Purple Potatoes, Roasted Garlic and Green Beans in Fresh Lemon, Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

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I am so excited to show you these purple potatoes.

Can you guess where they came from?

My very own garden.

I actually grew these!

My first time. I'm so proud.

Purple Peruvians

My daughter-in-law Evangelina's parents gave us a huge mixed bag of potatoes last fall, and when I had finally used up most of them, I planted what were left in my garden last March. There are still some Yukon Golds out there that aren't ready yet.

Never having grown potatoes before, I really didn't know what to expect, but here they are.

And of course I had to put a recipe together so I could brag about them.

Haricot vert, fresh from the farmers' market, steamed then cut into bite-size pieces.

Combined with gently roasted purple potatoes and garlic, then tossed with a lemon-whole grain mustard vinaigrette, these can be served cold or warm salad as a salad, or warm as a side dish.

Purple Potatoes, Garlic and Green Beans in a Fresh Lemon-Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
4-5 cups Purple Peruvian potatoes, small sized, cut into quarters
1 head of garlic, cloves separated, peeled, left whole
1/2 pound or so, slender green beans, washed and cut bite-sized
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon plus 1 pinch kosher salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper to taste
juice of 1 whole lemon (approx 2 ounces juice)
1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar
6 ounces plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the potato quarters, whole garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a baking pan. Toss well, cover with foil, and roast for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart.
Remove from the oven, take off the foil and set aside to cool slightly.
Put the cut green beans on a steamer rack in a large pot with 1-inch of water in the bottom. Cover and steam over high heat until tender crisp and bright green.
Remove the beans from the steamer and put into a large bowl.
In a small jar or measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, pinch kosher salt, and whole grain mustard. Adjust to taste then whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.
Place the potatoes and garlic in a large stoneware bowl (scrape the pan to get all the herbs).
Gently toss the green beans in with the potatoes.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the vegetables, tossing to coat. You may not need to use all of the vinaigrette.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Notes:
One could enhance the finished dish by sprinkling it with toasted, sliced almonds or crispy bacon lardons.

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Nancy's Corn And Black Bean Salad

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On a weekend this August, Mr CC and I met with friends, some of whom we'd just spent time with in Ashland, some of whom we hadn't seen in a number of years and some of whom we had met only once, ten years ago, at the laying to rest of the man whose memory we had come together again to honor these ten years later - to remember his laughter, his sparkling wit, his comitment to the Marine Mammal Center, his love of a good woman, good friends and good beer.

That evening, in the heart of San Francisco, deciding that staying "in" would be ever so much better than going out, we cooked, drank, laughed, talked and ate around N&N's most hospitable table. An evening well spent and fondly remembered.

The salad appearing here was inspired that day by many minds, all food lovers, but mostly by Nancy who had a craving for fresh, sweet corn in a raw salad with celery, cilantro and red onion. She may have stipulated more of the ingredients, but by then we were all riffing on what could go into it. And forgive me, friends, if I've left anything out - Normie was mixing the drinks, and he's not known for his light hand, nor am I known for a stellar memory after hoisting a few.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Recipe by Nancy, Norm, Susan, Harvey, Christine and Clay

Ingredients: (all measurements are approximate)

6-8 ears fresh, sweet white corn

several green and yellow zucchini

1/2 of a red onion

red bell peppers

cucumber

celery

sugar snap peas

canned organic black beans

fresh basil

fresh cilantro

fresh japapeno pepper

I'm pretty sure there was fresh, diced garlic in there also

Preparation:

Cut the kernels from the corn cobs, reserving the cobs for corn chowder later in the week (subject of another post coming soon.)

Cut the rest of the vegetables in small dice, shucking, peeling and seeding as appropriate, so their size doesn't overpower the corn kernels.

Toss all of the veggies together in a large bowl.

Rinse the black beans and drain well. Toss with the veggies.

Finely chop the basil leaves and sprinkle them in.

Rather coarsely chop the cilantro leaves and toss them in also.

For the dressing, we wanted something light with southwest flavors, so began with a base of cider vinegar and raspberry vinegar then added about 2 tablespoons of

this fabulous chipotle chile powder from Tierra Vegetables in Healdsburg (at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturdays) and about 3 tablespoons of

this lively sauce from Trader Joe's. The usual suspects of kosher salt, freshly ground black peppercorns, minced garlic and I'm sure some olive oil was used to combine the concoction together. Whatever you use, keep spicy and southwest in mind.

Toss the dressing with the veggies and let it sit for at least 1/2 hour to allow the flavors to blend.

As she took her first bite, Nancy's eyes lit up.

"This is exactly what I wanted."

I felt that pretty much summed the day up for all of us.

Rest well, Sweetie.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Roasted Beets With Duck Confit And Toasted Hazelnuts

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Roasted Beets with Duck Confit and Toasted Hazelnuts
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
3 medium red beets, roasted
duck confit from one leg, cut into slivers
3 tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons blackberry balsamic pear vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard, such as Maille
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I wish I'd had hazelnut oil)
A few grains kosher salt
A few grinds black peppercorns
A celery leaf from the heart of the bunch for garnish

Preparation:

To make the dressing, combine the vinegar and mustard in a glass measuring cup and whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is emulsified. Add a tiny pinch of kosher salt to taste along with a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk and set aside.

To roast the beets, wash and trim them and wrap each one in a square of foil, bringing the edges to the top of each beet and sealing them. Place on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven and roast for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and open the foil to allow the beets to cool slightly.When they can be handled without burning your hands, peel the beets and thinly slice crosswise.

To toast the hazelnuts (and hopefully you will have done this long before now), place them on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven and toast them for no more than 12 to 15 minutes, watching them carefully so they don't burn. When they smell delicious, they're done. Pour the nuts onto a dishtowel and, bringing the towel over the nuts, rub them until much of the brown skin comes off. Not all of it will be removed and that's okay.

To assemble, place a very small pool of vinaigrette on a small plate and top with several slices of beet followed by the slivered duck confit and some coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Drizzle a bit more vinaigrette around and over, garnish with a celery leaf and serve.

Cooks' Notes:

The vinegar used for the salad dressing is from Tulocay's Made in Napa Valley. It's thick and rich and was a perfect compliment to the beets and duck.

This was served along side a bowl of cream of celery soup, the recipe for which is posted here.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Confetti Coleslaw

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I know summer is not far off when I begin thinking about making coleslaw. Once I make it, I'm doomed. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Come to think of it, I have. And as a snack in between. There's something about the combination of fresh crisp cabbage, sweet carrots and this incredible buttermilk dressing that I can't seem to get enough of.

The inspiration for the dressing comes from Kalyn's Buttermilk Dressing that she used on her coleslaw last summer. I've made a few changes to suit my whimsy, but the credit really goes to Kalyn.

Confetti Coleslaw

Inspired by Kalyn's Buttermilk Dressing

Ingredients:

Slaw

1 medium head green cabbage

1 medium head red cabbage

6 carrots

1 cup (heaping) frozen peas per bowl of slaw

1 cup lightly toasted pecan pieces

Dressing

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups Vegenaise

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon wasabi powder

3/4 teaspoon celery salt

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch kosher salt

1 packet Splenda

Preparation:

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a large glass measuring cup and whisk until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings and refrigerate until ready to use. This will keep in the fridge for several days, covered.

For the slaw, remove any limp outer leaves from the cabbages, slice them in half and cut out the core. Cut the coreless cabbages into wedges small enough to fit through the feed tube of a food processor. Fit the food processor with a slicing blade and process all the cabbage, emptying the contents into a large bowl when necessary.

Peel the carrots and snip the ends. Fit the grating blade into the food processor and push the carrots through the feed tube until they've all been grated.

Combine the carrots and the cabbages and mix well.

This makes a lot of slaw so I package about half of it into a gallon-size zip top bag and put it in the crisper of the fridge to use later. It will keep this way for about 4 days.

Toss about 1 1/2 cups of the dressing with 1/2 of the cole slaw. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours in a sealed container, turning it from time to time to evenly distribute the dressing. About 1/2 hour before serving, add a cupful of frozen peas and toss well to mix. The peas will have defrosted by the time the salad is served. Lightly toasted pecans, added just before serving adds a nutty crunch factor. Too bad my pecan container was empty this time!

Cook's Notes:

Vegenaise. Bless the Follow Your Heart people for coming up with a mayonnaise substitute that tastes wonderful! Made without eggs, you'd think it would taste just awful but it doesn't. I prefer it to mayonnaise now and am delighted that it's full of good omega 3's. Check their site out for yourself.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Radish Walnut Salad With Golden Balsamic Vinaigrette

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I've had the best intentions of posting some back-logged recipes, but sadly have found myself so otherwise occupied that I'm barely keeping up with a photo a day on my garden blog.

Mr CC has been grilling veggies and I've been making salads and that's what's been on the table for dinner lately. Good, healthy food but not particularly blogworthy. Until last night's salad.

You might think those are apples in the photo, but you'd be wrong. No, the secret ingredient here is radishes; recently re-discovered (by me), sweet, crunchy, crisp radishes. I've been born again.

I'd not been a radish fan since, as an unknowing child, I bit into one that not only burned my mouth, but burned a memory forever in my brain - EAT RADISHES, SUFFER PAIN!

Then I discovered the round, red, sweetly delicious Red Globe Radishes and suddenly I can't get enough of them. All these years. Who knew?

This simple salad is superb with a vinaigrette made with a combination of walnut and olive oils.

Radish Walnut Salad with a Golden Balsamic Vinaigrette
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
Organic spring mix of salad greens
4-6 sweet red globe radishes
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 ounces golden balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon good dijon mustard
2 ounces roasted walnut oil
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
pinch sea salt
several grinds good black peppercorns

Preparation:

Wash and trim the radishes and cut into quarters.

Assemble the salad by putting the greens in a large bowl followed by the radishes and walnut pieces.

For the dressing, whisk the vinegars, mustard, salt and pepper in a glass cup until blended.

Briskly whisk in the walnut oil then the olive oil until the mixture is emulsified (thickened and combined).

Pour some of the dressing over the salad, toss and serve.

This salad goes nicely with grilled zucchini and portobello mushrooms. If you'd like a bit more protein, add a filet of pan-seared tilapia.

As for my new love affair with radishes, French Breakfast is next on my list. Where will it end?

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Catfish Salad With Green Beans And Toasted Almonds With Champagne Raspberry Vinaigrette

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Happy St. Patrick's Day, Irish. I hope your eyes are smilin'!

I am, indeed, a goodly amount Irish, with some Scots thrown in, and, we've been told, a smidgen of Osage, but that's never been proven. These are on my mother's side. Along patriarchal lines: warm French, cool English and a bit of Dutch round out my Heintz 57 lineage.

Still, when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, I'm Irish.

And while I haven't gone and whipped up a quintessentially Irish dish today, I did go for the green with this tasty catfish salad which matches my mood for lighter fare.

Sprinkled with organic celery salt and the crushed leaves of Claudia's Herbs Fantastic Fish Blend, the filets are quickly sauteed then placed atop a bed of crispy spring salad greens, followed by hot buttery green beans and a sprinkling of toasted, slivered almonds. A champagne and raspberry vinaigrette drizzled over and around finishes the dish.

The organic herb blend used here is a combination of lemon basil, chives, dill, thyme and celery leaves, but the flavor that comes to the forefront is the celery. Pair that with celery salt and celery really speaks out loud in this dish. Nicely so.

Where does this herbal blend come from? Claudia's Organic Herbs is a local company run by Claudia Holzinger on her family farm in Orleans, a beautiful spot on the Klamath River about 35 miles as the crow flies from our coastline. She's famous for her green and dried garlic and her produce is widely sought after by local restaurant chefs. Fantastic Fish Blend is available locally year-round and Claudia doesn't have a web site. can now be ordered online their new web site.

Celery, which is rich in vitamin C, is recognized as a blood pressure reducer and may be helpful in reducing blood cholesterol levels. It was first used for medicinal purposes by the Romans and Greeks before it was used as a food.

One of three ingredients that serves as the flavor base for many French and Creole recipes, celery is found in the Holy Trinity - onions, bell peppers and celery - and is what every good jambalaya begins with, while a mirepoix, carrots, celery and onions, comprises the beginning of many a fabulous French stew.

Weekend Herb Blogging, which orginated with the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, is being hosted this week by Becky of Key Lime and Coconut. Click here to find out about this popular and fun weekly event.

The only thing left to do now is eat and enjoy!

Catfish Salad with Green Beans and Toasted Almonds
Drizzled with Champagne-Raspberry Vinaigrette
Christine's Original Recipes
Ingredients:


for the vinaigrette:
1 ounce champagne vinegar
1 ounce raspberry vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon dijon mustard
pinch kosher salt
pinch sugar (or Splenda)
several grinds black pepper
3 ounces roasted walnut oil
3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation:
In a glass jar or measuring cup, whisk together the vinegars, mustard, salt, sugar and pepper.
Slowly whisk in the walnut oil, then the olive oil, until the mixture is thickly emulsified.
Set aside and keep at room temperature.



For the Salad:
4 fresh catfish filets
1/2 teaspoon organic celery salt
1-2 tablespoons Claudia's Fantastic Fish Blend, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper or a good pepper medley
1 teaspoon good olive oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter (or Earth Balance)
Enough organic spring salad mix for 4 plates
1 - 1 pound package frozen, organic green beans
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or Earth Balance)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Preparation:
The green beans may be prepared by microwaving or steaming.
This is what I did:
Place the frozen beans in a glass dish, dot them with Earth Balance and some kosher salt, place a lid on top and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, give the beans a stir, replace the lid and microwave an additional 4 minutes on high or until hot and tender-crisp.
Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and set aside.


While the beans are cooking, place a teaspoon each olive oil and butter in a skillet large enough to hold the fish filets and bring to medium high heat.
Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and sprinkle 1/2 of the celery salt and 1/2 of the herb blend and a few grinds of the pepper on one side of each filet.
Place the filets in the skillet, herb side down, and saute for about 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
Flip the fish over and sprinkle with the remainder of the seasonings. Cook until the fish is done, about 4 minutes more.
Arrange the salad mix on plates.
Lay a piece of sauteed catfish on top of each salad, followed by a generous portion of green beans.
Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Copyright 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved. No content from this site, including text and photos, may be copied, re-located or otherwise reproduced, in part or in full, for personal or monetary gain, without the express permission of the author.

Dungeness Crab: Worth Its Weight In Gold Plus a Recipe for Golden Balsamic Vinaigrette

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A quick Internet search for current prices of mail order Dungeness crab (for those who don't live on the west coast of the United States between San Francisco and Alaska), found that one company sells it for $14.95 per pound, another offers a cooked whole 1.5 to 2-pound crab for $37.99, and Gorton's offers a 2 to 2.5-pound whole cook crab for $39.99. All of these do not include the shipping costs.

You do the math. Anyway you pencil it out, it's darned expensive.

Here in the tiny fishing port village of Trinidad, California, we can buy crab from some local fishermen at the beginning of the season (this year it started just before Christmas) for $5.00 each. That's right, you read correctly: $5.00 each.

At an average weight of 2 pounds per crab, that's $2.50 per pound. (You can't see me but I'm doing a smug little Snoopy dance right now.)

Of course you have to know who to call and when to call, and you have to be on time to pick up your order or the crabs just might be gone when you get there. All part of the fun, excitement and tension of waiting for the season to begin and the crabs to come in.

We had our fill of crab over the holidays, mostly freshly cooked, cracked and slurped down with a glass of champagne. Sometimes in salads like the one pictured here. Dressed with a golden balsamic (recipe below) or champagne vinaigrette, you can't go wrong.

Sated for the time being, it was January before I remembered I wanted to have some crab meat put away in the freezer so I could make crab cakes whenever I wanted to.

And that brings me to the reason for this post: from six large crabs in their shells to 1-pound packages of lovely lump meat, I'd like to show you the process and the yield. If you like crab like I do, I think you'll agree they're worth their weight in gold.

Six crabs, cooked whole with shell intact, weighed a total of 10 pounds. That's an average of 1.67 pounds per crab. Some were lighter, some were heavier. After removing the backs of the shells and cleaning the bodies, the crabs weighed in at 8 pounds total. I don't have photos of the "backing" and cleaning process. It takes both hands and it's not a very pretty sight.

Shelling crabs is time consuming. It took me a little over two hours to pick six crabs.

After all the picking was done I had a total of 3 pounds, 10 ounces of crab meat. I bagged three 1-pound packages to put in the freezer and kept the remaining 10 ounces to use right away in crab salad.

From start to finish it took me about 3 1/2 hours to clean, pick and bag six crabs. For each package I used two zip-lock freezer bags, double bagging and forcing out as much air as possible. Then I put them all together in another freezer bag for good measure. After all that work, you don't want freezer burned crab meat.

What will I get for my labors? I figure each pound of crab meat will yield about 16 dinner-size crab cakes.
Recipe coming...

For now, here's my golden balsamic vinaigrette recipe:

Golden Balsamic Salad Dressing

Christine's original recipe

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

2 ounces golden balsamic vinegar

1 heaping tablespoon dijon mustard (I use Maille)

1/4 teaspoon sugar or Splenda granular

pinch kosher salt

several grinds black pepper

3 ounces toasted walnut oil

3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation:

In a measuring cup, pour in the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the walnut oil then the olive oil.
Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened and is fully emulsified.
Taste and adjust seasonings.

Rotisseried Leg of Lamb With Rosemary-Garlic Paste Filling

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This group of recipes should be entitled Christmas Redux. Late in getting them posted, I try nonetheless to keep my promises--even though in the world of blogging, Christmas is SO past.

This post is dedicated to Mr. CC and son Josh who not only love a good leg of lamb but who also were a tremendous help in my kitchen over Christmas, keeping a close eye on the roasting lamb amidst the cacophany of company, laughter and merriment.

If I had to pick just three foods in all the culinary queendom to combine into a meal, they would be garlic, rosemary and lamb. Throw in a good red wine and I would want for nothing else, no matter the season:

Two boneless butterflied legs of local lamb, spread with a thick paste of garlic and rosemary, rolled, tied, or, in this case, encased in netting, and skewered to the rotisserie spit of our gas grill. Just writing these words brings back the taste sensations of Christmas dinner.

At about 3 1/2 pounds each, in a 350 degree closed grill, the legs were a perfect medium-rare in 1 1/2 hours. We let them rest for about 15 minutes then sliced and served them with a roasted winter vegetable medley of celery root, parsnips, whole garlic cloves, carrots and garnet yams, accompanied by another tray of roasted broccoli, cauliflower, fennel and more whole garlic cloves. Ya gotta have your veggies.

To make the paste, I used a golden balsamic vinegar dressing that I'd made for a dinner salad the previous night. This turned out to be the perfect vehicle for the garlic and rosemary.

Golden Balsamic Salad Dressing
Christine's original recipe
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients:
2 ounces golden balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon dijon mustard (I use Maille)
1/4 teaspoon sugar or Splenda granular
pinch kosher salt
several grinds black pepper
3 ounces toasted walnut oil
3 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation:
In a measuring cup, pour in the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.

Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the walnut oil then the olive oil.

Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened and is fully emulsified.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

Rosemary-Garlic Paste
Christine's original recipe
Makes about 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 tablespoons golden balsamic dressing
Preparation:
Place rosemary and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Drizzle the olive oil then the dressing through the feed tube, pulsing all the while until emulsified. Mixture will be thick.

Rotisseried Leg of Lamb with Rosemary-Garlic Paste Filling
Christine's original recipe
Serves 8 to 10 with leftovers
Ingredients:
2 - 3 1/2 pound boneless, butterflied legs of lamb
1/2 cup Rosemary-Garlic paste
good olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper


Preparation:

Lay the unrolled legs on a cutting board, cut side facing up.

Spread 1/2 of the rosemary-garlic paste over the entire cut surface of each leg.

Roll each leg firmly into an oblong shaped log.

Tie with string or encase in an elasticized net bag (which was provided by my butcher.)

Rub the outside of each leg with olive oil and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Skewer the legs onto a rotisserie spit, leaving enough space between the legs to ensure even roasting.

Have the gas grill pre-heated to 400 degrees.

Once the rotisserie has been set up and the legs are turning over the grill, lower the heat to 350 degrees, cover the grill and allow to roast until the internal temperature reaches 135 to 140 degrees for medium rare.

Remove the legs from the spit and let sit, tented loosely with foil, for about 15 minutes. During this time the internal temperature will continue to rise 5 to 7 degrees.

Slice the lamb crosswise and serve hot.

Cook's Notes:

Preparing the leg of lamb above assumes that the cook has some knowledge of how to use a gas grill and a rotisserie set up.