SobaAddict70

I expect ramps to be gone in a couple weeks. A huge number of friends will be in town this upcoming weekend. Can't get to Ssam Bar unfortunately. On the other hand, six of us will be at Casa Mono for Friday lunch. Am looking forward to the fried pigs feet with pickled ramps among other things.

Roast chicken -- nothing more than salt, pepper and a chicken. roast it per T. Keller's method. use kitchen twine to truss the bird. Pan-sauteed green beans and potatoes with garlic. Recipe here. In the pic above I used wax beans. Same difference. Easy, there's your five ingredients.

Caldo verde, a baguette 2003 Paul Domaine Blanck riesling

I'd love that recipe purty please???????????????? ← Recipe is on the blog. Method is pretty straightforward -- sweat vegetables in butter, check seasoning, add chicken stock and herbs, check seasoning, puree in a blender, return to pot, whisk in cream (or in this case creme fraiche), check seasoning and serve. Proportions are up to you since I rarely cook by following a recipe. For this soup I used some peeled heirloom potatoes since I didn't have any regular ones on hand. Turnips, turnip greens, leeks, potatoes and onion. The breadcrumbs were from a stale sourdough roll (3 slices in a 250 F oven for 30 minutes, then pulsed in a food processor until finely ground). ========== Fusilli with asparagus and smoked ham

At the time that I made it, it was the middle of February and I wanted a break from potatoes/root vegetables and stews. It was a wonderful respite from the usual gloom of winter.

It might. The sauce is incredibly versatile though I've only used it for nonflavored pasta. (The pic shows it being paired with plain gnocchi.)

OMG that looks good. What proportions do you use? I assume you saute the onion in the butter then add the tomatoes and simmer to a sauce consistency? Do you use canned tomatoes? ← You can use canned tomatoes. I prefer Pomi chopped tomatoes. Just combine tomatoes, 5 T. unsalted butter and onion halves in a saucepan. Salt to taste. Cook for 45 minutes to one hour on the lowest possible heat setting, stirring occasionally or until droplets of fat separate freely from the tomato. When done, discard the onion. That's it. If you want, you can pass the sauce through a food mill. (I didn't.) When you make this sauce, you'll be tempted to jazz it up with something else. I don't recommend it. It's insanely good all by itself. edited to add exact amount of butter. That's a lot of butter yes, but it's part of what makes the sauce.

M. Hazan's tomato sauce. It's dead sexy. Just tomatoes, unsalted butter, one onion cut in half and salt to taste. There are other tomato sauces I'll use for other, more elaborate preparations but when I want something relatively simple, this is it.

Spring turnip and leek soup with toasted bread crumbs and sage

Grudgingly given in which direction? ← I just got the sense that he really wanted to give it two but couldn't. *shrug* Like I said, it doesn't matter.

It reads as if it was a grudgingly given three stars. Not that it matters.

I was at the market yesterday. The produce is always expensive but usually worth while. What really galled me, was that the guy selling apples on the corner of Park and 17th Street wanted $10.00 a pound for wild asparagus. Imagine, ten bucks a pound! As for last years produce, in addition to the apples, the potatoes are from last fall and they are sprouting. ← I don't know about the prices being expensive. I go to the market every other week and usually spend enough for a week and a half to two weeks. This past Saturday, it was $55 all in; about half of which went towards organic free-range chicken. For the quality of items you get at USGM (or other greenmarkets in the city), you could easily spend double that at an Associated or Food Emporium. Asparagus was selling for $4 a bunch, roughly comparable to what you'd expect to pay in the supermarket (with tax added in). Take a look at the size of those bunches. That's a lot of asparagus, equal to two or three meals' worth. (I say that since I'm usually cooking for one.) It pays for itself in the end.

Ramps have been around for a couple weeks but should be flying out the door any moment now. Rhubarb, asparagus and morels are the big ticket items. This past weekend there were Japanese turnips, French breakfast radishes and dandelion greens. I think someone had frozen sweet corn. Different vendors are available depending on the day of the week. Fromage blanc sells at a clip as does unsalted butter and FP bacon. Get there early (or if you're like me, learn to get up at the crack of dawn. )

Pasta with turnip greens, toasted breadcrumbs and anchovies. So simple, so delicious. *sigh*

Photography and quality of writing will make or break your blog. But ultimately you should do it because it interests you, not because you feel you have to. The pressure to produce can be intense. Post whenever you want but do it often enough that you don't feel the need to nurture it, unless of course you like posting every day. Every so often I impose a blog vacation on myself. It helps me recharge.

It's too early here in NYC to think about the next season. With temperatures in the high 40s (it was 48 this morning), I doubt it'll be anytime soon. Farmer's markets are still stuck in spring mode. That means ramps, morels, fiddlehead ferns, asparagus, peas. All in good time.

That can be cured with education. The problem lies in that I'm not certain that viewers care enough to learn about possibilities.

Ramp risotto Not recommended if you're watching your weight.

Gnocchi with tomato sauce* *M. Hazan's version with tomatoes, butter and onion.

The reason I peel and cut before roasting is because I enjoy the caramelized edges on the beets. I haven't roasted with skin-on before. Is it possible for whole, un-peeled beets to get caramelized? Also, what's the cooking time on that? ← Annachan -- place in an aluminum covered Pyrex baking dish along with 1/4 cup cold water. roast in a preheated 350 to 375 F degree oven between 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until beets are easily pierced with a fork. Smaller specimens will cook more quickly. caramelization shouldn't occur since you're not exposing their interior surface area to "naked" dry heat.

Stewed midnight black beans with bacon and mirepoix, over steamed rice Chioggia beets with ginger-lemon glaze These were prepared by roasting skin on.

Hearth (am slightly biased considering I'm a regular there) Devi Degustation Blue Hill Otto Lupa Tia Pol Casa Mono Gramercy Tavern

Not one of my better pictures or dinner efforts. Whitebait fritters; sucrine salad with heirloom tomatoes, soft-boiled egg and herb viniagrette

Devi.

"deconstructed" German potato salad from last night's dinner. View the recipe here. Beets benefit from a brief maceration in an acidic solution, in this case white wine vinegar with salt and pepper. It helps to accentuate the intensified flavor brought out by roasting.