September 17, 2012
Lavender & Rosemary Roasted Lamb Tartine – Warm Lentil Vinaigrette, Roquefort and Late Summer Tomatoes ~
Post #4 of “Have Kelly, Will Cook” inspired by the much-anticipated book “Have Mother, Will Travel”
written by best selling authors Claire and Mia Fontaine.
I came up with this Lamb Tartine several years back for a dinner party that included Claire, and she still talks about it to this day. We thought it would fit right in with this series since a good portion of the book takes place in France. I warmly think of Claire every time I make this dish. The look on her face when she took her first bite was priceless; then I have to giggle a bit as I remember her devouring the rest, with grace of course.
We still have lots of beautiful tomatoes here in California, and I’ll be using them as much as I can until they are (sadly) gone for the season. You can easily replace them with slices of roasted squash or braised greens, pretty much anything you have available in your area. If you don’t like blue cheese, use a brie or even goat cheese. I like this Tartine served warm, even the lentil vinaigrette and toasted bread. The contrast with the fresh tomatoes is amazing.
August 29, 2012
Grilled Nectarines with Minty Yogurt, Lemon and Pistachio
Grilled Ono with roasted tomatoes, marinated olives and crispy capers
Post #3 of Have Kelly, Will Cook” a series of recipes I’m writing inspired by the new book “Have Mother, Will Travel”.
There were so many wonderful yet, sometimes hilariously challenging countries that Claire and Mia visited while on a global scavenger hunt which inspired them to write their second mother/daughter book “Have Mother, Will Travel” (the first best selling book is called is Come Back, a must read!). I haven’t been to any of the countries they so beautifully described in the book, but now, I have a vivid picture of what to expect when, one day, I’ll be able to see it for myself.
A family friend, who just so happens to be a fantastic chef, dropped us off some amazing Ono (aka Wahoo) and asked if I could find something to do with it. Well…. of course! Did I mention this is Tom’s absolute favorite. Thanks Heather!
I immediately knew I wanted to use it for the “Greece” (the country that is) chapter of the book. To me, Greek food is all about fresh ingredients, simply prepared. I lightly grilled some nectarines I picked up here, and make a sauce using a little Greek yogurt infused with lemon and mint, finished it with a touch of honey and pistachios. What a simple, yet refreshing dish perfect for dessert or even breakfast. The Ono needed no more that a few mixed olives, fresh basil, mint, lemon juice, sweet red onions and a few glugs of olive oil (you know that nice bottle of olive oil you have hidden in the cabinet? This would be a perfect time to use it). If your garden is anything like ours right now, the tomatoes are going crazy, and are going in everything! I simply roasted some of the lovely cherry tomatoes to eat with the Ono along with a few handfuls of mixed lettuces.
August 23, 2012
One of the (oh, so many) things I most look forward to about spending our summers in California is I get to hang out and cook with one of my best pals, and all time favorite people, Ursula. For the past several years, Ursula has invited me to help her out while she teaches some wonderful cooking classes at Filoli. Filoli is a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Woodside, California, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. This is, by far, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been to. The gardens change seasonally, so each time I visit it’s a totally new experience. New things blooming and food that had gone to seed. We rummaged through the berry bushes to pick and eat the last of the summer white raspberries. It was exciting to walk through the orchards to see the apples and pears ripening for the fall harvest. We were inspired to say the least, for the upcoming class “The Great Apple” that Ursula will be teaching (with a little help from me), September 15.
This particular weekend was “Filoli Summer Celebration” and the demonstration was part of a series called “Cooking from your summer garden” and more specifically, using stone fruit in savory foods. Needless to say, it was standing room only as Ursula shared her expertise on summer bounty and demonstrated her mouth-watering recipe using peaches, roasted pork and chipotle peppers. It will work with just about any stone fruit, I used a mixture of white and yellow peaches.
For more information on Filoli and other cooking classes Ursula will be teaching.
Peach, Roasted Pork and Chipotle Bruschetta
by Ursula Gallichotte
12 slices of baguette
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1-2 t. canned chipotle in abobo sauce
a pinch of sea salt
12 slices of roast pork tenderloin, chopped
1 fresh peach, chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the baguette slices on a sheet pan. Toast until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Combine cream cheese and chipotle. Use a bit of the chopped whole pepper in the sauce if you want a spicier flavor. Taste and salt as needed.
3. Remove pits and chop peaches. Combine peaches with the lemon juice (this flavors and keeps the peaches from browning).
4. To roast the tenderloin: rub tenderloin with favorite spice blend, salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast at 375 degrees, approx. 40 minutes until the internal temperature is 150 degrees. Serve for dinner or cool to use in this recipe.
5. Spread each toast with the chipotle/cream cheese mixture. Top each toast with chopped pork and peaches. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
Check back in a few days for post #3 of Have Kelly, Will Cook. A series of recipes I’m developing for the wonderful book “Have Mother, Will Travel“. There is a great article out today about these authors and their most recent book, here.
August 1, 2012
Malaysian Fried Rice; Post #2 of “Have Kelly, Will Cook” inspired by the much-anticipated book “Have Mother, Will Travel” written by best selling authors Claire and Mia Fontaine
Claire doesn’t eat much rice, so when she raved about a fried rice dish her and Mia ate while in Malaysia, it was a no-brainer to include it in this series (I happen to LOVE rice). I couldn’t get my hands on shrimp paste, so I used a combination of anchovies and fish sauce which was a nice substitution. Shrimp paste has a very unique, pungent and wonderful taste, there really isn’t a replacement for it. If you can find some, replace the anchovies with 1 teaspoon of the shrimp paste, fry it in the shallot oil along with the ginger and garlic. I used fresh corn, peas and carrots, which are gorgeous now at the farmers markets, along with plenty of lemon zest to brighten up this comfort dish. Typically, eggs are scrambled into the fried rice, but, a soft fried egg was the only choice for me, and made this side dish into a meal. I’ve been waiting all year for the local farm fresh eggs here in Santa Cruz and it was the first thing I ran to the farmers market to pick up once we landed in town for the summer.
Maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to taste the fried rice of Malaysia, but until then, this version is pretty darn good.
July 17, 2012
I’m super excited to announce the kick off of a new recipe series I’m working on and to tell you about a must read new book.
The book is “Have Mother, Will Travel“, and the recipe series is “Have Kelly, Will Cook”.
Here’s a heart warming video peek into the book. To read more about the book and these amazing women click here.
I met Claire and Mia about 20 years ago at their home in Los Angeles. There are two things I will never forget.
#1. The first time I saw Mia’s beautiful smile, it literally brightens a room.
#2. The first time I ate Claire’s Lamb, she cooks it like no other.
We have since become the best of friends.
Claire describes food with the passion of a poet. When she told me about a confection she had gone crazy over in Provence, I could taste it myself. It was a candied clementine, honey, and marzipan, dunked in dark chocolate, called la Gourmandise. As usual, we immediately started brainstorming ideas to recreate this confection. Little did I know, this conversation would lead to a series of recipes based on wonderful food they tasted while on a global scavenger hunt. For more of the story, click here.
The first recipe of the series is a Chocolate Clementine Tart with Almond-Shortbread Crust and Honey Cream. I knew this recipe would be amazing given the flavor combination described by Claire. The key to this tart is to use cold butter and eggs, and to work fast, otherwise the filling wont emulsify. Have all your ingredients measured and ready to go before you start to mix. You will be amazed, it only takes a minute to come together.