Live a Little Rich

The holiday season always brings out the best in luxurious eating in Laura's Kitchen! This season, lux dish of the year was a lunch entree of Pan Seared Duck, served with Foie Gras and Celery Root Puree, and garnished with Apricot Demi Glace and Apple Mint Jelly. Just to hit the nail right on the head, the entire dish was scented with truffle oil for that intoxicating aroma.



It was such a treat for all of us, and I personally made a comment about how disgusted I was by how rich the entire dish was. It's a good thing we only eat like this once a year. Gone are the days when Foie Gras was a weekly menu item! (Yes, it's true! For a stretch, sometimes even nightly...) But this made lunch so much more special knowing that it was a rare occasion for such exquisite ingredients.

I'm also past the point of doing individual platings - for such a small party, family style dining is far more intimate with everyone having to help themselves from the same plate. It's sort of a fine dining food meets casual eating concept, and I'm kind of enjoying it so far!

My recipes are typically easy to work with, and can be whipped up in no time at all, but I thought that for this holiday season, posting a fine food recipe would be fitting. One of my favorite side dishes to serve is the celery root puree. It's sort of like an upgrade to your regular potato puree (I remember when Potato Puree was all the rage, it was basically butter with some potato), but with that unique hint of celery flavor, and neutral flavored enough to pair with almost any entree. Mmmmm...

Celery root (celeriac) is kind of an ugly vegetable, and looks like a turnip that has overdosed on some radioactive soil, with dirt trapped between the crevices of knobs sticking out of the surface. Tiny roots are usually still attached to the whole bulb, making it seem like it has a life of it's own. Ew. However, unlike most root vegetables, celery root only contain 5-6% of starch, so it's also a healthier alternative to something like potato.


I wasn't kiding about it looking like a mutated turnip

It's sort of amazing how an ugly vegetable can bring out such delicious flavors after just a little processing - so here's the recipe. Let me know what you think!

Celery Root Puree
1 ea Medium Sized Celery Root (about the size of a large potato)
1 ea Medium Yukon Gold Potato
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

Salt and White Pepper to taste

1. Using a knife, cut around the celery root to remove the thick skin
2. Dice the celery root and set aside
3. Peel the Potato, and dice into cubes the same size as the celery root cuts
4. Bring a pot of water to boil, and salt well
5. Add the celery root and the potato and cook until potato is just done, about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the cut
6. Strain vegetables and place in food processor. Add cream
7. Puree until very smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste, pulsing to incorporate flavor
8. Serve immediately, or leave to cool
9. To reheat, place puree in a metal bowl over a water bath, and gently warm

What I had for Dinner

So, as I mentioned earlier today, I'd be cooking dinner. It's a rare occasion that I do decide to cook on a weeknight. Usually it's leftovers from the weekend or something that we're nuking up; otherwise, it's some brown rice or quinoa with steamed veggies - nothing particularly exciting from Chef Laura's kitchen.

However, I was inspired by a certain friend who had offered to cook dinner for their date, and decided I'd treat Daryl to a delicious weeknight meal, even if it wasn't as lavish as the one we had on a Monday night a few weeks ago at Aqua.

Anyway, I even planned in advance (like one day) - we had this rack of lamb in the freezer that I decided to use, plus fresh baby asparagus tips from the market on Sunday. Remember that romesco sauce I made the other day for the Gigya party? Well, no time like the present to use up leftovers.

I haven't exhausted my use of the grill yet either, and have learned some tricks. Turns out that roasting potatoes on the grill take about half as long as when you do them in the oven - so I did that first. I wrapped some assorted baby potatoes (purple peruvian, fingerling, banana, ruby crescent) coated in the romesco sauce, in foil, then stuck them under the hood for about 25 minutes, which was just in time for Daryl to get home and for me to prep the rest of the ingredients, which wasn't that hard anyway.

I'll be writing more about my little farm soon, but currently while everything is kind of just shooting up in Spring, my herbs are just thriving! I only snipped off a sprig of rosemary and some mint, since they are still baby plants and i don't want to kill them just yet. (I'm really excited about our first batch of tomatoes & veggies though!)

I sliced the rack of lamb into individual cutlets so that they'd cook easier, then brushed them with the minced herbs and olive oil. For the asparagus, I lightly dressed them in the balsamic vin that I had made last week for the roasted veggie salad - it really is a great marinade to have on hand, and you can get the recipe below.

Once Daryl got back, I got to grilling the lamb chops which were done in like 5 minutes, and then the asparagus, another 3.

All in all, it took 30 minutes to get the plate ready - Herb Scented Lamb Cutlets with Marinated Asparagus and an Assortment of roasted Potatoes with Romesco sauce. I also served it with the apple mint jelly that I made from Easter. The jelly is keeping so well, and it pairs up perfectly with so many things (lamb, beef, cheese plates, bread, etc etc), that I think I'll be doing some canning soon to have it as a staple in my pantry.

I'm really loving this outdoor grill/fresh food/gourmet dinner thing now; but I don't expect that I'll be cooking like this everyday that's for sure...

More to come soon!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Use this to marinade meats, or for a quick salad dressing. It's a tasty sauce to always keep handy in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using each time. Keeps almost forever.

Makes 1 Cup

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 Cup Good Quality olive Oil
1 Tbs Shallot, Miced
1 Tbs Garlic, Minced
2 Tbs Parsley, Minced
1 Tbs Mixed herb like oregano, thyme, mint, basil, minced

Zest of 1 orange

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender, until oil & vinegas form an emulsion
Season to taste
If mixture separates while in storage, shake well before next use