So true.
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that looks really good
Sharing a tip for anyone else who may be working from the ebook: The bookmarks in this book don’t work. If you bookmark a recipe, then go to the list of bookmarks, you will see just chapter titles and not the recipe names. There is a workaround, however. If you highlight the recipe names, then go to the list of highlights, you will have a list of the recipe names you wanted to bookmark. And they link, just like a bookmark.
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ROAST CORN, ZUCCHINI & PEPPERS WITH CUMIN, CHILI, SOUR CREAM & AVOCADO - ebook
For this recipe, she has you roast corn in one pan and the vegetables (zucchini, red bell peppers) in another. The zucchini and peppers are roasted for 40 minutes, and the corn goes in for the final 20. Both are tossed in a dressing of olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Some chiles are also included. She says to mix them in the dressing, but I just added them with the vegetables. Not having them in the dressing made it easier to whisk. Once again with the cinnamon! There was 3/4 teaspoon in this recipe, but I dialed it back a bit. Still, it skewed the flavor of the dish more towards Moroccan, which I’m pretty sure was not the intent.
I ignored the serving suggestion of putting this in a bowl with half an avocado. I served it with leftovers of the chicken/black bean/rice dish from the day before, with avocado slices on the side. Cilantro, feta, and sour cream are the called for garnishes. The recipe worked, but I would season it differently in the future.
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TOMATO, GOAT CHEESE, & OLIVE CLAFOUTIS w/ BASIL (p. 92)
Another of our favorites, and looking at my favorites here in print is making me realize they almost all (all??) have tomatoes, which I wouldn’t have guessed. So you put the tomatoes (she calls for a mix of sizes/shapes, but I believe I’ve always just used Romas cut into pieces) into a baking dish with some olive oil and season them. Roast until soft and shrunken. Put eggs/yolks, flour, milk, and cream into a food processor, then stir in parmesan and a minced clove of garlic. Scatter chopped black pitted olives over the tomatoes, then the crumbled goat cheese, and then pour the batter over the whole thing and bake until puffed and golden. I absolutely love this, and serve it with a simple green salad and rolls.
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I got this book a while ago and as Diana is so insistent that some of the recipes only work in a certain dimension pan, I ordered the Netherton Foundry pan she recommends. It’s a beautiful cast iron pan so I don’t really regret it, but it was pricey and having cooked from the book, I’m not entirely convinced that I needed to get it, even for the rice dishes where pan size is most critical. If I didn’t have it, I think I’d just need to check on cooking progress a little more often, consider adding some more liquid or adjust cooking time. I’d love to know other people’s thoughts on this point.
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Interesting, I somehow missed this in the book. But i have had problems with rice dishes, including one in this book, where the chicken and rice cook in the same pan at the same time. Not ALL dishes like that, but enough that it makes me wary of trying new ones.
ETA: I don’t have the pan you bought.
Is it this pan?
It looks lovely. I didn’t realize that in her recipe she is calling for a slope-sided pan. If that’s the pan she’s using, it is actually smaller than the All-Clad paella pan that I used (about the same across the base, but the Netherton pan narrower across the top. So it’s interesting that even with a wider pan, the rice came out too wet for my liking. Admittedly, I am very picky about my rice.
I use a 12” braiser, which has sloped sides, although a different slope.
Yes, that’s the one.
POUSSINS (chicken thighs) w/ BLACK OLIVE & ANCHOVY BUTTER (p. 203)
Poussins are hard to get, my family finds them hard to eat, and they seem fussy to me, so I adapted this for chicken thighs. Make the butter by putting chopped black olives, anchovies, garlic, pepper, and butter into a mortar and pestle and pound until incorporated. Cut the potatoes into chunks - here she had me a little irritated, because she asks for 1/4 inch square, which is more like a dice in my mind than a chunk. I’m sure it is to make sure the potatoes cook enough, but heck, why not just put them in a bit earlier at a more reasonable size? I did end up making them very small, but still gave them 20 minutes in the oven pre-chicken. They are mixed with red pepper, rosemary, seasoning, and olive oil. Put the birds on top of this after lifting the skin to add butter. Season everything. I was somewhat nervous about salting, since this already has anchovy and black olives, and I think I didn’t salt it quite enough. Roast. So, as I mentioned, I don’t think I salted this enough. It was fine, but no where near as good as the butter I tasted was. Pretty sure the whole issue is my lack of salt. So I’m not sure about this one. It irritated me with the tiny potatoes, and then (probably by my own hand) wasn’t as great as I’d hoped. LLD loved it, Lulu (who loves black olives and anchovies) sort of pushed it around the plate.
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This reminds me of the Olive-Olive Cornish Hens from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, which I love. My notes just say take some tapenade, loosen it with olive oil if it’s dry, add a bit of orange or lemon zest if you want, rub it under the skin, then rub the hens (thighs) with olive oil and squeeze a bunch of lemon juice over before roasting. I love this! I bet the lemon juice makes a difference. I usually add a bit of orange zest, I feel it goes well with black olives. Also notes say top oven rack, hot oven to ensure crispy skin. But maybe you are one and done with the whole concept. 
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Probably one and done, but I agree with you on the citrus. I have a lemon zest tarragon butter chicken recipe that I absolutely love. Works every time - delicious, and crispy skin.
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That sounds amazing! Are you able to find fresh tarragon or does it work with dried?
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Dried! The butter sort of rehydrates it. Just butter, dried tarragon, and lemon zest. So good.
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Can you share more about the recipe source? Sounds delicious!
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It’s been ages … since before Lulu was born, so I’m not positive, but I think it was probably either Bon Appetit or Gourmet. I don’t have access to Epicurious but it could be on there.
Really all you need to do is soften some butter and add crumpled dried tarragon and lemon zest. Slather on chicken (thighs for me), getting some under skin, some on skin. Season. Roast as you normally would, for me this is something like 30 minutes around 425.
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Thank you! I’ll look around, but in any case, give it a go. I love chicken and tarragon.
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I LOVE fresh tarragon in chicken salad, finely chopped celery, maybe green onion, ½ mayo, ½ sour cream.
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