What's Cooking (Take Three!)

And another thing: I've been making popsicles, lotsa popsicles: orange juice with simple syrup and Cointreau, lemonade with grapefruit liqueur, pineapple in two brews: one just juice with vogelbeeregeist and the other with cream, vanilla, and apricot schnapps.

And a small batch made by blending equal parts half-and-half and Nutella.

Now THAT is my kind of popsicle

This morning I am making a Lemon-Potato Soup, with onions, garlic, chicken stock, Yukon Gold potatoes unpeeled, red kale, Turkish Oregano, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and garnished with crumbled with Feta Cheese. Serving with a toasted slice of Cranberry Walnut Sour Dough Bread, buttered.

[Jenise]

Also yesterday, I roasted 25 lbs of green chiles.

Our biggest grocery has a road show, they roast and you peel and seed. Took me 2 hours yesterday but I have converted my box of the Hatch Valley's finest into 6 kg / 13 lb. of pure green gold (not that kind). They were already sold out of mild, unfortunately, but the hot ones aren't too hot. For the most part. I was smart enough to do almost all the work outside, then I brought in the cutting board to wash it off and de-seed a few that I had saved for making chile relleno. Big mistake. The spray of the water kicked up a cloud of capsaicin and my wife and I were both fit to cough up a lung. Turned on the fans, that helped enough that we could finish cleaning up. Still, that stuff is volatile! You could smell it down the driveway, even inside a plastic bag inside the box. And yes, I wore gloves and an apron.

Do you have a recipe for green chile stew, Jenise? This is my first time roasting a case, and even after I part some of it out to friends I'll still have a bunch.

I would have the local guys do the roasting for me IF they would have done it for the price of a case. But no, they have to be show-offs, and they will sell you the already-roasted chiles for $5/lb. They're $2/lb raw, or 10% off for a case. So I did my own on the hobs of my Viking range. Btw, I don't bother to peel them. I pull the stem and shake out the seeds, but otherwise they go in baggies (about three per baggie, about what we'd need for two hamburgers) peel and all. I love some charred bits in my green chile stew and I don't want them too 'clean'.

For which, to answer your question, I don't have a recipe. My first ever taste of a green chile stew was made by a project secretary way back when, and hers was better than any I've had in restaurants in New Mexico so what I make is an attempt to copy hers. Nothing written down, I "just do it". Which is: pork shoulder cut in strips, dredged in flour and browned lightly, then onions and beef broth are added along with oregano and cumin, which I simmer to desired tenderness, about an hour, in the middle of which I add lots of chopped chiles and charred bits, thicken if neccessary with a flour slurry, and add a few dollops of cream to enrich it. That I serve over rice cooked with kaffir lime leaf and garlic slivers. I usually also pickle thin slices of some of the chiles with oil, vinegar, garlic and oregano, and add those on top as a lively garnish.

[Jenise]

Today for dinner I'm going to broil a few filets and finish them in a beef consomme/blue cheese/cream pan sauce over a fried potato pancake.

Fascinating, I find the skin tastes more like plastic, so I remove as much as I can.

The Safeway has the rotating drums that remove a good chunk of the skin and blister the rest. It does make it easier to peel, since the peppers are roasted all over, not just on the sides. Karen, I never heard that it was better to leave the skin on, though when I've mail ordered they do come that way. I like having the work done up front, which is why I peel. I would pay $5 a pound for peeled, honestly. It's a lot of work. I'll post my adaptation of a "stew" recipe.

[Jenise]

Fascinating, I find the skin tastes more like plastic, so I remove as much as I can.

The Safeway has the rotating drums that remove a good chunk of the skin and blister the rest. It does make it easier to peel, since the peppers are roasted all over, not just on the sides. Karen, I never heard that it was better to leave the skin on, though when I've mail ordered they do come that way. I like having the work done up front, which is why I peel. I would pay $5 a pound for peeled, honestly. It's a lot of work. I'll post my adaptation of a "stew" recipe.

I erred in not mentioning that I remove the skin before using, but purposely leave it on as protection during freezing. Because I put the peppers in a pile on a big tray as I roast them, they steam and the skin just slides off when thawed--no work at all. But I'll save the blackest bits to go in my chile.

[Jenise]

Yesterday my brother called; wanted to bring over some house guests for a glass or two of wine and some waterfront views. They were down in Anacortes but would anchor this event with fresh mussels they would cook here on arrival. Great, that made a seafood theme, so I picked up a whole crab and the ingredients needed to make three spreads for crostini: pickled eggplant (a product I buy at an Italian store in Vancouver) and calabrian chile (which used up the entire remainder of my first jar of Trader Joe's chiles--only lasted four months, that's how much I like that stuff), asparagus/artichoke/garlic, and smoked trout with Boursin cheese, dill and melted leek. I bought two long ciabattas that I made 1/4" thin bread crisps from.

They showed up without the mussels.

Apparently they just didn't manage their time wisely enough to get to the seafood store before it closed. So dinner was just my crostinis, for which we ran out of bread before we ran out of spreads, and three bags of potato chips.

Apparently they just didn't manage their time wisely enough to get to the seafood store before it closed. So dinner was just my crostinis, for which we ran out of bread before we ran out of spreads, and three bags of potato chips.

Yikes. Boil some pasta and turn one of the spreads into a sauce?

[Jenise]

Never even occurred to me, but a great idea. The one that would have done that the best, the asparagus/artichoke, was the one I made the least quantity of so might not have been enough sauce for six servings though more garlic and EVOO can save anything. But the humidity took all the starch out of me and I was done for the night.

[Jenise]

Last night we had shrimp sushi for a starter followed by pan roasted halibut and a zucchini gratin. The recipe for the latter popped up in my feed from David Leite, and I decided sure I have all those ingredients so why not. I then went on autopilot and dutifully layered the zucchini, which I'd salted an hour beforehand and squeezed dry (the recipe didn't prescribe this) with mozz standing in for a middle layer of gruyere, otherwise I stayed with the recipe and topped it with goat cheese and cream, though not the full 5 oz and 1 cup, respectively, suggested. I set it aside while I went about other things--it wouldn't go into the oven for another hour.

At some point during this process--it was like waking up out of a dream, I swear--I went WTF? Cheese+cheese+all that cream? NO! And I poured off the cream.

The result was very tasty, but my god. It was plenty wet without the cream--I blotted it around the edges with a paper towel in order to avoid milky run-off on the plate. And what about the poor sods who didn't dessicate the zucchini first? Would have been a swimming pool of squash.

Tonight, chunks of turkey breast, rubbed with garlic, pepper, salt, and lemon peel, simmered in beef broth spiked with worcestershire, bay leaf, fresh rosemary and thyme, and with chunks of carrots, mushrooms, celery, sweet potatoes, brown rice and wild rice. I conceived it as a turkey variation on pot roast but it ends up herby and light (...because no tomatoes and no potatoes). Came out very nicely, Pumpkin loved it, and it cooks for 2 hrs instead of 5 hrs which is nice in August!

Eating the last bowl tonight, the delicate herbiness has flown the turkey coop, so I added a chipotle in adobo to the pot. The tangy, slightly earthy flavor complements the turkey meat very well.

[Jenise]

Interesting dish, Jeff, sounds delicious both ways. But: braised turkey doesn't happen very often, does it. It just doesn't show up on my radar, though I braise chicken all the time. Am I too square?

Interesting dish, Jeff, sounds delicious both ways. But: braised turkey doesn't happen very often, does it. It just doesn't show up on my radar, though I braise chicken all the time. Am I too square?

Tut. Turkey generally gets the short end of the stick in the US. It's made for a couple holiday dinners and not at all otherwise (give or take letting your 10-year-old wave a leg around like Henry VIII). But I like dark meat turkey, particularly, and I think it's easy to cook with. It will take either light or heavy preps, has good chew, and is healthier for you than beef or pork (probably).

[Jenise]

Admittedly, between holidays, my turkey use is ground for tacos and meatballs and slicing whole breasts into cutlets for schnitzels and the like. Never have I ever braised it.

For dinner last night we had Wokness. Velvetted diced chicken thigh meat, bok choy, green onions in 1" lengths, celery and charred raw chashews were finished in a sauce of xaoxing wine, chick broth, soy sauce, garlic and ginger, served on rice and garnished with fried shrimp.

Love the description of that stir fry Jenise, very elegant.
Last night it was chicken on the rotisserie, got a great crispy skin this time. Tomato Paella, using very large heirlooms for the beautiful presentation on top and I had lots of baby summer squash, zucchini, to use up, along with peppers, red onion, a few large Brussels Sprouts, so did a stir fry in fresh garlic oil, fresh thyme, dried Turkish Oregano, and splashed with just a little Oliver Balsamic which is aged 25 years in oak barrels. Discovered this about 5 years ago. rather thick and so rich.
I love that I can buy a mix of the baby summer squashes from my favorite grower to play with, and still keep up with it within two weeks of purchasing. Now to use up my chicken, I will consume the legs, thighs and wings, and use the breast meat for soup, salads, and maybe a few sandwiches.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I also used green onions I picked up Saturday for the stir fry, longest ones I have ever seen. Had to cut about half of the green part off just to get them into my produce bin. I took a few of them, cut into three sections and added to the stir fry. Wow, were they good. Very different from the ones at the grocery store.

I made gong bao chicken yesterday but with cashews instead of peanuts. I like that even better than the original.

-Paul W.

I usually replace peanuts with cashews Paul, it is my favorite nut anyway and I think they go so well with Asian ingredients. I like salted peanuts, as well, but the cashews just add je ne sais quoi.

Old-school recipes for gong bao ji call for raw peanuts/cashews to be fried until slightly brown in the oil at the start of the dish, removed to the side, then added at the end just before serving. For convenience I usually use dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts/cashews.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I adore peanuts! Discovered some at an H Mart that are seasoned with Five Spice powder. Meant to be a snack but I used them as the nut in a kung pao (and then ate the rest of the bag), wow! If you're ever in an H Mart....

Karen, how fun to rotisserie a chicken. I have never had a rotisserie, and always envied those who do, especially for chickens. Sounds like a great dinner. Still hot down there, isn't it.

The weather's turned cool here. 64F and cloudy, and it's getting me in the mood for fall cooking.

Last night for dinner I bought a piece of fresh Alaskan halibut, belly side. OMG. The belly (white skin side) is the best part of the best fish in the world; I'm so lucky that we can get it here. I had restocked on locally grown tomatoes (the way it's going, my own from the 7 plants we have may never ripen) so it occurred to me to attempt something I had in a restaurant in Vancouver about 20 years ago. I crusted the fish with panko to which I added Five Spice powder, and made a sauce for puddling below the fish from fresh tomatoes lightly cooked with star anise and garlic, then pureed. That combination is PERFECT for pinot noir.

Yes Jenise, still hot and getting hotter to 113 this week. We typically do not really cool down until the end of October. I hate the summers here, but love it the rest of the time. A very beautiful area, so many lakes, mountains, walking trails, and the best fishing anywhere. The summers usually keep me indoors, except for early morning hours, so I get up very early, then that makes for a very long day, especially now. Good thing I like to play with food, read, and watch good movies.

[Jenise]

113--yikes. I don't think I could take that. I moved here from So Cal to get away from hot summer heat. And you've got that Weed fire up the street from you now, hope the smoke isn't too awful.

Guests coming today. I'm opening a magnum of '77 Dow Port. Making chocolate chip and walnut cookies to go with that. For dinner will serve various snacks then Jose Andres' recipe for Albondigas and serve those with salad and garlic-saffron-pimenton rice (essentially, a meatless paella). Have a few white and red Spanish and Portugese wines to go with.

A cold supper: Italian sausage (leftover from another recipe), shrimp (seasoned with paprika), sweet red pepper, celery, pistachios, snow peas, and kernel corn (cut off the cob), all dressed in pesto and fresh basil.

[Jenise]

Sounds lovely, Jeff. I adore summer cold suppers.

Tonight we're having a true hands-on dinner. Slanted Door roasted crab with lemon grass and garlic. Padron peppers (see the What I Learned thread) will also be on the table along with Korean pot stickers purchased in a bag at Fred Meyer.

How are those pot stickers Jenise? Brand, chicken, pork?

Yesterday I made a salad for lunch, using all color of cherry tomatoes, regular tomato, avocado, Hearts of Palm, shaved radish, celery leaves, red lettuce, and drizzled with Macadamia Nut Oil and white balsamic. Sprinkled a little Maldon's coarse Sea Salt over the top, and served with some buttery crackers and garlic smoked salmon.