Persimmon Month Celebration Salad

This picture of the front of my house, taken just a couple of days ago, shows Fall in all its colorful glory.  Trees are in full-color throughout my neighborhood, about a mile or so from the Pacific ocean.  Yes, Virginia, there are seasons in Southern California.

These vivid, warm, bright colors are the inspiration for a little salad that represents the seasons best fruits and veggies and some of my favorite flavors, with a couple of extra seasonal twists.  A perfect dish to bring to a post-post Thanksgiving gathering at cousin Sherri's on Saturday, or maybe to somewhere you're going this weekend to celebrate Persimmon Month.

Take a look around you - there are colors and flavors everywhere to inspire your own culinary creativity.

Fall Harvest Salad
1 cup cubed Korean pears
1 cup cubed Fuyu persimmons
1 cup cubed, steamed, peeled Baby Beets

1 cup cubed red cabbage                                              
1 cup cubed green cabbage
1/3 cup diced scallions
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup toasted pepitas

dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sparkling apple cider
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
S&P

1.  Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
2.  Mix all the fruits and veggies together.
3.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
4.  Sprinkle the gorgonzola and pepitas on the salad, lightly toss again, and serve.


If you'd like more info on the season's best produce visit www.melissas.com.
 

Tempura Fruit - Thanks So Much

Need a little break from Thanksgiving preparations, shopping, cooking, etc.?  Well here's an idea for something seasonal and simple.  Seriously, you must read this post and make this recipe, I'm not kidding.

So, right now I have a case of Melissa's Korean Pears because 1) it's Korean Pear season, 2) they're crisp & juicy, unusual yet familiar at the same time, and 3) ginormous in size means more fruit per square inch.  The fact that I'm a consultant for the company is beside the point because 1) their products are really the best and 2) they're my friends and that's what friends are for.

What to do with my bounty of Korean Pears?  For a long time I've thought about making fruit tempura and these KP's practically screamed out "core now, slice into 1/4" thick rings, coat in tempura batter, fry in grapeseed oil, drain on paper towels, and start eating you fool".  Luckily I also had a box of Kikkoman Tempura Batter Mix Japanese Style Extra Crispy from my friend Helen who is the test kitchen and development chef for that company.

In no time the batter was made, the oil was hot, the KP's were sliced into rings (skin on) and the tempura train was ready to leave the station.  You will want to eat a ring or two au naturale, but try one or two sprinkled

Mysteries and Morsels

Mystery stories are favorites of mine, in books, movies, and live performances too.  Last Friday night my friend Cynthia and I drove (very slowly on the 405 of course) out to North Hollywood to see "And Then There Were None", Agatha's Christies 'Ten Little Indians' story, set on a secluded island in a mysterious mansion..  http://www.thegrouprep.com/ 

Lots of "curtains" in this play as the cast starts dropping one after the other, with suspense, humor, and production quality far exceeding the little theater and only one very stylish set.  Only 2 weekends left, so catch it if you can, or look for a play that interests you in your neck of the woods and you'll probably get more than your money's worth - we definitely did.

http://www.bigmamaspizza.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Before the play we went to Big Mama's and Papa's Pizza in Burbank and had their amazing Khachapouri, aka Egg Gondola Pizza.  Their regular pizza and Greek salad were also delicious.  Worth the drive or put it on your list of places to go next time you're in the Valley. 

On Saturday I participated in another Santa Monica Food Swap at Palisades Park  https://www.facebook.com/SantaMonicaFoodSwap.  It was a beautiful day to be ocean side with fellow foodies sharing recipe ideas, restaurant recommendations, and the other delicious things that come up when friendly people who love food get together.  This time I brought some Quince Butter with Cinnamon & Rose Water, and Fatima's Date & Almond Truffles from a recipe by my friend, cookbook author Kitty Morse  http://www.kittymorse.com/about-me.  These sweet morsels resemble their chocolate counterparts but are made from dates, almonds, honey, orange blossom water, cinnamon, and toasted coconut, and one bite will transport your taste buds  to an exotic, mysterious place.

Hope your weekends are filled with good fun and great food!

All Pumpkins Great and small

http://greenhalloween.org/blog/?attachment_id=2799

Fall's iconic orange pumpkin takes us gastronomically and ornamentally from Halloween through Thanksgiving.  Botanically a fruit, in the same family as squash and gourds, millions of pumpkins planted in the warmth of July are now ready for us to have our way with them.

California is one of the top pumpkin producing states in the U.S., and in Half Moon Bay up the coast, the annual Art & Pumpkin Festival draws over 250,000 visitors.  Farmers and other competitive food cultivators from near and far compete for bragging rights, and this year's winning orb weighed in at 1,704 pounds.  http://www.miramarevents.com/weighoff/weighoff.html

Another way that sizes matters is that small pumpkins are best for cooking and larger pumpkins are best for carving.  Baked, steamed, boiled, broiled, roasted, or mashed, the mild, slightly sweet pumpkin flesh is a tasty addition to puddings, muffins, soups, stews, cookies, cheesecakes, and of course pie.  To make a puree, cut the pumpkin open, remove the fibrous strings and seeds (set these aside to roast), cut the pumpkin into 4-8 pieces and place on a baking pan lined with foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours until the flesh is soft, then allow to cool until the flesh can easily be scooped from the rind and then process until smooth.

One of my favorite seasonal recipes is for Pumpkin and Sage Gnocchi and I'm sharing a version of it with you here.  I cannot tell a lie - I was too lazy to make my own pumpkin puree, and my local grocery store was out of canned pumpkin, so I used a box of frozen butternut squash, and if I hadn't confessed that fact no one would have been able to tell the difference. 

Fresh Pumpkin or Frozen Butternut Squash and Sage Gnocchi
1 lb. ricotta cheese
8 oz. pumpkin or butternut squash puree
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs
2 tsp. sea salt
2 pinches fresh ground black pepper
3 cups all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. earth balance or butter
1 extra Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pepitas http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Peptias---Raw-Pumpkin-Seeds.aspx

In a medium sized bowl combine the ricotta, pumpkin (oops I mean butternut squash), maple syrup, sage, parsley, eggs, salt and pepper, and blend together.

Put the flour in a separate bowl, create a well in the center, and fill it with the liquid mixture.  Fold together until a dough is formed - if slightly sticky add a bit more flour.

Take an amount of dough about the size of a tennis ball and using both hands roll the ball out into a cylinder shape about 3/4" in diameter.  With a sharp knife but the cylinder into 1" pieces, imprint 1 side with the back of a fork, set aside the finished gnocchi, and repeat with the remaining dough.  Stage the gnocchi on a parchment lined baking sheet lightly dusted with flour and keep covered until ready for cooking.

Fill a large pot with water, add a pinch or 2 of salt, and bring to a boil.  Add 15-20 gnocchi into the water and remove after the gnocchi float to the top.  Remove them from the boiling water and repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. 

Heat the olive oil and butter in a saute pan, adding the additional fresh sage, then enough gnocchi to fill the pan.  Saute until the gnocchi are lightly browned, season with additional s&p, divide onto plates, sprinkle with the Parmesan and pepitas, and serve.

Buddha's Hand - You Had Me At Longevity

One of the coolest things about working for the greatest produce company in the world (http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Buddha-s-Hand.aspx) is that my culinary creativity is constantly challenged to come up with delicious, unique ways to use some of Mother Nature's most extraordinary fruits and vegetables. 

A fairly new item is Green Buddha's Hand, sibling to the Yellow Buddha's Hand which has been seen in these parts for a few years now.  Originally from northeastern India and carried by Buddhist Monks to China, this remarkable looking and unbelievably fragrant fruit now also grows right here in coastal California.

Don't let the gnarly "fingers" scare you off from this most unusual fruit.  While this is definitely not your mama's citron - no actual fruit or juice inside - it's the amazing zest and peel that is used in baking, flavoring spirits, and pretty much added to anything where a citrus-flavor and scent would be welcome, that makes this fruit so highly treasured..

Buddha's Hand offers not only wonderful flavor and fragrance, but it's prized in many cultures as a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, happiness, and longevity.  Lots of reasons to get out some bottles and canning jars to whip up a couple of simple recipes to share some good fortune.





Two Hands - Two Recipes!


Buddha's Hand Vodka 

1 Buddha's Hand                                                   
vodka
medium sized glass bottles (about 12 oz. size)

Cut strips of the Buddha's Hand skin - some pith is fine because it's usually not bitter like lemons.
Put about 6-7 strips in each bottle, fill with vodka, then close up the bottles.
Store for at least 1 month in a cool, dark place.
Make these soon so they'll be ready for holiday gift giving.

Buddha's Hand Marmalade
(3 half-pint jars)
1 Buddha's Hand
4 cups water
3 cups sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Dice the Buddha's hand skin and a little pith.  Place in a heavy pot with the water and let soak at least 1 hour.
Turn on the burner to high heat until the mixture is boiling.  Continue boiling for 30 minutes. 
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.  Boil gently for an additional 45 minutes.
Add the lemon juice to the mixture and continue boiling another 10 minutes.
Fill sterilized jars with the mixtures, seal, and place in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove to your counter and let sit overnight. 
   
I'm thinking that I should have left more pith on the peel, or added some conventional citrus because the concoction is on the runny side so not so much the consistency for spreading on a scone.  But I know it will make a delicious glaze or syrup, and I can confirm it was delicious in my Earl Grey this morning.




  

Easiest Jam Recipe Ever

Last Sunday my alarm went off because I didn't want to miss the "Preserve It!" demos at the Good Food Festival in Santa Monica.  Like always, I hit the snooze button, snoozed some more, hit the button again, snoozed some more, then turned off the alarm altogether and thought fugetaboutit I'm going to keep snoozing.  But then something amazing happened.  I woke up on my own, and since there was still time to brush off the dust, hop in the car, and get to the Fest, that's just what I did.  And boy am I glad I did and now you will be too.

Valerie with Steamin' Jam

The first demo was by Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections.  Famous for her chocolates, and her baked goods, Valerie is doing the same thing with jams. While I've made jams and pickled veggies, I needed an infusion of inspiration to get my big beautiful blue canning pot out of the pantry and onto the stove.  To my good fortune, Valerie demo'd the easiest jam recipe ever to remind me how simple it is.

Example Pot of Jam

How simple could it be?  Well, what about 5 pounds of plums (no peeling required), 2 pints of blackberries (my idea), and 3 1/2 cups of sugar.  Cube the plums, put everything in a largish, heavyish pot, and cook on medium heat about 30 minutes to start to break down the fruit, then cook another 20-30 minutes on high heat to jam it all up.

While this is happening, fill a really large pot with water, so the water will cover the jars with at least 2" of headroom, until the water is boiling.  Also be sure you have a rack or steamer basket for the bottom of the pot, to lift the jars off the bottom when processing, allowing the boiling water to surround the jars.

Take your new canning jars (you'll need 8 half-pints), lids, and rings, and wash them in hot, soapy water.  Then put the jars only in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, remove to your towel covered counter, and dry these off.

Ladle the jam into each jar, leaving about 1/4" at the top, wipe the rim clean, then put on the lid and ring and twist shut.  Put the jars in the rack or lower the jars onto the steamer basket in the boiling water.  This is where a jar lifter would really come in handy, but if you don't have one, carefully use tongs.  Leave the jars in the boiling water for 20 minutes, then even more carefully remove them from the pot and onto the towel covered counter.  Gently wipe any remaining water off the jars and leave on the counter overnight.

Within just a few minutes of placing your jars on the counter you will hear this little ping.  Then another one, and so on.  That's the sound of your jam saying good job.  One last thing is the next day use your thumb to push on the lid and when nothing happens - Congratulations, you have just made your very own, homemade, easiest jam ever plum & blackberry jam.  Not only is this a great jam for putting over a schmear of goat cheese on an English muffin, but it's very tasty with vanilla ice cream, and I'm sure you will find many other ways to use this tart, tasty, fruit, easy jam.  Yes we can!

You Gotta Serve Somebody This Salad

Once a month my food blogger group meets to brainstorm and chow down on a potluck of blogging quality dishes.  In other words, food must taste great and must look great because there will be lots of lips smacking and cameras flashing.  Just a little pressure I must say.  So I look high and low for inspiration and with the sweet and/or savory stars aligned, I got my idea...

Since I'm very partial to salads in general, and salads including potatoes in particular, and because Rosh Hoshanah is right around the corner, and one of my mother's staple Jewish holiday salads takes potatoes then adds beets, onions, and hard boiled eggs to a Moroccan inspired, Russian influenced palate pleasing place, I have my recipe well underway.  To make it my own, I substitute shallots for onions (more delicate I think), and for a twist on the traditional vinaigrette I use cream style horseradish instead of mustard.  Lots of chopped parsley sprinkled on top brings the salad to life and there's nothing left to do but dig in.

At the FBLA meeting, thanks to the generosity of Melissa's Produce Company www.melissas.com, I was able to give each blogger a bag of Dutch yellow potatoes, a jar of cream-style horseradish, a package of ready-to-eat beets, and a small bag of shallots.  With my salad as inspiration, I'm hoping that other recipes using all or any of these items will be created and shared in the blogosphere soon.

P.S.  Thanks to my blogger friends for inspiring me to keep on bloggin'!


Jewish Holiday Potato & Beet Salad
1 lb. Dutch yellow potatoes

1 pkg. steamed-peeled beets, cubed                                           
2 eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1-2 shallots, diced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. beet juice
3 Tbsp. cream-style horseradish
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce or spinach or arugula or whatever you like
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Steam potatoes about 15 minutes.  Let cool enough to handle then cut into cubes.

To make the dressing, whisk the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, beet juice, and cream-style horseradish together.  Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Set aside for just a little while.

Line the bottom of a large serving bowl with the greens of your choice.  Put the potato cubes on top of the greens.  Put the cubed beets on top of the potatoes.  Put the chopped eggs on top of the beets.  Put the diced shallots on top of the eggs.  Sprinkle the chopped parsley over everything.  Pour as much dressing as you like over the salad.  Let everyone see how fantastic it looks.  Now you can toss it and serve.


Variations:  Add capers or celery or olives (black or green) or cilantro or pine nuts or pepitas or whatever you like.  Actually the Russian version usually has carrots but I thought that would be too sweet for me.