HappyLab
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Posts posted by HappyLab
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HappyLab that Spaghetti Carbonara looks great: one of my favorite meals. Do you make it with bacon, or pancetta, or what?
Thanks, Chris. I had never made Carbonara before, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I used guanciale.
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Some dinners from the past week:
Spaghetti Carbonara:
Adobo Spare Ribs over polenta:
Spaghetti All'amatriciana:
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Earlier this week, I made Stracatto (Italian pot roast) from Molly Stevens's All About Braising and served it over polenta :
The other night, I cooked peanut curry chicken:
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I recently purchased Molly Stevens' All About Braising, and I have already put it to great use. Several of the pages are already well stained. Braising is just the perfect way to prepare a hearty winter dish.
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I made a very global meal last night. Seared Pork Chops with Kimchi. Mashed potatoes and braised fennel with thyme and olives on the side:
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A week's worth of dinners:
Braised monkfish with fennel, cherry tomatoes and basil. Spinosi porcini mushroom linguini with pancetta and crimini mushrooms on the side:
Bastardized Pork Vindaloo:
Kung Pao Chicken:
Braised Scallops with Vietnamese Caramel Sauce:
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HappyLab - your scallops are perfect! How did you get such a great crust on them? I have a ton of them to cook soon and was hoping to get them to look like that!
Thanks, Kim!
This was actually the first time I've seared scallops (usually, I stir-fry), and I must say they turned out perfectly. I heated about a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a small cast iron skillet. Then I took large "dry" sea scallops, patted them dry with paper towels, seasoned with s & p, and seared for about 3 minutes per side. They came out wonderfully crunchy on the outside and just barely cooked on the inside.
By the way, I'm definitely adding those scalloped tomatoes to my list of things to cook soon. Can't wait 'til you post the recipe (hint, hint).
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I made the braised monkfish with fennel, cherry tomatoes, and basil tonight. I usually don't like fennel because I feel it tends to overpower a dish (and I don't care for it's licorice flavor), but this dish was terrific. Braising the fennel subdued it just enough so that it complemented the other ingredients in the sauce. Yet another fabulous recipe from this book.
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Tonight: Seared scallops with sauteed spinach and roasted parsnips from David Pasternack's Young Man & the Sea:
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I've been on a red meat binge this week:
Saturday: Filet, sauteed shiitakes, baked potato, broccoli:
Monday and Tuesday: Braised lamb shank over polenta:
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2006 Dom Pepière, Muscadet Clos des Briords:
I know that I am way too early to this bottle for it to show me all its charms but it is still better than 90% of the white Burgundy I have tasted over the last year; a crystalline rendition of the AOC and about as good a white wine as there is in the market today at this price point. Hold or drink. 12% alcohol, imported by Louis/Dressner and about $15; worth multiples of that.
Glad to hear that the 2006 Pepiere is as good as always. I can't wait to go out and purchase some. Thanks for the report; I'll have to try the others, as well.
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As always, thanks for the great tasting notes, Jim. What is the designation of the Tissot Chardonnay? Based on your review, I added it to my wishlist, but an internet search comes up with several designations, all at similar price points.
Its the cheap one.
(I know that designations are used by retailers/wholesalers but I can't find them on the label.)
Best, Jim
Thanks!
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As always, thanks for the great tasting notes, Jim. What is the designation of the Tissot Chardonnay? Based on your review, I added it to my wishlist, but an internet search comes up with several designations, all at similar price points.
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HappyLab: Looks good - what kind of chorizo did you use?
Thanks, Bruce!
I used pre-cooked chorizo from D'artagnan. While tasty, I found the chorizo much fattier than that from D'espana, a wonderful Spanish food shop in NYC that makes my preferred brand of chorizo.
Looking at your pic, I may just have to pick up Seasons of My Heart today-- everything looks amazing!
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Tonight was a Northwest menu with French accents. To start, a classic French bistro dish: Frisee Salad. I added some daikon sprouts to the salad and dressed it with an apple cider vinaigrette. I added applewood smoked bacon and these cute little quail eggs I found in the Asian market. I poached the quail eggs just for a few minutes so the yolks would still be soft and ooze into the salad. I normally make this type of salad with bleu cheese, but the cheesemonger at Whole Foods recommended I try some ricotta salata. She was spot on-the ricotta was salty and tangy, yet milder than a bleu cheese so it didn't overpower the other flavors in the salad. I sliced some Bosc pear for a sweet and crisp note to the salad.
The main dish was a roasted rack of pork with a rub made from juniper berries, black pepper, sage, thyme and garlic. I'm partial to juniper, not only because I like gin but because our family ranch in Central Oregon had a number of juniper trees. The scent of juniper is something you never forget, and I think a perfect accent to pork. I served the pork with roasted fingerling potatoes, broccoli rabe and these huge, fresh chanterelles from Oregon. The sauce was a bit over the top-mustard cream-but the mustard was a nice tangy counter balance to the other rich flavors. Had a nice 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir from Maysara Vineyards of McMinnville, Oregon. Enjoy.
David, your rack of pork is absolutely beautiful! My mouth is watering.
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Tonight's dinner was chicken in a sherry, shallot, and dijon mustard pan sauce. Roasted parsnips and steamed broccoli on the side:
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HappyLab: That looks lovely
Which noodles did you use? Rice? Like the ones for pho? Recipe please! 
Thanks Ce'nedra! I used Hang's Spba Noodles, which I picked up from Whole Foods. Not sure exactly what kind you would call them, but the only ingredients are wheat flour, salt, and water.
As for a recipe-- I'll get it to you later this week, but can you please PM me a reminder?
And btw, your porn and crawn fritters look delectable!
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Chengdu Braised Pork with Daikon Radish, adapted from Molly Stevens's All About Braising. Didn't have time to go to Chinatown for Sichuan peppercorns, so substituted with boatloads of hot sesame oil:
Had it with a 2005 Weingut Johann Peter Reinert Kanzemer Sonnenberg Riesling Spätlese Feinherb (a very delicious mouthful!).
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Kathryn,
Thanks for the wonderful report and delicious photos! I had wanted to attend this event, but was out of town for the weekend. I will be sure to buy a ticket next time CENYC has a similar event-- sounds like a great time.
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Leaving for Tennessee today to visit my girlfriend, so last night I had to finish up some leftovers in the fridge last night. My dinner ended up being the most monochromatic and boring meal ever, but it was good:
Roasted Flying Pigs Farm Chicken
Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Potatoes
Yup, that's right: the white foods that were crispy on the outside; all on one plate
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What did we have for Dinner? In my reality, it's what we DIDN'T have for dinner.
I want to cook and cook and cook. What I can't do is eat, and eat, and eat!
I keep cooking, and eating, and WAY before the dish is done, I want to cook something else!
Keep in mind I'm in a small studio apartment - no oven, small cooktop (electric), a microwave I just don't use and extremely limited pantry space.
Last glance at my freezer:
Pic not so good, but there are tubs of beef-veg soup, beef chili, and soon to come, Braised beef shortribs with veggies and noodles.
Each container is a generous two portions for me... but I can't stop!
I've got a pork tenderloin on deck, and chorizo (fresh), chorizo (dried), and bratwurst (frozen for now)
I've done brown bags to give to the homeless, but how do you hand a homeless person a container and say "Just let it thaw, then either pop it in the MW or in a small saucepot on the stove"?
I know there are some single working guys in my building... they are going to be the recipients, if the housekeepping and maintenance staff don't get it first.
A $1.24 package of tomatillos (from the asian market) has now cost me $6.37 of pork tenderloin, massive quantities of veggies, and what will be hours of time...
It's all good.
Jaimie,
I, too, have a tiny studio apartment with limited kitchen space (although, I do have an oven), and I love to have cooking marathons. My friends and girlfriend think I'm crazy when they see so much food crammed into my fridge and freezer-- keep in mind I live alone. They don't understand that like you, I
want to cook and cook and cook. What I can't do is eat, and eat, and eat!So keep cooking! I'm sure you'll find people who will be more than happy to take those delicious-sounding meals off of your hands!
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Sounds good in principle, but I just don't see how this will happen. Good luck to Mr. Newman, but I don't see how the business plan will work given the fierce competition prevalent in the wine industry.
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Lamb and Barley Stew:
Mixed greens, gorgonzola piccante, and EVOO Balsamic
Day-old Pugliese from Sullivan St. Bread
2006 Domaine de Fenouillet Vin de Pays de Vaucluse
The stew tasted much better than it looks. The lamb was from 3 Corner Field Farm in NY-- delicious!
Dinner! 2008
in Cooking
Posted
I used a Batali recipe, which called for separating the egg. The white got mixed into the pasta with the rest of the sauce (copious amounts of cheese, guanciale, and a bit of pasta cooking water), and I topped the pasta nest with the yolk. I liked this method-- the sauce was still creamy throughout, and yolk on the top gave the dish some color for a nice presenation.