The Hungry Tiger

Look, ma!

I put together a little page archiving our not-quite-daily dinner reports. I don't pretend that they are fascinating, but it can be interesting to see what we have our little fads for. I also find it useful for reminding me of things I have liked to cook in the past, on days when I'm feeling uninspired.

Egg salad sandwiches

Why did I think I disliked egg salad sandwiches?

We have been eating them weekly ever since I found out how much I like them freshly made from nice fresh egg salad heaped on nice freshly toasted bread with nice crisp lettuce. Nice! Fresh!

Further, they hardly take any time to put together, say on a night when I get home late after teaching an evening class. They are pretty, with their pale colors and frilly lettuce. They are both light and satisfying, which is pleasant at lunchtime or late at night. As long as you like eggs at all, what's not to like?

And then I had some at someone else's house not too long ago and was reminded of all I had disliked in the past. What is the difference between the stuff I hated and the stuff I love? Was it a failure of seasoning? Insufficient salt? Am I, in fact, a complete fascist for freshness, such that egg salad assembled more than ten minutes before the sandwich is made is as ashes in my mouth? I don't know. Maybe you have some idea.

Long-cooked broccoli and a grain and nut pilaf

This broccoli, from a recipe by Alice Waters, is not very photogenic, but it is a delicious new staple in our kitchen. We have been eating it once a week for the past month at least. It is easy to make out of a few ingredients, when you don't want to think too hard or do anything too elaborate, and when the vegetable options are limited -- say, in January. The texture is soft and pillowy without descending to pap, and even after being cooked all that time, it still tastes vivid and green (even if it looks rather pale and feeble).

Fresh lemon is absolutely required; don't bother if you don't have one on hand. 

We like it over a mixed grain pilaf, as you can see, and I've included a description of how I usually put these grains and nuts together, but it should be obvious that any number of things would do nicely in the same role: plain rice, noodles, couscous, kasha, farro, grilled bread... Not polenta, I think, unless you're recovering from dental surgery. It could also serve as a bed for something more substantial, like chicken or shrimp, if you eat those, or some kind of croquette.

Crostini with ricotta, honey, and thyme

This was our late night treat on New Years Eve, inspired by similar crostini we had at Marlow and Sons a few years ago.

The combination of flavors and textures -- crisp bread, milky ricotta, sweet honey, herbaceous thyme -- is unusual enough to surprise, gentle enough to soothe, and magical enough to impress. I love these so much, and they are so easy to make in proportion to how delicious they are that I would eat them all the time if not for the fear that I would devastate their specialness through overexposure.

There's nothing fussy about the preparation; it's just a matter of assembling five ingredients and letting the good things happen.

ALCHEMICAL CROSTINI

Slices of crusty bread
Olive oil
Good, fresh ricotta
Honey
Plenty of fresh thyme

Toast the bread. Brush it lightly with the olive oil. Heap it with the ricotta, drizzle with honey, and scatter with thyme leaves. No skimping. You could certainly use more thyme than shown in the photo and not regret it in the slightest.

Though obviously any simple dish like this depends on the quality of what goes into it, there's only one ingredient that you really have to be careful about here: the ricotta. Do not use something like Sargento from the supermarket dairy case. Look for something "hand-dipped" from a decent cheese counter or a specialty cheese shop.