Cinco de Mayo is one of those strange holidays where the original meaning (Battle against the French? Ring a bell?) is completely forgotten by most of the people celebrating. I could be wrong, but I would hazard a guess that for many Americans, Cinco de Mayo is just an excuse to indulge in tacos, burritos and nachos, preferably washed down with some cheap beer or cheaper margaritas.

As an Angeleno, I don’t need an annual holiday as an excuse to eat Mexican food. We have a vibrant and thriving Mexican and Mexican-American community, and, while tacos and burritos are a regular part of life, I also know that the cuisine goes far beyond them. Mexican cuisine, like any other cuisine, is a changing entity, open to improvisation and inspiration.

This salsa is the perfect example. I make no pretenses that this is based on some autentico salsa especiale I tasted in a tiny cafe in Zihuatanejo. In fact, this recipe is based entirely on a pineapple I had in my refrigerator that was quickly getting a little too ripe (shopping with a 4 year old means you come home with lots of produce and few plans). But it makes use of the Mexican flavors and produce I find all over southern California — the sweet acidity of pineapple matched by savory onions, chiles and cilantro, all mellowed by avocado and enlivened with the crunch of jicama. (If you’ve never had jicama, it’s a great ingredient. Resembling a large pale brown turnip, it’s a juicy root vegetable that’s very faintly sweet and has a terrific crunch not unlike a water chestnut.)
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© Kate for Savour Fare, 2012. | Permalink |
Post tags: healthy, mexican, Vegetarian, weeknight

Mother’s Day is coming up soon, and shortly afterwards, my own role in motherhood is going to be expanding (hopefully, in an inverse ratio to my waistline, which has already expanded plenty), so you could say I have mothers on the brain. All of this makes me appreciate my own mother more and more. Which is not surprising, because my mom is awesome sauce.

My mother is the most shockingly competent person I have ever met in my life. Sure, there are really smart people. And sure, there are kickass homemakers. And sure, there are independent women. But my mom manages to combine all of those and make it seem easy. She’s worked full time since before I was born, is a distinguished professor at her academic institution, and has written at least six books (I’ve lost count) and dozens of scholarly articles, all of which make her an expert in her field. Does that mean we ate takeout Chinese food every night through my childhood? Of course not. She’s a terrific cook. My mother makes the world’s best fried chicken, the world’s best Caesar salad, and the world’s best cabbage rolls. She sews (she made both my prom dress and my wedding dress), does projects around the house (paints, wallpapers, rebuilds decks), and travels around the world (this summer will be spent in Oxford, touring wool churches and doing research). She also spends a ton of time with the Nuni, and does my dishes every time she visits my house (which is fairly often, as I was smart enough to buy a house two minutes away from hers.)

So yeah, my mom? She’s pretty much the bomb.
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Read the rest of Roasted Garlic, Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Canapes, or Why My Mom is Awesome Sauce (373 words)

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2012. | Permalink |
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I sometimes feel like I’m running perpetually behind. Is it 5:00 already? Is it February already? How am I suddenly six months pregnant? Remember that vacation we took to Paris last July? I never shared it with all of you because I just finished editing my photos in DECEMBER. Expect a post in about April.

The nice thing about being behind on things is that reminders can feel like discoveries. When editing my Paris photos, I found the pictures I took at a wonderful meal we ate in the Latin quarter at Bistro y Papilles. Located in a small wine store, with a different set menu every night, it was the kind of wonderful meals that makes you feel like you’re really in Paris. The menu that night started with a velvety cauliflower soup, served at the table in a big tureen. We were presented with shallow soup bowls that were garnished with a “salad” with lardons, croutons, cauliflower, herbs and creme fraiche, and the hot soup was ladled over the salad. All the garnishes brought a wonderful textural contrast to the soup, and it was one of the best things we ate that week.

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Read the rest of French Cauliflower Soup with Bacon and Herb Garnish (381 words)

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2012. | Permalink |
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I like Halloween, I do. Costumes and candy and creepy crawlies are all lovely. But when the calendar turns to November, my heart starts to beat a little faster. We’re into my favorite time of year — the Holidays, Thanksgiving and Hanukah and Advent and Christmas and New Year. A time when my kitchen is filled with warmth and laughter and the smell of wonderful foods cooking and baking. And a time when our focus turns on gathering — with friends and with family, to warm up this dark time of the year.

With all the holiday entertaining, it’s nice to have a couple of good appetizers up your sleeve — something that can be served to guests or brought along to a party. Something that can liven up a meal of leftovers, or even make for lunch on the day when a festive dinner is taking up your attention. This chicken liver mousse is one of my absolute favorites. It can (should) be made ahead, is just decadent enough, and is cheap to make. I buy organic, air-chilled chicken livers at Whole Foods (because they always have them) and they cost $1.50 for the whole recipe’s worth.

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it 100% belongs to Michel Richard, who is one of those great chefs (at least based on this recipe, my favorite from his cookbook). The technique is a little eyebrow-lifting — pureeing raw livers is probably more worthy of Halloween than the Holidays, but the absolutely smooth and creamy results are worth it. Richard calls this “faux-gras” because the texture and richness is reminiscent of foie gras, and he’s right on the money. Foie Gras for the 99%, for Californians after the ban takes effect. Try it — I suspect it will become a mainstay for you, too.

Recipe
Chicken Liver Mousse
The surface of the mousse turns a funky gray color when you cook it. Richard includes a recipe for a parsley gelee to top it with, but I never get around to making it, and nobody really cares about it. Baking it in a cute jar, instead of a ramekin, aids in presentation. I like to serve this with baguette, apples slices and cornichons.

1/2 c. finely chopped onions
1 stick butter, divided
1/4 c. cream
pinch salt
1/2 lb chicken livers

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a small saucepan over low heat, saute the onions in 1 T of the butter until the onions are translucent. Add the cream, cover, and simmer over low heat until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 7 T butter, and return to the heat until the butter is melted. Let the mixture cool to warm. This mixture will make your kitchen smell like heaven, and also will taste divine. Try to leave some for the mousse.

In a food processor or blender, combine the butter onion mixture and the raw chicken livers, and process until smooth. For ultra smoothness, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a 16 oz. ramekin or canning jar (I often skip the straining because I’m lazy like that).

If using a ramekin, cover tigthtly with foil, and if using a jar, seal the lid, and place into a baking dish. Add boiling water to half way up the container, then place in the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool, and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2011. | Permalink |
Post tags: appetizer, chicken, Entertaining, Hors D'oeuvre, make ahead, offal

Sometimes, I want to spend time in the kitchen. I want to smell and chop and stir and taste and really EXPERIENCE cooking. Sometimes, I want to go about my life. I want to watch the Superbowl, go to work, read to my daughter, talk with my husband, play with the new puppy. But just because I don’t want to spend time cooking doesn’t mean I want to eat bad food. I still want to eat good, homemade food, made from scratch.

If I want onion dip for a Superbowl party, I could use the classic recipe: open a packet of Lipton’s soup mix and a container of sour cream, mix them together and have a fat bowl of MSG, corn syrup and unpronounceable things with a side of my entire RDA of sodium. Or I could make onion dip from scratch, controlling the ingredients myself, adding the right amount of salt, and slowly caramelizing the onions to add depth of flavor. Of course, caramelized onions require a long period of cooking them in a skillet, stirring frequently to make sure they don’t scorch, waiting for those Maillard reactions to hurry up and happen. Or you could just use a crockpot.

A crockpot is the perfect vessel for caramelizing onions — it cooks long and slow and consistently, and it retains liquid so the onions don’t scorch. Best of all, you don’t have to babysit it — you just add the onions, turn it on, and walk away. It’s really only one step removed from opening a packet, and it tastes better and is better for you. A super bowl of dip for the Superbowl (OK, I couldn’t resist the pun.)

Recipe: Crockpot French Onion Dip

Summary: The easy way to make french onion dip from scratch is to caramelize your onions in the slow cooker.

Cooking time (duration): 8 hours

Meal type: snack

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2011. | Permalink |
Post tags: crockpot, Quick, snacks, Vegetarian

I hope you had a good holiday if you celebrate, and if you don’t, I hope you had a good day off with no traffic. And if you happen to live in a place where Christmas isn’t a holiday, I hope you had a good Saturday.

In our family, Christmas food is serious business. We don’t faff around with the latest trends or even potluck. Christmas day we eat the same thing, prepared by my mother, and have for my entire life – breakfast is pancakes and turkey gravy (think of them as flat biscuits), dinner is prime rib roast, creamed spinach, garlic scalloped potatoes, and figgy pudding (OK, persimmon pudding) with hard sauce. We even flame the pudding in brandy and stand around singing “We all like figgy pudding.” No joke. I told you, we are NOT messing around.

Christmas eve is less set in stone. This year, I hosted, and got a little carried away. Hors D’oeuvres, Salad with poached pears and gorgonzola, roast turkey breast with sausage and chestnut stuffing, bread sauce, creamed kale, butternut squash orzotto, and cookies, including peppermint pretzel bark, brandy snaps, cardamom palmiers, and panforte. I think I cooked nine dishes.

In other words, I’m wiped. I bet you are too.

But it’s time to rally the troops because this weekend is New Year’s Eve. Which means one more night of excess before we launch into the winter of austerity and discipline.

And these hors d’oeuvres might be my new favorite form of excess. They are fabulous – buttery and crisp and cheesy. I’ve made them for no fewer than four parties this December. And the best part? They are dead easy to make. You will literally be able to make these in the same amount of time it takes you to read this blog post — chilling and baking time not included. I’m not THAT verbose. Easy and fabulous is my favorite kind of food.

I got the recipe, if you can even call it that, from my genius friend Christine. It goes like this.

Take a sheet of frozen puff pastry (I use Trader Joe’s, which is made with butter. Pepperidge Farm is vegan.), let it thaw on the counter for about 10 minutes, then spread it with about 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.

Then take about 2 ounces prosciutto (don’t bust out the La Quercia for this one, the kind from the deli case will do) and arrange it in one layer on the mustard.

Then you take about 1 cup of grated gruyere cheese (the ones in the photo are actually made with a bizarre cheddar gruyere blend from Trader Joe’s, but plain gruyere is my favorite), and sprinkle it over the prosciutto.

Roll up tightly, then wrap in plastic wrap and pop in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, or until you’re ready to bake them (If the roll is well wrapped, you can make it a day or two in advance).

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice the roll into slices about 1/2 inch thick, arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

See? Wasn’t that a breeze? A good resolution for 2011 – make more food that is easy AND fabulous.

Recipe
Prosciutto Gruyere Pinwheel Appetizers
Adapted from Christine Rink

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed at room temperature for 10 minutes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard, more to taste
2 oz. prosciutto (about 5 slices)
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

Spread mustard on puff pastry, followed by 1 layer prosciutto, then cheese sprinkled over it all.

Roll tightly, wrap in saran wrap, and chill for 15 minutes or until firm, up to a day.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the roll into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange on a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm.

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2010. | Permalink |
Post tags: appetizers, easy, Entertaining, weeknight

With Labor Day weekend coming up, and outdoor parties and barbecues on the horizon, it’s good to have a classic guacamole recipe in your back pocket.

Although I don’t have brothers or sisters, I never felt lonely when I was growing up. My mother and father had siblings to spare, and my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins gathered often — to celebrate birthdays, holidays, half birthdays, television events. One of the main reasons I wanted to move back to Los Angeles from New York was to give the Nuni (then just a twinkle in her parents’ eye) that family and community that I grew up with.

The menu varies — my mother makes mean spare ribs, my aunt often grills sausages. My grandmother’s fallback is barbecued chicken, and the sweet spicy taste of her favored brand of barbecue sauce takes me immediately to childhood summer evenings, shivering in a wet bathing suit while the scent of charcoal smoke fills the air. But whatever the main dish was, we always began with guacamole.

If you grow up in California, avocados are in your blood. They’re available at every roadside stand and farmers’ market, and you probably know someone with a tree in their back yard. And as a result, they show up everywhere — in a green salad, on a BLT, or even on a hamburger. But nothing shows off the nutty flavor and luscious texture of an avocado quite like guacamole.

This is my aunt Suzi’s guacamole recipe. It’s easy and quick to make, spicy and salty, with perfect creamy chunks of avocado, tiny bursts of tomato and the scent of cilantro and lime. To me, it’s the ur guacamole — the one all others aspire to. She makes hers in a molcajete, the traditional lava rock pestle, but I’ve found a cuisinart works just as well. With a few tortilla chips and a glass of white wine, nothing says home to me quite like this guacamole.

Recipe
Guacamole
Always use Hass avocados, the kind with nearly black, very bumpy skin. Their flavor and texture is superior. This recipe is quite spicy (depending on the size and heat of your chiles) — you can reduce the chiles to cut back on the heat, or substitute the serrano for jalapeno.

1/4 small white onion
2 serrano chiles, halved and seeds removed
4 large sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves only
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large Hass avocados
1 large tomato, finely chopped
Additional salt to taste

In a small food processor*, combine onion, chiles, cilantro, lime juice and salt, and process until smooth and liquid. (If using a molcajete, chop the onion and chiles first, then grind with cilantro, juice and salt until smooth).

Cut the avocados in half. Remove pits (I usually smack them with a chef’s knife to bury the edge in the pit, then twist to remove), and scoop the flesh out into a small bowl. Mash with a fork. Don’t let the avocados get too smooth – some remaining chunks are good. Mix in the chile cilantro mixture, add chopped tomatoes, and stir until combined. Salt to taste — I think this guacamole tastes best when it’s a little on the salty side. Serve with tortilla chips.

*I received a cuisinart mini chopper for free from Cuisinart as an attended of Blogher Food 2009.

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2010. | Permalink |
Post tags: avocado, Gluten Free, holiday, vegan, Vegetarian

With the dog days of summer still to come, it’s useful to have a few recipes up your sleeve that require NO cooking. Not three hours in the oven, not 30 minutes on the stove, not boiling water, not a toaster oven. There are times when raising the temperature in your kitchen, even infinitesimally, is not an option. And that is the time when our thoughts turn to gazpacho.

Everyone’s familiar with the cold red soup of tomatoes and peppers — sometimes garnished with croutons, sometimes with chopped vegetables or herbs – that is the classic gazpacho. But the world of gazpacho goes beyond cold and red. Years ago, I attended a sherry tasting dinner in New York, that was six courses of Spanish food, paired with different sherries. I don’t remember everything I ate that night (though I do remember feelings as if I had to physically roll out of the restaurant) but I do remember the first course, which was paired with a light, dry sherry — a creamy white cold soup that was heady with garlic aroma and garnished with the unexpected addition of halved green grapes. It was savory and sweet, satisfying and exciting all at once. And when I saw a similar recipe in the newspaper a few weeks ago (us Angelenos are desperately trying to hold on to the IDEA of summer cuisine, even if we are wearing our woolies while we cook it), I knew it would become a staple of my summer repertoire.
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Read the rest of White Almond Garlic Gazpacho with Green Grapes (319 words)

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2010. | Permalink |
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The first meal you cook in a new kitchen feels portentous. As if the success or failure of all future culinary endeavors rests on the results of that one meal. It shouldn’t be too simple, or too fancy. You don’t want too much room for error, or something that’s *gasp* boring. It should be just right.

So when I unpacked my kitchen, and decided my long cooking hiatus would come to an end, I wanted to prepare the perfect meal. I wanted it to be familiar, but novel. Seasonal comfort food. In the first kitchen that’s Mine in my very first house, I wanted something that said “Home.”

And so I chose soup.

Now I know that soup may not be the most obvious choice for a summer dish. Soups are associate with cold days and long slow simmers on a hot stove. And the usual summer soups – your gazpachos and your vichyssoises and your fruit soups — while delicious, are not homey. But this soup combines the best of both worlds. It’s a hearty soup, made with a bounty of summer vegetables which are delicious in soup — green beans, zucchini – and it simmers for less than an hour, as it gets a big flavor boost from a large spoonful of basil pesto, whose sharp summery flavor wakes up your tastebuds. It can be served hot or lukewarm, and it’s perfect for those long summer evenings. Soupe Au Pistou is a classic Provencal dish, and it can be made with whatever looks best at your local farmer’s market.

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Read the rest of Soupe Au Pistou – Feels Like Home (440 words)

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2010. | Permalink |
Post tags: French, soup, Summer, Vegetables

I have vivid childhood memories of dyeing Easter Eggs. We always made my family’s traditional Craftsman flower eggs, but I also spent many a spring break waiting impatiently for the eggs to take on a deep color sitting in vats of vinegar with those little Paas tablets. Now that I am the mom, I try to recreate for the Nuni some of my own childhood joys, so I buy dozens of eggs each Easter, ripe for the decorating.

What I am faced with as an adult that I didn’t realize as a carefree kid is that after the fun of the Easter Egg hunt comes a long slong of trying to use dozens of hard boiled eggs. There are only so many plain hard boiled eggs you can eat, though a dash of tabasco helps matters immensely. Likewise, egg salad, although a love of mine, can quickly grow tireseome. Enter deviled eggs.

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Read the rest of Deviled Eggs with Capers and Parsley (427 words)

© Kate for Savour Fare, 2010. | Permalink |
Post tags: Easter, eggs, holiday, lunchbox, Vegetarian