I love eating salads in the summer. Some of it is because it just gets so hot here in Texas that you want something fresh and cold. Some of it is that I grew up eating a lot of salads. Some of it is I love the fresh produce…and I guess the rest of it is that I am just that lazy!

I like combining colors and texture and flavors. Iceburg lettuce rarely comes into our home because it is just bland and tasteless. My favorite salad base is either the Organic Baby Herbs or the Organic Baby Spinach. I don’t mind the other mixes either, it is just those are my favorites.

Once I have the base I like to add whatever is interesting, on sale or smells wonderful in the produce aisle. I just start picking up things. The other day I picked up this combination:

The base is the baby herb salad. I added strawberries, blackberries, Tuscan melon, cubed Fontina cheese, and a raspberry key lime dressing that is amazing.

Serve this with baguette or black olive bread. A light, crunchy dessert like  lemon-snaps will compliment this perfectly adding both crunch and repeating the flavor of the citrus.

Tuscan melon is very sweet, similar to a cantaloupe. You can use any combination of fruit in this dish, whatever is ripe and looks the best.

Raspberry Key Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup Raspberry jam (seedless is best)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Key lime juice (you can buy the juice in the juice aisle, or use Key limes when they are in season.)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pulp from 1/4 inch of vanilla  bean
• 2 Tbs walnut oil
• Pinch of salt

1. Make this one day ahead if possible so the vanilla will have time to infuse the dressing.
2. Warm jam in the microwave until it is a liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake well.
3. Store in refrigerator

Yield: about one cup

image:Marye Audet

I know that a Croque Monsieur has ham, cheese, and is grilled. I know that most of the time it is done without batter, although it can be done with bechamel. I know these things, and in knowing them? I ignore them totally. Croque Monsiuer at our house is created with egg dipped sour dough, several types of cheese and a hot griddle. It is always served with the ripest tomatoes available. Check it out-

The sour dough adds a nice, chewy texture and the flavor compliments the cheese blend. Read more

You know how you sometimes get behind and have to catch up? Well that is where I am now. I put in a bit of time on Erin’s cake, the stuff for the dinner at Evil Shennanigans, and the church fund raiser today so when I got home this afternoon I got straight into pajamas, grabbed my laptop and told the family they were eating leftovers for dinner. It’s not as bad as you may think, the leftovers are grain fed beef brisket from the dinner last night.

Erin, my daughter, is addicted to mango. It has been one of her favorite fruits since she first sampled it, I think. Whenever I see mango in the store I think of her. And…this time of year they are at their best here so I buy them. The mango black bean salsa I made was so awesome I decided that I wanted to try a spicy mango chutney.

Spicy Mango Chutney

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From the time Erin was small we have enjoyed special times together.  She loves tea in all of its forms more than I do and if I want to particularly bless her a quick trip to Teavana with do it…or a click to Adagio. Or… When we had the tearoom Erin was invaluable to me for her creative input.  SHe has an incredibel eye for the creative details and we created some tiered tea services that were not only droolworthy but perfect for the cover of  Tea Time magazine.

Sadly the antique tiered dishes are gone with the tea room and this was not as beautiful as she deserved.  But they were delicious and special enough for a birthday.

The smoked turkey combines with a spread that is made from dried cranberries, pecans, and cream cheese for  delicious, and delicate tea sandwiches.  If it had been for me I would have added a bit of bleu cheese but Erin is not a fan…yet.   If you are going to make your own bread for these then try an orange flavored quick bread loaf for a really elegant flavor pairing.

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• pinch of salt
• pinch of chipotle if you have it
• tablespoon of grated orange zest
• 1/2 lb good quality deli smoked turkey, sliced on a “1″
• Bread with crusts removed

In a food processor, or by hand, mix the cream cheese, cranberries, pecans, orange zest, chipotle, and salt together until well blended.  You may need to add a little milk or cream to get a good spreading consistency.

Spread 1 tablespoon of the mixture on one slice of bread.

Roll three turkey slices up and lay them over the top of the spread.

Spread the other piece of bread with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and lay spread side down over the turkey.

Cut diagonally in fourths.

That’s it…Easy and delicious!

image:(c) marye audet

This is my pasta entry for  Presto Pasta Nights…which I remembered this week.  This week’s host is Pam of Sidewalk Shoes.

This week I made a penne with leeks, bacon and smoked gouda, inspired by a recipe in the March issue of Bon Appetit.

I really liked the smokey flavor of the cheese combined with the bacon and leeks.  I used a whole wheat penne which seemed to me to handle the depth of the flavors better than normal pasta would have.  The sauce was smooth and rich and I really liked the way this pulled together.

Penne with Smoked Gouda, Leeks, and Bacon

• 4 leeks, bulbs and lighter green parts sliced and chopped
• 1/2 lb applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 lb smoked gouda, grated
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c milk
• 1 1/2 c half and half
• 1 tbs dijon
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1 lb whole wheat penne

1. Cook bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside on paper towel
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the baking grease
3. Add leeks to pan, cover and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.  Stir a few times and don’t let them brown
4. Remove leeks with slotted spoon and set aside
5. Add flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes
6. Add the milk, stirring until smooth.
7. Add the cheese, mustard, and hot sauce
8. Stir until the cheese melts
9. Add a little of the cheese sauce to the beaten eggs to temper; whisk into the sauce
10. Set aside
11. Cook pasta until tender; drain and add to large casserole
12. Stir in the leeks and bacon
13. Add the cheese sauce and stir well
14. Bake for 30 minutes ate 400F

Serves 6-8

images:Marye Audet

Last week we had summer. This week we are back to chilly winter. Who knows what next week will bring?

Did you see this month’s Bon Appetit? The entire thing is devoted to comfort foods. You have to admit, when you are cold and hungry, comfort foods seem to reach right in and fix you up.
And what is more comforting that soup? Nothing except maybe chocolate.

This soup is every bit as good as it looks.  Hubbard squash, granny smith apple, Texas sweet onions, and garlic cloves are roasted to bring out the flavors.  Once the soup is finished a swirl of chipotle and cinnamon puree is added.  The flavors are complex, bouncing between spicy, sweet, smoky and tart; all wrapped up in silky smooth texture.

You can certainly cut down the richness of this soup by using milk, skim milk, or chicken broth.  Just be sure to get enough liquid in it to keep it from being a puree exactly but not so much that it is thin.

I recommend the Texas Sweet Onions for thisl.  They have a milder flavor that becomes very complex during roasting.

My menu was:

• Roast Hubbard Squash and Apple Soup
• Artisan Raisin-Pecan  Bread with organic butter
• Salad of Baby Herbs with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
• Red Grapes

It went together well, and the flavors complimented each other.  The addition of bleu cheese to the salad would have been amazing, but my family does not like bleu cheese.

Roasted Hubbard Squash and Apple Soup with Cinnamon Chipotle Swirl

• 2 small hubbard squash, peeled and cut in 1 inch chunks
• 2 large Texas Sweet onions, peeled and cut in 1 inch chunks
• 2 Granny Smith apples (or other tart style apple), cut in chunks but not peeled
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• Olive oil
• 2 cup cream
• 3 cups half and half
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• salt to taste
• Agave to taste

1. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and toss lightly to coat.  Bake at 450 until cooked and slightly caramelized.  Stir often.
2. Puree with a little of the half and half in a blender until smooth.  Depending on the size and strength of your blender you may need to do it in batches.
3. Add the puree back into the pan and whisk in the heavy cream and the rest of the half and half.  Add butter.
4. Warm slowly. The soup should be thick and silky, about the texture of heavy cream.
5. Check the seasoning and add salt and Agave as needed.

Chipotle Cinnamon Swirl

• Take about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the soup and add 1/2 tsp. chipotle granules, or to taste.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of Vietnamese Cinnamon.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• Heat until the chipotle softens, but do not boil.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Puree until smooth.  Thin with some of the cream if necessary.

Ladle the hot soup into bowls and drizzle the chipotle cinnamon swirl over the top, use a knife to swirl it into the soup.  Drizzle a few drops of olive oil or cream randomly over the top and serve hot.

Serves 6

Images: c) marye audet 2009

I am having such a great time with the Artisan Bread book!  It has made things so much easier.  Last week I wanted to make the kids something quick…but what?  I had some of the baguette dough in the fridge, some leftover hot Italian sausage…

Calzones!

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This is my entry for Presto Pasta Night.  The host this week is Ivy of Kopiaste.  If you haven’t checked out her blog you should.  Why? Because it is always incredible, that’s why.

I am finding interesting and varied pasta shapes more and more in the local stores.  This may be old news to some of you but trust me, around here you just don’t get the variety that you do in other places.  Apparently that is changing, something for which I will foreve be grateful because I get bored easily.

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One of the saddest thing about our new “global” community is that rather than people being introduced to new foods regional foods are disappearing.  People eat at Don Pablos and think it is real Mexican food, or have pasta at Olive Garden and believe they have experienced Italy. Read more

So, here it is, the first day of fall…80 degrees here in Texas but that isn’t the point..it is now, quite officially…potato soup weather.

I grew up with potato soup.  Not this potato soup but my mom’s version..the one SHE grew up with..and she was born in 1918.  I hardly ever deviate from that recipe, my comfort food both when I was a kid and as an adult. Read more