blue_dolphin

Honestly, of the citrus I bought at the this week's farmers market, the blood oranges are the least flavorful but they are so dramatic that I couldn't resist getting a few. In general, I find them a bit less sweet than navels with more of a floral/berry fragrance and a tiny bit more bitterness but it does depend on the variety. The blood oranges I was getting for the last few weeks were smaller and sweeter. The grower has moved on to harvesting a different variety that seem bigger and blander but also deeper in color. I also got some amazing tangerines and some cara cara or red navel oranges and both of them are great!

My Total Wine has been out of the Clear Creek pear for quite a while. Also the Grappa. They still have Clear Creek cherry brandy and raspberry liqueur in stock. The German pear brandy I got worked just fine in the Réveillon. I batched the recipe for a party over the holidays and it was a big hit.

Menemen from Diana Henry's Simple and pita from Shaya

Yes, I do need to keep an eye on them and I was challenged yesterday because the light bulb inside the oven burnt out so I was peering into the window and really couldn't see the char until it was too late, like that one in the front. New bulbs should be arriving tomorrow. I'd bet that a quick pass in the flame would be nice.

I put the baking steel on a shelf that's a bit above mid-way in the oven, pre-heat to 500°F, then switch to broil when I start to bake them. I quickly pull out the shelf, slap the dough on the steel and shut the door. As they poof up, they get close enough to the broiler that they start to char. Edited to add that the Shaya cookbook says to put the steel (baking stone, cast-iron skillet) mid-way in the oven. I get better results with it a little higher. Probably depends on the oven.

I was going to make this yesterday for lunch/dinner but got lazy Crispy Chickpeas and Lamb with Greens and Garlicky Yogurt from Alison Roman's Dining In. Pita from Shaya.

A small pile o'pita Recipe from Shaya with the addition of 50% stone ground, whole grain Sonora/Red Fife. I make them smaller (~75g dough/pita) than the recipe specifies so I get a dozen from one recipe.

Phew! I'm so glad that recipe did not tarnish your stellar treat-provider reputation!

Two focaccia...focacce? Started out with the foacccia recipe in Ottolenghi, subbed in 50% stone ground whole wheat flour (Sonora/Red Fife blend) and divided it into two 1/4 sheet pans instead of one 1/2 sheet. Topped one pan with red onion and goat cheese, one of the 3 topping choices in the Ottolenghi recipe. Used the other one to make the Fried Kimchi Focaccia from Everyday Korean available online here) in which a heaping cup of chopped kimchi is fried in butter until the edges start to brown, then used to top the focaccia. I added a sprinkle of mozzarella to that one. Messy crumb photo The kimchi focaccia is surprisingly good. After being fried in butter than baked, the flavor is still tangy and funky but not harsh at all. Next time, I'll drop the temp or turn off the convection so it doesn't brown so quickly.

Like @BeeZee, I had planned-over roasted sweet potato for breakfast, based on a recipe in Diana Henry's Simple for baked sweet potato, chorizo, mushrooms and egg. I cut the potato in half and re-heated it on the Phillips grill. I like the bit of caramelization here. Mushrooms get cooked first, then the sliced chorizo and finally the egg, all in the same pan. Smoked paprika sprinkle. My egg stuck to the pan a little, right in the middle so my nice runny yolk leaked out on to the plate but not to worry - I got it all!

@Craig E, your cocktail sounds excellent. Should you find yourself with more leftover curry leaves for cocktail purposes, you might try infusing some bourbon with them. The Mowgli Street Food restaurants use it in a Smoked Cardamom Old-Fashioned cocktail that also appears in their cookbook. I quite liked it. Smoked Cardamom Old Fashioned 40 ml curry leaf bourbon (infuse 1 oz fresh curry leaves into 700 ml bourbon for 48 hours before straining) 2 tsp apricot liqueur 2 tsp black cardamom syrup (infuse 5 oz black cardamom pods into 500 ml of 2X simple syrup for at least a week, the longer the better) 2 dashes Angostura bitters Garnish: 2 curry leaves, 1 black cardamom pod

I also forgot that step and just left it out! The recipe says they are better the second day although I didn’t notice a big difference. I did like them though.

I believe we all owe @Anna N our thanks for introducing that recipe and for her brilliant suggestion to use an immersion circulator to gently re-heat the leftovers. She shared that over here in the sous vide topic. Almost any other method would likely turn those lovely butter poached shrimp into little erasers but that method worked perfectly.

I tried 2 variations on the Jammy Winter Fruit and Browned Butter Bars from Midwest Made baked up in the same pan 🙃 The version in the book makes an apple and pear jam to sandwich between 2 layers of a browned butter/oatmeal/walnut mixture. I made a pear, persimmon and ginger jam using the recipe as a rough guide and put that on one side of the pan. The other side is a pluot and ginger jam that I'd made a while back. The recipe uses ~ 1.5 cups of jam spread over the 9 x 13" pan. I'd read reviews from others who said they would like more fruit in these so was a good bit more generous in the amounts I used and was pleased with the results. Except that I forgot to add the walnuts. This the second time I've forgotten to add an ingredient when baking from this book. Sheesh. Before adding the topping Pluot & ginger on the left, pear, persimmon & ginger on the right. After baking Ready to go to the library

I'll add a third vote for trying that dish. I just made it this evening and it was delicious. It's nice to have a vegetable in there but it doesn't have to be spinach, lightly steamed broccoli or sugar snap peas would be great alternatives. You could just as easily serve the vegetables on the side. I cut the recipe in half to make 2 servings and ended up dipping into the supposed leftovers. Next time, I'll dial back on the butter a bit, up the orzo & broth and, like I did today, add lots of lemon juice.

Toasted whole grain bread with goat cheese and persimmon, pear and ginger preserves with blood orange wedges and a mug of black coffee

I bought the pasta at Eataly. The brand is Alta Valle Scrivia. It appears to be 25% chestnut flour and the rest semonlina/durum wheat flour. It's relatively subtle but there is a nutty/earthy chestnut flavor that comes through. So far, I've only used it to make a pasta con fungi dish but figured it would work well with the beets so I decided to throw it in here.

Bright Pink Pasta from A Modern Cook's Year The header notes describe the color imparted to this pasta by beetroot as "nature's neon." I don't believe either sensors in my camera nor my monitor can capture and display just how brilliant this color is. This isn't a fresh pasta made with beets in the dough. Beets are shredded and sautéed in olive oil with capers while the pasta (whole wheat is called for, I used a chestnut pasta) is par-cooked separately, then finished in the pan with the beets and some of the pasta cooking water and topped with chopped dill and a squeeze of lemon. Suggested optional additions are goat cheese or feta. I went with goat and also added a sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs. Small portions of this would be a very fun starter for a Valentine's dinner.

I don't think the batter itself is sweet so there's no reason why you shouldn't top them with a bit of smoked salmon and dill or sour cream and caviar like little blini. I also saw a recipe for a version with spinach and cheese in the batter. Sounds like something fun to play with.

A variation on the Baked Eggs with Crushed Chickpeas, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs from Alison Roman's Dining In. Recipe available online here. I used Marcella beans instead of chickpeas and poached the egg instead of baking it.

Watercress Salad with Beets & Walnut Mascarpone Crostini from Zuni Café Cookbook The roasted beets are marinated simply in black current vinegar and olive oil and the marinade becomes the dressing. I think I've got 24 bottles of vinegar but no black current so I subbed in tart cherry zinfandel balsamic. Don't tell.

Soft scrambled eggs with bottarga on toast blood orange wedges on the side

Sounds similar to a beef chuck roast that was a regular when I was growing up. Plopped into a dutch oven with one packet of Lipton's onion soup and one can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup dumped on top. On occasion, the potato situation that @Smithy described was employed, along with carrots and onions but sometimes it was served with mashed taters instead along with the delicious gravy that resulted. I remember that this stuff smelled absolutely amazing while it was cooking that I always happily ate some which was not the case with many meat items.

Avocado & kimchi toast topped with a poached egg This idea is from Julia Turshen's Small Victories. There's a little drizzle of mayo + kimchi juice. The avocado was a Stewart avocado. I should have taken a photo before I started mangling it. The Stewart has a very thin, smooth skin that's edible. It's black when ripe and has a rich texture and flavor which surprised me. I was afraid it would have that thin, watery texture that some smooth-skin varieties like the Fuerte have so I was pleasantly surprised.

Alon Shaya has a hummus recipe in his cookbook where he lets the crushed garlic marinate in lemon juice for at least 30 minutes, then strains it out. It adds a nice, fresh raw garlic flavor without the harshness that sometimes intensifies over time as hummus sits. I've been using that trick in other recipes.