Etorki – Cheese of the Month

shaved etorki cheese
grilled sunburst and pattypan squash
wild baby arugula
toasted tamari almonds
 roasted almond oil & late harvest riesling vinaigrette
First brush sunburst and pattypan squash with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper then grill.

Cline Cellars Late Harvest Riesling Vinegar

La Tourangelle Roasted Almond Oil
Vinaigrette: Steep minced shallot in late harvest riesling vinegar, then season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and whisk in La Tourangelle roasted almond oil in a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. The riesling vinegar and this almond oil are a match made in heaven; delightfully sweet, bright, nutty, toasty. Very elegant.


Plate wild baby arugula with warm grilled squash and toasted tamari almonds. Then spoon vinaigrette over. Top with shaved Etorki cheese.

Etorki is a sheep’s milk cheese produced in the French Basque Country. Etorki has a smooth, velvety texture and rich, hazelnut (almost burnt caramel-like) flavor. Its aroma is sweet and buttery, and the cheese is voluptuous on the tongue. Because of its supple texture, you can bend it a bit without breaking so it is great for shaving with a vegetable peeler.

Etorki, which means “origin” in Basque, is a pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese that has been produced in the heart of the Basque region of southwestern France for over 4000 years.
The cheese is made from local sheep’s milk in Mauléon, in the Atlantic Pyrenees. More specifically, Etorki is made from the milk of black- or red-faced Manech ewes. The ewes’ milk is exceptional, but there is only a scant supply; it takes 22 ewes to provide the same amount of milk obtained by the milking of a single cow.
The scarcity of ewes’ milk and the limited milking season – December to July – offer a partial explanation for the higher price of cheese made from sheep’s milk in comparison to that made from cow’s milk. And Etorki is composed of over 98% ewes’ milk.
My Cousin Vicki’s Wedding 
October 2008

What does Vicki & Jonah’s Wine Country Wedding at Cline Cellars in Sonoma, California last year have to do with the Cheese of the Month post?

Wedding Favors!

They chose to give an assortment of hand-crafted oils and vinegars as gifts. Great idea! Mine was the Late Harvest Riesling Vinegar. There was also Blood Orange Vinegar, Pomegranate Vinegar, and White Truffle Oil among others. Perfect wedding favors for foodies like us! Thanks V & J!

Dear Vicki & Jonah:
 Congratulations and blessings on your first anniversary!
Best wishes for many many more happy years together.
Love, Cousin Lori Lynn

Salmon & Salmon Skin Spinach Salad, Miso Chile Lime Dressing

Wild King Salmon Filet & Crispy Salmon Skin
Baby Spinach
Black & White Sesame Seeds
Bonito Flakes
Kizami Nori
Miso Chile Lime Dressing

My Citrus Salad Tree was planted a year ago. The first fruit to ripen is the Bearss Lime Tahiti Seedless, also known as a Persian Lime. This is a citrus tree that has 5 varieties of fruit grafted onto one trunk. In addition to the Persian Limes, there are Valencia Orange, Honey Mandarin, Late Lane Navel, and Minneola Tangelo (a cross between grapefruit and tangerine).

Each arm is tagged.
I’m using the Persian Lime in this dressing.
Cannot wait for the rest of the fruits to ripen!

Miso Chile Lime Dressing:

  • 2 t. Miso (shiromiso, white soybean paste)
  • 1/2 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
  • 2 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
  • 2 T. Fresh Lime Juice
  • 2 t. Red Chile Pepper Flakes
Whisk all ingredients together. Miso dressing is one of my favorites, I like to make different versions for different salads. In this version I substituted white miso for red, lime juice for lemon, and red chile flakes for ginger. My original recipe here.

Buy Fresh Wild King Salmon filet with skin on. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Slice off the skin leaving about a half inch of meat attached. Toss with salt and pepper.

Separate the dressing; one part for salad,  one part for marinade. Marinate the filet.

Place salmon skin slices (skin side up) and filet on a broiler pan. Broil under high heat for about 8 minutes until the skin is crispy and the filet is just cooked.

Toss the warm crispy salmon skin slices with baby spinach and miso chile lime dressing.

Sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds, bonito flakes (shavings from dried smoked bonito, a type of tuna) and kizami nori (roasted shredded seaweed). Top with salmon filet.

The spinach wilts slightly amidst the crispy skin and warm filet. Really enjoyed the different textures and bright flavors here. I’m looking forward to creating more citrus-based dressings as the fruits on my Citrus Salad Tree ripen! Please let me know if you have an interesting recipe using any of the fruits mentioned above.

Osso Buco, Saffron Risotto, Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

Veal Osso Buco
Saffron Risotto
Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

When my dear friend of many years, Father Adam, comes to town we like to cook! Nothing we make ever takes less than three hours. It’s always an adventure. Last time we made Mario Batali’s Osso Buco with Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata. I had purchased several fresh veal shanks then, and put the extras in the freezer. It was time to defrost them and give Suzanne Goin’s recipe a try!
Osso Buco

Veal shanks were rubbed with garlic, lemon zest, thyme and rosemary then refrigerated over night. The next day they were brought to room temperature, seasoned and browned on all sides in olive oil.
The browned shanks are removed from the pan. Diced onion, carrot, celery, sage and garlic are added to the same pan, and cooked over medium heat until just starting to caramelize. Add 1/2 c. chopped canned tomatoes then 1 c. dry vermouth. Raise the heat and reduce by half.

Add shanks back to the pan with enough hot veal stock to almost cover the meat. Add parsley sprigs, cover, braise at 325° for about 3 hours.

Father Adam and I put the Le Creuset into the oven and went for a walk at Royal Palms State Beach.

Three hours later!
The meat was removed to a baking sheet. The sauce was strained, then we used a gravy separator to remove the fat. We reheated the sauce in a clean saucepan and adjusted the seasoning. It was so flavorful!
Saffron Risotto

Saffron threads were toasted in a small pan, then ground in a mortar. We mixed the saffron with olive oil and added diced white onion, thyme, crushed chile de arbol, salt and pepper. Cooked until the onion was soft.

Add arborio rice and stir to coat the grains.

Add 1/4 c. dry white wine, then when that has evaporated, add hot chicken stock gradually while stirring until the rice has absorbed the stock. When the rice is al dente, season with salt and pepper.

The shanks were removed to a baking sheet and broiled for a few minutes to get a nice brown crust.


Peas & Snow Pea Shoots

Frozen peas were defrosted and cooked in olive oil with minced shallot, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the pea shoots and heat until the leaves are softened and tender.
Beautiful Colors!

Dau Miu (snow pea shoots) are young pea shoots that are delicate and crispy with a flavor that’s a cross between peas and spinach with a hint of watercress.

Falling Off the Bone!

This terrific recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. You can find Chef Goin’s exact recipe here.
And be sure to check out Father Adam’s unique blog, Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within A Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Saint Agur – Cheese of the Month

Saint Agur
Steamed Baby Beets
Candied Walnuts
Frisée and Garlicky Red Wine Vinaigrette
Serve with Crusty Baguette
This delightful salade composée has a wide variety and balance of colors, flavors, and textures. Yet it was very simple and fast to compose! The earthy baby beets and sweet crunchy walnuts were purchased ready to serve. The tangy vinaigrette is made in a jar with minced garlic and shallot, premium red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Just shake well and pour the vinaigrette over the beets and frisée. Slice a piece of creamy, buttery St. Agur and serve with crusty French bread. Voilà!

Melissa’s brand peeled baby red beets are grown in France. They are trimmed, peeled, steamed and ready to serve from the vacuum sealed package. For full flavor I like them at room temperature.

St. Agur (pronounced Sant ah-GOOR) is made from pasteurized cow’s milk in the French village of Monts du Velay. It is very buttery, delicately sharp, and not too salty in comparison to other blues. Due to its creaminess, it seems to melt away in the mouth. A very well-balanced cheese, St. Agur is sowed with the penicillium roqueforti, and one, I think, even those who are not bigs fans of blue could enjoy. For more about St. Agur, please visit the Ile de France website here.

Cheese of the Month
Cheese Quote

“How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?”
“Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage?”
Charles de Gaulle
1962
Do you have a favorite cheese?

Rosh Hashanah 5770

Dinner for A Sweet New Year
 
Crispy Rosemary Chicken Paillard and
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey
Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash, Spinach, Walnuts

Israeli Couscous Side Dish
Roast cubes of butternut squash with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook Israeli couscous. Add squash, baby spinach leaves, toasted chopped walnuts to the cooked couscous. The spinach will wilt in the hot couscous. Season with salt and pepper, finish with a drizzle of roasted walnut oil.

We are celebrating the Jewish New Year 5770
which began last night at sundown.

Squeeze lemon juice on sliced apples, then brush with olive oil. Grill over high heat.

Make breadcrumbs out of day old baguette, add fresh rosemary, pulse to combine.

Have you tried air-chilled chicken? During processing, the USDA requires that the carcass temperature be lowered to 40 degrees within 4 hours to retard the growth of bacteria. Usually chickens are placed in an ice bath with chlorine for about an hour. In contrast, air-chilled chickens are sprayed with a chlorinated water and laid out on a track under refrigeration. Some say this method is safer, less contamination with other chickens. The meat definitely has a different texture from not soaking in water for over an hour. And they say the skin comes out more crispy with the air-chilled birds too.

These boneless skinless chicken thighs are from Whole Foods Market. I usually prepare this dish with chicken breasts but tried thighs this time. These air-chilled chicken thighs were the best ever. So flavorful and moist.
I put the thighs, one-by-one, in a ziplock bag and pounded them with a mallet to a uniform thinness. Seasoned each with salt and pepper, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, and coated with the breadcrumb/rosemary mixture.

Sautéed until golden brown over medium-high heat in canola oil.

Truffle Honey
La BOUTIQUE de la truffe
 

The Italian Truffle Honey is made of acacia honey and white truffles 3% (tuber albidum pico). In addition to the fabulous truffle carpaccio I served with heirloom tomatoes, La BOUTIQUE de la truffe also produces this dreamy truffle honey. Drizzle the truffle honey over the chicken and apples.

“the truffle is the very diamond of gastronomy”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
This truffle honey gives the chicken and apples complex intriguing flavors. Simultaneously sweet and earthy and exotic. It rocks! The open jar of honey was sitting on my counter top, truffle aromas filled the kitchen.

Crispy Rosemary Chicken Thighs Paillard
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey

Wishing You a Sweet New Year
L’Shana Tova!
To observe Rosh Hashanah, traditional foods sweetened with honey and apples are served. They symbolize sweetness, blessings, abundance and the hope for a sweet year ahead.
L’Shana Tova Tikatevu
 
May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year