What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

No, I haven't used any of the kits, Karen. Some friends do, and I've found the dressings all rather sweet so it's not something I'd be interested in buying. I'm pretty stuck in my ways about simple vinaigrettes. Or actually, I think they're fairly complex vinaigrettes, but that's one-tile dancing. To someone used to more additives, my dressings probably all taste the same. Haven't been able to cook...will have to post the story.

[Jenise]

Today I'm hoping to get to the store for the first time since before Xmas. If I do, then I'll have mushrooms and will be ready to go on a book from a Provencal cookbook called Cuisine of the Sun, which was given to me by Bob Ross who used to hang out here. Not tried it before but it's a procedure that pins a layer of already cooked beef between layers of fresh mushroom/herb/shallots/bread crumbs/wine/olive oil in a baking dish. It calls for a 30 minute bake but IMO a longer bake, say 60-75, should result in something like a miroton producing a meaty slather for spreading on hot crusty bread and eating out of hand, open face, with a good Bordeaux. I'm excited!

Today I'm hoping to get to the store for the first time since before Xmas.

!!! Is that because you've been traveling or you like to stock up in advance! I'm the opposite. Between different markets and grocery store outings, I go shopping 4-5 times per week easily. Which is why the prospect of not going shopping in March 2020 was so daunting! Luckily my worst fears never materialized...

I found a local source for Nicoise olives so I'm going to do chicken Marengo.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Today I'm hoping to get to the store for the first time since before Xmas.

!!! Is that because you've been traveling or you like to stock up in advance! I'm the opposite. Between different markets and grocery store outings, I go shopping 4-5 times per week easily. Which is why the prospect of not going shopping in March 2020 was so daunting! Luckily my worst fears never materialized...

I hear you, that's me usually. But we got snowed in and temps in the low teens have kept things so icey that the 12 miles to the nearest grocery store via detours required because the recent PNW flooding took out our main roads means don't go out if you don't have to. And separately, but also as a result of the low temps, our house suffered a series of major utility failures which are not all fixed yet. I didn't make it to the store yesterday so today marks two weeks. Yup, just like March 2020. Food's not really a problem yet. Five days without a hot shower IS.

Today I'm hoping to get to the store for the first time since before Xmas.

!!! Is that because you've been traveling or you like to stock up in advance! I'm the opposite. Between different markets and grocery store outings, I go shopping 4-5 times per week easily. Which is why the prospect of not going shopping in March 2020 was so daunting! Luckily my worst fears never materialized...

I hear you, that's me usually. But we got snowed in and temps in the low teens have kept things so icey that the 12 miles to the nearest grocery store via detours required because the recent PNW flooding took out our main roads means don't go out if you don't have to. And separately, but also as a result of the low temps, our house suffered a series of major utility failures which are not all fixed yet. I didn't make it to the store yesterday so today marks two weeks. Yup, just like March 2020. Food's not really a problem yet. Five days without a hot shower IS.

Wow. Good luck. Sounds like a tough situation!

[Jenise]

Did get to the store yesterday afternoon. No weather pending when we left but heavy snow all the way home. 25 mph on interstate 5 because is just wasn't safe to go any faster. Anyway, we mostly shopped the produce department so we're good for the next week or so, and I bought the last eight mushrooms--I kid you not, there were only eight mushrooms left, but at least they were large ones--so the beef/mushroom/onion tian I've been going on about all week is finally on deck for tonight. Btw, this was at a Kroger store (best produce selection including organic in town, including some Asian vegetables not usual anywhere else). Overall, the emptiest shelves I've seen since the start of the Pandemic.

Tonight I'm cooking two thick, center-cut, bone-in pork chops, which have been coated with a blended spice mix of basil, Turkish oregano, red bell pepper, garlic, fennel, black pepper, and anise seed and I added a bit of mignonette pepper. I surrounded the chops with fresh, sliced red bell peppers, semi-dried tomatoes from Italy, green olives stuffed with garlic, and a drizzle of tomato vinegar. Topped it all off with lemon zest from our Lisbon Lemons. Sure smells great. They will oven cook until tender. A side dish is Royal Corona Beans (my favorite) in the slow cooker, cooked in chicken stock, onion, garlic, oregano, and will be topped off at serving with Pineapple Vinegar. I have a container of buttermilk biscuits I meant to cook for Gene but never got to it. They won't keep forever so I may uncover the pork chops the last few minutes and pile them on top to bake.

Karen, those chops sound great!

Thanks, Jeff, as I planned the dish for a party of one, I thought they were so big that I could get about three dinners out of this. I guess I was hungrier than usual because I ate an entire chop...unusual for me. Yes, the chops were very good. The spice blend was called Tuscan Sunset and was one of those freebies Penzeys sends. I have a lot of those and am usually at a loss of how to best use them, so decided to just play with them.

The spice blend was called Tuscan Sunset and was one of those freebies Penzeys sends. I have a lot of those and am usually at a loss of how to best use them, so decided to just play with them.

I've got a bunch of those, too. If they're not too weird-looking, they'll end up on sauteed vegetables. Or not.
--
Which makes me think about the set of eight(!) bitters I rec'd from Santa. I'm not a big cocktail person so they are facing a similar fate to the Penzey's lagniappes, just in the liquor cabinet instead of the spice cabinet. But I've been digging into chefly things to do with them and there are some: flavoring ice cream(!), adding interest to marinades and soups, replacing vanilla extract in baking. I'll have to try these or else it's just another Bangkok Blend....

[Jenise]

We have a lot of those, too. They often end up in a meatloaf. I just don't use blends very often.

Dinner tonight: two big chicken breasts are soaking in white vermouth, garlic and olive oil. I don't know what the final dish will be yet, just thought that was a good starting place. Am leaning toward something Provencal, but don't know yet.

Sounds good Jenise, I am roasting half a chicken tomorrow, and have been thinking about what I want to do with it. I am going to put some sort of rub on it today and let it sit in fridge, but have not decided what yet. Since I have so many lemons, I know I am going to roast it on a bed of sliced lemons...

[Jenise]

Karen, if you want to get rid of lemons and don't mind a trip to the P.O. I would be happy to reimburse the freight on a box of lemons!!!

Yesterday it was pouring down rain and a good time to make another batch of soup. My cousin gave me a nice little cookbook years ago called Vegan for Everybody. While I am nowhere near Vegan, I have made some very tasty recipes from this book. So, I dug in and made Turkish Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Soup. It called for Bulgur, however, I could only find Wheat Berries but the recipe stated those would not work for this soup. I had made the soup before and could not recall what I used at that time so decided to go with Farro. It was very comforting and tasty and I have a nice supply of soups in the freezer now for my lunches of those blustery winter days.
I have been marinating half a chicken, rubbed with Spanish Thyme, paprika, crushed black peppercorn, minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt since yesterday. I placed it on a bed of sliced lemons, and when It is put into the oven it will have my favorite thick slices of sourdough to soak up all those delicious juices and crisp up around the edges. A side of mashed cauliflower with butter and thyme, and a yet to be determined veggie. I'm considering sliced zucchini, quickly browned in olive oil with a coarse sea salt sprinkle at the finish. Maybe some Zatar as well.

Karen, if you want to get rid of lemons and don't mind a trip to the P.O. I would be happy to reimburse the freight on a box of lemons!!!

Jenise, yesterday, a neighbor came over and we juiced the lemons, put them into ice cube trays to freeze. Today, I am scheduled to go out to a local grocer with a box for them to sell in their store. What is left will go into the fridge for me to use fresh. While my supply was nice this year it was nothing compared to the 1200 lemons we got last year. They have been sitting in a work area in my husband's workshop and were beginning to look a bit in need of attention. I have been so busy moving Gene to memory care that I was unable, nor did I want to think about processing them. My neighbor reminded me of my obligation to the grocery store and came over not taking NO for an answer. I needed that.
Maybe next year...

[Jenise]

Karen, that's cool. Next time you have a bumper crop, call me. How's Gene adjusting?

Tonight I'm making stuffed bell peppers. The green bell peppers in the stores have been exceptionally large and darkly colored (more color, more flavor, never buy them when they're light) of late so this is a perfect time to resurrect that old classic, and I have leftover rice from the vegetarian cauliflower rice I served as a main course earlier this week to use in the filling.

So, I dug in and made Turkish Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Soup. It called for Bulgur, however, I could only find Wheat Berries but the recipe stated those would not work for this soup. I had made the soup before and could not recall what I used at that time so decided to go with Farro.

Sounds yummy. What makes it Turkish? (and can I use it in pho? )

I like farro better than either bulghur or wheat berries so I think you've won.

We had a free-for-my-birthday* Jersey Mike's Original Italian sub and it was great, especially since I eat a sub only once a year (carbs and all that).

* Being on Jan. 15, I get a national holiday for my BD. Oh, yeah. And so does that MLK.

So, I dug in and made Turkish Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Soup. It called for Bulgur, however, I could only find Wheat Berries but the recipe stated those would not work for this soup. I had made the soup before and could not recall what I used at that time so decided to go with Farro.

Sounds yummy. What makes it Turkish? (and can I use it in pho? )

I like farro better than either bulghur or wheat berries so I think you've won.

I have no idea what makes it Turkish, only the author knows. Wondered that myself. The Farro was great.
So, I decided to go back and take a look at the recipe again. This book is a publication of America's Test Kitchen and here is what they said about the recipe.
"Many soups hailing from the Mediterranean and the Middle East are particularly intriguing because they are enriched with filing, good for you grains" Then reference is made to bulgar in the next sentence.

Tonight we made “Roast chicken with schmaltzy cabbage” from the Smitten Kitchen….. wow was it good

That is my kind of recipe, similar to how I cook with the sourdough bread under the chicken. Going to try this for sure. Did you serve another side with this?
Thanks

[Jenise]

Shmaltzy cabbage? That sounds intriguing!

Yesterday we had shredded beef burritos for lunch using the last bits of beef from a huge batch I made early in December. The leftovers have been reheated multiple times and just kept feeding us. Dinner was a tomato and grilled leek salad followed by buccatini amatriciana.

That is my kind of recipe, similar to how I cook with the sourdough bread under the chicken. Going to try this for sure. Did you serve another side with this?
Thanks

We made a bit of what we call “parsleyed rice” which I think is from an old Silver Palate book…. Make some rice in the rice maker and when finished throw ina bit of butter and some chopped parsley (and cilantro because I had some on its last leg)…. Basic but good

The cabbage was out of this world