Cold Vietnamese Shrimp & Noodle Salad

Mission Bay, San Diego

One of my go-to, simple meals—especially when the weather warms up (or when should warm up, at least—this is San Francisco after all). I semi-accidentally bought a five-pound bag of rice noodles at a local Asian market and thus have quite a supply to make my way through. We have gotten into a bit of a habit of treating sriracha a bit like salt and pepper, keeping it close at hand for nearly every meal, this one being no exception. The vinaigrette recipe, listed below, is really an approximation—add or subtract ingredients as it suits you (I just try to come up with an end product that has enough oil to emulsify the mixture and enough acid to give it a good punch). 

Shots from the San Diego Crew Classic

To give away my dirty little secret—when really in a rush and not feeling flush—Trader Joe's has some lovely frozen, pre-cooked shrimp that I just defrost with a little of Hetchy-Hetchy's finest and toss into the salad. 

P.S. Yuzu is not Vietnamese. I snuck it in there though. 

the key ingredient

Nettle Pasta with English Peas and Spring Garlic

 Spring is here and along with it more exciting produce at the farmer's market! I think ripe peach and nectarine season is still my favorite but there is something pretty darn thrilling about the market expanding beyond chard and apples come springtime (not that I don't love both those items). I had no idea what I was going to do with what I found but I couldn't resist getting all of it - I found a big bag of stinging nettles, super sweet english peas and beautiful stalks of fresh spring garlic - the rest was history. As I walked back from the farmer's market I popped into the local grocery and picked up some nice ricotta from Bellwether Farms to compliment my pasta and add a little creamy goodness. Scroll on down for my little throw together recipe.

At Balboa Park, San Diego

Oh yeah, and I topped it with a fried egg so the yolk would add to the sauciness. Mmm

Carnitas Snack Shack, San Diego

Carnitas Snack Shack, San Diego

Balboa Park, San Diego

Sunday Supper: Buttermilk-Brined Chicken

Inspired by the recipe for buttermilk-brined chicken in this month's Bon Appetit magazine I made a version of this chicken dish for Sunday supper with the family. It came out crispy and flavorful while insanely juicy—it was delish.

So begins my adaptation: I threw about 1.5 cups buttermilk, 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, and 1 sliced lemon in a plastic bag with a nicely salted organic chicken, and popped it in the fridge in the morning when I woke up. Around midday I repositioned the chickadee and then let it sit a while longer.

When I removed the chicken from the marinade, I rinsed off the excess buttermilk and patted it dry. I repurposed the lemon from the marinade and placed it under the skin of the chicken and then placed a half a lemon inside the cavity with a handful of spring garlic stalks. I rubbed a little butter under the skin of the chicken and then trussed it.

Roast the chicken at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Tent with foil if you are worried about burning the skin. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and roast for another 25 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

For the panzanella: I let a loaf of walnut wheat country loaf get stale. For the vinaigrette, I mixed the chicken pan juices with a couple tablespoons olive oil, 1/3 cup orange champagne vinegar, salt, pepper and some finely chopped spring garlic. Pour half the vinaigrette over the bread crumbs and toss on a sheet pan. Roast in the 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until nice and toasty. Toss the bread with a bunch of watercress, the remaining vinaigrette, and some roasted beets & little gem lettuces. Enjoy it with the chicken! (If you're anything like me, you will.)

Irish Soda Bread & City Vistas

I may not have posted this in time for St. Paddy's Day, but I definitely made it and ate it in time for the holiday. 

 I love continually exploring the city in which I live. Last weekend we had some pretty, if a bit cool, weather so I trundled across the bridge to Fort Baker and took some photos as I strolled. 

I also love a good carrier for warm butter and jam so endeavored to make my first loaf of soda bread. I kind of merged two different recipes to make this, in an effort to use up a variety of ingredients that I have laying around (bread flour, currants, golden raisins). The bread was easy and tasty and I'm not usually one to say this, but it was almost nice when it got a little stale because it meant that I could slice it and toast it and bring it back to life with some butter and a nice dollop of homemade apricot preserves - mmmm.

 To make: Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Pour a cup of boiling water of 1 cup of raisins and/or currants, let sit. Combine 4 cups bread flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 stick chilled butter.In a separate bowl beat together 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, 1 large egg, and the zest of 1 orange. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry, stirring until combined. Dough will be wet/sticky. Drain the currants and then add them into the dough. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead a few times. Shape into a round, place on the prepared baking sheet and cut a plus sign into the top of the dough. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and has a hollow sound to it. Best eaten with lots of butter. P.S. I would have loved to put caraway seeds in this but I didn't have any and Trader Joe's doesn't carry them. . . and that's where my industriousness petered out.

 For Ina Garten's version of this recipe click here.