Hot! Too Hot!

It's hot here in San Francisco today. Really, legitimately, hot. Wish-I-had-air-conditioning-at-home-and-at-work hot. Dark-Helmet-drinking-coffee hot.

Hot enough, really, that all I want to eat is cold food. It is in this sweaty spirit that I share with you one of my favorite no-cook recipes.

Kate's Provencal Tuna Salad

Serves 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes unless your knives are dull

Ingredients
1 3 oz. pouch of chunk light tuna PLUS 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil OR 1 can of really good tuna packed in olive oil, drained well and blotted with paper towels
zest of 1/4 lemon (about a teaspoon or two) (see notes)
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/3-1/2 cup ripe tomato, chopped (see notes)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
6-8 oil cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped  (see notes)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Flake the tuna into a bowl, adding the olive oil if not oil-packed. Add everything else except the salt and pepper and mix with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste - you will mostly likely want at least 1/4 teaspoon of each to make the flavor really come out. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, either in the fridge or on the counter, to help the flavors blend.

Notes:
Lemon zest - Do yourself a favor and buy a microplane grater. If you don't have one, use a paring knife to peel off the zest, then slice it into strips and chop it very finely.
Tomatoes- Any variety will do, but if they are not in season, use grape tomatoes
Olives - You can sub kalamatas in this if you are a pansy, but I strongly prefer the punch the oil-cured olives add to the mix

Serve any of the following ways:
Salad: Put in a bowl. Eat with a fork.
Sandwich: This is great on toasted multi-grain bread or stuffed in a warmed whole wheat pita pocket
Peasant-style: Add some boiled, chilled, coarsely chopped red or fingerling potatoes (you'll also need to add a bit more olive oil and salt)
Fancy: Lop the top off a fist-sized tomato, hollow it out and stuff it with this. Stick a parsley sprig in the top.

A Hook Problem

Almost exactly nine years ago, my dear dad and I drove the long, flat, boring road from Chicago to Austin in my move to Texas. Of course, once we got to Austin and unpacked Vinny (my car), we made a trip to The Container Store, or, as Dad likes to refer to it, Anal-Retentive Heaven.

As anyone who has moved all of their wordly belongings out of state knows, moves are hard. They're stressful.

In the midst of such stress (mostly on my part), we found ourselves wandering the aisles of The Container Store at the Austin Arboretum. As lost people are wont to do, we were going up and down every aisle in the store to make sure we weren't forgetting anything. I don't know how familiar you are with The Container Store but their employees are aggressively friendly. This one saleswoman, who looked a little too much like the cartoon Cathy come to life, just would not take a hint and leave us alone. She must have asked us if we needed help, oh, 4 or 5 times. In the span of 20 minutes. We didn't need help the first time she asked and we didn't need help the fifth.

As we meandered down the hook aisle, Cathy pounced once again.

"Can I help you with a hook problem?"

It was all we could do not to laugh in her face. A hook problem? How do you have a hook problem?
Like this?

Which brings us to today.

In the move to reorganize and clean out my apartment and make better use of my "storage room," I am now trying to be super-efficient with my closet space across the board. Sadly, my dining table leaf has been left without a home in the new storage room layout. It has taken up residence in the hallway - obviously not a long-term solution. I was excited to discover it actually fits in my linen closet, but only if I find another home for the ironing board. Brainstorming space solutions, I realized that if I hung the ironing board on the closet door, my leaf storage problem might be solved.

I decided to try ready-made options first in my quest to hang the board. I picked up one of these handy dandy things at Bed Bath and Beyond, but it didn't really work because a) I didn't need storage for the iron, just the board, b) my iron didn't fit that nicely in the holder because it's too big, and c) I would have had to install this on the thinnest part of my door because the charming "architectural detail" prevents me from installing it at the top, where it's the thickest.

I really just needed to mount the bottom part of the iron & board holder on the door but couldn't do that without adding ugly washers to the scenario to keep the molded hook thing that came with the kit on the door. As a firm believer in the balance of form and function, I nixed that option.

Then I realized there must be hooks out there in the world that I could install on the top of the door to hang the ironing board. I dug through my hardware box and assorted existing selection of hooks, but none quite fit around the ironing board leg. Next best option was a trip to my trusty local hardware store (the kind of old school place that's just filled with so many parts and bits that it's almost impossible to find anything unless you ask) and came home with a few prospective solutions.

In the end, the simplest option worked best. Look how spiffy my ironing board (with awesome cover from the DeKalb, IL TJ Maxx) looks now. And now the table leaf is no longer in the hallway. I'm so very pleased.

The Emerald City

Sorry for the lack of posting last week. I decided to take an impromptu trip up to Seattle to visit Chrissy and Will and the kids. I had an amazing time and truly felt like I was unplugged and on vacation. Thanks guys!

Here are a few photos from the trip. I apparently didn't take pictures at the beach, on our nature hikes, in the living room of the fort/house I constructed out of pillows, chairs, and blankets with the kids, etc.

At the Salmon Locks. Note little J's fab sunglasses!

The salmon have a "ladder" that helps them swim upstream despite the large dam in place.

Posted at the Edmonds Farmers' Market.
I wish they also had people rules, especially #1.
Why is that just for dogs?

It didn't photograph well, but this is an incredible copper backsplash on the bar at Still where we stopped for a pre-dinner cocktail before heading to kid-free dinner at Sitka and Spruce. Dinner was FANTASTIC. If you are in Seattle, go there!

The site of (Adult) Girls Day Out. So fun!

Proof that cheap dime-store foil Christmas tree garland can be totally fabulous.

 

This was our attempt to acquire "pre-owned" cheese at a discount.
We failed. (We got there just as they were closing the doors.)

The other thing I forgot to mention is that Chrissy has become a master baker of gluten-free breads. So I was treated to actual bread this weekend which was fantastic. Thanks Chrissy!

This weekend is going to be three whole days at home with (I hope) lots of time to work on projects. Hopefully will have more posts to share soon.

Brilliant Bookcases

I grew up around a lot of books. Literally thousands. (Haha.) Book storage was a constant problem (or, as we like to say at work: "opportunity"). I have carried this love of books into my adult life and have tried to be diligent about recycling all but the most precious of them. Currently my collection fills about one and a half large bookcases. Could be worse, believe me.

But while some consider them "clutter," I love the design element that books add to a room. That's right, books are not just for reading. We are talking brains and beauty in the same package. If they are styled right, of course.

Recently, I stumbled upon this blog which has a fantastic collection of bookcase solutions to browse.

All these great pics have the wheels turning in my head since I'll need to figure out some new book solutions soon. As part of the Great Furniture Rearrangement currently underway in my apartment, the bookcases presently in the back half of the living room are going to have to be relocated or removed entirely. Hmmm...

Getting Creative in the Kitchen

This post might get a little TMI-y. Sorry in advance.

About a year ago I visited my allergist, who informed me that I'm allergic to wheat. In fact, when they tested me, it was one of the things I was allergic to most (along with grass, dust mites, and rabbits.) Of course, I've been eating wheat, oh, for 31 years with no apparent side effects. I basically ignored this information, although I did think it odd that I got a little congested when eating sandwiches. But whatever, right? It's not like my throat was closing up or something. And then, out of the blue this past Monday, it occurred to me that maybe the reason I have such a sensitive GI tract (I wish I could just say "stomach," but it's really the whole system that seems to be screwed up) is the wheat. This inspiration came after I felt like crap after my lunchtime sandwich - which was on a (gasp) wheat baguette.

Maybe so, maybe not. The only way I'm going to figure this out is by trying it. So I decided go wheat-free for 2 weeks to see how I feel. No time like the present.

I invented this wheat-free recipe on Monday because I had an eggplant, some zucchini, and some tomatoes that I needed to use courtesy of the farm box. The inspiration for my recipe came from here, but barley is a food I'm not supposed to eat, so I had to get creative. I considered using quinoa but I thought the grains would be too small and weird when combined with the chunky vegetables. Here's the result - pretty tasty!

It tastes better than it looks.

Eggplant, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables
1 medium sized eggplant (1 to 1 1/2 lbs), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium sized zucchini (3/4 lb), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 red onion, peeled, cut crosswise, then each half cut into quarters
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Chickpeas
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped scallion (white and green parts)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Dressing and Extras
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
large pinch of kosher salt
large pinch of freshly ground pepper
pinch of sugar

1 medium tomato, cored, seeded and chopped
about 12 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 lb ricotta salata, chopped or sliced thinly

Directions
Make the Roasted Vegetables
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine veggies, salt, pepper, and oil, and toss to combine. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are browned and a little shrively. (Start checking at 15.) Remove from oven and set aside. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, remove the onions and chop them roughly into bite-size pieces. Add back to pan and set aside.

Cook the Chickpeas
Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet, saute pan, or sauce pan until shimmering but not smoking. Add the scallions and spices, and stir until fragrant (about a minute). Add the drained chickpeas and stir for 2 minutes until coated by the spices. Turn down the heat to medium and add the chicken broth. Simmer until very little broth remains (about 1 tablespoon total). Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the dressing
Whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic, sugar salt and pepper.

Finish the salad
In a large bowl, combine the roasted veggies, chickpeas and their sauce, tomatoes, olives, and parsley. Toss to combine. Add the dressing and toss again to coat. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Can be served hot from the oven, warm, or cold.

One Disaster After Another

You know how in the post about the Salted Caramel Squares I talked about how I'm not such a great baker? I wasn't being modest.

This past weekend I baked up some cupcakes to celebrate Blake and Britta's 5th Anniversary. Let me take a moment to quantify "some." Some = 6 dozen. It should have only been 3 dozen, but I screwed them up. Apparently two of my three cupcake/muffin pans bake this recipe a lot faster than the recipe indicates. Which left me with a first batch of 2 dozen inedibly burnt and 1 dozen perfect white cupcakes.

Left - burnt. Right - perfect.

The photo doesn't even really do these justice. The bottoms of the burnt cupcakes are actually black and carbon-y. The burnt cupcake wrapper and the burnt bottom of the cake are one black, flaky mess. Gross.
So I baked up a second batch of cupcakes. Even though I took them out a lot sooner, I still had a few unacceptably darkened bottoms, but in the end, there were enough cupcakes for the party.

Then it was time to move onto the frosting. I selected a vanilla buttercream because I wanted them to look wedding-y for this wedding-themed party. Somehow, the buttercream was another fail. I don't know how, but when it was done, it tasted like butter. Not like vanilla. I ended up dumping about a cup and a half of powdered sugar and at least 2 tablespoons of vanilla and Grand Marnier in an attempt to give the frosting a flavor other than butter. No dice. With no ingredients left to work with, I gave up and piped the cupcakes.

While I was piping frosting onto the cupcakes, I heard a crazy loud crash followed by a louder crash. Outside the window seen below, there was a huge accident in the intersection, and one car had hit the building diagonally across the street from mine after hitting the other car.

So I called 911. Amazingly, the driver whose car was stopped by a large apartment building was fine, despite having to be cut out of the car by the fire department. People, this is why you wear seatbelts. This is the fourth accident I have witnessed in this intersection in the past year. SFers, be warned.

Anyhow, this was the final result. Cake: 9/10, Frosting 3/10 (would be a 2 but the sprinkles were tasty).

Oh, and here's the recipe for the cupcakes. I always trust Martha Stewart recipes for baking - every recipe comes out perfect (pan issue not withstanding). I'm not posting the frosting recipe. Next time, I'll just use The Cake Bible, which is what I should have done in the first place.

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of a project yet to come, courtesy of the fabulous M&J Trimming, where I wandered over to after work a couple of nights ago.

That flowered embroidered trim cost a pretty penny, let me tell you. Why do I always like the expensive stuff?

Indecent Exposure

One day last week I woke up and blearily wandered out of my bedroom and into my bathroom. I sat down on the toilet. I looked up.

And here was what I saw:

Logic follows that if I can see this dude, he can probably see me. Wearing something not fit for public consumption. On the toilet.

Fantastic.

For the last year neighbor visibility hasn't been a problem. I think they've been gutting the apartment across the street. The windows have been covered with plywood this whole time. Surprise! Looks like they are done. And because of the layout of my apartment, I now either have to close my bathroom door all the time (annoying, plus steam builds up in there when I shower because there's no fan) or find another solution. Blinds are not an option as the ones on this window are broken. (Thanks, previous tenant!) I briefly considered embracing the spirit of exhibitionism, but it's just not me.

Yet another trip to Ikea for more bits and pieces for the craft room lent itself to picking up a couple of 49 cent dishtowels in white with a red stripe. I happened to have a cafe curtain rod on hand and some curtain clips from Umbra that I bought ages ago in Austin. (A ha! THIS is why I keep these things! So proud of myself.)

And for a grand total of half what I spent on breakfast this morning at Starbucks (not joking), I had this semi-elegant solution for getting my privacy back. You can see that I didn't bother ironing these. Maybe next time I iron something I'll take care of this. Maybe not.

The people on the above floor keep their blinds shut all the time, so I think this is safe for awhile. Plus the white still lets the light in. I love natural light.

Problem solved!

The Best Thing I Ever Made

I first made these Salted Caramel Squares for Christine's "Boarth of July" party (boar sausages and proscuitto were both featured meal items) because it's from the chef and owner of Huckleberry in Santa Monica, which Lindsey took me and Ann to this past January. Huckleberry was delicious and I figured these would be good. I did not know how good they would be.

I do not really consider myself much of a baker. I have a long and storied past of screwing up various baked items, such as the time my cookies spread all over the cookie sheet (still not sure why) or the chocolate cake I made with extra virgin olive oil. There's probably a way to do that to make it taste excellent, but mine was gross. Really, really gross. And I wasted a lot of really good olive oil.

Because of these seminal events of my childhood, I don't have a lot of faith in myself when it comes to baking. In general, I do ok at baking, but the things I bake are definitely not my best or favorite food efforts overall.

And then I made these Salted Caramel Squares. I brought them to Maybay's party last weekend and I do believe they were quite a success. One guy actually told me I changed his life. Not bad for a few humble ingredients.

Here's the recipe. I'm putting my pictures in the middle of the directions so you can see what things look like in progress.

Salted-Caramel Squares
by Zoe Nathan



ACTIVE: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS  (At least!)
SERVINGS: Makes 32 squares  (or more - I like to cut them a bit smaller)

Pastry Shell
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg white, beaten


Caramel
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the confectioners' sugar. Add the whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt.

 Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, 1/4 inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.

(Kate's note - You don't really "press" this pastry - it's really sticky. I have had best success using a stiff metal spatula like you might use for icing a cake. If you don't have one of those, just use a table knife to spread this over the parchment.)

2. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 35 minutes, until just set. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.


3. In a saucepan, bring the cream, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Cover; keep warm.

4. In a large, heavy saucepan, stir the sugar into 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over moderate heat, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, 7 minutes.

No color yet. This is approximately the 10 minute mark.
Zoe's stove is obviously more powerful than mine.

Appoaching the 20 minute mark. Starting to caramelize...slowly...

And we're deep amber. At about minute 25.

5. Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter.

I never said this was good for you.

Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, 10 minutes.

10 minutes my ass. I think this stage takes me 20-25. Possibly 30. I don't know.
I think I get a little delirious around minute 18.
You have to stir constantly and watch the temperature like a hawk.

Success! Exactly 240 degrees, or in candy-making parlance, "soft ball stage."

Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt. Pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bar from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares.

If you follow this recipe exactly, these come out perfectly. I highly recommend you invest in a candy thermometer and go to town on these. You will not be disappointed.

I like to sprinkle some Maldon Sea Salt on the top.
Keep these in the fridge (if you have leftovers, which you probably won't.)

Another Week, Another Hotel

I'm shacked up at the W Times Square for the next few days. I have to say, the room is surprisingly spacious and nice. It also seems to be soundproof and the room darkening shades are great at blocking the sights and sounds of this view:

But I think the closet might be my favorite part of the room. Ok, not more favorite than the soundproofing. A close second, though.

That's right, the inside of the closet is fuschia. So fabulous! And what a great idea. I might just have to paint my closet at home...

A Tale of Two Appetizers

Charles Dickens is most surely rolling over in his grave at that title.

First, an apology - I know I am way behind on this blogging thing. It's hard to get back in the habit!

It was Maybay's birthday last weekend and she requested I bring an app. I got really excited about the options and brought two. I decided that it would be fun to bring a high-brow dish and a low-brow dish, in honor of the true fabulousness of the event's honoree.

High-Brow: Prosciutto and Fontina Pinwheels from Food and Wine

I love using puff pastry because it is basically idiot-proof. Thanks, Pepperidge Farm.

The first thing you do is roll it out. Actually, the first thing you do is thaw it. Then you roll it out. It helps to have a rolling pin for this. I misplaced mine. Which I discovered after I spread flour all over the place.

Luckily, after searching every cabinet in my kitchen three times, I remembered that maybe Mer had the pin. Success! She did (from Easter - clearly I use this thing a lot) and she was home. Game on!

Rolling out the dough is super easy. Once that's done, you just layer the goods on and roll it up.

I think the recipe lied and in retrospect I think I would put some more prosciutto on them. But they turned out ok.

They looked pretty and tasted good and sometimes that's enough!

*********

Low-Brow: Goop

For the record, this dip was named long before Gwyneth Paltrow started her little blog-newsletter. In fact, I'm pretty sure we have it in print from an employee cookbook made by my Dad's employer in the 80s. Maybe we should sue Gwyneth. Lawyer friends, do we have a case? Any chance I can get my hands on some Coldplay cash?

Frivolous lawsuits aside, this delicious dip has been passed down from my grandmother, Nana (which is pronounced like the start of the song Na-Na-Hey-Hey-Goodbye - it does not rhyme with banana).

I once tried to make Goop with "real" ingredients like fresh chives and fresh garlic because in general I like to use the most authentic ingredients I can find. Guess what? It tasted like crap. And incidentally, that's what Nana would have said had she sampled it. You can't deviate from the ingredients or it just doesn't taste right.

Trust in 60+ years of this recipe. This stuff is freaking delicious - garlicky and addictive. And you would never guess it's made from cottage cheese.  

Goop

Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients

• 1 - 16 oz carton small curd cottage cheese with chives (Yes, the kind that already has chives in it. Trust in the recipe.) If you use low fat cottage cheese increase the mayo about 2 tsp. If you use large curd cottage cheese, you'll have to beat it harder and longer. That's what she said.)
• 2 heaping Tbsp mayonnaise. Regular or lite is fine. Non-fat is unacceptable.
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp garlic powder

Directions
Put everything in a bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer on high speed or food processor until all the curds are decimated and it's all very smooth with just teeny tiny curd texture. Chill. (You can scoop it back into the cottage cheese container, which is the traditional storage method for this dip.)

Serve with:
Mandatory: Jays ridged chips (or if you are not in Chicago and can't get Jays, you can use Ruffles)
Optional: dipping vegetables - carrots, celery, broccoli, bell pepper, cucumber

Voila.

Weekend Warrior

I spent the last few days here:

That was the view from my hotel. The picture really doesn't do it justice - you can see much more of the ocean in real life than the camera shows. And while I am definitely not complaining about my work travel, it's hard to cook or craft in a hotel room, which means I have to squeeze all my crafty activities into the weekend. Today I've been cooking up a small storm for Maybay's birthday party - some apps and a dessert, which I'll post soon.

I've also undertaken a new project involving making a more craft-friendly space out of my 7x10 "storage room." This process began with confronting mild hoarding tendencies and purging things (Why do I keep old boxes? I am not moving for the forseeable future...) These are the results of last weekend's purge:

Not unlike the ocean above, it actually looks like there's less in the picture than it does in real life. Oh well.

I'm onto sketching what storage solution is going to work in there so that I can get organized enough to dedicate desk and craft space. Really trying to make that room my "home office" and not a "miscellaneous items dump."

I think I may have finally hit upon an Ikea solution that will work, but the proof will be in the assembly, of course. Another thing to stay tuned for.

Finally, this weekend is the Renegade Craft Fair AND the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Fair. My cup runneth over!  I especially love cool craft fairs because being around all those great ideas helps me come up with my own. Plus, this is a great chance to pick up a few Christmas presents (I shop for Christmas year-round and keep gifts in a box in my closet until the holidays. Saves me a lot of last-minute stress.)  And Alameda is great for picking up vintage furniture - hoping to find an end table to replace the crappy Target one the movers damaged, and maybe some interesting candle sconces for the dining room.

Happy Weekend!

What? That doesn't look delicious?

Tonight I'm going to start with a picture of dinner.

What? That doesn't look delicious? Salami-Melon...er...Salad? With a side of...cream cheese? Well, this is what happens when I am going out of town for a few nights and there's a whole cantaloupe in my fridge. Cantaloupe for dinner. Good thing I'm single.  

I'll be honest, I am tired of eating plain cantaloupe. Even when it is ripe and farm fresh, it's still...boring. I also have bad memories associated with cantaloupe thanks to the highlight of 4th grade - when I had cantaloupe for breakfast and then "revisited it" all over the teacher's desk that morning. Sorry Ms. Anita!

Complicating things is that it's not all that hot here in sweet San Francisco. The appeal of a chilled cantaloupe soup is rather limited when you're already wearing a cashmere sweater. On the other hand, the thought of hot cantaloupe isn't all that enticing either.

I found this recipe on Food and Wine, and it sounded interesting. Kind of like prosciutto e melone's rough and tumble little mafioso brother. I was a little concerned that no one had ever reviewed it, especially since it's over 10 years old. Surely someone else has made this?

With no total strangers of questionable culinary ability to trust, I figured this would either be great or utterly inedible. But at least it wouldn't be boring.

Savory Cantaloupe Salad

by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

The black pepper and vinegar bring out the cantaloupe’s sweetness, making it a good foil for creamy fresh goat cheese. The cheese is served on slices of crusty bread alongside the melon salad.

SERVINGS: 6

Ingredients

One 3-pound ripe cantaloupe, cut into 1-inch cubes (see Notes)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 slices soppressata salami, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon snipped chives
1/2 pound fresh goat cheese
6 slices country bread

 Directions

1.Put the melon cubes in a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the oil and toss gently, then add the vinegar. Garnish with the soppressata and chives. Spread the cheese on the bread and serve it alongside.


My notes: I skipped the chive garnish (I'm not trying to impress strangers) and got a little french mini-baguette instead of a whole country loaf because I am cheap. It was fine. I probably should have toasted the bread slices but I was hungry and didn't feel like getting out the toaster. Next time.

Oh, and I only used half the cantaloupe, and halved the seasoning/dressing ingredients and bread and only used a fraction of the goat cheese - about an ounce - but kept the full amount of soppressata (hey, it's dinner).

So how was this experiment?

It's safe to say I'll make this again. Tomorrow. For lunch. Glad I picked up a little extra soppressata at the deli!

If you do try this at home, make sure your cantaloupe is really sweet and ripe. This would be terrible with under-ripe cantaloupe. How do you tell the difference? If it's super crunchy and pale and looks/tastes like it came off the "fruit platter" at your last breakfast meeting, it won't work here.

This Never Happens

One of the things in life that gives me great joy is cooking. I love to cook dinner because it is the perfect way for me to forget work for an hour or two while I create something (hopefully) delicious.

This means that before leaving work, I'll hop onto Epicurious or Food and Wine to figure out what I'm going to make and print up a recipe (in case I need to fetch any ingredients at the Whole Foods conveniently located on the way home from work.

I wouldn't say my fridge is generally well-stocked (especially not lately with all the work-travel I've been doing) so frequently what happens is that ingredients beget other ingredients. For example, last week, I made Ina Garten's Pan-Fried Onion Dip for WTF Friday (kind of like happy hour) at work.  That recipe calls for cream cheese, but only 4 ounces, so I had the rest of the bar of cream cheese leftover. Sunday lent itself to picking up a bagel, some smoked salmon, and dill for a little mini-brunch feast. Then today I had on hand the salmon, sour cream (also left over from the dip) dill, zucchini on its last legs from my farm box, and some eggs. I typed these things into Epi and poof! This recipe popped up. I had all the ingredients at home. Every last one! That never happens. Something of a Monday miracle if you ask me.

Zucchini Cakes with Smoked Trout Bon Appétit
June 2010
by Tori Ritchie
Grated zucchini gives these fritters a fresh flavor and a tender texture. Excellent served with Champagne.

Yield: Makes about 24
1 pound zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated in processor
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white, beaten to blend
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil (for frying)
1/3 cup (about) sour cream
2 ounces smoked trout or smoked salmon, broken into 1 x 1/2-inch pieces
Chopped fresh dill


Place zucchini in colander set over bowl; sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Place small plate atop zucchini to weigh down. Let stand 30 minutes to drain.

Squeeze zucchini as dry as possible in kitchen towel. Transfer zucchini to medium bowl. Stir in flour, Parmesan, and shallot, then stir in beaten egg mixture and pepper.

Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush large nonstick skillet with enough oil to coat; heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by scant 1 tablespoonfuls, spacing apart. Using spatula, flatten cakes to 2-inch rounds. Cook until golden on bottom, brushing skillet with more oil as needed between batches, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer cakes to prepared baking sheet. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely, then cover and chill. Rewarm uncovered in 325°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Place warm zucchini cakes on platter. Top each with small dollop of sour cream and piece of smoked trout. Sprinkle with chopped dill and serve.

If you can read this blog, you can read a recipe, so I'm just going to focus on a few parts of this:

1. They are not kidding when they say to drain the zucchini. Mine gave off fully 3/4 cup of liquid. That's a lot of juice!

2. Here's the batter being fried up. I used way less oil than they recommend and it was totally fine in my nonstick pan.

And here's the finished product!

Yum. Somehow this recipe made 9 2" cakes rather than 24. Which is good because I ate them all for dinner. I may have not put in enough zucchini (think I probably had closer to half a pound than a full pound) but all in all a successful result. And if I can figure out how to make them a little smaller, I think these cakes could be really great hors d'oeuvres. Other than the draining the zukes, this was quick to pull together.

I'm also still working on how best to photograph the food...but not a bad first effort, right?

And I'm Back!

I started this blog four years ago. At the time, it was something of a magnum opus featuring not one, but two whole entries. Two. Which is 100% more than the number of followers I had. You're impressed, right? As well you should be.

And then I was thinking the other day about all the great ideas and inspiration I get from some of my favorite blogs like B-School Studio and Angry Chicken. I love reading blogs of friends and strangers alike, who, like me, enjoy the challenge (opportunity!) of turning nothing into something. And so that's what this is: a blog about turning nothing into something. A blog about elevating the humble to the sublime.

Hope you enjoy it.