Gravy Contest - Updated

UPDATE: Well, we didn't win, but we were runners-up. Congratulations to "sticksnscones" on their winning recipe for "Vegetarian Mushroom Thyme Gravy." And, thanks to all who voted for us. We appreciate your support!

Our Cider-Sage Gravy is a finalist in Food52's Gravy Contest. If you could take a moment and vote, we'll be your best friends!!! Vote for ChrisandAmy's Cider-Sage Gravy (the one on the left) under Week 10 Finalists: Your Best Gravy at http://www.food52.com/contests. THANKS!!!

By the way, you can also watch a video of Merrill and Sarah Simmons making our gravy at this link or a photo slideshow of our gravy recipe here.

Wordless Weekender: Seared Green Beans with Mint

Pan-Fried Camembert

Not sure, but perhaps we've mentioned how hectic school has been. To say that we're 'Thanking God It's Friday' would be an understatement. In the spirit of our jobs, here's a word problem for you: If your lunch "hour" starts at 10:30 and only lasts 22 minutes, at what time will you be starving?" The answer is: 4:00 p.m. - just when you've gotten home and opened up that bottle of whatever.

Wanting to taste the comfort and luxury that comes with a well-earned Friday afternoon, we decided to take a small wheel of Camembert, dress it up a bit with some seasoned breadcrumbs and pan-fry it. Seriously...nothing says comfort like melted cheese, right?!?

The end result was everything we wanted and more. The sharp piney flavor of the rosemary accentuated the buttery creaminess of the cheese. The crunch of the breadcrumbs offset the texture of the cheese in that macaroni-n-cheese topping kind of way. Paired with a crispy fruity wine, this snack is a French picnic in one amazing bite. Gonna' go finish that wine now! Au revoir!

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce wheel of Camembert cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

4 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

a pinch of salt

oil for frying

Fill a large skillet about 1/4-inch high with oil for frying. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the chopped rosemary, breadcrumbs and salt in a shallow bowl and set aside. Cut the Camembert into 8-10 small wedges. Heat the oil. Dip each wedge completely in the beaten egg then coat entirely with the seasoned breadcrumbs. When oil is hot, place each wedge of cheese in the pan. Fry each side of each wedge of cheese for 30-45 seconds, or until golden brown. Serve hot with a fruity sparkling wine like Rosa Regale.

Aztec Chocolate Rice Pudding

Amy writes: School (note: we're both high school teachers) has been, well, let's just say hectic and leave it to our readers' imaginations. When things are this way, we tend to order a lot of takeout and today our refrigerator was full of takeout containers, pizza slices wrapped in aluminum foil, and some things that were unidentifiable. Thank goodness it was trash day. One thing we saved, however, was that extra pint of white rice that came with our General Tsao's. That was destined to become dessert.

When things are hectic, the sweet tooth (teeth?) in each of us appears with a vengeance. Knowing this, while Chris was late coming home from school, I decided to use that leftover rice, mix it with cocoa powder, milk, a dash of this and a bit of that and created what I'm now calling Aztec Chocolate Rice Pudding. I'm not going to lie - it's pretty good for an experiment, and it certainly has a kick to it (next time, a little less cayenne for sure), but it worked. It worked well, in fact. Sweet, spicy and chocolaty - an interesting little pudding that isn't the most beautiful thing but sure hit the spot.

Note: This recipe filled four ramekins.

Ingredients:

2 cups low-fat milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 (next time definitely 1/4 but it's up to you!) teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups cooked rice

Heat all ingredients except the rice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring often, cook until bubbles start to form on the edges of the pan and the milk begins to steam. At that point, remove the cinnamon sticks and the vanilla bean pod. Then add the rice and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened, stirring often to avoid burning. Chill and serve when things are hectic.

Herbed White Bean and Sausage Stew

A chilly Sunday, the New York Times, and a pound of dried beans. We followed this recipe to the letter and had a delicious stew that made our house smell wonderful and satisfied us with its hearty goodness. But if we were to make this stew again, here's what we'd do differently: replace some of the water with chicken or vegetable stock, and double the amount of herbs that the recipe calls for. We think this would add some depth and intensify the great flavor of this stew. Added tip - we enjoyed a bit of grated Parmesan cheese on top!

Coq au Vin Our Way

Last week's attempts at making tarte tatin and aligot, both classically French dishes, inspired us to remain in France, as it were, and take a stab at coq au vin. Tom Colicchio and his purist attitude toward ingredients aside, we planned on using regular old chicken for our dish. And, since Amy doesn't care for mushrooms, there are none in our version. Thus, we give you "Coq au Vin Our Way."

We started by marinating the chicken parts (drumsticks and thighs) in wine for a couple of hours before the braising began. This helped intensify the rich wine flavor of the dish. Then we browned them (thought not long enough, it turns out) and braised them in the wine with some vegetables, bacon, chicken stock and herbs mixed in. A bit too much flour made our sauce a little thick but not terribly so.

We served our coq au vin with roasted potatoes and minted green beans. It was a hearty meal that was perfect for a fall weekend.

Cooks' Note:

A few days later, we realized our TiVo had taped Secrets of a Restaurant Chef for us (it knows us so well...) and it turns out the "secret" was coq au vin. If we had watched this before cooking, we would have floured the chicken to help it brown and not added the flour later. You decide, and let us know!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. frying chicken parts (we used drumsticks and thighs)

2 cups red wine

5 slices thickly-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons flour whisked with 2 tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

 Marinate the chicken in the wine for approximately two hours. Remove the chicken parts and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine for cooking later. Heat the oven to 375. In a roasting pan, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the bacon for about three minutes. Add the diced onion and chopped garlic and cook, stirring well, until onions are translucent, about four minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove all ingredients from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat to medium-high and brown the chicken on all sides in small batches, then set aside. Reduce heat to low and add the flour/butter mixture to the pan. Stir until the fat is absorved and the slowly pour in the reserved wine. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Return the chicken, onion, garlic and bacon to the pan. Add thyme sprigs, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 40 minutes.

Fall Feast Dessert: Apple Tarte Tatin served with Pumpkin Ice Cream

Sometimes creating a feast, such as our Fall Feast, is all about planning: planning the menu, planning the shopping list, planning time to shop and prep and cook, planning the table setting and decor. A person doesn't always have time to use original recipes for every single dish, nor should they have to. Somewhere in the "planning the menu" stage is research, or actually looking at some of those cookbooks one has on his or her shelves. For this particular dessert, we relied on Emeril and Williams (-Sonoma, that is).

Emeril Lagasse's take on the classic Apple Tarte Tatin, which was published in Food Network Favorites (2005) produced a sweet-tart, very caramel-icious dessert that was a nice change from apple pie. It was a bit time-consuming (making the caramel), but had its easy components (using frozen puff pastry as the top, well, technically bottom since you flip it). To make it ala mode, we made our own Pumpkin Ice Cream using the recipe in Williams-Sonoma Ice Cream manual. Also a bit time consuming, if one is making their own pumpkin puree (we did), but full of warm spice and pumpkin flavor with a hint of bourbon that paired very well with the apple tarte.

This brings us to an end of our week of Fall Feast posts. It surely was a feast, fit for the season as well as for the wonderful guests for whom we cooked it. To us foodies, nothing says "We love and appreciate you!" like a specially-made homecooked meal. So hey, Mom, Dad, Kate, Chris, Elizabeth...we love and appreciate you. And thanks for all the compliments to the cooks!

Fall Feast Extras: Bread and Veggies (or, where we cut corners)

Our Fall Feast needed a little rounding out. For instance, where is the vegetable? And how's about some bread? Here's where we cut a few corners for the sake of time and sanity...

For our vegetable dish, Chris made his famous "Sweet Carrots and Onions." In this "recipe," Chris cooked about a pound carrots cut into rounds and one large onion (chopped) in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of unsalted butter and a few tablespoons of granulated sugar. He covered the pan and cooked the vegetables over medium heat, stirring often, until the carrots begin to caramelize. This method makes carrots taste like candy. In fact, Amy's dad (who claims to hate carrots) had two helpings and pronounced them his favorite dish of the night!

A few weeks ago, Amy bought a cute pumpkin-and-maple-leaf silicone muffin pan at the Christmas Tree Shops for a mere $2.99. To make bread for the Fall Feast, she mixed up a batch of Jiffy Cornbread (yes, from a box!) and baked them in this pan. So cute!!!

Fall Feast Stuffing: Grandma B's Stuffing

Amy’s mother graciously offered to serve as “Guest Chef” and brought the stuffing to our Fall Feast. For what is a turkey dinner without stuffing? This recipe is the one her mother, Amy's grandma, taught her. Mom makes it in a slow cooker because there never seems to be room in the oven on Thanksgiving. Soft, full of spicy seasoning, and never dry, this one is a family favorite. Sure beats Stove Top! Thanks, Mom!

Ingredients:

1 stick salted butter

1/2 large onion, diced

1 1/2 large stalks of celery, chopped (include leaves if possible)

1 package (12) stale hamburger or hot dog rolls

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 -3 teaspoons Bell’s poultry seasoning, to taste

1 14.5-ounce can chicken broth

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add diced onions and chopped celery (including leaves), then the chicken broth. Cook over low heat until onions are clear and celery is soft. In a large stock pot, break the bread into ½-inch cubes, then add salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Mix well, then pour warm onion/celery mixture onto bread pieces and stir well. Grease the inside of an slow cooker with butter, cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Stir well, then continue to cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.

Fall Feast Potato: Aligot

We had never even heard of aligot before. Then one day, we were watching America's Test Kitchen (ATK) and they were making aligot and boy, did it sound delicious. Aligot is a dish from Southern France in which potatoes are mixed with cheese to produce a smooth, almost stretchy consistency. Sounds weird, but, it's potatoes and cheese...how can it be bad?

Since we have TiVo, we paused and re-wound and fast-forwarded through this particular episode of ATK until we were sure we had the recipe down. Then we decided to make them as the potato dish for our Fall Feast. Elizabeth, our 4-year-old niece, said they were "Cheesy!" and "Yummy!" Indeed, they were. And not too difficult to make. We loved them, but be forewarned...they are quite rich.

Here's the "recipe" we came up with, based on the show, to which we offer all credits.

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

1 tablespoon salt

water to cover and boil potatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt to taste

1 cup whole milk

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Peel the potatoes and cut them in 1/2-inch slices. Place them in a large pot with a tablespoon of salt. Add water to cover the potatoes over an inch. Bring to a boil and cook for fifteen minutes. Drain the water. Put the potatoes in a food processor with the minced garlic, salt to taste and the butter. Pulse a few times, add the milk, and pulse until smooth. Return the mixture to your pot and turn heat to medium. Slowly add the cheeses, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon while doing so, over a period of 3-5 minutes, until stretchy consistency is reached. Serve hot.