What's Cooking (Take Two!)

I like that treatment of the Bistecca.

[Jenise]

Okay, so last night I needed to make dinner for an 80 year old neighborhood friend whose wife died while I was in Los Angeles. But I still can't spend a lot of time on my feet and this needed to be a simple dinner anyway, so in rummaging the freezer for something that should go earlier than later I chose ground lamb from which I could try another version of the lamb-red wine-oat meatloaf I've been remembering for like 30 years now but not managing to nail. The concept dates back to my first subscription to Bon Appetit.

Into a bowl, not measuring, went about a pound and a half of lamb, two eggs, about 1/2 c red wine, a small handful of chopped chives, several fat pinches of herbs d'Provence which might be 1.5 tsps. or a little more, salt, pepper and two handfuls of quick oats. BINGO. Not sure what I did or didn't do right before, but this really did nail it--the tang of the red wine, the complexity of the herbs and the fine crumb from the oats was just perfect. I patted some parmesan cheese on to give it a crispy crust and baked it for 45 minutes. (I make long, narrow loaves about 4 inches by not quite two inches tall so that I can cut fat slices with lots of crust.) Utterly fantastic with splat potatoes--no gravy needed. If I'd had mushrooms on hand I might have done a saute of thin slices in browned butter for a polished topping, but I didn't.

[Jenise]

Tonight: grilled chicken drumsticks in homemade barbecue sauce (lots of vinegar and cayenne), yellow corn on the cob, cabbage salad.

Tonight we enjoyed penne in our homemade Italian tomato sauce, Italian sweet sausages loaded with fennel; and cheese. Washed is down with 2010 Tobin James, James Gang Reserve, Tempranillo/Syrah Yum!

Cornish hens off the grill. Lots of rosemary, bay leaf, and garlic.

[Jenise]

Jeff, you made me salivate. Been a long time since we've had Cornish game hens. I just don't see them around much (I guess they're always in the freezer case?), so I forget they exist.

Tonight's dinner will be Chinese red-cooked chicken. I'll also be making a new batch of Inner Beauty hot sauce.

-Paul W.

Jeff, you made me salivate. Been a long time since we've had Cornish game hens. I just don't see them around much (I guess they're always in the freezer case?), so I forget they exist.

These were fresh but they are certainly alwayhs available frozen. I like spatchcocking them and pressing them flat. Grill 'em hot and they still really juicy and tender; though not done all the way through, but 20 minutes in a hot oven finishes the cooking at no loss of flavor.

[Jenise]

Jeff, you made me salivate. Been a long time since we've had Cornish game hens. I just don't see them around much (I guess they're always in the freezer case?), so I forget they exist.

These were fresh but they are certainly alwayhs available frozen. I like spatchcocking them and pressing them flat. Grill 'em hot and they still really juicy and tender; though not done all the way through, but 20 minutes in a hot oven finishes the cooking at no loss of flavor.

I know they exist elsewhere, but I have never in my life seen a fresh Cornish hen. And that's why I never consider them an option--since I started buying only organic chicken, things that used to be options aren't anymore. I'm so envious of your opportunities in NYC.

[Jenise]

Just made an asparagus vichysoisse for lunch because I had all the right leftover bits of asparagus and leek trimmings. Made it low-cal with 1% milk, then cooked the small amount left with real cream for a cold amuse bouche tomorrow.

Dinner still not decided--either leftover lamb meatloaf grilled off to refresh, or boneless pork loin chops--either with salad. Simple.

We had a KOC Ladies Appreciation night tonight. It was catered and the dinner was really good. We had perfectly cooked stuffed chicken breast, pilaf, green beans, and salad. We brought along a bottle of Knapp Finger Lakes Chardonnay to go with it; and it went with it splendidly. Yum!

Asparagus vichysoisse sounds wonderful. I'll have to try making that one of these days soon.

For supper tonight, I made pork tenderloin that was roasted in a marinade of soy, maple syrup, a little orange and lime juices, and sriracha. Had that with steamed rice and green beans that were parboiled and then sauteed with garlic and balasamic. Went reasonably well with a Faiveley Mercurey that showed up in a clearance cart for $11.00.

My wife's a big fan of meat loaf and mashed potatoes, so that's what I made last night in honor of Mothers' Day. To go with, I made a warm salad that had peas, asparagus, favas, and a little bacon with chicken broth, balsamic, olive oil, bacon drippings, tarragon, and mint. It was really good. (It was a Laura Calder recipe, so it was pretty much guaranteed to be really good.)

Tonight, we had the leftovers.

[Jenise]

Lunch today: stuffed artichokes.

Dinner away.

Polenta Lasagne tonight.

Chilled polenta in a half sheet and cut it into broad "noodles". Each layer consisted of: polenta "noodle", Sauce Mornay, pan fried eggplant (cut in broad, lengthwise slices), broiled asparagus spears, a little marinara sauce, torn basil leaves and grated Parmesan. Baked off, then topped with fried basil leaves and asparagus spear. One of the best things I've made in a while (despite the poor Nintendo DSi photo, it looked impressive at service).

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Tonight's dinner will be Bangsaen gai yang (Thai barbecued chicken, Bangsaen Beach-style), along with sweet chile dipping sauce and sticky rice.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Polenta Lasagne tonight.

I would eat that! Sounds delicious. I've never considered using polenta that way. I'd probably be more inclined to call it a 'torte' than a lasagna, though, as the former correctly implies multiple layers but isn't connected to a usual ingredient noodles are to lasagna. Or am I just not Italian enough?

I'd probably be more inclined to call it a 'torte' than a lasagna, though, as the former correctly implies multiple layers but isn't connected to a usual ingredient like lasagna and noodles. Or am I just not Italian enough?

Lol. Since I invented it, I get to call it anything I want. And so do you!

My wife calls these things "Wondriffs", since so often she sees me in the kitchen looking at a mess of ingredients and saying to myself "I wonder if...", then coming out an hour later with some ridiculous concoction not based on anything we'd ever had before. Gotta love home cookin'!

[Jenise]

My wife calls these things "Wondriffs", since so often she sees me in the kitchen looking at a mess of ingredients and saying to myself "I wonder if...", then coming out an hour later with some ridiculous concoction not based on anything we'd ever had before. Gotta love home cookin'!

I like that term! Anytime I get in front of a wok, we dub the result "Wokness" for much the same reason. It's never one of those defined dishes you might get in a Chinese restaurant, like Mongolian Beef.

But you have me going on the layered polenta idea. In the world of tamales, though the usual is made from masa there's a variation credited to the American south (Alabama specifically) that makes the crust out of corn meal. Growing up, my favorite restaurant at Disneyland (we lived nearby) was the Cantina on Tom Sawyer's Island because of the corn meal tamales. To this day I crave them. Would be kind of interesting to pull that idea into a layered dish like your 'lasagna'.

Growing up, my favorite restaurant at Disneyland (we lived nearby) was the Cantina on Tom Sawyer's Island because of the corn meal tamales. To this day I crave them. Would be kind of interesting to pull that idea into a layered dish like your 'lasagna'.

Cool! Let me know if you ever give that a shot. Sounds like a winner to me!

[Jenise]

Well, tamale pie as a concept already exists, but it's not authentic so much as a 50's affectation that bears no actual resemblance to Mexican food. Or at least, that was the case with my mother's version, one of the few steady items in her repertoire that I hold no sentimental fondness for. I'd probably call it 'tamale torte' to make absolutely certain no one confused the two.

I'd probably call it 'tamale torte' to make absolutely certain no one confused the two.

'Atta girl. It's all about the packaging

[Jenise]

Last night's dinner was a lesson in molecular gastronomy (at a culinary school): I made Jameson Whiskey gummies from a Hester Blumenthal recipe: whiskey, tartaric acid, sugar, glucose and gelatin. Also, meat glue was used to fuse serrano ham inside two layers of salmon, which were cooked sous vide, as were several other items.

The class sounded more advanced on paper than it turned out to be. For instance, we didn't even get to use the meat glue--the instructor did that step before we even got there. The only really challenging jobs were making the gummies and creating grits out of popped pop corn.

Last night's dinner was a lesson in molecular gastronomy (at a culinary school): I made Jameson Whiskey gummies from a Hester Blumenthal recipe: whiskey, tartaric acid, sugar, glucose and gelatin. Also, meat glue was used to fuse serrano ham inside two layers of salmon, which were cooked sous vide, as were several other items.

The class sounded more advanced on paper than it turned out to be. For instance, we didn't even get to use the meat glue--the instructor did that step before we even got there. The only really challenging jobs were making the gummies and creating grits out of popped pop corn.

Despite that, did you think the class was worth it? Will you be gluing meat at home now, for instance/