Back in the Saddle

Oh, hello. Yes, I've been a tad distracted, what with turning 25, producing this and, oh yes, getting this to this guy.

The whole working-two-jobs thing really changed my relationship with cooking for a little while, where remembering to put a yogurt and Lara bar in my bag before work was a serious culinary achievement and our social eating as a couple became centered on event-ish dinners out (mmmmMMomofuku in all its incarnations - not that there's anything wrong with that). The first visit back to Hostessland called for baby steps.

After inviting the lucky and adorable couple, my lovely friend Marlene and her boyfriend David, I immediately forgot the date and agreed to work during the day on that Saturday. I now had 2 hours of prep time -- this is where clever menu planning comes in.


Criteria: something warm and wintry without being heavy or requiring hours of attention. Something elegant and pretty without being fussy. Impressive but can be assembled in two hours.

Solution: Two small roasted chickens with herbs, basted with lots of stock and white wine; pretty rainbow carrots roasted whole in the pan, and my new favorite secret weapon: celery root puree.
I put a little cream in the puree because I had it, but honestly it is so sweet and creamy to begin with you don't need it, or perhaps a little milk to soften it in the blender. J cubed the celeriac, I boiled it & covered to keep warm, and blended right before serving.

The best part? Marlene, who is German, informed us with a blush that at home, they have a special name for celeriac: "Stehpimmelsalat" -- steh=stand, pimmel=penis, salat=salad". Translation: "Boner Salad" for its enhancing properties! What more can you ask from such an ugly vegetable?

Also, an elegant salad to start from Heidi. I only had red beets on hand so it ended up being predominantly red and a little tart, but it's kind of pretty that way. I bet this would be good with a little strong cheese crumbled on.


And: Chocolate Bourbon bundt cake from Orangette. Turns out the part about releasing it from the pan before comletely cool is no joke. I left it overnight. The ensuing tug-of-war resulted in a mangled top surface. Not to be daunted, I remembered that necessity is the mother of chocolate ganache (cream + chocolate? really?), and sure enough, the hot mess of cake was seriously improved by a shiny layer of satiny chocolate sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar (but what isn't?). The sugar gets me every time: rustic but so pretty. This cake is boozy and delicious.

Oh right, I love cooking for people! Moral: it's all about picking the right menu and half the work is done.

Stocking Up

I swear I wasn't trying to make a pun when I though of this title. But I'm keeping it, because it really is the mood I'm in this week. After several days of post-vacation, no-food-in-the-house existence, I was humbled when J expressed nostalgia for the childhood days of a fridge full of fresh produce and leftovers.

I realized I had fallen into my collegiate habit of a few small trips to the market every week for the odd baguette, wedge of cheese and a couple apples. I think I thought there was something French about this.


But things are different now. Living with someone means thinking about the future. Like, next week. So it was time to make good on my promise to use up all the baggies of chicken parts (a collection augmented by our recent passion for butterflying chickens correctly! We've been doing it backwards this whole time) and carrot stubs waiting in the freezer.


I used the pasta pot with built-in strainer, which works great in theory as you don't have to put everything in a bag or cheesecloth. Ours is a little stupid, though, since the straining holes go all the way up to the top and you have to leave several inches of room in the pot so the liquid doesn't seep out the sides.


15 minutes of assembling the raw material + 4 hours of simmering while roasting a big batch of beets and cutting up a whole buncha kale and mushrooms = a mise en place for the whole rest of the week and a sense of plenty upon opening the fridge.

Chicken Stock (adapted from kitchn)

Place chicken parts (I had necks and backbones. Some recipes want you to put whole chicken parts in, but to me the point of this project is to use up scraps), vegetable bits (root ends of carrots are ok, as are wilted greens like celery tops; just no onion skins and I think cabbage is a no as well), a chopped up onion or two and a couple cloves of garlic plus whatever fresh herbs you have around (my oregano, rosemary and parsley have survived!) and a pinch or 2 or 3 of salt in a pasta pot or in a cloth bag. Add enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil and then turn down a little so the stock is just bubbling. If someone walks in and says "It smells amazing in here!", make sure the pot is covered and turn the heat down a tad. The yummy smell is flavor compounds being released.

Read a book, listen to a podcast. 4 hours of simmering should be good. Strain, let cool, and refridgerate stock overnight. Skim the congealed fat if you want, discard it or save it for cooking. Put in bags or tupperware (I also filled an ice cube tray) and freeze.