food

Lunch and Precious Metals in the Riebeek Valley

June 4, 2013 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

***This is the second of three posts featuring my recent trip to South Africa. Read the first one, “Love and Penguins on the Cape of Goof Hope” here ***

When my co-worker invited me for an overnight in South African wine country, hosted by an eccentric and generous precious metals miner (we’ll call him “Miner”), I couldn’t tell whether it was going to be the start of a cheesy porn or a bad horror film. But when he mentioned 200 oysters were brought in for the occasion, I didn’t care how precarious the scenario sounded, I needed to GET THERE.

Stingray, my friends and I arrived in a fleet of rental cars at a quaint little compound in the Riebeek Valley north of Cape Town. As if it were the most natural of things, we were led up a set of garden stairs to a beautifully set table decorated with pitchers of lemon-mint water, trays of oysters, fresh salads, a wine station, decadent french-style cheeses, and homemade bread (which I later found out Miner made from wheat from his own farm!). So there we sat, with our new miner friend, passing bottles of wine, sucking down oysters, only taking breaks to play with his dogs and dip our feet in his stone-lined pool.

After gorging ourselves, Miner had us activate our rental car fleet once more to check out his farm several kilometers away. The air was perfect and cloudless. The sun had only just started to pack up for the day, kindly offering another hour of light before heading West. Eager to work off our lunch bellies, we walked like a lazy herd of buffalo along the farm’s single dirt road. We kicked rocks and snapped photos together in desperate attempts to capture the magic of the day, one I don’t ever want to forget.

So to our new, mysterious miner friend: thank you for reminding us that there is so much beauty our earth has to offer, and for showing us how quickly a stranger can become a friend.

Moped Dinner Party in Switzerland

May 17, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Sometimes when I’m alone, eating bread rolls with packets of mayo drinking mini-bar wine in my hotel bed watching Russian music videos, I think to myself “business trips kind of suck.” But then I remind myself that most nights my life is fabulous and that I rule. Evidence of this is the incredible dinner party I had with some girlfriends and their beaus recently while on a business trip to Geneva.

Normally working late into the night, I committed to leaving the office in time to hop on my friend, Cristina’s Moped and head to France to do some dinner party grocery shopping. Holding tightly to her waist (apparently NOT necessary which she made very clear to me), with the spring breeze blowing through my 2-piece suit, and our helmets bonking against one another with every windy turn, I knew this was exactly the 2-wheeled escape I needed.

Eva’s Spring salad: rocket, shaved zucchini, cucumbers, chives, mozzarella with a lemon vinaigrette

My European friends are by default better cooks than I (because they are Europeans) , so I gladly took a step back on this meal and just offered to make a simple salad (above) while the girls made seared duck breast with an apricot jam, mustard and soy sauce glaze, sauteed asparagus and roasted potatoes. Thank you, ladies for a truly decadent dinner escape!

Seared duck breast with roasted potatoes and asparagus

I was excited so I made them do a group "haut cinq" with me (fake french for high five)

I was so excited by the success of the meal that I made them do a group “haut cinq” with me (my fake french for “high five”)

Lemon-Tahini Dressed Kale with Pine Nuts and Cranberries

April 28, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

These days I’m addicted to kale and totally over my normal vinaigrette go-tos: homemade apple cider and balsamic vinaigrette, so I tried my hand at a lemon-tahini dressing. I always feed bad for that lonely can of tahini that sits in my fridge after I’ve gotten the urge to make humus–the only reason I can normally think to use sesame paste. With this new addition, that sad old can is put to good use with this kale salad tossed with toasted pine nuts and cranberries.

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoon tahini
3 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika
crushed garlic clove

Rosemary Skewered Halibut

April 21, 2013 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

Recently, my mom gave me about a dozen rosemary branches from her garden. It was a lot of herb and I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I made this Rosemary Skewered Halibut. Rosemary is an intensely woody and lemony herb that I normally associate with meats, but Halibut is a pretty bland and trim fish, so the intensity of the rosemary actually worked quite nicely. The halibut can easily be substituted for chicken, red meat, lamb or tuna, and since it’s almost summer, these skewers would be happiest when cooked on the grill.

The secret to this dish is marinating the halibut for at least 1 hour beforehand in a really intense herb blend. I tossed some fresh thyme, seasoned salt, paprika, garlic, Italian seasoning, herbs de provence, an herb mix containing dried chervil, parsley and coriander (pretty much the entire spice rack) and olive oil in a medium sized glass bowl and let it hang on the counter for about 10 minutes. If you try this recipe, the marinade should be almost pasty and super intense in flavor.

While the marinade rested, I rinsed and pat dry a beautiful filet of halibut and cubed it into 1 inch chunks, added it to the marinade bowl and chilled it for 1 hour.

I then heated the oven to 475 and lined a cookie sheet with tin foil and olive oil. With an entire stalk of rosemary, I laced 3-4 cubes of halibut down the rosemary from the bottom up and laid them on the cookie sheet so no halibut cubes were touching, then baked them for about 8-10 minutes until they were golden brown (they go fast, so keep on eye on them so they don’t over cook). Note: the rosemary edges will burn at this high heat. This is fine, but just have someone ready to do the “dish towel helicopter” under the smoke detector just in case.

I served the skewers with a kale salad and mushroom polenta and I can’t wait to get my hands on more fresh rosemary so I can do this again….

Lovers and Friends: Beets and Goat Cheese

April 9, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

Beets are fun to cook, I’ve decided. They gush a bloody red; they’re firm enough after they’re cooked that you can really play with them to create a beautiful presentation. Here, I made super easy gold and red beet stacks with creamy chive goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. The sweetness of the beets, the tang of the goat cheese and the bite from the chives are a dangerous trifecta of delicious. I’ll likely make these again soon, but in mini skewered versions for a cocktail party. Will report back after successful completion.

Gold and Red Beet Stacks with Chive Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

3 red beets
2 large gold beets
1 large log goat cheese, coldish room temperature
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
some toasted pine nuts

1) Chop the tips off of the beets and boil whole until tender, about 20 minutes. A knife should easily go through them when ready. Place beets in bowl of ice water. Cool completely and peel. I’m not sure the proper way to peel a beet, but I ran my nail under the beet skin and it came off pretty easily, almost like peeling a boiled egg. Don’t do this if you’re a hand model before a photo shoot. Slice into 1/4 inch slices and set aside.

2) In a small bowl mix goat cheese and heavy cream, pouring small amounts of cream at a time to avoid it from splashing around. Fold in most of the chives, leaving some for garnish. It feels like you’re adding a lot, but chives have mild flavor. Add salt and pepper and taste.

3) In a small pan, toast 1 handful of pine nuts on medium heat until golden brown. Shake the pan frequently to avoid burning. Takes about 2-3 minutes.

4) On a pretty plate, create the beet “stacks” by alternating 1 slice of beet and 1 dollop of cheese mixture, about three times. Get creative and make something pretty.

5) Garnish with chives and pine nuts and serve either as is, or with arugula, spinach or another tasty leafy green tossed with lemon juice and olive oil.

Oyster Romance

March 29, 2013 by Eva Louise 2 Comments

This past week, Stingray and I needed a little romance in our life. Nothing says “hey there, Big Boy” like oysters and luckily we just happened to have a dozen briney Wellfleet oysters in the fridge. I picked up a cheap proscecco and a couple of extra groceries to make it a meal: a soft cheese and crusty bread to serve with a crisp macintosh apple. I felt like I needed to cook something, so I picked up a bunch of asparagus and steamed them, poached two eggs and made a (kind of) homemade béarnaise.

The stars must have seriously been aligned for operation romance, because right before I was about to serve dinner I remembered some shrimp I had in the freezer to help me really make this a bangin’ dinner. I boiled and peeled them and set up all the proper shellfish fixins’: lemon, cocktail sauce, horseradish and a homemade mignonette sauce (vinegar and shallots) and we were ready for a partay. Can’t wait until we get another dozen oysters…

“Ying and Yang”

Halibut Top Ramen

February 27, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Last week I did a post featuring a fried halibut sandwich with one of two halibut fillets we had. The fate of the second fillet is featured above– an Asian-style halibut soup with tender ramen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, baby bok choy…and about 100 herbs and spices. I really got into it and made the soup using my wok and a wooden sushi spoon as a ladle. (I’ll admit, I was even a whisker away from wearing a Hello Kitty apron…)

Like many of my recipes, the ingredients are interchangeable but the trick here is to layer them properly to get the right depth of flavor and the right consistency (ie not mushy, not too salty or bland). So below I’ve outlined, not a recipe, but conceptual steps to take to make a tasty Asian-style soup.

aromatics/sturdy vegetables and proteins + seasonings and oils + broth + noodles + delicate vegetables and fish + serve+ garnish = so awesome.

Step 1: Saute mushrooms and aromatics (onions, garlic, shallots etc.). If you’re using beef, tofu, shrimp or chicken as your protein, cook them here to get maximum flavor and color. They are sturdy enough to withstand the boiling broth.

Step 2: Season liberally with all your “Asian-style” pantry goods: soy sauce, dash of rice wine vinegar, green onion, ginger, mirin, seasame oil, lemongrass.

Step 3: Add broth: I mix 1 carton of chicken broth and 1 carton of vegetable broth. Combinations of beef, mushroom or fish stock would be equally as delicious.

Step 4: In separate pot, boil noodles only until tender. Drain and set aside. Ramen – the jerry curl of noodles – is my noodle of choice since they are easier to grip with chopsticks.

Step 5: while the noodles cook, add delicate vegetables: bok choi, spinach, leeks, zucchini and fish: haddock, cod, salmon, halibut etc. and stir gently for about 2 minutes.

Step 6: Add a generous scoop of ramen noodles into the bottom of a pretty bowl then ladle soup making sure to get all the good bits; the vegetables and protein.

Step 7: Garnish with sesame seeds, green onion, hot chili oil, whatever your heart desires.

A Labor of Love: Chocolate Pomegranate Torte

February 14, 2013 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

“I’m sweet and complicated and difficult…just like love”

Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s an insanely good recipe from Fine Cooking for a chocolate pomegranate torte to make for your loved one tonight. It’s lusciously chocolaty and combined with the tart burst of juicy flavor from the pomegranate seeds, it’s just short of being…well, orgasmic.

Admittedly, I find this recipe to be advanced because it has three parts: a torte base, a layer of homemade pomegranate jelly, finished with a ganache glaze. As the recipe is written now, no lover will doubt your undying love and commitment if you make them this cake. Granted, they might find you flustered and sobbing hovered over the saucepan of pomegranate juice mumbling, “Why hasn’t it turned to jelly yet?! Why…why?!” but surely they will appreciate your efforts once the cake is done. Nothing says “I love you” like a crazed cook in the kitchen.

Despite my praises for this ravishing confection, I do plan to rewrite this recipe after a few more tries because it’s just too damn complicated for me. Expect a revised version in the future.

Just for the Halibut: Lager-battered Fish Sandwich with Garlic Truffle Fries

February 13, 2013 by Eva Louise 4 Comments

This week, Stingray and I made use of two snow-white halibut fillets we had in the freezer (fate of the second fillet to be revealed tomorrow). I was lucky enough to have him make me this outrageous fried fish sandwich for Sunday supper. Despite having a reputation for being the ultimate convenience food, sandwiches are actually a luxury dinner item at our house. They often require ingredients that we don’t keep on file (bread and sliced cheeses), and require a keen attention to detail to make them extra tasty (hence why he cooked and I didn’t). Stingray did a basic beer batter for the fish, with classic accompaniments: lettuce, tomato, sliced cheese. He hit it out of the park by buttering and toasting both sides of the bun before serving. I was feeling kind of useless in the kitchen, so my contribution was a dill aioli and some garlic truffle fries.

For the batter:

1 bottle lager
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp fish seasoning
¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus ½ cup
Canola or vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, mix together the beer, baking powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, seasoning and salt. Whisk in the flour until the mixture resembles thin pancake batter, add more flour if needed.
2. Fill a medium-sized pan with about a ½ inch of oil and heat over medium-high until it begins to shimmer. Season the halibut, dredge lightly in the ½ cup of flour (helps the batter to stick), dip it into the batter, and cook the fish until crispy and flaky, 4 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove the fillets and rest on paper towel lined plate, pat gently to coax away excess oil.

For the aioli:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1-2 crushed cloves garlic
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1/2 cup dill, finely chopped
s/p to taste
2 T olive oil

Add all ingredients to food processor, blend until smooth. Taste, and adjust flavors as you like. Smear on toasted buttered buns before stacking fish fillet, cheese, tomato, lettuce.

Garlic Truffle Fries

2 blemish-free Russet potatoes
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
4 T finely chopped parseley
truffle salt
truffle oil
s/p to taste

1. Place cookie sheet in oven and crank to 400. Slice potatoes into long wedges. In a large bowl, coat potato wedges liberally with olive oil. Mix in 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2T parsley, salt and pepper.
2. Distribute potatoes onto hot cookie sheet and bake undisturbed for at least 15 mins before flipping. Bake for another 15 minutes or until tender and crispy.
3. Before serving, gently toss with remaining 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 T parsley, a drizzle of truffle oil and several pinches of truffle salt. Serve and enjoy.

Swiss Miss Fondue: Part One

January 30, 2013 by Eva Louise 5 Comments

Tonight I’m finally back in action in New York City after a long business trip in Geneva, Davos, and Zurich, Switzerland. Unfortunately I missed my sister’s birthday while in the Swiss Alps so to make it up to her, I’m hosting her at her new apartment for a night of proper Swiss fondue, complete with crusty bread, dijon new potatoes and fresh salad (sketch above). Beyond the basics, I have some other delicious surprises waiting for her including fois gras, a luxurious bottle of kirsch, a good bottle of Fendant, chocolate truffles and a dozen decadent macarons made in Zurich less than two days ago.

While I’ve dined on cheese fondue many a time, I’ve never actually made it, so I look forward to reporting back once the birthday party is over. Happy Birthday, Kippy!