Tonight's salmon was a tried-and-true recipe. Just sprinkle some Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I prefer using Malabar pepper) on some fresh fillet of salmon. Next marinate the salmon in equal parts maple syrup and grainy mustard (I use 1/2 a cup of each to marinate 4 salmon fillet portions to serve 4 people). Marinate for as little as 1 hour or as much as overnight. The longer it has to sit and absorb the flavours, the better. Then just BBQ and serve either warm or at room temperature.
The French Potato Salad I made was yet another tried-and-true recipe -- this time couretsy of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten (my hero if truth be told). Here is her wonderful recipe using olive oil instead of gloppy old mayonnaise as you usually would find. I challenge you to find a better potato salad than this one.
1 pound each small white boiling potatoes and red boiling potatoes
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons chicken stock
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
10 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced green onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley (aka Italian parsley)
2 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh basil leaves
Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in half (or quarter if the potatoes are large) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding. Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion (or do what I do and throw all the dressing ingredients together in a jam jar and use your stick blender/immersion blender to do the job). Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the green onion, dill, parlsy, basil, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The green salad I served tonight was just a combination of fresh salad greens, sliced radish, chopped celery, diced red pepper (that I purchased from today's farmers' market in Steveston Village) and diced cucumber. Then I just made a quick Balsamic Vinaigrette by placing the follwing ingredients in a jam jar and using my stick blender/immersion blender to emulsify: 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, flax seed oil and maple syrup, 1-1/2 tablespoons of raspberry vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt.
Dessert was fun to put together. The recipe comes from the ex-chef of The Cannery and you need to make your own ricotta cheese, which is terrifically simple! Just place 4 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of reduced fat buttermilk into a pot and place over high heat. Stirring constantly, heat the mixutre to 180 degrees Farenheit. Remove from the heat (the curds will float to the top). Pour through a sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth and then let the ricotta cool completely. When ready to serve dessert, place ricotta, 1 tablespoon of finely grated orange zest, and 4 teaspoons of Grand Marnier or Cointreau in a food processor and pulse until combined. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of icing sugar to the firm peak stage. Fold the whipped cream into the ricotta mixture. Wash about 1-1/2 pints of fresh strawberries, then hull and slice. Place the ricotta mixture into individual dessert dishes and place the strawberries on top (makes 4 servings).
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