Retro Recipes and Traditional Fare

Potatoes make some of the best and most comforting side dishes, especially when they're roasted or baked. A gratin of potatoes combines the best of both techniques, a soft creamy interior and a crunchy browned top. Much like scalloped potatoes but without the cheesy top layer, gratin Dauphinois, from the former French province of Dauphiné, is as simple as a homey country dish can get. The texture and the flavors of the potatoes do all the work to make an out-of-this-world potato dish.

Traditional gratin Dauphinois has no bells and whistles. It's simply thinly sliced potatoes and luscious cream baked in a dish rubbed with garlic and butter. The thick cream and starchy potatoes create the perfect texture, consistency, and crust. Therefore no cheese is even necessary. Some like to dust the potato layers with gratings of nutmeg. But I prefer the earthy flavors of fresh thyme. It's a lovely complement to the garlic as well as a favorite herb to use with potatoes. The gratin goes excellently with any roast meat, but in my opinion juicy roast chicken is the best. It's a simple yet special meal to enjoy this fall and for the upcoming holidays.

A good steak never needs something extra to make it stand out.  However, sometimes I do have a craving for an extra twang to go with my meat.

We love ribeye steaks.  I would say 90% of the steaks I buy are ribeyes; they just always grill to perfection.  I guess I should thank my husband for that. 

Anyway, yesterday I had a craving for something to go on top of my meat.  I remembered seeing a recipe for a vinaigrette topping ribeyes.  I searched my recipes until I found it, Ribeyes with Red Wine-Feta Vinaigrette.  It was exactly what I was craving.

Vinaigrette on meat you say?  Yes, a million times yes.  The vinegar and feta cut through the richness of the steak perfectly, leaving you with this melt in your mouth experience.  I loved it.  I suspect this would also go well with grilled ahi tuna steaks or pork chops.  If you add more oil it would also be perfect in a Greek salad.

This is one of those recipes that seems more complicated than it is. Make it once and you’ll never need to look at the recipe again. Eat what you make and you’ll become addicted, learning new ways to use the nutty, spicy, sweet, deeply satisfying condiment. It’s a no brainer on simple grilled, broiled or poached fish or chicken, but it’s on vegetables where the sauce really shines.

Suzanne famously serves it atop potatoes. I’ve featured it here on this blog as part of a Grand Aioli, a dish where dipping becomes an art form of customization. I love it dribbled on fried eggs, tucked in a tortilla with whatever as a “colonial” salsa. I would really like to know your favorite way to eat Romesco. A spoon anyone?

If you can’t find dried chiles pasillas then substitute the more commonly found New Mexico chiles. Pasillas have a more complex sort of winy flavor and a bit more heat than the brighter flavored New Mexico chile.

This is one of those recipes where the quality of the bread makes a tremendous difference. It’s a peasant dish and assumes a peasant loaf, so try to find a great natural local natural yeasted bread in your area. If all else fails, use La Brea Bakery. I used a couple slices off a small boule from Roan Mills.

The bounty from the berry bushes in my backyard has been great this year. I was able to make another quart of red currant jelly just like last year. The raspberry bushes yielded so much fruit that the options for consumption were unlimited. I wanted to make something more special than jam and it was impossible to eat all the berries fresh. I decided upon making a trifle, one of the most elegant and almost bake-free deserts. Instead of one big trifle, I made six individual trifles for a light dessert to end a recent summer gathering. These personal-size trifles are perfect for those who don't like to share dessert and since there are no seconds, they're guilt-free too.

I had never eaten nor ever heard of a trifle until I traveled to England. Once I had a taste of it there, I immediately became a fan. A week wouldn't go by without a need for me to satisfy my craving for the beautifully layered treat. So I ended up becoming a die-hard devotee of store-bought trifles from Marks & Spencer. Sold in little sealed cups, they were the ideal dessert for me who was always on the go. Every time I passed by a store I would be sure to stop in for either a raspberry or strawberry trifle. I was quite the trifle addict.