When Last did a Recipe Surprise you?

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for the links, Rachel. I missed it.

[maggiethecat]

Via our weekly Sunday night phone call, my mother gave me a prime example of a new recipe that excites the heck out of her (She's made it twice in less than two weeks,) and surprised her with it's high return in the pleasure/simplicity ratio.

Turn to page 44 of Jacques Pepin's "The Apprentice" and check out "Maman's Cheese Souffle." No separating of eggs, no whipping of eggs whites, and still a beautiful, luscious foolproof cheese souffle. I'm going to try it this week--Mummy says it's the perfect size for a four person lunch. Jacques points out that it can be made a day in advance.

Come to think of it: Jacques, Jeannette and Marilyn: How could these three Giants of the Kitchen possibly be wrong?

Edited August 4, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[tanabutler]

Two recipes instantly sprang to mind.

The first is one Russ Parsons told Terry Gross about in an interview on Fresh Air. He told her to cook salmon at 300 degrees, with a pan of boiling water in the oven, for twenty to thirty minutes. It comes out so voluptuous that I call it "voluptuous salmon" when I make it.

The second is in Patricia Wells' Trattoria cookbook (an absolute favorite of mine), and it's for a lemon risotto. Loosely worded, it's made like this:

• 2 shallots sautéed until translucent in 2 T. butter with 1 T. olive oil (I used lemon olive oil)

• add 1-1/2 cups risotto and stir over moderate heat until the risotto is slightly translucent and shiny (glistening)

• Add 1 c. white wine and stir until absorbed.

• Then, stirring, add one ladleful at a time of 4 cups simmering chicken or vegetable stock. When that is all absorbed, remove from heat and add the grated zest of 3 lemons, their juice, and minced herbs (about 2 T. each: mint, sage and rosemary).

• Serve immediately with grated parmesan.

I think the mint and sage were a surprising combination. It's so-o-o-o-o-o good.

[fifi]

We were veering dangerously on topic over at MatthewB's bio, and it got me thinking...

Both Matthew and I made the Pasta with Mint and Parmesan from The Minimalist column in this Wednesday's New York Times.  Both of us did it because mint is about to choke out all other life forms in our gardens, lawns, and in my case, between the pavers on the patio.  Neither of us thought that we'd be knocked out by such a simple-seeming recipe: a big handful of mint, butter, S&P, parmesan, pasta. I added a handful of baby peas for the heck of it.

I was impressed.  Matthew's gonna make it again this weekend.  For such simplicity, this dish packs enormous flavour and, I thought, subtlety.

When was the last time a simple-seeming recipe knocked your socks off?

After a discussion with my sister, who grows several types of mint... What kind of mint did you use?

This is a critical question since I can't imagine how this would taste and I want to get it right the first time.

[Dave the Cook]

After a discussion with my sister, who grows several types of mint... What kind of mint did you use?

This is a critical question since I can't imagine how this would taste and I want to get it right the first time.

I think when no variety is specified, the convention is that it is spearmint. This is what is normally found in the grocery store.

It would be interesting if Matthew and Maggie used different types but both liked it. I find the tastes of spearmint and peppermint pretty different -- at least as much as oregano and marjoram, two other closely related herbs.

[tanabutler]

I believe the mint is English mint, which is just called "mint." It's neither spearmint nor peppermint, nor any other kind of mint. Its Latin name is mentha spicata, and its leaves are wider, shorter and rougher than spearmint.

That is the mint to use in mojitos, mint juleps, and for any recipe which specifies "mint" (as opposed to spearmint, peppermint, etcetera). It's what the Safeway sells as mint—they label the other varieties by name.

Edited August 5, 2003 by tanabutler (log)

[fifi]

I agree Dave. We also have Apple Mint (a pernicious and not so tasty weed), chocolate mint, spearmint, pineapple mint, peppermint... Well, you get the idea. They are very different.

[fifi]

tanabutler... We cross-posted. I have never seen anything around here (Gulf Coast) called "English mint". And that comes from haunting herb nurseries for years. I wonder what English mint is? The picture pretty much looks like some of (but not all) of the varieties that we have grown. I have grown varieties that I can't tell the difference by sight but must taste to tell which one I am picking.

This is a most difficult issue.

[Jason Perlow]

Made the mint pasta tonight:

Very tasty -- although next time we will probably do it as a cold pasta salad, with olive oil instead of butter.

[fifi]

Soooo Jason... What kind of mint?

The picture has me drooling BTW.

[Jason Perlow]

I think its mostly peppermint and spearmint. We have a few different kinds of mint which we had planted a few years ago which comes back, such as pineapple mint and chocolate mint, but I dont think thats what it is in this case.

Rachel picked it from stuff that was all over our garden. Its definitely more than one variety, though.

[Richard Kilgore]

I cooked it tonight, too, with Penne Rigate. Very nice, non-intuitive (at least for me) combination. And I think your idea of doing it as a cold pasta salad would be great, Jason.

[maggiethecat]

Thank you, tanabutler, for the great photo of my garden thug, mentha spicata. Your beautiful picture should be posted in the post office, so amateur gardeners, as I was when I planted it twenty years ago, can run like rabbits. Mentha spicata will survive even the cockroach after a nuclear attack.I think this variety is what's about to envelop my house. Plain 'ole mint.

Jason, please try the pasta salad version and let us know. I'm kinda duboius because I think the warm melted parm is part of the charm. But I sway easily.

[tanabutler]

I have never seen anything around here (Gulf Coast) called "English mint".

I'm a former Georgia girl, myself, fifi, and it's just plain ol' mint. It's the mint that isn't spearmint or peppermint or chocolate mint...

I'm starting to feel like Harlan Pepper and my mama's gonna come scream at me to stop naming nuts.

Or what's his name in Forest Gump.... pineapple swimp, coconut swimp, swimp stir fry, swimp gumbo....

heh

[SobaAddict70]

Several items:

Congee with white pepper, minced scallions, sesame oil. Really simple when all it is is rice, water, a pinch of salt and those three ingredients.

Pasta with chopped tomatoes, herbed fried bread crumbs, minced Italian parsley, EVOO, salt and pepper. Take out the bread crumbs and its even simpler. Ripe tomatoes are best (but then I'm preaching to the choir. ) Bread crumbs are basically crumbs from a slightly stale loaf of Italian bread, minced garlic, 1 oil packed anchovy fillet, minced Italian parsley and EVOO. (Make crumbs, brown garlic in EVOO, add anchovy; mash anchovy till it disintegrates, add crumbs, stir to coat but do not let crumbs absorb oil, add parsley; fry for 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Makes a great substitute for those times when adding cheese would be a good idea.)

Pasta with garlic, EVOO and herbs. Try this with garlic chives in place of the garlic.

Chinese fried rice, the way my mom makes it: leftover rice, peanut oil, minced garlic, minced scallions. Maybe on occasion, slivered Chinese sausage.

The steamed oysters at Oriental Garden (remember those, Jason?): oysters topped with black bean sauce, minced scallions and ginger.

Well made miso shiru. This can be absolutely divine when made properly. Clean, pristine balance of flavors.

Hiyyayako tofu. Cubes of silken tofu, topped with slivered or minced scallions, bonito flakes and/or grated daikon radish. I once made a version that subbed bits of bottarga for the bonito.

I could go on and on...

Soba

[torakris]

the recipe that surprised me the most was also from Bittman (his book How to Cook Everything) it is a simple fresh tomato sauce with butter, it is the only way I make it now!

[Carlovski]

Some simple recipes (If you can even call them that!) which I have been surprised by the success of are :-

Spaghetti with (Good quality) bacon. The bacon fat lubricates the pasta (With the help of a knob of butter) - crispy bacon provides contrast. Nice with a few crushed dried chillies too.

Potato Dauphinoise with the addition of smoked mackerel. A meal in itself with salad on the side.

Both of these were pretty much lifted off Nigel Slater. A good source for simple recipes.

Lamb casserole cooked with Sherry and Chorizo. You get an amazing depth of flavour, for something so simple to make. Also good with the addition of Pimenton (My fave spice of the moment) and possibly bulked out with chickpeas.

Spanish omelette - Not very original, but amazing how just potato, onion and eggs (and copious amounts of olive oil!) can produce something so good.

[fresco]

Regarding that last item on your list, perhaps you have some pointers for MatthewB:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=3&t=25448&

[Carlovski]

I've chipped in my ha'pennyworth. I am preparing to be lynched by any spanish members.....

[MatthewB]

I used spearmint.

Tonight I'm going to make it with peppermint.

[maggiethecat]

Last night I made "Maman's Cheese Souffle," from "The Apprentice", the Mommy in question being Jeannette Pepin. As noted above, I was spurred to do this my my own Mummy's enthusiatic recco. Because the man I live with doesn't much like eggs, this was a tough sell, but we're both glad I did it.

Disclosure: I made half the recipe and used three one cup ramekins instead of the six cup souffle dish appropriate to the full quantity. Because the price of gruyere at my handy supermarket exceeded that of a similar weight in rubies, I substituted sharp white Vermont Cheddar.

Well, as always, my Mother knows Best. These babies were so good that I thanked God that I'd listened to the voice that had prompted me to halve the recipe for GF concerns. We would have devoured the whole thing in about three minutes.

As Jacques says, it does not soar as high as a souffle made classically with separated eggs and whipped eggwhites---but it comes damn close!

Working time: Less then five minutes.

[tanabutler]

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a recipe today, Maggiecat.

[Basilgirl]

Last night I made "Maman's Cheese Souffle," from "The Apprentice",

I want that recipe. Please.

[MatthewB]

Buy the book.

[Dave the Cook]

Matthew's right. The book includes a half-dozen recipes, all of which are Pepin family specialites (and so far, every one of them bulletproof).

There's a nice thread on The Apprentice here.

Buy it using this link, and eGullet gets a tiny commission.

Back to recipes. Matthew, how was the peppermint?