it's the balm!

Hydrangea in bloom to decorate the table, radishes harvested to decorate the salad.

Outdoor dining is here at last. The balmy late days of spring are perfect for enjoying  extended sunlight and the profusion of leafy enticements.

Tender greens are now readily available - I can plunder my own garden for new growth and actually begin to put a meal together from some humble backyard plants.

Garden pesto is a versatile use of just about any edible leafy green and tender herb.

My patch of backyard lemon balm is huge this year. It grows easily and spreads where ever it has a place to go. By mid-summer the leaves are spotty and crisp, not very appetizing, but right now the plant is ever so delectable! I tuck a sprig or two into my iced tea and tear up the smallest leaves to go into salads.  It had never occurred to me to use lemon balm as the base of a pesto, but with the profusion of growth and my basil still barely inches high I decide to give lemon balm a spin in the food processor to see how it would come out.

To add a little dimension to the pesto I included some chives, sorrel, mint and oregano, seeking out the smallest and softest leaves I could harvest. The pesto was so good! I half expected the lemon balm to taste soapy or too perfumey but the young leaves gave a pleasant green bite with the barest hint of lemon.

Night one, I mixed the pesto with spaghetti and roasted peppers. It looked so pretty and tasted great! Night two, I made it for friends and served it over Israeli couscous, adding some grilled vegetables. The two pickiest eaters at the table both announced it "really good" so please don't share this recipe with them because if they knew what was in it (green stuff and cheese) they would never have tried it in the first place.



recipe:

Garden Pesto with Israeli Couscous & Grilled Vegetables

For the pesto:
2 cups of fresh herbs or leafy greens-any mix of basil, mint, sorrel, chives, lemon balm, tarragon, parsley, cilantro, spinach, arugula, young kale, chard
2 Tbs. walnuts, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon salt

-put all ingredients in food processor and blend till smooth

For the couscous:

1 cup of Israeli couscous
1 Tbs olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
In a sauce pan heat the oil and toast the couscous, stirring for about five minutes. Add the water and the salt, cover and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for ten minutes. Transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.

For the grilled Vegetables:

1 cup of carrots sliced thin
1 cup of zucchini sliced thin
1 cup of bell peppers sliced into strips
2 Tbs olive oil
- toss vegetables with the oil and lay over a hot grill. Cook on each side till vegetables get some grill marks. They can be crispy. Take vegetables off the grill and chop into bite sized pieces if they are large.

Combine the pesto with the couscous and vegetables. Can be served hot or cold.

a hint of mint

Deborah
Ahhh, sunshine! Let's see how long it lasts. I have jumped at the chance to spend some time in my backyard, now very overgrown with spring blossoms and fresh herbs. This month the poor garden has experienced neglect due to my heavy schedule of catering parties and further hampered by the ambush of rain on my rare days off.

A tangle of mint and chives begins to take over the herb garden.

This week found me making hors d'oeuvres for a cocktail party for thirty people in a spacious Tribeca loft. On the menu: Spring Rolls, naturally, as what could be a more perfect season for them? I like to experiment with different ingredients when I make these, but one addition I always use is mint leaves. The mint adds a freshness and a bit of an eye opening surprise. The rest of the filling is a combination of different pickled vegetables, usually radish and cucumbers with a sprig or two of blanched broccoli and bean thread noodles for some substance.

Ingredients are assembled and ready to go.

I really like playing with this recipe, trying new combinations of fillings. The challenge for me is getting these little guys rolled tightly enough. Having watched a kitchen staff at a Vietnamese restaurant expertly roll them in quick deft movement to produce perfect packages I bemoan my own still less than nimble technique. My friend Rachel, an actress and film maker who is a native of Taiwan, suggested I try using peanuts ground with sugar to help keep the spring rolls tightly wrapped, as her family traditionally does. What a fantastic idea! The results were my usual slightly limp roll, but the addition of the sugar and peanuts gave them a distinctive flavor twist that I loved.

 Peanuts and sugar crushed using morter and pestle.

Assemble your ingredients and practice the art of rolling-up. It is a fun and tasty endevour, worth the slight frustration as you attempt to master the technique.

Spring Rolls with Mint and Peanuts

 2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 cup of daikon radish, cut into julienne strips
1.5 cups of cucumber, cut into julienne strips
2 cups of bean thread noodles (also known as cellophane noodles), cooked
2 Tbs. Sesame oil
1/2 cup peanuts
1 bunch of scallions, green part only, cut into julienne strips
20 mint leaves cut into chiffonade ribbons
2 cups of cooked broccoli, cut into long strips
1 package of Spring Roll Wrappers (found in Asian markets)


Mix 1 Tbs sugar with the rice vinegar. Pour half the mixture over the radishes and half over the cucumbers and toss. Toss the bean thread noodles with the sesame oil. Crush the peanuts and 1 Tbs. sugar together in a morter and pestle or food prosesor. Assemble all the ingredients in bowls in front of you to start the rolling.  Fill a bowl with warm water. Quickly dip the rice wrapper in the water and lay it on the counter in front of you. Take a teaspoon of the peanut sugar mixture and spread it out over the wrapper. In the center of the rice wrapper lay a few strands of noodles, radish, cucmber, scallions, broccoli and mint. carefully fold over the edges left and right, to cover the ingredients, then roll up the wrapper from the bottom as tightly as possible to make a fat cigar shape. Set roll aside and continue with the rest of the wrappers, making about ten rolls. Serve immediately.

Amanda
Dare I attempt this? Deb, if you find this a little challenging, I can only imagine how it will be for me! When I saw "spring rolls", I immediately thought this would be a deep-fried dish. How pleasantly surprised I am to find this is not the case. This looks like a fun, interesting recipe to play around with.

The spring rolls are light, so they call for a wine that is not too heavy. You want the body of the wine to be in synch with the "weight" of the foods you are enjoying. Muscadet is a French wine which is made in the Loire Valley region of the country. The Melon de Bourgogne grape is used (often referred to as melon). Look for wines from the sub-appellation Muscadet-Sevre et Maine (this will be designated on the label).

The wines are most often light  bodied, fresh and crisp, and might even have a "fizzy" sensation. The acidity keeps the wines refreshing, and might even have a "salty" note to them. These wines are best enjoyed young - if you are looking to buy one now, look for the 2010 or 2009 vintages. Muscadet is classicly paired with shellfish, particularly oysters. The wines are typically low-ish in alcohol (12%), which makes them extremely food-friendly.

The light, crisp nature of the wine is ideal for the spring rolls. Neither will overpower the other. La Touche Muscadet is a favorite of mine ($11.99). It has wonderful zippy acidity and beautiful minerality. Perfect for Deb's Spring Rolls!

welcome honored guests!

Deborah

My absolute favorite catering job of the year is always the Rainforest Alliance's private dinner welcoming the guests who will be honored at their annual Gala held the next evening. The gala honors the companies of the year who are being recognized as Leaders in Sustainability. The pre-gala dinner allows the honorees, who come from all over the world, to relax and get to know one another before the big formal event the next night AND it allows me the chance to showcase some of our local produce. I really look forward to this event every year and continue, myself, to be honored as the chosen chef of these evenings!

This year's dinner began with a chilled pea soup that gets pureed at the last minute with a handful of fresh mint. I garnished the soup with dollops of sour cream and sprigs of pea shoots. This recipe takes advantage of the freshest ingredients at the farmers market and is quick and easy to prepare. It was a perfect light and tasty starter course for our buffet supper of grilled entrees.

Chive blossoms and mint leaves also make a pretty garnish.

One of the honorees at the dinner, the Williamette Valley Vineyards out of Oregon, was being recognized for their sustainable corks(!) I have heard a lot of talk in wine circles about the demise of the cork as we know it. They cause too much wine spoilage (cork taint) and traditional cork harvesting methods can be environmentally damaging. This company is the first vineyard to use certified sustainable cork and have added that to their solid list of sustainable business practises. Congratulations to all the honorees this year!

Chilled Pea Soup with Mint

1 tbs. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

salt & white pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 head of romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

1 potato peeled and quartered

2 cups of fresh peas (frozen is fine)

1 quart stock or water

1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper

1 cup fresh mint leaves

1 cup heavy cream

Garnish-

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup fresh pea shoots or small whole mint leaves

Heat olive oil in a soup pot and add the onion and salt and pepper. Sweat the onion slowly at medium heat until in begins to soften and turns translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cook another two minutes. Add the romaine, the potato and the stock or water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the peas and the cayenne pepper. Cook for another five minutes. Remove from heat and allow soup to cool before blending. Puree soup in batches in a blender, adding in the mint leaves to each batch as you puree. Put soup in a serving bowl and stir in the heavy cream. Taste soup and adjust seasonings. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Ladle chilled soup in to bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and the pea shoots or mint leaves.

serves four

Amanda
Sounds like a great event! I would love to hear about what else you served! One word about the sustainable corks - a lot of wineries all over the world are now switching to screwcaps, high-end wineries included. I have customers who come into the shop but refuse to buy anything with a screwcap. Please - do not let this be a factor when purchasing wine! A screwcap is no longer a measure of quality!! Some of the greatest, highest rated wines now offer this easy-open method. I, for one, love screwcaps. If I don't finish off a bottle  in one night, I can put the closure back on, and it will remain fresher than if re-corked. No air can get in with a screwcap. Whites will stay fresh longer in the fridge. And, there will be no "cork taint". Many peoples' palates cannot discern a "corked" bottle from one that is fine. Trust me - a lot of wine is "corked". Statistically, 10% of all bottles are corked - that's 1 out of every 10. So, if you were to buy a case (12 bottles), chances are one of them is corked. Many a bottle that I open are "off". Screwcaps greatly reduce the chances of getting a bottle that is "off".


Deb's soup looks, and sounds delicious. I love the simple elegance of this dish. Easy to prepare, yet very impressive. This soup instantly makes me think of sunshine, warm-weather, and brightly colored flowers. I want a wine that evokes the same images. The first wine I think of is Austria's Gruner Veltliner. Typically this varietal will offer lovely aromatics, and peppery, herbal flavors combined with fresh fruit and lively acidity. The mint in the soup will complement the herbal characteristics in the wine, and the acidity of the wine will serve to contrast the soup's creaminess, making a scrumptious combination of textures and flavors.  Generally Gruner is light and crisp, but certainly richer styles are available. I love this versatile, warm-weather white!

Gruner Veltliner can be found in a wide range of prices, for as little as $8 and as high as $40. When experimenting with this varietal, there is no reason to spend a lot of money. I recommend staying in the $10-$15 range. Look for wines made by Forstreiter or Fritsch. One of my favorite Gruners is the Fritsch Steinberg Gruner Veltliner, available for $14.99.

you say potato

Deborah
If you ever find yourself anywhere near Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills, Queens be sure to treat yourself to a dinner at Danny Brown Wine Bar and Kitchen. If fact, come out of your way to go there. This cosy chef-owned bistro features a warm, charming room, impeccable service, a wonderful selection of wines and fantastic food deftly prepared in the open kitchen. I LOVE Danny Browns and my life in Queens has taken on a new richness once I discovered this treasure of a culinary outpost. DB has one dish on the menu that I would gladly eat as my last meal on earth; their grilled calamari with white beans and rosemary topped with fresh arugula. It is a perfection of flavors and textures.
On a recent visit I ordered a small plate of Hand Made Potato Gnocchi, English Peas, Fresh Ricotta, Mint & Alphonso Olives to accompany the calamari. As expected, the dish was simple and perfectly prepared. Each ingredient enhanced the other. Danny Brown gets everything right as far as I'm concerned and when it comes to my meals I get concerned :-)

The garden centers in Queens are bursting with possibilities for the kitchen garden these days.

Inspired by this dish I decided to recreate a version of it at home.

Never having made potato gnocchi before I did a quick online recipe search and noticed that most of the recipes warned that the technique was tricky and would take some practice to get the right texture and density. Hmmmmmmmm?? Skeptical and curious, I did find one recipe without that caveat which differed from the other recipes by using yellow flesh potatoes rather than Idahos and no eggs. Ah ha. Could that make the difference? I went with the yellow potatoes version and had NO PROBLEM AT ALL with the recipe.

The gnocchi came out perfectly! Give it a try when you are in a relaxed mood. The mint pesto that I improvised to pair it with was a cinch. This is a perfect recipe for a dinner party, it is so pretty and makes a fancy impression. The gnocchi can be prepared in advance up until the boiling stage. Try it!

POTATO GNOCCHI
-from www.e-rcps.com

2 lbs yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn.
Salt to taste
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

SCRUB the potatoes and place them, unpeeled, on a vegetable rack set over - but not in - a large pot of boiling water. Steam until tender all the way through but not falling apart (a kitchen knife passes all the way through with some resistance). You can also boil them to the same tenderness.
IT'S important that the potatoes not be overcooked. (Overdone, they will absorb too much water and take up so much flour that the gnocchi will sink like heavy little stones to the bottom of the stomach.)
AS soon as the potatoes are tender enough to push through a vegetable mill, remove them from the rack and when they can be handled, but while they're still hot, peel them and pass them through the vegetable mill into a large bowl. (Don't be tempted to try a food processor for this; it will turn them to glue.)
ADD a healthy pinch of salt and all the flour to the potatoes, working in the flour with a wooden spoon; then knead the dough gently for about 5 minutes on a lightly floured board or wooden work surface.

TASTE and knead in more salt if you wish, but be careful not to overwork the dough - it should be soft and supple.
DIVIDE the dough into 5 or 8 equal pieces.
ROLL each piece into a rope about 3/4 inch in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. Cut each snake into regular pieces about 3/4 inch long. Continue until all the dough has been rolled and cut. IF you wish, roll each gnocco (yes, that's the singular of gnocchi) over the large holes of a cheese grater or along the tines of a fork to impress the soft dough with a pattern.
BRING a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil and drop in the gnocchi. (Do this in two batches if it's easier.)
BOIL the gnocchi until they rise to the top, then remove them with a slotted skimmer and transfer them to a heated platter or bowl.
SERVE immediately, with the mint pesto (these gnocchi have a wonderful, delicate taste and can be served with a bit of melted butter or a few drops of good olive oil, and grated Parmesan, Simple Tomato Sauce, or Butter and Sage.)
SPOON half of the sauce over the gnocchi and mix gently, then garnish with the remaining sauce and a little grated cheese, if desired.

Mint Pesto
2 cups mint leaves loosly packed
1 quart boiliing water
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teas. salt

Blanch the mint leaves in the boiling water for 2 minutes to fix the bright green color. Remove mint from the water and put in a food processor (don't worry if the leaves are still damp, you want a little water to loosen the pesto up). Add the salt, garlic clove and half the olive oil and begin to blend. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the olive oil and as much water as is needed to get a smooth, loose consistency.
Spoon over gnocchi.


Amanda
Recently, I've been attending many, many wine and food events. There just happens to be a lot on the calendar right now. Not that I'm complaining. It's always an education for me. Sometimes there will be a food and wine pairing that surprises me. I love such surprises!


I immediately thought "white" when I read Deb's recipes for the Gnocchi and Mint Pesto. I didn't go with my first choice, however. I thought this one through a bit. The past few events I've attended have inspired me to "think outside the box" a little, and go with something a little unpredictable.


I'd actually like to try this dish paired with an Italian Merlot. I prefer the "old-world" style of Merlot from Italy, as compared with the "new-world" style of Merlot from say, California. The old world versions tend to be earthier, "dustier". They can also exhibit characteristics reminiscent of mint and eucalyptus, chocolate and licorice. This combination - the gnocchi with it's mint pesto, and such an earthy, elegant red - would be an interesting match. The fat in the olive oil would serve to soften the tannins in the wine (Merlot can be very tannic) as would a nice, healthy sprinkle of shaved parmesan!


Don't be afraid to take big chances with your food and wine pairings! The bottom line is, if it tastes good to you, that's all that matters. There is no such thing as "white with fish, red with meat" as far as I'm concerned. If a big, full Cabernet with a light, flaky fish tastes incredible to you - then that's what you should be drinking. But, at the same time, it doesn't hurt to consider some general tips when pairing, either!

Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis is actually a wine I'd love to try with Deb's recipes. It is a supple, elegant blend of Merlot, Syrah and Sangiovese. Not cheap, at a price of about $40 - but worth every penny! Perhaps I already have the menu set for my next dinner get-together! Thanks, Deb!