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

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fish, Lindsay Olives, Olive, Tomatoes, True Cod

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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.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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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

5.0 from 2 reviews

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Recipe type: Baking

Author: Chez Us

*inspired by Lemon Scented Pull Apart Bread

Ingredients

• 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

Instructions

1. Making the dough:
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Putting it all together:
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Lightly butter a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. Place the loaf pan onto a cookie sheet. Bake the bread for 15 minutes.
15. Then lightly brush the top of the bread with the remaining garlic butter. Pour any last drops over the top of the bread.
16. 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.
17. Remove from the pan onto a serving board, letting any drops of warm butter and garlic fall over the top.
18. Serve.
19. Eat.

2.2.6

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cheese, Cheesy, Flo Braker, Garlic Bread, Green Garlic, Lemon Pull Apart Bread, Parmesan Cheese, Pull Apart Bread, Recipe, Savory

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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.

• Perfectly Soft Boiled Eggs for breakfast and a Creamy Pasta with Fresh Peas for dinner
• Perfectly Scrambled Eggs for breakfast and a Green Garlic Torta for dinner
• Perfectly Poached Eggs for breakfast and a Frisee Salad with egg for 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.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Egg Sandwich, Eggs, Fried Egg, Fry, How to

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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.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Egg Salad, Eggs, Salad, Sandwich

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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

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: April in Paris, Choux, Cream Puffs, French, Gelato, Hot Fudge, Monthly Mingle, Paris, Tahitian, Vanilla

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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

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Avocado, Green Garlic, Grilled Cheese, Gruyere, National Grilled Cheese Month, Sandwich, Tomato

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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

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Back Burner, California, Carlo Avola, Carlo's, Key Ingredient, Marie Avola, Poached, Recipe, Salmon, San Rafael, Savory

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Lenny was traveling last week.  I was a bit bad (head hanging low).   I over indulged.  I bought gelato.  I made chocolate sauce.  I watched bad movies and ate sugary goodness.

I remember my Grandma Olson would always have a little something sweet after dinner, and before going to bed.  It usually consisted of a bowl of vanilla ice cream with this dreamy chocolate sauce.  I was only a kid;  but, I knew this was the ultimate.  It was not from a squeeze bottle.  She would take squares of chocolate, melt them with sugar and butter, and create what I was pretty sure what they served in heaven.

There is an emergency stash of bittersweet chocolate in the pantry.  You know, for those last minute desserts, when company comes over.  Or for emergencies such as this.  The evening pretty much played out like this … I poured a glass of red wine, put a some Les Nubians on (doesn’t chocolate warrant sultry music), carefully (okay, I TORE) opened the chocolate, unwrapped some butter, and started mixing heaven with a little sugar and heavy cream.  Fifteen minutes later, I was on the couch, filling that “missing you” void.

Lesson learned;  don’t buy a squeeze bottle of chocolate sauce.  Make a batch, eat a little, put the rest in the fridge, it will stay fresh for about 2 weeks;  maybe.  It is easy to make.  You know what will be in it.  You can put it on ice cream, pound cake with strawberries, mix a little with your milk for feed that childhood memory.  Let your imagination run as wild as a jar of chocolate sauce is.

And you can get as creative as you want when making this recipe.  Sometimes I add a little orange peel or lemon.  Maybe a sprinkle of smoked cherry wood salt.  Or a shot of bourbon.  Or just as Grandma use to make it … pure.

 

Hot Fudge Sauce

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Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Chez Us

Ingredients

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate – unsweetened
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

1. In a saucepan or a double boiler, over low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter.
2. Stir very often to prevent sticking or burning.
3. Add the sugar, stir, and stir, over low heat for 3 minutes.
4. Add the cream, a little at a time, stirring until it is well-combined, and you have added all of it.
5. Over low heat continue stirring until thickened, about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the vanilla.
7. Remove from the heat.
8. Serve.
9. Eat.

Notes

Makes about 2 1/2 cups. A lot of chocolate fun. Pour over ice cream, fruit, or even pound cake.

2.2.6

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chocolate, Dessert, Grandma, Hot Fudge, Ice Cream, pound cake, Sweet

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Geez it looks like we kind of forgot to share with you the past couple weeks.  What kind of friends are we?!   A whirlwind basically spiraled through my life recently.  Not in a bad way.  I just haven’t been able to get it together.  I have mountains of recipes sitting on my desk, a hard-drive full of unedited photos, and then there was tax time.  It is too bad as I remember some pretty darn good meals being cooked over at Chez Us.

Remember when we mentioned a few weeks ago that there were going to be some big changes happening within the next month?  Huge news!  No …. not that!  Lenny decided to get a physical as it had been forever and he was having some “guy issues”.  No;  NOT THAT!  Instead, he has high cholesterol.  And we are talking about the big bad, not so good, high cholesterol.  A whopping 275!  He We have decided that we are going to try to control it with diet and exercise.  We are both firm believers that the two go hand-in-hand, and can help a lot of issues that are going on within our bodies.  Heck, I went through premature menopause using no drugs at all.  Hopefully, this will work for him as well.

We feel that we eat pretty well.  We watch what we cook with, not a lot of fat or creamy sauces.  We always have fresh fruits and veggies around the house.  We aren’t snackers.  Okay, we do occasionally indulge in gooey sweetness;  but, not that often.  This will definitely be a challenge for both of us.  I am going to reinvent the way I cook, and Lenny is going to learn to not “devour”.  The doctor sent him home with a great list of foods that he should eat, and ones that he should limit.  Using this list, we are going to reinvent some deliciousness, and create a whole new line-up of heart healthy recipes to share with you, our friends.

Lenny is the love of my life, and my focus as the main “cook” in the house is to to use low-saturated fats and low cholesterol foods.  I want him to live a very long time.  I figure the easiest way to do this is to bump up our fresh produce intact and to introduce some new but exciting grains into our diet.  Lenny has decided that he will give up dairy, which is challenging as he does love his coffee with a little milk.  Now we are exploring new alternatives for coffee.  As well, I am going to start exploring some lean meats and some good-for-you fatty fish recipes.  There will be lots of fresh herbs and the exploration of unsaturated oils and tangy vinegars as a means for making our recipes a little more exciting.  Sound fun?

Since we work from home, I am always on the out-look for recipes that are great as a lunch or that can be taken into dinner.  This farro and roasted broccolini does just that.  Farro is a debated food product;  is it a grain or a wheat?  In Italy spelt is also called faro.  Barley and faro are often interchanged here in the states.  I would probably say it is a cousin to barley.  It is healthy!  I love cooking with it as it puffs up but still holds a little crunch.  It will be perfect in summery salads;  don’t you think?

For this dish, I cooked the farro just until it was cooked, then I cooled it off (immediately) with cold water. While the farro was cooking I roasted some veggies;  roasting adds great depth and added flavor.  Have you tried roasted green garlic?  After patting the farro dry, I tossed it with the roasted mixture of broccolini, tomatoes, green garlic, spring-time red onions, fresh mint, and drizzled it with a creamy lemony dressing.  To add a little more crunch, I sprinkled crushed pistachios over the top.  I enjoyed this salad for lunch and took it to dinner by adding a lean roasted piece of fish along side it.  Saying it was delicious would be an understatement.  It was more like WOW!

**  while we are changing our eating habits with new heart-healthy meals, never fear, there are a few gooey things that will be showing up within the next couple weeks.  All planned before this announcement.  Remember, you can enjoy in moderation.  *smiles*

Recipe:  Farro and Roasted Broccolini Salad

• 1 cup dry farro
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• olive oil
• 1 pound broccolini, tough stems removed
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 green garlic stalk
• 1 spring red onion or a small red onion
• 1/2 cup mint, minced
• 1 small lemon, juice
• 1/4 cup good-quality olive oil
• kosher salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup crushed pistachios

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Barley, Broccolini, Farro, Heart Healthy, Salad, vegetarian

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It has been a crazy week, and we ready to enjoy a cocktail or two with you.  First, it is time to get back to talking about Bar Basics.  Two weeks ago we shared our homemade Sour Mix, and this week we are going to talk about simple syrup.  This is a bar basic that is a must, as most cocktail recipes include a little sweetener, which is normally some simple syrup.  We like to take it a step further by using a  ”rich simple syrup”.

Rich simple syrup adds a subtle sweetness and texture to your cocktail.  It is made by using a 2:1 ratio (sugar:water).  We prefer to use an unrefined sugar, which also adds a nice amber color to the finished syrup.  As well we have found that using the ratio of 2:1, made the syrup last longer.  We do add a teaspoon of vodka to aid in some “natural preserving”.  Vodka is perfect to use as it has a clean taste, and will not interfere with the taste of your cocktails.  Just don’t add to your breakfast tea or you really will be tea tottling.  If, you opt not to use the vodka as a preservative, your syrup will last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.  Using the vodka made the syrup last about 2 months;  well, that is how long it lasted in our fridge.

About a month ago, a bottle of Hendricks Gin, along with a cocktail book dedicated to gin only cocktails, showed up on our doorstep.  Breaking it open seemed appropriate as most cocktails involving gin also involve a little simple syrup.  Keep in mind, a cocktail has three basic components:  sweet, acidic, and alcohol.  Sweet being the simple syrup.  This lovely spring cocktail is made with Hendricks, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and lemon bitters.  We loved how the juniper overtones from the gin played with the tangy lemon.  Very refreshing.  Very addictive.  Hello Spring!

Recipe:  Rich Simple Syrup

• 2 cups unrefined sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vodka

Recipe:  St. Clements Cocktail

• 1 3/4 ounces Hendrick’s Gin
• 1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 ounces rich simple syrup
• Fever Tree Bitter Lemon
• ice
• lemon slices

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bar Basics, Cocktails, Hendricks Gin, Lemon Bitters, Rich Simple Syrup, Simple Syrup, St Clements Cocktail

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House things seem to become your life once you are a homeowner.  There are always little projects in the middle of the big projects (painting) that need to be tended too.  I cannot imagine the projects we would be dealing with if we had moved into a “fixer-up”.  We did manage to squeeze in some fun time, and played with coloring some eggs in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday over the weekend.

Dying Easter eggs was a highlight as a kid, and a dozen was never enough.  The older we got, the better we got at it, and the more eggs would end up being hard-boiled in order to full-fill our artist desires.   When I started coloring eggs with MEM, I started thinking about the process more and more, especially when I would see dye seeping into slightly cracked eggs.  They say it is harmless;  but is it really.  Then we started talking about the process.  If, we had kids would we do it differently?  Or would we be too busy, and just pick up a little pack of egg dye at the store?  It is hard to say, and we don’t have the answers.  But, I like to try to make a difference, at least a small one.

The topic of dye turned into a discussion about how we both love deviled eggs.  Creamy.  Tart.  A little savory.  So … the playing began.  While some eggs were hard-boiling away on the stove, we worked on our “healthy” dye.  We took some beats, scrubbed them, chopped them, and put them into a pan of water that had been splashed with some white vinegar, then let is simmer on the stove for an hour, to extract all that gorgeous pink.  After our dye was cooled, we added our peeled hard boiled eggs to the colorful bath and let them soak.  The result was gorgeous hot pink eggs.  It was such a fun process that we are thinking of trying other veggies as well, maybe different beet colors, spinach, carrots … endless possibilities.  The deviled part was simple …. yolks, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, a touch of cayenne pepper and a sprinkle of maldon salt.

It was the perfect afternoon lunch with my Let’s Lunch friends, all I had to do was add a sparkling glass of rose to go along with it.  Be sure to check out other eggy items that the Let’s Lunch friends are bringing to the table on Friday:  (will update on Friday as they roll in)

A Tiger in In the Kitchen – Chai Poh Scramble:  Easter, Singapore Style 

Hapa Mama – Scrambled Eggs and Tomatoes

A Cook and Her Books - Old-Fashioned Boiled Dressing (& Chicken Salad)

Zest Bakery - Gluten-Free Leek, Ham & Pecorino Souffles

Dreaming of Pots & Pans – Eggs In A Hole

Burnt-Out Baker – Perfect Sandwich

Joe Yonan – Kim-Chi Deviled Eggs

Free Range Cookies – Home-made Cadbury Eggs (Maple Chocolate Eggs)

Spicebox Travels – Taiwanese Tomato Eggs

Monday Morning Cooking Club – Legendary Egg & Onion

Hot Curries and Cold – Beer Bombay Toasts (Spicy French Toasts)

Recipe:  Beet Dye (for eggs)

• 6 beets, washed and scrubbed
• watertgr
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Chop the beets into pieces.  In a large saucepan add the beets, enough water to cover and 1 tablespoon of the white vinegar.  Simmer over very low heat (a 2 on our stove) for 45 – 60  minutes;  enough time to really extract the color.  Remove from the heat.  Let cool.  Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.  Use to dye your Easter Eggs.

Recipe:  Pink Deviled Eggs

• 1 recipe of Beet Dye
• 8 perfectly hard-boiled eggs (we used 8 because our dish held 16 halves)
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• maldon salt
• chives

Peel your perfectly hard-boiled eggs.  Using a paper towel, gently pat dry each egg.  Submerge into the beet dye.  Let sit for  up to an hour;  depending on how dark you want the eggs to be.  Remove from the beet dye.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Cut the egg in half.  Scoop out the yolk into a mixing bowl.  Add all of the ingredients, except for the maldon salt.  Mix well using a fork.  Fill each half of the egg with the creamy mixture.  Garnish with a little chive.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2012. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beet Dye, Deviled Eggs, Dye, Easter, Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs, Let's Lunch

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