This week in the kitchen

Monday/30-Aug-21: Leftovers tonight. We finished the Chicken-Liver Casserole with Mushrooms and Eggplant; I made another batch of Kentucky Minted Carrots (TLSouth, p67), which were just as good tonight even though I didn't cut them at an angle. For after, we finished the peach clafoutis.

Tuesday/31-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Lemon and Thyme Risotto (web). I made it with chicken stock rather than vegetable stock. It was good stuff. I liked the lemon zing; Ed not so much. (How can it be that my sweetie doesn't like lemons?) A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Wednesday/1-Sep-21: There was an Indian meal featuring a lamb and spinach dish on the plan for tonight, but yesterday Ed said he’d be happy to bbq. I scrambled around to find a new main course. We had Grilled Lamb Steaks with Rosemary, Garlic, and Red Wine (Thrill, p150), using “steaks” from the shoulder rather than the leg. They cooked up really well. After scrounging in the veggie drawer, we had roasted carrots and green beans tossed with some lemon juice, lemon zest, and parmesan when they were done. That looked pretty skimpy, so I made a tomato salad with red onions and basil and a lemony vinaigrette. And some potato gnocchi. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/2-Sep-21: Shopping today. We managed to leave the insulated cold bag behind, so Ed had to go back to get it, bless his heart. 

Dinner was Salmon with Lemon-Herb Marinade (web). This was pretty good. I cooked it under the broiler, using the hinged gadget that you'd use on the bbq. Served with some spaghettis courts, which isn't spaghetti, but is short, and pretty good as a side starch; and thick half-moons of zucchini sautéed in olive and sesame oils, with sliced garlic and sesame seeds and a tablespoon of soy sauce added at the end (loosely a recipe found on the web). Some store-bought riz au laits for after.

Friday/3-Sep-21: Dinner was a half recipe of Roasted Chicken Banh Mi (web). Pretty good stuff, but way too much sugar for the carrots and cuke. I cut it back, but it was still sweet. As a side, there was my old standard, Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts (web). Some mini HD ice cream cups for after.

Saturday/4-Sep-21: Dinner was Texas Stacked Enchiladas with Corn and Black Beans (web). Surprisingly good. I had some new tortillas (brand Moctezuma) that are enormous, at least 20cm diameter. The package has 10 tortillas; I used 8 for two stacks with all the sauce and filling. Neither of us could finish our plates, so we'll have this again in a few days. I added more ancho powder along with chipotle and green chile (jalapeño) powder (1tsp each) to the sauce which seemed a bit bland. It seemed like an enormous amount of sauce, but I used it all. No dessert needed.

Sunday/5-Sep-21: Dinner was Spicy Thai Shrimp Pasta* (web; GD). I made all the sauce, with half the shrimp and pasta. No angel hair tonight, so there was spaghttini. No lemongrass (I thought I had some), so I used lemon peel instead. (The peel from one lemon is equivalent to two lemongrass stem, I read somewhere.) Some store-bought riz au laits for after. 

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4 #2 PHOTO: no; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/23-Aug-21: Monday again. Dinner was a halfish recipe of Pan-Fried Chili and Garlic Chicken Livers (web). This was pretty good as chicken livers go (not my favorite thing). They went well with the grits. Also served with Kentucky Minted Carrots (TLSouth, p67). I made a half recipe of what should serve four and thought it servings were a bit skimpy, especially because it was good. A pair of chocolate chocolate-covered madelines for after.

Tuesday/24-Aug-21: Started to make dinner, then discovered I'd neglected to ensure there were fresh bread crumbs available. So I make a loaf of Easy French Bread (Electric, p62). 

Tonight's dinner, Mushroom Tortellini Soup (SimpSups, p116), was on the plan for tomorrow. I used the end of one jar of dried cèpes (porcini) and opened a new jar. Yuck, the "dried" cèpes were moldy, and seriously yucky at the bottom of the jar. So we were a bit short on the dried mushrooms. Pretty good stuff, though. The whole recipe should serve four, but the two of us ate it all. (Used my last jar of AH Paddestoelen Fond. When will we be able to get more, I wonder?) Some mini Häagen-Däsz ice cream cups for after.

Wednesday/25-Aug-21: Dinner was Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad (web). (I collected this from my EAT-L list.) This was a salad to serve eight, but it was a fine dinner for two. A pair of chocolate chocolate-covered madelines for after.

Thursday/26-Aug-21: Shopping today. Our favorite boulangerie is still closed for vacation and I forgot to buy bread at Leclerc, so I guess I'll be making more bread this week. Ed really likes the one I just make, but it's almost gone now.

Used up the last of my chicken livers to make Chicken-Liver Casserole with Mushrooms and Eggplant (TLSouth, p45). This wasn't bad at all. I did expect the eggs and cream to make a kind of custard around the livers, shrooms, and eggplant, but it was pretty watery. Still, tasted okay. Make a little salad as a go-with. Store-bought custard with caramel for after. It's late, but we're well-fed.

Friday/27-Aug-21: Made a loaf of German-Style Whole Wheat Bread (Rustic, p150). This is about the best tasting and textured whole wheat bread I've made.

Dinner was Crispy Fried Catfish (Delightful, p73). The fish was cod rather than catfish. The cod, as cod does, flaked after being steamed. So I fried the flakes. Only a bit of crispiness appeared. The green mango I bought for the go-with salad in the recipe was rotten at the core; I used a can of mango slices instead. Served with plain basmati rice and a half dose of Cabbage Salad (Delightful, p50), which was good again. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Saturday/28-Aug-21: Dinner was a half dose of Turkey Tenderloins and Apricot Sauce (EAT-L; web). I used turkey scallops, from the freezer, rather than tenderloins; the cooking time was a bit less, I think. Served with orzo and broccoli. For after we had Peach Clafoutis (web). This was very easy and very yummy. Used my oval Wedgwood casserole, oval being the traditional shape for clafoutis.

Sunday/29-Aug-21: Dinner was, more or less, a half recipe of Tonnarelli al Granachio e Rucola—Tonarelli with Crab and Rocket* (ClassPasta, p107), made with linguine. 

More Peach Clafoutis for after.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #2 PHOTO: yes; #3 *DMA: yes
This month: #4 GUESTS: n/a
This year: #5 BACKLOG1: no; #6 BACKLOG2: no; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/14-May-18: For tonight's meal we had Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage with Peanut Sauce (BoldVeg, p135; cookbooker) with Red and Green Polenta (BoldVeg, p176; cookbooker) as suggested. The cabbage was an interesting dish, a little weird at first, but grew on you. Mini ice cream bars for dessert.

Tuesday/15-May-18: Worked on the meal plan (and list) today, trying to use up as many of the veggies in the fridge as possible.

For our meal, we had Pasta with Asparagus-Lemon Sauce (web). This was quite good. I made all the sauce with half the pasta. The pasta (malfada) was generously sauced, but not excessive. Following some of the comments, I used the zest of a whole lemon and added the juice to the sauce, and I roasted the tips with a minced shallot and garlic cloves. Very tasty. Served with a made-up salad of grated carrot, cuke that was quartered and finely sliced, radish, and a bit of onion, all with a lemon vinaigrette. Quite good it was. Some goat cheese for dessert.

Yogurt on overnight.

Wednesday/16-May-18: Shopping today.

When we got home, to use up some of the buttermilk, I made Buttermilk Coffeecake (TLSouth, p119).

Our dinner was Salmon with Lime Courgettes (200Budget, p178). The salmon was ok, but the zucchini was very good fun, cut in long thin strips, sautéed, and tossed with lime zest, juice, and chopped mint. Served with orzo. The coffeecake for dessert was a hit.

Thursday/17-May-18: Breakfast for dinner today. I made Ned and Crescent's Favorite Multigrain Pancakes (Gospels, p205)—a whole dose and then froze half for another meal. Served with some of the chamomile syrup from Saturday.

Friday/18-May-18: Busy afternoon cooking:

• Made some Favas and Pearl Onions with Olives and Herbs (VegA2Z, p66). Favas from the store this week; pearl onions left from last week. This recipe has in interesting way to treat the onions. You pour boiling water over them, then cut off the bottom and peel. (I only cut off the top if it was "ugly.") Peeling is much easier this way—hooray! The favas were cooked (steam-sautéed) without peeling the individual beans. I added extra olives because I thought the dshes needed them; Ed thought it was too much. This was an okay dish. Think I prefer my favas peeled and bright green. 
• Mama's Garlic Coleslaw (MC; HandyBook). 
• Baked Potatoes on the Grill (MC), but cooked in the toaster oven. Two smallish potatoes for the two of us. I found it way too much. 
• Craig Claiborne's Ultimate Hamburger (Tabasco, p88). Still a good way to do a hamburger.

For dessert, we finished off the Buttermilk Coffeecake. Yum.

Yogurt on overnight.

Saturday/19-May-18: We went to Gamm Vert today and bought some plants, geraniums, three hanging pots, etc. For our meal, I marinated two kip filets as in Chile-Soaked Grilled Chicken (BigFlav, p180), without the accompanying the Indonesian Catsup, that we didn't think was needed last time I made this. The chicken was good. Served with asparagus, simply grilled with salt and pepper, and penne of red lentils and carrots. Then a salad of romaine lettuce. Then some Buttermilk Ice Cream (MC), kind of tan colored because I used sucre de canne, rather than white sugar.

Sunday/20-May-18: We lunched at La Bellone today, before going to Chalais for a concert. Nothing happened in the kitchen.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 BACKLOG: no; #2 VEG/FISH: 4; #3 COOKBOOK: yes
Cookbooks of the month: BoldVeg and 200Budget
This month: #4 PASTA: no; #5 BREAD: no; #6 GUESTS: yes

Cookbook Countdown: Turkey Hash and Lacy-Edged Batty Cakes

Thanksgiving has passed and company has gone home. Time for one more meal from Time-Life Foods of the World American Cooking: Southern Style. We had Turkey Hash  (p14) with Lacy-Edged Batty Cakes (p14). These apparently go together to make a traditional Kentucky Derby breakfast.

I made half recipes of the hash and the batty cakes. The hash says it serves 6. The half recipe easily served two for dinner; three might have been a stretch unless accompanied by a big salad or some such.

To make the turkey hash, first sauté some onion and green bell pepper. When those are soft, add some sliced mushrooms; I used shiitakes, since that's what I had in the fridge. When the liquid from the shrooms has evaporated, stir in some flour, then some stock. (I used chicken stock from the freezer, since I haven't made my turkey stock yet.) When the stock boils and thickens slightly, stir in some turkey meat (I picked a selection of light and dark meat from my turkey carcass), chopped parsley, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. If it seems too dry, you can stir in spoonfuls of cream, but I didn't think this was necessary. Nothing fancy here, but plain good food.

The batty cakes are cornmeal pancakes. I can't say these were really successful, but they were certainly good enough to to serve as a base for the hash.

Stop by Cookbook Countdown to see what other folks are making from their November cookbook. Why don't you choose a cookbook from your shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Shrimp Pilau

It was dinner from Time-Life Foods of the World American Cooking: Southern Style once again tonight. We had Shrimp Pilau (p29). Can't say I ever thought of this kind of dish as especially southern, but here it is.

Instead of fresh or canned tomatoes, I used some of the "purée" that I froze up from our summer crop. And I used lardons, which is easily available in France and always in the freezer, for the bacon bits. The lardons yielded only about a teaspoon of fat (European pigs seem to be much leaner than US ones), so I added another bit of olive oil before sautéing a pile of chopped onions. When the onions were soft, I added the rice, already rinsed, and stirred till it was well-coated with the oil. Then I added chicken stock (also from the freezer), along with Worcestershire sauce (the real one, carefully measured), ground mace, cayenne, and salt. (I added somewhat less salt than asked, and we found it it fine at the table. This is a bit surprising since I don't salt my chicken stock when I make it. So the recipe might be a bit salty.) This mixture is brought to a boil, then covered and baked at 350F for 30 minutes. Then the shrimp and bacon bits are stirred, covered, and baked another ten minutes. Out of the oven, the pot sits another ten minutes. Serve, sprinkled with chopped parsley, and enjoy!

The recipe says it should serve 4-6. I made a half recipe and we have at least one more full serving leftover, or maybe two smaller servings for lunch.

Stop by Cookbook Countdown to see what other folks are making from their November cookbook. Why don't you choose a cookbook from your shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy

Another dinner from Time-Life Foods of the World American Cooking: Southern Style. Tonight we continued the Southern fried food tradition with Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy (p38).

Poor Ed, who really loves fried chicken, has lived with me for more than forty years and never had good fried chicken at home. I've never been able to make it properly. Until tonight. I think in the past I've been afraid of using so much oil, and probably I didn't wait until it was good and hot before slipping the chicken bits in. But here it is, simple as can be. About an inch of oil, almost at the smoke point, chicken thighs dried, salted, and peppered, then dipped in flour and slipped skin-side-down into the hot oil. The recipe says to cook them for about 12 minutes, turning frequently; I thought it took a bit longer for them to get nicely golden. 

As you get the pieces cooked, put them on a paper-towel lines plate and into a very low oven to stay warm while you make the cream gravy. Sorry, I served the gravy over mashed potatoes, not over the chicken.

My mother and her mother before always made fried chicken with cream gravy. They did not come from Maryland. How did this tradition end up in Kansas, I wonder?

Stop by Cookbook Countdown to see what other folks are making from their November cookbook. Why don't you choose a cookbook from your shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Crab Cakes

Another dinner from Time-Life Foods of the World American Cooking: Southern Style tonight. We had Crab Cakes (p35), with Tartar Sauce (p77), which is based on Mrs. Marston's Sauce Mahonaise (p75).

Crab cakes. My step-mother's sister (my step-aunt?) makes wonderful Maryland crab cakes. When we've visited, one of the highlights is helping to pick over the crab before she makes them. My Time-Life crab cakes were good, but not in the same category of good.

The crab cakes are made with mayo (I used yogurt), dry mustard, cayenne, Tabasco, salt , ground white pepper, chopped parsley, and crumbs. I used canned crabmeat since I haven't found packages of fresh meat like you can get in the US. I made little cakes, ending up with only seven instead of the projected eight. They were quite small, so maybe I didn't have enough crabmeat. These are chilled, then deep-fried in 3" of oil. (I had only about 1", but it seemed to work fine.)

The recipe suggests serving with Tartar Sauce. Before I could make that I needed to make Mrs. Marston's Sauce Mahonaise. If I'd had any mayo in house, I could have used that, but I've recently discovered that all the store-bought mayos which are easily available are based on canola oil (aka rapeseed oil). I've never been a big mayo fan, but have noticed lately that I like it even less. Even Hellman's tastes off to me. Canola oil is taking over. While we were visiting in the Netherlands I found sound Hellman's Olive Oil Mayo, but even that has canola oil as the first ingredient. Next time I'm at a health food store, I'll look for some without canola oil, but meanwhile we are mayo-less. Thus, Mrs. Marston's. Which started out quite well, turning into a very thick mayo. But I have trouble with the drop-by-drop addition of oil and it soon turned too thin and separated. So, as advised, I started with a new yolk and then added my separated mess. Same problem. When I had enough volume for the tartar sauce, I stopped making "mayo" and made the sauce. It then held together pretty well, and was very tasty. Unfortunately, I forgot to put a dollop on the plates for the pictures.

This tartar sauce wanted tarragon vinegar (which I thought I had, but didn't, so added white wine vinegar plus a pinch of tarragon leaves), dry mustard, cayenne, salt, chopped cornichons, chopped shallot, chopped chives, chopped parsley, and chopped capers, all mixed with the mayo. A very good tartar sauce.

Mrs. Marston's Sauce Mahonaise includes the yolk of a hard-boiled egg as well as raw egg yolks, plus dry mustard, a pinch of cayenne, and lemon juice or vinegar. One day I'll be able to make mayonnaise consistently, but this wasn't the day. The home-made stuff is so much better than anything out of a jar.

Stop by Cookbook Countdown to see what other folks are making from their November cookbook. Why don't you choose a cookbook from your shelf and join in?

Cookbook Countdown: Hominy Grits Soufflé

This month I'm back to my cookbook series project. I'll be cooking from Time-Life Foods of the World American Cooking: Southern Style. This book was a really enjoyable read and I've marked lots of recipes to try. The author, Eugene Walter, was a born Southerner, who seems to have alway been food-aware. He returned to the US from his home in Italy, to make a food tour of the Southern states.

Breakfast-for-dinner, that's a thing, right? Tonight we had Hominy Grits Soufflé (p13). I've never had this before, and loved it. The corny taste of the grits and their gritty texture against the smooth of the soufflé really appealed to me. On the other hand, my DH thought the dish was blah, and gave it some zip with Tabasco.

As soufflés go, this one was pretty easy to make. First you cook up some grits. When these are done, you beat in some butter (I think I omitted this), bacon fat, egg yolks, and some freshly ground black pepper. Then you whip the corresponding egg whites till they form stiff peaks, fold them into the grits mixture, and tump the mixture into a casserole. (A bit of Southern-speak there.) Top with some bread crumbs and bake at 350F for 45 minutes.  Coming out of the oven, it was a proper puffy soufflé, then promptly collapsed in the middle as they do.

The recipe said it served four to six. We ate the whole recipe with a salad as dinner for two. I expect it would make a nice breakfast dish for four. (Six would be a stretch.)

Stop by Cookbook Countdown to see what other folks are making from their November cookbook. Why don't you choose a cookbook from your shelf and join in?