The proper name for the tiny french green beans is haricots verts (ah-ree-ko v-eh-rr).  That’s my personal pronunciation guide, so your mileage may vary.  As other children hustled off to Camp Longhorn or Mystic or Birch Knoll, I begged to go to French camp at Concordia Language Villages in central Minnesota.  Instead of soundly declaring me completely dorky, I prefer to think this an example of my endearingly bizarre nature.  Unfortunately, I can offer no tips on Spanish pronunciation, my husband declared me useless there years ago.  (I do think I’m improving with my Pimsler’s Spanish Audio Cds.)  In retrospect, I also went to computer engineering camp before my junior year in high school.  Only student not to get my 2 bit by 2 bit multiplier to work.  Yep, I think I’ve confirmed myself totally dorky.

Anyhow, these haricots verts are a super fast, healthy side, perfect for a weeknight.  I hope you enjoy them as much as my children and I do.  If you enjoy your shallots more caramelized – cook longer right after you add them.  Bon appetit!

Haricots Verts with Almonds Recipe

serves 5 adults

1 lb haricots verts, cleaned and ends trimmed

1 and 1/2 tbsp butter

2 large shallots, sliced into thin rings

1/2 c. blanched, slivered almonds

1/2 tsp kosher salt

12 turns fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

Place a steamer basket or a colander over a pan of boiling water.  Place haricots verts in steamer basket and cover with a lid.  Steam for about 2 minutes then, taste to check tenderness.  When bright green, softened, but still crunchy – remove from heat and plunge into an ice bath to stop cooking.  This batch took approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds.  They need to be *vibrant* green!

Drain haricots verts and pat dry with a towel.  Heat a saute pan over medium heat for three minutes.  Add butter, let melt, then add shallots.  Cook two minute, then add haricots verts and almonds.  Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Cook two more minutes, then serve.

In keeping with my Thanksgiving theme, here are my Top 5 Mashed Potato Tips for home cooks.

1. Russet Potatoes.  You may know them as Baking Potatoes.  These are the ones you see in the photo.
2. Start with cold water from the tap.  Place potatoes in cold water, then turn on heat.
3. Buy a potato ricer.  If you don’t have a potato ricer use a slotted spoon, then ask for a ricer for Christmas.
4. Use real butter.
5. Use real cream.  You can use milk it’s fine, I do it, too.  But if it’s Thanksgiving, use the cream, then go run some stairs.

One of my Monday Night cooking class participants pointed out that the idea of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving was really odd to her.  Truth be told, I didn’t grow up with mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving either.  I think we had sweet potatoes and rice.  But if you’re already making gravy, I consider it a crime against humanity not to provide mashed potatoes as a vehicle for gravy delivery.

In other news, I woke up to an email from an email from a casting director informing me of a casting call for a new Food Network TV show.  Unfortunately, they weren’t asking me to have my own half-hour instructional cooking series where I could wear snappy outfits, cook in a beautiful and well equipped kitchen set, all while engaging enthusiastically with my viewers, and creating my own signature tag line while you watch me lovingly and debate the merits of my latest hairstyle.  What they *are* looking for is a team of two people who are dreaming of opening a restaurant.  She asked if I’d post the information on my blog, so if this sounds like you, here’s the casting call info.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

10am-1pm

Westin Park Central

12720 Merit Drive, Dallas, TX 75251

If you haven’t yet had a chance to hop on over to Marx Foods site and Vote for my Beef Tenderloin with Calamarata Pasta in Porcini Mushroom Sauce.  They have all sorts of contests going on while you’re there to win some magical bounty of your very own.  Just follow the link, click Vote, and then click the button next to DinnerandConversation.  As always I thank you for your support and look forward to providing you with as many fresh recipes as I possibly can!  Poll will be open through Friday the 19th!

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

4 big, giant Russet Potatoes

4 tbsp butter

3/4 c. heavy cream

1 tsp fine ground sea salt – or even better Murray River Pink Flake Salt

10 turns fresh ground pepper

Peel potatoes with your trusty vegetable peeler.  Slice in half length-wise, then place the cut side down, and slice into 1 and 1/2 inch segments cross-wise.  Place cut potatoes in a large pot, then cover with water until the water reaches 2-3 inches above the top of the potatoes.  Turn heat on high and cook uncovered.  It takes approximately 55 minutes for this quantity to become fork tender.  You don’t want them to completely fall apart, but you do want the fork to easily pierce and break a piece into two pieces with a gentle application of pressure.  Drain the potatoes into a colander.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked potato pieces to your potato ricer.  Rice back into pan.  Bury the butter into the riced potatoes covering it completely.  Wait about 4-5 minutes, then add cream and turn heat half-way between low and medium.  Gently fold in cream and butter to potatoes, then season with salt and pepper.  Taste, then season again.  If you’re using kosher salt, wait about two minutes before adding additional salt for the kosher salt to dissolve, then stir and taste.

Life is a little crazy right now in our casa between the impending move and growing my chef business and catering services.  So if recipe postings are slim in the next few days, please know it’s because I’m either moving boxes, chasing children away from unpacking boxes, or I’ve discovered something crazy, like say, Cory packed my hard drive in an unmarked box and I have no. idea. where it is.  On the upside, I’ve safely packed away a stack of 20 old Gourmet magazines, which I plan to work through and feature this summer.

Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe serves 6

3 c. milk (I use 1%)

1/2 yellow or white onion

8-10 red new potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch discs

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 turns fresh ground pepper

3 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 c. fresh grated parmesan reggiano

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm milk and the half an onion to a simmer.  Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 325.  Grease casserole dish and arrange potato slices in rows in a single layer on the bottom.  In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and stir with a wooden spatula for two minutes to form a paste.  Remove onion from milk and discard.  Pour milk into paste and stir continuously, when integrated, increase heat to medium high and cook for around five minutes until sauce has thickened substantially, stirring to prevent scorching.  Add 1 and a 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar and stir to integrate.  Pour cheese sauce over the potatoes, then top with the remaining cheddar and parmesan.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes, then increase heat to 400 and cook for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Anyhow, I’ve been thinking of making fish tacos often recently.  ( I previously integrated them into my diet circa 2001.)  Friday night at a party, someone who works with my sister mentioned Z’Tejas and their fish tacos, and I knew it was fate.  I just *had* to make fish tacos, and I can’t make fish tacos without thinking of SMIL.  Now, mine are a bit different than Z’Tejas, but here’s what I see as integral to a fish taco:  1)  White fish 2) Cabbage 3) Spice and 4) a tortilla.  I used to drizzle a habanero sauce on mine on top of dry cabbage.  Over time, I’ve realized I like my spice *in* my fish and my cabbage to exhibit a saucy-sour component to balance.  Most places seem to serve cream sauces as the side, but in general, I’m just a vinaigrette gal.  So here’s mine.  Don’t get carried away with your ground red pepper, it sneaks up on you and can make your fish crazy hot.  Feel free to change up your fish, just choose a mild white fish and you’re good to go.

Fish Tacos (serves 3)

3 tilapia fillets

sea salt, finely ground

ground red peper

fresh ground black pepper

paprika

garlic salt

grapeseed oil

Heat a skillet (I use an oval non-stick fish pan I picked up somewhere along the way) over medium high heat.  Rinse and dry fillets with a paper towel.  Sprinkle first with sea salt, then red pepper, black pepper, paprika, followed by garlic salt on each side.  You want to cover the surface, but very gently as this is a mild and delicate fish.  Pour about a tablespoon of the grapeseed oil in the skillet, then use a wooden spatula to spread over the entire surface.  Place fillets in skillet and cook until edges turn opaque and center is opaque 1/3 of the way through.  Flip using a wide spatula, then cook on opposite side until opaque throughout.  Depending on thickness, total cook time will be around 5-7 minutes.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 head purple cabbage

1 large white onion

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp salt

3/4 c. grapeseed oil

Chop cabbage and onion into a large bowl.  In a saucepan, bring ingredients to a boil.  Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Pour vinaigrette over vegetables, then chill in the fridge.  This will make a large amount.  You can easily half it or serve it with other meals.  It will keep 1 week to 10 days in the fridge.

Serve fish in a warmed whole wheat tortilla and top with coleslaw.  Enjoy!

Baba Ghanoush is an eggplant dip with an intimidating name, and a truly phenomenal flavor.  For some reason, I always thought it was yogurt based which is just totally wrong.  This dip is not that labor intensive, your active cooking time is maybe only 15-20 minutes?  So you’ll still have to go to the gym to get your exercise.  I seriously might start making this once a week, and can’t believe I haven’t been making it for years!  If you’re making this for a party or for several servings, go ahead and buy as many eggplants as you can carry.  You won’t regret it!  It seems like they’re giant in the store, but your yield quantity after cooking is really quite low.

A note of interest on the preparation, I accidentally failed to poke holes into one of my eggplants before roasting on the gas flame.  I did poke the holes before I put it in the oven though.  It could be a coincidence, but that eggplant cooked very differently than the others, and it was much more challenging to remove the seeds from the inside.  They were swimming everywhere in the flesh versus the firmer version remaining intact in long strands for easy removal.  So be sure to poke the holes in advance of any prep!

Baba Ganoush Recipe (makes about 1 and 1/2 cups)

3 small eggplant

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp tahini

4 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

8 turns pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.  Use a fork to pierce several holes in each eggplant.  Place the eggplant over the flame from the gas stove top, letting it rest directly on the grates.  Turn every minute or two using tongs, until the skins surface is black and charred.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and roast eggplant in oven for 40 minutes.

Let eggplant rest on counter for 10 minutes, then slice in half.  Use a spoon to remove the strings of seeds, don’t kill yourself trying if you leave a few in the flesh.  Scoop the remaining flesh from the skins and place in a blender.  Add remaining ingredients, then pulse until combined.  Stir to make sure the blade is free, then blend on low until you have a smooth consistency.  Serve with pita bread or chips.

This year has flown by me.  I know that’s trite and ridiculous,  and I’m showing my age but seriously.  That’s how it has felt.  It feels like it *should* be March and asparagus should be just peaking in season.  Of course it’s December and the end of 2009.  Thank God.  I mean that in both the sarcastic sense and the literal sense.  I guess it’s a coming of age thing when you recognize both the monumental joy a decade has brought you right along with a recognition of the pain felt along the way.  Do *any* decades just feel amazing start to finish with love and peace and prosperity the overwhelming theme?  If so, I’d like one of those please.

So in honor of 2009 and the millennium decade or whatever we’re calling these years, I’d like to express gratitude for:

1.  My sweet husband.  7.5 years of marriage  this Christmas and 13.5 together.  Thanks for being on my team, even when I want to throw things at your head, and thank you for always being you, the love of my life.

2.  My children.  What a journey it was to have you here with me.  The road was full of heartache, but the end is my ultimate bliss.  You are everything I ever wanted.  Literally.  And I love that both of you want to be chefs.

3.  Every culinary present I’ve ever received.  All of which have come this decade.  I’ve loved my kitchens, and I’ve loved my toys.  10 years ago, I was in college and had no kitchen – or at least not one worth mentioning.  Dear Kitchen Aid Stand mixer my husband swore I would never use, the card may as well have been written: To Lane, because you love to prove someone wrong.  Dear Cuisinart, (which shall be replaced soon due to the vast improvements to this year’s model) I.  Each and every one makes me happy, and *that* is the goal friends.  I’m thankful for the kitchen I’ve built this decade and look forward to having one twice as nice next decade ; )

4.  My friends and family.  Whose support and interest in my blog has totally blown my mind.  Thanks y’all.  Truly.

5.  The abundance of groceries in my life.  Both the actual food and the multitude of options I have for procuring them.  I am a seriously blessed lady.

So if you made it through my holiday musings, this is the soup I created for a pre-Christmas dinner at my house.  I love a soup course, and hate to serve a meal without one.  We had Cream of Asparagus soup at my luncheon on my Wedding Day,  and it has always held a sweet place in my heart.  You hear cream of …, and I see some of you tuning out.  Let me be clear – this is a predominantly asparagus and broth soup, cream is present, but it is not a cream based soup.  It was very well received.  I originally topped these with the tips of the asparagus, but they tended to sink.   So unless you want to top your soup with a dollop of cream, they may not be the best food presentation choice.

Cream of Asparagus Soup serves 10

4 tbsp butter

2 c. chopped onions

3 bunches asparagus, cleaned, snapped, then sliced into 1 inch segments

6 and ¾ c. chicken stock

¾ c. heavy cream

1/4 c. Madeira wine

1 and ½ tbsp lemon juice

12 turns fresh ground pepper

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

Reserve 20 of the prettiest asparagus tips for garnish.  In a heavy bottomed stock pot, melt your butter on medium heat.  Add chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes, stirring to ensure you are not browning the onions.  Add asparagus and satue an additional 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until asparagus can easily be chopped in half with the edge of a wooden spatula.

Splitting into 3 batches, puree soup in a blender.  Once all pureed, in stock pot, add puree with cream, madeira, and lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper.  Think of your seasonings as a jumping off point to start negotiations, bring soup back up to heat on medium, not to a boil, but warm.

Meanwhile, place asparagus tips in a pan of boiling salted water.  Cook until tender about 8 minutes.  Let soup rest 5-10 minutes at just below medium heat, then recheck and adjust seasonings as warranted.

Merry Meet!

I also had forgotten how much I love mashed potatoes.  I used to make them all the time, in many variations.  Back in my days of Sunday dinner, before we had children, my house was a revolving door with an open invitation to any and all friends for a Sunday meal.  Mashed potatoes were a habitual side dish at these events.  Garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish mashed potatoes, mashed with chives, etc., etc.  Long ago I abandoned white potatoes in  favor of sweet potatoes for optimal nutrition (lower glycemic index).  Well, I’ve decided I hate sweet potatoes.  I almost *never* want to cook them, so I’m welcoming back russets with enthusiasm.  It’s a problem considering we have a football national championship looming and sweet potatoes are one of my staple burnt orange foods.  Anyway, if you’re looking to lighten up these potatoes, you can totally use milk – even skim.  I just happen to have heavy cream on hand and let’s face it, if you can afford the calories, it is better this way, but it won’t ruin them to use milk.  I frequently make them that way when we don’t have cream.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange Chili Sauce serves 3

3 chicken split breasts

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. fresh squeezed clementine juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

3 tbsps butter

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 425.  In a heavy bottomed skillet, drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for approx an hour, until internal temperature reaches 165.

Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board to rest.  Spoon off as much fat as you can from skillet, leaving any remaining juices.  Saute garlic in juices over medium heat for about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits.  Add chicken broth, and cook on medium high heat until reduced by 1/4 volume, about five minutes.  Add orange juice and crushed red pepper, cook another two minutes.  Stir in butter, then parsley.  Serve chicken over garlic mashed potatoes, then top with orange chili sauce.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes serves 4

2 large russet potatoes

1/4 c. heavy cream

3 tbsp butter

3 large cloves garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Peel potatoes, then slice into 1 inch rounds then half each piece.  Place in a pan and fill with cold water, covering potatoes by an inch and a half.  Bring to a boil then continue to boil until potatoes begin to crumble.  Drain, then use a potato ricer to mash potatoes.

Add cream and butter to potatoes, but don’t stir yet.  In a small skillet, warm olive oil, then add garlic and saute on medium until fragrant and just beginning to brown.  Add garlic to potatoes, then stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

This recipe is written as I made the soup, which is certainly a time intensive method – but there are several shortcuts you could employ.  If your freezer is home to one of my staple whole roasted chickens minus the breast meat which was eaten at an earlier date, skip the first paragraph and throw your freezer portion in the pan with 2 raw split breasts.  If your freezer is bare AND you’re short on time, use 3 raw split breasts and cook for at least an hour before adding your vegetables if you can – but even 30 minutes will get you started.  When you are lacking a whole or part of a roasted chicken your broth isn’t going to be as flavorful, and there will be more room in your pan.  So cover the split breasts, then when you add the veggies, add 4 cups of chicken stock.  If you have cooked white rice on hand, that would totally work as well, I just like this method since the rice absorbs some of your stock’s flavor without stealing all of the stock thus leaving you with a thick, dry soup.

Now get out there and make some for yourself, and a friend, or just throw it in your freezer in individual sizes to bring you through the winter!

Lemony Chicken with Rice Soup Recipe

1 whole chicken approx 5 lbs, rinsed giblets and neck removed

1/2 a lemon, cut into 4 pieces

4 large cloves garlic

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

olive oil

5 stalks celery, sliced

4 carrots, peeled, then sliced lengthwise, then again, then chopped into 1 inch slivers on an angle

1 yellow onion, peeled, sliced, then rounds sliced into quarters

2 bay leaves

2 c.  long grain white rice

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  In a roasting pan fitted with a rack, stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon pieces, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle skin very lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast chicken in oven for just over an hour – if you’re going to eat the breast meat at this point, you’ll need to keep cooking it to a safe internal temp of 165.

Since I’m going to continue boiling mine, I took it to 145, then put it in the stock pot and covered with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, for 2 hours.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves, simmer another hour.  Carefully remove the chicken with turkey forks or a fish spatula, being sure to remove all bone pieces from stock.  Shred chicken meat with two forks, then return to broth.  Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 15 turns fresh ground pepper.

Cook rice in  four cups of boiling water.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cook covered about 15 minutes – until mostly cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then add al dente rice to soup.  Cook 10 more minutes in covered soup pan.  Add lemon juice and crushed red pepper.  Simmer another 5 minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

So all this nostalgia brought me to pumpkin bread.  Since I’m not an intuitive baker and able to create bread recipes off the top of my head yet, I googled it.  One entry brought me to this Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread recipe (and what a perfect rise that loaf had!).  I love all things olive oil, so I gave it a shot.  This is a delightfully moist bread, the polar opposite of dense, and lovingly spiced to awaken your tastes without overwhelming.  The only change I made was using fresh ground nutmeg, which I was totally enchanted by when we visited Jamaica last year.  If you decide to head that direction, at least halve the nutmeg quantity, since fresh ground nutmeg is *STRONG* and has a much more sturdy, earthy flavor than the ground counterpart found in your grocery’s spice aisle.

Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread Recipe (from seriouseats.com)

4 eggs

1 c. extra virgin olive oil

2/3 c. water

2 c. canned pureed 100% pumkin

3 c. sugar

3 and 1/2 c. lily white all-purpose flour, sifted

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinammon

1 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two metal loaf pans with olive oil.  In a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, gently beat the eggs, then add olive oil, water, pumpkin, and sugar to mix completely.  In a large bowl, sift flour, then use a spoon to measure out 3 and 1/2 cups, discarding any extra.  Sift flour again, this time adding salt, spices, and soda.  Add dry ingredients to wet, stirring just to integrate.    Divide mixture between two loaf pans, then bake for 45 -50 minutes, or until center is firm when shaken and a wooden toothpick can be inserted and removed clean.

Years and years ago I made the Halibut with Hollandaise from the Williams-Sonoma Simple Classics Cookbook I seem to always be referencing.  I remember messing it up and scrambling my eggs at least once.  In retrospect, everything went extremely easily this time so I’m not sure where I went wrong the first time.  If you’re hesitant with your double boiler, I would use a glass bowl over the pan of simmering water, just so you can watch it to ensure your water doesn’t boil.  And if your whisk is showing signs of rust or just bent and old, throw it out.  They’re not very expensive and I hung on to my crummy one way, way to long.  Sauces and gravies are so much more pleasant with a nice whisk.  Here’s the one I chose if you’re needing inspiration.  We’ll definitely continue eating asparagus plain more often than not, but this was a nice touch.

Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks

2 tbsps fresh lemon juice

1 stick butter, melted

Beat egg yolks in top of double boiler until thick and creamy.  Add lemon juice then whisk continuously until mixture has doubled in volume.  Place over barely simmering water, whisking continuously, then slowly drizzle in melted butter in a stream, whisking continuously the entire time.  Continue to whisk over heat until mixture is light, smooth, fluffy and has again doubled in volume.  Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and a touch of cayenne.  Serve immediately.  Entire process took about 10 minutes.