1494 replies to this topic

[Liza]

Baked trout Wednesday and didn't eat it last night, so cold baked trout with arugula flowers and baby spinach, splash o'balsamic and olive oil. Tonight, more trout! With more greens - hopefully some of the magenta Amaranth mixed with the deep green baby spinach. We'll tire of this eventually, but not for awhile.
Tomorrow, though, grilled marinated octopus.
Thanks, Jim, for the beans tip. I'm going to set a pot up on Sunday.
And Jinmyo, how do you store fresh horseradish? I've find it goes...rather limp, rather quickly in the fridge.

[Jinmyo]

I cryovaced some from the autumn, store it in the freezer in small chunks. Not really "fresh" grant you, but I wanted to quickly distinguish it from some kind of bottled creamed horrid glop.

That's a lot of trout.

I've used amaranth in salads and of course in Chinese-style preparations. Wonderful.

[Priscilla]

Last night panko-crusted scallops on way-done, very soft cabbage braised with onion and a little garlic, the scallops brown and crispy, barely done in the middle, plenty of salt and pepper.  

Beautiful giant head of cabbage from one of the organic guys at the farmer's market, big as a Replogle globe, the cabbage, not the guy, couldn't resist it.  I'll make good use of what I didn't braise.

The Magic of Panko.  (Similar to, but much paler in power than, The Magic of Bacon.)

Priscilla

[Wilfrid]

That trout needs to be eaten.  I might go that way again this weekend.  The Beloved has announced a new diet, and I am not sure what is in and what is out.  Baked trout with a squeeze of lemon might be okay.  Of course, I'll smother my portion with butter, cream, bacon, etc, etc.  

[Priscilla]

Liza, I was thinking the same thing about you, and not solely due to your ongoing Derek Smallsian Trout Odyssey, although I am fully in support of that and behave similarly.

When a high-quality ingredient (that we like) is available, I will work with it over and over.  I am used to cooking with what is in season, (as much as possible; I'm not militaristically doctrinaire), and it just seems natural to fully exploit what is fresh and available.

This is also applicable to regular markets.  Surrounding Easter and Passover there is lamb in supermarkets (here in Southern California) that isn't there the rest of the year.  (Of course there are places I can go and and get a rack of lamb when I need one.)  But the pleasure of running into the local supermarket and finding a nice Frenched rack of lamb (on SALE) is immense, and I availed myself (and consequently the Consort and the child and sundry guests) of this pleasure multiple times this spring.

It's funny, too, in a laugh-to-keep-from-crying kinda way, how the "meat cutters," and I use that term loosely, don't know WHAT to do with it.  (The type I like the best is comes from CO pre-Frenched fresh in Cry-O-Vac, lucky for us all.)

Priscilla

[Jinmyo]

Roast beef sandwiches on fresh Pain de Pepin (we call it that because it's based on a recipe for French country bread by Jacques Pepin). With Normandy cultured butter, ricotta dura, Maille Dijon, watercress, cracked pepper. Roasted tomato soup with creme fraiche. Strubb's kosher dills.

[Liza]

Salad of fresh baked trout, smoked trout, arugula flowers and greens, with slices of red onion. Balsamic vinegar and oil. The baked combined with the smoked to complement eachother. ("Why you're a bit of lovely trout, aincha?", "Ditto!")

[knews9]

like stellabella, i'm curious to know more about how people prepare for their weeks cooking, including menu planning (do you do it? do you just wait to see what you pick up at teh market) and shopping (how many stores or markets do folks regularly visit?)  the posts already from soba were great, thanks.
this week i think i only cooked one meal worth reporting--chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes and baked in dried porcini mushroom juice--really not very interesting or unusual and i overcooked the chicken to boot!  served with steamed baby spinach and pasta w/ leftover sauce... so boring!  so busy!
the other night i had riceandbeans, a nice slaw type salad of red and white cabbage, tomatoes, lemon juice and olive oil and sweet plaintains with cheese.  comforting and easy...
there was a time i was making big meals three or four times a week but i can't get it together to do it...any suggestions regarding above would be welcome.
finally, i started a dinner party menu post but only one response so far  :confused: maybe someone here would post???

[Jinmyo]

Oven baked crispy chicken (crusted with home-made large bread crumbs and dried herbs). Frites with fresh wasabi mayonaisse. Celery root slaw with a vinagraitte.

[Miss J]

Ah - we've finished the worst of our latest DIY job, so I'm back to cooking again. (A few more leisurely meal preps and I'll be back to my usual chilled-out self.)

Last night, after a long day puttering around our garden, we had:

BBQ-grilled salmon fillets rubbed with garam masala (my mixture)
Potato masala (South Indian inspired, with curry leaves and a wee bit of urad dal for crunch)
Spinach salad with cucumber, red onion, mango and walnuts

The salmon and potatoes melded very nicely. The salad provided a nice crunch (which is what I was looking for), but I'm still thinking about the best flavours to go with the other two components. I've some leftover potatoes, so maybe I'll play around with them tonight.

Miss J

[Jinmyo]

Miss J, with the spicing given the salmon and potatoes, pickled mango would go nicely. It has quite a crisp crunch to it. You can find it in Asian groceries, particularly Vietnamese.

[Wilfrid]

Weekend ruined by work, so only had time to cook something quick last night.  A thick, dry aged shell steak from the French Butcher.  I put a scrape of butter on the surfaces of the meat, then sprinkled cracked black pepper and lots of kosher salt, and pressed it in with my fingers.  A dry skillet as hot as I could get it.  The steak had a dark, crunchy seasoned crust, but was still bloody inside.  Mashed Yukon golds, with some truffle oil and D'Artagnan's truffle butter whipped in.   A chiffonade of arugula to decorate the plate.  Followed with the last of the stanser roteli cheese from Artisanal.  A bottle of Listrac Medoc, described by Hugh Johnson as stalwart rather than glamorous.  Well, this was a stalwart dinner, and good too.

[Jinmyo]

Rice noodles with sautéed chile-glazed daikon brunoise with minced red bell pepper and chopped asparagus, ngoc mam, mirin, fresh coriander; carrot and coconut milk bisque seasoned with lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, with straw mushrooms; oolong tea-steamed baby bok choy and yu choy with peanuts; pillow tofu and scallions with a shoyu-miso-ponzu sauce.

[SobaAddict70]

Let me say that being stuck at work several late nights in a row sucks...

...and that takeout is only good when the food is decent (Manhattan south of Wall Street is a takeout desert)...

...and that leftover sauerbraten makes for great sandwiches -- w/horseradish and sliced tomatoes on rye

Most of my leftovers end up as sandwich fodder or midnight snacks.  

One thing I do know -- we ordered stone crabs from Florida, so they'll be coming our way tomorrow evening, along with the requisite creamed spinach and Key Lime pie.  We ordered the large ones, on principle that like most things in life, "bigger is not necessarily better"  Joe's Stone Crabs

Can't wait for tomorrow...

Will post later as to tonight now that the fridge has been cleared of leftovers.

[Jim Dixon]

Liza,

I was happy to see that somebody else (you, that is) eats arugula flowers. The stuff grows like a weed here in Portland, so I always have lots of volunteers in the garden. I let it go, and it gets leggy and wild but produces a lot of flowers. I've heard that some people think 'mature' arugula is too bitter, but I like the bite.

Jim

[Wilfrid]

Let me say that being stuck at work several late nights in a row sucks...

Horns of a dilemma for me:  such circumstances mean I want really good, home-prepared food, but also that I don't have the time or energy to do it.  I will eat take-away if I;ve been slobbing around bars all evening, but if I've been working I deserve better.

While at the French Butched, I pciked up an order of his home-made cassoulet.  That sorts tonight out, and it looks like we have cassoulet weather here in NYC too.

[SobaAddict70]

Last night:  sauteed bay scallops with a citrus-butter sauce; herbed rice pilaf; steamed asparagus.

Tonight -- Joe's stone crabs with all the trimmings.  Get them while the season lasts -- you have until May 15.

[Wilfrid]

Soba, if I may be so informal, when sauteeing bay scallops, do you have a problem with them giving off a lot of liquid?  That rather put me off cooking them in that fashion, but maybe I was doing something wrong.  Enjoy your crabs!

[Liza]

We got round to trying the Ducasse method of roast chicken, in which you brown the chicken first. Delicious. With fresh roasted asparagus and a puree of sauteed spinach, bok choy, a little bit of sausage and garlic.

[AdamLawrence]

I roasted a chicken on Sunday, it was a brand called 'Label Rouge' - ironically produced in England - but trying to replicate some of the better French corn-fed chickens. One of the best supermarket chickens I've had, though sadly I overcooked it a little. Deglazed pan with Noilly Prat and served with purple sprouting broccoli bought from the butcher-cum-greengrocer in our village.

Since there were only two of us, and the chicken was nearly two kilos, there was plenty of leftover meat. So last night we had our usual chicken leftovers meal, a roast chicken risotto. It's stretching the boundaries a bit to call it a recipe, but I nicked the basic process from Nigel Slater - sweat onion in mix of oil and butter, add rice (I use Carnaroli) for a couple of minutes, then a glass of white wine, then start adding the stock. Shortly before rice is cooked, add chicken, then a bit of cream, some Parmesan and a load of flat parsley. Served with a green salad with a mustard (Maille grain) dressing, a plate of tomatoes and some bread.

Tonight's the lady wife's photography class, so we'll have something quick. Lucy's mum visited at the weekend and brought us some eggs from her chickens, so I think we might have mushroom omelettes, again with salad, tomatoes and bread. Then I shall go to the pub. I wonder what the guest beer will be?

Adam

[Jinmyo]

Mac N Cheese.

(Baked ziti with a porcini bechamel, grated parmesan, chevre, croutons, crushed fennel seeds and fennel fronds.)

With hot dogs.

(Hot Italian liver sausages with fried onions.)

edit: Oops. Almost forgot about the catsup. (Blackened tomatoes pulped, mixed with roasted ancho, buzzed with handblender.)

[helenas]

Jinmyo,
your dishes are awesome, as usual!
If you don't mind, could you tell more about the last dinner?
Have you used dry porcini?
And croutons, were they used instead of bread crumbs?

[Jinmyo]

Helena, I used dry porcini, whizzed them in a spice grinder, soaked them in melted butter, strained the particles out before making the bechamel.

I make croutons from torn bread, toasted in the oven with olive oil and basic seasonings. For this, I smashed them up before sprinkling them (heavily) on the casserole.

Adam. Oh yoy!

edit:
Oh, helena, I forgot. Thank you.

[SobaAddict70]

Not really.  The ones I used last night didn't exude too much liquid.  I think the key here is to use an appropriately hot pan and only put them on for as long as it takes to cook them.  My problem is taking them off before they start to overcook.

Oh, incidentally, the citrus glaze came out great.  Just a simple reduction of orange juice, grated orange zest and bits of unsalted butter whisked in from time to time, along with a tablespoon or two of pan juices from the scallops.

[Wilfrid]

Hmm.  I may well have dumped too many in the pan at once, thus reducing the temperature.  I'll have to give it another try.

Thanks.

[SobaAddict70]

Three or four at a time is best, in my experience.

[SobaAddict70]

Oh wow it was a lot of food.

Manhattan Clam Chowder (a bit on the spicy side);
Coleslaw (too sweet);
Creamed Spinach (sort of ok);
5 large stone crab claws per person.
Mustard sauce...  (lemon juice was better)

and a whole key lime pie.  In fact, the pie was the best of the bunch.  Buttery graham cracker crust and a perfect filling.

Not bad for $250, but not something I could do everyday.

[Adam_Balic]

Pie!

Well, actually tartlets (about 3 to 4 per serving) stuffed with chicken and wild mushrooms (morels, lobster, porcini) with rosemary cream. Topped with a bit of roasted garlic compound butter. A salad of chicken crackling and sauteed shallots, chicken hearts, gizzards, and livers poured over mesclun. A soup of tomato water with grape tomatoes stuffed with a leaf of basil and a few drops of lobster oil. Slices of ricotta dura with a few drops of 25 year old balsmico tradizionale (to celebrate Pie).

cabrales, I'll msg you.

I'm so glad you had pie. Last night I was reading through my first edition of Jane Grigson's "Good Things" (found in small bookshop for a few quid = well chuffed). The is an entire section on PIE. Opening sentence "Most of us have a weakness for (meat) pie. Or should I say for a platonic ideal of (meat) pies?".Mmmm Platonic Pie, so full of Plato goodness.

Did you make your own Lobster oil? Recipe sounds V. good, but is it Platonic pie? .

I like Ziti. Especially, when made into that famous Sicillian Ziti/sardine/fennel/saffron/sultana baked pasta dish.

[Jinmyo]

What is not Pie? Whatever is enclosed between the crusts of earth and sky is surely Pie.

Pie can be a tart, a dumpling, a sandwich. But a sandwich (as I was telling Bux re Croque Monsiuer) is not Pie.

Pie is the mutual enfolding of absolute and relative, context and content.

What is, is Pie.

Yes, my own lobster oil. Shells. So a kind of pie as well.

lullyloo, I've msged you.

[AdamLawrence]

There's a quite lovely Italian butter I get occasionally in Waitrose (posh English supermarket) called Burro Occelli. According to the very broken English encomium on the packaging, it won some kind of butter taste-off run by Wine Spectator (which suggests it must be available in the US). Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I don't know, but the butter is fab. I recommend it.

cheers

Adam