What Holt and Barbara Had for Dinner

Tuna Steaks à la Fino with Kale Crisps

2012-01-28T22:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday 28 January

After all our anniversary indulgences, we thought some simple fish and vegetables would let us off light. But there's no need to go light on flavor, so we went to the Fino cookbook, Modern Spanish Cooking, for a tuna recipe with over-the-top taste.

For it, you need:

1 zucchino, cut into small dice (a good substitute for Fino's cucumber)

salt

4 thin scallions, chopped small

1 tsp. whole grain Dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon

a small glugg of honey

2 tuna steaks

fresh ground black pepper

olive oil

Spanish olive oil

In a bowl, toss together zucchino, a touch of salt, scallions, mustard, lemon juice, and honey. That's the side for your tuna.

Dust the steaks with pepper, and sear quickly in a hot oiled pan. When rare, set out next to a swath of zucchini cubes, and drizzle with good Spanish olive oil. Ours was Cortijo de Suerte Alta Marqués de Prado, from Baena.

Then there was the kale, which we bought today at Findlay Market. We learned to love kale crisps back in May. Here's the recipe, just in case it disappears from elsewhere on the Web.

1 bunch kale (ours was very curly - see below)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Wash the kale carefully; pull the leaves from the stems into bite-size pieces, and dry them thoroughly with a salad spinner. Drizzle leaves with olive oil, toss with your hands until well oiled, and sprinkle with salt. Bake until edges are brown, and the leaves are crisp. They say that flat kale takes 10 to 15 minutes, but curly is more like 20+.

We put the kale in a big bowl on the table, so we could grab a crisp or two while noshing down onto our tuna and zucchini. As a side or as a snack, it's addictive.

Chicken Curry with Sweet Potato

2012-01-28T22:10:00.001-05:00

Friday January 27

We have already celebrated the Chinese version of lunar new year, so tonight we celebrated the Vietnamese version, Tet. Unfortunately this is a word that is inseparable from "Offensive" by people our age.

The dish, however, is spice-warm, with a deep orange color and sweet flavor from the vegetables. We used two chicken breasts instead of thighs, and slashed them deeply so they could soak up the curry flavor. Delicious AND auspicious.

Anniversary Dinner at La Poste

2012-01-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

Thursday 26 January

This was our big 21st anniversary, which means that our marriage can now legally drink in the US. We celebrated by drinking, of course responsibly, along with eating responsibly, i.e. having the five-course tasting menu at our nice local restaurant, La Poste.

We started with a festive glass of sparkle: one glass of Prosecco Il Folio, and one of a sparkling Chardonnay, Pascual Toso Brut from Argentina - the former, oddly, more brut than the latter, which was rather mild. In the meantime, we amused our gueules with a mix of chopped tomato and orange, served with pita chips.

Our first appetizer was a creamy seared scallop in bacon vinaigrette, set atop a mound of bitter greens on a rye toast, with gorgonzola foam and a sous-vide egg, just barely solidified. The flavors were vivid, and it actually would have made a wonderful breakfast.

Our second appetizer was also flavorful: wild mushroom ravioli in cream sauce, topped with mushroom slices and parmesan, and crisped sage leaves. Our nice server said this was the restaurant's most popular dish, and we can see why.

Then we seguéd to our main wine of the evening, a 2008 Domaine de la Bastide Blanche, a Mourvedre blend from Bandol in Provence. This was almost chocolatey, not very tannic, so it went with the variety of foods that were to come.

Our fish course was the night's special, pintado, a.k.a. Brazilian tigerfish, a novelty for us. It turns out to be a freshwater catfish with spots not stripes, so why isn't it called jaguarfish? It was served as succulent tranches with crisp skin, dressed with lemon and anchovy sauce on a bed of teeny tiny yukon gold potato dice and slivers of asparagus. We loved every little bit of it.

Our meat course was another special, bone-in veal strip steak all of 2" thick, with a strong (maybe too strong) reduction sauce, creamy corn, barley risotto, black trumpet and bluefoot mushrooms. The veal was excellent, but there was almost too much going on on the plate; you could have dropped either the corn or the barley, and lightened up on the reduction, and it would have been even better.

Finally, we had our choice of desserts, and we chose a shortbread tart with dark chocolate mousse, laid out with a half sphere of pastry filled with white chocolate mousse and a mandarin segment; and a cardamon and orange crème brulée. A fine finish to an excellent meal.

And the best part was, we walked the two blocks home and had a comfortable snifter of Calvados in bed. We're so glad that our anniversary is old enough to drink now.

Gourmet Tuna Noodle Casserole

2012-01-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 25 January

Barbara wanted to make something soothing for Holt's still-queasy stomach, and as she was home for the afternoon, she took on the surprisingly labor-intensive job of making a tuna noodle casserole that you wouldn't mind eating. It was prompted by a packet of dried soup (crema di funghi porcini) that some kind soul brought us from the Italian supermarket GS. So in the unlikely event that you have such a packet, here's a useful thing to do with it.

8 oz. rotini pasta

salt

butter

6 chopped scallions, whites and greens separated

8 0z. sliced fresh mushrooms (cremini would be good)

small handful of chopped parsley

ditto of fresh thyme leaves

packet of dried porcini soup mix (see above; 3 portion size)

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup (or more) heavy cream

1 can solid white albacore tuna, preferably in oil, drained

1 small fillet cooked salmon (left over from Saturday)

1/4 cup panko

Start some salted water boiling, and cook rotini until just al dente; drain and set aside. Heat a pat of butter in a large pan and sauté the scallion whites for a minute or two, then the mushrooms until they turn dark. Turn heat down a bit, add parsley, thyme, and scallion greens, and toss for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the soup mix over, mix well, and gradually add the milk, then the cream, stirring to dissolve. Cook on low; crumble in large chunks of tuna and salmon; add more cream if necessary, until the mixture is sludgy but edible; and correct for seasoning. Toss in rotini and mix well.

Grease a casserole with abundant butter, and pile the mixture in. If it looks dry, add a driblet of cream here and there; cover, and cook in a 400º oven for about 15 minutes.

Melt a pat of butter in the microwave, and mix in the panko. Uncover the casserole and sprinkle its top with the buttered panko, and let brown in the oven about 15 minutes more.

Ends up surprisingly tasty, and though we're unlikely to make the same thing ever again, it will serve as a good guide for improving the bland childhood favorite.

Hot Dogs and Potato Salad

2012-01-28T21:49:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 24 January

Barbara had a yen for New York style hot dogs, i.e with a mess o' sauerkraut, so we went to Eckerlin's at Findlay Market and got the closest Cincinnati equivalent (mild Metts and their fresh kraut). To go with it, Holt whomped up a German potato salad (with bacon, but still without dill pickle) this morning, so it had a day to sit in the cat-protection device (i.e. the microwave) and soak up the flavors.

When we got home, all we had to do was get out the bowl of potato salad, stick a spoon in it, brown the dogs in a skillet, heap the kraut over them, cover and steam until hot, and serve with horseradish mustard.

It was good, but the giant mound of kraut seems to have upset Holt's delicate stomach. He'll be more sparing from now on - and Barbara is guaranteed to eat whatever he leaves over.

New Year's Bok Choy and Mushrooms

2012-01-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Monday 23 January

In previous years when we were able to celebrate Chinese New Year together, we always seemed to cook chicken. Unfortunately, chicken is lucky if it's whole, but unlucky if it's in pieces, as ours usually was.

This year we decided to try the Chinese tradition of cooking a vegetarian meal to usher in New Year. The thinking is that it's more virtuous to kill nothing at the start of the year; and though oyster sauce actually does contain some oyster, we are assured that even devout Buddhists don't mind eating oysters, as they mean good luck or good business.

This recipe is a spin on some internet recipes and a few tips from New Joy, remade so that they don't use chicken broth; and based on the fact that we got a lot of beautiful baby bok choy at Daisy Mae's on Saturday, and a pound of fresh white mushrooms to match them.

So, take:

a handful dried shiitake mushrooms (meaning longevity), rehydrated 20 mins. with hot water, drained and liquid reserved, stems removed, trimmed into 1/4" slices

1 to 1 1/2 lb. baby bok choy (meaning 100 types of prosperity), washed carefully; leaves separated from stems; both sliced into 1/2" slices; inner baby leaves left whole, and bottoms trimmed

1 lb. white or crimini mushrooms (more longevity), sliced into 1/4" slices

6 scallions (cleverness?), whites chopped fine, separate from greens sliced into 1/2" lengths

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons oyster sauce (see above)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1-2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon Shao Xing wine

grind of white pepper

1/2 cup rice

1 cup water

canola oil

salt

sesame oil

Get all the vegetables prepped, and stir together oyster sauce, soy, hoisin, Shao Xing, and pepper, to taste.

Start rice: rub bottom of saucepan with sesame oil, pour in rice, then water, then a touch of salt. Set on fire until it starts to boil, then cover and lower heat to lowest setting for 19 minutes. Open and fluff.

Heat wok to high, add oil, then scallion whites and garlic. Stir fry for a few seconds, add bok choy stems, then whole inner parts, and some salt; finally add leaves, give a few stirs, sprinkle on some reserved shiitake mushroom water, cover and let steam for a few minutes until tender. Remove from wok, pour off most of liquid into mushroom liquid bowl, and set aside.

Reheat wok to high, add more oil, and stir-fry fresh mushrooms with some salt, then dry mushrooms, then scallion greens, until fresh mushrooms are dark and tender and liquid has boiled away. Stir in sauce mixture to thicken, then re-add bok choy. Reheat, adding a little mushroom/bok choy liquid if necessary. At end, taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Turn off heat, and sprinkle on a touch of sesame oil. Serve with no reservations.

Dessert: chopped fresh pineapple (meaning wealth and luck in gambling) and biscotti (meaning nothing in particular).

Salmon Fillets with Fennel and Fennel

2012-01-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday 22 January

The second half of our side of salmon was devoted to one of Epicurious' Best Recipes for Salmon; but it turned out we had done it before, and made the same changes that time that we made this time.

Still good, though.

Salmon in Bengali Mustard Sauce

2012-01-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday 21 January

We had bought a side of skin-on Norwegian salmon, and we used the first half of it in this Madhur Jaffrey recipe. It is terrific, and it sure ain't your usual salmon. We had to have rice as well, just to soak up the creamy, spicy sauce.

The wine stood up to the spice very well: it was Ipsis Blanc Flor, from Tarragona, with the sweet complexity of a gewurtztraminer. We love Tarragona.

Brussels Sprout and Potato Hash with Smoked Beef

2012-01-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

Friday 20 January

We needed something to flesh out Wednesday's leftover beef. And by coincidence, Barbara had done a tour of the frozen garden and found a feathery tree of tiny Brussels sprouts. Dora, of course, was fascinated.

The answer came with this recipe from an online recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction, halved to suit the quarter pound of tiny sprouts taken from the tree.

olive oil

1/4 pound Brussels sprouts (quartered lengthwise if normal size; we left ours whole)

1/2 pound (or more) Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 a small onion, diced

1 big clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon (yes, you heard right) dried, not fresh, thyme

black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In a heavy pan - the recipe calls for cast iron, but next time we'll use nonstick, if you know what we mean - sauté the potatoes and sprouts in oil over medium heat. Cover pan and cook for about 30 minutes, peeking and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and slightly browned.

Add onion and garlic, drizzle with a teaspoon of oil, and cook open, stirring occasionally, while adding thyme, pepper, salt, and (lastly) lemon zest. It's done when everything is brown and crisp, perhaps in 10 minutes.

All we had to do was pull the leftover smoked beef into shreds, nuke it for a minute or two in its own juices, and serve it alongside. That could convert any vegan lumberjack.

Baked Chiles Rellenos

2012-01-21T15:30:00.000-05:00

Thursday 19 January

These fresh green poblano chiles didn't hold their shape well while being roasted and de-skinned. They were too shredded-up for our usual method of breading and frying, so we stuffed them with some of our stored-up chorizo mixed with enough coljack cheese to make it sticky, and just put them into a baking pan and into a 375º oven for about 20 minutes, until heated through and bubbling.

They weren't as attractive as the fried version, as the dark green of the chile became almost black; but at least they held together. At the last minute, we topped them with the last of the arugula, goat cheese and cream cheese spread we whipped up at Christmas.

We wonder whether poblano skin is tolerable enough that we could skip the roasting stage altogether to either fry or bake the rellenos; this will call for more tasty chile experiments.

Crock Pot Smoked Beef

2012-01-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 18 January

We had a two-pound English shoulder roast bought for 3 bucks a pound from Kroger's. Normally we'd have made it into Julia Child's potroast, but we were looking for a change. Holt's dad Harold used to make a superb long-simmered pot roast with liquid smoke, so we looked around the internet and found this.

Informed by the reviews, we made several changes, as you would for any recipe that had the same amounts of ingredients for 2 pounds as for 4 pounds of meat. Instead of the 2 Tablespoons each (!) of salt and pepper, we just sprinkled salt and pepper over the roast as looked reasonable, maybe a half teaspoonful of each. Minced 1 large clove of garlic and rubbed in a quarter teaspoon of dried rosemary and/or thyme; that got rubbed into the meat too. Put the meat on a large sheet of tinfoil, showered it with a teaspoon of liquid smoke (mesquite flavor) and a teaspoon of Worcestershire, and sealed it tightly.

Of course, Dora had to sit on the foil, as well as being fascinated by the slow cooker. But finally we got her out and the meat in.

Results (of the roast, not Dora) after 9 hours on low: it leaked and burned a little, but we decanted the tinfoiled packet of roast and juices into a separate platter, shredded the meat - with a spoon! - and it was savory and succulent (especially the fat). Served it with some batons of quick-sautéed zucchini, for our fat-conscience's sake.

Warning, though: two pounds of meat cooks down to maybe three servings, though you could make it four if you eke one out with mashed potatoes, as we intend to.

Pork and Fennel Two Ways

2012-01-21T15:00:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 17 January

Dora had a lot of fun with the bulb of fennel we brought home from Findlay Market, but we were uncertain what to do with it.

We’ve done this combo before, but this time, we thought we'd take some ideas from this recipe.

We added the onions to the sauté of fennel root, which made it sweeter. We patted the pork medallions with crushed fennel seed, as well as salt and white pepper, then fried them; removed and fried the shallot; and finally deglazed with wine. The broth and cream of the second recipe would have only made it whiter and more bland.

It was already pretty bland anyway, so next time we'll try chopping up a big handful of fennel fronds (if Dora leaves us any) and adding them to the sauce after the deglazing.

Aromatic Lamb Shank with Lentils

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Monday 16 January

We first had this recipe when we were on fellowship in Australia, living in Sydney Women's College (Holt was in seventh heaven). It's hard to find new ways to cook lamb for people who are as used to it as Aussies, but the girls in the dining hall were lapping this up, as were we. We complimented the chef, and he revealed that the recipe was by Nigella Lawson.

So give a little pout like a domestic goddess, and line up these ingredients:

vegetable oil

2 lamb shanks

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, minced (it and garlic can be whizzed up in the processor with a pinch of salt)

salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Black pepper

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons Marsala

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1 cup red lentils (Nigella said 2 tablespoons, but that's ridiculous with the amount of liquid, and gives you no extra vegetable)

Proceed to put some oil into a dutch oven and brown the lamb shanks over medium heat; set aside.

Add a dribble more oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft, sprinkling in a pinch or two of salt. Stir in turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, red pepper, and nutmeg, and season with some freshly ground pepper.

Stir in the honey, Marsala, and soy sauce, scraping the spoon to get all the honey out. Put the shanks back in, add cold water almost to cover, bring to boil, then put the lid on, lower the heat and simmer gently for 1-1½ hours or until the meat is tender.

Add your cup of lentils and simmer, covered, until soft and plump and pretty, like Nigella. That may take from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the age of the lentils - Nigella is, of course, ageless. Add salt to taste, and let bubble uncovered until the sauce is as thick as you like.

Not only is this luscious, but it makes the house smell terrific.

Quick Roastbeef Hash

2012-01-21T14:36:00.000-05:00

Sunday 15 January

We had the great sullen chunk of cow left over from Wednesday, so we made a hash of it, according to our old theory.

The meat was roast beef; the potatoes yukon golds; the stock turkey; the herb parsley only. Simple. And to make it quick, we whizzed up all but the onions in the robot-coupe.

One amendment, which turned out to be an improvement: the beef was a mite fatty, so we trimmed the fat off, whizzed it up before anything else, and melted it in the pan to fry the onions and potatoes. It probably bumped up our saturated fat levels closer to heart-attack range, but it made the hash tender, and it tasted great.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

2012-01-21T14:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday 14 January

We had some sweet potatoes sitting around from markets previous, and also the tail end of a can of pumpkin that our cat-sitter had left us from her weekend here. The solution seemed to be to stuff a set of ravioli.

We based the filling on Lidia Bastianich's Cappellacci di zucca, cut by a third, and adapted for what we had. There are a lot of other opinions on the perfect recipe out there, which you can read if you want the amusement, and to practice your Italian.

Our actual procedure was:

1 lb. sweet potato and a mite of leftover canned pumpkin

olive oil

Enough maple-hazelnut biscotti (which Holt made for Joanna and Ian's wedding) to make 1/3 cup crumbs. These would normally be amaretti crumbs.

1/4 cup grated parmesan

pinch of grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons lemon zest

salt

Cut the sweet potato into chunks, toss with a mite of olive oil, and bake on a tray in a 350º oven until tender and a bit wizened but not browned, maybe 40 mins. Let cool, and start grinding up in the robot-coupe: the biscotti, parmesan, and sweet potato. Mix in nutmeg and lemon zest. Taste, add salt if needed, and set aside.

Mix up a batch of fresh pasta in the robot coupe, according to Beard on Pasta:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

Pinch of salt

2 whole large eggs at room temperature

1 tablespoon oil.

Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process to blend, then add the eggs and oil through the feed tube. Continue to process until the dough begins to form a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour. If it's too dry, add a tiny amount of water. Process only until it forms a ball.

Turn the dough from the food processor out onto a floured board. Dust your hands with flour, and knead by hand for about 5 minutes. Make a ball and then slightly flatten it. Wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes - an hour is better.

Cut rested dough into four parts; roll first with rolling pin on a floured board, then roll out in the pasta roller from levels 1 to 5 - we only did it to 4 this time, so it was a mite thick. Fit into the ravioli press, fill with the zucca filling - should make 2-3 sets - and cover and press. We made 2 1/2 sets or 30 ravioli, and there was still a ramekin of filling left over. Boil in abundant boiling water until they rise to the surface, and nibble an end to make sure the pasta's done.

We served the ravioli with sage butter, made by toasting some fresh chiffonaded sage leaves in melted butter; and sprinkled with Malden sea salt.

We were so full and happy that dessert had to wait until later: Michael Clarke's preserved pears topped with biscotti crumbs.

Chicken Breasts with Porcini Cream Sauce

2012-01-14T21:51:00.001-05:00

Friday 13 January

We got some dried porcini in large slices from Bell's market in Philadelphia; we wanted to leave them large, so proceeded thus.
1 huge (1 lb.) boneless, skinless chicken breast (we thought there were two, but never mind, we'll slice it later)

White pepper and salt

butter

canola oil

25 grams dried porcini

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon Marsala

3 Tablespoons heavy cream

Soak porcini in hot water to cover in a small bowl until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Lift porcini out, squeezing liquid into bowl, then rinse porcini to remove any grit and set aside. Strain soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a damp paper towel into a bowl and reserve the liquid.

Preheat a large ovenproof skillet to medium-high and add butter and canola oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown for 2 minutes on each side. Put pan into oven at 350º.

Put another skillet on at lower heat, and add a pat of butter and oil, then shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Pour in the reserved porcini water, turn the heat up to high and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until liquid is thickened. Add mushrooms and thyme, see how much liquid they give off; add Marsala and cream and continue to boil to thicken.

Slice chicken, lay out on a bed of potatoes mashed with butter, goat cheese, lemon and white pepper (left over from our Christmas spreads, actually), and pour sauce over it.

Tastes like very heaven. It's so much better to have one succulent chicken breast and slice it, than to halve it, pound it thin and have it turn gradually into leather.

Vegetable Curry

2012-01-14T21:44:00.002-05:00

Thursday 12 January

This is one of the few Indian dishes in the Larousse Treasury of Country Cooking, named there sabzi ka curry. Holt once asked a bunch of Indian fellow-students if they ever ate brussels sprouts in curry sauce, and they were totally unfamiliar with the idea. It's a big subcontinent, but this may be a memsahib dish; here's how you do it nonetheless.

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

vegetable oil

a good squirt of tomato paste

a handful of tomatoes, puréed

2 Kennebec potatoes, diced

2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal

1/2 to a pound of brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

a handful of raisins, to taste

3 zucchini, diagonally sliced (we didn't have these, so we used mostly brussels sprouts)

1 apple, diced

salt

a lemon's worth of juice

yogurt and/or rice, optional

On a plate, pile up your spices:

1/2 Tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon ground turmeric

1/2 Teaspoon ginger

1/2 Teaspoon fenugreek

1/2 Teaspoon garam masala (optional)

1/2 Teaspoon dried crumbled medium Chimayo Chile (to taste)

1 whole cardamom pod, ground

In a large pot or skillet, sauté the onion, then garlic, in oil over moderate heat until transparent. Add the spices and stir until dark, about 3 minutes; then stir in and brown the tomato paste a bit. Add the puréed tomatoes, and let simmer, covered, ca. 10 minutes.

While that's happening, parboil the potatoes in water until done, then drain and add them, carrots, sprouts, and raisins to the sauce, to simmer 5 minutes more. Last, add zucchini if any, and apples. Season with salt and lemon juice, and simmer 10 minutes more until everything's happy.

Serve with or without a dollop of yogurt, on rice or not, for savory goodness. It may not be genuine, but sure tastes good.

Roast Beef and Rude Vegetables

2012-01-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 11 January

Last time our local Kroger's had a meat sale, Barbara picked up a big buster of a bottom round roast. This is a true cheap cut, unlike the flanks and tri-tips that should be cheap but actually cost a bomb; that's the premium for fashionabilty, like the fact that Chilean sea bass costs eight times as much as Patagonian toothfish, which is the same thing.

We roasted our bottom (round) according to the directions in New Joy, which has worked well for us before. And of course there were vedge to roast alongside: halved shallots, then batoned carrots, similar yukon gold potatoes, and finally parsnips.

On our last tour of this recipe, we noted that the roast went into a 400º oven and after half the time went down to 300º; but we didn't say that you should roast until the internal temperature reaches 135-140º for better slicing. But it turned out that this roast still had a core of ice despite a day's defrosting, so it took over 2 hours to come to temperature. We had to scoop the vedge into a closed baking dish so it wouldn't burn, and then wait the agonizing 7.5 minutes while the roast rested and the vedge went back into the oven to rewarm.

Barbara had made a visit to a new wine shop, Marty's Hops and Vines: she got a Graziano Enotria Barbera, which though it was filed with Italian wines, actually comes from Mendocino, and is dark and grapey to suit a rich roast.

Indian Spiced Tuna and Chard

2012-01-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 10 January

We had used Madhur Jaffrey's spicing for our Vigilia chard, which we still had leftovers of. So we went to her Indian Cooking to find her spicing for fish. She advised this mix: about 1 1/2 tsp. of ground cumin, a third of that of ground coriander, same for turmeric, and a big pinch of cayenne; salt and pepper to taste get mixed in too. Dry the tuna steaks and pat the spice mixture onto both sides. Then pat about 2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh cilantro leaves on top of that.

Did that, filmed a pan with oil, got it hot, and seared the tuna on both sides, ca. 2-3 minutes a side, so it was browned but you could see a line of rareness on the center of the sides. Served it with the reheated chard and some mango orange chutney we have had sitting around in the fridge, to make an unexpected Indian feast.

Stuffed Pork Medallions

2012-01-14T21:27:00.000-05:00

Monday 9 January

Bigg's had a sale on already-butterflied boneless pork chops, pink and pretty. So we stocked up, and since we had a last bowl of the sausage stuffing from Christmas left, this was the time to stuff a couple.

The only thing we didn't have was the timing, so we went here and read a few of the hundreds of reviews. They warn you that you shouldn't cook the chops as long as recommended in the original recipe, 25 minutes; our 1 1/2 inch thick (Before Butterflying) chops, once seasoned, stuffed, and toothpicked closed, took 2 minutes to brown on each side, and 17 minutes in a 350º oven to cook quite enough.

Pretty good, really.

Penne alla Gorgonzola

2012-01-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

Sunday 8 January

A perfect quick meal for our return home. We seem to have finally made this the standard Italian way, with penne pasta.

Tai Lake in Philadelphia's Chinatown

2012-01-11T23:01:00.001-05:00

Saturday 7 January

Last time we were in Philadelphia's small but homey Chinatown, we had a great meal at Shiao Lan Kung. But it's a pretty popular, crowded place, and this time we formed a small crowd ourselves: we two and our friends Lisa, Sandra, Michele (who doesn't eat red meat), and Michael. So we headed to a seafood place we'd seen highly rated on the internet: Tai Lake.

A lucky choice: on arrival, we were immediately escorted to the one vacant round table and served tea, plus some Tsingtao beer, which led to a discussion with Michael (who is German) about the Reinheitsgebot purity law (as we say in the Department of Redundancy Department).

There were several parties of Chinese people enjoying the pre-new-year specialties; unusually, Tai Lake supplies an extra seasonal menu that translates these specialties, so we had a nice time passing it around and commenting on the jelly fish and crispy pork intestine, snake and mushroom soup, duck tongues, and braised sea cucumber.

We played it rather safer, however.

We shared appetizers of crispy seafood rolls (nice and creamy inside) and pearl-like steamed shrimp dumplings. Then we went on to a dish of snowpea leaves with savory dry scallop sauce - here Michael (who is a botanist) asked about the species of plant it was, and Barbara was just able to come up with pisum sativum. Other main dishes were crisp and peppery salt-baked softshell crab; littleneck clams with minced pork and basil, with a whiff of star anise; and a whole steamed chicken, a bit bland at first, needing the chopped ginger that came with it, but more savory flavors came out as it cooled.

We ended with fortune cookies and oranges. An auspicious feast for the upcoming Year of the (Yang Water) Dragon.

American Academy in Rome Party

2012-01-11T22:53:00.000-05:00

Friday 6 January

Holt was a Fellow of the AAR, and they give an annual party that is usually notable for impressive spaces (supplied by former Fellows - but don't look at us, we're not on that level). This venue was certainly up to it: Laurie Olin's landscape architecture office in the Public Ledger building in Center City, offering terrific views down to Independence Hall.

The food was up to the occasion. There was a full bar, and friendly servers circulated, offering rare tuna tacos and pulled pork sliders with cheese. On the buffet were varied types of sushi; melted bries with fruit in puff pastry; little pizzas; all sorts of cheese, dolmades, olives, and fruits. Like last year, we didn't have to think about dinner afterwards.

An Eating Tour of Northeast Philadelphia

2012-01-11T22:51:00.001-05:00

Thursday 5 January

This afternoon we flew to Philadelphia for our annual professional meetings. Our kind friend Helene met us at the airport and swept us away to Northeast Philadelphia for an eating tour of her old, traditionally Jewish, neighborhood. Though famous landmarks like Abe's Appetizers (certified loxologists) are gone, the new Russian population is making the food scene flourish.

First we headed to Lipkin's bakery for lushly seeded rye bread, almond horns, assorted knishes and ruggelach, and sticky cinnamon buns. Helene had thoughtfully brought butter and a breadknife, and we sliced, buttered, and wolfed down the rye bread and knishes right in the car.

As if that weren't enough, we proceeded to Hesh's bakery, for their lavish almond rolls, cheese crescents, palmiers, and cheese danish. We weren't able to cope with their famous chocolate chip poundcake, which comes by the loaf.

Those are both old Jewish bakeries, but the Russians brought in a winner in the new Bell's Market. At first it looks like a local supermarket, with the usual produce in the front. But then you see the display of twelve types of kvass; you pass (if you can) the Pickle Bar, where a nice girl offers tastes; circle around the butcher's shop with the advertised special on Moskovskaya Ivanko salami; grab some porcini from the dried mushroom section; scan Smoked Fishworld, to which the whole end of the store is devoted; and end up at the in-store bakery display of elaborate layer cakes like the Korolevskiy and the Spartak.

The hardest job was deciding what to get at the Pickle Bar. For example, look at the picture above and note that there are three kinds of Odessa salad (homemade, Odesskiy, and Moldova), and that none looks remotely like the others. We ended up with Helene's favorite, the Abhazkiy salad, made of eggplant, red pepper, and walnuts; some artichoke salad with red pepper, onion, and olives; and four full-sour pickles. We fleshed it out with a cup of Acme whitefish salad, and as if we didn't have enough pastry, bars of spinach or cheese khachapury, the Georgian equivalent of spanakopita/tiropita, plus a couple of sour cream puffs for dessert.

That night at the hotel, we laid out our feast on the desk. With a bottle of chilled white wine from the nearby State Store, we ate like Russian royalty (before that awkward moment at Ekaterinaberg).

Penne Carbonara

2012-01-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 4 January

We did our standard recipe as previously posted on the blog, except that we don't say there that we beat the 2 eggs up (1 per person) in a separate bowl, add a lot of ground black pepper and about 3/4 cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese to it, and have it standing by to add to the pan after we've folded in the penne to the bacon and onions. You don't want the eggs to scramble in too hot a pan, but you don't want them to stay cold and liquidy either.

Arroz con Pavo

2012-01-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 3 January

We wanted something spicy for the coldest night of this (rather warm) winter. Holt was thinking of turkey mole, as we still have lots of Christmas leftovers, but that takes two days. Instead, we did a turkey take on arroz con pollo.

We started with a sofrito or as Lydia calls it, a pestata: first a clove of garlic (with salt - a great trick), then a stick of celery, then half a carrot, each whizzed up in the same robot-coupe. We chopped a half onion separately, because onion tends to liquefy in the robot-coupe. Sautéed the onion in a pan with a couple of rashers of chopped bacon, then added the pestata.

After a few minutes, we whizzed up a handful of our bag-ripened, now rather wizened, garden tomatoes with one chilpotle pepper in adobo sauce. Added turkey stock to the tomato mixture until it came up to 2 cups plus, and poured it in the pan with the pestata, a cupful of rice, and some salt. Raised the temperature until boiling, then covered and kept on a low simmer. We added a couple of handfuls of slivered turkey from the Christmas bird toward the end.

It took about 35 minutes for the rice to be tender, and some salt for the dish to be savory, warm spiciness.

Wedding Brisket and Mashed Potatoes

2012-01-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

Monday 2 January

From the abundant wedding leftovers, we got away with a nice bag of Uncle Frank's smoked brisket. So we rewarmed it for dinner, and served it alongside some boiled potatoes mashed up with the arugula goat cheese dip from Christmas day.

Turkey Soup

2012-01-11T22:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday 1 January

A big bowl of soup is soothing after an exciting weekend (including an after-church Chinese banquet with the family) and a long drive. The broth came from the Christmas turkey carcass, slow-cooked according to Barbara's method before we left; the only change was adding a branch of sage to keep the turkey broth distinct from chicken broth. It rested in the fridge during the weekend.

Into the simmering broth went some Trader Joe's dried multicolor tortellini, boiled until tender; the turkey picked off the carcass; and the slivered soup onion. You could add sliced carrot or some other vedge with the tortellini, but you don't need much more to make it so good.

Joanna and Ian's wedding

2012-01-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday 31 December

This afternoon was our niece's New Year's Eve Wedding. We gathered at the church for photos, and took a few good ones ourselves. The service was beautiful, heartfelt, and genuine, just like the bride and groom.

Then we went over to the Unitarian Fellowship, which had some bright high-ceilinged rooms for the reception. Just about all the food was prepared by the family, with mother of the bride Becky as chief cook and bottle-washer. Appetizers included hummus, chips, and a mango salsa. Heftier dishes were Becky's meatballs in a creamy sauce, and Uncle Frank's Best Smoked Brisket Ever: marinated for 48 hours with a Texas dry rub (with shots of cumin and chili pepper) and then smoked for 8 hours the night before. And by the way, Uncle Frank doesn't fire up his smoker for less than 100 lbs. of meat.

Joanna loves coffee (fair trade, of course), so it was there with all its flavorings, and for those who don't care for it (like Ian), there was cocoa, a big jar of fresh lemon water, and local wine.

The Parkers are all about the desserts, so Becky made lots of mini chocolate-swirled cheesecakes. Jo Linn and Holt both baked biscotti, JoLinn's cappuccino flavor, and Holt's double chocolate pecan and maple pecan.

The bride and groom love Sandra Boynton's book Your Personal Penguin; the song was their first dance, and the wedding cake had the penguin and hippo as cake toppers (made by Madeline's clever hands).

Becky made the wedding carrot cake with creamcheese frosting, with some as sheetcakes to feed the multitudes. And the multitudes loved it.

Rehearsal Dinner for Joanna and Ian

2012-01-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

Friday 30 December

Today we drove to Carbondale Illinois for the wedding of our beloved niece Joanna to our new nephew-in-law Ian. We checked in at the hotel, where we were greeted by a bar of dark (endangered-species) chocolate and a schedule that led us to the Herrin Church of Christ, where the rehearsal dinner (and tomorrow's wedding) was to be held. This whole weekend was about feeding the multitudes using home-cooking and perfect planning, and this was to be the start.

First there was a leafy salad, with other crudités and varied dressings. There followed a nippy black bean, corn, and jalapeno salsa. The main dish was a perfect lasagna by the bride's grandmother Martha, which came with extra ragu to spoon on. There was also a dish of penne alfredo, and potato buns.

Finally a sweet for the sweet: a brownie-fudgy sheetcake/sheet of brownies, one or the other (or both).

Dinner at Kathy and Russel's

2012-01-02T23:35:00.003-05:00

Thursday 29 December

We were invited over for one of Kathy's creative feasts, along with Julie, Sonja, and Stan.

We started with wine and some appetizers: dolmades and veggie chips. Then to the table, where the main course was a sort of Greek shepherd's pie, its filling made with eggplant - maybe like this. Kathy made it from a recipe from her file of old clippings - she says that if the house caught fire, this file is the first thing she would grab.

Side dishes were Sonja's carrots (cilantro optional), and Kathy's roasted beets with butternut squash, which was something like our own beets 'n' sweets.

Dessert was pears poached in wine with a beet to color them pink. And luscious little chocolate cookies cut from a log, with darker chocolate drizzled across them. They were so tiny and so good, you couldn't help eating more and more of them.

Another memorable feast from Kathy's fertile imagination and talented hands. We staggered out replete and happy, to walk down the streets glowing with Christmas lights, in our own glow.

Turkey and Dressing

2012-01-02T23:09:00.001-05:00

Thursday 28 December

Re-hotted-up with the Christmas gravy: so thick, it took the impression of the pitcher. And the last of the cranberry chutney. It gives a grandeur to the leftovers.

Penne ala Saffi

2012-01-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

Tuesday 27 December

Trafe for the last night of Chanukah; we're too busy to do latkes.

Sliced Pork and Vedge

2012-01-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

Monday 26 December

Ah, the post-Christmas lassitude. We ate the leftover pork and vegetables from Friday, plus fennel from yesterday.

Christmas Dinner

2012-01-02T22:56:00.001-05:00

Sunday 25 December

It's fun to have an all-adult Christmas occasionally, as it means you can get up late, have meals whenever you want, and invite visitors over in the afternoon, giving you an excuse to eat smoked salmon, varied cheeses and crackers, and goat and cream cheese spreads (one lemon pepper, one arugula).

Dinner went on the table as soon as Busch's Amish-raised turkey was roasted, and gravy made from the drippings.

Holt made cornbread and sausage dressing; Barbara pulled out her second-prize cranberry chutney; and we braised a sliced fennel in butter and wine.

But the star of the show was Holt's cherry pie, made with organic (though frozen) sweet cherries, thickened with some cornstarch and dried cranberries. It had a perfect crust, and a perfect filling (not too sweet, not too tart), so it was simply a perfect pie.

Sole and Greens

2012-01-02T22:51:00.001-05:00

Saturday 24 December

Tonight we (Barbara, Holt, and Holt's dad Harold) celebrated Vigilia, or the Feast of One Fish: sole (via TJ's frozen fillets).

First we made the fish's bed: Barbara picked all the lingering rainbow chard from the garden, and added the greens from yesterday's turnips. The two sets of greens were cooked together according to Madhur Jaffrey's fantastic recipe, adding the destemmed turnip greens at the same time as the chard stems, a few minutes before the chard leaves.

When the greens were almost done, we dusted the top of each sole fillet with sweet pimenton (as at la Grenouille, we wish) and poached them on top of the greens, under cover, for only 5 or 6 minutes until it flaked.

The flavors harmonized beautifully; the greens recipe is one of the best things we've found to do with chard.

Casserole-Roasted Pork

2012-01-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

Friday 23 December

A nice tenderloin of pork of over 2 pounds, rubbed with chopped fresh rosemary and thyme and garlic and oil. It went into the dutch oven with sliced onions, batons of garden turnips, parsnips and carrots. Dora helped clean the turnips.

The roast baked covered at 375º until it reached 140º, then was removed to rest while the vedge continued to brown open in the oven. Homey, tender, savory.

Shrimp Cocktail and Crimson Pears

2012-01-02T22:43:00.000-05:00

Thursday 22 December

Back in the epipalaeolithic (1993), we spent Christmas with Maggie in Tucson, and found out that our bid on our present house was accepted on Christmas eve. That night we boiled up a mess o' shrimp and ate it with cocktail sauce (yes, a mix of white horseradish, ketchup, and lemon juice) as a celebration, with champagne. So that's what we did tonight.

The pears were inspired by what they do at our local restaurant La Poste, with a few hints from here. We halved and cored a pair of red Bartlets, and filled the cores with cheveron goat cheese. We used no rosemary, and baked the pears cheese side up, with the prosciutto only on the skin side. Next time we'd let them go longer than 25 minutes, until they're tender. But the balsamic/honey glaze is delicious.

Chicken Enchiladas

2012-01-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 21 December

Holt returned from his triumphant Down Under tour, and Barbara provided something that could be warmed once we got home from the airport. She followed the recommendations here, with some exceptions. The proportions were slightly changed, as the meat was from cooking up a broth and picking the meat from the carcass from Sunday's chicken (plus frozen parts), with Monterey jack cheese as a half of that mass and chopped red onion a half of that. Since the tomatoes were bag-ripened fresh ones, they were cooked as a sauce: sautéed onions and garlic, added tomato paste to sweeten up a bit, then added the robot-couped tomatoes, cooked them until stodgy, and threw in some fresh chopped oregano leaves. The chile was heritage Chimayo chile, orange as a New Mexico sunset. Rolled up in flour tortillas (burrito size) and placed in the pan seam side down, but this was the mistake: I didn't smear enough sauce on the bottom of the casserole, and the enchiladas stuck. Next time, I'll use both oil and lots of sauce.

Kept the rolled enchiladas in the fridge until we got home, then topped them with the sauce (baked closed for ca. 20 mins) then the rest of the Monty Jack on top (baked open for ca. 15 mins). Chipped them loose and they were good, even if the bottoms were fused to the bottom of the casserole.

Served with Schlafly's American Pale Ale; beer is traditional (and good) with Mexican food.

Linguine Alfredo with Sausage

2011-12-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

Thursday 15 December

We did this, adding a glugg of wine while the sausage was browning - this is one where you don't want it to be brown, only lose its pinkness - and a couple of Tablespoonsful of chopped fresh sage.

And now an interval while Holt goes on a lecture tour.

Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts (Remix)

2011-12-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 14 December

Sunday's leftover chicken legs were the main course, but they needed a vegetable accompaniment. Luckily, Barbara had bought a tree of brussels sprouts from Madison's, and Holt had already taken the chewy leftover chestnuts from the Saturday before last and simmered them in chicken broth until they were REALLY tender, about a half hour.

So we trimmed and halved 25 brussels sprouts (13 oz., according to our scales), and browned them a bit in butter and oil. Then we covered and simmered them with some chicken broth (and the chicken to rewarm) until tender.

Removed the chicken, threw in the chestnuts, and added a a big pat of butter and a Tbsp. of Canadian maple syrup (finest local medium-grade, from Matthew B. Martin, the Man in the Raccoon Cap at the St. Catharine's Farmers' Market).

We like this even more than the bacon we did with this dish before; maybe next time we'll try it with maple syrup AND bacon.

Cold Smelts in Citrus Marinade

2011-12-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 13 December

Years ago, when we were living in a (little, probably illegal) penthouse apartment in Rome, we depended on Marcella Hazan's Classic Italian Cookbook (volume 1, paperback) for ideas on what to buy and how to cook it. And that is why, when we got a couple of beautiful fresh trout that had just been fished out of a local stream by Anders, our director's son, we decided to gut them (outside at the sink on our terrace, which instantaneously brought every wasp in Rome flying in); fry them; and instead of eating them when they were fresh, put them aside and marinate them according to Marcella's recipe for "Cold Trout in Orange Marinade," to be eaten later. The results were okay (not, as she says, "so remarkably good"), and we learned a valuable lesson. First, when you have good fresh fish and good appetite, eat them immediately, don't make your own leftovers for the sake of some recipe. Second, wasps have amazing powers of detecting fish guts.

Nonetheless, in this case we had actual leftovers, a half pound of Saturday's fried smelts. So we sautéed a half a yellow onion, diced, in a pan until it was golden, then added a half cup of dry white Italian vermouth and the zest from a half an orange and let it bubble for a half minute or less. Into that we stirred the juice squeezed from half the orange, juice from half a lemon, salt, and pepper, and again let it bubble for a half a minute. At the last, some chopped parsley went in for color, and the whole thing got poured over the cold fish.

It was served on a bed of arugula, garnished as Marcella advised with sections from the orange (or at least, the half that didn't get squeezed).

We appreciated the recipe far more this time, though we'd give our eyeteeth to try it - or anything - in Rome again.

Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash

2011-12-19T17:41:00.000-05:00

Monday 12 December

Adapted from the recipe in New Joy.

Halved one squash, cleaned out the seeds and strings, and baked in a 375º oven with a pat of butter and a drizzle of brandy in the center. Basted occasionally over ca. 40 mins.

In the meantime, browned 8 oz. of bulk sausage, added a chopped tart apple to the pan, and a Tbsp. of chopped fresh sage.

When the squash is tender, scrape out the thickest part with a spoon, adding each bit to the pan with the sausage until the outside is evenly thin. Also add a dose of brown sugar and pepper and salt to the pan, until it tastes like something you'd want to eat.

Stuff the sausage mixture into the squash halves, and top with a streusel of brown sugar mixed with a pinch of mustard, salt and pepper. Bake for another 20 mins.

Served with Trader Joe's cheapest: $2.99 worth of Vola Sangiovese, not too bad for the pennies it cost.

Roast Chicken and Fennel

2011-12-19T17:37:00.000-05:00

Sunday 11 December

Again a little 3-pound fryer from Charles Bare meats, done in our new quick style: dried, rested open in the fridge, salted, and roasted at 450º on convect, which only took 30 minutes.

The fennel went quickly too: just sliced and braised in butter and wine until sweet and tender.

Smelts and Sweet Potato Fries

2011-12-19T17:33:00.000-05:00

Saturday 10 December

Smelts were $5/lb. at Lukens in Findlay Market. We don't often get them this far inland, so we took advantage.

This fish reminds us of Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest on SNL reminiscing about "Smelt Night" in the Negro Leagues; and if you're talking great little fish rather than funny skits, the heavenly, once-in-a-lifetime french-fried baby brook trout served at Scribner's near New Haven, yea, 20 years ago and more.

For our particular Smelt Night we tried one of James Beard's tips: dip 'em in cream, then in seasoned breadcrumbs, then fry 'em. We used panko, but I think that Beard died before panko was invented; in any case it didn't adhere very well, so the smelts were only half-breaded, though tasty for all that. Next time, we'll substitute beaten egg and cornmeal, which might stick better.

The sweet potato fries were done as we said we would here, using sweet smoked pimenton for paprika. Still a mite limp for something billed as "fries," though perfectly edible.

We gobbled our smelts with a tartar sauce made with Holt's own cornichons. There was no problem peeling the backbone out of each little fish, and the fins gave a nice crunch that the panko didn't ("crunchy frog heap good"). Still, a pound and a half was too much smelt to eat in one night, so we're saving the rest for a Marcella Hazan recipe (see Tuesday, above).

Pot Roast

2011-12-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

Friday 9 December

Julia Child's recipe is our go-to for the long-simmered pot roast. So simple, so satisfying, and no pre-browning. Our chosen vegetables were the classics: carrots, parsnips, and potatoes.

This actually overdid itself a bit (it was in the oven from 2-8:30 PM, after all) while we were out at the Holidays on Ludlow festival waiting for our annual carriage ride. But thanks to Dr. Terri and the staff at Howell Avenue Pet Hospital for the sweets and cocoa that held body and soul together until we got home for dinner, and also for the toy for Dora, who prefers not to go to the vet even for a photo with Santa.

Farfalle With Gorgonzola, Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

2011-12-14T18:40:00.000-05:00

Thursday 8 December

A salad in a pan, by Mark Bittman.

Salt and black pepper

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola - be generous

1/2 pound farfalle

1 cup or more arugula trimmed of very thick stems, washed, dried and chopped (ours was from Sharon's garden - thanks, Sharon!)

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. In a small saucepan gently warm the cream and Gorgonzola just until cheese melts a bit and mixture becomes thick; chunky is O.K.

2. When water boils, cook pasta until it is just tender but not mushy. Drain and return to pot over low heat.

3. Stir in Gorgonzola sauce along with arugula, tomatoes and a healthy dose of black pepper. Stir to combine, taste and add salt, if necessary, then serve immediately, with grated Parmesan if you like (we found it unnecessary).

The heat took the harsh taste out of the winter arugula, and had a nice creaminess, though next time we might add some extra gorgonzola right at the end, to give the flavor an extra boost.

Chicken Thighs in Champagne Sauce

2011-12-14T18:34:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 7 December

This is one of our favorite recipes for chicken.

We didn't have any sausage, so we did without; but we did have the special little white turnips we got from the Farmer's market. They were the same kind we had had at Holt's birthday dinner at Chez Panisse, so we were going to treat them with respect.

We used four chicken thighs patted with fresh thyme, plus a little sliced onion, chopped garlic, sliced carrot, and parsley; the tinier turnips only needed to be halved, not cut into batons as we usually do.

The dish was as savory and delicious as usual, and the turnips were so moist the flavor exploded in your mouth. We are no Chez Panisse, but we do pretty well.

Tuna Steaks Puttanesca

2011-12-14T18:19:00.002-05:00

Tuesday 6 December

Yes, it's Pasta Puttanesca without the pasta; and she must be a high-class call-girl if she can afford tuna steaks instead of the canned variety.

We fried some anchovy fillets in their own oil, then added a clove of chopped garlic. When all was golden and melted, threw in ca. 14 oz. canned crushed tomatoes, a handful of chopped black Moroccan olives, a shower of capers, and big sprinkles of oregano, salt and pepper; simmered for a while. Then in another pan, browned two tuna steaks a minute or two per side, turned down the heat, piled them with the thick sauce, covered and simmered a few minutes until medium rare.

Tasted great on the tuna, but let's be honest: it would taste great on a slab of rubber.

Pork Medallions with Turnips and Greens

2011-12-14T18:11:00.001-05:00

Monday 5 December

Though we've got rows of turnips growing out in the garden, Holt was enchanted by some select varieties displayed by a local farmer on Saturday. So he got some medium ones, and some teeny white ones for Wednesday, all with greens so fresh we just had to cook them tonight.

My thrifty eye had previously noted a recipe in Food and Wine that used both the turnips and the greens, so we tried it out. It's really a dinner salad, done by a top chef with a lot of flavors you wouldn't ordinarily combine: not just turnips and greens but oranges and olives.

Verdict: you don't need the orange sections, spinach, or pecans; you can even do without the olive purée underneath, or just mix it in with the greens.

On the side, we had a couple of thick pork medallions dusted with fresh thyme leaves, quickly browned by frequently flipping them in a hot pan.

Penne ala Saffi

2011-12-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday 4 December

This shows that Blogspot search doesn't work: I just searched for the name of our very favorite and most-made pasta, and it says that there are no posts matching the query: saffi. So here is the old link.

Roast Chicken with Chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts

2011-12-14T17:58:00.000-05:00

Saturday 3 December

We got a lovely little fryer chicken from Charles Bare, dried it thoroughly, sprinkled it with salt, and roasted it on convect at 450º; it was done in around 45 minutes, so we drizzled our own rosemary oil on it and let it rest in the warm oven for 15-20 minutes until the vedge was done.

Did I mention the vedge? We had bought some American chestnuts at the Farmers' Market; they're smaller and lighter in color than the European kind you get in stores. We were inspired to do a classic braise: chestnuts, brussels sprouts, and bacon.

Holt cut the chestnut shells in an X and boiled the nuts until they could be peeled, about 3-5 minutes. Further tips are here.

When it was time to prepare dinner, we fried up 1/8 lb. of chopped bacon, then braised it and the chestnuts in some chicken stock in the pan. Finally some halved brussels sprouts and an herb bouquet of parsley and thyme went into the stock, and when the sprouts were done, so were we.

Verdict: good, but the chestnuts were still chewy, so next time we'll let them boil or braise a good deal longer before the brussels sprouts go in.

Rigatoni alla Norma

2011-12-14T17:47:00.000-05:00

Friday 2 December

After yesterday's meatfest, we went for a vegetarian meal, though in our opinion well-cooked eggplant is so tasty you won't miss that chunk of critter.

We cooked the sauce this way, but used fresh oregano leaves rather than basil; so the eggplant bits were sprinkled with dried basil leaves in exchange. The hit of vinegar was white balsamic, the pasta was rigatoni, and at the end we sprinkled in crumbled asiago cheese for that eggplant-parm vibe.

Meat and Potatoes

2011-12-14T17:45:00.000-05:00

Thursday 1 December

There are few things we like better than a thick steak (this time a choice boneless strip steak) frequently-flipped on our indoor grill until medium rare, served with a wodge of gorgonzola butter and some potatoes whipped up with cream and a dollop of horseradish.

We are people of simple tastes (yeah, right).

La Poste, Clifton

2011-12-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 30 November

Our friend Nancy gave a talk on Pindar this evening, and we were happy to join the party to take her out to La Poste afterwards.

La Poste doesn't change its menu much. They always start by putting a plate of fried pita triangles and some hummus on the table. One or two of the courses vary by season, but on the whole it's pretty repetitive, which is fine if you like what they offer. For example, we had their scallop appetizer once again, with its tasty gorgonzola foam. We've also had their veal sweetbreads, this time as an appetizer with roasted butternut squash, potato, pumpkin seeds, and pickled fennel.

Our mains were a slightly bland lamb shank on creamy grits with shaved fennel, and crispy "airline chicken" (i.e. with the wing) on a bed of tarragon mashed potato lined with wild mushrooms, spinach, and Marsala sauce. We don't often order chicken since we can make most types easily ourselves, but this was very succulent and its crust would be hard to duplicate.

Wine was a merlot from Bordeaux, Chateau Grand Rousseau. How do you like those rhymes?

Chinese-style Pork with Green Peppers, plus Steamed Rice

2011-12-07T18:59:00.001-05:00

Tuesday 29 November

We're pretty sure we've made this recently, so it should be on the blog. But Blogspot's search engine has become so unreliable lately that the little box at the left top corner can't find older posts at all. (If you're similarly stymied, by the way, try googling your search terms coupled with "holtandbarbara". Google, unlike Blogspot, still works.)

In the fridge were the last of Sharon's garden peppers and a packet of scrappy pork frozen, which prompted this dish.

First, we set a half cup of long grain rice to cook. Have we ever mentioned our simplest method of doing this before? Blogspot won't tell me, so I'll just write it. We take a small pot with tight cover, grease its inside with a leftover butter-wrapper kept for this purpose, put the rice and a dash of kosher salt in the pot, add twice the amount of water as rice, set on the fire until it just boils, and then cover tightly and set at lowest possible heat for 19 minutes. At that point, uncover, fluff, and you're there.

We sliced the pork into small coins, then made same-size slices out of 2 onions, 5 little green peppers, and a carrot (with Holt's trademark notches dressing the latter up).

Our mise-en-place continued with a clove of minced garlic and an equal amount of grated fresh ginger. Half got mixed into the pork in its marinade (2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. Shao Xing wine, and a dusting of sugar and black pepper), the other half was used in the initial stir-frying of vedge, in this order: onion, peppers, garlic and ginger, carrot. When the vedge was all bright, we popped in a block of veal broth until a couple of tablespoons melted, removed it, covered the wok, lowered the heat, and simmered until tender.

Then we set the vedge aside in the warmer and stir-fried the pork; when no pink was left, we put two Tbsps. of black bean garlic sauce in center, cooked it briefly, re-added all vedge, and dressed the dish with sesame oil. The black bean sauce gave it a nice edge, different from the ketchupy sweetness you want with green pepper beef.

Penne with Mushrooms, Ham, and Cream

2011-12-07T18:56:00.000-05:00

Monday 28 November

This is a Marcella Hazan recipe, though from the Internet, not from one of our go-to copies. It's perfect if you've got a leftover butt of Schad's ham, and I hope you do.

1/4 pound (okay, a pound) cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 tablespoon butter

2/3 tablespoon shallot (actually a third of an onion), chopped fine

salt and white pepper

2 ounces (2 ounces) good ham, cut into narrow julienne strips

3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

grated romano cheese to taste (about 1/4 cup, with more to grate at table)

Put the shallot in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp. butter and cook over medium heat until it becomes golden. Turn up the heat to high and add mushrooms; cook until they have soaked up all the butter, then turn the heat down to low and add salt and pepper. Turn mushrooms over 2 or 3 times. As soon as they release their juices, turn the heat up high and boil the liquid away, stirring frequently.

Turn the heat down to medium and cook the ham for about 1 minute. Add the cream and cook just long enough for it to become reduced and slightly thickened. Taste and correct salt and pepper.

Toss cooked pasta in the pan; remove from heat and toss with cheese.

The wildly inflated amounts of non-pastoid to pastoid items reflects the fact that this is a full meal for us, not a primo.

Sole with Cherry Tomatoes

2011-12-07T18:52:00.001-05:00

Sunday 27 November

Jamie Oliver used four whole lemon soles, slashed to the bone. We would have done the same had we been near the Chapel Market (or Steve Hatt's) in Islington, but in Cincinnati all we had was a pound packet of Trader Joe's frozen fillets, defrosted.

Here's what went on and under them:

• 2 handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved (we eked them out with a couple of larger tomatoes, diced)

• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

• a handful of fresh oregano, leaves picked

• a bunch of scallions, trimmed and finely sliced (we used a quarter onion, diced)

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• salt and pepper

• 1 lemon, zested and halved

• extra virgin olive oil

• a handful of Moroccan black olives, pitted and chopped

• a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400º. In a bowl, mix up tomatoes, garlic, oregano, onion, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper, plus half the lemon zest and juice. Loosen with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and mix well, then spread over the bottom of a large roasting tray. Place the fish on top.

Now add the olives, parsley, and the rest of the juice and zest to the bowl that the tomatoes were in. Loosen with a little olive oil and then divide this mixture among the fish, placing an equal amount on top of each fillet. Cook in the preheated oven for around 10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the fish. Take it out when it just begins to flake in the thickest part.

Wonderful fresh flavors, even with frozen fillets.

Chili Mac 'n' Cheese

2011-12-07T18:48:00.000-05:00

Saturday 26 November

One day as we were passing Sitwell's, a hippy-dippy Clifton coffee shop, Holt spotted that they were serving Chili Mac 'n' Cheese. Anything billed as chili around here tends to be the Cincinnati version of sweet makaronia me kyma, but we actually needed an idea to flesh out a single portion of (our own genuine, New Mexican style) chili that we had left over from 7 November and frozen.

This was the perfect thing to make for dinner after our five hour drive home from Tennessee, since it went together quickly and the oven helped heat up the house.

We defrosted the chili and put in the bottom of our second-largest round pyrex baker. On top of it went 6 oz. of penne, boiled, in a cheese sauce made of 2 Tbsp. onion sautéed in 2 Tbsp. butter, dusted with 2 Tbsp. flour and browned as a roux. Then add 1 cup milk, stir assiduously until thickened, and add 1/2 cup each asiago and coljack cheese. Top the dish with 1/2 cup grated coljack, and bake at the People's temperature, first 30 mins. covered and then uncovered till bubbly and brown.

Not prepossessing, but good and homey.

Recovering from Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

Friday 25 November

Everyone was a mite languid today, especially those who headed out at midnight for the Black Friday sales and didn't get back until the wee hours. The Shaffers had to head for home early, so as we were in charge of dinner, we served it at midday.

We started with big bowls of turkey soup we'd made from the carcass that Dora hadn't jumped in the night before, cooked slowly in our traditional fashion with onion, peppercorns, and sage the previous evening, now livened up with diced zucchini. Dora enjoyed supervising, played nicely with any bit of paper she found, and made friends with everyone.

The second course was our homemade pesto on linguine. There was also a big salad with bag-ripened tomatoes and sliced cucumber, keeping it light after all the holiday indulgences. That didn't stop anyone from hitting the dessert buffet afterwards, however.

Thanksgiving in Tennessee

2011-12-03T22:46:00.000-05:00

Thursday 24 November

Pretty much the whole Parker family (except for the newlyweds) were able to gather for the holiday, and that's the first thing to be thankful for. Normally David deep-fries a couple of turkeys, but with peanut oil at $10 a gallon, we went the conservative route of roasting a 16-lb. bird (one pound per participant) that was injected with teriyaki sauce for flavor.

All the traditional favorites were laid out alongside: Becky's cornbread and sausage dressing, 10 pounds of Joanna's mashed potatoes with lashings of butter, and her broad beans with cream and bacon in the crockpot; fresh cranberry orange relish, as well as the stuff out of the can; David's turkey gravy; and tender hot rolls.

As soon as we recovered from turkey torpor, the dessert buffet was raided for all the delicious specialties: Becky's pumpkin pie and pecan pie, Laura's pumpkin dump cake and cheesecake, Jo Linn's buttermilk fudge, Jacob's truffles of all flavors, and JoDee's puppy chow.

It was a wonderful evening for food and family, cards and chatting, and Dora behaved quite well and didn't attempt to jump into the turkey carcass.

International Soup Night

2011-12-03T22:41:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 23 November

We hadn't been back from San Francisco all that long before we were driving off to Tennessee (bringing Dora on her first long car ride) for a family Thanksgiving. We got there at around dusk. Jo Linn served Mexican Tortilla Soup, and Laura served Italian tortellini in tomato soup, so we felt warm and welcomed.

Chicken Involtini Stuffed with Chard

2011-12-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 22 November

We really prefer bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, but keep a few bland boned and skinless types in the freezer for emergencies. Holt decided to made a virtue of necessity by whacking the chicken flat and rolling it up with stuffing.

We chiffonaded and sautéed a bunch of chard (stems first, then garlic, then leaves) from the garden, doused them with a little cream, seasoned them, and toothpicked the beaten breasts around the stuffing. We browned them in the hot pan, then turned down the heat, covered the pan, and simmered them with some chopped fresh tomatoes and a splash of wine until the chicken was good and done.

While the involtini were set aside in the warming oven, we made a pan sauce of the tomatoes, some heavy cream and butter, and there it was.

Tuna Steaks with Cherry Tomato Topping

2011-12-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

Monday 21 November

We still have lots of garden cherry tomatoes ripening (at room temperature, in paper bags; the big trick is to have an apple in there to encourage them). So we used our crop to dress up some frozen Trader Joe's 'ahi tuna steaks, and this was the plan.

Heat the oven to 400º. Mix about 2 Tbsp. olive oil with 4 Tbsp. balsamic and season with S&P. Put the tomatoes on a baking tray and pour the balsamic mixture over. Roast for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet to hot. Season and lightly oil the tuna steaks, then cook for a minute or two on each side, flipping twice or less so that they're nice and rare inside. Serve with the tomatoes and balsamic oil drizzled over.

Penne with Asparagus and Lemon Cream Sauce

2011-12-03T22:31:00.001-05:00

Sunday 20 November

Back from a long but fortunately nonstop flight from San Francisco, we started by opening a bottle of Four Vines Zinfandel to warm ourselves up in a cold house.

Then we got the pasta pot on, because we'd left a bouquet of fresh asparagus in a jar of water in the fridge for a dish of penne with asparagus in lemon cream sauce. First boiled the asparagus and netted it from the boiling water, so a batch of penne could go in; and in a saucepan, combined a pat of butter with a healthy glug of heavy cream, letting it bubble and thicken gently, then added a lemon's worth of zest and a shot of lemon vodka. When the penne were done, they and the asparagus went into the cream sauce and got a little grated romano for topping. It stood up well to the red wine, and made us happy to be home again.

Chez Panisse

2011-12-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

Saturday 19 November

We knew that we were going to spend Holt's double-nickel birthday on a plane flying out of San Francisco, so Barbara had to arrange something specially celebratory for the night before. (The same had gone for the 1997 ASOR meetings in Napa, when we had booked our table at the French Laundry four months ahead.)

This time we went for Chez Panisse Restaurant, one of America's top tables.

You have to book exactly one month in advance, eat whatever they want to give you, and pay $95 prix fixe, all of which is actually sort of reasonable. It gives the chefs the freedom to use all their much-lauded fresh local organic ingredients, since they know ahead of time exactly how much of everything they'll need to feed everyone. (Actually, we heard some people at the next table turning down their meat course because they were "too full" [what silicon-enriched simpleton eats too much of anything before going to Chez Panisse?!] and the waiter kindly offered to bring them a plate of special vegetables, which are presumably ordered for just such an emergency.)

We traveled in the rain via foot and BART train, which offers stupid ticket machines, little signage, and the sort of seamy derelict experience you can no longer get on the New York subway. We arrived at the restaurant wet-footed, draggled and hungry, but found friendly staff to unwind us from our wrappings and hide our umbrellas while we consulted the wine list. Then we were seated at a corner banquette by a waiter with an accent like Michel's on "Gilmore Girls," and presented with a couple of menus by the artist Patricia Curtan, so beautiful that there is now a book of them.

The waiter poured us a citrusy aperitif from a decanter nearby, and brought us our first course: Bellwether Farms' sheep's milk ricotta (with a nice smear of honey), along with fall vegetables dressed with a vinaigrette with crushed coriander seeds, including tender little white turnips, whose raw counterparts were piled on a plate on the sideboard.

There would be both fish and red meat, so it seemed best to choose a Pinot Noir: a 2008 Kendric, from Marin County (think global, drink local).

The fish course was a succulent lump of halibut, wrapped in a leaf of savoy cabbage like the apotheosis of cabbage rolls everywhere. It was involuted with lobster butter and little tips of lobster meat, and tasted divine.

Then came slabs of Piedmontese ribeye beef, spit-roasted in the wood fire that was burning in the fireplace ten feet from where we sat, dripping with Beaujolais sauce, set beside a crispy potato cake and chanterelle mushrooms.

Finally, for dessert, a tartlet of black Mission figs set like dark jewels in pate-brisée , herb-scented with Chartreuse ice cream.

We lingered until most others were gone, and after a long look at the open kitchen, ventured out on the rain washed streets, back to the BART station and the last train back to our hotel.

Family Reunion at the Daily Grill

2011-11-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

Friday 18 November

We were actually able to grab a dim sum lunch today, at the branch of the much lauded Yank Sing on Stevenson Street, only a few blocks from the ASOR hotel. Though their turnip cake was not outstanding, they had excellent soup dumplings, minced chicken in pinked-edge lettuce cups, and scallion rolls, here in the foreground, which we've never seen anywhere else but seem to be a Chinese take on spanakopita.

That evening, we met with Barbara's family at the Daily Grill, right across the street from our hotel. It's a chain, but has the friendly feel of an original.

It was mainly Ungers, Barbara's grandmother's family. Most (Gail, Susan and her husband Kem, Judy, her husband Scott, and kids Aaron and Melanie) were from the SF area, but Aunt Phyllis had driven down all the way from Oregon.

We were a big, rowdy, happy crowd, enjoying our choice of white and red wine. We started by splitting an endive salad, then went on to a 16 oz ribeye steak with peppers and onions on top, accompanied by garlic mashed potato, and "chicken under a brick" with rice pilaf and spinach with onions and mushrooms. There were many stories, many laughs, and some late harvest Viogner and Chardonnay for dessert. Eventually we had to head across the street to the Westin, as Barbara's paper was the next day, but we loved our San Francisco family reunion.

Sam's Grill in San Francisco

2011-11-26T22:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday 17 November

San Francisco is supposed to be a great town for food, but when we began to search our Chowhound-approved options, we found that many of these places were far away, closed outlandishly early, or were only open for lunch. But we called Sam's Grill (opened 1867) and were told that the kitchen would close as late as 8:45, so we scuttled uphill and down to get there in time.

We asked for a booth, and got one - the sort that have curtains and a doorbell for calling the waiter, probably very naughty in the 1890s. All the waiters had rich Italian accents, and the menu made good reading, referring to "oyster pirates like the young Jack London."

We started with Acacia chardonnay 2008 and a dozen oysters - good, though the shucker left too much muscle attached, and they were tilted so that they spilled their juices. Instead of the usual ketchup and horseradish, they were served with Worcestershire - so we just used a drizzle of lemon, as usual.

Our mains: Petrale (sole) meuniere, very sweet and tender floured fillets in lemon sauce, and the amazing boned rex (sole) a la Sam, seemingly hundreds of tiny boned fillets, more resilient than the petrale, cooked simply with parsley and garlic. There was also excellent tartar sauce, but it was too rich for the fish, so we dipped our roasted potatoes and sourdough bread instead.

On the way home, one street guy said Barbara was "rockin' that haircut," and a street poet accompanied us wishing we would adopt him. We loves San Francisco.

Leftover Pumpkin Casserole

2011-11-26T22:39:00.002-05:00

Wednesday 16 November

We had to take a late plane for the ASOR meetings in San Francisco, so before we left, we ate the rest of the pan of Sunday's Chilean Pumpkin Casserole. Filling, and still sincere.

Pork Medallions with Roasted Baby Artichokes

2011-11-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 15 November

Once again we got the package of baby artichokes from Kroger, but this time we had Dora the Explorer around to supervise the preparation.

It was done much as before, but the pork scaloppine were dotted with fresh thyme and sage, untouched by flour or capers.

Chicken with Beets and Sweets

2011-11-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

Monday 14 November

Having eaten the breasts of our roast chicken on Saturday, we had the thighs and drumsticks today, reheated and served with a new take on Beets and Sweets.

The beets had been baked in the oven while the pumpkin casserole was roasting, as usual. The sweet potato was just peeled, sliced into batons, tossed in oil and salt, and roasted in a 425º oven for about a half hour. Then we cut the beets into similar batons, tossed the two together, and dressed them in the Moroccan fashion that Daniel and Junko taught us.

Savory and sweet, can't be beet.

Chilean Pumpkin Casserole

2011-11-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

Sunday 13 November

In our usual fashion, we bought a sincere pie pumpkin from a Findlay Market farmer, and it served as a table centerpiece and cat amuser up until Halloween.

Yesterday, we cut it open and roasted it in the chickeny oven, in preparation for today's meal, adapted from the butternut squash version of Mollie Katzen's original Moosewood cookbook.

Chilean Pumpkin Casserole

1 small pumpkin

1 cup chopped onion

2 -3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 -2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 -2 dashes cayenne pepper

1 cup red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 cup green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups grated coljack cheese

Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, and bake cut sides up (why let all the liquid out?) at 425° for 45- 50 minutes until soft. Lower heat to 350°, and let pumpkin cool. Scrape pulp out of the shell, and mash up.

Meanwhile, sauté onion, garlic and spices in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add peppers and salt, stir, cover and leave on low heat 5 min. Mix beaten eggs into mashed squash, stir into pepper mixture, add cheese, and stir until incorporated. Bake in 350° oven for about 20 mins. covered and 20 more uncovered.

This was hearty and warming, making a fine main dish, though it would also be an okay side for a potluck. What's more, it made enough for two meals.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Shallots

2011-11-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday 12 November

We bought a nice plump Amish chicken from Charles Bare meats at Findlay Market (they have the freshest and cleanest fryers at the most reasonable price that we've found), and just roasted it according to our current practice, with halved shallots and sliced Yukon golds in the pan to soak up the fat.

Leftover Chili and Muffins

2011-11-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

Friday 11 November

This was a numerically significant Veterans' Day, 11/11/11. We spent it rather quietly, as it was a day off, and just had leftovers from Monday's dinner.

Linguiça Sausage, Onions and Peppers

2011-11-17T22:28:00.001-05:00

Thursday 10 November

We are now making Linguiça sausages our standard purchase at Kroger &; Sons, as our previously-favored Napas have unfortunately gone downhill in quality and consistency. Also, unlike the Napas, linguiças don't actually contain any bell pepper, so they contrast nicely with peppers fried on the side.

Once again there were eye-watering red poblanos from Findlay Market, cut with some onions, green bell peppers from Sharon's garden, and red bell peppers. In dreary fall weather, you need something to warm you up from the inside.

Leftover Meatloaf and Arugula

2011-11-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 9 November

Almost any meatloaf qualifies as a good leftover, because you can either have it hot with some sort of gravy, or cold in a meatloaf sandwich (ideally with ketchup, onions, and pickles). And remember, this was Saturday's Best Meatloaf Ever. We decided to go hot, but we still wanted the ketchupy goodness, so we made a warm topping of caramelized onions, ketchup, paprika, and a dash of Worcestershire. This went on top of the nuked meatloaf slices, and just for greenery's sake, we tossed up a salad of arugula, tomatoes, and sweet balsamic dressing.

Sorta Basque Chicken

2011-11-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 8 November

We had two meaty chicken thighs left over from Friday, a little Serrano ham from Sunday, a passel of peppers (both red and green bell, plus some red poblanos), and some late garden bag-ripened cherry tomatoes. All of it went into this Basque-inspired but completely inauthentic dish.

We carefully removed and reserved the chicken skin, and shredded up the meat. First we sizzled the pieces of skin in some olive oil in a skillet, to get them a mite crispy (the grievins effect); and for some anti-kosher anathema, then added the torn-up ham to crisp up too. Removed them, and in the same pan sautéed a sliced onion, then some minced garlic, then the sliced peppers, first green, then poblanos, then red, with a careful touch of sweet pimenton, since the poblanos seemed spicy enough. A little drench of white wine and the chicken shreds went in, and when everything was warm and happy, it was heaped on plates and topped with the crispy bits of chicken skin and ham.

As expected, the poblanos made this hothothot, so we wept as we ate, but we smiled as we wept.

Venison Chili

2011-11-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

Monday 7 November

Sharon kindly gave us some V-burger, so we were inspired to make a big batch of chili, and have her and Liz over to help us eat it. We made it much as before, but this time with no bell pepper (Liz is allergic).

Holt baked some wonderful cornbread muffins to go along, using this recipe, but without the inclusions (onion, cheese, corn kernels, red peppers). He used the coarse polenta cornmeal we got at Northside Farmers Market from a pleasant young woman with a mill, and it was terrific: very corny and a beautiful rough texture.

We also had a salad of greens gathered from Sharon's garden, and since the late arugula was very peppery and strong, dressed it with something to sweeten it: a spoonful of our own pesto, loosened with some white balsamic and a droplet of extra oil.

Dessert was our long-hoarded jar of Michael Clark's preserved pears in wine sauce. Oh, and there was lots of red wine at all phases of the meal.

Fresh Tuna Sauté with Ham-wrapped Asparagus

2011-11-17T21:37:00.002-05:00

Sunday 6 November

Much of our cooking could be called "unwittingly elegant," witness this seat-of-the-pants effort. It started when we scored some hothouse-grown asparagus from the Farmers' Market, plus some Serrano ham bought from Krause's on spec. We roasted the asparagus at 500º until tender, then made little bundles and wrapped them in the tissue-thin ham.

The protein was provided by a defrosted packet of Trader Joe's 'ahi tuna nuggets, marinated for ten or 15 minutes with olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano, briefly sautéed, and the pan deglazed with white wine. This had no particular ethnicity, and we had no idea where we were going with it, but it worked.

Best Meatloaf Ever, and Sweet Potato Fries

2011-11-17T21:26:00.001-05:00

Saturday 5 November

Though I usually dislike the "America's Test Kitchen" TV show, I got a couple of tips from them that helped me (i.e., Barbara) make the Best Meatloaf Ever. One "secret" was to use half ground beef, half ground pork; the other was to make a panade, i.e. whiz up a bunch of saltines into about a half cup of crumbs in the robocoupe and then whip in about a quarter cup of milk and two eggs. That got mushed into the meat. Unfortunately, I don't know which secret made the big difference; both would have been anathema in the kosher home I grew up in.

Otherwise, the seasonings went like this, though I added about a quarter cup of wheat bran, since I thought the panade wasn't enough in the breadcrumb department.

We also made these sweet potato fries in a separate tray. You don't need to mix the spices and oil beforehand and toss in a bowl, really, just lay the potatoes out on the tray, drizzle with oil, toss them about, premix the dry spices, sprinkle them on the potatoes, and toss again.

Served with lashings of ketchup. Did I say? Best. Meatloaf. Ever.

Roasted Chicken Thighs and Root Vedge

2011-11-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

Friday 4 November

Dora likes to watch us make dinner every night, so she takes her position at the center of things (the interior of the dishwasher is also fascinating to our Explorer). She doesn't much care where she sits, but the computer we run the recipes on is nice and warm, and her ass just fits on the track pad.

While she supervised, we got out a pack of 6 chicken thighs, and did a surprising new recipe, one we could almost see over her.

Thighs were roasted for 25 minutes, taken out and put in the toaster oven at 350º while the vegetables (plus some parsnips) roasted for another 25 minutes. And by the way, no need to pre-toss the vedge with oil and salt mixture; wait until the chicken comes out, and just toss it in the pan with rendered fat, no more oil needed, and then toss salt mixture on.

Though the recipe sounded oversimplified and bland, it turned out golden, crispy and addictive. This will become a standard.

Fettucine with Creamy Crab and Lemon-lime Thyme

2011-11-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

Thursday 3 November

As it's a weeknight, we didn't have time to make fresh pasta, as we had twice before.

So for extra interest, the herbs were included in the sauce: saute garlic and one third the thyme for a minute in butter, deglaze with lemon vodka, add cream to thicken, then rest of lemon and lime thyme and a sprinkle of white pepper. Oh, and throw in the crab (the other half of the pound can from day before yesterday) at the end.

Tossed with hot fettucine, and the thyme added both green freshness and citrus tang to the lush crab.

Pork Chops and Chard

2011-11-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 2 November

The chard in the garden is beautiful, but what to serve with it? Out of the freezer came a pair of thick pork medallions, which we dusted with some leftover "poultry seasoning" from Cooking with Julia. We just frequent-flipped them in butter and oil, then deglazed the pan with white wine for a sauce.

The chard recipe was adapted from a steakhouse classic; there are recipes that use fewer herbs, but in our opinion chard needs all the help it can get.

Creamed rainbow chard

1 large bunch Swiss chard, washed, leaves removed from the stem, stem and leaves chopped separately; leaves still wet.

butter

2 shallots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

ca. 3/4 cup heavy cream

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, de-stemmed

Salt and white pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add chopped chard stems, then shallots, then garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, about ten minutes total. Stir in as many of the chard leaves as fit in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until you can add more, until all are done and tender. Press and drain any extra liquid out of the pan.

Add cream (enough to make it as creamy as you want - you can't be precise when you only know it's a "large bunch!"), herbs, salt and pepper, and raise heat to thicken.

At end, add Parmesan to taste, for creamy goodness next to the savory pork. Hey, or maybe next time creamy gorgonzola chard!

Crabcakes and Salad

2011-11-07T12:27:00.001-05:00

Tuesday 1 November

Holt is the crabcake master, though the recipe changes every time. This time he diced up a pair of tiny sweet orange bell peppers as well as celery and red onion. The crab it got mixed into, as usual, was half a pound can of fresh clawmeat, plus a sprinkling of fine panko from the sieve, a dollop of mayonnaise, and a dab of Dijon mustard. The fluffy panko that didn't make it through the sieve made up the breading, and then we fried them in canola oil.

On the side, arugula and bag-ripened tomatoes from the garden, dressed with the good Spanish olive oil and wine vinegar.

Italian Stuffed Squash

2011-11-07T12:07:00.000-05:00

Monday 31 October

A couple of little butternut squashes jumped into our bags at the Farmers' Market. They solved the problem of what to do for Halloween, as they are sort of relatives of the pumpkin, and could spend some time roasting in the oven while we spent two hours outdoors (dressed as an undertaker and a pirate) welcoming some 175 trick-or-treaters.

This is what we normally do for stuffed squash. But we needed to use what we had, which was Italian sausage and some leftover saffron rice. So our seasoning took a cue from risotto alla zucca, browning onion with the sausage crumble, adding chopped parsley, and topping with parmesan.

When we went in for dinner, we united the already-prepped stuffing with stuffers, topped them, and broiled them until they were hot. And the results were tasty enough to keep us scraping until there was only a skin left.

Happy Return Steaks

2011-11-07T12:04:00.001-05:00

Sunday 30 October

There are two choices on how to welcome home someone after an eight-hour drive: something long-simmered that you can just ladle out, or something you can cook in a minute. Holt chose the latter, with two perfect little tenderloins. He pan-fried them and some halved mini zephyrs (separate pans, of course), and topped them with rehydrated porcini mushrooms in their juice.

Note the finger wiping the plate; it went right into a mouth. And later, we licked the plates clean.

Fettucine al Salmone

2011-11-07T11:56:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 26 October

A quick off-the-cuff meal before going to CCM to see their production of Coram Boy.

Then, an interval while bureaucratic errands sent Barbara to Canada for three dinners.

Linguiça with Potatoes and Collards

2011-11-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 25 October

Holt picked up some linguiça sausage from Kroger & Sons at Findlay Market, just because he was interested in the seasoning (marjoram and red wine, they said). Almost all the recipes on the web are for soup, but he found this one that's sort of a Portuguese-style "frah" - without the eggs.

Changes, though. We were not thrilled by its addition of goat cheese and raisins, so we left them out; and we used two sausages, 3 medium potatoes, and the leftover collards from Friday's corned beef (which still contained some nice pickling spices). We also played around with the cooking order a bit, adding smaller-diced potatoes just after the sausages, as they would take more time to cook than the onions and garlic, then throwing in some chicken broth and covering the pan so the potatoes could get tender. Since the collards were fully cooked, they went in with the herbs at the end.

Verdict: delicious, though as usual with Epicurious recipes, it's nothing like what the author intended. And the sausages are a keeper.

Classic Corned Beef Hash

2011-11-07T11:52:00.000-05:00

Monday 24 October

We turned Friday's corned beef into a classic hash. Since the meat was so perfect, we hand-chopped it, and its accompaniments of onions and Yukon golds, into nice dice. We cooked it in our usual fashion, sautéing the vedge first, then letting it steam covered with some chicken broth until the potatoes were tender, and then mixing in the diced meat with plenty of thyme and parsley and broiling it in the oven until the top was brown.

Red Poblanos Rellenos (again)

2011-11-07T11:49:00.001-05:00

Sunday 23 October

We found more ripe red poblanos at Findlay Market, but thought we'd change up the dish slightly from the way we'd made them before.

So instead of tomatillos, we used ripe yellow tomatoes in our salsa. But when we mixed in the fresh cilantro, the salsa turned green, so there was very little visible difference...

though the sweetness of the tomatoes did come through.

Swordfish and Saffron Rice

2011-11-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday 22 October

We wanted a fairly sedate meal, so we defrosted a couple of swordfish steaks from Trader Joe's, and simply pan-fried them, topping them at the end with a sauce deglazed from the pan with lemon, then showered with the last of the garden basil leaves, and butter.

On the side, some simple rice steamed up with saffron. So soothing.

Corned Beef and Collards

2011-10-22T20:21:00.000-05:00

Friday 21 October

We’d frozen a corned beef shortly after St. Paddy's day for a time of interest, and suddenly we were interested. We defrosted it, and set it to simmer with its little flavor packet about 3 hours before we wanted to eat. About two hours later, we put in six little Yukon gold potatoes and a basketful of de-stemmed collards we picked out of the garden. The greens boiled on the top, soaking up the fat and spice, and made the whole dish either local or Southern, whatever we wished.

Courgettes Carbonara

2011-10-22T20:20:00.000-05:00

Thursday 20 October

This was adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.

It was a clever idea, so we adapted it to use penne-sized batons of our own garden-grown (and still growing!) zephyr squash, sauteed instead of onions, in our own style of penne carbonara.

The zephyrs added a sweet note to the carbonara, and I bet it wouldn't be bad with both onions and squash.

Sole Fillets with Creamed Leeks

2011-10-22T20:14:00.003-05:00

Wednesday 19 October

This was adapted from a recipe on Epicurious that used the microwave and so many pans that none of the reviewers actually made it, they just adapted it so it could be done in a single skillet. We are so down with that. So this is what to actually do.

Melt about 2 Tbsp. of butter in said skillet, and slowly cook down the white and pale green parts of 3 leeks, split lengthwise, washed well, and sliced thin crosswise (about 3 cups). Add ca. 1/3 cup white wine, then 1/3 cup heavy cream and keep cooking down.

Take your sole fillets (a pound or less total), dust them on one side with 2 Tbsp. of fresh minced tarragon, fold over with herb inside, and lay them across the hot leek mixture. Cover and poach until opaque/flaky, maybe 10 mins. At end, remove cover and if necessary, remove fish to warm plate, and raise heat to thicken leek mixture.

Serve with lemon to squeeze over the fish; or it's fine just as is.

Choice Strip Steak with Grilled Caesar Salad

2011-10-22T20:10:00.001-05:00

Tuesday 18 October

Last Thursday we had the "select" strip steaks, okay but cut sort of thin. This time, we managed to get the "choice" grade, an inch and a half thick. We grilled them, and when they were resting, we grilled a split romaine lettuce, and made up a grilled Caesar salad.

The croutons were made with Holt's homebaked bran bread - since Mr. Pig closed, we haven't had so much duck bread.
Verdict: get the choice grade and the thick cut - they're worth it.

Poulet Célestine

2011-10-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Monday 17 October

One of our favorites, when we have chicken and mushrooms. The cognac isn’t really necessary, it's just fun.

Crispy Pork Medallions with Eggplant-Potato Curry

2011-10-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday 16 October

We dipped thin pork medallions in beaten egg, dredged them with seasoned panko, and just shallow-fried them on each side until crispy. And the curried vegetables were left over from last Saturday.

Branzino with Fennel and Orange

2011-10-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

Saturday 15 October

The branzino we bought at Luken's at Findlay Market doesn't look like the same fish we see in the Mediterranean Seafood handbook, but it's still sweet and tasty. We got two of them, and stuffed the cavities with fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley.

For the accompaniment, we quartered a fennel bulb, cored it, and sliced horizontally. Quartered four shallots lengthwise; cooked in olive oil in a cast iron frying pan on high, then turned down the heat to caramelize. Added pared orange sections, fish on top of vegetables, and a few orange sections on top of fish. Roasted at 400º for 20 mins.

It was a piquant Pisces, with loads of savory Italian flavors, whether it was real branzino or not.

And we actually had a dessert: cored bosc pears poached in sweet wine and a touch of vanilla for 15-20 mins., sauced with reduced balsamic vinegar. A suave concentrate of sweet and savory.