A good fisherman never wastes his catch. So what do you do when you go jetty fishing and end up with a kelp greenling? (A boney but tasty fish) You make an Oregon version of San Francisco’s famous fisherman’s stew, cioppino! Just add dungeness crab, clams and mussels!
Nowadays, you don’t have to go foraging for mussels at the beach. Farm-raised mussels are so common that fresh mussels are available at most grocery stores year-round. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is in a Thai style with peppers, basil and a sweet and salty sauce. You can make it a starter or part of a meal by pairing it with another stir fry.
Salmon loaves have been around for a long time and if you look for recipes, most begin with 1 or 2 15½ ounce cans of salmon. Begone with the canned and in with the fresh. While meat loaf is rarely offered to company as an elegant entrée, you can dress salmon up into a loaf fit for a queen.
I recall a vivid memory of my cousin Vernon and I bringing home a batch of crawdads from the creek in the field near his house and handing them over to our grandmother to fry up the tails. Big, brave stuff we were, foraging for our own wild food snack.
When I learned that Oregon is the second largest producer of crawfish, next to Louisiana, my boyhood curiosity was piqued. The Pelican State is accountable for about 90% of the nations crawfish with the Beaver State making up a chunk of the remainder.
When it’s so hot out, who wants a searing hot meal? How about something to help you chill out? For August, a group of food bloggers from around the world who use the #letslunch hashtag on Twitter decided to offer up cold entrées for their readers. So here’s our unique twist that’s an Asian fusion mashup of seafood salad from Oregon. Home-cured Columbia River salmon roe takes it over the top.
My first taste of fresh line caught halibut was in Morro Bay, CA in the early 90s. It arrived at our table as fresh as promised, simply grilled to perfection. I’ve been hooked on halibut ever since.
Love of razor clams will make you go to great lengths if you’re an outdoor adventurer. It drove Mom and me to get up at 3:30 a.m. recently on one of my days off in order to pick up friends Tina and Allison Martin and head out on the three-hour drive from Salem to Sunset Beach, north of Seaside, Oregon, in time to get there for the minus low tide at 7:30 a.m. I can’t remember the last time I got up at 3:30 a.m. Nor can I remember the last time I drove 125 miles to catch dinner.
For most of my life Surf and Turf has had a negative connotation. Perhaps it’s because I strongly associate it with the ’70s and all that decade represented. Conspicuous consumption. Excess. Gaudiness. Lincoln Towncars a block long. Scotch and gentlemen’s clubs (not the naughty kind; I’m thinking supper clubs for the exclusive). Leveraged buyouts. You get the idea. Michael Douglas in “Wall Street.” Wandering the aisle of the grocery store and pondering what to serve my family for dinner, I was craving beef. But I also had to deal with the reality that Mom doesn’t eat beef. So I thought of grilling some shrimp and, since I had to fire up the grill, what would it hurt to throw on some beef as well? But I decided that reason should rule. No New York steak or even fillet mignon. I settled on a few pieces of tri-tip steaks for Charles and me.
One of the fun things about going to the bays in Oregon to dig for clams or cockles is that inevitably you run into other clam and cockle lovers scouring the sand for these succulent prizes, and you get to swap favorite methods for preparing the seafood bounty once you get home. The last time I was there, I ran into a family that was knee deep in huge pits that they had dug out in the bay, their kids clawing through the sand with potato forks while the parents were digging away with shovels. I walked over to the mother and asked her what her favorite way of preparing the cockles was. “Shuck ‘em, dab some butter and chopped garlic on them and put ‘em under the broiler,” she said. On my way home with my limit of cockles from Tillamook Bay, I pondered what she said and decided that I would try chopped up garlic, capers, thyme and olive oil on my shucked cockles before sliding them under the broiler. Yup. That should do the trick.
May is the beginning of the Oregon and Alaska spring commercial salmon season, so you’ll be able to get wild salmon at the store. Here’s an uncommon way to enjoy salmon that is a marriage of a Pacific Northwest ingredient with a distinctly Asian presentation.
May ushers in the beginning of commercial Chinook salmon fishing season in Oregon and Sockeye salmon season in Alaska so if you haven’t noticed these wild varieties at your grocery store yet, they’ll soon be arriving. Instead of cooking an entire fillet, you can get the flavor of salmon and reduce the expense by making salmon cakes. Salmon cakes are easy to make, take very little time, can be made ahead of time and refrigerated and then cooked right when your company arrives. This recipe is not only simple, it’s spectacular.
Chowder is easy to make and once you’ve tasted it made from fresh cockles or clams, you’ll never feel the same about opening a can of chowder again. It will make you want to look up the tide tables and head to Tillamook Bay with your bucket and garden rake!
I usually poach fish in wine but I was inspired to try poaching the fish in a sake that was slightly sweet to see if the sake would impart the same silky sweet flavor to the fish while lending itself to being served cold as a meal that was more salad-like. The delicate sole did take on some of the flavor of the sake and was delicious served cold on top of some cucumber slices that were cold-pickled in a mixture of water, cider vinegar, salt and a touch of sugar.
The rest of the meal was quick and simple to prepare and the only other cooking involved poaching the asparagus and then rinsing them in cold water. To make the shrimp salad, I simply combined the store-bought cooked salad shrimp with some green goddess salad dressing and added some chopped chives.
I love fishing for trout in Oregon and go out every chance I get. Our freezer is always well stocked with vacuum packed rainbow trout, labeled with the date and lake where the fish were caught. Part of the fun is also figuring out different ways of cooking the trout.Tonight for dinner, I decided to poach the trout in some white wine, skin them, and then serve them covered in a dressing of chopped olives, garlic, herbs and olive oil. It was delicious, judging from the empty plates and smiles at the dinner table.
I had battered and fried mussels for the first time at Andaluz, a tapas restaurant right here in Salem. Chef David Rosales’ version had a light coat of flour and was served with a garlic aioli sauce. It was such a delicious way to enjoy mussels that I was inspired to create my own version. Preferring a more substantial batter, I played around until I came up with a recipe that was a combination of batter and breading and remained crispy-crunchy after frying, along with a more tangy, Japanese-inspired sauce based on miso. This dish makes a great appetizer. Think of them as mussel poppers! They’ll disappear in a flash.
One of the fun things about mastering a culinary technique is that you can start innovating when you’ve got the technique down. Today I’m combining two techniques, smoking seafood and making Vietnamese spring rolls to come up with Vietnamese spring rolls stuffed with smoked trout. It’s a delicious way to enjoy smoked trout and makes for a light and healthy meal.
How many boomers cut their culinary gourmet teeth on tuna noodle casserole? OK, hands down. I grew up making it and loving it too. The Beaver and Wally must have enjoyed it, and I’m sure Samantha Stephens twitched one up occasionally for Tabitha when Darrin wasn’t looking. But how would Samantha serve it to Endora, whose tastes were anything but ordinary? Endora would probably turn up her nose at Samantha’s can of this and can of that, wave her arm, and out of rising smoke would appear something like “La Cocotte Nouilles au Thon avec la Sauce de Mornay, Sherried Champignons Forestiers et l’Huile de Truffe Blanc.” Whew!
Tamarind paste and canned chopped tomatoes form the base of this tangy sauce over Dungeness crab, clams and mussels. The paste from the flesh of tamarind pods are a combination of tongue-curling tartness, cheek-pinching saltiness, and lip-smacking sweetness, all rolled into one.
There have been only a few times in my life when I’ve eaten a meal somewhere and the dish I’m eating makes a lasting impression, its flavors etching its memory into my taste buds and mind. Such was the case many years ago when I was eating at a now-defunct restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, called Celebration, and I tasted their creamy luscious cucumber dressing. They wouldn’t part with the recipe and it’s taken me several years of trial and error to replicating the flavor and consistency. And it makes a wonderful dressing for this salad of avocado stuffed with shrimp (it would be great with crab too!).
A tomato and tamarind sauce lends a sweet, sour and salty melange of flavors to a seafood bounty of deep-fried striped perch I caught from the jetty at Newport, and mussels from the store. It was the perfect way to enjoy my catch and easy enough for you to prepare at home with any firm-fleshed ocean fish like sea bass or red snapper.
There’s something familiar about deep frying fish, but there’s also an exotic side. The familiar trout takes a walk on the wild side and gets a faraway flavor being deep fried and then topped with kiwi and mango salsa.
I’m convinced that the fishing gods are toying with me. Off and on for most of a year now, every chance I get I’ve headed to the coast with my surf rod and clam necks and sand shrimp for bait in search of the elusive redtail surfperch…and I’ve been skunked every time.
Then recently, Mom and I went shopping at Uwajimaya in Beaverton, Oregon, a Portland suburb, and while roaming the seafood aisle, guess what I spot staring at me from the fish case, all smiles as if they’re mocking me. Yup. Redtail surfperch.
Gravlax can be used as the base for a light and flavorful salad topped with pomegranate balsamic dressing. The dressing of pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil offers a fruity burst of palate-cleansing flavor when paired with the gravlax.
Although not as elaborate, this dish captures the essence of a Niçoise salad, and you could certainly push it that direction with the addition of some lightly steamed vegetables, boiled egg and perhaps some anchovy. It makes a perfect lunch or light dinner entrée and would pair nicely with a light-colored, dry rosé or pinot noir from Soter Vineyards or Patton Valley Vineyards.
Gravlax hors d’oeuvres are easy to make as well as tasty. So take a walk on the wild side and make your own gravlax. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is. This post includes step-by-step instructions as well as photos.
Mussels are one of those seafood dishes that you have to be careful about when serving company. Many people object to their strong flavor and aroma. Charles and I love them, however, and we were once talking about our favorite ways to cook mussels when my mother, Pranee, told me about a dish she cooked at a now-defunct restaurant in Houston called Renu’s. It was simply mussles that had been steamed in water infused with lemongrass and it was served with a dipping sauce that Thais commonly use for seafood: a mixture of fish sauce, lime and chopped chilis.
The idea of pairing bacon and fish had never occurred to me until Charles and I tasted the fillet mignon of ahi encrusted with bacon at Atlantic restaurant in Baltimore. The memory of that meal inspired me to create this dish using Oregon albacore tuna. I’ve always loved the taste of pomegranate so I’ve incorporated it into a red wine and balsamic reduction as a sauce that goes perfectly with the tuna and greens.
Beaver brand, made by Oregon-based and family-owned Beaverton Foods, is the largest producer of non-refrigerated horseradish and specialty mustards in the U.S. The company also makes a wide variety of best-selling gourmet sauces, garlic, spices, and other unique specialty condiments packaged under these labels: Beaver, Inglehoffer, Napa Valley and Tulelake.
We rarely have lobster, and it always seems like such a heavy thing to have for dinner, with all that butter for dredging it, but I was inspired to grill lobster tails and use them to fill Vietnamese-style spring rolls, instead of the traditional pork and shrimp combo. As Emeril would say, it’s kicked up a notch.
Most people squeeze lemon juice on oysters in the half shell and then dunk them in cocktail sauce or ground horseradish, but I’ve always enjoyed the fresh flavor of mirin and ponzu and was inspired by a recipe for cucumber salsa for oysters in chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s book Nobu West. I added a twist of my own and served them to Mom and Charles, who eagerly gulped down my test bivalves. I broke with my usual abstinence and ate one too.
Smokes salmon is such a wondrous food in itself, why turn it into an ingredient? Because we can! Smoked salmon, whether smoked cold or hot, is usually accompanied by breads or crackers and condiments such as cream cheese, onions, capers, sour cream … and the list can go on around the world. My first taste of [...]
A sauce of fermented black beans, garlic, ginger and sweet dark soy sauce add a delicious savory Asian touch to oven-roasted rockfish. Fermented black beans, also called salted dried black beans, are actually soybeans that have been dried and fermented with salt and usually ginger. They’re used frequently in Cantonese cooking.
Cold somen noodles in miso sauce act as a foil for grilled Pacific spot prawns. This marriage of salty (noodles and miso sauce) and sweet (grilled prawns) are perfect for a light dinner on a hot summer day.
One of our favorite ways of enjoying sockeye this time of year is smoking with a flavored rub comprised of seasonings and spices. Another, less time-consuming method and one that lets you enjoy the flavor of the fish more, is to grill the fish fillet and then top it with a simple salsa made from fruit such as orange or mango.
In a scene in the movie Julie & Julia , the actress playing Julia Child, Meryl Streep, describes to her visiting sister how white wine and vinegar are reduced and massive quantities of butter are whipped into submission. In French beurre blanc, translated literally, means “white butter.” The sauce is butter whipped to a frothy, tangy, heavenly sensation. That’s the best way I can describe it. And when I opened a small Ziploc bag containing dried black trumpet mushrooms and inhaled the intensly earthy, almost truffle-like aroma, I knew they were destined for beurre blanc.
After coming home with a bounty of trout from Hebo Lake, we had a dilemma: What to do with the trout for dinner? Tired of fried trout, we decided to poach them in a broth of white wine, vegetables and herbs, and serve them with a dill sauce. It was a refreshing change and the sides of peas and carrots went wonderfully with the sauce.
I thought about our trip to Paris last weekend when Charles and I were fishing at Mt. Hebo Lake and Charles was reeling in his first 12-inch rainbow trout. It wasn’t that the fishing adventure reminded me in any way of our trip. Instead, it made me think of the seafood in Paris and the passage in Julia Child’s book “My Life in France”, where she eats her first French meal in Rouen at Restaurant La Couronne and has sole meunière. She describes the buttery sole melting in her mouth, and I thought…trout meunière.
Oregon and Ireland have more than cockles and mussels in common. The winter skies are similarly gray and wet, and there are more hues of green in nature in Oregon and Ireland than you can imagine, even during the wintertime. Another commonality: great seafood. If you like the outdoors, why go to a fishmonger? Catch it [...]
For me, being in the outdoors and nature is a great stress reliever. No cell phones, beautiful mountains and streams, and even a tempestuous Pacific Ocean can be relaxing in a way that a good massage can be. This past week was particularly stressful for me, so I looked forward to fishing on the jetty [...]
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On cold and wet days, nothing warms you up like a bowl of creamy leak and potato soup. Plus, it’s hearty enough to eat as a dinner with a small salad to go along with it. Just make sure you have some good sourdough bread to go along with your soup as you’ll want to sop up all that creamy liquid.
A good fisherman never wastes his catch. So what do you do when you go jetty fishing and end up with a kelp greenling? (A boney but tasty fish) You make an Oregon version of San Francisco’s famous fisherman’s stew, cioppino! Just add dungeness crab, clams and mussels!
One of summer’s delicious and juicy treats is fresh heirloom tomatoes. They come in so many varieties, each with a unique flavor that adds its note to the chorus of tomatoes. There are purple varieties, beefstake, orange and golden yellow. Wandering the farmers markets in the late spring and early summer, its one of the vegetables I look forward to coming into season. And when they do, what a more perfect way to enjoy them than in fresh gazpacho. Chilled to take the edge off your summer afternoon.
A good fisherman never wastes his catch. So what do you do when you go jetty fishing and end up with a kelp greenling? (A boney but tasty fish) You make an Oregon version of San Francisco’s famous fisherman’s stew, cioppino! Just add dungeness crab, clams and mussels!
Nowadays, you don’t have to go foraging for mussels at the beach. Farm-raised mussels are so common that fresh mussels are available at most grocery stores year-round. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is in a Thai style with peppers, basil and a sweet and salty sauce. You can make it a starter or part of a meal by pairing it with another stir fry.
Dill and Mustard Fresh Salmon Loaf
Salmon loaves have been around for a long time and if you look for recipes, most begin with 1 or 2 15½ ounce cans of salmon. Begone with the canned and in with the fresh. While meat loaf is rarely offered to company as an elegant entrée, you can dress salmon up into a loaf fit for a queen.
Pork Fat Rules! Here’s an easy way to render pork fat, complete with video
There are occasions when you’re cooking that nothing can surpass rendered pork fat. You’ll be amazed at how much more flavorful your hash browns are, or any potato for that matter, when cooked in pork fat. Or how robust your sauteed green beans will be. Or delectable your collard greens. Or how flaky your pie crust will be. Or how rich your quail or pheasant will taste when seared in pork fat. Instead of buying commercially available lard bricks at the store, I prefer to render pork fat myself. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to do, and how long it can keep in the refrigerator in a mason jar.
Seared Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Tomato Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
This dish combines two ingredients that are among my favorites: pork tenderloin and pineapple. Pork tenderloin is one of those unappreciated cuts of meat. And too bad too. It’s easy to cook, lean and low in fat plus it doesn’t take long to cook. Pineapple is one of those fruits that’s commonly used in cooking in Asian foods, but not so much with American dishes. And too bad for that, too. It has the perfect balance of sweet and tart and lends itself to sweet and sour dishes. Plus you don’t have to mess with a fresh pineapple if you don’t want to deal with the rather complicated process of peeling and prepping the fruit — you can just use canned pineapple.
Saltimbocca alla Romana alla Oregona
Traditional Saltimbocca alla Romana or Vitelo Saltimbocca, as it is occasionally dubbed, is a scaloppine of veal pounded thin with a thin slice of prosciutto and sage leaves. It is often sautéed in butter and then served with a pan sauce of stock and wine such as Marsala. It is also made with chicken, turkey or pork with equal success.
Saltimbocca is a contraction of i salta in bocca which means “it jumps in the mouth”. If we could be time-traveling flies-on-the-wall and go back a few centuries to the restaurant where saltimbocca alla Romana began, we’d probable hear some hungry Italian calling to the waiter, “Hey Guido, bringa me somma dat dish dat jumps ina my mouth!”
The first time Charles brought home eggs purchased from some of his real-estate buddies, Karen Owen, who kept a few hens on their acreage seemed like it was almost a year ago. Since then, we’ve fallen in love with the eggs she provides us. With bright red yolks, like the sun. Tasty, buttery, creamy. Yes. Store-bought eggs will no longer do. Our love of these eggs led us to go visit Karen to meet the chickens, in a “Portlandia” moment.
Ginger-Poached Chicken Bathed in Soy and Shanxi Vinegar with Scallions and Ginger
I thought of this dish and my brief childhood sojourn in Singapore recently when I learned that a wonderful friend, a witty Singaporean now living with her charming husband in New York City, was coming through the Northwest on a tour to promote her new book, “A Tiger in the Kitchen,” a memoir about her experience reconnecting with her Singaporean roots and family by travelling home to learn her family recipes. I wish I had time to prepare the dish for Cheryl and Mike, but our visit was brief but fun.
Making chicken stock isn’t difficult. I watched Martha Stewart demonstrate it years ago, except she used two whole chickens and then tossed them! But if Martha can do it, so can you. You don’t need to use whole chickens like she did. Just think, how often are you stopping at the grocery store to get baked rotisserie chicken for your family meal? Instead of throwing out the carcass the next time, put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer, and on a lazy afternoon make some chicken stock and then freeze it.
Duck Braised with Oranges and Peaches in Riesling — Cunard à l’Orange et Pêches
I’ve had a soft spot for duck. Peking duck, duck noodle soup, duck confit. Ooo la la. It’s no wonder I ended up in a state where one of the universities has a duck for a mascot.
One of my favorite ways to serve duck is to sear it in pork fat (aka lard) and then braise it in red wine. For a change of pace and since I had duck à l’orange on my mind on this occasion, I decided to use Riesling instead and add orange slices as well as preserved peaches, since peaches aren’t in season yet. This dish may be inspired by duck à l’orange, but unlike that dish, this one is easy to prepare and equally rewarding to your taste buds.
Duck Legs Braised in Pinot Noir with Roasted Pears and Cipollini Onions
“Tonight: Pinot Noir Braised Duck Legs with Roasted Pears and Onions” I wrote in my status quote on Facebook. Friends as far away as Texas declared they could be here by dinner time. Jane Owen, oboist with the Fort Worth Symphony and frequent spokesperson for the duck in Peter and the Wolf, sounded ready to make the trek if only her orchestra schedule would allow. Gail Cook, arts aficionado and book reviewer, was nursing an injured foot and requested special pampering in the form of room service. Would that I could! Alas, in the next few hours 23 commentators had joined the trail.
Upon deciding to write an article about Crater Lake and the food we enjoyed there, I knew I wanted to locate some huckleberries, even though the season had just passed. I called D Loos, the produce manager at the Roth’s Vista Market here in Salem, to see if he could help. I told him I needed only a quart. D returned my call promptly and said I could have my huckleberries tomorrow afternoon. Great news! We’re having huckleberry pie this weekend.
When I was notified that my prize had arrived, I ecstatically went to fetch them. (Note to self: Always ask the price when placing a special order. My pie filling was going to cost me $13.99 a pound. Ouch!)
Sautéed Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas with Wilted Watercress
Two of my favorite vegetables to eat raw are carrots and sugar snap peas. When I’m in search of a simple side dish that’s nutritious and healthy to boot, I will lightly sauté thinly sliced carrots in some butter or olive oil, toss in some sugar snap peas, and then turn off the heat and add water cress and stir in the hot pan until the water cress wilts. When water cress wilts, it retains its slighly bitter bite, but the cooking brings out a sweetness that you don’t notice when it’s raw. Then I’ll drizzle a little champagne vinegar, toss and serve.
Roasted Parsnips, Carrots and Delicata Squash Tossed with Sautéed Mustard Greens
For those of you making a mad dash to the grocery store because you’ve procrastinated until now to deal with your Thanksgiving dinner, this is probably too late for you, but if you’re tired of yams and mashed potatoes, there’s nothing that says fall to me more than some under-appreciated root vegetables like parsnips and beets. Add some delicata squash, a wonderfully sweet squash that beats out acorn squash, with it’s edible skin, the old carrot stand-by and toss in olive oil and garlic seasoning and pop in the oven and before you know it, you’ll have a wonderful melange of flavors that screams fall is here and enjoy the bounty.
Garlic-tossed Sweet Potato and Beet Fries— Fall’s Sweet Treat
It’s fall. Chilly nights. Rainy days. Movie night at home requires a throw blanket, a warm fireplace a chick flick or buddy flick to warm the heart, and a switch from a glass of white wine or amber beer to a glass of hearty red wine or a stout beer. What to do for finger food? Forget the popcorn or bag of chips. Savor the sweet flavors of fall with sweet potato and beet fries, kicked up a notch by tossing with garlic seasoning.
There was a time when I didn’t need a reason to drive to Portland for a casual visit or just to enjoy a day in our area’s most accessible metropolis. Gas was cheap – well, at least it was under $2 a gallon, and I could leisurely drive the 40 or so miles and cruise around town for less than $10. Now I usually wait until I have at least three reasons to make the trip, except for one recent Saturday. I desperately wanted some fresh salmon roe to play with…fuel costs be damned!
Salmon Tartare – As Fresh As It Gets and Another Reason to Pop Open Some Chilled Bubbly
While I was assembling my list of supporting ingredients, I had a liberating epiphany. Kick your fear in its hiney and then while staring at your beautiful raw salmon, see what flavors you imagine mingling among your chopped fish. Something Asian – wasabi and toasted sesame oil. Something with a kick – finely minced jalapeños. Something fresh – scallions. Something familiar – olive oil. Something with a citrus bite – lime zest. Something unusual – alder wood smoked salt. Voila! Salmon Tartare according to Charles.
Parmesan Crisps with Goat Cheese, Fig and Prosciutto Spread — Perfect Pairing for Bubbly
Easy to make, and served on top of Parmesan crisps or just plain crackers, this spread has a wonderful flavor combination of sweet green figs, creamy goat cheese and salty prosciutto. It’s the perfect appetizer to serve whenever you’re thinking of popping a bottle of sparkling white or rosé. You’ll be amazed at how great [...]
“How do you like your eggs in the morning? Boiled or fried I’m satisfied as long as I get my kiss.” From a vintage Dean Martin recording.
Among all of their guises, I believe that poached eggs are the most seductive. Some chefs deep fry poached eggs to add texture to their soft exterior. Many more simply dress them up as stars on a menu than can be served from breakfast, through brunch all the way to a late night, post-theater dinner.
BLT in CCCXLIX AD – The Romans were familiar with the bread, bacon and lettuce part of this famous quartet — even with the toasting of bread — but they would have to wait centuries before the Spaniards would deliver the tomatoes.
An egg pie with a crust of hash browns and topped with tomatoes makes a quick and easy breakfast on a lazy Sunday. Kick it up a notch by serving it with some salsa on the side. Mimosas, anyone?
Open-face Buffalo Stew Sandwich — It’s Boffo!
The weather in the Mid-Willamette Valley has turned cool and wet again. It’s the perfect weather to light a fire in the fireplace, turn on some relaxing music and cozy up to a serving of hot stew and a glass of pinot noir.
Pork Hocks Slow-braised in Sweet Dark Soy Sauce and Star Anise
I’m convinced that there are spices that can make you high. I can be roaming the streets of Portland, Vancouver, B.C., Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and my hair will start to vibrate and stand on end when I get that first whiff of star anise in the air. My heartbeat quickens. My sweat glands go into overdrive. I start blinking uncontrollably, as my mind disconnects from my body and my feet start searching for the source of the heavenly aroma. Pungent, sweet, savory. Like licorice but more intoxicating. It’s a key ingredient in one of my favorite Thai dishes of ethnic Chinese origins, a stew of hard-boiled eggs, sweet dark soy sauce and pork hocks, that is flavored with star anise and cinnamon.
A Hearty Asian-Style Vegetable Stew — For Those Days When You Just Can’t Eat Another Bite of Meat
It doesn’t happen frequently, but every now and then I just can’t bear to eat another meal of chicken, beef, pork or seafood. On those occasions when Mom’s in charge of the meal and asks what we want for dinner, I’ll say Kang Chup Chay, or our family’s version of a hearty Asian-style vegetable stew.
A caprese salad is so utterly simply that if you don’t use the best quality ingredients and tomatoes in their absolute prime, it will be ordinary at best. NOW, late summer is the ideal time when tomatoes are in their splendor.
Only three main ingredients are required – Tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. Although usually served as an anti pasta, this salad makes a stellar light entrée if served with some fine salami and a baguette.
Cold Olive Oil Poached Chicken, Potato and Watercress Salad with Buttermilk-Tarragon Dressing
When confronted with a challenge of creating a “cold entree” from a group of food bloggers from around the world who use the #letslunch hashtag on Twitter, I immediately conjured up and image of an ivory colored poached chicken breast. Once the star is born, everything else fell into place.
Miner’s Lettuce Salad with Pomegranate Dressing — Foraging in the Spring for Wild Greens
Mom and I took the dogs for a walk in a park not far from our home during one of the pauses in the rain, and I discovered to my surprise that several of the towering Douglas Firs in a grove at the edge of the park had green shawls of miner’s lettuce around the bases of their trunks. Miner’s lettuce grows wild in the woodlands of Oregon but its season is a brief one and it withers and dies back as soon as the rains stop and the weather warms. Native Americans ate this wild green. Early settlers of the Pacific Northwest also ate it. Folklore has it that California Gold Rush miners ate it to prevent scurvy, and thus its nickname. It’s also known as winter purslane, spring beauty or Indian lettuce.
Cherries ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream with Toasted Hazelnuts
When we lived in Texas, one of the things that signaled the arrival of summer was the appearance of peaches at the farmers market. In Oregon, we look for the arrival of cherries. Sweet. Red. Juicy.
For berry lovers, it’s heaven when summer arrives in Oregon and cherries, blueberries and marionberries flood the farmers markets and stores. People swarm to the fruit stands like fruit flies. But like all good things, you have to enjoy it while you can. The cherry season is short, if sweet. So here’s a delicious cherry ice cream recipe to try. It’s sure to leave you with cherry-stained smiles.
The autumn has arrived in Oregon. The once vivid-green forests are now splattered with splashes of crimson, gold and canary. The hardwoods are withdrawing to a deep sleep with a colorful yawn while the evergreen sentries of pine and Douglas fir prepare to stand guard over their sleeping cousins. And I’m beginning to crave apples, cinnamon and cloves — flavors that taste of fall to me.
Gluten-free Alsatian Apple Cake
I spent most of my life unaware that there were people around me who could not tolerate wheat. When we moved to Oregon, we learned that one of our dear friends here is gluten-intolerant. She and her husband moved here from Colorado and have found Oregon a wonderful place to live, especially for someone who is sensitive to wheat. Some restaurants have gluten-free menus, with separate kitchens to prepare the food to prevent cross-contamination, and one of our largest supermarket chains, Fred Meyer, has nearly an entire aisle in their natural foods section dedicated to gluten-free products. So whenever we have a dinner party and the couple are included, we try to make the entire meal gluten-free. It has been an eye-opening experience to learn how many processed foods may harbor wheat gluten, innocuously labeled as modified food starch. This gluten-free version of Alsatian apple cake is just as delectable as its wheat-drenched version. Your gluten-intolerant friends will find it a delicious treat and so will you!
Nowadays, you don’t have to go foraging for mussels at the beach. Farm-raised mussels are so common that fresh mussels are available at most grocery stores year-round. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is in a Thai style with peppers, basil and a sweet and salty sauce. You can make it a starter or part of a meal by pairing it with another stir fry.
The Thai Bite is a celebration of food and culture
A little rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of people who came to satisfy their appetite for Thai food and culinary adventure Sunday at Wat Buddha Oregon, the Thai Buddhist Temple nestled in the woods in Turner. For a donation into the collection boxes that lined the food tables, visitors got to sample such [...]
Tacos have become such a part of mainstream American cuisine that on the West Coast other ethnic groups have begun topping the ubiquitous corn tortilla with their cultural culinary specialties. Forget the fish taco, ground beef taco, or shredded beef taco. Their time has come and gone. In Los Angeles and Seattle you can find Vietnamese and Korean food-truck chefs who are creating the latest taco sensations: Korean barbecue and Kimchi tacos, Bulgogi tacos, Vietnamese lemongrass chicken tacos. I mean, when you see a dozen kinds of tacos available in the neighborhood supermarket, and Taco Bells show up in China, what would you expect, right? The taco is ripe for a cultural hijacking. And so this native Thai decided that the time was ripe for….ta da…a Thai taco.
Pan-fried Razor Clams — A Trip to Sunset Beach Pays Off
Love of razor clams will make you go to great lengths if you’re an outdoor adventurer. It drove Mom and me to get up at 3:30 a.m. recently on one of my days off in order to pick up friends Tina and Allison Martin and head out on the three-hour drive from Salem to Sunset Beach, north of Seaside, Oregon, in time to get there for the minus low tide at 7:30 a.m. I can’t remember the last time I got up at 3:30 a.m. Nor can I remember the last time I drove 125 miles to catch dinner.
Taking the Roads Less Traveled, with Spectacular Results
Sometimes it pays off to explore the roads less traveled in Oregon. You never know what magnificent vistas await you. Today, we explored National Forest Service Road 2212, in the Willamette National Forest, and were rewarded with magnificent views of Mt. Jefferson and Detroit Lake.
A Gluten-free Culinary Adventure on the Rogue River
Celiac disease and gluten allergies don’t have to limit you from enjoying the outdoors and camping. One outdoor adventure company, ROW, has created a special culinary Rogue River rafting trip that provides gluten-free meals during the three-day rafting adventure.
Corvallis science pub explores wine, viticulture
One of the perks of living in a wine-producing state with a famous wine-growing region like ours is that there are all sorts of free classes to help expand your knowledge of wine and viticulture. One of these events is planned for 6-8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 at the Old World Deli & Cafe in Corvallis. As part of a series of Science Pubs, the Corvallis event will explore what it takes to produce great wines despite the occasionally less-than-deal growing conditions that Oregon provides and what winemakers, both professionals and home hobbyists, must keep in mind as they turn juice into wine.
Parmesan Crisps with Goat Cheese, Fig and Prosciutto Spread — Perfect Pairing for Bubbly
Easy to make, and served on top of Parmesan crisps or just plain crackers, this spread has a wonderful flavor combination of sweet green figs, creamy goat cheese and salty prosciutto. It’s the perfect appetizer to serve whenever you’re thinking of popping a bottle of sparkling white or rosé. You’ll be amazed at how great [...]
Illahe 2008 Tempranillo Dessert Wine — Cure for a Sleepless Night
Forget the sleeping pills. For a sleepless night, draw a dark ruby ripple of sweet plum-flavored Illahe Tempranillo Dessert Wine past your lips. Let it bathe your tongue in nectar, dark as the night. And carry you away on moonlit wispy clouds to the stars. Before you know it, the glass will be empty and you’ll be snoring away.
Pork Fat Rules! Here’s an easy way to render pork fat, complete with video
There are occasions when you’re cooking that nothing can surpass rendered pork fat. You’ll be amazed at how much more flavorful your hash browns are, or any potato for that matter, when cooked in pork fat. Or how robust your sauteed green beans will be. Or delectable your collard greens. Or how flaky your pie crust will be. Or how rich your quail or pheasant will taste when seared in pork fat. Instead of buying commercially available lard bricks at the store, I prefer to render pork fat myself. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to do, and how long it can keep in the refrigerator in a mason jar.
Video: Have an Adventure Cutting Your Christmas Tree in the Mountains
For $5 you can get a BLM Christmas tree cutting permit and have an adventure cutting your own tree in the Willamette National Forest.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon — Beautiful Pinot Noirs and Chardonnay
Parlez-vous français? No? Well, that’s OK. English is perfectly fine at Domaine Drouhin Oregon, the U.S. outpost of the famed Maison Joseph Drouhin of Beaune, France. According to Domaine Drouhin, the first seeds for what would become Domaine Drouhin Oregon were sown in 1961. Robert Drouhin, head of Burgundy’s legendary Maison Joseph Drouhin, was visiting [...]
Elk Cove Vineyards in Gaston has a beautiful setting and focuses on making excellent pinot noir and pinot gris. It’s La Bohème Pinot Noir has been served twice at the White House during President Clinton’s term.
Commonly known as Sisters, but properly named Three Sisters, these three volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range each exceeds 10,000 ft in elevation. They are the third, fourth and fifth highest peaks in Oregon and are located in the Three Sisters Wilderness, about 15 miles southwest of the town of Sisters, Oregon. The three peaks were originally named Faith, Hope and Charity by early settlers but the names didn’t stick.
