These recipes are all from Martha Stewart's webpage. Without further ado, here are the recipes, along with my thoughts about making the dishes.
Saturday, April 16
Guests of Honor: Monica and Michael
The main dish was codfish with a white wine sauce, which was complimented by a mixed vegetable dish and a side of potoatoes.
Codfish With Herbed White-Wine Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
* 4 codfish fillets (about 6 ounces each)
For the Sauce
* 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
* 1 cup dry white wine
* Juice of 1 lemon
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 1/4 cup capers, roughly chopped
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1 cup loosely packed mixed herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, chervil, dill, and thyme, roughly chopped
For the Garnish
* 1 lemon, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
Directions
1. Combine shallot, wine, and juice in a small skillet; set over high heat. Bring to a boil; simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, pinch of pepper, and three quarters of herbs. Set aside; keep warm.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add 3 tablespoons sauce. Season both sides of fillets with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Arrange fillets and lemon slices in skillet; sprinkle with some herbs. Cook until fillets are golden, about 4 minutes. Turn, sprinkle with remaining herbs, and cook until fish is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Serve with lemon slices and remaining sauce.
Reflections
I feel that recipes don't always present themselves in the most useful order. In particular, they don't always list the preparation of ingredients as a separate steps. If you're trying a recipe for the first time, that can cause you to scramble because you haven't taken the time to, for example, chop a particular vegetable ahead of time.
I liked the flavors and the ingredients. For the 'mixed herbs,' I mostly used tarragon, although I also added some thyme and a little bit of dill. However, if I made this recipe again, I think I'd simplify things a little bit. I think I would have also been a little skimpier with the salt.
Finally, I learned to keep a better eye on the wine sauce while it was simmering. I had to start over because, when I first tried to make the wine sauce, the whole thing evaporated while I was attending to other ingredients.
Green Vegetable Medley
Ingredients
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 bunch thin asparagus, ends trimmed if tough
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1 small leek, dark-green leaves trimmed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (about 1 cup)
* 1 bunch spinach, stems trimmed
* 4 ounces sweet baby peas
* Pinch freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. Fill a 12-inch skillet with about 1 inch of cold water. Place over high heat; bring to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add asparagus; cover, and simmer until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove asparagus from skillet, and transfer to serving plate. Pour off water from skillet.
2. Return skillet to heat, and melt butter. Add leek, and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and peas, season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper; cover, and cook until spinach is wilted and peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Turn the vegetables out of the skillet over asparagus, and serve immediately.
Reflections
I thought this was a relatively fun and easy dish to make. As you can see from the photo, I ended up using snap peas rather than sweet peas; I figure that this 'medley' can easily be modified to add one's favorite vegetables.
My version of the recipe ended up being somewhat more buttery than Martha's.
Potato Chips with Malt Vinegar
Ingredients
* 4 medium Yukon gold or red potatoes, scrubbed (about 2 1/2 pounds)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* Malt vinegar, for drizzling
Directions
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place two baking sheets in the oven, and let heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Remove baking sheets from oven, and arrange potato slices on sheets in a single layer. Bake until the potatoes are golden on the bottom side, about 30 minutes. Turn potatoes over, and bake until golden brown all over, about another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, drizzle with vinegar, and serve immediately.
Reflections
This recipe was very easy, and I can see myself making this recipe again if I'm called upon to make a side dish. I forgot to drizzle the malt vinegar, but I thought they tasted fine without it. Essentially, they were like slightly healthier French fries.
I would like to be more consistent about slicing the potatoes in the future.
I ran out of time, and was unable to make desserts in time for the party. Nonetheless, I tried my hand at the dessert later on.
Berries with Warm Sherry Sabayon
Ingredients
* 5 tablespoons sugar
* 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry sherry
* 1 pint mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, hulled and quartered if necessary (Choose the ripest and sweetest berries available.)
* 3 large egg yolks
Directions
1. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons sherry over berries; let stand, tossing gently once or twice, for about 30 minutes.
2. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/3 cup sherry, and egg yolks in a small bowl; whisk together. Set bowl over pan of simmering water, and continue whisking until tripled in volume, frothy, and warm to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes. Serve berries and sabayon together.
Reflections
This recipe was pretty simple, and the berries/sherry combination was flavorful. I used 2 containers of raspberries and 1 container of blackberries. The dessert did taste fairly boozy, though.
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