GRACE FOOD

potato and lima bean salad + roasted baby summer squash + simple tomato salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar

I make potato salad pretty often but this one is my new favorite. I started off by making a bright and lemony mayonnaise with olive oil and lots of dijon mustard. I think a lot of people are afraid to make mayonnaise at home but a one-egg yolk mayo is difficult to mess up, takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and is totally worth the effort! Next, I cooked down some shallots, leeks and sweet green peppers in olive oil and chopped up a serrano chili and lots of dill and chives. once the potatoes were done cooking, I tossed everything in a big bowl with some blanched lima beans and squeezed in a little more lemon juice. My mom insisted that I leave the little lima bean skins intact because that’s how her Virginian grandmother would have served them. So perfect for summer.

chicken braised in vinegar with smoky beans and polenta + fennel, carrot, arugula and orange salad

the moon rising in topanga

salmon with potato and cauliflower mash, leeks, morrels, hen of the woods mushrooms, crispy potatoes and beurre blanc + nectarines and homegrown mulberries for dessert

nectarine, plum and ginger dutch baby pancake

i was flipping through the latest issue of bon appétit this morning and couldn’t stop drooling over this photo. the recipe calls for peaches and cherries but i used nectarines and plums instead and added some ginger to the compote. i served the dutch baby hot from the oven for breakfast with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top.

potato, leek and anchovy gratin + golden beet, green bean and tomato salad with a dill, mint and mustard dressing

i was flipping through the river cafe cookbook green and came across a really yummy sounding combination: potatoes, leeks, anchovies and cream. I altered the recipe a bit but had to give credit to this excellent cookbook for the inspiration!

lima bean and mint risotto + roasted green beans + lemony celery root salad

i didn’t want to waste the lima bean shells after i peeled them so i decided to see what would happen if i fried them. they turned out great - crispy and salty and perfect sprinkled on top of the risotto.

gnocchi with pesto and cherry tomatos + baby kale and arugula salad

roast chicken with orange, honey and white wine + polenta + roasted carrots + braised romaine and endive with cream and vinegar

i kinda burned the skin by accident but the chicken actually ended up being perfectly cooked underneath! phew! the burnt bits tasted pretty good anyways.

tomato and eggplant cobbler + fennel salad + lentil salad with radicchio, parsley, marcona almonds, spring onion + steamed artichokes + nectarines with creme anglaise and walnut-oat crumble

strawberries, raw cream and maple syrup