Dinner! 2002

[Wilfrid]

Didn't know what I wanted to eat last night, so went for an old favorite.  Beef tripe, of course.  Cut it into strips and boiled it up with some chunks of smoked center-cut bacon.  Drained and rinsed it, then cooked it as if I was making a meat sauce for pasta - tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, onion, garlic, a little chicken stock, etc.  Boiled some penne, then lined a gratin dish with the penne and the tripe in red sauce.  A sprinkle of breadcrumbs and grated Pecorino Romano, and finished in the oven.

Tender, sticky, wonderful.  I resolve to cook more tripe.  

[Liza]

Don't hate me because I've got access to great fish, but yet again, fresh trout; salad of amaranth greens and arugula blossoms.

[Wilfrid]

I admire you for knowing the names of all those leaves and things!  For me it's just the green stuff I wolf down to feel less guilty about having eaten a pound of tripe.  

[Terrie]

I haven't posted here in quite a while, but thought I'd add my dinner for the day as a return "hello."

I was the lucky recipient of some of my mother's final Swiss chard harvest, which had to be used today since I'll be away from home for several days.  I made a vat of soup with it, with onions, garlic, cannellini beans and chick peas, a little tomato, and a little cumin, coriander, and chili to spice it up.  I've frozen a lot of it, which will be nice for a cool and rainy day.

Tonight, I'm going to do an Indian-style drizzle to add to it using onion, ginger and garlic cooked until brown in a little butter with cumin seeds, coriander, and probably garam masala, which I'll stir in on serving.

I'll also do it in a more Italian style in later meals, probably ladling it over well-toasted Italian bread and adding grated Parmesan or Pecorino.  

I love Swiss chard!

[Wilfrid]

Swiss chard - I may have to get back to that, or spinach, now the ramp season is over and I can't cook the ramp leaves as greens!

Meaty Memorial Day weekend.  A rib-eye steak rubbed thoroughly with Dean & Deluca's ready-made South Wetsern rub (mildly spicy, plenty of cumin), and seared in butter.  Mashed potatoes with chopped ramps, and ramp greens.  Sutton Hill Zinfandel.

Yesterday - they said it couldn't be done!  But I dragged duck a l'orange out of the history books successfully.  A magret only, in fact, but a very happy sauce made from bitter oranges, a little veal stock, raspberry vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar.  Fried potatoes.  Ch Moulin du Bourg, Listrac-Medoc.  Cheese.  Port and cookies.

Cheese of the weekend - a leaf-wrapped Robiola from Dean & Deluca of such pungency as one might achieve by leaving a Durian fruit in an old laundry bag.  A fantastic cheese, about $19 for a four or five inch round.  Recommended.

[Liza]

The robiola sounds like "Smack Ma Girdle", the nettle wrapped sister of "Stinking Bishop", both sold at Dean and Deluca. Unbelievably runny and fetid. In a good way.

[Priscilla]

Over the holiday week-end, which night was it, grilled Copper River Salmon, a nice side o' sockeye.  Got the guy to trim off the skinny tail end, leaving me with the nice rectangle I wanted.  

The skin on these wild fish gets surpassingly crispy and toothsome, seems to achieve heights unattainable by farmed salmon.  Oh and the flesh was good, very good, too.  Incredible color and healthy firm texture, stripe of rarity in the middle there.

Nice fresh spinach braised with onion and cream.  Cute little red potatoes, fresh and earthy.  Bread.

Priscilla

[SobaAddict70]

its been a while since I posted -- I've been working a lot, oh well.  the past few days are the first normal evenings I've had in a while...

Sunday:  Broiled chicken breast, mango pickle, couscous with golden raisins, dried cranberries and chopped parsley; fruit.

Monday:  Sinigang (which I made on Saturday), steamed rice; steamed egg custards (which I bought from Chinatown).  Sinigang is a Filipino soup/stew that consists of pork, white daikon radish, long green beans, bitter melon, tomatoes, onions, ginger, tamarind juice, and sometimes vinegar.  Well-made sinigang should have a clean, sour taste or feel, not puckerish.

yesterday:  Leftover chicken breast, stir-fried rice with garlic, egg, bits of chinese sausage and chopped asparagus; fruit.

We're eating out at Lupa in the West Village tonight.  Have to take a well-deserved break, don'cha know...

[tommy]

i made veal chops with a morel sauce that i got from epicurious.  the sauce sounded good, but i think it was overkill for the veal, which is fine simply grilled with s/p/rosemary.  

i realized that the best part of working with morels is that point when you're sauteing them in butter.  i think God invented humans just so they could enjoy that aroma.

[wingding]

I spotted some nice porgy and manila clams in Chinatown late today.Made tomato sauce with some smoky chiles,golden onions,fresh bay leaf and rosemary from the fire escape garden, and saffron water.Poached the fish and clams in the sauce,served with scialatielli.The porgy and clams absorbed the flavors of the sauce nicely-I've never made this before,but definitely will repeat it...

[Jinmyo]

i realized that the best part of working with morels is that point when you're sauteing them in butter.  i think God invented humans just so they could enjoy that aroma.

Yes, yes, yes. It equals actually eating them.

[winodj]

This weekend, I had another shot at breaking my new kitchen in. I fixed for me and the bf panfried chicken in lemon/wine sauce, and a risotto style orzo. yum.

sometimes im actually proud of myself for being able to cook!

[Orik]

Gnomes aside, tonight was Japanese night, started off with a scallop carpaccio with yuzu juice, japanese seven spices and shiso leaves. Then risotto with rock shrimps followed by panko crusted miso marinated foie gras with eggplant ginger marmalade. Then we had some seared tuna with japanese mushrooms (enoki, shitake and matsutake) and summer desserts from Minamoto Kitchoan.

Last time we cooked...shamefully it was memorial day...went to the French Butcher and got some duck rillettes, which we had with toasted batch bread, german mustard and pickles from the pickle people (I believe they're based somewhere in west hempstead, we found them in one of manhattan's generic street fairs). As a main course, we had a couple of rib eye steaks, served in a pita bread left over from the day before, with tahini. (that's the Israeli way - steak in pita - not ON pita, as you may often see meat served here, but IN pita, it's supposed to have a pocket you know)

Day before that we had some friends over for an Israeli style brunch, made shakshouka as the main course, with hummus, baba ganoush, shrimp falafel and a couple of other sides.

[Liza]

Orik,

This: scallop carpaccio with yuzu juice, japanese seven spices and shiso leaves - sounds delicious. Is Japanese seven spices similar to Chinese 5 spice, i.e. does it come in one jar? Or is it a combination of seven spices that you make yourself? I just found yuzu juice at the Sunshine market on Stuyvesent, which also carries shiso leaves - so the possibility of making this dish just increased.

[Jim Dixon]

Friday was green...broiled aspargus, big salad, and stuffed sage leaves. These were a last minute addition. I'd read something somewehere about stuffing sage leaves, but the biggest sage leaves I'd ever seen were still only about an inch long and too narrow to stuff with much of anything.

But the sage I planted a few weeks back has taken off, and the leaves are huge, maybe 3 inches long and 2 wide. I pinched off a few, wrapped each around a sliver of Parmigiano, and fried in a thin film of olive oil for about a minute or less on each side...the leaves get a little crispy, and cheese a little oozy. Sprinkled with sea salt and ate hot...resisted urge to strip entire plant for more.

Jim

[Liza]

Congratulations on your strength, Jim! Did the sage not overpower the Parmigiano? Do you think this idea can be used with perhaps basil leaves?

[Jinmyo]

Liza, I think sage and parmigiano are both full-flavoured and support each other well. Basil is too watery to hold up to frying. And it turns a nasty black, loses all of its floral profiles.

[Orik]

Is Japanese seven spices similar to Chinese 5 spice, i.e. does it come in one jar? Or is it a combination of seven spices that you make yourself?

Japanese seven spice (Shichimi Togarashi) is available in any japanese market (and probably some supermarkets and international food markets). It is a mixture of white sesame, black sesame, citrus rind, chili flakes, nori flakes, poppy seeds and something similar to sichuan pepper (sansho). I'm sure you can make it at home if you REALLY want to  

One other note - go easy on the shiso - a quarter of a shredded leaf per diver scallop should be more than enough.

[SobaAddict70]

But the sage I planted a few weeks back has taken off, and the leaves are huge, maybe 3 inches long and 2 wide. I pinched off a few, wrapped each around a sliver of Parmigiano, and fried in a thin film of olive oil for about a minute or less on each side...the leaves get a little crispy, and cheese a little oozy. Sprinkled with sea salt and ate hot...resisted urge to strip entire plant for more.

Jim -- by any chance, have you gone to Craftbar?  They serve an app there that's deep fried stuffed sage leaves, topped with gremolata.  It's just that this reminded me of what I was served when I visited Craftbar not too long ago.

Orik -- do you mind sharing the recipe for the shrimp falafel?  Most of my falafel experience has been ground up chickpeas mixed with spices and deep fried.  Or is this something completely different?  Thanks in advance.

I hope we don't get in big trouble from the Topic Copz.

Ouch. Tazer.

Jinmyo -- It's all in your mind.  You're imagining things.  *wiggles his fingers at Jinmyo*  Those weren't the droids you're looking for.

[Orik]

Shrimp falafel

I don't have accurate quantities, but basically, for so and so falafel balls,

1 lb medium sized shrimps, peeled and deveined, chopped into small pieces (about 4mm long)

chopped cilantro (about 2-3 tbsp)

chopped parsley (same)

ground cumin (enough to make is smell like falafel)

one beaten egg

bread crumbs (enough to make shrimp balls hold together). we actually used panko, even though it's cheating

shape into falafel sized balls and fry until golden.

I didn't add onion or garlic which are part of falafel because I felt they would overpower the shrimps. It can be interesting to try these with some ground chickpeas or fava beans thrown in for authenticity.

[Blue Heron]

For lunch today I prepared Copper River Sockeye w/ fresh Morel Cream Sauce...yummm that was good.  Served w/ Jasmine Rice & Fresh Steamed Spinach.

[Jinmyo]

Wild and jasmine rice with green peas and crushed toasted almonds; squash and lime soup garnished with minced pickled mango and plum tomatoes; shredded chicken thighs (left over from brined and roasted with chipotle mixed with smoked thighs) sauteed with oyster mushrooms, scallions, garlic; salad of fava and white beans with tomatillos, black olives, celery greens and parsley.

[cabrales]

Having received a large chunk of chicken mushroom from B Edulis, I am going to try and cook a late dinner.  I'll cut up the mushrooms and try to have them sauteed in butter. Then, I'll make a champagne-and-butter sauce using some residual single-grape Chardonnay that is so-so for separate drinking (Pommery Summertime Blanc de Blancs). I'd appreciate input on how this type of sauce is made, if cream is not included as an ingredient?

Two of the duck eggs I purchased at the Union Square market Saturday will be attempted in a sunny-side-up preparation. I'll add a bit of Maggi sauce to them at the last minute (a pet peeve) and sprinkle copious amounts of diced fresh chives. I may have the above with Pascal Jolivet Sancere 1999 or 2000.  

[Sandra Levine]

Cabrales, saute the mushroom in some of the butter until it is done to your liking.  Remove and set aside.  Pour in the wine, turn up the heat and reduce until somewhat thickened. If any liquid has exuded from the mushrooms, return it to the pan. Using a whisk, stir in another lump of cold butter. When the butter has been incorporated, you can either pour it over the mushroom or return the mushroom to the pan, stir it around a few times and turn it out into a serving dish.  Good luck

[cabrales]

Sandra -- Thanks. Does an actual hand-held whisk have to be used, or can a fork or other stirring implement work?  Also, are you preparing your mushroom chunk tonight?