Over the past year or so I've fallen into the habit of posting on Tuesdays and Fridays. I'm not entirely sure why, it just seemed to work out that way without too much thought. Sadly, that meant that I fell out of the habit of posting a Meatless Monday dish here, even though we have been incorporating more meatless meals into our weekly menus. Of course, I could just as easily post a Meatless Wednesday dish, but I do like the idea of dedicating a day each week to not just eat meatless, but to really recognize that fact, and if we're going to do that then I think Meatless Monday has a much nicer ring to it. Don't you?
Archives for January 2013
Roasted Garlic, Fontina and Chicken Risotto
I bought a big bag of great looking garlic at my market not long ago and worked my way through most of it one or two cloves at a time in the normal course of cooking. As it was starting to take on the feel of a permanent resident of my fridge, I decided that I needed to come up with a recipe that would allow me to use up the few remaining heads in one fell swoop. Enter this dish, which puts two heads of sweet, roasted garlic to excellent use. We roasted the two remaining heads as well, and used them to spread on slices of grilled rustic bread, and to perfume some EVOO for dipping oil.
Jasper White’s Fish Stew
Jasper White is a culinary icon here in the Northeast. He was one of a handful of chefs back in the 1980s who helped to elevate Boston's restaurant scene from 2 star to 5 star status. His fine dining restaurant, Jasper's, quickly became the pinnacle of seafood dining in the city. When he tired of the Michelin Star demands of his success, he closed Jasper's and became the Executive Chef of the famed Legal Seafoods group, helping them expand their offerings from stodgy fish and chip fare to a more modern, healthy take on all things from the sea.
These days Jasper is at the helm of his Summer Shack restaurant chain, family friendly joints that once again highlight his mastery of seafood, but this time stripped of all the pretense of his fine dining days. Suffice to say, Jasper White has become a trusted source for us in all matters fishy, and his recipes never…ever fail.
Turkey Sloppy Joes with Hoisin and Cilantro
This quick and delicious weeknight meal was such a hit at our table that I had to share it with you right away. Most dishes we blog here hang around for a week or two before I have the time to finish tweaking a decent photograph, and write the content of a post. Of course, there are also some meals that don't quite make the Oui, Chef grade in the first place, garnering mixed reviews at our table and deemed unworthy of sharing with the wider world.
Not so with this treat. These Joes are so easy and tasty that we wanted to shout-out the recipe right away.
Provencal Pasta with Sausage and Beans
I love pasta in all its shapes and sizes.
I'm half Italian….it's genetic.
That said, I like my pasta dishes bold, not boring. Pasta served with just a thin red sauce, or a bland cream sauce leave me utterly depressed and feeling like dinner is some sort of carbo-loading torture. Let's face it, pasta on its own is nothing to turn cartwheels over, and the success of a dish depends almost entirely on what you toss the pasta with before serving. Even the finest homemade pasta cannot survive a marriage with a lousy sauce. Really, don't even bother try it, it will make you cry.
Shrimp Larb
Larb is a type of Lao minced meat salad and is widely considered to be the national dish of Laos. It is normally made with beef, pork, chicken or fish, and we've been making the beef and pork versions of the dish around here for a while to rave reviews. In order to satisfy the needs of our non-meat eating pescatarian, I thought we'd try a shrimp based version on for size and am so glad we did.
Almost Chicken Saltimbocca
Veal Saltimbocca is a classic of Italian cuisine made with thin escalopes of veal, prosciutto de parma and fresh sage leaves. It is brilliant with braised greens and polenta, but is a dish I've hardly ever made.
Why?
Swedish Meatballs
Happy New Year to you all, I hope you had a delicious holiday season full of family and fun!
This is an awesome recipe that I'd hoped to share before the holidays just in case some of you wanted to serve these meatballs up as hors d'oeuvres at a holiday cocktail party but as is often the case, especially around the holidays, time slipped away and I never got it posted in time.