Something special, please

Hot air.

February 4, 2020Leave a comment

Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by so much hot air all around? Take solace in cooking and let some hot air work to your advantage.

The most popular recipe I’ve ever shared, and the one that my friends continue to request, is this one for my mother’s cheese soufflé. (Note to the uninitiated: if you are looking for a formal, cooking school-type recipe and set of directions, then you’ll be disappointed by mine.) This classic French dish was my mother’s go-to recipe. It’s filling, protein-rich, relatively inexpensive (even when using really good cheese), and it’s surprisingly easy to make.

In my house, now, cheese soufflé is also a dinner staple. Everyone in my family loves it, and the leftovers are good cold the next day. Paired with a good, green salad, it makes for a well-rounded meal. And I swear to you, not only does a soufflé deliver more bang for the buck, it is also easier to prepare than its hot-air twin, the Dutch baby.

Given how much I love and rely on this dish, I’d been wondering to myself lately why I didn’t, like my mother, branch out and more often make other kinds of soufflés: chocolate or lemon or spinach or broccoli. So, I jumped in, using the David Tanis spinach pie recipe as a basis, only preparing it more traditionally by separating the eggs, beating egg whites and folding them in, and baking in a soufflé dish. For a chocolate version, I make a nice bittersweet ganache, beat in yolks (4-5), fold in beaten whites, and bake in a sugar-dusted dish. One day soon I’m going to make Mark Bittman’s lemon soufflé, but I haven’t ventured into it yet.

I’ve also been considering the vegan option for making a soufflé with aquafaba (garbanzo bean water), using the knowledge bank at America’s Test Kitchen as my resource. I’ll confess that I haven’t actually tried that approach yet, but in my experience you can take ATK to the bank. If they say it works, it works. If you’ve already made this leap, then this chocolate soufflé recipe might be right up your alley.

How is soufflé possible in a weeknight kitchen, you might wonder? In the simplest, weeknight-miracle version of cheese soufflé (advice courtesy of my sister), the time is all hands-off baking time – you don’t even have to separate the eggs or make a roux. Just dump it all in a mixer, plop it in the oven, and then have a glass of wine or go for a walk around the block or sit with your kiddo or significant other and have a nice visit while dinner prepares itself in your oven.

I love to cook: If you want official, formal instructions instead of my home-grown notes, and you have access to NYT Cooking, I suggest Martha Rose Shulman’s recipe. If you’re not an NYT Cooking subscriber, head to Epicuriou s. Serve with the Via Carota everyday green salad (the more labor-intensive version of the same salad, courtesy of Samin Nosrat, is another NYT link here).

Weeknight reality: One-bowl cheese soufflé; green salad of your choosing (add some fruit or blueberries, perhaps?)

Need a miracle: Same as above; you can do this.

Lavender

October 16, 2019October 7, 20194 Comments

There’s a few things I’ve learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can.

Practical Magic

Let us be clear here: no one (or almost no one) keeps lavender on hand – at least not in the typical U.S. home kitchen.

But it you want to have a special evening, and build it around a special theme (flavor), then lavender is a lovely choice if you use it sparingly. Give a hint of it in a roast chicken for dinner (though true Herbes de Provence does not include lavender), then a fuller dose in dessert (crème brûlée or ice cream). It is one fragrance that actually enhances dinner instead of detracting from it. Give it a try; you’ll see.

Love to Cook: Up for something different, and have plenty of time to source ingredients and prepare? How about a wild turkey with lavender masala. Pair with simple roast potatoes and a citrusy salad, then finish with honey lavender ice cream or lavender crème brûlée

Weeknight Reality: Melon salad with lavender and ginger can be either the start or finish or your otherwise-simple meal (roast chicken and buttered rice would do – seriously).

Need a Miracle: Lavender in a cocktail/mocktail is it. This Lavender spritzer can be made with either sparking water or sparkling wine. If you’re in a super rush, double the amount of lavender, skimp on the water, and chill the syrup with a couple of ice cubes. It won’t be as good as if you let it steep, but it will work. Dinner of cheese and bread and sausages, or perhaps a simple but dinner-worthy salad like this mixed green salad with pears, hazelnuts, blue cheese and homemade croutons (just skip roasting your own hazelnuts and making your own croutons and swap out something faster and pre-made).

Enchanted

October 12, 2019October 7, 2019Leave a comment

Scallops (or fish) in White Wine | Saffron Risotto (or rice) | Steamed Broccoli

Now that the relentless summer heat is gone, you might find fresh, local broccoli at your farmers market. Fresh broccoli is surprisingly fragile when compared to its supermarket relatives, so cook it soon after purchasing – and not for nearly as long as you need cook the conventional grocery kind. Round it out with simple scallops and risotto (or just rice, or bread), and you’re all set.

Love to Cook: Scallops don’t need much fuss; this simple recipe from Food 52 proves it. Although traditionally paired with heartier meat, saffron risotto works just as well with scallops or other seafood. (Risotto might actually be the best comfort food of all time, with cheese grits coming in a close second.) Round it out with simple steamed broccoli – if you get it from the farmers market, it won’t need anything but a touch of salt.

Weeknight Reality: If scallops are too expensive for a weeknight dinner, a firm white fish would be a good substitute. Here’s a recipe for that – one that has more flavors in it, so pairing with plain jasmine rice or even rice noodles would work.

Need a Miracle: Look for pre-marinated fish, or scallops – all you have to do it cook, which will take minutes. Pair with quick-cooking rice noodles and flash-steamed broccoli (bagged florets will work, if you’re not up for hunting down fresh broccoli), dinner can be ready in a flash.

Paris

October 1, 2019October 7, 20194 Comments

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Let’s say you’re in a rut, and life feels a bit hum-drum or even a tiny bit sad. Perk yourself up by thinking: Paris.

Food can transport you there, at least in your mind. You can do it the complex way, making boeuf bourguignon, moules frites, or duck confit. Or you can do it the simple way with an omelette or brioche French toast. In any event, just thinking of Paris as your dinner theme will be cheerful. Then dress yourself up, even if you aren’t having company, pour a glass of Champagne, and feel transported. Food can do that; it really can.

I love to cook: With apologies to Julia Child, it’s hard to beat Ina Garten’s Beef Bourguignon. It works every single time and always feels like a treat. No beef for you? Well, how about moules frites, if you can find good mussels. Not an option either? Poached salmon fit for the French royal court to the rescue. And you must have dessert; lemon mousse will do nicely.

Weeknight reality: You can make a cheese soufflé; I promise you can. It’s much easier than you think. It won’t be ready in 30 minutes, sure. But you’ll have time to visit, or help with homework, or just sit and have a cocktail, while the soufflé is in the oven. Not convinced? Then how about Brioche French Toast with Asparagus and Orange Beurre Blanc. Yes, it’s a brunch recipe. That doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious for dinner. For dessert, some bitter chocolate and strawberries.

Need a miracle: So, it’s hard to pull off something that feels and looks and tastes all ooh-la-la in just 30 minutes. If that’s the pinch you’re in, and you really want to transport yourself (and maybe your guest, or guests), then take yourself a hop-skip-and-jump from Paris to Lyon, and make Frisée-Lardon Salad. If you’re really pressed for time, then you’re going to have to make some substitutions, but the basic idea can hold true: frisée; egg; onion; pork (if you eat it). Buy good wine and some lovely macarons, and you’re good to go.

Blackberry

July 16, 2015October 7, 2019Leave a comment

Fig-Glazed Pork Tenderloin | Green Salad with Mint & Blackberries | Meyer Lemon Gelato

If figs are in season and available where you are, then ditch this dinner idea and instead have raw figs, blue cheese and red wine. Or just some raw figs. They don’t last long, and last year’s polar vortex wiped out so many trees that this precious summer treat is even more special now. Otherwise, try a quick roasted pork tenderloin, brushed with fig jam, wrapped in foil and baked (or grilled). Add some basmati rice, if you need a starch, and serve with a salad that features other signature summer flavors, blackberries and mint. Finish it off with some cold gelato (we like lemon).

Love to Cook: This recipe is quick but has more ingredients than you may have on hand; the chile gives the pork a little kick (more, if you use hot chile), which is a good match for the mint in this salad.

Weeknight Reality: Here’s a 30-35 minute pork tenderloin recipe that’s easy and delicious; if you can’t find fig butter, just use fig jam. For the salad, use bagged baby greens and toss with blackberries and dressing (and mint, if you have it).

Need a Miracle: Pick up some chopped or pulled pork from a local BBQ shop and put it in the salad, dressed with a fig/balsamic dressing.

What’s up tomorrow?

Mediterranean Platter (stuffed grape leaves, olives, hummus, Greek salad, grilled lemon chicken)