What's Cooking (Take Four)

I visited our new grocery store in the neighborhood again. They are over 30,00 sq. ft. now and have a sushi bar and a crew working all day to make them. I picked up Spicy Shrimp Inari a beautiful concoction made to look like artwork. It was delicious. I have not had much experience with this type of food other than California Rolls. I can see that my lunches will improve as I enter this new world of food.
Mike, it is great seeing you on here again, I recall you were a popular poster years ago and someone I admired for the gentleman that you were. I often wondered what happened to you.

[Jenise]

Pan fried halibut with lemon-butter-caper sauce, steamed rice, and roasted broccoli. All cooked in the ADU, as the kitchen in our house has been out of commission since the remodel started a year ago.

And an ADU is...?

Lucky you with the halibut. It was my intention to buy some at Whole Foods who have it on special, and they were out at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon. I was like, "how can you be out, this is on special, how did you not have enough? Why do I even come here?"

Breakfast this morning is blueberry, lemon sourdough bread, cooked by a lady in town who has a license to make bread out of her kitchen. It is delicious with huge blueberries. Also, a bowl of grapefruit and orange segments, sprinkled with Vietnamese Cinnamon. I always have a small helping of Greek yogurt to dissolve the two pills I take each day, Today's flavor is vanilla honey.

Pan fried halibut with lemon-butter-caper sauce, steamed rice, and roasted broccoli. All cooked in the ADU, as the kitchen in our house has been out of commission since the remodel started a year ago.

And an ADU is...?

Lucky you with the halibut. It was my intention to buy some at Whole Foods who have it on special, and they were out at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon. I was like, "how can you be out, this is on special, how did you not have enough? Why do I even come here?"

Sorry, "ADU" stands for "accessory dwelling unit". It's what the city calls granny flats or in-law quarters. We took our garage down a few years back and had the ADU built. We-re not renting it out - it's here mostly to try and attract friends and relative to come visit. We put in a two-"burner" induction hob along with a toaster oven and microwave, so that's been our cooking situation while the Eternal Remodel has been going on.

And Whole Foods really ought to do better than that!

[Jenise]

Mike, when will the reno be done? Would love to see pictures. I recall seeing some early on--the amount of rot discovered was quite something.

I actually 'cooked' something yesterday. Was headed over to watch the Masters with my BIL who was making a paella for our dinner. I had some frozen local tuna, so I thought of making a tartare. My tartares are invariably Asian-ish, so to make this Spanish-ish instead, I still used soy sauce for depth but I sliced the tuna instead of chopping it, sliced the onions instead of dicing, used parsley instead of cilantro, added big capers and chopped meyer lemon including the rind, and included roasted peanut oil and chopped peanuts for seasoning and texture. DELISH! Served on tortilla chips.

Well, the first estimate on completion of the renovation was last September. We didn't believe that, and weren't surprised when it was moved to last December. But here we are in April with work yet to be done. It's all small stuff - electrical outlets, faucets, light fixtures, etc., but we can't use the place until that all gets finished. Our contractor does extremely high quality work but is not great at project management. We are constantly coming across situations in which it's time to install something but that "something" has yet to be ordered. And then we hear that it'll be three weeks before that "something" gets delivered. I've learned to roll with it and just figure that it will someday get done. My wife is far less sanguine about it and is wildly frustrated. We've started moving into the kitchen, ready or not. It's a big mess at the moment, so I'll hold off on photos until we start getting things a bit more organized.

Yesterday I had the gas grill out for the first time this year. Grilled chicken thigh rubbed in Thai hanglay curry powder, along with Paul Prudhomme's Brabant potatoes.

-Paul W.

I'm a potato nut and those sound awesome, thanks!

Mike, it is great seeing you on here again, I recall you were a popular poster years ago and someone I admired for the gentleman that you were. I often wondered what happened to you.

I missed this earlier - thanks, Karen! It's good to see you're still here as well. Still living in Redding?

[Jenise]

Well, the first estimate on completion of the renovation was last September. We didn't believe that, and weren't surprised when it was moved to last December. But here we are in April with work yet to be done. It's all small stuff - electrical outlets, faucets, light fixtures, etc., but we can't use the place until that all gets finished. Our contractor does extremely high quality work but is not great at project management. We are constantly coming across situations in which it's time to install something but that "something" has yet to be ordered. And then we hear that it'll be three weeks before that "something" gets delivered. I've learned to roll with it and just figure that it will someday get done. My wife is far less sanguine about it and is wildly frustrated. We've started moving into the kitchen, ready or not. It's a big mess at the moment, so I'll hold off on photos until we start getting things a bit more organized.

I don't blame Mardi, I'd be angry too. Perfectly avoidable delays for something so looked forward to for so long at my continued inconvenience would be intolerable. Sure hope it all gets settled out and you're fully in soon; I'll look forward to pictures.

Yesterday I cooked asparagus. That is, I brought fresh halibut home from Anacortes. The plan was to do pan fry the fish with a potato crust and serve it with asparagus. Very ambitious in my current state of mind. But the second I walked in the door the phone rang--I literally had to set the bag down to answer the phone--and it was the guy from the cremation place who, it turns out, lives in my neighborhood and wanted to hand-deliver the death certificates. I said okay and poof here he was with the certificates--and a box of ashes. In spite of all my protestations both verbally and in writing on the doc I filled out online initially, they didn't get it that I didn't want them. He took them away with him but I was so freaked that I decided to go to a meeting I'd otherwise planned to ditch, and ended up drinking wine all night with friends and skipping dinner.

So tonight: fresh halibut.

Hi Mike, yes, I still live in Redding, and both sons are in the Sacramento area. The eldest son still works for Southern Wine and Spirits. He is a people person and loves what he does. His son is all grown up now, married, and has an 18-month-old girl. He is a golf coach for a country club golf course in Sacramento and manages the pro shop.

Jenise, I get it about the ashes; I did not want them either. When they delivered Gene's, I was freaked out. Like you, as a child, I was harshly introduced to death and given no preparation on what I was to see. It has been with me all my life, and I rarely attend funerals unless it is someone very close. My dad felt the same way about dealing with funerals, and told me once that if you live long enough, all your friends have died and there is no one to come anyway. That is ME I've lost all my close friends.

Made a ham and bean soup with a medley of beans: pinto, white, red, and black. Onions, garlic, carrots, celery, a bit of thyme, a bit of smoke, and seasoning. Oh, and a little bit of dried potato flakes for thickening. (Could have used mashed potatoes from scratch, but why bother?) Quite tasty.

My dad felt the same way about dealing with funerals, and told me once that if you live long enough, all your friends have died and there is no one to come anyway. That is ME I've lost all my close friends.

It is one of the puzzling things about Life: if you have good genes and you eat right and have a little luck then you get to watch everyone you know die and everything you know be forgotten by everyone else.

Nothing better than a ham hock and bean soup, which sounds delicious, Larry, and reminds me how long it has been since I made it. We have a locally owned meat and seafood shop here, and they carry the best ham hocks for making soup.

Nothing better than a ham hock and bean soup, which sounds delicious, Larry, and reminds me how long it has been since I made it. We have a locally owned meat and seafood shop here, and they carry the best ham hocks for making soup.

Sounds like you need to make some. FWIW, I used a quick soak (2 min boiling, I hr soaking, pour off water) for the beans. I used salt in the quick soak water to replace the calcium and magnesium ions in the bean skins, which allows them to soften quicker. And I used a pressure cooker for an hour to speed up things (which isn't necessary), but in about 2 hours I had soup.

Did an Eric Kim recipe for spicy shrimp stew last night.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... ew-for-two
Beautiful headon red shrimp, broccoli rabe, radishes. Tasty, but spicier than I expected (Betsy actually ended up leaving the broth, said too hot for her).

I have chicken wings marinating. They will go on the grill tomorrow. The marinade is Chinese-style with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, fresh ginger, garlic, 5-spice powder, and scallions. The wings marinate overnight. The wings are intended to be deep-fried, but I like them grilled.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Did an Eric Kim recipe for spicy shrimp stew last night.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... ew-for-two
Beautiful headon red shrimp, broccoli rabe, radishes. Tasty, but spicier than I expected (Betsy actually ended up leaving the broth, said too hot for her).

I take it you took his word for it on the 2 tblsp of gochugaru and didn't advance to "or more for taste"? Seems like a lot, but your gochugaru might be hotter than his. Otherwise, I absolutely love the sound of this recipe. Wish fresh shrimp more obtainable where I live, I'd be right on it.

My Easter menu is for one, and I have a flank steak marinated in a mix of EVOO, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, Mexican Oregano, onion powder, Ancho chile powder, black pepper, salt, ground cumin seed, juice from two limes, and four cloves of minced garlic. A dish of multi-colored baby potatoes cut in half and roasted with EVOO, salt, harissa paste, fresh lemon juice, and green onions is scattered over the top. I will grill asparagus along with the flank steak that is brushed with oil and fresh lemon juice, finished off with flaky sea salt.
Happy Easter, everyone.

[Jenise]

Sounds good. I've been invited to brunch at my neighbor's (25 guests expected, they had six kids between them and now there are a lot of grandchildren), and will have my bro and his partner over for a steak dinner. Not celebrating easter so much as merely getting together. We don't really do Easter but I may have to stop at our local chocolatier for a chocolate bunny, just for laughs.

Enjoy the chocolate bunny, Jenise...

I decided to cook a pot of midnight black beans, tossed in some dried chile peppers, one hot, another has a smoky vibe, and two are a mild variety. Will add to my salads this week and a taco or two.

Chocolate bunnies are da bomb!

My Easter menu is for one, and I have a flank steak marinated in a mix of EVOO, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, Mexican Oregano, onion powder, Ancho chile powder, black pepper, salt, ground cumin seed, juice from two limes, and four cloves of minced garlic. A dish of multi-colored baby potatoes cut in half and roasted with EVOO, salt, harissa paste, fresh lemon juice, and green onions is scattered over the top. I will grill asparagus along with the flank steak that is brushed with oil and fresh lemon juice, finished off with flaky sea salt.
Happy Easter, everyone.

That is very much the kind of meal I prepare for myself when my wife's out and I want to eat well. She's not a flank steak fan and I am. She always prefers mashed potatoes, but I like them roasted. (We do agree on the grilled asparagus, thiough). Happy Easter back atcha, Karen!