Chef in the Market with David Anderson of Genoa

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting a demonstration at the PSU Portland Farmers' Market with Chef David Anderson of the newly-reopened Genoa and its sister restaurant Accanto, and we had a really great time. This weekend's weather has been a bit confusing, starting off cool and cloudy and slowly burning off to a gorgeous sunny day, so our audience started a bit on the small side. Once people around the market started smelling frying pancetta and caramelizing apricots, however, we had quite the crowd. David was great, sharing stories from Genoa's past and present and explaining how the menu has been "traveling through Italy" as the seasons change in Portland.

Every month, the restaurant features a five-course prix fixe menu highlighting the specialties of a single region in Italy, and David selects the region based on the pairing of authentic ingredients with what's available in the markets in Portland. This month the menu features Chef David's interpretation of dishes from Abruzzo and Molise, a region nestled at the border of Northern and Southern Italy in the highland foothills of the Apennine mountains. The mouthwatering offerings include:

• Scamorze allo spiedo: Creamy scamorza cheese (a stretched cow's milk cheese similar to mozzarella) skewered on rosemary stems, pan seared and served with marinated baby artichokes and pickled asparagus.
• Farfalline con pisselli e fave: small hand-made pasta butterflies tossed in a savory San Marzano tomato sauce with Viridian Farms peas, fava beans, lemon zest and fresh sheeps milk ricotta.
• Pasta alla chitarra con ragu d’agnello: fresh egg and semolina pasta cut on a traditional chitarra or “guitar” tossed with a ragu of Cattail Creek lamb and sweet peppers.
• Scapece di salmone alla vastese: salad of wild Oregon Sockeye salmon marinated in champagne vinegar, white verjus (a very acidic juice made from pressing unripe grapes), saffron and aromatic vegetables served over baby spinach, sweet basil and Yukon gold potatoes.
• Dentice e calamari in purgatorio: Line caught pacific rockfish and calamari sautéed in a spicy sauce of onions, white wine, tomatoes and dried chiles.
• Coniglio alla grigliata misti: Mixed grill of rabbit; tender loin skewered with house made rabbit sausage and kidney served with airy potato croquettes and caramelized baby fennel.
• Lombatine pepate e fiamma: Grilled Pepper and herb crusted strip loin steak flamed with strega liquor and served with a saffron risotto stuffed pepper and a raw zucchini and mint salad.

David told us that he loves featuring regional cuisines because it gives him a chance to learn about the ingredients, culture, and history of a region, as well as pick up new techniques and traditional combinations. It's great to know that even Portland's top chefs continue to learn about food and regional cuisine long after they've established themselves as knowledgeable and skilled in the kitchen. There's so much rich food tradition out there that it'd be impossible to know everything before you begin - so get out there and start some hands-on learning. You're in good company.

Start your culinary tour of Italy via Oregon's farm-fresh bounty with what may be the perfect summer salad: Crispy pancetta cubes, sweet and tart apricots with a perfect sear in butter and honey, peppery arugula and fresh basil leaves, and a sprinkling of the Oregon favorite, Marionberries, and fresh, creamy ricotta cheese. Chef David provides a step-by-step guide for making this delicious dish, which would make a great summer meal on its own, or serve as the starter for your next five-course supper party extravaganza. Eat well, or perhaps more appropriately, buon appetito!

Caramelized Apricot Salad with Arugula, Basil, Pancetta, Marionberries, and Fresh Ricotta
Recipe courtesy of Chef David Anderson of Genoa and Accanto, 2010
Serves six as a starter or four as a light meal

For the vinaigrette:
1 pound pancetta, cut into lardoons (bite sized chunks)
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar, preferably 12 year
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Place the pancetta and the olive oil in a small sauté pan and slowly bring up the heat to render out the fat. Leave over a low flame until the pancetta starts to color.
2. Drain the pancetta reserving the fat into a separate bowl. Keep the pancetta lardoons warm or at room temperature.
3. Put the pan back over the heat and add the shallots. Sweat for a few minutes until soft then deglaze with the balsamic vinegar.
4. Whisk in the reserved fat and taste for seasoning.

For the apricots:
6 apricots, ripe but firm, cut in half vertically and pitted
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat butter slowly in a wide sauté pan. As soon as butter foam subsides add the aprictos cut side down.
2. Raise the heat and lightly caramelize the apricots. Add the honey and toss well. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
3. Cut into wedges and taste for seasoning.

For the salad:
3 bunches of fresh arugula, washed and stemmed
1 bunch of basil, stemmed, leaves roughly torn
1/4 pound fresh ricotta, crumbled
Reserved pancetta cubes
Marionberries
Apricots
Vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl toss the apricots, arugula, and basil with enough of the vinaigrette to coat. Taste for seasoning and garnish with pancetta, berries, and ricotta.

Tuna and Asparagus Salad with Mint

I'm often asked how I find time to prepare all of my meals while being a full-time student - not to mention the whole laundry-list of things with which I fill my day. The answer is, I'm kind of boring. Now, before I set myself up as a total square, let me clarify - my meals during the week (especially busy school weeks like this one) are extremely routine.

My secrets to fast, fresh eating are pretty much the same as every cook on the Food Network claiming to save you time. There's planning ahead, using whole, fresh ingredients, and throwing them all in a Tupperware container with apple cider vinegar and shaking the hell out of it. Ok, well, maybe that one is uniquely mine, but let me tell you, it works.

I steamed a big handful of asparagus (in a pan on the stove - you don't need a special asparagus cooker) - chopped it up with a cucumber. I had a can of tuna in oil, so I didn't need to add olive oil to my "dressing", and put the veggies and the fish in a Tupperware container (I wasn't lying - I do this at least twice a day) with some salt and apple cider vinegar. A few shakes, then the whole shebang goes over a bed of lettuce with some chopped fresh mint on top. Seriously. That's it. So good, so fresh, so easy.

This dish is a perfect example of my eating habits - a bed of lettuce, whatever veggies I have in the fridge (which I chop, steam, or roast), a protein source (usually beans, fish, or chicken that I've already cooked), and some oil, salt, and vinegar. A bit heartier than your typical dinner salad, this one-plate approach is a great way to use up veggies, get your protein and fats, and save a bunch of time cooking a full meal. I know I'm reinventing the wheel - Oooh, a salad for dinner, how creative - but the thing that makes this real eating is quantity and quality. Plus, I think adding fresh herbs to any dish makes it feel a little less like you're eating on the run.

This might be easiest for me because I think there are very few veggies (or fruits, for that matter) that don't go well together, and that everything tastes delicious in apple cider vinegar. That's it, full disclosure, that's how I eat in my "real life" when things get hectic. If I'm on the run, everything just stays in the tupperware (with lettuce) until lunch time.

Now, if I haven't run the point home, I'm SO BUSY THIS WEEK, so that's all for now. Eat well!

Spring Roots with Ramp Pecan Pesto and Feta

If and when I have a restaurant of my own, it will be the type with a prix fixe menu of whatever-I-feel-like-making from the ingredients in season, hopefully from my own farm. Oh, and it will feature this recipe. Making the most of spring vegetables - Garlicky Ramps, Fingerling Potatoes, Spring Onions, Heirloom Carrots, and huge White Turnips - this dish is simultaneously decadent, healthy, and good for the earth, the local community, and your wallet. How can you beat that?

I roughly chopped a few fingerlings, spring onion bulbs, turnips, big orange and purple heirloom carrots, and tossed them with a bit of olive oil and salt. I threw these in a 425 degree oven until they smelled good and were toasty golden. I chopped and sauteed the tops of the spring onions - the green parts - and a big handful of ramps in some olive oil. When they got soft, I added a few splashes of dry sherry. This mix went into the food processor with some Parmesan cheese, garlic, toasted pecans, salt, pepper, and more olive oil. This is SO GOOD, I could eat it on EVERYTHING. Yes. Everything.

When the roots were done, I topped them with the pesto and some good crumbled feta. A sprinkling of fresh chopped oregano from my garden and it was dinner time. There's no exact recipe here - and substitution is the name of the game. Use what you can find in your area or what you have in your fridge. Add your favorite herbs, play around with the roots, change up the cheeses, and use whatever toasted nuts you have.

Eating consciously is about enjoying locally grown and raised products in season, and meals like this prove how that never has to mean deprivation. Eat well, and keep your fingers crossed for my future restaurant. Blog readers get a discount.

A girl can dream.

Mushroom Root Vegetable Pie with Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits

I'm not going to lie. Blogging about local, sustainable foods is not as easy in the winter. Everything seems to be the same color.

Don't get me wrong, I still love root vegetables, winter squash, hearty greens, and fresh baked goods as much as the next guy, but I've found myself glancing through old blog photos, dominated by bright shades of green, red, orange, purple... And to think the first farmers market is still a few months off, it's hard not to be a bit less than enchanted by the offerings of these darker, browner months.

I know eating like this through winter will make the spring harvest that much better, and there is something incredibly satisfying about casserole, soup, and roasted vegetables.

That being said, one of the best things about dishes like this root vegetable and mushroom casserole, adapted from this month's Bon Appetit magazine, is that they make life a little easier after I realized asparagus season is still months away.

Luckily, Portland has been getting good doses of winter sun, and I can still find local supplies, from cheese to apples to mushrooms, at a few local vendors. We'll make it, and maybe I'll be a bit more diligent about freezing and preserving the bumper crops this summer.

Eat well, stay warm, and keep your spirits up!

Root Vegetable and Mushroom Pie with Cheddar Rosemary Biscuit Topping
8 to 10 Servings
Adapted from Jeanne Thiel Kelley's recipe
Bon Appetit, March 2009

Ingredients
Filling
6 cups homemade vegetable or chicken broth
3 large carrots, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 large celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large parsnips, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 oz shitake mushrooms, halved
2 portobello mushroom caps
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 cups chopped onions
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons dry Sherry or red wine

BISCUITS
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/3 cups (or more) chilled buttermilk

PREPARATION
FILLING
Bring broth boil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and next 5 ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; reserve vegetables and broth.
Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic and rosemary; stir 2 minutes. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in reserved broth, then cream and Sherry. Cook until sauce is thick and reduced to 4 cups, whisking often, about 8 minutes. Mix in mushrooms and reserved vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to buttered 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake filling, covered, until bubbling, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare biscuits.
BISCUITS
Stir first 4 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in cheese. Gradually add 1 1/3 cups buttermilk, tossing with fork until dough is evenly moistened and adding more buttermilk by tablespoonfuls if dry.
Drop biscuit dough atop hot filling by heaping tablespoonfuls; sprinkle with pepper. Bake uncovered until tester inserted into center of biscuits comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Ginger-Stick Curry

Leave it to Lynne Rossetto Kasper to figure out what my stir-fries have been missing. I've been cooking my way through The Splendid Table's new cookbook, How to Eat Supper, and there has been no shortage of epiphanies and inspiration. I'm always looking for more things to do with sweet potatoes (she calls them yams) because I find myself buying more every time I go to the store. They are just so comforting, healthy, and they last forever. Sweet potato fries are a regular event at my house, but they never seem to fully explore the potential of the ingredient.

In this recipe, the fantastic Lynne treats the humble sweet potato the way it should be treated - with tons of flavor and complexity. Don't get me wrong, I find myself dreaming of a simple baked potato with butter and brown sugar a bit more than I'd like to admit, but all too often the tuber is tossed to the side. Here, it's the star.



She calls it a curry, which I suppose it might be and I'm just not up on the full range of uses of the word, but the strongest flavors are ginger, jalepeño, basil, and lime. Yum. The key here is the ginger - the recipe calls for ginger "peeled and sliced into paper-thin matchsticks". Luckily, I have a good knife, but I see how it might be a challenge.

Lynne says:

Cutting the ginger into paper-thin matchsticks may seem fussy, but there is method to what seems to be madness. That shape changes how you taste the ginger in this dish. Crushed or chopped ginger would taste different - an interesting thing to remember when you see very specific instructions like these in Chinese recipes. There's always a reason.

I made this dish twice, once as a simple stir fry and another to make lettuce wraps, where I pared it with fresh sliced cucumber, cashews, and yogurt in fresh butter lettuce leaves. Sadly, the book is due back to the library today, and the hold list is miles long, so I can't renew. My birthday's tomorrow, maybe I'll get my own copy. Hint hint.



Eat well!

Sweet Yams in Ginger-Stick Curry

Yams
4 quarts salted water
2 large Garnet or Jewel yams (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-rounds.

Curry
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into paper-thin matchsticks
4 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
1 jalepeño, sliced very thin
2 whole scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 large shallots, sliced thin
Salt and Pepper
1/2 light-packed cup fresh basil leaves, course chopped
Juice of 1 lime

1. Bring water to boil.
2. Once water is bubbling fiercely, drop in the yams and cook them at a hard bubble for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a colander and turn into a serving dish. Set the pot back on the stove.
3. Generously film the pot with oil. Set it over medium-high heat and add the ginger, garlic, jalepeño, scallions, shallots, and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper. Saute for two minutes, stirring often. Then cover the pot tightly, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the ginger has softened.
4. Stir in the basil and cook, uncovered, for no more than 30 seconds. Spoon curry over yams, and squeeze lime juice over the finished dish.

By Request: Whole-wheat Lemonbasil Bread

A few weeks ago, Angie from Three Sisters Organic Farm and Are We There Yet? asked me if I had a recipe for lemon basil bread that I could share. At the time I didn't, but I've been known to rise to the occasion for a food request (ah, that angel food "castle cake" - tip: don't try to frost an angel food cake. Really, try to avoid it. Especially at midnight the night before a nine year old's birthday party).

Part of my insistence on following through with Bread Tuesday on one of the hottest days of the year was experimenting with a bread recipe for Angie, adapted from the amazing Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible. I only have one cookbook dedicated exclusively to bread baking, but, at this point, it has served me well enough to keep it that way. I used her recipe for Basil Bread, and substituted lemon basil and pine nuts (which are optional, but give a great buttery nut crunch), as well as a good amount of lemon zest. The result was a hearty, flavorful, savory bread... so good... hey, will you wait a second while I go grab some right now? Thanks.

...

Ok, I'm back. (note: this bread really wants to be toasted and dressed in salted butter. I only have unsalted at the moment, and the first bite was a bit uninspiring. Sprinkled a bit of sea salt and WHAM, there's the lemon basil flavor and pine nutty goodness. So salt it, friends.)

Aw, a dough heart.

This dough requires a bit of kneading, and mine was on the sticky side. One of these days I'm going to have to cowboy up and buy a stand mixer. The amount of time I spend whisking and kneading everything by hand really adds up. Anybody have an old one you're not using? I'll be happy to take it off your hands.

Enjoy this bread, it would go really well with a tomato based pasta sauce - basil, tomato, and pine nuts... a holy trinity indeed.

Eat well, and stay cool!

Whole-Wheat Lemon Basil Bread
Adapted from Beth Hensperger's The Bread Bible
Makes two 9-by-5 loaves

1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°F)
1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar

1 cup warm buttermilk (105° to 115°F)
1 cup warm water (105°to 115°F)
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 to 5-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup minced fresh lemon basiI
1/2 cup pine nuts, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dried basil

1. Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl using a whisk, combine the buttermilk and water. Stir in the honey and melted butter. Place 2 cups flour, the basil, zest, nuts, and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk and the yeast mixtures and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, with a wooden spoon until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft, slightly sticky, and very pliable, about 5 minutes, dusting with the flour only 1 tablespoon at a time as needed.
4. Put the dough in a greased deep bowl. Turn the dough once to grease the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Don't let this dough rise more than double in volume. Gently deflate the dough and let it rise again, if you have time. It will take only half the time to rise the second time.
5. Gently deflate the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Grease two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a loaf and put in the pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.
6. Brush the loaves with the olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and dried basil.
7. Twenty minutes before baking preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pans on the rack in the center of the oven and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Transfer the loaves immediately to a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

The Real Rainbow Connection

Sometimes a person simply needs to whip up a recipe for the sole purpose of combining all of their favorite foods on one plate. For me, this is easiest when summer is in full swing, the eggplants are big but still have their youthful purple blush, the heirloom tomatoes are Rubenesque beauties, coyly flaunting their curves in languid piles, and every herb imaginable is stacked high, fresh picked from the farm down the road. You can't walk into a market without being stopped in your tracks by some ridiculously beautiful vegetable, sitting there looking like it's been polished by hand, ready for its close-up. Food like this begs to be eaten as simply as possible, tying up a few flavors and textures into a dish that lets the ingredients sing for themselves.

I thought I'd take advantage of the culinary bounty my parents sent to me yesterday by making a fresh summer vegetable stack, with a cabernet sauvignon honey-mustard vinaigrette, goat cheese, pine nuts, and cilantro. I sliced the eggplant thinly, brushed both sides with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and broiled them for five minutes.

I sliced the tomato into juicy rounds, and made a small salad of Mâche* leaves and cilantro tossed with a quick dressing of olive oil, cabernet vinegar, local raw honey, and whole grain mustard. When the eggplant was done (check often - it can burn quickly!) I made stacks, alternating between layers of tomato, eggplant, and dressed greens. For a final touch, toasted pine nuts and goat cheese crumbles. A terrific, simple lunch, that looked as good as it tasted.

Good food doesn't have to be expensive, time consuming, or only for special occasions. I know in a few months, when Portland moves to her winter estate under a permanent rain cloud, I'll look back on this July and think of all the gorgeous fruits and vegetables that seem to be jumping into my hands and onto my plate. But that's what eating seasonally is all about, living it up in periods of bountiful harvest, and appreciating the "off season" for both the comfort of winter vegetables and also as a period of rest, a natural connection to the land's cycles of replenishment. We are so used to finding bananas in December and grapes from Costa Rica year round, and I'll be the first to admit I haven't completely broken the habit of reaching for whatever produce is cheapest - regardless of where it came from. But the truth is, when we connect with our environment, the natural bounty of the land of our communities, we thrive on a whole new level, and eating seasonally means the tomato at the Farmer's Market, or, better yet, the one from my back yard, is the cheapest. This year I'm trying to experience the changes of the seasons, the highs and lows of natural cycles, the feasts and famines that allow a balance to be found. Wish me luck, or, even better, join me!

Our bodies were made to eat this way, so live it up, and Eat Well.

*Mâche is a delicate, sweet salad green (also known as lamb's lettuce or corn salad) that is known for its round leaves and rosette-shaped bunches. I like that the leaves are curved and hold dressing really well! It has a great nutty flavor, and is gaining popularity in the States. Try it!

This is a submission to Summer Produce Recipes! one of Joelen's Culinary Adventures. Check her out!

Summerthyme

There are times when I find myself struck stupid in awe of culinary ingenuity. I'm not talking postmodern plating techniques or posh "deconstruction" of familiar foods (Caesar salad broken down to an olive, a curl of Parmesan, and an anchovy on a single leaf of romaine? That's not creative, that's just mean.) I'm talking about one of those "Why didn't I think of that!" moments, when new culinary opportunities throw themselves at you like a level 2 tropical storm.

Today, my friends, was such a time. I was reading Gastronomica at a local bookstore coffee shop, and had ordered what I thought was a simple iced tea.

Simple, it was not. Delicious and enlightening, you bet your buttons.

Queen of Sheba Thyme Iced Tea. Yes, that's right, savory herbs in a slightly sweet, surprisingly refreshing summer drink. Amber in color, without a trace of bitterness. I could taste hints of jasmine and mint, but the thyme was the star, uninhibitedly screaming to my taste buds, "You think I'm just for roasting chicken and bouquet garni? Think again."



I was blown away from the first sip to the last, each mouthful cropping up more ideas for the culinary herbs in my garden. From the obvious (who doesn't love a big mug of peppermint tea?) to the skeptical (oregano? Do I dare?), I sat grinning like a child on her birthday, clutching the cool glass and tossing around herbal combinations.

How could I resist the inevitable incarnation...

Lemon Basil Iced Tea
1 handful fresh Lemon Basil (or your favorite)
1 Tbs Dried Basil
2 c. Boiling Water
1 tsp local honey or agave nectar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Place dried basil in tea infuser or non-bleached tea bag. Pour boiling water into large bowl with fresh basil and infuser.
Steep 5 minutes and strain. Stir in honey while tea is hot (it won't dissolve well in cold tea), and let chill in fridge for an hour.
Serve over ice with fresh basil and fresh squeezed lemon juice.