Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Summer time is here.  It may seem a bit odd considering its September but all of a sudden the fog has dissipated to make way for clear skys and bright sunshine. The locals tell me that the real summer in San Francisco occurs in September and October so while the rest of the country bundles up in warm sweaters, people here are breaking out their summer wear and enjoying the warmth, sparkling water, and the beauty that is San Francisco.

My mother, who arrived in late August has really noticed and appreciated the change.   She's a fantastic cook and has been cooking up a storm since she arrived (I'm thinking of just keeping her here :)  In California, there are farmers markets almost every other day, and there's a huge one that takes place every Saturday by the ferry building.  The old ferry building has been converted into a space which houses specialty stores - one's dedicated to mushrooms, another has dozens of cheeses, and there's even a kale product stand alongside a speicalty honey store.  Interspersed between about twenty of these unique stores are places to eat from sandwiches, desserts, and seafood, which you can enjoy walking around or right outside by the water.

Last Saturday morning, my mother went to the ferry building farmer's market and picked up fresh flowers, beets, sweet corn, lettuce, fresh berries, sourdough bread, and made a delicious brunch.   We had a beet salad with a yogurt sauce, healthy berry smoothies, corn which was boiled in milk - so sweet I can't even describe how good it was- and breaded goat cheese salad with fresh lettuce.  It was all fantastic and we devoured everything.

The breaded goat cheese salad was one of my favorite items and I discovered that it is really easy to make. Just arrange the fresh lettuce in a bowl, cut out circular pieces from sliced bread or baguette, put round pieces of goat cheese coated with bread crumbs on top, and broil it in the oven.  Once the cheese is a golden color, place them on the lettuce and drizzle it with a simple dressing.  Its delicious with the crunchiness of the leaves complementing the gooey tanginess of the warm goat cheese as you bite into it.    If you're looking for a simple delicious summer salad or a side dish this is perfect.

Recipe for Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients
8 oz goat cheese
Fresh lettuce
2 slices of bread
olive oil
Bread crumbs
Walnuts (optional)


Dressing
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves and place in a bowl

Slice 8 pieces of goat cheese and form into circles and dip them into bread crumbs.

Slice each piece of bread in half and then half again (4 pieces for each slice) and drizzle each side with a bit of olive oil.  You can cut around the cheese to make the bread into a more circular shape.

Place the goat cheese in the oven (or toaster oven) on broil until it turns a light brown color

While the cheese is in the oven add 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to 4 tbsp of olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix it into the lettuce.

Place the warm goat cheese on the salad once you are done.

Sprinkle with walnuts (optional)

Date Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Its Ramadan, the month of fasting that tests patience, discipline, and most of all appetite!  Once my body's adjusted to the routine I've never found it too tough to get through the month.  The hardest part, when I lived at home,  was waking up to family sehris at 4 or 5am.  I would never have much of an appetite (but was forced to swallow paratas and keema).  My goal was to get through the meal with half closed eyes, as little conversation as possible, and remain semi concious so that I could snooze before the morning alarm sounded for work.  Everyone else would be in the same sleepy state except for my father who would be wide awake and cheerful every morning and ready to tackle "light" issues such as economics, politics, and current world events.  Needless to say family participation was at an all time low!

In contrast, ifthar (when Muslims break their fast), is one of my favorite parts of Ramadan.  I love devouring samosas, pakoras, lukmis (hyderabadi large samosa), fruit chaat, dahi baree, the list goes on...I also love the fact that in Pakistan things tend to slow down, the mad shaadi hopping schedule is put on hold, and hanging out with family and close friends over numerous ifthars and dinners takes priority.

I've realized that Ramadan is not quite the same in the US and you'll never get to replicate the atmosphere in Pakistan but this year it has actually felt a bit like Ramadan.  People are getting together for ifthars and dinners and some of the traditional ifthari dishes are among the spreads.  One of my favorite fruits are dates and I tend to eat 4 or 5 at every ifthar.  I can't get enough of them!

A few weeks ago, Nadir and I spotted a post by my friend Aisha which featured a fabulous looking date pie.  I guess Nadir was craving it even more than I was and decided to make it for dessert a few days ago.

It was delicious.  The crust was crisp, the date filling inside gooey and sweet, and the scoop of vanilla ice cream dripping over the sides complemented it perfectly.  It encompassed Ramadan in San Francisco - a bit of datey Ramadan mixed into a western dessert.

Modified from this recipe (http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/09/date-and-walnut-mini-pies)

Ingredients

For Pastry Crust

• Buy readymade standard pie crust and bake in the oven until light brown before adding the filling.

For the Filling

• Dates -  300 gms
• Water –1/2 cup
• Walnuts – 1/2 cup (chopped)
• Lemon Juice – 2 tsp
• Butter – 2 tsp
• Cinnamon – 1 tsp

1. After buttering and sprinkling flour over the pie dish, transfer pie crust into dish, brush with beaten egg, and prick all over with fork.  Bake in the oven  at 425 F for 10-15 minutes until light brown and let cool.  Turn oven down to 400 F.
2. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add the dates and water and simmer until the dates are plump. Add cinnamon, walnuts and lemon juice and mix well.  Add more dates and water if you need more filling.
3. Spoon in the date walnut filling into the crust.  Bake the pie at 400 F for 20-25 minutes until crust turns golden brown.
4. Serve with vanilla ice cream

Tarragon Roasted Salmon with Creamy Avocado Sauce

I've been in California for about two months now and I thought as a tribute to the state I would make something with a creamy green buttery vegetable - yes, the one and only avocado!  I absolutely LOVE avocados and every market, grocery store, supermarket that I enter has a huge abundance of them.  I make salmon once a week but usually in the same style - dill crusted- so I was looking around for something new to try when the latest addition of the Bon Appetit magazine arrived at my doorstep with a glossy photo of  bright orange salmon on its cover.  I flipped through it and was pleasantly surprised at the 60 great light summer recipes inside.  Most were easy to assemble and perfect for the gorgeous weather that has graced San Francisco over the past few weekends.

The first few pages featured a recipe called "Poached Salmon with Avocado Sauce."  I decided to just grill the salmon as I normally do instead of poaching it.  Before putting it in the oven I salted the pieces generously, sprinkled some olive oil over the top, and covered them with a few pieces of fresh tarragon.  While the salmon was in the oven I scooped the flesh from two ripe avocados into a food processor adding yogurt, lime juice, cumin, and salt, and blended it together to form a delicious creamy avocado sauce.

After about 15 minutes I spread the avocado sauce across the bottom of the plate and placed the salmon on it.  The dish looks pretty with the orange tarragon speckled salmon contrasting nicely with the pastel green sauce beneath it.  The taste also does not disappoint; the flaky salmon with its hint of tarragon complements the butteriness from the avocado sauce beautifully.

If you enjoy avocados this is a great dish to make.  It only takes 20 minutes and has summer written all over it.

Salmon with Avocado Sauce  (Adapted From June edition of Bon Appetit Magazine)


Ingredients (for 2 ppl)


2 8-0z Salmon Fillets
A few tarragon leaves
2 ripe avocados
1 cup plain low or nonfat yogurt
1tbsp lime juice
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin (add a little to begin with and adjust to your taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Directions


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Salt the salmon fillets generously, sprinkle with olive oil, and add a few tarragon leaves.  Put them in the oven once it has heated up.

Scoop out the avocados and add it to the food processor (make sure avocados are a bit soft from the outside or ripe).

Add the yogurt, lime juice, cumin, and a little salt and pulse until mixture becomes a smooth silky sauce.

Taste and add more salt and lime according to your taste.  I like a little tang so I usually add a little more lime.

Take the salmon out of the oven after 15 minutes or when it is done and place it on top of the avocado sauce.

Serve immediately.

Herb Roast Chicken

In the past few months I've been to Pakistan, packed up my NY apartment within weeks, moved to San Francisco, found an apartment in this ridiculously difficult market, bought furniture, and at long last moved and settled in - all a list of excuses for my hiatus from my food blog.  The cooking has continued even if the writing hasn't been as frequent and now I'm finally back with some new recipes!

Summer is fast approaching and people are looking to light, healthy, and simple dishes where they can enjoy the weather outside without having to spend too much time in the kitchen.  Roast chicken is a classic and is a great warm weather meal.  It was always a staple growing up and reminds me of countless lunches and dinners my family has spent around the table.  It also reminds me of childhood vacations in France where we would take long road trips, stop off at farmers markets, buy baguette, creamy cheeses, and a fresh rotisserie chicken, spread out our blanket, and devour it all in whatever beautiful setting we happened to be in.

Thinking it was fairly complicated, I never attempted the dish until recently, when I realized that it couldn't be simpler.  I bought a whole chicken from the supermarket,  already cleaned, with gizzards conveniently wrapped in a little packet that could easily be thrown away.  I salted it generously on both sides and melted two tbsp of butter which I massaged into the skin along with some dried herbs.  I then stuffed a whole onion with a few wedges of lemon (and herbs like rosemary are optional) into the cavity and tied the legs together with a string, and within 10 minutes I was done.  I like to have roast chicken with potatoes so I also pealed 6 potatoes and put them in the same pan as the chicken.  I put it in the oven for about an hour at 425 F and it came out moist on the inside, crispy and brown on the outside, and proved to be a completely satisfying and comforting meal to eat for dinner.  Carrot soup for starter followed by roast chicken and potatoes is now a regular feature on our dinner table.

Recipe


2-3 lb whole chicken (already cleaned)
1 small onion
1 lemon
1 sprig of rosemary (optional)
Dried herbs (rosemary, basil or whatever you feel like)
2 tbsp of butter
String for tying chicken legs
6 potatoes
Little flour for gravy

Directions


Preheat the oven to 425 F.


Rinse out the whole chicken and throw away the pack of gizzards.   Pat it dry and then salt generously.

Rub 2 tbsp of melted butter all over the outside and then sprinkle with dry herbs.

Stuff the cavity with a small onion and a few wedges of lemon along with a sprig of rosemary

Tie the legs together with a string

Peel 6 potatoes and put them in the same pot as the chicken

Put in the oven for about an hour and check to see if it is done.  If it still seems raw then leave it in for longer.

For Gravy


Take the chicken and potatoes out in a serving dish.

Scrape all the juices and remnants from the pan, add some water, and put it in a small pot on high heat.

Add a sprinkle of flour a little at a time while constantly whisking until it thickens.

Add more water until you have the amount and consistency you desire for the gravy.  Remember to keep whisking when adding flour so lumps do not form.