What's Cooking (Take Two!)

[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.

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?

They were divine, they really were. Smaller than a Cornish game hen and perfectly cooked--I roasted them in the same oven with the bread pudding, just started the bread pudding first by 20 minutes. Wouldn't have wanted them IN the pudding, because I wanted the hens to have a glassy skin all over (they did) and wanted the pudd to rise like a soufflé with a crisp top, and it did. Our first course was a colorful golden baby beet, tomato and halved snow pea salad with crumbled chevre, and the wine was a 98 La Cardonne (Bordeaux). The kind of meal that had Bob crowing, "Nobody in this town eats better than I do!" The poussins came from d'Artagnan--would order again.

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?

They're not much different. The only difference is that LC has a shiny white ceramic interior while the S has a matte black ceramic interior. As I have learned, there are some differences in how to clean each of them - the S finish is "waffle-like" under a microscope so sticks less but is harder to get completely clean.

Anyway, they're both solid, heavy, heat-retaining pots. The S is 6 qts.

Here's another opinion on this very topic:
http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/05/22/a-tale-of-two-dutch-ovens-redux/

[Jenise]

We're having a ham pot au feu, if you will. Found a gorgeous Beeler half shank (organic from Oregon) after Christmas marked down to $2/lb from $6 or $7. Cut off part and have simmered that all afternoon with green beans, onion, garlic and bay leaves. Will add baby (they're like one inch at the most) potatoes, snow peas and Belgian endive quarters at intervals so that the whole comes out as a brothy soup with fall-apart tender ham and beans and other vegetables only just cooked.

Made a perfect avgolemeno last night. Made a few adjustments to the recipe for Greek Lemon and Chicken soup from the New England Soup Factory Soup Book. Made a roux with butter and flour to give the base a creaminess, and added acini di pepe instead of orzo. It was delis!

Dinner out tonight. A little diner which has been owned by two sisters for over 35 years is having an authentic German dinner. We made reservations months ago because the German dinner is the most popular among the locals. This place caters to vets, and their decor is made up of hundreds of pictures of soldiers all over the world who have donated to them. The two sisters do the cooking and also wait on you. If they are very busy they have someone they can call to come in. The service is excellent but slower than usual, because they do everything from scratch. Most meal prep is done at their home. Pretty amazing place, and since they are getting up in years and looking rather worn out, Gene and I decided it was time to experience this dinner, before they decided to retire. The place is rather small, and usually one of the sisters comes out to chat with everyone. They have a huge following of local vets who get the royal treatment. Should be fun.

[Jenise]

Karen, that sounds like a blast--one of those "only in a small town" things that I love about living in smaller towns. Report back!

Tonight we're hosting Supper Club. The theme is Pie--each guest will bring an offering. I've made a savory sundried tomato cheesecake that I'll serve with an asparagus salad. I'm really excited about the cheesecake, which is especially good since I threw the one I made yesterday in the trash. The second pie is a whole different recipe than the one that went away. A bit of a wrench in the works to get up this morning and go back to the store and start over, but I did learn a few things so it's not a total loss. I'm making a champagne cocktail (Mike F's recipe)--with an older champagne that has a lot of biscuit flavors, the addition of the apple brandy (a 7 yr old from Virginia--I got weak and went with the home team--and bitters really does give an essence of apple pie-ness. My favorite thing might be the centerpieces, which are unusually clever for me--I'm just not someone who thinks up this kind of thing normally. I'll have two springform pans on the table packed with ten live primrose plants, each a different color.

Karen, that sounds like a blast--one of those "only in a small town" things that I love about living in smaller towns. Report back!

Well, it did not work out that way! In October, we were at this little diner for breakfast with friends. One of the sisters announced the German dinner on January 31st. We talked about it with her and she told us that out of all the authentic, ethnic dinners they serve, this was the most popular. Since I had heard much about it over the years, I asked our friends if they wanted to go. YES, they said...what a fun experience it would be for them. So we made the reservation for the four of us, gave the sister our phone numbers and asked if we should call a week or so prior. No, said the sister, we will call you one week ahead of time. OK! Well, they did not call either of us, so I called a few days before, no one answered the phone and I did not get a call back. My friend called early on Friday during their breakfast rush. The not so happy sister announced they did not have us on the list, they had way too many people coming and could only cater to their regulars....BUT they would squeeze us in 1/2 later than we had planned and to expect a wait. OK, fine! As the day went on, I was getting mixed feelings about it. Did we want to go to that tiny place, battle the parking, have to wait outside in the cold only to finally get seated and have to rush through dinner because many others were waiting their turn?

I called our friends, they had been feeling the same way all day too....we all wanted to enjoy the evening relaxed, to have a conversation and linger over our wine (or beer as would have been the case at the diner) and not be rushed. So, we decided to go to another local hot spot that ALWAYS has great food and service, we could have a nice booth, talk as long as we wanted, so that is what we did.

[Jenise]

Karen, that's too bad. But I'd have done the same thing.

Got up this morning, opened the fridge looking for something to eat, and saw half a bulb of browning fennel, the end of a stalk of celery, a bottle of saki with less than an inch left in it, a bag of eight mushrooms purchased over a week ago for a salad that never got made and so they're now dried up, two fresh bay leaves off my tree, half a fresh beefsteak tomato and some leftover canned tomatoes. And I thought: spaghetti sauce! It's on the stove now, with approximately half a pound of frozen ground beef I found in the freezer yesterday, left over from something else but no idea what or when. I'm also planning to make cabbage rolls.

Tonight's dinner will be seared Ahi Tuna steaks, they will sit for an hour in a blend of dark sesame oil, soy sauce, fresh ginger. garlic, green onion and lime juice. Sides will be a grain blend of Israeli couscous, Orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa, cooked in home made chicken stock, bay leaf, little butter, then finished off with a splash of olive oil, fresh lemon, and green onions. Also, steamed broccoli and roasted golden beets.

Making a shrimp and chicken dish, easy and full of fresh flavors. Chicken and shrimp are cooked in San Marzano tomatoes, onion, garlic, fresh basil, oregano, parsley, thin slices of lemon, kalamata olives and feta cheese. Served over spaghetti. Tweaking Robin's cauliflower recipe by cooking cauliflower coated in almond oil, cumin, sweet and hot curry powder, then roasted to a nice crispy golden brown.

[Jenise]

Speaking of cauliflower, last night's dinner was an avocado, tomato and ricotta salad first course followed by a grilled veal chop. The chops had been marinated with garlic and olive oil all day. To accompany the veal, I'd loosely planned to do some kind of pan-fried potato when it came time to actually make something I realized I had half a head of organic cauliflower (IOW, I spent a premium on it) so decided to prep that instead. First thought was just steamed. Second thought went, no, I should roast it. Third thought was: why not lightly 'roast' it on the stovetop, don't need to heat up the whole oven for that, should do just fine in a wide 4 qt pan. So I did that, adding a little bit of water to steam the cauliflower after it had browned a bit, and it worked very well, but I was feeling a need for a sauce. So I slid the cauliflower onto a plate and in the same pan, I made a béchamel, and since the meal had a more or less Italian thing going on I added quite a bit of fresh lemon juice to give it an assertive tang, and then I popped outside to grab a bit of rosemary and added a generous bit of that chopped up. Otherwise, just salt and pepper. Anyway, you get the point: not something I've done before, it just evolved. But the result? The single best cauliflower dish I've ever tasted, and Bob agreed.

Dinner tonight is pepper crusted wild caught salmon cakes with Créme Fraiche horseradish sauce. Salmon is poached in the oven with fresh lemon slices and bay leaf. Red bell pepper, fresh parsley, red onion, salt, prepared horseradish, Dijon. mayo and panko are added to the flaky salmon, then coated with a mixture of panko and coarse black pepper, then pan fried to golden brown on each side. Served with Créme Fraiche, with horseradish added to taste. Side will be Jasmine rice made with home made chicken broth, browned butter rice to which shallots have been added at the end of browning the butter. Salt, petite frozen sweet peas are added at the end of the cooking time for the rice along with the browned butter and shallots. Baby zucchini, sliced in half, brushed with evoo, sprinkled with home made lemon sea salt, and grilled until golden on the cut side and nice caramelized edges.

Steady rain all day today and a wife with a nasty cold demands comfort food of the highest order, so we're having chicken and dumplings. This version has a lot of leeks in it along with shallots, carrots, celery, and dumplings with a good dose of fresh dill in them.

Yesterday (Friday 2/7), I learned through FB, was National Fettuccine Alfredo Day, so that's what we made, using freshly made pasta. Good stuff!

Since we had Thanksgiving at a friend's house last year, I missed out on my annual roast turkey "fixes". So, today it will be roasted bird with all the usual suspects. Then comes the turkey soup with homemade noodles. I know loads of folks are not fans of the "national bird", but we love it once or twice/year.

A cold and wet weekend and we are loving it. This morning I put together a dish with some spice, and comfort, and something different. Layers of corn tortillas,
Mexican tomato sauce with added onion, and garlic; vegetarian black refried beans, chorizo (made in house at Raley's) Hatch chiles, a blend of Mexican cheeses, grated, cooked in the oven until nicely browned on top with bubbly cheese and green onions. A side salad of romaine, fresh orange sections, avocado, with a cumin vinaigrette. We were given two buckets of beautiful oranges...but like most CA citrus, many froze this year. So we have to pick through the oranges we want to eat and which go into juice. Plus, I have zested them all, and have that beautiful zest in the freezer.

Tonight is jambalaya night.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Steady rain all day today and a wife with a nasty cold demands comfort food of the highest order, so we're having chicken and dumplings. This version has a lot of leeks in it along with shallots, carrots, celery, and dumplings with a good dose of fresh dill in them.

Glad for you to have the rain! I know it's a drop in the bucket and this was days ago, but we're having rain again too (it's been a very dry last two months) and I hope there's some relief down there for you.

Chicken and dumplings here tonight, too. Or rather, chicken and "slicks". Must post about that.

[Jenise]

Tonight is jambalaya night.

-Paul W.

You say that as if you have a regular rotation. Do you?

Sort of. It's a dish that a make frequently.

-Paul W.

Large shrimp breaded in a Cajun spice mix with panko bread crumbs, then browned to a golden crispness. Warmed Hoagie rolls are slathered with my home made tartar sauce, then a layer of lettuce, tomato, crispy shrimp then very thin red cabbage on top with drizzle of tartar sauce.
I made a side of small red beans, with Cajun spice, onion, garlic, and whole grain mustard. Crispy shallots on top. Simple, but yummy.

The celebratory food around here is seafood. Aside from the cold, fresh ones, I made a lobster and chanterelle "scampi" - sauteed in butter, lemon, garlic, parsley - enriching the butter sauce with one egg yolk and letting it simmer a bit longer to cook through. Served over ziti. Probably not good enough to repeat but interesting once.

[Jenise]

Jeff, that combination sounds like it should work very well. Actually, the seafood, mushroom and egg yolk thickening all speaks to a Coquille St. Jacques without the Coquille--a few tweaks should really bring it home, the basics are there for something grand.

I think it would make a better casserole than a pasta throw. I was looking for something more buttered bread crumbs and melted butter -y.