Last Supper #11: Giorgio Locatelli

I have to admit I cheated a little on this one, but for good reason. For his last supper, Giorgio Locatelli wanted mackerel in an herb crust and broccoli with chilli and garlic. I had all my herbs ready to go and I arrived at Whole Foods for the mackerel and they only had 2 left. Two mackerel wouldn't have fed me and Jeff so I opted for this beauty:

I followed the same recipe, which appears in My Last Supper, but lengthened the cooking time to allow for the bigger fish. It was moist and delicious.

I also served the broccoli with chilli and garlic that Locatelli wanted and for a starch, I made a sage and saffron baked risotto. This might have been the easiest risottos I've ever made because the oven did most of the work.

Last Supper scorecard: 11 down, 29 more to go. Next up: (Egad!) none other than the great Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Last supper #10: Paul Kahan

This officially marks the 25% mark of Project Last Supper! Just 30 more to go between now and September. Hmmm, I'd better get cookin'! For his last supper, Paul Kahan, a Chicago-based chef, wanted roast suckling pig, homemade noodles with truffles, escarole salad, cheese and Swiss chocolate.

In lieu of the suckling pig, I made a roast pork loin alla Porchetta - it was stuffed with a yummy mixture of ground pork, fennel, onion, garlic, fennel seed, bread crumbs, etc. The loin was tied and then roasted over a bed of red onions for extra flavor. To finish it, the sliced pieces were drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. It should come as a shock to any regular visitors to my blog that I found the recipe in Molto Italiano by Mario Batali. I think this is quickly becoming my go-to cookbook for fabulous food!


I chose an escarole salad with warm bacon vinaigrette from the Williams-Somona Sause cookbook. I was a great blend of crunchy, salty and a touch of sweet from some sherry and sherry vinager.


The noodle recipe was Kahan's own and appears in the book. The handmade dough is rolled out on a pasta machine and then sliced into wide noodles similar to pappardelle. The warm noodles are tossed with truffles and a little butter. The recipe called for tarragon, but I omitted it. These were delicious - tender noodles with a smooth texture.

We finished the night with a bits of Swiss dark chocolate with almonds. Perfect ending!

Also of note, I had a guest photographer on this one. My sister came over to have dinner with us and she photographed for me. She is the first guest for one of the Last Suppers!

Next, we'll enjoy the last supper of Giorgio Locatelli.

Lovely leeks

Jeff and I both love leeks so Laurent Tourondel's recipe for Leeks Vinaigrette caught my eye the first time I flipped through the BLT cookbook, a gift from my mother-in-law for Christmas. The recipe is simple, but the presentation elegant. It is listed as a first course in the book, but I served it along with our Saturday dinner of grilled steaks and twice baked potatoes stuffed with spinach and cheddar.

Find the recipe in BLT: Bistro Laurent Tourondel, by Laurent Tourondel. This is a new favorite cookbook. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Here's how I made it (for 2 servings). The original cllas for a blue cheese such as Forme d'Ambert, but Jeff isn't a big fan of blue so I substituted an aged Crotin goat cheese. Delish!

Leeks Vinaigrette

3 large leeks

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

About 3 tsp. walnut oil

about 3 tsp. sherry vinegar

2 tsp. chopped fresh chives

2 ounces aged goat cheese or blue cheese such as Forme d'Ambert or Gorgonzola

Carmelized walnuts (see below)

To prepare the leeks, remove the outer layer and trim off the root ends and darker green portions at the top. Wash thoroughly and thn tie together, 3 in a bunch, with kitchen twine so they hold their shape when cooked.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the leeks. Simmer the leeks until tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain and shock by plunging them into a bowl of ice water. Drain well and squeeze the leeks gently in a paper towel to eliminate excess water. Remove the strings. Cut the leeks crosswise into 3/4 inch lengths.

Arrange the leeks slices with one cut-side down on serving plates. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar. Sprinkle the chives over them.

Place a little of the cheese on each leek. Scatter the walnuts over them. Serve immediately.

Carmelized walnuts

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

1/2 cup walnuts

Butter or lightly spray a cookie sheet. Set aside.

Combine the water and sugar in a small pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Then let is boil, untouched, until it turns a rich amber color. Remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts. Spread the nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet. Allow to cool, then coarsely chop them to break them apart.

Last Supper #9: Angela Hartnett

Born in England, Angela Hartnett has restaurants in London and Florida. Her last supper was loaded with pasta - YUM! Her original list included antipasti, anolini stuffed with veal or lamb, pumpkin tortelli, pasta with truffles and for dessert, homemade zagaglione. I left out the pasta with truffles and the dessert.

The antipasti included meats from the newly opened Italian specialty shop in Garwood, NJ called Bienvenuti. We also had some cheeses, marinated mushrooms and artichokes.

Then on to pasta number 1. I rolled out fresh pasta sheets using half flour, half semolina. I used the same pasta dough for both recipes. For the tortelloni, I made the filling in the Silver Spoon, but used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. Jeff helped me cut out the rounds and then I filled and shaped these little treats:


I served them with simple brown butter and sage - and a little parm never hurt. Delicious!

The next course was the real hit though. I once again turned to Mario Batali and he came through like a champ. In Molto Italiano, there's a recipe for agnolotti which calls for chicken and sausage. I instead used ground pork and ground veal. MMM! So the filling was made from the mixture of meats, onion, olive oil, fontina cheese, goat cheese, marjoram and salt and pepper. It was all minced together in a food processor to give it a very nice texture.

I made up the sauce as I went along and I sure hope I can figure it out next time. I started by reducing some beef stock. I had a rind of Parmigiano Reggiano so I threw that in to the simmering stock (a trick I learned from Giada!). Once it reduced a bit I added a little tomato paste. It was a little salty so I stirred in some water and a little bit of unsalted butter. I spooned this into the bowls, topped it with the cooked agnolotti and some sauteed Cremini mushrooms. This was good! I delivered some to my parents too and they both gave it rave reviews.


Of the first 9 Last Suppers, this was our favorite. I wonder what the next 31 will bring...

Last Supper #8: Vimal Dhar

Indian chef Vimal Dhar listed 7 different dishes for his last supper, of which I selected three to make. All are Indian: Lamb Rogan Josh (chunks of lamb with yogurt, almonds, green chiles, and lots of spices), his recipe for tangy eggplant, and potatoes.

The lamb turned out wonderful. I'm not going to put the recipe here because Lamb Rogan Josh is a farily common dish so recipes aren't hard to come by.

The eggplant recipe appears in the book and I have to say we just didn't like it. The amount of spice paste in it overpowered the eggplant.

I couldn't find the specific potato recipe chef Dhar mentioned, so I chose one for Aloo Timatar (Potato and Tomato Curry with Cilantro) which appears in one of my very favorite cookbooks: From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail. The book was a gift from my sister a few years ago and I don't think I've found a recipe in it I don't like. Here's the recipe for the potatoes:
Aloo Timatar (Potato and Tomato Curry with Cilantro)


Serves 4 to 6

• 1 1/2 pounds wxay boiling potatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 3 Tbsp. corn, peanut or olive oil
• 1/8 tsp. asefetida (substitute garlic powder)
• 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1 cup grated fresh tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Boil the potatoes, drain them and cool. Don't refrigerate. When cool enough to handle, peel them and cut or break into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a bowl and add the salt, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper and turmeric. Toss to mix and set aside.

Pour oil in a lidded pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the asefetida (or garlic powder), cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, put in the ginger and stir for a few seconds. Add the grated tomatoes. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until the oil separates from the tomato puree. Add the potatoes and stir to mix. Add 1 1/2 cups water, stir and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes. (You can extend this cooking time and remove the cover to reduce the broth a bit if wanted. this will give a slightly thicker sauce)

Put the yogurt in a small bowl and beat lightly. Add about 4 Tbsp. of the sauce from the potatoes and mix it in. Stir in the cilantro then pour this mixture into the pot, stir to blend and check for salt.

Last Supper #7: Guillaume Brahimi

Born in Paris, Guillaume Brahimi now resides in Australia. For his last supper, he listed oysters, caviar, foie gras, ribeye, and some cheese. Rather than break the bank on oysters, caviar AND Foie gras, I made a simple green salad and served on the side D'Artagnan Foie Gras with black truffles. Talk about rich! Of course, both Jeff and I ended up putting little bits of the truffled Foie Gras on our hot steak. MMMMMMM!

We grilled a ribeye from our favorite local butcher, Barth's, in New Providence, New Jersey. I also skewered a few shrimp and seasoned them with some herbs because the steak looked a little small for the two of us. A few roasted asparagus spears rounded out the meal.

The cheese turned out to be a bit of a treat because I went earlier that day with my Mom to the Greek Store in Kenilworth where I bought a chunk of a firm variety of goat cheese. Delish!

With 33 more Last Suppoer ahead, I'm already thinking I'll be a bit sad when it all ends... :(

Last Supper #6: Helene Darroze

Had this post not been in the Last Supper project, I would have called it Funky Chicken, where funky is good, really really good. But, alas, it is the Last Supper of Helene Darroze...

For her last supper, French chef Helene Darroze listed a number of dishes, so I constructed a menu choosing several of them. We started with cheese and crusty bread, simple, but always a favorite. For the entree, she wanted roast chicken with potato fries and the book provides a recipe for the potatoes that she loves. I used that potato recipe, but I decided to fancy-up the roast chicken because roast chicken can be a little boring (or so thinks this cook). The recipe I found was anything but boring. Prior to roasting, you slather under the skin a delightful olivada - olives, herbs, spices, garlic! Within minutes my kitchen smelled out of this world.

Roast chicken with spicy olivada is a new Epicurious favorite I'll make again and again. I used a 7-pound chicken as the recipe calls for and there was plenty of olivada - some might want a little less. I also made the pan sauce the recipe calls for and that made sure our chicken was nice and juicy, even when we had leftovers!

The potato fries were... well, potato fries. Nothing extraordinary, I must say, at least until dipped in the sauce from the chicken! I also served some green beans with a little lemon zest, butter and walnuts.

And for dessert, Helene listed two options: chocolate eclairs or shortbread with whipped cream and strawberries. I opted for the second choice since I made eclairs over the summer for a Daring Bakers' challenge.

This was a great roast chicken recipe, especially for those of you who, like me and my husband, might find roast chicken a little lackluster - especially during the holiday season when roast turkeys are popping up on everyone's dining room table...