Crazy, rainy day means Turkey

It's been one of those days - I played two concerts at a high school this morning and on my way back I got a call from my dentist. My 18 year old son fell ill as they started to work on him. Rats!

I dashed over there picked him up and ran home. The pediatrician's office was closed for another hour so I slapped lunch together, called them and they gave us an appointment for late in the afternoon. I canceled all my students. As I was getting lunch on plates they called back and said to bring him right it.

The good news is that he's fine and it was probably a one time event. The bad news is that I had to eat in the car.

Sorry about the lousy picture - had to rush to the doctor..

Today I make potato and onion soup and turkey tenderloins. The soup is really easy. I sauteed up a large onion, put 5 potatoes in cut into fourths, with the skin and added boiling water. Today just for kicks I added some dried porcini mushrooms. It simmered while I made the turkey. When the potatoes and mushrooms were soft I used a stick blender and pureed it. Add some salt and pepper and it's ready. I garnished it with a little of my home smoked pork belly.


I love the contrast of the rather bland soup and the strong flavored pork.

I had some turkey tenderloins, which is really part of the turkey breast and not a tenderloin at all, but tenderloins sounds expensive so that's what they call them. They have virtually no waste. I just rinsed and dried them, poured olive oil over them and some of my spice rub. I browned them in a cast iron pan and finished them in a hot oven. Let them rest a few minutes and away we go.

Total cost for today's treats: about 2 bucks.

I don't like to eat before concerts or rehearsals so I will have a snack around 6 then eat a light snack when I get back. Tonight's Symphony Silicon Valley concert is special by the way: Thursday concerts never sell well so they have opened the house to the public for free and will be asking for donations to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

An elegant little appetizer

I like to use a big sharp knife!

Today's blog is about presentation. If you know a few rules you can make plates that would make a 3 star restaurant proud.

First here is how to cut cucumbers so thin you can see through them, without losing any fingers!

Notice how the knife rests against my fingers. 

Using a big sharp knife means all you have to do is guide the knife. The weight of the knife and the sharp blade do the cutting for you. Since you don't have to press you have more control.



If you are more comfortable with a smaller knife use it. In any case try to make the cut in one sweep of the knife to get a clean cut. Going back and forth creates an uneven surface.

One rule to remember in knife work is that no sharp part of the knife, the tip or the blade, should ever be pointed at a part of your body! If you keep that in mind you will never get cut.

Here we have a very simple geometric pattern.  It will showcase whatever we put in the middle.

This is a zester, which removes the zest or outer layer of a citrus fruit. The side you see has sharp ridges and the other side is smooth.

I like this kind of zester because it makes strips and I can cut them into the size and shape I want.

Here I have cut up a single Kalamata olive and put some long shreds of orange peel on top. You see how you hardly notice the cucumber or the plate now? They frame the olive.

Major faux pas here, enough to get you detention in cooking school. When your food extends beyond the rim it looks sloppy and casual.

 Here is the finished dish. You can add whatever goodies you have, from a little chunk of left over steak or pork or chicken to a fine cheese or an oyster. All I have here is a tiny chunk of orange, an almond roasted in walnut oil, a small piece of mozzarella and a piece of Italian sausage. The olive and orange mixture has a touch of olive oil and the specks you see are black pepper. Good eating, nice looking and it probably cost a quarter for all the food.