French Wine And Foie Gras

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The best part of our 6-week trip to Europe last fall was being in the Dordogne or Perigord Noir region of France. We fell in love with the food, the wine, the countryside, the castles, and the people.

One afternoon we found ourselves in Domme, a fortified village, or bastide, which rises sharply from the Dordogne River valley floor and affords stunning views from its 13th century walls. We also found a lovely little wine shop that featured a locally grown and produced, award-winning Vin de Pays. We purchased a bottle and drank it. It was wonderful. A bit rough at first opening, but after letting it breath for about 15 minutes it mellowed right out. There was something about that wine that spoke to me.

Our trip took us further south and west, finally into Spain and Barcelona. And I couldn't stop thinking about that bottle of wine.

Luckily for me, we had to drive back to the Dordogne region to return our rental car and I was able to visit Domme again and purchase another bottle of that wonderful wine. Which brings us to last night...

I'd been saving the Domme wine for what-I-don't-know, some special occasion or other, along with a small tin of foie gras d'oie (pure goose liver pate) and a tiny glass jar of black Perigord truffles, both bought in Sarlat and tucked into my travel bag to bring home.

Well, last night, for no reason other than it was blustery, unseasonably warm, and we'd just brought home our Christmas tree, my husband and I opened the wine, foie gras and truffles. Sitting together in our living room, talking and looking at the as-yet-unadorned Christmas tree, this was the occasion we'd been waiting for.

It wasn't a special occasion, as many "special" occasions go, but it was mighty fine. Mighty fine.

Low-Fat Low-Sugar Persimmon Rice Pudding

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I've got two long rows of persimmons sitting on my kitchen divider, looking for all the world like bright Christmas ornaments. My sister Cynthia brought these to me at Thanksgiving from her home in Chico and they're rapidly getting ripe so it's time to use them, freeze them, and get a few recipes posted.

Today I wanted to make something low in sugar and fat while at the same time being utterly delicious, warm and comforting. A persimmon rice pudding fit the bill on all those counts, especially when I used Uncle Ben's Converted Rice which is low on the glycemic index. Freshly grated nutmeg and whole cinnamon stick enhanced the persimmon puree and gave the dish a homey touch. Please forgive some of my photos, it's a hard job photographing an off-white then orange pudding under range hood lights.

Low-Fat, Low-Sugar Persimmon Rice Pudding
very loosely adapted from a recipe on Epicurious

Ingredients:
2 large, very ripe Hachiya persimmons *
3 1/2 cups Land O Lakes Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2 **
1 cup Uncle Ben's Converted Rice
1/4 cup (scant) Splenda granular
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 3-inch piece of cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (no added sugar or corn syrup)

Preparation:
Your persimmons should be very soft all over, almost like liquid in a skin.
Cupping the bottom of the persimmon in your hand, cut around the stem with a sharp knife and extract the core.
Using a grapefruit spoon, gently separate the pulp from the skin and place the pulp in a food processor, removing seeds if present. This can be messy work, but you get to lick your fingers which is a good thing.
Process until pureed. Measure 1 cup puree and set aside, although a little more than 1 cup certainly won't hurt the recipe.
Combine the 1/2 and 1/2, rice, Splenda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium sauce pan and stir to blend.
Set over medium heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally.
Simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, about 45 minutes.
As the pudding thickens, watch it closely, stirring often, to avoid it burning.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and gently stir in the persimmon puree until it is fully incorporated.

This pudding may be served warm, at room temperature or cold from the fridge. Grate a little nutmeg over the top of each serving if you wish. This pudding will thicken further when cold. Cover with plastic wrap to refrigerate.

Cook's Notes:

* While this recipe is certainly very low in fat and has little added sugar (see note below), it should be noted that persimmons are very high in natural sugars. Dieters wishing to restrict their intake of any kind of sugar should be aware of this. On the plus side, they are also very high in fiber; a 2 1/2-inch diameter raw persimmon containing about 6 grams.

** Land O Lakes Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2 is not a low carb product. It has more sugar carbs than whole milk. I used it here because I opted for less fat over less sugar. If you don't need to restrict your fat intake, use whole milk in this recipe instead.

Both of the spices, nutmeg and cinnamon, that I used in my persimmon rice pudding are popular in the US, especially around the holidays. In fact, adding pieces of nutmeg, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, allspice berries and whole star anise to a small saucepan of water, simmered on the back of the stove, is my recipe for a house warmly scented with spicy notes in winter time and is a much less expensive and more organic potpourri than many storebought products. Read what Wikipedia has to say about Nutmeg and Cinnamon.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging , being hosted this week by Pookah at What's Cooking in Carolina. To find out more about this popular weekly event and how to join in the fun, click here.

Gorgonzola-Walnut Sauce

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Feast your eyes on this photo, will you? A dreamy, creamy Gorgonzola-toasted walnut-rosemary sauce clinging to a perfectly cooked al dente pasta. Can it get any better than this?

If this recipe is indicative of the other 49 in a great little cookbook entitled 50 Great Pasta Sauces, then yes, it can, and will, get at least as good if not better.

This book was recently sent to me by its publisher, Andrews McMeel, with the hope that I would review it and post it on this blog. After careful review, last night I made the first of what will be many sauces that I'll make from this little gem of a book by Pamela Sheldon Johns.

A small book, just 6 3/4" square, 50 Great Pasta Sauces fits nicely on my book stand. Each of the 50 recipes, divided into four categories entitled Vegetable, Dairy, Meat, and Seafood sauces, is printed on a single page with a beautiful, color photo opposite. Ms. Johns, a prolific Italian cookbook writer who lives in Tuscany, keeps the sauces simple, clean and direct.

A few of the meat sauces are a bit complex in their ingredients, such as the Duck Sauce, where one would skin and de-bone a duck then grind the meat in preparation for beginning to make the sauce. Or the wild boar sauce, wherein one must find a wild boar to begin with, which could entail going hunting. That recipe looks so good though that I think I'll find a suitable substitute for the wild boar so I can make the sauce. (Or maybe son Josh will go a-hunting?)

And although all the sauces in this book are served over myriad shapes of lovely pastas, I wouldn't be married to that tradition. Any number of roasted, mashed or sauteed vegetables could suffice as a base if you, like me, prefer to keep your intake of starchy carbohydrates to a minimum.

Like many cooks, I usually look at a recipe then change it, either to suit my pantry, eating lifestyle or whimsy. Because I had just barely 5 ounces of Gorgonzola in my cheese drawer, I rounded out the 6 ounces called for in the recipe with my favorite blue cheese, Pt. Reyes Original Blue. Then, because the sauce wasn't thick enough, I added 2 ounces more, which made it perfect. I also used 2% milk instead of the full-fat stated in the recipe, which is probably why I needed to add more cheese.

Gorgonzola-Walnut Sauce

Adapted from 50 Great Pasta Sauces by Pamela Sheldon Johns

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

6 ounces Gorgonzola (I used 5 oz Gorgonzola plus 4 oz Pt. Reyes Original Blue)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped, 1 tablespoon reserved

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 pound dried pasta

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and cream over medium heat. Add the cheeses and simmer, stirring until melted. Add the walnuts, reserving 1 tablespoon for garnish, and the rosemary, stirring to combine.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and transfer to warmed individual serving plates. Spoon the cheese sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts. Serve Immediately.

Update On My Little Kitchen Scissors Post

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I found them!

While in Davis this past weekend, wandering the aisles of my favorite food store, Nugget Market, I found the last pair of the small kitchen scissors that I love so much. Well, it was the last pair they had at that time; they'll probably order more, I'm sure. The point is, I promised to try to find out the brand name (Norpro) of these scissors and how they could be ordered on-line for those who are not in proximity to a Nugget Market. Of course, Norpro kitchen items are available at many good grocery stores, so check around in your area.

Checking around the Internet, I found just one site where these scissors may be ordered, Cooksite DOT com. Also known as La Belle Cuisine, this site offers much, much more than kitchen scissors and is worth a look-see. Click here to go directly to the scissors link.

NOW, I am going to shamelessly copy my blogger buddy Kalyn, who so graciously gave away her duplicate copy of the South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook in a drawing on her site (and I was the winner) by doing the same with my extra pair of handy-dandy kitchen scissors. 'Tis the season, after all.

Here's what you can do for a chance to win: Leave a comment at the bottom of this post. For each person who leaves a comment, I will make a slip of paper with that person's name plus an assigned number (I know I'm really being a copy-cat, Kalyn ;). These slips will go into a "hat" and at the end of the closing date, a name will be drawn by Mr. CC. The lucky winner will be notified by email, so please be sure to leave a link for me so I can contact you. Also, just one comment per person, please. The closing date to leave comments is Friday, December 15th, no later than 9:00 pm pacific standard time. Bonne chance!

Kitchen Gadgets I could Live Without But Prefer Not To - #2

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I'm off to the Sacramento Valley tomorrow for a long weekend. Since I've nothing to offer you in the food department, I'll leave you with another installation of kitchen gadgets I could live without but, damn, they make my work easier so why would I want to?

This small pair of scissors lives in the drawer with my paring knives. It doesn't touch anything that can mar the smooth, sharp edges. It snips things like Turkish apricots, candied ginger, herbs, the bottoms of chestnuts, pie dough, and parchment with aplomb. I do not use it to cut meat, having another pair for that task.

I coddle this tiny gem; washing it immediately after each use and then lovingly drying it with a clean dishtowel before gently putting it away in its compartment. In turn, it cradles my fingers in plush, softly molded, rubberized handles, fits my hand perfectly and works practically without effort on my part. Its sharp little points easily pierced these chestnut shells, making short work of an otherwise arduous task.

Sound silly? You'll just have to get a pair for yourself. You'll see.

I wish I could tell you the brand name for these scissors but there is not a mark on them and I've long since tossed the wrapping they came in. I got them at the Nugget Market in Davis though, and am going there this weekend so I'll try to find out more about them and let you know. That is if, like me, you've decided you'd prefer to not live without them.

Roasted Vegetables In Rich Brown Turkey Broth

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Ahhh! Just what is needed after the indulgences of Thanksgiving. Oven roasted, slightly caramelized, cauliflower, broccoli, garlic and carrots in a de-fatted, rich brown broth made from the Thanksgiving turkey carcass. In the past, I've made more substantial turkey soups using barley or potatoes, onions and other high carb starchy veggies. But this year my only slightly older body cried out for lighter, lower carb fare.

Our rather small 14-pound turkey was rotisseried over our gas grill this year by the Mastergriller himself. Something he hadn't tried before. It turned out surprisingly well. After rubbing the outside of the bird all over with olive oil, he sprinkled on NapaStyle Toasted Spice Rub and kosher salt, patting them well into the skin. He stuffed the cavity with halves of lemons, sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh sage leaves. The trussed and spitted bird was placed in the grill at 500 degrees for just a few minutes, then the temp was lowered to 350, the rotisserie turning all the while, for 2 1/2 hours. This turned out to be about 1/2 hour too long, but still the meat was delicious, perfumed with the toasted spices, herbs and lemon.

Later the herb-y carcass was put into a stock pot along with deeply browned pieces of skin, the wings and drumsticks, the herbs from the cavity, a chopped sweet onion, some celery, carrots, allspice berries, whole black peppercorns and 2 gallons of water, all cooked down to a delicious, complex broth. Allowed to cool overnight in the fridge, the fat that had congealed on the surface was easily removed leaving a luscious, thick brown liquid that needed nothing more than a bit of salt to make the flavors shine.

Then, in a large roasting pan, florettes of broccoli and cauliflower, peeled garlic cloves and baby carrots were drizzled with olive oil, dried thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground Tellicherry pepper and roasted in a 375 degree oven until soft and browned, bringing out the sweet, toasty flavors of the veggies and the soft nuttiness of the garlic.

I kept the broth separate from the vegetables, combining them just before sitting down to eat by bringing the broth to a simmer and adding the roasted veggies and diced pieces of leftover turkey, leaving them in the pot just long enough to become hot. I could eat this forever.

A Walk Around Trinidad Head

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What? No Food? No recipes? What's going on here? I'm full, people. I think if I see another piece of turkey, another yam, another grain of stuffing I'll go mad.

So while the soup is burbling away on the stove (of course I'm cooking - gotcha though, didn't I?) I thought I'd show you the views from our post-Thanksgiving walk around Trinidad Head, a small, rocky island of great renown in our "front yard". And if I seem a bit smug about calling this stretch of the beautiful northern California coastline my front yard, I am. Click here for an interesting read on the history and European discovery of both Trinidad and Humboldt Bays.

Coming up the trail on the north side of the Head, you look across the

state beach to Pewetole Island and Elk Head.

Looking due west, the rocks are sea lion and pelagic bird refuges.

We're on the south side of the Head now, looking down Clam Beach and on to Humboldt Bay, Table Bluff and, although I couldn't catch it with my camera, Cape Mendocino way off in the southern distance.

I wish they would underground the poles and phone lines. They mar an otherwise beautiful view. In the shadows beyond our group, you can just make out the cross that was erected by the Spanish explorers who "discovered" Trinidad in 1775.

Descending the Head on the east side, beautiful Trinidad village comes into view.

That's it for now folks. I hope I've given you enough informational links to keep you busy until the soup is ready.