MINIATURE COMPOSED CAPRESE

Attention to detail can make an incredibly elegant salad composed of the most simple ingredients. With summertime comes beautiful produce, like tomatoes and basil. One of my favorite quick dishes is a simple caprese salad on hot nights when I do not want to fool with much of anything. The acidic tomatoes combine with the milky goodness of the mozzarella and herbal notes of basil always hits the spot. Sliced, torn and tossed in a bowl and drizzled with spicy green olive oil, the salad is a virtue of instant gratification.

However, this simple dish can also go upscale and shishi enough for the most discerning diners for luncheon or cocktails.

The ingredients are just as simple. Composition is what is key.

Take small plum tomatoes, basically the same size as small ball mozzarella. Cut a tiny x at the base of the fruit and then blanch super quickly – dunking immediately in ice water to prevent any cooking of the small tomatoes. Slip the skins off the tomatoes and cut horizontally in half. Cut mozzarella balls into halves. Snip the smallest of basil leaves and flowers to garnish with.

Arrange tomato and mozzarella halves together to create bites, alternating tomato on top and on bottom. Garnish with basil and flowers. Sprinkle with coarse salt and cracked pepper and drizzle with very good olive oil. A drizzle of balsamic wouldn’t hurt either.

These little gems can be served sit down style to each guest, or arranged on a buffet with picks.

Cheers,
Adriann

VIETNAMESE NOODLE SALAD

This is a perfect salad for hot and humid weather. It is light and refreshing, and yet substantial enough to truly fill your stomach. I like to put a lot of things into my noodle bowl, maybe more than you find in a typical Vietnamese restaurant, but it’s mostly about what ingredients you have on hand and what ingredients are your favorites. It’s the kind of dish that is customizable to however you like things. After you marinate the beef and make your dressing, I would call this more of a list of suggestions than a recipe, though I look at recipes from that perspective anyway.

 Marinate beef -
• 1 pound of lean beef filet or eye of round sliced very thin across the grain and pounded out slightly
• Mix beef in a bowl with
• 2 Stalks of fresh lemon grass, grated on a micro plane – mostly just the light color ends, the green leaves get a little two stringy to use
• 2 Hot red chilies, minced – depending on how hot you want your beef to be, you can either keep or discard the seeds
• 4 Garlic cloves minced
• 2 Tablespoons of fish sauce (don’t spill this stuff anywhere, the smallest microdrop can expel its repugnant odor for more time than you can imagine)
• 1 Teaspoon of cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons of a neutral flavored oil

– Let sit for at least thirty minutes

Make dressing for salad -
In a bowl combine
• 1 red chili seeded and minced
• 2 Tablespoons of sugar
• ¼ Cup rice vinegar
• ¼ Cup fish sauce
• 2 Garlic cloves minced

– Prepare rice sticks or bean threads according to package directions – I prefer the bean threads –

– Prepare toppings (basically what you like best) –

• Crunchy bean sprouts
• Thinly sliced green onions
• Finely shredded carrots
• Sliced mango
• Sliced cucumber
• Shredded lettuce
• Sliced avocado
• Finely minced chilies
• Crushed roasted peanuts
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped basil
• Chopped mint
• Wedges of lime
• Sriracha – or your favorite chili paste

Sauté beef over high heat. Place noodles into a shallow bowl, layering beef and toppings. Pour your desired amount of dressing over and then top with a sprinkle of peanuts and herbs. Garnish with wedges of lime for spritzing and chili paste on the side for more zingy heat.

The prep might seem like a lot of work, but when your alternatives are few, it’s nice to be able to have these bright flavors at home. You can even add more things than beef to the top of this salad. One place I loved to eat at included pork, chicken, grilled shrimp, a fish meatball cooked on a sugar cane skewer and a sliced spring roll on top. It really is something that can be customized to what you love best. Make it how you like it.

Cheers,
Adriann

RUSTIC BLACKBERY TART

Dessert does not have to be elaborate or difficult to be delicious. One of my favorite things to make during the summer season is a tart made from fresh blackberries. It literally requires only a couple of ingredients and minimal exertion. I like to keep frozen ready-made pie dough in the freezer for just such a dessert, but you can use your favorite pie dough recipe if you want.

Preheat oven to 350 and place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Unfold a sheet of pie dough onto the parchment.

In a bowl mix together a couple of cups of fresh blackberries, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, half of a scraped vanilla pod and a small grind of black pepper. Toss together until well combined.

Heap berries into the center of the pie dough and spread out evenly, leaving a generous 2 inch border of dough. Fold dough edges up over the berries.

Bake until berries are bubbling and the edges become golden brown.

Warm out of the oven, sliced into wedges and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this is a perfect tart-sweet treat. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Adriann

CAVIAR TASTING – POINTY SNOUT

Who says that Wednesdays are ho-hum? Last night was perfect for a caviar tasting – from a source I haven’t tried before, Pointy Snout.

This company is harvesting eggs from the native California White Sturgeon that they are raising in a 100% sustainable aqua-system on the Sacramento River in Northern California. It’s not pasteurized and it’s chemical free.

We tried both kinds, the caviar nouveau (non aged) and the caviar avancé (aged at least 90 days).

I butter fried some challah to use as a base, but we tasted au natural in equal amounts as on toast points – or at least I did.

The nouveau was clean and briny, a true taste of the sea. I thoroughly enjoyed this product, though the eggs did lack in pop texture. The avancé had a deeper, richer flavor, but also had a softer texture. Overall I was happy with this caviar and would order it again.

Sustainability in caviar is of upmost importance these days, and when you find a company that cares about what they are doing and has a passion for doing it the ‘right’ way in regards to the environment, it’s easy to support them with a clear conscience. Pointy Snout is looking to make the old standards of luxury accessible to a generation less stodgy than ones past. Kudos on a delicious start.

Cheers,
Adriann

REVISITING THE SUNDAY DINNER IN CHARLESTON, SC

Sometimes traditions can fall by the wayside in our hectic day to day lives. Sometimes it seems like there is too much to do and too little time to do it in. Because of this fast paced lifestyle we begin to lose touch with the things that and the people who matter most.

In the past, the Sunday dinner reigned supreme. It didn’t matter what culture or faith – sitting down for a communal meal at the end of the week was of the upmost importance. And yes, these meals could sometimes be elaborate. But they don’t have to be!

Maybe one of the reasons that modern families have shied away from cooking a sit down meal for a gathering of family members and friends is the intimidating notion that such an occasion requires a good bit of time spent in the kitchen. Not so! It might not be as easy as ordering a pizza, but it can be almost as fast considering some of the delivery times on those pies.

If you come up with a simple menu of thoughtful items, the meal can be delicious with just a few ingredients and only a few dishes. Super simple with decadent touches can make lunch a truly special occasion.

On Sunday last, Bernie and I sat down to eat with the Pollak family and friends after another Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits event. We even repurposed some left over pickle brine from the day before. It’s perfect for brining chicken legs in for great juicy flavor.

Since we were going for a meal with a traditional Southern as well as coastal feel, fried chicken, crab mac n cheese, a bright vegetable salad and some banana pudding made up the menu.

The night before, the chicken legs were brined for an hour and then drained so that they would be ready for dredging and frying the next day. Bernie made a dried strawberry and grainy mustard vinaigrette for the vegetable salad, and I made up mason jars full of individual banana puddings made with short bread instead of the traditional vanilla wafers and a custard whipped up by Dean Suzanne Pollak. Cream would be whipped to drown a final layer of fresh bananas on top right before the cooking started on Sunday.

After a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning, cooking for lunch started in earnest. I put together the crab mac n cheese (think of your favorite mac n cheese recipe with sautéed onions, red bell pepper, blue crab and a little Old Bay seasoning folded in). Bernie tossed together vegetables prepped by Camille Broderich and then got the oil heating in the deep fryer.

Time to dredge the chicken legs!

As soon as the golden scent of frying chicken filled the air, guests started to gather in anticipation. Not many things smell better on a Sunday afternoon in the South.

People lined up, filled their plates and made their way to a large table that everyone could squeeze together around.

Great food makes people happy and soon laughter and conversation wrapped around the room just as the aroma of chicken had a few brief minutes before.

Gathering together to share a meal is a time honored tradition that we should whole heartedly strive to make a tradition once again.

And remember to save some room for banana pudding.

Cheers,
Adriann

RAINY DAY OYSTER ROAST IN CHARLESTON, SC

The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits, an institution looking to educate people with a desire to reclaim the art of fine living and entertaining, recently held a class on the classic low country oyster roast.

The weather might have been fowl, but rain and sand gnats could not dampen the want for oysters roasted on a steel slab and a pig roasted in a temporary pit built out of cinder blocks and more slabs of steel on site especially for this occasion.

The deans (Suzanne Pollak and Lee Manigault) brought enthusiastic students together and laid out interesting oyster facts as the first batch of oysters started to pop open on the steel. Shovels then conveyed the tasty bivalves to eagerly awaiting hands. Shucking did then commence.

Home-made hot sauce and cocktail sauce (conjured up by my other half) got squeezed over plump little oysters before quickly being consumed. As fast as the mounds were depleted, more shovelfuls were distributed.

The pig waited patiently in his little house of smoke.

Roasting a whole pig is a long process, as anyone with a penchant for real bar-b-que knows. The night before Mr. Pig was deposited on the kitchen table and his timetable for roasting was contemplated. He went into his hot house around midnight, with the all night vigil being kept by the Professor of Pig Christopher Pollak.

As the number of oysters waned, the unveiling of porky goodness took place and the jolly fellow was carved up as students lined up for those first tasty bits to be divvied out.

Eager hands could barely be contained and the pork was eaten straight off the carcass, but also with pickles (Vlassic Zesty Dills) and onions on buns, and with sides of either creamy old fashioned slaw or a more vibrant version made with a vinegar and herb based dressing (also a Bernie creation). Served with a cold beer or a Mexican Coca Cola, who could help but sigh with satiated satisfaction?

Only a Moon Pie could end such a meal and such a day.

Cheers,
Adriann

ABSOLUTELY MY MOST FAVORITE PLACE TO HANG OUT AT IN SAN MIGUEL

In every city a person lives in, one often finds oneself gravitating to one spot more often than others. Sometimes it can be for ambiance, sometimes it can be for the drinks, sometimes it can be for the food, and sometimes it can be for the people. My favorite place in San Miguel happens to combine these all together to be the best place to hang out. Period.

That place is Serena Gorda or for the gringos - the Fat Mermaid. Oddly enough this establishment is also known as El Manantiel because it’s the oldest cantina in San Miguel – open since 1920. I think you can give a cabby either name and he should know where you want to go. (Barranca 78 to be exact.) This is Serena Gorda’s second location, the other being located in Zihuatanejo.

The menu is short sweet and to the point, mainly revolving around seafood (which being stuck in central Mexico can sometimes be in short supply), and even though they do everything well I have some favorites that I simply can’t get away from ordering – though a frosty cocktail simply MUST come first.

One of my favorite things about the Mermaid is that they use fresh ginger juice. You will see a bottle of the stuff pulled out every time someone orders a specialty cocktail made with this fabulous nectar of the spicy gods. I personally always order a Grey Goose ginger martini with no vermouth from my favorite bartender in Mexico – Pepe. He will always greet you with a smile and do everything possible to make you feel right at home.

The ginger juice also goes into a special margarita as well as the house sangrita (side for tequila) that gets spiced up with habanero pepper sauce as well. Tasty is the only word I can use.

With the belly well primed with warming ginger, the food must come next.

Surf N’ Turf tacos are my primary go to – tortillas topped with tender shrimp, gently cooked strips of lean steak and mounded with sliced avocados. To this I add a squeeze of lime and 4 – 6 drops of the incinerating habanero sauce.

Another tasty that I like to order is the Shrimp Chipotle tostada – a small smear of beans on a crispy tostada, topped with shrimp that have been tossed in a chipotle sauce, crema and avocado sauce. Again it is a perfect to bite to have with cocktails.

On nights when more needs to be placed in the belly to balance out those martinis, there is something on the menu that is far from the delicate items that make up the majority of the menu. This my friends would be… the Chamorro.

A shank of pork that has been lovingly smoked until fall off the bone tender, swimming it its own succulent juices. The first time this was brought out of the kitchen to me was one of the most awesome spectacles I witnessed in San Miguel. It is fragrant. It is tender.

I eat it with my hands.

Now aside from the drinks, the fantastic food and the wonderful staff, there is something else about the Mermaid. As the night wears on and the later hours start creeping up on you the atmosphere has the tendency to change a bit. What was once a quiet and almost sedate watering hole for the silver fox crowd becomes… well… slightly what I like to call crazy. They tend to play great tunes in the bar, and even have a DJ (Martha Alvarado) to come in and get things going on an even crazier pitch. This is a small bar and when it becomes standing room only and when those standing are dancing around and swinging the lights… Well, you get the idea. It’s a great time.

My time here in San Miguel is ticking down, literally to its last few hours and this is the place that I am going to miss the most. I want to say thank you to the owners and to the staff who have always treated me like I was one of the family. It’s truly been a great place to hang out. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Cheers,
Adriann