Bette à carde gratiné (Swiss Chard Gratin)

2 bunches chard leaves, chopped (about 8 cups packed or 2lbs)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
1½ cups milk
3 Tbsps flour
1 Tbsp + 2 tsps wholegrain mustard 
1½ cups grated Gruyère (6.3oz/180g)
Sea salt and black pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (0.8oz/22.5g)
2 to 3 Tbsps bread crumbs

SERVE WITH
Crusty bread

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Bring a  saucepan of salted water to boil. 
3. Thinly slice the reserved chard stems, add them to the water, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the leaves and continue cooking until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. 
4. Drain and allow to cool, then gently squeeze out the excess liquid and coarsely chop.
5. In a large pan heat oil and butter over medium heat. When butter has melted, whisk in the flour until blended and whisk until the flour cooks, or starts to brown. 
6. Slowly whisk in the milk. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the mustard and the Gruyère. 
7. Stir in the cooked chard and transfer to a buttered gratin dish. 
8. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and breadcrumbs. 
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling. 
10. Put under the broiler to get the top brown and crispy.
11. Put the hot potatoes onto a plate and spoon the gratin over them.
12. Serve immediately.

Gratin Italian sausage and kale

I love teasing people about kale. It's the new kid on the block and folks are still discovering it and getting that shiny new convert look when you tell them it's survival food (ie. people eat it when there's nothing left to eat). The truth is that 1) I like kale just fine and 2) it is not new food. It's been around for a long, long time because it's so hardy and reliable. Cook it right, and it's a sweet treat. But it does have a very strong flavor and not everyone is a fan, so if you want to serve kale to a finnicky table, match it with equally strong flavors. This dish is a cheesy saucy gooey warming dish with a lovely crunchy topping.

Some olive oil

1 lb fresh mild or hot Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled

⅓ cup dry white wine

2 bunches (about 1 pound) kale, stemmed and torn into large pieces

½ cup (4oz/114gr) + 3 Tbsps (1.5oz/42gr) butter, melted

⅓ cup flour

2 cups milk

8oz fresh goat cheese or feta

3oz freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 Tbsp minced fresh herbs (such as a combination of parsley, oregano and basil)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F degrees.
2. In a large stainless steel sauté pan, heat the oil and cook the sausage, breaking it up. Cook until browned (usually when the moisture has evaporated). Remove any excess fat.
3. Add the wine scraping up the fond. Continue to cook until the wine reduces and is mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. 
4. Decrease the heat and stir in the kale, one handful at a time. Mix in the kale and cook until it begins to wilt and turn a bright green. Don't worry about overcooking the kale; it is impossible, unless you burn it! Remove from heat and set the pan aside.
5. Meanwhile, dump the bread crumbs in a medium sized bowl.
6. Melt all the butter in a saucepan. When melted, put 3 Tbsps of it into the breadcrumb bowl.
7. Into the remaining butter, whisk in the flour; continue wisking until starting to brown. Add the milk, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a sauce.
8. Add the crumbled goat cheese to the roux and continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
9. Pour the sauce into the sausage and kale and let sit 5 minutes to allow any more fond to lift. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond and mix the sauce evenly in the sausage and kale.
10. Spoon the mixture into a shallow, 2 quart gratin dish.
11. To the breadcrumb and butter, add parmesan and minced fresh herbs. Mix thoroughly, then evenly distribute over the kale and sausage to form the topping.
12. Bake the gratin until the topping is golden-brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes (briefly broil at this point if not browned enough).
13. Cool slightly before serving with crusty bread if eating as a main dish.

Pesto Mac and Cheese

Some may feel that toying with a classic is aberrant, but I think this tastes pretty darned good! You can also omit the pesto just for a regular old tasty mac&cheese.

8oz (225g) dry chunky pasta like macaroni, fusilli, etc
2 (1oz/28gr) + 2 (1oz/28gr) Tbsps butter
¾ cups (75g) panko breadcrumbs
1 small onion (4oz/115g)
1 Tbsp flour
¼ tsp dry mustard
⅛ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1½ cups milk
1 cup (about 2.5 oz) grated sharp cheddar
1 cup (about 2.5 oz) grated gruyère cheese
Optional 1.5 oz chèvre cheese
2 Tbsps to ¼ cup pesto

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Boil the pasta in some salted water until just al dente; tender but firm (it will cook more when baking, and mushy pasta isn't great).
3. Meanwhile, in a hot pan, melt 2 Tbsps of the butter and mix in the breadcrumbs, stirring until evenly combined, and set aside.
4. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsps of butter and cook the onion until perfectly tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Blend in the flour, mustard, pepper and salt.
6. Stir in the milk and whisk until it thickens into a sauce. 
7. Remove for the heat source and stir in the cheese until well combined.
8. Add the pesto and combine, followed by the pasta. Mix until the pasta is uniformly covered.
9. Pour the pasta into the baking dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the surface.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is toasted and golden.

Célerie gratiné

Celery isn't one of my go-to vegetables. I usually only need a stalk or two and then it sits in refrigerator until it turns into a putrid liquid. Not really. Well, maybe once. Anyway, this recipe is a great way of using up the rest of the celery before it transforms into compost.

1 bunch celery (1lb to 1lb 8oz), including leaves, chopped
1½ tsp salt
2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter
2 Tbsps flour
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups milk
½ cup breadcrumbs (55g)
¼ cup (¾ oz/20gr) Gruyère cheese

¼ cup chopped chives or 3 chopped scallions (45 to 60g)
2 Tbsps chopped parsley

1. In a skillet combine the celery and salt. Add water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is completely gone. The celery should be  totally cooked. Dump into a plate and set aside.
2. In the hot skillet, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour, nutmeg and pepper, whisking until it starts to turn brown. Add the milk and whisk until it's smooth, then add the celery and cook until the sauce becomes creamy and thick. Taste and season with salt.
3. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, chives and parsley. At this point, either leave the celery mix in the skillet or dump it into a gratin dish or casserole. Sprinkle the cheesy breadcrumbs on top.
4. Set the oven to broil. Put the dish in the oven and broil until the top is golden.

Oven-Fried Chicken With Almonds

There's nothing really subtle or refined about this recipe but it is tasty and quick and you can prepare the mix beforehand (although, since the ingredients are fresh, the mix does have a shelf-life and should be refrigerated or frozen). It uses fresh ingredients instead of powdered this and dried that, which I like a lot in my recipes.

 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved

1⁄4 cup olive oil

1 dash black pepper, ground

1⁄4 tsp thyme, dried

1 tsp salt

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

2 Tbsps fresh parsley, chopped

1⁄4 cup almonds, finely chopped

1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1⁄2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pound the chicken breasts to a 1⁄2 inch thickness and cut them into 12 pieces (or just keep them whole and make sure to use a meat thermometre - chicken is cooked at 160°F).
3. In a medium bowl, stir bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, almonds, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme and pepper. Pour oil onto a plate. Dip the chicken into the oil and then into the bread crumb mixture to coat.
4. Place chicken on a cookie sheet. Do not move or turn chicken over during baking. Cook for 20 minutes, until juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced with the tip of a knife, or until a meat thermometre reads 165°F.
5. Serve immediately.

Easy, Elegant Broiled Salmon - Broiled Salmon with Mustard and Crisp Dilled Crust

I am still amazed at how easy cooking is, if you have the right recipe. This is such a tasty recipe and it is quick and simple to make. The first time I made it was for dinner on Christmas Eve at my parent's this past Christmas, when it was just my parents, Ben and Myself for dinner. The salmon was scrumptious, although I did have to make some changes to the recipe.

Generally speaking it is best to have salmon with the skin on - it seems to be more moist - but I've also prepared it with skinned salmon cut into individual portions with equal success. Use the foil as suggested in the recipe - the salmon, with or without skin, will stick to the pan and dry out faster.

This is from Cook's Illustrated with, as usual, some refinements on my part.

NOTE - if you're cooking individual portions of fish, reduce the cooking time. Last time I made it this way the fish was a bit dry.

1 cup Panko

4 oz plain high-quality potato chips, crushed into rough 1/8-inch pieces, about 1 cup

6 Tbsps. chopped fresh dill leaves

1 whole side of salmon fillet , about 3 1/2 lbs., pinbones removed and belly fat trimmed

1 tsp. mild vegetable oil

3/4 tsp. salt

Ground black pepper

3 Tbsps. Dijon mustard

1. Adjust the first oven rack to an upper position, about 8 inches from the upper element, and then the second rack to one position lower; heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toast the bread crumbs evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast it on the lower rack to freshen it up, briefly, until light brown, shaking the pan once or twice. Toss together the bread crumbs, the crushed potato chips, and the dill in small bowl; set aside.
3. Increase the oven setting to broil. Cut piece of heavy-duty foil 6 inches longer than the fillet. Fold the foil lengthwise in thirds and place it lengthwise on a rimmed baking sheet; position the salmon lengthwise on the foil, allowing for the excess foil to overhang the baking sheet. Rub the fillet evenly with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Broil the salmon on the upper rack until the surface is spotty brown and the outer 1/2-inch of the thick end is opaque when gently flaked with a paring knife, 9 to 11 minutes.
5. Remove it from the oven and spread evenly with the mustard; press the bread crumb mixture onto the fish, using the mustard as the glue. Return the fish to the lower rack and continue broiling until the crust is deep golden brown, about 1 minute longer.