Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Balsamic vinegar is a product of Modena, a province of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. True aceto balsamico requires specific sweet grapes produced in Modena which are aged in a succession of barrels made of different woods. The process can take years. For this reason it is very expensive. Most of the balsamic vinegar available today is mass produced using techniques that simulate the aging process. The bottle I got from Trader Joe’s does state on the label that it was barrel aged, but because the price was reasonable, I am assuming that it was not in barrels for any length of time. I use balsamic vinegar in salad dressings and sauteed cabbage or sprinkled over cooked greens. I love the sweetness and depth of flavor of this vinegar. It is the most assertive of all vinegars and to really experience it’s goodness try sprinkling it on strawberries for a wonderful sensation in your mouth.

I found this recipe for Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Wild Mushrooms in an old issue of Gourmet. The article was written by David Rosengarten so I knew the results would be guarenteed. David Rosengarten is one of my favorite people in the food world. He is the author of his own cookbook called Taste and the author of The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook. For a time he had a program called Taste on the Food Network and it was one of the best productions they have ever shown. It was intelligent and insightful and David’s passion and credibility were evident with every episode. I wish the Food Network had not “dumbed down” so much. But that is another story.

We had this chicken for dinner last night and it was wonderful. There was so much depth to the flavors that it is hard to describe – woodsy and earthy from the porcini mushrooms, sweet and assertive from the vinegar, mellow from the red wine and down home good from the bacon and sauteed chicken. We are having it again tonight and I have a feeling that it will have improved with it’s rest in the refrigerator. As a matter of fact, it would make a good “do ahead” dish for guests. I served it with plain rice to soak up the juices.

BALSAMIC VINEGAR CHICKEN WITH WILD MUSHROOMS
1 ounce (about 1 cup) dried porcini mushrooms
6 chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry ( I skinned them)
all-purpose flour for dredging
1/4 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1/3 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fruity red wine, such as Beaujolais
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup drained and chopped canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon arrowroot dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water
minced fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves for garnish
In a small bowl let the porcini soak in 1 cup boiling water for 10 minutes, or until they are soft, and drain them well, reserving the liquid. Season the chicken with pepper and dredge it in the flour, shaking off the excess. In a large heavy skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until it is golden and crisp, transfer it with a slotted spoon to paper towels, and let it drain. Add to the skillet the chicken, skin side down, and cook it, turning it occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until it is golden and crisp. Transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon to a plate, season it with salt, and discard the fat in the skillet. Add the oil to the skillet and in it cook the garlic over low heat, stirring for 1 minute. Add the reserved porcini liquid, the wine, the broth, and 3 tablespoons of the vinegar and boil the mixture for 4 minutes. Add the arrowroot mixture in a stream, stirring, stir in the tomatoes, and add the chicken, turning it to coat it with the sauce. Simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, stir in the porcini and the bacon, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the mixture with the parsley. Serves 6.
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While cleaning out the back of an old closet for renovations, I found a small recipe box that I put together years ago. It was done shortly after we bought our 600 square foot Lake Lure cottage in 1984. We fell in love with this lake from the first time we saw it and when a realtor showed us a modest cottage with a huge screened in porch, we knew it would be ours. Our son Michael was seven years old at the time. He did not know how to swim, but an old speed boat came with the cottage and after watching all of the water skiers on the lake, Michael said he wanted to learn to ski. We had grown up on lakes in Michigan and had always skied. But a prerequisite to skiing is knowing how to swim. So he learned to swim and that was the beginning of wonderful summers of swimming, boating and water skiing with all of our friends and their children. Our small cottage was full most summer weekends. Because we had only two small bedrooms, each morning the living room floor and the screened in porch were full of sleeping bags containing exhausted kids. The trip to the coffee pot in the kitchen was a delicate dance, bobbing and weaving between the outstretched arms and far flung legs of deeply sleeping children. The trip to the top of the boathouse with freshly brewed coffee was much easier and the view was enough to quell any doubts about our decision to invest our modest savings in this most beautiful of places.

Feeding the crowd was sometimes a challenge, but one that I enjoyed. That’s why finding my old recipe box was such a treat. There were recipes in it for things I haven’t made in years; Frogmore Stew, Quick Breakfast Rolls, Paella Salad, Quick Coconut-Pecan Upside-Down Cake and this recipe for Almond Puff Coffee Cake. I remember liking this recipe very much, but it was more suited to the adults than the children because of the distinct almond flavor. While they were munching cereal we would dig into this lucsious coffee cake and plan another sunny day on the lake.

Now another generation of children are enjoying the cottage and the lake. We have a lot more room now. But you know what? I miss the close quarters and stepping over sleeping kids. Shhh. Don’t tell my husband I said that or he will think all of our hard work was not necessary.

The coffee cake is really very simple. It is just a pastry crust base with a pate a choux topping that is baked and then drizzled with a confectioners sugar glaze.

ALMOND PUFF COFFEE CAKE

For the pastry base:
1/4 cup cold butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbls water

Mix flour and salt and pulse in food processor to combine. Add butter cubes and pulse until butter is size of small peas. Add water and pulse until dough comes together. Form into ball and place on ungreased baking sheet. Pat into a 12″x 3″ strip.

For Pate a Choux:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add water and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and flour. Return to low heat and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat again and add eggs. Stir until mixture is smooth. Spread over pastry strip. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees until top is crisp and brown. Cool.

For Glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 Tbls soft butter
3/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp warm water
2 oz. sliced almonds, toasted

Mix ingredients except almonds until smooth and spread over top of cake when cool. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Serves 6.

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There is a new variety of potato in the supermarkets that I have not seen before. It is called Klondike Rose and it is a red skinned Idaho potato. The flesh is a golden color and it has a buttery taste. It sounded like the perfect vehicle for a potato gratin because the potatoes would hold their shape when arranged decoratively in the dish. Russet potatoes fall apart when cooked and are better suited for baking or mashing and because they have a high starch content make excellent french fries, potato pancakes, or galettes. The Klondike Rose is a waxy potato and is good roasted, boiled, or in au gratin dishes. When I peeled these potatoes they indeed were very golden and it was easy to slice them thinly. They held up well, but I have adjusted the recipe because I cooked them for 8 minutes on top of the stove and they did fall apart somewhat. I tucked the broken potatoes under the perfect rounds which I overlapped to make the dish look better. Cook for only 3 minutes on the stove top because they are in the oven long enough to finish cooking. This was a very satisfying dish – shades of Patricia Wells in Provence.

POMMES DE TERRE AU GRATIN

2 pounds Klondike Rose potatoes ( or any waxy potato ), peeled and sliced thinly
1 chicken bouillon cube and enough water to cover potatoes
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
Fresh thyme sprigs, chopped
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put thinly sliced potatoes in large sauce pan. Cover with water and add bouillon cube. Bring to boil over medium high heat and cook for three minutes. Drain potatoes and cool slightly. Combine rest of ingredients, excluding 1 ounce of Swiss cheese and breadcrumbs, in large bowl. Toss potatoes in mixture. Arrange coated potatoes in buttered au gratin dish, overlapping them slightly. Pour contents of bowl over potatoes and sprinkle top with remaining grated cheese and the breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes.

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