Blog Archives
ffwd: herb-speckled spaetzle
Spaetzle. Before this week, I’d heard of but never seen or eaten spaetzle, let alone made it. However, for over 20 years, I’ve been the proud owner of a Spaetzle Maker. It’s spent most of that time in my basement, never seeing the light of the kitchen. This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie is for Herb-Speckled Spaetzle. It seems that spaetzle and I will finally make each other’s acquaintance in 2013.
You might wonder why I would have this gadget in my basement for so long and never actually used it. Good question. Truth be told, I’m a bit of a pack rat. (To my sisters, if you are reading this, hold your comments, please…) More importantly, the spaetzle maker was a wedding shower gift from my mother who had just moved to Germany, Sankt Leon-Rot, just south of Heidelberg, to be more exact. (She lived there for 3 years before returning to the U.S.) Sharing a bit of German culinary culture was the perfect gift. However, not having any connection to German culinary culture and never having had spaetzle before, I wasn’t in a big hurry to try it. As with so many other things, I got distracted and forgot about it.
The dumpling dough mixed together easily with pantry ingredients. For herbs, I used what I always think of as the Simon and Garfunkel quartet: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Corny, I know.
The dough was like an extra thick pancake batter. In batches, I squeezed the dough through my spaetzle meister, which was like a big potato ricer with funny shaped holes like squiggly lines into a pot of boiling water.
In the pot, the dough blobs grew. The process felt a bit awkward. I have no idea whether my dough was the right consistency, whether my spaetzles are the right shape, or if there was some kind of technique I need to master. With no point of comparison, the end result seemed to come out fine. (German friends, please advise.)
Finally, for this recipe, you make a mushroom sauce which turns the spaetzle into a meal. I followed the recipe closely, though I used a red onion and cremini mushrooms to add some color. The recipe said it made 2 main-course servings. I don’t know who was doing the eating, but the two of us ate hearty portions for two separate meals, so this easily made 4 main-course servings. Crazy!
I don’t know why I waited over 21 years to use my spaetzle maker. This was a definite hit. Dinner conversation revolved around what other kinds of sauces we could use when we make this again. Last year, when I was reading Melissa Clark’s In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite, she wrote about spaetzle. She mixes in caramelized onions and greens, then tops it all with cheese before baking it. Dorie’s recipe was good, but that sounds even better, like a German-style mac and cheese. Can’t wait to try it Melissa’s way next!
If you’ve never had spaetzle before, you need to make it right away: today, or at least this week. Dorie’s recipe can be found here on Epicurious. To see how my blogger friends enjoyed their spaetzle experiences, check out their links here.
ffwd: chicken, apples, and cream à la Normande
I may have been cooking for a long time, but I always struggle with what to make for dinner. It’s partly because I’m not a big fan of what I call the “three-position dinner”: a meat with starch and a vegetable all coexisting separately on the plate. I prefer dishes where everything is all mixed together, but those dishes typically require more ingredients, hence, more planning and organization, which I’m not so good at.
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was a mélange sort of recipe: chicken, apples, and cream à la Normande. It also had lots of mushrooms, even though that wasn’t in the name.
You start with boneless chicken breasts, my least favorite protein because it so often turns out dry (also we’re a dark meat family), but I was being open-minded. I thought, Dorie seldom steers us wrong, after all, and she calls for dark meat in many other recipes, so breasts must be right for this one. I did cut the chicken breasts in half crosswise to make a more realistic serving size for our eating style. The chicken is lightly dredged in flour and browned on both sides.
Then you add chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, and apple chunks until they start to soften. I actually cooked the apple chunks separately. (I’m sure I’ve shared that the other eater at my house can’t abide fruit in savory dishes. I do my best to please. Or is it appease?) Some chicken broth is added, and when the chicken is nearly done, some Applejack and cream. Voilà!
The whole thing took less than half an hour from start to finish. Good weekday food! I served the chicken over Israeli couscous with roasted broccoli on the side – a two-position dinner, but definitely all mixed up.
The chicken breast was moist, and the sauce was rich, but not too. Howard enjoyed it without the apples, and I enjoyed it with. I don’t know whether the apple flavor would have permeated the sauce, but sprinkling the apple chunks over the couscous before dishing out the chicken and sauce worked in my compromise situation.
This dinner was a definite winner, and I would definitely make it again, with a few minor tweaks. First, I would leave out the apples to reduce the hassle of extra pans (see above). I might add more mushrooms to compensate. And, I would cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks or strips, making it even more mélange-y.
You can find the recipe here on the Monterey Herald site. This recipe and hundreds more can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table (good holiday gift idea!).
To see what the other FFwD bloggers thought of Normandy chicken, check out their links here.
Happy French Friday to all!
A Plateful of Happiness 