Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wisdom Wednesday


Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
     It's  simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.
   
                                                                - Joni Erickson Tada

Dinner Party

Henry and I love to entertain, however, I am not one to throw a formal dinner party.  If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know that my style is low-key and casual, as in wear your shorts or blue jeans, I'll throw something on the grill and we'll most likely eat outside on the patio.  It won't be fancy but we promise we will feed you well and there will be no shortage of beer, wine or alcohol!

When autumn arrives though, my preferences change.  Grilling gives way to slow-simmered aromatic braises, salads go from juicy ripe tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and home-grown basil to lettuces adorned with warm goat cheese, desserts morph from light and fruity concoctions to things like apple-studded spice cake or gingerbread, Stilton and port make their re-appearance and we might, just might even serve dinner at the dining room table.  Nonetheless, it won't be stilted or stuffy.  Not in my house!

So when we invited friends over for dinner recently, I had visions of a lovely leg of lamb upon a bed of white beans fragrant with rosemary, set smack dab in the middle of the table so that everyone could help thenselves.  Repeatedly.

Fortunately (to my great dismay), I discovered ahead of time that one of my guests could not eat red meat, pork or seafood.  Crap.  That meant chicken.  I ate enough grilled chicken with lemon-pepper-shallot butter over the summer to last a lifetime.  Lamb, I wanted lamb!

Once I got over myself, I turned to the task of creating a menu.  I decided upon that old fave, "Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic."  Well, until I consulted my handwritten menu files.  (Yep, I keep a record of everything I've served to guests in my home for the last 15 years or so.  How sick is that??  Haha, if you've ever had a meal here, I'll bet I can tell you what you ate!)  But in this case, it served me well because I discovered I had made this dish for these same guests a couple years ago.  Crap again.  Back to the drawing board....

Then I remembered "Donna Siebert's Roman Chicken" that I used to make.  It comes from Nathalie Dupree (remember her?) and I got it from a cooking class I took from her back in the late eighties (yikes).  This dish is packed with flavor and I have never served it without a request for the recipe.  It is also better if made ahead which is a big plus if you ask me.

Here is my menu:

Radishes with European Butter
Hawaiian Pink Sea Salt, Australian Flake Sea Salt,
Ocean Smoked Sea Salt, Truffle Salt

Rosemary-Pine Nut Popcorn

*****

Donna Siebert's Roman Chicken

Dick Simpson's Polenta
Pecans, Gruyere, Rosemary

Grape Tomato and Red Onion Skewers
Short-smoked

*****

Vanilla Buttermilk Panna Cottas
Strawberry/Rose Wine Sauce
Oatmeal Lace Cookies

*****

English Toffee with Fleur de Sel

Now, you already have three of these recipes.  Here are the links, so you can reference them again:

Rosemary-Pine Nut Popcorn

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

English Toffeee with Fleuer de Sel


For the radishes, just clean them well and set them out with the softened (unsalted) butter and small ramekins of the assorted salts.  The idea is to douse them with a little butter then dip into the salt.  People love this and it always inspires debate about which salt reigns supreme.  Great convo starter, too!


DONNA SIEBERT'S ROMAN CHICKEN (adapted from Nathalie Dupree)

For the chicken:
3 tablespoons olive oil (may need more if doing chicken in batches)
3 lbs. chicken pieces, bone-in with skin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 small jar of capers
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 cup good red wine vinegar

For the garnish:
1/2 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 2 lemons, minced

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan.  Season chicken well with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan, skin side down.  When golden brown, turn and brown on the other side.  Do not crowd the pan; you may need to do this in several batches.  Remove chicken from pan when browned; reserve.

Increase heat to high and add garlic, 1/4 cup of the rosemary and wine to the pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce by half.  Add the chicken stock and red pepper flakes to taste and reduce slightly; about 10 minutes.  Add reserved chicken and capers, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is tender and falling off the bone, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the anchovy paste, oregano, remaining rosemary and red wine vinegar.  When chicken is done, remove to a platter and cover with foil.  Add the red wine vinegar mixture to the pan, increase heat to high and boil until reduced by half.  Taste to adjust seasoning.  Return chicken (and accumulated juices) to pan to heat through.  Place on a serving platter, pour pan juices over and sprinkle with the garnish.

For the garnish:
Combine chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest.  Sprinkle evenly over chicken.

Serves 4 - 6


DICK SIMPSON'S POLENTA

(Dick Simpson is my dear friend in Tampa whose birthday party we attended last June. He prefers to be called Richard, but I've known him way too long for that.   He's a fabulous cook and this is his recipe for polenta.  It rocks.  His recipe calls for walnuts, but I use pecans.  Either will work.  Once you make this, you will never make plain old polenta again.  Oh, and you get to make this in advance also.  Way to go, Dick Richard!)

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 cup finely grated Gruyere cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Using a whisk, slowly add cornmeal, whisking constantly until dissolved.  Add the 1 teaspoon of salt, lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 10 - 15 minutes, whisking frequently until mixture is thickened and all liquid is absorbed.  Add the butter, pecans, rosemary and Gruyere.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then spread mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate.  Cover and chill.

When ready to serve, cut into eighths.  Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Places wedges on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until just warmed through.

Serves 8 (or 6 if you cut really big wedges)


GRAPE TOMATO AND RED ONION SKEWERS

For each skewer:
4 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 pieces red onion
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Thread tomatoes and onions onto each skewer.  Brush each one with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Fire up your grill and place a few wood chips over the coals.  Grill skewers, turning once until tomatoes are just cooked through but not bursting, about 5 minutes.


VANILLA BUTTERMILK PANNA COTTAS (adapted from Claudia Fleming's "The Last Course")

For the panna cottas:
1 tablespoon cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla paste
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

For the sauce:
1 1/2 pints strawberries, hulled'
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 bottle rose wine

For the panna cottas, place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin.  Let soften for 5 minutes.

In  saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the cream with the sugar and vanilla paste, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Turn off the heat and add the softened gelatin.  Stir until dissolved then whisk in the buttermilk.  Strain into a measuring cup with a spout then pour into six 8-oz. ramekins.  Chill until firm, at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

For the sauce, combine the strawberries and sugar in a bowl and let stand for 30 minutes to let juices develop.  Place this into a saucepan, add the wine and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until most of the alcohol is cooked off, about 1 hour.

Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.  Do not press on the solids; allow the liquid to drain slowly.  Discard the berries and use the sauce to serve with the unmolded panna cottas.

Serves 6

Couldn't decide what size to make.  In the end I served the larger.
More to enjoy!

Maybe I have just a few too many of these things!

Note:  in the interest of full disclosure, I added gelatin to the sauce.  I unmolded the panna cottas into wide serving glasses (those would be my margarita glasses!) then poured the sauce around it and set in the fridge to solidify.  It made a gorgeous presentation but personally, I didn't like the texture.  Next time I'll just stick with the sauce.

I think this is the longest blog I have ever posted.  Sorry, everyone!  That said, I hope you make and enjoy some of these recipes.  Here's to your next dinner party!




Herb Crusted Lamb with a Vegetable Tian

  
  
Today, I went to the DMV three times. Not once, not twice, but three separate trips to accomplish the needed task.  I arrived early in the morning, 1/2 an hour before it opened, waiting as one of the first people in line, only to be told I needed to have a form I already had also signed by someone else.  Grudgingly, I left the DMV to get the form signed and returned an hour later.  Then, after waiting in line again, the woman at the counter said that I needed an additional form completed and signed.  Shoulders slumped even lower, I shuffled out and went to obtain the necessary signatures before returning again.  On this the third DMV attempt of the morning, I was standing in line when the person in front of me suggested that the security guard had thought momentarily that I had a gun.  I carry a blackberry on my belt and apparently they way it protruded from my side caused the guard a double-take, which my co-sufferer had noticed.  I thought to myself that this morning's experience with government bureaucracy was why everyone hated the DMV and some rare few tragically do bring a gun to solve their problems.  While I was not inspired to "go postal" this morning, the back and forth purgatory reminded me of the multiple shopping trips often required for gourmet recipes.  Trekking across town from supermarket, to wine shop, to gourmet shop, to kitchenware store and back to one or more can wear you out before you even set foot in the kitchen.  However, while there is little satisfaction in completing any DMV experience, the glow in your belly and the faces of your guests quickly melts away pre-dinner troubles.  
   
My recent Gary Danko dinner party featured multiple trips to stores and shops.  The resulting evening of pure dining and communal joy made it all worth the trouble.  This recipe for herb-crusted lamb with a vegetable tian served as the red meat course.  The picture above from a guest at the restaurant (thanks Tammy, I'm sure you had a great 30th birthday!  I was too busy hosting my dinner party to take an actual picture of my meal) hints both at how good this recipe can be and what to do differently at home to save time and expense.  The Gary Danko recipe calls for loin of lamb.  I don't even know if my local stores carry such a thing because I didn't even try.  Instead, I served two french-cut lamb chops on each plate.  Guests were delighted just as much, and I saved myself the extra time and trouble of babysitting roasting loins in the middle of serving a multi-course dinner party.  All of the components were prepared in advance.  The chops received a quick sear in a saute pan on each side to cut cooking time and worry.  Think about modifications like that as you customize recipes to fit your needs.  Many times, similar but different cuts or cooking preparations will reduce your stress and leave your guests just as happy.  Serves 2.
   
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 lamb chops
4 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1 clove garlic
1 small eggplant
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
2 cups veal stock
1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
1 bulb fennel, diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Parmegiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
1 tomato, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 roasted red pepper
2 sprigs rosemary
    
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  If working with a rack of lamb, cut into chops.  Clean each of the chops down to the main section of meat on the chop, cutting away and retaining any additional fat along the bone and small parts of meat attached to the chop.  In a bowl, mix together 2 tbsp of parsley with the rosemary, thyme and garlic.  Spoon out onto the lamb chops and allow the chops to marinate.  Cut 2 rounds from the eggplant, about 1/2" thick. Brush a little olive oil on a baking tray and then put down the rounds.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, dice the lamb cuttings into 3/4" pieces and saute in a sauce pan over medium heat.  When the fat is rendered and the remaining meat is browned, poor off the fat.  Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of stock, cooking down to a couple of tablespoons.  Add some of the fennel seeds and another 1/2 cup of stock.  Repeat this process until the last of the stock is added and the sauce is reduced to 1/2 a cup or less.  Keep warm.
    
Meanwhile, saute the zucchini rounds in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  When the zucchini is soft, remove to a bowl and add the onion and fennel to the pan.  Cook until softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Mix together in a bowl the cheese, bread crumbs, salt, basil, 2 tbsp of parsley and the Herbs de Provence.  Assemble the tians by placing a round ring or biscuit cutter on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Inside, first put down the tomato slice, then spoon enough of the herb mixture to cover.  Then spoon in a layer of onions and fennel, covering again with the herb mixture, and then repeating with successive layers of zucchini, eggplant and roasted red pepper. Place the tians in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, warm a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tbsp of oil and then the chops, herb side down.  Saute a few minutes until browned.  Turn the chops and saute a few minutes more until both sides are browned and the middle remains pink.  Remove the chops and allow to rest.  Remove the tians from the oven and use a spatula to pick them up and move to the plate.  Holding down the tian, lift the ring to leave the tian in place.  Stick a spear of rosemary into the top of each tian.  Lean the chops up against the tian. Serve with polenta triangles if desired.  Spoon the sauce onto the tian and chops.  Serve.
    

Toad in the Hole with Homemade Sage and Onion Gravy



The unquestionably curiously named Toad in the Hole is a British dish made chiefly from egg based batter and sausages. There are no toads, frogs, or any other forms of reptile, to be found among its ingredients. It can in theory even be one of the simplest of all dishes to make, simply by beating some eggs, pouring them in to hot oil in an ovenproof dish and adding some skinless sausages. I have taken it a little bit further on this occasion, using speciality sausages and serving it with homemade sage and onion gravy. It remains, however, a very straightforward dish to prepare.



Toad in the Hole is normally prepared for two or more people. The quantities in this instance, however, provide a satisfying meal for one person.

Ingredients

3 organic pork, herb and mustard seed sausages
2 eggs
1 tbsp plain (all purpose) flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sunflower oil



Method

The first step is to put the sunflower oil in to a casserole dish and put the dish in to the oven to preheat to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7. The eggs should then be broken in to a bowl and beaten. They should be seasoned with salt and pepper and the flour beaten in to form a batter.

It is not essential but a much better presentation will be achieved if the sausages are skinned prior to them being cooked. This is best done with a fork, rather than with a knife. Simply ease one of the outside tines of the fork under the skin at one end of each sausage and carefully slit through its entire length, much as opening a letter with a letter opener. The skin can simply then be peeled away and discarded. It is worth taking a minute or so to do this properly, so as not to damage the shape or form of the sausages.

When the oil is heated, the dish should carefully be removed from the oven and sat on a wooden board on a flat surface. The batter should then be poured in to the hot oil (be careful of spluttering!) and the sausages sat on top. The dish should be returned to the oven for around thirty minutes.



Sage and Onion Gravy

As soon as the egg and sausages are in the oven, it is time to start preparing the sage and onion gravy. This consists simply of the following:

1/2 white onion (thinly sliced)
1oz butter
1/2 tsp dried sage
4fl oz fresh vegetable stock (chicken stock may be used as an alternative)

The butter is firstly melted in a saucepan before the onion and sage are added. The mix should be stirred for a few minutes until the onions begin to turn transluscent. The heat should then be reduced to minimum and the onions left to break down for around fifteen minutes.

It is important to heat the stock in a separate pot before thereafter adding it to the onions and gently simmering for ten minutes.



After about half an hour, the toad in the hole is as cooked as I like it to be. In most instances, it will be left until the egg turns a dark brown (is burned, in my eyes!) and has crisped up to an almost puff pastry like texture. If you prefer it this way, by all means give it another ten minutes or so in the oven.



The Toad in the Hole should lift very easily out of the casserole dish with the aid of a large spatula on to a plate. The onion gravy should then be spooned carefully over the top and the finished dish garnished with a twist of tomato slice and a small sprig of fresh basil.

bnyk nak cerita, tapi...

salam. bnyk nak cerita. tp lain kali je lah!


penat shooting 1 hari. semlm tdow around 4am, woke up around 630am. 8am rush to office, then shooting sampai 12am td. so mmg mengantuklah kan.

*reminding myself*
- update bout my 1st bday present from mama abah
- update about stupid mistake while writing any SMS or comment in english
- bout no 1 jeans
- bout stuff i shouldnt buy til june 2011
- bout on9 shopping


will do, insya Allah, later on. gotta go now, another 2 days of shooting.
till then take care!