What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Karen, you remind me that I once bought a pkg of frozen cheese ravioli at Trader Joe's--though I don't buy that kind of thing for home use, they can be great in the freezer in our little RV when camping. Easy to store, easy to spiff up. I didn't like the flavor of the sauce as-is, it was raw like unseasoned canned tomatoes, but a dollop of cream smoothed that out and a few pinches of oregano and red pepper flakes brought the excitement. I haven't bought them again, but I would for exactly the kind of emergencies you speak of.

Speaking of Trader Joe's, for that same trip I brought a package of their Argentinian red shrimp and a frozen bag of gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. On one very hot day the gnocchi with some of those shrimp became a very attractive dinner (course #2 following a salad) that I prepared with my little Coleman camp stove on a picnic table at a very pedestrian campground in Idaho we had to pivot to when our original plans were not realizable. I opened a champagne to go with dinner. The whole thing was dead easy but it was showstopper-pretty and the nosy couple in the Class A next door practically fell out of their bus trying to figure out what we were eating. They finally came out and asked. The lady half said she goes camping in order to get out of ever having to make anything more complicated than a ham sandwich. Anybody with access to a Trader Joe's and a little imagination could have made the dinner we had, but you have to want to know that. She didn't.

Speaking of store-bought ravioli... that's what I did for dinner last night: a package of Rana spinach/ricotta ravioli sauced with something I totally threw together: a wedge of Truffle Tremor, 2 tbsp half-and-half, 1 tsp Wondra flour, nuked gently and stirred into a cheesey, creamy, truffley sauce. Good and easy. (Same idea should work with gorgonzola, which I almost bought instead of the Truffle Tremor.)

Indeed, I'm a big fan of ravioli for easy and delicious dinners. Not necessarily from supermarkets, but wherever I live there's usually a specialty shop with high quality options.

Here in Berlin I buy the ravioli from the 'noodle stand' at the market, which spans cultures to include fresh Italian pastas but also spaetzle, schupfnudeln, maultaschen, semmelknoedel and various other options. All delicious, fresh and easy, a great combination for my kitchen.

Our neighborhood grocer carries Sterling Silver Beef which I have found to be very good. I especially love their thick-cut loin of New York Steak or something like that. They showed me a new cut that is going over big with their regulars. Label says Grilling Tenders FP. The lady meat cutter says to cook them like a steak. I am taking a chance and putting them on a bed of very caramelized onions, after marinating in soy sauce, Worcestershire, and a bit of pineapple juice, then sprinkled with steak seasoning. Going to place in the oven and cook until medium rare and check for tenderness. I have Buckeye beans from Rancho Gordo cooking away in the slow cooker, with a load of golden onions, garlic, and chicken stock. When almost done I add fresh thyme and then drizzle with pineapple vinegar. Farro is also on the menu, cooked then adding fresh lemon juice, zest, something herby, EVOO, and chilled goat cheese before serving.

Jenise, I laughed at your post about cooking a nice dinner on your RV trip. I used to do the same thing, and especially loved starting the slow cooker in the morning with something yummy, and having a nice dinner later in the afternoon. We would sit outside and visit with the friends we traveled with, and having our cocktails. Folks would stop by and comment on the odor coming from our two RV's. Sometimes, we grilled outside, and I loved doing the whole dinner of steak or whatever, veggies and potatoes, which always caught the attention of the men. The female half of our travel buddies was a dessert maker and she was always on the lookout for some type of berries during the season. She threw together some wonderful and tasty treats for us to enjoy. I cannot tell you how many ladies told me they did not cook, and would not because now they were retired! I always told them that I loved to cook and eat well, and that it did not take much work to put together the meals we had. Of course, I got THAT look...

I made pad prik bai krapow but with ground pork instead of ground chicken. I like the chicken version better.

-Paul W.

The last of the TG leftover turkey went into egg rolls tonight!

[Jenise]

Indeed, I'm a big fan of ravioli for easy and delicious dinners. Not necessarily from supermarkets, but wherever I live there's usually a specialty shop with high quality options.

Here in Berlin I buy the ravioli from the 'noodle stand' at the market, which spans cultures to include fresh Italian pastas but also spaetzle, schupfnudeln, maultaschen, semmelknoedel and various other options. All delicious, fresh and easy, a great combination for my kitchen.

I'm so envious!

[Jenise]

I cannot tell you how many ladies told me they did not cook, and would not because now they were retired! I always told them that I loved to cook and eat well, and that it did not take much work to put together the meals we had. Of course, I got THAT look...

I can well imagine your great road dinners, Karen. I don't have room for appliances in my tiny RV but I always manage to make good food, in fact it's a fun challenge to produce good meals with my Coleman--an 12" square grill plus side burner (I have a double burner propane cooktop inside, but I only cook inside if forced to by weather as I don't want to live with food smells). Although I know that a lot of people don't give a fig about cooking, it was a total surprise to go to a rally on Vancouver Island and discover that of 70-or-so participants, I was the only one who showed up at the potlucks with homemade food--the first night, a huge mound of asparagus (I bought about 5 lbs at a roadside stand) dressed with parmesan, lemon juice and olive oil. Nobody else, NOBODY, cooked. It was all store-bought salads and dips for which the obvious criteria was cheap and easy. The second night I roasted three marinated pork loins--on my little grill. Took several hours to do that, and there was a constant procession past our site of people drawn by the aromas. They were on me like a pack of wolves when I walked into the pavillion with that platter.

This rally was an annual thing. The following year the organizer got a zillion queries from people wanting to know "if that chef lady was coming again". Not on your life!

This rally was an annual thing. The following year the organizer got a zillion queries from people wanting to know "if that chef lady was coming again". Not on your life!

Missed opportunity. You could have sold 30 Coleman stoves and 50 copies of your cookbook.

Ah Jenise, I have a dear cousin who lives in Washougal. She is a dog, cat, and horse lover and has them all, they are her kids. She also cooks and cooks well. She and her husband have an RV and also a toy carrier and spend lots of time at various beaches up and down the coast of OR and WA riding their dune buggies. She is the only one in their group who cooks for the potlucks. Like you, she whips up some delicious treats and the wolves are waiting. Sadly, some of the women in the group are not friendly to her. She goes because the dune buggy thing is her husband's love.

[Jenise]

Missed opportunity. You could have sold 30 Coleman stoves and 50 copies of your cookbook.

These people were too lazy for either, believe me.

[Jenise]

Last night I made potato-crusted halibut for dinner. I plated them on a puddle of pureed asparagus and added a few brussels sprouts for color variation.

Tonight I'm making a variation on mac n' cheese--ziti and cauliflower together in a parmesan cream sauce, baked till crusty.

Baked Penne with Chicken Chipotle Sausage, homemade by a local Italian guy who has a sausage shop here in town. Broccoli, steamed and drizzled with fresh Lisbon Lemon juice from our tree, a bit of evoo, coarse sea salt..is dinner tonight. If I get around to it, I may have biscuits on the table for Gene.

[Jenise]

Last night's ziti-cauliflower dish was absolutely divine. Not often I think "can't wait to make that again" but this is one that will get repeated. The cauliflower is an enhancement in its own right both in flavor and nutrition value, but it also reduces the guilt of eating pasta by 50%. A winner all the way around.

Not cooking at home tonight, but will make roquefort souffles and green salad for lunch.

I'm in the midst of making tonight's ratatouille. Only came to computer to scan Cellartracker for a suitable wine...

"Last night I made potato-crusted halibut for dinner. I plated them on a puddle of pureed asparagus and added a few brussels sprouts for color variation."
Jenise, curious about the pureed asparagus. I would think it would be a mass of stringy stuff. Once cooked, does it actually puree to a smooth consistency? I have never heard of this.

[Jenise]

Karen, it purees very well. I have no recipe, I just eyeball it, but here's my method: trim off the first two-three inches of stalk that would be stringy first. Cook those in water (or chicken broth) to cover initially, a good long 20-30 minute cook to infuse flavor--the water's the keeper part. Add more liquid as necessary to then cook the good parts of the asparagus, chopped, till soft, then throw the lot into a blender to puree. Add cream. Season with salt and white pepper. Tarragon's a nice addition as well.

Got to a market today and grabbed a beautiful head of cauliflower. Inspired by Jenise did a different take on ziti with cauliflower. Browned/caramelized cauliflower but still with some tooth seasoned with lots of garlic, hot pepper, a bit of anchovy and lots of black pepper. Served with orecchiette and grated aged pecorino. Comes together in minutes and even at 1.5 oz pasta per person we have leftovers for a lunch frittata. I otherwise stick with 2 oz serving size when I make pasta now but because I load it with mostly vegetable sauces we always have leftovers. I haven’t tried to cut back further because I like the challenge of reincarnating the remains for breakfast or lunch. I’ve done this sauce adding dry cured black olives and/or capers watching any added salt because it adds up. Works with broccoli, broccolini and rapini as well.

[Jenise]

1.5 ounce servings! The healthiest way, and I'll admit I often fail at that. I cooked 8 ounces of ziti and we both went back for seconds--there were no leftovers.

Tonight I'm making a Chinese stir fry featuring chicken and celery with a heavy black pepper presence.

We do 4 oz portion if pasta is the main by itself. Otherwise, as an ingredient in something bigger, we do 2 oz portions.

(But I agree with your sentiment... give me the right texture and the right sauce and I'll eat an 8 oz portion all by myself.)

Last night we had baby back pork ribs, done in oven with soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and mignonette pepper, and a touch of pineapple vinegar. Marinated all day, then baked for 2 hours, then uncovered, basted, and another 30 minutes to brown. A medley of roasted veggies, roasted in olive oil, Calabrian Chili paste, salt and pepper, until well caramelized. Lots of potatoes, garlic cloves, small peppers of all colors, zucchini, carrots, all from my CSA that needed to be used. So good. I also cooked a small dish of eggplant parmesan, using a jarred sauce I like very much and light on the bread crumbs.

Jenise, I am interested in that pureed asparagus and am going to try it, thanks for the method. I love Tarragon with asparagus.

I made pad prik bai krapow but with ground pork instead of ground chicken. I like the chicken version better.

A lot of recipes for Thai stir-fried meat with chiles and holy basil have soy sauce and/or Golden Mountain sauce as additional seasonings. My usual recipe only has fish sauce for seasoning. While this suits ground chicken just fine, there seemed to be something missing in the pork version. So I tossed a tablespoon each of light soy sauce and Golden Mountain. That did the trick. The ground pork needed the extra umami kick.

-Paul W.

Last night we had baby back pork ribs, done in oven with soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and mignonette pepper, and a touch of pineapple vinegar.

Pineapple vinegar! That sounds like the fast road to al pastor. Where do you find it?