A little rushed this evening. A busy Sunday of a few errands, and parent group meetings, and then a brilliant walk down to Madison Park, to sit on the side of Lake Washington and people watch. That is the great thing about Seattle, there is always something to look at, and giggle about. I have to admit that I am a bit of a gossip, and do enjoy sitting with Danika, watching people, and quietly talking about them. One favorite game is to make up a back story to the unique people we spot, completely based just on how they look. Shallow? Quite possibly.. Fun? Definately!

So we got back kinda late from our walk and talk. Drake enjoyed the water’s edge a lot.. a very happy baby there! We didn’t try him in the water though.. the last time we tried that was at a work BBQ, and he wasn’t impressed with the cold water of Lake Washington! There are a few staples I keep around, to make a quick dinner out of, if we need to. I generally always have a jar of roasted peppers, normally Piquillo. I also tend to have a bag of frozen shrimp laying around, which work fine for stuffing things, and using in rich pasta dishes. For more subtle flavors, I do prefer fresh.

So, I remembered an old recipe from Cooking Light. I have talked about CL a bit in older posts, for me the quality of the recipes varied a lot, and in the end I cut out what I liked, and put it in a folder, and canceled my subscription. This is one recipe that we used to make quite a bit. The piquillo peppers are stuffed with a mix of chopped cooked shrimp, diced Vidalia onion and parsley. This stuffing is bound with a light vinegarette made of sherry vinegar, dijon mustard and olive oil. It is really that simple. They come together really quick, and taste great. I use them as appetisers, or nibbles for groups quite a bit.

And on to the salad. Time to share another favorite of mine. “Bouchon” by Thomas Keller. I really enjoy this book. There is an amazing selection of really great recipes in it. The only negatives are that some of the recipes just take bloody ages (unless you have the building blocks made before hand – like garlic confit etc), and well, it is presented kinda like a coffee table book. It is hardcover, and a little flouncy in places. Keller talks a lot about the “importance” of certain things, and some of that seems a might contrived. That aside though, when not cooking my own recipes, it is dishes from this book that have got the most raves from friends and family that I have cooked for. Great photography in this book too, it really gets you excited about the food. It is also kinda a book for people that have been cooking a while. Not everything is explained really well, and certainly a good knowledge of culinary techniques is assumed.

So, this is pretty much the main side salad from their book. The bibb lettuce salad. I picked up an amazing bibb at the University district farmers market on Saturday, and wanted to use it. Bibb is one of my favourite broad leave lettuces. Soft and smooth, gentle, and very buttery (also called the butter lettuce because of this). It almost tastes like you have dressed it when you eat a raw leaf! Anyhow, the leaves are mixed with shallots, and a fresh mix of fines herbs (parsley, tarragon, chives, chevil). This is simply dressed with a mix of red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and oil. I didn’t have all the herbs to hand, so I justed used parsley. Not as good as when you have enough to make the sublime fines herbs mixture, but great none the less. Keller has a very ornate presentation for this salad in his book (you will have to buy it to see), but for salads I prefer something a little more down to earth. So, I just bunged it all in a bowl, and tossed. The bibb was amazing. I just love this salad.

So, that was it. A simple dinner of stuffed Piquillo’s, a great salad, and some bread. Nothing out of this world gourmet at all, just simple food tasting good.

Oh – and finally. I recommend a fair few things on this blog, and I don’t make a cent from any of it. I only recommend things that I use a lot, and love, and think that other people will get a kick out of these products. I am not in this blog to make a quick buck.