Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens
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3 Bake the lasagna for 20 minutes until the sauce and cheese are bubbling hot and golden brown, and let it sit to rest 20 minutes before serving warm, directly out of the dish.
Artful
Accompaniments
The perfect gourmet meal requires well-prepared
accompaniments commonly known as side dishes, so don’t neglect this essential element. In this section, I’ll share my chef secrets for foolproof side-dish preparations that are ideally suited for your Crappy Little Kitchen. From basic cooking methods for vegetables, pasta, rice, and potatoes to elegant recipes for goat cheese souf-flés and seafood timbales, you’ll glean a wealth of restaurant-proven knowledge that will compliment your entrées and turn your ordinary meals into extraordinary masterpieces.
Don’t make a crappy meal by messing up your side dishes. Follow my advice for perfectly prepared accompaniments to round-out every meal.
Veggies Steamed and Simple
Serves 4 to 6
I find that floral vegetables, like broccoli, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, artichoke, and asparagus taste best and achieve the perfect texture when steamed. You only need salt and pepper to season steamed vegetables, but my recipe includes onion, garlic, and thyme, which are added to the water used for steaming. They are called aromatics because they add flavor through the steaming process but are not eaten. This gourmet trick will enhance the flavor of any vegetable you steam. Finish the veggies by tossing with a few tablespoons of butter or olive oil. You only need your stockpot/steamer basket combo to create perfectly steamed veggies making this another CLK-friendly one-pot wonder.
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed
10 fresh thyme sprigs
2 pounds vegetables to be steamed, cut to be the same size
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Add the stock, onion, garlic, and thyme to your 12-quart stockpot and place it over high heat. You can cover the pot to speed the process.
2 Once it simmers, reduce the heat to medium, place your steamer basket filled with vegetables over the stockpot, and cover with either a lid or aluminum foil. Be careful to lower the temperature again if the stock starts to boil. Anything above a simmer will cause the outside of the vegetables to cook faster than the inside.
Allow the vegetables to steam until just tender. Start checking them for doneness when the vegetables first turn a vibrant color. To test, spear a piece with a fork, if it goes in easily, it’s done. Season them lightly with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or some butter.
Better-Believe-It
Braised Vegetables
Serves 4 to 6
Sturdy vegetables like escarole, Swiss chard, kale, and even fennel do very well when braised. Braising vegetables involves cooking them quickly with a little fat and then simmering them with liquid in the same pan, which makes preparation in a CLK a breeze. Simmering southern style greens will take out their natural bitterness, and this cooking method works great for fibrous vegetables like Swiss chard, because the longer cooking time tenderizes them.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 pounds vegetables to be braised, washed thoroughly, and cut into large chunks (about 1- to 2-inch squares)
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
cup chicken stock or white wine
1 Place your 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter and garlic and allow the butter to melt slowly and infuse with the garlic flavor.
2 Once the butter has completely melted and the garlic has begun to soften, add as much of your vegetables as will comfortably fit in the sauté pan in a thick single layer. Turn the heat up slightly to medium high. Carefully turn the vegetables over and, as they shrink, add more vegetables if necessary. Season lightly with salt and pepper and continue turning them while they wilt down.
3 Once completely softened, add the chicken stock or wine and reduce the heat to medium. Allow this to simmer for several minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated out. Taste the vegetables at this point to see if they need more salt or pepper. Remove from heat and serve as a large island in a family style serving dish with braising liquid surrounding it, or as a tiny island in the center of a dinner plate topped with your protein.
Show-Your-Sensitive-Side Sautéed Vegetables
Serves 4 to 6
Delicate vegetables like summer squash, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, and eggplant shouldn’t be abused by long cooking methods. The trick to perfect texture and flavor is to sauté cook them on high heat for a short period of time. Any way you look at it, sautéed vegetables are CLK friendly for their quick cooking in a single pan.
3 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 pounds vegetables to be sautéed, cut to be the same size either on the bias or in cubes
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 Place your 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once it begins to smoke, add the garlic cloves, and stir them around in the hot oil while they brown. Remove the garlic and then add the vegetables, using your tongs to arrange them in an even layer.
2 Allow them to brown 1 minute, and then toss them around to finish cooking for one more minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When you taste them to check your seasoning, they should be crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve immediately as a high stacked “great wall” of vegetables on a family style platter, or tossed together with some pasta.
Rock-’n’-Roasted Vegetables
Serves 4 to 6
Almost any vegetable can be roasted, save for delicate greens. Certainly fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, and baby red potatoes are naturals in a roasting oven, but so are rutabaga, Brussels sprouts, and carrots. The trick is usually to blanch them first, which is the first step in this recipe. By blanching them gently, we foolproof the cooking method. All that’s left to do is crisp them in the oven!
2 pounds vegetables to be roasted, cut if necessary into large, even pieces like wedges
3 tablespoons kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, smashed
5 fresh rosemary sprigs
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Gray sea salt
Black pepper, to taste
1 Preheat the oven to 500°. Fill your 12-quart stockpot one-quarter of the way up with water, and place it over high heat. Add the vegetables to the water, and then 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. If the water doesn’t completely cover the vegetables, add more until it does. Bring the water to a boil with the vegetables already in the pot. If you boil the water first and then add the vegetables, 2Once the outside will cook too quickly. the vegetables are barely tender when stuck with a knife (the knife should go in easily but should not release from the vegetable), drain them using your steamer basket. Pour them out over a sheet tray, add the garlic cloves and rosemary, and drizzle the olive oil evenly over the whole thing. Use your tongs to move the vegetables around, coating everything with oil. Season evenly with gray sea salt and some pepper.
Put the tray of vegetables into the oven and roast until everything is golden brown. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve them piled high in the center of a family style platter with a bouquet of fresh herbs planted in one corner.
Peter Piper
Picked a Pasta
Serves 2 to 4
It is wonderful that you can buy fresh pasta in the refrigerator case at the market, so take advantage of it. Everything from spinach to whole wheat pasta is available fresh, but if you aren’t able to find the variety or shape you want in fresh, quality dried pastas are just as good. Simply remember to add a little cooking time to dried pastas, and taste them to make sure they’re done. A fabulous side dish, estimate 3 o
unces of pasta per person. If pasta is the main dish, plan on 4 to 6 ounces per person. The only chance you have to flavor your pasta is through the salting of your water, so make sure to do this or your pasta will be crappy! You’ll find a plethora of recipes in the sauce section that work well on pasta, but fresh pasta is also superb simply tossed with butter and a good Parmesan cheese. Using your stock pot/steamer basket combo turns this into a CLK-friendly one-pot wonder.
¼ cup sea salt
8 ounces pasta
1 Put your 12-quart stockpot over high heat and fill it halfway with water. When bubbles begin to form at the bottom, add a pinch of salt. If it sinks to the bottom, the water isn’t hot enough, so wait 5 more minutes and try again. If a cloud forms as the salt is dissolved, the water is ready. Now you may continue adding salt, a little at a time, until the cloud no longer forms and the salt settles at the bottom. This means that your water is “supersaturated” and perfectly salted.
2 When the water is at a full boil, add the pasta. How long it takes to cook the pasta depends on the size and whether it is fresh or not. Fresh pasta will cook very quickly and should only need about 5 minutes, but you should check it after 2 minutes by taking a bite. Dried pasta takes a little less than 10 minutes. Follow the directions on the package for al dente (firm) pasta. You never want to overcook pasta. After 5 minutes, pull a piece of dried pasta out of the water, and cut it in half or simply take a bite. If it is still white or crunchy in the middle, let it cook and test after one minute. Continue testing in one minute increments.
3 Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in your steamer basket. Add immediately to whatever sauce it is being served with, and toss together. If you allow the pasta to finish inside the sauce, not only will the sauce prevent it from sticking together, but the warm pasta will absorb some of the sauce while coating itself very well.
4 For the butter and parmesan version, melt 4 ounces (1 stick) of butter in a sauté pan. Toss the pasta through the butter, and then sprinkle with ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. You can toss in Sweet Merciful Scampi (p. 112) or Sautéed 5To Vegetables (p. 170). serve, use your tongs to grab the portion of pasta you want, dangle just over the center of the plate. Set it down while twisting your tongs as if using a screw driver, continuing to twist as you lift the tongs away, and your pasta will be presented in a beautiful coil. If not using a sauce immediately, toss the pasta with a little extra virgin olive oil, and this will help keep the pasta from sticking together.
Mashed Magnificence
Serves 6 to 8
You’ll love the extra buttery flavor that shines through in these taters. They mash up in no time, so don’t save this recipe for Thanksgiving. Make it anytime!
2 pounds Idaho potatoes
¼ cup sea salt
8 ounces unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Sea salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
1 Put your 12-quart stockpot over high heat and fill it halfway with water. Stand over your trash can and peel the potatoes, then immediately place them in the stockpot with the water as soon as they are peeled. This will keep your potatoes from turning brown. Once they are all peeled, take them out one at a time, quarter them, and place them back in the water.
2 When the water comes to a boil, add the salt and turn the heat down to a simmer. After simmering for 20 minutes, test to see if the potatoes are cooked by squeezing one with your tongs. If it crushes easily, you’re ready to mash.
3 Once the potatoes are cooked, carefully drain them into your steamer basket. Then return the potatoes to the stockpot, and place the pot in the sink. Cut the butter into cubes, and drop the cubes of butter into the hot potatoes. Using your whisk, mash up the potatoes with the butter. As the butter is incorporated and all the lumps are mashed out, the potatoes are going to become light and fluffy.
4 Whisk in the heavy cream and season to taste with sea salt and white pepper. White pepper is the secret ingredient for most restaurant mashed potatoes, if you’ve ever wondered why the ones at the gourmet restaurant taste so much better than the ones you make at home. A little bit goes a very long way, so start small, you can always add more. Serve immediately, or wrap tightly in a bowl and place over a pot of lightly simmering water to hold warm for up to an hour.
When serving, pile the whipped masterpiece high on a serving platter, or fill a large dinner spoon and use another spoon about the same size to scrape it off the spoon onto the center of a dinner plate. It should come off looking like an egg (also called a quenelle shape) to be topped or surrounded by any protein.
Swap It
Starchy potatoes are what you would normally use with mashed potatoes, but it’s not a necessity. Red creamer potatoes make excellent mashed potatoes, and so do purple potatoes (or Peruvian blues), Yukon golds, and even sweet potatoes. Put a handful of peeled garlic cloves in enough olive oil to cover them, and simmer until soft. Add this mellow sweet garlicky goodness to any potato about to be mashed for spectacular results.
Try adding finely chopped chives, rosemary, sage, or whatever your favorite herb to what will be your family and friends new favorite side dish.
What’s Right White Rice
Serves 6 to 8
Perfectly cooked rice is a wonderful thing to master, and this recipe is truly foolproof. For an added boost of flavor, use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water, add ½ cup finely chopped onion, or simply fold in some unsalted butter when you open the lid.
2. cups water
2 cups jasmine rice
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 Preheat oven to 350°. Add all three ingredients to your 12-quart stockpot, and place it over high heat. When bubbles begin to form at the bottom, cover it with a fitted lid or a tight wrapping of foil.
2 Place the covered stockpot of rice into your oven to bake for 45 minutes exactly. Pull it out when your timer dings, and keep it tightly closed until you’re ready to serve.
Swap It
If you’d like to substitute brown rice, simply increase the amount of water to 3 cups.
Call the Po-Po on
This Polenta
Serves 10 to 12
Polenta is a popular side dish in many gourmet restaurants. No one would ever expect the simplicity involved in its preparation.
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf, fresh (or substitute 1 dried)
½ yellow onion, peeled and left intact
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1½ cups polenta, or yellow cornmeal
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced Roma tomatoes (about 2)
½ cup freshly grated
Parmesan cheese
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 Place your 12-quart stockpot over medium heat, and add the milk, chicken stock, bay leaf, and onion. Allow this to come to a boil. Remove the bay leaf and onion half. Season the liquid to taste with salt and pepper. Begin whisking and drizzle in the polenta slowly, while stirring constantly.
2 Once all of the polenta is added, it should begin to thicken and bubble. When this happens, reduce your heat again to low, and stir continually for at least 5 minutes. Check to see if it needs more salt or pepper.
3 Remove from heat and stir in the butter, tomato, and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, poured in the center of a large serving platter and garnish with the fresh basil, or scoop individual portions onto your dinner plates. Pour leftovers into an oiled loaf pan, cover, and refrigerate. The polenta will become solid overnight. Remove it from the loaf pan, and you can slice it into beautiful layers that can be snacked on cold or heated up with a little leftover tomato sauce for a wonderful lunch.
Butternutty Squash Bread Pudding
Serves 8
A big hit when I brought this to Thanksgiving, who could say no to bread pudding or butternut squash? Make it a day ahead, and reheat it in the microwave on Thanksgivin
g. Saving oven space on Thanksgiving can be a crappy little lifesaver.
1 loaf (about a pound) focaccia bread, cubed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 pounds butternut squash
1cup heavy cream
4 eggs
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 Preheat oven to 350°. Place the cubed bread on a sheet tray and toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Place your 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Once it has melted, sauté the shallots until they begin to brown, then remove them from the heat. Add the thyme and rosemary and stir the mixture together.
2 Place the butternut squash on a large cutting board, and use your chef’s knife to cut off the stem and the very bottom to create a flat surface on the top and bottom. Now cut in half, through the waist. Run your knife along the outside, peeling off the skin of the squash. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds after both halves are peeled. Now cut them into small cubes.
Swap It
Focaccia or even brioche work perfectly for this recipe, but definitely choose any soft bread lying around the house. Crusty breads don’t absorb the custard as well, and no one wants dry, crappy bread pudding!
3 Toss the squash together with the shallots and herbs in the sauté pan, and add the bread cubes. Use the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to lightly coat the inside of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (disposable is fine). Evenly layer the squash mixture inside the baking dish.
4 Pour the heavy cream into your 1-quart saucepot, and heat it over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. When the cream comes to a boil, carefully pour it over the egg mixture while whisking to temper or prevent the eggs from curdling. Pour this custard evenly over the squash and bread. Bake for 45 minutes or until it is golden brown and the custard is set. Serve warm cut into fun shapes including triangles or squares to prevent waste, but for an elegant presentation, diamond-shaped servings are the way to go.