Yes, Mom... it's National I Love Food Day!

Are you like me... there's just too many to list!

The following are my favs, and in no specific order...

1.  See's dark chocolate scotchmallows

2.  Hot cinnamon rolls with raisins (Fred's has the best!)

3.  Toast with something savory and something sweet (cottage cheese and fruit or honey)

4.  Onion rings (well done, of course)

5.  Grilled salmon where it's crispy on the outside

6.  A yummy veggie salad with a little drizzle of olive oil, lemon & salt

7.  A deliciously BBQ'd hamburger, rare

8.  Tropical fruits

9.  Delicious tomatoes, red onions, basil, israeli feta and herbs

10.  Melon with cottage cheese

11.  Ice cold, crispy fresh veggies

12.  A white pizza with extremely thin and well-done crust (pref. Pizzeria Mozza)

Yes, i do love food!

Now please tell me... what are your favorites?

Bon Appetit!

Another Saturday with not just any Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom tomatoes, burrata, fresh made croutons and fresh herbs.  Happiness!

I was going to my sister and brother-in-law's for a BBQ and decided i had to give the heirloom tomatoes another try; they're everywhere i look.  Perhaps i was disappointed with them earlier in the summer, it may have just been too soon.  I decided to make a salad inspired by a recipe in Suzanne Goin's, Sunday Suppers at Lucques.  Actually, my salad was more than "inspired", it was the salad from Suzanne Goin's cookbook, other than mine had all large heirlooms chopped - no baby tomatoes and no slices.

Fresh organic heirloom tomatoes, opal basil and bermuda onions

First thing Saturday morning I ventured to the Santa Monica farmers market.  This is one serious farmers market.  Usually i go on Thursday to the Century City market, but you can't compare them.  I guess it's also two very different crowds and needs.  But i have a new home for Saturday mornings.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the varieties the Saturday organic market offers.  Cheese!  I actually bought curds and don't have to make my own.  I bought some beautiful blackeyed beans in different color hulls.  Let's see if i can remember to photo them before cooking.  If so, you'll see these beauties soon.

The salad was delicious!  As my father said, "it's a hit!"  The dressing is one that i'll have to make for a variety of salads.  It was easy and has a perfect punch for those times you want something a bit more than olive oil & balsamic, yet it didn't distract from any of the deliciousness that the tomatoes, the croutons or the creamy burrata brought to the dish.  In fact, my mother was wowed by the dressing and said she would love some to have for other salads.  Yes, i'll now have to find some cute bottles to make this dressing even more special.

Here's the recipe with my adaptations --

• 1/3 loaf rustic white bread
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
• 1/2 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, assorted sizes, shapes, and colors
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel
• 2 tablespoons sliced opal basil
• 2 tablespoons sliced green basil
• 2 pounds mozzarella cheese (I used mostly buffalo and a little burrata)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced bermuda onions or shallots
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad Assembly -
Core the heirloom tomatoes.  Cut them into wedges or large chunks.  Season with the fleur de sel and some pepper.  Spoon a little of the vinaigrette over them, and scatter a little basil on top.

Cut the burrata and buffalo mozzarella into large chunks.
Add the thinly sliced onion.
Toss in the vinaigrette
Gently toss in the croutons.
Scatter the parsley and remaining basil leaves over the top of the salad.

Burrata!  My absolute favorite.

Directions for Croutons -
Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Cut the crust off the bread (i like the crust, so i left the crust on) and tear the remaining loaf into rustic 1-inch pieces.  Using your hands, toss the pieces with 2 tablespoons olive oil, squeeze the bread gently to help it absorb the oil.  Toast on a baking sheet 12 to 15 minutes, stirring a few times, until the croutons are golden brown and crispy on the outside. 

Fresh made croutons

Directions for Vinaigrette -
Using a mortar and pestle, pound the oregano, garlic, and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt to a paste.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the vinegars.  Whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil and taste for balance and seasoning.  (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, place the garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle the salt over it.  Using the side of your knife, smash the garlic and salt together until you get a paste.  Then cut the oregano very finely into the paste.)

The beginning of a delicious vinagerette

Bon appetito!

Thanks Audrie & Georg!  A happy bar-b-que was had by all.  Oops, until the kitchen sink decided it was too full and had enough!

Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta Cheese and Balsamic

Ever since i can remember i've thoroughly loved ricotta cheese.  But not just any ricotta - i prefer Poly-O ricotta.  Even their "part skim" is very good.  When Amanda worked for me i turned her onto it and i remember she told me her mother bought ricotta as she requested, but she bought Precious brand, which just won't do.  Once a Polly-O girl, always a Polly-O girl.  Um... until you learn to make it yourself.

After completing my new kitchen i thought it would be fun to take a cooking class or two.  I then decided a mozzarella or ricotta cheese making class would be ideal.  Low and behold, HipCooks in West LA had just listed a new class entitled "The Cheese Whiz", where we would learn how to make mozzarella, ricotta, chevre, mascarpone and fromage fort.  I was in heaven!  Not only would i learn to make these two wonderful italian cheeses, but i got mascarpone and goat cheese as a bonus. 

We did a lot with the various cheeses, and i was impressed with how easy it is to make these different cheeses, as well as the lovely hors d'oeuvres we made in order to sample the goods.  I decided that, since this is the height of our tomato season, i would make the roasted tomatoes stuffed with ricotta cheese and then drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  Yummm.  Other than the small amount of fat in the cheese, it's actually a healthy and low calorie dish that can be used as an hors d'oeuvres, a snack, or have one or two along with a green salad and call it lunch!  Also, the nice thing about making ricotta is that you use buttermilk, which contain the enzymes necessary to turn the milk into curds and whey.  No necessary cheese-making enzymes necessary for ricotta.  We'll save those for the mozzarella.

RICOTTA CHEESE
Ingredients and necessities -

• 1 gallon of organic, whole milk*
• 1 quart of buttermilk**
• thermometer
• a large, non-reactive stock pot that holds at least 8 quarts

1. Pour both containers of milk into the pot and place on a medium burner.
2. Slowly and occasionally stir the milk ensuring nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.  Just stir occasionally; you don't want to stir too often.
3. When the milk gets to about 120°F., you will notice the curds forming.  
4. The goal is to get the milk to 180° F.
5. Turn your stove off and remove the pot.
6. You now have a pot of curds and whey.
7. Carefully, and with a serrated spoon, scoop out the curds and place into a cheesecloth lined colander or strainer.  Use about 4 or 5 large layers of cheesecloth.  
8. Gently pull together and twist the top of the cheesecloth so that it compacts the curds (which is now ricotta). 
9. Place it in the colander or strainer and put that over a bowl in the refrigerator.  
10. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours and then your ricotta is ready to be eaten.

The whey, or liquid extracted from the cheese, is actually an excellent source of protein.

*I tried making this with low fat milk, but i was only able to get about 2 tablespoons of cheese out of a gallon of milk.  Apparently, for this recipe, you must use whole milk.

**Buttermilk is actually a low-fat milk product, and not made from butter.  In fact, it's the remaining liquid after churning milk into butter, which is why you might see very small flecks of yellow in the milk, which are tiny pieces of butter that didn't make it to the top in the skimming process. 

Bon appetito!

ROASTED TOMATOES
Ingredients -

• Any kind of delicious tomato (I find compari, or roma tomoatoes are a great size and work well for roasting.  Heirlooms are too large, although they would be delicious.)
• fresh oregano or basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• fresh garlic is optional

1. Slice the tomatoes in half (lengthwise).
2. Scoop out the seeds.
3. Lay the tomatoes face up (scooped out side face up) on a cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle the chopped herb, salt and pepper so that each tomato half has a little of each.
5. If you want the garlic flavor, now's the time to add it.
6. Brush a little extra virgin olive oil on top of the tomatoes.
7. Slowly roast in a 300°F. oven for about 4 hours or until the tomatoes look shriveled up enough, yet you don't want them charred. 
8. After the tomatoes have cooled down, fill each one with some of your homemade, delicious ricotta cheese.

BALSAMIC REDUCTION
Over a low heat, pour 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into a pan, stirring occasionally.  The heat will slowly reduce the liquid, turning the balsamic into a delicious syrup.

Drizzle a little onto the top of each tomato stuffed with cheese, and enjoy.

Girls' Summer Lunch

I had two friends over for lunch and wanted to think of something light, yet classic so i could put my own twist on it.  I decided a caprese salad would be ideal since heirloom tomatoes are in the height of their season, and i'm always game for celebrating the delicious tomato.  When i was at the market, the produce man said the heirloom tomatoes were not as good as some years, but the little baby heirlooms were good, so i bought a variety of big and baby heirlooms.  I then decided that i would cut the tomatoes and the buffalo mozzarella and basil and serve it on a bed of wild arugula.  I also decided to grill some white peach slices and throw those into the mix.  I used a delicious store-bought salad dressing -- although i either should have used a bit more of it, or i needed something else with more of a "punch".

Unfortunately, I found that none of the tomatoes had the delicious sweet taste that heirlooms usually have.  I was very disappointed because i LOVE LOVE LOVE a good tomato.  I even threw a dash of salt on the tomatoes while they sat hoping that the salt would bring out the sweetness.  No such luck.  Overall, it was a pretty bland salad, but i think i'll work on spicing it up for the future since it's overall healthy, easy, and should be delicious.

Wild arugula.

Grillin' peaches.  Delish!!!

A variety of heirloom tomatoes - although this wasn't a great batch.

Here goes...

WILD CAPRESE SALAD
1 package of wild arugula
3 or 4 large heirloom tomatoes
(optional - 1 basket of baby heirloom tomatoes)
2 white peaches (too firm to eat, but perfect for slicing and grilling)
basil leaves
Lucini's Fig & Walnut Savory Balsamic, or a vinaigrette of your choice

I thoroughly washed the arugula and kept it in the fridge while i prepped the rest of the salad.
Slice the peaches into quarter inch thick slices so that they don't fall apart while you're grilling them.
Grill the peach slices and set aside.
Cut the baby heirlooms in half, and slice all the other tomatoes into bite-sized chunks.
Sprinkle with salt to bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes (if there's any sweetness to bring out).
Chiffonade the basil leaves and mix into the tomato mixture.
Slice the buffalo mozzarella into bite-sized pieces also.
I then tossed the arugula with the balsamic vinaigrette and placed the tomatoes and cheese on top. 

Easy-peasy!

For dessert i decided to serve fresh strawberries and blackberries with my homemade schlag.  Can't go wrong with berries if it's their season.  (Although who would think you could go wrong with heirloom tomatoes?)