I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.
It doesn't get much better than having fresh, seasonal fruit paired with a really good cheese. There's apples and cheddar, pears and blue cheese, peach mango chutney with a locally made chevre, and today's combination is fig relish with Toma cheese. This is another creation from Plum Gorgeous, and every time I turn the pages of that book I'm inspired by another delicious idea. Our figs arrive at the farmers' markets a little earlier in the year here than they do in other places, and I grabbed some as soon as they appeared. They were cooked to a consistency of jam to make the relish for these panini. Toma, an Italian, semi-hard cheese, was a great match for the relish, but brie would have been another good option. Basil leaves and arugula were layered into the sandwiches, and if you're so inclined, as Kurt certainly was, prosciutto is a fitting ingredient here as well. The panini came out of the press nicely smooshed and melty inside and toasted crisp on the surface.
The only issue I had in making the fig relish was that mine didn't cook down as quickly as was mentioned in the recipe. The figs were stemmed and chopped and placed in a large pot with sugar, champagne vinegar, mustard seed, salt, and water. It was occasionally stirred as it simmered and thickened. The goal is for the mixture to achieve a jam-like consistency, and for mine, that took an hour rather than 20 minutes. You'll want to watch it as it cooks and remove it from the heat when you're happy with the texture. One other thing that I highly recommend is doubling or quadrupling the recipe. I only doubled it, and I'm already regretting not making more. The relish lasts for several months in the refrigerator, so you'll want enough that you can use it several times.
The acidity of the vinegar balanced the sweet figs, and the mustard seed added a nice hint of sharpness. More panini just like these will be in my future as will enjoying the relish with some pieces of cheese and a glass or two of wine. I definitely should have made more than double the recipe.
I’m cheating a little with this post because I have, sort of, made this before. But, it was before I started this blog, and I changed things up this time. This is a Bobby Flay meal from way back, and I admit to being a long-time fan. Anybody else remember his early shows with Jackie Malouf and the always-present, odd tension between them? I’m not sure if this meal is old enough to be from that show, but it’s pretty old. Say what you will about Flay’s attitude, personality, whathaveyou, but I’ve always liked his food. I’ve made several of his dishes over the years, and they’re always fantastic. In true Flay form, this meal is all about big, bold flavors. And, there are a lot of those bold flavors going on, but they somehow manage to work together really well. The original meal, still posted on the Foodnetwork site, and what I made several years ago, was tuna burgers with great things mixed into the chopped tuna. The burgers were glazed as they were grilled and then topped with the relish. This time, I wanted to make a sandwich of grilled salmon filets, so I made some alterations.
This time, the mixture that was to have seasoned the tuna was used as a marinade for salmon. Dijon, chipotle puree, honey, oil, and green onions were combined with salt and pepper, and I spread that over the salmon and left it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. I made the glaze the same as before by combining pineapple juice, white wine vinegar, grated ginger, and soy sauce in a pan. This was brought to a boil and reduced to half its volume which took about 30 minutes. There was supposed to be some brown sugar in that mixture, but the pineapple juice was sweet enough for me, and I omitted it. For the relish, poblano chiles were roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced. They were combined with diced dill pickle, finely chopped red onion, lime juice, chopped cilantro, and olive oil. Honey should have been added, but there I go again not liking things too sweet. So, the honeyless relish was seasoned with salt and pepper and was ready to go.
The marinated salmon was grilled and glazed twice with the reduced pineapple elixir. The side dish for this meal was seasoned grilled fries, and they couldn’t be simpler. Potatoes were cooked on the stove until almost tender, then chopped into wedges, basted with oil mixed with ancho chile powder and salt, and then grilled. The best part is that they don’t stick to the grill. The potato surface instantly crisps and they finish cooking through quickly while acquiring that irresistible grill flavor. I served the marinated, grilled, pineapple glazed salmon topped with the green chile-pickle relish on toasted sesame-semolina sandwich rolls. Have you ever noticed how long the names of Bobby Flay dishes are? Long names, lots of components, bold flavors, but delicious food. This is a completely opposite food philosophy from that of allowing simple, fresh flavors to shine individually, but it has its place on my table. It’s a fun combination of spicy, sweet, sour, tangy, smoky, fresh, and I recommend it.
, and every time I turn the pages of that book I'm inspired by another delicious idea. Our figs arrive at the farmers' markets a little earlier in the year here than they do in other places, and I grabbed some as soon as they appeared. They were cooked to a consistency of jam to make the relish for these panini. Toma, an Italian, semi-hard cheese, was a great match for the relish, but brie would have been another good option. Basil leaves and arugula were layered into the sandwiches, and if you're so inclined, as Kurt certainly was, prosciutto is a fitting ingredient here as well. The panini came out of the press nicely smooshed and melty inside and toasted crisp on the surface.
The marinated salmon was grilled and glazed twice with the reduced pineapple elixir. The side dish for this meal was 