Do As Zuni Does

One line in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook has been ringing in my ears. It's an offhanded quip where Rodgers (the chef/ owner of the San Francisco restaurant James and I love) mentions she uses leftover mignonette (the vinegar, shallot and wine sauce used to top raw oysters), butter, bay leaves, thyme, and "lots of lemon zest" to steam mussels. So, I figured, why not clams and why not tonight. A perfect dinner with warm bread to dip in the slightly tangy sauce.

Raclette Sandwiches

We are working our way through the delicious mound of party cheese. Tonight's dinner shaved a couple slices of raclette off the total. I took thin slices of hazelnut bread, salty Jamon Serrano, butter, a good sized slice of raclette cheese and a thin smear of piquant mustard. I buttered the outside of the bread and popped them in my Christmas present grill pan. The moist cheese melts easily, the hearty bread crisps up just right. I served the sandwiches with homemade zucchini bread and butter pickles from Zuni Cafe's recipe. Cheese and pickles a great Swiss combo.

Baked Chicken on Bread

I had a bag of cubed bread staring me in the face from my over-exuberant stuffing making (and bread cubing) on Thanksgiving. I couldn't bring myself to just throw it away and when I saw this recipe in Food and Wine (based on Zuni Cafe's delicious chicken specialty -- a restaurant favorite for both me and James) I figured it was worth a try. I mixed bread cubes, chopped chard, golden raisins, capers, S&P, and thinly sliced garlic and shallots with olive oil. The recipe called for 1/4 cup -- I thought that looked dry and used more, but don't it was too much. On top of the mixed greens and bread I put 4 chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper. I placed parchment paper over the chicken and put the lid on the casserole and baked for 35 minutes at 350º. I increased the oven temperature to 400º, uncovered the chicken and cooked for 10 minutes more, until as the recipe said the chicken was golden brown and cooked through. My chicken wasn't quite golden brown so I popped the broiler on for just a few minutes (maybe a few too many) for color.

Not exactly Zuni, but not bad.