What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

I'm hosting a pop-up wine party in one of my little neighborhood's parks tonight and making a lox/arugula/farfalle salad to take to that.

[Jenise]

Not cooking at home tonight; will be dining at my brother's where they are serving Cajun pizza. I have no idea what to expect.

Not cooking at home tonight; will be dining at my brother's where they are serving Cajun pizza. I have no idea what to expect.

Thyme and cumin would be my guess.

[Jenise]

Best I could tell it was originally meant to be a white sauce with andouille sausage. Instead, they went red sauce, and there was some fresh mushroom, but I didn't detect anything 'Cajun' about it. It was good, though.

Cornish Game Hen tonight, has been bathing in soy sauce, fresh lemon, garlic, and butter. Hassellback potatoes as a side and veggies will be two gold and two red bell peppers cut in half. stuffed with multi colored cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, Thyme, evoo,. Peppers are bottom lined with fresh basil leaves. A drizzle of Basil, Lemon and Macadamia Nut Pesto is added at the end of cooking.

[Jenise]

Love the sound of those stuffed peppers, Karen. No idea what I'm doing tonight yet.

Love the sound of those stuffed peppers, Karen. No idea what I'm doing tonight yet.

Like you, I love tomatoes...they are fun to make. Checked out my stash of pesto, and was out of the Macadamia one, but did have a Parsley, Walnut, so that will work.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making garlipeno flank steak--chunky ground jalapenos and garlic turned into a paste with olive oil, smeared on the steak and coaxed into the channels in the meat. Ancho chile rice, creamed fresh corn with green chiles will accompany that, and it will be preceded by guacamole salad and little shrimp tostadas for an appetizer.

Back home to my own pantry and couldn't wait to use my huacatay and aji panca and amarillo to make a pollo a la brasa. I upped the cumin and added coriander to the overnight brine. The aji verde sauce to accompany the chicken makes a huge amount which is OK by me as I use it on other grilled meats, over grilled vegetables, in a salad dressing and by the spoonful. It is addictive.
A Marianito cocktail using one of the Spanish vermouths started the evening. Will be making more of those to sample the various Spanish vermouths we just stocked.

Today is the neighborhood Driveway Spaghetti Dinner. Expecting 60 and hoping to finish before a thunderstorm.

[Jenise]

Christina, how do you pull off a spaghetti dinner for 60????? I'm interested, plus, we want to go Italian for my next wine pop-up. As practiced as I am at doing these big events, I can't figure out how to go big on spaghetti.

Marinated Wagu Flank steak, grilled, than sliced thin. A mess of peppers, many colors, sizes and shapes, along with onions, garlic, charred in a skillet with lime juice, sesame oil, a little fish sauce, little soy sauce. Steak and peppers will come together in a toasted Hoagie roll. Side of red, green cabbage shredded purple and orange carrots, jalapeño, cilantro, green onions with an olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, s& p dressing.

[Jenise]

A Wagyu flank steak? Now that's something to get excited about!

Not cooking at home tonight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

On vacation in the Finger Lakes this week, just a bit south of Seneca Falls, NY. We've had easy food a couple of nights, but fired up the grill for the past two: hamburgers, and a huge coil of sweet Italian sausage, with grilled onions. Buncha cool salads on the side (cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, tomato & cucumber salad), and some buttered roasted green beans.

A Wagyu flank steak? Now that's something to get excited about!

Best flank steak I have ever had. Smaller than the normal I am used to, but great for me who cooks for one. Leftovers tonight. And I love Geoffrey Zakarian who taught me it was OK to cook a good steak in a pan. My hubs always grilled for us and steaks always went on the outdoor grill. I love the pan cooking so much better with a finish in the oven. Yep, and the Waygu beef tastes like beef used to taste. Cooked the flank in my Staub cast iron pan with a pretty ceramic coating. It did not make the mess I thought it would. Love this pan!

That Wagyu flank steak sounds delicious. Just out of curiosity, how much does it cost per pound? The cryovac flank steaks I get at the supermarket are quite expensive. I assume Wagyu skirt steak muse also be available somewhere, at some price.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Green salad with avocados and fresh oregano, Mexican spiced pork chops, creamed corn with jalapeno escabeche.

I can' t remember Jeff how much it was. I bought it with another cut of meat which was also Waygu. It is expensive and I had heard so much talk about this beef that I had to try it. It has more fat, of course and that is what makes it more like the beef Gene and I used to buy years ago. I've only bought cryovac flank once at Safeway, and did not care for it. It comes from the meat case at our local meat market. At Kent's Meats, a small but very well stocked market near the airport here has it packaged in the usual foam and plastic wrap.

[Jenise]

I'm in cooking mode for tomorrow, will be eight for an outdoor Italian barbecue dinner featuring Rao's Chicken, a recipe Karen posted here 100 years ago that I will love her forever for. It's one of my favorite things and I have never had anything like it anywhere else. Chicken is marinated for four hours in a vat of lemon and lime juice, oregano, garlic and olive oil. It is just the best stuff.

Will probably have spaghetti tonight to get in the mood.

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.

Third batch up tonight, this time for a group of 10 college friends. Adding a port wine and cherries sauce, Simple sides: grilled zucchini, beet & goat cheese salad.

[Jenise]

Very cool, Jeff. I'm wanting to make it again myself.

Very cool, Jeff. I'm wanting to make it again myself.

Very successful. I used a smoky ham and Havarti cheese. Used an egg binder and panko on the outside, and roasted a little longer to get some color.

I'm in cooking mode for tomorrow, will be eight for an outdoor Italian barbecue dinner featuring Rao's Chicken, a recipe Karen posted here 100 years ago that I will love her forever for. It's one of my favorite things and I have never had anything like it anywhere else. Chicken is marinated for four hours in a vat of lemon and lime juice, oregano, garlic and olive oil. It is just the best stuff.

Will probably have spaghetti tonight to get in the mood.

Don't remember the lime in that dish, thought it had lemon juice and red wine vinegar? Maybe I tweaked it? I am a huge tweaker.
But too funny, as I was looking for something to cook this weekend and since I have a few packages of chicken legs, thighs, I decided to make this dish, because I am loaded with frozen lemon juice, fresh garlic and lots of oregano.. Are you broiling the chicken?

I'm making yuxiang rou (fish-fragrant pork) tonight. I'll be using Lan Chi chili paste with garlic as a short cut for the sauce. The original recipe calls for pureed garlic and Sichuan pickled chiles. I don't have access to the latter so I'd end up substituting sambal oelek instead--the Lan Chi route means I don't have to grind the ingredients myself.

This weekend I'll be making ratatouille.

-Paul W.