What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Oh, and today, there's a pot of chicken broth on the stove--the remnants of a Costco chicken from last weekend. No particular plans but I'm leaning toward matzoh ball soup.

[Jenise]

So I got to have chicken soup on Wednesday. No matzoh balls as I put off making them until too late, so I used Chinese oil noodles for their silky texture to take to a friend who has abcessed tonsils. Didn't eat at home last night and won't again until Sunday, so not much to report!

i have a Flank Steak marinating in olive oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire, Dijon, fresh garlic, and pepper. A side dish is stuffed red and gold bell peppers. I put cauliflower rice, shallots, garlic, oregano, tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, s & p, topped with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese. Also, Baked Potatoes Florentine. The stuffed peppers took so much time to put together, and I am ready to get out of the kitchen as soon as the potatoes finish in the oven so that I can stuff them!

My crazy idea to stuff peppers turned out delicious. I added the cauliflower first into the food processor, and got a nice rice texture. Dumped that into a bowl and added Brussels Sprouts to the processor and shredded those. Last were shallots, garlic, oregano, and tomatoes. Mixed it all up together and stuffed the peppers. Had never done this before and am amazed how well it turned out. Pepper got a bit charred on the edges, parmesan cheese on top got crispy. Marinara sauce gave just the right touch.

Tonight I'm making Chinese stir-fried pork with rice cakes (chao niangao rou) again to use up the remaining pound of frozen rice cakes (they come in two-pound packages). This time around I'll make sure the rice cakes aren't underdone.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I had about three pounds of peeled shallots left over from a big event, and fearing they were about to grow hair I thinly sliced them and there's a pot of French Shallot Soup on the stove as I speak.

French Shallot Soup sounds great!

We had friends over for supper last night and I made a chicken dish from a cookbook by a Scottish author. It involved tossing chicken thighs and quartered baby potatoes with oil and salt and roasting them for 30 minutes. Then you dump a sauce made up of cream, white wine, Dijon, shallots, and a hefty dose of tarragon over it and roast it another ten minutes or thereabouts. The recipe specified serving it with a side of parboiled lacinato kale. It was fine but not great. The chicken cooked up beautifully, the potatoes were good, and I think everyone liked the tarragon. Overall, though, I didn't find it all that compelling. One of the leftover thighs made a very good sandwich today for lunch, though.

# from "Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking" by Micol Negrin

So we had friends over last night, made this (with shoulder chops and adding the leeks). Very tasty, although I was a little worried it was a bit spicy for one person (the chili flakes show), but she said find. Served with potatoes tossed in lemon, evoo, and lamb broth. Thanks Jeff.

I used 1/4 cup more of the shiitake soaking liquid this time in the stir-fried pork with rice cakes. The rice cakes came out perfect this time--fully cooked but still chewy.

My only problem with this dish is that reheating the leftovers is tricky. The rice cakes tend to stick to one another and, like rice noodles, go stiff when refrigerated. That makes separating them difficult when re-heating the leftovers.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

French Shallot Soup sounds great!
Then you dump a sauce made up of cream, white wine, Dijon, shallots, and a hefty dose of tarragon over it and roast it another ten minutes or thereabouts.

That combination of ingredients had everything going for it. I'll bet just a few tweaks would make it a winner.

[Jenise]

Going to my brother's today for a movie. They're thinking Asian, so I'm going to take a version of the dumpling/tomato/chili crisp salad. I'll add bamboo preserved in chile oil to add additional fiber and texture. Thanks again, Dale, for sharing that recipe.

French Shallot Soup sounds great!
Then you dump a sauce made up of cream, white wine, Dijon, shallots, and a hefty dose of tarragon over it and roast it another ten minutes or thereabouts.

That combination of ingredients had everything going for it. I'll bet just a few tweaks would make it a winner.

Well, one issue is that I had a nice batch of mushrooms that I'd sauteed in butter that I meant to throw in with the cream sauce (which was not in the recipe), but I forgot to add them. They wouldn't have hurt.

Dale: You're welcome! Glad it worked so well.

Jenise: Mmm, shallot soup.

I still had some leftover coconut milk so I bought some shrimp and made a coriander-forward curry, served over basmati. Excellent. Next time it gets just a bit more cayenne and maybe a spoon of cornstarch or Wondra to thicken it. I'd also like to try it with a cumin-forward spice blend but I have the end of a box of ground fennel seed handy so that actually might be next.

[Jenise]

Thumbs up on the cornstarch there; I like a curry that sits on the rice, not soaks straight thru as a thinner consistency will. The latter seems more prevalent in my area, which discourages me from going out for Thai.

Last night for dinner I made an all-vegetable tray bake: fennel, russet potato, onion, carrots and olives.

Tonight I'm going to try out a spaghetti version of eggplant parmesan--of sorts--wherein the baked eggplant becomes part of the sauce and the finished dish is topped with browned panko crumbs. So the flavors and textures are there but it's a little healthier without the fried slab of eggplant.

Tonight I'm going to try out a spaghetti version of eggplant parmesan--of sorts--wherein the baked eggplant becomes part of the sauce and the finished dish is topped with browned panko crumbs. So the flavors and textures are there but it's a little healthier without the fried slab of eggplant.

Hm, I'm thinking ratatouille-with-spaghetti bake.

I'm looking around for a hot vegetable dish that I can portion up for weekday meals. Right now, lacking my old sous chef, I'm tending towards raw veg sides -- "salad", I think it's called -- which are good and crisp and fresh but I'm looking for some variety. I had been thinking ratatouille or imam bayaldi, but swirling in some spaghetti, topping with crumbs and grate, and a fast broil....

[Jenise]

I'm looking around for a hot vegetable dish that I can portion up for weekday meals. Right now, lacking my old sous chef, I'm tending towards raw veg sides -- "salad", I think it's called -- which are good and crisp and fresh but I'm looking for some variety. I had been thinking ratatouille or imam bayaldi, but swirling in some spaghetti, topping with crumbs and grate, and a fast broil....

Ratatouille's always good; not familiar with the other. And of course, gratins. I adore roasted cauliflower napped with a light lemony bechamel. Great when made fresh and it reheats well. I also adore roasted broccolini. Delicious warm and sprinkled with with fresh lemon juice, olive oil and feta cheese. Take all that, add some canned white beans, and pile it on a thick slice of toasted country bread--that's dinner!

Imam bayaldi, broadly put, is a chunky style of ratatouille... similar ingredient list but the eggplants are only halved.

Thumbs up on the cornstarch there; I like a curry that sits on the rice, not soaks straight thru as a thinner consistency will. The latter seems more prevalent in my area, which discourages me from going out for Thai.

The Thai word kaeng, usually translated as "curry", is also used for some soups and stews as well as the Indian-style dishes we normally think of as curries. In general Thai curries are soupier than their Indian counterparts. It's the nature of the beast.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Where's Karen??? Karen, we miss you and hope you're all right.

Where's Karen??? Karen, we miss you and hope you're all right.

Did you not see my post from last weekend?

[Jenise]

No! Obviously I didn't!

[Jenise]

Karen, just scrolled thru recent posts from you, and didn't find the post you might be referring to.

i have a Flank Steak marinating in olive oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire, Dijon, fresh garlic, and pepper. A side dish is stuffed red and gold bell peppers. I put cauliflower rice, shallots, garlic, oregano, tomatoes, Brussels Sprouts, s & p, topped with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese. Also, Baked Potatoes Florentine. The stuffed peppers took so much time to put together, and I am ready to get out of the kitchen as soon as the potatoes finish in the oven so that I can stuff them!

My crazy idea to stuff peppers turned out delicious. I added the cauliflower first into the food processor, and got a nice rice texture. Dumped that into a bowl and added Brussels Sprouts to the processor and shredded those. Last were shallots, garlic, oregano, and tomatoes. Mixed it all up together and stuffed the peppers. Had never done this before and am amazed how well it turned out. Pepper got a bit charred on the edges, parmesan cheese on top got crispy. Marinara sauce gave just the right touch.

Do you see the post now?