Pan Bagnat: Le French Tuna Salad Sandwich

This sandwich would be perfect for a summer picnic. Although a little messy, this tuna sandwich was amazing. It reminded me of a nicoise salad in sandwich form. I added the optional artichoke hearts and green beans and would highly recommend it. The ingredients can be prepared ahead of time and the sandwich assembled later.

• 1/2 loaf crusty French baguette
• 1 clove garlic, cut in half
• 4-6 basil leaves
• 1 (6oz) can tuna
• 3/4 cups Nicoise or Kalamata olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 jar or can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup blanched French green beans, sliced into thirds (optional)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. PREP THE BREAD: Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Remove some of the insides of the bottom half to create a trough into which the filling will go. Brush both halves with a little extra virgin olive oil. Rub each with the garlic. Line the half with the trough with the basil leaves.
2. MIX THE SALAD: In a mixing bowl, combine the tuna, olives, red bell pepper, onion, parsley, artichoke hearts (if using) and green beans (if using). In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the lemon juice into the olive oil until it is emulsified/combined. Pour the vinaigrette into the tuna mixture and stir to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
3. ASSEMBLE: Spoon tuna mixture into the trough of the baguette over the basil leaves. Wrap sandwich well in plastic. Crush it down by placing a brick or heavy cast iron skillet and refrigerate, preferably with the weight, overnight.
4. SERVE: In the morning, cut sandwich in half and enjoy.

Source: http://food52.com/recipes/6896-pan-bagnat-le-french-tuna-salad-sandwich

The (Not Barefoot) Contessa's Fish Pasta

The saltiness of the capers and olives along with the fish really made this dish for me. It will definitely be my new go to pasta dish for the week. I used red snapper for the fish.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 12 or so oil cured olives, depitted and chopped
• 1 pound white fish, like striped bass or snapper
• 1 tablespoon salted capers
• half a glass of white wine
• 4 big and fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 packet linguine or spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped roughly
• salt and pepper

1. Chop tomatoes roughly.
2. Dice garlic.
3. Deskin fish and cut into bite sized chunks.
4. Saute three tablespoons of oil with garlic for two minutes or so over medium heat.
5. Add fish, stirring carefully until browned, try not to break it up.
6. Once browned, add salt and pepper, then half glass of white wine and turn up heat. stir carefully till wine is nearly evaporated.
7. In the meantime, heat pot of hot water for pasta, generously salted.
8. When wine is nearly evaporated, reduce heat, add tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or so.
9. Add capers (i prefer just to shake the salt off them rather than wash them), parsley and olives. again stir carefully: you don't want to turn this into fish puree. When the tomato juice is released and the sauce is just thickening, turn off heat. You want the tomatoes a little raw.
10. Cook pasta al dente.
11. Carefully add the sauce to the pasta over a little heat. Stir gently for a minute or two and serve. 

Source: http://food52.com/recipes/264-the-not-barefoot-contessa-s-fish-pasta

Summer Corn Chowder

This soup is creamy, smoky, sweet, and completely satisfying all at the same time. I love the taste of the bacon with the corn and tomatoes. Besides some chopping, it was also a pretty easy recipe to prepare. I couldn't find light cream so I just used whipping cream, about 1 3/4 c instead of the suggested 2 cups of light cream.

• 6 medium ears of corn
• 6 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium poblano, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small celery rib, finely chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 medium boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 cups light cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Working over a bowl, cut the corn kernels from the cobs at about half their depth. Then, using the back of the knife, scrape the cobs over the bowl to release all the "milk"; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and reserve.
3. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the poblano pepper, jalapeño and celery and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, allspice, sugar, bay leaf and the reserved corn kernels and their "milk" and stir well. Cook over moderate heat until mixture begins to sizzle.
4. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon and parsley.

Source: http://food52.com/recipes/142-summer-corn-chowder

Nora Ephron's Chocolate Cream Pie

 This pie is so rich and yummy with just the right amount of sweetness in the chocolate and a perfect crunch from the added heath bars. I made my own graham cracker crust with crushed up crackers, sugar, and melted butter, but it would probably work with a premade crust also.

Ingredients

1 graham cracker crust
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups milk
4 ounces best-quality unsweetened chocolate, broken into small pieces
4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, plus ¼ teaspoon more for the whipped cream
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup pulverized English toffee or Heath Bars
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Shaved chocolate, for garnish

1. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the graham cracker crust. Bake according to the directions in the recipe. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the chocolate, and let melt. Whisk in the sugar mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it starts to thicken.
3. Remove from the heat. So the yolks don’t curdle, add a spoonful of the hot melted chocolate mixture to them and whisk, then another spoonful and whisk. Then pour all the yolks into the pan and whisk furiously. Return to the heat and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and continue stirring for a minute to dissipate the heat.
4. Stir in the vanilla and butter. Cover with waxed paper and cool to room temperature.
5. When the filling has cooled, cover the bottom of the cooled pie shell with the pulverized toffee, add the filling, and chill for at least 1 hour.
6. Just before serving, whip the heavy cream, ¼ teaspoon vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar to soft peaks. Cover the pie with the cream, sprinkle the shaved chocolate atop, and serve.

Creamy fingerling potato salad

This potato salad reminds me of my mom's German potato salad, just minus the bacon and bacon grease. I have always been a fan of vinegar potato salad as opposed to mayonnaise based so I loved this recipe. The other weekend, I made this for a large group. I cooked the potatoes and made the dressing ahead and then mixed it together right before serving.

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes (such as La Ratte or Russian Banana), cut into 1/2-inch disks
• 1/2 pound yukon gold potatoes (about 1 large), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• Kosher salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, divided
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more as desired
• 2 small shallots, one minced (about 1/4 cup), one thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Place potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 3 cups tepid water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally until salt is dissolved. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook until potatoes are completely tender and show no resistance when poked with a paring knife or cake tester, about 17 minutes. Drain potatoes, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Immediately toss potato pieces with 1/2 tablespoon vinegar and set aside.
2. Combine reserved cooking liquid with remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, mustard, relish, sugar, and minced shallot in a large bowl. Add 5 to 6 pieces of cooked Yukon gold potato. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Whisking constantly, add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Fold in capers, celery, sliced shallot, parsley, and potatoes. Season to taste with salt and more sugar if desired. Serve immediately, drizzling with remaining olive oil or refrigerate for up to three days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Source: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/02/creamy-fingerling-potato-salad-recipe.html

Ras El Hanout

 I made this spice mixture for the Moroccan lamb meatballs. There are tons of difference recipes for ras el haout, but I just ended up having the majority of the spices for this one. The recipe also recommends ground mace and anise seeds, but we didn't have any.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamon
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Source: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ras_el_hanout_recipe.htm

Moroccan Lamb Meatball Tagine

This recipe is amazing, and the leftovers taste just as good. I ended up cooking everything on the stove in a sauce pan and then transferring to a dutch oven for the oven part. I also made my own mixture of ras el hanout. We ate this dish with few slices of sour dough bread.















INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 egg (beat and use half)
• 1 shallot, finely minced, and 4 shallots, sliced (I used 2 shallots that were on the larger side)
• 1 tablespoon chiffonade fresh mint, plus 10 leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus 1/4 cup, roughly chopped
• 3 teaspoons ras el hanout, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on an angle
• 1 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can cherry tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups broth (recipe called for beef but I used chicken)
• 2 tablespoons golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs and milk until the milk is absorbed into the bread.  Add the egg.  Add 1 shallot, finely minced, 1 tablespoon mint, 2 tablespoons cilantro, 1 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout, the piment d’Espelette, and season with salt and pepper.  Stir together until combined.  Add the lamb, and gently toss together until evenly mixed.  Divide the mixture into 8 meatballs.  Place the meatballs on a plate with the flour, and dust on all sides.  Reserve the excess flour.

In a sautepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until the oil ripples.  Add the floured meatballs into the hot oil and brown on all sides.  Set the meatballs aside, and lower the heat.  Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté on medium-low for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the garlic and carrot, and stir in the hot pan until you smell the garlic.  Add the reserved flour, and toss to coat the vegetables in the flour.  Add the tomato paste, the drained cherry tomatoes, the beef broth, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of ras el hanout, and the raisins.  Stir to combine.  Bring the liquid to a boil.

Add the meatballs back into the stew, and top with the remaining mint, cilantro, and olive oil.  Place a lid on the pot, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  After half an hour, place the pot over medium heat, and blip away uncovered until the sauce is very thick, 2 to 5 minutes.  Serve with couscous tossed in Meyer lemon olive oil, or just serve with baguette.

Source: http://www.frenchrevolutionfood.com/2012/03/french-in-a-flash-fun-and-fiery-moroccan-lamb-meatball-tagine/