Panzanella!

. . .is not Godzilla's Italian cousin.  It's a salad born of the need or desire to use up every scrap of leftover bread, and it's only really delicious during the summer, when you can use fresh tomatoes, sweet red onions, and fresh basil.

Take some day-old bread, like a ciabatta or a baguette, and tear it into bite-sized pieces. I had leftover ciabatta from my BLT project.  If it's really dried out or hard to chew, you can soak the pieces for a couple of minutes in water to soften them and then squeeze out the excess liquid.

Add an amount of diced tomato equal to the amount of torn up bread and mix it with the basil, torn into pieces.  Add the onion, finely diced.  You can also add some garlic - but remember, it's going to be raw, so go easy.  Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the best olive oil you have - about 2-3 turns of the bowl's worth.  Then cover it, walk away and leave it on the counter (refrigerating tomatoes really messes them up!) for 30 minutes - 12 hours, stirring occasionally to mix the juices and olive oil.

You could also stir in some chopped anchovies, or fresh mozarella -- or serve with some good Italian sausage for a complete meal.

Until next time, I'll see you at the market!

Tasting, Tasting, Tasting

Hey there,

I'm working on my column 2 weeks hence. .  . and I find myself with a conundrum.  I am making an avocado and citrus salad, with cucumbers, red onions, and fennel.  The dressing, however, is not something I can just say, "Mix up some of this and some of that and you're good."  It depends on how sour the citrus is -- how much smoked paprika can it take?  How much honey does it need?   So my advice for tonight is taste, taste, taste, as you cook...and adjust along the way.  Until tomorrow - which is bread salad -- I'll see you at the market!

Potato Wedges in Bacon Fat

Well of course.  Carbs and bacon. . .

I made a very fancy BLT for my column in the Salinas Californian newspaper next Tuesday.  I cooked the bacon on a cookie sheet (with rims, please) in the oven, so I had this tray of hot bacon fat and well. . .

That sounds more spontaneous than it actually was.  I was doing an experiment.  The estimable Shirley Corriher, in Cookwise, contends that if you refrigerate a russet potato for a couple of days and then oven-fry it, it will be fluffier on the inside.  I knew I was making the BLT; I knew there would be hot bacon fat -- so I bought a russet and stuck it in the fridge.  To be honest, I didn't notice a lot of difference, but like I said, carbs and bacon.  What could be bad about that?

I cut the potato into wedges, skin on, and tossed them onto the cookie sheet.  I turned them after 15 minutes and stuck them back in for another 10.  Pulled them out, salted and peppered them, and split them with Conner Jay, the photog from the Californian, along with the sandwich.  You could make this much healthier by tossing the potato wedges in olive oil, salt and pepper and omitting the bacon fat.  But why on earth would you?  Until next time, I'll see you at the market!