one expat's life

Well, since I skipped the main ingredient, I couldn’t very well call it Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza, now could I?

Here’s the thing, I do my best to pay attention to where my food is coming from and how it was handled along the way. I don’t always succeed, so I’m hardly one to proselytize. And so I won’t.

But after being bombarded with all the reports of overfishing and mislabeling of bluefin tuna, I’m taking a little break. Which is sad for two reasons. First, I LOVE sushi, and tuna is among my favorites. Second, it was a rather key ingredient for this week’s recipe.

So, what to do. Not so easy to find a substitute. But reading Dorie’s description of the inspiration for this dish as being a cross between pizza and a nicoise salad, I settled on… DUM dum dum… anchovies!

Okay, okay, I know, not everyone’s favorite. But it is a common, if unloved, ingredient in both nicoise salad and pizza. I didn’t used to be a huge fan. But somewhere along the line I started to appreciate them, and now I find that there always seems to be a jar of the little fishies lurking in my refrigerator.

I decided to cook them alongside the scallions so that they melted into a bit of a sauce. Otherwise I followed Dorie’s instructions to the letter. And, if I may be permitted to pat myself on the back, delicious! Which proves either that I’m brilliant, or puff pastry is pretty tasty canvas for just about anything. I’m guessing it’s the latter.

Where the heck have I been? Seriously, I want to know. 2013 seems to be flying by me in a high-speed blur. All I remember is that there an awful lot of nights spent in hotels, home cooked meals have been few and far between and, as you may have noticed, I’ve been a pretty pathetic Dorista.

So thank goodness for make-up week, because boy, do I have some recipes to make up. This will be a small dent in my FFwD To Do list.

First, do you still remember May? Back when we were all still happy about the slightest hint of warm weather and not complaining about the heat? Back when asparagus was in season? My memory is faint, but I have pictures on my computer of Asparagus Soup topped with creme fraiche, chives, and strips of ham, and I have a note in my book which reads, “yummy!”. So I guess that just about sums that up.

Somewhere along the line I also made Dieter’s Tartine. Many Germans use the word Abendbrot for their evening meal, which literally translates as “evening bread”. In fact, Abendbrot is not at all uncommon in my house after a long day. In addition to Dorie’s original recipe, I also whipped up a few other favorites. I find that the key lies in a good quality loaf of bread. So long as I have good bread, even the most mundane toppings can work.

Hopefully my schedule settles down soon and I can find more time to hang out in the kitchen. I’m missing it and my fellow Doristas.