This is what I'm hoping we eat for my birthday dinner (next week Tuesday I will be the big 30, and I'm totally excited for my 4th decade on earth!), but Ben is not telling me ANY of his plans for that day. I have been working on him for several days now... and there is a bag in the bottom of the fridge that says, "No touchy, no looky (it's that time of year)." Ben is mean, but in a good way. He is impervious to my questions and whining. "But what if it rots?" "Then you can look inside before you throw it away."
Anyway, to our summer dinner:
1 loaf baugette bread (always squeeze your baugette gently in the store before you buy it... it should feel a little crunchy and firm to touch).
2 whole trout, heads on (be brave - you can do it!)
1lb green beans or asparagus
Aioli
With this, I would drink a white wine or a rose (which I did not like for the longest time, but I am warming up to them), or throw in the towel and have gin and tonics.
Aioli recipe:
1 garlic clove
1 egg yolk
1/4-1/2c olive oil
You will need a mortar and pestle for this. You can find these at reasonable prices at most Asian grocery stores. It should either be made of wood (more finicky, harder to keep up) or stone (easier to clean, does not absorb flavors as easily).
Smash the garlic clove with the mortar and pestle until it is pulverized. If you're having a bad day, it's a good time to make aioli. It tastes good and relieves stress.
Add the egg yolk to the party, smash that in and stir it around until it is lemony-colored.
Drizzle the olive oil gradually, by droplets at first, and more quickly later. If you add it too quickly, the aioli might "break" (i.e. the fats separate). If it breaks, DON'T THROW IT AWAY. Leave a little bit of the aioli in the mortar, reserving what you have poured out. Add the failed mixture gradually back into it.
Your aioli is finished when there is a balance of flavors between garlic and olive oil and when it no longer tastes "eggy". And yes, this involves raw eggs, so if you're pregnant or have a compromised immune system, it might not be the best time to eat it. I might have to fudge this rule when I'm pregnant (someday) if I can get my physician to ok it. Wine I can give up. Aioli and hollandaise will be a stretch.
Rub the trout with olive oil, salt and pepper the outside and inside. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side.
Rub the bread with olive oil (are you seeing a trend?), salt and pepper it. Grill until browned on each side. (For timing purposes, have it ready when you put the fish on and start it after you have flipped the fish.)
Toss the beans or asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill until browned on each side. (For timing purposes, start these at the same time you start the bread.)
This is a beautiful dish that doesn't require cooking inside (a shout out to all of you in the Midwest who are roasting today - go find a lake, a stream, or something wet and cold to jump in, even if it's a kiddie pool full of ice - they're cheap - go buy one!).
If your guests are queasy about fish heads, they pull off easily once the fish has been cooked. Just don't decapitate them at the dinner table. Below the eyes and between the lips of the fish are the cheeks (where you'd expect them to be), and they are delicious.
Lemon Curd for Dessert! This is from Alice Watters' The Art of Simple Food
4 lemons
zest from 1 lemon
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 T milk
1/3c. sugar
1/4t salt (unless you use salted butter)
6T butter, cut into small pieces
1) Zest one of the lemons. Set zest aside.
2) Juice all of the lemons (it should be 1/2c... do NOT cheat and use store-bought lemon juice for this.)
3) Beat together eggs, yolks, milk, sugar, and salt.
4) Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
5) Add the butter.
6) Cook in a non-aluminum pan, stirring constantly over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon (and doesn't all run off). It will seem like it will never happen. Don't lose focus. It happens quickly. Do not let it boil, or you will have scrambled eggs. If it starts to look a little chunky, remove from heat and whisk it vigorously. If it looks a lot chunky, run it through a wire strainer. Pour into a bowl or glass jars (the 8oz wide mouthed mason jars are beautiful with this!) and cool in the refrigerator.
To make this amazing dessert even more life changing, whip some heavy whipping cream with a little vanilla and sugar (i.e. make whipped cream) until it forms soft peaks (i.e. when you pull the whisk out of the cream the top of the peak folds over), and fold this into the lemon curd once it has cooled. To fold in the eggs, I am a big fan of "lightening" the curd. To do this, stir in a bit of the whipped cream. Then, add the lemon curd and whipped cream, and using a vertical (as opposed to horizontal) circular motion, gently move the ingredients in circles until it is basically uniform. The goal with "folding" is to not allow the whipped cream (or egg whites or whatever) lose any of the air that has been whipped into it. It takes a bit of practice, but you can do it!
Eat and enjoy. Say a prayer that whatever is in the bottom of my fridge is not something delicious that is rotting as I type. Say a prayer for Ben, who has an endless amount of questions regarding my birthday coming at him (from me).
Anyway, to our summer dinner:
1 loaf baugette bread (always squeeze your baugette gently in the store before you buy it... it should feel a little crunchy and firm to touch).
2 whole trout, heads on (be brave - you can do it!)
1lb green beans or asparagus
 |
| This is a salmon, not a trout, with asparagus... Ben's parents were visiting, so we actually had someone to take pictures. Until we get a camera, I'm trusting in all'y'all's imaginations. We miss our fish mongers in Minneapolis. We're coming back; save some fish for us, y'all. |
With this, I would drink a white wine or a rose (which I did not like for the longest time, but I am warming up to them), or throw in the towel and have gin and tonics.
Aioli recipe:
1 garlic clove
1 egg yolk
1/4-1/2c olive oil
You will need a mortar and pestle for this. You can find these at reasonable prices at most Asian grocery stores. It should either be made of wood (more finicky, harder to keep up) or stone (easier to clean, does not absorb flavors as easily).
Smash the garlic clove with the mortar and pestle until it is pulverized. If you're having a bad day, it's a good time to make aioli. It tastes good and relieves stress.
Add the egg yolk to the party, smash that in and stir it around until it is lemony-colored.
Drizzle the olive oil gradually, by droplets at first, and more quickly later. If you add it too quickly, the aioli might "break" (i.e. the fats separate). If it breaks, DON'T THROW IT AWAY. Leave a little bit of the aioli in the mortar, reserving what you have poured out. Add the failed mixture gradually back into it.
Your aioli is finished when there is a balance of flavors between garlic and olive oil and when it no longer tastes "eggy". And yes, this involves raw eggs, so if you're pregnant or have a compromised immune system, it might not be the best time to eat it. I might have to fudge this rule when I'm pregnant (someday) if I can get my physician to ok it. Wine I can give up. Aioli and hollandaise will be a stretch.
Rub the trout with olive oil, salt and pepper the outside and inside. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side.
Rub the bread with olive oil (are you seeing a trend?), salt and pepper it. Grill until browned on each side. (For timing purposes, have it ready when you put the fish on and start it after you have flipped the fish.)
Toss the beans or asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill until browned on each side. (For timing purposes, start these at the same time you start the bread.)
This is a beautiful dish that doesn't require cooking inside (a shout out to all of you in the Midwest who are roasting today - go find a lake, a stream, or something wet and cold to jump in, even if it's a kiddie pool full of ice - they're cheap - go buy one!).
If your guests are queasy about fish heads, they pull off easily once the fish has been cooked. Just don't decapitate them at the dinner table. Below the eyes and between the lips of the fish are the cheeks (where you'd expect them to be), and they are delicious.
Lemon Curd for Dessert! This is from Alice Watters' The Art of Simple Food
4 lemons
zest from 1 lemon
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 T milk
1/3c. sugar
1/4t salt (unless you use salted butter)
6T butter, cut into small pieces
1) Zest one of the lemons. Set zest aside.
2) Juice all of the lemons (it should be 1/2c... do NOT cheat and use store-bought lemon juice for this.)
3) Beat together eggs, yolks, milk, sugar, and salt.
4) Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
5) Add the butter.
6) Cook in a non-aluminum pan, stirring constantly over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon (and doesn't all run off). It will seem like it will never happen. Don't lose focus. It happens quickly. Do not let it boil, or you will have scrambled eggs. If it starts to look a little chunky, remove from heat and whisk it vigorously. If it looks a lot chunky, run it through a wire strainer. Pour into a bowl or glass jars (the 8oz wide mouthed mason jars are beautiful with this!) and cool in the refrigerator.
To make this amazing dessert even more life changing, whip some heavy whipping cream with a little vanilla and sugar (i.e. make whipped cream) until it forms soft peaks (i.e. when you pull the whisk out of the cream the top of the peak folds over), and fold this into the lemon curd once it has cooled. To fold in the eggs, I am a big fan of "lightening" the curd. To do this, stir in a bit of the whipped cream. Then, add the lemon curd and whipped cream, and using a vertical (as opposed to horizontal) circular motion, gently move the ingredients in circles until it is basically uniform. The goal with "folding" is to not allow the whipped cream (or egg whites or whatever) lose any of the air that has been whipped into it. It takes a bit of practice, but you can do it!
Eat and enjoy. Say a prayer that whatever is in the bottom of my fridge is not something delicious that is rotting as I type. Say a prayer for Ben, who has an endless amount of questions regarding my birthday coming at him (from me).
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