... a spirited celebration of regional food and culinary craft, season by season, with original recipes by Susan S. Bradley
My Grandma Mary would have loved homemade chutney, but alas, I doubt she ever tasted true chutney, even though her cellar walls were lined yearly with row upon row of pickled and candied veggies and fruits.
She preserved everything she could get her hands on. Her large yard boasted mature peach, pear, plum, sweet cherry, pie cherry, and crab apple trees, which we loved to climb and pilfer.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to elevate a simple dessert to epicurean heights is to add a brightly colored, brightly flavored dessert syrup. You can serve a dessert syrup over ice cream or gelato, alongside panna cotta or baked custard, with tea cakes, or as the key flavoring of an Italian soda, lemonade, or limeade (recipe below).
There are few dishes in the world more deeply satisfying than a perfectly made Potato Gratin. And by perfectly made, I mean the potatoes are cooked just until tender (not falling apart), are enveloped in a creamy (not curdled) sauce, and are well-seasoned, (not bland). Of course, it goes without saying that you should use a copious quantity of cheese and it should be excellent quality and aged to boot. In a dish this simple, each ingredient counts.
On the LunaCafe Facebook page recently, I bemoaned the fact that this is an atypically chilly and dreadfully dreary May in the Northwest. By chilly, I mean most days are in the 50’s, which forces me to put on three layers of everything just to step out the door. This is not the kind of weather that makes me all dreamy-eyed about eating cold, composed salads, no matter how much I will crave them once summer finally kicks in.
Instead, I find myself jotting down ideas for Moroccan tagines. Why? Because they are hot, spicy, succulent, and so damn delicious that not even the weather can bring me down when I’m eating one.
I think of myself as a component kind of cook. Just as I prefer a wardrobe full of separates that I can mix and match as fancy strikes, I also like to mix and match culinary components. What I learn from one dish always has ramifications to another dish later.
Take this new salad for instance. I am in the lingering thrall of the Lemon & Thyme Marinated Artichokes posted last week. They were so good that I can’t get them out of my mind. We had barely finished the first batch of artichokes, and I had another batch marinating in the fig.
Years ago in Sedona, Arizona, a dish titled Fire-Smoked Lemon and Herb Marinated Artichoke caught my attention. I asked the server how it was prepared, and she said the artichokes were marinated for days in a lemon, garlic, olive oil, and fresh herb vinaigrette, then grilled over mesquite. She said they were to die for. They weren’t. In fact, I could barely discern the marinade at all.
Pesto season is upon us once again. Hallelujah! Last year, I hit the test kitchen for several days and developed a balanced, sure-fire formula and five wonderful pestos: Rosemary Hazelnut Pesto, Cilantro Ginger Pesto, Herb Garden Pesto, Basil Arugula Pesto, and Basil Olive Pesto. I thought those recipes would suffice for years. Silly me.
Can you say Tzatziki (za-ZEE-kee)? Honestly, it’s more difficult to say it than to make it. Which is a good thing, because it’s the magic potion that sends this Greek-inspired sandwich into the flavor stratosphere. And I promise, after one bite, no one will care if you bungle the pronunciation.
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