What's Cooking (Take Three!)

I have a Tahitian lime (with a Kaffir graft) and people look askance when I present them wth a yellow fruit, but tastiest when ripe, and that means yellow, still a lovely green interior. Besides how do you know they are ripe? Mine fruits in winter and I’m in a temperate clime.

Fully ripe limes are yellow. They are usually shipped in the green, unripe state because the immature fruit is easier to store and has a longer half life. I've noticed limes that I've bought start to turn yellow after several days.

-Paul W.

Coq au vin for Christmas. It's good that pork belly is in fashion, as now I can make real lardons.

-Paul W.

Coq au vin for Christmas. It's good that pork belly is in fashion, as now I can make real lardons.

-Paul W.

FWIW, I still have a larding needle that I bought in the '60s.

[Jenise]

Tonight's our Big Holiday Meal. On the menu:

marinated shrimp
seared foie gras tartines, champagne
mixed lettuces, tangerine vinaigrette, fried camembert, To Kalon Sauv Blanc
prime rib*, jus, horseradish-parmesan popovers, creamed spinach, Pontet Canet
red wine and spice poached bosc pears, stilton cheese, port

So far I've only made the popover batter and the pears. I want to eat the entire bowl of pears, my god.

*$5.97 a pound!!!! DEAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! (I was so infatuated with this that I went back for a second one day after I bought the first one. I haven't seen beef that low priced in three years.

Foie gras, seafood lasagna, and some dessert or other tonight.

The smell of the lasagna in the oven is driving me wild.

Filet Mignon Roast (from one of my favorite cookbooks by Mimi and Ike Eisenhower) has been marinating in soy sauce overnight. This morning it will be browned in even amounts of butter and Worchestershire. Cooks at 450° until medium-rare. Serving with Bernaise Sauce. Along with are sinful stuffed baked potatoes, filled with cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and cheddar cheese, green onions, and fresh thyme. So delicious. Grilled asparagus and creamed spinach on the side. I turned down numerous offers for large gatherings from family, neighbors, as my healing process begins. My fireplace is going, Christmas music on the record player (yes, I still have one of those), light rain is blessing us, mountains on three sides of us are covered with snow, and it is peaceful. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Happies & Merries, Karen!

This AM is a breakfast of eggs and sage-y sausage. Tonight, the full-on capon, dressing, veg, gravy, English pudding, eggnog.

Well, my goose became a duck. The local farm was having their first go at geese and I’d ordered one. However when they got the birds back from the processing they were unhappy with the product and felt unable to issue them. They offered a full refund of course but had also sourced local free range ducka as a substitute because they didn’t want customers left without Christmas lunch!
I took the duck option which not only had the bird but included goose liver pate, goose rillettes, gravy plus fresh herbs and new potatoes.
So I roasted off the crown for my dinner and leftovers, neck, bones and trimmings went into the stockpot and today I am confitting the legs.

I paid $35/lb for my prime rib!!!

My filet mignon roast used to cost $50 for a 3+ lb chunk. This time it was just under $50 for a 2 1/2 lb chunk. It was delicious, and I have leftovers for a few days, will enjoy every bite.

[Jenise]

I paid $35/lb for my prime rib!!!

Jeez, did you go Wagyu? I was lined up to pay $20 for prime, which I thought a good price, until I literally stumbled over the other offer from a local market--and the meat was beautiful. Graded choice, but looked like prime. And at $6/lb, practically free.

Yesterday we woke up to a White Christmas. It snowed all day, and dinner last night was turkey at a friend's home in the neighborhood. Today we head into a few days of record cold for our area (like 1 degree F in some parts), so we're in for the duration and today I'm making a spicy beef/tomato/onion noodle soup.

For Christmas eve I made rack of lamb, baked potato (destined for twice baked potato), and broccoli rabe and carrots. The baked potato was thrown out when I cut into it as it was brown in the middle (I don't know what cases this, but I'm not eating it anyway). I substituted some pearl barley instead.

I may do the RoL for New Years since I have a half rack in the freezer. Probably go with potato gratin, and whatever veg I have on hand. But then I found a veal shank in the freezer. It's a tough choice.

[Jenise]

Last night we had prime rib sandwiches--leftover prime rib slices barely warmed on sourdough toast with dijon mustard and a jus for dipping. Dear god, were those good.

Today's Monday so, as usual, we're going meatless. Breakfast was fruit, lunch was a homemade tomato bisque that usefully used up some too-ripe tomatoes and whole milk which I very rarely have around, and dinner will be a garlicky green salad with two hour baked potato topped with fresh Perigord truffles.

I need to use up low-fat milk and a half carton of orange juice which I never drink, any suggestions?

I need to use up low-fat milk and a half carton of orange juice which I never drink, any suggestions?

Creamsicles?

Yesterday afternoon, I got restless and decided to make a pot of soup. I put a large chicken breast, seasoned well in the oven to roast until I could pull it apart. I made a soup of chicken stock, onions, carrots, celery, fresh garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne, cumin, and garlic powder. Fire-roasted tomatoes, paste, Ortega chili peppers, fresh jalapeno, a bit of Tequilla Gold, and cooked away.
Added the chicken at the end. Will serve with crispy, multi-colored tortilla strips, avocado chunks, and a drizzle of fresh lime juice. Oh and I decided to thicken it up by adding plump soup barely from a local flour mill near us. I love their barley, it is very tasty.

[quote="Barb Downunder"]I have a Tahitian lime (with a Kaffir graft) and people look askance when I present them wth a yellow fruit, but tastiest when ripe, and that means yellow, still a lovely green interior. Besides how do you know they are ripe? Mine fruits in winter and I’m in a temperate clime.[/quote

Seems we may have the same tree Barb, mine was labeled
Bearss Lime and when I looked it up, it is also called Tahitian Lime, although I have seen Persian Lime, as well. Regardless, they are a fabulous lime and I look forward to the day that our tree produces.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making the Moroccan classic Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives on Russian couscous. Won't be quite my usual version as I don't have cilantro and no way am I making the trek to get any in this frigid weather, but will delight nonetheless I'm sure.

[Jenise]

Today I invented one of the best things I've made in a month. Surveying the leftovers situation, I came across a small carton, less than one whole serving that is, of black truffle risotto from last week. I had already decided to make eggs for Bob to start him off with protein. And so the arancini omelet was born!!! Two eggs with a few chopped cherry tomatoes added in for color and contrast wrapped around a tunnel of hot leftover risotto with extra parmesan cheese. WOW.

Two eggs with a few chopped cherry tomatoes added in for color and contrast wrapped around a tunnel of hot leftover risotto with extra parmesan cheese. WOW.

That does sound good!

Chinese for New Year's Eve. In this case I'm making Sichuan twice-cooked pork. I simmered the pork belly last night. Tonight it comes out of the fridge to be sliced up and stir-fried.

-Paul W.

Shrimp egg rolls here!

It has been frigid here, rain, and our mountains are covered with snow, very beautiful. I am using up the last of a bunch of veal chops I bought a few months ago, these will be in lemon, fresh sage, tomatoes, white wine, beef stock, lemon zest, and garlic, of course. A side of Greek potatoes, again cooked with lemon (I have hundreds of lemons and have not yet had the time to get to the freezing process) and will toss in what is left of a package of small, sweet multi-colored peppers, and oregano. I cleaned out a pantry shelf that is loaded with all types of salts, and I came across a pretty jar of coarse sea salt, that is charcoal colored and comes with a little spoon. It is not marked and I have no idea what it is, but it smells divine and tastes great, so am going to experiment with it on my roasted veggies. Will be using up the last of a salad kit from Taylor Farms, called Sweet Kale, which has a plethora of superfood green stuff, and a killer poppyseed dressing.
Friends have been telling me about these kits and since I dislike so many of the prepared foods I buy, I hesitated to try any, until a friend raved about this one someone served with Christmas dinner. So, I did some research and the reviews were great. Does anyone else use these kits and have found one you like? I'd like to hear your thoughts as I eat mostly salads for lunch and this sure would add a lot of variety.