What's Cooking (Take Three!)

I was gifted a fresh rainbow trout, so that is on the menu today. Baked in the oven, on a bed of onions, stuffed with lemon slices, a fish seasoning. Baked potato to go with and fresh sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.

[Jenise]

How lovely, Karen, fresh trout!

We don't have plans yet. Did just make a grilled green chile and cheese sandwich. The fresh Hatch chiles are in early and they're really really lovely this year. The ones I've seen, all mediums, are long, fleshy and fruity with just the right amount of heat. I'll be roasting a lot of them this year.

World class fishing around here Jenise, lots of lakes, and lots of fish. One of the best fly shops in the world, who also has visitors from all over the world. Sad thing is, the homeless have taken over many beautiful areas on the Sacramento River, therefore many of the guides do not want to go to that area. Making it tough for that industry.

A sirloin tip roast, instead of a chuck, going into the slow cooker today along with Sierra Nevada whole peppers, half a jar of DiVina roasted red peppers, sliced into strips, beef consume, half sharp paprika, lots of garlic, s & p, until very tender. Mashed cauliflower with butter and fresh thyme as a side. Plus an array of roasted veggies with chili and lime to season.

[Jenise]

The homeless situation is terrible with no easy solutions. California's issues are huge.

But hey, back to food, desperately needed simplicity yesterday so made a spatchcocked chicken last night, all lemon and rosemary. Added steamed brussels sprouts, shared a sliced and salted red bell pepper in lieu of a salad for a starter, and skipped wine.

Friday fish: swordfish in a cast-iron pan, herbed farro, saute mix of mushroom/pepper/carrot/broccoli/snowpeas

Friday fish: swordfish in a cast-iron pan, herbed farro, saute mix of mushroom/pepper/carrot/broccoli/snowpeas

A wine match?

We also had Friday fish: gorgeous pan-cooked steelhead trout (from Union Square greenmarket), rice, and tomato salad. A pretty good match with 2020 Chidaine Clos du Breuil, although the wine was a bit heady at 14.5%.

Friday fish: swordfish in a cast-iron pan, herbed farro, saute mix of mushroom/pepper/carrot/broccoli/snowpeas

A wine match?

Alas, we did not have wine yesterday. But if I were to guess, I'd try a big/full white with good acid cut. If it can handle the swordfish, it can handle the rest.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm cooking for the picky people, a meal I'll make here and take to their home. Will be rather Spanish in intent--thick pork chops baked in a potato gratin that will be chorizo-smoked paprika-garlic flavored. A green salad will be involved, of course, and I'll make Christina's Marionato vermut cocktails.

Have tried 3 spanish vermouths in the past 2 weeks. All very different but the one that seems perfect with the 5-1-1 ratio is the Gonzales Byass Rojo. I am quite enamoured of the creativity that the tapas suggestions in The New Spanish Table affords so having tapas menus every 3-4 days. Husband not tiring so I'll keep up the binge.

Yesterday for lunch, I made a lettuce, bacon, tomato, Shishido pepper sandwich with red pepper relish on the bread. Wow, was that good. Used thick cut, whole grain bread, toasted. Peppers were charred, lettuce was a red leaf, bacon was thick cut. I usually eat half a sandwich, but yesterday I ate the whole thing,

Wow - now you have me yearning for a charred shishito pepper and bacon sandwich with mayo! Never thought of using them in a sandwich.

[Jenise]

Last night a friend and I made Chicken Marbella, a dish made famous by the Silver Palate cookbook gals. I've never made it, only had it once when someone else did, but what a great dish. It's oven-braised chicken with olives and prunes, if you're not familiar. Cooking it last night was a proof of concept exercise because we're doing it again--for 50--on Friday.

Also yesterday, I roasted 25 lbs of green chiles.

[Jenise]

We're in quarantine. Not sick but we got exposed to Covid, so we're sidelined until Sunday. Living off the freezer which ain't a bad thing. Tonight: shrimp scampi.

A tomato sandwich of sorts....half of a homemade pita slathered with marinated goat cheese [ olive oil, Ajika, Aleppo] , malabar spinach, sliced tomatoes- Black Krim, Black cherry, Indigo Rose and wheels of thin crisp seedless cucumber all pushed down into the pocket and topped with aji verde. Very filling and satisfying. Also fits the bill for ovenless cooking [ the pitas made and froze before the disaster]

[Jenise]

The Covid quarantine hit the day after we used our last speck of lettuce. We've now been without lettuce since Monday. Very painful. No symptoms yet for either of us so we're tempted to sneak off to a grocer in another town where we won't run into anyone we know just to nail some green stuff.

We are otherwise going to have veal chops tonight with a rosemary-tomato vinaigrette on fioretti cauliflower in a parm-lemon bechamel. and I might just open a Lafite because today The Fortnight begins.

I have a couple of jars of Tonnino tuna fillets and I am going to drain them well, and make a tuna salad with celery, celery leaves, thinly sliced and diced radish, diced small yellow pepper, green onion, garlic, Lisbon lemon olive oil, Dijon mustard, fresh chive garnish. Serve over a bed of mixed lettuces, dressed with just a hint of the lemon evoo, salt and pepper. Seasoned asparagus in the same lemon oil, salt, and yet to be determined dried herb, charred on the grill pan to go alongside.

Jenise, do your community grocers have online ordering and delivery service? I've used that quit a bit over the past two years and love it. I was worried about the produce selection but have been very happy with it.

Or curbside pickup?

Horray, local tomato season is here in New England. I'm celebrating by making BLTs with a very fine Brandywine I found at Lull Farm.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I have a couple of jars of Tonnino tuna fillets and I am going to drain them well, and make a tuna salad with celery, celery leaves, thinly sliced and diced radish, diced small yellow pepper, green onion, garlic, Lisbon lemon olive oil, Dijon mustard, fresh chive garnish. Serve over a bed of mixed lettuces, dressed with just a hint of the lemon evoo, salt and pepper. Seasoned asparagus in the same lemon oil, salt, and yet to be determined dried herb, charred on the grill pan to go alongside.

Sounds fantastic. And re the asparagus? Tarragon. Will be compatible with the tuna, too.

And re grocers, only one still does it. The lack of employees has been a serious issue. They just don't have enough personnel to do your shopping for you. BUT I can go to a store that's relatively empty because their clientele is mostly college kids and use the self check-out. I won't have to get within six feet of another human.

Horray, local tomato season is here in New England. I'm celebrating by making BLTs with a very fine Brandywine I found at Lull Farm.

-Paul W.

I went to Lull over the weekend and when I looked at the tomatoes (heirlooms, not the generic) they were all lumped into boxes that reminded me of the "heirloom tomatoes" you find is a lot of supermarkets. No labeling of variety, no grouping according to variety. I was disappointed.

Tonight is an array of summer vegetables, roasted with Italian herbs, then tossed with Rigatoni, a little evoo and Crème Fraiche. There is a plentiful amount of cherry tomatoes, which I like. Then, an Ottolenghi recipe I adore...chicken pieces, fennel bulb,, orange slices marinated overnight in Ouzo, olive oil, fresh orange juice, grain mustard, brown sugar, fennel seeds, thyme, fresh lemon juice and light brown sugar. Then dumped onto a sheet pan to cook at 475° until nicely browned. Recipe calls for parsley as a garnish but I want make use of the fennel fronds, because they are so pretty.

Jenise, thanks for the suggestion of tarragon for the tuna salad. Had not thought of it and it is one of my favorites. Will add it to the rest for lunch today.

[Jenise]

Last night people at the Italian wine and food dinner I put together but can't attend brought over two plates of food from the party, so the veal chops I was going to grill have been held over for today. An extra 24 hours with garlic and rosemary can only make them better!