What's Cooking (Take Two!)

Last Thursday, I noticed some gorgeous boneless beef short ribs in the butcher case at the market around the corner. I picked some up on Saturday morning and they spent that afternoon getting braised with mirepoix and thyme.

Sounds yummy. I like cold-weather cookery.

Last Thursday, I noticed some gorgeous boneless beef short ribs in the butcher case at the market around the corner. I picked some up on Saturday morning and they spent that afternoon getting braised with mirepoix and thyme.

Sounds yummy. I like cold-weather cookery.

The cold weather aspect was part of it. We actually have highs in low 80's now! For us, that's braising weather.

[Jenise]

Another fan of cold weather cooking. One dish I can almost hardly wait to make each year, and I envariably will work it in, is cabbage rolls. I make them the way my Dad's Hungarian wife made them--all pork and ham with kielbasa and lots of paprika and sauerkraut, among other things, though mine are more complex in flavor due to my larger repertoire of seasonings and adoration for complexity. They are the best I've ever had, and she made them every Christmas.

My brother with whom I've recently reunited after some 20 years apart, it turns out, loved them as much as I did. His birthday's tomorrow, so on Sunday I made a huge batch, even requiring the 16 quart missionary pot (as in 'almost big enough to boil a...') for the job, and turned 3.45 pounds of twice ground pork and ham into this blast from our past, and Fedexed a few dozen down to him and his partner along with some homemade chervil-and-nutmeg spaetzle. That left a couple dozen for us, too, and we can't get enough of them. We're happily binge-eating our way through the leftovers.

Tonight, though, we'll take a break from the cabbage rolls and have some sort of chicken dish I'll make out of the four thighs I bought yesterday. Got up thinking I'd go with fried chicken and collard greens, but after reading the daily email from Food & Wine I'm now wanting chicken braised in a tropical Latin concoction of coconut milk, cilantro and Mexican chorizo.

[Jenise]

Tonight's menu, inspired by the fact that I merely mentioned to a friend having just taken delivery of a prime rib cap from Bryan Flannery to which a friend said "I've got an 85 Sassicaia!"

Afternoon nosh: Olives and roasted hazelnuts
1st course: cream of celery root soup, black truffles, salami croutons
2nd course: savory asparagus panna cotta with grilled lobster salad, tarragon vinaigrette
3rd course: roasted sage-rubbed prime rib cap, potato and porcini mushroom gratin
Last: strawberries with black pepper, gorgonzola dolce, 100 year old balsamic vinegar

That sounds wonderful. What's a salami crouton? (Is it a little cube of salami, deep-fried to crisp?)

[Jenise]

That sounds wonderful. What's a salami crouton? (Is it a little cube of salami, deep-fried to crisp?)

Yes, tiny, about 1/4" square, lightly pan fried. And 'crouton' isn't an official name, just my name for it since it's square and going to be a garnish. All these dishes are my creations, no recipes. I'm especially pleased about the panna cottas. I've never even heard of 'savory panna cotta', and I had a different plan for the asparagus at the outset, but as I considered ways to transform it last night (until last night, the all-Italian menu wasn't my original intention), I realized that a panna cotta would be kind of brilliant. And I've worked enough with aspics and terrines that I have a feel for textures and can 'wing it' on amounts.

All these dishes are my creations, no recipes. I'm especially pleased about the panna cottas. I've never even heard of 'savory panna cotta', and I had a different plan for it, but as I considered ways to transform it last night (until last night, the all-Italian menu wasn't my original intention), I realized that a panna cotta would be kind of brilliant. And I've worked enough with aspics and terrines that I have a feel for textures and can 'wing it' on amounts.

Green or white? I'd be nervous about bitterness with green. But I like the idea of a vegetable "flan"! How do you keep it from going quiche-y?

Make it half carrot. Pretty.

That sounds wonderful. What's a salami crouton? (Is it a little cube of salami, deep-fried to crisp?)

Yes, tiny, about 1/4" square, lightly pan fried. And 'crouton' isn't an official name, just my name for it since it's square and going to be a garnish.

Love it. I'm so borrowing that.

[Jenise]

All these dishes are my creations, no recipes. I'm especially pleased about the panna cottas. I've never even heard of 'savory panna cotta', and I had a different plan for it, but as I considered ways to transform it last night (until last night, the all-Italian menu wasn't my original intention), I realized that a panna cotta would be kind of brilliant. And I've worked enough with aspics and terrines that I have a feel for textures and can 'wing it' on amounts.

Green or white? I'd be nervous about bitterness with green. But I like the idea of a vegetable "flan"! How do you keep it from going quiche-y?

Make it half carrot. Pretty.

Green! I added a little bit of cauliflower (steamed) for smoothness and threw in the tips of some outer romaine leaves for enhanced color, then added cream and gelatin for the set. I molded them in a silicon muffin thingie, then for service, cut each in half and offset the two halves to elongate the presentation on a rectangular plate. Came out great.

for service, cut each in half and offset the two halves to elongate the presentation on a rectangular plate.

Smart plating.

[Jenise]

It was, considering the lobster, arugula, and mustard sauce. I wanted something wispier than a pile in the middle of the plate. I'll post a picture.

For my 76th daughter made lasagna from our family recipe, and True Love made a fantastic salad and a coffee cream cake for dessert.

For my 76th daughter made lasagna from our family recipe, and True Love made a fantastic salad and a coffee cream cake for dessert.

The coffee cream cake sounds very interesting.

For my 76th daughter made lasagna from our family recipe, and True Love made a fantastic salad and a coffee cream cake for dessert.

The coffee cream cake sounds very interesting.

From my paternal grandmother (Nana):

NANA’S COFFEE CREAM CAKE;

4 Extra large eggs
1 C. Superfine sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 C. Strong coffee
1 lb. Confectioners sugar
1 pt. Heavy (whipping) cream

Prepare two 8” cake pans by lightly greasing and placing wax paper in bottoms of pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs with superfine sugar and vanilla until very light and lemon color. Fold in by hand sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. Evenly place batter in cake pans and bake for 30 minutes. Cool upside down on wire racks. When cool, remove from pans and slice each layer in half horizontally. Whisk coffee and confectioners sugar together to make coffee cream. Whip the pint of cream. On three layers drip ¼ of the coffee cream and cover with whipped cream. For the top and sides, combine remaining coffee cream and whipped cream together in mixer, and cover top and sides with mixture. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Thanks. Looks tasty. (copied)

[Jenise]

Carl, happy birthday! Glad you were well-feted. Does your daughter live nearby? Are there grandkids?

Carl, happy birthday! Glad you were well-feted. Does your daughter live nearby? Are there grandkids?

Thanks Jenise. All four daughters and husbands live here in New Hampshire, none more that 2 hours away. We have seven grandchildren.

Carl, happy birthday! Glad you were well-feted. Does your daughter live nearby? Are there grandkids?

Thanks Jenise. All four daughters and husbands live here in New Hampshire, none more that 2 hours away. We have seven grandchildren.

Four daughters! Carl is Tevye!

[Jenise]

Cool; you're very lucky, Carl, that they all stayed so close!

Tonight's dinner will be poorman's jambalaya, in memory of Paul Prudhomme. This was the first dish that I cooked using a recipe from his Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.

-Paul W.

The local Thai grocery got in some really nice bird's eye chiles, so I'm going to make gai pad prik bai grapao and mahogany fire noodles over this weekend.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Cool of you to pay homage to Mr. Prudhomme, Paul.

I would have considered making his etouffe or something to go with his dirty rice, but we have been out most nights this week. Tuesday night was Dork night for which my contribution was slow-roasted roma tomatoes (ten pounds reduced to a small platter of sweet, dessicated tomatoes) that I spritzed with a fresh oregano vinaigrette and dusted with parm. Wednesday night we met with eight other diners at a new restaurant to show support to its restauranteur who recently had to cut ties with her (business only) partner, jailed for rape a la Bill Cosby--serial and with drugs. Thursday night we clubbed at a local dive to see an L.A. band called The Americans. Last night was the neighborhood wine tasting for which I made a simplified charcroute garni (chicken-apple sausage, ham) for 50, and today I'm preparing seven salads for a Morroccan themed dinner a friend is doing the rest of the food for. Apparently there's a tradition involving seven salads.

Tomorrow I think I'll stay in my jammies and live on popcorn.

Tomorrow I think I'll stay in my jammies and live on popcorn.

Dusted with fennel pollen and served on a slab of Himalayan pink salt, no doubt.

We're having a cold snap here in NYC so I threw together a quick cassoulet: From the good butcher I got 4 duck legs confit (pulled the meat off), 4 lamb sausages (quick sizzle), a couple slices of hocks (sizzled then diced), and a tranch of bacon. Using some of the fat already in the pan, now build it up: Start by searing the bacon, next add chunks of carrot for a little while, then the hock bits and the sausage, stir in three cans of navy beans and level the surface. Settle a cut head of garlic in the middle and place the bouquet garni a little away from it. Spread on the duck and cover with another two cans of navy (or 'little white') beans. Finally, settle two cut Roma tomatoes in the top, cover and bake at 350* for 4 hours. At the end, spread some bread crumbs on the top and toast quickly under the broiler.

I am writing this post while in that long cooking cycle. I'm about to poke my nose in to see how I'm doing for liquid.