Friday Night Menu, It's all Greek to Me, September 23, 2011

This whole menu came from Mo Rocca's show Foodography on the cooking channel.  It was all about Greek food and after watching it I was inspired.  I never heard of some of this stuff...Moussaka...dolma...galaktoboureko????  I had to find out...

Moussaka

As I was making this, it felt like I was making an eggplant lasagna in a way.  It's rounds of eggplant that you fry ahead of time and on the show the lady said you make a meat sauce heavily seasoned with cinnamon and allspice.  You layer the eggplant, then the meat sauce, eggplant and meat sauce, then it's topped with a bechamel cream sauce.  Here is how I made the three components.

For the meat sauce I started by making a flavorful tomato sauce.  Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan and add 1 or 2 garlic cloves minced with a pinch of red pepper flakes; cook until the garlic is very fragrant but not browning, one or two minutes; add a 32 oz can of plum tomatoes that you've pureed (or just buy it that way); add a good pinch of kosher salt and dried oregano; I let this cook down for about 1 1/2 hours but 1/2 hour is OK.  Now for the "meat" part of the sauce in another pan I heated olive oil and 1/2 onion chopped, a pinch of salt; cook until the onion is translucent and softened; add about 1/2 lb of ground beef and brown; add about 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1-2 tsp freshly ground all spice and 1/4 tsp salt; I added about 1/2 cup milk and let that cook down (not something I usually do but think it might help to tenderize) all the way; add tomato sauce to desired sauce-ey-ness. 

For the eggplant I heated about 1/2 inch of canola oil in the bottom of a large skillet and over medium-high heat let it get hot but not smoking; meanwhile cut the eggplant in 1/3 inch slices and fry without overcrowding the pan and brown on both sides; once they turn golden brown remove to paper towels to drain and season with salt immediately.

For the Bechamel I was making a small portion so I only made a small amount of this sauce.  Heat 5 oz of milk or 1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup in a small pan; In a medium skillet melt 1 tbsp butter then add 1 tbsp flour and whisk together; cook this mixture for a couple of minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste and slightly brown the mixtue; slowly whisk in the hot milk and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper to taste; this is where I stopped but you can add cheese to enrich the sauce if you like; I added a sprinkling of sheeps milk greek melting cheese (that I found at Whole Foods) to the top after assembly.

I assembled this in a small earthenware dish (desribed above) and cooked it uncovered in a 350 oven for about 35-45 minutes until it turned brown on top.

I served this with tzatziki and pita.

For the tzatziki I whisked together 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar and 3 Tbsp olive oil, salt, fresh garlic minced to taste, 1 cup of greek yogurt; add finely chopped cucumber that's been seeded and peeled; I let that sit a few hours to marry the flavors.

Dolma

These are the stuffed grape leaves that are stacked on top of each other and slowly steamed for an hour or so until tender.  I bought the jar of grape leaves at Whole Foods and on the jar the instructions are to rince the leaves and boil for a minute to remove the excess salt from the grape leaves.  I made the filling mixture by kind-of following the way the lady made them on foodography (they don't give the full recipe) and my own thoughts.  So this is what I did...

For the filling mixture I heated a few Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet and let it get hot but not smoking; add 1/2 onion finely chopped, 1/2 fennel bulb finely chopped and 1/2 tsp kosher salt; cook the vegetables until softened about 5-6 minutes; add 1 scant cup of white wine and let that cook down to about 1/4 cup; add 1 full cup of chicken stock; add cooked brown rice ( I cooked 1 cup of rice ahead); mix this together and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

To assemble the grape leaves I boiled them as I described above, drained them and let them cool slightly; lay one leaf down so the bottom of the stem is facing you; put about 1-2 tbsp of filling and roll them as you would a burrito and place them side by side in a casserole or baking dish; keep rolling and stack them as you go; place a few slices of lemon on top of the dolma's and pour about 1 inch of heated water into the baking dish; cover and bake in a 350 oven for about an hour.

Grilled Skin-on Haddock over Greek Potato Salad and topped with Ladolemono

This was on the foodography show but they were using a fish that you can't get here in the US.  Come to find out later on while watching the show a second time, the perfect substitute would have been a sea bass but it's just as well, I have been wanting to try haddock (since that was one I hadn't had yet; still working on trying new fish' after not likeing fish for the first 38 years of my life).  The chef on the show was grilling the fish with the skin-on, skin side down on a hot grill and not ever flipping it, just cooking it on that one side the whole time (that's what I did and it worked well).  He served it over a potato salad and topped the fish with something called "ladolemono", which I have made many times with out realizing it.

For the potato salad I boiled small white potatoes whole, until just cooked through and while they boiled I got the other ingredients for the salad together; I cut little grape tomatoes in half and placed in a bowl along with about 12-15 Kalamata olives, 3 scallions chopped, a handful of chopped parsley and Tbsp of capers that have been drained; the dressing was the juice of one lemon, whisk in olive oil to taste, salt, pepper, minced garlic and a few tablespoons of greek yogurt and a tablespoon of dijon mustard; when the potatoes are done, drain them and remove the skin when it's cool enough to handle; cut into bite sized pieces and drop into a serving bowl; sprinkle on a handful of greek feta cheese and add all the vegetables; mix gently then add the dressing and mix gently again; check for salt and pepper.  Next time I would leave out the feta if I am serving it with the fish.

To make the ladolemono it's very easy and I made it in a small mason jar.  It's 1 part lemon juice, 2 parts olive oil and salt, pepper and dried oragano to taste; shake the jar and it's done.

Galaktoboureko [ghah-lahk-toh-BOO-reh-koh]

I was looking for greek desserts on my phone and this picture popped up and looked good so after reading the description I had to try it.  It's layers of baked fillo with a custard layer in between ( "you had me at custard"...).  Here is the recipe.  It was not as sweet as you may be used to but it was very easy and different.  I thought it was interesting that the custard is not made the "normal" way, it's thickened with semolina flour... very good! 

Friday Night Bites #13, Sept 17, 2011

It was one of those weeks where I found myself with no idea's for this weeks Friday Night. I thought I will see what looks good at the store, then I would plan the menu. I was at work and had a thought... I would go to Trader Joe's in Framingham, it's out of the way but I need new ingredients to work with. I had only been there a couple times and I love it, especial the prices compared to Whole Foods. The problem with Trader Joe's; even more out of the way and there is no meat counter, just pre packaged meats. I grabbed some pork tenderloin, ground beef and cute little hamburger buns, cheese and chutney, bread, garlic and herb pizza dough and prosciutto, fresh blueberries along with a few other things. So here are the "Friday Night Bites" I came up with.

Fried Dough Triangles

I saw this kind of thing on Molto Mario. I missed exactly what he did and I really wasn't paying attention, but he made a dough ( I think it was just flour, water, salt and maybe olive oil. No yeast like you find in pizza dough). I thought "well let's do this idea but with pizza dough. He rolled out the dough pretty thin and cut it like a pizza then took the pieces of dough and fried them in olive oil. He spread a very soft cheese on them and topped them with prosciutto. So I did the same thing but with canola oil for frying (which takes about 2 minutes on each side). He said you could substitute the cheese he was using, because it's hard to get in the US, with a brie or Telleggio. I found this cheese a Trader Joe's, soft like a brie and come to find out acted like butter but had the taste of a very mild blue cheese, it was imported from France and it was a triple cream.. dolche.. somethingorother... So good. So to assemble I spread some of that buttery cheese on the dough triangles and topped them with prosciutto, it was delicious!!

Beef Slider's with Ginger-Mango Chutney and Goat Cheese with Plantain Fries

When we went to Naples Florida a few weeks back, we had slider's two different times and they were both very good. It made us both say..."we should make slider's again"... While I walked though Trader Joe's I came across these great looking mini burger buns and so I had this idea right away. I came across the chutney's and something told me to get this ginger mango chutney and that could go on the slider..."I have goat cheese at home that will be good too..." I simply formed the mini burger's with 85% cold ground beef, without mashing it all too much and chilled until ready to cook. I heated my cast iron skillet and seasoned the beef patties with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. I drizzled olive oil on then and seared on each side for two minutes then into a hot oven for 5 minutes and they were perfectly medium. I toasted the mini buns in a pan with butter then assembled them using the chutney and goat cheese. It brought us right back to Naples!! I had an idea to make plantain fries but Trader Joe's didn't have any plantains. I happened to go into an Indian market and saw some but they were very unripe. I wanted the yellow and black ones (those are ripe and much sweeter and a little softer) and all they had were very green ones (which are more dry and not sweet at all). I peeled them and slow roasted them to soften them and just before this course I deep fried them. They were just OK.

"Filet" of Pork Tenderloin and Apple-Cranberry Sauce over Sweet Potato Puree

I just cut the pork tenderloin like they do beef tenderloin, in order to get a filet mignon. You cut about a two inch section and put it down on the flat side and press down slightly to about a 1 and a half inch thickness. I just seared it in my cast iron pan and put it in the oven to finish cooking. For the apple-cranberry sauce I followed this recipe that looked good. For the sweet potato I peeled, cut into about 1 inch dice and boiled until tender. Drain and mashed in some butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne pepper and sparkling apple cider. I really mashed and whipped it with the masher to get it creamy and smooth (without getting out the blender or processor).

Blueberry Pie A`la Mode

I did have an idea that I would make a blueberry pie, after just seeing Laura Calder do one on the cooking channel so I got 4-6 oz packages. I had planned to do the one I saw her make but the weather changed today and it's starting to feel like fall. The one Laura made was a pre baked pie crust with a lightened cream cheese base and uncooked macerated blueberries on top and it's done. I felt like that was too summer-ey, I needed something more fall-ey. I don't think I ever made a blueberry pie before (if you can believe that), so I looked it up and there was one that had 721 reviews. It was a total of 4.5 stars out of 5 which is good, but more importantly 721 is my lucky number. I immediately checked out this recipe and proceeded with it. I made my own pastry dough which I have in my head already and don't need a recipe for.

Dice 14 Tbsp of unsalted butter into 1/2 inch dice

1 Tablespoon of shortening

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/3 cup ice water

Put the butter and shortening on a small dish and put it in the freezer. Put the water in a glass measure cup and put in freezer. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor with the sharp blade attachment, or combine these ingredients in a bowl and do it by hand. After the butter has had a good 5-10 minutes in the freezer add it to the bowl of the food processor and pulse about 12-14 times until you get course pea sized crumbs, or do this with a hand held pastry blender. Slowly drizzle and pulse the water into the flour mixture just enough, so when you squeeze the mixture in your hand it clumps together. If you are doing it by hand use a fork to evenly incorporate the water. Bring it together and wrap it in plastic wrap, forming into a disk. You want the dough to still be cold, don't over work the dough or you won't get a flaky crust. Refrigerate the dough for an hour.

I decorated the top crust by cutting small circles out to mimic a bunch of blueberries on a stem. I bushed the top with heavy cream and sprinkled with turbinado sugar.

I served the pie with some vanilla ice cream that I had in the freezer and it was goooood!

Friday Night Menu, Beer Bird, September 9,2011

So I was watching "French Food at Home", the Woodland Feast episode on the cooking channel, and this week's Friday Night Menu was born. I made everything on the show except for the fiddle head soup. I am sure it's delicious but it was an extra course that seemed too warm and unnecessary for this night's dinner.

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

I am loving mushrooms lately, but it small bites. I wasn't sure if I should do these (big bites), but they have goat's cheese at the base of each cap and a crunchy top which sounded appealing to me, not to mention the balsamic glaze on the side to dip each bite into. I wasn't sure if the sprouts were necessary or if it was mostly a garnish, but I liked that too! Here is the recipe. For the balsamic glaze I poured maybe 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar into a small pot and put it over med-high heat until it reduces or cooks down about 2/3rds of the way. It will become thicker and more concentrated then add about a Tbsp of cold butter into the vinegar and swirl the pan off the heat until the butter melts. This thickens it further, add shine and stops it from cooking down any more (butter always makes it better too). I loved them!

Beer Bird

I always do what I can for Friday Night Dinner early in the day and start to bring everything together just before we eat. This whole menu really had to wait until later, and everything was very fast, I was board! I started this part with the beer bird around 5:00 and 15 minutes later I was done, it went into the refrigerator to wait. That's good for most people. The recipe is made with a guinea hen cut up, but I just used 4 bone-in chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks. The combination of ingredients makes the house smell fantastic, so if you want people to come into your house and say "Oh it smells so good in here", make this recipe. It's garlic, bacon, bay leaves, rosemary, juniper berries and beer. She says on her show that it doesn't matter what kind of beer you use anything will work. But in her book (It happened to be in the one cookbook I have of hers), she says to use a double malt beer. I can see how that would give even more flavor then the Corona beer I used. She also says if it doesn't reduce into a thick sauce in the oven you may have to transfer the liquid to a sauce pan and reduce it on the stove top, and that is what I had to do. Loved this one too!! Here is the recipe.

Celeriac Puree

I love celeriac. You treat it as you would potato, for mashed potatoes. It takes slightly longer to cook then potatoes. I never did the trick that she describes to make the final puree very white, so I had to try it. She says to put about 1/4 cup of milk into a sauce pan along with the juice of a half a lemon, salt and water, enough water to cover a celeriac that you've peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks. Boil until very tender and drain. Blend with heavy cream and butter and puree in a blender or if you have a stick blender (which is what I used) use that until it's a very smooth puree.

Blackberry Millefeuille [meel-FWEE]

This is so simple and light and perfect for a summer dessert. You buy the phyllo sheets in the freezer section of the super market and defrost them. Lay out one sheet at a time, brushing with butter and sprinkling with sugar and chopped hazelnuts in between. Cut into desired size and bake them off. Whip the cream and then it's just assembling a phyllo layer, then whipped cream then blackberries, more whipped cream and top it with another phyllo layer. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar and enjoy. Here is the recipe.

Friday Night,Swordfish Steak Au Poivre, August 26,2011

I am typing this three weeks late, I hate when I do that because I may forget some of what I did, but I will do my best. We left for Florida the day after I made this dinner and I didn't have time to tell you about it before we left that Saturday. I was in Florida last Friday so I didn't do a Friday Night Dinner last week. Here I am about to start this weeks Friday Night Dinner that I will tell you about in the next post.

Citrus Marinated Olives with Crusty Bread and Gooey Cheese

This was in the new Bon Appetit September 11 issue. They reminded me of the olives I love at Whole Foods that I get once in a while in the cheese department. The ones at Whole Foods have a lemon and garlic flavor, these are orange and coriander. I served the olives with Boucheron Cheese and crostini toasts, all together this appetizer went well with drinks. I made a whole batch (knowing we wouldn't eat them all that night) thinking they will last in the refrigerator while we are on vacation and they will probably be better after sitting a week in the marinade. Well hurricane Irene came the next day and our electricity was out for 3 days, we ended up throwing out the olives when we got back, along with a lot of other food. I will make this same idea using garlic and lemon flavors to try and reproduce the olives at Whole Foods. Here's the link to this recipe.

Swordfish Steak Au Poivre, Soft Polenta and Portobello Mushrooms Sauteed in Butter and Fresh Thyme

One day I was sitting out on the patio looking through a cookbook for ideas and I came across this idea. We have had "beef" steak au poivre a few times and it's coarsely ground black pepper corns just pressed into the meat. This swordfish steak au poivre is the same idea, between 2 sward fish steaks I used 1 Tbsp of crushed pepper corns (I used black, white and pink peppercorns because I had them in the pantry) and pressed it into the flesh. I heated a cast iron pan on the stove top until it was very hot. Place the swordfish steaks in the dry cast iron pan and sear 4 minutes per side. I served them over polenta and topped them with portobello mushrooms that I sauteed in butter and fresh thyme. I did make a dill aioli sauce that I forgot to serve with the sward fish, we had it the next morning with eggs.

Craggy Top Chocolate Cake with Fig Ice Cream

On Laura Calder's French Food at Home show, I keep seeing this "Cook for a Chef" episode with this cake, and I keep wanting to make it so here it is. I used a slightly larger cake pan so it wasn't as high as I wanted but it was easy and delicious. Here is the link to this recipe. I was amazed at the limited ingredients in this recipe, just chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar. Tony had just gone out to a dinner two nights before, with some people from work to send his boss off to retirement. Someone ordered a dessert that included fig ice cream and after sharing it with the table, everyone raved about it. I thought I would try to make some for tonight's dinner. I started by chopping up a pint of black mission fresh figs and cooking them in a small saucepan covered in port wine and some sugar. I let that go until the figs were very soft, about 30 minutes. I had planned to make a basic vanilla ice cream recipe and kind of fold this fig mixture in. Worried that wouldn't come out right I looked up fig ice cream to get an idea and see if I was on the right track. I found this recipe and working with the port and fig mixture I added lemon, more sugar and heavy cream. I didn't need to use eggs like I was going to do.

Friday Night, Flounder Filet, August 20,2011

We had just watched "Chucks day off" on the cooking channel in the beginning of the week. That show is not one that we usually watch. It's a good thing we caught it because when I was planning the menu with no idea's I remembered we watched it and we were curious about the "roasted garlic soup with artichoke croutons" and the dessert was an interesting looking recipe for chocolate cake made with eggs, sugar and cocoa powder ONLY, and layered with fresh raspberries and chocolate mousse. I couldn't remember the main dish but I thought I'll make what ever he made on the show. I looked it up on the cookingchanneltv.com and printed all three recipes.

Roasted Garlic Soup and Artichoke Croutons

I wasn't sure about this recipe, but they seemed to enjoy it on the show so.... why not give it a go? Very easy and good, this is very similar to a very flavorful onion soup. There are no onions and the crouton that you put on top is much more interesting then the one you get on a French Onion Soup. You start by roasting garlic in the oven for 40 minutes in olive oil, remove the skins from the garlic and mash in a pan. Add flour and stock and that's the soup. After 15 minutes it's done. For the croutons I can't be bothered with using fresh artichokes and cutting them down and cooking until tender and all that. I just get whole artichokes packed in water in a can at Whole Foods ( their 365 brand). I quartered them and sauteed them in olive oil with sliced shallots for 5 minutes like the recipe says, and that worked perfectly fine. You cut some fat slices of bread, I used a French Banquette and top them with the artichoke mixture and some Emmenthal cheese, then under the broiler to brown the cheese. Place the crouton in a bowl and top with the roasted garlic soup, very good!

Flounder Filet on Barley and Vegetables with Grainy Mustard Sauce

As you may know I am a fairly new fish eater and Flounder is one I hadn't tried. The recipe that Chuck made was with a filet of Sole, but Whole Foods didn't have that so I asked the fish monger and he said the Flounder is in the same family and that would be a good alternative. I loved this method of cooking the fish, very simply on a sheet pan with oil, salt and pepper, covered with a piece of parchment paper and in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes ( I did 8 minutes and it was perfect). He served the fish on a bed of barley and vegetables and that was interesting because you cut the vegetables in a very small 1/4 inch dice, it takes a little effort but the end result it very cool. I liked the barley, it seems that's a grain I don't use too much so I was reminded to make barley more. The mustard sauce was perfect on top. Here is the link if you want to make the recipe.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

So this was luscious looking with 2 layers of rustic chocolate cake and 2 layers of chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries in the middle and on top. I noticed the reviews on this and only 2 people commented and the average was 3 stars. One person raved about it and said they will make it again and the other said it was a terrible recipe. I proceeded with the cake recipe it's 12 eggs separated, you whisk the yolks with 1 cup of sugar then sift and fold in the cocoa powder. Beat the egg whites and fold them together with the yolk mixture...that's it, not flour, no butter or oil, no baking powder or soda, no dairy... So it was different then what I normally make for a chocolate cake ( I liked that). Well it scared me because this enormous amount of batter was for 2-9" cake pans, I did it even though it seemed too much. Well it never over flowed but it did puff up to about 3 inches past the top of the pan, I was worried that it would go everywhere, but it never did. After 20 minutes it still seemed under-cooked so I turned the temperature down a little and let it go another 10 minutes. I checked it again and it still seemed under done so I put a toothpick in and it was done (so maybe it was done after 20, but whether it was or not after a total of 30 minutes it was perfect). I decided the mousse recipe might not work after reading that bad review so I found one that looked easy and different, all made in a blender by Giada, so I did 1 and 1/2 recipes of her recipe (which turned out to be just right for this cake) and reducing the sugar like one comment on that recipe suggested. I made the raspberries just as the recipe says and onto a cake stand I layered this cake up and it sat in the refrigerator and waited for us to eat it! We loved it, it was light and airy and so satisfying!

Friday Night Menu, "Farmstead" Mac and Cheese, August 5, 2011

So a funny thing happened this week.  I looked in the cabinet that holds all my food magazines and I randomly picked a magazine that happened to be Bon Appetit September 2007.  I saw a picture of a macaroni and cheese that I wanted to make when I first got that magazine back in “07 and I never made it.  So I figured I would finally make it, that could be the main dish and I will go from there.   Keep in mind that I never tell Tony what Friday Night Dinner will be, I keep it a surprise until he comes home and reads the chalk board.  This macaroni and cheese dish is from a restaurant in Providence RI that we went to with friends probably 10 years ago, called “Farmstead”… Skip to Friday, while I am preparing dinner, I get an e-mail from Tony who is working very hard.  He sent me the menu of “Farmstead”, and said “we will have to go back here sometime”.  I thought that was funny because we hadn't mentioned that restaurant lately and after so long, he was thinking about going there, while I was making a dish from there.

Tomato Tartare (ta ta for Lisa)

Tony thought I would be interested in the newest “No Reservations” show with host Anthony Bourdain.  So I turned it on and fell asleep 15 minutes later (not because it was boring, I was just tired), but I got this one idea from the show before falling asleep.  It was a show on the closing of the best restaurant in the world.  It’s in Spain and it was called “El Bulli”.  They served Anthony Bourdain this dish called Tomato Tartare.  Tartare is usually raw Steak or Tuna and it’s basically freshly ground, very high quality steak or tuna and it’s mixed with different flavorings, plated and served with crostini toasts.  They said on the show that it tastes exactly like Steak Tartare.  I did what I thought that might be (since they don’t give recipes and I have never had steak tartare).  I skinned 3 meaty local red tomatoes and 1 big fat brownish-red heirloom tomato by making an X on the bottom of the tomatoes and plunging them in boiling water for 12 seconds then plunging them into a bowl of ice water.  The skin comes off very easily.  I seeded the tomatoes and just used the really good full flavored "meat" of the tomatoes.  Chopped them very finely and let them drain over a colander to remove as much water as possible.  After a few hours, to the drained tomato I added 1 small garlic clove minced into a paste, ¼ cup shallots minced to a paste, 1 scant Tbsp capers into a paste, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, a scant tsp grated orange zest, 1/8 cup olive oil whisked in, season with salt and pepper.  I plated it with a ring mold and on top I placed just the yolk of an egg that I cooked sunny side up. Tony said it was a very good imitation; he has had steak and tuna tartare’s , he was very impressed. 

“Farmstead” Mac and Cheese

I was just reminded of how good this dish was last night, because I just had it for lunch.  Here is the recipe.  It’s a great cheese combination of cheddar, gruyere and brie.  You start with a white cream sauce by cooking flour and butter for a few minutes then add milk.  When that mixture thickens you add the three cheeses and combine it with pasta that is cooked to al dente.  After spooning the mixture in serving dishes it is topped with the homemade bread crumbs which I have to say was the perfect thing to go on top, then it’s put into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, so good!

Chicken and Prosciutto Croquettes

I happened to see these croquettes in the same magazine the mac and cheese was in and I thought they would be the “meat” part of tonight’s dinner.  It was different for me, I hadn’t made croquettes before.  It’s funny because these also have a white sauce (just like the mac and cheese) that is kind of the glue that holds all the ingredients together.  I found the recipe on someone else’s blog, here it is.  These turned out good too, but I wasn’t thinking about color obviously.  The mac and cheese and these croquettes were basically the same color, usually I take color into consideration when planning my menu.

Caramelized Fresh Pineapple Tiramisu

In the same magazine I saw this recipe.  I love tiramisu and I couldn’t imagine it made with pineapple, so I had to make it.  It’s really interesting, it’s almost more summery.  The other thing that interested me about this recipe was that it’s made using the fresh, soft lady fingers that you get in the bakery section of the supermarket.  Whenever I make tiramisu it’s always with the “crunchy” lady fingers from the cookie isle.  This is made by a chef named Pichet Ong.  He gives this “usually Italian” tiramisu a Southeast Asian feel with the pineapple and the coffee mixture includes black tea leaves.  If you make this, keep in mind the recipe calls for 4 -3 oz packages of the lady fingers but you only need 2 -3 oz packages (I will have to invent a dessert with the extra packages I bought).

  

Friday night menu - Charcoal Grilled Pork Chops with Bell Pepper Agrodulce

My turn!  Jeanne asked me to handle Friday night dinner this week, so here's how things went.  Time was short so I couldn't plan anything too intricate, but I think it was definitely blog-worthy!

Bucheron cheese & rosemary crostini

OK, I know this is just cheese and crackers.  But I needed something good to keep us satisfied while I put everything together.  Bucheron is a great cheese to try if you haven't had it before.  It's a goat cheese with a gooey outer ring.  Tangy and creamy.  Good stuff.

Charcoal Grilled Pork Chops, Yellow & Orange bell pepper agrodolche, Chile-corn Custard, Fresh Massachusetts green beans

I initially wanted to stay away from the grill for this meal (since that was what Jeanne and everyone else would expect).  But time was short aaaaand.....I have a new grill!  Just purchased the Weber 26.75" One Touch Gold Kettle....very nice!  I paired this with a grilled yellow and orange bell pepper agrodolce.  I had done an agrodolche on a prior Friday night meal and it was great.  Peppers in a sweet/sour vinegar sauce.  Perfect summer grilled main dish!  I paired it with some local fresh green beans and chile-corn custard, a recipe that I found on bonappetit.com.  This was a great find.  I used fresh local corn that I roasted on the new grill then added to the recipe.  This may have been our favorite part of the meal.  Cheesy, creamy, corn-ey, summer-y! 

Summer berries & cream

Again, I must admit I took the easy way out here.  But it was high quality, summer on a plate!  Fresh rasberries and blueberries mascerated with turbinado sugar and orange liquor, served with fresh vanilla whipped cream.

Friday Night Menu, Al Forno's Roasted Sausages and Grapes, July 22, 2011

This week I knew I wouldn’t have all day to cook on Friday, so I tried to come up with a quick menu…but still new and different.  So the new August 2011 Bon Appetit came in the mail and one interesting thing was in the “RSVP section”, which is where readers write in and ask for a recipe from a restaurant that the ate at and they want to make the recipe at home.  Someone asked for the recipe for Eggplant Fries from The Art Institute of Chicago (OK, there is the appetizer).  For the main dish I happened to catch a Barefoot Contessa show where she had one of the owners of Al Forno’s restaurant in Providence RI on with her. They were talking about an item that’s been on their menu for over 30 years and they were going to show how they do it.  Tony and I have been to Al Forno’s maybe 10 times over the years; we actually went there for the first time when Tony proposed to me in 1995.  Dessert was as simple as it gets and something I never do…

Eggplant Fries with and Herb and Lemon Dip

You know how eggplant is like a sponge?  Well one of the reasons I wanted to try this recipe is because they claimed to have a way of frying eggplant without it soaking up too much oil.  The eggplant is cut into ½ inch fry shapes and soaked in ice water for 2 to 12 hours.  The eggplant soaks in the ice water and later when you dredge them in the flour mixture and fry them, the cold eggplant hits the hot oil and makes a nice crust, and there is nowhere for the oil to soak in because the cold water has already soaked in, BUT it’s not watery or soggy which you may think.  It’s sprinkled with sea salt and lemon juice when it comes out of the oil and served with a sauce.  Its yogurt mixed with fresh oregano, lemon zest and relish of all things.  I found the recipe for you on line.

Al Forno’s Roasted Sausages and Grapes

We love Al Forno’s, so when I saw the owner giving therecipe to one of their dishes, I was all ears.  They were the first ones to do grilled pizza, which was a great idea!  The other recipe that I love from Al Forno restaurant is the Penne with Five Cheese, which I make on occasion.  They also make a killer rustic fruit tart.  This one Tony said he ordered one time, I don’t remember that, but it really is good.  You may think “what’s the big deal sausages and grapes?” but what they do is boil the sausages first before roasting and that removes some of the excess fat.  The grapes are cooked in butter then the boiled sausages go in with the grapes and red wine.  Roast turning once for 25 minutes and balsamic vinegar and reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency to finish it off.  The sausage and grape combination with the reduced juices and served with red bliss mashed potatoes is really a comfort dish.  And best of all on this busy day, it took about 35-40 minutes from start to finish.

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream atop a Sugar Ice Cream Cone

I saw these sugar cones at Whole Foods one day and I thought I should do an ice cream cone one day.  I thought of that idea for tonight.  I’d say Cherry Garcia is in the top 2 of favorite ice cream flavors.  It doesn’t get any easier and it’s different (for us anyway).

Grilled Sea Bass with Herb and Lemon Pesto, July 15,2011

This week I left the main part of the meal up to Tony (usually I don’t even tell him what I am making, I like to surprise him).  I like getting fish the same day that I cook it and since I shop on Thursday I would have to go out and drive 45 minutes to my favorite store…not this week.  I asked Tony to pick out a fish that would go well on the grill on his way home on Friday.  I got that idea from Laura Calder’s book (my favorite book these days).  I was reading the introduction to a lentil dish and she said it goes great with grilled fish, so there you go.  So he chose sea bass and it was a very good choice.

Savory Carrot Cake

I looked at the title of this recipe a few different times in, where else but my Laura Calder book, and flipped the page every time.  It sounded strange and a carrot cake without cream cheese frosting sounded weird to me.  But then I read the introduction to the recipe and she has a way of making me want to make a recipe, plus the fact that every single recipe I made from this book always amazes me.  Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a wide saucepan and sauté 1 lb carrots peeled and sliced, until lightly golden about 5-7 minutes.  Pour 1 cup chicken stock over the carrots and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove the cover and cook 10 more minutes to completely evaporate the liquid.  While the carrots cook, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a frying pan and soften 1 chopped shallot for about 3 minutes.  Add ¼ lb button mushrooms that you have chopped finely and cook until soft about 5 minutes.  Add one garlic clove that you have minced and cook 2 minutes.  Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees; line a 4 cup loaf pan with wax paper.  Mash the carrots and get them as smooth as you can.  Whisk 2 eggs into the carrot mixture then stir in the mushrooms.  Stir in 1 ounce of Gruyere cheese finely grated and 2 handfuls of finely chopped basil, chervil or parsley.  Put the mixture into the loaf pan and cover with aluminum foil and place the loaf pan into another baking pan that’s larger.  Pour hot boiling water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.  She recommended this dish to have an orange dressing.  She says you can serve this as a starter with a salad or as a main course with other vegetables.  I didn’t get salad stuff at the store so I figured it would be great just as is with the sauce and a parsley sprig.

Grilled Sea Bass with Herb and Lemon Pesto

So Tony got the charcoal grill going and he also grilled the star of the show, the sea bass, to perfection (4 minutes per side).  I made some basil and lemon pesto just minutes before sitting down to eat.  I went out to the garden and got some basil and bashed it with my mortar and pestle.  I started with one garlic clove that I bashed first.  I then added the basil and bashed it, a couple Tbsp of capers, some salt and pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil.  Taste it and see if it’s perfect. 

Summer Lentils

This was the recipe I was reading that said it’s great with grilled fish, and that’s how this menu started.  You start by cooking French lentils (lentilles du Puy) for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are al dente.  Drain and reserve.  Remove the skin from 3 tomatoes (by cutting an X in the bottoms and putting them in boiling salted water for 12 seconds, remove to a ice bath, then peel), seed them and chop them into a small dice.  Peel and dice one large carrot and blanch for a few minutes in boiling salted water.  She seeded and diced one red pepper and blanched that in boiling salted water (I diced a roasted red pepper instead).   Make the vinaigrette; whisk together 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 7 Tbsp olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and add 2 minced shallots.  Combine the lentils, vegetables, vinaigrette and 2 handfuls of chopped fresh chives in a serving bowl and check for seasoning.  Let this mixture sit at room temperature for an hour before serving. 

Fresh Apricot Pie

When I was at Whole Foods I couldn’t help but notice the fresh apricots.  They were calling to me.  I don’t usually buy fresh apricots so I thought OK, that will be dessert.  I grabbed about 10.  I had no idea exactly what I was making but I thought it might be a pie or tart and they were small so…10 it is.  I just watched an episode of Everyday Italian on foodnetwork.com and she made a pie crust with crushed up biscotti cookies and butter.  I wasn’t sure about that idea but I grabbed some biscotti from the bakery department.  I typed in apricot dessert and a lot of recipes came back that looked OK.  This simple fresh apricot pie caught my eye because the ingredients were simple and that’s what I wanted.  I wanted the freshness and quality of the apricots to be the star.So I followed this recipe, which is quite easy and basic, but I did a spin on the crust.  I started to make a regular pie crust, I love this one by Julia and Jacques.  But while I combined the butter with the flour in the food processor I also added a couple biscotti cookies.  I followed the rest of the recipe as you normally would.  I loved that biscotti idea.  It just gave it more flavor and I will do that again, for sure.  We just ate it as is without ice cream or whipped cream.  Really good as is, but I think vanilla ice cream would have been even better.

Friday Night Menu, Grass Fed Dry Aged Steak, July 8,2011

I am back after skipping two Friday Night dinners in a row. We were in Naples Florida for ten days. We bought a second home that we will use for vacations and renting out. The last thing on my mind was coming up with creative food ideas these past couple weeks, my mind was instead filled with paint colors and decorateing rooms. So Wednesday night was here and then I realized I hadn't planned my Friday night menu yet "Oh No!" So at 8;30pm I turned on the tv for some ideas. We watched "the best thing I ever ate" and a half hour later I had the menu, so now I could go to bed (we live in the woods so it's much easier to get all ingredients on my way home from work on Thursday).

Tapenade Crisps

This was actually not from watching TV that night, it was something I read in Laura Calder's book and so I kind of had this idea already. Her recipe in the book was Tapenade which I have made many times. In her introduction to this recipe she talks about a few ways to use this tapenade, and one of the ways was this way. I thought why didn't I ever think of that. Tapenade is a combination of Calamata olives, capers, anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. It's all blended together to a paste and there are slight variations like mine is made without anchovies. So once you make that paste you mix together 1 cup tapenade, 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 2 tsp of lightly beaten egg whites. Once you get a smooth paste you spread it out onto a Silpat, grate on some parmesana reggiano and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven. She says it takes 10-12 minutes but I put them back in for another 10 minutes. These were great with drinks...the two of us ate the whole batch...

Grass Fed, Dry Aged, NY Strip Steak

So this was one out of three of the ideas I got from watching “The best thing I ever ate”.  It was the “Old school” episode and Alex Guarnaschelli was raving about the aged strip steak from a restaurant in Tampa Florida called Bern’s Steak House.  Its aged 5 weeks and they grill it with butter, salt and pepper.  I love strip steak and I was intrigued by the idea of using butter instead of olive oil (which is what I always do).  So I got the “oldest” steak at Whole Foods which was dry aged for 3 weeks.  I made some clarified butter and when I was ready to grill it I just brushed on the butter, salt and pepper.  As always I bring the steak closer to room temperature by just removing it from the refrigerator an hour or two before grilling.  I really liked the use of butter, I think it made a crispier crust and it had a buttery flavor.

Frites with Béarnaise Sauce

This was the second Idea from the food show.  It was John Besh’s best thing and it was Pommes Soufflé or Souffléd Potatoes.  I didn’t do the soufflé part but the way they serve these at Galatorie’s restaurant in New Orleans is with béarnaise sauce.  I decided to just roast “fries” by cutting russet potatoes into steak fry shapes, tossing them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  After 45 minutes or so, tossing with a spatula a couple times during cooking, you’ve got great steak fries.  The béarnaise sauce was easy.  I found this blender béarnaise from Tyler Florence.  I had made it a couple hours ahead and it kept perfectly, just by the stove.

Steamed Broccolini

Just how it sounds, I steamed broccolini and tossed some butter, salt and pepper.  You have to serve something green with this meal.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse Tower with Banana Tuile and Bourbon Banana Rounds

This was the third idea from the food show and it was from the same restaurant as the steak, Bern’s Steak House.  This one was Sunny Anderson and it was a great combination.  I couldn’t find a good recipe for peanut butter mousse so I just followed a chocolate mousse recipe, substituting peanut butter where the chocolate would go.  Since I had to make a chocolate one and a peanut butter one I made the base of one full recipe of the mousse which is whipping egg whites with sugar and then whipping heavy cream.  I divided them in half and with multiple bowls I combined half the chocolate with half the egg whites and cream, and with the other half of the egg whites and cream I folded in some freshly made peanut butter (from the peanut butter machine at Whole Foods).  So now I got the mousses…I combined crushed chocolate wafer cookies and melted butter that I then pressed into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a ring mold that I lined with parchment paper (so I’d be able to get it out later).  I spooned in a little of each mousse and chilled the towers until I was ready to serve.  I made a banana tuile {tweel} cookie, by kind of following two different tuile recipes and they were ok.  The problem was that they stick to your teeth.  I will have to perfect that recipe before I give it to you.  I cooked some banana rounds in some melted sugar and butter then deglazed with Bourbon.  To plate I removed the ring mold and the parchment paper from the towers and placed them on the dessert plates.  I then placed a banana tuile on the top of the tower and then spooned the bourbon bananas around the plate. It was really good, I felt like I just ate at Bern’s Steak House in Tampa Florida.

Friday Night Menu, Steak Diane, June 17,2011

Last weekend we donated some things to the Salvation Army and we went into the Salvation Army store to check it out. Tony found a grilling book that he has been wanting to buy and he found me a Julia Child cookbook, it's her "Menu Cookbook". They were $4.00 each, not bad. So I came across this Steak Diane in my new Julia book. I didn't know exactly what that was so I figured that is what I will make for Friday Night. I think it was a popular dish at one time, I had heard of it before. I also saw the appetizer idea in this same book so I figured..."why not"...

Asparagus Tips in Puff Pastry with Lemon Butter Sauce

I thought it and Tony said it..."It tastes like something you would eat at a fancy French restaurant". Ahead of time I steamed asparagus until it was perfectly cooked and put them in the refrigerator until I was ready to serve. Defrost puff pastry that you buy in the freezer section of the supermarket overnight so it's completely thawed. Unfold the dough and cut rectangle shapes, about 2.5 X3.5 inch pieces (give or take). Place the puff pastry on a sheet pan and brush the tops only with egg wash (being careful not to egg wash the sides), then using a sharp knife make little crosshatches in the surface. Immediately bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Towards the last couple minutes of baking, make the lemon butter sauce. She said one way to do it and then an alliterative that she learned from Jacques Pepin. You bring 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 Tbsp water to a rolling boil then whisk in 1 stick of room temperature butter cut into small pieces a couple pieces at a time. Return this mixture to a rolling boil again for a few seconds. To plate you place one of the puff pastry rectangles on a plate and open like a book. Place asparagus tips (the size of the pastry with a little extra so they show their faces) inside the pastry and spoon the sauce over the tips then place the top pastry on the tips. Very nice.

Steak Diane

I found this video of Julia making her Steak Diane but she didn't make it exactly like it says in her book. I used a rib eye steak, you need 2 steaks cut to about 1/2 inch thickness so I got a one inch steak and froze it for an hour to make it easier to cut. After an hour in the freezer I cut the steak in half, remove all the fat then she says to pound each steak to a 1/4 inch thickness. Olive oil, soy sauce and black pepper rubbed on each side of the steaks and roll up like a rug (she says) until you are ready to serve. When ready heat a pan and add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter, once the foam subsides unroll and add the steaks to the pan. Cook over med-high heat for about 1-2 minutes on each side then remove to a plate in order to make the pan sauce. To the pan add a bit more butter and a minced shallot and minced parsley, stir for a moment then add (I added veal stock that I had, she did a slurry with a bouillon and cornstarch). Then to the pan you add a few droplets of Worcestershire and the juice of a half a lemon. Then a few droplets of Cognac and Madeira wine. Add the steaks back into the sauce to warm through. Plate and pour the sauce over, garnish with more parsley. The sauce comes together very quickly, I didn't really measure because she didn't really say how much of anything, it was very delicious.

Braised and Buttered Kohlrabi

I had planned to do a potato thing, but I came across this kohlrabi in the produce department at Whole Foods. They don't usually have it, if they did I would have made it by now. It's in the turnip family and it's very mild and tastes like a cross between the stem of broccoli and celery root. I read about it and it's usually eaten raw in salads, added to soups and stews and used in stir fries. Leave it to me to go against the norm, but I thought with the Steak Diane, a side dish should be similar to a potato dish (like mashed or at least braised). I just cooked it by peeling it, slicing pieces about 1/2 inch thick and placing them into a shallow pan with a couple Tbsp of butter and a splash of water. Cook, covered over medium-low heat until tender, adding water as necessary.

3-Pea Warm Salad

I combined regular peas, snap peas and pea tendrils to make this side dish. Ahead of time I blanched the regular frozen peas in salted water, drained them and placed in the frig. I blanched the snap peas the same way and chilled them. When I was ready to serve dinner I warmed them in a pan with a Tbsp of butter then at the end tossed in some pea tendrils, salt and pepper.

Shaker Lemon Pie

I was half watching Unique Sweets on the food channel and caught someone talking about how they make a Shaker Lemon Pie and it's unique because they use the whole lemon (rind and all) to make this dessert. I have made lemon pie, lemon tart, lemon meringue pie... but it's just a lemon curd. This is thinly sliced lemons that you let sit in sugar and salt overnight. The next day you finish it with eggs and flour and bake it. What a fantastic thing this is, just try to find thin skinned lemons (they will have more give when you squeeze them). The lemons I used had a very thick rind (that's all that was available) and I came across a couple rinds while I was eating the pie that were just too much. But overall it was fantastic, I am going to try to make it with limes and maybe oranges?? Oh by the way... I made the crust with another hint I heard on Unique Sweets (on another day). I used cold vodka in place of the cold water in the crust. They said you get a super flaky crust because the vodka evaporates more than the water will and you are left with a super light and flaky crust. I would say that it worked pretty well but I will probably go back to ice water, it seems like a waste of good vodka (water is free).

Friday Night, Stuffed Chicken breast, June 10, 2011

I went to the store with absolutely no ideas for Friday Night Dinner. I always have some kind of idea, I thought I'd probably make something good but not "blog-worthy". I looked at the meat counter at Whole Foods and it was all the same stuff... chicken... steaks... pork chops... what will I make??? Just before the butcher asked what he could get for me I saw something a little different, Cornish Hens, hummmm "I will take two of the Cornish hens"... He gave them to me and I found a spot off to the side and looked up foodnetwork.com on my phone. One of the first recipes to pop up with 5 stars was cornbread stuffed Cornish game hens. I got the ingredients the recipe called for and sides that sounded like they might go well with the main dish. The strawberries looked good so I will do something with them... I will figure out the rest later...

French Black Olive and Crouton Skewers

This idea just popped into my head when I looked in the refrigerator for an appetizer idea. The olives were left over from the pissaladiere from last Friday night's menu and there was some leftover Sourdough bread from a couple days earlier. I thought I would cube up the bread and brown it in garlic flavored olive oil until it got some nice golden brown color on them and put them onto a small skewer with the very tasty Herbs De Provence black olives. I thought the saltiness of the olives and the crunchy, chewy and garlicky croutons would be a nice snack to have with drinks. They were easy and great with drinks, not too filling, really good.

Cornbread and Apple Stuffed Chicken Breast

So if you read the introduction you are saying..."I thought she got Cornish game hens"... well I did but when I opened them up one looked OK but the other one's skin was very thick looking and torn and there was an unpleasant odor coming from them. I read on-line about what they should look like and I saw that it said to stay away from torn skin and the breasts should be plump. Well these breasts weren't plump and the skin torn and the smell, I couldn't do it. "I will return them and use chicken from the freezer". So that's what I did. I defrosted two chicken breasts and pounded them out to about 1/2 inch thickness. I put a big scoop of the cornbread and apple stuffing in the center and just closed the chicken around the filling as best I could. OK now there is no skin so this is going to dry out..."Tony on your way home can you stop for some bacon or prosciutto?" So I pounded out the thick cut bacon Tony got for me and wrapped it around the chicken to protect it from drying out and come to find out it went really good with the filling and sides. I would have baked them in a 350 oven but I was roasting the sides in a 400 degree oven so I just went with that. I baked them for about 35 minutes uncovered, until an instant read thermometer registers 155-160. I never thought I'd make stuffed chicken breast for Tony because when he worked in the kitchen at Quidnessett Country Club he had to stuff hundreds of chicken breast, but he ended up loving this dish.

Celeriac and Sweet Potato Smash

I have combined celeriac with regular potato a few times, I have had celeriac on it's own but I thought what else can I combine with celeriac just to be different?? I thought sweet potatoes would work and they did. A couple days ago I par-boiled 1 inch cubed Yukon gold potatoes and then tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes or so and they were really good. So I thought I would do the celeriac and sweet potatoes the same way then smash them together so some bits are smooth and some are chunky and some spots you'd get those roasted crispy edges. I didn't put it in the title but I also served green beans simply steamed and tossed with butter, salt and pepper.

Strawberry Pavlovas

I was trying to think of something not too heavy and not too caloric. Egg whites are not fatty... I remembered this dessert I have seen Jamie Oliver do this and The Barefoot Contessa also. I loved these and will do them again. I should have started the meringue earlier but it worked out OK. The heading of the recipe said it would take 1 and 1/2 hours to make but there was a misprint. Where it said inactive prep time, it said 4 minutes but it should have said 4 hours. You really have to let them slowly cool down by shutting off the oven and just leaving them in there then remove them. They will crack if you don't let them cool slowly. It even says to let them cool in the oven overnight if you have the time. Not only did I start them late but I pre-heated the oven for the root vegetables (forgetting that the meringues were still in the oven) thank god I remembered before they were completely ruined.