Your Irises Are in Bloom!

Ahhh, Spring!

I couldn't resist these radishes at the store yesterday. I also bought a couple of French baguettes at Model, and some local, fancy European style butter (and bresaola and pâté maison) at Fatted Calf, in another attempt to love radishes and butter on a baguette. With salt, I *like* radishes and butter on baguette, but frankly, I'd just as soon have butter on a baguette. I'll keep trying, though.

But aren't these radishes just gorgeous? I think when the Easter Egg radishes arrive, I'll buy another bunch just to gaze upon, and maybe try the recipe I saw in one of the food magazines (now, where was that...?) for roasted radishes. Or this one, for butter-braised radishes, from Orangette...

Also made the Lemon Pudding Cakes again. Turned out deeeelicious. This time, I used buttermilk instead of milk, and added a tablespoon of sugar to offset the extra sourness. I had the extra time before our guests arrived to cover and chill them, and this time, the pudding did separate out from the cake on top as promised. Topped them with whipped cream and more raspberries, and they were gobbled up before I could get a shot of them. Next time!

Spring Menu:
Baguettes, cheeses, butter, radishes and charcuterie
Asparagus risotto with whole asparagus
Grilled pork tenderloin with garlic and rosemary
Lemon pudding cakes with whipped cream and fresh raspberries

Road Trip!

After stopping off at the cemetery to see some relatives, we headed out to Lighthouse Point to visit some more of our loved ones.

Grandpa attempting to explain the finer points of Steamer's Lane surfing to Molly. She moves so fast, this was the only non-blurry picture of her!

Grandpa looking out over Capitola, the town of his youth, the next day.

A very nice young man named Matt invited us in to see the inside of the Cliff Avenue house that was purchased by my great-grandparents for $5,000 in 1939. This is Grandpa showing us the corner wall where he and his brother would have their height marked in pencil each year. He is demonstrating the fact that my great-uncle grew to be 6'4".

Our missions were accomplished, the weather was perfect, and a good time was had by all. Thanks, Molly, for doing almost all of the driving! (Sorry about the picture, but it was the only one where you weren't blurry or making a funny face.)

Supercalifontalisticexpialidocious

I do not know what is going on with the fonts on this blog. I was pasting from Word, and I think some of the font commands were sticking in there like popcorn kernels in the teeth, even after I took them out, but I think it is under control now. Sorry about the chaos.

Return of the Caesar

This will be the second time I've posted this recipe, but I don't want you to miss it, since today I made a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and it hit the spot. Now I know that is the opposite end of the spectrum from avant-garde, GCCS being ubiquitous these days, from McDonald's to the haute-est retro steakhouses, but the difference between a vibrant, punchy, fresh-tasting CS, and one that is bland and greasy, is in the dressing. THIS is the dressing you want: lemony, garlicky and full of depth and flavor. On a warm evening, a moderate amount of this dressing, tossed with cold, crisp romaine lettuce and fresh grated Parmesan (put that green can away before I smack someone!), eaten with grilled chicken from the barbecue, will revive your sense of what this salad can be.

I posted this once here, in 2007, and it's true that I did learn to make it in a five-gallon bucket in Michael Chiarello's Tra Vigne kitchen, under the tutelage of the impish cold-side wizard Peggy. It is still the best, the original, authentic Caesar salad dressing. If you must, due to health reasons, omit the egg yolk, the dressing still tastes ok with the Dijon as the only binder, but take care when you emulsify that you go slowly with the oil at first so that it doesn't break.

A couple of things you need to know about this recipe: one, it makes about a half-pint of dressing, which is a lot. Be prepared to share, or to have more than one salad in a week. And two, both people had better partake. As with all things garlic and anchovy-y, this dressing packs a serious wallop in the breath department later. But raw garlic is good for you, and it's soooo delicious. I used Meyer Lemon juice, so I added a full tablespoon more for the right amount of tartness. I like my Caesar dressing lemony.

This was also my Grandma’s favorite Caesar salad, reason enough to justify a trip down from Tahoe just to eat at the restaurant.

Caesar Salad
(From the Tra Vigne Cookbook, "Piadine with Blue Cheese Caesar Salad" by Michael Chiarello and Penelope Wisner. Blue cheese, though I love it dearly, is a terrible waste of the subtle and not so subtle flavors in this dressing. I prefer the original recipe.)

1T Champagne vinegar
2T Fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 egg yolk
1 tb dijon mustard
Dash Worcestershire sauce
6 anchovy fillets (buy the filets in a jar of oil rather than the can-- they are much neater and easier to store, and keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator)
Pinch fresh ground black pepper
1 cup pure olive oil
2 tb freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling on salad

Using a blender, food processor or stick blender, mince the garlic, then add the vinegar, lemon juice, egg yolk, mustard, Worcestershire, anchovies and pepper and blend until well mixed.

With the machine running, add the olive oil, at first by drops and then in a thin, steady stream until all of the oil is incorporated.

Pulse in the finely grated parmesan

Refrigerate in a covered container until ready to use. Toss with chilled, chopped hearts of romaine, and extra parmesan until the greens are evenly but thinly coated.

Do not overdress; keep a bowl on the table for those who like more. Top with chicken if you like. Or dip raw vegetables in it, or make a warm/cold piadini (a folded flatbread sandwich) with it, using some Trader Joe's raw pizza doughs cooked up on the barbecue grill or in the oven, or soft, storebought flatbread. Trader Joe's also has a good one.

Note: If you have no food processor or blender, chop the ingredients very fine, then whisk them together with a wire wisk, or pummel them using a mortar and pestle. Emulsions are a little tougher to do with a whisk, but that's the way they were done forever and ever, so just roll a damp towel into a tube and wrap around the base of a stainless or glass bowl, tilted slightly, so you'll have two free hands, and whisk away, remembering to go very slowly at first with the oil, and you'll be just fine.

Enjoy!

Heartwarming

Recently, after a not entirely unpleasant but not fun dentist appointment, I thought back fondly to my childhood dental experiences. (Yes, you read that right.)

We had the very best dentist* from the time I was ten or so until I left Modesto at 18: Dr. Robert Venn. He is still practicing.

(*Due in no small part to the very comprehensive insurance that my dad worked very hard for at Pacific Bell)

I am so thankful for those early experiences with a gentle and compassionate dentist, whose staff was friendly, and whose treasure chest was always full of toys. I remember one experience in particular when I bravely, silently endured the giant needle, but great big tears rolled out one after the other anyway as I stared at him with big, wide eyes. He wiped my tear away with his finger and said, "Why you're a little waterfall, aren't you? I'm sorry this hurts, sweetie." For some reason, the memory of that tenderness still brings tears to my eyes.

I looked him up on the internet and wrote him a thank you note, to let him know what a lifelong impression his professionalism and kindness made on me. As an adult, I have no stress when it comes to dental work, and can almost fall asleep in the dentist's chair. I told him so.

Here's the response I received:

Tamara-

It was wonderful for me to read your card and feel the sentiment you shared.

I have found that life's joys are around human connections and for that reason your extra effort in contacting me is greatly appreciated.

I've also noticed that the graces in life which we receive are best appreciated when we are open hearted, and it is with that attitude that I thank you and wish you open-hearted possibilities for your future.

Bob Venn

I post this not because I want to pat myself on the back for thinking of writing him a note, nor to betray the confidence of his personal reply, but to shine a light where it is deserved, on a truly lovely and remarkable individual who is still influencing the lives of those he treats.

Dr. Venn, you are awesome.

Loyal Gum Chewers

I thought about that phrase, "loyal gum chewers," and all I could picture was a gang of slack-jawed, flabby patriots convening under limp banners.

Fear not, Southern ladies! I do not (ever) chew gum in public, as long as you don't count the inside of my car as public. I never chew it at the store or in front of anyone other than Mike, or very, very close friends, inside the car or inside my private home.

And, for the record, I have been choosing Trident White or Orbit White lately, because they are in wrapper-free packaging AND they claim to whiten. I am all about maintaining the choppers.