Quick Food

     In the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas I like to plan my festive menus. In the mean time, overfed by my imagination, I aspire to eat well without fuss. While I shall share soon potential Christmas dinner tips - anticipate foie gras, beef Wellington, a lovely filet béarnaise and a Christmas log - my topic today is quick food. I mean to reach for easily available ingredients, preferably already stocked in my pantry, refrigerator or freezer. High on the list are anything with eggs, and pasta sauce to go along with my reserve of dried goods. Quick food does not compromise health and is nurtured by memory. It is the easiest and simplest of meals: one that a neophyte can put together with no fear of blunder.

      The first suggestion, cream baked egg, was a favorite first course at my grandmother’s table. Unlike the omelet, which requires lighting the stove, a forbidden task at 4 years old, baked egg only needs a turn of the oven dial. And then of course the magical transformation of the white turning opalescent happens just in front of attentive eyes in a very attractive television like format. The second recipe is the most basic. My husband insists that it is the pasta to order when testing an Italian restaurant. For the improvised and improvident cook, it is the easiest to put together, as it relies only on dried goods. For the third, the inspiration comes from my college years in Paris. I was living rue de la Collégiale, and there was a Japanese restaurant with a very cheap daily menu. They served a bowl of rice on which luxuriated a fan of red tuna slices with a few scallions. I had never eaten raw fish, and when I tried to emulate the rich oily taste of the dish, I ruined it all by using lemon on top. My version takes into account people who dislike raw fish. The salmon is barely cooked using the technique Mrs. Pic’s anis coastal fish utilized. To complete the meal, add a salad for the first two and some steamed frozen vegetables. The measures are good for one serving.

Cream baked egg

Ingredients:

1 egg per person

1 teaspoon snipped chives

1 tablespoon cream or cream cheese

Smidge of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Material:

Individual soufflé dish

     Preheat the toaster oven at 360F (180C).

     Butter the soufflé dish.

     Crack the egg carefully inside. Add the chives and cream. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.

     Bake for 10 minutes or until the white solidifies.

     Eat immediately with a little bread and butter.

Simplest spaghettis

Ingredients:

A small ring worth of dry whole-wheat spaghettis

A few drops of lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese grated

Material:

1 4-quart saucepan

Pair of tongues

Colander

       Fill the 4-quart saucepan with water about half way. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, the lemon juice and the salt. Bring to a strong boil.

       Drop the pasta in the pot and cook for about 10 minutes once the boil resumes. Turn the pasta at the beginning using the set of tongues. When you reach the end of the cooking time, taste one strand. It should be firm but cooked.

       Strain, but reserve about one spoonful of the cooking water.

       Chop the garlic. Lower the gas and place the pot back on the burner. Add the oil and the garlic. Do not let the garlic color. After about three minutes, add the cooked spaghettis. Season with the pepper flakes.

      Serve immediately with the grated Parmesan cheese.

Low temperature sashimi on rice

Ingredients:

4 oz wild salmon

1 tablespoon Ponzu sauce

1 teaspoon Wasabi

1 fresh ginger slice

½ cup sushi rice

Sesame and sea vegetable seasonings

Material

Rice cooker

Ovenproof dish

       Preheat the oven at 160F (65C)

       Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Place in the rice cooker. Add ¾ of a cup water and select the Sushi program. It runs for 45 minutes.

       Ten minutes before the end of the rice cooker cycle, place the wild salmon in the ovenproof dish. Pour the teaspoon Wasabi in the Ponzu sauce and sprinkle over the fish. Grate the ginger on top and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven. Following the grain of the fish cut the salmon in sushi like slices.

Place on top of a bowl of rice sprinkled with the Japanese seasonings. Add some Ponzu sauce to taste.