Three meals here- all made in haste- but sharing a profound pleasure at being home and taking dictation from the garden. The first was a beautiful trout that our neighbor gave us a while back, which I cooked en papillote (my preferred method for trout) with thyme and shallots. To accompany, a salad of cucumber, cherry tomato, and red onion from the garden, dressed with cider vinegar and good olive oil. I refried some rice from the fridge with dried shrimp, tofu, corn from a leftover cob, and a random glug each of rice vinegar, nam pla, soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil. I’m pretty sure we drank another Givry.
Next, Chris and Nissa came over (Moms were in the city together.) I had been to Fleisher’s earlier buying pig jowls to make more guanciale- they obligingly let me in on a non-retail day and cut the four jowls off of two heads while I waited- so while there I grabbed some of their excellent brats and dogs from the freezer as well. The sausages grilled up really nicely, and played well with braised cabbage, escarole mash, and kimchi from the garden plus a big bowl of brown rice. It was a pleasure to eat garden greens in three forms: raw, pickled, and slow-cooked, and the kids had fun combining different garnishes with the meat to find the best bite. Chris brought a 2004 Latour Chassagne-Montrachet, and it kept the Dads very happy.
Last, I saw some local tomatillos at the store and once again broke my rule and bought some. Spun with lime, serranos, and cilantro, they made for a flourescently flavorful salsa that we ladled onto whole wheat tortillas topped with shredded chicken thighs I simmered in a fraudulent yet delicious adobo sauce (onion, garlic, spice powders, tomato paste, water) and re-steamed rice. We’re loving the brown rice these days, in case you hadn’t noticed. Short-grain, that is. We drank a Sicilian rosé, the name of which escapes me, but I’m not going to schlep downstairs to write it down and then come back up here to record it. $12. Delicious. Deftly handled acid, spice, and chicken fat, throwing off strawberries and herbs as it did so. Ergo: rosé.
ok, your neighbors seem much better than mine in brooklyn. trout!? awesome. fig tree? perfect!
where is Fleisher’s? I googled but all that came us was the meat market in kingston.
just curious in case i ever consider even trying my hand out at curing my own meats.
Hi Amy-
Our main digs are not too far from Kingston. The Brooklyn pad in the S. Slope is mostly rented out, but the best part will be available in the fall if you know anyone who’s looking.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call that adobo fraudulent. Cut yourself some slack. Tomato paste is already halfway to sauce.
The salsa sounds amazing. “flourescently flavorful” will always get me on board.
Heather: Slack? What’s that?
Brittany: Welcome aboard.