This week in the kitchen

Monday/20-Sep-21: Yogurt on overday. Put a rouelle de porc on to brine for tomorrow's dinner. 

We both had dentist appointments this afternoon, so I planned for a dinner that didn't require lots of chewing. We had Risotto con Spinaci (TuscKitch, p122), which was better than I expected really. The spinach was added at the beginning of cooking and I was afraid it would be mushy and unpleasant tasting, but it was fine. Luongo has you make a risotto by puttig the rice and all liquid in the pan at once. I added the stock bit by bit as I usually do. (Ed threw away the extra stock, which I was going to use for a little lunchtime soup. I'm out of stock in the freezer now, so need to make some more.) For after we had boulangerie-bought chocolate-pear toetjes.

Tuesday/21-Sep-21: Dinner was a Pork Roast (Everlasting, p169), accompanied by smashed sweet potatoes and buttered sweet corn. We're full. 

Wednesday/22-Sep-21: Leftovers tonight. We had the rest of the Clafoutis Courgettes. Then a sort of insalata caprese with our (only!) tomato from the potager this year, a beefsteak. With mozzarella and the last of the basil plant. And a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines for after.

Thursday/23-Sep-21: Shopping today. I really do have to stop buying meat from the anti-gaspi bin. The freezer is getting full of this stuff. Plus varkenshaas were on sale (who can pass those up) and merguez too. 

Dinner was Fish with Artichokes & Capers (MWClass, p365). This was okay. Served with lots of little buttered potatoes. Some store-bought dark chocolate mousses for after.

Friday/24-Sep-21: Time to catch up on some of the cookbooks I've been reading.

I finished Salt Fat Acid Heat, by Samin Nosrat, a while ago. This is a very good good book, more how to think about cooking and the use of the titled ingredients than recipes. 

Finished My New Mediterranean Cookbook, by Jeannette Seaver, not too long ago. Seaver wrote one of my favorite French cookbooks, Jeannette's Secrets of Everyday Good Cooking. Haven't cooked from this one yet, but it looks promising.

In between, I read a borrowed quickie, Pepys at Table, with recipes from the 17C adapted to the modern kitchen. A fun read, if nothing that attracted me to cook.

Recently, needing a cookbook to read on the way to grocery shopping, I grabbed The Book Lover's Cookbook, by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen. Turns out I've already read this, but forgot to take the dot off the spine. A mildly interesting book, but I doubt I'll finish it again. Need to think more carefully about my next read.

Dinner was Linguine al Cavolfiore (MC; an old mag clipping). Haven't made this in a long time, a shame since it's good stuff. Then a salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Saturday/25-Sep-21: Busy day. I've got a pot of chicken stock going. Meant to freeze it up today, but didn't get that done. Made some Oven-Roasted Tomatoes; these are now in the freezer on a plate. 

Made Original Plum Torte (web) aka Purple Plum Torte (Essential, p763). Not quite following the more recently published version from the web, I reduced the sugar even further, to 2/3cup. This was fine. This is easy to make and delicious. 

Our main was a half version of Moroccan-Spiced Roast Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Sauce* (web), using 4 thighs rather than a whole chicken. Cooked in a skillet in the oven. Very tasty, the skin was crispy and tasty. We couldn't eat a whole pound of potatoes. Served with little violet artichokes (web), a recipe from a friend. Still a bit fiddly to do (lots of trimming), but the whole thing is edible which is nice. Plum Torte for dessert, of course.

Sunday/26-Sep-21: Didn't get the chicken stock put up yet again. But Ed's gotten the kitchen hot water heater replaced, so tomorrow this might get done. (Unfortunately the water heater isn't a geyser, like we had in NL, but a small 35-liter water heater that serves the kitchen and the Tardis in our bedroom.)

Dinner was a half-dose of Evan's Lamb Curry (Tenth, p232). This is in the using-up-leftover-lamb category. It was ok, nothing special. Served over brown basmati rice. Beforehand we munched on some Spicy Cucumber Wedges (MJ1, p172), an old favorite. And Plum Torte for dessert.

Another week without a photo. :-(

Yogurt on overnight.

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: yes; #6 BACKLOG2: yes!; #7 RECYCLE: 11; #8 NEW: 4

This week in the kitchen

Monday/9-Nov-20: Dinner was a half dose of an old Allerhande recipe, Farfalle with Smoked Salmon Sauce and Broccoli (MC). Didn't really have enough salmon, but that was okay. Used mafalda, which is much nicer, instead of farfalle. Mini cups of HD ice cream for after.

Tuesday/10-Nov-20: Yogurt on overday. 

Made a loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p17) (Basic/Rapid/L/d/-). All T65 flour.

Dinner was Sheet-Pan Harissa Chicken with Carrots and Cauliflower (web). This was good, It's easy to make, but takes a bit of time. It's a one-dish meal. I had four thighs, so made a half recipe. The half dose of the marinade was just enough for the thighs; I had to make up a bit more for the veggies. We pigged out for afters and had 1) a cube of Pavé s'Affinois (cheese), 2) a slice of the new bread (yes!), and 3) two squares of chocolate.

Wednesday/11-Nov-20: Dinner was an halfish dose of Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese (web), made with the remains of last week's potimarron. Unfortunately some of the squash got a bit past the done state. Served over short-grain brown rice. Good as a whole; would have been better without burnt squash. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Thursday/12-Nov-20: Picked up a grocery order from Intermarché today, so it was fish for dinner. 

We had Trota Salmonata all'Aceto Balsamico (TuscKitch, p139), with regular salmon instead of salmon trout. I thought about doing it in a skillet like last week's one-sided salmon, but instead baked in it in the oven. It was good. Served with polenta and steamed broccoli.

Friday/13-Nov-20: Made another loaf of Italian Bread (BigGerman, p19) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-), this time using 2cups bread flour (T65) and 1cup white whole wheat flour (T110). I didn't remember that I'd made the large loaf last time, so there are two variables in this loaf.

Dinner was a half recipe of Farfalle with Cauliflower and Turkey Sausage (web; CL/dec08). Pretty good stuff, and easy. I used more sausage than asked (four of six in the package, the other two will make sandwiches for lunch), but it didn't feel like too much. Should have made a salad, but was too lazy.

Saturday/14-Nov-20: Made up the chocolate broth for tomorrow's ice cream, and put the chickie on to marinate. No more oomph for cooking, so it was pizza for dinner.

Sunday/15-Nov-20: Made a 1-1/2# loaf of DeDe's Buttermik Bread (MagicHints, p142, which is slightly different from the same recipe in Magic, p16) (Basic/Rapid/M/d/-). I used 2cups of bread flour (T65) and 1cup of white whole wheat flour (T110). Good stuff.

It was a special meal today because it was Ed's birthday and we couldn't go out. We started with artichoke bottoms, spread with green tapenade, topped with a bit of chabichou (a localish goat cheese), run under the broiler till it's all melty and the cheese is turning browning. 

Our main was Butterflied Grilled Chicken with a Chile-Lime Rub (web), with the chicken cooked like this. Very yummy it was. We had grits, and broccoli-and-corn for sides. 

Dessert was Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream (Scoop, p29), which is still yummy.

We ate well, but no pictures.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 3; #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

This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Sep-20: The leftover zucchini ravioli got re-warmed to serve as a side dish for some grilled boneless pork chops, along with the last bits of an odd pasta shape. (Trying to reduce my collection of pastas.) Pretty good, and Buddy enjoyed much plate licking. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Tuesday/22-Sep-20: Use-up-veggies night. The potatoes we got yesterday are pretty eye-y, so I trimmed those back to make a sort of scalloped potatoes based on French Scalloped Potatoes (BEFCC, p51), with blue cheese stirred into the sauce before baking. Topped with some steamed broccoli. Pretty tasty stuff. A pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each for after.

Wednesday/23-Sep-20: Made another loaf of English Muffin Bread (BMB, p17); such good stuff.

Made Cinnamon Fluff Cake (MC). Tore into two pieces coming out of the bundt pan. Still tastes good.

Dinner was Chipotle Turkey and Corn Soup (MC). Good stuff.

Thursday/24-Sep-20: Dinner was based on Coconut Curry Shrimp (web). I made about a third recipe, and added frozen peas with the shrimp at the end for some vegetable matter. Used just a dab of honey but that was too much. Totally unnecessary I think. Some Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Friday/25-Sep-20: Picked up an order at Intermarché. It appears I forgot to remove sardines from my basket, so we'll have fish two nights in a row here.

Tonight's dinner was Grilled Lemon-Soy Salmon (MC; CL/oct03; web). This is easy and good. Annoying that the poissonière gave me a tail bit and a regular body bit, and the thinner tail cooked much faster. Served with some steam-sautéed potatoes, but I started with too much water, so they were only steamed. And some steamed carrots and broccoli. We finished the Cinnamon Fluff Cake for after.

Saturday/26-Sep-20: Tonight we had the sardines that I bought inadvertently, Sarde Frites (TuscKitch, p148); I used polenta rather than bread crumbs for the crunchy bit. I sliced up a lemon as suggested and entrusted them to Ed to bring to table, but he forgot. Instead we used sriracha (Ed) and jalapeño Tabasco (me) to bring up the taste. Served with corn, crozets, and a sliced tomato.

Sunday/27-Sep-20: Dinner was Braised Veal, Carrot, Olives and Capers (web). This was pretty good. I had more than enough meat, so we'll have an extra meal of it. Served over smashed potatoes. Followed by a big salad. Then a pair of chocolate-covered madeleines each.

Yogurt on overnight. Overnight bread on overnight too.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 VEG/FISH: 4 #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