Roast Chicken

Before

After

YUM. 

Homemade Potstickers

Pork with grated carrot, chopped cabbage, minced garlic and ginger, thinly sliced scallions, a dash of soy sauce, an egg, and a bit of salt and pepper.

Simply used the wonton wrappers now sold at most grocery stores.

Used a dumpling presser which I used for the first time in cooking for this. Otherwise I had never used it for its intended purpose as it was my Playdoh toy growing up!

Place them in a little hot oil in a pan. When golden, throw on some water and the lid, cook for a bit, and uncover till super crisp!

Cooking Up Crème Brûlée

For Christmas I received a mini blow torch for kitchen use, so last week I decided to make crème brûlée. I tend to shy away from baking and desserts as it is so mathematical and I tend to just change up recipes to my liking. This is something you cannot do with baking! I did combine recipes though, as I didn't find one I really liked.

3 cups of heavy cream with one vanilla bean split in two, seeds scraped out and added in too. Brought it to a boil and took it off the heat to steep.

Whisk the 6 egg yolks with a half cup of sugar till it forms 'ribbons'. It gets super thick and white, as seen below.

You then temper the sugar/yolk mixture with some of the warm cream and continue combining the two, which you then strain to get out any coagulated egg.

Then you fill your dishes - which can be any shape really...this effects cooking time so you might want to look into what recipes that use your size container say.

In a water bath, the pans go into a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Let them cool on the counter and then into the fridge for a little while to let it all set even more.

The sad part is that I completely forgot to take a picture of the sugar torching bit and the finished product!! Guess I'll just have to do this all again!!

Cooking Chez Eve

I have been doing quite a lot of cooking this fall, not to mention Thanksgiving! Here are few recent creations...

Picnic consisting of local oysters (they were massive!!), smoked salmon, heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella, and some avocado.

Piles of brie with fresh thyme and fig jam created quite the grilled cheeses!!

Fresh clams in a tomato, Vermouth, butter sauce... Clams are from Kanaloa Seafood.

 ...with fresh linguine from the Farmer's Market at the Solvang Bread stand.

Tarte au citron.

Homemade bread...could have let it bake longer though...still can't beat fresh bread.

 Apple tart for Turkey Day...

 Turkey stock from our Thanksgiving bird.

New Dishes Chez Eve

Tonight I took apart an entire chicken we purchased from the farmer's market and made a version of Chicken Cacciatore. I even chopped up the veggies much smaller than I usually take the time to do.

With the veggie trimmings and bits and the chicken carcass thrown into a pot I made chicken stock. The recipe also calls for a few spoonfuls of marinara so I made my own tomato sauce as well.

 Voila! Turned out quite delightful indeed!

With figs from Fairview Gardens and some raspberries, I created my breakfast yogurt bowl and there ya have it! Yum.

Above is seabass with a caper sauce over garlic polenta. Gettin' creative these days!

Simplicity

Radishes. Salt. Butter.

Fig-errific Summer

As seen Chez Eve - Fresh figs wrapped with prosciutto, sliced fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of Italian herb blend. $4.50 a basket for those figs, but the price is soon forgotten when you eat one!

 I love those intense colors!

 And then the more subtle coral-y pinks.

An heirloom tomato, a peach, a plum, and some figs = summertime.

Craving this pizza so badly, I went down to Olio Pizzeria and sat at the bar by myself. I enjoyed my Moretti beer and this gorgeous Margarita D.O.C. pizza. It has "special" mozzarella on it...much creamier than the normal stuff! The tomato sauce is incredibly fresh and flavorful and the dough is amazing. I sprinkle a little oregano on top and sometimes drizzle a little homemade chili oil (even if it is a bit on the hot side for my palate). So, so, so very satisfying!

Home Cookin'

In the mood to make up a recipe, I seared a half a local, well-treated and fed chicken in my Le Creuset pot (which used to be my Papa's), threw in some shallots, carrots, thyme, diced Yukon potatoes, white beans, and a bit of white wine, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Each of those ingredients had their own moment in the pot so as to build layers of flavor. A couple lemon slices and some thyme on top of the chicken and into the oven the pot went for 45 minutes. Voila!

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It may have taken 3 pans to make my dinner-for-one, but it is worth it every single time! 2 Dover Sole filets ($1.75 total!) pan seared in butter with a little lemon juice and white wine. Steamed some Swiss Chard ($2.50) with salt and a little olive oil. Cubed and sauteed one Yukon potato (I threw in some mustard powder just out of curiosity and it added a lovely, earthiness to the potato and a subtle kick).

And ta-da! Dinner is served.

Sunbursts

Lately, at our plentiful Santa Barbara farmer's markets there have been these amazing, wildflower filled flower bouquets. I finally cracked and bought one last week for $7. Money well spent! Aren't these furry sunflowers fun? I can't help but smile every time I see them. Here's a little photo series so you can enjoy them too.

 Almost like flames...