Pissaladière, my French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice this week.
Last Tuesday evening my Aspen friend, Luky, telephoned to check in and check up on me. As usual, we chitter-chattered, catching up on her news and mine. It was all good until she asked, “So, what did you do today?”
“I spent the afternoon at the cemetery,” I replied. “Birding.”
Silence. Thirty seconds of dead silence.
“You spent all afternoon alone at the cemetery?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Birding,” she stated emphatically.
I knew where she was headed with this, Readers, so I started to laugh. Luky did not.
“Mary,” she said, gravely.”This is not good. Not good at all. I’m serious. You are alone way too much.”
“I had fun, Luky,” I insisted. “Really I did.”
That remark just added fuel to the fire although she was somewhat amused. “You pack your bags right now,” she ordered, “and come home. You need to come home.”
The Community of Cambria, California’s cemetery, established in 1870.
Realizing she was on a mission – I’ve know this woman for almost thirty years – we worked out a compromise. Since I’d be leaving Cambria in 3 weeks anyway, I would stay only if we talked frequently. I suggested sending daily e-mails but that was a No Go. Luky and I cut a deal. Telephone calls and no more cemeteries.
This cemetery resident, a Northern Flicker, is hiding from me.
We’ll return to the subject of cemeteries later but that conversation put a big smile on my face yesterday when I was making Pissaladière, my French Fridays recipe choice this week. Pissaladière, with its filling of caramelized onions, anchovies, garlic and black niçoise olives, is the Côte d’Azur’s version of pizza. The difference is in its rectangular shape, salty, intense flavor, and thinness of crust. Pissaladière is a French classic and the quintessential street food in Nice.
Six onions, quite easily thinly sliced with an Oxo hand-held Mandoline.
I’m not unfamiliar with Pissaladière and have enjoyed it both here and in France. However, I’ve never made it myself. To my mind, it seemed complicated. I’m delighted, after following Dorie’s recipe in “Around My French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours,” to realize it is not. My first effort worked.
The caramelized onions look just about right.
Serve it hot, warm or at room temperature. For breakfast this morning, I tried the cold version. Still tasty. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner, with salad. A meal. My preference is to feature it as a stand-alone appetizer. Small squares. Hand food. Truthfully, I’ve always thought Pissaladière to be very la de da.
Oven-ready
The onion mixture can be caramelized a day ahead and refrigerated. For the crust, make the same favorite dough recipe you use for savory tarts or pizzas. Frazzled and short on time? Grab your sunglasses and slink into your favorite grocery store to buy ready-made fresh pizza dough. The secret is to stretch or roll the dough until it’s about 10 x 14 inches and very, very thin. You will find Dorie’s recipe for her delicious filling below.
Add the anchovies and olives for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Now let’s return to Luky and our cemetery discussion. Who even thinks about cemeteries until you’re forced into a situation where you must? But Tuesday night, before I fell asleep, I found myself making a mental list of some cemeteries I’ve visited. My List gave me pause.
Molière’s tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
First and foremost, I’ve visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia where Presidents John F. Kennedy and President William Howard Taft are buried. More than 400,000 others, so many recognizable notables, are buried there. We’ve been to Pearl Harbor where the USS Arizona is an active U.S. military cemetery. After going to Normandy one never forgets Cimetière américain de Normandie in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
Singer Edith Piaf’s gravesite in the Pere Lachaise cemetery
Then, there’s the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, site of three WWI memorials and resting place of many French cultural icons. If you’ve visited New Orleans, you’ve undoubtedly seen the elaborate stone crypts and mausoleums that are built above ground. I’ve just recently visited the presidential libraries where Presidents Reagan, Nixon, Eisenhower and Truman are buried.
Kit Carson’s Tombstone in Taos
Closer to home, Michael and I once spent the day in Leadville, Colorado, celebrating the restoration of the Hebrew Cemetery established there in 1880. Last year, in Taos, I found the frontiersman Kit Carson’s tombstone. North of Taos are the deteriorating grave sites of the Pueblo de Taos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Doc Holiday, gambler, rogue and Wyatt Earp’s pal is buried at Pioneer Cemetery in nearby Glenwood Springs. Donna Chase and I both noticed his tombstone while, uh, on an Audubon birding field trip.
The Pueblo de Taos graveyard
I am fortunate to live one block from Ute Cemetery, Aspen’s oldest graveyard established around 1880. On the National List of Historic Places, it’s been completely restored in a remarkably wild and abandoned-looking manner. There are paths winding through the 5-acres that hold 200 marked and unmarked graves. Every so often, I grab my coffee cup and walk through the cemetery, enjoying its silence, wildflowers and imagining the lives these early settlers and Civil War veterans lived.
Doc Holiday’s tombstone in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
You have your own thoughts and experiences dealing with a subject not often discussed. Thank you for allowing me to share mine. Now let me share Dorie’s recipe for Pissaladière which, hopefully, you will want to share with your friends.
Remembering Civil War veterans at Ute Cemetery in Aspen
PISSALADIÈRE by Dorie Greenspan
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS for ONION TOPPING
2 Tbs. olive oil
6 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced (I used a mandoline.)
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
About 12 good-quality anchovies packed in oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
About 12 Niçoise olives, pitted or not
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and warm it over low heat. Toss in the onions, thyme, and bay leaf, stirring to coat everything with oil, then cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, soft, and golden, about 45 minutes to an hour, maybe more—this isn’t a job you should rush.
2. While the onions are cooking, chop 6 of the anchovies. When the onions are cooked, pull the pan from the heat, stir in the anchovies, which will dissolve into the onions. Season lightly with sea salt and generously with pepper.
3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.
4. Line a large baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
5. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 10 x 14 inches. The exact size of the rectangle isn’t really important—what you’re going for is thinness. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and top it with the onion mixture, leaving a scant inch of dough around the edges bare.
6. Bake the Pissaladière for about 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden. Pull the pan from the oven, decorate the top with the olives and remaining anchovies, and bake the Pissaladière for 5 minutes more, just to warm the new additions. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Make Ahead Tips
The onions can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Once made, the Pissaladière can be kept at room temperature for a few hours.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international group of food bloggers who are cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table cookbook. You can visit the FFWD site here.
Tag Cloud for Vanilla-Butter-Braised Lobster: Exquisite. Delicate. Aromatic. Heavenly.
How often do you serve lobster for dinner? My answer is not very. Geographically a born-and-bred Iowa girl, lobster was not a food choice in my youth. When I was a working girl, wife and mother, lobster was not a food choice in my budget. As I became more worldly and sophisticated (using the sarcasm font), lobster was a restaurant choice but always the priciest option. Since my Mother taught me to never order the most expensive item on the menu, lobster was not an option. Period.
I approached this week’s FFWD’s recipe choice, Vanilla-Butter-Braised Lobster, with trepidation. How the heck was I going to pull this off? That’s when Susan and John Lester, longtime French Fridays colleagues, threw a lifeline, inviting me to spend Valentine’s Day Weekend with them in southern California. Last Saturday evening, we enjoyed an elegant, delicious dinner: Vanilla-Butter-Braised Lobster served on a bed of Risotto alla Milanese (Risotto with Parmesan & Saffron), and lemon-steamed spinach. The wine, Chevalier de Bayard Blanc, a perfect choice. For dessert, See’s chocolate, a heart gift from John.
If you wish, freeze these in a plastic bag until you have enough seafood shells to make a flavorful broth.
Basically lobster tails are precooked for 3 to 4 minutes in well-salted, boiling water before being separated, meat from shell. Now, clarify 6 sticks of butter. Holy Cow, that’s not happening in my kitchen. (Cut that amount in half.) We short-circuited the clarifying technique by slowly melting the butter, straining it through dampened cheesecloth before returning to the sauce pan. Scrape the pulp and seeds from two vanilla pods Add that, including the pods, to the butter. Warm the mixture to infuse the flavors before adding the lobsters. Cook for about 4 minutes before serving.
Spice Envy: Susan and John’s Inventory.
Please link to Susan and John’s blog, Create Amazing Meals, for a more detailed version of this recipe.
CALIFORNIA’S GALAPAGOS
It was only last year I discovered California’s Galapagos. Never mind that in 1976 this unique environment became part of the UNESCO International Biosphere Preserve Program. Never mind that in 1980 Congress established the very precious Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary. Never mind that I maintain a continual pout because I haven’t yet visited Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Lesson learned, look in your own backyard.
I shared this news flash with Melissa, my Cali daughter. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “there’s great scuba diving in the Channel Islands. Stephen and I are going there next year for our 25th wedding anniversary.”
Then the Lester’s who live in Oxnard told me the boats to the Islands left from the Ventura harbor, a 10-minute drive from their home. “When you visit us, we’ll go,” they promised.
Keeping a promise made to me a year ago, Susan and I are ready to go aboard the Island Packers. John Lester Photo
Californians must be keeping the Channel Islands as their own well-kept secret because many of my friends were as clueless about these Islands as I. Right here and now, let’s put an end to that.
We watched hundreds of dolphins swimming in the Santa Barbara Channel. Susan Lester Photo
Because pictures speak volumes, let me be brief. Last Saturday morning, following a 30-minute boat ride across Santa Barbara Channel during which we watched countless pods of Common Dolphins frolic while California Brown Pelicans, Western Gulls and Double-Crested Cormorants basked in the sun, we landed at Santa Cruz Island.
Seeing this little guy, the Island Fox, was the highlight of my trip. Endangered, by 1999 their numbers had declined by 95%. They are slowly recovering. Each of the 5 islands has its own subspecies of the Island Fox. They are found nowhere else on earth.
Santa Cruz, about three times the size of Manhattan, is the largest of the five protected islands. On this particular island there are 600 plant species, 140 land birds, 11 mammal species, large colonies of nesting sea birds, breeding seals and sea lions, three amphibian and five reptile species. Due to millions of years of isolation some of these animals and plants are found only on this island as is true with each of the five landforms. Its cultural history is rich, having been home to the Chumash Indians for 10,000 years and European explorers for 150.
Wild mustard was in full bloom and gorgeously displayed on the island’s interior hills Susan Lester Photo.
These primitive and pristine islands seem wrapped in a cocoon of reverence. There’s an aura about these wild places. My fellow visitors, I sensed, were southern Californians. Young families. Kids, carrying enormous back packs, on weekend camping trips. The excursion is not for the faint of heart. After the boat landed, we had to scramble up a forbidding-looking iron ladder to reach the pier. There are no services on the islands which must explain the dearth of older tourists. However, the day was not long enough. I was sad to leave.
Hoping to return.
FRENCH FRIDAYS LUNCH
For the past four years I’ve virtually cooked-the-book with other French Fridays with Dorie colleagues. During those years, we’ve made an effort to also know each other personally. Thus, the Lester/Hirsch friendship. Susan invited the southern Cali “Doristas” for Sunday lunch. John made delicious pork carnitas tacos and served them with his very drinkable sangria. It was a 90-minute drive and effort for both Katie, a UCSB professor and Diane, a dietician/nutritionist, but a great time was had by all.
Susan, Katie, Diane and Mary , French Fridays with Dorie colleagues. John Lester Photo
French Fridays with Dorie is a international group cooking their way through Around My French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours, written by Dorie Greenspan. Find our Link here.
Chicken Couscous, the French Fridays recipe this week. Serve it with Naan, a Persian flatbread.
More times than you might guess, someone says to me, “I’d like to have people to dinner but I can’t ever decide what to serve.”
While that may seem absurd, with all the cookbooks and blogosphere recipes available to us, choosing a menu can be daunting. After just checking my computer’s slow cooker folder, I found ninety-three untried recipes. My cookbooks are weighed down with must-try Post-Its. Italian Chef Giana Ballesteros wore a knockout dress on last week’s show, enticing me to print out her recipe as a make-now choice. (There’s logic there. Think about it.)
Readers, let’s solve this dilemma.
Let me suggest you need a main course that is tasty, simple, do-ahead, a people-pleaser, caters to various food sensitivities, hits a price point that isn’t a budget buster and allows you to enjoy your party also. Although Michael and I entertained often, I never threw a dinner party together easily. Nervous wreck was the phrase. Once our guests arrived, however, it was party time. Promise you this, no one every enjoyed our gatherings more than Me.
This week’s French Fridays recipe choice, Chicken Couscous, hits all those buttons. Of the twelve chicken recipes Dorie included in “Around My French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours,” this is my favorite. “Couscous is the name of both a teensy grained semolina pasta and the fragrantly spiced North African stew that’s served with it,” she reminds us. “It’s a congenial dish.”
Three cheers for anything that is congenial these days.
While you’re making Chicken Couscous, you will enjoy the aroma from this mixture of spices and herbs.
First, let’s get this Chicken Couscous made. The recipe is printed below but we’ll walk the walk anyway. Mise en Place, Readers. That means to have all ingredients on your counter/in your fridge, prepared and ready to go before you begin. If you wish, the day earlier, mix together your spices: ginger, cumin, turmeric, saffron, cinnamon, garlic, salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven heated with butter, add the chicken pieces (skin on) to the pot and sprinkle the spice/herb mix over the chicken. Lightly, lightly brown the chicken.
After browing the chicken, add the brother and, then, most of the vegetables.
Pour chicken broth into the pot, bringing it to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer while adding the leeks, onions, celery, carrots and turnips and cook about 15 minutes. Here’s when, if making early, you can separate the broth from the chicken and vegetables and refrigerate. Next, transfer 3 cups of broth to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour in quick-cooking couscous, simmer gently for a minute, stir, turn off the heat and cover the pan for five minutes. To finish off the stew, drop in the zucchini (skins on) and chickpeas and cook about ten more minutes.
Buy Naan, a Persian flatbread, at your local grocery store. If not available look for another flatbread on the shelves.
Tip: If your guests include Vegetarians, roast some of the same veggies, make additional couscous in vegetable broth and serve in the same manner. Get your guests to the table. Into ONE large bowl or plate, spoon the couscous with chicken and vegetables. With a ladle, add the broth. Serve this Chicken Couscous piping hot. Scatter small bowls of raisins, apricots, sliced almonds and harissa (optional) on the table.To accompany the couscous, look for packages of Naan, a Persian oven-baked flatbread, available in your grocery frozen section. Bring out your favorite wines and beers. For dessert, run by your local bakery, buy something luscious and, while you’re out, get a manicure.
I’ve always thought inviting people into my home for a homemade meal is the highest compliment I can offer a friendship. When you get one successful, delicious dinner gathering under your toque, it only gets easier.
Horned Grebe – Grebes appeared in the fossil record in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene Period, around 23–25 MYA and were probably here earlier. I see grebes here on the Central Coast and will most likely see even more on the Channel Islands. Moonstone Beach, Cambria
John and Susan Lester, French Fridays with Dorie colleagues, have extended that offer of friendship, inviting me into their home this upcoming weekend. It’s no secret I wholeheartedly embrace the Valentine’s Day holiday. Susan decided, since I live nearby, I might enjoy spending it with them. As you’re reading this Post, I am making the three-hour trip to Oxnard from Cambria.
Common Loon, another prehistoric bird. There is a reason Loons and Grebes are the first two Families mentioned in every bird book. These beautiful creatures date almost before time itself. Morro Bay National Estuary
The Lesters have put together an ambitious itinerary. Sleeping and relaxing are not included. Among the planned activities, on Saturday they’re taking me to the Channel Islands. To those of you unfamiliar with this national treasure, think Galapagos Islands. Thanks to environmental groups and the state and federal governments, we will experience coastal southern California in the magnificence it once was. Like the Galapagos, the isolation of these five remarkable islands has allowed evolution to continue autonomously with its 600 plant species; 140 land birds, 11 land mammal species; three amphibian and five reptile species and large colonies of nesting seabirds, breeding seals, and sea lions, among the largesse.
Elephant Seal, male – I’m thinking this fellow is so weary because he’s been around for such a long time! Piedras Blancas Rookery, San Simeon.
The Valentine’s Day of my dreams.
To see how my colleagues will celebrate Valentine’s Day, go here. French Fridays with Dorie is an international group of food bloggers who are cooking their way through Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours. Happy Heart Day, also, to all you loyal readers.
Chicken Couscous by Dorie Greenspan
INGREDIENTS
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger or 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 – 1/2 tsp saffron threads, pinched between your fingers
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to Taste
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1 chicken, about 4 pounds, pieces or chicken thighs, patted dry, at room temp
6 cups chicken broth
2 leeks, white and light green parts, split lengthwise, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 small white onions
2 celery stalks, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium turnips or potatoes, trimmed, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking couscous
2 slender zucchini, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces, SKIN ON
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
FOR SERVING
Golden raisins, Dried Apricots, sliced Almonds, Harissa (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix the spices together in a small bowl.
2. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken pieces (working in batches, if necessary) and scatter spice mix over top. Cook, turning pieces so they pick up the seasoning mix, just until they loose their raw texture. They don’t have to be browned.
3. Pour the broth in to the pot, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer to add leeks, onions, celery, carrots and turnips or potatoes. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
4. Transfer 3 cups of broth to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour in the couscous and simmer for a minute. Turn off heat, cover and let stand for five minutes, or until the broth is fully absorbed.
5. Add the zucchini (with skin on) and chickpeas to the stew and cook until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve the stew over the couscous. Pour the extra broth into a pitcher to pass as the table. Serve the chicken couscous piping hot.
Croquants, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice.
There’s no reason to not take five minutes right now and read this blog. I guarantee you’ll want to run to your kitchen, pull out nuts (any kind), sugar, 2 eggs (whites only, freeze the yolks) and flour. Within ten minutes, no KitchenAid needed, you’ll have mounds of these little darlings on parchment-lined baking sheets ready to pop into the oven. No butter, oil, salt, extracts or leavening required.
Add egg whites to the sugar/nut mixture and blend.
Besides turning into Cookie Monster this week, my first month in Cambria officially ended. It’s been productive and quite wonderful. I hesitate to throw out those adjectives because I don’t want to whammy myself. Have you ever felt like that? It’s always seems whenever things are running smoothly, on an even keel, I relax, get complacent, a little cocky. Until things take a bad turn or two or three and I am forced to change gears. That’s just Life, isn’t it?
After the flour joins the party and is blended, the mixture turns thick.
Michael’s last ten years were all bumps and bruises and disasters. While I did many things right in those ten years, I never handled those many crisis well. As I’ve often said, when my second grade teacher asked who wanted to be a nurse when they grew up, I never raised my hand. I was unequipped and lacked the knowledge, tools and DNA to be a caregiver. Oh, I tried, would smile and soldier on but no one ever mistook me for Florence Nightingale.
Bring on the heat.
I wasn’t a total loser, however. I was all about running our affairs with their many complications and intricacies, keeping us afloat. Organization is my forté. Never underestimate the importance of that. When a critical issue had to be solved, I would seek advice and help. The final decision, however, was mine alone and I made it. I really never gave up hope we could beat this disease until Michael entered the Memory Care unit. I never cried much throughout this entire journey but that day I sat by his wheelchair and sobbed.
After removing the cookies from the oven,transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
After Michael died, it was my job to create a Lifestyle for myself. This, I could do. I had the knowledge, tools and DNA to build a business. The business of living, if you will. The majority of spouses who become longtime caregivers can never reestablish a contented life. Either they do not have the energy or health or resources or will to jump back into life after so many years. It’s too overwhelming or they don’t know how.
Croquants are sold in speciality shops all over France.
Sometimes I wonder if my friends, family or you readers find it puzzling or odd or weird that I appear so happy and content and laugh so easily. How could someone who lost a spouse of 25 years bounce back so quickly. Does she ever feel sad or grieve? (This quiet month in California has given me thinking time, do you get that?) What I’ve chosen to remember and celebrate are the 15 good years. Returning to Aspen has given me that gift. I used up a lifetime of sadness and grief during Michael’s illness. There is none of that left in my tank. Plus, it’s not my nature. My good times will continue to roll, hopefully, just as they have the past two years. That is my hope for all caregivers who walk this road.
Great Egret, Fiscalini Ranch, Cambria, California
I haven’t, however, used up my fondness for cookies. In all modesty, I admit that Mary Hirsch knows her cookies. Although pies, cakes and pastries don’t tempt me, dare not get between me and a cookie. My mom’s speciality was Hermits, a spicy New England classic. When her cookie jar was empty I was partial to Archway’s crispy Windmills and, twist my arm, Oreo’s. My friend, Jane Carey, makes me Mexican Wedding Cookies but only at Christmas. In Aspen I now live a 5-minute walk away from my favorite cookie bakery. Buy two, get the third free….Peanut Butter, Molasses and Snickerdoodle. It’s a blessed Life.
Bald Eagles, Lopez Lake, California
Can you understand why I don’t often bake cookies? That may change with today’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe. A Croquant is a crispy morsel that doesn’t know if it’s a macaroon or meringue.They are readily available in France at boulangeries, patisseries and supermarkets. I was once in Paris with a friend who loved ice cream. Everyday she and I would walk to Île Saint-Louis where France’s well-known glacier, Berthillon’s, had a store.I would buy a Chocolate Noir ice cream cone. While every lick was heavenly, it was the little crunchy wafer stuck in the ice cream that I loved most. With all its leftover egg whites, Berthillon’s makes Croquants. Genius.
Snowy Egret, Fiscalini Ranch, Cambria, California
The recipe is below. Here are some tips. Unskinned hazelnuts and/or almonds are the classic nuts of choice. For fun, Dorie suggested cashews. I loved that. Chop the nuts the size of chocolate chips. NO smaller. The recipe makes 4 dozen delicious cookies.
Great Blue Heron, Moonstone Beach
CROQUANTS by Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table cookbook
INGREDIENTS:
3 ½ ounces (about a cup) of nuts, coarsely chopped (I used cashews)
1¼ c. sugar
2 large egg whites
½ c. plus 1 Tbsp. flour, sifted
DIRECTIONS:
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2, Put the nuts and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and, using a rubber spatula, stir together. Add the egg whites and stir so the nuts are evenly coated. Add the flour and stir to blend until you have a thick mixture.
3. Measure out a teaspoonful of dough and put the little mounds on the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through, until puffed, crackled and nicely browned .
5. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack, and let the cookies stand for about 10 minutes, until you can easily peel them away from the parchment. Transfer the cookies to the cooling rack, and allow them to cool to room temperature.
6. Store in a dry, covered container, not in a plastic bag or plastic wrap, or they will lose their crunch. They will keep for a week.
It’s our third fishy French Fridays in January, but we’re not talking mussels this week. Spice-crusted Tuna is today’s headliner. The caveat to this delicious recipe, however, is that it’s more about bold and brazen spices than tuna. Poor Charlie, shoved to the back of the boat again.
Spice-crusted Tuna with lemon wedges and Roasted Vegetables
I bought this week’s tuna at my local seafood store but when I was lucky enough to be in Sanary-sur-Mer, it became an off-the-dock purchase. A tiny fishing village founded in the 16th century, Sanary is a dream destination in southeastern France.
Le Thon, fresh off the boat, is for sale in the harbor’s daily market. Sanary-sur-Mer
Spice-crusted Tuna can be midweek fare. It takes only 15 minutes to plate this entrée. First, put cardamon seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fresh ginger slices and salt into your mortar and pestle. I also added Dukkah, a nut and spice blend containing almonds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, (more) coriander seeds and anise seeds. Pound the spices until coarsely broken but not pulverized to a powder.
Fisherman and Fishmonger, rolled into one. Sanary-sur-Mer
Rub the tuna with olive oil and then sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of your tuna and press slightly to stick. Pour olive oil into your skillet and, when hot, add the tuna. Two minutes on each side. Done. Think pink. I served it rather plainly, a drizzle of olive oil and some lemon wedges. Fruit chutney or salsa would be a tasty addition also.This is tuna with personality, a guaranteed palate pleaser.
With my leftovers, today I am slicing it thinly and making Salade Niçoise, a composed salad of tomatoes, tuna, green beans, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, capers and anchovies, dressed with a vinaigrette and served on a bed of lettuce.
I’ve continued to march onward in my Winter of Wanna Do’s quest. (Need an explanation? Click here.) Most food bloggers admit the easiest part of blogging is making the recipe. What’s most difficult is writing, photographing and posting about it. It’s astounding to me that so many bloggers do this well.
The spices and ginger slices are thrown into the mortar and coarsely crushed with my trusty pestle.
As for me, I love the writing. The posting with its high tech mumbo jumbo drives me bonkers. There are times I curse Steve Jobs (May he rest in peace.) and despise Bill Gates. However, it’s the photography that I wanna do better. This winter I have a plethora of pictorial opportunities so here’s the plan.
Since arriving in California, I’ve taken a photograph each day, representing something, anything or, even, nothing about this area. At the end of the winter, each of the 90 photos will be a fond memory. What I’ve already discovered is becoming more aware of and curious about my surroundings. During the past 12 days I’ve not only captured food and landscape images but also zebras, elephant seals and a turkey vulture eating carrion. (not food blog-appropriate)
Here’s the tuna just after I poured the spice mixture on both sides. After taking this picture, I lightly pressed the spices into the tuna. The olive oil provides the glue.
For example, here’s Day #11 Photo.
Factoid: The eerily beautiful plant hanging from this dead sycamore tree is not, as commonly thought, California Spanish moss or fishnet moss. It’s really Lace Lichen, Ramalina menzieslii, a combination of fungus and algae and not a moss.
Sprinkled throughout this Central California coast area are thousands of these nondescript white boxes which are visible from the highway. They contain honey bees. While not image inspiring, they are a reality so I stopped at several sites for photographs. Through research I found their story to be incredibly inspiring. The bee hive boxes are trucked here to spend a warm winter before almond pollination begins. In total, 1,800,000 hives are estimated to be in California (54 billion bees). Unfortunately, the United States lost over 30% of its honey bee colonies last year. Since our top 100 human food crops, 70 of those crops supplying 90 percent of the world’s nutrition, need bees for pollination, let’s keep these little honeys alive.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international online cooking group making it’s way through Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. To see what my colleagues photographed this week, go here.
This week’s French Friday’s post brings you not only a recipe to curry favor but also is back-loaded with tips, prompts, and fun stuff. This is the Winter of My Wanna Do’s. Admit it, I know you also have your own unwritten want-to-do list. Exercise 3X a week – be healthier. Shoot for the stars – learn constellations. Take more time for friends, a partner or kids. De-clutter – tackle that basement. Read…more. Plan a trip, party or adventure…and do it. You’re shaking your head in agreement, right? Later.
Curried mussels, french fries with a crusty baguette makes for a delicious dinner.
First, let’s talk about Curried Mussels, today’s French Fridays recipe. Yum. Catering to the American palate, this is a lighter knock off of Brittany’s classic Mouclade, mussels in a thick curried egg yolk and cream sauce. I’ve now tasted both, there’s little difference in flavor and goodness. Thanks for cutting the calories, Dorie.
As you’ll notice in the recipe below, curry powder, red pepper flakes and heavy cream define this dish. Onions and shallots, glistening and softened in butter, add the oomph in the mixture. White wine, S/P and fresh herbs help provide a saucy home for the mussels. French fries and a crusty baguette, it’s supper. Your only challenge is to eat, dunk and enjoy this meal without utensils. It’s messy but that’s the rule. (Use one-half of a mussel shell for your spoon.) Let imagination reign. Sandy beach. Côte d’Azur.
Curried Mussels, our French Fridays with Dorie recipe of the week.
One of my Wanna/Gonna Do’s this winter is to deal better with leftover food. I’ve been pulling a low C grade in that department. Not only is food costly but wasting it seems sinful. At least 800 million people in the world go hungry every day. In America, 14.5%, that’s 1 in 6 or 7 Americans, are “food insecure.” As someone whose always had a full belly, I don’t know what “food insecure” feels like. Do you?
Just doesn’t seem right to call this a leftover – Curried Mussels Linguine with red peppers.
Although I’ve learned to halve and even one-third my recipes, I still have leavings (love that word). When I do, I will show you how I incorporated those into future meals. With the leftover Curried Mussels, I made pasta, a no-brainer. While boiling the linguine, sauté red pepper slices and chopped celery in butter until softened. To that add the mussels and remaining curry sauce. Heat gently. (Do not bring the mussels to a boil unless you prefer them rubbery.) Drain the linguine. Mix together and serve.
From Simplest Breton Fish Stew emerged a frittata.
Last week I blogged about Simplest Breton Fish Soup. With its leftovers, I made a frittata for breakfast and for lunch and for snacks! After removing the mussels use a slotted spoon to put the remaining mixture sans its broth into a saucepan to warm. Adding it to eggs seasoned with salt and pepper creates a delicious frittata or omelet. For breakfast, I added salsa. For lunch, I poured the remaining vinaigrette over it.
Yep, zebras.
There’s something about openly declaring intentions that insists on follow through. So, keep me honest, Readers, with this leftovers Wanna-Do pledge. As for others, I’m already good in the exercise department, have wheedled down my belongings to nil, read constantly and get high marks for communicating with friends, colleagues and family. But here are the Wanna-Dos that I’m turning into Am-Doing this month.
I worry. A lot. Which causes stress. A lot. Many of my worries never materialize or happen. So when a worry crops up in my over-imaginative mind, I now park it, write it down and forget it……until Wednesday at 3pm. Then every Wednesday I revisit my worries at 3pm. What I’ve discovered is some were already solved easily, didn’t and won’t happen or are just plain silly. The two or three remaining on my list, I try to solve. Call me crazy, Readers, but it’s working.
These zebras live and lounge on the Hearst Ranch in San Simeon. I’m thinking they have no worries.
Lastly, if you’ve got an hour to spare for fun, start watching episodes of Borgen, a BBC three-seasons series that explores the world of high-stakes Danish politics. Better than West Wing and available on Netflix, at your library or by streaming.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international online group cooking it’s way through Around My French Table. To see what my colleagues, who probably worry too, made this week, go here.
CURRIED MUSSELS by Dorie Greenspan
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and ground pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 thyme spring
1 parsley sprig
1 bay leaf
4 pounds mussels,scrubbed (more than ample, Readers)
2/3 cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven at low heat. Toss in the onions and shallots, stirring them to coat with butter until glistening, about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle curry powder, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper over the mixture. Cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and add wine, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Simmer for 3 more minutes.
2. Add the mussels to the pot, and stir around in the liquid, coating the mussels. Increase the heat to high, bringing the liquid to a boil. Cover with lid. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring once. Take a peek and see if the mussels have opened. If there are still some to open, remove the pot from heat (keeping lid on), let sit for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mussels from the broth and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl to keep mussels warm. Bring the sauce back to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the heavy cream, add a little more salt and pepper, if needed. Cook on high heat for another 3 minutes. Return the mussels to the pot, stirring around to coat them in the wonderful creamy sauce. Serve immediately.
