Monthly Archives: November 2010
Weeknight Dinner for Company
I love to feed people. Cooking is my passion, and I like eating too, but I think the best part of the whole process is feeding people.
Over the weekend, we had visitors, Howard’s sister and her family. We had a nice visit. Actually, we always have a nice visit with them, here or at their house. Actually, I have to admit that we mostly ate out, but I did make one good meal.
I often try new recipes when we have company. I recently picked up the newest book by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? Lots of the recipes are like recipes I already have, but everything looks so perfect and inspiring in the pictures. I made lemon chicken and couscous with pine nuts. I’m not sure which I liked better. I know I’ll be making both recipes again. They both came together quick enough for a weeknight dinner.
I used a mix of breasts, thighs, and legs because you never know what kind of pieces people like best. I also tuned down the garlic a little bit, though it was still really garlicky. There was a surprising amount of pan juices, which I’ve frozen and plan to use for making rice another time.
On Saturday, we went down to the North End of Boston, the Italian section, to wander around and have lunch. The North End itself is so vibrant. There are so many people walking around, both tourists and residents. Several years ago, Howard and I went on a North End Market Tour with Michele Topor. Whenever we go to that neighborhood, we visit some of the shops we were introduced to on the tour.
For lunch, we lucked out and got a table at The Daily Catch, a tiny seafood restaurant on Hanover Street. I counted twenty seats, and they were all filled. The kitchen is right there in the same small room. They have the best fried calamari, not surprising as they’re also known as Boston’s original calamari café. They also serve huge portions of pasta right in the skillets they are cooked in. We ordered an assortment of dishes and shared it all.
After lunch, we wandered some more. We wanted to show off how pretty Boston looks now that the Big Dig is over, the elevated highway has been torn down, and the inviting open space connects the two parts of the city that were separated for nearly 50 years. I’m still getting used to the new look myself.
Our final stop was for a snack of cannoli and espresso. We were going to get the cannolis at Modern Pastry, which I prefer over Mike’s, but our group’s patience was shorter than the line. We headed over to Maria’s Pastry Shop, a bit off the main drag, where the crowd was smaller, but the cannoli is still delicious.
Lemon Chicken
Adapted from Ina Garten’s How Easy Is That?
Serves 4 – 6
3 lbs chicken parts (mix of breasts, thighs, and legs, whatever your favorites are)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup white wine
Zest from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp chicken stock
1½ tsp dried oregano
Sprigs of fresh thyme
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400F.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, just to cook lightly. Remove from heat. Add white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, chicken broth, and oregano. Pour the sauce into a 13×9 baking dish.
Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in the pan. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter thyme springs over the chicken, and tuck the lemon wedges between the chicken pieces.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is done. Remove from the oven, cover the pan with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Serve with pan juices.
Couscous with Pine Nuts
Adapted from Ina Garten’s How Easy Is That?
Serves 4 – 6
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1½ cups chicken stock
1 cup couscous
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup fresh minced parsley
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until tender and translucent. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes to cook through. Add the pine nuts and parsley, and fluff with a fork to combine.
French Fridays with Dorie: Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans
It’s Friday again, so here’s another post for French Fridays with Dorie (FFwD). Since the beginning of October, I’ve been part of an on-line group that’s cooking its way through Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook called Around My French Table. Every week, people cook the same recipe and write a blog post about it.
One “assigned” recipe a week cuts down the number of other recipes I can cook each week, but it cuts out at least one decision I have to make. Plus, I’m requested not to share the recipes from this cookbook in my post, so it reduces the number of recipes I can share through my blog. However, I’m having fun and making and eating some delicious recipes that would have eventually tried anyway. I bought the book when it first came out, further increasing the size of my cookbook collection, which includes well over 400 volumes, evidence of many years of collecting. (See two shelves pictured above in the header on my blog.)
So far, I’ve been keeping up; I haven’t missed a week yet. I especially enjoy reading about others’ shared experiences with the same recipe. There are a lot of creative cooks in the world! It’s inspiring!
Aren't They Cute?
I was a bit unsure whether I would like these, so I took a cue from what some of my fellow FFwD bloggers have done with other recipes and adjusted the quantity. I halved the recipe, making only three, especially because the recipe said the flans were best served the day they were cooked. It’s funny, but I thought they improved with age. I was home alone the night I made them, so I had one as my dinner. Then, I ate the others for lunch on the subsequent days. I thought they kept fine for a few days, and they rewarmed nicely in the microwave.
I have to admit that on the first night, I found the flan a bit bland and was disappointed. Happily, the last one had the right blend of flavors. I’m thinking that I didn’t add enough salt and after sitting a couple days, some of the salt from the cheese made its way into the pumpkin mixture. In the end, I decided that I liked these flans, and I’ll definitely make them again (with more salt). They’d make a nice starter or side for Thanksgiving, if you’re feeding a smaller crowd.
On a related note, Dorie Greenspan did an interview with Michele Norris on NPR’s All Things Considered this week. I missed the original broadcast, but it was included on the NPR Food Podcast subscribe to, so I listed on my way to work this morning. She talked about the Hachis Parmentier, which I made and wrote about a few weeks ago. She is so delightful. Check out the interview if you have a chance. Dorie also shares the recipe on the NPR site.
A Plateful of Happiness 