Cooking With Sue - California Central Coast Style
Welcome to my cooking blog! I like to cook and I hope it shows. I was lucky to grow up in a restaurant family that thought nothing at all about putting together an easy to make but delicious meal on a regular basis. I remember my mother and grandmother each making five to six pies a day! Then on top of that, they would work at our restaurant making meals with my dad and grandfather for our customers until late evening. Thinking back, I really appreciate and marvel at their endurance and dedication!
What I learned from my parents is cooking is NOT something that you should dread. It’s very straight forward and logical. It can be really fun and relaxing and I hope to make you see that side of it too. Learn a few recipes and a bit about wine and you will enjoy quality dining every night at home for a mere fraction of the cost of dining out!
California Central Coast Style Recipes are my passion. These recipes are easy and elegant, and based upon three principles:
- Whenever possible use fresh ingredients. preferable locally grown.
- Use minimal cooking preparation to enhance the featured ingredient. Keep spices and additional ingredients to a minimum -use just enough to bring out flavors of the main ingredient not change it into something else.
- The presentation of the dish should be simple but elegant.
Enjoy!
March Meatless Recipes Can be just the ticket for the Lenten season.
2010-03-08 18:19:20 ID=593:1
© 2010 The Romantic Table
The 40 days preceding Easter Sunday are known as Lent and hold religious significance for those of us of the Christian faith. During this time, we are asked to fast and simplify our life to cleanse ourselves spiritually as well as physically in anticipation of Easter. Traditionally in the Mediterranean area the local people would also have abstained from eating meat as a main meal during this period. After the excesses of the holiday seasons, regardless of your religious orientation, this old custom make a lot of dietary sense we can all benefit from.
To help us all adhere to a simplified diet, we present a few simple recipes that in addition to our other vegetarian recipes already listed on our website, can make Lent a season to renew ourselves.
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February's Fun Recipes for Entertaining
2010-02-01 16:21:22 ID=584:1
© 2010 The Romantic Table
We may all be in the "February Funk", but February's two festive holidays, Valentine Day and Mardi Gras, gives us reason to perk up and cook up some fun and tasty treats --Central Coast Style!
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January's recipes that will bolster you up!
2010-01-06 19:59:56 ID=572:1
© 2010 The Romantic Table
Now that we're past the hectic holidays we need some recipes that will help fight the cold and flu season and bolster our disposition to have an enjoyable 2010.
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December is here! Time for some quick fun recipes!
2009-12-03 00:29:30 ID=561:1
© 2009 The Romantic Table
Christmas and New Years is approaching. Almost all of us have too many things to do and not enough time to do them as we get ready to enjoy this season. This month's recipes are all pretty quick to throw together and festive too! Here are some of our favorite elegant quick recipes to help you with your entertaining duties.
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How to Truss Poultry
2009-11-16 21:25:06 ID=555:1
© 2009 The Romantic Table
When I was a girl helping my Mother and Grandmother prepare Thanksgiving dinner one of my jobs was to stuff the turkey and sew the cavity shut for roasting. Despite all my efforts, it usually never really stayed closed however, and there was always the problem of retrieving bits of thread from the bird as it was carved. The secret I learned later was to truss the bird.
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How to Roast Chicken and Turkey Romantic Table-Style
2009-11-16 22:13:02 ID=554:0
© 2009 The Romantic Table
"When there's poultry in the oven, there's celebration in the heart! " That's one of my "truisms" that I think most people would agree with. Normally if you're planning on roasting a bird, there's some holiday or special occasion that warrants it. We'll tell you our method to make it an easy task with great presentation.
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Rigatoni with Black Olives and Mushrooms
Posted: 2010-03-08Rigatoni with Black Olives and Mushrooms is a robust tomato ragu that incorporates Italian brown mushrooms with oil-cured black olives (or Kalamatas) garlic and a little red pepper on rigatoni pasta, topped with a little Parmesan cheese. This is a waist-friendly recipe that you'll be able to pull out whenever you're feeling like you need to "stream-line" your regime and get back "to basics." And oh! Is it ever delicious!
Rigatoni with Black Olives and Mushrooms
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
MAKES 2 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
2 to 3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 cloves Garlic , peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoons Red pepper flakes
8 ounces Italian brown mushrooms , rinsed and thinly sliced
1 28 ounce can Italian-style tomatoes ,partially drained and coarsely chopped
1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano , chopped OR
1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano
15 to 20 Oil-cured Black Olives , pitted and halved lengthwise
Salt to taste
Freshly cracked Black pepper to taste
1/2 pound Rigatoni pasta
Parmesan Cheese , grated for topping off the rigatoni
Preparation Directions.
1 Ina a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and when hot, add in mushrooms and saute well. Mushrooms should give off their juices and cook down.
2 Add in garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for a minute or so until garlic begins to turn golden and is fragrant.
3 Add in the canned tomatoes and stir well distributing evenly with the garlic-mushroom mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer.
4 Add in oregano and olives. Stir well and distribute evenly throughout mushroom mixture.
5 Partially cover pot and reduce heat to low and gently simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes. Taste the sauce and correct seasonings to personal taste.
6 In the meantime, put a large stockpot of hot water on the stove and bring to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, stir and then add the pasta. Stir the water again and bring to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente or as directed on the package.
7 When the pasta is done, drain it well and add it to the saucepan with the Mushroom-olive sauce. Toss gently to distribute the olives and mushrooms evenly.
8 Portion out onto dinner plates. Be sure to have plenty of Parmesan cheese on the table for guests to top their pasta off.
Serving Suggestions.
A robust red wine such as a Sangiovese or a Red Zinfidel will go nicely with this dish
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Strozzopretti with Caramelized Onion and Mushrooms
Posted: 2010-03-03Strozzopretti with Caramelized Onion and Mushrooms made with white onions, Italian brown mushrooms and a little dried Porcini mushrooms seasoned with thyme and white wine has a robust but smooth tasting earthy sweetness to it. When served on strozzopretti pasta with a little Parmesan cheese added on top, it will make a mouth medley worthy of a special evening.
Strozzopretti with Caramelized Onion and Mushrooms
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
MAKES 2 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
1/2 ounce dried Porcini mushrooms
3-5] T Extra virgin Olive oil
2 Large White Onions , peeled, halved and thinly sliced 2 mm thick if possible
1 Shallot,, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoons Dried Thyme
1/2 cup White wine
1/2 pound Italian brown mushrooms , washed and sliced thinly
1/2 ounce Dried Porcini mushrooms , hydrated in warm water for half an hour (see below)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste.
1/4 cup Italian Parsley , rinsed and chopped
1/2 pound Stozzepretti pasta
Grated Parmesan Cheese for the table.
Preparation Directions.
1 Soak the dried Porcini mushrooms in 1 cup warm water for a half hour. Right before starting to cook, drain the soaked mushrooms saving the water. Heat-up the saved water and set aside for later. Coarsely dice or cut the hydrated Porcini mushrooms into slivers
2 In a large stockpot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil to pan and heat over medium-low heat. When oil is hot, add in sliced onions, separating the segments into single strands and stir well. Saute on medium heat for several minutes until softened and golden. You may need to add additional olive oil to prevent sticking. Stir well, folding over to redistribute the onions. Stir frequently.
3 Add in the shallot and garlic and continue to saute. When the aroma is fragrant, add in the thyme. When the aroma rises and is fragrant, add in the white wine. Reduce wine by half.
4 Add in the brown mushrooms, stir and continue to saute until the mushrooms give off liquid. Add in hydrated porcini mushrooms and stir well to combine with onion mixture. If the mixture seems dry, add in a bit of the reserved heated porcini liquid. This will impart a very good additional mushroom flavor to the sauce.
5 Taste the onion-mushroom sauce and add salt and freshly grated black pepper, stir well and taste again. Make any spice corrections that are needed.
6 In the meantime, put a large stockpot of hot water on the stove and bring to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, stir and then add the pasta. Stir the water again and bring to a boil and cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, to al dente or as directed on the package.
7 Drain pasta and add to the onion-mushroom sauce. Toss well to distribute sauce throughout pasta. Serve on individual dinner plates with grated Parmesan cheese to top off the pasta.
Serving Suggestions.
The earthy sweetness of this recipe will go ideally with a robust Rhone style white wine. A Viognier or a Roussanne would be a good choice.
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Bucatini Southwestern Style
Posted: 2010-02-22Bucatini Southwestern Style is a festive pasta using Bucatini pasta (which is shaped like a thick spaghetti with a hole down the center-like a straw.) We call it Bucatini Southwestern Style because it has the flavors of the Southwest -sauteed uncured bacon, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano and a little crushed red pepper flakes in a thick tomatoes sauce that's been simmered for thirty minutes or so. When tossed with the bucatini, it is so savory and will please your heartiest males out there. It's a very satisfying pasta sauce that can be mixed up quickly. It's another "pasta from the pantry" that you can have on hand for emergencies!
If you can't find bucatini pasta, you can also use a DeCecco-brand pasta that the Albertson's grocery store chain carries called Perciatelli. It's basically the same pasta with a different name. If you have no luck finding that, you could also use a thick spaghetti, which would provide almost the same mouth feel texture and taste.
Whatever you use as your pasta base, you're going to love the smoky-flavored savory taste that this combination of western spices and ingredients conjure up!
Bucatini Southwestern Style
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
MAKES 2 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
2 Tablespoons Extra virgin Olive oil
4-1/2 ounces Uncured bacon or pancetta , diced
1 medium White Onion , peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoons Crushed Red pepper flakes
1/2 cup White wine
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes in sauce , partially drained and coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoons Dried oregano
1/2 teaspoons Chili powder
Salt to taste
Freshly cracked Black pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese , grated for use at the table
Optional
3 to 4 Tablespoons Tomato sauce
Preparation Directions.
1 Pour one tablespoon of the olive oil into a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. When hot, add the bacon or pancetta and saute until lightly golden.
2 Add in the onion and saute. If needed, add in the additional olive oil. Saute the onion until softened, then add in the red pepper flakes.When pepper flakes give off aroma, deglaze with the white wine and reduce the wine by half.
3 Add in the canned tomatoes and stir well to distribute evenly throughout the onion mixture.
4 Add in the oregano and the chili powder and stir well to amalgamate. Season with salt and pepper. stir well and bring to a good simmer.
5 Depending on the thickness of your canned tomatoes in sauce you may need to add the optional tomato sauce for coating texture. If the sauce is not coating well enough add in a couple tablespoons or more of the optional tomato sauce. Stir well and continue a medium simmer.
6 Partially cover the saucepan and reduce heat and simmer slowly on low for twenty to thirty minutes.
7 Meanwhile, in a large pasta pot with hot water and cook pasta as directed on package, stirring to prevent pasta from sticking to sides of pot.
8 Drain pasta well and add to sauce. Stir well and serve immediately, or if you like, cover for a few minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce’s flavors.
9 Serve on individual dinner plates and have Parmesan cheese for grating on top of the pasta available at the table.
Serving Suggestions.
Choose a rustic red to go with this pasta. A Central Coast Tempranillo would be a good choice.
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Party Wings Romantic Table Style
Posted: 2010-02-07One of our long-time favorite ways to serve chicken to a group of guests is our chicken "Party Wings Romantic Table Style." It's a recipe that's really manageable and not too messy. We've made these party wings for gatherings when we know that there will be no formal seating arrangements. Serving chicken this way is very convenient if the guests are standing and moving around, and the wings are not very messy to handle.
Because these little poultry gems are NOT fried or smothered in a barbecue sauce, I irreverently refer to this recipe as "naked chicken drummettes." They are marinaded overnight in our own "sweet-sour with a kick" light marinade then baked in the oven for thirty minutes or so. When they're almost done, they are lightly browned under the broiler for a little extra crispiness, then served on a serving platter or bowl. This recipe does take a little planning because the chicken requires time to marinate. For best flavor we recommend overnight marinating.
If you're going to be serving a bunch of meat-eaters, consider instead of using the chicken wings, use chicken drum-sticks. They are more meaty than the wings. You may need to increase your cooking time by five or ten minutes. If you prefer, and the weather if fine, you can also grill the chicken --it is equally delicious.
Finally, we offer two dipping sauces to complement the wings, a spicy one made from the concentrated marinade, and a mellow Gorgonzola sauce. I know you'll like them!
Party Wings Romantic Table Style
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
3 pounds Chicken Party Wings
The Marinade
1/2 cup Dry Red Wine , a young Sangiovese works well
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Dark Molasses
1 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Cloves Garlic Minced
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 to 3 Tablespoons Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoons Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoons Salt
The Hot Dipping Sauce
Left Over Marinade
Pan Dripping from Baked Chicken
1 Tablespoons Corn Starch dissolved in -
1/4 cup Cold Water.
The Gorgonzola Sauce
1 Shallot minced
1 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Dry White Wine
1-1/2 to 2 ounces Gorgonzola crumbled
2 cups Heavy Cream
White Pepper and Salt to taste
Preparation Directions.
1 Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to dissolve the molasses and sugar. Taste the marinade and correct the seasoning to taste.
2 Rinse off the chickens wings and pat dry. Trim off any excess fat or hanging skin. Place the chicken wings in a plastic bag large enough to easily hold the wings. A 2 gallon zip-lock bag works very well. Pour in the marinade and seal the bag. Give the bag several shakes to coat the chicken well and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours --preferably overnight. Occasionally during the marinating period give the bag a shake and a turn to keep all the chicken well coated while marinating.
3 To cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 350F. Remove the chicken wings from the marinade and place the chicken wings in a broiler safe foil lined baking pan large enough the hold the chicken without crowding. The foil lining is for easy clean up, you can skip it if you wish. Drain the marinade into a sauce pan and save for later.
4 Put the chicken into the 350F preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Half way through the cooking period turn the wings over and drain the pan juices into the sauce pan with the saved marinade.
5 While the chicken is baking, make the Gorgonzola sauce. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the minced shallot until soft and translucent. De-glaze the pan with the white wine, turn up the heat to medium high and reduce the wine to almost gone. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until the cream is reduced by half. Add in the crumbled Gorgonzola and mix well in to the cream. Add salt and white pepper to taste, and set aside keeping warm for later until ready to serve with the chicken.
6 While the chicken is finishing baking, place the marinade sauce pot over medium high heat and reduce the marinade down by half. If the marinade seems a bit watery to taste, turn the heat down to medium and while stirring constantly, gradually add the dissolved corn starch and water mixture. Add just enough to the reach desired thickness. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until the corn starch turns clear. set aside keeping warm for later until ready to serve with the chicken.
7 At the end of the baking time, place the chicken under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, turning each piece once to brown the pieces to a nice bronze finish all over.
8 To serve, place the chicken on platter accompanied by separate dipping bowls filled with the spicy reduced marinade and the Gorgonzola Sauce.
Serving Suggestions.
If you like to serve a white wine, serve with a slightly sweet Riesling or Gewurztraminer. If you are leaning towards a red, serve with a young low tannin Zinfandel or a Malbec.
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Buttermilk Tea Cake
Posted: 2010-02-02Buttermilk Tea Cake is a classic two-layered tea cake. This is a delicious cake, especially so when served with tea or coffee.
It takes about fifteen minutes to mix up and then another fifteen to twenty minutes to bake. It was known to my family as "Mrs Gates Buttermilk Cake," I never knew just WHO Mrs. Gates was (other than an old friend of my grandmother's!). But Oh! Is it ever so good!
It is frosted with a simple butter cream vanilla icing made with confectioners sugar, butter and cream. This recipe is also one of my favorite birthday cakes and its buttermilk flavor actually intensifies as it ages. So keep that in mind and make it a day ahead if you like.
To celebrate Valentines Day, we sometimes bake it in a heart-shaped form (as pictured here). But for ease in baking and slicing though, I recommend just baking it in eight-inch round cake pans.
Buttermilk Tea Cake
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.
Ingredients.
2 Eight inch diameter round cake pans , greased and floured with regular flour
1/3 cup Butter , softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Extra- large eggs , room temperature and lightly beaten
1 cup Buttermilk , room temperature
1/4 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 teaspoons Baking soda , scant teaspoon
2 cups Cake Flour
1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract , generous amount
For the Frosting
4 ounces Butter , softened to room temperature
1 pound Powdered Sugar (box)
1/4 cup Whipping cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Preparation Directions.
To Make The Cake
1 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make sure the oven rack is mid-high in oven.
2 Prepare the cake pans by coating sides and bottom of pans with crisco. Pour some regular flour into pans, shake pans and coat bottom and sides of pans with flour. Rap pans and discard excess flour. Set pans aside until later.
3 Cream softened butter for cake until creamy. Scrap sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula. Add in the sugar and mix well. Cream sugar and butter together.
4 Add in beaten eggs and mix well, scraping side and bottom of bowl occasionally. Add in the Buttermilk. Mix well and scrap sides and bottom. Add in the vanilla and mix some more. Gradually add in the cake flour and mix well. Add in the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well. scrap sides and bottom and mix some more.
5 Pour the cake batter into the two cake pans trying to make both pans even in amount. Place in the oven and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes, checking done-ness after fifteen minutes. The cake is done when tapped lightly on top and it springs back and when a toothpick is inserted near middle of cake and comes out clean.
6 After removing from oven, let cake pans cool on wire racks on the counter.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING
7 Whip softened butter in a mixing bowl. Add in one-third of the powdered sugar and cream well. Scrap bowl with spatula and bring up sugar and butter that's stuck to bottom of bowl. Blend in vanilla extract and mix some more.
8 Gradually add in 2 tablespoons of whipping cream and remaining powdered sugar into the mixture. Gradually stir in remaining cream into frosting until desired consistency. When desired consistency, frost the two eight inch diameter layers and sides.
(If you want a little more generous frosting amount, increase the frosting ingredients by one-fourth.)
Serving Suggestions.
This is such a mellow cake! This is best enjoyed with tea or coffee.
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