Mostly I follow recipes to the letter when it's the first time I'm making them. Subsequent times I will vary what I do, based on what I've learned. For magazine recipes similar to many other recipes I've made, I'm more likely to substitute and improvise than for those from more "authoritative" sources. In this case, I was trying to replicate recipes from restaurant cookbooks. I did think temperatures for a couple things were awfully low, but that didn't seem like it would be a problem...until it ran into the next thing I needed the oven for, with the previous thing still not finished.

Given that I get very exasperated when I try to follow complex recipes to the letter, I should probably follow your advice . I was actually quite surprised at how successful I was making The Mansion on Turtle Creek recipes. I had held off even trying them for years because they looked so complicated, but it seemed silly for the book to take up shelf space I don't have if I wasn't going to make any of the recipes. I'm glad I finally tackled the book. It's earned its space on my bookshelf .

I spoke to a friend recovering from surgery, who is just starting to eat again--offered to cook dinner for her and asked her what she wanted to eat. Potatoes, she said. Leek and potato soup? I asked. No. Scalloped potatoes. Knowing that she is vegetarian at home, and that this would be her main dish, not a side, I layered paper thin sllcies of Yukon Golds with layers of equally thin slices of Kabocha squash, minced onion, chopped parsley and thyme, butter, S&P and cream. When Jonathan heard what I was up to he said: "But I love scalloped potatoes, too." So I made two casseroles--but I left the squash out of the one we'd eat at home. His would have to be classic scalloped potatoes or I'd never hear the end of it. I had a lot of sliced squash left, after I made my friend's dish. I made escalloped squash and quince, with onion, butter herbs, cream and sprinkle of granulated cactus honey--a sweet/savory concoction that was extraordinarily delicious. And I made some baked apples--some for my friend and her kids, and some for us--filled with brown sugar, figs, prunes, apricots, raisins and spices.

Our dinner:
Pan-seared spice-crusted rib-eye
Scalloped potatoes
Haricots verts with fresh tomato, garlic, and lemon
Roasted baby bok-choy
Escalloped squash and quince
Baked apples with heavy cream

2004 Twenty Rows The Grappler

Vicks 44 Cough
Nyquil
and for dessert Vapor Cherry Sucrets Complete

2008 Cup of hot salt water

The flu really sucks.

(It's a Cook's Illustrated sort of night...)

Meat Loaf with Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze
Freezer Biscuits
(Glory) Collard Greens

Woodbridge Pinot Noir

Black Pearl Cake

For the lady: Hendrick's gin and Fever Tree tonic with lime
For the gentleman: Brown Shugga

Moroccan spiced tri-tip roast with garbanzo bean mash

Creamy rose panna cotta

Since they won't brag on themselves...all prepared by Waitman and Mrs. B.:

fresh sea urchins
oysters mignonette
brandade toasts

pissaladiere
spanakopita
crispy pig tails a la Fergus Henderson

creamed spinach with quail eggs
roasted turnips, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga
short ribs with olives
polenta

cheeses

pistachio baklava
pomegranate sorbet with rosewater
orange sections in syrup

Many, many wines

Inspired by recipes from the Leite's Culinaria website:

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder using rub from this recipe
served over Warm Apple slaw from this recipe

I was cooking all weekend-chicken stock, meatballs, braised lamb. I've just about had enough of my kitchen for a while, but want to make one more thing-gnocchi. I would like to replicate a dish that I ate at Eve's Tasting Room a few years ago. It was braised meat (lamb? beef?) over pillowy gnocchi. It was a perfect small portion which was just the right size for the richnes of the braise.
If any one has an easy recipe for a novice gnocchi maker (who as had her share of "sinkers"), please let me know.
Thanks.

We seem to be getting sick, so I pulled a few pounds of chicken backs out of the freezer and made some stock (using star anise and szechuan peppercorns, ginger and carrot greens, in addition to my typical onion-carrot-celery-bay leaf mix). After a couple of hours, I strained it and froze to make it easier to get the fat off.

Once I did my best to skim the fat, I made a soup with the stock and some water, adding more onion, celery, and carrot, plus garlic and shallot. At some point I added black pepper and salt, plus a bit of dried marjoram, since it seems lemony to me, and I thought that worked with what I was doing. I chopped up some leftover duck breast and soaked shiitake, oyster, and wood ear mushrooms. Those went in near the end of the cooking time (30-40 minutes from the end), with the strained mushroom soaking liquid. It ended up being a sort of hot and sour soup (with rice vinegar, hot pepper sesame oil, and pepper flakes), topped with red onion slivers and cilantro. It was a very satisfying soup.

Unless he is desperately sick, my husband has a solid appetite, so I also made some penne with creamy poblano sauce, topped with romano. I wasn't sure how well that worked--he loved it, me more "meh"--but I haven't done a thorough grocery shopping trip recently and that was my best backup.

I already had poblanos, tomatillos, onions and cilantro in my shopping basket, with nothing specific in mind, when I went to the meat counter at the Tenley Whole Foods-- and saw boneless pork butt on sale. Obviously, posole verde was meant to be. They didn't have either dried or canned posole corn, so I had to go to Safeway for canned hominy.

Tonight:
Willett bourbon, on the rocks
Roasted cippolini onions with balsamic--hadn't planned to eat them tonight, but they were so good, still warm, that we scarfed most of them down just standing around in the kitchen while I was fixing dinner.

Looseleaf lettuce salad with feta, pine nuts, haricots verts, roasted beets and avocado, Meyer lemon vinaigrette
Posole verde with corn tortillas
Dos XX and Pacifico

South African hot milk sponge cake with blackberry compote, sweetened vanilla creme fraiche

Damn! Another reason I forgot for switching from the G'town to P St. WF. Went back to G'town this weekend where there's never has pork butt... Okay, details. Salsa verde. Only meat was the pb? No feet? Part B: what's the diff between canned pc and canned h? Got me some Mexican Style hominy--maiz estillo mexicano (Juanita's) in a can...

ooo. tell me more about the cake, please.
* * *
My dinner: Snert. Peter Reinhart's cornbread w half the sweet, no bacon, no onions. Tangelo.

No kidding. That sounds awesome.

We had dinner out last night during my two-hour gap between classes. I finally tried omuraisu, or "omelette rice." Omuraisu is fried rice mixed with ketchup, wrapped in a thin omelette, then topped with more ketchup. Some people love it, others hate it, I found it comforting in much the same way hash is.

Dinner: my husband's nightmare lasagna. Very basic, but he must have added something this time. It is keeping me up late.

Broiled redfish topped with dengaku miso
Steamed brown rice
Spinach sauteed with sesame oil, minced garlic, and tofu
Miso soup with wakame, sliced shiitake, and tofu

a. Haven't ever used feet in posole--not that much of a purist. Pork butt braised with onion, garlic, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, water almost to cover. Meanwhile, charred poblanos on gas burner, peeled and chopped them, roasted tomatillos. After one hour, removed pork from braise liquid and cut it into chunks, returned to liquid with poblanos and tomatillos, a chopped carrot, added Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander and whole allspice, one chopped dried chipotle with seeds and stem removed, adjusted salt. Stewed on low heat for another 1 1/2 hours--or was it 2? Served with chopped fresh cilantro and hot sauce to taste.

b. Same thing. Posole is the Spanish word for hominy. It is also called nixtamal. Dried hominy or posole corn or nixtamal, soaked then cooked, tends to have more tooth than canned, but the flavor is basically the same.

c. Searching unsuccessfully for a Nigella Lawson quick sponge cake recipe that I saw her do on her tv show and made once from memory but did not write down--I found this recipe. It took a few minutes longer to put together than Nigella's recipe, as I recall, but took just 12 minutes in the oven. Very light, and tasty. I added a bit of orange zest, cardamom and nutmeg. A very easy cake I will definitely make again.

http://comehomeforsupper.blogspot.com/2007...ponge-cake.html

Cathal Armstrong's Skillet Roast Lamb Loins w/ Herbs
Roast Brussel Sprouts

2005 Torri Mor Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Chef Armstrong's recipe was simple and swell. The Torri Mor seemed like it could use a few more years.

Where'd you find the lamb loins (or tenderloins) at?

Oh drool. Very jealous, especially when the quality of rice is still much better there than here. Must be the water + rice. Not that it's hard to make at home, but I haven't found any place here that makes it as good.

That's comfort food for me, as well as ketchup fried rice. Ah.

From my long-neglected Babbo cookbook, 5 Autumn 4 Winter Vegetable Salad (leeks, butternut squash, parsnip, sunchoke... with goat cheese and honey toast)


Chicken Francese with polenta and kale

It wasn't a perfect fit, but P St. WFs had lamb loins.

baked brie topped with peach pepper jelly and coated with pecan crumbs; baguette slices
medium-rare t-bone steak
baked potatoes and butter
creamed spinach

I learned a trick years ago from Chef Weidmaier (when I was his poissonier/saucier at the late Cafe on M) for getting fat off small or home production stocks--freeze a few large metal ladles while your finely-strained stock is cooling in the fridge or in an icebath. After the ladles have gotten extremely cold, dip the bottoms of the ladles into your stock. The fat will cling to them as you pull them out and you won't have to deal with unnecessarily frozen stock.

I still use this method frequently at home and it always works extremely well.

Last night:

Pan seared Eco-Friendly pork rib chops
Chunky quince and onion hash with dried cranberries, fresh rosemary and cherry balsamic vinegar
(Veggie-teen had a roasted portobello stuffed with *rice pilaf, *beluga lentils, mozzarella di bufala, capers and *marinara sauce, pecorino romano)
*Baked cheese grits
Sauteed beet greens

2006 Beaujolais Dom. Dupeuble Pere et Fils

*creative use of leftovers

Broiled miso cod
Soba noodles dressed with mirin and sesame oil vinaigrette tossed with roasted shitake mushrooms and fresh scallions

Pat, I've never tried freezing it to get the fat off. After straining, I put my stock in the refrigerator (usully overnight) to get the fat to congeal and float. Then I skim it and put it into containers to freeze.
How does freezing help get the fat off?
The chicken stock I made this weekend had very little fat after refrigeration. I was surprised. When making it this time, instead of placing the chicken, herbs, spices, vegetables into a pot with cold water and heating, I placed just the chicken parts in and allowed it to come to a boil, at which point it scummed up big time. Once I removed the scum, then added the rest, it remained pretty clear throughout simmering. I wonder if boiling the chicken first helped me to get the fat off somehow.
Anyway, the frozen ladle trick sounds interesting-I'll have to remember to give that a try.

Tonight will be braised boneless leg of lamb over egg noodles (made previously and steeping in juices now). The lamb was tied, seasoned and browned. The braise was a mirpoix, bay leaf, tomato paste, rosemary,thyme, plum jam, Malbec and beef broth. The dish braised at 325 for almost 3 hours.

Usually, I put it in the refrigerator overnight and then skim the fat off, but I had decided to make the soup at the last minute for that night. It would have been smarter to take the skin off to minimize fat going in, but I didn't think of that at the time. I had hoped freezing would speed up the fat separation/congealing process so that I could have a quick turnaround and make the soup that night. It did separate into a distinct layer within 2 hours, but it wasn't congealed. It still enabled me to get a lot more fat out than I could have otherwise in such a short time.

Either that soup was a miracle preventative/cure or we were just both having a really draggy day and not actually getting sick. We had lots of wonderful soup and felt fine the next day. I prefer to think it was the soup that made us feel better .


I almost bought a boneless leg of lamb yesterday at Costco, but I decided I already had enough meat. I'll probably pick one up on my next trip there, though, and will file this idea away for then.

I see, you didn't freeze it solid but tried to expidite the cooling. Got it
I got the leg of lamb from Coscto (about 4.5 lbs) and walked away from the red meat at that point, thinking it was enough richness and more chicken would be a better choice for us. Cholesterol and all that.

Yes. I guess could have been clearer in my phrasing, but I knew what I meant .

That was my choice in reverse. I'd already picked up a package of 3 t-bone steaks and 2 hunks of chuck for pot roast. I picked up the lamb and thought, eh, overkill. We split one steak last night, and I froze the others. I'm making one of the pot roasts tonight or tomorrow and freezing the other..

After Costco, I stopped at Harris Teeter and was drawn in by "buy one, get one free" on pork loin ends. I'm planning to wrap and freeze both of those, or I might cut the smaller one up for chili. I've largely depleted the meat in the freezer, so I'm slowly restocking.

One of us (she) has a broken leg, the other (me) a serious head cold. Too much pizza delivery was only making matters worse. Stir-crazy and in need of some serious comfort, I cooked up a pot of faux Pho, comprising

one diced yellow onion
salt & pepper
bouquet garni
ginger
one lb. ground turkey
two Tbsp. coconut oil
tamari
seasoned rice vinegar
3 quarts filtered water
vermicelli, broken in half
frozen string beans, broken in thirds
fish sauce
hot sauce
lime juice

This was some damn fine eating, considering that it was not made from stock and that most of it came from the pantry and freezer versus the produce aisle.

Soup: vegetable stock, broccoli, parsnips, shallots, garlic, a little cumin and coriander. Puree with immersion blender, add black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil at the table. Delicious, but an unappetizing color.

Grilled cheese on Atwater rye.

Apple and Manchego salad with Marcona almonds
Pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Mini baguette with soy spread

It was a rough afternoon and I started the pot roast kind of late. I'd been planning to do something a little fancier with it but just ended up making a plain old pot roast. It came out well, though, and was good comfort food. The salad was quite good, better than I expected. I'm annoyed, however, that I can't find the original magazine version even though I know I have that issue of the magazine somewhere in my house .

I finally cooked from Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table and made Devil's Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks and Dijon Mustard. I did not have any leeks on hand at home so I made braised carrots. Not the simplest of recipes, but damn good.

I love that book!

Last night was minestrone, cooked long enough that the potatoes and cannelini beans broke down a bit and made it nice and thick, and garlic toast. And a red wine from Umbria--2004 Fattoria Colsonto Ruris--that I got at Arlington Whole Foods.

Bacon cheeseburger pizza
Pizza margherita

pulled pork sandwiches
macaroni and cheese

Udon served in homemade tsuyu with sliced green onion and kamaboko
Sides of takuan and "spicy, cheddar cheese" stuffed chikuwa (fish paste shaped around a thin, round bamboo stick, then grilled)

Last night I went old school with Sicilian Chicken and a side of pasta (which reminds me of a lot of the Italian-American restaurants in Philly).

Spinach and orzo soup with turkey meatballs
Texas toast

Beef vegetable soup made from leftover pot roast (with peas and tomatoes added to the potatoes and carrots)
Leftover macaroni and cheese

The broth from that pot roast was so good that it seemed destined to be turned into soup. I added several spoonsful of mac and cheese right into my soup bowl and ate it all together .

Baked chicken legs
Rice Pilaf
Baked peas

Pan seared lamb chops which were marinated in red wine, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, thyme, rosemary and garlic. The marinade was reduced in the pan (with some more red wine and butter) while the lamb rested. Parmesan asparagus-evoo, s&p, parmesan then baked at 425 degrees and finished under the broiler. Mashed potatoes given a healthy dose of Alouette garlic and herb spread.





...I have to figure out how to reduce my photos

Sunday dinner was:
Roasted chicken with stuffing (stuffing made with white bread, kale and the usual suspects [onion, celery, sage])
Roasted cauliflower

For the chicken, I tried a new (to me) method I saw recently on America's Test Kitchen. The stuffing is placed on aluminum foil in the roasting pan of choice and then the spatchcocked bird is placed over the stuffing. I really liked this method and found it made the post-roasting carving of the chicken much easier. Will definitely continue to use this method in the future.

Monday dinner was:
Impromptu chicken noodle soup to (hopefully) ward off the cold I seem to have caught.

Have you asked for pork butt at the Glover Park (!) WF? I was there a couple of weeks ago, and there was nothing like that on display in the case, but I asked if I could get a piece of pork shoulder between one and two pounds, and the guy went into the back and came out with a very nice 1 2/3 lbs. piece a couple of minutes later. I made it into goulash (lots of onions and paprika, and a lovely thick-walled red bell pepper peeled (with the wonderful Messermeister serrated-blade vegetable peeler), cut up, and added for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking).

Aburaage (deep-fried sheet of tofu) stuffed with a simmered mix of sliced shiitake, carrots, and burdock root, minced chicken, and cooked rice noodles, then tied off with a strip of gourd and simmered itself in a stock of dashi, sugar, and soy sauce. Mmmmm.
Spinach steeped in dashi and soy sauce, topped with katsuobushi flakes
Steamed rice

striata baguette with olive oil for dipping
baked rigatoni with basil-tomato-roasted pepper sauce with two meats; cinnamon and black pepper; grated Romano

It's true that Glover Park Hardware is further south than the WFM on Wisconsin, but I was at the latter store tonight where all the signs refer to the Georgetown Whole Foods, man. When in Rome... A rose by any other name... Etc. Cachet?
* * *
Dinner afterwards:
Slice of turkey meatloaf w prunes (cf. bacon thread) reheated w ketchup (WFM)
Baked potato (organic from Safeway) w a Plugra butter (Trader Joe's) and dollop of homemade yogurt
French green beans w Meyer lemon and a little butter
No dessert

Seafood stew with monkfish cheeks* and fresh Maine sweet shrimp*, fennel, leeks, asparagus and pasta
Toasted Firehook baguette

2006 Tittarelli Torrontes

I stopped in at BlackSalt market yesterday, and found * for sale-- $7.99 per pound for the fresh head-on shrimp and $13.99 per pound for the monkfish cheeks. The deal was sealed when Scott offered to shell the shrimp for me, which I gladly accepted because these shrimp are quite small, and a pound of them=a LOT of shrimp. I asked to keep the heads and shells, which I used to make shrimp stock. Three large monkfish cheeks weighed a half-pound, and I cut them up into 1" cubes. They were firm-tender and very flavorful. The pasta was cooked lasagna noodles that didn't fit in the lasagna pan last night, which I cut into spoon-sized pieces. The shrimp were as advertised--sweet--added at the last moment, so they didn't get overcooked. The stew was finished with creme fraiche, a splash of Pernod and some fresh basil. Shlrrrp! Aaaah!

Green salad with balsamic anchovy vinaigrette
Pizza bread* using striata baguette pieces
Leftover baked chicken legs, rice pilaf, and peas



*Homemade pizza sauce from the freezer, roasted red and yellow peppers, and fontina cheese

Yeah, well the real-estate folks used to call places like 13th and T NW "Dupont Circle", but it didn't make 13th and T Dupont Circle. They used to call Beekman Place, across 16th St. from Meridian Hill Park, Dupont Circle, too. They probably would call the eastern part of Georgetown Dupont Circle if they weren't calling it Georgetown. Anyway, not only is the Glover Park Whole Foods not in Georgetown, it's separated from Georgetown by the whole intervening neighborhood of Burleith. I'm put in mind of the Abraham Lincoln anecdote, where he asks how many legs a dog has if you call the tail a leg. They answered "five", and he said no, four, calling the tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. Calling Glover Park Georgetown doesn't make it Georgetown.

Turkey club from Ambrosia