Even though we haven't written a column recently, that certainly doesn't mean we haven't been cooking (not to mention eating). A recent trip to San Francisco and Napa added more great restaurant memories to our on-going list. Our favorites on this visit were Betelnut and Rose Pistola in San Francisco and Tra Vigne and The Culinary Institute in Napa. Each meal was more fantastic than the one before, and we returned ready to try some new recipes. A lunch at Beaumont's on Cumberland in Charleston inspired one of the dishes here - Stacey's Lamb Chops. Stacey (you can find him in the meat department at the Seaside Farms Piggly Wiggly) was willing to work with us to get the lamb chops just the right thickness for this recipe. If you decide to try them, stop by and see Stacey. The souffle, which is wonderful, came from the recent issue of Bon Appetit, and the cookies from Spur of the Moment Cook by Perla Meyers (William Morrow and Co. 1994)
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GRUYERE CHEESE SOUFFLE WITH DILL |
We decided to try this because the dill in our herb garden is still beautiful. What a great recipe - we will make it frequently! (Bon Appetit, December 1997).
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 6-cup souffle dish. Coat the dish with bread crumbs. Whisk cream, egg yolks, salt and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Melt butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly until the mixture is golden, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the cream mixture. Whisk until the mixture boils and thickens, about 4 minutes. (Watch out - this quickly goes from thick to the consistency of wallpaper paste.) Add 1 cup of cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the dill and transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in another large bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the whites into the cream mixture to lighten. Fold in the remaining whites. Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top. Bake until a dark gold brown crust forms on the top, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately. 3 servings.
Ingredients:
Soak wooden skewers in water. Preheat charcoal grill according to manufacturer's instructions. Peel garlic, leaving cloves whole.* Lightly salt and pepper lamb chops. Put a clove of garlic on skewer, add one lamb chop (run skewer through the loin portion of the chop), another garlic clove, second lamb chop and one more garlic clove. Repeat with remaining chops and garlic. When the grill is ready, place lamb chops over direct heat and cook 1 1/2 minutes, turn and cook 1 1/2 minutes on second side. Serve immediately, topped with basil butter.
*We suggest picking up a garlic peeler for recipes calling for multiple cloves of peeled garlic. The garlic is placed inside the "peeler", a tube of polypropylene, and rolled until the skin pops off. They are available for under $10.00 and they are amazingly efficient.
Ingredients:
Using kitchen shears, finely chop basil leaves and add to softened butter. Mix well and season to taste. Drop by tablespoons onto foil and freeze. When completely frozen, place each tablespoon of butter in small sandwich bags, then place into a larger heavy-duty freezer bag. Makes l lb. Keeps for 6-8 months. To use, thaw at room temperature.
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 500°. Trim the stems of the asparagus, cutting off the tough ends. Place the olive oil on a heavy baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Place the asparagus on the pan and roll to coat with the oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake the asparagus for 5-8 minutes or just until done. Transfer to a platter and season with pepper. 4 servings.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350°. Place one sheet of phyllo on a large cookie sheet. Brush the entire surface with melted butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar and 1/3 cup of the almonds. Top evenly with another sheet of dough, brush with butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar and cover with the remaining almonds. Top the layers with the remaining sheet of dough, brush with butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp of sugar.
Cut out 12 circles from the layered dough with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter, but do not remove the circles from the sheet of dough. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Cool completely on the baking sheet, then carefully lift the cookies from the sheet with a spatula. 12 cookies.
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