What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Paul, it's a recipe from a famous white lady Chinese chef/restauranteur in San Francisco. Her food was absolutely outstanding, and she had a firm handle on the classics but her versions included a lot of cool twists. Her Ten Spice Powder is a perfect example. I'll have to look up the recipe (I have the book, published before she died too young of breast cancer). It's been awhile since I made it, but it's OFS and includes, among other things, toasted fennel seed.

Pan-fried Pacific whiting (that I found in my freezer) seasoned with lemon peri-peri and a sauteed medley of homegrown veges.

Last night I made Jenise's Braised Tuscan Chicken with Porcini Mushrooms. OMG, was it good! I adore porcini, and this dish highlights it brilliantly. I'd never believed that a dish with such simple ingredients, and such a simple prep, could come out so good. Pure genius!

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Last night I made Jenise's Braised Tuscan Chicken with Porcini Mushrooms. OMG, was it good! I adore porcini, and this dish highlights it brilliantly. I'd never believed that a dish with such simple ingredients, and such a simple prep, could come out so good. Pure genius!

-Paul W.

Absolutely one of those 1+1=3, or maybe 300, dishes, and I'm so glad you got it on that level. I don't do that many things twice, but that's one I return to over and over.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making spaghetti. The pasta will be finished in a marinara sauce and served with fried Italian sausage patties. This is a treatment from my childhood, an off-the-menu dish my father occasionally requested at our family favorite Italian restaurant, Little Joe's. Much as I love a meat-based sauce, it's enjoyable to occasionally examine the ingredients separately and tonight we'll do that with an '08 Tignanello.

When I make spaghetti with tomato sauce, I usually put diced Italian sausage, browned in a bit of olive oil, into the sauce.

-Paul W.

Served myself lamb chops and a spinach salad, with the rest of a Kelley Fox "Mirabai".

But I spent most of the day sizzling sweet Italian sausage and then retrieving the Maillard products with shaved fennel. Kinda like a variant choucroute garni but we'll see how I finish it up in the next couple of days.

Oh, and did I mention I've made some more freezer pops? Orange/Campari, orange/Cointreau, and chocolate milk/Kahlua.

[Jenise]

When I make spaghetti with tomato sauce, I usually put diced Italian sausage, browned in a bit of olive oil, into the sauce.

-Paul W.

I love sausage-based sausages too.

Tonight we're having friends over--great patio weather here, finally. Will serve gravlax, then grilled romaine halves with rhubarb dressing, and then thick Berkshire pork chops which I'm going to sous vide then finish on a hot barbecue. I'm completely undecided about what the flavorings/sides will be. They're greek, so not going that direction. Maybe southern would make sense: smothered on grits? Wouldn't even need to go to the grill with that (Bob would be relieved).

I love sausage-based sausages too.

Your Freudian slip is showing.

The weather's hot and sticky here in New Hampshire, so I'll be grilling chicken thighs outdoors. I haven't decided what sort of rub (barbecue, berbere, jerk) to use on them yet.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

We're baking here too. Going to get all the way to 73 today! (Coolest summer I can remember.)

Sounds like I have a sausage fetish, huh!

Btw, remembered the 10 spice powder originator's name: Barbara Tropp.

Thanks for the name. Google reveals her as the author of the China Moon Cookbook, which has the 10-spice powder recipe. It's also at a bunch of internet recipe sites. I've decided that for tonight I'm going with barbecue rub. I need to make up a new batch of it anyway, so I may as well use some of that new batch tonight.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yes, China Moon. I have (and love) the book, just can't seem to put my hands on it at the moment. Considering your love of Chinese food, I think you'd find her inspired variations very interesting.

The weather's hot and sticky here in New Hampshire, so I'll be grilling chicken thighs outdoors. I haven't decided what sort of rub (barbecue, berbere, jerk) to use on them yet.

-Paul W.

Coincidently, I am having chicken thighs as well. But I'm coating them with Vivian Howards Blueberry BBQ sauce.

A riff on Julia Child's coq au vin.

HWMBO had an inexact arrival time planned so I had food ready to go at a moment's notice: skirt steak, rice balls, salad.

It is oppressively hot/sticky here so going with foods that cook quickly or can be done in the toaster oven.

Last nite I made osso bucco and served it with a simple risotto and a side of carrots from the garden.
The left over o.b. Will become a sauce for tonight’s pasta. I’ve just got some local duck eggs so will make duck egg pasta.
The left over risotto will become arancini.

[Jenise]

Barb, interesting. I never think of making risotto as a side dish, if I do it it's THE dish. Not right or wrong, just a difference of approaches despite the classic pairing of OB with a Milanese. Good plans.

Last night we had a steak. Though Monday's are usually meatless, we had been in town and I fell for a big rib eye while shopping, ostensibly, for bread flours. We shared one and it was served on the same plate with garlicky green beans and a tomato-onion salad with pesto vinaigrette. I love the combo of beef and tomato.

Today to make up for last night's indulgence we're going meatless. I'm making a tomato and mustard pie with side salad for dinner and lunch will be a kale, walnut and wild rice salad. For breakfast, huge, ripe local blackberries--one of the best fruit treats of summer.

I'll be whipping up a batch of Chris Schlesinger's Tidewater cole slaw.

-Paul W.

Last night was baked chicken drumsticks (with Korean BBQ sauce) using one of my favorite techniques: a screaming hot cast iron skillet in the oven, which is fast and makes for crispy skin.

[Jenise]

Larry, that sounds great. Last night I used the rest of the spaghetti sauce from earlier in the week on a dozen ravioli purchased uncooked/frozen from a local restaurant. Silly things came apart while cooking, only ended up with 4-5 whole ones out of the dozen. Pretty disappointing!

On the stove right now are two Chuck Eye steaks cut into about four hunks each, browned and simmering with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, three cans' worth of water, a whole sliced onion, some leftover chardonnay, two red chiles, a handful of bay leaves and garlic. The end result may end up being a soup. Might make rosemary matzoh balls to go in it--am currently undecided.

Boiled steak. How unusual.

[Jenise]

Not boiled beef. Bouef Vapeur!!!

Unexpectedly. I received a ton of frozen food from my neighbor: three huge pkgs of chicken, a monster bag of chicken patties, a bag of onions, a bag of potatoes, a bag of pinto beans, and a bag of onions. I have no room in my freezer so I cooked one bag of chicken and divvied up bags of the patties to give away. Likewise with most of the potatoes.

Obviously, we had chicken again tonight. But it was free. Oh, also made two loaves of sourdough bread using my 1847 Oregon trail starter. I plan on making some whole-wheat muffins later tonight after I take a nap.

Chicken parts + sourdough = a dish someone once made for me: She deboned a whole chicken, browned it (I don't recall how), tossed it with a bunch of sauteed red peppers, thrust it into a boule of sourdough, then baked the whole thing. We got a bread the size and shape of the roasting pan and slices off this big, rectangular loaf included some meat and some peppers. It doesn't really taste all that differently but it is quite a presentation!