Recipe: Light Tuna Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

Some days you just want a salad. Particularly on days when the heat index outside is 105 degrees and your Air Conditioner goes kaput. I woke this morning to a somewhat muggy house, only saved from heat stroke by the fact that I had set it to the polar setting before going to bed. But, it was my lucky morning after all, for lots of reasons- one being the A/C repair man was already at my neighbors. Yes, there is a God.  Turns out the unit was broken due to user error- Oh, I'm supposed to change the filter EVERY month?! Got it.  Anyhow, I left for a while and upon my return it was still mildly hot.  Turning on my mammoth stove for any reason whatsoever today was out of the question.  Tuna salad day it is.

I usually am not a fan at all of tuna salad... mayonnaise and fish? No, thank you.  My version is usually composed of what's on hand and it never ever includes mayonnaise.   I had a good trip to the farmer's market this morning which yielded vine ripened Creole tomatoes, small crisp cucumbers and a beautiful array of peppers.   I used white Albacore chunk tuna packed in water- it smells and tastes less of cat food.  Sherry vinegar is a favorite of mine, milder than balsamic and slightly sweet.  Today I used salted capers, normally when cooking with them I rinse them, but since the kitchen shop has been out of my precious salt de mer I tossed them straight in the bowl.

The salad is quite easy to assemble, use whatever vegetables you have on hand, arugula and celery would have complemented it well.  The dill in my garden went to seed so I pulled it out last week, it would have also been a very good addition.  I found little Creole onions at the market this morning, they are slightly sweet and spicy; red onion is what I normally use.  I like this salad a little tart so I used the juice of almost a whole lemon, I suggest you taste as you go.


Tuna Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

1 large can white Albacore chunk tuna, packed in water.
1 lemon
1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salted capers, about 1 tablespoon
1 Tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons Creole onion, minced

Tomato
Bell Pepper
cucumber

1. Drain tuna and place in a small mixing bowl, all vinegar, olive oil, parsley, and onion and mix well.
Add capers and freshly ground black pepper taste for flavor and add lemon juice as needed.

2. Slice tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber. Arrange on a plate and drizzle with additional lemon juice or vinegar and season with salt and pepper before placing tuna salad on top.

Recipe: Pimm's Cup

With the fourth of July holiday right around the corner, I thought I would share my favorite porch drink. There isn't anything else I would rather drink on a hot summer afternoon than a Pimm's cup.  When the dog days of summer seem endless... these help get you through.  In my mind it is the epitome of the perfect summer drink- next to mint juleps and mojitos, but we'll talk about those another time.  Even when there is nothing of substance in my refrigerator, you can count on one thing- I'll always have the makings for these.

Pimm's No. 1 cup is based on gin and tastes subtly of spice and citrus, it mixes very well with lemonade and fruits. I use ginger beer because I'm not a fan of really sweet drinks,  but if unavailable you can substitute with ginger ale.  You can also make them in a large batch in a pitcher, omit the ice and pour Pimms, ginger beer and lemonade in thirds into the pitcher.  Refrigerate until ready to serve and pour over ice.

Pimm's No. 1
Ginger beer
lemonade
cucumber, sliced
lemons
ice

Fill a large tumbler with ice.  Add pimm's to the ice until 1/3 of the ice is covered.  Add equal parts lemonade and ginger beer.  Garnish with cucumber slices and lemon. Stir and serve.

Easy Refrigerator Sweet and Spicy Pickles

What to do on a Saturday when it's entirely too hot to paddle the lake, I don't have a big party to cook for and the thought of being idle is not a good one? Make pickles!  I really have been wanting to make these since last summer, but time just got away and then Kirby cucumbers were out of season.  Kirby cucumbers are small and have small seeds, they are great for pickling since they are naturally crisp.  I played around with my recipe a little and made both traditional with dill and a south of the border very very spicy version.  You could tone down the spiciness by removing the jalapeno all together or just using the flesh without core and seeds.

Refrigerator pickles keep for about a month, covered and chilled.  Make sure the jar is clean and dry when you begin.  It's best to mix the vinegar in a non-reactive bowl, either plastic or glass.  The sugar cuts down on the acidity, adjust to taste.  The traditional version, for which the recipe is for are sort of sweet-spicy.  I had a lot of cilantro well on its way to seed in the garden so I used it on the second batch.  I added cumin, cilantro sprigs, and a ripe red jalapeno, seeds, core and all. HOT!

I made these to serve with sandwiches, particularly pulled pork sandwiches with slaw... coming soon!




Refrigerator Pickles

3 cups vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dill seed
12 whole cloves
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
4 bay leaves
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
fresh dill sprigs (optional)
8-9 kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/8" thick

1. Mix vinegar with sugar, salt, peppers, dill seeds, cloves, and bay leaves until sugar dissolves.

2. In a large jar, layer cucumbers, onion and jalapeno.  Pour vinegar solution over the cucumbers.  Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

Recipe:Zucchini and Pesto Puff Pastry Tart

Today is the beginning of my official return to blogging! Really, I promise this time.  With that in mind, it is also the beginning of summer, fresh vegetables are aplenty and I have a plethora of posts in my head.   I made this zucchini tart so I could experiment with store bought puff pastry.  And let me tell you, there is a significant difference between ordinary not all butter puff pastry and Dufour puff pastry.  I've made puff pastry from scratch, roll, add more butter, fold, roll and repeat- about a hundred times. I did not have my home-made version next to it, but truly- once baked I could not have told the difference.  What I figured out was that some of the other brands have additives and are not 100 percent butter, Dufour is nothing but flour, water, butter. I never said it was low fat- but if you're going to make puff pastry, lets do it right please.  To make this lower in fat, the zucchini can be placed directly on a lightly greased glass pie pan, layered with the mozzarella and then more zucchini with pesto and herbs on top.  Maybe I'll make that another day, (like right before having to hop into my bathing suit!).  As for today though, we're going with the yummy all butter version.

Defrost the puff pastry in the refrigerator, its best to keep it somewhat cool at all times.  If you want it a little more golden brown, you can add an egg wash right before baking.  I used zucchini because it's what's in season, but I think some beautiful heirloom tomatoes or asparagus would work nicely as well.
If I was using tomatoes, I would just slice them thickly and not saute them.  For asparagus, I would lightly blanch them if they are thick or saute just a little if pencil thin.

Zucchini and Pesto Puff Pastry Tart

1/2 cup homemade pesto (recipe in index)
2 small zucchini or summer squash, sliced
1 package Dufour puff pastry, defrosted (I found it at Whole Foods)
Olive oil
coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Assorted Herbs (I used thyme, basil, oregano and parsley)
2-3 large balls freshwater mozzarella


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Roll out puff pastry on a parchment covered baking sheet.  With a sharp knife or pastry cutter, score all around the sides of the rectangle, one inch from the edge.  This will make the sides puff up higher and give the appearance of a crust.

2. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, heat olive oil until almost smoking, a couple of minutes.
Place zucchini in pan, season with a little salt and pepper and lightly brown on both sides.

3. Arrange zucchini evenly over pesto on puff pastry shell.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until shell is puffed ad very light brown.  Remove from the oven and top with freshwater mozzarella slices and about half of the fresh herbs.  Continue to bake until cheese has melted and crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with additional fresh herb chiffonade and drizzle a little more pesto on top if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Easter Ducklings Filled with Strawberry Jam

This post is from March of 2008, yes- recycling again.  I sure have come a long way with yeast, specially after the king cake madness I just put myself through. Visit my Gourmet Girls facebook page for some photos, there's a link in the sidebar.

Easter is probably my favorite holiday, I find it so much more relaxed than Christmas. Jack, my little boy and I have already boiled and colored eggs a few times and have had a great deal of fun doing it, I am not as busy at the restaurant at this time of year so I get to enjoy the holiday. Last week we were in Whole Foods and they had some little bunny shaped breads. They were just precious, but their flavor was lacking- specially for a 6 year old who was expecting something more than just bread. So I set out to make the ducklings, filled them with Strawberry jam and Jack loved them! Next time, I might also add cream cheese to the filling.

One of my cooking goals for this year was to overcome my hesitation (alright-fear) to work with yeast. I have been reading a bit about yeast and have really come to understand it a lot better and as a result had no trouble at all with the yeast in the recipe. I have included the weight measurements as well, because I think most of the trouble I was having with breads in the past had more to do with the amount of flour I added than with the yeast itself. I was producing tough bread, weighing the four has helped that issue out tremendously. A scale has become such an essential tool in my kitchen, I don't know how I ever baked without it. If you don't have a scale, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup.

I have written then recipe out in more steps than usual, I wanted to make sure anyone could understand it- even me!

Easter Ducklings

1/4 cup sugar (60 g)
1 cup warm milk (110 F)
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour (500 g)
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup strawberry jam

For Decorations:

A paste made out of 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar and a little lemon juice (about 1 teaspoon) and dried currants. Royal icing flowers or fresh pansies for decorating the ducks- if desired.

1. In a medium bowl, stir 1 teaspoon sugar into milk and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until frothy. Stir gently.

2. Sift flour, remaining sugar and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

3. Stir butter into yeast mixture. Lightly beat in one egg.

4. Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture, combining to make a dough.

5. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, it should no longer feel to sticky. The should should be fairly soft when the kneading is over.

6. Place dough in a large bowl that has been rubbed with a little vegetable oil and cover with a dish towel. Set in a warm place around 78 F and allow to rise for about an hour or until doubled in volume. (I made these in the restaurant's which is quite warm- the dough doubled in about 35 minutes).

7. Remove dough from bowl, flatten out on a floured surface with your hands then roll out gently with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out 10 rounds with a 3" cookie cutter for the bodies. Cut out 5 smaller rounds for the heads and 5 small ovals for the beaks.

8. Place one egg yolk in a small bowl and beat a little. With a small pastry brush, brush egg yolk on the large rounds. Add about 1 teaspoon strawberry jam to 5 of the large circles. Place another large circle on top and pinch the edges to seal together. Making sure to pinch well so the jam does not leak out during baking.

9. With a little egg yolk, glue heads and beaks to the bodies. Place ducklings on a greased cookie sheet and set aside in a warm and draft free place to rest for 15 minutes.

10. Brush all ducklings with egg yolk and place in a 425 F oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

HAPPY EASTER!

Mardi Gras Cream Cheese filled King Cake

This is a post from 2008... so yes, since I'm not posting right now- I am recycling! I thought it might be of current interest.

Stemming back to the 1700's, King Cakes are the traditional celebratory cake of Mardi Gras. Originally king cakes were served at Mardi Gras Parties and the king cake held a bean inside instead of a plastic baby. When served, the "lucky" person having the bean on their plate was named the king or queen of the party, and was then responsible for holding the next Mardi gras party which would include all the guests present at the party where the bean was found.

Living in South Louisiana, I have eaten more than my fair share of King cake. The bakeries make them in just about every flavor imaginable. The most popular are Praline and cream cheese, which is my favorite. Up until today I had not made my own king cake, but a few days ago I stumbled across this Swedish Ring at Tartelette and knew it would be perfect for my cake. I used the dough portion of her recipe and adapted it to make my king cake, then filled it with cream cheese.

I am not an avid yeast user, so making bread which uses yeast as it's leavening always makes me a little nervous. I followed her directions exactly, but the first batch of dough turned out a bit dry. I made a second batch with less flour and it was perfect. We emailed back and forth and she confirmed it was the flour, she had forgotten to write to add the flour in stages. Since the first I made this I have learned to add  flour slowly- you can always add more, but can never take it away.



Cream Cheese filled King Cake

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast or 1 package instant yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter softened (1/2 stick)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon nutmeg
grated zest of one lemon (1 tablespoon)
2 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
10 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
colored sugars (green, purple and yellow)

1. Heat milk to 105-110 degrees in a small saucepan over low heat. Place milk in the bowl of a standing mixer, add yeast and stir to combine. Allow milk mixture to rest for about 10 minutes or until frothy.

2. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add to milk mixture. Then add 2 1/2 cups flour, butter, sugar, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. With the dough hook on low speed, mix until dough comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky, not too wet. If the dough seems very moist you may add up to 1/2 cup additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. (having made my dough twice using both amounts of flour, I found less flour worked best as I incorporated a little extra flour when kneading it by hand).

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until dough is soft and smooth. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise in a warm and draft-free place for about an hour, or until doubled in size. (Since it is quite a cold day today and my house is a little drafty I turned on the oven and sat the bowl on the range).

4. Make filling by beating the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together with a mixer until fluffy then set aside.

5. Lay dough on lightly floured surface, punch down and roll into a 20" by 10" rectangle. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on one half of the dough, then fold other half over to cover. Pinch dough together to seal in cream cheese. Make a ring and pinch ends together, the ring can be a circle or oval. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rose for 45 minutes.

6. In 375 degree oven bake king cake for 20 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and set a side to cool. I add the bean at this point by making a small slit underneath the cake with a paring knife.

7. Mix icing ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Drizzle icing heavily over king cake, and while still wet, sprinkle with colored sugars.

Happy Mardi Gras!!