Another meal-in-a-bowl, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink end-of-summer production:
linguine topped with butter, shallots, the very last tiny zucchini* and squash blossoms*, a few small chopped tomatoes*, a handful of basil*, shrimp, merguez sausage, and crumbled sheep/goat feta. This was pretty darn tasty.
2004 Muratie Chardonnay
dessert: partly successful attempt at recreating Baked and Wired's bee sting cookies.

*homegrown

microwave asian chicken thighs
corn on the cob

plum hazelnut torte
Breyer's vanilla ice cream

I recommend the torte recipe. It came out really well. It might stand a little less baking time, though. I took it out 5 minutes early, and it probably could have come out before that. (I bought a 5 lb. container of Italian prune plums at Costco the other day. 3 1/2 lbs. more to go .)

Southwestern Meatloaf with succotash and smashed red potatoes. After Dinner Mint Chip ice cream from Middleburg Creamery (Kingstowne Market).

charcoal grilled puerco Yucateco (butterflied pork tenderloin marinated in sour orange juice, achiote paste, oregano, garlic and onion)--I had planned to make cochinita pibil, but couldn't get a banana leaf at the farmers' market today, so I just grilled it.
rajas de poblanos (one of Veggie-teen's favorites)
frijoles refritos
arroz rojo
pico de gallo

Modelo Natural

Azami did the honors tonight, and quite fabulously too.

Niku-dofu: thinly sliced Aomori beef, cotton tofu, enoki mushrooms, and shallot simmered in dashinomoto, sake, soy sauce, and mirin
Sesame rice: rice steamed with sesame oil, sake, and sesame seeds

Asabiraki "Yumeakari" ("Dream Light") sake

Roasted lemon rosemary chicken with braised rainbow chard (Kingstowne market), sauteed button mushrooms and leftover taters.

A few questions:
1) Can you say a bit more about Aomori beef?
2) What is cotton tofu?
3) Do you make your own dashi? If not, what do you use? I ask, because I just got some matsutake mushrooms at the farmers' market, and I understand that the most frequent way of serving them is in a dashi-based soup.

Black-eyed peas simmered with smoked organic ham hocks
Baked jasmine rice
Collard, turnip and mustard greens braised with applewood smoked bacon and chicken broth

Dessert: Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler ice cream from Ben and Jerry's

Broiled Swordfish Steak with mango chutney and fennel
[over] vinaigrette-dressed baby greens
Macaroni and Cheese
Ciabatta and olive oil

The swordfish was on sale at Whole Foods. I didn't like the looks of what was in the case and the fishmonger said she would cut me steaks from a new shipment that came in. We miscommunicated a bit and I ended up with more than I thought I was getting. It cooked up great, though. Excellent, fresh fish with a good texture. I'm thinking of recycling the leftover into a fish soup of some kind tomorrow rather than just straight reheating.

Dinner was reheat-your-own leftovers, but dessert was Prune Plum Upside Down Cake. Recipe from epicurious and plums from Allenberg Orchards.

Aomori is the prefecture just to the north of Iwate. It is generally very well marbled (so that the meat looks almost translucent if sliced thinly) and quite rich tasting.

Cotton tofu (momendofu in Japanese) has a rougher texture than silken tofu, and is a bit firmer. The taste is similar.

I do not make my own dashi. I use the instant dashinomoto granules from Ajinomoto. I imagine you'd be able to find it in one of the Japanese or Asian groceries. Dashinomoto is actually quite good, and very convenient. Hardly anyone here makes dashi from scratch anymore.

That looks wonderful. The recipe sounds similar to the plum hazelnut torte I made a couple of nights ago (also from epicurious). Maybe I'll try this one with some of my remaining plums for comparison.

Just FYI, it was a tad dry at 1 hour of baking (recipe calles for 1 hr. 5 min). Next time I'll set the timer at 50 minutes and give it a check then.

Kabocha squash simmered in a water/sugar/soy sauce/mirin simmering stock, topped with just a bit of similarly seasoned ground pork
Miso soup with tofu, enoki, and wakame
Steamed brown rice topped with some kind of relish given to us by Azami's rice farmer student. I think it may have chili, onions, and seaweed in it, and really need to find out because we're becoming addicted to it.

Inspired by my purchase of wild pine mushrooms (matsutake) at the Dupont Market on Sunday:

Homemade dashi broth with soba noodles, matsutake mushrooms and wild-caught Carolina shrimp quenelles*

Fresh pineapple upside-down cake

2006 Di Lenardo Toh! Tocai Friuliano

*The broth and mushrooms were dubbed "too subtle" (ie. flavorless) by J and V-T. I, however, found them ethereal and delightful. The shrimp quenelles were DA BOMB.

Sounds wonderful! How did you make your dashi -- fish or vegetable?

i wouldn't have had the slightest clue about the matsutake mushrooms if i hadn't luckily run into zora at the market even though i had eaten them in a delicious soup along with zucchini and shrimp the previous night at palena. i found some japanese-inspired recipes for the mushrooms, which were going for $20 for maybe three-quarters of a pound, online, but decided instead to riff on what they are serving at palena, and while the results were decidely not as elegant, the flavors came through.

i started with a fairly traditional vegetable stock, with the addition of a few tomatoes that looked like they had only another good day or two in them. in olive oil and a scant amount of chili sesame oil i sauteed some garlic and shallots with cubed zucchini and a dash of chopped rosemary until the vegetable was softening, then added thin slices of the matsutake. it took quite a bit of scraping to remove the grit that was clinging to the mushrooms. they have an interesting texture, not woody really but more like a thin cardboard so the slices hold their sigmoid shape well. and as dry as they appeared, they did give off moisture in the pan, where i sauteed them for roughly five minutes before adding the contents to the broth. this was joined with several ounces of undercooked udon noodles, some sections of ripe, peeled tomatoes and shrimp, in that order, over the span of a few minutes.

growing at the base of pines, and maybe other trees, the matsutake has a resinous flavor at the surface, not quite the cinammon i had read about in one account of what they taste like, and they also have flavor that comes agreeably right up to the shrimp. mildly funky, sturdier and less tender than other mushrooms i have met, i have just got to say that the matsutake is the most intriguing ingredient i have found at the market since cardoons.

i believe zora said they can sell for $200 a pound in japan, which grows its own and also imports them from the pacific northwest. in japan they are revered, among other things, for their aphrodisiacal powers, while here i would assume they are not, which may help explain the large discrepancy in pricing.

Actually, it was a hybrid version. I went to Daruma in Bethesda and got kombu and katsuo (seaweed and bonito flakes), but also used leek, carrot, parsnip, celery leaves and parsley. After I strained the broth, I added a little bit of mirin and soy sauce.

Japan also imports matsutake from China. Those were selling for 880 yen (or about $8USD) for two matsutake, each approximately two inches in length.

Grilled Iwate salmon marinated in soy sauce, sake, mirin, rice vinegar, and ginger
Julienned naga-imo (Chinese yam), sprinkled with soy sauce and dried seaweed
Sesame walnut rice from the neighbor across the street

Charcoal-roasted, herb-brined Eco-Friendly chicken
(mozzarella di bufala and heirloom tomato for Veggie-teen)
Mushroom-barley "risotto"
Green beans with garlic, lemon and roasted red pepper

Homemade vanilla cupcakes with manjar frosting (a type of thick dulce de leche)

2004 Yalumba 95% Shiraz/ 5% Viognier

Last night was waldorf salad and pan fried pork chops with fennel, onions, garlic, and figs, caramelized a bit with the addition of some plum sugar.*




*Plum juice remaining from the preparation of the plums for the Hazelnut Plum Torte I made recently. I had added that to a container with a little sugar I had overmeasured for the recipe. Normally, I wouldn't be adding sugar to something like this, but I had it and I hate to waste food.

Last night I made this pumpkin macaroni and cheese recipe, which didn't come out all that well. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't worth the time and effort it took. I realized it was going to have a lot of fat in it from the white sauce and the cheeses, and I used 2% milk* for half of the milk, but it still was overly rich...and not in the best way. I didn't even use all of the Parmesan, since it called for so much of it that I didn't have enough. Sometimes too much is just too much .

I hadn't really been concerned that this looked like it would make a huge amount, as we were out of leftovers, and my husband takes leftovers for lunch every day. Now I'm regretting having so much of it. After three hours investment of labor, not to mention all the ingredients, I'd rather like this more than I do. Maybe it will taste better after some time in the refrigerator .

The pumpkin part was very good and had intrigued me as a counterpoint to the pasta and cheeses. That was the reason I decided to make this in the first place. It didn't (to my taste anyway) fit with the pasta and cheese part of the casserole, except aesthetically, colorwise. It was like two separate things mixed together that really had no reason to go together. Pumpkin makes a good filling for something like ravioli, so I thought it had the potential to work well, but it fell flat.

I have no idea where to find verjus in the US (I guess mailorder), so I used a little sherry vinegar in place of it. I contemplated white wine vinegar, but the sherry vinegar just seemed like a better flavor for roasting the pumpkin. The aroma of the pumpkin roasting with oil, vinegar, and rosemary was heavenly. The whole house smelled wonderful. I still have a small pumpkin left (it was hard to gauge how much I needed while buying them), and I'm planning to roast that the same way, along with a couple of sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, and maybe some turnips.



*This wasn't what I set out to do, but given how thick and rich the sauce came out, I'm glad I did. The recipe calls for 2 liters of milk, which I had on hand when I planned to make this before and didn't get to it, but this time I had only a little whole milk. I measured out the 1 1/2 cups or so of whole milk I had, 2 cans of evaporated whole milk, and 1 quart of 2%, and it just reached the 2 L line in my big measuring cup. A lot of times, I'll combine whole canned milk with lower fat milk when I want to enrich sauces without using cream.
*******
ETA: I just had some of this cold from the refrigerator for breakfast, and the flavors have definitely melded more since last night. I still don't think the pumpkin quite works with it, but the rosemary actually seems to have blended in better than for the original servings.

Dinner with friends on Saturday night:

Appetizer:
Chicken Faux Gras (Michel Richard's recipe)

First Course:
Panko-crusted fried squash blossoms stuffed with homemade goat milk ricotta, mozzarella di bufala, Reggiano parmesan and basil
Roasted tomato and red pepper coulis

2006 Domaine Sorin Rosé

Main course:
Charcoal-grilled boneless leg of lamb marinated with garlic and rosemary
Fresh corn polenta
Green beans with lemon

Mesclun salad

Cheese course:
A wonderfully rich aged French goat cheese I can't remember the name of
Epoisses
Pecorino wrapped in walnut leaves
Macintosh apple
Bartlett pear

2005 Robert Foley Napa Valley Charbono

Dessert:
Yellow peach and golden raspberry cobbler
Vanilla gelato

Last night:

Pan seared dayboat scallops served on
Chunky hash of maitake mushroom, corn, leeks and cream
Carolina Gold heirloom rice
Green beans

2005 Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fumé

Last night was chicken "gyros" assembled from cubed leftover chicken thighs, yogurt with homemade pickles, lettuce, tomato, and sliced scallions in whole wheat pitas. It was quite satisfying. I like it when I can recycle leftovers into something totally different and have it turn out well. (I had a cucumber I could have used to make more a traditional tzatziki, but I have lots of pickles and that seemed worth a try.)

Tonight I made one of my favorite older recipes that I hadn't thought about in a long time. Chicken in black bean sauce from Bon Appetit 1990.

It came out really well, served over white rice. The rest of the meal was a salad of iceberg lettuce with tomato, avocado, and feta with a little vinaigrette.

Recent dinners:
Caldo Verde.



Broiled* boneless pork chops, plum sauce with rosemary and sage and roasted butternut squash.



* The plan was to cook them on the gas grill, but the poor beast finally just about crumbled inside. It was a good soldier.

I have a pork loin roast to make in the next day or so, and I'm thinking this sounds like a great treatment.

Tonight was a couple of boneless chicken breasts with a stuffing under the skin of blanched baby spinach, edam cheese, and red pepper paste. They were topped with black pepper and an all-purpose middle eastern allspice. I rolled them in almond meal and sauteed in a mix of olive oil and butter. Later added sliced shiitake and button mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Sauce from chicken broth and dry vermouth. Served along with some mixed frozen greens from Trader Joes, with a little butter, black pepper, and hot sauce. (I forgot the freezer pack for my insulated bag on the last trip and picked up a pack of vegs to keep things cold. Edamame, broccoli, asparagus, and something.)

Last night--dinner brought to a friend's house:

Guacamole and chips
Barbacoa de cabrito (marinated Eco-Friendly goat steamed in Quaker Valley Farm banana leaf)
Fresh corn tamal with rajas filling in banana leaf wrapper, salsa verde (for Veggie-teen)
Frijoles refritos/Queso Cotijo
Pico de gallo

Our host provided:
Steamed rice
Salad
Peach tart from Marvelous Market
Sam Adams Summer Wheat beer

I ended up doing something totally different with my pork roast last night. I coated it in mustard/mustard seeds, crushed fresh rosemary, and dried thyme and sage, and roasted for an hour. Deglazed the roaster with a little chicken broth, then made a cream sauce with whiskey and grand marnier. Served with roasted yukon golds. I intended to make a salad, but we were ready to eat and the salad wasn't made.

No vegetables last night but we had chocolate-ginger poundcake for dessert . My husband had his with vanilla ice cream. The cake took 10-15 minutes longer to bake for me than the recipe said, which made me a little nervous, but it was still very moist. I had all the ingredients on hand to make the cake too, which made it easy.

The pork sounds great Pat, especially the sauce .

Shouga-yaki don: pan-fried ginger-glazed pork and shimeji mushrooms over rice, sprinkled with sliced green onions. We drank "Downtown Napoleon" shochu with it.

tacos al carbon (marinated skirt steak)
portobello al carbon for Veggie-teen
guacamole and chips
pico de gallo
frijoles refritos

rustic apricot tart

Pacifico lager for him
2005 Domaine Berthet-Rayne Cairanne for me

quickly thrown together from ingredients on hand:

salad of baby romaine and tomatoes with bottled vinaigrette
spinach tortellini* with pork loin chunks and a garlicky cream sauce, topped with Parmigano Reggiano

*from the supermarket refrigerator case

Homemade pizza, cooked on a 585 degree stone, topped with St. Pete's blue cheese, sliced golden delicious apples, and agave syrup.

Probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. I mean... it was AMAZING. My plan was to just slice it up and eat it for lunch but OH MAN I just kept eating slice after slice.

It was SOO GOOD...

How good was it?!?!

It was soooo good that I considered not going to Ray's tonight and just eating it for dinner.

Last night:
Charcoal roasted, herb-brined Eco-Friendly chicken
Gratin of cardoons, leeks and chard stems with Reggiano Parmesan
Braised fresh borlotti beans
Heirloom tomato salad
Fennel slaw
Marinated olives

2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 35 Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon

Tonight:
Corn and crab chowder

2005 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine

Fennel sounds like something that would make an excellent slaw. How do you slice the fennel for this? Mandoline?


Saturday night
salad caprese
pasta (cavatappi) and long simmered tomato sauce with mushrooms, olives, and pork/veal sausage
baguette and olive oil


Sunday night
baked chicken breast halves
baked potatoes
corn on the cob
baguette and olive oil

Knife. Dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt & white pepper.

After hosting some neighborhood friends on Saturday (and serving up a dish of braised sausages & plums with polenta and a salad of frisee and homemade apple pie), my wife and I made braised short ribs yesterday. We'd spied some absolutely gorgeous short ribs in the case at Laurel Meat Market and we just couldn't resist. We used Daniel Boulud's recipe as a basis but made some edits due to not wanting to bother going out to get a few missing ingredients. It turned out really, really good.

Yum.

Thank you! I'm relieved it doesn't require a mandoline. I'm dangerous with one of those .

Where can you get cardoons?

Great pictures monavano! When's the "Food Styling 101" course?

Dal with spinach and oven-roasted cherry tomatoes.

Lessons learned from the “Clean out the Kitchen” project:

• Check the quality of the ingredients: Ghee does go rancid;
• Just because you have a lot of something, you don’t have to use it all in one dish: there’s a reason they tell you to use a pinch of asafetida powder;
• Substitutions are fine, but expect it to alter the quality of your dish: cumin powder is not the same as cumin seeds;
• Mis en place is important: where are those damned mustard seeds!
• Have a carry-out/delivery menu on hand... just in case.

Thanks legant, I'm really trying to capture how good the food looks in person. A lot of trial and error, along with Picasa and Photoshop help to boost the shots from my digital point and shoot. I have bad digital SLR envy, however .
I'm waiting for a couple photography books from Amazon to help me out with lighting, styling etc. I'd like to see if I can do a relatively cheap and easy set up as winter approaches and my best light, daylight, will be less and less.

Recent dinners;

Veal Francaise with braised kale(Del Ray market a week ago), oven roasted rosemary potatoes and sauted shitake mushrooms(Old Town market).
Middleburg Creamery ice cream -mint chocolate chip

Pappa al Pomodoro
salad with red leaf lettuce , field tomatoes (Allenberg Orchards) and chevre (cheese guy at Del Ray)

Saturday night: sauteed sea scallops (seasoned only with a bit of salt and pepper) and a fantastic caprese salad. I know, those two components don't really "go," but they were exactly what I was craving.

Sunday night: grilled (indoors, sadly) top sirloin steaks, blanched green beans, and my mom's famous roasted potatoes.* Yum!

* As many coarsely chopped potatoes (type doesn't matter) as I can fit into a big throwaway lasagna pan, very lightly coated in olive oil and onion soup mix, go into the oven for 2 hours at 425 degrees. Mom would serve them just like that, but I like to refrigerate them overnight and then cook them till VERY crispy in a large skillet. They usually retain enough oil from roasting that I don't need anything else in the pan. I guess this way they're more like home fries, which I love.

Wegman's.


Two hours at 425 is a long time in a very hot oven. I presume that this is because the pan is deeply filled with layers of potatoes. I would think that if your oven is correctly calibrated, the top layer would get burned by the time the potatoes underneath get cooked through. Have you ever tried spreading the potatoes out in one layer on a sheet pan instead? I think you'd find they'd cook more evenly in much less time, if crispy texture is what you are looking for.

My mom actually cooks them at 450, which does burn the top layer. Taking it down to 425 seems to be the right move, at least in my oven--if you "stir" the potatoes halfway through cooking, most of the pieces get nice and brown and just soft enough in the middle. Many of my guests find them crispy enough that way, but I'm finicky in that regard. The overnight refrigeration lets the 'taters soak up some more flavor, and the skillet-browning gets the texture exactly where I want it.

I will have to try your sheet pan method one of these days, when I'm not doing such a monster portion (these spuds are quite popular in my house, so I do pounds and pounds at a time in order to have them available for everyone).

Thanks for the tip!

I'll call last night's dinner a Caprese Chicken Salad, even if that is a bastardization of a Salad Caprese . The Caprese was more like a component of another salad. I had various ingredients I needed to use, and this fusion of two different salads I might make came out really well. To complete the effect, it was dressed with bottled Caesar of indeterminate age that I found in the pantry .

I started with a layer of baby arugula on a platter, then covered that with shredded baked chicken. The next layer consisted of disks of buffalo mozzarella from a few balls of cheese, topped with beefsteak tomato slices and chiffonade of basil (plus a few smaller whole leaves scattered around) and salt and pepper. Finally, I sprinkled halved alphonso olives over the whole thing. I arranged four hardboiled eggs at intervals around the outside of the platter. It looked quite nice. I should start taking photos of these things.