La Rambla

Long time no see!  I have moved to the town of McMinnville, Oregon.  I am no longer working as a concierge.  Instead I am co-managing a small pizza shop with my husband Brian.  It's a big change, but a good one so far.  

Here in the midst of wine country, there are a handful of quality restaurants using the fresh, local meats and produce this area is known for.  So far we have tried Cuvee, Thistle and La Rambla.  Didn't have my camera at the first two, but here are some shots of our lunch at La Rambla.  It's a Spanish tapas place.

First up was this partially-devoured chef's choice meat and cheese plate ($12).  It came with housemade chorizo, serrano ham, a hard cheese, a bleu cheese and some candied walnuts.  We had this with some good bread and olive oil.

Next up was the manila clams with chorizo, sherry, garlic and herbs ($7).  I could eat these all day.  We used the clam shells to scoop up the rest of the juice left over in the bowl.  

These were one of the best things we ate here:  Piquillo Peppers stuffed with northwest crab, goat cheese, harissa ($12).  Tons of crab spiked with the spicy harissa wrapped in a roasted pepper.  Mmm, mmm, good.

The Willamette Valley mushrooms with garlic and white wine ($7) were nothing special.  Needed more salt and more garlic or lemon or something.  Also they were white or crimini mushrooms.  We were hoping for something more wild.

Fried green beans ($6) with aioli.  Scrumptious.  A tempura-like batter.

Spice-rubbed Tri-tip with romesco and marinated onion.  These were good, especially with the pickled onion.  I loved the romesco with the smoky steak.  

Our last dish was the chorizo empanadas with a roasted red pepper cream sauce ($8).  I was really too full to enjoy this.  The flavor was bold and a little too salty.  

I thought I'd show the pics of the room.  I really liked the lamps and the paintings.  And the signboard outside.

Overall we liked our meal at La Rambla.  They have a bunch more tapas and even a burger I'd like to try.

La Rambla

238 NE Third Street

McMinnville, Oregon

503.435.2126

Soup Month: Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder

I don't know if this is a chowder. It's a blended soup. It has some of the elements of chowder - potatoes, butter, cream, garlic, onions. But, it's a blended soup. I didn't name it, however, so I'll just leave it alone. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Michelle over at Je Mange la Ville. Michelle is a wonderful cook and writer, and she is the one who inspired me to start this blog in the first place.

She used sweet potatoes instead of a russet; I changed it up again and used two Yukon Golds. But, I might use just one potato next time. And, of course, I added a touch more garlic. I had to add quite a bit more salt to my pot; this may have been the result of the extra potato.

I enjoyed this soup, particularly the warm cumin flavor. Broccoli-cheese soup is one of my favorites, and this was great with the sweet red pepper added.

Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder based on a recipe from Gourmet Magazine, via Je Mange la Ville

1 small head broccoli
1 Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large garlic cloves, grated
2 T unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
2 T flour
3 cups Cheddar, grated
couple dashes of Tapatio or other hot sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional

1. Cut off the bottom of the broccoli stem. Finely chop remaining stem. Cut the rest of the broccoli into florets. Cook florets in 2 CUPS of lightly salted, boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, place the broccoli florets in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain. Save the cooking water. (I didn't read closely enough and missed the part about using only 2 cups of water to cook the broccoli florets.)


2. Melt the butter in a 3-4 quart heavy pot over medium heat. Add potato, onion, red pepper, broccoli stems and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8-10 minutes.


3. Add cumin, salt, pepper, and mustard and cook, stirring, one minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add reserved broccoli water and chicken stock and simmer (partially covered) for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and continue to cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the hot sauce to taste.


4. Puree 3/4 of the chowder in a blender or food processor until smooth, and then return to pot. (I used my immersion blender, but I think in this case, an actual blender would yield better results.) Add reserved florets and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in cream. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

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Soup Month has been great. I tried some new recipes and found some new favorites. I learned that cauliflower can be a luscious treasure. However, I didn't seem to find time to tell you about my go-to soup. It's my trademark. It's the first soup I learned how to make, though it has grown and changed just like I have since that time. I promise I will share it with you soon. After all, Soup Month may be over, but the soups must go on!

Michelle's Queso Dip

Ahh, the queso dip. This spicy, Mexican-Style cheese dip is a hit at parties and with kids of all ages. An all-around winner.

Michelle's Queso Dip

1 onion
2 jalapeños (or 1 small can diced jalapeños)
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 pint 2% milk (or half & half, or whipping cream)
6 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions, chopped & divided
Frank's Red Hot sauce, to taste
salt & pepper

Mince the onion as fine as you can manage. I tried to grate it, which was a mess. Mincing/dicing will be fine.

Mince the jalapeños (wear gloves!), removing seeds and ribs as needed. I used the can of jalapeños because that's what I had, but I would use fresh next time.

Sauté onions and jalapeños in a little butter, about 5 minutes or until tender. I used a 5-quart saucepan. (Warning, spicy steam is hard on the eyes!)

Cut the cream cheese into cubes. Add to the pot with the onions and jalapeños. Turn down the heat under the pot to medium-low (3 or so).

Using a wooden utensil, stir the melting cream cheese and combine with the onions, etc. Before it is all melted, add the milk or cream.

Keep stirring until all is melted and combined. Make sure it doesn't get too hot - curdled dairy is no good.

Add the cheddar cheese all at once. I started with 4 cups, but added 2 more as it wasn't cheesy enough and the color wasn't right.

Stir the dip constantly until all the cheese is melted and the dip is combined well. You may want to use a whisk for this.


Add hot sauce if using and salt & pepper to taste.

Continue to heat and stir for 15 more minutes. The dip will continue to thin out as it heats. You will know it's done when there are no more strings of melting cheese and it is a uniform consistency. And, you know, it will be as hot as you want it. Add the green onions at this point, saving a few for garnishing purposes.

Alternatively, you can scoop some into your Crockpot "Little Dipper" that Michelle gave you for Christmas, plug that baby in and let it heat for 30-50 minutes.

To serve, simply unplug the Little Dipper and move it to your coffee table. It will remain at the optimum dipping temperature for at least 2 hours.

We had this with tortilla chips, but it could be good with chunks of bread, fruit, pretzels, kielbasa - anything that goes with cheese, really.

This recipe makes about 4 pints. Now what am I going to do with the other 3 pints?

Guess I'll have to throw a party!

Mom's Mac-n-Cheese

My mom did all the cooking when I was a kid. Good, homemade meals where nothing came from a box and there were no concessions to finicky kids’ developing taste buds. We ate a lot of baked chicken and fish and steamed veggies. There was salad at every meal. My favorite food was artichokes, steamed whole and eaten with melted butter and lemon. I still like anything with melted butter and lemon. Mom was a health nut, though, so we didn’t see a lot of fatty comfort foods. When she did bust it out, she did it in style.

My brother’s absolutely favorite dish was and still is Mom’s Mac-n-Cheese with salmon. We always had crates of jarred salmon in the pantry, courtesy of family fisherman friends happy to share. Tucked in amongst cheese-cloaked noodles, the salmon elevates the humble dish to rock-star status.

Mom's Mac-n-Cheese with Salmon

6 tbls butter
6 tbls flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 cups milk
3-4 cups (i use 4) grated medium cheddar cheese

1 tsp (or to taste) Tapatio hot sauce
3 cups cooked noodles

1 tall can good salmon

1 cup green onions (optional)

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat (add salt). Add flour. Cook for a minute until a little bubbly. Add milk slowly! Turn heat to medium.

Meanwhile, cook noodles.

When the sauce thickens and starts bubbling, take off heat! Now add the cheese and the hot sauce.

Finally, combine cheese sauce, macaroni noodles, green onions (if using) and de-boned salmon together in a large oven-proof bowl or casserole dish.

Sprinkle top with another cheese layer. Or just use slices of cheese like I did.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

We cut the middle out cause it was fun.

A couple suggestions...Next time I make this, I would cut down the noodles to 2 cups. 3 cups of noodles made for a dense dish and I like a lot of sauce. Also, I think adding garlic and topping this with toasted breadcrumbs would be tasty.