Lentils and Sausage

Pat joined us for dinner again. It was warm enough that we could eat outside on our deck. We started with lots of wine and homemade Guacamole. Hot summer night, stars in the heaven and Guacamole; perfect! We had lots of the left over lentils (which Pat loved!). We bought Pork Fennel ad Garlic Sausages from McCall's Meat and Fish and smoked them on the Grill. It was a great repurposing of the Lentils!

Salmon, Potato Gratin and Cauliflower

More left over Smoked Salmon, more dinners. We had a lot of leftover delicious smoked salmon. We made a potato gratin to serve with the salmon. The recipe is named: Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet (Madame Cartet's Potato Gratin) from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. This is a classic Potato Gratin recipe. It was a snap to make, with our Magimix, that slices the potatoes perfectly. It is excellent.

We also made a very unusual recipe for Saffron Cauliflower that Robert and Darryl recommend from the cookbook, Plenty by Yoam Ottolenghi. We are really glad they recommended it to us.

Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet

Madame Cartet's Potato Gratin

Bistro Cooking

Patricia Wells

There are some recipes one can never have too many of in one's repertoire. And potato gratin is one of them. This is one of the easiest potato gratins I know, cooking in just under one hour, a simple but full-flavored blend of potatoes, fresh cream, garlic, and freshly grated Gruyere cheese. Twice each day, Therese Nouaille, of Paris's tiny neighborhood bistro Cartet, prepares this gratin for her steady customers: Make it yourself and you'll understand why they keep coming back!

1     garlic clove

2     pounds (1 kg) baking potatoes, such as russets, peeled and very thinly sliced

1     cup (about 3 ounces; 80 g) freshly grated French or Swiss Gruyere cheese

1     cup (25 cl) crime fraiche (see Index) or heavy cream Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Thoroughly rub a shallow, 6-cup porcelain gratin dish with the garlic. Layer half of the potatoes in the dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and then half of the creme fraiche. Sprinkle with salt. Add another layer, using the rest of the ingredients. Bake, uncovered, until the gratin is crisp and golden on top, from 50 to 60 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

In 1793 potatoes were considered so indispensable that a decree of the French Republic ordered a census to be taken of luxury gardens, so that they
could be devoted to the cultivation of this vegetable. As a result, the principal avenue in the Jardin des Tuileries and the flower beds were turned over to potato cultivation. This is why potatoes were for a long time given the additional name of 'royal oranges’

Alexandre Dumas

Dumas on Food

Saffron cauliflower

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

In the summer of 2009 I was asked by the makers of the Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 to host a half-hour show on a subject of my choice. Bizarrely, I ended up doing a program about cauliflower, trying to show how this veg is unjustifiably losing its popularity in recent years, particularly to broccoli. I know that there's nothing obviously sexy about cauliflower to warrant star status. In fact, it seems - on the face of it -somehow dull and dreary. But as we were working on the show I realized that this isn't really the case, that cauliflower is actually wonderfully versatile, much more so than broccoli. Both Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi's executive head chef, and I agreed that it is one of those singular vegetables, like potato or eggplant, that can take on big flavors without losing its own unique character.

Here's one example. Serve it as part of a mezze selection or as a side dish with lentils or fish. To upgrade, drizzle with tahini sauce.

Serves 4 as a side dish

1-1/2 tsp saffron

1/3    cup boiling water

1       medium cauliflower, divided into medium florets

1       large red onion, sliced

2/3         cup golden raisins (if they are very dry soak them in water for a few minutes, then drain)

½      cup good-quality green olives, pitted and cut lengthways in half

4       tbsp olive oil

2       bay leaves

salt and black pepper

4       tbsp roughly chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the saffron strands in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave to infuse for a minute, then pour the saffron and water into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and mix everything together well with your hands.

Transfer the mix to a medium ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place in the oven. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender but still a bit firm, not soft. Halfway through the cooking time remove the dish from the oven and stir well, then cover again and return to bake.

Once the cauliflower is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove the foil and allow to cool down slightly before stirring in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve warm or at room temperature.

Lentils and Salmon and Cabbage

With lots of left over Salmon we made many more dinners and dishes.  Marybeth was still staying with us and we decided to make lentils Pan-Roasted Sea Trout With Umbrian Lentils And Red Cabbage Sottaceto from the Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton. We simply didn’t make the Sea Trout and used the Salmon we had previously smoked. This dish is a winner! Everyone loved it and Pat went crazy for the Lentils (as we all did).

It really is that good.

We leveraged our leftovers serving Dynamite Crab (again) and the Chocolate Cake for desert. It was a great meal. And the lentils reappeared in other re-incarnations!

Pan-Roasted Sea Trout With Umbrian Lentils And Red Cabbage Sottaceto

The Mozza Cookbook

Nancy Silverton

for the cabbage

1/4  cup extra-virgin olive oil

8     garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½    head of red cabbage,

cored and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

1     cup balsamic vinegar

for the fish

4     6-ounce fillets sea trout, skin on

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼    cup extra-virgin olive oil

30   whole fresh Italian parsley leaves

Lentils Castellucciano

2     tablespoons finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1     lemon

I am a red wine drinker, so any fish preparation that can be enjoyed J   with red wine, such as this one, which is served with a rich lentil stew and pickled red cabbage, is a winner for me. Sea trout is a freshwater fish that drifted into the sea, so although it is trout, it looks and tastes like it wants to be salmon with pink flesh and the same moist, oily quality that you get from really good salmon. Sea trout is much more consistent in qual­ity than salmon and also less expensive, so I hope you will enjoy this salmon alternative. Sottaceto means "pickled" in Italian. The cabbage here is slow-cooked in balsamic vinegar, so it's like a pickle, which cuts through the richness of the lentils and the fattiness of the fish. The recipes for the cabbage and lentils both make more than you will need for four servings offish. You can double the number offish fillets you prepare, or serve the remaining cabbage and lentils on the side. Since the cabbage is pickled, it will keep, refrigerated, for at least a week.

SERVES 4

To make the cabbage, warm the oil and garlic together in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Season with salt and saute the garlic, stirring constantly to prevent it from browning, for about 2 minutes, until it begins to soften. Add the cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, to wilt it slightly. Reduce the heat to low, add the vinegar, and simmer the cabbage 35 to 45 minutes, until the vinegar is reduced by about two-thirds and is thick and jammy. You don't need to stir the cabbage while it cooks, just let it slowly simmer and it will melt down into the vinegar. You can prepare the cabbage to this point up to three days in advance. Transfer it to an airtight container and refriger­ate; bring to room temperature before serving.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Season both sfdes of the trout with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the fish fillets in the pan skin side down and cook for i to 2 minutes, so the skin begins to brown and crisp. Place the pan in the oven and cook for about 4 minutes, until the skin is golden brown. (To check for doneness, look at the skin around the outer edges of the fish; you want it to be a rich, crunchy, french-fry brown around the sides.) Remove the pan from the oven and slide a spatula under each fillet to turn it, taking care not to tear the skin or burn yourself, as the pan will be searing hot. Return the pan to the oven and cook the fish for another minute. Remove the pan from the oven and let the fish rest in the pan for 2 minutes.

While the fish is cooking, combine 1/2 cup of the cabbage with the parsley in a small bowl and toss gently. Warm the lentils in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add enough water so they are the consis­tency of a thick porridge but not so thin that they will spread over the surface of the plate. Remove the lentils from the heat and drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the finishing-quality olive oil, stirring constantly for about a minute, until the lentils are creamy and emulsified.

Ladle 14 cup of the lentils into the center of each of four plates. Lay the trout on top of the lentils, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each fish fillet and top with the cabbage and parsley, dividing it evenly. Drizzle each serving of fish with the finishing olive oil, and serve with the remaining cabbage on the side.

Smoked Salmon

Danger! Cat alert!

We were so happy with the progress of our new doors in the dining room and with the cleanliness Pat (our friend and contractor) has left us, that we decided to cook again, during construction. Cathy had planned many meals to feed all of us and have great leftovers.

We bought a large slab of Salmon from our favorite Fish Monger, McCall’s Meat and Fish, and decided to smoke it in the Egg. Low and Slow 150 degrees for over 2 hours, using Applewood chips. The Salmon was exceptional. This is a great (and easy recipe). We used the recipe for Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Jan 15, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with our favorite, and our house’s signature appetizer: Crab Dynamite. We served it with Seaweed Salad and Rice. You can get the recipe from our blog of: September 5, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Cathy served a wonderful side dish with the Salmon, Japanese Purple Potatoes that Scott and Tom dropped off. She made a topping with Creme Freche and Chives that went perfect with the purple potatoes.

For desert we had a Chocolate Cake from Proof Bakery. They copied Darryl’s recipe, not executing with as much love as Darryl does, however they added crunchy chocolate to the top. Not a bad addition. 

Fava Bean Pasta

Two of our very favorite Spring Time vegetables are Fava Beans and Asparagus. We planned a dinner with both. We are having some construction at our house, putting in French Doors off of our dining room to the front lawn.

We had the expectation that we would be unable to use the dining room during construction due to the dust dirt and chaos that would ensue. It magically didn’t happen that way. Pat is amazingly thoughtful and thorough and built a chamber isolating the construction area. It is completely sealed from the interior of the house. The room is shielded in Plastic and reminds us of a “kill” room used in the TV show Dexter.

Pat lives in Encinitas and is staying up here while construction is happening. Doshi, his girl friend, and our long time friend joined us all for dinner.

We started with Asparagus covered with Brown Butter a Fried Egg and Grated Parmesan cheese. It is a very rich and easy preparation and we love it!

We then had one of our ALL time favorites. Bacon and Fava Bean Pasta. We make this every spring when Favas are at their early spring best. Fava Beans of course need to be double peeled. First you remove them from their long green shell (this always takes about an hour of mindless work). Then you par boil them and remove their skin from each bean. What started as a cubic foot of Fava’s gets reduced to a final size of a little more than a cup.

The recipe for the pasta can be found on our blog of: April 30, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

The dinner was great, and it was fun being with Pat and Doshi. We had long wanted to put doors leading out from our dining room, but until we met Pat we didn’t trust or want anyone working inside of our house on a project of this magnitude. It was worth the wait!

Shrimp Poha

We had just started construction on our dining room doors. Pat was here. Scott dropped Shu over to see us. He had just flown in from Bangladesh. We were happy to see him and hear his stories of his time back home.

He actually joined us for our Hindi Class! We had planned a meal for Pat, and ourselves but decided to also invite Shu.

We then decided to change the menu and make Shrimp Poha. We really like this Indian dish. We have made it before and you can find the recipe on our blog of: Dec. 18, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. Cathy and I scrambled to go to the Indian Market to buy Poha and then to buy the Shrimp. It is a delicious dish. We really liked it!

We invited Tim to join us for dinner, since he hadn’t seen Shu for quite awhile.

We started with Mushroom Soup. It is from the Balthazar Cookbook. This is a great soup. You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 4, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

As the dinner hour arrived and there was no sign of Shu, we asked Tim to stop by Shu’s house on his way here. Sure enough, Shu had fallen asleep from Jetlag. Tim roused him and they made it to the dinner.

The final course was a Blackberry Cheese Cake from Proof Bakery. Wow, it was very rich!

Risi E Bici

In keeping with our Spring Vegitable dinners we made one of our very favorite spring dishes, Risi E Bici. We used the recipe from Bugialli’s Italy by Giuliano Bugialli. This is a wonderful soupy like, near risotto dish. It really is in a class by itself, somewhere between the two. Unlike risotto it does not need to be constantly stirred.


I spent over an hour shelling the fresh peas. All of the tendrils and pods are then used to make a pea stock that gives the dish its intense pea flavor. We serve Parmesan Cheese with it.The Risi E Bici reheats well. This is an annual dinner for us in the spring time, one of the best.

RISI E BISI Rice and Peas Venetian Style

Makes 6  servings

Bugialli’s Italy by Giuliano Bugialli

For The   Broth:

4 pounds snow peas or, if using fresh peas for the dish, 4 pound of the pods of the peas

16 cups cold water

1 medium-size carrot, scraped and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 medium-size stalk celery, cut into large piece

1 very small clove garlic, peeled

5 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only

Coarse-grained salt

For The   Rice:

4 – 6 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, in one piece

1 medium-size cipollotto (Venetian white onion) or yellow onion, cleaned

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) sweet butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium-size clove garlic (optional), peeled

15 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, leaves only

1 pound very small, sweet fresh peas or frozen "tiny tender" peas, not defrosted

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cup raw short-grain rice, preferably Vialone or Italian Arborio

To Serve:

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sweet butter

6 tablespoons freshly grated Grana Padano cheese

Sprigs fresh Italian parsley

Wash the snow peas or pea pods very well under cold running water. In a large pot bring the cold water to a boil with the snow peas or pods, carrot, celery, garlic, and parsley over medium heat. While boiling, add coarse salt to taste, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for SO min­utes. Strain the broth and discard all the vegetables.

Finely grind the pancetta or prosciutto in a meat grinder and coarsely chop the onion on a cutting board. Place the butter and olive oil in a medium-size casserole set over low heat. When the butter is melted, add the pancetta or prosciutto, onion, and garlic clove, if used. Saute slowly for about IS minutes, then add the parsley and mix very well, then add the fresh or still frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium, add 1 cup of the vegetable broth, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard. Pour in 5 cups of the broth and when

it reaches a boil, add the rice. Mix very well, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 18 minutes. Be sure to have enough broth in the casserole for the rice to absorb to cook completely, with a tiny amount of liquid left; the final texture should be something between a real risotto and a thick bean soup. Remove the casserole from the heat, add the butter and cheese, and mix very well. (Mantecare—to churn—is the word used to describe the movement of absorbing the butter and the cheese into the rice.) Serve with the Italian parsley.

Hit and a Miss

Yummy Mushroom Soup

Beautiful Monkfish from McCall's

When Cathy and I were in New York this fall, we got trapped by rain storm while shopping. We were close to the Balthazar French Bistro, and popped in for a wonderful lunch. We had their book a long time, and it reminded us to find some recipes. We found two, of which one, the Mushroom Soup was fantastic. If you are ever in NYC definitely go the restaurant, it is like being in Paris. 


The Mushroom Soup from The Balthazar Cookbook was fantastic. It is very thick and of course very earthy. This is a keeper recipe. We also made a Monkfish Grand-Mere that we didn't particularly enjoy. It is basically a fish and potato stew. I am sure on a rainy, cold Parisian Day it would make a wonderful dish to warm you up, however this being sunny California...

Mushroom Soup

The Balthazar Cookbook

Keith McNally Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson

This hearty puree combines velvety fresh mushrooms with the concentrated intensity of dried ones. The result is a deeply flavored soup that's ready to eat in under an hour. Clean the fresh mushrooms with a damp paper towel or scrape them clean with a paring knife. Choose mushrooms that arc firm and moist but not soggy. They should be in good form, indicating that they've been carefully handled.

Serves 6

1      ounce dry mushrooms (porcini, morels, or shiitakes)

½      cup olive oil

2      sprigs of rosemary

4      sprigs of sage

1      large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

3      garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

½      teaspoons salt

½      teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1      pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

1      pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned, find thinly sliced

6      cups Chicken Stock or water

1      cup heavy cream

1      tablespoons unsalted butter

Soak the dry mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes, until plump. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove grit and reserve along with the reconstituted mushrooms, until needed.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. Bundle the rosemary and sage together and tie with kitchen twine. When the oil is hot, add the herb bundle and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil.

Add the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown. Turn the flame to high and add the white mushrooms and shiitakes. Cook for 10 minutes, during which the mushrooms will give off their liquid (which should evaporate quickly due to the high heat) and deflate significantly. Stir occasionally.

Add the Chicken Stock and the dried mushrooms along with the soaking water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the herbs, then add the cream and butter. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.

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Asparagus and Peas

Orecchiette Carbonara with English Peas and Pea Shoots Sunday Supper at Luques

Spring is here and we went to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market to get our favorite spring vegetables: Fresh Sugar Snap Peas, and Giant Asparagus.

We prepared two types of Asparagus Salads: (on two different nights). The first was a salad of steamed Asparagus with Fresh Burrata Cheese and Brown Butter from the Cheese Store of Silverlake and Hazelnuts from Mozza2Go. Sprinkle with Salt, Pepper and drizzle olive oil over it: Sublime!

The second night we had Prosciutto and Burrata with the Steamed Asparagus.

We made a great recipe from Sunday Supper at Lucques: Orecchiette Carbonara with English Peas and Pea Shoots. It is wonderful. I peeled the little string attached to each pea pod by hand, then chopped the peas, shell and all. The pasta just screams out “Spring is Here”. The peas retain all of their crunchiness and the pasta reheats easily in the microwave.

You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 28, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Bea's Birthday

It was our friend Bea’s Birthday and we invited her over for a Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. This of course, is the absolute fantastic Macaroni and Cheese from Paris Bistro Cooking by Linda Dannenberg: Gratin de Macaroni a l’Ancienne.

We started with Champagne and a vegetable tart that I bought from  our local favorite restaurant and to go place: Forage.

For the first course we had Fresh Asparagus with a Breadcrumb Topping. The Macaroni and Cheese, is without a doubt the best one ever. I LOVE it, as does everyone else who eats it. Cholesterol be damned! We have probably made the Mac n Cheese 20 times. If you have never made it, try it you will be hooked! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Feb. 2, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had individual Chocolate Tarts from Proof Bakery.

It was a great birthday, with Bea telling us stories of Silverlake.

Potato and Ham Soufle

We got this recipe from The New York Times. We were disappointed by it and won’t make it again. However, you might want to play around with the ingredients and give it a shot. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t.

New York Times

March 9, 2012

Leek and Potato Soufflé With Ham and Fontina

Time: About 1 hour

1 1/2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, like Yukon or Bintje, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium leeks, white and tender green part, diced, about 2 cups

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

Pinch cayenne

Grated nutmeg, to taste

4 ounces thick-sliced cooked ham, diced

4 ounces coarsely grated Fontina or Gruyère

3 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon butter for buttering the baking dish

1 ounce finely grated Parmesan.

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In well-salted water, boil the potatoes until tender, then drain, put in a large mixing bowl and mash with the half-and-half. Cool slightly.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened but still bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Add thyme and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the cooked leeks to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Add the cayenne, nutmeg, ham and Fontina or Gruyère. Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning. (It should be fairly well seasoned, as the egg, when added, will dilute the flavor.) Beat in the 3 egg yolks.

3. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with half the grated Parmesan.

4. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir 1/3 of the beaten whites into the potato mixture to lighten and thin it slightly. Quickly fold in the remaining whites, then scrape the soufflé batter into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan.

5. Bake for about 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Check the center for doneness with a paring knife or skewer. May rest 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.