eG Foodblog: JAZ - Park and Shop

[Smithy]

It does look good. I'll definitely have to try that recipe. Interesting about the moisture.

I meant to comment earlier on your Meyer lemon tree. Isn't the smell of citrus blossoms the most wonderful thing? Lucky you! The rampant rosemary looks a treat, too.

[JAZ]

I'm sure you'll say; but, I'll be interested to know where you got your lamb.

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I buy most of my meat at Drewes Bros. (see my earlier post with photos), and that's where I got the lamb. I can pretty much always count on their having lamb shoulder chops, or a hunk of bone-in shoulder. The quality's good, and if they're a little pricey (which they are), for me, the convenience (they're about 4 blocks away) and quality make up for the higher prices. And I like the fact that they buy meat from naturally raised animals.

I also picked up marrow bones for tonight, so there's more meat in my future.

[eje]

I buy most of my meat at Drewes Bros. (see my earlier post with photos), and that's where I got the lamb....little pricey

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Ah, I figured as much. It's a drive for me; but, I usually go to Drewe's for my lamb and beef as well.

Speaking of high prices, I visited the Tower Market/Mollie Stones for the first time recently. While they do have nice looking meat, the prices are the highest I've seen in San Francisco.

PS. The Mollie Stones may still have what could be the last bottle of Duckhorn King Eider vermouth on the shelf in their liquor department.

edit - snip picture.

Edited March 16, 2006 by eje (log)

[Smithy]

JAZ, remember please to tell us about the cleanup of the EH vs. LC!

[JAZ]

While I'm waiting for the marrow bones to roast, I'll try to answer a few questions. Thanks for your patience the last couple of days.

Tonight's cocktail is a Saicar, which is a drink I found in Killer Cocktails by Dave Wondrich (member Splificator). It's a sort of hybrid of a Margarita and a Sidecar, with both tequila and brandy, and lemon and lime juice, along with triple sec.

Since I'm going to a tequila seminar tomorrow evening, I thought I'd get in practice with a tequila drink.

[JAZ]

Wow JAZ, what an event!  I love that you are doing them head-to-head though.  I've never done that before.  What in the world are you going to do with it all?  Just freeze portions I suppose? 

Genny

(There are only 2 of us here and I often make huge batches so  that I can freeze and pull out later for a convenient meal.)

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I froze the half I didn't top with breadcrumbs. When I thaw it, I'll top it with crumbs then.

I'll eat some of the first batch for lunches and dinners (I don't mind leftovers -- in fact, I usually plan for them). I gave a big container to a friend of mine whom I work with -- she and her husband both have bad colds, and I figured they'd appreciate something they didn't have to cook.

[JAZ]

As requested, I roasted marrow bones for dinner tonight. I have never bothered to soak the bones in cold water overnight, which many people advocate; I just heat up the oven to about 400 degrees and roast them.

While the oven is getting hot, I make crostini (if I haven't done it in advance). I forgot to take a picture, but it's only brushing some olive oil on sliced baguette and baking for about 15 minutes.

Last fall, I had marrow bones at Landmarc in New York served with great toasted bread and a caramelized onion confit. It was good -- really rich, as you can imagine. But ever since I tried Fergus Henderson's recipe for marrow on toast topped with a parsley-shallot-caper salad, I don't think I'll ever serve it any other way.

If you've eaten marrow, you know how rich it is. If you haven't -- it's essentially really beefy-tasting fat. It helps to have something to cut through the richness, and the salad is perfect for that.

Henderson's recipe is sort of vague, but it doesn't really have to be very precise. Coarsely chop some parsley, add some sliced shallots (a big tablespoon of shallots to about a cup of parsley is enough for two or three bones) and a tablespoon or so of capers. Toss with some lemon juice and olive oil. You can add a little salt if you want, but he recommends sprinkling salt over the whole thing right as you're eating it -- this gives you the crunch of the salt, which is a nice thing. It's an easy dish to oversalt if you add salt at every step.

Here's the set up:

And a couple of crostini assembled:

While the bones were roasting, I finished up some leftover side dishes from earlier in the week -- the rest of the broccolini, and the sweet and sour cabbage. So you can rest easy knowing that I got my vegetables.

I have one bone left (roasted already), but I can always find something to do with marrow. One of the best dishes I made with it was a twice baked potato with finely chopped marrow, caramelized onions, and parmesan cheese. And if you want to accent a steak, marrow mashed with parmesan melted on top is a great alternative to compound butter.

[mochihead]

MARROW BONES! <3<3<3 Thank you so much for that!

Have you noticed your body being way more in shape and fit without having a car to travel in?

[Kouign Aman]

Thanks for including marrow bones this week. Your assembled crostini look delicious and so pretty with the delicate onion curls on top. Nice job food styling.

[JAZ]

Good morning.

Today's another work day, and then after that I'm going to the tequila class I mentioned. Tequila is a spirit I don't know much about, so this should be educational (no, really!).

It sounds as if we'll be getting some snacks from the restaurant's kitchen, so that will give me an opportunity to try a relatively new Mexican restaurant (Tres Agaves) as well.

If it's possible, I'll take pictures. If not, I'll take notes.

Also on my schedule is a quick lunchtime trip to a small farmers' market near where I work. That's where I got the leeks and the smoked salmon for the chowder last week.

I'll be home tomorrow, so I hope to get to any questions I missed before this ends, and tell you a little bit about my teaching, which I realize I haven't discussed yet.

[SobaAddict70]

I'll be home tomorrow, so I hope to get to any questions I missed before this ends, and tell you a little bit about my teaching, which I realize I haven't discussed yet.

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Back when I posted the teaser for Rochelle's Foodblog, I mentioned that hers was the first of two Foodblogs this spring featuring people who teach cooking for a living.

Well, guess what, Janet's is the second.

[JAZ]

Back when I posted the teaser for Rochelle's Foodblog, I mentioned that hers was the first of two Foodblogs this spring featuring people who teach cooking for a living.

Well, guess what, Janet's is the second. 

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I wish I'd been teaching or even planning a class this week, so I could have involved everyone in that. But right now, I'm not doing much teaching. Sur La Table changed its policy on serving alcohol in classes, and although I completely understand the move, since I teach cocktail and cocktail party classes, it means I don't teach much at the store these days.

However, I hope to start teaching soon at a new culinary school opening this month in Berkeley. More about that later.

[MarketStEl]

I'll be home tomorrow, so I hope to get to any questions I missed before this ends, and tell you a little bit about my teaching, which I realize I haven't discussed yet.

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Show us your fridge!

[Pontormo]

Oh, Sandy!

It is a large metal appliance, not a trenchcoat, silly!

[MarketStEl]

Oh, Sandy!

It is a large metal appliance, not a trenchcoat, silly!

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Hey, all the other bloggers have exposed theirs!

(Edited to add: I'm also channeling an old Atlantic City tradition as well as what appears to be an unofficial eGullet one. During the annual boardwalk parade that preceded the Miss America Pageant, the queens who lined the route would shout out at the contestants as they rode by, "Show us your shoes!" The contestants unfailingly obliged. I somehow doubt that this tradition has survived the pageant's relocation to Las Vegas.)

Edited March 16, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

[Jenny McClure]

In my home town, the local drunk shouts "show us yer knickers" don't think too many people oblige him though

[JAZ]

Show us your fridge!

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Okay, okay already.

It's mostly leftovers and condiments. There's some produce in the drawer, too.

The freezer compartment:

I didn't bother with the door -- it's all cocktail glasses and butter.

And a bonus: my "pantry"

(In case you're wondering: yes, the shelves do slant down to the right. The entire kitchen does -- old house, settling.)

[Smithy]

Well, that answers my question about cleaning up the Emile Henry...that is, why you haven't answered my question yet! If the blog is closed before you empty and clean that pot, as I suspect it will be, please post about it on an some other appropriate thread.

ETA: anything you can tell us in the remaining time about your classes, past or present, will be welcome.

Edited March 17, 2006 by Smithy (log)

[Safran]

Thx for the pantry shot!

[Genny]

What is in the CO2 canister in the fridge? Whipped Cream???

Oh, JAZ, I forgot to mention how much I love your kitchen in total. It reminds me of my great-aunt who lived in Menlo Park for so many years. The feel of the homes from that area built in that era all have a similar feel and for me that feeling is cozy and homey.

Thanks so much for blogging this week. I know you've been busy working and dealing with the weather. Nice job. Oh, and those marrows looked faaaabulous darling. I imagine they make for a small meal because they are so rich. I prefer them as an appy for just that reason.

What condiment or pantry ingredient do you have that you consider the most exotic and what do you do with it? Same question for your bar ingredients. Do you actually have a favorite drink?

[JAZ]

Well, that answers my question about cleaning up the Emile Henry...that is, why you haven't answered my question yet!  If the blog is closed before you empty and clean that pot, as I suspect it will be, please post about it on an some other appropriate thread.

ETA: anything you can tell us in the remaining time about your classes, past or present, will be welcome.

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On the list of things to do this afternoon is to transfer the rest of the cassoulet to tupperware and get the EH cleaned, but if I don't, I'll post about the cleanup results on this topic.

I'll try to post more detail on some of my classes, too.

[Rebecca263]

We have the same size freezer in our house. I can't stand not being able to freeze EVERYTHING that I want to. How about you? Do you find yourself running out of freezer space for leftovers and such? I have a teenager, so I can just force her friends to eat stuff, what's your cure?

[Megan Blocker]

We have the same size freezer in our house. I can't stand not being able to freeze EVERYTHING that I want to. How about you? Do you find yourself running out of freezer space for leftovers and such? I have a teenager, so I can just force her friends to eat stuff, what's your cure?

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I now have this image of Rebecca forcefeeding frozen puff pastry and containers of stock to a group of 16-year-olds.

[Pontormo]

Yes, thank you, Janet.

If you took pictures at the market during your lunch break yesterday ( better weather this time, I hope), I'd love to see them. Otherwise, in light of the topic Chris A started, do you have any thoughts about prices and quality at the market as compared to supermarkets and the other types of food stores you visit?

How diverse are the demographics (economic, especially) of those who go to your farmers's market?

[JAZ]

What is in the CO2 canister in the fridge? Whipped Cream??? 

Oh, JAZ, I forgot to mention how much I love your kitchen in total.  It reminds me of my great-aunt who lived in Menlo Park for so many years.  The feel of the homes from that area built in that era all have a similar feel and for me that feeling is cozy and homey. 

Thanks so much for blogging this week.  I know you've been busy working and dealing with the weather. Nice job. Oh, and those marrows looked faaaabulous darling.  I imagine they make for a small meal because they are so rich.  I prefer them as an appy for just that reason.

What condiment or pantry ingredient do you have that you consider the most exotic and what do you do with it?  Same question for your bar ingredients.  Do you actually have a favorite drink?

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Thanks, Genny. I like it too. It's funny -- when I moved in a few years ago, my place and the place upstairs (there are two flats in what was originally one house) were both vacant. The kitchen in the place upstairs had been remodeled and was brand new -- dishwasher, cooking island, built-in display shelves, pantry -- and big. But the place was consequently much more expensive (it's bigger, too, by far) and I couldn't afford it then.

But my little kitchen has grown on me. And as I've mentioned before, for its size, it has a lot of storage space. I'll post a few more photos in a little bit, and you'll see what I mean.

As for ingredients -- it's hard to claim any of them are very exotic -- especially since I'm talking to eGullet members! What I do have are opened bottles of a whole bunch of different prepared sauces and marinades, that I've used once or twice. Between samples from IACP, which I belong to, and samples from work, I get a lot of them. Most of them aren't great, but they're not bad, and I keep thinking that I might want to use them some other time. Then I just get more, so I rarely do. One that I do like and use is Stonewall Kitchen's Curried Mango Grill Sauce (which I just realized I'm out of, or I'd take a picture). I use it in a beef roll appetizer.

Oh, and that's a seltzer bottle, not whipped cream.