Chicken Livers For Dinner

Sometimes dinner can be a wonderfully simple thing--it's more often the organization of the guests that is difficult as we'd been trying to wrangle our fellow chicken liver lovers for this evening for at least a year. Well, all came together a few days ago in the most excellent way. I've held on to these recipe cards, clipped from an issue of Martha Stewart's Living magazine back in 2001, always intending to assemble this clever menu, but never did. With a little tinkering, boy was it all good! Baby and I added cheeses from Artisanal to get us started, a few bottles of Viognier and another white, slightly frizzante something or other to see us through the entire course of the meal.

Here's what we ate:

Some Artisanal Cheeses
Robiola Rocchetta: cow, sheep, goat, a welcome guest at any party
La Peral: cow--pungent, like a bleu, enhanced by a drizzle of black truffle honey
La Tur: Cow, Sheep, Goat--the ice cream of cheeses! We're really dealing with 3 cheeses in 1 here: the savory rind, the gooey under belly and the stiff cream in the middle. Absolutely gorgeous!

A chicory Salad with lemon anchovy vinaigrette further sent the ball rolling but cut the suggested amount of lemon juice in half, and double the anchovies at least (and by all means use fresh white anchovies if you can), or use anchovy paste and definitely add some sugar to taste. Also, I didn't know that escarole and radicchio were considered chicories--and our market was out of escarole so I subbed slightly bitter red leaf lettuce for escarole.

We soaked our Chicken Livers in buttermilk to remove the bitterness and finished them in a 100 degree oven before our guests arrived. I don't know that I've ever been so prepared for a dinner before anybody's even showed up! We made the Polenta with bacon and sage ahead of time too, as a luscious pillow on which our main dish would rest.

More cheese! Roasted Pears with carmelized sugar and brandy called for thick slices of Pecorino Romano but we opted for a Majorero Pimenton goat cheese to add a little spice to our dessert instead.

What an enjoyable evening we had!

Soundtrack: Dinah Washington, the Dinah Washington Story, disc 2; Charles Mingus, Mingus Three; Bird, The Original Recordings of Charlie Parker; Atlantic Jazz, Best of the '50s; The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out

Tuna and Pickled Onion Crostini

Tuna fish! I've always loved a good tuna fish sandwich with thinly sliced nickels of Kosher dill or perhaps bread and butter pickles tucked in--and of course a few fistfuls of Fritos on the side, with maybe a Pepsi. Here is a recipe for tuna with pickled onions, gherkins and capers meant to be spread on crostini that I also think should just be hunkered down between two slices of fresh rye bread layered with alfalfa sprouts, shredded lettuce, screaming ripe tomato, and creamy avocado! I'd never had much luck with making satisfying tuna salad myself until last year (read here about my Tuna - Surprise! from June) but this one too is an easy winner, with a jaunty touch of Tuscany, courtesy of Saveur magazine.

P.S. I wholly skipped the red peppers.

P.P.S. When nobody's looking, just eat forkfuls of the tuna mixture out of the bowl it was made in or slather it on several Saltines.

Tuna and Pickled Onion Crostini

Adapted from Saveur.com

4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. salt-packed capers, soaked, drained, and finely chopped

12 pickled cocktail onions, drained and roughly chopped

8 small gherkins, finely chopped

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 jarred roasted red pepper, chopped

2 5-oz. cans tuna in water, drained

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

28 thin slices baguette, toasted

1. Using a fork, combine the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently stir in the tuna and season with salt and pepper.
2. Spread 1 tbsp. of the mixture on each slice of toast and serve at room temperature.

SERVES 6 – 8

This recipe was originally published as an online exclusive at saveur.com/issue123

Recipes Of Our Mothers - Jane Carrier's Meat Pie "Tourtiere"

I first discovered comforting, wintry meat pies (or pork pies, as we call them from Harvey's Bakery in my native New Hampshire) when I was a kid growing up. I still delight to the plunge of a fork into the supple, buttery, perfectly browned crust, releasing the steam and gentle aroma of spices emanating from the tender, finely ground meat simmering underneath. My family's dear friend Jane made remarkably similar meat pies too from scratch as gifts for us around the holidays (indeed, still does) and I've wanted to know the incredible mystery behind it for years. These pies have always been a precious thing of delicious beauty to me, but I'd resigned myself to the fact that I must relish each morsel only when home at Christmas time--until now. I recently asked Jane to reveal all and send me the recipe passed down from her French memere to make a pie of my own, at any time! Now, if you've never heard of a pork or meat pie, well, with the frost of February upon us, it is absolutely incumbent upon you to get cooking and follow the wonderfully warming recipe below--the tourtiere is a real treasure, as of course is Jane. We also like to add garlic mashed potato flakes instead of plain, or real mashed potatoes, along with liberal doses of cinnamon and nutmeg in the meat that we've ground twice. Merci, Jane et votre memere pour le tourtiere!

Submitted by Jane Carrier:

Meat Pie "Tourtiere"
Memere Carignan's recipe
Yields one 9" pie
Bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes
Pie crust top & bottom for 9" pie, both glazed with egg wash (1 egg white diluted with 1 tb water)
Filling for meat pie:
3 parts ground pork (1 1/2 lbs ground pork)
1 part lean hamburg (1/2 lb)
1 small onion & 1 rib of celery, chopped
1/4 lbs margarine
2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
3 tbs poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Pickled beets for a garnish

Use lean pork (I have the butcher grind center cut roast). Mix hamburg and pork in large saucepan, add onion and celery, cover with water. Cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Stir frequently to prevent from sticking to bottom of pan. When cooked, drain off liquid and set aside for futher use. After removing, excess liquid meat should look crumbly with a little liquid left. Add margarine and two cups of instant mashed potato flakes, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper (you may want to taste and adjust seasonings).
Blend mixture until meat and potatoes are well combined. If mixture is too thick add a little reserved liquid. Remember the pie will be sliced like a fruit pie and served hot.
Let mixture cool while preparing pie crust.
Line bottom of pie plate with bottom crust and brush with diluted egg wash mixture.
Spoon meat mixture into shell, filling pie plate up to the rim.
Cover with top crust, prick with tine of fork, brush with diluted eggwhite or milk.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is golden.
Slice and serve with pickled beets.

In The Kitchen With Huy Chi Le - Lemongrass Chicken

Having recently dined at Indochine, renowned for celebrity sightings as much as its food, we were eager to try some a few dishes at home. Featured in the beautiful new book, Indochine, Stories Shaken and Stirred, the following classic recipe by the restaurant's chef/owner Huy Chi Le serves two.

#29 Lemongrass Chicken with Asian Basil
(Serves Two)

Marinade Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast thinly sliced sideways against the fiber
2 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chili-garlic sauce (widely available in Asian markets)

Mix together and let sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

Cooking Ingredients:
4 shallots finely sliced the long way
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass (only the white part)
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup whole Asian basil leaves (stems out)
2 tbsp finely chopped peanuts

In a wok or flat pan, heat the oil to high heat. Throw in the sliced shallots and lemongrass and turn a few seconds until browned. Add marinated chicken and toss quickly and vigorously, separating it if it sticks together. Sautée for about three to four minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken), adding a table spoon of chicken broth every minute. Add the whole Asian basil leaves and sauté for another thirty seconds. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top. Garnish with a sprig of Asian basil.

First published in part in Next magazine.

Used by permission, photo by Jessica Craig-Martin, 1989 from Indochine, Stories Shaken and Stirred published 2009 by Rizzoli International New York; indochinenyc.com

Cavatelli with Chloe

I don't mind telling you right up front: I didn't make my own cavatelli. As much as Jimmy Bradley persists in making pasta at home for Cavatelli with Braised Veal Cheeks in The Red Cat Cookbook, from his restaurant (and our neighborhood fave) The Red Cat, once I read about rolling out obstreperous 30-inch logs of dough which are to be cut into 1/4-inch pieces and further pinched, twisted into shapes and flung into a bowl, I immediately turned a pale shade of puce and hied myself to Buon Italia at the Chelsea Market, where the pasta may be bought fresh, without the fuss.

Also, I didn't use veal cheeks. I learned veal cheeks are a special order item from the butcher requiring advance notice, and as our dinner was to be a simple, somewhat impromptu affair, we used an entirely suitable shoulder of veal instead. Absolutely salt and pepper the meat and braise it the day before as Bradley's cookbook suggests, in a rich sauce of beef stock, hand-crushed, whole-peeled tomatoes, and a hearty red wine with diced onions, celery and carrots--garlic, diced plum tomatoes (I used heirloom grape tomatoes), grated Pecorino Romano cheese, basil and full leaves of escarole finish the dish the next day, resulting in pure genius. I'd even venture to suggest really planning ahead by alotting enough time that once finished, let your pasta sit overnight and then reheat the whole thing to serve to your guests yet another day later.

A modest salad of red leaf lettuce with shallot-Champagne vinaigrette accompanied our delicious dish, and we were beside ourselves just dipping homemade bread into the sauce. I meant to get single serving Ciao Bella sorbets for dessert, but I forgot. Didn't matter anyway--we hardly needed it!

Cavatelli with Braised Veal Cheeks

Adapted from The Red Cat Cookbook by Jimmy Bradley & Andrew Friedman

Serves 6 as an appetizer, or 4 as a main course (but unless your guests are cattle, I think this makes much more than that!)

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound veal cheeks (or veal shoulder)

Salt

Pepper

1 carrot, onion, celery each coarsely chopped

1 35-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with their juice

2 cups veal stock (we used homemade beef stock)

1 cup red wine, preferably Barolo or Cabernet (a sturdy red table wine will do just fine and be considerably cheaper)

5 thyme sprigs

2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 medium head escarole

1 pound store-bought fresh cavatelli

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 cup grated Pecorino cheese

2 tablespoons sliced basil

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Pour 1 cup of the canola oil into a heavy-bottomed roasting pan and heat over high heat. Meanwhile, season the veal cheeks with salt and pepper. Add them to the pan and brown well on both sides, approximately 5 minutes per side. Remove the cheeks from the pan and set them on a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and brown them, approximately 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, stock, wine, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Return the meat to the pan and transfer to the oven. Cover and braise until the meat is almost falling apart, approximately 2 1/2 hours. As the cheeks braise, periodically check on them to be sure the liquid isn't boiling aggressively; it should be at the mildest of simmers (0ver the braising time, I ended up gradually turning my oven down to 200 degrees).

Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Pass the braising liquid through a food mill to make a sauce. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat by hand and return it to the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Heat two tablespoons of canola oil (I used olive oil here) in a wide, deep-sided, heavy-bottomed saute pan set over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it's just beginning to brown, approximately 2 minutes. Add the escarole and saute for a minute or two, then add the meat and sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to warm the meat and integrate the flavors.

Add the cavatelli to the boiling water and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Strain and add to sauce. Toss in the fresh tomatoes, Pecorino, and basil, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

(The recipe suggests drizzling olive oil over the pasta and adding some more grated cheese when serving, but why gild the lily?)

A Grain of Salt

A most bewitching set of salts came my way recently from Salt Traders, purveyors of fine
sea salts, natural salts, and hand harvested salts from around the world that appear quite worth their weight. From Hawaii they submit the following, cunningly accompanied with descriptive tags:

Black Lava Sea Salt has "a hearty crunch with high-quality, activated charcoal (a natural anti-toxin and digestive aid)" to toss on to vegetables and roasts, as well as potato dishes and stuff fired up on the BBQ.

Bamboo Sea Salt is "combined with organic bamboo leaf extract. It is known for being abundant in amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins." For use in Asian cuisine, such as stir-fry, or use liberally with soups, just about any meat, and salmon.

Red Alaea Sea Salt "gets its name and color from the volcanic clay native to Hawaii...sprinkle on any dish to add dynamic texture, color and flavor. Perfect for traditional Hawaiian dishes, such as Kalua Pork."

Guava Wood Smoked Sea Salt "is fine and soft, like brown sugar, with a pure mellow smoke flavor...hand-harvested, solar dried, and then slowly cool smoked over native guava wood." Who knew? Try on burgers, grilled salmon, or salmon burgers! Rubs for chicken and roasts, a finish for risotto, a flavoring for eggs (such as poached eggs Norvege with a sprinkle into your hollandaise) and home fries or a bracing dip with ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Or your grandfather's boots! Just marvelous!

For more information call 800-641-SALT; salttraders.com

Sunday Morning Zucchini Bread

When I learned from a friend that those indeed were not just rotting bananas in her freezer--I was scrabbling around for some ice to make a cocktail--no, rather they were a deliberate trick, freezing old bananas first and putting them aside to later make the most wonderful banana bread. Well, that sounded good to me and certainly something to try so Baby and I froze some bananas with good intentions but forgot about them and they sat for too long in our freezer and just got gross so we ended up throwing them out over the weekend. But it did get me thinking about making a sweet, slightly savory bread to make that Saturday afternoon and wake up to on Sunday morning, so I tried my hand at making zucchini bread, which I've always thought tastes very similar to gingerbread. My loaves were quite scrumptious, good on their own, served room-temperature or toasted and slathered with terrific Tofutti spread ("better than cream cheese" with half the fat and no dairy as well) or butter, or both! I would use a little more baking powder than the recipe suggests to elevate the bread, to perhaps form a more gracious arc. Also, toast the walnuts at 375 degrees for maybe 5 minutes and when you start to get a nutty whiff emanating from the oven, they are done.

We nibbled on our loaves of zucchini bread over several days!

Spiced Zucchini Walnut Bread

Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2004
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (from about 2 medium)
1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped (about 4 ounces)

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Butter and flour two 8x4x2 1/2-inch metal loaf pans.

Whisk flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, allspice, and baking powder in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Whisk in flour mixture. Mix in zucchini and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake breads until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes.

Turn breads out onto rack and cool completely.

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.)