Photo from LegalAdmin

the best one yet.  This event is part of the aquarium’s educational outreach to help all of us make good choices with the seafood that we buy.  Many top name chefs participate and the grand tasting in the Aquarium is one of the highlights of the weekend.  Here is the recipe I did this year.  Cooking for Solutions will be held again May 19 through 21, 2011. To find out more visit this link: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/vi/vi_events/cooking/

I hope to see you there!

CALIFORNIA BOUILLABAISSE WITH ROUILLE

Serves 4

Based on the classic soup/stew of the French Mediterranean.  Any sustainable fish or shellfish that you like can be used.

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups fish, shrimp or chicken stock or water

3 pounds Manila clams, scrubbed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium leeks, white part only, halved, rinsed and sliced (about 2 cups)

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and diced (about 2 cups)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

3 cups fired roasted canned diced tomatoes with juice

1 large poblano chile, charred, peeled, seeded and chopped

1-1/4 pounds Alaskan cod or haddock

1/2 pound large (16 – 20) gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rouille (recipe follows)

Lemon Wedges

Grilled rustic bread slices

In a stock pot heat the wine and stock to a boil and add the clams. Cover and shake and cook for 3 minutes or so or until the clams have open.  Remove the clams and set aside and reserve the stock.

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the leeks and fennel for a couple of minutes or until just softened. Do not brown.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute to remove its raw taste.  Add the tomatoes, poblano and reserved stock and simmer for a few minutes.  Add the cod and shrimp and cook for 2 – 3 minutes more or until just cooked through.  Be careful not to overcook.  Both should be slightly translucent in the center.

Add the reserved clams to reheat.  Add salt and pepper to taste and divide among 4 bowls.  Place a dollop of rouille in center for guests to stir in and pass lemon wedges and grilled bread.

Rouille

1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

1 teaspoon hot water

1 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade

1/4 cup roasted, peeled and chopped red bell pepper (homemade or drained bottled)

1/4 cup or so extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice or to taste

1 – 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Salt to taste

Sprinkle saffron over hot water and let stand for a few minutes.  Add to blender with remaining ingredients and blend till smooth.  Best made at least an hour in advance for flavors to develop.

John Ash © 2010

However, on a hot day, a bowl of a flavorful cold soup really hits the spot.  Here are a couple of my favorites to try.  Let me what you think!

COLD AVOCADO SOUP
Serves 6 – 8

3 large ripe avocados; peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lime or lemon zest
4 cups or so chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger juice (crushed in a garlic press)
1 teaspoon minced serrano chile or drops of bottled hot sauce to taste
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro or mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish:  Finely diced, seeded ripe tomato, cucumber and chopped chives, if desired.

Add ingredients to a food processor or blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until smooth.  Thin to desired consistency with additional stock.  Chill for an hour or two to allow flavors to blend and serve in chilled bowls with suggested garnishes.

SPICY COLD PEACH SOUP WITH PEEKYTOE CRAB
Serves 4

The soup base is inspired by the liquados of Mexico and Central America.  These are basically fruit purees often made with the addition of milk and spices and are a refreshing drink on a hot day.  The peekytoe crab story is an interesting one. These are Maine rock or sand crabs which were pretty much a throwaway by-product of lobster fishing before a brilliant marketing move changed their name to “peekytoes” around 1997. They are much prized today for their sweet delicate flavor.  They can’t be shipped live but the fresh picked meat is available during the summer.  Any other crab meat can be substituted.

1-1/2 pounds (3 medium) dead ripe yellow peaches or nectarines, pitted
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup thick Greek style yogurt
1/4 teaspoon chopped chipotle in adobo or to taste
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 small fresh Persian cucumber (3 ounces)
Fine Sea salt
6 ounces fresh peekytoe crab meat carefully picked over to remove any shell
1 tablespoon crème fraiche, if desired

In a blender add the peaches, lime juice, yogurt, chipotle and orange juice and puree.  Strain thru a medium mesh strainer to remove any bits of skin and chill.  Can be made a couple of hours ahead.  Adjust seasoning to your taste.

With a mandolin or knife slice the cucumber very thinly lengthwise and lightly salt.  Ladle the soup into flat soup plates.  Mix the crab and crème fraiche together if using and mound in the center.  Artfully arrange the cucumber around and serve immediately. Can be made a few hours ahead.

Answers:

• Cherries
• Citrus
• Cucumber
• Grapes
• Pineapple
• Pomegranate
• Soft Berries like straw and raspberries
• Watermelon

Be sure to keep these in mind when you’re at the store or farmer’s market.  You’ll want to pick these as close to perfect as you can!

Hope you’re having a great summer!

Photo from David Masters

Fruits fall into two categories in answer to this question:  Climateric which means that they do continue to ripen and nonclimateric, those that don’t ripen after picking.   For those that ripen, the agent that makes that happen is a gaseous plant hormone called ethylene.   We don’t usually think of a gas being a hormone but ethylene qualifies because, like other hormones, it’s effective in tiny amounts of less than 1 part per million.

Where does the gas come from??  The fruits themselves provide it . . . some more than others.  The world class ethylene producers are apples, bananas and passion fruit (the champ).  If you want to ripen fruit that can ripen after picking, put it in a paper bag with one of these 3, and in as little as 12 hours, you’ll have ripened fruit.

OK now a quiz:  What fruits don’t ripen after picking?
We’ll post answers next week!

Hope to see you at my cooking demonstration at the Sonoma Marin Fair tonight!

I also get to ask for help from three chef assistants, and one of them could be you!  Who knows?  Sonoma Marin Fair today, Iron Chef tomorrow?

Watch the following video to find out more!

I hope to see you there!

From LaGrande Farmer's Market

It is a common practice in the food industry to put wax on produce.  I don’t like the practice and it is another reason why I’m such an advocate of local farmer’s markets.  Click here to listen to more: Wax on produce

One of the events I’m really looking forward to is a Food and Wine Adventure that takes place on Saturday the 22nd called “California Bounty”.  Chef Benjamin Brown, executive chef at The Lodge at Pebble Beach and chef Anthony Fusco, formerly of Harbour restaurant in New York will join me in leading a group of guests on a fun field trip as we eat and sip our way throughout the area.  Cost for this event is $225 which includes transportation and three wine and food courses throughout the day.  Aquarium members pay $175.  You can find out more by visiting this webpage:  http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/vi/vi_events/cooking/vi_events_cooking_tours.aspx

There are still tickets and hotel rooms for this great event.  I hope to see you there!

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/vi/vi_events/cooking/vi_events_cooking_events.aspx

•  Beer
Unopened: 4 months

•  Brown sugar
Indefinite shelf life, stored in a moisture proof container in a cool, dry place

•  Chocolate (Hershey bar)
1 year from production date

•  Coffee, canned ground
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 1 month refrigerated

•  Coffee, gourmet
Beans: 3 weeks in paper bag, longer in vacuum-seal bag (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Ground: 1 week in sealed container

•  Coffee, instant
Unopened: Up to 2 years
Opened: Up to 1 month

•  Diet soda (and soft drinks in plastic bottles)
Unopened: 3 months from “best by” date.
Opened: Doesn’t spoil, but taste is affected.

•  Dried pasta
12 months

•  Frozen dinners
Unopened: 12 to 18 months

•  Frozen vegetables
Unopened: 18 to 24 months
Opened: 1 month

•  Honey
Indefinite shelf life

•  Juice, bottled (apple or cranberry)
Unopened: 8 months from production date
Opened: 7 to 10 days

•  Ketchup
Unopened: 1 year (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened or used: 4 to 6 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Maple syrup, real or imitation
1 year

•  Maraschino cherries
Unopened: 3 to 4 years
Opened: 2 weeks at room temperature; 6 months refrigerated

•  Marshmallows
Unopened: 40 weeks
Opened: 3 months

•  Mayonnaise
Unopened: Indefinitely
Opened: 2 to 3 months from “purchase by” date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Mustard
2 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Olives, jarred (green with pimento)
Unopened: 3 years
Opened: 3 months

•  Olive oil
2 years from manufacture date (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Peanuts
Unopened: 1 to 2 years unless frozen or refrigerated
Opened: 1 to 2 weeks in airtight container

•  Peanut butter, natural
9 months

•  Peanut butter, processed (like Jif, or other big brand names)
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months

•  Pickles
Unopened: 18 months
Opened: No conclusive data. Discard if slippery or excessively soft.

•  Protein bars (PowerBars)
Unopened: 10 to 12 months. Check “best by” date on the package.

•  Rice, white
2 years from date on box or date of purchase

•  Salad dressing, bottled
Unopened: 12 months after “best by” date
Opened: 9 months refrigerated

•  Soda, regular
Unopened: In cans or glass bottles, 9 months from “best by” date
Opened: Doesn’t spoil, but taste is affected

•  Steak sauce
33 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Tabasco
5 years, stored in a cool, dry place

•  Tea bags (Lipton)
Use within 2 years of opening the package

•  Tuna, canned
Unopened: 1 year from purchase date
Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can

•  Soy sauce, bottled
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 3 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

•  Vinegar
42 months

•  Wine (red, white)
Unopened: 3 years from vintage date; 20 to 100 years for fine wines
Opened: 1 week refrigerated and corked

•  Worcestershire sauce
Unopened: 5 to 10 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened: 2 years

Photo from PhillipC

I’m very excited about going along on a wonderful adventure in October and would like to invite you too.  I plan to eat, drink and explore Italy with friend and wine expert, Bill Traverso, who also owns a great Italian market in Santa Rosa called Traverso’s.  Our guide will be the charming Myriam Angulo of Divine Tours, who is expert on all things to do in Tuscany and Liguria.

The trip is scheduled for October 10-19 and there are only a couple of slots left.  Contact Myriam at info@devinetours.com for a complete itinerary of our adventures.  Tell her I sent you!

This is the 4th iteration of this very popular festival and definitely worth attending.  Complete details are at www.artisancheesefestival.com. Among the highlights for me are an amazing Barn Party on Friday, March 26th and a really fun stroll around dinner on Saturday, March 27th.  Eight great chefs are participating including:

Christian Caiazzo of Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes
T. Chris Jones of the girl and the fig in Sonoma
Lars Kronmark of The Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena
Jason Denton of Jackson’s Bar and Oven in Santa Rosa
Mark Stark of Willi’s, Monti’s and Stark’s Steakhouse all in Santa Rosa
Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu, Bovolo and Black Pig Meat Company in Santa Rosa and Healdsburg
Percy Whatley of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite
Jesse Llapitan of the Palace Hotel San Francisco

If that weren’t enough there is a Sweets Lounge following the dinner event with amazing sparkling and dessert wines and of course, great desserts to keep you dancing all night.  This for the amazing price of $85!

Sunday features a market place featuring cheese makers and their cheeses from the entire West Coast.  Some really great seminars are also being offered including one of my favorites, Pairing Cheese with Beer.

Hope I’ll see you there!

John Ash