What's Cooking (Take Two!)

The long-awaited premiere of "Sharknado 4, the Fourth Awakens" was tonight, so we of course had some friends over for the viewing party. I decided to make Bulgogi, which I'd never made before and knew nothing about. I did my internet research and headed out to an Asian market to get thinly sliced flank steak and short rib meat. I also picked up the Asian pear for the marinade and the ssamjang for dipping. It was pretty easy to make and it was very tasty. Along with that, I made rice and a salad of fresh corn and English peas from the market. Our friends brought a watermelon/feta/mint/blackberry salad as well. For dessert, my wife put together a light blueberry cake that she served with more blueberries and whipped cream. Supper was great but the movie, unfortunately, does not match up with the earlier Sharknado episodes nor does it compare favorably to Ozark Sharks, Atomic Shark, or Zombie Sharks.

I fear they've jumped the Sharknado.

[Jenise]

IOW, another franchise has been beat to death. Inevitable, no? But no doubt they made bazillions on the advertising, so a fifth installment may be in store.


Our steak last night was fabu--buttery tender and especially rich in flavor, and based on my experience with Bryan Flannery 45-day steaks, I'm guessing it was dry-aged longer than typical American beef (this wasn't a special version, just what Clancy's Meat Co. in Cloverdale, where I was passing thru on our way home from Terrine Dinner XIII, had.) Maybe I should buy all my beef in Canada from now on.

A note about my side dish with the steak: opted for lightly steamed cauliflower, as I had some that needed to be used. It was a small head of the orange variety which I've always used raw. Was quite surprised that it turned a brilliant sunshine yellow when cooked!

[Robin Garr]

I fear they've jumped the Sharknado.

...on our way home from Terrine Dinner XIII...

Is there a report up yet?

[Jenise]

I don't think so! Soon, soon....

Thai green curry for dinner tonight.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I'm sick--just a cold, but nonetheless, not feeling creative or even particularly hungry. So I scrounged around in the freezer and fridge and the sight of half a jar of homemade Mexican chile-tomatillo sauce and half a brisket we smoked but that didn't turn out well (too dry) so I froze it, and it occurred to me that simmering one in the other for a few hours might result in something mighty tasty wrapped in a good flour tortilla (which I rarely buy, but did last weekend). I also happen to have some Cougar Gold and fresh cilantro on hand--a perfect storm. Though hardly sick food--mostly, I just want to eat watermelon!

Sunday, we had another couple over and I made grilled fish skewers with hawayej and parsley, also from Jerusalem. This is a very straightforward dish in which you rub cubes of fish with the hawayej (a mix of black pepper, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, and turmeric), let them sit for a while, and then skewer and grill.

Mike, you have hit a couple of my strong interests. One of the best fish dishes I have ever had was grilled salmon cube skewers from the Zahav cookbook. Marinated in pomegranate molasses and spices and cooked on "sword" skewers directly over the coals. I bought a jar of Hawayej from la Boîte so your recipe would also be easy. The "sword" skewers (typical for the middle east including Jerusalem and Iran) help with turning the fish over the coals to cook all sides. Otherwise the cubes can slide around so that the heavier side is always down. I have all of Ottolenghi's cookbooks including Jerusalem so I can look it up.

The second one is Bulgogi which I have made many times -- I generally just buy a jar of the beef marinade from H-Mart and it's wonderful. You are supposed to wrap it in leaves and I often buy shiso = Kkaenip which is sold very cheaply at H-Mart. The other main possibility is red lettuce. I also get oyster mushrooms, slice lengthwise and grill along with the beef slices. We had it once with friends over and drank a bottle of Shoju, very Korean! I also usually cook sticky rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and all of that goes into the "leaf" package which diners make by hand.

I am halfway through my summer Biochem course and one of the girls in my course has a rare Persian name (Fakhrzadeh) so I had to ask her if she knew some girls (with the same surname) that I taught 10 years ago. It turned out that they were her aunts, and also her mother took my course when she was in the Rutgers pharmacy school. Family tradition! We had a talk about Persian food and she said her mother would make something for me. She got an "A" on the first test so I wasn't too worried about the "bribery" element so I said "sure!"

Today she brought me a shopping bag -- the first container had scallions, mint, basil, radishes, cherry tomatoes, etc., the ingredients for Nan to Panir to Sabzi, the standard (delicious) Persian appetizer. Our financial advisor was visiting at 5 PM so I set that up with some pitas cut in half and toasted (to make thin bread -- traditionally you use lavash which is as thin as paper) and cut up some mild cheese, Kashkaval and mozzarella (financial guy has Italian heritage) plus a handful of raw almonds. It was magnificent with a Roero Arneis.

After he left we had the other 2 containers -- Persian rice (with a tadiq crust) plus lamb and celery stew (khoresh-e karafs) which I love and which I have made many times. What a meal!! I will have to write a thank-you to her Mom.

Nice story, Frank. It's good to hear about people bringing food to each other.

[Jenise]

Frank, I agree with Jeff, that's very cool!

No dinner tonight. I'm under the weather with a condition for which the recommended diet is toast and Gatorade.

No dinner tonight. I'm under the weather with a condition for which the recommended diet is toast and Gatorade.

You poor thing. You report a lot of bad health; my sympathies.

[Jenise]

Actually, I've always been very healthy! Just had a run of bad luck lately. This was just something blowing in the wind.

[Robin Garr]

Actually, I've always been very healthy! Just had a run of bad luck lately. This was just something blowing in the wind.

I hope you're already better this morning!

My partner decided to try making a hot smoked salmon dish we'd seen on the telly. Yummy
We served it with steamed chat potatoes lightly crushed with butter and parsley and a salad of mandarins and pickled fennel.

Google Snowy Morrison hot smoked salmon (Ben o'donohuges recipe) if you want to see what he did.

[Robin Garr]

chat potatoes

Okay, I've spent enough time in the Land of Oz to learn some stuff, but not that. What's a chat potato, Barb?

chat potatoes

Okay, I've spent enough time in the Land of Oz to learn some stuff, but not that. What's a chat potato, Barb?

Google says they are baby potatoes.

Sunday, we had another couple over and I made grilled fish skewers with hawayej and parsley, also from Jerusalem. This is a very straightforward dish in which you rub cubes of fish with the hawayej (a mix of black pepper, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, and turmeric), let them sit for a while, and then skewer and grill.

Mike, you have hit a couple of my strong interests. One of the best fish dishes I have ever had was grilled salmon cube skewers from the Zahav cookbook. Marinated in pomegranate molasses and spices and cooked on "sword" skewers directly over the coals. I bought a jar of Hawayej from la Boîte so your recipe would also be easy. The "sword" skewers (typical for the middle east including Jerusalem and Iran) help with turning the fish over the coals to cook all sides. Otherwise the cubes can slide around so that the heavier side is always down. I have all of Ottolenghi's cookbooks including Jerusalem so I can look it up.

The second one is Bulgogi which I have made many times -- I generally just buy a jar of the beef marinade from H-Mart and it's wonderful. You are supposed to wrap it in leaves and I often buy shiso = Kkaenip which is sold very cheaply at H-Mart. The other main possibility is red lettuce. I also get oyster mushrooms, slice lengthwise and grill along with the beef slices. We had it once with friends over and drank a bottle of Shoju, very Korean! I also usually cook sticky rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds and all of that goes into the "leaf" package which diners make by hand.

(Can't believe I haven't checked in on this topic for a week!)

Thanks for the info on the shiso, Frank. That sounds like a good alternative to lettuce leaves. I know what you mean about the sword skewers - I have sometimes used two wooden ones per skewer in order to be able to properly turn them on the grill.

I'll certainly make both of these dishes again. The bulgogi, in particular, is one I'd like to play around with some more.

My wife and daughter will be taking off next week, so I'm going to take advantage of the occasion to have a boy's only night at the house. I've been looking for an excuse to try and make a gumbo that approaches what I had at K-Pauls earlier this year, and this looks like a perfect opportunity. I made a practice version a couple of nights ago to try out Prudhomme's method for making black roux (heat oil until smoking, add flour in increments, and whisk like hell until it turns black). I ended up following his recipe for chicken gumbo. It worked out pretty well, but I think I might have overdone it a little as the broth had a slightly sour, metallic aftertaste. I think I can do better next time.

Tonight, I'm working on the initial stages of pulled pork from the "Damn Good Food" cookbook. It will be served at the neighborhood happy hour tomorrow night.

[Robin Garr]

What's a chat potato, Barb?

Google says they are baby potatoes.

I was hoping Barb could give us a little more nuance, though.

Hi Robin, Rahsaan is correct, baby or small new potatoes. Not sure what variety, if they are specific, but they are usually nice clean white spuds with tender skin, so just cooked whole. Not sure why we call them chats (because we can? )

[Robin Garr]

Not sure why we call them chats (because we can? )

Thanks, Barb! I Googled later and found a lot of references to chat potatoes, just about all from Australia, but nothing about the etymology - at least not in the amount of time, five minutes or so, that I was willing to spend in this particular rabbit hole.

I did wonder if there's any connection with the Indian street food snacks generically called "chaat," but that seems pretty unlikely.

[Robin Garr]

A quick and easy summer dinner from the garden: Fresh chopped tomatoes on spaghetti with fresh basil and Parmigiano.

ssummerpasta.jpg

Not sure why we call them chats (because we can? )

Thanks, Barb! I Googled later and found a lot of references to chat potatoes, just about all from Australia, but nothing about the etymology - at least not in the amount of time, five minutes or so, that I was willing to spend in this particular rabbit hole.

I did wonder if there's any connection with the Indian street food snacks generically called "chaat," but that seems pretty unlikely.

Well, in my five minutes I found that, in olden days (19th C and before), in the old country (England), the potato crop was divided after harvest into three piles: "ware", "seed", and "chat". You sold "ware", you kept "seed", and you fed "chat" to the pigs. Truth. That much, at least, is confirmed in the 1913 Webster's.

So, it may be as simple as just trumpeting that "Look, I've got a way to do something good with a food you used to give away!"

We've seen changing food values before.