Jim Dixon

I'd pretty much agree with SobaAddict's 'recipe,' but might make it a bit differently... While the pasta's cooking (and I'd go with long pasta for this, spaghettini being my fave), heat olive oil (and use the good stuff for this) over med-low flame...add the crushed garlic, remove when it's golden (one man's gold is another's brown). Heat another pan, a heavy one like cast iron, and toast your breadcrumbs a bit (I put the ends of loaves out on the counter to dry for a few days, then grind in processor...they keep forever), stir in a little bit more of the olive oil and set aside. Check the pasta regularly, and when it's still a bit chewy, pull out a cup or so of water, then drain. Add to garlic-flavored oil, turn the heat back on, then add red pepper flake, bread crumbs, and salt. Splash in some of the pasta cooking water and let it all cook for a couple minutes. Serve with more of the best olive oil you can afford. The parsley would be a good addition, but only if it's flat leaf...you could also mash an anchovey (or several) in the garlic oil...salt-packed capers would be another good bet (soak first)... Jim

Since I do all of the cooking in our house, on my birthday I usually get a break from the kitchen (unless I feel like making something that I really like). In the past I’ve asked my mom (who, fortunately, lives just down the street) to pan-fry a couple dozen oysters. If we’re having a small celebration on a week night, I like to get a couple of good pizzas. But this year my wife planned an actual party (my birthday’s in April). I can’t remember the last time I actually had a real party with more than just the kids and maybe a couple of close friends. Judith booked an evening at our neighborhood wine shop (Great Wine Buys on NE Broadway in Portland), and I asked people to come with a chunk of good cheese and enough cash to buy a bottle or two when the case I bought ran out. It turned out to be a great concept. We had all kinds of fabulous cheese (one of my mottos: I live for cheese), and I toasted some walnuts (bake at about 350 until slightly browned, stir in a hunk of butter, grind a little sea salt...really good), sliced up a few apples and pears, and put out a bottle of olive oil with some bread. Folks could wander around the shop, pick out a bottle that looked good, and we’d open it up. Judith had baked some cantucci (a Tuscan biscotti that’s mostly eggs and flour with nuts...not much fat, so after the double baking the cookies are nice and crunchy), so we cracked some vin santo for dunking at the end of the night. An added bonus was all of the leftover cheese, mostly unlabeled. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been taking out the little chunk and guessing what they are (other than delicious). But I like Stephany’s 12-hour eat-a-thon....maybe next year. Jim

Mamster...I went to the opening event at the new Whole Foods here in Portland, but haven't been back. Partly because it's not covenient, but we've got a really good local chain called New Seasons that provides pretty much the same goods...altho' the cheese section at our WF looks tempting. I also shop at several different places depending on what I'm looking for. I'm what's called in economics a 'price-taker,' which basically means I'm sort of cheap. I'll pay more for quality, and now that the Farmers Market is opening I'll be spending more there, but I hate paying too much for something that I know I can find for less. Since I cook most of our meals from the most basic ingredients, which is definitely the best way to save money on groceries, I'll spend more for better quality meat and seafood. But even for those, I often decide on what to cook by what's on sale, and if something looks good and the price is right, I'll buy extra and freeze it. Stellabella...living in the city may mean it's easier to find good groceries, but there are tradeoffs. I grew up in a small town, and Portland is nowhere near a big city, but I'm still torn between the amenities we have here and the quiet of the countryside. Jim

Tonight I'm making a birthday dinner for our friend Mindy. She always wants the same thing, pasta with black bean sauce. The black beans are Chinese fermented soy beans that look exactly like rat turds (and some people say they smell just like them, too). But they taste great. I learned this recipe from a great local chef named David Estes, who had a very popular restaurant here in Portland about 10 years ago named Eddie Lees, which was neither his or his partner's name, and it wasn't Asian either. His version included shrimp and tomatoes, but we prefer the sauce plain. I process about a cup of the beans in the Cuisinart, then add them to a bunch of fresh ginger and garlic that have sizzled in olive oil for a few minutes...then flour to make a roux, chicken stock, and a few shots of flavoring (sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy)...simmer until thickened, then stir in an entire bunch of chopped cilantro (I just use the leaves so I don't get a lot of little stem bits, but the stems have good flavor, too) and remove from heat. Serve with long pasta (spaghettini my choice) and Parmigiano. There's a more complete recipe on my site: black bean sauce I roasted some peppers earlier in the week, so I'll probably serve them with braised leeks and arugula from the garden. A simple green salad and bread (just picked up a loaf from our newest killer bakery, Ken's Artisan Bakery). Jim

We were in Trieste a few years ago staying a little agriturismo where the owner made wine, cheese, salami, proscuitto, pancetta, and lots of other good stuff. But he complained that butter from the area wasn't quite so good, so he would buy a local brand made a bit farther north, up in mountains. I buy Plugra sometimes, but mostly stick with Land-O-Lakes unsalted. I love the taste of butter and never hesitate to use it, but we obviously eat a lot more olive oil. Some things, like fried eggs, just aren't the same if they're not cooked in real butter. And it's the best thing for making a simple sauce...stir in cold butter to the scrapings from a deglazed pan, or a reduction of wine and fruit, or almost anything for that great flavor and mouthfeel of butterfat. Rachel, you did get the Bettini from me...I'm out right now, but another 50 liters is on the way from Umbria...and that's all I can get until November when the olives are harvested. In an interesting twist to the whole fat and health discussion (here and on other threads), Marco Bettini is a cardioligist at the University of Perugia and has lots of info about the healthful aspects of olive oil on his site Bettini Jim edited to spell 'Bettini' correctly in the link

colklink...I also like the Deschutes (both the beers and the incredible watershed), but tend to drink the beers made closer to home (within a few miles). My winter fave, Bridgeport's Ebenezer, just won some kind of beer award in Europe...it's a winter seasonal, and no longer brewed, but I have a case stashed in the garage. For warm weather I switch to Bridgeport's award-winning IPA, very, very hoppy and the perfect thing on a hot day when I get home from work (I commute by bike, so I get nice and hot coming home). Portland has quite a few other good brews worth a pilgramage. Ron...I should attribute this recipe to Mark Twain, but don't really know where I heard it. Take two silver drinking cups, fill both with finely crushed ice. In one, muddle fresh mint leaves with a bit of superfine sugar. Pour a good shot of your very best sippin' whiskey into the other. Throw out the first one and drink the second. Jim

Portland has really good tap water. I remember reading somewhere that the soil profile of the Cascades combined with the Douglas fir forest ecosystem produces some of the softest water anywhere. The local craft brewers seen to agree. City water comes from a watershed on the slopes of Mt Hood, the Bull Run reserve, that's closed to public access. The water is chlorinated, especially during the winter when there's more turbidity. But it still tastes good. So most of the time, I drink tap water. But I came to like fizzy water after drinking so much in Italy, so I also buy Galvanina and Crystal Geyser at Trader Joe's. I stopped drinking soda a few years ago (I felt that the sweetness of diet soda was making me crave sweets more, and I didn't really want the extra sugar from regular), but found that carbonated water satisfied my need for something besides plain tap water. Jim

My mother and grandmother were both good cooks, and I think the thing I got from them was an understanding of how food should taste. When I was little I was always hanging out in the kitchen, and my mother would often have me taste things. My earliest cooking memory is making cranberry relish (fresh cranberries, whole oranges, and sugar) for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the pre-Cuisinart era we used a meatgrinder to crush everything, and I would make elaborate dams and levees from kitchen towels to keep the red juice on the counter and off the floor. When I went off to college and ate the dorm food for a bit, I quickly realized that the only way to eat what I liked was to make it myself. Later, in those shared housing situations we all remember so fondly, cooking was also a way to avoid doing any dishes. I cooked almost every meal for my family, and that was great training for being able to come home at 5:30 and have something hot on the table in an hour. Now that the boys are almost all out of the house, I have a little more time and can play around a bit. I have always been interested in food, and I read whatever I can about it. When a new or different ingredient comes along, I like to try different things until I know how it works and when it tastes best. I For years I would say that cooking is easy, that anybody can do it. But recently I’ve realized that it does take time, as Mamster pointed out, and a willingness to fail. You learn what goes together and how to cook different types of things (and not recipes, but how to take something, like a whole fish, and cook it so it will taste good). A lot of what goes into good food is grunt work, so you also have to willing to peel, chop, slice, sort, clean, and the other mundane prep chores that turn the most basic elements into a meal. I still read cookbooks and a few of the magazines. If I eat something I really like at a restaurant I’ll try to recreate it at home. Many of my friends are as food-obsessed as I am (in the sense that we love to eat), so we talk about different things we’ve made and how well they came out. I don’t have cable, so don’t see much food tv, but I spend way too much time here.... Jim

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

Stellabella....It is time-consuming, but I also make some things on the weekend or in the evening after that night’s dinner so I’ll have something to work with the next. I also enjoy the craft aspect of cooking, so I don’t see it as a chore to spend an hour or so or doing vegetable prep...and that’s what usually takes the most time, but it’s a big part of making food that tastes good. A couple of nights this week I just ate toasted bread (Como from Grand Central Bakery) rubbed with garlic and spread with slightly mashed borlotti beans and chopped cavolo nero ( and lots of olive oil, natch)...everything but the bread was already cooked. I make a batch of beans every week and keep them around for stuff like this or just eating. An article in Saveur last year about fagioli in fiasco, the Tuscan method of cooking beans in a wine flask on the dying embers of the bread-baking fire, inspired my basic bean technique...in a pyrex bowl or other non-metallic baking dish put one part beans to 2.5 parts water (this ratio seems to always work, altho’ if the beans are young it will be soupy, and if they are old they may dry out on top a bit), add a couple garlic cloves, fresh sage if you have it, salt, and a good shot of olive oil. Cover with foil and bake at 150-200 (my old gas oven isn’t too accurate, but I shoot for less than boiling) for a few hours. When you smell the garlic, check the beans, stir if it seems like a good idea...cook until done. (The non-metallic aspect grew out of a crusty old Italian quoted in the article as saying something like ‘beans cooked in a metal pot aren’t worth eating.’) Cavolo nero is sold as Lacinato kale and has become my default green. I wash it, cut in chiffonade (stack and cut into thin strips...this means you can leave the stalk on, which in bigger chunks is a little distracting), and add to a sauteed onion (in olive oil). The water still on the leaves is usually enough, but a little more may be necessary. Cover, cook until done. Bruschetta topped with the beans/greens combo can be enough for dinner if I have Haagen Dasz for later. Last night I made a pasta sauce out of a few other leftovers. I had a coarse puree of sweet red peppers cooked with a bit of onion and celery and some tomato sauce made from a puree of tomatoes from last year’s garden (defrosted) mixed with canned tomato paste. I reduced the tomato sauce (it was kind of thin) with a cup or so of tempranillo, added a couple of anchovies, a handful of oil-cured olives (these had been lurking in the fridge for a few weeks, twice revived by adding oil and baking a bit...this time I splashed a bit of water in the bowl and microwaved a few seconds to soften up, then squeezed out pits and chopped), hot red pepper, and salt-packed capers. I tossed this with orichiette and ate it with a turkey sausage flavored with black olives. I like these kind of meals, but have a hard time replicating them. Having those bits of leftovers available does cut down the time it takes to get something on the table, though. Jim

I also chop brussels sprouts, but usually just season with garlic and lemon juice...next time I'm doing the anchovey and red pepper, too. Rachel...it's more of a cold weather thing, but celeriac, potatoes, and leeks cooked in chicken stock make a great soup. Judith doesn't care much for dairy either, so I divide it after the vegetables are cooked (and roughly mashed in the stock), serve hers plain, and add creme fraiche to mine. Wednesday night chicken update....I had thawed a roasting chicken (a bit older and bigger than a 'fryer'), and planned to slather on a mixture of dried herbs. But I was out, so made a paste of cracked pepper, coarse salt, garlic, olive oil, and the smoked Spanish paprika called pimenton. Rubbed it under the skin and all over. Did a sort of pasta risotto (discussed in another thread) by frying some orzo in olive oil...it browns quickly, so you have to watch it closely...adding onion, chicken stock, tomato sauce, sherry. Finished this with pecorino. Jim

Here in Oregon, where spirits are tightly controlled by the state, I can buy Everclear or another brand (I just can't remember the name). They both cost about $17/fifth. I wish I could say I was retired. But I still have about 10 more years at my day job before I can 'relax' and concentrate on my own free-lance work (I write and import olive oil on the side). I'm fortunate to live someplace that isn't so expensive I have to devote all my time to making a living. And I've learned (slowly, I'll admit) that taking the time to cook and make things I like to eat (or drink) is one of the things that makes me happy. Jim

When I was a kid I used to make mustard sandwiches by spreading the vilified French's on white bread. I'll admit I still like the taste of it on some things, like a simple hot dog at a ball game. For most other uses, I go with a stoneground mustard, the kind with lots of mustard seeds still evident. Jim

Monday...baked cod filets with faux troisgros (see sorrel thread for details), semi-succotash of fava beans, potato, roasted cherry tomato Tuesday...tried to deal with leftovers by layering sliced baguette with simple tomato sauce, youngish pecorino, sliced hard-boiled eggs (from Easter...our kids are grown and nearly out of the house, we don't celebrate Easter, but my wife and her sister still made 2 dz colored eggs), and some mascarpone into a torta of sorts...not too bad. Also roasted some lamb shoulder chops with cracked pepper, coarse salt, and preserved lemon. Wednesday...rubbed a pork tenderloin with a spice blend called Love Dog my mom brought back from Arizona (mix of chile, coriander, ginger, and some others...too spicy for her, not spicy enough for me), cooked it in convection oven. Served with roasted cauliflower and salad that included arugula from the volunteers in my garden and something called salad cress (also known as pepper grass...looks a bit like parsley, has a nice peppery flavor...planted it last fall, but wet winter kept it from doing much until recently) tonight...roasted chicken with herbs and garlic (I like to shove it under the skin)

Roger, I also like Campari's not-sweet quality (that is, after all, what makes it the perfect aperitif). The limoncello I make is sweet, but not enough, at least in the amount I added to that drink, to appreciably alter the basic bitter flavor of the Campari. My limoncello starts with grain alcohol. To a fifth (about 750 ml) I add the zest of about 15 lemons (Meyers, but only because I have a good supply...plain old lemons also work fine) and let that macerate for about 2 months. After straining, I dilute with a 1:1 simple syrup to about 80 proof (half alcohol at 190 proof, half syrup). It needs to sit for another month to mellow, but I often start drinking it right away anyway. It's sweet, but there's enough alcohol so it's not cloying. I modeled it after the Don Alfonso limoncello, the first I tasted. I keep a bottle on hand as a control. I've got an infusion going now I made with kumquats, which I dropped into the alcohol whole. It's developing a nice orange color, and I'm anxious to see of that tart-sweet kumquat flavor comes through. I also have some half-finished nocino, made with green walnuts last summer, whichy looks like used motor oil. I still need to the add the syrup, and I think I'll spice a portion according to the recipe in Anna Tasca Lanza's most recent book on Sicilian cooking. But back to the limoncello and Campari. While I did like the drink, I'm tempted to stick with just Camapri and soda when I want a light aperitif, and drink the limoncello straight over crushed ice when I want more alcohol. This, however, is deceptively tasty, and it's not hard to get hammered. Jim

Steven, Sandor's gives me a reason to look forward to our occasional trips to Florida. My Jersey Italian in-laws retired to Ft Meyers, which is quite a ways down the coast, but I'll definitely make the drive north next time we're there. Jim ps...when you wrote 'ling,' is that ling cod? This is a common bottom fish on the Pacific coast, and I caught quite a few when I was younger and we went salmon fishing in the ocean. They have huge, ferocious-looking heads, but taste great.

I planted sorrel last year, but didn’t really do much with it. It’s apparently a perennial, since I have a bright green patch of the stuff in the same spot, and this thread inspired me to use some of the tender spring leaves. I’d eat the troisgros sauce in a minute, but my wife doesn’t care for cream-based sauces. I had planned to get a piece of fish, and was digging through the odds and ends in the refrigerator for the rest of the night’s dinner, when a half-dozen fingerling potatoes gave me an idea. Here’s what I made... I started with the basic troisgros recipe....chopped shallot in half cup each dry Vermouth and white wine (Chatom Sauvignon Blanc from California in this case), reduced to less than a quarter cup. I mashed a couple of the boiled, peeled spuds (for about a half cup total) and stirred them into the reduced wine...also added a chunk of butter, probably about 1 1/2 T. Picked a small handful of sorrel, cut in chiffonade, and stirred that in with a bit of skim milk to thin the sauce (fish stock would’ve been better, but I didn’t have any on hand). Chopped a tiny bit of zest and squeezed a quarter of a small lemon, stirred it in. All of this since the intial reduction was off the heat. I still needed some fish, so I took the dogs out for a walk, stopped by our neighborhood store (Nature’s, bought by Wild Oats and slowly morphing into one of their stores), and picked up a filet of fresh Alaskan cod. Got home, pulled out a few pin bones, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, and roasted in our little Delonghi convection oven. When the fish was just about done, I turned on the gas under the sorrel mix, heated it for a minute or two, and spooned it over the filets. It provided some of the flavor of the troisgros, the slightly astringent sorrel and hint of lemony tang with an earthy quality from the potatoes. Served with a ‘succotash’ of fresh favas, roasted cherry tomatoes, and the rest of the fingerling potatoes, all cooked separately then combined with more shallots sauteed in olive oil. Jim

We had a nice day of spring sun (and extra daylight) out here in Portland, so after a bit of garden puttering I made this: 2 parts Campari 1 part limoncello (my own, made with Meyer lemons) 2 parts soda (fizzy mineral water actually) over crushed ice I like the bitter flavor of Campari just fine, but the limoncello cut it just a bit and added an extra kick (it's 80 proof). Jim

B Edulis I posted Faith's web site info on the Media board Jim

Malawry....The rice and polenta squares are fine at room temp...I think I like them better that way. The subrich should be eaten hot, though, like right out of the pan. I also just noticed that I mispelled 'quadrati' but can't figure out how I got those extra letters...quadrati means squares, altho' they should probably be called quadratini for little squares B Edulis....I met Faith when the IACP conference was in Portland a few years back...I'm not a member, but got in on a press pass. She emailed me recently with info about her new web site, but it's on my other computer at home. I'll post it later. Jim

I make what are basically croquettes from chard, beet greens, or any other fairly mild green. I adapted a recipe from Faith Willinger's Red, White, and Greens cookbook (she calls these 'subrich,' a Piemontese dialect word...I tend to call thenm fried green things). You process blanched greens, garlic (or shallot or even scallion), fresh herbs (rosemary most often for me since it's growing right outside the kitchen all yeat long), and hard grating cheese like Parmigiano or pecorino...use egg and either soaked, squeezed dry bread or bread crumbs to bind, then fry in olive oil. These are one of my most-requested dishes...more details atfried green things. I also like to make a variation of arancini, the fried rice balls (aka suppli di telefono)...if you have leftover risotto or plain rice, it's even easier, but you can make a fresh batch, flavor it with whatever, press into a shallow pan, and let harden. Cut into small sqaures, press into bread crumbs, and fry in olive oil. The same technique works well for polenta, which doesn't brown all that well on its own. I call the risotto cakes quadratige. For one party I made some of each (the polenta and rice squares) and arranged them like a checkerboard...looked very nice. Jim

A couple of years ago I picked up a stainless steel dough-scraper (flat, square, with one side rolled for a handle) and I don't know how I ever got anything done without it. I don't use it for dough-scraping, but to pick stuff up off the cutting board and transfer it to the pan. I typically push the chopped object onto the scraper with the back side of my chef's knife, then reverse the process over the pan. Jim

I almost always takes notes at the table when I'm reviewing a restaurant. I've learned that I can't always trust my memory, and I also find I can actually write phrases that I can use directly in the review. I use 3X5 cards, and I try to be discreet but don't really worry if the server sees me writing...altho' I have pretended to be asking my wife questions as if I'm interviewing her if the server comes up while I'm writing. While we were in Italy last fall I tried using a Palm Pilot. I had loaded it up with info I wanted to take along, and had wanted something like it ever since the first Newton came out...the idea of transferring my notes directly to the computer instead of typing them was always attractive. Because I was new at it, it took a bit longer to enter notes, and they tended to be shorter, but I liked having them all in one spot (instead of on a handful of cards). Handhelds are more common now, and I think you look less like a reviewer when you're tapping the screen with the stylus (but maybe more like an obnoxious techno-weenie). But I haven't kept it up since we got back, and for my most recent review it was back to the 3X5 cards. One thing that stays constant no matter how I take notes...it is a distraction. I never take notes if I'm just eating. I want to be able to enjoy the entire experience, and a big part of that is being to able to talk with my dining companions, even if all they want to talk about is restaurant reviewing. Jim

I've made fideos-style dishes with a number of things. the basic technique is to saute the pasta in olive oil (long, thin pasta, either vermicelli or cappelini, and break it up into short pieces first) until it's well-browned, then add any other ingredients (things like onion, garlic, etc) and liquid. I use the same method with smaller shapes, like the melon-seed pasta (slightly bigger than orzo, which also works well). Of course, this is exactly how you make Rice-A-Roni. The Ducasse article was just run in our local paper today. It's interesting that he specifies the old-style (now artisanal) pastas made with brass dies and air-dried. They do taste a lot better than the industrial stuff (extruded through teflon dies at high speeds and flash-dried at high temps), but cost about 5 times as much. A variation on this approach is draining the pasta while it's still undercooked, then continuing the process in the sauce.

I like to braise a mixture of country-style 'ribs' and smoky sausages with cabbage, onion, and apple in dark beer. The best brew for this is local microbrewer Hair of the Dog's Adam, but any porter or stout works well. Jim