Mission: Cook! (14 page)

Kenny and I shopped for days and we invaded my mother's kitchen on the morning of my father's birthday. All of the kids got together and told the folks that we were sending them out for an early dinner to the Red Lion, a warm and hospitable local inn that dates back to the thirteenth century, for a nice birthday dinner. They made themselves scarce most of the day whilst we cooked.

We tried our level best to go all out. We poached whole salmon to serve
chaud-froid
with some nice white cream sauces. We made deviled crab cakes, prosciutto with melon, and cold boiled shrimp with a peppery aïoli. For salads, we had wilted spinach and bacon with a mustard vinaigrette, Caesar salad, a watercress and apple salad with a sherry-based dressing, a vinegary potato salad with haricots verts, and a cold roasted vegetable salad with leek, parsnips, and squash. We made chicken fricassée with white wine, mushrooms, and onions; boeuf Bourguignon, the classic beef and red wine stew, paired with roasted potatoes and buttered peas; and baked cod with oven-roasted tomatoes, shallots, and courgettes. We served up cold ham and roast duck with mango chutney. Just for fun we whipped up a couple of smoking curries, a salmon mousse, and jellied eel in aspic. Among the desserts were apple and caramel tarts and a flashy variety of pastries and cakes.

We had asked my mother to call ahead before they came home on the premise that we would have time to clean up, so she wouldn't have to walk into a
disaster area. Colleen fielded the calls and deflected her hour after hour, pleased, I think, to be in on the plot with Kenny. Guests began to sneak in and we packed them, cheek by jowl, all onto the second floor. We ran platters out to a big party tent that we'd had set up across the road, and after hours of work, it was lights out and we were ready to go.

Finally, the old Vauxhall pulled up in the drive, and we casually walked outside to greet my parents. We begged off staying around on the pretext that we had to deliver all of the food down the road for His Lordship's event the next day. We were as pompous about it as we could possibly manage. My dad fired off a couple of grumpy asides about being kept out so “bloody late,” and they headed into the house through the back, as was their custom.

Kenny and I darted inside the front ahead of them and hid. I heard the familiar sound of my dad dumping his keys on the kitchen counter, the light being clicked on, and he walked into the front parlor. We had set up an elaborate bar in the corner of the room, stocked to the nines with whiskeys, gin, spirits of every kind, jugs of wine, bottles of beer, and soft drinks. He passed it by, and somehow it didn't twig in his head that anything was going on.

Somewhere, someone let out a giggle and there was a cry of “Surprise!” My mom came into the room, and down the stairs they tumbled: Auntie Barbara, Uncle Wesley, kids and cousins and neighbors from the road, Aunt Ellie, Uncle Paul, friends from the pub and from his work. Good old Bob Roper even showed up and helped out with the serving. I went over to Dad, and his first reaction was to gruffly call me a rude name and give me a manly punch in the arm; but then he hugged me and I saw that he had tears in his eyes, and that night we shared a few drinks in true love and friendship and toasted his birthday well into the night.

I think I paid him back pretty well.

These next three dishes—the lamb salad, the short ribs, and the apple tart—are all elegant, creative, and incredibly flavorful ways to feed a lot of people, if you've a mind to.

Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the lamb loin with some of the olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over high heat and add the rest of the oil. Sear the lamb on all sides until golden brown. Place the lamb loin in the oven and roast until medium rare. Since the lamb will continue to cook for 5 to 8 minutes after you have removed it from the oven—carryover cooking—the meat thermometer will continue to rise in that period of time. So, the idea is to pull the lamb out at an internal temperature of 120 degrees, so it ultimately ends up where you want it for medium rare, which is an internal temperature of 125 degrees. Chill the lamb in the refrigerator.

Mix the vinegar and oil. Add the beets, orange, red onion, and mint, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fold in the feta cheese. Chill.

PRESENTATION

Slice the chilled lamb and divide among 6 plates. Spoon the beet salad over the lamb. Drizzle extra dressing from the beet salad over the lamb.

PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME (ESTIMATES)

Put
a tablespoon each of the oil and butter in a deep, heavy skillet with ovensafe handles, and turn the heat to medium high. A minute later, brown the ribs well on all sides, seasoning well with salt and pepper as they cook. This will take about 20 minutes for 4 pounds of beef. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding. Remove the ribs to a utility platter, pour out and discard the fat, and wipe out the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the remaining canola oil and another tablespoon of butter in the same pan, turn the heat to medium, and add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic, a large pinch of salt (
¹
/
₈
teaspoon), and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the red wine, thyme, parsley sprigs, and bay leaf to the skillet, and bring to a boil; return the ribs to the pan, cover, and put in the oven. Cook until the meat is very tender and falling from the bone, about 3 hours; turn the meat once or twice an hour.

Whilst the meat is cooking, put the bacon in a small skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Put the pearl onions in a separate small saucepan with another tablespoon of the butter, enough water to cover the onions, a pinch of salt, and the sugar, and cook over high heat until most of the water evaporates. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until a nice glaze forms. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions brown a little. Set aside.

Start a skillet on medium heat and put in the olive oil. Add the mushrooms with a little salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give up their juices and brown a little, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

When the ribs are done, arrange them on a serving platter. Whilst they are resting, take another large pan and into it strain the vegetables and liquid, pressing hard on the vegetables to extract all of their juices. (Then discard the vegetable and herb pulp.) Bring the juices to a boil and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter; whisk until slightly thickened. Adjust the seasoning as necessary, then stir in the bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms; cook for another minute or two. Surround the ribs with the onions, mushrooms, and sauce. Serve, garnished liberally with chives.

On
a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11-inch circle that is less than ¼ inch thick. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and chill.

Peel the apples, cut them in quarters lengthwise, and core. Sprinkle the apples generously with lemon juice.

In a 10-inch tarte tatin pan (see Note), cook the butter, sugar, and cinnamon over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for 6 to 8 minutes until the mixture turns a medium caramel color, then remove the pan from the heat and arrange the apple halves, standing on their edges, in the pan, fitting them in tightly, since they shrink during cooking.

Return the apple-filled pan to the heat and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until the apples are tender and caramel colored. Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the pastry on top of the apple-filled pan and tuck the edges of the pastry inside the edge of the pan around the apples. Pierce the pastry in two or three places, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let the tart cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.