THIRTY : CRUSTED PUMPKIN WEDGES W/ SOUR CREAM

PLENTY

JANUARY 17 2013

THIRTY : CRUSTED PUMPKIN WEDGES W/ SOUR CREAM

What does one do with leftover chicken liver paté? Make paté-stuffed pork chops, of course. I am a frickin' genius! I shall serve them with crusted pumpkin wedges, a nice green salad and a robust Pinot Noir for a very, very fine dinner, indeed.

While my handsome assistant packs as much paté as possible into the thick-cut chops, I tackle the pumpkin. It's just a little baby sugar pumpkin so it doesn't put up much of a fight. Each slice is crusted with an herbacous mix of breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, thyme and lemon zest then baked for 30 minutes until browned and tender.

While they're baking I sear the pork chops on each side then slide them into the hot oven to cook through. Maye I can distract my hunger pangs from the amazing smells filling the house but chopping salad toppings and shaking up a quick dressing. It almost works... Okay! The pork chops are out of the oven and resting, so I make a simple pan sauce with lots of marsala wine and we're ready to eat!

Well, the pumpkin is just fine. Delicate and savory with a lovely tang from the dill-sour cream mixture. But the pork chops totally steal the spotlight. So much so that I barely remember the pumpkin at all. You must make paté stuffed pork chops. Think bahn mi + French bistro + down-home rustic cooking. SO FRICKIN' GOOD!!!

TWENTY-NINE : ROASTED PARSNIPS & SWEET POTATOES W/ CAPER VINAIGRETTE

PLENTY

DECEMBER 13 2012

TWENTY-NINE : ROASTED PARSNIPS & SWEET POTATOES W/ CAPER VINAIGRETTE

Hello dear reader! I find I have been suffering a lack of enthusiasm for this blog the last few months and you may have noticed a looooonnnngg stretch without a post. During this downtime, I have made a few dishes from Plenty but simply failed to write up my experiences. I am determined to get back on track! So in the next few days I will try to catch up. Don't worry... there are only a few recipes to discuss so I won't be filling up your inbox or flooding your facebook feed. But bear with me as I drag us back to 2012 for a few days.

TWENTY-EIGHT : STUFFED ONIONS

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 22 2012

TWENTY-EIGHT : STUFFED ONIONS

As anyone who knows me can attest, I have no problem spending hours or even days on a ridiculously complicated recipe with 87 steps and 41 ingredients. Case in point, the insane Peking Duck recipe from Lucky Peach, fully described here by another crazy person willing to go the distance. But, there has to be some kind of payoff for all the invested effort and time. Unfortunately, some of Mr. O's recipes ask me to put myself through the ringer but just don't deliver. One example is this ridiculous herbed rice which had more steps than I even care to recount yet tasted like rice with lots of herbs stirred in. These stuffed onions are another example of wasted effort as I will explain.

TWENTY-SEVEN : QUINOA SALAD W/ DRIED PERSIAN LIME

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 20 2012

TWENTY-SEVEN : QUINOA SALAD W/ DRIED PERSIAN LIME

It is extremely dangerous for me to shop at Barbur World Foods. I go in to buy bread and come out with za'atar or preserved lemon or aleppo pepper. And I usually have no plan or even idea of how to use these items. In fact, these dried Persian limes have been sitting in my cupboard for years, completely untouched. Until now!

I was thrilled to find that one of Mr. O's recipes features dried Persian limes and I can't wait to use them. He is right in saying that turning these suckers into powder is "difficult to achieve because the limes are rock hard". As I'm breaking them into pieces to stuff into the coffee/spice grinder, I actually give myself a "dried-lime cut"... which is worse than a paper cut because the edges are all jagged and tangy. But it will all be worth it!

Now comes some sweet potato vs yam confusion. I bought said sweet potatoes which, once peeled, reveal themselves to be basically white. But Mr O's photos show a dark orange vegetable tossed in the salad. I think he used yams! Or different, orange-colored sweet potatoes? Aaaah... I'm so confused! The orange ones would look prettier... but I think they basically taste the same so oh well.

It's a pretty good salad. The dried lime powder ads a nice floral note and complements the earthy quinoa. Not sure why it has rice and quinoa... but still tasty! I'll have to research some more ways to use those dried limes cause I've still got most of the bag left.

TWENTY-THREE & TWENTY-FOUR : HAM PARTY!

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 02 2012

TWENTY-THREE : EGGPLANT CROQUETTES
TWENTY-FOUR : QUINOA & GRILLED SOURDOUGH SALAD

It's Friday night and I'm cooking up a ham the size of my head! The big boy, slathered in a mix of jalapeno jelly and whole-grain mustard, has been slowly baking for the last couple of hours and requires little attention. So I can focus on the other dishes while keeping an eye on the Blazer game. I'm planning to greet my dinner guests with hot, crispy eggplant croquettes then serve the ham with mashed potatoes, sauteed kale, Mr. O's Quinoa & Grilled Sourdough Salad and lots o' wine.

The croquettes worry me because I never deep-fry at home. Don't get me wrong, I really, really love fried foods, but I just know I'll run into trouble... grease splatters, left-over oil to deal with, realizing how easy it is and eating everything breaded and fried from now on. But tonight, it's on! First I need to blacken the eggplant but the broiler isn't really getting the job done so I transfer them out to the grill. The recipe calls for "4 medium eggplant"; I had two small ones from the garden and bulked them up with another three from the store.

garden eggplants in the front

TWENTY-TWO : CHICKPEA SAUTÉ WITH GREEK YOGURT

PLENTY

NOVEMBER 01 2012

TWENTY-TWO : CHICKPEA SAUTÉ WITH GREEK YOGURT

Here is a really simple and quite tasty recipe that works great as a side dish, as I did today, or could be a main meal over rice. I used it to complement some green chicken marsala with garden-fresh potato. In fact, along with the potato in the marsala, the carrot and chard from the sauté were also from the garden (yay!).

Luckily I had some cooked chickpeas stashed in the freezer so I didn't have to a: deal with that step or b: used canned chickpeas. Plus, I've been trying to make myself use stuff from the freezer because I have trouble throwing anything away and so the freezer is nearly overflowing.

beautiful rainbow chard

TWENTY-ONE : SURPRISE TATIN

PLENTY

OCTOBER 27 2012

TWENTY-ONE : SURPRISE TATIN

I had to look this up, but a tatin is "a caramelized tart that is baked with pastry on top and then inverted for serving". Sounds complicated! And it kind of is although turned out to be way, way easier to deal with than I expected.

First important thing to point out is that some of the potato in this tatin came from our garden! Sometime this spring, I pushed a couple sprouting red potatoes into the ground and they magically transformed into seven potatoes, some of them huge!

garden potatoes!

TWENTY : HERB-STUFFED TOMATOES

PLENTY

OCTOBER 21 2012

TWENTY : HERB-STUFFED TOMATOES

TOMATOES! I have so many tomatoes! What to do with them? There's no possible way to eat them all before they go bad. Especially since I don't really like fresh tomatoes. I know most people think raw tomatoes are sweet and luscious, but I find them rather bitter and most of the big, beefy ones have an off-putting ammonia aroma. I do enjoy the occasional BLT and, admittedly, did enthusiastically devour Mr. O's Marinated Mozzarella & Tomato salad last month. But mostly I prefer my tomatoes cooked and could slurp down tomato soups or pasta sauce all day long. I mean I seriously still dream about Frankie's slow-simmered Sunday Sauce and will undoubtedly be making another big batch sometime this winter.

tomato overload! still figuring out what to do with the green ones. pickles, perhaps?

NINETEEN : BARLEY & POMEGRANATE SALAD

PLENTY

OCTOBER 3 2012

NINETEEN : BARLEY & POMEGRANATE SALAD

Be honest... do any of you actually buy pomegranates? Despite their tastiness, I never do because they are so darn frustrating to eat! But Mr. O has changed everything with his surprisingly effective (and really quite fun) method of extracting the seeds safely from the intricate membranes. Simply halve the pomegranate, hold it in your palm, cut side down, over a bowl and whack the crap out of it. And the seeds immediately start cascading through your fingers and into the waiting bowl. Had a frustrating day at work? Maybe you need to seed some pomegranates to get out that aggression!

WHACK!

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 19 2012

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

We all are familiar with this equation: summer = tomatoes = caprese salad

Mr. O takes this classic combination of soft mozzarella, ripe tomato and fresh basil to a new level by massaging the mozzarella with a pungent, basil-laced marinade before serving. I usually don't spring for the more expansive buffalo mozzarella, but am truly glad I did this time. It has an amazing softness and richness. And serving it alongside a just-picked tomato still warm from the afternoon sun makes this dish hard to beat. All it needs is some crusty bread to soak up all the lovely juices. Could be a meal in itself!

chiffonade of basil

FIFTEEN : TOMATO PARTY

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 12 2012

FIFTEEN : TOMATO PARTY

It's a par-tay in the hizzle and everyone's invited! Yep, even you green tomato. And two kinds of couscous are on the guest list. Now, somebody turn up those bangin' beats while I get to work!

 Mr. O wants to keep this party interesting by including tomatoes in various states of cooked-ness "to maximize the 'tomatoey' effect with diverse flavors and textures". I like this idea as tomatoes offer such different profiles when raw vs roasted vs dried. I am also going to take him up on his offer to "choose whatever tomato selection you can get" instead of sticking exactly to those listed in the recipe.

I recently dried a bunch of cherry tomatoes so those are definitely going in. And I think I'll roast some of the Early Girls while keeping the Green Zebras and San Marzanos raw. Good plan!

garden fresh!

Early Girls sliced and ready to roast with a sprinkle of sugar

"roasting" tomatoes on the grill

First hurdle... my darn oven is broken. So I'll improvise by "roasting" tomatoes in foil on the grill. Seems to be working fine, just hope they don't burn. Now to the couscouses (or couscoui?). I didn't really want to deal with finding Sardinian fregola so opted for the Israeli couscous as the second version. Each are cooked separately and left to cool. 

Supposedly this recipe makes 4 servings... but this is turning out to be a whole lot of couscous. Again Mr. O's proportions seems to be wack-o! Oh well. Tomatoes are roasted and time to toss everything together. Combine the couscouses with all varieties of tomato and chopped herbs. The juices from the tomatoes contribute the only dressing on the salad, which worries me a little. But, one bite reveals their offering to be more than enough flavor and moisture. 

I really, really like the textural interest created by the two couscous varieties. And the tomato flavor is pronounced without taking over everything, allowing the herbs to sing. My biggest complaint is with the roasted tomatoes. They are so huge (Mr. O simply having me quarter them before roasting) and make for a gloppy bite when one of them is forked up. Next time, I would probably seed and roughly chop them then saute lightly until just caramelized before stirring into the salad.

Overall yummy though! Good thing I like it as I'll be eating left-overs for a while...

THIRTEEN : POACHED BABY VEGETABLES WITH CAPER MAYONNAISE

PLENTY

AUGUST 21 2012

THIRTEEN : POACHED BABY VEGETABLES WITH CAPER MAYONNAISE

It's one billion degrees out today and I've decided I have to, I just HAVE TO, poach some baby veggies for dinner tonight. Why exactly, I'm not sure. But it's been decided so that's what I'm gonna do. Luckily, our BBQ also has a burner so I can do the hot work outside instead of steaming up the already steamy house. Tonight's baby veg includes haricot verts, mini zucchini, tiny turnips, itsy radishes and teeny carrots. All from the garden except the verts... yessssss!

baby carrots from the garden

NINE : STEAMED RICE WITH HERBS

PLENTY

JULY 22 2012

NINE : STEAMED RICE WITH HERBS (OR, ACTUALLY, HERBS WITH RICE)

Have you ever wondered how to make perfectly nice rice into a huge pain in the behind? Hint: it involves triple the time, quadruple the steps, quintuple the dishes to wash and a potato.

dinner tonight : lovely & simply salmon with pain-in-the-behind rice

According to Mr. O, this "very particular" method is all worth it for the "incredibly light and fluffy steamed rice" that will amaze and delight us. But, after going through the whole process, I'm not really convinced it's all worth the hassle. Don't get me wrong, that rice was niiiiice. But dang!

EIGHT : ASPARAGUS MIMOSA

PLENTY

JULY 04 2012

EIGHT : ASPARAGUS MIMOSA

So... I didn't do this recipe exactly correct. I was gonna, I swear, but then something in my brain convinced me it would be better chopped up as a crostini for the BBQ, so that's what I did. I still think it counts since it most definitely tasted just the same.

This is one easy recipe. Just boil asparagus until tender then dress with a mix of grated hard-boiled egg, capers, olive oil and salt. As a side dish, they would look lovely next to a juicy, flame-broiled steak or a nice wedge of salmon. But today, they were diced and served on toasted crostini. Still yummers! Asparagus and egg go together like peas and carrots.

THREE & FOUR : TWO-COURSE AL FRESCO DINNER

PLENTY

JUNE 14 2012

THREE : ASPARAGUS VICHYSSOISE

FOUR : CARAMELIZED ENDIVE WITH GRUYERE

On warm summery evenings, nothing makes me happier than a simple, healthy dinner leisurely enjoyed in the fading sunlight while the pets frolic and a gentle breeze rustles the growing garden. My drive home from work flies by as I dream of the hot grill, fresh green salad and glass of wine in my future. More often than not, my schemes necessitate a stop at New Seasons to turn them into a reality. Today I saw fish, whole, charred and crispy, served with a simple side. Maybe even multiple courses... start with a refreshing cold soup, perhaps.

ONE : AVOCADO, QUINOA AND FAVA BEAN SALAD

PLENTY

JUNE 01 2012

I love growing radishes. With almost zero time or effort, they transform a barren patch of rain-soaked mud into a leafy and productive garden. As soon as their first little leaves peek out of still cold soil, my green thumb shakes off the long, dreary winter and begins to glow with anticipation of the bountiful season to come. It is finally spring!

THIRTY-SIX & THIRTY-SEVEN : COD WITH TAPENADE & ROASTED ROOTS

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

APRIL 24 2012

THIRTY-SIX : ROASTED FISH TOPPED WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO TAPENADE
THIRTY-SEVEN : ROASTED ROOTS WITH HERBS

The sunny weather over the weekend put me in the mood for a light, fresh meal and fish seemed like just the ticket. I know I've had my challenges cooking fish in the past, but this being a roasted dish, I was feeling more confident. It's usually the pan-frying that puts me all in a tizzy.

As a bonus, both recipes require "little or no attention"... yes! And I get to turn the oven to it's highest setting. Things about to get hot in here! Just gotta chop the roots then toss them with herbs, garlic and olive oil. Then into the screaming hot oven to sizzle for 35 minutes. Ah, I'll just pop outside and check on the garden.

THIRTY-ONE - THIRTY-FOUR : BEANCAKES, CARAMELIZED FENNEL AND CITRUS PUDDING

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

APRIL 14 2012

THIRTY-ONE : SAUTEED CARAMELISED FENNEL
THIRTY-TWO : MASHED BLACK-EYED BEANCAKES WITH GINGER ONION MARMALADE
THIRTY-THREE : GINGER ONION MARMALADE
THIRTY-FOUR : HOT CITRUS PUDDING

Me: "Dang, everything on my plate is brown and looks the same." Hubby: "That's how you know it's authentic English food!"

bean cake on the left - caramelized fennel on the right

Thankfully our first bites quickly reveal the two items to offer vastly different taste, texture and experience.

TWENTY-EIGHT & TWENTY-NINE : CRUSTED FISH IN ROMESCO W/ BAKED CELERY

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

MARCH 29 2012

TWENTY-EIGHT : PARMESAN-COATED FISH WITH WALNUT ROMESCO SAUCE
TWENTY-NINE : CELERY BAKED IN VINAIGRETTE WITH PANCETTA & SHALLOTS
 
Why, oh why am I so darn bad at cooking fish?!? I can't understand it. Am I using the wrong pan? Is the pan not hot enough? Do I need a fancy fish spatula? I was determined not to mess up the fillets for dinner tonight. "I can do this! Just use lots of butter and get the pan super hot." Fish into the pan with a reassuring sizzle. Okay, lets turn these babies. AAARRRGGHHH!!! It's all sticking and falling apart and I start panicking and... ugly, ugly, ugly.

TWENTY-FIVE - TWENTY-SEVEN : LEMONY CHICKEN W/ LENTILS & ROASTED PARSNIPS

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

MARCH 26 2012

TWENTY-FIVE : GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON, GARLIC & ROSEMARY OVER LENTILS
TWENTY-SIX : PARSNIPS WITH A MUSTARD & MAPLE GLAZE
TWENTY-SEVEN : CHICKEN GIBLET STOCK
 
Dinner tonight featured a monster of a chicken, raised by a friend, that had been hogging space in the freezer for far too long. The very well-endowed roaster contributed two of the largest chicken breasts I have ever seen; each literally the length of my forearm! All I needed tonight was the breast meat, so I cut up the rest for a future recipe and turned the bones into a lovely, rich stock. Perfect!