What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Today's meatless Monday dinner is going to be fried rice (loaded with bok choy and green onions) topped with shitake mushrooms in sauce seasoned with Momofuku chile crunch and ginger. Not a known thing, I'm just making it up because it just sounds so good.

Rice is cooling on the counter as I type.

Just curious, Jenise. Is this vegan fried rice or does it involve scrambled egg, as is traditional in China and Thailand?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, it was vegan, but my rules for Meatless Monday don't require that I leave out eggs. They might have been there but I'm out (see my last What I Learned Today post). But oh man, the mushrooms! Eating those, Bob paid me the best compliment. Said that there's never anything about my meatless meals that feel as if something's missing, but "even if I had meat on my plate, it's the mushrooms I'd want to eat most. They're the star of this plate."

He'd never had a shitake mushroom before meeting me. But they're a lifetime favorite for the Chappell family. As a child, when we went to this dive restaurant in DTLA as compared to settling for mediocrity in the 'burbs--family of six and sometimes with grandma so it was 7--one order of what they called "Black mushrooms" was never enough. For the family two heaping plates was absolutely necessary, and sometimes we'd reorder a third. We fought over them. Been a favorite all my life.

I'm with you on the mushrooms.
Last night I did the Eric Kim gochugaru shrimp & seaweed grits. Very simple (grits cooked with some milk, crushed gim aka nori, sesame oil, butter, the shrimp in pepper/sesamecelery seed, sauteed and finished with butter and fish sauce. Really fun, probably less than 30 minutes start to finish.
We've really been enjoying the Korean-American cookbook. Clear recipes for excellent dishes, but it's also a lovely paean to his mom, and an insightful look at the experience growing up in a family with immigrant parents who were both adapting and trying to keep culture.
Made kimchi with Korean radish (not daikon), that was outstanding
Also recently did another Kim recipe, not from book,.for cilantro/jalapeno pork chops with a pepper/onion relish. Great way to dress up supermarket chops when you don't have thick heritage chops that come with their own flavor.

[Jenise]

Dale, I'm going to order that book; everything sounds good/clever/unexpected. I own gochugang but hardly ever use it (though I use all kinds of other chile things). I've had very little exposure to Korean food so I have zero reflexes involving their ingredients or style of food other than kimchi. I really should fix that.

Last night I grilled some zucchini, summer squash, and red onion. Tonight I took the leftovers and threw them in a pan with some diced tomatoes and garlic. When the juice was almost gone I put the mixture in a small baking dish and topped it with some grated cheese. Under the broiler until the cheese started turning color then rested and served with a black-and-blue filet mignon.

Next time, I'll put a light coating of panko before the cheese.

Great use of leftovers Dan, what is a black and blue filet, grilled with blue cheese?

I am not Dan, but a 'black and blue filet' is a filet steak cooked very briefly over a very hot flame. It will be black -- or, blackened -- on the outside and still cold -- blue -- on the inside. A dear friend of my parents' used to like his steaks that way, but it is difficult to get it done right, even at a steak joint. "Rare" is usually where you end up.

[Jenise]

Takes a pretty thick steak, too. I am not a blue fan. I just don't understand how raw meat tastes good. In fact, as I age I find myself liking med rare better than rare-rare, even when not raw. Not sure why that is, though a number of my friends report same.

Last night I had plans to make chicken schnitzel but the sun came out, the wind stopped, and we had the best patio weather night since last summer. So heck with the chicken, we ate a plate of cheese and raw vegetables with some roses and didn't come in until after sunset. Just too nice.

I'll be making Sichuan dry-cooked beef tonight.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

We'll be having chicken. Maybe schnitzels in the pan, or oven-fried with a mustard and tarragon coating. The latter would certainly be more entertaining--finger food while we're finger-pointing during the Jan 6 Report.

Making mussels tonight. I've got some fun recipes I've done (curry, steamed in dashi, cold in a celeriac remoulade), but tonight very tight time window, so just straight marinieres.

Speaking of black and blue steak, I used to watch another boarder where I lived take a steak out of the freezer, sear it on one side for a minute or so, flip it over and do the same, then eat it. Not for me. Nowadays I'm in the med-rare zone.

Great use of leftovers Dan, what is a black and blue filet, grilled with blue cheese?

It's also called Pittsburgh rare. As was mentioned elsewhere, you cook a nice steak quickly, over high heat until you get a nice dark crust (not burned) but it is still very rare in the middle.

I was always a medium rare guy but a winemaker in CA turned me on to it. He ordered his steak black and blue and it played on my mind until I tried it. It turns out I like it either way. A lot of restaurants have trouble with the implementation. It either comes out charred or very rare and light brown.

Re the black and blue steak.
IMHO the steak must be brought to room temperature before cooking so though “blue” the centre is not cold.
Which is why in a good restaurant a blue steak takes longer to be served than one might think.

[Jenise]

Re the black and blue steak.
IMHO the steak must be brought to room temperature before cooking so though “blue” the centre is not cold. Which is why in a good restaurant a blue steak takes longer to be served than one might think.

I would have guessed the opposite. That cooking it chilled gives you the time needed to get that crust without warming it up in the center. No?

[Jenise]

Speaking of Eric Kim nudged a memory from way back so I just checked and yes, he was the author of a rather odd NYT recipe for a quick saute of radicchio with chunks of soft-rind cheese, like "camembert or taleggio". By the time the cheese starts to melt it's done. Open a dolcetto, scoop it out of the skillet with chunks of crusty bread, and you've got a romantic opening act on dinner for two.

Actually, that's not how he sold it, but when I read the recipe those were the thoughts that went through my head.

But more to the point, there's a recipe in the Silver Spoon (Italy's answer to Joy of Cooking) book I've made a number of times, always to rave reviews, wherein wilted raddichio and chunks of taleggio are stuffed inside purses of puff pastry and baked--as perfect a hot-out-of-the-oven thing to serve on a night of old barolos as I know.

Eric's recipe takes the same ingredients pretty much and turns them into a rustic, no-fuss, last-minute slather and I think it's a killer idea.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks for the info on the black and blue. My neighbor often talks about a steak she had in Paris that had a blue cheese dressing of some sort. Said it was the best steak she had ever had in her life. Sure would like that recipe...anyone?

[Jenise]

Thanks for the info on the black and blue. My neighbor often talks about a steak she had in Paris that had a blue cheese dressing of some sort. Said it was the best steak she had ever had in her life. Sure would like that recipe...anyone?

Two thoughts. One, for awhile it was rather hip to cut open a thick filet mignon and stuff blue cheese in the center to melt while the steak cooks. I ordered it once but wouldn't again.

Two, what I've liked much MUCH better and sometimes serve to guests is steak with a blue cheese sauce. For this, a filet is the best cut because 1) the dish is so rich you don't want a large portion and 2) it's the most efficient size. For four, you sear off four steaks in a single skillet, remove them to the oven to bake to a finish, then build a pan sauce: butter, garlic maybe or not, thyme sprig maybe or not, strong beef broth (Campbells Consomme is best here), meltable blue cheese*, and cream, reduce, scoop over steak. *By meltable, I mean a younger blue that's not grainy. Cambezola works well. For this I usually bake circular patties of waxy potatoes till golden, and that's the platform for the steak. Your neighbor might have had something similar to this.

Good things from the kitchen today...rack of lamb, slaughtered with fresh garlic, rosemary, garlic salt, and pepper, cooked in the oven. The slow cooker will be on making some Royal Corona beans with onions and garlic, a little kale will be added at the end of cooking, and then drizzled with pineapple vinegar at serving. My favorite tomato bread salad, with garlic sourdough croutons,
Kalamata olives and an array of fresh tomatoes, hopefully I can find some colorful cherry types at Farmer's Market this morning, to go with regular tomatoes in the salad. Dressed with a red wine vinaigrette and marjoram from the garden.

Jenise, I loved your post about using Campbells Consumme. I keep it stocked all the time but never told anyone because so many are very fussy about canned anything these days. It was my little secret.

[Jenise]

Karen, I'm sure we like the same things about it. Especially that it's double-strength, a very potent flavor when a beefy presence is needed. Plain old beef stock, even if you make your own, can't duplicate it. I have very few 'cheats', but that's one.

Will look closely at the Campbell’s consommé next time I’m at the grocery but my cheat is Better Than Bouillon which comes in a reduced sodium option. I keep both chicken and beef jars in the fridge and find it invaluable when I only want a small quantity of liquid. I hate to open cans when I know I’m not going to use the whole thing and will have yet another small container in the already packed freezer. Ditto for making stock and having to find freezer room for ready use containers.

[Jenise]

I've used those too, Christina, but they still taste like a wet boullion cube to me where somehow the Campbell's tastes more real. I do understand, though, leftovers are a problem.

Today just for a lark I'm making honeyglazed spare ribs, starting them out in a pressure cooker to see how that works out.