Friday Food Find: A Loaf of Bread, Because the Server Ate My Recipe

Jeez! I just spent 2 hours working on my blog post for today.  Went to save it - and it was GONE! 

Needless to say, that wasn’t a real fun experience.  And “jeez” was really not what I was saying when it happened.  But I feel a tad uncomfortable screaming that here on my blog!  Anywho, to get back to my happy place I started going through my pictures of travel…

Not to long ago I made a trip across the pond.  Paris was one of my destinations.  It was my second trip over and I was traveling alone. 

Every night before I went to bed I laid out the next days itinerary with great care.  Come morning I would map it over croissant, coffee and conversation with the hotel proprietors.  That in itself could have made my trip!  However, I was resolute. 

The famous Poilane was on the top of my list for food places to venture.  And food was what the trip was mostly about. 

I have the ubiquitous pictures of rows-of-loaves-of-bread.  But for some reason this is the one I love.

And, I don’t know, just because the server ate my recipe doesn’t make for a simple ‘ole loaf of bread!

Tuesday Tip: Ripen a Tomato on a Window Sill

We’ve had some really fabulous tomatoes come out of our gardens this year.  But we’ve also had some really pesky birds, worms and white flies.  All with thier own special way of breaking down our precious fruit.  It can be a big disappointment going out for the morning pick and seeing an entire tomato vine demolished. So here’s my Tuesday Tip to beat those damaging demons at thier game.  One that’s been done for centuries in one way or another. 

Just pick the tomato right before it’s ripe.  Take it into your house and set it on a window sill.  One where it will meet with a little sunshine.  Soon enough - maybe a couple of days or maybe more - it will ripen. 

It may not be the perfectly summer ripend, take-off-the-vine-now, warmed-from-the-sun, bite-into-with juice dripping down your arm experience.  But all the same, you’ve detoured around having your tomato damaged. It’s been ripened by the sun. And it’s going to taste pretty amazing!  All from just resting on the window sill.

A Good Friend, Coffee, Paper & A Blueberry Scone

Have I told you yet how much I love the summertime? Come June everything just slows down a bit. Traffic is less tiresome. Neighborhood noises abound with kids voices, lawnmowers, sprinklers, cicadas and dive bomb splashes into the pool. And maybe you can sit down each week and read the New Yorker cover to cover in time for the next weeks edition. Here at Casa de la Pav we enjoy it all plus, what I like to call, the ubiquitous revolving summer door. Where family and friends come, stay, eat, drink and play with us all summer long. Ok, we work too!

So this past week we’ve had some dear friends in from Boston - Max & Shari. Shari and I have been going non-stop. Therefore, even though I have hundreds of recipes “in the vault” , I’ve been racking my brain on what to post for today’s Friday Food Find. So today, we went for a 2-mile run and stopped by Starbucks to pick up a coffee. Since it wasn’t a drive-thru we had to take our sweaty selves in to the counter. We purchased our coffees, The New York Times and a blueberry scone.

Once we situated ourselves outside, sippin’ on our coffee, Shari began reading the Friday movie reviews (aloud as I didn’t have my old girl’s peepers with me) and I dove into the scone. I’ve had Starbucks scones before and they’re pretty good. This one was especially yummers. It was crumbly, lightly sweet, crunchy on the outside and had just the right amount of blueberries. I thoroughly enjoyed it! That said, I probably gained back all the calories lost whilst running. But isn’t it just the best to indulge sometimes? Especially on a great Summertime morning with a good friend over coffee, a paper and a blueberry scone? I think altogether that makes a very good Friday Food Find.

Tuesday Tip: A Vinaigrette Container

It’s easy! Just take your pick…of any one of these containters.  From which will come a most fabulous vinaigrette.  It’s really just about the tool.

To make a simple vinaigrette you must emulsify two unlike ingredients an acid (liquid) & a fat (liquid).  To do this isn’t such a trick as you might think.  The traditional way, which all chefs learn, is to use a bowl and whisk.  That takes some elbow “grease”. For a gadget person the best tool would be to use an salad dressing shaker. The design alone is super hip.  Another would be to mix up a mess of the vinaigrette in a squirt bottle.  Oh yeah! Just a little squirt here and there.  A yesteryear tool your grandma or mom may have used is the mason jar.  Which makes you the new glass fashionista vinaigrette mixologist! 

Sure I’ll use any of these - and have.  Obviously, I have them all.  But my ultimate favorite emulsifying tool for a vinaigrette is 2-Cup plasticware container.  I know your eyeing it over there in the picture.  And you may just be saying to yourself, “Really? Huh?”  It’s true! I can’t help myself.  Here’s why.  It’s full-service.  You make your vinaigrette in the container, snap the lid, shake, shake, shake vigorously over the sink, gently pour (as much as you need) out of the container onto your salad, snap the lid back on and pop it in the fridge to store for later.  It’s also a space saver in the fridge as it is small and stackable.

So there you have it.  Perhaps a little surprising but this chef’s favorite emulsifying tool for a vinaigrette is a little plastic container.  A tool, and I’m just speculating here, that’s already right there in your “tupperware” drawer or cupboard.  Am I right?  And there’s the Tuesday Tip.

Lemons, Preserved

A gift from the heavens is what a preserved lemon is to me.  When I think of that brine-y, tart and juicy yellow orb brightening a dish I just swoon.  And it’s all because of a trip to North Africa - Morocco to be exact.  That trip is a whole lot of other stories.  But for today’s Friday Food Find it’s a recipe for just one beautiful ingredient and preserving it to use in any number of dishes.  It’s simple to make and it lasts a while.   Most importantly it’s flavor inserts itself magically transforming a dish from fabulous to FULL of FABULOUCITY.  One of the best things about this recipe it doesn’t have to be perfect! How rockin’ is that - enjoy.

Ingredients

10 medium lemons
3C Kosher salt
6C water 

Process

Place all lemons in a medium, non-reactive bowl.  With a sharp knife make up to 8 fine 2-inch vertical incisions around each lemon from the stem down.  Repeat with each lemon. If you are able, do not cut deeper that the pith or white inner lining of the lemon. Once incised squeeze each lemon gently to juice.  Place the incised lemons and their juices in a non-reactive pot; large enough so the lemons set on the bottom in one layer.  Pour salt and water over the lemons.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer until the lemon peels become very soft (15 to 30 minutes).  Set aside to cool.  Once cool take the lemons, one by one, out of their juice (which you can now call a liquor) and place each into a clean glass jar (with a tight lid). Then cover the lemons with the reserved cooking liquor until liquor reaches right under the brim of jar.  The lemons and liquor should be packed in the jar tightly. Secure the jar by placing the lid on tightly.  Discard any left-over liquid.  Leave the jar of lemons in a cool dark place or refrigerator for approximately 3 days.  After 3 days they are ready to use.  Your preserved lemons can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. 

How to Use

Take however many preserved lemons you need for a recipe out of the jar.  Rinse gently to wash of excess liquor.  Pat dry and follow recipe directions. 

Tips
*If you cut deeper than the pith - don’t worry - it’s going to be just fine.  The lemon will come apart but that’s ok!  You primarily use the preserved lemon peel.  Therefore, it’s going to be usable and delicious.
*Used sparingly, left-over liquor can be used to marinate meat, fish or chicken.  Use it within a couple days, however, as the shelf life is no longer than 1 week.