What's cooking?

For Memorial Day, our family had grilled lamb chops and also Thai chicken satay with cucumber relish (Victor Sodsook's recipe from True Thai).

-Paul W.

Was brutally hot yesterday, so did a sweetcorn relish with red peppers and onions in lemon juice; olive tapenade and balsamic-glazed chickpeas with basil and thyme. Chilled all of them, served with some breads, crackers and made some chicken quesadillas. Not a bad way to beat the heat. (Riesling and an a/c also helped. )

We are still having heavy rains and low temperatures here in the northern Sacramento Valley. I have a big Dutch oven filled with stuffed cabbage rolls. Made with an organic, local hamburger, rice, onion, garlic, celery, threw in half of a red sweet pepper I needed to use, diced tomatoes, and a bit of sauerkraut juice, all rolled into a cabbage leaf. Layers are made with the cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, tomato sauce, and topped off with the rest of the cabbage leaves, tomato sauce and sauerkraut. I use Pleasant Valley Sauerkraut which is the best I have found. they are located in Mt. Vernon, WA. Love this dish. I have green beans from Farmer's Market as a side.

[Robin Garr]

I've got a nice fillet of Copper River sockeye on hand that really needs to be eaten tonight. I want to keep it simple and fresh, but am debating whether to pan-sautee or char-grill it. Both options sound good to me!

[Robin Garr]

I've got a nice fillet of Copper River sockeye on hand that really needs to be eaten tonight. I want to keep it simple and fresh, but am debating whether to pan-sautee or char-grill it. Both options sound good to me!

I ended up going the char-grill route, keeping it simple: Rub with olive oil and lemon, kosher salt and freshly ground Tellicherry pepper; slap it skin-side-down over very hot chunk charcoal and grill, without turning, for about 8 minutes or until the inch-thick fish is just cooked through and the skin is crispy. Poifect!

Smoked Buffalo wings tonight: Our first shot at this one. We took four pounds of wings and disjoined them, keeping wing tips for stock. We tossed them in the juice of two limes, a tablespoon each of hot paprika and our own barbeque rub, along with a ½ tsp of cayenne. Let this sit for an hour. Then we put them in our electric water smoker over apple chips for two and a half hours, turning once. We made cow free ranch dressing and took half of it and blended with three ounces of blue cheese for my dipping. We served them with sourdough biscuits. I washed all down with a couple of bottles of Wacko. It gave us enough meat for two meals, and will probably cut it half next time. The heat level was just right for us.

When I was a kid, mom had a very tight budget as she worked her way up to being the buyer of a large department store, so cube steak was a treat for us, once a week or so. On the Pioneer Woman this week, I noticed a cube steak recipe. She sautéed onions in butter, then strips of cube steak, then browned the sandwich rolls in butter. Marlboro Man sandwich, she called it. I was salivating after reading her blog. I have not had cube steak since I left home, have not seen it in the supermarket (but never looked for it), so this week there it was...cube steak! I am making the heart stopper recipe with the addition of two types of mushrooms to pile into the sandwich. I think this will go nicely with Mike's Hot and Sour Cole Slaw. Every now and then, I just have to break down with something like this, and the time is NOW!

Smoked Buffalo wings tonight: Our first shot at this one. We took four pounds of wings and disjoined them, keeping wing tips for stock. We tossed them in the juice of two limes, a tablespoon each of hot paprika and our own barbeque rub, along with a ½ tsp of cayenne. Let this sit for an hour. Then we put them in our electric water smoker over apple chips for two and a half hours, turning once. We made cow free ranch dressing and took half of it and blended with three ounces of blue cheese for my dipping. We served them with sourdough biscuits. I washed all down with a couple of bottles of Wacko. It gave us enough meat for two meals, and will probably cut it half next time. The heat level was just right for us.

Carl, I usually smoke wings whenever I do ribs or pork butt or brisket, mainly to supply an appetizer along the way! One problem I have encountered is that low temp smoking doesn't crisp the wings....the skin is rubbery. So over Memorial Day, I finished the wings on the gas grill....but left them on too long. Did your wings come off the smoker with a crisp skin?

Carl, I usually smoke wings whenever I do ribs or pork butt or brisket, mainly to supply an appetizer along the way! One problem I have encountered is that low temp smoking doesn't crisp the wings....the skin is rubbery. So over Memorial Day, I finished the wings on the gas grill....but left them on too long. Did your wings come off the smoker with a crisp skin?

Ours was neither crisp nor rubbery. They were just right. It might have been either the marinating or cooking time that kept them from being rubbery.

Cucurbita pepo squash and thick red onion slices marinated in evoo, fresh lemon juice, fresh thyme then grilled along with a boneless leg of lamb, and simple green salad made with some greens from our garden and the Farmer's Market. Nice grilled dinner for a pouring down rain kind of day!

[Robin Garr]

I'm inventing something Chinese-y with chicken and tofu and green peppers and onions and something Sichuanish.

It's my birthday, so I'm thinking about picking up a ribeye for the grill tonight and a bottle of something bubbly.

Today is supposedly the last day of the winter which did not want to give up. Normal temperatures arrive in the next day or two. So, today I am making the last large amount of soup I will make until next winter. Since I love soup for lunch in the summer, I will freeze most of this. This pot has onions, leeks, celery/leaves, garlic, carrots, zucchini, swiss chard, cabbage, home made turkey stock, red wine, thyme, saffron, oregano, a little rosemary and I'm adding campanelle just prior to serving. I think a nice thick, crusty, lightly toasted, sour dough on the bottom of the soup bowl will go nicely with this rustic soup. Oh, I also added one Louisiana Hot link and two other sausage I had in the freezer...type unknown.
Changed my mind about the campanelle (actually wanted to use it up) and am adding extra plump soup barley...it will freeze and hold up better.

Today is supposedly the last day of the winter which did not want to give up. Normal temperatures arrive in the next day or two. So, today I am making the last large amount of soup I will make until next winter. Since I love soup for lunch in the summer, I will freeze most of this. This pot has onions, leeks, celery/leaves, garlic, carrots, zucchini, swiss chard, cabbage, home made turkey stock, red wine, thyme, saffron, oregano, a little rosemary and I'm adding campanelle just prior to serving. I think a nice thick, crusty, lightly toasted, sour dough on the bottom of the soup bowl will go nicely with this rustic soup. Oh, I also added one Louisiana Hot link and two other sausage I had in the freezer...type unknown.
Changed my mind about the campanelle (actually wanted to use it up) and am adding extra plump soup barley...it will freeze and hold up better.

Sounds great Karen. Actually I make soup year round. Less in warm weather than cold, but I can easily eat soup twice a week. Oh, like that sourdough in the bowl idea, but have you ever tried getting smallish Boules, cutting their top off and hollowing them out. This way the bread becomes the bowl, and even the cut out parts are consumed. We are in the 90's here today, and I won't make soup, but let it get down to the lower 80's and I will. I also do what you evidently do, and that is take stock of what needs using up, and toss it in the pot.

Tonight we had fillet steaks in rasher seasoned with Morton rub, grilled over charcoal and mesquite; a half broule warmed up, and green beans almondine. Washed down with Shipyard Summer Ale.

[Robin Garr]

Fresh asparagus layered with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and S&P in a baking dish rubbed with garlic and butter; top dotted with butter and sprinkled with lemon zest. Roast at 450F for 20 minutes. Yum. 

Sounds great Karen. Actually I make soup year round. Less in warm weather than cold, but I can easily eat soup twice a week. Oh, like that sourdough in the bowl idea, but have you ever tried getting smallish Boules, cutting their top off and hollowing them out. This way the bread becomes the bowl, and even the cut out parts are consumed. We are in the 90's here today, and I won't make soup, but let it get down to the lower 80's and I will. I also do what you evidently do, and that is take stock of what needs using up, and toss it in the pot

I buy what they call a "bread bowl" here, made just for soup to be put into. I think it is a bit smaller than the boules. However, as much as I like it, it is a lot of bread and I prefer to eat more soup, hence the bread on the bottom works for us. I especially like the bread bowls when I make clam chowder and in that case I use them, or when serving company as some folks really like their bread and don't fill up as fast as I do. I ended up adding some home made pesto to this soup and a can of diced tomatoes. It really is "everything but the kitchen sink"! I actually do make soup in summer cold soups mostly and much lighter than this one.

Fresh asparagus layered with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and S&P in a baking dish rubbed with garlic and butter; top dotted with butter and sprinkled with lemon zest. Roast at 450F for 20 minutes. Yum. 

What a great idea Robin, this never crossed my mind. I am also thinking of roasted garlic mixed with the butter!

[Robin Garr]

What a great idea Robin, this never crossed my mind. I am also thinking of roasted garlic mixed with the butter!

That would be good! I did rub the casserole well with a big, juicy smashed garlic clove, but ... mmmmm!

This was a main dish, by the way ... enough asparagus to fill the dish, about 1/2 cup of Parmigiano, and some steaming white rice on the side. Targovishte 2009 Bulgaria Black Sea Coastal Sauvignon Blanc ... the cheese and little bit of butter made the dish rich enough that we didn't really want a meat course.

[Robin Garr]

Another hunk of Copper River sockeye goes on the grill, with some grilled asparagus and, this time, a side dish of fresh green beans dressed with dill butter.

A trip down memory lane for me, cooking in an electric frying pan (remember those?) I used so much in the 70's when the kiddos were home. So it is an Arroz con Pollo tonight, with a Cubanelle pepper from my garden, tomatoes onions, garlic, white wine, Mexican Oregano, and home made chicken stock. I also found four packages of frozen spinach in my freezer,(have no idea why I even bought them) so I found a recipe online using artichoke hearts, spinach with a sauce made from cream cheese, a little mayo and low fat milk, topped off with parmesan and baked.

Will I be kicked off the forum if I admit to a huge medium rare burger topped with mushrooms and gruyere, and some Extra Crispy Tater Tots?

In my defense, however, the burger was made from grass-fed beef raised, butchered, and ground by my ranching neighbors.

[Robin Garr]

Will I be kicked off the forum if I admit to a huge medium rare burger topped with mushrooms and gruyere, and some Extra Crispy Tater Tots?

In my defense, however, the burger was made from grass-fed beef raised, butchered, and ground by my ranching neighbors.

By no means, Kate. Except for the Tots, that sounds like a standard burger around here. Sometimes we use local bison in place of the beef, though.

Kate, don't let the folks on here scare you...they can seem foodie snobby now and then but when It comes right down to it, they use some of the same things in their kitchen that we all do. What's not to like about extra crispy tater tots? I used them in a casserole after thanksgiving once and everyone asked for the recipe!