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Years ago, I learned a pork chop preparation from an Austrian chef in a French restaurant where I worked in Marlboro, Vermont. I make it often. The pan reduction sauce has sliced cornichons, capers, shallots, dijon mustard, veal stock and white wine, and is finished with a little heavy cream and some chopped thyme and parsley. Is Madame's recipe similar? Different? How?

A bit different and much less fussy. You can read it here, thanks to Google Books.

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A bit different and much less fussy. You can read it here, thanks to Google Books.

Cool link! I like how precise her directions are. Actually, the flavor profile of the sauce is the same--she uses onion vs. shallot, and thickens it with a little bit of roux and reduction, vs. reduction and heavy cream. But the cornichons, onions and mustard are the dominant flavors in both.

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Wasn't until recently that I learned why some European cultures postpone the salad until after the main course and why olive oil, alone, dresses so many vegetables. As obvious as it might be, I never figured it out for myself.

Glass of something red from Alto Adige

Thick slice of Pugliese

Prosciutto San Daniele wrapped around slices of very ripe, juicy white nectarine

Salad of green beans, tomato, basil & feta, seasoned and drizzled w olive oil

Handful of Marcona almonds

2 spoonfuls of sour cherry preserves (the ricotta was no longer fresh, so...)

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Mixed green salad with carrots and tomatoes from the garden.

I'm still waiting for tomatoes from my garden :rolleyes:

I was inspired to make corn veloute after enjoying lunch at Eve (lickety split) last week. Corn veloute with chives was the essence of summer. Much ciabatta with butter was dipped into the bowl. I also had the salad with halibut cheeks and enjoyed every bite of the firm fish that was redolent of the sea. Here's a Virginia take on the soup: Corn (Md.) veloute with VA country ham croquettes.

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farewell dinner for veggie BIL and SIL who are moving to Bogota after living/working for the past 12 years in Delhi and 18 months in Kabul. ("I never want to eat hummus again, for the rest of my life.")

watermelon-feta salad

panko-crusted black-eyed pea cakes

roasted red pepper aioli

baby red potatoes in browned butter

roasted fennel-fig slaw

peach and caramelized bing cherry* cobbler with HD vanilla ice cream

2007 Pazo de Monterrey (white)

*I had pitted out the cherries the day before, thinking I would use them then, but didn't. I didn't want them to go to waste, but I found that they were rather tasteless. I pan-roasted them with sugar, which caramelized, then crushed some of them to release juices. I removed the cherries from the pan, leaving behind all of the juice/caramelized sugar syrup, which I mixed with juice coming from the macerating peaches. I reduced this syrup until it was thickened and put the cherries back into it, along with a few drops of almond extract and some tapioca starch. I added some tapioca starch to the peaches, which I had also par-cooked with some butter. I layered the casserole dish--cherries on the bottom, peaches on top, covered with a pastry crust. It turned out spectacularly good, with the cherries having tons more flavor than they'd had raw. The crust was my riff on an America's Test Kitchen pie crust I'd seen on t.v. the night before, which uses vodka as part of the liquid, because it makes the pastry more workable without creating gluten like water does. The only vodka I had in the house was the good stuff I keep in the freezer, that had been flavored by macerating meyer lemon peel in it for 6 weeks. I only used a little bit, but everyone raved about the crust, even BIL, who doesn't drink alcohol for religious reasons. He had a second helping. (I had forgotten about his alcohol deal when I was making it, but I disclosed in advance of serving, so he knew.)

BIL had never before had watermelon-feta salad or fennel fig slaw, SIL had never eaten black-eyed peas or roasted fennel, so they were both very enthusiastic. J devoured his watermelon-feta salad, and ate the fennel-fig slaw, despite his professed dislike of fruit and savory things together. And everyone LOVED dessert.

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I'm still waiting for tomatoes from my garden :rolleyes:

If it's any consolation, these are the little cherry tomatoes. The big ones are still green and hard as rocks.

panko-crusted black-eyed pea cakes

Those sound delicious! Would you share how you make them?

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Those sound delicious! Would you share how you make them?

Turns out, these little things are a great vegetarian main. Even my committed carnivorous cohort thinks they are tasty and satisfying. As usual, I don't measure, but you seem to be a thoughtful cook, so you can figure out your own amounts. The most recent time I made them, I should have added a second egg, and some of the cakes fell apart in the pan, so I am far from perfect in that regard.

I cooked dried black-eyed peas with aromatics until they were soft, but still had a bit of tooth to them. I suppose one could use canned-- rinsed and well-drained--although I have never done it that way.

For 1/3 - 1/2 lb. of dried b-e peas, cooked and drained, saute a chopped medium onion in evo, and add a couple of minced garlic cloves. Take half the cooked b-e peas and grind them with the sauteed onion and garlic in the Cuisinart until you've got a fairly smooth puree. Then, add salt, black pepper, a little bit of some kind of red pepper, ground cumin, Spanish smoked paprika (sweet), an egg or two or three, depending on their size and the amount you are making. Pulse a few times to mix and then add the rest of the b-e peas and some diced roasted red and/or green pepper, some lemon zest and juice and chopped fresh herbs or your choice (I used cilantro when there wasn't anything else, and a combo of celery leaf, parsley and thyme most recently--both were good). Pulse until the second batch of b-e peas looks coarsely chopped. The goal is to have a smooth base and also some coarse bean meal for texture. If the mixture seems too wet, add panko crumbs until it's stiff enough to form into patties. If it's too dry, add an egg and/or a little bean-cooking liquid.

Form into 3" round patties, roll in panko and pan-fry in favorite oil (I like to use a neutral oil with a high smoke point like grapeseed or peanut, mixed with some olive oil) until brown and crispy on both sides. To me, they want some sort of dipping sauce. I have used both salsa verde and roasted red pepper aioli to good effect. You can get as creative as you like here.

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^Thanks! I like vegetable pancakes, and I once had some delicious black-eyed pea fritters at an African food festival. What you are doing sounds like a nice combination of both.

Tonight: Mixed green salad

Roasted poblano peppers stuffed with silk beans, zucchini, onion, garlic, cheiro peppers, and feta cheese. There was enough to set aside for Thursday's dinner, and I know the beans will be even better by then.

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Tonight's dinner was Tex-Mex Chicken with black beans and rice- grilled chikcen breast (cumin, smoked paprika, lime juice), melted cheese, sour cream and fresh roasted salsa verde made from these (Bigg Riggs Farm)-

I covet both your meal and your lighting set. Amazing.

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Great food minds think alike--I made salsa verde today, too. We had it with marinated, charcoal-grilled Eco Friendly skirt steak tacos, roasted corn and refried beans. Started with chopped iceberg salad with cuke, Brandywine tomato and buttermilk blue cheese dressing.

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Great food minds think alike--I made salsa verde today, too.

Or the tomatillos looked tempting this weekend if not as gorgeous as those in monavano's bowl.

I was going to make salsa verde last night, but the cilantro has turned into slime. So, tonight: Farm @ Sunnyside's organic black beans (last summer's crop sold late in the year) w chipotle in adobo and guanciale or tesa (etc.) w Mexican white rice, salsa verde and sour cream. Something w cucumbers, too, for crunch.

Last night: Nathan [Anda]'s hot dog w chopped sungolds and slaw

Corn on the cob

Yellow watermelon (again)

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Very big day tomorrow, pigeons. So in preparation, I finally went to the grocery store and had the comforting, tried and true:

Smokehouse almonds

Sauteed mushrooms on toast with a poached egg and parm-reg

Cherries

A nectarine

I am SO ready.

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grilled Ecofriendly pork chop, with homemade peach chutney

roasted Indian-spiced cauliflower (inspired by Monica Bhide's new cookbook!)

new potatoes, with a cilantro-garlic cream

sauteed green beans, with tamari and sesame

2000 Caymus Zinfandel

(I tried to upload a photo, but it's over the size limits - and I'm not savvy enough to figure out how to make it smaller...)

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Grilled squid, corn, tomato, and chive salad with a savory vinaigrette including pomegranate red wine vinegar, Laudemio olive oil, dill, garlic, and a touch of grainy mustard. Bull Run CSA vegetables for the win.

Making three servings and eating them all myself? Maybe that is for the win as well. Score one for Team Gluttony.

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Last night-Zora got me in the mood to make my own salad dressings. I've been making a buttermilk and blue cheese dressing, and of course serving it over iceburg! Then, I got an idea to make another golden oldie-Catalina....1960's style.

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Filet mignon (about half-price at Safeway and I might say....damn good with a glace sauce), rappini and Zesties (fries).

Key lime bars, ala Cook's Illustrated-

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Last night-Zora got me in the mood to make my own salad dressings. I've been making a buttermilk and blue cheese dressing, and of course serving it over iceburg! Then, I got an idea to make another golden oldie-Catalina....1960's style.

:rolleyes: heh-heh-heh. I'm glad to hear that I am such a bad influence on you. But I don't deserve all of the blame--Michael Landrum got me started. I had been resisting the lure of iceberg lettuce for decades, but just one taste and--see, it was all Michael's fault. He's got it on his menu at RTS, and so reasonable, too. One plateful, and my husband the salad-hater was hooked. I was still able to stay clean, but then I bought some and brought it home for J. I was going to stick with mesclun. But then I had to go and have just the teeniest taste. And now--"they say I gotta go to rehab, but I say NO-NO-NO!"
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So-called Italian bread sliced thick and toasted with garlic and olive oil

Coarsely chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, etc.

Oil cured olives

Salumi brand finocchiona

Peaches with homemade vanilla black pepper ice cream

It's August. What more do you need? :rolleyes:

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Another benefit of making dishes like this is the way your kitchen smells the next morning.

*swoon*

A simple yet deeply savory goat curry. Last night's concoction inspired by Madhur Jaffrey's "Lamb with Onions" recipe, but with cubes of Lebanese Butcher boneless goat loin instead. Walla Walla sweet onions (a gift from a neighbor who ordered a case) dissolved into the savory sauce, and lots of local green chilies (another neighbor) added fiery appeal. Garnished with cherry tomatoes (West End Farmer's Market) and radish (Bull Run CSA).

Washed down with trite brew (Dale's Pale Ale).

Update: Google Books has the base recipe

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Tuesday: take out Ledo pizza (pepperoni and mushroom; hawaiian; no Joe, it wasn't from the original Ledo)

Wednesday: cheesy andouille fries and a few bites of veg creole from LEx 2.0

tonight: fusilli with butter, red pepper, and parmesan cheese. Real parmesan, at least.

yeah, it's been that kind of week.

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It was cross-cultural no-cook night in the Azami/Xochitl household: hiyayakko tofu (chilled tofu with toppings) topped with grated ginger, aojiso (green shiso) and katsuobushi flakes, served in soy sauce; and Caprese salad using a big, beautiful Jersey tomato.

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Dinner- leftovers of flank steak, sweet potato and corn hash, ratatouille, salad. Dessert- peach and raspberry clafouti- a recipe I found via last week's WaPo article on David Lebovitz.

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The first time I made clafouti, I believe I was inspired by watching Sarah Moulton on PBS. It was delicious with summer fruit. I'm not sure what recipe I used exactly, I only know that future attempts resulted in too dry and cakey, or way, way too egg-y clafoutis. I just gave up until I put together finding this recipe with Toigo's peaches, which are about as good as they get right about now.

Lebovitz's recipe strikes a balance between the eggs, butter and flour that yielded a wonderful custard*, with a slightly crunchy topping from sugar which caramelized during the latter half of baking.

*In typical home-cook fashion, I altered the recipe a tad to use what I had on hand. First, I used peaches instead of apricots. Second, I did not have milk, so I used half heavy cream and half 1% milk for the 1 1/3 cups of milk that was called for-I figured that the fat content would approximate the milk in the end. Anyway-it worked and I'd do it the same way next time. Or not :rolleyes:

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Everyone was home at the dinner hour tonight!

Tomato-Ricotta Spaghetti (Cooking Light March 2009 ]

I roasted the cherry tomatoes from Farm at Sunnyside and used ricotta from Blue Ridge Dairy. BLToddler was delighted that we used "his" tomatoes for the dinner. And he ate basil for the first time.

I thought it was a little bland--probably would use a more flavored cheese next time.

Baby-stepping my way into the Dinner thread...(Definitely not picture worthy at this point!)

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