking of a way to bake with it, too.

I've always wanted to try to make a dessert that had rosemary in it. About 8 years ago, I had rosemary Merlot sorbet...and I've never forgotten it. It was the perfect mix of sweet and savory with such a clean taste. Why not achieve it with a tart? Tart, crunchy apples on a buttery crust with a sprinkle of rosemary and a dusting of sugar. The result was spectacular, if I do say so myself. It had the balance of rich, light, sweet and sour...and there was a whisper of rosemary flavor in each bite.

Rosemary Apple Tart - makes two individual tarts

- one sheet pre-made puff pastry, thawed

- 2 Mutsu apples, thinly and uniformly sliced

- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

- melted butter or egg wash, to brush on crust

- sugar to taste

1) Roll out prepared puff pastry. Cut into two pieces. Fold edges over about 1/2", making the crust. Sprinkle with sugar.

2) Lay layers of apples on pastry to desired thickness. I would say one apple per tart would be more than sufficient.

3) Pull individual leaves from rosemary sprig and scatter evenly across tart. Brush edges of pastry with melted butter or egg wash and sprinkle the whole thing again with sugar.

4) Bake according to your pastry package's directions and the moodiness of your oven at home - my tarts took about 10-12 minutes at 350.

this blog is about as much fun as...

   

... a cheese sandwich.

I broke out the ol' drawing skills, which I promised I would retire after this post, in honor of Pete Wells and his article on blogs in this month's Food and Wine magazine - I'm not even going to spend the money on making him a *real* cheese sandwich. According to Mr. Wells, there are exactly 7 blogs on the entire face of the Internet worth reading. Guess what? This wasn't one of them.

Imagine me looking like I care here.

What I *do* care about is the way he dismisses all of us who Mr. Wells feels doesn't have a definitive voice or "sense of purpose". I don't blog so I can eat duck fetuses and pig's blood. If I wanted to do that, I'd win $50,000 on Fear Factor. I blog because it makes me happy. I blog because it encourages me to work on my craft and improve my hobby of photography. I blog because it is the catalyst for experimentation and challenges in the kitchen. I blog because I am inspired by beautiful blogs like Chubby Hubby and Delicious Days. I blog because I learn something new every day from blogs like An Obsession with Food and 101 Cookbooks. I blog because I meet great people, like Ali at Something So Clever. I don't know about you...but that looks like some serious cooking, serious photography, and serious writing. No sense of purpose!?!

I've learned and accomplished so much in my short time working on this blog and no one is going to discourage me from continuing. Taking food blog advice from a food magazine that can't manage to put food or wine on its March cover seems like taking fashion advice from Stevie Wonder. I'll pass.

In the words of our beloved Whitney Houston...

"Kiss my Ass!"

tuna helper

This past week, I worked on a job where I did not see daylight for four days. FOUR DAYS. Needless to say that Kitchen Stadium at Chez T was on holiday. Not only is working like that exhausting in every sense of the word - and i often don't have much of an appetite after being around the food that much - but I also don't feel like going to the market after a long day, either.

In an inspired moment, I managed to make an amazing salad (if i do say so myself) with ingredients I had on hand, which just happened to be four of my favorite things: onion, hearts of palm, olives, and sushi tuna. The thing that tied the dish together was something that I don't normally condone - pre-made salad dressing. There is one particular kind that I will buy, which is Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette. Other than that, its all homemade for me. It served as both the dressing and the marinade. Could it get any easier than that? (Editor's note: please don't imagine me doing the Rachel Ray hand gestures when I said that, ok?)

Seared Tuna Chez Tami***

For the tuna:

- 1 piece sushi grade tuna

- 1/4 cup Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette (you can also DIY with mustard, fresh ground pepper, EVOO, lemon, garlic, and salt)

For the salad:

- hearts of palm sliced into rounds

- pitted kalamata olives

- thinly sliced red onions

- fresh spring mix field greens

- another 1/4 cup dressing

1. Marinate tuna in dressing for 4-5 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on it as the acid in the dressing will start to cook the outside of your fish!

2. While this happening, cut and mix all of your ingredients save for the field greens.

3. Heat medium skillet and sear tuna on each side - the time depends on the thickness of your piece of fish and the rareness that you can handle. I do mine for 2 minutes on each side.

4. Plate a small mound of greens on the plate and top with your HOP/olive/red onion mixture lightly covered in dressing. Place seared tuna on top - cut it to whatever thickness you like - and drizzle with remaining dressing to taste.

a twist on tabbouleh

Ethnic foods - all kinds, really - are my favorites. I have a particular soft spot for Lebanese and Mediterranean cooking. Growing up, family friends attended a Lebanese church that held several events every year to raise money for the community. I spent nights each year, all gussied up, eating more kibbee & hummus than you can shake a stick at - only to work it all off doing line dancing versions of, looking back on it, seem a little like "the forbidden dance".

Of all of the dishes I've tried, tabbouleh was my least favorite. Something about the bulgar or cracked wheat just didn't do it for me, although the mix of fresh herbs kept bringing me back to try it again. I've revisited this dish using one of my favorite ingredients - green lentils. Tossed with the herbs and tangy dressing, the lentils soak up all of the flavor and make this salad incredible hearty without sacrificing the lightness.

Lentil Tabbouleh Salad - makes around 3 cups

For the salad:

1/2 cup green lentils

2 cups fresh parsley

3/4 cups mint

3/4 cups cilantro

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1 cup seeded and diced cucumber

1/4 cup red onion

For the dressing:

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

- Whisk dressing ingredients together and set aside

- Cook lentils, covered,  in 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock. Simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl.

- Mince herbs in a food processor and add to lentils and chopped raw vegetables. Top with dressing, toss together, and allow to sit for 15 minutes so the flavors can marinate.

Photo taken by Tami Hardeman

i sear scallops by the sea shore

say that five times fast! (fyi..for those geographically challenged...atlanta is nowhere near the sea shore)

This is a recipe I sort of made up after seeing something like it in one of my "imported" food magazines - Olive, Delicious, etc. With all of the expensive foreign food magazines I buy every month, it's a wonder I have money left to cook any of it with! I somehow lost the magazine, but the idea stuck with me. This dish is me winging it.

Seared scallops are a favorite of mine, regardless of the preparation. The garam masala gives them an unusual taste. There are great flavors and colors going on in this recipe and the best part is...it's done in about 20 minutes - about as long as you need to finish the rice. If saffron is too rich for your blood, tumeric is also wonderful in the rice.

Seared Scallops on Spicy Saffron Rice - 6 servings

For the scallops:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp. garam masala

salt and fresh ground pepper

fresh sea scallops (4 to 5 per person would be an adequate entree portion)

For the rice:

1/4 tsp. saffron

3 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups rice

1 tsp. salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh frozen green peas

1 red Thai chili chopped into small rings (whether you leave the seeds is dependent on your courage level)

- In a covered saucepan, add the saffron to the broth. When this is brought to a boil, add the rice, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. When rice is almost done, add the peas and red chili. Cover and cook for 4-5 more minutes.

- When you add the last ingredients to your rice, drizzle pan with the olive oil and bring to medium high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops and dredge each flat side in the garam masala. Sear each side 1-2 minutes until the scallops are opaque and firm. Overcooking here will be the downer of this dish, believe me.

- Remove rice from heat, fluff, and plate with the scallops on top of the bed of rice.

This photograph was taken by Tony Clark and styled by Tami Hardeman