What's Cooking (Take Four)

Dinner prep is done for today. I ended up with the biggest flank steak I have ever seen. It is over 2 lbs, saw a nice looking package in the store, and picked it up, never looking at the poundage. It is marinating in soy sauce, red wine vinegar, a red Cab my son gave me, lime juice, garlic and onion powders, fresh garlic, powdered Adobo powder, and Monderey Steak Seasoning.
I also made a layered veggie casserole; it was fun, but it took forever. I sauteed onions and garlic, then in a casserole, I started the layers. Sliced zucchini on the bottom, then sliced heirloom tomato, the onion, garlic mix, and a layer of thin slices of Caramelized OnionJack Cheese. Then, a layer of yellow crookneck, adding the same as above, I finished off with a layer of Moma Lills Goatherd peppers, and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
I remembered I have fresh sage now...so I am making a pot of Royal Corana Beans with fresh sage, garlic, chicken stock, and maybe tossing in Sun-Dried tomatoes later.

[Jenise]

Larry, wishing you the best on your recovery. Surgery's never easy, and I know not being home to look after Edie would be concerning for you. But good hospital meat loaf? Nice to hear, that *should* be easy but as my one adult hospital stay in 2014 can attest, some hospitals can barely boil water right.

Today I'm making a tuna ceviche to take to a friend's afternoon cocktail party. A pound of tuna has already been cut into small dice and sweet onion and jalapeno have been cut into fine dice. A little red bell pepper will go in as well, standing in for the Fresno chiles I want but which aren't standard in grocery stores around here.

Last night's Thai tom yum gai came out tom-yummy. I'll definitely be making it again.

-Paul W.

Last night's Thai tom yum gai came out tom-yummy. I'll definitely be making it again.

-Paul W.

Recipe?

[Jenise]

Will make myself a salad for lunch but otherwise, no cooking today: Yo Yo Ma's in town and I've got a ticket!

[Jenise]

Roast chicken. I invited a legit Chef to dinner along with his dad, who has cancer, and the prognosis is bad. Said Chef is very unreliable. He said yes but would have to check with pops and he never got back to me. I don't know if I'm going to have guests or not. So dinner is going to be roast chicken of some sort because no matter which way it goes, I'll be happy with the leftovers.

How was the Yo Yo Ma concert?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Absolutely amazing. We have a symphony orchestra who, under the direction of our Israeli music director, is doing a series called Harmony Thru Discord and this fits into a current project Ma is pursuing. It's really unbelievable that the greatest cellist in the world actually came here to perform and that I actually got a ticket ($500). It sold out in minutes. I'm still pinching myself.

I took piano as a child, a decision based on growing up in a rock and roll world that consisted of piano, drums and guitars--I thought classical music was Henry Mancini. I had to grow up to understand, and fall in love with, the cello.

I have a CD of Yo Yo Ma performing all of Bach's solo cello suites. It is one of my most treasured recordings.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, Bob and I owned several Yo Yo CD's, so I cried a few tears at the outset just thinking about how glad he'd be that I was at this show. The first half of this show was our own BSO who played three pieces, Brahms' Nanie Opus 82, Bach's Dona Nobis Pacem from the Mass in B Minor, and a standout modern composition by one Jonathan Leshnoff called Of Thee I Sing, written after the Oklahoma City bombings, and interspersed with an excellent local Chorus singing the title song we all know. Ma was the featured cellist for the second half, Elgar's Cello concerto in E Minor, Opus 85, in four parts. But my favorite thing was his solo encore performance of a piece by Pablo Casals, Ma's personal hero. It was breathtaking.

Jenise, I did not realize you were so knowledgable about classical music. Do you also like Baroque?

I bring it up because your mention of Ma's encore reminded me of a concert I saw just a couple weeks ago given by Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI. Wonderful stuff, as always, from him. But the encore! Just one piece: he announced, "'Amazing Grace', in the style of a spiritual, and offered in this moment as a call for peace". And it was the most perfect, most beautiful rendition that I have ever heard (...and, as you might guess, I'm not a big one for churchy music).

Love the Elgar concerto, one of the most famous cello concertos after maybe the Dvorak. I think Yo Yo is playing on a cello that was Jacqueline DuPre's, who probably did most famous renditions of the Elgar.
He is also a famously nice guy in the classical music world,

[Jenise]

Jeff, I am not very knowledgeable about classical music. It's taken years to develop that affection and get over what I used to describe as "about 400 years ago 3 or 4 guys wrote a bunch of music and they've been playing the same songs over and over again ever since". It was in fact a Yo Yo Ma performance on TV about 20 years ago that captured my attention. I can't tell you what it was, just that it was mesmerizing. I do not have enough time left on the planet to learn much more, but I do enjoy a morning program on Canadian radio where the announcer, one Julie Nezrallah (spelling may be inaccurate), introduces each piece in a way that gives the music life.

[Jenise]

I either haven't been dining at home or have been eating food too boring to talk about. Last nights hamburger salad (patty, lettuce, tomato slices, O&V) would be just such a creature. Tonight's isn't that much better: corned beef because I bought one two months ago and never cooked it, and probably cabbage because I love it so much. I'll skip potatoes, but might be tempted to go Armenian and add a bulgar wheat pilaf (which I vastly prefer to the traditional potatoes cooked in the broth). It's a hot day--will be 70 any minute now, and Monday's going to be 80. I like that a low-impact dinner will be simmering away while I get some yard work done.

Tonight I'm making pork lo mein.

-Paul W.

Gonna make some cornmeal mush to fry up for breakfast tomorrow. And I have some yogurt being made right now (ready around 11-12 p.m. tonight).

Speaking of fried cornmeal mush, here's the recipe I've used my entire cooking life. It's easy and quite tasty.

Bring to boil 2-3/4 cups of water.
Combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup cold water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar.
Gradually pour mixture into boiling water, stirring constantly.
Cook until thick, stirring frequently.
Cover, cook over low heat 10-15 minutes.
Pour into 7.5"x3.75"x2.25" loaf pan (I use a Pyrex bread pan).
Cool, place in refrigerator several hours or overnight.
Cut in 1/2 inch slices, fry slowly in hot oil (I use oil and butter) until browned on one side. Flip once and repeat.
Serve with butter and syrup.

Yesterday I cooked organic chicken pieces, minus the breast (saved for other uses), which were marinated in Sparrow Lane's Peach vinegar, plus a bit of white balsamic, Dijon, honey, salt, garlic, olive oil, and fresh tarragon. Also Arroz de la huerta, or Spanish Rice with Vegetables and Saffron. A beautiful, tasty Arborio rice dish with onion, garlic, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, chopped plum tomatoes, cauliflower, S & P, chicken stock, saffron, and baby spinach. Also, green beans were given a quick plunge in boiling salted water until bright green, drained, and then cooled. Then added red onion and feta cheese. I made a lemon vinaigrette and tossed it together... served at room temp. I love the combo of green beans with Feta.

Had a Pennsylvania-style breakfast today: eggs, bacon*, fried mush with maple syrup, and scrapple.

*The bacon was Wendy's Double Smoked Bacon, which strangely lacked any flavor.

Yesterday, for lunch, I made a cabbage burger. I sliced a couple of cabbage steaks, about 1 inch thick, and put them on a sheet pan. Coated with a little fresh garlic oil, garlic powder, and white pepper on both sides and put into a 400° oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I mixed hamburger with onion, garlic, Mexican Organo, cumin, salt, and pepper, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce. When the cabbage came out of the oven, I put the burgers on top, added sliced tomatoes, and put it back into the oven for 25 minutes. Just before the meat is done, I added Parmesan Reggiano and let it melt and turn golden. It was delicious, but I could only eat half, as my cabbage steak was large and I made the burger to fit the top. That is OK, as I will have the rest for lunch today and the second one in the next two days. One can add marinara sauce on top. I tried one bite with BBQ sauce, and it was great. This is eaten with a knife and fork as there is no bun involved. Very yummy and versatile, as one can use whatever ground meat they want and make it their own.








bq

[Jenise]

Karen, I would love that. You didn't caramelize the cabbage first though? I would think that would add great flavor.

Karen, I would love that. You didn't caramelize the cabbage first though? I would think that would add great flavor.

It was in the oven a little over 10 minutes prior to adding the burger, then 30 minutes more to cook meat. It had a nice char on it.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm experimenting with a Spanish dish, chicken lightly braised in a saffron-sherry sauce thickened with ground almonds and hard boiled egg yolk (which I'm expecting to find gritty or chalky, and will therefore exclude from the finished dish). Will be cooking a Spanish themed dinner in Los Angeles soon, so this is a trial for that.

We just returned last night from a three week trip so we're bleary and jet-lagged, but I'm happy to be home in the kitchen Tonight, it will just be pan-fried maple-brined pork chops, broccolini (maybe with some ramps that we got from my daughter in New York), and mashed potatoes.