healthy & light: zucchini “pappardelle” with avocado “cream”

healthy & light: zucchini "pappardelle" with avocado "cream"

healthy & light: zucchini “pappardelle” with avocado “cream”

In preparation for my kitchen remodel next month, I was speaking with one of the designers at the kitchen showroom …I wanted to show her the remodel of my bar area from last summer so I pulled up my blog post titled “Construction Dinner.” In addition to photos of my bar remodel, the post also contains a recipe for Orecchiette with Warm Avocado Cream. While interested in the bar, she was also intrigued by the avocado cream. She loved avocado but was trying to keep carbs to a minimum. So I suggested to try it with zucchini instead of pasta. If I was suggesting she try my recipe, I thought that I had better test it myself first!

Stephanie – definitely try it with the zucchini!

zucchini “pappardelle” with avocado “cream” recipe

Continue reading “healthy & light: zucchini “pappardelle” with avocado “cream””

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango

ottolenghi soba noodle with eggplant and mango

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango
red onion, basil, cilantro
garlic chile lime dressing, peanut and lime garnish

This is Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s dish. He says, “It is the refreshing nature of the cold buckwheat noodles, the sweet sharpness of the dressing and the muskiness of the mango that make it so pleasing.” Hard to argue with that.

I made a few minor changes, including grilling the eggplant instead of frying in sunflower oil. And I added peanuts. The photo of this dish in his book Plenty looks like a mess, a delicious mess. Initially I plated it in the Taste With The Eyes style, but it looked too fussy, so I dumped the whole lot onto another platter, to mess it up, just like Ottolenghi. Not only did I think the noodle dish was spectacular, but I learned a lesson in plating too. Sometimes disheveled is better.

cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango recipe

Continue reading “cold soba noodles with eggplant and mango”

K-POP {Korean Popcorn} A Thank You, A Celebration, and A Giveaway

upodate

K-POP korean popcorn

K-POP {Korean Popcorn}

Fresh Popped Corn, Sesame Oil, Gochugaru,
Sesame Seeds, Korean Roasted Sea Salt, Seasoned Seaweed

Last month Taste With The Eyes turned six years old, the date came and went without any fanfare. But I simply cannot let the milestone go by without thanking you, my dear friends and readers. With your encouragement and inspiration I cooked, created, photographed and wrote over 700 posts since 2007.

That’s worthy of a little celebration. So I want to share something really good and really simple. Something you can enjoy with your friends! This popcorn was dreamt up on the spur of the moment when guests stopped by unexpectedly one evening while I was in the middle of cooking a Korean dish. I poured some Hite beers and popped some corn. With the ingredients that were sitting on my counter, I dressed the popped corn. It was an instant hit! A sweet, savory, spicy snack. And thanks to my friend Michelle, it has a name: K-POP!

The K-POP Kit

K-POP Korean Popcorn

Gourmet Popcorn
Toasted Sesame Oil
Gochugaru (red chili powder)
Roasted Sesame Seeds
Korean Roasted Sea Salt
Seasoned Seaweed (sugar, salt, sesame)

Heat a heavy-bottomed medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 T. canola oil and 1/2 cup corn kernels. Swirl pot to coat the kernels with oil. Cover and cook until the popping stops, about 5 minutes. Place the popcorn in a serving bowl. Sprinkle the popcorn with roasted sea salt, drizzle with sesame oil, season with spicy gochugaru, shake with sesame seeds, toss with the crispy crunchy seaweed. There are no exact measurements, just season according to your taste.

K-POP Korean Popcorn

K-POP Kit Giveaway

As a small token of my appreciation, I would love to send one of you a K-POP Kit. The Kit includes everything you need (except canola oil) to make many batches of this sweet, savory, spicy snack for your friends and family. Simply leave a comment on this post, and I will choose a winner randomly on August 31st. Thanks to you, it has been and continues to be an absolute pleasure to be the author of this culinary anthology…

UPDATE 8/9/2013:

K-POP Korean Popcorn is now a featured recipe in the Korea Herald Business.
Kamsahamnida K-Herald!

UPDATE 8/31/2013:

Congratulations to K-POP Winner ~ Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence!

Watermelon Carpaccio, Blistered Shishito, Mitsuba, Lime

watermelon carpaccio
Watermelon Carpaccio

Blistered Shishito Peppers, Mitsuba, Tiny Watermelon Balls
Radish Sprouts, Pistachio, Feta, Lime Vinaigrette, Korean Red Chili Powder, Lime Zest

The namesake of the Venetian Renaissance painter known for his use of brilliant reds and whites, “Carpaccio” was the inspiration for this summer treat. Giuseppe Cipriani, owner of Harry’s Bar invented the dish in 1950, the year of the great Carpaccio exhibition in Venice. It was inspired by the Contessa Amalia Nani Mocenigo, a frequent customer at Harry’s Bar whose doctor had placed her on a diet forbidding cooked meat. The original dish was simply paper-thin sliced raw beef topped with a mustard sauce. In the 63 years since its invention, the culinary term “carpaccio” has come to mean almost any dish composed of thinly-sliced raw food spread out on a platter.

In a challenge to make an elegant watermelon dish, I turn to carpaccio… plus mitsuba, a Japanese herb with a fresh, wild, sweet flavor similar to angelica which adds the herbaceous note. Then smoky grilled shishito balance the cool crisp watermelon. Radish sprouts add a pungent peppery characteristic. Just a little bit of feta adds richness and saltiness, while roasted pistachios add that nutty character. Gochugaru (Korean red chili powder) brings the heat and lime adds the bright citrusy notes. Elegant Watermelon? It’s possible.

Continue reading “Watermelon Carpaccio, Blistered Shishito, Mitsuba, Lime”

pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine

IMG_6036

pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine

Sorry but I really am tired of the Caprese Salad and all its incarnations. Caprese grilled cheese, caprese kabobs, caprese bruschetta, caprese pasta salad, caprese pizza, caprese schmaese. But when I saw a photo of cherry tomatoes paired with cherry-sized mozzarella and edible flowers from a restaurant called “Salt” I just had to make my own version. The idea of the colors alone had me hooked.

After all, there truly is something magical about the classic pairing of tomato and mozzarella and basil. Especially in summer. And of course, with limited ingredients in the dish, the best quality of each component is required. Heirloom cherry tomatoes from the farmers market. Flowers and herbs from my own garden. Balsamic vinegar, gran riserva.  Fresh mozzarella crafted in the Italian style. My favorite fruity olive oil from California Ranch.

Continue reading “pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine”