Jeffery Deaver

I know I said the recipes serve four. This one could serve four as an appetizer, or it could serve one: me, for instance, I’m home alone with a nice salad, a cold Chimay beer and a new episode of Veep or House of Cards or a John Gilstrap novel to enjoy.

Ingredients: 

1 clove of garlic, crushed
¾ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
25 chicken wings
¾ cup melted butter—salted or unsalted; your call
½ cup hot sauce of your choosing

 Directions:

1. Combine marinade in plastic bag and add wings. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Remove wings from marinade (discard marinade) and pat wings dry. Place wings, flour, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper in plastic bag. Shake to thoroughly mix.

3. Place the wings on oiled baking sheet. Refrigerate for one hour.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. Combine melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl, whisk. Brush generously on wings, top and bottom.

6. Bake for twenty minutes, turn wings over and bake for another 20-30 minutes until done (internal temperature of 180 degrees F).

Ingredients: 

4 pounds beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2″-3″ pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 ¼ cups dry red wine
1 teaspoon each crushed thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper
Sprigs of some herb for garnish. You pick. Mr. Swann can’t do all the work.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Salt and pepper ribs.

3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven and brown ribs slowly in batches so that they’re thoroughly browned. Set ribs aside.

4. Drain off most of the oil and drippings, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the Dutch oven.

5. Brown onions. Add flour and tomato paste and cook this mixture, while stirring constantly for several minutes until uniform in texture.

6. Return ribs (and any juice from plate) to the Dutch oven. Add wine. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to simmer.

7. When liquid is reduced to about half, add the herbs and garlic.

8. Add stock and bring to boil, then cover and transfer to the oven.

9. Bake until ribs are very tender, about 2 ½ hours.

10. Transfer to serving platter. Add garnish. Skim fat from the liquid and boil to thicken on stove top, then strain into serving bowl.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 thick pork chops, with bone in
3 cups French bread, cubed and toasted
½ stick of unsalted butter
¼ cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons chopped dried cherries
4 tablespoons chopped raisins
¼ teaspoon each, sage and rosemary, crushed
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/3 cup kirsch
Additional melted butter
Additional chicken stock
Whole dried cherries and raisins for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Slice slits into the pork chops to the bone.

3. In a sauce pan, heat butter over low to medium heat (it burns easily!) and slowly cook the onions, cherries and raisins until soft.

4. Off the heat. Add to the pan the bread cubes, chicken broth, spices and salt and pepper, and mix.

5. Stuff mixture into the slits in the pork chops, secure with toothpicks.

6. In an ovenproof cast-iron skillet, heat the oil and brown the pork chops.

7. Add to baking dish and brush with additional butter.

8. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until done (internal temperature 160 degrees F).

9. Remove chops to serving plate.

10. Deglaze skillet over low heat with kirsch (careful, it can catch fire!) and chicken stock. Pour over the chops, garnish with additional cherries and raisins.

Ingredients: 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cumin powder
3 tablespoons crushed sage
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Olive oil as needed
1 cup Vidalia or sweet onion, diced
1 cup green pepper, diced
2 cups sweet potatoes or yams, cut in 1 inch cubes.
2 tablespoons fresh Cilantro, chopped
Cholula hot sauce
15-ounce can of coconut milk, opened (Ha—just seeing if you’re awake)
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons light rum (it should be cold)
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, cumin powder, sage, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.

3. Heat about 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven. Add chicken thighs two or three at a time and brown thoroughly—about ten minutes per side. Remove chicken.

4. Add more oil and sauté the onion and bell pepper until tender.

5. Return chicken to pan, add coconut milk, chicken stock and sweet potatoes. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

6. Cook covered for 35-45 minutes, until the chicken and sweet potatoes are fork tender.

7. To thicken sauce, if necessary, add 1 tablespoon of the corn starch-rum mixture and cook, stirring constantly. Repeat if necessary.

There are three required accompaniments for this dish: Rice, rice and rice.

The purple variety of asparagus is sweeter and more tender than green or white. You don’t need to trim much of the base, perhaps just ¼ inch or so. Make the sauce first because the asparagus should cook very quickly.

Ingredients:

16 stalks purple asparagus
½ cup white vermouth
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
Cayenne pepper
Salt

Instructions for Hollandaise:

1. Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together in the top pan of a double boiler or a stainless steel bowl and until the mixture is thickened and roughly double the volume.

2. Place the pan on the double boiler or, if using the stainless bowl, atop a saucepan smaller, containing water, smaller than the bowl; the water should not touch the pan; it’s the steam that does the cooking.

3. Turn heat to low and whisk rapidly as the eggs cook. If they get too hot, they’re scramble and while that would make a good snack, you’d have to start all over again. So, remember: low heat, constant whisking.

4. Slowly drizzle in the butter and continue whisking until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, add a pinch of cayenne and pinch of salt.

Instructions for Asparagus

1. Add the vermouth and water in the bottom of a vegetable steamer.

2. Bring the liquid to a boil.

3. Add the asparagus.

4. Steam for 3-5 minutes until cooked but still crispy.

5. Place on serving platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add a small amount of hollandaise .

Ingredients:

4 veal cutlets
1 cup all-purpose flour
Butter as needed
Olive oil as needed
2 tablespoons shallots, sliced thin
1 clove of garlic, minced
12 ounces beef or veal stock
1/2 cup sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white seedless grapes
4 sprigs fresh parsley
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Dredge the cutlets in the flour then season with salt and pepper. Sauté in two tablespoons each of butter and oil. Cook until crispy, just a few minutes. Remember the small-batch rule. Set aside in a warming oven.

2. In the same pan in which you’ve sautéed the cutlets, combine one tablespoon each of butter and oil and cook, over low heat, the shallots and garlic until translucent. Add the stock and sherry and bring to a boil, scraping the pan. Reduce the liquid by half.

3. Whisk in the cream and bring to boil again. Lower heat and cook until thick.

4. Cut the grapes in half and in a separate sauté pan cook them in over medium heat in one tablespoon each butter and oil until soft.

5. Place cutlets on plate, top with grapes and pour sauce over the top. Garnish with the parsley.