First, a pot of brown rice (with plenty extra for leftovers.) Then, dal of red lentils with fenugreek, coriander, cumin, and mustard seeds. Last, a tomato-based curry of tofu, carrots, onions, the last of some sheep yogurt, and various powders and pastes. The dal is really worth te few extra minutes; dried lentils keep forever and it adds so much to the plate to have a rich, creamy counterpart to the much sharper curry. Perfect…
Month: January 2007
A fantastic party, up at Allaire studios, on top of a mountain, on a freezing night. Colin from The Tasting Room in NYC came up to make about 20 of us a crazy dinner, and we brought wine to go with. The meal began with oysters, then crostini of smoked trout, accompanied by Sine Qua Non’s “Backward and Forward” which tasted like mutant Sherry, as well as some Kistler Chards, and then we sat down.…
In honor of my Grandfather, J. Howard Beck, on his 100th birthday, we made an updated but still honest version of borscht and blini (he was born in Poland, specifically in the shtetl of Rozvadof) that I think he would have enjoyed. Having beet salad and red cabbage already in the fridge, I added the last half pint of lamb demiglace from the freezer, as well as some broccoli stalks, and simmered it for an…
The remaining barley with the addition of milk, agave syrup, and bananas, simmered this morning into a yummy breakfast for Milo. For lunch, we all had tortellini in a classic fridge sauce: the stuffing from Xmas, which Christine puréed last week with a can of tomatoes into soup (like a chickeny pappa al pomodoro) mixed with the kale pesto left over from a recent pizza, plus the last of the short rib liquid and the…
I got home later than I had hoped, but still had time to get these pretty tender. Browned, then simmered in wine, tomato paste, soy sauce, onion, dried porcini, and chard stems, served on barley with the strained and reduced cooking liquid and red cabbage braised in more wine and soy, they found a special place between beef-barley soup and corned beef & cabbage. We tried two different 97 Bordeaux: a Pavillon Rouge de Margaux…
I made beet salad the other day, and saved the cooking liquid for something else; it’s not as strong as actual beet juice, but a decent substitute. So I reduced it with soy sauce and honey while I seared up some nice wild salmon (I also made the rubbed shrimp like we had before Xmas as an appetizer) and refried some brown rice with cherry tomatoes. Broccoli raab with smashed garlic and lemon cleaned up…
The shrimp shells left from making the shumai yesterday became the base for tonight’s dinner; along with an onion and garlic, plus some white wine, they simmered into a really nice broth. Bean thread noodles and blanched baby bok choy rounded out the soup, and scallions and cilantro finished it. We drank the rest of the cheap white- a 120 Sauvignon Blanc- which for 6 bucks was peachy, had good acidity, and went well with…
I spent the day making various finger foods for John and Debi’s party; he and I had worked out a vague plan so I contributed 4 things to what turned out to be an incredible night of food, champagne, and dancing. We made pie crust, and with my half I used a muffin tin to make little shells. These got filled with grated gruyère, then caramelized onions, then a pinch more cheese, then pine nuts…
John came over to make pie crust for their party, so we opened a couple of old Burgs I bought for a song in Kingston: a 1976 Drouhin Clos des Mouches and a 1978 Geoffroy Clos Prieur. The Gevrey-Chamb was the favorite, but over time the Beaune gained some sweetness. John left before we ate another Moroccan chicken stew with preserved lemon, olives, and sweet potatoes. By the end of the night the wines were…
Our friend and neighbor Mimi came over, and I made Indian food (or an approximation thereof.) Chick peas simmered in coconut milk, tomato paste, spices, and capon broth I made the day before from the carcass had broccoli added at the end so they would stay bright green. I also sautéed Kale with onion, garlic and lemon, and mashed sweet potatoes with ginger and cinnamon. The burdock/shiitake gravy had many spices added to it and…