Adapted from Appetite by Nigel Slater
If you're not familiar with Nigel Slater, you should be. Now that his newest book The Kitchen Diaries:A Year in the Kitchen With Nigel Slater has received such good press here, more and more people on this side of the pond are finding out about him. The book that this recipe comes from is a one-of-a-kind book. It's about how to satisfy your cravings without slavishly following recipes. It is indeed about satisfying your own appetite. It's a wonderful book to have even if you have to order it from Amazon.uk.
This sauce, which is season-appropriate now as spring asparagus is crying out for it, is truly glorious even if it does seem like the scariest one to make. The real key is to heat it gently while constantly whisking and not letting it get too hot. This might sound like a contradiction, but you'll see, it's not. You will need a round-bottomed, heatproof bowl (I use stainless steel) and a saucepan for it to sit snugly on, as well as a plump balloon whisk. Approach this task with infinite patience and an absence of trepidation. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. And it is true that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. You will be well rewarded once you have mastered this sauce.
3 extra-large eggs (I don't really have to tell you free-range, do I?)
1 cup butter (This really IS 2 sticks. Don't get crazy, and don't tell Dr. Mehmet Oz. Get over it. As Nigel Slater says "We are talking heaven here.")
Half a lemon (maybe a little less if it's really juicy)
Salt
Separate eggs yolks from whites. Put the the yolks into a heatproof bowl. You can use a metal bowl or glass bowl. I usually use metal because it's light, and I can lift it on and off the saucepan to regulate the heat. (Refrigerate the whiles if you have another recipe you will use them for, but I hope it's not an egg white omelet, which, in my opinion, would not be an omelet at all.)
Fill a saucepan with water halfway up, and put it over a moderate heat. Sit the bowl with the yolks in it snugly on top of the saucepan, making sure it doesn't touch the water, then add a small splash of water to the eggs, and stir gently for a few seconds.
Cut the butter into twelve pieces. Add four pieces of butter to the egg yolks, and whisk firmly but slowly until the egg yolks have taken up all the butter. Slowly whisk in the rest of the butter. You will need slightly less than the two whole sticks.
Still whisking, squeeze in the lemon juice. The color should be a lovely light yellow. Add a little salt. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
The sauce will keep warm over the water for half an hour or so, but whisk it occasionally. This is the point at which it may curdle. No one is immune. But as Nigel Slater says, "It is worth the sweat."
If the sauce does break, throwing an ice cube in and whisking like crazy will work nine out of ten times.
This can be made in advance and kept warm in a Thermos.
Print recipe.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Lamb Chops in Parmesan Batter
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
For 6 servings
This recipe makes the most succulent lamb chops you will ever eat. The butcher at Lobel's actually asked me for the recipe the third time I had him trim the chops for me. You need to use single ribs trimmed the way they would be for a rack of lamb, which means the corner bone and backbone have been removed, leaving just the rib, and the rib bone has been "Frenched," which means the fat has been removed from the bone. Then the eye of each chop should be flattened. At Lobel's the butcher uses a cleaver held sideways instead of a meat pounder. I assume you could do this yourself if you bought a rack of lamb and sliced it into single rib chops, Frenched them, and flattened them, but I have never done this myself.
To be perfect, instead of grating the parmigiano-regianno cheese myself, I like to use cheese I have bought and had grated at DiPalo's. It's more powdery when they do it than when I use the Microplane to grate it myself, which makes lovely little shreds - what I normally want, but not here. I probably should get my own grater in Little Italy, but I have never gotten around to it. Aunt Rita had one that she (sigh) sold for 50 cents at a garage sale. What was she thinking?
I like to serve these with side dishes that are good cold or at room temperature so you can plate the chops as soon as they're done, and tuck in. Mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, and parsley are good; so are fried red peppers; and, of course, a tart green salad. If you began the meal with a 2-ounce serving of pasta per person as a starter (right now I'm thinking a sauce with tomatoes and anchovies would be good, but that's up to you), you don't need another starch.
I made these for Herb one night, and he told me he would have wanted Lee to cook them once a week. I can't say I eat them that often, but they are definitely one of my favorite recipes.
12 single rib lamb chops, partly boned and flattened as described above
½ grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, spread on a plate
2 eggs, beaten lightly put into a deep dish through a fine sieve
1 cup fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs, spread on a plate
Vegetable oil
Salt
Turn the chops on both sides in the grated cheese, pressing so the cheese sticks to the meat. Shake off any excess cheese. Dip the chops into the beaten egg, letting excess egg flow back into the dish. Turn the chops in the bread crumbs, coating both sides, and shake off the excess. (So you can see that this is essentially a bound breading, using cheese in place of flour.)
You can prepare the chops up to this point as much as 3 hours in advance if you refrigerate them; just remember to return the meat to room temperature before cooking it.
Pour enough oil into a skillet to come ¼ inch up the sides, and turn on the heat to medium. When the oil is very hot, put as many chops into the pan as will fit without crowding. As soon as one side forms a nice, golden crust, turn each chop and as soon as the second side has formed a crust, transfer to a warm platter, and sprinkle each side lightly with salt. They should be thin enough that they will be cooked at this point; if not, you have to cook a little longer; but you will get the hang of this after you have done it onc time. The chops are so tiny to begin with, it's easy to get them thin; it's not like trying to smash a fat chicken breast into a thin cutlet. When all the chops have been cooked this way, serve immediately.
For 6 servings
This recipe makes the most succulent lamb chops you will ever eat. The butcher at Lobel's actually asked me for the recipe the third time I had him trim the chops for me. You need to use single ribs trimmed the way they would be for a rack of lamb, which means the corner bone and backbone have been removed, leaving just the rib, and the rib bone has been "Frenched," which means the fat has been removed from the bone. Then the eye of each chop should be flattened. At Lobel's the butcher uses a cleaver held sideways instead of a meat pounder. I assume you could do this yourself if you bought a rack of lamb and sliced it into single rib chops, Frenched them, and flattened them, but I have never done this myself.
To be perfect, instead of grating the parmigiano-regianno cheese myself, I like to use cheese I have bought and had grated at DiPalo's. It's more powdery when they do it than when I use the Microplane to grate it myself, which makes lovely little shreds - what I normally want, but not here. I probably should get my own grater in Little Italy, but I have never gotten around to it. Aunt Rita had one that she (sigh) sold for 50 cents at a garage sale. What was she thinking?
I like to serve these with side dishes that are good cold or at room temperature so you can plate the chops as soon as they're done, and tuck in. Mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, and parsley are good; so are fried red peppers; and, of course, a tart green salad. If you began the meal with a 2-ounce serving of pasta per person as a starter (right now I'm thinking a sauce with tomatoes and anchovies would be good, but that's up to you), you don't need another starch.
I made these for Herb one night, and he told me he would have wanted Lee to cook them once a week. I can't say I eat them that often, but they are definitely one of my favorite recipes.
12 single rib lamb chops, partly boned and flattened as described above
½ grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, spread on a plate
2 eggs, beaten lightly put into a deep dish through a fine sieve
1 cup fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs, spread on a plate
Vegetable oil
Salt
Turn the chops on both sides in the grated cheese, pressing so the cheese sticks to the meat. Shake off any excess cheese. Dip the chops into the beaten egg, letting excess egg flow back into the dish. Turn the chops in the bread crumbs, coating both sides, and shake off the excess. (So you can see that this is essentially a bound breading, using cheese in place of flour.)
You can prepare the chops up to this point as much as 3 hours in advance if you refrigerate them; just remember to return the meat to room temperature before cooking it.
Pour enough oil into a skillet to come ¼ inch up the sides, and turn on the heat to medium. When the oil is very hot, put as many chops into the pan as will fit without crowding. As soon as one side forms a nice, golden crust, turn each chop and as soon as the second side has formed a crust, transfer to a warm platter, and sprinkle each side lightly with salt. They should be thin enough that they will be cooked at this point; if not, you have to cook a little longer; but you will get the hang of this after you have done it onc time. The chops are so tiny to begin with, it's easy to get them thin; it's not like trying to smash a fat chicken breast into a thin cutlet. When all the chops have been cooked this way, serve immediately.
Bruschetta - Real Garlic Bread
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
For 6 slices of bread
This is the real deal, not some buttery bread, which would never be served at table in Italy. It's soooooo good, you will find that you hardly ever make enough because people can't stop eating it.
3 or 4 plump garlic cloves
6 slices good, thick-crusted bread, ½-inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Cut the garlic cloves in half, and peel them. Toast or grill the bread to a golden brown on both sides. While the bread is still hot, rub one side of each slice with the cut side of a half clove of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the garlicky side of each slice of bread, and grind or sprinkle salt lightly over each piece. Serve while still warm. These pieces of bread will disappear as fast as you serve them.
The Tomato Version
All the ingredients given in the recipe above plus 6 ripe tomatoes
8 basil leaves
Wash the tomatoes, split them in half lengthwise, and remove as many seeds as you can with the tip of a small knife. Dice the tomatoes into ½-inch cubes.
Wash and dry the basil leaves, then tear or cut them with your kitchen shears into small pieces.
After rubbing the hot grilled bread with garlic as directed in the recipe above, put some of the diced tomatoes on top, sprinkle with basil, lightly drizzle each slice with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Print recipe
For 6 slices of bread
This is the real deal, not some buttery bread, which would never be served at table in Italy. It's soooooo good, you will find that you hardly ever make enough because people can't stop eating it.
3 or 4 plump garlic cloves
6 slices good, thick-crusted bread, ½-inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Cut the garlic cloves in half, and peel them. Toast or grill the bread to a golden brown on both sides. While the bread is still hot, rub one side of each slice with the cut side of a half clove of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the garlicky side of each slice of bread, and grind or sprinkle salt lightly over each piece. Serve while still warm. These pieces of bread will disappear as fast as you serve them.
The Tomato Version
All the ingredients given in the recipe above plus 6 ripe tomatoes
8 basil leaves
Wash the tomatoes, split them in half lengthwise, and remove as many seeds as you can with the tip of a small knife. Dice the tomatoes into ½-inch cubes.
Wash and dry the basil leaves, then tear or cut them with your kitchen shears into small pieces.
After rubbing the hot grilled bread with garlic as directed in the recipe above, put some of the diced tomatoes on top, sprinkle with basil, lightly drizzle each slice with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Print recipe
Mushrooms with Garlic
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Serves 6
I guess it's fair to say that if I could only have one cookbook, this would be it. I could eat out of it forever. These mushrooms are delicious and can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature, which makes them fabulous as part of an antipasto platter. I also love to serve them on top of a steaming bowl of Progresso Lentil Soup (not the low fat one, the original one) to which I have optionally stirred in a tablespoon or so of sour cream. This makes a great winter lunch with basic bruschetta (real garlic bread) and a tart green salad and a glass of minerally white wine.
To make this dish even more delicious and especially wine friendly, at the end of cooking add a very small glug of white truffle oil. Turn off the heat, and stir. The fragrance is divine, and it is yum.
1½ pounds white cultivated mushrooms
1½ teaspoons garlic, chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Clean mushrooms carefully with a paper towel. I don't wash them because they soak up too much water. If you like, you can slice off and discard a thin disk from the end of the mushroom stem, but I often don't bother to do this. Cut the mushrooms with the stems still attached lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Use a frying pan that can hold the mushrooms without crowding. Add olive oil to the frying pan, and heat it to medium. Add the mushrooms, and turn the heat up a little. Cook, stirring occasionally, with a wooden spatula.
When the mushrooms have absorbed the oil, add salt, and turn the heat down to low. As soon as the mushrooms release their juices, turn the heat up a little again, and cook those juices away for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden, being careful not to burn it or it will be bitter. Add the chopped parsley, add salt to taste,* and stir. (*This is the point at which you might want to add a tiny glug of white truffle oil, just before you turn off the heat. It's tastes very earthy and smells divine.)
Serves 6
I guess it's fair to say that if I could only have one cookbook, this would be it. I could eat out of it forever. These mushrooms are delicious and can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature, which makes them fabulous as part of an antipasto platter. I also love to serve them on top of a steaming bowl of Progresso Lentil Soup (not the low fat one, the original one) to which I have optionally stirred in a tablespoon or so of sour cream. This makes a great winter lunch with basic bruschetta (real garlic bread) and a tart green salad and a glass of minerally white wine.
To make this dish even more delicious and especially wine friendly, at the end of cooking add a very small glug of white truffle oil. Turn off the heat, and stir. The fragrance is divine, and it is yum.
1½ pounds white cultivated mushrooms
1½ teaspoons garlic, chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Clean mushrooms carefully with a paper towel. I don't wash them because they soak up too much water. If you like, you can slice off and discard a thin disk from the end of the mushroom stem, but I often don't bother to do this. Cut the mushrooms with the stems still attached lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Use a frying pan that can hold the mushrooms without crowding. Add olive oil to the frying pan, and heat it to medium. Add the mushrooms, and turn the heat up a little. Cook, stirring occasionally, with a wooden spatula.
When the mushrooms have absorbed the oil, add salt, and turn the heat down to low. As soon as the mushrooms release their juices, turn the heat up a little again, and cook those juices away for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden, being careful not to burn it or it will be bitter. Add the chopped parsley, add salt to taste,* and stir. (*This is the point at which you might want to add a tiny glug of white truffle oil, just before you turn off the heat. It's tastes very earthy and smells divine.)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Lentil Soup
Adapted from Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman
This is good and easy and is even better the second day. Ann Hodgman calls it "Papa Bear's Own Lentil Soup" because she got the recipe from a friend whose husband was illustrating a cookbook by a priest named Father Joseph Orsini, and Papa Bear is Father Orsini's nickname.
1 quart chicken stock (I really try to have my own on hand - made according to the recipe from the fabulous Zuni Cafe Cookbook)
1 quart water
1 pound dried lentils, washed and picked over
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram (The original recipe calls for oregano, but I don't like oregano. If you do, use it here.)
½ olive oil
Salt to Taste
Bring the chicken stock and water to a boil in a soup pot. Add all the other ingredients at once.
Bring ingredients to a boil, and keep boilingfor 15 minutes. Then simmer it over low heat for ½ hour. That's it.
This is good and easy and is even better the second day. Ann Hodgman calls it "Papa Bear's Own Lentil Soup" because she got the recipe from a friend whose husband was illustrating a cookbook by a priest named Father Joseph Orsini, and Papa Bear is Father Orsini's nickname.
1 quart chicken stock (I really try to have my own on hand - made according to the recipe from the fabulous Zuni Cafe Cookbook)
1 quart water
1 pound dried lentils, washed and picked over
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram (The original recipe calls for oregano, but I don't like oregano. If you do, use it here.)
½ olive oil
Salt to Taste
Bring the chicken stock and water to a boil in a soup pot. Add all the other ingredients at once.
Bring ingredients to a boil, and keep boilingfor 15 minutes. Then simmer it over low heat for ½ hour. That's it.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Mayonnaise
Adapted from Essentials of Cooking by James Peterson
This is the basic recipe I use for mayonnaise made by hand - not in a food processor or blender because this is the recipe I have the most success with. I would have to agree with James Peterson that homemade mayonnaise is a "revelation" (and I would double or triple that thought about aioli). It is delicious and for sure a different kettle of fish from store-bought.
Tasteless vegetable oils, such as grapeseed, make all-purpose mayonnaise. Olive oil has a much more distinct flavor, and I would rarely make mayonnaise with all olive oil (which I WOULD use in the aforementioned aioli), but I do sometimes mix olive oil and grapeseed together.
You have to experiment to find your favorite and/or combination of oils.
I hope you will check this out, but do go here for Molly's recipe, which looks as wonderful as everything she does.
Mayonnaise
1 egg yolk at room temperature
½ to ¾ cup oil (see above)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Combine the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a small bowl (Pyrex is fine), and whisk the mixture until smooth.
Put the oil in a pitcher. Pour it carefully down the side of the bowl, adding a little bit at a time - use only a teaspoon of oil at a time to begin with, and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture.
When the mayonnaise stiffens slightly, you can add the oil a little more quickly - about a tablespoon at a time. You will get the hang of it when you've done it a few times.
Continue adding oil until the mayonnaise is stiff. If the mayonnaise becomes too stiff, you can loosen it by adding a little more lemon juice.
To see just the recipe, click here.
Print recipe.
This is the basic recipe I use for mayonnaise made by hand - not in a food processor or blender because this is the recipe I have the most success with. I would have to agree with James Peterson that homemade mayonnaise is a "revelation" (and I would double or triple that thought about aioli). It is delicious and for sure a different kettle of fish from store-bought.
Tasteless vegetable oils, such as grapeseed, make all-purpose mayonnaise. Olive oil has a much more distinct flavor, and I would rarely make mayonnaise with all olive oil (which I WOULD use in the aforementioned aioli), but I do sometimes mix olive oil and grapeseed together.
You have to experiment to find your favorite and/or combination of oils.
I hope you will check this out, but do go here for Molly's recipe, which looks as wonderful as everything she does.
Mayonnaise
1 egg yolk at room temperature
½ to ¾ cup oil (see above)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Combine the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a small bowl (Pyrex is fine), and whisk the mixture until smooth.
Put the oil in a pitcher. Pour it carefully down the side of the bowl, adding a little bit at a time - use only a teaspoon of oil at a time to begin with, and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture.
When the mayonnaise stiffens slightly, you can add the oil a little more quickly - about a tablespoon at a time. You will get the hang of it when you've done it a few times.
Continue adding oil until the mayonnaise is stiff. If the mayonnaise becomes too stiff, you can loosen it by adding a little more lemon juice.
To see just the recipe, click here.
Print recipe.
Ziti Salad
Adapted from The Store Cookbook : Recipes and Recollection from "The Store in Amagansett" by Bert Greene and Denis Vaughan
Serves 8 t0 10
This is my one hundredth post since I started my blog. Hard as it is for me to believe, I have not mentioned Lee Friedman yet. She is one of the greatest people I have ever known - a true mentor. When confronted with an awkward situation, I still think "What would Lee do?" So my hundredth post is dedicated to her.
I met Lee in Atlanta at an engagement party for Stephanie Sheats at the home of the Marchman's. I can still picture Lee wearing a floor-length red and white checked dress when Dick called me over to introduce me to Herb and Lee, another pair of transplanted New Yorkers. We talked about restaurants we missed and food products we couldn't get (veal cutlets, Italian sausage, etc.). We talked about the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum. We talked about how good it was to meet, and we were friends from that moment on. Dick and I were one of three couples that Lee felt she could make dinner plans with without first checking with Herb - a flattering thing, I assure you, because they were "a couple in demand." We were not.
We used to meet for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Alfredo's on Roswell Road. We would go there and eat delicious spumoni for dessert. Every time - every single time - we ate it, Lee and I would call our waiter over and ask how it was made. And every time - every single time - he would give us minute instructions about what to do. We would go home and do what he said. (Once we actually even bought three half-gallons of different flavors [vanilla, chocolate, strawberry] of supermarket brand ice cream.) It was never the same as Alfredo's. And we were each doing this in an 8-inch springform pan, so each time we did this, we had absolutely tons of layers of ice cream that we didn't even like. This literally went on for years. I don't think the waiter was keeping part of the recipe a secret; I just think there was some ephemeral thing that never quite worked for us.
I have so many stories and reminiscences about Lee, they would fill a book. Tragically, Lee died when she was fifty-four. Sixteen years later on my fifty-fifth birthday, I was acutely aware that I had lived longer than Lee. Every day she pops into my head one way or another. I will miss her forever. She was the most indomitable person I ever met, and I'm proud she called me her friend.
This is a recipe I got from Lee. She used to buy this pasta salad from The Store in Amagansett when she spent summers in East Hampton. She and her friends did everything they could to reproduce it (sound familiar?) without success until The Store Cookbook was published, and, lo and behold, there was the recipe with its secret ingredient, G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder, published for all to see. I assure you this is much more successful than our attempts to recreate Alfredo's super spumoni! This dish is good for a summer barbecue or picnic when you have a lot of people to feed, and you're eating things like cold chicken and cole slaw or burgers from the grill.
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 box penne rigate (the original recipe calls for ziti, but now I would use penne with ridges because it holds the dressing so well)
1/4 cup milk
1 red onion
2 tomatoes (preferably perfectly ripe - otherwise use the best grape or cherry tomatoes you can find)
6 sweet pickles (size of pickles depends on how much you love sweet pickles) or the equivalent amount of sweet pickle relish
2 small green peppers
1 large shallot
½ cup sour cream
1½ cups mayonnaise
2 packets G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder (2 packets from a box, not 2 boxes)
3 grinds fresh pepper (black or white)
Dash of wine vinegar - red or white, your choice (I usually use red)
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice (from the jar of pickles or relish)
A handful of roughly chopped fresh dill (this is an important ingredient)
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water to which you have added the oil. (As you know, this is usually a no-no when cooking pasta, but for this recipe, you want to make sure it doesn't clump.) Cook until al dente.
Place the cooked pasta in a bowl, add 1/4 cup milk to thoroughly moisten the pasta, and toss.
Chop the onion, tomatoes, pickles, and peppers into ¼-inch cubes. Mince the shallot.
Beat the sour cream and mayonnaise together until creamy. Whisk in the vinegar and the pickle juice, then add the bouillon powder, salt to taste (remember the bouillon powder is salty), and the black or white pepper. Whisk again, and thin with a little milk, if necessary. Pour over the pasta. Add the shallot, tomatoes, pickles, and green peppers. Mix well.
Chill until serving time. Just before serving, cut fresh dill over the top with kitchen shears .
I have so many stories and reminiscences about Lee, they would fill a book. Tragically, Lee died when she was fifty-four. Sixteen years later on my fifty-fifth birthday, I was acutely aware that I had lived longer than Lee. Every day she pops into my head one way or another. I will miss her forever. She was the most indomitable person I ever met, and I'm proud she called me her friend.
This is a recipe I got from Lee. She used to buy this pasta salad from The Store in Amagansett when she spent summers in East Hampton. She and her friends did everything they could to reproduce it (sound familiar?) without success until The Store Cookbook was published, and, lo and behold, there was the recipe with its secret ingredient, G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder, published for all to see. I assure you this is much more successful than our attempts to recreate Alfredo's super spumoni! This dish is good for a summer barbecue or picnic when you have a lot of people to feed, and you're eating things like cold chicken and cole slaw or burgers from the grill.
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 box penne rigate (the original recipe calls for ziti, but now I would use penne with ridges because it holds the dressing so well)
1/4 cup milk
1 red onion
2 tomatoes (preferably perfectly ripe - otherwise use the best grape or cherry tomatoes you can find)
6 sweet pickles (size of pickles depends on how much you love sweet pickles) or the equivalent amount of sweet pickle relish
2 small green peppers
1 large shallot
½ cup sour cream
1½ cups mayonnaise
2 packets G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder (2 packets from a box, not 2 boxes)
3 grinds fresh pepper (black or white)
Dash of wine vinegar - red or white, your choice (I usually use red)
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice (from the jar of pickles or relish)
A handful of roughly chopped fresh dill (this is an important ingredient)
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water to which you have added the oil. (As you know, this is usually a no-no when cooking pasta, but for this recipe, you want to make sure it doesn't clump.) Cook until al dente.
Place the cooked pasta in a bowl, add 1/4 cup milk to thoroughly moisten the pasta, and toss.
Chop the onion, tomatoes, pickles, and peppers into ¼-inch cubes. Mince the shallot.
Beat the sour cream and mayonnaise together until creamy. Whisk in the vinegar and the pickle juice, then add the bouillon powder, salt to taste (remember the bouillon powder is salty), and the black or white pepper. Whisk again, and thin with a little milk, if necessary. Pour over the pasta. Add the shallot, tomatoes, pickles, and green peppers. Mix well.
Chill until serving time. Just before serving, cut fresh dill over the top with kitchen shears .
Apple & Endive Salad
Serves 6 - 8
Martha Stewart attributes this salad to someone named Kathy, and I am grateful to her because as Ms. Stewart says
You will enjoy the lovely contrast of tastes and textures in this salad - sweet and tart, smooth and crunchy.
Plus, you can make it in the dead of winter when the available greens don't appeal to you at all.
Apple & Endive Salad
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining
1/2 cup walnut halves
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining
1/2 cup walnut halves
7 Belgian endives, bottoms trimmed
1 tablespoons mild honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (Edmond Fallot Dijon Mustard is my favorite)
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons mild extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon walnut oil*
Salt
2 apples of your choice, cored and diced (don't peel because the skins are pretty, especially if they are red)
Pomegranate Seeds for garnish (optional - according to the Pom website, fresh pomegranates are available from October through January)
*Walnut oil is delicious; however, it can get rancid easily so keep it in the refrigerator to retard spoilage and always taste it before you use it.
Remove the large outer leaves of the endives. Cut off the root end, and discard. Slice the remaining endives on the diagonal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, mustard, rice vinegar, olive oil, and walnut oil. Add salt to taste.
In a large bowl, toss the endives, the apples, and the walnuts with the dressing. Strew with optional pomegranate seeds for a jewel-like effect.
Print recipe
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| My Favorite Dijon Mustard |
Stifado - A Sort-of Beef Stew
Adapted from Simple Cooking by John Thorne
Simple Cooking is a great book to leisurely read and cook from, then read again. This recipe is John Thorne's recreation of a dish he serendipitously had one night at the apartment of an acquaintance on the Lower East Side after she had captured a Greek sailor named Nikos, who spoke not one word of English while he cooked this meal for the three of them. John Thorne describes it as "an onion stew flavored with beef, not the other way around, the mouth focusing on a succulent, tomato-coated, beef-flavored mess of onion..." "He cooks the dish the way he remembers Nikos making it and the way he himself makes it, not from other recipes he has come across, which sometimes differ from this in the amount of meat and/or onions and the occasional suggestion to add cinnamon or strew the dish with Kalamata olives.
1 pound good beef chuck, flank steak, or london broil cut free of fat and gristle
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
3 pounds yellow onions, peeled and cut into large chunks (use Spanish onions, not sweet onions like Vidalia's for this dish)
5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces of tomato paste
A generous pinch of dried marjoram
Coarse salt
Pepper
Slice the beef into narrow strips. Pour the lemon juice over the meat, and then stir it in to coat every piece.
Heat the olive oil until it begins to sizzle in a large, heavy, non-reactive pot (like a Le Creuset) with a firmly fitting lid. Put in the beef and cook it, stirring constantly, until it is browned on all sides. Once the meat has browned, add the the onions, tomato paste, marjoram, a generous pinch of salt, and a good grinding of pepper. I rarely add pepper when I cook something, usually reserving it to sprinkle on at the end, but this is an exception. It really adds to this dish. Stir the ingredients, cover the pot, and turn down the heat as low as it will go. No kidding, really, really low because you want it to cook for 4 to 5 hours. You should not hear any sounds emanating from the pot. If you hear anything, it's cooking too high.
At the end of the third hour, open the lid, gently stir the contents. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste. The onions should be reddish golden, not brown, soft but intact. Continue to cook for another hour or so at the same low temperature, or until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving off the top of the pot for the last 15 or 20 minutes if necessary. Serve with a robust red wine. I serve this with small steamed potatoes tossed with butter and parsley along with a tart green salad. I know it sounds like it would be good with orzo too, but if you want something noodley, I would serve hot, buttered wide egg noodles.
Simple Cooking is a great book to leisurely read and cook from, then read again. This recipe is John Thorne's recreation of a dish he serendipitously had one night at the apartment of an acquaintance on the Lower East Side after she had captured a Greek sailor named Nikos, who spoke not one word of English while he cooked this meal for the three of them. John Thorne describes it as "an onion stew flavored with beef, not the other way around, the mouth focusing on a succulent, tomato-coated, beef-flavored mess of onion..." "He cooks the dish the way he remembers Nikos making it and the way he himself makes it, not from other recipes he has come across, which sometimes differ from this in the amount of meat and/or onions and the occasional suggestion to add cinnamon or strew the dish with Kalamata olives.
1 pound good beef chuck, flank steak, or london broil cut free of fat and gristle
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
3 pounds yellow onions, peeled and cut into large chunks (use Spanish onions, not sweet onions like Vidalia's for this dish)
5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces of tomato paste
A generous pinch of dried marjoram
Coarse salt
Pepper
Slice the beef into narrow strips. Pour the lemon juice over the meat, and then stir it in to coat every piece.
Heat the olive oil until it begins to sizzle in a large, heavy, non-reactive pot (like a Le Creuset) with a firmly fitting lid. Put in the beef and cook it, stirring constantly, until it is browned on all sides. Once the meat has browned, add the the onions, tomato paste, marjoram, a generous pinch of salt, and a good grinding of pepper. I rarely add pepper when I cook something, usually reserving it to sprinkle on at the end, but this is an exception. It really adds to this dish. Stir the ingredients, cover the pot, and turn down the heat as low as it will go. No kidding, really, really low because you want it to cook for 4 to 5 hours. You should not hear any sounds emanating from the pot. If you hear anything, it's cooking too high.
At the end of the third hour, open the lid, gently stir the contents. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste. The onions should be reddish golden, not brown, soft but intact. Continue to cook for another hour or so at the same low temperature, or until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving off the top of the pot for the last 15 or 20 minutes if necessary. Serve with a robust red wine. I serve this with small steamed potatoes tossed with butter and parsley along with a tart green salad. I know it sounds like it would be good with orzo too, but if you want something noodley, I would serve hot, buttered wide egg noodles.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Basmati Rice Pilaf
Adapted from the January-February 1997 issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
If you don't already subscribe to Cook's Illustrated Magazine or don't have the complete library, I highly recommend your subscribing to www.cooksillustrated.com. All the back issues are available, and the site is very user-friendly; you won't be disappointed.
This is a very fragrant rice dish, one you will make over and over once you try it. It goes with so many things so don't wait until you're making an Indian-style dinner to try it.
Basmati Rice Pilaf
Adapted from the January-February 1997 issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I usually use grapeseed)
1 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken in two
2 whole green cardamom pods (alternatively use ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom - I use ground very often)
¼ cup thinly sliced onion (finely chopped is also fine)
2 whole cloves
1 cup basmati rice (I only use basmati rice from India)
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups of chicken broth (water also works well)
Small pat of butter (optional)
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add whole spices and cook, stirring, for about one minute. (If using ground cardomom, don't add it at this point.)
Add the sliced or chopped onion and cook, stirring until it just starts to turn gold, but don't let it brown or caramelize.
Stir in the rice, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add 1½ cups chicken broth or water and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. (Add ground cardamom now if you are using it.) Stir once, cover tightly, and simmer until all the water or chicken broth has been absorbed. This will take 15 to 17 minutes. I generally proceed to the next step after 15 minutes without lifting the lid because it's been my personal experience that 15 minutes works well. But this might have some nuance involved - your pot, the level of your heat, etc. You will figure out what works for you after actually making the recipe.
Turn off the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork. If you're going to add a pat of butter, now is the time, stirring it in with a fork.
Print page
If you don't already subscribe to Cook's Illustrated Magazine or don't have the complete library, I highly recommend your subscribing to www.cooksillustrated.com. All the back issues are available, and the site is very user-friendly; you won't be disappointed.
This is a very fragrant rice dish, one you will make over and over once you try it. It goes with so many things so don't wait until you're making an Indian-style dinner to try it.
Basmati Rice Pilaf
Adapted from the January-February 1997 issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I usually use grapeseed)
1 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken in two
2 whole green cardamom pods (alternatively use ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom - I use ground very often)
¼ cup thinly sliced onion (finely chopped is also fine)
2 whole cloves
1 cup basmati rice (I only use basmati rice from India)
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups of chicken broth (water also works well)
Small pat of butter (optional)
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add whole spices and cook, stirring, for about one minute. (If using ground cardomom, don't add it at this point.)
Add the sliced or chopped onion and cook, stirring until it just starts to turn gold, but don't let it brown or caramelize.
Stir in the rice, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add 1½ cups chicken broth or water and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. (Add ground cardamom now if you are using it.) Stir once, cover tightly, and simmer until all the water or chicken broth has been absorbed. This will take 15 to 17 minutes. I generally proceed to the next step after 15 minutes without lifting the lid because it's been my personal experience that 15 minutes works well. But this might have some nuance involved - your pot, the level of your heat, etc. You will figure out what works for you after actually making the recipe.
Turn off the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork. If you're going to add a pat of butter, now is the time, stirring it in with a fork.
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The Best Sangria
Adapted from the May/June 1998 Issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
If you don't have a complete library of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, I highly recommend your subscribing to www.cooksillustrated.com. It's very user-friendly, and you will have a great time perusing all the old issues.
Serves 4
I keep looking longingly at my deck and wondering if it will ever be warm enough to sit outside. When it is - if it is - I will invite Meg and Amy over and make a pitcher of this great sangria, and we can eat chips and guacamole and talk about how horrible this past winter was.
The Best Sangria
Adapted from the May/June 1998 Issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
2 large juice oranges: one orange sliced, one orange juiced; both oranges washed
1 large lemon, washed and sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar - if you can find finely granulated sugar, use it
1/4 cup Triple Sec (Bols is my favorite; if you can find it, buy it; it's great in margaritas too)
1 bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine (I use Merlot, which was recommended by Cook's Illustrated)
Put the sliced orange and sliced lemon in a large pitcher. Add the sugar and mash gently with a wooden spoon to release some juice from the fruit without pulverizing it. The sugar should dissolve. This will take less time if you use the finely granulated sugar.
Add the orange juice, Triple Sec, and wine to the pitcher. Stir to mix well and refrigerate from 2 to 8 hours.
Before serving, add 6 to 8 ice cubes, and stir to remix the ingredients. Serve immediately. This won't last long.
Print recipe
If you don't have a complete library of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, I highly recommend your subscribing to www.cooksillustrated.com. It's very user-friendly, and you will have a great time perusing all the old issues.
Serves 4
I keep looking longingly at my deck and wondering if it will ever be warm enough to sit outside. When it is - if it is - I will invite Meg and Amy over and make a pitcher of this great sangria, and we can eat chips and guacamole and talk about how horrible this past winter was.
The Best Sangria
Adapted from the May/June 1998 Issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine
2 large juice oranges: one orange sliced, one orange juiced; both oranges washed
1 large lemon, washed and sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar - if you can find finely granulated sugar, use it
1/4 cup Triple Sec (Bols is my favorite; if you can find it, buy it; it's great in margaritas too)
1 bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine (I use Merlot, which was recommended by Cook's Illustrated)
Put the sliced orange and sliced lemon in a large pitcher. Add the sugar and mash gently with a wooden spoon to release some juice from the fruit without pulverizing it. The sugar should dissolve. This will take less time if you use the finely granulated sugar.
Add the orange juice, Triple Sec, and wine to the pitcher. Stir to mix well and refrigerate from 2 to 8 hours.
Before serving, add 6 to 8 ice cubes, and stir to remix the ingredients. Serve immediately. This won't last long.
Print recipe
Eggs in Tuna Sauce
Adapted from The Antipasto Table by Michele Scicolone
This is a lovely little recipe to make when you want a change from the usual deviled eggs. It's a wonderful addition to a summer lunch table. It's basically hard-boiled eggs with tonnato sauce.
Eggs in Tuna Sauce
Adapted from The Antipasto Table by Michele Scicolone
6 large eggs
1 6½-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
½ cup mayonnaise (homemade is excellent but your favorite store-bought will do)
2 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
The Eggs
I always wash eggs before I cook them, and after I wash them I pierce the largest end with an egg piercer. Also, I usually boil eggs that have just come out of the refrigerator.
If you have a favorite foolproof method that you use for hard-boiling eggs, use it here. Otherwise, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan large enough to hold six eggs in one layer. Lower the heat slightly, and add the eggs. Cook for 6 minutes. Drain the water from the saucepan and add cold running water until the water feels cold to the touch. You can also add a few ice cubes once the water feels cook if you like, but it's not absolutely necessary. When cold, remove from the , and peel under cold running water or refrigerate until ready to use. This should make eggs with the white completely set and the yolk still a tiny bit soft.
The Sauce
Combine the tuna with its oil, anchovies, mayonnaise, capers, and garlic in a food procesor. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape the mixture down as necessary. Add lemon juice to taste.
The Assembly
Just before serving peel the eggs, and cut them in half lengthwise. Place the eggs cut sides up in a serving dish or on a special egg platter and spoon on the sauce.
Print recipe
This is a lovely little recipe to make when you want a change from the usual deviled eggs. It's a wonderful addition to a summer lunch table. It's basically hard-boiled eggs with tonnato sauce.
Eggs in Tuna Sauce
Adapted from The Antipasto Table by Michele Scicolone
6 large eggs
1 6½-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
½ cup mayonnaise (homemade is excellent but your favorite store-bought will do)
2 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
The Eggs
I always wash eggs before I cook them, and after I wash them I pierce the largest end with an egg piercer. Also, I usually boil eggs that have just come out of the refrigerator.
If you have a favorite foolproof method that you use for hard-boiling eggs, use it here. Otherwise, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan large enough to hold six eggs in one layer. Lower the heat slightly, and add the eggs. Cook for 6 minutes. Drain the water from the saucepan and add cold running water until the water feels cold to the touch. You can also add a few ice cubes once the water feels cook if you like, but it's not absolutely necessary. When cold, remove from the , and peel under cold running water or refrigerate until ready to use. This should make eggs with the white completely set and the yolk still a tiny bit soft.
The Sauce
Combine the tuna with its oil, anchovies, mayonnaise, capers, and garlic in a food procesor. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape the mixture down as necessary. Add lemon juice to taste.
The Assembly
Just before serving peel the eggs, and cut them in half lengthwise. Place the eggs cut sides up in a serving dish or on a special egg platter and spoon on the sauce.
Print recipe
Sunday, April 8, 2007
A Cook's Notes One
I haven't really written anything that would be equivalent to cook's notes other than what I've included with the recipes. However, every now and then the things that are stirring around in my brain seem to want to find a home. So here are a few thoughts for today.
I keep thinking I should make a list of my ten favorite cookbooks -- but not today. I want to tell you what cookery and cookery-related books I would want on a desert island should I be on one, either stranded or by choice. Now my desert island is a paradise where I would live quietly and comfortably and for some reason (maybe because Amazon delivers) I could have whatever I wanted - although I wouldn't want much (because on my island I am a calm and simple Zen-like creature). But I would have access to anything I wanted to cook. So I guess that makes it just an island and not a desert island, right? You can't have everything you want to cook on an arid slip of land. Plus it wouldn't be too pretty. So now my island is not a desert but a verdant, fragrant place.
The list of books is small (and it may be ever-changing) but in no particular order, here goes:
I would want Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and Marcella's Italian Kitchen, both excellently written by Marcella Hazan. I don't know anyone who disagrees that she is the doyenne of Italian Cooking. Additionally, I would want Classic Pasta Cookbook by her son Guiliano Hazan. That would almost be it for Italian cooking with the exception of wanting to have everything ever written by Elizabeth David, and that would by definition include her book Italian Food.
I would want Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin so I could smile, and laugh, and drool - and cry when I think about how young she died. With them I could live without her novels Happy All the Time and Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object (maybe).
I would want How to Eat by Nigella (do I have to add Lawson?). This way I could read myself silly even if I wanted to stay slim and didn't want to eat myself silly. (I am oh-so-slim on my island.)
I would want The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers because there's so much to learn that it could occupy me almost indefinitely (and that's saying a lot because I have all the time I want on my island).
I think I would need The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash just in case the other books I have chosen don't include all the different ways of cooking all the vegetables that are growing on my island.
That's it! (For now.)
I keep thinking I should make a list of my ten favorite cookbooks -- but not today. I want to tell you what cookery and cookery-related books I would want on a desert island should I be on one, either stranded or by choice. Now my desert island is a paradise where I would live quietly and comfortably and for some reason (maybe because Amazon delivers) I could have whatever I wanted - although I wouldn't want much (because on my island I am a calm and simple Zen-like creature). But I would have access to anything I wanted to cook. So I guess that makes it just an island and not a desert island, right? You can't have everything you want to cook on an arid slip of land. Plus it wouldn't be too pretty. So now my island is not a desert but a verdant, fragrant place.
The list of books is small (and it may be ever-changing) but in no particular order, here goes:
I would want Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and Marcella's Italian Kitchen, both excellently written by Marcella Hazan. I don't know anyone who disagrees that she is the doyenne of Italian Cooking. Additionally, I would want Classic Pasta Cookbook by her son Guiliano Hazan. That would almost be it for Italian cooking with the exception of wanting to have everything ever written by Elizabeth David, and that would by definition include her book Italian Food.
I would want Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin so I could smile, and laugh, and drool - and cry when I think about how young she died. With them I could live without her novels Happy All the Time and Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object (maybe).
I would want How to Eat by Nigella (do I have to add Lawson?). This way I could read myself silly even if I wanted to stay slim and didn't want to eat myself silly. (I am oh-so-slim on my island.)
I would want The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers because there's so much to learn that it could occupy me almost indefinitely (and that's saying a lot because I have all the time I want on my island).
I think I would need The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash just in case the other books I have chosen don't include all the different ways of cooking all the vegetables that are growing on my island.
That's it! (For now.)
Baked Stuffed Bluefish Fillets
Adapted from From Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan
For 4 to 6 persons
You may say "yuck" when you read the name of this recipe, which Peggy turned me onto. But it's really good and really good for you with all the Omega-3 fish oil in the dark-fleshed bluefish. The fish is savory and succulent and - hard to believe - even non fish lovers have been known to like it a lot.
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped capers
5 tablespoons fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs (remember to read the ingredients and find a brand with no junk in it, and then stick with that brand)
About 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
2 bluefish fillets, skin removed, weighing 1¾ to 2 pounds altogether
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the fish, and pat it dry.
Mix the parsley, garlic, grated cheese, anchovies, capers, 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt together in a small bowl.
Take a baking dish that will hold one of the fillets comfortably, and lightly coat the bottom with olive oil. Place one of the fillets in the pan, spread two-thirds of the mixture from the bowl over it, then cover that fillet with the other fillet. Spread the rest of the mixture from the bowl over the top fillet, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs over the top, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Place the baking dish in the oven. If no more than a total of three inches thick, 15 minutes may be enough, but it might take 20 to 25 minutes depending on what the thickness actually is. I have personally never cooked it for less than 20 minutes.
When done, take the baking dish from the oven, and allow the fish to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Print recipe
For 4 to 6 persons
You may say "yuck" when you read the name of this recipe, which Peggy turned me onto. But it's really good and really good for you with all the Omega-3 fish oil in the dark-fleshed bluefish. The fish is savory and succulent and - hard to believe - even non fish lovers have been known to like it a lot.
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped capers
5 tablespoons fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs (remember to read the ingredients and find a brand with no junk in it, and then stick with that brand)
About 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
2 bluefish fillets, skin removed, weighing 1¾ to 2 pounds altogether
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the fish, and pat it dry.
Mix the parsley, garlic, grated cheese, anchovies, capers, 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt together in a small bowl.
Take a baking dish that will hold one of the fillets comfortably, and lightly coat the bottom with olive oil. Place one of the fillets in the pan, spread two-thirds of the mixture from the bowl over it, then cover that fillet with the other fillet. Spread the rest of the mixture from the bowl over the top fillet, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs over the top, and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Place the baking dish in the oven. If no more than a total of three inches thick, 15 minutes may be enough, but it might take 20 to 25 minutes depending on what the thickness actually is. I have personally never cooked it for less than 20 minutes.
When done, take the baking dish from the oven, and allow the fish to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Print recipe
Big Baked Onions
Adapted from Great Food Without Fuss by Frances McCullough and Barbara Witt
I adapted this recipe from a really good cookbook. It's out of print, but you can usually still get it from Amazon or Jessica's Biscuit, often at a very discounted price, so you might want to check it out.
This is a rustic recipe originally from Julia Child. It's very easy and an unusual addition to your table. But it is an delicious addition not a star performer. When I make it, I clean the onions off with a damp cloth because I don't want to dislodge the papery skin, and I always use whatever sweet onions are available in the store.
Someone who made a comment apparently found the following instructions confusing, so I went back and checked the recipe I adapted this from to see if I left a step out. I didn't, so I guess I should add that the amount of time this takes will, of course, depend on the size of the onions. If they are done before the rest of the meal, the onions can be kept warm between the time they are soft enough to pierce with a cake tester and slitting the tops to butter and eat, and it won't make any difference in how they taste. The first time you make it, you might want to leave yourself a lot of time, like 45 minutes, and then you will be better able to gauge it for yourself the second time.
If you like onions, I think you will like this.
Big Baked Onions
1 large sweet onion per person
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of foil, which you should crumple so the onions will stand up on it. Put the onions on the foil root side down.
Place the pan in the middle level of the oven, and bake until the onions are soft throughout when pricked deeply with a cake tester or skewer.
Slit the tops, and place a pat of butter in each. To eat, scoop the warm buttery flesh out of the surrounding skin like you do when eating a baked potato (except don't eat the onion skin).
To see just the recipe, click here.
I adapted this recipe from a really good cookbook. It's out of print, but you can usually still get it from Amazon or Jessica's Biscuit, often at a very discounted price, so you might want to check it out.
This is a rustic recipe originally from Julia Child. It's very easy and an unusual addition to your table. But it is an delicious addition not a star performer. When I make it, I clean the onions off with a damp cloth because I don't want to dislodge the papery skin, and I always use whatever sweet onions are available in the store.
Someone who made a comment apparently found the following instructions confusing, so I went back and checked the recipe I adapted this from to see if I left a step out. I didn't, so I guess I should add that the amount of time this takes will, of course, depend on the size of the onions. If they are done before the rest of the meal, the onions can be kept warm between the time they are soft enough to pierce with a cake tester and slitting the tops to butter and eat, and it won't make any difference in how they taste. The first time you make it, you might want to leave yourself a lot of time, like 45 minutes, and then you will be better able to gauge it for yourself the second time.
If you like onions, I think you will like this.
Big Baked Onions
1 large sweet onion per person
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of foil, which you should crumple so the onions will stand up on it. Put the onions on the foil root side down.
Place the pan in the middle level of the oven, and bake until the onions are soft throughout when pricked deeply with a cake tester or skewer.
Slit the tops, and place a pat of butter in each. To eat, scoop the warm buttery flesh out of the surrounding skin like you do when eating a baked potato (except don't eat the onion skin).
To see just the recipe, click here.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Green Beans with Tomatoes
Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan
This is a wonderful recipe that can be used either as a vegetable or as a pasta sauce. If you make it in the summer when basil is fresh, green beans are young, and the tomatoes are ripe, ripe, ripe, it is perfect. Having said that, however, I have made it in the dead of winter with canned tomatoes, and it is still delicious.
Green Beans with Tomatoes
Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan
4 servings
1 14-ounce can Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound fresh green beans
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 tablespoons if using as a pasta sauce)
2 teaspoons garlic cut into slivers (can optionally increase to 1 tablespoon if using as a pasta sauce)
Salt
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves*
Cut the root end of the green beans off, leaving the pointed end intact. (If using as a pasta sauce, cut the beans into 2-inch pieces, and use penne as the pasta). Wash the beans in cold water.
Choose a pan with a lid that will hold all the green beans. I use a three-quart saucier. Add the olive oil and garlic to the pan, turn on the heat to medium, and sauté the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the green beans to the pan, turn the heat down to medium, sprinkle with salt, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender but not mushy. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. If the juices in the pan are watery when the beans are done, remove the beans with a slotted spoon, turn the heat up, and boil away the excess liquid. Then return the beans to the pan, mix in the basil leaves, and serve.
*If using this as a pasta sauce, do not add the basil to the pan. When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss with the beans and all the contents of the pan, add the basil leaves, toss again, sprinkle with the extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and serve immediately.
Variation using Fresh Tomatoes
If it's summer, and the tomatoes are glorious, make this using 1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes (1½ pounds if using as a pasta sauce). Wash the tomatoes, and drop them into a pot of boiling water When the water returns to a boil, cook for about a minute, then drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes, and cut them into large pieces. Make the recipe the same as above, substituting the fresh tomatoes for the canned.
Print recipe
This is a wonderful recipe that can be used either as a vegetable or as a pasta sauce. If you make it in the summer when basil is fresh, green beans are young, and the tomatoes are ripe, ripe, ripe, it is perfect. Having said that, however, I have made it in the dead of winter with canned tomatoes, and it is still delicious.
Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan
4 servings
1 14-ounce can Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound fresh green beans
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 tablespoons if using as a pasta sauce)
2 teaspoons garlic cut into slivers (can optionally increase to 1 tablespoon if using as a pasta sauce)
Salt
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves*
Cut the root end of the green beans off, leaving the pointed end intact. (If using as a pasta sauce, cut the beans into 2-inch pieces, and use penne as the pasta). Wash the beans in cold water.
Choose a pan with a lid that will hold all the green beans. I use a three-quart saucier. Add the olive oil and garlic to the pan, turn on the heat to medium, and sauté the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the green beans to the pan, turn the heat down to medium, sprinkle with salt, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender but not mushy. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. If the juices in the pan are watery when the beans are done, remove the beans with a slotted spoon, turn the heat up, and boil away the excess liquid. Then return the beans to the pan, mix in the basil leaves, and serve.
*If using this as a pasta sauce, do not add the basil to the pan. When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss with the beans and all the contents of the pan, add the basil leaves, toss again, sprinkle with the extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and serve immediately.
Variation using Fresh Tomatoes
If it's summer, and the tomatoes are glorious, make this using 1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes (1½ pounds if using as a pasta sauce). Wash the tomatoes, and drop them into a pot of boiling water When the water returns to a boil, cook for about a minute, then drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes, and cut them into large pieces. Make the recipe the same as above, substituting the fresh tomatoes for the canned.
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