I’m curious what everyone’s favorite thing to make is when they have the time to put into a meal that takes a bit more effort, time, complexity, etc.
Around my house, that normally means either a weekend or a night of dinner guests. Our typical weeknight meal is something like sautéed chicken with green beans and rice, but when I’ve got more time then something that takes a bit more time investment gives me a lot of joy. Looking for new meals to add to that list!
A couple of favorites I’ve done this year:
Duck confit
Tamales (the most recent were duck fat tamales with pulled duck and salsa verde)
Anything in dark mole sauce (I tend to follow Rick Bayless’ recipe here,. it takes multiple days!)
Lasagna rollups (the most recent was a base of butternut squash puree, the homemade noodles rolled with shredded chicken/spinach/ricotta, then another layer of butternut squash puree)
Favourite, as in doing it multiple times, but it being quite a bit of effort / mess to do… my first thought are humble arancini. They’re far from fancy, being at their best as a simple mid-morning / filling & warming lunch. They can make a filling starter with salad, and are a great option to give meat eaters / vegetarians essentially the same dish. Conceptually they’re also not difficult, but enough of a faff that I won’t make any less than 8 of them at a time.
Simple process is:
boil up some risotto rice with suitable stock (generally veggie, but saffron or herbs also work well). You’ll want it cooked a little more than normal risotto, but the slow cool down usually suffices
let the rice cool down
prepare the filling(s). This is where the fun is, and the format seems to amplify flavours, so whether it’s a hearty ragu, truffle sauce & mushrooms, or even a fragrant curry, they can shine more than the mere teaspoonful ought to.
grab some risotto and flatten it over the open palm of one hand, then add the filling on top
close your hand to encase the filling, usually adding a little more cooked risotto on top to get the filling properly enclosed, then gently massage the ball into a solid/compact shape (I usually stick with circular)
roll each ball in egg, and then in breadcrumbs (I prefer older ones, but fresh is fine)
deep fry until the colour is golden, and do avoid burning
At this point they’re fine to eat, but I actually prefer letting them cool, putting some in freezer, others in the fridge, re-heating them in the over when needed.
Lots of variants on fillings, and for something different, I love the use of sesame seeds instead of / in addition to breadcrumbs (I came across this at the Casbah restaurant in Lipari, Sicilia and happily adopted that to home use)
when you say “boil up some risotto rice”. do you literally just boil it as you would normal rice for arancini? or do you cook it as you would a true risotto (slowly adding stock and stirring) for them?
I tend to do it similar to risotto, but probably with a little less attention, and it’s a bigger batch than I ever do for risotto. The key is the end result needs to be cooked to a level that you’d call a little overcooked for risotto.
is that a breadcrumbs on top recipe or a let it cook till it forms its own crust recipe? ive read it before but forget, and have a French friend who I had a long conversation about the correct version with a week ago. lol
All about forming its own crust, with seven cracks. He uses gelatin to get that crust, but you can easily do the same with a good, homemade stock, with bonus points if you make it with chicken feet.
I’ve made 72hr sous vide short ribs with red wine sauce a number of times for winter holiday meals. I put them over mashed potatoes and they are always a crowd favorite. The nice thing is they are mostly hands-off, but they do take a non-trivial amount of prep time (20-30 mins). I’m not always in the mood to start a meal 72-hrs in advance, but it ends up paying off.
chicken balllotine - De-boning doesn’t take as long as it used to, but still quite bit of work.
porchetta
Duck confit - Usually sous vide 48hrs and finish in the oven on parchment paper.
Consomme - Been making this regularly as a last step in my stock. It’s usually a 2-3 day ordeal. I use it as a base for lots of soups, dishes etc. and I’m spoiled to the point that most store bought stuff tastes like crap.
Kimchi - lots of prep but homemade is always worth the effort
The first mixed tomato salad from plants from my garden–this is always a months-long effort, beginning right around now when I look through my seed collection to decide which varieties I’m going to try this year. I grow at least a couple dozen varieties, usually more than that. This is an experience that you just can’t buy.
for a long time one of my go to Friendsgiving dishes was a Turchetta. I’d skin/debone the whole turkey breast, butterfly the meat, and roll it with my cornbread/chorizo stuffing, then wrap it in the skin. it’s always a big hit! Sometime I need to go “whole hog” so to speak and do the actual porchetta. When you do it, do you buy a whole belly with the loin attached, or buy the loin and belly separate and roll them together?
Aside from cassoulet, which is more of a traditional dish, I’ve got to add “anything cooked low and slow on a smoker” including brisket and pork shoulder. I’ve got a Morgan Ranch brisket that I can’t wait to cook over the break!
I primarily do an all belly porchetta and put the trimmings inside after squaring it off, and it varies in size, sometimes crispy skin, sometimes no skin. I’d LOVE to do one like that YT video titled “How Italy’s Best Porchetta is Made” if I had the space, big enough oven, and an event with enough people to do it. My porchetta seasonings are mostly taken from that video.
Really like the idea of that turkey breast.
