Lemon Basil Butter Cookies

Buttery yellow daffodil clusters bloom across the island… 

Kids prepare for science fair and gardeners spend their afternoon turning the soil in raised beds.  It’s that time of year when anything is possible and we begin to imagine sunlight days and dinner on the deck.

Lemons are on sale at the T&C and with them you can make your own version of spring in a cookie.  These are quick to mix, easy to bake and lovely to behold.  Light with lemon, rich with butter and a hint of peppery basil spice they are the perfect tea cookie with which to celebrate the arrival of spring.

 

 

Lemon basil butter cookies

from central market culinary resource center

Makes about 2 ½ dozen

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 cup chopped basil

¾ cup butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons sugar for rolling

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt. Set aside. In a food processor, mix sugar, lemon zest basil and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and lemon juice and pulse until incorporated. Add 1/2 of dry ingredients and pulse once. Add other half and pulse to combine thoroughly. Wrap or cover dough and chill for one hour or until firm. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar to coat and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press each ball with palm of our hand to flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Transfer to racks to cool.

Country Pate

 

This was the first course served at the French Country Barn dinner…This Jacques Pepin recipe seems to me, a neophyte from and island in the Pacific Northwest, to be VERY authentic.  It uses veal, pork, country ham and chicken livers.  Layer them in, so a design shows when sliced.  The green bits are pistachios.

 

 

Now, don’t expect too much from this dish that you marinated overnight then lovingly squished between your nimble fingers to mix.  Tell your guests in advance that you’re about to serve the FRENCH COUNTRY PATE…DO NOT try to surprise them with your brilliant cooking and presentation for they will be under whelmed when you present them with:  SPAM!

Or meatloaf if your crowd is more upscale than mine.

 

Another word…don’t run to the grocery store while this gently cooks in a water bath and expect your husband to know what to do when the timer dings.  He may just look in the oven, see the complicated water bath set up and wonder why there’s a moat around the meatloaf.  He’ll turn off the oven and walk away…(without removing your masterpiece!).  DO NOT let this happen to you for your pate will be shriveled and sad with every ounce of fat rendered in a disgusting pool around it.  The point of the water bath is to warm the meat  slowly so that the fatty bits melt in your mouth, not in the pan.  Try not to cry if this happen and resolve in the grand tradition of Julia Child to serve it anyway with no apologies. 

 

Your pate should NOT look like this.  But if it does, scrape the fat and save it so sear beef for bourguignon and serve the pate’ anyway.  Your champagne drinking croquet playing guests love you anyway.

Usually I add a link to the recipe but this one came from a book at the library (they have a huge cookbook selection!) and I forgot to make a copy.  This one from Molly at Orangette looks very good. http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/01/pate_de_campagne

 

This would be a great appetizer for a holiday party.  I know! Too soon to be planning for the cold, dark days of winter but hearty, savory stick to your ribs food makes it almost bearable.

 

Cheers!

French Country Barn Dinner

Joining rustic and elegant has always fascinated me and for years I’ve wanted to have a fancy dinner in a barn.  Finagling the decor to fit the bill demanded vision and panache so I called my good friend  Daniela Faget of Bella Signature Designs.  Daniela loved the idea and within minutes we’d fashioned a sit down dinner for 20. 

Our idea was to offer the event as an auction item for the preschool our children attend.  Our next call was to our dear foodie friend Lisa C.  She happily joined our little crew and before you can say fois gras we’d designed the menu and chosen the French Country theme.

 

Menu

Welcome

Assorted Cheeses and seasonal fruits

served with Champagne Cocktails

Starters

House Made Pate with Home Pickled Green Beans

paired with Coppola Claret

Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Bainbridge Island Organic Greens

Main

Bouillabaisse with Garlic Roux and Crostini

served with Coppola “Sophia” Rose

Dessert

Fruit Tarts with Bainbridge Grown Strawberries

 

As things go, I fell so much in love with the event that I wanted it for myself.  When it came time for the bidding to begin, my dear husband and best pal Lisa B. joined forces and bought the fancy barn dinner as a gift.

Happy Birthday to me!!

Bountiful Farm is beautiful and the barn fantastic.  Daniela created an intimate feel by hanging filmy white linens from beams then laid three tables end to end.  For seating, we alternated linen covered parsons chairs with hay bales.  We topped each hay bale with cushions then draped them with burlap. 

Daniela used lavender and poppies.  6 year old Jane was in charge of the napkins and she tied bows with garden twine and tucked a sprig of lavender in each.  Lisa’s welcome table overflowed with fresh berries assorted French cheeses and fancy crackers.  The roux she made to accompany the bouillabaisse was out of this world; rich with saffron and garlic.

Guests played croquet, admired the peacocks and made friends with the horses.  Chickens clucked, horses neighed, glasses clinked, guests laughed.

 

    

We cooked all the food outdoors over a fire ring and gas barbecue.  Everyone helped out, Alan and Brad poured wine, Elaine kept an expert eye on the bouillabaisse and made sure the seafood was cooked to perfection, Kevin grilled the crostini. Hollind, Heather and Lisa served.

 

 

At the end of the evening I looked around.  No words can express the joy of having my parents and sibs mingling with all my dear friends and know they were all there for me.

Candles flickered, music played, people laughed.

Cheers,

 

Carla

Victoria Tasting Notes

Victoria was the highlight of this summer’s sail.  Nothing can compete with the whales, of course but you really need to come here to eat.

There’s Willies Bakery and Cafe on Johnson Street where you can sit in a brick walled courtyard covered with geraniums and roses, warmed by a massive fireplace.  Their hot chocolate is the best and you can’t go wrong with their menu…I always have the traditional eggs Benedict one of five benedicts on their menu.   Ross had the Latin Benedict with chorizo and chipotle hollandaise.

Tea at Murchies is served on a silver (faux) platter and costs $1.90. you get your own pot and your choice of dozens of teas.  The pastries taste as good as they look which is saying a lot.  Jane recommends the New York cheesecake, I can vouch for the macarons, Lizzie’s all about the brownies thick as fudge and covered with a 1/4 inch layer of caramel and topped with chocolate swirls (I KNOW!).  Ross is old school (it’s his English upbringing I suspect) and swears by the currant scones with cream and jam.  Frankly…you can’t go wrong so if your budget doesn’t run to tea at the Empress you’ll be very happy at Murchies on Government street.

If your budget does run to high tea at the Empress ($55 per adult $18 for princess tea) be sure to make reservations and don’t wait until the cruise ships arrive because the tearoom is booked on cruise ship days.  Dress up, put a bow in your princess’s hair and enjoy a world with queens and tea time.  Tea begins with strawberries and cream, study the portrait of Queen Mary and enjoy the pink, green and gold wedding cake decor of the room until your tea tower arrives laden with cheesecake, chocolates, shortcake, lemon tart, mini sandwiches of smoked salmon, cucumber, curry, carrot-ginger.  Divine.

Victoria has an authentic Chinatown and we come here every visit for dim sum at Don Mee.  Crispy duck with plum sauce, shrimp dumplings, gyoza fried tableside and savory rich soups like won ton and hot and sour.  Stoll Fan Tan Alley on your way back to the waterfront and pick up a dozen or so paper parasols to give as gifts or use as party favors.  Our family of four ate until we couldn't eat anymore for $45…a bargain.

Would love to hear your favorite places in this grand city…

Best,

 

Carla

Victoria Tasting Notes

Victoria was the highlight of this summer’s sail.  Nothing can compete with the whales, of course but you really need to come here to eat.

There’s Willies Bakery and Cafe on Johnson Street where you can sit in a brick walled courtyard covered with geraniums and roses, warmed by a massive fireplace.  Their hot chocolate is the best and you can’t go wrong with their menu…I always have the traditional eggs Benedict one of five benedicts on their menu.   Ross had the Latin Benedict with chorizo and chipotle hollandaise.

Tea at Murchies is served on a silver (faux) platter and costs $1.90. you get your own pot and your choice of dozens of teas.  The pastries taste as good as they look which is saying a lot.  Jane recommends the New York cheesecake, I can vouch for the macarons, Lizzie’s all about the brownies thick as fudge and covered with a 1/4 inch layer of caramel and topped with chocolate swirls (I KNOW!).  Ross is old school (it’s his English upbringing I suspect) and swears by the currant scones with cream and jam.  Frankly…you can’t go wrong so if your budget doesn’t run to tea at the Empress you’ll be very happy at Murchees on Government street.

If your budget does run to high tea at the Empress ($55 per adult $18 for princess tea) be sure to make reservations and don’t wait until the cruise ships arrive because the tearoom is booked on cruise ship days.  Dress up, put a bow in your princess’s hair and enjoy a world with queens and tea time.  Tea begins with strawberries and cream, study the portrait of Queen Mary and enjoy the pink, green and gold wedding cake decor of the room until your tea tower arrives laden with cheesecake, chocolates, shortcake, lemon tart, mini sandwiches of smoked salmon, cucumber, curry, carrot-ginger.  Divine.

Victoria has an authentic Chinatown and we come here every visit for dim sum at Don Mee.  Crispy duck with plum sauce, shrimp dumplings, gyoza fried tableside and savory rich soups like won ton and hot and sour.  Stoll Fan Tan Alley on your way back to the waterfront and pick up a dozen or so paper parasols to give as gifts or use as party favors.  Our family of four ate until we couldn't eat anymore for $45…a bargain.

Would love to hear your favorite places in this grand city…

Best,

 

Carla

What I did this summer

As children across the island pen “what I did this summer” at their newly acquired desks on this second day of school I work on our family journal. Here are some of the highlights:

Most recently there were whales…entering Victoria harbor we found ourselves on an intercept path with a pod of Orca whales.  I called the kids on deck and we watched from the bow from what was a comfortable “look though the binoculars and see the whales kind of distance”.  Within a minute I realized the whales were a lot bigger than they should be and we were a lot closer than we needed to be.  At the same time I heard the engine grind into hard reverse and strain as Ross tried furiously to get out us of their path. 

A whole pod of killer whales in motion is a lot faster than a twenty ton sailboat trying to fight momentum and turn on a dime.    Rather than risk injury to the whales from our spinning prop, Ross killed the engine and we sat dead in the water as a family of the world’s most graceful creatures approached us, coming so close we could reach across the bow and touch them.  They surrounded us, never varying from their path simply carrying on as if we didn’t exist.

Can you see the whale beneath the water?

They dove, glittering in the morning sun and my children looked over the bowlines to see them beneath us.  Whale song as clear as the day filled the air and rainbows shimmered as they blew.  Within a minute they’d passed and we sat, stunned by nature and luck and beauty.

I still can’t believe it.

After a summer of silence I feel I owe you all something pretty grand but sadly boat cuisine is more about speed and ease than anything else…On top of that our fridge gave up the ghost so we’ve been old school on this voyage relying on huge blocks of ice combined with big bags of ice cubes (a broken fridge will not interfere with cocktail hour) and this is our last night on board so we’re down to the bare bones; half a block of feta, some smoked salmon, corn tortillas, other stuff I can’t identify and some tomatoes. 

You know where I’m going with this:

Did I mention I smoked the salmon myself?  Our benevolent neighbor Matthew gifted us some fresh king salmon on the eve of a family bout with stomach flu.  Yes, I know that’s too much information but the point is this…the fresh salmon sat in the fridge for three days before anyone in the family could look at food again and rather than let it sit longer, I brined it overnight and smoked it using my dad’s tried and true recipe.

Smoked Salmon and Feta Quesadillas

Makes four

8 corn tortillas

1 cup smoked salmon, crumbled

1 cup feta, crumbled

Place an 8 inch sauté pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick.  Lay one tortilla in the pan and sprinkle with 1/4 cup feta.  When the  1/4 cup feta starts to melt sprinkle with  1/4 cup salmon and top with a second tortilla. 

Press the tortillas together so they stick and then flip as you would a pancake.  When the salmon is warm and the feta is melted removed from heat, and repeat for the remaining three quesadillas then cut them into quarters, garnish with chopped tomatoes and serve.  Enjoy.

Truffle Brownies

Checking the mail is a daily ritual that involves a cup of tea and a five minute walk to to the top of the lane.  The alders and maples have grown together in places, creating lace doilies shadows on the road.   The baby birds have fledged, their nest empty but for one tiny downy feather, the salmon berries are ripe,and  St. John's wort has finally bloomed in messy yellow abandon.  These are the things I note as I stroll along wondering what Sophia our mail lady has delivered.

When I get home I make a fresh cup of tea and settle in with my favorite cooking magazine.  Bon appétit has arrived and with it, this luscious truffle brownie recipe. 

Brownies with a liquid layer of melted chocolate and hot cream…you had me at hello.

  

 

I highly recommend a sprinkle of sea salt for glamour and extra flavor.

Cheers!

Carla

Truffle Brownies

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped, divided
• 11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• special equipment

  9x9x2-inch metal baking pan

Preparation

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang. Spray foil with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and cool chocolate mixture until lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes.

• Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, then chopped toasted walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 28 minutes. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let brownies cool completely.

• Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add remaining 6 ounces chocolate to hot cream and let stand 5 minutes to soften, then whisk until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate ganache over brownie sheet in pan and spread to cover completely. Let stand at cool room temperature until topping is set, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

• Using foil as aid, lift brownie sheet from pan. Fold down foil edges. Using large sharp knife, cut brownie sheet into 25 squares, wiping knife with hot moist cloth after each cut. Arrange brownies on platter and serve.