Last Night’s Dinner

We’re heading up to Providence tomorrow to drop off a check and pick up our keys to our new home. We had (and still have) a lot to do to prepare for the trip, but I still made time for food safari and cooking over the weekend. To start off, Mike and I headed to Moto for brunch on Saturday morning.

Moto’s pretty special to us - we had brunch there the morning after we moved into our Bushwick apartment, and we’ve had many great meals there since. Hopefully we can squeeze one more dinner in before the 22nd.

We split up after brunch, as Mike had a lot of editing to do at home, and I continued into the city to shop. I made the usual rounds: Essex Street Market to hit Saxelby’s and Formaggio, then to Union Square Greenmarket, then home with all of my goodies.

After a bit of a rest, I put a big pot of chicken stock on the stove and pulled a few things out of the freezer to thaw for later. At Mike’s request, I had purchased a couple of Cornish game hens from Quattro’s for Saturday dinner, which were so huge we ended up roasting just one; the other is in the freezer for a future meal. The bird was delicious roasted with butter and herbs, and served with creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes and a simple pan sauce.

Sunday was another busy day of packing, punctuated by a longer-than-anticipated visit to the hair salon, so I changed up our dinner plans just a bit. I had pulled a duck breast out to thaw, which I was going to sear and serve with a flageolet gratin from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, but in the end I decided to go with something less time-intensive. I had a couple of little stem tomatoes left from stock-making, and I had thawed the remaining Ventreche from Mike’s last cassoulet, so I decided to use the two to flavor a pot of lentils.

I carved off about two half-inch slices of Ventreche and cut them into chunks, then browned them in a bit of olive oil. I cored and chopped the tomatoes and placed them in a bowl with one large shallot, chopped, a good pinch of kosher salt and some Herbes de Provence. When the Ventreche was browned I added the tomato and shallot mixture to the pan, letting the tomatoes cook down a bit, then I splashed in a tablespoon or two of Sherry vinegar. I added a couple of minced garlic cloves next, and when they were fragrant I added a cup of lentils and two cups of our fresh chicken stock. I covered the pan and cooked the lentils until tender, about 20 minutes or so, stirred in one bunch of red chard (thinly sliced), then spooned the lentils into bowls and topped them with slices of our seared duck breast. The stewed lentils were so good I could have made a meal out of them alone - I’m sure the leftovers are going to make a great lunch.

Posting will be light this week with our packing and traveling, but I’ll catch up with you again in a few days. Happy April!

I’ve admitted in the past that I have a secret love for canned soup casseroles, but it has been years since I’ve made one at home because I just don’t cook that way anymore. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’ve missed them, and from time to time, I think about how I might put one together without adding a can or three of that sodium-laden, over-processed cream-of-whatever to the mix.

Dinners this week have been largely unplanned. All of the energy I would normally have put toward sketching out a meal plan for the week has been directed elsewhere: to making lists, making plans, making arrangements and sorting out the numbers in preparation for our move. And again, there is the matter of clearing the freezer and pantry, paring things down so we can start fresh at our new home.

By the time lunch rolled around yesterday, I was in the unfamiliar (for me) position of still not knowing what I was going to cook for dinner. We are, as you can imagine, trying to be particularly thrifty these days so going out wasn’t really an option, and though I could have had Mike stop and pick up something fresh to cook up, that really goes against the whole culling thing that we’re trying to do. So I thought back to the cupboards, fridge and freezer, and inspiration struck: I had half a brick of cream cheese left over from Wednesday night’s stuffed chicken breasts, a couple of cans of good tuna on the shelves, and the last of the peas I shelled, blanched and froze last summer. The cream cheese, when mixed into a basic béchamel sauce, might just work as the base for a tuna noodle casserole…

It did work, and beautifully, making a thick, creamy and flavorful sauce to bind the cooked pasta, fresh peas, drained and chunked tuna and some mushrooms which I had chopped and sautéed until golden with shallot, sherry and dried marjoram. As with all good canned soup casseroles, this one got a cheesy, crisp topping of grated parm and dried breadcrumbs, which baked to a golden crust. This was the comfort food of my youth elevated to a new (guilt-free) level, and I can’t wait to play with future variations.

Project Pantry Cull took another small step forward last night, as I pulled out a long-neglected can of Wild Alaskan pink salmon and turned it into surprisingly tasty salmon “burgers.” I feel a bit silly referring to them as burgers because they were really more like croquettes, but I served them on little wheat rolls with a lemon-caper mayo and sweet potato oven fries on the side, so the spirit of the burger was there.

These were extremely simple to prepare: I drained off the liquid from the salmon, placed it into a big mixing bowl and removed as much of the skin and little bones as I could. I added one finely minced large shallot, salt, pepper, a beaten egg and some plain dry breadcrumbs, then formed the mixture into patties (I ended up with 3) and placed them in the fridge for about half an hour to firm up. They got a quick fry in a bit of olive oil in a hot cast iron skillet for about 3 minutes per side, then a quick blot on paper towels before I placed them on the rolls and dressed them.

This was really the first time I have cooked with canned salmon, but I was impressed by the flavor, and you can’t beat the price – I think our whole meal easily came in at under $10 – so I’ll definitely want to keep it on hand as a pantry staple. I went a little light on the seasonings for my burgers, but I think there’s definitely room to play around there as well – some fresh herbs, spicy mustard or zingy Asian seasonings would all be great additions to future versions of this recipe. If you have any favorite ways to prepare canned salmon, I’d love to hear about them.

Are you ready for another rave about Rancho Gordo beans? I hope so, because I continue to be dazzled by them and the meal I made with them last night was no exception.

While the temperature is still quite chilly I am so ready to move on to lighter dishes. I am so over braising, stewing, roasting, and the last thing I wanted after a full weekend of overindulgence was anything heavy for dinner. I made a mental inventory of the contents of our fridge and pantry on my commute home to try to come up with something – anything – that tasted of spring. I thought first of the various beans in the cupboard and decided to use some as the base of a warm salad.

I chose Rancho Gordo’s Flageolets, a delicate little bean with a lovely creamy texture, cooking a cup of them in an abundant amount of water, and adding salt near the end of their cooking time (about an hour and a half total). I then drained them and set them aside to cool slightly while getting to work on the rest of the dish. I whisked together plenty of fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper in a big bowl to dress the salad, added the beans to the bowl, then a bunch of chopped veggies: scallions, radishes, and a couple of Israeli cucumbers. I added a tablespoon or so of chopped fresh mint and a handful of fresh dill fronds, gave everything a toss, then finished the salad by gently folding in about 4 oz. of cubed feta. I served the bean salad on a bed of baby greens (you can really never have too many veggies), and it was just what I needed – the beans were super tender and held their shape beautifully, and the crunch of the veggies, salty bite of feta and brightness of the herbs and lemon were perfect counterpoints. As warmer weather arrives, this salad is going to be a great one to have in the arsenal for lunch or a light dinner.

Our long weekend was packed with so much delicious it would take me a week to write it up properly, so again, I give you our weekend in photos:

We started off with a bang: a round of cocktails then a fantastic meal at Diner. I had the perfectly cooked grass-fed sirloin while Mike had goat two ways (roasted leg and seared loin), both forms prepared beautifully and both of them a revelation. The texture and flavor of the leg reminded me quite a bit of the veal chops we had last week, while the loin was delicate and super tender. As an added bonus, we got a tour of the (fairly) new butcher station courtesy of the man himself, Grocery Guy Tom Mylan.

Mike’s juggling a few freelance projects, so we planned to spend a lazy Saturday at home. We woke early and while he got right to work on editing, I got to work on breakfast: pork hash made with Flying Pigs’ apple and sage farmhouse sausage, fried eggs, and rye toast.

Later in the day, I made a little something to nosh on while watching the NCAA basketball tournament (him) or DVR’ed cooking shows (me): Prosciutto, Genoa salami, Sopressata, fresh mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, romaine, and a sherry and herb vinaigrette on ciabatta.

Since we missed our traditional fizzy on Friday, we had a little pre-dinner Prosecco on Saturday, along with some raw almonds sprinkled with sea salt.

Saturday dinner was a really simple affair: the last of my ragu Bolognese pulled from the freezer, cooked up with a little extra milk and tomato, and tossed with Rustichella linguine, plus a big bowl of Caesar salad. The dressing is a variation of the formula my former mother-in-law taught me, and when the ingredients are whizzed up in the mini chopper it takes almost zero time and effort to prepare.

Finally, Sunday. When we parted ways with Tom on Friday, he was kind enough to extend an invitation to join him, his lovely fiancé Annaliese and a roomful of their friends for their Feaster celebration. I have no photos because frankly, I was too busy enjoying myself, but trust me when I say the booze was flowing, the company was fantastic, and the food was bountiful and really, really delicious. We had to cut our stay a bit short because Mike had more work to do, but we headed home with full bellies and big smiles – it was a great end to our weekend.

I know that in these last weeks before our move I really have no business adding more items to our pantry, but I couldn’t help myself. I kept hearing and reading about harissa, and when I spotted this little jar at Formaggio Essex recently I had to pick it up. This North African chile paste is most commonly described as “fiery” and I’m telling you, that’s no joke. But the burn is the best kind of burn, sharp and complex, a welcome bit of kick when added to a dish or served alongside.

I had a beautiful piece of halibut that I wanted to cook for dinner last night, but none of my usual preparations were really sending me. I remembered that little jar of harissa and decided this would be a great time to put it to use. I put together a quick marinade for the fish, a combination of harissa, ground coriander, cumin and fenugreek, a bit of salt, fresh lemon juice and olive oil, which I poured over the halibut about half an hour before cooking it (I removed most of it before adding the fish to the pan so it wouldn’t burn). We had one Meyer lemon lingering in the citrus basket, so I chopped it up and combined it with some chopped sundried tomatoes and oil-cured olives, picked flat-leaf parsley (mint would have been great, too), salt and olive oil to make a quick relish to serve on top of the fish. I served it all on a bed of couscous and pine nuts, a nice neutral counterpoint to the zippy flavors of the fish and lemon-olive relish. Mike passed but I couldn’t resist adding a little more harissa to my plate, dabbing a bit of it on random forkfuls of my fish and couscous. It was lovely, and a welcome bit of heat on a blustery night.

My first date with harissa was such a roaring success that I couldn’t wait for our next encounter. My office is closed today and though I have plans to meet Mike in the city for lunch, a girl’s gotta have breakfast, right? Rye toast, a couple of fried eggs, and harissa, oh yes - my lips are still tingling. I think I’m in love.

(Happy Purim, Happy Easter, Happy weekend, everyone!)

Osso buco is a classic dish of slowly braised veal shank served with a sprightly gremolata and accompanied by fragrant risotto Milanese. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors, but while a traditional osso buco is a thing of beauty, it’s not exactly weeknight dinner material.

In my continuing quest to pare down the contents of our freezer and pantry before our move, I planned a quick and easy spin on that slow-cooking dish using the last of our suckled veal chops from Bobolink in place of veal shank. I mixed up the gremolata first, smashing and mincing two cloves of garlic and combining them with about a quarter cup of chopped flat-leaf parsley, the zest of one lemon, a pinch of salt and a tiny pour of extra virgin olive oil. I set that aside and got to work on the risotto, sautéing about a quarter cup of chopped shallot in a mixture of butter and olive oil until soft, toasting a cup and a half of Carnaroli rice, then adding the saffron (a good pinch – about 1/4 teaspoon), which I had lightly crushed between my fingers. I made a hot spot and let the saffron toast for a minute, then added half a cup of white vermouth and let it bubble away while I stirred the rice.

I finished the risotto in my usual way, using a mixture of veal stock and water for my remaining liquid, while Mike seared the chops in the cast iron skillet (about 3-5 minutes per side). I added another blob of butter and a generous amount of freshly grated Parmagiano Reggiano into the risotto off the heat when it was done, then spooned some onto our plates, topping each portion with the seared chops and a big dollop of gremolata. This was a great way to get the bold, bright flavors of the traditional dish with minimal time and effort.

In another lifetime, I was all about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. There were far too many black and tans at the Gaelic League, “shaking my shamrock” with my best girl at the Old Shillelagh, big boiled dinners of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and turnips, but honestly, I’m just not that into it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Irish food, drink and music, but I prefer my celebrations on the quieter side these days.

Still, I decided to cook up something green, a simple potato and leek soup with fresh watercress just wilted in and the whole thing pureed right before serving. It was inspired by the soup on Suzanne Goin’s St. Patrick’s Day menu in Sunday Suppers at Lucques, and I had originally planned to serve it with her “Gentleman’s Relish” toasts but in the end I went simpler and made cheddar and chive toasts instead.

I’m not sure if it was because I’m fighting off the cold that my darling husband is trying to share with me, but this didn’t quite hit the mark. I kept adjusting the seasoning, adding a bit more salt, a splash of wine vinegar, and finally whisking in a blob of sour cream (which, of course, decided to separate), and while the end result was okay, it wasn’t delicious. That being said, I’m having some of the leftover soup for lunch today – hopefully the flavors will have improved overnight.

Our weekend in photos:

I was inspired by Lydia at The Perfect Pantry to pull out the bag of Fregula Sarda I bought recently and have another go at recreating a dish we had at Marlow and Sons last year. This time around, I made my meatballs using only veal rather than a mixture of meats, I used shallot in place of onion, I upped the proportion of breadcrumbs and I made the meatballs a little smaller. I placed a big spoonful of cooked Fregula in our bowls, added a few meatballs, and ladled over some hot chicken stock to which I had added an abundant amount of fresh herbs just at the last minute. I finished each serving with a grating of Ricotta Salata.

Though we are really trying to work through as much of the stuff in our freezer as possible leading up to our move, we did hit the Greenmarket in Union Square on Saturday morning, where we brought home a lovely guinea hen from Violet Hill. Mike took the bird apart and I later braised it in a mixture of red wine, balsamic vinegar and aromatics.

Sunday was crummy and we both felt like hibernating so a comfort food breakfast was in order: Anson Mills grits with cheddar and parm, fried egg and Tamarack Hollow bacon.

After breakfast, I sat down with our freezer inventory, a stack of cookbooks and my little red meal planner, while Mike did some work on his post for the latest Mixology Monday. He mixed up a round so I could take advantage of the late afternoon light for taking photos, and of course we couldn’t let the drinks go to waste.

I served them with a little cheese and baguette to help counteract the cocktail’s high octane level.

Finally, dinner. We had also brought home a package of grass-fed Angus short ribs from Elk Trails on Saturday, so we thawed them overnight and Mike braised them, using recipes from John Besh, Mario Batali and Suzanne Goin as inspiration. We had four flanken-style ribs which came in at just under 2.5 pounds, and after he browned them, he softened chopped onion, carrots and celery in the remaining fat in the Le Creuset, caramelized a blob of tomato paste, then added a cup of veal stock, 1.5 cups of red wine, one smashed garlic clove, some thyme, a bay leaf, and about a cup and a half of chopped tomatoes. The ribs went back into the pot, he sealed it up and chucked it into the oven for about 3 hours. When the ribs were tender, he stirred in some chopped chard until it was just wilted, and we served it with my sides: creamy mashed potatoes and a horseradish-spiked crème fraiche.

I’ve had a bunch of comments and inquiries about my egg poaching technique, so I asked Mike to shoot a video clip of me poaching eggs. Our first attempt was a hilarious mess, but our second effort produced good results, and I post it here for you, dear readers, in all its amateurish glory. (Please be kind.)

(Mike pointed out that at one point in the video I misspoke, saying “yolk” when I meant to say “white.” Just fyi.)

As for what went under the egg, it was a quick sort of “hash,” made with shallots, potatoes, shredded duck leg confit, smoked paprika and thyme - nothing fancy, just an easy mix of things we had on hand.

I spooned the hash over a bed of greens and topped it with the egg, finishing it with black pepper and some snipped chives - a simple and tasty meal.