Steak and Asparagus Hollandaise

Wednesday 11 February

We threw a thickish, boneless strip steak on the grill, and roasted some asparagus in the combi-oven.  While Barbara tended the grill, Holt whipped up a batch of Hollandaise, as we still need egg whites for granola every other week.  So pretty much the same meal we've done before - even the picture looks the same - except that this was a standard lemon, not lime, Hollandaise.

Roast Chicken, Potatoes, and Shallots

Tuesday 10 February

We picked up a fresh chicken at Bare's on Saturday, but we haven't had enough time to roast it until today.  We dried and cooled it in the fridge, then dusted with salt, pepper, and paprika and set it in a shallow tray in the oven at 400º F. (later lowered to 350º). 

Once it went in for the initial roast, we cleaned off some tiny red and gold potatoes and some shallots, tossed with oil and salt, and scattered them across the tray, for the complete and satisfying winter meal.

Penne alla Saffi

Monday 9 February

We haven't had our favorite Penne alla Saffi since summer 2013, mainly because we used to make it with the first butt-end cut of Schad's ham from Krause's, and when they closed, we couldn't get it any more.  We hope that the popcorn place that ousted Krause's decamps and stiffs their money-grubbing landlord for a year's revenue.

But in the meantime, Peru (via Kroger's) provided the cheap asparagus, and Gibb's provided a thick center piece of Schad's.  We managed to rescue the asparagus from Dora's nibbles, and proceeded just as we used to.  

Almost like old times.

I Need a (Meatball) Hero

Sunday 8 February

Back in graduate school, Barbara experienced The Perfect Meatball Hero - except that in Massachusetts, it was called a grinder.  (Joan Peterson, get in touch and remind us where the sandwich place was.)  Every so often, she gets a yen for a repeat, but most places make bland and squishy meatballs with commercial sauce and shaker cheese, on boring buns.  

We can do better at home, especially when there's a big batch of meatballs and another of red sauce (from meatballs and spaghetti) already made, and Holt can bake a batch of rolls to order the day before.

Today we split two perfect hero rolls, toasting them for added strength.  We spread sauce on the top of each half, then two meatballs that had been reheated in the sauce, then a little more sauce, and finally big slices of mozzarella. We slid the half heroes under the broiler till they melted on top.

There was no way we could lift them or fit the volcanic contents into our mouths, so we had to use a knife and fork.  But oh, the melty, savory, stringy-cheesy goodness.  The yen is satisfied, and a batch of meatballs and sauce is put aside for when it strikes again.

Chinese Dinner at Sonja's

Saturday 7 February

Poor Sonja has been up and down under the weather since New Year's, so was unable to join us at various social occasions.  Luckily, now she's feeling better, so invited a group of us over to her cosy house for a grand Chinese feast.  She has been to China, speaks Mandarin, and knows what's what in the Chinese kitchen, so this was something special.

We started with suitably Asian dumplings, pork shu mai and mushroom mochi, though they were washed down with prosecco, rather than tea.  When we proceeded to the table, the also-non-traditional red wine went very well with Sonja's hearty Ma Po Tofu with pork, accompanied by rice (of course), scallion pancakes, stir-fried green beans, and a dish we've never seen before, Szechuan shredded potatoes, like Chinese hashbrowns but spicy.

Dessert was again non-traditional, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, but as you can tell, we don't let tradition stand in the way of enjoyment.  So thanks, Sonja, for a fantastic feast.

Swordfish with Fennel and Beet Salad

Friday 6 February

We're still not ready to go back to ground meat, so we defrosted a couple of swordfish steaks and rubbed them with olive oil, lemon juice, our own dried oregano, and salt.  After a short marination, those went onto a hot grill pan.

In the meantime, Holt managed to get a bulb of fresh fennel away from Dora, who rates it as among her favorite vegetables (she really is a very strange cat).  He cut the bulb in half and manipulated it on the Benriner, being careful to use his protective glove, as we wanted paper-thin fennel with no admixture of finger.

It was dressed with a few of its own fronds, salt, olive oil, juice from a squeezed tangerine, and a touch of white balsamic for zest, and left to get limp.  Then it got piled on slices of red juicy beet we've had around since we roasted them a couple of Saturdays ago.

Such a refreshing combination of flavors, especially the Greek-style swordfish and the citrusy fennel salad.  

Avocados Stuffed with Smoked Trout

Thursday 5 February

This was the result of two (relative) bargains purchased at Trader Joe's on Tuesday.  Two sides of smoked trout were $7 a half pound, and a bag of four avocados was $3; the avocados came to perfect ripeness today. 

As we often do (inspired by the avocado stuffed with shrimp at Café Pamplona in Cambridge MA), we combined fish and fruit: flaked one side of the trout and tossed with diced red onion and red bell pepper in mayonnaise, flavored with lemon and ponzu, and stuffed the salad into the lemoned avocado halves.

Simple and light for winter, especially after all the ground meat we've been eating.