Steak and Potatoes

We had so many guests and big meals over the holidays in the aftermath we were surviving on leftovers and fruit for days. With James packing for a trip I couldn't let him face one more plate of re-heated green rice and salad. I had to make a dinner he would remember (and want to come back home to).
I couldn't just let the leftovers go but I could disguise them. Starring into the white void of a bowl of mashed potatoes I added in 2 egg yolks, 2 TB of flour, S&P, and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. After thoroughly mixing I rolled the newly formed mixture into walnut sized balls which I left to chill in the fridge.
Meanwhile I marinated sirloin tips cut into manageably-sized triangles. Kind of a leftover too, the sirloin was the last package of meat from our recently expired CSA membership. I mixed one of my favorite flavors harissa (1/2TB) with 4 chopped cloves garlic, 1 TB brown sugar, 2 TB soy sauce, and 4 TB olive oil and left the meat to marinate (refrigerated) until dinnertime. Easy. Dinner waiting in the fridge just waiting for a salad.
Just before I was ready to serve I heated 1/2 inch of canola oil in a sauce pan and breaded the potato balls first in a beaten egg and then in seasoned bread crumbs. The potato croquettes fried for about 2 minutes on a side until golden brown while the meat sizzled in an olive oil coated pan for 3 minutes on a side.
A flavor twist on an American classic combo.

Real Italian Home Cooking

Italians as a habit and societal necessity put their best face forward. They call it "bella figura." It's the unspoken rule that keeps Italians from running to the supermarket in pajama pants and flip flops and makes sure every guest is treated as visiting royalty.
There are dishes you make for company and there are cozy one pot suppers you might eat with just the family at home  -- people with whom you can completely relax.
Way down in Pulgia, the heel of the boot, one of those simple dishes you'll never find on a restaurant menu or even as an invited guest in a friend's home combines potatoes and squash with spaghetti in a rustic, quick, comforting dinner.
I dress it up a little with olive oil, herbs, and chili peppers but even with just cheese, pasta water and pepper this dish is a quick meal favorite. To the salted water boiling for your spaghetti add two large handfuls of diced potatoes, after they boil along for 2 minutes add the spaghetti and diced zucchini. Cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain the spaghetti mixture. In the same pot -- I could do this in a skillet and make dinner even quicker but it's nice to have less dishes to wash -- heat a glug of olive oil with chopped garlic and crushed red pepper. As the garlic just starts to color add in the drained pasta with potatoes and squash, 2 TB (or more) each chopped parsley and basil, the reserved pasta water (as much as you need to make a bit of a sauce), and a large handful of grated parmesan (or pecorino which we prefer) cheese. Toss everything together for a minute or two and serve with a bit of grated cheese on top.
No, it's not fancy but with potatoes and tromboncino squash from our backyard garden it felt just right for just the two of us.

A House Regular

Our favorite quick dinner. A thin chicken cutlet dipped in seasoned egg and a mix of panko breadcrumbs flavored with tangy aged goat's milk cheese and fried crispy brown in butter and olive oil. It takes minutes to prepare and is always a hit. Tonight I paired the golden cutlet with oven roasted carrots and potatoes tossed in spicy harissa and a fresh green salad right from the garden topped with quick fried padron peppers.
Crispy, spicy, crunchy -- perfect.

Low Country Boil

The best one pot dinner I know. Low Country Boil, also called Frogmore stew for the little town where it was created (in the 1960's I believe) is a Southern style clam bake famous and highly revered throughout Georgia and South Carolina. As much an activity as a meal -- potatoes and smoked sausage and set to boil in water flavored with plenty of Old Bay Seasoning (that's what I like, some folks use shrimp boil). After about 15 minutes you add in halved ears of corn and boil another 10 minutes or so. When crabs are in season you might find blue crab or even crawfish (the dish has spread West to Louisiana and beyond) but LCB always features shrimp and plenty of it. The shrimp go in the boiling water last and after just a couple minutes when they turn pink the pot is drained and spread across the table -- traditionally on sheets of newspaper -- for everyone to dig in.

Trying Something A Little Special

I try to find little treats for James when I can.
The fish monger at the farmer's market had beautiful dry scallops just waiting for my skillet. Dry scallops are shucked on the boat much like wet scallops but instead of being plunged into cold water (and often preservatives or chemical salts) they are kept dry. They don't plump up absorbing water so the flavor is more concentrated, more pure scallop.
I didn't have to do much to make these special. I seared the scallops (seasoned with salt and pepper) quickly in a hot pan with about 1/4 of cup olive oil, 3 sliced cloves of garlic and a bit of butter then removed them to a waiting bowl. Scallops cook quickly and in about 3-4 minutes even these jumbos were finished. Into the pan went the juice of 2 lemons, 2 tsp chopped rosemary, and a pinch of red paper flakes. I let the juice reduce and then added in the scallops (and collected juices) and a small pat of butter, gave everything a good toss to coat with the lemony butter sauce and served the mollusks over steamed broccoli and tiny new potatoes from our garden. Three of James' favorites on one simple but still special plate.

Leftovers At Our House

I try not to let James see leftovers that he can recognize from the first time he ate them. Okay, there's leftover pizza and the occasional spaghetti but those are snacks and lunches. I like dinner to feel new. The other day we had boiled potatoes and kale with fried garlic. Today after heating slowly with a splash of milk those lonely vegetables became creamy mashed potatoes with greens. Kind of a kitchen fridge colcannon, an Irish specialty of mashed potatoes and cabbage crisped in a skillet. The fried garlic joined thin slices of leftover steak quickly seared with olive oil and chili flakes.

Easy on me and brand new to James.

We Grow A lot Of Kale

Honestly I thought the chicken would be the star. I cut a boneless breast into strips, soaked the piece in milk and dredged the meat in seasoned flour before deep frying in a combo of canola oil and -- okay I admit it -- bacon fat. Homemade chicken tenders. They were crispy brown and with just a pinch of cayenne, savory.
But James couldn't stay away from the kale. Flipping through one of my favorite cookbooks for new kale ideas I hit upon a recipe -- well more a method than a recipe, called Pavich's vegetables. This simple dish, detailed in Susan Loomis' Farmhouse Cookbook, briefly boils wedges of potatoes until almost cooked through and adds in a mountain of chopped kale (okay I added in the mountain, they opt for a bunch or two) until everything is tender. Meanwhile in a small saucepan I heated olive oil with several cloves of sliced garlic (until the garlic was golden brown and a little crispy) and tossed in a pinch of chili flakes. The warm oil (and the crispy garlic) are a flavorful dressing for the plain cooked vegetables, and a pretty good diet dinner. I gave James a good coating of the tasty oil and only took a small drizzle on my plate. One dish working two ways. I love it.

Three Peppers and Potatoes

 Scrounging through the fridge, water already heating on the stove, I searched for something a little different for James' spaghetti. I was thinking just a plain aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil) but veered when I saw the beautiful chili pepper our neighbors sent over. Sure I still started with olive oil and plenty of garlic but I added in chopped fresh chiles, 2 super pickled hot sport peppers I brought home in a jar from a trip to Chicago, and for some color a roasted jarred red pepper hanging out on the fridge door. As the peppers bubbled in the saucepan I started to think about the leftover braised potato slices and tossed in a few along with some shredded basil to round out the spice. After I drained the pasta I tossed in the oil mixture, about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water and a handful of parmesan cheese -- mixed everything together quickly to let the cheese start to emulsify with the cooking water and oil and brought dinner to the table.

Summer Potato Harvest

 No matter how many we get I am always disappointed by out potato yield. Homegrown spuds are so delicious (James is a big potato fan) store-bought or even farmers market just can't compare and we're always greedy to stockpile more of our own colorful varieties. This year I tried a new technique. Instead of covering the maturing tubers with soil as the greens grew, I started the seed potatoes basically on a pile of compost and built up a column of straw for the growing spuds to work through. Again, not the yield I dream of, but the very clean harvested potatoes dropped easily from the hay leaving a rich bed of soil to quickly plant with late summer peas. The method may need improvement but the potatoes are first rate.

 To showcase our harvest I wanted something simple to let the homegrown flavor shine through. I thought about gratins or soups or fritters or stews where the potatoes alone might have been the entree, but they all seemed just too fussy. Too likely to hide the flavor or distract from the quality. I wanted James to recognize the very potatoes he helped me harvest.
I settled on a simple braise from the scion of simplicity Alice Waters. Nothing but potato rounds, butter and salt cooked gently in a small bit of simmering water. I sliced 2 pounds of small potatoes in 1/8" rounds and layered them in a 12 inch skillet. I topped the potatoes with 1 tsp salt and 6 TB of butter cut into small pieces. I poured in 2 cups of water and covered the vegetables with a buttered round of parchment paper (butter side down) and allowed the pan to simmer for about 35 minutes until the liquid was nearly evaporated and the tender potatoes glistened with rich, melted butter.
So far I had a side dish. No matter how special the potatoes, even the best side dish needs a main. Nothing flashy, nothing to overshadow. A partner not a solo act.
Rummaging through the freezer I found a chuck steak. One of those cuts tucked away in our CSA box that fall into the pot roast rut. When your box has cuts labeled chuck steak, pot roast, and beef stew it's hard to keep coming up with new ideas. Tonight I figured the label said steak and I was going to try turning that lonely piece of chuck into a real steak. I chopped up a good quantity of rosemary, thyme, and garlic with salt and chili flakes. And after a quick coating with olive oil I patted my spice rub on the waiting steak and let the flavors soak in for 10 minutes. While the oven pre-heated to 375º I seared the flavored chuck steak on all sides and then popped it -- cast iron pan and all -- into the waiting oven for about 50 minutes to cook through.
James is usually a filet man but I didn't get any complaints about this slightly toothsome but super flavorful (not to mention super economical) steak. Along with an arugula salad picked just minutes before dinner, we had a classic American meal with a garden fresh twist starring the humble, homegrown potato.

A New Kind Of Potato Salad

 As a treat for James I reached down into our potato hills to dig up a couple fresh spuds for dinner.
I wanted a recipe to feature those tubers and show off the plentiful greens growing in our vegetable beds. As luck would have it I came across a recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Suzanne Goin, for a warm potato, frisée and dandelion salad. Now we've got plenty of dandelions but no frisée so I substituted some young kale, a few handfuls of oak leaf lettuce growing nearby and a bit of basil along with the cup of parsley leaves the chef calls for.
Goin's recipe couldn't be simpler. I tossed the potatoes with olive oil, thyme and salt and set them in a 400º oven (covered with foil) for 40 minutes. As the potatoes cooled for about 10 minutes I started cooking bacon (cut in 1/2" pieces) in a skillet. When the bacon was golden brown I added in a sliced onion and the potatoes cut into big (bigger than a mouthful) pieces. Goin uses beautiful fingerling potatoes but we don't have any of those ready to harvest so I went for the yukon golds and purple vikings ready to pull. After two minutes I tossed in a mixture of 3TB sherry vinegar and 2 TB of olive oil (I actually doubled it since we had such a big bowl of greens) and let everything heat through. I poured the warm dressing over the waiting mixed greens and tossed everything together, wilting the greens and spreading the bacony goodness through the salad.
"I like dinners like this," James declared between bites.
Three of his favorite things (potatoes, bacon, bitter greens) in one bowl. I'll be making this one again.

Early St Patrick's Day Dinner

It' not so pretty a picture, but it is one of James' favorite dinners: glazed corned beef and buttered potatoes. I always start the same way. First I cook the corned beef brisket and it's spices in the crockpot (on low) -- usually overnight, with 2 halved onions, 2 stalks celery, 2 bay leaves, 10 peppercorns and 10 whole cloves. That slow moist cooking makes the meat irresistibly tender. For the finishing touch since it's publication I have been using a glaze recipe from the Silver Palette Cookbook. 1 cup dark orange marmalade, 4 TB of dark brown sugar, 4 TB of dijon mustard mixed together and poured on top of the cooked meat. The beef with the glaze cooks for 30 minutes at 400º (sometimes I go to 450º to make sure James gets crisp bits of sugary glaze). Over the years I've used other jams, usually whatever homemade variety I happen to have handy -- always with stellar results. The best part of this dinner? Corned beef hash for breakfast. A reason for leftovers.

It's All About The Fat

There can only be one reason that chicken has become a hum drum everyday dinner while duck maintains an air of the exotic. Though about as simple to cook as a roast chicken duck conjures up elegant dinner parties, society luncheons, aristocratic picnics. I'm sure the table at Downton Abbey has presented it's share of duck on carefully polished silver. Not that the juicy delicious bird doesn't deserve a culinary pedestal, but every now and then I like a simple rustic treatment. A dish I like to think a French farm wife (a duck farmers wife I assume) would offer her family. An accessible duck.

For our duck dinner I simply pricked the skin all over -- being careful not to puncture the meat -- stuffed some cut onions and thyme inside the seasoned cavity, and generously rubbed the skin with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I popped the duck breast side up in a 400º oven with about 1/2 cup of water in the pan. After 30 minutes I had a luscious pool of rendered duck fat just waiting a cluster of halved fingerling potatoes. Duck fat makes a fried egg a decadent treat, raises plain beans to a gourmet level but it is perhaps most generous to the humble potato. Roasted or fried potatoes flavored with duck fat act as eager sponges for the rich soaking up outstanding flavor. Though many a good matzo ball has depended on chicken fat for it's success, duck fat is something even more. It's unctuous, butter and savory all at once, exceptional in all types of dishes (hmm could I make a duck fat pasty?) a secret weapon of flavor. It is, in my opinion, what makes a duck a treat a chicken can never be.

Leftovers Reborn

When I looked into our fridge and saw leftover scalloped potatoes and the remains of our not quite Christmas Day prime rib, I thought hash. Well to be honest I looked at the beef and thought hash. I probably first thought that while I was roasting the meat or maybe even before. But using those leftover potatoes sadly didn't even occur to me until I was almost starting to fry. I had purpose boiled a couple potatoes but when I started to think about my hash beng a combination of onions, beef, potatoes and cream I realized those scalloped spuds were just the right ingredient (and my boiled potatoes could be surprise breakfast has browns). I started a skillet with come of the beef fat from the roast over medium heat. When I had a good bit of rendered fat I removed anything solid and added my chopped scalloped potatoes (already flavored with plenty of thyme) reserving as much of he cream sauce as possible for later use. I let those brown for about 10 minutes and then added in a chopped onion and let the two vegetables cook together for about another 10 minutes until the onion was transucent. Next went in the chopped beef, garlic, fresh sage, cayenne pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (the potatoes already had a hit of both garlic and nutmeg). I let the beef brown in the skillet for about 5 minutes or so and then added in the cream sauce I'd set aside from the potatoes along with a hit of fresh cream and brought the heat up to high just long enough for the hash to build a tasty bottom crust. I flipped (as much as I could) and let the other side crisp while I quickly fried an egg to set on top -- runny yolk and all.
A diner style dinner that still feels like Christmas

Welcome Santa: Christmas Eve 2012

 Classic Americana. Mustard brown sugar glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, lemony green beans and parker house rolls. James favorites for a cozy Christmas for two.

We don't have many traditions, but as long as I've known James I've made this unbeatable gingerbread cake every year. Flavored with hearty guinness stout,  the recipe is a specialty of New York's Gramercy tavern's (former) elite pastry chef Claudia Fleming. Fleming may have moved on to her own restaurant on the North Fork but her recipe lives on.
Christmas for two -- warm hearts and lots of leftovers.

Big On Flavor Not On Looks

Yes I know, a hot chicken mess on a plate.

To be honest the adventure of not having an oven (well at least in the kitchen I use day to day) is losing it's charm. I had no idea how much I rely on it and now I have to think about our dinners in a whole new way.  I could have roasted this bird in the other oven, walking across the yard feeling like Martha Washington's household "help" trundling off to the summer kitchen carrying pots and pans. I just didn't want to (besides I was drying yesterday's tomato harvest in there). So I started to scratch my head for a stove top, not fried, one pot easy chicken dinner. 

I figured I'd start with bacon, pancetta to be exact since it is what I had in the fridge. I tossed chopped pancetta and onion in a dutch oven with butter and olive oil and then added in a few cloves of garlic. After a couple minutes I put in the seasoned chicken -- skin side down -- and a couple of cubed potatoes. My pan wasn't big enough for everything and so the chicken didn't get quite as brown and crispy as I would have liked. None the less I let the chicken cook for around 10 minutes and then added in about 1/4 cup white wine and the same measure of water. I brought the liquid up to a simmer and let the covered pan bubble away for another 15 minutes until the potatoes were tender and the chicken just cooked through. I served the bird, savory sauce, potatoes and all over fresh steamed green beans.

"This is better than our turkey," James said recalling our Thanksgiving dinner out and knowing just how to get my attention. Looks or not I might just try this dish again.

Spanish Tortilla

Eggs for dinner.
Found in every tapas bar in Spain, the Spanish Tortilla is nothing like the more familiar to Americans Mexican breadstuff. It is a thick slow cooked omelette most often chock full of olive oil fried potatoes. I've never made one before but I've eaten plenty of them. Eggs just seemed like the right thing for dinner but with the oven still out of commission no frittatas or soufflés for us.  A stove top treat, a tortilla (equally good warm or at room temperature) seemed right -- and something a little new for James.
First I fried thin potato and onion slices in a prodigious amount of olive oil at medium heat -- a very slow bubble so the potatoes cook (and soak in the oil) but don't brown or crisp. Then you drain the potatoes and add them to 8 eggs beaten with salt and pepper. I should have had a non-stick pan for this adventure but tortillas have been everyday fare in spin long before Tfal so I forged ahead. I heavily slicked the bottom of the skillet with oil and poured in the egg mixture. The tortilla cooked for about 5 minutes -- again at medium heat -- until the bottom and edges were firm. Now the tricky part and the action that has kept me from trying my own tortilla for literally years now. First you slide the egg and potato cake onto a waiting plate (I could have used a bigger plate). Then using a second plate you flip the tortilla over so the less cooked side is down. Add more oil (the reserved olive oil form frying the potatoes) to the pan and slide your potato masterpiece back in to cook on the bottom.
I should have let my tortilla brown a little more to be truly authentic but for a fairly quick weeknight dinner and a first try -- not too bad.

Start The Weekend Right

Time for steak. Our CSA meat package held a beautiful grass-fed sirloin steak begging to be pan-fried. I started a skillet with thinly sliced onions and a bit of garlic sautéing in butter and olive oil. About 15 minutes later I removed the onions from the pan, added a bit more oil, and laid in the steak aggressively seasoned with S&P. After around 5 minutes on each side the steak was set to rest on a platter while I added about 1/2 cup of bourbon to the pan. The bourbon reduced by about half and then the onions went back in along with a knob of butter and the juices that accumulated under the resting steak to smooth out the sauce. I served the steak on top of fluffy brown rice to soak up the delicious sauce.
As a side a dish from James' childhood -- green beans and potatoes long stewed in bacon and chicken broth. More delicious sauce to soak up.

Steamed Seafood Supper

Some things you never lose. I grew up in Maryland and honestly some days I think Old Bay Seasoning flows in my veins. I don't use it much anymore but when I taste that familiar mixture I feel the warm sun, lapping waves and the excitement of steamed crabs on a hot summer's day. It tastes like home.
This steamed combo of shrimp, clams and potatoes is a little more low country than it is "charm city". I've been struggling to get my diet back on track and I figured a steamed all in one pot dinner would keep James satisfied and the calories low -- besides, we had leftover beer in the fridge.
I started a pot (with a steamed insert) with a bit of butter, chopped garlic, shallot, bay leaf and a bottle of beer and brought the liquid to a boil. I tossed in the potatoes and let them steam for about 10 minutes. Next, because the clams were small and he shrimp were large, I let the clams steam for just a minute before adding the shrimp -- peels on -- heavily dusted with Old Bay. After about 5 minutes the shrimp were pink and tender and everything was flavored with the delicious mix of beer and "bay".

Potatoes and Eggs

Leftover sliced potatoes from those homemade chips and a dozen eggs turned into this quick breakfast. I stared a pan with prosciutto, garlic, onions and olive oil, added in the thinly sliced potatoes  -- along with paprika, oregano, and thyme -- and, with a lid, let the potatoes cook until tender. A couple minutes uncovered gave the potatoes time to crisp and two farm fresh eggs time to just set in the flavorful olive oil.

No Debate Over Homemade Chips

October is the month for quality TV. The baseball playoffs start Friday, Homeland is back on the air, and last night the first of four debates winding down to November's presidential election. Our friends from down the road came to watch at our house. James and I decided on snacks, not really a full menu. I knew we wanted food that is easy to eat, didn't require a lot of conversation or cutlery clacking, and didn't need an oven. Ours is still on the fritz. I started with a recipe I've been saving, meatball sliders from New York's Little Owl restaurant. We served these tiny meatballs drenched in a rich fennel flavored tomato sauce on soft Hawaiian dinner rolls (a favorite around here) with fresh basil, parsley, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

I just flew back into town yesterday ( a couple hours before our debate dinner) and grocery shopped without looking in our kitchen at home. That led to a near crisis. When it came time to make the sauce for the meatballs, I tore through the house looking for two cans of tomatoes I swore I had on hand, but every cupboard was bare. I was stumped for a minute trying to figure out my options -- if any -- when I suddenly (and stupidly) realized I was sitting on a gold mine of tomatoes. Right outside my kitchen window are the bushy, overgrown tomato plants I have been coddling since May -- heavy with bright red and yellow deliciousness. Who needs cans when I had the real thing? I gathered up all the ripe and over ripe and not so beautiful fruits for a mellow, sweetish, beautifully orange sauce straight from the garden.

Alongside our mini meatball sandwiches a bowl of homemade chips. Simple thinly sliced yukon golds (soaked in cold water to remove as much starch as possible) quickly fried in olive oil and lightly salted. Unlike fries these potatoes can be cooked in advance and are better cold than hot -- perfect for extended (dare I say longwinded) TV viewing.

Next match up -- October 11th in Kentucky.