Katniss’s rabbit (or chicken) chasseur
serves 4-6
what you need:
meat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 rabbit (jointed into two front legs, two hind legs, two halves of saddle)
(or)
3 pound broiler chicken (cut into 2 legs, 2 breasts, 2 thighs)
out of the salad bowl and turning up the heat:
Belgium endive au gratin
Rarely do Americans cook endives. Rather, we consume them raw, usually in a salad or as a passed hors d’œurves. However, sometimes you just have take things out of the salad bowl. I say that with great affection thinking of someone I met who primarily eats salads and rarely ventures out culinarily (at least on his own). This week’s simple pleasure goes outside the endive salad bowl and turns up the heat with a Belgium endive au gratin. Read the rest of this entry »
hungry in love: a Valentine’s Day menu to make your heart skip a beat
I often say that I know I am in love if the thought or sight of that person inspires moments of complete abandon of time and self. I use the example that if I were greeted at the airport by that person, even if the separation was brief, I would instinctively, and without hesitation, run to him, forgetting my surroundings, and the moment would only be interrupted by TSA asking me if the bags scattered twenty feet behind me, are mine. I tell my children that if you do not instinctively feel that way about the person with whom you have chosen to spend your time, then you did not choose correctly because anything less is existing; not living. I have done both. There is something to be said for following your instincts.
Harriet Van Horne wisely said that “cooking is like love [and that] [i]t should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” I agree and Saint Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to reinforce that notion. Inspired by thoughts of culinary seduction, the desire to spoil those we care for in a thoughtful, sincere way yet keeping in mind the practical demands of a mid-week busy schedule, this week’s simple pleasure is a Valentine’s Day menu that has a little something for everyone. Read the rest of this entry »
healthy snacks that will not send you back to 2011
part 2: chia chips and soybean hummus
“It’s a chia…it’s a pet…it’s a chia pet.” Rumor has it that chia seeds are le tendence (the “in” thing) in food right now. However, thanks to my brother, who sang that 70’s jingle selling chia pets (sprouted chia seeds on an animal-shaped moss forms), when I think of chia seeds, I think of chia pets. Today is my brother’s birthday. Thinking of him, trying to be trendy (save your laughter), and unable to escape the song he “planted” in my consciousness, I arrived at this week’s simple pleasure: chia chips with soybean hummus.
smoked salmon roulade
makes 12
what you need:
12 slices smoked salmon
12 thin slices cucumber
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced capers, rinsed
lemon juice (optional)
kosher salt (to taste)
12 small skewers, cocktail toothpicks (or chives) Read the rest of this entry »
papillons au Roquefort
(blue cheese butterflies)
makes 12 (or more depending upon size of bread)
what you need:
1 small wedge of Papillon Roquefort (or other quality blue cheese)
1 small loaf of quality raisin and nut bread
6 teaspoons good honey (and as needed) Read the rest of this entry »
Pas de Deux: douillons aux pommes (apples in nightdresses)
Like many people this time of year, one of the traditions in my family is to attend a performance of The Nutcracker. In sum, it is a story of a young girl, Clara, who is given a nutcracker as a Christmas gift. The nutcracker turns into a Prince who takes Clara to the Kingdom of Sweets where the Sugarplum Fairy and various treats (Spanish Chocolate, Peppermint Candy, etc.) perform for Clara (still in her nightdress) and the Prince. At the end, the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier perform the Grand Pas de Deux (“steps of two”). As I watched the Pas de Deux, I thought of … food. The combination of a kingdom filled with dancing culinary specialities, Clara’s nightdress, and the “deux” (the collaboration of two) reminded me of the French classic dessert douillons aux pommes (apples in nightdresses). Inspired by the ballet, douiillons aux pommes is this week’s simple pleasure. Read the rest of this entry »
gobble, gobble, gone: perfectly roasted turkey
There are several occupational hazards to being a chef. One hazard is the repetitive slumping over counters and stovetops which sometimes sends me to the chiropractor, as it did again this week. Looking at my crooked frame, he asked me what I did to get myself in this mess. “I am a chef,” I replied. “That is funny,” he said, “I was just going to say that it smells like Thanksgiving in here.” Just then I got a whiff of my own hair which smelled like . . . well, roasted turkey. Occupational hazard number two: smelling like the food you are cooking.
The turkey smell made me think of the first time I cooked a Thanksgiving turkey. I was in college, wanting to demonstrate my culinary and domestic enthusiasm for my boyfriend and his parents. I am paraphrasing, but I believe it was Thomas Edison who said that that he had not failed but he “found 10,000 ways that [wouldn’t] work.” That Thanksgiving produced many turkey discoveries.
My first discovery was that purchasing a 22 pound turkey for 6 people is just too much turkey. My second discovery was that it takes a long time for a 22 pound turkey to thaw. I could not get it brined in time for the planned meal, nor could I defrost it fast enough. This massive, flightless poultry-iceburg was too large for my tiny apartment kitchen sink and I was forced to defrost it under cold, running water in the bathtub (of course I left it in plastic wrapping but the whole thing, image and all, was just wrong). However, this turkey’s Calgon moment was not the last of the trouble this bird would cause me for when it was time to pull it from the oven, the heavy bird tipped in the roasting pan, the pan fell forward, the turkey landed on the open oven door and turkey sucs, the grease, and the roasting liquid gushed all over the oven, the oven door, and the kitchen floor. Major mishap for me but manna from Heaven for my Yorkshire terrier who jumped in the lake of turkey juice lapping it up, and then ran throughout the apartment tracking her greasy paws on the 80’s white (white!) carpet, and bouncing on the furniture to allude capture.
It was a culinary and housekeeping disaster: apartment a greasy mess; gravy nonexistent; dog vomiting from the rich turkey sucs; and overcooked, mushy or dry side dishes (as my attention was focused on salvaging the turkey and cleaning up the mess). I laugh about it now and I also know that I am not alone. Everyone has a turkey gone bad story. Overcooked. Undercooked. Turkey frozen in the middle. Turkey on fire. After over twenty years of practice, culinary school, and teaching others, I have discovered many ways that do not work and things that do. Making sure your Thanksgiving turkey turns out just right was the inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure: perfectly roasted turkey.
Those who took the “be a 10” challenge (October 6, 2011 post) received 6 Thanksgiving side dish recipes for their $10 donation. It is not too late. If you would like to receive recipes for:
wild mushroom and brioche stuffing with chestnuts and fresh sage
duck, duck, tart:
duck and kale savory tartlet with black chanterelles, fresh sage and thyme
“Duck, duck, goose…” On a recent return from France I sat next to a man from Toulouse and our conversation began by discussing ducks and geese, although in the culinary-sense, not related to the childhood game. It was an natural topic of conversation because Toulouse is well-known for its ducks and geese and boasts regional specialities such as foie gras, cassoulet, and garbure. The temperature has finally caught up with the calendar and everyone is craving comfort food. My transatlantic conversation (and the fact that it is duck season) inspired this week’s simple pleasure: duck and kale savory tartlets with black chanterelles, fresh sage, and thyme. Comfort food, redefined. Read the rest of this entry »
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