Creme Fraiche Potato Salad with Garlic Spears and Pancetta
As you already know: I hate despise mayonnaise. The texture. The flavor. The consistency. Therefore, my entire life has been spent avoiding delicious foods such as potato salad, California Rolls, Salmon with aioli, or tuna salad sandwiches (well, actually ANY sandwich that mayonnaise has touched).
It is a despairing situation, but mayonnaise has RUINED the first twenty-something years of my life. It has inundated foods that I should love, but can’t because they are coated with that nasty substance. Well, I think I have found a solution for all the mayonnaise haters out there. Read the rest of this entry »
Ozette Potato Salad
Now you all know I hate mayonnaise. Well, this is the predicament. There is no good “mayo-less” potato salad. I mean, there IS potato salad without mayonnaise, but it is not considered the authentic breed. Well, potato salad enthusiasts can unite! I am actually making a potato salad with mayonnaise. But, I can’t guarantee I am going to like it.
I used my Molly’s Homemade Mayonnaise for this recipe. I think if the mayo had actually turned out the consistency it was supposed to be, then the potato salad would not have been as coated with liquid. It would have held together triumphantly like a bond between two sisters. The baby yukon and the homemade mayonnaise. Read the rest of this entry »
Celeriac Potato Puree with Truffle Oil
We are back! Did you miss me?
We had the most amazing time in Amsterdam bicycling through the city, eating dutch cheese toasties on benches looking over canals, watching families caravan on tandem bikes with groceries in tow, and visiting some of the most beautiful museums I have ever experienced.
Erik and I, however, are horribly jet-lagged. Our trip was smooth on the way there. We arrived on December 31, and we were so excited to ring in the New Year with our best friends that we hardly even thought about our exhaustion. Yet, when we arrived home on Saturday, both of us were passed out by 6pm and woke up at 4am. It has been a similar pattern ever since.
I was so excited to get back into my kitchen. I hardly cooked in Amsterdam, but I have to say, I was inspired many times, which you will be seeing in the coming posts. One of my favorite moments was when my best friend Drew ordered a mint tea (thee), she was always given a glass of hot water stuffed full of fresh mint leaves! It was very impressive.
While I was in Amsterdam, my friend Holly decided to start the beginning of 2009 by getting all of her foodie buddies together to start a monthly cooking club. This month’s theme was France. This is what I came up with….
Summer Corn Chowder with Crispy Bacon
It officially feels like summer is coming to an end, and fall is sneaking up on us. It does not have to do with the temperature (it has been a solid 70 for about a week in Seattle), but there is a crispness in the air that was not there before. The sun is slowly setting faster each day, and those summer vegetables seen displayed ubiquitously in the grocery store have taken a back seat.
Summer is also over for me as it pertains to work. I have one more weekend left until the start of the new year. I start performing in two weeks and before you know it, Nutcracker will be upon us.
But back to the summer chowder….
This was an excellent example of a summer soup. Zucchini, corn, leek, and potatoes complimented each other beautifully in a creamy, but light chowder.
Market Salad with Spiced Goat Cheese
I know what you are thinking…ANOTHER salad. But, I am headed to Vail, Colorado for a Dance Festival with my company on Saturday. And, after only being back for two weeks with five weeks off, light dinners are a must.
Dancing in Vail, which is at an elevation off 8000 feet is much harder than dancing in Seattle. You lose your breath faster, and your muscles just don’t feel the same. Luckily, we have all been there before, so our company knows a little more of what to expect this time around. Last year, there was a girl who fainted, everyone had to take lots of oxygen supplements, and you didn’t see a person without a water bottle in had. This year, I am nervous because one of the ballets we do, Concerto Barroco, never leaves the stage. So, if you can’t catch your breath, you have to wait until the ballet is over. Twenty minutes. Scary.
At first, when I read this recipe off of Epicurious it made me a little curious. Spiced goat cheese and steamed potatoes. Sounds BORING, right. But, it got amazing reviews! It is loaded with ingredients which makes for interesting flavor combinations with every bite.
Turkey Meatloaf with Smashed Red Potatoes
This meatloaf is dedicated to my best friend, Drew. She also happens to be the wife of my husband’s best friend. Are you still with me?
Best friend is actually an understatement. Drew is more like my long lost sibling. Someone who I believe I was destined to be friends with. My children will only know her as Aunt Drewey.
She introduced this meatloaf to me on the wildest Valentine’s Day I have ever had. 2008. We drank too much wine. We shaped our meatloaf into a heart.
Drew, as promised, here is your meatloaf.
Truffle Potato Mash with Mascarpone
I am always looking for the ultimate mashed potatoes. I don’t eat them often, but when I do, they have to be amazing! Well…I think I have potentially found the recipe. This is from my May 2008 edition of Bon Appetit. I actually made almost the entire menu from “The Italian Job” section of the magazine. I tried the “Peas with Onions and Guanciale” (to blog about later), and the “Pancetta Roast Chicken with Walnut Stuffing”. It was all excellent!
What makes these potatoes special is the truffle oil. I was first introduced to truffle oil at a restaurant in Seattle called Bricco. They inspired me to make my white truffle polenta. Truffle oil has a unique flavor that almost cannot even be described. You just have to try it! It is one of my favorite flavors (and I am generally NOT a mushroom fan). It is BEYOND expensive, but luckily, it will last forever because you only use a teaspoon at a time. Don’t let the outrageous cost scare you.
Irish Beef Stew
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, even though I am only part Scots-Irish, and because I am not in “opening night” of our current rep, I decided to make beef stew. I say that, because this recipe takes a couple of hours, but it is well worth the effort.
When I was researching recipes for an Irish stew, I was given many options. I could chose beef or lamb (I chose beef), a wide array of vegetables (I decided on some traditional, and some untraditional), and the use of a braising method. Braising is cooking with moist heat. The more common methods of braising use beef or chicken stock, canned tomatoes, or some sort of wine. However, I kept running across stew recipes where the braising method used a can of Guinness beer. So, I HAD to try it!
Also, making a giant stew also means LEFTOVERS! Which is great when I am performing.
