Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The Green Goddess is back in the House

July 24th, 2010

OK, that sounds kind of hokey. But we have been very busy lately. First we had our family here for a week and today I returned from another week back at their house taking care of my lovely and talented four year old granddaughter. There has not been a whole lot of cooking going on. But before I tell you about this amazing Green Goddess Dressing I have to mention what my husband was up to while I was in Cary. As I have said before, we have added a second story to our small lake cottage and are still working on the finishing touches. There is a perfect alcove in my new kitchen for a desk and a set of shelves for my cookbooks. While I was away my wonderful and talented husband built them. I have spent the afternoon cozying up to my desk. For some reason I am feeling more creative sitting here. I found a small lamp to illuminate my space and now need to go to the storage building to rescue all of my cookbooks that I have not seen in two years. When I have my space finished I will post a picture.

But the real subject of this post is the green goddess dressing and salad that my DIL made while I was visiting them. Kristen is one of the best cooks that I have ever encountered. On another post I will tell you about her Mole flavored flank steak and cheesy mashed potatoes. She has a creative palette and brings out the best in everything that she cooks. But like me, one of her favorite cooks is Ina Garten. Our dinner last night was my Pan Seared Scallops with Citrus Butter, basmati rice, and this wonderful bibb salad with basil green goddess dressing.

There was a hit play in the 1920’s at the Palace Hotel in San Francicso called The Green Goddess. The salad was a tribute to the playwright. However you view it, this is a salad dressing for summer; full of basil, garlic and lemon. To me, it tastes like summer and it is the perfect dressing for my fresh tomatoes and lettuce. It is also a good dip for fresh vegetables. My thanks to Kristen for introducing me to this tasty salad dressing.

BIBB SALAD WITH BASIL GREEN GODDESS DRESSING ( The Barefoot Contessa )

1 cup good mayonnaise

1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts ( 6 to 7 scallions)

1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)

2 teaspoons anchovy paste (optional)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup sour cream

3 heads Bibb lettuce

2 to 3 tomatoes

Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.)

Cut each head of lettuce into quarters, remove some of the cores, and arrange on 6 salad plates. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to lthe plates. Pour on the dressing and serve.

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Panzanella Salad

July 20th, 2010

The only vegetables thriving in our garden right now are the tomatoes. We have had very little rain so the squash and cucumbers have succumbed and the pepper plants are not producing blossoms. In the spring the garden shows so much promise, but the vagaries of summer can dash one’s hopes for a bountiful harvest. But the tomatoes are beautiful and we have been enjoying them on sandwiches and on toast for breakfast.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes is in a panzanella salad and as luck would have it the Barefoot Blogger founder, Tara of Smells Like Home, has chosen one of Ina Garten’s panzanella salads as one of the BB recipes of the month. She chose Ina’s Greek Panzanella and you can go here for the recipe. That recipe includes calamata olives and feta cheese. I chose to do Ina’s standard panzenlla salad which has no cheese, but lots of fresh garden vegetables, warm croutons to soak up the juices, and a garlic and mustard vinaigrette. By the way I want to thank Tara for keeping the Barefoot Blogger’s website active and for tracking the 198,593 Friday night dinners we have cooked for Jeffrey. You would think he would thank us.

I would also like to include this recipe in the Two for Tuesdays blog hop. We are a group of bloggers who post about Real food and stress the importance of local, fresh, and unprocessed food. Check out Girlichef’s blog for a listing of all of recipes for this Tuesday.

PANZANELLA SALAD

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 small French bread , cut into 1 inch cubes ( 6 cups ) I used a Sourdough baguette

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 to 3 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 red onion cut in half and thinly sliced

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the Vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

Note: If you are not eating the whole salad in one sitting, add only half the croutons to half of the salad and reserve the rest separately for a second serving. This will keep the croutons crispy the second time around.

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Hummus with Orange Marmalade

July 16th, 2010

I have seen so many flavored hummus containers in the supermarket lately. You can find spicy red pepper hummus, garlic flavored hummus, lemon flavored hummus, or olive infused hummus. But it is easy to make your own flavored hummus at home. One that particularily appealed to me was a recipe using orange marmalade. Using this as a starting point, I can see substituting red pepper jelly or other interesting flavors.

I used whole wheat pita bread that I roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and sea salt. This made a very satisfying appetizer.

HUMMUS WITH ORANGE MARMALADE (adapted from all recipes)

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 cup tahini (sesame-seed paste)

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Place ingredients in food process and process until pureed. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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To Die For Blueberry Muffins

July 10th, 2010

This recipe may be floating around the blogishere but it is the first time I have become aware of it. I received a gallon of freshly picked North Carolina blueberries from a dear friend recently and was looking for recipes to utilize my bounty. This recipe was on allrecipes.com and it got rave reviews. What makes it so special is the cinnamon streusel topping. The muffins are moist and delicious. I made a double batch because our family will be visiting for the next week. I plan on making blueberry crumble, blueberry pancakes and blueberry salad. Is there such a thing as blueberry salsa? Any suggestions would be appreciated. If you don’t see me here for a while, just know that I am having fun with the kids.

TO DIE FOR BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and beat to incorporate. Add enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full or right to the top., and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping; Mix together the 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with a fork or your fingers until butter is incorporated and sprinkle over muffins before baking. I had enough topping for 24 muffins.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

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Fried Green Tomatoes

July 6th, 2010

Nothing could be finer than a fried green tomato in the summertime. I have picked a few red tomatoes now, but because we are having a very dry summer they have been slow to ripen. That bothers me in the least. There is something about a fried green tomato that evokes the sultry southern days when cooks did what they could with what was available in the garden. Cornmeal and flour were always in the larder and could turn those hard bitter tomatoes into something to be relished. I declare, even spam could be turned into a thing of beauty if you breaded it and fried it. My Mother used to do that and we cheered when she served it. But since this is Two for Tuesdays where we talk about “Real” food, pretend I didn’t mention the Spam. A fried green tomato is real food that is fresh from the garden.

It is made even more authentic if you fry it in a cast iron skillet. There is really no hard and fast recipe for this. You can use what you have on hand. The general idea is to dip your tomato slices in flour, then in an egg mixture which can include milk or buttermilk if you have it and then in cornmeal or a mixture of cornmeal and breadcrumbs. Here is my general recipe.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

2 to 3 green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

1 cup of flour

1 to 2 eggs

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

1 cup cornmeal

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Dip the sliced tomatoes in flour, then in the egg mixture and then in the cornmeal. Place on a sheet pan. When all of the slices are coated, heat enough oil in a cast iron skillet to come up to about 1/2 inch. When oil is hot add about 5 or 6 slices to the pan. Do not crowd them. Cook on one side until they are brown and then flip and brown the second side. Drain on paper towel and add more slices to the oil. Add more oil if necessary. The fried green tomatoes can be kept warm in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve.

We are serving up lots of good food this week on Two for Tuesdays (242). Go to this link on Girlichef to see what everyone is doing.

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