Summer Dinner Nights July 15, 2008

Tonight was the third night in my new apartment and also the night of the second dinner I’ve hosted. This time it was for a close college friend of mine whose birthday (way past) I wanted to celebrate (way late) with a nice dinner. Although it’s only been three days since I fully moved in I feel home here. And I’m starting to like the emerging pattern of these summer dinner nights.

Since I had already decided that I would be doing two dinners back to back in a new environment, one with only a teeny bit of counter space, I went about it smartly by incorporating a lot of the same ingredients.

I started us off with a heirloom tomato caprese salad using Mandara buffalo mozzarella which is sooo delicious. Creamy, tender, milky. I dressed the salad with a basil meyer lemon olive oil dressing. I pounded basil into a paste in my mortar and pestle and then whisked into it lemon juice and the meyer lemon olive oil. A well made caprese is one of my favorite simple pleasures. The Italians know what they’re doing.

For the main course I made grilled rib eye steak with muhammara, duck fat fries and arugula. I made a fresh batch of fries of course with rosemary salt. The muhammara which only gets better with time and paired deliciously with the steak and peppery arugula. We drank Ruffino Chianti Il Ducale with this. I forgot to take a picture of the main course but it has a high resemblance to the duck confit plate, with the fries, arugula and muhammara providing the main colors in the dish. Except this time it was was a juicy rib eye.

Once again the warm nectarine crumble & honeyed ice yogurt showed its summer head again. When I made my first batch yesterday I saved half of the topping for today. Dessert was ready in a few minutes. All I had to do was chop up nectarines, top it with the premade crumble mixture and dot it with few tablespoons of butter. The honeyed ice yogurt was all ready to go in the freezer. Bites of warm nectarine crumble and cool tangy sweet frozen yogurt sure does make summer feel good.

A Dinner… Heirloom Tomato, Duck, Nectarine July 14, 2008

I decided to cook two of my close friends a nice birthday dinner this year instead of buying them a gift. This would be perfect timing since I had just fully moved into my very own apartment yesterday. Today was the dinner. Talk about breaking in the apartment right? I told each friend of the plan and told them they could bring one guest to celebrate with them. I cooked, they ate, we drank. I feel totally settled into my apartment now.

Heirloom Tomato Salad, Nicoise Olives, Feta Mousse, Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

I started them off with a simple seasonal salad adapted from Gavin Kaysen’s Greek Salad with Feta Mousse recipe. I dressed my version with meyer lemon olive oil, lemon juice and a touch of sherry vinegar. I sprinkled fresh marjoram on top which I’ve been getting addicted to lately. The aroma is so lovely. The creamy milder feta mousse was a nice departure from the crumbled sorta deal one usually eats in a Greek salad. Sippin’: Gainey Vineyard 2006 Riesling. (thnx tash!)

Grilled Duck Confit, Muhammara, Duck Fat Fries with Rosemary Fleur de Sel, Arugula

Next up was duck confit. I know you’re probably thinking again?! I love duck confit. Also it’s pretty fuss free and you can prep a whole batch ahead of time and easily crisp up the skin right before serving. I grilled them this time for a change instead of throwing them in a blistering oven. I paired the duck confit with muhammara which is a Middle Eastern dip usually served with pita as an appetizer. It’s made with roasted bell peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. Now I can’t waste all the that duck fat that was left over. Duck fat fries were in order. These were made with yukon gold potatoes and seasoned with mortar & pestled rosemary fleur de sel. These were addicting. A small bundle of arugula was lightly dressed and tucked between the duck and the fries. Sippin’: Newman’s Own 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Nectarine Crumble, Honeyed Ice Yogurt

I kept the dessert super simple but super delicious. Plump juicy nectarines from the farmer’s market were baked with a delicious brown sugar, oat and almond crumble mixture and served with homemade ice yogurt sweetened with acacia honey. Sippin: Lindemann’s Peche Lambic.

I think my friends enjoyed the dinner. Thanks to Boy for helping too.

Duck Confit, Parmesan Pudding, Summer Squash & English Peas, Vadouvan Butter June 19, 2008

Last weekend the farmer’s market was loaded with beautiful spring and summer produce. The fragrant aroma of sweet peaches and apricots hit me as I shopped. Such a nice thing to experience after waking up. Along with yellow peaches I snagged up adorable baby summer squashes and the long-ignored English peas. It was my first time getting peas at the farmer’s market this whole year. I’ve been so neglectful. I cooked the vegetables in olive oil and butter and served it with the last of the duck confit and leftover parmesan pudding. I finished it with a drizzle of vadouvan steeped butter.

Pork Katsu, Parmesan Pudding, Peach Succotash June 18, 2008

I wanted to make use of leftover peach succotash which had been a victim of my chicken and waffle redo attempt. While things didn’t work out for the succotash at that end I wanted to revive it in another dish so my efforts wouldn’t goto waste. Sweet corn polenta was the easiest choice considering I already had polenta and an ear of corn at home. Eventually I decided on making pork katsu. If you’re like me cutting down on grocery time is important sometimes. I’ve already gone to the market four times this week - once to the Korean market, once to a produce market near my work, and twice to Trader Joe’s. But I’m so glad I made the extra trip for the pork because it was a great match to the peach succotash and Suzanne Goin’s parmesan pudding.

Each component of the dish was very simple - panko breaded cutlet fried in olive oil; peach succotash composed only of peaches, corn, roasted red pepper and butter; parmesan pudding made with cream, milk, egg and grated parmesan. The last minute addition to the dish was the katsu sauce. I sweated onion and rosemary in olive oil and butter, deglazed it with white wine, added chicken stock and bottled katsu sauce. Once it was reduced I sieved it to get all the solids out. I returned the liquid to the pan and mounted it with butter over low heat. The sauce was so delicious. My parents really enjoyed the food.

We drank Taburno Falanghina, a Piedmontese white wine, with the meal. This was also used in the katsu sauce.

Buttermilk-Poppy Seed Biscuit, Duck Confit, Savory Cherry Compote, Creme Fraiche June 10, 2008

Biscuits - another way to use poppy seeds! Fresh from the oven the warm buttermilk biscuit was fluffy, buttery and now also pleasantly crunchy from the black seeds. I paired it with duck confit (also begging to be used up) for a little appetizer. I topped a biscuit half with shredded duck confit and savory cherry compote made with fresh cherries, red wine, orange juice, sugar and spices. The lovely duck confit and cherry compote pairing is straight out of Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook. I finished the dish with a quenelle of tangy creme fraiche to contrast with the earthy spices of the duck and compote. A few sprigs of microgreens later and the cute appetizer was ready to be consumed.

I saved the skin from the duck leg and made a cracklin out of it. Delicious!

*I forgot to mention that the original inspiration for this dish was the Thanksgiving-themed sandwiches of deli turkey, cranberry sauce and cream cheese that I used get at a sandwich shop all the time during the college days. Duck confit for turkey, cherry compote for cranberry sauce, and creme fraiche for cream cheese. And of course , the touch of poppy seeds.

Duck Confit, Buttermilk Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens with Pancetta June 4, 2008

Coming clean and being public about just what I need to use up just may help to motivate a speediness that’s been absent in my kitchen. You already know about the poppy seeds that’s been hanging out in the fridge for two years. I still have about more than about cup and a half to use up after the lemony cupcakes. In the freezer I have a variety of grated cheese leftover from the grilled cheese days, six confited duck legs from way back, and frozen vegetables. In the pantry I have nuts and nut oils I should definitely step to using up before they go rancid. It’s very dark and packed in the pantry. I’ll have to assess as I move along.

For today though I concentrated on using up the grated cheeses (consisting of cheddar, truffled Italian cheese and gruyere) and just two of the duck confit legs. I have a few more ideas I want to try with the duck so I’m saving the others. Well I never really freeze my cheeses but since I had such an abundance left after the whole grilled cheese invitational thing I threw them into the big chill to worry later. It was either that or bags of moldy cheese and me left feeling very guilty.

I thought I would give the duck confit a southern twist this time around by pairing it with creamy mac & cheese and collard greens. The mac & cheese was super easy. I cooked up the ridged elbow macaroni in a big pot of salted water and when they were cooked, drained them and added them to a bowl with all the grated cheeses. I added some buttermilk until everything looked well moistened and seasoned it with salt and black pepper. I had to buy more cheddar to support the cheese part of this dish but at least out with the old and in with the new. I let the pasta soak up the liquid for a few minutes then poured the whole mixture into a well buttered baking dish and crumbled over Trader Joe’s delicious cornbread over the top along with grated parmigiano reggiano. I drizzled the top with olive oil and popped the dish into a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes finishing it with a quick broil for extra browning on top. This is the easiest mac & cheese recipe ever. I guess because it’s not really a recipe at all. Just eyeball everything. I should have put in more cheddar though!

The collard greens likewise were super easy. I rendered pancetta in olive oil then added a smashed garlic to the pot along with a good pinch of red pepper flakes. I added sliced collard greens to the pot with a small cup of water and covered and cooked it over low heat until the mac n cheese was done. I finished it with a light squeeze of lemon juice. Since the duck was all ready to go this was a super easy meal. All I had to do was heat it up in a super hot oven to crisp up the skin. Feeling pressured to use up duck confit sitting around the freezer is not such a bad thing after all.

Chicken Slaw with Nuoc Chom, Cilantro & Peanuts May 28, 2008

Once the work week started it was time to gather the leftovers in my fridge and put together a decent work lunch. I had a few leftover items in the fridge - a cup and a half of shredded roasted chicken breast, a bag shredded carrot, about 1/4 head of shredded red cabbage, and buttermilk. My first thought was buttermilk cole slaw with the shredded chicken added in. Then I saw some old limes and decided to go on a more Vietnamese turn with a nuoc chom dressing. I combined the red cabbage, carrot, chicken and thinly sliced red onion with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and garlic. I couldn’t find any chilies in the fridge so I added a generous dollop of chile-garlic sauce to the salad. I topped the salad with cilantro and toasted peanuts. Crunchy, refreshing and satisfying. I love citrus. A healthy lunch that uses up my a leftovers? I’m all over that.

First Real BBQ May 27, 2008

Some of you are wondering what the hell I’ve been doing this whole time. I haven’t been completely non-cooking though. I went through a rough patch with trying to make all sorts of different types of savory brioche, a few turning out successful enough to gift to my French food loving friend Kimi. I made fried chicken last week for the first time. They came out too dark which is why I didn’t take any pictures but were quite tasty cold the next day. I even tried my hand at jelly doughnuts. Man they were adorable but the dough came out chewy! Yes things were going down in my kitchen but all the mishaps had left me sort of hopeless. But the past weekend though I got fired up about one of my favorite foods ever, bbq. Specifically bbq baby back ribs, one of the pinnacle achievements of American society.

Sure I’ve made ribs plenty of times, brined, in the oven, dry-rubbed, grilled, sauced, etc. But this time I was going to try my hand at properly made ribs. That is, low and slow, and smoked. I even bought my first chimney charcoal starter and bag of hickory chips which was exciting. I looked like a kid who had just left the candy store when I bought that. I used Steve Raichlen’s Memphis-Style Ribs recipe which calls for a dry rub and a final sprinkling of spices when the ribs are done. No sauce here which was fine by me. I basted the ribs with the cider vinegar-yellow mustard mop sauce. I raised the internal grill temperature to 50 degrees higher and cut down the cooking time considerably (to prevent diner riots) but the ribs still came out so delicious. I served this with a refreshing cole slaw of red cabbage, green cabbage, red onion, and buttermilk-mayo dressing. It was a perfect Memorial Day weekend meal. Sorry no pics of ribs though. Just imagine them! Tender, juicy and perfectly spiced.

Can’t wait to get a smoker some day. Then it’s really on!

Grillin Days May 13, 2008

Grillin season is in full force. Here’s a little burger I made a while back. Fat patties (too fat apparently) of angus beef seasoned simply with salt and black pepper and grilled over charcoal. Roasted shallots, sharp cheddar and microgreens assist the meat.

What have you been grillin up?

Roast Beef Tenderloin with Chimichurri April 1, 2008

When I cooked up dinner for my folks a weeks ago I had purchased a whole beef tenderloin. Getting it whole meant wholesale prices ($16/lb) and getting filet mignon meant very expensive prices ($24). The tenderloin was over five pounds which meant I would have a big hunk of meat leftover. So when the time was right I broke it out of the freezer and made something super simple. I salted and peppered the meat and rubbed olive oil over it and roasted it in the oven at 425 degrees. I skipped the pan browning process and instead later gave it a quick broil to get a little color. But the real color was in the slices because these slices were super pink just the way I like it. I spooned over some chimichurri over the slices and ate it with a green bean potato salad. Quick, simple and satisfying.