What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Today I have been baking bread - four loaves that we will be toasting for breakfast in the coming weeks. I'll freeze three.

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And currently I have a small amount of OO flour dough rising for tonight's pizza. When risen I'll punch down and put in pizza pans ready for their toppings. And with the pizzas we'll drink a Roero Arneis. Long time since we had one of them.

I'll be doing grilled, spice-rubbed chicken again tonight, accompanied by kesari pulao (rice pilaf with saffron and black cumin). I'm considering using garam masala, sambar masala, or vindaloo masala instead of the usual West Indian or Southern barbecue spice rubs.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Pretty loafs, Peter!

Yesterday, by 4:30 I still hadn't addressed dinner (did not feel well, and had only eaten watermelon earlier in the day, and would be skipping wine), so last-ditch I braised a frozen Chuck Eye steak with a whole onion, a can of diced tomatoes, a couple cloves of garlic, and lots of black pepper. When the meat was tender, I removed it to break it down into small pieces, added a handful of broken lasagna noodles and red chile flakes, then added the meat back. As good a simple, satisfying, one-pot dinner for two as there is.

Tonight I'll do a Chinese stir-fry. Just saw pictures of marinated chicken thigh pieces and bok choy lavishly sprinkled with sesame seeds and now nothing else will do. I want THAT for dinner.

[Jenise]

Funny how things change. That Chinese stir fry turned into lobster n' grits.

Heading to Farmer's Market soon, so not sure what I will find, but I will be slow cooking a pork tenderloin, seasoned well, browned and cooked with apples and sauerkraut. A coleslaw is on the menu, with green onions, jalapeño, not sure what else, but will have a rice vinegar, vegetable oil, fresh lime juice, and hot honey vinaigrette.
An update to my menu yesterday. Prices at Farmer's Market are outrageous. $10 for a dozen eggs...I am buying them from a local here at $3 a dozen for very large eggs and they deliver. I actually ran out of money after a purchase at my favorite booth where I usually spend $30 was over $40 yesterday. I did get a package of baby zucchini, and squashes, which I roasted along with store bought plum tomatoes which needed to be used and were delicious roasted. Regular tomatoes are at the market, cherry ones are not ready yet.
The pork loin and sauerkraut came out delicious, and I added a sprinkle of brown sugar over the top during the last hour. I steamed some very young red and yellow potatoes from the market, along with a few cauliflower florets I had leftover in the fridge. I only added butter and garlic salt to them, so good. My coleslaw ended up with green and red cabbage, shredded carrots, and thinly sliced radishes, dressed with olive oil, lime juice, white balsamic vinegar, cinnamon and Ancho pepper ( the vinaigrette, a post from Jenise a long time ago) which I will add to my meal tonight. The is a great combination of flavors that Jenise came up with.

I'll be picking up some curry leaves and idli batter today so I can make sambar with idli over the weekend.

-Paul W.

My favorite breakfast right now is the fresh strawberries that are huge, watermelon, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of Sparrow Lane's D'anjou Pear Vinegar. This company makes the best vinegars, sometimes I just take a spoonful as a treat!

[Jenise]

Nobody cooking this week? I haven't been. Last night I had Book Group so Bob and I ate a little melon and proscuitto before I left. Wasn't the kind of meal one reports in about!

Tonight might be just like that.

And tomorrow I might make a tartiflette.

I made another batch of Turkey Cordon Bleu and we've finished the Morels in Cream Sauce. We had some engagements in the past week so we ate out once (pretty decent Mexican) and had catch-as-catch-can once. And, of course, the obligatory sesame-crusted salmon. I think that catches me up.

I've mainly been alternating between outdoor-grilled sausages with leftover kesari pullao on the side and spaghetti with leftover marinara sauce cooked with sweet Italian sausage, green peppers, and mushrooms.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Jeff, did you try the turkey cordon bleu after I posted about it or was that already in your repertoire?

Didn't cook at home last night. Today we had arancini on marinara sauce for lunch and dinner will be braised veal chop on potatoes with a white wine gravy plus the inevitable first course salad.

Jeff, did you try the turkey cordon bleu after I posted about it or was that already in your repertoire?

After you. This is my second batch, by the way.

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In preparation for a wine event tomorrow I made a huge batch of Robin's Fennel Gratin, to which I've added an equal amount of butternut squash and a handful of whole mushrooms.

[Jenise]

Great. It's a cool dish. No idea what we're having tonight but my day will be spent gathering groceries for tomorrow's lobster thermidor.

My brother shared the other day that Lobster Thermidor would be his Last Meal request. When we were kids in the Mad Men days, my father entertained and closed a lot of deals in swanky restaurants--all either Italian or 'Continental' as they called it back in those days--dim lighting, black and red plush leather booths, all that. As such he got the red carpet treatment, and often we'd leave the younger kids with Grandma and Mom, Dad, Chris and I would have a great night out. My inner food snob was born in those days--these were not 'family restaurants' per se, and we never went to lesser coffee shop kind of places. It was full fancy with valet parking* or nothing. Chris always ordered the lobster thermidor, I always ordered prime rib.

Anyway, so The Dal Rae, a restaurant about 15 miles from where we lived and on the edge of downtown L.A., was our favorite (strangely, it still exists, extensively remodeled but the attitude's intact). And it's the only place I've ever eaten Lobster Thermidor--well, except for one very misguided attempt by a restaurant in Vancouver. It's The Dal Rae's version I need to nail: lobster chunks and lightly browned mushroom halves napped in a sherried cream sauce, piled high in the empty half-shells and broiled for a burnished finish.

Chris confessed his last meal idea in a phone conversation yesterday, having no idea that I just acquired 20 ounce lobster tails that will provide the perfect shells. Tomorrow, we'll do it! To get the whole Dal Rae effect, though, I should wear a very short black dress with tons of white ruffles poking out of the tight bodice and insist that everyone call me "honey".

*True story: Chris and I are dad's second set of children. He had two others, Cathy and Buddy, from a prior marriage that he won custody of but then turned over to the foster system (a sad fact that only came to light when we were well into adulthood). Dad rarely saw them, in fact about 18 years later so much time passed that Buddy (birth name Albert Henry Chappell) went by the name of his foster parents, Pendleton, and didn't remember that he'd ever been anyone else. And so it was that one night Dad went to The Dal Rae and a valet by the name of Buddy Pendleton took the keys to his car and said, "you look familiar". How wild is that.

Tonight it is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, legs and wings, seasoned with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, and gr. pepper, browned really well. Thin slices of fresh lemon are also seasoned with the same spice mix, and lightly browned. A sauce is made with low fat cream cheese, half and half. garlic, white wine, chicken stock, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, fresh rosemary.
A side side dish will be Egg Tagliolini with Saffron, tossed with sautéed shitake, and cremini mushrooms. butter. My usual sheet pan of roasted veggies, consists of purple carrots, orange carrots, baby zucchini, brussels sprouts, red onion, multi colored small peppers with an Italian oil, garlic, and Italian herbs.
Great story Jenise, sad, yet all a part of life. We all have our stories and they are interesting to read along with our food adventures.

[Jenise]

Tonight: a bowl of sweet sungold cherry tomatoes for starters, then cedar-planked fresh local halibut with dill-butter rice.

Tonight: a bowl of sweet sungold cherry tomatoes .

My Sungolds are still in pots; I'm waiting for their first flowers to appear before putting them in gowbags,

I has been raining here for two days, what a blessing. This morning I am making Lemon Chicken and Orzo soup to have for lunches this week and putting some in the freezer. Simple recipe but so delicious. Home made chicken stock, fresh lemon juice, leeks, celery, orzo. lots of garlic, ginger, s & p and garnished with fresh dill fronds.

[Jenise]

Karen, that sounds so good. Perfect suite of seasonings.

Last night we had cedar-planked halibut. Local halibut, just caught, that I bought from a new little market on the Indian reservation. I have avoided local halibut because I have disliked every piece of halibut I've bought called 'Pacific Halibut' (as it's called at Costco and Whole Foods Market) as compared to Alaskan halibut. There is a texture and flavor to halibut from super-cold waters that oily warm-water halibut isn't 10% of, and every time I've relented and tried some I've been sorry. The string of disappointments was so long I hit the 'never again' stage.

Until the owner of this little market talked me into trying it again. I bought a 1.25 piece (purposeful leftovers for fish tacos today). Had planned to cedar plank it on the Egg, but a storm showed up killing Bob's desire to be part of this, so I resorted to something I've never done before: got the cedar smoke going on the indoor grill, domed it under an upside-down hotel pan to smoke for about ten minutes, then moved it to a 350F oven uncovered to roast. Took another 20 minutes to reach 140F, my ideal temp for fish.

One of the best pieces of fish I've ever eaten. And those fish tacos? Ain't gonna happen because Bob ate it ALL.

[Jenise]

Oh, and tonight I'm doing the lobster thermidor.

We'll have a few bites of smoked black cod as an appie, followed by salad mimosa (that may not be it's official name, but it's butter lettuce tossed in an emulsified mustard dressing with tons of chives and topped with grated hard boiled egg. I think the egg part is called the 'mimosa'. Not sure. Then the lobster and for "dessert", a cheese course wherein slices of Cambezola cheese are topped with a confit of fresh cherries and various seeds like fennel and coriander. .

Oh, and tonight I'm doing the lobster thermidor.

A Crevette with a Mornay sauce served in a Provencal manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Uh no, not exactly!

Yes, he quoted the waitress from The Spam Sketch exactly.

In another of my Round Two efforts, I made another pot of Swiss Steaks. Still a winner.

Very creative smoke application Jenise. Halibut and Sea Bass are my favorite fish. Last time I bought wild caught sea bass, I almost had to sell stock! They both are so good, I just like a little butter, fresh lemon juice and salt and white pepper.