With A Little Kitchen Magic, You Can Pull Off Some…Fast Feasts
I get home from work at 7 p.m. I have invited guests over for dinner at 8 p.m.
WHAT, AM I OUT OF MY MIND?! No problem. I’ll just call and cancel. I’ll say I’m coming down with something, like flesh-eating bacteria, or that Dustin Hoffman monkey virus. Anything to get me out of this.
Calm down, say my friends who entertain. Sixty minutes to get dinner together? Why, that’s - that’s a whole hour! With a little planning and some ridiculously easy recipes, anyone can pull this off.
“First pour yourself a glass of wine,” advises New York cooking teacher and chef Katherine Alford. “Then come up with something that either cooks quickly, or goes together quickly and then cooks while you do something else.”
Like pull cat hairs out of the couch? “No-o-o, like toss a salad,” she replies.
Alford often zooms in the front door after a packed day of teaching and writing and has a simple but elegant meal ready for herself, her husband and four friends an hour later.
Asked for some practical tips, she cites a recent menu as an example: store-bought hummus, pita bread, olives and fresh cucumbers for appetizers; grilled shrimp or chicken (using one of those stove-top grill pans) served on a bed of bulgur pilaf with roasted red peppers (from a jar, thank goodness); microwave-steamed asparagus with lemon and ginger; tossed salad, and store-bought pound cake with poached fresh fruit for dessert.
The meal is not only beautiful (I know, I made it at home the next night), but quite low in fat.
Alford agrees: “When I cook fast, I cook low-fat.” She also tries to use some of the same ingredients in different dishes so that they not only complement each other, “but it makes it easier to shop and everything gets used up.”
For instance, she uses fresh mint in both the poaching liquid for the fruit and in the broth in which the bulgur wheat cooks. Lemon zest and fresh ginger Cherry tomatoes may show up on the appetizer tray, as well as in the salad, or flash-grilled along with the chicken breasts.
Some of Alford’s speedy tips are downright inspired, such as cooking asparagus in a sealed plastic bag in the microwave oven. When the cooking’s done, carefully unseal the bag and fill it with cold water to refresh and cool the asparagus. Drain the water, pour in a little vinaigrette and gently shake. Slide asparagus onto a serving platter, garnish and you’re done.
The next person I ask about pulling together a dinner party in 60 minutes is Kit Johnston of Arlington, Va. I asked her because she has interesting friends who say things like, “Kit, we’ve brought back a marvelous merlot from Australia that we want to share with you. How about if we come over for dinner tonight?”
Johnston, who loves food and is working on her first cookbook when she’s not consulting with the National Academy of Sciences about mysterious science stuff, says: “Of course. Just give me an hour.”
In the case of the Australian merlot, the friends were vegetarians, which made it even tougher. Her solution was an all-vegetable curry - potatoes, onions and whatever she had in her vegetable bin - served over rice.
She sent her husband scurrying out to get some salad mix, which she dressed simply with lemon juice, a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Pita bread was ripped into pieces, sprinkled with a little olive oil and salt and baked until warm.
And for dessert? “Sorbet and Girl Scout cookies,” she recalls with a chuckle.
Johnston’s tips for Valium-free entertaining include always keeping almonds and olives in her pantry: “It gives people something to munch on with a glass of wine while they watch you race around the kitchen.”
A native Southerner, she also thinks those ultra-quick gourmet biscuit mixes are crucial to have on hand. “Grab a rotisserie chicken, whip up some fresh biscuits (they make the kitchen smell great, too), toss a salad, slice some fresh fruit and you’re in business,” she says.
Her husband’s favorite quick dessert for company is sliced fresh strawberries drizzled with a mixture of sour cream, cognac and brown sugar.
The trouble with Alford and Johnston, though, is that they’re much too calm. I needed to ask someone really stressed, someone with looming deadlines and a busy schedule and 16 kids.
I called Donna Forsman. Forsman, of Annandale, Va., has everything but the 16 kids. She’s working on the upcoming “21” Club cookbook with New York chef Michael Lomonaco (to be published in October by Doubleday) and has a deadline about every 24 hours.
I called her and said my husband and another couple were going over to her house for dinner in an hour, and what did she think her menu would be?
She made a noise like a horse choking down a woodchuck.
When she calmed down, she admitted that she has dealt with situations like this. Recently she got home at 4 p.m. to find out that ravenous house guests were arriving at 5. There was also the recent, spur-of-the-moment invitation to neighbors to come over for dinner before checking to see if there was actually anything in the refrigerator.
One lifesaver she frequently uses are the packets of homemade pesto she makes in the summer and freezes for the rest of the year. “That pesto and some store-bought tortellini have saved me many a time,” she says.
Otherwise, she often uses her stove-top grill pan to make shrimp or chicken breasts rubbed with a mixture of curry, turmeric and cumin. A quinoa salad with sauteed vegetables and a curried dressing (or, even simpler, grilled vegetables that cook alongside the meat), a big loaf of bread and a salad round out the meal.
For dessert, she likes “a platter of fresh berries surrounded by my lemon-bar cookies.”
Chicken Breasts a la Forsman
A good, quick entree from cookbook author Donna Forsman
4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
1 teaspoon curry powder (spicy Madrasstyle preferred)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil for sauteing
Water or chicken broth
Rub the chicken with a mixture of the curry, turmeric, cumin and salt. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 to 7 minutes; turn and cook 5 to 7 minutes longer. Check for doneness; don’t overcook. Transfer chicken to a warm plate and slice. Place slices over a bed of rice or bulgur pilaf (see following recipe).
Meanwhile, turn heat under skillet to high. Add 2 tablespoons water or chicken broth and stir rapidly, scraping up browned bits in bottom of skillet. Let sauce bubble briefly, then pour over chicken slices. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 247 calories, 9 grams fat (33 percent fat calories), 1 gram carbohydrate, 104 milligrams cholesterol, 358 milligrams sodium, 38 grams protein.
Bulgur Pilaf
From New York chef and cooking teacher Katherine Alford
2 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
2 round slices fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch cumin
Sprig mint
1 long strip lemon zest
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
1 small jar (at least 4 ounces) roasted red peppers, chopped or cut into strips
Combine chicken broth, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, mint, lemon zest and onion. Bring to a boil and add bulgur. Cook according to package directions. Two minutes before bulgur is done, mix in red peppers. Finish cooking; fluff and keep warm.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 235 calories, 3 grams fat (11 percent fat calories), 49 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 67 milligrams sodium, 10 grams protein.
Clever Steamed Asparagus
Another idea from cooking teacher Katherine Alford
1 pound fresh asparagus, washed and the ends trimmed
2 slices fresh ginger root, minced
2 strips lemon zest, 2 inches long
Vinaigrette (homemade or good-quality bottled)
Seal the asparagus, ginger and lemon zest in resealable plastic bag. Cook in microwave oven for 4 minutes on medium heat. Bag will puff up with steam.
When cooking is done, carefully open bag, releasing steam away from face. Fill bag with cold water to refresh and cool asparagus. Let sit for a couple minutes, then drain off water.
Either add vinaigrette to bag and gently shake, or place asparagus on platter and drizzle over vinaigrette.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 142 calories, 13 grams fat (82 percent fat calories), 75 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 282 milligrams sodium, 2 grams protein.
Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions and cooled
Oil for sauteing
1 cup sliced mushrooms (shiitake or cremini preferred)
1 cup sliced zucchini (or yellow squash)
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, plus extra for garnish
For the dressing
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne, or to taste
1 teaspoon curry powder (Madras preferred)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Have the quinoa cooked and ready. To make vegetables, heat oil in large skillet. Add mushrooms and zucchini and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add scallions and saute for another minute. Remove from heat, add chopped parsley and set aside.
To make dressing, combine sherry, lemon juice, salt, cayenne and curry powder. Slowly whisk in olive oil until mixture is well blended.
Combine vegetables and cooked quinoa. Add dressing and gently toss. Cover and refrigerate until 1 hour before serving. Let come to room temperature; taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with additional minced flat-leaf parsley.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 391 calories, 25 grams fat (58 percent fat calories), 37 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 550 milligrams sodium, 8 grams protein.
Pound Cake With Poached Fruit
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 sprig fresh mint
1 cup vermouth
2 cups whole strawberries
1/2 cup grapes
2 cups melon chunks (cantaloupe or honeydew work well)
1 prepared pound cake
Add honey, cinnamon stick, cloves, mint sprig and vermouth to 1 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add strawberries, grapes and melon chunks and let sit. Can be refrigerated; for best flavor, make the night before and store in refrigerator.
When ready to serve, slice pound cake. Spoon fruit and juices over each slice. Garnish with a mint leaf, if desired.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 523 calories, 18 grams fat (31 percent fat calories), 73 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 278 milligrams sodium, 4 grams protein.