The wonders of smoked salmon—and a quick, easy tart

 

Photo by Judy

I can’t believe I was grown before I tasted smoked salmon. It’s the kind of thing my mom would have loved, though my Anglophile dad might have declined to try it. Note that I am talking here of cold-smoked salmon (lox is one version); hot smoked salmon is an entirely different thing and tastes, to me, liked regular cooked salmon with an overlay of smoky flavor. I eat it, it’s okay, but I have a passionate love for cold smoked salmon. You can almost always find a pack of it in my fridge—a fishmonger once told me that the packaged smoked salmon is fresher than what he lays out on the counter as fresh-cut. So I buy packaged—there are several good brands, including Ruby Bay, St. John’s Smokehouse, Spence & CO. Ltd. and others.

You can do so many things with smoked salmon, though I think most people tend to think of it as lox and cream cheese on a bagel with tomato and onion slices (I prefer a sandwich on good Jewish rye—bagel is too much chewy bread for me). Try a twist of smoked salmon on top of a deviled egg; make a spread of it with cream cheese and onion (I have a recipe I’d gladly share) and serve with crackers, or stuff in a tiny puff pastry shell with a dab of caviar for (optional) elegance; serve it as the centerpiece of a salad plate, with lettuce, tomato, onion—and scatter capers across it. I like just a plate of smoked salmon with crackers. Or you can try lox and eggs—dice up some salmon into your scrambled eggs. It’s extra good if you also toss in some diced tomato and green onions—just be sure the onions get cooked.

My local family won’t eat smoked salmon—I know, growing up in my household, Jordan has tasted it and doesn’t care for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Christian has not tried it, and I could almost guarantee Jacob hasn’t, though sometimes he surprises me. So, dishes with smoked salmon are things I fix for happy hour or light supper for friends. Mary V. particularly likes it, and I have more than once served her a flour tortilla spread with crème fraiche, topped with generous smoked salmon, and that dab of caviar in the middle for elegance. (You can get a small jar of caviar for ten dollars—it’s not Beluga, but it’s acceptable).  Recently though I ran across a recipe for a smoked salmon tart and served it to Mary. She loved it—and so did I.

Ingredients (for four servings)

½ small red onion, thinly sliced, previously pickled

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

6 oz. sliced smoked salmon

Persian cucumber slices, previously pickled

Capers as garnish

Fresh dill as garnish

Chopped tomato as garnish if you wish

Lemon for serving

Directions

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lay the puff pastry on top—no need to roll it out first. I usually use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, but when Trader Joe’s had theirs on sale (winter holidays only) I bought some to keep in the freezer. It’s turns out really flaky. Poke it all over with a fork to eliminate air pockets. Your pastry should turn out crisp but not puffy-mine actually was puffy and I had to poke it again after baking.

Follow baking instructions for pastry sheet and then let cool to room temperature.

Spread sour cream or crème fraiche over pastry sheet. Top with generous smoked salmon. Arrange garnish vegetables in a decorative pattern if possible and scatter with either caviar or capers.

Serve with lemon.

How to pickle red onion: slice onion into a small bowl; toss with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle with white vinegar until covered and toss again. Let sit on kitchen counter for twenty or thirty minutes. Leftovers? Refrigerate and use another time

How to pickle cucumber: mix 1 cup water with 1/3 cup white cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, ½ tsp. salt; slice two Persian or one English cucumber and stir into vinegar mixture. Add a sliced green onion if you wish. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to use immediately; otherwise refrigerate. Keeps well and is a hand accompaniment (or ingredient) of sandwiches, etc.

A  couple of quick notes that have been on my mind:

Why are so many recipes calling for jammy (perfectly set whites but with slightly cooked or jammy yolks) eggs? If I want a hard-boiled egg, I want the yolk cooked!

Speaking of eggs: if you don’t want to try salmon in your eggs, try cottage cheese. Seriously! It gives them a rich and hearty flavor. For two eggs (one person) stir in a heaping Tbsp. of cottage cheese. My mom did that and I loved it; thanks to Jordan’s friend Amy for reminding me the other day.

And a whine: if I saw one more pink-and green-kitchen, I may scream. No, I don’t think it’s a great makeover!

And on that note, happy eating.

 

 

 

Never order fish on Monday

Even the best cooks like to dine in a restaurant occasionally—it’s a break from cooking, a chance to experience new tastes (and maybe pick up some new ideas), and it’s fun to have someone else plate your food. But chefs caution there are several things to remember not to order or eat. Herewith just a few. Some have to do with weight control, others with hygiene and food safety.

For the sake of your waistline, do not order those “endless” or “all you can eat dishes. For instance, chips and salsa that is constantly replenished. As you sit and visit, waiting for your food, you almost unconsciously keep nibbling on what’s in front of you. Before you know it, you’ve consumed so many chips you’ve compromised your appetite for the meal. And those fried chips are not innocent—they have probably been fried in trans fats. The same is true for bread with olive oil dipping sauce, although in this case, it’s the oil and not the bread that you should suspect. Olive oil may be heart-healthy, but it has more calories than butter. And then there’s endless pasta—your bowl will be refilled as many times as you want. The thing is most restaurants serve huge portions of noodles to begin with, so if you ask for more, you’re eating two meals.

The same is true for entrée salads. Restaurants load them with lots of dressing (learn to ask for it on the side) and toppings that are high in calories—cheese, bacon, croutons, etc. So that salad you thought would be healthy, may end up with more calories than a Big Mac. Salads to watch are Cobb, taco, and crispy chicken—where the chicken is fried.

Speaking of a Big Mac, it’s best to avoid all fast food, no exceptions. That burger, fries and a shake can end up well over a thousand calories, too much of it from trans fat. Also to avoid trans fats, which can raise cholesterol levels and promote heart disease, avoid fried foods—that chicken-fried steak you love, fried chicken, French fries. It’s hard but you can do it.

Avoid creamy soups. Many have as much as 500 calories per bowl and filling enough to be a main dish. If you want soup before your meal, stick to clear broth. Watch out for soup of the day or house soup—it’s often a mishmash of leftovers.

Restaurant deserts have hidden dangers too. They are usually loaded with fruit, artificial sweeteners, and lots of plain old sugar.

Switching to hygienic hazards, you know those lemons and limes you like to add to your water or tea? Don’t do it. They are big germ carriers, either because your wait person doesn’t use tongs and gloves to transfer them from container to your glass or even because you yourself squeeze them, letting the juice run over your hands (when did you last wash your hands?)

Unless you’re going straight home to the refrigerator, don’t ask for a to-go box or doggie bag. Food left at room temperature for two hours is considered a hazard. For the same reason, avoid buffets—those dishes may be set out piping hot but over time they cool to room temperature and ou can’t be sure how often they are rewarmed. Also buffets present the situation of many hands dipping into a common bowl—a huge opportunity for transferring germs.

Some dishes that may carry food-borne illnesses—those sprouts in your sandwich, raw oysters, certain fish, ground meat such as medium-rare hamburgers. Avoid Hollandaise sauce—it is difficult to make, so chefs make it in large batches—what you get on your Eggs Benedict may have been sitting out for hours. Order bottled water instead of tap water, avoid ketchup in the bottle (chefs tend to combine half-full bottles at the end of the day), and bread baskets—if you think they don’t go from table to table you’re wrong.

All this is enough to scare you off restaurant trips forever, but it shouldn’t. Exercise caution and common sense. And never order fish on Monday—the markets are closed, so that fish has sat all weekend.

I like to leave with something positive, so here’s an easy good chicken recipes I’ve just discovered

Chicken Caesar salad

Ingredients

Chicken tenders

1 cup bottled Caesar dressing

1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan

Parsley (optional)

Romaine lettuce

Directions:

Pound chicken tenders if too thick. Mix Parmesan into dressing and combine. If using parsley, stir in 2 Tbsp. chopped. Coat both sides of each piece of chicken. Broil until chicken is cooked through—it should brown slightly. Spread lettuce into soup plate or dinner plate; top with chicken pieces. Add more dressing if necessary. Add croutons if you wish.

Serve to family raves!

 

The rotisserie chicken controversy

 

My photo of Grandma's chicken casserole

It tastes good. It’s quick and easy to use. It holds together in casseroles, which is a big plus to me. So what’s not love about rotisseries chicken? Start with the nitrates and nitrites and other preservatives that are in it. Then add the oils and butter that make it so tasteful but also add to the fat content. So what’s a cook to do? One trick is to be sure to skin the chicken and discard the skin. Beyond that, you’re thrown back to cooking the chicken at home yourself.

So maybe you have time to cook the chicken before you make that casserole. The obvious method is to boil it—I’ve seen too many recipes that begin with, “Boil an old hen.” Truth is boiling makes chicken tough. The new method is to poach it—a much gentler method of cooking. Some recipes say put the chicken in cold water and gradually increase the temperature to a simmer. Cook until internal temperature is 155^o.(This presumes you are using chicken breasts). The alternate poaching method calls for bringing the water just to a boil and then quickly putting a lid on the pot, remove it from the heat, and let sit at least 20 minutes. As in the other method, the internal temperature should be 155^o.

But, boiled or poached, chicken cooked in water is bland. To me, even the pale color is unappealing. You can season it yourself by adding carrots, onion, peppercorns, etc. to the poaching water. Or you can marinate the chicken first (some stores, like Central Market, sell pre-marinated chicken breasts but by using them you run into the problem of possible preservatives). You can grill or roast or pan fry the chicken. One method I like is to season the chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper, lay onion slices on them, and put in a covered pan with at least an inch of water. Then bake at 350^o for half an hour.

It's up to you: which is more important, flavorful chicken or healthy chicken? I go back and forth, use rotisserie chicken about half the time. And then the next question is what are you going to do with that cooked chicken? Here are a couple of casseroles I really like:

Grandma’s chicken casserole

3 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about two sleeves)

Arrange chicken in a greased 9 x13 pan; spoon soup over it and smooth out as evenly as possible; top with grated cheese and finish with Ritz crackers.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Do not let crackers burn. Let cool and collect itself 10 minutes before serving.

Baked chicken salad casserole

2 c. chopped chicken (about 5 breast halves)

3 hard-boiled eggs, grated or sliced (your choice)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

½ Tbsp. lemon juice

¾ c. mayonnaise

2 tsp. salt

2 c. chopped celery

½ tsp. pepper

4 tsp. onion, minced very fine

Crushed potato chips

Layer chicken and eggs in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Mix everything else together and pour soup mixture over. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes or until hot.

These are nice, light casseroles, good for summer evenings. Serve with a green vegetable or salad.

Enjoy!

 

 

The French version of a tuna sandwich

 

I’m working today on recipes for the upcoming Irene in Chicago Culinary Novel, Irene in a Ghost Kitchen. So my thoughts are on French food. Ghost kitchens have been around a long time, but they especially flourished during pandemic. A ghost kitchen is one that prepares take-out only and has no table service, no wait staff. Sometimes a kitchen will have delivery service within a certain radius. If not, patrons come to the kitchen to pick up their meals.

Henny would tell you that Irene’s ghost kitchen is simply something to keep her busy—and to cost Chance money, because there’s no way it will make a profit. But Irene would tell you she is educating the American palate about French cuisine. She stocks things that are easily stored and packaged—ingredients for French-style sandwiches, containers of vichyssoise and vinaigrette, individual servings of crème brulee, pots of pate. By special arrangement with her favorite café, La Petite Folie, she occasionally fixes an entrée, such as rabbit gibolette. There’s not much call in Hyde Park for rabbit and the dish freezes easily.

Pan bagnat (pronounce it pa bag na) is a favorite French sandwich that has been called Salade Nicoise in a sandwich. Here’s what you do:

Ingredients:

Bread of your choice—a 10-inch baguette makes two sandwiches, or use an 8-inch round; if using a larger round, cut in wedges to serve; you may also use ciabatta rolls

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 (5-ounce) cans good quality oil-packed tuna fish

1/4 cup olive oil

2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1/4 cup pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives

1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 hardboiled eggs, sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

12 large basil leaves

Note: if you soak onion slices in cold water for ten minutes, they will lose some of their bite.

Directions

Mix tuna, its oil, anchovies, olives and 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar. Stir gently to keep from mashing the tuna chunks.

Slice the bread lengthwise and hollow out some of the insides. Rub a cut garlic clove over inside of top and bottom. Then brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the tune mixture evenly over the bottom of whatever bread you are using. Layer red onion, eggs slices, tomatoes, and basil on top of tuna. Drizzle with more olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top the sandwiches with the tops of the baguettes and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap.

Place the wrapped sandwiches side-by-side on the counter and set a cutting board on top. Place a heavy pot or skillet on top and put a few canned goods inside to weigh it down even more. Leave sandwiches for ten minutes; then turn them over and press from the other side.

Cut into individual servings with a good bread knife. Serve at room temperature.

Jambon beurre

Jambon beurre is a classic, simple sandwich. It consists of a baguette, split and inside of the top and bottom spread generously with unsalted butter (because the ham will be salty) and filled with thinly sliced French ham of the highest quality. If you can find jambon de Parisien in your market, that is a good choice.

You might want to crisp the baguette in the oven first. If so, let it cool completely before spreading with butter.

Bon Appetit!

 

 

Tossed salad classics

 

Caesar Salad appetizer

When I was growing up (I realize I say that a lot about food!), we had a leafy green salad on the dinner table almost every night. I notice now that my family has cut way back on such salads. We’ll sub a green vegetable, like asparagus or green beans, or the other night it was a marinated cucumber salad. We also really like main-dish salads—Big Mac salad, taco salad, Columbia Salad. I have mixed feelings about this because I think there’s a real place on the table for a salad that highlights lettuce and dressing, maybe with a bit of bleu cheese, avocado, tomato, but the focus is on greens and the  dressing.

According to internet wisdom, whatever that is, home cooks should be familiar with two classic dressings: Julia Child’s Sauce Vinaigrette and the original Caesar from Cesar Cardini. Ladies first.

Julia Child's Sauce Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons wine vinegar or a combination of vinegar and lemon juice 

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and/or salad oil, such as grapeseed oil

1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallot or scallions and/or ¼ teaspoon dried herbs, such as tarragon or basil

Big pinch of freshly ground pepper

Directions

Combine vinegar, mustard, and salt in a bowl; whisk until dissolved. Whisk in oil, shallot (or scallions and/or herbs) and pepper. (Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a screw-top jar; cover and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to blend thoroughly.) Taste carefully and adjust seasoning as desired.

Traditionally, the oil/acid ratio in a salad is 3:1, so it’s of note that Child calls for 5:1.

Caesar Salad

If you’re ever on a quiz show and asked, “In what country was Caesar salad invented?” be sure to say Mexico. The salad was a last-minute inspiration by Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana in 1924. Traditionally, it is tossed tableside. There is much controversy today over the use of the raw egg yolks—I use them, figuring in the US the egg has been pasteurized (mostly I wish they weren’t but this is an exception) and the vinegar will “cook” it. You do you.

Ingredients

2 egg yolks

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 anchovies, chopped

½ Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

¾ cup freshly grated parmesan

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Directions

Whisk two egg yolks in a bowl until creamy (about two minutes). Add the olive oil and whisk until well combined. Stir in the anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice until completely combined. Add salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Serve with romaine lettuce (no other), croutons, and shaved parmesan cheese.

Some culinary experts claim the original Caesar was no tossed at all, but individual leaves were served, each tipped with a bit of the dressing. I have had it served that way in restaurants. It makes good finger food. We experimented with it as an appetizer (photo above).

Wilted lettuce

Let me add one more that I think should be classic, especially if you can get spring lettuce freshly pulled from the ground.

Ingredients

6 strips bacon, diced and fried – reserve the grease

2 Tbsp. vinegar

4 cups leaf lettuce

Some people add mustard, brown sugar, onions, radishes, etc. but this is the way my mom did it, and I prefer.

Fry the diced bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet to drain on paper towel. Meanwhile tear four cups lettuce into your salad bowl. Pour warm bacon grease over lettuce (if you need to heat it a bit, do so—it must be warm). Splash vinegar over salad and toss until every leaf is coated. Taste for seasoning—adding salt, pepper or sugar, more vinegar or more oil, is up to you.

 

Intimidation in the kitchen

 

Our potluck lunch
Clockwise, from 12:00: tuna salad, marinated tomatoes slices,
cheese snacks, Greek salad, pesto/challah

I let myself get intimidated in the kitchen today. A former student was coming for lunch. When I knew Heather, she was an English major at TCU and an intern at TCU Press. She went on to work for Harcourt in downtown Fort Worth, but then she disappeared off my radar only to reappear a few years later, having studied at the Culinary Institute of America. Today, as a classically trained chef she is part of the food service team at a local retirement community. For a while a few years ago, Heather and I had lunch regularly as she helped me with my cookbook, Gourmet on a Hot Plate. The cookbook was finished, we discovered we had severe political differences, and the lunches just sort of drifted away. But Heather called last week to say she’d written and published a children’s book and wanted to brag to me and bring me a copy. She would bring lunch. Let me add she did absolutely nothing to intimidate me—I did it to myself.

Letting her provide lunch seemed inhospitable to me, so I suggested we each contribute something—we’d have a potluck lunch. What do you fix when a chef comes to lunch? I found instructions for a tomato/spinach/cheese thing and thought that was unusual and creative enough. So I ordered frozen chopped spinach with my groceries—and Central Market cancelled it. No sub, just no spinach. Punt! By then I had no shopping options (not driving is sometimes a relief, occasionally a pain). I finally told her I would make my signature tuna salad. So, I have two sort-of recipes for you this week:

The tomato/spinach/cheese thing

Sliced heirloom tomatoes

Balsamic vinegar

Spinach – I think creamed would be good, but just cooked with butter, salt and pepper would be good. Sauté with garlic.

Cheese – the recipe called for mozzarella, but I think I’d use good old sharp cheddar

Marinate tomato slices in Balsamic. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes.

Top tomatoes with spinach and then with grated cheese.

Broil until cheese melts and is golden.

I will order spinach again this week and plan to try to fix this to a friend Monday, so I will report.

A friend asked me this morning why I applied the word “signature” to my tuna salad (I think she thought I was being pretentious). But Jordan doesn’t like anybody else’s tuna, so here’s what I do. It begins with good tuna, and I’ve mentioned this before. I order tuna from the Pisces fishing vessel in Oregon—it is line caught (no nets) while dolphins swim unharmed next to the boat. The tuna is heated only once in the canning process (most fish is canned twice) and seasoned only with salt. So good. You can get albacore in water or smoked albacore. I prefer the plain.

1 6-oz. can tuna, flaked (today I gave it a spin in my counter processor to make it light and fluffy)

1 large green onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, finely minced

Salt and pepper

Juice of one large lemon—lots of juice

Mayonnaise – just enough to bind; don’t make tuna soup out of it

Mix thoroughly and chill before serving.

No nuts, no grapes, no pickle, no mustard. It’s a simplistic tuna salad.

Heather brought Greek salad, a wonderful challah with pesto rolled into the dough, and berry muffins. Our plates overflowed and looked gorgeous besides. We talked books and writing and cooking—and politics. We differ, but we were able to talk reasonably about it and to some extent express why we feel the way we do. That’s what this world needs more it—calm discussion. It was a lovely lunch, and I look forward to another visit with Heather. I may let her fix the whole thing next time.

A note about food safety: I’ve had two events recently that made me conscious of food safety. One was my own fault: I had put a lb. of hamburger out to thaw around supper time, intending to refrigerate it before I went to bed. Only I forgot and woke at six in the morning with the clear thought that the hamburger was still on the counter. We froze it until we could put it out with the garbage today.

I mentioned this on the blog, but I was opening a jar of pickled herring for Mary D. on Tuesday night. As I cut off the cellophane collar, I realized my fingers were wet and smelled like herring. Sometimes it’s hard to get the lid off jars like that, but this time without my touching it, the lid popped off. I screwed it back on, washed the counter and the outside of the jar with soap and water, and then washed my hands thoroughly. Next day I called Central Market: they told me that someone else had lodged a similar complaint, the product had been removed from their shelves and the manufacturer notified, and they would credit my account. The credit was the least of it, but I was pleased that they took action on keeping others safe.

As we move toward warm weather, I am much aware that food poisoning can attack when you’re the least bit careless. So, watch your potato salad, devilled eggs, and, yes, tuna salad—plus a lot of other dishes.

Stay careful and safe!

 

Notes on spring lamb

 

When I moved to Texas a century ago, I was surprised that few people ate lamb. In our Chicago household, a good leg of lamb was a frequent entrée, and the cold lamb sandwich with mayonnaise the next day was a special treat. For those who don’t know, it’s important to distinguish between lamb and mutton. Lamb comes from an animal less than a year old; mutton is from any older than that, though some people put an intermediate year in there and say mutton comes from three-year-olds. Lamb has a distinct but pleasant taste, though I know some who can’t be in the same room with it; mutton is decidedly gamey and tough, requires long cooking.

Long ago I once bought a leg of lamb in cryovac at a local grocery store; when I opened the packaging, it smelled awful. I rushed back to the grocery, where the butcher said it was mutton, not lamb, from either Australia or New England. That’s funny, because parts of West Texas have long been known as sheep country, more than cattle. But I’ve read that lamb consumption and wool production have both declined since the post-WWII day. For me these days, lamb is a rare treat mostly because it is expensive. Also I’m not sure I could cook a leg of lamb in a toaster oven—it would have to be a small, boned roast. I do make it a point to buy fresh, never frozen lamb from Central Market. If you have a dedicated butcher’s store nearby, you can usually get it there too.

In my years in Texas, I’ve learned there’s more than a leg of lamb, though someday I will share my $8,000 leg of lamb recipe. Meantime, when I want a lamb sandwich I buy sliced Greek-seasoned lamb at Central Market. A lamb loin chop makes a nice meal for me if I’m eating alone—I sauté it in butter until it’s medium rare, remove from skillet, and make a sauce of a bit more butter and an anchovy filet. I don’t do it for the family because Jordan and Christian would need two chops each, and that gets to be an expensive meal. I do think we should try grilling them sometime. You can also buy sirloin chops, a variety of roasts beyond the leg, stew meat, and ground lamb. Rack of lamb is considered a great delicacy and is, unfortunately, priced to show that. If you buy a shoulder, have the butcher bone it—I did it myself once, and it was a lot of work plus I cut myself.

Today I want to leave you with two recipes for ground lamb. The first is a ragu that is quick and easy, and my family likes it a lot.

Lamb ragu

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves (I have recently discovered frozen, pureed garlic cloves at Trader Joe’s—so easy and timesaving!)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 anchovy filets or one tsp anchovy paste

2 Tbsp. tomato paste (this about uses up the small 4 oz. can but you can also buy it in a tube)

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes.

Parmesan or Pecorino cheese for serving.

Sauté onions and garlic in oil and season with salt and pepper. When onions are soft, add anchovies and cook stirring until they melt in—it doesn’t take long. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for two or three minutes. Season lamb with salt and pepper and add to skillet, stirring until it releases its fat and crumbles into small bits. Add tomatoes and half a tomato can of water, being sure to get all the tomato bits left in the can. Cook on medium-low until sauce thickens, about half an hour.

Caution: although recipe calls for salt twice, do use a bit of caution, because the anchovy is salty.

Serve on pasta topped with grated cheese. I have recently learned about bronze-cut pasta, which is a rougher texture and holds a sauce better. With this ragu, I prefer a thick noodle like pappardelle.

Lamb burgers

Every time I see a new recipe for lamb burgers, I clip it. As a result, I’ve got five or six recipes we’ve tried. My big mistake is that I didn’t make notes on each as to how much we liked it. The other night we tried a new recipe that both Jordan and Christian declared the best so far.

1 lb. ground lamb

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. Dijon

¾ tsp, dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste, divided use

Optional sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 garlic clove, grated (see above recipe for frozen garlic)

Optional: 1 Tbsp. Dijon or 1 tsp. horseradish—I liked the horse radish

Mix burger ingredients together with a bit of salt and pepper and shape into four patties. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper before cooking. Christian grilled these but I imagine you could do them in a skillet. The refrigeration gave them a lighter texture than usual.

Serve on buns spread with sauce. Top with feta and red onion slices. The recipe recommended brioche buns, but we did not like them and will not do that again. They were too much bread. Next time I’ll go back to good old potato bread buns.