A Solid Meal

A couple of weeks ago we had a few chicken breasts left in the meat drawer. Maybe it was because Nina's cousin Ana was staying with us for a few days--a reminder of our wedding--or maybe it was because I just really felt the need to finally try making a couple of these dishes myself, but yesterday I went entirely by the Krstic family playbook: Vienna schnitzel (made w/ chicken instead of pork), dill and parsley peas, and potato salad.

To give the master her due, I ceded the pea preparation to Nina. My understanding of the process, though, is as follows. Let two pounds of frozen peas thaw at room temperature for one to two hours. Dice one large onion into pea-sized pieces. Chop about two cups of fresh dill and about one cup of fresh parsley very finely. Sautee the onions in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until translucent. Add the peas and enough water to make the peas float. Add vegeta (a Serbian spice blend) until the water tastes salty (about two tablespoons). Cook the peas on a low simmer for about twenty minutes. Add the parsley and dill and allow to cook for two to three additional minutes. Slowly add cornstarch while stirring until the mixture is slightly viscous. Serve warm.

The potato salad I felt competent to conquer myself. I cubed about ten potatoes and then boiled them in salt water until I could just pierce them with a fork. I then drained them and ran cold water over them and allowed them to cool while I prepared the rest of the dish. That consisted of about three quarters of a cup of finely diced "dry neck" (a kind of cured pork) and two or three diced onions. I sauteed the dry neck in two to three tablespoons of oil until they started to brown. I then added the onions and continued to sautee until the onions were translucent. I tossed the potatoes gently with the sauteed onions and meat, perhaps a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.

The Vienna schnitzel is fun to make as long as you like to get dirty. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally and pound the halves until they are very thin. Coat them in lightly beaten egg, then mustard (I like Gulden's spicy brown) and finally dredge them in bread crumbs. Fill a skillet with enough vegetable (or similar) oil to just cover the cutlets and heat it until it just starts to shimmer. Fry the chicken in the oil until the bread crumbs brown slightly. As long as you keep the oil temperature steady the chicken should just finish cooking when this happens.

This hearty meal is a bit like a happy meal: all of a kid's favorite flavors without a lot of attention to balance, but man is it good! Prijatno!

Nina's Birthday

As usual I was determined to serve Nina a truly special dinner for her special day. Since she declined to make any requests, I devised a menu. The weather in the past week or so has taken on the crisp edge of fall, so I decided to go for hearty, homey flavors. For an appetizer I selected Butternut Squash Soup. The choice of entree meat--pork--was not necessarily related but my choice of an apple and leek puree seemed to me to do justice to the fall theme. I thought Potato pancakes made the perfect starchy complement to the meat and puree. I was stuck for a long time on a side dish, and the ultimate outcome is admittedly more August than October, but since it came to me in a dream I could not decline my muse: sauteed zucchini and cherry tomatoes. For dessert I served that old standby: grilled pears with vanilla ice cream. Recipes follow.

Butternut Squash Soup
Lacking squash soup experience, I turned to allrecipes.com for guidance and selected a likely candidate. My only innovation was to add just a dash of mace and a dot of cinnamon. In retrospect I should have added considerably more salt and pepper, but overall the result was delicious.

Pork
I selected a couple of comely bone-in pork loin chops to start with. These I marinated for about seven hours in the following:

• 3 to 1 apple cider vinegar to olive oil
• 3 to 1 finely dried sage to chopped fresh rosemary
• Honey in about half the amount of the herbs
• A small amount of salt

Shoot for about one cup of marinade per pound of meat.

When they were done marinating, I grilled the chops on direct medium, turning them halfway through. I also added a substantial dose of applewood smoke.

Puree
The puree was absurdly simple: I sliced the tender portion of a few leeks and cored and sliced a comparable amount of apple. These I boiled together until soft. I then blended the mixture with some sour cream. The one lesson I learned is that sour cream is best used sparingly. The puree was spooned over the pork chops and potato pancakes for serving.

Potato Pancakes
Although I know that Cook's Illustrated has a great article on potato pancakes I had no idea where to find it when I started, and thus found myself relying once more on allrecipes.com. I used this recipe, but to ensure that the pancakes would not be slimy inside I first blanched the shredded potatoes. In hindsight I also could have been more aggressive with the salt.

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
Nothing special here: I simply cut some fresh zucchini into small pieces and sauteed them together with some diced onions. The cherry tomatoes I cut into wedges and added them with the spices to cook until just soft. The spices consisted of a healthy dose of dried basil, some dried oregano, and some salt and pepper.

Grilled Pears w/ Vanilla Ice Cream
Grilled pears are a complete no-brainer but taste sooo good. I prefer Bosc pears, which I prepped (actually Nina prepped them--I'm sure she helped with other things here as well that I'm forgetting) by brushing them with a little melted butter mixed with cinnamon. I then grilled them on direct medium heat until tender. Serve over ice cream.

Overall the results were delicious, and unless Nina is lying to me in the most egregious manner she thought so too. Happy Birthday, Nina!!