Any Given Sunday

Lemon & Blood Orange Curd (yes, it really is this color)!

Since maple syrup is not anywhere close to being local to Santa Barbara, we decided to go another route to top our waffles this morning. We squeezed the juice of 2 lemons and 2 blood oranges  (from the trees in our backyard), and proceeded to cook them over very low heat with a cup of super fine sugar and 6 egg yolks. Once the heat was turned off, I stirred in 3 tablespoons of sweet butter and let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so. The resulting curd was not only a delicious topping for today's waffles, it was beautiful to look at as well.

 

Ojai Biscotti for a Rainy Sunday in Santa Barbara

We have the incredible good fortune to be spending weekends together in Santa Barbara until the snow melts and it turns toward spring in Santa Fe. Here is my recipe for biscotti, adapted years ago from the Cantucci di Prato recipe that appeared in the Il Fornaio Baking Book. I call them Ojai Biscotti because of the aroma the orange zest emits when they are first baked. 

 

Ojai Biscotti



2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 cup whole raw almonds

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 whole eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almonds, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and butter. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and lightly beat with a whisk until blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat until a granular dough forms.


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for one minute. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Using the palms of your hands, roll each portion into a log about 12 inches long and one inch in diameter.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with butter. Place the logs crosswise on the baking sheet, spacing them about two inches apart. Using the palm of one hand, lightly flatten the top of each log until it is about ½-inch thick. Bake the logs in the preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet until they can be handled, about 10 minutes. Leave the oven set at 350°F.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board and cut them crosswise on the diagonal into pieces ½-inch wide. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with butter. Arrange the pieces cut sides down on the two baking sheets. Return the cookies to the oven and bake until they are lightly toasted and the edges are golden brown, 10 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving. Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

 

New Year's Day Breakfast, 2010

 Each year when January 1 rolls around, we splurge by having champagne and caviar for breakfast. It's our version of eating Hoppin' John, as we feel it brings us luck for the new year.

In addition to the caviar (from Little Pearl, which is stocked at a local market so we don't have to fly it in ourselves, thus saving food miles, and that was voted "Best Domestic Caviar" by Chefs in America, http://www.littlepearl.com/), the finely minced shallots , the homemade blini (an adaptation of a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa from her "Barefoot in Paris" book, recipe shown below), the Bellwether Farms créme fraiche (http://www.bellwetherfarms.com/), we enjoyed our last bottle of champagne by French producer, Pasqual Doquet. Two years ago, we found 8 bottles of his premier crus rosé and fell in love with it. The deep pink/red color, the crisp fresh strawberry fruit, the yeast -- all combine to make this bottle of bubbles one of our all-time favorites.

The bubbles are imported by Robert Kacher Selections in DC. We hope you find it as lovely and as memorable as we do.
 http://www.robertkacherselections.com/portfolio_results.php?keywords=champagne
 May your 2010 be filled with good fortune and great bubbly!

BLINI
 Adapted from the blini recipe by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, from her "Barefoot in Paris" book.
We love this recipe since it doesn't require yeast, yet tastes like it does. The blini also rise well, even at the 7,200 ft. elevation we live at here in Santa Fe.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup buckwheat flour (we like the organic one from Bob's Red Mill http://www.bobsredmill.com/)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup plus two tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, clarified
Caviar
1/4 cup créme fraiche or sour cream
Finely minced shallots and/or chives for garnish

Combine the two flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter, then whisk into the flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter in a medium sauté pan and drop the batter into the hot skillet, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook over medium-low heat until bubbles form on the top side of the blini about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute, or until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. (I clean the hot pan with a dry paper towel in between batches.) 

 

Farmers Market Apples, November

When I was growing up in Upstate New York, there was a Mountain Snow apple tree outside my bedroom window. I loved those apples — they were dark red on the outside and almost pure white on the inside, with just the right amount of sweet/tart balance. The only other time in my life I've found that variety was at the Santa Fe, NM farmers market. And contrary to how most idealized food memories go, these Mountain Snow apples are just as lovely and delicious as I remember the ones from my childhood to have been.

The End of the Season

It is All Saints Day here in Santa Fe and it's officially the end of the vegetable garden for the year. All the plants have been dug out and the trellises have been put away in the shed until next spring. We are already looking forward to the seed catalogs that will begin arriving next month, and to May 15, 2010, which is when we can plant next year's garden without the danger of frost. This was our best year for tomatoes ever - thankfully, we got around to canning to the pantry is full of wonderful sauce!

Harvesting tomatoes and making Nana's sauce!

These San Marzanos were sent to us last winter as seeds from Boston's North End, thanks to the wisdom and thoughtfulness of our good friends, Doug and Dianne Langeland. They were started on our dining room window sill in early February. Picking them now feels like an incredibly rich reward, full of friendship and love.

My Nana made one of the most delicious, yet simple, Marinara sauces I've ever tasted. Here is a link to the recipe (complete with photo gallery of the step-by-step process for making it: http://www.traceyryder.com/my_weblog/2008/09/marinara-sauce.html

If your garden (or farmers market) is overly full of tomatoes right now. Make several batches and put them up for a delicious winter taste treat. There are plenty of great books on canning processes widely available today.

Enjoying Summer's Bounty

With August in full swing and the hail storms behind us for a while, it's time to reap some of the rewards of the time spent in the garden. 

Spring Risotto with Oregon Black Truffles, Peas and Asparagus

This risotto dish will make you weep with happiness! Oregon truffles make it special but are not necessary. If you are lucky enough to find them, however, you'll take delight in knowing they cost about 1/10th of what Italian truffles cost. They are more mild but actually work perfectly with delicate spring dishes like the one.

Jam Tart

This tart is one of the easiest desserts you'll ever make, providing you are able to make a simple pie crust. Any basic påte brisée recipe will work. For the filling, all you'll need is a jar of very delicious homemade jam. The one I use is from Heidi's Organic Raspberry farm - it is sold at the Santa Fe Farmers Market and is amazingly fresh and delicious without being overly sweet.

For the crust:

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and two sticks of butter in the bowl of your food processor and add ice water (up to 1/3 cup) until dough forms and holds together in a ball. Roll out onto floured work surface until approximately 12 - 15 inches across and 1/4 inch thick. Dough does not have to be perfectly round since you will be folding the sides over the tart before baking and a irregular shape looks great.

Place dough onto a sheet of parchment paper that has been placed onto a cookie sheet and is trimmed to fit its dimensions.

For the filling:

Spread a jar of your favorite (preferably, homemade) jam onto the center of the dough, making sure to leave about 3" border of dough around the edges. Fold edges over the center where the jam has been spread so that the jam doesn't leak out while baking.

Using a pastry brush, baste top of crust with an egg wash (one egg, beaten with a fork and combined with a Tablespoon of milk or water).

Place tart in a pre-heated 375º oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and center is bubbling.

Optional garnish: if you have extra fresh fruit in the frig that needs to be used, such as raspberries or blackberries, sprinkle those over jam before baking.

Caramel Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce and Fleur de Sel

This is a dreamy custard-style ice cream that is not too sweet at all. The caramel sauce actually tastes more along the lines of a burnt caramel sauce so it adds depth of flavor instead of sweetness. The sprinkle of Fleur de Sel adds just the right amount of saltiness, which brings the whole desert into balance.

The recipe works best if you can make it at least one day ahead of when you plan to eat it.

For the Ice Cream

Ingredients:

¾ cup of sugar plus 2 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons water

½ tsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

2 tsp Fleur de Sel sea salt

1 ½ cups whole mile

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

In a heavy 2- to 4-quart saucepan, combine sugar, water and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring with wooden spoon until sugar dissolves, 1-2 minutes. Stop stirring at this point and cook until syrup is amber colored, 5 to 10 minutes over medium-high heat. Swirl while cooking to ensure it doesn’t burn and watch closely. 

Remove the pan from the heat and pour ¾ cup of the cream into the hot syrup (be careful to not burn yourself as it may splatter). Stir with wooden spoon until smooth. Place over medium heat and cook until mixture barely begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, salt, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and remaining ¼ cup of the cream in a bowl. Whisk until smooth, then stir in the milk.

Pour the milk mixture into the warm caramel syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it lightly coats the back of a spoon, 4-8 minutes. Make sure to not let the custard boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla.

Allow mixture to cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Pour custard into ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions. Transfer ice cream to a covered container and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.

Just before serving, stir some of the caramel sauce into the ice cream, adding a sprinkle of Fleur de Sel directly onto the ribbon of caramel sauce, then fold together with ice cream so that salt and sauce are loosely blended into ice cream. Serve immediately. Be careful not to over mix.

For the Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

I cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

Combine water and sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves completely and the syrup is clear. Stop stirring and continue cooking until syrup turns a golden brown. Once syrup begins turning amber colored, it will burn quickly so watch it very closely. You want a medium brown colored syrup but not burned. Once you have the correct color, remove from heat and slowly add the heavy cream, being careful not to burn yourself when mixture splatters. Once cream is incorporated, place over low heat and stir until all the caramel and cream are fully integrated. You may need to use a whisk to get it fully blended. Let simmer over low heat for another minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve warm or at room temperature. Sauce can be stored in a canning jar and refrigerated for up to a month.