Archive for the ‘Dinner’ tag
Spinach Stuffed Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Thyme Gremolata
This week marks week 52 of the Food52 competition. I’ve only been a part of it for about 20 weeks, but it’s been an incredible experience. I’ve had a lot of fun, cooked some great food that I never would have cooked otherwise, and met a lot of wonderful people through the site (not to mention, of course, winning two competitions…?!) Congratulations to all the winners, and also to Amanda and Merrill for a job well done! I look forward to year two of Food52!
Yesterday for a neighborhood BBQ I decided to incorporate both Food52 themes into the dinner: your best cucumber, and your best use of lemon, thyme, and the grill. Luckily I am up on the Cape and I actually have access to a grill, so I had to give it a shot. This chicken dish was born out of my fear and loathing of dry chicken cooked on the grill, so I pounded it thin, stuffed it with spinach that I had previously sauteed with garlic, pancetta, and lemon juice, marinated it in oil, thyme, lemon, and pepper, and grilled it quickly on both sides until cooked through. The dish is finished with a summery gremolata of…what else? Lemon zest and thyme! It was a big hit with the neighbors.
Classic Cape Broiled Cod
Cape Cod got its name from the incredibly abundant codfish that lived offshore, which were fished from the 1600′s all through the turn of the century in traditional wooden boats, back when men were men and the sea was God. The history of Cape Cod is steeped in this fish, which when salted and dried provided long-lasting food for the trans-Atlantic voyages that eventually resulted in the formation of the colonies, and thus our country. Salted cod stew fed many a sailor on those long and lonely passages, I’m sure. In keeping with tradition, you can’t come to Cape Cod and not have a traditional broiled codfish dinner. Simple ingredients, simple preparation, and a wonderful meal.
Momofuku Pork Buns
Those of you who read this blog with any regularity will already know that I cook a lot of things from the Momofuku Cookbook. I can’t help it. I’m addicted. I’ve probably cooked well over 50% of the dishes in the book, which is easily the highest percentage of cooked recipes for any cookbook that I own. This dish is the one that started it all; the first thing that I tasted from Momofuku. The Momofuku Pork Bun.
Bok Choy with Miso Butter
This recipe is another great reason to have miso in your refrigerator, in addition to the miso soup recipe I just put up. Miso keeps forever in your fridge, and this recipe is so easy that it’s even tough to say that it’s a “recipe”. This dish takes five minutes from start to finish, and it will become one of your favorites immediately. The miso butter idea is David Chang’s (of Momofuku, if you haven’t ever read this blog before or don’t live in New York) that I’ve appropriated and applied to every steamed vegetable I can get my hands on. I first tasted it three years ago at Momofuku Noodle Bar, where it was served over asparagus with a poached egg. Heaven. Give it a try; you won’t regret it. Trust me.
Miso Soup from Scratch
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite parts of eating sushi is the miso soup. For years I ate the thin, watery soup that you get from every sushi delivery joint, and loved it, not knowing that there was something else beyond takeout miso soup. Then I bought miso for the first time to make a miso butter (more on that here) and I made my own miso soup. Guess what? It blows that takeout stuff right out of the water.
Roast Duck Part III: Udon Duck Soup
So here we are at the final installment of the Roast Duck. Part One is here, Part Two is here. Remember that roast duck carcass that you froze after you made duck breast and duck confit? Time to make duck and udon soup!
Shrimp and Grits: Momofuku Style
Welcome to another installment of “LeChef cooks from the Momofuku cookbook”. Sorry guys, I’m really just a sucker for that book, and I’ve actually made this dish before but never posted it. You won’t think less of me when you decide to give it a try though, because it’s really good, and if you make it the way I did (slightly modified from David Chang’s version) it’s pretty quick too. I substitute good vegetable bullion for the ramen broth (though I do have a stockpile in my freezer that I made a couple months ago, I like to save that for when I make ramen) which saves the 6-7 hour process of making the broth. I still do the slow-poached eggs, but if you start them just before you start everything else, you can still have this meal done in an hour. Substitute standard poached eggs and you can shave off more time if you wish.
Modified Carpaccio: Steak with Arugula, Lemon, and Parmesan
Yesterday for dinner I decided to give Merrill’s recipe for steak, arugula, lemon and parmesan from Food52 a try. Merrill is one of the founders of Food52, and this recipe looked like exactly what I wanted: something easy, fresh, and tasty. I love carpaccio, and the wine bar down the street serves it pretty much like this, over a bed of arugula with olive oil, lemon, parmesan, and a bit of balsamic. Merrill’s use of steak made it more attractive as a full meal, while still maintaining those fresh flavors. I was sold. Her pictures are prettier than mine, but here’s the dish:
Roast Duck Part II: Duck Confit
Last week we roasted a whole duck, and I promised three meals from that one duck (if you haven’t read it yet, start here). This is the second installment, in which we discuss making duck confit from our roasted duck legs.
Roast Duck with Malaysian Fried Rice
Today we’re going to roast a whole Long Island duck. This duck is going to give us a number of wonderful meals: roast duck breast (we get two), duck legs confit (again, two), and a duck soup (many portions). We will also wind up with about 2 cups of rendered duck fat, which in cooking terms is basically liquid gold. It will be used in the confit, and then will be saved to add to many meals to come: roasted potatoes, sauteed vegetables, rice dishes, noodles…the list goes on. The crispy duck wings should be eaten by the chef as a reward for 5 hours of hard work. Today we will be taking a $25 bird and converting it into a week’s worth of meals. The first is Roast Duck with Malaysian Fried Rice (my attempt to mimic Fatty Crab’s fried rice…with relatively decent results, for shooting from the hip).
