Big Sur Bakery Cookbook - Michelle Wojtowicz [69]
Strain the stock into containers, and discard the solid ingredients.
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Field Greens Salad with Pecans, Croutons, and Ranch Dressing
We make our own field greens salad mix according to the time of year. In November, we mix frisée (also called curly endive), radicchio, Belgian endive, hydroponic mâche (also known as lamb’s lettuce), and the tender light green leaves of “living” butter lettuce. We toss the salad with a tart ranch dressing made with mayonnaise thinned out with buttermilk and vinegar. You have to make the mayonnaise from scratch, but trust us—it’s well worth it. Don’t even think about using mayo from a jar; the dressing just won’t be the same. Ranch dressing develops a better flavor after sitting for several hours.
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INGREDIENTS
FOR THE RANCH DRESSING:
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
½ cup homemade mayonnaise
1 small shallot, minced
1 whole scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SALAD MIX:
2 heads frisée
1 head butter lettuce
1 head radicchio
2 heads Belgian endive
2 handfuls mâche
FOR THE PECANS:
¾ cup pecan halves
2 teaspoons rice bran oil or canola oil
Kosher salt
Serves 10
For the dressing, combine the buttermilk, crème fraîche, and vinegar in a spouted measuring cup. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl, and slowly pour in the buttermilk mixture while whisking vigorously. Add the shallots, scallions, parsley, and chives, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the dressing sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
Wash the frisée and trim the green tips off the leaves, leaving behind only the white and yellow part of the head. Cut the core off, tear the remaining leaves into medium pieces, and put them in a large mixing bowl. Wash the butter lettuce. Pull the leaves off the butter lettuce and the heads of radicchio and discard the cores. Tear the leaves into random pieces and add to the frisée. Carefully pull the leaves off the Belgian endive, cut them into strips, and add the strips to the other lettuces. Add the mâche, gently toss the greens together, and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Place the pecans in a bowl. Drizzle them with the oil and season them lightly with salt. Scatter the pecans on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until they’re golden through the center, about 10 minutes. (To check if they’re done, cut one open and inspect the color inside.) Let them cool completely. (Leave the oven on.)
FOR THE CROUTONS:
2 cups 1-inch bread cubes cut from sourdough or country bread (crust removed)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt
Toss the bread cubes with the melted butter in a bowl, and season lightly with salt. Place the cubes on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the croutons are golden brown on the outside but still soft on the inside. Let them cool completely.
Right before serving, dress the field greens gently with about 1 cup of the ranch dressing, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, and sprinkle with the pecans and the croutons.
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Herbed Mashed Potatoes
On a chilly fall evening, what’s better than mashed potatoes? We like ours chunky, flavored with our favorite herbs.
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INGREDIENTS
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled
Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves
¾ cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup minced chives
1/3 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
3 whole scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 shallot, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Serves 10
Put the potatoes in a large colander, place the colander in the kitchen sink, and