Month: April 2007

April 26, 2007

A cold, crappy day, that hindered the installation of the garden fence so it will take another morning to complete. In response, something comfortable and simple: roasted chicken thighs with a spice rub perched on sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs that roasted on the rack below the chicken. We drank another 1997 Teófilo Reyes Ribera del Duero.

April 24, 2007

The warm weather and impending garden are inspiring so many culinary thoughts these days; when the plants wake up it seems crazy not to have every meal centered around them, with meat or fish as a garnish, or a rich side dish. So tonight, on the eve of the garden fence going in (and thus despite the lack of any actual vegetables) wild Alaskan salmon was an appetizer to a very simple plate of rice,…

April 22, 2007

This pic is from lunch, actually; I almost made potato salad last night but the spuds ended up in the curry instead. So today I steamed cubed new potatoes and tossed them with olives, pickles, ramps, scallions, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a dressing of olive oil, cider & balsamic vinegar, mustard, and lemon juice. Really tangy, creamy, and addictive, and served on a bed of mesclun. For dinner, brown rice, pinto beans (soaked, then simmered…

April 22, 2007

The many-flavored sauce entered the home stretch with this one, as it became a curry with cauliflower and fingerling potatoes added, plus the requisite spices (and a couple of ramps; they just arrived, and we’re eating half of them and planting the other half.) It keeps getting richer and deeper, and may be the first recorded instance of sopressata ending up in a curry.) I also made little rolls with wonton skins, filled with shiitake,…

April 16, 2007

Chicken thighs, leeks, and some sliced shiitakes browned in the big sautée pan, while sliced burdock cooked with more shiitakes until soft, then had the rest of the oyster soup added to it, along with the last spoon of osso buco demi-glace, parsley, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper. Then the sauce went in the chicken pan (deglazed first with a splash of red wine) and it all cooked together for a bit while I steamed some…

April 14, 2007

The leftover oysters went in a pot with cubed new potato, the rest of the turnip/daikon mash, a bit of tomato paste, garlic, a squeeze of lemon, and water to cook into a chowder of sorts; in order to amplify the chowderness (chowderivity? chowdertude? chowderosity?) I whisked in a bit of yogurt and butter at the end, along with some halved grape tomatoes for color and contrast with the paste. The corn meal from the…

April 14, 2007

I got some shucked oysters from the market, rolled them in corn meal and spices and browned them in a pan. They weren’t quite the fried oysters we had at Uglesich’s in New Orleans a few years back, but they weren’t bad- and no doubt a tad healthier- especially with a horseradish mayonnaise I whipped up. I was sad to hear that they decided to close, but given what happened soon after it seemed like…

April 13, 2007

Another cold, snowy day warranted some hearty food, so pasture-raised Veal shanks from the freezer got a good long braise in the dutch oven along with carrot, leek, onion, parsley, fennel seed, herbes de Provence, dried porcini, and red wine. Meanwhile, I steamed cubed turnip and daikon and whisked polenta with parmesan and pepper. I was trying to make two identical-looking creamy bases for the rich meat, but didn’t get the roots soft enough (even…

April 11, 2007

I had made a broth from a chicken leg bone and the steak trimmings from the other night plus carrot, celery root, and onion, and tonight added galangal, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice. After simmering for a bit, I strained out the pieces and added the two leftover baked squash halves and the soft carrot from the original broth, then stick-blended it all smooth and added back tiny bits of the super-tender steak. To complete…

April 11, 2007

Chris, Liz, and Nissa came for dinner while Sirkka and Christine were in the city. Chris brought a big steak, and a bottle of 1990 Batasiolo Barolo that was tragically corked. We grilled the steak, baked acorn squash, braised burdock with galangal and ginger, sautéed bok choy, and made a salad. I opened a 1999 Martinetti Barolo “Marasco” which was gorgeous. Liz made an amazing cashew-vanilla-grapefruit cream that we ate on grapefruit and blood oranges…