What's Cooking (Take Two!)

If you die, just think what we'll have for you!

Oooh! Oooh! I hope I die! I hope I die!!

[Jenise]

Dinner tonight: Hawaiian Opa. My favorite fish. And no, there's no Opa in Washington state (hint hint).

Dinner tonight is a shrimp, scallop and calamari pasta, with sun-dried tomatoes, lots of garlic, clam juice, white wine, fresh parsley, lemon zest and juice. Love this. Salad will be lots of lettuce greens and arugula from our garden with hearts of palm, avocado, celery hearts with a lemon vinaigrette.

:)

Dinner tonight: Hawaiian Opa. My favorite fish. And no, there's no Opa in Washington state (hint hint).

I love that fish, try this recipe sometime or your own twist of it.
copy and pasted from the food blog where I found it.


Grilled Opah with Hawaiian Sea Salt and Mango-Papaya-Avocado Salsa

(serves 4)

2 lbs. Hawaiian Opah*
Extra virgin olive oil
Hawaiian sea salt (check out http://www.alohaspice.com for the varieties I mentioned) or just sub coarse salt or Kosher salt
1 mango, pitted, peeled, and diced (don’t know the best way to cut a mango? Here’s a hint)
1 small papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and diced
1 ripe avocado, diced
Juice from 1 small lime (or to taste)
Agave nectar, to taste
A pinch of chili flakes (optional, but tasty)
Accompaniments: steamed rice; arugula tossed with fresh lemon juice

*

We bought one huge piece of Opah that we later cut into individual portions, but you can also buy 4 fillets, about 1/2 a lb. each
•Take the Opah out of the refrigerator rub with olive oil. Season lightly with sea salt (we used a little of each variety of Hawaiian sea salt) and set aside (at room temperature). Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal grill (or a gas grill on high heat).
•In a small bowl, combine the mango, papaya, and avocado. Add lime juice, a drizzle of agave nectar, the chili flakes (if using), and a little salt and pepper. Gently stir everything together, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Cover and refrigerate.
•When the grill is ready, oil the grill grates. Add the Opah and grill until just cooked through, but not overdone, about 3-6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your fillets (ours were about 2-3 inches). Let rest for a couple minutes, then cut into 4 pieces.
•Place the Opah on plates and spoon some salsa over the top. Serve with steamed rice, and a handful of arugula tossed with some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Go ahead and add a little sprinkling of sea salt too!

Pumpkin bread made with home grown pumpkin and artisnal pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin Bread 041.JPG

artisnal pumpkin seeds

??!!

artisnal pumpkin seeds

??!!

Oh shucks, I typoed artisanal.
Does spelling now count on the internet?
If yours was a semi-serious question then the seeds were artisanal since we grew the squash, harvested the seeds and then dried the seeds. What could be more artisanal?

the seeds were artisanal since we grew the squash, harvested the seeds and then dried the seeds. What could be more artisanal?

Yes, I was more wondering how pumpkin seeds could be artisanal, since I associate the term with products that are hand-crafted as opposed to industrially-produced and I don't think of seeds as being crafted/produced. But, I guess I see where you were going with that.

Either way, I'm sure the bread is delicious!

Rahsaan,
In addition, I like to continue using a term that is so overused and abused...just doing my part. Actually, the bread was just OK, as it lacked enough pumpkin flavor and spice for my palate. I'll try to make the necessary adjustments next time.

Rahsaan,
In addition, I like to continue using a term that is so overused and abused...just doing my part. Actually, the bread was just OK, as it lacked enough pumpkin flavor and spice for my palate. I'll try to make the necessary adjustments next time.

I find this with most any pumpkin product. Does pumpkin not taste like it used to? I always have to up the spices it seems.

[Robin Garr]

I like to continue using a term that is so overused and abused...

Thumb in the eye of the oligarchy, man!

[Jenise]

Last night, whole opakapaka roasted in ti leaves followed a saladoffresh island greenand shaved watermelon radishes. Washed that down with a delightful greywacke sauvignon Blanc from newzealand.

I find this with most any pumpkin product. Does pumpkin not taste like it used to? I always have to up the spices it seems.

Pumpkin does not have much flavor, and, what there is of it is, well, squashy. In 99% of recipes you are tasting the seasoning blend not the vegetable.

If you ever want to try it, take some pumpkin puree and wring it out in cheesecloth for a couple of hours; an astonishing amount of water is removed. The remaining pulp has more pumpkin flavor. (I do this when making pumpkin ice cream.)

If you ever want to try it, take some pumpkin puree and wring it out in cheesecloth for a couple of hours; an astonishing amount of water is removed. The remaining pulp has more pumpkin flavor. (I do this when making pumpkin ice cream.)

roasting also evaporates much of the water content, concentrating the squashiness. a well salted puree made from roasted butternut squash reminds me of salted caramel, which makes me think it would probably also make for a wonderful ice cream

[Robin Garr]

Love me some risotto

Got leftovers? Make a risotto! This simple procedure almost always works for me, and it was just fine for dinner tonight when the larder revealed a little "tree" of broccoli and an aging part-head of cabbage. Clean 'em up, parboil 'em, then make a quick risotto with butter, onions and garlic and arborio rice, adding in the cabbage toward the end and the broccoli florets, just long enough to heat through, with a handful of grated Grana Padano cheese at the end. It's simple and reasonably quick, and with a little practice, the idea that risotto is a complicated dish requiring constant attention goes away.

Yeah, it requires some attention, but it's worth the 25-minute effort. It really is!

...but it's worth the 25-minute effort. It really is!

Yer dern tootin' it is. Well done, well done!

More bread. This time a Three Grain Wild Rice Combo baked by NJ. It's very good.

Three Grain Wild Rice Bread 007.JPG

Three Grain Wild Rice Combo

That does sounds good.

French Dip sandwiches for us tonight on Bolillo rolls. Flank left over from last night. My prepping is done for Thanksgiving and I am not cooking tonight! The bird is even dressed in the finest butter and fresh herbs from the garden. All I have to do tomorrow is boil the spuds and mash them! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

More bread. This time a Three Grain Wild Rice Combo baked by NJ. It's very good.

I bet it was. Excellent looking crust and crumb, too!

Thanksgiving dinner this year is going to be Coq au Vin.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, coq au vin sounds perfect! Wish I'd thought of that when I was at the store late last night. Thought about doing chicken but wanted something other than the typical roast chicken (much as I love that). So instead, I bought a prime rib.

Just made lunch: soup and sandwich. The sandwich was pastrami on rye using Montreal smoked beef (which is virtually identical to the pastrami I grew up with) and a very special corn rye brought home from Los Angeles a few weeks ago. Nothing more than meat and the bread, which is very moist from the pot liquor the meat was cooked in. Anyone who would insist that the sandwich lacked mustard would be wrong, especially before they tasted the cream of shitake soup I served with the sandwich, sharpened with lots of dry mustard.

Jenise, as you can imagine, here in New England we have a soft spot for Montreal smoked beef. Wonderful sandwich meat.

As you know, I mainly do Asian dishes, but I have adopted coq au vin and its brother, boeuf bourguignon, into my repertoire because I enjoy them so much. But as special occasion dishes. I regard them as the French cousins of Chinese red cooking. All of these dishes involve long-braising. The French of course use wine as the main braising agent whereas the Chinese use soy sauce (but with some rice wine). I don't do coq au vin very often because I find the braised pearl onions and sauteed mushrooms a bother. But I love making it for special occasions. You need the excuse to go elaborate every so often. I realize, of course, that for some of you out there what I consider elaborate is commonplace. And in contrast, probably some of the Asian dishes I prepare regularly involve spice mixtures that would be considered a stretch by the average Western cook.

I'm firmly in the ABT (Anything But Turkey) camp regarding Thanksgiving dinner. I really like turkeys. I enjoy every sighting of flocks of wild turkeys wandering around our New England landscape. Domestic turkeys as food? No, thanks, for me.

For Thanksgiving Tea, I'm going with an option I learned from an English couple: good French bread, European cucumber, French pate, and Comte cheese. Accompanied by a good Burgundy.

Starter will be Gruet Rose sparkling wine from New Mexico. IMO one of the best methode champenoise wines made in the USA. Certainly hard to beat, bang-for-the-buck.

Cheese course will be Maytag Blue and Massachusetts's own Great Hill Blue.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Jenise, as you can imagine, here in New England we have a soft spot for Montreal smoked beef. Wonderful sandwich meat.

Indeed it is. I've had cold (cured) versions, and of course the hot one I just mentioned. Little pouches of the meat you heat in boiling water, then cut open for use--sold at the Canadian Costcos. Really great stuff.

I remember you making a special Coq Au Vin meal for your mother. Neat. Mothers are to be treasured, and I'm so envious of you who have had yours longer than I had mine. Gruet's a great choice. I will admit that though I am a complete Europhile with regards to wine, on T day I always choose American. Seems right, somehow.

I actually love turkey, but it's so large a project for just two persons which is what we have this year. But I *AM* making the pumpkin pie! (From fresh sugar pumpkin, and all-butter crust.)