Far and Away...

It’s been a while since the last time I posted, for good reason too. I was on a little trip to the Pacific Northwest, for no reason other than to enjoy great food, beautiful scenery, and fun on a farm! My beau J. and I made stops in Vancouver, Victoria, and Whistler British Colombia as well as some places in the States (Rochester, WA…Seattle, WA…Portland, OR…Port Angeles, WA…Forks, WA…oh boy are my feet are tired)! Needless to say our vacation wasn’t for rest and relaxation. The two of us are a couple of jetsetters taking all modes of transportation (think Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…and throw in a couple of ferries for good measure). But all that traveling was well worth it and I’ll tell you why.

We enjoyed an abundance of scrumptious food including fresh produce, the best mussels I’ve ever had, and curry from the place Mark Bittman reviewed as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” By far the most memorable meal of all was consumed not in a five star restaurant or prepared by a Michelin star recipient. It was a meal I ate at a farmhouse owned by my friends Tom and Annie and was made from the fresh produce picked that evening on their farm. How cool is that!

The best restaurant prepared meal, however, would have to be the last meal we had in Vancouver at a restaurant called Chambar. They specialize in Belgian cuisine and beer but their menu is quite eclectic. For a starter J. and I shared the seared scallops, smoked kurobuta pork cheek, pickled green beans & horseradish vinaigrette. This dish definitely made us ready for more delicious food! The combination of tastes on that plate were so perfect, the lushness of the scallops combined with the salty pork and tangy horseradish and green beans. My mouth is watering as I’m writing this, just FYI. For the main course I had the mussels cooked in white wine butter, braised celery and leeks served with pomme frites. I wish I could go back in time so I could savor those wonderful shellfish again and again; they were perfectly cooked and plump and flavorful, absolutely unforgettable! (But since I’m not H. G. Wells I’ll have to recount my meal from memory only, boo!) And the broth was so lovely I could have picked up the “caldron-esque” serving dish the mussels arrived in and devour the broth’s richness in one gulp. Unfortunately, we chose not to get dessert (our stomachs were at their limit) but I would have to say that’s my one and only regret, I could kick myself for not indulging further. Oh well, C'est la vie!

I have had some pretty wonderful meals but I made sure to prepare myself for the best Indian experience of my life. Locals and tourist alike will wait in line for hours and hours, enduring rain, sleet, and snow for a seat at Vij’s, the world-famous Indian restaurant. I think that’s why my disappointment resonated so copiously. Don’t misunderstand, the food was delicious but I think I built up the meal so much in my head that I was expecting fireworks or something. J.’s dish was stellar and well worth our 5-minute wait (hint: we walked in for a late dinner at 9:30 pm and didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes…good plan!). He ordered the lamb popsicles in a yellow curry sauce that was really tasty. I on the other hand ordered the spot prawns in a coconut-lemon curry and I felt like it was missing something, it wasn’t as flavorful as the lamb and my shrimp were really salty. Perhaps I ordered the wrong dish or maybe the chef was having an off day, whatever the reason Vij’s is still worth a try and I’ll be going back for seconds!

So-long Summer Pasta

With Labor Day around the corner and the inevitable end of summer along with it, I decided to make something that honors the deliciousness of the season with a tribute dish. The one thing that marks the arrival of summer for me is the gorgeous produce. I love walking through the farmer's markets and seeing plump crimson tomatoes, luscious peaches, strawberries that look so perfect you'd think they were air brushed! Don't get me wrong, I welcome autumn with open arms! Autumn means the arrival of pumpkins, winter squash, cranberries, and brussels sprouts...believe me, in a few months I'll be whining about the looming approach of spring!

Well, I digress, the point of this post is to say so-long to summer. When I was thinking up the dish I wanted it chalk full of my favorite summer veggies: corn (off the cob), tomatoes, and green beans plus fennel since it accompanies corn so well and I found a lovely bulb of it at my local farmer's market! I decided to make this a meat-less dish but you're welcome to add your favorite protein. Shrimp or bacon (pork fat makes everything better) would be absolutely fantastic in this dish! Enjoy!

So-long Summer Pasta
Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side

Ingredients:

1-pound of pasta, cooked per package instructions
(I used spaghetti but you could use linguine or penne, whatever you have on hand)
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1-pint cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick), divided
1 large shallot thinly sliced crosswise
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bulb of fennel, with fronds and stalk removed cut in half the lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups of fresh sweet corn, about 2 ears with kernels removed
1 1/2 cups of fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
torn fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large skillet or Dutch-oven heat 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the sliced shallot, garlic, and fennel. Keep the heat fairly low so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, spread-out the tomatoes onto a baking sheet and drizzle them with the olive oil, season with 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper, and top with the sprigs of thyme. Place in the baking sheet in the 400 degrees oven for 5-10 minutes (the time depends on your oven and the size of the tomatoes). Check on the tomatoes after 2 or 3 minutes and turn the baking sheet if you see the tomatoes browning more in one area than another.
When the fennel mixture has cooked for about 5 minutes or so (you want the fennel and shallots to be translucent not browned) add the white wine then turn up the heat to medium-high and stir to incorporate. Add the green beans and corn and stir, continue cooking and stirring occasionally for another 3 minutes (if the pan gets to hot lower the heat to medium). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of kosher salt and grated Parmesan cheese, stir and cook for 2 more minutes, taste the mixture and make sure the seasoning is right.
Turn off the heat and add the pasta, stir to incorporate.

To Serve:

Plate up the pasta and top with a few roasted tomatoes, torn basil leaves, and a little more freshly grated Parmesan.