A Summer Picnic Dinner

 

In the summer the San Diego Zoo is open late into the evening. A good friend offered to trade entrance to the Zoo for a picnic dinner. We thought that was more than fair, and a great way to enjoy her company.

I knew she was trying to eat healthy, so I made a couple of wraps with a multi-grain flat bread, a quinoa salad with fresh herbs and vegetables, and a nice fruit salad with a light honey poppy seed vinaigrette.

For the wraps, I used Flatout Multi-Grain with Flax. It is a hearty and sturdy, but still soft, flat bread that is great for wraps. I made two kinds. I made a curried egg salad, and maple pomegranate glazed grilled chicken with a candied ginger aioli. The egg salad had a combination of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, with some curry powder and hot curry paste, and some diced celery for crunch. For the chicken, I grilled the breasts, glazing them with the maple pomegranate glaze I used back at the chicken tasting party. When cool, I sliced them into strips across the grain. To go with the chicken, I made an aioli with apple and lingonberry vinegar and candied ginger. I added some fresh bronze leaf lettuce to the wrap.

The quinoa salad was cooked quinoa, with diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, mint, cilantro, and a little cumin. I used a couple of small, ripe cluster tomatoes that had nice, firm flesh. The quinoa expands much more than rice or barley, so two cups of dry quinoa made two quarts of quinoa salad.

The fruit salad had nectarine, banana, strawberries, strawberry orange, and blueberries. I made a light honey poppy seed vinaigrette with orange muscat champagne vinegar. The fruity character of this vinegar really enhanced the flavors of the fruit in the salad. A touch of honey counterbalanced the acid in the fruit and vinegar nicely.

For dessert, I brought a selection of the chocolates I made the other day in class.

It was a lovely evening. The weather was perfect. We got to watch another friend perform on the didgeridoo, then wandered and chatted.

Recipes

Curried Egg Salad

6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. hot curry paste
salt to taste

In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder, curry paste, and salt.

In another bowl, combine celery and egg. Add enough dressing to moisten and coat.

Candied Ginger Aioli

3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. candied ginger, finely minced
2 Tbsp. apple and lingonberry vinegar
1 cup olive oil
salt to taste

Whisk together egg yolks, ginger, salt, and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking vigorously, until emulsion thickens.

Quinoa Salad

2 cups dry quinoa
4 cups water
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 small ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/4 cup chiffonade of mint
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt to taste

Place quinoa and water in a rice cooker. Cook until done. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in rest of ingredients, chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Fruit Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

1 ripe banana, sliced
1 nectarine, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 strawberry orange, cut into supremes
5 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. orange muscat champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix together fruit, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, and salt until an emulsion  forms. Poor over fruit, Chill until ready to serve.

Happy eating!

 

Turkey and Stuffing Omelets

I love omelets. They are one of those blank slates one can do almost anything with. I first heard of the concept of a stuffing omelet from an appearance of Sam the Cooking Guy on the Dave, Shelley, and Chainsaw Show. I thought the idea was so intriguing, I had to try it. I love stuffing. It is my number one comfort food.

The omelet is both simple, and slightly tricky to do well. Getting the pan temperature just right is critical. Too hot, and it will burn on the bottom before the top cooks and the cheese melts.  Too cool, and it doesn't brown properly.

Turkey and Stuffing Omelet

2 eggs
1 tsp. milk
1/2 cup diced turkey
1/2 cup leftover stuffing
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. water

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add egg mixture, swirl to get an even coating. Layer cheese, turkey, and stuffing on one half of the omelet. Put water in along edge of pan, and cover. Once top is cooked, cheese is melted, and filling hot, fold omelet and move to a plate.

Ancho Chile Polenta and Black Bean Hash with Poached Egg

A great way to use up leftovers is a hash. Generally it uses potatoes, but other starches will work. I still had a fair amount of the ancho chili polenta from the other day, and also some of the black beans. I diced the polenta in about 1/2 inch cubes, and fried it in olive oil until brown. I added some minced green onion and garlic, and the leftover beans, which had onion and cumin.

I've been trying to get the hang of poaching eggs. I've been incrementally getting better, but then I found this method, which I found worked quite well. I used a large (14") straight-sided skillet. I put in about 1 1/2" of water, a teaspoon of coarse sea salt, and 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar. Bring the water to a good boil, then remove from heat. I previously broke the eggs into ramekins. It is generally advised that it takes the freshest eggs to get them to poach right. When the water reduces to a simmer, gently pour the eggs in. I could comfortably get three eggs in the pan, I think with practice I can easily get in four. Cover the pan. I let it sit for 7 minutes, and my yolks were mostly solid. Next time, I will try 5 minutes. Shape-wise, these were the best poached eggs I've made. I will definitely be working this method again.

Ancho Chili Polenta and Black Bean Hash

2 cups Ancho Chili Polenta, cubed
1 cup cooked black beans
1 large green onion, minced
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry polenta cubes until golden brown. Add garlic and onion, cook until tender. Stir in beans, cook until heated through.

Serve with a poached egg on top.

Happy Eating!

Moscato Zabaglione

Last night, my wine class was doing wines of Italy. As always, I wanted to do something appropriate for the potluck. Looking at what was available, I thought I'd go with a zabaglione, a traditional Italian dessert, which is a light, foamy custard-like dessert. Typically, it uses Marsala wine. I've never liked the one's I've had that had Marsala in them. But, I've long since learned that just because haven't liked a food, means I don't like a food. My tastes may have changed, or I just haven't had the right variation, yet. I had some Moscato, so I thought I'd use that. It is a fairly easy dessert, as long as you are careful. It involves whipping egg yolks, sugar, and wine over a double boiler until it is light, fluffy, and stable. That gets cooled, and then whipped cream is folded in.

A classmate made homemade biscotti, and the two desserts went very well together. For a change, my classmates didn't devour everything, so I had enough to take back to the spouse. Given she licked out her bowl, I'm guessing she liked it.

There is something to Marsala that gives a funky taste to the zabaglione that I find unpleasant. I liked the Moscato a lot, however. It was much lighter, and somewhat sweeter. Also, since this is cooked over a double boiler, it does not get hot enough to evaporate out the alcohol. Since Marsala is fortified, it may be the higher alcohol taste that puts me off. I wished I'd had some blackberries, because I think that would have gone very well with this dessert. Zabagliones are typically served in a martini glass.

Moscato Zabaglione

6 egg yolks
3/4 cup Moscato
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream

Whip cream to stiff peaks, set aside.

You will need a stock pot and a stainless steel bowl. Put enough water in the stockpot such that, when you put the bowl on top of the pot, the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Place pot on medium-low heat, and bring just to a simmer. Turn heat down slightly.

Place bowl on top of the pot. Place egg yolks, sugar, and wine in the bowl. Whisk vigorously, until mixture is lighter in color, and fluffy, about the consistency of whipped cream at soft peaks. Remove from heat, place bowl in an ice water bath, and continue to whisk until zabaglione is at room temperature. Gently fold in whipped cream. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Happy Eating!

 

Hash and poached eggs

For breakfast I decided to make hash and eggs. Our CSA had provided us with quite a few peppers We had a lot of potatoes from Golden Share, with which we also participate.

I'm still working on poaching. I'll get it down, eventually. I was using too narrow a pan.  I'll try a larger pan next time.

For the hash, I diced three small red skinned potatoes, one half a small yellow onion, one small red bell pepper, one small green bell pepper, and one each of a cherry pepper, a banana pepper, and a Serrano chili. In a medium-hot pan, I started frying the potatoes. Once partially cooked, I added the peppers and onion.  Cooked everything for a bit then added about a tablespoon of minced garlic, one quarter teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder, and kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender.

Plate the hash, then gently place the poached eggs on top.

Happy eating!