Tomato Kumato

Have I mentioned that I have a mini-obsession with The Pioneer Woman? Well, I do. It’s kind of bad. I first found her cooking blog… I loved that immediately. Then I found her regular blog, and it was all downhill from there. I became completely enthralled with her life. I have a cyber-crush on her. I feel like a little bit of a stalker.

I am not telling you this simply so that you can be amused. I do have a point. A food-related point, even. If you haven’t tried the Pioneer Woman’s famous Marlboro Man Sandwich… well, I feel sorry for you.

I’m always amazed at how the combination of such simple ingredients can turn out so well. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself. Check out the recipe over at PW. It’s ridiculously simple, and the ingredients are cheap as chips. (I love that expression. I’ve always wanted to use it.)

To the original recipe, I added some mushrooms to the meat and onion mixture and some cheese on top, because that’s what the Canadian likes. And who can say “no” to that face?

I think the Canadian may love this sandwich more than Marlboro Man.

I am not a vegan. Far from it, since meeting the Canadian, even if I did have my vegetarian “phase” back in high school for more than a year (it shocked my mother at Thanksgiving, but she dutifully made me the most delicious mushrooms ever, which I ate with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce.)

However, one of my favorite blogs out there in the blog-world right now is The Fat-Free Vegan. I read it pretty much every day, which may seem strange for a meat-eater, but there you go. Some of Susan’s recipes use cheese substitutes such as nutritional yeast, and while for these recipes I look on in wonder, amazed that she can keep her daughter E satisfied without real cheese (I wish I were so strong…) the recipes that really draw me in are the ones whose base are fresh veggies. Like these potato pizzas.

The second I saw the recipe, I knew I had to try it. I don’t keep bread around that often, especially when I’m living alone. I have pasta, potatoes and polenta around for grains, because they keep for much longer than bread. But the fact that potatoes were the base was not the only fact that attracted me to this recipe. The photos that Susan posted alongside the recipe made me sure that this was the meal for me, and so I tried it (with a little bit of non-vegan Parmesan cheese) a few days ago. Oh. My. God.

This is my plea to all of you omnivores out there in the blogging world. Do not shy away from vegan, vegetarian or non-gluten blogs just because these specifications do not apply to your diet. The food you will discover will change your life and the way you think about cooking. I know that I will be keeping a much more open mind in the future when it comes to blogs and cookbooks. Thanks Susan!

I am going to share something that may or may not shock the cooks out there in the blogosphere: I don’t like to follow recipes.

I know… it’s kind of weird for someone who loves food and food blogs as much as I do. I have good intentions… really I do. I have a huge list of recipes that I want to try that just gets bigger the more blogs I read, but my problem is this: every time I start something, I realize that there’s an ingredient in it that I hate (like raisins). Or room to make it closer to my tastes (I like everything spicy). Or a way to make it lower in fat or calories. Or a way to make it HIGHER in fat or calories. Sometimes I realize I just made a mistake and didn’t buy what I was supposed to, or I bought too much of something. Sometimes, I just say, “well I don’t FEEL like doing it your way.”

Some recipes were built for improvising, like Jaden’s Slow-Cooked Salmon and most recipes for soup and chili. Ree’s recipe for Asian Noodle Salad was like that, and I love her for it. I didn’t have the spinach, I didn’t FEEL like using Napa cabbage (mostly because what the heck is a single girl going to do with two heads of cabbage?). I had just run out of olive oil, but I had some of that other mysterious “vegetable” oil (what kind of vegetable, I ask you?). I also felt like having something hot, so I didn’t rinse and cool the noodles… I just threw them in with the rest of the veggies, along with a touch of pasta cooking water. And I wanted to use more veggies than pasta… so I did. And you know what? It was still amazing. Some recipes just can’t be made badly, no matter what you do to them.

I saved some of the veggie mix and ate it with extra dressing for lunch the next day. Also amazing.

Especially as the weather starts to get warmer, I find myself fantasizing, not about towering baked goods or complicated, long-cooking stews with tons of ingredients, but about the simple things in life.

Lots of people out in the blogosphere have been posting about their crazy post-it notes (I know I just read another one… but I can’t for the life of me remember who it was… if it was you, tell me.) I think all of us crazy food people have them. The scraps of paper that litter my handbag and get tucked into notebooks no longer read “applesauce + mashed potatoes,” “Baked pasta… cinnamon? crème fraîche?” (Yes… I have some weird thoughts when the weather is cold.)

Now, however, my post-its say something more akin to, “corn salad with jalapeño” and “apple coleslaw.” Spring is coming, and spring to me means simple. Produce with just some herbs or spices, showing off their true flavors. A ripe avocado with simple vinaigrette for lunch, just enough acid to set off the sweetness of the fruit (yes… avocado is a fruit).

Or prosciutto e melone for dinner, with one of the real European cantaloupes instead of an American muskmelon, the pure sweetness jumping out with every bite, mixing with the saltiness of the ham. I don’t even mind the juice dripping down my chin… and I hate messy food.

Yes, pleasure is truly in the simple things. Like a blog award. When I told the Canadian that my blog had won an award, he asked what it meant. Did I win money? A prize? No… I tried to explain to him, but he didn’t get it.

Joy at Joy of Desserts has awarded me this Excellent blog award! Joy has only been blogging since March, but her blog is already a hit, so go check it out! The rules of the award require me to find 10 more blogs to award, so here they are…

A Blithe Palate is one of the most beautifully written blogs out there. It may be about food, but Cath has a writer’s soul.

I couldn’t not include Ivonne from Cream Puffs in Venice. Way back when this was just an ickle baby blog, Ivonne helped me to learn how to come into my own in the blogosphere, not only through her helpful hints, but also by setting an amazing example.

I’m constantly heading over to Culinary Concoctions by Peabody to see what new baked good Pea is cooking up. Everything I’ve tried has been amazing!

As you can tell from my blog, I’m definitely not a vegan, nor do I cook fat-free, but Susan at Fatfree Vegan has made vegan food interesting to me, and her writing makes me want to try even some of the strangest of vegan foods.

I think everyone already knows about Jaden over at Steamy Kitchen, but I couldn’t resist sending out another thank you for her amazing and hilarious writing.

Some of the stories and recipes at Finding La Dolce Vita could be my own… but that’s not the only reason I love this beautiful blog. Venturing through familiar recipes and gorgeous pictures makes me feel at home again.

I have loved The Wednesday Chef ever since I heard the premise, but since then, my love for Luisa’s blog has grown to encompass her writing, her recipes and her beautiful photos.

Simply Recipes is what it promises… and a whole lot more. I find myself adding nearly every one of Elise’s concoctions to my “to try” list.

A fellow cook in France, Lucy at Lucy’s Kitchen Notebook has one of the most beautiful blogs I’ve ever seen. Not only is the actual format gorgeous, but her stories wonderfully woven around her recipes and her life in Lyon.

Chefs Gone Wild is still new on my blogreel, but I nevertheless find myself looking forward to what has happened next on this blog that sometimes reads like a sitcom with haute couture cooking to match.

Thank you so much for brightening my day with your words and your recipes. Now, it’s your turn: go and find ten of your own excellent blogs, and link to them and to me. Then come back here and let me know when you’ve done it, and of course let the people you award know as well!

I don’t know what possesses me to try new potato gratin recipes. I have a perfectly good recipe that I adore, and now every time I try a new one, I get disappointed. I tried an apple and fontina one at epicurious a few years ago and the same thing happened. It’s not that the dish was bad… the people I made it for loved it. It just wasn’t mine.

Take this recipe for Potato au Gratin with Chanterelles. I had it bookmarked for a long time, and then chanterelles were on sale at my weekly market, so I decided to try it out. The Canadian gobbled it right up, but there was something that just wasn’t right for me.

I’ve decided that instead of messing around with new recipes, what I should be doing is combining recipes I like with things I already know work. I loved the taste of the chanterelles with the potatoes, so next time, I’ll be adding celeriac and chanterelles to my tried and true gratin recipe. Who knows… maybe I’ll even give that sweet potato and apple idea another go. But lesson learned… a favorite is a favorite for a reason.

I have made my issue of undercooking things previously known. This problem, I may have also said, stems from a severe fear of overcooking things. Overcompensation… something I should work on.

Anyway, when I found a recipe over at Jaden’s (care of one of her biggest fans, Brilynn) that actually allowed me to cook something for as long as I wanted without any fear of overcooking, it was a dream come true. I made the salmon the evening before we spent the night waiting for the Canadian’s sister in Charles de Gaulle airport.

It came out beautifully cooked, but not the bright color that Jaden got. When, however, I made salmon for the Canadian’s sister later that week, as the Canadian and I were eating tuna, which she does not like, I experimented with turning the oven down 50 degrees. It worked wonderfully! It took a bit more time, but that’s no problem.

Jaden’s recipe is, as she states, more like a set of guidelines than an actual recipe. I’ll link you to her post about it, but the following is what I did.

Slow-Cooked Salmon

1 yellow onion, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 scallion, sliced, white and green separated
1 orange, sliced
olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 salmon fillets
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger plus extra
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
garlic powder
salt and pepper
one lime

Place the onions and orange (reserve the green parts of the green onion) in the bottom of a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and ground ginger to taste. Salt and pepper the salmon fillets and place on top of the onions. Evenly distribute the sesame oil on top of the fillets. Add the tsp of ground ginger, the sesame seeds and the brown sugar, evenly dividing between the two fillets. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until a paring knife inserted in the center comes out evenly. Squeeze lime juice over the fillets and garnish with green parts of scallions. Serve with extra onions if desired (if you have time, stick them in the oven and crank it up to 450 so they get a bit sweeter. If you don’t the yellow onions still have a bit of a bite).

Note: The steaks were the first time I made, it… the fillet is the Canadian sister’s. For hers, I didn’t have any orange or green or red onion, but she didn’t mind. For hers, I put the lime in with the aromatics.

OK… so here’s the thing. I call myself an Italian-American, but the truth of the matter is, I’m only half. My mother, who does the majority of the cooking in my house, is actually German-Irish, and so she sees no issue with serving cheese with fish-based pasta dishes.

Personally, I never used cheese on these dishes. The only pasta and seafood meal she made was Shrimp Fra Diavolo, and she almost never made it. I worshiped the spiciness of the dish, and I refused to dull it at all with cheese. In fact, as I got older, I would often add more hot pepper.

So it wasn’t until I went to Italy that I realized that you are technically not supposed to eat cheese with these dishes. My brother or sister would order cheese with their Spaghetti con Vongoli, and the server would look at us as though we all had two heads.

I suppose my father never put cheese on his seafood pasta either… I guess I just never noticed. No Italian I’ve ever asked has really been able to explain the reasoning behind this… but then again, no French person can ever tell me why they think peanut butter and jelly is a disgusting combination.

So when I couldn’t tell the Canadian why “you can’t eat seafood pasta with cheese!” he used our brand new cheese grater to cover his liberally with parmesan. I just added extra pepper and shook my head.

Spicy Shrimp and Spaghetti (adapted from Culinary in the Desert)

3 ounces dry spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces frozen pre-cooked shrimp, thawed
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta and drain, reserving some of the pasta liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add Cayenne, chili paste and chopped garlic and cook just one minute. Lower heat and add shrimp. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and salt. Simmer 10 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced. Remove sauce from heat and stir in crème fraîche and pasta. Add pasta water if needed. Serve with extra pepper on the side, or cheese for your non-Italian guests.

Serves one and a Canadian.

I love markets.

I love taking my big canvas bag out and perusing the different stands, buying up cheap, fresh produce and meat and fish (and containers of thirty eggs). The Canadian calls it “Emily versus the market.”

Every week, I go to the market near my house. I have to walk about ten minutes to get there, and it’s a nice walk, right across the Champs de Mars. Sometimes, I go twice a week. Whenever I invite the Canadian, he grumbles and stands aloft. He doesn’t help me pick anything. He says he “doesn’t do well at markets.” I tell him that this is ludicrous. He likes food. He should like looking at food. He says he likes looking, but he wants to be able to pay for everything all at once. I tell him I’ll pay. He says if I pay, he doesn’t want to pick things, because he feels bad about me paying for food that he wants. I say, then he should give me money. He says, “then why don’t I give you money, you go, and I’ll stay here and wait for you. Bring me a present.”

I go to the market alone a lot.

On Thursday night, I made Jaden’s Tropical Salmon (coming tomorrow to a blog near you) for me and the Canadian. The Canadian did the dishes (he lost a bet and has to do the dishes for a week. It’s nice.) Then we packed up and went out to the airport for seven hours.
Why, you ask? The Canadian Sister is here visiting us from Barrie, Ontario! She’s never been to France before. She was arriving at six in the morning, and since it takes an hour to get to the airport and the RER doesn’t start running until 5:30, we left the night before. We set up camp in the arrivals terminal, I raided the vending machine for snacks, and we waited.

When she finally got here, she came with me to the market. She didn’t want to sleep, she said. She wanted to get over her jet lag right away.

I like her.

The Canadian gave us money and took a nap.

The Canadian Sister is much better at the market than the Canadian. Maybe it’s a girl thing. She helped me pick produce, made faces with me at the cheval (horse) in the butcher’s case, got made fun of for speaking English with me. (”Américaines? Canadiennes? Allemandes? Anglaises?”), and she picked the steaks we had for dinner.

I never appreciated steak when my mother made it. We had it about once a week, but it was as normal to me as chicken. Now that I know how much it costs, steak dinners are few and far between. But the Canadian Sister likes steak, and I like the Canadian Sister, so we got three entrecôtes.

I’m always afraid of undercooking steak (yeah… that last post pertains to steak as well), so I got myself a recipe. The steaks were incredible. I served them with the Mushroom Hash from the Wednesday Chef, and the meal was delicious. And no, I didn’t undercook them… they were perfectly medium-rare. Even though I did almost set the kitchen on fire (something on the bottom of the pan caught on fire, and for some reason I was perfectly calm as the bottom of the frying pan erupted into flames, and I just sort of held it aloft until it settled down. I imagine this is what Giada di Laurentiis must do if this ever happens to her. Or someone on severe anti-anxiety medication. It is very anti-me.)

The Canadian Sister is sleeping now, and the leftover steak is sitting in the fridge. I think I may go snack on it while I wait for her to wake up.

Belgian Steak (adapted from Everybody Eats Well in Belgium by Ruth Van Waerebeek)

4 sirloin steaks
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
red wine
good mustard

Bring the steaks to room temperature. Heat the butter over medium heat until melted, then turn the temperature up to high and add the steaks. Cook for one minute on each side, and then add salt and pepper and turn the temperature down to medium. Cook the steaks until done, turning every so often. For medium rare, about six minutes in total. Remove the steaks and allow to sit for several minutes to redistribute the juices. Meanwhile, add about a tablespoon of mustard to the pan and deglaze with a cup of red wine. Stir to combine and serve on the side.

I have a habit of undercooking baked goods. OK, scratch that. I have a habit of undercooking everything. I’ve undercooked steak. I’ve undercooked ahi tuna. That takes a lot of skill and dexterity.

I guess I’ve just always been fairly convinced that there is nothing worse than something that is burned or overcooked. A gray steak has absolutely no appeal, no matter how succulent the filet cut was to begin with. The actual application of heat is everything, and I’d rather pull out a quickbread that’s a little doughy in the center than one with a crumb like styrofoam and a crust like cardboard.

But not this time. No, sir. I just tried the Pumpkin Pound Cake over from Desert Culinary. (Sidebar: I love this blog. I just discovered it a while back, and I feel like I’ve been missing out. I’ve already made two recipes from it–the other will be up here soon–and I can’t wait to make more!)

The cake came out perfectly. After about thirty minutes, the house smelled just like pumpkin, and I desperately wanted to peek, but I just sat at my computer reading my other food blogs and waiting. And waiting. Until the dreaded fifty minutes were up and I peeked. I checked with a toothpick. And then, something unheard of. Without cutting into the cake, I put it back in the oven.

I know. It’s a milestone for me. But when the cake came out ten minutes later, after a total baking time of one hour, I knew it was worth it. The Canadian and I have been snacking on this cake all week, and it is divine. Sweet, but not too sweet, spicy, moist and delicious. And not in the least undercooked.

I made a few changes:

1. As you can tell from the pictures, I skipped the buttermilk glaze. I wasn’t using real buttermilk in the cake anyway (I soured my own milk with lemon), so it didn’t seem worth it. The cake didn’t suffer.

2. I used light brown sugar, because the box was opened. It had started to clump a bit, but try as I might, I couldn’t get some of the smaller clumps to… un-clump. But it actually worked to my advantage: see those little pockets of dark brown sweetness? There were several floating throughout the cake, and they were a welcome surprise. I may have to do it again on purpose next time.

3. I didn’t dry the pumpkin on paper towels first. I’m lazy. It didn’t matter much.

4. I subbed the spices listed for a four spice powder sold here in France made up of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and cloves. It’s easy. I’m lazy.

5. I used all all-purpose flour.