What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Sounds like you might be having today's NYT recipe for French Onion Grilled Cheese.

Sounds like you might be having today's NYT recipe for French Onion Grilled Cheese.

You are correct! Sam Sifton's newsletter has replaced Food52 as Betsy's favorite place for new recipes.
This was the "French Onion Grilled Cheese"

And that reminds me, for lunch Sunday we had Sifton's recipe for Tuna Noodle Salad from the Times magazine
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... all&rank=1

It looks great. FWIW, I'm a Bittman fan in NYT.

[Jenise]

Tonight we're having tacos. I'll make a spicy chicken and rice filling to accompany lettuce, cheddar and my own taco shells. Speaking of taco shells, awhile ago I heard some whooping from the kitchen (I was upstairs).

"OH NO! The tortillas are bad!", shouted Bob. "They're covered in mold!"

To which I responded, "No honey, those are blue corn tortillas."

"OH NO! The tortillas are bad!", shouted Bob. "They're covered in mold!"

To which I responded, "No honey, those are blue corn tortillas."

We occasionally eat at The Shed in Santa Fe, which features blue corn tortilla enchiladas. A server once told me that tourists will order the blue corn dishes and send them back because they're "moldy."

[Jenise]

Maybe that was my grandmother's problem. I once took her to the flagship El Torito Grill--everything southwestern. Blue was her favorite color and I ordered both of us the blue corn version of a taco and enchilada combo plate. She couldn't eat it. It literally turned her stomach to eat blue food, and I had to order her something else.

In nature, there few blue foods that are safe to eat, which instinctually affects some people.

A very different farmer's market Sat- sign up for time zone, stand in lines with 6 ft markers, remote pay when possible, volunteers doing cash/card when not.

Wow. That's some serious coordination. No luck for the spontaneous shopper.

There have been some modifications to our markets as well. Lots of pre-ordering possiblities. They spread out the stands to be further apart. And no coins. Am hoping it will be enough to keep the market going. The nearby Durham farmer's market was closed as a precaution, but so far CH and Carrboro are still going.

Our governor has closed down everything except essential services and ordered self quarantine.

I picked up six bottles of table wine at Total Wine to get me through. Swung by Trader Joe's to get some brandy, but only a limited number of people are allowed inside. There was a waiting line outside bunched together [go figure].

Tonight I had asparagus.and leftover bbq ribs. Edie had a bit of a roast beef sub and cream of mushroom soup I made today.

I received a parcel today that included a whole Wagyu bavette. Four pounds. I cut it into 8 pieces; made two tonight.

It does not have the obvious marbling of, say, a Wagyu NY Strip. In fact, it really didn't look any different at all, although I think it may have been chunkier than any steak frites I've ever had. But it was very tender, rich and silken. A good purchase for us, who like steaks with pronounced grain, and a good sale for the fine food company, who expanded their 'cook at home' offerings in these sketchy times.

I also bought from them a rye infusion (essentially, umami drops made by Momofuku), truffle honey (made with Tennessee truffles!), truffle slices in olive oil (tuber aestivum from Abruzzo), and two tins of La Brujula sardines.

Jeff, what do you think of the truffle honey.? I love truffles but the truffle honey I have tried mehh seemed a waste of honey and truffle to me. I haven’t tried it any way other than a taste at a festival. Interested in how you use it

Interested in how you use it

That is the question! I seem to get jars as gifts at Christmas but struggle to use them. My wife mostly uses honey in her tea, where she's not looking for truffle flavor. And my son uses honey spread on bread, but he is also not looking for truffle flavor. I usually get beautiful raw honey from the farmers market that I eat plain. But I struggle to find uses for truffle honey. (Vinaigrette being the only one)

Someone gave us a truffle gift set at Christmas- mustard, honey, and salt. The salt is easy to use, I guess mustard on a ham sandwich would be ok, but like others struggle with honey (Betsy is also not looking for truffle in her tea, but will try vinaigrette idea)

I got that same set last year. The salt, as you say, is easy to use. The honey works well with stinky soft cheeses and the occasional hard cheese (I think a salty cheese works best). I never found a use for truffle mustard.

I have not broken into the new truffle honey yet... it only arrived yesterday! I'll go get something to match with it and let you know.

For what it's worth, I tried our regular honey (in a plastic squeeze-Bear) on a fig recently and it did not work.

How about a little truffle honey in your mustard for use on ham sandwiches, etc?

I tried truffle mustard + ham. The aromatics of the mustard are not simpatico for me.

Actually, I could see that. Any other ideas?

[Jenise]

Okay, reading all has convinced me to make black truffle omelets for dinner--I love those sliced truffles and keep a small jar on hand at all times.

But no help here on the truffle honey. Doesn't sound good to me at all.

I'm happy with truffle honey on cheese. It's truffle mustard that I can't image what to do with.

It's truffle mustard that I can't image what to do with.

Also vinaigrette!

Tonight, a simple ham steak with a mustard-based bbq sauce, asparagus, and mashed potatoes.

[Jenise]

Larry, I've been craving a ham steak! But alas, that's probably months away.

No idea what we're eating today. Probably artichokes though, small ones I halved and de-choked yesterday, cooked and filled cut-side-up with a strong dressing of red wine vinaigrette, olive oil, garlic and dried French basil. Might make a matzoh ball soup with the rich broth I made last week. It's too good not to feature by itself.

Thai chicken curry tonight, most likely yellow or massaman, and with broccoli as the main vegetable.

-Paul W.

Thanks, Paul. You gave me an idea for tonight. I bought some shrimp, so maybe a shrimp curry. Now I have to figure which curry to use: red, green, or yellow.

Our local Sprouts has bananas now for 10 cents/lb and avocados 4/$1. I took advantage of that. The price of eggs really soared at my closest grocery store--roughly $3/doz, up from abt. $1.50/doz several days ago. A moot point anyway since there weren't any. Then I swung by Dollar Tree to buy some aspirin and found a lone dozen of medium eggs for $1 (not cracked, even) and snapped them up.