Grilled Salad

It's been a long while since I've been able to sit down and write up a recipe for Blog Appetit, so I thought I would pull one from my files. So here is a little recipe perfect for the good weather we have been enjoying in northern California lately -- Grilled Salad. The grilling creates a smoky interest to the otherwise bland lettuce and the acid dressing is balanced out by the sweetness the cooking brings out of the vegetable. The photo of lettuces below was taken at the Berkeley, CA, farmers' market last fall.

Grilled Salad

The mother of one of my best friends was visiting from Chicago. As her son-in-law was grilling the marinated flank steak, she insisted on grilling the lettuce. Her daughter and I were skeptical.

“Oh, we do it all the time,” Jean insisted. “Well, maybe if it was radicchio ….” Jody and I said.

Well, it wasn’t radicchio, it was romaine and it was delicious.

Whole, washed romaine lettuce leaves
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Lemon Juice or vinegar to taste

Mix together olive oil, sea salt and pepper
Pour over lettuce leaves and turn until coated
Over a medium fire on a greased grill, lay down leaves and check and turn regularly until slightly wilted and charred

Take off grill, toss with bit of lemon juice or vinegar and grated parmesan cheese.

Eat with knife and fork or chop roughly before serving

Your Right to Blog May Be Threatened

If you blog, if you enjoy reading blogs, you must read this important post from Pim of Chez Pim.

It seems that Congress is being asked to create a two-tier internet, where those who pay more get to use the internet as their own high-speed playground while the rest of us are on the swingset, but only if they decide to let us play.

Keep the internet for everyone, not just corporations.

Please read Pim's write up of the issue with links to the New York Times and other info and then go to the Save the Internet site to take some action. Be sure to contact your representative and senators, too. To contact them, check out the League of Women Voters for names and email addresses.

Thanks to Pim for alerting us to the issue.

See's Lemon Love

Girl Meets Truffle.
Girl Loves Truffle.
Truffle Goes from Tart to Sweet
Girl Decides She Only Really, Really Likes See's Lemon Truffle

Taste the experience at Sugar Savvy

Quickie Top Chef Report

Did you see the Top Chef Reunion Show on Bravo last night?

The youngest son and I did and I have to admit it was pretty much a waste of time.

Why?

Well it was manipulative TV without telling you anything new. Following the Project Runway model, the production seems based on getting the participants not just drunk but wasted with the hope they'll say something that makes good TV. Also, suddenly Dave dresses like Cary Grant and Stephen looks like a slob. Do I see the fine hand of pr and image consultants? I will say Dave's dandruff showed up on his suit and Stephen seemed like more of an actual human being. Oh, and there is a whole lot of Mrs. Billy Joel and not enough Chef Tom.

In other highlights, Harold and Andrea continued to be the classiest contestants. Ken Lee remained the most marginal. I could have lived a long and happy life without the Miguel fart compilation/highlight. Tiffani was the one the others ganged up on and the one who left the set and had to be coaxed back.

Just in case the buzz wore off, the producers kept the chefs well lubricated even when the contestants were on camera. Even Stephen was seen swigging wine or maybe champagne directly out of the bottle.

The whole thing just seemed like a ramp up for the two part finale and had no merit on its own.

Tune in next week to see if the show gets cooking.

Top Chef

Yiddisha "Mama" Wants You to Essen*

*Most of my post titles need a bit of translation or at least explanation anyway, but this one needs more than most. The Yiddisha "Mama" (mama is in quotes because I'm not sure if she is a mother) is The Chocolate Lady. Essen means eat. So this is a roundabout way of introducing a new food blog to my blog roll (look to the right for links).

The Chocolate Lady's blog, In Mol Araan, is mostly in English, with some Yiddish thrown in. I can't read her Yiddish postings, but I really appreciate her thoughtful, well-researched posts with their delicious recipes and wonderful photos.

She describes In Mol Araan as being "about food and words in Yiddish and English including but not limited to cooking, recipes, culinary lexicography, delights and curiosities of the plant world, and cookbooks."

Many of her posts and recipes reflect her Jewish sensibilities and heritage. Others just explore a particular ingredient or life experience.

Check her out at In Mol Araan. (FYI - In Mol Araan means "mouthful.")

Update: On 5/19/06 I had a chance to have lunch with "The Chocolate Lady" who was visiting northern California. She was fun to talk with and eat with. I especially enjoyed how consciously she ate and how aware and appreciative she was of her food and the labor and ingredients that go into it. It's nice to now know the face and personality that go along with the screen name.

Meet Guy, Just a Regular Guy Who Happens to be the Next Food Network Star

Paper Palate has published my article about a local newspaper's coverage of Guy Fieri, the rocking and rolling, bbqing and sushi rolling winner of Food Network's Next Food Network Star.

Read all about it here. Want my take on Guy's win? Click here and here.

Food Network Next Food Network Star

Update:  Well, all Paper Palate links are dead, dead, dead. Normally I'd give a link to the post on the wonderful wayback archive, but the crawl containing that link is contaminated or ill or just shy and it won't come up.  Here is an excerpt from that post to hold you over until I can get the whole thing:

The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an ode to a regular guy, Guy Fieri, winner of Food Network’s Next Food Network Star, who is proud of his California roots and who is an integral part of his Santa Rosa, CA hometown. The article, by Peter Hartlaub, dominated the front of Datebook, the paper’s feature section.
Guy, photographed in all his “off the hook” glory holding a guitar signed by Sammy Hagar being used as a platter to display samples of his no-holds barred sushi, is a popular guy in his hometown. He is well known for his personal and corporate generosity in the town, as well as for his restaurants, including Tex Wasabi’s, which features barbecue and sushi on its menu.
The town was 100 percent behind Guy. The owner of the local movie theater posted “Vote for Guy” messages on the marquee and a local radio show host promoted him as well. A local construction company used a sign it owns near the freeway to get out the Guy vote. Supposedly a Santa Rosa high school principal used the intercom to remind students to text message their votes in to Food Network.

Some Photos for Cinco De Mayo

I have some more food photos from my last jaunt to Mexico and thought I would post a few of them in honor of the day.



This a picture of some catcus paddles on the griddle. See the flat breads in the background? The grilled nopales will be the topping for them.




To the right is a photo of paletas, or juicy, fruit-filled ice pops. A wonderfully refreshing way to end a spicy meal. In the background, one of my husband's favorites, chocolate covered bananas.



This is the inside of a candy store, or a dulceria. This section displays a lot of the candied fruits and vegetables. Please click on the photo to enlarge it so you can see all the wonderful goodies.

See's for Mother's Day. I'll take one of those, and one of ...

My Sugar Savvy contribution for Mother's Day is posted at The Chocolate Box. What am I advocating as presents for our dear moms (and for ourselves if we are moms)? Why See's Candies, of course.

See's has a range of gift packages for our moms that range from small (pink foil covered hearts) to medium (a pink and black "purse" filled with chocolates) to large (hearts, bag AND a one-pound box.)

Or do you know your mom well enough to pick out an assortment? Can you navigate the treacherous waters of mik or dark chocolate, soft center or nut and chew and other selections?

Check it out at See's Piece by Piece #16.

Topsy Turvy at Top Chef

I can't believe it, LeeAnn is out. She and Tiffani were locks to go to Vegas. I thought Dave would be out for sure unless Harold had a meltdown.

Instead Dave's simple truffled mac and cheese won the judges' hearts after too much foofoo and lamb on the part of other contestants. My son predicted Tiffani (or is it Tiffany) would stay, I voted for LeeAnn (or is it LeeAnne). But I forgot the always important Wendy Pepper Rule.

The Wendy Pepper Rule is that all judging is not created equally and producers have a say in who stays and who goes. Tiffani (and possibly Dave) make better TV. I also think it explains why Stephen lasted so long. Don't believe me? Read the fine print during the credits scroll at the end of the show. Why name it after Wendy Pepper? Pepper was the "wild card" finalist that stirred the pot on the first Project Runway. Top Chef is produced by the Project Runway folks. Got it?

The challenge was to use black truffles in a dish for the judges and 10 of the top chefs in Napa to showcase a rare red wine from Shafer Vineyards.

Harold's lamb dish was the clear winner with focused tastes and a combo that amazed the judges (tempering the wine-killing affects of spinach with sunchoke puree). He got dings for gritty mushrooms. He also had a leg up since he won the quick fire reinventing junk food challenge. Tiffani's multi-layered, high concept truffled gnoochi with lamb was dinged as nice idea but mushy execution and several judges faulted her for her choice of pureed cauliflower which clashed with the wine, which she defended at the judges table. LeeAnne's dish was faulted for being too busy (in truth it didn't seem much busier than Tiffani's) and her lamb for being overcooked. Her sauce was widely praised.

Dave had one of his near breakdowns telling the chefs about his dish. His understanding of the wine seemed the weakest. He did serve beef although not much ado was made over it and his side dish. One chef called him a "pepper monkey" for overseasoning with ground black pepper. Another faulted him for not using enough salt. His high brow mac and cheese was a hit, but the rest of his plate was a mess. He had the most to overcome since he had lost the quick fire.

You do the math. It didn't add up to me.

Update: Here's a link to the recipe for Dave's mac and cheese with truffles, cognac, cream, fresh herbs and several kinds of cheese. You need to provide your own truffles. Browse around the Bravo site a bit if you are a Top Chef junkie and read the blogs and LeeAnne's interview. Thanks to Sweetnicks for pointing me in the direction of the Bravo blogs.

Top Chef

I'll Have Mine Straight Up with Salt

Living in northern California I am very aware of the area's Hispanic heritage, as are most of the supermarkets in my area.

So, what is the number one Cinco de Mayo item I have seen the two big chains here push?

Booze.

I guess Cinco de Mayo has become a celebration of freedom from being sober and as such has crossed national lines. One need not be Mexican to celebrate by hoisting a beer, margarita other other alcoholic drink.

Safeway featured a display at the front of the store full of margarita mixes and tequila. Albertson's was near the liquor section and featured pinatas (yes, the child's birthday party toy) in the shape of liquor bottles. Of all days not to have my camera in my purse! I had visions of the pinata being stuffed with plastic miniature bottles of booze and inebriated guests trying to whack it open with a stick and then scrambling to pick up the loot as it fell.

On another note, I was very proud to see how many people in this area supported the Hispanic and other immigrants on May 1.

By the way, the photo on this page is of aqua frescas, taken at a street fair in Tijuana this past December. These are refreshing non-alcoholic drinks, although I guess one could add something more potent to them to make an interesting cocktail. The one on the left is horchata (cinnamon and almond or rice or in Spain from tiger nuts), the other was jamaica (hibiscus flower).