Dayrecipe Food Community

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 3 hr

Makes 8 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1(8-lb) capon or roasting chicken
• 3/4stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2teaspoons salt
• 1/2teaspoon black pepper
• 4whole lemons, quartered lengthwise
• 1cup water
• 2teaspoons red-currant jellyspecial equipment:kitchen string; an instant-read thermometer
• garnish:fresh flat-leaf parsley and thyme sprigs

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375°F.

Rinse capon inside and out and discard any excess fat from cavity. Pat capon dry and season cavity with salt and pepper. Put in a large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.

While capon is standing, stir together butter, zest, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Turn capon so neck cavity is nearest you. To loosen breast skin, lift neck flap and work your fingers gently between skin and flesh, being careful not to tear skin. Slide your fingers down breast and along both sides all the way to thighs. Put half of butter mixture evenly under skin of each breast, then rub outside of capon to distribute evenly.

Place 6 lemon wedges in cavity of bird and tie legs together with string.

Roast capon in middle of oven, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes, 1 1/2 hours. Skim most of fat from pan, then add remaining 10 lemon wedges to pan, tossing with pan juices. Continue roasting capon, basting every 15 minutes, until thermometer inserted 2 inches into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 45 minutes more.

Tilt capon in pan to pour out juices in cavity, then transfer capon and lemon wedges to a carving platter and let stand 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Do not clean pan.

Skim fat from pan juices and straddle roasting pan across 2 burners. Add water and jelly and deglaze pan by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

Carve capon and serve with sauce.

Happily, this fish dish can be made a day ahead. Simply remove it from the refrigerator and arrange 2 hours before serving. Even better, the sauce also can be made 2 days ahead and kept, well covered, in the refrigerator. It’s from Mexico, One Plate at a Time (Scribner), by Rick Bayless, the celebrated Chicago chef and cookbook author.

Makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the grill and the salmon
• 1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 7 cups diced (1/2 inch) ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 cup pitted, roughly sliced green olives (preferably manzanillo olives)
• 1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
• 3 pickled jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
• salt, to taste
• 6 salmon steaks (7 to 8 ounces each), about 1 inch thick

DIRECTIONS 1. Prepare the sauce: Place oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the tomatoes, chopped thyme, lemon zest, and half of the olives, capers, and peppers. Simmer briskly, stirring, for about 5 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in 1 cup water and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt. Cool.

2. Preheat a gas grill to medium-high or light a charcoal fire and let it burn just until the coals are covered with gray ash and very hot. Reduce the heat on one side of the gas grill to medium-low or set up the charcoal grill for indirect cooking by banking all of the coals to one side, leaving the other half of the grill empty. Set the cooking grate in place, cover the grill and let the grate heat for 5 minutes.

3. Oil the grill and both sides of each salmon steak; sprinkle fish with salt. Cook the salmon over the hottest part of the grill for about 4 minutes, until nicely browned underneath. Carefully flip over the fish onto the cooler side of the grill; cook 2 to 4 minutes more for medium-rare.

4. Spoon the sauce into a deep platter and nestle the fish in it. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour to bring together the flavors of the fish and the sauce.

5. To serve, sprinkle the fish with remaining olives, capers, and peppers; garnish with the thyme sprigs. Serve immediately.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

Makes 6 (side dish) servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 2garlic cloves, smashed withflat side of a knife
• 2tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2cups shelled fresh peas(2 to 2 1/2 lb in pods) )
• 2/3cup water
• 1teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/2teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS Cook garlic in butter in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until garlic turns pale golden, about 2 minutes.

Add peas, water, and thyme and simmer briskly, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and peas are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in salt and season with pepper.

Cooks’ note:

• You can substitute 1 (10-oz) package frozen peas (not thawed) for shelled fresh peas. Cooking time will be shorter.

Buttered potatoes accompany this simple, sophisticated dish at Gugelhof restaurant.

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 6tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled butter
• 1very large leek (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
• 1carrot, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
• 4trout, boned, butterflied
• 2teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 2bay leaves, broken in half
• 1cup johannisberg riesling

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced leek and carrot strips; sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Open fish flat and arrange skin side down in large roasting pan. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme. Top with leek and carrot mixture and bay leaves. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Pour Riesling over fish.

Bake fish until just opaque in center, about 15 minutes. Transfer fish and vegetables to plates. Tent with foil to keep warm. Pour pan juices into heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon thyme and whisk just until butter is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over fish and serve.

This rich side dish could easily stand on its own as an elegant meatless main course.

Makes 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 6tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 8large shallots, sliced (about 2 cups)
• 6garlic cloves, minced
• 2pounds assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as stemmed shiitake, crimini, and oyster), sliced
• 2tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4cup madeira
• 17.25-ounce jar roasted peeled whole chestnuts, halved (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3/4cup whipping cream
• chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender and golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and stir until melted. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender and brown, about 10 minutes. Add thyme and stir 1 minute. Add Madeira and simmer until almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Add chestnuts and whipping cream and simmer until cream thickens and coats mushroom mixture, about 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with chives.