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yay! love, sierra

blood orange sorbet

at findlay this weekend there were some good looking blood oranges. so i loaded up on some and had visions of a super simple sorbet- just like the pineapple one- real pure fruit flavor. juiced 6 oranges for about 1 c. juice. added maybe 1 1/2 c. simple syrup and a shot of vodka and churned. wow wow wow. true to the fruit. refreshing and with that depth and zing you expect when you open up a blood orange and are shocked by the color!

another stew. same as all the others, but different. bell peppers, onions, shallots, garlic and ginger softened in butter. added lots of seasonings- curry powder, curry paste, chili paste. added new potatoes, cauliflower, brussels, carrots, and peas. then a few cans of coconut milk and stewed for a while until everything was all soft and flavorful and added a bunch of cilantro. the le creuset is knocking my socks off with the stewing power. i'm going to eat it tonight over basmati rice.

beet bites

on a stone thrown cracker from kimi in walla walla: beets blanched in salty water and sliced. drunken goat cheese. a plop of spicy zydeco mustard from the findlay market mustard king.

also on a cracker: a chunky dip of artichoke hearts. blanched, diced beets. mustards. mayo. lots of different shredded cheeses. lots of paprika and warmed til melty and gooey. the beets make it a crazy pink color that will maybe scare people away from it- more for me!

rumaki!

bacon! this is a wonderful appetizer in time for the SUPER BOWL! i made them yesterday for a birthday party celebrating one of my most favorite people...

this is a retro appetizer and i have never had authentic housewife rumaki- but this is how i imagine based on my research of the topic..

the first step is marinating water chestnuts in the special sauce. i do some garlic and ginger in a liberal amount of a lighter oil: vegetable, canola, salad oil. to that, i add about a cup of soy sauce, and a cup of red wine vinegar. from here, you can go a few ways based on how sweet/savory/spicy you want things to go. i added about 6 tbsp. brown sugar, 4 tbsp. ketchup, 4 tbsp. sriracha, 2 tbsp. chili paste, salt and pepper. this gives a sweet heat.

then i cut bacon in half and cook at 350 on a sheet pan for a few minutes. soft enough to work with, but getting the cooking started. maybe 5, 7 minutes? when it cools a bit, i put the water chestnut in the middle, wrap the bacon around both sides and stab with a toothpick through the center. i place these bundles on the sheet tray and sprinkle with brown sugar and bake at 400 until crispy.

meanwhile, put the sauce/marinade on the stove and cook it down a bit. this thickens the sauce, intensifying the flavo flave.

for serving, you could have the rumaki on a tray and dip in the sauce OR put everything together, which is what i did last night. smokey crisp bacon, crunchy water chestnut and a sauce that starts a warm burn on the way down.

pineapple sorbet

i have been enjoying lots of pineapples and they have been tasting SO good! like the taste of sunshine. i like to make jokes about the fruit curing me of wintertime induced scurvy. that is silly. but you guys know what i am talking about: mouth transportation from winter and cold and blah straight to sun and warm and tan.

this one was super easy. i cut off the skin and cut out the core and pureed the fruit. i strained the puree and got about 3 cups of juice. i added about 2 cups of simple syrup and maybe a large shot (2 oz.) of vodka for that smooth texture.

it is so wonderful. and in a way, delicate: when i pureed the pineapple, there was the juice and then this light, floating sort of foam that formed on the top. when churned, it made for such a wonderful, airy texture and color.

gypsy stew

i think that i was supposed to take the "le creuset" sticker off the front of my new pot, but i am just soooo in love with it that i went ahead and cooked with it on there...

i had a bunch of cous cous left from the other night and was thinking all day about a sort of gyspy soup (like from myra's dionysus) and having that cous cous , etc.

it turned out much more like a stew, since i just had a bit of stock and tons of veggies. softened fennel, onions, celery, shallots, jalapeno and garlic first. added a big can of diced tomatoes and a can of garbonzos. carrots, sweet potatoes and some stock. seasoned with lots of hot curry powder, smokey paprika, some cumin, a touch of cinnamon and lots of salt and pepper. simmered that for a long time then right before i was ready to eat, i tossed in a bunch of green beans and fresh spinach.

lemon poppy seed muffins

i always think of lemon poppy seed muffins as being kinda tricky. i think because sometimes you get them and they are soooo good. and sometimes they are so lame. i think this one is pretty nice. i did go extra heavy on the lemon zest to try to make them POP and i drizzled a special lemony glaze over the top. POW.

creamed together 1 1/2 c. sugar with 2 c. soft, unsalted butter and lots of lemon zest! lets say zest from four lemons! then 4 eggs. and the dry stuff- 2 1/2 c. ap flour, 2 teas. baking powder, 1/2 teas. salt and 3 tbsp. poppy seeds.

for the first batch, i followed the damn recipe off epicurious (cause i got the app on my damn phone) and it said to bake at 400. and i was just going through the motions and burned up the whole first batch- 2 dozen muffins! bad start. i ALWAYS bake around 350-375. 400 is for roasting vegetables not baking muffins!

and lemon glaze- fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. lots of powdered sugar. then drizzle on the top!

berry muffins

i don't know where this muffin kick is coming from..

but! we decided it would be nice to deliver muffins to the nurses at children's tomorrow morning. a thank you for them being their wonderful selves. they would always fake like they weren't allowed to eat any of the food we were always offering them, so it will be interesting to see if tomorrow- they eat all 8 dozen of these muffins that i made for them!

i did mostly morning glory muffins, as i think i've got those down. but i also tried this one:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled. mixed with 2 c. packed light brown sugar, 1 c. whole milk and 2 eggs. to that i added the dry stuff- 3 c. ap flour, 3 teas. baking powder, 2 teas. cinnamon and 1 teas. salt. for the berries, i used a frozen "berry medley"- ran them thru the chopper once and folded them in.

sole

i have been messing around more with fish lately. i like walking to findlay market to get fun stuff. it feels all urban and exciting to walk around the hood to do my food shopping. and those guys at the fish stand have been hooking me up! i haven't had all that much experience with cooking meat and fish- but it is really fun trying my hand and this turned out pretty nice, if i do say so myself.

i was originally looking for some trout for this recipe, but ended up getting boston lemon sole instead- it looked way better and there was plenty for everybody i was cooking for. drizzled a sheet pan with olive oil and laid out the fillets. cranked some salt and pepper, and sprinked spanish paprika. then piled on the good stuff- a slice of pancetta on each fillet, fennel, olives, shallots and capers. i poured about an inch of riesling (2006, 4 legged white from dunham cellars- thank you, jenna) and put the trays in a 400 oven for about ten minutes, maybe less- it was quick!

served the fish on a pile of cous cous with a few steamed brussels for color and health.

in hindsight, i would not have seasoned the fish with any salt whatsoever. there was plenty coming from the olives and the pancetta. not that it took anything away for me, but it was good and salty. also, i wouldn't mind serving this in a shallow bowl with everything floating in more of a white wine, fennel broth. next time!

blueberry vinaigrette

inspired by a blackberry balsamic vinaigrette on a salad at !TAKE THE CAKE! this week, i used some blueberries we had laying around. macerated the berries in balsamic, with a bit of minced shallots, jalapeno, some garlic, and lemon juice. after an hour or two, ran everything thru the processor and slowly drizzled olive oil until the proportions were tasty. salt and pepper too.

the salad: celery for crunching, red grapes for sweetness, walnuts for nuts! and a real good goat cheese- drunken goat from spain to bring it home. pretty, huh?