Blue Cayenne

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most elusive–a good toaster, a potato salad with a bright flavor and a really good vinaigrette, for example.

Although I cook a lot and put salads toward the top of the list of foods I enjoy, I confess that I’ve been trying forever to find a homemade vinaigrette that has a great taste and a bit of a bite.

I’m a devotee of Paris-based chef David Lebovitz. I’ve listed his site in the favorite links menu on the right side of this blog page. He writes beautifully about food and life and the sweet challenges of living as an American expatriate in Paris. I mention him because I recently discovered a delightful essay he wrote some time ago about making a classic French vinaigrette. The recipe is pretty wonderful and I thought I would share it with you. It is pretty, too.

Vinaigrette Recipe

1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/2 small shallot, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon Maille Dijon mustard
4T (45 ml to 60 ml) olive oil
Chopped parsley or other herbs
Directions: Finely chop half a shallot. Put sea salt, chopped shallot and sherry vinegar in a bowl and let it marinate for about ten minutes. (You may substitute red wine vinegar.) While the shallots are marinating in the salt and vinegar, whisk 1/2 teaspoon of good quality mustard into olive oil. Mix the marinated shallots and their liquid into the mustard infused oil. Add chopped parsley or herbs of your choice. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Makes enough dressing for one large salad.

Adapted from David Lebovitz’ recipe which appears in the article below. Here is a link to the article and the recipe:

I did use the Maille French Dijon mustard mentioned in the article. Maille, I found,  is a very smooth-textured mustard with a lot of flavor. It puts Grey Poupon to shame. The label says that the Maille mustard company was founded in 1747 and their website has a brief essay about the mustard’s history. Apparently, soon after the company’s founding, it became a favorite among the crowned heads of Europe. Think of yourself enjoying the same mustard that Louis XVI enjoyed before he lost his head to the guillotine!  Maybe not. Tellingly, the Maille website has an unexplained gap in its history essay for the period of the French Revolution. Apparently, the revolution’s radicals didn’t serve Maille’s moutard with the plate of”Liberte. Egalite. Fraternite.” that they promised the masses.  Incidentally, I found a jar of Maille’s Dijon for less than $5 at the Cost Plus World Market in Bella Terra Shopping Center, so you don’t have to be in the one percent to afford it. I’m still looking for a jar of the other mustard Lebovitz mentions (and favors),  Edmond Fallot.

I added some minced Italian parsley to my dressing. Be forewarned, this recipe makes a small amount of dressing and the dressing needs to be used the same day it is made. Otherwise, the shallots turn into mush.

If you see me outside swinging my salad greens with wild abandon to dry them en plein air as Lebovitz says many French do , be sure to wave.

Here is a wonderful cream of tomato soup.

I’m pretty picky about what I serve to guests and I would serve this soup at a dinner party without hesitation.
Absent distracting spices, the flavor of the tomatoes is pure and intense and the fresh basil leaves subtly complement the tomato flavor.
To my mind, you should only make this soup when you have the season’s best tomatoes. I used heirloom tomatoes from this week’s farmers market. The recipe calls for lots of butter and cream, so this is a recipe to make when you want to celebrate. (You will note the dollops of butter floating in the soup in the photo.)
The recipe is easy to prepare and is better the second day when the basil has had time to infuse itself into the soup.
You will never go back to Campbell’s. I promise.
By the way, Juliet gives this recipe five stars. I moved my soup and props into the den where the light was better to take my photographs. I carefully set everything up on the floor in front of my den window. I shot some photographs but decided that I needed a different napkin that I thought would be better in the photo. As I left the room, I carefully closed the door to be sure Juliet would not help herself to my soup. Juliet, wily pup that she is, had quietly let herself into the room before I closed the door, however. By the time I came back into the room, she was blissfully lapping up the creamy soup. I grabbed my camera and caught this shot of Juliet. I guess I have a little gourmet on my hands. Who knew?

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13113/rich-and-creamy-tomato-basil-soup/?ge&soid=sr_results_p1i2

Some years ago I clipped a recipe from the LA Times for this bright black-eyed pea salad. The provenance of the recipe was listed as Senegal, from a book titled Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal by Pierre Thiam.

This salad is beautiful on the plate–a melange of  pretty black-eyed peas, gleaming red peppers and crisp cucumbers. My only deviation from Thiam’s recipe was to use a diced jalapeno pepper in place of the habanero. I’ve made the recipe with both freshly-cooked (dried) black-eyed peas and canned ones with good results. As Thiam cautions in his recipe, be sure to let this salad sit at room temperature for at least an hour to allow the the flavors to mellow. This salad is best served at room temperature and is pretty served on a romaine leaf or in an avocado half.

Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea Salad

1/2 pound black-eyed peas, soaked in water to cover for 1 hour or two 15-ounce cans of black-eyed peas
1 quart water (if using dried peas)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup best-quality olive oil

Directions: Rinse two 15-ounce cans of black-eyed peas and set the beans aside to dry. Alternatively, use the equivalent amount (1/2 pound dry peas) of freshly-boiled dried black-eyed peas in this recipe. If cooking dry beans, season a quart of cooking water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. I cooked my dry beans in a pressure cooker to shorten the cooking time to about half an hour.

Combine diced tomato, diced cucumber, diced red bell pepper and chopped green onions in a large bowl. Add chopped parsley, lime juice, chopped jalapeño, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt to drained beans. (Adjust seasonings to your taste.) Gradually add 2/3 cup good quality olive oil to vegetable mixture. Fold in black-eyed peas. Let ingredients rest for one-hour (at least) before serving to permit the flavors to marry.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Adapted from a L.A. Times recipe

The link to the original recipe appears below.

http://recipes.latimes.com/recipe-black-eyed-pea-salad/