Shrimp Endive Salad with Lemon Cream Dressing

Justin and I were lucky enough to have a date night a few weeks ago. We went to Grain and Gristle, a cute little pub with amazing food and tons of pickles. I love any place with loads of pickled things! (Even though I think the restaurant name is a bit unfortunate, the place is stellar and I would recommend it!)

While there I had an endive salad with shrimp. The combination of crunchy bitter endive and the sweet shrimp was made even tastier by the creamy, lemon dressing. I had to replicate it. It took a few tries to get the dressing right, and needed real cream, not a low-fat alternative. Also, using a meyer lemon made the dressing much more delicate and fragrant, but using a regular lemon and adding a spoon of white sugar worked just as well.

This makes plenty of dressing, enough for a few salads. Save it in the fridge for about a week. 

Shrimp Endive Salad with Lemon Cream Dressing
1 shallot, very finely chopped
Juice from 2 meyer or regular lemons (2 teaspoons white sugar if using regular lemons)
1/3 cup olive oil
large pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 heads of endive, separated and laid on a serving platter or individual plate
1/2 - 1 lb shrimp, cooked and peeled.

1. In a jar, add shallot and lemon juice. Let rest 10 - 15 minutes. This will soften the shallots.
2. Add olive oil, (sugar), and salt to jar. Put on the lid and shake until it starts to emulsify (get a bit thick). Add cream and gently stir to combine. Don't shake the cream too much.

3. Separate endive leaves and lay them on a serving platter or individual plate. Divide shrimp onto the plate or platter.
4. Drizzle with dressing.

Enjoy! 

Mussels - a la easy

Mussels are extremely easy to cook and totally delicious, as well as being healthy and very nutritious. (Seriously, they are pregnancy power packs!) High in protein, low in fat, rich with iron, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, and zinc. Best of all, they cook in a few minutes and take to all different sorts of sauces. It was easy to buy up a few pounds when they are under $5 a pound for locally grown mussels.

Some farm grown (and all wild) mussels will have "beards" growing out of the shell. These are the fibers that attach it to the rocks or ropes they are grown on. I like to pull them off before cooking. It takes a yank, but it is easier then eating around them.

Store mussels in the refridgerator in a strainer covered with a wet towel. They will die if left in the plastic bag and you don't want to eat or cook dead shellfish. Discard any shells that don't open after cooking. That means they were dead before cooking.

Also, I just learned the orange mussels are females and the white are males. Who knew! 

Mussel Basics (works for clams too!)
The basics of cooking mussels is to start with a flavor base, such as garlic, onions, tomatoes or celery and carrots. Chop any or all of these into small pieces and saute in a little oil. (Curry paste is another great base, for a Thai flavor.)
Then add mussels to the hot pan with 1/2 cup - 1 cup liquid. Cover the pan and simmer 5-8 minutes until all the mussels have opened. Pour into a large bowl and sprinkle with herbs. Serve with lots of crusty bread to mop up all the juices.

Generally a pound will fill 2 people, but I have a big eater in the house, so I got a pound and a half for us.

Sauce combos to try:
Beer, fennel, parsley, and tomatoes
White wine, garlic and lemon
Green curry paste and coconut milk, with lime juice and little brown sugar to balance flavors. Serve this one with jasmine rice.
White wine, onions, celery, carrots and cream. (Add cream last, after mussels have opened.)
White wine, tomatoes, fennel and saffron

How do you like your mussels??

Terry's Salmon Recipe

I grew up in a fabulous neighborhood.  I had access to a park across the street, a pond next door, a forest and river steps away and my best friend's house by climbing over a fence. I climbed this fence multiple times a day. Her yard had its own pond, a barn, tree house, My Little Ponies, a newfoundland dog (he was like our nanny!), and a little sister and brother to torture. Life was good.

My friend, R, and I spent hours together outside, and we were a very creative duo. We had a very successful mud sculpture business one summer. Once the barn was converted into a perfume factory. Our mothers' roses suffered that summer!

Another summer the barn was an insect hospital, although I am not sure how many butterflies we "damaged" so that we could "heal" them. We wrote plays and songs, performing for our families. We built a flying machine from cardboard boxes and helium balloons. It's ultimate destination was Ethiopia, to bring food to the starving children. Sadly, it never got off the ground, but rainy months were filled with planning and building.

All of this creativity took energy. And food. In the summer, we had the run of a different neighbor's garden when snack time called. Mr. Miner was our neighborhood grandpa with a huge garden. Apples, pears, berries, sweet corn and tomatoes were ours for the taking. I have never met a more tolerant man. He never once got frustrated when he found the two (or more!) of us sitting under his trees, gorging ourselves on windfall apples. (I could write a whole post on Mr. Miner, he was a special man!)

R's mom baked loaves of fragrant white bread. We would slather thick slices with homemade jams. We were very skilled Top Ramen makers from a young age as well. There was always something good to eat to eat in either of our family kitchens.

With all of these memories I wasn't surprised when my dad passed along a fabulous salmon recipe which he got from R's dad. Our families are still friends and our dads go fishing together. Three ingredients and a hot pan result in an amazing salmon dinner! We ate this over a bowl of rice and some steamed veggies.

What is your best childhood food memory?

Terry's Salmon Recipe
1 lb of the freshest salmon you can get
3 tablespoons soy
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Thinly slice salmon, removing bones and skin.
2. In a bowl mix soy and sesame oil. Add salmon, marinate 5-10 minutes
3. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Add olive oil.
4. When hot add salmon, watching to make sure it doesn't over cook. Flip once and remove as soon as salmon is no longer a "raw-pink" in the middle.
5. Serve immediately over rice.

Lime and Ginger Salmon with Rainbow Slaw

Last week someone listed off some ingredients that were in need of a recipe. I immediately thought of this combination of salmon and a red cabbage slaw. I had to try my idea out, so I headed to the store for similiar ingredients. It was my lucky day, avocados, limes, and wild salmon was on sale.

The meal isn't particularly "local" but it does use in season ingredients. Red (it looks purple to me, why do we call it red?) cabbage is at its sweetest right now, citrus is booming and avocados are ripe for the picking in California.

Lime and Ginger Salmon with Rainbow Slaw
1 lb wild salmon fillet
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
zest from half a lime
a squirt of lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
large pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. In a small bowl mix all ingredients except for the salmon. It should be like a paste, if it is still crumbly squirt in a bit more lime juice.
2. I like to make a tin foil "boat" for my salmon fillets to make clean up easier. Tear off a piece of tin foil slightly larger then the salmon. Fold the sides to make a short wall the way around. This will keep any juices in.
3. Put salmon in the "boat" or onto a baking pan. Cover with the paste.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until no longer pink and the meat is flaky.

While Salmon is baking make Rainbow Slaw.
1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced thinly
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red or yellow pepper sliced thinly
2-3 green onions, sliced into small rounds. Use both white and green
1 avocado, diced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped into small pieces
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon white or brown sugar
A large pinch of salt

1. Toss veggies and herbs in a large salad bowl.
2. In a small bowl or juice glass whisk lime juice, rice vinegar, sugar and salt until everything disolves.
3. Dress the salad and toss to combine.

I served this up with brown jasmine rice. It was great has a hot dinner and tasted great cold the next day too!

Make Your Like Easier! Talk To Your Butcher or Fishmonger

I am slowly falling in love with our local butcher and fish monger.

Buying meat and fish is SO much more pleasant when you are talking to an actual expert behind the counter. I love bringing home meat wrapped in brown paper instead of saran wrap and styrofoam plates. There is an old world charm for me. I feel more connected to the food I am eating. I love asking for something to be sliced, cleaned or packed a specific way and BOOM, it actually happens. I have also learned a ton about meat and fish preparation and recipes.

Recently, after a conversation with a my fish monger about some Oregon tuna, I learned that the fish on display that is listed as previously frozen, can be bought frozen! I know this seems sorta of obvious. I never would have thought to ask.

I love eating fish, but I only shop once a week, so it is hard to stock up on fish due to it's short shelf-life. The lovely fish monger hooked me up with a few pounds of frozen tuna, which as on sale for $5.99 a pound! (Regularly $12!) Now I can enjoy tuna on my schedule.

**Edited to add: I have had wonderful experiences with the butchers at New Seasons and Gardner's Meat Market. The fish monger at Fred Meyers and Fubon are amazingly helpful!**