Spring time in Spokane

T.S. Eliot clearly spent some time in Spokane. When he says that April is the cruelest month, he is not inverting the conventional optimism of the cycle of seasons, reminding us that the same logic that knows that the dearth and death of winter bears within it the seeds of spring and rebirth also should tell us that the riot of new life in April will inevitably die into winter. Rather, he is telling us a universal Spokane truth: April might be spring in other places, but not here. Here, we must wait, longing for sunshine with warmth in it, sweet tiny leaves and green grass, color, while we suffer through at least one month too long of cold, wet dreariness.

April is cruel, but, with the logic of a Shakespearean tragi-comedy, the depth of the affliction elevates our joy when it all works out in May. The sun is warm, the sky is high desert blue, the air is clear, and the light is crystalline. My tulips are their usual chaos of color and style. Everyone's flowers are brilliant. I've been working in the yard, weeding and getting ready to plant the tomatoes that won't quite finish ripening before the first fall frost. My upper arms are slightly sun burnt in a way that promises a wicked farmer's tan is in the works.

Of course, spring is also when the academic year ends, so I have time to putter, waste time, cook, and write a blog. Sorry for the long absence. Student readers, I am completely sincere when I say that I love working with you all and teaching, but you are time and energy consuming. I am now officially on sabbatical, so hopefully I will have plenty of time for a long time for writing here. Besides, writing a blog is way more fun than writing my scholarly monograph!

It's too early for local produce to be much to talk about; nonetheless there is some wonderful spring eating to be done. Rocket Market had morels in last weekend, but they weren't in great shape, and I wasn't surprised that they weren't there yesterday. Hopefully, they will get more in soon. If my father loves me as much as he claims, he will send me morels from his foraging in Montana (hint, hint, Dad). They aren't the flavor bombs we will get in July from Greenbluff, but strawberries from at least our continent are showing up in the supermarket. Ditto with asparagus. I've finally convinced Jeremy that fat asparagus is good. Just peel the stems, place in a pan with some butter, salt, and about a half cup of water. High heat and cover for about three minutes, then lid off and saute for another three minutes, and they should be just right: tender with a little crunch and a little browning. Fair about is fair play; he has convinced me that skinny asparagus is good. He just tosses with a little olive oil and onto the grill until lightly charred and limp, but before the flowers completely dry out. Season, and eat.

Spring also means the return of affordable herbs, either from the stores or from one's own garden. My backyard herb garden went defunct a few years ago when a large colony of angry ants moved in. I just replaced in with a clean, new, organic, and hopefully ant resistant planter. I think lemon thyme is one of my favorite scents, and fresh marjoram is one of my secret kitchen weapons. It tastes like oregano (in fact, most dried oregano is actually marjoram), but with a little hint of basil and a bit of spice. Warning: it's strong, so a little goes a long way! I particularly love it mixed into an herb aioli. This year, I'm determined to grow Holy Basil -- any one know where I could find a plant?

In honor of springtime and my new herb garden, here are two very fresh recipes.

Lemon herb chicken with asparagus risotto:

(I know -- you think risotto is hard and time consuming and expensive. It so isn't! There's a time saving tip in this recipe I got from Jacques Pepin -- not personally -- that means this is ready in less than half an hour. And, you don't need to stir constantly. Just make sure you give it a couple of vigorous stirs somewhere during the cooking, and you'll get the creamy sauce you want. I just love the way sauce blends with the risotto, the freshness of the herbs and the grassiness of the asparagus, the brightness of the lemon with the richness of the browned butter -- if I ever open a restaurant, this recipe is definitely going into the rotation!)

Two split chicken breasts (you need the skin for this recipe, so I always end up having to take the bones out myself, which isn't that hard)

A blend of fresh herbs, equalling about two tablespoons. (I used basil, lemon thyme, and marjoram.)

2 cloves garlic

Two tbls soft butter

salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350. Crush the garlic and mix with herbs, salt, pepper, and butter. Separate most of the skin from the meat of the chicken breasts, and spread half of the compound butter between the skin and the meat. Stretch the skin back into place. Place the chicken, skin side down, in a hot oven proof skillet, until the skin is brown, being careful not to burn the butter. Turn the breasts, and put skillet in hot oven.

Then start the risotto.

1/2 cup arborio rice (The sell this in bulk at Huckleberry's for almost nothing!)

2 tbls oil (olive or canola)

About 3 cups chicken stock (I use Swanson's low sodium or organic, but I know I really should make my own. Just lazy, I suppose.)

One big shallot, minced

1 table spoon butter

1/2 bunch fat asparagus, steam-sauted (as described above)

about 2 tbls chevre

Bring about three cups of chicken stock to a simmer. In a large, flat bottomed pan with a lid, saute the shallots in a little oil- until starting to soften. Add the rice, and let toast. Most of the grains should go through a semi-transparent stage, and some should be a little toasted, and the shallot should be completely soft and somewhat browned. Add about half of your stock, bring to a boil, and stir. Cover, and reduce the heat to a simmer. (Now would be a good time to prepare the asparagus). After about seven minutes, take the lid off, stir vigorously, and simmer until the liquid is mostly gone. Add about half of the remaining liquid, stir, and let simmer until almost dry. At this point, taste carefully for texture. You want some tooth and distinct grains, but no crunch. If you want the rice a little softer, add more liquid and continue to simmer. I find I like my risotto slightly more cooked than is usual in Italy, but you really don't want it to turn into mush. You can also just add more liquid to loosen the texture, but turn the heat off to keep the rice from getting mushy. When the consistency is what you want, stir in the butter, the asparagus, the juice of half a lemon, and salt to taste. Plate quickly (I like a big mound in the middle of a plate), with chunks of chevre on top.

By this point, your chicken should be just about done (you are shooting to take it out at 160). Place the chicken on top of the risotto and chevre. If there is a lot of grease in the bottom of the skillet, pour some off (but makes sure you leave at least a couple of tablespoons). Squeeze in the other half of the lemon, and stir to get up any brown bits. Pour browned butter lemon sauce over the chicken so that it dribbles down and mixes with the risotto.

Here's the second recipe:

Cold bean thread salad

(This is just a side dish -- it's basically a light, fresh pasta salad. The bean threads have an interesting, light texture, and absorbs flavors well. This side goes well with asian flavors. I served it with a teriyaki grilled steak.)

2 bundles of bean threads

1-3 tbls Sirachi sauce

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 tsp fish sauce (opt)

2 tbls soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

Boil the bean threads in water for about three minutes. The should be soft but a little chewy -- that will help them absorb sauce. Add to all the other ingredients, and taste for balance. It shouldn't be sweet or salty, but you should be able to taste the coconut clearly, and feel at least some heat from the Sirachi.

Add:

1/3 cup minced mint

1/3 cup minced basil

1/3 cup minced cilantro

Small red bell pepper, diced

one bunch green onion, sliced thin with some green

You can also add any diced vegies you like: sugar or snow peas, broccoli, carrot, mung bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots

Toss, and taste for seasoning. It's better if you can let it sit for an hour or two.

Two final notes: the Spokane farmer's market opens tomorrow! And, Rocket Market has a new wine guy -- newish, I should say. He's been there a couple of months. I just have been a bad blogger. His name is Matthew, and he is also responsible for the wine list at Wild Sage. He has steered me toward several great bottles of red already, and his recommendations for a dry white this week have all been spot on. Thanks, Matthew!

Happy spring!

American Italian Food

I admit it. I'm a food snob, and about no food am I more snobby these days than Italian food. Italian food is sublime simplicity, the combination of excellent ingredients so that each element sings. Ripe produce, artisanal cheeses and meats and pasta, local wine and olive oil. It really is nearly impossible to cook real Italian food in America.

However, while I am an unapologetic snob, I am not unreasonable. I don't expect Italian restaurants here in America to present the kind of food Italian restaurants in Italy do (although Steps of Rome in North Beach, San Francisco, comes pretty darn close. If you go, get the lamb). I am a fan of American Italian food. Meatballs with pasta: anathema in Italy, but satisfying and good. I made some tonight, and apologized to Secundo of Big Night while I did so. Alfredo sauce with chicken and mushrooms. Piles of grated parmesan (although I've recently become a convert to American Parma, which is pretty darn good and much less expensive than actual parmesan). It all can be very, very good. And it doesn't have to be fussy or fancy to be good: just good pasta, good sauce, good chianti, and I'm happy.

There is a perfect example of a good Italian American restaurant across the border in Coeur D'Alene: Angelo's. Good food, cozy-kitschy decor, casual but attentive service, reasonable prices. I like it a lot. Were it on the South Hill, I would eat there every night.

Unfortunately, Angelo's isn't on the South Hill. It's not even in Spokane. In Spokane, there seem to be nothing but bad Italian restaurants. I'm not even talking Olive Garden, with its library paste white sauce, and I'm sure not talking Spaghetti Factory. I went there last year, after not having been to one since high school, and I was shocked by how truly inedible it was. But Luigi's, which I so want to be good, except everything tastes slightly like tin can, and the meat is always freezer-burnt. And Italian Kitchen, where the food is actually pretty good, but the prices are outrageous. Twenty-five dollars for chicken piccata? Really? I can make it better at home in twenty minutes.

Which brings me to Mission Bistro. I had such high hopes. It's attached to Cassano's, which is a perfectly respectable Italian market, and makes damn fine tiramisu. The Inlander raved, although I can't honestly remember the last time the Inlander said something less than kind about a restaurant. It looks like the perfect Italian American restaurant, and I even found the unprofessional waitstaff friendly and charming and completely appropriate. All it needed to be perfect was wax covered chianti bottles, but perhaps those take time to build up.

I will say that the pizzas I saw perched happily above many tables looked promising, but I decided to follow my waitress' advice and order the lasagna. It was pretty close, and it certainly was a healthy serving. No meat, but lots of pasta and cheese. The sauce was a fairly bland and bodiless pomodoro, with unfortunately big hunks of crunchy celery showing up just often enough to surprise me every time. Unfortunately, I fear that really is the star of the menu. Jeremy ordered the chicken marsala with mushroom ravioli, which was a disaster. The worst offender was the chicken, which was tough and substantially off tasting. The ravioli was okay, although gummy. The sauce tasted more of bouillon than marsala, and was an unappealing dark, burnt-pan brown. The topper was the topper: soggy pinenuts that added nothing to the flavor but were texturally unappealing. Thank goodness I had so much extra lasagna.

There were things I really liked about Mission Bistro. The waitresses were charming, and obviously concerned by Jeremy's barely touched chicken. They comped us a tiramisu that would have been terrific if they had left the multi-colored jimmies off the top. The house dressing was flavorful and well blended. And, much to my surprise, the band -- the Acoustic Duo -- was superb. Great guitarist, beautiful voices perfectly blended in complicated harmonies, and a respectful understanding of the venue. It's tough to be the band in such a small place, but they managed to be a presence without impeding conversation. They are there every Thursday, and if the pizza is anywhere near good, it might be a good night out.

Friends, even friends who have lived in Florence, tell me that Ferrante's on Regal is good. I haven't tried it yet, but I really hope so. In the meantime, here's my recipe for meatballs (adapted from the New York Times). I don't think it's as healthy as one might hope:

Mix together:

1 lb Italian sausage

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

6 pressed garlic cloves

1 tbls minced fresh rosemary

Red pepper flakes to taste

Form into twelve large meatballs, place in a large baking dish, and bake at 425 for 25 minutes. In the meantime, brown 2-4 slices of bacon, chopped. Add one chopped red onion, and saute until soft. Add 3 pressed cloves of garlic, stir until fragrant, then 1 cup red wine. Scrap up brown bits, then add 1 large can Muir Glen crushed tomatoes with basil. Simmer uncovered.

After 25 minutes, take the meatballs out of the oven, and drain any fat that has collected in the bottom. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs, and put them back in a 350 oven for another 25 minutes.

I like to serve these hot, next to some pasta with parma and a little of the sauce spooned on top. Fresh basil is nice for a little freshness and green, but not required. Enjoy!