Food in the time of a pandemic

[liamsaunt]

Today we got a delivery from Eataly.  They are offering free delivery anywhere in the state if you spend $200.  Not hard to do at Eataly!  I was kind of surprised that they would be willing to drive all the way out to Wellfleet, but they did.  You don't get to pick the fruits and vegetables in the order, you just say if you want enough for two people or for four people.  I am excited about the fresh figs.  All the other stuff is added a la carte to your order.  You can also write in any special requests.  We are out here for two more weeks, so all that wine will likely get drunk 🙂

 

[KennethT]

I'm a big fan of the Tignanello lurking in the background.

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

was all that wine included ?

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

 

 

The cherry tomatoes from Hepworth Farms are the same ones that I get from Fresh Direct and the eggs are the same ones I got from Chef Collective - kinda interesting.

[liamsaunt]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'm a big fan of the Tignanello lurking in the background.

 

Yes, me too!  It is my favorite red wine, and I don't have it often.  I am going to have to think of something special to cook to eat with it.  

 

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

@liamsaunt

 

was all that wine included ?

 

Yes, you can order as much wine as you like, or none of course.  They also offer cocktail kits with all the necessary ingredients.  I can't remember if you can just order the liquor on its own or not.  I'll have to look when I get a link for next week's order.  I don't need any of that stuff right now though.

[liuzhou]

Disaster!

 

[liamsaunt]

Here is this week's CSA box.  My sister brought it out to me yesterday.  She is staying with us for the next 10 days or so. Any ideas on how to use that huge radicchio?

 

[weinoo]

30 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Any ideas on how to use that huge radicchio?

 

I'm either blind as a bat, as I don't see the huge radicchio.

[weinoo]

Unless it's that big green thing?

[weinoo]

I'm assuming it's a giant green radicchio...

 

https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Green_Radicchio_8678.php

[Franci]

I looooove radicchio, any bitter vegetable, really @liamsaunt, I would use the outside leaves cooked. You can use it in a risotto (paired with a cheese) or cook pasta, something spicy too, in a soup with potatoes. Make a frittata or stuffing for pizza (like pizza di scarole) or a torta ligure with rice, or think of some Turkish variation as well. The center I will leave for salad (I collect all the hearts of my bitter chicories to add to my salad mix, the more bitter the better. Edit to add: you can do also the classic pairing with raisins and pine nuts, and some vinegar ( if you don’t like as much the bitterness). 

 

 

And for us, today’s fish. Another one we have not tried yet: barrel fish. I think I will grill the yellow jack and yellow tail for tonight and the barrel fish for lunch tomorrow. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Franci (log)

[liamsaunt]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

Unless it's that big green thing?

 

Yes, the big green thing.  The other big green thing is joi choy.   According to my farmer, it is a fiore radicchio.  I guess the outside leaves are not edible, and you have to peel back to the purple center.  

 

6 minutes ago, Franci said:

I looooove radicchio, any bitter vegetable, really @liamsaunt, I would use the outside leaves cooked. You can use it in a risotto (paired with a cheese) or cook pasta, something spicy too, in a soup with potatoes. Make a frittata or stuffing for pizza (like pizza di scarole) or a torta ligure with rice, or think of some Turkish variation as well. The center I will leave for salad (I collect all the hearts of my bitter chicories to add to my salad mix, the more bitter the better. Edit to add: you can do also the classic pairing with raisins and pine nuts, and some vinegar ( if you don’t like as much the bitterness). 

 

 

Thank you for the ideas!  I will report back once I make it.

[weinoo]

Yeah @liamsaunt, as @Franci mentions, from the research I was doing about the 3 different chicories I received this week, the outer leaves are edible cooked.

 

By the way, @Franci, the fish you are getting is beautiful and making me envious.

 

Back to cicoria, the 2 that I have used so far have been quite bitter - so I was wondering - do you ever blanch any of the cicoria?

[heidih]

29 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Back to cicoria, the 2 that I have used so far have been quite bitter - so I was wondering - do you ever blanch any of the cicoria?

 

I do not as I am the person who enjoys bitter melon and eggs for breakfast. Friends do though - treating like Horta  https://mostly-greek.com/2019/02/05/simple-greek-style-greens-horta/  Won't wilt as much but I will eat a pile

[Franci]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Yeah @liamsaunt, as @Franci mentions, from the research I was doing about the 3 different chicories I received this week, the outer leaves are edible cooked.

 

By the way, @Franci, the fish you are getting is beautiful and making me envious.

 

Back to cicoria, the 2 that I have used so far have been quite bitter - so I was wondering - do you ever blanch any of the cicoria?

 

Like Heidi, I like my bitter vegetables very bitter but  in Puglia, because of the soil, the wild chicory is very, very bitter and also the rapini, not like the supermarket stuff you buy here. Also, things like SONCHUS OLERACEUS, we call it sivoni, are usually blanched first. The most traditional recipes are boiled wild chicory with dry fava, or blanch and then sauté with garlic oil and a little bit of peperoncino. Cicorie e polpette is food of my childhood but lamb pieces and chicory is good too (callaredda), both have pecorino cheese grated on top, no parmigiano. Also very traditional is blanching the chicory and cooking them in stock and than they go in a pan in the oven with some beaten egg on top (with pecorino) and they make a sort of soufflé, it does’t really turn into a frittata. In all the recipes chicory is always blanched. I think if I had really wild chicory I’d blanch myself too not because of the bitterness more because it needs to soften somewhat before sautéing. But if you find too bitter, go ahead and blanch it before cooking in other ways. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Franci (log)

[weinoo]

Thank you!

[liamsaunt]

So I ended up making a salad with the radicchio, mixing it with arugula, figs, and shallot-chive boursin in a lemon-maple dressing.  It was delicious.

 

[Franci]

Today’s fish. 2 runners and 1 Spanish mackerel. $12

[weinoo]

Two hauls today - 1 via shopping in Chinatown...

 

 

And one via Amazon...

 

 

1 lb. each of hot, medium, and mild Hatch chili peppers. 2 lbs. of Sweetzels!  3 bags of George Howell. I'm set for the week.

[Franci]

Today my husband sent me an innocent photo with the option of the fishes of the day. And me, the red one looks like a scorpion fish 😋 and he came back with this 👀

Edited October 2, 2020 by Franci (log)

[Smithy]

@Franci, that is an astonishing fish head in the top part of the photo. Do you know what sort of fish it came from?

[Franci]

8 minutes ago, Smithy said:

@Franci, that is an astonishing fish head in the top part of the photo. Do you know what sort of fish it came from?

 

Yes, it’s a barrel fish! Almost 2 kgs of head 😊. The fillet you see below is from that fish. The kids, really enjoyed how I cooked the barrel fish last week, when we tried for the first time. 

I don’t know what I would do with the head. Honestly, another time, I will look for the ingredients for making a fish head curry or a south East Asian soup (any recommendation, anybody by any chance?) but I don’t have now. I am just thinking of roasting it in the oven. 

[MokaPot]

@Franci, seems like there's some meat in/on the barrel fish head. Is it sinewy? Can you slice it or scrape it and eat it raw? (Looks very fresh.)

[Franci]

11 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

@Franci, seems like there's some meat in/on the barrel fish head. Is it sinewy? Can you slice it or scrape it and eat it raw? (Looks very fresh.)

 

the head has tons of meat but I would use the fillet if I wanted to eat raw. The fish was caught this morning. My husband calls at noon to know when the boat is back and by 1-1:15 he is at the pier. Some of today’s catches

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by Franci (log)

[KennethT]

@FranciI was going to suggest fish head curry!  It would be enough for 20 people!