What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Really? I guess if you just want one or two bags of beans that's true.

I misspoke. David would have been talking about the cost of shipping to Canada. I think he said $75 for 3 pounds. For us within the lower 48, not so bad.

[Jenise]

Easy summer dinner last night. Shared 'salad' course of bowl of mixed cold cherry tomatoes. A bit later, a stir fry of shitake mushrooms, cabbage, bok choy, scallions, red onion, raw cashews and bamboo over fresh 'Canadian Wonton noodles' (new to me, purchased at an Asian store in Everett) seasoned with sesame oil and chile crisp. And after that, fresh Ranier cherries.

Really? I guess if you just want one or two bags of beans that's true.

I misspoke. David would have been talking about the cost of shipping to Canada. I think he said $75 for 3 pounds. For us within the lower 48, not so bad.

Aha. Yes, borders cause lots of problems! (Even though distance shorter from CA to Western Canada than CA to Nyc)

"I remain a big fan! (Also of the banana vinegar, the chiles, hot sauces, etc)"
Rahsaan, how do you use the bananna vinegar? I have the pineapple vinegar and love it. I use it to drizzle over their beans at serving. Have also used in marinades and salads.

"I remain a big fan! (Also of the banana vinegar, the chiles, hot sauces, etc)"

Rahsaan, how do you use the bananna vinegar? I have the pineapple vinegar and love it. I use it to drizzle over their beans at serving. Have also used in marinades and salads.

The banana vinegar is really special in terms of lots of flavor and no ingredients/additives, but the flavor is very special/peculiar, so it doesn't go with everything! My main use is to put it on the Rancho Gordo beans at serving, just like you do with the pineapple vinegar. Depending on the rest of the meal, might also use it for deglazing sauteed vegetables, but the flavor match doesn't always work!

Yes, I found that, as well. Bought it and still at a loss of what to do with it. I buy vinegars from a company which makes a lot of fruit combos. I love them over fresh fruit especially berries of all types. The tartness of the vinegar and the sweet fruit are great. Company is called Sparrow Lane if interested.

Breakfast this morning is my tomato juice concoction, fresh cut cantaloupe drizzled with Pear Raspberry Vinegar. a few Rainier cherries, thin slice of garlic sourdough, toasted with a smear of Port Wine Cheese spread.

[Jenise]

Haven't been home much this week. On Wednesday night we had grilled veal chops over vermicelli with a parm-garlic sauce. Today we're going meatless again with another veggie stir fry tonight thick with green bell peppers, and meanwhile I'm putting three ducks under a dry brine of sugar, salt, and Chinese five spice for smoking tomorrow. We'll have guests over, but I want enough leftover duck meat to stuff some ravioli.

Jenise, I have never cooked duck.... need to do that someday.
Tonight, is Chicken Puttanesca. Chicken pieces are seasoned with s & p, smoked paprika. Then browned. Then fresh lemon juice is poured over the chicken, and it is set aside as the sauce is made. It goes into a bath of Italian seasoning, anchovy filets, garlic cloves, San Marzano tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, dried oregano and red pepper flakes. Garnished with parsley leaves.
A side dish will be Cilantro Rice. A mix of fresh cilantro, red onion, green onion, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and a little olive oil, goes into blender to be mixed. Then add to the cooked Jasmine rice.
Veggies tonight is fresh zucchini made into spaghetti like strings, seasoned then add lemon juice and a little fresh garlic oil.
It is going up to 112° today. Getting my cooking out of the way early.

Sounds good! I like puttanesca preparations.

Speaking of Rainier cherries: I haven't seen good ones here yet, and cherry season is in full swing. Was the crop in trouble this year? (Red ones are just fine.)

Chicken Cordon Bleu tonight. Breasts are split, pounded, and sitting in a ziploc with EVOO, white wine, bay leaves, and rosemary. In just a little while they will come out to face the music: black forest ham, havarti, chopped reconstituted dried chanterelles, then rolled/tied, egg-and-crumbed, browned and baked.

And the last one made a tidy lunch today!

[Jenise]

Speaking of Rainier cherries: I haven't seen good ones here yet, and cherry season is in full swing. Was the crop in trouble this year? (Red ones are just fine.)

They've been great! Not aware of any shortage.

Breakfast this morning was the last piece of garlic sourdough. A medium boiled small egg was mixed with a tsp. of Sriracha mayo, salt and fresh cut chives placed on the toasted bread. Cantaloupe chunks with coarse sea salt and more chives made for a light an tasty breakfast.

Last night I made mapo eggplant, which is the same as mapo tofu except with eggplant in place of the tofu. I like the mapo sauce but I'm not a big tofu fan, so this dish appealed to me when the recipe was posted at The Mala Market. It also differs from mapo tofu in that it's served over wide, flat, knife-cut Chinese noodles instead of rice. These noodles are sort of the Chinese equivalent of Italian maltagliati. I used papardelle. The dish came out delicious. I'll be making this one again.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, that sounds fantastic. Would you mind posting the recipe?

My applewood smoked ducks yesterday turned out AMAZING. My brother, for whom I've never made this before, was blown away. The ducks were rubbed inside then out with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons salt each, plus one heaping tablespoon Five Spice powder and a few extra star anise and bagged up for a 48 hour soak. Day of, they were in the smoker for 2 hours at 225 then 2 hours at 275. After the smoking, I removed them to the kitchen, poked a few holes in the fat layers on the breasts to let a lot of the fat run out, then brushed them with honey, baked them for another hour at 300, then broiled them both sides to crisp the skin before chopping and serving.

With them I served a cucumber salad (Kirby cukes, super thin sliced then cured all day with just salt and sugar), a stir fry of snow peas and water chestnuts, and fried rice with bok choy, egg, green onion, carrot and burdock root. All great; in fact I'm eating a bowl of the cold rice right now for lunch.

Today I'm making a shrimp ceviche to take to an all-chardonnay party with the Dorks.

[Jenise]

Just got home from Grocery Outlet where a bag of 'Guadalajara style' tostada shells caught my eye. Have no friggin' clue what that means exactly, but they are lighter in color and more attractive than the regular tostada shells from same brand. While contemplating them in the store, it occurred to me that I've actually never made Mexican tostadas, a holdover from the days when I hated refried beans. Now I love them, and it's Monday and I have cilantro in the house so what better thing to make for dinner than Guadalajara style tostadas!

Tonight I'll be making Fuchsia Dunlop's X'ian niurou guotie (X'ian-style beef pot stickers). These differ from the usual pot stickers in two ways. First, they are made with beef rather than pork. That, and the use of cumin in the seasoning, leads me to believe this dish has a Chinese Muslim origin. The second difference is the way these are folded. Ordinary pot stickers are made from round wrappers that are drawn up over the filling and sealed with pleats. The result reminds me of the shape of the float on a Portuguese man o' war. The X'ian pot stickers are sealed and pleated on top, but the sides are left open.

-Paul W..

[Jenise]

Paul, I have an Asian FB friend named Lulu who recently posted a picture of potstickers that way. The recipe was 100% pork, and I asked if the point was to let the grease drain out. YES. Of course would be the same with your beef. Have never had them in a restaurant that way.

New Japanese resto in the nabe. It is run by Chinese people which seems to have made the menu short(?). Anyway, they're working at 'the upscale experience' -- god help us all -- so, the other night, the hand rolls looked like this:
https://images.ctfassets.net/trvmqu12jq ... rticle.jpg

Kinda defies my idea of a hand roll. But, ahem, this style would also let the grease drain out.

New Japanese resto in the nabe. It is run by Chinese people which seems to have made the menu short(?). Anyway, they're working at 'the upscale experience' -- god help us all -- so, the other night, the hand rolls looked like this:
https://images.ctfassets.net/trvmqu12jq ... rticle.jpg

Kinda defies my idea of a hand roll. But, ahem, this style would also let the grease drain out.

When I saw that picture I immediately thought of Nami Nori, and from your image title it appears that is indeed the restaurant. They have a location near me, on Carmine Street, and I find it good, for what it is. Which is, a slightly expensive but tasty and good quality experience. As you say, definitely not 'traditional' and I didn't realize it was run by Chinese people. Many of the rolls are also a bit 'busy' (common problem with all sorts of rolls these days), so you can't always pick apart the distinct ingredients.

Not my favorite interpretation of sushi, but I'm all for creativity. And, judging from the packed restaurant and long lines, they seem to have plenty of fans.

Last night was the first time I've made pot stickers in ages. I make my own jiaozi skins--it's an easy dough to make and the texture is much better than store-bought. The downside of course is that rolling out the skins is a tedious process. I'm out of practice in the cooking process and I did have a couple of them actually stick to the pan. I think the open ends may have contributed to that by letting moisture from the filling leak out. The flavor profile is quite different from standard pot stickers. I think I prefer the latter. I had 10 of them and froze the rest.

-Paul W.

When I saw that picture I immediately thought of Nami Nori, and from your image title it appears that is indeed the restaurant.

Well, that is indeed the restaurant whose picture I snagged, but I don't live near Nami Nori. The place I went is called Mikado, it is on Atlantic Avenue between Court and Clinton Streets, had its soft opening on July 3, and their site looks like this (because it is this): http://www.newmikadonyc.com/

The rolls, maki and temaki, were very good, rather firmly-packed rice.
The shishito peppers are slightly dressed rather than just roasted but OK.
The oyster appetizer had so much window-dressing that it was hard to taste the oysters; the only real dud.
The cold noodles with crab were excellent.
The roast octopus was outstanding.
Prices are acceptable.

The only real issue with the place is that they think conspicuous consumption is what people want. They are not content to serve good wagyu but it must also come with caviar and uni heaped upon it. Truffle mushroom bacon fried rice. That sort of thing, though I am impressed that I have seen no mention of gold foil yet.

When I saw that picture I immediately thought of Nami Nori, and from your image title it appears that is indeed the restaurant.

Well, that is indeed the restaurant whose picture I snagged, but I don't live near Nami Nori. The place I went is called Mikado, it is on Atlantic Avenue between Court and Clinton Streets, had its soft opening on July 3, and their site looks like this (because it is this): http://www.newmikadonyc.com/

Aha. Yes, some of that stuff does sound annoying. And funny because the website says they also have a place near me, on 14th Street. Although I don't think I've noticed it.

Fajitas are on the menu tonight. Strips of beef marinated in a concoction made from the juices of marinated olives, asparagus, and a few spices thrown in. Lots of colored peppers, Bell, Anaheim, Jalapeño, onions, and garlic. Yesterday, I slow cooked Rio Zappe beans, in onion, garlic, Mexican Oregano, a little pickle juice, and also about a cup of the sauce I had left over from Chicken Puttenesca. It came out excellent and I loved the addition of Kalamata olives from the chicken sauce added to the beans.Added fresh lime and zest at the finish. I will make a light colslaw to go with the fajitas.