I’ve been up since three o’clock. Grocery opens at eight and I plan to be there. Perhaps sausages (hand-made) but only if they have good buns, not the usual bland fare.
Lamb Robert, I just need to see the ingredients so I can shop for it. It’ll be so great! I just want to have a fun and relaxing day with my husband and dog Zoe.
Perhaps sandwiches for lunch as we look out at the regattas and kites. With a nice salad. I want to make this day special. Remember a loved one on this Memorial Day, Dee
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged editorial, kites, lamb robert, sandwiches, scalloped potatoes
I believe I got a mild version of the flu that is sweeping the nation. It only put me down and out for 24 hours. All I know is that I took to bed at 3:00 Sunday afternoon and was ready for a light supper 28 hours later.
I steamed a bunch of green beans, then gave them a pat of butter and some salt and pepper. Normally, I enjoy a pasta such as pappardelle or tagliatelle with this dish but I’m trying to clean out the frig so we had two small baked russet potatoes, seasoned and served with a dollop of sour cream.
To my embarrassment, when we were first married nearly ten years ago (two weeks hence) I fussed and spent a couple of hours on dinner every night. Until I made chicken piccata, my version of it.
Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, pounded out to an even thickness. Salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, place in hot pan with hot olive oil. They won’t take more than four minutes per side. Add the juice of a lemon and a few capers. That first dinner was an epiphany for me as the chicken was done in less than eight minutes and dear one, a steak man from birth, said it was the best chicken he’d ever had.
I added that chicken to my culinary pantheon with thanks to my brother for bringing the inspiration for the veal version home. Herbs are optional, a tomato fillip may be desired. But face it, dear reader, I’m cleaning out the frig!
Shhhh, don’t tell my husband I’m cleaning out the frig. I have a 5# bag of small russet potatoes and he loves them so we’re looking towards some stew, rosti, scalloped potatoes until they’re gone. He likes to think everything is brand new and frowns on “leftovers” unless it’s a meat loaf sandwich. An hours-old refrigerated burger can be sliced into a meat loaf sandwich and he won’t even ask the last time we had meat loaf.
Can I tell you what I got us for our tenth anniversary? Of course we’re not doing anything or going anywhere. It’s something I found when looking for dresses for this thing we have to go to this week. Probably not, because he may even read this once in a while. Tell you later, Dee
Posted in Editorial, Recipe Ideas
Tagged chicken breasts, chicken piccata, food, H1N2?, russet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, tenth anniversary
That’s what happens. Like yesterday. I didn’t even think of Easter dinner. But I got up, took out and fed the dog and she went back to bed with my husband. I took off to the grocery store, where as a newbie I’d checked the hours the evening before.
I bought what was freshest, what I determined on the fly: roast Lamb Robert (Jacques Pepin recipe online). I didn’t use the grill because it’s 13 floors down from our temporary apartment and didn’t want to leave Jim down there alone.
Scalloped potatoes – thinly sliced red ones with the skin on, a bit of half-and-half, salt and pepper in a 425 degree oven for an hour. And baby arugula sauteed in olive oil and garlic.
And after I put meat and potatoes in the oven my husband said, let’s drive to see these places to live. My response “It’s Easter Sunday!” Nothing’s open and I’m working on a great dinner!
Finally, he settled on taking dog Zoe for a walk, and we ate and he complimented me on a lovely meal. He didn’t eat the arugula, I cut up a raw carrot for him instead, no Val it won’t help his eyesight (top of the charts for contacts) but he likes them. Cheers! Dee
Posted in Editorial, Education, Recipe Ideas, Recipes
Tagged Easter dinner, lamb robert, sauteed arugula, scalloped potatoes
Last night I made the Swiss potato dish called rosti. It’s basically shredded potatoes cooked in a cake in a saute pan, flipped halfway through. I first had it in Zurich many years ago and it gave me one more way to love a potato!
When I told my husband I made his favorite potatoes, he said they weren’t, they were his SECOND favorite! His favorite is scalloped potatoes. And I know that these are his favorites because he doesn’t put ketchup on them! Well, he knows I’ll stop cooking for him if he does so, and he has become more accustomed to liking the flavors of the foods I cook rather than drowning them in ketchup or steak sauce as he does at a diner.
ROSTI
Yesterday I used small white creamer potatoes that I was going to boil, a small expensive bag that I just rinsed and dried. Right before I cooked them I put them through the large grater of a food processor (skins and all) and placed them on a clean kitchen towel and wrung them out then put them in a large bowl. Don’t use your favorite tea towel for this as if you don’t rinse it right away it may discolor.
Add salt and pepper. I added one thinly sliced scallion and a sprinkling of cayenne. Heat the oil (don’t use butter) or bacon fat, yes I used some for flavor on medium heat. Have your pan lid ready. Dump the potatoes into the hot saute pan, assure that they’re even and you might pull them away from the sides a bit. Right now you want to steam the potatoes so for 15 minutes on medium heat, keep the lid on and wipe the inside with a clean tea towel every couple of minutes so condensation doesn’t make the potatoes watery.
I’m doing timing for four people, so then take off the lid and flip the potatoes. Go for it if you will, or use a plate to transfer and definitely add more oil if you don’t have a non-stick pan. Finish cooking over slightly higher heat. Remove to a platter, cut in quarters and serve. Without ketchup.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
I use russets for this and slice them on the thin blade of my food processor. They’re peeled, of course. Have your baking pan rubbed with a clove of garlic, buttered and salt and pepper and cream, half and half or milk handy.
Place in your first layer of potatoes, salt and pepper, milk/cream, a second or perhaps third layer and top with dots of butter. Make sure it’s not swimming in cream. Place on a baking sheet to guard against oven spills and into a hot oven, 450 if your oven is true to temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. You want the top browned and liquid sizzling, and the potatoes to be cooked through.
Make sure everyone get a piece of the crusty top.
SLICING CUCUMBERS
One of the first recipes I posted here was my grandmother’s German recipe for cucumber salad, something my father loves to this day. Last night I saw Jacques Pepin make a salad by peeling a European cucumber, then using a sharp vegetable peeler to peel down slices until you hit the seeds, on all four sides. It makes for lovely ribbons. Yesterday I used a bit of sherry vinegar instead of the apple cider vinegar that his mother used. Delicious!
Hope you’re having a great day. It’s snowing here and will for the next few days. Enjoy Spring while you can! Dee
Posted in Editorial, Recipe Ideas, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tagged cucumber salad, scalloped potatoes
Cooking with Dee 