What's cooking?

After locating an ingredient I was hunting for, Aji Amarillo, I am making a Peruvian Chicken Pepper soup. The corn is so good right now, I am loving recipes with corn! I used peppers from my garden, red, gold and a few sweet banana. The corn is cut a little over an inch slice, so it makes for a fun but messy eating soup. Fresh cilantro will be added prior to serving. Oh, and to give the soup a little for heft for my "getting read for the Navy" grandson, I added some plump soup barley. I have not used Aji Amarillo before and thought about using the Lan Chi Chili paste. Does anyone know the difference between the two?

Lan Chi has quite a bit of garlic in with the chili, and I feel that it has a "Chinese" taste.

Your Aji Amarillo is probably (??) all pepper, and very Peruvian.

Lan Chi has quite a bit of garlic in with the chili, and I feel that it has a "Chinese" taste.

Your Aji Amarillo is probably (??) all pepper, and very Peruvian.

You are right Frank.......it came the day I made the soup, so I added it prior to heating the soup for dinner. Very good stuff.

Made Ginger-Fig truffles for a baby shower potluck lunch at work this week. It was messy to pull off (too warm a day and I kept having to put it back in the fridge about every 3 rolls of candy), but very worth it!

Ginger-Fig Truffle.jpg

[Robin Garr]

A cool and colorful summer garden salad of crisp-tender green and yellow beans, red new potatoes, diced Italian oxheart tomatoes and sliced onions tossed with salt and pepper and Sicilian olive oil. (Also rubbed the bowl with a smashed garlic clove to impart a scent, but decided not to use raw garlic in the dish - trying for balance  with this one.)

Tonight was our film club ("Bogart Bar") and we always have to take a bottle of wine and SOMETHING to eat.

I did a "clean the fridge" thing -- i had some fresh okra so I used a roasted okra recipe. You cut it in 1/3" slices, put it on a cookie sheet, and bake at high temperature. It's nearly my exact recipe for Keller Toast (with bread) except 425 degrees. I sprayed with olive oil and salted. Seven minutes on a side. Came out really delicious and I will probably repeat this as a dish on its own (or with tomatoes).

And I made succotash. An ear of corn, 2 minutes in microwave, cut off the cob. Some baby limas and edamame from the freezer. Cut up a jalapeño and a serrano pepper plus some red bell pepper, and a cebollita (a little Mexican onion) and sauteed. Cooked the beans in simmering water, and drained and added to saute pan. Tasted, and added some cut up pepper jack cheese and salt and pepper. It was tasting pretty good.

I put it in a bowl and put the roasted okra on top. Brought some crunchy corn tortillas from the Mexican grocery (El Sabor de Mexico!)

The people who ate it, liked it. Some people just are freaked out by okra, though.

I took a bottle of gewürztraminer from the only NJ winery I like, Alba. I liked it but it was a bit soft, one person said they preferred a crisp dry version of that wine.

Me and the charcoal tonight: some beautiful 1.5" thick lamb loin chops (for some night this week), then a pound of skirt steak (also for some night later this week), and, finally, for tonight, two center cut pork chops, silky and gently chewy. Add some summer corn, a chunk of bread toasted over the coals, and a cool plate of crudite with some Green Goddess.

Add a pleasant little Cote du Rhone.

Dessert coming up soon.

and a cool plate of crudite with some Green Goddess.

I love that Green Goddess is making a comeback!

It is 111° here today with an expected 112° tomorrow. I have leftovers for tonight, so this morning I made Gazpacho for tomorrow and will add a plate of crudités. Leftovers consist of grilled chicken which was marinated in Italian dressing, fresh lemon and tarragon. Roasted red potatoes seasoned with cumin and Ancho Chili. Baby squashes cooked with leeks, red onion, garlic, and roasted tomatoes. All this was done on the grill yesterday. Really hate this heat.

Last night we grilled thick lamb chops over charcoal and wild cherry chips, accompanied with corn on cob and salad made with our own veggies. Washed it all down with Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale. Yum!

Tonight we grilled thick tenderloin steaks in rasher over charcoal and mesquite chips, accompanied with our sliced Early Red tomatoes, and our first Frenchie green beans sauteed in butter. Washed it all down with a Knapp Finger Lakes Merlot. Yum, yum!!

Both nights we had blueberrie and strawberries over slices of Bev's easy pound cake. Yum, yum, yum !!!

Large shrimp and sea scallops, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, a splash of Tabasco, all mixed in with thin spaghetti. A romaine lettuce salad with hearts of palm, celery hearts, green onions, with orange muscat champagne vinaigrette.

[Robin Garr]

Italian sausages (LightLife Smart Sausages Italian-style) with sautéed green and red bell peppers and onions.

Did a last minute meal of dry-rubbed roasted pork tenderloin, white rice, broccolini sauteed in EVOO with sesame oil and fish sauce, and a salad made by our visiting French exchange student. Nothing fancy, but everything ended up being cooked perfectly and it turned out to be one of those meals that everyone loved.

One of those situations that I aspired to be able to handle when I first began frequenting the FLDG, about 14 (??? is that possible???) years ago. Thanks to all of you for getting me to the point of being confident and capable enough to understand how to do even this simple stuff.

[Jenise]

Mike, you've been a great part of our community. Never leave!



We had salmon meuniere last night to celebrate Julia's 100th birthday. Tonight, fresh crab. Crab season opened today and our traps are out in the water. Here's hoping for a limit!

Tonight we had smoked chicken from our electric water smoker with apple chips. We had Italian green beans from the garden blanched in water and white wine and winter savory; then sautéed with chopped tomato, basil, butter, and EVOO. Also served rice cooked in chicken stock with it. We washed it down with Knapp Pasta White (unoaked Seyval Blanc).

[Robin Garr]

Roasted summer garden veggies - sliced eggplant and zucchini, new potatoes, onions and garlic tossed with olive oil, s&p and a little fresh thyme - roasted at 450F for about 30 minutes. The roasting imparts a deep, rich and sweet flavor that turns the vegetables into a meal. (Goes great with Central Otago NZ Pinot Noir.)

Marinated and grilled flank steak, served with a salad consisting of steamed Yukon Gold and red spuds, grilled corn taken off the cob, all colors of cherry tomatoes, red onion, and a chiffonade of sweet basil, all dressed with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.

[Robin Garr]

When there is frying to be done, Mary usually takes over in the kitchen. Behold! The best fried okra ever. 

Both of those dishes look great Robin. All the flavors that I love. I love young okra, and usually do a cornmeal crust with a sauté. Is that what Mary did?

[Robin Garr]

Both of those dishes look great Robin. All the flavors that I love. I love young okra, and usually do a cornmeal crust with a sauté. Is that what Mary did?

Close, Karen ... cornmeal, black pepper and a dash of cayenne in the crust, but more that a saute - a skillet fry, I guess, with enough oil to cover the okra halfway.

[Jenise]

Both of those dishes look great Robin. All the flavors that I love. I love young okra, and usually do a cornmeal crust with a sauté. Is that what Mary did?

Close, Karen ... cornmeal, black pepper and a dash of cayenne in the crust, but more that a saute - a skillet fry, I guess, with enough oil to cover the okra halfway.

No buttermilk? I do a buttermilk soak first, just like chicken.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm cooking a big salmon dinner--for 80.

The shopping list is daunting. 30 lbs of salmon, 8 lbs of butter, 10 pounds of peas, 5 lbs of shrimp, 30 pounds of yukon golds....

[Robin Garr]

No buttermilk? I do a buttermilk soak first, just like chicken.

I think she soaked them in a milk-and-egg mix to make the breading stick, Jenise.

When there is frying to be done, Mary usually takes over in the kitchen. Behold! The best fried okra ever. 

This looks exquisite, Robin. I'm on an Okra kick now that I've tried the "roasted" method, cooked in an oven at high temp with a little EVOO and salt.

I think the cornmeal fry probably tastes even better, but of course there are added calories.

Some of the best okra I've had has been in Turkish restaurants, will have to look into that.