Sandwich Normandie à La Presse

Summer is creeping up on us here in Los Angeles.  On hot days I dread turning on the stove so I am thankful for our ever reliable grill for times when the weather goes above 85 degrees.  But for a week it's all we've been doing and grilled meat is getting old.  Or I thought, at least I should give the grill a break.

So for last night's dinner, we decided to make sandwiches.  We were inspired by the delectable sandwich we had at Monsieur Marcel - grilled baguette with bacon, apple, brie and apricot preserve.

It was a breeze to put together.  Not to mention there was no cooking needed and no pans/utensils to wash after.  But most importantly, the result was a savory sandwich with wonderful combination of sweet and salty.  Add some salad along side it and you have a complete meal in under 15 minutes.  

I must mention though that Monsieur Sharpe did all the preparation.  He is pretty much the sandwich expert at home so I had him work on it.  Yaaay! for my man in the kitchen!

ingredients:
par baked panini bread
smoked ham
apricot preserve
fresh fuji apple slices
french brie

1) cut panini in half and place in toaster.  Toast until desired crispness.
2) spread brie on bottom bread and apricot preserve on top bread.
3) arrange ham and apple slices in between the panini breads.


Serve with the following salad:
assorted spring greens (lettuce, arugula, frisee, spinach etc.)
1 small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons real Vermont maple syrup

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar (i use muskat champagne vinegar from Trader Joes)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

coarse salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, mustard, maple syrup and vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the greens and serve.

Hello 2011!

Today is the first day of the year 2011.  But, my daughter woke up this morning not thinking much about the new year. Well she is not thinking much about the past year either. She woke up today with the same enthusiasm as she does everyday.  She just lives.  Fully.  In the present.  That is what I am learning today from my child -- not to worry too much about what this year brings but that I just live each day.  FULLY. Of course, in faith that the Father will take care of it all.

Our 1st family Christmas tree surrounded with new toys

New Year's eve was quiet for us.  Ok, my eyes were shut by 11:15PM as I was t-i-r-e-d.  My daughter and I have been sick since Christmas day with cold and cough, so we have to have the much needed rest before the holiday ends.  I skipped the usual tradition of having food and champagne at midnight to welcome the new year but at least I had a bowl full of round fruits on the table for good luck.  I also skipped carrying coins in my pocket and didn't scatter any on the windows this year (supposedly for prosperity).  Yet daughter and I wore yellow shirts (for prosperity) and put on my polka dot red pajamas.  Red for love, the dots for money.

To make up for not making preparations for last night I made today's dinner special.  After all, today is the first day of the year, right?!  So it may be the start of a tradition that I will be making this dish every January 1st.  It entails a lot of work so that it will be exclusive to this day only. It was divine and really, it was worth a half day making it. Thanks to you Julia Child -- we now have a family tradition.

I followed Julia's recipe to a tee.  So, as much as I love the flavor of bacon and that I did not understand the reason behind boiling the bacon first before browning it, I obediently followed the procedure.  Honestly though I think next time I will skip boiling it and keep the smoky flavor.  I strongly believe it will make it taste even better. 

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon fres thyme
A crumbled bay leaf
18 to 24 white onions, small (or defrosted frozen pearl onions)
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry the boiled bacon in a paper towel, then brown lightly

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust)

                

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.

Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

Coq Au Vin

There is something intimidating about the name Coq Au Vin. It somewhat sounds complicated and in my mind  entails hours of braising and many ingredients to deal with.  But when I saw the word "quick" attached to it on this month's Bon Appetit I was encouraged to make it again.  I was so inspired by the recipe that it became a spur of the moment choice for dinner last night.  I did not follow the recipe exactly however as I have other ideas to add in mind.  Ideas adopted from Molly Steven's book All About Braising and also from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". It was I think one of the best dishes I have ever cooked -- even my 2 year old could not stop raving about it.  She can barely pronounce the word but kept saying "a-cious" (delicious)!  So there, I was praising myself for such a culinary achievement.

I am a big fan of anything braised myself, and this classic French dish of chicken braised in red wine is I realize quite simple & easy to make, yet its flavors are bold and sophisticated - fit to serve to a king.  

Traditionally this is made with an old and tough chicken and cooked a lot longer resulting in a darker and richer dish.  However it is difficult to find such a bird in America, which is fine with me since I am always pressed for time anyways (but if you do come across an old & tough bird, this I think will be the perfect dish to make it into).  I used 4 leg quarters instead of a cut-up whole chicken --  I find that the breast parts are usually avoided in my family as we prefer dark meat.  Besides, using legs and thighs would mean equal cooking time for each part (breasts cook faster).  For the wine, use a decent but not necessarily expensive light dry red wine, with some amount of fruit, such as a domestic Pinot Noir or syrah.  In my case, I used a bottle of  California Organic Pinot Noir which I bought from Trader Joes for $6.

While Burgundian cooks would normally serve this country dish with egg pasta noodles, I was more than happy with a serving of home made mashed potatoes to soak up the flavorful winey sauce.  I actually think mashed potatoes is the perfect pair for it.  Alternatively you can also use a crusty baguette to dip in the sauce. Yum!

Of course don't forget a glass wine - try Burgundies if you can get one, but Pinot Noir from California, Oregon or New Zealand are also good.

Coq Au Vin

5 bacon slices

4 chicken quarters (cut into 4 legs and 4 thighs)

3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley (chopped, then divided)

10 ounces crimini mushrooms (sliced)

4 large shallots, peeled, quartered through root end

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 carrot, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2 cups dry red wine (such as Pinot Noir)

2 cups chicken broth, divided

4 teaspoons all purpose flour 

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Browning: Saute bacon in a large, deep heavy bottomed pan with a lid that will hold all the chicken (I used a dutch oven).  Cook over medium-high heat until brown and crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper and add to pan.  Sear the chicken on both sides until deep golden brown.  Work in batches to avoid crowding, this helps brown the chicken better. [You must cook it to golden brown.  The more golden it is, the more fond on the bottom of the pan thus adding more flavor to the sauce later on.]  Transfer the chicken to a platter.

The aromatics & braising liquid: Pour or spoon off any excess fat without discarding the tasty brown bits.  Leave only about 1-2 tablespoon fat.  Add carrots and shallots to the pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Saute for 2 minutes then add mushrooms. Continue to saute, stirring once or twice until the vegetables begin to soften and are freckled with brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and stir to smear it through the vegetables. Add garlic; toss 10 seconds.  Add the wine and bring to a boil to deglaze, scraping the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge the precious crust accumulated at the bottom.  Add 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, thyme, bay leaves, 2 tablespoons parsley and the bacon.  Bring to a boil.

Braising: Add the chicken pieces back to the pan.  Bring to a boil then adjust the heat so that it bubbles gently but steadily.  Cover and cook for about 40 minutes (alternatively you can put it in a 325° oven for 45 to 60 minutes) or until chicken is fork tender and cooked through.  Transfer and arrange the chicken on a platter and keep warm.

The finish:  Turn the heat to high and boil the braising liquid.  Reduce until it becomes fairly thick and saucy.  Meanwhile, mix the flour with the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth, stirring until smooth.  Add flour mixture to sauce and cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.  Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper then spoon over chicken.  Garnish with remaining parsley and serve.