Meals On Tour: Part One

Greetings from a tour bus in the middle of Pennsylvania!  I’ve been away from my kitchen for weeks, first performing at the OK Mozart Festival and now playing with this man on a 5-week tour.  I had grand plans to cook and photograph many summery dishes in early June so I could write periodic blog entries from the road, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.  I was overwhelmed by the preparations for these 7 weeks away from home, so until I am back in my kitchen, here’s another series of Meals On Tour.

I love being “the string boss” for this band, and the concerts have been a total blast with a mixture of songs from the new album as well as classic standards, gospel tunes and New Orleans jazz.  A typical day on this tour focuses on an evening concert, followed by a several-hour drive and arriving at the next hotel in the middle of the night. Sometimes we only have a day in each new city, but I always try to explore a bit and seek out an excellent lunch, no matter what.

The first big travel day was rough, leaving late after the first concert in Baltimore and rolling into Providence at 7 am.  At least our hotel was around the corner from Local 121, so after sleeping a solid four hours in the hotel, I treated myself to lunch. This white pizza with smoked mozzarella, sautéed kale, oven-roasted tomatoes and topped with a fried egg totally hit the spot, and I can't wait to recreate it at home.

We followed the brief stint in Providence with several days in Boston, my old college town.  I was thrilled to play at Symphony Hall for the first time, and my inner 19-year-old was turning cartwheels with the excitement of it all.  I was deliciously happy wandering around all weekend, revisiting my first two college apartments and other favorite places.

Heavenly Flourless Chocolate Cake With Rose Whipped Cream and Raspberries

It takes very little to prompt me into celebration mode with my friends.  In addition to birthday festivities, I am always ready to rejoice over creative milestones, finding new jobs and fantastic new apartments, not to mention new loves in one’s life.  Whether it happened to me or to one of my friends, I’ll also happily mark the anniversaries of any of these events with an appropriate beverage, no matter how many years ago the original event was.  A bottle of bubbly lends a particularly festive note to any occasion, but the more significant celebrations call for cake.  Especially when we're talking about a four-layer Flourless Chocolate Cake with Rose Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries.

I’m salivating again just looking at this.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I made this heavenly chocolate beauty last week for my 17-year anniversary of moving to New York City.  June Fourth was the very significant day in 1996 when I arrived in town with nothing but a violin, a suitcase of clothes, less than $300 in my bank account, and the invitation to crash on a friend’s couch for the summer. (Thank you forever for that, Lara!) I knew very few people and had no employment prospects lined up, but I knew that I had to stay no matter what it took.  I felt I was truly HOME for the first time in my life. 

New York is undeniably an amazing city, pulsing with a vibrant energy all its own.  I have had creative opportunities while living here that I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined once upon a time, and I am forever grateful. But it is the amazing friends who have come into my orbit throughout these past 17 years who have truly made my life so indelibly rich.  This colorful cast of characters has filled my heart with laughter and great joy, and how could I not throw a party for at least a handful of them each June 4th?

Black Bean & Blue Corn Chopped Salad

I often get in a major rut with particular recipes, repeatedly making a certain dish well beyond the point where most people would get sick of it and move onto something else.  Case in point: I have made my Black Bean & Blue Corn Chopped Salad four times in the past five days.  But I can't seem to get enough of these flavors, so it seems silly not to prepare yet another bowlful of it when I already have the ingredients on hand.

Seriously, what’s not to love? Crisp hearts of romaine provide a base for a colorful riot of diced peppers, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, pepperjack cheese, scallions, and avocado.  A zingy chile-lime vinaigrette ties the ingredients all together, while a handful of crumbled blue corn tortilla chips push this salad over the top.

 

This has been a long-time favorite salad of mine, and I’ve foisted it on at least twenty different people this week.  It makes a satisfying solo meal, but I think it’s especially perfect for a big crowd of people, especially when that party takes place on the most stunning late spring night on a beautiful roof top.

Panko-Crusted Chicken Cutlets With Dijon Mustard

I have written several crappy drafts of this post for Panko-Crusted Chicken Cutlets with Dijon Mustard, only to roll my eyes in exasperation and vow to write something better before I publish this recipe here. But the more I let my perfectionism get in the way, the longer I am depriving you of this dish. And I can’t do that to you anymore. 

I will get straight to the point: This chicken totally rocks. And you really need to make this for yourself as soon as possible. 

It’s quite simple. Start by pounding chicken breasts till very thin, or save yourself a step by buying thin-sliced chicken to begin with. Spread the cutlets with Dijon mustard and coat them in seasoned panko crumbs, those airy Japanese bread flakes that are so much lighter than regular breadcrumbs. Cook the cutlets quickly in shimmering olive oil till they turn golden brown, and serve them immediately. 

 

Comfort Food Links

What a week.

I have been sick at heart watching the news unfold in Boston this past week, as I’m sure you all have too. Words usually fail at a time like this, and I’ve started this post many times only to delete it, feeling that anything I say is woefully inadequate. 

 

I’ve always had a particular fondness for the Boston Marathon, having gone to school in Boston years ago. I always loved hanging out at the marathon expo the day before the race, which brought back happy memories of going to races with my dad during his marathon-running days. It was inspiring being in the energetic company of these impossibly fit runners who exuded super-health and joyful anticipation of the upcoming big race. As I wandered around the expo sampling various sports drinks and energy bars, surrounded by the runners picking up their official racing numbers and commemorative t-shirts, I wanted to be one of them: capable of going the distance and doing super-human feats too. 

It seems particularly unthinkable that an event meant to be a celebration of monumental endurance and physical achievement could end in such an unspeakably horrifying way. My mind was reeling as I watched the news, recognizing those familiar Back Bay streets where all the chaos was breaking out. I knew that friends of mine were among the spectators or working very nearby, and I have never been more grateful for their Facebook updates letting us all know they were shaken-but-safe. 

Minted Sweet Pea Mash

There are certain culinary duos in which the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts.  Fried chicken&waffles, for example, are positively divine any time of day or night.  Apple pie on its own doesn’t interest me, but pair it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and I am totally enthused.  Chocolate-plus-peanut butter is one of the joyful pleasures in life.  (Oh come on, who am I kidding?  Chocolate and almost ANYTHING are great together!)  On a less decadent but equally satisfying note, peas and mint are one of my inseparable combinations, and they join together beautifully in this Minted Sweet Pea Mash.

The recipe for this springy green mash was inspired nearly a decade ago by a fabulous bruschetta I had at Otto.  I would never have thought to bind tender baby peas and fresh mint with olive oil to make a silky puree, but I’m so glad that Mario Batali did so that he could put it on his menu.  It truly is a most delightful thing to enjoy atop grilled bread.

The only problem with the Otto version is that it’s only available on Wednesdays, for their bruschetta special changes from one day to the next.  But once I tasted that minted pea puree, I knew my craving wouldn’t be confined to Wednesdays alone.  Sometimes you simply have to take matters into your hands and recreate a favorite dish for yourself at home.

Spring-Cleaning For Kitchen Fiddler

Kitchen Fiddler has a new look!

Tis the season for major spring-cleaning, and I’m happily getting rid of anything in my apartment that is dingy or drab. I want to fill my home with fresh tulips and vibrant greens, breathing new life into my sunny little corner in the Manhattan sky. And this springtime purging has also extended to my website.

I’ve wanted to overhaul my blog for a while now, even though I knew it would be a substantial undertaking for me.  We're talking about a serious PROJECT, in bold capital letters.  (Hello, I'm a violinist, not a web designer!  I can't tell you how many times this week I've asked myself, "How do I change this design element/blog feature/social media icon when I hardly know what HTML code even is?!!")  But when there's a will, there's a way.  And after untold hours of tweaking and Google-searching—not to mention much gnashing of teeth and banging my head against the proverbial wall—I am excited to launch this redesigned site.

There are new features, such as a box where you can sign up for email updates, thereby never missing a new post on Kitchen Fiddler. You can become a fan of KF on Facebook and/or follow me on Pinterest. Twitter may come later; I don’t know that I’m ready to commit to tweeting just yet, but that could very well change!

There are now a few extra tabs where you can read more about me and my other culinary endeavors. I’ve also tried to make the recipe index more accessible so you can easily find your favorite dishes on this site.  And after using the same trusty-but-limited camera for all of my photos these past 5+ years, I know it is time for a photography upgrade.  This is a work in progress as I explore new camera options, but I am really excited about these new possibilities.

Since I think of this blog as an extension of my kitchen and my table, I’d love to encourage more conversation with those of you who check in here. I’m always happy to know your thoughts and reactions, especially if you’ve particularly enjoyed certain recipes on this site. Comments and questions are always welcome, so please feel free to leave a comment on the blog itself or email me at kitchenfiddler (at) gmail (dot) com.

Since I feel like I just did major de-cluttering and gave everything a fresh coat of paint, I think the occasion calls for celebratory bubbles. Happy spring to all of you!

Recipe for a beautiful April afternoon:
fresh pink&white tulips for your table and
an effervescent glass of Punkt Sparkling Gruner Veltliner