Thyme for                         Cooking

Avocado with Crab Salad
Braised Pork with White Wine,
Olives and Sage
Potato Gratin
Sautéed Sunchokes
Cooking time:  105 minutes cooking time for menu
Cooking schedule: see below for "menu" instructions

Crab with Avocado Slices                                           Time: 20 minutes

crab meat, 6 oz  (180gr), canned or fresh
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tbs olive oil - the good stuff
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp tarragon white wine vinegar
1 avocado

Drain the crab meat well and put into a large bowl.  Chop the celery and add to the crab.   In a small bowl mix olive oil, mustard and vinegar.  Add vinaigrette to crab and very gently mix - just barely. Remove the pit from the avocado and slice.   Fan the slices out on each of two small plates.  Divide the crab and arrange on avocado slices.  Serve.

Braised Pork with White Wine, Olives and Sage           Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

1 pork loin roast, 1 1/2 - 2 lbs  (750gr)
1 1/2 tbs persillade  which is
     1 tbs parsley
     1 clove garlic - chopped very finely, together
10 - 12 sage leaves  substitute 2 tbs dried
10 - 12 olives
1 cup of white wine
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs cornstarch (maizena, corn flour) dissolved in 2 tbs chicken stock

In heavy pot or oven with tight-fitting lid, brown pork in olive oil.  Mince garlic and combine with parsley.  After turning pork, spread persillade over the top of the pork.   Add the sage leaves, olives and white wine, turn heat to low, cover and braise for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove pork and keep warm.  Either use a meat thermometer or slice into the middle to make certain it's done.  Slightly pink is okay.  (If it's not done, cut into thick slices and put back into the pan for 5 minutes.)  Dissolve cornstarch in chicken stock.  Stir cornstarch into pan juices and thicken.   Cut pork into thick slices, spoon some of the thickened sauce over the top and serve, remaining sauce on the side.  Leftovers tomorrow night.

Potato Gratin                                                               Time: 70 minutes

3 - 4 medium potatoes, enough for 2 people for 2 meals....or 4 people
1/2 cup cream or milk
2 - 3 oz Gruyère, either shredded or sliced (if shredded, 1 cup,
                       slices, 12 slices app. 1/2" x 3" x 3/16" (1.3x7.5x0.3cm)
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup Parmesan

Slice potatoes as thinly as possible with a sharp knife or mandolin.  Put 1/3 sliced potatoes in bottom of baking dish - just big enough to hold everything ...I use my 8 X 11 inch (20 X 27.5cm) oval ceramic baking dish.  Put 1/2 of the cheese on potatoes.  Repeat layers once.  Sprinkle nutmeg over top.  Pour cream or milk over all, cover and bake (400F, 200C) for 60 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle Parmesan over the top and bake for 10 minutes longer.  Remove and serve.  Leftovers on Monday.

Note:  Whenever I am baking potatoes with a liquid: gratin, scalloped, Savoyard, etc. I always put the baking dish/dishes on a baking sheet covered in foil.  They almost always bubble over and this saves on oven clean up.  Just wrap up the mess and toss!

Sautéed Sunchokes                                                     Time: 30 minutes
    based on a recipe I found in my new Bon Appétit Cookbook....why are they always serving 8 or 12?

2 - 3 Jerusalem artichokes aka sunchokes  
2 tbs butter
1 clove garlic
4 - 6 fresh sage leaves substitute 1 tbs dried

Peel sunchokes using a vegetable peeler.  Leave whole and put into a steamer basket over hot water.  Steam 20 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a sharp knife.  They may get a little grayish on the outside - no problem.  When done remove and cut into 1/4" (.6cm) slices.  Mince garlic.  Chop sage leaves if using fresh.  Melt butter in nonstick skillet.  Add garlic and sage and sauté 1 minute.  Add sunchoke slices and sauté 5 - 10 minutes, until just starting to brown.  Remove and serve.
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Cooking Schedule: 1 hour 45 minutes
Assemble all food, utensils and serving dishes
Turn oven on
Start to brown pork
Mince garlic and make persillade
Turn pork
Apply persillade
Add olives, sage and wine to pork, braise
Slice cheese
Slice potatoes
Assemble gratin, bake
Wee break - 30 minutes or so
A glass of wine and a bit of backgammon?
Peel sunchokes and start to steam
Grate Parmesan for potatoes
Chop the celery

Open, drain and pick through crab meat, if needed
Add celery to crab
Mix vinaigrette and add to crab
Chop sage and mince garlic for sunchokes
Remove pit and slice avocado
Fan avocado slices and add crab
Uncover potatoes, sprinkle Parmesan
Turn off sunchokes
Dissolve cornstarch in chicken stock
Serve starter and relax a bit
Remove potatoes, let rest
Remove pork, let rest, return pan to heat
Sauté garlic and sage for sunchokes
Slice sunchokes and add to garlic and sage
Thicken sauce
Slice pork
Serve all and enjoy  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Menu for the week of February 9, 2007

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