Pacific Northwest-style Muffuletta Sandwiches with Manhattan-style Salmon Chowder

When I saw Greg Atkinson's Taste article, A Big Easy Best, in The Seattle Times on Sunday, I was keen to make his muffuletta sandwiches. When my husband glanced at the article with John Lok's gorgeous photo of these sandwiches (my rather pathetic photos by comparison are an embarrassment), he was immediately VERY keen for me to make them. The whole point of a sandwich, aside from the mobility factor, is that they're easy to make, and these sandwiches are very easy. In the Taste article, Greg suggested building them on kaiser rolls or a focaccia loaf, and on his blog, Westcoast (click here) he describes an olive oil bread made in New Orleans a friend prefers to use. Instead, I decided to make my grandmother's potato rolls (click here) shaped bun-style.

I love making any kind of bread. It's soothing and meditative. I find transforming a few basic ingredients into something as wonderful as homemade bread, to be an incredibly satisfying activity. Even though baking bread from start to finish -dry yeast to baked buns- takes up a major portion of a day, I like that it can so easily fit around other activities.

When I'm in the habit of baking most of our breads, as I am these days, I find commercial breads to be a serious disappointment. Even my lamest of loaves are pretty good stuff by comparison. To make any bread or roll recipe into a burger-style buns, I knead them especially well while keeping the dough soft, roll or pat them about 5/8 to 1/2 an inch thick to make 4-inch rounds, and allow a good final rising. I baked these at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I had some extra dough that I made into two wee loaves and baked alongside for the same amount of time.

Home baked buns will turn any sandwich filling into an exceptional sandwich experience. Though these sandwiches would be good made with pretty much any rolls or bread, I must say they were pretty incredible made with these just baked soft potato buns.

Greg Atkinson's Muffuletta Sandwiches

To make the olive salad (for 2-3 sandwiches), combine:

1 c. minced Spanish pimento-stuffed green olives

3 pressed garlic cloves

2-3 T. olive oil
Spread this generously on one side of a split bun.

On other side, layer slices of:

mortadella

salami

provolone cheese

I also added a smear of mayo on this side of my bun. Greg suggest these be made half an hour or so ahead to allow the olive oil to soak into the bread. I'm going to remember these for taking this summer on picnics, but last night I felt we needed a soup alongside our sandwiches, and this Manhattan-style salmon chowder came to mind. I liked the color of the blue potatoes here, but others eating it weren't as impressed with the visual effect -though all agreed it was very good.

Manhattan-style Salmon Chowder

Melt:

1/4 c. butter

Add:

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped
Cook until tender. Add:

1 quart chicken stock

1 t. dried basil

1/3 c. dried Italian parsley

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

Simmer 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cube salmon trim (or a salmon fillet), saute briefly in 1 T. olive oil until done, and add to the chowder.

Pear Vanilla Jam Love

I made a half batch of this Pear Vanilla Jam (click here) recipe posted on Food in Jars, and I must tell you, this jam is everything I thought it would be and more. In this jam, the very delicate, yet pervasive and distinctive, flavor and scent of vanilla is coupled perfectly with the understatedness of the flavor of pears. I am so in love with this jam.

It yielded a small number of jars, which is usually best when trying out a new jam recipe, but not in this case. Yesterday, I ordered some vanilla beans on-line (Thanks Nicole!) from Beanilla.com -five beans delivered via the postal service for about the same price as one bean at our local grocery store. I am now rather impatiently waiting for my vanilla beans to arrive so I can make more of this jam -a lot more.

I polished off the odd bit that I hadn't sealed in a jar on my breakfast toast the morning after making this jam. I am ashamed to say that this jam is so good that the thought momentarily crossed my mind to hide away the few remaining jars for my own personal jam stash and not share, but I had announced repeatedly and profusely to my family that this new jam I was making promised to be heaven in a jam jar, so I did open a jar to share, which we soon polished off. I also sent my son and daughter not living at home each a jar as partial atonement for my selfish thoughts. There are only two jars left now, so I hope the vanilla bean package comes soon. Though, I will admit, I am the only one who knows exactly where those two jars were put!

Ribs

Ribs can be tricky to cook, but good ribs are absolutely divine and rib lovers will search high and low for THE BEST RIBS -in every town they pass through. The Homesick Texan recently posted a recipe for Ribs with Sam Houston's BBQ Sauce (click here) which look fantastic. At our house, we make a simpler homemade BBQ Sauce (click here), that my husband learned to make from his mother. It's very quick to make and and we use it on all sorts of meats. My trick for cooking any ribs, is a long, slow, moist cooking of the meat before adding any sauce. Especially with lamb and goat ribs, if tenderness is desired, cooking several hours with moisture, before you add any glaze or sauce and crisp the ribs, is required. I know there are volumes written on the art of BBQ, and many loud arguments surrounding, the topic of THE BEST RIBS. I am not making any claims to making THE BEST RIBS (though these are all pretty darned good) but I'm simply offering my down and dirty, quick and easy, never fail method for tender BBQ ribs: Put ribs in a large pot on the stove, or a roasting pan in the oven, with several inches of water and cook for 2 hours. Remove ribs, saving the broth for another use. Turning and coating ribs with BBQ Sauce while they cook, broil or grill the cooked ribs to finger-lickin perfection. Or put cooked ribs in a baking dish and cover them with the following marinade.



Shepherdess Lamb Ribs
Adapted from The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
For 2-3 lbs. cooked lamb or goat ribs to serve four, mix:
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1/3 c. ketchup
1 T. minced candied ginger
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Leave to marinate for one hour, spooning the marinade over the ribs a few times while it sits -if you think of it.



Put the ribs in a 350-375 degree oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove and baste with a glaze of 1/4 c. each honey and soy sauce. Broil or grill 5 minutes, or just until the glaze begins to darken and the ribs crisp. DO NOT BURN!! This seems obvious, but I am easily distracted and burning them at this point is a real shame!



Chinese Pork Ribs
Adapted from The Pressure Cooker Gourmet by Victoria Wise
This is a recipe for cooking chicken wings, but I have found it works equally well with pork ribs.
Mix:
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sweet-hot mustard
1/4 c. white wine (I used some homemade rhubarb wine), Chinese rice wine, or sake
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
To serve 4, put 2-3 lbs. seperated pork spareribs in a glass dish, pour mix over ribs and leave to sit at least an hour or two. I have tried to marinate these directly in the pressure cooker to save washing a dish, but they seem to always burn a bit when I do.



Put ribs and marinade into a pressure cooker, and bring to high pressure over high heat. Immediately reduce to medium-low heat and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to drop. Remove ribs and all the sauce to a bowl, sprinkle with:
1/4 c. minced cilantro leaves
1/2 T. toasted sesame seeds

Four Cookbooks - Thanks Mom!!

My mom's weakness is buying opals, and my weakness is buying cookbooks. I spend considerably less money on my obsession than she does on hers, but I also have considerably more cookbooks than she does opals, so I'm not sure who has the bigger problem! She gave me money for my birthday back in December, as she does every year, and these four (used) cookbooks are what I eventually bought with it. I so appreciate the thrill of having money earmarked solely 'for your pleasure only.' Thanks, Mom!

KOTO -A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl is just that. It reads like both a cookbook and a travel adventure. KOTO is a culinary training center in Vietnam for street youth with royalties from this book going to help support KOTO. The photos of the food and Vietnam are inspiring, and this Stir-fried Venison with Peanuts and Lemongrass recipe I made awhile ago was delicious.



In Jam Today, Tod Davies highly praises The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman, so I figured given her praises and a title such as this, it was pretty much a sure bet. Though it has no photos, this is a great cookbook. I personally don't mind, but there are some people who don't get the point of a cookbook without photos. I think that more often than not, food photos don't really convey what the food looks like on our plates, how we feel about preparing and serving it to those we love, and of course, how it actually tastes. There is a wide range of countries and cuisines represented in this cookbook -I really love and appreciate this diversity- and he includes lots of directions and side information. I used his recipes (there are two) to refer to when I made Meatball Beef Pho last month, and there are at least a dozen other recipes in this cookbook I want to make.

The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater is simply lovely. Really. This is my first Nigel Slater book, and it is a diary for one year -with recipes- of what he cooked at home in his kitchen. This may sound boring to some, but in this book he has distilled the essence of why I read cookbooks: to know about the foods others eat, the spirit and flavor of those foods, and how these other home cooks think and feel about those foods as they prepare them in their homes. I used an adaptation of his Five Spice Quail recipe when roasting a small chicken awhile back. It was simple to do, but it gave truly amazing results. I don't so much use this book as a 'follow the recipe' type cookbook -it has LOTS of recipes, but with weight measurements- but I simply love to read it for its distinct charm and seasonality, and because I personally relate to so many of his kitchen writings, like the 'Inspiration for a lamb chop' that he wrote on March 7: "I have no idea what I had in mind when I bought the two lamb chops that are now sitting on the kitchen worktop. Actually they are leg steaks and there's enough for two. Whatever it was, the flash of inspiration must have got lost on the way home." He then goes on to describe making a simple marinade, cooking the chops, and then creating a simple but stunning salad with them and what was in his fridge at the time.

Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson is a another book I checked out from the library. I had already flagged over ten recipes in this book to copy, when I spotted Grandma Freeman's jam cake with brown sugar rum glaze described as a southern secret baking recipe from several generations back with the original recipe that was typed on tissue paper. I immediately pulled my flags and ordered the book. It is full of recipes, similar to these favorites of mine (click here) and (click here), like rhubarb buckle with ginger crumb, upside-down sweet cherry cake, and marionberry pie -all Pacific Northwest flavor-focused country fruit desserts.

Meatball Banh Mi

Banh Mi, Vietnamese Sandwiches, are one of my absolute favorite things to eat. They also seem to be one of many other people's favorite things to eat -at least here in the greater Seattle area- and last week, Nancy Leson in The Seattle Times highlighted some favorite places to buy Banh Mi Sandwiches around town. If I lived or worked in Seattle, instead of only making occasional visits into the city, I would probably try and sample every single sandwich available and eat them daily. And there are enough places in Seattle making and selling these sandwiches, that this could go on for a very long time! Instead, her article reminded me of this Pork Meatball Banh Mi (click here) Vietnamese sandwich recipe that I saw in Bon Appetit magazine awhile ago. I have been very hipped on making something similar to this sandwich since I first saw the article, but I just hadn't gotten around to doing it -until last night.



Remember those amazing meatballs I made last week for the Vietnamese-style Meatball Spring Rolls (click here)? Last night, I used the frozen portion of those pork and shimp meatballs, and made Meatball Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches. How well meatballs freeze is just one of their many great attributes. I love that I can make meatballs in double quantities, freeze half for a second meal, and then that second meal's preparation is so super easy. For these sandwiches, I just heated a caste-iron pan, added a bit of oil, and tumbled in the unthawed frozen meatballs. I browned them on medium-low heat, and then covered them and let them sit a bit to make sure they were done all the way through.

The sandwich-making was a cinch. Sadly, my photo does not do justice to how vibrant and delicious looking this really was. To make them, I grated a carrot into a bit of the spicy dipping sauce leftover from the Meatball Spring Rolls (a mixture of lime juice and sweet rice vinegar would also be good here instead) and let it sit awhile. A purchased roll with a coating of mayonnaise, a few cucumber slices and some torn cilantro leaves, a bit of the marinated carrot, and these amazing meatballs, all flavored with a splash of the magical Maggi Seasoning sauce (the secret ingredient) made a quick and easy Banh Mi. And the sandwich-eating was fantastic, as is always the case with these Vietnamese sandwiches. I haven't yet met one I didn't absolutely love!

Comfort

What do you crave when you aren't feeling so good? When my daughter had her wisdom teeth out recently I made jook and puddings for her. When I was sick as a kid, I remember my mom would serve me well-buttered toast with home canned sliced peaches. My son remembers her making him cocoa, and he says a cup of cocoa will always be comfort for him. Comfort, for me, is eating peaches and toast, while spending a day lying on the couch, covered by a granny square blanket, and reading a good book. In one of her novels (Animal Dreams, I think?), Barbara Kingsolver describes a red granny square blanket that was comfort to a woman, and she remembers poking her finger through its holes as a kid when she was lying on the couch sick. This is my very incomplete list of 'really good reads with recipes' for a sick day spent on the couch -or any time really. These are all writers who are passionate about food -each in their own unique way- and I've enjoyed reading all of these books, more than once.

Home Cooking, and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
Spoon Fed by Kim Severson
Jam Today by Tod Davies
Blue Jelly by Debby Bull
A Pig in Provence by Georgeanne Brennan
The Year of Eating Dangerously by Tom Parker Bowles
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Pass the Polenta by Teresa Lust
Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes
In Season by Greg Atkinson
Pie Every Day by Pat Willard
The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis

March Must Make List

This time last year, I had never actually read a food blog. Honest. I had looked at a few blog posts similar to this (click here), after doing a search for 'how to make goat milk soap' when I was literally in the MIDDLE of making soap for the first time in my crock-pot. I thought it looked 'weird' and I was convinced it was all going horribly wrong (it wasn't). But as far as following and reading food blogs, and despite friends telling me about The Pioneer Woman and Wandering Chopsticks, I was slow to discover the world of food blogs. Living in a three-teens-and-one-computer-household may have had something to do with it. Once I did though, my reaction was, 'THAT looks really fun.' I fumbled my way through the technical aspects of setting up a blog with help from my more tech savvy teens, though it was months before I figured out how to post comments and add links -and six months before I discovered what the STATS tab was (yes, I really am that pathetic). Despite my inadequate computer and writing skills, it IS fun and it allows me to indulge my obsession with food. I've found so many inspiring recipes posted on blogs and I want to share the recipes I've recently added to my 'Must Make List.'

This Lemon Stacked Monkey Bread at Reebecki Supergirl looks absolutely heavenly, but when I proposed baking it, I got the death glare from my 'I'm trying to eat healthy' seventeen-year-old. My husband jokes I should write a cookbook titled 'My Mom Is Trying To Make Me Fat!' I have put off baking this until she leaves for the weekend or something. Oh my gosh, it looks so delicious! I'm sure it's truly amazing because this recipe keeps popping up on blogs with almost the same frequency that the Homemade Nutella recipe does.

The Red Enchilada Sauce I mentioned yesterday, posted by dandelion on Knit & Nosh, is destined to become a staple in my kitchen and my canning repertoire. I can't wait to make Lamb Red Enchiladas with this homemade red sauce.

I am seriously excited about this recipe for Pear Vanilla Jam that was posted on Food in Jars awhile back. Thinking about this jam almost makes me swoon (and I am NOT the swooning type!). I REALLY almost swooned when I saw the price for a single vanilla bean at my local store was $16 (I kid you not). Luckily, I found I had one stashed vanilla bean in my spice drawer, but unluckily, my 'I'm trying to eat healthy' seventeen-year-old ate the pears I'd bought for this -and I simply can't tell my kid to not eat fruit! I'll just keep buying pears in ever increasing numbers until I find myself with enough ripe pears for jam making. And I'm hoarding that stashed vanilla bean for this jam.

My son and husband spotted this Irish Cream Chocolate Mousse Cake in the recent issue of Bon Appetit and immediately wanted to know when we would be eating this cake. Soon, I promised. I think even Little Miss 'I'm trying to eat healthy' might be tempted to eat a piece of this cake. Speaking of cake, I have been wanting to make Coconut Cupcakes like these at Simply Recipes but I keep getting side railed. I had planned to make these for my spinning guild's February meeting, but on the day of the meeting a pulled back muscle had me flat on the couch. Maybe next month. I also printed a copy of these Lamb Shanks in Guiness with Country Vegetables while I was at the Bon Appetit site, thinking these and the requested cake would make a great St. Patrick's Day (or some other festive day) meal. I also have a recipe for Lamb Shanks with White Beans and Sun-Dried Tomatoes put up on Ravelry by NanaChickens that I really want to make, but I'm not sure how many lamb shanks we still have in the freezer. It will be a tough choice if I can only make one of these recipes.

I am very fond of turnips (unlike the rest of my family) and I simply adore risotto, so when I spotted a risotto and turnips post at Dispatches From Whitcomb Street I followed the link to epicurious and am patiently waiting for spring turnips (that haven't been planted yet) to make this Risotto With Turnips and Bacon recipe. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds really, really good? Am I the only one who collects recipes for foods they haven't grown yet? -Or are hoping to make six months from now?

I recently read the book, Spoon Fed -How Eight Cooks Saved My Life by Kim Severson, which was a very good read. If I had a top 10 reads for the year list, this book would definitely be on it. Surprisingly, one of the eight women she included was Rachel Ray, and Kim describes eating a dish of Rachel's that sounds really good. She didn't include the recipe, but I found Rachel's recipe for Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage on her official site as well as on several other sites, which I take as a good sign of it's tastiness and appeal.

If you have never checked out Pranee's Thai Kitchen yet, I encourage you to do so. Her photos are lovely and communicate the flavor and appeal of Thailand. My husband and I both love Thai foods, and our pear-eating 'I'm trying to eat healthy' teen does too. I was very excited awhile back by Pranee's Thai Lime-Green Chili Jam recipe, and more recently by her Phad Bee Htun post. The Stir-fried Thin Rice Vermicelli with Pork and Choy Sum recipe looks absolutely scrumptious. She says it was her favorite noodle dish when growing up, and I think that is the ultimate endorsement. I hope to make all these recipes this month -and I think I'll start with Pranee's noodle dish tomorrow night. What's on your must make list?