This week in the kitchen

Monday/21-Apr-14: Dinner was Sticky Soy-Hoisin Chicken Thighs (web; cookbooker) which was pretty good. Used five thighs and all the the sauce for the two of us; there was plenty of sauce, but not a superabundance. Served with coconut rice and some yellow green beans from the freezer, cooked in sesame oil and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and amchoor at the end. For dessert, I used up a tub of ricotta that I defrosted for something that didn't get done and made my version of Coffee Ricotta Mousse (MW@Home, p307).

Tuesday/22-Apr-14: Shopping today. Bought some organic lemons to make preserved lemons. Picked up a pair of coquelets then asked at the butcher's counter if they had pigeonneaux. Yes they did, so I bought two and froze the coquelets. Them-thar pigeons were expensive! Stay tuned.

Dinner was Spiced Fried Fish (30MinCook, p120) made with swordfish, which was on sale today. Fish strips tossed with lime, spices, and besan, then deep fried. Yum. Served with Carrots with Mustard Seeds (30MinCook, p47) and Pan-Fried Potatoes with Browned Onions and Garam Masala (RealCook, p244). For dessert we had fresh strawberries with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream (TLAmer, p106). Forgot to take a picture till it was too late.

Wednesday/23-Apr-14: A lovely lunch out today, courtesy of Groupon. We didn't need to eat anything for the rest of the day.

Thursday/24-Apr-14: Yogurt on overday. Another IHCC dinner tonight, with Chicken and Rice Salad (Diaries, p187; cookbooker). We finished off the ice cream when I got back from line dancing.

Friday/25-Apr-14: The day got late, so what was on the plan (and defrosted) will move to tomorrow. Instead there were Zucchini Bread Pancakes (web). Good there were. I made a whole recipe, expecting leftovers to freeze, but we ate it all. A bit much, but oh so good.

Saturday/26-Apr-14: Made up some Preserved Lemons (Couscous, p31) which now need to get shaken daily for 30 days before using.

American food from TLAmer tonight. Served the squab and spoon bread with Grilled Asparagus (30MinCook, p31) and Cold Beetroot with Cream (Pomiane, p180). We were full. No dessert.

Sunday/27-Apr-14: Intended to make pasta today, but it looks like Ed finally managed to share his cold-crud with me, and I'm feeling like s***. So I made the sauce to go with the strangely named Whole Wheat Spaghetti (XSpecCP, p99). This isn't a crockpot dish (except to keep it warm) and all you do is cook some store-bought whole wheat spaghetti, but there's a nice sauce of sautéed leeks, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olive, lemon zest, and lemon juice. I made a little salad of rocket and a chopped up beet and the rest of the dressing from Pomiane's beet dish. Split a Magnum classic for afters. Hoping to feel better tomorrow.

Yogurt on overnight.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: no; #4 FotW: yes; #5 BREAD: 0

This week in the kitchen

Monday/31-Mar-14: Nothing happened in our kitchen. We spent a Groupon night that included a delicious meal at a chateau near Perigueux. While we were ordering they brought us a covered dish of truffles to sniff and offered us a sliver on several menu choices for an an extra €10. No, thank you, we said.

Tuesday/1-Apr-14: Back home. Shopping.

Dinner was Émince de saumon au cidre et au safran (web), that's salmon chunks in a cider-saffron sauce; there's also cream in the sauce and it's served over pasta, but you'd never guess from the name. Ok. The plate was supposed to be trimmed with slices of peach and cucumber. No peaches to be found, so I used some mango slices from the freezer. The mango worked; the cuke was weird. Actually not a bad dish, although next time, I'd forget the cuke and stir the mango into the sauce at the end. That was enough for dinner.

Wednesday/2-Apr-14: Started the first yogurt with the new yogurt maker this morning. The machine is the same but different. They have you make the yogurt without the lids on the jars, not sure why, and there's a second level where the lids side while the yogurt is cooking. Instead of a knob to set the time, there's an electronic gadget to choose the number of hours, and it counts backward, so you know, more or less, how much time is left. Also it beeps when it's done, another nice feature. We'll see.

It was some pretty good clear-out-the-freezer chili tonight, with an odd bit of Hazan's Italian sausage, black beans, and blue hominy, along with a couple of ice cubes of chili-soaking liquid. And a dab of guacamole on the side. For dessert there were pots of store-bought riz-au-lait.

Thursday/3-Apr-14: This morning's yogurt was about as good as the new starter that I used. A new brand of yogurt, which wasn't my favorite.

Dinner was Harissa Quinoa with Shrimp and Chickpeas (web; cookbooker), which was tasty, but not really successful. And a salad.. Then we were full.

Friday/4-Apr-14: A dinner to start off Nigel Slater at IHCC and work on the freezer inventory tonight. Lamb Sirloin Chops with Yogurt and Mint (RealFast, p240), Fragrant Brown Basmati Rice (RealFast p203). a cucumber salad with white wine vinegar and chopped dill (as recommended), and some broccoli with a squeeze of lemon juice and a grind of pepper flakes.

Saturday/5-Apr-14: Yogurt on overday. Still had a bakje (unexpired) of a better yogurt, so used that as the starter. Not sure why the lids can't be on while the yogurt is cooking. There's even more condensation in this one.

At dinner, our main was Sliced Pork with Tiger Sauce (Kuo, p330). (Hard to believe this is the first time I've reference Kuo here. Goes to show I haven't been cooking much Chinese food since we moved.) This recipe is the closest thing I've found to some Thai "Tiger Cries" that we used to get in Houston many many years ago, only with pork instead of beef. Served this with Stir-Fried Spiced Cabbage (TLChina, p34) and plain rice.

Sunday/6-Apr-14: Tonight's dinner was Linguine with Smoked Trout and Basil (XSpecCP, p101; cookbooker). Really has nothing to do with a crockpot. The sauce is kept warm for serving in the crock. Ho hum. I just tossed it with the linguine and served it right away. Good it was, though. Then a salad. And that was all.

Progress on goals
This week: #1 COOKBOOKS: yes; #2 VEG/FISH: 3
This month: #3 PASTA: yes for March, no for April; #4 FotW: yes for March, no for April; #5 BREAD: 1 for March, none for April