What's Cooking (Take Four)

The terrible fog is clearing as the rains start for the rest of the week. I am in the kitchen making soup for my lunches this week. I am using extra-lean organic ground beef, onion, garlic, carrots, bok choy, cabbage, fresh corn, tomato paste, celery and celery leaves, Turkish oregano, fresh thyme, chicken and beef stock, and Lunberg wild rice blend.

Yes, this week-after-week of fog and overcast has been really awful. Thank goodness there's finally rain in the forecast!

Sounds like a nice, hearty soup, Karen.

[Jenise]

I have no plans except to clean the stove today if I can. Last couple nights I've been grazing after returning from helping in the hinterlands. And I haven't had a day off in weeks.

I have two more portions of jambalaya and one more portion of the most utterly luscious thin-cut just-barely-smoky Norwegian smoked salmon. I know which one I want but I shall probably have jambalaya tonight instead.

I have two more portions of jambalaya and one more portion of the most utterly luscious thin-cut just-barely-smoky Norwegian smoked salmon. I know which one I want but I shall probably have jambalaya tonight instead.

Why deny yourself? Go for the one with the delicious adjectives!

I have two more portions of jambalaya and one more portion of the most utterly luscious thin-cut just-barely-smoky Norwegian smoked salmon. I know which one I want but I shall probably have jambalaya tonight instead.

Why deny yourself? Go for the one with the delicious adjectives!

What, and steal tomorrow's thunder?

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm going to roast a chicken breast--bone in, skin on!!!! I actually found one!

Tonight I'm going to roast a chicken breast--bone in, skin on!!!! I actually found one!

Those don't exist at any of our regular grocery stores - we have to go to a real butcher shop to get them. Where'd you find yours?

[Jenise]

Our local Food Co-op, Smart chicken brand.

Our local Food Co-op, Smart chicken brand.

Nice! We sent our daughter to the store earlier today to pick up bone-in, skin-on thighs for a little dinner party tonight. She found them, but the recipe calls for two thighs per person. These were a half pound each! It's a sheet pan dish, so we were afraid such thighs would take forever to cook. We ended up having her go with boneless-skjnless thighs. There's more than enough spice in the marinade to ensure that we won't miss the flavor the skins would add. and these were much more reasonable in size.

I am fortunate to have a plethora of good or wanna-be good groceries and butchers nearby. I have lately been seeing parts and combinations I've never seen before... necks and backs in one package (presumably, for a stockpot), skin-on-bone-in breasts of anything that has a breast, turkey legs (common to see them smoked but these were uncooked), turkey thighs the size of chicken thighs and chicken thighs the size of turkey thighs (very confusing). Pricing is all over the place, too.

[Jenise]

Our local Food Co-op, Smart chicken brand.

Nice! We sent our daughter to the store earlier today to pick up bone-in, skin-on thighs for a little dinner party tonight. She found them, but the recipe calls for two thighs per person. These were a half pound each! It's a sheet pan dish, so we were afraid such thighs would take forever to cook. We ended up having her go with boneless-skjnless thighs. There's more than enough spice in the marinade to ensure that we won't miss the flavor the skins would add. and these were much more reasonable in size.

The breast I bought was a pound and a half--def a two-person thing, and I chose the smallest one they had. The thighs would have been half pounders too!

I'll be making gongbao ji ding (aka Kung Pao chicken) tonight. I have some unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts to use up before they go stale.

-Paul W.

Pork Loin center cut chops, bone-in, are seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, onion powders, and oregano. I set them on a bed of San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes and juice. Chops are topped with thick slices of red and yellow onion, and slices of red and gold bell peppers, with a bit of juice over the top of all. These will be baked in the oven later today. In the slow cooker, I have a pot of Royal Corona Beans, with onion, garlic, and oregano. Later, I will add cabbage, caraway seed, salt. At serving this dish, a sprinkle of Pineapple Vinegar. A bunch of broccoli will be on the side at dinner, and I love pairing it with Sierra Nevada spicy brown mustard
Merry Christmas to all, however you celebrate. Have a safe week, and drive carefully. I have never seen so many people in such a big hurry as I have this year.

Jenise, I now buy Smart Chicken, the organic version. Our neighborhood Holiday Market has been carrying it for years. Foster Farms used to be my go-to; however, they started having too many recalls. I've bought from Trader Joe's from time to time as well, but I find that the produce and meats don't seem as fresh as they should be.

Tonight, I made another batch of cranberry sauce because I like it. I probably won't roast a turkey again anytime soon but it's good with moast roasts.

For dinner, as it has been cold here, and as I had both a collagen-rich turkey broth and a half-pint of cream to use up, I made a cream of turkey soup with turkey meatballs. Kinda like a slightly watered-down turkey pot pie. Good for a cold evening.

And makes easy leftovers.

And leaves a little room for dessert.

Very creative Jeff, and sounds delicious!

Last night I made suanla chaoshou (Sichuan hot-and-sour wontons). This time I used the Mary Chung's recipe instead of Fuchsia Dunlop's. Fuchsia's recipe is almost a soup whereas MC's is wontons-in-sauce. The MC's sauce is more complex and assertive. I prefer it.

I posted a reply earlier in this thread with a link to both recipes and a recipe for wontons.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I was away all weekend. Yesterday home for the first time but dinner was Mexican at my brothers, wherein I showed up with three containers of salsa and half a dozen warm tamales from a new Mexican market. I bought a bag of purple hominy there to make a pozole with next week, too.

Tonight I'm making cold marinated shrimp in a tomato-tarragon vinaigrette to take to a single lady friend's where we're going to share some wine and snacks.

Sounds great, Jenise, simple and tasty. Have a fun time! I've been enjoying a batch of Persian Cucumbers with shallots, marinated in a lemon, thyme vinaigrette, along with homemade veggie soup for lunches this week. I forgot to use my safflower oil in the cucumber dressing, so I'm dealing with congealed olive oil. I need to remember to take the container out of the fridge early enough for the olive oil to liquify.

Oh, gosh, yes I am loving the Persian cucumbers in the markets. Just as they are, or a quick pickle. Crunchy!

[Jenise]

Karen: "I forgot to use my safflower oil in the cucumber dressing, so I'm dealing with congealed olive oil."

Don't you hate that?

Just made a jar of red pickled onions and have some bread dough rising.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'll be enjoying the Eve at a friend's home. At her request I'm making the persimmon and hazelnut salad with shallot dressing I created for the neighborhood Xmas dinner two weekends ago. I'll also do a tray of duck and truffle pate stuffed mushrooms baked in puff pastry. There will be about 18 guests, so I'm excited to have the excuse to take a magnum of Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage!