Minted Zucchini Tagliatelle with Cucumbers and Lemon

August 31, 2012 Susan Holding

I love ribbon. Satin, paper, wired, grosgrain. It doesn't matter the kind. In my pastry kitchen I have spools and spools on a dowel to tie around cake boxes. Each ribbon is "frenched" to add the little notch at the end. Love it. Add tissue paper and a nice sticker and I'm all yours. When I read the title to the recipe, I honestly thought that we were going to make a pasta dish. Oh contraire! The tagliatelle are ribbons of zucchini. It was going to be just plain fun to make. Fun and really pretty. Plus, it's fresh, healthy and so lovely! Poor zucchini. It gets mispelled, and is one of the vegetables we're happy to see... for awhile. Then they end up in the office breakroom in a pile looking for good homes. Sometimes they even end up on your doorstep! With the help of a mandolin, the zucchini in this recipe is sliced into gorgeous ribbons. With the addition of simple lemon viniagrette, cucumbers, mint and lemon the ribbons become a beautiful salad. This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe makes the zucchini the star. No mock apple pie, bread, pizza, just simple pretty zucchini.

I feel badly that I can't post the Around My French Table recipes on Fridays. If you've been following my blogs each Friday, you might want to take the plunge and buy the book - or check it out from the library, if you don't already have it. It's going to be a classic and I promise you won't be disappointed. Good news. I'll be making it up to you next Tuesday. It's a surprise!

When we were in San Francisco, in Chinatown, a shop keeper gave Gary a demo of some super sharp and cool garnishing tools. He bought three and has been eager to give them a try. Once I finished with my recipe he asked if he could use the left over pieces. A few minutes later he brought me the pretty carvings to garnish my plates. So pretty!

The best tool for making the ribbons is a mandolin. It's a razor sharp blade to pass the vegetables over. I have great respect for mandolins. Injuries from them are deep, fast and almost always require a visit to the ER. They may perfect for the ribbon making, but only with the guard and slow careful movements. I'll tangle with the box grater, but never the mandolin. I got it out, was extra careful, and look at how great the zucchini turned out!

Embrace the gifts of zucchini, and enjoy the bounty of the summer harvest!

Stay tuned for a great dessert next week!

Cafe Style Grated Carrot Salad

August 17, 2012 Susan Holding

Think about your best friends and the first time you met them. Was it at work? At school? On a bus? I have a dear friend, Kim. For those who have heard me speak of her, you may think her name is Myfriendkim. She lives in Michigan which is way too far away. We met the very first day of pastry school, in Paris. Everyone was nervous and waiting for orientation to begin. There were about seven Japanese young women, a Turkish woman, another from Brazil plus a few Americans. As we waited, we made our hesitant introductions to one another. When it came to her turn, she told the group. "I'm a mom and I want to learn how to bake. I've stayed at home, planned vacations, and I love to eat bon-bons". She was honest, sweet and had a killer sense of humor. I had to get to know her.

At the end of the morning after we had been assigned our uniforms and lockers, as we chatted, she asked if was in Paris alone. I told her, yes, and that was staying in a hotel about a 15 minute walk away. She told me that she had been to Paris several times and knew it well. We went back to class and as we were packing up for the day, Kim invited me to join her for dinner. She hates to eat alone. Little did she know that I had been glued to my hotel room for the past four days. I had terrible jet lag, a constant stomach ache and was still shaking off the fake taxi that had scammed me out of most of my cash. I eagerly accepted and we walked back from school to my hotel a few blocks away to change clothes & make a quick call home, then to hers and then to dinner. She had a knowledge of Paris that was amazing. We were going out to eat... at night... I had made a friend!

Where does the Carrot Salad fit in to this story you ask? Kim picked out the perfect restaurtant. Chartier. It's grand, yet casual. The waiters were bustling about dressed in black vests, white shirts and floor length aprons. I was awe struck. We talked and laughed about our husbands, dogs, families and our love of food. As we ate, she told me the history of Chartier. It was a workingmen's lunch room. The walls are lined with small drawers where they kept their napkins and forks. We ordered Carrot Salad as a side for our Steak au Poivre while we laughed and talked even more. After some much needed nourishment, the jet lag and stomach ache were gone and I was thrilled to be in Paris.

I've never forget that meal, or how I meant Kim.

This week's French Friday's with Dorie recipe is simple. Grate the carrots, add a quick dijon dressing/vinaigrette then toss with a few raisins. Our CSA box had a big bag of carrots last week. Orange, purple and yellow. They were a little tough to grate, and yes, I did knick a knuckle - shoot! The carrots were more like chips than grates. The salad is fresh, bright and a great treat for any lunch or supper.

Warm Grilled Scallop, Nectarine and Corn Salad

August 15, 2012 Susan Holding

It's been such a great month so far. We've traveled to fun places and just hosted a wedding reception. It was a belated reception! The sweet couple got married last summer in the Rockies, then celebrated with friends here in Wisconsin this summer. While I was supposed to be writing and posting the French Friday's With Dorie post, I was elbow deep in decorating, baking, fluffing pillows, and turning our yard into a summer party wonderland. Before I tell you about the salad, I have to get you a peek at the party. With the help of my friends and florists extraordinaire, Jennifer and Scott, we clustered BIG grapevine balls and hung them from the tent ceiling. Our friend, Paul, made a door frame which held an old door we found in our garage when we moved in. It was the perfect entryway for our guests.

So what does a pastry chef make for her step-daughter's weddding reception? PIE! Another friend, Diane and I made pie, pie, and more pie! It didn't take very long to make 17 pies. Cherry, Peach and Blueberry. I'll save crust and pie filling for another post...

Back to the salad... Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan is the source of this recipe. The scallop salad was a big hit as we were racing around running last minute errands. The scallops got to ride home on ice, and waited patiently for lunch time.

Instead of using fresh corn, I had some corn, still on the cob on the freezer. I let it defrost lightly and removed it from the cob. It was slightly soft, but nice and cold for the salad.

Instead of the grill, I heated my grill pan, and seared the nectarines, then wiped the pan, added some oil and seared the scallops. It went together SO quickly! A quick dressing for the corn salad and lunch was ready! I would have to say that the basil coulis preparation was one of the best parts. The fragrance and texture of the delicate garnish was amazing!

Here's to summer, good friends, sweet babies, families, and happy Marriages!

And P.S.... Happy 100th Birthday, Julia Chld!

Grilled Corn Salad

July 24, 2012 Susan Holding

What an exciting weekend! I'm back from San Francisco. I went for a class on food styling and tips on food photography. It was really fun and very interesting. Joy Wilson from Joy the Baker sand Tracy from Shutterbean were the teachers. They were full of ideas and great information. Now the trick is to put it to good use. Tracy and Joy prepared two recipes, and we got to style and shoot using our new props and tips. Here are some oat bars, and my best shot of the day.

It's been awhile since I was in San Francisco. What a gorgeous city! The hotel's driver/maintenance man invited Gary and I to the roof top to see the view on our last morning there. Amazing!

Here's my postcard to all of you!

Upon arrving home, I found our CSA box brimming with lots of fresh vegetables. I wanted to make something crunchy, tasty and cool. My version of a grilled corn salad - minus the grill.

The best part about this recipe is that you can use anything you like and leave out the things you don't like. I had little baby eggplants, zucchini, red onion, cherry tomatoes and fresh sweet corn.

To start, shuck the corn and carefully slice off the cob. Then,heat a grill pan or skillet and place the corn in a single layer ith just a little olive oil. I used about 2 1/2 cups of corn and about 2 tsp. oil. Let the pan get hot, really hot. The corn will sizzle and snap. Get it quick stir and your should see searing on the corn. Move to corn to a heat proof bowl. Add eggplant (I didn't peel mine), and zucchini to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes, just to heat through. Add these vegetables to the corn and toss.

Now for the fun part. Add other chopped vegetables, feta, black bean, cilantro/parsley... anything you like.

My salad included parsley, red onion, cilantro and a small piece of feta I had left over from another meal.

To finish the salad, mix in 1 T lime juice or vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.

You can eat the salad warm, or cover, chill and enjoylater. This salad is great with any grilled meat, or by itself for a light supper.

To print this recipe, click HERE

Grilled Corn Salad

2 1/2 cups corn (kernels)

1/2 -1 cup chopped zucchini

1 cup chopped eggplant

1 small red onion or scallions, chopped finely

1 can black beans (optional) rinsed

1/4 cup chopped parsley, cilantro or both

1/4 cup feta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup cherry tomoates, or 1 large tomato, chopped

1 T olive oil

1 T red or white wine vinegar (or a squeeze of 1/2 lime)

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

salt/pepper to taste

Shuck corn and remove from the cob. Heat a skillet or grill pan with 1-2 tsp olive oil. Add corn in a single layer and sear until light brown marks appear on some of the kernels. Remove from pan to bowl. Add zucchin and egglant to pan and saute for 3-4 minutes. Transfer vegetables to the bowl with the corn. Add the chopped onion, and black beans. Add remaining olive oi, vinegar and spices. Toss in tomato, feta and mix gently. Remember, you can add any other vegetables or spices to make it your own!

Happy Summer!