Dinner for One

For the most part, A and I eat together every night. When he is especially busy at work, he'll skip the food ordered by The Company in favor of eating at home -- even if that means dinner is served at 10pm. I would like to think that he prefers his meal accompanied by my stimulating conversation, but more likely the delivery food is pretty lousy and A would really miss Annabella's ritualistic post-meal-lap-sit.

Still, every once in a while there's an especially late night, and I'll eat dinner alone. I try to use the opportunity to prepare foods that are not among A's favorites. This meal was one of those. I had originally planned to eat the cute littleneck clams on the half shell, but shucking them seemed like too much trouble for a solo weeknight dinner. Steaming the clams made for a quick, delicious meal, and there was only one pot to wash -- always an important consideration when I assume dish-washing duties too.

Steamed Clams for One

To remove grit from clams, soak them for 15 minutes in a solution of 1/3 cup non-iodized salt (kosher or sea salt) to 1 gallon of water. Some people suggest adding cornmeal to the brine, but I've never found that to be necessary. Also be sure to discard any dead clams (those that don't close when tapped) after their bath.

12 littleneck clams (or steamer clams from the Northwest), soaked and scrubbed
knob of unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 bottle of dry white wine
red pepper flakes
crusty bread

Melt butter over medium heat in a medium pan until foam subsides. Add onion and garlic, and saute until onions are translucent. Add wine and pepper flakes to taste. Raise heat and bring to a simmer. Add clams and cover the pot for about 5 minutes. Remove clams that have opened to a serving dish, and continue steaming the rest for another 5 minutes. Transfer remaining clams to your dish, and discard any clams that did not open. Top clams with the remaining broth and serve with crusty bread for dunking.

First Signs of Autumn

Sunday seems so long ago -- I barely recall what has happened between now and then. Time flies when you're having fun, or maybe I'm just getting old. But I do remember that last weekend I went to the local greenmarket, enjoyed the warm weather and tried to manage both Annabella and armloads of produce with only moderate success. And then we drove upstate with our neighbor in his convertible, with the top down. I came home with as much of a tan as I can hope to get and quickly threw dinner together.

In just a few days, fall seems to have arrived. The mercury today has not passed 60 degrees, and I wore a scarf and jacket to work. Despite the change, I would still be happy to eat this meal. The earthy bitterness of the chard and just a hint of brightness from the oranges don't seem too summery for the weather. I'm not quite ready to eat cabbage and butternut squash, but maybe next week...

Chard Stuffed With Risotto and Mozzarella

Adapted from Mark Bittman in The New York Times

3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup arborio rice
pinch of saffron
1 orange, zested and juiced
lump of butter
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
salt and pepper
6 chard leaves
6 1/2 inch chunks of soft pecorino cheese
1/2 cup white wine

Cook rice in vegetable broth, starting with one cup; add broth in stages, using about 3 cups total, until rice is barely tender. Dissolve saffron in juice of the orange. Add to rice, along with butter, hard cheese, orange zest, salt and pepper to taste. Allow rice to cool a bit.

Poach chard leaves in about 2 cups water just until pliable -- about 30 seconds. Drain and cut out the hardest part of central stem.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Form 6 balls of rice 2 to 3 inches across. Dig a hole in ball and insert a piece of soft cheese. Wrap each ball in a chard leaf.

Put balls in a close-fitting oven dish and add wine. Bake 15 minutes. Serve balls topped with cooking juices, more zest, hard cheese and olive oil.

Yield: 6 servings.



Saffron Carrots
Adapted from David Tanis in The New York Times

lump butter
pinch of saffron, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, grated
zest from one orange
bunch carrots, sliced into thin coins
salt and pepper

In a large skillet fitted with a lid, melt the butter over medium heat. When hot, add the saffron, garlic, lemon zest and carrots. Seasons with salt and pepper. Toss the carrots in the butter to coat. Add 1/2 cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the carrots are tender -- about 5 minutes.