Man vs Food- Salmon with Sundried Tomato Dauphinoise

Man vs Food

After three months in our flat, the walls remain bare and the internet unhooked. The only thing I am happy to report is in full force is the kitchen.

Jonathan, our roommate and resident ladies man extraordinaire, is quite the chef. Perhaps this skill was one of the instrumental factors in his ascension in the world of women. I do have to say there is nothing better than a man who can find his way around the kitchen. When he noted he was cooking a weekday meal for the summer camp family (our immediate group of friends), I was excited to see what made the table.

Salmon, dill, and greens; was this boy food? Have we entered the age where men contemplate the calorie count of each serving? This was a far cry from the Hamburger Helper with fried accompaniments my college boyfriend craved but was a refreshing change. Jonathan has now taken on the task dominated by my mother for over twenty years. He gently reminds me of my calorie intake when he sees me eating chocolate and he stresses the importance of exercise. God help him..

J-Man's Salmon with Lite Sundried Tomato Dauphinoise

Serves 4

Baked Salmon with Sliced Onions and Cherry Tomatoes

4 servings of fresh salmon (with or without skin, according to preference)

1 small white onion

16 cherry tomatoes

Juice of one half lemon

Salt and pepper

A tiny bit of olive oil

chopped fresh dill

Instructions

· Pre-heat the oven to 200F

· Pat Salmon dry.

· Wipe the bottom of a baking sheet with olive oil

· Place salmon on the tray, assort thin slices of onion over the fish

· Pour lemon juice over

· Place dill over the fish and cherry tomatoes around

· Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if desired)

· Bake for 15-20 minutes (according to preference).

Sun-dried Potatoes Dauphinoise (with very little cream.. of course)

6 potatoes

1 small knob of butter

1 small jar of sundried tomatoes

3 Tbsp cream

1 Tbsp milk

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 egg

Salt & Pepper

* serve with steamed asparagus

Classic Boeuf Bourguignon with Crispy Potatoes

The couple Elana and I are staying with/torturing requested boeuf bourguignon as their Sunday supper, claiming it is their favorite dish of all time. When people say "favorite" I instantly get heart palpitations as this means they had this orgasmic bourguignon experience while visiting the French countryside with their first love and their life has never been the same since. Oh mon Dieu! It is; however, unlike me to step down from a challenge and I stepped into kitchen (which do not normally include air conditioning in Singapore) and cooked this baby for 3 delicious hours.

I have to say my final product turned out lovely. They were highly complimentary and, whether true or not, this makes me feel instantly better. How many years did I spend learning the language of love? Eleven. Do I still sound like redneck? Yes. This, I have accepted, will never change but my culinary skills redeem my horrible linguistic slaughter. N'est-ce pas?

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON with Crispy Potatoes
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes ( i used maris piper but you can use whatever you like)
• 25 small pearl onions, peeled
• 10 slice large button mushrooms
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 large sprig of fresh thyme, dried is fine too
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 bottle cheap red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• lots of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pat of butter
• salt and pepper
  

Directions:

• Roll the beef in seasoned flour
• Brown beef on all sides in oil (with a little butter). Make sure they are good and brown so the meat doesn't lose its moisture during cooking. When done, remove from heat.
• In the same pan, cook pearl onions until they have a light brown exterior. Remove from heat.
• Repeat with mushrooms. This should not take very long at all (we don't want them to go mushy).
• Add meat back into the pan.
  
• Add the bottle of wine, chicken stock, garlic, thyme, bay leaves to the meat.
• Simmer on a VERY low heat for at least 1.5 hours
• When you are nearly ready to serve, toss in the onions and mushrooms and cook for 25 more minutes. You are done!

for the potatoes:

• While the stew is bubbling away, set your oven to 425F/220C and make your potatoes.
  
• peel and slice the potatoes VERY thin. You can use a mandolin if you have one.
• Par boil your slices in a pot over the stove for about 5 minutes so they are a bit softer.
• Drain and let them dry a little bit
• Arrange on a sheet so they overlap and sprinkle with olive oil.
• Bake until brown and crunchy.. sprinkle with rock salt.

Some Picnic Fare

A friend of mine works at the Opera Holland Park in London and I was fortunate enough to go along recently to see Fidelio (incredible in case you were wondering).
The evening starts off with a picnic in the park. As it's supper time you want something that is substantial but also easy enough to transport. Something that tastes delicious cold would also come in handy.

Therefore I turned my hand to the age-old picnic staples: quiche and potato salad. For the greater part of my adolescence I hated this tart. Something about the savory custard base never appealed to me. Over the past few years I have increasingly found that this tart is in fact delicious. This was enjoyed at the picnic and hopefully it will appeal to you:

For the pastry:

85 g (3 oz) cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

175 g(6 oz) plain flour

1 egg

1 egg white (save the yolk for the custard recipe)

splash or two of cold water

• Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your finger tips to create fine bread crumbs.


• Sprinkle in the salt and add the egg with a splash or two of water - bring the dough together with your fingers (if it's looking dry add a little more water).


• Knead lightly to form a ball of dough, then wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.


• I don't have a quiche tin so used a pie dish - it worked perfectly well. Preheat an oven to 200 C/400 F. Lightly grease a loose-bottomed flan tin or pie dish and sprinkle with flour - tip out any excess.


• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until a few millimeters thick. Lay the pastry in the tin and trim off any excess. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill to cover with baking weights (this can be anything from actual weights to rice to lentils).


• Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-12 minutes then remove the baking weights and paper. Brush the pastry case with the egg white as this will help seal the pastry. Return the pastry to the oven for a further five minutes or until pale golden.


• Remove and leave to cool before you add your filling.

For the filling:

There is a quiche filling for every season of the year but I decided to stick with something simple - leek and Parmesan. Two strong flavours so you don't need to faff around with lardons and herbs etc.

3 eggs + the egg yolk left over from the pastry

250 ml/1 cup whole (full fat) milk - most recipes call for creme fraiche or cream so consider this a virtuous version

1 tbsp of unsalted butter

4 leeks - washed, trimmed and sliced

50g/half a cup of finely grated Parmesan

sea salt and freshly ground pepper - you wont need too much salt as the cheese should take care of that for you, but the leeks will need seasoning and a little for the eggs as well.

• Preheat the oven to 170 C/330 F


• Melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the leeks and let them sweat down until soft


• Whisk the eggs together and add the milk, parmesan and seasoning


• Once the leeks are cooked and cooled slightly add to the egg mixture and pour into the prepared pastry case


• Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes - if it starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking

Leave to cool in it's tin and if you are taking it along to a picnic I would recommend transporting it in the dish you cooked it in - just remember a knife!

Potato Salad

Easiest thing to make yet cold potatoes are so delicious. I've opted for a non-creamy one as there could be a little too much dairy if you have it with quiche.

750g/26 oz of jersey royal potatoes cut into roughly 1 inch bits

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp good olive oil

2 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

3 tbsp cornichons, chopped (this is about 8 cornichons)

1 tbsp capers

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

pinch of salt and fresh black pepper

• Put the bay leaves in a large pan of water and bring to the boil. Season with plenty of salt and add the potatoes


• Whilst the potatoes are cooking, add the rest of the ingredients to a jam jar and give it an extremely vicious shake


• Drain the potatoes once cooked (they should be on the softer side of done as no one wants a hard cold potato)


• Pour over the olive oil mixture immediately so that the potatoes get a chance to absorb the flavours. Leave uncovered so that the potatoes can continue to release their steam


• Let it cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the fridge

That amount should serve six, but with other sides and salad. I would strongly recommend some homemade coleslaw or remoulade as well as savoury muffins. Some sausage rolls wouldn't go amiss either and you can a recipe for those on this here blog too.

Hope you are making the most of your summer!