Sautéing 101

sauté n from French, from past participle of sauter to jump. In cooking, to cook food quickly in a small amount of oil in a skillet over direct heat.

Quick dinners are a necessity for our busy back-to-school lives. And nothing is quicker than sautéing meat, fish, or veggies ... and sautéing makes great use of the end-of-summer abundance of fresh veggies.

Once you get the hang of sautéing, it couldn’t be simpler. Here are a few dos and don’ts if you’re a novice.

DO:

• Start with a hot pan and hot oil—your meat should hit the pan with a sizzle
  
• Turn on the stovetop fan—sautéing is smoky business
  
• Make sure your meat is very dry—if it’s wet, the meat will steam and not develop the crisp, brown crust you’re looking for

DON’T:

• Move the meat around—leaving the meat put until it’s browned is the best move. If you’re cooking veggies, you can hop them around the pan to cook them thoroughly without burning the delicate outsides
  
• Crowd the meat—too much meat in the pan will cause it to steam, rather than brown. You can always sauté another batch

Finally, once the meat is browned, transfer it to a plate to rest for about five minutes. Cover it loosely with foil to keep it warm (don’t create a tight seal, or your nice crisp, brown crust will be soggy when you’re ready to eat).

Today's Boston Globe has an amusing article about the candidates in the Food section (that's right, in the Food section). Basically, it tries to define the candidates in terms of their favorite foods, what they like to prepare, and what they order at restaurants; a take on "you are what you eat."

It got me thinking, how would that define me? In college, my roommate Tammy used to like to ask, "If you were on a desert island and could have only one food with you, what would it be?" I used to choose bagels. Now, it's not that bagels are my favorite food, but I'd say they are one of my favorite breakfasts. My choice of bagels is more about choice. Bagels would be the perfect combination of savory and sweet that I'd think I'd need if it were to be the only food I'd get to eat for the rest of my life.

In terms of my favorite food, I like almost anything, in fact, it's easier to point out what I don't like, and all I can think of right now is scallops and deep-fried seafood. And of course, every rule has an exception, I made Hoison-Grilled Scallops for a client, and loved them! And I like fish & chips (it's about ratio, I think, I'm not a lots-of-batter-to-a-tiny-clam-or-oyster person). I'm much more a favorite-food-of-the-moment person, and right now I'm savoring the last days of summer, so I'll be grilling some fish (whatever looks good at the fish market, maybe even Hoison Scallops) and making a grilled-vegetable salad. Don't know what that says about me ...

What are your favorites? What would you take to a desert island?

What can you do in 45 minutes?

Football season has started, at least practices, that is. This is the first year that my youngest son is playing, so I have two to worry about now. The first week was great, they both practiced from 5:00 to 6:45. An hour and a half is a lot of time to get stuff done in. However, my younger son’s coach must have had a problem with that time slot, because he moved practice an hour later, my evening goes a little something like this:

5:15 Drop off elder son
6:00 Drop off younger son
6:45 Pick up elder son
7:45 Pick up younger son

And did I mention that this is not really the start time, they have to be there 15 minutes early? Why don’t they just say practice is at 5? It must be a football coach thing.

Anyway, younger son does have a friend in the neighborhood who we carpool with most days, but they each have a day off during the week, and so far it’s not the same day.

Which brings me to the question, What can you get done in 45 minutes? OK, you have to drive home from and then back to the field, so it’s more like What can you get done in 35 minutes? Here’s what I’ve come up with, and the list is by no means exhaustive. What can you get done in 35 minutes? Please add your comments.

• Tonight I’m putting together tacos for dinner: Scrambling the frozen hamburg, chopping the lettuce and tomatoes. I can even make Refried black beans (the recipe’s really easy, see my entry on May 17, 2008, “The quickest dinner”, just substitute black beans for the pinto beans).


• You can make Artichoke salsa. This was a forgotten recipe, and I made a batch for a bridal shower I did this summer, and it was a huge hit, and reminded me that I like to keep these ingredients on hand for quick entertaining. The recipe is below.
  
• My friend, Lynne and I often use the time to catch up, and perhaps have a cocktail and appetizer, since we have to wait until after practice to have dinner.
  
• You can take a walk (between the last drop-off and the first pick-up).
  
• You can make a grocery list.
  
• You can do your grocery shopping.
  
• You can read the newspaper, or a book — now that’s decadent.
  
• Read to my daughter ... even better!
  
• I’m not a napper (you might as well let me sleep through the night if I fall asleep in the afternoon, I just wake up badly), but I bet there are people out there who would use the 35 minutes to catch a little shut-eye.
  
• Not as fun, but productive: You can dust or vacuum or clean a bathroom. It feels good to get something accomplished.
  
• You can call your mother, sister, or a friend and catch up.
  
• What else have you got?
  

Artichoke salsa

16 oz marinated artichoke heart, drained, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes,chopped
2 T red onions,chopped
¼ c Kalamata olive, chopped
1 T garlic, chopped
2 T fresh basil, chopped
pita bread, cut into "chips", toasted

In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onion, olives, garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve chilled, or at room temperature, with pita chips.

Back by request

I made a fabulous chocolate cake for my son, Jude’s 10th birthday. One of his friends commented, “This isn’t cake, this is fudge.” It truly is dense, chocolaty, and delicious, but also truly is cake. It’s from-scratch, but truly not much more effort than a boxed cake mix. Even the non-chocolate-eaters among my friends and family are requesting this recipe (or that I make this recipe). Especially Jude’s friend, Henry, has been asking me to give the recipe to his mother, so here it is: It’s from a book called Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes. The recipes aren’t revolting, per se, but they often have revolting connotations from Roald Dahl’s books: Stink Bugs’ Eggs, Mosquitoes’ Toes and Wampfish Roes Most Delicately Fried, Crispy Wasp Stings on a Piece of Buttered Toast, and Fresh Mudburgers, for example. Bruce Bogtrotter’s Cake (from Matilda) got off easy, I think.

I added a teaspoon of vanilla to the original cake recipe, and I reduced the icing from 8 ounces of chocolate and cream to 6 ounces, I just found that the original recipe made just too much icing, and I ended up eating the last ¼ to ½ cup of icing by the spoon after I iced the cake, so if you want that little extra chocolate treat while you’re baking, by all means. I also find it’s easiest to do this in a springform pan. Enjoy!

Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake

8 oz good-quality semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate
12 T butter, softened
1 c plus 2 T sugar
1 t vanilla
¼ c flour
6 eggs, separated, yolks lightly beaten
6 oz good-quality semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate
6 oz heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 8½" round springform cake pan with parchment paper, and butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Using a Pyrex bowl and a saucepan as a double-boiler so that you can be sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl, melt 8 oz chocolate over simmering water. When chocolate is melted, add butter, and stir until melted. Transfer chocolate to a large bowl and add sugar, flour, and lightly beaten egg yolks.

Meanwhile, whisk egg whites until stiff. Gently fold half of whites into chocolate mixture, blending thoroughly, then fold in remaining whites until completely incorporated. Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 minutes. There will be a thin crust on top of the cake, and if tested with a toothpick, the inside will appear undercooked (don’t worry, the cake will firm up as it cools). Remove cake from oven, and let cool in the pan on a wire rack.

While cake is baking and cooling, make the icing. Again using the Pyrex bowl and saucepan as a double-boiler, melt 6 oz chocolate with cream, stirring occasionally until chocolate is fully melted and blended with the cream. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

When the cake is cool enough to handle, remove it carefully from the springform pan. The cake is prone to sinking slightly in the middle, so flip it upside down before icing, if necessary. Carefully spread the chocolate icing all over the cake with a spatula.