I usually try to have the meal come logically from what needs to be eaten, whether leftovers or a veggie that’s getting tired. Tonight the cauliflower Christine steamed for Milo was the jumping-off point. Puréed and mixed with a drop of truffle oil, ume shu, soy milk, salt, and dissolved agar, then chilled, it became a sort of vegan panna cotta. Acorn squash, sweet potato, and carrot curry with coconut milk went around them for…
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Far from traditional, but close to awesome, these various tidbits were filled as follows: the little egg rolls with ground lamb seasoned with garlic, rice vinegar, curry powder, tamari, ume shu, and pepper; the shu mai with the white bean/artichoke mixture, topped with black sesame seeds; and the wontons with finely shredded red cabbage, carrot, and scallion. In the middle of the plate is kale quickly cooked with a smashed garlic clove in a drop…
This meal was literally made from the last food in the fridge (although not the freezer.) From the last of the grilled lamb, some leftover kidney beans, a carrot, half an onion, a bit of kale, some dried porcini and a splash of wine came this instant risotto. Well, not really instant, but it didn’t involve broth since the various components all flavored the water as it cooked. Just the right amount of lamb gave…
I finally made it over to Kris and Ken’s place for dinner, and it was great. Sujit and James joined us, but alas Mary and David did not since his flight from Paris was so late due to bad weather. In order, the courses that Kris prepared were as follows: first, sea bream with celery root purée and caramelized garlic, enjoyed with a 1986(!) Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Reiss” from Ferret which was fascinating, and then a…
Danny got hold of a 1978 Mouton Rothschild, and thus a dinner was called for. John and Debi came too, and brought a 1979 Pichon-Lalande. I made more of the cannelini-artichoke mixture, and spread it on the toasted homemade bread, then topped each one with a quarter of an artichoke (alla Romana, of course) and a drizzle of truffle oil. These were insanely hearty and great with the 2004 Quintarelli “bianco secco” that John brought…
I went to Fleisher’s to replenish the freezer, and get a lamb shoulder for tonight, and I also got some of their pastrami, which is insanely good- really salty and peppery and smoky- and used some of it in place of pancetta in the soffrito for cannelini (made from dried, of course) along with onion, carrot, and herbs. I sautéed a head of escarole with lemon, oil, and garlic, just like they do at Pepe…
I got this recipe from Andrew’s blog, where he has a link to a no-knead bread recipe from Jim Lahey of Sullivan St. Bakery. I used half whole wheat and half white flour, but otherwise followed it exactly. The point is to make a wet dough and let it rise and ferment for 18 hours, so time does your work for you, then bake it inside a preheated Dutch oven in your oven so that…
I had been thinking about this for a few days; it always works out best when I cook what I really want to cook and tonight was no exception. Trout “en papillote” stuffed with garlic and herbs went in the oven along with twice-baked potatoes (for their second time) after baking and getting mashed up with garlic chives, (newly visible now the snow is melting) truffle oil, thyme, salt, pink pepper, and olive oil and…
Christine went to the city, so Milo and I were alone this weekend. Yesterday, we made chicken stew with shiitakes, carrots, parsnip, celery root, moroccan lemon, and white wine, and today for lunch I added Lebanese couscous, the kabocha purée from salmon night, some red cabbage, and more roots, letting it simmer until all was soft. We’ll have the rest for lunch tomorrow. For her return, I defrosted 2 duck breasts, steamed a mixture of…
I almost made the wasabi pea crust again for this salmon, but opted instead for cornmeal and spices (paprika, pink pepper, herbes de Provence, cinnamon.) Steamed kabocha squash made a super-creamy mash, and needed nothing but a little oil and salt, and then, still in the same pan, I browned shiitakes, then wilted spinach, each time with their own fresh smashed garlic clove. Last, another orange-based sauce: OJ, wine, tamari, agave syrup, pink pepper that…