Avocado Cristo with Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction

So I absolutely loooovve to travel but unfortunately don't always have the money to do so. So, I travel vicariously through my family and friends absorbing everything I can about the sights, the people of other cultures and yes, yes, yes THE FOOD!! What time of day did they have it, how did they find the place, what was it, what was served with it, what was unusual and a surprise about the flavors and combinations, what did they drink with it, etc. etc. etc.? My favorites are the stories about the off-the-beaten-path places, the places the locals go. So, this morning I picked up two wonderful friends of ours from the airport from their trip to the interior of Mexico. I was so excited to hear about their trip and taking people and especially picking them up from the airport is one of my favorite things to do, call me crazy. It's just the hustle and bustle of the departing for the trip and the anticipation of their return and being there to welcome them home. And no matter where they have been, home is always the very best place travel to.

So these particular friends of mine are both very experienced travelers and extremely accomplished cooks and for a long time owned a restaurant that all the locals went to. We went not just for the food, but the great ambiance the place had. You could sit on the porch and have fresh cheese and fruit trays and your favorite glass of wine or beer. For us girls, it was a place you could go to by yourself and they always made you feel at home. Now that I hopefully have explained the warmth of this place sufficiently, let me also share there were some pretty wild late evenings. After the restaurant closed, after the other customers had left and it was just us, a bunch of really close friends getting a little crazy (air guitars) and having fun(I can sing just like Cher). Friends that were a fantastic collage of personalities and varied interest and views.

So back to the friends and the airport pickup. My goal with my cooking is to make my friends and family feel special and loved. The effort I go to is purely out of love for them and the love of cooking. This morning it was breakfast and fresh coffee. Breakfast was slices of sourdough bread dipped in an egg wash seasoned with s & p, cumin, a tiny bit of garlic(it is breakfast after all) and fresh cilantro. The bread is then laid in the bottom of a casserole dish, covered in fresh slices of avocado, shredded Monterrey jack cheese and topped again with the egg washed bread baked until it is lightly brown and crisp on top. It is served with a fresh tomato jam to the side and a balsamic reduction drizzled over the top. It is a feast for the eyes and deliciously rich. I must be a little sadistic cooking for people that can create circles around me in the kitchen, but I love it! I am not afraid and I am not intimidated, I probably should be. They loved it and I was happy with how it turned out and happy they are home again safely!

This afternoon I am going to a wedding cake cook off competition with my husband. I am really impressed with the whole baking thing. I am a lousy baker with the exception of two cakes I can bake and not screw them up. Twenty years with the same recipe helps too. My brain is just not wired right for baking. Baking is such a science to me. That whole exact measuring thing just cramps my style. Now I do have all the right gadgets, the Kitchen Aide Mixer and the prettiest heavy stainless steel measuring cups and spoons from William-Sonoma you've ever held in your hands, but it still doesn't help. I can ruin even a boxed Duncan Hines cake and my icing looks like a 5 year old did it. The baking is left for the gifted people like my sister. I know I make her crazy with the light on in the oven. I just want to watch the disaster as it occurs and seriously, does that little tiny light really change the temperature?? She seems to think so, just one more reason why I guess her baking is always perfect. Oh well, baking keeps me humble. So this afternoon, I will witness with utter amazement, the flutter of the really anal people, do what they do best. Maybe even I can learn something. Let's hope.


Avocado Cristo with Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction

Adapted from Follow That Food

Ingredients:
8 eggs, lightly beaten
4 ounces milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper
1 loaf sourdough bread cut in 1/2-inch slices
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
6 ounces Monterrey Jack


Plum Tomato Jam


1 pound cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 ounces sugar


Balsamic Reduction

6 ounces aged balsamic vinegar




Garnish
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced






Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


In a medium size bowl combine the eggs, milk, garlic, cumin, and salt and pepper, and lightly beat. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture covering both sides. In a baking dish lightly coated with olive oil, place a layer of bread slices on the bottom. Arrange a layer of avocado slices in a fan design on top of the bread. Cover with a layer of Monterrey Jack. Place another layer of the dipped bread slices over the cheese and avocados. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bread is nicely browned.


To make the tomato jam, saute the tomatoes and sugar in a pan until liquid reduces and becomes thick.


In a medium size pot, reduce the vinegar until slightly thickened.

To serve, remove the avocado cristo from baking dish and cut into wedges. Arrange wedges on each plate with the plum tomato jam and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction. Garnish plate with lime juice, chopped cilantro, and a slice of avocado.

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Avocado Cristo with Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction

2010 Shurvilleobbs Spring Break Series ~ Part 1 (Shurbets, Melvilles and Dobbs)

As you saw on my last post, the menu was tacked to the refrigerator in our beach house.  This beach house, btw, we will seek to rent again if at all possible.  Gorgeous, 3 story, 5 bedroom, 4 bath, beautiful kitchen, completely decorated from room to room with Ethan Allen furniture, all smack dab on the beach in Topsail (say it like you're Thurston Howell - "Topsill", unless you want to sound like a tourist).            Haha, I saw you.

Back to the list.  Each day, each family (3 families) was responsible for the entire day's meal, including clean-up; giving the other bunch of us the day off ~ completely, no cooking or cleaning.  Most, followed the rules, DAMNIT JANET, and stayed out of the kitchen and didn't clean on their days off.

One of the days breakfast was one of my absolute favorites!  Avocado Cristo with Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction  Warning, the photos are crummy, ie paper plate and bad lighting, but the taste is fabulous!!!

Told ya!

I found this recipes a couple of years ago on Follow That Food, I LOVE IT!  Easy and elegant.

Avocado Cristo with Cherry Tomato Jam and Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:

8 eggs, lightly beaten
4 ounces milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper
1 loaf sourdough bread cut in 1/2-inch slices
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
6 ounces Monterey Jack


Plum tomato jam:
1 pound cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 ounces sugar


Balsamic reduction:
6 ounces aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced


Directions:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


In a medium size bowl combine the eggs, milk, garlic, cumin, and salt and pepper, and lightly beat. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture covering both sides. In a baking dish lightly coated with olive oil, place a layer of bread slices on the bottom. Arrange a layer of avocado slices in a fan design on top of the bread. Cover with a layer of Monterey Jack. Place another layer of the dipped bread slices over the cheese and avocados. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bread is nicely browned.


To make the tomato jam, saute the tomatoes and sugar in a pan until liquid reduces and becomes thick.


In a medium size pot, reduce the vinegar until slightly thickened.


To serve, remove the avocado cristo from baking dish and cut into wedges. Arrange wedges on each plate with the plum tomato jam and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction. Garnish plate with lime juice, chopped cilantro, and a slice of avocado.

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Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce with Pan-Seared Polenta

My husband loves cornbread so he was easy enough to convince to try Polenta. As I tried to explain it to him, he had his doubts, but he's always willing to try something new. I love that it is seared with the crispy edges covered with sauce, it's all texture and flavor. No doubt this would be even easier to prepare with instant polenta but I am a purest at heart. As everyone that knows me can attest, I love to use every gadget, piece of cookware or equipment I can. The sauce was able to simmer throughout the baking process of the polenta. The sauce can easily be used on bruscetta for an appetizer or over pasta for a quick week night dinner, very versatile. Enjoy!

Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce with Pan Seared Polenta adapted from Bon Appetite January 2010

Polenta:

8 C water

5 T. (or more) olive oil, divided

2 tsp sea salt

2 C Polenta

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce:

4 1/2 C canned crushed tomatoes with added puree (from two 28 oz cans), divided

1/4 C pine nuts, toasted

3/4 C finely chopped onion

6 large cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

1/2 C roasted red pepper, chopped

1/2 C finely chopped fresh basil, divided

1/3 C dry white wine

1 tsp dried oregano

Polenta Prep:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish on rimmed baking sheet. Combine 8 cups water, 3 T olive oil and 2 tsp sea salt in dish. Gradually mix in polenta.

Place baking sheet with polenta in oven. Bake polenta 1 hour. Add pepper and stir to blend. Bake 20 minutes. Stir again and spread evenly. Bake until polenta is very thick, about 20 minutes longer. Remove from oven, press polenta evenly and allow to cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours (polenta will become firm). DO AHEAD: can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with plastic wrap; chill.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut polenta into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 6 squares. Heat remaining olive oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Working in batches, add polenta squares. Saute until crisp and beginning to color, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer polenta to small baking sheet, place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining polenta, adding oil to skillet as needed.

Divide polenta among plates. Top with warm Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce. Garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan-Reggiano cheese.

Sauce prep:

Place 1 C crushed tomatoes in food processor. Add toasted pine nuts and blend until very smooth. Heat oil in heavy pot over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic and crushed red pepper. Saute until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add remaining crushed tomatoes, 2 T chopped basil, wine and oregano. Scrape tomato mixture from processor and add roasted red pepper, stir to combine. Simmer sauce until flavors blend. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more dried crushed red pepper if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover and chill. Rewarm sauce. Mix in remaining chopped basil.

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Roasted Salmon and Roasted Garlic, Zucchini and Tomatoes

I was raised in Houston, Texas and spent each summer on the on or near the Gulf of Mexico either from my Aunt and Uncle's home in Corpus Christi or fishing with my dad.  I love salt water and living in South Texas near the Hill Country and it is beautiful but I feel rather land locked sometimes.  When everything is just out of sorts for me, I need my salt water fix.  It has never failed me.  It always works.  As a result, I love seafood!  Oysters, shrimp, crab and all kinds of fish...Grouper is probably my favorite(we refer to that as a "Top of the menu" fish).  Following grouper, it's snapper, red fish, speckled trout, flounder(not in that order) and the list goes on and on with the seemingly endless numbers of tasty fish the beautiful Gulf of Mexico provides.  I love it and it is not fishy.  And that, brings me to this.  I would like to take a moment to address something I hear all the time from people, that say they don't like fish, "it's fishy".  FRESH fish is NOT fishy.  If it is get rid of it!!  If you find yourself in a situation like I am now, having to buy it from a grocery store, then ask lots of questions.  Where did it come from, what is the texture like when it's cooks, and ask to smell it.  Don't be shy.  It's not cheap and it's worth it to get the freshest seafood you can.  I got lucky enough to find a business in San Antonio that supplies seafood to restaurants and they will sell it to the public.  Believe me, it's fresh and it's not fishy!

Having said all of that, I struggle with salmon.  It doesn't come from the Gulf of Mexico, so I have trouble with creating recipes for it.  I love it raw, as sushi and I love it smoke with all of the usual suspects, purple onion, capers, egg etc.  But cooking it, is a real challenge for me.  I have tried Asian methods, I have tried cream dill sauces,etc. nothing really taste right to me.  So I decided to go back to basics after I had salmon at a dear friend's house for her birthday, and I loved it!  I was given some fresh salmon that another friend caught in Alaska.  So here's the method I learned from the birthday girl and we had it for dinner tonight.  I sprayed a cooking sheet with my buddy Pamela.  Placed the steaks on the pan, sprinkled them with some flaked lemon salt I had and fresh ground pepper.  Tossed it the oven at 350 degrees.  After about 15 minutes, I turned off the oven, cracked the door and let it sit there while I finished preparing the rest of dinner.  After I pulled it out of the oven, I drizzled it with really good olive oil and transferred it to our plates.  Really yummy!  Maybe there is hope for me afterall.  I just got off the phone with another friend that suggested I take the leftover cooked salmon, shred it with forks, place a little of it on a small square of puff pastry.  Top it with a dab of cream cheese and capers.  Fold over the top with the pastry, brush it with egg whites and bake.  That may be our late night snack.

The zucchini was super simple!  I diced a couple of fresh zucchini, tossed in some cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper and salt.  Poured about a 1/4 Cup olive oil and tossed it all together.  Baked, uncovered, at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.  After removing it from the oven I sprinkled about 1/2 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and served.

Daddy, you asked me to let you know what I came up with for the salmon, here it is!

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Two Color Soup and Stuffed Pork Chops with 3 Sauces

This will teach me to skip a couple of days, too much to catch up. 

Friday evening was a dinner party in honor of my friend's birthday.  Love you Tracy, you're the best!!!

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup and Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Yellow-Pepper-Soup-and-Roasted-Tomato-Soup-with-Serrano-Cream-11554

I have made this elegant soup for years, it is our favoite and I really wish I could take credit for the creation of it.  It came from Gourmet Magazine, March 1993 issue (link above).  I have only made slight changes over the years.  I use fresh thyme, not dried and add a dash of cayenne in the pepper soup and I add a splash of cognac to both soups.  This soup was my excuse to purchase two matching All Clad pots and my very own Chinois. The matching pots I bought after major struggling to get the two soups the same consistancy(I can justify just about anything for my kitchen).  Important when it comes time to ladle the soups in the bowl at the same time, to get it to split down the middle.

The Chinois.

It is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh. It is used to strain custards, purees, soups, and sauces, producing a very smooth texture. It can also be used to dust pastry with a fine layer of powdered sugar.

I love this thing!

I had my butcher cut bone in pork chops 1 1/2" thick.  I cut a pocket in each of them and stuffed them with spicey sausage.  I use our HEB brand sausage but you can use Jimmy Dean Hot sausage.  The outside of the chops are dried and rubbed with cayenne.  I refrigerate them until about 45 minutes before I begin to saute them.  The three sauces were a Dark Cherry Sauce, Orange Marmelade and Apple Chutney.  With this I also served Asparagus with Hollandaise and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.

Cherry Preserve Sauce
12 oz jar Cherry Preserves
2 Tbl. light corn syrup
1/4 C Pomegranate infused Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling, stiring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  Keep sauce warm. Note: You can also use this sauce spooned over a pork lion roast to glaze, bake and serve the remaining on the side.

Orange Marmelade Sauce

12 oz. jar Orange Marmelade (good quality)
2 - 2 Tbl Hot Dijon Mustard, to taste

Heat to boiling, stiring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  Keep sauce warm.

Apple Chutney

3 Tbl. butter
3 cooking Apples, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 wedges
1 3-inch cinnamon stick or 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/4 C. Rum
1/4 C. Apple Cider (I like Woodchuck Draft Cider, Amber)

Heat butter in saute pan to med-high heat, add apples and cinnamon.  Saute until soft with a little bite left in them.  Deglaze pan with Rum and add cranberries.  Add apple cider and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cook until the apples are the softness that you like.  Keep Warm.

For the chops, heat 2 Tbl. olive oil in large pan on high heat, saute chops on both sides until brown.  Move to pan with roasting rack, cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees until medium rare.  Let chops rest for about 10 minutes and serve with sauces.

Our evening was a fantastic success!  Luckily we had good weather so we set the table and ate outside and enjoyed delicious wine and each other's company until late in the evening.  We are planning Paella sometime before it gets too cold, just waiting for the lobster to go on sale!

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