Lunch With Madame Mere...Mediterranean Tuna Salad On Roasted Red Peppers

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This weekend MM and I were on our own.  My daughter flew up north to visit friends and I got to take care of Mother, Madison, Lily and Coco.  Just us girls, by ourselves, with Lindaraxa to feed us.

Yesterday was a race against the clock to fertilize the azaleas and fumigate the roses before the storms came in the late afternoon.  It was unusually hot and humid and, by noon, after a final sweep of the garage,  I was ready for bed.  But there was lunch to prepare for my mother has no help during the weekend and she does look forward to her meals.  Usually my daughter pitches in, but this time I was flying solo.

I am telling you all this so you can appreciate how easy this recipe was to put together.  I had all the ingredients on hand, including half a big jar of Italian roasted red peppers.  I placed the salad on a plate  in the freezer and a French rose in a bucket full of ice while I went upstairs to take a shower. By the time we sat down it was so cold MM asked when I had made it.

What makes this salad different and Mediterranean are not only the roasted red peppers, but the addition of capers and scallions to an everyday tuna salad.  It may become the standard in this house when tomatoes are not available or out of season.

This recipe feeds four, which means we get to enjoy it for lunch again today!

Mediterranean Tuna Salad On Roasted Red Peppers
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 can white tuna, oil or water packed, drained
4 TB mayonnaise
2 celery stalks, peeled and finely chopped
4 hard boiled eggs
2 TB finely sliced scallions
1 to 2 TB drained capers
Black pepper to taste
Salt if needed

2 canned roasted red peppers, cut in half
Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Boil the eggs for 15 minutes and chill in an ice bath.  In a bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, celery, scallions and capers.  Add the black pepper and one boiled egg, chopped. Taste for salt.  You will find that you don't need any.

In a plate, open one red pepper half, add some tuna salad.  Sprinkle with parsley on top, if using, and decorate each plate with the rest of the eggs, sliced.

My Mother's Favorite...Swiss Chard Omelette

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I can't spot Swiss chard at the grocery store without picking some up for my mother.  To say she adores it is an understatement.  Her favorite way, an omelete.  My favorite way, a quiche.  She won.

I had asked the manager in the produce department to get me the regular Swiss chard instead of the red veined variety they usually have when in season.  I prefer it as the latter bleeds a bit over whatever I'm making and I like a clean green look.  An idiosyncrasy, I know, but things like that bother me,  As to the taste, there is no difference, so why not go with whatever makes you feel better.

Swiss chard is not only one of the most popular vegetables in the Mediterranean it is also one of the most nutritious, second only to spinach.  For more information on its health benefits and the best way to cook it go here.

There is no recipe per se for a Swiss Chard omelette.  Just make the omelette in whatever fashion you want but first melt some butter, add chopped onions, brown them, add the steamed or boiled Swiss chard, mix and let it cool.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs, figuring on 2 per person, add a little milk if you want, salt and pepper, and the cooled Swiss chard and onion mix, Stir in 1 tablespoon of gruyere or parmesan cheese.  Don't overdo the cheese as Swiss chard has a mild flavor and the cheese will overpower it.

Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the pan and when it is melted and browned a bit add the egg mix.  Proceed as you would for a regular omelette and fold once or twice over.

Don't be tempted to add more cheese on the top. You want to enjoy the flavor of the Swiss chard and the extra cheese will detract from it.

Enjoy.

Mommy And Me Crab Cakes

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This was one of the very first recipes I posted five years ago.  It is as good today as it was then.  The only difference is we are five years older and the price of crab meat has gone from $16 per pound to $21.  We now live together, we fight and we laugh and she still calls me Mommy. 

If you want a special yet easy recipe to make for your Mom, this is a good bet!

 Have a nice Mother's Day.

My favorite kitchen mate is my daughter, Christina. She will be great cook one of these days. Whenever we get together, we gravitate towards the kitchen; like this afternoon, when she decided to show off my crab cake recipe with a few additions of her own. The ingredients are the same, except she gives it a final dredge in Panko and fries them in sesame oil. I loved it...but what I love the most about my 36 year old daughter is that after all these years and in spite of her independence, she still calls me Mommy. (May 2009)

Ingredients

1 lb lump crab meat

2 TB red or white onion

1 Egg

2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2 TB Mayonnaise

1 tsp.lemon juice

1 TB mustard

1 TBS melted butter

1 tsp. Parsley Flakes

1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

Panko for dredging

Crisco or Sesame oil for frying

Combine all ingredients except for crab meat. Gently fold in crab meat. Shape into 8 cakes. Pass through Panko. Pat well. Fry in regular or sesame oil. Serve with tartar sauce.

Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

2-3 tsps. relish

Serves 4

Cook's Note: Make sure you get good crab meat, such as Alaska King crab in lump. Otherwise, you will have mediocre crab cakes and will blame the recipe. The quality of the crab meat is 90% of making good crab cakes. Serve with a salad and a dry white or rose for lunch.

All photos Lindaraxa

Winter Citrus Salad With Shrimp,Goat Cheese And Beets

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It seems everywhere I turn in the blogosphere, or in the world of printed media, there is yet another recipe for a citrus salad.  If it's January/February in the world of food, it is citrus.  Nothing else is as exciting as oranges, pomelos or grapefruit, or variations thereof.  No more soups...that is so January.   So here's Lindaraxa's take, and that's just because she found herself cleaning her refrigerator in the middle of a major ice storm, and a citrus salad in February is de rigeur.

I don't know about you, but I have this wonderful can opener, made by a German company, that opens a can and pretty much seal it at the same time.  Things stay fresher that way and, right now, I find myself with lots of sealed cans in the refrigerator that have to be dealt with... like mandarin oranges, Le Seur peas and beets.

It is freezing today, this is Georgia, and we have already two inches of snow on the ground where I live.  Nobody is going to work, and that includes my daughter.  Lunchtime is approaching and I want to make something special, for lunch, on a snowy day, for my daughter.   So here's killing two birds with one stone:

Citrus Salad With Shrimp, Goat Cheese And Beets

Lunch For Two

Ingredients:

1  large navel orange, mandarin or  tangelo
2 hard boiled eggs
6 steamed shrimp
8 black imported (kalamata) black olives, pitted

Vinaigrette

½ teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 heaping teaspoon freshly chopped fresh cilantro, or more

1 head, or more, Butter Lettuce
Thin slices of red onion
Pickled sliced red beets
1/2 cup goat cheese
thinly sliced red pepper
chick peas (optional)

Directions:

Trim off the ends of the orange, mandarin or tangelo. Peel them, then cut into quarter inch slices and put them in a mixing bowl. Add the olives and steamed shrimp.

To make the vinaigrette, place the garlic, vinegar and oil, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper in a small jar with a tight lid and shake well. Pour half the vinaigrette over the oranges, shrimp and olives and toss well.

In a big salad bowl, break the lettuce leaves in medium bites, add the red onion, beets, sliced red peppers and chick peas (if using) and toss well.  Add the shrimp, orange mix, the additional vinaigrette and toss again.  Correct for seasonings and dressing.  Sprinkle the goat cheese and the hard boiled eggs.

 Easily doubled or tripled. For a more formal lunch, add a hot soup to begin with and a crusty baguette.

Photos and recipe Lindaraxa

Let's Do Lunch In Cap Ferrat...Pasta Provencal

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Right about this time of the year I start thinking about light pastas,  fresh tomatoes,  anchovies and capers, and so many other things typical of the South of France;  but more than anything, I start thinking of tuna.  No, not tuna as in sushi, just plain tuna as in tuna fish.   I also switch my cocktails to French dry roses and start wearing espadrilles and striped t-shirts.  It must be time to move to the Riviera...physically or otherwise.

Cap Ferrat

La Leopolda, Cap Ferrat

If you are part of the well healed LWL (Ladies Who Lunch) you will be readying your home in Cap d"Antibes or Cap Ferrat  (Marbella and Ibiza are okay too),  drawing up your guest list and thinking of some menus for practically every day of the week.  The season, which goes from July to the end of August, is just around the corner.  Better stock up on Campari and plenty of dry Rose.

Restaurant Eden Roc, Hotel Du Cap, Cap D'Antibes

If you are not part of that upper echelon, you will be readying your house in the Hamptons, Newport or Maine, maybe in Litchfield County or somewhere along the Hudson Valley.  Everyone else will be hiding in their closet come the weekend.  No matter where you are, there better be water around and if there isn't, don't bother even mentioning you have a summer house even if it is a country house.  Case in point, now that our house is not directly on the lake, our weekend visitors have gone down by 90%!

Pastas in the Riviera are very popular in the summertime; but it's more about the main ingredient than the pasta itself.  A popular combination is pasta with tuna, anchovies, olives, tomatoes and olive oil.  As long as everything is in season, you can add or subtract anything you wish. Subtract the tuna or the anchovies and you have a good pasta, but not a great pasta.

To complement your lunch, don't forget a fresh tomato salad, some of those thin Italian breadsticks and a bottle of French rose from Provence. A lemon sorbet would be perfect for dessert.  Then espresso and a well deserved nap!

I guarantee you will like this pasta, but only if you have it by the water, any water....turn on the sprinklers if everything fails.

Something like this would do 

It's been awhile since I've visited any of those summer resorts but I still have the memories and the palate to try to reproduce some menus at home.  Just close your eyes, smell the roses,  listen to the birds and you could be anywhere! For the Pasta Provencal recipe click below.

Lunch On The Light Side...Curried Egg Salad Wraps On Lettuce

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Boy, did I get a speech last night.  If truth be told, everything that my daughter said was true yet...

It seems somehow I've turned into a very naughty girl.  I don't exercise enough, we eat too late, I'm not watching my weight the way I used to and for all purposes, I am not leading the life I should at my age.   Yikes!  It's true that lately I've been too engrossed in my trading, something that gives me great pleasure and fascinates me to no end, and I've been engrossed in CNBC all day long sitting at my computer and watching the ups and downs of the stock market which is more like being in Vegas than checking in at the Bellagio.

So things have to change (at least for awhile) and at 4 o'clock when the market closes, the sous chef and I will take a walk around the neighborhood, like we did today, and get that monkey off our back.  We will also have salads for lunch, eliminate the quick sandwich on the run and try to eat at a more reasonable hour.  No more double martinis before dinner while waiting for chicken pot pies!

Why do I have to be dragged into this...I'm svelte

One of the things I discovered a long time ago was substituting iceberg lettuce wraps for bread and imagining I was having a sandwich.  It works. If you don't need to watch your weight, there is nothing better than egg salad sandwiches on pumpernickel or whole grain bread; but if you do, lettuce wraps ain't all that bad.

The mayo is your worst enemy but you don't have to give it up if you use just a little.  Supplement with mustard and curry powder and the results are pretty yummy.  Anyway, this is my idea of  a trader's lunch on the light side.  Just double or triple the quantities if you are sharing with friends.

Ingredients

2 hard boiled eggs chopped
2 TB finely chopped celery
1 tsp. red onions finely chopped
1 TB mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. dill
Salt and pepper.

3 large and crisp iceberg lettuce leaves.

Procedure

Cook the eggs in boiling water for 15 minutes.  Rinse in cold water, let cool and peel.  Finely chop them.

Transfer to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.  Cool for 1/2 hr in the fridge.

Lay a lettuce leaf flat, add some salad and fold.  Enjoy!

Serves 1

1 TB mayo= 90 calories
2 hard boiled eggs - 156 calories






         .

Thinking Of Summer...Linguini With Shrimp And Lemon Oil

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I was up until 3:00 am last night reading the Williams Sonoma catalogue, not because it was that good, just because I couldn't sleep. This recipe struck my fancy and I decided to make it for dinner tonight.  My daughter, who enjoys withholding her praises even when things turn out exceptionally well, couldn't stop raving about it and telling me it was a keeper.  So there you have it...on a scale of 1 to 10,  I think what she meant was it was an 11.

It is truly a delightful pasta, very lemony and perfect for lunch or summer.  I have to say I cheated and used a California Meyer lemon infused oil.  I am going back tomorrow to buy a few bottles to keep in the pantry for the coming months.  You can find lemon oil at most specialty stores or, as I did, at Homegoods.   You can also make your own, as detailed below. Nothing to it.

I also did not make my own pasta, using instead Barilla linguini.  But it's up to you, whether you go the long route or the short one, as I did, this dish is spectacular!


In Sicily’s fishing villages, rustic handmade pasta is tossed with olive oil, garlic and fresh seafood. It’s all about casual simplicity—and making the most of the day’s catch. Inspired by that tradition, we created this recipe using prawns and lemon-infused olive oil. For the best results, make your own pasta from scratch.

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt, to taste
  
• 3/4 lb. spaghetti or linguini
• 1 1/4 cups olive oil
• 2 lemons, 1 zested
  
• 3 cups coarse bread crumbs(I used Panko)
• 2 lb. prawns, peeled and deveined
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving (optional) I did not use

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water, add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Rinse the pasta with cool water; set aside.

Pour 1 cup of the olive oil into a small saucepan. Using a knife, cut the peel off 1 lemon and add the peel to the pan. Set over medium heat and heat the oil until just warm. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the lemon oil; set aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1/4 cup plain olive oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until browned and toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Wipe out the sauté pan, set over medium-high heat and warm 1 Tbs. of the lemon oil. Season the prawns with salt and pepper. Add half of the prawns to the pan and cook until pink and opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes per side; stir in 1 tsp. of the garlic during the last 30 seconds of cooking. Transfer the prawns to a bowl. Wipe out the pan and repeat with 1 Tbs. of the lemon oil, the remaining prawns and 1 tsp. garlic. Toss the prawns with the lemon juice.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the lemon oil. Add the anchovy paste and stir until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water, the pasta, capers and lemon zest and stir until heated through, adding more cooking water as needed. Transfer to a platter. Top with the prawns, bread crumbs and parsley. Drizzle with some of the lemon oil (reserve the remaining oil for another use). Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.


Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
Photos Lindaraxa

From Georgia With Love...Tarte A L'Oignon

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Nothing gives me more pleasure than to satisfy a friend's request.  Within reason, that is.

Last week while my blogger friend Paul Gervais de Bédée was enjoying himself in Sardinia and St. Tropez, I got an unusual request from him.  Did I have a recipe for a tarte a l'oignon? Mais non, but  I was sure that  with a little research and some practice on my part I could come up with a good one, if not the best one. 

When I go in search of the ultimate recipe for something I haven't made before, I like to start with an authentic source.  Obviously, Julia Child was the first name that came to mind but knowing her recipes, I knew hers was going to be long and involved.  The next name on the list was Patricia Wells who, amongst others, had written a cookbook on bistro cooking.  Not good enough.  She's really more Provencal.  I wanted  a typical tart recipe from the region that made it famous, in this case Alsace.  And then a coupe de foudre... André Soltner!

 For those of you not familiar with M. Solter, he was the former owner and chef of the four-star restaurant Lutéce in New York City.  For many years, long before Daniel and even Le Cirque came around, Lutéce was considered by many to be the best French restaurant in Manhattan.    This recipe,  traditional cafe fare in Alsace where he was born,  was shared by him in his book  The Lutéce Cookbook.   A copy of it, now out of print,  resided until recently in my mother's bookshelves but,  unbeknownst to her, it had mysteriously slipped into my suitcase the last time I visited.

At about the same time as all this was going on, I was looking for a recipe for the vegetable bounty now appearing in my friend Sandra Jonas' potager.  Just last weekend the onions had started making their appearance.  Sweet onions, no less.  So the ones I borrowed for my tart are from her Georgia vegetable garden, via my Georgia kitchen to Paul's table in Lucca, Italy.  From Georgia with love, dear friend....a french tarte a l'oignon!

Just as I predicted, the tarte was sublime.  When one has cooked as long as I have, one can tell just by reading the recipe.  

M. Soltner recommends blind baking the tart's crust, a process in which the crust is baked, then filled, then baked again to help keep the crust firm and crisp.  I strongly encourage you to do this.  There is nothing worse than slicing a tart and finding that the bottom crust has disappeared.  I made the dough the night before, stored it in the refrigerator overnight and rolled it out the next morning.  It handled beautifully.  I guess I am getting better at working with dough now that  I've started making pizza at home.

If you don't have pie weights for blind baking the crust, you can use dried beans, rice, or clean, round pebbles.

Don't rush the onions.  Cook them on low until they begin to caramelize.  It might take as long as 20 minutes.  That is really the part that takes the longest but it is well worth the effort.  While the onions are cooking, open a bottle of a chilled French rosé  and start slicing some fresh tomatoes for a salad.  Life could be worse.




It looks like a lot of onions





...but it's not once they are cooked



Andre Soltner's Tarte A L'Oignon

Ingredients
Serves 6

* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for tart pan

* 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

* 1/2 cup ice water

* 1 1/2 pounds onions, about 2 large) finely sliced.  I used Vidalia onions.

* 1 large egg, lightly beaten

* 1/2 cup heavy cream

* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

* 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese

Directions

1. Butter a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom; set aside.

2. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled butter, and combine with fingers or a pastry blender until it has the texture of coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup ice water, and stir just until a dough forms. Form into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch-thick round. Fit dough into prepared tart pan; trim excess. Line with a parchment paper round, and fill with pie weights. Chill for 15 minutes. Transfer to oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper. Bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven, and set aside.

4. In a large skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Add onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly browned and softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. In a small bowl, combine beaten egg, cream, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in onions.




Ready to go in the oven


6. Sprinkle baked tart shell with cheese. Spread onion mixture evenly over cheese. Bake until set, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

All you need to serve with the tarte is sliced tomatoes with  good olive oil, fresh basil  and Balsamic vinegar.  Paul should have no problem coming up with that!

I know some of you have had problems leaving comments.  Here's two solutions.  1.  Sign in as anonymous and sign your name at bottom 2.  When signing in as Google account, uncheck the box that says "stay signed in". That should help.

All photos Lindaraxa

A Garden Tour Lunch...Shrimp, Crabmeat and Artichoke Casserole

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Although it's been quite chilly this week here in North Georgia, the daffodils, the forsythias and the cherry trees are already in bloom.  Time to start thinking of getting out of the cave and joining civilization again!

Spring is the nicest time of the year to plan some sort of gathering, particularly if you have a beautiful garden in bloom. Although the nights are still cool, days are warm and perfect for an outdoor lunch with your friends, some of whom you haven't probably seen since Christmas.  All over the South, there are all kinds of house and garden tours and it's fun to gather a group of close friends to go and return to the house afterwards for lunch and some catching up on the latest gossip.  Whatever you make, though, has to be ready to eat on arrival so plan things that can be served room temperature, cold, or require a brief warming in the oven.

This casserole is perfect.  It comes from Susan Mason, the premier caterer of Savannah, Georgia, legendary for its garden tours in the Spring.  Warm it up while you are having drinks on the porch.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 14 ounce can artichokes, drained
1 lbs medium shrimp, peeled, deveined with tails removed
1 lbs white backfin crabmeat, picked over for shells
4 1/2 TB butter
4 1/2 TB flour
1 1/2 Cup half and half
1 TB Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. paprika

White rice to accompany

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 and butter a 3 quart baking dish.

Cook shrimp in boiling water for about 3 minutes, until they turn pink.

Arrange the artichokes in the baking dish.  Spread shrimp and crabmeat over the artichokes.

In a large heavy saucepan melt butter and whisk in flour to a smooth paste.  Cook and stir for 3 minutes.  Add half and half slowly and stir until thickened and smooth.  Add Worcestershire sauce, sherry, lemon juice, salt, and peppers.  Pour over ingredients in the baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. 

Bake for 20 minutes and serve hot with rice