Burning Down the House

Shannon is out of town until Monday, so I'll obsess over cooking in her absence and make dishes that she would likely be revolted by. Tonight's "ew" dish involves anchovies, black olives and capers; Tapanade. Apparently the Provence area of France does things totally different from the rest of the country. It must have something to do with being closer to the Mediteranean and having access to more delicious food options. Tapeno is what they call capers in that part of the country, hence the name Tapenade. It's like what pate would taste like if it were fish instead of liver, I think, which probably isn't appealing to anyone that doesn't like the comparison. It's sort of salty and pungent; the fish taste is not a stand out factor.

Tapanade is usually put on toast or something as an appetizer (at least that's the only way I've ever had it) but I thought it'd be cooked stuffed in a little pocket, Tapanade en Croute. "En Croute" simply means "in crust". All of this is news to me and I'll likely forget it later, but it's fun trivia. The original recipe for this was with a fennel filling, but that didn't seem too appetizing to me, so I made the substitution. Again I struggle with the dough, but managed to salvage it in the end. They ended up a bit heavy, less flakey than they should be if I knew what I was doing, but they were quite enjoyable.

We bought an enormous bag of potatoes, so I'll likely be trying a lot of potato recipes out over the next week or two. They're pretty versatile, so I'm sure I can find at least a dozen new recipes to experiment with. Tonight's was Duchesse Potatoes, another heavy sort of ball that added a bit too much starch to the plate. In the original recipe they were piped with a pastry bag to make pretty meringue star shapes, but since I was only making enough for myself I didn't feel like wasting a pastry bag. Other than that, it was basically a mashed, then baked potato.

I had my first flambé experience tonight with Cognac Chicken. Lighting a pan on fire is not scary at all. I'm far more nervous about starting our propane barbecue than I'll ever be about burning off the alcohol for a sauce now. I can see how it could be addictive, since the whole process sure doesn't last very long and it makes you feel special. It's like you're doing something amazing, like you're a master chef or just discovered fire or something. At least, that's how I felt, I'm sure everyone's reaction is different. I loved the sauce, and not just because of my apparent inner pyro. It is mildly sweet, almost like diluted honey and apple juice.

I tried to make aioli and failed, but only partially. The sauce properly emulsified, but did not really thicken. I suppose that means it really didn't properly emulsify, but it didn't separate, either. Either way, I was going to put it on carrots, so I just threw it in a pan and made Carrots with Aioli Dressing. Really, this method is probably better than if it'd actually turned out since cooked mayonnaise as a sauce doesn't seem all that appetizing. To add another vegetable to the plate I added a scoop of leftover Peas with Parsley. You can never go wrong with peas and carrots!