The Lush Chef

Libations used: 1/2 cup limoncello
Libations left over: Serve as an aperitivo with dinner...
After visiting Santa Monica Seafood the other week to make this Seared Scallop and Coconut Mussel Stew, I had to visit the shop again for some more fresh seafood.  I needed to make something quick because of a particularly busy weekend, so I picked up a pound of fresh Mexican white shrimp and used some of the limoncello I had left over from making this Rosemary Limoncello Cake.  This Limoncello Shrimp recipe from Food 52 has a sweet cream sauce poured over lemon, garlic and herbed shrimp.  I served them with fresh, crusty bread and sautéed arugula to balance out the sweetness.

Limoncello Shrimp - serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp herbs de Provence
• 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup limoncello 
• 2 tsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs heavy cream

- In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil, garlic, lemon zest and herbs and cook for less than a minute, stirring until the mixture becomes aromatic.
- Add the shrimp and toss to coat in the mixture, cooking for about 3-4 minutes or until they become pink.
- Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
- Carefully wipe out the pan and return to the stovetop.
- Add the limoncello and cook over medium-high heat until it is reduced by half.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and cream.
- Pour over the shrimp.

The Doomsday Clock is ticking in California as the ban on foie gras will take effect on July 1.  It will be a sad day for chefs, eaters (yes, I said eaters and not foodies because everyone should be able to enjoy foie) and those who were raising ducks and geese for carrying out this centuries' old tradition.  All over California, chefs are uniting to throw foie-tastic dinners so folks can get their fill before it's illegal to produce, sell and serve this versatile delicacy.  Last weekend, I attended a six-course foie gras dinner at Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica, where a portion of the proceeds benefitted C.H.E.F.S., a coalition of hundreds of chefs in California that are fighting to overturn the ban.  This bill was voted on about 7 years ago, and I honestly believe it's because people weren't well-informed (and still aren't) about what gavage is, how it affects ducks and geese (BTW, they don't have gag reflexes like we do), and how well these animals on treated on the farms.  

Libations used: 1 cup white wine
Libations left over: Almost the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
Even though it's nearly summer, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy a tasty seafood stew.  I was scrolling through my files and came upon this Tasting Table recipe for Seared Scallops with Coconut Mussel Stew by Recette's Jesse Schenker.  The coconut milk and fresh herbs (thank you Maggie's Farms!) lightened it up for the season, and I couldn't resist the purple heirloom carrots at the market.  The recipe called for large sea scallops, but I ended up buying the smaller bay scallops so it would be easier to eat in a stew.  Santa Monica Seafood has this amazing Ultimate Seafood Stock that I always use when making stews, and I usually freeze whatever I have left.  Pop open a bottle of dry white wine, such as a cheap chardonnay and save for dinner.  This stew comes together pretty fast, so hop to it!

Seared Scallops with Coconut Mussel Stew - serves 6
Ingredients:

• 1 lb mussels, cleaned
• 1 cup dry white wine 
• 1 large white onion, diced and divided
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 5 Tbs grapeseed oil, divided
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 celery root, peeled and diced
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 2 cups lobster or fish stock
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 Tbs chopped cilantro
• 1 Tbs chopped basil, with extra for garnish
• Salt
• 1 lb sea scallops, cleaned and patted dry
• 1 Tbs olive oil

- In a large skillet, combine the mussels, white wine, 1 cup of onion and thyme.
- Cover and cook over medium heat until the mussels open (about 3 minutes) and discard any mussels that don't.
- Set aside and remove mussels from their shells when cool enough to handle, discarding shells.
- Strain the broth and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbs of the grapeseed oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the carrot, celery, celery root and the remaining onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are lightly browned.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the reserved mussel broth and fish stock, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until slightly reduced (about 8-10 minutes).
- Add the saffron, coconut milk, cilantro and basil and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes more.
- Season to taste with salt and keep the stew warm over very low heat.
- Heat the remaining 4 Tbs of grapeseed oil in a large skillet until almost smoking.
- Season the scallops with salt and place in the pan in batches so they don't overcrowd.
- Cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until golden-brown.
- Flip the scallops over and cook for about 2 more minutes.
- Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining scallops.
- Just before serving, stir the reserved mussels into the stew until warm.
- Divide the stew among 6 bowls and top with scallops.
- Sprinkle with some basil and drizzle a little olive oil on top.

Libations used: 6 Tbs limoncello
Libations left over: Pour yourself a little glass and sip while the cake bakes...
A friend of mine had a birthday party last week and everyone was tasked with bringing dessert.  Yay!  My specialty.  I'd been waiting for spring to hit so I could try this Rosemary Limoncello Cake recipe from Booze Cakes.  Limoncello is a sweet, Italian lemon liqueur, and is traditionally served as a digestivo.  Fittingly, the birthday boy is also Italian...

There's plenty of booze packed into this recipe—both the batter and the icing each have 3 Tbs—and the icing just beautifully soaks right into the cake.  I had to make sure the kiddies had a tiny slice at the party!  Even though this dessert is fitting any time of year, the colors and flavors just remind me of spring.  I used regular lemons, as Meyer are out of season, and I picked some fresh rosemary from my little herb garden.  Make sure you slice those lemons thin, so they soften up properly and your guests aren't trying to cut through tough lemons.  And if they are, well just serve them a little extra limoncello on the side.  Salute!

Rosemary Limoncello Cake - serves 8-12
Ingredients for the cake:

• 3/4 cup ground pine nuts, divided
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp baking power
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp lemon peel, finely grated
• 3 Tbs limoncello

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 3 Tbs limoncello

Ingredients for the garnishes:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups Meyer lemons, sliced thin
• 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary

To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease a 9-inch cake pan and dust with 1/4 cup ground pine nuts.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter for about 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and mix for 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Add the flour, rosemary, remaining 1/2 cup pine nuts, baking powder, salt and milk and beat to combine.
- Stir in the lemon peel and limoncello.
- Pour batter into the cake plan and bake for 45 minutes.

To make the icing:
- Stir the confectioners sugar and limoncello together until consistency is spreadable (add more sugar, if it needs to be thicker).

To make the candied lemon slices:
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar with 2 cups of water.
- Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon slices and simmer for another 5 minutes. Make sure the fruit is soft, and not falling apart.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the lemon slices and let them cool on waxed paper.

To decorate the cake:
- Remove the cake from the pan and make sure it's cool before pouring glaze over the top.
- Decorate with lemon slices and a few sprigs of rosemary.

Memorial Day weekend was finally bringing out multiple sunny, warm days (about time, LA!) and a friend of mine invited me for drinks on a Sunday night.  He and I were experiencing a little bit of Cannes envy after seeing all of our friends' Facebook posts about awesome films and Instagram shots from the south of France.  Le sigh.  So our mission on this warm almost-summer evening was to concoct some French cocktails.  We're both huge fans of bourbon and whiskey, so French 75's were out of the question (although we did make French 95's - thank you Hatfield's).  It was time to get creative and bust out the champagne and St. Germain and see what we could mix up.  I ran across this recipe for a Summer Rye cocktail on St. Germain website and yes, it looked perfect for summer what with all the fruit juices and champers thrown in.  Mom will be so proud that you're getting your fruit for the day.  These drinks go down smooth, so watch yourself...ooh, la, la!

Summer Rye Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
• 3/4 oz St. Germain
• 1/4 oz simple syrup
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz apple juice (make sure it's the fresh pressed, cloudy kind)
• 3/4 oz champagne
• Cubed apples for garnish

- Add the whiskey, St. Germain, simple syrup, lemon and apple juices in a mixing glass with ice and shake.
- Strain into a chilled glass.
- Top with champagne and garnish with 2 or 3 cubes of apple.

Libations used: 1 bottle of beer
Libations left: None, but crack open another bottle of beer while the sauce simmers.
It may have been Memorial Day weekend, but I wasn't doing any BBQ'ing myself.  I was totally craving pasta after a week of eating tons of kale and salads—I needed the carbs.  Plus, a bunch of my neighbors were around and were HUNGRY, so I needed something easy to make and serve.  Whenever the Lush Chef starts cooking in her building, everyone comes out into the courtyard and starts sniffing around.  What can I say?

I had pinned this recipe for Pasta with Spicy Tomato-Beer Sauce from Saveur a while back, and I happened to have one lonely bottle of Bock beer in the fridge.  It was like kismet.  It's a puttanesca style pasta, and I loved how it included all sorts of yummy things like pickles, capers, anchovies and sun-dried tomatoes. I held back on the spice because not everyone can handle the heat.  For some reason I couldn't track down any red Fresno chiles, so I used an orange Fresno pepper—hey, they both have Fresno in their name.  Yes, the sauce takes almost 2 hours to make, but it's worth it.  The smells are amazing and once you make homemade sauce, there's just no going back to the canned stuff.



Pasta with Spicy Tomato-Beer Sauce - serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup capers, rinsed
• 8 cloves garlic, smashed
• 8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 6 oil-packed anchovy filets, chopped
• 4 red Fresno chiles, seeded and chopped (I used 1 Fresno pepper)
• 4 gherkins, chopped
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
• 12 oz Bock beer (German, Italian, use whatever you find)
• 3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 lb linguini or scialatielli pasta
• 8 caper berries for garnish
• 2 Tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

- Heat oil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add capers, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, chiles, gherkins and onions.
- Stir occasionally, until ingredients are browned, for about 20 minutes.
- Add canned tomatoes and beer and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, for about 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente.
- Purée sauce in a blender and then return sauce to the pan over low heat.
- Stir in olives and season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water (to loosen the sauce, if needed).
- Transfer the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine.
- Serve pasta garnished with caper berries and parsley.

There's something about the warmer days that makes me crave Campari.  Whether's I'm sitting outside in the sun with friends having a cocktail, or coming home after a long day of work needing a nightcap.  My co-worker had given me another one of the delicious grapefruits that grow on his tree in Palm Springs, so I juiced that right up and got to work making this cocktail.  The bitter and slight sweetness of the grapefruit pairs so well with Campari and is a good alternative to those who can't handle something like a Negroni.  It also makes a killer sorbet, which I've made before for this blog.  I know what I'll be making when more grapefruit comes my way...

Campari & Grapefruit Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 2 oz Campari
• 3 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1-2 oz soda water
• Orange peel for garnish

- Fill a glass with ice and add the Campari and grapefruit juice.
- Stir, stir to chill everything up.
- Top with soda water, to taste, and garnish with an orange peel.