It’s 2022. A new year, and the third year in which I’ve been writing this food centered missives if you can believe that. I mean, the third calendar year. I haven’t actually been writing it for three years.
I’ve been taking a little break for the holidays and spending a little time thinking about what’s next – both in a grand sense and in a more specific sense.
In a grand sense, I’m planning on refocusing on some parts of this endeavor. I’ve been unhappy with a lot of my photography of late, and I plan on working on that. To be completely honest, I’ve just gotten a little lazy. Where previously I’ve always used my DLSR on an overhead rig, a new iPhone meant I could get … let’s call them sufficient … images with my phone. Except they weren’t. They were lacking something, and I’ll be working on bringing that back - though not this week. I’m also planning on trying some video content over the next few months - so keep an eye out for that.
The other part, the other direction, is asking you – my readers – what you want to see in the next year. What cuisines, recipes, ingredients would you like me to take on in The Weekly Menu? I’ve got a few things planned, of course, but there’s still a lot of weeks to fill with delicious food ideas. You can let me know with comments here, or on Instagram.
This week’s menu – when I originally planned it – was intended to be a New Years celebration meal. That was before I decided to take the week off. But I’m not about to let a good(ish) idea go to waste so I’m doing it anyway. This week’s menu is sort of an old-fashioned kind of fancy. The kind of fancy you read about in 1920’s mystery novels. The kind of fancy from when people wore hats that didn’t have adjustable plastic tabs at the back. To me, that makes it feel sort of celebratory. They kind of celebratory that’s fun in the dark of January.
Even if it’s just a Tuesday night.
As always, I want to welcome all the new subscribers (share with your friends!) and thank the paid subscribers who help support my work here. The Weekly Menu is always free, but paid subscribers get extra commentary, new recipes, and even more snarky commentary. This week they’ll see a recipe for old school spaghetti with meat sauce, partially because The Addendum has taken a particularly italian direction of late, and partially because what’s better than a bowl of steaming red sauce pasta on a cold winter night.
Right now you can support my work for just $4 a month - that’s 20% off a years membership.
Chicken Consommé with Chicken Roulade Garnish
As a kid, reading about it in old mysteries and turn of the century novels, I was fascinated by Consommé. It just seemed so fancy. I grew up, found out it was just really very fancy special fancy-people broth and was pretty disappointed. Then I started cooking and became sort of fascinated again. I mean, it’s still just really fancy broth – but it’s also a pinnacle of technique and ingredients. In the same way someone might judge a budding artist by their ability to draw a near perfect circle, or a basketball players ability to sink basket after basket without ever touching the rim, the ability to conjure a brilliantly clear, flavorful, transcendently perfect broth out of just meat, bones, and vegetables - elevating the simple to something more – that’s something that fascinated me.
Then again, it’s still just really very special fancy people broth.
Like nearly anything fancy in the kitchen, there’s a trick to it. That One Weird Trick – you know, like on the internet. In this case it’s an egg white. That’s it. Well, an egg white, some cheese cloth or a filter towel and a handful of extra steps. But still … an egg white. That alone is fascinating because watching you stock clarify from a cloudy silty (albeit delicious) mess into that crystal clear perfect fancy-people Consommé is like magic and more than satisfying all by itself.
This recipe is for a simple chicken consommé. I use chicken thighs both because their higher collagen content makes for a better mouthfeel in the finished broth, and because I also run a website called The Chicken Thigh Guy – which means I always have an excess of chicken thighs lying around. I also use one of the thighs – and the skin of the others – to make another unnecessarily fancy garnish: a simple roulade. It adds some visual appeal and makes the dish a little more substantial than just a bowl of clear broth with some floaty bits.
Because this dish cools quickly, I strongly recommend pre-heating the serving bowls.
3 bone in chicken thighs
2 whole chicken wings
2 stalks celery
2 medium carrots
1 large onion
1 medium tomato
1 shallot
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn
1 egg white
Peel, trim, and finely dice (1/8th inch) the onion.
Peel, trim, and finely dice the carrots.
Clean and finely dice the celery.
Separate and reserve ~1tsp of each carrot, onion, and celery to use as garnish in the final dish.
Peel, trim, and finely mince the shallot.
Seed, and finely dice the tomato.
Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and set aside.
Debone the chicken thighs – taking care to keep at least one deboned piece whole.
Finely chop 3 of the chicken thighs.
Add the chopped thigh meat, the bones, the vegetables (except those reserved for garnish) and the thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns to a thick bottom pot filled with 8 cups of cold water.
Bring the pot to a very low simmer and cook uncovered for 90 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine strainer, discarding the solids.
Wipe out the pan, and return the strained liquid.
Wisk together 1 egg white and 3 tbsp of cold water until just frothy.
Stir the egg white mixture into the broth and leaving some of the froth on the top.
Bring the broth to a low boil and cook for 1 minute.
Strain through a strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth or a floursack or filter towel, straining again though the retained egg white if necessary to clarify further (the cooked egg white acts like a very fine filter.)
Taste, and season with salt to taste.
To plate, arrange a slice of chicken roulade in the center of the bowl, scatter with the reserved vegetable garnish, and pour near boiling consommé into the bowl.
Serve immediately.
Chicken Roulade
Skin of 1-3 chicken thighs (reserved from making consommé)
1 boneless skinless thigh (reserved from making consommé)
salt & pepper
Spread a piece of clear plastic wrap on your work surface.
Layer the chicken skin – skin side down – on the plastic wrap with the edges overlapping to form a square.
Season lightly with salt.
Place the boneless thigh on the skin, and season generously with salt and pepper.
Using the plastic wrap, roll the skin around the thigh, making sure that the plastic wrap stays outside the skin.
Twist the ends to of the plastic wrap to form a tight cylinder.
Bring a pot of water to a low simmer, or set up a sous vide bath at 170°F.
Wrap the roll in a second layer of plastic wrap and tightly seal in a vacuum bag or zip top bag with all the air pressed out.
Cook un simmering water for 20 minutes, or in a sous vide bath for 60 minutes.
Chill in an ice bath.
Remove from the bag, carefully remove the plastic wrap, and slice.
Potatoes with Bacon and Fried Cabbage
This dish is pretty much the opposite of the chicken consommé above. It’s unfussy, unclarified, and in a lot of ways, distinctly unfancy. It’s simple, delicious, and warming on a cold night. It also, strangely, has a sophisticated air about it – at least in flavor because certainly not in origins.
I talked about the various traditions of greens and potatoes in a recent newsletter – and this is a take on one of those traditions. You could even take this recipe a step further and actually turn it into that dish – Bubble and Squeak – easily enough. I know our leftovers ended up in the frying pan bubbling and squeaking.
2 large russet potatoes
½ small head green/white cabbage
2 pieces thick cut bacon
2 tbsp unsalted butter
salt & pepper
Peel, trim, and cut the potatoes into 2-inch chunks.
Place the potatoes in salted water and bring to a low boil.
Cook until for tender.
Drain, and mash with 2 tbsp butter.
Chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces.
Cut the bacon into thin strips.
Add the bacon to a frying pan over medium heat and cook until the bacon is fairly crisp and most of the fat has rendered.
Add the cabbage to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is soft, and some pieces are beginning to brown.
Add the mashed potatoes to the pan and mix well, cooking until the potatoes are warmed through.
Serve hot, garnishes with butter and herbs or chives.
Pork Tenderloin Wellington
Again, with the unnecessarily fancy, right? Well, this was intended to be a celebratory meal. But instead of celebrating New Year’s Day it’s celebrating Tuesday. Or maybe a cold Sunday afternoon? Or put this whole newsletter in your “meh, later” file and get back to it next holiday season when you’re looking for something a little old fashioned, a little celebratory, and little bit fun-and-fussy.
Wellingtons are one of those old-fashioned fussy dishes that while not exactly in-fashion never quiet go out of style. They’re fun, and pretty, and when made in the traditional manner sort of luxurious. They’re also a little tricky to do right, and when made in the traditional manner sort of … expensive. And big. Like really feed-this-whole-side of the club dining room big.
So, I made it smaller. And made it cheaper. Instead of beef tenderloin layered with foie gras and mushroom duxelles, it’s pork tenderloin and mushroom duxelles. Feel free to throw some foie gras in there if that’s your thing and you’ve got it lying around the house. I serve this with a slightly sweet (from raisins) and savory mushroom sauce that’s reminiscent of classic steak sauce – but it would be equally good with just a little spicy mustard.
When I prepared this for photos, I made an attempt to make this fancier than I needed to by using two layers of puff pastry. One plain – to contain the delicious meat and filing – and one cut into a fancy lattice pattern. It almost worked. I rolled the first layer too thin (the steam from the filling cracked it), and my cutting for the lattice was somewhat less than regular. If you want to try the lattice, you can carefully cut one layer of the pastry like this:
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Or you can go online and buy a lattice cutter. I’ll probably buy a lattice cutter before I try again.
1 pork tenderloin
1 package commercial puff pastry (or homemade equivalent)
12 -16 oz cremini or white button mushrooms
1 large shallot
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 oz brandy
2 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Dijon mustard
salt & pepper
Prepare the duxelles.
Wipe off the mushrooms and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse until finely chopped.
Peel, trim, and mince the shallot.
Pick the thyme (remove the leaves from the stem)
Add 2 tbsp of butter to a large frying pan over medium heat.
Once the butter has stopped foaming, add the shallot and the leaves of thyme and cook for 1 minute.
Add the mushrooms, and season with salt.
Cook until the mushrooms are almost dry.
Add the brandy and cook off either by flambéing (tilt the pan to set the alcohol aflame) or simply cooking until all moisture is gone.
Allow the mushroom mixture to cool.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Whisk together one egg and 1 tbsp milk.
Spread a puff pastry sheet on a well floured surface and roll to remove any fold or crease marks ( roll it somewhat thin if using two layers.)
Spread the mushroom mixture over the pastry, making sure to leave at least an inch on all sides.
Brush the pork tenderloin with dijon mustard.
Fold the tail end of the tenderloin in to form an evenly sized roll.
Place the tenderloin on the mushroom mixture, and rolls the pastry around it, trimming the pastry if necessary, and pinching the seam shut.
Place on a baking sheet seem side down, and brush with egg wash.
If adding a lattice layer, stretch over the egg washed first layer, and brush with egg wash.
Bake at 375°F until browned.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool somewhat before slicing.
Serve with Black Pepper Mushroom Brown Sauce (below) or the sauce of your choice.
Black Pepper Mushroom Brown Sauce
4 cups beef or dark vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
¼ cup raisins
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 sachet unflavored gelatin
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Bloom the gelatin in 2 tbsp of cold water.
Combine the beef stock, bloomed gelatin, raisins, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaf in a thick bottomed pan and bring to a low simmer.
Cook for 30 minutes.
Strain.
Bring the mixture back to simmer and reduce by ½.
Whisk in the butter.
Add the mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes.
If necessary, add the corn starch to 1 tbsp cold water, and stir the slurry into the simmering sauce to thicken.
Add the black pepper immediately before serving.
Mince Tea Tart
This tart is very loosely based on the classic British mince pie – there’s no meat, and no suet, and the contents of the mince are limited, so take that prior statement with a grain of … well, suet probably. I’d started out planning to make a molasses pie for this week’s menu, but since so many of the other items headed in a sort of clubby old school British direction, I decided why not. Also, I was drinking a cup of strong tea at the moment I decided that … so rather than treacle or molasses, this pie is based on a strong syrup made with strong black tea.
Inspiration is often found in the bottom of a cup, but that’s usually with tea leaves or something stronger.
I use fresh grated cinnamon and nutmeg to make this pie – they have much brighter flavors and if you have access to whole cinnamon, whole nutmeg and a microplane I suggest trying it – but store bough ground spices will work just as well.
Tart Crust
2 cups AP flour
9 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1 ¼ cups boiling water
Combine the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in the container of a food processer.
Pulse until the butter is integrated into the flour.
Slowly add the water, just off the boil, until a soft dough forms.
Press the dough into the tart pan while still warm – using a greased measuring cup as a press can help create an even crust.
Chill the shaped tart for 30 minutes before filling.
Filling
1 cup black tea syrup (below)
2 medium granny smith apples
½ cup golden raisins
1 large egg
1 tsp melted unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp fresh ground cinnamon (or ½ tsp ground storebought)
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Peel, core, and finely dice the apples.
Beat the egg well.
Combine the beaten egg, syrup, vanilla, melted butter, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Add the apples and raisins.
Pour the filling into the chilled tart crust.
Bake at 375°F until well browned – about 35-40 minutes.
Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.
Black Tea Syrup
½ cup very strong black tea
3 cups light brown sugar
Combine the sugar and tea in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
Cook until sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is clear.
Allow to cool before using,