The Willows Inn and Lummi Island

This year for my birthday we went to the Willows Inn on Lummi Island. We hiked the Baker Preserve to the top of the island and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the Willows Inn. No wonder the Chef Blaine just got a James Beard Award. Here are few pictures from the trip. 

Beef Short Ribs with Parsley Pesto

Ingredients:

1 lb of beef short ribs, thinly sliced

½ red jalapenos, cleaned and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup of parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 ½ tablespoons of red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

Preparation:

To make parsley pesto combine parsley, jalapenos, minced garlic, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a bowl and whisk together. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Pesto can be made few hours in advance and chilled in a refrigerator.

Preheat grill to hot, I use 500F. Pat dry meat with a paper towel. Once grill is hot, grill ribs 2 minutes per side. To serve spread pesto on top of each rib.

Roasted Eggplant Spread

I love eggplant and always look for new ways to make it at home. This is almost a baba ganoush but without tahini. The recipe is below.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (9-10 inches long and 4 in diameter), cut into 1 ½ inch thick circles

2 garlic cloves, minced through the garlic press

juice of ½ of a lemon

½ teaspoon of cumin

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Generously brush eggplant circles with olive oil on both sides, layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes turning once. Let eggplant cool off. Remove the skin and transfer into a food processor. Add garlic, cumin, lemon juice, parsley and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Puree. Salt and pepper to taste. Store in a refrigerator. Serve cold with grilled bread or corn chips.

Ginger Garlic Baked Tofu

I adapted this recipe from PCC Natural Markets. The hardest part is grating ginger. The best part is the sauce. For less expensive ingredients head to the asian market. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of extra firm tofu
3 oz of orange juice
1/2 cup of mirin
1/4 cup of tamari
1/4 cup of sesame oil
1/8 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup of rice vinegar
2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons of minced garlic through the garlic press

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. In a meantime take tofu out of a package and squeeze water out of it by placing it in a bowl with a weight on top. Cut tofu into 4 pieces per pound. Place tofu in a large ovenproof glass dish.

2. In a large bowl whisk together orange juice, mirin, tamari, sesame oil, olive oil, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic.

3. Pour the sauce over tofu and bake in the oven for 1 hour, flipping and basting every 15 minutes.

4. Serve with rice. Great cold.

Sugar Cookies from Real Simple

Baking cookies during holidays is a fun activity to do with kids. I used the following recipe from Real Simple magazine.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Flour for rolling the dough out
Different cookie cutters

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a ball and refrigerate, wrapped in a plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Take the dough out, cut the ball into quarters. Working in batches, roll out each dough quarter on a floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters and place on parchment-lined baking sheets; refrigerate until firm (about 10 minutes). Bake until just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Very Easy Drop Biscuits

Who does not love a fresh butter biscuit in the morning with butter and some honey or jam? I adapted this recipe from the Real Simple magazine. The main difference is that I don't use a food processor. Instead I use a fork and my hands.

Ingredients:

2 cups of white flour
1/2 cup (4 oz) of cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes or vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of whole milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix with a fork. Add butter (or shortening) and using your hands combine with flour until you until pea-size clumps form. Add the milk and mix until moistened.

2. Drop desired amount of dough for each biscuit onto a baking sheet. I usually make 6 to 9 biscuits. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Borscht for Dinner

Rain came back to Seattle and I feel like soup. As a tribute to my heritage I made borscht. The recipe below incorporates making of your own beef broth. Alternatively, you can use already prepared beef or vegetable broth.

Ingredients:


1 lb beef shank or rib eye steak
10 cups of cold water
3 potatoes, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
3 small beets, peeled
1 small onion, peeled
1 small cabbage
2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

For Serving:

Sour Cream
Fresh Italian Parsley/Dill

Preparation:

1. Combine meat and water in a large soup pot. Salt and pepper to taste, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Remove the foam with a spoon. Once there is no more foam coming to the surface, reduce heat to medium low, cover with a lid and let meat cook for 1.5 hours.

2. In a meantime prepare your vegetables. Cube potatoes. Shred carrots and beets. Finely chop onion. Quarter the cabbage and cut (leaves part only) into strips. Soak tomatoes in hot water for 3 minutes, remove the skin and dice into cubes.

3. After 1.5 hours add potatoes and cabbage to the beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover with a lid and let cook for 30 minutes.

4. At the same time pour 2 tablespoons of oil in a separate pan (that is at least 5 inches deep) and on medium high heat fry onion for 1 minute, add carrots next and stir. Cook for another minute. Add beets, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar. Stir all the ingredients together and pour beef broth just enough to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover with a lid and let simmer for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes transfer the beet mixture to the pot with beef, potatoes and cabbage. Stir. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Taste for salt. Add if needed. Soup is done.

6. Serve soup with sour cream and chopped fresh parsley or dill.