kayb

Sigh. In some of the poorest schedule management I've ever managed, I scheduled a minor medical procedure for Monday morning. So while watching the Super Bowl, I will be drinking consomme and chicken broth. NOT a good move on my part.

Andiesenji, great idea on the sausage patties. I will be trying that. Today, because it looked like this outside my window: I decided I needed this: Steel cut oats, with butter and brown sugar. My first time to try steel-cut oats; I'd always just eaten the regular Quaker variety. BIG difference! I'm a convert. Oh, and then I finished up with this: and a cup of French press coffee. I think I'm about ready to go out and brave the frozen South.

Sweet potato ravioli, boiled, then fried in sage brown butter, topped with grated Manchego that had been tossed with a teaspoon of pimenton dulce: And up close: Tonight, quesadillas with coffee-ancho braised beef: In fact, a whole plate-full of them, which will make lunches next week:

I'll put in my nickel's worth for carbonnades a la flamande. I first made mine with Newcastle, loved it, so that's what I use. Caramelize a boatload of onions (about four); set them aside and brown the beef, which you've salted, peppered and dredged in flour. Add the onions back, pour in a bottle of your beer o'choice and add a cup or so of beef stock. Or forget the beef stock and use all beer. Clap on the lid and braise, really low, for 3 or 4 hours. Stir in a tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of spicy brown mustard. It's good over buttered egg noodles, but transcendent over spaetzle.

Slicing anything on my mandoline.

Following avidly, and thoroughly enjoying this taste of a culture of which I know so very little. Also intrigued by the potatos in caramel....

Butternut squash galette. Bottom layer was ricotta blended with roasted garlic. Then the squash, sprinkled with pimenton dulce; then grated sheeps milk cheese. If I do it again, it'll be with something other than garlic in the ricotta. The garlic did not play well with the other flavors, IMHO. Redeeming myself for the weekend, though, here's Guinness Whole Wheat Bread. Good stuff. That's bread that will stay with you all day.

Agreed, Shelby. I do not see how you keep from weighing 450 pounds. Marrow, steak and scalloped potatos....SWOON!

Fascinating! I am highly impressed with your kitchen, and your abiity to turn out wonderful meals in a tiny space. It's even smaller than mine, which is in turn smaller than any of the three from last week's NYC trio blog. What took you to Asia?

My mama's wooden spoons. She used to spank me with those things, and then go back to cooking. I'd have food-colored splats on my rear end.

They are, indeed. It's just that this one reminded me of bread pudding as far as its consistency.

Earlier this week, I made what was designated a "cherry cake pudding," which was a basic yellow cake with tart canned cherries and chopped walnuts stirred in and baked in a 9 x 9 pan. The syrup from the cherries was cooked with sugar, flour and almond extract, and finished with butter, and poured over the cake. It was a delightful dessert that did sort of have the consistency of bread pudding.... But the lemony-est dessert on the planet? Easy. Lemon icebox pie. 1 1/2 cans condensed milk. 3/4 cup lemon juice. 2 eggs. Beat and pour into a graham cracker crumb pie crust. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool completely. Top with slightly sweetened whipped cream into which you've stirred a lemon or two's worth of zest. Garnish with a candied lemon peel.

An organic beef burger topped with a tablespoonful (OK, OK, TWO tablespoonsful) of bacon jam and some feta cheese. Farmers' market red-ripe-in-January greenhouse tomatos, and oven fries. I did not bother eating the oven fries. That's balsamic vinegar and kosher salt on the tomatos.

I want those scallops, menuinprogress. dcarch, what's the sauce on the pork chops? As usual, stunning plating. Good-looking spaghetti, too!

Kim and Shelby, the ribs are from the Food52 recipe here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/9109_short_ribs_with_beer_and_buckwheat_honey (can't figure out how to make the clicky thing). I didn't have buckwheat honey, so used regular with a shot of molasses, and used Guinness. Lowered the heat and cooked longer to accommodate my schedule. They were wonderful. Pot was a b**** to wash. Lovely dinners, everyone. Seeing the shrimp makes me want some. I'm thinking shrimp and Andouille and grits this weekend. Tonight was pizza. Fresh tomatos from last weekend's farmers' market haul, fresh basil, mozzarella, parmigiano, and at the last minute because I saw it in the fridge and thought, "I need to use that," chopped barbecued beef, a leftover from lunch earlier this week.

You know, I'm tremendously envious of the dining and shopping options you all have (as well as your knowledge of liquor, which is a PhD compared to my high school dropout level in that regard). I get by with Kroger and occasional trips to Whole Foods and the farmers' market and a decent butcher shop. But then again, I can look out my back window and see the lake, and walk down the hill and swim in it (at least when it's not 27 degrees), and drive the eight miles to work in 15 minutes with a stop along the way in the racetrack parking lot to drink coffee and watch the thoroughbreds work out. Life's all about tradeoffs, ain't it? But oh, those markets.

Short ribs braised in Guinness and honey. I served it over fried polenta, with a side of lima beans. Can't complain.

Wow. Just...wow. I felt almost at home in Shelby's blog, albeit she's a lot more game-centric than my family ever was, but at least I was familiar with most of it -- but New York as viewed through this is like another world. Granted, I've only visited two or three times, and hit little but the high spots, but....wow. Fascinated. Keep it up!

Chicken cacciatiore which I did not photograph, but which was very good, and this: which was made from these: Homegrown greenhouse tomatos, from the Amish farmers at the farmers' market. In January. Basil is from the supermarket, as is the fresh mozz, but it still tasted like June.

Looking forward to this week!

Eggs look great, Shelby; I'd be headed for the kitchen to make some if I hadn't just had some yesterday! What's on top? I'm guessing red pepper and....?

No. You are not.

Sweet potato ravioli in brown butter and sage sauce. Good stuff. I learned, however, it IS possible to over-butter it. And another night this week, calzone. Although it blew out a side seam, it was still good.

Chitlins. Turnip greens or their more rural cousin, "poke sallet." Calves liver (I will eat chicken liver in a pate, but that's about it). Raccoon, bear, beaver and possum (greasy, gamy, nasty tasting). And -- sigh -- lamb shanks. I've TRIED to like lamb shanks, braised them in all sorts of preparations that others raved about. Just not crazy about lamb, and particularly not shanks.

Pastitsio. I bought sumac for this, and I'm not sure I can tell it has sumac in it.... And I crumbled feta over the top, as I forgot to stir it in before assembling and baking...