Grate ideas for using new utensil

<p>Last week I was walking through the Windsor Farmers Market -- happily sated after eating the first slice of the World's Biggest BLT -- when I spotted the booth of Architectural Ceramic Design, with its colorful kitchen ceramics.</p><p>I have been using one of their tiny garlic grating bowls since I discovered them at their stall in Plaza Farms last winter. I love the way the ridges on the bottom of the bowl grind garlic, anchovies, ginger and certain other ingredients, but lately I've found myself wishing the bowl was larger so that I needn't struggle to transfer ingredients to another container to finish the recipe.</p><p>As I surveyed the colorful bowls, saucers, cups, pitchers and colanders, I spotted exactly what I'd been thinking of, a large bowl scored with the same ridges as the little bowl I'd become so fond of.</p><p>How could I resist? I didn't. The only hard thing was choosing the color.</p><p>These bowls borrow the concept -- intentionally or subconsciously, I have no idea -- of the Japanese suribachi, a porcelain bowl with an inside scored all over with ridges. A suribachi is perfect for grinding garlic and spices, making aioli, pounding basil into pesto and making salsa verde -- just a few of the things I use it for.</p><p>One does not always need as much grinding surface as the suribachi provides, however, and that's when these bowls from Alan and Donna Podesto of Cloverdale come in so handy. They bowls are lighter than a suribachi and can be used to serve as well as for preparation.</p><p>If you love making simple pastas and salads from scratch, pick one up and play around with these recipes, developed specifically for use with the bowls.</p><p>When there are ripe tomatoes in season, it is easy to make delicious pastas without cooking anything other than the pasta itself. The trick is to let the hot pasta warm the ingredients; in this instance, as soon as the butter is melted, everything else is at the perfect temperature.</p><h3>Pappardelle with Garlic, Anchovies, Tomatoes and Butter</h3> <p>Makes 2 to 3 servings</p><p>--Kosher salt</p><p>8 ounces dried pappardelle</p><p>1 large fresh garlic clove, peeled</p><p>2 to 3 pickled anchovy fillets</p><p>1 pound yellow or orange heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded and minced</p><p>2 tablespoons organic butter</p><p>1 tablespoon creme fraiche or organic sour cream</p><p>1 tablespoon fresh minced basil, parsley or chives</p><p>--Black pepper in a mill</p><p>Fill a large pot two-thirds full with water, add a tablespoon of kosher salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and stir until the water returns to a boil. Cook according to package directions until just done.</p><p>Meanwhile, grate the garlic on the ridges of a large garlic grating bowl until it is reduced to a pulp. Using your fingers or a small wooden pestle, press the anchovies against the ridges until they are reduce to a paste. Add the minced tomatoes and stir. Taste and season with salt. Add the butter and creme fraiche or sour cream and set the bowl aside.</p><p>Drain the pasta, do not rinse it and immediately transfer it to the bowl. Using two forks, lift the pasta over and over as the butter melts. Turn the pasta several times to mix the ingredients and evenly coat the pasta with them. Taste, correct for salt, add the fresh herbs and several turns of black pepper and serve.</p><p>One of the ways to get acquainted with a new piece of equipment -- no matter how small or how simple -- is to use it a lot, which is why I suggest making a classic Caesar Salad using the garlic grating bowls made by Architectural Ceramic Design. The bowls may seem like a novelty at first, but after you use one a few times, they'll be as much a part of your kitchen as your favorite wooden spoon.</p><h3>Small Caesar Salad</h3> <p>Makes 1 or 2 servings</p><p>1 large fresh garlic clove, peeled</p><p>1 oil-packed anchovy fillet</p><p>3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil</p><p>--Inner leaves of 1 large head of Romaine, torn into bite-size pieces (about 5 to 6 cups)</p><p>--Kosher salt</p><p>2 teaspoons white wine vinegar</p><p>2 to 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided</p><p>1 small egg, preferably from the farmers market, plunged into boiling water for 1 minute</p><p>1/3 cup freshly grated Vella Dry Jack</p><p>-- Black pepper in a mill</p><p>3/4 cup toasted croutons (see Note below)</p><p>Grate the garlic on the ridges of a large garlic grating bowl until it is reduced to a pulp. Using your fingers or a small wooden pestle, press the anchovy against the ridges until it is reduced to a paste. Add the olive oil and stir to combine it with the garlic and anchovy.</p><p>Put the lettuce in the bowl and sprinkle it with a little salt, turning the leaves as you do so. Continue to turn the leaves, pressing downward to coat them in the olive oil mixture.</p><p>Continue to turn the lettuce with one hand as you sprinkle first the vinegar and then 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice over it. Carefully break the egg into the lettuce and use both hands to turn the lettuce until the egg is evenly distributed.</p><p>Add the cheese and turn, add several turns of black pepper, taste and correct for salt and for acid. If the salad is not quite tart enough, add the remaining teaspoon of lemon juice and toss.</p><p>There's no reason to buy blue cheese dressing in a bottle. It is one of the easiest salad dressings to make well, and you can do so without all the nasty things that go into preserving commercial versions. If you prefer the tang of vinegar to the acid of lemon juice, use a good red wine vinegar.</p><h3>Butter Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing</h3> <p>Makes 2 servings</p><p>1 garlic clove</p><p>1 to 1 1/2 ounces Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese or other blue-veined cheese of choice</p><p>1 tablespoon lemon juice</p><p>--Kosher salt</p><p>--Black pepper in a mill</p><p>3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil</p><p>1 head of butter lettuce, cleaned and torn into bite-size pieces</p><p>4 very thin red onion slices, rings separated</p><p>1/3 cup toasted walnuts or toasted pecans</p><p>Grate the garlic on the ridges of a large garlic grating bowl until it is reduce to a pulp. Add the cheese and use a fork to press it against the ridge and mix it with the garlic. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, add salt as needed and several turns of black pepper, and stir in the olive oil. Add the lettuce and onions, and use your hands to turn it in the dressing. Scatter the walnuts or pecans over the lettuce and serve immediately.</p><p>Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com.</p>