chilies stuffed with goat cheese and shrimp

Every year Santa Barbara metamorphoses into a party town with a longing for the traditions of yesteryear in what is called Fiesta. Fiesta, or "Old Spanish Days" as it's also known, is a week-long excuse to drink margaritas, get dressed up in frilly and colorful flamenco-style dresses and yell "viva la fiesta!" and random and odd intervals.

The whole town jumps on board the Fiesta bandwagon, including my neighborhood grocery store which had a temporary "fiesta section" in its coolers, complete with limes, guacamole, carne asada and tequila. Why this grocery store section is temporary is completely beyond me, but hey, there you have it.

So, in the spirit of Fiesta (and also because my fridge decided to kick the bucket on me and I had to use up a lot of the included ingredients) I made stuffed chilies. And can I just say one thing? If you do nothing else for yourself this summer, make these. They are absolute heaven!

I had intended to use poblanos, which is what the recipe I was basing this whole experiment off of suggested, but then our dinner guest count doubled and my local Mexican market (two blocks away, so you'll be seeing a lot of mexican food posts) only had pasillas on hand. So I got some of those, but you know, any color bell pepper would have been delicious with this filling.

The sauce you serve this dish with is as versatile as your pepper choice. The recipe I was borrowing from made a roasted red pepper sauce, which I found to be a little lackluster and would have preferred the tangy bite of a more traditional enchilada sauce. But you probably don't even need a sauce for these as they are full of flavor and moisture already.

So, squeeze some lime over your tequila, stuff yourself some peppers and no matter where you find yourself this week, take a moment to exclaim "viva la fiesta!"

chiles stuffed with goat cheese and shrimp
serves 4

8 peppers (bells, poblano, pasilla, anaheim)
6 oz goat cheese, room temp
1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup monterey jack, cheddar or feta cheese for garnish (optional)

- first, you have to scorch the peppers. This is easiest over the gas flame on your gas stove or a bbq, but in a pinch you can use your broiler, just keep a close eye on them.
- place the peppers on the flame and rotate to get them charred and blistered all over. Once they are charred place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap (or in a ziploc bag) and sweat for about 15-20 minutes. (the peppers should be soft, but not mushy at this point).
- Remove the charred skin of the peppers gently either using your hand or a paring knife (I find hand easier) and discard. You can get a bit more of the skin off by gently wiping the peppers off with a paper towel. DO NOT rinse under water or you will lose the majority of your flavor.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients except for the cheese for garnish (if you accidentally throw that into your filling that's ok, it will taste yummy). Again, I find this easiest to mix with your hand, but some vigorous creaming with a spoon could do the trick.
- gently slit each pepper down one side and very gently remove the seed - but leave the stems in tact and attached. Divide your filling into eight portions and spoon a portion into each pepper.
- Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and place the peppers on it. Sprinkle monterey jack, cheddar, feta or cotilla cheese on top.
Put the peppers into the oven until warmed through (about 20 minutes) and the cheese is melted.
- You can either serve with your favorite enchilada sauce or eat as is.

Viva La!

roasted grape and goat cheese pizza

I was recently given a mountain of grapes. Out of nowhere, the grape gods opened their hearts and rained their green and red jewels upon me...so much so that we just couldn't finish them in time (before the bowl on my counter spontaneously turned into a winery)...so I had to find something else to use these little beauties for.

I do have a great love for goat cheese, in fact I would probably eat anything if the goat cheese to said "thing" ratio was high enough. But, as is commonly put into practice, goat cheese is remarkably good when paired with sweet things. Something about its creamy tang lends itself well to toning down sugars and so it was an obvious choice for a teammate in my quest to conquer the pile o' grapes.

Now, having just moved into my new favoritest place ever, I haven't exactly been baking with my usual fervor and so, no, I didn't just have a homemade pizza dough lingering around for use in this concoction. But no matter, Trader Joe's (for those of us lucky enough to have access to them) happens to carry delicious, fresh pizza dough in three (yes, THREE!) different flavors (plain, herb and whole wheat). I happen to love, love, love their whole wheat dough and thought that it would be the perfect pairing for my sweet and tart ingredients.

Now, the accessories. Grapes and goat cheese are a great start, but where's the pizazz, the color, the spice? Enter red onion, olive oil and rosemary. done.

This pizza is so simple yet completely satisfying. You can serve it as a meal perhaps with a side salad and a glass of red wine or you can make small individual ones and serve it hors d'oeuvres style (which I plan on doing at an engagement party I've been asked to help cater).

Moral of this story is put this in your repertoire of fast, easy and beautiful dishes do be done in a pinch but where there's no slacking on class.

RECIPE
roasted grape and goat cheese pizza

1 package of whole wheat pizza dough (or you can make your own)
2 cups grapes (you can use green, red or both), halved
2 oz goat cheese
2 Tbsp minced rosemary
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 sliced red onion
salt and pepper

- preheat the oven to 500 degrees
-roll out your dough into a pizza pan or cookie sheet, spread the olive oil to cover
- sprinkle grape halves and onion slices evenly over dough
- drop dabs of goat cheese evenly
-sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary on top.
- bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the goat cheese turns golden and the crust begins to brown.

Savoring Seattle - a brief view of a tasty trip

You know, I have a great dislike for the times when things you have to do get in the way of things you want to do. The past two weeks have been full of those times - work deadlines, social responsibilities, tedious errands, that I have had little time to cook, let alone blog. It has been a pain!

 Seattle sunrise with Mt. Rainier in the background

However, here I am - ready to finish part 2 of the already begun saga of the Seattle Holiday Adventure, albeit a little late and out of context...but here goes.

You've now heard about the epic (and delicious) route we took to get to Seattle, now all of the eating we did once we arrived must be accounted for, and let me tell you - there was plenty of eating going on.

We got there just in time for Christmas Eve and the Quebec side of my family has a great tradition of staying up really late - having a fancy hors d'ouvre party around 10:30 and then at midnight (when it's officially Christmas) we get to open presents. This event usually extends into the not-so-wee hours of the morning...

My contribution to the evening was to be blue cheese-stuffed dates, wrapped in bacon (recipe below). I had sampled these before, but had never made them - luckily they are super simple, especially for something that tastes so good.

Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese - ready for the oven.

Pitted dates come with a hole already in them, so all you need to do is find a blue cheese soft enough to coax into it. This isn't a huge limitation by any means because most blue cheeses are naturally soft(ish) so just stay away from the rather hard ones. Once these bacon-wrapped gems came out of the oven, they almost didn't make it to midnight - they were that popular!

I almost didn't get a photo of these, they went so fast!

There was also plenty of eating out while in Seattle, but one place stood out in particular. It's one of my perennial favorites when I'm in town and its name is La Medusa. It's Sicilian eatery with little pretense and lots of flavor. We went there on New Year's Eve, which also happens to be my brother's birthday. They had a prix fixe menu on this particular night with wine pairings, so naturally that's what I got.

The first course was seared scallops atop a sunchoke puree with caramelized onions and pomegranate seeds. The scallop was delicately seared and still almost translucent in the middle, an indication that it has not been overcooked and its light texture floated nicely above the puree when paired in a bite together. The onions and pomegranate added both a subtle sweetness and crunch that rounded out the dish nicely. This course was paired with NV Jeio Rose Prosecco from Italy, whose bubbles carried a lightness that matched the dish and was lovely.

The happy eaters @ La Medusa - birthday boy at the far end

The salad (or second) course was an arugula salad with satsuma orange, castelvetrano olives and a pancetta vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is what made this salad, and no, I'm not just saying that due to my obscene fondness for bacon (a close relative to pancetta). Without the salty accent, the salad would have been too common, bordering on cliche - but the warm vinaigrette definitely set it apart and made it something special, especially given how nicely the peppery arugula paired with the pancetta (pepper bacon anyone!?!?). Course two was paired with Mirth Chardonnay from Washington State which, I've got to admit, I was not a big fan of. The flavor was too heavy, lacking a crispness that would have gone nicely with the salad and had a slight hint of burnt rubber to it.

The main course was Cotechino with black lentils. I at first had to ask the waitress what Cotechino was exactly. It's a large, rustic sausage typically consisting of pork, fatback and pork rind. Cotechino is a dish traditionally served on New Year's Eve and is purported to bring prosperity to its eater. La Medusa's version was very tasty indeed and that was lucky because the bed of black lentils it rested upon was a little underwhelming on its own. Together, however, they had an earthy richness and heartiness that was a nice way to say arivaderchi! to 2009. The cotechino was paired with a Sicilian red that goes by the name Il Frappato (it's 100% frappato grapes) which brought forth a comparable earthiness to the pork.

Cotechino! (Unfortunately this is the only good picture of the food I managed)

Lastly, though the prix fixe came with poached seckle pears, I couldn't resist La Medusa's cannoli. I don't know what it is about this crispy-creamy pastries but I am just ridiculously enamoured with them and get them everywhere I go. So there!

Suffice it to say that I have never eated at La Medusa and been dissappointed, and this year was no exception. So - for those of you who don't live in Seattle, but plan on visiting - add this to your must visit list. And for those of you who do live in Seattle - what are you waiting for?!?!?



P.S. A Fast Food Favorite: Its not too often that I give in to fast food cravings, but these days it's possible to have slow/fast food. Does that make any sense? I didn't think so! What I mean is that there are lots of talented food artisans that are taking on traditional fast foods and making them into tasty (often locally-sourced) delicacies, but they're still available in high speeds and relatively low costs.

One such example is Top Pot donuts in Seattle. They are taking a tired perhaps even antiquated foodstuff and turning it into something exotic that you might actually want to waste the calories on. We got to try the chocolate raspberry (the glaze is made with real raspberries!), the mexican chocolate (with cinnamon and sugar), the classic maple bar and the oh-so-tasty raised glazed, just to name a few.

Top Pot donuts - 12 kinds o' love (some already got eaten)

These were so good we got a dozen to share, and coming from someone who was previously not a huge donut fan, that's a pretty big deal.

RECIPE

Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Blue Cheese

Pitted Dates - as many as you want to serve (suggested: 1/2 pound)
Blue cheese (such as St. Agur) - you'll need about 1/2 tsp per date (suggested: 1/4 pound)
Bacon - half a slice per date

-Let the blue cheese soften slightly at room temp.
-Pinch off a piece of cheese and roll it into a size that can be inserted into the hole.
-Wrap the date tightly in bacon, placing it on a baking tray with the bacon's free end down.
-Broil in the oven for 7-10 minutes (or until crispy, but keep a close eye so that they don't burn) and flip (if possible - sometimes the dates don't want to cooperate!)
-Transfer to plate and serve! (watch out - these puppies come out hot~)

Culinary Canoeing

Every couple of years we do an amazing canoe trip on the Trinity river at the very upper most edge of California. It is a week of sublime wilderness, adventurous rapids and frolicking with such wildlife as black bears, steelhead trout and crayfish the size of my fist. Pure bliss.

In the past food was rustic at best...farm mac (mac n cheese with hot dogs), pasta with pre-made sauce, etc. But this year, to my delight, we brought along a group of real foodies and together we made this the most gourmet trip down the Trinity in recorded history.

Though it is possible to pull out and hike to nearby towns to replenish supplies, our first-time canoeing companions took no risk of not finding what they'd like to eat. Large coolers were stuffed to the gills with tri-tip, butcher-made italian sausages, eggs, hash browns, gourmet espresso, and this list goes on and on. Oh, but I can't forget about the SIX pounds of bacon (meaning there was a pound per person to consume on the trip)!!!

Priorities

Breakfasts consisted of standard eggs, bacon, and so on, which kept us well fueled for the day's rapids. It was dinners, however, that were the real masterpiece, making dishes so good it was hard to believe we were on a river, in the middle of nowhere.

Breakfast of Champions (champion canoers that is)

The first night we cooked up the tri-tip and made the requisite garlic bread and baked beans to accompany it. I had also brought along some of my freshly made oven-dried tomatoes and homemade pesto, so we whipped together a nice pasta salad. Basically, you get the gist - we ate like kings and queens.

The second night we grilled and shredded some chicken breasts and mixed them in with refried beans and pepper jack cheese. We also made some fresh guacamole with the avocados that Kevin and Amy had just picked at home. Wrap all this up in a corn tortilla and it was so good, my mouth is watering now.

Though I could keep describing meals from this trip in great detail, there are two dishes that hold a special place in my heart. One was the birthday brownies we made for Thomas' birthday using my awesome Outback Oven (yes, an oven that you can use on your camp stove and can bake scone, breads, pizza, etc - sooooo great). They were perfectly done and gooey - not burnt on the bottom at all like I feared they might be.

The second is a nice little hors d'oeuvre we made from the fresh trout that Coop caught. It was amazing. We had a little assembly line going where the fish came out of the water, got cleaned, thrown on the pan and fried and finally composed into a very tasty morsel consisting of a wheat thin, a dollop of homemade pesto and a nice little chunk of freshly caught and fried trout.










This is a bite that I would definitely replicate in my own kitchen!

The beautiful (and tasty) bounty!

RECIPE

Easy-Peasy Pesto

3 cups basil
1/2 cup parmasan
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the basil, parmasan and pine nuts in the food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil while processor is running. Add salt and pepper to taste - and you're done! I like to put individual servings of pesto into little sandwich bags and freeze them.

My favorite thing about it is that you can get creative and switch out ingredients to make more imaginative and adventurous flavors. You can replace the basil with arugula, spinach or cilantro and you can replace the pine nuts with pecans or walnuts.