Truffle Mutt

Dill-icious

I've got a nasty cold that has me confined to the couch (yuck) and exposed to endless hours of Food TV (yeah).  Oh look!  Chef Michael Smith making smoked salmon bagel sandwiches.

What a good idea.  That is once I slip out of the cold med haze and walk to the kitchen.  Now into the mini food chopper, goes one big dollop of creme fraiche, a tbsp or so of capers, zest of 1/2 a lemon, a pinch of smoked sea salt, 1/2 a chopped shallot and 5 or so small sprigs of dill.  Buzz away until everything is nicely blended.  Taste.  And?  Nope, it needs a bit more dill and a pinch of sugar to round it out.  Perfect.  Now for one can of salmon, a piece of toast and extra capers.

Now, back to the couch...

Wine and What?

I've recently discovered the best olive in the world!  That probably sounds like a big claim, but it's true, honestly.  Since I discovered these Mezzetta Napa Valley garlic stuffed olives in Chardonnay and herbs my life has been transformed.   Okay, that part is an exaggeration.

I got these in a gift basket for Christmas and am I glad I finally got the urge to try them.  The garlic adds a glorious crunch and the herb flavor really comes through, where the wine and garlic are not nearly as distinctive as I expected.  Truly wonderful.  I found them at Safeway and bought 4 jars plus one more jar of the jalapeno stuffed olives.  Now I just need to find the olives stuffed with almonds - cool! 

Let's Salsa

I've been in a salsa kind of mood the last few days and I can't seem to shake it.  Not the dance silly, the food!  It's been rainy and cool outside, but my mind is in summer mode and I've been craving the fresh summer taste of homemade salsa.

I'm still searching for the perfect salsa, one that can deliver sweet, salt and trace of smoke with every bite.  Like the salsa that used to lure me and my coworkers to Berryhill Tamales, over and over, when it was still around, that is. 

This time I put a mango chipotle salsa on trial, hoping that the fruity sweetness and the smokey pepper would deliver the taste I was looking for.  When I first took the lid off of the food processor though, I wasn't at all convinced, the eye-watering onion hit me like a wall and one taste revealed that the cilantro was also too strong.  After a couple of hours though the flavors melded and mellowed and it turned out to be a great combination.  And while it wasn't The Salsa I was looking for, it was certainly good enough to be dinner that night and dinner the next night when it dressed up my grilled chicken wrap.

Soup & Sandwiches

There is something so comforting about a big bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Crisp bread filled with gooey aged cheddar that's dipped into piping hot soup.  It's so simple and yet so perfect.

For lunch on the weekend I wanted something quick so I settled for a can of Campbells tomato soup spiked with 1 tbsp of basil and a dash each of garlic and onion powder.  The sandwiches were black forest ham layered with aged cheddar and a sweet cranberry mustard.  To finish it off a sprinkle of asiago cheese on the soup and voila!

There's not much else you can say about it but...yum.

Berry Good

Mmm...  Strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. 

**sigh**

Until Next Time

Do you ever experience moments when, for no apparent reason, you start craving rather peculiar foods?  Instances where a wee voice peaks out of your subconscious and whispers "psst... I'm hungry...", when your attempts at ignoring it are futile and the hunger evolves into an overpowering of conscious thought, and the voice, no longer at a whisper says, "I asked you nicely the first time".  You know the cravings I'm talking about.   

What's different about these cravings, from let's say a regular sugar fix, is that the hunger will be for a food that I wouldn't normally eat.  I'll yearn for pancakes loaded with butter and syrup, which I eat about once a year (during Stampede) and don't even like.  Or I'll suddenly long for the peanut butter and Cheese Whiz on toast that I ate when I was a kid (don't knock it, it's good).  Or, for example, the other night when I was walking home from the bus, my mind was focused on a Denver sandwich.

For the Love of Liver

You either like it or you hate it.  Yeah that's a picture of liverwurst, and gazing upon it has either got you craving or cringing.  I 'm personally on the love side of this one, which makes sense because I posted it. 

I found this one in particular at the European butcher shop that my Grandmother frequents.  It's a herbed goose liver pate, which I don't think I've had before.  It has a stronger taste and aftertaste than the grocery store variety I'm accustomed too, but I'm not sure if that's a function of the goose or the difference in quality of the product.  I'll have to do more research on the subject before I can draw any solid conclusions. 

Even if you hate liver I suggest you work up the courage to try liver pate.  It presents a much different flavor than lets say liver and onions, which I find repulsive myself.  On a piece of whole grain rye bread with butter it's great.  And good for you too!  Okay maybe not.

Blue Rare & Beyond

This is a little taste of the steak tartare that I've always known to be my Grandmothers.  I'm sure it seems yucky to some of you, but it's just something that I grew up with.  It might not be your standard comfort food, but piled atop fresh white bread it's one of the best things around.   

To make this batch I bought a sirloin from Hoven Farms at the Farmers Market and had them double grind it for me.  They trim all your meat right there in front of you.  What a great place! 

To make it I add all the seasonings to taste, so no two batches are alike.  Throw in salt, pepper, lemon juice, 1 egg, Maggi seasoning and lots of diced onion.  Then, if you have the patience, I let it sit in the fridge for awhile.  It does taste better when the flavors have had a chance to mingle a bit.

Be brave, give it a try.  You just might like it.

Christmas Bake-a-Thon Continued

In order to keep my pet project interesting, I decided to move on to something I hadn’t tried before.  I pulled out my list of things-to-make and spotted ‘spiced nuts’.  A candied mixture of brown sugar and hot sauce, fantastic!   

I found the recipe in one of my Epicurious magazines and had wanted to try it for some time.  So, I made a quick visit to the website to read the reviews, and since the comments weren’t all that negative I decided to give it a try.  If you’re interested in the recipe I’ve linked it here, but I would recommend a couple of changes to the original.  First, I’d use a mixture of nuts, not just the toasted pecans.  I would also, as several other reviewers pointed out, use at least four cups of nuts.  There’s plenty of candy to evenly coat that amount.

The end result turned out great.  So great that I’m not sure this batch will survive the two long weeks until Christmas.  The flavor is well suited to all the different nuts and I think the mixture makes the presentation a bit more interesting as well.  It’s got a sweet & savory flavor with a nice warmness to follow.  As an added bonus, if you use a store bought roasted nut mix (just remember to omit the salt), they’re amazingly easy to make.  That might not be such a good thing though; now I’ll probably be more inclined to eat them.  *Note to self: next time make these no more than 30 minutes before needed!