blue_dolphin

Probably try at least one on its own but I love all sorts of sardine crostini. Here's one:

Pork & Beans alla Gricia from I Dream of Dinner, otherwise known as beans on toast 🙃 I used Rancho Gordo Royal Coronas and country ham as the porky part. Lots of black pepper to make my tongue tingle!

Shared on Facebook by Jacques Pepin who said his daughter sent it to him… Apologies if it’s a repeat

Indeed - not a fruit or vegetable in sight! It looks like the kind of thing they might throw together when you've been admitted after meal service is over but you need a little something to tide you over for a few hours.

That's really good to know! I was going to suggest something like that because I've seen people mention it but didn't have any specifics. RCs are such great beans!

Eggs with Smoky Scallion Oil from I Dream of Dinner I've never been a fan of the "egg on yogurt" dishes. Even when I let the yogurt come to room temp, it seems to cool things off too much but I noticed that Nigella Lawson recommends warming the yogurt to around body temperature and that made all the difference! The recipe called for asparagus, I subbed a sliced portobello mushroom and it made a nice bed for this fresh farmers market duck egg.

You could give it a try. I only soak these and the Christmas Limas. The big guys have cooked unevenly when I didn’t soak.

The beans do need to be cooked first but I didn’t pressure cook. With Royal Coronas, I soak over night, bring to a boil on the stovetop and put the pot into the oven to maintain the gentlest simmer.

That sounds absolutely marvelous! I must say that the crouton application that I've enjoyed is quite compatible with that outcome. The restaurant where I was introduced to FOS served the soup pretty much covered with toasted croutons, piled high with Gruyere with that same caramelization and dripping, molten cheese. It's just that the croutons (probably 2" square) formed more of a craggy mountainscape than a flatter geography.

I enjoyed my breakfast immensely but the stars of the show were a spectacularly flavorful tomato and the lightly toasted ciabatta. The egg salad was an acceptable condiment that I'm glad I tried but won't make again. Glad I tried because it doesn't use any mayo, just mixes the broken up, cooked eggs with some olive oil to emulsify the yolks and I was curious how that would work. Fine, though I prefer mayo. Won't make again because I don't like onions in egg salad. These were briefly pickled in red wine vinegar and oregano so I was curious if that would be more appealing. No. Though I might try adding some of that chopped salami. I'm debating what to do with the rest of the egg salad. The author suggests spooning it over boiled potatoes so I think potato salad is not a far stretch.

I like it better that way, too. The toasted croutons keep their crispness longer while the middle of the bread can entirely soggy really fast.

Godmother's Egg Salad in I Dream of Dinner is named for the flagship sandwich at Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica. Both the sandwich and this egg salad include prosciutto, salami, pickled peppers, onion, and mustard, among other things.

Has your friend tried any of the recipes available online that make this in a blender?

Wow - you must have been starving, first to order pizza and then to eat what arrived! What's that brown condiment swirled on top?

French Onion White Bean Bake from I Dream of Dinner: In truth, this was my first meal of the day but I was out running errands so it didn't happen until after 1 and I'm putting it here even though it did break my fast. I cheated a bit by using caramelized onions from the freezer instead of cooking them up special so it was also super quick.

Do share your thoughts. I've been hearing good things about that one.

Ditto this. I do a few rinses after the bleach. I have under-cabinet lighting that was nicely illuminating the water tank and the towel prevented the algae from coming back. The light above the CSO burned out a while back. I elected not to replace it and now I don't need the towel!

The garlicky aroma that escapes the oven while it's baking is quite intoxicating!

Thanks! The book specifies grapefruit in the salad and lime juice to squeeze over. Tangerines, mango, pineapple or a mix of fruits are listed as alternates. It suggests serving with tortilla chip or as a tostada, over rice, quinoa, rice noodles or soba and adding mint, cilantro or corn nuts. As to the book itself, I'd say it's worth trying to get a look at and ideally, cooking a recipe or two to see if it suits you. The Eat Your Books digital preview has a few recipes and Amazon's "Look Inside Feature" for I Dream of Dinner (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) has a generous sample that includes the table of contents listing all the recipes, the whole egg chapter and a few other bits.... I went on from there to write an entire book review which doesn't belong here in the lunch topic so if anyone is interested in my thoughts on the book, read on over here.

Ali Slagle'sI Dream of Dinner (so you don't have to) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) is the book of the month in an online cookbook club I participate in. In the Lunch topic, @Smithy mentioned an interest in the book and I wrote what turned into a book review so I though I'd best post it here rather than over there. This isn't a book that draws me in with captivating stories and charming header notes that inspire me to cook up a storm. I won't be curling up under a blanket to read it for literary pleasure. It's a book of simple, straightforward recipes to put together a meal in a modest amount of time. Each recipe includes alternate options as I indicated for my lunch dish which makes it pantry/freezer friendly. Everything I've made per the book has been quite good but the recipes are simple enough that you can easily see your way to adding your own twists if so inclined. This is the book of the month in an online cookbook club I participate in and if there's a common thread in the posts, it's that people are pleasantly surprised by how flavorful or pretty or satisfying these simple recipes are. I love contrasting textures in a dish and the book is very good at delivering there. As to the book itself, I'd say it's worth trying to get a look at and ideally, cooking a recipe or two. The Eat Your Books digital preview has a few recipes and Amazon's "Look Inside Feature" for I Dream of Dinner (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)has a generous sample that includes the table of contents listing all the recipes, the whole egg chapter and a few other bits. There's a cute little section in the back (you can see it in the Amazon view) called Recipes by Cravings, Mood and Realities that makes for easy browsing to find something to suit the moment. In an author interview, Ali Slagle said that she'd had to cut that section by like 75% which is too bad as we've discussed how hard it can be to figure out what to have once you get hangry and this seems like a great tool for those situations. I'm not wild about the way the recipes are formatted. If you look at one of the previews, you'll see the ingredient names listed down the side of the page while the quantities are embedded in the text of the recipes. It's not awful. The numbered step-wise instructions are efficient, there's no need for mise en place here and the ingredients and quantities are bolded and easy to find but it annoys me a bit when mid-cook, I want to double check a quantity which requires me to scan through the text rather than just glance over. In that same interview, it was mentioned that this style avoids "hidden prep" that can be buried in an ingredients list. Like a cup of hazelnuts, blanched, peeled and chopped. All the work is in the recipe text and that's a plus. People have also called out some anomalous serving sizes. She encourages people to sense check the recipes with respect to individual appetites and preferences, something I generally do anyway, though it can be easy to just follow the recipe when trying something new.

The book is a treasure! The oxtail terrine is simple perfection. Did you watch the recent NYT documentary?

Turmeric Shrimp with Citrus & Avocado from I Dream of Dinner: The recipe does not mention greens but I was in a salad mood so I served it on a bed of arugula. Love the contrasting textures and flavors of these ingredients. For something so easy, it's a very pretty dish. I can see why it was chosen for the cover of this book.

Cooked up a batch of Royal Coronas yesterday and used some to make the Smoky Confit'd Beans with Olives that appears in the most recent Bean Club newsletter and is from Lukas Volger's book, Snacks for Dinner. Recipe also available online here. Had some for breakfast. Very good. I'll make it again. Maybe reduce the smoked paprika a bit and try adding sun dried tomatoes. Good recipe to play around with.

Smoky Confit'd Royal Corona Beans with Olives from Lukas Volger's Snacks for Dinner, chapati, poached egg, & tomato on a bed of greens dressed with olive oil and lemon juice

Big Beans with Breadcrumbs from I Dream of Dinner In honor of the Queen's funeral (and the fact that it's cool enough to turn on the oven, my preferred cooking method for these beans) I cooked up a batch of Rancho Gordo Royal Coronas. This recipe is quick and easy. The beans get cooked on both sides in olive oil before a bit of butter and shower of panko are added to the pan, resulting in beans that are crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside with a buttery crunch from the panko. Fresh, slightly bitter greens dressed with lemon and olive oil and cool yogurt flavored with lemon and salt add contrast to the plate.