Happy Birthday Mr. Rocky Point...

July 15th is a big day here at Rocky Point, a birthday for the man in charge! We celebrated with a New Orleans Style Lunch. Crawfish pulled from Lake Mary Ronan were boiled up Cajun Style, lots of Garlic, Corn on the Cob, and baby New Potatoes. We also enjoyed Red Beans and Rice, a WOP Salad and Garlic Bread. Delicious! Even Hungry Henry the pug, couldn't get enough!

For dinner we enjoyed some lighter fare, Dover Sole (fresh fish is flown in on Tuesdays and Fridays) rolled around thin slices of Yellow Squash, Shallots and fresh Thyme, served on a bed of Toasted Pine nut Couscous, Parslied Carrots and topped with a fresh Basil Hollandaise. No cake for this birthday, I served Dark Chocolate Souffles dusted with Powdered Sugar!

Feels like Fall...

The weather in Montana is funny. It can be hot and cold, rainy and sunny and sometimes all of these things at the same time depending on where your standing on the point we occupy. Last night, the weather took a cool turn after a choppy, sunny day on the lake. I took it upon myself to make sure that our guests had a warm meal to fill them after their cocktail hour on the lake.

For dinner we enjoyed a Pancetta wrapped Pork Loin (it doesn't get any better than pork on pork) rubbed with a Fennel Seed Spice Mixture. After wrapping the Pork, I threw it on the rotisserie and served the dinner with Brown Butter roasted Brussel Sprouts, Sweet Potato Puree and Rocky Point Kale.

For dessert, Banana Cake served with Rum Caramel.

I have listed both the Fennel Seed Spice for Pork and the Banana Cake recipe below.

Fennel Seed Rub
3 Tablespoons Coriander
2 Tablespoons White Peppercorns
3 Tablespoons Fennel Seed
2 Tablespoons Herbes De Provence
3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

Toast the Coriander, White Peppercorns and Fennel Seed in a dry saute pan over medium heat until fragrant and lightly toasted. Grind the toasted spices and then run through a sieve, removing any large pieces. Mix with the Herbes de Provence and the Kosher Salt. Great with pork, but can also be used on fish and chicken.

Banana Cake
The easiest cake ever! Made entirely in a food processor and can be baked in a bundt pan, round cake pan, muffin pan (for cupcakes) or in a loaf pan. Great plain-for breakfast, used as French Toast, topped with Maple Syrup while still warm or topped with Cream Cheese Frosting for a more traditional cake.
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Bananas
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups Cake Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Sour Cream
3 eggs

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process till smooth. Bake in any of the pans mentioned above in a preheated 350 degree oven, baking time will depend on what type of pan you choose to use, start checking after 25 minutes.

It looks a mess!

Sometimes, no matter how great something tastes it just doesn't properly come across in a photo. For example, the other night we enjoyed this fantastic meal of oven roasted Filet Mignon, served on a bed of locally grown baby Carrots, Washington grown Asparagus, Rocky Point Kale and then topped with a salad of Kalispell Tomatoes. It was great, but it doesn't look it. Ce la vie, every last spear of asparagus was eaten, along with every bit of kale, beef and carrot!

A Taste of Italy...

Anitpasta is one of our favorite lunches, we pretend we are sitting on the coast of Italy even though the shores of Flathead lake serve us just fine! This week we enjoyed our Yellow Tomatoes alternating with roasted Sweet Peppers marinating in Garlic and Rosemary Olive Oil, assorted meats (Hot Coppa, Sopressata, Hot Calabrese, Bresalo), Prosciutto wrapped Canteloupe, Herb marinated Mozzarella, roasted Eggplant Caviar, grilled-Garlic rubbed Chibatta, and Arugula salad dressed with Lemon Vinaigrette and topped with shaved Parmesan and a grilled Zucchini and Squash salad served room temperature. A great meal in the perfect setting! Ciao.

Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato....

I had a few Sweet Potato scraps to use up, so I boiled them in some salted water, pureed them and used them for Sweet Potato Biscuits. We enjoyed the biscuits

slathered with Whole Grain Mustard and Creme Fraiche, topped that with slow roasted Pork Tenderloin and some home grown Alfalfa Sprouts. We paired the sandwiches with a large Yellow Tomato Salad that included chunks of Cucumber, Shaved White Onion and loads and loads of Parsley.

Dinner and then some...

I am so sorry to have left everyone waiting. The weather here has been extraordinary and I felt required to take up some of that time sunning on the dock. Perfection!


To get everyone up to date, we have missed 3 whole days of cooking. Friday, the fourth, we enjoyed a light lunch of...Gazpacho (see the recipe below) and Butterking Lettuce Salad to prepare our stomachs for dinner. Hickory smoked Baby Back Pork Ribs served with Blackeyed Peas, Cinnamon-Honey Sweet Potato Puree and Napa Cabbage Slaw. Dessert on the fourth was definitely a contender for the best of the summer...S'mores! Homemade Graham Crackers brushed on one side with a Milk Chocolate/Dark Chocolate Mix and then sandwiched with a homemade Marshmallows (that recipe is below as well) toasted over hot coals.


On Saturday I prepared a picnic for the group to enjoy on the party barge. Sandwiches of Goat Cheese or fresh Mozzarella with Arugula-Basil Pesto and Prosciutto, pressed on the the griddle and served at room-temperature, with a salad of chopped Tomatoes, shaved Cucumber and White Onion tossed with Red Onion Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The picnic food was great, the dead battery on the party barge did encumber the boat trip but the guests were great sports to enjoy lunch on the boat in spite of it all.

Saturday, the weather turned quite cool so I went for a traditional Beef Bourguignon. Lardons of Applewood smoked Bacon, Pearl Onions, chunks of Carrots and Celery, and the finishing touch of Montana Morels. I served the Bourguigon over creamy White Cheddar Polenta and finished the dish with a topping of Crystal Hot Sauce soaked Onion Rings and roughly chopped Parsley. Mint flecked Strawberries and Blueberries tossed with Sugar and New Orleans Amber Rum were served on Orange Drop Biscuits accompanied by Whipped Cream for dessert.
I enjoyed a easy day on Sunday, guests enjoyed lunch in Big Fork after a hike in the Jewel Basin.
An Asian themed dinner composed of Shrimp Spring rolls with Nuoc Mam for dipping and Char-grilled Pork Laska. Dessert was an easy Ginger and Honey grilled Peach with Mango Creme Fraiche and then sprinkled with Toasted Coconut.

All caught up, we will have more for you tomorrow.

NOLA Bean Gazpacho Recipe

2 pounds tomatoes, home-grown are best!

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1 cup red bell pepper, diced

½ cup white onion, diced

½ cup lime juice

3 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar

2 garlic cloves

1 medium jalapeno

¼ cup cilantro leaves

iodized salt and freshly ground black pepper,to taste

With a paring knife remove the core from the tomatoes. Split the tomatoes in half and over a strainer squeeze the seeds out reserving the juice. Run the tomatoes over the large holes of a grater, and rub back and forth to remove as much of the flesh from the tomatoes, leaving behind as much skin as possible. Set aside ½ cup of the chopped tomatoes along with ¼ cup of the cucumber, ¼ cup of the pepper, and 2 tablespoons of onion. In a food processor combine the remaining ingredients in a blender, starting with the liquid. Puree till smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill over night if possible. Serve the gazpacho in cold bowls and garnish with the remaining reserved diced vegetables.

NOLA Bean's Marshmallow's

4 envelopes Gelatin
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups granulated Sugar
1 1/4 cups light Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Confectioner's Sugar

Lightly grease a half sheet pan with pan spray, line with plastic wrap (the pan spray will help the saran to stick to the pan) allowing the plastic wrap to overhang the pan by a few inches, and then spray the plastic wrap with the pan spray. Set the prepared pan to the side. In the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the gelatin with 3/4 of a cup of water and let soften. In a small sauce pot combine the remaining 3/4 cup of water with the sugar, salt and corn syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves, cook the mixture for 9 minutes with out stirring. Be sure to use a timer. When your 9 minutes is up, remove the pan from heat and turn the mixer on low speed. Slowly add your sugar syrup to the mixing bowl. Once all the sugar syrup is added, gradually increase the heat to high and whip for 10-12 minutes. Once again, be sure to use a timer for this. Your final marshmallow mixture should be white and very stiff. Add the vanilla and pour into the prepared pan. This will be a sticky mess, so just focus on getting as much of the marshmallow into the prepared pan as possible. Spray the top of the marshmallow with pan spray and lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top to smooth. Set aside, do not refrigerate, for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and turn the marshmallow onto a confectioners sugar dusted cutting board. Remove the remaining plastic wrap. Grease the knife with pan spray and cut the marshmallows into your preferred dimensions, reapplying pan spray to your knife as needed. Dust the cut marshmallows with confectioners sugar toss to cover all the sticky cut surfaces and store at room temperature in a tin or ziplock bag.

For the love of Crawfish...

We started the summer off with small batches of Crawfish, 30 or 40 at a time. We have now reached critical mass. Yesterday we brought in over 200 Crawfish, at least 15 pounds. The Crawfish are huge and they are tasty. We soaked and rinsed the Crawfish well and then boiled those babies up. It took the guests an hour to demolish the boil, baby Potatoes, Andouille and Corn. Just in case the Crawfish wasn't enough, I also stuffed some home-grown Texas (brought by our guests from Austin) Tomatoes with fresh Crab Salad served on a bed of our freshly grown Butterking Lettuce dressed with a Champagne Vinaigrette.

Dinner was also great...Morel Mushroom crusted Rack of Lamb served with Parmesan Baked Tomatoes, Cauliflower Puree and Garlic Wilted Spinach, but dessert...dessert was fantastic!!!
I made a Raspberry Creme Fraiche Pavlova, a dessert that literally takes minutes, is easy to forget about making and hard to forget after finishing.

Essentially, Pavlova is a sheet of basic Meringue, baked till somewhat still tacky, cooled, spread with a filling and rolled like a Jelly-Roll. We filled ours with fresh Raspberries, whipped Heavy Creme and tangy Creme Fraiche. Its a mess to slice, but you are easily forgiven after the first spoonful!

NOLA Bean's Pavlova

Pan Spray
5 large Egg Whites
pinch of Salt
1 1/4 cups granulated Sugar

1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1/2 cup Creme Fraiche
2 pints raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a half sheet pan with pan spray. Line with a sheet of parchment paper and then spray with pan spray. Set the pan to the side. In the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high and gradually add the sugar until the egg whites hold stiff glossy peaks. Spread this meringue into the prepared sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through the cooking time. Remove the pan from the oven and invert the cooked meringue onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow the meringue to cool for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl combine the whipped cream, creme fraiche, and the raspberries. Once the meringue has cooled, remove the top sheet of parchment, spread with the creme fraiche filling and roll from the long side. The pavlova is ready to serve or can be refrigerated for a few hours. Use a serrated knife and a lot of patience to cut the pavlova. Messy is fine as long as it tastes good.

A little bit of Catch-Up...

Sometimes you just need a little bit of comfort food. I decided to find mine in the perfect Tuna melt. I know, a Tuna melt? But let me tell you, there is nothing like a Chive flecked scoop of Tuna salad plopped down on a piece of Winter Wheat Whole Grain Bread topped with a fat slice of Tomato & grated Swiss Cheese. Put that baby under the broiler and I am immediately brought back to summer camp. Absolutely
delicious!!!

Another wonderful event that has taken place is the blooming of the Rocky Point Peonies. They are opening up in every shade of pink, red and white. They are fat, and begged to be cut since the weight of the bud pulls the blooming beauties down to the ground. Jessi has been filling the home with Peony bouquets as fast as they are blooming.

After our week long vacation, guests started arriving yesterday afternoon. A few couples from Texas and another from New Orleans by way of Manhattan. They were ready for naps and then dinner.

For dinner we enjoyed...Grilled Filet Mignon on a bed of Montana grown Baby New Potatoes tossed with raw Garlic, Chive Oil and Whole Grain Mustard, and sauteed Baby Broccoli Rabe from the lake front garden. For dessert...Thyme Poached Plums on sweetened Marscarpone sprinkled with Pistachio Praline. Delicious.

This is for David

I had to include a beautiful picture of my sweet girl Maggie! She is loving life out here in Montana and I know that my husband misses her! Love you David!

Cha, Cha Cha, Cheers....

Jessi and I were getting antsy! We haven't had guests for almost a full week and in order for us to be busy, we engineered a party! We decided on a Mexican theme and I set up a table on my screened in porch. A few flower arrangements, vintage chairs, fresh linens and candles later our stage was set and we got to cooking.

Fresh Lime juice was squeezed, Salsa was mixed using our Kalispell Market Tomatoes, Guacamole was mashed, Corn Tortillas were heated, Chicken Thighs were braised in a Tomato and Chiptole enriched Chicken Stock, Red Rice was steamed and Black Beans were stewed with Apple Cider Vinegar, Cumin and Honey.

What a great night, the food was delicious and the setting could not have been more ideal! In addition to all of this great food, Jessi also made two beautiful Strawberry Rhubarb Pies. One for dessert and the second was served up for breakfast! I am working on getting Jessi to bring her pie recipe together for us and will post it soon.

Till then, how about my tried and true Guacamole recipe?

Ole!

NOLA Bean Guacamole...

3 ripe Avocados, skin & pit removed
4 cloves Garlic, minced
Zest and Juice of two Limes
2 Green Onions, diced
Salt and freshly, ground Black Pepper...to taste
1/2 small Jalapeno, diced
Crystal Hot Sauce...to taste

In a large bowl, mash the ingredients together with a fork or potato masher. I prefer a chunkier Guac, but feel free to work it as finely as you like. Chill with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed on the top to prevent browning and double check for Salt and Pepper before serving!