Pizza

September 2006, Sarah & Jeff joined us at Catalina Island. One night, at anchor in White's Harbor, Jeff asked if I had pizza making ingredients on board and would I give him a pizza making lesson. But, of course...
Well, Jeff has turned out to be an incredible pizza maker, far surpassing his teacher. He has researched the Internet, experimented with different flours, different toppings and perfected his pizza as far as he can take it in a home oven. So now, he's going to build a wood-burning pizza oven in his backyard! I can't tell you how jealous I am. In his research, Jeff discovered tipo 00 flour, an Italian flour that is milled very fine, and using it made a huge improvement in our pizzas.

A couple of days ago, Jeff sent me a picture of a pizza he made topped with shrimp. It looked so delicious (and Sarah confirmed it was) that it inspired me to try making one.

Tonight I tried a new recipe using the tipo 00 pizza flour that Jeff gave me. I used shrimp sauteed in garlic, fontina cheese, goat cheese and green heirloom zebra tomatoes. The lighting in the picture is off, so the pizza doesn't look very brown, but it was crispy & delicious. It was John & Bobby's favorite of the three that I made. Thanks Jeff, for the inspiration. Don't even ask how I ended up with a square pizza.
I also made one with sausage-and with prosciutto -

Clams in Cartoccio

I walked over to the fish market in the marina this morning and picked up some yummy steamer clams. The recipe is from Mario Batali's Italian Grill. I started by browning pancetta in olive oil, then adding chopped bell peppers, garlic and hot red pepper flakes. Add white wine and bring to a boil, stir in parsley, then set aside to cool completely. Cut squares of foil, add the clams, pancetta mixture, scatter with tomatoes - I used small green heirloom zebras and heirloom black cherry tomatoes.Make a tight package with the foil and bbq over high heat for about 6 minutes. This recipe was so delicious and so easy. It would be a great dish for a crowd. We also made an eggplant dish from the same cookbook. We sliced the eggplant lengthwise, scored them criss-crosswise (I'm sure that's not a word, but you know what I mean) and rubbed with a mixture of olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh oregano and salt & pepper. Put them on the bbq, cook for about 5 minutes, turn them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Earlier in the day our neighbor Jane introduced us to her grandson, Cash.
He's seven months and a real cutie.Very cute, but not as cute as my grandson! Sorry Jane, that was obnoxious of me. Next thing you know I'll be getting one of those license plate frames that say My Grandson is cuter than your Grandson.

Friday Bocce-Pinwheels

Our Friday night Bocce game is gaining even more popularity. Tonight the owners of the marina sent a professional photographer (tripod, lights, the works!) to take pictures for their new brochure. We're going to be famous!

The food has progressed from someone bringing a bag of chips to tonight when one of our neighbors brought a bbq and grilled sausages.
I made puff pasty pinwheels with prosciutto and parmigiano.
I had some puff pastry in the freezer that I had made a couple of months ago. It's fun to make the pastry, but you could absolutely use the frozen puff pasty available at most grocery stores. Then just roll out the pastry, layer the prosciutto and cheese, roll up and seal with an egg wash. Refrigerate for about a half an hour, then cut into slices and bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. I've also made these with salami, cheese and mustard - always a crowd pleaser.

Prisoner's Harbor - Ribs

My brother (Steve) and nephew (Dave), visiting from Oregon, made a trip with us to Prisoner's Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. It was their first trip to the islands aboard Poseidon.Ma came too. Here she is in the wheel house on the way across.Our marina was having a picnic on shore. We joined in and threw a few shoes.Steve, Dave & I went for a little hike.View of the anchorage from our hike on the island.Dave jumping off the boat, one of a hundred times! What sharks?I wrote to Dave and asked him what he'd like to eat on our trip and this was the e-mail response I received - "i like pancakes and scrambled eggs and to drink i like diet sunkist and for dinner i like hamburgers on onion buns or rips and i am really getting exited and of course bbq chips".

So nothing fancy on the menu this weekend, but it's what Dave wanted and he loved it, especially the "rips".

Sunday we woke up to a beautiful, calm morning. We all took a dinghy ride up to Pelican harbor.

Dave conned me into going for a swim. Brrr!

Chinese Spareribs No. 5 with Teriyaki Glaze

The rib (or rips, as we call them now) recipe I used was from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen. First rub the racks of ribs with Chinese five spice powder and cook them low (300 degrees) and slow (2 1/2 hours). Brush them with a glaze made from soy sauce, orange juice, hoisin sauce, ketchup, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, chinese hot chile sauce, garlic cloves and fresh ginger. Brush the ribs with the glaze and finish on the bbq.

Bouchon's Roasted Chicken

I had read a lot about brining, but had never tried it. Well, after tasting this brined chicken - I am a convert! It was the juiciest, most delicious roast chicken we have ever tasted. Although, to be fair, I can't give all the credit to the brine because I did buy a free-range, organic chicken from Gelsons and I do think that makes a big difference. This recipe was another from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Cookbook.

Roast Chicken with a Ragout of Wild Mushrooms

The brine is made by adding salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic cloves, peppercorns, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, parsley and lemon to water. Bring to a boil and let cool completely before adding the chicken.before cooking. Refrigerate the chicken in the brine for 6 hours; rinse and dry the chicken before cooking.

Truss the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 degree oven.

Saute about a pound of mushrooms (wild mushrooms weren't available so I used cremini and oyster) in oil, then add butter, shallots, fresh thyme and salt and pepper. Stir in a little chicken jus (a flavored and reduced chicken stock).

Ladle some chicken jus onto each serving plate and arrange the mushrooms in the center. Place 2 pieces of chicken over the mushrooms on each plate and garnish with a sprig of parsley and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

Scallops

We were just getting ready to put a skirt steak on the grill, when some guy walked by the boat and asked if we would like some scallops. We have no clue who this guy is but he tells us he just got them diving at Santa Cruz Island - of course we say yes. I brushed off as much growth as I could and we threw them on the barbecue.

After grilling for a couple of minutes, we popped them open, trimmed the scallops, and put them back on the grill for a couple of seconds.

Hard to tell the scallop from the potatoes, but it's the little round guy on top of the plate. Delicious - I love my neighborhood!

Bouchon's Asparagus

Our weight has been rising as fast as my bread dough, so I decided to slow down on making bread and try perfecting some other cooking skills. Every week I'm going to try making a new recipe from one of my cookbooks, I have 354, so new ideas shouldn't be hard to find.

For lunch today I made Chilled Asparagus with Vinaigrette and Eggs Mimosa from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Cookbook. There are a lot of steps to this dish, but I really enjoyed making it and John & I both enjoyed eating it.
The cute little purple flowers are chive blossoms that I just happened to have. Okay, the truth is I left some chives in the fridge too long and they sprouted flowers, but aren't they pretty?

You start by removing the tough ends of the asparagus, then trim the ends so that the spears are of equal length, reserving the trimmings. The trimmings will be used later to make the coulis, (there is no need peel these trimmings; leaving the skin on will make the coulis a vivid green.) Set aside. Peel the asparagus spears, beginning about 1 inch below the base of the tip. Blanch the asparagus spears for 4 to minutes, or until just tender. Transfer to an ice bath, when they are cold drain and refrigerate. Add the trimmings to the boiling water and blanch for 4 to 7 minutes, reserve some of the cooking water, add cooked trimmings in ice bath and drain. Blend the trimmings, with some of the reserved water, until pureed. Add some olive oil, salt & pepper and refrigerate. Hard boil eggs, remove the yolks and finely chop. Thinly slice radishes into fine julienne. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of asparagus coulis into a pool in the center of the serving plate. Top with the asparagus spears. Spoon 2 tablespoons of vinaigrette over the center of each mound of spears. Sprinkle the egg yolks over the vinaigrette, then sprinkle the yolks with a pinch each of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Toss the radishes with the chives, 2 teaspoons of the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the radish mixture on the egg yolks and drizzle lightly with additional oil.

Bocce-Asian Skewers

Friday nights, during the summer, a bunch of boaters get together on the marina lawn and play bocce. John was put in charge of writing the rules, here's an excerpt:

Courtesy and respect should be displayed at all times. Profanity and unsportsmanlike conduct is not permitted. Drinking is optional, but encouraged. THERE IS NO CRYING OR WHINING IN BOCCE.

We started out with just a few people, but now we're drawing quite a crowd.
Who knew we had so many Italians in the marina.
Girls Rule! Jeri and I were the tournament champs. (Linda, Jeri, Me, Jane & Cynthia)We bring in a ringer from Rome, Umberto, also known as Palle d'Oro (Golden Balls!) Aug 2007
Lia (visiting from Rome) and Petey (visiting from Sacramento). Aug. 2007
Bocce night has also turned into a friendly hors d'oeuvre competition.

Asian Skewers with Plum BBQ Sauce

Make a sauce by simmering plum jam, soy sauce, rice vinegar, BBQ sauce and red pepper flakes in a saucepan over medium heat until thick, 7 to 8 minutes; keep warm. Mix ground turkey (or chicken), onions, panko, cilantro, seasonings and egg together and shape into small patties. Cook in a non-stick skillet for 3-4 minutes on each side. Saute bell pepper and pineapple about 1 minute. Skewer turkey, bell pepper and pineapple, drizzle with sauce and garnish with scallions.

Weingartens & Waffles

My step-brother, Jon, and his family were in town for a softball tournament my niece Hannah was playing in. They stopped by the boat Sunday morning for waffles and bacon before the big game. By the way, Hannah plays shortstop and she's awesome!

Luke, Jake & Hannah

Jon was so impressed with the waffles that he took some of the sourdough starter and a couple of recipes to try at home. Now my grape starter is in three homes - Jeff's, Dave's and Jon's. I can't tell you how exciting it is to me to know my starter is being used in other kitchens. I especially love hearing about how the starter was used and how the recipes turned out.

Sourdough Waffles
4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
8 ounces (1 cup) whole or low-fat milk
9 ounces (about 1 cup) Starter
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

Place butter and milk in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Set the mixture aside at room temperature to cool. Place Starter, cooled milk-butter mixture, salt, brown sugar and flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the batter stand at room temperature for 8 to 14 hours.

Next Day:
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
oil

Preheat the waffle iron 10 to 15 minutes before you will be ready to use it. Uncover the batter and whisk in eggs and baking soda until well combined. The batter should be thick and elastic. Lightly brush the hot waffle iron with oil. Pour 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of batter into the hot waffle iron. Close the lid and let the waffle cook until it is golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

These waffles turn out with a perfectly crisp exterior and a light, sourdough flavored interior. They are great!

Recipe from Nancy Silverton's Bread from the La Brea Bakery

Beach Party-Cheesecake

The marina hosted a bbq on the beach to celebrate the Fifth of July.

They supplied the hot dogs and beer.


My contribution, mini-cheesecakes.

Recipe:

Make a crust with either crushed graham crackers or Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies and melted butter.Preheat the oven to 350. Line mini-muffin pans with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat 16 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature) and 1/4 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth. Then add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups. Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set. The cheesecakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.