Last Night’s Dinner

Barbecue and Iron Man with friends on Friday, a trip to the farmers’ market and the newest Farmstead outpost on Saturday, wandering Federal Hill on Sunday… yeah, despite the cold and rain, we had another great weekend in our new city.

We’re trying to be frugal these days, but I couldn’t resist picking up a package of lobster tortelloni at Venda Ravioli yesterday. Tossed with thinly sliced asparagus, a bit of creme fraiche, and the remainder of the spring onion pesto I made last week, it was sinfully good (and totally worth the splurge).

I don’t usually talk about breakfast here, but this morning’s meal was worth mentioning. I had some Black Valentine beans left in the fridge from a previous dinner, which I reheated and mashed with a little bit of bacon fat until creamy. Add to that a couple of fried tortillas, chipotle salsa, cheese and chopped radish and cilantro left over from that same dinner, top with fried egg, and voila - huevos rancheros.

Not a bad way to kick off another week of good eating, I’d say.

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.

After a couple of late nights at the office which screwed up my meal plan for the week, I was back in the kitchen last night and ready to get back on track. It’s braising season, and while we often turn to that method of cooking for meats and hearty winter greens, I’ve wanted to experiment with other vegetables.

Mike had great success with the braised duck and carrots dish he made over the weekend, and as it happened that dish played a part in our meal last night, specifically, I repurposed some of the braising liquid which we had saved from that dish, added a bit of white wine and grainy mustard, and used it to cook my leeks.

I browned them in a little butter first, then placed them into a baking dish, nestled in a few sprigs of thyme and poured over just enough liquid to come up to the top of the leeks. I placed the baking dish into the oven at 325 degrees until they were very tender and the liquid was slightly reduced, about half an hour or so.

While the leeks were braising, I also crisped up six slices of Prosciutto San Daniele on a Silpat-lined baking sheet for about 20 minutes, turning them once halfway through cooking. To plate, I placed two slices of the Prosciutto down on each plate, topped them with half of the leeks and a little of the reduced braising liquid, and topped each stack with a poached egg and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, finishing with a sprinkling of crumbled Prosciutto.

As experiments go, this was a big success – the leeks were sweet and meltingly tender, the crisp Prosciutto lent a nice textural contrast and welcome saltiness, and the yolk of the egg created a rich and silky dressing that brought it all together beautifully. Mike’s only complaint was that he would have liked more leeks, and I agree. I’m definitely going to make this again, and I’m looking forward to trying it with fennel, endive, and other vegetables.

Ahhhhh.

Finally, the ick is gone, the holidays are behind us and it’s time to move forward. I love all of the rich food, the fancy drinks, the fun and indulgence of the holiday season, but I think I look forward even more to the paring down that takes place afterward. While I’m not one for making resolutions or declaring that I’m going to set out to lose some magical number of pounds, I do like to lighten things up a bit this time of year – rebooting my system, in a sense, with clean flavors and simple preparations to restore a bit of balance.

For our dinner last night, I wanted to use up a few little odds and ends we had around, in particular some bread cubes left over from our New Year’s Eve fondue. Bread pudding was my first thought, but I wanted something lighter. I thought back to a few recipes for bread and garlic soup that I had read, and decided to try my hand at a version of that – it would be warm and satisfying but not too heavy, just the thing for a blustery night.

I began by warming about six cups of our homemade chicken stock with four fat cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed. I minced a fifth garlic clove and added it to my zip-top bag of bread cubes, drizzling a bit of olive oil over and mixing the bread around until they were coated. I placed the bread cubes on a sheet pan and baked them in a 375 degree oven until they were crisp and golden – about 10 minutes – then I sprinkled a little coarse sea salt on top and set them aside. I added a teaspoon each of smoked paprika and sherry vinegar to my hot chicken/garlic stock, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and let it continue to simmer away while I poached a couple of eggs. To assemble the dish, I placed some of the bread cubes into bowls, ladled the hot broth over them, slid a poached egg into each bowl and topped them with a bit of finely chopped basil.

This soup may sound a bit austere, but it was anything but a plain-Jane meal. The yolk of the egg when broken and stirred through added just the right touch of richness and a velvety mouthfeel, and our broth was made even more bright and flavorful with the addition of the vinegar and paprika. I would have liked the garlic flavor to have been a bit more pronounced, so next time I’ll add another clove or two to the broth. All in all, I was pleased – this was a satisfying, tasty and restorative dish.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a bit of a rut as far as our meatless dinners go. It’s so easy to fall back on pastas or my beloved risottos, and while soups are wonderful I just wanted something different yesterday. We had a bunch of kale in the crisper drawer that I wanted to use up, and a can of black eyed peas in the cupboard that I’ve had my eye on for a while, but I still wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to put the two together.

Inspiration came (as it often does) from the pages of the current issue of Diner Journal. As I flipped through, I discovered a recipe for a kale and black eyed pea dish topped with a poached egg, and while I didn’t end up using that specific recipe, it was nice to know that I was on the right track as far as the combination of ingredients goes.

I drained and rinsed my peas, washed and chopped my kale into about 1 inch pieces, and set them both aside. I warmed some olive oil in a pan and added half a red onion, chopped, and a bit of salt. I had a few small potatoes left from last week, so I cut them into small cubes and added them to the pan to brown, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Next came three fat garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and roughly chopped, which I sautéed until fragrant. I added a splash of white vermouth next, along with a teaspoon or so of smoked paprika and a splash of sherry vinegar, and then added the black eyed peas and kale. The whole thing got another pinch of salt and a good stir, then I lidded the pan up and let it cook until the kale wilted, about 15-20 minutes.

When the kale and pea mixture was nearly finished cooking I poached my eggs, cracking each one into a ladle before lowering them into simmering water spiked with a bit of vinegar. I spooned my veggies into shallow bowls, placed an egg on top, and drizzled a little olive oil over them. They got a final topping of freshly ground black pepper, and I nestled a couple of little garlicky toasts into the bowls before serving.

Once again, I ended up with a dish that was a bit lacking in the beauty department, but which had loads of flavor. It was hearty and satisfying, the smoky paprika lending depth, that hit of vinegar brightening the earthy veggies, and the golden yolk of the poached egg enrobing it all in richness

I love making savory tarts in the spring and fall months, when mushrooms and leafy greens are at their best. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t make my own pastry because of lack of a food processor and the tiny amount of workspace we’ve got in our current kitchen, but I generally have good luck with a few favorite store-bought brands. Well, my luck gave out last night – actually, it’s probably less the fault of the pie shells and more the fact that I didn’t let them thaw enough. I opened the package, pulled the first crust out of its little aluminum tin to roll it out a bit on my floured board, and it immediately shattered. It was so brittle there was no hope of saving it, and since I was already getting a late start on dinner after a very slow commute home, I said to heck with it and decided to place my filling into the second, intact shell. Not quite what I had in mind, but it would have to do.

That filling was a couple of sliced shallots, a quarter pound of chanterelles, and about four big handfuls of chopped Swiss chard, seasoned with salt and sautéed in a bit of olive oil, all of it bound with 3 beaten eggs, 1/4 cup of crème fraiche, a cup of finely grated Gruyere cheese, salt, black pepper and a half teaspoon of Colman’s mustard powder. I spread the sautéed vegetable mixture in the bottom of the pie shell, poured the egg mixture on top, and added an additional 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere to the top of the tart before placing it into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

I have to say that even though the tart didn’t look exactly as I had hoped it would (i.e., not something that could have just as easily come out of a box), it was darned tasty. I have really grown to love the addition of a little bit of dry mustard to creamy or custardy dishes because the bite it provides really seems to make the flavors in the dish pop, and in this instance it highlighted the earthy mushrooms and chard beautifully. All in all, this was a good meal that came together quickly, and was easy to put together after a long, hectic workday - I guess I can’t really ask for more than that.

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.

Fall has arrived, but there’s still plenty of late-summer produce to be had. In addition to the potatoes, kale and chard I picked up last weekend, I grabbed a few pounds of San Marzano tomatoes, some small eggplant and squash, and a couple of petite bell peppers. I don’t know what I was doing when the great ratatouille craze of 2007 struck, but somehow I missed it and this felt like my last chance to prepare it this season.

My plan was to make crepes and fill them with ratatouille and egg, so while I wanted some texture, I didn’t want an overly-chunky stew. I diced all of my vegetables (1/2 a red onion, one Japanese eggplant, one small green squash and two small bell peppers – one red and one orange) into 1/2 inch dice and set them aside. I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and added the onion and some salt, allowing it to soften before adding a smashed garlic clove and the remaining vegetables. I added a bit more salt and let them cook about five minutes, and then I added a tablespoon of tomato paste, about 6 fresh San Marzanos, cored and chopped, a splash of white vermouth and a tablespoon or so of Herbes de Provence. I covered the pan and let it cook over medium-low heat for about an hour, stirring it occasionally.

I had put together my crepe batter (Alton Brown’s recipe, but with a pinch of Kosher salt and olive oil replacing the butter) before getting started on the ratatouille so it would be ready to go when the ratatouille was finished cooking. I ended up with 5 big crepes, which I set aside while I cooked a couple of eggs sunny side up in the same pan I had used for the crepes. When my eggs were cooked I laid a crepe on each of two dinner plates, spread some of the ratatouille over each, laid an egg on top and folded them up, serving them with some simply dressed red oak lettuce on the side and a nice, bright Sauvignon Blanc.

This was a light but satisfying meal, and though it takes a bit over an hour from start to finish, it’s easy enough for a weeknight dinner. It also lends itself well to adaptation – while we loved the richness of the runny egg yolk as it blended with the ratatouille, this would be just as good with a little feta or goat cheese instead.

This dish was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but I got sidetracked by sardines, so I put it off for a couple of days. Luckily, the gorgeous poblano peppers I picked up at the Greenmarket on Saturday were still good, so I was able to make chiles rellenos last night.

Chiles rellenos are basically just stuffed peppers, dipped in a light batter and fried until golden, then served on a bed of light tomato broth. The traditional stuffing is picadillo, but it seems the version that appears most often in restaurants in the U.S. is the cheese-stuffed version. I actually prefer the cheesy version, but what I don’t like is ordering rellenos in a restaurant and getting peppers that are encased in such a thick batter that they sit in your stomach like a rock. Making them at home requires a little bit of work, but the result is totally worth it.

To prepare the chiles, place them under the broiler or on a hot grill or burner until the skin is charred and blistered on all sides. Set them aside until they are cool enough to handle, and then carefully peel the skin off. Cut a slit in one side and gently remove any seeds or membranes inside. Stuff each chile with shredded cheese – Monterey Jack, Oaxaca or Queso Quesadilla – and close up the slit with a toothpick. Set the chiles in the fridge for about 20 minutes so they firm up.

For the sauce, I combined a cup of our homemade chicken stock, a cup of crushed tomato, about a teaspoon each of ground cumin and chipotle powder, and a bit of salt in a small saucepan and warmed it over low heat while I got to work on the batter for the chiles. It’s basically Diana Kennedy’s version, though I downsized it just a bit (and still had plenty left over): separate three eggs, add a pinch of salt to the yolks, beat the whites until stiff but not dry, then beat in the yolks one at a time until you have a frothy, pale yellow mixture.

I heated about an inch of oil in a skillet, dusted the stuffed chiles in a bit of flour, dunked them in the batter to coat them, then placed them directly into the hot oil, gently turning them as each side browned. When the chiles were done cooking, I set them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil and spooned some of the tomato broth onto our plates. I mounded some cumin and lime spiked black beans on top of that, then set the chiles on top.

Wine Pairing: Earlier this week I found a link to pairing wines with typical Mexican ingredients on Rick Bayless’ website, and I was eager to try one of the wines he suggested with our poblanos. Mike picked up this Gruner Veltliner at Union Square Wines, and it was just perfect with our meal, the crispness cutting right through the heat of the chiles.

My latest Chronic in the Kitchen piece is live on ChronicBabe.com - check it out.