Today was freaking HOT!!! Especially if you’re walking all.over.everywhere…!
Just as we were realizing we needed some down time and talking about dinner plans my friends text saying they were planning to grill on the terrace and please come over. We made a quick stop on our way and mom made her “famous” broccoli salad with pine nuts, red onion, and mayo/basalmic dressing- a bit set aside for me and the rest got some prosciutto (usually bacon but she didn’t want to show up and be like "oh by the way let me cook some bacon in your kitchen). We also found a lovely prosecco which we made short work of.
The host had been to Ottomanelli and there were oohs and ahs from the omnis. Mom’s broccoli salad was a big hit as always. I was delighted with the grilled asparagus,zucchini,eggplant, and extra firm tofu (which they were so considerate as to cook first before the meat). Another guest brought a wonderful Barolo which was lovingly decanted and let to properly breathe. I’m a wine amateur but i do know that was the good stuff.
We ended the day happy, full of yummy food, and drop dead exhausted. Success!!!
even though it was in the low-to-mid 70s here, i made French onion soup. slow-cooker caramelized onions cooked for 13 hours on low night before last. i had to buy beef stock (this stuff: http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/foodproductreviews/a/stockoption.htm) since i didn’t have time to make my own, and it was strangely flavorless, until i simmered it with a bouquet of thyme/parsley/bay leaves, a little salt, and some Amontillado sherry. then it was perfect - nice and delicate. heated up the onions in a little sherry too. buttered toasted baguette slices were rubbed with garlic, the whole thing was topped with gobs of gruyere (could have used even more), and the whole thing went under the broiler. Delish.
salad was radicchio, radishes, toms (the aforementioned TJs “San Marzanos”) and scallions in a dijony/lemony vinaigrette with minced shallots.
I’ve been eating the same ones and they’re wonderful!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
487
If it was labelled anything other than “crab” here, then it’d be “Cromer crab” after the town in Norfolk where many are landed. Definitely one of those things to which we Britons attach location as a sign of quality - anyone can do potted shrimps but what you always want are Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps, for instance.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
488
Upcoming…aloo gobi. A Punjabi dish that is always Mrs H’s favourite when we eat at a North Indian/Pakistani restaurant. I’m using Kaushy Patel’s recipe from her “Prashad” cookbook. She’s Gujarati and we’ve cooked some of her region’s dishes from the book but I think this is the first time we’ve gone with a recipe she claims to have only tweaked after being given it by a friend. Potato, cauliflower, tomatoes, green chillis, garlic, cumin, chilli poweder, ginger, coriander (ground and fresh).
Alongside …tarka dahl. Now, i confess here that this is out of a “just heat through” packet from the asian supermarket. But I like the texture and I like the flavour. Homemade cucumber chutney (2013 vintage) and chapattis (bought) set it all off.
It is painfully hot in the city. We went for a 4-mile hike yesterday and I just about melted. This morning it’s 75 degrees before 8am! Too hot for coffee. I might have to run by Starbucks for an iced - I need caffeine before church choir!
Had a few friends over last night . Served up local rock crab claws that were brought in yesterday . Capellini with oo and garlic and Roman style artichokes . And today I have a pork shoulder in the smoker for tonight .
My house still smells like lemongrass and fish sauce. Taking you to Ha Noi today. Had this meal there on Jan. 6, 2005. Still remember it vividly.
“My” organic butcher’s shop had many things from Bershire pig yesterday so I snatched a bunch as they are not available weekly. There’s a Bershire pig farm near my house so perhaps I should go there and ask if they sell directly to consumers. Bershire costs a bit more but it’s worth it.
“Vietnamese Köfte”. I don’t have any thin rice noodles in the house but these are the right type of rice noodles.
I’m going to need a weekend to recouperate from my weekend…!!
We picked up bagels at Zucker’s for brunch on the train as we headed upstate for the day, sesame with olive cream cheese for mom, their great dark pumpernickle with hummus, pickles, and onion for me. An afternoon snack of gelato (chocolate hazelnut for mom, the vegan coconut milk chocolate for me).
Tonight was dim sum! Another hard to find mom favorite (ya noticing a theme here?? ) she went with shu mai, har gow, those blistered green beans and we split the spinach dumplings. Chilled tofu appetizer, vegetable rice roll and mushroom dumplings for me. Lots of leftovers as well as an extra order of the shu mai went with mom for the friends she is staying with who weren’t yet home from their adventure of the day.
I can’t believe tomorrow is already our last day!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
496
lunch was an incredibly delicious roasted duck banh mi eaten on a bar patio with a very perfumey IPA. Excellent.
dinner was patty melt sliders using some of the leftover caramelized onions and gruyere, nice and medium rare-to-rare, on buttered/griddled rye, and some frankly awful Alexia french fries. what an unpleasant texture - tough, leathery, as former CHer GHG described them. they were recommended by other former Chow types so i gave them a try. Nyet. I didn’t even finish them, even with the sriracha/chipotle mayo i made, which is unheard of. The BF can make all our fries from now on.
Yay to one more day off on a beautiful sunny day! being treated to a fine Chinese dinner by a friend for her 50th bday. yes, she and her hubby are treating everyone!
WFD: ~ Chinese BBQ Slow Cooker Pork. Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, Bourbon, honey, garlic, ginger, Chinese five-spice powder, brown sugar, garlic chili sauce, pork butt. Sriracha served on the side.
This particlar recipe produces one of the best tasting pork BBQs ever. There’s even a bit of char around the edges, and as long as the pork butt has a decent amount of fat it’s guaranteed to be tender and delicious. The balance of sweet and spicy is perfect as far as we’re concerned. After roasting CBBQ for several years I find the combination and ratio of the ingredients, and ease of preparation to be quite satisfying.
~ Steamed jasmine rice.
~ Cabbage and Carrot Slaw with peanut sauce
~ Boston Baked Beans.
A quiet day today. Dark clouds and rain earlier today; the sun came out and temps went up (as did the humidity), so the A/C went back on, especially since I had the oven on for the ribs for dinner tonight.
Wait, you ask…you’re using the oven for ribs? Yup. No grill, so I have to go with the only thing available to me. I put a dry rub on the ribs yesterday and then they went into a heavy-duty foil wrap to cook for a couple of hours at about 300°. Opened up the foil; added about 1/3 cup of unpasteurized apple cider, covered it back up and back into the oven for another hour. Finally, some Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Sugar BBQ sauce (all natural ingredients) was slathered on top and finished in a slightly hotter oven until the sauce caramelized a bit. For those who aren’t inclined to make your own BBQ sauce? This stuff is DAMN good.
Sides are Potato Salad with Peas & Radishes with a Creamy Tarragon Dressing, and my 6th grade HomeEc Coleslaw recipe. Wine alongside (along with LOTS of napkins!). Dinner was VERY good.
And dessert will be Lemon Parfait with Gingersnap Crumbs and Raspberries in my antiquing day find - parfait glasses. The little bit I scraped out of the bowl, the parfait tastes good as well. We’ll see in a little while when I’m ready for dessert.
We considered burgers, dogs and other typical American picnic fare, but in the end, my desire for pizza won out (it usually does when I’m willing to indulge in carbs). I made three - all-cheese with a roasted garlic bechamel (aka the Great White), pepperoni with caramelized red onions and green olives, and a half/half chicken parm (for DH, I don’t care for chicken on pizza) and the other half garlic bechamel with jalapenos and roasted cherry tomatoes. The dough was made with levain, around 64% hydration. Normally I let it cold-ferment in the fridge for several days before using it, which improves the flavor immensely, but this time I got a late start so it only fermented overnight. Still good.
All delicious, and since there were only two of us eating, plenty of leftover slices (although embarrassingly fewer than you might think). I feel like I am having a pizza baby.
) she went with shu mai, har gow, those blistered green beans and we split the spinach dumplings. Chilled tofu appetizer, vegetable rice roll and mushroom dumplings for me. Lots of leftovers as well as an extra order of the shu mai went with mom for the friends she is staying with who weren’t yet home from their adventure of the day.
