What's Cooking (Take Three!)

I'm going to be travelling for work next week so I'm making a mini-coulibiac for Pumpkin to serve himself. I wonder what he'd resort to otherwise?

Frozen burrito?

Never. He won't touch manufactured food or even food with unexpected ingredients (e.g., sugar in spaghetti sauce). I suspect he would buy turkey cutlets, cut up some vegetables, and make a kind of a pan-fry every night. He might also go to a nearby caterer and buy a roast chicken or a quart of butternut squash soup.

His dinner horizons are much wider when I'm around.

Lucky pumpkin! At least he sounds capable of cooking some dishes if left to his own devices.

I let someone else cook today.. the local fishing fraternity organised a charity fund raiser, all you can eat seafood lunch! They provide most of the fish, all caught locally and the local restaurant provides the venue, chef cooks the food and donates salads etc and staff. The local community had a great meal, charity did well, the restaurant hopefully made some money at the bar.
We had oysters kilpatrick (from the chefs supply!). Grilled whole fish of various types, paella with mussels, fried fillets, chips, salads.
One of the joys of living in a small community. And ,Ike Jenise while we live on the coast it is not easy to buy fresh fish.

Lucky pumpkin! At least he sounds capable of cooking some dishes if left to his own devices.

Did I mention that one of his staples is to put frozen brussels sprouts and a can of mackerel in a pan and saute them together?

[Jenise]

Jeff, are you serious? That sounds gross!

But of course I was joking about the frozen burrito.


Say, I made the best zucchini last night. I was watching something on TV the other day, and over a chef's shoulder in a bit filmed inside an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia I saw a tray of what I believed to be zucchini. It wasn't discussed, it was just back there but it reminded me that I tend to cook zucchini the same couple of ways all the time. Either cooked to near mush (with other squash or alone, something I've loved since childhood), stir-fried with onions, sliced and grilled, or floured and egg-battered as fritters. That's it. I'm not even crazy about the stir fried bit because I don't especially care for the flavor of zucchini when it browns, but I do it for variety and color on the plate nonetheless.

It had never dawned on me to just bake zucchini. So last night I cut a few zuccs lengthwise into four pieces each, then sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and herbs d'Provence. Nestled together cut sides up in a 1/4 sheet pan, they baked for 20 minutes at 400. The result was to die for. They stayed whole and didn't brown, but it was long enough to turn them achingly melty-soft on the inside. And they were sweet! This is going to be my new favorite thing.

Jenise - I came up with this recipe over 30 years ago. I may have posted it at one time.
Zucchini Boats
(serves eight)

This a great use of those giant zucchinis that your neighbors give you.

4 very large zucchini
3 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (I use 1 lb. hot, 2 lb. mild)
1 cup white wine
6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large vadalia onion, cut in thin slivers
4 medium tomatoes, cubed
3 green peppers, cut in thin strips
1 cup grated cheese (I use Romano)
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Poke a knife slit in each of the zucchinis and cook in the microwave until soft. Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, thus making the “boats” and place on baking sheet. In a large skillet, cook the sausage with the wine, breaking it up into a coarse mixture, until all the wine evaporates and the sausage starts to brown. In another skillet, sauté the garlic in the olive oil. Stir in the onions and sweat them. When the onions are done, add the tomatoes and cook to reduce the liquid. Stir in the peppers, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese to thicken and remove from heat. Fill the zucchinis with sausage and top with the peppers, onion and tomato mixture. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Top with mozzarella and place under broiler to slightly brown the mozzarella. Serve one boat per person.

[Jenise]

Those sound utterly fantastic. Have to admit, until I moved here, those huge zucchini weren't in my world at all. But they're very popular locally and I've become somewhat enamored. Will try this in a month or two when the 'big boys' are in!

Jeff, are you serious? That sounds gross!

That's why it's so memorable.

But of course I was joking about the frozen burrito.

You don't say?

Say, I made the best zucchini last night. I was watching something on TV the other day, and over a chef's shoulder in a bit filmed inside an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia I saw a tray of what I believed to be zucchini. It wasn't discussed, it was just back there but it reminded me that I tend to cook zucchini the same couple of ways all the time. Either cooked to near mush (with other squash or alone, something I've loved since childhood), stir-fried with onions, sliced and grilled, or floured and egg-battered as fritters. That's it. I'm not even crazy about the stir fried bit because I don't especially care for the flavor of zucchini when it browns, but I do it for variety and color on the plate nonetheless.

I like zucchini grilled, but I'll take fritters, too.

It had never dawned on me to just bake zucchini. So last night I cut a few zuccs lengthwise into four pieces each, then sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and herbs d'Provence. Nestled together cut sides up in a 1/4 sheet pan, they baked for 20 minutes at 400. The result was to die for. They stayed whole and didn't brown, but it was long enough to turn them achingly melty-soft on the inside. And they were sweet! This is going to be my new favorite thing.

Sounds great. I often make winter squash in a similar way (takes longer, of course), so I'll remember to give this a try.

--

Meanwhile, His Serene Majesty asked me to change the coulibiac to chicken. OK, so cook the rice in chicken stock instead of fish broth, poach the chicken ahead, and sub thyme/tarragon for the dill. Hey presto:

chicken coulibiac sm.jpg

ZBoat3.jpg

I forgot that I have a picture of a Zucchini Boat.

[Jenise]

Looks GREAT, Howie. And carb free! (Guess who's dieting.)


Dinner tonight: It's hotter than hades here, and humid too. So we're going to sit outside and eat, in this order, cold artichokes, ahi poke, and watermelon.

Howie, that looks great!

One of your cab francs to go with it?

[Jenise]

Today's going to be the hottest day of the week here, temps in the mid to high 70's. That's like Palm Springs to us. So I've invited three of my neighbors over for a casual patio dinner. Here's the menu:

Snacks:
grilled artichoke segments with ginger aioli
Five year old Cougar Gold

Main meal:
Burgers (toasted kaiser rolls, arugula, pickled red onion, muenster, and red mustard sauce)
Pea and Orecchiette spring salad
Pickled jalapeno corn*
Marinated tomatoes with parsley, charred chick peas and smoked ricotta
Cucumbers and onions

Dessert:
Gelato sandwiches (salted caramel, vanilla bean, strawberry)

*Jo Ann, this is a different riff on the recipe you posted a year or three ago, but I remain forever in debt for it

It was 102 on the way home from work today, Jenise. I have no sympathy for your "heat".

Last night, I did homemade pappardelle with spring garlic, Serrano ham, olive oil, and manchego. I was more or less going for a similar dish I had the night before at a restaurant here. Mine was not nearly as good as theirs - they used housemade lomo that was more assertive and salty than the Serrano and I think they may have used some of the fat from the lomo in the pasta sauce as well. Still, it was pretty tasty. To go with, I made a green salad (believe it or not) with romaine, wasabi arugula, favas, and a balsamic-garlic scape vinaigrette.

[Jenise]

Nor should you, Mike! We're just so glad to have the cold behind us. Still, a cool season: yesterday's 75 was a season high, where last year we hit 89 in April. 102 sounds like death.

So all this salad stuff--isn't this the second time you've mentioned salad recently? Is this an attempt at healthier eating or have you just realized that lettuce is wonderful?

[Jenise]

Nor should you, Mike! We're just so glad to have the cold behind us. Still, a cool season: yesterday's 75 was a season high, where last year we hit 89 in April. 102 sounds like death.

So all this salad stuff--isn't this the second time you've mentioned salad recently? Is this an attempt at healthier eating or have you just realized that lettuce is wonderful?

Tonight it's slow roast ed ribs with smokey BBQ sauce ( Because the boss brought home a smoking gun for me yesterday and we came across some nice ribs)
Fun will be had with the new toy. All ideas welcome.

Pretty awesome lunch centered around soft-shell crabs.

Nothing fancy. Just a light dusting of cornmeal and flour to amplify the crunch. Then sauteed.

Golden red and crunchy on the outside. Milky white sweet and oceanic on the inside. Perfect!

Pretty darn delicious with just squirts of lime. Although drops of Trader Joe's Yuzu hot sauce on top were pretty tasty as well. Some bites adorned with a cinnamon hot pepper sauce (from Taiwan) were also pretty tasty.

Hard to go wrong!

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, sounds great. What a neat ingredient to have available. (I've never cooked a SSC, because I've never seen them available for purchase.)

But speaking of neat ingredients, for lunch today we're having fresh haddock. I know it's readily available in the eastern U.S. but I have never ever seen it for sale on the west coast. (And I didn't, not in the U.S.--this came from a store on the other side of the border.) I'll probably cut the single filet into strips, coat them in panko and oven/fry them.

I've never cooked a SSC, because I've never seen them available for purchase.)

You keep mentioning how there are limited seafood options in your area. But I'm slowly starting to realize what that means!

...fresh haddock..

Sounds great! I'm a big fan of those firm flaky white-fleshed ocean fish. Used to buy them a lot in Nyc, or in Europe (London, Berlin). But they are not available down here in the Carolina ocean. Still, I don't complain. The local shrimp and crabs are better than in any of those other locales!

[Jenise]

I've never cooked a SSC, because I've never seen them available for purchase.)

You keep mentioning how there are limited seafood options in your area. But I'm slowly starting to realize what that means!

...fresh haddock..

Sounds great! I'm a big fan of those firm flaky white-fleshed ocean fish. Used to buy them a lot in Nyc, or in Europe (London, Berlin). But they are not available down here in the Carolina ocean. Still, I don't complain. The local shrimp and crabs are better than in any of those other locales!

It means that the fish counter at any market contains true cod, salmon and halibut, fresh when possible and frozen when not, Vietnamese farm-raised tilapia and sometimes Dover sole. That's pretty much IT for fish. You can get salmon, halibut, rockfish, steelhead (farmed) and ahi at Costco. Our new Whole Foods occasionally has arctic char and black cod. There's no fish store in town--there was when we moved here but it closed for lack of business. The locals won't pay $20+ a pound for fresh fish, and half of them have freezers full of salmon they caught themselves. Petrale sole has been showing up more often lately.

But there's basically no variety--outside of Seattle, that is. I bought the Haddock across the border. Sure was GOOD. I think it's the first fresh haddock I've ever had. I'm aware that it's common enough on the east coast--probably where what I bought came from.

Smoked salmon, snap pea, garlic chive sauce for pasta. A quick put me together of leftovers for Friday dinner. That was after an appetizer of orange lemon marmalade spread on brioche toasts topped with leftover foie gras, also left overs from weekend champagne tasting party. Not a sequence that I would intentionally do but leftover life was waning and I was weary after a very long week.

It means that the fish counter at any market contains true cod, salmon and halibut, fresh when possible and frozen when not, Vietnamese farm-raised tilapia and sometimes Dover sole. That's pretty much IT for fish. You can get salmon, halibut, rockfish, steelhead (farmed) and ahi at Costco. Our new Whole Foods occasionally has arctic char and black cod. There's no fish store in town--there was when we moved here but it closed for lack of business. The locals won't pay $20+ a pound for fresh fish, and half of them have freezers full of salmon they caught themselves. Petrale sole has been showing up more often lately.

But there's basically no variety--outside of Seattle, that is. I bought the Haddock across the border. Sure was GOOD. I think it's the first fresh haddock I've ever had. I'm aware that it's common enough on the east coast--probably where what I bought came from.

Clams, oysters, mussels, crab, lobster, octopus, squid?

[Jenise]

Crab yes. Dungeness. Oysters, mussels and clams? High quality and abundant, but I don't buy because I'm the only one in the household who isn't allergic to them. But it's really fish I'm talking about.

Speaking of seafood, this weekend is the annual weekend a charter planeload of live Maine lobster comes in. That's dinner.

Nor should you, Mike! We're just so glad to have the cold behind us. Still, a cool season: yesterday's 75 was a season high, where last year we hit 89 in April. 102 sounds like death.

So all this salad stuff--isn't this the second time you've mentioned salad recently? Is this an attempt at healthier eating or have you just realized that lettuce is wonderful?

It was the wasabi arugula. We saw some at the farmers' market, tried it out, and really liked it. It looks different from regular arugula and has a hint of a wasabi burn to it that lingers as an aftertaste. We had to buy it and the only way to use it was in a salad. Unfortunately, it lost its character in the mix, even with just some romaine and a small amount of vinaigrette. Next time, I'll just eat it on its own.

[Robin Garr]

pea-schoot-salad.jpg

A farmer at one of our favorite farmers' markets had big boxes full of fresh pea shoots yesterday; another had beautiful fresh english peas, another had some tiny white-skinned new potatoes, and a fourth - Sapori d'Italia, a Kentucky cheesemaker despite the name - had some herbed goat cheese in the style of Val d'Aosta. We lugged them home and incorporated all those goodies with a simple olive oil and lemon vinaigrette and S&P to make a cool summer salad. It was delicious - amazing flavor and texture combinations. We'll definitely do that again, although pea shoots are unfortunately a brief seasonal treat.