running with tweezers

the perfect potato

Ever since my trip to Sweden, I've been reminded of the beauty of a perfectly cooked potato. It's something you really take for granted. In lots of recipes, the meager potato gets haphazardly prepared in many ways and coated in stuff...so we lose sight of the toothsome bite of a spot-on spud. The folks in Scandinavia know their potatoes and they're so well versed at cooking them that they barely needed a thing. A little salt, maybe a bit of butter, some fresh herbs and - more often than not - they were a divine side during many a meal.

I was transported back to those meals in Stockholm when we recently dined at City House in Nashville, Tennessee. If you're ever there, do pay City House a visit. Alongside my sweetie's monstrous pork burger-biscuit hybrid was a spoonful of the most perfect potato salad I've ever had. Not bogged down in a lot of mayonnaise, it was tangy and flavorful and surprisingly light. Even once the towel was thrown in on the burger, everyone at the table was picking at the side dish. I came back home and had to recreate it.

The key here is the balance between a grainy mustard and a healthy dollop of prepared horseradish. In an effort to add a little saltiness and interest to the dish at the same time, I thinly sliced some cornichons and added them to the mix. It was a nice little crunch here and there with the perfectly soft potatoes, which I cook following Alton Brown's recipe. They turn out brilliantly every time. This is a great recipe to improve on - add some bacon, whichever fresh herbs you have on hand, some thinly sliced red onion...or you could leave it as is and let the potatoes shine.

Mustard-Horseradish Potato Salad - serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

• 1 pound small new potatoes, skins washed and cut into even halves or quarters - you want your potato pieces to be even so they cook evenly
• 2 tsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons good quality stone ground mustard
• 20 cornichons, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped chives - feel free to substitute any other herb you'd like
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard and horseradish. Set aside until potatoes are cooked and cooled slightly.

- Place cut potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with cold water so that the potatoes are covered by an inch of water. Salt the water and bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once they're fork tender, drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Allow them to cool slightly and toss with the mustard/horseradish mixture while still slightly warm - this will let them absorb some of the dressing. Gently fold in the cornichons, fresh herbs, and salt & pepper the potato salad to taste. Serve immediately. If you chill this potato salad, bring to room temperature, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil to re-wet the mixture, mix thoroughly and serve.

Cooking From The Farmers' Market - Butter Lettuce with Mustard Vinaigrette

A few weeks ago, the folks at Williams-Sonoma were kind enough to send me a couple of their newest cookbooks to preview. All of them were wonderful - you would expect nothing less from WS. I kept going back to one title in particular, Cooking from the Farmers' Market. It's stunning and extremely well organized. Beautiful images divided into category of type of produce with tons of information about seasonality and varieties of each. I asked if I could share a few recipes with my readers and they've been kind enough to let me, so I'll be posting some of my favorites on the blog all this week. I tell you...choosing just a few to preview with you was a tough choice.

As you can see from the other posts on this blog, I'm a fan of salads. I don't think I've met one I don't like. While it's easy to pile on ingredients and make a show-stopping salad, mastering a perfect simple salad is something every cook needs to know how to do. I love this recipe because it champions just a few ingredients and focuses on great quality - you can't get away with sub-par butter lettuce when it's the only green in the salad.

This recipe also makes a wonderfully flavorful make-it-yourself dressing. I whip together my own dressings all the time and the difference in taste is striking. Once you get in the habit of doing it, you won't bother with a fridge door full of half-used bottles. The tang of the mustard, the herby brightness of the tarragon and the silky texture of the butter lettuce is sublime - gorgeous on it's own but would be an amazing accompaniment to a perfectly roasted chicken.

Stay tuned this week for two other recipes from Cooking From The Farmers' Market, new from Williams-Sonoma. You can get more information about the book, as well as purchase your own copy, here.

Butter Lettuce with Mustard Vinaigrette - makes 4 to 6 servings 

• 2 heads butter lettuce
• 3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian (flat-lead) parsley

- Separate the lettuce leaves. Tear the largest outer leaves in half, leaving the smaller leaves whole. Wash, rinse, and dry.

- In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste to make a dressing. Add the lettuce, chives, tarragon, and parsley and toss well. Serve immediately.

not just for winter

Lentils are a year round thing for me. So easy to prepare, filling, packed with protein...but my favorite thing about them is their versatility. Most people think of heartier, cold weather dishes when it comes to lentils but I truly enjoy them in salads and cold preparations just as well. They really take on any flavor that's given to them with a background taste of earthiness & nuttiness.

In an effort to use up some of the dried legumes and produce that was around the house (so one of us doesn't die under an avalanche erupting from the cabinets), I put together this summery lentil salad. Roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes, the remainder of a red onion, the last hearts of palm in the jar - it all mixed wonderfully with the tangy lentils. To make it a more substantial meal, I topped the salad with a thin slice of pan fried Kasseri cheese. Just a few minutes in a hot pan will slightly melt this cheese and give it a nice char on the outside. You could do this with Halloumi or even a thick slice of Feta, as well. 

Pan Fried Kasseri Cheese & Summer Lentil Salad - serves 2 as a main course

• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 2 ounce-ish slices of Kasseri cheese (the packages I've seen are 6 oz. so make a third or have leftover cheese!)
  
• 1 cup dried brown lentils
• 2 cups vegetable stock
  
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar 
• 1 large heirloom tomato (any variety) - de-seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 20 Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 4 hearts of palm, chopped
• 3 large radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 handful fresh herbs (think basil, marjoram, oregano, even mint) and edible flowers, for garnish
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- In a medium pot, heat the lentils and vegetable stock until they come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender - between 15 and 25 minutes depending on the age of your lentils. Drain, rinse and allow to cool.

- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped tomato, sliced red onion, chopped olives, chopped hearts of palm, and radishes. Mix thoroughly & salt and pepper to taste - remember that you are topping this salad with a slightly salty cheese so err on the side of under-salted. You can always add more at the very end. When the lentils have cooled, stir them in along with the herbs and flowers. Cover and allow the flavors to mingle for at least 30 minutes. Taste one last time and re-salt & pepper if you need to.

- To complete the dish, portion out the lentil salad on two plates. Heat the remaining olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, quickly pan fry the Kasseri cheese slices - 1 to 2 minutes on each side should do it. You're looking for a slightly loose, gooey texture but with a nice griddled char on the sides. Place a slice of the fried cheese on each plate of lentil salad. Serve immediately.

my love for yellow

Second to orange (all shades of it - including that obnoxious safety cone version), yellow is my favorite color. It's completely unflattering but I just adore it. Summer squash, lemons - it's the color of some of my favorite foods. An unsung yellow food that I love but never know how to cook are yellow wax beans. I've really only had them in salads mixed with green beans - it's as if folks think these beauties can't stand on their own.

A super splurge bender at Super H Mart (how DO you spend $80 there!? if you want to know, ask me) has our cupboards and fridge fully stocked with all things Asian. Yellow wax beans have great texture and a neutral enough taste that allows them to hang out with some pretty bold flavors. Quickly blanched, they retain their crunch even once dressed in this great miso vinaigrette. Feel free to add other herbs, chopped green onions, some crunchy sprouts, a touch of chopped red chili for heat. I need not say that if you have peanut allergies, please omit them or substitute for a type of nut you can eat.

Miso Wax Bean Salad - serves 4 as a side dish

• 1/2 pound (about 5-6 handfuls) fresh yellow wax beans - ends snipped
• 1 tablespoon dashi miso paste (this kind already has the dashi in it for soup - use whatever kind you have access to)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
• a handful chopped fresh cilantro
• fresh ground black pepper and salt, to taste

- Start a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Have a large bowl full of ice water on hand at the ready to stop the beans from cooking once blanched.

- While the water is coming to a boil, add your miso paste to a small mixing bowl. Drizzle in the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and whisk it until the miso paste has incorporated into the other ingredients and the dressing is smooth. Taste dressing for salt level and adjust to your liking.

- When your water has come to a boil, drop the trimmed wax beans into the water. Blanch for 1-2 minutes. With a slotted spoon or tongs, pull them out and drop them into the ice bath - this will stop them from cooking further and getting soggy. Leave them in the ice bath for a minute or so then drain the beans thoroughly. 

- On a serving platter, arrange the wax beans in an even layer. Drizzle the dressing over the beans. Top with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts. Grind a touch of fresh black pepper over the plate. Serve immediately - the beans will get too soggy if you wait to serve them once they're dressed.

like riding a bike

On Sunday, I received an early birthday gift from Mike. Not just any gift...but one that he knew would mean a whole lot to me. I got a new bicycle. A really nice bicycle. As much as it's meaningful in that we'll be able to spend time together outside and I'll be able to commute to the local market without hopping in the car, it's meaningful in an entirely different way: I've never ridden a bicycle before.

I grew up inside drawing, painting and studying. My folks (my dad in particular) never had the patience to teach me how...so it fell to the wayside. I don't blame them for it - I got to be good at lots of other things because of how I was raised. Still, I'm now faced with learning how to ride a bicycle as an-almost thirty-_______ year old person...and I'm going to be perfectly honest: it scares the be-jeezus out of me. The bruises on my legs from our quick feet-on-the-ground "walk but pretend you're riding" session on Sunday are a reminder of how it made me feel more than a bit humiliated, uncoordinated, and - well - old. That having been said, I'm determined to learn how and love it...without killing myself, my relationship or anyone else in the process.

One thing I do know how to do is cook potatoes. I put this together the other night of stuff lying around the loft. You can pop the potatoes in the oven for 30 or so minutes and work on something else in the meantime. Tossing the potatoes in the vinaigrette just as they're out of the oven means that they'll soak up all the delicious dressing - that's why the dish looks naked in the photo. Trust me, it's not. While I added some arugula and capers, feel free to improvise this. Toasted pine nuts, parsley, rough chopped herbs - it's really a blank canvas.

Warm Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad - serves 4 as a side

• 1 pound fingerling potatoes - white or purple or both - washed, dried and halved
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - set aside 1 tbsp. for dressing & 2 tbsp. for roasting
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1 cup wild baby arugula
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- Preheat oven to 375. Place halved potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Toss to coat evenly. This should take between 30-40 minutes depending on your oven - it's about 35 in mine. You want the potatoes crisp but not brown/hard outside.

- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil. Set aside until potatoes are done roasting.

- When they potatoes are done, quickly toss them in the vinaigrette you've made. Toss gently to coat thoroughly. Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes to absorb all the flavors. Throw in capers and then salt & pepper to taste. Right before serving, add your handful (about 1 cup) of arugula and mix thoroughly. This is delicious warm but could also be served at room temperature - just add the arugula before you serve so it doesn't get mushy or wilted.

travel & recipe trial-and-error

It's been another minute between posts. I've been on what seems like one long (but really awesome) photo shoot..and the days I haven't been in the studio, we've been traveling. One such trip was a wonderful weekend back and forth to Nashville. While seeing friends there is always a treat, the official occasion for our visit was something special: the spectacular wedding of Austin & Delaney. While I've just recently met them through Mike, their wedding seemed just like them: creative, casual and heart-warmingly sincere.

The bonus of the awesome event was running across this recipe. At their reception dinner, catered by Nashville BBQ joint Bacon & Caviar, I had one spoonful of this stuff and was hooked. I've been talking about it since then. I even asked the folks from the B&C for the recipe - and was shot down instantly. While my version might be a little fussier than theirs, it's darned close. Using fresh summer corn adds so much texture to this recipe. You can adjust the heat to whatever level you want but I urge you not to be afraid of the smokey paprika & chipotle powder - the sweetness of the veggies can handle it.

Chipotle Corn Salad - serves 10-12 as a side dish

• 12 ears of fresh white or yellow corn, shucked and cut off the cob
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely diced
• 3 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche (low or non-fat would work here, as well)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- Place cut corn into a large mixing bowl with halved tomatoes, green onions and diced jalapeno. In a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream & vinegar. Add chipotle & smoked paprika and whisk together thoroughly. Taste it at this point - adjust the heat or vinegar level and add your S&P to taste. Drizzle it over veggie mixture and mix thoroughly. Taste one more time and adjust seasonings, if needed. You can serve this immediately or cover & store in the fridge - this salad will last for several days and only get better.

tangled up

   I'm just as confused by my love of this salad as you might be. I have a longstanding disdain for carrots - we all know that. However, I'm proud to say that I'm coming around. Wait till I make a recipe based around celery - you'll all think I've lost my marbles. I've seen a couple carrot recipes floating around on some of my favorite food blogs that have sounded just dreamy. I never pulled the trigger on those but darn I wanted to.

My immediate attraction to this salad recipe is proof of one thing: if you put a Thai or Vietnamese spin on any ingredient, I'm apt to love it - green bell peppers excluded (we're never going to mend fences). I also love the tangled up-ness of this recipe. It makes it super easy to put together and even easier to adapt the ingredients. Add extra veggies like edamame or snow peas. Substitute the mint for cilantro, which I did in my version. You can adjust the heat in any direction. I love a little spice so the red chili was a great touch for me. If it's too much for you, add more jalapeno and omit the red chili. This salad was a great side dish for a Thai-themed dinner night but would be great as a main topped with spiced chicken or seared tuna.

Thai Carrot Noodle Salad - adapted from a recipe found here at BBCGoodFood - serves 4 as a side dish

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• juice of 2 large limes
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 large jalapeno, de-seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 thai red chili, de-seeded and thinly finely chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and thinly grated or julienned - I slice mine with a vegetable peeler
• 8 ounces (or half of a 16 oz package - the average size I've seen) rice vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro - for garnish
• 2 green onions, roughly chopped - for garnish

- Start 8 cups of water on to boil. Place dry noodles in a large heat-proof bowl. When the water comes to a rolling boil, take off heat and pour over noodles. Allow them to soak for 5-7 minutes or until tender but not mushy. Once they're tender, drain thoroughly. Return to large bowl and allow to cool. You'll mix the rest of the salad together in that bowl.

- In a small bowl, combine sliced shallots, jalapeno, red chili, fish sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and lime juice. You can also make this in a small container with a lid - it makes it really easy to shake the dressing & combine all the bits.

- Once the noodles have cooled, you're ready to mix it all together. In the large mixing bowl, combine the carrots and peanuts in with the noodles. Drizzle dressing over noodle mixture and combine thoroughly so ingredients are distributed through the noodles. Add cilantro and green onion & toss again. You can serve this immediately but it tastes best if it's allowed to sit for at least 30 minutes.

make this salad

I wish I had the time to tell you the incredible and delicious story of my week in Charleston. I really do. All the great moments with Helen as we hung out, shared stories, collaborated on a really great project. Those details will have to wait. There is a nearly-week long shoot coming up & a television commercial looming...as well as one heck of a bake sale.

One thing I can tell you about last week was that Helen changed my life forever by introducing me to the salad you see before you. A quick stop at EarthFare (something we don't have in Atlanta, darnit) for lunch noshes scored us a one-pound container of this stuff. We ate it for lunch - and dinner - on several occasions (and ended up buying a second pound) vowing to recreate it when I got home.

Here it is - this is a dead ringer for their recipe and cheaper to make at home. Believe me when I tell you that it will take you 10 minutes to make this salad...and 10 minutes to eat a batch of it. This recipe may make more dressing than required but I'd rather you have a little extra (for a marinade or something) than not enough. Just add the dressing in steps until the kale is coated but it isn't soupy at the bottom of the bowl. You must have patience here - this salad gets better with time so don't cheat and eat it straight away. A couple hours of marination changes the texture of the kale & allows for deep flavor.

Sesame Kale Salad - serves 4 to 6 as a side dish (or 2 people if you're Helen and me!)

• 1 pound of kale leaves once the tough stems & ribs are removed and roughly chopped - I used the prebagged & washed variety
• 2 large roasted piquillo peppers or roasted red bell peppers, cut into thin, bite-sized strips
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

- In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar until completely emulsified. Set aside at room temperature.

- In a larger mixing bowl, place kale and pepper strips. Drizzle in dressing and mix the greens and dressing thoroughly - I used my hands for this. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and mix once more until evenly distributed. Cover bowl with its lid or well fitting plastic wrap. Chill for 4 hours to overnight.

my salad days

When I was in Brooklyn in January, we had a fabulous meal at a restaurant called The Vanderbilt. Plate after plate came out - all meant for sharing, of course - each one more delicious than the next. One of them was this tangle of fresh fennel, pickled fennel, blood oranges, parsley and sharp salty cheese...all tossed in this wonderful vinaigrette. I pretty much monopolized that salad and swooned over every bite. Not so much on the sharing in this case.

I started thinking about that salad today when I was standing in front of the fridge looking for something to make with what was in there. While I didn't have the time to make pickled fennel, I had most of the ingredients to come close to replicating that dish. I added the arugula to make this salad filling as a main dish. The herby parsley mixed with the tart vinaigrette, the perfume-y fennel and the salty olives and cheese is fabulous. It's punctuated by the incredible (and seasonally fleeting so act fast) blood oranges that add a touch of sweetness. If you do have the time to make some pickled fennel, throw it in there - it would be an amazing addition.

Fennel, Blood Orange and Arugula Salad - serves 2 as an entree salad or 4 as a side salad

• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
  
• 2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into supremes
• 1/2 cup good quality pitted green olives
• 3 cups (or large handfuls however you choose to measure) arugula, washed then dried
• 1/4 freshly shaved Parmesan cheese - shaving made with a peeler
  
• 4 tablespoons fresh chopped curly parsley
• 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• juice of two large lemons - close to 1/4 of a cup
  
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

- For the vinaigrette: Whisk together chopped parsley, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl and set aside while making the salad

- For the salad: Combine arugula, fennel, Parmesan cheese and olives in large salad bowl. Pour on vinaigrette and toss to thoroughly coat. Gently add blood orange segments and give the mixture one last delicate toss. Serve immediately.

simple green

After the gluttony that was the chocolate sheet cake & the weekend that went with it, I needed something green & healthy. Our kitchen cabinets are busting at the seams with half-used containers of every bean and grain imaginable. I'm on a mission to use some of it up, which comes with the added benefit of healthy eating.  

I've had this recipe book-marked for some time. As a huge fan of Tabbouleh (and anything Middle Eastern really), I loved the twist this recipe put on it. It also was a great vehicle to showcase this incredible Chard mix that I've been buying from Crystal Organic Farm - I use their kale a good bit, too. I've never had chard this tender, beautiful and flavorful.  It lends itself to being eaten raw or just slightly cooked. 

This is one of those recipes that you can tweak as you'd like. Less lemon juice, more garlic, more salt. Do be careful when adding the olives that you don't salt yourself out of a delicious salad - the rinsing of the olives is helpful. Tasting along the way - for flavor levels and doneness of the bulgar - is key here. I ate a heaping spoonful of this with some herby grilled shrimp. Beautifully cooked seafood or fish would be a great pairing with the flavors & textures of this salad. 

Swiss Chard and Bulgar Salad  - based on a recipe found here and originally from Fine Cooking

• 2 cups bulgar wheat
• 1 large bunch swiss chard - between 1-2 pounds, tough stems removed & coarsely chopped
• juice of 2 large lemons
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1/2 pound good-quality green olives, rinsed, pitted & chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh curly parsley 
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small pinch dried red pepper flakes
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

- Pour the bulgar into a heat safe bowl & add 3 cups of boiling water. Stir & cover. Allow to sit until tender - about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, start a pot of boiling water. When ready, place your chopped chard into the water for 1-2 minutes. I don't like my chard too cooked but this is a matter of personal preference - I want some toothy texture still. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Allow to drain completely. 
- While chard is cooling & draining, combine the lemon juice, garlic in a small bowl & let the mixture sit for at 10-15 minutes.
- When the bulgur is done cooking, fluff it with a fork. Make sure there is no leftover water in the bulgar. Add the grain to the the olive oil mixture.  Also add your chard, chopped parsley, chopped olives, & dried red chili flakes, and the lemon juice mixture. Taste your salad at this point for salt - the olives might make your salad salty enough. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. You can serve this immediately at room temperature or you can refrigerate it. If you do the later, bring it up slightly in temp before serving so it's not ice cold.