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The Ultimate Arugula Salad Dressing & Le Bernardin

I don’t remember where I got this recipe but if I had to guess it was Chef Eric Ripert, the French chef, author, television personality and to me, the most important part is that he is the Chef-owner of Le Bernardin, the only 3-star Michelin restaurant I have dined in. Located on 51t Street in New York City, I walked past it one evening while going to another place for a business cocktail reception. The reception was part of a real estate conference I had attended earlier in the day. I was in Manhattan for some media meetings and was heading to Philadelphia for another half-day conference the next day, then to Wilmington Delaware to stay with a good friend for a night or two. The reception was good, met people, had a couple cocktails and noshes, then walked right back to Le Bernardin about 8:30 and grabbed a seat at the bar. The bar seats only 7-8 people. I order the three-course tasting menu and started with an ahi tuna crudo.

The second course was very good. Thin slices of Hamachi tuna floating in a yummy sauce that had olive oil and citrus and something else!

The third course was the absolute winner: a surf n turf featuring a two ounce piece of Kobe beef with a roasted scallop and braised bok choy. It was the best damn piece of meat I’d ever had.

I asked the server if I could just have two more pieces of that beef. The request was so rare, apparently, that the next thing I knew the manager was standing by my side qualifying that I really wanted two more pieces of meat, because, and he lowered his voice for this, they were $80 apiece. I said, yes, and one more glass of that red wine please. The tab was over $400 (with two glasses of wine) and well worth it.

About that arugula salad dressing, it’s good with other lettuces but magical with arugula. Must be the bitterness of the arugula – some chemical reaction perhaps. I added two things to the recipe, the sugar and the dill. I just thought that would take a little of the bite out of it (the sugar) and I was right, and also the dill, to add an ever-so-slight herb flavor to the dressing. The key is the oil. I tried making this with olive oil when I didn’t have the sunflower oil. Nope!

The Ultimate Arugula Salad Dressing

½ cup Sunflower Oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar (slightly more)
¼ cup soy sauce (slightly less)
1.5 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1.5 Tablespoon minced shallot
½ teaspoon granular white sugar
A few dashes of dried dill
A few dashes of black pepper
A pinch of finely ground sea salt, kosher salt, or a couple dashes of table salt from a salt shaker

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Braised Lemon Chicken

Back in July 2017 I posted a piece on the most essential cooking item in my kitchen – anyone’s kitchen, in my view. And to back that opinion up, I just bought a second 3.5-quarter Le Creuset braiser, though not for me. My niece Lisa is getting married the week after 4th of July week. Mark apparently is a cook. It’s the most versatile piece in my arsenal. This is one of my favorite meals using the braiser, and it is so easy!

  • 6 large or 8 small bone- in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 2-3 lemons, cut up in quarters
  • ¾ cup Castellano green olives
  • One-half of a large yellow onion or one small whole onion
  • One-half to three-quarter cup of chicken or vegetable stock
  • Seasoning

Pre-heat oven to 400

Rinse and dry the chicken, season with salt and pepper and dry sage and/or finely crushed rosemary

Put a little peanut oil in the bottom of the braiser and wipe the surface with a paper towel, which will help prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom

Once the oven is hot, put the chicken pieces, skin side UP, in the braiser and make sure they are not touching

Roast for 20 minutes, turn oven down to 350 and roast another 10 minutes

Remove from oven, take chicken out of the pot and put on a platter

Put the diced onions in the pot and use a spatula to pick up any of the meat bits from the chicken, but leave them in with the onions and swirl the onions around

Place the chicken pieces still skin side up on top of the onions

Pour the stock in so the entire bottom is covered, but the chicken skins remain above the stock line – very important to get crispy skin!

In between the chicken pieces put the lemon wedges and green olives

Return pot to oven and roast another 30 minutes, then turn oven off

Remove the Le Creuset 5 or 10 minutes later and serve.

I like crusty bread with this dish but rice is wonderful if you prefer.

Goes well with a crisp Chardonnay, Pinot or burgundy wine. Whatever you are in the mood for, really.

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Chicken with honey and cumin

Normally when you opt to cook with boneless skinless chicken breasts, you are training for a triathlon or body building contest (or the guy that played Tarzan in the 2016 remake) in which you are eating super lean meats and steamed broccoli to get that “six pack” for Abs. The other reason to eat the breast without the merits of bone or skin is speed and flexibility in flavor profile. Well I adapted one of Mark Bitman’s recipes (from How to Cook Everything) into one transformative quick meal that featured one of the most harmonious ingredient combinations I can ever recall.

But first, the cooking vessel. If you don’t have a 4-quart Le Creuset Brazer with lid, you must buy one (these also make great wedding gifts).

This is the 4-quart brazer with lid on:

You can fry, saute, braze with lid on or make a killer “Grilled or Broiled Chicken Cutlets with Honey and Cumin,” as I did. Bitman called for grilling or broiling the chicken but I thought #1, firing up the grill is not worth the effort for boneless/skinless breasts, #2 it seemed that the great liquids and flavors in the recipe could get lost by basting etc. and #3 I could better control the done-ness of the chicken by cooking it on the stovetop in a deep skillet. Nobody likes dried breast, especially me (a lifelong dark meat guy). While I never did put the lid on to make this dish (thus, it wasn’t truly brazed) the depth of the skillet was great for handling the meat and the sauce without making a mess of the stovetop.

Other than changing the cooking method, I used peanut oil instead of olive oil (peanut oil can handle higher heat to brown the chicken), sake instead of dry sherry, white wine or orange juice, and I also added some vegetable stock, plus I added a 1.5-inch thick cut of butter from a quarter-pound section at the end of the cooking which gave the sauce a silky texture. Butter makes everything better, anyway.

  • Two halves of a boneless skinless breast
  • 3 Tbls Peanut oil
  • Half cup sake
  • Quarter cup vegetable stock
  • 3 Tbls honey
  • 1.5 Tbls ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 Tbls butter
  • Steps: Heat the skilled and just before putting the chicken in add the peanut oil.
  • Brown chicken 3 minutes a side and then remove
  • Add sake, scrap brown bits off bottom of pan (on medium high heat)
  • Add minced garlic, honey and cumin – stir and cook for a minute or two
  • Cut the breasts in half (making four pieces)
  • Add veggie stock – cook on medium high heat two more minutes when some of the liquid starts to evaporate, add the chicken to the liquid and lower heat to simmer, cooking for 2 minutes.
  • Add the butter, stir the chicken and sauce gently and constantly for about a minute then turn off heat.
  • Let stand for 2-3 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and stir the sauce again.
  • Let stand for 2 minutes and serve.

We had this dish with sticky white rice and steamed broccoli. Fantastic!