Lori Lynn, Author at Taste With The Eyes

Mushroom, Leek & Sage Dressing

This “nothing fancy” dressing always gets rave reviews.

I make the bread cubes from rustic French loaves, and let the cubes dry out for a couple days, then they can soak up the broth and butter.

Sauté equal amounts of celery and onions and leeks in butter until soft, season with salt and pepper.
Sauté mushrooms separately in butter, season with salt and pepper.
Use an equal ratio of bread to veggies.

In about 2 cups of good chicken stock, melt 1/2 to 3/4 stick of butter.

Toss bread cubes, onion mixture, and mushrooms together.
Pour butter-broth over the mixture, add enough to just moisten the bread.
Add plenty of fresh chopped parsley and sage in a 2:1 ratio. Season and toss again.

Pack loosely in a baking dish, dot with butter.
Cover with foil and bake 30-45 minutes, at 350, remove the foil about half way to get a browned top layer and watch it so it doesn’t burn.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to All!

SEA SMOKE World-Class Pinot Noir

We thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of the rich and elegant Sea Smoke TEN 2005 Pinot Noir at Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica.
Appellation: Santa Barbara County, Santa Rita Hills.
Named after the afternoon marine fog (sea ‘smoke’).

From their website:
The 2005 Sea Smoke Ten Pinot Noir shows deep extraction and intensity of flavor, maintains good balance across the palate, and culminates in a firm, but velvety finish. Aromas of dark plum, black cherry, currants, as well as cedar and a hint of earthiness are characteristic of this wine.

At Sea Smoke we believe that the vineyard is the wine. For this reason, we produce Pinot Noir grown exclusively on our estate vineyard.

100% Pinot Noir (Ten Clones, from which the wine takes its name)

We recommend decanting thirty to sixty minutes prior to drinking, particularly if consumed before 2009.

Burrata! Three Ways!

“Burrata is to mozzarella as foie gras is to chicken liver.” Russ Parsons

Burrata – fresh mozzarella stuffed with “rags” of mozzarella and heavy cream. It is a regional speciality in Italy, from the area around Bari. It is always served raw, cool, but not too cold, so all the wonderful delicate creamy, sweet, sour, and earthy flavors come through.

Keep it simple!
In a salad: Burrata on freshly made chilled tomato sauce, over arugula dressed with olive oil.

I make the tomato sauce with olive oil heated gently with garlic and red pepper flakes. Then I add crushed Italian tomatoes and finish with fresh basil, and sea salt.

On bruschetta, with high quality olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

A combination I heard about from Valentino restaurateur, Piero Selvaggio. He says he likes his burrata topped with caviar.

So…I gave that a try. Here the burrata is topped with ikura (salmon roe). It was fabulous!

We had a great time learning how to make fresh mozzarella and burrata while attending the Cal Poly Farmstead Cheesemaker course which I highly recommend for those with a passion for cheese.

Burrata tip: use a serrated knife to cut the ball into quarters.

POST post 11/18:
A Burrata Bonus – Burrata Four Ways!
After posting about this delicious cheese, we went to dinner at Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica. Chef Josiah had burrata on the menu…his was heavenly, topped with an ethereal basil foam.

True Cod Veracruz Style

True Cod wild caught off the coast of Oregon in a Mexican style stew.

The fresh fish is cooked in butter with salt and pepper. Remove the fish from the pan and keep warm.

In the same pan add some olive oil and cook onions, then add garlic, jalapeno, tomatoes, Mexican oregano, lime, and green olives.

White wine is added and reduced, then clam juice and canned tomato with juice is added. Then place the fish back in the pan to cook through.