I have just discovered the secret to getting little teenage boys to eat “strange” green vegetables. Fry up some pancetta, cook the vegys in the pancetta fat, add a little acid, maybe some chili flakes, and boom! They think it’s “pretty good”.
I’ve used pancetta with broccolini, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts, all in the last couple weeks. Testing the boys’ limits, as it were.
Whether oven-roasting, grilling, or pan-searin, It didn’t matter the vegetable or technique, they ate it up.
And note, this has never worked when I tried it with American smoked bacon.
Pork tenderloin, seasoned with minced fresh rosemary and thyme, orange zest, salt/pepper and olive oil and roasted @ 375° for 40 minutes.
Sauteed shallots and mushrooms, added a healthy blup of Madeira, and then some fresh orange juice. Simmer, simmer, simmer, reduce, reduce, reduce. Added a blup of heavy cream to finish.
Steamed asparagus and leftover basmati rice.
Wine.
Dinner.
Very good.
And I do believe there will be some Talenti Caramel Cookie Crunch gelato for dessert a bit later.
It’s not just teenage boys. After my younger brother had both left home we shared a house together in London. I was 30 he was 25. I did most of the cooking but he refused to eat vegetables. The only way I could get them into him was by making a chicken and spinach curry or by cooking a roast dinner on a Sunday and serving carrots he could drench in gravy.
Not much cooking at casa lingua lately due to gigs or evenings out… last night was a junk food extravaganza on the occasion of a poker game we hosted. Crappy delivery pizza and good wings, too much horseradish pub cheese, potato chips, ciabatta & brie, cupcakes… oy. Was def feeling it today.
So our Sunday “cleanse” meal will be Greek BISO chickie boobs with maroulosalata on the side. Some feta, red onion & flavor bomb tomatoes thrown in. These little mofos live up to their name, which is kinda awesome at the end of March. Available at Wegmans and highly recommended.
Sounds like my day! Gig in the morning, then laundry ALL day (interspersed with movie watching!). Managed to make some chicken meatballs in San Marzano tomato sauce (topped with ricotta and parmesan) for lunch, but lost my cooking mojo and had to order from a new Mexican joint for dinner. We’re waiting on delivery now, fingers crossed that it’s good!
Lots of unpacking and laundry and errands today, i was craving a big chopped salad and made one with radishes, cucumber, scallions, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and some leftover asparagus i had steamed at lunch.
Side of miso broth made with a very smooth mild miso i brought back with me.
There was also a bit of a Kewpie situation at the market…the bottles that sell for $6 here were just $2 there so the cashier probably thought i was nuts but i bought four of the red label for myself and then a few of the smaller size bottles for friends. (There’s a version in a jar, a low calorie one, a sweet version (??), and thousand island)
That looks good, like sukiyaki cut of meats! I used to have a shiso plant (a purple one), I didn’t use the leaves very often, but the plant was stunning among the other vegetal. If I could find it in shop, I will probably get another one!.
Cuttlefish cooked with sage, lemongrass, lime juice, red pepper flakes, chilli oil and nuoc mam + roasted brocoli with blue cheese and parmesan. Actually it works
It was a leftover cake given by the neighbour after her birthday party. Was very nice from her! Chocolate, caramel and speculoo biscuits. It was very rich and sweet, so I decided to add some raspberries to balance better. It works!
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