A multi-course meal tonight: first, a pot of brown rice. Second, collards cooked with mustard, fenugreek, cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds plus lemon and onion. Third, carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and a whole head of cauliflower with coconut milk, tomato paste, and two kinds of curry powder. Fourth, tilapia filets with a vindaloo paste/yogurt marinade, seared in the cast iron pan and finished under the broiler. Really, really good, and enhanced by a 2004 Trimbach…
Month: September 2006
This one was really simple, but really satisfying. First, a dashi broth, supplemented with the sauce from the night before, and miso at the end with the heat off. Julienned carrots blanched, then udon cooked in the same water. All in a bowl with sliced duck breast on top and gomasio over all. The smoky dashi and smoky duck were a pretty powerful harmony, and done very well by a 2003 Chèze Saint-Joseph.
Back from the city, where work alas precluded any fancy eating, and planning on guests who alas then couldn’t make it, I defrosted a beautiful duck (fleisher’s) and fired up the smoker. The apple wood from Vermont has been sitting outside, and it’s not really dry. This makes it really smoky, but not enough to sustain a fire by itself, so I put it on top of the hardwood (beech, ash, and maple) we use…
The chicken carcass from last night became a broth, while Fleisher’s beef shanks seared then braised in wine and some of said broth, and more demi-glace. Instead of simple saffron flavor, I stirred in more of the pesto, again from last night, and some local sheep feta at the end. The meat liquid reduced to a yummy thick pan sauce, and I steamed up some broccoli in the meat pan towards the end. Yellow tomato,…
We had planned to go over to Chris and Sirkka’s place, and I had wanted to smoke a chicken, but it was pouring rain all afternoon, so I roasted it. I was late putting it in the oven, so we finished it in theirs while everything else cooked. I augmented the remaining kale pesto with the watercress purée from trout night, plus more garlic and pine nuts. This went on gnocchi (store-bought, but still good)…
Beautiful, pasture-raised veal, (fleisher’s,) pounded flat and rolled around a pesto of kale, pine nuts, garlic, onion, and oil, got a good sear and then simmered in a bit of leftover rosé until cooked through. Placed on brown rice, then the liquid (wine and pesto that leaked out the sides, plus a big spoon of demi-glace) reduced and poured around it all plus chopped herbs on top. We had this with a 1999 Autard Châteauneuf…
Adams’ in Kingston has a pretty good fish department, and I had a craving for some trout “en papillotte” so I picked up some nice ones, as well as a bag of mussels. The trout went into parchment paper with a sprig of thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and a pat of butter all inside the cavity, and into the oven. The mussels got a white wine/cider/cider vinegar broth and made a good rainy day appetizer.…
So all the remains of the dinner last night came home with us, and everyone agreed to descend on our house to finish it all. I took the guts of the red & yellow tomatoes left from the sashimi and made a salsa with red onion, lime, cilantro and a serrano chile, plus guacamole, brown rice, black beans, and the salmon became a salad with sweet potato, black olives, cinnamon, and lemon. Liz brought green…
A gathering, and in typical fashion another amazing meal. Liz marinated great salmon in a complex and smoky sauce, which reduced to a gorgeous glaze while the fish grilled. John got an enormous puffball from the market and cut it into thick slices which also went on the grill. 2 pizzas, one with chard and goat cheese, the other with pesto and caramelized onions, and Sirkka’s feenel en croûte were appetizers, and I made red…
Another chilly, rainy day called for more comfort: more bacon, plus a bit of shallot, browned, then a lump of gorgonzola dolce and some yogurt melted in, plus thyme, oregano and rosemary, and some parmesan bubbled away on low while the gnocchi cooked. All tossed together, with a bit of added parsley, it was as ridiculously good as it sounds. Blanched zucchini with lemon and an heirloom tomato salad rounded it out, and we had…