chapter 5: Knife and Fork

If you’re lucky enough to have squash growing in your own backyard, then you’ll have a ready source for squash blossoms. In fact, picking the blossoms is the best way to control overpopulation in the summer squash garden. When picking the blossoms, look for the ones that are starting to open or are already open, as they are easier to work with. And try to get the male flowers—the ones that grow out of the vines rather than out of the baby squash. Watch out for ants and honeybees: they love squash blossoms, too! Early morning is the best time to harvest the blossoms, and you should plan on using them the same day they’re picked. We get a good supply of blossoms from the Mustards garden, but we still have to supplement with some from the produce market. For more on squash blossoms, see the Glossary.

In the restaurant kitchen, we call the Tomatillo–Ancho Chile Salsa “Sauce Forty-One,” which stands for forty chiles and one tomatillo. It’s just one of Pablo’s jokes. Obviously, we’ve toned it down a little here.

Have some fun serving these by bringing them out in large assorted serving spoons or on tiny plates. I have a collection of mismatched silver soupspoons and serving spoons I often use.

tomatillo–ancho chile salsa

16 large tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 whole cloves garlic

2 dried ancho chiles, seeded

2½ cups water

¼ cup good-quality tequila

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

18 squash blossoms

stuffing

2 ears fresh corn

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup ¼-inch dice summer squash

½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup soft fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano

2 tablespoons minced fresh epazote (optional)

coating

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups vegetable or canola oil, for frying

¼ bunch cilantro, leaves only

¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

½ cup Lime Crème Fraîche or sour cream thinned with water

To make the salsa, spread the tomatillos and garlic out on a baking sheet and pop them under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, until aromatic and slightly dry. Combine the tomatillos, garlic, ancho chiles, and the 2½ cups water in a big pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tomatillos are tender, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then pour into a blender and blend until smooth. Do this in batches, if necessary. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the tequila, salt, and pepper. Reserve until needed.

Gently clean the blossoms of any dirt and/or ants. Remove the stamens and pistils from the inside and the prickles at the base of the blossom on the outside.

To make the stuffing, cut or grate the kernels off the corn cobs into a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, and sauté the corn and squash 2 to 3 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and combine it with the Monterey Jack cheese, goat cheese, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the epazote, if desired. (Save the remaining tablespoon of epazote for a garnish.)

Fill the blossoms with some of the mixture, being careful not to break any of them, and leaving enough room at the top so that you can fold the petals back over to get a nice seal. Place the blossoms on waxed paper and put them in the refrigerator to chill a bit before frying them.

For the coating, mix the cornstarch, cornmeal, flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a shallow bowl. Pour the buttermilk into another bowl. Dip the blossoms into the buttermilk, shaking off the excess, then into the cornstarch-flour mixture, again shaking off the excess. Allow the blossoms to rest for a couple of minutes in the fridge.

To cook the blossoms, heat 2 inches of oil to 375°F in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Working away from yourself so the hot oil doesn’t splash on you, carefully place only as many blossoms in the oil as will comfortably fit in the pan without crowding. You want some space around each blossom to allow good movement without touching. When the undersides are golden-brown and crispy, turn the blossoms and continue cooking until the other side is the same. Gently transfer the crispy blossoms with a spider or slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Skim out any bits left in the pan and allow the oil to return to 375°F before starting on the next batch.

Serve the blossoms over spoonfuls of the salsa. Garnish with cilantro, pumpkin seeds, crème fraîche, and the reserved epazote, if desired.

Bubbly Baked Brie and Asparagus with Toasted Hazelnuts

To make a very elegant starter, use big fat spears of asparagus for this dish. If you can find it, use white asparagus, or a combination of the two (one spear of white and two of the green makes a really lovely plate). The Brie and cream sauce makes this dish quite rich, so the rest of the plates on your menu need to be on the light side. Cut this recipe down to an appropriate size, and surprise someone with breakfast in bed. Serve it up with the Sunday paper and a bottle of bubbly.

6 to 8 tablespoons hazelnuts (about 4 ounces)

18 spears of asparagus

½ cup heavy cream

8 to 10 ounces Brie cheese, trimmed of the rind

6 tablespoons lightly toasted bread crumbs

Lightly toast the hazelnuts. Briskly rub them together in a kitchen towel to remove the skin. You don’t need to get all the skin off, but do the best you can. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set them aside.

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus where they break naturally. Blanch the asparagus until they are just barely done, about 2 minutes for fat spears. Test them for doneness with a fork. You want green asparagus just tender; white asparagus a little softer. Drain the asparagus and place in 6 individual dishes or in 1 large oval baking dish. (If you’re going to hold the asparagus for later serving, chill them quickly in an ice bath.)

Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and pour in the cream. Bring the cream to a boil and let it reduce a bit, about 1 minute. Add the Brie and cook, stirring, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Pour the sauce over the asparagus and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Place under the broiler and cook until golden and bubbly, 1 to 3 minutes, depending on your broiler. Place on plates lined with napkins to keep the baking dishes from sliding around, and sprinkle 1 to 1½ tablespoons of hazelnuts over each. Warn your guests about the hot dishes.

Chiles en Nogada

Serves 8

According to food historians, the origins of this dish go back to 1821 and a victory banquet in Pueblo, Mexico, commemorating the defeat of the Spanish. All the dishes at that meal had the colors of the Mexican flag: chiles en nogada (chiles in walnut sauce) had the white of the walnut sauce, the red of the pomegranate seeds, and the green of the chiles to represent the flag. It’s a celebratory dish, especially good for Christmas and weddings.

It’s a bit of work, but to make the sauce in the traditional way, you must soak the walnuts in milk overnight, then peel them as best you can before pureeing them. You can skip this step, but the sauce won’t be as pretty and white.

When you buy pomegranates, look for firm, smooth, round fruits. Be careful when you cut them open to get at the seeds, as they have tons of juice and squirt all over. I usually work over a sink, and I never wear white. The seeds are attached to inner membranes that peel off easily. Break off a lobe, remove the membrane, and separate the bright red seeds. If you want pomegranate juice, just cut the fruit in half, as you would an orange, and juice it on a citrus juicer. If pomegranates are not in season, you could substitute minced red peppers, chiles, or pimientos to get a touch of red in the dish.

The chiles in this dish are stuffed with a pork and beef filling, then dipped in a light batter and fried. If the batter-and-fry steps seem too much, turn it into a baked dish instead.

walnut sauce

2 cups shelled walnuts

1½ cups milk, plus additional to thin the sauce, if needed

1½ cups sour cream

Salt

8 poblano chiles

filling

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons chopped golden raisins

1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

12 ounces ground pork

12 ounces ground beef

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

4 large eggs

Pinch of salt

Canola, vegetable, or peanut oil, for frying

Flour, for dusting

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

For the sauce, soak the walnuts in 1½ cups of milk overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, pour off and discard the milk. Rub the walnuts between your fingers to break up the skin, and pick it off with the tip of a sharp paring knife. It’s a pill of a job, but it makes a big difference in taste and appearance. Puree the walnuts and sour cream in a food processor or blender, taste, and add salt if needed. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a little milk or half-and-half. Keep chilled till needed, but bring back to room temperature before using.

Roast the chiles and peel them, being careful not to tear them in the process. Don’t remove the stems, as they will serve as a handle as you work with the chiles. Cut a neat slit down the length of each chile, stopping about ½ inch from the bottom. Carefully scrape out the ribs and seeds, and set the chiles aside.

To make the filling, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, raisins, and apple; cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high; add the pork and beef and cook 6 to 8 more minutes to brown the meat, breaking it up as it’s cooking. Stir in the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and vinegar, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. The filling should be moist but not saucy. It can be made a day ahead, and kept refrigerated.

About an hour before serving, remove the walnut sauce from the refrigerator. Dry the chiles with paper towels and carefully fill them with the meat mixture, a couple of tablespoons per chile. Don’t rush this step, as you don’t want to tear the chiles.

If you are going to bake the chiles, skip down to the last paragraph of this recipe. If you are going to fry them, continue on. Separate the eggs, with the whites going into the bowl of a mixer or another medium-size bowl, and 2 of the yolks into a smaller bowl (discard the 2 remaining yolks or keep them for another use). Using the mixer or by hand, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add a pinch of salt and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Lightly beat the yolks, then fold these into the whites. In a large skillet, heat 1 inch of oil to 375°F. Coat the chiles lightly with flour, shake off the excess, then dip them in the egg. Fry the chiles in small batches to avoid overcrowding (the chiles should not touch). Cook them until they are golden brown on 1 side, then turn and cook until golden brown on the other. Adjust the temperature as needed. If the chiles brown too fast, the insides will not be hot, and if the temperature is too low, the chiles will absorb oil instead of getting crisp and brown. As the chiles finish, remove them to drain on a metal rack or on paper towels. Skim out any bits that have fallen into the oil, and let the oil come back to 375°F between batches.

This is one of those dishes that should be served immediately. To serve, pool the walnut sauce in the center of a large platter. Place the chiles in the center of that, and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and cilantro. Alternatively, you could pour the sauce out onto individual plates (dark plates look good), top with a chile, then sprinkle on the garnishes. Serve right away.

To bake the chiles, preheat the oven to 375°F. Tuck the chiles into a casserole dish, drizzle with a bit of chicken or veal stock, and bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes, until they are steamy and hot through. Place the chiles on a bed of walnut sauce, and sprinkle pomegranate seeds and cilantro about.

Sweet-Corn Custard with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

Serves 5 to 10

This rich, savory custard was a brunch favorite at one of my past restaurants. At the restaurant, the mushroom sauce is made with reduced veal stock. I don’t think very many home cooks have reduced veal stock on hand, but chicken or mushroom stock will do just fine. The dish will be yummy without that gilding of the lily. If you make them in tiny ramekins (an inch and a half in diameter), the recipe will yield ten servings; larger ramekins (three inches in diameter) will yield five. The custards can be kept warm while you make the sauce, but if you want to hold them any longer than twenty minutes, they should be refrigerated and reheated before serving.

custard

3 ears fresh corn

2 cups heavy cream

4 large eggs

1 cup (loosely packed) grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

mushroom sauce

2 cups rich veal or chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

2 tablespoons butter

2 scallions, minced

Minced fresh chives, for garnish

Using a coarse grater or corn cutter, cut the kernels off the ears of corn into a bowl. Transfer the corn to a medium-size saucepan, add the cream, and heat to a simmer. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, till the corn is tender. Allow the mixture to cool, then puree it in a blender. Strain the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing well to extract all the liquids and flavors. Put the eggs, cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well, but don’t beat in any air, as this will cause a foamy ridge to form around the edges of the custard. Stir in the corn mixture.

Preheat the oven to 325°F and butter ten 2-ounce ramekins or five 4-ounce ones. Pour some custard into each of the ramekins. You will want to stop at least inch from the rims to allow for rising. Place the ramekins in a large, shallow pan and carefully fill the pan with enough hot water to go two-thirds of the way up the ramekins. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and prick a few small holes in the foil. Bake in this water bath for 35 to 40 minutes, till the custards are set. Keep them warm while you prepare the mushroom sauce. (If you’re not going to serve them right away, let them cool a bit, then cover and refrigerate them. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the custards in a water bath, 5 to 6 minutes for the small ones, 8 to 10 minutes for the larger ones. Meanwhile, you can prepare the sauce.)

To make the sauce, put the stock in a sauté pan over high heat to reduce it by half; this should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms have released their juices and are tender, and the pan has dried out a bit, 10 to 15 minutes. When the mushrooms are done, increase the heat to high and pour the stock over. Let it bubble up, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the butter and scallions, swirling to melt the butter into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, turn the custards out onto individual plates. Pour some sauce around each of the warm custards and garnish with minced chives.

Crêpes “Croque-Monsieur” with Horseradish-Mustard Cream

A real croque-monsieur is nothing more than a ham and Gruyère cheese sandwich that is sautéed in butter to crisp it up and to melt the cheese. France’s answer to fast food! In this dish, crêpes take the place of the bread. They are filled with ham and cheese, but then they are bathed in a tangy cream sauce and heated in the oven. They are delicious! They are also very rich, so you’d want them as the main course of a small-plates dinner. Or they would be the perfect snack on a cold winter’s evening: just add a fire in the fireplace and a nice glass of Chardonnay to complete the picture.

If you cook the crêpes ahead of time and freeze them, this dish comes together quickly. Of course, if you can swing it, fresh crêpes are always better. (Crêpe batter will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a couple of days, so that’s another plan-ahead option.) This recipe will make about a dozen crêpes, so you’ll have plenty left over to freeze for another time, or to use for the Morel Mushroom– and Goat Cheese–Stuffed Crêpes.

A good-quality ham makes a big difference. Try West-phalian or another flavorful, well-made, old-fashioned ham, like a honey-baked ham or an applewood-smoked ham. We have a great local source (Hobb’s, in El Cerrito), and you can probably find a good one in your area, too. For instance, in the mid-Atlantic area you can buy Edwards hickory-smoked hams from Virginia Traditions. Don’t use prosciutto or Serrano ham, as they don’t have the right texture.

It’s best to bake the filled crêpes in dishes with sloped sides. Shirred egg dishes would be ideal, if you have them. But even individual flat plates would work. What you definitely do not want to do is to bake the crêpes in dishes with high straight sides. Doing so will result in steaming and boiling and a soggy situation, versus baking and caramelizing into a bubbly richness.

crêpe batter

⅓ cup corn flour

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1½ cups whole or 2 percent milk

1 tablespoon melted butter, plus extra butter or a pure pan spray for cooking the crepes

horseradish-mustard cream

1½ cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

3 thin slices good-quality ham

½ to ⅔ cup finely grated Gruyère or Jarlsberg cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Freshly ground black pepper

To make the crêpe batter, whisk together the 2 flours, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk until blended. Now quickly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stirring just enough to combine. Whisk in the tablespoon of melted butter at the end. Cover and let the batter rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. (The batter can be made ahead as much as 24 hours.)

To make the crêpes, heat an 8-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat and brush the pan with some butter. Be sure the pan is very hot before you start, otherwise your first crêpe will probably stick. Mix the batter well, and pour about ¼ cup into the pan, tilting the pan as you pour it in and swirling the batter around to cover the bottom of the pan and ¼ inch up the sides in a very thin layer. When the bottom is golden, the crêpe should release easily; turn it and cook the other side till just set. This will take about 1½ minutes on each side. Slide the crêpe out of the pan onto a plate. Recoat the pan with some butter, if needed; stir the batter again and carry on with the next crêpe. If you’re going to use the crêpes right away, just stack them up. To freeze them, put a piece of parchment or waxed paper between the crêpes to keep them from sticking together, wrap the whole stack up in plastic wrap, and put it in a plastic freezer bag. When you need them, defrost them at room temperature and proceed with the recipe.

Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 375°F.

To make the Horseradish-Mustard Cream, combine the cream, mustard, and horseradish in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

To assemble the crêpes, first trim the slices of ham to fit a folded crêpe. Place a slice of ham on the bottom half of each crêpe, sprinkle the ham slices with about half the cheese, and fold the crêpes back over the ham. Place each crêpe in its own baking dish or plate. Pour the horseradish cream over the crêpes, dividing it as equally as you can, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, until bubbly and hot through and lightly golden brown.

While the crêpes are baking, get 6 plates ready to hold the baking dishes when they come out of the oven. Line each plate with a napkin (this will keep the baking dishes from sliding about when served). When the crepes are done, transfer the baking dishes to the napkin-lined plates and sprinkle each crêpe with chives and pepper. Be sure to warn your guests that the top plates are hot.

Morel Mushroom– and Goat Cheese–Stuffed Crêpes with Corn Cream

People do not usually associate crêpes with Mexican cuisine, but in fact there are various dishes made with thin pancakes that are identical to French crêpes. This one would make a nice first course or a great “main” part to a small-plates meal. The filling is a typical Oaxacan combination of corn, mushrooms, and cheese. Bake them in whatever dish you want to serve them from, as after they are baked you won’t be able to move them around. Shirred egg dishes or some other cool baking dish with sloped sides would be ideal. I have also used small plates. Don’t use dishes with high straight sides, as this will cause the crêpes to steam instead of bake.

If you can’t find fresh morels, you can use dried morels (about four ounces), fresh chanterelles, or whatever fresh mushrooms you can get in your market; huitlacoche would be perfect. Any extra Corn Cream makes an excellent corn chowder base. As for the crêpes, if you have a batch in the freezer, take out six crêpes and let them defrost. Otherwise, start by making a new batch of crêpes.

corn cream

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

pablo’s oaxacan filling

1 to 1¼ pounds morel mushrooms

5 squash blossoms, petals only

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter onion, minced

2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh epazote or chopped fresh oregano teaspoon salt

Freshly ground white pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 to 6 gratings fresh nutmeg

4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

2 to 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh chives

To make the corn cream, cut the kernels off the ears of corn and set them aside for the filling. Chop the corn cobs into 3 or 4 chunks and place them in a pot with the cream and enough water to cover, about 1 cup. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook 30 minutes, or till a nice corn flavor has developed. You should have about 2 cups of corn cream. Season with the salt, white pepper, and cayenne. Remove the cobs and chill the cream until needed.

For the filling, clean the mushrooms with a soft dry pastry brush, stem them, then slice them into rings. Clean the squash blossoms of any dust or ants, and tear them into 4 pieces each. Heat the oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and sweat the onion 4 to 5 minutes, until tender. Increase the heat and add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have released their juices and are tender and the pan has dried out a bit, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the reserved corn kernels and the epazote; cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until it looks like a succotash, moist but not too saucy. Stir in the salt, white pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Allow this mixture to cool, then stir in the cheese and the blossoms.

To finish the dish, preheat the oven to 500°F. Spread some of the filling on half of each crêpe, leaving a ½-inch border all around. Fold each crêpe in half, then cut each folded crêpe in half, making 2 pie-shaped wedges per crêpe. Place the wedges on plates or slope-sided baking dishes and top with the Corn Cream and the Parmesan, distributing both as equally as you can. Bake 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Serve sprinkled with chives.

Poached Eggs with Sherried Mushrooms and Piquillo Peppers

To serve, place the toasts on plates and spoon some of the mushroom mix on the toasts, using up about half the mixture. Top each toast with a poached egg, then finish off with the remaining mushroom mix. Season with sea salt and pepper as you like.

This is a great small plate for breakfast, brunch, or a midnight snack. If you poach the eggs just right, when you dig in, the soft yolks will combine with the mushroom juices and create a luscious treat. My friend Gerry Dawes says egg yolks make the best sauce of all, and I do believe he’s right. If you can’t find the piquillos (see the Glossary), you could substitute roasted red or yellow bell peppers for them.

2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil (preferably Spanish)

1½ cups sliced mushrooms (button, crimini, chanterelle, or morel)

½ small onion, sliced

¼ cup medium-dry sherry (Oloroso Especial, if possible)

3 or 4 piquillo peppers, chopped, or ¾ cup chopped roasted bell pepper (peel and seed it first)

2 tablespoons cilantro or fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

6 half-inch-thick slices rustic levain-style or herb bread

6 large eggs

6 cups water

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

Coarse sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter in a large flat sauté pan till very hot but not smoking. Add the mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and the mushrooms are beginning to caramelize. Add the sherry and reduce until the pan is almost dry. Stir in the piquillos and cilantro and mix well. This mixture can be made earlier in the day, and reheated before the eggs are poached.

When you’re ready to serve, toast the bread and reheat the mushrooms. To poach the eggs, combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a poacher or straight-sided sauté pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain a strong simmer and poach the eggs 4 minutes (the whites should be set, but the yolks still runny). Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, and tap the spoon on a towel to shake off the water.

Variation: If you want to make this for eating out of hand, use hard-boiled eggs instead of poached eggs. Cut the toasts to a two-bite size, and top each with mushrooms and half a hard-boiled egg.

Crispy Fried Rabbit with Dijon-Madeira Sauce

Serves 6 to 8

I just love rabbit, and I love creamy Dijon mustard sauces, too. I also have a thing for fried foods, so that’s why this dish would have to go on the list of my top ten favorites. I know it’s Charles Gatreaux’s favorite dish. Charles owns one of the best table, china, and bed linens cool-stuff stores in Napa Valley. I should dedicate this recipe to him. Actually, I will.

The sauce could be prepared ahead up to the point of adding the butter. To finish it, gently reheat it so as not to reduce it any further, and add the butter and chervil. If you prefer, you can substitute tarragon for the chervil. I use a lot of chervil and tarragon in my cooking, depending on the season. All summer long, we grow tarragon in the Mustards garden, and in the cooler months, we grow chervil. Chervil is a more delicate herb, lightly anise-flavored, and lacy. It grows like a weed, and looks nice in the garden or in a window pot.

If you have extra crust mix, it also makes a great coating for fried calamari or fried green tomatoes. It keeps well, so you can double the recipe if you like. Just be sure to store it in a dry, airtight container.

1 rabbit (about 3½ pounds)

½ to ¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

rabbit stock

1 cup dry white or rosé wine

2 cloves

1 onion

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

¾ cup yellow or white cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour or corn flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

dijon-madeira sauce

3 tablespoons Madeira

2¼ cups rabbit stock

2 tablespoons heavy cream

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced fresh chervil, plus some whole sprigs for garnish

When you’re cutting up the rabbit meat, try for pieces that are all about the same size (1½- to 2-inch chunks). Reserve all the bones for the stock. If you have to disjoint the rabbit yourself, separate the front legs and hind legs from the body first. Cut the front legs apart at the joint, and leave the bone in. Leave the bone in the smaller section of the hind legs, like a drumstick, but cut the thigh meat into bite-size pieces. Cut the loin away from the bone and cut the loin up, too. During the testing, I got 28 bite-size pieces, including the liver and kidneys.

Combine ½ cup of the buttermilk and the salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a small bowl; mix well. Place the rabbit in a sealable plastic bag or a shallow dish and pour the marinade over, making sure that all surfaces are coated evenly. Add a bit more buttermilk if needed. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (up to 6 hours is okay).

Meanwhile, make the stock. Put the rabbit bones in a baking pan and roast at 375°F 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and put the bones in a stockpot. While the pan is still hot, deglaze it with the wine, scraping the pan to loosen all the browned bits at the bottom. Add this to the stockpot. Stick the cloves into the onion and add that to the pot, along with the carrots, celery, thyme, parsley, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, skim, and reduce to a simmer. Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour, skimming as needed. Strain, and chill the stock until needed.

To prepare the rabbit, shake off the excess marinade and drain the rabbit well in a colander. While the rabbit is draining, combine all the ingredients for the crispy crust mix in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. To coat the rabbit, work with 3 or 4 pieces at time, tossing them around in the mix so they are well coated and shaking off the excess coating. You might find it easier to do this in a sieve. Place the pieces on a cooling rack over a baking sheet and continue with the remaining pieces. When all are done, refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes to set the coating.

To fry the rabbit, pour oil to a depth of 1½ inches into a cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet and heat it to 375°F. Starting with the bone-in pieces first, carefully add just enough rabbit to fill the pan but not overcrowd it. You want plenty of room around each piece so it all cooks quickly and evenly. Fry 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure the meat gets cooked through and you get a nice caramel-brown crispness on the outside. Transfer the fried rabbit to paper towels to drain, and keep in a warm oven until needed. Skim out any bits that have fallen into the oil, and let the oil return to 375°F before cooking the next batch. Continue until all the rabbit is fried.

To make the sauce, heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the Madeira and allow it to reduce by half, then add the stock. Continue cooking until the liquid has reduced by about one-third, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and mustard, and reduce a bit. The sauce can be held at this point, and finished just before serving. To finish, bring the sauce back to a simmer, add the butter, and cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon. Stir in the chervil and taste for seasoning.

To serve, pour equal amounts of the sauce onto individual plates, top with 3 to 4 pieces of the rabbit per serving, and garnish with sprigs of chervil.

Deep-Fried Soft-Shell Crabs with Ginger-Garlic Butter

Serves 8

Soft-shell crabs are in season from May through September. You can get frozen soft-shell crabs all year long, but I don’t recommend them. If you are reading this at the wrong time of the year and have your heart set on this yummy combination, you’re better off substituting jumbo shrimp for the soft-shells. For the sauce, young, thin-skinned ginger with pink-tipped roots is best.

8 soft-shell crabs

coating

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

⅔ cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ to 1 cup buttermilk

Peanut or canola oil, for frying

ginger-garlic butter

3 to 4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons finely julienned peeled fresh ginger

3 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic

⅛ bunch Italian parsley, leaves only

¼ bunch chives, cut into ½-inch lengths

¼ bunch fresh basil, leaves only

1 lemon, cut into wedges

To prepare the crabs, snip off the eyes. Lift the back flaps and fold them back over the bodies, and remove the fibrous lung tissue. (If you’re doing shrimp, peel them three-quarters of the way down, leaving the tails intact, and butterfly them.)

To prepare the coating, combine the flour, cornmeal, cayenne, black pepper, and salt in a bowl large enough to give you plenty of room for dusting the crabs. Pour the buttermilk into another bowl. To avoid a gummy mess when you bread the crabs, always use one hand for the buttermilk and the other for the dry ingredients. Dip the crabs 1 at a time in the buttermilk with the “wet” hand, drain, then drop them into the coating mix and use your “dry” hand to coat them evenly. Make sure you get the underside of the body and legs well coated. Shake off the excess.

To fry them up, pour the oil to a depth of 2 inches into a heavy-bottomed frying pan or pans and heat to 375°F. Working in batches, carefully slip the crabs into the hot oil, only as many as will fit in the pan without overcrowding. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to absorbent paper or a metal rack to drain. Skim out any remaining bits and allow the oil to come back up to 375°F before starting the next batch.

To make the ginger-garlic butter, melt the butter in a saucepan. When it begins to foam, toss in the ginger, garlic, parsley, and chives. Cook just 1 minute. To serve, put the soft-shell crabs on individual plates, drizzle Ginger-Garlic Butter over them, and sprinkle on the basil. Put the lemon wedges on the side. If you prefer, you can put everything on a platter.

Glazed Scallops with Almond-Caper Butter Sauce

While working on recipes for this book, I came across this one, which I had completely forgotten about, and I thought, Madeira and soy sauce? How weird. What was I thinking? But when I retested it, it all came back to me. This is an absolutely delicious combination. I use the glaze on scallops here, but it is excellent with any firm white fish, too. Try it with medallions of monkfish, halibut, or sea bass.

Plan on two or three scallops per person, depending on what else you are serving. Final preparation for this dish takes less than ten minutes, so plan accordingly.

glaze

¼ cup minced peeled fresh ginger

almond-caper butter sauce

8 tablespoons (½ cup) butter, at room temperature

1 or 2 shallots, sliced into thin rings (ideally on a mandoline)

3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

3 to 4 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt, if needed

12 large or 18 medium scallops

To make the glaze, combine the Madeira, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and ginger in a medium-size saucepan. Heat to just below the boiling point, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Cover and set aside in a warm spot.

Just before you put the scallops on the grill, make the sauce. Heat a medium-size sauté pan over high heat till almost smoking. Spoon in ⅔ of the butter: it will sizzle and melt and brown as soon as it hits the pan. Immediately toss in the shallots, capers, almonds, and half the parsley; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the remaining butter and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Swirl and stir to incorporate and melt the butter. Stir in the remaining parsley and taste for seasoning, adding salt only if needed. Remove from the heat.

Lightly sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper. Brush them on both sides with some of the glaze and place them on a grill over a hot wood fire. Baste them liberally as they cook. Rotate them a quarter turn halfway through the cooking on each side to create nice crosshatch grill marks. Cook until they are nicely caramelized on the outside. This should not take more than a couple of minutes in all.

To serve, place the scallops on one large platter or on 6 small individual plates. Brush with the glaze again, then pour the sauce over.

This recipe calls for grilling the scallops, but you could sear them in a cast-iron pan instead. Just be sure to coat them well with olive oil or vegetable oil, and a little oil in the pan wouldn’t hurt. Go easy on the glaze. In other words, refrain from the dousing you can get away with over a grill, otherwise you’ll end up with a gummy mess. Also, make sure you turn your hood vent on, as there will be some smoking.

Grilled Scallops Amandine

If you put almonds on or in anything, you get to call it “amandine”—coffee, ice cream, fish, or in this case scallops. There’s more to this dish than the almondine sauce, though. The scallops are brushed with a delicate orange-mirin glaze as they are grilled.

The amount of time your scallops spend on the grill will, of course, depend on their size and how you like them cooked. I used two-ounce scallops to test this recipe and cooked them to medium-rare in three minutes. I prepare the shallots for the sauce by roasting them first. It takes an extra half hour, but it makes a big difference in the flavor. Roasted shallots are good with many other things—potatoes, steaks, and lamb chops, for instance—so you could roast extra while you’re at it. If you’re short on time, though, you could skip the roasting and simply sauté the shallots briefly. Instructions for both options are given below.

You can substitute any firm-fleshed fish, like swordfish or mahi mahi, for the scallops. Just cut the fish into two-ounce chunks and follow the recipe.

orange glaze

1 stalk lemongrass

1 fresh Thai or bird’s-eye chile or 1 dried chile de árbol

1 ¼ cups freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons mirin

4 thin slices peeled fresh ginger

amandine sauce

3 shallots

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

½ cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon peanut oil

12 large or 18 medium scallops

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Soak 6 bamboo skewers in enough water to cover at least 30 minutes.

For the glaze, peel off and discard the outer layers of the lemongrass, and cut off the bottom 2 inches of the bulb end. Chop this coarsely and put it in a small sauté pan. Score the chile to open it up and add it to the pan, along with the orange juice, mirin, and ginger. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a strong simmer. Continue cooking 3 to 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half to a light syrup. Keep an eye on it as it’s cooking. Strain, discarding the solids, and reserve in a warm spot until needed.

If you’re going to roast the shallots for the sauce, preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle the shallots with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast 20 to 30 minutes, till tender and caramelized. (Toast the almonds 7 minutes, while you’re at it.) Peel and slice the roasted shallots. If you elect to sauté the shallots, peel and slice them and set them aside. Toast the almonds at 375°F for 7 minutes. To make the amandine sauce, heat the sesame oil and peanut oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and shallots, if you didn’t roast them first, and sauté until the scallions are just tender. Toss in the almonds (and roasted shallots if you have them) and cook 1 minute more. Pour in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the glaze and continue cooking until hot and bubbly. Keep warm.

Thread the scallops onto the skewers and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Brush them with some of the glaze and grill over a hot fire 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the scallops and brush with more of the glaze. Continue grilling until nicely caramelized on the outside and cooked on the inside to your liking, 3 to 4 minutes in all.

To serve, spoon the amandine sauce over the scallops immediately. Finish with a sprinkling of cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

Oysters Pablo

These oysters have a rich, garlicky chile kick, and I’ll bet you can’t eat just one. They were on the opening menu of Miramonte, and they continue to be a hit at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. People have told me they’re addictive. I think it’s the oyster-garlic combo. Chipotle chiles are smoked dried jalapeños: for this recipe, buy the chipotles canned in adobo sauce. Adobo is a somewhat spicy sauce made with tomatoes, onions, and vinegar. Both the chipotles and the sauce have multiple uses, so don’t throw out the leftovers. I figure on three to four oysters per person, depending on the group and the rest of the menu.

Most of this dish can be prepared way in advance. You can make the sauce and the spinach a day ahead. Shuck the oysters a couple of hours ahead, and loosen them from the shell. Final preparation will just take three to four minutes.

sauce

2 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1½ tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon good-quality tequila

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (loosely packed) grated Asiago cheese

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

spinach

1 pound fresh spinach leaves

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 small clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

18 to 24 Hog Island oysters or other midsize, briny oysters

Minced fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

For the sauce, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

For the spinach, remove the stems and wash the spinach well. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft, about 1 minute, making sure they don’t brown. Add the spinach, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring, until the spinach is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes, depending on how wide your pan is. Spread the contents of the pan out on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge immediately to cool quickly. When it is cool, squeeze the spinach mixture to get rid of any excess liquid, and chop coarsely. Place the spinach in a bowl, mix in the chipotle, and taste. If you want a little more spice, stir in a little of the adobo sauce from the can. Set the spinach aside until needed.

To prepare the oysters, fill a large bowl with 2 to 3 inches of ice and water (heavy on the ice) and place a smaller bowl on top to hold the shucked oysters, with as much of their liquor as you can. Shuck the oysters, reserving the cupped sections of the shells. This can be done ahead, but be sure to keep the oysters and shells cold until you are ready for the final preparation.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Unless you have one of those metal plates that have indentations for the oysters to sit nicely in, use a baking dish that will hold them snugly, or put a ½-inch layer of salt in a baking pan and nestle the oysters into the salt. This will keep them from tipping over when you move them in and out of the oven or under the broiler.

To cook the oysters, put 1 tablespoon of spinach in the bottom of each reserved shell and top with an oyster. Spoon any reserved liquor over the oysters, followed by about ¾ tablespoon of sauce over each. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, keeping a close watch on them and removing them as soon as they are golden brown and bubbly. If they haven’t reached this point when 8 minutes are up, pop them under the broiler for a moment or two.

Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve with cocktail forks.

Grilled Sea Scallops with Saffron Cream Sauce

Scallops and saffron have a special affinity for each other. When you match them up, you get outstanding flavors and striking colors. It’s an extravagant combination, but worth it for the excitement it will create.

You want jumbo or day-boat sea scallops for this recipe, not the little bay scallops. For the skewers, try to get those flat Japanese bamboo skewers that are about four or five inches long and a quarter-inch wide. If you have to use traditional skewers, double them up and break off the excess.

The saffron sauce does well made ahead, even as much as the day before. Refrigerate it and reheat it before serving. This dish also works with jumbo prawns (6 to 8 count) or medallions of monkfish. For prawns, peel them, then make a tiny slit along the back and devein them. Don’t cut in too deep or the prawns will dry out.

The scallops can be seared in a pan if you prefer (use high heat and a little oil).

saffron cream sauce

½ tablespoon butter

1 to 1½ medium shallots, minced

2 tablespoons Manzanilla or other dry sherry

½ cup white wine

8 to 10 strands saffron, crumbled

2 cups heavy cream

⅛ teaspoon salt

Several shakes of cayenne

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

12 large sea scallops

Olive oil, for brushing

Torn chervil fronds, for garnish

Soak the skewers in enough water to cover at least 30 minutes.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to caramelize them. Add the sherry and cook it down until the pan is almost dry. Add the wine and saffron; cook, stirring, until the alcohol has evaporated, another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the cream and cook, stirring, until the sauce has reduced at least by half. This might take another 2 minutes or so: you want about 1½ cups of sauce that is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Finish with the salt, cayenne, and white pepper. Keep the sauce warm while you grill the scallops or, if you’re making it ahead, refrigerate it and reheat before serving.

Thread 2 scallops onto each skewer, keeping the scallops as flat as possible to ensure good contact with the grill. Brush the scallops with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat till caramelized nicely on the outside, 1½ to 2 minutes each side for medium-rare. Rotating the skewers a quarter turn halfway through cooking on each side will give you nice crosshatch grill marks.

To serve, reheat the sauce, if necessary. Pour the sauce out onto 6 individual plates, top with the scallops, and sprinkle the chervil around.

Salmon Cakes with Corn-Mushroom–Piquillo Pepper Sauce

Two sauces might seem excessive, but this is one of the most beautiful dishes in this book. Tastes good, too, because the corn and salmon combination is a marriage made in heaven. So do it all: you only live once.

You need a cup and a half of cooked salmon for the cakes. If you don’t have any leftover salmon, pick up about a pound of salmon fillets and panfry them in a nonstick pan with a little olive oil or butter. Or roast them, following the directions in the recipe for Salt-Roasted Salmon Tostadas. You can make these cakes with leftover mashed potatoes if you have any. If not, just boil some fresh potatoes in salted water and mash them with one or two tablespoons of butter. Use a potato that has a nice flavor, like Yukon Gold or Rose Finn. Russet would also work well.

If you can’t find piquillos in your local stores, they can be ordered from The Spanish Table. Otherwise, substitute red or yellow bell peppers (they should be roasted, peeled, and seeded). Fish stock works best in the pepper sauce, but for most people it’s not easy to come by. Clam juice makes a reasonably good substitute. In a pinch, I’ve used vegetable stock or even water. Chicken stock is okay, but be sure it doesn’t have monosodium glutamate in it.

piquillo pepper sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 or 3 shallots, sliced

2 or 3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 or 2 whole bay leaves

1 or 2 sprigs fresh oregano

1½ sprigs fresh tarragon

½ cup dry sherry

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1½ cups clam juice, vegetable stock, or chicken stock

1 to 1½ teaspoons salt

¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

6 ounces (¾ cup) piquillo peppers, chopped

corn-mushroom sauce

3 ears sweet corn

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups sliced chanterelle or porcini mushrooms

1 Fresno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 tablespoon minced shallot

¼ cup white wine or vegetable stock

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon butter

salmon cakes

1½ teaspoons olive oil, plus additional for frying

¼ cup minced fennel bulb or heart of celery

2 small scallions, white and light green parts only, minced

½ cup mashed potatoes

1½ teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced fennel leaves or dill weed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1½ cups cooked salmon

For the pepper sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, and tarragon. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring everything well, then add the sherry and reduce by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is fairly thick. Allow it to cool, then puree it in a blender. Strain through a fine sieve and cook it down a little longer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Chill and reserve until needed.

For the corn sauce, grate or cut the kernels off the ears of corn into a bowl and set them aside. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and sauté the chanterelles until they are tender and just beginning to caramelize, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the chile and shallot and cook 30 seconds more, then add the corn and get it mixed in well. Now pour in the wine and continue cooking until the sauce has reduced to a thick syrup. Add the salt, pepper, chives, and butter, and give everything a good stir. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the cakes, heat the oil in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the fennel until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the fennel into a medium-size bowl and allow it to cool. When it has cooled, add the scallions, mashed potatoes, ginger, fennel leaves, salt, and pepper; mix well. Add the salmon and mix it in gently so that it doesn’t break up too much. You want recognizable chunks of salmon in the cakes. Form this mixture into 6 cakes, each about 2 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick.

When you are ready to serve, put both sauces on to reheat as you cook the salmon cakes. Lightly oil a large pan or griddle and set it at medium-high heat. Cook the cakes until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes per side. To serve, pour some of the corn-mushroom sauce out onto each of the plates, top with a salmon cake, and then drizzle some of the piquillo pepper sauce around. Pass any leftover sauces around on the side.

Grilled Swordfish with Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet-Sour Onions

Coat the swordfish with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill or pan-sear to medium doneness. This should take about 2½ minutes on each side for a 1-inch-thick piece of fish. Adjust the time according to the thickness of your fish.

Grilled fish with roasted vegetables—kind of a classy fish fingers recipe. I love this combination with swordfish, but it works with tuna or large sea scallops, too. To balance out the dish, it’s served with a parsley–celery leaf–caper salad. It would also be super with Best Ever Tapenade and a drizzle of any simple vinaigrette. You could also add a third of a cup of golden raisins that have been plumped in the vinaigrette for five to ten minutes.

1½ cups cauliflower flowerets (save the stems for soup)

½ to 1 red onion, julienned

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

vinaigrette

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

A few gratings of lemon zest

2 shallots, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 to 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salad

½ cup (loosely packed) finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, rinsed and squeezed dry in a towel

1 bunch celery, leaves only

½ to ¾ cup caper berries or 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

16 to 20 ounces swordfish

Olive oil, for coating

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Put the cauliflower and onion in a mixing bowl and add half the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Mix until the vegetables are well coated and evenly seasoned. Spread them in a roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until tender, golden brown, and slightly caramelized on the edges. This should take 15 to 20 minutes.

For the vinaigrette, mix the lemon juice, zest, shallots, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, and continue whisking till the dressing is well emulsified. Set this aside.

For the salad, combine the parsley, celery leaves, and caper berries in another bowl, and set this aside too. If you’re going for the golden raisin option, plump the raisins in the vinaigrette while you finish the rest of the dish.

For the final assembly, toss the salad with enough of the vinaigrette to coat everything lightly. If you cooked the fish in 1 large piece, cut it into serving-size pieces. Place a mix of cauliflower and onion on each plate, then lay down the swordfish and top with the salad (or with the raisins, if desired). Drizzle a little more dressing about and offer any remaining dressing on the side.

Cook the fish either in individual pieces or in one hunk, whichever is more convenient for you. You want two ounces or a bit more per person: if you’re planning on cooking individual pieces, try to get thick pieces so you can sear them without overcooking them. If you panfry the fish as opposed to grilling it, any kind of pan should do the job, but cast iron works the best.

Wild Mushroom Tamales with Yucatecan Tomato Salsa

Serves 6

When we invented this tamale, we were trying for a new vegetarian entrée, and this is what we came up with. We used grits instead of masa for the dough, and chard leaves instead of corn husks for the wrapper to give a dark color contrast to the grits; then we used our imaginations when it came to the filling. It worked, people loved it, and it has been on Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen menu ever since.

All tamales are celebratory dishes, perfect for serving at parties, small or large. This recipe doubles and triples really well, which makes it a great choice for a big party or fiesta. Both the tamales and the sauce can be made a day ahead, which is another plus. Both should be refrigerated, and the tamales need to be well wrapped first. One tamale per person would be a nice three- to four-bite treat to serve along with two or three other small plates.

If you can’t find hen-of-the-woods mushrooms for the filling, you could use dried or fresh porcinis, or all chanterelles—even simple button mushrooms would work. If you want a milder salsa, go for the jalapeño instead of the habanero. The habanero is my first choice, though, because it lends a great flavor—sweet and floral. Altogether you only need one habanero for the whole recipe.

When picking out the Swiss chard leaves you want ones that are perfect and, once the ribs are removed, about the size of your outstretched hand. If you can’t find six like this, you will need extra for patching.

filling

1½ to 2 tablespoons olive oil

¾ cup sliced chanterelle mushrooms

¾ cup sliced hen-of-the-woods mushrooms

¼ onion, thinly julienned

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

¼ habanero chile, seeded and minced

1½ to 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced

1 clove garlic, smashed and minced

½ tomato, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon chopped toasted almonds

1 to 1½ tablespoons golden raisins

grits

1½ tablespoons butter

1 shallot, minced

1 or 2 slices habanero chile, minced (optional)

1 ¼ cups (or more) water

¼ cup heavy cream

⅓ cup finely grated Monterey Jack cheese

⅔ cup grits

1½ tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

yucatecan tomato salsa

3½ medium-size tomatoes

1½ tablespoons olive oil

¼ to ⅓ medium onion, finely chopped

½ habanero or jalapeño chile

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable stock or water

6 large, perfect Swiss chard leaves (a few extra if not perfect), tough ribs removed

6 large or 12 small fresh or dried corn husks

1 tablespoon butter, for the salsa

Minced fresh parsley leaves

Chopped toasted almonds

For the filling, heat the oil in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly caramelized. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes more, or until it is very tender. Season with the salt and pepper, then add the habanero and serrano chiles and garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the diced tomato, almonds, and raisins and simmer 5 minutes, until reduced but not dry. The sauce should coat the vegetables and not pool. Allow the mixture to cool.

To make the grits, heat the butter in a big pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and the chile, if desired, and sauté till tender and aromatic, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water, cream, and salt; stir and bring to a boil. Pour in the grits in a slow stream, stirring as you go. Cook until the mixture has thickened and the grits are tender, 2 to 3 minutes for instant grits, 6 to 8 minutes for regular store-bought grits, and 20 minutes for stone-ground grits (check out the directions on the package). Add additional water if necessary. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheeses, and pour out onto a plate to cool.

For the salsa, griddle or broil the tomatoes until tender and well charred, turning to ensure all sides are done. At home I do this in a small cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. You could probably use a nonstick pan, too. Whatever method you choose, don’t use any oil. When cool to the touch, remove any very blackened pieces of skin, mash the tomatoes coarsely, and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion 4 to 6 minutes without allowing it to brown, cooking until it is soft. Add the mashed tomatoes, chile, and salt and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook about 6 minutes more over medium heat, until nice and saucy. Set aside until needed.

To prepare the tamale wrappers, bring a pot of water to a boil. Carefully (so as not to tear them) dunk a few leaves of chard into the water for 20 seconds or so, just till wilted. Remove them, and immediately dip them in an ice bath to keep them from cooking further. Repeat with the remaining leaves. Drain and reserve. Place the corn husks in the boiling water and boil until tender, about 6 minutes for fresh and 20 minutes for dried. Drain and reserve.

To make the tamales, lay out 1 large or overlap 2 small corn husks on the counter. Lay a chard leaf on top of the husks, overlapping the 2 edges of the leaf where you removed the tough rib. Spread a large spoonful (one-sixth of the batch) of grits on the bottom third of the leaf, leaving enough space at the bottom and on the sides to get a nice seal when rolling. Top the grits with some of the filling. Now fold up the bottom, fold in the sides, and roll from bottom to top. The tamales should be about 3 inches long and 1½ inches wide, though you could press them out into 3-inch squares. Repeat to make the rest of the tamales. If you’re making them ahead, cover and refrigerate.

To finish the tamales, steam them over very slowly simmering water until nice and hot, 12 to 15 minutes. Reheat the salsa, swirling in 1 tablespoon of butter at the last minute and removing the chile. Unwrap the corn husks from around the tamales and set aside 6 of the husks (discard the rest if you used more). Fold husks in half and put one on each serving plate. Place a chard-wrapped tamale on top of each husk and spoon some hot salsa around the tamale (as shown). Sprinkle over some minced parsley and toasted almonds.

Rabbit Sausages with Sweet White Corn Grits and Sweet Pepper Relish