You may recall that the worst meal I’ve ever cooked for people in my life was the meal I cooked for my friends Alex and Raife in March of 2007 (see here). Rereading that post, I don’t think it was as awful as I remember it being; but the pressure was high because Alex, one of my closest friends from college, had never experienced my cooking (she’d only seen me defrost California Pizza Kitchen pizzas when we lived together) and I wanted to impress her. Well, I’m pretty sure I didn’t.
Luckily, Alex has a birthday. And now she lives in New York and so does our friend Raife who was also there at that disastrous dinner. So to celebrate Alex’s birthday, which was in October, I invited them both over for a gigantic do-over. How did I fare?
I fared well!
The secret? I cooked all my standard dishes, the dishes I cook during the week when Craig and I are glued to Project Runway or American Idol. I started with a Caesar salad that I’ve developed by mixing various techniques–the Pearl Oyster Bar technique of adding the anchovies at the end; the Adam Roberts technique of emulsifying the Caesar dressing by slowly whisking in the olive oil to a mixture of chopped garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice, and a dash of mustard with some salt and pepper. I pull the outer leaves off the Romaine, cut it into big pieces, and toss with the dressing and the chopped anchovies. I grate fresh Parmesan all over the bowl, toss it all together and serve. People love it: Alex and Raife were no exception.
Then, for the entree, I made the roast chicken that makes life worth living. It’s the Chez Panisse recipe and you can watch that video of me demonstrating it here. The only quandary on this night was: I wanted to roast TWO chickens for the four of us, but didn’t want to put two chickens in the roasting pan with the potatoes because I was scared too much fat would come out and boil the potatoes instead of letting them fry to a golden brown on the bottom of the pan.
I came up with the solution: cook one chicken with the potatoes like I normally do, and cook the other chicken in a cast iron skillet.
People.
You know how chefs and food writers are always telling you to buy a cast iron skillet? The following picture should convince you that this is, indeed, a very good idea:
I mean, come on people. Come on! Tell me you don’t want to leap through your computer screen right now and make love to that chicken? It’s a masterpiece! If I didn’t love the potatoes cooked in the chicken fat when I roast the chicken and potatoes in the roasting pan so much, I’d cook all my chickens in a cast iron skillet. Just place in the skillet, put in a 425 oven, and take it out one hour later. No special techniques required.
For dessert, I made one of my all time favorites, and the best thing you can possibly make in fall. No, not apple pie. Apple cobbler!
I am definitely much more of a cobbler person than a pie person. I love the crunchy, butter topping and the oozing, appley interior. The recipe comes from Saveur Magazine (an old, old issue) but you can read all the details on this old post that features a very young Diana complaining about “Crash” winning the Best Picture Oscar.
The key to any good apple dessert, I’ve discovered, is using a wide variety of baking apples. I made Craig walk with me to the Park Slope farmer’s market before this dinner (it was a blustery, rainy day) but the nice variety of local, non-industrialized apples we chose (Jonagold, Empire, Macoun) made all the difference in the end result. If you’ve ever made an apple pie or cobbler and didn’t love the way it tasted, it’s because you probably didn’t use a good mixture of apples.
So, to recap: Caesar salad, roast chicken, and apple cobbler. That’s a formula for a happy birthday dinner, don’t you think? Serve the cobbler with vanilla ice cream and it gets even happier.
Alas, I am relieved of my shame when it comes to cooking for Alex: she was impressed! It teaches a good lesson; when cooking for those you love, cook what YOU love and they’ll love it too.
So thanks, Alex, for a chance to learn a valuable lesson and for giving me a second chance. Hope you had a happy birthday!
Wow – how in the heck did a Yes on Prop 8 ad show up here? This is a really nasty Calif ballot propostion to make same sex marriage in calif. unconstitutional…what’s up?
Wow – how in the heck did a Yes on Prop 8 ad show up here? This is a really nasty Calif ballot propostion to make same sex marriage in calif. unconstitutional…what’s up?
Yes on Prop 8 ad is EVIL. I will click on it and make them pay. hahaha.
Katie, where do you see the ad? I’m looking for it now and I don’t; as soon as I identify it, I’ll have it taken down. Down on 8!!!
This does make me want to go buy a cast iron pan. I remember my grandmother cooking with one, but have never owned one. I also must roast a chicken with the potatoes in the pan. It sounds delicious. And I’m with you – you can’t beat a good cobbler.
it is on the bottom of the post…it also show up on epicurious..the supporters are spending tons of money on this and it is very close in the polls…sean timberlake on hedonia wrote a post against it…
it is on the bottom of the post…it also show up on epicurious..the supporters are spending tons of money on this and it is very close in the polls…sean timberlake on hedonia wrote a post against it…
It’s weird: I still don’t see it. If you can take a screen shot and e-mail it to me, that’d be great. Thank you.
i cant get a screen shot but it shows up after “ads by google”…this is a stupid question but is it possible that it only shows up in calif? i have no idea how this stuff works – obviously…it shows up right below “ads by google”
Hi Katie, so I read up on how to get rid of the ad (I just block it on Google Adsense) but in order to do that I need the HTML that the ad links to. So can you click the ad and send me the HTML in an e-mail? Please send to amateurgourmet@gmail.com. Thanks! Adam
Link is:
http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/iclk?sa=l&ai=BCjM882QPSfXhBaLqrAPInqDwA5HDhoABxcbe2gjAjbcBABABGAEgspf-ATgAUMuR9uACYMn2-IbIo6AZoAGDtezuA7IBFnd3dy5hbWF0ZXVyZ291cm1ldC5jb226AQozMDB4MjUwX2FzyAEB2gE5aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF0ZXVyZ291cm1ldC5jb20vMjAwOC8xMS9hbGV4c19iaXJ0aGRheS5odG1smAK4F8ACAcgCy8G3CagDAcgDB-gDeugDR4gEAZAEAZgEAA&num=1&adurl=http://www.protectmarriage.com/ballot/&client=ca-pub-1551829616468887
Ick. Please don’t click it.
Actually, a kind reader just sent me the HTML so the ad is officially blocked. It should take a few hours to stop showing up; please let me know if you still see it tomorrow!
My birthday is in Oct too.. where’s my bday dinner??? I asked for a cast iron skillet for my bday, I received a non stick skillet instead, bummer. That chicken looks awesome.
The dinner sounds and looks great! I LOVE my iron cookware… you just can’t get the same taste by using a different pan.
The dinner sounds and looks great! I LOVE my iron cookware… you just can’t get the same taste by using a different pan.
You just described what is basically my favorite meal. Especially in the fall. and you’re right, that cast iron skillet really ups the drool factor for me.
You just described what is basically my favorite meal. Especially in the fall. and you’re right, that cast iron skillet really ups the drool factor for me.
You can get a cheap cast iron pan at IKEA, by the way. It’s pretty shallow, but I’m sure it would work for chicken.
Oh, and I’m also a cobbler-over-pie person. It’s like a better version of granola.
How terrible about the ad. And how audacious for it to show up on this site. Evil.
Your Birthday dinner looks great. I don’t care for too crust pies so i use this crumb topping instead.11/2 Cups Flour 1 Cup Sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 2/3 Cup Butter Mix till crumbly. I just do mine in my food processor. This will do to pies.I used Granny Smith & Gala apples last week for my pies.
Now that the evil ad is gone…
WOW. That looks so delicious! Looks like a major birthday hit to me.
My birthday’s coming up. Wanna come by for a dinner party (in San Diego)?
Keep up the good cookin’!
Pigs and champagne! It looks sumptuous, swank, and elegant – my favorite sort of party! It seems like great fun, glad you enjoyed it, and wish I could have been in New York to be there myself. Be well, The Hostess