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The Home Journal’s
DINNER
TABLE
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Eating out
Looking for a new place to
eat out? Take a short drive
down to Unadilla. You can
hear the train whistle blow
while you enjoy a southern
buffet at noon or fresh sea
food at night. Check out the
Railside Case on Page 48.
Jean Rea
Jean Rea writes about
keeping your power bill down
and your kitchen cool by
serving main dish salads.
She includes a recipe for taco
salad. (This is a reprint of an
earlier column by the popular
food writer.) See Page 38.
Herbs in cooking
Yvonne Sutherland’s col
umn this week includes ways
to incorpoate herbs fresh
from your garden into your
family’s meals. Try her recipe
for potato salad made with
sour cream and fresh basil.
See Page 38.
Pass the Pinot Noir
The Wine Guys write about
their experience with “blind
tasting” pinot noir wines, with
wines ranging from sl7 to
$54.
Recipe of the Week
Party Sangria
This recipe, using fresh
cherries, comes from Carlo
Rossi wines. A cold punch,
it’s perfect for late summer
entertaining while cherries
are still plentiful.
4 blackberry tea bags
1 cup of granulated
sugar
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups of Carlo Rossi
Paisano
1 cup of orange juice
1 liter of seltzer
1 cup of fresh cherries
1 large orange, sliced
Directions: Prepare tea in a
saucepan, combining boiling
water with tea bags, sugar
cloves and cinnamon stick.
Stir occasionally, letting tea
steep for 20 minutes.
Discard tea bags and cool
to room temperature. In a
large pitcher combine Carlo
Rossi Paisano, tea mixture
and orange juice.
Add seltzer, cherries and
orange slices.
Serve over ice, makes 8 to
10 servings.
WEDNESDAY,
AUGUST 15, 2007
HeAal Journey (Pan one)
To the South of France and Italy, too
My small condo-sized
summer herb garden
is thriving. Because
space is at a pre
mium, plantings are limited to a
few favorites. Parsley, basil, chives,
sage and oregano are there. So is a
patch of mint, two lavender plants
and rosemary the size of a small
KITCHEN
ADE
Sue Ade
cooking, herbs are an impor
tant part of my own culinary
journey.
As the growing season winds
down, I like to dry herbs and
enjoy making my own spe
cialty blends for personal use
or gift giving. In the region of
Provence in southern France,
a magical blend of herbs called
Herbes de Provence is used
in a wide variety of regional
specialty dishes such as rata
touille. Amusingly, ratatouille
has gained a measure of recent
notoriety due to it also being
the title of a newly released
animated Walt Disney movie in
which a rat named Remy, who
Ratatouille
Provencal
% cup olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into VS-inch
cubes
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium zucchini, diced
Vt medium green pepper, diced
Vt medium red pepper, diced
18-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 taqiespoon dried Herbes de
Provence
Dash ground black pepper
6 small Italian plum tomatoes,
sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
Olive oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat
oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet over
medium heat. Add the eggplant,
onion and garlic. Cook and stir for
5 minutes, being careful not to let
garlic burn. Add the zucchini and
green and red peppers and cook un
til tender. Add tomato sauce, tomato
1 large whole roasting chicken,
about 5-7 pounds
2 tablespoons dried Herbes de
Provence
2 tablespoons fresh lemon
juice
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 smaH onion, quartered
Olive oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine Herbes de Provence,
lemon juice, olive oil, salt and
garlic in small bowl; set aside. Re
move and discard the giblets and
neck from the chicken. Rinse the
chicken, inside and out, with cold
water and Rat dry; trim excess
fat. Place chicken, breast side
up, on a rack in a large roasting
pan. Loosen the skin from the
breast and drumsticks by insert
ing fingers and gently pushing
between skin and meat; place a
bit of the Provencal seasoning
mixture between the meat and
skin. Place onion in cavity of
chicken and pour any remaining
Provencal seasoning over the
entire chicken. Tie legs together
with a string. Roast chicken for
I hour at 400 degrees, then re
duce temperature to 375 degrees
gM
bush.
Because 1
grew up in a
family half
French,the
other Italian,
where the use
of herbs was as
deep-rooted as
the use of wine
and olive oil for
Sprinkled with Herbes de Provence, a freshly made ratatouille,
plump with freshly sliced garden zucchini and tomatoes, sings with
the flavor of summer. Provencal cuisine is known as the cuisine of
the sun (“La Cuisine du Soleil").
paste, vinegar, Herbes de Provence
and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes
more. Place mixture into a large
casserole dish that has been lightly
sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.
Arrange the tomato and zucchini
slices in a circular fashion to cover
Roast Chicken Provencal
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Roasted chicken is equally delicious served hot from the oven or
sliced for a cold supper. Seasoned with Herbes de Provence, it’s an
herb-infused feast either way.
and bake for 30 minutes more or
until chicken has reached a safe
minimum internal temperature
of 165 degrees as measured us
ing a food thermometer. Before
slicing, allow chicken to rest for
15 minutes. Remove string and
onion from chicken cavity before
serving.
Food
the eggplant. Lightly spray tops of
tomatoes and zucchini with cooking
spray. Bake for 30 minutes or until
heated through. Serves 8.
Kitchen Ade Note: This dish may
be served at room temperature, or
even cold.
Sue Ade. a Lowcountry
resident since 1985, is a
gourmet baker and collector
of vintage cooking utensils
and cookbooks. She can be
reached at sueade@aol.com
Ratatouille Provencal Tart
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE BY PEPPERIDGE FARM
Zi of a 17.3-ounce package
Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff
Pastry
1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs
2 ounces crumbled goat or feta
cheese
Olive oil cooking spray
Dried beans or pie weights for
baking pastry
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare ratatouille as directed in
the Ratatouille Provencal recipe,
except do not top with sliced
tomatoes and zucchini. Thaw
pastry sheet at room temperature
for 40 minutes. Unfold sheet on
a lightly floured surface. Roll the
sheet into a 12-inch square. Cut
off the corners to make a circle.
Press the pastry into a 10-inch
tart pan with a removable bot
tom and trim the edge. Prick the
pastry thoroughly with a fork.
Place a piece of aluminum foil on
the pastry. Add dried beans or
Make Your Own Herbes de Provence
L
Making your own custom-designed dried Hertes de Provence blend is easier than you may think.
Lavender, part of the mint family which includes thyme, savory, oregano and sage, grows wild In
Provence and is often used in Herbes de Provence blends.
DRIED HERBES DE
PROVENCE BLENDS
The basic components of dried
Herbes de Provence includes
thyme, savory, rosemary, marjo
ram and basil. Fennel, sage and
lavender may be added, as well,
according to taste and prefer
ence. Recipes may be doubled
or tripled. Dried herbs are at
their finest when used within six
months and should be stored
Using a puff pastry shell, a ratatouille tart makes an impressive
first course or light luncheon meal.
pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil and beans. Cool
on a wire rack. Put the ratatouille
mixture into the crust. Arrange
the tomato, then the zucchini in
circles to cover the ratatouille.
in a tightly covered jar away
from heat and light. Herbes de
Provence are excellent mixed
into soup, meat, poultry and
vegetable dishes.
DRIED HERBES DE
PROVENCE I
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons summer
savory
1 teaspoon rosemary
2B
gets “fancy with the spices,”
aspires to be a famous French
chef.
It’s easy to put together your
own Herbes de Provence blend
using, essentially, a combi
nation of rosemary, thyme,
basil, savory and marjoram.
Some devotees of Herbes de
Provence like to throw fennel,
sage and lavender into the mix,
as well. Italian herb season
ing blends are equally exciting
taste experiences and are often
the “secret” ingredients that go
into many outstanding Italian
culinary classics. Many of us,
including myself, use these
“secret” ingredients to make
specialty dishes uniquely our
own. If you like knowing about
secrets, I’ve got a delicious one
to share with you. Look for it
in next week's herbal journey
(part two) to Italy, where you
will also find detailed direc
tions for drying your own fresh
herbs.
Herbes de Provence, an
assortment of dried herbs that
are commonly used in southern
France, was used to flavor the
ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee) and
roasted chicken pictured here. It
may also contain lavender, the
"mark of Provence."
Photos by Sue Ade/Morris News Service
Sprinkle with cheese, then top
with breadcrumbs. Spray lightly
with olive oil cooking spray. Bake
for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Let stand 5 minutes before cut
ting into wedges. Serves 8-10.
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon basil
DRIED HERBES DE
PROVENCE II
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons summer savory
1 teaspoon lavender*
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
’A teaspoon sage