Grilling Neophyte

I've been traveling like a dog for the past two months. Hence the dearth of posts. Sorry about that and thanks for your patience. I think I'm back home for a bit so pledge to get back on the posting band wagon. So without further ado. . . .

One of my resolutions this year was to learn how to grill. While it may seem fairly innocuous to some, it's always intimidated me. I guess I've been of the opinion that the grill is part of the male domain. Right up there next to taking the trash out and putting up the Christmas lights. Yet I pride myself on being a Modern Woman so figured it was high time to face the grill-fearing music. And I will go ahead and acknowledge the fact that we're halfway through the year and I'm just now getting around to this resolution.

Santa Barbara has been living up to its June Gloom moniker this year, which means we get socked in by a cold, gray, misty marine layer until about 2 pm each day. You start the day off in jeans and a sweatshirt, but then find yourself donning a tank tank and flip flops in the afternoon to soak up the glorious rays of Vitamin D spilling forth from the vibrant blue sky. It's weather schizophrenia for sure. But the evenings are also epic weather for grilling. After being on the road so often of late, I've been hankering to get cooking again. And coming off a week of gluttony in Vegas, salads seem to be appropriate. I absolutely adore the late sunlight hours of summer, but the downside is that it can be creeping up on 8 o'clock at night before I start to think about dinner. Despite the hour last night, I felt inspired to uncover the grill and take a shot at grilling.

Of course I thought it wise to begin with the remedial chicken breast. I had earmarked a recipe for a grilled chicken Caesar salad which I'd been saving for such an occasion. I honestly wish someone had filmed the whole endeavor as it was quite humorous. I'm pretty sure I bought a very low-entry grill (which would be gas for you hardcore charcoal fundamentalists), however, I still felt completely incompetent trying to operate it. I can be a fairly inquisitive person, much to the annoyance of many, and have a deep need to always understand what I'm doing, so the whole time I'm asking questions out loud — to no one but myself, mind you:

"How many burners should be turned on to cook 3 chicken breasts? "

"Am I supposed to cook with the lid up or down?"

"I know, righty tighty, lefty loosey. But which direction is OFF for the gas?"

I kept expecting my dear neighbor, Chris, to hear my confusion, take pity on me and come to my rescue. I'm glad he didn't though. I will spare you the drama (rest assured I did figure out how to turn off the gas), but I survived. I actually did better than that. I'm quite proud to say the meal was delicious. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, the grilled romaine had an alluring smokiness, and the toasted garlic croutons could be habit forming. The dressing made it all come together. If you think you don't like anchovies, well you do! It's the perfect balance of salty, tangy and fresh. The simpler the dish, I think the more challenging it is to pull it off. Grilling all the components of this iconic dish really elevated it and made it seem special. It was also fast and easy, which is great when you start cooking dinner at 8 PM. And if you take away one thing from this entry, please try grilling romaine. It will make you rethink lettuce.

Even if my meal was beginner's luck, I have some newfound confidence about "cooking in a man's world." Hmm, what's next on the grilling docket? Would love to hear any favorite grilling recipes for minor leaguers.

I still hate taking the trash out though.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp herbs de Provence

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt

Pepper

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cloves garlic

2-4 anchovy fillets, chopped (Get Crown Prince flat anchovies in olive oil. They're the best!)

Juice of 1 lemon

4 1/2-inch thick slices of focaccia or French bread

4 romaine lettuce hearts, halved lengthwise

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, sliced with vegetable peeler

Directions

Place 1/4 cup of olive oil plus next 5 ingredients in a ziploc bag and add chicken breast. Let marinade for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill to medium high. Mix remaining 1/4 cup olive oil with 2 chopped garlic cloves and puree with anchovies and lemon juice in a blender until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

Grill chicken for approximately 7 minutes a side or until done. [That's the funny part of the directions coming from someone who knows nothing about grilling. That's how long I cooked it for and it was perfectly done but I feel the need to put out a disclaimer.]

Brush the romaine with 1-2 Tbsp of the dressing and grill until marked, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Brush the bread with olive oil on both sides and grill, turning until toasted, about 2 minutes. Rub with the remaining garlic clove. [If you're sensitive to garlic, then skip this or just rub it lightly over the bread.]

Chop the lettuce, bread and chicken and transfer to bowl. Toss with more dressing as desired, the parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

Keen-What?!

I think most people grew up with a fairly confined diet. Not confined in a boring sense, but more like normal or indicative of your family or region. What you eat seems ordinary . . . until you realize not everyone eats like that. As a child, I found it both alarming and exhilarating. Through the years, it's become an enlightening process for me, and one that I really enjoy. I've definitely become acquainted and even extremely fond of food that otherwise would've been absent in my life. And that would flat out be a crying shame.

Bagels for instance.

I can still recall vividly the first bite of a bagel I ever had. I was living in Panama (probably in 3rd grade) and had spent the night at the Healy's. While I was accustomed to biscuits at breakfast, they served up bagels. My mom was fairly fanatical about manners so I knew I could only say, "Thank you" upon being handed this odd doughnut-shaped roll. But I've always been a bread lover so immediately took a bite. And oh what a glorious moment that was as I savored the soft yet slightly chewy doughy goodness. My friend Suzanna poked me and said encouragingly, "It's even better if you put cream cheese and grape jelly on it!" I was thinking, "What? First you hand me this novel baked good and now you're throwing in cream cheese for goodness sakes?! What the heck is cream cheese?!" In short my parents were stunned when I came home and told them I wanted to start eating bagels with cream cheese for breakfast. This was coming from a girl who didn't want anything besides butter touching any bread — ever.

I was an admittedly picky eater as a child, but my parents always made us try at least one bite of everything. And I'm glad they did because I've definitely broadened my confined diet over the years as a result of their attitude. Although I absolutely adore many of my familiar foods (i.e. fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, fried oysters, fried . . . .), I equally love all the wonderful things I've now adopted into my standard fare. Balsamic vinegar, hummus, chorizo, edamame, couscous and quinoa, to name just a few.

Uh, quinoa? What the hell is that? That was pretty much my first response upon formal introduction. Well, that and wondering how on Earth do you pronounce it. It's one of those words like "toile," which rhymes with "y'all" and obviously completely rejects the whole phonetic spelling concept. I saw the word referenced in a vegetarian cooking magazine (which of course was not picked up until I moved to California) and assumed it was pronounced "quinn-owah." The locals here had a heyday with that one. It turns out it's pronounced "keen-whah." I was like, "Whatever, you hippies. My fried chicken can kick your tofu's ass any day."

My ego has recovered now, and I must say I heart quinoa. It's super versatile, quick cooking, fail-proof and extremely healthy. I love it so much, I even buy huge bags of it at Costco. But most of all, I love it because it tastes and feels like you're carb loading when you're really protein packing. Quinoa is actually a protein-rich seed (once considered sacred by the Incas) and cousin to leafy greens like swiss chard and spinach.

So what can you do with it? Basically use it anyway you'd use rice or couscous. It lends itself well to being "doctored up." You can make a southwestern rift (with black beans, corn and cilantro), a Mediterranean version (with sun-dried tomatoes, chick peas, and broccoli) an Asian spin (with mushrooms, bok choy, ginger) . . . I think you get my drift. My new favorite recipe follows. It's the perfect picnic dish! And got many rave reviews from several quinoa virgins yesterday. Try it in the name of diet expansion. You'll like it. You'll wonder how you could've managed without quinoa for so long.

I'm still working on vegamite though.

P.S. I forgot to take photos so this is courtesy of Marina, our picnic host.

Greek-Style Quinoa with Grilled Shrimp

adapted from Fitness magazine

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, shelled and cleaned

6 Tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup Kalamata olives, halved or quartered

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 large shallot, chopped

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped

4 oz feta, crumbled

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

Directions

Place shrimp, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper in a bowl.

Bring 2 cups water to a bowl in a 2 qt pot and add quinoa. Return to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook quinoa, covered, for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining clove garlic, shallots and bell pepper. Saute until soft, approximately 5 - 7 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl.

Add tomatoes, cut side up, in the same skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until starting to char. Add them to the large bowl, along with chopped olives, feta, mint and parsley. Mix in quinoa.

Heat a grill pan on high heat and then add shrimp (without marinade). Cook 2 minutes on one side or until shrimp is starting to get opaque and then flip. Cook additional minute and remove from heat. Add to the quinoa mix. You may want to cut shrimp in half before adding.

Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil and lemon juice. Can be served warm, cold or at room temperature. Keeps in the refrigerator for several days. Yields: 6 servings.

Chicken, Steak and Chocolate Cake

Chicken, Steak and Chocolate Cake.

That's what I had for dinner last night. The awesome part of that is that it's one dish. Not in a gross I'm-going-to-pile-every-item-from-a-giant-buffet-on-my-plate-at-once-way but in a lovely segregated fashion.

And you had such an encouraging reminder to save room for dessert. And what a dessert. It was one of the richest, most decadent pieces of chocolate cake to touch my taste buds. It should have had a name like Death by Chocolate or Chocoholic's Ecstasy. Anyway, the whole meal was decadent . . . a 1:1 ratio of spud to fat for the mashed potatoes, bacon-wrapped filet, chicken sauced with beurre blanc. Definitely what the doctor ordered for a night out with the girls.

The late night pizza, unfortunately, was not of the same caliber, but that didn't stop me from eating it at 2 am.

Happy Memorial Day!

In the Diminutive

There's something strangely bewitching to me about really tiny things. I recall devouring The Littles book series as a kid, drawn to their little world. Thumbalina? Loved her and her walnut shell bed. One of my favorite pastimes was playing with my dollhouse. You see, Barbies were too big.

My dollhouse was beautiful, a two-story masterpiece. It was handmade by an old carpenter in Kansas City. It was a gift for my fourth birthday and the last dollhouse he ever built, as he died shortly after he completed mine. That dollhouse was the center of much of the entertainment in my childhood. I would play with it for hours and hours, but there are other funny memories, including a broken window from an unauthorized game of indoor baseball and a Playboy stashed by the neighborhood kids under the removable roof.

I still have it. The dollhouse, I mean. Well, it's at my parent's house in South Carolina and my niece now plays with it. But each time I'm back for a visit and walk by the dollhouse, I find myself drawn to it. I kneel down, open up one of the petite doors and feel pure wonderment pulsing through my veins. There are so many captivating — and tiny — delights inside. I was particularly fond of the kitchen and dining room areas, endlessly organizing the canned goods in the pantry or setting the table for a formal dinner party. Upon reflection, I guess I was a bit of a foodie even when I was four.

It makes sense that this enchantment with all things miniature has transferred to the food world as well. I mean what is cuter than baby corn? Well, I can tell you. It's baby carrots. Not the machine-formed orange nubs we get in the grocery store, but authentically diminutive carrots. I saw a bunch at the Farmers Market last weekend and couldn't resist snapping them up. All these recipe ideas began jumping through my mind. I wanted to showcase these beauties though. In the end, a simple roasted dish won out and I must say did one fine job of presenting these Lilliputian veggies. While they may be small in stature, they're big on flavor and simply irresistible.

Roasted Baby Carrots with Za'atar

by Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh baby carrots

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

2 tsp za'atar (create your own with 1/3 cup dried thyme and 3 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds)

3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 lemon, juiced

Directions

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Toss carrots with olive oil to coat lightly and salt and pepper. Roast until browned, 15 - 20 minutes. Toss with za'atar, parsley and lemon juice and serve. Yields: Serves 4 as a side dish.

Spring Has (Re)Sprung!

A perfect Spring day? That would be today.

After a rainy and downright cold Easter of 63 degrees, today's upper 70s, blue skies and glorious sun were definitely celebrated. Everyone — kids, adults, animals, and even the ice cream man — was out and about just soaking it up.

The only issue was that it was nearly impossible to work inside. I found a nice, sunny spot on my patio and meticulously read a 248-page market research report on laparoscopic surgery trends, when normally I would've scanned maybe 40 pages of from my desktop (most likely while multi-tasking on a conference call). Oh well, I got some soul-lifting Vitamin D in addition to a keen knowledge of the compounded annual growth rate and market drivers for laparoscopic bowel resections through 2014. For the denouement, I thought it only fitting to eat something very Spring-like for dinner.

I suffer from a terrible condition called "recipe ripping," which means I'm constantly ripping recipes out of the dozen of cooking magazines I subscribe to each month. While that in of itself is not terrible, it's the fact that the clipped recipes go into a big, fat stack of recipe rippings which then accumulate for months, even years, begging to be cooked. Luckily I possess a bizarre talent of recalling many of the recipes I pull. So today, I was like, "Hey, I think I remember a recipe for a chicken, green bean, corn and farro salad with goat cheese that sounds perfect for today." Sadly I must confess my pseudo-photographic memory is not good for remembering cerebral data like the periodic table or how to conjugate Spanish verbs in the subjunctive tense. No, no, it's limited to recipes, what I was wearing when, and song lyrics.

The good news is that when I go looking for a recipe, I only have to look in one place — even though it may take me an hour to thumb through my entire stack of ripped recipes. Eventually I found said salad and was pleased to further my time outside of the office by running to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients. The salad actually comes together really rather effortlessly, although farro takes at least 30 minutes to cook. But you're getting a bonus whole grain that's packed with protein, fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C and E. And oh how I love foods that make me feel like I'm eating carbs when I'm really eating protein.

The end-product really did capture the essence of Spring. The tender, succulent roasted chicken (can I get an Amen for ready-to-buy rotisserie chicken?!), the crispy green beans, the sweet, crunchy, raw corn, the nutty, chewy farro, and the tangy marjoram-mustard vinaigrette to pull it all together. But of course, we all need a smidge of indulgence in a salad no matter what the weather's like. The crumbled goat cheese really adds a dose of pizzaz and creaminess that elevates the salad to a main course star.

All I can say is don't be like me and wait a year to make this delicious, healthy, Spring-worthy salad. It definitely deserves to be on the "must make now" list.

Chicken, Green Bean, Corn and Farro Salad with Goat Cheese

from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1/2 cup semi-pearled farro or spelt berries

8 - 12 oz rotisserie chicken, shredded

12 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 2 to 3 ears of corn)

3 green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1 Tbsp fresh marjoram, minced

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp coarse salt

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp shallots, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)

Directions

Cook farro in medium saucepan of boiling water until just tender, approximately 25 - 30 minutes. Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, cook green beans in large saucepan of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes (or cook in the microwave about 2 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer beans to a kitchen towel and pat dry. Mix farro, chicken and green beans in a large bowl; add corn and green onions.

Combine olive oil, marjoram and 1/2 tsp coarse salt in small bowl. Press with back of spoon to release flavor. Whisk in vinegar, shallot and mustard. Pour over salad in bowl and toss to coat. Fold in goat cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Yields: 4 servings

Note: Farro may not be found in your standard grocery store — unless you live in California. : ) Try a health foods store, Whole Foods, or you can get some online here (seriously, what can't you buy on Amazon these days?!). This salad can be made 1 day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.

2nd Annual Easter Peeps Regatta

Easter means many things to me. There is the ushering in of warmer days, tulips, dyed eggs, chocolate bunnies and . . . the annual Peeps Regatta!

Despite the cool, gray weather, a small group gathered for an Easter brunch and the 2nd Annual Peeps Regatta.

Last year's winner, Sam, was not there to defend his title, so it was anyone's game. Even though it was a breezy day, the winds didn't seem to translate into a significant pool current, so Bret graciously offered to "aid" the competitors by swirling the water with the pool net. Even still, the peeps were off to a rather slow pace with a few peeps even grossly off-course, hanging out in the middle of the pool.

In the end, the winning trophy went to the Samantha. Although a rookie, she didn't seem intimidated by her older competitors.

For the rest of us, we've got an entire year to work out our strategy for the next regatta. And we can now confidently rule out adding toothpicks or jelly beans to your peep as a winning tactic.

Rugelach Virgin

I don't know where you stand on jelly-filled doughnuts, but I'm firmly on the "not down with it" side. Jelly-filled danish? Don't get it. I mean, wouldn't you just rather have a croissant? In fact the only place I think jelly should really be found is on toast. Or I used to. Until I discovered rugelach. I know that sounds so random (as if the opening declaration didn't already).

I'm definitely not a seasoned rugelach eater. Actually, I think I was a rugelach virgin until I made some for a recent Oscar party. I needed something "Jewish" and matzo ball soup wasn't calling my name so I found a recipe for rugelach. Even though I don't like jelly-filled stuff, I've ben known to make dishes I won't eat for parties, especially if it's in keeping with a theme. That's right, I'd rather go hungry than stray from a theme. It's a ridiculous affliction, I know. Anywho. . . I went through the motions of making the cream-cheese pastry for the rugelach and shook my head thinking, "What's wrong with people that makes them want to eat pastry stuffed with jelly?!"

I believe there are many variations on rugelach filling, but I decided to go with the straightforward apricot jelly, golden raisins and chopped walnuts, mainly because I had all of those ingredients on hand. I found a very handy tip on Food Network for cutting and rolling the dough, which smacked of cutting pizza, my very favorite food, which made the process quite fun. And since I don't possess the patience or confidence to attack a complicated dessert, anything fast and simple gets high marks in my book. OK, it does require you to chill your dough in advance but even the making of the dough was very elementary. It's like pastry for dummies. No measuring grams of ingredients or use of a kitchen scale. And did I mention you douse the jelly-filled rugelach in cinnamon sugar before baking? I figured it's like soy sauce and sushi. Use enough of it and it'll mask anything undesirable you're trying to ingest.

But now I have to eat crow because those darn jelly-filled rugelach were delicious! I found the fluffy little sweet and crunchy packets just delightful. I must have thrown back at least half a dozen as I attempted to get them onto a serving platter. I think they'd be a wonderful addition to an Easter brunch menu if you're hosting or attending one this weekend.

So for the record I must agree that jelly belongs on more places than toast. Although I wouldn't hold your breath to see me eat a danish anytime soon. I still have my jelly limits!

Rugelach

By Gourmet

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup plus 4 tsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup apricot preserves

1 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped

1 1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Milk for brushing cookies

Directions

Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl in an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and cut into four disks, each approximately 4 - 5 inches, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, 8 - 24 hours.

Put over rack in middle position and preheat over to 350 degrees. Line bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take one ball of dough at a time and roll out into a 10 - 12 inch circle, like a pizza crust. [Note: I had to let the dough soften slightly before I could really start to handle it but it can get soft quickly so beware.] Spread 1/4 of the jam onto the dough with an off-set spatula, then sprinkle with nuts and raisins. Finish with a good sprinkle of cinnamon sugar (at least 2 Tbsp for each batch).

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough like spokes of a wheel into 12 portions. Starting from the outside, roll each wedge or "slice" inward like a crescent. Curve slightly and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet . Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, depending of the size of each piece. Remove pieces to cooling rack. Yields: 45 - 60 pieces, but I halved recipe as written with no problem.