Recipes
Chicken Salad
A curried chicken salad is perfect for a summer evening. Tim put this together for a meal with Mac.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
½ cup red seedless grapes, halved
½ cup pecans
1 tablespoon capers, drained
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt
Pepper
Directions
Toast pecans in a dry, cast-iron skillet (or other dry frying pan) for about ten minutes or until fragrant, shaking frequently. Roughly chop.
Mix mayonnaise and curry powder in bottom of serving bowl. Add other ingredients, plus pecans, and mix thoroughly. Increase mayo if you like and curry powder to taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over salad greens with a sliced baguette or a side of potato salad.
Fresh Corn Salad
Tim makes this salad with fresh sweet corn from the farmers’ market, the first cukes and cherry tomatoes of the season, and plentiful basil leaves.
Ingredients
3 cups lightly steamed, fresh corn kernels cut from the cob
1 cup gold or red cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup peeled cucumber, cut in ¾-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
4 (or more) fresh basil leaves, slivered
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Toss all ingredients and serve with grilled chicken or fish.
Chicken Pad Thai
Mac tried to learn to make one of her favorite dishes to surprise Tim, but it didn’t go entirely as planned.
Serves four.
Ingredients
8 ounces dried flat pad Thai noodles or stir-fry rice noodles
¼ cup tamarind juice concentrate (or 2 tablespoons Thai tamarind paste mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce, such as sriracha, plus more for serving
¼ cup hot water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (omit or replace with tofu for vegetarian version)
2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, separating green from white
2 cups mung bean sprouts
⅓ cup roasted, salted peanuts, chopped
Lime wedges (for serving)
Directions
Place noodles in a medium heatproof bowl. Add boiling water to cover and let stand, tossing with tongs frequently, until soft and pliable but not tender, 7–10 minutes (depending on brand). Drain and rinse with cold water, then drain again.
Whisk tamarind concentrate, brown sugar, fish sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and hot water in same bowl you used to soak noodles.
Pour oil in a large skillet (at least 12” in diameter) and place over medium-high heat. Add eggs and cook, stirring constantly, until dry curds form, 1–2 minutes.
Add chicken, scallion whites, fish sauce mixture, and noodles. Cook, tossing often with tongs, until sauce is mostly absorbed and noodles are well coated, about 3 minutes.
Add scallion greens, bean sprouts, and half of the chopped peanuts. Cook, tossing constantly, until heated through, about 1 minute more.
Divide noodle mixture among four plates. Top with chili-garlic sauce and remaining peanuts. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing alongside.
Ode to Summer Fruit Tart
The author learned this delicious dessert featuring summer fruits from her good friend Jennifer Yanco in the late 1970s. The recipe is a classic and needs no updating. Tim whips up an Ode for an easy summer dessert.
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour
¼ cup butter
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
¼ cup sugar
Pinch salt
8 ounces softened cream cheese (not whipped)
Grated rind of one lemon
Summer fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peeled and sliced ripe peaches
½ cup fruit jelly
Directions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Cut butter into flour until the consistency of coarse salt.
Beat together yolks, whole egg, sugar, and salt. Mix into flour and butter until well combined. On a floured surface, pat into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350° F. On the lined sheet, roll out the dough to about 8” x 10” (not too thin).
Bake the pastry for ten to twenty minutes. Watch carefully for browning. Cool on a wire rack.
Mix the cream cheese and grated lemon rind together. Spread all over the cooled pastry.
Arrange the fruit in any kind of pleasing motif.
Melt the fruit jelly in the microwave or a small saucepan and paint on the arranged fruit with a brush.
Slice into squares and serve for dessert or with brunch.
Pain au Chocolat
Tim makes his own pastry for these chocolate-filled croissants, but you can go the easy route and buy a box of puff pastry dough.
Ingredients
Puff pastry dough
4 ounces good quality baking chocolate, cut into skinny pieces
1 egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
Powdered sugar, sifted
Directions
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough out into an 8×20-inch rectangle. Use your fingers if you need to. The dough is quite cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough in half vertically into skinny rectangles 4 inches wide. Cut 3 even slices horizontally, yielding 8 4×5-inch rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise so you have 16 2×5-inch rectangles.
Work with one rectangle at a time. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch it to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Place a few small pieces of chocolate in a single layer at one end and tightly roll the dough up around the chocolate. Make sure the end is on the bottom.
Repeat with remaining dough, placing the shaped croissants on the baking sheets, 8 per sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Whisk the egg and milk together. Remove the croissants from the refrigerator. Brush each lightly with egg wash.
Bake until croissants are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. If croissants show signs of darkening too quickly, reduce the oven to 375°F.
Remove pain au chocolat from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving. They will slightly deflate as they cool. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Anniversary Cocktail
Astra and Joseph enjoyed this cocktail at their wedding forty years ago. Tim re-creates it for their anniversary party.
For each drink, serve over ice in an old-fashioned glass with a lime wedge garnish.
1 ounce vodka
½ ounce peach schnapps
2⅓ ounces sweetened cranberry juice
2 shakes orange bitters
For a nonalcoholic version, substitute peach juice for the schnapps and replace the vodka with lime seltzer.