My Favorite Squash Gratin: From Fine Cooking

Zucchini and Summer Squash Gratin with Parmesan and Fresh Thyme

This may be my favorite summer vegetable dish. It effortlessly combines the most delicious bounty of the season and it tastes divine to boot. The  addition of caramelized onions on the bottom is a stroke of pure genius. This is great served with any robust meat dish, and can be played around with by adding different sorts of herbs or cheeses. Multicolored fresh heirloom tomatoes are another distinctive addition. It is gorgeous on the table and is an easy knock-out when trying to impress the picky. 

I suspect it would be quite pleasing with goat cheese on top as well. If you are in possession of a decent oven, the stated 60 minutes cooking time is a little excessive - keep an eye on it and pull it at 40 if it is bubbly delicious looking enough for your needs. 

(Yes, I make this a lot). 

Created by Susie Middleton. 

For the onions:

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 medium onions (14 oz. total), thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

To assemble the gratin:

1-1/4 lb. ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3/4 lb. (about 2 small) zucchini or other green summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias

3/4 lb. (about 2 small) yellow summer squash or golden zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias

3 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. coarse salt

1-1/4 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To cook the onions: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until limp and golden brown, about 20 min. Reduce the heat to medium-low if they're browning too quickly. Add the garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 min. Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish (preferably oval). Let cool.

To assemble the gratin: Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard the collected juices. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini and squash slices with 1-1/2 Tbs. of the olive oil, 2 Tbs. of the thyme, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Reserve half of the cheese for the top of the gratin. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the thyme over the onions in the gratin. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish and sprinkle with a little of the cheese. Next, lay a row of zucchini, overlapping the tomatoes by two-thirds, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat with a row of squash, and then repeat rows, sprinkling each with cheese, until the gratin is full.

Season lightly with pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Drizzle the remaining 1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil over all. Combine the reserved cheese with the remaining 1 Tbs. thyme and sprinkle this over the whole gratin. Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 65 to 70 min. Let cool for at least 15 min. before serving.

From Fine Cooking 33, pp. 24-29

June 1, 1999

Jerk chicken, mm mmm

Jerk chicken is one of the best summer dishes I can imagine. More interesting then plain ol' BBQ chicken (and easier to execute right if you don't wanna fire up the smoker,) it's got a distinctive smoky and spicy flavor that pairs perfectly with summer side dishes and hot-ass weather. This recipe from Laurent Tourondel in Food and Wine is pretty reliable.

Ingredients
8 scallions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 Scotch bonnet chiles, chopped (I used jalapenos).
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons ground allspice
Salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Three 4-pound chickens, each cut into 8 pieces (I used one chicken).
Freshly ground pepper




Take all these ingredients, cut them up, and put them in a food processor. You want it to be a paste, but not a soup. Once that's done, put the chicken pieces in a big old plastic bag, put in the marinade, and let it rest in the fridge. A day's marinating is best, but 10 hours or so (as I did) will produce tasty results.

Now, get yourself a grill (or a grill pan, I won't judge you). We did it with charcoal and it tasted just plain delicious. Grill the chicken over moderate heat until the skin is charred and the chicken cooked through and juicy. Bam. You're done.



I served this with some roasted and various squashes (and I do like saying Various Squashes). I tossed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme, as well as some red onion, then roasted them for around 15 minutes or until everything was tender and ever so slightly burny.



We also had fresh corn salad with cumin-lime dressing, diced avocado, and tomato slices. I love summer salads like this: I'm always waiting with bated breath until the fresh corn comes in. Probably gotta get out more.

That's all for now...more recipes coming up!

- Faine

Dorie Greenspan's Scallops with Grilled Nectarines and Corn Salad

Grilled Scallops and Nectarines with Corn and Tomato Salad - Dorie Greenspan




This is an incredible recipe, published in last August's Bon Appétit by the marvelous Dorie Greenspan. I made it for the first time last summer for my parents, who were incredulous as hell when I pitched the idea. "Try it," I told them, "grilled fruit is not nearly as mysterious as it seems," so I made it and they did. It was delicious. The tender scallops paired perfectly with the tangy and slightly sweet corn salad, and the grilled nectarines developed a divine caramelized sugar flavor. I can think of nothing I'd rather make on one of those crazy-hot Sacramento evenings, when the though of eating anything heavy and fatty is terror inducing.

I admit, dear reader: I made this out of season. Forwith I have sinned and used Chilean nectarines. I am not particularly repentant. I am willing summer to get here desperately. I step outside every day and think "It has got to be summer by now," and New Orleans always keeps me on the hook. I made this dish because although it did not taste as good as it would be in the middle of July, it was good enough. Locavores are politely invited to shove it on this one.

Grilled Scallops and Nectarines with Corn and Tomato Salad Bon Appétit | August 2008

by Dorie Greenspan

Yield: Makes 6 servings
ingredients
Dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1/8 teaspoon (generous) piment d'Espelette or chili powder
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel*

Salad:
24 large sea scallops, side muscles removed, patted dry
3 firm but ripe nectarines (white or yellow), each cut into 6 wedges
Olive oil, for brushing
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from 2 large ears of corn
24 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
Fleur de sel

Basil Puree:
3/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel
preparation


First, whisk together the lime juice, peel, oil, and salt in a little bowl. (I have no piment d' Espelette and am not sure where I might get it.) Cayenne pepper is a decent substitute. Make the basil puree, which is eminently simple. Just chop basil coarsely and puree with oil and salt until smooth.



Prepare a barbeque or grill pan on medium high heat. Brush the scallops and sliced nectarines with oil, add salt and pepper, and grill until the scallops are cooked through. On this occasion, I added some leftover shrimp to the mix, and I think they made a nice addition.



Grill the nectarines until they are a little bit charred.


Next, make the corn salad. Cut the kernels off the cobs, then eat the remnants of the kernels on the cobs (if you are like me). Toss the corn and as much dressing as you feel is required in a medium bowl, then toss the halved cherry tomatoes with the rest of the dressing in another. Season both with salt and pepper. Dorie Greenspan says it is best to scatter the corn around the plated scallops and nectarines. I am lazier and simply tried to arrange them on top. I do not think this would affect dinner in any meaningful way unless you are hosting a Michelin inspector or something.

Arrange the tomatoes and nectarines on the plates, then drizzle the remaining dressing and the basil puree over the plates. Add some more basil and fleur de sel. Serve with a good white wine. Consider moving to an entirely warm climate where nectarines and scallops are magically in season at all times. Take me with you.



I served this with some mixed mushrooms on the side, mostly because I had a jones for them. I think this was not a bad combination, but not by any means necessary either. I love those Mycopia mushroom packs at Raleys. I love getting the sensation that I am eating space aliens.

I Love the California State Fair

I've been a Sacramento resident for about five or six years now, so I've adopted the California State Fair as one of my very favorite local traditions. It's big, hot, smelly, and populated by California-style rednecks. It's also absolutely fabulous.

The midway is fantastic, populated by See The Giant Cow booths, disturbing foot massage machines, and hordes and hordes of very large people munching on funnel cakes and Blocks O' Curly Fries. This is the place to grab a Merlino's Fruit Freeze (if they're available) or a frozen lemonade, then circulate through and watch people attempt not to barf on the roller coasters and the myriad other implements of destruction people who are not me love to ride on.

Move on to the farm animal barns, where you can look at tremendous bulls, ridiculously adorable alpacas, and angry looking sheep for as long as your heart (or your olfactory glands) desire. Once you're done observing the living, breathing livestock, you can easily mosey over to the smokehouse and BBQ area - the turkey legs are delicious. I haven't taken a rack of ribs inside the pig area and waved them around yet, but you can bet it's on my agenda.

Then perhaps to the model garden and farm, where all manner of lush California produce is man-handled by small children and not so reverent passerby. I like looking into the tanks of trout, catfish, and sturgeon provided by the Fish and Game Department and imaging how they would be grilled.

I love the wine area, although I technically can't partake in the wine. It's cool, excellently air-conditioned, and generally a wonderful place to sit and get out of the brutal Sacramento heat that seems to descend on the city at the exact time of the State Fair. Just for God's sake avoid the freezer-burned cheese plates they try to push at you at the bar.

As for the food...I admit, I'm not a huge fry-a-lator fan. However, this being California, there's a lot of options that don't involve deep fat frying. Not that we don't have fried Snickers bars or fried Pepsi or fried Krispy-Kreme and chicken sandwiches at Charlie Chicken....




Bloomin' Onion (2006) - Pretty good and definitely bigger then my head, at least when spread out on a plate. However, the inside of the onion was not completely fried through! Encountering grainy batter in the middle of your artery-busting onion is just a total buzz kill. Boo.

Deep-Fried Snickers Bar (2005) - I was prepared to hate this. Too bad it's friggin' delicious. The bar melts to a silky consistency, and with the combination of the crunchy batter and the raspberry sauce, it's like deep fried crack. You have to try it at least once. The Scottish are on to something.

Grilled Corn On the Cob - Simple, easy, ubiquitous. And tasty. Rolled in seasoning salt, it's the way summer oughta taste.

Merlino's Fruit Freeze - Merlino's fruit freeze is a Sacramento institution, making fruit ices that aren't quite slushes and aren't quite solid and are all delicious, with intense flavors and a perfect consistency. I always order a big cup with one scoop of strawberry, one of lemon, then mush them together for the Best Frozen Strawberry Lemonade ever. However, Merlino's was NOT AT THE FAIR THIS YEAR! (2007) My heart is broken.

Deep-Fried Artichoke Hearts: Blah. Soggy batter and insipid insides. How the hell did the California State Fair of all places and all locations screw this up?

Frozen Yogurt with Fresh Strawberries: Tasty all right, but nothing particularly special or specific to the fair. I need more pizzaz.

Smoked Turkey Leg - Yummy and tender, although the barbecue sauce is too damn sweet. (But my roots are in North Carolina.) However, 10 bucks a turkey leg? Are these organically raised rare-breed platinum plated turkeys or what?

Margarita - I am underage and thus have no idea what this tastes like. (It was good.) I will always treasure my father going off on the margarita guy because the big phallus-like cups the drinks are served in are "stupid."

Laotian Style Papaya Salad - Okay, this isn't really traditional fair food. However, it was excellent, made with lots of extra fish sauce (this is the Laotian bit) and incendiary amounts of chili pepper.

This year (2007), the food we tried wasn't particularly special. Either the thrill is gone, the food is really going downhill, or we're just not ordering correctly.

On the agenda for next year: fried catfish, chitterlings, finally try at least a bit of that amazing Krispy Kreme Fried Chicken sandwich. Because it is there.