What's Cooking (Take Three!)

I remember another character long ago from, I believe, Montreal who was kicked off the forum eventually for major misrepresentations of some sort.

[Jenise]

Stuart wasn't kicked off. He and Cynthia got together and rode off into the sunset. There was a guy from Montreal who was very active for a long time; wasn't kicked off either, just had some kind of online fight with another member or two, a situation that happened in the middle of the night my time so I only woke up to the wreckage, by which time they'd stomped off and were never seen again. I never actually understood what happened.

Stuart wasn't kicked off. He and Cynthia got together and rode off into the sunset. There was a guy from Montreal who was very active for a long time; wasn't kicked off, just had some kind of online fight with another member or two, a situation that happened in the middle of the night my time so I only woke up to the wreckage, by which time they'd stomped off and were never seen again. I never actually understood what happened.

Stuart's job was running research laboratories and it just started taking more time than he had available for internet socializing. I see that The Stupids site is still up and refreshed within the past year: https://www.the-stupids.com/

I don't even remember which other two jokers you're referring to, nor the incident.

Tonight is a simple, fun dish veggies with parmesan shrimp. It has one head of broccoli with stems, 1/2 head cauliflower, 1 red onion, 1 bell pepper (whatever color you prefer_ all cut into 1-inch pieces. Put into a large bowl, add 3 T evoo, 1 tsp salt, and whatever herb you prefer. I cut fresh thyme from the garden, a french, and a lemon-scented variety. Toss well and put into a sheet pan. Toss 1 lb. of peeled, deveined, tail off large shrimp in the same bowl you tossed veggies in, add 1/2 C freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 1/2 tsp dried oregano and toss well. Put sheet pan of veggies into a 450° oven, roast for 15 minutes or until cooked through and beginning to brown. Remove veggies from oven and scatter shrimp on top. Return to oven for 8 min or until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Zest a lemon over the top of the sheet pan and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

[Jenise]

That sounds great, Karen.

We loved loved loved the tomato paella, btw. Will make that again and again! And we're having leftovers for lunch today. Served a Lopez de Heredia Tondonia with that. Major yum.

Last night we went southern. Started with a salad of local lettuces, thin sliced onion and pecans, and followed that with a grilled pork on white grits doused in a light and quick sauce made of vinegar, maple syrup and red chile flakes.

I'll be making Sichuan dry-fried beef tonight.

-Paul W.

Tonight Chicken enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce with a few Hatch Chiles thrown in. Have a few left from last year's roasting, need to make room for a fresh batch when they hit the stores. A refreshing green salad with garden tomatoes, garden basil, marinated artichoke hearts, and young green onions, with a lemon vinaigrette.

[Jenise]

Hatch chiles are already in up here. The local Haggen (owned by Safeway) had them, though they didn't look great. Also, the mediums and hots were right next to each other. No way I'm buying from anyone where those two could get mixed up. I like mediums so I can have more fleshy green chile flavor without building up the heat.

Last night I made roasted Icelandic cod--nestled in a bed of cannellini beans and castelveltrano olives, smeared with chopped calabrian chiles and salt, olive oil and slivered onions added. Takes about three minutes to get it in the pan and about 25 minutes to cook (at 300F). Really great, light dish and super simple to make.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm doing an Italian themed dinner. Cooking for friends and a 90F day, theme Italian white wines. Here's the menu

Artichoke and lemon ricotta crostini
Tomato-olive focaccia
Salad: Arugula, radicchio, frisee, blue cheese, walnuts, red wine vinaigrette
Main: cedar planked roast halibut, lemon pesto linguine, fava beans
Chocolate, plum and rosemary gallette*
Italian white wines

*This is a recipe first printed in Food & Wine mag in 2002 and brought to my attention by someone on this board. I made it several times before forgetting it's existence, and it dawned on me yesterday while staring at plums at the store that it would be great with this menu. So whoever posted it--thank you!

Thanks for the heads up Jenise. I called our Safeway store and the produce guy took my name and phone number and will be calling when they come in. That store has been selected to do a big Hatch Chile BBQ on the 26th of August. I asked if they would be grilling the chiles to sell as many stores do and he was not sure. If that is the case, I may wait and just buy them all done. It has been so darned hot here, I have trees and shrubs with burnt leaves. Never have seen it this bad. Not a great time to be standing over a hot grill.

lemon pesto linguine

Is this just regular pesto with a squeeze of lemon in it, or something more formal?

[Jenise]

Something different. No herbs involved although some chives added to the pasta the pesto dresses is a good touch. It's lemon zest, almonds, parm and olive oil seasoned with a salt, pepper if you want and a dash of sugar. It's a recipe from Amalfi where spectacular lemons are grown--I'm using Meyers which I think should be closer. (But I've never been to Amalfi.)

Tonight we are having nice bone-in pork chops, about 1-1/4 inch thick, marinated in good balsamic vinegar, evoo, lots of smacked garlic, about 8 cloves, steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and black pepper, fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped. Whisk well. Put chops in a baking dish, top with marinade, turning once or twice, put plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate overnight. Place in 400° oven and cook until temp, reaches 145°.
Side is a cilantro rice.

1 cup Jasmine Rice to 1-1/4 cup chicken broth, add a little chicken bouillon powder and cook rice
In a small food processor, add 2/3 cup cilantro, with small stems, loosely packed
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 large jalepeño pepper, chopped
1 TBS fresh lime juice
1 tsp. evoo
When rice is done, (I like to add a pat of butter here) combine with cilantro blend and mix well. This rice is delicious.

[Jenise]

That rice sounds great. Well, I like the pork chops too but the rice is particularly appealing. I'm making ribs tonight (trying to work down the freezer, once again) and was thinking of a gochujang glaze. Your rice, for which I have the ingredients, sounds like it would make a great accompaniament.

Something different. No herbs involved although some chives added to the pasta the pesto dresses is a good touch. It's lemon zest, almonds, parm and olive oil seasoned with a salt, pepper if you want and a dash of sugar. It's a recipe from Amalfi where spectacular lemons are grown--I'm using Meyers which I think should be closer. (But I've never been to Amalfi.)

Ooh, would you publish proportions, please? I'm also thinking a few toasted, buttered bread crumbs over the top would do well.

[Jenise]

We LOVED it, Jeff. It was a great nest for grilled fish. I'll type up the full recipe for you later, but it was essentially four lemons (of which the skin is the imporrtant part), half a cup each parm and skinless almonds, and olive oil. I finished it with fresh chopped chives.

Simple meal tonight. Ham, corn, salad, but one of the sides was something I haven't made for quite a while: creamed pigweed (pigweed with a seasoned bechamel sauce).

[Jenise]

PIGWEED? What the H is that?

PIGWEED? What the H is that?

I thought you'd never ask. It goes by several names, including wild amaranth. They are common summer weeds that can grow quite tall. If you pull one out of the ground it has a red root. The taste is similar to spinach or chard.

Last night I made the recipe Jenise mentioned above with the halibut on cannellini beans, Calabrian peppers, etc. Found the recipe at The Defined Dish for the exact recipe. Very fast and easy dish as she said and what I loved was the Calabrian fermented peppers from Trader Joe's and used Champagne vinegar for the beans. Very nice touch. We had Ancient Encrusted Cod so we used that instead of Halibut. Leftovers tonight.Thanks for the heads up on that dish Jenise, another neighbor loved it too.

The bomba rice that I ordered has arrived. Now I just have to find a source of good, fresh tomatoes and I can make that tomato paella.

-Paul W.

Paul, I did not have any more Bomba rice in my pantry so I use Italian Arborio rice. What might the difference be in the end result? Just wondering if I should order the Bomba and keep it on hand for the tomato paella...

Last night's side dish was sauteed dandelion leaves with onions, garlic, chile flakes, and Parmesan cheese.

Paul, I did not have any more Bomba rice in my pantry so I use Italian Arborio rice. What might the difference be in the end result? Just wondering if I should order the Bomba and keep it on hand for the tomato paella...

As I understand it, Bomba absorbs more liquid than Arborio. It's recommended to reduce the liquid a bit, depending on the size of the pan, half a cup to a cup.