Salmon and Tomatoes en Papillote

One by-product of habitual cooking from new recipes is a certain confidence in the ability to predict in advance, from a quick perusal, how the recipe will taste. Granted there are times when unusual ingredients are paired together and the only solution is to prepare the dish and see how it tastes. But the real fun comes when a recipe with seemingly ordinary ingredients, simply combined, produces a result that is startling in its resulting unexpected flavors. Such was the case with this week's French Fridays With Dorie selection, Salmon en Papillote.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe, from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table, has just a few ingredients - salmon, tomatoes, basil, lemons, herbs (I used rosemary), scallions. Dorie shared the recipe on her blog, here.

- "en papillote" means in paper, and packets are often made of baking parchment. But, as Dorie explains, foil works just as well, and is actually easier to use. For company, however, nothing beats cutting into a paper packet and seeing the steam rise and catching a glimpse of the savory goodness within.


- My garden produced rather anemic basil. The leaves were small and I didn't have quite enough, so I filled in with Italian parsley.

- I seared the grape tomatoes in olive oil before adding to the packets

the verdict:

We were surprised - pleasantly! - at how well this recipe turned out. The ingredients worked together inside the sealed packets to produce a rich and savory broth, the kind that you want to lick off the place when the salmon is all gone.

Wild Mushroom Basque "Tortilla"

Dorie Greenspan's book, Around My French Table, includes a variety of dishes that have come into France from other cultures, near and far. In the case of the Basque Tortilla, France borrowed at least the name of the dish from the area across the Pyrennes. This recipe has a Spanish name - "tortilla" - although we'd be tempted to call this fluffy egg dish a frittata or an omelet.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The Basque Tortilla is this week's choice for the French Fridays With Dorie cooking group.

- In Dorie's main recipe, a cooked potato and onion mixture is added to the eggs, but in the "Bonne Idees" sidebar, Dorie gives several variations, including a mushroom one. That was all the permission I needed to skip the potatoes and use the package of fresh wild mushrooms in my fridge.

- First I cooked the mushrooms with onions, sherry and nutmeg according to the mushroom filling in this strudel recipe from Leite's Culinaria. I had 4 ounces of mushrooms, just right for 1/4 recipe of filling.

- I skipped the tricky math and figured that my mushrooms would be about the correct amount for 2/3 recipe of the Basque Tortilla. That meant I needed 6 large eggs; I got out my scale and measured out the equivalent weight of fresh eggs from my farm box. 3 enormous duck eggs and 2 of the smaller chicken eggs were the perfect amount. I used my small cast iron skillet.

- The recipe couldn't be easier: mix the filling and eggs, then cook nice and slowly on top of the stove, with a few swipes of a silicone spatula to make sure the sides don't stick to the side of the skillet. When the center is nearly cooked the skillet is broiled until the eggs are just set. Under the broiler the tortilla puffs and browns beautifully.


the verdict:

The hot "tortilla" made for a lovely dinner with pumpkin soup and a green salad. The very center of the tortilla was like custard even though there was no dairy added to the eggs. The mushrooms/onion filling gave a savory, almost earthy, set of flavors to the eggs. Next time I might add a bit of prosciutto. Leftovers were quite nice for lunch the next day, served at room temperature as Dorie suggests. In fact, I preferred the barely-warm serving to the one that I ate when it was hot.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

It's Friday, the day that cooks and bloggers scattered around the globe post food they've prepared from Dorie Greenspan's book Around My French Table as part of the French Fridays With Dorie cooking group. Each month there is a list of recipes, and we can cook and post them in any order, as we have the time and inclination. This week I've chosen to post the Sweet and Spicy Nuts. According to Dorie, the French are most likely to serve something simple, such as nuts, along with drinks. And whether you are French or not, these nuts are the perfect nibbles to serve at a party, making this just the thing to post for New Year's Eve!

The first time I made these nuts was back in November when I attended an event in Madison, Connecticut, where Dorie read excerpts from her book and gave a little talk before giving each member of the audience personal attention as she signed our cookbooks. Dorie was, of course, utterly charming, and meeting her was a highlight of 2010 for me.

I knew that I wanted to bring something edible to the book signing for Dorie. My initial thought was, "Oh, I know, I'll make something from Dorie's book." I chose the nuts, because they would travel well, and didn't really realize how daunting it was - to cook Dorie's own food to serve to Dorie herself - until the nuts were already in the oven.

n.o.e.'s notes:

[edited to add: you can find the recipe for the Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts on Dorie's blog]

- I used pecans, because I wanted to have something from my home state of Georgia for Dorie.

- Although Dorie gives lots of possible variations on seasonings for the nuts, I used the chili powder as specified in the main recipe.

- The nuts are quite easy to prepare. First you mix the nuts with egg whites then coat them with sugar and spice mixture. Then the nuts are baked until they are dry and a bit browned.

- I substituted palm sugar for the granulated white sugar.

- Pecans have lots of little crevices that catch and hold the egg whites and spices.

- It's a bit tedious to take each nut out of the seasoning and place it individually onto the baking sheet, but Dorie says that's how it's done, so I did it.

- There was a good bit of egg whites and spices left in the bowl, so I tossed in some more pecans and coated them also.

- I've also made this recipe with almonds and curry powder, pictured below.

the verdict:

Maybe it's as surreal for Dorie to taste her recipes, but cooked by other people, as it is for us to make her recipes and have her taste the results? Any musing along that line, however, was rendered irrelevant by the graciousness of Dorie. "Oh, these are good," she said, "your nuts are so nice and separate; mine always stick together." I had to laugh, "Dorie, I just placed them individually, as you said to do!" And then I had to admit that I'd changed the recipe by substituting the kind of sugar, although, the nuts were delicious that way. Unfortunately, in all the excitement, I didn't take a single picture of those pecans.

My next batch, the almonds with curry, was also quite good. The third time I made the nuts, I went back to the pecan/chili powder combination. These got just a tad too toasty in the oven, as you can see in the top picture, but luckily were still enjoyed by all.

Happy New Year!

Roast Chicken for the Lazy Types

Roast chicken is the blue chip stock of the cooking world. For an investment of very little effort, and usually very few ingredients, you can pretty much guarantee a decent return: about an hour later savory perfection emerges from the oven. I roast a chicken (and/or a turkey breast) a couple of times a month, often experimenting with a new recipe (my previous roast chicken blog posts are listed below). This week, I used the recipe for Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux (the Lazy Ones) from Dorie Greenspan's new book Around My French Table.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made this chicken for the French Fridays with Dorie group - hundreds of cooks world-wide who are working their way through Around My French Table and posting on Fridays. The group members are not posting recipes from the book, so if you like what you see, I'd recommend purchasing the book, or borrowing it from your library.

- The chicken sits on a bed of thick bread as it roasts. Even though this recipe claims to be for lazy folks, I think I was a shade too lazy. I didn't read far enough ahead in the recipe to note that the bread itself becomes a delectable treat. Consequently I used an old bread-end from the freezer, which was definitely improved by sitting in wonderful chicken pan drippings, but starting with a great piece of bread would have been a much better plan.

- I went ahead and trussed the chicken because I ordered a lifetime supply of butcher's twine, and even a lazy person can wrap some string around a chicken and tie a bow.

- My wide, shallow enameled cast iron Dutch oven was perfect for this recipe.

- After the chicken was in the oven for 45 minutes I followed Dories suggestion and added vegetables to the pan (carrots and onions this time) and roasted them for an additional 45 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are nicely caramelized and tender.

- Dorie suggests that after the chicken is cooked, it should rest for awhile upside down on a platter so the juices collect in the breast meat, keeping it moist. Being the lazy type that I am, I decided to rest the chicken in the roasting pan so I wouldn't get a platter dirty. The chicken sat in the pan juices, which kept the white meat plenty moist, but the crispy skin got disappointingly soft.

the verdict:

Dorie's recipe produced a perfect roast chicken for a family dinner. We loved the vegetables, especially the onions, which were sweet and nicely browned.

My previous roast chicken posts:

Jamie Oliver's Roast Chicken in Milk
Ad Hoc Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables
Thomas Keller's My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken
Martha's Perfect Roast Chicken
Union Square Herb Roast Chicken

Gougeres

I am a huge fan of Dorie Greenspan, baker and cook extraordinaire. My first experience with her work was through her book Baking: From My Home to Yours, an almost-encyclopedic collection of beautifully written and presented recipes for baked goods. The Tuesdays With Dorie baking group was formed in early 2008 so that bakers could "bake through" the book; each week features a recipe chosen for the group by a different baker. I have been baking - and posting - delectable treats from that book every week for over two years, and eagerly await each new recipe.

Aside from the sheer deliciousness of the finished products, the most gratifying part of the book is the clarity of Dorie's voice coming through on each and every page. I begin working with a recipe and suddenly it is as if Dorie herself were in the kitchen with me, explaining each step. As a result, I've gained lots of confidence in the kitchen and a fierce loyalty to Dorie! So a few months ago when I heard that Dorie was writing a book about French home cooking, I placed an immediate pre-order with www.amazon.com. The new book is called new book Around My French Table and it's packed with delicious recipes, from the proverbial soup to nuts.

The same fine person (Laurie Woodward, of the blog slush) who started the Tuesdays with Dorie group has joined with a few other hardy souls to organize a group to cook through Around My French Table. Called French Fridays with Dorie the group is bigger and a bit looser. Cooks can come and go as the mood and the dish strike them. Dorie herself chose the recipes for the month of October, and bloggers around the globe have been busy in their kitchens and on their computers since October 1, the posting date for the first recipe, Gougeres. I actually made the gougeres on time but am just now getting to post them.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- We are not posting the recipes from the book, so if you want to make these yourself (and you should!), you'll have to pick up the book (I bought my book here.) To see how other FFwD cooks fared, you can find them here.

- I have been wanting to make gougeres since I saw them on David Lebovitz's blog. Had I only realized how simple they are to mix up and toss in the oven, I'd have made them before now. Gougeres are along the lines of cream puffs, but the dough has lots of grated cheese, so you end up with a puffy bit of bread lined with melty cheese.

- Dorie gives allowance to use various kinds of cheese in this recipe. I had Fiscalini San Joachim in my cheese drawer, so that's what I used.

- I measured my gougeres out with a cookie scoop, and they ended up pretty uniform in size and shape. Following Dorie's tip, I froze half of the batch unbaked and baked the other half of the dough balls.

- Despite a fair part of trepidation on my part, my gougeres did indeed puff in the oven - like magic!

the verdict:

I baked the gougeres when both of my daughters were home, and none of us could resist these cheesy puffs hot from the oven. A few made it to room temperature, and I can report that they are very good that way also. And every time I open my freezer, the sight of the frozen balls of cheese dough brings a smile to my lips...