Monday/6-Apr-20: When I ordered rumsteak at Intermarché, I neglected to say that I wanted a thick cut. What arrived was quite thin, so I searched for something else for dinner. I made Savoury Beef with Asparagus (HotWok, p98). I used to use this book a lot, but not so much since we've moved here. This was an untried recipe, perfect since we have a lot of asparagus right now. Pretty good it was. Then we had last night's salad, which I forgot at lunchtime. No dessert so far.
Tuesday/7-Apr-20: Used up the last bit of cabbage and the bird sausages from the freezer to make Sausage and Cabbage Pasta (web). This was easy and pretty good. Some chocolate-covered madeleine for after. We're getting low on these, and no way to replenish the stock.
Wednesday/8-Apr-20: Placed another order with Intermarché Drive, to be picked up Saturday.
Made some English Muffin Bread (MC) for tomorrow.
Dinner was, vaguely, Asparagus and Leeks on Toast (VegSups, p183). I used a (French) ciabatta for the bread. Goat cheese for the Fontina. Frozen spinach for fresh. Forgot the lemon juice at the end. Still it wasn't bad, surprisingly good even. Some chocolate-covered madeleines for after. These are getting scarce. We can't replenish till we can go into Leclerc.
Thursday/9-Apr-20: Made a loaf of Bill Hatcher's Italian Bread (MC) today.
Our first fresco meal today. Dinner was a halfish recipe of Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing (web). This was unusual but good. I served over big lettuce leaves; used frozen parsley because I forgot to order the real stuff last time. It looks like I ordered plain vanilla ice cream, but we got vanilla pecan; we had that for after.
Yogurt on overnight.
Friday/10-Apr-20: This morning, I went off to pick up a package with flour and rice at a package depot place. The first time I've had proper shoes or jeans on in weeks. Five kilos of flour fills up my Tupperware Cake Taker.
Dinner was a half recipe of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarlu, p24), which we've had several times and remains good. Then a big salad. Then Nigella's Emergency Brownies (web; GoogleDrive), which were quite good. Ed had his with cream; I didn't.
Saturday/11-Apr-20: Ed picked up the Intermarché Drive order today. No strawberries, but we've got asparagus again. And fish for two nights.
While dinner was in the making, we munched on some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). We have a surplus of cukes for the next week or so. This is a start on using them up.
First of our fish dinners was Grilled Masala Salmon (MJ@Home, p46) cooked on the bbq. We've enjoyed this before; it's still good. Served with Potato Chaat (MJ@Home, p165) and Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash with Cumin (MJ@Home, p174) (only zucchini). We've had both of these before too, and they were still good. For dessert there was Vermicelli Kheer (MJ@Home, p274). I've made a half recipe of this before, and remarked that it never really thickened. This time it set like glue. I think the store-bought vermicelli are not thin enough. Tastes good, though.
Sunday/12-Apr-20: Made some Authentic French Bread (Magic, p22) for our next bread.
Dinner was Fish Kebabs—Spicy Cod and Salmon Patties (web). This was good, but hard to believe it would serve four. I thought it might serve three; Ed said, No way, it's perfect for two. Served with plain basmati rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). For dessert we had some of the Vermicelli Kheer with cream. Good taste, bad texture.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 5; #2 BACKLOG: no
This month: #3 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #4 SHORT: no; #5 LONG: no
On-going: #6 READ; #7 RECYCLE; #8 NEW
Showing posts with label ~PastaCarlu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ~PastaCarlu. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2020
Monday, February 2, 2015
This week in the kitchen
Monday/2-Feb-15: Quick dinner tonight after return from an afternoon movie. Heated a defrosted leftover Indian-ish sauce, added bit of sauce another plus some chickpeas, and some curry powder and some garam masala. Wasn't bad. Served over rice, with Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38). We split a classic magnum for dessert.
Tuesday/3-Feb-15: During the day we (mostly Ed) planted another batch of bird shrubs on the hedgerow we're trying to establish at the bottom of the South Forty.
Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce (web). I used mushroom-flavored noodles, not the chanterelle-shaped ones that really taste of shrooms, but some others that are subtler in flavor. Served with some steamed broccoli. Then a big salad.
Finally found my Zabars cookbook, but it doesn't have the chocolade salami recipe. Still missing my little folder of stamps. Have a vague memory that I had it in the car along with some cookbooks and put it in a book to keep it from getting crumpled. Looked through all the book possibilities I could think of today, without luck. Bought some more stamps at the post office.
Wednesday/4-Feb-15: Shopping today.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spice Crusted Salmon (web), which was pretty good with a coriander-and-cardamon spicy crust and a reduce balsamic vinegar sauce. Served with a half recipe of Home-Style Brown Rice Pilaf (web), which was good, but way too much. To me a pilaf is a side dish. Half of what was reported to serve four was very close to a main for two. Used up chickepeas left from a few days ago. Made a salad, but neither of us wanted more to eat, so I put it outside to chill.
Thursday/5-Feb-15: Went down to look at the bird hedge this afternoon. Many of the shrubs have been uprooted. Looks like a deer or more likely a sanglier/boar has been busy. Tomorrow we'll get some more wire fencing stuff to wrap around them all. Sigh.
Dinner was a halfish recipe of Gratin de Confit d'Agneau à la Coriandre (web), sort of. This is kind of a shepherd's pie with lamb. I used cooked lamb from the freezer rather than cooking it special for this dish. I omitted the honey, but added some carrot for veg and a bit of sweet. It was pretty good food for a cold night. Then we had last night's salad. Later we had some squares of chocolate.
Friday/6-Feb-15: Went to the dentist for checkups today, only to discover that the appointments were on the 16th, not the 6th. Oops. Now rescheduled.
Dinner was a half recipe of Black Angel's Hair with Scallops (PastaCarlu, p28). It wasn't angel's hair, but cascareccia, but it was squid ink pasta, which is difficult to find around here. And I had almost twice too much scallops, since I wanted to use the whole package. Never mind. It was good. Then a salad.
Yogurt on overnight.
Saturday/7-Feb-15: Dinner was Herbed Zucchini and Feta Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust (web). It was good. But I see it says it serves six or more, where we will get four main servings. Served with a big salad. We split a magnum classic for a sweet.
Sunday/8-Feb-15: Thought we might go out to a loto this afternoon, so I planned a crockpot meal. Made a long half recipe of Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (web). It was awfully soupy and the chicken breast chunks had that strange dry texture that they get in a crock pot even though it's cooked in liquid. We'll get another meal out of it; I'll add some cooked chicken. Good flavor. Thighs might be better, though. Served with basmatic rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). Neither of us felt like dessert.
Think we've finally decided on our next refrigerator. We discovered that French reviews for the brand we were looking at are actually pretty good. We'll go Tuesday to order it. We'll see.
Just realized I didn't plan any meals from the freezer for the next week. Oh well.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: yes for January/no for February
Tuesday/3-Feb-15: During the day we (mostly Ed) planted another batch of bird shrubs on the hedgerow we're trying to establish at the bottom of the South Forty.
Dinner was a half recipe of Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce (web). I used mushroom-flavored noodles, not the chanterelle-shaped ones that really taste of shrooms, but some others that are subtler in flavor. Served with some steamed broccoli. Then a big salad.
Finally found my Zabars cookbook, but it doesn't have the chocolade salami recipe. Still missing my little folder of stamps. Have a vague memory that I had it in the car along with some cookbooks and put it in a book to keep it from getting crumpled. Looked through all the book possibilities I could think of today, without luck. Bought some more stamps at the post office.
Wednesday/4-Feb-15: Shopping today.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spice Crusted Salmon (web), which was pretty good with a coriander-and-cardamon spicy crust and a reduce balsamic vinegar sauce. Served with a half recipe of Home-Style Brown Rice Pilaf (web), which was good, but way too much. To me a pilaf is a side dish. Half of what was reported to serve four was very close to a main for two. Used up chickepeas left from a few days ago. Made a salad, but neither of us wanted more to eat, so I put it outside to chill.
Thursday/5-Feb-15: Went down to look at the bird hedge this afternoon. Many of the shrubs have been uprooted. Looks like a deer or more likely a sanglier/boar has been busy. Tomorrow we'll get some more wire fencing stuff to wrap around them all. Sigh.
Dinner was a halfish recipe of Gratin de Confit d'Agneau à la Coriandre (web), sort of. This is kind of a shepherd's pie with lamb. I used cooked lamb from the freezer rather than cooking it special for this dish. I omitted the honey, but added some carrot for veg and a bit of sweet. It was pretty good food for a cold night. Then we had last night's salad. Later we had some squares of chocolate.
Friday/6-Feb-15: Went to the dentist for checkups today, only to discover that the appointments were on the 16th, not the 6th. Oops. Now rescheduled.
Dinner was a half recipe of Black Angel's Hair with Scallops (PastaCarlu, p28). It wasn't angel's hair, but cascareccia, but it was squid ink pasta, which is difficult to find around here. And I had almost twice too much scallops, since I wanted to use the whole package. Never mind. It was good. Then a salad.
Yogurt on overnight.
Saturday/7-Feb-15: Dinner was Herbed Zucchini and Feta Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust (web). It was good. But I see it says it serves six or more, where we will get four main servings. Served with a big salad. We split a magnum classic for a sweet.
Sunday/8-Feb-15: Thought we might go out to a loto this afternoon, so I planned a crockpot meal. Made a long half recipe of Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (web). It was awfully soupy and the chicken breast chunks had that strange dry texture that they get in a crock pot even though it's cooked in liquid. We'll get another meal out of it; I'll add some cooked chicken. Good flavor. Thighs might be better, though. Served with basmatic rice and Carrot and Onion Salad (MJ1, p171). Neither of us felt like dessert.
Think we've finally decided on our next refrigerator. We discovered that French reviews for the brand we were looking at are actually pretty good. We'll go Tuesday to order it. We'll see.
Just realized I didn't plan any meals from the freezer for the next week. Oh well.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: yes; #2 UNUSED: no; #3 GRAINS: yes; #4 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #5 PASTA: no; #6 BREAD: no; #7 FotW: yes for January/no for February
Monday, September 29, 2014
This week in the kitchen
Monday/29-Sep-14: On the plan for tonight's dinner was a half recipe of Maltagliati with Aubergine Sauce (PastaCarlu, p32; cookbooker). Maltagliati means "badly cut," so it's handcut into random-ish shapes. It's actually pretty good with chunky stuff, but I think maybe I should just roll it to 5 rather than 6, since it could be hand-rolled, rather than machine-rolled. When I cut into my eggplant, I discovered it wasn't good. Broccoli was the only other veg in the fridge, so I used that instead. The veggies took a looong time to cook, so I added a bit of water and steamed them for a bit before finishing the sauce. Then a salad using the last garden tomato of the season. (There are some flowers now, but I expect it's too cool at night now to set fruit.)
Tuesday/30-Sep-14: Dinner was a half dose of Chicken in Red WIne Vinegar Sauce (web). Did this with chicken thighs. Really easy and tasty. For sides there was a carrot version of Broccoli Timbales (BEFCC, p58), there not being enough broccoli left to do it. No sauce for us. It's a recipe for four, but we usually eat two timbales. Serving a meal French-style, these would make a nice starter, the bit of sauce would dress it us a bit. And some orzo.
Wednesday/1-Oct-14: Shopping today.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spaghetti with Halibut & Lemon (web), kind of ceviche with spaghetti. And mashed potato mixed in there too. One of those recipe I'm glad I tried, but don't need to do again. Followed by a nice big salad. And three squares of chocolate with hazelnuts (finishing off the package, don't you know).
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/2-Oct-14: Went to make dinner, got started in plenty of time, only to discover that the "stew" wanted to cook 1-1/2 hours in the oven. Yes, I should have read the recipe more carefully when I chose it, but given the ingredients, it's really unexpected. So, finished assembling this while making something to be eating in real time. And tomorrow will be easy.
Dinner was a halfish recipe of Savoy Cabbage and Sausage Pasta Sauce (MarCuc, p176; cookbooker). Fairly simple and quite good, the sauce being onion, garlic, sausage, and cabbage, bound with cream and topped with parsley and Parmesan. Had a bit of brie that was on special this week for afters.
Friday/3-Oct-14: What I assembled last night and popped in the fridge was Eggplant and Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses (web). It was okay, but nothing special. A lot of fussy cutting-up of the eggplant, that's just going to be buried in the not-really-stew. (It's more like a casserole.)
Saturday/4-Oct-14: Yogurt on overday.
Party tonight that included dinner.
Sunday/5-Oct-14: I cooked up 500g of chickpeas during the day, some for dinner and lots for the freezer.
Dinner was Crusted Cornmeal Chickpea Potpie (web; cookbooker). An interesting idea that didn't quite work. Might be worthwhile tinkering with. (See cookbooker for details.) Then a simple salad.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for September/no for October; #4 FotW: yes for September/no for October; #5 BREAD: no for both months
Tuesday/30-Sep-14: Dinner was a half dose of Chicken in Red WIne Vinegar Sauce (web). Did this with chicken thighs. Really easy and tasty. For sides there was a carrot version of Broccoli Timbales (BEFCC, p58), there not being enough broccoli left to do it. No sauce for us. It's a recipe for four, but we usually eat two timbales. Serving a meal French-style, these would make a nice starter, the bit of sauce would dress it us a bit. And some orzo.
Wednesday/1-Oct-14: Shopping today.
Dinner was a half recipe of Spaghetti with Halibut & Lemon (web), kind of ceviche with spaghetti. And mashed potato mixed in there too. One of those recipe I'm glad I tried, but don't need to do again. Followed by a nice big salad. And three squares of chocolate with hazelnuts (finishing off the package, don't you know).
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/2-Oct-14: Went to make dinner, got started in plenty of time, only to discover that the "stew" wanted to cook 1-1/2 hours in the oven. Yes, I should have read the recipe more carefully when I chose it, but given the ingredients, it's really unexpected. So, finished assembling this while making something to be eating in real time. And tomorrow will be easy.
Dinner was a halfish recipe of Savoy Cabbage and Sausage Pasta Sauce (MarCuc, p176; cookbooker). Fairly simple and quite good, the sauce being onion, garlic, sausage, and cabbage, bound with cream and topped with parsley and Parmesan. Had a bit of brie that was on special this week for afters.
Friday/3-Oct-14: What I assembled last night and popped in the fridge was Eggplant and Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses (web). It was okay, but nothing special. A lot of fussy cutting-up of the eggplant, that's just going to be buried in the not-really-stew. (It's more like a casserole.)
Saturday/4-Oct-14: Yogurt on overday.
Party tonight that included dinner.
Sunday/5-Oct-14: I cooked up 500g of chickpeas during the day, some for dinner and lots for the freezer.
Dinner was Crusted Cornmeal Chickpea Potpie (web; cookbooker). An interesting idea that didn't quite work. Might be worthwhile tinkering with. (See cookbooker for details.) Then a simple salad.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for September/no for October; #4 FotW: yes for September/no for October; #5 BREAD: no for both months
Monday, June 30, 2014
This week in the kitchen
Monday/30-Jun-14: Had an urge for Penne all Arrabbiata, so that's what we had tonight. Made some very vaguely following the recipe in Top100Pasta, p38. My tomato sauce was made with one real tomato, seeded, and 1 cup last year's of tomato purée from the freezer. Good stuff. Then a big salad. Then double chocolate mini magnums. Then a long dog walk.
Tuesday/1-Jul-14: Had an ENT appointment today and did a bit of shopping at a health-food store near the hospital. Impulse-bought a packet of stuff for making pain au levain, a kind of sourdough bread. I thought it was the whole packet for a loaf, but on closer reading you use 25g of the 240g packet for one loaf. They give bread machine instructions too. Then we did our regular shopping.
Discovered that a cow has been in the South Forty and managed to break the top half off of Martha (a sweetgum). it was held together by a small strip of bark, so Ed wrapped it all together and put in a big stake to hold the top up.
It was Time-Life Scandinavian for dinner this evening. For dessert we finished off a box of chocolate roses.
Wednesday/2-Jul-14: Tonight I made a starter for IHCC. The main was (sort of) a half recipe or Orecchioni with Piquant Sauce (PastaCarlu, p28; cookbooker), an easy kind of a pasta sauce. I used pennoni, rather than orecchioni, which I've never seen; the picture in the book looks more like big shells. Then we had a small salad with the rest of the latest lettuce picked from the salad garden.
Martha looking surprisingly good. Some wilted bits, but large parts of the top look okay. This break is really a shame, since she was looking really well this year. Mama (pink dogwood) doesn't look too well at all, for no reason to be seen. Papa (pecan) is recovering well from last year's trauma. We wonder if there was a cow last year that caused that damage, but I think they were already tucked away for the winter.
Before I started dinner I made the shortcake from Berry Banana Shortcake (MC). We had a wedge of this with blueberries from our garden and vanilla ice cream. Yum.
Thursday/3-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday. Made a loaf of the pain au levain in the bread machine. Nice texture and tasty. It will be nice baked regularly, so that it gets a proper crust.
Oops I forgot to note that tonight's planned dinner needed some attention early in the day. Quick replan. Dinner was Tuna and White Bean Salad (MC), a recipe from Cooking Light, muchly redone. Broccoli instead of asparagus. Forgot the tomatoes. More oatmeal shortcake with blueberries and ice cream for after.
Friday/4-Jul-14: I was off all day at a stained glass workshop. Ate out for dinner.
Saturday/5-Jul-14: Made another batch of the pain au levain in the bread machine, this time half whit and half whole wheat. Oh dear, that was more-ish. And unneeded, since Ed brought home a bread yesterday after choir on Thursday and I didn't notice.
Dinner was Nigel Slater's Pepper, Tomato, and Basil Pasta (web). I didn't have the kind of pepper he wanted, so I used two bell peppers instead. It was really good. You roast the veggies, then take them out of the pan and toss the cooked pasta in the roasting pan and tasty oil. Ed is sicky, so didn't eat dinner and didn't tell me till I was almost ready to serve. I put his part in the fridge and we'll see if it doesn't make a good pasta salad sort of thing.
Sunday/6-Jul-14: This morning at breakfast Ed noticed that the concert I thought started at 17.00 (as originally advertised) now starts at 19.00. I'd planned a crockpot meal to be ready and waiting after the concert, but there wasn't enough time for it to cook to eat two hours earlier. Major replan, using the defrosted meat.
Instead, we had Ravi's Kerala-Style 'Bhuna' Lamb, Pork, Beef, or Veal (Kerala ka Bhuna Gosht) (100Curries, p112). Pretty easy to make, but lots of prep work. Once that's done it sits on a low fire for a long time largely unattended, except for an occasional stir. Good stuff. As go-withs there were plain basmati rice and Spiced Green Beans (IndLight, p174), an alternative to my usual Indian green bean side. For afters there was No-Cook Indian Ice Cream (Kulfi) (MC), which is a snap to make and pretty darn tasty.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for June, no for July; #4 FotW: yes for SCA, no for CRE; #5 BREAD: 0 for June, 0 for July
Tuesday/1-Jul-14: Had an ENT appointment today and did a bit of shopping at a health-food store near the hospital. Impulse-bought a packet of stuff for making pain au levain, a kind of sourdough bread. I thought it was the whole packet for a loaf, but on closer reading you use 25g of the 240g packet for one loaf. They give bread machine instructions too. Then we did our regular shopping.
Discovered that a cow has been in the South Forty and managed to break the top half off of Martha (a sweetgum). it was held together by a small strip of bark, so Ed wrapped it all together and put in a big stake to hold the top up.
It was Time-Life Scandinavian for dinner this evening. For dessert we finished off a box of chocolate roses.
Wednesday/2-Jul-14: Tonight I made a starter for IHCC. The main was (sort of) a half recipe or Orecchioni with Piquant Sauce (PastaCarlu, p28; cookbooker), an easy kind of a pasta sauce. I used pennoni, rather than orecchioni, which I've never seen; the picture in the book looks more like big shells. Then we had a small salad with the rest of the latest lettuce picked from the salad garden.
Martha looking surprisingly good. Some wilted bits, but large parts of the top look okay. This break is really a shame, since she was looking really well this year. Mama (pink dogwood) doesn't look too well at all, for no reason to be seen. Papa (pecan) is recovering well from last year's trauma. We wonder if there was a cow last year that caused that damage, but I think they were already tucked away for the winter.
Before I started dinner I made the shortcake from Berry Banana Shortcake (MC). We had a wedge of this with blueberries from our garden and vanilla ice cream. Yum.
Thursday/3-Jul-14: Yogurt on overday. Made a loaf of the pain au levain in the bread machine. Nice texture and tasty. It will be nice baked regularly, so that it gets a proper crust.
Oops I forgot to note that tonight's planned dinner needed some attention early in the day. Quick replan. Dinner was Tuna and White Bean Salad (MC), a recipe from Cooking Light, muchly redone. Broccoli instead of asparagus. Forgot the tomatoes. More oatmeal shortcake with blueberries and ice cream for after.
Friday/4-Jul-14: I was off all day at a stained glass workshop. Ate out for dinner.
Saturday/5-Jul-14: Made another batch of the pain au levain in the bread machine, this time half whit and half whole wheat. Oh dear, that was more-ish. And unneeded, since Ed brought home a bread yesterday after choir on Thursday and I didn't notice.
Dinner was Nigel Slater's Pepper, Tomato, and Basil Pasta (web). I didn't have the kind of pepper he wanted, so I used two bell peppers instead. It was really good. You roast the veggies, then take them out of the pan and toss the cooked pasta in the roasting pan and tasty oil. Ed is sicky, so didn't eat dinner and didn't tell me till I was almost ready to serve. I put his part in the fridge and we'll see if it doesn't make a good pasta salad sort of thing.
Sunday/6-Jul-14: This morning at breakfast Ed noticed that the concert I thought started at 17.00 (as originally advertised) now starts at 19.00. I'd planned a crockpot meal to be ready and waiting after the concert, but there wasn't enough time for it to cook to eat two hours earlier. Major replan, using the defrosted meat.
Instead, we had Ravi's Kerala-Style 'Bhuna' Lamb, Pork, Beef, or Veal (Kerala ka Bhuna Gosht) (100Curries, p112). Pretty easy to make, but lots of prep work. Once that's done it sits on a low fire for a long time largely unattended, except for an occasional stir. Good stuff. As go-withs there were plain basmati rice and Spiced Green Beans (IndLight, p174), an alternative to my usual Indian green bean side. For afters there was No-Cook Indian Ice Cream (Kulfi) (MC), which is a snap to make and pretty darn tasty.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for June, no for July; #4 FotW: yes for SCA, no for CRE; #5 BREAD: 0 for June, 0 for July
Monday, June 23, 2014
This week in the kitchen
Monday/23-Jun-14: Just looking through PastaCarlu and noticed where he says, "Making your own pasta dough will probably take you about 30 minutes for the actual preparation, but you will get quicker with practice." Well, yes, I have gotten quicker with practice. That means I can get cut pasta made in about an hour, not counting the cleanup. He must be some kind of speed demon. Ah, he's speaking only of making the dough, not the cutting, I see. So 30 minutes is probably more than enough.
A Mediterraneanish meal for IHCC tonight (RealFast, p119; cookbooker). Served the pasta with a big salad. Then we had some ice cream (the last mini magnum for me, the last classic magnum for Ed) as we walked to Barbara's to water plants.
Tuesday/24-Jun-14: Shopping today.
Dinner was remarkably like last Friday's fish dinner. Poor planning on my part. This time Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa Verde (web). The salsa verde was with green tomato (the first tomato in the garden), rather than tomatillo as you might expect. I did the fish like last week too. Cornmeal mixed with Old Bay blackening seasoning this time, and pressed into the fish (eglefin, haddock), which I then sprayed with olive oil before broiling. Works a treat this. Found some whole wheat tortillas to us. Pretty good, especially with a good sprinkle of chipotle faux-tabasco. For dessert, a slice each of tourteau fromager. Bought strawberries to go with the cake, but didn't feel like prepping them. Tomorrow.
Wednesday/25-Jun-14: Yogurt on overday.
Nothing happened in the kitchen today. We went to the marché des producteurs in La Rochefoucauld this evening, the first of the seasons. Had pigeon brochettes and pigeon sausages. Bought some of the sausages for the freezer.
Thursday/26-Jun-14: A busy afternoon in the kitchen. Poached four kip filets for meals in the near future. Froze up the juice to use as a light stock. Used the strawberries I bought Tuesday to make Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (Scoop, p90) for the freezer. Made Easy Berry Cobbler (MC, Handybook) with the mixed berries we've been collecting at Barbara's while we water, along with a couple of the smallest strawberries and some frozen blueberries. Went to make dinner and discovered that the eggplants I bought were rotten. Seems to be a too frequent occurrence which I buy bio/organic produce. So instead of eggplant and zucchini, there was only zucchini in Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad Recipe with Feta, Chickpeas, & Mint (web). This was good and easy, nothing fancy. The recipe says it serves six; this must be as a side dish. As a main, it was good for two, splitting one can of chickpeas and some zucchini. For dessert there was the cobbler, warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Friday/27-Jun-14: A keeper dinner tonight. I made a halfish recipe of Buckwheat Noodles with Green Beans & Toasted Sesame-Lime Vinaigrette (web) using one of the chicken breasts I poached yesterday. Made the buckwheat noodles from scratch (3/4cup buckwheat flour, 1/4cup tipo 00 flour, 1/4tsp salt, ~3tbl water) since there seem to be no soba-type noodles to be found in the area. The salad and noodles were extra yummy. For dessert we had some of yesterday's cobbler. Yay, we'll get three sittings out of it this time. Sometimes we eat it all in two sittings.
Yogurt on overnight.
Saturday/28-Jun-14: Used one of my poached chicken breasts to make up some Curried Chicken Salad (Rosie, p34; MC) for tomorrow's proposed Open Gardens outing. (The weather's not looking too promising, so we might end up skpping this.) Froze the rest of them.
Dinner at the Fête de la Motte this evening. They had a tent set up to keep people out of the rain, but apparently didn't count heads well so there weren't enough seats. Probably too windy for the bonfire. We left early, not really having a place to park ourselves.
Sunday/29-Jun-14: Sally and I visited four gardens today, while Ed slept in. Both of us had chicken salad for lunch. Good stuff.
For dinner I defrosted some saucisses à l'Indienne and Ed bbq'd them. Pretty tasteless in spite of the curry powder. To be avoided in future. Served with New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), followed by the world's simplest salad, lettuce and vinaigrette. For afters, we finished off the berry cobbler.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 FotW: no for June; #5 BREAD: 0
A Mediterraneanish meal for IHCC tonight (RealFast, p119; cookbooker). Served the pasta with a big salad. Then we had some ice cream (the last mini magnum for me, the last classic magnum for Ed) as we walked to Barbara's to water plants.
Tuesday/24-Jun-14: Shopping today.
Dinner was remarkably like last Friday's fish dinner. Poor planning on my part. This time Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa Verde (web). The salsa verde was with green tomato (the first tomato in the garden), rather than tomatillo as you might expect. I did the fish like last week too. Cornmeal mixed with Old Bay blackening seasoning this time, and pressed into the fish (eglefin, haddock), which I then sprayed with olive oil before broiling. Works a treat this. Found some whole wheat tortillas to us. Pretty good, especially with a good sprinkle of chipotle faux-tabasco. For dessert, a slice each of tourteau fromager. Bought strawberries to go with the cake, but didn't feel like prepping them. Tomorrow.
Wednesday/25-Jun-14: Yogurt on overday.
Nothing happened in the kitchen today. We went to the marché des producteurs in La Rochefoucauld this evening, the first of the seasons. Had pigeon brochettes and pigeon sausages. Bought some of the sausages for the freezer.
Thursday/26-Jun-14: A busy afternoon in the kitchen. Poached four kip filets for meals in the near future. Froze up the juice to use as a light stock. Used the strawberries I bought Tuesday to make Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (Scoop, p90) for the freezer. Made Easy Berry Cobbler (MC, Handybook) with the mixed berries we've been collecting at Barbara's while we water, along with a couple of the smallest strawberries and some frozen blueberries. Went to make dinner and discovered that the eggplants I bought were rotten. Seems to be a too frequent occurrence which I buy bio/organic produce. So instead of eggplant and zucchini, there was only zucchini in Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini Salad Recipe with Feta, Chickpeas, & Mint (web). This was good and easy, nothing fancy. The recipe says it serves six; this must be as a side dish. As a main, it was good for two, splitting one can of chickpeas and some zucchini. For dessert there was the cobbler, warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Friday/27-Jun-14: A keeper dinner tonight. I made a halfish recipe of Buckwheat Noodles with Green Beans & Toasted Sesame-Lime Vinaigrette (web) using one of the chicken breasts I poached yesterday. Made the buckwheat noodles from scratch (3/4cup buckwheat flour, 1/4cup tipo 00 flour, 1/4tsp salt, ~3tbl water) since there seem to be no soba-type noodles to be found in the area. The salad and noodles were extra yummy. For dessert we had some of yesterday's cobbler. Yay, we'll get three sittings out of it this time. Sometimes we eat it all in two sittings.
Yogurt on overnight.
Saturday/28-Jun-14: Used one of my poached chicken breasts to make up some Curried Chicken Salad (Rosie, p34; MC) for tomorrow's proposed Open Gardens outing. (The weather's not looking too promising, so we might end up skpping this.) Froze the rest of them.
Dinner at the Fête de la Motte this evening. They had a tent set up to keep people out of the rain, but apparently didn't count heads well so there weren't enough seats. Probably too windy for the bonfire. We left early, not really having a place to park ourselves.
Sunday/29-Jun-14: Sally and I visited four gardens today, while Ed slept in. Both of us had chicken salad for lunch. Good stuff.
For dinner I defrosted some saucisses à l'Indienne and Ed bbq'd them. Pretty tasteless in spite of the curry powder. To be avoided in future. Served with New Potatoes with Cumin (Q&E, p91), followed by the world's simplest salad, lettuce and vinaigrette. For afters, we finished off the berry cobbler.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: yes; #4 FotW: no for June; #5 BREAD: 0
Monday, December 30, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/30-Dec-13: Shopping today, in the afternoon instead of in the morning. It. Was. Full. But we did our business and went on our way, forgetting stuff for tomorrow night that we'll have to do without.
Dinner was Braised Salmon with Tomato, Cinnamon, and Black Mustard Seeds (web). I had a long half of the salmon but used most of the spices to make the sauce. We liked! Served with rice (Ed wanted more and more sauce) and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), which is a moldy oldy favorite. Finished with some St Felicien and the rest of the Delice de Poitou (which they were out of at the store today).
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/31-Dec-13: Hmm...the yogurt maker hadn't turned itself off when I got up. Maybe 2014 will call for a new one?
Made some Herb Salt (HandyBook, originally Art) in the afternoon.
Sneaking in that fresh pasta for December, there was Tagliatelle Verdi with Field Mushrooms (PastaCarluccio, p16) for dinner. First time I've ever made spinach tagliatelle. Probably didn't get the spinach puréed quite enough, but we bought liked the streaky effect. I rolled to 6, which Ed thought was ok, but I thought might have been better at 5. Anyhow, it was good. Then a simple salad. And mini Magnums for dessert, although we probably should have skipped those. Watched a movie on the way to midnight and munched chorizo and olives and cheese and cornichons. Happy new year one and all!
Wednesday/1-Jan-14: A new year's luncheon feast a La Bellone today. Almost bedtime and we're still not hungry.
Thursday/2-Jan-14: Made some bird stock today, with maybe two birds and some other bits from the freezer.
Leftovers for dinner, the meat from the pintade and the pilaf, along with some steamed broccoli.
Friday/3-Jan-14: Soup for dinner. Better Than Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana (web; cookbooker). A definite winner. Then we finished off a bit of cindered goat cheese.
Saturday/4-Jan-14: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was a riff off Poor-Coursin Paella (Secrets, p249). First time we've had it with tomatoes. Yummy dish, easy, versatile.
Fear the timer switch on my yogurt maker has bit the dust. For the second time, it didn't switch off when it should have. Maybe Mr. FixitMan can do something, otherwise I might be looking for a new one soon.
Sunday/5-Jan-14: Not much cooking today. Making a dent in the red curry sauce in the fridge, dinner was Pasta in a Thai Red Curry-Coconut Milk Sauce (web), which was easy and quite good. Some double chocolate mini-Magnums for dessert.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: no, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for December, no for January, #4 BREAD: no for December; no for January
Dinner was Braised Salmon with Tomato, Cinnamon, and Black Mustard Seeds (web). I had a long half of the salmon but used most of the spices to make the sauce. We liked! Served with rice (Ed wanted more and more sauce) and Tangy Green Beans with Ajwain and Ginger (SpiceKitch, p38), which is a moldy oldy favorite. Finished with some St Felicien and the rest of the Delice de Poitou (which they were out of at the store today).
Yogurt on overnight.
Tuesday/31-Dec-13: Hmm...the yogurt maker hadn't turned itself off when I got up. Maybe 2014 will call for a new one?
Made some Herb Salt (HandyBook, originally Art) in the afternoon.
Sneaking in that fresh pasta for December, there was Tagliatelle Verdi with Field Mushrooms (PastaCarluccio, p16) for dinner. First time I've ever made spinach tagliatelle. Probably didn't get the spinach puréed quite enough, but we bought liked the streaky effect. I rolled to 6, which Ed thought was ok, but I thought might have been better at 5. Anyhow, it was good. Then a simple salad. And mini Magnums for dessert, although we probably should have skipped those. Watched a movie on the way to midnight and munched chorizo and olives and cheese and cornichons. Happy new year one and all!
Wednesday/1-Jan-14: A new year's luncheon feast a La Bellone today. Almost bedtime and we're still not hungry.
Thursday/2-Jan-14: Made some bird stock today, with maybe two birds and some other bits from the freezer.
Leftovers for dinner, the meat from the pintade and the pilaf, along with some steamed broccoli.
Friday/3-Jan-14: Soup for dinner. Better Than Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana (web; cookbooker). A definite winner. Then we finished off a bit of cindered goat cheese.
Saturday/4-Jan-14: Yogurt on overday.
Dinner was a riff off Poor-Coursin Paella (Secrets, p249). First time we've had it with tomatoes. Yummy dish, easy, versatile.
Fear the timer switch on my yogurt maker has bit the dust. For the second time, it didn't switch off when it should have. Maybe Mr. FixitMan can do something, otherwise I might be looking for a new one soon.
Sunday/5-Jan-14: Not much cooking today. Making a dent in the red curry sauce in the fridge, dinner was Pasta in a Thai Red Curry-Coconut Milk Sauce (web), which was easy and quite good. Some double chocolate mini-Magnums for dessert.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: no, #2 VEG/FISH: 2
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for December, no for January, #4 BREAD: no for December; no for January
Monday, April 29, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/29-Apr-13: Made Myrtle Allen's Brown Bread (BeardBread, p74), a 100% whole wheat no-knead bread. This was really tasty, although it was a bit too long in the oven. Also, I let it rise a bit too much so there was no real "spring." But yummy and nice dense texture.
Dinner was a halfish dose of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarluccio, p24). Very good, fast and easy. Followed by a salad. Then we split a crottin of goat cheese.
Tuesday/30-Apr-13: The brown bread held up well overnight. It was really tasty for breakfast.
Lunch in Angoulême after Bill's arrival today; we were all stuffed. For dinner there was Chipotle & Garbanzo Bean Soup (SWCrock, p23; cookbooker), which was quite good for minimal effort.
Wednesday/1-May-13: FInished off the brown bread for breakfast today. It was still very good, which is pretty amazing.
Yesterday we bought some pork chops for tonight's dinner. This morning's email brought a recipe that included a Cajun spice rub. I made a third recipe of that (using a teaspoon where a tablespoon was asked). The interesting thing about that post was that it called for anointing the meat with Worcestershire and Tabasco after rubbing it, and letting everything sit for 15 minutes. So I did. Then broiled the chops about 5 minutes on each side. Served with an Ottolenghi salad. Then the three of us shared a little crottin de Chavignol. Then we had a third of a gaufre (waffle) each, with the last of the strawberry ice cream and some strawberries (not especially good ones) that I bought yesterday.
The rub was 2tsp salt, 1tsp cayenne, 1tsp back pepper, 2tsp paprika, 2tsp garlic powder, 2tsp onion powder, 1tsp dried thyme, and 1tsp dried oregano. It was a bit too salty, only 1tsp would be better probably. There's more left for another day.
Thursday/2-May-13: Dinner was Baked Chicken with Ethiopian Lentils (web; cookbooker), easy and good. Three of us ate it all up. Then a salad. And for dessert, Prune Coffee Cake (web; cookbooker). Very good and easy.
Friday/3-May-13: Barbecued some poultry merguez and sausages for dinner. Also had Broccoli Slaw (MC) and sweet potatoes mashed with orange juice and chipotle. Some Lemon-Zucchini Sorbet from the summer for dessert. Not a hit. I enjoyed the lemony taste, but Ed and Bill say they don't like sorbets. Would be a nice entremet perhaps, but not a satisfying dessert.
Saturday/4-May-13: Out all day. Dinner in Brantôme. Nothing happened in the kitchen,
Sunday/5-May-13: Lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for April; no for May, #4 BREAD: yes for April; no for May
Dinner was a halfish dose of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarluccio, p24). Very good, fast and easy. Followed by a salad. Then we split a crottin of goat cheese.
Tuesday/30-Apr-13: The brown bread held up well overnight. It was really tasty for breakfast.
Lunch in Angoulême after Bill's arrival today; we were all stuffed. For dinner there was Chipotle & Garbanzo Bean Soup (SWCrock, p23; cookbooker), which was quite good for minimal effort.
Wednesday/1-May-13: FInished off the brown bread for breakfast today. It was still very good, which is pretty amazing.
Yesterday we bought some pork chops for tonight's dinner. This morning's email brought a recipe that included a Cajun spice rub. I made a third recipe of that (using a teaspoon where a tablespoon was asked). The interesting thing about that post was that it called for anointing the meat with Worcestershire and Tabasco after rubbing it, and letting everything sit for 15 minutes. So I did. Then broiled the chops about 5 minutes on each side. Served with an Ottolenghi salad. Then the three of us shared a little crottin de Chavignol. Then we had a third of a gaufre (waffle) each, with the last of the strawberry ice cream and some strawberries (not especially good ones) that I bought yesterday.
The rub was 2tsp salt, 1tsp cayenne, 1tsp back pepper, 2tsp paprika, 2tsp garlic powder, 2tsp onion powder, 1tsp dried thyme, and 1tsp dried oregano. It was a bit too salty, only 1tsp would be better probably. There's more left for another day.
Thursday/2-May-13: Dinner was Baked Chicken with Ethiopian Lentils (web; cookbooker), easy and good. Three of us ate it all up. Then a salad. And for dessert, Prune Coffee Cake (web; cookbooker). Very good and easy.
Friday/3-May-13: Barbecued some poultry merguez and sausages for dinner. Also had Broccoli Slaw (MC) and sweet potatoes mashed with orange juice and chipotle. Some Lemon-Zucchini Sorbet from the summer for dessert. Not a hit. I enjoyed the lemony taste, but Ed and Bill say they don't like sorbets. Would be a nice entremet perhaps, but not a satisfying dessert.
Saturday/4-May-13: Out all day. Dinner in Brantôme. Nothing happened in the kitchen,
Sunday/5-May-13: Lunch out today. Nothing much happened in the kitchen.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 1
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for April; no for May, #4 BREAD: yes for April; no for May
Monday, January 28, 2013
This week in the kitchen
Monday/28-Jan-13: Yogurt on overday. Yippee—the brushes for the washing machine arrived. We're busy washing washing washing.
Ed went to a late afternoon at a movie and didn't get home to late, so we had soup for dinner, one of the zucchini ones that I made last summer and froze directly. Good it was, too. I'll have to remember to make this again.
Put on some No-Knead Bread (Essential, p670). This is the same Lahey recipe that I tried before, and maybe it looks a bit "shaggier" this time. It's supposed to sit in a warm room, 70F. Ha! I did set the bowl near the heater, which is off overnight. We'll see how it does.
Tuesday/29-Jan-13: Whoa, actually got some mending done today! Don't know what got into me. There are still two pairs of gloves with broken seams hiding in the pile from last winter. Sigh.
Well, shaggier was the bread maybe, but there was still no ball-forming for the final rise. Just a puddle on the counter. It bubbles up all nice, so I think the yeast is OK. After my last experience, this time I measured the water with a light hand and the flour with a heavy hand. Didn't seem to help at all. This went in the oven while I was preparing dinner.
Dinner was Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti, and Asiago Cheese. (I got this from EAT-L, but I just found it here.) Yummy stuff, a one-dish dinner cooked in a single pot. For dessert we had ... bread. First to wipe our plates, then just to eat. It may be a mess on the way to the oven, and it's certainly nothing like a boule, but it is yummy.
Wednesday/30-Jan-13: Shopping today. Found some 120g bits on non-GMO salmon (did we know that we needed to worry about GMO fish?) on sale because they expire tomorrow. Bought the last three and froze them. (I usually ask for 300-400g for the two of us.)
Dinner was Fried Fish Steaks (100Curries, p40; Q&E, p67) made with some lovely salmon. Not sure why I've overlooked this in Q&E. Someone recently made it for IHCC and I thought I'd give it a try. Good idea! Accompanied by Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87) and Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90). All was yummy.
Thursday/31-Jan-13: Yogurt on overday.
Indian dinner for IHCC tonight, which took a bit of time to prepare. There was Whole Chicken, Baked in Aluminum Foil (Murgh musallam) (MJ1, p80) with Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, p152) and Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). There should have been raita, but there was no yogurt in time. Some double chocolate mini-Magnums for dessert. How Indian is that?
Friday/1-Feb-13: Ed's off at driving class today; both of us up at 7am. DInner was a half dose of Mushroom Barley Risotto (Bishop, p358). It was good, but I'm not sure for all the risotto bother, that is was that good. Then a salad. That was all.
Saturday/2-Feb-13: The last day of driving class today. Whew! Dinner was a half dose of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarluccio, p24). This was surprisingly good, also fast; some ginger slices in the tomato sauce was a nice touch. Followed by a big salad.
Sunday/3-Feb-13: Finished off the zucchini soup today for lunch/dinner. Then went a movie. That's all.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for January/no for February, #4 BREAD: yes for January/no for February
Ed went to a late afternoon at a movie and didn't get home to late, so we had soup for dinner, one of the zucchini ones that I made last summer and froze directly. Good it was, too. I'll have to remember to make this again.
Put on some No-Knead Bread (Essential, p670). This is the same Lahey recipe that I tried before, and maybe it looks a bit "shaggier" this time. It's supposed to sit in a warm room, 70F. Ha! I did set the bowl near the heater, which is off overnight. We'll see how it does.
Tuesday/29-Jan-13: Whoa, actually got some mending done today! Don't know what got into me. There are still two pairs of gloves with broken seams hiding in the pile from last winter. Sigh.
Well, shaggier was the bread maybe, but there was still no ball-forming for the final rise. Just a puddle on the counter. It bubbles up all nice, so I think the yeast is OK. After my last experience, this time I measured the water with a light hand and the flour with a heavy hand. Didn't seem to help at all. This went in the oven while I was preparing dinner.
Dinner was Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti, and Asiago Cheese. (I got this from EAT-L, but I just found it here.) Yummy stuff, a one-dish dinner cooked in a single pot. For dessert we had ... bread. First to wipe our plates, then just to eat. It may be a mess on the way to the oven, and it's certainly nothing like a boule, but it is yummy.
Wednesday/30-Jan-13: Shopping today. Found some 120g bits on non-GMO salmon (did we know that we needed to worry about GMO fish?) on sale because they expire tomorrow. Bought the last three and froze them. (I usually ask for 300-400g for the two of us.)
Dinner was Fried Fish Steaks (100Curries, p40; Q&E, p67) made with some lovely salmon. Not sure why I've overlooked this in Q&E. Someone recently made it for IHCC and I thought I'd give it a try. Good idea! Accompanied by Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Q&E, p87) and Indian Mashed Potatoes (Q&E, p90). All was yummy.
Thursday/31-Jan-13: Yogurt on overday.
Indian dinner for IHCC tonight, which took a bit of time to prepare. There was Whole Chicken, Baked in Aluminum Foil (Murgh musallam) (MJ1, p80) with Mushroom Pullao (MJ1, p152) and Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172). There should have been raita, but there was no yogurt in time. Some double chocolate mini-Magnums for dessert. How Indian is that?
Friday/1-Feb-13: Ed's off at driving class today; both of us up at 7am. DInner was a half dose of Mushroom Barley Risotto (Bishop, p358). It was good, but I'm not sure for all the risotto bother, that is was that good. Then a salad. That was all.
Saturday/2-Feb-13: The last day of driving class today. Whew! Dinner was a half dose of Linguine with Tuna Fish Sauce (PastaCarluccio, p24). This was surprisingly good, also fast; some ginger slices in the tomato sauce was a nice touch. Followed by a big salad.
Sunday/3-Feb-13: Finished off the zucchini soup today for lunch/dinner. Then went a movie. That's all.
Yogurt on overnight.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 IHCC/COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 VEG/FISH: 5
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for January/no for February, #4 BREAD: yes for January/no for February
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Pasta Salad with Fish
Antonio Carluccio Cooks Pasta
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
After enjoying some of Carluccio's TV shows years ago, I found this book on sale. It's a companion book to a series I've never seen, and somehow hasn't gotten used much. But I've delved into it a couple of times lately, with good results.
Tonight's dinner was Pasta Salad with Fish, which is a lovely summer main course but could also be a starter or part of a summer buffet. It's very easy to make, and I'm sure you could use any bits of leftover seafood you have around. For the fish bits, the recipe calls for anchovies (I chopped them pretty fine, rather than leaving chunks, since we're not really anchovy fans here), strips of squid, smoked salmon, and small, cooked prawns/shrimp. A sauce is made from olive oil, lemon juice, sald and freshly ground black pepper, fresh chives, and fresh dill. The pasta is cooked, drained and cooled. Everything is tossed together and there it is. Simple and tasty.
A small problem, if this is a problem, with using cascareccia rather than the farfalle or conchiglie suggested, is that the squid strips look an awful lot like the pasta. This doesn't, however, affect the flavor.
This post is linked to this week's Cookbook Sundays.
Tonight's dinner was Pasta Salad with Fish, which is a lovely summer main course but could also be a starter or part of a summer buffet. It's very easy to make, and I'm sure you could use any bits of leftover seafood you have around. For the fish bits, the recipe calls for anchovies (I chopped them pretty fine, rather than leaving chunks, since we're not really anchovy fans here), strips of squid, smoked salmon, and small, cooked prawns/shrimp. A sauce is made from olive oil, lemon juice, sald and freshly ground black pepper, fresh chives, and fresh dill. The pasta is cooked, drained and cooled. Everything is tossed together and there it is. Simple and tasty.
A small problem, if this is a problem, with using cascareccia rather than the farfalle or conchiglie suggested, is that the squid strips look an awful lot like the pasta. This doesn't, however, affect the flavor.
This post is linked to this week's Cookbook Sundays.
Monday, July 2, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/2-Jul-12: Popped some Authentic French Bread, with one cup of whole wheat flour replacing bread flour, into the bread machine just before the the bread truck came, so we're plentifully supplied with bread for a day or so.
Off to a quiz/dinner in the evening. Nothing further happening in the kitchen.
Tuesday/3-Jul-12: For dinner, a half dose of Tonnarelli ai Gamberi e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), Tonnarelli with Prawns and Mushrooms. Pretty, but it seems a bit "cluttered" with cream and shrimp and tomatoes and shrooms; and there was a lot of sauce. Then a simple salad. And some mini-Magnum double chocolate bars for dessert as we dogwalked.
Wednesday/4-Jul-12: Shopping today. For our Fourth of July dinner Ed bbq'd a pair of kip filets marinated in Chicken Marinade 4 (MC 2BTried). I reduced the sugar in the marinade; the effect was good. As a go-with there were Grilled Potato Slices with Salt and Vinegar, from several places on the web. Probably my slices weren't 1/4" (I used the thickest setting on my mandoline), and they were well impregnated with vinegar. This is good in potato chips, but not sure about a side dish. Guacamole as a salad/side dish. A red, white, and blue parfait for after with vanilla custard (my mother's recipe—stir, stir, stir), blueberries, and strawberries.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/5-Jul-12: Dinner was a half dose of Filet de Flétan aux Cranberries (VPQ), no halibut (flétan) in the store, so I used panga instead. Sauce of cranberries caramelized in sugar, mushrooms, celery, shallot, cream, vermouth, and bird or veg boullion. Weird but tasty after you got into it. With some rice and some peas with shallots. Made some salad, but neither of us felt like eating it. Off for a dog walk, then two squares of 70% Lindt chocolate each.
Friday/6-Jul-12: The latest Vie Pratique Gourmand has an article on carpaccios, the oddest (to me) being fine slices of foie gras (duck) interleaved with bits of strong dark chocolate and beet leaves, topped with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Suppose I'd eat this if it were served, but don't think it's anything I'd every consider making.
Dinner was a half dose of Mini Farfalle with Roasted Peppers, Onions, Feta, and Mint (CL/mar11, web). Pretty good stuff. Then the salad we didn't eat last night, with some walnut oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Saturday/7-Jul-12: Bought a box of organic courgette, so trying to use that up now. Made Zucchini Pound Cake (GreeneGreens, p407). One of those egg-splitting cakes, so not on my everyday list, but pretty darn good. (cookbook sunday).
Dinner was Chicken with Blueberry-Ginger Chutney (CL/jan05, web). The chicken was regular grilled kip filets that had been marinated a bit with some herbs, nothing too fancy. The chutney is what made this special. And I'm sure the leftovers will go well with another meat before too long. Accompanied by trio rice and Steamed Summer Squash Vinaigrette (TooMany, p202).
Sunday/8-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday.
Didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan, so there was Pasta Salad with Fish (PastaCarluccio, p55) instead. Then we had some Zucchini Pound Cake with the last of the vanilla custard and topped with a handful of fraises de bois picked this afternoon.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA:no
Off to a quiz/dinner in the evening. Nothing further happening in the kitchen.
Tuesday/3-Jul-12: For dinner, a half dose of Tonnarelli ai Gamberi e Funghi (ClassPasta, p104), Tonnarelli with Prawns and Mushrooms. Pretty, but it seems a bit "cluttered" with cream and shrimp and tomatoes and shrooms; and there was a lot of sauce. Then a simple salad. And some mini-Magnum double chocolate bars for dessert as we dogwalked.
Wednesday/4-Jul-12: Shopping today. For our Fourth of July dinner Ed bbq'd a pair of kip filets marinated in Chicken Marinade 4 (MC 2BTried). I reduced the sugar in the marinade; the effect was good. As a go-with there were Grilled Potato Slices with Salt and Vinegar, from several places on the web. Probably my slices weren't 1/4" (I used the thickest setting on my mandoline), and they were well impregnated with vinegar. This is good in potato chips, but not sure about a side dish. Guacamole as a salad/side dish. A red, white, and blue parfait for after with vanilla custard (my mother's recipe—stir, stir, stir), blueberries, and strawberries.
Yogurt on overnight.
Thursday/5-Jul-12: Dinner was a half dose of Filet de Flétan aux Cranberries (VPQ), no halibut (flétan) in the store, so I used panga instead. Sauce of cranberries caramelized in sugar, mushrooms, celery, shallot, cream, vermouth, and bird or veg boullion. Weird but tasty after you got into it. With some rice and some peas with shallots. Made some salad, but neither of us felt like eating it. Off for a dog walk, then two squares of 70% Lindt chocolate each.
Friday/6-Jul-12: The latest Vie Pratique Gourmand has an article on carpaccios, the oddest (to me) being fine slices of foie gras (duck) interleaved with bits of strong dark chocolate and beet leaves, topped with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Suppose I'd eat this if it were served, but don't think it's anything I'd every consider making.
Dinner was a half dose of Mini Farfalle with Roasted Peppers, Onions, Feta, and Mint (CL/mar11, web). Pretty good stuff. Then the salad we didn't eat last night, with some walnut oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Saturday/7-Jul-12: Bought a box of organic courgette, so trying to use that up now. Made Zucchini Pound Cake (GreeneGreens, p407). One of those egg-splitting cakes, so not on my everyday list, but pretty darn good. (cookbook sunday).
Dinner was Chicken with Blueberry-Ginger Chutney (CL/jan05, web). The chicken was regular grilled kip filets that had been marinated a bit with some herbs, nothing too fancy. The chutney is what made this special. And I'm sure the leftovers will go well with another meat before too long. Accompanied by trio rice and Steamed Summer Squash Vinaigrette (TooMany, p202).
Sunday/8-Jul-12: Yogurt on overday.
Didn't feel like cooking what was on the plan, so there was Pasta Salad with Fish (PastaCarluccio, p55) instead. Then we had some Zucchini Pound Cake with the last of the vanilla custard and topped with a handful of fraises de bois picked this afternoon.
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: yes, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: no, #5 VEG/FISH: 4
This month: #6 PASTA:no
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tagliatelle with Chicken Livers
Antonio Carluccio Cooks Pasta
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
Carluccio's chocolate pasta not being my favorite pasta ever, I thought I'd give this book another try with my monthly fresh pasta. This recipe called for fresh tagliatelle, so I made that in the early afternoon, then prepared the sauce for dinner.
Chicken livers are not my favorite food, but the DH loves them, so I try to indulge him occasionally. But I have to say, even I liked the results. What's more, this has to be one of the cheapest dinners I've ever made. The chicken livers cost less than one euro. Pasta, how much does less than 1-1/2 cups flour and two eggs cost? The rest of the ingredients are pantry staples of minimal cost.
For two, start by finely slicing a small onion and sautéing gently in oil until softened. While that's cooking, sliver 150g of chicken livers. Add them to the onion, along with 2 bay leaves, and sauté gently over low heat for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the liver cooks, prepare one little bowl with 1-1/2 tablespoons of sherry (I used 2 tablespoons, since a lot evaporates and I was cutting back the recipe) and a grind of nutmeg, and another with 1 tablespoon of tomato purée and 1 tablespoon chicken stock (or water).
Drop the fresh pasta into boiling water, then stir the sherry/nutmeg into the livers and let simmer for a minute or so. Then stir in the tomato purée and stock; maybe you'll need some extra stock or water to give a nice consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper as you like. Remove the bay leaves and serve over the drained pasta, topped with lots of freshly grated Parmesan.
The fresh tagliatelle was delicious with this, but I don't see why a dried pasta wouldn't be perfectly good. And why not a shaped pasta like gemelli/cascareccia or butterflies?
This post is linked to this week's Cookbook Sundays.
Monday, February 27, 2012
This week in the kitchen
Monday/27-Feb-12: Nothing much happened in the kitchen today. Went to a movie tonight and ate Chinese/Vietnamese afterewards.
Tuesday/28-Feb-12: Dinner was Nutty Eggplant and Potato Curry (VegSpice, p83) over plain rice, plus some Potato and Pea Samosas (web, and many other places) and Raita (MJ1, p162). The curry was OK, but pretty boring as these things go. The samosas, wrapped in filo and baked, were very good. I made ten, but should have filled them a little less full and made a dozen.
Tuesday/28-Feb-12: Dinner was Nutty Eggplant and Potato Curry (VegSpice, p83) over plain rice, plus some Potato and Pea Samosas (web, and many other places) and Raita (MJ1, p162). The curry was OK, but pretty boring as these things go. The samosas, wrapped in filo and baked, were very good. I made ten, but should have filled them a little less full and made a dozen.
Yogurt on overnight.
Wednesday/29-Feb-12: Made a dose of tagliatelle tonight to go with a half recipe of Tagliatelle with Chicken Livers (PastaCarluccio, p16). Even I, a non-chicken-liver-lover, liked it. Served with a salad. (Accidentally got a 200g sack of mixed lettuces, so saved some for tomorrow night.) Followed by frozen raspberries (thawed) over toasted frozen waffles topped with a bit of cream.
Thursday/1-Mar-12: Discovered today that the Type 65 flour that I bought at the mills on Sunday is high-gluten flour, so should be good for breads. The Type 45 flour that I buy ordinarily is equivalent to cake flour, although it's been making some pretty good bread. Wonder if we'll notice the difference when I make bread with the Type 65?
Wednesday/29-Feb-12: Made a dose of tagliatelle tonight to go with a half recipe of Tagliatelle with Chicken Livers (PastaCarluccio, p16). Even I, a non-chicken-liver-lover, liked it. Served with a salad. (Accidentally got a 200g sack of mixed lettuces, so saved some for tomorrow night.) Followed by frozen raspberries (thawed) over toasted frozen waffles topped with a bit of cream.
Thursday/1-Mar-12: Discovered today that the Type 65 flour that I bought at the mills on Sunday is high-gluten flour, so should be good for breads. The Type 45 flour that I buy ordinarily is equivalent to cake flour, although it's been making some pretty good bread. Wonder if we'll notice the difference when I make bread with the Type 65?
After some hits from this book, Chicken Patties with Rosemary and Pancetta (Diaries, p39) was not so successful. Tasted OK, but the ground chicken from breasts was dry in spite of being fatted up with lardons/pancetta and baked in broth. For serving, I thickened the broth a bit with potato starch. Served with smashed potatoes. Finished with a bit of lettuce and the rest of last week's Carrot Salad with Cumin, Cinnamon, and Sweet Paprika.
Friday/2-Mar-12: Dinner was a half recipe of Thai Shrimp Curry (KnowHow, p389; cookbooker), from the Thai Curry chapter, served over rice. Accompanied by a half recipe of Cucumber Salad (Delightful, p51; cookbooker), which is one of my standard side dishes for a southeast Asian-ish meal. For dessert, I defrosted some mango slices.
Saturday/3-Mar-12: Belated shopping again today. We still didn't try the scanner gadget; next time perhaps. Saw first fêves of the year, from Egypt, but didn't get any. Did buy some beautiful haricots verts from Morocco, a bit closer. Lots of nice-looking summer veg from Peru and such.
Friday/2-Mar-12: Dinner was a half recipe of Thai Shrimp Curry (KnowHow, p389; cookbooker), from the Thai Curry chapter, served over rice. Accompanied by a half recipe of Cucumber Salad (Delightful, p51; cookbooker), which is one of my standard side dishes for a southeast Asian-ish meal. For dessert, I defrosted some mango slices.
Saturday/3-Mar-12: Belated shopping again today. We still didn't try the scanner gadget; next time perhaps. Saw first fêves of the year, from Egypt, but didn't get any. Did buy some beautiful haricots verts from Morocco, a bit closer. Lots of nice-looking summer veg from Peru and such.
Planted a hedge of bird-friendly shrubs today, as well as three blueberry plants in big pots. Both of us with sore backs now. Sigh.
Dinner was a halfish recipe of Broccoli and Cashew Pilaf (VegSpice, p113) plus the left-over samosas. Forgot to make more raita, which was a shame, since there's yogurt to use up and I bought some fresh mint today (the mint pot isn't showing signs of life yet). I used half the rice and broccoli for the pilaf, but the full amount of spices and it wasn't bad, much better than the nutty eggplant thing earlier in the week. Think I might put the adapted version into Mastercook. The samosas reheated very well.
Yogurt on overnight with a new starter.
Sunday/4-Mar-12: Big lunch at the Fruits de Mer in Lèsignac-Durance today. Nothing happening around in our kitchen.
Sunday/4-Mar-12: Big lunch at the Fruits de Mer in Lèsignac-Durance today. Nothing happening around in our kitchen.
Hmm...never made any bread this week. What happened?
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: February, yes; March, no
Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes, #2 BREAD: no, #3 SOUP: no, #4 MIDDAY: yes, #5 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #6 PASTA: February, yes; March, no
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Chocolate Pasta
Antonio Carluccio Cooks Pasta
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
Antonio Carluccio
BBC Books (1999)
ISBN 0563384557
Yes, that what it says, chocolate pasta.
This is a book I bought a long time ago, but I've never spent that much time with it. I enjoyed Carluccio's TV shows and have others of his books that I've used, but this one never seemed to catch my eye somehow. Last week, I picked it up, as a unused cookbook, looking for a sauce inspiration for my monthly fresh pasta effort. When I saw the recipe for chocolate pasta, I figured I'd found my recipe—not to mention dessert for christmas dinner.
The recipe said it served four; having made it, I expect that might really be six. I cut the recipe in half for two and there was easily another serving available.
Cut in half, the recipe looks much like the one I most often use for fresh pasta, from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, but with sugar and cocoa added. Those extras, with no additional liquid, made the dough really stiff and much too dry. I added quite of a bit of extra water just to get it workable, but I'm sure it was still too dry. I could only roll it to 5 on my machine. It was a good think I'd planned to stop there, because it would have been impossible to roll it on 6. Here's the pasta waiting for its final preparation.
The recipe called for the pasta to be drizzled with honey and topped with chopped pistachios. Instead, I drizzled with crème anglaise (store-bought, sorry) before topping with the pistachios. Walnuts or other nuts would also be good, I think.
This is one of those things that I probably won't make again, but I'm glad I tried it. Now I know just what chocolate pasta is like.
This post is linked to this week's Cookbook Sundays.
Christmas dinner 2011
A small xmas this year, since neither of us were much in the mood for one reason or another. Simple table, simple meal.
For a starter, we again had slices of the foie gras wrapped with dried magret, bought at a marché de nöel. The vendor we bought from previously wasn't there, so we bought this from someone else, a very nice lady speaking very slowly and distinctly for the gringos. It was good, but neither of us thought it was as special as it has been in previous years. Here's Ed about to tuck in.
For a starter, we again had slices of the foie gras wrapped with dried magret, bought at a marché de nöel. The vendor we bought from previously wasn't there, so we bought this from someone else, a very nice lady speaking very slowly and distinctly for the gringos. It was good, but neither of us thought it was as special as it has been in previous years. Here's Ed about to tuck in.
Also at the marché, I bought some ostrich steaks from a farm in the Dordogne. These turned into Ostrich Medallions with Gin Sauce. The recipe was originally for emu, but ostrich works just fine. Before cooking, the bird medallions sat around for a bit with a coating of green peppercorns (I used pink, there being no green ones in-house), juniper berries, and garlic. For the sauce, the pan was deglazed with a mixture of wildfond (stock from game, since no beef stock was in-house), port, chopped shallots, and a dab of gin. Between the juniper berries and the bit of gin, that was the strongest flavor, although it all went together quite well.
As go-withs I made potatoes Dauphinoise (BEFCC, p51) and roasted up some more Brussels sprouts. The potatoes are a classic and this recipe always turns out well. For two people who have never particularly cared for Brussels sprouts, we're getting to be big fans of roasted sprouts; they're much better than steamed or, yuck, boiled.
And for dessert there was chocolate pasta, which got its own post, a different turn on my monthly pasta.
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