eG Foodblog: Prepcook and Susan in FL

[Anna N]

I just can't look anymore! I so envy you being able to eat outdoors! It's too cold and rainy even to think of it now until next summer but even then, we simply don't have room for even a tiny table outdoors. But your food - oh it so appetizing and so varied and I thank you both for sharing your week with us. I think you have at least another day to blog but I didn't want to miss offering my thanks.

[little ms foodie]

How I like to separate eggs, rather than cracking the eggs and transfering the yolk from one half shell to the other is to crack the egg and put the yolk in my hand, and let the white seep though my fingers.  I have broken some yolks using this method and ended up with a handful of yolk and white dripping all over, but I think this is fun.  The eggs I used for this making of mango creme brulee were good... the yolks easily withstood this process.

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Susan do you ever keep the egg whites? We keep ours and then on the weekends add them to whole eggs for scrambles or omelettes.

[Susan in FL]

Susan do you ever keep the egg whites? We keep ours and then on the weekends add them to whole eggs for scrambles or omelettes.

Good idea, but no... If we are separating eggs for the whites, we keep the yolks for the same uses that you save the whites. The yolks are definately our favorite part! Sometimes we separate an egg and add an extra yolk to scrambled eggs or omelettes.

If there were an upcoming use for whites, we would! Maybe we should plan to have lemon meringue pie the night following creme brulee.

[Susan in FL]

Dinner was Sea Bass with garlic mashed potatoes, tomato-sorrel sauce, and mushrooms & zucchini. We drank 2003 New Zealand Sherwood Estate Pinot Noir, Marlborough. It was a real good wine, but not the greatest match with this dish.

Between the darkness and the candle we used, I had a hell of a time getting a good photo.

As you may have gathered, when we cook from recipes, they are often from Bon Appetit or Gourmet. So was the case tonight. It was adapted from this recipe. I have made this using Halibut. Either is delicious.

We have some great sorrel now, and a lot left because this recipe uses very little and it really needed cutting back, so if anybody has any good ideas for using it up (other than soup, we did that recently), please let us know.

[Susan in FL]

The mango creme brulee for dessert was yummy. We had a glass of Dominion Millennium barleywine with it... wonderful beer.

Cold Case was real good tonight. The Dallas reunion show is terrible.

[Behemoth]

We have some great sorrel now, and a lot left because this recipe uses very little and it really needed cutting back, so if anybody has any good ideas for using it up (other than soup, we did that recently), please let us know.

I like to make a salad dressing/sauce for fish/dip by blending sorrel, hass avocado, buttermilk and some scallions. I got this idea from Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, by Elizabeth Schneider. Everyone should own this book, for it is an awesome awesome book. I've also made quiche with sorrel. The sorrel loses its bright green color when cooked, but retains its tartness, which cuts beautifully through the richness of the cream and eggs.

Why am I wasting so much time on eGullet this weekend???

Edited November 8, 2004 by Behemoth (log)

[Pan]

We have some great sorrel now, and a lot left because this recipe uses very little and it really needed cutting back, so if anybody has any good ideas for using it up (other than soup, we did that recently), please let us know.

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Shchav, of course, but you might think of that as a soup (some think of it as a drink).

You could also simply eat it in place of or as part of a salad.

[Susan in FL]

I think you have at least another day to blog but I didn't want to miss offering my thanks.

We appreciate that, especially after having enjoyed your blog so much, Anna.

And yes, today is our last day of blogging. It's back to the weekday routine, after some wonderful indulgences over the weekend! Russ has gone to work. I'm fortunate to be off on yet another beautiful day, and after this I'm going to have coffee and yesterday's Sunday paper on the porch.

I like to make a salad dressing/sauce for fish/dip by blending sorrel, hass avocado, buttermilk and some scallions. I got this idea from Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, by Elizabeth Schneider. Everyone should own this book, for it is an awesome awesome book. I've also made quiche with sorrel. The sorrel loses its bright green color when cooked, but retains its tartness, which cuts beautifully through the richness of the cream and eggs.

Both of those ideas are appealing, and I have all the ingredients on hand now. Thanks!

Shchav, of course, but you might think of that as a soup (some think of it as a drink).

I didn't know what that was and so I looked it up. One of the pages I found was especially interesting, this recipe. Is this like what you are familiar with? Any advice?

[eunny jang]

As you may have gathered, when we cook from recipes, they are often from Bon Appetit or Gourmet.  So was the case tonight.  It was adapted from this recipe.  I have made this using Halibut.  Either is delicious.

We have some great sorrel now, and a lot left because this recipe uses very little and it really needed cutting back, so if anybody has any good ideas for using it up (other than soup, we did that recently), please let us know.

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Susan - my continuing thanks and admiration for this blog. Your Sunday brunch looks amazing!

Can you tell me a little more about sorrel? I've never cooked with it, and don't actually know anything about it. There is something in my brain that says it's a sharp/tangy/lemony flavor, but I'm not sure of that, since the recipe tells you to sub spinach if sorrel is unavailable.

[Susan in FL]

Eunny, I've always been a bit puzzled by why that recipe would suggest spinach as a substitute for sorrel, unless it is just to get the color. It would surely change the taste.

There is something in your brain telling you right. It can even taste downright sour when you eat a plain leaf of it, but it is just a pleasant tang when an appropriate amount is used in a recipe. I can imagine that with buttermilk, etc. it would be a nice tangy dressing/sauce/dip, as Behemoth described.

To keep the flavor of it in last night's dish from being too strong or sour, I used the youngest of the leaves, but I did use more than two tablespoons.

Right now ours is at its best, with the warm temperatures. The hot sun of the summer time usually prohibits it from growing this well. It is one of the herbs that we grow in pots, and here is some alongside basil and chives.

This has reminded me... As I've picked herbs to use this week, I've been meaning to post where they're coming from! I shall return with some more pictures.

[lovebenton0]

This has been a wonderful blog, Susan and Prepcook. Vicarious enjoyment both in visual and literary content. Thank you. My mouth has been watering and the trip through your week around Daytona I have thoroughly enjoyed. Holds a special place in my little heart as we spent part of our honeymoon there.

Then returned the next year for the Daytona 500.

Yes, we too eat many meals with the roundy-rounders!

[Pan]

Shchav, of course, but you might think of that as a soup (some think of it as a drink).

I didn't know what that was and so I looked it up. One of the pages I found was especially interesting, this recipe. Is this like what you are familiar with? Any advice?

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I've never made shchav. The recipe looks like shchav to me, though I don't think the eggs are obligatory. No doubt, someone else will pipe in with more details. You may find various other transliterations, such as schav, but the Ukranian pronunciation used in my family (father's mother comes from what's now Ukraine) is shchav.

[Susan in FL]

Judith, I'm glad that you have enjoyed this (and that Daytona holds a special place in your heart ), including all the "visuals." It's probably obvious that I am quite a visually-oriented person, and I was hoping this blog would have that kind of appeal and enjoyment for all.

So, on to even more illustrations of our food life...

Brunch earlier was Maytag, Cheddar, & Provolone cheese, a pear, some of the left-over frosted grapes, part of a bagel, and sparkling water. I thought of some bread after I shot the picture, and found out that the bagel left over from yesterday was still nice and fresh.

[Susan in FL]

The herbs we're using this week come from our herb garden, which is spread all over our backyard. Some are in pots and some in the ground, and some double as "landscaping."

Besides the basil, chives, and sorrel shown above, we have parsley, thyme, and mint in pots. Here is a pot of that wonderful Mojito ingredient.

Oregano, sage, bay leaf, lemongrass, and rosemary are in the ground. This bay leaf tree has almost died and come back many times. It belonged to my parents (Delaware) who both died in 1996 when I got it. I'm not sure how long they had it, and then it was much bigger, so it is probably going on ten years old!

The lemongrass and rosemary grow like crazy and fall into that almost landscaping category. Rosemary is all over the place, front and back.

[Jake]

Your herbs are beautiful, Susan. I am envious shivering up here in the north

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, Jake. These ex-northerners cannot say they would like to be back up there shivering with you all.

Take a look at these beauties they had in the Love Whole Foods Market this weekend! What a find!

Russ and I didn't plan dinner ahead for today. We decided to leave it open. We thought of going to the store at the last minute to get what looked good to us and coming home to decide what to do with it. But then the quail eggs came along, and we knew we would want to do something with them. I've been in touch with him on the phone and we're still deciding exactly what, but we have a couple of ideas. Actually, I'm sort of thinking out loud right now to help me decide. I think a small starter of hard-boiled would be good... with some sesame salt, black salt, and maybe a third salt of some kind, for dipping... We're going to cook a dish that is garnished with some of them fried. (I can't wait to see what frying the little babies is like. We've had quail eggs raw and hard-boiled, but not fried.) .... If we do eat at least one raw, we would have Quail Eggs Three Ways.

I'm drinking an iced coffee, and will proceed to plan dinner. I did kick it down a notch and I'm using milk in it instead of the half & half or cream. It tastes just as good. This is a way I can save a few calories.

Edited November 8, 2004 by Susan in FL (log)

[little ms foodie]

Quail eggs! how fun!!! When hubby and I were in Spain last July we had pintxos (tapas) - little crostini with a piece of sliced chorizo on top and a fried quail egg on that! Oh they were so cute and sooooo good!

[Smithy]

I've had quail, but never the eggs. Do they taste different than chicken eggs, or are they just smaller (and prettier in the shell)?

The sorrel discussion is so timely for me! I'm trying to use my sorrel before it all freezes for the winter, and had been planning to post a question asking what people do with it. My favorite recipe for its use comes from Judi Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Cookbook. She has a chard-and-onion panade recipe with a sorrel variation. It's a favorite dish at our house. Basically it's sliced onions, cooked down until almost caramelized, layered with leaves of sorrel and chunks of bread that have been tossed with olive oil and seasonings, then chicken broth poured into the casserole and the whole lot cooked. It puffs up beautifully and tastes terrific, and the sorrel's unfortunate army drab color doesn't matter a whit. The color of cooked sorrel generally puts me off, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes that will disguise the appearance while preserving the flavor. I make a sorrel sauce for use over pecan-crusted salmon (I forget whose recipe) and it's very tasty but looks horrid. Another dish for turning the lights down low.

I actually took my first meal photo this weekend, and I'm now in a position to appreciate your photos even more than before. Your comment about how difficult it was to photograph your meal made me grimace in appreciation. Great job this week, youse two!

[Susan in FL]

Quail eggs! how fun!!! When hubby and I were in Spain last July we had pintxos (tapas) - little crostini with a piece of sliced chorizo on top and a fried quail egg on that! Oh they were so cute and sooooo good!

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I love these cute little eggs. What you had in Spain sounds so good. Another idea I have seen which I would love to have is truffled quail eggs... they are boiled, shelled and halved, and served with a thin little slice of fresh white truffle... oh my.

I've had quail, but never the eggs.  Do they taste different than chicken eggs, or are they just smaller (and prettier in the shell)?

The sorrel discussion is so timely for me!  I'm trying to use my sorrel before it all freezes for the winter, and had been planning to post a question asking what people do with it.  My favorite recipe for its use comes from Judi Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Cookbook.  She has a chard-and-onion panade recipe with a sorrel variation.  It's a favorite dish at our house.  Basically it's sliced onions, cooked down until almost caramelized, layered with leaves of sorrel and chunks of bread that have been tossed with olive oil and seasonings, then chicken broth poured into the casserole and the whole lot cooked.  It puffs up beautifully and tastes terrific, and the sorrel's unfortunate army drab color doesn't matter a whit.  The color of cooked sorrel generally puts me off, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes that will disguise the appearance while preserving the flavor.  I make a sorrel sauce for use over pecan-crusted salmon (I forget whose recipe) and it's very tasty but looks horrid.  Another dish for turning the lights down low.

I actually took my first meal photo this weekend, and I'm now in a position to appreciate your photos even more than before.  Your comment about how difficult it was to photograph your meal made me grimace in appreciation.  Great job this week, youse two!

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I think the eggs have a slightly more precise and delicate eggy taste, but Russ thinks I'm full of it, when I say something like that. It's hard to say. I think they do taste fresher or something, but it could be just the notion of it all, and how cute and pretty they are in the shell.

Great sorrel input, thank you so much. I know what you mean about the color... The last time I made the fish and mashed potatoes and sorrel dish, I put the sorrel in at the very, very end, and it kept the bright green color. It was great.

We want to try your Zuni Cafe Cookbook recipe.

Yes, oh what a case for turning the lights down low.

Good luck with your meal photos. I am surprised when I get complimented on my pictures, because I'm still not satisfied with my food photography.

Thanks.

[Prepcook]

"Oh, My!!!" , to quote Dick Enberg, What a great week!

Normally, I am reluctant to share much about myself, but not this week. (Although some have suggested that the number of my posts during this blog would support that reluctance).

Suan and I love much of what good food is "all about" and we love this web site.

I am looking forward to keeping up with the next blog and the next and the next...

Thank you all for being so supportive.

Russ (Prepcook)

PS: For those of you who have come to know Susan through her posts, I happen to know that she is so much more knowledgeable and skilled than she lets on.

I am lucky.

[snowangel]

I am lucky. 

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Word. Thanks so much for the last week. I am looking at everything I plate (or not) in a different way. Bloggin can be a pretty "baring" experience.

Susan and Russ, hats off! I want your dishes! I want your warm weather! I want, right now (after 4 days of being a single parent -- Paul is deer hunting), to be an empty nester.

[Susan in FL]

We decided to go out with a BAM!... Well no, not really... but here is the recipe we did not follow.

First we had the hard-boiled quail eggs. Anybody who is familiar with shelling these little buggers will know that I put the ugly ones underneath the others in this picture.

We used three salts for dipping, the black salt (stinky stuff, but eggs are stinky stuff, and they were good together), toasted sesame seed salt, and toasted cumin seed salt. I added that toasted cumin seed salt because there was cumin in the risotto.

Then, on to the main course... We made quite a few changes to Emeril's recipe. We used pork tenderloin and sauteed it with our cumin seed mixture at the start of cooking, instead of pork shoulder and marinating it. I did toast and grind cumin seeds (with a little garlic) and slightly browned the pork with that. Then I took that out and set it aside, and browned mushrooms. I took them out of the pot, and then sauteed chopped onions in olive oil, and then did risotto like I usually do.

I like Arborio rice a lot, but in my opinion we have refined our risottos even more by using Carnaroli. We order it from Lotus Foods. It's good.

When the risotto was about done, I added back the pork and the mushrooms, a shot of cream, a chunk of butter, and the herbs. Then we topped it with the quail eggs which Russ so kindly fried.

For the salad we had beautiful watercress, and wanted to feature that, so in the vinaigrette we put tomatoes, cucumbers, and scallions. We topped watercress with that and toasted pine nuts.

The wine we had and this dish was the best wine match of the whole week. It was Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines, 2001 Sonoma County. As for the affordable Rancho Zabaco wines, this is better than the Dancing Bull and worth the extra three or four dollars. It's great with many foods.

[Susan in FL]

Susan from Minneapolis, thanks. As much as we loved devoting most of our life to our kids just a few short years ago, we longed for the empty nest, and we so enjoy that now. I'm glad we could give you a "preview" of what's to come to you!

And we're keeping our finger crossed that you soon have some venison to cook!

[patti]

Thank you, Susan and Russ. I really like your style.

[Susan in FL]

To everyone: You're welcome. It was our pleasure as well, and thank you for the support and comments throughout.