What's Cooking (Take Three!)

I love a good meat loaf sandwich. Lettuce, and Sierra Nevada Spicy brown mustard, a slice of fresh summer tomato and I am in heaven.

Tonight is grandma's marinated flank steak in soy sauce, sherry wine, a little apple cider vinegar, fresh ginger root, lots of fresh garlic, Mignon pepper, and a little oil. Grilled on the outdoor gas grill to medium rare. A pile of chunked potatoes, red onion, wedges, garlic, small, multi-colored peppers, cherry tomatoes, tossed with olive oil, lemon thyme, (just planted it yesterday) fresh rosemary and oven roasted. Can't decide between a Mediterranean Cucumber Salad or Tomato and Bread salad with Kalamata olives. I think the latter will win as I already have the sourdough thawed and waiting to make garlic croutons. Will probably make cuke salad tomorrow to have for a couple of lunches.
Gene's dad owned a butcher shop in Eureka CA and was known for his flank steak. I was introduced to it over 60 years ago and fell in love with it. Our kids loved it, as well and now make it for their families and have passed the recipe down to their kids. My addition was the Mignonette Pepper (French Canadian version)instead of regular pepper. Original recipe called for 1/4 cup oil, but I see no reason for all that oil and only use 1 Tbsp.

[Jenise]

Flank steak is such a great cut, Karen, probably my favorite for barbecuing for a group. And does anything look prettier?

Friday Bob came down with a muscle issue in one leg that took us to the doctor on an emergency visit yesterday and will have him off his feet for a couple days. This means that he's marooned on the upper story of this crazy MCM house and would have to eat in bed, so I stopped at Costco on the way home yesterday with nothing particular in mind, then fell for the ribs they have hot in the rotisserie area. I haven't purchased those before. Brought them home and later, preparing them broiled for dinner, searched around for something to paint on that would be sweet and tangy.

Awhile back I bought a bottle of TRUFF hot sauce. Too sweet for me to use in the conventional way I use hot sauces (tacos, eggs, etc) and I've never opened the bottle again since initially tasting it. But last night, I realized: THIS. So I brushed it on and broiled the ribs--OMG, to die for. Great, tasty kitchen hack for a bad day. Served them with red cabbage slaw.

Jenise, I was given a small jar of that from my daughter in law. Really don't care for it much but will try it on some flank steak tonight after a gentle reheat. I think it was very spicy.

Lamb stuffed artichoke bottoms. I couldn't resist the frozen artichoke bottoms at the local Med Market which is packed with new items for Ramadan. Lots of onion, garlic, harissa, mint, cumin, coriander, cilantro, lemon zest, sauteed with ground lamb and mounded in the artichoke bottoms and baked in a tomato based sauce. Served with Egyptian rice pilaf and a cucumber, mint and sumac salad. Where have frozen artichoke bottoms been all my life ??

A big pot of beef short ribs is in the oven as I write this. Might be the last big, hearty stew of the season.

I bought a bottle of TRUFF out of curiosity and have been wondering how to use it. Now that grilling season has started, I'm going to try it out as a mopping sauce on the grill. Thanks for the idea, Jenise.

-Paul W.

I put the Truff hot sauce on the slices of flank steak for a gentle reheat tonight. Steak was less than medium rare, and it came out very yummy, not as hot as I had thought, had a nice flavor with the marinated steak. However, this was the toughest flank I have ever had in all the years of cooking flank many different ways. Not sure why.... I cut against the grain. Last night I cut at more of an angle at that seemed to help, but still not as tender as it should have been.
Now I am thinking this might be a great addition to chunks of roasted potatoes with lots of garlic, and fresh Thyme.

Christina, your lamb stuffed artichoke bottoms recipe sounds delicious, I have not seen those, but then have not been looking for them. Will do so, as I have a pound of ground lamb in the freezer. You are very creative. I see that Cento has them canned, 12 bottoms to a can. I wonder how those would be?

Christina, your lamb stuffed artichoke bottoms recipe sounds delicious, I have not seen those, but then have not been looking for them. Will do so, as I have a pound of ground lamb in the freezer. You are very creative. I see that Cento has them canned, 12 bottoms to a can. I wonder how those would be?

Karen you certainly could use canned bottoms. I think the only difference would be the texture. The frozen ones are not cooked and if I were using canned I would have the stuffing ingredients basically cooked and then use less oven time so they wouldn't turn to mush.
The package of frozen was 12 oz and had a variety of sized bottoms: 2 very large, 2 medium and 4 small. All cooked up evenly from the frozen state even though package said to simmer in acidulated water. I thinned the sauce and cooked them until they were tender and by then the sauce thickened.
I wanted to use up some thawed tomato sauce but in the future I would NOT use a tomato based sauce because it overwhelmed the artichoke flavor. I should have thought it out a bit more. I would do a less seasoned filling with some grated Parm and use a sauce of vegetable or chicken stock seasoned with lemon zest, garlic, capers and lemon juice.

Trying to wrap my head around idea of truffle hot sauce.
I have never had just bottoms, but like frozen artichokes in general for recipes, just not been available at local stores,.
We did flank steak last night, grilled after a herb/garlic/paprika marinade. Plus we had taken Ruby for a walk in local woods, and brought along our trowels. Found 3 large patches of ramps. Still a little early, so not big bulbs. But we filled a couple of bags (maybe <5% of each bed). Betsy cleaned, I grilled a bunch , topped with a ramp/mustard vinaigrette. Betsy is pickling some of rest (Momofuko recipe). Next week I expect more developed bulbs, but these small bulbs are even better for grilling. Still have never found morels there though.

Ramps are up and going foraging this weekend so using the last of the frozen ramp green olive tapenade for a hot smoked salmon sauce for homemade fettuccini. I almost never use cream to make in bianco sauces anymore. Making the pasta more al dente and scooping the pasta directly from the boiling salted water into the sauce and adding some saved cooking water if needed to finish cooking the pasta makes a perfect coating. It's amazing how much starch is in the salted pasta cooking water.

I was getting cross-eyed researching and writing on my next book, when I heard a knock on the door. No, I didn't shoot the knocker. It was my neighbor bringing us bowls of soup, spaghetti, and bread from Olive Garden. Not gourmet, but hey, I don't have to cook tonight. Hard to believe when we didn't have microwaves.

[Jenise]

I bought a bottle of TRUFF out of curiosity and have been wondering how to use it. Now that grilling season has started, I'm going to try it out as a mopping sauce on the grill. Thanks for the idea, Jenise.

-Paul W.

You'll like it, I'm certain. I even put more on my plate to re-dip the meat in. Really liked it.

[Jenise]

Ramps are up and going foraging this weekend so using the last of the frozen ramp green olive tapenade for a hot smoked salmon sauce for homemade fettuccini. I almost never use cream to make in bianco sauces anymore. Making the pasta more al dente and scooping the pasta directly from the boiling salted water into the sauce and adding some saved cooking water if needed to finish cooking the pasta makes a perfect coating. It's amazing how much starch is in the salted pasta cooking water.

Same here, and I use a lot less water for cooking the pasta in order to have a richer additive.

Tonight we're having Hamburger salad. Essentially, all the ingredients of a hamburger without the bun, plus more lettuce with oil and vinegar.

Regarding TRUFF, I made cheese toast in a pan, Ciabatta slice laid down on 2 slices of Havarti. Flippeed, and put a layer of TRUFF on the golden cheese, an heirloom tomato slice and then a fried egg. I do my eggs so they are crispy all around the edge, and the yolk is not super runny, but not cooked through. Used black and red pepper on the egg white, with coarse sea salt on the yolk. Great breakfast...I usually only have fresh, in season fruit and my tomato juice concoction, so it was a real treat. That TRUFF sat in my fridge a long time until the posting on here by Jenise to inspire us.

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We're just edging into the cold-weather months here, so tonight the Francophile and I made a cottage pie with a cheesy mashed-potato topping. Very old school and not fancy at all but it was great. We opened a bottle of crisp New Zealand sav blanc to give the meal a fresh lift. Feeling well-fed right now.

I love the New Zealand Sav Blanc. My son introduced me to it last year, and I especially love it for cooking with dishes that call for white wine. It is fabulous with a pork chop and Farro dish I love. I think the one he brought was called Chloe.

[Jenise]

Matilda, that sounds fabulous. Humble as they are, cottage and shepherds pies are absolutely essential cooking. I love them to pieces, and so does the rest of the world. The last one I did (cottage), used onions and peas in the meat mixture and onions and cheddar cheese in the potatoes. On top, I sprinkled a fine crumb of Ruffles Cheddar-Onion potato chips. Wow what a combination. I was actually planning to do one this week but instead I started dieting a week ago today. I'm down six pounds, so well worth it, with a lot more to go but as soon as I can afford to deviate? COTTAGE PIE, DAMMIT.

Last night, long on mushrooms, I sauteed quite a few of them chopped up with onion, garlic, sage and half a beefsteak tomato I had laying around, then added vermouth, cream and leftover cream of celery soup. When done, I whizzed it with an immersion blenderto move out the chunks and thicken the soup but still leave it with a coarse texture. The combination was spectacular, actually the best thing called mushroom soup I've ever had. The bits of acidic sweet tomato were a brilliant addition I've never thought of before. Now I can't imagine mushroom soup without them.

Today, more diet food: stewed chicken and celery.

Karen, that sounds like a fabulous breakfast. You're so brave about combining all kinds of flavors, I admire that.

As Matilda says the weather is turning colder down in the antipodes. Last night a made a roasted red pepper soup served with garlic bread. It was pretty tasty and I’ll have the rest tonight jazzed up with something spicy, maybe afresh jalapeño from the garden, and lots of parsley.

Jenise, I have been doing the same thing, trying to get a few pounds off and have done well. Stricty, a Meditteranean diet, and loving it. Actually, the way I mostly ate anyway, but now that I am alone, I do not have to have 2 gallons of ice cream in the freezer and cookies, around...Gene loved his sweets and never gained 1 pound in all the years. Stayed at the same weight he had in high school.
Now that I have taken off some pounds, it is so nice to just go to the closet and grab something and know it is going to fit. Stick with it. I have a few more to go to. Funny thing, I have a favorite summer outfit that I love and was using that to stick to my eating plan. I put it on the other day and it is now too big!!!!! Was not sure if I should laugh or cry...

I'll be making Thai pad ped moo (spicy stir-fried pork) tonight. This recipe uses pork belly.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

As Matilda says the weather is turning colder down in the antipodes. Last night a made a roasted red pepper soup served with garlic bread. It was pretty tasty and I’ll have the rest tonight jazzed up with something spicy, maybe afresh jalapeño from the garden, and lots of parsley.

I'm about to make a pot of roasted red pepper soup, too. It's a wonderful season for one of my favorite raw vegetables. Bought some a few weeks back that were taller and wider than quart canning jars. Never in my life seen anything like it--and they were as good as they were big. 68 Cents each. Ridiculous!

Karen, good for you on the diet. Kinda like you, never ate sweets anyway so don't have those to give up. What's really tough for me is feeding Bob--in whom I have to pack on calories due to the ravaging effects of Parkinsons disease--while cutting back myself. And this week, he's been pretty much stuck in bed with an injury, so I'm running three meals a day plus afternoon tea+cake up to him. This morning he got a potato pancake with two farm fresh fried eggs topped with sauteed cherry tomatoes and, on the side, a thick slice of fruitcake, some sliced fresh half a small pear and grapes. And what did I get? The other half of the pear. Must admit I'm getting a lot of exercise, though. I don't usually make 20 trips a day.

Jenise, sorry to learn about the Parkinson's, I did not know. That is tough.
Today I am making a sheet pan chicken. Bone-in, skin-on legs, thighs and wings (fat removed) have been brushed on all sides with a mix of tomato paste, olive oil, juice of two large limes, and zest, garlic clove, gr. cumin, smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper flakes. Chicken is surrounded by cut carrot pieces, and a can of garbanzo beans which have been tossed in the same sauce. Baked in oven and finished off by a few minutes under the broiler to bring more color to chicken and veggies.

Also a salad with Farro, corn kernals taken from the cooked cob, kidney beans, multi-colored cherry tomatoes, and whatever color of bell poepper you prefer., tossed with a Basil vinaigrette. I usually use fresh basil, but it is nowhere to be found this week, so I used some basil pesto, with shallots, garlic clove, juice of fresh lime, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, and salt. This is run through a small food processor until blended and mixed with the salad ingredient. Nice Mediterranean inspired dinner.
Man, do I miss the spell check. Fingers do not type as well as they used to! I should get into the habit of typing into Word, they copy and pasting here.

[Jenise]

We were invited to dinner tonight by a friend but Bob's not stable enough yet for us to join them. She was going to make roast leg of lamb, so I'm going to use a small clod of boneless NZ leg of lamb I had on hand and make something similar. Am about to go put it in a white vermouth brine, will probably serve it on rice, and everything else will be mediterranean even though I don't know what that is yet. That eggplant 'flatbread' we talked about is telling me it would go extremely well with this. Might do it!