lemon-hazelnut green beans
I learned to make these green beans in a cooking class at Central Market a few years ago. They are so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. This is the version of the recipe CM gave us, but there are endless variations!
Begin by snapping the ends off of the beans and blanching them for 3-4 minutes. We like crunchy beans in our house, so if you like them softer, just keep them in the boiling water for an extra 2-3 minutes. Remove the green beans to an ice bath to stop the cooking process, then strain them in a colander.
In the mean time, get the rest of the ingredients ready…zest a lemon, dice 1 tablespoon of butter and crush the hazelnuts.
Throw your green beans into a preheated skillet and saute for a minute or so until they start to brown just a little. They are already cooked, so this is just to give them flavor and color.
Once they’ve been cooking for a minute, add the butter, lemon zest, hazelnuts and a squeeze of lemon.
Let the butter melt, then toss to coat.
Lemon-Hazelnut Green Beans
1 lb. green beans (I like Haricot Verts)
4 oz. hazelnuts
1 lemon
1 tbsp. butter
Heat a skillet over medium heat and bring a pot of water to a boil. Fill a separate bowl with ice water and set near the boiling water.
Snap the ends off of the green beans and throw them into the boiling water. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then pull them out and put them into the ice bath. Drain into a colander.
Chop 1 tbsp. butter into a small dice and set aside. With the hazelnuts in a ziploc, use a meat pounder to crush them into small pieces. Zest a lemon with a fine microplane.
Add the green beans to the heated skillet and saute for a minute. Once the beans start to brown, add the butter, lemon zest and hazelnuts, and squeeze the lemon over the pan. Let the butter melt, then toss to coat the green beans.
note: my mom makes this recipe a lot and has come up with a great shortcut. She melts the butter, then adds the crushed hazelnuts, lemon zest and lemon juice. After blanching the green beans, she pours the melted butter mixture over the beans then serves them.
As I said — there are endless possibilities with this recipe. Some of our favorites are:
– garlic, ginger and cumin
– Tony’s Chachere’s and sweet onions
– pine nuts and red bell pepper
melba toast oven-fried chicken
My grandmother’s housekeeper used to make the best fried chicken — it was so flavorful, moist and perfectly crisp. I’d like to be able to make fried chicken just like it, but without a hood vent over my stove my house ends up smelling like Popeye’s for days. Plus, I need to be eating fried chicken regularly like I need a hole in my head.
I’ve tried so many different versions of oven-fried chicken in search of one with the perfect texture and crispness, as well as the “fried” flavor without all of the oil and I have never been really satisfied. Dredging the chicken in flour (the way you prepare fried chicken) does not work at all — the outside never gets crispy and it has no flavor. Others use butter, which has a low smoke point and burns easily. I’ve even tried recipes that used parmesan in the crust — which is really just parmesan-crusted chicken, not oven-fried chicken.
Anyway, long story short, I came across this recipe in my Cook’s Illustrated a few months ago and gave it a try. It was wonderful — just what I was looking for in flavor and texture.
Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and set a cooling rack on the pan.
Crush Melba Toasts into a small crumb mixture. You don’t want them too fine or you might as well save your effort and use flour. In a small dish, add 2 tbsp. olive oil to the Melba Toast crumbs and toss well to coat.
Mix eggs, mustard, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne in another small dish. Dredge each piece of chicken in the mustard and egg mixture, then coat it in Melba Toast crumbs. Be sure to press the Melba Toast crumbs into the chicken so they stick.
Place the chicken on the rack and bake until the chicken coating is deep brown, about 40 minutes.
Melba Toast Oven-Fried Chicken
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 box plain Melba Toast (about 5 ounces), crushed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 chicken breasts or leg quarters
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line sheet pan with foil and set large flat wire rack over sheet pan.
Drizzle olive oil over Melba Toast crumbs in a shallow dish or pie plate; toss well to coat. Mix eggs, mustard, thyme, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and optional cayenne with a fork in a second shallow dish or pie plate.
Coat chicken with egg and mustard mixture then dredge in Melba Toast crumbs, pressing to coat. Place the chicken on rack and bake until chicken is deep brown, about 40 minutes.
note: If you own a spray bottle for oil, skip the step of tossing the Melba toast crumbs in oil. Instead, once the chicken is coated with crumbs, spray the pieces evenly with oil.
drunken pecan tartlets
There are many different styles and variations on cocktail parties, but I think the one rule that should invariably be followed is that all food should be able to be eaten one-handed. If you have to use a fork, then you are forced to set your drink down. Which no one wants to do at a cocktail party. Right?
One of my favorite one-handed desserts is drunken pecan tartlets. They are super easy to make and they look fancy. Great combination.
Here’s what you need:
Set the pastry shells on a baking sheet and fill each one with mini chocolate chips. Just use enough to cover the bottoms.
Chop the pecans into small pieces, but don’t pulverize them. This is about the right size:
Beat the egg in a medium bowl, then mix in the chopped pecans, brown sugar, softened butter and praline liqueur.
Spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture into each of the pastry shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve (to others) soon. Or you will end up eating them all yourself.
(These can be frozen after baking. I am just not sure why you would need to do that.)
The most fun part about serving these is the hidden layer of chocolate on the bottom – it’s unexpected and delicious.
Drunken Pecan Tartlets
30 frozen miniature phyllo pastry shells
1/2 c miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c pecans, chopped
1 egg
1/3 c praline liqueur (bourbon also works really well here)
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pastry shells on a baking sheet and fill them with the miniature chocolate chips. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the beaten egg, chopped pecans, softened butter, praline liqueur and brown sugar. Spoon 1 tbsp of the pecan mixture into each pastry shell. Bake for 15 minutes.
old-fashioned egg custard
My aunt recently had surgery and I was trying to think of what I could bring her that would be easy to eat. Since egg custard was the ‘chicken soup’ of my childhood, I knew that was what I would make.
Here’s what you need:
Start by bringing the milk to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan.
While you are waiting on this to happen, do two things:
1. Place 12 ramekins in a large baking dish. No ramekins? No problem. You can use small glass pyrex bowls, coffee cups, or a disposable aluminum tin like the one pictured below.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla.
Ladle 1/2 c of the simmering milk into your egg bowl and whisk to combine. This will temper the eggs and allow you to add the eggs to the milk without curdling.
Add the (tempered) egg mixture to the simmering milk, whisking to combine.
Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve into each cup.
After filling about 3-4 cups, your strainer may clog. No worries, grab a spoon and scrape the inside clean.
Next, pour about 1/2 inch of hot water into the baking dish so that it surrounds each of the cups. This will help prevent the tops from cracking.
Grate or sprinkle nutmeg on the top of each custard. I tend to go overboard here, so when I am making these for other people I really have to restrain myself.
Bake at 300 degrees for 28-30 minutes, or until the custard is barely set. Let the custard cool in a refrigerator for an hour before serving. (This should really be 2 hours, but I don’t have super-human patience, which is what is required to smell and not eat these pronto.)
Old-Fashioned Egg Custard
4 c whole milk (this is really not an occasion for skim)
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
nutmeg
Bring the milk to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Ladle 1/2 c of the simmering milk into your egg bowl and whisk to combine. Add the (tempered) egg mixture to the simmering milk, whisking to combine.
Place 12 ramekins in a large baking dish. Pour the milk and egg mixture through a mesh sieve into each cup. Pour about 1/2 inch of hot water into the baking dish then sprinkle the custards with nutmeg.
Bake at 300 degrees for 28-30 minutes, or until the custard is barely set. Let the custard cool in a refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.
Is there any wine left? 