What's cooking?

Christina, I wrote a blog post about it here:

http://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/05 ... lar-jelly/

Interesting point is you have to let the medlars rot before you can use them - which is completely gross, and I try hard not to think about it. We use a Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall recipe, but added some homemade pectin to help it set. It's the most gorgeous colour when it's finished - we made a medlar and crabapple jelly..

Stuffed, zucchini blossoms. They were gone before I thought to get a pic. A friend brought some HUGE blossoms from the Costata Romanesco plant. A full 5-6 inches they were perfect for easy stuffing. We took a large leaf of basil and wrapped it around a good teaspoonful of ricotta mixed with a LOT of grated Parm and Fulvi Romano and Parameswaran pepper and popped it in the cavity. Battered with a simple, thin flour and water batter that had been seasoned with salt and pepper then fried in peanut oil. They were terrific. The smaller blossoms had the baby zuch still attached and we fried the whole ensemble. Wonderful combination of taste and texture.
That was appetizer.
For the main we spent the afternoon making homemade ravioli stuffed with shrimp and scallops, sauced with a red shrimp sauce. It was the first time using the Kitchen Aid roller attachment for pasta and I was unsure about the thickness of the dough. It was one crank too thick for the elegant filling and sauce but good nonetheless.
Salad was a platter of 7 different garden tomatoes and Suyo Long Chinese cucumbers. These are slender, deeply ridged crisp cucumbers that look spectacular with the skin on, cut crosswise. Dressing was simple olive oil , a few drops of good Balsamic and mini leaf basil. All picked from the garden and put together just before serving
For dessert we made Gelato di Chiccolato del Cipriani - the most intense essence of chocolate. No cream, little sugar, intensified with a bit of darkly carmelized sugar. Served with thin,crisp anise pizzelle. A nice combo
It was a long,fun day cooking and eating with two friends that have great palates.

Tonight's dinner was Sichuan Kung Pao chicken.

-Paul W.

Summer is great.

Last night's pizza was the first time this season I used fresh tomatoes for the sauce, and the first time I used eggplant. It was great.

After the pizza, we had some deliciously succulent halibut cheeks and monkfish in a mushroom sauce. The fish were served with slow cooked red peppers, potato gratin, and a carrot salad (steamed slices of purple carrots with shiso in a soy/vinegar dressing). It was fun and it went well with aged red Burgundy. No worries about fish and red wine here!

It is beautiful wood, very interesting articles.

[Robin Garr]

I made a "portable" Caprese to take out to a party tonight. Cut heirloom beefsteak tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into cubes, not slices, and tossed them into a bowl with fresh basil chiffonade, a little good olive oil, squirt o' lemon and S&P and let 'em steep for the afternoon. Cool, fresh and delicious. Goes with Chianti!

Tonight is a grilled, whole trout, served with Laccinato Kale, sautéed with preserved lemons, and chopped garlic. Green Beans with fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes, and a plate with thick sliced heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers. My own tomatoes were a fizzle this year, but the Farmer's Market is loaded with all colors and types. Bell peppers are starting to come in, I saw some interesting purple ones today, but bought jalapeño and Anaheim instead.
I got a local wine from Burnsini Vineyards called Tehama Red.....one of my favorites!

[Robin Garr]

We're going to the Louisville Bats game tonight at Slugger Field, so it will be extruded pork products, most likely. At least they've installed ONE vendor with several local craft brews so there's a small safe island in the middle of a giant sea of Budweiser.

[Jenise]

The Parsis are Zoroastrians by religion....

Paul, thanks for the history lesson and recipe. I am dying to make your dish. For one, it contains fenugreek leaves which is one of the most haunting and fascinating herbs, I guess it would categorically be an herb, that I know. I bought them not knowing what to use them for, but I could smell their aroma through the bag in a Persian store I went to in Los Angeles, and I just had to have them. I'd never smelled anything like it before, even the seed form isn't the same, but loved instantly. I googled it when I got home and found surprisingly few references to it on the internet.

One thing that I love is that when one tastes it, even just a small amount lingers with you for hours afterward. I developed a salad dressing using it which is impeccable with torn leaves of Nappa cabbage and toasted soy beans, and that pairs wonderfully with Indian and Middle Eastern foods--you know me, I have to have my salad, even with cuisines that don't usually feature salads. And I've thrown it into a few curries, but just because I love it so much I want it there, not because I understand contextually where it's traditional place is.

[Jenise]

I made a "portable" Caprese to take out to a party tonight. Cut heirloom beefsteak tomatoes and fresh mozzarella into cubes, not slices, and tossed them into a bowl with fresh basil chiffonade, a little good olive oil, squirt o' lemon and S&P and let 'em steep for the afternoon. Cool, fresh and delicious. Goes with Chianti!

The cheese didn't toughen up in the marinade? Someone brought a pre-made caprese to a pot luck I was at recently and the cheese wasn't as tender as it should have been. Maybe it was just the cheese they bought to start with, though.

[Jenise]

Tonight is a grilled, whole trout, served with Laccinato Kale, sautéed with preserved lemons, and chopped garlic. Green Beans with fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes, and a plate with thick sliced heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers.

I can be there by 5:00....

No idea here about tonight's dinner. It's cold and cloudy, like a stew is called for. Lunch will be leftover terrine from yesterday's Great Western All Terrine Vehicle, though.

[Robin Garr]

The cheese didn't toughen up in the marinade?

Newp. Can't say I've ever had that experience, but it was fresh mozzarella. You'll often see salads incorporating fresh boconcini balls that steep for hours, so I haven't noticed this kind of problem with mozzarella. On the other hand, I've never actually tried a side-by-side test.

Last night we had the summer installment of our neighborhood progressive dinner. As is traditional, we were the dessert house. My wife made two tarts, one lemon and one chocolate with honey-roasted peanuts. I made creme fraiche ice cream with Frangelico to go with, and then managed to forget to put the ice cream out! Oh well. The tarts were fantastic and there was plenty for everyone.

My wife made two tarts, one lemon and one chocolate with honey-roasted peanuts. I made creme fraiche ice cream with Frangelico...

Sounds delicious. I'm just wondering how the peanuts were incorporated in the chocolate tart. Ground up in the chocolate mixture?

[Robin Garr]

Spaghetti with tomato sauce, but the sauce will be light and freshly made from an excess of just-picked San Marzanos and basil.

Someone - Celia, maybe? - was asking how the San Marzanos look. Here are a couple of prime specimens.

sanmarzano.jpg

[Robin Garr]

Spaghetti with tomato sauce, but the sauce will be light and freshly made from an excess of just-picked San Marzanos and basil.

And here's the finished product ...

sanmarzpasta.jpg

Sunday night's dinner was lamb curry, made with browned sliced onions, yogurt, tomato, red chiles, ground red pepper, green and black cardamom, black cumin, and garnished at the end with cilantro and green chiles. Served over rice with pappadum and dhansak.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Gorgeous pasta, Robin: all about the tomato. Doesn't get any more perfect than that for me.

Dinner tonight: pureed pea ravioli topped with a quick pan sauce of sauteed scallops, sliced fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes and fresh fava beans.

[Robin Garr]

Gorgeous pasta, Robin: all about the tomato. Doesn't get any more perfect than that for me.

Well, 98 percent about the tomato, anyway: I cut up about a dozen San Marzanos with a bit of onion, a couple of smashed garlic cloves and a couple of big sprigs of basil, S&P and simmer them over low heat for just a half-hour or so, long enough to break them down but not to get a lot of caramelization going. For this one I wanted fresh, natural flavors. Run through food mill while boiling spaghetti. Serve, with Pecorino Romano, and eat.

The San Marzanos are really great tomatoes - big and dense and ripe, make a very intense sauce, much more so than Romas. Twelve of them ended up making about two cups of sauce. They're fragile heirlooms, though, subject to all manner of garden threats. Mary says they're starting to show signs of wilt, which would mean that our harvest will likely end early.

Thanks for taking the photo, Robin! They look perfect...

[Robin Garr]

Another farmers' market/garden dinner: green peppers stuffed with ground Kentucky bison, and fresh cabbage slaw.

Tonight we're having pizza and...wait for it..nasturtium pesto! It was the only green thing I had growing in the garden, and it's surprisingly delicious!

Here's a pic:

np.jpg

Grandkids asked for tacos...we've been spoiling them all week. My salad will have gold, yellow, red and orange tomatoes. They love tomatoes and call my house "Tomato World".
Made S'Mores yesterday with Nutella on Graham Crackers...They used skewers and did the marshmallows over the gas stove. Yummy.

[Jenise]

They love tomatoes and call my house "Tomato World".

That's adorable.