Daikon Love

Panko Crusted Swordfish
Grated Daikon, Pea Sprouts, Lemon

Is it possible to love radish?
Truffle, Caviar, Oyster, Foie Gras, Beans – – sure, but RADISH?
DAIKON
Refreshing, crisp, spicy, clean, lively, piquant.
Brings a freshness and vitality to so many dishes.

Chicken Soup with Noodles
Cabbage, Tofu, Pea Sprouts
Topped with Cool Grated Daikon

Peel, then simply slice or grate.

Pho Broth:
daikon, oxtail, beef short ribs
charred onion & ginger
cinnamon & spices

In that cute Pho toasted spice bundle above?
garlic, szechuan peppercorns
star anise, whole cloves

As a condiment to sashimi
with ikura (salmon roe) & radish sprouts
Sliced Daikon and Somen Noodle Beef Broth Soup
Cilantro, Scallion, Red Jalapeño
Daikon Love: Such a versatile vegetable! Enjoy raw or cooked, pickled, or in soup, or in salad, stir-fry, baked, broiled…love to hear how you use it! I like the beautiful white color and cool balance of the grated daikon in contrast to a nice crusted piece of fish. It is rich in vitamin C, low in calories, and contains enzymes that aid in digestion.
Happy Mother’s Day

We had an unexpected Mother’s Day celebration. My sweet mom, Joyce, spent the last two days here. You might remember Joyce from her 75th birthday posted last October? She lives in Santa Barbara, California and was evacuated from her home due to the wild fires. She received a phone call at 3 AM Friday from the Fire Department alerting her to be ready to evacuate. Later that morning, she was on her way here to Los Angeles.
We had such a nice time chit-chatting (as she calls it), doing a little sight-seeing at the Port of Los Angeles, watching a movie, and making a big pot of Matzoh Ball Soup together. For me, fixing the soup together was the highlight of the weekend. She just now left to drive back home, about two hours north of here, as the evacuation orders have been lifted and the fires are no longer threatening homes in her area. Thank goodness. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have been affected by these fires.
Happy Mother’s Day.

Calling All Bean Aficionados!

My Legume Love Affair 11th Helping is officially underway! It is my honor and pleasure to be your hostess for this month’s edition of the wildly successful event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. I hope you will join us by sharing your awesome legume-centric dish this month. The event round-up will be posted the first week of June. So, come one, come all, show us what you bean cooking!
Join In the Fun!
  • Create a dish where the LEGUME (beans, lentils, pulses, and/or the edible pods that contain these seeds, and derivative products like tofu) is the STAR ingredient.
  • Post this dish on your blog during the month of May. Link to this announcement and to Susan’s MLLA Host Line-up. Feel free to use the MLLA 11 Badge.
  • Email your name, name of your blog, the link to your legume dish, your location, description of your dish, and a photo (350 pixels wide) OR recipe, to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net by May 31st. If you like, please include one or two sentences describing the inspiration for your entry.
Let’s Get This Party Started!
Here are links to some previous Taste With The Eyes legume dishes:

Eleventh Helping
Legume Lover’s Prize

As a special treat to one of the participants, Susan will be giving away this darling cookbook: A World of Dumplings: Filled Dumplings, Pockets, and Little Pies from Around the Globe by Brian Yarvin.

We are more than happy to accept multiple recipes for this event, however only one will be included in the random drawing for A World of Dumplings.
To my non-food-blogging readers, we encourage your participation too! It is your opportunity to share your delicious cooking but more than that, it is our unique opportunity to sample your creativity! What do you say?
Leah? Lauren? Gail? Allison? Kirk? Sally? Lori ann? Abby? Tash? Juliet? Kelly? Merisi? Carol? Liz? Father Adam? Tori? Tom? Gary? Vicki? Charlotte? Molly? Heather? Deanna? Val? Bob? Noramae? Pat? Gina? Peggy? Davida? Susan? Judi? Judy? Sandy? Alex? Anyone else?
We look forward to virtually savoring all your marvelous legume creations!
Lori Lynn
UPDATE: The amazing Round-Up is posted here. Come check it out!

Cilantro-Scented Navy Bean Mash, Smoked Fish

Cilantro-Scented Navy Bean Mash
Smoked Salmon Rosette

Cook navy beans in chicken stock with smashed garlic cloves. Add cilantro sprigs for the last half hour of cooking. Let cool. Remove the sprigs and garlic.

Mash the beans with a potato masher, add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Fold in crème fraîche and rough chopped cilantro leaves.
The Navy Bean is a mild-tasting, smaller-sized dense white bean that got its name from being a staple food for the US Navy, as they do not spoil and provide excellent nutrition.

Courtney of Chicago’s Coco Cooks blog is hosting this month’s My Legume Love Affair, a wildly successful event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. April is its tenth incarnation, and one of which I am excited to participate in once again. Next month’s host will be yours truly, Taste With The Eyes.

Courtney’s challenge was to create a starter or dessert with legumes. For this party, I am serving a starter of cilantro-scented navy bean mash on spoons topped with a rosette of smoked salmon or a morsel of smoked trout.

My friends Heather and Abbi, stopped by during the creative stage. I served them the cilantro-scented navy bean dip with toast points brushed with olive oil. Cooking the beans with garlic cloves, stock, and cilantro imparts a wonderful depth of flavor to the beans. My vegetarian friends would love this too, just use a rich vegetable stock in place of chicken stock.

Another post, another thank you to my brother. This one, to my brother Don. You see, he waited in a not-so-short line last December to get an autographed cookbook by Charlie Trotter. Those of you who have been following Taste With The Eyes may recall that my birthday gift from Don & Kristy last year was Guest Chef For The Day in Charlie Trotter’s kitchen. I am a big fan of Charlie, and this cookbook, Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter, is a favorite; with casual recipes for the home chef, focusing on crisp flavors and straight-forward presentations. That’s where the idea for cilantro-scented navy beans came from!
Next up for MLLA 11, Three Bean and Potato Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette, inspired by Charlie, too.  Bean aficionados, won’t you please join us in May and share your favorite legume recipe?

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Veal, Portobello, Fried Sage

Grilled Portobello Mushroom
Sautéed Veal Medallion
Wild Mushroom Agnolotti
Pinot Noir Veal Stock Reduction
with Crème Fraîche & Fried Sage

Thank you to the folks at Foodbuzz and Buitoni for the sample of the new Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. We had a great time cooking up a unique presentation for this delicious pasta!

Portobellos are seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper then grilled until tender.

Veal medallions, cut into the same size as the portobellos, are seasoned with salt and pepper, dusted with flour and sautéed until golden brown over medium heat in a mixture of half olive oil half butter. Squeeze 1 T. fresh lemon juice over the veal then remove from the pan. Keep warm.

Add 1/4 c. minced shallots and 1/2 t. thyme to that same pan and sauté briefly. Add 1 c. Pinot Noir, raise the heat to high, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of pan.

Continue cooking over high heat until the wine is reduced to about a quarter cup.

Add 1 c. veal stock to the pan and reduce again.

Meanwhile, cook the agnolotti according to the instructions on the package in boiling water with  1 T. olive oil.

When the veal stock has reduced by half, whisk 3 T. crème fraîche into the sauce. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Sauté a handful of fresh sage leaves in 1 T. butter, turning once, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove sage leaves to a paper towel.

To assemble: Place the warm portobello in the center of the plate, top with a fried sage leaf then a medallion of veal. Take 3 wild mushroom agnolotti and surround the mushroom cap. Sparingly ladle warm Pinot Noir Cream Sauce over the pasta and veal. Crumble fried sage leaves by hand and sprinkle over dish. Garnish with a whole sage leaf.

Why we loved this: Different textures and flavors that complemented each other well. The sauce was a high-note accent to the dish, adding flavor, color, and elegance. The fried sage melts in the mouth and tastes like savory candy.

Alternative plating idea: We served the sage leaves whole and add crumbled blue cheese.

We are excited to enter this dish in the Buitoni recipe contest. Come join in the fun, the contest is open until April 30th. Go to Foodbuzz and click on Flavor-of -the Month for details. The prize is an All-Clad Copper Core Cookware set.

And I want to thank my brother Bill. You should all be so lucky as to have Bill helping in the kitchen. I think from his military training and years as a Captain, he takes orders like a professional sous chef, pays attention to every detail. Although he does not answer me with “Yes, Chef” he will not leave my home until every dish is washed and the entire kitchen is spotless. And he gave me a good chuckle when said he would be happy to take that All-Clad Copper Core Cookware for his new home in the Florida Keys. Such a nice supportive brother! Anybody in that area that can cook for him? He likes everything but peanut butter.

Kasha Varnishkes

Kasha Varnishkes
Kasha & Bows

One cup of kasha (granulated roasted whole grain buckwheat) is toasted in a dry non-stick pan for a few minutes, then cooled. A beaten egg is added, stir to coat all the grains. Cook briefly over medium heat until the egg has dried. Add 2 c. seasoned hot chicken stock plus 1 T. vegetable oil, stir, cover and cook on low heat until the liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile sauté a chopped yellow onion in  2 T. vegetable oil, or in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), as my Aunt Edythe did. When the onion is nice and browned, toss with al dente bowtie pasta and then add the kasha. This is usually served as a side dish but along with a salad, makes a tasty weeknight meal as well.

Yesterday was the anniversary of my father’s passing, 38 years ago. I always light a Yahrzeit candle in his memory on this day, say a personal prayer, and spend a few moments “in conversation” with my Dad.

This year I made Kasha Varnishkes, like my Aunt Edythe (his sister) used to make and served it on my parents’ old china, Franciscan Apple. Also known as Kasha & Bows, this is a traditional Russian Jewish dish, one no doubt taught to my Aunt by my Nana, who was from Kiev.
I find the annual act of lighting the Yahrzeit candle on this anniversary very comforting, and along with the cooking of traditional Jewish foods, it helps to keep the memory of my Dad, Aunt, Nana and Papa alive.
Now, Passover is just around the corner, starting at sundown on April 8. And like last year, I am excited to host a Round-up of Passover Photos. If you are participating in a Seder this year, I hope you will join in. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. If you would like to use my Passover Round-up badge in your blog post, please feel free. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo. I am hoping that those readers without a blog will participate as well. Let’s share! I will post the round-up after the eighth day of Passover. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Pesach.