What's Cooking (Take Two!)

[Jenise]

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Speaking of breakfast: bacon from Industrial Eats in Beullton, California, BEST bacon I've ever had anywhere, a crumpet with apricot-blood orange marmalade, and fresh green figs from a neighbor's tree.

Looks good, Jenise, though, no smoked duck ravioli.

[Jenise]

Looks good, Jenise, though, no smoked duck ravioli.

It WAS good. Bob's first crumpet (that is, um, of the usual meaning of the word, don't know about the other).

[Jenise]

Tonight: lamb shanks, braised three hours in a sauce consisting of wine, broth and leftover marinara sauce, home grown summer squash on the side, tomato salad to start.

Tonight: lamb shanks, braised three hours in a sauce consisting of wine, broth and leftover marinara sauce, home grown summer squash on the side, tomato salad to start.

I love lamb shanks. They used to be a staple when I was a starving college kid, back when stores would practically beg you to take them for 49-cents a pound. One way I liked making them was the way I had them in a Turkish restaurant once: seared, dusted with spice, then barded all over in thin slices of eggplant and braised in a dutch oven. Served over orzo, it was heaven.

But I'd eat yours in a New York second too. Bet it was wonderful!

Moussaka on the hoof!

It's been four years since we visited Quebec, and trying to find poutine in San Francisco has led to several frustrating dead ends. So I decided to make it. I didn't have beef stock, so I made Joy of Cooking's "pan gravy" with butter and chicken demi-glâce and just used extra.

I'm too lazy to make real fries, so I heated up a bag of Trader Joe's frozen variety. They're slightly thick-cut, crisped up nicely in the oven, and since they're covered in gravy the texture isn't as important.

Then I used Achadinha a "Mellow Yellow" curds, which are a mixture of cow and goat, but very mild, not goaty at all.

Pairing was naturally a Unibroue dubbel, a 2008 Trader Joe's vintage ale, which I find an inexpensive substitute for Fin du Monde. A 2007 I tried this year was oxidized or over the hill, but the '08 sizzled with coffee and floral aromas, plenty of sparkle left, and made an excellent contrast to the poutine.

It's been four years since we visited Quebec, and trying to find poutine in San Francisco has led to several frustrating dead ends.

Visit New Hampshire Walt. We have poutine all over the place.

Carl

Visit New Hampshire Walt. We have poutine all over the place.

I don't doubt it. I was there as a kid for a stargazing event, but I was too young to have heard of poutine.

Visit New Hampshire Walt. We have poutine all over the place.

I know. I was offered hip-waders at the border and boy was I sorry I didn't take them. Ruined a good pair of shoes and socks, gravy up to my ankles, curds stuck behind my knees, etc.

[Jenise]

Tonight, cold vichysoisse and chardonnays. Then, a romaine/walnut/shaved fennel salad followed by pot roast and roasted veggies, then a peach tart. All this for a new couple wherein the neither eats tomatoes or onions and the husband doesn't "like any vegetable with more than four letters in it."

This is going to be interesting.

the husband doesn't "like any vegetable with more than four letters in it."

What is that supposed to mean? An obnoxious way of saying he just doesn't like any vegetables? Aside from corn. Sounds like my 4-year old son!

Although of course depending on the language, the same vegetable can have many different numbers of letters!

the husband doesn't "like any vegetable with more than four letters in it."

What is that supposed to mean? An obnoxious way of saying he just doesn't like any vegetables? Aside from corn. Sounds like my 4-year old son!

Although of course depending on the language, the same vegetable can have many different numbers of letters!

I hope she served him leek, taro, and okra!

I made hearty matzo ball soup, with egg fettucine and plenty of chopped chicken, left over from a rotisserie on the grill last week. Having made matzo balls from scratch and from Manischewitz, there's not a huge difference with the mix. The broth is more important.

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Walt

Don't forget kale, beet, pea, and yam.

Last night's dinner was Sichuan dry-fried beef.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Tonight: lamb shanks, braised three hours in a sauce consisting of wine, broth and leftover marinara sauce, home grown summer squash on the side, tomato salad to start.

I love lamb shanks. They used to be a staple when I was a starving college kid, back when stores would practically beg you to take them for 49-cents a pound. One way I liked making them was the way I had them in a Turkish restaurant once: seared, dusted with spice, then barded all over in thin slices of eggplant and braised in a dutch oven. Served over orzo, it was heaven.

But I'd eat yours in a New York second too. Bet it was wonderful!

I grew up with lank shanks at 49 cents a pound too. People bought them to feed to their dogs. I do them lots of ways, but mom's one way of preparing them remains one of my favorites. She'd put them in the big blue speckled turkey roaster--usually about eight shanks in there (though they'd be smaller in size than today's--closer to lamb than mutton), dust with S & P, then cover them with thinly slice big white or yellow onions--at least one onion per shank. In went about half a bottle of dry sherry, then roast covered for about 2 and a half hours, uncover for last half hour. One of the best matches for a mature Bordeaux that I know!

[Jenise]

the husband doesn't "like any vegetable with more than four letters in it."

What is that supposed to mean? An obnoxious way of saying he just doesn't like any vegetables? Aside from corn. Sounds like my 4-year old son!

Although of course depending on the language, the same vegetable can have many different numbers of letters!

Corn--exactly. And I don't think it's meant to be obnoxious, so much as trying to put a funny spin on something that's actually a little embarrassing. But hey, he drank the vichysoisse (which I called potato soup--Walt you were right on about the leeks), and didn't run out of the room screaming when the romaine salad turned out to have lots of shaved fresh fennel in it. He actually liked it. And he gamely ate the roasted root veggies I put next to his pot roast (on thick grilled slice of bread) though I made it clear he could just pick out the potato wedges and leave the rest.

[Jenise]

Don't forget kale, beet, pea, and yam.

It was pretty clear to me when mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, eggplant and any lettuce not romaine or iceberg was specified, that those others would be out. WAY out.

Made pesto last night from a big bunch of particularly fragrant basil that I picked up at the farmers' market. Instead of whipping it up in the food processor (which I've always done in the past to make pesto) I chopped it all up by hand as per a recipe I found here. I started with the garlic, roughly chopping it, then adding in a handful of basil leaves, chopping that up, then another handful. Once the basil was all fairly well chopped, I added a handful of macadamias (we were out of pignoli), kept chopping, then added a big handful of grated parmigiano, and kept chopping. When it was done, I could form it into a coherent pesto cake. That was a lot of chopping but the result was a slightly coarser version than what I've made in the processor and I like that difference in texture. I ended up putting it on a pizza crust with some mozzarella and fresh tomatoes on top.

Best pesto I've ever made by a significant margin. I don't know if it was the basil or the chopping-instead-of-processing or what, but it came out really well.

[Jenise]

Just put my traps out. Fresh Dungeness tonight!!!!

Last night's dinner was Chinese red-cooked chicken, to which I added a couple of slices of galangal as well as the customary ginger. Served with jasmine rice.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Tonight: Dungeness crab etoufee.

Tonight: Dungeness crab etoupee.

They look so cute with those little wigs, don't they?

Just put my traps out. Fresh Dungeness tonight!!!!

This concept continues to blow my mind.

Lucky you!