What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Larry, that one's a beaut.

Larry, that one's a beaut.

Thank yew. Thank yew very much. I have left the building.

It was the 1st time I used this recipe. I'm soon going to bake another one using my San Francisco starter and baking it at a higher temperature and/or longer time. I like to experiment until it works every time. I've found I get the best ovenspring by baking en cloche, but I'd like to see if I can get comparable results without. FWIW, it'd be really great to have an oven with steam injection.

[Jenise]

Last night we had roast chicken with vegetables roasted alongside: red fingerlings (the flesh is red too), jerusalem artichokes, carrots and fennel bulb. The chicken was purchased at Trader Joe's, something new labeled Heirloom Chicken (not a new term, I know, but new that TJ's has them). I was struck by the yellow color of the skin, something I really haven't seen since childhood. Amazing flavor, super tender! Easily the best chicken I've eaten in a long, long time. And these are very nice, about 2.5-3.0 lbs each, which is pretty perfect for two people. So glad I bought two and stored one in the freezer.

I'll have to see of our local TJs has the heirloom chickens. A lot of my older cookbooks have recipes built around birds that size. BTW, Perdue always touted the yellow color of their chickens' skin. It was because they fed them marigold flowers. I'm sure that's not the case with the TJ heirloom chickens. In Sichuan they have a breed of chicken with black skin. I wonder if anyone raises those in the US?

The weather's turned colder, so tonight I'm having Shanghai red-cooked chicken. I'll probably throw in a bit of mushroom soy sauce. Over the rest of the week I'll be making some dals using recipes from various regions in India.

-Paul W.

Braised oxtails, sourdough bread, tossed salad last night.

Oxtails braised 72.jpg

[Jenise]

I'll have to see of our local TJs has the heirloom chickens. A lot of my older cookbooks have recipes built around birds that size. BTW, Perdue always touted the yellow color of their chickens' skin. It was because they fed them marigold flowers. I'm sure that's not the case with the TJ heirloom chickens. In Sichuan they have a breed of chicken with black skin. I wonder if anyone raises those in the US?
-Paul W.

Paul, I've seen those black chickens frozen in Chinese markets, so they're here. Origins unknown, though I've seen them cook with them on Top Chef and the like, so they're around.

The TJ's chicken was just heavenly. Each one was only around $11, so they're not super expensive like one might expect around that word "heirloom".

The TJ's chicken was just heavenly. Each one was only around $11, so they're not super expensive like one might expect around that word "heirloom".

I'll look for it, too. But I will observe that $11 / 2.5# = $4.40/lb which is not cheap.

[Jenise]

In my neck of the woods, a whole Mary's Air-Chilled chicken runs around $13-16, and a chicken from a local farm will cost you $20. $4/lb is a bargain.

[Jenise]

Update on the Trader Joe's chickens: they're 2.99/lb. The one I have in the freezer is almost 3.5 lbs and the one I roasted earlier this week was 3.0.

[Jenise]

Last night we enjoyed the second of two white truffles I ordered last week. Shaved it into an omelette that was really just eggs (3), water, truffle salt and a few chives sprinkled with parmesan cheese before folding up. We shared that, and each half was topped with a small 3" diameter slice of seared foie gras and plated with a branch of roasted cherry tomatoes-on-the-stem and toasted whole grain bread. As meals go--and Bob commented on this too--it was perfect, from serving size to texture variety to flavors contrasting from salty fatty to bright and sweet. The starter was lettuce, radicchio, walnuts and green onions in a simple vinaigrette.

Tonight: pork roast, broccolini, and I don't know yet how I'll finish them. Bob wants mashed potatoes and gravy but after this morning's croissant pastry breakfast I'm not sure we deserve that.

I'm going to be doing Indian dals and Thai curries for a while. Except Thanksgiving day, which will be coq au vin.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

OMG that pork roast. I'd covered it in a rub of smoked paprika, onion and garlic powders, etc. for several days then roasted it at 400 last night in a shallow pan. The higher-than-usual heat built up a shiny, crispy bark that was beyond amazing. I was almost sorry I didn't cut it up into pieces to make more bark. Probably should consider that sometime.

No plans yet for tonight.

Made some spent sourdough starter crumpets for Edie's breakfast today.

OMG that pork roast. I'd covered it in a rub of smoked paprika, onion and garlic powders, etc. for several days then roasted it at 400 last night in a shallow pan. The higher-than-usual heat built up a shiny, crispy bark that was beyond amazing. I was almost sorry I didn't cut it up into pieces to make more bark. Probably should consider that sometime.

Sounds excellent. I just did a pork tenderloin this evening: rolled it in garlic powder, s+p, and a mix of sesame, caraway, fennel, and nigellum seeds; seared in a pan on all sides then turned the heat down until the middle was pink. I used some leftover rice to 'clean up' the excess oil, seeds, and fond. Not beyond amazing but good, anyway.

[Jenise]

I love pork tenderloins and don't cook them nearly as often as I should, Jeff, that sounds great. Love all the seeds--nigellum, not everyone has that! Speaking of weird seeds, I adore kala jeera (which is possibly another name for nigellum, I seem to recall they are known by another name in some places). Bought what I have from Penzeys some time ago and recently thought I should just replace them. Alas, they don't stock it any more.

[Jenise]

Oh, and for dinner tonight, I did a good deed. I ordered take-out from the only restaurant I like to buy take-out from, whom I've ordered from about every six weeks since Covid started. It's a 30 minute drive away, so I canvassed the neighbors and a bunch of them put in orders, too. Couple next door didn't just get dinner, they got food for the whole weekend! And I invested in some homemade stock and Piedmontese cheeses, plus I'm buying for my brother & partner. Probably $600 worth of food altogether.
Hope it all fits in the car.

I love pork tenderloins and don't cook them nearly as often as I should, Jeff, that sounds great. Love all the seeds--nigellum, not everyone has that! Speaking of weird seeds, I adore kala jeera (which is possibly another name for nigellum, I seem to recall they are known by another name in some places). Bought what I have from Penzeys some time ago and recently thought I should just replace them. Alas, they don't stock it any more.

Kala jeera is black cumin. And you should look up nigella flowers. Pretty.

Kala jeera is also known as shah jeera. Kalonji is one of the Indian names for nigella. Nigella is also incorrectly called black onion seed. In her book Lord Krishna's Cuisine Yamuna Devi goes to great lengths to explain that kalonji comes from a plant that decidedly is not in the onion family. Strict Vaishnavas avoid all of the allium plants (onions, garlic, etc.) because they are believed to inflame base passions.

-Paul W.

The red-cooked chicken I made the other day came out especially yummy. Normally I use six tablespoons of dark soy sauce. This time I used 3 TBS of dark soy sauce and 3 TBS of mushroom soy sauce. I added a tablespoon of black soy sauce to compensate for mushroom soy being based on light soy sauce vs. dark. As usual I threw in an 8-pointed star anise. The mushroom soy added an extra flavor dimension.

-Paul W.

Oh, and for dinner tonight, I did a good deed.

Brava!

[Jenise]

Quoting Paul: "Strict Vaishnavas avoid all of the allium plants (onions, garlic, etc.) because they are believed to inflame base passions."

I'm probably living proof that this is true.

Quoting Paul: "Strict Vaishnavas avoid all of the allium plants (onions, garlic, etc.) because they are believed to inflame base passions."

I'm probably living proof that this is true.

<verse>
Then, a sentimental passion,
Of a vegetable fashion,
Must excite your languid spleen.

An attachment, a la Plato,
For a bashful young potato,
Or a not too-French French bean.

Though the philistines may jostle,
You will rank as an apostle,
In the high Aesthetic band,

If you walk down Picadilly,
With a poppy or a lily,
In your medieval hand.

<chorus>
And everyone will say,
As you walk your flowery way,
"If he's content with a vegetable love,
Which would certainly not suit me,
Why, what a most particularly pure young man,
This pure young man must be!"

-- Bunthorne, "Patience"

And tonight's dinner... clam chowder. Thick and hearty, served with biscuits and a salad.

[Jenise]

Oh Jeff! So cool. I indeed have sentimental passions of the vegetable fashion.

Speaking of which yesterday we had toast for breakfast and then a slice of no-contact pizza to go in Bellingham for lunch so, to compensate for the carb load I made a vegetable platter dinner. A raw finger-food sized chunky salad of celery and red bell pepper dressed with red wine vinegar and garlic salt next to thick slices of roasted garnet sweet potato.

Send me a bowl of your clam chowder. It's a favorite, something I full-on crave, but I never make it because of Bob's bi-valve allergy. Canned versions are not an acceptable substitute.

Say, the good deed thing of a previous post? So successful (my neighbors were previously unaware of how good this restaurant is) that they are fighting over being the next to make the take-out run.