Friends, it is supposed to reach 98° F here today (that is 36.6 for you Celsius folks) and I am just this shy of filling up a sippy cup with rosé, stringing it around my neck and calling it a day. I strolled the aisles of the supermarché this morning for an extra long while just to suck in as much air-conditioning as possible and I could tell that I wasn’t exactly the only lolly-gagger either.
So, like many of you, I have been avoiding the oven as if Todd Akin was hiding in it (actually if he were I might be tempted to turn it on–oops, did I write that?). Happily this time of year, the simplest ingredients make for fine meals. This Greek salad’s presentation was inspired by the amazing “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”. Sigh. I want to be an 85-year-old sushi master, don’t you?
But there is nothing innovative in slicing and dicing. I did come up with a new spread as an alternative to hummus however, using some of the same ingredients in a moment of utter desperation as Remi pushed back lunch “for just a bit later” yet again. In to the food processor, or robot as they are called here, went some sun-dried tomatoes in their oil (about five), along with half a container of feta, a handful of sardines and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. I know, it sounds odd but it certainly was interesting, especially if you have a few leaves of peppery black basil to throw in as well as crunchy bread to smooth it on. Non?
But last night, after I had sheepishly suggested “Gazpacho?” for dinner for the fifth time this week and was met with a raised eyebrow, I high tailed it into the hot zone once and for all and did a fishy Asian take on steak frites. I know that quite a few of you like to cook and are no strangers to spice-crusted salmon. My version involved cumin, paprika, curcuma, chipolte and an especially American mix called “smokehouse maple” that was brought back from the States. I baked the filets on low heat and then made a little crumble (it is in fashion to call everything a crumble in France these days) for the top with diced almonds, more chipolte powder and soy sauce that I also drizzled lightly on the salmon. For the “fries”, I steamed haricots jaunes then sautéed them in sesame oil and fish sauce along with a shallot and a bit of spring onion with sprinkled flaxseed on the lot. The “ketchup” was a bit of tomato purée with more soy sauce, lime juice and a splash of tabasco. Voila!
and just because it is so catchy:
So tell me, what do you have cookin’?
I am taken with the idea of that rose. . .out here in the Western US with all the outdoorsy folks we have around, there are any number of reusable water bottles that attach to belts or straps or pockets. Silly me! I've never thought beyond water as a beverage but you've given me another idea! Stay cool if possible.
As it would mine, Tabitha, as it would mine…
A sippy cup with rose? Strap it on please!
Luckily we have three inherited houses here that I can use, all went through the male line alas, but sigh yeah at least at the moment I get a week or two here – more sighs but it still sticks in my craw.
Oh no…I am a lazy, lazy, lazy cook! Completely unlike you and Giampy!! All I do is throw good stuff together add spices and hope for the best. 🙂
I just made a chicken breast with a tuna sauce!To be served cold!I also, made carrots with dried apricots……..they get better as days pass!Sounds like your a DEEVINE………cook!I hope the weather cools down for you all…………xoxo
Thank you for the ideas, Chef David (which somehow sounds better than Chef Terry). You have mentioned that garlic soup at some point in the past and as garlic is most likely my very favorite ingredient (narrowly beating out melted butter), one that I can eat raw like bonbons, I will have to give it a go.
Alas, Mr. Remi will eat just about anything save for capers, so I will also give the wonderfully easy sounding lentil salad a try without. Yes, I know it won't be the same but it still sounds excellent. And yes, I have access to excellent oils (including a pungent Thai Wok Oil with lemongrass that is tricky business) but don't you at Whole Foods?
Speaking of the easy factor, I cannot make the point to you clearly enough what a very lazy cook that I am. So the poached chicken is out. Unless I somehow manage to visit and you serve it at your house!
Wishing you a day full of…good things,
Heather
PS. Whenever we go to Vaison la Romaine, part of me is on a hopeful hunt for seeing Patricia Wells …
Hey Heather,
Oddly enough, the weather here (North Carolina) this summer hs not only been completely unremarkable in terms of the temperature (this is, after all, August), but it's also (in the midst of a drought which seems to be gripping 90% of the country) been extraordinarily wet……big rainstorms every four days or so. I haven't had to water anything, all summer long, except for two ferns under the porch roof.
As for Summer cooking? You need to avail yourself of Patricia Wells's very fine, recent book "Salad as a Meal" and Elizabeth Davied's classic "Summer Cooking" (it doesn't have pictures, which upsets some people, but both yours and my households are ones in which we can make plenty of our own pictures, thank you…).
I entertain just as regularly in the Summer (although I tend to switch to lunches, rather than sit-down dinners). Summer standards here include poached chicken in a chaud/froid sauce (it's SIMPLE…and can be done in steps over two days…and it can serve as a room-temperature, one-dish meal if you pick up some good bread). Julia Child's recipe in the second volume of "French Cooking" is the most helpful.
As an alternative to gazpacho, we rely on cold, "white" garlic soup…..a spanish soup for which there are multiple recipes on the internet. Since you access to good sherry vinegar, you're in luck.
My all-time favorite summer-dish is Patricia Wells' (once again….can you tell I love this woman's books?)lentil and walnut salad, which is a completely meal if you serve it on lettuce, with some grilled tuna if you're still feeling hungry or remarkably carnivorous. that said, it's perfect for vegetarians and simply folks who don't want a HEAVY meal.
Bascially (and you can adjust the proportions to suit your tastes), it requires lentiles de Puy and walnuts. The "secret" is so simple….but I certainly would never have thought of the combination. Mix your cooked-lentils with chopped walnuts, capers, and a lot of fresh mint (does anyone still bother with the dried stuff?)…..then make a dressing of lemon-juice and GOOD walnut oil (salt and pepper, of course). As ever, it's one of those bascially simple combinations that does, however, depend on your having access to the best ingredients (the wlanut oil is tricky, here in America, but you should have no problem).
That's all,
David Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
I can eat this stuff every day…..and sort of do, during this time of year.
I like to use it for duck too. 🙂
Ooh, I hope that you like it Carolyn and your folks too!
Ooh, I think I am behind on your blog, Natalie! And there are Paris pictures!!!
And really, Remi does MOST of the dinners so I really can't complain. 🙂