Letting Go with Counter-Top Salads for Dinner

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Please read my message after the story especially my gracious email subscribers.


She was three years old when she performed in her first dance recital. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Bunny Hop. Her little feet could be heard "tap, tap, tapping" away as she practiced for her big debut.

Considering that when she wasn't dancing she was impersonating Mary Poppins, she seemed destined for life as a performer.

On the soccer field, she was the one with bows in her hair, picking daisies, twirling around and skipping as the ball rolled past her.

When the girls around her and the competitiveness of the game grew to such a level that skipping as the ball rolled past you wasn't considered cute anymore, the Rooster and I decided to pull her from soccer. We encouraged her to forge her own path in dance.

And dance, she did...ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, tap, lyrical. Six nights a week. She blossomed into an amazing dancer. And call me bias....but I love to watch her dance. She's beautiful on-stage.

And just when there seemed to be no end to her dancing days and at the height of sequins, sparkles, lycra, stage make-up and dark auditoriums, she said to me, "Mom, I'd really like to try lacrosse."

Like a needle being ripped across a record, the room went silent.

"Lacrosse?"

"Yeah, my friends who play are always telling me how fun it is."

"But, sweetie, you have to wear goggles...and a mouthguard," I said to my fashion-concious daughter.

"I know."

"And you have to get in there and mix-it up with sticks and a ball," added the Rooster. "You don't like competitive contact. Remember when you played soccer?"

"No, I don't remember. Last time I played I was like in fourth grade."

That was probably true. While her "out-in-the-field picking daisies" ways were still very present in our minds, for her it was four years ago. Practically a lifetime.

We continued to throw out reasons why lacrosse wouldn't work for her and she continued to come back with reasons why it would.

On her own, she worked out a schedule that would accommodate lacrosse, dance and school. She contacted coaches about getting on the team. She figured out how to get to and from practices. When game time came around, she not only got in there and mixed-it up, she was aggressive. And fast.

When she asked to go to a tournament in Seattle at the end of the season, we had to say no. "You are committed to your dance classes that conflict with the lacrosse practices. Your recital is coming up. You can't miss class. Other dancers are counting on you."

She contacted the coaches for the tournament and arranged to miss Monday night practices so she could be at dance. I told the Rooster that her determination should be rewarded so we agreed to let her go to the tournament.

Her team, the Bulldogs, played three games in the tournament. The Rooster and I watched every one from under umbrellas, down jackets and fleece blankets. We watched our daughter flying down the field in the rain, fighting for the ball amidst a swarm of sticks and on occasion, putting that little ball into the net to score.

Her team lost all three games. The final game had a score of 2-13 but her coach awarded her "Player of the Game" for her persistence and hard work and I felt myself tear up.

There is something so gratifying about watching your child succeed at something that she alone wanted. Something she was determined to do even if her parents were trying to talk her out of it.

So last week, instead of feeling bitter about driving her out to a lacrosse camp clear across town, leaving no time to cook but only time for counter-top meals, I was happy to do it.

And as she limped along into her dance recital over the weekend, I could tell by her demeanor that perhaps this phase of her life was coming to a close. She was still beautiful on-stage but there was something removed about her stance. And when I asked her if she thought she'd take dance next year, she said to me, "Well, I know you like me to do dance...."

That's when I told myself, "Let go."

I don't know whether her future will hold mouthguards or ballet slippers but I do know that it is her future and I am loving watching her decide for herself just what that future will be.


...


IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I know I have alluded to the fact that  I have been working with web designer, Kirsten Hope, to create a new look for La Pomme de Portland. She has helped me create a lovely new space. I know you will love it.

The time has come for us to do the site transfer. In order to do so, my website will be down for about a week starting July 3rd. I'm letting you know this for a couple of reasons.

1. I am crossing all fingers and toes that nothing will happen but there is a chance that in the transfer I may loose a few of my email subscribers' subscriptions. I apologize in advance for this. Should you not receive your regular emails from me after July 10th, you may need to go back onto my site and re-subscribe. My site address will remain the same: www.lapommedeportland.com

2. In case you want any recipes for Fourth of July, I encourage you to print them off soon. :) Once the site transfer happens, all recipes, new and old, will be available again.

Counter-Top Salads
Sometimes there just isn't time to cook. Sometimes I don't want to cook. During the summer, I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen especially considering that we've just come off of the coldest, wettest spring on record in 117 years...I want to be outside where it is finally sunny. One of my favorite meals when I'm feeling like this is the ole counter-top salad. Basically, pull out any leftover bits and pieces from your refrigerator and slap them on the counter with some lettuce as a base and a vinaigrette as a topping and voila....dinner. I'm always amazed at the things my children will put on their salads...that I didn't think they would like...when I let them choose their own toppings.

Ingredients
Of course, these ingredients could be anything you have leftover but here are my favorites....

a head or two of romaine lettuce, washed and coarsely chopped
cherry tomatoes
blanched green beans
cooked red potatoes, cut into quarters
hard boiled eggs
leftover roasted chicken
crumbled gorgonzola
and usually, I put a little crumbled bacon on top or avocado but I didn't have any leftover this time

homemade vinaigrette, recipe here.


Directions
I'm assuming that most of this is leftover from other meals but should you be making it from scratch, here are a few quick tips.

To blanch green beans, trim the ends then put in boiling water for two minutes. Drain the water and immediately run cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

To cook your potatoes, wash them, quarter them and put them in a pot of salted boiling water for about 12-15 minutes or until just softened. Drain water and set aside.

For the hard boiled eggs, everyone has a different method for the timing but I put mine in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to very, very low and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them.

For your chicken, get a roasted one from the grocery store.

Put all of your ingredients out on your counter...plates at one end, vinaigrette at the other and let the troops have at it. Quick and easy....enjoy.

...


Organizing Project
The only thing I have been organizing is my summer....travel dates, camp registrations, down time, up time...so that I can simply enjoy and not have to worry about the details.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

What's In Season? Copper River Salmon

Well, friends, it's Salmon Season and more specifically it's Copper River Salmon season. I've been in conversations where the "hype" surrounding the Copper River Salmon has been debated. Is it just a marketing ploy? Is it worth the cost?

I am not a salmon expert although I grew up eating salmon the way other people grew up eating meat and potatoes so I do have a pretty good idea of which species of salmon I like (sockeye) and how I like it prepared (grilled, simply, with no crazy butter sauce.)

Now, I did have the opportunity to sit in on a "salmon class" taught by Christine Keff, Chef/Owner of the Flying Fish restaurant in Seattle who IS a salmon expert and she stressed to us the fact that the flavor of each salmon is determined not only by its species but also by which river it travels up to spawn.

As for the salmon of the Copper River, they have a 300-mile trek that takes them up a thousand foot elevation gain to where they finally reach their spawning grounds in an unspoiled wilderness...literally. And something about how these fish prepare for their marathon of sorts gives them their singularly distinct flavor...whether you think it's worth the hype or not.


My Favorite Grilled Salmon

My absolute favorite way to prepare salmon is grilled and I learned a little trick from the Weber boys that ensures the salmon turns out perfectly each time.

Pre-heat your grill to direct medium heat. Take your 1 1/2 - 2 lb whole salmon fillet with the skin left on. Generously brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.

Most people have a general idea that the average salmon fillet takes about 10 minutes to cook and they have the inclination to flip it at 5 minutes. Don't do it.

Place your generously oiled fillet on your pre-heated grill, flesh side down. Leave it there...don't touch it...for at least 7 minutes. You know it's ready to flip when the fish lifts up easily from the grill or at least, fairly easily.

Then, flip it, skin side down and cook for the remaining 2-3 minutes. When you are ready to take the fish off the grill, slip a metal spatula between the skin and the fish. The grilled fillet should lift easily off the skin and onto a plate. Perfection.

My favorite topping for grilled salmon is a Tomato/Shallot compote I've alluded to before here. Basically, I saute a chopped shallot or two in 1-2 tbsp of olive oil over low heat for about 7-10 minutes. During the last 3-4 minutes of cooking I add in a cup or two of cherry tomatoes cut in half, a generous sprinkling of kosher salt, some freshly ground black pepper and a tbsp or two of fresh thyme.

Enjoy...





All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Simple Salmon: A Northwest Staple

I have often considered January as my month of reprieve. The month to look inward. To self-reflect. The month where time slows down. A bit.


This doesn't seem to be the case any longer.


January is just as high-paced as any other month and it feeds right into February which is missing a few days and that hardly seems fair since I'm counting on every single day to get things done.


Sometimes I want to blame this on the kids. Trying to keep up with their ever-increasingly crowded schedules. Driving them where they need to be. But is it really them?

Or is it that every January I set loftier and loftier goals for myself? Which on some level is a good thing. Right? Especially considering that my quote for 2011 is "A goal without a plan is just a dream."


But how many goals are realistic? And when do those excess goals lead to "To Do lists" five pages long? And what does it say about me that one of those To Dos is: "Schedule afternoons in March to teach 5-year-old to ride a two-wheeler"?


And all of these goals and To Dos lead to craziness piggy-backing on more craziness.


Which in my case always leads to over-thinking...things, life, kids, goals, recipes.

As I was setting up my Recipe Index last week, I realized that not one recipe for salmon graced that list. Salmon. A staple my family eats at least every other week, if not once a week. A quick and delicious preparation, perfect for a weeknight, that I never give a thought about. I forget about it. It's simplicity...in my rush to seemingly over-complicate my life.


And so this week, I leave you with a simple post. An effortless recipe for salmon. As well as an image of raindrops hanging heavy on winter branches which I forced myself to go outside and notice. And a picture of a pot of my new favorite tea I wish I could share with you. (Harney & Sons Paris Tea, of course.)

A Simple Preparation for Salmon: A Northwest Staple


I suppose it stems from spending all but a few years of my life living in the northwest...this salmon fetish I have. My childhood spent on boats in the Puget Sound fishing for salmon. Visions of my father always grilling salmon with onions and lemons. My mother laying out smoked salmon with cream cheese for appetizers. Parenthood spent feeding my children salmon. So now, at this point in my life, I am quite particular about my salmon. My favorite is sockeye. I think King is overrated. I'm leary about any salmon to which color has been added to give it a pink hue. And my preference is that it's fresh or flash frozen on the boat that hauled it in. What can I say? I know what I like.


This is my fool-proof winter preparation for salmon. Even the Rooster likes it. He who grew up on the East Coast and doesn't have quite the same love for salmon as I. During the summer, I always grill it. And I almost always serve it with a pot of rice and steamed broccoli. Sometimes I get a little crazy and make a little compote (i.e. sauteed shallots and tomatoes with thyme) to go on top but most times not. (Although, it does make for a nice picture, eh?)


Ingredients:


4  8-oz center-cut salmon fillets, preferably with the skin removed
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper


Directions:


Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.


Heat a dry, oven-proof saute pan on the stove over high-heat until it's piping hot. I love my cast iron pan for this. 


Meanwhile, brush all sides of your salmon pieces with olive oil. Don't be skimpy. Then, liberally season the tops with salt and pepper. Again, don't be skimpy.


When your pan is piping hot, place the salmon fillets, seasoning side down, in your pan and let them cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Don't move them. Don't touch them. You want to sear the "tops" of your salmon so they are quite browned and have developed a nice crust. Then, carefully flip your fillets over, trying not to "break" the crust and pop the pan in the oven for 5-7 more minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork but it still moist. Remember that the salmon will continue to cook even when it's out of the oven so better to pull it out a smidge early than too late.


Serve with rice and your favorite steamed veggies and voila...dinner is served. Enjoy.


Yield: 4-5 servings




...






Directions for Craziness Compote


Should you be feeling a little extra crazy, like me, here are the directions for the compote I will sometimes put on top of the salmon.


Ingredients:


2 tbsp of olive oil
2 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 c of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed, stems discarded


Directions:


Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the shallots and the salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 5-6 minutes or until the shallots are beginning to soften. Add your tomatoes and the thyme leaves and cook another 4-5 minutes until softened. Serve warm alongside your salmon.




...






Valentine's Menu Ideas
Just in case you like to prepare a little something extra special for Valentine's Day, here are some ideas:


Appetizer: 
Pita Pizzas with Caramelized Onions, Dried Cherries and Gruyere


Main Course: 
Simmering Ragu over spaghetti, Caeser salad, fresh bakery bread


Dessert: 
Rustic Pear Tart
OR 
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Dried Cherries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream




...






Organizing Project


All right, I'm just going to come out with it. The "toy closet" organizing project isn't, ahem, going too well. It's still in its halfway done stage where I left it back here. I have instead been working on organizing my To Dos in Things. It's heavenly. Doesn't that count for something? 








All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

A Refreshing Grapefruit and Greens Salad...25 Years in the Making

Just as I was putting on my coat and preparing to leave my dear friend's annual cookie party, her father says to me, "So, Carrie, would you like a case of grapefruit before you leave? I still have 15 cases in the garage. You know, we've been selling them all these years. They even gave us a plaque at our 25th year." How could I refuse him? His twinkly big eyes and sweet smile. Plus, the guilt. In some twisted way I felt a tiny bit responsible for his grapefruit selling endeavors all this time. I winced a smidge and said, "I would love a case."

Perhaps it was a Friday night. Maybe Saturday. I can't be sure. But I do know I was babysitting. My regular babysitting job. Which was how I spent most of my weekends in high school. (And let me tell you, that's not exactly a bad thing. Kept me out of trouble. For the most part.) One of my dear friends, whom my father to this day continues to call "my little Ice Cube", was with me. I'm not sure if she just stopped by or if I had invited her earlier in the day but there we were. At the Belli's. I had my portable typewriter and white-out in front of me and I was diligently working on my application for an AFS student exchange program. I had been unsuccessful at convincing my mother to let me go for my entire junior year and had finally succumbed to the realization that a summer exchange would be better than nothing.

I don't know if it is because my father was in the Navy, traveling the world and then coming home to share his tales or if it's a genetic tic I was born with, but I have always had the travel bug. And I can't help infecting other people with it especially when I'm in a particularly hyper energetic state in regards to travel. And so it was that in that one seemingly benign evening, I convinced my dear friend to fill out an exchange student application as well. Until she walked in the front door of my babysitting job, she had no intention of leaving home the following summer. And her parents didn't realize that they'd spend the next 25 plus years selling grapefruit.

Isn't it fascinating to look back in your life and pick out those times when your life changed in an instant? Or when you changed somebody else's?

We sent out our applications that fall and spent the next few months being interviewed, hosting other exchange students for a week or two, anxiously awaiting our placements and selling grapefruit at Christmas...the annual AFS fundraiser. Ok, ok, I should probably say that my parents actually sold the grapefruit. For a few years.

The following summer, my dear friend saw me off at the airport as I boarded a plane for Portugal. A few weeks later she would board one for Iceland.

We often talk about how that summer away changed our lives. About how that one evening changed hers. And until a month ago, I hadn't realized how my insistence that she fill out an application had changed her parents lives as well. Keeping up the grapefruit beat and all.

A Refreshing Grapefruit and Greens Salad

Yes, I am certifiably soup crazy. My family has soup at least 4 nights a week. I can't help it. It's easy. There is only one pot to clean. And it keeps me warm on cold winter evenings. (Nevermind that it's been 10 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year for the past month.) Sometimes though, I don't want soup. I want something lighter. More refreshing. And with the lack of fresh produce at this time of year, that request can be challenging. But lucky me, I have an entire case of grapefruit I'm still trying to get through, and so I've been turning to this salad to fulfill my request. And let me just say that each forkful is like a bite of summer here in the depths of winter. And right about now when my Vitamin D levels are at their annual low point, I can use all the summer I can get.

If you've never sectioned a grapefruit before, get ready for some fun. I'm attaching a couple "How To" videos for your viewing pleasure. Click here for the Granny demo or here for the young dude demo.


Ingredients:

a handful or two of salad greens - arugula, red lettuce, baby spinach, etc.
thinly sliced red onion
5 or 6 sections of Ruby Red grapefruit
optional: crumbled goat cheese

1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp minced shallot
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
pinch of salt
3-4 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Combine your vinegar, shallot, thyme leaves and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. This will allow the vinegar to "pickle" the shallot a bit before you stir in the olive oil.

Meanwhile, section your grapefruit. Then, put a handful of greens on a plate. Top with your grapefruit sections, the red onion and your goat cheese.

Go back to your vinaigrette bowl. Slowly pour your olive oil into the vinegar mixture while continually whisking the mixture together. This will allow the oil and vinegar to emulsify or to blend together.  How much olive oil you add depends on how "vinegary" you like your dressings. I prefer 4 tablespoons.

Spoon the desired amount of vinaigrette on your salad. Then pick up a fork and enjoy the unexpected sweetness of the grapefruit as contrasted against the tartness of the vinaigrette and all held together by the greens. Ahh...le pamplemousse!



Organizing Project:
Jan 17-23: Cleaned out dreaded toy/game/puzzle shelves.
Jan 24-30: Pull everything out of dreaded under-stairs closet including the Bat Cave at the far end. (Do you see how I'm giving myself baby steps? I'm not saying organize the whole darned thing. Let's just start by pulling everything out. I'm frightened.)


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Straddling the Seasons with Pork Chop Salad

"Ahhh....June 21st. First Day of Summer." I hopped out of bed and ran to the window just hoping the weatherman (no, not a "weatherperson" because I do in fact get my weather report from a man) was wrong. Pulling the curtains aside I was met with gray. All shades of gray and clouds. Low clouds. High clouds and cold. Down jacket, cold. I sighed and wondered if I should just check myself in. "Sun. Why can't we have just one little trickle of it??!! Arrrgghh!" But then, I decided that this weather had been going on for so long..."no more whining." I needed to get on with it. I needed to just grab hold of the old, "If you can't beat 'em...." No, more dwelling on the possibility that I might be living in someone's cruel joke of a snow globe. No, not the sweet, twinkly ones that play Christmas music but the kind that comes with frosted glass to imitate fog. When you shake it, it puts up dark, heavy clouds in varying shades of gray and winding it up you're treated to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. "No, put those thoughts aside."

And, so I did. Wearing my down jacket, I cheerfully dropped my middle guy off at the first camp of the summer season. And then, headed back home, taking time to notice all of the daisies popping up on the sides of the roads. I've always had a thing for daisies...fields of daisies....running in slow motion through those daisy laden fields. Must have something to do with the opening sequence of all of those Little House on the Prairie episodes I watched. Once home, I fixed myself up a bowl of Nancy's yogurt topped with granola, mangoes and those little Hood strawberries that are certainly synonymous with summer, grabbed a cookbook off the shelf and sat down at the kitchen table with my tea, my breakfast and my reading material. Yes, yes, I'll admit that I have a hard time just...sitting. I always feel as if I need to be doing something and so, if no other reading material presents itself when I sit down to eat, I grab a cookbook.

I love reading the inscription on the cookbooks I've been given. This one happened to say, "1993 Happy Cooking! Love, Kathy and Blake." I can remember back to when I was presented with this gift and the different recipes I made from the book at that time in my life. This collection of recipes was put out by Pasta and Co, "Seattle's Leading Take-Out Shop." I recall how I frequented their store at UVillage to buy their creations more than I actually made any back then. Back in those pre-kid years. Back when we'd get together with friends for dinner and talk about our dogs. As I read through the recipes, I realized how many I had yet to try and just how good they all sounded. I started fervently turning down the corners of every delicious sounding dish when I was stopped by the recipe for "Pork Chop Salad." I don't know what it was. Maybe the weather. So fall-ish and pork chops make me think of fall. Or maybe it was the shallots and we all know I have a serious love affair with shallots. Or maybe it was the "salad" part which sounded so...so...summer-ish.

As I stood at the stove, essentially pan-frying my slices of pork loin, I alternated between cursing at the bits of hot oil jumping out of the pan and stinging my hands and being lost in remembrances of my Grandma. When I think of summer, I think of her. So many of my summer vacations were spent with her. At her home. At the coast. And, pan-fying...anything...bacon, ham, cracklins...smells like her. But she would have kept it simple. Salt and pepper. A yellow onion. None of my craziness of chopping up fresh herbs and 6 shallots. And, undoubtedly, her pork chops would have come out better than anything I could ever make. She was just one of those gifted cooks. As I removed my first batch of pork slices and readied myself to cook up the next batch, I could swear I saw the half-finished crossword puzzle on the counter. The deck of cards waiting for a round of Crazy 8's before we ran out onto the beach. And above the sound of the pork sizzling in the olive oil, I could hear her loud, generous laugh...the one I inherited. And somehow, I could feel her arms around me giving me one of her all-enveloping hugs coupled with her smile and her saying to me, "Summer is here, Carrie." And by golly, if the sun didn't come out the next day. And the next. Burned away all of those clouds in the snow globe. (Oh, and the frosted glass that I thought was fog...that was really just dirty windows. I was unable to tell the difference until the sun came streaming in.)

Pork Chop Salad
Adapted from the recipe of the same name in the Pasta and Co By Request cookbook

Now, I find that the name of this recipe is a bit of a misnomer. Kind of like "egg salad." When I see the word salad, I think green leaves and there isn't anything green and leafy in this ingredient list besides the herbs so....for one meal, I turned it into a salad by putting the "pork salad" over a bed of green leaves and adding some cherry tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese. Another day, I put it on a fresh baguette with some greens from a local farmer, a crack of pepper and a pinch of salt for a quick and tasty lunch. And the evening I actually made it, I served it alongside some corn on the cob and a little green salad. My daughter piped up that she thought it would be great on an appetizer table on top of little baguette slices. My sweetie thought white rice might have been nice. I see it paired with couscous in the future. And, the boys....no comment. They were too busy eating. According to the original recipe, this "salad" is meant to be served warm or at room temperature (which makes it good for summer) but never cold. It will keep well for five days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp dried Italian herbs OR 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, 2 tsp chopped fresh sage and 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Big pinch of allspice (If you don't have this, I wouldn't worry about it.)
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch slices
1/2 cup pure olive oil or other "high heat oil" such as Canola oil
6 shallots, peeled and sliced (the original recipe called for 10)
2 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley to put on top

Directions:
Mix together the herbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Sprinkle both sides of your pork slices with this mixture, using it all.

In a large sauté pan, heat your pure olive oil to very hot. Add as many pork slices as will fit in the pan and brown thoroughly for 2-3 minutes on each side. You want your pork cooked through but not overcooked. I tend to remove my pork from the heat while it still has a faint hue of pink in the middle, knowing that it will continue to cook even after it's taken out of the pan. Remove slices to a large bowl as they are done, tent with foil and set aside. When pork has all been cooked, lower heat. Add your shallots to the pan and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. About 3 minutes into cooking your shallots add your garlic, taking care not to burn it. Add vinegar, raise heat and scrape up all meat drippings. Remove from heat and stir in the extra virgin olive oil. Let mixture cool while you cut pork slices into 1-inch to 2-inch pieces, returning them to the bowl and salvaging all meat juices. Toss pork with shallot mixture.

You may refrigerate the "salad" at this point but when ready to serve, bring it back to room temperature or reheat gently. Make sure to sprinkle the "salad" with a little parsley before serving....however, you decide to serve it. Enjoy.

Yield: About 5 cups

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Une Petite Pomme: Potatoes and Green Beans for Primetime

This post goes out to all of you kind, generous souls humoring me by requesting prior knowledge of my next AM Northwest Primetime appearance. Well, I'm here to tell you that I will be on tomorrow, May 26, at their 7:00 pm time slot on: Channel 2.2, if you don't have cable, or Comcast Channel 302 or Verizon FIOS Channel 464. For those of you not in the Portland area who want to check out the "big event," I'll post the link to it on Thursday. My actual appearance will be in the mid- to second half of the show.

I'll be making green beans with caramelized shallots which are to die for. I can't get enough of them. And with green bean season almost upon us, this is a good recipe to have handy. You can find it here. I'll also be making the fingerling potato recipe I've listed below. Even my sweetie loves this dish and he's kind of like our "Mikey." You know if he likes it, well.....it's got to be good. Isn't that right, sweetie?

Fingerling Potatoes with an Apple Cider Vinaigrette
(A twist on the ole German Potato Salad)

I have alluded to making these potatoes before here but since I'll be showing how to make them on the show tomorrow, I needed to get an actual recipe down on paper. So here it is. I served them just last night with grilled sausages and steamed garlic spears and received rave reviews. As for the garlic spears, they were new to us. They had a mild taste like an artichoke. I don't think I would serve them as a side dish again but I think they would be fantastic as an appetizer with a little garlic aioli.

Ingredients:
3 lbs (or approx 8 cups) fingerling potatoes, cut into fairly uniform 1" sized chunks
1/4 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt or whatever salt you have on hand)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp shallot, peeled and minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
5-6 tbsp olive oil

Before you start doing anything with your potatoes, mix together the salt, vinegar and shallot in a medium-sized bowl (I like to use a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup.) Set aside and allow to "macerate" or "pickle" if you will, while you take care of the potatoes.

Put your potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover them completely. Add a pinch of salt if you'd like, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce your heat a bit and cook for 10-12 minutes. Test with a fork at 10 minutes to see if the potatoes are tender.

Gently drain the potatoes into a colandar and let cool just a bit. While they are cooling, finish your vinaigrette. Mix in the dijon mustard. Then, while continuously whisking, slowing pour your olive oil into your vinegar and shallot mix. You want to do this slowly so the ingredients emulsify or blend together.

Transfer your potatoes to a large bowl (or back in the pot, which is what I do to cut down on dishes,) pour the vinaigrette over them and gently stir your potatoes just until they are evenly coated with the dressing. This recipe can easily be cut in half and it's just as tasty cold. Enjoy.

Yield: 8 servings

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Spring Cleaning Scramble

The flurry of activity from the weekend is over. Everyone is back to his corner of the city for the weekly routine. I absentmindedly reach over to pick up a pair of scissors jutting out from under the couch. I walk over to the set of drawers with the fading labels and pull on the handle of the one marked, "scissors, hole punch and stapler." Inside I find clay, glue, oil pastels, crayons, tape, a pencil and a bell, but not one pair of scissors until I deposit the ones I'm holding. With a bit of a sigh, I push the drawer back in and recall a time when those drawers actually held exactly what appeared on the labels...back when I cared. Back when I was known to stay up until one or two in the morning, organizing, purging, labeling, cleaning, painting, rearranging. I think it's safe to say that my sweetie is a very...very...patient man. Actually, I take that back. He's not patient at all. Perhaps it's that he is wise to the ways of women and knows when to stand back and let me work through the frenzy.

I pull up my email in-box and wait for the new messages to load. Glancing down the list, the one entitled, "Spring Cleaning: Day One" catches my eye. I open it up, glance at the thoughtful advice and then, promptly delete it. I can't even keep up with regular cleaning. The thought of "spring cleaning" just overwhelms me. I recently confessed to my mother, my sister and one of my oldest, dearest friends who is a frequent guest in my home that the impendence of their arrival no longer spurs on a flurry of home projects. Where before there would be flowers and decorations reflecting the seasons along with a well-scrubbed house, now, well....oh sure, I clean the toilets (I have boys after all) and I may do a quick little sweep of the kitchen floor, make the beds and fluff a pillow or two but after that, it's more like, "Good to see ya. Here's a glass of wine. Let's sit and chat."

You know, the great irony is that my home may no longer be the pristinely clean and perfectly organized place that it once was but I find I'm more relaxed (which means my sweetie is more relaxed.) I enjoy my time with my guests more. Maybe it's that spring seems to come more quickly with each passing year (Didn't we just pull all of these spring weeds?), and I recognize that I must decide exactly how I want to spend my time. And, I've decided that I want to spend my time with my guests enjoying a home cooked meal, a glass of wine and their company.

Looking for inspiration for the evening's dinner, I pull out the crisper drawers in the fridge. Still having the "spring cleaning" article on the brain (old habits die hard), I recognize that the contents of these drawers could use a little purging. Grabbing the bundle of asparagus that is a bit past its prime, a half a shallot, some potatoes rolling around in the back, some eggs, a couple cloves of garlic and a bag of mushrooms from last weekend's Farmer's Market and drawing on the recollection of a favorite "Egg Scramble" I loved at a diner in Eureka, California....I whip up my own "Spring Cleaning Scramble" and place it on the table for dinner along with some toasted, day-old bread. As we inhale the medley of spring flavors, we chat about our day. What's coming up in the week. And, for some unknown reason we seem to linger a little longer at the table than usual. It's then that I decide that this is the kind of spring cleaning I love. The kind I can handle. The rest of it....eh....

Spring Cleaning Scramble
While I confess that I am not a huge "egg person," I do love this dish which can be made with any veggies you may have lying around in your fridge....peppers, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes....you name it....scramble it up. This particular evening I made this with mushrooms but I've also made it without them and it was lapped up just as quickly (maybe even more quickly by certain family members.) Also, I find that there is nothing like potatoes browned in a cast iron pan but for a weeknight, I'm picky about how much clean-up I have to do. For these potatoes, I followed Pam Anderson's inspiration for using a non-stick pan and her steam/saute method of cooking them up. I hope this recipe will inspire you to do a little spring cleaning of your own refrigerator to make room for all the berries that are just about to hit the markets.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil, divided below
a bundle of asparagus with "tough" ends trimmed off (or snapped off like I do)
1 small onion, quartered, white, yellow, red, whatever you have
1/2 lb of shiitake mushrooms (optional)
2 c diced, fingerling potatoes, Yukon Gold or any other thin-skinned potatoes you have lying around
1/2 shallot, chopped (or 1/4 c onion)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
kosher salt and pepper
3 tbsp water
8 eggs (two per person)
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp butter (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While your oven is heating, prepare your asparagus, onion and mushrooms. Lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or two. Drizzle a tbsp or two of olive oil over your vegetables. Using your hands (or tongs) mix them around to ensure that they are coated with the olive oil but not drenched in it. Laying them back out in a single layer, sprinkle them well with kosher salt and pepper. Put them in your heated oven to roast for 15 -20 minutes, stirring halfway through. You want the asparagus browned but not blackened, tender but not mushy.

While your vegetables are roasting, prepare your potatoes, shallot and garlic. Place them in a non-stick skillet, along with 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp water and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and steam over medium-high heat until the potatoes are just tender about 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are lightly browned about 6-8 minutes longer.

While your potatoes are cooking, prepare your eggs by cracking them into a medium bowl and lightly beating them along with the 3 tbsp of milk. (Don't ask me why but I always put a bit of milk in my scrambled eggs.) Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

Once your potatoes are done, spoon them into a bowl, tent with foil and set aside. Turning the heat to low, add one tsp of butter to your already warm skillet (or forgo the butter and just rely on the magic of the non-stick surface.) Once melted, add your eggs. Allow the eggs to set slightly on the bottom and then, cook on the lowest heat, stirring almost constantly. Although, I would take a second here to pop that day-old bread into the toaster. Cook the eggs to your desired doneness...usually 3-4 minutes for me. They continue to cook even after you've turned off the stove.

At this point, it's time to ring the dinner bell and call the troops to the table. On a side note, I did recently acquire a cow bell just for this purpose. No one seemed to pay any attention to me before when I called everyone to the dinner table after slaving away over a hot stove. It's amazing how the extremely loud, incessant and annoying sound of the cow bell seems to bring everyone to the table...quickly...even those people trying to hide from me in the woods. Once they've arrived, hand everyone a plate, tell them to load up with the veggies, potatoes and eggs and mix-it all up on their plates. Toss them each a piece of toast, set some salt and pepper on the table and you're good to go.  Dinner....check. Refrigerator cleaned out...check. Family fed...check. Dishes...pending.

Yield: Enough to feed a family of 4 and one person who still insists on eating like a bird

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

All Is Safe and Sound Chicken

The warm smells from dinner still lingered in the house. Smells from perhaps a "fall off the bone" tender beef stew, maybe chicken and dumplings or my mother's delicious chicken and wild rice soup with her homemade dill bread. The dishwasher was humming. The voices from the TV were soft. Distant. I made my way down the long, darkened hallway toward the single glowing lamp above the piano. I sat down on the bench, sighed and pushed up the lid to reveal the keys.

I opened my book and searched for Mr. Burke's distinct, purposeful handwriting that marked this week's assignment. As I reluctantly placed the correct song against the stand, my father quietly slipped into the living room and took up his place in his favorite chair. With his feet up, his hands clasped over his chest and his eyes closed, he would say to me, "I love to listen to you play." And there, he patiently sat. Sat while I banged out songs like "Candy Man" and "You're a Grand Old Flag" or the occasional "Für Elise." He sat there during the weeks when I threw myself down on the bench in tears claiming that, "I will not practice the piano tonight!" He quietly waited as I pulled myself together, wiped the tears and began again with the "Blue Danube."

And now, when I look back, I'm so grateful for those practice sessions. The smells. The darkness. The hushed tones. My father's presence. The sound of the piano. I felt safe. Even knowing that my father may be leaving soon, to stand guard at some far flung destination in the world...still, I felt safe.

That same piano sits in the living room of my home. The one my mother was determined her children would play. The one that my parents had to carry up a winding path. The one with the salamander burned into the wood, just behind the stand.

And, in the deep fall, when the kitchen has been put away, the dishwasher is humming and the baby has been put to bed, I'll pass that piano and something will pull me over to it. Whether it's the smells from our dinner of chicken sautéed with garlic and tomatoes, the early darkness of the evening or knowing that the eldest children are in their rooms reading and I, for a minute, have no one needing me, I will flick on the lamp, pull out the bench, put up the familiar music and start to play. My fingers will trip over themselves at first. Out of practice since the piano tends to sit unused for all of spring and summer. But, soon, they will remember the way and I will play, song after song. From Winter Peace to Thanksgiving to Jessica's Theme. I will play. I will be lost in the music and I will feel safe. At this moment, in this place in the world, we are all here in this home, enveloped by the smells and the darkness and we are safe.

Then, whether it be a sixth sense or mother's intuition, I will feel a presence with me while I play. Something will cause me to stop and look. There, in the semi-darkness of the stairwell, are my eldest children. Jammies on, peering through the railings and quietly listening to me play. And, there, in the darkness of the kitchen, I can just make out the shape of my sweetie.

All Is Safe and Sound Chicken

(Inspired by Caroline Conran's Poulet À La Provencal)

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, or 4 thighs and 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or 4 chicken breasts

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbls butter

3 large shallots, coarsely chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise

6 ripe sm-med sized, tomatoes, cut in half

4 sprigs fresh thyme, coarsely chopped or a pinch or two of dried

salt and pepper to taste

For this recipe, I like to use a Le Creuset type of pot. Begin by seasoning your chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In our household, I'm a bit of a short order cook based on the type of chicken people like. Some want dark meat, some want white. Whatever mix of pieces you use, just make sure they are bone-in, skin-on. The meat will be much more flavorful and tender than boneless, skinless and you can always pick off the skin once it is cooked. Next, heat/melt the olive oil and butter in your pot. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and cook them on all sides until they are lightly browned. Add the shallots and the garlic and lightly brown them also, but do not let them burn.

Next, take your tomato halves, squeeze out most of their seeds and some of their liquid. Coarsely chop them and add them to your pot along with the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. One note: should you not be able to find decent tomatoes this time of year, a 15-oz can of drained, diced tomatoes would work as well. Cover the pot and cook, turning the chicken from time to time, for 15-20 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Smell and enjoy the aromas that will linger in your home the night through.

I like to serve this with couscous and steamed green beans or broccoli. Or, instead of dirtying another pot, you could just cut up some in-season pears or apples, and call it good. Make sure not to let any of the delicious "sauce" go to waste. Spoon that on top of your couscous. Heaven.

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear friends!

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009

String Beans and Caramelized Shallots

How do you know when you should be your child’s advocate? Or when their hurt is simply nothing more than a lesson from life? Do you have that conversation with that teacher? That parent? That coach? Or do you simply stand back and let life take its course. Life’s not fair. We don’t always get what we want even if we play by all the rules. Were past generations of parents wiser for knowing how to stand back? Stay removed? Don’t get involved? Or will our children be better for having us stand up for what they rightly deserve?

These questions run through my mind as I jam the hoe-like tool into our god-forsaken clay dirt. I am planting bulbs. Those shallot look-alikes that must be planted before the winter. Before the clay earth morphs into brick by the frigid temperatures. I do not enjoy planting bulbs. I loathe it. But…plant, I do. I have 150 of these “shallots” to get in the ground. Years ago, I instituted a rule for myself to prevent over-zealous bulb buying. “You may not buy any more than 25 bulbs at a time. You must plant those 25 bulbs before you buy anymore.” Does this look like 25?

And, if you do choose to have that conversation, will it be perceived as petty? Another over-involved parent? Or appreciated for what it is…communicating? Trying to come to an understanding? And, at what point do you hand over the torch and let them be their own advocate with you cheering them on? When are they old enough to do that? And, if they don’t, maybe the true desire wasn’t there for them…only you, the parent. Is it their passion? Or yours? Does my child feel slighted? Or do I?

We don’t get much of a spring here in the Pacific Northwest. Actually, we don’t get a spring at all. We go from freezing cold, gray and rainy in the winter to cold, gray and rainy in the spring. The only sign that spring has actually sprung is the myriad of daffodils that beam their cheerful, yellow trumpets along roadways. Bunched along fences. Clustered near front doors. They are the only sign of spring. And I love them for it.

How do we know how to separate what we want for our children and what they want for themselves? Different decisions we wish we would have made in our own lives, we now make for our children. What do they truly have the talent for and what is just wishful thinking? What do they truly love and what do we love them to do?

I pull out my “hoe” ready to slip in the bulb. The earth tumbles back into my newly-dug hole. Arrrrgh. I grab a trowel and try to dig faster than gravity. Is that 3 times the height of the bulb? When I glance at the pile of bulbs still waiting to be planted, I decide that this hole is good enough. The bulb has been planted. We’ll see what happens come spring.

Maybe we can never know the right answer. Maybe we make the best decisions that we can and that’s good enough. And, then, we wait…and see what happens.

The sky is beginning to darken. I grab a whiff of a neighbor’s dinner floating by in the air. My stomach growls. I gather my tools and my basket of bulbs. No time left today. I leave them in the garage and head inside to chop up some actual shallots for our dinner.

String Beans and Caramelized Shallots

1 lb French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed OR regular string beans

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbls butter (optional)

2 large shallots, chopped (approx 1 cup)

black pepper, to taste

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes (3 minutes if using regular green beans.) Drain immediately and spray them with cold water to stop them from cooking any further.

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan and sauté the shallots on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. If your shallots seem to be browning too quickly, turn your heat down a bit.

When the shallots are done, add your drained green beans to the pan, along with the salt and pepper. Heat only until the beans are hot.

Don't even bother with forks and knives. Eat these with your fingers!

This time of year, I serve these on a weeknight with a roasted chicken I picked up at my favorite grocery store and boiled fingerling potatoes tossed with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. For Christmas Dinner, these accompany my father's creamy mashed potatoes and a delicious Bœuf Bourgignon.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009