Last night was my 6th in a row, working the line @ The Lodge. Today, Sunday is a day off, well spent on the golf course and the beach. Family meal last night featured Chicken pot pie a favorite on cool evenings. Served with a crisp romaine and red vinaigrette salad.
CHICKEN POT PIE (for four)
Crust made in the food processor:
2 cups ap flour
½ cup bacon grease
4 tablespoons ice cold water
1 teaspoon salt
bring together in the processor bowl and run until smooth
pour the mixture into a bowl and roll into a ball (add more bacon fat if needed)
wrap with plastic and repeat to make 2 balls, refrigerate for an hour.
The filling:
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into thumb nail size pieces
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrots
½ cup diced onion
2 tablespoons celery salt
1 cup ap flour
¼ lb butter
½ cup brandy
¼ cup fine herb
1 box frozen sweet peas
Start with the chicken stock in a sauce pan over high heat as it begins to simmer add the chicken and stir, then reduce the heat to medium. Season with celery salt and stir frequently, when the chicken is ½ cooked remove it from the stock and reserve both in the refrigerator until you are ready to put the dish together.
Using the same sauce pan sautee the mirpoix with butter, the add the flour and stir until it makes a roux. Follow with the brandy and then about ½ of the stock and stir over medium heat frequently. After simmering the sauce for a few minutes return the chicken to the pot and add the herb then the peas. Turn the heat down to low.
Dust a clean table top with ap flour the roll out the dough to the thickness that you like. If one is more crumbly than the other sue the crumbly one on the bottom, place the bottom piece in a glass 11x16 pyrex dish and then pre bake the crust bottom for 5 minutes. Then fill the pie with the chicken filling and lay the top crust on taking Care to crimp the edges. Bake in a 375 oven for at least ½ hour or until the top crust is sufficiently brown and the filling begins to bubble.
Last night the pie was enough for 20 people and the crust was not so I sliced the Top piece into strips and gave it a lattice top. Side by side with a green salad topped with avocado and tomato slices.
8.19.2007
8.12.2007
Pork and Potato Gratin
The beans and Blackfish sold out early on Saturday night, a big hit. Tonight we replaced the blackfish with meatloaf. It went well side by side with the green bean salad.
At The Lodge I was short on staff. Just Andrew and me on the line, family meal was an early priority, when the pork chops were delivered I open the brown wrapper to find 8 attractive porterhouse chops and several smaller tail pieces. The tail pieces were perfect for this casserole, on a cool night in August the staff was content with creamy potatoes and onions that surrounded the pork.
Pork and Potato Gratin
4 bone in pork chops, 1.5 inch cut…removed from the bone and cut into 4 or 5 pieces
2 large white onions sliced into rings 1/2 inch thick
6 tablespoons chopped fine herb
8 Idaho potatoes…sliced ¼ inch skin on
½ cup ap flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
salt & pepper
½ cup vegetable oil
Start with a large skillet and a splash of the oil, add the pork and sear for 3 minutes on each side over high flame. Remove the meat and add more oil then the onions and stir until soft, remove. Now add the rest of the oil and the flour and stir until the flour begins to brown to a nutty roux. Deglaze with wine and chicken stock and then add the potatoes followed by the cream, season and then simmer.
In a roasting pan layer the potatoes then the pork & onions followed by the remaining potatoes and all of the sauce. Top with the cheese and place in the 375 oven for an hour. Serve with an arugula, tomato and feta salad.
At The Lodge I was short on staff. Just Andrew and me on the line, family meal was an early priority, when the pork chops were delivered I open the brown wrapper to find 8 attractive porterhouse chops and several smaller tail pieces. The tail pieces were perfect for this casserole, on a cool night in August the staff was content with creamy potatoes and onions that surrounded the pork.
Pork and Potato Gratin
4 bone in pork chops, 1.5 inch cut…removed from the bone and cut into 4 or 5 pieces
2 large white onions sliced into rings 1/2 inch thick
6 tablespoons chopped fine herb
8 Idaho potatoes…sliced ¼ inch skin on
½ cup ap flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
salt & pepper
½ cup vegetable oil
Start with a large skillet and a splash of the oil, add the pork and sear for 3 minutes on each side over high flame. Remove the meat and add more oil then the onions and stir until soft, remove. Now add the rest of the oil and the flour and stir until the flour begins to brown to a nutty roux. Deglaze with wine and chicken stock and then add the potatoes followed by the cream, season and then simmer.
In a roasting pan layer the potatoes then the pork & onions followed by the remaining potatoes and all of the sauce. Top with the cheese and place in the 375 oven for an hour. Serve with an arugula, tomato and feta salad.
8.11.2007
Salsa Verde
Occasionally the phone rings and a completely unexpected and welcome request comes through. On Friday a man named Matt called he was planning an outing for his auto club and had heard that The Little Kitchen served a good breakfast. Breakfast reservations are a challenge but when he told me that they would be arriving at 8am it was easy, plenty of room in the parking lot for 30 cars and seats in the dining room for what turned out to be 30 hungry men.
At exactly 8:01 the first car, an Aston Martin pulled in followed by a Lamborghini, 6 Porsche Turbos, 2 BMW’s (M5 & M6) there were Ford Shelby’s (427 cobra & 500GT) a Dodge Charger RT and a Dodge Dart, a Chevy Corvette….. the list goes on. I shot a roll of film and all the boys seemed happy with their breakfast.
On the special list this morning we offered VEGETABLE ENCHILADAS with salsa verde and scrambled eggs. Breakfast, lunch or dinner this dish always sells out. We often add protein to the mix like duck confit or poached shrimp but the base recipe does not change.
My visit to Quail Hill on Saturday yielded a 2 quart harvest of Tomatillos and all of the ingredients involved in the preparation of this dish. Tomatillos are funny looking Mexican tomatoes with a thin husk, they should be harvested only when the fruit has filled the husk completely and the color has started to turn from bright green to light yellow.
Salsa Verde
1 quart ripe tomatillos
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
½ cup lime juice
2 small hot chili peppers, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
Start by bringing enough water to boil that will host all of the tomatillos. After simmering for about five minutes, remove from heat and strain. Place the soft fruit in a blender and add all the rest of the ingredients one at a time as the blender runs.
For the filling:
2 cups diced fresh potatoes, a small waxy potato like the red fingerling works well
2 large leeks, whites only cleaned and chopped
2 zucchini squash, diced into the same size pieces as the potato ( 1 inch cubes)
2 red peppers, diced into 1 inch cubes (add a hot chili if you seek the heat)
4 stalks of celery, diced fine
2 carrots, diced fine
For the plate
½ cup Queso fresco
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped ripe tomato
8 large fresh eggs, scrambled with a splash of whole milk
Begin by bringing 1 quart of water to a rolling boil, salt and then add the potato for 3 min.
Strain and then shock in ice water. Combine all of the other ingredients in a hot frying pan with ¼ cup of vegetable oil, toss until the vegetable mixture begins to soft, season with salt and pepper the remove from heat and cool on a sheet pan with the potato.
15 minutes prior to service warm the salsa verde and then place corn tortillas into the salsa one at a time, turn and remove to a work surface were you can place 3 tablespoons full of the vegetable mixture on the tortilla and then roll. Place each cigar shaped enchilada in a baking dish and top with more salsa verde. Finish in a 350 oven for 10 minutes, plate the enchiladas and sprinkle with queso fresco, top with scrambles eggs, diced ripe tomatoes and a dusting of chopped cilantro leaves.
At exactly 8:01 the first car, an Aston Martin pulled in followed by a Lamborghini, 6 Porsche Turbos, 2 BMW’s (M5 & M6) there were Ford Shelby’s (427 cobra & 500GT) a Dodge Charger RT and a Dodge Dart, a Chevy Corvette….. the list goes on. I shot a roll of film and all the boys seemed happy with their breakfast.
On the special list this morning we offered VEGETABLE ENCHILADAS with salsa verde and scrambled eggs. Breakfast, lunch or dinner this dish always sells out. We often add protein to the mix like duck confit or poached shrimp but the base recipe does not change.
My visit to Quail Hill on Saturday yielded a 2 quart harvest of Tomatillos and all of the ingredients involved in the preparation of this dish. Tomatillos are funny looking Mexican tomatoes with a thin husk, they should be harvested only when the fruit has filled the husk completely and the color has started to turn from bright green to light yellow.
Salsa Verde
1 quart ripe tomatillos
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 head of garlic, cleaned and chopped
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
½ cup lime juice
2 small hot chili peppers, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
Start by bringing enough water to boil that will host all of the tomatillos. After simmering for about five minutes, remove from heat and strain. Place the soft fruit in a blender and add all the rest of the ingredients one at a time as the blender runs.
For the filling:
2 cups diced fresh potatoes, a small waxy potato like the red fingerling works well
2 large leeks, whites only cleaned and chopped
2 zucchini squash, diced into the same size pieces as the potato ( 1 inch cubes)
2 red peppers, diced into 1 inch cubes (add a hot chili if you seek the heat)
4 stalks of celery, diced fine
2 carrots, diced fine
For the plate
½ cup Queso fresco
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped ripe tomato
8 large fresh eggs, scrambled with a splash of whole milk
Begin by bringing 1 quart of water to a rolling boil, salt and then add the potato for 3 min.
Strain and then shock in ice water. Combine all of the other ingredients in a hot frying pan with ¼ cup of vegetable oil, toss until the vegetable mixture begins to soft, season with salt and pepper the remove from heat and cool on a sheet pan with the potato.
15 minutes prior to service warm the salsa verde and then place corn tortillas into the salsa one at a time, turn and remove to a work surface were you can place 3 tablespoons full of the vegetable mixture on the tortilla and then roll. Place each cigar shaped enchilada in a baking dish and top with more salsa verde. Finish in a 350 oven for 10 minutes, plate the enchiladas and sprinkle with queso fresco, top with scrambles eggs, diced ripe tomatoes and a dusting of chopped cilantro leaves.
8.10.2007
Beach Party
It was Mansell’s 12 th birthday yesterday. We partied at the beach and it was a blast. Her requested menu started with Grilled sushi tuna served rare, sliced thin and plated along side pickled ginger, wasabi and soy, Asa Gosman sent us the nicest piece of Tuna I’ve ever seen. She also wanted steamed mussels and marinara sauce, hot dogs, burgers and tomato mozzarella and olive oil (fresh from the airport in Rome.) Our good pal Michael Cinque arrived just in time with Fudgie the Whale from Carvel and we all sang For the birthday girl.
At The Little Kitchen we’ve taken a hint from The Lodge Salad, replacing the shrimp with pan roasted Blackfish. Our neighbor Bette is growing wonderful green beans and the tomatoes are off the hook. The dish calls for a finish of crushed crisp bacon which must go in at the end and on top in order to land a crunch to the dish.
Bettes Beans and Blackfish:
Serves 4
2 cups of fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup of leeks, chopped and rinsed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
8 strips of bacon, crisp, best if it comes off the breakfast table
1 large ripe tomato, the most wonderful tomato you can find
Blanch and chill the beans in ice water, drain and hold cold.
Sautee the leeks in EVO until they begin to soften, hold at room temp.
For service toss the vegetables with ½ cup of red wine vinaigrette, add ½ of the bacon at the end. Using great care slice your beautiful tomato into 4 pieces and place one in the center of each plate, top with the salad. These plates can sit at room temp. cover with a towel until you finish the fish. Top each plate with 10oz pieces of blackfish roasted in olive oil and herbs. Finally garnish the fish with the remaining bacon.
At The Little Kitchen we’ve taken a hint from The Lodge Salad, replacing the shrimp with pan roasted Blackfish. Our neighbor Bette is growing wonderful green beans and the tomatoes are off the hook. The dish calls for a finish of crushed crisp bacon which must go in at the end and on top in order to land a crunch to the dish.
Bettes Beans and Blackfish:
Serves 4
2 cups of fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup of leeks, chopped and rinsed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
8 strips of bacon, crisp, best if it comes off the breakfast table
1 large ripe tomato, the most wonderful tomato you can find
Blanch and chill the beans in ice water, drain and hold cold.
Sautee the leeks in EVO until they begin to soften, hold at room temp.
For service toss the vegetables with ½ cup of red wine vinaigrette, add ½ of the bacon at the end. Using great care slice your beautiful tomato into 4 pieces and place one in the center of each plate, top with the salad. These plates can sit at room temp. cover with a towel until you finish the fish. Top each plate with 10oz pieces of blackfish roasted in olive oil and herbs. Finally garnish the fish with the remaining bacon.
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