From the Chef ~ Home-cured Salmon Roe Caviar

It's been a busy summer out on the Sound, and this year that has meant lots of wild blackberries, dungeness crab and salmon.  Besides home-cured lox, one of my favorite new foodstuffs is home-cured salmon roe caviar.  I say "home-cured" and not "homemade" because really you are just tweaking a food that the salmon hens so graciously produce all on their own.  They really deserve all the credit.  It's really very simple and easy to take it to the next step - and a very, very worthwhile and yummy endeavor!  The best part is that you can really maximize a salmon you caught right here in our abundant waters.  This year we've caught and cured the roe of both Chinook and Coho off Dolphin Point on Vashon Island to equal satisfaction.  Here is the link to the method I am using (this is a great site, by the way!) 

 http://honest-food.net/2009/12/02/how-to-make-caviar/

As far as how to use it, I have tried it simply on top of white rice and orzo pasta, which lengthens the flavor.  I think I like it best on crackers as an hors devours.  I've tried combos of horseradish and minced onion and with thin slices of avacado.  My favorite invention is as follows:

Salmon Caviar Drizzled with Chive-Basil Oil

1.  Finely chop some fresh chives and basil.  Better yet, use a mortar and pestle to pound them into a fragrant green pulp.  With some freshly ground pepper, add to good olive oil, buttery or spicey, mix and set aside.

2.  Take some crackers - I like Ak Mak, as the sesame seeds add another, nutty dimension - and break into pieces and thinly spread some cream cheese on top.  Set crackers on a nice serving plate.

3.  Pile high with your home-cured salmon roe and then drizzle with chive-basil oil.  Enjoy with beer, white wine, bubbly or a dirty gin martini.

From the Chef: Limoncello

 When Life Hands You Lemons, Make…Limoncello! 
 Casa Fiore #23—July-August, 2006

Limoncino, limoncello, limonetto—whatever you call it, this sweet, sun-drenched yellow jewel is the perfect sip at the very end of a long, fulfilling meal.  Wherever you find lemons in Italy—sunny, romantic places like Camogli, Genova, and San Terenzo on the Italian Riviera or Napoli and the Amalfi Coast—you find this refreshing elixir made from their essential oil.  While this “digestivo” is relatively simple, debate on the correct recipe and proportions rage on.  Though there was a time when “I’d have to kill you” if I shared this highly secretive recipe, times have thankfully changed.  The old and sacred ways, however, still are to be honored and strictly followed.  And so I give you this hallowed and ancient recipe for limoncello passed down to me from my dear Zio Franco, with my own little twist...of lemon. Cherish and respect it!

1. Zest 12 organic lemons (though I do understand the waxy coating on conventional lemons may add a fine hallucinogenic effect to the sipping).  Get just the yellow part—no white pith.  Let soak 7 days in one bottle (750 ml.) of 190 proof grain alcohol (available in Oregon or Idaho—yes, you gotta put some extra effort into this one!  Update:  You can order the stuff on line and they will inexplicably deliver it right to your door.)

2. Make a simple syrup of 4 cups sugar and 5 cups purified water.  Warm until sugar is just dissolved.  Let cool.

3. Strain infused alcohol until all zest particles are removed.  Mix infused alcohol with simple syrup, stir, and bottle. 

4. Store in freezer and serve whenever you are in need of a drop o’ sunshine!

***Lemon-creamsicle?  Try Crema di Limoncello:  Substitute 5 cups whole milk for purified water.

From the Chef ~ Chilled Tomato Soup from Andalucia, Spain

(Originally published 9/23/11)

If you are like me this year, you have lots of late tomatoes, which is a very good thing!  Here is Salmorejo, one of my favorite tomato dishes from Casa Fiore #9 (Sept. 2004).  My daughter and I had a few moments this morning to put this together - check out our step-by-step phote recipe below.  This is really easy and so, so good.  I cannot wait for dinner tonight!

*   *   *   *   *

I took a Spanish language course one summer in Seville, the capital of Southern Spain.  While there, I was blown away by the Andalucian cuisine:  authentic churros y chocolate, endless varieties of tapas and local sherry wines, and this version of gazpacho.  Returning home, the rich and refreshing taste of salmorejo still on my lips, I plunged into my overflowing tomato patch and set to work on this dandy of a dish.

1. Soak a 4-INCH PIECE OF BAGUETTE (CRUST DISCARDED) in 1/2 CUP OF WATER for 1 minute.  Squeeze bread dry and discard water.

2. Mash 2 CLOVES GARLIC with mortar and pestle or garlic press or mince with a chopping knife.  Blend garlic paste, bread, and 12 BLANCHED ALMONDS and 1 TSP. SALT in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped.  Add 1 CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL in a slow stream with motor running, blending until thick and smooth.  Add 2 LBS. RIPE, CORED, AND QUARTERED TOMATOES and 2 TBSP. SHERRY VINEGAR and blend for 1-2 minutes.  When tomatoes are fresh and in season, I use a wide assortment of tomatoes from the garden!

3. Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids.  Discard solids.

4. Transfer to a glass container, cover, and chill until cold (2+ hours). Season with extra salt and vinegar to taste and then serve in small bowls topped with FINELY CHOPPED HARD-BOILED EGGS (2 TOTAL) and JULIENNED STRIPS OF SERRANO HAM or PROSCIUTTO (1/4 LBS. TOTAL).  Enjoy!

Seattle Real Estate Market Update ~ Market Still Moving

Our summer market continues to sizzle as it has all year.  Months of inventory based on pending sales slowed just a bit, from 1.8 months in May to 2.0 months in June.  Though the market might be a notch slower, prices were up 11% over last year in the residential market, condo values increased on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive month, and it is clearly still a seller-friendly market.  We are approaching the dog-days of summer when things traditionally slow down a bit toward the end of August.  It will be most interesting to see if this frothy trend continues into the fall.

Below you will find detailed statistics.  As always, let me know if I can be of help in anyway! 

These charts come from Trendgrafix, Inc. and represent all single-family homes (not condos but including town homes) in all Seattle areas.

From the Gardener and Chef ~ 10 Ways with Summer Tomatoes

The tomato, luminary of the earth,

repeated and fertile star,

shows us its convolutions, its canals,

the illustrious plenitude and the abundance

without pit, without husk, 
without scales or thorns,

the gift of its fiery color

and the totality of its coolness.  

-Pablo Neruda, "Ode to the Tomato"

 

So, how are your tomatoes?  My cherished Brandywine, Speckled Romas, and San Marzanos are getting close, which means loads and loads of these garden jewels.  I’ve shared many tomato-based recipes throughout the years.  Here is an anthology of some of my favorite preparations.  Asterisked preparations are Casa Fiore favorites and complete recipes can be found below!

#1:  Bruschetta*. Grilled bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with good extra virgin olive oil, topped with garden tomatoes and basil. 

#2:  Simple salad of tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and tossed with any combo of cucumbers, basil, or dried oregano. 

#3:  Quick ‘n’ sassy sauce to enjoy with pasta.

#4:  Salmorejo*. Impassioned and exotic Andalusian specialty. A sultry sister of gazpacho that will keep you wanting more.

#5:  Insalata Caprese. Famous Italian dish of mozzarella (make it high quality whenever possible!), tomatoes, and basil.

#6:  More tomatoes than you know what to do with?  Take The Lazy Man’s Approach to Canning and throw them in the garage fridge in gallon zip locks.  However unromantic this may sound, these will be this winter’s tastiest sauce tomatoes.

#7:  Salsa*!  Lots of easy recipes out there.  Check out these Pico de Gallo and Salsa Chipotle recipes from Cesar of Tacos Guyamas on Green Lake.

#8:  Throw some beefy tomatoes on the grill with fresh garden veggies like zucchini and peppers and seasoned meats.  Slice them up and let all of those savory juices mingle!

#9:  Oven-dried tomatoes*.  Unfortunately, we don’t get Southern Italian summer heat.  But slice your tomatoes 1/4” thick, set the oven on low, and you’ll be singing O Sole Mio.

#10:  The best way to eat tomatoes?  In the garden right off the vine.  Plunge into the fruit and devour it whole!

Oven-dried Tomatoes

Exclusive CasaFioreOnline.com Recipe!

1. Rinse and dry tomatoes.  You can use an assortment of varieties or choose just one type  of tomato.  Using just one variety will result in more evenly-dried results.  While this is a great way to store an over-abundance of home-grown tomatoes, I've even purchased decent Costco tomatoes in the winter and turned them into something truly memorable.

2. Slice into roughly 1/4 inch thick slices.  Rub a cookie sheet with olive oil.  Place in oven at roughly 250 degrees.  Oven temperatures vary, so you will have to watch this a bit and dry to desired level.  My rule of thumb with my gas oven is 250 degrees for 2 hours.

3. Allow to cool.  Drizzle with olive oil, dust with salt and enjoy immediately as an antipasta.  Conversely, these can be preserved in the fridge for up to a week or stored in the freezer and enjoyed as a ray of sunshine once winter kicks in.

From the Kitchen of TACOS GUYAMAS  ~  Cesar’s Salsas

Casa Fiore #7, June 2004

In 1992, I spent a summer as a volunteer English teacher in Cuautla, a tiny pueblo in rural Jalisco, Mexico.  I taught students ages 4 to 74 that summer and had one of the most unique experiences of my life.  Skip ahead to 1998, back at home in Seattle, as I walk into a new Mexican restaurant in my Green Lake neighborhood.  I step up to the counter, ready to order, and there, behind the register, to my astonishment, is Cesar, one of my former students all the way from Cuautla!  Now an adult and speaking magnificent English, Cesar had opened a restaurant in my own backyard.  Today, Tacos Guyamas is one of the most popular spots along Green Lake and one of my all-time favorite restaurants.  Try Cesar’s special salsas—they will really make your tomatoes sing!

Cesar’s Salsa Mexicana (or Pico de Gallo)

1. Chop the following into corn-size pieces:  3 medium garden fresh tomatoes; 1/2 cup onion; 4-6 serrano peppers or a milder pepper of your choice; 1/2 cup of cilantro; juice of two lemons; 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

2. Mix all ingredients and serve with guacamole and chips.

Cesar’s Salsa Chipotle

1. Boil the following ingredients for 7-10 minutes:  1 cup water; 2 large, peeled, homegrown tomatoes; 12 dried chipotle chiles; 1 clove of garlic; 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

2. When done, puree all ingredients in a food processor. Serve with chips and your favorite cerveza mexicana.

Bruschetta

 Casa Fiore #8, July-August 2004

Fresh, fast, and sublime, try this for easy “al fresco” dinning!

1. Heat grill to medium.  (Instructions for toasters/broilers below.)  Peel 1 LRG. CLOVE GARLIC and set aside.

2. Dice 2-3 LARGE GARDEN FRESH TOMATOES and mix in a bowl with A HANDFUL OF SHREDDED BASIL and set aside.

3. Cut 6 ONE HALF INCH SLICES OF RUSTIC BREAD.

4. Grill bread until toasted—a few blackened spots add a touch of flavor and aesthetic character.  Alternatively, the bread can be toasted under a broiler or in a toaster.

5. Rub one side of toasted bread with garlic and then set on a plate and drizzle with good quality OLIVE OIL.

6. Spoon tomato/basil topping over toasted bread, sprinkle with SALT, and serve immediately.

Salmorejo

 Casa Fiore #9, September 2004 

***Please scroll down to my September 23rd, 2011 posting 

of my daughter and I preparing this tasty dish!