The Fromagette — Epicurean Provocateur

May 2012

Lemon-Caper Tuna Tartine

With a bright pop of citrus and the gentle briny bite of capers, this version of the ubiquitous tuna salad downplays the fishiness of tuna while making it spring-fresh. Of course you can assemble this as a regular sandwich, but it feels more in line with the season to enjoy it open-faced and there’s an opportunity for one last little sprinkle of Maldon Salt to hit your tongue first.

This recipe is no reinvention of the wheel. But what it is, is one of those safe everyday classics which you can double-up to last the week, keeping you on the healthy track without thinking too hard about it. I do seem to habitually nosh on the same lunch item for a week or two at a time. Sometimes it takes a while to return to a particular dish if I take my repetition too far… and I have instructed my husband to stop commenting “this is so good I could eat it everyday” because, well, its just too tempting to take him up on it…

If you already have lemon thyme flourishing in your herb garden, finish your tartine with a light dusting of their pretty variegated leaves, and call it a {spring} day!

Print This Recipe

1/4 cup Best Foods or Hellman’s mayonnaise
1 large shallot, minced
2 large lemons – add all of the zest + 2 T juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup capers {rinse if salt-packed}
2 {7oz} cans white albacore tuna
kosher salt to taste
8 slices fresh baguette cut on a deep diagonal
Maldon salt {optional}
1 tsp fresh lemon thyme {optional}

Serves 4. Calories: 300 per 2 slice serving {allowing 50 calories per slice of bread and 1/4 of the tuna mixture}.

In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, shallot, lemon zest, juice, sugar and capers; stir to blend. Add both cans of tuna {draining without squeezing dry} and stir to combine. Add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to enjoy. Just before serving, simply pile onto slices of bread, sprinkle with lemon thyme leaves {optional} and Maldon Salt.

{ 4 comments }

Mar 2012

Chopped Muffuletta Salad

I’m just back from a reinvigorating week in San Diego and feeling refreshed! We’d convinced ourselves that we love the Pacific Northwest’s dark moody skies and the cozy indoor life the winter weather insists upon, but the body knows better. The effects of this annual process are insidious, beginning with the rich bounty of fall, moving through the celebratory days of December… and ending with the realization it’s been five months since I’ve seen the sun. I have underestimated its power.

Armed with 50 Spf, I headed down to my hometown to see my Dad, some friends and the sun. I didn’t make it to the beach – but I was there just in time to rescue my friend Darlene from the grips of paint-chip paralysis. It was touch and go, but we settled on a new color and proceeded with brush + roller. She owes me. And in the short week I was away, spring seems to have sprung! Amazing little buds of life have sprouted from my Katsura trees and I will now watch them with great anticipation…

Back to reality and healthy meals. Let’s be honest – I shudder a bit at the sight of cubed cheese, but for a chopped salad I’ll make an exception. Italian Provolone Piccante is not the rubber Provolone we grew up with and is worth searching out at your local cheese shop or Whole Foods. This super hearty salad captures the intense flavor profile of a classic Muffuletta Sandwich but by losing the bread and scaling back the amount of oil in the dressing, it’s lightened enough to indulge to your hearts content… enjoy!

Print This Recipe

24 small pimento stuffed green olives, halved
1 cup of drained,water packed, roasted red peppers, finely diced
4 oz provolone piccante, finely cubed
1/2 cup drained pepperoncini, sliced into rings
1 large or 2 small heads romaine lettuce, chopped
4 oz dry salami, sliced into matchsticks {I used Cremenelli}
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

dressing:
2 T olive oil
2 inches anchovy paste
2 T red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 T dijon mustard
several grinds of fresh pepper
1 tsp sugar

Serves 4 . 350 calories.

Combine all of the chopped ingredients in a large bowl. In a mason jar or other sealed container, vigorously shake all of the dressing ingredients to combine. Add to salad and toss well.

{ 10 comments }

Mar 2012

Skinny Wild Mushroom Risotto w/Umami Paste

I’ve never been hung up on the “rules” of risotto making… never felt pressured to heat my broth or stir constantly and I’ve never had less than stellar results. What makes this risotto skinny? Well, there’s only so much I’m willing to give up in the name of calorie counting, so my main strategy was a ratio heavily weighted on the virtually noncaloric side of mushrooms and onions. I was also very careful with the butter and oil, using just enough to squeak by…

My main objective, really, was to give this intriguing umami paste a try. My advice: think of it as very optional here as {sadly} it wouldn’t be missed. And that’s all I shall say about it. Any way you spoon it, this risotto is toothsome, satisfying, guilt-free dining at its best. Enjoy!

Print This Recipe

1 T olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, finely diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
1 T umami paste {optional}
32 oz chicken stock
1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 T butter
2 T finely minced fresh thyme
2 T cream sherry {or dry sherry}
2 oz Parmigiano, finely grated
kosher salt + pepper to taste

Serves 4 calories 430

In a medium-sized heavy bottomed saucepan, saute the finely diced onions in olive oil on medium-low until deep golden and caramelized.

Simultaneously in a separate saute pan, saute mushrooms in butter for up to an hour on medium-low, until browned and leathery, then add the sherry and a sprinkle of salt, stir, and continue to saute until liquid is absorbed – just a few minutes. Add the thyme, stir to combine, remove from heat and set aside.

Returning to the caramelized onions – add the arborio rice and continue to saute for 3 minutes. Add wine {and umami paste} and approx 1 cup of the chicken broth and allow to simmer gently, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add broth this way {1 cup at a time} until fully cooked and absorbed – should be about 18-20 minutes of cooking time. If a thinner consistency is desired, add 1 cup of water and continue to cook and stir until desired consistency is reached. Remove from heat and stir in Parmigiano until incorporated and creamy. Add salt + pepper to taste. Fold in sauteed mushrooms – reserving some to use as a garnish. Divide between 4 plates or bowls, sprinkle with remaining mushrooms, and serve.

{ 11 comments }

Feb 2012

Chai + Salted Pistachio Morning Cake

Chai lovers! I am LOVING my new 6 inch cakelettes {I hope you are too} and with the addition of Chai Tea in this one, I think it’s the perfect way to greet the day and an easy justification for eating cake for breakfast.

Though I show the 6-inch cakes as serving 4, this is to suit my cake-loving appetite. More {ahem} petite eaters could easily slice them into 6 polite servings. Not to be judgmental… but if you’re the 6 slice type, I’m not entirely sure we could be friends. Just keepin’ it real… enjoy!

Print This Recipe

1 cup flour
1/2 cup {packed} brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 bag Chai Tea {regular or decaf}
2 T browned butter
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg, room temperature

glaze:
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 T milk or cream

topping:
1/4 cup shelled, roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
sprinkle of Maldon, Himalayan Pink {or any other light flaky salt}

Servings: 4 Calories: 412 Preheat to 375. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, stir with a whisk. Use scissors to snip open the tea bag – add loose tea into the flour mixture, stir to combine. Make a well in center of dry mixture and add buttermilk, browned butter, vanilla and egg – whisk until just combined. Line the bottom of a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment and butter generously. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack – remove from pan and transfer to a serving plate. Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl – stir until smooth. Drizzle 1/2 of glaze over cake {mostly to give the pistachios something to stick to} , sprinkle with chopped pistachios and then drizzle remaining glaze over nuts – sprinkle with Maldon salt.

{ 11 comments }

Feb 2012

Chilled Penne w/Rotisserie Chicken + Currants

This simple bite turned out to be just what I was looking for – a little lemon does wonders to brighten a dark winter day and hint at spring.

This quick pasta dish is all about assembly and I am more than happy to allow a rotisserie chicken to get me off the hook for a night. Any unused portion can be reserved for another use {aka, your husband’s lunch}. Do not substitute regular almonds for the Marconas, they are an important component here with their rich flavor and hearty crunch.

In the interest of strategy: this pasta was perfectly delicious on day two, but there are a few things to know. Cooking and chilling your pasta in advance – to mix-in the rotisserie chicken and remaining ingredients just before serving, leaves the nuts at their crunchiest and the pasta its most al dente. Consider getting your pasta in the fridge before heading out the door to work, returning later with a cooked chicken in hand. Oh, and a liberal sprinkle of Maldon salt just before taking your first bite is highly advisable. Enjoy!

Print This Recipe

3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast {about 3/4 pound}
8 oz penne pasta
1/4 cup roughly chopped Marcona almonds
7 oz container Fage 2% yogurt
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 lemon {zest + 2 T juice}
2 T reserved pasta water
salt + pepper to taste

*Marcona almonds are available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, specialty food shops + Costco

Serves 4. Calories 475

Adapted from Martha Stewart. Cook the penne in salted water to al dente, drain {reserving 2 T pasta water} transfer to large bowl, cover and chill until ready to assemble. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl, toss gently, and serve.

{ 13 comments }

Feb 2012

Raspberry + Almond Breakfast Cake

Happy Valentine’s Weekend!

As the self-appointed spokesperson for chubby people, I feel compelled to speak on their behalf. Now, I hate sweeping generalizations {that’s a lie, they’re my specialty} but chubby people can’t stop at just one. There may be exceptions to this rule – and hey, good for you if you happen to be one of them. I am not.

To that end, I have a plan for the desserts I feature, and this is my thinking: there is no amount of resolve great enough when there’s a cake in the house. So I don’t have a cake in the house- it’s that simple. But when an exception is made for entertaining or, just because – I’ll be scaling down to a 6-inch cake to keep myself out of trouble.

Quality 6-inch baking pans are readily available at Williams-Sonoma and Amazon and each cake will serve 4-6 depending on how you slice it. First up is a Raspberry Almond Breakfast Cake. This little cake is great for breakfast because it’s basically a muffin – it’s not too sweet and contains a healthful dose of fruit + nuts. Accessorized with freeze-dried raspberries and white chocolate shavings, Cupid would be proud.

The worst mess you can get yourself into with a 6-inch cake would be to eat the whole thing – the equivalent of one large slice of a regular size cake. Not exactly pretty, but any potential for self-loathing has been averted!

Print This Recipe

1/2 cup sugar
2 T butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup halved fresh raspberries

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 T cream or milk – whatever’s in the fridge
1/8 tsp almond extract

Garnish:
1/4 square Baker’s white chocolate
sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberries

Serves 4. Calories 425.

Preheat to 350. Line the bottom of a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Generously butter and dust with flour. In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar and eggs together vigorously with whisk until well blended. Add vanilla and buttermilk. Mix remaining dry ingredients together in separate bowl. Add to wet mixture, mixing until blended. Gently fold in the raspberries. Spoon batter into cake pan and bake for 40 minutes. Move to a cooling rack.

When cool, transfer onto a serving plate. In a small bowl, mix the glaze ingredients until well blended and immediately spread atop the cake allowing it to drip down the sides. Garnish with dried raspberries and white chocolate – using a veggie peeler to shave the white chocolate.

*Trader Joe’s now has dried raspberries and almond meal.

{ 17 comments }

Feb 2012

Slow + Low Bison Chili

Whether your plans to tune in to Sunday’s Super Bowl are strictly game-related or more about Madonna’s halftime display of… I can’t wait to see what… no matter! What matters is that you are prepared with the appropriate accoutrements. This is no time to get schmancy – traditional fare is a must, though there’s no shame in allowing it to take new form with funkier ingredients and fun combinations.

This year, long before planning my guest list, I was set on Bison Chili. I’m not really a chili person, but I’m excited to find new ways to cook with Bison. In order to make my chili better suited to my palette, I first compiled a list of flavors which made the idea of chili a bit more attractive to me.

First off was the best grass-fed fresh bison chunks from a farm in Wisconsin – cause gosh knows there’s some great foods coming out of Wisconsin and this farm has produced bison since 1994 – long before its mainstream popularity.

Next I was to consider the various classifications of chili – one being the more Texan style, sans beans. Nope, not for me because it’s not as well rounded nutritionally. Smokey vs. hot – check! Enter chipotle.

Beer? Why yes please – something with some nice chocolate undertones to compliment the chipotle…

And the standard cumin? Not a giant fan, so whole seeds were the answer in keeping with tradition just enough to be recognized as chili.

And lastly… as I was tempted to pop open a can of beans and call it a day – I decided the fresh from the farm bison deserved dried beans. An overnight soak is no big deal…

If I have learned anything in this quest for the perfect game-day chili, it’s that chili lovers are an opinionated bunch! So tell me… what do you look for in a rockin’ chili and do you have a favorite recipe?

Print This Recipe

1 T + 1 tsp canola oil
1 pound fresh bison meat, in 1 inch cubes
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 whole chipotle peppers in adobo
2 14 1/2 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 pint bottle Young’s Double Chocolate Stout {or any oatmeal stout}
3/4 cup dry light red kidney beans
kosher salt + freshly ground pepper to taste

Optional garnishes: sharp cheddar, green onions, cilantro, sour cream and red onion.

4 servings. 375 calories.

The night before: soak the kidney beans in water for 8 hours; drain. The day of: pat dry, salt, and then sear the bison chunks on high heat in 1 T oil for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onions to the same pan with 1 tsp oil, turn heat down to med/low and sweat, stirring occasionally until beginning to caramelize. Transfer onions and bison to slow cooker and add remaining ingredients. Cook on medium-high for 6-8 hours. Serve topped with your favorite garnishes.

{ 8 comments }

Jan 2012

Goat Cheese + Grand Marnier Truffles

My Skinny Valentine…

Longing for chocolate but still adhering to my plan to lighten up… it took only a few minutes to whip up these simple perennial favorites. They keep well and are perfect to have on hand for emergencies. And at only 100 calories a pop, they’re just the thing to ward off any thoughts of bad behavior.

While solving your Valentine’s gift-giving quandary for the cheese & chocolate lover in your life, they’re also perfect for those who remain dedicated to watching their figure, and for dinner guests when you’d like to end the meal on a sweet note.

Even with their creaminess and intense dark chocolate flavor, these truffles are surprisingly light {and low on the guilt scale}. Goat cheese lovers will appreciate the subtle tang, and they are not overly sweet – just enough to satisfy. Using a high quality cocoa will take the flavor and rich velvety color up a notch. Enjoy!

Print This Recipe

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate {not semisweet}
6 oz. fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
2 T powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup cocoa powder, for dusting the truffles

Makes 16 truffles. 100 calories each. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl set over simmering water until almost melted. Remove from the heat and stir until remaining bits have melted and are smooth; allow to cool slightly while mixing other ingredients. In a second bowl, combine the goat cheese, confectioners’ sugar, Grand Marnier & orange zest. Add in the melted chocolate, mixing vigorously until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Spoon or scoop into 16 balls, rolling each one in your hand and then in cocoa powder until well coated. To refresh before serving, sprinkle with cocoa once again. No refrigeration necessary.

{ 13 comments }

Jan 2012

A Project: Belgian Linen Recovering

This is the spot where where my beautiful baby grand piano once sat. When I realized it had hardly been played in 5 years, I decided to find it a new home where it would be appreciated for all its majestic and melodic glory.

Our move from San Diego to Washington resulted in a tough breakup with my brilliant piano teacher who could read my mind nearly as expertly as the notes on each page. For years, she stoked my musical passions by intuitively knowing which pieces would inspire me most….

Certain people in our lives hold positions which can never be replaced…

But, as is often the case… a silver lining!! Its absence has left me with this happy kitchen nook which is regularly flooded with sunlight and cheer .

Searching for its new identity, I got this reclaimed wood table from Restoration Hardware, and to it, I’ve added some wrought iron chairs which I’ve had for forever.

They’ve seen many different fabrics over the years, but in order to tie them to the adjacent living room, I just used more of the same pillow covers floating around on the sofas instead of purchasing fabric to recover the chairs.

In keeping with the charm of reclaimed wood, I wanted each chair to be different from the next and the Belgian linen adds to the lived-in feel of it all. I ended up using 3 different pillow patterns, and I think the mix reflects the same bit of whimsey as the scrolled chairs. Oh how I LOVE a home project…

{ 10 comments }

Jan 2012

A very personal story… and a new direction!

Me: back when having a single eyebrow was all the rage!

This is a difficult post – a leap of faith for me as my greatest fear is being defined in any way by this or by its accompanying perceptions.

I am one of 350,000 people in the United States, who live with Multiple Sclerosis. It is the sole reason I sold my beloved cheese shop nearly 2 years ago and am now a full time trophy-wife. And while I may not be sounding like so much of a trophy right now, my husband seriously thinks I am. That in itself makes me quite a lucky girl, wouldn’t you say?

When I started this blog 1 1/2 years ago, it was with the intention of continuing my love of cheese, while exploring a new outlet for creativity. My shop had satisfied my every desire to surround myself with pretty things, revel in my love of hostessing and constantly indulge my palette with something new and exciting.

Since my diagnosis 2 years ago, I’ve spent a solid chunk of that time being frightened of the future and what it means to have MS. After getting past the initial jolt that such a diagnosis brings, I have come to realize I have so much to be grateful for and I am going to be just fine, no matter what.

Going forward, I plan to highlight healthier dishes – ones that come about “accidentally” through thoughtful flavor combinations rather than the contrived use of “faux” or “lightened” ingredients. I hope you will view them as company-worthy, and I hope that I can build your trust so as when you take the time to gather the ingredients necessary to replicate one of my recipes, you’ll know you won’t be disappointed.

I am still me. I still maintain my unwavering belief that occasional daytime drinking is good for the spirit {pun}, and the soul. I believe in pushing my limits in Zumba class with a quad Americano. And I believe that my success in life is measured not by my professional accomplishments, but by the amazing love I share with my husband. And after years {ok, decades} of dating hell, it amazes me I actually picked the right guy!

I will continue to pursue my passions and reach for my dreams because there’s just no denying my spirited and mischievous nature. And I will continue to post Fromage Fridays as well as incorporate cheese into even my skinniest of recipes – because just a shave of the right cheese can really perfect a dish!

When asking myself whether my blog name was still applicable, I had to giggle. Of course it is… I’m the cheesiest person I know!

Thanks for letting me share something so personal with you. I’m off to create my next skinny recipe.

With appreciation,

Rachel

{ 60 comments }

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