A quick note to laud Top Chef: Masters - judging from the first episode only, won by Hubert Keller, it's a very pleasant, light hearted show. The challenge posed, to cook a three course meal off a hot plate, microwave and toaster oven in a Pomona College dorm room, put these top chefs (and they are top chefs, rather than pseudo top chefs - Christopher Lee especially, who finished in 2nd place, is a New York star) in interesting situations. Keller even ran for the bathroom to refresh his pasta.
All in all, a good laugh.
6/12/2009
Weekday dinner - pasta with tuna and capers
I had the opportunity to rush out of my job a little earlier than usual last night, and was so delighted to be able to cook during the week for once. Still, even getting home "early" (i.e., 7 pm) doesn't leave much time too cook before it gets too late to eat a lot. So I opted for one of the fastest meals I know - pasta with tuna, onions and capers.
There's literally nothing to this. Slice onions and sautee on medium heat until golden brown. Add garlic. Add half a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Add good italian tuna (the kind in the jar packed in olive oil). Add good, salted capers. Cook your pasta, add to the sauce and cook until the pasta is done, and serve.
Can you make the same dish with normal stewed tomatoes, normal supermarket tuna, and the capers packed in that odd vinegar brine? Obviously. And it will taste really pretty good. I happen to live in Astoria, and there is an excellent Italian deli at the foot of the train station. So I go there rather than the supermarket when I can. But all of those premium ingredients are just the cherry on top of a dish that's always good.
Having said that, the premium italian tuna I'm talking about is exceptional. Dressed with a little lemon and quality olive oil, it's dinner for two with perhaps a tomato salad on the side.
There's literally nothing to this. Slice onions and sautee on medium heat until golden brown. Add garlic. Add half a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Add good italian tuna (the kind in the jar packed in olive oil). Add good, salted capers. Cook your pasta, add to the sauce and cook until the pasta is done, and serve.
Can you make the same dish with normal stewed tomatoes, normal supermarket tuna, and the capers packed in that odd vinegar brine? Obviously. And it will taste really pretty good. I happen to live in Astoria, and there is an excellent Italian deli at the foot of the train station. So I go there rather than the supermarket when I can. But all of those premium ingredients are just the cherry on top of a dish that's always good.
Having said that, the premium italian tuna I'm talking about is exceptional. Dressed with a little lemon and quality olive oil, it's dinner for two with perhaps a tomato salad on the side.
6/10/2009
A puzzle
Here's something I don't understand at all. Why does commercial peanut butter have the same nutritional values (calories and fat, primarily), as peanut butter made of only peanuts?)
I suppose the answer is that the commercial peanut butter producers add oil to equal the fat content of pure peanuts, but it still puzzles me.
I suppose the answer is that the commercial peanut butter producers add oil to equal the fat content of pure peanuts, but it still puzzles me.
6/07/2009
Vegetable Stew
This is my version of Jacques Pepin's grandmother's vegetable stew, normally served as a side dish with roast chicken (as I served it) or fish, or with anything else. There really is no technique here whatever - cut up all the vegetables that are the freshest available, drop them into a pot with some olive oil, and cook for a minute. Add flour to make a sort of roux, cook the roux for a minute, and add water. As it cooks, the stew will thicken.
Pan roasted skate with Salad
There's really nothing difficult here. Extremely fresh skate, roasted briefly in a pan on medium heat. It is served with some very peppery watercress that I tamed with fingerling potatoes and olive oil vinaigrette.
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