Eat Bang Us

I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'm sort of over caprese. Shhh shhh shhh shhh. I know. I KNOW. Crazy talk. But it's true. My threshold for caprese was met, I have full caprese saturation.  During the summer, and what has become that typical Los Angeles post-summer phase where it's in the 80s through November, caprese is my answer to anything. Tomatoes are at their peak in flavor and texture, basil is growing like mad, and the combination with milky mozzarella is always delicious.  But always delicious can get a bit boring, and in an attempt to avoid a desert island scenario where I only eat caprese, I decided to mix it up.  

Sumac, a Turkish spice, gives the eggplant a tart kick, and when combined with cumin and chili powder, this basic salad of tomatoes, basil, and feta takes a decidedly middle eastern and delicious turn.  

 


 




Ingredients:
For 4-6

3 cups tomatoes, wedged or chopped into 2 inch sections
1 garlic clove, minced
2 small eggplant (net 2 cups)
1 teaspoon sumac (or lemon zest if you can't find it)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili
salt and pepper
1 pita, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1/4 cup basil, chiffonade
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
balsamic
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 cup feta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Slice the eggplant into 1 inch thick slices.  Drizzle with half of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, sumac, chili and cumin.  Drizzle the pita with the remaining olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Cook both in the oven for 15 minutes.  Flip the eggplant and cook for another 10 minutes until the pita is golden brown and the eggplant is tender.
Chop the eggplant into 1 inch sections and add to the tomatoes. Add the herbs, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.  Stir to combine and then add the pita and feta, stirring a couple of times to combine.

I love the smell of smoke: fireplaces, barbecues, dragons, anything that produces smoke gets my immediate attention and an obvious comment.  "Smells like winter," or "Smells like summer," or "Smells like slaying season."  And as much as I love eating things cooked over an open flame, I do very little cooking over an open flame myself.  It's such a dad thing that I leave it to him, which means my grilled food is limited to meat and vegetables.  This isn't a bad thing, but little did I know everything could be grilled.  Seriously, everything.  

Every Sunday during the summer my family tries to get together for dinner and some form of entertainment. My sister and I are such an awesome Cranium team that it's simply too demoralizing for the rest of my family to play. Emotions run high in the Thomas household, and bruised egos, wine, and giant dodecahedron shaped dice are a less than sportsmanlike combination. So it's apples to apples now! My dad is the only person frustrated by a game based entirely on subjective inside jokes and obscure knowledge of another person's humor, so, too bad if the winning card isironic, dad, we're still playing. Note: best moment of the night was when he put down "Joan of Arc" for "eccentric", and lost to "Cher." In the midst of arguing his case he claimed to "know" Joan of Arc, which we all assumed meant personally, and teased him for the rest of the night for knowing a 15th century saint.

Jane's Shrimp on the Barbie



My mom's shrimp share their origins with my childhood birthday cakes, sausage rolls, and a few other Aussie treats, which all derive from the same tome: The Australian Women's Weekly. Stacks of paperback cookbooks from the early 80s protrude from her cupboards, filled with ugly photography and lots of mayonnaise. And yet, with a little tweaking they produce delicious and unexpected results. These shrimp are a little sweet, a little spicy, and have that "what is this flavor?" factor. They're perfect on their own or tossed in a salad. Enjoy!

3 lbs fresh medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons chili sauce (not hot sauce)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 large shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon ground Chinese five spice

Combine all of the ingredients, adding the prawns last, and marinate in the fridge for one to two hours. Put the prawns onto wooden skewers, about 4 to a skewer. I submerge my skewers into water while the prawns are marinating so they don't burn on the grill. On a medium-high grill, cook the prawns until just firm, about 1 minute per side. Brush the prawns with the marinade as they cook. I usually serve about 2 skewers per person. Enjoy!


Grilled Corn with Honey, Lime, and Ancho Chili Butter



Grilled sweet corn is one of the staples of summer, and the slightly sweet and spicy butter only brings out its delicious and delicate flavor. Enjoy!


10 ears of white corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
12 oz unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
2 teaspoons honey

Mix the butter, zest, ancho chili powder, and honey together. Salt to taste and put butter into butter dishes. I decorated mine with an extra pinch of ancho chili powder and lime zest. Set aside or refrigerate. Set your grill to high and drizzle olive oil evenly over the corn, rolling the ears to cover all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until each side has a little color, about 2-3 minutes a side. Serve hot and butter with the back of a fork (it works better than a knife) and enjoy!

Grilled Vegetable Salad

1 large red onion (or 2 small), sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 red bell pepper, sliced in half
1/2 bunch asparagus
1 ear of corn
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
8 oz mesclun greens


Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon shallot
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper

Heat the grill on high.  Coat all of the vegetables in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pop on the grill and cook until they get nice and marked (about 2 minutes per side) and flip.  Then, take the vegetables off heat and chop them up into 1/2 inch pieces (slice the corn kernels off the cob).  In a large bowl, mix together the vegetables and lettuce,  and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vinaigrette or serve on the side for people to dress themselves.


Grilled Peaches with Lemon Mascarpone and Toasted Almonds 


I've seen grilled peaches rolling around magazines before, but I've always been kind of "meh" about them.  I don't know, it just never really got me going.  I'd just rather have a cobbler.  But this summer, just like the smoke of flaming grills, change was in the air.  I bit into a ripe yellow peach at the farmers market and in that moment I knew: "This could be grilled!"  I went home and immediately cranked up the grill.  I threw on the peaches and before I knew it, I had all kinds of ungrillables grilling away.  The smoke imparts a savory earthiness to everything laid near it.  Served with lemon mascarpone and toasted almonds, these peaches are the perfect balance of brightness, nuttiness, and bursting juiciness.  They're the ultimate dessert for a balmy summer night.  Enjoy!

4 ripe, delicious yellow peaches, halved and pitted.
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup blanched almonds, pulverized in the food processor
8 oz mascarpone cheese
4 oz creme fraiche
2 ounces heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lemon zest, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon honey, if necessary

Heat your grill up to high. Blend the sugar and butter together to form a paste and smear it on over the faces of the peaches.  You will probably have some left over that you can eat with a spoon.  

 I whipped together the mascarpone, creme fraiche, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined.  Add the heavy cream and whip a few times to incorporate.  Taste, and if you would like, add the honey.  

Now, Grill the peaches.  I would do no more than three at a time, because they cook quickly, about 30 seconds or less.  You simply want dark grill marks.  Set the cooked peaches aside face up.  Eat hot off the grill with the mascarpone mixture on the side, plus a sprinkling of almonds and lemon zest.  You can also enjoy these peaches cold, or with ice cream.

Watermelon is one of my all time favorite things. Sweet and crisp, juicy but never cloying, it's quite possibly the perfect summer snack.  It wasn't until recently that the whole "savory watermelon" thing occurred to me.  There's pickled watermelon rind in the south, small chunks tucked away in spicy latin ceviches, and that feta salad that I've had at practically every barbecue this summer.  And this is my version.

Why watermelon and cheese? Isn't that weird?

I'm glad you asked.

Yeah, it's weird, but weird in the way bacon + maple syrup is weird. It's weird, but rightly weird. It's OMG I ate the whole thing weird.

The sweet crispness of the watermelon, along with the juicy acidity of the tomatoes pairs beautifully with the goat cheese.  You could pop feta in there too, basically any cheese that has a dense, chalky texture and a fresh, almost briny flavor.  The salty/creamy thing in the cheese is dynamite with the watermelon, and with a subtle kick of chili, it's the perfect salty/creamy/sweet/tart/crunchy/spicy combination.  Enjoy!






Vinaigrette:

Salad:
1/4 watermelon, sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
2 heirloom tomatoes (or 3 regular tomatoes) cut 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup goat cheese, sliced into small chunks
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallot
1/4 basil, thinly chiffonade
2 tablespoons mint, thinly chiffonade

Combine the chilies, vinegar, olive oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper in a small container and mix to form a vinaigrette.  Put the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and pour the vinaigrette over it. Let the bowl sit in the fridge for 1 hour, then serve.  Enjoy!

Ok, I'm getting a little attached to my grill.  Leafy greens aren't the first thing I'd think would be delicious with a bit of flame under them, but the burnt bits have a wonderful nuttiness that's quite unexpected. The texture doesn't become mushy or crispy, but slightly soft, like sauteed spinach.  With crunchy grilled bread and some shavings of parm, it makes the perfect rustic accompaniment to any barbecued meat.  Enjoy!

Summer is just the best. Such a boring thing to say, I know, but isn't it though? So in a fit of experimental laziness, I combined my favorite things about summer (stone fruit, heirloom tomatoes, and fresh herbs) in a bowl and called it a day.  The result? sweet, earthy, tart goodness. The tomatoes have enough sweetness to not get overwhelmed by the fruit, and the herbs add a refreshing kick to the whole thing.  It's pure summer, and a really interesting twist on a boring fruit salad.


 







For 2 - 4

1 large yellow peach
1 heirloom tomato (I used the pineapple variety for their color and flavor)
1 cup cherries, halved and pitter
2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade (rolled up and chopped into ribbons)
2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon mint, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice up the peach into thin slices, roughly cube the tomato into one inch chunks, and combine with the cherries in a bowl.  Add the herbs.  In a small lidded container or with a whisk, combine the lime juice, agave nectar, olive oil, salt and pepper until mixed together.  Pour over the herbs and fruit and combine to dress.  Enjoy!

On today's episode of Food for Thought, I made three very different salads with one vinaigrette.  Once you have the ratio down of 1:3, you can make fresh vinaigrette tailored to your palette any time you want to rustle up a quick salad (I also add my vinaigrettes to pasta, rice, grains, anything that needs a little perking up).  I chose three salads that work in almost any situation: hearty and perfect for lunch or a side,  leafy and easily multiplied for two or four or twelve, and, of course, one involving bacon. These aren't boring "side salads" all sad and wilted, these are fresh, flavorful, and super delicious. Enjoy!

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Arugula, and Pecans