Navarin Printanier 4_26_12

Navarin Printanier 4_26_12

Pronounced ‘de-lish-us’! Wish Dorie had provided a pronunciation guide for us non-French speakers so we could sound well-traveled and epicurean as we serve up her dishes!  Guess I need to go to Babel.com for that!

This is the first time I’ve had ‘lamb stew’.  The tenderness of the lamb was, no doubt, due to Husband’s cutting and trimming of the 3 pound semi-boneless leg of lamb.  You see, I forgot what boneless cut I was to buy when I was at Shop Rite.  I just remembered lamb and boneless.  Husband made me promise never to ask him to do butcher’s work again!  It took him about an hour and a half to cut out the various ligaments and tendons from that leg!  And did I mention that well over a pound was lost in the trimming.  I looked at a much smaller amount of cubed lamb in the bowl than what I had hoped for, but persevered on.  The turnips, potatoes, carrots, onions, and peas were easy to cut up and toss into the rich beef broth (I use Better Than Bouillon, which is excellent tasting!) with the thyme, bay, salt and pepper. I used ketchup for the tomato paste as it was all I had. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t find any beautiful little onions, the white onion cut into 1 inch chunks were a worthy substitute.  Husband was peering over my shoulder into the pot and commenting on the wonderful aroma of the lamb browning in the olive oil.  It came together in under 2 hours.  I served it over fettuccine (I know, I know, always the pasta!). 

We were quite vocal as we ate with lots of mmmm’s while we ate with relish.  Nephew said it was ‘the best [Dorie dish] yet’.  Husband said ‘delicious’ several times.  Son missed a great dish, but I doubt he would care.  The new girlfriend is all the substance he needs right now (lol) and he was out to celebrate her grandfather’s birthday with her family.  He’s been out for several nights in a row now and I envision an empty seat for many more nights to come.  Sigh!  Nephew is currently girlfriendless so Husband and I welcome him to dine with us and he comes willingly.  He loves good food!  At least we had one ‘young ‘un’ at the table with us (though he’s nearly 20).

Guess what we are having for dinner tonight?  Yep, you guessed right—leftover navarin printanier!

Coconut Friands

Coconut Friands 4_22_12

I didn’t get to bake these up until Sunday due to a hectic week.  I decided to toast my coconut flakes and so I did.  Mixing up these little coconut sweets was quick and easy.  Never thought whipping up egg whites, vanilla, melted butter, and flour could result in such a rich little treat.  We enjoyed these fresh from the oven on Sunday afternoon with a cup of coffee, while it finally rained here in southern New Jersey.  Both the rain and the friands were fitting rewards for all of the gardening and weeding done on Saturday. 

Sardine Rillettes 4_12_12

Sardine Rillettes 4_12_12

I date myself when I say the one-liner, ‘everything tastes better when it sits on a ritz’.  I can't help it, that catchy advertiser for Ritz crackers is from, what, the 80’s-90’s?  So I used a whole grain cracker to hold the sardines though a lettuce wrap or pita would be good also, but I didn’t have those on hand.  So I mounded the cracker with what I called ‘poor man’s tuna fish’.  I added the cornichons to the mix and thought it added taste and texture.  We didn’t wait 2 hours to munch on these but ate them straight from the bowl.  No fancy presentation here!  Husband loved it.  I liked it.  Son and Nephew nowhere around to taste this, but I think Nephew would like it, Son not so much (a pattern here?). This might be good formed into a ball and rolled in something, maybe shredded cheese.  This would make a nice addition to an assortment of appetizers.  

Surprisingly tasty.

Asparagus & Bits of Bacon 4_5_12

No stress at all about cooking this side dish.  I decided to turn it into a main dish by adding our household favorite - pasta!  I tweaked the recipe further by substituting pancetta (an Italian bacon) for the regular bacon.  I refused to boil the asparagus when the microwave will do the job in a few minutes.  I cut the asparagus spears into thirds to work along with the pappardelle (Italian wide noodle) noodles. I also zested a lemon to add to the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil (I couldn't bring myself to use walnut oil for this dish, maybe as the side dish).  I added ground fresh black pepper to this lemon/olive oil mix. Putting it together was a cinch in the 12 inch fryer before serving in pasta dishes.

Mangia!  Husband declared it excellent with all the foods and flavors he loves.  Nephew said it was 'pretty kickin' ass good'.  Son said the pancetta was too salty (I think he loves being arbitrary!).  Absolutely delicious and I will be making this again soon as our Jersey asparagus will be out soon and will be around for a couple of months to come. 


Happy Easter, Happy Passover to All!

Crab and Grapefruit Salad 3_30_12

I love salads, Husband loves salads, Son not so much.  Thankfully, we all enjoy seafood. So this salad had an easy entrance to our table.  The orange pepper, kirby cucumber, chili pepper, scallion, and crab was very agreeable, but the grapefruit?  That was a new....and a strange addition to the rest of the ingredients.  But
 I have learned to trust Dorie and her expertise.  So I did and created her crab and grapefruit salad.  Shop Rite had the lump crabmeat on sale, and wow, that was a lot of crab meat.  So I added the whole orange pepper and was glad I did.  I decided to bed the salad on a baby greens salad and this added more dimension to the salad.  This would be a great salad for Easter brunch.  We had it for dinner with steak and baked sweet potato.  Son declared it tropical because of the grapefruit.  I declared it a success since all enjoyed it.  This is a wonderful, anytime salad.  But there could be less expensive seafood to substitute for the crab.  Like shrimp or imitation crab.  Maybe even more flavorful than the lump crab? This is a keeper recipe.

Coca Sables

Cocoa Sables 3-23-12

I love cookies!  My family loves cookies!  And we love chocolate, especially dark chocolate.  There’s something about making sweets that feels like a reward in the making.  Simple, everyday ingredients make it easy.  I wondered how the cookies would hold together when baked since there was no egg in the batter.  I wondered how I would finely chop my 73% dark chocolate bar to add to the mix.  Taking out a heavy chef’s knife I began at the corner and it was pretty easy to slice off very thin slivers.  I then cross cut it all again when I finished the bar.  The dough formed easily and I divided and rolled it in wax paper and it spent the night chilling.  The next evening I beat an egg, poured sanding sugar into a tray, brushed the chocolate log with the egg and rolled the log in the sugar several times.  I cut mine the half inch size that Dorie suggested.  Into the oven they went and the aroma of their baking was heavenly. 

Darn, no vanilla ice cream in the house, but a cold glass of milk will do.  Actually, I made tea while waiting for them to finish cooling and decided that would be just as good.  Son ate the first one, declared it was ‘pretty good’, and gave it a 7 (I swear the only high rankings he gives out are car related only) so I hand one to husband.  He likes mostly everything so I figured there’d be only praise coming from him.  He remarked on the cocoa taste and asked how much sugar was in them (he’s trying to be mindful about the amount he consumes, but his mouth doesn’t listen very well).  He said they’d be great with coffee.

I am the last to taste them.  I declare they are rich and chocolately, not overly sweet, and wish to make an ice cream sandwich with them.  Guess I will be stopping at the store on my way home from work to pick up a quart of vanilla.  Hey, it’s the weekend! 

Also thought about rolling the logs in nuts or crushed peppermint candies too.

Cheese Souffle 3/16/12

Cheese Souffle 3/15/2012

Well, it’s in.  Now I hold my breath.  I second guess myself.  Did I beat the egg whites enough, did they have the stiff peaks and shiny gloss?  The gloss was there.  Did I fold them into the béchamel cheese sauce just enough or not enough?

I just peeked after 32 minutes, it looks brown but with some pale surfaces. I had to use my Corningware square(ish) baker as I didn’t have a dish that was completely round and tall enough. Will it rise to the top or is my dish too tall for the amount of batter?

I’ve never made a soufflé.  I just peeked again, two minutes to go and the top is nicely browned.  But puff?  Guess I won’t know until I take it out.  Son announced that it didn’t sound good.

Timer went off.  I removed soufflé from oven and took its picture.  Since I didn’t take a picture before it went in, I am not sure if it rose much. Next I rushed it onto the table.  Husband announced a quick bathroom break (aarrgghh) but son was sitting down on time for once.  He crinkled his nose and said he didn’t think he was gonna like it.  We said grace.  No major deflating happened.

A scoop on each plate.  Son toyed with it a bit with his fork.  I told him to just try it.  He did and said it reminded him of quiche and he doesn’t like quiche.  I remember that he didn’t eat the Dorie quiche last summer (the one with spinach).  Husband said it was good.  After a few bites I said it needed crisp bacon or a ham steak on the side.  Husband said orange juice, too.  So we felt cheated somewhat as this soufflé was the only thing on the table.  But we were soon full!!

So I cleaned up the pans, bowls, and spoons as I went.  Lots of items needed for turning out this dish.  Husband eyed the soufflé and asked if I sprayed it enough with Pam.  Pam?  No, I said, but I did spread a lot of butter.  Not a strange question from the guy who usually has the bulk of clean up duty (hey, equal opportunity kitchen here).  But I assured him it would clean up quick.  I showed him after I clean it (just knew he wasn’t wanting to touch it) out while he took the dog out for the last bathroom break until early am.

So I would make this again for a weekend brunch or breakfast for supper.  It needs some company on the plate though.   I enjoy the cooking assignments.  It takes me out of the familiar and into the unfamiliar.  It continues to expand my cooking horizons.