What's Cooking (Take Four)

The Chonqing-oid chicken and chiles came out very tasty, although hotter than I had expected. Not surprising--lantern chiles are the same species as habaneros and scotch bonnets. Lanterns aren't as hot as those two but they're right up there with bird's eyes. Like the habanero and scotch bonnet they have a wonderful flavor as well as all that heat.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

You're a brave man, Paul!

Btw, here's another article about how the Dutch oven got its name, along with input from Le Creuset HQ:

https://www.thekitchn.com/why-is-it-cal ... ven-254180

Dinner here tonight: Red Lentil Soup With Lemon and a cucumber salad.

Yesterday I threw together a Gochujang concoction using the Korean paste, added black vinegar, a little of Bruno's Wax Peppers juice, garlic, ginger, fresh lime, and honey. I slathered this all over 1/2 of a chicken and placed it over sliced onions to rest until this afternoon. I took the rest of the Gochunang mix, and added Crispy Chili. I tossed that mix with different types of potatoes, fennel, garlic, and different peppers resting in a bowl in the fridge. Will put it together later today. I am making my favorite tomato bread salad to go with.
My eldest son and his wife will be here today to have lunch and spend the day together. These two have become fussier eaters over the years so lunch is yet to be determined. It seems that having company these days is harder than it used to be as no one wants to commit to a time of arrival, how long they will stay...I have learned to go with the flow.

[Jenise]

Karen, in what way have they become fussier? Doesn't usually happen as one ages, except to go in the direction of veganism or something like that.

When our kids were little they used to eat everything, I had fun cooking for everyone because hubby and three littles loved it all. It is different now, no tomatoes, no red sauce, no red meat or no meat at all, no cabbage, no veggies, prefer spinach over lettuce, and this speaks for the grandkids, three kids, and spouses. Oh, and at one time it was fat grams!

I had a friend who was such a fussy eater, I ranked him in the top three fussiest eaters I knew (my bro being #1). Yet, he would say, "I'm not a fussy eater." One time when he said that, another friend snickered at him, as did I.

My local supermarket doesn't sell ground lamb very often, but it was on sale this past week. I bought a couple of pounds and will be turning it into merguez sausage (Jenise's recipe posted here). I haven't had grilled merguez sausage patties in a long time.

-Paul W.

My menu today was a couple hundred hot sauces, salsas, dry rubs, etc. My annual Scovie Award judging and trial of fire.

I feel like I'm exuding capsaicin through my pores. And can't tell if I'm hungry or not. Weird.

[Jenise]

When our kids were little they used to eat everything, I had fun cooking for everyone because hubby and three littles loved it all. It is different now, no tomatoes, no red sauce, no red meat or no meat at all, no cabbage, no veggies, prefer spinach over lettuce, and this speaks for the grandkids, three kids, and spouses. Oh, and at one time it was fat grams!

Wow, so some lifestyle changes in there as I suspected, but no tomatoes and no veggies sounds like a picky eater problem as well.

[Jenise]

I was away for the weekend. Back now and cooking again tonight: smothered pork chops wherein the chops are Duroc heritage breed on garlic-fried cabbage. Probably a green tomato salad with that cuz guess who had to pick all her tomatoes.

[Jenise]

Last night's Duroc chops were some of the best-tasting pork I've had in a long, long while. Well worth a few extra pennies (two chops were $7, so it wasn't that many more). Also, lacking any wine opened to use and remembering a juniper sauce from decades ago I used gin as my marinade base--I will DEFINITELY do that again. GREAT flavor. I skipped the gravy and served the chops on pan crisped red potatoes with onions and chives.

Tonight: green-ish tomato paella. I am swimming in tomatoes! Will take it Mexican though, not Spanish, with oregano and green chiles.

[Jenise]

Today I've got a pretty chunk of salmon, and also two pounds of fresh local chanterelles coming straight from the forager. Not sure how I'll combine those, but dinner will involve both.

Last night I grilled chicken that had been dry-rubbed with my standard barbecue rub. I made Paul Prudhomme's Brabant potatoes (1-inch potato cubes partly cooked, rubbed with a spice mix, and deep-fried). Unlike the rosti debacle this came out tasty and crunchy. I used bacon fat rather than peanut oil for extra flavor.

-Paul W.

This weekend I am making a Mexican, Asian fusion dinner. It is a fun play on a normally stir-fried dish. Chicken breasts will be cooked in a slow cooker with Hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and garlic. Meat is shredded then served in corn tortillas with green cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, rice vinegar, sugar (I will use honey), and cilantro. Yesterday, I cooked a pot of Rio Zape beans, tossed in two jalapeno peppers, a gold bell pepper, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, garlic, and i/2 of a whole onion for flavor, and added fresh lime juice at the end of cooking. They turned out great and the house smelled amazing. I have a bag of cauliflower and broccoli from last weeks Farmer's Market and need to do something with that to have with lunches this coming week.

[Jenise]

The tacos and the beans both sound fantastic, Karen.

Speaking of tacos, probably some in our future: on the stove right now a thick Chuck roast with a boatload of chopped tomatoes (gotta use them up somehow), onion, bay leaves and some dry white vermouth. I'll let those simmer for several hours. I'll probably divide the finished product into two parts--one for shredded beef tacos and the other for a spicy tomato-beef-onion pasta, one of my favorite things in the world.

That spicy beef tomato onion pasta sounds right up my alley. Have you a recipe?

[Jenise]

Karen, no I don't. It's something I just make but you're a great cook and can follow this: trim the obvious fat from a chuck roast, brown, add about 2 qts water and fresh or canned tomatoes, one whole onion chopped, 3-4 garlic cloves, salt, lots of pepper, a couple bay leaves, several dried red chiles or red chile flakes or wait and add cayenne to taste later, simmer for several hours, remove meat and shred, check seasoning on broth, cook pasta in the broth, then add the meat back in.

Tonight I'm making Thai Panang curry with chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Tonight for dinner: broiled lobster tail, romano beans, tomato salad.

Eggs Benedict with asparagus tonight.

[Jenise]

Made a big pot of vegetable beef soup today out of the tomato-onion pot roast I made last weekend. I can't even remember the last time I had such a soup; I probably have made it myself a time or two in my lifetime, but I honestly can't remember any since my childhood affair with the Campbell's version, which I liked a lot. Also on the stove, some lobster shells reducing in cream with sherry for some thermidor stuffed mushrooms I'm making on Sunday.

I have not had a pork loin in awhile and saw a nice looking piece with a fat cap. I had also trimmed the herbs and wanted something herby. I lightly brushed the roast with EVOO, then gave it a nice coating of chopped garlic, parsley, rosemary, Quebec seasoning, and thyme. Today, I 'm adding purple potatoes, yukon gold, and delicata squash which will be tossed wih Birria, and herbs. All will be roasted in the oven. I am also slicing several varieties of zucchini and squashes and cooking on a grill pan, then drizzled with fresh lemon.

[Jenise]

So you got the Quebec seasoning!!! Good, isn't it?

Jenise, yes, I do not think my sense of taste is as fine as yours, but I like it.