{"id":1404,"date":"2007-10-08T20:58:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-08T20:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elitemporaryblog.wordpress.com\/2007\/10\/08\/lots-of-trouble"},"modified":"2007-10-08T20:58:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-08T20:58:00","slug":"lots-of-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Lots of trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"

You already know by now, I\u2019m sure, that I like the idea of a simple recipe. For whatever it\u2019s worth, I like the notion that you can take a few well-chosen, high-quality ingredients, treat them kindly, and come out with a pretty nice meal. When I started this blog, I had no idea that this was a schtick of any sort, much less my<\/span> schtick: it\u2019s just sort of happened that way. It\u2019s how I like to eat.<\/p>\n

It also, however, gets me into lots of trouble sometimes. I am constantly \u2013 I mean constantly<\/span>, people; it\u2019s pathological \u2013 falling prey to cookbook and magazine recipes that are way too simple, with too few ingredients to taste like much of anything. I mean, it\u2019s one thing to take a can of tomatoes, five tablespoons of butter, and one halved onion, bang them into a saucepan, and call it tomato sauce<\/a>. That\u2019s fine. That\u2019s classic. But to take four pounds of thinly sliced tart apples, three measly tablespoons of sugar, and two even more measly tablespoons of butter, bake them together overnight in a low, low oven (while you toss and turn, I might add, waiting for the house to burn down), and expect a magical transformation, a delightful g\u00e2teau aux pommes<\/span>, something that looks and tastes like the burnished, beautiful top of a tarte Tatin?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s silly. Like, stupid-silly. Like, thump-your-forehead-with-the-palm
-of-your-hand-silly. Like, I\u2019m-going-to-throw-the-cookbook-that-inspired
-this-down-the-basement-stairs-and-I-just-might-go-with-it-silly. That\u2019s the recipe I made last night. ARRRRGH.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s also the recipe I won\u2019t<\/span> be sharing with you today. I\u2019ll just say this: that if you have a cookbook whose title rhymes with The Ban Brancisco Berry Blaza Barmers\u2019 Barket Bookbook<\/span>, please do not make the cake on page 173. That, and listen to your husband when he tells you to just stop, to stop cursing the apple corer, to stop it RIGHT NOW and come sit on the couch and end the weekend nicely, with an episode of Brothers and Sisters<\/span>. Take it from me. I know these things.<\/p>\n

On the upside, however, I do have a backup recipe for you, a little something that we made as part of dinner on Friday, when we didn\u2019t have much in the house but felt too cheap to go out for groceries. It\u2019s pretty darn simple, too, but unlike, ahem<\/span>, some things, it actually worked. For every stupid, lumpy, watery-tasting g\u00e2teau aux pommes<\/span>, may there be a radicchio salad with radishes and parmesan.<\/span><\/p>\n

It happened the way most dinners do when we\u2019re busy: with us digging in the fridge, dredging up scraps and drips, and throwing them together. In the crisper drawer we found a head of radicchio left from a recipe test a couple weeks back, along with some radishes – they\u2019re a constant around here, always at the ready – and a raggedy-edged wedge of parmesan cheese. I sort of wrinkled my nose at the combination, worrying that the radicchio might be old and bitter, but Brandon forged on. He sliced the radicchio into thin strips and the radishes into wafers, and then, while we boiled water for some pasta, he tossed them in a bowl with a last of a jar of vinaigrette from the week before. Then he shaved some parmesan over the top, and while the pasta cooked – it would later be tossed with some pesto from the freezer – we sat down to a surprisingly pretty, fittingly fall-like salad.<\/p>\n

The radicchio was crisp and wonderfully mellow, tamed by a good dose of vinaigrette and the rich, salty punch of parmesan. The radish, for its part, crunched pleasantly, sweet and cool. Brandon commented than a few slivers of pear would be nice too, and he\u2019s right: their sweet, perfumed flavor would be perfect here, and perfectly in season too. I don\u2019t have a photograph to show you, because we ate it all on the spot – so sorry<\/span>! – but given the trauma I\u2019ve detailed above, I hope you\u2019ll let me off easy. Anyway, you can imagine it for yourself: a tangle of purple leaves dotted with red-edged disks of radish, big shards of parmesan, and couple slices of slivered pear, its green skin curved like a line drawing. (See? So pretty! You don\u2019t need some stinking photograph.) It\u2019s lovely; it\u2019s s-i-m-p-l-e; and come to think of it, it might just be dinner again tonight.<\/p>\n

Radicchio and Radish Salad with Pear and Parmesan<\/span><\/p>\n

The dressing that we used on this was my standard vinaigrette, but made with Cognac vinegar. I know that not everyone lives with a vinegar fiend<\/a>, as I do, so if you don\u2019t happen to have a bottle of that fancy stuff lying around, know that you can use most any white wine-type vinegar.<\/p>\n

6 radishes
1 medium head radicchio
\u00bd firm-ripe pear, green or red or most any color (optional)
Parmigiano Reggiano<\/p>\n

For vinaigrette<\/span>:
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Cognac vinegar (see note above)
\u00bd tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more to taste<\/p>\n

First, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, and salt, and whisk to blend. Add the olive oil, and whisk vigorously to emulsify. Taste, and adjust as needed. Depending on your vinegar, you made need more oil. (We often add an additional teaspoon.) This is a more acidic dressing than some, but it shouldn\u2019t hit you over the head with vinegar. Set aside.<\/p>\n

Prepare the salad. Trim the radishes, and slice them very thinly. Quarter the radicchio from stem end to tip, and peel away any ragged outer leaves. Working with one quarter at a time, slice crosswise into \u00bc-inch-thick strips. If you are using the pear, cut it into very thin slices. Combine the radishes and radicchio in a large bowl, and toss with vinaigrette to taste. Add the pear slices, and toss very gently, so as not to break them up.<\/p>\n

Serve, using a vegetable peeler to shave a few shards of parmesan cheese onto each serving.<\/p>\n

Yield: About 4 standard-size servings, or two Molly-and-Brandon-size servings<\/p>\n

P.S. Does anyone besides me read the title of this post and want to yell \u201cLots of trouble! Lots of bubble!\u201d \u00e0 la Fred Schneider in \u201cRock Lobster<\/a>\u201d? I didn\u2019t think so.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You already know by now, I\u2019m sure, that I like the idea of a simple recipe. For whatever it\u2019s worth, I like the notion that you can take a few well-chosen, high-quality ingredients, treat them kindly, and come out with a pretty nice meal. When I started this blog, I had no idea that this was a schtick of any sort, much less my schtick: it\u2019s just sort of happened that way. It\u2019s how I like to eat. It also, however, gets me into lots of trouble sometimes. I am constantly \u2013 I mean constantly, people; it\u2019s pathological \u2013 falling prey to cookbook and magazine recipes that are way too simple, with too few ingredients to taste like much of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLots of trouble | Orangette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lots of trouble | Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You already know by now, I\u2019m sure, that I like the idea of a simple recipe. For whatever it\u2019s worth, I like the notion that you can take a few well-chosen, high-quality ingredients, treat them kindly, and come out with a pretty nice meal. When I started this blog, I had no idea that this was a schtick of any sort, much less my schtick: it\u2019s just sort of happened that way. It\u2019s how I like to eat. It also, however, gets me into lots of trouble sometimes. I am constantly \u2013 I mean constantly, people; it\u2019s pathological \u2013 falling prey to cookbook and magazine recipes that are way too simple, with too few ingredients to taste like much of…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orangette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/molly.wizenberg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-10-08T20:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/854e7-gateauauxpommes024-11.jpg?w=300\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mollyorangette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mollyorangette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/\",\"name\":\"Orangette\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/854e7-gateauauxpommes024-11.jpg?w=300\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/854e7-gateauauxpommes024-11.jpg?w=300\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/\",\"name\":\"Lots of trouble | Orangette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-10-08T20:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2007-10-08T20:58:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#\/schema\/person\/72d7c362f82fa0578c635d88a69d07fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lots of trouble\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/orangette.net\/#\/schema\/person\/72d7c362f82fa0578c635d88a69d07fe\",\"name\":\"Molly\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/orangette.net\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/orangette.net\/author\/molly\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lots of trouble | Orangette","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/orangette.net\/2007\/10\/lots-of-trouble\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lots of trouble | Orangette","og_description":"You already know by now, I\u2019m sure, that I like the idea of a simple recipe. 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