Mozzarella, Basil, & Grilled Cherry Tomatoes

Jan and I got a “come on over for dinner” call from our good friends Mary Alice and Bob. We had been working in the yard, and it was the perfect thing to look forward to for the evening. I love spur of the moment get togethers. There is no pressure to put on the perfect party; it is just good friends having a great time together.
 
I picked basil and cherry tomatoes out of my garden for the appetizer I decided to bring. I had purchased a baguette to go with our dinner I had planned for that night, but I still had to send Jan to the store to pick up some fresh mozzarella. I made crostini by slicing the baguette and brushing both sides of the slices with olive oil and sprinkled them with garlic salt. I placed them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put them into a 425 degree preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they were crisp and golden brown. Meanwhile, I put the cherry tomatoes into a grilling basket in a single layer. If you are doing a lot of tomatoes, do more than one batch you because you want them to carmelize, not steam. Grill them over a hot fire until they burst and are blackened on the outside. Don’t worry about the juices leaking onto the fire- what remains of the tomato will be delicious! Slice the mozzarella and place on a platter with tomatoes and whole basil leaves.  Serve with a basket of crostini. 
 
Mary Alice served perfect martinis and made a wonderful pork tenderloin dinner. After dinner, we discussed what were our biggest “nigglies”. Nigglies are, you know, those things that are really of no importance, but still really bug you. Just be careful that your niggly isn’t something that the person sitting next to you does all the time! Or worse yet, that their niggly is something you do all the time. Oh well, when it comes to friends, the nigglies just aren’t nigglies anymore. We had such a great time!

Yippee!!  ‘Beyond the Bull’ The Round-Up Centennial Cookbook is finally finished and hot off the presses.  We got the books just in time for Round-up, our annual rodeo here in Pendleton www.pendletonroundup.com and the sales are going great.  We were even able to get Reba McEntire to do our forward.  I and my good friends and fellow cookbook planners Mary Alice and Raphael were able to present Reba with a cookbook at the Oregon State Fair.
We had so much fun meeting her.  She is very charming and just plain gorgeous in person.  If anyone out there would like to order a cookbook they can contact me and I will make sure they get one.  I do believe we really captured the flavor and personality of The Pendleton Round-up.  The price is
$28.95 plus $6.05 shipping and handling.  All the proceeds go to renovating the plaza and entrance to our historic rodeo in time for it’s 100th year.

Since we have been eating so much asparagus lately I decided to make Jan his favorite asparagus preparation. Deep fried of course. I have to admit that I love it this way too. I have so many chives in my garden right now that I figured my favorite herb sauce would be great for asparagus dipping. I usually make this sauce to serve with salmon or halibut, but it makes a terrific vegetable dip. Truth be told I love this with almost anything. If you don’t want to use horseradish in the sauce replace the 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoons of grated lemon peel.

Beer-Battered Asparagus  

1-cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBL finely grated lemon peel
¼ tsp black pepper
1 cup beer (a lager works best, but I have done it with a pale ale).  Make sure when measuring to pour the    beer slowly and don’t measure the foam.
About 4 cups vegetable oil
1 pound medium asparagus trimmed (make sure asparagus is thoroughly dry before dipping into beer batter).

Whisk together flour, salt, zest and pepper in a bowl until combined, add the beer, whisking until smooth.  Do not over beat batter.

Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or a 3 to 4 quart dutch oven.  If using a dutch oven use about 3 inches of oil in the pan.

Dip asparagus into batter to coat.  Working in batches of 10 spears, drag 1 at a time gently against rim of bowl to remove excess batter.  Drop spears 1 at a time in the hot oil.  Make sure not to do more than 10 sprears at a time as it will overcrowd the pan.  Stir gently to keep spears from sticking to each other.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.  With a slotted spoon transfer fried spears to a paper-towel lined baking sheet.  Keep the asparagus warm in a 200 degree oven while cooking all the spears.

Horseradish and Herb Sauce

1-cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup fresh basil (chopped) plus whole leaves for garnish
½ cup fresh chives (chopped)
¼ cup fresh tarragon (chopped)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Saucy Mama’s Creamy Horseradish

Combine all ingredients and top with fresh basil leaves. Serve chilled.

Finally a warm weekend in Eastern Oregon. It felt so good. I am getting my herb garden planted. The sage and a couple of different thymes survived our winter, but everything else has to be replaced. I love planting herbs; my hands smell so good after handling the plants.

Our asparagus is ripe and can be found at our local Farmer’s Market held on Main Street on Friday night, or any of the fruit and vegetable stands scattered around the area. Asparagus is great for that I-need-a-party-snack-now-and-I-want-it-to-look-and-taste-great moment. Just blanch it in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water for a couple of minutes and then plunge it into an ice water bath. I use my pasta pot with an insert so I can immediately pull all the asparagus out of the boiling water and put in the ice water. I keep a bath towel that is only used in the kitchen to dry the asparagus after it has cooled in the ice water. Once the asparagus is dry I quite often wrap it in thinly sliced prosciutto, pile it on a pretty platter and off I go.

As soon as the last box of Christmas decorations are stored away I start thinking about what to serve for our Super Bowl party. Funny how my thoughts always turn to food. I’m thinking this year I will make a big pot of soup and have a create your own sandwich bar. I’ve been working on a Whiskey Green Chili Cheese Soup that is pretty darn good.

Whiskey Chili Cheese Soup

3/4 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Butter

1 Cup All-purpose Flour

8 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Large Yellow Onion finely, chopped

2-4 oz cans green chiles

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons shallots, minced

1 Cup Whiskey

16 oz. sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese ( I prefer extra sharp) grated Salt and White Pepper to taste

6 Slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (for garnish)

In a heavy six quart saucepan melt 3/4 cup butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes while stirring. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile melt the remaining butter over medium heat in a large saute pan.

Saute the onions until soft and golden. Add the green chiles, garlic and shallots. Continue to saute until remaining ingredients are soft. Add sauted ingredients to soup base. Then add whiskey and cheese stirring to blend thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve topped with crumbled bacon. I like to cook my bacon in the oven using a foil lined rimmed baking sheet with a rack in it. I usually heat the oven to 350 degrees, but you can do it at 325 or 425 depending on how closely you want to pay attention to when the bacon is done. I am famous for burning toast or bacon in the oven, so I usually opt for a cooler temperature whenever possible.

Exciting stuff for us today – we finally get to reveal details about our new relationship with Chef Paul Sturkey.   He’s the BEST – and we’ve loved getting to work with him and his wonderful wife, Pam!  I thought I’d share with you the release we sent out today:

BARHYTE TO CREATE NATURAL DRESSINGS FOR CHEF PAUL STURKEY

Cincinnati ‘s Famed Mesh Restaurateur Teams with Barhyte to Release Expanded Collection

of Award-Winning Condiments

PENDLETON, Ore. (October 30, 2008) – Working side-by-side, Cincinnati Chef Paul Sturkey and Barhyte Specialty Foods‘ “Saucy Mama” Suzie Barhyte have crafted an improved, natural formulation of the restaurateurs’ hugely popular Sturkey’s House Dressing.  This new and natural version of Chef Sturkey’s Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette (both original and lite flavors) will begin shipping through Barhyte distribution channels in November 2008.

Chef Sturkey, along with his wife Pastry Chef Pam, both of Cincinnati’s famed Mesh Restaurant, hit the culinary circuit in 1988 when Paul worked as executive chef for The Phoenix – a restaurant which that year topped Esquire Magazine’s “Top Ten Restaurants in America.” The local celebrity chef and his dressing have been dubbed “the Cincinnati equivalent of Paul Newman and Newman’s Own” by Cincinnati Business Magazine. He is a frequent guest on Cincinnati area radio and television programs and has made guest appearances on “Good Morning America,” and the Food Network; Sturkey also serves as a culinary expert for the DIY (Do It Yourself) Network.

Sturkey initiated the Barhyte relationship earlier this year to create naturally clean, shelf-stable versions the chef’s signature original and lite dressings.  When they began working together in the Barhyte kitchen, Paul Sturkey and Suzie Barhyte found undeniable synergies that inspired even more creations.  As they played with ingredients, they devised additional formulations for dressings and created a full line extension to release under the Sturkey brand.  In addition to original and lite Sturkey’s House Dressings, the companies also are introducing Natural Sturkey’s Herb Ranch Dressing and Sturkey’s Creamy Caesar Dressing.

“The Barhyte family saw my vision for taking our dressings to a more natural stage, and then built on it,” explains Chef Paul Sturkey. “We have a wonderful working relationship with the Barhyte’s; Suzie and I understand each other and I admire her companies’ dedication to working with local farmers to secure fresh, organic ingredients.”

The Sturkey’s House Dressing is a creamy sweet balsamic vinaigrette that doubles as a rich marinade and glaze.  “One of the huge things about our House Dressing is that kids love it, especially as a vegetable dip,” says Sturkey. “My own kids eat it on pasta and parents love it because their kids are eating healthy.  It’s a great value condiment with widespread appeal.”

Barhyte Specialty Foods will release Sturkey’s signature dressings beginning this at gourmet food and specialty stores nationwide.  Each dressing will be available in 12-oz. bottles for $4.99 (MSRP).

For more information about these or other Barhyte / Sturkey creations, please visit www.barhyte.com.

Time to start planning food for the football game this weekend. (Gotta get marinating NOW!) Oregon State is playing Washington Saturday and Seattle is a great place to go and watch football, but with working on the kitchen and getting the fall chores done in the yard we are just going to watch at home with friends, and Mike of course. Today I got a pork tenderloin that I am going to marinate in a combination or our Food & Wine Cracked Pepper Steak Sauce and Teriyaki Tailgate Wing Sauce. I can put it in the oven Saturday morning. Of course it won’t be my oven since I’m without a kitchen. I’ll give it to Mike and he will be in charge.

I am going to cook three kinds of marinated chicken to make sandwiches, using our Medium Tailgate Hot Wing Sauce, Parmesan Garlic Tailgate Wing Sauce and our Teriyaki Tailgate Wing Sauce. I think we are going to have plenty of food.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin

2.5 lbs pork tenderloin cut into 8 X 2-1/2 X 2-1/2 inch pieces

1 cup Teriyaki Tailgate Wing Sauce

1 cup Food & Wine Cracked Pepper Steak Sauce

Mix the Teriyaki Tailgate Wing Sauce and Food & Wine Cracked Pepper Steak Sauce. Place pork tenderloin in a large baking dish or 1 gallon zip lock bag. Pour the sauce mixture over the pork and coat thoroughly. Marinate overnight or up to forty-eight hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place marinated pork on a rack over a roasting pan filled with 1 cup of water. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350. About every 15 minutes brush pork with remaining marinade. Be sure to keep marinade refrigerated when not using and throw it away when pork is finished cooking. Turn pork after being in the oven for 30n minutes. Bake for 30 more minutes.

Remove pork from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

Slice thin and serve.

This may be served warm or cold. I like to make extra marinade to serve with the pork.

Our family makes a contest out of everything.  Chris and I are seeing who can whip a bowl of cream the fastest.  I won of course.  I did make sure I had the best whisk and bowl.  In the background  are Mike Barhyte (holding Ben) Jeff Barhte(with the beard) and Mike Davis.