The beginning of this year, I was reintroduced to Lindsay Olives, when I participated in Kitchen PLAY. Who knew that foodie event, would open the door to new opportunities, but it did.
Last month Lindsay Olives approached me about doing some freelance work for them, styling and photographing some of their recipes, for their website. It was a lot of fun as Lindsay Olives let me pick which recipes were of interest (which was a very hard choice), and then I got to run with styling and shooting.
The first recipe I chose to photography is this healthy fish fillets with warm tomato olive vinaigrette recipe. I loved working with this recipe, for many reasons. One being it was visually appealing with the gorgeous red tomatoes next to the deep black olives. As well it was incredibly easy to make, which meant I had dinner on the table in no time. It is the perfect for the working couple who wants a romantic dinner at home after a long day, or the rushed soccer mom who likes to feed her family a healthy meal.
The recipe suggests using a firm white fish, such as cod, orange roughy or snapper. I used true cod as I like the meaty texture and mild flavor. The warm vinaigrette is made with a mixture of Lindsay olives, sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and a splash of white wine vinegar to add some tang. I love how gently warming tomatoes releases all their juices, creating a delicious sauce. The marriage of flavors between the olives and tomatoes goes very well with the creamy cod.
Love olives as much as we do? Head over to Lindsay Olives and check out their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter to learn more about their products.
photo credit: denise woodward
Disclosure: Lindsay Olives supplied me with their products and compensated me for shooting this project.
Recipe
I was inspired to make this recipe when I stumbled upon a new to me food blog by the name of Oakie Dokie Artichokie. Besides being a lovely site to poke around on, Stephanie’s Peruvian background is evident in many of her recipes. We love Peruvian food so this new found love is very welcome in our kitchen.
We have been locked into a conference rooms one and off for the past two weeks, and whenever I get a chance I head over to one of many favorite food sites, to torture myself. I am been spending a few looney minutes with Stephanie. One recipe that really screams at me is her pan seared turkey burgers. At first it was the bun, that got my belly grumbling. Then it was the seasoned ground turkey that kept the hunger pains growing. Then I noticed the red onions and jalapenos dripping down the side of the burger. Sold. While I really want to eat the whole darn burger, those pickled red onions had me.
Our last supper at home before embarking on the next business trip was a Drunken Halibut. I wanted to keep the meal simple, so I ran over to grab Stephanie’s pickled red onion relish recipe. The only changes I really made was that I smoked the peppers for a bit and used fresh spring baby red onions. The process is simple. Simple. Simple. It was so good that I could not stop eating by the spoonfuls, and it was the perfect companion for the halibut. The halibut was slightly smokey (thanks to Mezcal) and the spicy pickled onions meshed really well. We tenderly wrapped warm chunks of the halibut between warm corn tortillas that had been smothered with the spicy red onions, and called it a meal.
*if you have extra left over, put it into a jar and use within a couple days. Melt some cheese on a tortilla, and spread some of the pickled mixture over the top. Great snack or light lunch when you had a slice (or two) of avocado.
Recipe: Pickled Red Onion Salad
*inspired by Oakie Dokie Artichokie
- 2 medium spring red onions, cut in half and sliced paper thin (or 1 medium red onion)
- 2 jalapeño chilies
- 5 medium limes, juices
- maldon salt
Over a low flame on your stove, using tongs, slowly roast one of the jalapeños until blackened. This will only take about 3 – 5 minutes. Set aside until cooled. Peel off the blackened skin. Cut into circles, keeping the seeds. Cut the remaining jalapeño in half, leave (or remove) the seeds, and slice into thin pieces.
In a bowl add the sliced onions, chilies and lime juice. Stir. Sprinkle with the salt. Stir. Set aside for an hour. Serve. Eat.
The past couple years there have been numerous pull-apart breads floating around the food blogging world. After some research, I finally find out who the culprit was that developed this sinfully delicious baked product. Flo Braker, bless her heart, has been feeding the baking world since creating Lemon Scented Pull Apart Bread. I have yet to make one of many sweet variations that I have seen floating around; but, it is definitely part of the game plan.
I have been keeping this dirty little secret from y’all for the past 5 months; warm, cheesy, garlicky pull-apart bread. I was fine-tuning the same ole (yawn, boring) garlic bread recipe last year, when I had a thought; why not make my usual garlic bread completely different. Completely more fun. I pulled Ms. Braker’s recipe from my give a try files, and got to work.
Don’t fret that there are too many steps to making this garlic bread. The recipe is very simple, and the bread comes out very light and fluffy. The dough is a dream to work with; silky and elasticity. I loved working with it. When I made this bread for a dinner party this week, I decided to use some green garlic instead of regular (fresh) garlic that I use. I loved the slightly sweet taste of fresh green garlic. It was as good as when I make it with regular garlic, just not as pungent. The cheese melts nicely into the dough, which I loved. And the extra garlicky butter running down your chin with each bite, is a very good thing.
| Cheesy, Green-Garlic Pull-Apart Bread |
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Recipe type: Baking
Author: Chez Us
*inspired by Lemon Scented Pull Apart Bread
- 2 3/4 cups ap flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 envelope)
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3 ounces unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 green garlic bulbs with part of the green or 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Making the dough:
- Stir together 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast, and 1 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a mixer. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, and 3 ounces of butter over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and set aside until 120 – 130 F, about 1 – 2 minutes.
- Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit with the dough attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix for 3 minutes. Add one egg, at a time, mixing well after each addition just until incorporated.
- Stop the mixer, add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 – 45 seconds. Add 3 more tablespoons of flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft and slightly sticky; about 2 minutes.
- Putting it all together:
- Sprinkle a work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and center the dough on the flour. Knead gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about 1 – 2 minutes, adding an additional 1 – 2 tablespoons flour only if necessary to lessen the stickiness.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 degrees) until doubled in size, about 60 minutes. Gently press the dough, if your finger indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step.
- In a small saucepan add the 1/2 cup of butter and the thinly sliced pieces of garlic, over low heat. Stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Set aside.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Lightly butter a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan.
- Gently deflate the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 20 by 12 inch rectangle. using a pastry brush spread half of the melted butter generously over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 equal strips. I use a pastry cutter.
- Evenly distribute the grated cheese among the strips. Gently stack the strips on top of each other until you have a stack of 5 rectangles.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the stack crosswise through the layers to create 6 equal strips, about 4 by 2 inches. Fit the layered strips into the loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side. There will be plenty of space on either side of the strips, that is fine because the space will fill up with rising and baking.
- Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 degrees) until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 30 – 40 minutes. Lightly press the dough with a fingertip to check for that indentation.
- Place the loaf pan onto a cookie sheet. Bake the bread for 15 minutes.
- Then lightly brush the top of the bread with the remaining garlic butter. Pour any last drops over the top of the bread.
- Bake another 15 – 20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the pan onto a serving board, letting any drops of warm butter and garlic fall over the top.
- Serve.
- Eat.
2.2.6
Some of our most popular posts are the egg series we did three years ago. We get people from all parts of the world, sending emails, and thanking us for showing them how to “perfectly” cook an egg. We even had a chef, from another country, say a customer asked for a soft-boiled egg. He had never heard of it, went on-line, found our post and thanked us for showing him how to make the perfectly soft-boiled egg. It was brought to our attention recently that we never shared how to perfectly fry an egg. We had no reasoning as to why we overlooked the beloved fried egg.
There is nothing like a lazy Sunday morning, spent laying around drinking coffee, reading, and enjoying one’s company to get the tummy growling for a leisurely breakfast. The first thing that comes to mind is protein, and lots of it. Soon there will be bacon frying, baguettes being warmed and eggs frying away in creamy butter. We both enjoy our fried egg differently from one another. Lenny squirts hot sauce on it, and proceeds to cut it up, mushing it onto the warm baguette. I, gently break the yolk, and then dip pieces of salty bacon and crusty bread into the liquid gold. Makes me warm and tingly all over just thinking about it.
The key to frying the perfect egg is the pan. It needs to be a flat griddle pan. And it must be preheated. I heat mine over medium heat, which is about a 5 on our stove, until it is good and hot. Then I left the butter melt all over the surface before cracking the egg. If the griddle is perfectly hot, the egg will sputter a little, and start to bubble. I like the yolk to be warm but still perfectly runny, so I flip the egg after 1 1/2 minutes, then I cook the other side for 1 minute. It comes out perfect every time. Season with salt and pepper after cooking the egg, it seems to keep the egg more moist this way.
** Be sure to check out our other perfectly cooked eggs for some tasty ideas of how the egg can take you from breakfast to dinner.
Recipe: Perfectly Fried Egg
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Heat a griddle over medium heat on the stove. Melt the butter on the griddle surface. Break the egg, carefully, onto the melted butter. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes, then carefully flip over the egg using a wide spatula. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat, plate, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
Fried eggs are not only meant for leisurely Sunday mornings. They also make a great lunch or dinner time treat. When we are feeling lazy and hungry, we whip up some fried egg sandwiches. They are really easy to make, and can be a complete meal when you add a little mixed green salad, and a nice glass of white wine. I like to use either baguettes or biscuits as they add a bit more substance to the meal, then boring (yawn) bread. Then I add slivers of avocado, pancetta chips, and a gorgeous fried egg. A dressing of sriracha and olive oil wraps the eggy dish together.
Recipe: Fried Egg Sandwich
- 1 perfectly fried egg (recipe above)
- 1/4 avocado, sliced thinly
- 3 slices of pancetta
- 1 biscuit or a piece of baguette, cut in half, and warmed
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Cut the biscuit or baguette in half. Lay the slices of avocado on top of it, then add the pancetta chips. Cook your perfectly fried egg. Lay the egg on top of the pancetta. In a small bowl, mix the siracha and olive oil together, then drizzle over the egg. Top with the other half of the cut bread.
Serve. Eat.
I have been slowly going through some old posts, and re-shooting the recipes. Someday when I have even more down-time, I am going to start remaking some of these recipes, as they are favorites of ours.
Some of the most popular posts on Chez Us are the egg series we did back in 2009. We wrote about how to make the “perfect” eggs, whether they are poached, scrambled, soft boiled or hard boiled. In addition to serving them as a breakfast item, we took the technique into other recipes for different times of the day.
As we are working from home full-time now, I am on the look out for quick and easy lunch recipes. I don’t have a lot of time, or maybe I just don’t want to devote that much time, for lunch, so the recipe has to be down right dirty. A favorite of ours is Ella’s Egg Salad.
Here is the original write up:
“Hard boiled eggs are great for a light breakfast with a piece of toast and fruit. It also makes for an easy take along snack, just toss it into a container and pop it in your bag. One of our favorite lunch time treats is Ella’s Egg Salad Sandwich. Ella is only 5, almost 6, but she has been making egg salad for about 3 years and she really has perfected the recipe! We like to serve it alone as is or on a baguette.”
I use to take care of Ella full-time and was always trying to come up with fun, easy and delicious meals we could make together. Ella loved hard-boiled eggs just sliced with a sprinkle of salt, so one day, we took it to another level. I gently guided her; but, she did all of the creating herself. I remember her sitting on the kitchen counter cutting the eggs with a little plastic knife, she was so adorable. Then we would measure each of the ingredients into the bowl. She would stir and stir, and taste and taste, before the eggy mixture was perfect. It was so much fun. And … she created this delicious lunch time treat.
Recipe: Ella’s Egg Salad Sandwich
* makes two sandwiches
- 3 perfectly hard boiled eggs
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- fresh dill, handful, roughly chopped
- fresh chives, handful, minced
- kosher salt, to taste
- fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Roughly chop your eggs. Add them to a mixing bowl with the mayo and mustard, stir until mixed, fold in herbs and season with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
Serving Suggestions: as a salad either alone or on a bed of baby lettuce. As Ella suggestions, eating it from a spoon or alongside a baguette.
People often ask us, what we love about Paris. The answer is always the same, it feels like coming home. It is historical but modern. Romantic is an understatement. It just feels right, and good. We have been to Paris many times; but, never in the Spring. Normally, we travel there off-season, which is dark and gloomy to most, and romantic and intimate to us. I had secretly hoped this year (as I do every year) that we could make it to Paris in the Spring. I have this fantasy that there will still be a bit of gloom in the sense of the old, dark buildings that make Paris Paris, but, that the beginning of new life brightens the city up, without the sweaty heat of summer.
During one of my daydreams of long days sitting near the Siene, drinking Rose and nibbling pastries, I heard that my friend, Jamie was inviting everyone over for April in Paris for the Monthly Mingle. I pushed myself away from the computer, dusted off the baking pans, and set out to bake something wonderful. Something that I have yet to enjoy when in Paris.
I, adore cream puffs, but never make them, except in the form of gougeres, which is their savory cousin. Or, if we are missing Paris, I will whip up a batch of Les Chouquettes, which is a sweet breakfast treat, and a must with our morning coffee when we are there. Cream puffs are simply baked choux, filled with mounds of whipped heavy cream or a pastry cream, then dusted with powdered sugar. It was a very hot the day when I decided to tackle this project, so I opted to fill my cream puffs with a Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato. If, I was going to use a pastry cream to fill them, I would definitely use Dorie Greenspan’s recipe that she uses with a gorgeous french pear tart.
Once you master making choux (which is easy), cream puffs are a breeze. I change my basic choux recipe when making cream puffs, by adding a little sugar, to sweetened things up. After all, it is dessert. Simply bake small mounds of the sweet dough, until golden, then use your patience and let them cool. When you slice off the top of the cream puff there is a somewhat eggy texture inside some people like to remove this before filling, I like to leave it in there. It is sweet and has a wonderfully like texture. And, why waste it? Then I fill it with creamy gelato and drizzle hot fudge over the top. A sprinkle of pistachio dust, adds a lovely color contrast, and nice little crunch to your dessert.
Come along and enjoy Paris in April. There will be a round up of Monthly Minglers; I will update as it becomes available.
Recipe: Cream Puffs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup ap flour
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- vanilla bean ice cream
- homemade hot fudge
- 1/4 cup pistachios
Heat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. In a large saucepan bring the water, sugar, salt and butter to a boil over medium high heat. Lower the heat to a very low simmer, and stir in the flour, using a wooden spoon. Continue stirring the mixture until it comes together. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir with the wooden spoon until the mixture if glossy; you will get a workout. Then add the next egg and repeat the process. Using two soup spoons, put little piles of dough, about 1 1/2 tablespoons, onto the baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. You should have 6 – 7 puffs. Bake for 10 minutes, and then lower the heat to 375. Continue baking for 20 – 25 minutes, until they are puffed and golden brown. Do not open the oven during baking. Cool. When the cream puffs are baking, make your pistachio dust. Put the pistachios into a ziploc bag, and roll a rolling pin over the top of the bag, back and forth, until they turn into a dusty mixture.
Slice off the top of a cream puff, fill with ice cream, and drizzle hot fudge over the top. Sprinkle with pistachio dust. Serve. Eat.
You are probably thinking to yourself, that this grilled cheese sandwich does not really fit into our new, low-cholestrol diet. Well, Lenny was traveling last week, so I did him a favor, by (attempting) finishing all of the cheese in the house. Don’t judge. Someone had to do it – took one for the team!
Being that it is National Grilled Cheese Month, and we have not participated in any food blogging events in some time, I dediced it was time to take the grilled cheese of Chez Us to another level. Gruyere is our favorite cheese of choice when it comes to making a grilled cheese sandwich. Usually, I butter some ciabatta, then pile the grated Gruyere on, and slowly toast and melt the sandwich. All that is left is a little sprinkling of Maldon to make it perfect. Buttery, cheesy, goodness; a party in your mouth!
Last week, not only did I have a chunk of cheese staring me down, but I also had some gorgeous, early season tomatoes, green garlic, and a creamy avocado, screaming to be eaten. I was hungry, and the creative juices were a flowing. First I took some unsalted butter and melted it with slivers of green garlic. Then I buttered both slices of bread with the mixture. Okay, I really poured the garlicky mixture all over both slices, making sure every last piece of garlic was pressed into the bread. Then I piled mounds of cheese onto the green garlic and toasted the sandwich until golden. Just before stuffing my face with it, I opened up the sandwich and put in slices upon slices of tomatoes and avocado. It was heavenly. The tomato was perfect with the bubbly and salty cheese, and the avocado added the creamy texture that the sandwich was screaming for.
Since making this sandwich for the first time, I have to admit, I bought more gruyere, have hidden it in the fridge and have indulged in this sandwich three more times. It’s a love-affair with grilled cheese!
Recipe: Grilled Cheese with Green Garlic Butter, Tomatoes and Avocado
* makes one sandwich
- 2 slices ciabatta bread
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp green garlic, minced finely
- 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
- 3 tomato slices
- 1/2 avocado, thinly slice
- maldon salt, sprinkle
Slice two equal slices of ciabatta bread. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small sauce pan. Stir in the green garlic. Set aside. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium-low heat; about a 4 on our stove. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Melt. Lay each slice of bread onto the melted butter. Cook over medium-low heat, until lightly golden, about 2 – 3 minutes. Brush the non-toasted side of the bread with the green garlic butter. Be sure to get all the pieces of garlic onto the bread. Sprinkle both sides with the cheese. Let the cheesy pieces of bread cook for 2 minutes over medium-low heat. Gently put one of the slices on top of the other slice. Sprinkle both sides with a little Maldon salt. Lightly press down with a spatula. Cook over medium-low heat until golden brown, and the cheese is melted. 3 – 5 minutes, each side. Remove from the heat. Gently lift the top of the sandwich off, and lay the tomatoes and avocado onto the melted cheese. Put the top of the sandwich back on. Serve. Eat.
This week over at the Back Burner, we are sharing recipes from restaurants, that have stayed with us. I, took a trip down memory lane, to a favorite little Italian restaurant, Carlo’s. Carlo’s was an intimate Italian bistro in San Rafael, CA. It was owned by a quirky Italian couple, Carlo and Marie Avola. The witty personalities filled the small dining room nightly, and their home-cooked Italian food kept you coming back for more.
A highlight of mine was the gently poached salmon. Carlo poached it in sparkling wine, and it was lightly seasoned with garlic, rosemary and fresh vegetables. It was like butter … melting on your tongue with each bite. This recipe is perfect for a romantic evening at home or even as a bridal luncheon.
Head over to read more stories from the talented recipe developers of the Back Burner; they will be taking us all down memory lane this week.
Recipe: Carlo’s Fresh Salmon
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