This is awesome, and just in time for the weekend. Happy Friday!
How to Make the Perfect Summer Drink Out of Anything … servicey.
I’ve made turkey meatballs once before in the past, but this time I made sure to add the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and an egg. I’m so glad I did.
For these, I incorporated chopped sage, cilantro, onions, garlic, and the aforementioned crumbs, cheese and egg. This helped keep the meatballs tender, without them being as dry as they were last time. I also added a few tablespoons of water to the pan and covered it with foil just before serving to let them steam through. Again, this added moisture to the meat so I knew they were cooked fully, and kept their lovely browned exterior. yum.
From a recent interview with Michael White (Restaurants: Marea, Osteria Morini, Ai Fiori, Nicoletta — New York City) on Eater:
What are your feelings on people taking pictures of your food?
All for it. Why not? In this day and age, when I do a pasta at Marea or at one of the other restaurants, it’s on Twitter almost immediately. What could be better for me than having someone quickly raving about a new garganelli with ground sepia, shrimp, chickpea crema, and pecorino and then having other people coming to the restaurant soon after and asking for that exact dish because that’s how they heard about it?
I love taking pictures of my food. So long as your flash isn’t lighting up the place and disturbing other diners, I’m so happy to see that some chefs don’t object either!
Picture above taken during our trip to The French Laundry last year (Part 1 & Part 2).
All too familiar and still missed. Hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Friday!
Clare Caulfield, Flatiron Building, New York (hand-painted screenprint)
With the abundance of produce, and plenty of free time on my hands, I’ve been cooking far more often each evening. For dinner recently, I marinated chicken for about an hour in a few dollops of Dijon mustard, onions, garlic, sliced jalapeno, cilantro and a little vegetable oil. I then used a grill pan to cook the chicken, which also browned it well. It was a simple recipe that I knew would infuse the meat with plenty of flavor, and also give the chicken a little tang and some heat. Besides, who doesn’t have mustard in the kitchen? On the side, I sauteed a few veggies and served over mixed greens. yum.
For more on chicken, I’ve also made soup and served it on skewers.
The view from my window as we flew over the Sierra Nevadas last Thursday on the way to a wedding.
We visited the San Jose Flea Market on a hot Saturday afternoon. Rather than shop for t-shirts or kitchen tools, we went straight to the market section. The stalls seemed to go for days, as did the great deals on all of the fruits and veggies. Ten limes for a buck!
I resisted the pony rides so I could stare at the giant strawberries instead.
Before leaving, I bought some fresh watermelon juice from the fruit stand. It tasted as though they had inserted a faucet into the watermelon, and turned the knob. Delicious and refreshing, it made me think of making popsicles again for the summer.
Look at this beautiful tuna encrusted with toasted sesame seeds. Definitely something I need to try making again this summer.
Also this: Fried bitter gourd. Wow. Have you ever had bitter gourd? When prepared properly, it’s a delicious vegetable.
seared tuna
Based on the fresh cilantro I found at the San Jose Farmer’s Market, I opted for a salmon dinner. Minced together with red onion and garlic, I smothered the fish in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for about 20-30mins. I then sauteed the fish in a drizzle of olive oil (about 15 mins) before plating. A quick, easy dinner that I paired with a leftover roll.
For more on salmon, I’ve also paired it with citrus (a favorite) and lots of thyme in the past.
I ventured out to the local Farmer’s Market last Friday and came back with this haul. Not bad for a first time out! I already miss the wonderful Union Sq. Greenmarket so I’m especially glad I found one out here.
