SobaAddict70

T-day will be spent with a couple of friends at Riverpark -- http://www.riverparknyc.com/ Post T-day dinner menu is: Chicken consommé, with autumn vegetables and wild mushrooms Fettucine, with chestnuts, sage and farm egg Roast chicken Brussel sprouts, with hazelnuts and pancetta Pickled cippolini onion, crosnes and roasted carrot salad Ice cream, pumpkin jam Most of the vegetables have been bought already. On Wednesday, I will pick up the chicken from either USGM or Citarella, and the wild mushrooms, chestnuts and hazelnuts from Fairway. BTW I'm cooking for one and have plans for leftover chicken later this weekend. Prep work will begin Thursday evening. When you're cooking for one, a lot of the hustle and bustle disappears, and your effort becomes easier. It looks like a lot of food, doesn't it? It isn't really. It's only 4 courses and very little starch. S.

It's been a while, right? Last night: Crosnes and turnip green salad. Crosnes are a tuber vegetable with a dull whitish color and a knobby appearance. They have a nutty, slightly buttery flavor and a crisp texture similar to water chestnuts. They're also quite expensive; Mountain Sweet Berry was selling them for $24/lb. These were sautéed in unsalted butter, and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper; then combined with briefly wilted turnip greens and crushed deep-fried Chinese noodles. Lemon juice for a touch of acidity, and chives for garnish. Pumpkin, with chiles, mint and poached farm egg. This appears regularly on Babbo's and Otto's menus (which you may know as restaurants owned by Mario Batali). The poached egg is my own addition. Recipe here: http://www.mariobatalifoundation.org/sauteed_pumpkin.htm You can make this vegan by omitting the egg. Spaghetti with pancetta, zucchini and onion.

Scrambled egg "mini-sandwiches" -- shallot-herb gougères, scrambled eggs, capers.

No, they won't. You can flash-fry any herb without that nonsense. -a pro Maybe they will, and maybe they won't. I'll go with the method that works for me though, thanks.

Tuesday night dinner: Bucatini con la bottarga Gently warm some olive oil and add some slivered garlic and a pinch of red chile pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, then stir in cooked pasta, chopped Italian parsley, mullet bottarga and julienned lemon zest. Serve at once. tonight: Chanterelle and fried herb salad, with farm egg fried in olive oil The herbs (oregano, sage, chives) were dipped in an egg white wash (2 egg whites, 6 tablespoons cold water), then flash fried in olive oil. If you skip this step, the herbs will burn. The mushrooms were sautéed in olive oil with chopped garlic, sea salt, black pepper and thyme. The egg was cooked using José Andres' method that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Squid, honey ham, Austrian potatoes Austrian potatoes are an heirloom cultivar of fingerling potatoes. They were peeled, then briefly simmered in water, then sliced into irregularly-shaped (although similarly sized) pieces, then fried in olive oil with onion, sea salt and black pepper. The squid was poached in olive oil, with orange zest, bay leaf, red onion, garlic, sea salt and red chile pepper. Canadian turbot, carrot confit Don't be fooled by this pic. Those carrots are as soft as butter and were first simmered, then baked at 275 F for 3 hours in a mixture of olive oil, fresh-squeezed orange juice, orange zest, cumin, cayenne pepper, sea salt and garlic. Delfino cilantro to finish. It's JGV's recipe, from his restaurant JoJo: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/04/dining/the-word-chefs-can-t-resist-confit.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

nice dinners, everyone, especially yours Dejah. Franci -- I'll be doing carrot confit later this week. I recently came across a recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten that does not use any butter. Think you'll like it. tonight: stufato, hard-cooked farm egg, baguette (not shown) this version has onion, zucchini, celery, celery heart, celery leaves, cremini mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, grape tomatoes, anchovy, green beans, sea salt, black pepper, Italian parsley and olive oil. now that fall is here, I look forward to using some peppers, squash, pumpkin and that most underrated of vegetables, cauliflower.

thanks folks. c. sapidus, your photos always make me hungry. last night: Mozzarella, ham and fig salad This is an adaptation of a Jaime Oliver recipe, which you can view here: www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/salad-recipes/the-easiest-sex... Just regular fresh mozzarella, honey ham, fresh figs and Italian parsley. The dressing consists of wildflower honey, sea salt, lemon juice, black pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. It's sweet, salty and creamy all at the same time. Pasta con le zucchine I had some thin spaghetti (spaghettini), spaghetti and bucatini but not enough for one serving, which is why you see different sized strands. This is probably one of the easiest of vegetable sauces. Start with a couple cloves of crushed garlic and olive oil, then add some sliced zucchini or summer squash. Add a pinch of sea salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Cook until the zucchini becomes golden brown, add some minced Italian parsley, and the cooked pasta. If the pasta seems too dry, add some pasta cooking water. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, taste for salt and pepper, then serve at once. Cheese is optional.

great stuff guys, especially the RG beans patrick. I need to restock my supply; keep saying that but I'm forgetful. Recent stuff: Zucchini frico This is just thin sliced zucchini cooked in olive oil, with sea salt, pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. Italian parsley to finish. The cheese becomes crispy when cooked in this manner. Mozzarella, heirloom tomato and mesclun salad, with Delfino cilantro Delfino cilantro is a slow-bolting variety of cilantro that has strong parsley flavor notes with an undertone of citrus. Cremini mushroom and zucchini custard Mesclun and heirloom tomato salad, homemade ranch dressing I probably went a little overboard on the dressing. The ranch dressing consists of mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, Delfino cilantro, sea salt, garlic, black pepper and chives. I've never had homemade ranch dressing before; you can be assured I'll be using it a lot in the future. The custard is very simple -- eggs, milk, cremini mushrooms, zucchini, shallots, unsalted butter, sea salt, black pepper. Cook the mushrooms, zucchini and shallots in butter; taste for salt and pepper. Add to an egg/milk mixture (1 egg + 1/2 cup of milk for two custards to serve one person), pour in ramekins, bake in a bain-marie at 375 F for 30 minutes, garnish with herbs, serve at once. Sausage, kale and potato hash I make variants of this hash in the autumn and winter. You can take it in any direction you wish, from vegan to vegetarian, to a little or a lot of meat as you see here. Vegetables were cooked separately in lightly salted water, then chopped coarsely, then cooked in a mixture of sausage pan drippings and olive oil. Greens can be spinach, Swiss chard, black cabbage, escarole, chicory or kale. Potatoes can be Yukon Gold, Purple Peruvian, Austrian, Red Crescent, Ruby Red, Idaho potatoes or Russian Banana. Sometimes I serve it plain with just greens and potatoes, and lashings of excellent olive oil. Sometimes there'll be a couple of poached or soft-cooked eggs, or chopped tomatoes, or oil-packed anchovy and garlic, or roasted or baked shrimp, or shredded poached chicken, or pan-fried brook trout. It's also a wonderful way to use up leftovers. You get the idea. This version contains purple kale, Italian spicy sausage, Yukon Gold potatoes, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

Pane, burro e acciughe Spaghetti con le sedano It's not so strange. Once you learn a few tricks, you can pair pasta with just about any vegetable imaginable. The celery was simmered in lightly salted water, then fried in olive oil along with garlic, red onion, sea salt, black pepper and Italian parsley.

Last night: Watermelon, feta cheese and tomato salad A variation on my usual "watermelon and feta cheese salad", this has grape tomatoes and the addition of scallions as a substitute for the usual red onion. Dressing consists of 2 tablespoons watermelon juice, 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, a pinch of sea salt, a pinch of black pepper, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and some chopped Italian parsley. Penne puttanesca

C. sapidus and rod rock -- you're both too kind. thank you. hi Shane. here are photos which document my preferred method for making roasted potatoes. for the version I did recently, I used 2 large unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes cut into wedges or quarters. I didn't par-boil them; also the marinade consisted of 1/4 cup olive oil, the juice of 3 lemons, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, a pinch each of sea salt and black pepper: 15 baby Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled — (1) kosher salt olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped freshly milled black pepper (1) — if you use larger-sized potatoes, you will have to adjust the par-boiling time and the roasting time. In addition, you may have to slice them into more manageable pieces. Place the potatoes in a saucepan with some cold water, and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain into a colander; potatoes should be barely cooked through. Place potatoes in a bowl and pour enough olive oil to cover them by half way. Add rosemary and sage. Stir, then set aside. Let the potatoes marinate in the olive oil for about 15 to 20 minutes. When you’re ready to proceed, pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Arrange them in a Pyrex baking dish or roasting pan. Roast the potatoes at 350 F for 30 minutes. Give the potatoes a stir once or twice to ensure that they brown evenly on all sides. When potatoes are done, transfer to a warmed serving platter. You’ll want to serve these as soon as you are able, since the longer they sit, the sooner they’ll lose their crisped coating. Time: About one hour and 15 minutes, including prep. Clockwise from top right — Squid, poached in Spanish olive oil, with garlic, lemon and bay leaf; cabbage braised in French butter; crisped roasted potatoes

photos are much improved, Patrick. kudos. great meals, all. last night: Salmon roe and Persian cucumber salad Behold my failed attempt at trying to brunoise cucumber and onion. Left: Broccoli con aglio e acciughe Right: Scalloped tomatoes The tomatoes feature croutons made by frying bread cubes from a baguette in schmaltz, then combined with tomatoes, red onion, basil, sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and baked at 350 F for 30 minutes. Kind of like a "hot panzanella" but the proportion of tomato to bread definitely favors the former. Recipe for the salmon roe salad: http://www.food52.com/recipes/18770_salmon_roe_and_cucumber_salad and for the scalloped tomatoes: http://www.food52.com/blog/4369_sarah_leah_chases_scalloped_tomatoes. Note that my version of the tomatoes differs slightly from the recipe in the link.

Very nice, Patrick. Hiyayakko tofu, pickled red onion, scallion Leftover pollo alla cacciatora re-imagined as: Shredded chicken with tomato and porcini mushroom sauce, Greek lemon potatoes Those potatoes were amazing -- crispy exterior, creamy interior. A marinade in olive oil and lemon juice probably helped.

it depends on mood and whim, and what I'm making. sometimes I will use plain water for soup (for example, sopa de ajo), sometimes Evian or Poland Spring in a pot of lentils and vegetables. if I want a "clean" or "neutral" taste, I am more likely to use water instead of stock.

thanks Kim. I love me some mac-n-cheese. last night: leftover soup and salad and: Skillet escarole Pollo alla cacciatora, semolina bread This is pretty close to the original version of chicken cacciatore -- nothing but garlic, rosemary, San Marzano tomatoes, chicken, olive oil, peperoncino and sea salt. Not that the Americanized versions aren't tasty (the ones with sausage, peppers, onion and mushrooms), but they're not what I'm interested in.

Leftovers tonight, but there were also these: Warm green bean and potato salad Fresh peach crumble, unsweetened yogurt

and don't forget the feet. if you live in NYC, an inexpensive option is to get the chicken from Chinatown. as in "live". but I don't know whether it's organic or free-range.

You get 5 quarts of stock out of one chicken? I probably end up with less than a quart after reduction. I usually use chicken frames but I may go to necks or wings that are usually less expensive. Then again I live in a country where you can still get those things - although they are getting harder to find in the supermarkets. OP could either start with a whole chicken and pull the meat off the bones to eat after cooking and return the bones to the pot or try to find appropriate bits and pieces. Would making stock from cheap necks, wings or bones be ok or do you want free-range stock? I like the idea of raising your own chickens. Whoops. I thought that was a little too generous as well, then went back and looked at my notes. More like 2.5 quarts, but I don't reduce it as much as some folks do. At some point, my stomach can't handle the amazing aroma that comes out of my kitchen. But still, I don't see the OP using all that in a week, unless he's making risotto every few days.

Minestra di zucchine e scarola Doable in about an hour, including vegetable prep. You can make the stock in advance (either chicken or vegetable stock), or use water. The basic template is: a battuto (onion, celery, carrot) cooked in olive oil, to which is added -- potato and zucchini, salt and pepper, and stock or water. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat or until the vegetables are tender. Towards the last 5 minutes of cooking, add chopped escarole. Taste for salt and pepper, stir in Italian parsley and maybe a heaping tablespoon of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, then serve at once. Unlike a minestrone, this is meant to be a first course. You can add rice, pasta, beans or increase the amount of potato to make it heartier. Or add pancetta, sausage or ham in the beginning if you'd like a "meat-y" flavor in addition to the vegetables. Spaghetti con funghi e aglio A variant of Lidia Bastianich's recipe, which you can view here: www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/806 This version has several changes, not the least of which is that it's been sized to serve one and doesn't contain as much garlic. I'll have the recipe on the blog later this week.

At USGM, a free-range, antibiotic-free, organic chicken costs about $25 give or take a few pounds. (USGM = Union Square Greenmarket, our largest farmer's market here in NYC.) One of those babies will make about five to six quarts of chicken stock. I won't use it all in a week and it begins to pay for itself after the first dinner. When you factor that in, the savings realized over time outweighs the initial cost.

very nice, chefmd. I'll be borrowing that and expanding on it in an all-tomato dinner in late September. for tonight -- leftover chana masala and: Broccoli rabe, with chile pepper, garlic and lemon Plum tomatoes, unsalted butter, sea salt, black pepper ETA re the tomatoes: Chef Matt Hamilton of Lulu and Po (formerly of Uovo (New York), Pair of 8's (New York) and Belcourt (New York)) does something similar. sheepish -- lovely.

Deb's recipe here -- http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/02/chana-masala/ I made a few substitutions since I have an Indian pantry -- ghee for oil, 1 teaspoon panch phoran and amchoor for the lemon juice. I skipped the paprika and garam masala. I love cilantro, so added that in at the end.

hi Kim. yes, they're served room temp. you can make it as is, or a day ahead so that the flavors blend. edit: the recipe will be on the blog later this weekend, by the way. last night -- and I made way too much as usual, but that's okay, as I love homemade Indian food (for that, leftovers are most welcome, indeed): Chana masala, coconut rice, zucchini and scallion raita

thanks dcarch. the tomato and tofu above reminds me of a version of hiyayakko I did a while ago, with Jersey tomatoes, scallions, pickled ginger and silken tofu. I'm thinking I need to do that again, soon.

Insalata di zucchini e pomodoro Tomato and herb salad Tomato and stone fruit salad, with Spanish chorizo and prosciutto crudo Insalata Caprese, slow-roasted tomatoes Fava bean and heirloom tomato ragoût Celery "pasta" and heirloom tomato salad