Reaping Fall's Bounties

Watch me Make Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Ravioli

Fun With Fennel Pollen

I'm always up for trying new, exotic ingredients.  Some--like the smoked Himalayan black salt--really didn't reach its potential.  Maybe it was my fault for thinking that Himalayan black salt had potential!  One of the newish designer ingredients that I do love is fennel pollen.  Fennel pollen is harvested from, you guessed it, fennel plants.  Like fennel it has a licorice flavor, however I find that the licorice flavor of the pollen is more subtle and much sweeter.

I began to experiment with fennel pollen last Thanksgiving when I decided to make a traditional Thanksgiving rabbit. I was going to use a Culinary Institute of America recipe for rabbit that called for fennel pollen.  Although I never have actually made that recipe (due to popular, yet misguided, demand I ended up making a turkey), I have had fun experimenting with the pollen.  It has such a lovely flavor that it is delicious sprinkled over roast vegetables or on pasta.  It's also a really good base for dry rubs for meats, poultry and fish.  The company I purchased the fennel pollen from, Pollen Ranch, has many good rubs that are pre-mixed.  It's a really easy dinner to rub one of the spice blends on chicken or fish or my favorite, lamb chops, and throw them on the grill!

Adapting

It wasn't me who soaked dad!!!I have a whole new routine now.  Instead of coming home from work, pouring a glass of wine, and preparing an involved, gourmet meal, my day now revolves around the boy's schedule which understandably leaves very little time to cook.  It's amazing how exhausting our days can be, even though our big adventures are usually our walk around our neighborhood or maybe meeting a girlfriend for lunch.  We all look forward to bath time.   The boys love the water and the chance to soak mom and dad.  The other night I was dangling Alex's toes in the lovely warm water, when dad asked me a question.  I turned, still holding the super soaker, I mean Alex.  He took aim and sprayed the wall, the roll of toilet paper, and dad.  It was very, very funny. 

As part of my new routine, after the boys go to bed (hence the reason why I like bathtime) I get to cook our dinner.  It usually still involves a glass of wine and a gourmet meal, but with a lot less effort.

We have been eating  a lot of grilled fish this summer. Grilled Halibut with Meyer Lemons, Rosemary, and ThymeThe most important trick to grilling fish is to oil the grate before you cook.  That way the fish doesn't stick to the grate.  Secondly, don't overcook the fish!  This sounds simple, but it is very, very easy to do.  My advice is to take a glass of wine outside by the grill and just watch the fish.  Pretend that the piece of fish is a pancake--when the top of the piece of fish starts to turn opaque around the edges, flip it.  Cook on the second side for 3-4 minutes until the second side is marked with clear grill marks.  The overall cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish and the temperature of the grill.  My favorite fish to grill are snapper (it's thin, so it will cook quickly), salmon (I marinated a couple of salmon steaks in Toigo orchards bourbon apple bbq sauce.  It was yummy), and halibut.

And now I'm off to go bathe the kids!

Volt/Big White Barn Heirloom Tomato Festival a Big Disappointment

Bryan Voltaggio preparing heirloom tomato and shrimp ceviche with dehydrated tomato cotton candy and tomato dippin dotsI think it's in my blood to love tomatoes--my great-grandfather actually wrote a book on tomatoes aptly called "the Tomato."  I was really, really excited to go to the first ever heirloom tomato festival at the Big White Barn in Frederick, Maryland.  What a disappointment!

I've never run an heirloom tomato festival before, let alone attended one, but I know if I was in charge I would ensure that my featured centerpiece was perfect.  I don't claim to be a tomato expert, but I do know that you should never ever refrigerate tomatoes.  It ruins the texture and the flavor of the fruit (yes, technically, a tomato is a fruit).  Unfortunately, all of the tomatoes were pre-cut and preserved in coolers.  It was incredibly difficult to taste the differences in the varieties, and sadly most of the tomatoes tasted terrible.

I was also excited to try the heirloom tomato bloody Marys.  Sadly, I wasn't enough of a lush to get one as soon as we arrived at the festival and by the time I decided to try one at 3:00 (the festival started at 2) the guy in front of me literally was served the last one.  I guess I'll have to experiment and make one at home.

Thankfully, it wasn't all bad.  It was a beautiful day and the farm is lovely.  Volt restaurant prepared a really interesting concoction--a heirloom tomato and shrimp ceviche, topped with heirloom tomato "dippin dots" and dehydrated tomato cotton enjoying an heirloom tomato popsicle (yes, the chefs are making fun of me because I ate so many!)candy.  The ceviche wasn't anything special, but the dippin dots and the cotton candy were amazing.  The cotton candy had an intense tomato flavor and the combination of the sweet ice cream with a little bit of salt in the cotton candy was delicious.  My favorite part was tasting Restaurant Nora's heirloom tomato popsicles.  The heirloom tomato juice was sweetened with a bit of agave syrup.  I shamelessly kept on going back for seconds (and thirds and fourths).  As much as I loved the popsicles, they weren't worth the $50 admission fee.  Yes, I do have sucker written on my forehead.

Now Brought To You In Glorious Technicolor!!!

Check out the first ever klutz in the kitchen video on YouTube:

I'm demonstrating how to make homemade pasta (click this link for the recipe).

Apparently, you can also subscribe to the Klutz in the Kitchen channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvnNU1jMEw

Hopefully this link works (i'm very much a novice with YouTube).  Apologies if you get a little bit seasick--we still need to purchase a tripod for our flip camera!