What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Karen, I laughed at your dried fruit. Good choice, better than canned. But I can relate. So many things I pick up and go: I bought this why?

Yesterday while out doing errands I decided, as per Jeff's thread on cooking for one, that I definitely wanted to make Coq au Vin vs. roasted chicken. I got hom about 5:00 and grabbed a bottle that's been sitting upright in my wine cellar for about four years that I'd planned for Coq au Vin all along. It was a very light Italian cab franc. I grabbed another bottle of something to put into the garage fridge on my way into the kitchen--and dropped the cab franc onto the cement garage floor on the way. BIG MESS. I had to back the car out, get a broom, pick up the glass, sweep the wine toward the driveway, get a bucket of water, do same, and then again.

Close to an hour later, I stuffed some lemon slices and rosemary under the bird's skin and threw it in the oven. Just one of those days!

Oh gosh, Jenise, that is too bad. I am certain it was a good bottle of wine. It reminded me of a few days just before Christmas many years ago, when I was loading up presents in the motor home. We were going to Sacramento to be with our boys. I was in a hurry, and on the last gift, which was heavy, I moved up a step on the entry to the RV. I neglected to slow down and took a step back, thinking I was still on the correct step, and ended up in midair, falling backwards towards the concrete. I broke my right wrist! Had to go to the doctor, then get X-rays, then get a cast. The doctor told me I could not go on the trip. The wrist needed surgery, but they could not do it until after Christmas. I remember hearing my mom's voice that day telling me, as a kid, "Karen, slow down, nothing is that important...you are going to get hurt!" Since the wrist episode, I have learned to concentrate on what I am doing and to slow down. Most times!

[Jenise]

I just spent an hour picking the three whole, cooked Dungeness crabs my neighbor gifted me. I ate all the claws--my favorite part--and all the rest went into a spaghetti salad with lots of smooshed marinated artichoke hearts and frozen peas.

I made the chicken tagine with preserved kaffir limes last night. The kaffir lime flavor really shines through.

I picked up some velociraptor chiles today. Never heard of them before. They are closely related to the habanero and rated at 150,000-200,000 Scoville units. I plan to toss a few of them into my next batch of stir-fried minced pork and hot chiles. The rest will end up in my next batch of Inner Beauty hot sauce.

-Paul W.

I went to a local Catholic church this morning where they sell quesadillas and drinks. The food is made by women who attend the church (including our cleaning lady) and proceeds benefit it, of course. For $14, I got a chicken quesadilla, a pork mole one, and a big glass of jamaica. The quesadillas weighed in at about a pound each (and I didn't get beans with them), so the pork one was lunch and the chicken one will be supper. The pork was fantastic, with a rich and spicy dark sauce and a tortilla that was made onsite about three minutes before it was filled.

Great bargain, Mike. Sounds delish!

[Jenise]

Last night's three course widow's dinner: a salad of shaved lemon cucumbers and onions followed by a plate of roasted zucchini spears and, lastly, a handful of walnuts.

Tonight I'm dining with my book club. The book is about a family in coastal Maine circa 1939-1959, and lobster features heavily. I'm expecting Dungeness crab to fill in for it's spiny cousin as tonight's main course.

I had zucchini last night as well. In the interests of cleaning out the vegetable drawer, I cut up a zuke and sliced up a leek, both of which had been in that drawer for some time. I just did a quick saute in EVOO with some thyme. This is a standby and my favorite way to eat it.

I also had some white chanterelles to go along with it. The mushroom dealer came through with those and since I've not seen them before, I figured I'd just saute them up and eat them. They were interesting as they didn't put out anywhere near as much liquid as the golden chanterelles or other mushrooms. I added a little dry Marsala and put them next to the zukes. They were good on their own and all mixed up with the zukes.

For lunch today, I did a quesadilla with regular chanterelles and gruyere.