The Pat Conroy Cookbook (25 page)
Read The Pat Conroy Cookbook Online
Authors: Pat Conroy
Then I walked to the Closerie des Lilas to have a cognac at the restaurant where Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald had dined in Paris. I had stood outside the restaurant many times, committing the menu to memory but was unable to eat there because it cost a hundred bucks a person at that time, and my budget was too strict to engage in such a guilty pleasure. But I went at dinnertime, in coat and tie, and the maitre d’ led me out to a courtyard, where he seated me at a small table beneath an umbrella. I possessed a sense of completion that I have rarely felt before or since in my lifetime. The book I had written I liked very much, and it pleased me very much that the city of Paris had a hand in the writing of it. A waiter appeared and I ordered an Armagnac.
Two men entered the patio with the maitre d’, and I thought I recognized one of them. The taller of the two was the familiar one; he nodded to me in passing, and I nodded back. They sat two tables away from me, but I was seated looking straight at them. The shorter one was a reporter, and he began interviewing the taller man. After they had spoken for several moments, I realized that Paris had granted me one last extraordinary gift. As I make my way around this life, I look for signs and baubles and charms and amulets and secret texts that there is a meaning and significance to human life that is under the control of some great moderating force. I like the glimpses of sorcery and fantasy that sometimes enter the human arena at the oddest, most unexpected times. At the table in front of me, I watched and listened as John Hemingway, Bumby was interviewed by a reporter for the
International Herald Tribune
. I did not go up to introduce myself. I have always regretted that, but I was too struck by the wonder of the moment and the incomparable glory of the great city.
ROASTED WHITE ASPARAGUS WITH PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
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SERVES 4
1¾ pounds white asparagus (about 20 stalks)
Olive oil
Shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano
Coarsely ground black pepper
2 Roasted Lemons (page 51)
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Rinse and dry the asparagus. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom half of each stalk.
3. Place the asparagus in a shallow roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and place in the oven. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Transfer asparagus to serving plates. Top each serving with a couple of shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and ground black pepper. Serve a roasted lemon half alongside the asparagus.
Roasted White Asparagus with Shallot Butter
While the asparagus is roasting, sauté 2 finely chopped shallots in 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter until lightly browned. Transfer the asparagus to serving plates, season with salt and pepper, and top with the shallot butter.
Roasted White Asparagus with Tasso Ham and Pecans
While the asparagus is roasting, sauté ¼ cup finely chopped pecans in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter until browned. Stir in ¼ cup diced Tasso ham and cook until warmed through. Transfer the asparagus to serving plates, season with pepper, and top with pecans and ham.
SOLE EN PAPILLOTE
I once went on a parchment paper frenzy that lasted about six months. It was the showy moment of presentation when I cut open the packet and the steam rose up in all its perfumed glory that I adored. I have come across no better way to cook seafood. It is also a great way to show off and bring attention to yourself.
•
SERVES 4
2 leeks (white parts only), cleaned and finely chopped
2 carrots, julienned
4 sole fillets (about 6 ounces each)
Olive oil
Unsalted butter
8 sprigs fresh thyme
Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Cut four 12 × 12-inch squares of parchment paper.
3. Place an equal amount of leeks and carrots in the center of each parchment square and top with a sole fillet. Drizzle olive oil over each fillet, dot with butter (sparingly), and top with 2 sprigs thyme.
4. Bring the open ends of the parchment together over the center of the fillet and fold the paper over once (along the entire length) to seal it. Gently but firmly continue folding the paper down and crimp the ends into an airtight packet.
5. Transfer the packets to a baking sheet and brush them with olive oil.
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (the paper will begin to brown and the packet will start to puff up), turning the pan once to ensure even cooking.
7. Transfer packets to serving plates, tear (or cut) open the tops and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, while the steam is still rising from the packets.
ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAINY MUSTARD SAUCE
When I lived in Paris while finishing up
The Lords of Discipline
, the nonpareil food writer Waverley Root wrote an article saying the great French chefs were ultimately judged by how well they roasted a chicken. The second great test was how the chef prepared a plate of lamb’s kidneys, a subject I know much less about. In the cooking of meat, there is only one unforgivable crime, which is overcooking until a piece of meat is dry and tasteless and irredeemable. In the world of meat, dryness is taboo unless you happen to be making beef jerky. The chicken meat here should be tender and irresistible. The tarragon is
très
French and
très
Julia Child.
•
SERVES 4
¼ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
Two 2½-pound chickens (fryers or broilers)
4 shallots, peeled
4 garlic cloves, smashed
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 lemon, halved
Grainy Mustard Sauce (see opposite)
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Place the olive oil and butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat until the mixture gets foamy, about 3 minutes. Rinse the chickens (inside and out) under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Fill the cavity of each bird with half the shallots, garlic cloves, thyme, tarragon, and peppercorns. Rub each chicken with half a cut lemon and then put it in the cavity, too.
3. Using a basting brush, coat the birds (on all sides and in crevices) with butter and olive oil mixture. Place in the oven and roast until skin is crisp and meat is thoroughly cooked but still juicy, 55 to 60 minutes. (An instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh should read 165 to 170°F.) About halfway through, rotate the pan so the chickens brown on all sides.
4. Transfer the chickens to a cutting board when done, and let them rest 10 minutes before carving. To carve, use a sharp heavy knife to separate the legs and thighs and the wing portions. Then slide a knife with a thinner blade down each side of the breast bone, scooping out the breast section and leaving the skin intact. Each chicken will serve two people: overlap one leg, thigh, and wing to form a base for one side of breast meat. Top with sauce and serve.
Grainy Mustard Sauce
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MAKES 1
%
CUPS
½ cup dry Vermouth
1 cup Chicken Stock (page 11)
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grainy Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Add the vermouth to the chicken stock and, in a large saucepan over moderately high heat, reduce the mixture by half. Place the heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk in about ¼ cup of the hot stock. Slowly whisk the cream mixture back into the hot stock. Whisk in the mustard and reduce the heat, simmering until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the herbs, season with salt and pepper, and ladle over the chicken.
BRAISED SHORT RIBS
My wife, Sandra, and I like to cook braised short ribs on those lamentable occasions when we are visited by the loutish and randy sons of her first marriage. I generally tell people that Sandra told me on our first date that she had never married and never had children, but that is a demonstrable lie. What she did do, with extraordinary craft and guile, was to keep her brutish sons out of sight until the marriage vows were spoken, after which the freeloading, broke hucksters made a beeline for my house. They brought the appetites of hippopotamuses with them, along with bags of filthy laundry, tattoos, and holes in every part of their anatomy for the careful placement of earrings, nose pieces, and accessories. They have the IQs of what you might expect of boys raised in Alabama. (That’s a joke, Alabama and Doubleday lawyers.)
As a literary aside, I would like to note that my wife wrote her superb novel
The Sunday Wife
about her many years’ experience as the wife of a minister. Her main character, the demure and pretty Dean Lynch, seems based with some accuracy on Cassandra’s own life, with one glaring exception: Dean Lynch is childless, and after meeting my “sorry” stepsons (my nickname for them), I understand why better than anyone else. The boys are named Jim, Jason, and Jacob, an obvious
J
obsession running through the family. Sandra admitted to me she had already picked out the name of her fourth son if she’d had one—Jesus. Which is exactly what I would cry out when they pulled into the driveway, penniless, unshaven, with their dilapidated automobiles and their wallets full of canceled credit cards. Sandra and I fed them very well, then sent them reeling back to live out their desperate and wild lives with the sad-eyed young women who love them.
Fortunately, the “sorry” stepsons have a terrific sense of humor since they have to put up with this kind of joking on every visit. Jim, Jason, and Jacob are actually marvelous and successful young men: Jim’s a doctor and neurobiologist, Jason an artist and a chef, and Jake a therapist, working toward a doctorate.
•
SERVES
4 HEARTY EATERS
2 bottles dry red wine
2 parsnips, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
5 pounds beef short ribs, cut flanken or Korean style
Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the red wine to a boil. Add the parsnips, carrots, and onion and remove from heat.
2. Place the ribs, flat side down, in a shallow baking pan (large enough to hold the ribs in one layer). When the red wine cools, pour wine and vegetables over ribs. Turn the ribs in wine and cover with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight, turning at least once.
3. To cook the ribs: Remove from the marinade, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and set aside. Strain the vegetables from the marinade, reserving both. In a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, clarify the marinade by bringing it to a boil and skimming the surface of all impurities. Reserve.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place rack in middle of oven.
5. Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large heavy frying pan over moderately high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot but not smoking. Working in small batches, sear ribs on all sides to form a crust, about 5 minutes total. (This is a messy but necessary step that will greatly add to the flavor of the finished dish.) As the ribs brown, remove them to a large roasting pan. Add more olive oil to the pan and repeat.
6. When all the ribs are browned, add the remaining olive oil, vegetables, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently to loosen any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in
the reserved marinade and pour the mixture over the ribs. (If there is not enough wine to come halfway up the sides of the ribs, add warm beef or chicken stock.) Cover tightly with foil. Place in oven until meat is tender and falls away from the bone, about 2½hours. Cool ribs to room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Remove all congealed fat from surface of the ribs and marinade. Place the ribs in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and place in the oven.
9. In a small saucepan, heat the marinade. Strain and discard solids. Continue to simmer marinade until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Keep the sauce warm.
10. When the ribs are heated through, transfer to a serving plate and top with the warm sauce.