What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Only in New York--a cast like that. Must have been exciting.

A stewed chicken on Friday yielded a great broth for chicken ramen, so that was Friday's dinner. Last night more of the remaining broth with chicken, carrots and celery became matzoh ball soup. There was enough left over (I made six big balls) for two individual mugs of soup for today's lunch. And there's still more broth for something else later in the week. Pretty great value from a $14 chicken.

I mentioned the matzoh ball soup online and someone responded, "I didn't know you were Jewish." Well, on Thursday I made an enchilada pie but no one said, "I didn't know you were Mexican." What's wrong with people? Matzoh ball soup is one of the great delights of the soup world. Everyone should eat it, regularly.

Hey Jeff, speaking of egg nog, on today's news I learned that Hellman's mayonnaise is promoting a drink called Mayo-Nog. Try it and get back to us.

Only in New York--a cast like that. Must have been exciting.

It was really excellent.

Hey Jeff, speaking of egg nog, on today's news I learned that Hellman's mayonnaise is promoting a drink called Mayo-Nog. Try it and get back to us.

I'm kinda busy putting lime jello ring molds together still. I'll let you know when it's (ever) happening....

[Jenise]

Dinner last night was a main course salad of arugula and tomato salad topped with strips of grilled, garlicked portobello mushrooms, both of which were an excuse to eat fat slices of homemade green olive bread and Amish butter.

LOL, so now someone should say, I did not know you were vegan. That is so stupid for someone to say. All I can say is , I love my dogs. humans make my brain hurt!

[Jenise]

On the stove, a pot of four beets. Not the dark purple kind, but one that's lighter red on the outside and varying shades of peach and cream on the inside when cooked. May be called a white beet, not sure. They are absolutely the most beautiful beet imaginable--and less sweet, earthier too. Win win win. These will go into the salad course I'm making for Bill's luncheon tomorrow--they'll be cut into gem-sized small dice for marinating overnight in horseradish vinaigrette and piling up, parfait style, with fennel, beet greens and goat cheese tomorrow.

Also on the stove, a Wagyu corned beef that's been in the freezer since March. Will be serving that traditional style tonight, though might deviate and do a cabbage and truffle risotto for it instead. I rather like the idea.

Tonight, made a quick pasta alfredo using half of a La Tur. Yum.

[Jenise]

Made the risotto. It sucked. Stick with potatoes, folks.

Made the risotto. It sucked. Stick with potatoes, folks.

Too much fat on the fork? Or just corned beef flavors not simpatico?

I made a quick pasta sauce today from a batch of cherry tomatoes, red and yellow ones which I roasted in the oven along with fresh garlic cloves, seasoned with Beau Monde, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil leaves. I added pasta water, wine, tomato paste, and a bit of water from cooking artichoke hearts. I added Conchiglie pasta, Romano cheese and the al dente pasta, along with small meatballs. Serving with sourdough bread to sop up the juices.

I've had chicken pieces marinating since yesterday morning in buttermilk, Tabasco and rosemary springs from my herb garden. They are to be oven-fried along with baby red, yellow and white whole onions. Grilled asparagus served alongside drizzled with fresh Lisbon lemon juice, sesame oil, and coarse sea salt. I also have Farro on my mind, cooked in sautéed garlic, onion, vermouth, Beau Monde, Poultry seasoning, and the rest of my home made chicken/turkey stock.

[Jenise]

Made the risotto. It sucked. Stick with potatoes, folks.

Too much fat on the fork? Or just corned beef flavors not simpatico?

No, the meat was well trimmed, not much fat there and I didn't add cheese to the rice. It's just that the corned beef and rice didn't compliment each other at all.

[Jenise]

I've had chicken pieces marinating since yesterday morning in buttermilk, Tabasco and rosemary springs from my herb garden.

That's such a great way to season chicken. Learned it from you and I love it.

I didn't have much time yesterday for a long marinade but did soak a single bone-in chicken breast in chardonnay, bay leaves and salt for about two hours before pan searing it and moving it to the toaster oven to bake for 24 minutes. While it did that, in the same small skillet I made a sauce with mushrooms, onions, sherry and cream then served slices of the chicken over jasmine and wild rice with that sauce. So simple, so elegant, should really do that more often. But finding bone-in chicken breasts isn't easy these days! They are not always there when I want them--I remove it from the bone and we don't eat the skin but I want both there to keep the meat from drying out during the bake.

" But finding bone-in chicken breasts isn't easy these days! They are not always there when I want them--"
Jenise, I have the same issue, so I call the meat dept. of the grocery store and ask the meat cutter to have a package ready for me at a specific time. Works great and I usually ask for two good size breast halves. That way, I always have one in the freezer. A great piece of chicken and can be used for so any applications.
I have to do this with flank steaks, as my neighborhood grocery does not carry flank steak (even though their two other stores in Redding do!) saying they do not sell. I find that hard to believe since they are in the middle of several nice middle class older established neighborhoods full of retired and working folks, plus several of few high end housing areas. Drives me crazy when she says that to me, and I always retort with "you don't sell them because you don't bring them in!) She is a sweetie and tells me to call on Monday and they will have one for me by Wednesday from another one of their stores????? That is fine, but when I want a flank steak, I usually want it now. Yes, I know, I need to buy two, like I do the chicken breasts!

Today: a big pot of Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. (For some reason, I've been thinking about garlic for days now... )

[Jenise]

Today: a big pot of Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. (For some reason, I've been thinking about garlic for days now... )

John's fault.

[Jenise]

" But finding bone-in chicken breasts isn't easy these days! They are not always there when I want them--"
Jenise, I have the same issue, so I call the meat dept. of the grocery store and ask the meat cutter to have a package ready for me at a specific time. Works great and I usually ask for two good size breast halves. That way, I always have one in the freezer. A great piece of chicken and can be used for so any applications.
I have to do this with flank steaks, as my neighborhood grocery does not carry flank steak (even though their two other stores in Redding do!) saying they do not sell. I find that hard to believe since they are in the middle of several nice middle class older established neighborhoods full of retired and working folks, plus several of few high end housing areas. Drives me crazy when she says that to me, and I always retort with "you don't sell them because you don't bring them in!) She is a sweetie and tells me to call on Monday and they will have one for me by Wednesday from another one of their stores????? That is fine, but when I want a flank steak, I usually want it now. Yes, I know, I need to buy two, like I do the chicken breasts!

The whole idea of "they don't sell". I have the same kind of retorts. Like the BMW dealer who told me (who doesn't want another black interior) that 90% of the cars they sell have black interiors. "Of course, because it's all you have! Not because they want it!" I hear it re meat and vegetables in the stores closest to home for me. My answer, "Of course! Because we all go somewhere else now!"

[Jenise]

So dinner tonight (for company) was going to be a modern plating of pot roast. Went to the store yesterday. $30 for a piece of chuck, or $30 for veal scallopini. Couldn't resist the veal. Bought the aforementioned chicken breast for last night's dinner. Not a complicated dish, but I have sciatica on and off these days and last night it was pretty intense so just working at the stove on all the last minute bits for our dinner made me rethink tonight where the scallopini, sauce and pasta elements would all be last minute.

During the night it occurred to me that I had a bone-on rack of pork in the fridge from Costco. Hmmmm.
So giving myself all day to do the parts, I cut the loin off the bone this morning, sliced it into a large flat piece about 10 x 10 and put that in wine and apple juice to marinate for about two hours. The bones will be a half rack of ribs (I left a lot of meat on!) later this week and about a lb of trimmings will make their way into something Chinese or Mexican. For $16, I'm getting a lot of utility out of one hunk of meat. I've already made the stuffing (panko, butter, sauteed onions, herbs d'Provence, chicken broth to moisten) and rolled/tied the roast, and separately I made the mashed potatoes. That's a huge amount of work already done. I'll make a salad, the sauce and saute some apple slices before my guest arrives. I should be able to pull off an elegant service and not be at risk for Cooking While Crippled. And Bob and I have veal in our future. Not bad.

I'm making chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons tonight.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I'm making chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons tonight.

-Paul W.

Oh does that sound good.

I'm making chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons tonight.

Sounds good.

One of the middle eastern restaurants near me just changed its name from Sultan to Tagine. They weren't anything special as a kebab-and-shwarma shop but I'll give them a few weeks to break-in their new recipes and then give 'em a try.

I've tried preserved lemons once, don't think I got a very good brand. I do, however, cook a lot with lemons and love eating the entire lemon, rind, and all. After roasting or braising, they turn into this magical sweet thing that I love. I also think they are part of the reason why I have been free of flu, and any of the virus that float around at any given time according to the news. I could be wrong but it is my story and I'm sticking to it and continue to eat lemons!

I make my own preserved lemons. It's trivially easy. The trick is to use the right kind of lemons. You want Meyer lemons. Around here they're only seasonally available for a few weeks in the winter. You have to grab them when you can.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I make my own preserved lemons. It's trivially easy. The trick is to use the right kind of lemons. You want Meyer lemons. Around here they're only seasonally available for a few weeks in the winter. You have to grab them when you can.

-Paul W.

Karen grows her own!

Btw, I've made preserved lemons and used Eureka type (best I could tell, from a neighbor's tree and definitely not Meyers) which at the time was what was recommended for the thicker, more durable skin. Various recipes at the time called for either water or oil, so I made a jar of each at the same time. The water ones were ready faster but broke down sooner where the oil ones had more durable texture and lasted far longer. Were I to make them again, I'd go with the latter.

As you know Meyer Lemons are not a true lemon but a cross between a Eureka Lemon and a Mandarin Orange. I don't care for them for eating but many prefer them, especially for baking or so I am told. I love the Lisbon Lemon for the flavor and generally are free of seeds. You might find one or two seeds in a batch of them. The zest is awesome, as well. This year, in our area the citrus is late for picking. My lemons still have green on them and so do the oranges. Even the oranges which have turned all orange are not ready yet as the sugar as not come in. Just ate one this morning and the taste is still off.
I should try to preserve some of my Lisbons this year. Anyone have a tried and true recipe they would like to share?