Crabcakes and Cacık

Friday 17 October

We've had some trouble with our recent run of crabcakes - they crumble when you fry them, and we suspect that it's due to too much mayo, or not letting them chill for a while (we have that problem too), or something.  

Since Barbara was home today, she was able to run up a batch well ahead of time, using very little mayo, and then let them rest in the fridge till Holt got home.  But they still crumbled when we fried them, so we need to try something else.  Still tasted good, though.

On the side, we had a Turkish-style cacık of strained yogurt, sliced cucumber that was salted and drained ahead of time, and finely-minced garlic chives, dill, mint, and sorrel, for that lemony taste.  It was worth all the trouble of finding that un-dotted i.

Farfalle with Green Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

Thursday 16 October

Okay, we're still eating leftovers from Saturday, in this case the goat cheese and greens spread we had with the focaccia.  

Melted it in a pan with a little cream, and tossed in our own big cherry tomatoes, quartered, just to warm; then tossed in 8 oz. of cooked farfalle.

You'd hardly know it was completely cobbled together; we're waiting until some trattoria starts making it up deliberately.

Roast Beef Reprise

Wednesday 15 October

Eleni will be leaving for Greece soon, so we invited her over for a very informal dinner so we could catch up on her news. 

It was all a variation on what we did last Saturday, using some of the same ingredients.  This time we made a true insalata caprese, with our own garden tomatoes and basil, the last of the burrata, and a dressing of white balsamic plus a diner's choice of our own oils (rosemary or basil). 

We laid out the sliced roast beef on garden arugula, and topped it with salsa verde made of fresh chervil, capers, and olive oil. 

And then there were slices of Alsatian apple tart (shown here when it was beautiful and whole) to enjoy with a sip of Ipsus dessert wine.

Kalo taxidi, Eleni!

Penne with Squash, Salami, and Cream

Tuesday 14 October

Yes, it's a variation on our usual favorite, but this time using yellow crookneck squash, which makes a nice contrast with the salami in the pan.

Lavish Leftovers

Monday 13 October

If you cook a 4-pound roast beef on Saturday, you'll be eating it every other day for a week - and we like that. 

Tonight we had it sliced thin, with a quick horseradish-yogurt sauce.  Just nuked the vegetables that roasted with it for one side dish, and got out the last of the celeriac slaw for the other.

Szechuan Eggplant

Sunday 12 October

This is from another classic HP book, Rose Cheng's Chinese Cooking.  We really like this recipe, so it's hard to believe we haven't made it since starting the blog.  Anyway, here it the way we do it.

Szechuan Eggplant

1 1/2 lbs. Asian eggplant

vegetable oil

salt

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. minced ginger root

1 Tbsp. hot bean sauce

1/2 tsp. hoisin sauce

2 tsps. rice vinegar

2 Tbsps. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup chicken broth

sesame oil

1-2 chopped scallions and/or a handful of cilantro leaves

Cut eggplant into quarter rounds ca. 1/2" thick, or just biggish bitesize pieces.  Heat wok, add a generous dollop of oil, and stir-fry eggplant, scattering a little salt over it to start, and adding more oil if necessary, about 8 minutes, until eggplant is soft.  Remove and cover to keep warm.

Reheat wok and stir-fry garlic and ginger for a split-second, then add hot bean sauce, hoisin, and vinegar and stir-fry 3o seconds.  Add soy sauce, sugar, and chicken broth, mixing and heating.  Return eggplant to wok and stir-fry until it has absorbed most of the sauce.  Taste and adjust flavoring.

At last minute, sprinkle with sesame oil and scallions and/or cilantro, toss and serve.  This makes 6 servings according to Rose Cheng, or dinner for us two.