Fed Up - By Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant Page 0,94
golden brown and warm through.
Warm Pasta Salad
Jessica Conant-Park
Manchester, New Hampshire
Serves 4
1 Ib. pasta, preferably fettuccine
½ small red onion, thintly sliced
1 avocado, cut inton ½ bites
1 container grape or cherry tomatoes, or 2 plum tomates, cut up
½ cup (or good handful ) Calamata olives, pitted and roughly chapped
1 bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
½-¾ cup good-quality olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 big squeeze lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste
16-20 Large frozen or fresh sbrimp, peeled and deveined ar 1 lb chicken cutlets Other: olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and Parmesan cheese
Start cooking the pasta while you prepare the vegetables.
Mix all the vegetables and basil with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a big squeeze of the lemon. Toss in a good pinch of salt and pepper. When the pasta is ready, mix it with the vegetables and dressing.
Heat a sauté pan with a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is nicely heated, add the shrimp or chicken. If using shrimp, cook for about 45 seconds to 1 minute per side until perfectly pink and cooked through. If using chicken, season both sides of the cutlets with a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and sugar. Sear on each side until golden brown. Don’t move the cutlet around too much while it is cooking, because you want the sugar to give a wonderful caramelized crust.
Toss the shrimp or chicken in with the pasta salad and serve with Parmesan cheese. I prefer this dish with lots of dressing, so add more olive oil or balsamic vinegar if you like.
In a skillet, heat the butter and oil until butter sizzles. Sauté the tenderloin on all sides; if the fats aren’t hot enough, the meat won’t sear. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Finish cooking the meat in a 350° oven until desired doneness, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Deglaze the skillet with beef or veal stock. Reserve these drippings for sauce.
Cognac Wine Sauce
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. chopped shallot
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp. Cognac
1 cup beef or veal stock
Herbs and spices to taste (salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf)
In a saucepan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter. When hot, add chopped shallot, and sauté. Add red wine, Cognac, stock, herbs, and spices. Reduce mixture to ¼ cup and check seasonings. Add deglazed drippings from tenderloin. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter bit by bit to finish sauce, whisking continuously.
Turned Vegetables
12 large Idaho potatoes, cut in half crosswise
12 large fresh carrots, cut in half crosswise
¾ cup clarified butter
½-¾ tsp. crushed dried rosemary
Salt and fresh pepper to taste
Prepare turned vegetables: Carve or “turn” the vegetables into 7-sided ovals. Steam the vegetables until three-quarters done. Heat clarified butter with rosemary. Sauté vegetables until done. Finish with salt and pepper.
To serve: Slice beef and serve on warmed plates or platter on top of sauce. Garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs and turned carrots and potatoes.
Champagne-Poached Figs with Heavy Cream
Nancy R. Landman
Serves 8
1 bottle dry champagne or sparkling white wine
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
½ vanilla bean
4 3-inch cinnamon sticks
24-32 ripe, fresh figs, preferably purple
Heavy cream for serving
Fig leaves for garnish, optional
In a large saucepan, combine champagne or wine, lemon zest, sugar, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat.
Add figs and poach over low heat until tender but not shapeless, 20-30 minutes. Transfer the figs to a serving dish.
Reduce poaching liquid to 1½ cups. Remove vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks. Pour sauce over figs. Serve at room temperature with heavy cream. Garnish with fig leaves if desired.
Magret de Canard Barbara
Barbara Seagle
Brookline, Massachusetts
Serves 4
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
2-3 navel oranges, sliced
Unsalted butter
Four boneless duck breasts, skin and fat layer intact
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup red wine
Combine the water and sugar in a sauté pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the liquid comes to a simmer. Add the orange slices and cook over medium-high heat until the oranges are soft and caramelized to a deep brown color. Swirl in the butter at the end of the cooking. Set aside.
Score the fat side of the duck breasts in a crisscross (diamond) pattern right through the fat layer, but not cutting the meat. Salt and pepper the breasts lightly on both sides. Heat a sauté pan over a medium-hot fire and add the