What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Yesterday I happened to check the outside freezer which I haven't peeked inside of in months. Found, of all things, a 1 pound lobster tail that's been there at least a year. I poached it in the shell at a simmer and then removed it, cut it into chunks and tossed it with avocado and tomato chunks, fresh lemon juice and tarragon from my garden. Wow was that a great dinner on a sweltering hot day. After dinner, what else: cherries!!

Tonight I'm making Thai stir-fried minced chicken with chiles and holy basil. Well, almost holy basil. Ordinary Thai basil leaves (bai horapa) with some dried holy basil to give it that distinctive flavor. Unfortunately holy basil starts to wilt the moment it's picked. It's very hard to find fresh holy basil for sale because of its negligible shelf life.

-Paul W.

Too much zucchini and yellow crookneck squash went into a casserole dish yesterday for lunches this week. I sliced both and layered them in a baking dish with homemade marinara, jazzed up with a good balsamic, sliced tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano, garlic salt, onion powder, and oregano. I finished with a layer of sauce and more cheese. After it came out of the oven, I scattered sliced green onions over the top. It turned out very well, with a tasty and crusty cheese on top. I meant to add onions to each layer, but forgot...did not miss them.
Jenise, your lobster tail find and creative recipe sounds delish. I have not had lobster in years.

Zucchini overproduction already? Here in New England it's an August phenomenon. My dad planted zucchini in our garden and, although he planted fewer and fewer of them each year, always ended up with an unwieldy surplus. And being Yankees, of course New Englanders can't just throw away the excess zucchini. During zucchini harvest season in August folks have found bags of zucchini left on their doorsteps.

Tonight I'm making Beijing meat sauce noodles using Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee's recipe from The Chinese Cookbook.

-Paul W.

Paul, not from my garden, as I do not grow what I used to when the family was larger. I have six raised beds that sit empty now except for a huge rosemary plant, roses, and French tarragon, which comes up every year. I have a free-standing unit just outside my kitchen for the herbs I use the most. I made a Costco delivery and got a three-pound package of zucchini and crookneck. Lovely specimens, but a lot for me to cook. But by this time of year, I usually had a lot in my garden to deal with. It depends on the weather, but our growing season is very long here in the valley.

[Jenise]

Last night I went simple vegan for Bastille day: a baked garnet yam, cucumber and onion salad, and glass of Bordeaux.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making poke (picture an accent over the e, I don't know how to make one). Will include chopped green onion, serrano chiles, and cilantro--pretty much the usual things, but I'm going to make it a layered thing, rice on the bottom, poke on top. A recently widowed friend is coming over; we'll talk together about the things that bore people who haven't been through what we're going through now.

Tonight I'm making poke (picture an accent over the e, I don't know how to make one). Will include chopped green onion, serrano chiles, and cilantro--pretty much the usual things, but I'm going to make it a layered thing, rice on the bottom, poke on top. A recently widowed friend is coming over; we'll talk together about the things that bore people who haven't been through what we're going through now.

Try Alt 0233 while holding down the Alt key.

[Jenise]

The poke terrine was delish!

Tonight: baked potato and green salad, wherein the potato is shoe-sized russet I grew myself!

Today, I am working on a pork tenderloin, seasoned with garlic salt and pepper. It will be roasted later and basted with a Chile Fig
spread mixed with balsamic vinegar, honey, soy sauce, Dijon, fresh garlic, and rosemary from the garden. I will place it on a bed of rosemary sprigs, as well. A Greek-inspired lemon potato dish, in which Yukon Gold potatoes are bathed in a mix of low-sodium chicken stock, olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, dried oregano, and roasted until golden, with the juices becoming a glaze. I picked up a nice batch of Swiss Chard yesterday and broccoli rabe. These will be sautéed with fresh garlic and red pepper flakes. At serving, I will drizzle with vinegar.

I made Thai lemongrass meatballs last night.

For some reason Yukon Gold potatoes are hard to find around here. Yellow-flesh potatoes are easy to find, but they are either not the YG variety or if they are, they are not labeled as such.

Yukon Golds are the only potatoes ever reviewed by Robert Parker in The Wine Advocate.

-Paul W.

Paul, was the review a positive one? Being a huge fan of Yukon Gold potatoes, I tried looking up the article. AI informed me no such article happened, that he only mentioned a wine pairing with a Yukon Gold Potato he had at a restaurant.

Funny you should mention Yukon Golds! I was shopping today and noticed all kinds of yellow-fleshed potatoes -- big ones, little ones, commercial packages, loose in the bin -- and not one was labeled "Yukon Gold". I assume there is a lawsuit somewhere....

Meanwhile, the cooking of the day was paprikash: essentially, a chicken stew but with lots of paprika and a little cream.

Yukon Gold potatoes are a hybrid and susceptible to many diseases. I read that many Farmers have stopped growing them because of that.

The title of the Parker review was "One Potato, Two Potatoes". It was very positive. Parker apologized for including a non-wine review, but he was so impressed by Yukon Golds that he couldn't resist.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Funny you should mention Yukon Golds! I was shopping today and noticed all kinds of yellow-fleshed potatoes -- big ones, little ones, commercial packages, loose in the bin -- and not one was labeled "Yukon Gold". I assume there is a lawsuit somewhere....

It's also true of the other potato colors--all sold by color, not named varieties anymore. Russets, Kennebuncs and others are all just sold as "baking potatoes". Red and Yellow, ditto, when in fact there are many different varieties within each category depending on source--some reds are pure white inside, some very yellow. You can't tell what seed bred them by looking at them except to assume, because this is what we do in America, that they're the hardiest of their brethren even if not the best-tasting. We have a local potato up here known as a Skagit Yellow that I just love.

Funny you should mention Yukon Golds! I was shopping today and noticed all kinds of yellow-fleshed potatoes -- big ones, little ones, commercial packages, loose in the bin -- and not one was labeled "Yukon Gold". I assume there is a lawsuit somewhere....

The market around the corner from us sells Yukon Golds that are the real thing. Raley's, the supermarket further down the road, sells potatoes they call "Raley's Gold", and these are very different from the Yukon Golds, I use the Yukons for mashed potatoes because they work so well. The couple of times I've tried using the Raley's ones, they've ended up with both flavor and texture that is not nearly as good.

[Jenise]

This morning I made a big pot of macaroni salad--1 pound of rotini, two cans of tuna in oil and the oil went into the salad too, 1 can of white beans, chopped white onion, green onion, celery, lots of tarragon and chives, and finally one chopped serrano chile. Dressing was white vinegar, olive oil, and Old Bay seasoning. Had a bowl for dinner along with some apricots, and will feed off that the rest of the week.

Jenise, do you enjoy cooking with dried beans? Rancho Gordo has some killer white beans that I am crazy about. So much better than the canned ones. Your salad sounds delish and will get better each day.

[Jenise]

Very much a fan, Karen, and I always have beans in the pantry. That just takes pre-planning, and this was a salad I wanted NOW--or at least, to assemble and let meld while I was off doing errands, then come home to. I love it.

Guacamole-influenced chicken salad on toasted ciabatta, and a glass of '22 Grezeaux. A fine cool summer dinner.

Thai coconut chicken soup (tom kha gai) tonight.

Yesterday I saw bags of potatoes labeled "Yukon" (not Yukon Gold). They look like Yukon Golds.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Last night for dinner I had a plate of mixed roasted vegetables: carrots, celery, potatoes I grew and onions with olive oil and thyme, followed by some fresh apricots.