FrogPrincesse

Last night we did a little cocktail party at our house and we had White Negronis (Lillet and Cocchi Americano versions - we preferred the latter), Toby Maloney's Juliet & Romeo, and Trader Vic's Mai Tais (with La Favorite coeur de rhum, Appleton 12, Clement creole shrubb, and freshly made orgeat). Tonight, a Vesper Martini with the Cocchi Americano that our friends gave us.

A couple of sours tonight. For me, a Trinidad Sour. 1 oz Angostura, 1 oz homemade orgeat, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz rye. For him, the Eastern Sour from BeachBum Berry Remixed. 2.5 oz orange juice (I used Cara Cara and Moro oranges), 2 oz bourbon, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1/4 oz orgeat, 1/4 oz simple.

It's nice to have a large pressure cooker, however I don't think that mine is more than 5 quarts and it's still a life saver (we are a family of 3). So if you can't afford a large one, it's still worth considering a smaller model.

Halibut with Fingerlings, Fava Beans, Meyer Lemons and Savory Crème Fraîche This is a dish from the spring menus. It's not yet the season for fava beans but I had gorgeous little Russian banana fingerling potatoes and a couple of Meyer lemons from my CSA so the recipe caught my eye. First I made the Meyer lemon salsa, using some of the juice and segments from the Meyer lemons combined with shallots and let to rest, then adding olive oil and plenty of herbs. I used mint and parsley and skipped the savory as I didn't have any. The savory crème fraîche was made by pounding more fresh herbs with a pestle and stirring in the crème fraîche. The recipe calls for savory again but I used dill from my weekly CSA. On a side note, I usually don't care much for dill, but this bunch had the most amazing and delicate fragrance. I cooked the potatoes for a short time in my pressure cooker (about 5 min). Then I smashed them slightly with a fork and cooked them on the stove in plenty of butter. Similar to the recipe in my previous post, the fish is marinated in herbs and lemon rind (I used fresh lemons this time), then seared in olive oil. The fish was a local white seabass. For plating, the potatoes are drizzled with the cream and salsa, then the fish is placed on top with more of the cream and salsa. The cream melted almost instantly into a very lucious sauce. I thought this was a clever way to serve a cream-based sauce with fish, much easier than the traditional beurre blanc. In the end the dish really came beautifully together. I really loved the flavors in this recipe.

I don't think I could survive without the pressure cooker I inherited from my grandmother (a small "SEB"). I use it to cook potatoes, make chicken stock, and also make risotto (which works best with a firmer rice such as carnaroli).

Franci and Kouign Aman, Thank you for the nice comments! My husband, the amateur photographer, did a pretty good job with what is not a terribly photogenic dish (brown on brown...). Franci, if you try beef poitrine I don't think you will be disappointed, especially if you already like plat-de-côtes (short ribs). I tried a couple of fish dishes recently. I get really good quality fish from Catalina Offshore in San Diego so I am always looking for new ways to prepare it. Sautéed Halibut with Arugula and Roasted Beets I used mixed baby beets from my CSA that I roasted in the oven. In the meantime, the fish marinated with the herbs (thyme and parsley). I substituted lemon confit for the fresh lemons in the recipe for a more intense flavor. The fish was local black gill rockcod (caught off La Jolla!). The fish was cooked on the stove in olive oil. It was served on top of arugula (also from my CSA) and the roasted beets. I wanted something light so I opted to omit the horseradish crème that can be drizzled on the beets and the fish. Instead, I just seasoned everything with a little bit of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I must say, I find this surprising. I don't know in what part of California you are, but I used to live in Southern California and my son and his family currently live in the Bay Area. Never had a bit of trouble finding Key/Mexican limes. They usually come in a mesh bag. I was just out there visiting a few months back and bought a bag at their local Safeway. Even the WalMart in San Jose had them. So I'd advise you not to give up. My experience is similar to Jaymes'. In San Diego, practically every store has them.

That must have been because it was served in a martini glass

I am very thirsty tonight for some reason. I decided to make a John Collins with Bols genever.

I went with a classic last night: The Aviation.

Wow how beautiful. My dinner will look very pedestrian after dcarch's artistic presentation and thanks to my cheapo blackberry lens, but here we go. Yesterday I bought a Delmonico steak at my favorite butcher shop after realizing that it looked awfully similar to the "côte de bœuf" I love so much in France. Here it is before, seasoned with grapeseed oil, rosemary & thyme from the garden, salt, and plenty of black pepper. After a few minutes on the grill (I like it very rare) We had grilled eggplants and a salad on the side. My favorite part is gnawing on the bone at the end (no picture here!).

A variation on Audrey Saunders' Earl Grey MarTEAni maybe?

Would you mind sharing what menu you ended up with? I would love to know. Thanks!

Braised brisket is delicious! I included details about my favorite recipe here on the "Cooking from Sunday Suppers at Lucques" thread. I would also love to see what other people are doing with brisket (there are already some great examples on this thread!).

There is a recipe that I make regularly now, it's the Braised Beef Brisket with Beluga Lentils. I had never heard about brisket until I moved to the US. I was always intrigued by it but had no idea what it tasted like. I don't even know how to say brisket in French (poitrine maybe?). Anyway, the recipe seemed simple enough so I decided to give it a go. I make it over 3 days but there is very little work involved each day. The brisket (with a layer of fat still on - she specifies to keep 1/2 in) is rubbed with a mixture of spices (including lots of black pepper, chile arbol, thyme, bay leaves, garlic) and left to marinate overnight. The next day, I brown the brisket (with the garlic and chiles set aside and added for the braise) in large Le Creuset pot. Then I cook the chopped vegetables in the same pot (carrots, celery, onions), deglaze with balsamic vinegar, add beef stock and beer (a stout such as Guinness works best), reduce the liquids, then finally add the brisket and transfer the covered pot into the oven to braise for 4-6 hours. The browned brisket with the liquids reducing The brisket after 5 hours Then the brisket is allowed to cool and transferred to the fridge. I store the sauce separately and defat at that point. To serve it, the brisket is sliced and reheated in a hot oven in the sauce. The slices are spread into a single layer in a baking dish, covered with the sauce, and reheated until slightly caramelized. This step is key as it transforms the meat and adds even more flavor. The rest of the sauce is reheated separately on the stove. She serves the brisket with lentils and I like to use Puy lentils. Her preparation is straight-forward with some onions, thyme, and chile arbol. She adds basil at the end (I use mint when I cannot find basil), which brightens up the flavors. I adopted this practice and every time I prepare lentils I make sure to use plenty of fresh herbs. If I eat the leftover lentils on their own, I like to add some red wine vinegar as well. (I love lentils.) I made the horseradish cream that is served on the side; it’s a simple mixture of crème fraiche and horseradish. She also includes a salsa verde as an accompaniment but I haven’t tried that one (talking about shortcuts!). Here is the plated dish.

Will, that recipe sounds wonderful. Just to make sure, is it this recipe: "Torchio with cauliflower, cavolo nero, currants and pine nuts"? It was not really on my radar screen but now that you mentioned it, I may have to try it soon! A lot of her recipes have multiple components that make the dish special and build a lot of flavor. The recipes work without them but are not quite as memorable that way.

To round up the salad recipes, there are others that I tried that I wanted to mention, even though I don't have any pictures. Barbara's apples and Asian pears with radicchio, mint and buttermilk dressing The Asian pears are a nice surprise because they look like apples at first until you start biting into them. The dressing was very good (although the yield was off - I would reduce quantities to 50% or less). Coleman Farm's treviso with Gorgonzola, walnuts and saba Radicchio/blue cheese/nuts is a classic combination. She uses an olive oil/lemon juice/shallot dressing. The saba which is drizzled on top is a wonderful addition which adds sweetness to balance the bitterness of the treviso. Dad's steakhouse salad: early girl tomatoes, red onion and Roquefort Heirloom tomato salad with burrata, torn croutons and opal basil The red wine vinegar/balsamic dressing she uses for these tomato salads really works. I never thought about using them together. I love highly acidic salad dressings but having the balsamic there helps bring out the sweetness in the tomatoes. Lobster chopped salad with fava beans, cherry tomatoes, avocado, corn and applewood-smoked bacon This is the real standout. It's a delicious salad that feels luxurious with the large quantities of lobster. I didn't use fava beans because I was having a hard time finding them (additionally I noticed that they were not included in the ingredient list, only the recipe title). When I made this salad last summer I used the best produce I could find together with some home-cured bacon. The corn is cooked in the bacon fat which adds another layer of flavor. Really wonderful. This is a good first course for dinner parties as most of the prep can be done in advance. It works well with a light main course (I served it with steamed clams).

mukki - I love tiki drinks so I will have to try this one. It looks great! A classic Martinez with the ratios from PDT: 1.5 oz each of Hayman's old tom gin and Dolin sweet vermouth, 0.25 maraschino, bitters (I used Angostura, the books calls for Boker's), twist (I substituted clementine for orange). Very enjoyable.

Crisp-skinned Chinook salmon with fresh peas and button mushrooms from my CSA, recipe from How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons. I am just glad I was able to obtain perfectly crisp skin with this recipe. It was very good - my 5-year old daughter called the skin "salmon chips".

I've indexed 4 books so far (Joy of Mixology, Boozehound, Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails) and am entering my 5th one (Sippin' Safari). The cocktails books are easy because there are few ingredients to enter, and I can complete indexing within a week including proof-reading spending about 1 hour every night. Cooking books are a little more involved. I would say that they take about twice the amount of time. Of course this is for the average book; I can't imagine what it must have been to index books with thousands of recipes such as the Larousse Gastronomique! It's a good way to get to know your books better and I enjoy the process. The reward is great as I get to use my books much more often now.

My first thought as well. There is this recipe from Les Halles that I've always been meaning to try. Pâté de Lapin (page 94)

A cocktail created by Anthony Schmidt, The Ophelia, is featured in this month's issue of Southwest's Spirit Magazine. Article here.

A pastured chicken seasoned with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and roasted on the grill.

A couple of rogue/beta cocktails last night. The Start and Finish I am not sure I liked that one. I used 1/4 oz pastis instead of 1/2 oz absinthe because I don't have absinthe (and don't love it in large amounts). It was a little too "all over the place" for me, with strong - and not always harmonious - herbal flavors introduced by the vermouth, lillet, averna, with a strong anise finish. Burned popcorn This one is very good, with flavors from the flamed orange peels and aged rum playing well with the bourbon.

Love, love, love roasted bone marrow... Depending on the day, MIHO covers Carlsbad, Del Mar Heights, Rancho Bernardo, Sorrento Valley, UTC, Kearny Mesa, North Park, South Park, Mission Valley, and Downtown. Schedule here.