The closest I’ve ever gotten to a food truck is watching the comedy-drama film, Chef, at our local theatre in 2014. Having just googled the “Top Ten Food Trucks near Aspen,” none of them are. Near Aspen, I mean.
SPICY MEATBALL WRAP SMOTHERED in SRIRACHA MAYONNAISE
Street foods, whether from a truck or cart, predominantly reflect local culture and flavor. Trucks namedThe Confluence Cowgirl Kitchen, Mi Lindo Nayarit and Slo Groovin’ Bar-b-Que based in Carbondale, Marble, even Glenwood Springs echo our diversity. But, in Aspen, if it’s street food I desire, only my kitchen can answer the call.
THIS MEATBALL PACKS a WALLOP AND IS JUST AS DELICIOUS SERVED INDIVIDUALLY DURING A COCKTAIL PARTY. (toothpick, please.)
Boulettes de Merguez à la Sauce Sriracha, a recipe from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen pays homage to the Maghreb* influence in Parisian cuisine. Americanized, these are flavor-packed Spiced Meatballs with Sriracha Sauce. I chose to wrap them in a grilled Naan smothered in sauce and wrapped in parchment paper. Heavily seasoned, this is street food to the max. Grabbing a beer, I walked out to my balcony and polished off this glorious sandwich in a flash.
I made my meatballs and then put them in a cast iron skillet to roast in the oven. Every 5 minutes (15 minutes cooking time), just give the pan a shake.
A colleague recently made this recipe, 20 meatballs, leaving them on the counter to cool for a later cocktail party. She ran to her gym. Returning home, she found only 4. A certain male partner was nowhere in sight. They’re that fantastic. See the recipe and more tips below.
WELCOMING MADISON
When is the last time you basked in a friend’s joy? Their happiness becomes yours. Last week I caught that feel-good bug when a dear friend became a first-time grandmother. She and her husband had raised three terrific young men. Still, at her house for the past 20-plus years, the score was always, 4-1.
When beautiful Madison arrived, her grandparents were over-the-moon.( I don’t think they’ve landed yet.) My challenge was how to welcome this precious baby. Realizing she is already an indulged child, not for want, here’s the gift I just mailed to Madison’s grandparents.
I asked my granddaughters as well as the 4-year old daughter of blogging colleague Katie, to send me their Top 10 list of favorite baby books. This request turned into a family affair with Melissa and Stephen revisiting their memory library with Emma and Clara. Katie and Marcel, Alaia’s parents, also took the familial recall stroll.
ALAIA, 4, with HER DADDY, MARCEL, WHILE VISITING ME IN CAMBRIA.
CLARA, 13, (L) and EMMA, 15, DURING the SUMMER.
Following their quick replies and meshing the lists together, I bought the books and mailed them to Florida, requesting that they always remain at the grandparents’ house in anticipation of baby Madison-visits.
“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” –Marcel Proust
THE LIST. (per Emma, Clara and Alaia.)
THE TOP 10 LIST: 1) Good Night Moon; 2) Good Night, Gorilla; 3) Good Dog, Carl; 4) Little Lady Bug: Finger Puppet Book; 5) But Not the Hippopotamus; 6) I Love You, Stinky Face; 7) Mama Mama, Papa Papa; 8) Time for Bed; 9) King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub; 10) The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
SPICED MEATBALLS with SRIRACHA MAYONNAISE from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz
Makes 20 walnut-sized Meatballs (Tip: I made mine a bit larger.)
MERGUEZ MEATBALLS
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons harissa, Sriracha, or Asian chile paste (Tip: I used Sriracha, a staple in my kitchen.)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Tip: I used 1/2 teaspoon, maybe 3/4 teaspoon to soften the flavors of the tangy spices.)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac (optional) (Tip: Please don’t skip the sumac.)
1 pound ground beef or lamb (not lean), or a mix of the two (Tip: I used lamb, a more traditional taste.)
SRIRACHA MAYONNAISE
1. 3/4 cup mayonnaise, homemade or store bought
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce or harissa (Be careful. This is hot.)
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a hot skillet, toast the fennel, coriander, and cumin seeds for a minute or so, until they smell fragrant.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool.Grind to a powder in a spice mill or mortar and pestle, or crush in a sturdy plastic bag with a hammer.
3. Combine the crushed spices in a bowl with the cilantro, garlic, paprika, harissa, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and sumac. Add the ground beef/lamb and mix well. The meatball mixture can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before rolling and using. (Tip: I wore disposable latex gloves and mixed together with my hands.)
4. Pinch off pieces of the sausage mixture and roll them into meatballs the size of unshelled walnuts or to your preferred size. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan to cook them evenly. If you have a grill, they can be cooked over a fire. Or, they can be roasted on a greased baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes. (Tip: To save calories, I roasted in the oven using a cast iron pan.)
LOVE THE SRIRACHA MAYO.
5. To make the Sriracha mayonnaise, combine the mayonnaise and the Sriracha in a small bowel. (This can also be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated).
6. Serve the meatballs warm with the Sriracha mayo.
* The Maghreb is the region of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.
CooktheBookFridays is an international virtual group of food bloggers cooking its way through My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz. To see what my colleagues cooked this week or to join our group, go here.
Tarte Crumble aux Cerises, this week’s CooktheBookFridays recipe.
“Is this a sharable story?” I’ve been asking myself. “Can I blog about this to inspire or bring a smile?”
If something really nice happens, I wondered, can I flip it into a Pay It Forward challenge for you readers as it was for me ?
Coin flip. Heads, yes. Tails, yes. (It was Heads.)
There’s dessert, also. For CooktheBookFridays, this week’s recipe is Tarte Crumble aux Cerises. Cherry Tart in English. Tarta de la Cereza in Spanish. Fabulous in any language.
Gorgeous butterflies visit Colorado’s High Country. Hunter Creek Valley, Aspen
Before counting calories, let’s talk. Cheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s CEO and author of Lean In, lost her 47-year old husband last year. She’s tough but grief is grief. It can be masked but, to my thinking, hunkers down like a boulder in your heart. Cheryl’s now writing her second book, about resilience, calling it Option B. “I have learned,” she once wrote, “that resilience can be learned.”
Long before Cheryl lost her husband, I was living the 8-year process of losing mine. As strong and tenacious as I consider myself now, during those years I was not. “If Plan A doesn’t work, Mom,” my daughter, Melissa, would counsel during a crisis, “we’ll go to Plan B or even C.”
Most Saturdays I can be found at the Maroon Bells, monitoring the trail up to Crater Lake. This is my week-end office. It’s tough duty.
After Michael died and I returned to Aspen, my challenge was not only to heal but be content and useful. Realizing this was a high bar, I considered it a deserved goal. This blog, as you know, revolves around my doing that.
About twenty years ago I joined a ragtag group of ten Aspen locals who were helping the “real” and understaffed USFS Rangers monitor our trails. We raided their warehouse for cast-off uniforms, buckled on backpacks and lived the outdoor dream.
During my eight year absence, this dream job morphed into the Forest Conservancy, a razor-sharp, volunteer organization of officially-sanctioned USForest Service ranger representatives. When I returned to Aspen in 2013, the FC, now 100-plus strong, became my Safe Haven. After jumping through a few hoops, taking classes and actually memorizing a rule book, I received not one but two spanking new uniforms. Welcome home, Mary.
Remember the Cooper’s Hawk babies?
They grew up to be big boys. One of three.
At that time many FC colleagues had undertaken the rigorous journey to become Master Naturalists, the FC’s educational arm. I balked at joining their ranks. Too much responsibility. Too much commitment. And, honestly, I didn’t have the wisdom.
Being supportive, however, I always join them on Maroon Bells’ Discovery Day Saturdays when, loaded with exhibits, they man individual booths, talking with tourists about flowers, trees, moose, bears, geology and more. I’d hike the trails, interacting with 400 to 600 visitors each DD. But, being a Master Naturalist, No is No.
7:30AM, Maroon Bells – I came upon this young man, a carefully set blanket with champagne on ice nearby, on his knee proposing to his girlfriend. A few early visitors stood quietly, watching. “What if she says No,” one whispered. (She didn’t.) It was an officially-sanctioned proposal, the happy couple decided.
Two weeks ago, our Mama Bear who oversees the MN program, called a short meeting after DD’s end. I abhor meetings, they tend to ramble, but at days end I joined my other hot, weary colleagues at the Bell’s tiny amphitheater.You know where this is going, don’t you? There was food, drink and chocolate cake. Uh-oh. Before I could execute a quick exit, I became a MN.
Surprisingly, I found myself unbelievably pleased (see poem below). It’s not the distinction, (so much more to learn), but their planning and effort. It’s friendship and a forgotten word in today’s world, NICE. Playing nice is a cheap Pay it Forward option whatever the alphabet letter. I’m calling it my Option N.
“For twenty years Mary Hirsch has been a volunteer ranger,
Hiking the trails, helping folks out of danger.
She has a sparkling personality and sure gift of gab
And in her uniform, she looks simply fab.
Since she has done the time and taken the classes,
We hope she joins the rest of us who work off our asses.
The birders have told us you’d be a great Master Naturalist
So we hope you will join us, in fact we iNSIST!
As the great Teddy said, “It is done, I do declare it.”
Here is your pin and now you MUST wear it.”
To celebrate my joy I adapted this sweet cherry tart from David Lebovitz’s Tarte Crumble aux Apricots because I could not find Colorado apricots yet. Whatever the fresh fruit, use between 1 3/4-2 pounds. The lip-smacker in this recipe is the Crumble Topping which can be used with other baked fruit pastries. I used a 9-inch springform pan but will move up to 10-inches next time.
Use a springform pan for this tart.
TARTE CRUMBLE aux CERISES (Sweet Cherry Crumble Tart) Adapted from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz.
Serves 8-10
DOUGH
6 tablespoons (3 ounces/85g)
unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, room-temperature
11/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
CRUMBLE TOPPING
3/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Being heavy-handed with my spices, I used 1 TBS.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
FILLING
2 pounds ripe, fresh apricots, pitted and quartered (or, sweet cherries)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I used 1/2tsp.)
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve
DIRECTIONS:
1. TO MAKE THE DOUGH, remove butter from the refrigerator 10 minutes before using it and to let it soften slightly in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed just until no visible lumps of butter remain. Add the egg yolks, flour and salt. Mix until the dough comes together. (You can also make the dough in a bowl using a spatula and a little moxie.)
2. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9- to 10-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Use the heel of your hand to press the dough over the bottom of the pan, and a little less than halfway up the sides. Try to get the bottom as even as possible, not because anyone will see it, but so it bakes evenly. Put the pan in freezer for 30 minutes.
The crumble topping should look like this before you pop it in the fridge to chill.
3. MAKE THE CUMBLE TOPPING by pulsing the almonds, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until the almonds are broken up into very small pieces. Add the butter and pulse the food processor. After a few moments, the mixture will look sandy. As you continue to pulse, pieces will just start clumping together. Stop pulsing at that point and chill the crumble topping. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the crumble topping by chopping the almonds finely and mixing the topping with a pastry blender or by hand.)
4. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
5. Line the springform pan with aluminum foil and a single layer of pie weights (or dried beans). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tart shell is browned.
6. After the tart shell comes out of the oven, make the filling. In a bowl, mix the fruit with the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Do not make the filling too far in advance because the fruit may become too juicy.
Transfer the fruit to the tart shell and even them out. Strew the crumble topping evenly over the fruit.
7. Bake the tart for 50 minutes, until the crumble topping is nicely browned. (I baked my tart exactly 50 minutes.)
8. Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then run a knife around the outside of the tart to separate it from pan, in case any juices ran over. Let rest for 30 minutes, then remove the sides of the springform and let the tart cool. The edges may look rather dark, but should taste fine, not burnt.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.
COOKtheBOOKFRIDAYS is an international virtual cooking group making their way through David Lebovitz’s outstanding newest cookbook, My Paris Kitchen. To see what my colleagues baked this week, go here.
Cook-the-Book Fridays – Steak with Mustard Butter & French Fries
When our first grandchild was a year old, she and her parents visited us in Aspen. While Melissa and Stephen probably saw this as a vacation and relief from 24/7 parenting, I viewed their visit as an opportunity to introduce sweet Emma to our friends. I planned a party. To be truthful, I planned two parties, back-to-back, inviting forty guests to each.
Just the thought of that is now cringe-worthy.
Hummingbird Cake, a traditional southern classic
Last week-end Melissa’s family came to Cambria to celebrate her 50th birthday, a definite make whoopee moment. The Central California coast is wine country, offering memorable dining experiences. To honor this special birthday, I envisioned an elegant evening at her favorite local restaurant with my additional make whoopee add-ons.
Readers, you know where I’m going with this, don’t you?
“No, Mom,” she said, quietly. “I want filets, roasted potatoes, green beans and salad. At home.”
This is what 50 looks like: two teenagers, two businesses, and two Mothers to watch over. Like most of the Sandwich Generation, too little vacation and relaxation time.
All sorts of Buts in response to her request danced in my brain. This is a cottage not equipped for a party. The oven has only one rack. I don’t have fine china, champagne flutes or sterling silver nor a tablecloth and matching napkins. No ice cube maker. Small fridge. Could I even cobble together a matching set of dinnerware for 5? Yes, I answered myself, I’ve learned to grow where I’m planted. I can make this happen.
COOK-the-BOOK FRIDAYS
Luckily her birthday coincided with our bimonthly journey through David Lebovitz’s “My Paris Kitchen”. This week’s recipe choice, Steak with Mustard Butter and French Fries, would be good prep for the requested meal.(The recipe is below.)
French Fries, baked, not fried. Authentic in taste with less calories. Peel Russet potatoes leaving some additional skin (which is fun to do).
Nothing says bistro classic like entrecôte (rib-eye) and pommes frites (french fries). That I could pull this together in my kitchen needing only a cast-iron grill pan purchased at Cambria Hardware and a grocery market cookie sheet seems amazing.
After cutting potatoes into 1/3 inch slices, cut each slice into 1/3-inch wide strips.
A flavor-packed, top-of-the-stove steak in the winter or if you have no outdoor grill, seals my bond with David. His french fries are baked in the oven but taste like the real deal. Magical. Not traveling in France this year? Open a bottle of good red wine, toss a warm baguette on the table with this classic duo à la Lebovitz and pretend.
Put the potato strips on a cookie sheet and mix with olive oil, kosher salt, rosemary and thyme. The oven and high heat make bonafide french fries
THE BIRTHDAY
It took two barnstorming trips through Michael’s craft store and Target for me to crank into party mode. After settling on a pink plastic tablecloth and big silver tinsel birthday banner, the decor started to pull, Gulp!Gulp!, together.
I bought 50 roses but had no container. Scrounging around the garage, I discovered a huge fish bowl, hosed it down, scrubbed it mightily and, voila, perfect. The champagne would need ice and a bucket. Three bags of ice solved one problem and a huge popcorn bowl hidden on a top cabinet shelf, another. The light over the table was unreliable, it blinked. God bless duct tape. The filets fit beautifully in my newly purchased grill pan. Since the one-rack oven was engaged, I created roasted potatoes in my slow cooker. The dinnerware didn’t match. We re-washed some forks.
Yep, it’s a fishbowl.
The birthday cake. Since Melissa was born in Tallahassee I baked the classic southern Hummingbird Cake (recipe is below). Because they now live in the Eastern Sierras, the white frosting replicated those mountains. Admittedly, it took several guesses and clues for them to figure out that frosting/mountain thing.
After buying 3 bags of ice, I was able to keep the champagne very comfy in its popcorn bowl container.
My family has returned to Bishop. The birthday, well celebrated. The decorations, however, are still hanging, the pink plastic cloth, still in place. Whatever the reason, all this silly stuff seems good company and makes me happy. I can’t think of one reason to take it down.
While this was not the birthday celebration her Mother envisioned, it was the one Melissa wanted.
STEAK with MUSTARD BUTTER by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen
I grilled this steak on high heat for a total of 7 minutes for a delicious Rare to Medium Rare.
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
STEAKS
Two 8-ounce rib-eye steaks
1/2 teaspoon hickory-smoked salt, sea salt, or Kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or clarified butter
MUSTARD BUTTER
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 generous teaspoon Dijon mustard
DIRECTIONS:
1. Pat the steaks dry and rub them with the salt, chipotle powder, and cilantro or parsley. Refrigerate the steaks, uncovered, for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
2. To make the mustard butter, mash together the butter with the mustard powder and the Dijon. Form it into two mounds and chill on a plastic wrap–lined plate.
3. Heat a little oil or clarified butter in a grill pan or cast-iron skillet and cook the steaks over high heat, being sure to get a good sear on each side. For rare steaks, cook 5 to 7 minutes total on both sides, or aller-retour (“to go and return”).
4. Remove the steaks from the pan and put on plates. Top each steak with a knob of the mustard butter and some ground black pepper and serve with a big pile of frites.
Author Notes: To make this bistro classic in my kitchen, I use a cast-iron skillet or grill pan that I get really hot, and then I sear the steak on both sides. David Lebovitz
NOTE: We cannot publish David’s recipes unless they are already on the Internet. If you want the recipe for Pommes Frites, find it on page 219 of My Paris Kitchen or e-mail me.
HUMMINGBIRD CAKE,Southern Living Magazine
INGREDIENTS
CAKE BATTER
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large)
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
3/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake chopped pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Mix in 3 lightly beaten eggs and next 4 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Sprinkle 1 cup toasted pecans into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Pour or spoon batter carefully over pecans.
5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
7. Prepare Glaze: Process cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp. milk in a food processor until well blended. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. at a time, processing until smooth. Immediately pour glaze over cooled cake, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup toasted pecans.
TIP: I used a 10-cup bundt pan and filled it 2/3 full. With the remaining batter, I baked muffins.
COOK-the-BOOK FRIDAYS is an international, on-line group cooking its way through David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen. To see what we’re cooking or to join the group, go here.
If weeks had titles, the past one would be called Best Day Ever Week. Do you experience those? Each day gets better and better. Not so often? I get that. Me, too. I have droughts. So when seven great days in a row land in your lap, it’s okay to whoop and holler and buy a new shade of lipstick. I’m all over coral-poppy tones this Spring/Summer.
We’re up and out to Vintage Paso: a celebration of the ‘Zins and Wild Wines of Paso Robles.’
The highlight of a week filled with a pontoon boat harbor cruise on Morro Bay, daily hikes and birding, exploring Cal Poly, the public university in nearby San Luis Obispo, and walking to San Simeon, was Vintage Paso. It’s a weekend when 140 local wineries open their gates to celebrate ‘Zinfandel and the other Wild Wines of Paso Robles.‘ Like last year, my friends from southern California, John and Susan Lester, who blog at Create Amazing Meals, were joining me. If you recall, the Lesters and I connected three years ago through French Fridays with Dorie.
Everyone has their station and duties. I admit it. John did the heavy lifting for this meal.
Carottes Râpées, a recipe of Dorie Greenspan’s, is finished and table-ready.
I visited them in February when we not only went to the Channel Islands but also made Saturday night’s meal together. Admittedly, I plead guilty to couple envy as I watched them navigate through their kitchen chores. More fun than cooking alone, I assure you. Hey, let’s do that again. Saturday night dinner at chez Hirsch. Susan and John were game. This time it was my turn to plan the menu, get the ingredients on board, set the table and organize the evening.
Step Aside, David Lebovitz.
We forced ourselves to drink more wine. This is a Mourvedre-based dry rosé called Dianthus 2014 by Tablas Creek Vineyard.
Although this is a weekend told more beautifully through pictures, you first need the menu. Last April I received my preordered copy of David Lebovitz’s “My Paris Kitchen.” Like so many others, it occupied my kitchen cookbook shelf of neglect. So I packed it for my winter in Cambria. When I recently read that author Kate Christensen called Lebovitz’s 100 recipes ‘swoon-and-drool-worthy.’ I decided it was time to give that book some food love.
Dinnertime.
Dessert: Mrs. Lester’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. She shared the recipe with me. I’ll share it with you.
That’s why we cooked-the-cover, Poulet à la Moutarde, chicken with mustard. To accompany this magnificent one-pan entrée, we made Dorie’s classic Carottes Râpées, a grated carrot salad tossed with raisins and walnuts. (Both recipes are printed below.) We’ll credit the tasty pommes frites and warm French baguettes to Monsieur Trader Joe. During our day’s wineries journey we chose a Tablas Creek French-style Rosé. John, the expert on such matters, ‘thought its flavor would hold up against the mustard background flavor of the sauce as well as the smoked bacon.’ (He was right.) For the perfect dessert Susan surprised this cookie monster with her famous chocolate chip cookies.
The verdict? We swooned. We drooled. We relished each unbelievably tender and flavorful morsel. The Carottes Râpées, a perfect choice. The pommes frites, of course. Warm baguette slices soaked with sauce, messy. The chocolate chip cookies, as delicious as they look. We were very pleased with ourselves, having pulled off this ambitious evening meal. (Remembering we’d been tasting wine all day.) A merci mille fois to the talented Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz who helped make it happen.
On our Sunday morning antiquing junket, I scored a food styling and entertaining prop, an old copper escargot/egg poaching pan. Susan and John found antique glassware.
Saying our goodbyes until next Winter.
POULET à la MOUTARDE by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen
4-8 Servings
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs
1 cup diced smoked thick-cut bacon
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
Olive oil (optional)
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon mustard seeds or grainy mustard
2 to 3 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream
Warm water (optional)
Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix 1/2 cup of the Dijon mustard in a bowl with the paprika, a few generous grinds of pepper and the salt. Toss the chicken pieces in the mustard mixture, lifting the skin and rubbing some of the mixture underneath.
2. Heat a large, wide skillet with a cover, or a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until it is cooked through and just starting to brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon pieces from the pan and drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet.
3. Add the onion and stir to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until the onion is softened and mostly translucent. Stir in the thyme; cook for a few minutes, until fragrant, then scrape the cooked onion into a large bowl.
4. Add a little olive oil to the pan, if necessary. Place the chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer. If they don’t fit, work in two batches. Cook over medium-high heat, ,browning them well on one side. Flip them over and brown them on the other side. Cook until nicely browned, could be 20 minutes or so.
5. Transfer the chicken to the bowl with the onion. Add the wine to the hot pan. Use a sturdy, flat utensil to dislodge any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Return ALL the chicken pieces to the pan along with the onion mixture and bacon. Cover and cook over low to medium heat turning the chicken pieces over a few times during cooking, about 15 minutes. To check for doneness, insert the sharp tip of a knife into the meat next to the thigh bone; if the meat is still pink, cook for a few more minutes.
6. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, the mustard seeds and the crème fraîche or heavy cream to form a sauce. If it seems too thick, you can thin it with a little warm water. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Serve.
CAROTTES RÂPÉES by Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table
6 Servings
1 pound carrots, peeled and trimmed
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 Tablespoon honey 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup of mild oil, canola or grapeseed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Moist, plump currants or raisins Coarsely chopped walnuts Chopped fresh parsley,
1. Grate the carrots, using a box grater or food processor. Drain any excess moisture from the grated carrots.
2. In a small jar or processor or bowl and whisk, mix the mustard, honey, cider vinegar and oil together. Season with salt and pepper. Whir or shake until blended into a thick, smooth vinaigrette.
3. Toss the carrots with currants or raisins and nuts.
4. Just before serving, pour on the dressing and toss well. Adjust the salt and pepper, if needed. Add the parsley.
