An Italian In My Kitchen

About Italian men. I’ve found it’s a good thing to have one on your arm every now and then and even better to have one in your kitchen.

The Italian in my kitchen tonight is David Trigiani and we’re cooking up an impromptu dinner party. Like most of the dinners we “cook” together, I am gathering ingredients, sharpening knives, washing, trimming and organizing vegetables and trying to anticipate his every culinary need. Like a surgeon calling “scalpel”, he says “whisk” and I stand ready to place the tool in his hand. He is a minimalist; I am a mess… but tonight my kitchen is his alone. With fewer dishes and utensils than it takes me to make a grilled cheese sandwich and re-heat soup, David creates a delicious dinner for five.

To keep his volatile Italian sensibilities in check, I’ve learned how to create peace and harmony in our shared space. Good Italian olive oil (unacceptable olive oil is the most serious of all infractions), Parmigiano-Reggiano (buy a chunk…no pre-shredded cheese, please), coarse sea salt or Kosher salt, peppercorns and a grinder. Oh, and did I mention a pod or two of garlic? I always keep high quality Balsamic on hand, but after a heart procedure, David travels with a bottle in his jacket pocket to minimize high stress situations - like the host not having the appropriate quality Balsamic...or horror of all horrors, none at all. With these simple ingredients on hand, he is a happy guy and can transform the lowliest contents of a refrigerator or pantry into something sublime.

Tonight’s plate is a blissful marriage of flavors from Italy and neighboring France. Our menu is created around duck confit, hand-carried from Donald Link’s Cochon Butcher in New Orleans. Chef Link and his partner Chef Stephen Stryjewski are masters at creating artisan meats and sausages and no trip to New Orleans for David is complete without stocking up on house-made meats and salumi (www.cochonbutcher.com). The duck confit will be served on a bed of dressed baby arugula with fennel and lentils on the side. “Fennel and lentils?” you yawn, bored with the mere thought. Well, think again. This lowly legume and three bulbs of fennel are being transformed into the food of the gods. Our lentils and fennel, like many of my favorite Italian dishes, rely on few but fresh ingredients prepared with a light touch. The mantra which bears repeating for those like me who have never quite mastered the “less is more” theory of cooking is to “let the food speak for itself”.

To begin the meal, we’re serving a baked oyster dish from the legendary Galatoires in New Orleans. Although the dish is no longer on the restaurant’s voluminous menu, it’s safely stored in David’s taste memory and from time to time he tries to recreate it. Tonight’s version hits home. Now, all we have to do is choose the wine. For the oysters, I opt for a delicious white Burgundy - Meursalt Genevrières. When one of our dinner guests calls to offer two bottles of wine, I smartly stash the Gevrey-Chambertin I had selected for the main course. Because we know our guest…and we know his impeccably stocked cellar… we’re pretty sure he’ll show up bearing gifts of 25 year old Bordeaux. We’re not disappointed.

Postscript:  It was a wonderful night and an amazing meal. We left reminding each other of the truism so often forgotten in our busy lives –that the best times in life are often those that are spontaneous, impromptu and executed with a minimum of pre-planning and stress. It also helps when you have an Italian in your kitchen. Gosh, I love men who cook.

For more photos from our dinner, please click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075889&id=1086822265&l=6b9d6b7c00

Lentils Trigiani
1 pound of baby lentils
1 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic
Moscarpone cheese
Salt and pepper

Place lentils in 3 quart saucepan; add celery and whole cloves of garlic. Cover lentils with water, bring to a boil, lower heat and then simmer covered until tender (30 – 40 minutes). When lentils are tender, drain and immediately return to saucepan. Stir about 4 oz. mascarpone cheese (or to taste) into warm lentils to thicken and enrich. Salt and pepper to taste.


Elaine’s Vinaigrette for Lentils
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons coarse grain mustard
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chop garlic and mash with blade of knife into a paste. In a small bowl, combine garlic paste, mustard and vinegar. Drip olive oil into the bowl and whisk to combine, creating an emulsion. Salt and pepper to taste. After placing lentils on plate, spoon vinaigrette over lentils.

Steamed Fennel Capri
Fennel bulbs (plan ½ bulb for each person)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Salt and pepper

Remove fronds so you are left with only the bulb of the fennel. Slice the bottom off each fennel bulb, not making a deep slice, so bulbs hold together. Slice bulb top to bottom in ¼ inch slices.

Place fennel slices in steamer (do not layer) and steam until tender. Coat a baking sheet with olive oil. Place fennel slices on baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. Top each fennel slice with sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake in 400 °oven until lightly browned.