What's cooking?

Had to throw something together quickly tonight, so first step was to get water boiling for penne. Then sweated some onions and garlic and added a couple of big tablespoons of leftover 5-spice rillettes. Let that cook for a bit, threw the penne in the water, and added a bag of frozen tomato sauce (basically just cooked down tomatoes from a friend's garden from earlier this year). Threw in a little wine, a little balsamic, and a little Tabasco and then let it cook down. Then threw in the penne. Mixed it all with a healthy dose of parmigiano. It was pretty good - rich and flavorful. Between the sweetness of the tomatoes and the subtle 5-spice, though, it needed another dimension to round it out. Some porcini would have been perfect. Maybe next time....

These are Zephyr Squash, have you ever seen them before? I am sautéing them with my sweet banana peppers tonight. A neighbor gave me some hot banana peppers, which I will toss a few of into the mix.

Zephyr is a hybrid of a yellow crookneck with a squash that is a cross between the Delicata and yellow Acorn squashes. It has a slightly bowed neck about 5 to 8 inches (13-20 cm) long. You can harvest 'Zephyr' at about 4 to 6 inches. 'Zephyr' is a firm, sweet-nutty flavored squash perfect for quick cooking.

[Jenise]

Mike, porcini would have been great in that. So, however, would some strong herbs--bay leaf comes to mind, as it's very compatible with the five-spice blend.

Speaking of which, tonight: filet of halibut in a panko-five spice crust with a fresh tomato sauce.

[Jenise]

Tonight: lamb meatloaf, wherein the panade is red wine, fresh herbs and oats. Probably served with a cabbage-potato-cauliflower combination in a peppery bechamel sauce.

Our regular pizza with a bought crust, brushed with a tablspoon of EVOO, covered with a cup of our own Italian Tomato sauce, then a half cup of finely grated Pecorino Romano, and a half pound of shredded Casio de Roma. Topped with an ample shaking of Penseys' Pasta Sprinkle. Baked on a stone for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F. Wonderful with Harpoon Octoberfest.

Mike, porcini would have been great in that. So, however, would some strong herbs--bay leaf comes to mind, as it's very compatible with the five-spice blend.

Speaking of which, tonight: filet of halibut in a panko-five spice crust with a fresh tomato sauce.

Jenise, I would like to hear more about that panko-five spice crust you used. How was the panko and spices applied to the halibut?

Tonight is a cross rib roast,brushed with balsamic and coated with a paste of fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary, s & p, and olive oil. Zeytinyagli barbunya,Borlotti Beans in olive oil, garlic, onions, fresh tomatoes, parsley. Plus some sort of green salad or shredded cabbage even.

Tonight, we are having the Great Bidwell Way Luau. I have a whole pig going in the Caja China right now. Cocktail hour starts around 4, and everyone in the neighborhood will be bringing sides, salads, desserts, and tiki-oriented beverages. Should be fun!

I'm a moderate pizza lover. Moderate enough to make my own dough and go out of my way to buy 00 flour. But I was never geeky enough to get too concerned about which 00 flour until I finally decided to give the Antico Molino Caputo Tipo 00 Pizza Flour a try. Yes, the one that is only sold direct in 55 lb bags (but can be purchased re-packaged into 5 lb bags).

And my wife and I are immediate believers. Last week's pizza with light tomato sauce, maitakes, basil and parmesan was pretty damned good and just to confirm that it wasn't a fluke, this week's was just as good. Light dough, so flavorful, I'm hooked!

[Robin Garr]

Roasting eggplants over chunk charcoal and hickory wood to make a bunch of baba ganoush.

sm_roasteggplant.jpg

Smoked a 6lb boneless pork shoulder (or Boston butt as my butcher refers to it) in my Old Smokey electric smoker over the weekend. I smoked it for 4 1/2 hours at 225 degrees. When I pulled it out the internal temperature was a little over 180. I then wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it back in the smoker for another hour at 200 degrees. It was the first time I did the extra step of wrapping it in foil and putting it back in - which probably is why it was hands down the best pulled pork I ever made. A bottle Barmes-Buecher Cremant d'Alsace Brut went very nicely with it.

[Jenise]

Jenise, I would like to hear more about that panko-five spice crust you used. How was the panko and spices applied to the halibut?

Panko crumbs simply seasoned with salt and five spice powder (or in this case, my home-made ten spice powder), and applied the usual progressive method of flour-egg-crumb. Baked on a oiled cookie sheet until lightly golden and cooked through, about 400 F for 12 minutes.

[Robin Garr]

Welcome, Marc!

For our lunch, fry cook Mary whipped us up some real falafels from chickpeas, garden parsley and onions. Good stuff!

falafels0926.jpg

[Jenise]

Smoked a 6lb boneless pork shoulder (or Boston butt as my butcher refers to it) in my Old Smokey electric smoker over the weekend. I smoked it for 4 1/2 hours at 225 degrees. When I pulled it out the internal temperature was a little over 180. I then wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it back in the smoker for another hour at 200 degrees. It was the first time I did the extra step of wrapping it in foil and putting it back in - which probably is why it was hands down the best pulled pork I ever made. A bottle Barmes-Buecher Cremant d'Alsace Brut went very nicely with it.

Sounds great, Mark. Bob and I smoke ribs and salmon all the time, and occasionally a prime rib or a chicken, but I've not ventured into pulled pork territory. Bob's a southern boy and would sure love it if I did--trouble is the time, and that our smoker isn't electric. We can't "set it and forget it".

[Jenise]

Dinner tonight will be: seared sea scallops in a quick sauce made from fresh tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary over pasta, and a salad of green leaf lettuce in a crushed garbanzo bean vinaigrette. Both Marcella Hazan ideas.

Marc,

You remind me that, either this weekend or the next, I have to break out the smoker and barbecue some Boston butt and ribs, before it gets too cold here in NH.

-Paul W.

Tonight is a simple soup of grilled corn, removed from the cob, chopped beefsteak tomatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, home made chicken stock, French Thyme, shallots, leek, garlic,topped off with garlic chives and sour cream. Gene loves quesadillas, so I'm thinking green onions, jack cheese, cilantro, and a little chunky salasa with chipotle.

[Jenise]

Karen, did you get the Kuhn Rikon corn stripper?

Not cooking at home tonight myself, but will be serving a late lunch so we don't show up at the event we're going to hungry. Lunch will be kind of a hot salad-main dish combination of sauteed savoy cabbage topped with slices of grilled lamb meat loaf and a raw sauce of red onion and dill soaked in red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Karen, did you get the Kuhn Rikon corn stripper?

Yep, works like a charm. I figured out if I do it in a bowl, and 1/2 of the cob, then turn over and do the other half, I don't have corn flying all over the place. Snazzy gadget!

We had our last rib eye from the May purchase from BJs (whole boneless rib). We grilled it over charcoal and mesquite with butter pats on the turned side. Matched with Baby Yukons (fingerlings) roasted in bacon fat, and another salad from garden. Washed it down with '06 Tobin James Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah. Got get more steaks from BJs in October.

Tonight's dinner was Tsa Chiang Mein - Chinese minced pork, stir-fried with fermented bean sauce and scallions, and served over boiled noodles with crunchy vegetables (in this case, bean sprouts). Sort of the Northern Chinese equivalent of spaghetti with meat sauce.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, I've never had that dish but would kill for it. Really, for almost anything with noodles but the noodle dishes of Northern China were a revelation. It was one of the best reasons for regretting only spending one night in Xian.

[Jenise]

Tonight, dinner for friends who leave soon for France:

Scallops with bay leaf and sherry cream sauce broiled on the halfshell
Joel Roblechon's (I know I've butchered that spelling) Bacon and Potato 'Cake'
Romaine and fresh fennel salad with lemon-walnut oil salad
Broiled figs with roquefort, garlic, hazelnut and lemon zest topping
Wines will be a roussanne from a vineyard in Seattle, YES, Seattle, and an Eric Texier 05 Cotes du Rhone

Since cooking the whole pig last Saturday, we've had a bonanza of amazing pork to work through. We started on Sunday by shredding it and cooking it up with some barbecue sauce for sandwiches. On Monday, I shredded some more, fried it up with a little olive oil in a hot pan, and put together tacos with the pork, some cabbage, some pico de gallo, and some jack cheese. My daughter hasn't let me serve anything else for supper since then.