Still Cool Enough to use the Range

One of the nice things about the spring is that you get a mix of warm and cool weather. In any given week you can cook inside and out. By July, chances are it's regularly too hot to turn on the range so I'm forced outside. Anyway, last week was cool enough to get inside a few times and the results were great.
I did a nice summer meal of poached chicken with tomatoes and olives served with green beans. I took my recipe from the 2009 Gourmet cookbook but found the identical recipe on line here. Poaching chicken breasts, a first for me, tested my nerve and I didn't wait to see if 6 minutes in the boiling water and 15 minutes resting would work. I poached until done, with little adverse impact. It's pretty to look at and would make a great meal for the patio, most of which could be prepared prior to the arrival of guests and served at room temperature. Late in the summer I'd use fresh tomatoes instead of canned but I do like the acidity of canned tomatoes.
A cookbook that is definitely on my "to buy" list is All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking by Molly Stevens. I looked through it in a library and copied the recipe for Chicken Braised with Prunes and Green Olives, among others. The recipes are carefully explained and they are packed with skills that can transfer to other recipes. One in particular is letting your chicken sit undisturbed in the oil to give it a good sear. Patience and faith pay off with a brown textured surface to the chicken that holds up even in 40 minutes of braising. That proved to be a great weeknight meal and I served it with boiled potatoes. If you don't like the word "prunes" call them dried plums. Lemon zest, white wine and vinegar make for some great subtle flavors.
I took the advice of the NY Times Diner's Journal and tried Eggplant and Roast Tomatoes Gratin. Too early for yellow grape tomatoes so they were all red in my version. Basically an eggplant parmigiana but the ingredients are chopped up and mixed together prior to baking. I added half and then half of the cheese and added the other half and cheese. I don't know, it seemed more "gratin" to me. It was tasty and we used it as a side two nights later for company.