Another great Russell dinner

For my birthday I got treated to a nice SCD (Subculture Dining) Russell Jackson dinner in San Francisco. I was again very impressed and especially as this time the food had a Mexican modern spin on it. Mexican isn’t exactly my favorite food, but very nicely done tacos or flavorful rice can be a craving of mine once in a while. I’ll show you some of my favorites from the night:

To start with we had this amazing bean dip with chips. I am not really a fan of beans, neither the taste nor the texture, but this was the best dish I’ve ever had incorporating beans. This was one of my favorites because I was surprised at the taste of the beans.

Another one of my favorites, and a very inventive idea was a greasy taco in a bag. It was presented very nicely and the flavors came out great.

Following that, another favorite would have to be the chicken with chocolate sauce. The chicken was cooked in the oven and then fried for about 30 seconds and that’s what made the crust taste so good.

I would have to say though small, the palate cleanser was simple yet refreshing. It was the inside of a fried pineapple, and on top a little bit of grated Mexican chocolate cookie.

This is a comparison of me and Russell in 2010 and 2014. It was great seeing him again.

Thanks for reading.

Tina

Cucumber Gazpacho

This gazpacho is great on a hot sunny day for lunch, and it also works great as a smaller portion as an appetizer for dinner. A nice toasted slice of baguette accompanies the soup well. Make sure that the soup is chilled thoroughly; 2-3 hours will guarantee that it is chilled.

 

Ingredients:

1 very large or 2 medium cucumbers (I prefer the English cucumbers)

3 ounces of Boursin cheese with herbs

2 ounces of cream cheese

8 fresh mint leaves

1 Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions:

1) Peel the cucumbers.

2) Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut each half in half again crosswise. Dice the cucumber sections.

3) Transfer the cucumber with the cheese, mint, and olive oil to a blender and blend until smooth.

4) Transfer into a bowl and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

5) Refrigerate until cold – 2-3 hours or more (the soup can be stored in the refrigerator overnight).

6) Spoon soup into a bowl, add some thinly cut mint leaves and some sprinkles of olive oil.

7) Serve with toasted slice of baguette.

 

Recipe source:  Café Cooking At Home, La Boulange, by Chronicle Books LLC, 2012

 

Quiche with Salmon and Dill

This quiche is a great recipe. Good for any meal, anytime of the day. If you don’t have frozen spinach, kale is a great substitute. This recipe has been a little bit tweaked from its original recipe. I use kale all the time as we always have some in the house. It goes great with a white balsamic vinaigrette salad. The recipe for the crust is in a previous post, and the crust tastes spectacular, and really makes the quiche taste exceptional.

Ingredients:

1 skinless salmon fillet, about ¾ of a pound, cubed

5 to 7 ounces of kale (the recipe calls for frozen spinach, I usually use kale)

Savory short crust dough

1 or 2 sprigs of fresh dill

1 cup of milk

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

2 eggs

2 tsp salt

3 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup of grated Gruyere cheese

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400^oF.

1) Cut the salmon into cubes.

2) Roll out the dough so that is slightly larger than your tart pan and transfer to the pan. Poke the dough in the pan with a fork.    

3) Wash and cut fresh kale into small junks and mix it with the dill. Lay on the bottom of the tart shell. Put the cubes of salmon on top of the kale in the tart pan.

4) Mix the milk, heavy whipping cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Pour over the salmon and kale in tart pan.

5) Sprinkle with the grated cheese

6) Bake in the oven until golden brown, approximately 40 minutes.

7) Serve immediately with a nice tossed salad.

 

 

 

Recipe source:  Café Cooking At Home, La Boulange, by Chronicle Books LLC, 2012