April: Spanish Cooking Month

When I was asked if I would like to participate in Fry's Grocery Store's Taste of Spain campaign, I didn't hesitate. This month, the grocery chain is celebrating the country by stocking their shelves with a special selection of Spanish imports and I was provided some ingredients for cooking inspiration. Spanish cuisine is one of my favorites (my last name is actually Basque), and well-used books in my collection include Penelope Casas' Tapas, La Cocina de Mamá and The Food & Wines of Spain. On Friday, I picked up my gift basket, including chorizo, olives, marcona almonds, salsa verde, mojo picon, picos camperos, wine and more: 

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I also did some shopping this weekend, for additional ingredients for menu planning such as clams, shrimp, Manchego cheese and these goodies from Fry's: 

I'll have to go through my pantry and see what else I can play with, but I know I have Arbequina olives, imported octopus from Galicia, pimentón, and ñoras chiles.

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This afternoon I served tapas (details here) of marcona almonds, mushrooms, chorizo in puff pastry, Iberico salami, manchego cheese, olives with pickled garlic, and mushrooms with sherry and salsa verde. Tonight I'll be making clams - Almejas a la Marinera.  I also made a fresh batch of aceite de ajo y perejil with Spanish extra virgin olive oil, parsley, garlic, and smoked paprika salt.  I posted that recipe last month.  

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Ensalada de Huevo - Spanish Egg Salad

This post is sponsored by The American Egg Board

The week following Easter is National Egg Salad Week, a delicious solution for leftover deviled or hard-boiled eggs, or simply a great excuse to whip up a batch. Whether served as an appetizer or entree, I love cooking with eggs, and hard-boiled eggs are so versatile. They’re a tasty addition to salads or as garnishes (I especially like them with roasted asparagus) and are the perfect nutritional package, with each egg providing 6 grams of protein and no sugar or carbs. 

While it may sound like you'll need an exotic pantry to make this egg salad inspired by the flavors of Spain, the key ingredients are simple - extra-virgin olive oil, fresh parsley, garlic and salt.  Aceite de ajo y perejil (olive oil with garlic and parsley) is a traditional Spanish sauce that adds a punch of flavor to dishes. Try it drizzled over grilled seafood or steak, as a marinade or dressing, and tossed with pasta or roasted vegetables. I also use it to dress crowd-pleasing egg tapas, so it’s a natural addition to egg salad. 

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Combined with mayonnaise, this flavorful sauce adds an herbal zest to egg salad, and its familiar ingredients also marry beautifully with any type of leftover deviled eggs, such as some of my favorites: 

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With pickled wasabi and black salt, and with bacon and smoked paprika

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With homegrown chives and Piment d'Espelette

Ensalada de Huevo - Spanish Egg Salad

Ingredients:

6 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
¼ cup of homemade or store-bought mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons of aceite de ajo y perejil
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon of pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)

Whisk the lemon juice, mustard, paprika, and parsley sauce into mayonnaise until smooth.  Combine with the chopped eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

To make the aceite de ajo y perejil:

1 cup of parsley leaves
3 chopped garlic cloves
2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Mince parsley and garlic in a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper.  It can be as fine or chunky as you like.  With the motor running, gradually add in the olive oil.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper to taste (I like to use smoked paprika sea salt). Store it in an airtight jar for up to two weeks. When serving, bring to room temperature and give it a stir.

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Tips:

• For a foolproof and easy-peel method of cooking hard-boiled eggs, look no further than this link from the American Egg Board. Over the years I’ve experimented with old eggs versus fresh eggs, adding vinegar to the water, and poking a pinhole in the shell, and no recipes have been as fast and easy as my new favorite method. I simply steam them for 12 minutes in a pot with a steamer insert and then transfer to an ice bath. The shell slips off easily and the eggs are cooked to a perfect golden yolk. Guaranteed, every time.

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• If using leftover deviled eggs, simply chop and toss with aceite de ajo y perejil to taste.

• In addition to sandwiches, this egg salad makes a company-worthy dish as a topping for crostini and garnished with sliced radishes (homegrown) and smoked paprika.

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• It can also be served on cucumber rounds, sliced tomatoes, or mounded on vegetables or fresh greens drizzled with aceite de ajo y perejil (here I've used mizuna and lettuce from my garden) for a healthy salad. In fact, eggs help the body absorb the nutrients in raw vegetables.

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This post has been sponsored by The American Egg Board

In the Kitchen - January Edition

A pictorial of some of the dishes I made in January.  A special bonus: My parents flew in from Boston and brought lobster (14 pounds of live lobsters, steamed and shelled).  Thanks mom and dad!

Filet mignon with mushroom risotto and truffle cream sauce.

Lobster Thermidor in puff pastry shells

Lobster melts

Lobster melts with avocado and tomato

Lobster Newburg

Chicken Jerusalem with polenta

Chicken Jerusalem with polenta

Rice paper rolls with hoisin-glazed salmon

Chicken croquettes with mashed potatoes and spinach from the garden

Chicken roulades stuffed with mushroom risotto

Mom's rice paper rolls with shrimp

Mom's Vietnamese spring rolls

Meyer lemon curd with shortbread cookies

Jiao ma ji pian (Chicken Slices with Sichuan Pepper and Sesame Oil Sauce)

Sichuan is one of my favorite cuisines and Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking is my favorite cookbook for authentic dishes.  It's such a comprehensive resource for ingredients and techniques with helpful photos, and every recipe I've made goes into my regular rotation.  There's a section in the book with four different sauces for cold sliced or shredded chicken.  These no-cook sauces are easy to put together with a well-stocked Asian pantry and I make these dishes frequently for lunch.  While the book calls for poaching a whole chicken to tenderness with ginger and green onion, I find the sauces are a perfect solution for leftover chicken.  The green onions can be left sliced, or made into a paste as they are in this recipe. I use green onions from my garden.  Both I'itoi's onions or Egyptian Walking Onions multiply prolifically here in Arizona, and this time I used I'itoi's onions.  

TIPS:

Don't confuse "light" soy sauce with low-calorie or low-salt.  It refers to a color; light versus dark soy sauce.  The easy-to-find Kikkoman is a light soy sauce, although I prefer Pearl River Bridge brand (found at most Asian markets).  

I haven't made it with the raw peppercorns as I always have some toasted,  ground and sifted in a jar in the pantry.  I toast them in a pan, grind in a spice grinder, and sift into a container.  It has a very distinct taste so if you're trying them for the first time, go light on this ingredient.  When shopping for Sichuan peppercorns, look for fragrance and more husks than seeds.  I buy mine from Penzey's.  I find they're always high quality with the prized tingling or numbing quality these peppercorns should have.

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Jiao Ma Ji Pian Adapted from Land of Plenty

1/2-1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns or ground Sichuan peppercorn powder
5 tops of green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chicken  stock
2 tablespoons light soy  sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 pound cooled cooked chicken

Recipe: 

• Soak the Sichuan peppercorns in very hot water for 5 minutes until softened and drain.
• Puree peppercorns, green onions and salt in a food processor or grind to a paste in a mortar. Transfer to a bowl.  
• Add the chicken stock and soy sauce and when combined stir in the sesame oil. Salt to taste, and drizzle over the chicken slices.
• Alternately: Whisk ground Sichuan pepper, salt, chicken stock, soy sauce and sesame oil until combined.  Add sliced green onions, and pour over sliced chicken.

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Eggplant with Israeli couscous, basil, and Aleppo pepper

I often use recipes as an inspiration for ingredient combinations or as a base to tweak it and make it my own.  This simple Martha Stewart recipe, however, is perfect as is.  My only changes are a garnish of Aleppo pepper flakes for their mild and fruity heat.  Here in Arizona, I can harvest eggplant and basil almost year round, and this is a frequent lunch in our household.  Israeli couscous is one of my favorite pastas,  and this easy cooking technique transforms the eggplant into velvety luxurious bites.  

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INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup Israeli couscous
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3 small shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil, torn or chiffonade
Salt and pepper
Aleppo pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan,  cook couscous according to directions, drain, and set aside.  In a large skillet with lid,  heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring frequently  until shallots are caramelized and eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes.  Add couscous at end to warm.  Transfer to a serving bowl, toss with vinegar and basil, and season with salt and Aleppo pepper.

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Ichiban eggplant

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Aleppo pepper

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Israeli (pearl) couscous

In the Kitchen - July edition

July cooking - a pictorial of some dishes I made this month. 

Lobster Cobb Salad

Creamy polenta with Arizona mushrooms

Polenta cakes with Arizona porcini and lobster mushrooms

Sockeye salmon with Israeli couscous and dill yogurt sauce

Pan-fried aushak (Afghani leek dumplings)

Crispy-skinned chinook with garlic spinach and shrimp bisque sauce

Crab cakes with dill slaw and caper-lemon-espelette yogurt sauce.

Lobster bisque

Crispy chicken thighs with preserved lemon

Salmon and mango rice paper rolls

Aushak (Afghani green onion dumplings) with garlic yogurt and spiced meat sauce

Salami with idiazabal cheese, raw favas, and lemon

Pistachio-crusted halibut with yogurt-dill sauce and sauteed spinach

Sockeye salmon pennette with scotch-dill cream sauce

Antipasto salad

Sockeye salmon with cauliflower mash and brussels sprouts, lemon vinaigrette

Stetson Chopped Salad

This colorful composed salad served with a buttermilk-pesto dressing is a legacy of Chef Bernie Kantak.  It originally debuted on the menu at Cowboy Ciao when he was Executive Chef, and it can now be ordered at his restaurants Citizen Public House and The Gladly.  It's perfect for entertaining since it can be prepped ahead of time and plated when your company arrives.   I like to serve it as the first welcome dinner for out-of-town guests.  I don't always measure the ingredients, and its deliciousness has never suffered.  Be sure to make a generous batch.  Everyone always goes back for seconds, and I never have leftovers.  

Ingredients to serve 2

1/2 cup Israeli couscous, cooked
1/2 cup chopped arugula
2 ounces diced smoked salmon
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup super-sweet dried corn
1/2 oz crumbled asiago cheese mixed with 1/4 cup toasted pepitas and 1/4 cup dried black currants

Arrange the salad ingredients in rows on a dish to present, and toss with approximately half the pesto dressing to serve.

Pesto Dressing:

1/4 cup pesto
1/2 cup aioli or mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Blend pesto, shallot and aioli well in a food processor.  With motor running, add buttermilk. Add lemon juice and a few grinds of cracked black pepper and combine well.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Aushak

Aushak are Afghan chive and green onion dumplings smothered in tangy yogurt sauce and a spiced meat sauce called keema. The aushak recipe I use is based on one from Gourmet Today, originally printed in Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires and attributed to an Afghan exchange student she befriended.

I love the unique combination of flavors in this layered dish. Thin-skinned dumplings are stuffed with a savory filling and served with garlicky yogurt and keema seasoned with ginger and coriander.  

Ground coriander and coriander seeds

Notes:  I suggest prepping components ahead as making the dumplings can be time-consuming. The meat sauce can be reheated with a little water, and the dumplings can be made the night before. The recipe for aushak printed in the books is great as is, though I've included my changes below: For convenience, I use an 8-oz can of tomato sauce (instead of tomato paste and water), like to saute the chives/green onions briefly (instead of leaving them raw), and use Urfa or Aleppo pepper instead of chili flakes. I love the yogurt sauce so I always make extra. I pull out this recipe when I have an abundance of garlic chives, Egyptian walking onions, and I'itoi onions in my garden.

Aushak

Serves 4

Dumplings:
1-1/2 cups of minced chive and/or scallion tops
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Urfa or Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes)
1 minced garlic clove
Round gyoza or wonton wrappers

Keema:
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 oz ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 8-oz can of tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Yogurt sauce:
1 cup yogurt
1 large clove of garlic minced and mashed with 1/2 tsp salt to make a paste

• In a skillet over medium heat, saute garlic until golden. Add green onions/chives, salt, pepper and chile flakes and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from burner and let residual heat soften the onions/chives. Allow to cool slightly. (Per original recipe, you can mix all filling ingredients without cooking). Moisten edges of wrappers with water and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle. Fold over and press firmly to seal, squeezing out any air pockets. Cover and set aside or refrigerate if made ahead.

• Combine yogurt and garlic paste and set aside. Thin with water if needed.

• For keema, heat oil in a pan and saute onion until golden. Add beef, garlic, coriander, and ginger and cook, breaking up meat with a fork, until it is browned. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes to meld flavors, adding water if the sauce gets too dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.

• Bring salted water to a boil and cook dumplings for approximately 5 minutes. Drain.

• To serve, layer a little garlic yogurt onto a serving dish, place dumplings on top, spoon more yogurt over the dumplings and then finish with meat sauce. Garnish with fresh or dried mint.

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Fresh ginger with my ceramic grater

In the Kitchen - June Edition

June cooking and baking.

Israeli couscous with eggplant and basil

Ma po tofu

Marcella Hazan's Lemon Chicken

Slow-roasted cod with garden salsa

Hakka-style fried pork belly

Grilled ribeye with shishito peppers and artichoke-potato hash

Garden heirloom tomato salad with fior di latte

Teriyaki chicken with Chinese long beans and pork belly fried rice.

Vietnamese summer rolls with leftover teriyaki chicken and long beans

Chili-cheese dogs

Sockeye salmon with spicy cucumbers and nuoc cham

Chocolate-Kahlua bundt cake

Sichuan cooking: Ma po tofu

I first fell in love with Sichuan food when I lived in Boston (some of my posts on Chowhound.com about Sichuan Garden here, and Anise here and here). Locally, I loved Miu's in Tempe (pictures here; now closed) and had a great lunch on one visit last year to Szechwan Palace at the COFCO Chinese Cultural Center.   After discovering Fuschia Dunlop's Land of Plenty cookbook, now I can enjoy Sichuan at home too.  Ma po tofu ("pock-marked woman's tofu") is one of my favorite dishes, and her version is excellent.

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Tips: Silken tofu is the best for this, although I used firm in the dish above. The tofu is meant to be swimming in a hot and spicy chile oil, though you can cut down the oil in the recipe.  My favorite chile bean paste is the  first one with the blue and yellow label, although the Lee Kum Kee brand is very good and easier to find. I just picked up the one in the can, but haven't tried it yet. 

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I like it fiery so I add the optional fresh-ground chile peppers.

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I buy Penzey's Szechuan Peppercorns because they are high quality and fragrant (your looking for the rosy-red pods with just a few of the black, gritty seeds).

Some of the bags I've bought at the Asian market have been old or mostly seeds.  You want peppercorns that make your tongue tingle and give this dish its distinctive ma la ("spicy and numbing"). I toast them in a dry pan, grind in a spice grinder, and then put them through a fine sieve. 

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Fermented/salted black beans and garlic chives from the garden.  I rinse the beans before using as they can be too salty.

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Pock-Marked Mother Chen's Bean Curd (ma po dou fu).  Adapted from "Land of Plenty".

Ingredients:

Serves 2 as a main course with rice

1 block of tofu (about a pound) 
4 baby leeks/spring onions/scallions/garlic chives
1/2 cup of peanut oil 
6 ounces of ground beef or pork
2 ½ tablespoons Sichuan chilli bean paste 
1 tablespoon black fermented/salted beans.
2 teaspoons ground ground dried chiles (optional) 
1 cup of chicken stock 
1 teaspoon white sugar 
2 teaspoons light soy sauce 
salt to taste 
2 tablespoons of cornstarch or potato flour mixed with 3 tablespoons of water 
Ground roasted Sichuan peppercorns

Instructions:

• Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes.

• Slice the onions at an angle in 1 to 2-inch pieces.

• Heat the peanut oil in a wok or pan over high heat.

• Add the ground meat and stir-fry until it is crispy.

• Lower the heat to medium and add the chili bean paste, stir-frying for about 30 seconds to turn the oil red.

• Add the black beans, ground chile (if you like it super-spicy), stock, sugar, soy sauce, and salt to taste and stir to combine. Simmer for a couple minutes to blend the flavors.

• Add the tofu and simmer for about 5 minutes so it absorbs some of the broth.

• Add the green onions and when they are just cooked, pour in the cornstarch or potato flour mixture a little at a time (I use about half of it). You want the sauce to be slightly thick and glossy.

• Pour in a bowl and finish with a sprinkling of ground Sichuan peppercorns.

A sad day: Wedge and Bottle closing

I was so sorry to get the announcement in my inbox yesterday from the owners of Wedge and Bottle, which reads in part, "We are extremely sorry to inform you that we are closing our doors at the end of this month. Every summer has been difficult for us to get through and starting this one with a bad spring was enough to force us into closing.  It has been a wonderful experience sharing our cheese love with you and we are forever grateful for your love and support of our little shop.  We will really miss seeing all of your lovely faces and hope you can make it in to see us as we are selling our final inventory through June 30th. Everything will be sold at 25% off or more.   We have loved the past 4 years and still hope to find jobs in the valley that allow us to work with products that we feel passionate about.  If you know of anything you think we would be a good fit for please let us know."

Not only was this the only shop of its kind in the Phoenix area, but the owners are an amazing couple who built a dream.  It's a reminder to frequent and support these family-owned businesses that we love.  I didn't live close enough to make regular stops, but when I did, I stocked up.  I'm not only saddened for Krista and Troy, but saddened that we won't be able to find the amazing cheese and charcuterie selection their little shop gave us: 

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Scarpetta Wine Spumante Brut Rosé, Belinda's pickles, Rick's Picks Smokra & Mean Beans, Murray River salt, Left Coast Cellars Pinot Noir, Roth Kase Sole Gran Queso, Cowgirl Creamery crackers, Uplands Rush Creek Reserve, Askinosie Ecuador chocolate, Vermont Creamery Bonne Bouche, Meadow Creek Mini Grayson, Caravaglio Capers in sea salt, Johnston County Mangalitsa ham, and Finocchiona. 

...and more (descriptions at bottom of picture with hover):

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Summer Tomato Salad

One of the most satisfying harvests from my vegetable garden is a warm-from-the sun, fragrant,  juicy tomato. Growing up in Massachusetts, I associated the best tomato months with the height of summer - the same months that my tomato plants stop setting fruit due to the intense Arizona heat. On the other hand, if protected from the rare nights of frost, I can now pick tomatoes from September through June. This colorful platter is filled with a jumble of tomatoes that do well here in Phoenix.  My friend Jenny Smith gifted me with wonderful homegrown Punta Banda, Taxi, and Golden Jubilee tomatoes, and I added Stupice and Black Cherry to the mix. Layered with mozzarella fior di latte, drizzled with a tangy sherry vinaigrette, and strewn with fresh-picked herbs (chives, holy and sweet basil, and oregano), this salad is as delicious as it is vibrant.  

Ingredients:

A mix of colorful tomatoes (for this, I used 3 large yellow and orange tomatoes, and about a pint of cherry and smaller tomatoes) 
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of fresh minced herbs
1 clove of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of sherry or balsamic vinegar
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, fior di latte, or burrata
A mix of fresh herbs (minced, torn, or left whole) to garnish

Instructions:

• In a glass jar, combine olive oil, minced herbs, garlic, vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cap jar and shake to emulsify the vinaigrette.
• Core and slice larger tomatoes.  
• For smaller tomatoes, cut into wedges and/or cut in half, and toss with a little vinaigrette.
• Slice cheese and layer with sliced tomatoes on a platter.  
• Arrange the rest of the tomatoes around the dish.  
• Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with vinaigrette, and shower with a handful of fresh-cut herbs.  

For heirloom tomato varieties that do well in Arizona, look for Vilardi Gardens plants at local farmer's markets and nurseries in the spring and fall.

Decadent scrambled eggs from the Egg Master of Sydney

I'm not a morning person, so when I have visiting house guests, my breakfast  repertoire is fast, easy, and hopefully memorable.  This is one of my oft-requested recipes, but it's really more of a technique.  I've been making this decadent scramble for 13 years, since it was first printed in the New York Times.  The unorthodox recipe can also be found in the Essential New York Times Cookbook, and these eggs made Bill Granger famous in Sydney, Australia.   Here are some tips that work for me:  You can substitute milk for the cream, but it's not as good.  You can also double the recipe, but I've found it's best with 2 eggs at a time.  I use a silicone spatula to gently fold instead of a wooden spoon.  And, obviously, quality, fresh eggs are always the best, though you will still get compliments with eggs off the grocery shelf.   

The technique calls for whisking 1/2 cup of cream with 2 eggs and seasoning with salt and pepper. Melt a little butter over medium-high heat in a pan and pour in the egg mixture.  Wait 20 seconds, run a spatula around the edge, and fold in.  Wait 20 seconds and repeat.  Do this one last time and let the residual heat finish cooking the eggs as you plate them.  You'll end up with the dreamiest, lightest, creamiest eggs which seem to melt on your tongue.  

The original article with cooking details and a little more about Bill Granger and these "soft, luscious yellow clouds" can be found here:  The Egg Master of Sydney.

Kentucky Derby menu

My husband is from El Paso, Texas and grew up watching the races while tagging along with his dad to Sunland Park. Watching the Derby is a tradition, and a good excuse for me to make some Southern-inspired eats.  Sometimes we have friends over for a viewing party, or sometimes we plan a low-key afternoon with just the two of us, as we did this past Derby Day.  Mint Juleps in frosted silver-plated cups are always poured, and this year the menu included deviled eggs with espelette pepper, pimento cheese biscuits with bacon jam and bourbon ham spread, and country-fried steak bites with cream gravy. Below is my favorite pimento cheese biscuit recipe, along with the easy bourbon ham spread.  Both make use of a food processor for quicker prep.  

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Pimento Cheese Biscuits (adapted from Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking by Nathalie Dupree)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour

•  1/2 cup of lard, shortening and or butter cut into half-inch pieces

• 1 cup of milk or buttermilk

• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese  

• 1 drained 4-oz jar of pimentos or 4 oz of chopped roasted red peppers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Pulse flour 2 or 3 times in a food processor with the cheese.  
Scatter the chilled shortening or butter over the flour mixture and pulse 3-4 times until the mixture is crumbled and the pieces of butter or fat are the size of a corn kernel.  
Add roasted red peppers and slowly pulse in 3/4 cup milk or buttermilk to make a moist and shaggy dough that clumps together.  You want the peppers to still stay chunky so don’t over-process. You may need to add more flour if it's too wet or more liquid if it's too dry.  
Turn dough out onto a surface lightly sprinkled with flour.  With floured hands, fold the dough in half, pat out into a round, and fold in half again. Sprinkle with flour, pat dough a second time into a 3⁄4-inch-thick round, and cut into disks with a biscuit cutter.   
Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool about 5 minutes, and brush with softened butter.

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BLTs are great on the biscuits too

Bourbon Ham Spread

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups of cooked ham

• 8 tablespoons of softened butter

• 1-2 tablespoons of good bourbon

Directions:

Process all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth  This is a great use of leftover baked ham since it can be frozen; just remember to bring to room temperature before serving so it’s spreadable.

Chiles Rellenos

Chiles rellenos ("stuffed chile" in Spanish) is one of our favorite dishes. My go-to technique for 10 years has been Rick Bayless' recipe in Mexico, One Plate at a Time.   I especially love his tips:  Frying the chiles to blister,  chilling the stuffed poblanos before frying, and reheating in a hot oven.  His souffle batter is also the perfect combination of crispy/fluffy, ideal for soaking up the brothy tomato sauce. 

Don't let his long recipe here intimidate you, as many components can be done ahead of time.  This is my timeline when making these for a dinner party:  I make the sauce, and broil or (fry) and peel the chiles the night before.  I prefer his technique of frying for four reasons - you already have oil that you will be using for the chiles rellenos, it's quicker, it's easier to peel, and you avoid the chance of overcooking.   I should have used similar-sized peppers in the picture below, but you can see the difference in the pepper left too long under the broiler on the left, and the one on the right blistered in hot oil for about a minute.  That being said, I will broil if I'm making a big batch and don't feel like standing over a hot stove.

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The day of, I stuff the chiles with cheese, close them with toothpicks, and put them in the freezer for about 1-1/2 hours. Bayless says this firms them up and makes them easier to batter and fry, and I agree.  Finally, with this technique, you can fry a couple of hours ahead of time and hold at room temperature.  To serve, bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees to reheat.  This also renders out any extra oil and crisps up the batter. 

Tips:  

• Choose poblanos with strong sturdy stems attached to make it easier to dip and coat them in the thick batter.  
• For a quick and easy tomato sauce, I'll simmer canned tomato sauce thinned with chicken stock and seasoned with Penzey's Adobo seasoning.  
• Remember to take out the toothpicks after frying! 

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Grilled artichokes

Happily, the Globe artichoke I planted in the spring of 2013 (which gave me 4 artichokes last year) has exploded in growth and I'll probably get 50 off of it this season.  

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So far, I've been cutting in half and grilling because it's easiest (less trimming).  Some recipes call for trimming the pointed tips of the outer leaves, butI pick them when they're still young and tender and this isn't necessary.  It's also a great entertaining dish since I can steam and marinate ahead of time and throw on the grill when guests arrive.

Directions:

• Snap off a layer of tough outer leaves and cut off the top 1-1/2 inches.  
• Cut in half, rub with lemon to prevent discoloration, and steam for about 20 minutes.
• Now that the choke is soft, it's easy to scoop it out with a spoon.  
• Let cool slightly and toss with extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, fresh herbs, and a favorite seasoning blend (I like the rub that our local Arrowhead Grill Steakhouse sells, or Penzey's Fox Point).   At this point, you can chill for a few hours or even overnight.  Bring to room temperature before grilling.

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• To finish, simply grill over high heat for about 5 minutes to mark and impart that smoky flavor and serve with melted butter and a squeeze of lemon or a creamy vinaigrette.    

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Nicoise-inspired salads

One of my favorite dishes for guests is a composed salad, especially if I have crisp sweet lettuce from the garden and fresh juicy tomatoes.   The components can be prepped ahead and plated at the last minute with a generous drizzle of vinaigrette.  I use high-quality canned Italian or Spanish tuna, although a tuna steak off the grill is a nice change of pace.  For the vinaigrette, I give 3 tablespoons of champagne vinegar,  1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and a 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil a good shake in a glass jar to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper, toss in any combination of minced herbs you have on hand, and you're ready to go. 

Bonito del Norte (Spanish White Tuna) with red potatoes, green beans, hard-boiled eggs, and lettuce and tomatoes from the garden

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Especial Tuna Wild Pacific albacore, olives, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, and potatoes with red and green lettuce and tomatoes  from the garden.

Homemade herb and citrus seasoning salts

This seasoning salt is not only a great use of garden herbs, but also makes lovely gifts.  Right now in my pantry, I have rosemary and garlic, mixed herbs, Meyer lemon and garlic, and plain Meyer lemon (great to rim margaritas!).  The ingredients are simple - mince herbs and toss with kosher salt.  I use roughly 1/2 cup of kosher salt to 1 cup of packed herbs.  If using a food processor to mince the garlic and/or herbs, add a little salt to help them process, before tossing with kosher salt.  With our arid desert weather here in Arizona, leaving the mixture out overnight on a sheet pan is usually enough time for it to dry.  If I'm using garlic or citrus zest, it takes a little longer and I'll sometimes leave the pan in the oven with the light on overnight to speed things up . 

Lemons, thyme, oregano, rosemary and marjoram from the garden.

Mixed herbs with garlic

I store the herb salt in Mason jars

Meyer lemon and thyme

Fresh ham with Tuscan bread stuffing, pine nuts, and raisins.

This was a Tyler Florence recipe that I had been wanting to try and it was the perfect centerpiece for a Sunday afternoon dinner party for 6 of us.  The hard part was finding a fresh ham.  I ended up at our local Asian market where they boned out a pork leg for me, and it worked perfectly.  I'm a big proponent of making components ahead of time as I did here.  I had the butcher save me the bone and I made the ham broth 2 days before.  The night before, I made the stuffing (ciabatta,, pine nuts, raisins, olives, garlic, and Parmesan). The morning of, I allowed myself plenty of time to stuff and roll, brown, and roast for about 4 hours.  I served with my favorite rosemary-cheddar potato gratin and grilled asparagus with lemon, garlic, and shaved Parmesan.  The Welcome Cocktail was La Caravelle's Kir Royal 38. Friends' contributions included deviled eggs as an appetizer, carrot cake for dessert and a bottle of Arizona grenache.  A pretty perfect afternoon with wonderful company! 

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Lucques salad with Valencia and Moro Oranges

Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin is in my top 5 cookbooks for many reasons - seasonal menus, perfect for entertaining, delicious flavors, and every single recipe is a winner. This is a favorite winter salad with arugula, almonds, and dates.  I used homegrown Valencia and Moro blood oranges with plump Arizona dates we picked up at Dateland on a drive back from San Diego.   About this recipe, Goin says, "This salad is my homage to those blood oranges that won my heart so many years ago. Layered with sweet dates, Parmesan, almonds, and a few leaves of peppery arugula, the blood-orange slices burst with sweet, tart juice".  

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This is my Arizona variation of her recipe found in Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table.  I use two kinds of oranges to take advantage of my backyard harvest.  If you can get your hands on the seasonal Sphinx Black Dates, all the better.  This is a beautiful but simple company-worthy dish.  

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup toasted whole almonds or Arizona pecans
15 Arizona Medjool dates or Black Sphinx dates
2 Moro blood oranges
2 Valencia oranges
1/4 pound of Parmigiano-Reggiano, thinly sliced or shaved.  
2 ounces arugula
2 tablespoons pure almond oil
Salt and pepper (I like sea salts from local Go Lb Salts). 

DIRECTIONS

1. Halve the dates lengthwise and remove the pits.
3. Take a slice off the stem and blossom ends of the oranges so they sit flat. Following the shape of the fruit with your knife, cut the peel and white membrane from the orange, trying not to cut too much into the actual fruit, rotating as you go. Slice each orange horizontally into thin wheels.
5. Layer the salad in a large platter or individual salad plates:  Place about a third of the arugula on the plate and top with the sliced oranges, dates, cheese, and nuts. Follow with two more layers . Drizzle the nut oil over the salad, squeeze some fresh orange juice over it, and finish with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  If  you would like more acidity, add a splash of champagne vinegar. 

Serves 6.