What's Cooking (Take Four)

I need to get ahead of my cooking today, so I am making a salad using small, multi colored potatoes, green onion, thinly sliced celery, celery leaves, fresh tarragon, garlic, salt, pepper, low-fat sour cream, creamed horseradish, and lemon juice. Tomorrow, I am marinating chicken pieces in garlic cloves, lemon juice, Dijon, brown sugar, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, fresh thyme, salt pepper. These will roast in the oven along with whole mini peppers, carrots, and onion wedges.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I had to go into town early and stopped at Trader Joe's for vegetable potstickers to go into that fabulous 'salad' of same with tomatoes and chili crisp that Dale turned us on to awhile back. I'm making it tomorrow to take to a wine tasting themed "island wines". God knows what will show up so anything goes!

Planned to pick up some red meat for last night but ended up with a different kind of red: salmon, specifically Norwegian farm-raised. It was Norwegian farmed atlantic salmon that made me fall in love with that fish long, long ago, and I haven't seen any specifically identified as Norwegian in decades. I treated this in what has become my favorite salmon prep: rolling the fish in freshly grated ginger and cracked black pepper (with a little oil to make everything stick). A slow oven roast on parchment at 300F for 15 minutes produces perfect doneness and a velveteen texture. I served it on jasmine rice cooked with unsweetened coconut and garlic and a side vegetable of sliced cucumbers in vinegar and sesame oil.

...my favorite salmon prep: rolling the fish in freshly grated ginger and cracked black pepper (with a little oil to make everything stick). A slow oven roast on parchment at 300F for 15 minutes produces perfect doneness and a velveteen texture...

No salt? No acid?

My basic principle for cooking fish is always to have fat, acid and salt and then whatever other flavoring is going to happen.

But I like the idea of the freshly grated ginger crust, my wife would definitely love, although maybe not my son just yet..

That salmon sounds great, will try. Last night did salmon topped with a paste of ground black lime, oil, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, a little cayenne.
Norway is actually biggest producer of farmed salmon, just not always labeled as such. Faroe Islands should be pretty similar. I tend to avoid Chilean, although the southern parts are pretty cold.

[Jenise]

...my favorite salmon prep: rolling the fish in freshly grated ginger and cracked black pepper (with a little oil to make everything stick). A slow oven roast on parchment at 300F for 15 minutes produces perfect doneness and a velveteen texture...

No salt? No acid?

My basic principle for cooking fish is always to have fat, acid and salt and then whatever other flavoring is going to happen.

But I like the idea of the freshly grated ginger crust, my wife would definitely love, although maybe not my son just yet..

Oh yes, I sprinkled some salt on it before rolling in the oil/ginger/pepper mix. But that's a preference, not a necessity. No acid required, and I don't think it would be an improvement. I put acid on the plate with the cucumbers.

[Jenise]

That salmon sounds great, will try. Last night did salmon topped with a paste of ground black lime, oil, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, a little cayenne.
Norway is actually biggest producer of farmed salmon, just not always labeled as such. Faroe Islands should be pretty similar. I tend to avoid Chilean, although the southern parts are pretty cold.

Oh that ground black lime idea. I recall seeing that somewhere and loved the idea. Should try it--I was so enamored with last week's salmon I stopped at Trader Joe's this morning for more. NYT?

No acid required, and I don't think it would be an improvement. I put acid on the plate with the cucumbers.

Blowing my mind! I've always used lemon/lime with fish, or mirin for some Japanese directions, which gets at the same brightness/tenderizing effects. But, obviously more than one way to cook a fish...

I've also been intrigued by the black limes and finally found some in the store today. Curious to start cooking with them.

[Jenise]

I too love acid on fish. I liberally squeeze from lemon or lime over almost everything--but not this one. It would disrupt the ginger, which should stand alone.

[Jenise]

I too love acid on fish. I liberally squeeze from lemon or lime over almost every version--but not this one. It would steal the show from, not augment, the ginger IMO.

Last night's supper was a quick salad of fresh corn, some funny little dark red bell peppers, jalapeno, basil, feta. and leftover roasted chicken. Dressed with rice vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil. We were looking for something light and that's what we got!

I love fresh corn in salads; nice job creating a good one, Mike.

[Jenise]

Last night's supper was a quick salad of fresh corn, some funny little dark red bell peppers, jalapeno, basil, feta. and leftover roasted chicken. Dressed with rice vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil. We were looking for something light and that's what we got!

Might those funny little dark red peppers have been fresh pimiento?

Last night for dinner I had an avocado, a tomato, and leftover cucumber salad.

I'll be grilling Thai sausage patties tonight.

-Paul W.

Might those funny little dark red peppers have been fresh pimiento?

I don't think so. They were almost more of a purple than a red, and very much shaped like bell peppers, although smaller than the ones I'm used to.I don't know much about this sort of thing - they may just be small purple bells. I'll ask about them if they're in the market next week.

[Jenise]

Didn't dine at home last night, just snacked after having some happy hour stuff with a neighbor. Today I'm going to another happy hour and will take another version of the Chinese dumpling salad--this time with water chestnuts and snap peas instead of tomatoes.

[Jenise]

I remember laughing out loud the first time I heard about Cincinnati Skyline Chili, but time passed and eventually I had it in an eclectic, upscale restaurant and LOVED it.

Yesterday I read a recipe for same in Serious Eats and it's a serious recipe consisting of about 20 ingredients and a 3-hour cook--it obviously hasn't been dumbed down for the crowd that insanely thinks that anything over five ingredients or 30 minutes prep time is somehow a laudable target we should all aspire to. The result should be complex and wonderful. So I'm making it tonight and have invited a few friends over to share the meal.

It is indeed a recipe to treasure. Here is the one I make, and everyone loves it, even picky kids.
https://whatscookingamerica.net/beef/ci ... chili2.htm
This can be served several ways, as stated in the history of the dish. I preferred the spaghetti version, and I think if one is watching calories, a cauliflower mash would be good as well. Please report back on how it goes over with your guests. I like the suggestion of making it one day ahead and letting any fat congeal and be removed. I do that with many of the meat recipes I make.

[Jenise]

It is indeed a recipe to treasure. Here is the one I make, and everyone loves it, even picky kids.

Thanks for the link! I enjoyed reading the 'history' part, and most especially the comments including the illumination provided by the granddaughter of a woman who worked at the Empress way back when and from her inherited a copy of the restaurant's original recipe.

The recipe I used had many of the same ingredients in the same quantity but differed from yours in that it called for water not broth (and apparently water is the original version), tomato paste not tomato sauce, and added bay leaves, sweet paprika, oregano, white pepper, ground cloves, active dry yeast and ginger. There was no cocoa, but twice as much garlic.

My only personal tweeks were to put three of the six cloves of garlic called for in for the initial cook then add the other three about half an hour before serving, at which point I also sprinkled in additional cinnamon and cumin to punch up that middle eastern flavor.

My recipe didn't call for adding beans, so I didn't, and it called for tossing the just-cooked spaghetti with tomato paste and olive oil before ladling the sauce over. I did that presuming it would make the dish more authentic but in your link I saw no proof that anyone else has ever done that, and to be honest I would not do that again--it made it sweeter, not better. I used sharp Tillamook cheese but didn't go for the other traditional toppings of raw onion and oyster crackers. I served it with a great Washington syrah.

It's a good dish! We all enjoyed it tremendously. On guest asked for--and didn't get!--hot dogs.

Many people add hot dogs to their dishes. I stay away from hot dogs, but when I do get the craving, I only buy all-beef with no added chemicals. We have a free-standing kiosk here which has yummy offerings, and my favorite is a Polish Kraut dog with spicy brown mustard. Their potato salad is good, as well, with a bit of garlic salt added. I go there about three times a year.

Two Slow Cookers are on duty today. One has two different cuts of beef, which I found in the freezer and wanted to use up. I defatted both, seasoned with Quebec Beef Seasoning, and seared on both sides in the slow cooker. Chopped onion, garlic, and Mexican Oregano were added, then fire-roasted diced tomatoes and a red wine from Humboldt County, where I grew up. Next is Rio Zappe Beans, cooking with shallot, garlic, blackened, chopped Hatch Chile peppers, chicken stock, and garlic salt.
I will make a salad for tonight using red leaf lettuce, fresh grapefruit, and avocado sections with a lemon vinaigrette.

[Jenise]

I'm grilling a steak tonight. Been hungry for red meat for weeks, and this one's going to be a treat.

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic tonight.

My neighbor gave me a giant zucchini. Today I am making two zucchini boats out of it, filling them with marinara sauce, sliced mini peppers, cut-up snap peas, onion, garlic, fresh herbs, fresh tomatoes, and topped with Fontina cheese, then baked to delishness.

My neighbor gave me a giant zucchini. Today I am making two zucchini boats out of it, filling them with marinara sauce, sliced mini peppers, cut-up snap peas, onion, garlic, fresh herbs, fresh tomatoes, and topped with Fontina cheese, then baked to delishness.

That sounds excellent!