Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog

[zoramargolis]

dinner tonight:

Aperol Sunsets made with Ting grapefruit soda, because the grapefruit syrup I made had gone by

salad with buttermilk blue cheese dressing

chicken enchiladas with mole rojo (made with leftover Costco rotisserie chicken)

pico de gallo

refried beans (canned) with jack cheese

Troegs Sunshine Pils

[Pat]

Last night

Asparagus salad with sea scallops and boiled dressing

Tofu, soba, Hatch chile, and corn soup

Another hybrid meal . It was quite good, though. I used the last of some leftover steamed asparagus in the salad and a little extra boiled dressing I had left from a chicken salad I made recently. I thought some scallops would work well with this, but I hesitated over spending a lot of money for scallops to round out leftovers. When I stopped at the fishmonger at Eastern Market, I was happy to see a small plate of "broken" sea scallops offered for half price. Some were clearly broken but others more or less intact, and it was a great deal. I bought what they had out: 1/3 lb. = $2.95. Perfect for my salad. I did a quick saute of them in a little bacon fat, then added a splash of dry vermouth and some lemon juice. Tossed with the dressing and then with the asparagus.

The soup was spectacular, if I do say so myself. I sweated some shallot and garlic in the skillet that I did the scallops in, and added that to a larger pot in which I had lightly sauteed some cubes of extra firm tofu. I added some diced roasted red and green Hatch chile left from a packet I had previously defrosted and needed to use. I splashed in a little sake and burned it off, and then added some chicken broth. Next went in a packet of fresh soba noodles from a big package I'd gotten at Costco. When they had nearly finished heating through, I added the contents of a drained can of corn niblets. (I thought I had some frozen, which I prefer, but my backup stock of canned corn worked fine.) Seasoned with black pepper and a few splashes of hot pepper sesame oil, and garnished with some fresh parsley, this soup looked and tasted fantastic.

[lperry]

Last night was a falafel salad with romaine, carrots, and turnip pickles in a tahini dressing. We also had a grapefruit, one of three that were given to us, and I wish I had many more. It was dark red and very sweet - maybe a Rio Star?

Tonight will be another spinach salad, and we'll finish off the 2007 Château de Ségriès Côtes du Rhône we opened last night. I hope it held - I enjoyed it very much yesterday.

[monavano]

Last night

Asparagus salad with sea scallops and boiled dressing

Tofu, soba, Hatch chile, and corn soup

Another hybrid meal . It was quite good, though. I used the last of some leftover steamed asparagus in the salad and a little extra boiled dressing I had left from a chicken salad I made recently. I thought some scallops would work well with this, but I hesitated over spending a lot of money for scallops to round out leftovers. When I stopped at the fishmonger at Eastern Market, I was happy to see a small plate of "broken" sea scallops offered for half price. Some were clearly broken but others more or less intact, and it was a great deal. I bought what they had out: 1/3 lb. = $2.95. Perfect for my salad. I did a quick saute of them in a little bacon fat, then added a splash of dry vermouth and some lemon juice. Tossed with the dressing and then with the asparagus.

The soup was spectacular, if I do say so myself. I sweated some shallot and garlic in the skillet that I did the scallops in, and added that to a larger pot in which I had lightly sauteed some cubes of extra firm tofu. I added some diced roasted red and green Hatch chile left from a packet I had previously defrosted and needed to use. I splashed in a little sake and burned it off, and then added some chicken broth. Next went in a packet of fresh soba noodles from a big package I'd gotten at Costco. When they had nearly finished heating through, I added the contents of a drained can of corn niblets. (I thought I had some frozen, which I prefer, but my backup stock of canned corn worked fine.) Seasoned with black pepper and a few splashes of hot pepper sesame oil, and garnished with some fresh parsley, this soup looked and tasted fantastic.

Pat,

Your soup sounds unique! I'm intrigued to make it myself. Could you "round off" some of the measurments, such as the chicken stock and soba noodles (not picturing it)?

Thanks!

[Pat]

Pat,

Your soup sounds unique! I'm intrigued to make it myself. Could you "round off" some of the measurments, such as the chicken stock and soba noodles (not picturing it)?

Thanks!

The original package of soba was 36 oz. for 6 packets, so that was 6 oz. of noodles.* I used some chicken broth that was in the fridge and then about 1/2 quart of WF low-sodium broth. I'm going to guess it was about a quart of broth, maybe a little more. I just eyeballed it and used the amount that seemed to work with the other ingredients. I'll estimate about 12 oz. of extra firm tofu, cubed. I think the can of corn was 15 oz. The pulp was from 3 roasted chile peppers-chopped up, maybe 1/4 - 1/3 cup.

*The noodles are already cooked but require a few minutes of cooking to separate and heat through. O'Hana House Organic Japanese Style Soba Noodle is what it says on the packaging. They were in the refrigerated cases at PC Costco near where the hams and chicken are. We thought they were good noodles.

[monavano]

Thursday-hot dogs at Costco (what a deal-Mr. MV and I had a dog each, and split fries-$4 and change, inclusive of a free drink!)

Friday-lamb chops on the grill, broccoli with evoo and lemon, sauteed mushrooms with rosemary, smashed red potatoes with blue cheese and buttermilk

Sat-Al's cheeesteak with sauce

[monavano]

The original package of soba was 36 oz. for 6 packets, so that was 6 oz. of noodles.* I used some chicken broth that was in the fridge and then about 1/2 quart of WF low-sodium broth. I'm going to guess it was about a quart of broth, maybe a little more. I just eyeballed it and used the amount that seemed to work with the other ingredients. I'll estimate about 12 oz. of extra firm tofu, cubed. I think the can of corn was 15 oz. The pulp was from 3 roasted chile peppers-chopped up, maybe 1/4 - 1/3 cup.

*The noodles are already cooked but require a few minutes of cooking to separate and heat through. O'Hana House Organic Japanese Style Soba Noodle is what it says on the packaging. They were in the refrigerated cases at PC Costco near where the hams and chicken are. We thought they were good noodles.

Thanks Pat! I will look for the noodles the next time I'm at Costco. BTW-I love the Pacifica organic chicken stock at Costco.

[monavano]

With all do respect for the philosophical purity of the local farmer's markets, can't we fold a little bit of the Baltimore spirit into one or the other of our locals? Baltimore is a freakin' street party under the freeway, at 10AM on a Sunday morning! I was in town with some time to kill and I stopped in to see Brian from Truck Patch and stumbled into a great scene -- music, church bells, a dozen kinds of street frood from hippie shit (I mean that fondly) to Jamaican to good old Baltimore beef, pastries galore and, yes, a godd bit of local/organic produce as well. Sure, the guys selling greens clearly picked them up at a warehouse somewhere, but there was plenty of "good" stuff, too, and a fishmongerand those collards were a boatload cheaper than what you find at Dupont (when you can find them). The energy and vibe were a brilliant offset to a grim Sabbath and the diversity of the crowd was stunning in light of the 99% affluent, 90% white patrons of our local markets.

Brian says it's his favorite market and I can see why.

In a world full of litmus tests and ideological demands, I say, let's compromise a little on the side of fun.

Ain't nothin' but a party....

Easy dinner tonight using premade products-all I did was bake split chicken breasts and coated them with "doctored" up bbq sauce. Served with Bush's baked beans and Safeway mac salad.

[MBK]

Cheese and smoked fish plate, with homemade bialys (yum!)

Borscht

Braised lamb shoulder with white wine, carrots, and onions

Mushroom risotto

Roasted asparagus

Dark chocolate torte

Rhubarb meringue tart

A great afternoon in the kitchen, to follow a cold and rainy morning at the market!

[monavano]

Cheese and smoked fish plate, with homemade bialys (yum!)

Borscht

Braised lamb shoulder with white wine, carrots, and onions

Mushroom risotto

Roasted asparagus

Dark chocolate torte

Rhubarb meringue tart

A great afternoon in the kitchen, to follow a cold and rainy morning at the market!

Wow, this reads like an episode of Endless Feast on PBS. I'm thinking that any leftover lamb would be delicious in leftover borscht-if there are any leftovers, that is

Did you get the rhubarb at Dupont? I only looked in Del Ray on Sat, and no one had it

[MBK]

Wow, this reads like an episode of Endless Feast on PBS. I'm thinking that any leftover lamb would be delicious in leftover borscht-if there are any leftovers, that is

Did you get the rhubarb at Dupont? I only looked in Del Ray on Sat, and no one had it

Thanks! It was a delicious meal, with no leftovers. Except the desserts - by the time we got to dessert, there was no chance we were polishing them both off!

I *did* see rhubarb at Dupont yesterday, although that's not where ours was from - a friend was responsible for the rhubarb tart, and I'm not sure where she got her ingredients.

[lperry]

Mixing cultures tonight:

Pupusas filled with red beans, seasoned with chipotle paste and topped with feta

Pan roasted corn with butter and a little onion

Orange and jicama salad

Margaritas

I have to say, the Salvadoran red beans, labeled "frijoles de seda", are fantastic. When I opened the bag, they smelled like honey, and cooked plain with just salt, they have amazing flavor and complexity. I cook a lot of beans, and these are outstanding. Now I'll be eating a lot more of these, and I'm tempted to try the black and white varieties as well.

[monavano]

Mixing cultures tonight:

Pupusas filled with red beans, seasoned with chipotle paste and topped with feta

Pan roasted corn with butter and a little onion

Orange and jicama salad

Margaritas

I have to say, the Salvadoran red beans, labeled "frijoles de seda", are fantastic. When I opened the bag, they smelled like honey, and cooked plain with just salt, they have amazing flavor and complexity. I cook a lot of beans, and these are outstanding. Now I'll be eating a lot more of these, and I'm tempted to try the black and white varieties as well.

lperry, what's your source for the Salvedoran beans?

After hot dogs, lamb and cheesesteaks, I used an additional chicken split breast from last night to top an entree salad for tonight's dinner. Chock full of lettuce, all sorts of vegetables, feta, marcona almonds* and olives, I almost feel healthy. Really, I feel like I ate half a garden. Ah, roughage.

*from Costco-wow! I'm loving these

[zoramargolis]

Yeah, those Marcona almonds from Costco are like crack. I have to hide them and just bring them out for company.

tonight:

I bought one of the new crop of fresh chickens from Eco-Friendly on Sunday. Didn't brine it--just roasted it with lemon garlic and thyme in the cavity. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Sitting on a slab of Afghan bread in a 400 degree convection oven for 1 hour ten minutes.* Fabulous flavor. A really delicious chicken.

haricots verts with meyer lemon oil

2005 Kirkland Rutherford Napa Valley cabernet--don't laugh. If you like California cab, and I do, it was really good for the price. According to the back label it was vinted and bottled by Adler Fels Winery

*La methode de chef Mark Slater, slightly adapted for my oven and the kind of bread I happened to have in the house.

[lperry]

lperry, what's your source for the Salvedoran beans?

I picked these up at the Grand Mart on LRT, but I've also seen them at Shoppers at Potomac Yard. I think it was Abeja brand because there was a picture of honeycomb on the bag. If you try any of the others, please report back.

[Anna Blume]

Panko-coated, buttermilk & tarragon soaked, flattened chicken breast cutlet w lemon

Michael & Emily's Hakurei turnips braised w morels, finished w lemon juice, a little Parmesan & chives

Leftover short-grain brown rice tossed w turnip greens (latter chopped & sautéed w green garlic and PA ramps)

Strawberries

2 slivers mini Guinness Stout teacake

[Pat]

Pupusas filled with red beans, seasoned with chipotle paste and topped with feta

Do you have any tips for forming the pupusas? I follow a recipe that was in the Post, and I can never get them to come out right. Trying to get the filling in the center just turns everything into a mess. It's a technique I seem to be unable to master.

**************************************

Saturday:

Pizza with salami, speck, tomatoes, and olives

I used this Mario Batali recipe, but the amount of yeast is clearly way off. I researched the recipe a little bit and settled on 1 tablespoon of yeast. I used instant, but the original recipe doesn't specify that. Using regular yeast, I think I would use one packet.

Sunday:

Chopped romaine and tomato with vinaigrette

Pizza redux, with additional toppings: thinly sliced jalapeno and a fried egg

I hadn't divided the dough too evenly for two pies, so the second one was a bit smaller. The jalapeno and egg were an awesome addition to the other toppings. The dough was a lttle too thick for me, but my husband loved it. I prefer a thinner crust to what he does. The crust was an excellent bread, though. I'll try regular yeast and a little little less of it next time and see if that gives me a less bread-y crust.

Last night:

Frisee and romaine salad with sliced radishes, cucumber and campari tomatoes; bottled ranch dressing

Leftover lasagna

[zoramargolis]

Do you have any tips for forming the pupusas? I follow a recipe that was in the Post, and I can never get them to come out right. Trying to get the filling in the center just turns everything into a mess. It's a technique I seem to be unable to master.

I watched a Salvadoran chef make pupusas on tv last night. He laid an 18" long sheet of wax paper on the counter, and put two golf-ball-sized balls of prepared masa dough (which had some oil in it) about 8-10 inches apart on the sheet. Then he laid another sheet of wax paper on top of them and flattened them into 6" rounds with a heavy plate. He lifted off the top sheet of wax paper, put a couple of tablespoons of filling into the center of one round, lifted the edge of the wax paper under the unfilled round, laid it exactly over the filled round and peeled away the paper. Then he pressed the edges together to seal it. Laid it uncovered side down into a greased skillet and peeled away the rest of the wax paper. Hope my description of the method is adequate.

[youngfood]

I bought one of the new crop of fresh chickens from Eco-Friendly on Sunday. Didn't brine it--just roasted it with lemon garlic and thyme in the cavity. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Sitting on a slab of Afghan bread in a 400 degree convection oven for 1 hour ten minutes.* Fabulous flavor. A really delicious chicken.

*La methode de chef Mark Slater, slightly adapted for my oven and the kind of bread I happened to have in the house.

Does the bread just soak up juices and then taste delicious later or what role does it play here?

[lperry]

I watched a Salvadoran chef make pupusas on tv last night. He laid an 18" long sheet of wax paper on the counter, and put two golf-ball-sized balls of prepared masa dough (which had some oil in it) about 8-10 inches apart on the sheet. Then he laid another sheet of wax paper on top of them and flattened them into 6" rounds with a heavy plate. He lifted off the top sheet of wax paper, put a couple of tablespoons of filling into the center of one round, lifted the edge of the wax paper under the unfilled round, laid it exactly over the filled round and peeled away the paper. Then he pressed the edges together to seal it. Laid it uncovered side down into a greased skillet and peeled away the rest of the wax paper. Hope my description of the method is adequate.

You know, that's a lot easier than what I did. I watched a lot of YouTube videos, and I did what the ladies there did, although I did it a lot slower and mine weren't nearly as nice looking. Make a little flattish bowl of masa in your hand, sort of like a thick, indented tortilla, put in the filling and pinch the bowl shut over the filling so you have a filled ball. At this point in the videos, the Salvadoran ladies make some quick back and forth patting motions with their hands much like tortilla makers do, and - behold - a lovely, perfectly flat pupusa comes out. I did this and got thick ones, leaky ones, cracked ones etc. One video I watched after I finished dinner last night showed someone using a bit of water on the hands and then pressing them out on plastic for the final flattening. Another used some oil.

I think one of my problems was that I left the beans whole instead of crushing them, and it seems like softer fillings work better. I also noticed on the recipes I heard that they are putting more water into the masa flour than you do for tortillas and such - some had nearly equivalent amounts. So next time I'll try a softer filling and a softer dough.

Edited to add a link to a good video: Making pupusas

[Pat]

I watched a Salvadoran chef make pupusas on tv last night. He laid an 18" long sheet of wax paper on the counter, and put two golf-ball-sized balls of prepared masa dough (which had some oil in it) about 8-10 inches apart on the sheet. Then he laid another sheet of wax paper on top of them and flattened them into 6" rounds with a heavy plate. He lifted off the top sheet of wax paper, put a couple of tablespoons of filling into the center of one round, lifted the edge of the wax paper under the unfilled round, laid it exactly over the filled round and peeled away the paper. Then he pressed the edges together to seal it. Laid it uncovered side down into a greased skillet and peeled away the rest of the wax paper. Hope my description of the method is adequate.

Your description is clear, Zora. The instructions I've been trying to follow involve gathering a ball of dough, sticking your thumb into it to make an indentation, adding filling, and then sealing around the filling. This description sounds an awful lot easier. Thanks.

[zoramargolis]

Does the bread just soak up juices and then taste delicious later or what role does it play here?

The edges of the bread got crispy all the way through. The bread under the chicken got crispy on the bottom. the whole thing soaked up the cooking juices, which were flavored by the salt, lemon, garlic and thyme in the cavity. I served squares of the bread with the chicken, instead of a starch. That was SO GOOD!

[monavano]

The edges of the bread got crispy all the way through. The bread under the chicken got crispy on the bottom. the whole thing soaked up the cooking juices, which were flavored by the salt, lemon, garlic and thyme in the cavity. I served squares of the bread with the chicken, instead of a starch. That was SO GOOD!

Sounds very similar to America's Test Kitchen's recipe for roasting (500 degree oven) a brined and spatchcocked chicken on a cooling rack/broiler pan rack set over sliced potatoes. Yeah, sounds real good!

http://www.recipezaar.com/High-Roasted-Chi...-Potatoes-23275

[lperry]

Last night:

Sweet corn soup and crusty bread.

[monavano]

Last night:

Sweet corn soup and crusty bread.

channeling lperry!... I defrosted a quart of my cheddar corn chowder from last year to start our dinner last night. Main was a shrimp and scallop gratin (over rice) based on a Barefoot Contessa recipe. Ghiardelli squares fro dessert.

[Pat]

I made this chicken meatball and tortellini soup last night. I used more like 2 1/2 quarts of chicken broth. I might cut back a bit on the amount of milk in the meatballs next time, but this was pretty good.

Also had a salad of frisee, romaine, speck, tomatoes, and cucumber, and a baguette with soy spread.

(And, monavano, I also sometimes buy the Pacifico broth at Costco. I alternate between using that and the 365 low sodium broth, which seems milder or less concentrated. I used the 365 again last night.)

[Anna Blume]

Now annual tradition:

Risotto w Pennsylvanian ramps, a little bacon (no pancetta in house), Royal Trumpets & morels

Asparagus on the side

Strawberries again

Ramp bulbs softened before rice thrown in.

White wine.

Ladles of broth (it was too damn hot to make stock when supply ran out)

Half way through, added the blanched, fried lardons then:

Mushrooms sautéed separately; since morels a little dry, added rich whole milk from market once butter soaked up, then squeezed on lemon juice and seasoned

Ribbons of ramp leaves incorporated just before

Grated Parmesan; no need for extra butter

[DanCole42]

Anna - that risotto sounds MAJESTIC.

Pizza with artichoke, tomato, parm, lemon juice, garlic, shallots, savory:

Pizza with asparagus, prosciutto, parm, lemon juice, truffle oil, garlic, shallots:

[qwertyy]

Anna - that risotto sounds MAJESTIC.

Pizza with artichoke, tomato, parm, lemon juice, garlic, shallots, savory:

Pizza with asparagus, prosciutto, parm, lemon juice, truffle oil, garlic, shallots:

For a man who has been worried about the presentation of his meals very recently, you are making some dishes--and taking some pictures--that are on the high end of food porn. I love your photos--keep it up!!

[zoramargolis]

tonight: dinner for a visiting author

guacamole and chips

composed salad: mache and frisee, shaved fennel, supremes d'oranges, cucumber, shallot, blackberries, marcona almonds and shaved goat gouda, orange vinaigrette

cedar-planked atlantic salmon with lime/dill butter

grilled asparagus

barley, corn and fava succotash with lime and cilantro

buttermilk cake with rhubarb compote and creme chantilly

2008 Ferraton Pere & Fils Cotes du Rhone Samorens Rosé

[hillvalley]

Tuna with chopped lovage and Obama mustard

[KMango]

Tuna with chopped lovage and Obama mustard

Ha ha! I hope you also paid for your own meal.

[lperry]

Last night:

A very small portion of morel cooked in butter on toast with fleur de sel. By the time one morel is halved, I guess it is an amuse.

In honor of the Bittman column on freezing, I dug out some phyllo triangles with mushroom, feta, and pine nut filling.

Mixed green salad.

[Anna Blume]

Dan: Gorgeous! Of course roasted asparagus would be great on pizza, especially since it's a natural for prosciutto.

Hillvalley: Got the lovage reference, but it took me a while to get the one on mustard. For a second I thought you might have added fleur de sel caramels...

Zora: Great idea for succotash!

lperry: How nice of you to share!

Dinner last night was a nod to the weather: A perfect grilled cheese (half) sandwich and a bowl of sorrel soup

I love sorrel and still haven't gotten over the spring when a farmer's father (?) rode over the entire crop on the tractor. Given how miserable the weather was last Sunday, I ended up with much, much more than I originally purchased, so I decided to prepare a cream-less soup for a vegetarian, keeping some for myself (being an only child).

Vegetable stock turned out well. From the freezer, Bittman, dear: clean, chopped leek greens and the parts of asparagus spears that break off but are not woody; T tomato paste and the last of the peas. Fresh bay leaves, parsley sprigs, celery, garlic cloves, carrot, onions, 1 large oyster mushroom and a dollop of olive oil.

Soup: Sorrel purée made in batches by sautéing stemless leaves in butter, throwing in ramp leaves at end, and blending melted, army green mush until smooth and glistening.

The soup pot started off as the alium club: onions, leek, green garlic and ramp bulbs (only 4--then a little white wine to stew and sweat) before chopped LOVAGE, a little tarragon and parsley were added w a little more oil. Minced carrot. Then poured in stock along w about a 1/4 c of tiny grains of rice. After 15 minutes, added the sorrel purée and after 5 more, blended only 3 ladles or so of mostly drained solids that returned to the pot to thicken the soup. While a bowl of velvety smooth purée can be lovely, I like quasi-smooth soups as a meal.

[Pat]

Andouille chicken sausage* sandwiches on toasted baguette with banana peppers and caramelized onions

Baked beans (canned )

*Sausages by Amy. Now again available at Costco. I LOVE these sausages.

[lperry]

A butternut squash, chickpea, and tahini salad. This looked absolutely awful (I don't know what Orangette did to get the picture), but was amazingly flavorful and delicious. I didn't have a red onion, so I roasted a shallot.

2007 Saint Esprit Côtes du Rhône. For less than ten bucks at Costco, also delicious. Am I the only one doing the happy dance over the 2007 vintage from the Rhône valley?

[DanCole42]

Gnocchi with eggplant, shallots, roasted garlic, basil, lemon juice, parm, tomatoes, and soy sauce (secret ingredient)

Spinach salad with lemon basil roasted garlic vinaigrette

Plus a large measure of human blood from when I gave myself a thumb circumcision cutting the top off the garlic...

[Anna Blume]

A butternut squash, chickpea, and tahini salad. This looked absolutely awful (I don't know what Orangette did to get the picture), but was amazingly flavorful and delicious.

Not drinking calories much these days ( such a hypocrite: scarfed down a slice of carrot cake this afternoon in the rain...), so no happy dance about the wine, but I've made this salad, too, only w sweet potatoes and loved it.

[Pat]

Last night:

Anadama bread

Frisee and romaine salad with tomatoes and cucumber; ranch dressing

Prime boneless ribeye steak with shiitake mushroom-onion red wine sauce

Baked potatoes

Tonight:

Anadama bread

Baked chicken breasts with thyme, sage, lemon, and butter

Rice Pilaf

Steamed asparagus with lemon and black pepper

The Anadama bread is from Reinharts's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I'm participating in a collective project in which we're baking all of the recipes in the book. This recipe calls for a coarse cornmeal polenta, which adds a nice bit of crunchiness to the bread. Molasses adds a sweet element.

[Pat]

Chilled rhubarb soup with creme fraiche and strawberry garnish

Salad of frisee and romaine with tomato, cucumber, and pea vines; ranch dressing

Prime ribeye with mushroom sauce

Mashed potatoes with chives

Steamed asparagus with sesame soy ginger vinaigrette and toasted sesame seeds

I bought the rhubarb, pea vines, asparagus, and chives from Cinda at Gardner's Gourmet at Eastern Market this morning. I was going to do a dessert with the rhubarb until my husband reminded me that neither us really eats dessert very much . Soup was my next choice. I worked from a recipe I found online and make some alterations. It came out pretty well, but I think it was a tad watery. The creme fraiche I added at the end helped the creaminess quotient. (It also had some whole milk.)

The steak was leftover and had been a perfect medium rare. I microwaved it in a few short bursts, covered with lettuce, and got it back to eating temp without cooking the middle too much more.

[DanCole42]

Porcini-crusted NY strip with basil & white balsamic Bearnaise sauce

Open-faced root vegetable Pop Tarts with white balsamic and maple reduction

Spinach salad with basil & white balsamic vinaigrette

[DanCole42]

Pizza with bacon, beets, spinach, ramp bulbs, and goat cheese:

From the Ashburn Farmer's market:

Steve Baker's bacon

Cherry Glen Monacacy Ash goat cheese

Westmoreland Produce beets, ramps, and spinach

[Pat]

Baked mini tostadas with spicy sweet potato, peppers + onions, black beans, and sharp cheddar

Mushroom tortellini with evoo, s + p, and pea vines

The tostadas were the rescue of a sweet potato taco recipe I started out making. Kim O'Donnel posted it on the Post blog last week. I didn't have tortillas and was going to make my own. I wasn't satisfied with the last recipe I used, so I tried a different one. The first one was better . This one ended up being way too wet, but it had seemed okay when I broke the dough into balls. I would have had to remix everything and add extra masa harina or flour to try to dry it out, but I figured that might make the dough tough. Instead, I patted the balls into small rounds, thicker than I would have liked, but they were small enough to hold together and not stick to my hands. I grilled them and then topped and baked as per the taco recipe. They looked great and tasted pretty good. They were a little more "corn cake" like than I wanted, but it salvaged the meal.

The sweet potato and pepper components of the taco recipe were good. I don't have the link at hand.

[streisfeld]

Saturday night: Chilled asparagus soup with crispy guanicale. Spaghetti all’amatriciana.

[monavano]

Recently, I made asparagus soup (with a little cream) and turkey polpetini. The meatballs had some lemon zest and pecorino, which complimente the asparagus in an interesting way.

[zoramargolis]

I wasn't satisfied with the last recipe I used, so I tried a different one. The first one was better . This one ended up being way too wet, but it had seemed okay when I broke the dough into balls. I would have had to remix everything and add extra masa harina or flour to try to dry it out, but I figured that might make the dough tough. Instead, I patted the balls into small rounds, thicker than I would have liked, but they were small enough to hold together and not stick to my hands. I grilled them and then topped and baked as per the taco recipe. They looked great and tasted pretty good. They were a little more "corn cake" like than I wanted, but it salvaged the meal.

If you were trying to make corn tortillas, you don't have to worry about extra masa or extra mixing making them tough. There's no gluten in corn masa. What you ended up making actually have a name: sopes, which are thick masa cakes which are cooked on the griddle, turned and then shaped so that they have a little lip around the edge. They should be slightly soft in the center, not cooked all the way through so that they are leathery. Also, if your tortillas ever seem "tough" or too dry, wrap them in a damp dish cloth and then in a thick zip-lock bag and put them in the microwave to steam for a minute or a little bit more or a bit less--depending on how many you have. Or wet them lightly on both sides and throw them onto a hot skillet or directly onto a gas burner, and then wrap in a cloth to keep them warm and soft.

[zoramargolis]

tonight:

iceberg, radish and tomato salad with buttermilk-blue cheese dressing

enchiladas suizas made with homemade salsa de pipian

Farm at Sunnyside black beans

toasted buttermilk cake with blackberry/lavender coulis and whipped cream

Troegs Sunshine Pils

[laniloa]

Chicken with a lemon, basil, wine sauce

rattatouille

whole wheat orzo done risotto style

chocolate bread pudding

Outstanding companionship of three classmates I'll miss dearly!

[lperry]

Whole grain penne with mushrooms in a red wine, balsamic sauce.

Waldorf salad with dried cranberries and spices. Some magazine that I can't remember had a holiday recipe with cinnamon and nutmeg in the dressing, and I've made it this way ever since then. It goes great with the apples and cranberries.

[bettyjoan]

Saturday night, for early Mother's Day: soy and citrus marinated scallops, served with soba noodles and steamed veggies (sugar snaps, carrots, and radishes, all local and organic). Very tasty--and the scallops made the dish decadent enough for a special occasion.

Last night I used the same marinade (soy, ginger, OJ, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil) on chicken, and it was delicious. Served with some caramelized baby Vidalias and steamed green beans, it was flavorful yet light.