Simple food: Easter Sunday dinner
This Easter Sunday I was not into making a ham…(If you need a good ham recipe check out ‘Monte’s Ham’ in Saveur Cooks Authentic American) Was more in the mood for chicken dredged with the now ubiquitous yet still delightful panko breadcrumbs. (Breadcrumbs in 3D!) Add a tsp of hot jamaican curry powder for extra zip. I like Blue Mountain Country (http://tinyurl.com/dye88p) “For that True West Indian Taste”. It’s distributed from Eve Sales Co. Bronx NY and I I bought it at Kroger’s. It has a true, clean flavor. When I asked Tim (hubby/recipe tester) if he would like this he just said “this (pointed to his stomach) will eat anything that comes out of this” (pointed to my head—gotta love his eternal confidence in me!) A pinch of dried thyme and cracked black pepper to taste, good to go. Dredge in egg & crumbs, pan fry in canola oil in my fav LeCreuset skillet for crisp, even browning.
Take boneless chicken breast, approx 2 lbs, trimmed of fat and cut into thirds or so, with the grain slightly on a diagonal, to make decent-sized pieces. Pound them under some plastic wrap, with a metal meat-pounder, (flat side is best) into a nice-looking cutlet.
Dredge in the egg then the panko bread crumbs. (about 2 cups, with the teaspoon of curry powder, a smidge of cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste, a sprinkle of dried thyme, or other herb/spice if you prefer. Precision is not necessary here!
Green beans & potatoes looked very fresh so I bought about 1 & 1/2 lbs beans & a 2 lb bag of organic yukon golds
to make scalloped potatoes. I use a 9X13 Chantal porcelain casserole dish. (Any dish of this size will do, I just happen to really like the way Chantal cooks, roasts and caramelizes food. You can often find it at good prices at TJ Maxx/Marshalls, so snap it up when you do—it’s great cookware!)
This recipe is adapted from chef Johnny Schmitt of French Laundry fame. He was inspired by a potato gratin he had while in France. I’ve made it with kerrygold swiss cheese, (really good!) gruyere, or parmesan & cheddar (Trader Joe’s New England Grass-Fed Cheddar is nice). He uses gruyere. You can vary the amount of potato and liquid, use your judgement.
These proportions should be about right, you can always tweak it a bit if needed, depending on how many potatoes you are using:
- 1 cup half & half (milk if you prefer leaner)
- 1 cup chicken or veggie broth
- 4-5 tbs butter or olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
- freshly grated nutmeg
- dash cayenne or pinch of red pepper flakes
- salt and feshly ground black pepper
- 8-10 oz swiss, gruyere, cheddar (can combine with parmesan if you want) (about 11/4 cups or so)
- 4 large russets or about 8 smaller ones, peeled and sliced (I use the slicer gadget on my food processor)
- Preheat oven to 375. Heat cream. broth garlic, bay leaf, pepper flakes, the nutmeg salt and pepper in a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil REDUCE heat and simmer (if you use cream it needs to be watched carefully!) for about 15 min or so. This step is important, it intensifies the flavors.
- In the meantime layer your 9 by 13 baking baking dish alternately with potatoes, then cheese, in about 4-5 layers, ending with potatoes and reserving about 1/4 cup for the top.
- Carefully strain the heated and reduced cream/broth mixture over the potatoes, then sprinkle with the reserved 1/4 cup cheese (or grate more if you want to be decadent!) Season to taste with salt and pepper and bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 45 minutes then remove foil and bake for about an additional 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and gratin is bubbling and golden brown. Allow it to rest about 10 minutes or so before serving. Leftovers just get even better!
The green beans I placed in another porcelain baking dish
since the oven was already on and set at 375. Roasted them with 2 minced garlic cloves I’d infused into a scant 1/4 cup olive oil w/ a splash of white wine & cracked black pepper to taste. Toss to coat and roast not quite as long as potatoes, depends on width of beans, til fork tender and slightly caramelized. Yum, garlicky and good!. A few turns of cracked sea salt is all they need when they come out.
This meal would pair well with a pinot grigio or sparkling white, but we had a shiraz instead, which was fine. Drink what you like! Simple food shared with those you love is always nourishment for body & soul.
