What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Btw, the name of tonight's tasting? My Big Fat Greek Wine Tasting. Good name, and maybe too good! April's historically a slow month, but as of right now I've got 90 people signed up and am turning people away. A new record.

It's sure a dandy way of using up leftovers. And artistry comes into play--every dish is different, and meat not required.

I just made one tonight! I had three different kinds of leftover bread -- half a "non" from an Uzbeki restaurant, the end of a Maison Kayser seeded loaf, and a "portuguese" roll. I did it in the style of a croque monsieur: gruyere, smoky ham, Dijon mustard, with a bit of red pepper and garlic softened in a frypan for 5 minutes. Yummy. (Spatula worked just fine.)

Thanks for the inspiration, Jenise

Cool! Great idea too with that mix of ingredients.

[Jenise]

Got a little kitchen sci going on right now, testing lentils. Three different colors (red, yellow, brown) cooked in the same pot--a pressure cooker for four minutes. Will tell me if the timing for all is equal or different. Hopefully they're close enough that I can mix them. The idea is that they were all grown in Washington's Palouse and these colors will reflect a Palouse sunset. We'll season them, nest a strip inside some phyllo dough and layer a strip of goat cheese inside for a tangy, creamy center, then oven roast them until crispy. Slices will be served on with escarole and mizuna salad for the first course in a Washington state wine tasting next weekend.

Instead of mixing, can you lay them side-by-side, like a rainbow?

Last night's dinner was chicken jambalaya, using Paul Prudhomme's recipe for rabbit/chicken. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are a lot easier to prepare than skinning and cutting up Bugs.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Last night's dinner was chicken jambalaya, using Paul Prudhomme's recipe for rabbit/chicken. Boneless skinless chicken thighs are a lot easier to prepare than skinning and cutting up Bugs.

-Paul W.

Someday I must make a Jambalaya, just because I should make one of everything. I really have no reference point for it. I believe I'd had only one that a friend made, and it didn't impress.


Tonight friends are coming for dinner. She just had a birthday and I'm having steaks delivered from a small farm in Spokane. Not sure what else will go with that, but maybe the litttle individual potato gratins cooked in muffin tins that I was going on about last year.

[Jenise]

Okay, the muffin tin potatoes are off the menu. LOVE them, but charged myself with the task of doing something brand new vs. falling back on stuff already known. So I'm flipping the menu around and putting the potatoes in the first course--lobster shepherds pies. I'll move salad to the main course (charred romaine with caesar vinaigrette) as a base layer for tonight's chuck eye steaks which just got delivered, they're from a small Hutterian farm in Spokane. I'll make some flatbreads to go along with that. The appie will be grilled asparagus with parm and fresh meyer lemon juice.

Last night's dinner was doro wat--first time I've made it in a while. Served with rice instead of injeera, though.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Nothing wrong with rice! I often use flour tortillas.

On the stove right now: a pot of caponata. Need to take an Italian appie to a Jewish friend's home this evening, so I'm taking that but supplying Matzohs in place of baguette.

Mmm, I like caponata. (And, in the same vein, I also like ratatouille.)

[Robin Garr]

Need to take an Italian appie to a Jewish friend's home this evening, so I'm taking that but supplying Matzohs in place of baguette.

FYI, though, Passover ended Saturday evening, April 27, so they may be sick of matzoh for a while.

[Jenise]

Lunch will be a salad of poached white asparagus with prawns. Dinner will be out.

Cooking hasn’t been high on my agenda but I’m trying to get my head around cooking for one. So tonight I’m having a roast dinner, a 3 bone lamb rack and all the veg.
Have friends coming for lunch tomorrow so making a raspberry creme brûlée and some Chinese steamed buns to serve with roast duck legs and trimmings.
Y

[Jenise]

Uh oh, Barbara. I'm cringing to ask but, has your husband passed?

Cooking for one is problematic. And it's not the quantity issue it's the desire. So much of what we who love to cook is about cooking for the person we love. Without a husband to cook for I would likely live on frozen peas and fruit, with an occasional Slim Jim from the supermarket checkout stand.

Tonight I threw together a Tuscan-inspired soup: Start with prosciutto and fennel bulb, then layer on sweet Italian sausage, navy beans, chunks of maitake and cheese tortellini; simmer a little while with bay leaf and thyme and black pepper. Serve with parmesan to grate over the bowl. A good stew for a rainy, chill night.

Jenise, yes, sadly he slipped away on the 5th of March, a month after my mum.
You are right, it is the desire to cook, particularly as Peter was my food muse, aiding and abetting all my forays into the unknown or unusual. We had loads of fun food shopping be it markets, Asian groceries, Jewish delis or upmarket providores. And a bit of foraging as well, mushrooms, samphire, wild fruit trees, oysters from the rocks. And he had a great palate and often his tasting and suggested tweaks made the dish.
Breakfast is on remote control Vegemite toast with avocado and a cafe latte. A sandwich for lunch is easy. Then dinner is crunch time, I’ve moved on from breakfast cereal and grapes! Often it is a baked potato, baked tomato and some sort of protein. My neighbour brings me soup and chocolate, bless her.

[Robin Garr]

Barb, I'm so sorry. Sending best wishes and warm thoughts your way.

Oh, Barb, I am so sorry to hear this sad news.

[Jenise]

Oh, Barb. My heart breaks for you. My husband is ten years older than I and, actuarily, I face the same future (which I'll never be ready for). And this weekend I'm cooking all the food for a memorial for a friend's husband. He was 20 years older than she. It was a long illness with an unchangeable outcome so she knew it was coming, as you did, but I don't know that it makes it any easier. Too many meals alone, and all the more poignant when the mate was a foodie partner in crime like Peter was for you (lucky you). Hugs, hugs, hugs from far away. So glad you have friends helping you.

Jenise, Robin, Jeff
Thank you for your kind thoughts. I am truly fortunate that I have the support of my communities of which the forum I consider to be one, along with family, friends, neighbors, community groups etc which all enrich my life.

So food. To occupy myself on Peters recent birthday on the 1st I started some Camembert style cheeses which are looking good and should be ready in about 10 days.
Some dear friends of many years have been doing a 3 hour round trip every couple of weeks to give me support and split wood! So the least I can do is provide a pleasant lunch.
This week it was “Chinese sandwiches”. Ie I made steamed buns which we filled to taste with roast duck, hoisin/peanur sauce, cucumber, bean shoots and spring onion. Followed by a raspberry creme brûlée (they like sweets so I make a real effort here)
We decided the buns could be a very child (grandchild! They have 5 of them) friendly meal subbing for ease a bought in bbq chicken and whatever else their mob might go for.

[Jenise]

What wouldn't children like about steam buns? A great idea. Btw, we just spent five days in Los Angeles in which our Chinese hostess made Chinese food for breakfast every day. Gyoza dumplings, turnip cake (which is made of radishes, not turnip, god knows why the name), jong (also spelled in English somethings Zhong), bao, and one morning bacon wrapped in ultra-thin Chinese pancakes which we'd made for dinner one night with smoked duck. I'd never known how those pancakes were made, loved helping and learning the technique. For all the Chinese food I've had at her home, though, she's never made steam buns. I wonder if they're not part of her repertoire because they aren't typical of the Chinese village both her mother and father came from.

If Paul's reading along, all of the above were eaten with Lan Chi sauce.

Barb, you mention split wood. I've had the impression that you do live somewhat out in the country; are you off the grid? Whereabouts do you live? I don't think I've ever known just where, though I had the impression you're closer to Adelaide, say, than Melbourne.

[Jenise]

Last night I made the Bademiya BBQ chicken recipe from the NY Times Cookbook. There's no one right way to do anything so I can't say that among all BBQ chicken preps this is the best I've ever had, but it's a lot to say it instantly became one of our favorites.

Here's a link to the recipe: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/ba ... ken-482997.

What I did different: not much, except that I did not measure the lemon juice, I used a large and hugely sweet and juicy lime and squeezed ALL of it into the marinade knowing it was about 3X more than the recipe called and not caring. One. Little. Bit. Also, I used a super-hot powdered red chile from Kerala, probably closer to what the restaurant uses than the cayenne or hot paprika suggested (no doubt for the convenience of those with limited pantry ingredients).

I marinated the chicken all day, about ten hours, having poked holes into the legs to increase absorption of flavor. Our result, cooked on our Egg, was much better looking than the picture with the recipe. The marinade blackened nicely, possibly because of the charcoal heat/egg and maybe enhanced by the extra sugars in the extra lime juice.

I served the chicken with a cold cucumber and sweet onion salad on the side, as cool and refreshing as the chicken was spicy.

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Tonight I was planning on stuffed bell peppers. Then, while looking at the pound of ground meat thawing on the counter, I started leaning toward tacos. Then it hit me: I can have both. The taco filling will be beef, rice, and green bell pepper seasoned with guajillo chile, onion, garlic, etc. Can't wait!

Jenise, yes I do live in the country in a small rural town. I am not off grid but have a wood fire (and a split system for cold early morning heat and air con. I am reliant on rain water tanks as there is no reticulated water, and the septic tank outflow means my citrus grows very well!!
If you are interested I live in southern Victoria in a town called Tarwin Lower with a permanent
population of around 300 which provides a lot of infrastructure for the area with a great supermarket, post office, hardware store, church, health centre and sporting facilities. 5 km down the road is the beach holiday resort of Venus Bay which has a great restaurant!
Oh dear I am rabbiting on.
Another easy one person meal tonight, a pita bread pizza.

If you are interested I live in southern Victoria in a town called Tarwin Lower with a permanent
population of around 300 which provides a lot of infrastructure for the area with a great supermarket, post office, hardware store, church, health centre and sporting facilities. 5 km down the road is the beach holiday resort of Venus Bay which has a great restaurant!

Go, Sharks!