Last Night’s Dinner

Everyone has their favorite thing to eat this time of year, but for me, tomatoes are the quintessential summertime treat. I get a little thrill when the first red beauties hit the tables at the Greenmarket, and the sight of tomatoes ripening in our own backyard fills me with glee. There’s really nothing quite like plucking a tomato off the vine, still warm from the sun, slicing it and taking a bite.

We have been able to buy and grow some really amazing varieties of heirloom tomatoes the last few years, and I generally like to keep things really simple when serving them – a sprinkle of salt, some fresh herbs, and perhaps a drizzle of good olive oil or a crumble or grating of cheese is about as much gilding as I like to do so as not to mask their flavors.

I’ve been knocking around the idea of putting together a tomato tart in much the same style as Heidi Swanson’s gorgeous little number from a couple of years ago, and since the tomatoes are really starting to get good now, I wrote it into our meal plan for this week. While her parmesan crust sounds both easy and very tasty, my pastry skills are sorely lacking, and until someone gifts me with more counter space, or at the very least a food processor, I will go with the best quality purchased crust I can find (in this instance, two frozen prepared pie crusts from Whole Foods).

I brought the crusts and a 4 oz. round of Coach Farm goat cheese to room temperature, and rubbed the inside of a half sheet pan with a bit of olive oil. I preheated my oven to 400 degrees and spread a bit of flour onto my work surface. I turned out both crusts onto the floured surface, folded them up into a ball, and then rolled them out into a rectangle with a floured rolling pin. I sprinkled a little more flour into the sheet pan and laid the crust into the pan, pressing it lightly into the sides and corners of the pan, and pricked the bottom of the crust all over with a fork before placing it into the oven. I baked the crust for 16 minutes until it was golden, removed it from the oven and set it aside.

I laid a double layer of paper towels on a platter and cored and sliced my tomatoes – a variety of about 5 medium-sized heirlooms. I sprinkled the tomatoes with salt and let them sit for a few minutes to give up some of their juices. Going back to the crust, once it had cooled a bit, I spread 3 oz. of the goat cheese on the bottom. I sliced about a dozen basil leaves into chiffonade, mixed them with 1-2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, and sprinkled about half of the herb mixture over the goat cheese. I then layered the tomatoes on top, crumbled the remaining goat cheese and sprinkled the rest of the fresh herbs on top.

The tang of the goat cheese was present but not overpowering, just a nice complement to the sweet and juicy tomatoes which were, as they should be, the star of the show. With a lightly dressed green salad and a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the side, this super easy summertime meal was a real knockout.

Things have been quiet around here for the last week, mostly because I’ve been too exhausted at the end of the day to write anything coherent about our meals. The air in the city has been thick and heavy, and it’s making me feel particularly lethargic.

Last Tuesday was so muggy I couldn’t bear the thought of cooking indoors, nor did I want Mike to spend time over a hot grill, so we did the indoor picnic thing. I tossed a couple of green salads and topped them with halves of burrata, serving them with slices of good rustic bread and cured meats.

Mike did fire up the grill on Wednesday, grilling fillets of wild striped bass, summer squash, bell peppers and eggplant which I served with a lemony basil and parsley pesto. We dined out on Thursday, and on Friday Mike grilled a 3 lb. piece of pork shoulder that he had been brining all week (which was delicious, but sadly not very photogenic).

We skipped our usual food safari and made a long-overdue trip down to Red Hook on Saturday to visit our favorite booze boutique. When we returned home, Mike mixed up a couple of rounds of drinks for us while we put together a pretty classic summer meal of grilled chicken, potato salad and sliced tomatoes for dinner that evening.

I got my first batch of pickles of the year going on Sunday after a quick trip out for groceries, dumplings and pork buns. Since the rain was coming down pretty heavily most of the day, we planned to cook dinner indoors.

Mike and I both love Thai food, but we don’t often cook with those flavors and ingredients at home. I decided to give it a shot, though, and make a seafood soup loaded with shrimp, clams and mussels in a hot-sour-salty broth.

I started by sauteeing some thinly sliced shallots in a bit of oil, then adding coconut milk, water, fish sauce, Sriracha, and a sachet of kaffir lime leaves, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. I added plenty of fresh lime juice to that, as well as a thinly sliced fresh chile, and let it come to a boil.

I added the clams and mussels first, covered the pan and let them steam open, then added peeled shrimp, diced tomato, chopped scallion and fresh cilantro. When the shrimp were just cooked through I added additional fresh lime juice and cilantro, and ladled the soup into bowls over scoops of steamed rice. The flavors weren’t quite as intense as I was hoping they’d be, but I the soup turned out really well - well enough that I’m eager to try my hand at working with these flavors again.

Just a quick moment of pimping here… my latest piece is up at ChronicBabe.com - check it out.

Yesterday was one of those dank, gloomy days, a rainy Monday which left me feeling particularly uninspired. Mike filled me in on his Greenmarket haul early in the day, and while I knew everything he had picked up would be beautiful, I just couldn’t decide what to do with it. Here I was with an abundance of fresh summer produce, and all I wanted was comfort food. I was stuck, and stayed that way for most of the day, but then I had a thought – a memory of a dish my Grandma used to make (and probably still does) which would give me the best of both worlds. It was a stew of sorts, tender pieces of chicken cooked with zucchini and corn and a light tomatoey broth that she called calabacita.

A quick search of the internets revealed that there are about as many variations of this dish as there are Mexican grandmas, so I felt okay about doing an adaptation of my own. Since we try to eat meatless dinners most Monday nights, I thought I’d omit the chicken and let the veggies play the starring role. I’d cook the vegetable mixture so that it would still be a little saucy but not too much so, and would spoon it into warmed tortillas with a bit of grated cheese and a topping of crema. It turned out to be an excellent use of our summer squashes, sweet corn and tomatoes, a light meal that brought out the best of these vegetables and also took me back to the warmth and comfort of my Grandma’s kitchen.

Calabacitas Tacos

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large beefsteak tomato, cored and chopped
2 medium summer squash, chopped
2 cups fresh corn kernels
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For serving:
12 warmed tortillas (corn or flour, though I think flour tortillas hold up better to juicy fillings like this)
Grated Mexican cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella-like Oaxaca and salty aged Cotija)
Additional chopped fresh cilantro
Mexican crema, crème fraiche or thinned sour cream

Heat the oil in a shallow pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until softened. Add the garlic and tomato, an additional pinch of salt and the oregano. Stir and cover, cooking until the tomato is very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and corn and another pinch of salt, stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes, uncovered, until the squash is tender and most of the liquid has reduced. Off the heat, add lime juice and cilantro, and spoon the mixture into warmed tortillas, topping with grated cheese, crema and additional cilantro.

I keep telling myself I’m going to slow down and relax when the weekend rolls around, but I just can’t seem to make it happen. There’s too much to do this time of year, too many opportunities to pass up – summer is fleeting, and I don’t want to regret not taking advantage of the things it has to offer. Our weekend began on a low-key note at home, with our traditional Friday night fizzy and a grilled clambake, but Saturday and Sunday were a whirl of fun, food and new friends.

We woke early on Saturday, and while Mike took care of a side project for work, I put together a batch of guacamole and a big green salad with two homemade dressings to take to the barbecue we went to later that day. Our bellies full of too much beer and smoky meats, we made it a relatively early night but were up early again on Sunday – we had a very full day ahead of us. I whipped up a couple of omelettes before we got ready to head out again, this time to the Brooklyn blogger meet-up in Greenpoint arranged by the lovely and charming Miss Heather. We had a great time chatting with everyone there, and particularly enjoyed the yummy spread of Dominican food provided by Casa Mon Amour.

We did an abbreviated version of our weekend food safari, stopping off at Bedford Cheese Shop, Uva Wines and Marlow and Sons to stock up on a few things before heading home. We had hoped to pick up a steak or two at Marlow, but when we got there they only had ground meats available. I decided to get a package each of ground beef and ground lamb and make burgers to go with the Syrah wine guy Dan from Uva had recommended to us.

As you may recall, I felt that my last batch of burgers was good, but not quite where I wanted them to be. Last night’s burgers, on the other hand, turned out darn near perfect – juicy and flavorful, grilled perfectly by my husband. Though the wine we had was recommended to go with steaks, it turned out to be a great match for the burgers, too – big and peppery and really delicious. We may have had to fall back and punt when our original plan for dinner didn’t work out, but I couldn’t have been happier with the meal we ended up with.

We were very excited to hear that local chanterelles hit the Greenmarket last Wednesday, but they were snapped up before Mike could get some. He got an earlier start yesterday morning and scored two containers, along with some gorgeous center-cut pork chops, and those two ingredients immediately brought to mind an old favorite preparation – pork chops with a mushroom bourbon cream sauce, inspired by Elise’s dish on Simply Recipes.

Mike not only brought home the ingredients (and an excellent bottle of wine – more on that later), but he decided to prepare dinner as well. As he did the first time he cooked this recipe, he made a few modifications, skipping the step of breading the chops and instead searing them in a cast iron skillet, then constructing the chanterelle sauce right in the pan. He again used vermouth instead of white wine in the sauce, and he also used a bit of water in place of the chicken stock since we didn’t have any thawed.

This was an even lighter take on the original recipe, and the flavors in the dish were just delicious. It’s a meal I’m happy to have Mike cook for me any time.

Wine Pairing: Why I love my husband, reason #52,784 - not only did he prepare an amazing dinner for us, but he picked up this gorgeous (and a bit splurgey) Vigneti La Selvanella Chianti Classico to go with it. It was rich and earthy, medium-bodied with a velvety mouthfeel, and it paired beautifully with the pork and mushroom sauce.

When I first moved to the city, I landed in a pretty darn perfect situation. I spent my first six months here living with a friend in her gorgeous townhouse in Hunters Point, Long Island City. This place was equipped with the most amazing kitchen I have had the privilege of cooking in, and I put it to good use as I took advantage of all of the fresh, delicious foodstuffs the city has to offer.

As any of you who have moved to New York from elsewhere know, relocating here can take a big chunk out of your pocketbook, so my dinners then were often even simpler than they are now, and usually more veggie-centric. This zucchini and lemon risotto was a dish I made often, since my roommate and I always had a big bowl of lemons on hand, and a nice-sized zucchini would cost me a buck – if that – at the great little produce market just around the corner. Combined with fridge and pantry staples, it was a meal that was cheap, came together quickly, and was bursting with the bright, fresh flavors of summer.

Mike and I always have a big bowl of lemons on hand in our kitchen in Bushwick, and I still love to make zucchini and lemon risotto. The version I made last night was a little richer than the version from my Long Island City days thanks to a generous addition of soft, creamy Mettowee cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm, but the flavors took me right back to those first giddy months of living here, the newness of it all, and the excitement of the possibilities that lay ahead.

Zucchini and Lemon Risotto

2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1/2 cup white vermouth
Juice and zest of two lemons
2 cups diced zucchini
4-6 cups water
Kosher salt
3 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Melt 1 tablespoon butter into olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook until the onion is softened. Add the rice and stir well to coat with the butter/olive oil mixture. Cook until the rice starts to become translucent, then add vermouth and stir. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add lemon juice and zest along with one cup of water and again allow to cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Add the zucchini and season with salt. Continue adding the remaining water a cup or so at a time, allowing the liquid to cook into the risotto as described above. You may need more or less liquid than I have listed above, but what you want is for the risotto to be creamy and the texture of the grains of rice to be al dente. Taste often as the rice cooks so you can monitor the texture of the rice, and also adjust for salt.

Once the risotto is al dente, turn off the heat and gently stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter and the goat cheese until the risotto is creamy and the cheese is well-incorporated. Serve in shallow bowls with additional lemon zest on top.

Okay, I know I said I was going to take it easy this weekend, but I didn’t stay out of the kitchen completely. I did leave the heavy lifting to my husband, and kept my contributions simple: a tossed green salad with homemade buttermilk blue cheese dressing to go with Friday night’s grilled corn and country pork ribs; a grilled lemon and heirloom tomato salsa to top tuna steaks on Saturday, and a big bowl of tabboule salad to accompany grilled lamb skewers on Sunday. This may not have been the most restful weekend ever, but it was certainly restorative.

I’ve been battling a pretty bad pain flare this week, the result of this oppressive heat as well as overdoing it a bit last weekend. I’ve spent most of my time off my feet, but I have summoned up the energy to put together quick dinners the last couple of nights.

Mike brought home some gorgeous bi-color sweet corn on Wednesday, which I cut off the cob and tossed with black beans, garlic scapes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes and my chile-lime vinaigrette. I reserved a bit of that same vinaigrette to brush over fresh sea scallops before searing them in a hot pan and serving them on top of the corn salad.

On Thursday, I chunked up three big heirloom tomatoes, also from Wednesday’s greenmarket haul, and tossed them with minced Rocambole garlic, a generous amount of salt, some good olive oil and a big handful of green and opal basil from the garden, sliced into chiffonade. I let the tomato mixture marinate on the countertop for about an hour and then tossed it with hot cooked linguine and a mixture of grated Parmagiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano cheeses.

Mike’s cooking tonight and I plan to take it easy this weekend. Hope you all enjoy whatever you have planned.

Cherries have just begun to appear at the Greenmarket, and while I love them straight or with a little something sweet, I love them even more in savory dishes. They’re a perfect partner for duck, and when the temperature inside our apartment proved too warm to sear these duck breasts and make a cherry pan sauce, I had to punt.

I scored the skin/fat side of the duck breasts and seasoned them heavily with salt, then handed them off to Mike to grill (which, by the way, he did to perfection). I cooked up a cup of farro in about 2 cups of salted water, drained it, and set it aside to cool slightly. I mixed up a bit of dijon vinaigrette, added a hefty amount of fresh thyme from the garden, tossed in about a cup of halved pitted fresh cherries, then added the farro and tossed it all together. The tartness of the cherries and sharpness of the dijon mustard were great counterpoints to the richness of the duck.