Testing, 1, 2, 3...............

This week I'm beginning to test recipes for a book that will be published in the Fall of 2012.  The photo above will give you a clue to its subject matter and although I've already written the Best Slow Cooker Book Ever, I am so excited about these new recipes and the way this book will change the way you cook in your slow cooker. 

I'm often asked how long it takes to write a book, and people are stunned when I tell them that after I've written it, the book may take 2 years in production before it's published. 

Cookbook authors have very little control over what happens once the recipes are submitted.  Every author wants a book with photographs, but whether photos are a part of the book is an editorial decision by the publisher, not the author.  Since photos are expensive, it has to make economic sense to include them; I know that many people complain that the author didn't include photos, but it is not the author's decision.  I get to see the photos, make a few comments if need be, and I have in one instance said I thought that the food looked like dog food, and the food was shot again.  I'm not much of a prima dona but when something isn't right, I'll call it.  

Beginning this week, I'll be testing three days a week, and writing the rest of the time.  I'm hoping to be done testing by the end of February and the book is due at the publishers May 1.  I've got my work cut out for me, and I'll snap a few photos during the testing---not everything is a home run, so I will include the goofs as well. 

It's in the Bag!

Today's Farmer's Market Bag class at Great News featured the gorgeous produce you see above.  
From the left front:  Eureka lemons, wild Surrey arugula, Lambs Quarter, Sierra Gold potatoes, rainbow baby carrots, baby bok choy, black kale and pink lady apples.   

As I promised the students, here are a few new ways to use the produce from this weeks' bag. 

Colcannon

Serves 4

4 slices bacon, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

2 cloves garlic, minced

One bunch black kale, tough stems removed, and finely chopped

6 medium Sierra Gold potatoes, scrubbed and peeled if desired, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Add the shallots and garlic, and cook another 2 minutes, until the onion is softened.
   
2. Add the kale and sauté until the kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt or pepper. Set the mixture aside while you cook the potatoes. (this mixture can be served as a side dish all by itself; and it can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, and reheated before serving)
   
3. Place the potatoes into a large pot, cover with water, add 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil.
   
4. Cook the potatoes for 12 to 27 minutes, until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the cream and butter in a saucepan and keep warm.
   
5. Drain the potatoes, and return them to the pot to dry them out. Add some of the butter and cream mixture to the potatoes, and mash until smooth, adding more of the cream mixture as needed. Stir the kale into the potatoes, taste for seasoning, and serve.
   

Roasted Rainbow Carrot and Pink Lady Apple Wild Rice Salad

Serves 6 to 8



2 cups cooked and cooled wild rice

One bunch rainbow carrots, tops removed, and scrubbed

2 pink lady apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 scallions, finely chopped using the white and tender green parts

3 ribs celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup canola oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot or red onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the wild rice in a large salad bowl.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with a silicone liner. Place the carrots and apples on the baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
   
3. Bake the carrots and apples for 15 minutes, until tender. Cool, and add to the wild rice along with the scallions and celery.
   
4. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, and shallots, until combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust using salt and pepper.
   
5. Pour the dressing over the wild rice and toss to coat. Serve the salad at room temperature.
   
6. Do-Ahead: If you would like to make the salad ahead, it can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving, and re-toss to distribute the ingredients.
   

Braised Baby Bok Choy

Serves 2


3 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

4 heads baby bok choy

1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil, and sauté the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, until it is fragrant.
   
2. Add the bok choy to the skillet, along with the broth and soy sauce.
   
3. Turn the bok choy in the skillet, cover and braise for 2 minutes, until the bok choy is tender.
   
4. Remove the bok choy to a serving plate, bring the liquid in the pan to a boil, and reduce the liquid in the pan to a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes.
   
5. Drizzle the liquid over the bok choy, and top with a drizzle of sesame oil. Serve the bok choy warm or at room temperature.

 Here are a few snaps from the class today--have a wonderful weekend!

Gorgeous Pink Lady Apples

Tart Tatin anyone??

nothing better than burnt caramel and apples with crispy crust in the morning!

Roasted rainbow carrots, Cara Cara oranges, and arugula salad with orange balsamic vinaigrette

Penne with Italian sausage, kale, bok choy, and Italian Fontina cheese

Roasted cod with Sierra Gold potatoes, lemon garlic baste and capers

Stone Soup

There is a children's story, a parable of sorts called "Stone Soup".   A hungry peddler comes into a town where there isn't much food, and carries a sack over his shoulder.  In the sack is a large stone; he stops at shops asking for food, and is denied.  He then suggests that he will be making Stone Soup and would like the townspeople to join him.  He fills a pot with water, deposits the stone and then proceeds to extol the virtues of Stone Soup, but then says, "this soup would be so much better with an onion.....a piece of meat.....a carrot....." you get the picture, by the time he's done there is a thick soup in the pot filled with the contributions of everyone in the town and they ate heartily.  Stone soup is something that comes out of my refrigerator on a monthly basis, when the leftovers are crowding out everything else in there!  

This recipe is a great way to use up leftovers, it's not written in stone (sorry for the pun!), so you can substitute your favorite leftovers, broth flavors, and meats. 

The French call this mixture of onion, carrot and celery a mire poix; it sautes for 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened, and the onion releases some oil and becomes fragrant. You'll need about 2 tablespoons of good olive oil, and about 1 1/2 cups of the mire poix. Yes, that IS a red onion--leftover from a spinach salad.  I added 1/4 cup tomatoes because I had them leftover and 1 teaspoon dried thyme and dried sage leaves.

We had plenty of flap meat leftover from our grilling night, I just cut it into small pieces and added it to the saute.  If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, seafood, any type of protein, you will need 2 to 3 cups. 

Demi-Glace is a deep flavored concentrate, which can be reconstituted with water.  You will need about 5 cups of broth, or stock.  Use what you have on hand, if you are using beef, use a beef broth, chicken, chicken broth. Bring to a simmer for 20 minutes. 

When the broth comes to a boil, add 2 cups of greens; either spinach, chard, escarole, even romaine lettuce works here---trim stems on romaine and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Simmer another 10 minutes.

 Leftover pasta from a previous dinner.  Make sure it is cooked, otherwise it will absorb all the broth.  Cut it into smaller pieces and add about 10 minutes before serving. I also added the rind from Parmigiano Reggiano diced into small pieces with the broth.  The rinds become soft and pliable, and add saltiness and a lovely flavor to the soup.  

Voila! In less than an hour a hearty stone soup; we served this with leftover home made pizza, but corn muffins, foccacia, or bread makes this a great meal. 

Field Trip

I'm always up for a road trip, especially when shopping for yarn or fabric is involved.  Today a friend and I headed north to Orange County to the Purl Soho Warehouse.  

 

If you don't know about Purl, it is a great store in New York city, specializing in GORGEOUS yarns and fabrics for the knitter, sewer, and crafter.  There is nothing but quality in this store, and the website has a great blog with lots of great ideas for using what they sell.  

My daughters' office was located down the street from Purl's old NYC location, so when I would come into town, we'd take a walk over and of course couldn't leave without buying something!  When I found out their warehouse (read their story on the website, it's awesome) was less than 45 minutes away from my house, the road trip was on!  

Picture me standing here cell phone in hand calling my daughter to ask how many skeins of yarn it will take to make socks for Eric.  The amount of merchandise here, is jaw dropping, and if I didn't say it before, there is nothing but the finest quality. One room has yarn, floss, wool for needlepoint, anything you would need, as well as all the notions, needles, whatever.  The selection was staggering even for someone like me to comprehend.  (Note if shopping were an Olympic sport, I'd be a triple gold medalist!)

Wall to wall fabric doesn't even begin to describe this---Liberty Fabrics (amazing) and imports from Japan, and Europe.  OH MY!

 Felt, Fat Quarters, batting, trims, amazing buttons, great books for inspiration....OMG--no words can describe how much fun this was!

If you go make sure to bring a jacket, it's a warehouse, and it's cold!  The girls working here are fun, and helpful and I wanted to take them home with us, especially baby Julia--10 months old and so sweet!
Purl's Warehouse is open Tuesday through Friday 9 to 2:30 p.m.
They are located at:

15431 Red Hill Ave

Suite D

Tustin, CA 92780

 

Sign up for the Purl Bee blog and you'll see what I'm talking about!  

I'll be back tomorrow with some foodie things; and a Take 5 later this week.  I hope you are having a great day!

Flapping Around

 The rain yesterday and today made me want something hearty, but also something that wasn't braised, since we've been doing a lot of that lately.


I came upon some flap meat at the market today; flap meat looks like skirt steak, and comes from the bottom part of the sirloin.  

Well-marbled, it terrific grilled, then sliced against the grain into thin slices.  It's really flavorful, and delicious, a great choice for the the barbecue. 
If you are into braising, you can stuff flap meat as you would bracciole, and simmer it in your favorite wine and tomato sauce.

 A little marinade is all this meat needed to make it grill ready.  Marinades impart flavor, and can help to tenderize tougher cuts.  

Four hours in the marinade, drain, and grill.  We had this with a huge spinach salad and it was terrific.  You could serve this in tortillas fajita style (use a different marinade) with sauteed peppers and onions, or it can top a chopped salad.  




Soy Marinated Flap Meat

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds flap meat

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped

1. Place the flap meat into a 1-gallon zipper-top plastic bag.  
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, and pour over the meat.  
3. Seal the bag, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours.  Drain the meat from the marinade.  
4. Preheat the grill for 10 minutes, and grill the meat until it is medium rare.  
5. Remove from the grill, and allow to rest for 5 minutes, before slicing against the grain into thin strips.
6. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in air tight containers, or frozen for up to 1 month.  Leftovers are great in stir fries.