The November issue has lots of side item recipes, therefore we will be having a few nights of just sides. This isn't Shaun's favorite way to eat dinner. In his eyes, a meal isn't quite complete without meat, or at least a hearty veggie entree. This night I made Sauerkraut with Gin and Caraway and Fennel Gratin with Pecorino and Lemon and we had a few leftovers from nights before.
Sauerkraut with Gin and Caraway
I know I've said recipes are simple before, but this one is about as easy as it gets. Just use jarred sauerkraut and simmer with gin and caraway seeds for a while until the the liquid reduces. At the end, add some butter. I used half of what the recipe called for. The finished product was a milder-tasting sauerkraut. I like the regular stuff, so I wouldn't say it was necessary to use the gin, but if you need to cut the sour quality, this recipe is good.
Yumminess: 7 out of 10
Cost: Approx. $5.50 for 3 servings.
Time: Bon Appetit said 10 minutes for prep and 40 minutes total. It took me about 2 minutes for prep and 22 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: Not really. It was good, but not necessary.
Fennel Gratin with Pecorino and Lemon
Fennel is a great vegetable. I'm all about adding more fennel recipes to my repertoire. This one was good, but I'm not sure if I made it correctly because it looks nothing like the picture in the magazine. Don't you hate that? Maybe if I walk through the steps again I can figure out where it went wrong... Saute onion and garlic, then fennel. Next, add broth, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. I think so far, so good. The topping is Panko breadcrumbs sauteed with butter with Pecorino, parsley, and lemon zest added at the end. Everything goes in a glass baking dish and gets baked. I feel like I did all that correctly. My gratin turned out a lot less creamy than the one in the magazine looks. It almost looks like they added cream to the fennel mixture. It still tasted alright, but not as good as the picture made it look.
Yumminess: 7 out of 10
Cost: Approx. $7.50 for 3 servings.
Time: Bon Appetit said 1 hour for prep and 1:30 hours total. It took me about 20 minutes for prep and 55 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: Yes, I'll try it one more time to try to improve.
I think your fennel gratin looks yummy, so don't be too hard on yourself. After some intense photo comparisons, I can think of a couple possibilities for the problems you describe...
ReplyDeleteThe first is that it looks like your dish might be a little bigger than theirs, so your crust might be spread a bit thinner. You could use a smaller dish or you could just increase the crust recipe to compensate...maybe somehow the contrast between the crunchy topping and soft fennel gives the impression of creaminess.
Also, you could try sauteeing the fennel mixture in butter rather than olive oil...it will give you a creamier, richer flavor without actually adding cream.
Of course, there's no harm in adding cream (or cheese, or both) to the fennel...
Not sure that any of these will make it "like the magazine," but then again, adding more butter rarely makes a meal less tasty.
Your posts always make me smile...thanks :-)