warm roasted-radish salad with radish greens & mint dressing

our warm days
and
plunging cold nights
have me craving
a taste of spring
with
warm comfort

a morning visit to the farmer's market
and a
beautiful radish melange

got me thinking
of
warm salad
good books
and
the days to come

warm roasted-radish salad
with
radish greens & mint dressing
(printable recipe)
1-2 bunches of your favorite radish variety
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
preheat the oven to 375F.  wash and dry the radish. remove the leaves and reserve for dressing.  place on a parchment lined sheet pan. dress with olive oil and sea salt, making sure each piece is lightly coated and well seasoned.  * if you have different sizes of radish, cut or leave whole so they are of equal size. this will ensure even cooking. if you don't wish to cut, roast in separate pans. 
roast for 15-20 minutes. 
remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the radishes.  return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or more if the radish are not yet tender to the touch.
meanwhile prepare the dressing
radish greens & mint dressing
1/4 cup packed--cleaned and dried radish leaves
1/4 cup packed--de-stemmed mint leaves
1" green garlic**--from the bulb end
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
2 tsp white wine or champagne vinegar
pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
about 1/2 cup olive oil
whiz the radish leaves, mint leaves, green garlic, lemon zest , lemon juice, and vinegars in a food processor or blender.  add olive oil in a steady stream until you get the consistency you like. i prefer a loose dressing.  taste and add salt and pepper. (you can add a bit of yogurt if you want to make a nice dipping sauce)
**if you can't find or don't want to fuss over green garlic, a small clove of garlic will work just fine.

pull the radish from the oven and give them a minute to cool slightly.  if you wish to slice them, do so as soon as they are cool enough to handle.  place in a bowl and toss with as much dressing as you like.  adjust seasonings once more.  serve while still warm

The End of a Season

I had such a great time at the Hollywood Bowl last night. We were treated to an evening of the ever charming composer John Williams and the LA Philarmonic. We were lucky enough to be sitting in amazing seats...seats that actually let you see emotion on a musician's face. Let me just say this...The Holllywood Bowl is the single best venue in all of Southern California. My opinion, certainly...but trust me, I am right.

One of the best things about "the bowl" is the picnicking. Picnicking rocks! While there is restaurant service, decent restaurant service at the bowl, I always pack a picnic. It usually gives me an opportunity to plan a really fun meal, and it always challenges me to come up with recipes that can be served cold or room temperature.

I must confess. I love fried chicken. I don't know what all the components of my last meal would be, but I know that fried chicken would be in there. I could eat it day after day and never get sick of it. Get sick, pretty much a guarantee, but not get sick of it.
I make fried chicken. I make pretty good fried chicken. But I gotta say...I prefer to buy it.
Gasp
it's true
Especially if we are talkin' broasted chicken. Is it right for me to insist..no matter what your dietary restrictions, goals, obsessions, peculiarities are...that if you have the chance to have broasted chicken, take it. TAKE IT!
My husband is from Wisconsin, and they have great broasted chicken...but sadly, it is really difficult to find in Los Angeles. So, I settle for fried. Still a good alternative, but it is not the same, lest you be fooled.
...I brought you on this culinary round-about because last night I served fried chicken. Popeyes fried chicken as our main course. Yes, I did..and I am not embarrased about it at all. As a matter of fact, I also served the biscuits. Although, I think I might like KFC's biscuits a little better than Popeyes...but I served them none-the-less and they were popular.
But
if you think I am lazy and taking the easy way out...let me stop you right there. I also put together a nice selection of appetizers, sides and dessert all by myself. I cooked em, packed em, served em and ate em. And they were pretty good. Should I put them on the scoring system I utilized for Sona? What is good for the goose, is good for the gander...so I shall.

Summer is ending and so is the season at the bowl...but picnic season is forever....

0-5 stars

Appetizers

blt devilled eggs 2 stars

to be fair, to myself, i don't really like devilled eggs and didn't eat them. I give the whole concept 2 stars

andouille-red beet-green apple-chevre compote w/apple cider reduction

4 stars

You can use andouille or chorizo for this. Cut 4 sausage links into rounds. Cook in large skillet with a bit of olive oil, just a bit. Cook until nicely browned. Add about 3 Tbs cider vinegar, reduce heat and cook until absorbed. While it is cooking add 1 garlic clove--finely chopped and 1 shallot--finely chopped. When the vinegar is just about absorbed, remove sausage and set aside. Toss about 3/4 cup of apple cider or unfiltered apple juice into the pan and let simmer until it reduces to a nice syrup. Throw the sausage back in and toss to glaze. Remove the sausage again, and set the reduction aside to use as a dressing. Meanwhile, chop 1 granny smith apple and 2 medium (cooked) beets to dice. They should be a bit smaller than the sausage slices, but not too small. Toss with about 2 ounces of crumbled chevre. Once the sausage is cooled, add to the compote and gently toss. You can also layer in a small glass. Drizzle a bit of the reduction on top and enjoy.

prosciutto-marscapone-walnut figs w/balsamic-medjool date glaze

3 1/2 stars

they tasted a lot better than they looked. Might have been a bit too big--if presented as 1/2 a fig, would give a higher rating

Main Course

popeye's fried chicken

absolutely 5 stars

if only for convenience sake

watermelon, feta and mint salad

3 stars

uninspired, but always refreshing

I like to use a small watermelon for this salad. I also like to cut it into brunoise, but that isn't necessary. Just make sure that your watermelon pieces match the size of your feta pieces. This is really a taste and add type of recipe. I used 1/2 watermelon to 4 oz of feta and about 6 mint leaves-chiffonade. I let that sit together, then take drain off some of the watermelon juice. I then make a dressing of rice wine vinegar and olive oil...taste to see what you like, but I like to use 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. I also use a lightly flavored olive oil on this. You can substitute any unflavored oil you like. Mix in the dressing, use a light hand and be careful not to break up the cheese. Chill and serve.

puy lentil salad 3 1/2 stars

i love it, it's my favorite--simple and clean flavors

Take about 3 cups cooked puy lentils...trader joe's sells them already cooked. Plop into a bowl and add 1 carrot-finely chopped, 1/4 red onion-finely chopped, 1 red pepper--finely chopped, microplaned zest of 1 orange, juice of 1/2 orange, salt pepper, oil, vinegar and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of ground cumin. Stir, chill and eat. It is also good warmed as a bed for roasted halibut or any fish for that matter. Or bulk with some butter lettuce and serve with a bit of chicken as a nice salad.

KFC Mashed Potatoes 0 stars

please...my husband loves em. So i picked them up specially for him, but only him

Dessert

fallen chocolate souffle cake w/fresh whipped cream and spice poached pears 4 1/2 stars

4 ingredients never tasted this good. it's ugly but oh so silky and delicious.

homemade caramels

favorite shortbread cookies w/honey almond glaze

okay i am bored with the scoring system...i'm done