Category: Appetizer

Art, Trade, and Guacamole

August 11, 2011

Thank you all for the sweet comments on my one, two, and three years ago posts.  I will keep on keeping on!  Today I have a recipe for a most special, and very different, guacamole.  If you visit here regularly, you know there is sometimes a story that must be told.  Feeling impatient?  Feel free to scroll down to the bottom – I don’t mind.

The story goes a little something like this.  Four years ago, we met an artist named Erik Hall.  We were looking for a painting to fill a large wall in our dining room and we stumbled upon him (in the old-fashioned way, not the internet way) at an art fair.  We were struck by the beauty in his work and learned that he took commissions for paintings.  Over the course of several dinners, we became friends with him and his then-girlfriend/now-wife Amy, who is a talented artist in her own right.  And we got the most beautiful painting, one that makes me happy every time I step foot in the dining room.

Erik and Amy are not only talented artists, they are good business people with an eye for the talent of others.  They have opened a beautiful gallery where, once a month, they do an opening  for an artist they represent.  Last year, we attended several of those openings – lovely all of them.  Amazing art, nice wine – but the foodie in me thought they needed a nibble.  When you invite people somewhere between the hours of 5 and 7pm, there needs to be at least cocktail nuts.  So I offered my services.  I told them I would cater one of their parties pro bono and if they and everyone else liked having food there, we could figure out some kind of deal.

At that party, where gallery owners and visitors alike really did like having food there, I fell in love with some spoons.  Not just any spoons.  This simple beautiful painting of a trio of spoons.  In a gallery full of stunning art, I was immediately drawn to this lovely piece.  It was on a back wall, not even the star of the show, but I just stood in front of it, mesmerized.  Which, as it turns out, did not go unnoticed by Erik.

The day after the opening he called with a proposition.  We could pay a bit of money for the painting and do the rest in trade.  Food trade.  I didn’t even ask for details before I said yes.  What we ultimately agreed to was I would cater six of the year’s openings which I thought was a very fair deal.  I have done five so far, Erik’s show in November is the last one, and all have been so much fun and more than worth having those spoons hang on my dining room wall ever since January.

(A beautiful woman makes beautiful art.)

I catered last Thursday’s show and it was a special one for us.  Gretchen Gammel is an artist that we have had our eye on ever since we have known Erik and Amy.  Around the time that Erik finished our commissioned painting, we saw our first Gretchen show in their gallery.  Gretchen features a theme each year and that year it was people in boats.  Randy, having been in the Navy, got it in his head that he would like, some day, to commission Gretchen to do a family portrait of us in a boat.  The timing was tricky.  She was ready, we weren’t.  We were ready, she moved to France.  Finally early last summer, we had her over so she could get to know us, meet the boys, get a better sense for who we are as a family.  Gretchen started reading my blog too.  Just before Thanksgiving, she brought us this.

There are so many reasons I love this painting.  The obvious of course – it’s our family.  But there are so many special things she did here.

She put me in purple (my favorite color) and got my tattoo (and made me look quite glamorous, I must say).  She put Randy in, what we now call, a “Daddy shirt”, totally his style.  Seeing Spencer, my little somewhat-tyrant, in a Napoleon hat totally cracked me up.

And I think of all of us, she got Graham’s face just right.  That flag he is flying behind us – well, Gretchen copied what his handwriting looked like from the photo in this post.  Amazing, huh?

So let’s see.  Art, artists, spoons, people in boats, Napoleon hats, and now finally guacamole.  I was paging through The Essential New York Times Cookbook looking for ideas for the show when I saw this recipe.  I am a guacamole purist.  Avocados, lime, salt, pepper, cilantro.  Nothing else needed.  Sometimes I will add tomatillos but even then, I feel like they are just helping out the limes with sour and acidity.  Here we have onions that have been marinated and grilled, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers – all things that of course go with avocados and lime but for a moment I wondered, would it just be too much?  Amanda Hesser, in her head note to the recipe, put me at ease.  She is also a purist but really liked the flavors here and if it’s good enough for Amanda Hesser…  Obviously, it was fabulous.  A little more work but worth it for a little more oomph in something is already basically perfect.  Finally, I have a theory that no matter how much guacamole you make it will all get eaten.  I put that theory to the test for this party and it turns out that if you make a serious ton of the stuff, there will be some left over.  Oh darn.

Guacamole Previously on Dana Treat:  Simple Guacamole
One Year Ago:  Israeli Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
Two Years Ago:  Cheese Balls Three Ways
Three Years Ago:  Farro with Green Beans and Corn

Grilled Onion Guacamole
Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook
Serves 4-6

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground cumin
¾ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 large red onion, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
3 avocados
1 large tomato
1 garlic clove, minced
2 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes

Combine the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Pour into a shallow dish, add the onion, and let marinate for 1 hour.

Heat a charcoal or gas grill until hot (or heat the broiler, with the rack 6 to 8 inches from the flame).

Drain the onion and place on the grill (or on the broiler pan under the broiler).  Grill for 3 minutes per side (4 minutes per side if broiling).  Let cool slightly, then coarsely chop, discarding any bits that have charred.

Peel, halve, and pit the avocados, and cut into ½-inch dice.  Seed and dice the tomato.

Combine the grilled onion, avocado, tomato, garlic, chiles, and cilantro in a bowl, mashing the avocado slightly as you go.  Season with salt and lime juice.

(As we all know, guacamole starts to turn brown as it oxidizes.  You can stall this process slightly by place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guac, trying not to trap any air.  You can store it like this in the refrigerator for several hours.  Bring it to room temperature before serving and stir gently before doing so.)


Category: Appetizer,Family,Party Food,Personal,Vegan
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One for the Weekend, Part Two

July 22, 2011

(Have you entered to win a Keurig Platinum Brewer yet?  You have until noon PDT on Tuesday, July 26th to enter.  You can do so here.)

A while back, I wrote a post where I talked about pedestrian tastes.  In that post, I mentioned Chex Mix as one of my, shall we say, less than gourmet tastes.  We did a fair amount of driving on our little family vacation to the Delaware shore and each gas fill-up/bathroom break, those little bags of Chex Mix beckoned to me from the gas station store.  I don’t ever buy those bags because they are full of chemicals and artificial everything and also because if I bought a bag I would eat a bag.  Simple formula.

In the “appetizers” section of my recipe notebooks, I have several recipes for homemade mix.  We are heading to Lopez Island with some dear friends and, seeing as I know there will be lots of snacking with four kids around, I figured it was time to try one of them out.  I picked this recipe because it stars Old Bay Seasoning – something that Randy loves with all of his heart.  Truthfully, it is not the Old Bay that he loves, but the Maryland crabs that come coated with the stuff – the ones he gets to eat every other July when we visit his extended family on the Delaware shore.  This meal – “going out for crabs” – is one he looks forward to for 730 days.  It is the same meal that I dread for 730 days.  Imagine being a vegetarian at a long table covered with newspapers and mallets everywhere which are used to smash crabs into edible bits, claw sucking, meat flying…  It’s not pretty.  My dinner on that night is an iceberg lettuce salad followed by french fries and overcooked corn on the cob.  This year they actually had “steamed rosemary potatoes” on the menu which I ordered, but I ended up eating french fries anyway.

Anyway, Old Bay. I used to have a tin of Old Bay Seasoning hidden amongst all my spices.  It was battered and a bit dusty and my hunch is that it was among the few possessions that were saved from Randy’s kitchen when our households merged.  I certainly didn’t buy it – I’m not even sure you can buy it in Seattle.  When I went to reach for it yesterday, it was not there.  Where does a box of never-used seasoning go?  It might be that I brought it to London when we moved there and if I did, it is in the possession of our downstairs neighbor’s housekeeper to whom I donated all of our spices and leftover food because you cannot bring any food item at all back into the U.S. when you move back from abroad.  Not even canned goods.  Not even dusty tins of spice mixes.

So, thankfully the internet is useful for things like online banking and spice recipes.  I looked around a bit and found that most of the Old Bay knock-offs feature a lot of celery salt, a moderate amount of paprika, and a pinch of just about everything else in your spice cabinet.  I riffed on this one mostly.  As this was baking in the oven and the smell of salty goodness started to spread around my kitchen, I started to get nervous.  Why am I making something I know I cannot resist?  And guess what?  I cannot resist this mix.  At least I know I am eating mostly goodness and no chemicals.

One for the Weekend, Part One: Spiced Cocktail Nuts
One Year Ago: Tortilla with Potatoes and Grilled Zucchini
Two Years Ago: Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce

Chesapeake Bay Snack Mix
Adapted from Everyday Food (I think)
Makes about 12 cups

In an effort to make myself feel less guilty about eating handfuls of this at a time, I used an all natural Chex-like cereal and Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies rather than the oyster crackers called for in the recipe.  Oh, who am I kidding.  I shopped at Whole Foods for the stuff and those were my only choices.  Also, I have a giant container of pre-shelled pistachios in m pantry, so I threw some of those in and cut back slightly on the peanuts.

6 cups crisp corn or rice cereal, such as Crispix or Chex
3 cups thin pretzel sticks
3 cups oyster crackers (or Cheddar bunnies)
2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco

Preheat oven to 250ºF.  In a large bowl, combine cereal, pretzels, crackers, and peanuts.  In a small bowl, mix together melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice, and hot sauce.  Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir until ingredients are completely coated.  Turn out onto a very large rimmed baking sheet.  (You might want to use two sheets.)  Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Allow to cool, stirring a few times in the process.  Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.


Category: Appetizer,Party Food
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Super Simple Appetizer

July 2, 2011

I will admit that I’m not always the best about posting super simple recipes.  This might be the place you come for treats, tofu, and tasty vegetarian fare, but it’s probably not your first choice of blogs if your guests are coming in five minutes and you need a recipe.  I like super simple as much as the next person but I am, inexplicably, drawn to more tedious and complicated things in the kitchen.

No more!  Give me :10 and you’ve got something pretty and delicious.  There is no effort here beyond slicing goat cheese and heating up some oil.  I always have these ingredients on hand and also always have crackers, so if you are coming to my house any time soon, you know what we are having as an appetizer.


Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon, and Thyme
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4-6

½ cup assorted olives
3 fresh thyme sprigs (use lemon thyme if possible)
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
4-5 ounces soft goat cheese (such as Montrachet), sliced

Heat olives, thyme, oil, zest, and ¼ tsp. pepper in a small skillet or saucepan over low heat until fragrant (do not simmer).  Cool to room temperature.  Serve olive mixture over goat cheese.  (This dish can be prepared 2 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.)


Category: Appetizer,Cheese,Party Food,Quick and Easy
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A Need for Something Green

June 4, 2011

Friends – once again it has been a crazy week.  In a very good way.  We spent last weekend on Lopez Island (more on that with cute boy photos on the way), came home to a birthday party for my brother on Sunday, spent a relaxing Memorial Day doing not much of anything, and then Tuesday I flew to Scottsdale to talk about ovens and cooktops. Thermador, a brand I am now officially simultaneously in love with and coveting, has come out with an incredible new option for your stove/oven and I was lucky enough to get a first peek.  I have lots more to say and will do so in my next post.

I returned from Scottsdale on Thursday afternoon and, gulp, catered a party that night.  Recently I have been getting a lot of questions along the lines of “how do you get it all done?”  I think that is a good subject for – you guessed it – an upcoming post.  Within two paragraphs, I have promised you three new posts all having nothing to do with the food you probably come here for.  So, for now, let’s talk food, shall we?

For Thursday night’s party, I had to do most of the work in advance since I had a very short window between the time I landed and the time the party started.  As I was sitting on the plane going through the food I had planned, I realized that there would be a lot of brown and red.  I made those amazing peppers, Muhummara dip, gougères (which I forgot to bring – damn!), nuts, and a couple of other things.  I needed something green.  I’ve had this pea and ricotta tart in my head ever since seeing it on Stacey’s site a few weeks ago and I figured I could work out something with a similar feel.

Alas, no ricotta in my refrigerator and no time to go to the store meant that I had to work with what I had.  I won’t bore you with what my original vision was vs. how it turned out.  I feel confident that my made-up appetizer turned out much better than the imaginary one I started off with.  In the end, I pulsed peas, a bit of cream cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the food processor, stirred in some chopped tarragon and finely crumbled feta cheese, and spooned it into little pastry cups that, miraculously, were waiting for me in my pantry.  They were only about 1 inch across and were perfect for party food.  I got more questions about those little morsels than anything else I brought.  Sadly, the only other thing I forgot besides the gougères, was my camera.

So, I made them again.  This time I used a square biscuit cutter on puff pastry for a more fork and knife-type appetizer.  You could certainly make them even larger and serve them as more of a main course.  In this second go-around, I was out of feta and used a bit of Gorgonzola instead.  I really liked both cheeses and I know a very finely chopped Pecorino would taste terrific too.  I also swiped the bottom of each pastry square with the dreamiest French tarragon mustard.  That little spicy bite made all the difference.

One Year Ago: Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread, Holly B’s Rhubarb Bette, Radishes with Butter and Chive-Sage Salt
Two Years Ago: Greek Pasta Casserole, Green Bean and Fennel Salad, Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps
Three Years Ago: Gazpacho (still the recipe I use)

Puff Pastry Squares with Pea and Tarragon Purée
Dana Treat Original
Makes 12 appetizer portions

You could, of course, just put this purée on crostini  instead of the puff pastry to make it simpler.  Or serve it with pita chips as a dip.  If you choose the latter, I would thin it with more olive oil when you are making it in the food processor.

12 ounces puff pastry
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water (for egg wash)
Tarragon mustard or other Dijon mustard (optional)
6 ounces frozen peas
2 tbsp. cream cheese
2 tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 stalks tarragon, leaves stripped and chopped
2 ounces feta or blue cheese, crumbled into small bits
Chive blossoms, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Dust a work surface with flour and lay unfold the puff pastry onto the surface.  Using a floured rolling pin, gently roll the puff pastry just enough to flatten the seams.  Using a biscuit cutter, a cookie cutter, or a paring knife, cut out 12 squares and transfer each to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  (You want about 3-inch squares.)  Brush each square with the egg wash.  Using a paring knife, score a border, about ½-inch wide without cutting all the way through the pastry.  Using a fork, dock holes in the bottom of each pastry, inside the border.  Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Place the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the pastry squares are nice and golden brown.  You might need to poke your fork back into the bottoms of the pastry to deflate them a bit as they bake.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Bring a small saucepan of water to boil.  Add the peas and cook for 1 minute.  Drain and immediately rinse with very cold water.  Place the peas in a food processor fixed with the steel blade.  Add the cream cheese, olive oil, and pinch each of salt and pepper.  Keep in mind that the cheese you add will be pretty salty so use a light hand with the salt.  Pulse the mixture until it is combined but still chunky.

Place the mixture in a bowl and gently stir in the cheese and tarragon.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Swipe just a bit of mustard across the bottom of each square.  Scoop the purée onto each and garnish with chive blossoms if you like.


Category: Appetizer,Dana Treat Original,Party Food,Quick and Easy
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One for the Weekend

May 20, 2011

Friends, it’s Friday.  This week I baked breakfast treats for an office of 55 people.  I taught a Thai cooking class to a super fun group of 10 and, the next night, taught a farmers’ market special class to another super fun group of 11.  I’m a little tired.  My kitchen is a little messy.

These are clean.

These are not.

But who cares?  It’s Friday and the sun is shining and we have a party to go to tonight and another to go to tomorrow night and I imagine you might have plans as well.  Need some nuts?

I make all kinds of cocktail nuts.  I make them to give as gifts around the holidays, I make them for parties that I cater, I make them so that I always have a nibble on hand when unexpected dinner guests come by.  I do really love the smoky cashews and still make them often but truthfully, they can be a bit of a struggle.  The topping doesn’t stick as well to the nuts as I would like it to.  Which is why I am really digging this recipe.  These beauties get perfectly coated, perfect crisp.  Not too sweet, salty and quite spicy.  You should probably make some this weekend.

Winner of the Patricia Wells book will be announced on Monday along with one last giveaway.  Oh!  And many of you have asked about the three Indian cookbooks I mentioned in that post.  One is a gorgeous book from the Cinnamon Club – an amazing restaurant near Victoria Station in London.  The food is very fine and the recipes are a little intense.  Not really every night type of cooking but amazing nonetheless.  That one you can find on Amazon.  The other two are both from Rasa – a much more casual but, in my mind, even more delicious place where I first learned about the glory that is South Indian food.  I have cooked many times from both books and they are terrific.  The New Tastes of India and Fresh Flavors of India.  Also available on Amazon.  I don’t make any money by directing you to them – they are just the easiest source for books that might be hard to find in this country.

One Year Ago:  Lighter Fettucine Alfredo and Curried Tofu and Avocado Dip
Two Years Ago:  Peanut Butter Cup Brownies and Raspberry Almond Bars (I was just telling this Dave Matthews story last night.)

Spiced Cocktail Nuts
Tartine
Makes about 3 pounds

You can, of course, play around with the nuts you use in the mix and you can also halve the recipe.  If you don’t love spice, I would cut the amount of cayenne in half.  I may have thrown in a pinch of smoked paprika as well.

3 sprigs fresh thyme
2-inch sprig fresh rosemary
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup raw almonds
2/3 cup raw cashews
2/3 cup pumpkin seeds
5 1/3 cups raw peanuts

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, a non-stick liner, or foil.

Pick the leaves from the thyme and rosemary sprigs, and chop the leaves coarsely.  In a mixing bowl, combine the thyme, rosemary, corn syrup, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper, and mix well.  Add all the nuts and mix thoroughly with your hands or a wooden spoon.

Spread the nuts evenly on the prepared baking sheet.  Roast, stirring a few times with a heatproof spatula or a wood spoon to ensure the nuts color evenly, until they are fragrant and a rich brown, about 15 minutes.  Let cool completely.  The nuts will keep in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.


Category: Appetizer,Party Food,Vegan
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