Package of white truffles at my Costco on 12/23/10
Well, not Kirkland, but you get what I’m saying.
I was at my Costco (Richmond, Cali) yesterday and they had fresh white truffles for $1,799.99 per pound. No kidding. Really. Not behind any kind of glass or protected by armed guard. Out in the open in a case next to other stuff for $8.99 a pound. Not to be believed. I thought I’d seen it all.
These truffles are more valuable than the jewelry or cameras they sell.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
An oozing casserole is a great thing to have for din-din on a cold winter’s eve.
While a potato gratin may be the perfect form of this, I like to add a little something else to the mix.
Awhile ago I adapted Tyler Florence’s “ultimate” recipe to what I give you here – having added the booze, changed the type of cabbage, altered the proportions and simplified the bacon process a bit.
You’ll need an oblong casserole – something like 13″ X 9″ and deep enough to hold 5 layers.
Have this with some crusty bread and a bold red. That is all. I tell you this because I first made it as a side and was told not to make anything else next time – just lots of gratin.
Shred the cabbage by hand so you get a hearty result
Potato & Cabbage Gratin with Bacon
Serves 4 – 6 as a main dish with bread
8 ounces bacon, cut into small dice or pieces
2 tablespoons butter plus extra to butter the casserole and drizzle on top
1 very small head green cabbage (or half a medium head), medium shred
2-1/4 cups heavy cream
1 shot dry sherry
1 teaspoon ground thyme
3 or so huge Russet potatoes, sliced on the thin side – at an angle (don’t peel)
1-1/2 cups shredded Asiago or Parmesano Reggiano cheese
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
1). Fry the bacon in a medium saucepan until it’s just about browned and remove from heat for a moment.
2). Return to a low flame and add the butter.
3). Add the cabbage and a little salt and pepper (depending upon bacon) and saute for about 10 minutes, keeping it moving a bit.
4). Cover cabbage and set aside.
5). Butter your casserole and shingle in a layer of potatoes – like the photo below.
6). Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese on top – evenly.
7). Add another layer of potatoes and 1/4 of the cheese.
8). Spread the cabbage out as its own layer.
9). Add another 2 layers of potatoes and cheese.
10). Whisk the thyme, sherry and a little salt and pepper into the cream.
11). Pour the cream mixture into the casserole (find a spot in the middle – don’t douse the whole top).
12). Sprinkle a little melted butter on the top.
13). Cover very well with foil and bake at 350 deg. F for an hour.
14). Remove from oven and test middle with sharp knife. When potatoes are tender, jack temp up to 400 deg. F and bake until brown and bubbly – without foil – but watch carefully to avoid burning. You’ll need about 15 mins or so at this higher temperature. If you need more browning, just broil for a couple of minutes.
15). Allow to rest for 10 mins before serving.
This is how to shingle potato slices for the gratin
Gratin ready for the oven – just needs foil cover
Gratin done and ready to serve
You normally don’t find 125 gram packages of any food item at Costco. Well, maybe caviar.
I was very happy to come across this wonderful little fern frond-topped cheese — essentially a pasteurized milk version of Alsatian Munster — at the Richmond (CA) branch.
The real deal — meaning raw milk Alsatian Munster — is illegal to import/sell in the US unless it has been aged 60 days or more, in which case it would be dead.
This is a soft cow’s milk cheese with a washed rind. Earthy, yeasty, pungent and a little fruity, it’s quite funky when very ripe, which I always appreciate. Life’s a bore without a little stank, and I felt the presence of this baby in the cheese case even though it was situated next to some overripe teleme that had all but run out of its package.
Have it with some bread, fruit and a spicy white or dessert wine.
Here’s an easy recipe for decadent little creamy crab casseroles I developed based on a couple 1950’s dip recipes.
They work very well if you are having people over and want to serve a comforting, hot appetizer.
Do me a favor, though: buy decent ingredients. Good mayo, like Best Foods/Hellmann’s, Raley’s or the new Costco version, and real cream cheese without gums, fillers and all the rest of the garbage in popular brands. Gina Marie is good, and is available at some Costco locations in addition to upscale and natural markets.
Creamy Crab Casseroles
Makes 8
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
A few drops of chili oil and a couple dashes of white pepper OR a little regular old pepper
16 oz crab meat
1 tablespoon butter
8 ramekins (about 3/4 cup capacity)
1). Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix with a stiff spatula or spoon until softened.
2). Mix in sour cream, mayo, cheese and chili oil/white pepper or black pepper.
3). Carefully fold in crab meat.
4). Lightly butter the ramekins.
5). Distribute crab mixture evenly among ramekins and smooth out tops.
6). Bake at 325 deg F. until a bit bubbly – about 20 minutes.
7). Broil for a minute or two to brown tops, but carefully so as not to burn!
8). Serve with good crackers or some crusty bread.
Roast potatoes and butternut squash with aged cheddar and short rib gravy
Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows I’m big into leftovers.
If I make something or go out to eat I don’t care what’s left, how much or how little, I put it in a container and eat it the next day or incorporate it into another meal. We can’t afford to waste food, particularly animal products, because animals have died for what we are eating!
It always amazes me when people throw leftovers away, and I’m often surprised by the kinds of people I see do this: greenies, nouveau hippies – though I guess they’re really pseudo-hippies, animal rights activists. Maybe it’s because the people in my circle who fall into those enlightened groups have more money than my poor friends (for example, other bloggers and artists) who can’t afford to throw away a scrap.
When I see this I’m reminded of the line from the Staple Singers’ song, Respect Yourself:
“Keep talkin’ ’bout the president, won’t stop air pollution
Put your hand o’er your mouth when you cough, that’ll help the solution”
Saving the world starts at home.
One thing to have hanging around is a wide variety of containers – especially little ones. I buy these at Ichiban Kan, or other Asian housewares shops. They tend to carry food grade plastic containers in sizes from an ounce to a gallon.
If you have lots of them in the half-cup or so size, you can freeze little containers of sauce from whatever you’re making: braises, like short ribs or shanks, and tomato-based saucy dishes, like chicken cacciatore. You’ll be well-fixed to bust out a little sauce to serve with those fries you brought home, or leftover potato pancakes from the night before.
One little tip is to make lots of extra roast potatoes when you’re having them as a side to serve as a future dish with salad, as follows:
Roast your potatoes like so, perhaps. Feel free to add some butternut squash, which roasts up nice and sweet. Eat dinner and then save the leftovers.
Next day toss them with crumbles of a good, aged cheddar and bake, covered, or microwave, until all is hot and cheese is melty.
When you take the ‘taters out of the oven, microwave some of your frozen short rib or other gravy until it’s very hot, and pour it over the potatoes and cheese.
Serve ASAP. You will not be sorry!