Category Archives: Summer CSA
chicken en papillote {ffwd}
I was seriously challenged by this week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie: Curried Chicken, Peppers, and Peas en Papillote. It’s not that I didn’t think I’d like it. It’s that, first of all, I have a kitchen overflowing with fresh produce from my farm share. This week we picked up 10 POUNDS of tomatoes, yes, that’s 10 pounds, and I’d just finished up last week’s 6 pounds. That’s in addition to 3 pounds of potatoes, another 10 cucumbers, another 7 items plus a slew of pick-your-own. Clearly, it’s the peak of the summer harvest season. And I won’t even mention the vegetables from last week that I haven’t quite used up… The second thing is that Howard isn’t wild about the flavor of curry. So, it was hard to get my head around making a dinner of chicken steamed in foil packets with peas (not in season fresh, and how can I buy frozen vegetables with all the fresh ones in the house?).
What to do? Well, I channeled my inner Cher and decided not to follow directions. I had a red onion and a red pepper on hand, so all set there. I liked the idea of the green peas, so I sliced up some cooked green beans into pea-sized slices for color. What else would go with those? I decided to add a handful of halved cherry tomatoes and some Kalamata olives. Given the landscape of these ingredients, I substituted crumbed herbes de Provence instead of curry powder. Et voila! I think I’ll call it chicken provençal en papillote.
I have 8 bell peppers that I plan to stuff tomorrow, so I made a double batch of this rice pilaf using pistachios and adding some diced red and purple peppers, using some of it as tonight’s side. The rice was quite moist, so it will make a good stuffing in addition to an excellent side.
We’ve made a few other recipes from AMFT en papillote. I always forget what a great technique this is. The only thing is that I think one big packet would be fine. I didn’t plan on presenting each diner with their own packet and ended up combining both packets into one bowl for serving. Even though I halved the recipe, we still had plenty of leftovers, so for us, the serving size in the recipe was on the large size.
If you make up the packet(s) in advance, as I did, dinner is a snap. Just remove the packets from the fridge and let them bake while you make the accompaniments. And now that I’ve successfully modified it, I hope to remember to use this method again and again.
To see what the other Doristas did with their chicken, check their links here. The original recipe can be found in in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
The Cottage Cooking Club: August
Some of my cyber-friends participate in The Cottage Cooking Club, organized by my friend Andrea, the Kitchen Lioness. I’ve followed their cooking adventures for the past few months and have been tempted to join the party. This group is cooking vegetables in simple and delicious ways, as envisioned by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in River Cottage Veg. Andrea has kindly allowed me to participate as a guest this month, and try the group on for size.
I selected two recipes from Andrea’s August lineup: Quick couscous salad with peppers and feta (page 231) and Caramelized carrots with gremolata (page 355).
Quick Couscous Salad
In my typical fashion, I waited until the last minute to complete my challenge. When I picked the couscous, I didn’t realize that I would be making another couscous recipe last week. That’s a lot of couscous in the same week… This recipe (quick couscous salad) aptly named. It was very easy to make. The couscous takes just 5 minutes to cook. Then, you drizzle the hot couscous with lemon juice and olive oil. While it cools down, you chop roasted red pepper, a cucumber, and some red onion, mince some parsley, and crumble some feta. All the ingredients get tossed together, and you have the perfect salad for lunch! It was like sort of like a simplified Greek salad with couscous instead of lettuce. I enjoyed this couscous and look forward to trying the tomato-olive variation while I still have overflowing bowls of cherry tomatoes on my counter.
Caramelized Carrots with Gremolata
The carrots were completely different than the couscous. Young carrots (from my farm share) are roasted in butter and oil until they are tender and caramelized. The hot carrots are tossed with gremolata made from lemon zest, garlic, and a generous amount of parsley. I can’t believe that’s all there is to it. The presentation was gorgeous, so colorful! And, I had an excuse to pull out my carrot serving dish. I think this will make more appearances on my table, especially in the colder months. The carrots might not be as fresh in the winter, but the overall flavors will bring a needed ray of sunshine.
To see what other participants made this month, check out their links here. And, thanks, Andrea, for letting me cook along this month!
A Plateful of Happiness 