Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chanterelle and cheese croquettes with mesclun

  • Breadcrumbs on February 22, 2011

    p. 22 - Note 1 of 2 -The Croquettes were light, yet and rich in flavor, making them the perfect partner for the acids and bitterness of the greens. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this dish because I had convinced myself it wasn’t going to turn out well when I saw how the Croquette mixture was coming together and their combination of ingredients was unique relative to other croquette recipes I’ve made. As a result, I followed the recipe to the letter when it came to the batter, even weighing the ingredients where weight measures were provided, particularly since the mushroom to batter ratio seemed low to me. I had large Chanterelles so I slivered them as suggested and, sauteed them earlier in the day and held them in the fridge after wrapping them in paper towel to absorb any excess oil. My primary concern was with the bread. I left bread out in the morning to dry and it absorbed all the milk at prep time and I was unable to extract any liquids.

  • Breadcrumbs on February 22, 2011

    Note 2 of 2 - As a result, the batter seemed especially loose. Consequently, I decided to add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to tighten it up, approx 2tbsp. did the trick. I should also note that I used regular, unsalted butter w 1/2tsp of olive oil vs using (making) clarified butter. I figured the benefit of timesaving outweighed the risk of detrimentally impacting the dish w my lazy butter! I think that was a good call, the Croquettes were so delicious, I wish we’d had company as I would have been quite happy to present this dish to guests. I’ll definitely make it again, it looks beautiful on the plate and, while it did give me a bit of concern this first time out, I’m confident that execution won’t be an issue next time around. K loved this too, and he never gives top marks to anything non-Italian (no, he’s not Italian!!) ; - )

• Pan-fried pork chops with sherry vinegar and French cornichons

  • Breadcrumbs on February 22, 2011

    p. 252 - I used smoked pork chops instead of the regular bone-in chops and, the only cornichons I could find were NOT French, and based on Paula’s weight specifications, We loved this dish! What seemed to be a fairly simple dish on paper was elevated by ingredients and the method of execution. A simple cornichon butter is made by mashing finely diced pickle into the butter. The chops are marinated for 2 or more hours, in my case, just the two. On Paula’s advice and, despite my pre-disposition to refrigerate meat, I let the chops marinate at room temperature. A minimal amount of pan sauce is produced however it is very impactful and I wouldn’t increase quantities in the future. Overall the chops were tender, extremely flavorful and, the butter sauce, albeit a small amount, really did enhance our enjoyment of the dish. K loved this, it was his favorite of the 3 Wolfert recipes I made today.

• Zucchini with thyme and black olives

  • Breadcrumbs on February 22, 2011

    p. 296 -First use of this recipe and, I did not have the suggested Nicoise olives so, with apologies to the French, Kalamata olives were used. This dish was good but nothing unusual or special in my view. I did follow the recipe to the letter and although we enjoyed it, I wouldn’t make it again. I prefer zucchini slices browned in evoo, spritzed w lemon and topped w sea salt. The butter sauce wasn’t over-powering but just didn’t do anything for me and since Wolfert has you go to the trouble of salting and drying the zucchini to remove any excess moisture, it seemed counter-intuitive to me to be adding back moisture in the end. Out of 10, I’d give this a 6.

• Roasted autumn vegetables in the style of Corfu

  • Gio on May 18, 2016

    Pg. 272. Great side dish. Reminds me of Giambotta and Ratatouille.

• Greek beef stew with tomatoes and onions

  • br22 on April 05, 2016

    The flavor of this stew is amazing. Though annoying to peel about 80 boiling onions the flavor is worth it. I may consider substituting frozen onions next time and hope it doesn't ruin this fantastic recipe. Definitely take the time to reduce the liquid per the instructions...I found it took a bit longer than the time stated but concentrated the delicate flavors wonderfully. I also think that spinach added to the stew would be quite wonderful too.