What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Made a fennel/artichoke/orange pizza last night to take to our Bellingham wine tasting group. Of the seven regulars, one's vegan and another vegetarian, and those who are neither aren't die-hard carnivores, so vegetable-based food is appreciated.

Now that's an interesting addition. Thin slices of orange I presume? And there was no tomato sauce? Fennel, artichoke and orange is of course a classic salad combination. But the pizza dimension is different. No cheese? And what was the wine pairing?

Dinner last night was doro wat.

Did you make injera with that, Paul?

No, I wimped out and had rice with it. I've never tried making injera--I usually used steamed lavash as a substitute. I do have access to teff now, so next time I ought to try my hand at injera.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Made a fennel/artichoke/orange pizza last night to take to our Bellingham wine tasting group. Of the seven regulars, one's vegan and another vegetarian, and those who are neither aren't die-hard carnivores, so vegetable-based food is appreciated.

Now that's an interesting addition. Thin slices of orange I presume? And there was no tomato sauce? Fennel, artichoke and orange is of course a classic salad combination. But the pizza dimension is different. No cheese? And what was the wine pairing?

No tomato sauce, but a thin spread of basil pesto for a base. The second layer fresh shaved fennel, the third layer oranges were fresh thinly sliced navels and included rind, the artichoke was a tapenade I put smears of on here and there between the orange slices, and a very meager sprinkling of a fresh local grated cheese simillar in texture to mozz was added, more as a glue and for golden color when cooked than substance, then topped with fennel pollen and coarse ground black pepper. I was actually planning to do a maitake mushroom-fennel pizza but was inspired to change my mind after opening the white I was taking (along with the pizza) to a wine tasting and then seeing a lone orange in the refrigerator. It was delicious!

Made a fennel/artichoke/orange pizza last night to take to our Bellingham wine tasting group. Of the seven regulars, one's vegan and another vegetarian, and those who are neither aren't die-hard carnivores, so vegetable-based food is appreciated.

Now that's an interesting addition. Thin slices of orange I presume? And there was no tomato sauce? Fennel, artichoke and orange is of course a classic salad combination. But the pizza dimension is different. No cheese? And what was the wine pairing?

No tomato sauce, but a thin spread of basil pesto for a base. The second layer fresh shaved fennel, the third layer oranges were fresh thinly sliced navels and included rind, the artichoke was a tapenade I put smears of on here and there between the orange slices, and a very meager sprinkling of a fresh local grated cheese simillar in texture to mozz was added, more as a glue and for golden color when cooked than substance, then topped with fennel pollen and coarse ground black pepper. I was actually planning to do a maitake mushroom-fennel pizza but was inspired to change my mind after opening the white I was taking (along with the pizza) to a wine tasting and then seeing a lone orange in the refrigerator. It was delicious!

Interesting. I'm sure it was executed well. I remember trying to make a Meyer lemon pizza once, but used way too many lemons and my acid reflux friend had to run for the hills...

[Jenise]

Interesting. I'm sure it was executed well. I remember trying to make a Meyer lemon pizza once, but used way too many lemons and my acid reflux friend had to run for the hills...

Funny image. Yes, I didn't overdo it with the oranges--used less than I would have liked but was careful since it was going to a wine tasting to not cripple any taste bud's with a lingering bitter rind aftertaste.

[Jenise]

ScallopRamenHawaii.jpg

Here's the scallop-ramen noodle pillow dish I described making in Hawaii last week.

BroccoliBeef.jpg

And here's what I made for dinner the first night we got home. I had planned a simple grilled steak-and-potato dinner but just couldn't let go of those Asian/Island flavors, so I ended up marinating the steak in Bulgogi type flavors and then blanching/sauteeing some broccoli and slivered onions with a little oyster sauce. To plate, I scattered the beef slices on the broccoli, and I loved the way it looked (and tasted). The side dish for that was some lightly pickled cucumber slices with green onions. Steak isn't always a sensible meal, but this was.

Looks delicious, Jenise!

I made Caldo Verde - Portuguese sausage and kale soup - tonight for supper. In addition to the sausage, kale, and potatoes, I added a bunch of white beans that were leftover from the dip I made last weekend for pinochle night. I also added a bit of gochujang that was thinned out in lemon juice. That's a great way to both spice and brighten up something like this soup.

Pinochle night! That takes me back. Do you bet?

Pinochle night! That takes me back. Do you bet?

No betting, thank goodness. One of our neighbors grew up with the game and the rest of us are learning or re-learning the game.

Dinner last night was Thai mahogany fire noodles.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yesterday morning my friend Warren (those of you who hang out on Wine Berserkers might know him) sent out an APB--wife was out of town, he wasn't on call, who could come over? He felt like opening a "decades old nebbiolo". I responded to the affirmative, threatened him with another "decades old nebbiolo" and whipped up a black truffle-and-tomato mac n' cheese to go with them. Someone else brought butter chicken, the owner of the deli brought a tray of European meats and cheeses, and Warren seared off a couple Bryan Flannery hangar steaks. A pot luck in the best way possible.

Dinner tonight will be beef chow fun.

-Paul W.

Made caramel chicken for supper last night, with rice and roasted brussels sprouts. First time I've had the caramel chicken and it came out reasonably well, although I had to use light brown sugar instead of the palm sugar that a lot of the recipes call for.

[Jenise]

Caramel chicken is new to me. Make it in your Instant Pot?

[Jenise]

Cooking experiment tonight: coq au vin, but more like a coq au Jaune, though made with an oxidized white burgundy instead of the Jura specialty the latter version is based on.

Yesterday morning my friend Warren (those of you who hang out on Wine Berserkers might know him) sent out an APB--wife was out of town, he wasn't on call, who could come over? He felt like opening a "decades old nebbiolo". I responded to the affirmative, threatened him with another "decades old nebbiolo" and whipped up a black truffle-and-tomato mac n' cheese to go with them. Someone else brought butter chicken, the owner of the deli brought a tray of European meats and cheeses, and Warren seared off a couple Bryan Flannery hangar steaks. A pot luck in the best way possible.

Did you post notes?

[Jenise]

Yes!

Caramel chicken is new to me. Make it in your Instant Pot?

I believe it's something Charles Phan came up with. It's a pretty quick meal. In the recipe I used, you brown some chicken parts, take them out of the pan and then saute ginger, garlic, and lots of sliced shallots in it. Once they're soft, you put the chicken back in and add water, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and brown (or palm) sugar. Cook it down until it starts caramelizing. In another recipe I saw (on the David Lebovitz site), you make a true caramel and then add that in after everything's sauteed.

I thought it was a pretty tasty dish. It's sweet but the shallots, fish sauce, and rice vinegar balance it and give it a lot of depth. It's a little one dimensional, though. I threw in a little gochujang but it wasn't enough to add the spiciness I wanted. I think something like some star anise might be good as well.

[Jenise]

Caramel chicken is new to me. Make it in your Instant Pot?

I believe it's something Charles Phan came up with. It's a pretty quick meal. In the recipe I used, you brown some chicken parts, take them out of the pan and then saute ginger, garlic, and lots of sliced shallots in it. Once they're soft, you put the chicken back in and add water, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and brown (or palm) sugar. Cook it down until it starts caramelizing. In another recipe I saw (on the David Lebovitz site), you make a true caramel and then add that in after everything's sauteed.

I thought it was a pretty tasty dish. It's sweet but the shallots, fish sauce, and rice vinegar balance it and give it a lot of depth. It's a little one dimensional, though. I threw in a little gochujang but it wasn't enough to add the spiciness I wanted. I think something like some star anise might be good as well.

Coincidentally, just yesterday a friend of mine who is Trinidadian posted on FB about a stewed chicken which requires browning sugar as a step. I believe that is what began the stew, but I might be wrong about that. My mind doesn't accept well the idea of sweet chicken--but I do love sweet beef, so maybe I could go there.

[Jenise]

Dinner tonight: I've got one of those throwback jones, and desire a stuffed green bell pepper. That's in part inspired by the fact that I have two green peppers, a pound of ground beef in the freezer, and 3/4 can of diced tomatoes opened a few days ago. I remember loving the ones my mother made, but at this point I have no idea how she seasoned them. I would be happy to repeat that if I knew her exact method (most likely, there was no recipe), but I'd like to deliver a more elevated plate. So just now I scanned Google images for creative ideas that would lead to that more refined appearance.

Apparently, it hasn't been done.

I'll report back.

I haven't reported in because I've been busy at work and so doing some repertoire items:
- a fast cassoulet (use American bacon to sub for not having a long-simmered pork ragout)
- a simple roast chicken (smeared with tomato paste and a bit of s+p)
- a lasagna
- and, tomorrow, jambalaya (happy to have some tasso and duck-fennel sausage to throw in)

I've been looking to simmer some pineapple in honey, and find something to do with an open half-bottle of amarone... roast pears?

Jenise and Jeff, you are both amazing, so much good food, happens in your kitchens.

Tonight I’m doing roast pork loin, traditionally with roast spuds, sweet potato and gravy.
Then later I need to make some scones for tomorrow. I am involved with a volunteer group looking after our Mechanics Institute Hall (c 1889) and tomorrow we have a market which is a major fund raiser, and we do a tearoom and a sausage sizzle to feed the masses.
Our motto you ask? Every dollar you spend is a sausage you have to sell , so much needs doing, but we battle on.

[Jenise]

Barb, thanks for the compliment. Wish I could come to your sausage sizzle!

Tonight the picky-eater friends are coming for dinner. So I'm sticking with a meat and potatoes menu: a starter of Mexican salad because Dave hates avocado but loves Mexican food and will most likely be deceived by this name--for anyone else it would be Guacamole dressing) followed by cowboy steaks, splat potatoes and asparagus in lemon butter. No snacks, no dessert.

...a starter of Mexican salad because Dave hates avocado but loves Mexican food and will most likely be deceived by this name--for anyone else it would be Guacamole dressing)...

So let me get this straight. He he hates avocado - in theory - but enjoys eating it (without really knowing what it is) in Mexican food?