Mr. MV just looked over my shoulder at Dan's burger...and drooled on it Seriously looks good. I'll spot you the fake cheese

You should see it without the bandage But yea, thanks for the well wishes. I'm hoping it gets better too. Hobbling around in flipflops is starting to get old.

Roasted fig-frisee salad
[sherry vinaigrette, toasted nuts, avocado, prosciutto, yellow tomatoes, feta]
Panko-breaded pork cutlets
Wilted baby spinach
Baked beans (leftover from last Saturday)

I found the brown figs at Eastern market this morning. Ooh, they are good.

Spinach, apple, almond salad with pear balsamic vinaigrette
mushrooms with poached egg (crispy buttons, just-warmed honey and chanterelle, parsley, garlic)
toasted baguette slices with cabra la mancha
spiced goat rib chops
Ridge Paso Robles 2005
rose ice cream with white donut peaches

Sirloin steak
Red potatoes with butter and chives
Corn on the cob
Sliced beefsteak tomatoes with truffled pecorino and frisee
Leftover bean salad

Burritos! We found flour tortillas in the frozen foods section of the big liquor/imported foods market. In them, we wrapped ground beef seasoned with green chile powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, and onion, refried beans (imported), rice, and cheese. So good.

Friday night: A friend was gifted with two lobsters and we put them to good use. My new favorite BLT: bacon, lobster, and tomato.
They were basically deconstructed BLT's because I didn't serve it as a sandwich but instead plated it like a napoleon. I made a basil aioli (first time by arm power-who knew it was that easy and so freakin good?) that I spread directly on the tomatoes and then layered the bacon and lobster on top. Three types of tomatoes were used. Really good bread white bread from the bakery at Penn Quarter market served on the side. We had zucchini strips sauteed in some bacon grease and roasted fingerling potatoes on the side. Dessert was baked peaches topped with whipped cream. A nice prosecco to wash it all down.

Saturday night: Spent the afternoon making golden roma tomato sauce and wanted to use some of it for dinner. Inspired by this recipe I did something similar but used the golden tomato sauce, quail eggs, and piave. Excellent comfort food.

Lobster construction sounds great. How did you bake the peaches? Sounds virtuous (no pastry), only better.

2008's first batch of takikomi gohan, following the same recipe as last year: chicken thigh, deep-fried tofu sheet, sliced shiitake, and julienned carrot and burdock root, all thrown in the rice cooker with rice, water, and seasonings. Yeah, it's already fall here.

Charcoal roasted herb brined Eco-Friendly chicken
Four-bean salad (green, wax, kidney, garbanzo) - one of Jonathan's favorite summer dishes
Roasted Toigo corn-off-the-cob
Little bitty new potato nubbins
2007 Tiefenbruner Zweigelt Rosé

Trader Joe's mini mint ice cream sandwiches

Baked flounder with lemon and parsley
Green beans
Spelt Farrotto
Frozen bittersweet chocolate mousse with Ben Jerry's vanilla ice cream

The spelt was from a TJ box and had dried red and green bell peppers in it. I'd never tried this particular TJ item before, and it was better than I expected.

last night:
Ricotta gnocchi with heirloom tomatoes and garlic
Braised fennel with almonds, raisins, garlic, saffron

tonight:
goat curry
some Indian carrot dish tbd

I don't feel like cooking tonight. But it's tomato season. We can't not have tomatoes during tomato season. I could do like a caprese or something. Yeah, that could work. Do a caprese. And we can get other stuff to go with it and do like an Italian antipasti buffet. Yeah, that's awesome. We can have like prosciutto and olives and shit. Ooh, jamon serrano! What's that? It's Spanish for prosciutto. Cool. Ooh, a variety pack! Do we have cheese at home? Yeah. Excellent.





We bought way too much food.

Leftovers? These roasted peppers will go great with the chicken tomorrow.

I dig it.

Final exam tomorrow so needed something quick and easy. Scrambled eggs, basil and prosciutto on a Portuguese muffin. I picked up the muffins at the farmers market and they are amazing. Look like an English muffin but a little lighter and with a sweet-tang. There are a few Portuguese and Brazilian bakeries in the area and now where to explore next.

Eco-Friendly spicy Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers from Tree and Leaf that were roasted on charcoal last night, onions and garlic
Mesclun, frisee and mache salad with Cherokee Purple tomato and cucumber, lemon vinaigrette
Fresh peach, cream and canneles de Bordeaux (from Trader Joe's)

2005 Castle Rock Napa Cabernet

I'd say I didn't put much effort into dinner last night, but the pimento cheese took a bit of work

Toasted pimento cheese sandwiches (on Costco dinner rolls)
Reheated rotisserie chicken (from Costco)
Leftover spelt farratto

This was the pimento cheese recipe I used:
http://www.ansonmills.com/recipes-wheat-8.htm

It was worth the extra effort. When I hit the tasting for seasoning point, it seemed bland, so I added more tabasco.

Leftover chili made with chicken. I bought all the accoutrements to make chili the other day, and forgot the ground meat. So I defrosted chicken thighs and made it with that. Not bad!
I served the leftovers in high style-I made nachos supreme with it.
Oh, and some leftover reheated pizza.

Steak salad as an entree. Corn fritters for starters. So, ya know how corn kernals pop when ya cook them? Like, making popcorn. Well, juicy, fresh corn does too! These fritters were great, but I have red splotches up my arms from frying them at too high a temp. The second batch, I lowered the heat and came away unscathed.
Corn fritters with cumin, corriander and nutmeg with sour cream and basil oil. Oww....so good!
Click to view attachment

Figs wrapped with proscuitto and a sage leaf, browned in a cast iron skillet in a little oil
Beefsteak tomatoes with vinaigrette, thyme, and burrata
Chicken, tomato and lettuce sandwiches with olive spread on striata baguette slices

Sharlyn melon with speck
Panko crusted fluke filets
Haricots verts with roasted garlic and lemon
Basmati rice

2007 Caves des Perrieres Pouilly Fumé

gin and tonic
goat curry
carrots with coconut
moong dal
rice
------------
I had doubts about the method in the curry recipe. It said to marinate the goat in an onion/garlic/ginger/yogurt paste (so far so good), then cook all that over high heat 'til almost dry, to brown everything (really?), then add more water (really?!) and let it braise and thicken. It was fantastic, very dark with well developed umami and a nice complex blend of spices.
The carrots were simply cooked with potato, various spices, and a little bit of water, then shredded coconut and a few other things were tossed in at the end. Very different from anything I've ever had; very tasty.
The moong dal would have been boring but for the complex tarka at the end (spices, browned onion, ginger, tomato...) It was supposed to be dry and pilaf-like, but I cooked the dal too quickly and they broke down. Still good, though.
All recipes from 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.

Last night:
Merguez meatballs (lamb) with minted yogurt dipping sauce
Oven-baked ratatouille
Baked homemade ricotta
Gigante beans in tomato sauce
Afghan bread

Peach-blueberry-apricot crisp

2007 Don Salvador Rosado ($6.99 at Georgetown W.F. --amazingly good for that price)

Thanks for the report, P. Cooked, my goat was not all that special, probably because as a boneless leg, stuffed and roasted without a thermometer, it was about 10 minutes overdone. Liked Goin's suggestion for an herb salad-topping w tiny mint leaves, Italian parsley leaves, slivered oil-cured olives, lemon and drop of olive oil and the stuffing was good.

Last night I tweeked only slightly a terrific recipe from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday. I adore tomatillos; kind of a new thing for me. Transformed a roasted salsa verde into a dish with boneless chicken thighs. Involved halves of a sweet onion, sautéed, garlic, cilantro, fresh epazote and rthe educed salsa verde made into a braising liquid w chicken broth and a little cream. Roasted poblano chile strips. Served w a Mexican white rice tarted up a bit by adding key lime juice to the chicken broth.

Tonight: Peter Smith's leftover potato gnocchi w thyme. Already cooked, so I just sautéed them in slightly browned butter w corn-laced chicken broth. Wrapped them in slivers of sautéed lobster mushrooms (butter, olive oil, minced red onion since shallots all gone, lemon juice), a little more lemon juice, cream and Parmesan. Tossed in roasted corn.

tapas assortment:

gazpacho
spicy boiled octopus
dressed arugula
potato salad with chopped egg and cornichons
mussels with chorizo
pan con tomate
wild mushroom salad with cumin
cheese plate: valdeon, raw milk machego, garroxta, idiazabal

All Stir-fried:
TJ Chicken thighs with fresh corn off the cob from the FC Farmer's Market
+Shrimp and peas with a honey-mayonnaise sauce
+FC Farmer's Market tomatoes with scrambled eggs

= 1 happy and full baby sound asleep.



*One of these days I will remember to write down which farm stand I shopped at...

I made some gazpacho with my last two large Cherokee purples--it is blended rather than chopped, per a discussion about true Spanish gazpacho on "Splendid Table" this afternoon. It's in a pitcher, chilling until tomorrow.

Tonight, we had:

Antipasto: FraMani Salame Rosso, stewed borlotti beans, roasted red pepper, olives, pecorino, spiced yellow tomato jam
Mushroom risotto
Braised red chard with balsamico

2004 Glatzer Zweigelt Riedencuvee, lightly chilled

Did you make it with bread as they described? The description sounded like a lovely blend of tomato bread soup and gazpacho.

Yes. I didn't have any Italian bread, but I had some Afghan bread and it worked fine. And I do have a Vita-Mix blender, which can make a smooth puree out of plywood. Last year I made eggplant gazpacho a couple of times, after having it at Citronelle. It tasted like liquid-y baba ghanoush: I used roasted eggplant, cucumber, tomato, roasted pepper, garlic, onion, bread, olive oil, vinegar, lemon and tahini and pureed it smooth in the Vita-Mix. It's really good. Michel served it chilled, in a bowl set on ice cubes, with dehydrated beet crisps, diced cucumber and croutons as I recall. I just garnished mine with diced cuke.

Thursday night:
Broiled tomatoes with romano and bread crumbs
Pizza on a striata baguette

I made a quick tomato sauce for the base of the pizza and topped that with a mix of caramelized onion slices, frizzled proscuitto, fried sage, thyme, shredded chicken, and a splash of dry vermouth. On top of that, I put two quarters of a ball of burrata on each of the pieces and sort of flattened them down, drizzled olive oil over the top and sprinkled on some red pepper flakes. That went into a 400F oven for 10-12 minutes.

Friday night:
Burrata with cherries, watercress and pepper
Lamb rib chops
Buttered corn on the cob

The lamb was from this Emeril recipe.

Last night:
Pimento cheese quesadilla
Baked sweet potato
Baked chicken thighs with Asian-peanut marinade, served over soba noodles
Roasted shiitakes, tomatoes, and onions

Schwartz's smoked meat, rye bread, mustard, dill pickles, potato salad, coleslaw. White peach, red plum, and white raspberry shortcakes with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Some Cotes de Provence whose name I didn't get. Excellent company.

Ostrich stir-fry with eggplant, onion, shiitake, and tomato, based on a gift and a recommended recipe from one of Azami's students. Served with steamed rice. Mmm.

Chicken and potatoes roasted with a marinade of garlic stuffed olives, lemons, rosemary and of course more garlic
Stir-fried spinach

Steak au poivre
Tenderloin roast stuffed with St Pete's blue
Braised swiss chard
Mashed potatoes with veal stock and truffle salt
Crumbly chewy country bread

Homemade banana-vanilla ice cream

Some yummy dinners before and after my trip to Texas:

* Shrimp and grits with red and green bell peppers, corn, canadian bacon, green onions, and cheddar cheese.
* Shrimp quesadillas with onions, corn, garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos, lemon juice and cilantro.
* Gnocchi (not homemade, sadly) with basil pesto and ricotta cheese.

frisee and tomato salad; bottled vinaigrette
panko crusted chicken thighs and artichoke hearts with mushroom cream sauce

I've been using panko a lot more for breading lately, and I don't have as much trouble with the breading separating from the food while it's cooking as I do with conventional bread crumbs. I hadn't made breaded artichoke hearts in a long time, but I had extra breading materials so I threw a few breaded artichoke hearts in with the chicken. My husband was disappointed when he went for seconds of the chicken and there weren't any artichokes left.

Braised pork cannelloni topped with a sauce made from the braising liquid and served with a young but delightful 1996 Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc.

Spanish-style blended gazpacho with grilled bread

Charcoal roasted, herb brined Eco-Friendly chicken
Tuscan kale with pancetta and balsamico
Fresh corn polenta

Homemade coconut-almond macaroons
Ciao Bella coconut sorbet

2007 Tiefenbruner zweigelt rosé

Weber grilled ribeye with S+P, steamed broccoli with butter and lots of salt, chopped romaine and homegrown garden peach tomatoes, red wine vinegar and olive oil.
Consumed after 30 minutes of skateboarding with my son.

Last night was chicken thighs with creamy spinach and shallots (from Real Simple magazine). The chicken was just okay (the skin could have been a little crispier, not sure why it wasn't), but the spinach was awesome--first I sauteed the shallots in some of the leftover chicken oil/fat, then I added a bit of dry Chardonnay and some sour cream, and then I briefly wilted the spinach. It gave the normally ho-hum greens some flavor kick.

I also made key lime cupcakes to send with my fiance (still weird to say that) to work--YUM! Homemade cream cheese icing, too. I'm slowly getting over my fear of baking.

Last night:
Caprese salad with Cherokee Purples
Eco-Friendly spicy Italian sausages, onions and charcoal roasted red and yellow peppers on Marvy Market striata
Watermelon

2006 Colosi Rosso

Last night was broiled salmon and tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Glad I didn't pay attention to the recipe's time guidelines--it said to cook the salmon for 8-10 minutes, but it took almost 20 in my oven!

Delicious, though...followed up with a Bruster's milkshake!

Homemade Fettuccini with pistachio cream sauce. The sauce was divine while in the pan, but the sauce became almost absent on the pasta.

Tomato pie. Crust from Bisquick with black pepper and cayenne, farmers market maters, sharp cheddar and shallots mixed with basil-lemon mayo. Top layer of parm. Out of the oven in 15-20 mins. Can't wait!

Roasted beet salad with feta, cucumber and sungold tomatoes

Cedar planked salmon in the Weber kettle
Baby fingerling potatoes with olive oil, smoked paprika and garlic
Green beans with lemon and garlic

Peach pie with B&J's vanilla ice cream

2007 Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir Rosé

Edamame
Tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet) with tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage
Steamed rice

Thursday
rustic bread (Marvelous Market)
pan-fried blackened sirloin steak
braised kale
stovetop macaroni and cheese

Friday
rustic bread
steak salad (leftover sliced steak, romaine, yellow tomato, sliced button mushrooms, feta, vinaigrette)

I wasn't sure what I was making when I started what turned out to be the macaroni and cheese. While i boiled a package of tubetti, I sliced some cheddar thinly. Dumped the cheese and a can of evaporated milk into the pan with the drained pasta. At that point, I realized I'd combined ingredients in a way that precluded making a sauce, so I thickened the mixture by mixing in some fine dried bread crumbs. The bread crumbs worked well to hold it all together.

Spaghetti with fresh tomato, smoked eggplant, green and yellow zucchini*
Garlic toast

Peach pie revisited

2006 Collegiata Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

*I've been watching Lydia Bastianich on tv recently, and absorbing how she makes pasta sauces--"caramelizing in the hot spot" is one of her favorite techniques. And utilizing another of her recommendations, I "stumped the chumps" when they were unable to identify the secret ingredient: anchovies.

The eggplant was smoked in the Weber kettle last night while I cooked cedar planked salmon.

Me, I'm back on a Mexican Everyday kick, trying different ways to use fresh epazote and things in market or fridge, admiring Rick Bayless from afar.

A few days ago, I put together a salad for dinner of Boston lettuce, mango, perfectly ripe avocado, crumbled bacon and Blue Moo cheese, dressed with an amazing blend of toasted pumpkin seeds, key lime juice, sautéed green chile pepper (tiny, blistering alone) and softened garlic clove w the olive oil used to cook the latter two. More toasted seeds sprinkled on top. Brilliant.

Tonight after all the rain and wind: a soup of potatoes, corn, garlic, diced roasted poblano, epazote, and a pile of mixed mushrooms that I chose to sautée before adding them to the pot. A little cream at end and cilantro. Toasted Struan.

Dessert: oven-roasted figs w cinnamon, honey, orange and cardamom over a little vanilla ice cream. Strewn w amazing red raspberries from Sand Hill Farm.

Parmesan flatbread
Spaghetti and meat sauce

The spaghetti was half whole wheat and half regular. The sauce was my standard meat sauce, which I finally wrote down so I could remember what I do. Nothing extraordinary, but it makes a fairly quick, good-tasting sauce. The recipe for the flatbread called for running it through a pasta machine, which was a bit tricky but produced great results.

"tapas" meal (semi-leftover):

Patatas bravas--fingerling potatoes stewed with mini eggplants, tomato, garlic, poblano and pimenton
Borlotti beans
FraMani salame rosso
P'tit Basque
Spiced tomato marmalade
Fresh corn polenta
Roasted beet, orange, avocado, cuke and Vidalia onion salad with fresh dill
Tomato-garlic toast

2004 Cervoles