Back in Action

 It has been a long long time since my thoughts have faded back to writing a post about what Dawn and I have been doing in the last year and a half since we wrote to you all. I have enjoyed reading some of the creative recipes and events you have all been a part of while we have been gone and I would be remiss if I did not mention I will respond on your activities soon. The restaurant, which took up every waking moment and worry is a thing of our past. Still thriving but under new ownership, it has aided us in the fight to live a more "normal" life; a life where we can spend time enjoying the heirloom tomatoes in all their bounty, cooking a pan of red chicken curry, or baking one of the fantastic loaves from James Beard that I missed oh so much.

I will not spend hours rambling on about what has happened in the past but saluting what is to come in the future. We have a growing and thriving eight and a half month old boy named Silas that grounds us daily when we forget how special each moment is at the stove or sharing meals with family.  What an awesome summer this has been and there is a still of bit left to share with you all. We have all those friends on the Gulf Coast in our prayers as Isaac looms near and hope it will turn into nothing more than rain and a few gusts. We look forward to hearing back from you all and thank you for the former support you have shown us when we were more faithful to keep in touch.


            

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Don't worry. This isn't an ode to the mutant tomato cartoon of my childhood. I didn't even watch that to be honest. Instead, this is a small meditation on the beauty and delicious summer perfection that is a tomato in July. There are an infinite number of ways to enjoy the summer tomato, and undoubtedly ballads of devotion are a dime a dozen at this point. But oh well. We'll throw our ten cents in too.

Personally, as I start thinking of the different ways to enjoy its juicy perfection, I find myself echoing the memorable shrimp dialogue from Forest Gump, citing the infinite ways to enjoy it on a sandwich or a pizza and the ultimate tomato pie.Of course one of the best compliments to the tomato is bacon. Of course. The smoky salty taste pairs with the slight acidity, reminiscent of plain sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt (a staple summer side for Sunday dinner). So, for out first killer tomato dish, we prepared a summer tomato and bacon focaccia. Simple and enjoyable as the best outdoor summer fair should be.

Summer Tomato & Bacon Focaccia
1 recipe pizza dough ready to cook
1 Large perfectly ripe tomato, sliced thin
4 Slices bacon, fried crisp and broken into small pieces
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt & pepper

1. Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat oven to 475. 
2. Toss pizza dough and roll thin. Allow to rise slightly. 
3. Combine balsamic and olive oil and sprinkle on prepared dough. Top with sliced tomatoes and bacon. 
4. Sprinkle tomatoes with sea salt and pepper. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until golden. 
5.Serve immediately


But, to really pay tribute to the tomato, we should take a moment to appreciate it in all it's summer forms. Naturally the heirloom tomatoes have their place, but, we should take a moment to enjoy the other versions of the fruit as well. Particularly, in its green form as well.


While I'm not a huge fan of fried foods, fried green tomatoes are the quintessential way to enjoy a green tomato. Until Daniel's pickled green tomatoes a little while ago and this recipe for a green tomato salad with pistachio relish  in last month's Food & Wine, I didn't have the faintest idea there was another way to enjoy the tart version of summer's treat. Suffice it to say, the curious compliment of the sweet nutty vinegary dressing with the tart tomato made for a refreshing summer dish that was even better the second day. There was probably enough left for two meals...I managed to polish it off in one. Even if you're skeptical about green tomatoes, this one is well worth the try!!! You can find the recipe here. We didn't have the champagne vinegar, so I substituted a white wine vinegar with a teeny pinch of sugar. For an extra kick, I added a little bit of sumac to the dressing as well.

Whatever direction your summer market finds take you, hopefully you'll take advantage of developing a repertoire of your favorite summer dish too. Enjoy!!!

The Unsophisticated Noodle

After looking through all of the pictures I took of this dish, I've decided that there is some implicit characteristic in the macaroni noodle that makes it seem...unsophisticated. Maybe it's the years of associating the noodle with the yellow powdery 'cheese,' or the kindergarten craft projects where the dried noodle takes center stage, but I quite honestly considered giving you another soup or dessert recipe and skipping one of the few dinners I've had a chance to cook lately. Obviously, I changed my mind.

As Daniel mentioned earlier, we're trying (he with more success than I...) to stick to what's in the pantry and only purchase fresh vegetables. So, after staring aimlessly I decide that the ingredients I need to use include leftover macaroni noodles (another long story), and some chicken leg pieces. I quickly decided to roast the chicken, because to be honest, that's my new favorite way to enjoy chicken because of flavor and moist dinner it creates with minimal work from me. And then there were the noodles...what to do with the noodles...


You can find a simple roast chicken recipe here. As you can guess, I left the leg piece whole and didn't make the sauce or vegetable part and it worked well.
To try to keep it simple, all I did was saute an onion, garlic, and a few green, red, and yellow peppers and then raided the canned section of our pantry for tomato products for tomato paste and diced tomatoes, and added a cup or so of red wine to give the sauce a slightly more earthy flavor to compliment the basil I covered the chicken in. Once the tomato sauce mixture was assembled, I added in the leftover noodles to basically warm them up in the sauce while the chicken finished.


Peppery Tomato Sauce with Macaroni Noodles
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/4 Red Bell Pepper
1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/2 Small Onion
1 Garlic Clove
1 Small Can Tomato Paste
1 Can Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine
1/2 Cup Water
1 Tsp Basil
1 Tsp Thyme
Salt & Pepper to Taste
2 Cups Cooked Macaroni Noodles


1. Slice peppers and onion thinly; mince garlic. Saute vegetables in saucepan with olive oil until tender over medium high heat.
2. Add can of tomato paste, stir about one minute. Add stewed tomatoes, red wine, and spices. Add water as needed to thin to appropriate consistency. Once sauce is slightly thin, add cooked macaroni noodles. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally until noodles heated through and ready to serve. 

Suffice to say, not my most blog-worthy looking dinner ever, but it was still quite tasty, and was a success at not going to the store to pick up something else. We'll see how the rest of my dinner's go sticking with this 'no going to the store' thing...


Enjoy!

A Slightly Fishy Affair

One of my favorite things to do on Friday nights is to visit Whole Foods for their Five after Five wine tastings. Basically, we meander through the different produce, fish, meat, and specialty cheese sections, tasting small samples of wine and food parings prepared by the staff at the store. For a while, I could not figure out why I enjoyed it so much, but this past week I had a revelation.

I know, there is probably something inherently wrong with me, but I really enjoy grocery shopping. Look forward to it even. Not having to run in and quickly grab one or two things that we forgot or suddenly need, but actually walking in with a list of things we need and having the freedom to wander around and locate an elusive new muse for our dinners. Add a little bit of wine and an array of different food pairings and we enjoy it even more. But enough about my love affair with the grocery store, on to my fishy new craving.

I have gained inspiration for a few different meals from these tastings, and this past Friday was another winner. As we approached the final station, I unenthusiastically gazed at what looked to be pasta and tomato sauce was resting unobtrusively on a plate to sample, next to jars of sauce. To be honest, it is hard for me to get excited about a pasta dish from a jar, regardless of the wine I’m sampling. But as each took a bite, instead of encountering a bland sauce and pasta, our mouths met these dense, square pieces of pasta nestled with the most delicious sauce from a jar I have ever tasted.

If you are like me and had never tried Puttanesca, try it, try it right now. It is amazing. You have no idea what you are missing. The sauce has the slightest hint of fish complimented by salty pieces of olives. The thick square pieces of pasta added an incredible, unbelievable satisfying. Despite my antagonism toward jarred pasta sauces, I was actually tempted to buy the jar of sauce. While I probably will end up buying it next week (to keep on hand with the end of the quarter and writing deadlines looming in the not too distant future), I decided to venture out and make my own. So, the first thing I do when we get home is to get a general idea of how to make it for a nice dinner. To my surprise, not only did we have all the ingredients for it, rather than an all day enterprise that dirties every pot and pan we own, it actually looked simple. And, bonus, only one pan to clean.

The recipe for the sauce is below, and it really is incredibly easy. I cut down the amount of oil to one or two tablespoons, and strongly recommend manually mashing the tomatoes as they cook. If you are in a hurry you could use the crushed tomatoes, but I cannot emphasize enough how much we enjoyed the thick, chunky consistency that is gradually achieved by the mashing. Because I enjoy pulling out my pasta machine whenever I get a chance, I made simple egg pasta sheets, rolled to the second or third lowest setting so that they would still be rather dense, and roughly cut them into square shapes, but again, I think any thick pasta would work exceptionally well. The next time I make it, I may try to use large orecchiette, or I may just leave it as is. Be sure to mix your pasta in with the sauce before serving to make sure each piece gets a generous coating of what I think is best described as salty, fishy, tomato goodness.

For the Puttanesca Sauce:
5 or 6 pressed garlic cloves
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons drained capers
3/4 cup coarsely chopped basil

Cook garlic, anchovy paste, red-pepper flakes, in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.

Add can of whole tomatoes in juice along with olives and capers and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is ready. As the tomatoes cook, press down to crush the tomatoes. Alternately, you could add a can of crushed tomatoes or puree the whole tomatoes before adding them in.
Stir in sugar if desired.

Cook your pasta until barely al dente; drain and add to sauce. Simmer, turning pasta with tongs, until pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.