Friday Night Dinner On The Deck...Crispy And Cheesy Zucchini

Pin It

Friday night is my favorite time to cook dinner.  Even when I worked,  it was a time to take out the pots and pans and cook something special perhaps in celebration of two days of R & R!  Now that I am retired I go at it with gusto and try to make it fun for my daughter and me.

Last night was the first Friday in a long time that we have not had a downpour.  The weather this year in this part of the country has been bad for those who work and look forward to a weekend at the lake.  Heavy rain and tornado warnings have been the order of the day and a couple of times already we have sat in front of the TV waiting for the sign to go down to the basement.  Yikes, and I thought hurricanes were bad...at least you get plenty of warning.  The only ones enjoying this weather have been the flowers in the garden; that is, except for the geraniums whose leaves turn brown from so much water.

One of my favorite dishes with steak is zucchini.  I have several ways of preparing them in the summer, usually in combination with tomatoes and onions and basil, of course.  Last night I decided I wanted them simple, crispy and with a little cheese, given the fact that my daughter had already asked for a cauliflower gratin and grilled potobellos.  You should see the amount of Parmeggiano Regiano we go through in this house!

There really is no recipe for making zucchini in this simple way;  but make plenty,  for once cooked they seem to evaporate!

If you are having company for dinner make a strawberry tart for dessert!

For 2 people

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice 2 zucchinis in fairly thin rounds.  Sprinkle some fresh oregano, salt and pepper.

In a skillet melt 1 TB butter and 2 TB olive oil.  Add 2 cloves of garlic, mashed and thinly sliced.  Sautee until golden and remove to a plate.  Add the zucchini rounds in a single layer and cook undisturbed until browned .  Flip and do the same on the other side.  Remove to a plate.  Cook the rest of the zucchini and if you need to add more butter and olive oil do so but sparingly.  Once all the zucchini are browned transfer to a gratin dish. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and drizzle the oil from the pan over the cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until browned on top.

Cauliflower Mousse

Pin It

If you are having a dinner party and need an elegant and easy side dish to complement quail, duck or a hearty stew, this is it. The recipe was featured many years ago in Bouquet de France, a Gourmet magazine column written by Samuel Chamberlain.  It makes an appearance in Gourmet Today, the new cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl.

Although this dish is called a mousse, it is meant to be served hot. It is very easy to make, just make sure that you pour water that has come to a boil in the pan or it will throw your timing off.  That's it! I also may have added slightly more than the 1/4 cup of parmesan on top before I broiled it and was glad I did.  Make sure, also, it is properly salted or it will be bland and we don't want that!

I could not find my small souffle dish so I used  a small Corning casserole that was perfect. 

This is definitely something you can make early in the afternoon and warm at a low temperature right before you serve.  It holds well enough to be able to transfer to a silver platter for serving.  A sprig of  parsley on  the side should make for a nice presentation.

 

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

5 cups coarsely chopped cauliflower (1/2 medium head)

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 cup)

Special equipment: a 1-qt soufflé dish

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter soufflé dish, then line bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper and butter paper. Chill dish until ready to fill.

Cook cauliflower with 2 teaspoons salt in a 3- to 4-quart pot of boiling water, uncovered, until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain cauliflower well in a colander, then puré in a food processor until smooth.

Melt butter in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook, whisking, 2 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, then add white pepper, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, whisking. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool béchamel, 5 minutes.

Whisk cauliflower puré into béchamel, then add beaten eggs, whisking until combined well. Transfer mixture to soufflé dish and put dish in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan, then add enough boiling-hot water to pan to reach halfway up side of soufflé dish. Bake until center of mousse is firm to the touch and mousse begins to pull away from side of dish, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove mousse from oven and water bath. Position oven rack so that top of mousse will be 4 to 6 inches from broiler, then preheat broiler.

Run a knife around edge of soufflé dish, then place an ovenproof platter on top of soufflé dish and invert mousse onto platter. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top of mousse and broil until cheese is melted and golden brown, about 2 minutes.

All Photos by Lindaraxa



Saturday Night on the Grill...Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Pin It The best and quickest way to cook a leg of lamb on the grill, is to have your butcher butterfly it. What this means is that the leg of lamb is first deboned and the meat unfolded and spread out. This produces a more uniform thickness, particularly after you pound it, and allows for the meat to cook evenly from end to end. It also creates more area for grilling so that more of the meat takes on that wonderful charcoal taste.

You can ask the butcher to tie the meat back into a roast after butterflying but this involves a longer cooking time on the grill.

The secret here is the marinade so plan ahead so the lamb can start marinading the night before.

3 lbs butterflied leg of lamb
1 TB Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
6 mashed cloves garlic
2 TB fresh rosemary leaves
salt and pepper

Place the leg of lamb in a big ziplock bag add the marinade and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Take out of the refrigerator 1 hour before ready to cook. Light your charcoal or gas grill to medium high. Take lamb out of bag, dry with paper towels and add salt and pepper. Brush some olive oil on grill. Place the lamb on the grill, initially pressing down with tongs to make sure lamb is evenly in contact with grill and char 5 to 6 minuted, rotating 90 degrees halfway through. Flip, brush with marinade and cook another 5-6 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees.Make sure you also rotate 90 degrees halfway through cooking.

Remove from grill and let rest about 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

This is wonderful with the Cauliflower Gratin or Pommes Anna!

Cauliflower Gratin...Gratin de Chou-Fleur

Pin It This is the time of the year when we Floridians try to keep our freezers as empty as possible because of hurricane season. If a storm hits our area, the chances of being without electricity for a week or two are pretty high, meaning most of what you have in your refrigerator will have to be thrown out. This means more trips to the grocery store and smaller purchases of things that need to be frozen.

We have been eating the remains of our freezer now for the last two weeks and today, to my horror, I found that there were only two anemic looking little pork chops left in the back and one beautiful head of cauliflower in the fridge. The pork was easy, marinated with garlic, onion lemon juice and Worcestershire Sauce and into the frying pan. But was it going to be enough for two hungry adults? Not a chance. So i decided to be a little bit more elaborate with the cauliflower and make one of my favorites, Gratin de Chou-Fleur.

The recipe below is for a full head of cauliflower which will serve 6-8 people easily as a side dish. I halved the recipe and had more than enough for the two of us as a hearty side dish, with plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.

I hesitated posting another cauliflower dish so soon, but seeing that the cauliflower puree was such a hit, perhaps this will be a sensation too!


Serves 6 - 8



Ingredients

One large head cauliflower, trimmed and separated into florets

Coarse salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

(2/3 cup) freshly grated Gruyere

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons flour

2 Cups of milk

Fine salt and freshly ground pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

Extra grated gruyere for top

Extra butter for the top


Directions


Sprinkle the cauliflower with coarse salt and steam for 15 - 20 minutes, until soft The cauliflower can be cooked up to a day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

Set an oven rack in the upper half of the oven and preheat to (350°F). Transfer the cauliflower to a medium gratin dish.

Prepare the béchamel. Have the butter, flour, and milk measured and ready. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, add the flour all at once and stir it into the butter with a wooden spoon or preferably, a wire whisk.(this is called a roux blanc). Cook for 3 minutes without coloring, stirring continually until the mixture turns creamy. Pour in the milk and whisk it into the roux blanc, making sure you don't leave any clumps on the bottom and sides of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring with the wooden spoon or the whisk as the mixture thickens. Add the 1/2 Cup of the grated cheese.Set aside to cool for a few minutes

Season the béchamel with salt, pepper, and a whisper of nutmeg. Pour evenly over the cauliflower, top with the remaining cheese, adding more if necessary to cover the top generously, sprinkle with bread crumbs. top with a little butter and slip into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and well gratinéed at the top; you can switch to the broiler setting for the 5 final minutes.

Let rest for five minutes and serve -- you may want to warn your dining companions that the gratin will be very hot.

Any leftovers can be reheated for 10 minutes at (350°F) the next day.

Have You Had Cauliflower Puree Lately?

Pin It Every once in awhile, particularly if I have to get into a bathing suit or a new dress, I cut back on carbs, desserts and cocktails for a couple of weeks and accentuate fruits and vegetables on my diet. Unfortunately, this is one of those times. Last night I made it half way, having a steak on the grill, accompanied by cauliflower puree and a big salad. I wasn't very successful on the cocktail side...today I'll try again.

Cauliflower is one of the most delicious and neglected of all purees. It is also a great alternative to mashed potatoes, except, of course, for Thanksgiving dinner. If you are making the roast turkey from the previous post, try it with this the first night instead of the mashed potatoes. Just think, unlike potatoes, you don't have to peel cauliflower!... and it is also low in calories and carbs, and high in fiber. Couldn't ask for more.

There are many things you can add to this puree including wasabi paste (other people's idea, not mine) and garlic, but I like mine with just a little parmersan cheese and butter. There is enough moisture in the cauliflower so that you don't have to add cream or milk, but there again, I sometimes sneak a little milk or cream to make it smoother. Try putting it in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes afterwards to "dry" it up and add another 5 -10 minutes under the broiler to brown the parmesan. That is my secret.

This is one of those dishes that should be high on your list of healthy, delicious and economical...If you have never tried it... do...you will be pleasantly surprised!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons butter softened
2 TB cream or milk (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Chopped Chives

Procedure

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, cut off the stems of the cauliflower and break into florets. Toss in a steamer basket atop the boiling water and steam for about 30 minutes or until tender.

2. Remove the cauliflower and toss it in a blender*. Process until smooth.

3. With the motor running add the butter, salt, and pepper. When incorporated, turn off the blender, and fold in the parmesan and chives. Season with salt if it needs it. If you are going to serve later or the next day, stop here and stick it in the refrigerator. To serve immediately add more Parmesan on top, place in the oven for about 15 minutes and another 5 under the broiler. Add more chives before you serve.

If you are going to serve it later on in the day, take out of the fridge an hour before, add more parmesan cheese to the top and place in the oven at 350 until hot (usually 20 minutes) and in the broiler another 5-10 minutes. Add chives before serving.

*You can also mash the cauliflower with a potato masher right in the pot if you do not have a blender or food processor.