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Category Archives: Dinner

  • Perfect Zucchini Recipe: Charred Zucchini With Summer Pesto

    June 6, 2015

    21 Comments

    Always better with a tasty beverage...

    Always better with a tasty beverage…

    Ah, the joys of zucchini. It grows so easily that it makes any gardener feel good. But then it keeps coming, and coming….and coming….and then you get so much you can’t even give it away (neither can your neighbors). And god forbid you try to cook it all- your kids will never forgive you if you serve it every night (trust us, we have tried and they haven’t forgotten).

    zuczuc1Happily we do have a few recipes that make the bountiful, but otherwise somewhat bland and watery zucchini worth eating throughout the summer. One of our faves is Redcat Zucchini, but that recipe is best done in small batches. What if you are grilling for a group? Well, this charred zucchini recipe is the perfect answer. This recipe is easy, tasty, time-efficient and it features ingredients that should be in your garden or farmers market right now.

    zuc2zuc4zuc5The steps are easy. Get some basil and mint from your garden and then make a pesto with some nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios work), oil, garlic and a little briny kick from some capers. Do some chopping, add some parm and/or pecorino and you are ready to go (oh, and you can do this ahead in big batches- this pesto works with anything).

    zuc6zuc7As for the zucchini, the char on the grill is the way to go (you could use a broiler in a pinch). If you are grilling you can char the zucchini briefly right when the coals go on the grill and are at their hottest (usually too hot for cooking proteins). It only takes a minute or two on each side. And you do want some char, those smoky notes balance with the fresh flavors of the pesto.

    zuc9 Continue reading →

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner, Garden and Orchard, Lunch / Salads / Sides, Vegetables Tags: best zucchini recipe, Cocktails, cooking, food, gardening, grilling, perfect zucchini, photography, photos, recipes
  • Brown Butter Chicken

    September 4, 2014

    19 Comments

    bbutterThe more things change, the more the stay the same. What is true in life is true in cooking (and drinking). Even when we cook ever-more-complicated food and mix ever-more-esoteric cocktails, the simple often (usually?) wins the day. And recently, we were playing with some very, very complex cocktails before we decided to mix a simple Hoffman House (a Martini of 2/3 dry gin, 1/3 dry vermouth, orange bitters and a lemon twist). Not surprisingly, the simple cocktail was the best thing we have had in weeks.

    bbutter8bbutter7The same holds for cooking. Just a few weeks ago, Michael Bauer of the SF Chronicle mentioned the Brown Butter Chicken of Corso, a Tuscan-inspired restaurant in the East Bay. Now, frankly, we go to SoCal (even NYC) more often than the East Bay (sad to say, but it’s true). So while may not make it to Corso, that chicken sounded amazing. Chicken, butter, flour, salt, lemon and heat- simple. So we made it. And, indeed, it was simple….and simply, f@#king awesome.

    bbutter6bbutter5Of course, you may be saying “it has brown butter, how bad can it be”? And you would be right. We use brown butter all the time on fish, veggies and pasta. Brown butter is one of the fastest ways to improve a dish (and kids love it). But it is always good to get a reminder that the best basic flavors work all sorts of places. And in this case you crisp chicken on the stovetop with butter ( high fat “Eurobutter” like Plugra works best), cook it through in the oven…with butter, and then finish on the stovetop and brown even more butter…then add some lemon to cut that butter. Yup, the only thing you may be asking is “why didn’t we do this sooner…and who is our cardiologist again?”

    bbutter4bbutter3 Continue reading →

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner Tags: best chicken ever, brown butter chicken, brown butter recipes, Cocktails, cooking, corso, food, recipes
  • Ugly, But Tasty: Japanese Eggplant With Miso And Sesame

    August 1, 2014

    13 Comments

    eplantHmm, what to do with all that eggplant? Every summer we plant them in the garden, and then we get a ton of ’em. Both the big globe eggplants and the slender Japanese variety. So now what? Well, we certainly grill them and occasionally make the effort to fry the eggplant, but after a while we look for new recipes to explore, particularly for our Japanese eggplant.

    eplant1eplant2eplant3So when we found this recipe from Nancy Singleton Hachisu, and her excellent cookbook Japanese Farm Food, we had to give it a try. And it is a simple and flavorful recipe with sweet eggplant, nutty sesame and umami-rich miso. Yum. But there is just one little issue. Um…it doesn’t look all that good.

    eplant5eplant6And when you have a photo-heavy food blog, one is loath to post stuff that looks a bit gross “meh”. But that said, this is a great way to serve eggplant and it is delicious. The sesame and miso paste also keeps in the fridge (it also works with thinly sliced cucumber) so you can get a few meals out of it.

    eplant7eplant9eplant10There are only a few tricks to this recipe. Firstly, you do need some sort of mortar and pestle to make the paste (but you really need one anyway). Secondly, you can steam the eggplant in a steamer, but a microwave works just a well and saves some time. We use the microwave (one of the rare times we actually “cook” with it) but if you prefer a steamer setup, have at it.

    eplant11eplant12eplant14Otherwise, we suggest you remind yourself that beauty is only skin deep and give this dish a try. Japanese eggplant is a real summer treat, and this recipes does it justice…well, it does the flavor justice. Continue reading →

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner, Garden and Orchard, Lunch / Salads / Sides Tags: Cocktails, cooking, eggplant miso and sesame, eggplant recipe, food, garden, Japanese eggplant, photography, photos, recipes, vegetables
  • A Real Barbecue Burger

    May 31, 2014

    15 Comments

    bbq7Here at the farm, we don’t tend to get overly exercised about all the silliness in the world of food marketing. Trends come and go, health claims are made (and debunked) and everything ends up “super” or “mega” or “free” of something. And normally we just say “meh”, and go back to cooking.

    bbq1bbqBut recently I saw an ad for a “Big Barbecue Burger” that was just a big burger (cooked on a flat top) with onion rings and some barbecue sauce. And that got me thinking, “there is barely anything ‘barbecue’ about that burger except the sauce….that’s kinda lame”. And then I decided that we needed to make a real barbecue burger. Happily, we had an easy solution.

    bbq2bbq3To have a real “Barbecue Burger” you need to have some real barbecue. And since we just pulled pork for Memorial Day, we had leftovers. Normally we crisp up the leftovers for tacos (so good, and worth a future post), but why not put the pork on a grilled burger? And why not add some cheddar cheese, bacon, sautĂ©ed onion, real barbecue sauce and serve it all on a buttered and toasted bun?

    bbq5Why not, indeed. Let us be the first to say that if you didn’t have enough motivation to make pulled pork already, serving it on a burger should get you moving. Smokey, salty, sweet, savory, tangy, soft, crunchy and crispy all in the same bite. Close to a perfection. And with such a strong foundation of flavors and textures, you can build on this burger all summer. We certainly will…

    bbq6Real Barbecue Burgers:

    Notes before you start:

    • You do need pulled pork for this dish, but you could also use the meat from barbecued ribs. Also, we haven’t tried adding barbecued brisket to the top of a burger, but it is an experiment we plan to try.

    What You Get: A perfect barbecue burger that actually lives up to its name.

    What you need: Some real barbecue. Go get started…

    How Long? Assuming you already have the barbecue, less than an hour. Time well spent.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4)

    • 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of freshly ground chuck
    • 1 pound pulled pork
    • 4-6 slices smoked bacon
    • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
    • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper
    • 4 hamburger buns
    • Butter
    • Barbecue sauce (use your favorite)

    Assemble:

    1. Prepare your outdoor grill (or grill pan) for high heat cooking.
    2. Form the burgers into four equal patties no more than 1/2 inch thick. Press the center of the burger slightly with your thumb (this keeps the burger flat when cooking). Butter the hamburger buns.
    3. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp and remove from the pan, but keep the fat in the pan. Add the onions to the pan, move the heat to medium-low and cook until browned and soft, about 15 minutes. Season to taste.
    4. Reheat your leftover barbecue in a skillet over medium heat or in the (gasp!) microwave.
    5. When your grill is ready, grill the burgers 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare, seasoning with salt and pepper while cooking. When you flip the burgers add the pulled pork and the grated cheese. When done, remove the burgers from the grill and let then rest for at least five minutes. Meanwhile, toast the buns while the burgers rest.
    6. To assemble the burgers, place the burger on the bottom bun, add the bacon, onions and barbecue sauce. Then top with the bun and serve.

     

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner, Home-Cured Meats Tags: Barbecue sauce, best barbeque burger, best bbq burger, burger, Cocktails, cooking, food, grilling, photography, photos, real barbecue burger, real bbq burger, recipes
  • Fennel al Forno: The Next Best Fennel You’ll Ever Eat

    March 25, 2014

    25 Comments

    fornoAh, fennel. We have a special relationship with this spring veggie here at the farm. Not only do we grow it, but our Caramelized Fennel recipe somehow ended up as one of the most popular on the web and brings us plenty of visitors. Why? Dunno…but we are certainly happy about it (again, thanks to Alice Waters, we really just riffed on her recipe).

    forno1It’s funny, but as far as Google is concerned Putney Farm is a place where people mostly eat fennel and mix drinks. And while that doesn’t sound all bad, we can assure you there are other things going on than cooking fennel…

    forno2forno3Regardless, we do love our fennel, and while caramelizing is our go-to cooking method, there are other ways to enjoy these funky anise-flavored bulbs. The key thing to remember about fennel is that it loses much of the anise flavor when cooked, and the same cooking will bring out some of the fennel’s natural sugars. In the end, you often get flavors and textures that will remind you of roasted or fried eggplant. And we think that is a good thing.

    forno4forno5So it shouldn’t be a surprise that along with caramelizing fennel, an approach like eggplant parmesan will yield very tasty results. And we found a recipe to adapt from “Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison, that heads in just this direction, Fennel al Forno.

    forno6In this recipe you cook fennel and aromatics in a broth of fennel seeds, thyme, saffron, tomato paste and chicken (or vegetable) stock. Then you put the fennel in a gratin dish, add some mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake the whole thing. Sounds good, huh?

    forno7And it is good. Very good. The rich tomato-saffron broth accents the sweet fennel, the cheese adds more richness and texture while the slight anise notes balance the flavors. This dish works very well as a side, but you can also serve it as a light lunch on toasted brown bread (this is now a household favorite).

    Continue reading →

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner, Garden and Orchard, Lunch / Salads / Sides, Vegetables Tags: best fennel recipe, Cocktails, cooking, fennel bulbs, fennel recipe, food, photography, photos, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian
  • A Big Bowl Of Polenta

    March 7, 2014

    30 Comments

    pol2Well, winter never really made it here to Norcal, but there is nothing better on a foggy, rainy and/or chilly day than a bowl of polenta. And since we get plenty of fog, even in summer, polenta is a popular choice here at the farm. So popular, we didn’t think of it as something for the blog. But since Judy Rodgers passed, we think a lot about her and her polenta recipe. So we figured we would share.

    pol1pol4The key to making polenta (cornmeal mush) is that it just isn’t all that hard. You don’t need any special technique and you don’t need to stir every second. You just need to be mindful and take your time. You will hear all sorts of polenta making B.S. “advice” about stirring every second and how you drizzle the cornmeal, etc. Forget all that. Rodgers has you cook the polenta at low heat in a heavy-bottom pot, stir every few minutes to avoid scorching and hold in a double boiler to improve texture and allow quick service. And it works. We play frisbee and basketball with the kids while making this dish. We just duck in the kitchen every 5 minutes, give the pot a stir and then it is back to fun outside….nice.

    pol5pol6The only real “challenge” here is how to add flavor to the polenta. Just butter and seasoning makes for a way better dish than you might expect. Parmesan and/or mascarpone cheese are common additions, and how Rodgers served it at Zuni. But we like to go a bit further and make polenta into a 1-dish meal. We like stirring in the parmesan, adding a soft-boiled egg, crumbled bacon and then topping with a bright salad of parsley or celery greens. Other good additions are braised greens, prosciutto, sautĂ©ed mushrooms, tomato jam and braised short ribs (yum).

    pol7pol8 Continue reading →

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    Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Breakfast, Dinner, Musings Tags: best polenta recipe, Cocktails, cooking, food, judy rodgers, photography, photos, polenta recipe, recipes, vegetarian, wine, zuni polenta

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