People sometimes ask where I get my inspiration to prepare new dishes. Cookbooks are the obvious choice, but so are cooking shows.
I enjoy Bravo’s "Top Chef" because it shows the nitty-gritty of being a professional chef. There is no glamour, the men and women have to think on their feet and come up with dishes that appeal to the eye and taste buds.
While channel surfing several months ago, I happened upon "Take Home Chef." The presenter is Curtis Stone, who hails from Australia and honed his skills at a number of restaurants in London.
He recently prepared a pork dish with proscuitto I immediately knew Edward and I would like. On another program, he met a fellow Aussie and they began to compare their respective Mums’ recipes for Pavlova. This famous dessert was named in honor of the great ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is made with meringue, which resembles the fluffy white tutu Pavlova wore in her most famous solo, "The Dying Swan."
Now that the weather is behaving, I thought I would build a mid-spring dinner around Stone’s two dishes along with an idea or two of my own.
Begin with a simple green salad. A toss of mache, baby arugula, endive and romaine will get the taste buds moving. A loaf of crusty bread with softened sweet butter may be served with the salad and pork. As for wine, a Pinot Noir would go well, as would a light white Rhone.
Fiddle Head Ferns with Shiitake Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1/2 pound of fiddle head ferns, thoroughly washed and cleaned
- 1 pound of shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean with paper towels and sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup of dry white wine
Directions:
- Heat the oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Add the shallot and sautéfor three to five minutes. Add the fiddle head ferns and mushrooms. Season with the salt and pepper. Sautéfor about five minutes or just until the mushrooms give up their liquid. Add the wine and blend well.
- Serves four.
Pork Tenderloin wrapped in Proscuitto
Ingredients:
- 1 pork tenderloin, weighing about 1-1/2 pounds
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 slices of imported Proscuitto di Parma, sliced razor thin
- Olive oil, for drizzling
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Dry the pork with paper towels. Season both sides with the pepper. Wrap with the Proscuitto. Using a silicon brush or paintbrush, brush with the oil.
- Place in a shallow baking dish and roast for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness.
- Serves four.
Pavlova
Ingredients:
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 cup of superfine sugar
- Butter, for coating the pan
- Flour, for coating the pan
- 1 cup of heavy cream, chilled
- 2 to 3 cups of strawberries, sliced and sprinkled with granulated sugar
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
- Beat the egg whites and salt together with a hand-held electric mixer until they hold a stiff peak. Add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
- Butter and lightly flour an eight-inch springform pan. Fill generously with the meringue mixture, spreading higher around the edges than in the center to form a depression.
- Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the meringue is firm and lightly browned. The Pavlova will remain moist inside. Cool slightly, unmold and slide onto a serving plate. Cool completely.
- Lightly whip the cream. Just before serving, spread the Pavlova with the whipped cream and top with the strawberries.
- Serves four to six.
