Cooking for Friends - In Memorium

It’s the middle of the week and I get a phone call from Robin. Robin is a friend of 20-something years. We first met when we both briefly worked together and instantly connected. We have remained good friends over the years and the changes time brings. I love being around her; she is the type of person who has a great enthusiasm for life that attracts friends easily. Robin says it looks like the weather will be good and wants to know if she and Bill, her husband can come “down” to visit one day this weekend. They live on LA’s west side which is more than an hour’s drive away on a good day; don’t even ask on a bad day, so it does require a little planning. They will bring their bikes and we will ride along the nearby beach bike path. After we decide on a date and I offer dinner “Chez Jelnick” as she so charmingly puts it, we hang up, happy in anticipation of the upcoming visit.

We like to cook for our friends, Steve and I, and Robin and Bill in particular. They are appreciative guests being “foodies” by virtue of being well-traveled and also by living in an area that has all things great food, including farmers markets, restaurants, bakeries, and cheese and wine shops. We listen to their vacation stories enviously as they recount tales of their exploits when renting villas in France and in Italy. But what that means to us is that we are able to be a little more adventurous when we cook for them than for some other friends or for either of our families.
We once had a couple to dinner for whom we prepared what we thought to be an unobjectionable pasta dish. Penne pasta in a chunky marinara type of sauce, melty havarti cheese some oregano and basil, garnished with kalamata olives and baked. A sort of more interesting version of Mac and cheese. The dinner went off well, appetizers and salad followed by the meatless main course, all accompanied by liberal amounts of wine and good bread and seasoned with agreeable conversation. As we finished up courses the used dishes were removed to the kitchen, where they piled up out of sight until the end of the evening when the guests had gone. It was only then we noticed that Ted’s dinner plate was scraped clean except for a small pile of olives that he had pushed to the side of the plate. What grown man picks out the olives from his dinner, we asked each other, amazed? But that experience has made us more sensitive about our ingredients and now we don’t take for granted that anyone will like things like say, beets, mushrooms, interesting cheeses or, even olives.
But Robin and Bill are a joy. We can cook anything for them and they are always eloquently appreciative. They are the best sort of guests.
So we discuss the menu for our friends with that in mind. If I am in charge of main course I try to dazzle with something that is not the usual. Perhaps a fresh vegetable galette.
Since we plan to be out for the afternoon, whatever is planned needs to be able to be prepared quickly when we come in. or at least be able to be completed while we are enjoying appetizers and wine. This particular dish qualifies, and has the added fun of not being “serious” food but more like picnic food.
They arrive at the time planned and we get on bikes and go off to enjoy the pleasure of a pleasant day, good company and the fun of people watching. We return a few hours later ready to take full advantage of the awaiting food and drink.
I have opted for a casual meal consisting of stilton cheese set out so it’s soft and spready; put out with chunks of bread and some grapes, and along with a large roasted vegetable tart. As we come in from our ride we clean up, pour wine and start setting out the food, which has the advantage of being the sort that can be eaten (and enjoyed) at room temperature. The tart is pre-sliced and it along with the other food goes outside with plates, silverware and napkins for a casual meal where everyone can just help themselves. Each food item is received with much appreciation and many questions about what went into the making of it. More wine is poured and we toast each other and before we know it, another day, and visit, has gone by.


Roasted Vegetable Galette
INGREDIENTS
1. One 9-ounce sheet of puff pastry, chilled (I use galette dough)
2. 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
3. Salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5. 3 leeks, white and tender green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
6. Six 1-ounce fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme
8. 8 oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry 1/16 inch thick. Cut out a 12-inch round and transfer it to the cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
2. Arrange the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and bake for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
4. In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the tomatoes are done, slide them to 1 side of the baking sheet and scatter the potatoes on the other. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and golden and the tomatoes are lightly browned. Let cool.
5. Turn the oven up to 400°. Spread the leeks on the puff pastry round to within 1 inch of the edge. Top with the tomatoes, potatoes and thyme. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edge is puffed and golden. Scatter the olives over the galette, cut into wedges and serve.
6. MAKE AHEAD
7. The recipe can be prepared ahead through Step 4; refrigerate the pastry and toppings overnight. Bring the toppings to room temperature before assembling and baking.



I wrote this some time ago before I started blogging. I have included it now in remembrance and and as a small tribute to my dear friend Robin, who died of lung cancer last Sunday night. Her loving genuine-ness and grand style were uniquely her. She will not be soon forgotten and she will be sorely missed.

Work and Fun

Recently, I took another small step forward in regaining my life after the brain aneurism and its aftereffects.

I returned to my volunteer position at the Crystal Cove visitor center. Information at crystalcovebeachcottages.org/ This basically entails showing up for a four hour shift and sitting at a desk most of the time. Visitors stop in from time to time and occasionally have questions. Most of the questions are about the cottages; Crystal Cove is an area between Newport and Laguna Beach where people had started "camping" back in the twenties. The camping became more and more permanent and eventually they built makeshift cottages on the sites and coming back every year, and some even took up permanent residence. Rent was paid to the Irvine Company who owned the property. The state of California bought the 3 1/2 miles of beachfront, along with the cottages in 1979. Several of the cottages have been restored thus far and are available as overnight rentals. They are charming to see and are located at a very atttractive stretch of beachfront at very reasonable rates so the interest in them is high. That's not the only reason for the visitor center of course. We try to encourage people to know the history of the area and appreciate that and then perhaps they will also contribute in some way for the restoration of the remaining cottages. Resoration is not cheap. There is also an oceanfront restaurant named the Beachcomber located in the historic district that is very popular, as you might imagine.

So. That is my entry back into the living world, or my old routine world. Routines have taken on a new luster a after spending a month in the hospital, dependent on others. And, also we recently joined friends for a Duffy boat cruise in Newport Harbor. Dear Tracy had acquired three hours of Duffy through a charity silent auction bid. She invited us and three others along.. Since Tracy provided the venue, the rest of us brought food. My instinct is to try for something delicious and charming, sort of like you might see in Sunset Magazine or Coastal Living, when they show people boating. Then reality took over. Duffys are small boats, and we would be moving so balancing food that could get messy is not a good idea. I thought, some form of sandwich. and remembered my all-time favorite which I first tasted at Pearl Bakery in Portland. gorgonzola cheese and pears in walnut bread - amazing. I could make up little bite size sandwiches, I thought. Happily, I found a good walnut bread at the nearby farmers market which turned out to be just the thing. Then I thought about dessert, chocolate chip cookies seemed appropriate, the Toll House recipe is still on the package, I found. I made up a large batch and froze them a few days ahead. That was the extent of my cooking unfortunately. I purchased some “rollers” rolled sandwiches and a quiche from nearby Bristol Farms. I sliced the quiche ahead of time so it would be in bite-size portions for the cruise.

The cruise was grand. The weather was very warm and being out on a boat in Newport Harbor was an ideal place to be. Everyone brought either champagne or prosecco. So we cruised around the harbor, checking out how the other half lives. Pretty well, we all agreed. The houses are grand and the boats docked in front add to the grandeur. Three hours sped by easily. Lots of fun and silliness by all.

When will I learn that it’s not necessarily about the food? We had too much food although the cookies seemed to be the most popular thing, along with the champagne and prosecco. Dinner parties are about getting people together and enjoying the company. The food is incidental sometimes. I think this one could have been okay with just the walnut bread sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. I need to learn to let go. Okay, well, maybe quiche too, after all, we were on a boat, what if we got stranded somwhwere?

Rustic Tomato Tart

Getting back into good health is its own journey. I walk every day. Those first days out of the hospital were slow and short walks, more of a shuffle than a walk, difficult for someone who is used to striding. Still, it’s a walk, outside in beautiful summer weather, an independent action; something I have learned to value after those weeks of hospitalization and dependency.

Right now I am doing the minimum and basics. Getting well and back to where I was before is the priority. So I do short and longer walks, take naps and concentrate on building my health. That said, I consider it a forward and exciting step when I take another small move back into my old life. That would include going out to dinner with friends and then occasionally having someone over for dinner. The summer has been lost so far for summer entertaining. In late spring we got prepared for it by putting out the patio furniture and tidying up in anticipation of warm evenings and dinners with friends outside. Entertaining is aptly named; it’s sort of like putting on a production when you have guests. There is an effort necessary.

Back then, I thought that since the olive tree in the back planter is now large enough I could string a couple of strands of fairy lights around the base so I did so thinking of how charming that would look when we entertained. Because of my illness we lost June and July so there went a lot of the time when we would be enjoying the outside.

So, now its the dead of summer and hot weather and tomato season is at its peak. At the farmer’s markets everyone has them and they are cheap. That’s the sign for me. Even the heirloom tomatoes are more readily available and cheaper than usual. How best to use them? I have just the recipe; a tomato rustic tart or galette.. Because it’s so different and fresh it always feels like a cross between picnic and party food – special. Inspired I actually got up for the idea of making the effort. I decided to make that happen for a Saturday evening dinner which I felt signaled a change for the better in my health. Not just the physical part but also emotionally. And then I went one step further by deciding that as long as I was cooking something special for us why not invite friend Larry to share it. We made sure that he knew that this was my “coming out” so he wouldn’t expect a perfectly executed evening or meal.

He’s enough of a friend to be able to say that to and to understand the sentiment. And, in reality, possibly no caveat was needed. The tart and the evening went well. It was mild enough that we were able to sit outside and finally use the patio! A big step in making us feel that we were returning to our accustomed life. Obviously a highly desirable goal.

It was a simple meal with Steve providing the appetizer; asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and roasted, which went well with the tomato tart and some good bread. After dinner I begged off early since that much unaccustomed effort tired me out, but that was okay too since it gave the two guys time to talk, just the two of them.

But the tart is not that difficult to make and is very wonderful to eat. So here it is, while tomato season is still with us.


Rustic Tomato Tart with Parmesan Crust
Serves 4
Galette Dough
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted cold butter, cut into 6 pieces
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
¼ cup ice water

Filling
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly grated
2 tablespoons each
Fresh basil, fresh thyme and Italian parsley, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 -8 ripe Roma tomatoes (about 1 ¼ lb.) cut into
¼ inch thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil

To prepare pastry; in food processor fitted with metal blade combine flour, butter, salt and parmesan cheese. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 - 15 seconds. With motor running, pour cold water through feeder tube in steady stream. Process for 10 -15 seconds or until dough begins to bind. Remove dough and shape into a 12 inch disk.
The dough can be used immediately or wrapped in plastic and refrigerated. When ready to use, remove dough from refrigerator and let soften at room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
On lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, paint pastry with mustard, leaving 1 – 1 ½ inch border all around. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese evenly over the mustard.
In a small bowl, combine basil, thyme, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Arrange half the tomato slices over mustard coated pastry and sprinkle herb mixture over tomatoes. Cover with remaining tomatoes, overlapping slices if necessary.
Fold pastry border over tomatoes to enclose sides of tart, gently draping pastry over tomatoes and folding into soft pleats over few inches. Pinch any cracks to seal pastry and prevent tomato juices from running out during the baking. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes.
Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until dough is golden. Remove tart from oven and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Machengo Stuffed Pears with Prosciutto

Illness takes its toll in unexpected ways. There are the obvious things of course, depending on the specific illness. But what was a surprise for me after getting better from my surgery and getting home was the loss of muscle tone for one thing, along with weight loss. I am amazed at how quickly my muscle tone and strength deteriorated after a month in the hospital. And, despite my resolve to eat right and recuperate, loss of appetite along with a feeling of changed "taste buds" is a major issue. I have found that appetite is important not just as the desire to eat something and carry out that action. For cooking and meal preparation, appetite is necessary to propel you into seeing a recipe’s appeal enough to want to select the ingredients and go through the trouble of shopping, cooking it and then finally, doing justice to the effort expended. Visualization is the major part of the eating process.

Right now I find it much easier when I see something in the store that looks and sounds appealing and is already cooked and ready to eat. Instant gratification seems to work much better appetite-wise. Thank heavens for stores that have lovely deli case type displays –then all that is required is to heat up and dish it up, what you see is what you get – right away.

I did do a little cooking over the weekend. Our neighbors Paula and Tim gave me a gift of a box of Harry and David pears. The fruit is beautiful to look at and tastes great just as it is so requires no effort to enjoy. As it happened we have a recipe for using pears like this as an appetizer that one of us tore out of a magazine recently. I discovered it among all our loose recipes that remain unfiled until we try them and declare them worthy of going through that effort. Anyway this recipe called to me with just enough ingredients to be interesting, as a worthy way to use the pears and it sounded delicious and simple to make

The recipe calls for seckel pears which are miniature pears and while I am able to obtain them, the fact was I had pears already available to use. And, mostly the larger version is what is mostly available, so I adapted the recipe
For my use. The firmer pears such as I had, would seem to be easier for this use, rather than the yellow Bartlett, which seems to me too soft to work with. If you use the seckels they just need to be cut in half and cored as noted.
Machengo is a Spanish cheese that has a sort of a nutty, buttery flavor. My alternate choice would be gorgonzola which goes fabulous with pears but unfortunately melts much faster than the machengo, not allowing the pears time to roast quite as well I suspect. Oh well, I may have to try that next time. The prosciutto saltiness does contrast wonderfully with the cheese and the pears.

Pears with Machengo and Prosciutto
8 slices of thinly slice prosciutto
2 pears cut into quarters lengthwise if using regular size pears*
Machengo cheese- approx 2-4 oz.
Olive oil


Preheat oven to 350, scoop out cores of pears with a melon baller, leave stems intact
*If using seckel pears, cut in half and core

Brush cut sides with olive oil
Place a cube of cheese in core of each pear slice, wrap each with 1 – 1 ½” wide strip of prosciutto
Place pears, cut side up on baking sheet, keeping seam under pear,
Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cheese begins to melt. Serve warm




I made this as an appetizer to have with a small glass of reisling while we were sitting out in the patio on the warm summer afternoon. The main course was take-out pizza since I didn’t want to push myself too much and Steve had been away at a ball game all day long.

Chocolate
I was a dedicated chocolate lover years and years ago. Not so much of late. In adulthood I got away from that sort of self-indulgence.
This was even in spite of all the surveys and analysis that noted the health benefits of (good) chocolate. and red wine.I limited my eating to...oh, mostly bread and white wine, with the occasional chocolate croissant thrown in.

But when you start looking around for nutritional benefits contained in the foods you like, it can be easy to become convinced that there are compounds in chocolate that promote alertness, lessen pain and promote well-being. The research will tell you, for example, the stimulants theobromine, caffeine, tyramine and phenylethylamine (PEA) provide a lift. Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, lessens anxiety by producing the neurotransmitter serotonin; endorphins, the body's natural opiates, reduce sensitivity to pain.(


So Chocolate gives you an energy lift,less anxiety, a reduction in pain-who wouldn't recommend something that did all that? Well, a nutritionist or biochemist could argue that chocolate doesn't contain much of these ingredients. But a chocolate lover can be easily convinced of all the good benefits without any real proof other than placing one nice rich morsel upon your tongue.

In my post-hospitalization life which includes a need to take short walks to keep the muscles moving but without making a big push which could result in over-stress, which is counter-productive. I am enjoying walks which give me a specific purpose. Fortunately where I live there are enough things around which can be the point of the walk. I have a post office within 4 blocks and a library a couple of blocks beyond that. Interestingly five blocks away is a Mrs. Sees candy shop. Mrs. Sees has a great quality of chocolate which is sort of legendary. When you walk into the crisp white and black checked atmosphere of their stores you are immediately surrounded by the delicious smell of chocoalate. The display case holds everything from truffles to fudge to bridge mix.. It is wonderfully tempting to see all the good stuff and it is possible to select one or two pieces of anything which you can't resist.. And, they usually hand out a sample of their featured chocolate – bonus goodies – I love that. So I started making sure I have some money on me for some of my exercise walks, just in case I feel like stopping in at Mrs. Sees. One piece of something that rich and chocolaty is usually enough for me. How nice it’s so convenient.

All the factual "information" aside about how good this stuff is for you, my feeling about it is based onthe good taste and therefore how good that makes you feel. It's another one of those wonderful things like a warm sunny day or a misty morning when step outside and you can smell all the plants around, sort of herbal-y. Simple gifts; I am a woman who has learned to appreciate and not take for granted the those small things like the ability to take a few independent steps.

Food as Fuel
Those of you who know me or have been reading this blog for any amount of time will no doubt be surprised to read that headline. I typically have not regarded food as fuel. To enjoy, yes, to appreciate for its beauty, fabulous fragrance, composition, yes, all that. Strictly as fuel, no.
A recent health event caused me to understand that sometimes it is necessary to approach the consumption of food as something we must do in order to heal or build strength for fighting disease.

Here’s what happened to me- a brain aneurism. If you have no reason to know what those 2 words mean I say to you that’s extremely lucky. The name sometimes most commonly known for this is stroke. Not good.

Hospital food (like airplane food) is frequently the subject of some derision. I found the food to be good and appetizing enough. With the illness, I discovered this other approach to eating. Nutritional thinking. it is necessary to eat in a way to become or stay healthy. As a non-red meat eater, the idea that I must eat a lot of protein will change my approach to food, like it or not.
I know this is not revolutionary thinking. But, when you are in a hospital bed to long period of time, all your concentration is focused on what will take to get better and go home. Eating right seemed like small positive move in that direction. And continuing onward, I think in terms of what actions I can take that will help me that way.
Life’s lessons: Things that you learn along the way that you probably already know but just take for granted.
Eating well is one of those things.
I have more things to recommend. Life can change in an instant. I think it’s important to always let your loved ones know how much you care. Value those small moments each day that you enjoy. Do not take anything for granted. If I am lucky enough to regain my health I am convinced I will try my best not to take it for grnted.