What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Karen, my problem is that I have zero extra space in my freezers. The freezer in my 48 inch kitchen fridge is pathetically small since that area also houses the compressor that serves both units, and I have just a simple drawer in the one outside. Everything's full to the gills and isn't going down very fast, even though I have myself on a moratorium for buying products to fill same. Otherwise, I would absolutely do what you do.

[Jenise]

I brought a whole roast duck home from a Chinese vendor in Seattle. SO good. What I didn't eat last night is now in a pot with a tomato, half an onion, garlic, some broccoli trimmings, an Urfa chile, ginger coins, Shao-tsing wine and star anise. The resultant broth will become an otherwise meatless ramen over the weekend.

For lunch I had a fabulous Shanghai Mai Gai purchased from the same vendor, adorned with but a scoop of precious Lan Chi Chile paste on the side. I also bought some Taiwanese versions, though I'm not sure what the difference will be between the two other than shape. The Shanghai versions are pyramid shaped where the others are rectangular/pillow shapes. The first was so good (one of the best I've ever had) that I can see myself desperately crawling back to Seattle for more on a regular basis.

[Jenise]

So I started that duck broth Thursday morning, and by the time it was done 5 or 6 hours later I realized I'd brought a cold home from Seattle. One of the friends I stayed with had a mild one. Mine, it has turned out, is not so mild.

So thank goodness for that broth. I chilled it overnight to remove the fat layer and yesterday had a splendid, restorative ramen soup with shitake mushrooms and lots of baby bok choy. Today I'll do similar, but with tofu.

Hope you get well fast, Jenise. Duck is one of the things I have never cooked. I grew up loving ducks, their actions, sounds, and when our kids were growing up, we used to take them down to the Sacramento River(which runs right through our town) to watch and feed the ducks. When I was working for RPD, I would grab a Polish Kraut dog at a kiosk that sits a block away from the riverfront, sit in my car at lunch time, and watch hundreds of the river birds come around the cars hoping for a treat. I've had very little deer meat, again, for my love of the animal, but I must say what I did have was wonderful.
Last week I had some time to go to a health food store in Redding, which I had not been to for a long. They have doubled in size, and their produce section was amazing. I saw some things not available in our regular markets. i came home with a beautiful batch of purple kale, homegrown tomatoes, a cantaloupe, and smoked salmon.

Yesterday, I was gifted many fabulous products from an attorney and his wife, whose home I frequently watch when they are over at the coast, to their ocean home. All products came from Humboldt Co., locally grown and processed. I am thrilled to be inspired by all of them and can't wait to dig in.

Today I am making a spaghetti dish which includes smoked salmon, shrimp, scallops, wine, and more. A family favorite that I have not made in a while. The recipe does not call for the smoked salmon, but I am adding it because I have three packages of it. Yum!

https://whatscookingamerica.net/karenca ... ettini.htm

Cajun chicken jambalaya tonight. The other half of the package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs will become Sichuan tai bai chicken tomorrow.

-Paul W.

Last night was salmon burgers sans buns; tonight is beef kebabs.

My favorite breakfast these days is a white corn tortilla, placed on a paper towel and microwaved for 10 seconds. Place in a nonstick pan and put a smear of Lee Kum Kee Chile Garlic Sauce on 1/2 side, top with slices of Boar's Head Blanc Grue Gruyere all-natural cheese, and add sliced tomatoes on top. Fold the other half over the top and press lightly. Cook on the stove top until the bottom side is beginning to brown, carefully turn to the other side and brown. This is delicious. I serve with any in-season fruit.

[Jenise]

Karen, send me your address in a private message. I've purchased something to send you, a type of pickled pepper native to the northwest that I LOVE LOVE LOVE and know you will too.

[Jenise]

Last night I made a wonderful stir fry. I really wanted to make a miso/tofu soup but was compelled to not let a bag of bean sprouts I brought home from Seattle go bad. I can't smell much so big flavors are needed, and this stir fry contained shiitake mushrooms, celery, onions, bok choy, chile crisp and chunks of sweet Chinese pork I'd saved to the freezer from a prior endeavor. The binding sauce included garlic, ginger, duck broth, Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, Mirin, and chile oil. I could only eat half. The other half will get scooped over a patty of fried scrambled eggs with more bean sprouts--think egg foo yung--for lunch.

I'm a lot better this morning--not needing to nap every other five minutes!--and just pulled a steak out of the freezer to have with a green salad from a neighbor's garden.

[Jenise]

Last week, I bought a lovely, 2" fresh black truffle from one of the produce vendors at Pike's Place market with the intention of turning it into a fancy dinner for my bro and BIL, but that didn't happen because I returned home sick. Yesterday, with my senses mostly back in working order I unwrapped it, found it looking a little ashy, and decided I must eat it. I spent the day deliberating about whether to make omelet, pasta or potatoes and finally opted for baked potatoes, several small russets that I grew myself, baked to outer crispy/crunchy heaven for almost two hours and lathered with good French butter and with a fresh green salad on the side. OMG, so good! I baked four potatoes which I could eyeball was one-or-two too many, but I wanted backups in case one or two was brown inside like the last one I cooked. None were. And then I ate them all!

Jenise, how did you prepare the truffle?

I'm still eating off of the pasta dish I made with the shrimp, scallops, and smoked salmon. I am not very pleased with the smoked salmon as it turned out the package I used was Lox, not the type of smoked salmon I am used to. I should have used another package I was more familiar with. Next time, I will not mess with a tried-and-true family recipe we all loved. I'm not saying it is bad, but I did have to add a bit more fresh lemon juice. Found out I am not a fan of lox.

Yes, Karen, they are rather different. Lox will be saltier and will not have been smoked, so the texture will also be different.

The Sichuan Tai Bai chicken turned out to be incendiary--a lot hotter than I had been expecting. I think the problem was twofold:

[1] I used hotter dried red chiles than Fuchsia Dunlop did.

[2] The instructions said to cut the dried chiles in half and shake out the seeds. The chicken is simmered with the dried chiles, scallion whites, shredded pickled red chiles, soy sauce, and rice wine. Once the simmering liquid has almost completely boiled off, the dried chiles and scallion whites are removed, scallion greens are added, and after a very brief stir-fry the dish is ready to serve. I had a major problem picking out the dried red chiles--the half-chiles were small and hard to distinguish from the shredded pickled chiles. I left a good number of them behind and though I tried to pick them out as I ate the dish, I'm sure I ate some of them, which isn't supposed to happen.

Next time I will use milder chiles and won't snip them in half, so that they will be easier to pick out at the end of the simmer.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yes, Karen, they are rather different. Lox will be saltier and will not have been smoked, so the texture will also be different.

Right, and it doesn't cook well.

Karen, didn't cook the truffle, just shaved it very thin and piled that on the baked potato half after the butter melted.

[Jenise]

Yesterday's stop at the new T&T Market in Bellevue (a Canadian Asian chain's first American outpost) means I have a fridge full of cool things to eat. One thing I brought home are some golden chives. I first experienced golden chives at the first PF Chang's I ever went to, in Houston TX. The food was excellent and so different from the mostly-Cantonese of Southern California--including the use of produce items I'd not only seen but not even heard of before like these chives. And it wasn't chain food, PF Chang's had not become formulated yet; each location was highly individualized to exec chef at each location.

Anyway, I loved the chives and will do a stir fry involving pork tonight. And for lunch, a bowl of spinach with warm fresh garlic and tomato dressing. The spinach at T&T yesterday was exceptional: very clean plants that about 15" high wrapped loosely in clear paper. Have never seen any as beautiful in western stores.

I also brought home chanterelles, gingko nuts and Chinese cauliflower.

Congrats on getting a hold of Chinese golden chives. These are chives that are sprouted in the dark so that they never develop chlorophyll. They are supposed to have a mild, delicate flavor. I've seen them now and then in Asian markets but never bought any.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

They are delicious--yes, milder than regular chives and more in the garlic lane than onion in flavor. Also, sweeter. Here's a recipe for a dish that's pretty identical to what I remember having in Houston and plan to make tonight:

https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-yellow-chives-pork/

Why have you never bought any? I sense you don't work with a lot of produce.

Why have you never bought any? I sense you don't work with a lot of produce.

Chinese yellow chives aren't readily available in the Asian markets around here. On the few occasions when I've seen them I'd always been shopping for another dish so I never bothered to pick them up. I'll be on the lookout for them now, though, and give them a try.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, you really should. I used a whole bundle, as you can guess they wilt a lot. Interestingly, yesterday I was doing dinner prep when my Chinese friend Annabelle called--she who turned me into the Lan Chi devotee. I mentioned what I was making for dinner and she said that they weren't a thing in the Asian markets she grew up with in Hawaii, so has never tasted nor used them but has always been curious. Being somewhat risk averse she never made the leap when she sees them in California where she lives.

I don't quite understand that. When you see something you're unfamiliar with you then tell yourself "I don't know/didn't grow up with that so I should..." 1) buy it and find out or 2) pass it up and stay ignorant. I am always in Group 1, but know people who spend their life in Group 2. Anyway, don't stay in Group 2! Yellow chives are delicious.

I have last week's duck broth on the stove being refreshed with some of the chicken bones from Chinese Garlic roast chicken I brought home Tuesday and some additional ginger and star anise. Will become a soup. And later today I plan to cook tomatoes down into a huge pot of Amatriciana sauce. I finally have a few spaces in the freezer to put some aside for winter.

I used to see yellow Chinese chives pretty frequently in the markets in Boston's Chinatown. Unfortunately covid-19 seems to have destroyed the retail grocery business there. There used to be half a dozen or so retail Chinese groceries and even one that was mainly Thai. Now there is just one left, and it's not as good as the local Asian market. Also the Chinese pastry shops and places that sold Cantonese duck and roast pork are all gone. So is the place that used to sell all manner of Chinese pots, pans, and utensils. Boston Chinatown is dominated by Asian fast food and snack outlets now. I'll have to make do with the local places here in NH and with H-mart in Burlington MA.

-Paul W.

No yellow chives here. More French Apple Cake and chocolate ice cream, however.

Today I am cooking roasted Asian inspired split, bone-in, skin-on, chicken breast with crispy cabbage. Chicken is marinated in soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili garlic paste. Cabbage is dressed with vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. A lemony green bean salad with feta, red onion, and marjoram is a great addition to your veggie plate. Also, a Rigatoni pasta salad with extra-sharp cheddar, cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh thyme, parsley, basil, and garlic. Lemon zest, juice, sea salt, and ground pepper are added.
The weather here has been perfect, rain, sun, very cool, no A/C, heater, or watering the yard, Yea!

[Jenise]

My illness continues and it's playing havoc with my appetite. I think what I have is no longer a cold but a sinus infection that developed out of it. I put myself on some antibiotic today and will hope for results by tomorrrow. I'm SO tired of blowing my nose.

I might make that pasta amatriciana tonight. The sauce is done, I just never got around to making the dish.