Last Night’s Dinner

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have much patience for pastry, for the precision and measuring it requires, but I’m lucky that my husband does. A couple of months ago, we teamed up to make Gourmet’s Onion Tart with Mustard and Fennel, and it was a big hit with us.

Mike was really looking forward to revisiting the crust recipe once we got settled in and finally set up Big Red, and last night he did just that. For the topping, I sliced and crisped up two strips of Simmons Farm bacon, then softened three sliced leeks in the rendered fat. I mixed about half a cup of Renaissance Ricotta with about 2 oz. of young fresh goat cheese until they were well incorporated, and spread the cheeses over the crust, adding the leeks and bacon on top. I baked the crust in a 400 degree oven for about half an hour.

Though the texture of the dough was a bit stickier when raw than the first time Mike made it, he was really pleased with how it turned out, and so was I. It was light and tender when baked, with a great texture and flavor. I think we can safely add this crust recipe to our go-to list, as it’s easy to put together and will make a great base for a wide variety of toppings.

We love our pasta, but it’s rare that we have it two nights in a row. However, my week turned pretty hectic, and as a result I’ve been feeling tired and uninspired. I still wanted to get a home-cooked meal on the table Wednesday and Thursday nights, and these pasta dinners were just the ticket.

We brought a package of Simmons Farm bacon and a big bag of pea tendrils home from the farmers’ market last weekend, and had some (non-local) fresh peas from Whole Foods, so I decided to combine them for Wednesday night’s meal. I chopped up six slices of the bacon, cooking them until crisp, draining the pieces on a paper towel, and using a tablespoon or so of the fat to sauté a cup or so of chopped shallot. I blanched the shelled peas in my boiling pasta water, and then removed them to an ice bath before dropping half a package of bucatini into the water.

While the pasta cooked, I beat four eggs in a warmed serving bowl and added copious amounts of grated Parmagiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and cracked black pepper. I roughly chopped several handfuls of the pea tendrils and added them and the blanched peas to the pan with the shallots along with some fresh thyme leaves, cooking it all until the peas were warmed through and the pea tendrils slightly wilted. I added the pea mixture and bacon to the beaten eggs, and then added the bucatini a little at a time, tossing gently.

When everything was combined and the sauce slightly thickened, I plated the pasta in shallow bowls, adding additional grated cheese and cracked pepper on top. I used as many eggs as I normally would have for a full package of pasta so this was a bit eggy for my liking, but it was still good, with the sweet peas, smoky bacon and slightly peppery pea tendrils playing well off each other.

While Wednesday night’s pasta was at least spring-like, last night’s pasta dinner was not exactly what I’d have planned for the first of May. Since I didn’t have anything planned, Mike’s request for ragu Bolognese was a welcome suggestion, and it turned out to be just the thing to take the chill off on a damp, cold night. I put together a quick version of my standard sauce when I got home and tossed it with chunky rigatoni, topping each serving with a dollop of Narragansett’s creamy Renaissance ricotta (one of my favorite ways to finish a serving of meat-sauced pasta since my lunch with Claudia at A Voce). This may not have been the most exciting dinner around, but it hit the spot, and I’m always happy to be able to whip out a meal without too much thought or effort.

We’re meeting good friends for dinner and a movie tonight, which should be just the boost I need. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

I have a little notebook which I carry around with me, and as inspiration strikes I jot down ideas for meals or combinations of ingredients I’d like to try. As the weather turned colder and the selection of local veggies at the Greenmarket got smaller, I began to think about beets. Which, historically, neither of us has been particularly crazy about. At all.

But in our continuing quest to broaden our palates, we decided to give beets another chance, so from time to time I would write down a few thoughts about what to do with them. There was borscht, obviously, and also some sort of beet/goat cheese combo, but I like to think my best idea was this:

beets + beet greens + farro + bacon

Because really, what doesn’t bacon improve?

So when I sent Mike off to the Greenmarket yesterday morning, I asked him to pick up some beets, preferably with the tops still attached, as well as some of our favorite Tamarack bacon. He reported back that the only beets he could find were trimmed, but he was kind enough to go back at lunchtime and pick up some young red chard at my request.

After weighing my cooking and cleaning options, I decided to roast the beets in a foil pouch. I placed them into a 375 oven for about an hour and got to work on the rest of my ingredients while they cooked. I chopped four strips of bacon into about 1 inch pieces and placed them into a skillet to fry. In a separate pan, I cooked a cup of farro until it was tender but not too soft. When the bacon was crisp, I removed it from the fat and set it aside, and then removed about half of the fat and set that aside as well.

When the beets were cooked and cool enough to handle, I peeled them with a paring knife and cut them into chunks. I tossed them in with the cooked farro, then added the bacon and gave it all a gentle stir. I warmed up the fat that was still in the pan from cooking the bacon, added one finely chopped garlic clove and cooked it just until fragrant, then added my roughly chopped chard and a pinch of salt. When the greens were just wilted but still bright green, I removed them from the heat and added them to the beet/bacon/farro mixture. I placed the reserved bacon fat back into the pan to warm, then poured it, along with another pinch of salt and a healthy splash of sherry vinegar, over the mixture and gave it another stir.

The farro turned a rather comical shade of fuschia when it was tossed with the beets, but I have to admit that the deep red beets and bright greens were a nice change of pace from the red/brown palette of our recent meals. But did this dish change our minds about beets?

I’m pleased to report that it did. As I suspected the combination of flavors worked really well together, and the flavor of those roasted beets was far, far superior to anything we had tasted growing up. As it turns out, beets are yummy. Who knew?

It’s no secret that we are big fans of the pork products here at Chez Dietschyblossom, so when we saw Melissa’s absolutely mouthwatering photo of Derrick’s take on Craft’s bacon and egg risotto, there was no doubt in my mind I’d try my own spin soon.

I used pancetta instead of bacon because that was what we had on hand. I diced up six thick slices, rendered them down, set the crispy bits aside on a paper towel and used the fat (mixed with a bit of Parmigiano Reggiano butter) to saute my diced onion and to begin to cook the rice. I used 1/2 cup of white vermouth and some of our homemade chicken stock for the liquid components, and stirred in the cooked pancetta with the last addition of stock. I finished the risotto with a little bit of grated parm, a dollop of crème fraiche and a bit more butter, then spooned it into our bowls and topped each serving with a poached egg yolk and some chopped chives.

Though I over-poached the yolks just a bit, I will say that this was a pretty darned awesome dish - rich, creamy, and luxurious, with a nice bit of sweetness from the pancetta. Mike brought home a bottle of Schloss Koblenz Trittenheimer Altarchen Kabinett Riesling to drink with dinner, and while the it was a bit sweet for my taste on its own, it was a wonderful match with the risotto, the richness of the dish bringing out the bright citrusy notes in the wine.

My standard macaroni and cheese, dressed up with a little crispy bacon and served with a side of sautéed rainbow chard - another of Mike’s favorite meals.

Crazy time at the office is over for the moment, but I have a new distraction… the kittens are back, and they are as adorable as ever. As you can imagine, I have spent most of my free time over the last few days hanging out in the yard watching the kittens frolic and play rather than writing about what we ate, but here’s a quick recap.

Tuesday night’s meal was blackfish with white beans in a fennel-herb broth, inspired by the fish dish I had at Marlow and Sons the last time we ate there.

I sliced up a fennel bulb and sautéed it in olive oil with a few smashed garlic cloves, and then added a cup each of white wine and water to the pan. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, and added a cup of chopped mixed herbs (I used a combination of fennel fronds, chives, tarragon and flat leaf parsley; sadly the chervil I planted in our garden this year died a swift death). Once the broth came to a boil I added one can of small white beans (drained and rinsed) and reduced the heat. I laid two blackfish fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper, in the pan skin side up, covered the pan, and let the fish poach until just cooked through.

It was easy as can be to put this together, and while it was not as good as the original, I was very pleased with the result.

Last night I put together a classic Cobb Salad, with fresh greens and grape tomatoes from the Greenmarket, lemony grilled chicken, some of Mike’s delicious bacon, ripe avocado, one of our favorite blues, and a chive-spiked vinaigrette. In my distracted state, I actually spaced on the hard boiled eggs I was making and ruined them, but we had one left in the fridge from a batch I made earlier in the week, so dinner was saved. (Call me a perfectionist, but a Cobb isn’t a Cobb without the hard boiled egg!)

These were two light, quick dinners which I’m sure will become go-to meals for us on warm summer evenings.

We had some yummy meals this weekend, but the star of the show was definitely the bacon. Mike cured a slab of pork belly from Tamarack Hollow and spent Sunday afternoon smoking it over hardwood (I’ll let him share the details). We had a taste as soon as it came off of the grill, and let me tell you, it was amazing. My husband is a man of many talents.

One could argue that everything is better with bacon; after our meal last night, I am inclined to agree.

Mike picked up a couple of smallish whole brook trout from Max Creek Hatchery at the Greenmarket yesterday, as well as a bunch of ramps and package of Tamarack Hollow’s excellent bacon. While he got a fire going in the new grill, I seasoned the trout inside and out with a little kosher salt, stuffed their bellies with ramps, and wrapped three strips of bacon around each fish, threading toothpicks through the ends to secure them.

The fish went onto the grill and we cooked them for about 12 minutes a side over indirect heat. The bacon basted the fish as it cooked, and the fat kept the fish from sticking to the grate. The ramps got crisp on the ends and picked up a delicious smoky flavor, and the fish stayed moist and tender encased in its porky cocoon. I quickly sautéed a bunch of young mustard greens in a bit of olive oil and sliced up a greenhouse tomato to serve alongside (still not as good as our home-grown tomatoes when they’re in-season, but surprisingly tasty).

This meal was incredibly simple and beyond delicious. After about two bites we ditched our silverware and just started eating with our fingers! We’ll definitely do this one again.