What's cooking?

[Jenise]

Frank, does he really prefer the frozen okra, or is that just a way to make sure people don't complain so much about hard to find ingredients.

[Jenise]

We're having lamb osso buco with a 98 Ogier Cote Rotie. I'm so excited about the wine that I haven't really figured out the rest of the meal yet.

We're having lamb osso buco with a 98 Ogier Cote Rotie. I'm so excited about the wine that I haven't really figured out the rest of the meal yet.

I'm salivating at the thought of lamb osso buco....tell us how it turned out, Jenise.

Frank, does he really prefer the frozen okra, or is that just a way to make sure people don't complain so much about hard to find ingredients.

Here's a secret I pick up from the freezer of a Lebanese market in London: tiny Egyptian okra, perfectly firm, packed with flavor. Almost as important, it comes already trimmed.

I don't know his intentions, and I don't know whether the ones I found are trimmed. But I do know that nearly every middle eastern okra recipe that I read, insists that you try to find really small ones. I've been very happy with the ones I have been finding in the local Korean produce store (pictured) but I have a feeling the Greek frozen ones will be even better. I couldn't even recognize the picture on the package but when I read the Greek label "Bamies" μπαμιες I realized what it was...

Last night's dinner was Ken's Hunan Lamb. It was delicious.

-Paul W.

Just back from 4 weeks of cooking in Venice and Florence. Rented apartments next to Mercato Centrale in Florence and 2 ferry stops from the fish market in Venice. Having serious withdrawl issues now .....Fish every day in Venice was a dream come true. Had to make lists and go home and look up the many options, all of which were impeccably fresh and wonderful looking.
Inspired to make Colomba Pasqua- the traditional Italian Easter bread in the shape of a dove as we had that one evening and an erbazzone - a savory torte made with a double crust, rapini, pancetta, Parm, eggs.
Had Pizza ceccini in Pisa. Unknown to me but made to "take away" at a place with a wood fired oven that's been there for forever. Thin crust pizza with tomato and cheese but with a chic pea flour crepe also cooked in a wood fired oven on top. All folded in half and then wrapped in a waxed paper cone. Needless to say, sufficient chic pea flour in the suitcase....

Baking day. This is olive/muffaletta bread just out of the oven. Sourdough next.

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So you bake on a regular basis? Those loaves look great. What else goes in besides olives?

I don't buy bread. Never have. I bake breads, muffins, flatbreads et al. Regular basis... I guess so. When I run low I bake again.
Here are the basic ingredients for two loaves:
2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry malt powder
3/4 cup warm water
Proof
Bowl:
4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1 teaspoon kosher salt
combine.
To flour add:
3 tablespoons evoo
1/3 cup of olive marination juice (Mezzetta Antipasto is the best tasting, not too much vinegar or salt)
4 ounces of olive muffaletta (recipe follows)
6 1/4 ounces of black chunky olive tapenade (many recipes, your choice, but should be chunky not puree)
Add wet to dry along with +- 1/2 cup warm water to form fairly wet dough ( I use bread forms so I can keep the loaves moist) Knead 5 minutes by hand.
Rise overnight in oiled bread bucket in refer. Form two long loaves place in bread pans allow to rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours covered.
Slash tops, spritz oven and loaves with water. Preheat 475. Bake (my oven is HOT [DCS unit]) 425 convection 12 minutes, turn pans 180, 12 minutes more.
Spritz the oven twice in first five minutes barely cracking the oven door.
The muffaletta is peeled, sliced, diced baked eggplant slices ( 4 or 5 1/4 inch slices), minced roasted red peppers(3), capers(1/8 cup), minced small amount of cauliflower, onion and carrot pickled(1/3 cup), roasted garlic to taste minced, green olives and kalamata to taste(sliced). Pinch of oregano, basil and marjoram. and evoo.
Tassos makes a near perfect blend called Mediterranean Salad but no eggplant. So you need to have the addition of chunky roasted eggplant to be complete.

With a good Italian red wine and semi hard cheese this loaf is a meal. Enjoy !

Thanks for that recipe, Mike - sounds delicious!

For our Easter supper yesterday, I made Easter pies (RCP is posted) that turned out well. We also served glazed carrots but had to abort the tomato/burrata salad when the burrata turned out to be old and sour. Friends brought an onion tart, a cardamom egg bread, and peas with asparagus and pepper bacon. For dessert, my wife made the traditional sunken chocolate cake with malt ball Easter eggs on top.

Tonights dinner.
Olive bread, white cheese with black truffles, sweet grapes and Rosenblum Carla's Reserve 2006 Zinfandel.

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Tonight's dinner was Gai Kaeng Massaman:--Thai Massaman (Muslim) curry with chicken, bamboo shoots, red bell pepper, cauliflower, broccoli, and green peppercorns, served with jasmine rice. YUM!!

-Paul W.

Tonights dinner.
Olive bread, white cheese with black truffles, sweet grapes and Rosenblum Carla's Reserve 2006 Zinfandel

Mike,

Who could ask for more? Magnificent!

-Paul W.

Made potato/leek/white bean soup for tonight's supper. We had it with leftover Pizza Pasqua (I like that name way better than "Easter Pie", and a couple of other leftover items from last night.

[Robin Garr]

Broccoli with garlic, onions, red lentils and Indian spice.

Southwest Chalupa, with black beans and roasted corn kernels, bell peppers, garlic, and Hatch chilies, chipotle and cumin, on top of a thick and crisped corn tortilla, topped with tomatoes, lettuce and Mexican salsa. Fresh lime wedges on the side

Tonights dinner.
Olive bread, white cheese with black truffles, sweet grapes and Rosenblum Carla's Reserve 2006 Zinfandel

Mike,

Who could ask for more?

Maybe some vegetables?

Tonights dinner.
Olive bread, white cheese with black truffles, sweet grapes and Rosenblum Carla's Reserve 2006 Zinfandel

Mike,

Who could ask for more?

Maybe some vegetables?

The vegetables are in the cheese that the goat, sheep, cow ate prior to milking....how was the Carla's reserve?

Cornish Game Hens (we split one)
Tri-colored Penne with home made Arrabbiata Sauce (from my freezer using those wonderful fresh summer tomatoes)
Spring asparagus that I will toss in with the hens the last 10 minutes of roasting so they can mix with the wonderful juices from the marinade and hens.

[Robin Garr]

Khumbh Palak, Indian-style spicy spinach and mushroom curry.

Speaking of spinach, I made a lovely spinach risotto earlier this week. Pureed spinach was deep yet bright green. Delicious.

Made Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice, from an Ottolenghi/Tamimi recipe. As they say in the cookbook, this is comfort food. The chicken and rice cook together with cinnamon, cloves, cardomom, currants, and the onions. Very nice stuff with a bit of an exotic character from the spices. Also relatively quick and easy, so it's a good weekday dish.

I found this recipe on-line Mike, very interesting dish. We actually have several of the barberry plants on our property. Fabulous shrub that is dark burgundy and the berries are said to be edible but very sour. It is curious that a currant would be a substitute. I have never harvested any of the berries (the birds do) because of the large thorns. Anyway, I have printed this recipe and will try soon.

I found this recipe on-line Mike, very interesting dish. We actually have several of the barberry plants on our property. Fabulous shrub that is dark burgundy and the berries are said to be edible but very sour. It is curious that a currant would be a substitute. I have never harvested any of the berries (the birds do) because of the large thorns. Anyway, I have printed this recipe and will try soon.

Thanks for that, Karen. I've never seen barberries and have no idea if they'd be available at the ethnic groceries around here. In Jerusalem, they say that barberries they use are from Iran and that they have a sweet-and-sour character, adding sharpness that accentuates other flavors in a dish. In one of the other recipes, they suggest soaking currants in lemon juice as a substitute. I didn't read that one before making the chicken dish last night, so that might have been more true to the barberry flavor.

[Robin Garr]

Teriyaki chik’n, onion and green pepper stir-fry.

If you can find a Persian grocery, barberries are Zereshk. I can find dried barberries easily.

http://www.kalamala.com/products/barber ... k-1lb-sara