Pasta Salad and a Pool

Yesterday was one of those perfect Sunday afternoons. Kitty was in a "curl up with a book" kind of mood and gave me a yard-pass to hang out by Peter's pool. I packed up a sixer of Abita Turbodog, grabbed my swim trunks and wasted no time high-tailing it over to Rosehill Circle. It was hot and sunny. The beer was so cold that it hurt my teeth and the pool was shimmering wet perfection. After an hour or, the boys started trickling in and we had a genuine all-dude swimfest, complete with cannonball contests and some "throwing of the Zak" for exercise.

To say "thank you" to Rose and Peter for the hospitality (in the only way I know how) I whipped up a big bowl of Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad with fresh basil and wild garlic from my yard. It was good hot, but much better after we let it chill for while.

How could this night get any better you ask? Well...I'll tell you. After dinner and a glass of wine, Peter informed me that he had the DVD of the latest UFC bouts and we watched MMA fighting while we polished off a pottle of Ghost Pines Cabernet.

Thanks Peter! Let's do that again.

Meal Inspired by a Facebook Message

I got a facebook note from my friend Rose Casano (yes, of Rose & Peter Fame). She gave me the huge compliment of rating my food above that of the venerable New Orleans institution, Galatoire's. Although I'm more of an Antoine's guy, I certainly appreciated the sentiment of her post. One of my favorite dishes from Galatoire's (their version is actually better than Antoine's) is Chicken Clemenceau. The dish is très Français and takes its name from Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), a French statesman who became the French Premier in 1906. It has few ingredients, but is complex to perfect and when done properly is a real delight. The traditional dish is chicken (bone-in) cooked with mushrooms, potatoes and peas. The only chicken I had in the fridge was boneless, skinless chicken breast so I improvised the dish and made a pasta-homage to Monsieur Clemenceau. Everyone was pleased with the dish and I was able to take a brief mind/mouth-vacation to the Crescent City.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

A Preview of Spring

Yesterday afternoon, my friend Peter picked me up to make a grocery store run for our dinner. I enlisted Peter and his wife Rose to help me test a specific dish that I've been working on for a project. They had been one of the first people to try the dish back in the fall so I thought they were the perfect couple to give it one last try before I unleash it on the public. Since the practice dish is only an appetizer, I agreed, as part of the bargain, to cook whatever else they wanted as a main course. At the grocery store, Peter said that Rose's only request was that the dish feature olive oil and be Mediterranean. That really wasn't much help, but the the "M" word got me to thinking about spring. To get my brain going in the right direction, we went directly to the meat/seafood section of the store, bypassing our usual first-stop in the produce section. There were no gulf shrimp, the lamb didn't catch my eye, but tucked in the corner of the fish case were some beautiful, giant scallops. I asked to see one and upon my inspection found them to be sweet, aromatic and fresh. The Orange Rougy in the case also looked and smelled quite good. That settled it. We were going to have a seafood night with a Mediterranean flair. With our protein in hand, we swung back through the produce section and Peter must have been reading my mind when he asked if we could Julienne some vegetables to go with the fish. We grabbed peppers, onions, corn, yellow squash, zucchini and carrots. For the sauce, I wanted something bright with a lot of citrus punch so we grabbed lemons, limes a couple bunches of cilantro, parsley, garlic and green onions. With a few more ingredients gathered, we headed back to Belhaven and set to work on the beauty you see below. The recipe will be up later, but I couldn't wait to show off the picture.
Bon Appetit
~Tom

Dinner with Rose and Peter

Part of what inspired me to start Ivy & Devine is the long-standing, weekend tradition of cooking at Rose and Peter's house. They love to eat and I love to cook. In this tradition, there are generally three ways of determining the evening's dishes. Either (a) Rose has a hankering for something specific, (b) I have a new dish that I want to try out, or (c) Peter and I just wander around the grocery store until something strikes our fancy. Saturday night was definitely picked from column "c." The night before they had dined at Bon Ami. Peter had a steak and Rose had veal, so beef was out. We debated chicken (not fancy enough for Peter), fish (just too cold out to do fish), pork (just didn't sound right) and then spotted the lamb chops...decision made! Kroger had the succulent, 1 1/2" t-bone chops that had our name on them. With the protein in hand we buzzed around the rest of the store making snap decisions about the greens, the starch and the dessert. Here is the menu we created in the isles of the I-55 Kroger:

Rosemary and Sea Salt Crusted Lamb Chops

Asparagus-Shiitake Risotto

Mixed Green Salad with Avocado Buttermilk Dressing

Frangelico Cherry Bread Pudding

Please tell me your mouth is watering. 

We also got a chance to play with some new gadgets, Peter's new video camera and his new home coffee roaster. I'll try to post the video as soon as we can figure out how to get the movie-pictures from the camera onto the "internets," as my mother would say.

Here are the recipes and the photos to go along with them. As you can see, we stayed up so late eating, drinking and roasting coffee that Mr. Pudgems (the world's most laid back cat) fell asleep on us.

Bon Appetit!

~Tom

Sea Salt and Rosemary Crusted Lamb Chops

12 thick-cut lamb chops (t-bone chops)

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup red wine

½ cup rich beef stock

1 bunch parsley

Coarse sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Prep

Finely chop parsley and rosemary. Allow chops to rest until they reach room temperature. Liberally season chops with salt, pepper and rosemary. Press the seasoning (with your fingers) into the flesh of the chops. Preheat oven to 225 degrees and warm the dinner plates while prepping and cooking.

Cook

Heat 2 large iron skillets* over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp. butter to each and when it foams and begins to color, add the 6 chops to each skillet with the bone side of the chops pointed toward the center of the pan. Cook until medium rare (turning only once) and set aside, wrapped in foil. Raise heat to high and deglaze the pans with the red wine. When the liquid is reduced to ¼ of the original volume, transfer the reduced wine into a single pan and add the beef stock. Continue reducing until all liquid is reduced to ½ the original volume. Add any liquid that is in the foil, under the chops and cook for one minute. Turn off the heat and add remaining butter. Swirl the pan to incorporate all of the butter as it melts. Add 1 Tbsp. of chopped parsley.

Plate

Lean cooked chop against whatever starch you are serving, with one chop standing on end with the “t” portion of the bone resting on the bottom of the plate. Pour sauce the top of the chops. Garnish with chopped parsley.

(Serves 6)

*If you only have one skillet, transfer the chops to the warm oven and wrap them in foil while the other chops are being cooked. You may want to transfer them just before they are done because they will continue cooking in the warm oven.

Frangelico Cherry Bread Pudding

For the Pudding

1 loaf crusty French bread
1 loaf ciabatta bread

1 qt. whole milk

1 6 oz. bag dried cherries

½ cup Frangelico Liqueur

3 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

6 large eggs

¼ tsp. salt

For the Sauce

1 cup Frangelico

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter

Prep

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Break the bread into 1” cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a large glass bowl. To the melted butter add; brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and Frangelico. Mix thoroughly until sugar is dissolved. Add sugar mixture and eggs to the bread and blend with your hands until evenly distributed. Add enough milk to moisten all of the bread and mix thoroughly with your hands. Add cherries and pecans and mix again until the fruit and nuts are evenly distributed. Add more milk until all of the bread is wet but no milk is standing in the bowl. This last part is tricky, but trust your instincts and practice. Too much milk is less of a disaster than too much, so err or the heavy side. Spoon the mixture into a greased roasting pan or high-side baking dish and spread evenly around the pan. Cut the butter into ten or twelve pats and place evenly on the top of the mixture. Sprinkle the mixture with ½ of the confectioner’s sugar.

Cook-Pudding

Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Cook-Sauce

In a small saucepan, heat Frangelico until barely simmering. Add sugar and cook until completely dissolved. Add Butter and cook until all is incorporated.

Plate

Cut the pudding into squares and place in a shallow bowl. Top with Frangelico Sauce and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

(Serves 12)

This contraption is Peter's home coffee roaster. We stuck in some fancy Sumatran green coffee and fired it up. About twenty minutes later we had some of the darkest, oiliest fresh roasted beans I've ever seen. We were too chicken to brew any last night and opted instead for a great bottle of Port.
When I had to get up at first light this morning and cook for a bunch of kids, I appreciated the strength of that coffee. I can't wait to experiment more.