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…
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Christine marinated a piece of Mahi Mahi in miso, vinegar, and honey, and After cooking it through I reduced the marinade, plus a little wine, to make a thick sauce. Also, a bunch of kale cooked with a slice of bacon and half an onion with lemon juice to finish, and mashed steamed sweet potato. Real yummy with a 2001 Matrot Volnay-Santenots.
After another amazing trip to the farmers’ market, and the inevitable pile of sausages (duck & green peppercorn, feta & curry, hot Italian) that followed for dinner, we had all vegetables the next night to balance it out. I made a chick pea curry, and three salsas: corn, roasted pepper and tomato, and tomatillo. Some leftover edamame from the market, puréed with wild apple and radish, became the filling for some fried wonton appetizers, and…
The apotheosis of my favorite random meal: this one began with an onion and carrots, plus half a can of black beans, the rest of the pea soup defrosted for the fancy dinner (which included big chunks of bones,) the last of the short rib meat, a head of kale, a summer squash, a sweet potato, the last of the green curry purée which began as John’s soup, half a bag of annelini (O-shaped pasta,)…
Christine had also bought nice big scallops with the salmon, but it was too much for one meal, so I sliced them and made a ceviche with lemon, cider vinegar, ginger, shoyu, and shallot. This sat overnight in the fridge. The remaining maki got a quick egg/flour/ume vinegar batter and browned all around. Given the cold, rainy weather, I gave the ceviche a quick toss in the same pan to heat it through and thicken…
Beautiful wild Atlantic salmon satisfied both raw and cooked cravings, as perfect fish so often does around here. First, maki of raw collar, curried greens from the night before, and brown rice. The curry added a very nice counterpoint to the rich fish and tied the fish and rice together particularly well. Then, the remaining fillet crusted with ginger, sesame, garlic, salt and pepper, seared up on both sides and finished covered, and got a…
The rest of John’s soup inspired (and was added to) kale and collards, cooked until soft in coconut milk and fenugreek/cumin/fennel seeds with onion and vindaloo paste. All puréed together, and then with small cubes of tofu in place of the cheese, over brown rice with cilantro and mango chutney. Clean, green, and mean with a leftover Mendocino rosé (allegedly made by Caymus.)
John came over, just back from Japan, and brought 2 amazing old bottles so we whipped up some worthy grub to go with them. I took the remaining pie crust from the freezer, along with the kraut, a radicchio, and the one Italian sausage not cooked the other night, and made a filling for the tart that also included red onion. All cooked down, with wine, to a spicy/bitter/funky dark purple and went on the…
Kris, Ken, Mary, and David came up from the city so we had a suitably fancy feast. I kept the courses small, and we had great fun moving back and forth through the wines, trying them with different things. First, a sashimi of heirloom tomatoes with corn salad (with red onion, thyme, and grape tomatoes,) which matched perfectly with the 2004 Collio “Molamatta” that Kris & Ken brought. Dressed with sesame & olive oils, nam…
Another spelt crust got the treatment: the two remaining merguez, along with more caramelized onions, dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and herbs cooked in the iron pan until nice and dark, then went on the crust with basil and a layer of parmesan. It came out crispy and fantastic, with heirloom tomatoes on the side and a Collioure “Les Clos de Paulilles” (Grenache/Syrah) rosé 2005.