Sunday Supper: Carrot & Jicama Salad

This week I made a carrot and jicama salad with garlic lime shrimp. It was a perfect light meal for a warm summer evening. The recipes were very easy to make. The only thing I was disappointed in was the way my jicama salad wad shredded. The picture from my cookbook had lovely long strands of white and orange. My shreds turned our more the size of shredded mozzarella cheese. It still tasted wonderful though. :) here are the recipes:

Carrot and Jicama Salad with Lime Vinaigrette (Serves 6)

Ingredients:
2 tsp. ground cumin 
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice 
2 Tbs. canola oil 
1 Tbs. minced, seeded jalapeño chili 
1 tsp. minced garlic 
1/2 tsp. kosher salt  
1 large or 2 medium jicamas, about 3/4 lb. 
3 carrots, about 10 oz., peeled 
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 

Directions:
In a small, dry fry pan over medium-low heat, warm the cumin just until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the lime juice, canola oil, jalapeño, garlic and salt and whisk until blended. Set the lime vinaigrette aside.

Using a sharp knife, trim the stem and root ends from the jicama(s), then cut into 4 or 6 manageable wedges. Cut and lift up a small piece of the brown skin near the stem end and pull down to remove. Use a vegetable peeler to remove any tenacious pieces of skin and the tough layer underneath.

Using a food processor fitted with the shredding disk or the largest holes of a box grater-shredder, shred the carrots and jicama wedges. In a large bowl, combine the shredded carrot and jicama with the cilantro. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss gently to mix.

Divide the salad evenly among small plates or bowls. Serve immediately.

Grilled Lime Shrimp:

Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 -1 1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb shelled deveined uncooked shrimp

Directions:
Mix together the first 8 ingredients in a bowl. Add shrimp; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to marinate. Thread shrimp on metal skewers; reserve marinade. Place skewered shrimp on grill over medium heat. Cook 3-7 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, turning once and brushing with marinade occasionally.

Sunday Supper: Pizza with Prosciutto & Balsamic Onions

This Sunday I made a delicious pizza with prosciutto, balsamic onions, and roasted bell pepper. I combined two recipes: one from Williams Sonoma for the dough, and the other from Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com for the toppings. I really liked that there was no sauce on this pizza. Just a little bit of garlic infused olive oil brushed on the crust before baking. If you wanted to make a vegetarian version, you could switch the prosciutto for sautéed mushrooms. Pizza dough is actually very easy to make. I have read online that the dough is best if made 1-2 days ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use. I made my dough last night and let it sit until today, and the crust was delicious! I am interested in trying this crust using only whole wheat flour, but I’m not sure what this would do to the consistency of the pizza. I’ll try this next time.

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough: 

1 cup lukewarm water

1 Tbs. honey 

2 tsp. olive oil 

1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed 

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 

1 tsp. kosher salt 

Toppings:

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup olive oil

1 12-ounce red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 large red bell pepper

1 cup (packed) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

4 thin slices prosciutto, sliced crosswise into thin strips

Directions:

Position a rack in the lowest position in an oven and preheat to 450°F. Lightly oil one 14-by-16-inch baking sheet, one 14-inch pizza pan or four 9-inch pizza or tart pans. 

To make the dough, in a small bowl, stir together the lukewarm water, the honey and 1 tsp. of the olive oil until blended. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir, adding enough of the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or more if needed, to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work area and knead until the surface of the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour as needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl with the remaining 1 tsp. olive oil. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Turn to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 12 minutes. Add vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until liquid cooks away and onion is very tender, about 4 minutes; season onion with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and sauté just until garlic begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic to custard cup. Pour oil into separate small bowl.

Char bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and slice thinly.

On a lightly floured work surface, gently stretch or roll out the dough to fit the prepared pan(s). Transfer the dough to the pan(s). 

Brush 1 tablespoon reserved garlic oil over dough, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Sprinkle with mozzarella, then reserved garlic and balsamic onion. Top with pepper strips in spoke pattern. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake until the crust is nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Spray the bottom of the oven with water at regular intervals 3 times during the first 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Arrange prosciutto atop pizza. Bake until prosciutto softens, about 30 seconds.

Sunday Supper: Roast Cornish Game Hen

For this week’s Sunday Supper I made Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Creamy Polenta and Caramelized Savoy Cabbage. I am only posting the game hen recipe for the sake of time, but if you would like either of the other two recipes please let me know. (I’ll be lazy and e-mail you a scanned picture of the recipe!) I was very excited because this was our first meal at our new dining set! We have had the table for over a year, but were borrowing my parent’s chairs while living in Sacramento. When we moved, I chose not to take my parent’s chairs, and I FINALLY had new dining chairs delivered last week! It is so nice not eating on the couch.

All three recipes were from my Ad Hoc cookbook. Now if you have never been to Ad Hoc, you should go. It is Mark and my favorite restaurant we have eaten as thus far. The owner is Thomas Keller who also owns The French Laundry and Bouchon. All three restaurants are in Yountville. The French Laundry is a three Michelin star restaurant, and we have not saved up the funds to dine there yet haha (one day!). Bouchon recently earned its first Michelin star. Mark and I ate there on our honeymoon and it was amazing. Bouchon features classical French food and amazing wines (it IS in Yountville after all!). Now Ad Hoc is also owned by Thomas Keller, so you know the caliber of food prepared is spectacular. Ad Hoc is a fun and casual restaurant featuring traditional, usually American style home cooked meals. But a type of “home cooked” you’ve never experienced before. It is incredibly delicious. The other thing we love about this restaurant is how casual and laid back it is. If you know anything about Mark and me you know we love to relax and be casual, big to do’s are not really our thing.  It is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans and a T-shirt in this restaurant. It is also fun because the banquet seating allows you the opportunity to meet the others diners near you. (We have met some interesting people in that place!) Anyways, this whole paragraph is just trying to convince you to visit Ad Hoc if you are ever in Yountville.

The Game Hen recipe was INCREDIBLY easy to make. The meat turned out moist and flavorful and I did not have to baste it once! Also, I didn’t bother trussing the bird because I didn’t have any kitchen twine. This is a great recipe to half or double depending on the number of people you are feeding. My game hen was HUGE (almost 2 lbs.) so I only cooked one hen for Mark and me to share. It was plenty. If you are fortunate enough to find Poussin or super small game hens, do make one per person. The entire recipe took me about 90 minutes to prep and cook, which isn’t terrible. Here is the recipe:

Roast Poussins or Cornish Hens (serves 6)

Ingerdients:

Six 1.25 pound poussins or Cornish game hens

Gremolata Butter:

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

zest of 2 lemons

2 large cloves garlic, grated with Microplane or minced

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

canola oil

6 cloves garlic, smashed, skin left on

1 bunch thyme

fleur de sel

Directions:

Remove the poussins or hens from the refrigerator and set aside while you make the butter.

Using the pestle, grind the peppercorns in a mortar (or put them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and crush with a meat pounder or heavy pan). Add the lemon zest and garlic and mix into a paste. Put the butter in a medium bowl and mix in the pepper mixture, followed by the lemon juice, parsley and salt. Mix together until smooth and chill.

Remove the neck and innards if they are still in the cavities of the poussins or game hens, and discard. Rinse the inside of the birds and dry well with paper towels. Season the inside of the birds with salt and pepper. Cut out the wishbones. Leave any fat or skin at the neck attached, and trim any other excess fat.

Starting at the cavity end of each bird, carefully run your fingers between the skin and the flesh of the breasts and then the thighs to loosen the skin. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the butter under the skin of each thigh and spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter under each side of the breast.

Truss the birds. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or until they come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Brush the birds with canola oil and season with salt. Place the birds on their backs in a roasting pan that will hold the birds in a single layer. Scatter the garlic and thyme evenly around them.

Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes; the temperature should register 160F in the meatiest portions of the bird (the thighs and under the breast where the thigh meets the breast), and the juices should run clear. If necessary, baste the birds, return to the oven, and roast; check every 5 minutes.

Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Transfer the birds, along with the garlic and thyme to the rack. Baste the birds with the pan juices, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Serve the birds whole, or cut into halves or quarters. Arrange on a serving platter, garnish with the thyme and garlic, and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

New Series: Sunday Supper

Sunday afternoons are when I do my weekly shopping trip. Mark currently works weekends so I am home alone and have the day to relax and complete any projects I have going. I decided to start making a big Sunday meal each week because I have this free time. Now it may not be BIG (it is just Mark and me eating after all), but I want to use this time to experiment with new recipes and get away from the "standard" dishes we cook during the week.

So here is the start of a weekly series! Sunday Supper. I will post the week's recipe and pictures of the finished product. Hopefully most ventures will be successful but I will share the failures as well!

This week I was inspired when watching a cheese soufflé challenge on an episode of Master Chef. So for our first Sunday Supper I made a Smoked Gruyere Cheese Soufflé and Crostini with Shiitake Mushrooms and Pancetta. Thankfully this was a great success! The soufflé was light and fluffy but still moist. I used a smoked Gruyere to complement the pancetta in the Crostini, but any type of cheese that melts smoothly will work just fine. Here are the recipes:

Cheese Soufflé (Serves 2)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Gruyere or Cheddar
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch nutmeg
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
pinch salt


Directions

Heat oven to 375° F. Grease one 16-ounce or two 8-ounce ramekins with 1 tablespoon of butter. Coat with the Parmesan, then tap out the excess. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce boils, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Blend in the cayenne and nutmeg. Whisk in the yolks one at a time. Set aside. (The recipe can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to loosen it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon into the ramekins.

Bake until puffed and browned, 40 minutes for a 16-ounce soufflé, 20 minutes for two smaller ones. Serve immediately.

Mushroom Pancetta Crostini (Serves 6-8)


Ingredients

One baguette, sliced thin on the bias
One tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, chopped fine
12 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
One small shallot shallot, peeled and finely diced
One teaspoon fresh chopped thyme


Directions

Spread baguette slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown.

Sauté pancetta in olive oil until fat is rendered. Add mushrooms and shallots, sautéing until cooked through. Add thyme and fresh pepper. Spoon mushroom mixture onto baguette slices and serve garnished with more thyme.

~Hannah

Catching Up: Making A House Our Home

So as you know, Mark and I moved to Santa Clara from Sacramento this past April. Despite new jobs and crazy schedules I did manage to get our house organized and furniture placed, etc. The one thing I (or Mark for that matter) did not get to was hanging any pictures! We have been living with empty walls and stacks of pictures leaning against them for months.

Over the July 4th weekend we visited some of our good friends who also recently moved to a new city. Now they moved several weeks after us into a large three story town home and they already had every picture hung and every nook of their cute home decorated! I decided it was quite pathetic that I couldn't hang my few pictures to help finish my tiny one bedroom apartment. So one day while Mark was working I had a picture hanging frenzy. Here are a few shots from my day (Sorry for the poor cell phone quality):

It was a small change but we now have a home that feels cozy and finished. I love it!

~Hannah