zoramargolis

Soup of the evening. Beautiful, beautiful soooooup* duck stock, fresh cranberry beans, eco-friendly bacon lardons, onion, leek, garlic, celery, carrots, butternut squash, fennel, barley, corn puree, fennel seed, aromatic herbs Bonaparte baguette & Kerrygold butter comice pear 2013 Comolaluna palomino *from _With Bold Knife and Fork_ by MFK Fisher

Along with his expertise in Thai and Lao cuisine, Fishinnards is very knowledgeable about and adept at Sri Lankan and various types of Indian food. If you ask him nicely and organize a time/place for such a lesson, and have participants kick in to pay for the groceries, I have a hunch he will be glad to teach such a class.

Commercial sausages are often made with pre-blended spices that include dehydrated garlic. To me, good quality dehydrated garlic (yes, there is such a thing) tastes very much like roasted garlic. Cheap garlic powder, found in processed foods and snack crackers, is abominable.

schadenfreude cocktail--dolin dry, lillet blanc, prosecco, orange liqueur P'tit Basque and pretzels charcoal grilled herb brined chicken thighs smoked with hickory chips, zq sauce charcoal roasted broccolini mashed sweet potato

This sounds excellent, but I would definitely miss the garlic. Although, if I am not mistaken, linguica has a fair amount of garlic in it--probably dehydrated. Are you better able to tolerate roasted garlic or garlic powder?

A cream or milk-based "New England-style" chowder is most often made with a base of bacon, onion, potato, celery, fish or shellfish broth, cream added and then fish or seafood added after the potato/other veg are tender. The issue is whether it is thickened or not. Personally, I prefer it thin, but in the past, I have made it thickened with a flour and butter roux, with a cornstarch or tapioca starch slurry, or with mashed potatoes. What makes it good or not is the quality of both the stock and the fish, clams or other seafood in it. The ratio of liquid to thickener in a thickened chowder is more a matter of mouth feel than flavor. And then, of course, there is bisque--lobster, crab or shrimp--made with shells.

pan seared duck breast with pan reduction sauce (dry marsala, red wine, veal stock, shallots, herbs) chard puree with caramelized onion leftover mashed potatoes bosc pear 2011 Cameron Hughes lot 394 meritage

Thanks. I tend to forget the hydr. My father had a Ph.D. in chemistry, which is why I avoided studying it.

pan-seared calve's liver with mushrooms, onions, bacon, balsamic-veal stock pan sauce mashed potatoes green beans with garlic and lemon a 2008 RRV pinot noir

As long as it isn't truffle oil. That would be nasty.

I'm with Linda. At any Latin grocery store, you'll find tiny envelopes of cal in with the spices. Stir a couple of tablespoons in a cup of water, then add it to the corn and the water covering it, before boiling. It's really not a big deal--it is an alkili, but you don't even need to touch it if you are worried--it is the same powdered limestone used in making cement. If you don't want to keep any on hand, you can dig what's left into your garden to alkalize the soil. But the taste/aroma it provides is essential to making posole. You will smell it immediately--it is the aroma of corn tortillas. It is this treatment, cooking corn with cal, that is called nixtamalization. The outer hull of the corn is gelatinized, so it can be rinsed off. In the process, Vitamin B6 and some amino acids are liberated that make the corn more able to be utilized by the human body, as a complete protein when combined with legumes, and to prevent B6 deficiency--the severe form is called pellagra. When the conquistadors took corn to the old world, unfortunately they did not take the wisdom of the native ancients, who developed the traditional technique of nixtamalization. As a result, the corn that became the food of the poor in much of Europe (and later the American South) was not treated with calcium hydroxide prior to consumption, and pellagra was epidemic. I've never tried to remove the hulls from dried corn with baking soda. It wouldn't have the flavor I am looking for. I used to nixtamalize dried corn quite often when making my own masa for tamales. Seriously, if you use your exhaust fan while cooking the corn with cal, it's not unpleasant at all.

meatless Monday aloo gobi--with romanesco cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes and ginger from the farmers' market. basmati rice raita I searched my spice drawer for a long time for black mustard seed, and couldn't believe I didn't have any. I used kala jeera instead.

Sunday supper with the niece and nephew cheeses, olives, sungold tomatoes, Atwater fennel fig bread, and Fresh Baguette ficelle perfect manhattans butter lettuce salad with avocado, cucumber, watermelon radish, and lime vinaigrette charcoal-grilled eco-friendly chorizo fabada, made with pressure cooked gigante beans, bacon, leek, fennel, butternut squash, tomatoes, pimenton, cumin, saffron water, aromatics 2006 Glorioso rioja pear and quince tarte tatin sweetened vanilla creme fraiche

Eliz-- get thee to A&H Gourmet Seafood, now with the new name Pesca Deli. Santi makes and sells fish stock and lobster stock, by the quart, cheap. If they've got shrimp with heads, buy some of those, or any shrimp with shells. At home, remove the heads, shells and tails, and simmer them in the defrosted stock with some white wine, onion-carrot-celery, lemon zest, and aromatic herbs, for 20 minutes to half an hour. Strain out the solids. While at A&H/Pesca, also get some monkfish or halibut or rockfish, clams, mussels, squid, maybe scallops. Back at home, saute onion-leek-garlic in olive oil, add tomatoes in some form, and the wonderful seafood broth you have made. Add a splash of some anise liqueur. And let that simmer, uncovered, with a bay leaf for a good half hour. Add your shellfish, fish cut into chunks, and once the clams and mussels have started to open, any scallops, squid and shrimp and cook just until they are opaque. Squeeze in a bit of lemon and a shower of fresh chopped parsley/basil/cilantro whatever you've got that is fresh and green. Serve with some crusty bread on the side. You have already thanked me.

cheater's chicken korma made with leftover Costco rotisserie chicken, Patak's korma sauce + onion, fennel, carrot, butternut squash, wild mushroom duxelles, saffron water, vadouvan, frozen peas, and coconut milk basmati rice Tasty Bite dal makhani raita cilantro-mint chutney Fat Tire

Reconnecting over dinner with an old California friend who we haven't seen in more than 25 years... eco-friendly pork terrine with cornichons and watermelon radish slices selection of cheeses and homemade membrillo Bread Furst baguette City of Light cocktail savory masa corncakes with green chile, cheese, and lime crema herb brined, applewood-smoked chicken thighs with ZQ sauce grilled cauliflower, roasted red pepper, sungold tomatoes, caper-dill vinaigrette rustic plum tart with plum-ginger jam, almond crust and vanilla whipped cream 2006 Glorioso rioja

albondigas y alubias: an improvisation based on eco-friendly ground pork and fresh cranberry beans. I made meatballs with chorizo-ish flavoring (pimenton, garlic, cumin, parsley, sherry vinegar) and roasted them in the oven. I had some marinara I'd made from fresh tomatoes, which I combined with cooked fresh cranberry beans, smoked eggplant, wild maitake duxelles, and roasted sweet red pepper, white wine, more pimenton, and cumin. When the browned meatballs came out of the oven, I stewed them in the vegetable-bean sauce for a while. pan-roasted Brussels sprouts canteloupe 2012 Mas Donis

wild sockeye salmon burgers, with Asian flavors: ginger, lemon grass, scallion, cilantro, white pepper, lime zest cooked a la plancha and served on crusty rolls with wasabi-ginger-lime sauce (mayo, sour cream, lime juice/zest), grilled onion, avocado, tomato, and butter lettuce. grilled bok choy bartlett pears 2012 Botani dry moscato

(wild) hen of the woods mushroom-barley-fresh cranberry bean soup costco rotisserie chicken peaches and vanilla ice cream on pound cake with elderberry coulis 2011 La Montesa rioja

I had a thoroughly enjoyable meal at Bistroquet tonight. I sat at the bar, which was otherwise unoccupied, but the neighborhood seems already to have embraced this unpretentious newcomer to the Palisades. Most of the white-tablecloth covered tables in the front room were full, and there was quite a bit of action in the back room, as well. How old-school French is Bistroquet, you ask? There was accordion music playing softly on the sound system, and among the array of bottles behind the bar were three different brands of pastis, including Henri Bardouin, my personal favorite.The menu has all of the bistro classics: onion soup gratinee; hanger steak frites; croque monsieur; duck confit; cassoulet. There are a few hints of Thai flavor suggested in several of the sauces. I had the evening special entree--calves liver with shallots, mushrooms and bacon in a red wine reduction. I asked for medium rare and I got it. The thick piece of mild, vein-free liver was seared on the outside and meltingly tender inside, topped with five or six thin slices of crisp bacon--perfectly cooked and served on a very hot plate with a pile of crisp, sizzling hot frites alongside. I chatted briefly with Chef Grenier about the neighborhood competition. He indicated that he thought the best were too expensive, and that he likes to serve generous portions. (The hefty serving of calves liver was only $19.) For dessert, I had a thin cherry clafouti that was topped with silky creme brulee, a classic French two-fer. I was sorry not to have had someone to share it with me, again a very generous portion. Chef Grenier said he lives in the neighborhood and used to take his kids to Listrani's when they were young, some years ago. He said he always hoped to get the space for his own place. In addition to Bistro d'Oc, he also was the chef at La Miche in Bethesda. The wines by the glass are all decent--I had a $7.50 glass of rosé--and there is a small selection of French wines by the bottle, with only a few bottles over $40 on the list. the service was friendly and attentive--Chef Grenier himself delivered my plate, just a few minutes after I ordered it. I'm not sure that coming from afar is warranted here, but if you are in the neighborhood or nearby in VA, Cabin John or Bethesda, it is well worth a visit.

last night: sweet red peppers stuffed with ground lamb, basmati rice, smoked paprika, cumin, and a lot of chopped fresh herbs: cilantro, mint, parsley, dill baked in and topped with a fresh tomato marinara garlicy sauteed fresh spinach little potatoes, boiled, cut in half and crisped in duck fat

Sears sells almost all brands and has reliable installation and repair techs. We've had reasonably good luck with Kenmore appliances, which in the past were mfg'd by Whirlpool--not sure if they still are.

3-day yogurt-marinated lamb loin chops, charcoal-grilled with applewood smoke chips herbed basmati rice (finely chopped dill, mint, parsley mixed into the cooked rice) green beans with roasted poblano, garlic, and lemon slightly smoked corn on the cob 2012 A.J. Vajra Langhe rosso

posole verde tortillas peach, vanilla ice cream, elderberry coulis Pacifico and Fat Tire

almost meatless Monday: lettuce and spinach salad with sungold tomatoes fresh cranberry beans stewed with onion sauteed in bacon fat cheese grits with corn and golden cauliflower (leftover) I haven't eaten any in years, but J had a hankering for Sarah Lee poundcake, so he went up to the store to buy one. served with vanilla ice cream and Catskills elderberry coulis.