I planned on making the Sumac Roasted Fish from the NYT. I found some lovely tilefish at my local fish monger, made the citrus marinade for the fish, mixed the spices as directed, and grilled the fish until just done.
Only it turns out I did NOT mix the spices as directed. DOH! Somewhere between looking at the recipe and pivoting to the spice cabinet, I decided the recipe called for Za’atar not Sumac. So that’s I what I used. It tuned out very well with the Za’atar and we agreed it could be part of our regular rotation. Next time I’ll have to try and make the recipe as written. I hope it turns out as well.
Tiktok recipe! Pastina soup with basil oil and parm reggiano (taters & carrots too). I added chicken and used my own zhoug instead of basil oil since that’s what I had. Total big fat bowl of comfort. Homemade chicken broth, lots of parm, and the zhoug gave it a nice kick. i LOVE big mouthfuls of unadulterated pastina going down my gullet, so maybe a little less broth next time. Toasted & buttered rosemary roll with a little parm on the side.
Shoutout to @barca, who inspired me to revisit chickpea soup, which I’d kind of forgotten about. Here, with kale and chard from the balcony. And silken tofu and tomato salad. Not the most picturesque meal, but it tasted pretty good.
Rain is coming to northern California for the next week . Yay . Local 2 lb 2 inch ribeye cut in half .Ranch beans , no vegetables. Cheers. I’m taking time off for rain looks like all next week. Oh well.
Last night was an easy dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches filled with Trader Joe’s British mustard & ale cheddar, a couple slices of speck, and slivers of apple. Bread and butter pickles on the side.
I tried the NYT trick of spreading store-bought mayo on the outer surface of the bread to grill in the skillet. I’m undecided about that as it was challenging with our dog and my husband both hovering while I assembled and cooked the grilled cheese.
Two sets of eyes intensely watching your every tiny move can throw off your cooking game, if you get me. So no pics. I want to try this technique again without my “surveillance monitors.”
Their website says “This is a fiery Yemenite spice blend made with cardamom, cilantro, cloves, cumin, garlic, salt and chili. Yemen’s hot zhug spice is perfect for sprinkling over food; it complements almost any dish from salads to fish, meat or soups.”
Wednesday Italian Lunch with my dear and a restaurateur friend (in photograph). Agnoletti a moon shaped ravioli with truffles & chili peppers - Calabrian; a canolli to die for and the gents had the Carpaccio and Pork - the meat plate. The Red wine from Alto Adige and the Extra virgin olive oil from Sicilia were heaven … and the Marseille - Provençal Evoo was gorgeous too. Both amazing. Lots of bread types served to dip into the Evoo.
