Month: March 2006

March 30, 2006

I browned up a slab of ribs, then added carrot, celery root and onion to caramelize. After that dried porcini, star anise, vietnamese five spice, wakame, ume and balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, parsley sprigs, black pepper, cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, and a little honey followed by water to cover. Cooked low for a couple hours while lima beans cooked with the remaining fennel and roots from the roast chicken a few nights back. Removed the…

March 26, 2006

I’ve been on a tear lately in the studio, so the cooking has been simpler as I spend less time on it. To spare you endless variations on rice & beans, etc., here’s a transcription of the meals we made on a trip to the big island in December of 2002 with some friends. I’m leaving a few things out, but it was the best eating over a prolonged period any of us had done…

March 26, 2006

Nothing fancy, but in the pan along with the cumin/cinnamon/smoked salt crusted bird went quartered fennel, a quartered lemon, onion, whole garlic cloves, parsnip and jerusalem artichoke. The veggies browned and softened perfectly and I deglazed the pan with a little balsamic and a little ume vinegar mixed with the juices post-carving.

March 23, 2006

There’s a pizza place in Rome, right on Largo Argentina, with no charm at all, that makes a potato pizza with truffle butter which must be tasted to be believed. So tonight the mandoline I got for my birthday came in handy for slicing sweet potato nice and thin. Brushed with good olive oil and overlapped on thinly rolled dough, then topped with a layer of equally thin onion, celtic salt, pepper, fresh rosemary from…

March 7, 2006

Wonderful organic tenderloin, rubbed with pepper and truffle salt, seared up and sliced over brown rice cooked with leftover burdock and brussels sprouts. A pan sauce of zin dregs, soy sauce, rice vinegar and a splash of ponzu. Crusty on the outside and totally raw in the middle. A side of leeks and pine nuts caramelized in olive oil and a bit of butter. This preceeded a wine and cheese hang in the studio which…

March 7, 2006

A couple of good friends came over, so we had a fancy 3-course dinner: 1. Puréed soup of roasted Kabocha and yellow beet with 1998 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 2. Shiitake risotto with Carciofi alla Romana (Roman style artichokes) and poached quail eggs with Thackrey‘s Pleiades XII 3. Pan-roasted duck breast on burdock-parsnip purée with pomegranate-tamarind-blood orange reduction with the 2001 Carver Sutro Petite Sirah Our one vegetarian guest had patties made from mung beans…

March 4, 2006

Got a bit of perfect wild Alaskan salmon and ate half of it sashimi style with just nama shoyu, then cut the rest into cubes and added capers, lemon, parsley, onion, and oil to make a tartare. Let it sit for half an hour to marry the flavors and served it with a raw quail egg on top. Then some ground lamb went in a bowl with choppped Kalamata olives, cumin, cinnamon, lemon juice, a…

March 3, 2006

Normally we try to eat vegetables which are in season and local, but this time I had a craving for some summer flavor and made a stir-fry of tofu with yellow bell pepper, zucchini, and grape tomatoes. Very simple, but good alongside burdock braised with arame seaweed, dried shiitake, and a bit of soy. Served on top of the red quinoa from the other night. Both went remarkably well with the 2002 Beringer Sbragia Chardonnay,…

March 1, 2006

Came back from a night upstate and had this in the fridge: chicken thighs, collards, and the usual assortment of grains and condiments. So I defrosted the chicken (I know, I know) and rubbed it with some cumin and cinnamon, rubbed some lemon slices with the same, plus smoked salt, and seared up the chicken in the big sautée pan. Drained extra fat, then added minced onion, garlic, and chopped collards plus a bit of…