We hosted the girls--Amy and Jen--for dinner and bridge last Saturday night, and I made a meal that was almost entirely inspired by our visit to Chez Panisse last Thursday.
I made a version of risotto with grilled chicories and balsamic vinegar, along with chard gratin and a loaf of whole wheat bread.
The risotto recipe, straight from Chez Panisse Vegetables Cookbook, turned out extremely well. I used a combination of endive and radicchio. To be exact, I used four medium sized heads of endive and one head of radicchio. My only modification was rather than stir the balsamic into the risotto, I followed the lead of the chef last Thursday who placed the risotto into a small pool of balsamic in the center of the plate. I forgot to shave Parmesan on top of the dish, but Lou, Amy and Jen all raved about it anyway. Lou even said he thought it was better than what they served us at Chez Panisse. I think it tasted so good because of the extra butter that the recipe calls for stirring in at the last minute. Here's a pic of my half eaten plate.
The Chard Gratin recipe also came from the Chez Panisse Vegetables. I first tried this dish several years ago at a lovely dinner a friend cooked on a cold, rainy San Francisco night. She is a trained chef and a former cook at the now defunct San Francisco restaurant Elizabeth Daniel, so not surprisingly she made a beautiful and delicious preparation of the recipe.
I tried making it about three years ago, and I somehow screwed it up. I think I was rushing and skipped a few steps. Lou did not like it then. This time, I took my time and followed each step exactly. It was fun paraboiling the chard, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the leaves, cutting them into small pieces, gently sauteing them and baking the dish. My one mistake was adding too many bread crumbs. I think I made the same mistake last time, but the chard itself tasted absolutely wonderful despite the extra breading. I also added a few pieces of bacon to give the dish some additional fat. I loved the rich, milky flavor, along with the nutmeg. It's a wonderful dish, and one of these days I'll get it exactly right.
The bread recipe is Julia's Child's from Baking With Julia.
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