Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs - Recipe

Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs

I love this appetizer because it comes together in minutes, tastes amazing, and the sauteed grapes provide an element of surprise and pleasure. It is a riff on a popular dish from Seattle's Osteria La Spiga, where they do it with Toma cheese wrapped in grape leaves.

This version is even simpler. You should feel free to try it with other cheeses and other herbs. Mint or basil would be delicious. How about grilled Halloumi cheese instead of the chevre?

I recently received a sample of an organic extra-virgin olive oil from Gaea. I used it for this dish and it added a very clean, clear, fruity and pepper note that I was happy with. I'm also impressed that their oils are certified carbon-neutral.

The finished dish can be plated family style like you see above, or in individual portions. Serve it with a crusty baguette or a grilled flatbread.

Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs
Vegetarian and gluten-free; not vegan
Serves 4

• 8 oz. fresh chevre (goat cheese; I'm partial to the Laura Chenel brand)
• 1.5 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 + 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
• 1 tablespoon chive blossoms, pulled apart into individual flowerets
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• flaky sea salt

1. Divide the chevre into 8 parts and roll into balls. Set aside to warm up towards room temperature.
2. Just before you are ready to serve, saute the grapes in 1 tablespoon of the oil for 30 seconds over medium-high heat.
3. To serve, place the chevre balls on a plate. Distribute the warm grapes over the top. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with the herbs and sea salt.

Fresh Fettuccine with Ricotta, Spring Onions and Fried Duck Egg - Recipe

Fresh Fettuccine with Ricotta, Spring Onions and Fried Duck Egg

This is just pure decadence. Fresh basil fettuccine creamy ricotta, crispy fried spring onions and a fried duck egg on top. The egg yolk creates a rich sauce for the noodles.. The only thing that would have made it more over-the-top is if I had some black truffle to shave on it.

This dish came about serendipitously. I was visiting a customer in downtown Seattle on Thursday, and finished with just enough time to run into DeLaurenti's at Pike Place Market. There are gastronomical gravitational wells throughout the city that are prone to capture me whenever I wander too close. DeLaurenti's has an intense field that will lure me in from a mile away - especially if I've already found parking!

Whenever I go there, I always come away with fresh ricotta, and a pound of fresh pasta, which they cut to order from large sheets. The noodles have that wonderful elasticity you don't find in the dried, eggless varieties. This week they happened to have a basil flavored option, which was quite tasty. (Don't even get me started about the oak-smoked cheddar I also scored there.)

Then on Friday, our neighborhood farmer's market just reopened, and we made our first pilgrimage of the year. Nearly every stall had big bunches of spring onions, which are simply immature bulbs of any variety of onion. They look like enormous scallions. These particular ones were Vidalias, which are sweet and mild.

And then there was the duck egg. I've been toying with the idea of buying these for years, but never got up the gumption. It is kind of a funny thing, I'm resolutely lacto-ovo vegetarian, and there is no reason a duck egg shouldn't be just as good for me to eat a chicken egg. Still, the idea made me a bit uneasy. Just fear of the unknown I guess. Seeing them at the market, and chatting directly with the farmer who could look me in the eye and tell me that the duck's were happy and wandering about the yard made me feel willing to go for it.

The duck eggs look huge, and weigh about 50% more than a chicken egg. The water content is different so they behave a little differently when scrambled. The whites look a little clearer when raw, but about the same cooked.I didn't detect any really noticeable difference in flavor or richness. My daughter thought that it was hilarious that she could "quack" them. Overall verdict: kind of a non-event. I guess cooking a custard in the shell would be pretty impressive, but otherwise I don't see a whole lot of reason I'd go out of my way to get them again. Anyone want to offer a perspective on what I'm missing?

This dish is totally ingredient driven which is my favorite way to cook. If I ever own a restaurant, I'd like the menu to be mainly daily specials for exactly this reason, so that I can make the most of the best ingredient I can find.

Fresh Fettuccine with Ricotta, Spring Onions and Duck Egg
Vegetarian; not vegan nor gluten-free
Serves 4 as a main course

• 1 pound fresh pasta (basil if you can find it, plain is just fine too)
• 1 bunch spring onions (about 4), trimmed, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/4" thick half moons
• 1 pound fresh ricotta (Calabro is a fine brand) - remove from refrigerator when you start cooking
• 4 duck eggs (or chicken eggs)
• butter
• salt
• pepper
• optional: shaved black truffle, or truffle oil, or truffle salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Saute the onions in 2 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 teaspoon of salt over medium heat until the moisture evaporates and they begin to get brown and crispy, about 15 minutes.
3. Fry the duck eggs in butter, just like you would a chicken egg. Cover the pan so that some heat reaches the yolk as well. Ideally you get some lacy crispy bits on the edge of the whites. Cook until the white is completely set. (Note well: I like this with a still runny yolk. That is considered risky by food safety experts. You willl have to use your own judgement.)
4. Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with butter to coat.
5. Divide the pasta among four pre-heated bowls. Top with the ricotta, onions, and the duck egg. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. And that truffle, if using.

Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette - The Simplest and Best Salad Dressing - Recipe

Salad greens with lemon-mustard vinaigrette

I've never understood why people buy salad dressing, when an infinitely more delicious, fresher, healthier homemade vinaigrette is only 30 seconds away.

I make variations of vinaigrette all the time, but today I want to share with you my absolute favorite, the one I return to at least once a week. I use lemon juice instead of vinegar, and a good amount of Dijon mustard. The result is bracing, fresh and citrusy.

The traditional ratio for vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Depending on the intensity of your vinegar, this tends to produce a rather subdued dressing. Especially with lemon juice, I tend to prefer something around a 2:1 ratio. That is what I've specified in the recipe below, but you should always taste it and adjust to your preferences, the salad being dressed, and what you will serve it with.

Meyer lemons will give you an even better flavor than the grocery-store standard Eurekas, and of course you should use a tasty extra-virgin olive oil.

There are two advantages to adding a significant amount of mustard to a vinaigrette. The first is obvious: it tastes good. The second is that it acts as an emulsifier, keeping the oil suspended in the vinegar. When made this way, you can get away with combining all of the ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and simply shaking well. It isn't necessary to drizzle in the oil while whisking in the traditional fashion, nor do you need a blender.

Salad dressings need to be highly seasoned with salt. Your salad will be lightly dressed, so if there isn't enough salt to make the straight dressing taste pretty strong, it will be underseasoned when applied to the greens.

You can feel free to add additional flavorings to this dressing. It will happily accept any finely minced fresh or dried herb, garlic, shallots, citrus zest or spices.

One last thought: this dressing is delicious on a big salad with lots of ingredients. But don't forget the joy of a simple salad of only lettuces, especially if they are fresh from the garden. You can grow (or find at a farmer's market) varieties that are far too delicate to be carried in a normal grocery store. The texture and flavor of these greens is incomparable. Treat them right by washing gently, drying thoroughly, and dressing at the very last moment. They will wilt within a very few minutes after meeting their vinaigrette.

Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
Yields 6 tablespoons, enough (probably too much) for a great big salad bowl of greens

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard (e.g. Grey Poupon)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Option 1: combine all ingredients in a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds until emulsified.
   Option 2: Combine the lemon juice, mustard and salt in a bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuosly.
2. Taste and adjust the salt, and add more lemon juice or olive oil to achieve a pleasing balance of acidity.