A Stack of Dishes

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gluten free

Pork Chops in a Port, Juniper Berry, Orange Sauce with Individual Pommes Anna

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Donna Hay stole my idea! I shot this meal a little over a week ago, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the latest issue of Delicious and saw a dish that was so similar to mine I almost fell over!! The recipe is different, and she does not showcase pommes anna, but the char on the pork and the curls of the orange zest- almost identical!
Honestly it made me chuckle and put a certain little pep in my step. I love Donna Hay’s taste and style, so our dual pork chops gave me a sense of kinship. I have to say, I like the company I keep.
This recipe is packed with flavor and texture but not not packed with heaviness. It’s surprisingly light and a great Fall meal for those days that you don’t want to add any Winter hibernation padding.
The potatoes are a little fiddly, but a lot of drama for a little effort. I made each batch in small fry pans, you can get two going at a time if you’re serving more than a couple at a time. Just slip the finished potatoes onto your dinner plates and then before serving slide into the oven to heat them back up and as an added bonus warm your plates too.
The port I used was worth the flavor- and I was happy to tap into the bottle I had stored in my liquor cabinet- but you can opt to switch this out for a pinot noir if you must. It will be a different experience but easier to pull off.
Pork Chops in a Port, Juniper Berry, Orange Sauce
 
serves 4
 
4 boneless pork chops, 1″ thick
1c port
2 cloves crushed garlic
2T juniper berries
4 bay leaves
3T brown sugar
zest from half orange
s & p
 
In small bowl combine all the ingredients except the pork. Muddle the garlic and zest a bit to release their oils into the port. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes until the sugar completely dissolves.
 
Place the mixture into a shallow pan and arrange pork to allow to marinate. This should be for at least 15 minutes each side, but can be longer.
 
Turn oven on to 375˚ and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment.
 
In frying pan with a glug of cooking grade olive oil, saute the pork about 2 minutes on each side over a medium high heat. Then slip the chops onto the baking sheet and slide into the oven. Allow to roast for about 8 minutes.
 
Meanwhile add the marinate into the pan with the pork drippings and gently cook to develop a light sauce. 
Individual Pommes Anna
4 starchy potatoes peeled and sliced super thin on a mandoline
2 cloves garlic sliced paper thin
1t butter per potato cake
1t olive oil per potato cake
s & p
In a small frying pan heat the olive oil and butter together until sizzling. Arrange the potato slices in a circular pattern. There should be at least 2 layers. There is no great science here, so feel free to overlap as little or as much as desired. Try to keep the ring about 4-5″ in diameter
Interleave some garlic into the potato slices and sprinkle generously with s & p.
Cook the potatoes without disturbing them for approximately 4 minutes. If you’ve made a cake that his thicker than half an inch place a lid over the pan to facilitate even cooking.
After the 4 minutes carefully slip a large spatula under the pan and slide/pull the cake off the pan and then flip over. The starch in the potatoes will make the cake stick together but it’s still a little fragile. If it breaks, just tuck it back up. No one will know.
Cook the potatoes on the other side for a few minutes until cooked through. You can test this by piercing with a fork. The potatoes should give way with ease and not resist.
Slide the cake onto a serving plate and place pork chop on top. Spoon a little sauce over each and accent with the zest.

Cappuccino and Vanilla Panna Cotta with Chocolate Truffle Filling

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There is no secret that I am a sweets girl, and any dinner party is just not complete without dessert. That said I am also always looking for sneaky ways to make luscious without a boatload of calories.
My favorite light dessert is panna cotta made with yogurt rather than cream. Panna cotta is set with unflavored gelatin to create that creamy custardy feel. No cooking involved except some warming of the gelatin to melt it down- so no tricky custard finessing.
Typically I make panna cotta in the summer and give it citrusy accents and then serve it with a fruit sauce of some kind. Berries can be stunningly beautiful suspended in the cream. The other wonderful thing about this dessert is it can easily be made several days in advance and kept in the fridge. At least you can get one thing out of the way.
The individuals are sweet and for an intimate party they are jewels- but I’ve also made shallow batches in baking pans and then turned them out onto low flat serving trays that have a lip on them. Puddle them into some colorful sauce and you have a dynamic presentation for a group. No trick getting them out of the pans either, just warm the bottom in some water and then flip. Works like a charm every time.
This particular combination I served at a small dinner party last week. I purchased these thin glasses for this specific purpose years ago. I used to have 12 and now I am down to 9 I think… this was my first time actually using them to make this dessert.
Now that we are into crisper temps I chose a cappuccino and classic vanilla. For some richness I divided the two by a thin level of dark chocolate ganache. This created a mixture of texture as well as a balance of richness. On top I served fresh hand whipped sweetened cream. Though I love a cheat dessert there DOES need to be some richness…
Cappuccino and Vanilla Panna Cotta
 
made six servings in 4″ diameter glasses
 
5c fat free yogurt- stirred smooth
1.5 c skim milk
4t unflavored gelatin
.5c superfine sugar
powdered instant espresso to taste (~2T)
vanilla bean extract
 
 
I halved this recipe and made the batches separately after each layer had set.
 
In a medium bowl combine 2.5c yogurt and .25c sugar. Stir to combine. If yogurt is not smooth use a hand blender, or put in a traditional blender to smooth out.
 
In a small sauce pan place .75c of milk and sprinkle 2t of gelatin over. Allow to sit for 4 mins to soften. Then gently warm milk to dissolve gelatin. 
 
Stir warm milk mixture into the yogurt and stir until completely incorporated.
 
To make the cappuccino flavor= in a separate small bowl put a T or 2 of instant espresso powder. Add a few t of water to just melt the powder and create a syrup. Add a small amount to the yogurt mixture and stir thoroughly. Add more until you get the intensity level you prefer. For the vanilla flavor=stir vanilla into the warming milk.
 
Divide panna cotta between serving dishes and allow to set. In my fridge this took an hour.
 
Next make the ganache and allow that to set. Finally make the second batch of panna cotta and top off.
 
Chocolate Ganache
 
5 oz chopped fine dark chocolate
.33c heavy cream
 
In heat proof bowl microwave chocolate for ~1 minute until chocolate is warm and melted. Alternatively melt chocolate over hot water.
 
Stir in cold cream until thoroughly combined. If too think you can warm gently to thin- or add a bit more cream to make a less dense ganache.
 
Spoon over the set cappuccino panna cotta tilting the glass to make sure the chocolate shows on the edges.
 
*****
 
Each stage of the panna cotta can be done on different days if you choose. Keep covered and serve chilled.

Crisp Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts and Bleu Cheese

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This is a tremendously simple salad to make with a complexity of texture and tastes. Crisp juicy Granny Smith apples are thinly sliced and tossed with a lemony vinaigrette and garnished with chunks of strong bleu cheese and candied walnuts.

We get so busy with our lives that there are times when it’s important to make the simplest thing sublime. It takes just a few extra seconds to pull out the mandolin, make a salad dressing from scratch, and arranging a plate to look like a waiter has placed this dish before you as opposed to tossing things together next to the sink.

Preparing the nuts is the most time consuming part of this dish, but worth the effort. If it’s all too much you can just toss on toasted nuts. Though really, they are super easy to make as long as you keep and eye on the sugar so as not to scorch it. The batch yields a good 3 cups of candied walnuts- which are also a fantastic addition to any frozen treat bowl you got going on, as well as a terrific accompaniment to a cheese platter. Just store in an airtight container and dole out as needed for up to 6 months.

The vinaigrette recipe is absolutely my favorite. It uses lemon juice as the acid with the added touch of grated rind. Whenever I serve this dressing inevitably someone asks me for the recipe. You will love it and find it one of those “go to” recipes from here on out.

The crisp tart apples, with the earthy cheese, the sharp snap of the onion with the spicy vinaigrette and arugula is topped off with the sweet crunchy nuts. Heavenly…

Candied Walnuts
 
.25 c of white sugar
2T water
.5 c walnuts, either whole or pieces
 
Prepare a baking tray by greasing with butter. A silpat mat also works well.
 
In heavy small saucepan combine the water and sugar and put on medium high heat.
 
Cook the sugar slurry until it boils and turns golden brown. This can take 10 mins or so. Once the color starts to turn it will come up quickly. If you have hot spots in your pan as evidenced by one area turning darker before another, swirl pan to even out the heat.
 
The sugar will continue to deepen after it has been removed from the heat, so pull the pan off the flame when it is one step BEFORE the color you want.
 
Off the flame toss in the nuts. With a wooden spoon stir the nuts to evenly coat. Then pour mixture onto prepared sheet pan and spread out.
 
DO NOT be tempted to touch the nuts until they are COMPLETELY cooled. I know you’re going to want to, they’re beautiful, smell great and look innocent- but they can seriously burn you, so please-please, give it a good 10 mins to cool if not longer. 
 
Once cool you can break up the nuts into pieces. Store unused portion in an airtight container in a dark, dry, cool place. Not in the fridge.
 
 
Lemon Vinaigrette “Watson”
 
1-2 lemons
grated zest from one lemon
spoonful of Dijon mustard
1clove crushed and finely minced garlic
good quality olive oil
salt
 
The reason for the vague ingredient amounts is I base my proportions on the amount of juice that comes out of the lemon(s). 
 
Into a small bowl first grate the zest of one lemon. Then juice the lemon into the bowl. You will want at least 3T of juice, so if the first lemon is short, go ahead and juice the second lemon in it’s entirety. It’s ok to have more than you need.
 
Then add into the bowl one teaspoon of dijon for every 3T of lemon juice. It’s ok to eyeball this. Use more dijon if you like your dressing on the spicy side.
 
Next add garlic and stir all together just a bit to break up and combine the mustard. Err on the side of lesser garlic as this dressing will get stronger as it sits.
 
Either using a fork or a small whisk, slowly dribble in the olive oil while continuously stirring the lemon mixture. The ratio is 1:3 juice to oil approx. You will notice as you are mixing that the dressing will begin to emulsify.
 
I taste test my dressing as I go along. If I need more oil I add it. It’s done when you can sense a balance on your tongue. Add the salt.
 
It has also happened that I will go back and taste the dressing one more time before I use it and balance it again.
 
Store unused dressing in a tight lidded container in the fridge for a week.
 
 
Apple Salad
 
serves 2
 
2 medium granny smith apples
~.25c red onion
1c baby arugula leaves
1oz high quality bleu cheese
small handful of candied walnuts
lemon vinaigrette to taste
S & P to taste
 
Using a mandoline or slicing tool if you have one, slice apples very thinly. Alternatively use a very sharp knife. First take a small slice out of the apple and lay that side down on the cutting board for stability. They very carefully slice the apples as thinly as possible.
 
Toss the apples with a small amount of dressing.
 
Slice the onions the same as the apples.
 
On a serving plate arrange the apples in an attractive stack. Atop the apples add some of the sliced onion and then some arugula. More arugula can be place on the plate alongside.
 
Sprinkle the stack with the nuts and cheese. Then drizzle more dressing over the top to taste.
 
Add a crusty bread and a glass of Verdiccio and you’ve got a lovely first course.