Gratin Dauphinois

I'm feeling a little French today. Don't ask me why, but just roll with me....
Wanted to make a cassoulet, but it is just not cold enough outside for me to get the full effect. So, I decided to share another favorite that is easy, delicious, and very french. A gratin!
A gratin is the perfect side dish for almost any meal. It is delicious, easy, a looks beautiful. Typically the French would use a low oblong gratin casserole....but if you don't have one a 3 qt. baking dish will do nicely. Depending on what is in season you may add fresh vegetables to the dish. asparagus or leeks in the spring, zucchini or cherry tomatoes in the summer, wild mushrooms or cauliflower in the fall, and onions and cheese in the winter. Make it your own!

Gratin Dauphinois

5 cloves of garlic chopped
3 1/2-4 lbs. potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons mixed chopped chives and Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter your baking dish and sprinkle 1/2 of the garlic on the bottom and sides of dish.

Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife cut the potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices. Arrange a layer of potatoes in the dish, overlapping slightly and then salt and pepper them. Pour a few spoonfuls of cream over it. Sprinkle some more garlic on it and repeat....using all of the potatoes. Make 3 layers if you need to. Pour on any remaining cream and dot with more butter.

Bake until the potatoes are very tender and have absorbed all of the cream and are golden brown on top. About 1-1 1/2 hours. To get a nice brown crust raise the temp to 400 for the last 15 minutes.

Serve from the casserole dish sprinkling chives and parsley on top when you serve.

Merci!

It's Fall!

Just wanted to share with you some beautiful arrangements I created for a dinner party I had last night. Lots of fun and good friends.....and the house looked wonderful! bring out those fall colors!

Cioppino

Cioppino is to American seafood stews what zuppa di pesce or bouillabaisse are to the Mediterranean. Hundreds of recipes exist for cioppino, and as a cook you do have some latitude in what you add. But you must have a combination of shrimp, fish and shellfish -- specifically the Dungeness crab -- as well as garlic and tomatoes, if you want to make an authentic cioppino. This recipe serves up to 12 as a light soup course, or up to 6 as a main course.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 70 minutes
Ingredients:

* 6 finely chopped garlic cloves
* 1 chopped medium yellow onion
* 1/2 finely chopped bell pepper
* 1/2 finely chopped celery stalk
* 1 finely chopped hot chile, such as a serrano
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 T. tomato paste
* 1 cup dry rose wine
* 5 large tomatoes grated or 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes
* 2 cups seafood stock (chicken stock will do)
* 1 T. crumbled dried oregano
* 1 pound medium shrimp
* 1 pound firm fish (halibut, sturgeon, swordfish, monkfish, tuna, tilefish) cut into large chunks
* 1/2 pound (or more) Dungeness crab meat
* 1-2 pounds various shellfish (Littleneck clams, mussels, oysters) in the shell
* 2 T. finely chopped parsley, for garnish
* 2 T. finely chopped basil, for garnish
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Scrub the shells of the clams, mussels, oysters well.

In a large, deep pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper and hot chile, mix to combine and cook until the onion is translucent. If you get a little browning, that's good, but the goal here is not to brown everything.

Add the garlic, some salt and dried oregano, then cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and mix well to combine. Turn the heat down to medium, and cook this until it turns the color of brick, about 4-5 minutes. Do not let it burn.

Turn the heat up to high, then add the wine. Mix it well and let the alcohol cook off for a minute or two. Then add the seafood stock and tomatoes. Bring it to a boil, then drop the heat to medium-low.

Let this simmer (if you use a thermometer look for about 190 degrees) for 20 minutes.

Now it's time for the seafood: Start with the fish, which will need the longest time. Let the fish cook for 5 minutes, then add the clams, mussels, etc. Cover the pot and let this cook for 3-5 minutes.

Uncover the pot -- the clams should have opened by now -- and add the shrimp. When the shrimp are mostly pink, about 2-3 minutes, add the Dungeness crab meat (which should already have been cooked).

Turn off the heat, adjust the seasoning (it may not need more salt because the broth from inside the clams is salty). Ladle the stew into deep bowls. Garnish with a mix of the parsley and basil and serve with -- what else? -- sourdough bread.

Oh, and one more thing: Give your guests a bowl to toss the shells in, and provide plenty of napkins.