Chris & Sirkka and John & Debi came over, plus the girls, and I had gone into Kingston to procure a hunk of pork since John and I had been talking about it. Flisher’s was closed, but we had left messages, and I banged on the door. Some poor cleaning guy let me in, and Josh coached him over the phone in the art of cutting the sirloin off a whole pig leg on the…
cookblog Posts
Four chicken legs formed the base of a stew that combined new and leftover ingredients; the kale and cabbage from previous nights, and the last of the chicken/lamb broth plus fresh sweet potato and carrot and herbs from outside. Once tender, I pulled all the meat off the chicken bones and let it thicken some more. Good, and even better the next day for lunch.
We went to Beacon to hear an old friend play chamber music in a beautiful old hall originally built as a library. Afterwards, we went to a place called O II for dinner. Inventive, hearty as the season calls for, and reasonably priced, although the wine list is awful. We ordered 5 small plates and shared them all. First mushrooms in a rich meat reduction with a cap of puff pastry and a crab cake…
Beautiful New York Strips from Alaska farms, cooked rare and accompanied by raw grated daikon, as well as steamed slices, with a pan sauce of red wine and Banyuls vinegar and a bit of demi-glace. Eaten with a lovely 1999 Lisini Brunello, which, though young, was drinking well. I bought a bunch of the ’99 Brunellos; it will be good fun to see how they age.
So the bounty from Richard and Susan, being far too much to fit in the fridge, was of neccessity reduced by soupmaking. Amazing turnips, radishes, daikon, kale, turnip greens, parsley, cilantro, rutabaga, and leeks became about 2 gallons of rich, velvety green purée, some of which will be frozen and the rest used this week. Food as medicine in the truest sense. I cannot wait to have a garden next year.
I got a ride with John to Great Barrington to hear him play with Club d’Elf again, and the drives there and back bookended the two extremes of the culinary universe. First, a famished and rainy trip over there was saved by a sandwich of Iowa prosciutto and goat cheese on a baguette, all bought at Rubiner’s, which had the additional benefit of keeping us from dying later when the food at the club turned…
More gorgeous lamb chops from Fleisher’s, again cooked in a pan, but with an herb rub this time. They went on mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli, with a pan sauce of red wine and broth. This decadent richnes was well met by another 1998 Brusquières CDP, which has an unbelievable nose and good depth.
Burdock, peeled and sliced, cooked in water, soy sauce, and rice vinegar until the liquid cooked off and it was tender. (It actually came within seconds of burning, but I saved it with a splash more water.) The almost-burned caramelization gave the dish a fabulous richness, where the earthiness of the root and soy turned almost to an aged cheese flavor. Also cubed tofu cooked in some of the lamb-chicken broth with peas and carrots,…
Chris, Sirkka, and Nissa came over again; what you see here is steak, kabocha squash, and radicchio salad from their garden. For the first course we had a pizza with kale pesto and shiitakes sautéed with a bit of bacon. The steak was marinated in wine, broth, soy sauce, and vinegar, and then the marinade reduced for a sauce. We alternated between a 2002 Sirius and a 2001 Carver Sutro petite sirah; as always the…
I have been craving this for a while, and an order from the local Chinese place was not at all satisfying, so I got to work. I made it mild, so Milo could eat it too, and it was well received. Pork from fleisher’s, good tofu, and a sauce from the chicken/lamb broth thickened with flour since we have no corn starch. A bit of soy, some vinegar, and peas. Then a pile of spinach…