Sauté shallots in 1 tbsp. oil for a few minutes until translucent. They will turn very sweet. Be careful not to burn them.
Stir shallots into prepared dressing.
Dress salad with about half the dressing, and reserve the rest for another use.
Notes: This dressing complements almost any combination of greens. The mustard can be eliminated for a lighter dressing, and white balsamic vinegar can be used instead for another elegant twist.
Goat Cheese Toasts
1 loaf French bread, long baguette, sliced thin (use about 8
to 10 of the slices for the salad)
1 can olive oil spray
1 tsp. salt
8 oz. goat cheese log, ½-inch slices, cut while cold
½ tsp. salad herbs
In a single layer, lay the bread slices side by side on a cookie sheet. Spray lightly with the oil; turn bread and lightly spray the other side. Sprinkle with the salt (regular salt broadcasts more evenly).
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees F for about 30 minutes, turning the slices halfway through until light in color but completely dry.
Place a goat cheese slice on each toast, and then allow cheese to come to room temperature.
Dust with the salad herbs.
To serve, divide the dressed salad among eight to ten plates, place a goat cheese toast on top of each portion, and serve. (Any extra toasts will keep well, covered tightly.)
Susan’s Summertime Gazpacho
I make this at least once per summer, at my friend’s insistence. With generous amounts of the optional garnishes, it is enough for a nice lunch as is.
Serves about 20
4 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
6 large ripe tomatoes, dip in boiling water, slip skin off, and
dice (leave in juice and seeds)
1 ea red pepper, seeded and diced
1 ea green pepper, seeded and diced
1 ea yellow pepper, seeded and diced
1 ea Vidalia onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, diced finely
6 slices white bread, good quality, torn into small pieces
Toss all of the above in a large bowl.
1 cup beef broth (or chicken broth), homemade or good
quality store bought
46 oz. tomato juice (I prefer Sacramento brand)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pulse all of above chopped vegetables and liquids in a blender in batches, using some liquid, a bit of the oil, and some vegetables in each batch, until fine but not pureed. This takes practice! Collect each batch in another large bowl until complete.
4 tbsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste
4 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, or more to taste
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
2 tsp. oregano, or more to taste
1 tbsp. sea salt, or more to taste
2 tsp. fresh ground pepper, or more to taste
Season soup with all of the above. This soup is bold; make sure to provide a good kick.
Chill to blend flavors at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge and stir well 1 hour before serving.
Garnish: Croutons
8 ea slices good white bread: crusts removed, ½-inch dice
Toast gently on cookie sheet for about ½ hour at 200 degrees until dry and light brown. Sprinkle a few on top of each serving (store any excess tightly covered).
Optional additional garnishes: Avocado and Fresh Crabmeat
Besides the croutons, you can also float 1 or 2 slices of avocado or 1 or 2 tablespoons of fresh crabmeat on top of the gazpacho. Choose one or both—I’m easy!
Notes: This recipe is not so easy (messy, too) because it involves a lot of peeling and dicing, but is well worth it, and no cooking is required. It keeps for at least two weeks in the fridge.
Because this recipe serves about twenty, feel free to cut it in half.
Caponata
I used to make this delicious Italian classic even before I taught those cooking classes; then I included it in my curriculum.
Yields about 4 lbs., enough for a crowd when served with other hors d’oeuvres
1¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
1½ lbs. eggplant, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch cubes, about 4 cups
¾ cup celery, thin sliced
1 ea sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 ea red pepper, ½-inch dice
14½ oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. sea salt, or more to taste
1 tsp. cracked pepper, or more to taste
¼ cup red wine vinegar, or more to taste
¼ cup sugar, or up to 2 more tbsp. to taste
¼ cup black olives, pitted and sliced
¼ cup green olives, pitted and sliced
¼ cup pine nuts
2 tbsp. capers, small size and rinsed
Heat ¾ cup of the oil in a large saucepan and brown the eggplant over high heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes until transparent but not too soft; then remove from pan and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium high, and in the same pan add ½ cup more oil. Sauté the celery, onion, and red pepper for 5 to 8 minutes, until softened.
Add the tomatoes in their juice, the sea salt, and pepper, and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until most of the liquid dries out.
Add the vinegar, sugar, olives, pine nuts, and capers and cook for 5 minutes more over low heat.
Return the eggplant to the pan and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Serve at room temperature as hors d’oeuvres with homemade toasts (see recipe above with the mesclun salad), crackers, or crusty bread.
Caponata is traditionally served at room temperature, but it can also be served warm as a side dish for almost any protein, or as a sauce for your favorite pasta with grated cheese.
Notes: Eggplants, as recently available, are no longer bitter and need not be salted, drained, and squeezed. Also, feel free to cut this recipe in half if you are not entertaining a crowd, although it keeps well for up to a month in the refrigerator.
Oven-Dried Tomatoes
I prepare these tomatoes every time I entertain, serving them alongside cheeses, prosciutto, hummus, and so on. There are never any left, no matter how many tomatoes I use.
Yields 24 to 30 pieces
2½ lbs. plum tomatoes, ripe (about 12 to 15)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup shallots, finely diced
¼ cup sweet onion, finely diced
1 tsp. oregano, fresh or dried
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cracked pepper, freshly ground
Preheat oven to 175 to 200 degrees F, depending on oven.
Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise; squeeze out some of the juice and seeds.
Toss the tomatoes with the remaining ingredients and marinate for about 15 minutes.
Set the tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet with low sides.
Spoon any remaining bits of shallots, etc., onto each tomato half.
Bake for about 4 hours, then turn oven off (do not open door or heat will escape) and leave overnight.
The tomatoes will appear shriveled when done, but will retain some moisture. When preparing, feel free to adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator in airtight container with a bit more olive oil, if desired. They will keep well for three or four weeks.
Notes: These tomatoes will taste quite sweet. Serve on salads, with cheese, or anytime as an elegant replacement for store-bought sundried tomatoes.
Mixed Wild Mushrooms
I will now share one of my most versatile secrets, a recipe that can be used in a dozen different ways. The quantities can be doubled or tripled or quadrupled for larger gatherings. I adore mushrooms, any kind, and include them someplace with almost every meal, even in quiche.
1 ea Vidalia onion, large, peeled, quartered and sliced
thin
/> 2 ea shallots, peeled and chopped finely
2 ea leeks, white part only, carefully cleaned of sand,
sliced thin crosswise
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 oz. dried porcini or any dried mushrooms, soak in hot
water for 15 minutes, drain, reserve liquid
2 lbs. mixed wild mushrooms, (e.g., shiitake, oyster, cremini,
baby bella, or enoki), rinsed and dried
½ cup ripe tomatoes, blanched and peeled, chopped,
drained of juice and seeds for a bit of color (optional)
¾ cup dry white wine
1 tsp. sea salt, or more to taste
½ tsp. white pepper
½ tsp. dried or fresh thyme
Remove tough part of stems from the variety of mushrooms being used, and slice thin.
Sauté first three ingredients in the olive oil in large sauté pan until soft over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add mushrooms (and tomato if used) to sauté pan and continue cooking until mushrooms begin to give up liquid. Add wine and reserved soaking liquid (if desired) to pan; continue cooking until liquids reduce but mixture still retains some moisture.
Season to taste. When it tastes just right, it is finished!
To serve: Use ½ cup per serving as appetizer component, ¾ cup per side dish, 1 cup per main dish component (i.e., as a pasta sauce).
Notes: Other varieties of wild mushrooms such as chanterelles and morels are lovely, but they’re not so easy to find and are sometimes very gritty and hard to clean. This delicious basic mixture can be used in a dozen different ways:
Wild Mushroom Ragu: Serve as is as a side dish with any roast, poultry, or fish. Complements almost anything very well. Add a handful of fresh chopped Italian parsley, if desired.
Warm Wild Mushroom Salad: Dress mixed baby greens, mache lettuce, or other elegant small greens with a little olive oil and white or dark balsamic vinegar, a bit of salt, and fresh ground pepper. Divide evenly among six plates; mound some of the wild mushrooms on top of each. For added interest, mix a few tablespoons of toasted pine nuts into the greens, and/or sprinkle some top-quality shaved Parmesan on top of each salad plate.
Wild Mushroom Soup: Transfer entire mushroom mixture to small stockpot. Add ½ cup of sherry and 3 cups of reduced salt chicken stock and simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree the mixture or leave as is, as desired. Add up to 1 cup light or heavy cream (I use light), simmer another few minutes, correct seasonings with a bit more sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve.
Wild Mushroom Omelet: Use some of the wild mushroom mixture with some shredded Gruyère or fontina cheese folded in, one part mushrooms to two parts cheese or one to one, as a great filling for omelets with lightly dressed greens on the side for an elegant brunch or luncheon dish.
Wild Mushroom Risotto: Cook Arborio rice in broth, according to package instructions, using about ¼ cup dry rice per person. Fold into wild mushroom (to create a nice balance) in deep sauté pan, simmer a few minutes until heated through, adding a bit more broth as necessary to achieve a creamy and moist (but not soupy) consistency. Correct seasoning. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese, if available, or good quality packaged, as a main dish (about 1½ cups risotto mixture) or as an appetizer (about ¾ cup risotto mixture).
Wild Mushroom Pasta: Boil orzo (a long grain rice–shaped pasta) in broth or water according to instructions, or thin spaghetti or linguini in water according to instructions. Use 2 to 3 oz. dry pasta per person (however, I use at least 3 oz. per person), drain (reserving a little cooking liquid), then stir into wild mushroom mixture (as noted above, about 1 cup mushroom mixture per portion of cooked pasta) and reheat for a few minutes on medium heat, adding some cooking liquid or broth as needed to keep the mixture loose but not too soupy. Toss in a handful of fresh chopped curly or Italian parsley. Adjust seasoning with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve as a main dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
For added interest, sauté 4 to 6 oz. diced pancetta bacon or diced prosciutto until crisp; then drain away the rendered fat. Toss into wild mushroom mixture along with the cooked pasta while heating. Some finely diced fresh tomato, drained of liquid and seeds, is also very nice and adds a bit of color.
There are more ways to serve this delicious stuff. I have not been too specific on purpose. Be imaginative; just do it. I always have. The suggested quantities will vary depending upon who you are serving.
Whole Salmon Filet with Caramelized Onions and White Wine
This recipe is elegant and easy, and defers to all my friends that prefer to eat healthy. It is delicious.
Serves 6 generously
1 whole wild caught salmon filet, 3 to 3½ lbs., 1 inch thick, skinless, rinsed and patted dry
1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
½ tsp. white pepper, or to taste
1 cup Japanese bread crumbs
1 can olive oil spray
1½ cups dry white wine, or up to ½ cup more, if desired
1 ea Vidalia onion, large, peeled, halved and sliced thin
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. sugar
¼ cup parsley, fresh chopped
Preheat oven broiler until very hot.
Lay salmon filet into heavy oval ovenproof ceramic serving dish, large enough to lay filet flat, or rimmed broiling pan (although it is tricky to transfer whole onto serving platter).
Season with the salt and pepper.
Spread bread crumbs evenly over the filet.
Spray olive oil over entire surface of crumb-covered salmon to completely cover the bread crumbs (to avoid burning the crumbs).
Pour the wine all around the edges of the pan, but not over the salmon filet.
Sauté the onions in a frying pan in the oil until soft and translucent. Add the sugar and continue to sauté for a few more minutes. Set aside.
Place the salmon in top third of oven and broil for 5 minutes.
Pull the pan out and spoon the onion mixture over the white wine around the edges of the pan.
Return to the oven and broil the salmon for 4 or 5 more minutes only for medium rare. Do not overcook.
Serve at table, dividing into 6 slices and spooning some of the onion and white wine sauce onto each plate. Sprinkle a bit of the parsley over each serving.
Serve with mustard sauce, recipe below.
Mustard Sauce
One of my tried-and-true staples, good with almost any meat, fish, poultry, or vegetable.
1 cup heavy cream (or light cream, if preferred)
1 cup low salt chicken stock, homemade, supermarket, or from gourmet shop
⅓ cup Dijon mustard
½ tsp. sea salt, or to taste
¼ tsp. white pepper, or to taste
Combine first two ingredients and simmer in saucepan (low heat to prevent burning) on stovetop until reduced by exactly half. Use a marked stick to keep track. This process takes time; be patient. Remove from heat.
Stir mustard into warm, reduced liquids.
Season with the salt and pepper, and serve.
Notes: Can be refrigerated for up to three or four weeks. Reheat very gently to avoid curdling. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled for larger gatherings, but increases the reduction time for the liquids quite a bit. Be patient.
Perfect Roast Chicken
This method will produce a crackly, dark skin. My friends and family are big eaters, and each chicken will feed no more than three, maybe four, tops. So two chickens are a better bet, with leftovers for the next day. In my notes at the end, I’ll give some quick instructions for Chicken Under a Brick for the more ambitious cook.
1 ea whole chicken, free range, about 3½ lbs.
1 ea lemon, halved
1 ea orange, halved
2 tbsp. sweet butter (or olive oil, if preferred)
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. white pepper
½ ea Vidalia onion
2 ea sha
llots
1 tsp. dried rosemary, or fresh sprigs if available
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Remove any giblets from cavity; rinse and pat chicken dry. Rub with lemon and orange half and allow to air dry a few minutes.
Rub chicken inside and out with the butter, salt, and pepper.
Place the remaining lemon and orange halves, the onion half, the shallots, and rosemary in the cavity.
Place chicken breast-side up in a roasting pan, on a rack so that the back won’t stew in its own juices. Bake for 40 minutes. Flip to breast-side down and continue to roast for another 15 minutes. Flip again to breast-side up for another 5 minutes—1 hour total. Remove from oven. Test for doneness by piercing flesh of the leg with a knife tip. If juices run clear, it is done (or instant read thermometer inserted into thickest part of leg reads no higher than 165 degrees F). Do not overcook or breast will be dry; cook just until done.
Carve chicken into 8 to 10 pieces, and serve with the sweet and tart barbeque sauce described below.
Notes: For Chicken Under a Brick, use one baby chicken or Cornish hen per person, cut in half down the back, backbone removed, opened like a book and flattened. Season with same ingredients for roasted chicken above, bake skin-side down in very hot 475-degree F oven in preheated cast iron skillet, weighted down with a preheated tinfoil-covered brick which conducts heat quite well (be very careful to use oven gloves to handle). Thirty minutes should be enough time to cook the birds through.
My Famous (but don’t tell) Barbeque Sauce
This “no work” sauce keeps forever in the fridge and is always a big hit. Everybody loves it!
1 cup ketchup
1 cup “All Fruit” orange marmalade (I prefer the Polaner brand)
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup Dijon mustard
Combine all four ingredients in saucepan, mixing well.
Cook gently on stovetop over low heat, to prevent sputtering, for about 10 minutes.
Nothing else is needed for this perfect sauce.
Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach in White Wine Sauce
This is one of my favorite recipes, quite low in calories and easy to scale up for a crowd. I usually also throw in some shiitake mushrooms while sautéing the onions and leeks—not to sound too redundant or obsessive about my mushroom use.
With Love and Quiches Page 25