What's Cooking (Take Four)

We had our traditional New Year's sauerkraut dinner.

Jeff, I got started with D&D in 1980, when I joined DEC. By then the first edition of Advanced D&D was out and that is what we were all playing. With one major rule change.* The other players and DMs were mainly veterans of the original TSR D&D rules (which were awfully vague). What version of D&D are you playing these days?

-Paul W.

*The original AD&D rules placed heavy restrictions on spell-casting by mages. A mage had a certain number of spells that could be cast per day, and they had to prepare the spell(s) ahead of time. Our system (invented by Dave Schiefler) gives a mage a certain number of mana points (or spell points) based on the mage's level. Casting a spell consumes mana points based on the level of the spell. The mage does not have to prepare spells ahead of time. They can cast any of the spells they know at any time, provided they have enough mana points.

Last point first: Many GMs switched to a 'mana point' or 'energy point' system after they got a look at the ridiculous AD&D system. Said another way, I can't think of a single game system other than AD&D that uses their must-memorize/forget-when-cast idea. My long-time game has an EP system with additional filigree (for example, if the spell that is cast is a damage-causing spell then the strength of the spell is contingent on how many EP the caster has left... so, not all fireballs are the same: the first one will be strong, the next one a little less, the next one less still...).

Leaving aside various one-offs, I have played in four worlds.

The oldest, and the only one still running, is a total home-brew system. Dale (the GM) learned to play from one of Gygax' play-testers, so, the rules of the original three books. But, as you say, they are very limited and gappy. So, when he started to run his own games, he also read Chivalry & Sorcery, and Empire of the Petal Throne, and took whatever he liked and mashed it all together. Of course, the design from 40+ years ago did not anticipate so many high-level characters and needs constant tweaking now. Several of us help Dale keep things coherent nowadays.

Doug ran a GURPS world, exactly because he wanted no rules discussions; he wanted to spend his time on story.

Jay ran a home-brew world, which reached a natural end of a story-arc. Then he ran a World of Darkness: Werewolf game with only very minor house rules. The WoD games are said to be cross-compatible but I am given to understand that that is a lot easier said than done. Anyway, Werewolf was a great system, moves very well, but it does require a good GM. I would happily play WoD:W again.

Today's menu includes Shrimp and Scallop Soup with onions, garlic, Turkish oregano, fennel seeds, crushed tomatoes, clam juice, dry white wine, red pepper flakes, fresh Lisbon lemon juice, pepper and basil leaves. Since I have freshly picked baby spinach, I will add that at the end of cooking.
Remember the Laura Calder show? I loved that show and her simplicity in cooking using fresh food, and always wanting the food to be the best she could find. Her home where she cooked was simple, filled with greenery inside and out. She made a simple salad which she called Superior Salade Verte using fresh leafy lettuce, properly washed, spinned, and always refrigerated for at least an hour to crispen. The leafy greens were tossed with finely grated Parmesan and dressed with Dijon mustard, garlic, black pepper, red wine vinegar, and EVOO. Simple and delicious. This will be a side to the soup. I also have locally made sourdough with roasted garlic cloves, which I will lightly toast and dip into the soup.
It is a dreary day, and I will spend part of it in the kitchen with my new puppy watching my every move. Fun!

[Jenise]

Yes, liked Laura Calder's show too. That's the kind of food show I liked and miss. Real cooking.

The soup sounds fantastic.

Tonight I'm making a riff on chicken cordon bleu. It's a meatloaf with all the same components and a dijon mustard gravy. A green salad similar to what you describe will probably be on the table and I don't know what else. My brother and BIL are coming to dinner.

Lunch today is a salad using Artisan lettuce, a red leaf jewel that I love, green onion, Kumato tomatoes, mini red pepper slices, fresh garlic, and roasted garlic sourdough bread croutons. The vinaigrette is made from leftover lemon, garlic, mustard, and EVOO dressing, mixed with a bit of champagne vinaigrette. A few gratings of Parmesan, and freshly canned Albacore from a cannery on the coast of Humboldt Co. Nice lunch for a bright sunny day in the valley.

[Jenise]

Sounds good, Karen. (Especially the sunny day in the Valley part.) I'm craving a tuna salad myself though have no immediate plans. Today's got to be all-business, though I had almost no sleep last night. I'm going to keel over soon.

I made roast pork lo mein last night. As usual I used boneless spareribs from a local Chinese restaurant. So-called boneless spareribs aren't spareribs at all, but pieces of pork shoulder cut to the shape of a sparerib and then cooked the same way as Chinese spareribs (seasoned with hoisin and 5-spice powder and broiled). But there was a problem. It was Monday and my usual Chinese restaurants were all closed. The only one that was open was the Jade Dragon, which is the worst Chinese restaurant in the area. But to my delight they can do a decent job at boneless spareribs. The lo mein came out perfect.

-Paul W.

I admire your creativity. Do grocery stores in your area not sell bone-in spareribs?
Out here we like the bone kept in ribs, better flavor. When hubby and I were traveling US in our RV I was amazed at the difference in cuts of meat in each state...and what really floored me was no tortillas in some places. Lack of fresh fruits, and some veggies.

I am stag this week so I'm keeping it simple: I made a sheet-pan full of chicken paprikash (which recipe called for a poblano pepper, which I could not find, so I used chipotle in adobo... not the same but also yummy); some lamb chops and skirt steaks, enough spinach salad w/cuke, yellow cherry tomatoes, and green beans for three sittings; a mushroom pot pie (under a short crust); a bowl of shrikhand (a simple, sweetened yogurt dish with pistachios, cardamom, and saffron); and, finally, I improvised a trifle using some dried out babka and rugelach, layered with vanilla custard, instant coffee powder, and a few crumbled Oreos.

There is also one leftover black pudding and goat cheese purse, and I have some passata to make assassina one night.

All of which is to say... no more cooking for the rest of this week, only reheating!

[Jenise]

Speaking of reheating, last night for dinner Bob had a big bowl of chili with beans, a very good version made by a friend for NYE. I had a small avocado, halved and filled with Mama Lil's chiles, with sliced cucumbers on the side and a sumo orange. Simple but exactly what I wanted. I worked tirelessly all day on moving-related issues right up til bedtime on about four hours sleep. And here I am at 1:30 a.m., eyes wide open and worried about friends in L.A.

Karen,

The lo mein dish calls for strips of lean, boneless pork. From scratch I'd use fresh pork loin. I like the flavor of the strips of seasoned roast pork sold at Chinese restaurants around here as "boneless spare ribs". As I said before, their only resemblance to spare ribs is their shape.

Yes, they sell spare ribs in the supermarkets around here. Baby back ribs and country-style ribs as well. The Chinese cut spare ribs into thirds so that they can be picked up with chopsticks. At Asian markets racks of spare ribs are often sold pre-cut into thirds crosswise. I have a hacksaw so that I can cut them into thirds myself if I buy a whole rib rack.

-Paul W.

Thanks for the info, Paul. I never knew that. I tried using chopsticks for a long time but never felt comfortable with them. The Chinese and other Asian restaurants around here automatically put silverware out now. I always felt uncomfortable asking for a fork.

Yesterday, I made Beef and Barley Soup for a close neighbor who suffered a tragedy last week. I used a slow-cooked large cross-cut beef shank, removed all the fatty stuff, and added red wine vinegar, Better Than Beef paste, EVOO, a lot of fresh garlic, red onion, celery, carrot, soup barley, Merlot, tomato paste, beef stock, bay leaves, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, rosemary leaves, and topped with fresh parsley and gave them a large hunk of roasted garlic sourdough. I saved a little of the soup for my lunch today.

On this week's menu is Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Marinade has EVOO, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, honey, garlic, fresh rosemary, Thyme, and Dijon mustard. I have asparagus which will be charred a bit, and served cold with fresh Lisbon Lemon juice and salt.
I made a sheet pan full of a large sweet potato, cauliflower, carrot, red onion, and a few mushrooms, seasoning with a new California EVOO, Tarrogon, French Thyme, coarse sea salt, and
freshly gr. Pepper.

[Jenise]

Karen, we're on the same page. For dinner tonight we're having a beef and barley soup as well, but with an Eastern European twist: beets and cabbage are in it, too.

Yesterday's unexpected afternoon of dental surgery threw me off course for our dinner plans, so Bob got a cheeseburger at McDonalds on the way and I had a cup of leftover black eyed pea soup when we got home. We haven't been to a McDonalds in ages: there was a pic on the menu board of a burger with lettuce and tomato in a pitch for a combo meal, but none of the single burgers described in the offerings included vegetables other than lettuce in the Big Mac. So when I bitched about it they actually did a custom order: a quarter pounder with lettuce, tomato and pickle hold the ketchup. But the burger came in a box with no wrapper, and the lettuce is chiffonade. I'll be picking lettuce out of the seat for weeks. For eating in your car: ridiculous.

Your soup sounds terrific, Karen. You reminded me that I gotta bake some bread this weekend.

Tonight I'll be making chicken tagine, using preserved kaffir limes instead of preserved lemons.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I headed off to Skagit County to buy mahi at the best fish place in these here parts, which I'd heard they had. Got about 20 miles into the 50 mile trip when it occurred to me to call and reserve some. Good thing--they were sold out already. Drat! So we ended up at Costco, where I bought the smallest pkg of ahi tuna they had which was still about two pounds. Then friends invited us for dinner so today it's all-day ahi. First a poke for lunch and tonight, for dinner, seared blocks on rice.

But about the poke: I seasoned it with lime juice, chopped green onions, chopped sweet white onion, soy sauce and sesame oil, then poured Fly By Jin Chile Crisp Vin over each serving. That Chile Crisp Vin, made from black vinegar, pureed chile crisp, sesame oil and sugar, is the BEST stuff. I refreshed my pour of that stuff twice before finishing my portion. As y'all know I'm not much for goop, but this is really really great goop and I don't want to run out, EVER. The hunt for replacement begins today.

...poured Fly By Jin Chile Crisp Vin over each serving. That Chile Crisp Vin, made from black vinegar, pureed chile crisp, sesame oil and sugar, it is the BEST stuff.... don't want to run out, EVER...

Nice. Can see how it would be delicious. Fly by Jing is a popular brand around here and I've liked the chili crisp, but not sure if I've seen this particular Vin product. Will keep my eyes out and try it.

That sounds like a really good poke, Jenise. There are poke shops near my office; wonder whether they are any good?

The vin sounds good, I might try to reproduce.

The vin sounds good, I might try to reproduce.

Indeed. Was thinking the same thing. Chili crisp, sesame oil and various Chinese black vinegars are in my core rotation for flavor combinations. Although perhaps there is some additional proprietary spice blend in the product! Will take a look if I see it.

Fly By Jin Chile Crisp Vin? OMG, being the crazy person I am for unusual oils and vinegar, how did I not know about this? It has been ordered and should be on its way soon! I have a huge bottle of their chile crisp in my fridge and especially love in on slices of hard-boiled eggs at breakfast. I use it in marinades and have added it to soups, stews, on veggies and tried it on vanilla ice cream.

[Jenise]

The vin sounds good, I might try to reproduce.

Should be easy enough. I also plan to attempt it, since I might not see this product again and I have all the components.

[Jenise]

That sounds like a really good poke, Jenise. There are poke shops near my office; wonder whether they are any good?

It was great. I lightly smashed diced avocado and laid that in the bottom of a cylinder mold, then piled the poke on top. I served it with shards of Yehuda unsalted matzos, my favorite blank canvas for this kind of thing. I posted a pic on Facebook and a friend carped that matzohs aren't Hawaiian. Oh, REALLY?