Happy (Late) Day of Celebrating our Country's Independence

Oh happy late day of freedom, and nothing speaks freedom quite so much as parades, protest marches, and berry saturated French toast. Becoming our Fourth of July tradition, this year I made our patriotic French toast using Italian bread. This was truly the "melting pot of the world" breakfast I had planned -- ripe and fresh from the farmers' market blueberries and raspberries sprinkled over thick slices of custardy ciabatta bread and drizzled (or doused as Shane's) in a maple crème fraîche.

Late as a brunch and hearty enough to satisfy us until my planned dinner of risotto cakes with roasted beet, walnuts and blue cheese (red, white and blue cheese, if you will), Shane and I walked to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities (cottage cheese, eggs, eight bottles of wine . . .) and happened upon the hot dog sample stand. Actually, the samples were less sample and more meal-like as we each tried half a natural, all beef hot dog, fresh off the indoor grill and into a freshly grilled bun.

"Want to skip the risotto cakes and have hot dogs instead?" I half-joked with Shane.

"Is that okay?"

You know, it was more than okay. We just added a bag of chips, buns, and hot dog mustard to the necessity list, as I found what is now my new favorite hot dog mustard -- Woeber's Mustard Relish. Hot dogs, squishy buns, mustard with built-in pickles, well, let's just say this sausage, gourmet grainy mustard, and fancy-pants beer girl was as giddy as an eleven-year-old boy at the last minute of the last hour on the last day of school.

Risotto cakes can wait until Monday.

From Soothing Scallop Chowder to Creamy Cassoulet

Admittedly, I was searching IFagioli for my cassoulet recipe – which is apparently a myth as I cannot find it on my site – when I noticed, with several ounces of horror, that I have not updated my blog in over a month. Perhaps my faithful readers (I see you all number in the double digits now) think I never stepped foot into my small yet resourceful kitchen at all in the month of June. Ah, quite the contrary. Between my subscription to a local CSA and the farmers’ market, I have been experimenting with dishes from Arugula, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza with Walnuts to Soothing Scallop Chowder which hit the spot on a chilly, rainy June evening after Shane and I were soaked from the afternoon rain.

Alas, pastas with greens and bread crumbs; pastas with herbs, softly cooked eggs and bread crumbs; a delicious herb and mushroom salad; countless varieties of panini with asparagus; all went un-photographed and un-documented. Even my beloved traditional jars of strawberry jam and a perfected strawberry rhubarb cobbler with cornmeal biscuit crust went unnoticed.

Back into the kitchen tonight, unexpectedly as Shane and I thought his physical therapy would run late enough to give me an evening off, I have planned the cassoulet I have obviously not posted on IFagioli, and I am looking forward to giving everyone a taste with their eyes. I have next to me my farmers’ market fresh fennel, parsley and thyme, each eagerly awaits their turn to flavor my latest Rancho Gordo bean buy, Alubia Criollo (White Runner) Beans. A little garlic, onion, some chopped carrots and a smidgen of summer savory should round out the flavors nicely. Perhaps a lamb chop or two? To finish, a garlicky bread crumb topping will turn chilly and glum July evening into a cozy entrance for our long, lazy, Independence Day weekend.

P.S. Stay tuned – I have my now annual raspberries and blueberries ready for our red, white and blue French toast; plus, I have a special red, white and blue dinner planned for late Saturday afternoon, before our walk down to Montrose Pier to view fireworks from around the city.


White Runner Bean and Lamb Cassoulet

Serves two quite nicely

Now I somewhat winged this cassoulet, but as long as the underlying flavors are present, I think a pinch of this, a dash of that will work for anyone. I did use already cooked runner beans. If cooking beans is neither your time nor your place, substitute good quality canned runner or cannellini beans. Just rinse the beans and use chicken broth in place of the bean cooking liquid (or just use the liquid in the can, no one is looking, especially not me).

2 lamb rib chops, about 3-4 ounces each
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, sliced, a few fronds saved aside for garnish
5 garlic cloves, chopped, saving a tablespoon for the bread crumb garnish
1/4 cup dry-ish white wine
2 small tomatoes, cut into quarters or 6 baby tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups cooked white runner beans plush their cooking liquid (about 1/2 cups or so) or
1 15 ounce can of white runner or cannellini beans
A combination of a few or all of the following: thyme, summer savory, sage, rosemary, chopped
Parsley and saved fennel fronds, sliced (hey, at least I didn't say "chopped.")
About 1/4 cup coarse bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

In a medium stock pot, brown the chops on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Remove the meat from the rib bone, and set both aside for the moment. *Keep in mind the lamb will still be very, very rare in the middle -- proceed with raw meat percaution.

In the oil, sauté onion, carrots and fennel until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the wine and scrape up any pieces left from the lamb. Let mixture come to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes before adding to the pot the tomatoes, beans with the 1 1/2 cups of liquid, rib bones, and thyme, summer savory, sage and/or rosemary. Let mixture come to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until thickened and the tomatoes start breaking down, about 30 minutes. If too much liquid is evaporating, turn down the heat a smidgen and put a lid on the pot.

While the cassoulet is simmering, heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of garlic. Spread on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake until toasted, 7-10 minutes. Check and stir after 5 minutes or so. After crumbs are nicely browned, remove from oven and set aside

When the beans and tomatoes start breaking down, remove the rib bones (sucking any meat left on the bone as that is cook's privilege), squish a few of the beans against the side of the pot just to thicken the cassoulet a bit. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley and fennel fronds, let cassoulet come to a simmer, and add the meat to the pot. Cover and let the meat cook to desired degree (you know me, I am a rare girl myself), roughly 3-4 minutes for rare to medium rare. Ladle meat and beans into a shallow bowl (or a deep plate), garnish with toasted bread crumbs, and serve with a fork and spoon. Dig in.

P.P.S. I'm finishing this post while fighting a migraine aura. It is indeed hard to type around the dancing worms floating in my eyes. Please let me know if there is a glaring error (or not-so-glaring error) I need to correct. Don't be shy now. Oh yes, and I will, on a later date, post the scallop chowder recipe. For now, I will just tantalize with a photograph.