How to feed a hungry hubby in 10 minutes or less:
Combine 1/3 cup of mayo with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of salt.
Add a heaping helping of chopped fresh tarragon and chervil.
Add one cup of chopped cooked lobster meat and toss gently.
Toast soft hot dog rolls in a pan with a little butter.
Spoon lobster salad into rolls and serve with chips and sliced tomatoes.
A simple sandwich never tasted so luxurious.
Yesterday was the first day of Mike’s mandatory overtime period at his (not so) new (anymore) job, so we’re making a few adjustments to our routine. Since there were a few things I needed for the meal I had planned for Monday, and since I wanted to get started before Mike got home, I took a trip down to Union Square on my lunch hour to peruse the Greenmarket – my first weekday visit in a long time. As great as it is to have Mike working so close that he can easily do our marketing during the week, I realized yesterday how much I have missed going there myself.
I came home with some lovely red and orange bell peppers, a yellow zucchini and red onion, which I sautéed with salt and olive oil until caramelized. I grated a chunk of Cato Corner’s Womanchego cheese, and layered that on small flour tortillas with black beans, the caramelized veggies, more cheese and another tortilla. I cooked these quesadillas in a dry nonstick skillet until the bottom tortillas were crisp and toasted, flipping them carefully to cook the second side, and I served them with a dollop of sour cream and a scoop of freshly made pico de gallo (you knew there had to be tomatoes in there somewhere… ). This was nothing fancy, just a super quick, easy and light weeknight dinner.
This was quite the fun- (and food-) filled weekend for us. We kicked things off with some fun cocktails made with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and later dined on smoky, crispy soft-shell crab “BLTs” – I sandwiched the crabs between thick-slices of pancetta, and we grilled them over high heat until they were crispy all over. I spread slices of Bread Alone’s wholegrain sourdough with a garlic scape mayo, laid slices of ripe tomato on top, added the pancetta-wrapped crabs and finished each sandwich with a handful of wild arugula to add a nice peppery bite.
We picked up some grass-fed flatiron steaks from Elk Trails while on our regular Saturday food safari, which Mike grilled up for dinner that night. I made a crunchy chopped salad with red butter lettuce, chopped heirloom tomatoes and blue cheese vinaigrette, and I topped our steaks with a pile of onion rings – thin slices of red onion which I had salted and marinated with a tablespoon or two of Sriracha, then tossed lightly with flour and fried briefly until crisp.
I also spent some time on Saturday assembling items for a picnic lunch – we had plans to head to Central Park on Sunday to catch a Summerfest show and would need to get there early, so I wanted our stuff to be ready to go. Mike brought home a loaf of crusty sourdough which I sliced lengthwise and hollowed out. Rather than layering the ingredients as is traditional, I mashed few anchovies into a basic sherry-Dijon vinaigrette and tossed my chopped olives, tomatoes, and capers with that. I mounded it into the hollowed-out bottom bread shell, layered roasted red peppers and arugula on top, added the top of the bread and wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and foil.
I also put together a pesto of garlic scapes, parsley and chervil to toss with rotini pasta and halved cherry tomatoes. When Sunday came, we grabbed our picnic blanket, packed up our sandwich and pasta salad as well as a lovely little wheel of Capriola cheese from Saxelby Cheesemongers, and set out for the park. The music was great, the food was tasty, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous – what a perfect way to wind down the first weekend of summer.
I have just finished a stretch of very long, difficult workdays. By the time I left the office on Tuesday, I had already logged nearly 30 hours since Sunday, so when I walked in the door yesterday evening, I was beat. I had planned menus for this week knowing that my schedule was going to be unpredictable, and hoping that I would still have the energy to cook, but it hasn’t quite turned out that way. Monday night I had Mike meet me at Moto; he offered to handle dinner on Tuesday, but since I had no idea what time I was going to be home, I told him not to bother, that we’d figure something out when I got in.
We don’t have great dining or takeout options in our immediate area; there’s a Popeye’s and a Dunkin’ Donuts, a crappy pizza place, a few ethnic options which are okay but who close up shop pretty early. Mike had picked up a gorgeous piece of fresh fish on his way home, but I was too mentally tired to decide how to prepare it and to come up with anything to go with it (that fish is on deck for tonight, though). And while we always have a variety of pastas and good things to sauce them with on hand, I didn’t want anything quite that heavy.
I was about ready to just give up and go to bed hungry when I remembered that big batch of chicken stock Mike made on Sunday. We had that, we had a big can of whole fire-roasted tomatoes, we had good bread and we always have a variety of cheeses in the fridge… the answer was right there: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. It’s one of the ultimate comfort food combinations, and it was exactly what I needed.
Mike directed me to the sofa with a cocktail and I walked him through preparing the soup: first you saute a couple of garlic cloves in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add the tomatoes along with their juices and two cups of stock, cover and allow it to simmer away. After five minutes or so, break up the tomatoes with a potato masher, taste and season with salt, pepper and a tablespoon or two of chopped fresh herbs (we used thyme, but basil or parsley are also good), and allow the soup to continue to simmer, uncovered, while you work on the sandwiches.
My favorite grilled cheese is made with a good wholegrain rye, grainy mustard, and 2 or 3 different cheeses (one of which is always a cheddar; also, during tomato season, a slice or two of fresh, ripe tomato is an excellent addition). Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan until bubbling, spread mustard on two slices of bread and lay them in mustard-side up. Layer the thinly sliced cheeses on top of each slice of bread (we used a mixture of Bobolink cave-aged cheddar, Cato Corner Brigid’s Abbey, and Harpersfield Ommegang from Brovetto Dairy). Top each sandwich with the second slice of bread, press and allow to cook until golden on the first side, then gently flip and brown on the second side, adding another tablespoon of butter if needed.
Stir 1/4 cup of heavy cream into the soup off the heat, and ladle it into bowls. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve alongside. Pour a glass of your favorite beverage, put your feet up, and savor.