chez johnny jump up

Ridwan made an incredible nine-course meal for John's birthday. I was lucky enough to attend and help out.

Here are some shots of the finished dishes (photos by Mike Seeman):

black truffle souffle

celery remoulade, frisee, crispy duck confit

fried artichoke, capers, lemon-heirloom jam

smoked salmon, baby greens,

matchstick potatoes, creme fraiche

kabocha squash soup, bacon lardon, fried bread

roast beef, yorkshire pudding,

horseradish cream, mustard

whipped delice d'argental, caramelized fig, balsamic syrup

carrot cake

poached pear, candied walnut

Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

This is super easy, rather healthy (bar some debate about dark vs white meat), and really very delicious. It was a treat for me because I don't often get to cook with olives and capers, since J doesn't like them. I would normally do this all in one large skillet on the stove, but all we had was a 10 inch frying pan and a baking dish, so we started this on the stove and finished it in the oven.

You'll need (serves 4):

8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin & fat removed
1/2c flour
2 large onions, minced
1 head garlic, sliced
1 large container (about 1 1/2c) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4c capers
1c mixed olives, pitted (don't buy pre-pitted; they have no flavor. do it yourself with a sharp knife)
1c vermouth
1/2-1c chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or do it all on the stove).

Season chicken with salt and pepper and toss in flour to coat. Brown well, about 5 min/side, in hot oil. Remove from skillet and place in baking dish. Wipe skillet clean if there are burned bits.

Add a little oil. Add minced garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat, until golden. Add garlic, cook 5 minutes more. Add cherry tomatoes, capers and olives. Stir to combine and cook 2 minutes. Add vermouth and let boil away about 4 minutes, until you can't smell the alcohol anymore.

Pour tomato mixture over chicken. Add stock if necessary to come halfway up chicken. Cover tightly with foil (or put a lid on your pan, if you're doing it on the stove). Bake about 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened. Serve with rice.

Roasted Salmon with Zesty Relish, French Fingerling Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts

I am now the proud subscriber of Cook's Illustrated, possibly the best cooking-basics magazine out there. The current issue discusses the roasted salmon dilemma: either you go for crispy outside or soft, silky insides. Their solution gives you both. Here's my take on it (well, the relish is my take-- the recipe is theirs).

You'll need:

1 salmon fillet per person-- skin on, pin bones removed with tweezers
salt
pepper
olive oil

for the relish:

1 lemon
2T capers
6 olives, Greek mix

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with the baking sheet inside that you'll use for the salmon. This is the key to the crispy skin part. In the meantime, wash and dry the fish, remove the bones, and slit the skin diagonally with a sharp pointy knife (about 5 slits, 1 inch apart from each other). Be sure not to cut into the fish itself. Rub the fish all over with oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Place on heated baking sheet, turn oven down to 275 (this is the key to the silky interior), and put the salmon on the lowest possible oven rack. It'll cook for about 10 minutes. While it's cooking, make the relish.

Chop capers and olives finely. Grate lemon zest, preferably with a microplane. Mix.

Serve salmon topped with relish. I ate my salmon with roasted Fingerlings and balsamic brussels sprouts (as you can see above in the rather crappy picture). Enjoy!