Archive for February, 2010
Sunday Supper
After I graduated from college, emerging from the hole of academic hermithood that was my undergraduate life, CAR and I vowed to cook Sunday supper together on a regular basis. Although we’ve struggled to stick to the “regular” part of the plan, we usually manage at least one end-of-the-week meal per month. A proper Sunday supper consists of hearty and comforting fare, but stops short of overindulgence; Mondays are sluggish enough as is.
Last night we prepared butternut squash risotto
Mixed greens with fennel, shallot (having inadvertently chopped more than we needed for the risotto), radish, and shaved carrot
And port-poached Anjou pears with cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise
All the poached pear recipes on Epicurious instruct you to combine the wine, sugar, and spices in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and add the pears. We use a different technique: peel, halve, and core several firm but ripe pears. Place them face down in a glass baking dish. Add enough port or red wine to submerge 1/4 of each pear. Add about 1/8 cup of sugar per pear (taste to adjust the sweetness to your liking). Spice it up with cinnamon sticks and/or star anise and/or cloves and/or cardamom and/or ginger and/or vanilla bean. Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until the liquid thickens and the pears become tender.
Turkey Redux: Part 2
Our Thanksgiving dessert consists of three pies—key lime, pecan, and pumpkin chiffon. Key lime pie may not scream “Thanksgiving” to you, but our family used to spend Turkey Day in Boca Grande, Florida. Although we stopped traveling south in November about 12 years ago, we’ve maintained this tropical tradition. After all, Key lime pie is unconditionally delicious. It also cuts the autumnal richness of the other two pies. So really it’s a digestive.
Decipher these recipe cards to recreate the deliciousness.
Scoff all you want pastry aficionados, but we love Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust. Not too salty, not too sweet, and not too flaky, it complements the rich pecan filling perfectly.
The North End, Boston
Itinerary: lunch at Neptune Oyster, dessert at Modern Pastry
Seems like it’s hard to go wrong at Neptune Oyster. My only complaint was the stingy portion of sea urchin from the raw bar. We split one traditional and one Maine (hot with butter) lobster roll. Consensus was that the traditional was better, but that’s more a question of personal preference than quality of execution. One more word of advice: it’s a small space with limited seating capacity, so get there early. And don’t drive because it’s hard to park without a residential sticker.
Modern Pastry: you know what you came for. Keep your eye on the ball, and stick to the classics. Coffee, cannoli, and half moon cookies. These light, freshly frosted black and white cookies are a different species entirely from the pre-packaged bastardizations you find in delis.
Turkey Redux: Part 1
February is a dreary month. The reality of winter sets in, eclipsing all remnants of holiday cheer. I begin to crave “hearty” meat ‘n carb combos like pepperoni pizza and lamb ragù. What better way to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder than to distract yourself with memories of better months? And so we bring you Thanksgiving: A Retrospective.
Every November, a week or so before the big day, pesky thoughts of moderation creep into at least one family member’s head, and we consider changing the menu (do we REALLY need 3 pies for 5 people?). But, gluttony always triumphs, and the menu survives, unscathed. Here’s the rundown.
Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes, smashed potatoes, creamed onions, haricots verts, key lime pie, pecan pie, and pumpkin chiffon pie
The bird resting:
My plate, round one:
Eleven Madison Park
This year marked a milestone birthday for me, and I commemorated the day with dinner at Eleven Madison Park. We began with cocktails at the bar, sat down at our table at 8:45, wavered between the “Three-Course Prix Fixe” and the eleven-course “Gourmand,” and lumbered out the doors, eleven courses later, around 1:00 AM. The Gourmand is a blind tasting, meaning chef’s selection, no written menu. Kudos Daniel Humm—our meal was superb. The restaurant sent me home with two boxes of petit fours and this personalized print of the menu:
Blini
I post this picture in honor of Valentine’s Day. CAR is engaged! To celebrate, our family gathered in Boston with a bottle of champagne, a tin of caviar, and batch of homemade blini. I was in charge of the blini and selected this recipe because it doesn’t call for yeast. Highly recommended.
“Caviar and Salmon Blini Tortes,” Gourmet, February 2008
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, separated
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
“Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and yolk and whisk until smooth. Beat egg white with a clean whisk in another bowl until it just holds soft peaks. Fold into batter along with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with some of remaining melted butter, then heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches of 6 or 7, drop 1 level tablespoon batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook 1 minute more. Brush blini on both sides with some of remaining melted butter, then transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Brush skillet with butter between batches.”
Sandwiches
I concur with Liz Lemon’s sandwich theory. Sandwiches = universal happiness. I also admit that the yuppie cookware/kitchen utensil phenomenon has gotten out of hand. Case in point:
Herb Chopper : PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and use a chef’s knife
Electric Egg Cooker: PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and boil some water
Nonstick Burger Press: PUT DOWN that Williams-Sonoma catalog and shape the patties with your hands
That said, I swear by my Breville Ikon Panini Press. It may only serve one purpose, but the result is mighty tasty. Assembling a sandwich, hot or cold, doesn’t require a recipe. But when you eat sandwiches several times a week, it’s easy to run out of ideas. Here are some simple combinations that are sure to kick any sandwich-making slump:
Pepper turkey + spicy tomato chutney + goat cheese + arugula
Pepper turkey + American Spoon Cranberry Mustard + sharp white cheddar + arugula
Smoked turkey + Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney + brie + arugula
Rotisserie chicken + brie + roasted bell pepper + sautéed Spanish onion + arugula (inspired by Flour Bakery)
Spicy Italian chicken, turkey, or pork sausage + sautéed bell pepper + sweet and hot pickled peppers + provolone
Prosciutto + fig spread + fresh mozzarella OR goat cheese + baby spinach
Black forest ham + Stonewall Kitchen Old Farmhouse Chutney + sharp white cheddar + arugula
Chorizo + quince paste + manchego (best served hot)
Soft-shell crab + pesto + provolone + sprouts
Smoked whitefish + mustard + provolone + sprouts
Grouper + mustard + swiss + sauerkraut on rye (= a grouper reuben, best served hot)
Italian tuna + fontina + radicchio + red onion + Tabasco (best served hot)
Italian tuna + red pepper spread + taleggio + arugula
