What's Cooking (Take Two!)

So sorry to hear that, Jenise but I would bet she would want you and Bob to eat.

[Jenise]

Sure she would, Dave, it's just hard to be hungry so I loaded us up with a filling lunch just in case.

Tonight (cat's not better, but she's home), I'm making wot. All this berbere talk--need me some wot!

So, Jenise, the answer to the question "what's for dinner?" in your house is "yes".

-Paul W.

I just realized that I didn't post regarding Christmas dinner. It was truffle mousse on toast points followed by coq au vin (Julia Child's recipe). The 1995 Roumier Bonnes Mares was astoundingly good with both of the dishes.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

So, Jenise, the answer to the question "what's for dinner?" in your house is "yes".

-Paul W.

Indeed! And of course Bob and I had to have the inevitable "Hu's on First" conversation. He didn't quite remember 'wot'. But he won't forget it now. The WF berbere made a SPLENDID dish, absolutely splendid, and we used Trader Joe's excellent flour tortillas in place of injeera. Given the cakey-chewiness and outstanding home-made flavor of the tortilla, I can't imagine ever wanting injeera again--authentic and good as it is. Wine choice was interesting: a 1998 Lloyd's Reserve Shiraz from the McLaren Vale (Aus). It's a rather saturated warm-vintage wine with a lot of barrel char and porty weight that would have been over-the-top for me if drunk all by itself or with something subtle, but it really worked with the wot because of the contrast. You could go from the wot to the wine and back again and not have to recalibrate your palate. Each held it's own. I think I've finally found a way to most-pleasantly divest myself of those overripe 98's!

A new friend of mine is coming over for dinner tonight for the first time. I asked if she had any food allergies and she said "no" (and that is always a plus) and also asked if she had any particular food dislikes. She said outside of organs, no. I wish everyone was this easy to cook for.

I'm making seared tuna with a green onion, ginger, soy and lime vinaigrette. I have made this many times before and everyone seems to love it. For sides I am thinking maybe basmati rice with toasted coconut and fresh basil along with a salad comprised of mixed greens, Jazz apples, Laura Chenel chevre cheese and a little vinaigrette dressing.

A Gewurztraminer for the wine that will hopefully go well with the food.

[Jenise]

Lunch: baked potato contest. Big red one vs. russet with white truffle butter and chives. Green salad on the side.

Dinner: no idea. Might not be hungry.

Thanks for your kind words about the rib roast, Jenise. It was sure better than all those wan wannabes that universally masquerade as "prime rib".

I was just at the vet yesterday, dealing with a minor issue. It sure puts it in perspective when the person in the next room is being told that their pet may not be treatable. Hope yours are doing better.

Today I celebrated the striking down of the foie gras ban. The duck foie gras mousse is from the covered market in Colmar, Alsace. I had no bread in the house so I toasted a TJ's whole wheat English muffin and served it with a 2005 Josef Rosch Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Auslese ***. It had been opened on Christmas and left corked and refrigerated since then. Indestructible!

IMGP9221.jpg

Fresh baked home made bagel and a schmear.
A lot of work for a small batch, but alas a decent bagel is not be be found near the casa.

[Jenise]

Dave R, sounds like a 'seductive' dinner!

Just read the news about the foie ban in California. Definitely an occasion to celebrate, Walt.

Thanks for the kind words. Got her in to a specialist yesterday for an ultra-sound yesterday, and whatever this is it's none of the obvious, usual suspects. More tests.

Last night was fun and a great dinner. Two couples that were vacationing together in the Caribbean over the holidays and were not able to visit for Christmas or New Years came over last night for delayed holiday festivities.

One couple provided the appetizers which were a fantastic Parmigiano Reggiano, a nice selection of various olives and a very, very generous amount of jamón ibérico. They brought along an excellent Peter Michael Chardonnay that was perfect with the apps.

I made garlic, olive oil and rosemary marinated lamb chops with sides of potatoes Dauphinoise and sugar snap peas quickly sauteed with bacon and pearl onions. To go with that I served a Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon and a Domaine des Chezeaux Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru Burgundy. Obviously vastly different wines but both worker perfectly with the food.

The second couple brought dessert. Apple fritters and vanilla ice cream that they made and a wonderful bottle of Sauternes.

A great way to spend a winter evening.

[Jenise]

Nice dinner, Dave. Cool that a single guy entertains on the level that you do.

We have a house guest for the weekend, Bob's son Barry, an artist from Austin who has a gallery show in Seattle at the moment, who we picked up in Seattle yesterday while also there for the cat to spend the day with some specialists. Came home and made a speedy dinner of an escarole, raddichio and asiago salad, followed by seared scallops on paparadelle (sp?) and a quick tomato-garlic-rosemary pan sauce. Coolest thing, while discussing wine which he likes but doesn't understand much about, he mentioned that his father in law drinks a lot of Beaujolais which Barry doesn't care for.

So with the scallops I served a '13 Lapierre Morgon, figuring this was probably a whole lot better than the FIL's without saying what it was . Barry did recognize the similarity as well as the improved quality, but he couldn't get past thinking the lightness 'lesser' when compared to the Argentine malbecs that he prefers. So, quid pro quo, as I'd been getting lessons in art appreciation all evening (fascinatingly so), I talked about the appropriateness of the lighter body being perfect for the lighter bodied dish, and called his attention to the way the tomato and rosemary in the dish emphasized the fruit and peppery spice of the wine. And it all clicked into place. Suddenly the wine that at first was just 'eh' was the best wine in the world for that moment--he truly got it. Wish it was always so easy.

Jenise,

I did a google search for the work by your stepson Barry and he is obviously a talented artist. Quite the variety and interesting stuff. You must have some very nice artwork in your home thanks to Barry.

You're on a roll, Dave! Those last two meals sound excellent.

Jenise - Must have been fun to see him "get" the wine like that. One of those things that has happened to most of us here, and it's a pretty neat thing.

Last night was a "Cotechino and lentils: it's not just for New Year's any more" supper. I made lentils with red wine caramelized vegetables and topped them with sliced cotechino. That was followed by a delicious banana-coconut pudding my talented wife put together with no warning and little time.

Last night was a "Cotechino and lentils: it's not just for New Year's any more" supper. I made lentils with red wine caramelized vegetables and topped them with sliced cotechino.

That sounds excellent, Mike. Is there an acceptable substitution for cotechino? I have not had it other than when I lived in New York and it is not available locally.

After a couple of days of fairly rich suppers, I went for something lighter and healthier tonight. I browned some hot Italian sausage in a Dutch oven, removed it, and then sauteed onion, garlic, and leeks in the same pot. Once the onions were clear, I added some cubed Yukon Gold potatoes and gave them a couple of minutes to heat up. Then added a couple of cans of chicken broth and a couple of cups of water. Everything simmered until the potatoes were tender. Then a pound of destemmed chopped lacinato kale and the reserved sausage went in to simmer. Once the kale was tender, I served it with some crusty olive bread. It felt good.

Last night was a "Cotechino and lentils: it's not just for New Year's any more" supper. I made lentils with red wine caramelized vegetables and topped them with sliced cotechino.

That sounds excellent, Mike. Is there an acceptable substitution for cotechino? I have not had it other than when I lived in New York and it is not available locally.

I don't know of any other sausage that's as full of fat and collagen as cotechino. I think any good Italian sausage would work well but it wouldn't be quite the same.

Tonight was Lancashire Hot Pot. I'd actually made it a couple days ago but we couldn't sit down together until tonight.

It's a rustic, English stew: chunks of lamb and a handful of little pork sausages, smothered in shaved onions; sauced with dark ale, beef broth, a crumbled black pudding and seasoned with thyme, bay leaf, and Worcestershire sauce. Bard the pot with sliced potato, top and bottom, and give it a long simmer. Hearty, earthy stuff. Good for a cold winter night. A glass of the dark ale don't hurt.

NB. The recipe calls for kidneys but not in this house. Of course, in this house, those onions were replaced by fennel bulb. And I added a couple handfuls of chopped carrots, parsnips, mushrooms, and peas to make it a little healthy and diversify the texture.

We learned that our tenants got married, AND we learned that our tenant Alvin will be on Jeopardy on March 3. The show was taped a week or so ago in California. Alvin's the husband and Erin is his wife now. This demanded some kind of celebration so I invited them upstairs for a Persian feast, I know they like that kind of food and honestly I think Khoresh is one of the best tasting things I know how to cook. We started with a sabzi khordan -- radishes, feta, flatbread, "leaves", tomatoes, cucumber slices, hummus. You just browse, it's very Persian. And then the Khoreshe Karafs, celery khoresh, 2 pounds of lamb cut into cubes and a lot of celery with saffron, mint, lime, cilantro or parsley, etc. And I produced a really pretty tadiq on the Persian saffron rice, I inverted the rice onto a platter so you could see the crunchy golden surface. For dessert Louise made pots de creme, with creme chantilly.

Everyone ate so much I was a little worried about having leftovers for my son when he comes tonight but I think there is enough. We had 2002 Prie Brut Champagne, 1990 Chateauneuf from Guigal, and a taste of Remy Martin.

Frank, Did your tenant that was on Jeopardy mention anything at all about having trouble with a faulty buzzer used to indicate he was trying to respond to a question?

Dave, they aren't allowed to say much about what happened during the taping but I am sure Alvin's buzzer was not faulty!

Frank, I hope you know what I was alluding to within my question. The "joined" dates in our WLDG bios are all screwed up so I do not know if you were or were not following the board when Chris Coad mentioned being on Jeopardy for a second time and ( jokingly I am sure) blamed his loss on a faulty buzzer..

That's cool -- I think of getting on Jeopardy as very rare but my Aunt was on the program many years ago, and when I mentioned it at the grocery a block from my house the checker said I was the third person "who shops at this store" who had mentioned being on Jeopardy or knowing someone local who was on Jeopardy. We usually hear about it when there is someone from Highland Park on TV.