Pomp and Penne

PENNE WITH PESTO
SERVES 6

PESTO
4 cloves garlic Olive oil (for sprinkling)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 bunch basil (about 3 cups packed leaves)
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves Salt, to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Place the garlic on a small piece of foil. Sprinkle lightly with oil. Close up the foil. In a small baking dish, set the packet on one side, and scatter the nuts on the other. Toast the nuts for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are lightly golden. Remove them from the oven. Cook the garlic for 20 minutes more or until tender.

Bring a teakettle of water to a boil.

In a large bowl, place the basil and parsley. Pour enough boiling water over the greens to cover them. Let them sit for 10 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess moisture with your hands.

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, basil, and parsley until the leaves are coarsely chopped.

Add the pine nuts and salt. With the machine running, pour the oil through the feed tube in a thin stream until it is all combined.

PASTA
1 pound dried penne Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut into 4 rounds
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Extra Parmesan (for sprinkling)

Cook the penne in boiling salted water until tender. Remove 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Spoon about a third of the pesto onto the pasta. (Save the rest of the pesto for another dish.) Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and toss. If the pesto seems thick, add more pasta water. Add the tomatoes, Parmesan, salt, and pepper, and toss again. Serve at once with extra cheese or let the dish cool to room temperature before serving.

CHICKEN WITH ORANGE VINAIGRETTE
SERVES 8

8 chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup canola oil
3 stalks celery
2 heaping tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bunch watercress, stems removed

Rub the skin side of the chicken with oil, salt, and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and for as long as overnight.

Turn on the broiler. Set the chicken skin side up in a roasting pan. Broil the chicken for 8 minutes or until the skin is starting to char. Turn the breasts and broil the underside for 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, set it skin side up on a cutting board, and leave to cool.

Remove the meat from one of the breasts in a single large piece, pulling it away with your fingers. Cut the meat on a diagonal into thin slices and set it aside, keeping the slices together. Pull any remaining breast meat off the bone and shred it. Set the shredded pieces on a serving platter. Continue with the remaining breasts. When you are done, arrange the sliced breast meat on the platter, on top of the shredded meat.

In a bowl, whisk the vinegar with , cup of the orange juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the mustard, then the oil, 1 teaspoon at a time. When the dressing emulsifies, taste it for seasoning. Add more orange juice, salt, or pepper if you like.

Cut the celery lengthwise into thirds. Cut across the pieces to make very thin slices. With a spoon, stir the celery, capers, parsley, and orange rind into the dressing. Spoon the dressing over the chicken, adding enough to moisten it generously. Garnish with watercress and serve at once.

Note: You can prepare in advance, but do not dress the chicken. Cover the platter with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. When you are ready to serve, spoon the dressing over the chicken and garnish with watercress.

Ask the Cook: Sizzling Salmon

What is the best way to cook salmon steaks? Do they cook just like fillets?
TRACY /// Stoughton

The French term "darne" describes a steak crosscut from a fish with the bone in, whereas "fillet" is a thin, boneless cut that is sliced parallel to the bone. Both can be cooked using similar methods. They may be basted with lemon and butter and broiled under high heat or seared in a skillet on high heat to create some color, and then finished on low to allow heat to slowly penetrate to the center (this keeps the flesh moist). The bone gives the steak more structure than a fillet, making it slightly more durable, and depending on the size of the whole fish, steaks can be 2 or more inches thick. Just as with meat, the bone conducts heat and adds flavor to the cooking flesh. Steaks make for impressive presentations, but the fear of swallowing bones can cause some people anxiety. I often brush both steaks and fillets with lemon juice and Worcestershire and a little melted butter before grilling. This enhances delicate flavors without overwhelming them and gives a light glaze to the flesh. Or mix 1/4 cup of low-sodium soy with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of dry mustard, and marinate the fish in the mixture for about 15 minutes before grilling or broiling. Even a simple brushing with olive oil or melted butter and a sprinkling of salt and pepper will enhance the flavors of the fish and yield delicious - and quick - results. Over high heat, a 2-inch-thick 6-ounce fish steak needs to cook about 2 1/2 minutes per side.

By Peter J. Kelly, a chef-instructor at Johnson & Wales University.