Out to Lunch (31 page)

Lemon Chili Green Beans

SERVES 4 TO 6

When you are sick of the same old same old “tender crisp” steamed green beans, try these. They’re full of flavor and a bit of heat; Jenna thinks you’ll be a convert.

1 pound French thin green beans (haricot verts) trimmed

1 tablespoon chopped shallot

Juice and zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons butter, divided

¼ cup dry white wine

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter with the grapeseed oil. When it stops foaming, add the shallot and red pepper flakes, and cook until lightly browned. Add green beans and cook until they begin to get a little color. Put in the wine and lemon juice and cook until it has reduced almost completely, by which point the beans should be tender. Toss in the remaining butter and stir until it has created a sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the chopped herbs at the last minute.

Fig Tarts with Pistachio Cream

SERVES 4

These simple little desserts are very elegant and special. And what Jenna made the night she and Brian first got together . . .

1 recipe of your favorite pie dough or store-bought crust, rolled out and cut into 4 6-inch circles

1 pint fresh figs, washed and cut into six wedges each

4 amaretti cookies, ladyfingers, or other hard cookie, smashed to crumbs

4 teaspoons Demerara sugar, like Sugar in the Raw

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup fig jam

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon canned pistachio paste (I like Love’n Bake)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the rounds of dough on a parchment-lined baking tray about 1 inch apart. Divide the cookie crumbs between the rounds and spread out, leaving about ½ inch around the outside edge. Divide the figs between the rounds, making a pretty spiral design with the wedges on top of the crumbs, again leaving about ½ inch at the edge. Fold the edges up around the figs, pinching where necessary. Mix the cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle the tarts with the cinnamon sugar and bake until golden brown, and the dough is cooked through, about 14 to 18 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

Mix the fig jam with 1 tablespoon water and heat in your microwave until melted, about one minute. Strain and paint the strained jam on the figs, avoiding the crust if possible.

Before serving, whip the cream and sugar to soft peaks. Fold in the pistachio paste and top the tarts.

Jenna’s Morning-After Dutch Baby Pancake

SERVES 2 TO 4

All the things you love about a pancake, but easier since you just make one large one in the oven as opposed to all that flipping. Jenna likes it with butter, lemon, and confectioners’ sugar, but it stands up to maple syrup or jam just as easily.

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch salt

Confectioners’ sugar (to taste)

Fresh lemon juice (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, flour, and tablespoon of sugar and pinch of salt. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch skillet or ovenproof dish over medium-high heat on the stovetop, until it is sizzling and the foaming stops. Pour the batter into the pan or dish and put the pan immediately into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pancake puffs up and turns golden brown. Drizzle with melted butter if you like, sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Watch it quickly deflate, and serve immediately.

Jean’s Thanksgiving Yeast Rolls

SERVES 10 TO 12

Jean wasn’t the world’s most passionate cook, just like her daughter, Aimee. But Jenna got addicted to these wonderful little rolls when she went home with Aimee for Thanksgiving in college, and now she is thankful for them every year. Your leftover turkey sandwiches will never be the same.

2 packages dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup warm water

1 cup shortening

1 cup boiling water

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 sticks butter, melted

1 ½ teaspoons salt

6 cups all-purpose flour

Put shortening in a large bowl and pour over boiling water to dissolve. Add sugar, salt, eggs, flour, and dissolved yeast. Mix well, put in a lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough ½-inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter. At this point, you need to decide what kind of bread you desire . . .

For basic rolls, pour half of the melted butter in the bottom of two roasting pans, place the cut rolls on top and then paint the tops with the remaining butter. Let rise 2 to 3 hours at room temp and then bake at 350°F for 18 to 24 minutes until golden brown.

For fun cloverleaf-style rolls, use a smaller biscuit cutter, dip two or three rolls in melted butter and stack, then place the stacks on their sides in buttered muffin tins, let rise 2 to 3 hours and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. (For Parker House style, make the dough into small balls, three per cup, rest of instructions the same.)

For lovely rings of breakaway bread, dip each piece in melted butter and stack sort of willy-nilly in 2 greased Bundt pans. Let rise 2 to 3 hours till doubled. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until browned.

Eileen’s Lemon Cream Tart

SERVES 8

Jenna’s mom may love Thanksgiving, but she finds the traditional pies a little too heavy. This bright creamy tart is the perfect substitute.

For the Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup powdered sugar

Pinch salt

½ cup cold unsalted butter, sliced thin

For the Filling:

4 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lemon zest

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl and blend together using a fork. Press into a greased 8-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the crust in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Bake the crust for about 12 to 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Whisk together eggs, 1 ½ cups sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan. Add zest and lemon juice; cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly until thick, about 6 to 8 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the butter a little at a time until fully incorporated. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold.

Whisk together the cream and sugar to stiff peaks. Pour the lemon filling into the prebaked tart shell and spread evenly on the bottom; top with the whipped cream. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Eloise’s Potato Gratin with Prunes

SERVES 12

Eloise first brought this dish to a staff potluck. Everyone was skeptical about the combination, but it turns out that potatoes with prunes is insanely delicious. Perfect with pork or poultry, it has now become everyone’s favorite, and soon to be one of yours. (With thanks to David Bouley; adapted from his grandmother’s recipe as dictated in the middle of a cooking class.)

5 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and sliced thin on mandolin

2 leeks, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 cups half-and-half

3 cups cream

1 clove garlic

Nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 cup prunes, halved or quartered

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Rub gratin dish with the cut side of the clove of garlic. Butter the dish liberally. Sauté leeks and scallions in 4 tablespoons butter till soft but not browned. Put potatoes in pot and add half-and-half and cream, the garlic clove, and a good grating of nutmeg. Bring to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes until slightly thickened and potatoes become flexible but not cooked through. Ladle half of the potato mixture into the gratin dish, followed by the leeks and scallions and sprinkle the prunes evenly over the top, and then the parsley. Add the rest of the potatoes. Fill with cream and half-and-half mixture just to the level of the potatoes. Discard the rest. Dot the top of the dish with remaining butter and bake 40 minutes to an hour. Cook till well browned and softened all the way through. Should be creamy, but thick and not soupy. You can hold in a 200°F oven nearly indefinitely.

Lois’s Poppy Seed Cookies

SERVES 10 TO 12

These little cookies are simply addictive, the perfect accompaniment to tea or coffee.

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

¾ cup cooking oil

¼ cup orange juice

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup poppy seeds

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs till foamy, then add sugar, oil, juice, and salt. Add poppy seeds and flour and mix till well blended. Drop by heaping half teaspoons (I know it looks like not enough, but trust me) 1 inch apart on ungreased sheet pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until just golden around edges, but still pale in the center. Remove immediately from sheet to rack and cool.