Strip Steak With Crispy Gratin-Style Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 strip steaks (1 inch thick; about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 1 small head romaine lettuce, quartered lengthwise

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, honey, and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Toss the potatoes, thyme, 3 tablespoons of the remaining oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Arrange the potatoes in 4 piles of overlapping slices on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 130° F, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.
4. Serve the steak and potatoes alongside the romaine, drizzled with the dressing.

Roasted Chicken, Carrots, and Shallots

Ingredients:

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2 1/2 pounds total)
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, chopped
• 6 shallots, quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450° F with the rack in the highest position.
2. Toss the chicken, carrots, shallots, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Roast, tossing the vegetables once, until the internal temperature of the thickest piece (avoiding the bone) registers 165° F, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the chives, vinegar, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ½ teaspoon salt in small bowl.
5. Serve the chive sauce over the chicken and vegetables.

Ham and Asparagus Strata

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 loaf Italian or French rustic bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes, about 8 cups total of bread cubes
• 1 pound asparagus spears, woody ends removed, spears cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• Salt (for blanching water)
• 1 medium bowl of ice water
• 2 Tbsp softened butter (for buttering the dish)
• 6-ounces ham, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, about 2 cups
• 4-ounces Gruyere cheese, grated, about 1 cup, packed
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups cream
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or thyme)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8x11x2¼ casserole baking dish

METHOD:

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the cubed bread over a baking dish or sheet pan in a single layer. Place in oven and bake until lightly toasted, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove and set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and tarragon. Set aside.

3 Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil (1 1/2 teaspoons of salt). Add the cut asparagus to the boiling water. Return to a boil and blanch the asparagus for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the asparagus to a bowl of ice water to shock the asparagus and stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

4 Spread butter over the inside of a 8x11x2¼-inch casserole dish. Spread half of the bread cubes over the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle half of the ham cubes over the bread. Sprinkle half of the asparagus over the ham. Sprinkle everything with half of the Gruyere cheese. Pour half of the milk egg mixture over everything.

5 Repeat the process. Add another layer of cubed bread, ham, asparagus, Gruyere, and milk egg mixture. Press down on the mixture with your (clean) hands to help the bread soak up more of the milk mixture. (At this point you can make up to a day ahead, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.)

6 Cover with aluminum foil and place in the 350°F oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil. Bake uncovered for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the egg mixture is set. Test by inserting a sharp knife into the center of the casserole. If the inside is still runny, it's not cooked through yet and needs more time in the oven. If the top starts to get too browned, you can cover again with aluminum foil.

Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons vadouvan(see Note)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
One 3 1/2-pound rack of lamb ribs

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl, whisk the vadouvan, salt and sugar. Set the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet and rub the spice mixture all over them; refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 300°. Roast the ribs for 2 1/2 hours, until browned and tender; transfer to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 2-rib pieces and serve.

       NOTES: Vadouvan, a French curry spice blend flavored with shallots and garlic, is available at specialty food stores and laboiteny.com.

Spaghetti with Clams

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 pound (8 ounces) spaghetti pasta (can up to 3/4 pound of pasta if needed)
• Salt for pasta water
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced (about a heaping tablespoon)
• Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
• 2 6-ounce cans minced clams (including the liquid)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 Tbsp of salt for every 2 quarts of water). While the water is heating, prep the garlic, lemon zest, and parsley.
2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, set your timer for 2 minutes less than the recommended time (so you can be assured that you are cooking the pasta al dente). Cook the spaghetti uncovered in vigorously boiling water. While the spaghetti cooks, prepare the clam sauce.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a sauté pan on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and the red chili pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic just is on the edge of browning. Then add the white wine to the pan. Open the cans of clams and squeeze out the clam juice from the cans into the pan as well. Raise the temperature to high and let boil sauce the sauce reduces as the spaghetti cooks. (Put pan on largest burner on high heat to help the sauce reduce more quickly.)
4. About the same time the spaghetti is finishing its cooking, the sauce should be reduced by about two-thirds. There should be about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of liquid still in the pan. Add the chopped clams, and return to a simmer. Then stir in the minced parsley and the lemon zest.
5. When the pasta is done to the point of al dente (cooked but still a little firm when you bite), drain it and place it in a serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and toss to combine. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with a little more fresh parsley sprinkled over the top. Serve immediately.

Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:

Vinaigrette:

• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (less or more depending on how much you like mustard, we like it with 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon dried herbes de provence (can sub Italian seasoning or dry thyme or 1 Tbsp of fresh chopped herbs such as thyme or tarragon)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Chicken:

• 2 pounds chicken thighs, bone in, skin-on, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 large Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced (1/8-inch thick or less)
• 1 cup sliced, peeled shallots (can sub thinly sliced onion that have soaked in water for 10 min)
• 3 to 4 whole garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
• Several whole sprigs of fresh tarragon or thyme (optional)
• More salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle all sides of chicken thighs with kosher salt and set aside.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, herbes de provence, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

3. Spread a teaspoon of olive oil over the bottom of  a large (9x13-inch) casserole dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with the thinly sliced potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Distribute the sliced shallots over the potatoes, and sprinkle again with a little salt and pepper.

4. Place the chicken thighs, skin-side up, on top of the shallots. Wedge the garlic cloves between pieces of chicken. If you have fresh herbs such as tarragon or thyme, you can wedge them in along the border, between the chicken pieces and the dish. Whisk the vinaigrette again and pour it over the chicken, spreading it with your fingers to make sure the chicken is well coated.

5. Bake uncovered in a 375°F oven for 50 minutes, or until the thighs are well browned and cooked through. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Seared Sea Scallops with Browned Butter Caper Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp canola oil, rice bran oil, or other high smoke point oil
• 1 pound sea scallops (about a dozen)*
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp capers, drained
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

METHOD:

1. Brown the butter. Cut up the butter into pieces (a tablespoon each or so) and place in a stainless steel saucepan. Melt the butter on medium heat. Allow the butter to foam up and recede. Watch carefully. After a few minutes, the milk solids will form and sink to the bottom. Once the milk solids begin to turn caramel-colored brown, the butter will have a lovely nutty aroma. Remove from heat and pour the browned butter into a separate bowl to stop the cooking. (Pay attention. If you wait too long, you'll have blackened butter, not browned butter.) Set aside.

2. Remove the "foot" of the scallop from each scallop. (The foot is a small tough piece of meat that attaches the scallop to the shell.) Pat dry the scallops.

3. Heat the oil in a cast iron pan or hard-anodized aluminum sauté pan on high heat. When the oil is shimmery hot (not quite smoking hot, but close), pat dry the scallops again and carefully place them in the pan, flat side down. (If the oil gets so hot that it does begin to smoke, remove the pan from the heat, and turn down the heat before returning the pan to the burner.) You may need to work in batches so you don't crowd the pan.

Once you've placed the scallops in the pan, do not move them. Allow them to sear. Once you can see that the edges of the scallops touching the pan have browned, use tongs to turn the scallops over and sear the other side. Depending on the size of the scallops and the heat of your burner, this should take 3 to 4 minutes per side. Once both sides are browned, remove the scallops to a warm plate, and turn off the burner.

4. Pour out the remaining oil from the pan, leaving any browned bits in the pan. Add the white wine to the pan and return the pan to the burner on high heat. Let the wine boil and reduce until you have 2 tablespoons of liquid left in the pan. Then turn off the heat, add the capers, lemon zest, and browned butter to the pan. Swirl to combine.

5. Place scallops on serving plates and pours sauce over them. Serve immediately.