Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Steak Pizzaiola – Better Late Summer Than Never
Of course, those have been available around here for many weeks, but every time I’d buy some, I’d quickly use them on sandwiches, salads, etc., before getting to make this great dish. Hey, a BTL can be very seductive.
Well, I’m happy to announce I was finally able control my will power, and saved enough for a beautiful bowl of concasse, which is the soul of this superb sauce. Speaking of concasse – which is nothing more than a fancy French culinary term for peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes – I’ll be posting a video for how to do those on Tuesday, so stay tuned.
Having said that, this would work with some finely chopped, canned San Marzano tomatoes in a pinch. I also encourage the use of both dried and fresh oregano, which I think work great together in this quick sauce. Anyway, I really hope you have access to some beautiful tomatoes, and that you give this steak pizzaiola recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 pound beef tenderloin steaks, cut into 4 medallions
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms
2 tsp butter
1 cup sliced or diced sweet and/or hot peppers
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup finely chopped, peeled and seeded tomato (aka concasse)
pinch of hot chili flakes
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of hot chili flakes
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
toasted bread and mozzarella, optional
View the complete recipe
View the complete recipe
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Summer in Santa Monica and a recipe round up
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| Farmers' market beauty in Santa Monica. |
The first notes from our
Santa Monica summer sublet:
After living in the brittle high dessert of Northern New Mexico for three years, I am drunk on oxygen. I walk Ocean Avenue cradled in moisture, intoxicated, breathing deep. And although we sleep seventeen blocks from the Pacific, I smell the ocean in the sheets. I wake with the sensation, the awareness of the sea. It infuses the day with an unnameable pleasure I can almost taste. If I could live on air I would eat the on-shore breeze with a spoon.
Steve has found his own source of bliss at Caffe Luxxe on Montana Avenue. Rich, caramel Italian espresso with the perfect artful brush of creamy foam. If further persuasion is needed to lure him into staying here, I only need to whisper, “Una bella tazza” and he'll be putty in my hands.
Things are looking up.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Announcing Cooking Concepts 11 – Splash into Summer
What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade….
Whoa Summer has arrived…I adore it !!! As a kid I used to love summer. There was no school. Instead, there were vacations, trips, playing, toys and books. Summer brought tasty fruits watermelon, mango (my favorite fruits) , along with chilled delights like icecreams, juices…
Coming to this month’s concept is “Splash into Summer”. No Summer is complete without chilled delights or without mangoes, barbecues, icecreams, soberts….
So why waiting friends it’s time for summer delights/recipes. Link as many entries as possible.
Here are some guidelines
- Make recipes which fit this month’s concept
- Please link back to this page.
- Both Veg and Non Veg recipes are allowed, but No pork and beef.
- Use of logo is mandatory which helps to spread the word.
- Non bloggers or friends who have problem with linky tool can send me the recipes along with the picture to sravscc@gmail.com.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The Kings Ginger Summer Cup
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| King Edward VII |
The King’s Ginger is the emphatically ginger liqueur that was specifically formulated by Berry Bros. in 1903 for King Edward VII. Rich and zesty, it was created to stimulate and revivify His Majesty and has been appreciated by bon viveurs, sporting gentlemen and high-spirited ladies ever since.
The King’s Ginger is sporting a new look to assert the premium credentials of the world’s only high-strength ginger liqueur and to reinforce its peerless heritage.
King Edward VII was a thoroughly sociable chap who enjoyed the high life; his preferred pursuits were many and varied, chief among them driving his horseless carriage, a Daimler. His physician, a customer of Berry Bros. (as was the King), was concerned about Edward’s health, exposed as he was to the elements in his new automobile. He commissioned, therefore, his wine and spirits merchants to formulate a liqueur which would warm His Majesty; the result, a rich, golden liqueur with a pronounced spicy ginger emphasis and delightfully crisp flavour.
The King’s Ginger is a high-strength liqueur created by the careful maceration of ginger root enlivened by the judicious addition of citrus in the form of lemon peel. Although warming and heartening on a cold day as originally intended, it is a splendidly uplifting tonic to be enjoyed on its own all year round as well as in any number of cocktails and long drinks. It has been described by Jonathan Ray in The Fieldas “opulently and sublimely gingery.”
1 part (25ml/1oz) The Kings Ginger
3 parts (75ml/2.5oz) Cranberry Juice
3 parts (75ml/2.5oz) Lemonade
Build in a glass over ice and add lemon wheels and strawberries. This can also be made in jugs and punch bowls.
Heres another alternative to tonic water in your gin:
Bulldog Gin Signature Serve
Ingredients:
50 ml Bulldog Gin
Top Cloudy lemonade
Sprig of Mint
Lemon wedge
Method:
Pour in Gin over cubed ice, top up with cloudy lemonade and garnish with a lemon wedge and sprig of mint.
I still have a sample of Appleton Estate Rum to try, but think Id like to add that to a dessert or cake so Ill report back on that another time.
Bulldog Gin is available in 70cl bottles from Waitrose RRP £24.99
Appleton Estate Rum V/X is available from all major supermarkets RRP £20.29
Appleton Estate Rum 8 Year Old is available from Selfridges RRP £24.99
The Kings Ginger is available from Berry Bros. & Rudd in 50cl bottles at £17.95
I was provided with miniatures of these spirits to sample with mixers, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Ciambella with Summer Berry Compote
Psst - anybody still out there? I sure hope so. Its been a long time. I know, Im sorry. It is not easy balancing everything Im working on these days but I am going to really try to start blogging again more regularly. So Im going to get right to it.
This weekend I made a Ciambella with a Summer Berry Compote for my dinner group. Its a ring shaped cake but it tastes more like a cookie. It tastes similar to the anisette cookies that I make, a one baked biscotti (so its technically not a biscotti because that means twice baked.) This dessert could not get easier. In fact, I made this years ago and it was one of the first Mario Batali recipes I ever tried. It all gets done in the food processor and pretty much just gets thrown together. Thats the kind of dessert I like to make since we all know how often I ruin desserts! lol
The only changes I made to this recipe was that I left out the blackberries. I think it was just as good with the raspberry, blueberry combo. I think I will brush it with an egg wash next time. Just so it looks shiny and pretty. It is pretty rustic looking and I think if I cooked it longer it would have dried it out.
Let me know if you try this!
Ciambella with Summer Berry Compote
by Mario Batali
Ingredients:
1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint raspberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons cold sweet butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice plus 1 tablespoon
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup cold milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, combine berries, lemon juice and sugar. Place over medium heat and cook until just boiling, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Place flour, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and pulse quickly to blend. Add cold butter and pulse quickly until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. In a separate bowl, beat egg, almond extract and milk until smooth. With food processor going, add liquid all at once and blend 10 to 15 seconds, until just forming a ball. Remove dough from processor to a well-floured cutting board. Shape the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1-1/2 inches tall. Grease a cookie sheet with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and lay the log in a round in center. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. (I served it cold which I liked better than warm or room temp) Cut into slices about 1-inch thick, top with 2 tablespoons of berry compote and serve.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.
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