Category Archives: Recipes

Fog in the East Bay

fog in el cerrito CA in november 2008

It was a foggy evening.  Fog is no stranger to the East Bay, but I can’t remember when I’ve seen such thick fog meandering around from bay to hills.  When Steve walked Berry, they had a good time with it because Berry enjoys anything that involves colder weather. 

fog in el cerrito california november 2008

Check out the photos I took outside the house.  Although you lose something in the translation with a photograph, they at least give you an idea of how fog looks in these parts.  When you’re in it, it’s a little like pea soup, and sometimes it moves past you in moist clouds. 

fog in el cerrito california in november 2008

 This was, however, a perfect evening for congee, aka jook, so it was handy that I decarcassed my freezer in the morning to make way for Thanksgiving leftovers.  I have a congee recipe here, so I will only remind you again to freeze all your poultry bones — raw and cooked — and when you have enough saved up you can make this delicious, warming rice porridge.  I wish I had a photo of Berry in the fog; he looks like such a criminal when it wafts around him.

bowl of congee or jook

Snacking taters

Little red potatoes steamed with dip

Small red potatoes make a great snack.  Steam them for about 5 minutes, allow to cool, and serve with a dipping sauce.  Treat them gently so you don’t tear the skins – they’re prettier for service that way.  A simple dip is easy to make:  toss a small jar of fire-roasted red peppers, a couple of tablespoons of good mayo, 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, the juice of one lemon and some salt and pepper into your food processor.  Process with the blade until the mass is smooth but not runny.  They love this at my place, particularity during the summer, when I make a variety of dips.  Try to remember that Greek-style yogurt is your friend when it comes to throwing together dipping sauces on the fly.  If nothing else, you can add fresh garlic, lemon, salt and pepper to produce a serviceable dip, but use a yogurt with at least 2% fat or you’ll have no mouthfeel.

Salmon mousse rolls

Salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls

Salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls

I had them in a frenzy over salmon mousse and scallop spring rolls.  I took a recipe from chef Ming Tsai and modified it over time.  He does a salmon mousse (Tea Spiced Smoked Salmon Mousse) that contains crushed lapsong souchong tea leaves and chipotle powder.  Frankly, I think the recipe is better without both, because they overpower the delicacy of the mousse.  I leave out the five spice power, as well, but that’s just me.  Here is a simplified version of the recipe:  Process in your food processor with the large blade until barely chunky:  1 pound of smoked salmon (lox), 1 minced shallot, the juice of one lemon, 1 cup heavy cream and a couple of crank’s worth of black pepper.  Add 1 cup of heavy cream (this makes a total of 2 cups of heavy cream) and process until very smooth.  Transfer mass to some kind of covered container and pop in the fridge for a couple of hours.  Eat as-is with toast points, or use as a filling, with scallops, for spring rolls.  To make the spring rolls, you need: 1 and 1/4 pounds of fresh sea scallops, 12 rice paper wrappers and one batch of salmon mousse as above, give or take.  The dried rice paper wrappers look like round parchment circles and are available in Asian markets.  Soften them in warm water for a couple of minutes and then layer them in damp-to-wet paper towels.  Slice the scallops into thirds so you have numerous thick, circular scallop pieces .  Do not cut them so you end up with non-circles!  Lay out a wrapper on a cutting board, being careful not to tear it.  Smear about 1/24 of the mousse in the middle in a line about 3″ long, keeping well away from the edges.  Line scallop slices on top so you have enough for the other 11 wrappers.  Top scallop slices with another 1/24th of the mousse.  Roll up like a tight burrito, folding both sides in first and then rolling toward yourself.  They’ll wind up flat no matter how good you are at this, but you want them as tight as you can get them.  Place on a flat surface, folded side down.  Make the other 11 spring rolls.  In a large, non-stick pan of some kind, heat about 1/4 cup or so of Canola oil.  When the oil is hot, but not burning hot, lay in as many of the spring rolls as you can – folded side down – without crowding.  Reduce the flame to low and let them brown.  Turn over gently with a spatula and allow to brown on side two.  Do not overcook!  Do not overcook! Move to a paper towel base to drain.  Repeat until they are all done.  I serve these spring rolls by slicing in half at an angle with a sharp knife, and garnish with some chopped chives or green onion.  They are good; the mousse becomes fluffy when cooked.

salmon mousse and scaollop spring rolls in saute pan

Grammy Elaine and NY strips

Warm potato salad in stainless steel bowl

Gramma Elaine is here so we grilled New York strips.  My Mom’s friend, Rita, joined in, as well as Jon, who is spending the weekend, so it was a hoot.  Accompanied by seared fig halves with walnut vinaigrette and warm potato salad a la Chef Erwin Pirolt (one of my cooking school instructors and arguably the most ornery) were the steaks grilled rare by Renate, Sr.  The backyard is a problem, though, in that we just cannot block the sun.  This is a by-product of having a corner house without a real backyard.  We have a couple of market umbrellas rigged up, but to no avail.  I love the space this house has to offer, but I miss my beautiful landscaping at the old Albany house!  We would have been able to eat this meal there in style. 

searing halved  figs in skillet

Searing halved figs in skillet

To make the seared figs, just buy Mission figs, gently wash and dry, cut lengthwise and sear in a hot non-stick pan until browned, but not mushy.  Place them on a platter, cut side up.  Prepare a vinaigrette with 1/3 part orange juice, 2/3 part walnut oil, a splash of lemon juice, a dash each of ground rosemary and onion powder and salt and pepper.  Pour over figs.  Shave a bit of hard Italian cheese, like Asiago, on top, if you like.  Note that I include here photos of the warm potato salad in its first phase of construction, and when it has had time to marinate.  If I were you, I would allow it to do the latter.  By the by, sorry about the large quantities in the recipe, but if you are able to divide, you’ll be fine.  I also show the figs in preparation for those who have not worked with figs in the past.

Renate senior and jon at BBQ in summer of 2008

Corn muffins

corn muffins on two plates side by side

Corn muffins made today.  That box of Albers yellow cornmeal was staring me in the face so I put together the recipe on the box, adding twice the quantity of sugar called for.  I made two batches — one for the heavy, dark, non-stick muffin pan and the other for the blue silicone pan.  The heavy pan browned better, but both versions were fine.  These silicone pans (even the smooth ones) stick when you make cornbread or pound cake-type recipes, I don’t care what anyone says.  I always rub a little oil in them first.  The last time I made cupcakes in those individual, ridged silicone cupcake pans, fuggedaboutit — they really stuck and were a mess to clean up.  Berry took it upon himself to oversee the corn muffin process and then kept an eye on them, as you can see in the photo.

Find the dog watching corn muffins being made

Find the dog watching corn muffins being made