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Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Veal Milanese in a Flash with Arugula Salad

RECIPE: Veal Milanese with Arugula Salad

Veal Milanese with Arugula Salad

The summer is tricky. You’re for something substantial, but you want it to feel light. Veal Milanese is the perfect dinner. It’s fast. It’s hearty. It’s light. And it strikes the perfect balance between indulgent and virtuous. Fried meat, topped with a salad. Something for everyone.

Start off with two pieces of veal scaloppini. You can either ask the butcher in the supermarket to pound it out for you, or, you can picture the face of your arch nemesis (not that you have one) on the meat and do it yourself with a meat mallet or a heavy pot. Then, do a flash dip of the meat into a beaten egg, and then into a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. Quickly fry in a sautépan (no need to deep fry and this only takes three minutes), and top with a salad of arugula, tomatoes, and more shaved Parm. A squirt of lemon, and dinner is served. It’s so good—sort of like Little Italy, light.

Of course, if you don’t want to use veal, you can definitely substitute. I prefer pork or turkey, but you could also use chicken.

From my weekly column Dinner for Two on Serious Eats. Check it out every Friday! Continue reading …

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Categories: 15 Minutes, Cheap, Dinner for Two, Easy, Eat, Main Courses, Meat, Recipes, Series

Friday, July 20th, 2012

Paris Knock-Off Fresh Tuna Tartare with Tomato and Basil

RECIPE: Tuna, Tomato, and Basil Tartare

Tuna Tartare

I had this dish in Paris last summer, and I had to knock it off. The French are really into seafood tartares. I just had a salmon version last weekend. But they are generally the same: a bit of shallot, some dill, maybe some parsley. A squirt of lemon.

And then I had this one, almost Provençal in its flavors. Sweet basil. Bright tomatoes. And fresh tuna. Tossed in olive oil and sea salt. So good! And it couldn’t be easier. Just blitz together the basil, tomato, shallot, and tuna, then season with salt, olive oil, and a splash of wine vinegar. I serve it with toasted baguette rounds. So simple, and light, and honest, and good.

Paris, je t’aime!

Excerpted from my weekly column French in a Flash on Serious Eats. Continue reading …

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Categories: 15 Minutes, Appetizers & Hors D’Oeuvres, Easy, Eat, Fish, For a Crowd, French in a Flash, Individual, Main Courses, Recipes, Series

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Fresh Rigatoni and Steak “Bolognese”

RECIPE: Fresh Rigatoni and Steak "Bolognese"

I love, love, love a hearty rigatoni Bolognese. Not a soupy tomato sauce, but a thick ragu that sticks to your ribs, with meat that you have to scrape off the bottom of your plate and onto your fork and into your mouth because it’s THAT good. It’s perfect for ‘mixed company’: it’s the kind of food that men expect and exist off of, and the kind of food that women secretly hope they’ll have no excuse not to eat.

This recipe is my slightly more elegant, definitely easier, rather summery Rigatoni with Steak “Bolognese.” I start with a piece of filet, instead of ground beef, salted and peppered and forgotten in the oven for around 15 minutes. While it’s cooking, I blitz some carrots, onions, and garlic, and sweat them in a pan before adding a jar of my favorite marinara sauce from the store. The vegetables add that chunky Bolognese texture to the sauce, while adding the freshness that anything out of a jar by definition lacks. At the last minute, I boil some fresh rigatoni, which only takes four minutes. Toss the pasta with the doctored-up sauce, and slice the steak super thin. The meat is so tender it comes apart like a steak Bolognese. I think I’m going to make this again tomorrow.

Who can say no?

From my weekly column Dinner for Two on Serious Eats. Check it out every Friday!

Fresh Rigatoni and Steak "Bolognese"

serves 2 with leftovers

INGREDIENTS

1 8-ounce piece of beef tenderloin
Salt and pepper
1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cups excellent jarred tomato and basil or marinara sauce
1 pound fresh rigatoni or pennoni pasta (or use dried pasta in a pinch)
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste

PROCEDURE

Position the oven rack in the top third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 450°F. Bring a large covered pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once the oven is hot and the water is boiling, you’re ready to cook. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Place the beef on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and bake until the meat’s internal temperature reaches 130°F. Depending on which end of the tenderloin you bought, it will take between 10 and 20 minutes. Remove the steak to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest while you make the rest of the dish. Put the carrot, yellow onion, and garlic in the food processor and pulse 20 times. Scrape down the sides, and pulse another 20 times. If you don’t have a food processor, use a box grater to get a similar consistency. In a wide, high-sided sautépan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the finely chopped or grated veggies and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and fragrant, stirring often, for about 8 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and ½ cup of water. Once the sauce comes to a bubble, cover it, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Five minutes before the sauce has finished cooking, and a handful of salt to the boiling pasta water and add in the rigatoni. Cook until tender, but not mushy, and drain. Add the pasta to the sauce, and keeping the pot still over low heat, gently toss the pasta and sauce together until most of the sauce is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is nearly dry. Pour the pasta out into a serving dish, and top with grated Parmesan. Thinly slice the steak, and arrange it over the top. Voila! A super-easy, high-class take on Bolognese.print this recipe

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Categories: 30 Minutes, Dinner for Two, Easy, Eat, Main Courses, Meat, Recipes, Series, Sides, Starches

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Pictures from France
(Who Are We Kidding: What We Ate)

Near Menton…

I have been exceptionally lucky this summer. Living in London means that I’m always a two-and-a-half-hour train ride straight to the heart of Paris. Diana Vreeland said that ‘the best thing about London is Paris.’ Dare I say she is right?

Aside from my proximity, I was in France for a number of occasions. First, in Normany for my godson’s baptism. Then, the annual family stay in Provence. And most recently, a trip to Paris to plan my wedding there to Mr. English. I know, it’s not fair. I’m jealous of myself. The point is, I don’t feel right about it unless I share the wealth. I’m always posting my own French-inspired recipes. But where do I get the inspiration? From the pictures I take when I’m in la patrie. In honor of France’s big fête today, I think we all deserve a little bit of French food ogling. Consider this post book one in food writing’s Fifty Shades.

Normandy

Trouville: Moules à la Crème
You should have seen how many frites came along with!
Try this.

Trouville: Bavette with Shallots (that’s flank steak, to us). What a classic!

Trouville: Cidre Buché
I never leave Normandy without a few big gulps of their dry hard apple cider.
No one likes it but me, so I get the bottle for myself.
Try this (I love this!).

Provence

Aix-en-Provence: Provençal Vegetable Lasagna
My mom’s favorite meal in my favorite town.
Also the inspiration behind my Roasted Ratatouille Lasagna.

Cassis: Niçoise Salad
Just off the plane in our favorite seaside nook, I have to order a classic Niçoise.
Mr. English and I fight over which part is best.
It’s obviously the haricots verts. What’s he playing at?
Try this, this, or this.

La Ciotat: Zucchini and Zucchini Flower Beignets
I eat these every summer. Batter fried and delicious.
Try these or this.

La Ciotat: Tapenade
We went to a cool restaurant built on the site of the old shipyard.
Provence without tapenade is like clocks without time.
It just doesn’t make sense.
Try this, this, this, this, or this.

La Ciotat: Steak Frites
Mr. English ordered this exquisite filet au poivre.
I stole most of his frites. Couldn’t be helped.
Try this.

La Ciotat: Fresh Grilled Sea Bass with Ratatouille
I split the whole beast, fresh from the Mediterranean, with my mom.
Sea bass is my absolute favorite. The ratatouille was deeply caramelized.
Try this or this.

La Ciotat: Maman and I hunt for olives
There is nothing like a Provençal market.
We ate these olives every night before dinner with a bottle of rosé.
Definitely try this. It’s a family classic.

Cassis: Seared Tuna Tartare at Nino
I took everyone out to Nino our last night there.

Cassis: Steak with Morilles
This was delicious.
The shallot on the left roasted whole in its skin was the biggest surprise.

Cassis: Sea Bream with Truffled Risotto
Also at Nino. The BEST risotto.

Paris

Paris: Salmon Tartare
Pre-wedding planning lunch in St. Germain.
HERS

Paris: Steak Frites with Red Wine Sauce
HIS

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Categories: Côte d'Azur, Guides, Paris, Provence, Voyages

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Bastille Day 2012, Chez Nous

Oak smoked ham; Wyfe of Bath cheese; Maille cornichons; beefsteak tomatoes with Maldon sea salt, olive oil, and Greek basil; honeydew melon; blueberries; baguette from Le Pain Quotidien

I have one Bastille Day tradition: pétanque! I love it, not so secretly because it’s the only ‘sport’ in which I can actually perform. (Embarrassing fact: I was number two on my MBA pétanque team…shh!). I measure my Bastille Days in pétanque. One year, it was on the gravel in Madison Square Park in New York. Another, in the sand on the beach in Florida. Sometimes, in Place Dauphine at dusk in Paris. And others, under the trees in the squares in St. Tropez. And one horrific day with Mr. English in Oxford, when he came from behind and gained 11 points straight to humiliate me. Today, I’m home in London. And as usual in this gray city, it’s raining. Yet again. I woke up, thinking I was going to post all about our English garden pétanque game, and the baked Camembert in filo that I was going to make and bring outside. Not so much. But I have to say, the day is shaping up better than I expected.

We have taken out the pétanque set, and are playing on the carpet in our apartment. And instead of hiking up to the supermarket for Camembert and layering filo, I made a cold lunch, similar to the lunches and dinners we have in France in the summers: cheese, ham, cornichons (Maille, squirreled back from Monoprix on the Eurostar a couple of weeks ago like precious cargo), melon, and ripe, ripe tomatoes. For the first time in at least a season, I haven’t changed out of my pajamas at 3 in the afternoon. I think I’ve determined the true, maybe even the best, definition of liberté: being utterly, incorrigibly lazy.

No, it’s not an explosion of macaron-hued fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. But as far as my pétanque game is going, and as far as Bastille Days, I think this one is going to work out just fine.

Happy Quatorze!

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Categories: Uncategorized

Friday, July 13th, 2012

Kir Royale Sangria: Perfect for Bastille Day

RECIPE: Kir Royale Sangria

Kir Royale Sangria

There are drinks you make in glasses, and drinks you make in pitchers. The drinks in the pitchers are the party drinks. This Saturday is Bastille Day, and it is a day for parties. Of course, being American, it’s a cheeky holiday. Not one that is always observed, so the stolen Bastille Days that are accidentally celebrated are that much more fabulous. The can-can dancing on the bar at Florent in the Meatpacking District before it closed. The explosions of pastel fireworks by the Eiffel Tower from the Pont des Arts in Paris. Or a lazy, boozy pétanque picnic with Mr. English. July 14^th. It’s a day that deserves a pitcher of something bubbly, delicious, and ever so slightly intoxicating—just like France.

On Saturday, I am making a pitcher of my proprietary concoction: Kir Royale Sangria, along with a roasted garlic Camembert en croûte for another pétanque picnic. The Kir Royale Sangria, of course, takes it inspiration from the Kir Royale, a glass of champagne stained with a shot of crème de cassis. In this version, I stir together a bottle of rosé champagne, a spoonful of sugar, a hefty glug of crème de cassis, and a glass of sparkling water. The finishing touch is frozen berries. In Europe, if you buy mixed frozen berries, you’ll get strawberries, blackberries, and red and black currants, which pair perfectly with the cassis. But American mixed berries will work perfectly well to. They add sweetness, body, and double as ice cubes. The sangria is fresh, bubbly, sweet and dry at once, and full of life. Chin-chin. To a wonderful fête. Vive la France!

Excerpted from my weekly column French in a Flash on Serious Eats.

Kir Royale Sangria

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 75-cL bottle of rosé Champagne, ice cold
¾ cup crème de Cassis
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 cup sparkling water
2 cups frozen mixed berries, straight from the freezer

PROCEDURE

Stir everything together in a big pitcher and pour away.print this recipe

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Categories: 15 Minutes, Cocktails, Drinks, Easy, Eat, French in a Flash, Recipes, Series, Vegetarian

Monday, July 9th, 2012

Tandoori Charred Salmon and Vegetables

RECIPE: Tandoori Charred Salmon and Vegetables

I feel like this is a very Rachael Ray, 30 Minute Meals concept, but I love making takeout food at home. Thai. Chinese. Indian. But if I’m making it at home, I don’t want it to just be as fast as takeout. I want it to be just as easy. That means not a lot of ingredients, and not a lot of standing over a hot wok making things happen.

Here in London, takeout means Indian, and there’s nothing on the menu I love more than Tandoori fish. Marinated in yogurt and spices, seared in a clay pot, it’s heady with spices, light, and just different from anything else. Problem is, it’s also the most expensive thing on the menu.

Recreating it at home is astonishingly easy—and cheap. I make a ridiculously simple marinade of plain yogurt, Garam Masala, and fresh ginger, garlic, and chili. I don’t even chop anything; I just use a grater. Garam Masala is one of those spice blends I keep on hand, along with Ras el Hanout and Five Spice. At the risk of sounding uncouth, I buy a bottle of one of these iconic international spice blends, and in one simple purchase, I can make anything taste Indian, or Moroccan, or Chinese, without having to buy a whole shelf’s worth of spices and measuring out little quarter teaspoons every time I want to make this tandoori salmon. I put two salmon fillets in the marinade, along with a whole bunch of asparagus. It all marinates in the fridge for just 15 minutes, and then I sear them both simultaneously on a hot grill pan. If you don’t have a grill pan, try them under a hot broiler.

While the salmon is cooking, I make basmati rice. To recreate the take out ease, I use, unapologetically I might add, boil-in-a-bag basmati, because it comes out fluffy and is perfectly portioned for two. Then, I tear some cilantro over the top of the fish if I want to get fancy, and may even throw a half lemon on the grill to squirt over the top. This meal is different enough to be exciting, and easy and cheap enough to prevent dialing up the greasy spoon around the corner. Mr. English loved and so did I, so it’s working couple approved. I will definitely be making it again. Bon app!