Food Minia

Sitting in the dentist's office--the dentists who inspired Jane Smiley's novella Age of Grief , about a husband-wife dentist practice--I found a recipe that I dictated into my phone while sitting in the waiting room. And it is really 1 minute. Roasted pepper soup shots one 16 ounce jar fire roasted red peppers with your juices. 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar. 1 fourth cup olive oil. Salt and pepper. Blend and serve in shot glasses. Bon Appetite October 2012 page 104 I wondered if there is anything like this in Julia or de Pomaine. Turned out there is: MAFC II p. 21, Soup Catalane aux poivrons, which I adapted and served last week to Rich and Julie. Serves four as a first course 1 large garlic clove one16 ounce jar fire roasted red peppers with their juices 1/4 cup cocktail onions 2 tablespoons sherry 1/2 cup chicken stock 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup cooked rice, preferably brown basmati Salt and pepper Peel the garlic and chop it in a food processor.  Add everything but the rice a...

Easter brunch 2013 continues, with salmon tartare. This is a sort of French ceviche, where lemon juice "cooks" raw fish. It's really really good. It made a nice little starter for us, before the quiche. This is another lightning dish if the fishmonger (butcher here in Iowa) dices or minces the fish, as the friendly folks at Fareway did for me. Don't dare use a food processor, as it mangles the fishie's tissues. I suppose verrines are really supposed to have layers. That's easy to do, such as Thomas Keller's with a layer of red onion crème fraiche , or one I did yesterday with capers. A red layer of marinated roasted pepper, drained from the jar and chopped would be nice too. These "verrine" glasses are actually votive candle holders from Walmart, 88¢ each. Serves 4 8 ounces of salmon filet (belly if possible) cut into 1/8 in dice or minced 10 chive spears or 2 green onion tops 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard, preferably Maille 1/3 cup extra virgin o...

The bubbly is Segura Viedas Brut Reserva 2011 cava We had a champagne brunch for Easter, just the three of us. Salmon tartare, Maddie's quiche. And to start this melon soup. It's lightning fast. I bought some melon cubes (Chilean) at the store, popped them in the blender with the juices and bubbly, and -- ZAP! -- summrery froth. I found some little airplane bottles of bubbly, so it's possible to make an ordinary day special by making this speedy soup. This is a another dentist waiting room special, adapted from Shape magazine. But it's really elegant, and it sort of tickles the nose. Or maybe that's my imagination. Serves 4 2 cups cantaloupe chunks 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon juice 1/4 cup champagne fresh mint In a blender, puree all the ingredients except the mint until frothy.  Garnish with chopped mint

The best things are the simplest. I write this in early March, when there is a lot of snow on the ground. And it is barely above freezing days. And I hate Iowa. Next pic, please. And I do dream of summer tomatoes. Heirlooms, sure. But also just Burpee garden variety tomatoes. With some basil. No vinaigrette. Maybe some salt and pepper. Maybe not. And then maybe some cucumbers. On the deck. (next pic please). Overlooking the miserable tomato vines that I try to grow almost every year, from the glorious smelly young plants the farmers at the market sell before there's anything else to sell, except maybe rhubarb or greens. And then, about the fourth of July, I realize, again, that I am no farmer, nor even a vegetable gardener. I am just a tomato eater. And a pretty good one. I am, however, an excellent tomato slicer. And that is really all it takes. Some say it doesn't even take that. Some eat tomatoes like apples, whole, just biting into them, and letting the juice go where it...

I know I saw The French Chef episode called "Elegant Eggs" ( the video in a new window ) with these cool eggs. But I had forgotten it (as I have most things I saw in the 1960s). So it was with a sense of revelation that I discovered a new (to me) way to fix eggs. And super fast (MAFC I p. 122) and so versatile. You can throw anything on them, almost, including chicken livers!--Julia puts this first!  Plain (or with cream and cheese) it takes only 5 minutes. With sauteed chicken livers it takes 10 minutes. And they really do come out "perfect," as she says in the video. Serves two as a first course 2 eggs olive oil cooking spray [optional:] 2 tablespoons cream or crème fraiche [optional:] 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese [optional:] chopped herbs or scallion tops Heat the broiler and place the rack in the closest position to it.  Place a half sheet or shallow pan over two burners on high heat and add 1/4 inch water.  Spray small two shallow dishes (3-4...