A Note from the Chef, Erik Brett Cannella

We can all agree on something: I am not a writer. I am however a decent cook and hate having food go to waste. With that said, Adrianne and I cooked for a series of events over the last few weeks and found ourselves with a refrigerator full of ingredients. Nothing in this treasure trove of cooked and uncooked items was enough for a meal by itself.

Time to play the refrigerator game. It’s a combination of tetrus and concentration. One must recall the previous items peered at whilst not causing the moved items to crash onto the floor—Causing the utterance of what will most likely be my final words “mother-fucker”.

This mornings foray provided me with inspiration for 2 items.

The chick pea soup

!/2 can of chick peas
Ziploc bag of grilled and marinated sweet peppers
Some onion, carrot, celery and parsnip
A little vegetable stock
Tomato chutney

I cant recall the exact amounts but basically just make soup and add a little sherry vinegar dried chilies and thyme.

The gratin

3 peeled potatoes
1/2 onion
a bit of pancetta
Italian Parsley
Cup of grated Comte cheese
Goat cheese
1 1/2 cups of parsnip and celery root soup
touch of cream
olive oil and butter melted

Form the gratin by sautéing the pancetta and onion in a little of the butter. When cooked add the soup and cream,warm and turn off the heat.

Thinly slice the potatoes and start to layer them in a buttered casserole dish . Season with salt and pepper a touch of nutmeg between each layer. Sprinkle each layer with a bit of both cheeses and parsley and continue on. When finished with the potatoes and cheeses add the liquids top a bit of cheese. Bake at 400 for about an hour or until a knife easily pierces the potatoes.

Eat.