Penny | Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

One Potato, Two Potato

April 4th, 2009

We are back from our motorcycle trip south. Instead of going to Sanibel we decided to ride A1A, which skirts the east coast of Florida. We had beautiful ocean views the whole way and ended up stopping in Jupiter, near Palm Beach. Now I have to tell you, I could not be near Palm Beach without shopping on Worth Avenue.

Every famous designer in the world has a shop on this posh avenue. Above is the Hermes store. David was thrilled that I came away empty- handed. I mean really – would you pay $980.00 for flowered beach pants? I think not. Instead I spent my money on a lovely lunch of Cuban crab cakes with black beans and rice and a nice white zinfandel.

Now that we are back in Palm Coast I am cleaning the refrigerator and pantry in preparation for our return to Lake Lure. I had sprouting potatoes that needed to be put to good use, so I made a potato galette, pictured above. I love potato dishes. If you hand me two baking potatoes, my first thoughts are not of baked potatoes, but something more complicated like a gratin or a scalloped casserole. And I am always on the look out for good recipes. We had a wonderful signature potato dish at a bistro in Jupiter and I am going to see if I can get the recipe from the chef. I ‘ll report back if I have any success. It is best to use russet or Idaho potatoes for galettes as they are starchier and you need that for them to adhere into a cake. The outside is crispy and the interior is creamy with flecks of thyme. Four wrinkly, knobby potatoes were turned into a thing of beauty. The magic of cooking!

POTATO GALETTE

4 medium Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled
3 Tbls butter, divided
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Grate potatoes and add thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Add to skillet and press down and cook until underside is nicely browned. Place a plate over the skillet and invert potato cake onto the plate. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon more butter to skillet and slide potato cake back in to brown the second side. Serves 4.

Printable recipe

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

March 29th, 2009

This has been my recipe of choice for grilled salmon for years. It came from Hot off the Grill by Bobby Flay. Bobby Flay has a way of combining ingredients that sing with flavor. We were fortunate to eat at Mesa Grill when we were in New York and I have to say, we had one of the best meals ever. For the two of us, I bought a 1 1/2 pound piece of center cut salmon and we had leftovers which I used to make the Barefoot Contessa’s Salmon Salad served on a bed of lettuce. I will include that recipe also.

SALMON WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MUSTARD GLAZE

8 salmon fillets, 6 ounce each

3 Tbls brown sugar

1 Tbls honey

2 Tbls butter

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 Tbls soy sauce

2 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls ginger, finely chopped

2 Tbls oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small saute pan over medium high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush salmon with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon skin side down ( I had the butcher remove the skin ) on the grill. Coat the flesh of the salmon with the brown sugar mixture. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once after 5 to 6 minutes. ( We cooked it a little longer )

If you grill a whole fillet of salmon, you will have enough to make the full salmon salad recipe. I halved all of the ingredients and used what salmon I had left.

BAREFOOT CONTESSA’S SALMON SALAD

2 pounds cooked salmon, chilled

1 cup small-diced celery ( 3 stalks)

1/2 cup small-diced red onion

2 Tbls minced fresh dill

2 Tbls capers, drained

2 Tbls raspberry vinegar

2 Tbls good olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Break the salmon into very large flakes, removing any skin and bones, and place the salmon in a bowl. Add the celery, red onion, dill, capers, raspberry vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Season to taste. Mix well and serve cold or at room temperature.

Printable recipe – Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

Printable recipe – Salmon Salad

An Award and Reflections

March 27th, 2009

I am thrilled and honored to have received The Sisterhood Award from Sam Hoffer of My Carolina Kitchen, a fellow North Carolina food blogger and food columnist. Sam has been supportive of my blog from the very beginning and I have enjoyed reading and commenting on her blog. I am anxiously awaiting the publication of her memoir, Living on Island Time, about her ten years living in the Abacos. The Sisterhood award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blogspot which shows attitude and/or gratitude. I am grateful to her for cheering me on.

I wish to pay this forward to the following sister bloggers who have, in their own ways, made me so glad that I am doing this blog.

1. Sharon of . . . thrice shy who has been cheering loudly from my very first post. She is a food columnist for the Rutland Daily Herald in Vermont and has definite attitude and we all need to heed her words on eating locally grown food. We went to the same high school! This writing thing can be credited to our English teachers, Mr. Scott and Mr. Klett ( my late father-in-law ).

2. Mimi of French Kitchen in America. I admire her style and philosophy and wonderful posts on France. And though our blog design is similar, I promise I did not copy her on purpose.

3. KatieZ of Thyme for Cooking the Blog. Katie makes me laugh at the pitfalls and joys of renovating a French farmhouse. I can relate so much to what she is going through, as we were doing the same thing last summer in Lake Lure and face more of it this summer.

4. Penny of The Comforts of Home. We share the same name and live within 30 miles of each other in NC and have much in common. I would not have known of her if it had not been for my blog.

5. Irena Chalmers of the Food Jobs Blog. She was the one who sparked my interest in cooking when I was in my twenties through her cooking school. She is now teaching at the Culinary Institute of America and has recently authored Food Jobs; 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. There is even a section in the book on food blogs. If you have ever entertained the idea of making a career of your food passion this is the book for you.

In keeping with the tradition of passing this award forward here are the rules. The sisterhood award is an award from bloggers to bloggers in recognition of a blog spot which shows attitude and/or gratitude.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog, or sending them an email.

5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

REFLECTIONS

In a little over a week we will be returning to Lake Lure. The Winter in Florida has been good for us. We have good friends here and we have been able to relax and enjoy a simple life with no more demanding tasks than walking the dog, fishing, boating, cooking and reading. I started my blog here in our cozy office and it will seem strange to have to hunt a spot in our unfinished house to plant my lap top. But there are so many things that I am looking forward to. I haven’t had the chance to initiate my huge gas stove to cook griddle cakes, trays of cookies at one baking, and stir frys with my new wok ring. Then there is the fireplace. I want to experiment with hearth cooking. Napa Style has wonderful accroutrements for cooking over fire.

The above picture shows the antique stained glass door to the pantry. It is just propped up in the opening for the picture, and there are no shelves yet in the pantry. We brought this door with us from our old house because we could not part with it. The trim work, doors, shelves for my bookcase, and closet fixtures all need to be done. This second floor has the new kitchen, family room and master bedroom and bath which are still not complete. Here is the family room next to the kitchen. We have commissioned a good friend, Lake Lure artist Carole Lang, to paint an oil of Lake Lure to go over the mantel.

And that is just the upstairs of the addition. Below is the original old cottage which will include an office, sitting room, laundry and exisiting two bedrooms and bath.

As you see, we have much work to do this summer. The goal is to have it all finished by Labor Day. That is a very special time for us. Our extended family on our DIL’s side will be visiting for our annual Labor Day holiday and we are determined to get it done.

In the next few days we are taking a motorcycle trip to Sanibel Island to enjoy the last of our Florida down time. We are looking forward to Easter with Michael, Kristen and little Rachel in Cary, NC. I am looking for a small apron for her because she is is almost three and I want to make Chicken Strips with her. And maybe it is time to update our picture together.

We had our favorite Grilled Salmon last night. Before we go on our trip I will post the recipe. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

March 26th, 2009

It is Barefoot Blogger Thursday and the Barefoot Contessa recipe chosen this week by Anne of Anne Strawberry is Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts. Please visit her blog for a unique take on this recipe. The thing I like about the Barefoot Bloggers is their creativity in adapting recipes to their own tastes and situations. In my case, I chose to use oven roasted plum tomatoes rather than the slice of tomato called for in the recipe. Oven roasting gives winter tomatoes more deepth of flavor. I cut six plum tomatoes in half, drizzled them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of fresh rosemary and roasted them cut side down for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

As usual for an Ina Garten dish, the flavors in the tart married well. The sauteed onions smelled heavenly when splashed with white wine and thyme and their mellowness was offset by the pungency of the goat cheese. I had a bit of sausage left over from another meal and added that on top of the goat cheese. The tomatoes added a rich topping to the tart.

The only problem I had with making the tarts was with the puff pastry. I have mentioned this before in another post but failed to heed my own advice. Parchment paper is oven safe to 400 degrees and the tarts bake at 425 degrees. The tarts were a little overdone and the parchment paper was toast. Fortunately, the taste was still wonderful and I will definitely make them again with a few adjustments. Using a silpat liner would be a good alternative, or baking them at a lower temperature would be good. I am open to suggestions from my fellow BBs.

TOMATO AND GOAT CHEESE TARTS

1 package puff pastry, defrosted

Good olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions ( 2 large )

3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons dry white wine

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler

4 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese (recommended: Mantrachet)

1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4 inch thick ) slices

3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11 inch square. Using a 6 inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide, cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps. Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4 inch wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border.

Place 1/4 of the onion mixtue on each circle, again staying with the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter 4 to 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. The bottom sheet pan may need an extra few minutes in the oven. Serve hot or warm.

Printable recipe

Scandinavian Tea Cookies

March 19th, 2009

I am seriously addicted to these cookies. The recipe came from a co-worker whose Mother ran a gourmet cooking store and school. I have no idea where the name originated and, as a matter of fact the name on the recipe was Scandinavian Tea Cake. This made no sense to me because a Scandinavian tea cake is usually a yeasty concoction and these cookies are buttery and crisp. So I have officially renamed the recipe.

They are very easy to assemble and use very few ingredients. The only difficult part of the recipe is grating the chocolate bars and I have simplified that by using chocolate chips. Now if you are a chocolate purist, you could use a high quality milk chocolate bar and they would be even better. One day when I have better gourmet choices at the grocery store I will use a fine quality chocolate. In the past I have used 6 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars, but they were difficult to grate and I had to keep returning them to the fridge to harden enough to take the grate. This time I used Nestle’s Milk Chocolate Chips and they melted and spread very easily. It is hard to go wrong with this recipe. And wouldn’t they be excellent for tea with my Chicken Almond Tea Sandwiches?

SCANDINAVIAN TEA COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup unbleached flour
6 (1.05 oz.) milk chocolate bars, grated ( I used 7 oz. milk chocolate chips)
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and egg yolk until very smooth. Gradually add flour until well blended. Spread dough on lightly greased 15 1/2″x10 1/2″x 1″ sheet pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until medium brown. Sprinkle chocolate shavings or chips evenly over cake. Put in oven to melt and when warmed remove from oven and spread over top. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares when cool.

Printable recipe