People seem intimidated cooking a whole fish but it really couldn’t be easier. I had this lovely wild sockeye salmon, headless, but you can’t have everything. Flipping through a Jamie Oliver book I saw a recipe for Roast Salmon with fennel, parsley and tomato. Having no fennel I substituted some thinly sliced onion.

Thinly slice lemons, onion (or fennel) and chop tomatoes.

Mix with chopped parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Season fish and rub with olive oil. Stuff with tomato mixture. Bake at 400º until just cooked, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the fish.

Serve with roast potatoes.

And something green, like asparagus.

With the leftover salmon I made another Jamie Oliver recipe, fish cakes.

Leftover salmon, boiled potatoes, lemon, parsley, eggs, salt and lots of pepper.

Formed into fish cakes, ready to cook or freeze for later.

Delicious.

-Jennifer

Thanks to Sarah for taking the roasted salmon photos.

I ran across this recipe on the Gourmet website. The only problem with the recipe is it only makes about 22 of these luscious little dumplings. I have doubled the recipe so I can stash some in the freezer for later. My daughter and I sit in front of the TV and set up a dumpling factory. The only real challenge is keeping the cat away, Muenster is her favorite cheese.

For the dumplings:

To serve:

• sour cream
• chives

Melt butter in heavy pan, add onions and a good pinch of salt. Cover and cook over a medium flame for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once onions are softened, uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Onions should be soft and nicely browned.

Meanwhile cover the diced potatoes with water and a good amount of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and mash. Stir in onions and grated cheese.

Place a rounded teaspoon of the filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush edges with water and fold in half to seal. Make sure to squeeze out any air pockets. Keep going ’till you’ve used up all your wrappers and/or filling.

To cook, heat oil in a non stick saute pan over medium/high heat. Place dumplings on their side in a single layer. Cook for a few minutes until nicely browned. Flip dumplings over, add 1/3 cup water and cover immediately. Cook about 5 minutes until water has evaporated and dumplings are warmed through. If any water is left in the pan, cook uncovered until it had evaporated and the dumplings have browned on the other side.

Serve with sour cream and some snipped chives.

To freeze remaining dumplings, lay out in a single layer on a sheet pan and freeze until hardened, then transfer to a plastic bag. You can cook them the same way you would the fresh dumplings.

-Jennifer

Our chicken Honey. Ariel takes the greatest pictures.

-Jennifer

This is the second installment of my new series, “The boy in the kitchen.”  My son has always been in the kitchen with me, sitting on the counter as a baby and now, really interested in recipes, nutrition and cooking on his own. He comes up with some great ideas, like putting the jam on his first breakfast, “egg in a hole.”

I thought it’d be neat to document some of his dishes and the ones he cooks, not only for his reference, but for my own. The one he chose to cook this morning was egg in a nest:

Nest prepared by tearing tiny pieces of bread. He wanted a flat nest.

Place egg styled to your liking in the nest. (Being the typical five year old, he must prepare the lego people prior to him eating.)

He discovered that one of the advantages to this presentation was the "dipping sauce"

As you can see, he did not like this breakfast at all.

~Sarah

Step #1 Find recipe

Step #2 Get bread

Step #3 Get Eggs

Step #4 Select green egg

Step #5 Stir egg becuase you do not prefer a soft boiled egg

Step #6 make hole in bread

Step #7 Place bread in buttered skillet, fry for a moment on each side, then pour mixed (or unmixed) egg into the hole

Step #8 Remove from pan and say, "oooooo"

Step #9 Add some homemade nectarine and thyme jam on top

Step #10 Eat!

~Sarah

I found this beautiful broccoli rabe at the Berkeley Farmer’s Market yesterday. I can find almost everything I need there and it’s almost all organic and pasture raised. There are delightfully different products there, like banana leaves and I even found Union-picked broccoli and strawberries yesterday. Amazing!

While I was washing it, I wondered if we could eat the stems, you know, like broccoli. In walked the neighbor so I asked him the question. He replied, “dunno,” took some over to his place and started messing with it. What came back was this…

My daughter eating raw broccoli rabe like a banana (sorry about the cat hindquarters and tail, she never moves from that location except to eat)

What my neighbor found was a tough exterior, similar to the very end of the asparagus and broccoli stems, that revealed a softer, totally edible interior. So I peeled and added the stems to the dish as well. It was a very simple dish and quick too. Only olive oil, salt, pepper, two cloves of garlic, the broccoli rabe, a little Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a few slices of sausages on the side.

Gluten free penne with broccoli rabe

While we were eating dinner, my son asked, “Which is more healthier, broccoli or red bell peppers?” He has been interested in nutritional facts lately, for whatever reason. So we looked it up in Laurel’s Kitchen. We were amazed to learn that 1c of broccoli has 324 mg of potassium and 3880 iu of vitamin A. One red bell pepper, by contrast, has 148 mg of potassium and 3295 iu of vitamin A! Healthy indeed.

~Sarah

Roasted bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and slow roasted tomatoes on gluten-free french bread

You might not believe this, but my 5-year old said that this sandwich was “SO GOOD!” He even wanted the leftovers the next day. I was a little stunned myself.  I honestly thought this eat-most-things attitude would wear off, but it hasn’t. Despite their willingness now, I am still emotionally ready for the day they will only eat pizza.

This sandwich was made with Carol Fenster’s French Bread recipe and some fresh, green bell peppers from my Uncle’s garden. The peppers were wonderfully sweet, not having that weird, acidic edge I find in some supermarket peppers (what is that from? Is it because they are old?). I roasted them for a few minutes on each side and then combined them with some slow-roasted tomatoes and thinly sliced onions from the Berkeley Farmer’s Market. I threw in some mushrooms and spinach at the very end for additional texture and color. Seasoned with only salt and pepper, it made for a lovely weeknight dinner.

~Sarah

My daughter and I spent a fabulous week in Chicago visiting my brother and sister in law. Chicago is an amazing city with so many great restaurants, this is just a taste.

A Rick Bayless restaurant is always on the agenda when in Chicago. This time we tried his new place, XOCO.

My brother, and my daughter trying the jamaica- lemonade agua fresca.

Chicken torta: Wood-roasted red chile chicken, pickled white onion, black beans, avocado, tomatillo salsa

Milanesa: Crispy chicken, black beans, artisan Jack cheese, pickled jalapenos, tomatillo-avocado salsa.

Wednesday Special - Pork Belly torta: Dark salsa negra glaze, bacon, arugula, queso anejo

Best churros ever.

Chicago is known for hot dogs, but for the hard core hot dog enthusiast, be sure to visit Hot Doug’s! The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium.

Go on Friday or Saturday when they do duck fat fries.

There are no two finer words in the English language than “encased meats,” my friend. Except maybe Cemitas Puebla. Oh wait that’s Spanish.

The owner will greet you at the door, seat you, give you a menu, and even pose for a picture.

So many to choose from, this cemita is filled with Arabes, a sort of Mexican Shwarma.

We had a great trip to the French Market. We sampled tasty things at Saigon Sisters, Frietkoten Belgian fries & beer, and Vanille.

The Saigon Sisters Classic Bánh mi, Vietnamese pork, American ham, French paté.

The Hen House-caramelized chicken, lemongrass, ginger, mint, lime, crushed peanuts.

The Porky at Saigon Sisters. braised pork belly, pho flavors, hoison glaze. You can see how good it was.

Belgian fries are the best fries you'll ever have.

So many dipping sauces for the frites to try. We opted for the truffled mayo.

Pain au chocolat from Vanille.

A weekend trip to Milwaukee took us to a great old bookstore, Renaissance Books. It’s not really a culinary adventure, but it is an adventure.

The Comet Cafe is the only place I know to get a compact turkey dinner. It’s so good I have recreated it at home out of desperation, but it’s more fun to go to Milwaukee and have it made for you.

The compact turkey dinner.

Bacony meat loaf with beer gravy.

Brew City Hot Brown. Open face turkey on rye with mashed potatoes, bacon, tomato, Swiss cheese and beer gravy.

Spicy seasoned fries with fresh cucumber sauce.

On the way back to Chicago, a quick stop at Leon’s, which inspired Happy Days.

A stop at Leon's for tin roof sundaes and extra malty chocolate malts.

My daughter’s favorite, after sweet potato fries, are chipotle fries at Al’s beef.

Spicy chipotle fries.

Om nom nom.

We treated ourselves to the Chicago classic Rainbow Cone!

Orange sherbet, pistachio, vanilla with walnut & cherry, strawberry, and finally chocolate make up the rainbow cone's famous layers.

I’ve saved the best for last. My 40th birthday dinner at The Publican.

The Publican has these great booths with doors, not unlike little pig pens. Here are my brother and his wife in our little pen.

A trio of aged ham served with Nordic creamery goat butter and peasant bread

Beets with ricotta.

Broccoli with bread crumbs and garlic confit.

Smoked salmon salad.

Bollito Misto—cotechino sausage, smoked turkey & pork confit.

Waffle with honey butter & sour cherries.

A fantastic trip spent with loved ones, in a great city, full of good food and beautiful architecture.

-Jennifer

We had a great visit with family outside of Chicago, in Batavia. While looking through photographs I found this ad for our great grandfather’s butcher shop.

Great Grandfather.

-Jennifer

Last time Sarah came to visit we made this flourless chocolate cake that I’d seen Jacques Pepin prepare on the PBS show Julia and Jacques. It intrigued me because I’d never seen a cake made with ganache and egg whites, and also because the recipe requires no flour. This is the sort of cake that the French would make into a bûche de Noël, but the batter can also go into ramekins for little chocolate soufflés.

You’ll need a half sheet pan (or a 11 x 17 jelly roll pan) and the following ingredients:

For the soufflé

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

7 egg whites, at room temperature

2 Tbs granulated sugar

For the filling

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled

½ tsp vanilla

1½ Tbs granulated sugar (optional)

1 Tbs cognac (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350º and line the pan with buttered parchment.

To make the soufflé, heat one cup of cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces, lower the heat and whisk to melt the chocolate thoroughly. Once smooth and well combined, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Whip the egg whites and 2 tablespoons of sugar until they have formed stiff peaks with a glossy sheen.

Scoop about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the pan with the ganache, and whisk to combine. Now pour the lightened ganache into the egg whites and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.

Place the pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. When done the cake should be set and puffy. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature.

Once the cake is cool make your whipped cream.

Lift the parchment lined cake from the pan, long side facing you. The recipe says to dust the cake with cocoa powder at this point, but honestly we forgot, and it was still good.

Lift cake, still on the parchment,  out of the pan.

Spread on whipped cream.

Start to roll.

Lift up the near edge of the cake and parchment and start to fold it away from you. Begin to peel the parchment off the cake. Roll another few inches, pressing the parchment to make a tight spiral.

Keep rolling.

Keep it snug.

The cake should still be sitting on the parchment paper, and at this point you can wrap the parchment around it and either transfer it to a platter to serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Trim the edges.

Enjoy.

-Jennifer (and Sarah)