What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

A friend came over and helped me make the chili on Tuesday. Took about four hours--she sliced meat into strips while I floured and browned it in a skillet, adding to the 16 or 20 qt (can't remember, but it's huge) stew pot. This is not a long cook. Once the meat's browned and combined with all the other ingredients then thickened with a flour slurry, it's done. From there it's just a matter of adjusting the seasoning, letting it rest (thank god for the cool weather--I stored it on my front porch for two days), and reheating. I made all the rice yesterday (from 10 cups raw jasmine) using Progresso chicken stock, Gebhardts chili powder and sauteed onions for an intrinsic Mexican flavor (and lovely orange color). Three batches, rice does not like to go deep!

Today, I am making a sauté of large shrimp, milti colored cherry tomatoes, and asparagus in fresh garlic oil, then Turkish oregano, fresh Lisbon lemon juice and zest, with a pat of butter. I got the crazy idea of combining zucchini and potatoes and making a mash. Just curious, I looked it up on the internet and there were a lot of recipes...my idea was not that crazy, nor original.

I like those fun cooking projects with friends, Jenise. I used to make Lumpia with a friend years ago. We spent all morning putting them together and then processing them for freezing. It was great fun, and now I just buy a good brand when I get the hunger for them.

I have to brag about my shrimp, asparagus, and tomato dish. It was one of the best dishes I have made in a long time. The potato and zucchini dish was also excellent. I added cut-up green onions to the steamed veggies and whizzed it all up in the food processor. The added herb mixture, low-fat buttermilk, Lisbon lemon juice, and zest were great. Cannot believe I have never heard of combining potatoes and zucchini in a mash. This will be one of my things to cook more often now. I saw lots of recipes for casserole-type dishes, but I wanted a simple, easy dish where the ingredients were the star. Not cheese or sauce.

Finally got around to making the yuxiang rousi (fish-fragrant pork) last night, using Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe. The heat in the dish is provided by Sichuan pickled chile paste, an ingredient I've never seen in Asian markets around here. I have some Sichuan pickled chiles (thank you, Mala Market) and I could have pureed them. Fuchsia suggests sambal oelek as a substitute and I've used that in the past, but it doesn't give the dish the proper brilliant red color. My favored substitute is Lan Chi Chili Paste with Garlic (green label), which gives the proper flavor and color and also takes care of the minced garlic that the recipe calls for. So I used a few tablespoons of my precious Lan Chi stash last night, and the dish came out perfect.

From what I've seen via Google, Lan Chi is out of business completely. I have a jar and a bit left. Has anyone found a suitable substitute?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

There is no sub for Lan Chi. It's not out of business, they still make it in Taiwan and I am still able to get it at the little market in Honolulu. A year or so ago I contacted you via PM to ask if you wanted a jar. You never answered.

Lee Kum Kee products are awesome. Will they work for you?

So it's just that Lan Chi is not directly exporting to the US anymore. I still have two jars of Lan Chi green label, so I'm good for now.

Lee Kum Kee makes excellent products and I use some of them. Last time I looked they didn't have anything directly equivalent to the Lan Chi Chili Paste with Garlic.

-Paul W.

Last night I made ganbian niu rou (Sichuan dry-fried beef). I took extra care to keep the beef shreds thin and it paid off. Best ganbian niu rou I've made.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Lee Kum Kee makes excellent products and I use some of them. Last time I looked they didn't have anything directly equivalent to the Lan Chi Chili Paste with Garlic.

-Paul W.

They don't. They make products that sound like it by name but the flavor is very different and not addictive like Lan Chi.

Last night I broiled a lobster tail for myself. Still on a Mexican kick, I brushed it with red chile butter and served in on Mexican rice--leftover from last week but Vera Cruz-ed with the adition of pickled green olives, and added a small arugula salad on the side. It was fantastic.

I have Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic sauce in the fridge right now and another in the pantry. I've used it for years and find it very good. Give it a try.

[Jenise]

I have Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic sauce in the fridge right now and another in the pantry. I've used it for years and find it very good. Give it a try.

It is good. I like Lee Kum Kee and use their soy sauces exclusively. But despite having the same name, these products are nowhere similar.

[Jenise]

I made a steak for breakfast today. Came about because I took one out of the freezer for dinner on Tuesday night. Ended up going to a friend's then yesterday I went out to lunch and wasn't hungry come evening, just ate an apple. And tonight I'm going to a raclette dinner at a local deli, so breakfast was the last resort. Had a warm cabbage slaw with it. Not a bad way to go.

After well over a year and and a half of being out of our kitchen due to the Eternal Remodel, we are finally getting back into dinner parties. Night before last, we had a good friend over along with a couple from England who are out here staying with us. I made a Sicilian braised lemon chicken dish that I've made once before. It involves browning chicken thighs, then sauteing onions and a hefty amount of lemon zest and sage in the drippings. After the onions are browned a bit, you put the chicken back into the pan along with a cup of white wine and simmer it on the stovetop until it's very tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce. Nothing too complicated, but we had some issues getting home when we expected to and I got a later start on things than I wanted to, which meant hat meant that I had to cut the braising time for the chicken. It was fine; the chicken was fully cooked and the sauce was tasty, but the chicken was not at the fall-off-the-bone stage and the sauce was not as thick and complex as it could have been. Served it with egg noodles and blanched, sauteed green beans with shallots and pumpkin seed oil. It could have been better. Really, though, the dinner party was great. Friends sitting, eating, drinking wine, talking, laughing, all over something I made. I really missed that.

I like the sound of that recipe! Any quirks to making it? How much zest/save for how much chicken?

And I am totally with you on having people over. Something I have missed doing and plan to fix soon.

I like the sound of that recipe! Any quirks to making it? How much zest/save for how much chicken?

The recipe is from Ursula Ferrigno's Cucina Siciliana. It calls for the thinly sliced peel of three lemons to go with eight bone-in skin-on thighs, one small chopped onion, two sage sprigs, and a half cup of wine. I think she expects smaller thighs than the ones we get, though, as I made it a couple of weeks ago using four thighs without reducing any of the other ingredients. When I made it this last time, I used seven thighs (which were all I could fit in our largest pan) and doubled everything else, Microplaning the lemons. This worked well, with enough of the sauce produced to pour over the chicken breasts and more left for serving at the table. If I hadn't doubled everything, there would not have been nearly enough sauce. (And heck, if you have too much sauce, you can probably find something else to do with it.)

Thanks, Mike! I think that's enough to get me rolling on it.

And now you remind me that I have a recipe from another traditional Sicilian cookbook for lamb with wild fennel. Hmm....

[Jenise]

"Friends sitting, eating, drinking wine, talking, laughing, all over something I made. I really missed that."

That says it all, Mike.

Tonight I might have a friend over for Game 6. At a great local deli yesterday I bought some fat, house-made fresh French Garlic sausage. I'm now imagining a French version of bangers n' mash (wherein the mash might include celery root).

We'll see!

For tonight's supper, I cooked up a couple of racks of spare ribs on the pellet grill.These required a rub, and then three hours at 180°, Then you take them out, put them into foil "boats", add honey, brown sugar, and apple juice, seal the foil up, and do two more hours at 205. Then take them out of the grill, get rid of the foil and and such, brush with barbeque sauce, and then put back on the grill for 30 minutes or so until the barbeque sauce glazes up a bit, and then serve. Had these with a salad of grilled pears, arugula, pecans, and parmigiano that my wife made and purchased potato salad. It was a nice meal despite being interrupted every few minutes by trick-or-treaters.

Yesterday, I made an old-fashioned meatloaf, my way. No eggs, instead I used a simple catsup, red wine vinegar, a splash of buttermilk, Momma Lill's Hungarian peppers, old-fashioned oatmeal, onions, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and Mexican Oregano. Topped with a mix of catsup, red wine vinegar, and honey. I thick-sliced an orange bell pepper and put three slices on top.
My veggie dish was Brussels Sprouts, with yellow and orange bell peppers in chunks, bathed in EVOO, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and honey, then roasted. I was gifted more small red potatoes and took inspiration from a Geoffrey Zakarian recipe, steaming them and then adding green onions, garlic, parsley, dill, and tarragon. Made a dressing of chardonnay wine vinegar, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and EVOO. It all turned out delicious.
I had too many bell peppers and red potatoes in my pantry....OK, now, until the next gifted batch.

Your dinner sounds wonderful, Mike.
I did not participate in Halloween this year, and haven't for a long time now. However, our neighborhood was slammed, too many cars, kids yelling, car alarms going off. I am glad it is over. I had three come to the door, and when my dog did his most ferocious barks, they quickly left!

[Jenise]

I'm having a houseguest tonight, the wife of Kriss Reed if any of you remember Kriss. Dinner's going to involve the final last bits of that chile verde I made a few weeks ago blended with braised/shredded flatiron steak, potatoes, celery and peas in individual pot pies topped with a puff pastry crust plus, of course, a crunchy green salad.

Wasn't Kriss there that time we met in Amador City (I think it was) many years ago?

Last night, we had a couple of friends over to help them check out a couple of old bottles from their cellar. I made a pretty basic soup/stew with Italian sausage and white beans. Threw in some chard because it sounded good and we had some.

And miracle of miracles, a Story zinfandel from 1987 that was down below shoulder level was still, somehow, alive.

Breakfast this morning is a white corn tortilla filled with Momma Lill's Hungarian pickled peppers, avocado, tomato, and Gruyere cheese.
Crisped in a non-stick pan with zero oil. It is delicious!