In which Kate Halves a Protein

So it's still summer, even if it is after Labor Day for the last few months that's often meant cool or cold meals, partly because who wants to heat up the kitchen and run up the air conditioning bill?

I forget how I came across this recipe, but I've been eating olives a lot and this recipe didn't have leafy greens. It's not that I don't like leafy greens, It's that I had braces from 2011 to 2013 and I didn't eat them for two years because I didn't want to pick them out from under the wires and brackets. This means now I only have them occasionally becaues I don't digest them light I used to. Arugula and spinach seem to be okay, at least.

I figured this would be good for light dinners, since during the week my biggest meal of the day is lunch, but then I looked at the recipe. Take a look:

• 2 (5-ounce) cans oil-packed tuna, drained (or use tuna in water and 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients into a large bowl until well mixed

T

This seemed to me to be not enough vegetables to tuna. You'd barely get enough to flavor the fish. I love briny things, so I wanted the olives pretty strong. I also love lemon. So I cut the tuna in half but left the vegetables and spices as listed. 

I'm really happy with it. I think I can boost the flavors with more lemon juice (or maybe some lemon zest), and I may up the vegetables and the spices by 50%. Capers have also crossed my mind.

I got three main dish servings out of the salad; I ate them with pita chips to throw in some more variety to the textures. If you're looking for adding other vegetables, putting this on a bed of shredded romaine would likely serve you very well. 

If you try it, let me know how you like it!

Another One That's Gina's Fault: Salmon Cakes

It's lovely when my friends support my hobbies. This past holiday season, I was gifted with a small jar of Penzey's wasabi powder. For the smell of the place alone, I miss living with easy access to a Penzey's.

When I took and experimental whiff of the powder, my brain immediately went, 'salmon,' and I thought I'd make salmon cakes. It didn't take long for the ingredients to come together in my head. I surfed the web a bit until I had a good idea of the proportions and came up with this:

• 1 14.5 ounce can pink salmon (do not drain)
• 3 green onions, chopped 
• 3/4 Cup of bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon of wasabi powder
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 t light oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi (a Japanese red pepper mix that I utterly adore)

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Carefully (as in be prepared for splashing) de-can the salmon using a fork and take apart any large chunks. Combine with the rest of the ingredients, using a rubber spatula. 

I wanted cakes, not patties, and while I know they're often fried, it made sense to me to use one of my muffin tins. Well, tin is really not the word, I have these:

I didn't press the mixture into the tin, rather I rolled it into six spheres, and then baked for 35 minutes.

For condiments, I put 2 T of mayonaise, 1t of soy sauce and 1 T of a creamy garlic hot sauce by Famous Daves in a ramekin and stirred until everything was evenly distributed. 

For serving, I put 2 cakes on a bed of butterhead lettuce and squeezed a bit of lemon over.

For a first try, I think they're pretty damn good, but I have some plans for improvement most of which can be summed up in one word: MORE. Green onions, wasabi powder, Shichimi Togarashi. I got a little of the wasabi flavor, but not quite enough. Under consideration as additives are finely chopped celery (I rarely buy celery because I need so little at a time. I should check a local salad bar) and a shallot. Also more lemon. Many of the recipes I browsed have red pepper in them, but I think that would take away from the wasabi and I don't want that. Some shishito peppers on the side, maybe.

Now, I need crabmeat to go on sale......

It's bean dip, not hummus

I love white beans, though usually I have them in an Italian dish, like one of the many tuna & white bean salads I make in the summer (that's one of Nexx's favorite dishes).

I totally stole this idea from my favorite neighborhood bar, when I saw it on their menu. I've had hummus, of course, I've even made some, and I've had both fava beans and black beans as dips and enjoyed them, so why not cannellini?

Note I do not refer to items that aren't made from chick peas and tahini as hummus. It drives me batshit when people do. It's like calling a round piece of bread with a hole in it a bagel when it wasn't boiled before baking. End rant. 

It was easy to find the recipe that I'm blogging about this week. Giada di Laurentis has some great recipes, and the ingredient list is simple:

• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons (for those four tablespoons I added truffle oil, though I think I should have used more)
• 1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 pitas
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

I used a bit more garlic than called for (raise your hand if you're surprised). 

Our instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. (I'm lucky enough to have a stick blender and it worked just fine). 

Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.

Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.

Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

When I had blended everything, it had tasted kind of bland to me. Totally my bad for not trusting the recipe and giving the flavors time to blend. I added a bit more lemon, and well, I kind of overdid it. I served it with red peppers as well as pita. The picture below is our gaming table set up for company.

My company agreed that it was a bit heavy on the lemon. I think I'm going to need to play with this a little bit before I find it perfect. I really liked the lemon with the red peppers, though.

About truffle oil--it's an indulgence and I don't use it very often, even though it is pretty versatile. Salads, pasta, sandwiches, and you only need a little bit. My current bottle came as a gift for my 50th (how the hell did that happen?) birthday. I poked around Amazon, and this is one of the of the highest rated for under $20. 

Questions, comments? Let's hear them!

舞乙女 (Maiotome): Dreaming of Dancers

The Kate received a bottle of 紅乙女 (Beniotome, "young lady in crimson") sesame shōchū from her colleagues for her recent birthday. We debated what to make, starting with simple cocktails. Then I found this recipe for 舞乙女 (Maiotome, "dancing young lady"), a winning cocktail in 1984 Hotel Barmen's Association, Japan Competition:

• 20 mL Beniotome (Gold is what was specified)
• 15 mL Crème de Framboise
• 10 mL Cointreau (Probably can use other white Curaçao)
• 10 mL Grenadine Syrup
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Wet the lip of the cocktail glass with a lemon. Place the rest of the ingredients into a shaker, add some ice, and shake vigorously until the shaker is too cold to handle. Strain into the prepped glass. It's a short drink, and the aromatics of the Beniotome seems to have a short shelf life, so enjoy relatively quickly after pouring.

Despite its name, the shōchū itself is quite clear, so the crème de framboise and grenadine syrup add a fantastic red colour, and the shaken Cointreau turns cloudy, turning the ruby-red drink into something less transparent.

I didn't quite like the presentation in the cocktail glass, so into an ice wine glass it went for this shot, with some of its ingredients in the background:

I spent a bit of time before making the drink to set up this shot, as to not make the drink wait too long.