What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Last night I made the NYT recipe Dale shared:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... -and-bacon

I already had halibut on the brain and this post instantly intrigued because bacon+mushroom+tomato+wine is a combination I would love but never gravitate to--chicken yes, fish no--without prodding. LOVED IT. I made it their way, broiling the fish in the sauce, but to be honest on a next go I'd pan sear the fish first then simply bake them together. For me, better for gauging doneness.

Fabulous, definitely worth doing! Thank you Dale!

Today the rest of the 1.93 lb slab of halibut I bought becomes ceviche.

Glad it worked out. Love the bacony flavor. We were using fairly thin haddock filets, so no issue with gauging doneness, but I think I'd take your suggestion if I was using thicker filets like seabass, halibut, etc.

[Jenise]

Yeah, I was looking for a perfect 140F on my halibut, the pieces of which were narrow and tall, so they could have been overcooked top and undercooked bottom pretty easily. As it was, I should have pulled them about one minute earlier. I get that they're going for the magic one-pan effect here, but if you just spent $28/lb for your fish you don't want to take any chances--use one pan for the fish and one for the sauce. Great flavors though, and exceptionally red-wine friendly (we opened a Beaujolais).

Today I'm making albondigas. The neighborhood wine club is doing Mexican so I've making four pounds of turkey meatballs heavily seasoned with cumin and garlic that I'll bury under a green chile-cilantro sauce. I'm really proud of my albondigas. I was living in Britain and in my late 20's when I got a letter from my dad, asking if by any chance I had my mother's recipe for albondigas soup. It was, he claimed, the best he'd ever had and he would love to make it. I did not, it had never been written down, and I was probably 12 the last time she made a batch. But back when she'd been able to cook, it was something she made often, and I have an exceptionally strong palate memory for the foods of my childhood. I told Dad "hang on, I'll figure it out."

And I did. The only thing I do different from mom, who had never bought cilantro (looking back I wonder, did she ignore it or was she aware of its existence?), is litter the balls with chopped cilantro stems and even more importantly I use turkey instead of beef. And it's not just health factor, but texture--turkey makes a very fine, elegant texture which I love. And all she ever made was soup. I often do as I'm doing tonight, put them in a sauce to turn them into an appetizer.

I'm thinking perhaps cilantro wasn't popular or was non-existent when your mother cooked. Or perhaps it tasted soapy to her, so she omitted it.

[Jenise]

I'm thinking perhaps cilantro wasn't popular or was non-existent when your mother cooked. Or perhaps it tasted soapy to her, so she omitted it.

I do not know! We did eat at better (for L.A.) Mexican restaurants quite often though, and I didn't encounter it there. It didn't enter my life until my 20's when the upscale chain El Torito splashed across the southland and figured it heavily in their salsa, which was fresher and more vivid than the more cooked/roasted salsas I'd known prior. I loved it instantly. I asked my brother about it the other day, he doesn't remember it before about then either.

I had to teach myself to like it. It tasted like soap to me.

[Jenise]

Larry, does it still taste like soap to you? Just good soap?

There are things I now love that once upon a time I hated. Blue cheese and refried beans to name two. And I remember the flavors I hated--they didn't change, I did.

Today I am cooking a Chinese dish with flank steak, broccoli, golden bell pepper, mushrooms dry sherry, oyster, soy sauce, and green onions. Filet mignon will be substituted for the flank because I have two in the freezer. Also, a fresh corn and avocado salad with red onion, cherry tomatoes with olive oil, champagne vinegar, basil leaves, and Dijon dressing.
My eldest son is arriving later this morning to spend Saturday with me. We are hanging around here and he has asked for a hot dog for lunch?? I also have a chicken and rice soup in case he wants it and an array of fresh fruit and crackers. My daughter-in-law went to South Dakota for a niece's graduation so I get him all to myself I hope all you moms of children and fur kids have a wonderful day tomorrow with your loved ones!

[Jenise]

Happy Mothers Day, Karen. It's a non-event at our house. I am, however, going to grill a big fat porterhouse steak. Strangely (at least to me, because it hasn't been the case in other places I have lived), the butchers up here don't differentiate between T-bones and porterhouses. They're all sold as t-bones at the same relatively low price (compared to filets, new yorks and ribeyes that is)--$15/lb vs. $25-$30. So when I see the porters, I buy.

Larry, does it still taste like soap to you? Just good soap?

There are things I now love that once upon a time I hated. Blue cheese and refried beans to name two. And I remember the flavors I hated--they didn't change, I did.

I loved blue cheese from age 10 when a tv repairman offered me some Old London blue cheese crackers.

I tried all kinds of ways to like tomatoes, but I wasn't successful until I discovered I liked stewed tomatoes from the school cafeteria when I was a student teacher.

Then there was asparagus, which didn't catch on with me until my mid-20s.

And I discovered steamed clams when I watched bar patrons suck them down with pleasure. I had a couple of beers to screw up my courage and discovered I really liked them. Unfortunately, the next year I moved to New Mexico.

My cilantro secret was to slowly build up my tolerance by starting with small amounts and increasing the amounts. Now I think that cilantro can add brightness if it isn't overdone with huge amounts. Cilantro is a hate or love it type of herb. Same with menudo. Some people love it, some don't. I'm not a fan.

I had a really good top sirloin, tender as a filet mignon. I used the grill/oven method. Perfection! Washed down with Argentine Malbec.

And I made some oven fries with olive oil and oregano. Haven't made those in a long time. Plus used up the balance of my bok choy.

Happy camper right now.

Using filet mignon instead of flank steak in my stir fry posted above was awesome. I did the veggies first, and when the broccoli was turning brighter, I tossed in the thinly sliced filets and it all came out perfect. I used Crimini mushrooms because I seem to have lost my desire for the large white mushrooms. I loved them with this dish, they have a firmer texture and a bolder flavor which I am favoring now. I ended up cooking the dish on Mother's Day, so the meat marinated for three days and I loved how full of flavor it was.

Sounds excellent, Karen. And definitely the way to go with filet mignon -- love the texture but it needs a boost in the flavor department.

In one of these threads, someone was waxing rhapsodic about spicy chili crisp. By coincidence, a jar showed up on my grocery store's clearance endcap. Naturally, I grabbed it. I like it. It's really close to an Indonesian hot sauce I used to fry up with minced onions, chile flakes, and brown sugar (unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it).

[Jenise]

Larry, it might have been me but I know I'm not the only fan of chili crisp. Welcome to the club!

So yesterday I went off and did errands on my own. Fairly unusual for Bob not to ride along but he was happy doing laundry and I didn't want to get in the way of that. It was going to be a long afternoon. On my agenda: Lowe's, Trader Joe's for things to make pizza with tomorrow, Home Depot if I didn't find what I wanted at Lowe's (I didn't, and also HD also disappointed), a wine shop (who aren't open on Mondays, I forgot), a regular grocer for Oreos (Bob lives on them) bleach and Dawn, and Costco for an Rx and blueberry restock (we have fallen in love with blueberries and Costco's the best supplier). I was away for five hours.

I had only eaten half a slice of toast early in the day with coffee and--danger! danger!--forgot to eat before leaving home, a problem that became evident by the time I got to Trader Joe's so I bought a bag of California slab apricots to snack on in the car, one of my favorite things. I had thought a few would tide me over, but it was a long afternoon and I pecked away at them between stops, devouring the entire bag by the time I got home at 5:30 by which time Bob was famished and I was doomed to spend an annoying evening tooting away on the couch.

Dinner was a hot havarti and ham sandwich for Bob and a glass of iced tea for me.

No plans for tonight as yet, but: no apricots!

[Jenise]

Last night we had a salad of spicy greens and pumpernickel crumbs followed by a version of cacio y pepe in which I substituted penne rigate for string pasta and added 2" lengths of asparagus that were lightly cooked in the same water I would end up cooking the pasta in next. A little less carb-guilt, and absolutely delicious! For last-minute fresh cookery, does it get any better than that?

Today I'm having three couples over for an afternoon sauvignon blanc tasting. With the wines I'll serve cold tarragon-garlic shrimp, green beans in pesto sauce with parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and homemade Sausage (chicken, Italian) and Fennel pizzas.

[Jenise]

Larry:

https://www.foodandwine.com/chili-crisp ... 1892?print

Looks good.

I'm trying to find one of my Indonesian cookbooks that has the recipe for the salsa I used to make.

Larry, was the chili crisp the Lao Gan Ma brand? That's the one that is ubiquitous in Asian grocery stores. It has a portrait of the founder--a rather stern-looking woman who one reviewer nicknamed "sourpuss"--on the label. Lo Gan Ma roughly translates as Godmother. They have a whole line of other chile-related products besides the chili crisp.

Taylor Holliday posted a recipe for Sichuan-style black bean chicken that uses Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil with Black bean: Cooking with the Godmother. I've made it and like it.

-Paul W.

Larry, was the chili crisp the Lao Gan Ma brand? That's the one that is ubiquitous in Asian grocery stores. It has a portrait of the founder--a rather stern-looking woman who one reviewer nicknamed "sourpuss"--on the label. Lo Gan Ma roughly translates as Godmother. They have a whole line of other chile-related products besides the chili crisp.

I recently bought the Lao Gan Ma chili crisp for the first time. It has its appeal, but a bit artificial tasting for my liking and probably won't go into heavy rotation.

So many other more artisanal chili crisps on the market these days, each with their own flavor directions. Can't stock just one!

Larry, was the chili crisp the Lao Gan Ma brand? That's the one that is ubiquitous in Asian grocery stores. It has a portrait of the founder--a rather stern-looking woman who one reviewer nicknamed "sourpuss"--on the label. Lo Gan Ma roughly translates as Godmother. They have a whole line of other chile-related products besides the chili crisp. Paul W.

It is, indeed, It's so close to what I used to make--if I only could find my Indonesian cookbook--I'd never have to buy any more.

Last night was a vege stir fry, rice, and teriyaki chicken breast. Tonight was the balance of the stir fry and fried rice, using bits of leftover chicken breast.

[Jenise]

Larry, I could live on fried rice. So many magical concoctions--the possibilities are endless and as a method it's under-utilized in non-Asian kitchens.

A beautiful cool morning at 63° in the valley, 10,000 people are in downtown Redding for the Asphalt Cowboys' famous Rodeo pancake breakfast. I am sitting at my computer looking over a flock of yellow house finches at the feeder and water feature. Breakfast is banana slices, raspberries, watermelon, and mandarin sections, drizzled with Raspberry Pear vinegar—also, a Tart Cherry, Cacao Nib & Almond crisp from Rustic Bakery. I am in love with these products made in Petaluma CA. Our neighborhood grocery having a hard time keeping them in stock!