May 21 2010

Fast-ish Food the Suzy Way

Published by at 7:43 am under Cooking

gratinFor example…

When my friend A used to model internationally (that was before she got her PhD in pure math and a job at an investment bank in London, of course), she told me that food stylist was one of the hardest jobs in fashion. I can now see the wisdom of this since I’ve started taking pictures of Thursday dinners. Fun fact: in magazines, ice cream is usually dyed instant mashed potatoes, since they don’t melt under the lights. And turkeys have wood varnish applied to them to give them that fresh-roasted look.

This week’s dinner is from the great Jacques Pépin’s “Fast Food My Way”. “Fast” seems to be a relative term, since it took me the entire length of Iggy Pop’s “New Values” and part of Lou Reed’s “Rock & Roll Animal” to get it ready. I also made some modifications as I went along. Apparently I think I know better than a world-famous chef who has served no fewer than three French heads of state.

Pasta, Ham, and Vegetable Gratin
With apologies to Jacques Pépin

About 1 & 3/4 cups pasta shells or penne
1 & 1/2 cups diced (1/2 inch) cooked ham
3/4 cup corn kernels [I used canned]
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 & 1/2 cups diced (1/2 inch) zucchini
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, cool under running water, then drain again.

While the pasta was cooking, I prepped the ham and vegetables and made the sauce. I tend to clean up as I go along, but this has more to do with the fact that my only kitchen counter is three feet wide and a foot and a half deep than it does with innate tidiness.

Now, Jacques wants you to mix the veggies, pasta, ham, and cheese in a separate bowl. You can tell that he has minions to do dishes for him, whereas the only dishwasher I have ever had is Self. So I mixed the pasta, veggies, and ham in the baking dish.

I put the cheese into the sauce instead of mixing it in with the pasta, veggies, and ham. I figured this way, you get better cheese distribution. Also, I used closer to a cup of cheese. Maybe even more. I’m a well-known fromage-phile.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Jacques uses unsalted butter, which I personally do not believe in, since it pretty much tastes like Crisco, but it’s up to you. Add the flour, and mix it in with a whisk. Add milk, and bring to a boil, stirring with the whisk until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

At this point, I mixed in the cheese. You’re supposed to add the cream here, but Megan was out of half & half, so I skipped it and didn’t miss it. I didn’t even add extra milk to make up for it, and it was fine.

Heat the broiler. Combine the sauce with the pasta mixture and transfer to a shallow glass baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top. Broil about four inches from heat source for 6-8 minutes, until bubbly and hot and the surface is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

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5 responses so far

5 Responses to “Fast-ish Food the Suzy Way”

  1. Joyon 21 May 2010 at 12:38 pm

    Sounds pretty yummy to me….mmm…mmmm

    I can’t remember, but do you have room for a table in this kitchen of your’s???

    jx

  2. Caton 22 May 2010 at 1:46 am

    Dave’s says the same. He used to work in advertising and he says there’s no way you could eat the food they photographed one they were done with it. Here’s a little story that’ll give you a small stroke – He used to get loads of freebies. The companies would send over too much of what they photographing and whoever wanted to keep the stuff and the end of the day was welcome to. One time Dave was given 6 or 7 pairs of Manolo Blahniks, but he didn’t know what they were so he threw them away!!! He was gutted later when he found out. He would have been so popular with the girls…

  3. Guyon 22 May 2010 at 3:17 am

    Sounds very delicious, must have been enjoyed by all, interesting recipies you have Suzy.

  4. suzyon 22 May 2010 at 6:29 am

    That is the most tragic thing I have ever heard.

  5. suzyon 22 May 2010 at 6:31 am

    It’s all one room, so the “kitchen” is set in one corner. I do have a table and two chairs near the stairs. I guess I should post some pictures one of these days.