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Tuesday, August 31, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Five recipes
that don’t take
hours of work
meaty chili, with a perfect
balance of spices. And the
ingredients create enough
liquid of their own, so you
don’t even have to add the
liquid I’ve been adding all
this time.
By DANIEL NEMAN
POACHED
SALMON
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Some days, you just
don’t feel like cooking lob-
ster thermidor aux cre-
vettes with a Mornay
sauce, garnished with
truffl e paté, brandy and a
fried egg on top.
Some days, you want
to cook something easy.
Something fast.
Not throw-a-frozen-
block-of-something-in-
to-the-microwave-and-
hope-for-the-best fast. I’m
talking about a delicious,
satisfying, homemade
entrée in 30 minutes or
less, from start to fi nish.
I happen to have fi ve
such dishes right here,
and I could not be happier
with any of them. They
are sure to join your week-
night cooking rotation —
but honestly, they are all
good enough for weekend
cooking, too.
I should warn you,
though, that some of them
require a bit of time man-
agement to keep them
under a half-hour. While
part of the dish is cooking,
you may have to be chop-
ping or otherwise prep-
ping some of the other
ingredients.
This requirement is a
deviation from the stan-
dard mise en place method
of cooking, in which all the
ingredients are prepared
before the cooking begins.
That method works best, in
general, and ensures there
will be no unforeseen prob-
lems. But it does not save
as much time as prepping
while cooking.
For instance, I made
poached salmon. The fi sh
gets much of its fl avor
from the liquid in which
it is simmered, the court
bouillon, and that gets its
fl avor from a number of
ingredients that have to be
prepped.
So you just have to
put it together methodi-
cally. While you’re gently
cooking chopped onions,
peel and chop a carrot. Add
it to the pan, and chop a rib
of celery. While that cooks,
peel and chop a few cloves
of garlic, and so on. Before
you know it, you’ll have
a highly fl avored court
bouillon to bring a complex
depth to a luscious piece of
salmon.
But don’t stop there. The
salmon only takes a few
Yield: 4 servings
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 rib of celery
4 garlic cloves
6 sprigs parsley
3 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs dill, plus 1
optional tablespoon
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cup dry white wine
4 (5-ounce) fi llets of salmon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon
juice, optional
Fast, not fancy
Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Easy Honey Garlic Pork Chops with pan fried potatoes.
Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Chuckwagon Chili, a variation of a Betty Crocker recipe.
minutes to cook, and you
can take that time to make
a wonderful fl avored may-
onnaise to serve with the
fi sh. Either dill mayo or
lemon will do. I made both;
it’s nice to have a choice.
One key to making
dinner in less than 30 min-
utes, of course, is to choose
food that doesn’t take long
to cook. For pork, that
means the tenderloin or
chops.
I made chops, but not
just any chops. I made Easy
Honey Garlic Pork Chops,
which are seared, then
glazed, then broiled.
It still takes less than 30
minutes, guaranteed.
There isn’t a particular
secret to this dish, but if
there were one it would be
that the chops are fi rst fully
cooked on the stovetop
before the glaze is applied
— or even before it is
assembled, if you choose
— and before it is broiling.
It is broiled for just a
minute or two, enough time
to make the honey glaze
adhere to the meat and to
char the edges just a bit.
The pork comes out
blissfully juicy, with a
delightful sweet-and-sour
edge.
For my vegetarian
option, I chose a pasta dish
that looks as good as it
tastes, and it tastes abso-
lutely amazing. The pasta
almost glows with a vibrant
red sauce — but it doesn’t
have any tomatoes.
Instead, the extraor-
dinary color of Bucatini
With Bell Pepper Sauce
comes from red bell pep-
pers, though you could also
use yellow for a diff erent,
equally appetizing appear-
ance. Frankly, I’d stay away
from green bell peppers for
this one.
While a big pot of
water for your pasta heats
to a boil, you can chop
the peppers, onions and
garlic. You can chop them
roughly, which will save
some time, because after
they are sautéed they will
all be blitzed together in a
blender or food processor.
Meanwhile, you can be
cooking the bucatini or
other long pasta that holds
sauce well.
Did I mention that the
sauce also has a good
splash of cream in it? The
sauce also has a good
splash of cream in it. And
if you’ve never had red
peppers and cream, now is
the time to start.
Chicken piccata was
next. In my relative youth,
it used to be my go-to order
at Italian restaurants. It was
as superb as I remember.
It also comes together in
almost no time at all. You
simply pound chicken fi l-
lets fl at, until they are an
even thickness. Dredge
them lightly through fl our,
pan-fry them lightly in just
enough olive oil, and then
whip up a quick sauce with
garlic, white wine, capers,
butter and lemon juice.
It’s a simple dish, and
sometimes simple is best.
My fi nal entrée is
Chuckwagon Chili, a liq-
uid-free variation on one of
my own favorite recipes for
chili. The version I make
is an adaptation of a Betty
Crocker recipe, I’m embar-
rassed to say, and one of the
biggest adaptations I make
is to add liquid. So the liq-
uid-free version is actually
pretty close to Betty Crock-
er’s, with the addition of
smoked paprika and a much
shorter cooking time.
I am perfectly aware
that she never existed, but
that Betty Crocker sure
knew what she was talking
about. This is a hearty,
1. Heat oil over medium-high
heat in large pan deep enough
to hold salmon. Cut onion in
large pieces and add to pan,
stirring occasionally. Peel carrot,
cut into large pieces and add
to pan. Chop celery into large
pieces and add to pan. Smash
garlic cloves and add to pan.
Cook, stirring frequently, until
vegetables become just a little
tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add parsley, thyme and
4 sprigs of dill. Stir in bay leaf
and peppercorns. Add enough
water to cover salmon, when it
is added. Add wine, raise heat,
and bring to a simmer. Gently
lower in salmon (you may have
to do this in batches) and cook
at a light simmer until fi sh is
opaque and fl akes easily, about
5 minutes or longer, depending
on the thickness of the fi sh.
3. Meanwhile, make a sauce
by combining mayonnaise with
remaining tablespoon of dill or
with lemon juice.
4. When fi sh is done, gently
remove from liquid with a spat-
ula and serve with mayonnaise
sauce on top or on the side.
Recipe by Daniel Neman
CHICKEN
PICCATA
Yield: 4 servings
2 large skinless, boneless
chicken breasts
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose fl our
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon drained capers
4 tablespoons unsalted
butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Chopped parsley and lemon
wedges (for serving)
See, Fast/Page B2
For the love of vegetables
By JEANMARIE BROWNSON
The Daily Meal
It’s a grand time to be a veg-
etable lover. Local supermar-
kets highlight fresh, crisp greens
and slender summer squashes
from nearby farms. Signs adver-
tise weekend farmers markets
selling heirloom tomatoes, baskets
of rainbow carrots, peppers and
farm-fresh eggs. Come August,
enterprising teens sell sweet corn
from makeshift stands.
Overfl owing stalls at farmer’s
markets create the illusion that
folks in the United States have
always enjoyed maitake mush-
rooms, leeks and fi ngerling pota-
toes; older cookbooks tell a dif-
ferent story.
A 1997 community cookbook
tucked on a shelf in our cabin near
Galena, Illinois, off ers a glimpse
into vegetable cooking of the era.
“Cooking With A’ Peal” features
mostly frozen vegetables fl avored
with tinned soup and shredded
cheese. Only a few recipes call for
fresh vegetables, mostly cucum-
bers and carrots. No doubt there’s
“a’ peal” in the readiness of bags
of shucked peas and frozen broc-
coli fl orets.
To lure cooks away from
frozen vegetables, fresh vegetable
recipes need to deliver big taste
and texture.
A post-market sandwich can
set the tone. The simplest is but-
ter-slathered bread topped with
sliced radishes and salt. When the
leaf lettuce and tomatoes peak, a
slightly more complex ELT sand-
wich beckons. I stir fresh basil
into mayonnaise before slathering
it on toasted bread. Then layers
of fresh lettuces and vine-ripened
tomato are ready for a fried egg.
A sheet pan of colorful curried
carrots and potatoes lends itself
to a celebratory vegetable-based
dinner. The whole tray can be
cooked in advance and served
warm or at room temperature as
a main course accompanied by
a cheese platter and good bread.
Or, grill a couple of lamb or pork
chops for a meat side.
Sweet corn pudding, with its
souffl é-like lightness, will stand
out at a barbecue. I make it with
fresh eggs purchased from the
farmers market or the honor stand
near our cabin. Cold leftovers
taste delightful at lunch with
sliced ripe tomato.
Assorted fresh mushrooms,
sautéed with the sweetest onions,
make a fi ne accompaniment to
almost anything from the grill. I
save a few spoonfuls to stir into
softly scrambled eggs the next
morning. Same with a skillet full
of sautéed chard!
Fresh herbs boost the fl avor
of everything they touch, even
those retro frozen veggie-based
dishes. Shower your hash brown
casseroles and frozen vegetable
soups with fresh chives and basil
for a real taste of summer farm
stand goodness. After all, cooking
with the season is one of the 50
foodie things you need to do
this summer.
ELT SANDWICHES
WITH BASIL
MAYONNAISE
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Makes 2 servings
Egg, lettuce and tomato sandwiches,
yum. Bacon is certainly welcome, as
are slices of smoked ham or paper-thin
prosciutto.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons thinly sliced
fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kristen Mendiola for The Daily Meal; Shannon Kinsella/food styling
ELT sandwiches with basil mayonnaise.
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
2 large eggs
4 slices hearty whole grain
country-style bread
4 leaves red-tipped or
green leaf lettuce
1 large or 2 medium-sized heirloom
tomato, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Mix 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, 3
tablespoons basil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mus-
tard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon
pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat a small nonstick skillet over me-
dium heat until hot. Spray with nonstick
spray or olive oil. Crack 2 eggs into the
skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan
and cook until egg yolks are medium set,
3 to 4 minutes.
3. While the eggs cook, toast 4
bread slices.
4. Spread mayonnaise mixture on one
side of each piece of toasted bread. Top 2
bread slices with 2 lettuce leaves and half
of the tomato slices. Top with fried egg
See, Veggies/Page B2