Pot Au Feu

This super easy Pot Au Feu hails from one of my first and most-used cookbooks, Martha Stewart's Healthy Quick Cook--Four Seasons of Great Menu's.  A good friend gave it to me as a housewarming present almost 15 years ago, and its worn edges and faded cover make me smile.

The hearty broth intoxicates the kitchen while simmering on the stove, and the mashed potato topping adds a royal dose of richness. I've enjoyed it for Sunday supper, with a group of skiers after a day on the slopes, at winter dinner parties and sometimes, when the root veg overflows my kitchen, as my lunch for the week. The best part about this dish is you can use any root vegetables you have on hand. 

I've made it twice this fall forgetting to photograph the final product. I suppose I can't wait to dive in!

Pot-au-Feu with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients  
Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat
• 6 cups / enough chicken stock to cover the veggies
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal and quartered
• 1 rutabaga or turnip (1 pound) peeled, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal and quartered
• 2 parsnips, pared, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal and quartered
• 2 celery stalks, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal and quartered
• 1 leek, white part only, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 sprig each fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley 
• Salt and pepper

Potatoes

• 4 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of milk
• 2-4 tablespoons of horseradish
• Salt, pepper and butter
  

Directions 

• Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides. Add vegetables, cover with chicken stock and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring the potatoes to boil in salted water over high, then reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to pot. Mash until potatoes are to your desired consistency. 
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium-low until butter melts. Slowly pour mixture into potatoes, stirring until combined. Whisk in horseradish to taste, and season with salt and pepper.
  
• Remove meat onto a cutting board. Season the broth with salt and pepper. Divide the vegetables among 4 large shallow bowls and ladle broth into them. Slice the meat into 8 pieces and place two slices in each bowl. Serve topped with horseradish mashed potatoes.

Baked Apples

Our crisper is still gloriously filled with apples varietals from late fall CSA deliveries.  I love that these little guys last so long. Months, in fact, if stored in the crisper with a moist towel on top.

While I love a good tart and never turn down a crisp, in the spirit of simple and slow eating, I wanted to share a recipe that all but keeps the apple in tact. Truthfully, a recipe is barely needed to bake apples. Core, stuff, butter and bake... So perhaps use this as a launching pad for your own masterpiece. When company is over, as it was above, I add a dollop of ice cream.

Baked Apples
Ingredients
For every apple you will bake:

• 1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon of chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup
• 1 dash of nutmeg
• 1 dash of cinnamon
• 1 dash of cloves
• Water

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Carefully core the apples 3/4th of the way, leaving the bottom in tact. I use a paring knife in a circular motion, then scoop with a narrow spoon
• Mix the nuts, honey and spices in a bowl and then scoop into each cored apple and top with a butter pad
• Arrange the apples in a baking dish and full with 1 inch of water
• Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, until tender

Coq Au Vin

Growing up, we had a new Au Pair every year.  All hailed from Western European countries like Spain, France and German, and many from the UK.  While it meant we had a new stranger across the hall each September, it worked well for our family and was wonderful exposure to different cultures.

A lot of my food memories thus revolve around the Au Pair of the year.  There was the year of the quiche, or as we fondly retell it at the Christmas table (said in your WORST French-English accent), "Tonight, I make a quiche." It was that same Au Pair who made a wonderful mussel dish, my first introduction to the briny, special occasion steamed feast, and a Buche du Noel at Christmas.  From the Brits we had many a Shepherd's Pie, and I still maintain that first Sue's was the best. Two British Au Pairs named Sue with rivaling Shepard's Pie recipes...

While it was various Au Pairs who introduced me to many comforts of French cuisine, like croque monsieur, quiche and toast dipped in Chocolat Chaud for breakfast, it was my father who introduced me to the French stews. Coq au Vin being his specialty.

When I asked him for his recipe, I learned it has evolved over the years.  At first, I was slightly disappointed to find out there was no tried-and-true, passed through the generations recipe.  Then I realized I hadn't noticed the difference in recent batches so why be disappointed.  His most recent recipe edits are that he no longer scorches the meat in cognac, "it didn't seem to do much", and he added leeks from a Quebecois recipe.

The final version, after I added in a wee bit of chicken stock, is a rich, fall apart with your fork stew. The recipe seems just right, and I won't be tinkering it any further. The veg all meld together into silky goodness and plopped on top of cous cous or brown rice, we lap it up in mere minutes.  Bon Appetit!

Coq au Vin
Ingredients

• 4 lbs of chicken thighs or a whole stewing chicken pre-cut into serving pieces
• 10-12 pearl onions, peeled
• 2 leeks, washed and diced
• 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 - 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 cloves of thinly sliced garlic
• Bouquet Garni: 2 stalks of celery, Bay leaves, two to three sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and/or parsley) and butchers twine
• 1 bottle of Pinot Noir
• Butter
• Flour, salt and pepper for dredging

Directions

• Dredge the chicken pieces in flour, pepper and salt
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 3 qt + dutch oven over medium low heat
• Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, remove to a plate
• Add the onions, carrots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, mixing frequently, turn off when finished
• In a small pan, saute the leeks and mushrooms in butter for 3-5 minutes, deglaze with the chicken stock and cook another 2 minutes
• Make the Bouquet Garni by cutting the celery in half, putting the bay leaves and herb sprigs in between, covering up with another piece of celery, and tying together into a bundle with the butcher's twine
• Add the chicken back to the dutch oven, place the Bouquet Garni in the pot, toss in the leek/stock/mushroom mixture, and cover with the bottle of wine
•  Cook, covered, in the oven at 350 degrees, 2.5 - 3.5 hours

Tomatillo & Ginger Baked Salmon

As you may know, I adore tomatillos and I wanted to try using them as the star of a fish dish.  The sauce below would work just as well on top of a white fish such as fluke or cod.  I was cooking for my Dad, who has an aversion to major spice, so I omitted the jalapenos. Do keep them in if you can, as they balance out the acid with a wonderful kick.

I served these shishito peppers and stock-mashed potatoes (boil new potatoes, mash with a slab of butter, a bit of chicken stock and a grind of pepper!) rounding out a nice dinner in under an hour.

Tomatillo & Ginger Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 cup of tomatillos, husks removed
• 4 salmon fillets
• 1 inch of ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• Optional: 1/2 a finely diced jalapeno, seeds omitted
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Tinfoil

Directions

• Pre heat oven to 375
• Boil 1 cup of husked tomatillos in boiling water for 4-6 minutes until they turn mustardy yellow
• Carefully remove from the pot, and let cool
• Meanwhile, peel and chop one inch of fresh ginger, one clove of garlic and the jalapeno
• Sauté the jalapeno, ginger and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, 1 – 2 minutes
• Add the tomatillos and with the back of a wooden spoon crush them into the ginger, garlic and, if using, jalapenos
• Add one teaspoon of soy sauce and cook the mixture, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes
• Place each salmon fillet on a piece of tinfoil, top with a healthy scoop of the tomatillo sauce and seal each fillet in the tinfoil packet
• Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 18 – 25 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets and oven heat

Tomatillo Sauce

Salmon Pre-Tin Foil Packets