Hollandaise Sauce

Adapted from Appetite by Nigel Slater

"We are talking heaven here." Nigel Slater

Eggs Not Quite Benedict

If you're not familiar with Nigel Slater, you should be. Now that his newest book The Kitchen Diaries:A Year in the Kitchen With Nigel Slater has received such good press in America, more and more people on this side of the pond are finding out about him. The book that this recipe comes from, Appetite, is a one-of-a-kind book. It's about how to satisfy your cravings without slavishly following recipes. It is indeed about satisfying your own appetite. It's a wonderful book to have - to cook from or just to read.

This sauce, which is season-appropriate now as spring asparagus is crying out for it, is truly glorious even if it does seem like the scariest one to make. Approach this task with infinite patience and an absence of trepidation. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. You will be well rewarded once you have mastered this sauce. The real key is to heat it gently while constantly whisking and not letting it get too hot. 

Nigel says you will need a round-bottomed, heatproof bowl and a saucepan for it to sit snugly on, as well as a plump balloon whisk; however, I use a porcelain double boiler insert made for an All-Clad 2-quart saucepan and a medium size flat whisk, which I find easily gets into the corner of the insert, which is not rounded. I think the whisk would work well in a round-bottomed bowl just as well because its easy to control

It is easier to separate eggs while they are cold; best to whisk egg whites warm, although this is advice for another day.

Hollandaise Sauce

3 extra-large eggs 
227g unsalted butter (2 sticks)  )
Half a lemon (maybe a little less if it's really juicy)
Salt

Separate eggs yolks from whites. Put the the yolks into a heatproof bowl. You can use a metal bowl or glass bowl.

Fill a saucepan with water halfway up, and put it over a moderate heat. Sit the bowl with the yolks in it on top of the saucepan, making sure it doesn't rock around and doesn't touch the water, then add a small splash of water to the eggs, and stir gently for a few seconds.

Cut the butter into twelve pieces. Add four pieces of butter to the egg yolks, and whisk steadily until the egg yolks have taken up all if that butter. Slowly whisk in the rest of the butter. 

Still whisking, squeeze in the lemon juice. The color should be a lovely light yellow. Add a little salt. Nigel Slater calls for white pepper, but I don't use pepper at all; your call. 

Remove the saucepan from the heat.

The sauce will keep warm over the water for half an hour or so, but whisk it occasionally. This is the point at which it may curdle. No one is immune. But as Nigel Slater says, "It is worth the sweat."

Nigel says that if the sauce does break, throwing an ice cube in and whisking like crazy will work nine out of ten times, but I have never had the sauce break following his recipe.

This can be made in advance and kept warm in a Thermos, but if you do that, you will need to whisk it before plating.

Lamb Chops in Parmesan Batter

Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

For 6 servings

This recipe makes the most succulent lamb chops you will ever eat. The butcher at Lobel's actually asked me for the recipe the third time I had him trim the chops for me. You need to use single ribs trimmed the way they would be for a rack of lamb, which means the corner bone and backbone have been removed, leaving just the rib, and the rib bone has been "Frenched," which means the fat has been removed from the bone. Then the eye of each chop should be flattened. At Lobel's the butcher uses a cleaver held sideways instead of a meat pounder. I assume you could do this yourself if you bought a rack of lamb and sliced it into single rib chops, Frenched them, and flattened them, but I have never done this myself.

To be perfect, instead of grating the parmigiano-regianno cheese myself, I like to use cheese I have bought and had grated at DiPalo's. It's more powdery when they do it than when I use the Microplane to grate it myself, which makes lovely little shreds - what I normally want, but not here. I probably should get my own grater in Little Italy, but I have never gotten around to it. Aunt Rita had one that she (sigh) sold for 50 cents at a garage sale. What was she thinking?

I like to serve these with side dishes that are good cold or at room temperature so you can plate the chops as soon as they're done, and tuck in. Mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, and parsley are good; so are fried red peppers; and, of course, a tart green salad. If you began the meal with a 2-ounce serving of pasta per person as a starter (right now I'm thinking a sauce with tomatoes and anchovies would be good, but that's up to you), you don't need another starch.

I made these for Herb one night, and he told me he would have wanted Lee to cook them once a week. I can't say I eat them that often, but they are definitely one of my favorite recipes.

12 single rib lamb chops, partly boned and flattened as described above
½ grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, spread on a plate
2 eggs, beaten lightly put into a deep dish through a fine sieve
1 cup fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs, spread on a plate
Vegetable oil
Salt

Turn the chops on both sides in the grated cheese, pressing so the cheese sticks to the meat. Shake off any excess cheese. Dip the chops into the beaten egg, letting excess egg flow back into the dish. Turn the chops in the bread crumbs, coating both sides, and shake off the excess. (So you can see that this is essentially a bound breading, using cheese in place of flour.)

You can prepare the chops up to this point as much as 3 hours in advance if you refrigerate them; just remember to return the meat to room temperature before cooking it.

Pour enough oil into a skillet to come ¼ inch up the sides, and turn on the heat to medium. When the oil is very hot, put as many chops into the pan as will fit without crowding. As soon as one side forms a nice, golden crust, turn each chop and as soon as the second side has formed a crust, transfer to a warm platter, and sprinkle each side lightly with salt. They should be thin enough that they will be cooked at this point; if not, you have to cook a little longer; but you will get the hang of this after you have done it onc time. The chops are so tiny to begin with, it's easy to get them thin; it's not like trying to smash a fat chicken breast into a thin cutlet. When all the chops have been cooked this way, serve immediately.

Bruschetta - Real Garlic Bread

Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

For 6 slices of bread

The amount here is for six slices of bread, which will probably disappear as fast as you serve them. I usually use bread I make from Jim Lahey's groundbreaking recipe for No-Knead Bread.

Bruschetta
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

3 or 4 plump garlic cloves
6 slices good, thick-crusted bread, ½-inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt - For this recipe I use Maldon Sea Salt.
A few grindings of pepper

Cut the garlic cloves in half, crush them with your chef's knife, and peel them. Toast the bread to a golden brown. While the bread is still hot, rub one side of each slice with the cut side of a half clove of garlic. Drizzle olive oil over the garlicky side of each slice of bread, and - if you are using Maldon - crush it with your fingers over each piece, then add a few grindings of black pepper. Serve while still warm.

The Tomato Version

All the ingredients given in the recipe above plus 6 ripe tomatoes
8 basil leaves

Wash the tomatoes, split them in half lengthwise. Remove as many seeds as you can easily using a pointy spoon or the tip of a knife. Put the halves upside down on a paper towel to drain the most watery of the juices. Cut the tomatoes into ½-inch cubes.

Wash and dry the basil leaves, then cut them with your kitchen shears into small pieces or use you knife you make a chiffonade.

After rubbing the hot grilled bread with garlic as directed in the recipe above, put some of the diced tomatoes on top, sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle a little olive oil over each piece.

Mushrooms with Garlic

Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Serves 6
I guess it's fair to say that if I could only have one cookbook, this would be it. I could eat out of it forever. These mushrooms are delicious and can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature, which makes them fabulous as part of an antipasto platter. I also love to serve them on top of a steaming bowl of Progresso Lentil Soup (not the low fat one, the original one) to which I have optionally stirred in a tablespoon or so of sour cream. This makes a great winter lunch with basic bruschetta (real garlic bread) and a tart green salad and a glass of minerally white wine.

To make this dish even more delicious and especially wine friendly, at the end of cooking add a very small glug of white truffle oil. Turn off the heat, and stir. The fragrance is divine, and it is yum.

1½ pounds white cultivated mushrooms
1½ teaspoons garlic, chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Clean mushrooms carefully with a paper towel. I don't wash them because they soak up too much water. If you like, you can slice off and discard a thin disk from the end of the mushroom stem, but I often don't bother to do this. Cut the mushrooms with the stems still attached lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Use a frying pan that can hold the mushrooms without crowding. Add olive oil to the frying pan, and heat it to medium. Add the mushrooms, and turn the heat up a little. Cook, stirring occasionally, with a wooden spatula.

When the mushrooms have absorbed the oil, add salt, and turn the heat down to low. As soon as the mushrooms release their juices, turn the heat up a little again, and cook those juices away for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden, being careful not to burn it or it will be bitter. Add the chopped parsley, add salt to taste,* and stir. (*This is the point at which you might want to add a tiny glug of white truffle oil, just before you turn off the heat. It's tastes very earthy and smells divine.)

Lentil Soup

Adapted from Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman

This is an easy recipe from a good cookbook. It's fun to read and hard not to think the recipes in it are better than yours.  If they are, you're lucky.

Ann Hodgman calls this "Papa Bear's Own Lentil Soup" because she got the recipe from a friend whose husband was illustrating a cookbook by a priest named Father Joseph Orsini, and Papa Bear is Father Orsini's nickname.

You can use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Lentil Soup
Adapted from Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman

1 quart chicken stock
1 quart water
1 pound dried lentils, washed and picked over
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram (The original recipe calls for oregano.)
½ cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Bring the chicken stock and water to a boil in a soup pot.

Add all the other ingredients at once.

Bring ingredients to a boil.  Keep boiling for 15 minutes, then simmer over low heat for ½ hour.

That's it.

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Mayonnaise

Adapted from Essentials of Cooking by James Peterson



This is the basic recipe I use for mayonnaise made by hand - not in a food processor or blender because this is the recipe I have the most success with. I would have to agree with James Peterson that homemade mayonnaise is a "revelation" (and I would double or triple that thought about aioli). It is delicious and a different kettle of fish from store-bought.

Tasteless vegetable oils, such as grapeseed, make all-purpose mayonnaise. Olive oil has a much more distinct flavor, and I would rarely make mayonnaise with all olive oil (which I WOULD use in the aforementioned aioli), but I do sometimes mix olive oil and grapeseed together.

You have to experiment to find your favorite and/or combination of oils.

Mayonnaise

Adapted from Essentials of Cooking by James Peterson

1 egg yolk at room temperature
½ to ¾ cup oil (see above)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a small bowl (Pyrex is fine), and whisk the mixture until smooth.

Put the oil in a pitcher. Pour it carefully down the side of the bowl, adding a little bit at a time - use only a teaspoon of oil at a time to begin with, and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture.

When the mayonnaise stiffens slightly, you can add the oil a little more quickly - about a tablespoon at a time. You will get the hang of it when you've done it a few times.

Continue adding oil until the mayonnaise is stiff. If the mayonnaise becomes too stiff, you can loosen it by adding a little more lemon juice.

The Store Pasta Salad

Adapted from The Store Cookbook : Recipes and Recollection from "The Store in Amagansett" by Bert Greene and Denis Vaughan

Serves 6 to 8

This is a recipe I got from my friend Lee Friedman. She used to buy this pasta salad from The Store in Amagansett when she spent summers in East Hampton. She and her friends did everything they could to reproduce it without success until The Store Cookbook was published, and there was the recipe with its secret ingredient, G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder, published for all to see. I can't get that in my grocery store now, so I just use a dab of Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base.

The Store Pasta Salad

1½ teaspoons salt
8 ounces penne rigate (the original recipe calls for ziti, but now I use penne with ridges because it holds the dressing so well)
1/4 cup milk
1 red onion
A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes - the equivalent of 2 whole tomatoes 
6 sweet pickles (size of pickles depends on how much you love sweet pickles) 
2 small green peppers or 1 small green pepper and 1 small red pepper
1 large shallot
½ cup sour cream
1½ cups mayonnaise
A little "dot" of Better Than Bouillon Vegetable base in place of the original 2 packets G. Washington Brown Bouillon Powder (2 packets from a box, not 2 boxes)
3 grinds fresh pepper (black or white)
Dash of wine vinegar - red or white, your choice (I usually use white)
1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice (from the jar of pickles)
A handful of roughly chopped fresh dill (this is an important ingredient so don't leave it out)

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water to which you have added the oil. Cook until al dente.

Place the cooked pasta in a bowl, add 1/4 cup milk to thoroughly moisten the pasta, and toss.

Chop the onion, pickles, and peppers into ¼-inch cubes. Mince the shallot. Cut the small tomatoes in half or quarters. Set aside.

Beat the sour cream and mayonnaise together until creamy. Whisk in the vinegar and the pickle juice, then add the bouillon, salt to taste (remember the bouillon powder is salty), and the black or white pepper. Whisk again, and thin with a little milk, if necessary. Reserving some, pour over the pasta. Add the shallot, pickles, and green peppers. Mix well.

Chill until serving time. I usually find the pasta has absorbed most of the dressing so I toss it again adding what I have reserved. Just before serving, stir in the tomatoes, and cut fresh dill over the top with kitchen shears .

Apple & Endive Salad

Adapted from The Martha Stewart Cookbook

Serves 6 - 8

Martha Stewart attributes this salad to someone named Kathy, and I am grateful to her because 

You will enjoy the lovely contrast of tastes and textures in this salad - sweet and tart, smooth and crunchy.  

Martha Stewart

Plus, you can make it in the dead of winter when the available greens don't appeal to you at all.

Apple & Endive Salad
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining

1/2 cup walnut halves

7 Belgian endives, bottoms trimmed

1 tablespoon mild honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (Edmond Fallot Dijon Mustard is my favorite)

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

3 tablespoons mild extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon walnut oil*

Salt

2 apples of your choice, cored and diced (Don't peel the apples because the skins are pretty, especially if they are red.)

Pomegranate Seeds, optional, for garnish

*Walnut oil is delicious; however, it can get rancid so keep it in the refrigerator to retard spoilage, and always taste it before you use it.

Toast the walnuts in a skillet on top of the stove, watching closely so they don't burn. Cool the walnuts, then chop coarsely.

Remove the large outer leaves of the endives. Cut off the root end, and discard. Slice the remaining endives on the diagonal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, mustard, rice vinegar, olive oil, and walnut oil. Add salt to taste.

In a large bowl, toss the endives, the apples, and the walnuts with the dressing. Strew with optional pomegranate seeds for a jewel-like effect.

My Favorite Dijon Mustard

Basmati Rice Pilaf

This recipe is adapted from the January-February 1997 issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine when Christopher Kimball was still running the show.  It is very fragrant and delicious enough to dress up what might otherwise be a plain meal.  The original recipe calls for water.  Instead, I usually use a vegetable broth made from Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base but occasionally use chicken broth if it is better with what else is on the plate.

Basmati Rice Pilaf

Serves 4

1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil 
1 3-inch (or so) cinnamon stick, broken in two

2 whole cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 cup chopped onion, not too coarse but not minced either
1 cup basmati rice
1½ cups of vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water (see note above)

1 teaspoon salt
Small pat of butter (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick and cloves, and cook, stirring, for about one minute. 

Add the chopped onion, and cook, stirring until it just starts to turn gold, but don't let it brown or caramelize.

Stir in the rice, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add 1½ cups water or chicken broth and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Add the ground cardamom now.  Stir once, cover tightly, and simmer until all the broth or water has been absorbed.  This will take 15 to 17 minutes.  I generally move to the next step after 15 minutes without lifting the lid because I've found that 15 minutes works well. But this might have some nuance involved - your pot, the level of your heat, etc. You will figure out what works for you after making the recipe for the first time.

Turn off the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork. If you're going to add a pat of butter, now is the time, stirring it in with a fork.

The Best Sangria

Adapted from the May/June 1998 Issue of  Cook's Illustrated Magazine

The Best Sangria
Adapted from the May/June 1998 Issue of  Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Serves 4

2 large juice oranges: one orange sliced, one orange juiced; both oranges washed
1 large lemon, washed and sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar - if you can find finely granulated sugar, use it (India Tree Caster or Domino Pure Cane Extra Fine Granulated).
1/4 cup Triple Sec 
1 bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine (Cook's Illustrated recommended Merlot)

Put the sliced orange and sliced lemon in a large pitcher. Add the sugar and mash gently with a wooden spoon to release some juice from the fruit without pulverizing it. The sugar should dissolve.  This will take less time if you use the finely granulated sugar - 

Add the orange juice, Triple Sec, and wine to the pitcher. Stir to mix well and refrigerate from 2 to 8 hours.

Before serving, add 6 to 8 ice cubes, and stir to remix the ingredients. Serve immediately. This won't last long.

Eggs in Tuna Sauce

Adapted from The Antipasto Table by Michele Scicolone

This is a lovely little recipe to make when you want a change from the usual deviled eggs. It's a wonderful addition to a summer lunch table. It's basically hard-boiled eggs with tonnato sauce.

Eggs in Tuna Sauce
Adapted from The Antipasto Table by Michele Scicolone

6 large eggs
1 6½-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
½ cup mayonnaise (homemade is excellent but your favorite store-bought will do)
2 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon juice

The Eggs

I always wash eggs before I cook them, and after I wash them I pierce the largest end with an egg piercer. Also, I usually boil eggs that have just come out of the refrigerator.

If you have a favorite foolproof method that you use for hard-boiling eggs, use it here. Otherwise, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan large enough to hold six eggs in one layer.  Lower the heat slightly, and add the eggs. Cook for 6 minutes.  Drain the water from the saucepan and add cold running water until the water feels cold to the touch.  You can also add a few ice cubes once the water feels cook if you like, but it's not absolutely necessary.  When cold, remove from the , and peel under cold running water or refrigerate until ready to use.  This should make eggs with the white completely set and the yolk still a tiny bit soft.

The Sauce

Combine the tuna with its oil, anchovies, mayonnaise, capers, and garlic in a food procesor. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape the mixture down as necessary. Add lemon juice to taste.

The Assembly

Just before serving peel the eggs, and cut them in half lengthwise. Place the eggs cut sides up in a serving dish or on a special egg platter and spoon on the sauce.

Green Beans with Tomatoes

Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

This is a wonderful recipe that can be used either as a vegetable or as a pasta sauce. If you make it in the summer when basil is fresh, green beans are young, and the tomatoes are ripe, ripe, ripe, it is perfect. Having said that, however, I have made it in the dead of winter with canned tomatoes, and it is still delicious.

Green Beans with Tomatoes
Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

4 servings

1 14-ounce can Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound fresh green beans
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 tablespoons if using as a pasta sauce)
2 teaspoons garlic cut into slivers (can optionally increase to 1 tablespoon if using as a pasta sauce)
Salt
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves*

Cut the root end of the green beans off, leaving the pointed end intact. (If using as a pasta sauce, cut the beans into 2-inch pieces, and use penne as the pasta).  Wash the beans in cold water.

Choose a pan with a lid that will hold all the green beans. I use a three-quart saucier. Add the olive oil and garlic to the pan, turn on the heat to medium, and sauté the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the green beans to the pan, turn the heat down to medium, sprinkle with salt, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender but not mushy. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. If the juices in the pan are watery when the beans are done, remove the beans with a slotted spoon, turn the heat up, and boil away the excess liquid. Then return the beans to the pan, mix in the basil leaves, and serve.

*If using this as a pasta sauce, do not add the basil to the pan. When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss with the beans and all the contents of the pan, add the basil leaves, toss again, sprinkle with the extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and serve immediately.

Variation using Fresh Tomatoes

If it's summer, and the tomatoes are glorious, make this using 1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes (1½ pounds if using as a pasta sauce).  Wash the tomatoes, and drop them into a pot of boiling water When the water returns to a boil, cook for about a minute, then drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes, and cut them into large pieces.  Make the recipe the same as above, substituting the fresh tomatoes for the canned.

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