Leftover Magic

Dee Dee can cook!! In fact, she cooks very well. We had the pleasure of dining at her home on Friday. We feasted on an incredible flank steak marinated in a secret family recipe with caramelized onions and horseradish sauce. A delightful medley of vegetables and crisp salad shared the spotlight. I was honored to browse Dee Dee's beautiful handwritten recipe book from her mom. Thank you Dee Dee!!

I, in turn, had a full day of cooking on Saturday. I started at 9 am, baking onions so I could stuff them with a roasted pepper and onion mixture, peeling and blanching asparagus so I could stuff them into salmon filets, slicing beets for a risotto, making panna cotta and gelee so they would set before the guests arrived, and so on. It is relaxing for me to sequence a number of procedures, constantly working with my hands, hours on end, timing every step so every dish is served fresh without frenzy at dinner time. It is an art, and I am far from perfecting it, but I love to practice.

The side benefits are that I have 4 stuffed onion shells, a whole skinless chicken breast on the bone with only 6 oz of meat missing, and one entire bunch of blanched asparagus. It looks like Monday night dinner to me.

I can make a soup of the chicken remnants (see blog entry 2/11/08 titled "Monday Night Chicken Soup") and serve it along with the other leftovers. OR I can make Chicken Asparagus Roulade.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness between two sheets of oiled plastic wrap
one bunch of thin asparagus
salt and pepper
olive oil for the dish and to drizzle
dried tarragon (optional)

Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus, peel them from the head down and steam them for 5 minutes. Season the pounded breast meat, place a row of steamed asparagus spears along the cutlet at 1/2-inch intervals and roll the cutlet into a log. You may use toothpicks to keep it rolled. Then put the logs in a baking dish that is brushed with olive oil, drizzle more olive oil on top, maybe a sprinkling of dry tarragon, salt and pepper, then bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The cooked logs may be sliced and served with asparagus vinaigrette.

2 raw asparagus spears, cut into 1" segments
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is adapted from Michel Richard. Place asparagus, water and oil in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the asparagus is very tender and all the water evaporates. Place cooked asparagus in olive oil in a small food processor, and puree until smooth. With the motor running, stream in the vinegar. Season to taste.