What's Cooking (Take Three!)

Jenise, Christina....you guys do such creative things with food, and I sure have learned about some fun ingredients. I am sucker for trying new to me things. So fun to play with and I love reading about what you do.

[Jenise]

You're no slouch, Karen!

Tonight is pork chops, nice big, thicker ones. Dusted with cumin, garlic powder and paprika. Surrounded by Farro, to which tomato sauce, and white wine have been added with a little dried oregano. Chops have a layer of red onion slices and Orange Bell peppers. Old family fave I have posted here before. Zucchini is coming out of everyone's ears and I have been gifted too many, so some sort of zucchini concoction will be made, not sure what yet. I am off to Farmers Market to pick up fruit, tomatoes and lettuce. Will get more creative after I get home.

[Jenise]

Today I'm making a shiitake mushroom ceviche to take to a rose wine event tonight.

Fritelle di fiori di zucco. A fritter of zucchini blossoms. Harvesting about a dozen zucchini blossoms per day now and need to get creative.
A batter of ricotta, grated Parm, egg, a little flour and milk to thin if needed into which sliced blossoms are mixed. Simple seasonings salt, pepper let the flowers shine. Fry dollops in olive oil. Having friends for lunch so this will be the primo. The secondo will be a cold sirloin tagliato ( thinly sliced) on a bed of arugula and shaved fennel dressed with lemon juice , olive oil, a few capers salt and pepper. Coconut panna cotta and fresh raspberries also producing very well this year to finish. Now, if the weather cooperates will eat outside on the patio.

[Jenise]

I'm so envious, Christina! All those blossoms. So far, I got two. Great menu.

I'm having the neighbors either side of us over for a hot weather/patio dinner tonight of steak and salads. Everything will go on the table at once, family style: curry-cured flame-grilled flank steak cut into strips nested on arugula and baby kale sprinkled with lemon juice, EVOO and salt, sesame-garlic green beans with red onions, calabrian chile potato salad, a crudo of grilled cantaloupe slices drizzled with pesto, beet carpaccio with fresh grated horseradish, artichoke focaccia, and something else that I can't remember.

Jenise, do you roast the potatoes first and then toss them with a Calabrian Chili Vinaigrette?

[Jenise]

No, I didn't even consider that, and they would probably have been better that way. Had no recipe, just an idea and hunger for that flavor. Just boiled them and broke them apart. Really delicious though.

Great ideas being posted here for the back burner. Still working on the blossom overload especially since the little bistro around the corner which usually takes the surplus is closed for vacation. Sufficiently different from fritelle I can use up a lot of blossoms in something like an enchilada. Rather than tortillas I make crepes with corn flour and enclose a filling of roasted poblano, white onion, corn from the cob, a few diced zucchini ( the tiny ones that started to grow before the blossom harvested ) sliced blossoms and cilantro that gets cooked down with a little milk to make a silky filling. Napped with a good melting cheese and poblano crema then baked. I do something like this at least once during the peak blossom season. A blossom ragu for pasta on the weekend but must work in those Calabrian potatoes sometime this week. Thanks Jenise and Karen.

[Jenise]

So had a major fail yesterday. The green beans I purchased reminded me of why they used to be called string beans--these were string beans, big time. Hideously tough, with strangulation-grade strings. I went ahead and cut them up and put them in a pot with black eyed peas, onion, garlic, water and salt. Made a delicious vegan soup. In the meantime I turned my shopping fail (wherein I bought enough groceries for two more courses) into a winner: a zucchini salad.

I highly recommend this: cut zucchini into 1/8" rounds on a mandolin, salt, toss, and leave in a colander over a bowl to dessicate and drain for about two hours. Then put both pieces in the sink and use the bowl to press on the zucchini. When you think you have most of the water out, you probably don't, so wrap in a towel and squeeze to get the rest. What you now have are beautifully emerald-gem colored crinkly slices that have real crunch and are seasoned already from the salt. I tossed those with a tablespoon of EVOO, the juice of one lemon and a lot of chopped mint. Garnished with a handful of lightly browned pint nuts. Was a big hit. I got the idea when wanting to put zucchini on a vegetarian 'salad course' pizza I did for our yacht club one time. This was how I prepared the zucchini for that, and my helpers couldn't stop eating them. I was afraid there wouldn't end up being enough for the pizzas. I have been making them as a side salad ever since. Really pretty on a buffet table, and nobody on your guest list will have ever had anything like it before. Also great done Italian style with garlic and parm.

[Jenise]

Am beginning the development stages of the lobster terrine I'm doing for Bill's annual terrine event next week. Today: I shopped.

Yesterday was the last day of the week-long New England heat wave of 90+ Fahrenheit temperatures. It was still oppressively hot and muggy at dinner time so I turned the other half of the Costco rotisserie chicken into another Sichuan dish made from sliced-up precooked chicken, a version of yu xiang ji. Traditionally this uses chicken poached with fresh ginger, cooled down, and sliced--for which I substituted the Costco chicken. The "fish-fragrant" sauce has the same ingredients as the famous stir-fried dish but it isn't cooked. I had it with another Sichuan cold dish--chunks of fresh cucumber in a ma la sauce (rice vinegar, chiles, Sichuan peppercorns). Just what was needed to keep the house cool.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Good move, Paul. I love Chinese cold chicken.

Tonight I'm making shrimp with oranges and bell peppers in a Ouzo sauce for a licorice liqueur tasting.

I've had a craving for a good hamburger. So, for dinner making a goat-cheese stuffed turkey burger with roasted red pepper relish. Burger has fresh breadcrumbs, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, s & p, goat cheese. It is served with a pepper relish, homemade, but will take a short cut and use Fourth Creek Red Pepper Relish with Habanero, excellent product. Also, a product Jenise posted about, frozen fries called fast food from Ore Ida. I have a big red tomato the same size of the bun waiting to be sliced, along with red leaf lettuce...yum! It is supposed to be 114° degrees today, so burger will be quickly cooked inside on the grill pan.
I have fresh broccoli from yesterday, and love eating it cold, with mustard, so that is lunch.

[Jenise]

OH GOSH, 114. Karen, that's brutal. It's 70F here right now and won't top 77 today, at least in my marine-influenced neighborhood. We're all imagining all those people in the rest of the country looking at those all-red temp maps with temperatures like yours, who have been jealously eyeing our little cool green corner this summer--interest rates are up but we suspect quite a few to make the move anyway.

We're going out tonight, so no dinner plans but I'm at home working on yet another iteration of my terrine for next week.

The zucchini sounds great Jenise.
Christina, squash blossom overload is a problem I'd love to have. We always either do quesadillas or stuff them with ricotta and bake, your ideas are fun sounding.
My favorite new easy recipe of the week is for a sauce, that the NYT calls neonata but is really "inspired by neonata." Anchovies, peppers, salami, celery, olives. I used soppresata and used mostly sweet peppers with a few hot- recipe calls for hot cherry peppers, but we were offering picnic to others including a Down's adult who doesn't like heat, so our neonata wasn't "fiery". And I left out the celery because what I had was in terrible shape. But I loved it as prepared"
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... all&rank=0

[Jenise]

I love the looks of that Neonata, Dale. I need that in my life; will try it next week.

Tonight we're having salad--it's too darned hot to cook. What little energy I had for that got sucked up by Terrine Trial #3. I need cold food. Shrimp, avocado, oil, vinegar and maybe some cilantro all stirred up and served on frisee.

two thick cut fillet mignon steaks have been marinating since yesterday. Will grill one, in house, for dinner. Calabrian Chili Potatoes to go with, usually done with fingerling potatoes, but I have multicolor baby potatoes to use up today. They are treated with olive oil, s & p, then roasted. A vinaigrette of C. Chili paste, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, olive oil and salt to taste will be tossed with them while still warm. I need to use up baby zucchini, small peppers, and Italian green beans, so will most likely cook with onions, roasted garlic and add my homemade tomato sauce that I am making weekly now.
Our grocer had beautiful, huge, white mushrooms a few days ago, I bought a few to sauté for the steak.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'll barbecue boneless chicken thighs that went into a sesame-garlic-soy marinade yesterday and serve them with nappa cabbage fried rice. Will be a very welcome relief from all the red meat and shellfish we've had this week.

Sounds delicious, Jenise. This weekend I'm going to grill some marinated chicken wings. The marinade is from a recipe for deep-fried wings. It's an Eastern Chinese mix: light soy sauce, five spice powder, garlic, ginger, scallions, rice wine, and a touch of lemon juice. I actually prefer it as a grilling marinade, and of course that way it doesn't heat up the house.

-Paul W.

Paul, you know that National Chicken Wing day was yesterday. I'm always aiming for weekend cooks for these events as weeknights are too busy.

Decided to post this recipe because it is so darn good. Jenise mentioned her version, and it reminded me of a recipe I made a few times and loved, but was forgotten, Recipe calls for fingering potatoes, but I had multi-color baby spuds to use up Both are great!

Calabrian Chili Potatoes
PREP TIME: 10 MIN COOK TIME: 30 MIN TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
INGREDIENTS
Fingerling Potatoes
2 pounds fingerling
potatoes, sliced
lengthwise
Olive oil
Salt
Calabrian Chili Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Calabrian
chili paste (see notes)
2-3 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
1/2 tablespoon dried
oregano
2 large garlic cloves,
minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Garnish
Freshly chopped parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Fingerling Potatoes
1. Preheat oven to 425º
2. In a medium bowl, liberally season the
potatoes with salt, drizzle with olive oil, and
toss until fully coated.
3. Place the potatoes cut side down on a
baking sheet, and roast for about 30-35
minutes.
Calabrian Chili Vinaigrette
1. In a small bowl, mix the Calabrian Chilies,
dried oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar and a
pinch of salt until combined.
2. Slowly whisk in the oil until the vinaigrette
is fully emulsified.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes with
enough vinaigrette to coat, and reserve any
leftover vinaigrette for another use. Transfer
the potatoes to a serving plate, and garnish
with parmesan ribbons and freshly chopped
parsley.
Note: I used Acetum Organic Red Wine Vinegar, product of Italy. It is very light, not overly acidic, great fresh taste.

[Jenise]

Love the sound of that, Karen. Mine was a cold potato salad, no recipe. I just doused the potatoes with white wine vinegar and then pour an olive oil-chile paste mixture overall. The neighbors were talking about it again last night--how much they appreciated something so different and NOT mayo-based.

Today I'm making my fifth terrine in as many days, the one I'll be taking to Bill's annual terrine event tomorrow. My terrine is going to be a cold, jellied version of Lobster Thermidor wherein a see-through lobster stock will encase chunks of seared lobster tail and mushrooms for the body of the terrine with a final 1/2" thick layer of a puree made from sherry, cream, shallots and shitake mushrooms. Each slice will be served on a scattered bed of Beluga lentil 'caviar' (thank you Christina!) and be topped with a little salad of frisee, crushed peas (can't let them roll away) and tarragon. The wine pairing for my dish will be a savory California rose and a Guigal La Dorianne Condrieu (viognier).

Paul, you know that National Chicken Wing day was yesterday. I'm always aiming for weekend cooks for these events as weeknights are too busy.

I wasn't aware of that, Dan. I was just looking for another way to keep the house cool in the summer heat by cooking out.

-Paul W.