Rest in peace Virginia ‘Ginny’ Harris

Virginia Grant Harris

November 6, 1924 – November 27, 2009

At this time of Thanksgiving, we are thankful for the life of my dear mother-in-law, Virginia Grant Harris, who passed away after a long illness on Friday.  She was married to Teague ‘Bucky’ Harris for 64 years.  They raised two exemplary sons, Teague and John, of whom she was very proud. 

Ginny grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and spent many happy days at the family farm near Ware Shoals.  An x-ray technician during WWII, she later became a devoted military wife and enjoyed assignments in Panama, California, Hawaii, Washington D.C., Alabama, Texas, and Athens, Greece.  As the air force base commander’s wife in Athens, Mrs. Harris put her refined entertaining skills to good use.  Her fine china, crystal and silverware were placed on pure Irish linen tablecloths;  her menu was always relevant.

A Southern lady to the core, her delicate hands were often clothed in one of many in her impressive collection of stylish ladies’ gloves that could rival the Queen’s!  Many of her elegant outfits were custom made and she was partial to cashmere sweater sets.  Ginny was also an accomplished Bridge player, an avid reader, and a lover of Welsh Corgis.  She enjoyed a good joke and delivered a particularly racy one in her Southern drawl…now that’s nice!

Mrs. Harris was an all-round homemaker and an accomplished cook.  She baked her son, my husband, his favorite Caramel cake every year for his birthday.  She hosted many Thanksgiving meals and taught me how to roast a turkey to perfection.  She shared her recipes for Southern style Macaroni and cheese, Banana bread, Cole slaw, Pecan pralines, Banana pudding (with extra egg yolks, of course!), Peach pickle and many more.

She embraced me like the daughter she never had and loved my family of foreigners, including their unusual names, customs and accents!  She taught me that the word ‘hair’ is a two syllable word pronounced hay-a! 

We will miss you Ginny, Mom and Grandma!

Bucky, Timmy, John, Susan, Dragana, your grandchildren Alexander, Emilia and Haley, and a host of family and friends.

Italian Green Sauce – Salsa Verde

Have you ever seen such a beautiful bouquet of flat-leaf parsley?   This organically grown herb grows in one of the vegetable beds at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School in Houston.  In the shadow of the Williams Tower (formerly Transco Tower see it in the top right hand corner?)  this notable school hosts the Recipe for Success program that I praised in my previous post.  I picked a lovely bunch and admired my fresh arrangement at home for several days – pinching leaves and enjoying the crisp green taste in my mouth it’s a great breath freshener!

Remember when curly parsley was merely a colorful decoration on your dinner plate, left untouched, then dumped in the rubbish bin?   Fresh parsley has since taken top billing in our kitchens in the likes of tabbouleh, chimichurri and pesto.  It’s a subtle flavoring in many other dishes including dressings, stocks and sauces.  Loaded with Vitamin C (it has three times the amount in oranges), Vitamins A and K, iron and folate, parsley also has therapeutic value as a diuretic.  When used to make tea, it can reduce high blood pressure.  It can also help to settle an upset stomach and is rich in antioxidants.  Because it is so readily available, don’t even think about buying the dried, dead leaves in a jar to cook with – it just won’t cut it and I’ll come and admonish you!

I looked for a recipe that used a generous amount of fresh parsley.  Green Sauce, or Salsa Verde comes from Mario Batali’s Molto Mario cookbook.  Batali serves this sauce with a variety of meats (calf tongue, veal, brisket, beef cheeks, sausage, capon and turkey) in broth.   With all of those meats in a bowl, Mario found a way to add a seafood component as well, so…salt-packed anchovies come on the scene via a flavorful and complex sauce.  After test-tasting the mixture, I added a clove of garlic – and WOW – it’s the bomb!   Not only is it delicious, it’s also very versatile - you can use it as a dipping sauce or in an appetizer (see my crostini below).  We enjoyed the sauce with roasted chicken breasts the other night and on broiled fish and sweet potatoes last night. 

 

Italian Green Sauce – Salsa Verde     Adapted from Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano cookbook.

I bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, rinsed, leaves only

4 salt-packed anchovies (canned), rinsed and picked over for visible bones (anchovy bones are very soft, small and edible so you don’t have to remove them all)

1 small bunch mint, rinsed, leaves only

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

1 hard-boiled egg, cooled

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cornichons or ½ large kosher dill

2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place parsley, anchovies, mint, capers, egg, garlic, cornichons, vinegar, olive oil and black pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve at room temperature.

And just because I’m my father’s daughter and I have the stomach and taste buds that can handle intense flavors, I made crostini with toasted sesame bread and green sauce.  I topped them each with a tiny, briny, oily and pungent anchovy filet - not for the squeamish…but give it a try!

 Prijatno!

Recipe for Success foundation and 1-2-3 Salad

Ever the diligent volunteers, my friend Chantal and I arrived at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School to support our new pet project, Recipe for Success.  Founded by philanthropist Gracie Cavnar, Recipe for Success is a non-profit charity that has been active in five fortunate Houston I.S.D. schools for the last four years. 

The primary goal of RFS is to combat childhood obesity.  Students are taught that nutritious food comes from the ground and not at a drive-thru window or in a sealed plastic bag or box.  The Foundation hopes to increase the students’ awareness and appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables by teaching them how to garden and harvest their crops.  They then use the produce in simple recipes using basic cooking techniques.

To help inspire the kids, well-known local chefs volunteer their time in the classrooms.  With the help of Houston’s own Monica Pope of t’afia, chef participation has grown to include the likes of chefs Randy Evans, Robert Del Grande, David Luna, Randy Rucker, Bryan Caswell, Chris Shepherd, Ryan Pera and many, many more.

Rodriguez Elementary is lucky to have chef Mark Wilson as its full-time instructor.  Here he assists students with the dressing for 1-2-3 Salad.

A former Broadway actor, musician and playwright, chef Wilson does an excellent job of capturing the students’ attention!

Students took turns at whisking the vinaigrette to the count of 10.  As an added bonus, the ever enthusiastic Chantal, a Belgian Francophile, broke out into her native French and taught the kids to count from 1 – 10!  They also learned a new word – emulsion.  They’re not just making any old salad – this is a gourmet salad with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, feta cheese and walnuts.  Love it!

At each participating campus, the Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education™ program uses an organic garden as an outdoor classroom.  This expansive garden at Rodriguez Elementary has about 18 raised beds.  Each grade level is responsible for three of them.  I came away with a bunch of the most beautiful flat-leaf parsley that you will see in my next post.

Let’s see how big this pumpkin can grow!

These basil plants are setting their seeds.  Here the students learn about perennials and planting from seed. 

Newly harvested sweet potatoes and delicate lettuce leaves.  Look at the size of those tubers!

Eggplants!

Believe it or not, after the dressing was made, there was a mad dash to do the dishes, which I’m sure rarely happens at home!  Chef Dwain, an intern with RFS, prepares sweet, salty, bitter and sour ingredients for a tasting of flavors – and a fancy new word entered their culinary vocabulary:  UMAMI

The view from the dishwashing stand is to this pretty atrium: bird feeders, a small pond, fruit trees, potted herbs, raised beds, a compost barrel and a busy teacher named Mrs. Silverstone!

Decorated pots in the atrium.

This cutie enjoyed sweeping the floor. 

All in all, the students are exposed to healthy cooking ingredients which have sadly become foreign to many households.   Most students loved the salad and also the feta cheese and asked for more - a sure sign that young palates are much more receptive to delicious and healthy fare than we give them credit for. 

Our beautiful Houston fall weather prompted a fun picnic between the vegetable beds.  Students lined up for a ‘wrap’ of salad greens served with their own home-made salad dressing served by Mrs. Silverstone and Chantal.  Many came back for more…and more.  It was an encouraging sight!

This 1-2-3 Salad includes fresh mixed salad greens and is supplemented with nuts, grains, cheese and just a little bit of sugar (in the form of honey in this recipe).  It provides more precious nutrients than the oppressively sweet cereals and processed foods targeted at our school-aged children.

1-2-3 Salad, adapted from the original recipe by chef Monica Pope

4 servings

2 - 3 large handfuls of mixed lettuce (choose a mixture for color, texture and flavor), washed and patted dry on a towel

¼ cup nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans)

½ cup fruit (dried or fresh)

¼ cup cooked grains or pasta (quinoa, orzo, couscous)

¼ cup cheese (feta, parmesan, blue cheese)

For the dressing: (use about half of this recipe for 4 people)

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Make the dressing by putting balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk quickly to combine. Add olive oil, drop by drop, as you whisk the dressing quickly. The dressing will thicken and emulsify and resemble a deep caramel color. Set aside.

To assemble the salad place in a bowl the lettuce mix, nuts, fruit, grains and cheese.  Check the dressing: if it is very thick, add a little lemon juice or water to it.  Add 1/4 cup of dressing and toss to combine all ingredients. Add more dressing, if desired. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, if necessary.

Prijatno!

Randy Rucker and a wine tasting dinner

How does he do it, this chef Randy Rucker guy?

He arrives at our host’s studio at 3:30 in the afternoon to start prepping our wine dinner for that very evening!   All by himself…eight courses…and after fishing with his family off Bolivar all morning! 

Randy’s motto reads “Mother nature gave us perfect food, my job is not to mess it up”.   To begin with, he acquires the freshest local ingredients.  Heavy on seafood courses (no complaints from me here!) his light-handed touch in preparing seafood harkens back to days in Peru learning tiradito.  East meets west in tiradito:  Japanese immigrants introduced Peruvians to sashimi – sliced raw fish, not cubed; in a light dressing and not acid-cooked (as in ceviche).

The first course (pictured above) was bay scallops, sashimi style, with orange zest and serrano chile, served with a Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose Champagne.  Divine!

Black Drum dressed in miso, shiro dashi and herbs was served with wakame and green apple - to bring out the fruit in the wine - a Chateau Ste. Michelle Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc.  The leche de chile (juices) on the bottom tasted like nectar!

 

Golden Croaker, caught that morning by Randy himself, was marinated in lime, cream sake, basil, and dashi (made with the Croaker heads and bones and mushroom stems);  finished with purple basil and thinly sliced serrano peppers.  The accompanying wine was perfect with this dish:  K Vintners 2008 Columbia Valley Viogner.

Randy was lucky Helen didn’t inhale the bok choy sautéed in duck fat, as Jeff listens.

Pork Belly - fatty and luscious with a thick and crispy crust, ciccarones (niblets of pork skin), trumpet royale mushrooms and baby bok choy.  I’ve never eaten so much pork fat in one sitting and enjoyed it so much!  To cut the fat:  K Vintners 2006 Morrison Lane Syrah.  A theme begins to emerge – complex and flavorful wines of Washington State.

Doris and Bode chat while Nina watches Randy pour.

Kabocha squash soup - creamy but cream less, with cinnamon butter, zests of lemon, lime and orange.  Finished with fresh basil and oregano, and served with a white wine - K Vintners Columbia Valley 2008 Viogner, just to keep our taste buds hopping!  The tartness of the wine was offset by the sweetness of the soup.

 

Nope.  Doris and Nina didn’t like it very much!

It was a blind tasting…each bottle was wrapped twice so that Tim couldn’t cheat!  Mwahahaha!

Duck confit, roasted duck and cedar infused parsnip puree – another perfect match with Quilceda Creek’s 2003 Merlot. 

Randy plates the beef ribs braised in kabajaki sauce, served with Yukon gold potatoes and maitaki mushrooms.  Served with K Vintners 2006 Walla Walla Valley Grenache (with 6% Syrah).

Not your ordinary chocolate mousse – here’s it’s made with goat’s milk and spiced with lots of cayenne pepper.  Acutely spicy and strong enough to put hair on one’s chest, I was the last one standing and begging for more!   Lionetti 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 100 points Quilceda Creek 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

And to top it all off, a Humboldt Fog with whole grain crackers…oozing, rich and a magnificent way to end the dinner.

Thanks Ralph for hosting another memorable wine tasting!  You have raised the bar once again!

Read about Randy’s Tenacity dinner (held at the studio) by clicking on the link.

Prijatno!

Phở - nomenal, phở sho!

I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but here in northwest Houston, phở restaurants have popped up on every corner and in every retail centre.  Google “pho restaurants in Houston” and you will find a list of no fewer than 380 phở restaurants (and counting…).   With interesting names like  Phở Vang,  Phở-Nag (that would be mine, according to my family!),  Phở Danh,  Phở Bong Seng,  Phở Dung and  Phở Pasteur, it’s a Vietnamese phở-nomenon!  

The basis of phở is a deliciously spiced, clear broth with rice noodles.  A variety of meats, fresh herbs, sprouts and peppers allow the soup to be personalized.   Phở Gà  -  phở with chicken, is a favorite of mine -  you will find the easy recipe below as part of this month’s Daring Cooks’ challenge.   The correct pronunciation of Phở  is “fuh?”  You say the word like it’s a question!!!  Try saying it in a sentence without asking a question!

The second part of the challenge is to make a dessert using wonton wrappers.  You will find my Spicy Chocolate Wonton Pillows in the second half of this post. 

Blog checking:   The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen.  The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

For my phở to be as authentic as possible, I made the stock from scratch.  I followed the instructions on lovely Jaden’s awesome website for homemade chicken stock.   Click on the link to see her tips on how to get a clear and tasty broth. 

Charred onions and ginger (not shown) add depth to the soup

The chicken bones are split to expose the flavorful marrow for maximum flavor

Toasting the spices makes them very fragrant and intense:  star anise, whole coriander seed and whole cloves

Colorful accompaniments

Phở  Gà  - phở with chicken from Jaden’s The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Makes 4 servings

2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or Jaden’s homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce (available in the Asian section of most grocery stores).  Fish sauce is an essential component of Phở.  Soy sauce is not a good substitute.  I added about 1/2 cup extra fish sauce to my phở.

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

 

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice (I used red jalapenos)

Heat a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.  Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.

In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.  Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.  Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.

Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.  Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.  Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients. 

The second part of the challenge was to produce a chocolate dessert using wontons.  My creation, using Vietnamese spices in the chocolate filling, is light and flavorful and delicious with coconut ice cream. 

Spicy Chocolate Wonton Pillows
Makes 12 wontons

1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
1 cup heavy cream
1 star anise
2 cloves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1 cup plus 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided use (I like Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips)
24 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel) high-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil) confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling
coconut ice cream

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.  Set aside.

On medium heat, bring cream to a boil in a small pot.  Remove from heat and add star anise, cloves and red pepper flakes.  Set aside for at least 30 minutes.  Sieve cream into another pot and discard spices.  Add sugar if you want a sweeter filling.  Reheat mixture until hot.  Remove from heat and add 1 cup chocolate chips.  Allow chocolate chips to melt and then stir until mixture is smooth.  Cool completely.   Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Lay a wonton wrapper on a clean, dry surface.   Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash on the edge of all four sides.  Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of chocolate mixture in the middle of the wonton.  Carefully cover with another wrapper and press the edges firmly to adhere, allowing the excess air inside to escape. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.  Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate.  Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.

In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil.  Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons.  Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel.  Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve with a scoop of coconut ice cream.

 Prijatno!

Mastering puff pastry and vols-au-vent

Kitchens should be getting cooler in the northern hemisphere…says Steph innocently from her home in Sydney.  No such cooling took place in good old Texas in September, where temperatures were still reaching the 90’s and when I was supposed to post this Daring Bakers challenge.

I’ve baked with lots of purchased puff pastry in the past (“Mom, can you make pastries for breakfast today?”) but I have never taken the time to make it from scratch.  Now I remember why!  If you live in Texas, my friends, it’s an all-day process during the month of September!  We’re still struggling to keep our homes cool, so the conditions are not exactly conducive to a process that requires keeping the butter solid cold while you perform a series of turns which creates the flakiness of the dough.  Roll, fold, turn, chill and wait; roll, fold, turn, chill and wait again; roll… and so it went all day long.  The key to successful puff pastry is to keep the butter from playing hookie on your counter instead of being obediently enveloped in the dough while you’re rolling it.  A cool marble countertop cool to look at and cool to the touch would be sooo perfect for this project…note to self –  make sure you get at least one marble countertop for making pastries when you redo the kitchen!   

I’m not a master yet when it comes to making puff pastry, but it was good enough to produce the vols-au-vent (literally “windblown” for its airiness), pictured above.  Vols-au-vent are typically served hot and are filled with a creamy savory filling.  I filled them with a chilled fresh Crab Salad –  who wants to heat up the stove in 90 degree weather?  

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.  Thanks Steph for organizing the challenge and thanks to Lis and Ivonne for rocking the Daring Bakers every month with their cool challenges!

…

Vols Au Vent:
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough.  If you are interested in making your own puff pastry and/or vols-au-vent, please click here to see the recipe and a detailed explanation.  Also included are helpful instructional videos.  The selected instructions below describe my pictures only.

Place the block of cold butter (the beurrage) in the middle of the dough (the détrempe) and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely.  This dough/butter packet is called a paton and is rolled and folded repeatedly (turning).

Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" …With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

The total number of turns needed is six…However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.   
Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size.  
Crab Salad  enough to fill about 12 vols-au-vent, but also good on a bed of lettuce!

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat (none of that rubbery imitation stuff, ok?)

¾ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 shallots or ½ red onion, finely diced

2 jalapenos, finely diced

zest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes

leaves of about 10 stems of cilantro, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 scallions, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Pick through the crabmeat to remove any scales.

Place red bell pepper, shallots or red onion, jalapenos, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Whisk to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add crabmeat and gently mix it in. Top with scallions and serve with salad greens or in vols-au-vents.

Prijatno!