November 26, 2007
Weekend Eats (and Drinks) - Post-Thanksgiving Edition
I have to say I spent far less time photographing my food this weekend than I did just sitting back and enjoying it, and while that may not be great for the blog, it was just what the doctor ordered. Here’s a little sample of what our weekend looked like:
First up, baked eggs with scallion, thyme, coppa and grated Manchester, and toasted multigrain from Bread Alone, eaten on the sofa while we watched the parade and the dog show.
We enjoyed a midafternoon snack of duck mousse and wine to keep us going until our Thanksgiving meal at Dressler (he had the quail and venison; I had the artichoke and turkey - all of it was delicious).
Friday evening, a little Veuve kept our tradition of Fizzy Fridays going while we waited for dinner that night:
Bone-in Berkshire pork loin roast with a mix of Maille extra-hot dijon, garlic, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, fennel seeds and olive oil (adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe), and served with a little classic risotto and sautéed green beans with pine nuts.
Expect the leftover roast pork to make a repeat appearance this week.
I got a big pot of no-frills chili going when we returned from Greenmarketing on Saturday, and made a batch of fish stock on Sunday, letting it slowly simmer away while I made plans for the coming week’s meals:
Mike and I have got some fun things planned for the coming weeks, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Stay tuned…
Mary Coleman said,
November 26, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
You were definitely missed but I’m glad you had a chance to relax and have some time off. And with Beaujolais floating around you in its various forms, I know you had a grand time!
Is that pate by any chance from Three Little Pigs (Les Trois Petits Cochons)?
Mary
Kalyn said,
November 26, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
Please share the recipe for the baked eggs. They look fabulous!
Jennifer Hess said,
November 26, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Mary - It’s good to be back! Looks like you had a lovely Thanksgiving, too! I’ll have to double check with my husband since he brought the pate home (from Formaggio Essex), but I think it’s from D’Artagnan. I love the Three Little Pigs pates, though, too.
Kalyn - Thanks! My base recipe can be found here. For my Thanksgiving version, I omitted the tomatoes and instead added two eggs, a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream, a bit of finely chopped Coppa, some fresh thyme, salt and pepper to my two buttered baking dishes, then topped them with the finely grated cheese. They took about 12-15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
dietsch said,
November 26, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
I honestly have no idea where the pate came from. It was just wrapped in plastic in the cooler with no branding or identification that I can recall.
Mary Coleman said,
November 26, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
D’Artagnan’s a great pate maker as well. I had a catering company/carryout for about 15 years and we sold Three Little Pigs pates. Talk about your flying pig…right out the door every time the shipment came! And yes, we did have a time last Thursday!
tinarina said,
November 26, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
Hi Jennifer–
I’ve been lurking for a few months and just wanted to say congrats on your great blog (and your thoughtful cooking). As a fellow farmer’s market devotee, I have to ask you about Bread Alone. My husband and I do buy from there out of convenience while shopping, but it can’t hold a candle to Amy’s or Eli’s or Balthazar, IMO. Would love to know your thoughts.
Carrie said,
November 27, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Hi Jennifer,
I also have been lurking for a few months and love your blog. Your chilli looks amazing - and I have had a look but cant find a recipe - do you have one I could have at all?
Many thanks,
Carrie
Jennifer Hess said,
November 27, 2007 @ 10:25 am
tinarina and Carrie - welcome!
Re: bread - I love the sliced multigrain as well as the whole wheat sourdough sliced breads from Bread Alone, but I’ll agree, there’s nothing like a Balthazar baguette, and I have loved the various Amy’s breads I’ve tried. I can’t say I’ve had any Eli’s breads - I’ll have to check them out!
As for the chili, I don’t really have a recipe, per se - I start with the same basic ingredients for a standard batch, which is one large onion, diced and sauteed in a tablespoon or so of oil until soft, 2 peeled and smashed cloves of garlic, and a pound of ground beef, crumbled and cooked until it loses its raw color. I add my first amounts of dry seasonings next: 2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon each of chipotle powder, ground cumin and coriander, and 3-4 tablespoons of my husband’s homemade chile powder. I stir those through the meat and onions, caramelize a tablespoon or so of tomato paste in a hot spot and stir that in as well. After that, I add a 14.5 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes (reserving the juice) and break those up a bit before adding two cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed. I add some kosher salt and the juice of half a lime, lid it up and let it cook for at least half an hour over medium-low heat, tasting from time to time to adjust my seasonings. I usually end up adding more cumin because I love the flavor, and I often up the heat factor by adding some hot pepper sauce (our good friend Ed’s Evil Hot brand is my favorite). And that’s pretty much it! I think it turns out slightly different every time, and I’ve substituted ground chicken or turkey for the beef, and black beans for the kidney beans with good results.
Anita said,
November 28, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
[drool] those baked eggs are GORGEOUS
Brian said,
December 4, 2007 @ 1:27 pm
I love the wine pictured - we opened both of those exact bottles during our Thanksgiving dinner.
Those baked eggs look amazing, I defintiely want to give that a try.