"Steak With Style: Easy Does It"
February 27, 2002, New York Times

Sautéed Swiss Chard

2 bunches Swiss chard, one red, one white, rinsed
1/2 cups chicken stock
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Trim leaves from stems of chard. Coarsely chop leaves and set aside.

2. Cut stems in pieces 1/2-inch wide and 2 inches long. Place in a saucepan with chicken stock, and simmer 10 minutes, until tender. Drain stems and set aside. (Stock can be reserved for another use.)

3. Impale garlic cloves on a large cooking fork. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chard leaves and stems. Sauté, stirring with the fork, until leaves have wilted. Toss with cheese, add salt and pepper, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

"Steak With Style: Easy Does It"
February 27, 2002, New York Times

Peppered Cranberry Marmalade

1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup cherry liqueur (not kirschwasser)
6 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced shallots
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced celery
1/3 cup glace de viande or concentrated beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1. Place cranberry juice in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, add cranberries and remove from heat. Allow to soak 40 minutes.

2. Drain cranberries, reserving juice. Place in a food processor with liqueur and 4 tablespoons vinegar, and pulse until chopped.

3. Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add shallots, onions and celery, and cook over low heat until tender but not colored.

4. Stir in 1/4 cup reserved cranberry juice and remaining vinegar, and simmer until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in cranberry mixture, and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in glace de viande, salt and a generous amount of pepper. Serve at once, or warm just before serving.

Yield: 2 cups.

"From the Earth, to Brighten Winter"
March 6, 2002, New York Times

Winter Vegetable Tian

2 medium-size tomatoes
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium-size beets, about 1 pound
1 pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 large shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, approximately
1 medium-large parsnip, peeled and sliced 1/16 inch thick
2 medium white turnips, peeled and sliced 1/16 inch thick
Neck of 1 slender butternut squash, peeled and sliced 1/16 inch thick, about 2 cups
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
12 flat-leaf parsley leaves
6 scallions, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut in 3-inch pieces.

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half, brush cut sides with a little oil, season with salt and pepper, place in baking dish in oven, and bake 2 hours.

2. Scrub beets, and trim stems to 1 inch. Place in saucepan, cover with water and simmer about an hour, until tender when pierced with paring knife. Drain beets, and allow to cool to room temperature.

3. While beets are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy sauté pan. Add mushrooms and shallots, and cook a few minutes, until starting to brown. Place mushroom mixture in food processor, and pulse until chopped medium fine.

4. Peel tomatoes; crush gently to squeeze out seeds and juice; chop flesh. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in saucepan; add tomato flesh, garlic and thyme, and cook a few minutes. Add mushrooms. Add cream. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove thyme.

5. In another saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups stock to simmer. Add parsnip, and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside. Place turnips in pan, adding more stock so slices are just covered. Simmer 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside. Place squash in pan with as much additional stock as needed so slices are just covered. (Keep 2 tablespoons stock in reserve.) Simmer 2 to 3 minutes; remove with slotted spoon; set aside. Peel and slice beets.

6. Brush shallow baking dish, about 9 by 12 inches, with a little oil. Spread mushroom mixture in dish. Cover mushroom mixture with rows of overlapping slices of parsnip, squash and turnip, with a row of beet slices between each. Dust with salt and pepper. Drizzle with remaining oil.

7. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place tian in oven, and bake about 25 minutes.

8. Melt butter in saucepan. Add parsley leaves, sauté a few seconds, and then scatter leaves over tian. Add scallions to butter, and sauté a few seconds. Remove, draining well, and scatter over tian. Add 2 tablespoons stock to butter, and cook over medium heat, whisking, until slightly thickened. Spoon butter sauce over tian, and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

"Pasta From the Italian Riviera"
March 13, 2002, New York Times

Olive Mill Pasta

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 medium-small onions, minced
1/4 pound fingerling potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
5 1/2 cups, approximately, vegetable or light chicken stock
14 ounces artisanal strozzapreti pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium-size ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and diced, or 2/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes, not oil-cured, covered with boiling water and drained
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
8 branches fresh basil or arugula, leaves removed and slivered, stems lightly crushed
1 bunch scallions, trimmed, slant-cut in 1-inch pieces
3 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, about 1 cup.

1. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 10-inch sauté pan. Add butter. When it melts, add onions and potatoes. Cook, stirring gently, over medium heat until they begin to turn golden.

2. In a small saucepan, bring stock to a slow simmer.

3. Add pasta to sauté pan, and stir gently. Lightly season with salt and pepper, and add tomatoes, garlic and basil or arugula stems. Add 1 1/2 cups stock. Cook, stirring gently, until nearly all stock has evaporated. Add scallions and another cup of stock, and cook, stirring, adding additional stock from time to time, so there is always some liquid in the pan, until pasta is al dente, about 18 minutes. Remove garlic and herb stems.

4. Fold in cheese and all but 1 tablespoon remaining oil. Add slivered herbs. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to warm soup plates, taking care that the ingredients are well distributed. Drizzle remaining oil over each and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

"Ambition and the Bird"
March 20, 2002, New York Times

Herb-Roasted Chicken

13 tablespoons butter, softened
4 ounces white mushrooms, wiped clean and finely diced
1 shallot, slivered
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh chervil leaves
1 branch fresh tarragon, leaves removed and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 chicken leg and thigh, chopped in 8 pieces
1 head garlic, cloves unpeeled, crushed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chicken stock
Leaves from 8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley.

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium-size skillet, add mushrooms and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mushrooms give up their liquid and the liquid has evaporated. Add shallot. Remove mushrooms from heat and cool to room temperature.

2. In a bowl, mix minced parsley, 1 tablespoon chives, the chervil and tarragon with 9 tablespoons butter. Mix in mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Place mixture in heavy self-sealing plastic sandwich bag and flatten to fill entire bag. Place in freezer until firm.

3. Rinse and dry chicken inside and out. Using your fingers, carefully separate skin from flesh of the breast and thighs. To cut thin membranes, use a paring knife or small kitchen shears, but take care not to pierce flesh or tear skin.

4. Slit bag holding herb butter and peel plastic away. Cut butter into small slabs about one by two inches. Slip slabs under chicken skin. Truss chicken or simply turn wing tips to back of chicken and tie legs.

5. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in heavy ovenproof casserole or small roasting pan that will comfortably hold chicken. On stove top, lightly brown chicken on all sides over medium heat. Place chicken in oven breast side up and roast 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove chicken from casserole.

6. Add remaining butter to casserole, add leg and thigh pieces, garlic and thyme and cook over medium heat until chicken pieces start to brown. Place whole chicken on its side on top of chicken pieces, return to oven and roast 10 minutes. Turn chicken and roast 10 minutes. Turn chicken breast-side up and roast about 15 minutes longer, until done and juices are no longer pink.

7. Remove chicken from pan, stand on end with legs pointing straight up on a rack placed over a platter. Allow to rest on an unlighted burner about 15 minutes. Wrap loosely in foil and place breast-side up on rack in turned-off oven with door slightly ajar another 15 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, pour off most of fat from casserole. Add stock to ingredients in casserole and simmer about 10 minutes. Strain contents of casserole through fine-mesh sieve into clean saucepan. Add any juices that have drained out from chicken. Reheat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add remaining chives and parsley leaves.

9. Cut chicken into serving pieces. Spoon a little sauce over or around and serve with additional sauce on the side.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

"More Than the Basics for Dessert"
March 27, 2002, New York Times

Glazed Mango With Sour Cream Sorbet and Black Pepper

2 large mangoes, ripe but not soft
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus butter for baking sheet
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup passion fruit sauce (see recipe)
Sour cream sorbet (see recipe)
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper.

1. Peel mangoes. Cut in thirds horizontally, leaving the pit in middle section. Place each portion without pit cut-side down on a work surface, and with a large knife cut into 8 slices perpendicular to the cutting board. Gently push down on slices so they spread out and overlap slightly.

2. Sliver enough mango flesh left around the pits to make 1/2 cup. Set slivers aside.

3. Butter a baking sheet large enough to hold mangoes in a single layer. Heat the broiler.

4. Melt remaining butter in a large nonstick skillet. Use a spatula to place each sliced mango third in the pan so they keep their shape. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, sprinkling with two tablespoons sugar, and basting with pan juices.

5. With spatula, transfer mangoes to baking sheet, place under broiler, and broil until edges just start to color. Do not overcook. Set mangoes aside.

6. Add remaining sugar to juices in skillet, and cook over medium heat until juices start to caramelize. Add lemon juice, and continue to cook, stirring, until amber colored. Season lightly with pepper. Spoon on mangoes.

7. Place a sliced caramelized mango third in each of 4 shallow soup plates. Spoon passion fruit sauce around each, and scatter raw mango slivers around. Top each with a large oval scoop of sour cream sorbet, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon coarse pepper on top and serve at once.

Yield: 4 servings.

"More Than the Basics for Dessert"
March 27, 2002, New York Times

Passion Fruit Sauce

1/3 cup sugar
1 stalk fresh lemon grass, in pieces
2/3 cup passion fruit nectar like Looza or Ceres (sold in fancy-food shops)
2 tablespoons lemon juice.

1. Mix sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan, simmer until sugar dissolves, add lemon grass, and set aside to cool 20 minutes.

2. Stir in passion fruit nectar and lemon juice. Refrigerate.

Yield: 1 cup.

"More Than the Basics for Dessert"
March 27, 2002, New York Times

Sour Cream Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lime zest.

1. Combine sugar and 3/8 cup water in saucepan. Simmer until sugar dissolves.

2. Whisk sour cream in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in sugar syrup. Whisk in lime juice and zest. Refrigerate until cold. Transfer to an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Yield: 1 quart.

April 3, 2002, New York Times

"How to Treat Lamb"
Provençal Leg of Lamb With Fennel and Scallions

1 leg of lamb, preferably spring lamb, boned, about 5 pounds
1 tablespoon paprika
3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
7 large cloves garlic, smashed
1 bunch thyme or savory, or 1/2 of each
1 1/2 pounds lamb neck, in 2-inch chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large bulbs fresh fennel
2 bunches scallions, trimmed, leaving 1-inch of green
1 cup chicken stock
1 sprig rosemary
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan.

1. Lightly score fat on lamb; rub with paprika. Place 1/2 cup olive oil and 5 cloves garlic in bowl that will hold lamb snugly. Place lamb in bowl, turn to coat sides, and cover by placing sheet of plastic wrap directly on meat. Refrigerate 48 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove lamb from bowl. Discard garlic. Reserve 4 branches herbs. Use the rest to rub lamb all over, inside and out. Tie lamb at 1 1/2-inch intervals with butcher's cord. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy ovenproof casserole that will hold lamb comfortably. Brown leg of lamb on top of stove on all sides. Remove from casserole. Place pieces of lamb neck in casserole, season with salt and pepper, place leg of lamb on top, place in oven, and roast 1 hour for medium-rare for 5- to 5 1/2-pound roast. Add 15 minutes for 6- to 7-pound roast. Instant-read thermometer inserted in center should register 120 degrees.

3. While lamb is roasting, trim fennel: cut a 1/2-inch slice off the bottom of each bulb and cut off branches down to the bulb. Slice bulbs in four vertically. Use wooden skewers or toothpicks to hold layers together. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch fennel about 3 minutes. Drain, remove skewers and set aside.

4. Heat remaining oil in heavy skillet. Lightly brown fennel slices on each side. Place fennel slices, slightly overlapping, in shallow baking dish. Lightly brown scallions and place around fennel.

5. Remove lamb from oven and place in shallow baking pan tented with foil, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Transfer contents of casserole to saucepan. Deglaze casserole with chicken stock and add to saucepan. Bring contents of saucepan to a simmer. Peel remaining garlic and add, along with reserved herb sprigs and rosemary. Simmer gently 30 minutes. Strain, return to saucepan, degrease and season with salt and pepper. Spoon 4 tablespoons sauce around fennel and scallions in baking dish.

6. Turn oven to 400 degrees. Pour any juices accumulated around lamb into saucepan. Remove foil from lamb and place in oven in baking pan. Dust fennel and scallions with Parmesan. Place in oven; bake 20 minutes.

7. Remove lamb from oven, snip cord, and cut in slices. Arrange on warm platter. Drizzle a little of the sauce over it. Remove fennel and scallions from oven and serve with lamb and remaining sauce on the side.

Yield: 8 servings.

"A Shower of Springtime Flavors"
April 10, 2002, New York Times

Asparagus Three Ways (Raw, Cooked, Puréed)

2 pounds asparagus, medium thickness
Salt
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons crushed black truffles or 1 tablespoon black olive paste or 1 tablespoon genuine balsamic vinegar at least 50 years old.

1. Snap off ends of asparagus stalks where they break naturally. Discard ends. Peel asparagus. Select 16 of the most uniform and thickest spears and set aside. Cut remaining stalks in half, place in a saucepan of well-salted water and simmer until very tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and purée in food processor or blender. You should have about 1 1/4 cups.

2. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly butter 4 small round ovenproof containers, preferably 3- to 4-ounce size. Porcelain ramekins or custard cups, heatproof glass bowls or tiny nonstick muffin or dariole molds can be used.

3. Combine 2/3 cup purée with egg and egg yolks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to buttered molds. Place molds in a baking dish, and add simmering water to come halfway up sides of molds. Bake 45 minutes or until custards are set and surface is fairly firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leaving molds in water bath.

4. While custards bake, cut a 2-inch-long piece from the tip of each reserved asparagus stalk. Cut each tip piece in half lengthwise, place in a saucepan of salted water, bring to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, and set aside on absorbent paper.

5. Using a vegetable peeler, shave 4 or 5 ribbons lengthwise from remaining pieces of stalk, leaving center portion intact. Place ribbons in a bowl of ice water. Mince centers no larger than peppercorns. Fold minced asparagus into remaining purée, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Beat vinegar and oil together but not enough to emulsify completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add truffles, olive paste or balsamic vinegar, and stir lightly to combine but not blend thoroughly. Vinaigrette should remain somewhat broken.

7. To serve, spoon asparagus purée with minced raw asparagus in a circle in center of each of 4 large salad plates. Unmold custards on top of purée. Surround each with 8 cooked halved asparagus tips, cut side down, like spokes of a wheel. Drain raw asparagus ribbons and pat dry. Scatter over cooked tips, and pose one that's nicely curled on each custard. Drizzle vinaigrette on plate around asparagus.

Yield: 4 servings.

"A Perfect Fit for Halibut"
April 17, 2002, New York Times

Halibut With Parsley-Shellfish Sauce

1 1/3 pounds center-cut halibut fillet, in one piece, skinned
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus 4 sprigs
1/4 pound butter at room temperature
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup minced fennel
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 clove garlic, sliced
36 cockles, scrubbed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly ground white pepper
1/4 pound lump crab meat, picked free of cartilage
Fleur de sel.

1. Cut halibut in half at central "seam," then cut each half in 8 slices about 1/4-inch thick. Brush slices with olive oil on both sides. Place 4 slices side-by-side on a 6-inch-square piece of parchment paper. Top with another piece of parchment. Repeat with remaining halibut. Set packages aside.

2. With food processor running, drop 1/4 cup parsley through feed tube. Process until minced. Add butter to processor and process until well blended. Remove to a dish.

3. Place wine, bay leaf, fennel, shallot and garlic in a saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat until wine is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add cockles, cover, lower heat and simmer until they open, about 5 minutes. Remove cockles, shuck into small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside.

4. Strain cooking liquid, pressing on solids, into clean saucepan. Simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup. Over very low heat, whisk in parsley butter about a tablespoon at a time. Add lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, adding white pepper. Fold in cockles and crab meat and cover to keep warm.

5. Place a 10- to 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place one package of halibut in pan, cook 30 seconds on each side and remove from pan with spatula. Repeat with remaining fish. Peel off paper and arrange four slices of fish on each of four warm plates, making a square. Season lightly with fleur de sel and pepper.

6. Spoon warmed seafood butter sauce into the center of each square, then spoon a little around the outside. Garnish with parsley and serve.