Tag: winter salad

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mussels and clams with fennel

Jordan and I enjoyed a romantic night in last Saturday. We had high hopes to cook something new and elaborate with lots of steps, but when we got to the store we decided instead on mussels and clams. We cooked them simply in a base of vegetable broth, tomato, fennel and garlic and ate them with a loaf of crusty Acme sourdough.

The best part about this meal (other than the fact that it is totally delicious) is that it only takes about 30 minutes to prepare, but looks much more impressive.

Mussels and Clams with Fennel, Tomato and Green Garlic

1 lb mussels, rinsed
1/2 lb clams, rinsed
Vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 8 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 medium bulb of fennel, sliced
2 stalks green garlic, sliced
Salt, pepper, chili flake

Slice the green garlic and fennel. Heat a little olive in sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and fennel. Saute for a few minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and the sauce, a little salt, pepper and a small pinch of chili flake. Saute for a few minutes and add the white wine and enough broth for a saucy consistency. Toss the shellfish in and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 – 8 minutes. They are done when they open up. Pour into a dish, garnish with parsley or fennel fronds, squeeze a little lemon over the top and enjoy with hunks of crusty bread.

We also made a salad with arrugula, apple and fennel fronds to balance out the meal. It was delightful, quick and only made one pot dirty … leaving me plenty of time and dishes to make cinnamon rolls from scratch.

-Emily

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a dinner party with foraged foods

Last Saturday, Jordan and I hosted a dinner party. And, forgive my lack of modesty, I think we hit it out of the park. The food was wonderful, the company was fantastic, and not a single kitchen crisis befell us.

The Menu

Winter salad with shaved fennel, apple, radish, foraged* miner’s lettuce and foraged wild radish

Pork belly** with pomegranate molasses

Paella, from our recipe posted in Paella Per Se

Green beans

And for dessert …

Passionfruit*** mousse

*A note on foraging: Jordan and I are clearly interested in local foods and we’ve been talking about foraging our own wild foods for quite a while. While it sort of began as a distant possibility and kind of a joke, last week we went to a free lecture about the SF food scene at the library and one of the panelists Iso Rabins of ForageSF is a San Fran forager. Iso inspired us to get out and forage. And so, last Saturday, we did!

**Our pork belly was purchased from the Fatted Calf, a specialty meats and charcuterie shop near our place. The best part: we saw the butchering of the pig where our pork belly came from! More about the Fatted Calf to follow.

*** I am obsessed with passionfruit. Every since I went to Argentina and first tasted the maracuya helado, I was hooked. Sadly, passionfruit isn’t the easiest to track down here in the US. BUT! I have an awesome boyfriend who sympathizes with my obsession and somehow finds secret suppliers of frozen passionfruit puree in the Mission! Yay!

Now a few recipes …

Pork Belly with Pomegranante Molasses, click here

Passionfruit Mousse or Mousse de Maracuya, click here


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we don’t just eat pork and desserts

Jordan loves pork and desserts. I love desserts and pork. Still, most nights we eat reasonably healthy (those just aren’t always the most fun to blog about). Last night, we ate great! (And local! And balanced! And pretty darn healthy!) It was awesome.

The menu:

Pan-seared sturgeon – salt and pepper, sear briefly on each side, rest, add a squirt of lemon

Red rice – 2 parts rice to 3 parts water, cook covered for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes

Sauteed green cabbage – toast some pistachios, sauté the cabbage for 3 – 4 minutes, add a little shallot, add chicken stock, cook until evaporated 4 – 5 minutes more , stir in nuts

Green salad with pesto and cara cara oranges – wash greens (and well when you get them from your CSA box and they are full of grit), supreme oranges, top with pesto (carrot tops, pistachios, orange zest, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil all mushed together in a mortar and pestle or blender)

I would recommend all the items this menu. It was delightful and satisfying. I especially loved the pesto!

-Emily

P.S. It couldn’t be all healthy, so there’s a little lemon, brown butter sauce on the fish.  I simply browned about a tablespoon of butter, added some lemon zest and salt and spooned a little over the fish.

-Jordan