What's cooking?

I have learned how to process Sturgeon eggs and have some fresh caviar so....brunch was crepes with steamed asparagus, poached egg and caviar. Part of the dinner appetizer was small Montasio frico cups filled with caviar. I have been in a rush to use up the caviar fresh....the texture does change with freezing but it is still far superior to any commercial caviar I have ever tasted.

[Jenise]

Bluegrass soy sauce?

Yeah, a local guy is into artisanal stuff and made a batch. I think bourbon barrels were involved, to give it a subtle smoky character. It's really startlingly good, pricey, and worth saving as an ingredient in dishes, perhaps in unexpected places.

Bourbon Barrel Foods
http://bourbonbarrelfoods.com/

What a cool thing; I love people who do stuff like that. I'll bet it would make some unusual sushi.

[Jenise]

I have learned how to process Sturgeon eggs and have some fresh caviar so....brunch was crepes with steamed asparagus, poached egg and caviar. Part of the dinner appetizer was small Montasio frico cups filled with caviar. I have been in a rush to use up the caviar fresh....the texture does change with freezing but it is still far superior to any commercial caviar I have ever tasted.

I stand in awe of you sometimes. Making your own caviar--how fundamentally elegant is that? Can you briefly describe the process?

[Robin Garr]

What a cool thing; I love people who do stuff like that. I'll bet it would make some unusual sushi.

I expect! Be aware that it's not utterly different from standard soy sauce. It's not a different product altogether, and it has the character you'd expect in soy sauce. It just has a little extra going on. Sort of like the difference between blended Scotch and a single-malt, maybe? Or between Charmat and Champenoise?

Robin the soy sauce sounded great, but shipping is crazy...too bad.
Today is a busy day and I like to fall back on this quick dinner sometimes. Local beef rib eye steaks, grilled with baked potatoes rubbed with duck fat and rolled in coarse sea salt, served with truffle butter. Sauteed mushrooms and an avocado salad.

Jenise,
Making caviar is ridiculously easy. Labor intensive but more than well worth the effort.
The eggs are first gently rubbed through a plastic colander whose holes are large enough to allow the eggs but not the ovarian tissue to pass.
The eggs are then washed in small batches through a very fine mesh sieve and drained as much as possible.
Pure salt - no minerals, no anticaking agents, very finely ground - is then added to the eggs based on weight . To some degree, the ratio depends on the source of the fish - fresh or salt water. Salt is sprinkled on the eggs and mixed by hand [ everything is by hand ] until they foam slightly as they first release some liquid.
At this stage you work fast because they "set" and spooning them after "set" breaks the eggs. So while still fairly loose they are scooped into glass jars, lidded and put into the fridge - 33 -36 degrees is great. Could stand as low as 28 degrees.

The eggs are edibile at this stage but "ripen" for several days as they imbibe the salt. They keep for weeks at low temp. Can be frozen with some loss of texture but still identifiable eggs and taste.

I've learned a lot about caviar - the commercial stuff is preserved with borax and higher concentrations of salt. The best stuff is lightly salted, glistening, single identifiable eggs that maintain in the mouth a bit. Some commercial operations [ not saying which country here ] do not wash the eggs after separating.
This requires even more salt and leaves an obvious funkiness.

Tacos tonight!

Tonight, it was a soup made with white beans, lacinato kale, and various vegetables. It came out well - even the Obligate Carnivore liked it!

[Robin Garr]

Judged a local sushi competition, a charity fund-raiser. Ate. Too. Much. Sushi.

Of course, there is really no such thing as "too much sushi."

[Robin Garr]

Medium-rare Kentucky bison burgers topped with Point Reyes blue. A salad and a glass or two of Domaine la Guintrandy 2007 Côtes du Rhône Villages Visan Vieilles Vignes makes it a meal.

Had to put off my St. Patty's day dinner until today. It is all prepped and ready for cooking! Yum!The flat cut of the brisket is sitting in a nice stout Sierra Nevada beer right now, with onions and garlic, just soaking up the deliciousness.

Hosted our wine group last night and made a big batch of braised short ribs (to go with Napa Cabs). Can't wait to dive into the leftovers. There was a lot of other food last night that divided my interest.

[Robin Garr]

Tasted samples of 15 chowders prepared by Louisville chefs tonight, judging in a LouisvilleHotBytes.com-sponsored competition for an autism-related charity. Too. Much. Cream. It was good, though.

Tonight- Undhiyu- a heavenly blend of papdi (a kind of peas), ratalu (purple yams), baby eggplants, potatoes, grated coconut, green chilies, cilantro with rotlis (unleavened bread), kadhi (spiced yogurt based soup).

[Robin Garr]

Persian-Italian fusion: Free-range eggs poached in saffron tomato cream, then tossed with spaghetti when the eggs are barely cooked.
It turned out very well. A rich reddish orange sauce that cloaked the pasta. Eventually I'll reduce it to an RCP and post.

Last night, it was a surprisingly quick dish of seared scallops in a ginger-garlic-cilantro-cream sauce. That was a killer dish.

Tonight, it was mozzarella-tomato-basil panini.

[Jenise]

Ooh Mike, sounds great.

Tonight we're having dinner with friends, and I'm taking the appetizer. I feel like playing, so I'm going to attempt to do a Health Nazi version of smoked salmon canapes involving dehydrated zuccini discs for a base and deep fried capers for a garnish. Wish me luck. (And yes, I do have a good cracker standing by in case the zucchini doesn't work out.

Sirloin steak stir fry. Steak has been marinating in soy sauce, a little apple cider vinegar and sherry wine. (Gene's mom's recipe). Stir fry has red bells, onion, mushrooms, celery, and garlic. Served over a brown basmati rice, with coriander and cardamom, with a garnish of preserved lemon. I might add broccoli to the stir fry, I will decide at the last minute.

Jenise - How'd the zucchini work out?

We had crab cakes last night. Base recipe was "Steve's Tits-up Crab Cakes" from the Hell's Kitchen cook book, but I threw in some ginger, cilantro, and curry powder to give it a little more of an Asian flair. Results were good.

Last night we had a broccoli ginger omelet with roasted potatoes and sauteed red peppers with carrot-top greens and lime. It all went remarkably well with two 2002 Clos des Chênes (Guyon and Potel).

I guess it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise that it went well given the lack of wine-killing ingredients in the meal (assuming no one has hangups about eggs and red wine). But my food is often so olive-oil dominated and Italian-leaning that it's usually not the classic pairing for some of these French wines. (And I obviously don't care).

[Robin Garr]

Lamb shanks tonight (Kentucky-grown of course ), braised with herbs, S&P and a little white wine.

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 071129.php

Pot Roast. A bit of comfort food on a chilly evening in the Ohio Valley.

[Robin Garr]

Lamb shanks tonight (Kentucky-grown of course ), braised with herbs, S&P and a little white wine.

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 071129.php

Turned out great! Juicy and tender, with a good fresh-herb flavor as a nuance to the lamb. Went great with a cheap Austrian red, too, Huber 2009 "Hugo," an 80% Zweigelt - 20% Blaufräufrankisch blend from Niederösterreich.

[Robin Garr]

Pot Roast. A bit of comfort food on a chilly evening in the Ohio Valley.

Strange ... it's balmy and sunny over here on this side ... we've got hula dancers with ukuleles, and the tiki torches lit.