Summer Squash Gratin, Grilled Pork Chops

I love Susanne Goin. I mean, not really, because I don't actually know her, but I love her cookbook. I most especially love the way she can take a dish that you've made before, like chicken piccata or a summer squash gratin, and approach it from a way that a humble home cook like me may not have considered.

For example, I've made summer squash gratins before, and even have a recipe for a yummy one on this site. The one that I feature here is delicious, and I've made similar ones, as well. But that means that my little brain has come to think of this type of gratin in a certain way.

And then along comes Susanne, and she tells me to put brown butter instead of olive oil in the gratin. And she tells me to mix the breadcrumbs in with the squash, as opposed to using them as a topping. And the shallots! We love shallots.

The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was the salsa verde. I'm sure that some people may consider this blasphemous, but neither of us are fans. I don't like the raw mintiness, and Nick doesn't like the anchovy-ness. We did make it, though, and we did give it a chance. We were just thankful, in the end, that we hadn't mixed the salsa verde in with all of our individual gratins.

If you're in the pro-salsa verde camp, though, feel free to mix in a half cup of the stuff when you mix in the cheese. We ate this with grilled, brined, thick-cut bone-in pork chops, and it was a delicious summer dinner.

As for the brining pork chop thing--if you've never tried it, you really really should. Mixing up a brine takes almost no time at all, and you can throw your brining meat into the fridge while you prep the rest of your dinner. Brining pork chops (or chicken) for even 45 minutes results in super-flavorful, super-moist meat. You'll never go back.

 Summer Squash Gratin

• 2 pounds summer squash
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup sliced shallots
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the squash into 1/8 inch-thick slices. Toss the slices in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and let sit 10 minutes.

Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl.

Heat a small saute pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Swirl in the butter and cook for a few minutes, until it browns and smells nutty. Pour the brown butter over the breadcrumbs (being sure to scrape all the brown bits into a bowl with a rubber spatula). Wait a minute or two for the butter to cool, and toss well.

Drain the squash and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Add the shallots, minced garlic, thyme, and some pepper. Toss to combine, and add the cheese (and salsa verde if you're using it) and half of the breadcrumbs. Toss again, and taste for seasoning. (The raw garlic will taste strong at this point, but it will mellow as it cooks.)

Place the squash in an attractive 9-by-9 inch gratin dish, or divide it amongst some individual gratin dishes. Scatter the remaining breadcrumbs over the top, and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the squash is tender and the top is crisp.

 

Grilled Pork Chops

• 3/4 to 1 inch thick bone-in pork chops, one per person
• Kosher salt
• Canola oil
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cook's Illustrated has a more sophisticated brining formula, which you can check out here. I however, find that it is sufficient to use 1/4 cup Kosher salt per quart of water. Mix the salt with cold water until it is mostly dissolved. Make enough to cover whatever your brining. Place the meat into the brine, and put the whole thing into the fridge for at least 45 minutes and up to 3 hours for chicken and 5 hours for pork. (I don't really recommend brining pork tenderloin, but some people like to.)

When you're 15 minutes away from being ready to cook the meat, preheat your grill. Clean off the grate after about 7 minutes. (This is for a gas grill. Sorry charcoal peeps.)

Thoroughly dry the chops and brush them with canola oil. Season with freshly ground pepper--we like a pretty heavy covering. 

Over medium-high to high heat, cook the pork chops for about 4 minutes per side. This will result in pork chops that are medium to medium-well, so adjust the cooking times according to your taste.

Plum and Nectarine Tart with a Brown Butter Custard and an Almond Crust

                                            

Nectarines are one of my favorite fruit varietals, but the past couple years, the nectarines have been rather lackluster--mushy, bland, blegh.

So I was ecstatic when I realized that for whatever reason, it's a good year for nectarines.

I bit into a particularly flavorful specimen, and brown butter came to mind. "Nick," I said, "Wouldn't these nectarines be great with brown butter?"

"Um, not really."

Undaunted, I decided that I wanted to make a tart that incorporated nectarines and brown butter. Almonds sounded like a good idea, too.

I ended up using plums as well as nectarines, which was a delicious decision. The brown butter flavor is very subtle, but this is an overall satisfying sweet.

You could really use any summer stone fruit in this tart--peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries--they'd all be good, so feel free to play around.

Plum and Nectarine Tart with a Brown Butter Custard and an Almond Crust

Crust

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup ground blanched almonds
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Custard

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

 

• 3 or 4 (depending on their size) plums, cut into wedges
• 3 or 4 (depending on their size) nectarines, cut into wedges

 

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle (you can also use a hand-held mixer), combine the butter with the turbinado and granulated sugars, the almonds and the egg and beat at medium-low speed until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder and lemon zest and beat just until a soft dough forms. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough and flatten it into a disk. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

 

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°. Spray a 10-inch tart pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place the dough in the tart pan, and press it around until it covers the bottom and comes up the sides. Take care to patch any holes. Bake the crust in the center of the oven for 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350.

 

In the meantime, in a small skillet, cook the butter over moderate heat until golden brown and fragrant, about 4 minutes; take the skillet off the heat and set it aside. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer or the cleaned stand mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar, almond extract, lemon zest and salt. Add the flour and beat at low speed until smooth. Add the brown butter and beat the filling at low speed until incorporated.

 

Pour the custard into the tart crust. Starting from the middle and working outward, spread the fruit in a spiral. Bake in the center of the oven for about an hour. The tart is done when the edges of the pastry are deep golden brown and the custard is slightly puffed. If anything is browning too quickly, cover it with foil.

(Our view from the porch during out recent Ocean City visit.)

(Crabs! A special summertime treat.)