Fresh Tart

Cassoulet, Parts III & IV

FreshTartSteph — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:25:18 PST

The big day finally arrived! We actually got to eat the damn cassoulet, a dish I've become very familiar with over the last several days that it's taken me to prepare it. Let me say right off the bat - it was well worth the effort. And for more reasons than the obvious deliciousness - including the excitement of my fabulously foodie guests (Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa), the beauty of the completed casserole, and the satisfaction in finally preparing such a classic dish (it's been on my list for a long while).

So, I left off on Friday having prepared the bean and lamb stews, as well as pulling apart the duck confit and browning the sausages. Yesterday I made fresh bread crumbs, and roasted the duck skin, first cut into thin strips, to make duck cracklings (pictured above). Oh my, those cracklings, so rich and decadently crisp, reminiscent of perfectly fried bacon, except...ducky. Divine.

About an hour before I planned to assemble it all, I heated both the bean and lamb stews to simmering. I set out my duck pieces, duck cracklings, and sausage. I pulled out my 50-lb. (at least it seems like it weighs 50 lbs.) Le Creuset 5-quart casserole and muscled it onto the stove top. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees F.

I put together an aioli platter for a light appetizer - raw mushrooms and radishes, paper thin slices of salami, cornichon pickles, olives, and tiny boiled potatoes. John lit a fire in the fireplace - always lovely, except if the flue is closed (our furnace guy had stopped by a couple of weeks ago when our new furnace didn't seem to be keeping the house warm; he latched windows and closed the flue, without telling us, yeah). Soon clouds of black smoke were filling the living room, sending me running for a pitcher of water and John scrambling to open windows and the front door. We aired the room out the best that we could and soldiered on, a glass of Veuve Cliquot firmly in hand. (Recipe for aioli here.)

After that drama (see below), I rushed back into the kitchen and got to work building the dish, the cassoulet, my reward for three days of preparation, smoke-choked dining room be damned, and it felt great. Here's the deal: I first spooned in a layer of beans, then a layer of lamb, duck, duck cracklings, and sausage. More beans. More meat. I finished with a last layer of beans, a generous topping of fresh breadcrumbs, and several ladles-ful of the lamb and bean stewing liquids. I then heaved the now 100-lb. pan into the oven and prepared for our guests to arrive.

Debbie & Stu arrived first, walking in the still-standing-open front door, commenting on how lovely it was to be greeted by an open door and the rustic, cassoulet-appropriate smell of a roaring fire. I love my gracious friends. Ana & Rudy came next, with the same cheerful take on the smoke, and we settled into the kitchen for champagne and aioli.

While we sipped and chatted, the casserole was transformed into crusty, golden cassoulet. I opened the oven, admired its beauty, and began smacking the crust with a spoon, pushing it down into the beans - what? Yep, that's what you do, then you put it back in the oven and let the crust form again. And then you admire, smack, and bake it again, and again, until at the very end, after all the chopping and browning and braising and layering and baking and smacking, a most awesomely masochistic dish emerges, to the delighted oohs and ahhs of anyone within 100 yards of the thing, because it is nothing if not impressive.

I served a simple salad as a first course (greens, apple, dried cherries, hazelnuts). I then lugged the cassoulet onto the table, and spooned crusty, juicy servings into warmed, shallow bowls, and we dug in. My first impression - rich. Meaty, garlicky rich. The soft beans absorb all of the strong, disparate flavors - gamey duck and lamb, spicy sausage, smoky bacon - and throw it back at you mellowed, blended, perfected. The chewy, smooth, and creamy textures complement one another, brought together by that glorious, golden crust. We ate more than half of the cassoulet, in the end, a stunning feat. With what remained, I happily made up packages for my guests to enjoy today.

We even pulled off eating dessert, the cherry almond tart I'd made earlier in the day. John had luckily for us ordered several pints of Jeni's Ice Cream, including Salty Caramel, arguably the best ice cream on planet Earth, especially with cherry almond tart. Alongside, we sipped Boston Bual Madeira - the cherries in the tart beautifully complemented by the cherry flavors in the Madeira. A great end to a great evening. (Recipe for cherry almond tart here.)

So there it is. Cassoulet, baby. The recipe is here, with the modifications I made as I went along (mostly to clarify where I thought things were confusing). I followed for the most part a Julia Child recipe from Julia's Menus for Special Occasions, but I also incorporated ideas from my father-in-law John's cassoulet recipe (never had his cassoulet, but given how delicious all of his recipes are, I trust that it completely rocks). All in all, a grand adventure, I highly recommend giving it a try. If you do, you must let me know how it goes (here, on Facebook, or on Twitter).

Here are the beautiful wines we tasted:

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut

Château Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2007

Kitchak Cellars Scherzo Napa Valley Rose 2007 (Stu & Debbie)

Roessler Ridges Ollie & Hazel’s Block Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2006 (Rudy & Ana)

Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee 2003 (Stu & Debbie)

Turley Hayne Vineyard Napa Valley Zinfandel 2007

The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Boston Bual Special Reserve

Cassoulet, Parts I & II

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:16:21 PST

So, tomorrow night we're hosting Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa for dinner. Remember our recent dinner at Heartland, where I mentioned I'd like to tackle cassoulet? Well, I put the plans into motion that night for tomorrow night's feast, and started getting down to business yesterday.

Cassoulet is a hearty French white bean casserole/stew, loaded with rich meats like duck or goose confit, lamb or pork shoulder, salt pork or bacon, and sausage. The beans, meat, and stewing juices are layered together and topped with fresh bread crumbs, then baked until the top is insane-crusty-perfection. I've taken a couple of days to prepare the dish, which in effect is bean & pork stew (day one), layered with lamb stew (day two), layered with sausages and duck confit and topped with bread crumbs (day three). You could make the bean and lamb stews on the same day - neither are difficult - but they are time-consuming. Since entertaining is supposed to be, you know, fun, to me it's worth the extra planning to start a few days ahead so that I can be relatively relaxed and enjoy my guests.

I started in an unorthodox manner - by browning the bacon (I chose bacon over salt pork). Most recipes have you layer un-browned salt pork into the casserole, but I knew the flavor of lightly browned bacon would be lovely with the beans, so that's what I did. Mon dieu, I know, I know. Into the bacon, I stirred onions and a bouquet garni of parsley, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. And then I stirred in the beans, of course - I used navy; flageolet are traditional, but I couldn't easily put my hands on them, and many recipes just call for navy anyhow. Last I stirred in water, just enough to cover, slowly adding more to keep the beans covered while they simmered, until they were just-tender, about an hour and a half. I added salt and pepper to taste a couple of times throughout the cooking process, although carefully, knowing that the forthcoming lamb and sausages would add saltiness as well.

Today I made the lamb stew, with a lamb shoulder roast. Since I couldn't secure a bone-in roast, I added a beef marrow bone to the stock pot along with the browned-in-duck-fat lamb, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, tomato paste, and beef stock. A slow braise in the oven for about two hours produced a beautifully rich, meaty stew.

I also dug into the (purchased) duck (legs) confit today - I pulled the meat from the bones into bite-size pieces, and pulled the skin from the meat. I also diced and sauteed the beautiful French garlic sausages I bought - I almost hate to put them in the cassoulet, they're so delicious on their own (nibble, nibble). But in they'll go, I swear. Tomorrow I'll make cracklings by roasting the duck skin until crisp.

OK, that's all I've got for now, other than the menu (below; recipe will follow after I make note of the adjustments I've made). Notice that we're pretty much just having crudite for an appetizer, and a simple cherry tart for dessert - no cheese, cassoulet is just too rich (shucks, I love an excuse - aka a party - for a cheese course; ah well, next time). Stay tuned for wine - we haven't nailed it down yet:

Aioli platter with raw mushrooms and radishes, boiled potatoes, thinly sliced salami, cornichon pickles, and olives

Watercress/frisee salad with apples, toasted hazelnuts, dried cherries, goat cheese, shallots, and hazelnut oil/apple cider vinegar vinaigrette

Cassoulet

Cherry Tart

Party Time

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:08:40 PDT

Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa arrived around 6:30 this evening (menu below). Great to see them and to have time to catch up and to solve the world's problems.

Have a good weekend!

Prep Time

FreshTartSteph — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:27:14 PDT

We're hosting a dinner party tonight - Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa - so I'm hopping to it. Here's the menu:

Radishes with butter (Hope Creamery, of course)
Dates wrapped in bacon
Roasted new potatoes with aioli

Roasted chickens (on the grill, using two genius Weber Poultry Roasters)
Wild mushroom sauce
Bread salad of chard, onions, pine nuts, and currants

Cheeses, Brownies

I'll fill in wine details after I figure them out, but I think we'll open with champagne and a white burgundy; pinot noir or French burgundy(s) with dinner; sauterne with cheese/dessert. Stay tuned...

Tequila for the Halibut

FreshTartSteph — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:49:00 PDT

Well, it was all downhill from there... I lost last week to a nasty cold and cough, but I'm back in fighting form this week. Whew. Despite feeling under the weather I enjoyed a couple of good meals, at week's end, starting on Friday night with Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius Williams and Rudy Maxa and Ana Scofield. Debbie set us up at Tim McKee's (La Belle Vie, Solera) new venture, Barrio, a tequila bar serving delicious Latin American (emphasis on Mexican) tapas. And delicious tequila! Hey, without a doubt Barrio is loud and crowded, more bar than restaurant (per the name), but it was a blast to scope out something new and as you might have gleaned from past posts, I am a sucker for south-of-the-border fare, BIG time. I scarfed down two crispy-spicy potato-chorizo tacos, shrimps grilled on skewers of sugar cane, and tasted scallop ceviche, guacamole, tequila-cured salmon (seriously good), and tender crab empanadas. Everything was delicious.

In typical fashion, I paid very little attention to where we were going ahead of time (Team Napa is always fun!) and had already planned and shopped for Saturday's dinner to celebrate my stepmom Susanna being in town. My menu? Uh, Latin American tapas. Well, not exactly, but pretty close. So for the second night in a row we dug into guacamole, spicy shrimps, carnitas rolled in corn tortillas with pickled onions, spicy pinto beans,rice, and grilled green peppers and onions. I even put together a cold, creamy t res leches cake, dangerously good.

After being couped up in the house all last week, I'm chomping at the bit - fresh fall air, here I come. After pretty heavy fare over the weekend, I'm feeling weighed down - sauteed halibut with aromatic vegetables, here I come.

Happy Birthday David! Happy Birthday Jen! And oh, Happy Anniversary John and Stephanie!

Moderate it: give it away. I've said it before, and it is a good trick - when leftovers loom large, offer takeaways for your guests. And at the tapas bar? Order lightly, since in my experience the table orders significantly more food at tapas-style restaurants than entrees at a traditional restaurant. Little bites of this and that, usually pretty rich fare, add up FAST. And oh, if the restaurant doesn't have valet parking - and Barrio does not - wear much more comfortable shoes than I did... blisters, baby, ouch.

Annual (?) Summer's End Feast at the Williams'

FreshTartSteph — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:12:00 PDT

Good morning, sunshine! It's hard not to be up-and-at-em on a morning like this, sunny and crisp, wow. Debbie and Stu the Wine Genius have probably already had breakfast at Lucia's and climbed a mountain, despite hosting us (and Ana Scofield and Rudy Maxa) for a fabulous din last night. That's just how they are - full of energy and fun. It's always a great hang with the Williams, and last night was no exception.

John and I walked into their lovely kitchen to find Stu smearing triple-creme brie onto toasted baguette slices - topped with slices of ripe pear, a few leaves of fresh rosemary, and washed down with sips of Veuve Cliquot Champagne, we were off to a good start...ha! After Rudy and Ana arrived, we moved the party outside, with views of Debbie's gorgeous garden and a platter of melon and prosciutto. Debbie and Stu's beyond-cute pups joined as well - flirty little Margo the long-haired dachsund, and graceful Turley, the tomato-loving dalmation. We sampled a couple of delicious Chardonnays (I...wrote nothing down, and although I did snap a few photos of bottles, it's hard to glean the specifics from them, my apologies) and heartily dug into a platter of the same grilled shrimps wrapped in pancetta and sage that Stu made on The Fourth (I modifie d the recipe for smaller shrimps, but really, you must try it the way it's supposed to be made; I'll get the recipe from Stu).

Thanks to absolutely perfect weather, we hung outside for a nice amount of time, trying to catch up with Rudy & Ana's travels and hard work filming and producing Rudy's PBS travel series, Rudy Maxa's World. They have been crazy-busy and of course the summer has flown by, so it was great to steal them before they're off again.

We did finally move inside for the main course - Pinot Noir, er, I mean grilled duck breasts, alongside wild rice and tomato salad. I joke because as I sat down at the dining room table, I heard Stu say from the kitchen, "I chose duck because it goes with Pinot Noir." I declare that as Stu's official tagline, it's so perfect. (The Pinot Noir, by the way, was incredible. As was the duck!)

After a slice of berry tart from delicious Rustica Bakery, followed by lots of chat, we finally let Debbie and Stu go to bed! I just about fell over when I saw that it was midnight - BIG oops, since Stacey was hanging with Nathan and I had no intention of keeping her up so late. We rushed home, Stacey was off into the night (er, morning, sorry again, Pooh), and John and I sunk into bed, stuffed and happy after another beautiful night at the Williams'. I don't know how I got lucky enough to have such amazing cooks and entertainers as friends - I mean seriously, bothFriday and Saturday nights? Sheesh. Needless to say, I am very grateful.

I don't know about you, but I am more than fortified to enjoy this golden, juicy Sunday!

Moderate it: I'm very lucky that both Friday and Saturday's dinners were fresh and healthy, lightly prepared, chock full o'veggies, and oh yes - deeeeeelicious!

Real Foodies Make Their Own Cheese

FreshTartSteph — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:07:00 PDT

I'm not a Foodie, not really. Oh, I love to cook and eat (and talk about it!), of course, but I'm way too lazy to be a real Foodie, the kind that strives for the very highest quality and most unique of food experiences. I'm much more likely to let someone else crawl the city for the perfect taco and then go check out the goods, ole! If I'm generous I could call myself a foodie (lower case). But in all honesty, I think I'm really just a Foodie Parasite, you know? Sigh. I guess I'm OK with that, if only because it's such a comfortably delicious spot to be in. As in major YUM. In fact...

...I played the happy Foodie Parasite at dinner last night, at the home of John's secretary Kris and her husband Harry. Now they are Foodies - and Harry's a wine genius to boot, so not only was the food incredible but the wine pairings were lovely. Sigh. But let me back up a bit.

First of all, they have a beautifully laid out garden of flowers and vegetables. Many delicious varieties of tomatoes as well as peppers, herbs, beets, asparagus, peas, beans. All the good stuff, much of which went into the spectacular meal they prepared for us. And I'm not exaggerating - it was spectacular. At it's core, a tomato feast, really, tomatoes three different ways. To open, a sliced-tomato salad, simple and clean with basil for garnish. Green, yellow, and red beauties, perfectly vine-ripened and bursting with flavor. Ah, but that was only the beginning. Thin strips of lightly roasted tomatoes followed, seasoned with garlic and herbs, jam-like in consistency and smeared on slabs of toast topped with...homemadericotta cheese. Oh, that cheese, I'm going to get the recipe, it was divine (Kris said it's simple; just whole milk and buttermilk). But wait! Before taking a bite, a light drizzle of honey-balsamic glaze, just a few drops...now you can eat. Sweet, creamy-crunchy, tomato heaven, yeah.

And then. After a delicious bowl of chilled asparagus vichyssoise, more glorious tomatoes, this time little red-and-gold cherry jewels, tossed with garlic, herbs, olive oil, and bread, then baked into a sublime gratin. It's a Jacques Pepin recipe so I was able to find it online, check it out here. If you're lucky enough to possess garden-ripe cherry tomatoes, then you are set for dinner tonight. It's basically a summer-perfect dish (I was even fantasizing a bit this morning about how good it would be for breakfast, alongside over-easy eggs...mmm...).

We didn't just have tomatoes, of course, although I would have been perfectly happy to, if you can't tell. Yes, Harry also grilled a gorgeous piece of salmon and skewers of chicken, mushrooms, and zucchini, glazed until crusty-crunchy-browned. Rarrr...

For dessert, cheeses and biscotti, as well as...home-roastedcoffee. Yes, they roast their own coffee beans, in their garage, using a popcorn stir-pan - they said it's super-easy, and since the results are of course incredible, I may be giving it a try. They served it with nut milk - yes, they make their own of that too, almond milk or whatever stirs their fancy. It was all so delicious and fresh I was inspired to kick my butt into all sorts of gears - grow more tomatoes, try my hand at cheese-making, as well as coffee roasting. (Check back for recipes... OK, recipes for garlicky tomato & bread gratin and homemade ricotta cheese are now posted in comments, below.)

A true foodie-feast my friends, fresh and healthy, beautifully prepared, I enjoyed it so thoroughly. What a nice start to the weekend, huh? And I'm not done, oh no. More Foodie Parasite fun tonight at Debbie & Stu the Wine Genuis', with Rudy and Ana as well - Team Napa! Let's hear it for Foodie friends! Woo hoo!

Moderate it: Kris and Harry eat a mostly vegan diet, although very kindly cooked meat and fish and served dairy for us. Given the quantity and quality of produce they grow, they could be my vegan chefs anytime!

FreshTartSteph — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:23:00 PDT

Ahhh,Happy Mother's Day! I hope you're all enjoying a lovely day! I sure am - John's doing the dishes from last night's dinner party - now that's a gift. (As you can see in the pic, we put a fair amount of tableware through its paces.)

So, last night's dinner menu (recipes posted in comments, below). I leaned pretty heavily on one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. The book is broken down into seasonal menus, eight/season - I didn't follow any one menu to the letter, but pulled favorite little gems from here and there, all spring-y, all tasty. Stu and Rudy brought fabulous wines to taste and share, also listed below.

Swiss Chard Tart with Goat Cheese, Currants, and Pine Nuts
Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Champagne, Reims (France)
Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc 2006, Sonoma County
McGrath Farms' Watercress Soup with Gentleman's Relish Toast
Adrian Fog Pinot Noir 2003, Anderson Valley, Savoy Vineyard (brought by Stu)
Chambolle-Musigny Clos du Village Monopole 1999, Domaine Antonin Guyon, Cote d'Or (France;
brought by Rudy)
Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic & Herbs (my recipe)
Artichoke-Potato Hash with Black Olive Aioli (because there were no artichokes available at Byerly's - very odd - we instead had Asparagus-Morel-Potato Hash, worked quite nicely)
Faiveley Echezeaux Grand Cru 1992, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Cote d'Or (France; brought by Rudy)
Cain Five 2003, Napa Valley
Buttermilk Lemon Tart (the almond crust is via Sunday Suppers, from the cherry tart recipe; lemon filling is mine)

Despite being pretty wiped out from his birthday party the night before, Nathan was able to join us for (most of) dinner (he's a BIG fan of Bizarre Foods). Man, it was great to finally pull this party together, I'm kinda bummed that it's over. We've had good intentions, but getting Zim and Rudy in the same room, in the same city, at the same time, is a bit of a challenge - how crazy we pulled it off twice in one week! I particularly had a blast cooking all day, I don't get to do that very often these busy days. The only thing that could have made the day better was a lot less rain, and just a bit of warmth, for appetizers on the deck. But whatevs, we have all summer for outside fun (listen to me, so nonchalant about summer, ha), and having everyone in the kitchen with me while I cook is pretty damn sweet.

Today, leftovers baby! Already had some soup for lunch, nice. Perhaps a bite of a lamb chop in a bit. Dinner tonight a laLucia's, with Mom and Stacey, to celebrate Mother's Day (natch) and Stacey's Birthday - Happy Belated Birthday Stacey Pooh (here with Cooper; I know she's having a Happy Mother's Day, ha.)

Moderate it: Stace, you may feel older, but you're never as old as me. After party - enjoy the party leftovers! It's too much work for just one meal - just be ready to pare back to normal. Er, tomorrow.

FreshTartSteph — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:59:00 PDT

OK, here's the deal. It's just about midnight (which makes it Sunday, Mother's Day, Happy Such to all you Madres out there)... I got oh, about five hours of sleep last night due to Nathan's Boy Soup birthday sleepover... I have a cold... I just spent the entire day prepping a three-course dinner for nine (John & moi, Nathan, Rishia & Andrew Zimmern, Rudy Maxa& Ana Scofield, and Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams)... Aaaaand I therefore have pretty much no right to be sitting here on the computer writing about said (fun!) exertions. That said, a quick overview of this weekend's kitchen kitsches (menu/recipes to follow tomorrow; er, make that later today):

I love watercress soup.
If your grill isn't firing perfectly evenly, monitor your lovely lamb chops carefully. (Smoke=fire, well, always.)
If Stu Williams and Rudy Maxa bring wine to your dinner, drink it.
Potatoes taste good with almost anything.
Dinner by candlelight and flowers tastes better.
Grilling meat in high heels rather sucks.
Drinking champagne in high heels rather rocks.
I must go to bed.

And with that, having experienced a lovely night, I bid you a fond farewell (of the goodnight variety). Sleep tight....

Moderate it: if you cook in heels - and who doesn't? - I suggest a bit of a platform sole. Easier on the ball of the foot; plus, a wider heel is more stable. Especially when grilling on a rainy, slippery deck.

FreshTartSteph — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:54:00 PDT

Congratulations Rudy Maxa! Rudy's new series, Rudy Maxa's World, debuted Saturday, May 3, and tonight was the celebratory party at Nick & Eddie. I went early, left early; John arrived late, left late - we overlapped by oh, about 10 minutes. But that's cool, I get to see my Johnny all the time - but hardly ever get to see Rudy & Ana, Stu The Wine Genius & Debbie, Tessa & Greg Becker, Andrew& Rishia Zimmern, and a boatload of other fun people we've met along the way (and just tonight!) like Lindsay & Ralph Bashioum. (Side note of personal humiliation: Ralph is a plastic surgeon, and major foodie, who was describing to Stu and me the boned guinea hen he will be serving at an upcoming dinner party. I asked him 1) if he was a good boner (egads), and 2) to cover for the first gaffe, if he was good with a knife. Plastic surgeon. Good with a knife. Yeah.)

Other than inserting my foot (feet) deeply into my mouth, I had a great time, downing tasty appetizers (fried walleye popsicles, barbecued duck, chicken liver on croutons, steak tartare) and sipping lovely wine. I'll admit, my 5-inch heels caused me a bit of pain after all the standing chat (and you know, after eating them, sigh), but sitting a spell on a set of bleachers - to catch the end of Nathan's baseball game - took care of that. All in all, a blast of a night, and a fine way to launch Rudy Maxa's World (showing locally on TPT at 2 pm on Saturdays) - thanks Rudy & Ana for the great party!

Moderate it: cocktail party strategizing - if you're prone to bad puns, think carefully before you speak, Stephanie. And at 100 calories apiece, choose only your very favorite canapes. It helps to skip anything that's more than one bite - I do it to avoid food in my teeth/awkward spills, but it also tends to wipe out the cheesiest, creamiest, deadliest little mothers.