Experimental dinner

Last night I served two experiments for dinner.

The first was a potato dish. I wanted something other than baked potatoes, fried potatoes, a cheese and cream (or milk) potato gratin, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato soup -- you know, the usual dishes that come to mind when thinking about potatoes.

I did a search for potato recipes. Guess what? They were all variations of the above. I browsed a few of them, but none were quite what called out to me. I gathered a few tidbits of inspiration from some of them and set out to put together an improvisation -- an experiment.

What I came up with is what I might title, Herbed Mushroom and Potato Gratin. The recipe follows.

The other experiment, I put together the night before. Pears are on sale this week, so there are quite a few lying around with plans to purchase more before they go off sale. About a week ago, a bottle of pear vinegar was on clearance so I bought it. The back had a recipe, but I wasn't about to purchase two more bottles at $7 each.

Taking inspiration from the recipe, I fashioned something different using apple cider vinegar. This recipe also follows.

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Herbed Mushroom and Potato Gratin

Serves: 6-8
Active prep and cook time: 25-30 minutes
Total cook time: 75-90 minutes

• 1 tbsp. + 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup wine (optional)
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp. salt (more if using unsalted stock)
• 2 lb. potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 1 or 2 large tomatoes, sliced 1/8-inch thick
• Dried basil leaves
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Asiago or Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. cracked or coarsely ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Thoroughly oil a 13x9 baking dish with 1 tbsp. oil. Using mortar and pestle, thoroughly grind rosemary and thyme.
2. Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a medium saucepan or frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add and fry garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add onions and continue to fry until the onions begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add crushed rosemary and thyme and fry for a few seconds.
3. Add mushrooms and continue to stir and fry for a couple of minutes. Add wine, if using, and fry until liquid is reduced. Add stock and salt, bring to boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off heat when done.
4. While the mushrooms are simmering, assemble the potatoes. Lay a layer of potatoes in the baking dish, then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers until all the potatoes slices are used.
5. Pour mushroom mixture over assembled potatoes, spreading the mixture out evenly with a spoon. Arrange tomato slices on top. Sprinkle basil leaves over the tomatoes. Grate (medium size) Asiago cheese over the top.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender all the way through.
7. Top the gratin with parsley and black pepper.

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Pears in Spiced Vinegar Syrup

Serves: 4
Active prep and cook time: 10-15 minutes
Total cook time: 40-50 minutes

• 2 or 3 bartlett pears
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 6 or so fresh mint leaves
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 tbsp. corn starch
• 3 tbsp. cold water
• Fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Core and slice each pear into 6 or 8 slices.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine and heat cider vinegar, mint leaves, cloves, nutmeg, cayenne, sugar, and honey over medium heat. When well combined and all the sugar is dissolved, add the pears. Add enough water to mostly cover all pear slices. Increase heat and bring to boil, then lower heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. With a slotted spoon, carefully take out pear slices, taking care to keep slices intact. Remove and discard mint leaves in the syrup.
4. Increase heat to bring liquid to boil. Boil until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. In 3 tbsp. cold water, dissolve corn starch. Add mixture to syrup, stir constantly, and continue to boil for another 30 seconds or until syrup thickens. Take off heat.
5. Arrange pear slices on a plate and pour syrup over them. Garnish with fresh mint leaves, if desired.