SUPER SIMPLE RADISH SALAD WITH CREME FRAICHE

A few months back, Paul and I went to a dinner at Camino celebrating David Tanis' latest book, One Good Dish. The entire meal was delicious, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about one brilliantly simple dish that really spoke to me. Radishes - any sort you can get your hands on - are thinly sliced and topped with a dollop of crème fraîche, nice salt and ground black pepper. Crisp, tangy, creamy, salty all at the same time...yes!

If you can find them, I suggest using a variety of radishes in your salad. At Monterey Market, I picked up standard red beauties along with watermelon and black radishes - each added its own distinct flavor and texture.

INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis's One Good Dish
printable recipe

• 1/2 pound radishes
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche (see my recipe for homemade crème fraîche)
• optional: a few drops of milk, water or cream
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I also like smoked salt as as substitute for the salt and pepper - it's delish!)

Get out your sharpest knife, or mandolin, and slice radishes as thin as possible. With bigger radishes like watermelon or black, you may want to halve or quarter the rounds. Scatter radishes onto individual plates or a larger platter.  Whisk crème fraîche with a few drops of liquid to make it a little loose. Scoop a generous dollop of the runny crème fraîche onto the radishes. Sprinkle smoked salt, or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the entire dish. That was easy, right?

Serves 4
  
The days are getting longer, birds have returned to our garden, our fruit trees are leafing out, and asparagus has come to the farmer's market. I don't know about you, but I get a jolt of childlike glee every time I see a new sign that spring is on its way! 

RUSTIC APPLE TART

Simple pleasures. This is what it's all about for me these days. When P, the kids, and I were on the road last year, slowness was our theme. Action and adventure does not describe our travel style - we had tons of family time and savored it deeply. I really believe the serenity of our time away added years back onto my life.

I am trying to figure out ways to integrate this attitude into our American lives. Lilah still finds great happiness in imaginary play and collecting twigs and flowers. Otis now goes to our local middle school and only gets in the car once in while.  Paul and I are trying to limit our commitments and spend lots of time at home enjoying our kids. Little things.

What does this have to do with food? In our family, where much of life revolves around eating, this means taking time to harvest blackberries and picking apples with friends on their bucolic land in West Sonoma County.

Rach and Justin invited a slew of us to spend the day with them. It was true Indian summer. The leaves had started falling, a bit of crispness cooled the air while still being warm enough for kids to swim, pluck juicy concord grapes from the vine, and pick apples... Life is good.

I like how uncomplicated this apple tart is - just apples on buttery pastry with a sprinkle of sugar. Simple pleasure. But I also enjoyed gussying this apple tart up a little bit with a drizzle with Homemade Caramel Sauce and voila .... Caramel Apple Tart, anyone?

INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis' Platter of Figs
(printable recipe)

• 1/2 recipe flaky pastry dough
• 2-3 pounds apples 
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar 
• Homemade Caramel Sauce (optional, but highly recommended)

Prepare your dough as per the instructions here. A couple of notes:

First, you only need half of the recipe for the pastry dough for this recipe. Have fun making a tart of your choice with the other half.

Second, please don't roll the dough too thin or the edges get pretty charred before the apples can cook all the way. (Tanis suggests rolling the dough into a 16x11 inch rectangle. I had more success when I made a thicker 11x6 inch oval of dough.)

Place the rolled out dough (on a parchment-lined baking sheet) into the fridge while you prep your apples.

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel and core apples and slice them thin. Take the prepared dough from the fridge. Lay the apples on the dough in long layered rows. ( If you aren't going to serve your tart until later, Tanis suggests covering the prepared tart in the fridge for up to 8 hours.)

Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over the apples and pastry. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender.

We found the tart to be most delicious when served warm and drizzled with caramel sauce. When we ate the leftovers, we'd quickly warm up a slice in the oven before noshing.

Enjoy!

What else is cooking?

• Monika's awesome short film about making apple tart
• Emma's quince and apple pie
• Adrianna's spiced apple chips
• Caitlin's pear tart

TOMATO SALAD WITH OLIVES + CORIANDER

It's that time of year..... juicy red tomatoes are everywhere! I cannot take a trip to Monterey Market without bringing home bushel of the beauties. Our go-to August tomato salad is the classic Caprese and we eat it a couple times a week. I'm not complaining, but it is also nice to try something new. With meaty heirlooms, sweet cherries, and endless varietals temping us in the late summer, we are always searching for tomato recipes to try in late summer.

Once again David Tanis is here to help out in my kitchen. His tomato salad with olives and coriander is respectful of rich flavor that tomatoes have to offer and his salad pays great tribute to the ingredient. Tomatoes are the well-deserved star of the recipe. Tanis's addition of green and black olives, as well as fresh cilantro leaves and toasted coriander seeds, is a refreshing twist on the tomato dishes we usually make. Paul oohed and awed and ate huge plates of the salad. I am happy to have yet another excuse to buy up more of those gorgeous tomatoes!

INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis' Heart of the Artichoke
(printable recipe)

• 1/4 cup finely diced red onions or shallot
• 1 clove garlic, smashed to a paste with a little salt
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• pinch of cayenne
• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 Picholine or other good green olives (not pitted)
• 1/2 cup oil cured black olives (not pitted)
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

 

In a small bowl or cup, combine the onions, garlic, and vinegar. Drizzle in the olive oil, while whisking to emulsify dressing.

In a small skillet, toast the coriander seeds over medium-high heat.  After a few minutes, when you start to smell the coriander, remove the seeds from the pan. Using a mortar and pestle, or a spice grinder, grind the coriander and add to the dressing. Add the cayenne as well at this point.

Slice the tomato into thick pieces or wedges and transfer to a serving platter or bowl. Season with salt. Sprinkle the olives over the top. Drizzle on the dressing. And scatter the cilantro leaves over the salad. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

FRESH BERRY DIGESTIF

I am on a David Tanis kick. I loved his platter of figs, and the first cookbook I bought after our travels, is heart of the artichoke. I made two of Tanis' recipes already today and have the fixings for another for tonight's dinner. I so appreciate that many of the dishes are super simple and quick to toss together. Tanis is great company in the kitchen.

Paul and I have been intrigued by the idea of making our own spirits, ciders, and beers. We have yet to take the plunge and brew our own, but I thought I'd get my toes wet by trying Tanis' Digestivo with Fresh Berries.

I think serving this berry digestif to dinner party guests would be a fun end to a meal. Or why not take a large jam jar full of the rosy concoction as a hostess gift, next time you are invited to eat at someone else's table.



INGREDIENTS from David Tanis' heart of the artichoke
(printable recipe)

• 1 cup fresh berries (Tanis suggests a mix of raspberries and blackberries)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups of vodka or grappa

Place washed berries in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Crush the berries and sugar between your fingers to combine. Pour vodka (or grappa) over the sugar/berry mixture. Stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving.

Serve the digestif in small glasses. Use a spoon or small ladle to scoop some of the crushed berries into each glass. I would serve the digestif with tiny spoons so that everyone can scoop up the boozy berries. Why waste such deliciousness?

By the way... we also mixed the berry vodka with a little tonic for a delightful cocktail. Yum!