New Year, New Possibilties

Well, I'm a bit late on the Happy New Year Ra Ra! and the resolution this and holiday that train, but I hoped if I got it in before the week was over it might still be considered timely. I realize that by now everyone is well and truly tired of the holiday season and wants to move on to Mardi Gras and spring and new things. I do too, but I've got these cabbage and blackeyed pea photos on my phone and they are really nice things to eat at any time of year so I'm going to share.

On New Year's Day, I always try to do the traditional good luck thing but this year I was bored of Hoppin' John and braised cabbage, so I went a different route. Inspired by the cold bean side salad (usually served alongside pork rillette and various other dishes) at Tartine, I ad libbed a little black eyed pea salad with a red wine vinegar dressing. For the cabbage, I went with a chilled salad as well, using a NY Times recipe from a few years back for savoy cabbage slaw with applesauce vinaigrette and mustard seeds. They were both wonderful.  The bean salad is simple and delicious.  The slaw is so much better than you might think (and also makes surprisingly good leftovers).  I served them both with seared pork chops and it was a lovely meal.  Recipes, below.

I have to stop using my iPhone to take food photos. The white balance is terrible and my kitchen is nothing but yellow light at night. Sorry 'bout that, folks.

As for new year's resolutions, I'm going to keep it simple this year and rather than try to reform my hopeless ways, I am resolving to expand myself and do some things I've never done before, but think that by now I really should have. In some cases, it's unforgivable that I haven't yet. In 2011, I plan to:

Eat:

1. a muffaletta at Central Grocery - I've had them at lots of places in NOLA but never there, and really, what kind of muffaletta lover do I think I am if I haven't, right?.
2. turtle soup at Commander's Palace - When given the choice, I always go for new generation restaurants over the old traditionals, so I have a huge gap in my NOLA restaurant experiences. This seems to be a glaring one.
3. boiled crawfish at Hawk's in Rayne, La - Happily, my brother in law lives very close to it and we have plans for this spring.

Cook/Make:

1. Butter - I (oh so briefly) met Chef Daniel Patterson of Coi Restaurant in San Francisco several years ago (and had the pleasure of dining at Coi, which if you ever have the opportunity to do, DO!) and later watched him make butter in this fun video. Epiphany! Homemade butter! I've wanted to do it ever since, at least once, and now that I've gotten a stand mixer for Christmas, I intend to. Just look at it! All yellow and beautiful. Imagine lacing it with fleur de sel and spreading it on fresh bread with radishes. mmmm.... I'm not sure the reality can live up to my bucolic fantasy but we shall see.

2. Marshmallows - Another project that required a stand mixer to do, and one that I think I only need to try once or twice to appease the desire. The sticky clean up factor will probably prevent too many repeats, but I do want to sink my teeth into very fresh marshmallow. 2011!

3. Madeleines - Got the pan. Gonna make the treats. More than once. Need to put the pan to use and not let it collect dust in the back of the cupboard.

Do:

1. Learn to shuck oysters - This requires an leap of faith on my part. I am trusting that this year, my rheumatoid arthritis will be treated into remission and I will have the ability to bend and twist and bear weight with my right wrist again. Once I can, I plan to celebrate by learning to shuck and then eating a minimum of a dozen oysters on the half shell with champagne. It just seems right.

2. Plant some container herbs and tomatoes - This one borders on the "yeah right" type of resolution, since I say I'll do this every year and don't, but I might as well try again this year. Perhaps you can help me stick to it by reminding me when the time comes that I need to get those plants going.

3. Visit some of the River Road plantations - I never have. Might as well learn a bit more about the history of Southern Louisiana. I've always perceived the plantations as too tainted by the horror of slavery to make it enjoyable for me to visit for pleasure, but maybe by shutting the entire idea out, I am allowing myself to be ignorant. Maybe I could learn a thing or two. And eat a thing or two along the way.

That's that.

The recipes:

Black Eyed Pea Salad

1 lb frozen black eyed peas (precooked), thawed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 TB fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
drizzled olive oil, to taste
red wine vinegar, to taste
salt and black pepper to taste

Mix gently and serve cold or room temperature.  That's it.  It's delightful.

Serves 6


Savoy Cabbage Slaw with Applesauce Vinaigrette & Mustard Seeds
Adapted from Jeremy Fox, Ubuntu, Napa, California


FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon applesauce
1/3 cup olive oil

FOR THE SALAD:

4 cups savoy cabbage, sliced as thinly as possible (store was out of Savoy by the time I got there, so I used half green and half Napa)
1 large bunch red radishes
3 or 4 Granny Smith apples
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste.

1. Make vinaigrette: In a bowl, mix together mustard, salt, vinegar and applesauce. Slowly whisk in olive oil a little at a time until dressing emulsifies. Set aside.

2. Make salad: Put cabbage in a large bowl. Using the shredding blade of a food processor or a box grater, shred radishes until you have 1 cup. Add to bowl.

3. Core apples and shred in food processor or with box grater until you have 2 cups. Put shredded apple into a bowl filled with lemon juice and 2 cups water, to prevent apple from browning.

4. When ready to serve, gently squeeze water from apple, add to cabbage and toss slaw with vinaigrette. Add mustard seeds and toss again. Sprinkle walnuts on top of slaw. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6

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Cilantro Lime Slaw and Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Two little things to make your summer more summery: homemade barbecue sauce and my favorite side dish of the season, cabbage with cilantro, garlic and lime.  A slaw, if you will.

First, the sauce.  You can make your own barbecue sauce a thousand times more delicious that those overpriced bottles of sludge in the market.  It's SO easy and so quick and you probably already have everything you need in your pantry.

I don't have a recipe to give you.  I'll just tell you roughly what I put in mine and that you can do it how ever you'd like to and it will still taste great.

The base is tomato sauce or ketchup.  Seriously, ketchup is fine.  Don't turn your nose up at the idea.  I use ketchup and it's great.  I was surprised by that but it's true.  I also add a little squeeze of tomato paste concentrate from a tube to deepen that tomato flavor even more.

Next, add any combination you wish of any of these ingredients according to your taste:

• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
• onion granules
• dry mustard
• salt and pepper
• brown sugar
• black strap molasses (don't need much, but it does deepen, darken, thicken and sweeten nicely)
• honey (does what molasses does without the deep and dark)
• apple cider vinegar (just a little goes a long way.  perfect for adding a little acidity)
• Worcestershire sauce
• tomato paste

In the version you see pictured, I put everything but the mustard, onion granules, honey and brown sugar.  Sometimes, I put those in and omit other things.  It depends on what I'm cooking and what I'm in the mood for.  It's hard to go wrong.  Just taste as you go and season accordingly.

Mix it all up, apply to meat while grilling, eat 'em up yum.  It's the simplest thing in the world and you'll wonder why you ever spent $5 on a jar of stuff that doesn't really taste as good as yours.

Next is the cabbage slaw that Kid Cayenne and I eat tubs of all summer long.  It is light, refreshing, limey and garlicky... some of our favorite things.  Disclaimer: it does contain raw garlic, which I know is a bit much for some, so omit that if you think you'll hate it or want to kiss someone who hasn't enjoyed your slaw.

Cilantro Lime Cabbage Slaw

1/2 head of green cabbage, finely shredded with a sharp knife or mandolin
3 TB cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced as finely as you can manage (optional)
juice of 3 limes
2-3 TB extra virgin olive oil
lots of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  (I can't imagine that this would do very will with regular salt and pepper)

Add all ingredients to a very large bowl and toss until cabbage is coated.  Adjust seasonings accordingly.  This slaw benefits from plenty of salt and pepper.  Please try to go for the kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  I can't imagine that granulated salt and finely ground pepper would do well here at all.

Goes beautifully with barbecued chicken, sausages or hamburgers.  Goes beautifully with lots of things, really.   Makes a big bowl... probably 6-8 servings.

Do any of you have any bbq sauce or slaw variations that you love?  Please tell me about them.

edt: I forgot to mention that this is perfect as a side or topping for soft tacos and fajitas!

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Il Posto Cafe, New Orleans

Il Posto Cafe is a quaint and adorable little Italian cafe, located in a charming but so-off-the-beaten-path residential New Orleans Uptown neighborhood (on Dryades near Napoleon and St Charles) . The dining room is rustic, calm, filled with gorgeous raw wood tables and bentwood chairs, cool dark floors and flowers.

When you walk in, the staff is likely to be up to their elbows in rosemary sprigs, Brussels sprouts or cupcake batter, navigating your meal between fresh ingredient preparations. They are friendly, if a bit preoccupied.  The counters overflow with baskets of beets or lemons or breads.  The menu features an elegant, well edited array of antipasti, panini, tramezzini (cold pressed sandwiches as opposed to hot... I learned that today), salads and desserts. They are, quite simply, right up my alley.  I can't believe I didn't even know it existed 'til a month or two ago.

I've been twice since then, both times for lunch, although they are open for dinner and breakfast as well.  The first time, I enjoyed the Insalata Bresaola.  It was my first time eating bresaola, a beautiful dark red, very thinly sliced cut of air dried salted beef somewhat like a dry prosciutto.   It was the main feature of the salad, piled high over greens that were very lightly tossed with a lemon herb vinaigrette.  The salad was topped with generous shavings of Parmesan Reggiano.  What a lovely salad.  My only complaint was that it was so light that I was still hungry at the end.  At $9, that seemed unfortunate.  I think it might be better shared with a friend as an accompaniment to a sandwich.

Today, I went again with a friend.  We both ordered Italian sodas (hazelnut, vanilla or strawberry are the Monin syrup options) and were happy to find them not overly sweet.  My friend ordered a cup of tomato basil soup ($5.25), which was served with a slice of fresh bread.  The soup was nice, well balanced, not too tangy and tasted of San Marzano tomatoes, celery, garlic and basil (if my taste buds serve me well... who knows.).   

Inspired by the gorgeous basket of beets near the cash register, I ordered the Beet and Walnut Salad ($9), which was generously proportioned and beautiful to behold.  Deep red cubes of beet, walnut halves and chunks of incredibly good Mountain Gorgonzola from St. James Cheese Company nestled among lettuce dressed gently in a balsamic vinaigrette.  The ingredients were all excellent, but it could have benefited from a bit of bite.  I think the entire salad would have been better over arugula or a more bitter salad green.  Nonetheless, it was very good.

My friend selected the Italian Tuna Salad ($9.50) which was also large and beautiful.  Well flaked Italian tuna with a barely there, lemony dressing was flanked by sliced avocado, red onion and grape tomatoes over Bibb lettuce.  Parmesan Reggiano was showered over the top as well.  A delightfully light and refreshing lunch salad.  

I think Il Posto is great.  It is obvious that the ingredients take first priority and that much thought and attention is given to creating fresh, genuine dishes.  Our only wish is that they would offer half sized salads at half the price making it easier to enjoy more than one thing at a sitting without overeating and overspending.  

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I Long For Summer Vegetables

Early spring puts me in a weird place when it comes to planning what to cook.  I no longer want the warm, hearty dishes of winter but the ripe produce of summer hasn't shown up yet.  I'm left wanting a fresh, light meal with little option for creating it.  I draw a lot of blanks.  Last night was no different.  I decided on making a pasta salad that I usually do all summer, using produce that can sort of, kind of be counted on year round.  While I can't say that the dish was as delightfully flavorful as it will be when I make it in July or August, it was good and it did scratch that itch.

A note about the corn... I had planned on just adding canned or frozen corn to the salad but when I went to the grocery, there was a small stack of tiny, barely there, scraggly cobs of corn.  I knew they couldn't possibly be good yet but I couldn't resist.  Truth is, despite being a crazy .79 cents a cob, they were delicious.

Pasta Salad

1 lb fusili pasta, cooked according to the package and cooled in ice water immediately after
kernels cut from 2 cobs of corn that have been blanched in the remaining pasta water for 2 minutes, then cooled in ice water
6 stalks of asparagus, also blanched in the pasta water for 30 seconds, then cooled in ice water and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow crookneck squash, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a red onion, diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
about 15 grape tomatoes, chopped
about 10 pitted green olives, chopped
a few sprigs of fresh dill, minced
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta and then pull it out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon or spider instead of dumping it all into a strainer.  Immerse pasta in ice water to cool it down.  Keep the pasta water boiling and use it to blanch your corn and asparagus quickly before also putting them in ice water to stop the cooking and cool them down.  Combine all fresh ingredients together with the cooled pasta and beans.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.


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What are you making for dinner this time of year?

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Italian Tuna Salad with Cannellini and Arugula

This is one of my favorite simple, perfect lunches.  It stars Italian tuna packed in olive oil.  The easiest to find is Cento Tonno.  Whole Foods has it (sometimes) and so does Rouse's.  Don't use tuna in regular oil.  You will be sad and disappointed.*

1 can Italian tuna in olive oil
1 can cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 roma tomato or a handful of grape tomatoes, chopped
arugula
salt and pepper to taste
crackers, if you wish

Empty the tuna, oil and all, into a bowl.  You can drain it and use your own olive oil as a dressing instead, but I find that the oil it is packed in is of decent enough quality that I don't have to.  Sometimes, I will drizzle a little of my good olive oil over the finished product if I really want it.  Break the tuna up a little with a fork, leaving it pretty chunky.

Add drained and rinsed cannellini beans.

Add chopped tomato and onion.  Mix lightly.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Spoon over arugula in your serving dish or mix arugula in to the whole salad if you prefer.  Add extra olive oil if you want it.  Eat with nice crackers or crostinis if you have them.

Sorry for the blurry...

This serves hmm... about 3 people, I'd say.

* If you absolutely can't find tuna in olive oil, buy tuna packed in water, drain it and then add your own good olive oil.  Let it sit in the olive oil marinade for about an hour before you make your salad.

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