What's Cooking (Take Four)

We had all parts for BLTs, our first of the year. IMO, one of the best sandwiches ever invented.

It certainly is. I love the thick-sliced applewood-smoked bacon. My DIL loves avocado in hers. I also like bread that is thinly sliced; sourdough is great.

Last night I made larb woonsen moo (Thai pork and glass noodle salad). It came out delicious. I made an extra large batch of khao khua so that I'll have it on hand for the next time I make larb. I decided not to drag out my big granite mortar and pestle. Instead I ground the toasted rice in a small food processor. That worked very well. Larb is usually served over a bed of fresh greens. I used Boston lettuce leaves. Traditionally larb is served with steamed glutinous (sticky) rice and eaten by using a ball of rice to pick up some larb. I just used a fork and spoon. I also served the larb with Brabant potatoes instead of rice.

I only used 1/2 of the package of glass noodles and about 1/4 of the package of ground pork. The remainder of both of these will become Ants Climbing a Tree.

Larb is an excellent hot summer day recipe. The only cooking over heat is cooking the ground pork and 2 minutes to boil the glass noodles. And this time to toast the khao khua, since I didn't have it at hand. Larb can be (and usually is) made without glass noodles. So if one were to make larb gai (chicken larb) using diced meat from a Costco rotisserie chicken the only cooking over heat would be the rice accompanying the dish. I'll probably try that approach later this summer.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

We had all parts for BLTs, our first of the year. IMO, one of the best sandwiches ever invented.

Couldn't agree more. Really crazy that I didn't have my first one until I was in my 40's, isn't it? Didn't grow up with them and I've never been much of a sandwich eater. I converted just in time to realize that for health reasons I should never eat bacon again.

I've always liked BLTs. As a child I didn't like either mayonnaise or raw tomatoes, so I ate BL sandwiches without mayonnaise. As an adult I came to like both mayonnaise and raw tomatoes and so now I enjoy BLTs with lots of mayo.

-Paul W.

My Dad used to make BLTs by the trayful. A favorite of mine when tomato season is upon us. (It's not so good with regular supermarket toms.)

Agreed about the tomatoes. BLTs are best made with real, vine-ripened tomatoes, not the artificially-ripened golfballs that you find at most supermarkets. Fortunately Lull Farm in Hollis NH has proper tomatoes year round. And it's glorious when the heirloom tomatoes are in season in August.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

You guys got to me. I broke down and bought bacon yesterday. I have good tomatoes and rye bread...might be dinner tonight.

We had all parts for BLTs, our first of the year. IMO, one of the best sandwiches ever invented.

Couldn't agree more. Really crazy that I didn't have my first one until I was in my 40's, isn't it? Didn't grow up with them and I've never been much of a sandwich eater. I converted just in time to realize that for health reasons I should never eat bacon again.

Like when I discovered my love for steamed clams eight months before I moved to New Mexico.

My erstwhile picky-eater receptionist liked BLTs, too, if you removed the tomatoes and lettuce.

FWIW, I'm having BLTs again tonight.

[Jenise]

Hosting the neighborhood wine tasting tonight.

I'm making a pile of marinated shrimp which, if I don't run out of time, will end up mounted on skewers with a slice of cucumber.

We returned from a three week trip on Thursday morning and found ourselves hosting the neighborhood front yard Friday evening get-together last night. I ended up making a Thai style fried rice dish with chicken from a cookbook by Gizzi Erskine. The recipe was not proofread well as the first thing you do is scramble a couple of eggs, remove them from the pan, and place them on a plate. The rest of the recipe has no mention of what to do with those eggs (eat them while you cook the rest of the dish? ) I was also unable to find any Thai basil and had to use regular basil as a poor substitute. Not a complicated recipe at all, but I was pretty rushed in making it and when it was done it was surprisingly flat in taste. I put it off as possibly an issue with the recipe, not helped by the basil substitution, added some lime juice, and figured, "Oh well". And then as I was putting it in the serving bowl, I realized that I had forgotten to put the ginger in.

Braising away in the slow cooker are two large, cross-cut beef shanks, nicely browned, surrounded by Cabernet Sauvignon, beef stock, fresh garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, dried guijillo pepper, 2 Ca dried chili peppers, one arbol. A Portuguese-inspired dish that is quite tasty. I made a potato salad with baby red potatoes, garlic, green onions, celery, celery leaves, low-fat sour cream, creamed horseradish, white pepper, salt, dried thyme, tarragon, tarragon vinegar, and Lisbon Lemon juice. Freshly cut chives will be put on top.
I am going to roast broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and red onion with roasted-garlic-infused EVOO, salt, and pepper, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar near the end.

Good grief, Mike, that is quite the story. How did it all end up? Was it well received by guests?

Good grief, Mike, that is quite the story. How did it all end up? Was it well received by guests?

Well, people ate it. In fairness, it wasn't terrible or anything, it just wasn't anything like what it should have been.

Sounds like you have a great supper lined up, Karen!