What's Cooking (Take Two!)

Last night's dinner included a Goan-style pilau (pilaf). Spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and green cardamom pods, dried red chiles, and turmeric. A large minced onion was browned in coconut cream (skimmed from the coconut milk), then cooked with the rice and spices. Garnished with garam masala. Fragrant and delicious!

-Paul W.

Fresh crab tonight with ciabatta bread spread with a smooth mixture of sharp cheddar and Jack, scallions, butter and garlic. Plus a Caesar salad. Scrummy!

[Jenise]

On the stove right now: a soup of baby burgundy limas, a bean I've not seen before. They're simmering with vermouth, two crumbled Italian sausages, herbs, garlic and onion, and I'll serve them topped with "croutons" of diced cold polenta cooked with jalapeno peppers just for this dish.

On the stove right now: a soup of baby burgundy limas, a bean I've not seen before. They're simmering with vermouth, two crumbled Italian sausages, herbs, garlic and onion, and I'll serve them topped with "croutons" of diced cold polenta cooked with jalapeno peppers just for this dish.

Ooh! I'll have to a) look for burgundy limas and b) cook this sometime when I'm the only one eating. My daughter doesn't like beans, except for green beans.

[Jenise]

On the stove right now: a soup of baby burgundy limas, a bean I've not seen before. They're simmering with vermouth, two crumbled Italian sausages, herbs, garlic and onion, and I'll serve them topped with "croutons" of diced cold polenta cooked with jalapeno peppers just for this dish.

Ooh! I'll have to a) look for burgundy limas and b) cook this sometime when I'm the only one eating. My daughter doesn't like beans, except for green beans.

Doug, they made a terrific soup. It was my first experience with burgundy limas--I've never seen them before, and they were almost too beautiful to cook--baby-sized, and each one a slightly different shade of Indian red. Chose them from a "Bean Bar" of bulk beans a local grocer had (and unfortunately since went out of business)--all kinds of beans of the type you see on Rancho Gordo's website. Here's a pic of the finished dish:

IMG_0859.JPG

[Jenise]

And here's a shot of the chanterelle papparadelle I made for dinner. Not quite a vegetarian day, but almost!

IMG_0791.JPG

I found some down here this fall at the farmers market, my first exposure to them as well (although I don't think they were called burgundy limas in the market). Fresh, but remarkably hard compared to other fresh beans. Still, they cooked up fairly quickly and were so tender and creamy, and had a lot of delicious flavor. Probably our favorite from the fall season of fresh beans, and there were lots of (new to me) varieties in the Chapel Hill markets.

[Jenise]

I found some down here this fall at the farmers market, my first exposure to them as well (although I don't think they were called burgundy limas in the market). Fresh, but remarkably hard compared to other fresh beans. Still, they cooked up fairly quickly and were so tender and creamy, and had a lot of delicious flavor. Probably our favorite from the fall season of fresh beans, and there were lots of (new to me) varieties in the Chapel Hill markets.

Interesting that you've had them too, and found them "remarkably hard". I didn't plan ahead and pre-soak the beans, so I put them in the pressure cooker for half an hour. Based on my expectation of all beans in general and the fragile nature of white limas in particular, that is in terms of how quick they are to part from the skins, I expected these to come out of the PC fully cooked, but in fact I had to simmer them conventionally for another hour-plus to achieve actual doneness. And not one bean shed it's skin.

Made me wonder if there was some magic in the pressure cooking process (this is maybe the second time I've used it to hurry a pot of beans, and the first was long ago) that somehow circumvented the skin-shedding, and I had planned to divide a bag of white limas to do a two-way comparison--but in fact it just might be the hardness you speak of. Either way, as you say, a great bean. Nice tannins in the skin too for red wine pairing.

Is this the bean that Rancho Gordo is calling Christmas Lima Beans?

http://www.ranchogordo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RG&Product_Code=1CHR&Category_Code=DHAHB4

And Percell Mountain Farms has these; calling them Persian Lima Beans

http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Persian%20Lima%20Beans.htm

[Jenise]

No, Karen, those are good catches but neither is right. They were absolutely solid in color, just mildly different shades.

They were absolutely solid in color, just mildly different shades.

Well then I haven't had them.

I guess mine were Christmas limas too, they looked like this: http://www.zursunbeans.com/img/beans/large/christmas_lima.jpg

[Jenise]

Yes, those are Christmas limas. Delicious beans. But these were solid red. One or two might have had a darker pin-point of a freckle or two, but these really were solid in color. As I said, I haven't seen them before. Just now I looked at Google images, and didn't find a single match.

[Jenise]

Tonight we're getting together with friends. The meal's pot luck, and I'm doing the salad course. For pairing with Sauvignon Blanc, I'll be doing a spinach, chevre, pea and lemon salad garnished with whole pea pods, paper thin slices of watermelon radish, walnuts and crescents of baby yellow beet.

[Robin Garr]

Tonight a dish that's pretty much become a standard around here: Roast fennel bulb with onions and garlic. Put it in a risotto. It doesn't get much better than this!

[Jenise]

For us tonight, French Bistro food featuring the Joel Robuchon potato and bacon gratin and a big crispy green salad of romaine and red onion.

Tonight is a salad with garden lettuces and arugula, on their last leg as I prepare for the spring garden. Salad is dressed with the house dressing from Bouchon, which we love. Twice baked russet potatoes stuffed with sautéed shallots and cremini mushrooms, roasted garlic, a little cream, butter. Potatoes are topped with a prosciutto slice and extra sharp cheddar cheese, then baked again until the prosciutto is crisp and cheese melted.

Making a Julia Child recipe - chicken roasted in a casserole with bacon, pearl onions, and potatoes. There'll be steamed cauliflower with a feta-yogurt sauce to go with it.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm roasting two little poussins that are resting in an bay leaf brine right now, and will serve those with a nicoise olive bread pudding.

Tonight I'm roasting two little poussins that are resting in an bay leaf brine right now, and will serve those with a nicoise olive bread pudding.

I love the idea of that savory bread pudding with poussins (you probably could have cook them nestled in the pudding!). How did it all turn out?

I saw a nice looking beef brisket last week, it has been sitting in a mixture of beef consumé, low sodium soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and liquid smoke, for 2 days. Different from how I usually do a brisket but I wanted to use it for tostada's on Thursday and wanted a simpler flavor base. Tonight we will enjoy it as is, along with a Baked Potato and Zucchini dish. It is layers of stewed tomatoes, zucchini, Yukon Gold potatoes, thyme, rosemary, garlic, onions and Parmesan baked a long time until tender, juicy with crusty edges.

Inaugurated my new Staub "Cocotte" with a pot roast: 3.5# of bottom round (browned in pancetta drippings), big carrot chunks, Yukon Golds, an entire fennel bulb and stalks, Italian plum tomatoes, celery stalks, peeled garlic, bay leaf, cloves, stock, wine. Yum, especially on a frigid evening.

We did flatbreads that were just lavosh topped with sauteed criminis and porcinis, two kinds of fresh mozzarella, and a little marjoram. Stuck 'em in the oven for about ten minutes and they were yummy. Served them with a basic tossed salad.

Inaugurated my new Staub "Cocotte" with a pot roast: 3.5# of bottom round (browned in pancetta drippings), big carrot chunks, Yukon Golds, an entire fennel bulb and stalks, Italian plum tomatoes, celery stalks, peeled garlic, bay leaf, cloves, stock, wine. Yum, especially on a frigid evening.

I keep hearing about those Staub Cocottes. How are they different from a Le Creuset Dutch Oven?

Zhajiangmian (Beijing meat sauce noodles) for dinner tonight.

-Paul W.