The Essential James Beard Cookbook (76 page)

3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed herbs (chives, parsley, chervil, and/or tarragon)

1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickle

1 teaspoon drained and finely chopped capers

Clarified Butter

Makes about ¾ cup

This is something that you make, rather than buy. Melt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, to prevent it from browning. The white froth that rises to the top should be skimmed off with a spoon, and the clear yellow “clarified” liquid butter carefully poured off into a container, leaving the curdlike dregs in the pan. Cover and refrigerate the clarified butter. You may make it in quantity and use as needed. Use it for sautéing when you need high heat.

Remove the yolks from the whites, put the yolks in a bowl, and crush with a fork. Finely chop the egg whites. Mix with the mustard, salt, and pepper. Gradually stir in the oil. When it is all absorbed, add the herbs, vinegar, chopped whites, pickle, and capers. Let stand for 1 hour or more to blend the flavors.

MANTEQUILLA DE POBRE

(POOR MAN’S BUTTER)

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

Editor: This guacamole-like mixture is delicious served with grilled fish fillets.

2 large tomatoes, peeled

2 ripe medium avocados, pitted

12 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Kosher salt

Cut the tomatoes and avocados into small cubes. Toss gently in a bowl with the scallions, vinegar, and oil until well mixed. Season with salt. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

PESTO

MAKES 2 CUPS

I have basil plants growing in pots in the garden behind my house. I chop the fresh leaves onto summer tomatoes, and every so often I harvest a lot of leaves and make pesto. With pesto in the freezer, I can recover the fragrance of summer in my kitchen all winter long. Use it on plain noodles (you’ll need about ½ cup for 1 pound), or to flavor soups, stews, and salad dressings. For an extraordinary treat, combine it with pasta and new potatoes.

4 cups packed fresh basil leaves

½ cup pine nuts

½ cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Put the basil, pine nuts, parsley, garlic, and salt into the food processor or blender with ½ cup oil. Process, adding enough additional oil to make a smooth paste. Add the cheese and process a few seconds longer.

VARIATIONS

FREEZER PESTO:
To make pesto for the freezer, just process the basil, parsley, garlic, salt, and oil. Freeze it in 1-cup portions. When you are ready to use it, defrost the sauce and put it back into the processor with the nuts and cheese. If you want to use it as a seasoning, you can eliminate the nuts and cheese and simply chip off teaspoonfuls of puréed pesto from the frozen mass.

PESTO WITH WALNUTS:
Instead of the pine nuts, use ½ cup walnuts and omit the cheese.

PESTO WITH PARSLEY:
Instead of basil, use 3 cups packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves for a midwinter pesto.

BASIC VINAIGRETTE SAUCE

MAKES ½ CUP; ENOUGH FOR 8 CUPS OF MIXED GREENS

You can’t make a good salad without a good vinaigrette sauce. A true vinaigrette is as simple as one, two, three—oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper—and the success depends on the quality of the ingredients.

First, a good oil, preferably a rich, fruity, and flavorful olive oil. Other oils don’t have enough flavor to make a good vinaigrette.

Second, a vinegar that is not sharp or acid, either red or white wine vinegar (white tends to be milder). There are some fine imported French wine vinegars available and a few excellent ones from California. If you can’t find a good wine vinegar, use cider vinegar or lemon juice. I don’t recommend that you buy an herb-flavored vinegar—if you want an herb flavor in your salad it’s better to use real herbs, fresh or dried.

Third, salt and pepper. I like to use coarse (kosher) salt for salads, as for other cooking, because it has more flavor and guts than iodized table salt, and a better texture. Freshly ground black peppercorns have more spiciness and taste than ready-ground pepper which, as far as I’m concerned, is worse than useless.

As to proportions, after years of experimenting I find that I prefer to use 3 or 4 parts of oil to 1 of vinegar, depending on the heaviness of the oil and the sharpness of the vinegar. This is something you must learn to adjust so there is a perfect balance. Start with less vinegar than you think you will need, then taste and see if you need more. You can always add, but you can’t subtract.

6 tablespoons fruity olive oil

1½ to 2 tablespoons wine vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Blend the ingredients together in a bowl with a wooden spatula or a fork, using 1½ tablespoons vinegar. Then taste, and add more if you feel the dressing needs it.

Never add sugar to a vinaigrette. If the vinegar is mild, as it should be, no sweetening is necessary. Always mix your vinaigrette just before you intend to use it. The fresher it is, the better. Don’t follow that reprehensible practice of making the vinaigrette days ahead and keeping it in a jar in the refrigerator. For that matter, don’t store oil in the refrigerator. It gets cloudy, thick, and sluggish. If you are afraid of opened oil going rancid in hot weather, buy a small quantity at a time and use it up quickly.

VARIATION

MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE:
Whisk ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard with the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. This dressing is thicker than the Basic Vinaigrette.

INDEX

The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

aïoli:

basic recipe for

Boiled Potatoes with Aïoli

Cold or Hot Fresh Fish with Aïoli

Le Grand Aïoli

Hard-Boiled Eggs with Aïoli

Roast Suckling Pig with Aïoli

Salt Cod with Aïoli

alcohol, alcoholic beverages:

Beef Bourguignon Sauté

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef in Red Burgundy)

in Bordelaise Sauce

Champagne Kraut

Cognac Sauce

Cold Poached Salmon in Red Wine Aspic

Coq au Vin

in Drunken Watermelon

in Estouffat de Noël

in Five-Day Plum Pudding

in Fried Shrimp

in Frozen Zabaglione

Goujonettes in Beer Batter

Grand Marnier Soufflé

in Green Salad, Vintner’s Style

Irish Whiskey Trifle

Madeira Brown Sauce

Melon with Port

Nut Rum Bread

in Pot Roast

in Pound Cake

Red Wine Marinade

in Rich Pumpkin Pie

in Roast Smoked Loin of Pork

Sautéed Liver with Shallots and Madeira

Sautéed Pheasant with Calvados and Apples

in Sauté of Quail with White Grapes

Shirred Eggs with Duck Livers and Madeira

Sole Poached in Vermouth

in Steak au Poivre

in Strawberries Romanov

White Beans with Cognac

See also
cocktails

almonds:

Brussels Sprouts Amandine

in French Chocolate Cake

in Gino’s Macaroons

Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

in Linzer Bars

Sautéed Trout Amandine

in Skordalia (Greek Garlic Sauce)

in Tuiles

anchovies:

Anchovied Pot Roast

Anchovy Canapés

Anchovy Hollandaise

Anchovy-Parsley Dipping Sauce

in Caesar Salad

Crudités with Anchovy Mayonnaise

Roasted Sweet Peppers with Anchovies

in Salade Niçoise

Spaghettini with Spinach-Anchovy Sauce

Spaghetti with Raisin and Pine Nut Sauce with Anchovies

in Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)

Angel Food Cake

angel hair pasta:

Angel Hair with Light Tomato Sauce

in Pasta Primavera

applejack

apples:

Apple Charlotte

Apple Fritters

Apple Pie

Apple Tapioca

Baked Spareribs with Sauerkraut, Apples, and Potatoes

Don Farmer’s Fresh Apple Cake

Horseradish Applesauce

Roast Holiday Goose with Apple and Prune Stuffing

Sautéed Pheasant with Calvados and Apples

Tapioca with Apples and Pears

apricots:

Apricot Fritters

in Bride’s Cake

Ice-Tray Apricot Ice Cream

Aromatic Rice with Peas

artichokes:

about

Artichoke Soup

asparagus:

Fresh Asparagus Vinaigrette

Minute Asparagus

aspic

Avgolemono (Egg-Lemon Soup)

avocados:

Avocado, Onion, and Grapefruit Salad

Avocado Pasta with Cream

in Mantequilla de Pobre (Poor Man’s Butter)

bacon:

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon

Corn with Butter and Bacon Crumbs

in Greased Pig Salad

in John Beard’s Sautéed Chicken

in My Favorite Clam Chowder

in Roast Loin of Veal

Sautéed Calf’s Liver with Bacon

Tagliarini Verdi alla Pancetta

Barbara Kafka’s Buckwheat Noodles

Barley with Mushrooms

bars