Weekly Dish

I am late coming to this party, but food bloggers have been busy compiling lists of the 5 foods they would most recommend for everyone to try at least once in a lifetime, at the behest of Melissa at The Traveler’s Lunchbox. Sweet Claire of Cooking Is Medicine invited me to participate weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to it. Narrowing down my list of favorite foods to only five was quite a challenge, so I tried to pick things that were local to my little corner of the world (after all, to try all of the things on Melissa’s ever-growing list, travel must be part of the equation; why not add southern Louisiana to your list of places to visit?)
1. Fresh, raw oysters

Raw oysters will always remind me of my dad, who taught me to eat them. His method? First, mix up a big batch of cocktail sauce (ketchup, horseradish, fresh lemon juice, and salt), then cut a few lemons into wedges. Spread a saltine cracker with the cocktail sauce, top with an oyster and a squeeze of lemon, and slurp. This still remains my favorite way to enjoy these slippery little delights.

2. Fresh figs

My love affair with fresh figs has been no secret on this site, but the surprising thing about the comments I received on those posts was just how many people have never tried fresh figs. I guess because they are so delicate and can’t travel very far, they aren’t accessible to many people. And, most of the time they aren’t sold in grocery stores. But, please, for me, if you ever find yourself near a fig tree when its fruit are ripe, pluck one off and see what I mean for yourself. Or, if you feel the need to travel on down here to Louisiana about the middle of July, I’ll take you to Mr. Buddy Miller’s stand at the Red Stick Market on Saturday morning, and you can take home as many figs as you can carry.

3. Real southern fried chicken

Fried chicken is so ubiquitous now, I’m sure you can get it most anywhere. For me, a southern girl at heart, real southern fried chicken means chicken fried by a real southerner (or someone taught by a real southerner), soaked in buttermilk, and coated with the right mixture of flour and spices, served with homemade biscuits, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy, made from the chicken drippings. A meal like this one says Sunday dinner at home in Mississippi, and I wish everyone could have a taste of that at least once.

4. Crab cakes made with fresh lump crabmeat

I know I am terribly fortunate to live in a place that grants me access to such wonderful produce and Gulf-fresh seafood. Crab meat picked from fresh crabs tastes sweeter and more decadent than the meat from any other seafaring creature, in my opinion, and my very favorite way to enjoy it is packed into a cake, diluted with as few other ingredients as possible, and fried.

5. Boiled Louisiana crawfish (and the corn and potatoes too!)

A Louisiana crawfish boil is an experience everyone should have once in his or her lifetime. Lucky for me, I was born in to the tradition, and have feasted on mudbugs for as long as I can remember. From March to June, crawfish boils are how people celebrate most anything around here, from a baby’s baptism to a sunny Friday afternoon. Standing around a picnic table, peeling crawfish, and consuming mass quantities of the flavorful red meat, super-spicy corn and potatoes and cold beer with people you love (and some you don’t know) is a time-honored tradition that Louisianans love to share (so head on down here and pull up a bench!)

On the menu this week: nothing quite as adventurous or special as those 5 favorites, but food for a busy life instead.

Links:

• Mushroom Risotto
• Kalyn’s Marinated Pepper Salad (with goat cheese instead of Parmesan and no garbanzos)

I promise another recipe and food-related post is coming soon, but until then, here’s some reading to keep you busy. Blog Day is a day where bloggers share with their readers blogs they’ve recently discovered. Although I’m a day late, I did want to tell you about some of my favorite reads, all relatively new to me.

First, the foodies:

Although you may think her topic is about as far away from the kind of cooking I do, Susan at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen and I actually have a lot in common. We sort of traded places — I moved from Jackson, MS, to southern Louisiana, and Susan moved from southern Louisiana to Jackson. And, we both love figs (although I’m sorry to report that figs don’t appear as readily available in Susan’s new locale; if you know of a place where she can find them, please head to her site and leave her a comment!) Mostly, though, Susan’s dedication to being creative with super-healthy ingredients is really inspiring; she can take a plain, old garden eggplant, and turn it into a myriad of delicacies. Even if you aren’t a vegan or fatfree, you’re bound to find some ideas in her kitchen.

Another southerner I’ve enjoyed reading is Kate at Pie in the Sky. A recent college grad, Kate is a self-described “Georgia peach in the Big Apple.” Her recipes often represent her southern culinary heritage, but with a sophisticated city-girl twist, like her most recent post on Macaroni and Cheese with Brie and Rosemary. She also sometimes writes about food ethics and politics, which I always find informative and well-written. Plus, she makes the best mojito around.

Third on my foodie list (and then I’ll move on to other areas, as I’m supposed to), is Julie at A Mingling of Tastes. I first ran across Julie’s blog by doing a search for other bloggers writing about figs, when I came across her lovely post about three ways she’d used my favorite end-of-summer treats. She’s only been at the blogging thing for a few months, but already, I’ve found much inspiration from her concoctions. Keep up the good work, Julie!

For my last two on this list of 5, I’ve chosen areas of interest, rather than specific blogs. The fashion world has always been fascinating to me, but, perhaps a bit out of my price range. Two of my favorite daily reads are trying to bridge the gap from girl-next-door-without-a-huge-wardrobe-budget and runway fashion: the Frugal Fashionista features photos of celebrities (also a good way to get a quick daily celebrity fix!), and then tells you where you can duplicate their look for less. The Budget Fashionista keeps you up to date on online sales and highlights current trends that you can find for not much money. Both fashionistas have a keen eye for detail and some great tips for dressing well for less.

If you’re into design, you have to check out Inhabitat. This site is one of David’s favorites, and it has quickly become one of mine too. Especially of note is their feature, Pre-Fab Fridays, where they highlight fascinating architectural creations, all pre-fabricated. I love to scroll through the images and imagine myself in some clean, modern space with lots of light and empty space. And lastly, if you have ever dreamed of travelling through Italy, if you are into good art, or you simply like to admire beautiful writing or photographs, stroll on over to Jenny Vorwaller’s blog, True Nature. I first found Jenny through my friend Rorie, and I have to limit the amount of time I spend there, or I could while away my day living vicariously through her Italian escapades. Aaahh, Italy.

It’s so hard to narrow down my choices to only 5 (which I guess I haven’t really done), but if you find yourself with time on your hands, grab and cup of tea or coffee and set about exploring the intricate web of blogs out there. You’re bound to find some that interest you; I hope these will get you started!

And, I promise recipes and food-related posts are coming soon…

One lone sweet farmer — Buddy Miller — sells figs regularly at my local Saturday market. I see him every Saturday from late July/early August until his trees stop producing (probably any Saturday now) and I buy as many different kinds of figs as he has.

In their book on cooking with aphrodesiacs, here’s what Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge have to say about figs in the chapter on the fruit: “If you’ve never had a fig before, it will not — cannot– taste, smell, look, or feel as you imagined it would — because a ripe fig tastes sweeter than any dried nugget of trail-mix fig, and a plump one smells gentler than any hyper-syruped canned version. . . .When its juice runs over your tongue, you are drinking pure, unadulterated sensuality.”

It was only a few years ago that I first tasted for myself what they’re talking about. My taste buds still have not recovered; they often crave the sublime sweetness of these gorgeous little gems at the most random times. Last summer I tucked a few away in a freezer bag, and come January, when a craving hit, I was oh so glad. My freezer stash this summer has already begun.

A fig is a perfect fruit, in my opinion. The simplest of pleasures, figs win out for their blissful unfussiness. This fruit doesn’t need to be peeled, has no inedible seeds, and contains no pits or other obstructions to fool with. Some varieties are exactly bite-sized; most can be eaten in no more than two delicate bites. A tiny stem makes a good handle with which to hold your fig, and it tastes best eaten ripe and alone, or, on special occasions with the slightest dribble of cream. But it’s versatile also: the fig pairs well with cheese and wine, or cooks up to a mighty fine dessert or dinner.

I mostly eat mine straight from the fridge soon after they’ve been purchased. Occasionally, though, I’ll feel creative and want to dress them up. This appetizer is so simple, but it’s a great little before-dinner treat to serve to guests (especially if they’ve never had fresh figs before). Black Mission figs work really well for this preparation; they’re larger and firmer than some of the smaller, sweeter varieties. The filling tastes even better if you have time to mix it up the night before, but at least allow it to refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the flavors mingle. I like to serve these with a crisp Riesling, and if you’re going heavy on the hors d’oeuvres, shards of prosciutto and blue cheese on crostini.

In fact, these appetizers would make a great contribution to an al fresco dinner party, perhaps the La Festa Fresco that Ivonne and Lis are throwing? Stop in and see what other fresh, local outdoorsy foods other people made on September 5, when the round-up will be posted.

Creamy Stuffed Figs

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 strips bacon
1 T. chives, chopped, with a few reserved for garnish,
1/2 cup almonds or pecans
Cracked black pepper and Kosher salt, to taste
8 fresh figs

To prepare the filling, set the cream cheese in a small bowl to soften. Cook the bacon and set aside to cool. Then, toast the nuts (please, please do NOT skip this step — the toasted nuts add a lot of depth to the flavor of the filling) in a dry skillet or in a 350-degree oven for 6-8 minutes. When the bacon and nuts are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop, and add them to the cream cheese. Mix in the chives and seasonings. Refrigerate for at least a few hours.

To prepare the figs, first wash and pat dry. Remove the stems. With a small, sharp knife, carefully cut cross-wise into the top of each fig, as if you were quartering it, but making sure not to cut all the way through. Stuff each fig with about a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture (or as much as the fig can hold and still stand up straight). You can refrigerate them again until ready to serve if you need to.

–Adapted from Intercourses by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge

Sometimes I get an uncontrollable urge to fry something. I say uncontrollable because if a girl were to be logical, she might envision herself standing in front of a boiling pot of oil in hundred-degree heat and be able to talk herself into something less, well, hot. Perhaps it’s my southern blood forcing its will right through any sensible notion of health, or comfort. Or perhaps I’ve just eaten one too many salads. Either way, when the urge strikes, nothing will do but to whip up a batch of fried something or the other, and zucchini is what I had in my fridge.

And, because Barbara is collecting recipes that feature local ingredients for this month’s Spice Is Right, I used locally ground spices — cayenne and paprika — in the batter. Both the cayenne and paprika are made from red peppers — one spicy, the other sweet — grown and ground by Papa Tom Bonnecaze Farms, who I see every Saturday morning at the market (they also make the best pepper jelly in town). The zucchini is straight from another Louisiana farmer just down the road, the buttermilk came from a local dairy, so besides the flour, seasoned salt, and oil, this dish is completely south Louisiana. And, of course, as far as techniques go, you can’t get more locally southern than frying.

These crunchy little spears are a cross between fried dill pickles–popular at state fairs around these parts–and some eggplant fries I had once at a restaurant. The zucchini held up nicely–it turns very soft, but doesn’t fall apart–and I love the mild flavor of the vegetable dressed up by the spices in the batter. Comeback sauce would, I’m sure, make a delightful dipping sauce for fried zucchini, but it’s not necessary in my opinion.

After a half-hour of frying up this zucchini, a heck of a mess in my kitchen, what with dribbles of buttermilk, splatters of grease, and bits of uncooked batter strewn from counter top to stove, one bite into the well-seasoned crunchy batter satisfied my craving and assuaged any sense of craziness I’d felt as droplets of sweat dribbled down my forehead during the frying process.

I’m already thinking of other things to fry in these precious weeks before school officially starts, so don’t be surprised if I show up here again with a batter-laden concoction to present to you.

Until, then, here’s the menu for the week and the fried zucchini recipe:

Links:

• David’s Roast Chicken
• Chipotle-Glazed Ribs
• Lemony Spinach

Locally Spiced Fried Zucchini

2 medium zucchini, cut into long, thin, spears
Buttermilk (about 2 cups, maybe less)
2 cups flour
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. ground paprika
2 t. seasoned salt
Vegetable or canola oil, about an inch deep

Heat about an inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

While the oil is heating up, prepare the zucchini. Place the spears in a large zip-top plastic bag, and add enough buttermilk to immerse the spears. In another zip-top bag, mix together the spices and the flour. When the oil is hot — a drop of water should sizzle and pop when dropped into the pot — transfer some of the zucchini to the flour bag and shake to coat well. Add one spear at a time to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, turning once to ensure even frying. Mine took about 4 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle each batch with additional seasoned salt.

Repeat the process until all of the zucchini has been coated and fried. Serve immediately. This recipe makes enough for 4 people as a side, or two hungry people as a combination appetizer/side dish/late-night snack over Scrabble. What can I say? Fried things don’t keep well, and it would be a shame to let such goodness go to waste.

I hope that the gracious host of Paper Chef and this month’s illustrious judge will forgive this tardy entry!

I knew I’d be out of town the weekend the ingredients were announced, so I’d resigned myself to sitting out of this month’s competition. But when I checked Tomatilla! this morning just to see what the ingredients were, I knew I had to participate. For one thing, two of the ingredients–cherries and peaches–are among my most beloved fruits. For another, the third ingredient–an herb that you’ve recently discovered–has been sitting outside on my deck, waiting patiently for me to make up my mind about what to do with it: my new lemon verbena plant! And, lastly, I had an immediate idea for a dessert that combined the sweetness of summer fruits, the fresh herbal citrus of the verbena, and the last and final ingredient–something spicy.

So, because I’m hurrying to get this post in in time, I will not delay in presenting my Stone Fruit Tart with Lemon Verbena Cream and Chipotle-Balsamic Glaze. The crust is a buttery shortbread, accented with lemon zest to complement the lemon verbena in the cream layer, which consists of the delicate herb and sweetened mascarpone cheese. I topped the tart with fresh peaches and cherries–at this time of year, it almost breaks my heart to alter their fresh, summery flavor at all, so I wanted to keep them raw–and a spicy reduction of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, with the added kick of smoky chipotle peppers.

I love the way the glaze plays with the fruit: a spicy hint here, a tangy, vinegary note there, all coated by the ethereal, citrus-tinged mascarpone and crisp, buttery crust. And, all in all, it came together in less than an hour! The only thing I might do differently next time is to increase the amount of lemon verbena. I used all that my new little plant could stand, but I think the tart could benefit from even more of its sweet, clean flavor.

Stone Fruit Tart with Lemon Verbena Cream and Chipotle-Basalmic Glaze

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 t. salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, process the flour, sugar, zest, and salt for several seconds. With the motor running, add the butter, a cube at a time, until coarse crumbs form. Add the egg yolk, and process until the dough comes together in a ball. Pat the dough into a prepared tart pan, and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and brush with an egg wash (1 egg + a little water) to seal. Return to the oven and bake for another minute. While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon verbena cream and the chipotle basalmic glaze.

For the cream:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 T. lemon verbena leaves (or more)
Whip the mascarpone and the powdered sugar in an electric mixer or by hand until well combined. Wash the lemon verbena leaves and dry thoroughly. Mince as finely as you can, and stir them into the cream. Set aside.

For the glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup basalmic vinegar
1 t. chipotle and adobo, mashed

In a small saucepan, melt the sugar, vinegar, and pepper paste together over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Set aside to thicken.

To assemble:
2 peaches, peeled and sliced
6-8 cherries, stoned and halved

Spread the crust with the lemon verbena mascarpone. Arrange the fruit on top and drizzle with the glaze. Serve with extra fruit. Yum!

Let me just warn you before you keep reading. This recipe is strange. I’ve made it twice now, and everyone I’ve served it to thinks it’s strange too.

Hannah, my sister-in-law, first sent me the recipe, and hers got the same reaction.

But, here’s the interesting part: even though they think it’s strange, people can’t quit eating it. Because, apparently, strange can be good.

I’m always up for an adventurous recipe, but I was especially attracted to this ice cream because I wanted to make a frozen dessert for this month’s Sugar High Friday event, and I don’t have an ice cream maker.

Here’s the basic premise: take some ice cream, mix it with mashed-up avocado, a jalapeno pepper, coconut, and lime juice. Freeze it. Serve it to people just to see what their reactions are. It’s fun. You should try it.

The original recipe calls for vanilla ice cream, avocado, lime juice and zest, and jalapeno.
For the first version I tried, I used vanilla nonfat frozen yogurt and added coconut to the flavor mix. Andy and Jessica both really liked it, but we agreed that the nonfat yogurt texture was all wrong. And I didn’t really like the vanilla flavor–it overwhelmed everything else. Jessica recommended more lime. Andy said his favorite thing about it was that the spicy kick that comes at the very end of a bite because it’s hot and makes you want something cold. So, you just take another bite. Genius!

For the next batch, I tried Blue Bell Key Lime Pie ice cream and more lime juice. Billy said it tasted like frozen curry (that was not a favorable response). Garland didn’t like the coconut texture. I liked the added lime flavor of the ice cream, but the chunks of graham cracker crust didn’t fit in.

If I were to make it again, I think I might use lime (or coconut!) sherbet and process the coconut with the jalapeno-avocado mixture so that there aren’t discernible flakes. The creaminess of the avocado dresses up the ice cream’s texture to make it super silky, so frozen bits of anything are not welcome. The lime-coconut flavor dominates when you first put it into your mouth, but, then — wait for it — a spicy kick of jalapeno! This dessert certainly is a fascinating eating experience.

If nothing else, it makes for super-fun after-dinner conversation.

Head over to the Delcious Life to see what other fun frozen sweets people are making. Oh, and if the name Vanilla Ice rings vaguely of your adolescence, please read Sarah’s introductory rap. It’s hilarious.

Chili-Lime-Avocado Ice Cream

1 quart ice cream, softened (lime or coconut are my flavor recommendations. But I’d love to know if you try something else!)
2 avocadoes, pitted and peeled
Zest and juice of 2 limes
2 t. sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded or not (depending on how much of a kick you’re going for)

While the ice cream is softening up, mince the peppers in the food processor with the lime juice and zest. Process well until the mixture is paste-like. Add the sugar, coconut, and avocadoes, and continue processing until the mixture is well-combined. Spoon the ice cream into a freezable container, and stir in the coconut milk (this will help to soften it up even more). Work in the avocado mixture, stirring until the ice cream turns a lovely shade of avocado green and seems evenly mixed. Freeze for a few hours or up to a week. Serve it to your friends (and for extra fun, don’t tell them what it is!).

This recipe was adapted from the Sweet Avocado-Green Chilli Ice Cream at The Splendid Table.

I have written often about my culinary heritage, particularly the influence of the composers of the Aunts’ Recipe Book, my dad’s four younger sisters. The youngest, Emily, is the only one who’s made a career out of food; for years, she ran her own catering business and is now the director of the cooking school at the Everyday Gourmet in Jackson, MS. Interestingly, my memories of her contributions to my love of food include really sugary cereals, Butterfingers, and bowls of melted cheese: when I stayed at her house as a kid, she let me eat WHATEVER I wanted.

These days she often sends me interesting specialty food items from work, for which I am constantly on the lookout for creative preparations. The most recent packages have included these gorgeous white and black beans, labeled Calypso Beans on the bag, and a bright, fruity Meyer lemon olive oil, which I have been rationing.

I had visions of a lemony salad including both gifts from Aunt Em, and a few weeks ago, I planned to make such a concoction, adding leftover grilled chicken for a substantial weeknight supper.

One of the things I love about reading other people’s food blogs is that I am constantly inspired to create new dishes. The only problem is that I find myself with vague memories of recipes I saw one place or the other, but no idea exactly where.

For instance, I knew I had somewhere read of just such a salad–with beans and a lemony dressing. But, for the life of me, I could not recall where I saw it. I did some searching and nothing looked familiar. I emailed the resident veggie expert, Alanna, to see if it was perhaps a recipe of hers. No, she replied, but she’d keep her eyes open.

And, she found it!

Of course, by the time we’d figured it out, the salad had long been made and eaten, with no guidance from a recipe, so my version looks very different from Gabriella’s.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, just in case you find yourself in such a predicament–a vague recollection of a recipe and no help from Google–I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve learned along the way to help me solve this organizational problem (and then the recipe for the salad).

First, Google’s Blogsearch. Alanna alerted me to this handy tool, and if you want to search for a recipe, but you only want results from bloggers, this search page will help you do just that.

Second, del.icio.us. If you’re looking for a super-easy, user-friendly way to store bookmarks to recipes online, this site might be for you. Elise at Simply Recipes posted a helpful tutorial on how to use it, and I finally got around to following her suggestions. You can see my list of recipe links here, and if you start yours, you can add me to your network and we can share. Isn’t that fun?

And now, for the bean salad! Once the beans are cooked, this is a snap to throw together. It keeps well and would be perfect for a picnic. (Not that anyone can stand to be outside around here!)

The inspiration for this recipe, it turns out, comes from Gabriella at My Life as a Reluctant Housewife, and I’m pretty sure I spied it at an ARF/5-a-day round-up at Sweetnicks. Since my version turned out much differently (since I didn’t find the recipe until after the fact), I’ll contribute this variation to this week’s Tuesday event.

Thanks to Alanna for helping me locate the recipe, to Gabriella for inspiring this creation, to Elise for the lesson about del.icio.us, to Cate for hosting ARF/5-a-day Tuesday’s every week, and to Aunt Em for the ingredients.

And who says cooking isn’t collaborative?

Calypso Bean Salad

3 cups dry calypso beans (white beans would probably work just as well)
2 cups water
1 clove garlic, quartered
2 lemons
1 t. lemon pepper
1/4 cup lemon-flavored olive oil (of course, I’m sure regular would work too)
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1 T. fresh oregano, minced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped (it strikes me now that the first time I made this salad–and photographed it–I used fresh tomatoes; either will work)
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup Greek olives, minced
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 chicken breasts, sliced (optional)

Cover the beans with water and soak overnight. They should absorb most of the liquid. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the quartered garlic clove, the trimmings from the two lemons, a sprinkle of salt and lemon pepper, and the beans. Simmer the beans for 2-3 hours, or until they reach the consistency you like. (I’m really funny about bean texture; I don’t like them mushy, especially in a salad, so I tend to undercook them. 2 hours was a perfect texture for me.) Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the juice from the 2 lemons, lemon pepper, salt, and fresh oregano. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Mix in the olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and chicken if using. Toss this mixture with the beans and top with the feta. Serves 4; refrigerates well.

Barbara, over at Tigers and Strawberries, has invited food bloggers to participate in an event centered on the uses of a variety of spices. For the first three rounds, I was a passive onlooker, reading the entries and gleaning inspiration from those who contributed. But when she announced the most recent edition, The Spice Is Right IV: It’s Too Darned Hot!, using chiles in any form, I knew I’d have to get off the sidelines and get in the game. We love spicy food around here, especially in the summer. (Mostly because it gives us the excuse to pair our food with very cold, fun beverages.)

But immediately, I was stumped about what to make. You see, my favorite spicy cuisine is Thai, and my favorite way to use chiles is in my attempts to make Thai food at home. But that seemed a rather silly entry for this event because Barbara knows way, way more about Thai cuisine than I do, and if you really want to learn how to make it properly, you should go dig through her archives.

So then I thought perhaps I’d try to find some sort of exotic and unique chile and concoct a new inventive creation all my own.

But, well, the thing about the heat (and, wow, is it ever hot in south Louisiana) is that it makes me crave simplicity. It’s almost as if my palate is lazy too–my tastebuds don’t want anything that’s going to make them work too hard, much like my body doesn’t want me to cook anything that requires my being in the kitchen too long.

So I return to the most common of chiles, the dark green one that grows abundantly in the garden, the one that appears most frequently in my cooking, the ubiquitous jalapeno.

Some people like their food to be either savory or sweet, but nowhere in between, no blurring of the lines. I, on the other hand, fall in the contrast camp. When I snack, I find that I need two–a sweet and a salty–and I like to alternate them (a handful of popcorn followed by some M&M’s, and so on). Perhaps that makes me odd.

But it also makes me a huge fan of recipes like this one, where the flavor (and texture) is all about the contrasts. Spicy, sweet, sharp, tangy, salty, herby, soft, crunchy–this quesadilla has it all. Pair it with a frozen margarita (rimmed with salt, of course), and a handful of lime-flavored tortillas to serve with the extra salsa, and I am one happy girl. Even in this heat.

And, I haven’t even had to work hard–with minimal effort, all the contrasts I need are packed snugly into one, crispy tortilla. What more could my taste buds ask for?

Blue Cheese and Mango Quesadillas with Mango Salsa
–inspired by a recipe in The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide by Paula Lambert

2 ripe mangoes, pitted and peeled
2 T. red onion, finely chopped
4 T. bell or banana pepper, finely chopped (I used one purple bell and half of a yellow banana)
1 jalapeno chile, minced (and seeded if you prefer less kick)
2 T. cilantro leaves, chopped plus a few extra leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 t. Kosher salt
1/8 t. cracked black pepper
4 small flour tortillas
4 ounces blue cheese
Olive oil

In a small bowl, toss together the red onion, peppers, chile, cilantro, and lime juice. Dice one of the mangoes and gently mix it in. Finish with salt and pepper and set aside.

Slice the remaining mango into wedges, and have them, the extra cilantro leaves, and the blue cheese handy.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil (just enough to coat the surface) in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When hot, add a tortilla. Cook until the bottom is crisp and brown, and flip it over. Crumble 1/4 of the blue cheese on the surface. Lay 5 slices of mango on top of the blue cheese, and place a cilantro leaf between each of the mango spikes.

Continue to cook until the cheese is melted. Remove to a plate, top with a spoonful of salsa, and repeat the process for the remaining 3 tortillas. To eat, fold the tortillas in half and dig in! Oh, and don’t forget the margaritas. Serves 2 as a light meal.

Notes: You may have to add oil between quesadillas; a dry skillet will burn your tortillas in a hurry. And, you can, of course, go ahead and fold the quesadillas over while they’re in the skillet as you normally would. But, I think they look so pretty served open faced, and if you add the salsa before you fold them, then you don’t have to worry about making sure you get everything on your fork before you take a bite. Less work even in the eating!

This month’s Paper Chef competition, hosted by fellow southerner Kevin at Seriously Good, happened to fall on July 4th weekend. In honor of that timing, Kevin decided that, in addition to the three randomly chosen ingredients,–corn, pine nuts, and ground coriander–the fourth ingredient should in some way represent Independence Day; regardless of our locale, participants should “create a recipe that celebrates your nation’s emancipation from its previous rulers or form of government or whatever other thing celebrated to honor nationhood.” (Somewhat of a paradoxical idea here in America, but I’ll spare you my treatise on that subject.)

Politics and history aside, the idea of freedom is something I can certainly celebrate. The cliche of course is “free as a bird,” and while flying might represent freedom for some, I have always been a water girl. I can’t remember the time before I couldn’t swim, and there are few instances I can think of when I feel more liberated than when my body is gliding through cold water. Especially in this July heat.

In light of that quirk, I chose fish as my fourth ingredient; yellowfin tuna, to be exact, and I prepared him (or her) for David’s and my celebration of this year’s July 4th.

Fresh tuna is such a great summery food–we like it seared and rare, so it takes almost no time to cook, and the flavor is rich enough to stand alone, but mild enough to combine well with other things. Like, you know, corn, coriander, and pine nuts.

The avocado and corn salsa was alternately tart from the lime juice, spicy from the jalapeno, and buttery-sweet from it’s two main ingredients. To spice it up a little, I flavored pine nuts with one of my favorite seasoning combinations: cumin, chile, and coriander, and topped the salsa with the toasted nuts, which provided a nice crunchy texture.

Tuna and avocado is, to me, a perfect match, and the other flavors enhanced the combination even more. Blue corn tortillas added a patriotic touch–see the star in the picture?–and scooped up what was left of the salsa when the tuna had vanished. All in all, this was a delicious meal that I would definitely make again (and, truth be told, some of my farfetched Paper Chef concoctions do not earn that commendation!)

This month’s competition is being judged by Kevin and last month’s winner, Gabriella, of My Life as a Reluctant Housewife. Check Kevin’s site for a round-up and the winners later in the week.

Stars and Stripes Tuna with Avocado-Corn Salsa
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 t. ground coriander
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. chile powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt (just a sprinkle)
1/4 t. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t. ground coriander
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 small tomato, diced
1/2 cup corn kernels, cooked and stripped from the cob, plus extra for serving
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 avocado, diced
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 t. Kosher salt
2 very fresh yellowfin tuna fillets, about 1/2 pound each
1/2 t. olive oil
Blue corn tortilla chips

For the nuts: Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the nuts and spices (coriander, cumin, chile, and cayenne). Toast in the dry skillet for a couple of minutes, until the nuts and spices are fragrant. Add 1/4 t. olive oil (a tiny, tiny dribble, just to allow the spices to stick to the nuts), and stir to coat the nuts. Cook, stirring for another 3-4 minutes and sprinkle with salt. The nuts should be golden brown. Remove them from the skillet and set aside.

For the salsa: Stir together the garlic, 1/4 t. ground coriander, cilantro, tomato, corn, and jalapeno pepper. Add the avocado and lime juice and toss gently. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

For the tuna: Heat 1/2 t. of olive oil in the skillet (the same one you cooked the nuts in) over high until smoking. Add the fillets, and sear on both sides, cooking until your desired doneness (we like ours very rare, so no more than a minute per side for us, but you can cook it longer if you like yours more done).

To plate: Slice the tuna into strips. Arrange the tortilla chips in whatever shape you like (a star for Independence Day, perhaps?), and fan the tuna strips out from the chip bed. Top with avocado salsa and spiced pine nuts. Garnish with extra corn, chips, and cilantro. Our traditional mode of holiday festivities around here usually includes the traditional fancy celebration dinner, and a brunch, for which we forgo both breakfast and lunch,. Especially July 4th, when we can almost always be found watching Wimbledon, brunch suits a lazy holiday quite nicely.

WARNING: VERY CHEESY HUMOR TO FOLLOW.

Blame it on the Mardi Gras vacation we’ve enjoyed this week, or the silly star-struck-ness that I feel towards the Academy Awards (or perhaps on the drink you see above…), but David and I decided on a whim yesterday to throw ourselves an Oscar party. This is sort of a tradition for us–last year, I even dressed up in an old bridesmaid’s dress (because my close friends sometimes read this blog, I won’t disclose which one!) and a plastic tiara to cook our party food and enjoy our evening with the stars.

I’m a total sucker for the Hollywood glam, and David and I are both movie fanatics, so I guess it’s no surprise that we watch the Oscars every year. This year, though, we’re taking our celebrating to a whole new corny level. And for some reason, I felt inclined to share our corniness with you. So, without further ado, I present the evening’s menu, and the recipe for the dessert cocktail pictured above.

To kick off the evening, we shall be having Constant Garden Salad, for which no illegally obtained pharmaceuticals will be used. We promise. For the main course, Brokeback Ribs glazed with a Chipotle-Marmalade sauce will be accompanied by Pimp’d Out Sweet Potatoes (the kind that someone like Terrence Howard might sing about). For our dessert cocktail, a Chocolate Mint Crash Martini demonstrates that liquor of all shades can reside in harmony.

And, the recipe for the martini represents my first-ever contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging over at Kalyn’s Kitchen. Please give a big round of applause for…

Chocolate Mint!

To make the Crash Martini, you will need:

1 ounce of heavy cream
1 ounce of caramel or chocolate flavored cream liqueur, like Cask and Cream or Godiva
1 ounce of vanilla vodka
2 or 3 sprigs of chocolate mint

Smash the mint leaves and vodka together with the handle of a wooden spoon or other blunt instrument (I’m sure there’s a proper bar tool for this). This process, of infusing the mint into the vodka, is called muddling, I’m told. Let the minty vodka sit while you prepare the rest. In a martini glass, pour in the cream first and then the cream liqueur, carefully so that the colors mingle but don’t mix entirely (this requires a bit of a steady hand). Remove the mint leaves from the vodka and top off the martini with the vodka. Enjoy and try to concentrate on how well those flavors get along. Hopeful, isn’t it?

This is really more like dessert than a cocktail, but I bet it would make a fabulous addition to ice cream or coffee too.

The rest of tonight’s recipes are to follow next week…stay tuned!