French
Salmon with Carmelized Lemon Glaze over Lentils
As gorgeous as that last salad was, I figured it was about time to get a new post up. The problem is that between the Easter holiday, a quick trip to Boston, and the incredible weather that we’ve been having these past few days the last things I’ve wanted to do were cook or sit in front of the computer. But I couldn’t wait any longer to share this salmon and lentil dish, so I’m forcing myself to sit down and write.
I found some lentils when I was cleaning out my cabinets and thought that I should use them up. Lentils are a strange thing – I always forget how much I like them and that they are just as much a warm-weather food as a great base for a rich, hearty winter soup. But with a few lighter ingredients like salmon and leeks to perk them up, lentils can be a great addition to a springtime meal. For this dish, I cooked them together with leeks and turnips. The leeks gave them a bright flavor, and the turnip added a peppery touch that I enjoyed a lot.
The caramelized lemon glaze was the lucky byproduct of a mistake. I wanted to add some acid to the dish to prevent is from tasting heavy or muddy, so I set out to make a lemon gastrique but I got distracted and let it cook down too much. I was really disappointed to see the thick, gloppy caramel that resulted but I gave it a taste and it was actually really good! It was sweet, but the lemon and vinegar kept it from being too sweet. I took a change and spooned a little over my salmon, not sure what to expect — it was great! The sweetness actually worked really well with the salmon (if the thought of a sweet sauce on salmon seems weird to you, it’s not that different from salmon teriyaki. Much less scary now, right?)
Braised Chicken with Grapes
Chicken and grapes – it sounds like something that you would feed your five year old for dinner. But trust me when I say that this meal is greater than the sum of its parts. The chicken is browned and then braised in wine until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender. The pan juices are made into a delicious sauce enriched with a touch of cream and plenty of fresh thyme. And then there are the grapes – when heated, they transform into tiny morsels of juicy perfection that are the perfect balance of sweet and bitter.
I first had the idea of cooking with grapes over the summer. I must have seen it somewhere because shortly after I first started thinking about it, food + wine magazine featured a recipe with roasted grapes. That was closely followed by an issue of fine cooking that has a whole section on cooking with grapes! As great as the idea seemed, I was always distracted by the fresh, seasonal produce that was available. Grapes seemed silly! Until now. In the dead of winter in upstate New York, produce – especially fruit – is scarce, but grapes seem to be a constant. So I gave it a try, and my only complaint is that I shouldn’t have waited so long! [....]
Daring Bakers: Macarons
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s TheLast Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Macarons. A word that will simultaneously put joy and fear into the heart of any home baker. I was excited to hear that this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge – I’ve made them before, but lost the pictures before I had a chance to post them. I’ve been looking for another excuse to make them. I chose to make chocolate cookie with a salted caramel filling.
In the US, people often confuse French Macarons with macaroons – a cookie made primarily of coconut. Although macaroons are also delicious, they don’t even begin to compare to the beauty that is a macaron. Macarons are a sandwich cookie made of almond flour that is combines with sugar and egg white. The texture is a combination of crispy and chewy, with a crispy outer shells that gives way to a soft meringue center. The cookies are sandwich together, often with ganache, caramel, or fruit preserves.[....]
Bistro Classics: Steak au Poivre
Steak au poivre is a dish that everyone should have in their repertoire – it’s REALLY easy to make, uses ingredients that you most likely have on hand, and pairs well with a variety of side dishes. Despite its simplicity (once you make it once or twice, you won’t need a recipe anymore) it will allow you to perfect two important cooking skills: how to sear meat and how to make a pan sauce.[....]
Spinach Souffle
Sometimes I do crazy things.
We saw Julie and Julia this weekend, and I finally caught the Julia Child bug. I had some truffle butter that I bought a few weeks ago that I wanted to use tonight, so I bought a steak. I wanted to have something different on the side, so in true Julia form, I decided to make a souffle. Never mind that I’ve never made souffle before. Never mind that it’s 90 degrees in the house. Never mind that I can’t find the whisk part of my Kitchen Aid and the recipe required egg white beaten until stiff. [....]
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