Play Reading - Blithe Spirit

This month our group of indomitable players embarked upon Blithe Spirit, by The Master himself, Noel Coward. The brilliantly wicked "improbable comedy" surrounds the supernatural and a stolid British gentleman who can't seem to stop arguing with (or indeed get rid of) two of his dead wives.

Before we got to the curiousness afoot, we toasted with frozen shots of my own creation, the Blithe Spirit. Baby flooded the punch bowl with dry ice to set a vaporous, otherworldly mood, evoking an emanation perhaps, or any sort of protoplasm. I adjusted my cocktail recipe, though--as we didn't have coconut-flavored Malibu rum, I used what dark rum we did have and switched it up with Zico coconut water poured into the mix along with Simply Limeade instead of Rose's lime juice. Add a judicious amount of orange juice and do throw in fresh mint leaves too.

As our evening of theatrics continued, Fresh Direct played its own part. I began to lay out the spread, with a few battery-powered votives scattered about...




 A view of the table from the perspective of a mischievous fern!

 

Martini glasses and a host of pearls spilling out of them seemed appropriate to decorate a veddy British table. Pearls do lend to one a fair amount of courage, don't you find?

 

An upturned mirror was the best I could do for a summoning crystal ball.



Funnily enough, at least a few mysterious events did occur, such as the sudden, murky rain storm that poured down and thrashed about, forcing us to close the windows--and the ice-filled wine bucket that gurgled inexplicably while we read over certain lines!

Tonight's Menu
Mousse Truffee-chicken and turkey livers in duck fat and truffles with Carr's water crackers.

 

Cucumber Sandwiches--I didn't make my usual Benedictine sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese. Fresh Direct had tzatziki with cucumbers and yogurt already made, so I used that. I did still cut off the crusts of the white bread though.

 

Potato Salad--thanks again Fresh Direct!



Watercress Salad with Wild Mushrooms--I tossed it all with the ready-to-go Delouis fils shallot vinaigrette.



Chimichurri Marinated Flank Steak--it arrived from Fresh Direct ready to cook. All I had to do was put it in the oven heated to 350 degrees until the meat thermometer reached an internal 135 degrees and I let it sit out of the oven so it could further climb to about 145 degrees for pink, medium rare perfection. We ate it at room temperature, suited for summer.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream--a homemade delight, courtesy of our dear friend. 

Chocolate Mousse Cake--well, what to say, but thanks again Fresh Direct! What an evening of high spirits!

 Such gorgeous white roses!

Tonight's Menu - Tilapia

Courtesy of Fresh Direct!

Among my many excesses I now list Fresh Direct, the food delivery service that brings the goods right to your door, if available in your neighborhood. I've probably bored my friends enough with my love/borderline obsession but suffice to say, the food is fresh (it arrives chilled!), ordering is easy and the prices are entirely reasonable. For those of us who don't have cars, ordering cumbersome items or planning a dinner party with a lot of items is a snap because you don't have to lug the stuff home. And their customer service is speedy and efficient.

We had ordered tilapia and microvaveable fresh asparagus and had Red Jacket plums from Fresh Direct's summer promotion--with every order they dropped some free produce in! Sadly, that ended when September arrived all too quickly, but just the same, a meal was born.

Tonight's Menu
Baked Tilapia with Major Grey's Mango Chutney
Roasted Plums and Blueberries
Steamed Asparagus

Preheat oven to 375. Slice your plums and roast them for about 25 minutes (with a shallow pool of white wine!). Slather a little chutney (with a dash of sriracha sauce) on your tilapia filets and bake them on another rack about halfway through the roasting of the plums, roughly 13-15 minutes until flaky. Throw the blueberries with the plums for a few minutes more until softened. In the midst of this, put the package of asparagus into the microwave for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Top your fish with the roasted fruit and voila, dinner is served!

Cheese Fondue in a Pumpkin & Other Delights

Gourmet magazine was most regrettably retired back in 2008. I however, fortunately, was not. For it was there, in the final November 2008 issue (I have another gruesomely sentimental copy still wrapped in the plastic, cuddling next to my beloved Gourmet 70's back issue stash) that I culled together this year's Thanksgiving menu (links provided here by yours truly). And what a wonderful, Dickensian feast in merrie olde England it seemed, once all laid out on the table! Most of it was made the day before (at least in parts), and other delights subtly assembled while the turkey that Baby prepared sat to consider its satsuma tangerine-and-herb-stuffed cavity, at rest. Summoning motes of clarity, I set the table two days before.

Cunning coriander and rosemary goat cheese marbles skewered with parsley leaves were a cozy nibble...

before the great pumpkin fondue arrived, filled with layers of mixed Emmental and gruyere cheeses, a light bechamel, and sturdy slices of miche country bread. We swooned and supped laudably and audibly too over the instantly comforting innards, ladled out into our bowls, with spooned crescents of pumpkin pulled from within for (very) good measure. This was very simple to prepare, except for the careful business of slicing off the stubborn tops. Short of procuring a reciprocating saw, the only thing I might suggest is taking hold of your strongest, most resilient knife (probably a well-sharpened butcher's knife) as I did and nimbly hacking away at the beast with a few deliberate whacks. Although this particular recipe was on the Thanksgiving roster, it will serve you and your guests well anytime through the winter months and act as a wonderful gift for Christmas, tableside. Consider my chicken pot pie in a pumpkin as well, always a favorite!

We paused with a smartly civilized watercress salad with smoked sable (a.k.a. black cod, found at our local bagel place) and beets, diced and stacked like a terrine on top of the green watercress sprigs. The beets marinated overnight in a tart shallot and fresh grapefruit juice (my idea, instead of lemon juice) vinaigrette.

The traditional pork pie course made its way...

highly suited for sopping up with our gravy (see turkey recipe below). I made the pork pies a week ahead of time and froze them--as I suggest you do too--and thawed them out the night before our dinner, back into the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Behold our Tom! Quite carved obviously, having been injected with white wine, and melted black truffle butter (a mixture of purchased black truffle paste with butter), the recipe road map here! Tinker with it as you will. More about tending to old Tom is found here, during our trip to Turks and Caicos a few years ago.

Amiable sides were comprised of our compote, with red pearl onions, quince (I used quince paste!) and fresh cranberries...

Also added to our festive mix was a trio featuring mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables (thanks super duper delivery service Fresh Direct!) and a stunningly seductive, silken parsnip puree with sauteed Brussels sprouts that I made myself.

Gourmet suggests an apple granita as a palate cleansing kick-off to dessert but we found a time-saving, luscious Italian pear sorbetti instead, and certainly any brightly tart fruit sorbet will tingle the taste buds to the same effect.

Desserts were unapologetically store-bought pumpkin and pecan pies (courtesy again of Fresh Direct). Our merry band politely nibbled only, as we had naturally become as stuffed as our turkeys, and quite without apology as well at that! I urge you to try all of these terrific recipes over the upcoming months, whatever the occasion--and do enjoy!

FreshDirect House Party

Alright, I'll admit it. I'm fairly obsessed with FreshDirect. I've spoken of my love previously here on Evenings With Peter so I won't belabor the point. Suffice to say, I won a House Party promotion from them and threw the event. Besides a $100 e-gift certificate to use for the food I ordered, I received a Party Pack that included reusable shopping bags, special offer brochures, notepads, aprons and a host of recipes that all our guests took home. We also giddily raffled off a FreshDirect oven mitt!

FreshDirect asked us to choose a theme, so Baby and I went retro with Pot Luck and things that people used to bring to actual house parties ever so long ago.

Tonight's Menu
Pigs in a Blanket
Mac n' Cheese
Green Bean Casserole
Meatloaf
Vanilla Ice Cream

Although the basic set up for our menu was simple enough, everything we made was slightly different and there were no chafing dishes involved.

Produce played its part on the table and I put herbs such as rosemary, dill, and parsley in a pitcher instead of flowers.

Hebrew National franks filled Pillsbury crescent crusts and our Mac outfitted with Campbell's cheese soup was scooped out in individual spoons.

The green bean casserole however did not involve Campbell's mushroom soup; it was a riff, made instead with creamy bechamel sauce and we sauteed our own wild bunch of mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Refined haricot verts subbed for everyday green beans and I frizzled fresh shallots instead of using Durkee's onions from the can. The bechamel in preparation...

 The finished dish!

The meatloaf was pulled from an old Martha Stewart recipe that I love, with homemade tomato jam for slathering. Cut to the chase and use a judicious amount (a scant tablespoon) of Chinese Five-Spice Powder instead of dealing with the cinnamon sticks, ginger, cloves and star anise. I used homemade bread crumbs I already had on hand, mixed with panko breadcrumbs as well. Also, I subbed celery salt for celery and didn't use additional salt at all, as the recipe suggests. Here's the meatloaf, about to go in the oven.

Of course, I had to light something on fire. Ben & Jerry's gorgeous vanilla ice cream came out with ripe blackberries and burnt walnuts in a flaming buerre noisette sauce with brandy. It was so much fun.

Baby looked rather sporting in his apron.

A hundred dollars fed ten people (actually it was $99.66, like on The Price Is Right--the items I ordered didn't go over). And it was fabulous. Fresh Direct. Get to it.

Fresh Soundtrack: Herb Alpert, Whipped Cream and Other Delights; Mongo Santamaria, Watermelon Man; Lettuce, Rage; Parliament, Greatest Hits; Prince, Lovesexy.

The Corn is Great!

Wondering what to do with all that fresh summer corn? Got a grill? Neither do I. 

Here’s what to do instead: preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line an oven-ready tray with heavy-duty tin foil and lay your corn, still in the husks, down upon it (probably four ears at most, at a time). Drizzle a good fruity olive over it and and use a brush to make sure your corn is thoroughly coated, turning as you brush. 

Wrap the foil around it and fold over the top to create a loose seal. Put the corn-lined tray in the oven and just leave it alone for about 45 minutes. 

Remove the tray (careful, contents will be very hot!) and let sit further for another five minutes. 

When the corn is ready to be handled, slowly and carefully pull back the husks to reveal the tender, soften golden beauties inside. 

Grab a seat, slather with butter and sprinkle with salt.

Thanks to Lancaster Farm Fresh for the gorgeous corn via Fresh Direct!

Pizza and Stromboli!

 

Baby and I recently discovered the most extraordinary, versatile pizza dough! We ordered this frozen wonder from food-to-home delivery service FreshDirect.com and allowed an orb from the package of four to settle down to room temperature for about an hour and a half or so. I'm a huge fan of Fresh Direct, as evidenced here. But back to the dough! We rolled it out very flat on a lightly floured surface while the oven raised to 500 hundred degrees with a pizza stone (aluminum foil or baking sheet would work too) heating up on the middle rack. On its own, I imagine it would be fantastic as table bread, dipped into a fruity olive oil. But we don't leave things to simply languish, do we? No. There are toppings to consider! And naturally, whatever toppings you wish. We added soft and creamy Italian Robiola cheese (a cow, sheep, goat milk blend), ground bison meat, crumbled and sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and reaped spring's ramps, but sliced scallions would also do anytime of year. We retrieved it from the oven once the "leoparding" (that's really a thing, referring to the spots that appear while baking) was achieved, only about 12 minutes. Do not over cook this and do mind your oven in the process with a brief check in or two, depending on the reliability of your oven. Crisp with chewy gorgeousness inside is the goal--almost like out of a traditional Neapolitan wood-fired oven!

A stromboli of a sort was for another guest, where the dough was rolled up with mozzarella, pepperoni, a mixed bunch of sliced wild mushrooms sauteed in garlic, olive oil and butter. I also used an assortment of fresh herbs such as thyme leaves as well as a chiffonade of basil, and a drizzle of white truffle oil.

Over this Memorial Day weekend, I used more bison meat to make burgers, using the cooked dough to act as buns, folded over. The patties were topped with relish, mustard, good old Velveeta cheese slices--and lots of ketchup of course. One frozen orb is left, for now. What wonders await!

Chicken Financiere

I have kept datebooks since 1988, daily jotting down where I’ve been, who I was with, and what dishes I made, along with a list of books I’ve read that particular year. Naturally, this can open a flood gate of memories...recently “fact-checking” something from 1997, I came across an entry that included Chicken Financiere. I was reminded that my friend Armando had come from Caracas for the week to celebrate my 30th birthday (it was also a reunion of sorts) and I’d wanted to make a home-cooked meal to welcome him.

The grocery landscape in Manhattan was quite different back then (before Fresh Direct, Whole Foods, Wegman’s, and the rest) and often entailed foraging through several markets and perhaps a specialty shop to find all the necessary ingredients. It’s funny to think how I must have dragged Armando halfway across town to find Castelvetrano olives and chicken livers for my Financiere.

I had met my handsome Armando and his best friend one delicious summer evening while walking through Times Square in 1992. They were visiting and I had just moved to town. They stopped me in the street, asking if I knew of a decent bar nearby. Of course, I did. One bar turned into several others and by the end of the wonderful evening, we wrote our home addresses down (remember that?) with a promise to keep in touch.

Armando and I still do keep in touch (it was his birthday a few weeks ago), but alas, he and his friend do not. I later learned they had a big fight (over me!) that night we all met in Times Square and parted ways, never to speak again. I was sorry to hear the news at the time, but after all these years...I delight in the idea that I inspired such a heated rivalry.

Do enjoy!

Chicken Financiere
Adapted from cdkitchen
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 1/2 pounds chicken, cut into 8 pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 chicken livers
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup minced scallions, white parts only
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 medium white mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and sliced

Directions:
Rinse chicken, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown chicken for about 6 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Add livers to skillet and cook for about 30 seconds per side. Remove and set aside.

Pour off fat, add butter, and melt over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture turns golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add scallions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Whisk in stock, wine, tomato paste, and parsley. Increase heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Add olives, chicken, and livers to the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until juices run clear, about 25 minutes.

Divide chicken and livers between serving plates, coat with sauce, and serve. Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

A Dinner to Die(t) For

As Baby was away on business for three weeks and rigorously dieting all the while, I wanted to create a celebratory dinner for him upon his return; one that was delicious but also mindful, regarding pounds and ounces. I had read an article in New York magazine about the influence of cauliflower in terms of the city's tables--I was instantly intrigued as it set my mind to work on what was to be the centerpiece of our dinner--cauliflower steaks! This cruciferous vegetable has been blanched, sliced and griddled all over town apparently as of late. I was drawn to a particular description of the cauliflower first being "milk-pickled" at Blue Hill in Greenwich Village before being cooked sous vide and then seared. For a number of hours, I thought to let our halved head of cauliflower sit refrigerated in low-fat milk with a few tablespoons from a tin of buttermilk brining powder we had bought at Williams-Sonoma, shaking the mix about now and then. The cauliflower was then ready for a sear in a cast iron skillet. I wasn't sure if the whole thing would fall apart but it didn't, clinging firmly to its leaves at the base, which added a fine flavor. I think our veggie friend could have even withstood more time in the pan for an even markedly deeper char.

Garlicky kale from Fresh Direct was a great side and we absolutely fell in love with our easy-to-make, beautiful summer squash salad so fresh and full of flavor from basil and parsley with crunchy red quinoa and complementing walnuts from Epicurious.com.

Rosie Daley, Oprah Winfrey's spa chef from years ago, provided a recipe for Chocolate Tofu Cake from In The Kitchen With Rosie for a wonderful dessert! Tofu, cocoa powder, cinnamon, maple syrup, low-fat ricotta cheese and cream cheese, a few tablespoons of Godiva chocolate liqueur and Patron coffee liqueur were first all whipped up and then chilled (no crust!) to lead us to a most satisfying, guilt-free conclusion! 

Tonight's Menu - Seared Sea Scallops with Buerre Blanc

Saveur has enthralled me yet again with their last two issues. I was duly moved to make seared scallops in a buerre blanc sauce with finger limes from the November issue--but after a little research, there aren't any such limes in the city and ordering them would have set me back $200 for six pints (I only needed four limes) plus $50 shipping to send them here from L.A. Taking a cue from the restaurant Crispo in our relative neighborhood and how they remarkably pair fresh grapefruit with skate, I sought out pink grapefruit. I supremed one palish orb and enveloped the richly pink interior in the buerre blanc sauce while plucking out the little pearls of another for garnish with the scallops. Divine!

As tarragon was part of the sauce, I wanted something similarly resonant to serve alongside and voila, popovers with chopped rosemary emerged from the December pages of Saveur. I didn't have time to seek out goose fat or render my own as the recipe suggests, so I used bacon fat that we already had in the fridge. These I made early and just before it was time to eat, I popped them back into the oven to warm up. Here's how they started out:

I was so engaged with the evening I never had the chance to take more pictures but the menu is below of course and the recipes are linked below just the same where applicable. Thyme, by the way, completed the herbal threaded trinity of this meal when lacing our lemon sorbet. Do enjoy!

Tonight's Menu
Rosemary Popovers
Brussels Sprouts with Pearl Onions & Herb Butter (microwavable, courtesy of Fresh Direct) with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes and Chopped Prosciutto
Scallops with Grapefruit and Buerre Blanc
Lemon Sorbet (courtesy of Sharon's) with Thyme

A Rollicking Reader's Digest Dinner

 

What an evening! I pulled this menu together from an old Reader's Digest cookbook "Secrets of Better Cooking" first published in 1973. The volume was handed down to me by my elderly cousin years ago and I absolutely treasure it. The menu was all laid out as what to serve for a specific occasion and I did very little tinkering to it.

Tonight's Menu
Caviar Eggs
Truffled Green Beans with Mushrooms
Mashed Potatoes
Baked Ham with Black Raspberry Glaze
Cinnamon Orange Savarin

I wanted to set a very 70's dinner party table, reflective of the menu, so conveyed this carefully, with copper serving ware and white candles wedged in candlesticks from Scandinavia, balanced by sturdy white free-form plates, with a wooden bowl filled with whole pink grapefruit as the centerpiece. 

 

 

We started out in our living area with stuffed eggs topped with caviar. Cook 12 eggs, cool and cut in half, putting the yolks in a small bowl. Mash with 4 TB mayonnaise, 1 TB Dijon mustard, a hearty minced shallot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the eggs and serve over a nest of greens. Now, what else would you serve with caviar? 

Vodka! The nips seen here were frozen in a tray of ice cube blocks and then lit with battery powered votives in the ice bucket to create an illusory, nearly preternatural effect. It was a great idea that I felt conclusively added to the merriment.

 

 

Here's a frozen bottle of Ketel One standing on its own.

We also provided frozen shot glasses as a vessel for those that might not wished to have their vodka quite so straight.

 

Onto the dinner, and the sides:

I don't mind confessing that I used a few oven-ready pans of mashed potatoes from Fresh Direct with only a little added butter. As everyone professed their love for it, I sat quietly, apart from other conversation, merely thanking them but otherwise didn't say a word about it! Baby kept mum as well.



I sauteed a host of wild mushrooms in butter, olive oil and randy truffle oil to toss in with a batch of green beans.



The 8 1/2 pound ham, as seen above, was uncooked, not smoked, and sat in a 450 degree oven until an internal temperature of 140 degrees was reached. It was not exactly as I expected it to be--our ham was more like a pork loin roast. But for just the six of us, we ate the whole thing anyway, so I guess it was good enough, with crispy skin and a black raspberry glaze (added the last half hour of cooking) outfitted with a frock of apricots escoffier strewn about the edges of the serving platter. This decorative side of apricots is easily made: dried apricots are boiled in 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 1 cinnamon stick, slices of fresh ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves and 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg. Chill and bring to room temperature when ready to serve as your garnish.

Bottles of rose were uncorked!

So to cut back in time a bit: several hours before the party, I launched into my savarin to be reserved for dessert with vigor, as one must when exploring unknown territory (I had never attempted this cake before), here briskly beating four eggs until fluffy to put the wheels in sweet motion.

The brilliant cinnamon orange savarin! I wasn't sure what to expect at the outcome, but it turned out that I arrived with a very good tea cake. I filled the center with plump maraschino cherries as much for fun as to add a stroke of color.



I just loved this table...

And our rollicking night spent together!