TrelayneNYC

meant to post this earlier this week

this is a Sicilian recipe and the flavors are better the next day

Polpette di pollo e ricotta e limone

300 g ground chicken
200 g ricotta
grated zest from 1 Meyer lemon
60 g breadcrumbs
50 g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
a pinch of dried oregano
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
6 tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
300 ml pinot grigio
1 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

Warm olive oil in a pan, then add the crushed garlic clove. Fry garlic on medium-low heat until fragrant. Lift out and discard garlic. Add meatballs, a batch at a time.

The meatballs were fried in olive oil until browned on all sides.

Then they were braised in pinot grigio until cooked through. Parsley to finish.

Enough for 4.

You can cook them in broth or in tomato sauce, but I happen to like pinot grigio because it really accentuates the lemon.

11 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

 

I agree Pat, TrelayneNYC has some good looking prep.  My chopping and dicing is generally done very last minute and getting tossed straight from the cutting board into the pot.  TrelayneNYC, you are a prep bowl influencer, your photos alone definitely make me want them!

Thanks

The prep bowls are like $1-$2 a piece from 

I don't remember where it's located. Some place in Outer Richmond.

You can get them at Bed, Bath & Beyond for much more, I imagine.

Thanks Pat. 

So it seems that the recipe I used called for boneless pork shoulder and the texture was off. Was good but it could be better...which means there will be roast pork part the second sometime soon.

Last week we had

bucatini con le sarde

1/2 kg fennel, diced
salt, to taste
1 medium onion, diced
70 g raisins
35 g pine nuts
6 oil-packed anchovies, finely chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 threads saffron
1/2 kg fresh sardines, filleted 
cooked bucatini
35 g breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil (optional)
8 g sugar (optional)

Cuban-style roast pork
Black beans with pancetta, mojo and herbs
Steamed rice

Oranges for dessert

Cime di rapa soffritte.

Recipe is in the "Osteria" book, page 304. I've depicted the cover in the event there is interest.

Quantities in the list below have been converted to metric from the amounts in the book.

The technique for this recipe is different from the way I usually cook greens and it's something I'll probably replicate for other vegetables going forward. The stalks and leaves were extremely tender, just the way I like them.

2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 kg broccoli rabe, roughly chopped
4 tbsp. water
salt

Lenticchie in umido

950 ml water
400 g lentils
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 celery ribs, chopped
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

Combine first four ingredients in a large pot. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender. Either partly cover the pot or cook uncovered. If the latter, you may have to add small amounts of boiling water every so often to prevent the lentils from drying out. Don't forget to stir the lentils every so often.

Once the lentils are done, taste for salt. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, then serve at once.

Pasta al pollo scappato.

1 medium onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 celery rib, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
120 ml olive oil
60 ml red wine
1 tbsp. tomato paste
salt
freshly ground black pepper
cooked pasta

Unfortunately the food at Lucques didn't exactly rise to the occasion. You would think otherwise, especially since I'm a fan of farm-to-table. Well, that's true except that I don't like farm-to-table-and-the-kitchen-sink.

Ricotta gnocchi, leeks, pancetta.

This bowl of food had three other ingredients which completely obliterated the delicacy of the gnocchi - Parmigiano, mustard greens and almonds.

Slow-roasted pork, cornbread-chorizo stuffing, romesco, quince, marcona almonds.

For those of you don't know me well, I prefer dishes that don't feature a kitchen sink's worth of ingredients in order to convey a chef's point of view.

I would have been happy with two of four accompaniments and the pork. Oh well - this was merely "fine". The plating sucked though.

Halva phyllo cake, yogurt whipped cream, pistachio brittle ice cream.

One thing I'm noticing - Suzanne Goin (or perhaps her chefs) are fans of nuts. Three of nine main courses featured nuts (hazelnuts with sea bass; pine nuts with swordfish; and almonds with pork); two of six appetizers (walnuts in an apple salad, and the aforementioned ricotta gnocchi had almonds). And she has a plate of olives and almonds served with the bread.

It makes for a rather boring palette, no?

My hubby and I were in LA for a few days this past week.

Most meals were disappointing including a dinner at Lucques (more on that later). 

If you're in the City of Angels, you need to eat at Revolutionario North African Tacos. 

We had lunch there Wednesday afternoon after our studio tour at Paramount, and that was the best meal we had the pleasure of experiencing during our L.A. vacation. I wish I could eat my way through their menu; it's that good.

Pickled vegetables and kimchi.

Chicken tagine, preserved lemon, olives.

Pozole tagine.

The spices were doing somersaults in B's mouth. I'm getting hungry just typing this.

Plantains and mojo.

Oh, man! I wish there was a branch in San Francisco but that's not going to happen in my lifetime.

Revolutionario North African Tacos
1436 West Jefferson Blvd. (Raymond Avenue)
Jefferson Park

Full disclosure - I'm friends with one of the co-owners and know both of the owners via several Internet food fora.

For a change of pace and this is something I like to make every so often:

Polpette in bianco

1/4 kg ground beef
1/2 kg ground pork
25 g fresh breadcrumbs
30 g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 heaping tbsp. minced Italian parsley + extra for garnish
2 eggs
salt
black pepper
fine breadcrumbs, for rolling the meatballs
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
250 ml pinot grigio

Combine beef, pork, fresh breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper, keeping mind that the cheese is also salty so you might be a little less generous with the salt. Mix well. You might have to use your hands.

Shape into meatballs using a teaspoon. Roll the meatballs in the fine breadcrumbs, then set aside.

Warm olive oil over medium-low heat in a pan along with some crushed garlic cloves. When the cloves begin to smell aromatic, remove from heat and discard. Add meatballs. Fry until browned on all sides. You may have to work in batches. If so, lift out with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plates.

Once all the meatballs have browned, return to pan or pot, then add wine. Raise heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover, then braise for 40-45 minutes. Taste for salt, sprinkle with chopped parsley, then serve immediately.

1/2 kg ground pork
1/4 kg ground beef*
30 g freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
60 g dried breadcrumbs
120 ml milk
1 large egg
1 heaping tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley
salt
black pepper

*I used ground chuck as opposed to sirloin.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. You might have to use your hands.

Shape mixture into meatballs using a teaspoon. Place meatballs on a foil- and parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake meatballs for 30 minutes at 175 C. Don't forget to turn them over with a fork at least once during this time to ensure even browning.

For the sauce:

1 heaping tbsp. lard
2 crushed garlic cloves
800 g crushed tomatoes
salt
black pepper
a couple of sprigs of Italian parsley

Melt lard over medium heat. Add garlic cloves. Brown garlic until it smells aromatic, then lift out with a slotted spoon and discard. Add tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add meatballs. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Partly cover, then braise for 45 minutes.

Serve as is or with pasta. We prefer them without pasta - they are a meal unto themselves.

PS. If my cooking has changed in 2018, it's probably been a gradual shift to metric measurements.

So it's been a while, right?

1 kg beef
1.5 kg onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped 
2 celery stalks, finely chopped 
100 g pancetta, diced
pinot grigio
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lard

Melt lard, warm olive oil, sauté vegetables in fats over medium-low heat. Season with salt and black pepper. Then add wine, pancetta and beef.

Ordinarily la genovese is made with a single cut of beef but you can use stew meat as pictured here. It will still taste good.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Braise for three hours. Stir every so often and add more liquid - either water or wine as you prefer - if needed. I didn't have to but your experience may be different.

After three hours, you'll end up with something like this.

If you used a single cut of beef, you can take out the beef and serve that as a separate course. Or shred it and add back to the pot.

The onion sauce is served with pasta...

...and since I didn't feel like extra work, elected to toss that with some cooked ziti and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

That spot is cursed.

There's been 3-4 restaurants occupying the space since 2000.

Omija sorbet, olive oil

Sauternes

Milk pudding, salted caramel sauce, peat

Coconut chiffon cake

Salted walnuts, dried persimmons, sweet rice cakes

Mint meringues

Ginkgo flour cookies

We'll be back, for sure. 

Not every dish has to be amazing. It was a lovely experience overall and that's what really counts in the end.

Left: Pickled crosnes and pearl onion.
Right: XO sauce, house-made soy sauce.

Barbecued quail from Wolfe Ranch.

B remarked that this was "the tastiest and largest quail I've ever eaten in my life". For sure.

Quail liver mousse, au jus, black truffles.

Black truffle steamed bun.

Basically a play on Peking duck - stuff the bun with quail, top with condiments and enjoy.

Spicy fermented bean paste with tomato, served with crudités.

Asian pear and Napa cabbage kimchi.

 

 

Kohlrabi kimchi.

 

 

Chrysanthemum leaf and scallion salad.

 

 

 

Grilled veal short ribs, seasoned with sesame seed, perilla seed and pine nuts.

 

 

Short ribs.

Birthday dinner here tonight and it was worth every penny.

Thousand year old quail egg, cabbage juice, ginger.

Top - pork belly, oyster and kimchi shooter
Bottom - marinated mussel, root vegetables

Shrimp tempura, jellyfish, seaweed

Blood sausage, sweet rice, squid ink, shiso.

Ginkgo flour "tortilla", matsutake mushroom, pine needles, 10 year old aged pine syrup.

Chicken wing stuffed with abalone and abalone liver mousse.

"Shark fin" soup - Dungeness crab, ham, egg white and black truffles.

Butter with orange blossom honey and ginseng.

Not shown are some sprouted grain rolls.

Xiao long bao with lobster coral, house-made soy sauce, vinegar.

Sea urchin marinated in fermented crab sauce, with thinly sliced celtuce

Monkfish liver steamed in rice wine, with toasted seaweed and chili.

Caviar with hand-pressed sesame oil, sesame leaf and daikon.

 

 

Steamed Japonica rice.

I don't remember what the green powder was.

 

 

thanks @DaveO

for dinner tonight, we had

2 large onions
50 ml (approx. 1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
50 g (approx. 3 1/2 tbsp.) unsalted butter
10 oil-preserved anchovies
1 tbsp. minced Italian parsley
dried spaghetti
freshly ground black pepper

Spaghetti, alici e cipolle

Pinot grigio to drink

Well, you can do whatever you want

Replating = photographs well...plus I'm usually cooking for two so it's a must

Ricotta, miele e pistacchi.

It's barely a recipe. Spoon ricotta cheese into a bowl, then pour a little milk or half-and-half over. Use a fork to whip ricotta cheese so that liquid is completely incorporated. Spoon whipped cheese into another bowl, drizzle with honey and top with chopped pistachio nuts.

250 g (1/2 lb.) ground beef
350 g (3/4 lb.) ground pork
75 g (1/2 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
75 g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tbsp. minced Italian parsley
2 eggs
fine breadcrumbs, for rolling the meatballs
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200 ml (7/8 cup) pinot grigio
salt
black pepper

Polpette in bianco ("meatballs with white sauce")

This was served with patate e bietola. Basically potatoes and chard boiled until tender, then chopped and sautéed in olive oil with garlic and chile pepper flakes.

We went on Saturday.

Another thing that really bugs me. On Facebook I was taken to task for commenting that I felt like the tomato salad paid for the restaurant's rent. 🙄

Well, couldn't staff have bothered to tell us that the olives had pits in them? Because they didn't. So that was another strike on top of the other missteps.

Lemon cardamom ginger cake.

I should have added a glaze; this was a touch dry. Oh well, three out of four ain't bad.

Upside-down plum cake.

Peach galette

I've been baking up a storm lately...

Heirloom tomato and plum galette