Do you scan these from magazines?



Filet mignon with beety bordelaise and mushrooms in veal reduction
Braised swiss chard with pancetta, toasted pine nuts, and sweet carrot "diamonds"

Braised Carrots a la Deangold (olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, crushed red pepper)
Pan roasted brined chicken with herb butter
Pan gravy made from homemade chicken stock and prosecco mounted with herb butter

The gravy was insanely incredible. The homemade stock really makes a difference - I've never had gravy that tasted like this before. Mmmmm... chicken...

Cleaning out the fridge night, Japan-style:

Soumen, julienned roast pork, sliced green onion, and the last of the bottle of dipping sauce
Homemade pickles
Tuna-mayo onigiri (okay, that hadn't been hanging around the fridge)

Lightly battered zucchini blossoms
Sautéed softshell crabs on bacon w key limes
Roasted corn mixed w sauté of red onion, red bell pepper, okra and thyme
Purple Cherokee sliced w basil and sherry vinegar
Beer
Peach

Always.

For tonight

Grilled baby chicken from Evensong Farm. It's marinating today in lime juice, orange juice, ground cumin & coriander, salt, pepper, and a little tequila.
tortillas
charred tomatillo & garlic salsa, with cilantro
roasted squash, corn, and baby heirloom tomatoes

Next time you are in a Latin market, look for oregano molido on the spice rack--ground Mexican oregano. Add a little bit of it to your mojos and recados (marinades/spice pastes) for sabor authentico. Seriously, ground Mexican oregano (as opposed to Greek or Italian oregano) and allspice are the unsung elements of Latin and especially Mexican cuisine that give extra depth of flavor, but unlike cumin, you don't taste them distinctly. When they are there, however, you will go "Oh yeah. That tastes more authentic."

I bought some Mexican oregano from Penzey's and it certainly is different than the others, especially when compared side by side.

Dinner last night was inspired by the photo on the latest Bon Appetit, Chicken Parmesan. Leftovers are going to be gooooood.

What a gorgeous weekend for eating outside, and for me eating al fresco calls for light fresh food. Friday we started the weekend with a simple but tasty tuna tartare. Saturday I took advantage of some of the beautiful fruit that was available at the Del Ray market and started with grilled nectarines on prosciutto, and then for the main crab ravioli with a savory peach sauce. The left-over crab filling worked very well as an appetizer last night and we followed with an heirloom tomato salad with lardoons of smoky bacon and chucks of Massaponax goat cheese, with a drizzle of peppery olive oil from Impruneta. It is too bad I didn't have one more day to sit and enjoy the wonder weather.

Last night was a sampling of all the farmers market bounty picked up over the last few days:
heirlooms with some fresh mozarella
a succotash of sorts with -huge- fresh lima beans and some fresh corn off the cob
grilled zucchini and yellow squash
corn on the cob - sweet and tender
grilled fresh figs (from the backyard)
a simple grilled filet of tilapia (not from the market)
dougnut peach for dessert

Mmmm, I love summer!

Eco-Friendly sausage and red and green Italian pepper sandwiches on Marvy market baguette
Mushroom and pepper and burrata sandwich for Veggie-teen

2005 Castel del Monte Rosso

Cucumbers, sliced and served with Kewpie mayonnaise and miso for dipping
Yude buta to shiomomi nasu; su-miso tare: Pork shoulder, boiled with leek and sliced ginger, then cooled and sliced. Served with thinly sliced, wilted eggplants and a miso/vinegar/sesame oil sauce.
Miso-grilled goya (bitter melon)
Garlic-cucumber pickles from the neighbor
Steamed rice
Black sesame baumkuchen

I feel the same way about leftover eggplant parmigiana which I ate on the front porch wedged into half of a small baguette, split and heated in the oven; sprinkled w red chile flakes.

Except for the mosquitos that get five bites to my one. Can't sit outside for long, especially as light dwindles.

Quickie meals have been the theme in my house lately. Such as:

Chicken salad with potatoes and arugula, using store-bought rotisserie chicken and a homemade Dijon vinaigrette.

Honey chicken with grilled corn salad (with a homemade "BBQ" sauce of ketchup, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, garlic powder, and Tabasco)--I learned with this meal that grilling corn on an indoor grill pan is not such a great method. I should have either boiled the corn or roasted it in the oven.

Potsticker salad with snap peas--sadly, I didn't have time to make my own dumplings, so I used frozen. Still very tasty.

Chicken breasts sauteed with grape tomatoes, white wine, scallions, and tarragon--simple, but really yummy. Great acidity.

I'm finding that "Real Simple" magazine is a great starting point for weeknight recipes, when I don't have the time or brainpower to be creative in the kitchen. It gives me a great canvas to work with, and with a few ingredient changes/additions, I have something that's really my own.

Paninis of homemade focaccia, prosciutto, Piave, and fresh apricots. Simple but delicious.

potato leek soup
rack of lamb slivered with garlic, charcoal grilled with lemon and Greek oregano
baby spinach salad with soft-boiled egg and pork sung and a bit of vinaigrette
heaping bowl of ripe cantaloupe pieces
a gorgeous slice of Valdeón from Cheesetique

me: the Real Thing, from a can
her: extemporaneous highball of Blenheim "extra" ginger ale and Cardenal Mendoza brandy

pan-fried sirloin steak with caramelized shallots and shiitakes
mashed potatoes with truffled pecorino
green beans

Charcoal roasted and applewood smoked bone-in pork loin chops*
South Carolina mustard barbecue sauce--many thanks for the recipe, Scott Johnston!
Braised collards
Baby limas (frozen) stewed with onion and bacon
Mashed sweet potatoes
Cornbread (from WFM bakery) with butter and Toigo honey

Magic Hat #9 for me/Pacifico for him

Perfectly ripe yellow peach from Toigo

*I can't remember a pork chop that I have enjoyed as much as this. Thick pork porterhouse purchased at Tenley WFM, done in the Weber Kettle on indirect heat with Cowboy charcoal, with wet applewood shreds purchased earlier this summer from Quaker Valley Orchard at the Dupont Market providing the smoke. Juicy and smoky and out of this world with the spicy, mustardy bbq sauce.

3 Pork Hash - Potatoes sauteed with onions, red peppers, breakfast sausage, country ham (from the place in Old Town farmers market), and a really nice smokey bacon (from Cheesetique) topped with poached eggs. A nice excuse for making Bellini's on a Thursday evening.

Country ham w three: crispy fried okra, sliced green tomato and skillet cornbread w fresh corn.

Salt-cured ham slices courtesy of Cibola and quite good.

I think Heather mentioned the Lee Bros. cookbook some time back and after picking up a copy at the library, I have been pleasantly surprised by the few things I've tried, including fried chicken that actually came out moist and perfectly cooked vs. a blackened batch I prepped using Edna Lewis/Peacock instructions (though I soaked pieces overnight in buttermilk vs. the brothers' brine). Their okra recipe is quite good, too. This was the second time I've made it.

Another novelty for me is white cornmeal, the only kind available at time of purchase. Produced in VA. I'll be darned but it bakes up yellow after all. Filled w two ears of Toigo corn. Tomato was a ripe Green Zebra raw vs. an unripe one, cooked.

Stuffed, so small, deep purple plum for dessert. No Bellini for me.

Last night:

Rustic bread from Marvelous Market, with extra virgin olive oil for dipping
Broiled halibut with watermelon salsa
Iraqi tabbouleh [recipe from Bert Greene's Grains cookbook]

Grilled spiced kifte
toasted pita
plain yogurt with mint
chopped salad of cucumber, Vidalia onion, and a homegrown tomato (our tomatoes are excellent this year), dressed with good olive oil and chopped oregano

The kids had ice cream with the babysitter, I had wine and a couple of gin & tonics at a party.

Saturday night dinner:

Lowcountry baked beans with crowder peas
Buttered corn on the cob
Hamburgers on toasted rustic bread with truffled pecorino, iceberg lettuce and beefsteak tomato

The crowder peas, corn, and tomato came from outside vendors at Eastern Market. I had never made crowder peas before. They took a long time to shell, but the recipe I found for making them as baked beans was excellent. I only had 2 cups of beans instead of the 3 called for, but they came out great.

I've been sick all week and finally had a bit of strength to get to the West End Alexandria farmers market today, and I am so happy I did. While not exactly dinner, a late lunch is all I can find the energy to make today--and it was the best taste of summer that I've ever had. Take a look at this bite;

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Heirloom tomato, kosher salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic, topped with pan fried goat chevre rolled in seasoned bread crumbs, with pan roasted/caramelized white corn and chiffonade of basil.

Heirloom tomato and corn from J&W Valley View Farm in Westmoreland County, VA
Chevre from Apple Tree Goat Farm (Richland, PA), sold by Tom the cheese guy
Basil from me

Pizzas, topped with Blue Ridge Dairy fresh & smoked mozzarella, sauteed wild mushrooms, anchovies, and fresh thyme from our garden.
Mache with homegrown tomatoes.
Lemon meringue pie.

It may be trite, but taco pizza.

-Grilled flank steak marinated with cilantro, scallions, and serranos
-Pickled onions and jalapenos
-Queso blanco

Cold Circus Boy (the beer, not a dead underage carnie)

Last night was a thrown together skillet dinner with leftover rice, ground beef, sliced yellow squash, onion, garlic, and fresh basil. I used a little white wine, white wine vinegar, worcestershire and cholula for seasoning. Came out pretty well. Dinner started with a salad plate of a couple of leaves of iceberg lettuce, half a sliced beefsteak tomato, and a sliced hard-boiled egg, dressed with a little bottled light ranch.

For dessert we finally had some of a frozen bittersweet chocolate mousse cake that I had made a couple of days before.

Goya chanpuru -- Okinawan stir-fry of goya (bitter melon), ginger, pork, tofu, and bean sprouts, bound with egg.

Do you parboil or do anything to the bitter melon before adding it to the stirfry? Does cooking render it less bitter than when it is raw? I bought one out of curiosity once, but tasting a small bite of it -- it was SO bitter -- I couldn't imagine that a larger amount wouldn't render a dish inedible. I pitched it. What am I missing here?

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Oven roasted chicken with lemon, oregano and rosemary
aromatic vegetables
pan gravy
mashed pototoes
parmesan asparagus
ciabatta

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Your gravy is beautiful. Super shiny and clear! You must have "strained" a lot

The last of the tenderloin chain put into a cheesesteak with vidalia onions and mimolette
Braised rapini*
Magic Hat summer blend

*I am SO CLOSE to getting out all the bitterness.

Cantaloupe wrapped with proscuitto and dotted with feta
Mixed rancho gordo beans with ham hock and dandelion greens

The beans and ham hock were done in the crock pot, with the greens added at the end. Awesome. I tossed a dried ancho chile in there partway through, which added a nice kick to the flavor.

I rubbed it with salt and let it sit for about 15 minutes before rinsing it. Then I squeezed out as much of the remaining water as possible. The goya is still bitter after doing this, but not nearly as much as when untreated.

Incidentally, lots of bitter vegetables get eaten here. Japanese cooking seems to use this or some other technique involving salt for removing bitterness. Many of my recipes call for rolling butterbur or unpeeled cucumber in salt or parboiling the bitter vegetable in salted water.

Frittatta-squash blossoms, turkey sausage, red pepper, some leftover Gruyere cheese, onion and garlic
Panzanella salad-old ciabatta, tomato, 3 basils, red onion and capers in a red wine and balsamic vinaigrette
To come: banana bread for dessert..still in the oven

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3 basils-Siam Queen Basil, Sweet Basil and Basil Minette

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This is exactly how I learned to make Eggplant Parm when I worked prep in an Italian restaurant in college. Cut slices of eggplant about 1/2" thick. Place slices on a shallow pan, salt liberally, cover with wax paper, and make several layers. Then put another pan on top, repeating the process, until the stack is a foot or so high. Then pile 40 or so phone books on top of the whole structure. Don't forget to place the bucket at the end of the counter to catch the gallon or so of water that will leach out! After an hour, the eggplant will be tender and not the tiniest bit bitter. Ready for the breading and frying.

BLT

The tomatoes I recovered from a dream I had about Fraggles with the help of an aboriginal shaman.
The bread I stole from Hansel and Gretel - now they'll never find their way home.
The lettuce came from Wegman's.
The bacon came from a pig that offered me three wishes - guess what the third one was.

The mayo I made at home using a mortar and pestle. If you've never made mayo this way, well, do it. The consistency is something akin to Vaseline mixed with heavy cream tossed with summer clouds.



Also, if you do it this way, your arms will look like like Popeye's.

Wow, that looks great. I have been dreaming of a BLT too. Eve's ciabatta (from Grape+Bean), heirloom tomato, Neiman Ranch bacon and homemade mayo. One trip into Old Town today could yield all I need, with the new farmers market in N. Old Town by the King St. Metro and a trip to Whole Foods.

Dan, your sammich looks amazing! We are drooling.

Our dinner (which again appears to be miso-heavy):

Dengaku tofu: grilled tofu topped with seasoned miso
Nasu no nabe-shigi: simmered eggplants and green beans glazed with miso
The rest of the goya, seeded, inside slathered with miso, and grilled
The neighbor's awesome garlicky cucumber pickles
Miso soup with wakame seaweed and fu (wheat gluten)
Steamed brown rice

i was afraid of this, so i recently purchased a hand mixer.

but this isn't really the best way to get your arms to look like popeye's.

this is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrCmOTnFEFY&eurl=

We're mebers of a CSA here on the Hill, but the wife and kids are away for the week so I'm being inundated with tomatoes, eggplant, etc. I also had a bunch of basil that needed work before it vanished into the ether. So last night I made pesto, sans pine nuts, with some olive oil from Crete that a friend brings us. It had been a long time since I made pesto and I really enjoyed doing it again. I just wizzed it in the food processor and it turned out very well. For the tomatoes I peeled and seeded them, turned them into concassé and cooked them with garlic, olive oil, salt, a bit of fennel and saffron, and a pinch of coriander--pretty basic, but I used a technique form James Peterson's book on sauces: instead of cooking the tomatoes down until the sauce thickened, I strained them half way through cooking and reduced the liquid alone until it was syrupy, then added the tomatoes again. This way the tomatoes maintain more freshness and body. I focussed their flavor with wine vinegar and sugar. Along with the pesto, this will make a great garnish for a soupe a pistou that I plan to make later in the week.

The eggplant I shall subject to the rigors of Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe for "Fish Fragrant Eggplant Slices" in Land of Plenty, one of my favorite cookbooks of all time.

We had leftovers from our roast chicken dinner, followed by slices of banana bread.
We started with fresh market tomatoes. This "hillbilly" variety is sweet and meaty. In cross section, it looks like a blood orange. I paired it with remaining chevre, s/p, olive oil and balsamic.
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W00t! My first post!

I made ABT's and spareribs last night for the wife and the guys working on my house:





My spareribs:





They were some happy workers....

Welcome! Bacon wrapped ANYTHING is awesome, but those just look beyond incredible. Nice smoke ring on the ribs!

Cooking alot more than usual this week, due to a toe injury:

Monday:
Roasted Beet Salad (sliced beets, goat cheese, cara cara orange slices)
Whole Trout Meuniere, Grilled sausage, capers

Wednesday:
Seared Sea Scallops, Grits
Oven-roasted Black Sea Bass, bed of Chard, Heirloom Tomato, Red Onion, Guanciale Lardons

Tonight:
Green Grits (grits mixed with a puree of guanciale, red onion, and edamame)

The Green Grits were an experiment driven by not wanting to spend any more money at WF than I have been. Not bad, but the texture was a bit too chunky...maybe omit the onion/guanciale next time and flavor with creamier ingredients (guanciale grease + onion powder? seems a bit odd). I've been reading James Peterson's Fish & Shellfish, which produced the inspiration to try whatever whole fish looked good at WF. Was a bit thrown off by the trout's sliminess, but the book tells me that's normal, so we're good. Photos

Hosted a small dinner party last weekend, and it was quite successful. For a cocktail-hour munchie, I prepared skewers of cantaloupe melon, prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella with basil-shallot oil for dipping. The main course was chicken and sausage cacciatore with grape tomatoes, mushrooms, red wine, rosemary, and basil. For dessert, I opted to make key lime cupcakes, and they were probably the hit of the evening.

All recipes came from Bon Appetit magazine--and I was really pleased that such an impressive-tasting spread could be so easy and relatively affordable to throw together.

I will work for ribs!!!

Bean salad (green and yellow wax beans) with sherry vinaigrette, artichoke hearts, hard-boiled egg halves, crumbled bacon and toasted walnuts.

Gnudi in Tomato Butter Sauce

Ouch. That toe injury looks bad. I'm glad you're getting more cooking at home time, but I hope it doesn't last too long.

Obesity epidemic? Say what?

Deathburger
Two paddies, home ground, made from:
5/8s local sirloin flap from Ashburn farmer's market
3/8s local short rib from Ashburn farmer's market
Topped with:
Kraft American cheese (now with extra yellow!)
Translucently-thin raw vidalia onion ribbons
Dan's Special Sauce made from Tuesday's leftover mortar and pestle mayonaise, worcestershire sauce, and other sundries
Toasted buns

Griddled in grapeseed oil

My first attempt at homemade french fries
Benriner-cut organic russets
Washed, chilled, and double fried in a mixture of peanut oil, olive oil, and bacon fat
Tossed with truffle oil, salt, and pepper

This makes me sad.

It wouldn't be a death burger without the Altria influence.