See's Java Jive -- Part 2

I continue my exploration of See's Candies coffee-flavored chocolate truffles over at Sugar Savvy. The Cafe Au Lait Truffle earned my first 10! Come see the rave (no rant) here.

Eat My Words -- Meow

Hmph! Din-din. I’ll eat when I’m ready.
Attributed to Morris the Cat, 1988

I don't care what you call me, just don't call me late for dinner.

Attitude of Noche Chocolate Kramer (above).

Coffee+See's Chocolate= ????

Looking for my weekly See's Candies' post at Sugar Savvy? It was posted a bit later than normal, but you can check out if I woke up and smelled the coffee in the Cafe Hazelnut Truffle by clicking here.

A Gift of Fish (Limoncello Grilled Tuna)

My sister sent me home with a cache of frozen fish and with about a pound and a half each of fresh yellow fin tuna and her own pecan-smoked tuna.

Delta Airlines got me home too late to cook Tuesday night, but Wednesday night I grilled the fresh tuna in a limoncello marinade. It was fresh and tasty and made me think of summer in Italy. I served it with a couscous tabouli-like salad.

Limoncello Tuna

Serves 4-6

Finely chopped zest of a whole lemon
1/4 cup limoncello (Italian lemon spirit)
Juice of one large lemon
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil. Use one with a green and peppery bite if you have it. (I used a Portuguese oil.)
1/2 teaspoon dried herbes d'provence (optional)
fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste
1 and 1/2 pounds fresh tuna or other firm fleshed fish (halibut would work nicely. PLEASE don't use Chilean Sea Bass or other endangered fish).


Combine all ingredients except the fish and mix well. Add fish and spoon marinade on top. Marinate for about a half hour, flipping the fish occasionally in the liquid.

Preheat grill, bbq or broiler and cook fish, basting with marinade, until done as desired. Note: the tuna will keep cooking after you pull it from the grill and well done tuna is extremely firm, so pull it a bit before you think it is ready.

Couscous Salad with Veggies

Serves 4-6

This is more a process than a recipe.

Cook 1 cup couscous according the package directions. (FYI - I used whole wheat for a bit more fiber)

While the couscous is cooking chop the vegetables. I used the following, feel free to improvise depending on your own tastes or what's in your fridge:

3-4 chopped scallions (green onions), white and most of green
2-3 chopped, ripe tomatoes
1/2 chopped, peeled large cucumber
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
2-3 tablespoons chopped mint
2-3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

White wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil (select a mild and fresh tasting oil, I used a French Provencal oil)
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

When the couscous is done cooking, break up any clumps. Mix in the vegetables and herbs. Add splashes of vinegar and oil until you have the flavor balance you like. The warm couscous will absorb much of the liquids. Add salt and pepper. Combine well. Let rest to serve at room temperature. (Or you can chill and let it warm up a bit before serving.)

Fish Tales

Did you know Long Island, New York, is shaped like a fish?
Yep, and that's the food I've eaten the most of since I arrived here at my sister and brother-in-law's in somewhat eastern Long Island. Most of this bounty has been caught by my brother-in-law. If you want exiquistely fresh fish it helps to have a relative with a penchant and talent for deep sea fishing and a sister who has made fish cookery her area of expertise. Here's just a partial list of the fish I've been feasting on:

Home-smoked tuna dip
Seared tuna with sesame-soy dipping sauce
Cajun mako and tuna "nuggets"
Blackened scallops and mako bites

My sister also whipped up some awesome homemade onion rings.

I already know I'll be returning with a care package of frozen tuna and bluefish, but the brother-in-law is going fishing once again before I leave for back West, so there is probably more fish stories to come.

An Actual FJK Spotting

Vacation Update:

Well, I was back for a day before my sister, brother-in-law and niece came to visit for eight days. We had a great time hitting some of the tourist sites. Highlights were the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Muir Woods and the Yerba Buena carousel in San Francisco. Oh, and the free jelly bean samples at the Jelly Belly factory tour. We also hit the San Francisco Zoo, Fisherman's Wharf, the cable cars, North Beach (Little Italy), Chinatown and several lesser known sites. We we were in the middle of that record heat wave, but we just kept going.

Tomorrow I leave for a bit more than a week to see the rest of my family. Not sure what adventures food or otherwise I'll be able to report on, so watch this space!

When I get back, I promise, honest, to stay put for a bit and get caught up with recipes, food tidbits and opinions and lots of photos.

In the meantime, watch Sugar Savvy for my articles this Friday and next on See's Candies' chocolates. Also in the hopper at Sugar Savvy, a recap on my Jelly Belly factory tour. It should post in a few days, but I don't know exactly when.

Ooey and Gooey Get Together for See's #27

Check out my post at Sugar Savvy to read all about what happens when you wrap honey marshmallow up in butterscotch caramel. The folks at See's Candies call it a "scotch kiss," but do I call it delicious? You'll have to click on over to find out.

Eat My Words III - - Hot Dawg

The noblest of all dogs is the hot dog; it feeds the hand that bites it. -- Laurence J. Peter

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Sausages and onions at the Alameda (California) County Fair, July 3, 2006

Not Quite Roughing It

It's time for the annual Kramer family vacation to the woods with no cell phone access, no computer access and no bathrooms or heat in our tent cabins. Oh, and no cooking for a week. We get three squares a day in the dining hall. It is a week of iceberg lettuce, too much salt, a lot of fat and not enough fiber and I love it -- no dishes for a week. Each night is a different cocktail party, though. Our group goes for champagne, cosmos, brie, smoked oysters and shimp cocktails with red licorice sticks and soda for the underage contingent. Others feature freshly blended frozen margaritas and there is always lots of chips.

Anyway, I've written my See's Candies reports in advance, so check in to Sugar Savvy each Friday to see what I've been tasting.

As usual, I have tons of material to share and no time to post. I apologize, appearances to the contrary, this really is a food blog!

Go Fourth and Grill (Veggie) Burgers This Holiday

As part of my duties at Paper Palate, I keep track of doings at Vegetarian Times magazine. Read my write up of their top veggie burgers here.

Their top pick is a bit of surprise, even to the VT taste team, it is a mock chicken patty. What ones am I looking forward to trying? Maybe the one that "tastes like a samosa," or maybe the best mushroom burger pick.

On a totally unrelated topic, the guys were out last night, so I rented "Mrs. Henderson Presents." Not much of a foodie movie (except for the whole tea thing) but it does a beautiful job of recreating late 1930s London. Warning, there is nudity (it is about an older woman producing variety shows with decorative female nudes in the background, after all), including a brief look of Bob Hoskins without briefs. Dame Judi Dench does the character of Mrs. Henderson justice, Bob seems a bit stilted (I expected a bit more fluid performance from Roger Rabbit's pal), and the musical hall acts are just charming. Lots of emotion, too.