The Lush Chef

I love making chicken salad, and it's one of my go-to's during the week for lunch.  Usually, I cheat and just make it with canned chicken, some celery and chopped nuts.  If I'm feeling adventurous, I'll throw in some pickled red onions, pickled blueberries or curry with raisins.  I knew I had a busy week coming up with plenty of dinners out, which ultimately meant I'd be eating lunch at my desk to save money, so I wanted something somewhat healthy and hearty.  The Kitchn had posted a recipe a while back for a Creamy Chicken Salad with a Parsley Walnut Pesto.  It's a relatively quick dish to make, and yes, I recommend cooking the chicken and not cheating with the canned stuff.  Because why waste good pesto on canned chicken?  The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but I picked up some nicer looking free-range chicken breasts that still had all the rib bones and skin on.  The chicken is poached in a white wine braising liquid and takes only about 15-20 minutes.  I bought plenty of fresh, flat-leaf parsley from Maggie's Farms at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market to use for the pesto.  Yes, it's a lot of green on the plate, but I also used Maggie's arugula to serve with the chicken for some extra flavor and texture.  Top it with some pretty cherry tomatoes, chopped walnuts and a little shaved Parmesan, and you have yourself a simple and gourmet, summer meal.  The leftovers will also make a killer sandwich...

Libations used: 1 bottle of beer...
Libations left over: Crack open another bottle while the bread bakes...
I went wine tasting this past weekend with friends, and where there's tons of wine flowing, there's a need for plenty of carbs to soak up all that alcohol.  I absolutely love making beer bread because it's one of the cheapest, quickest and most flavorful breads you can make.  In the past, I've made this heavenly buttery and cheesy Cheddar Beer Bread, but I wanted to include some slightly healthier ingredients this time.  I also knew we'd be eating plenty of cheese and crackers, so there was no need for extra dairy.  This recipe for Beer Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives from Epicurious was equally fast and uses a little oil from jarred, sun-dried tomatoes to add extra flavor.  I went heavy on the tomatoes and olives, and be sure to use a light beer or pale ale when making this — I used Blue Moon Hefeweizen.  I ended up sharing this bread at a couple of wineries with our lovely tasting room pourers and fellow visitors.  It's a great way to get hefty pours or special tastings...needless to say, we made lots of friends.

Beer Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Olives: makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• One 12 oz bottle of light beer (I used Blue Moon)
• Scant 3/4 cup of chopped, drained sun-dried tomatoes 
• 1 Tbs of sun-dried tomato oil
• Scant 1/2 cup of chopped pimiento-stuffed olives

- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- Add the egg, beer, tomatoes, reserved oil and olives and stir until the batter is just combined.
- Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until it's baked through (mine took about 50 minutes).
- Turn the bread out onto a rack and let cool before slicing.

I'm always on the lookout for new products to include in my baking and shaking endeavors, so when the pretty packaging of Fever Tree caught my eye at BevMo, I just had to try.  I picked up the Bitter Lemon tonic and poured it in with some Grey Goose vodka and a lemon twist on a Monday night.  Yeah, it's going to be hard to go back to regular tonic water now...The flavor had just the right amount of bitter, a slight hint of sweetness and citrus that will kick up your G&Ts and V&Ts several notches.  The best part is, they're all natural.


Fever Tree hails from the UK and was founded in early 2005 by one of the guys who ran Plymouth Gin.  Their philosophy is that if 3/4 of your drink is tonic or soda water, then it better be darn good. I couldn't agree more.  The name stems from the colloquial for the Cinchona Tree, where quinine, a primary ingredient in tonic water, is found in the extract of the bark.  The bark is also a common ingredient found in most bitters, so it's known for its healing properties.  It's a perfect way to make the medicine go down, right?  The particular bark they use descends from a high-yielding quinine varietal first cultivated by a British explorer named Charles Ledger, and which is still grown along the Rwanda-Congo border.  I'm looking forward to trying their other tonics and sodas — such as their award-winning Mediterranean Tonic Water and Ginger Beer.

Libations used: About 3/4 cup whiskey or bourbon and 7-9 dashes of Angostura bitters...
Libations left over: Make yourself an Old Fashioned while those cupcakes are baking...
This past weekend, my friend celebrated her 30th birthday in Ojai with some wine tasting and grilling (yes, that's the second weekend in a row for me!).  I wanted to bring a Lush Chef treat after our wine tasting/party bus extravaganza, and a booze-laced cupcake was the perfect way to keep the festivities going.  One of her favorite cocktails is an Old Fashioned, one of the many reasons I count her a friend, so this recipe on Serious Eats was perfect for her.  There's so much alcohol in these cupcakes that it's like having an actual drink.  And yes, I used 101 proof Wild Turkey bourbon, so take that!  The flavors just nail an Old Fashioned with the bourbon-soaked vanilla and orange cake and the Angostura bitters, bourbon and orange zest frosting.  I made some tweaks to the "orange sawdust" by doubling the amount of fresh zest to up the orange flavor — it took on this delightful crunchy sugar texture.  I used 1 tsp of bourbon to soak through the cupcakes, which was plenty, and start on the low end with the bitters — I love them, but if you're not used to them, it can be an overpowering flavor.  My friends gobbled these cupcakes down in under 10 minutes, and were absolutely blown away.  Luckily, I have a lot of friends who love Old Fashioneds, so I have a feeling I'll be making these again!

Old Fashioned Cupcakes - makes 12-16
Ingredients for the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups and 2 Tbs cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup and 2 Tbs fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tbs orange zest
• 1/4 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream (don't use low or non-fat)
• 1/4-1/2 cup whiskey or bourbon (I used Wild Turkey) for soaking the cupcakes

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup and 2 Tbs whiskey or bourbon
• 7-9 dashes of Angostura bitters, to taste 
• 3/4 tsp orange extract
• 1/2 tsp orange zest

Ingredients for the "orange sawdust":

• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest

To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs and beat until well-combined.
- Add the orange juice, orange zest, orange extract, vanilla extract and combine on low speed.
- Add the flour mixture in intervals on low speed, until all the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add the sour cream and beat again until combined.
- Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- Wait until the cupcakes have cooled a bit and poke about 12 holes on the top of each cupcake with a fork.
- Pour 1 tsp of whiskey or bourbon (I did less than the original recipe suggested) on top of each cupcake to soak through.
- Make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting.

To make the frosting:
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Reduce the speed to low and add half of the confectioners' sugar, and all of the whiskey, Angostura bitters, orange extract and orange zest, beating until fully combined.
- Add the rest of the confectioners' sugar and beat on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes, or until completely mixed.

To make the "orange sawdust":
- In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the sugar and orange zest.
- Sprinkle on top of the cupcakes, immediately after frosting.

For my friend's bachelorette party last weekend, we were cooking and cocktail shaking up a storm in a gorgeous and sprawling ranch in Ojai.  The first night, after fighting through hours of Memorial Day traffic, we all needed something light and refreshing.  Martha Stewart's recipe for a Lillet Rosé Spring Cocktail was a perfect way to celebrate the bride-to-be — it was pink and girly, smacked of spring and matched our flower and palm-tree filled environs.  Next time I make this, I'll use fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, but sometimes I allow myself to be a little lazy...We didn't have edible flowers on hand to garnish these drinks, but I'd recommend topping with some fresh raspberries or strawberries that mirror the flavor profiles in the Lillet Rosé.  I'm looking forward to whipping this up again for a girly brunch or Mother's Day celebration.

Lillet Rosé Spring Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 2 oz Lillet Rosé
• 2 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 oz gin (I used Tanqueray)
• Edible flowers, raspberries or strawberries, to garnish

- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all the ingredients.
- Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe or wine glass.
- Garnish with flowers or berries.

Libations used: 1 cup of white wine...
Libations left over: Pretty much the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
This past weekend, I was in Ojai with my girl friends for a most memorable bachelorette celebration.  We stayed at this beautiful "compound," which had a couple of hot tubs, a gorgeous pool, two outdoor tiki bars and multiple indoor and outdoor kitchens.  It was like a tropical paradise mixed with a SoCal cabin in the woods.  Because of the amazing cooking and dining set-up, we prepared a few epic meals for the sixteen ladies gathered.  I cooked the last night with a few friends, and because the bride is vegetarian and we had been eating and drinking so much the entire weekend, we opted for a bunch of healthy veggie dishes and salads.  I had been wanting to make this recipe by the talented M.B. Post and Fishing with Dynamite's David LeFevre for a while, plus cauliflower appears to be the "it" vegetable right now.  We made a few alterations to the recipe — I couldn't find sultanas in Ojai, so used golden raisins, we skipped the pine nut and caper berries garnish (because frankly, I forgot) and my friend suggested adding some cumin to it.  We used a Sauvignon Blanc for the wine sauce, since we had been drinking that all week in the hot Ojai sun.  This dish ended up being one of the favorites of the night and the girls were racing back for seconds and thirds.  I had tripled the recipe, and it still wasn't enough!  I know I'll be making this again sooner, than later.

Roasted Cauliflower with Golden Raisins, Mint & Capers - serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tsp cumin
• 4 Tbs olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup of golden raisins
• 1 cup warm white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
• 2 Tbs chopped caper berries or capers
• 2 Tbs chopped parsley
• 2 Tbs chopped mint
• 2 Tbs chopped cilantro
• Salt & pepper, to taste 
• Pine nuts & caper berries, for garnish

- In a small bowl, combine the raisins and white wine and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Place the cauliflower on a roasting pan or baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil.
- Sprinkle with the cumin, salt and pepper.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.
- In a small pot over medium heat, add the 4 Tbs of olive oil.
- Add the shallots and garlic and sweat them for a couple of minutes.
- Add the raisins, white wine and capers to the pot.
- Cook the sauce until it's reduced by half.
- Cool the sauce to room temperature, and salt to taste.
- When the cauliflower is done, spoon the wine sauce over it and stir in the herbs.
- Garnish with some caper berries and pine nuts.

Last week, I was recounting my vacation to Italy and fond memories of Aperitivo time.  Before I even left for the trip, I bought a bottle of Aperol (yet another bottle to add to my amari collection) because I anticipated I would be craving Aperol Spritzs upon my return.  Aperol Spritz is probably one of the most popular cocktails served during aperitivo.  It's slightly bitter and slightly sweet and oh so refreshing.  I still have no idea why it's served in a wine glass, but just roll with it.  My family and I had one of these nearly every day.  Making this drink at home helps me relive the memories of that trip, and now that summer is nearing, it's the perfect cocktail for those summer afternoons and early evenings.

Aperol Spritz
Ingredients:

• 3 parts prosecco (I used La Marca)
• 1 part (about an oz) Aperol
• Club soda 
• Orange slice, for garnish.

- In a wine glass filled with ice, fill about 2/3rds way with prosecco.
- Add about an ounce of Aperol.
- Top with about an ounce of club soda, or to taste.
- Garnish with an orange slice.