didionville

Leslie is amazing. You have already read about many of her great culinary accomplishments. But to me, one of her most impressive skills is her ability to make a meal out of “nothing.” Often, when the refrigerator appears empty to me, she will whip something up, and we will have an excellent meal. Today was another example.

There were a couple of chicken breasts in the fridge, and to my eye, not a whole lot else. Some scraps of challah and homemade pesto emerged from the freezer. Add miscellaneous condiments, the grill, and about 20 minutes and we ended up with fantastic sandwiches. Not a combination I could have come up with, but they were so good we ate them standing up at the kitchen counter.

yes, i am committing plagiarism by posting this recipe. it is straight from cook’s illustrated (issue 87, july/august 2007). i suppose now i’m actually not plagiarizing since i am citing; though, i am posting without permission. christopher kimball can call my attorney, if i had one, that is.

this sauce is very tasty and super easy to make. it’s a little on the sweet side, so if you like spicier bbq sauce, this might not be for you. though, i am going to try to make my own spicy sauce, using this recipe as my base. if it works, i’ll post it.

bottom line: we like this sauce so much, we will likely never by bottled sauce again.

(for reference, this recipe makes enough to thoroughly baste four butterflied cornish hens or six boneless chicken breasts.)

1/2 cup ketchup (we only use heinz, and if you know me, you know I KNOW ketchup.)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp yellow mustard (good ol’ french’s to the rescue!)

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed … you want about a tsp of minced garlic.

mix everything in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce reduces a little and thickens. cook’s says it takes about five minutes. i think we usually end up cooking it for closer to 10 minutes.

use this to baste chicken on the grill, or you could cut the recipe, making only about a fourth of it. shred one cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast and add it to the sauce. use the chicken breast to make bbq-chicken pizza … or bbq-chicken nachos … or bbq-chicken burritos … YUM!

as promised … the macaroni and cheese recipe … (no photos, unfortunately, because it was eaten too quickly, which — if you think about it — should be the normal order of things …)

the tools

8 oz gruyere (feel free to use a little more)

8 to 12 oz extra-sharp cheddar (we go for the bigger flavor, so we use 12 oz. we also buy local new york or vermont cheese just ‘cuz we like to support the peeps … if you can find some other fabulous, funky cheddar, go for it … and then tell me about it!!!)

1 pint heavy cream (a lot of mac & cheese recipes make a roux … i’m cutting out that step and going straight for the jugular — literally and figuratively — with the cholesterol- and fat-laden heavy cream. you will definitely need 8 oz, but as you mix in and melt the cheese, you might find you need more.)

16 oz elbow macaroni (tip your hat to good health and at least make a ceremonial gesture by using whole-wheat macaroni.)

8-10 pieces thick-cut bacon

kosher salt (for boiling pasta)

freshly-ground pepper (to taste)

1 smallish to medium onion, finely diced (this is optional for onion haters like auntie loretta, to whom this recipe is lovingly dedicated and for whom it is loudly and proudly posted.)

cholesterol pills … a lot of them … keep reading, and you will see why …

the construction

preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

cook the bacon … you can do this on the stovetop OR you can do this in the oven … cover a jelly-roll pan in aluminum foil. put a rack in the pan. put the bacon strips on the rack, and stick the whole thing in a preheated 400-degree oven for at least 10 minutes … after 10 minutes, check it regularly until the bacon is done the way you like it … while the oven is preheating, boil your water for the pasta in a big pot.

while the bacon is cooking, cook and drain the pasta in salted water. (make sure to cook the pasta al dente … you’re going to be stirring it with the cheese later and then baking it off … if you overcook it in the beginning, you will have paste in the end … blech …)

while the pasta is cooking, grate the gruyere and at least 8 oz of the cheddar.

when done, take the bacon out of the oven (or off the stovetop heat). set the bacon aside and carefully pour about half of the bacon grease into a saute pan (or pour off half the grease from the pan in which you cooked the bacon).

heat the saute pan on medium heat. start sauteeing the onion. drain the pasta and return to pot (no heat on burner). pour in the first 8 oz of heavy cream. stir cream and pasta. fold in cheese. as the cheese melts in the hot pasta and cream, use your judgment about whether you might like more cream or more cheddar … it’s your call regarding texture. we like about 12 oz of cream with 8 oz of gruyere with 12 oz of cheddar … don’t forget your onions while you are stirring your macaroni.

when you have your macaroni and cheese at the texture you like, stir in some freshly ground pepper and leave it alone while you finish the onions. if you find the cheese didn’t completely melt with the radiant heat from the pasta, turn the burner on LOW until you are happy with the “melty-ness” (and i mean L-O-W … you really don’t want a mess of burnt cream, pasta, and cheese.) …

your onions should be nice and greasy and translucent by now … quickly rough-chop or crumble the bacon and add them to the onions. when the bacon bits are reheated, turn off the burner.

in a casserole, dump some of the macaroni and cheese. you will likely have a lot of mac & cheese left in the pot (depending on the size of your casserole) … THIS IS A GOOD THING!!! if you need further explanation, then you probably shouldn’t be reading this recipe in the first place. (seriously, this recipe makes a lot; though, worry not! leftovers can be easily frozen.)

cover the mac-&-cheese-laden casserole with the onion and bacon mixture … or if you are loretta, you skipped the onion rigamarole and simply crumbled the bacon 10 minutes ago …

stick the whole damn thing in your oven (still at 400 from cooking the bacon or preheating)

bake it for at least 20-25 minutes … what you are looking for is bubbling cheese and cream … browning edges and further crispiness on the bacon front …

take your cholesterol pills and enjoy …

last saturday we went over to justin & megan’s for dinner. they were grilling pork tenderloin, and since they were doing the meat, we took dessert (raspberry supreme cheesecake from the pastry garden), coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese. (i’ll post my mac & cheese recipe soon.)

the coleslaw was incredibly good. it was a mishmash of a couple of recipes i found on the foodnetwork site (thanks to paula and alton) with some tweaking on my part.

feel free to try the original recipes, but i can almost guarantee they aren’t as good as this one:

the crunch

1/2 medium-size head green cabbage — regular or napa — shredded.

1/2 medium-size head red cabbage, shredded

3 medium carrots, shredded or diced or julienned … whatever you like

3 green onions, chopped on the fine side … the green AND white parts

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cob of corn (cut off the cob)

1/2 cup roasted (but not salted or flavored) almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 handful cilantro, finely chopped

TRICK: start with the cabbage. once you have the cabbage shredded, lay it out loosely on foil or wax paper or a cutting board … whatever. sprinkle 1-2 tsp of kosher salt all over the cabbage. lightly toss it all, and let it sit while you chop the rest of the crunchy stuff and make the dressing. (alton brown’s recipe instructs that the cabbage should sit, salted for three hours (!!!) and then rinsed thoroughly. i don’t rinse it, and i certainly don’t wait around for three hours; though, i am sure i am missing a sublime coleslaw experience.)

tell me this doesn’t look good …

the dressing

3/4 cup plain yogurt (we use low-fat yogurt from stonyfield farms.)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (we use “light” mayo.)

3 tbsp pickle juice (use whatever you like: 3 tbsp of kosher-pickle juice, or sweet-pickle juice, or some combination. we are lucky enough to have spacey tracy pickles available. we do two tbsp of juice from her sweet & spicy pickles and another tbsp of regular kosher pickle juice.)

2 tsp yellow mustard (i am sure there is room for experimentation here. honey mustard or dijon mustard or stoneground mustard … any of them would likely be tasty. we used plain old french’s, but we will try other types, i am sure.)

so it ain’t rocket science … chop everything up and mix it in a big bowl. once you have all the crunchy stuff well tossed, fold in the dressing. eat! enjoy! revel in your culinary expertise!

so i was craving fish today … fish and veggies … AND a simple dish that wouldn’t make a huge mess in the kitchen … nuttin’ is easier than baking fish fillets or steaks with veggies in foil packets …

living in poughkeepsie, THE place to go for the best fish and produce is adams fairacre farms market. their price-to-quality ratio is very good for meats and veggies … they also have very good prepared foods … AND we bought our gravel from them when we landscaped last summer … meat, fish, produce, heavy farm equipment, landscaping … what more can you ask for?!

now onto tonight’s dinner …

there really isn’t anything spectacular about what i did with the fish … foil packets with broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, carrots, lemon, and salmon steaks seasoned with salt, fresh-ground pepper, olive oil, and dried thyme …

the innovation is in what i set the salmon and veggies on when i plated …

mashed red potatoes and parsnips with marscapone and cilantro!!!

i made this one up all by myself!!!

i boiled red potatoes and parsnips in salted water until fork tender. (peel the parsnips, but not the potatoes.) i drained and mashed them up, adding a good amount of freshly ground pepper. once i had them roughly mashed, i incorporated a cup of marscapone, mashing until smooth. finally, i added about one-half cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro, folding it into the mashed marscapone/potato/parsnip mixture.

the marscapone is rich and flavorful, but lighter in texture than butter or cream. and the cilantro was such a terrific foil to the richness of the cream cheese: clean and herbal in taste with a burst of bright green color. also, the cilantro played very well with the thyme and lemon that baked into the fish and veggies.

holy crap, was it good!

***

a quick note re: pepper … there is no way we would use anything but fresh-ground pepper in our cooking, especially after ordering whole peppercorns from penzey’s spices. we make our own concoction of four peppercorn varieties: india tellicherry, malaysian sarawak white, india green, sarawak black, and — finally — pink peppercorns (which isn’t really pepper, but who cares) … when we first decided to try doing this (over a year ago), we worried that we would be spending beaucoup bucks on pepper and it would be a “one and done” kind of adventure. NOT SO! penzey’s is amazingly affordable! AND IT IS SOOOOOO WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!

holy cow! have i had one heckuva crazy adventure! i haven’t been posting the last couple of days because i have been whoopin’ it up in NEW YORK CITY!

mommy and daddy took me down there on easter sunday, and we stayed until today (tuesday). auntie loretta is in the city this week for spring break, and BONUS: auntie lisa was in town, too, for an education conference. we stayed at the w hotel at 39th and lexington. it was a pretty nice hotel. mommy was very happy with the service, and daddy really liked the king-size bed.

i travel really, really well. mommy and daddy asked quite a bit of me, and i came through like a superhero. a new feeding schedule … a new sleeping schedule … new environs all around … nothing fazes me. BRING IT ON!

we got into town on sunday afternoon. auntie loretta and her super-cool friend, michael, met us at our hotel. we all hung out for awhile, largely because i needed to take a nap. then we packed up and cruised down the street to an amazing kosher vegetarian indian restaurant (yes, THAT MANY adjectives). the restaurant, pongal, is on lex between 27th and 28th. it was really crowded, and i was still kinda tired, so i sorta had a meltdown. not to worry, though; we got the food to go and hoofed it back to the hotel where loretta and michael set up a buffet on the ironing board. apparently, the food was really good because mommy and daddy are still talking about it. the big hit was the masala cashew nut appetizer … super savory, spicy cashews … mommy also really loved the vegetable kurma. (that is going to be her next project on the indian-cooking front.) i definitely was a lot more comfortable rolling around on the bed than i was at the restaurant.

on monday, we met loretta, michael, and michael’s friend, zeb (visiting from london) at the american museum of natural history. (we took the subway, and since the trains are really loud, mommy and daddy made sure i wore my special noise-reduction earmuffs.)

what an amazing, glorious place the museum is! elephants, tigers, and dinosaurs! oh, my, indeed! we went everywhere in the museum. mommy and daddy told me about rain forests and evolution and the environment and biology. daddy took pictures of us looking at fossils and skeletons and dioramas. it was the coolest place ever!

we saw lots of dinosaurs …

and a tiger …

a dodo bird …

elephants …

an opa …

and a BLUE WHALE!!!

auntie loretta peppered me with kisses here and there …

and we visited where mommy and daddy’s adventure officially began …

then we went to rockefeller center and saw prometheus and the new sculpture (the electric fountain) …

actually, mommy and daddy and loretta saw this stuff. i checked out for awhile …

we parted company with loretta and headed back to the hotel because we were meeting auntie lisa and her boyfriend, valentin, for dinner at this tasty midtown restaurant, remi, on 53rd between 6th and 7th. mommy was really happy with the food, and she was ESPECIALLY happy with the service. they seated us in a large corner banquette just so i would have room to stretch out and sleep while everyone else ate. and, boy, did they eat! it was a long, lovely, relaxed dinner with some terrific company! auntie lisa is super-fabulous, of course, and val is, too! mommy and daddy couldn’t stop talking about how great dinner was and how awesome it was to see lisa!

but i was out for the count …

it was a really cool trip, but i am also super happy to be home. i think mommy and daddy are glad to be home, too, but, boy, did they have fun!

so my dad gave me an italian cookbook for christmas. the recipes are simple (which i need right now … sigh …) and really quite tasty. i modify them here and there, like this one …

spinach fettucine with sundried tomatoes and gorgonzola (as usual, this makes a lot … cut it in half and you could still feed 3-4 people.)

start to finish: about a half hour …

1 pkg spinach (about 8 oz. or so) … rinsed and drained

1 cup low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 pint cottage cheese

1 cup crumbled gorgonzola (about 4 ounces)

4 oz. (or so) sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and cut into strips (RESERVE THE OIL!)

16 oz. spinach fettucine, cooked and drained

pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: shredded or sliced skinless chicken breasts … i’ve sliced leftover chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken … i’ll also slice chicken breasts i’ve roasted in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and olive oil. BUT this recipe is just as hearty without the meat.

*** *** ***

1. wilt the spinach in a large saute pan: put the rinsed spinach in the pan, with only whatever water is left on the leaves from rinsing. cover the pan and cook on the low side of med/low heat until the spinach is wilted. this only takes about five minutes or so. drain and coarsely chop the wilted spinach. set aside. wipe out saute pan.

(1.a.) i’m boiling the water for the pasta while the spinach is wilting, and while the sauce is cooking, i am cooking the fettucine. after i drain the pasta, i put it back in the pot and stir in the oil from the sundried tomatoes. doing this adds extra flavor and keeps the pasta from sticking together.

2. combine yogurt and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and stir the heck out of it to break down the cottage cheese curds, but don’t break your arm over it. (combine it in a blender if you prefer a super-smooth sauce … i don’t do this because i don’t want to have to clean the blender, and a little texture from the curds is fine with us.) cook it in the saute pan on med/low heat, stirring pretty regularly for about five minutes. turn the heat up a bit and add the crumbled gorgonzola. cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese melts into the sauce … about 5-7 minutes. (it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, though. again, we like the texture.)

3. add the chopped, wilted spinach and the sliced sundried tomatoes (and chicken, if applicable) to the sauce. add pepper. stir well to break up the spinach and get everything nicely combined. cook for another five minutes.

4. add the fettucine, coated with the sundried-tomato oil. fold the pasta with the sauce and cook about 3-5 minutes, or until the pasta is heated through.

5. wolf down!

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and a quick note on the sauce … i modified this recipe quite a bit — changing measurements, using oil-packed sundried tomatoes, and adding the spinach and chicken — but one thing i didn’t change was the sauce base of cottage cheese and yogurt. now, i do NOT like cottage cheese, and when i first saw this recipe, i wanted to give it a pass. i mean a cream sauce without the cream? and what about pounds of cheese? … but after seeing (and tasting) the depth of flavor yogurt adds to indian cuisine, i reserved judgment on the cottage cheese issue and took the plunge … how glad i did! now when i think of pasta and cream sauce, i remember i can whip up a sauce base that is quick and healthful.

so a local chickadee was arrested last thursday in connection with the federal bust of the prostitution ring that is currently giving spitzer a major headache. (rhinebeck is about 15 miles north of poughkeepsie. apparently, ms. hollander was some sort of scheduler, and face it, any respectable sex biz is going to need competent administrative support.)

i saw the headline in our paper on friday and scanned the article with a chuckle. little did i know …

BUT all of this has reminded me that i meant to write a post about fleisher’s (a butcher in rhinebeck and kingston) that supplies fantastic grass-fed, organic meat from sustainable local farms.

earlier this week, d-man and i cruised up there and purchased the most beautiful n.y. strip steak. its marbling was mesmerizing.

i cooked it using my fool-proof, high-heat, cast-iron-skillet, mega-hot-oven method, and steven and i had one heckuva yummy dinner.

since i am writing about rhinebeck goings-on, i ought to also mention the beekman arms, a charming inn (reportedly the oldest in america) that has a quite nice restaurant with super-tasty meatloaf, among other treats. i also completely enjoy the paper trail, a stationer with a terrific selection of truly beautiful papers.

so i suppose, while rhinebeck might get some buzz currently for its indirect connection to a certain governor’s ridiculous indiscretion, i want to toot the horns of some of the local biz.

mommy and daddy are expanding my food repertoire, and lucky me! they chose to do it with peas …

yes, they are mushy and pasty … boiled and pureed … many people might not think any of these words are very appetizing, but surprise, surprise … i actually ate them.

mommy and daddy gave me a big, heaping teaspoon of peas along with my two tablespoons of banana/rice cereal, and i ate every last bite.

necessarily, i slipped into a food coma shortly after. there might be something with the highchair. compare me with my lovely cousin annika at thanksgiving:

just a reminder: don’t forget to check our flickr page for photo set updates!

yes, it looks very much like something in didion’s diaper, but chicken saag is so yummy! as promised (and finally), here is the recipe i use …

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chicken saag (serves 4)

8 oz fresh spinach leaves, rinsed

1 fresh green chili, seeded and chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil (i use canola oil.)

8 black peppercorns (i use about a dozen.)

1 bay leaf

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup canned tomatoes, drained (i use one 14.5 oz can of muir glen organic diced tomatoes. they are very good.)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp curry paste (i use either 1 tbsp garam masala or 1 tsp curry powder and 2 tsp garam masala. you can, however, make curry paste. i will post the recipe later, but i haven’t done it myself.)

salt (to taste)

2/3 cup chicken stock or water (i’ve done it both ways, and i prefer to use stock. the very best chicken stock — that’s not homemade — is kitchen basics chicken stock. in fact, they make the best of all kinds of stocks.)

4 tbsp plain yogurt, plus extra to garnish

8 skinless chicken thighs (i’ve also used skinless, boneless breasts.)

***

1. place the spinach in a large pan with just the water clinging to the leaves after rinsing, then cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until wilted. Transfer to a food processor or blender and add the green chili, ginger, garlic, and (4 tbsp) water. process until smooth.

2. heat the ghee (or oil) in a karahi (ha!) or pan. add the peppercorns and bay leaf and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, or until they give off their aroma. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until golden. add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. add the chili powder and curry paste and season with salt to taste. cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

3. stir in the spinach/chili puree with the stock and simmer for 5 minutes. add the yogurt, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well after each addition, then simmer for an additional 5 minutes. finally, add the chicken and stir well, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender and cooked through. serve immediately, garnished with extra yogurt.

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i like to serve this on a bed of basmati rice with channa masala. YUM!