cakeypal: September 2007 Archives
I decided to invite the younger faculty in the department, in part because I wanted to get to know them better, in part because I hope the future of our department will include many of us who care about and support each other over the years. I've benefited so much from the support of my colleagues who were hired a "departmental generation" before me that I want to make sure that tradition continues. I'm glad that David and Gudrun, who are new to Fresno, came. 
And I was so happy to meet Samina's mother, who will be here for the next few months. 
I always enjoy talking with Bo, Alex, Tim, Pam, Rick and Karen who have lived in Fresno a little longer. One of the highlights of the party was seeing the kids bond. So many of my colleagues' children are around the same age; it's fun to think of them being friends as they grow up. 
Several months ago, there was a Sunset magazine article featuring a tapas party. At the time, I thought it looked like a fun party to have, and I've thought about it ever since. When I sent out the invitation to my party, I decided to make it a tapas party, although that's not really what it ended up to be. In fact, if there was a theme at all to my menu choices, I think it was "Food Kathee Loves to Make and Eat." I hope my guests enjoyed it as well!
I went a little out of control with my preparations yesterday, making
enough food to send guests home with plates and still end up with a
full refrigerator. But I had a sense of pride as I looked at my table
with beautiful food. I liked that my guests asked what dishes were and
seemed intrigued by my answers. Pam was especially generous, trying as
many of the dishes as possible and telling me which ones were her
favorites.
I think the most popular dishes, based on the emptiness of the plates at the end of the evening, were the tofu and soy sauce and Gudrun's white chocolate muffins. Samina's chickpea salad was delicious, as well. I especially enjoyed my brie and leek pizza and the beet salad. The flatbread recipe was a success; I'll be making that recipe again, I think. 
Overall, the party was everything I'd hoped. Old friendships were reinforced, new friendships are being forged, and the food was delicious and plentiful. Next week when I'm grading and reading, frantically trying to get everything done over the weekend, I'll pull some flatbread out of the freezer, savor the rosemary, and remember my last-of-the semester hurrah.
Recipes
Red Onion and Gorgonzola Flatbreads (from Sept. 2007, Sunset magazine)
(submitted by Erin Burke, Boonton Township, NJ)
1 package (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
2 c. flour
about 1 c. semolina flour
4 T. olive oil, divided
2 t. salt, divided
1 medium red onion
1 T. fresh rosemary leaves, minced
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. red chile flakes
4 oz. gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water (about 100 degrees). Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in flours, 2 T. oil, and 1 t. salt (dough will be stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place to rise until 1 1/2 times its original volume, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, halve onion lengthwise, peel, and thinly slice. In a bowl, combine onion and rosemary with remaining 2 T. oil, the vinegar, remaining 1 t. salt, and the chile flakes {I used red pepper flakes]. Cover; set aside.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly sprinkle 2 baking sheets with semolina and set aside [note: I suggest you lightly oil them before you sprinkle with semolina]. Turn risen dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough just until it feels smooth, about 10 times. Divide into 32 balls. Set 16 balls aside and cover with plastic wrap; roll the others as thinly as possible. Put 8 rounds on each baking sheet. Top each with a scant 1 T. onion mixture and 1 1/2 t. blue cheese. Bake until browned and sizzling, about [sorry, the recipe got cut off here. I baked for about 10 minutes and then checked until the rounds looked done].
Prepare beets. I've tried both home roasting the beets (wrap in aluminum foil, roast in oven for more than an hour at 450 degrees until soft. Cool, then peel and slice beets) or canned sliced beets. Layer bottom of dish with sliced beets. Scatter pea shoots on top of the beets then top with slices of goat cheese. Next, sprinkle top liberally with chopped parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper. To finish the salad, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Saute two shredded leeks in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft. Meanwhile, brush pizza crust (recipe of your choice) with olive oil. Spread leeks on top of crust and season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice brie cheese and arrange on top of leeks (next time, I think I'd arrange the slices diagonally). Lastly, place a tablespoon or two of capers and about a 1/4 c. of walnuts on top.
Yesterday I attended the Tamejavi Festival, an annual celebration of the Central Valley's ethnic and cultural diversity, with Samina, Maya, and Cyrus. We arrived in time to see a number of children's dance performances which I'll blog about on The Icing. We also went through the Time Tunnel which featured the various cultures which call the Central Valley home. Inside it, we saw historical photographs and descriptions of American Indian, Mexican, African American, Filipino, Hmong, and Armenian life. One woman showed us a cute four-in-one doll: an African American girl, a white girl, and the wolf and the granny (from Red Riding Hood) which Maya loved. Samina was excited to see Carlos Bulosan, author of America Is in the Heart, featured. I think Cyrus most enjoyed reflecting on the two goals he had scored at his soccer game that morning.
It will likely come as no surprise that my favorite part of the event was the Cultural Kitchen, serving dishes from several San Joaquin Valley cultural groups. After surveying the choices, we decided to try food from El Salvador. The cooks piled thick, doughy disks on the outdoor grill, which steamed invitingly. A huge orange cooler contained thinly sliced cabbage, and smiling people walked away with plates of delicious looking food cooked by a local restaurant, Ambiente Tropical. 
We wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we ordered a combination plate. The items on the grill turned out to be pupusas, a thick tortilla filled with cheese and beans. I very much enjoyed the pupusas and want to go to Ambiente Tropical which serves five different types (including queso con loroco made with cheese and El Salvadorean flower buds and ayote y queso filled with a green squash and cheese). The pastelito was also quite tasty, meat and potatoes encased by a corn fritter. The cabbage salad with hot sauce was spicy enough to make our noses run. And the fried platanos and lemony cream were sprinkled with sugar. I have to admit that by the time I got to the platanos, I was so full I could only eat one section. This was some of the best festival food I've eaten in a long time, and I look forward to exploring a new cuisine.Maya was happy to get a vegetarian tamale to take home with her. I had a lovely afternoon with dear friends!
In my other blog, the Icing, I announced that I'd be searching for a good Mexican restaurant in Fresno. I've lived here for eight years and have yet to find a Mexican restaurant I really love. I've visited many restaurants but have re-committed myself to finding the best that Fresno has to offer. My first try, El Toro Tambien, was not a candidate, but last night I ate at Sal's Mexican Restaurant. I'm happy to say that this is a contender in the search--from this point on, restaurants will have to meet or exceed the standard Sal's has set.
I've heard of Sal's for a number of years. As the sign above
advertises, Sal's got its start in Selma in 1942. The site in Fresno is tucked
away in a strip mall (as almost all Fresno restaurants are). I'd been to a
retirement party there once--but we only had appetizers, so I wanted to return to
try the entrees. Alex and Kyle were up for trying a new restaurant so last night
we met for another delightful evening of food and conversation. Unlike El Toro
Tambien, I was hopeful about Sal's possibilities for goodness right from the
chips and salsa.
The salsa was delicious: a cross between puree and chunk that
yielded a drippy but yummy accompaniment to the chips that, in Kyle's words,
were neither too oily or too salty. Note the picture of the eponymous Salvador
Salazar on the menu--Kyle wondered if Sal and Dom Deluise might come from the
same family.
We decided to order three different things on the menu, so that we'd have a good
cross section of what the restaurant had to offer. Alex ordered what is usually
my favorite dish, Enchiladas Suizas. I'm happy to say that the sauce was
actually sauce rather than gravy! Alex let me have a bite, and I want to go back
to try a whole plate. Kyle tried the chicken mole which had a strong taste of
cinnamon. Both Alex and Kyle were pleased with their dishes.
Since Alex ordered the enchiladas verdes, I decided to be a little adventurous and try the chile relleno. If you can believe it, I've never really ordered a relleno, and I've been curious lately to try one out. Because Alex said that rellenos are easy to do poorly and that the type of cheese in the filling mattered, I asked the waiter what cheese was used in their version. When he replied, "Monterey Jack," Alex gave the thumbs up, although his mom generally uses cotija cheese. I decided to order the relleno in a combination plate with a cheese quesdilla (how can one go wrong with cheese and a tortilla), so that I would assuredly have something I enjoyed to eat.
Several sites describe Sal's as providing good "comfort food." I'd have to agree. There's nothing flashy about the menu or the food offerings, just well made, tasty food that is satisfying. I'll go back to Sal's, but I'll also keep trying new restaurants (thanks, Jefferson, for sending me a list of your favorites. My next experiment will come from your list).
Today, my friend Rick and I were talking in my office. It had been awhile since we'd had a good sit down chat, and our conversation ranged from the personal to the professional. At some point in the conversation, Rick looked at me and said, "You wanna go to lunch?" I thought about how, for the first time this week, I'd brought nothing to school with me to eat; I didn't need to think much further before I said, "Yeah!" As we walked to the parking lot together, Rick asked me where I wanted to eat. I didn't have a lot of time since I needed to get back to school for a mentoring meeting, so I suggested we eat at Tsing-Tao Restaurant in Clovis. It's close to campus and it's fast, especially when I order the special. The question is how good is the food?
I wasn't crazy about the dishes, nor did they look particularly appetizing. The soup tasted fine in spite of its pale color, but the lettuce was iceberg. Need I say more?
My chicken with green beans was a little better. I think the chicken might have been deep fried, the green beans were tough and tasteless, but the sauce was nice. All in all, it was . . . edible.
Rick enjoyed his kung pao chicken--the zucchini had a nice texture, the chicken and sauce were similar to mine, only more spicy.
Lunch was okay. I was comfortably full at the end of the meal. I had energy to go to my next activities. And I absolutely enjoyed the conversation and the company. At one point in the meal, Rick said, "You gotta remember, though, you're eating with me. Rick will eat anything." The thing is . . . so will I (ask my family. They think I eat "weird food."). The best thing about the meal was sharing it with a dear friend. You know where I have to end, don't you? With the fortune in my cookie: "You will have many friends when you need them." Rick's one of those friends.
The Vineyard Fresno Farmer's Market is one of the wonderful things about Fresno. Open on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, it features a beautiful and healthy cornucopia of vegetables, fruit, and homemade items like bread and cheese. Many of the local farms who sell their products at the market are organic or pesticide-free. As a farmer's granddaughter, I'm grateful to live in a place that can still sustain independent farms. And as someone who is becoming more concerned about the costs of over-reliance on big business, I like to support small, locally owned businesses. The vendors I talk with at the market obviously care about and are proud of the food they produce. They clearly have a lot to be proud of, as I hope the following pictures will demonstrate.
Another stand I love is run by Nueva Frontera, who specializes in various kinds of sprouts. Recently, I bought pea shoots (featured above) to make a goat cheese, roasted beet, and pea shoot salad inspired by a lunch at the Tate Modern in London. Today, I decided on sunflower sprouts to add to sandwiches and salads.
My most adventurous purchase of the day was a fennel bulb. I've enjoyed fennel in dishes I've eaten elsewhere, so I decided it was time to try cooking with it at home. I'll peruse my cookbooks in search of the perfect recipe.
Overall, I scored some beautiful, fresh vegetables and fruit today. I probably bought too much, but now I'll be forced to be creative in how I prepare food over the next week. I've already eaten a salad for lunch, and I plan to cook the green beans tonight to eat with Johnnie's Squid Chicken. A mix of raspberries and strawberries will provide a delicious finale. Bon Appetit!
My favorite dish is the green curry--I've known all week that's what I would order at Million Elephant. I love the coconut milk based creamy sauce, the delicious vegetables and the perfect tofu. Last time we were there, we only ordered one green curry. I'm happy to say that this time (thanks to Samina) we had two orders . . . which means I can have some leftovers today. Good thing since looking at this photograph makes me want more green curry!
We also ordered a dish with tofu, spinach and peanut sauce, mongolian beef, and red curry. Kyle, thanks to introducing me to the joys of red curry. I still can't decide which curry I liked best: green or red. Perhaps we'll have to return and do a taste test.
We forgot to order rice, but our waitress quickly remedied our absent mindedness. This meal needed rice which absorbed all the delicious curry sauce. I think we were all satisfied by our meal The food was great, but so was the company. Toni and Samina are always fun (I'm lucky to have such good friends). And I enjoyed getting to know Alex and Kyle better. Check out Alex's moving first novel, Still Water Saints. I'm so glad to have him as a colleague . . . and I'm glad he brought Kyle to Fresno, as well. I hope they will all join me on my search for the best Mexican restaurant in Fresno. Stay tuned.
Over the last eight months, my morning breakfast palate has changed. I used to like really sweet things for breakfast, but now I prefer savory items. Two weeks ago, when J. and I first visited his mom in Monterey, I asked Y. what a traditional Korean breakfast was. The next morning, she'd made seaweed soup, fried tofu, rice, and an amazing sesame terayaki sauce. I immediately fell in love with the sauce and tofu combination--and I've been craving it ever since. Last night, when J. and I arrived, she had the dish waiting for us, along with some fried shrimp. And this morning, I watched her make the sauce, in hopes I can replicate the dish at home.
Sesame Terayaki Sauce (or Spicy Soy Sauce)
Crush two cloves of garlic and place in bowl. Add (in equal amounts) Kikkoman Terayaki Sauce and Soy Sauce. Add a few tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds. Chop a large handful of green onions and add, submerging in the liquid. You can also add a small, finely chopped jalapeno pepper, if you like it spicy. Let sit for a few minutes, then spoon over tofu and rice.
