So what have you cooked lately? (Year three!)

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I've missed ILC

I made a reasonable attempt at chocolate mousse for dessert on New Years Day. It followed Bream roasted on top of peppers and and potatoes tossed with thyme, the pan then swilled out with white wine and saffron water before being severely reduced for sauce.

― Matt (Matt), Thursday, 4 January 2007 19:53 (seventeen years ago) link

I was going to brown a chicken breast but didn't have any flour so I used pancake mix to coat the chicken. Worked like a charm..

― lk (lawrence kansas), Thursday, 4 January 2007 20:11 (seventeen years ago) link

I've missed ILC

But there was Sandbox ILC!

― Mädchen (Madchen), Thursday, 4 January 2007 21:07 (seventeen years ago) link

I took the opportunity afforded me by the sandbox era to take a complete ILX break and go and get some fresh air. Now I am ready to admit it to my life again (also, I work as a chef, so December's a trifle busy for me).

― Matt (Matt), Friday, 5 January 2007 11:22 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm in the middle of a loaf of bread that takes weeks to make and which might night work. It uses fermented apples as a levain.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 6 January 2007 09:17 (seventeen years ago) link

Cor, that sounds great! If it's going to take weeks, could you save a piece to use as levain the next time?

― Mädchen (Madchen), Saturday, 6 January 2007 12:03 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking... ;-)

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 6 January 2007 18:48 (seventeen years ago) link

last night i juniper-brined and grilled two lamb shoulders, made braised rice soubise (?) from the sunday suppers at lucques cookbook, and a blood-orange and beet salad from the same. everything came out well, except for the rice. which came out way, way, way, way too salty. i followed the recipe mostly, and even thought to cut back on the salt (since i was using an especially potent himalayan pink salt) but i dunno... i'm inclined to believe the recipe is misprinted. 2T sodium for 6c. onions and 1/4c. rice. Surely 2t?

Also, any ideas where I can buy cheap duck or goose fat for confit? On a Sunday in Los Angeles? Surfas doesn't seem to have any... neither did the Culver City Whole Foods.

― remybean (bean), Saturday, 6 January 2007 22:24 (seventeen years ago) link

ha! I'm making lamb-shoulder chops this aft. braised w/tomato.

can't decide what starch to serve alongside. couscous w/mint?

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Sunday, 7 January 2007 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link

pasta with smoked trout, chili, lime, capers, lemon.

― lauren (laurenp), Sunday, 7 January 2007 15:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Whoo, I just threw some flour & butter into a bowl, rolled out a bottom crust, and mixed up a mutt of a quiche: tomato/gouda/ham/scallion/diced baked potato. I am v proud of the crust, I was worried that not having bought a frozen one would cause me pain in the making but I was QUICK like a baking bunny.

― Laurel (Laurel), Monday, 8 January 2007 00:48 (seventeen years ago) link

lately (cuzza susanne goin) i'm big on farro / wheat-berries. any of those around, m.c.?

― remybean (bean), Monday, 8 January 2007 03:08 (seventeen years ago) link

I made my own chicken chow mein last night, and it was scrummy.

― Ste (Fuzzy), Monday, 8 January 2007 10:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Last night I tossed together a pasta with a red salmon, garlic and baby pea cream sauce with lemon juice. Wasn't sure if it would work - I usually use tuna, thought canned salmon would be too mushysweet a fish - but damn if it wasn't the tastiest thing ever.

Who follows their cravings when cooking? I had a fish craving bad, hence the pasta. I'm a big believer in listening to the body's cravings.

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 8 January 2007 10:58 (seventeen years ago) link

My cravings seem to be more general - salty, sweet, breadish, soup, those sorts of categories. But I do go with them! If I don't, I eat too much of something else to compensate for not getting what I really wanted.

We were at our local fabulous asian market Saturday and got a 1 lb. slab (about 1/2" thick and 6"x8") of the most beautiful sashimi grade maguro. I sliced it in 3, coated with a mix of black and white sesame seeds and seared it in a blazing hot cast iron skillet for 2 minutes per side. It was divinely rare. Served with rice/green peas/toasted pine nuts as a side.

― Jaq (Jaq), Monday, 8 January 2007 17:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh man that sounds good.

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 8 January 2007 23:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Yum yum. By "asian market" you mean Uwajimaya?

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 00:08 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh yes, it is local once more :) We hovered over the durian popsicle case for just a moment, remembering. And the muscat gummis were on sale, so watch yr mail.

― Jaq (Jaq), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 00:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Aw now, don't go making me feel guilty! There's nothing here worth sending in return.

What was the name of that dim sum place we all ate at?

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 00:42 (seventeen years ago) link

When I was in the Seattle Uwaj the other day I started getting really annoyed at how far away the Portland (actually Beaverton) one is. Grr! Be within walking distance, store!

I made a tomato soup last night which was easy and tasty. And my long-awaited pain des pommes, whose recipe starts with a warning of how some might be daunted by a bread that takes weeks to make, is nearly done. The first two loaves got cooked yesterday, and right before I bit into one I realized that there was no salt in them. And I checked the recipe and sure enough that's how the recipe goes. And so I ate some and it was nice but was unsalted bread. So I added some salt and tried to work it into the remaining three loaves, which will go into the oven in maybe 30 minutes.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 00:43 (seventeen years ago) link

(Also big ups to that vegan Thai place with the lunch buffet of delight in the U district of Seattle on 45th within walking distance of the UW bookstore, which also gets big ups.)

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 00:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Downstream of the University bookstore? I am in awe of 5 loaves of bread at a time!

That was House of Hong, oh diaphragm drawer. Mr. Jaq and I took our Sarah there for lunch when she got here on Thursday. Our new neighborhood is the land of phô, and I am learning its varied delights.

― Jaq (Jaq), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 02:00 (seventeen years ago) link

just did a whole roast chicken, simple-style, stuffed some rosemary under the skin and made a sauce w/shallots and the degreased juices. striving for correctness and allegedly better taste I used an organic & free ranging chicken and WTF! scrawny stringy bird barely fed the 3 of us and the dark meat didn't want to cook all the way. Guess I'm used to industrial big-breasted chickens (tho I usually buy Bell & Evans "natural") but oh man this was frustrating.

$2 more per lb, too.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 12:02 (seventeen years ago) link

Lower temperature, longer time? Should help the meat relax and remove your stringiness problem, it'll cook more evenly too, see also brining the bird first (though this is a foodie faff). Give it a blast at the end to crisp up the skin. The free range ones do tend to be smaller but the flavour is infinitely better, I find.

― Matt (Matt), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

thanks! maybe I rushed /browned first @ 450 then 350 til "done"

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 14:41 (seventeen years ago) link

i agree w/ matt that organic free-range chickens (all meat, really) taste much better than their factory counterparts. this is one area where spending the extra money usually provides noticeable results. his suggestion of lower temp/longer time is a good one. rather than blasting early on for browning, you could try adding a little bit of honey to the basting liquid near the end for that burnished crispness.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 15:58 (seventeen years ago) link

I am currently making chicken and mealy pudding pie (or rather I've made it and it's in the oven now). Making pastry when you come home from work is quite calming.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 19:14 (seventeen years ago) link

mealy pudding

Can you provide more detail on this? I don't want to let my imagination run away with itself.

― Jaq (Jaq), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 19:27 (seventeen years ago) link

It's a Scottish pudding (like black pudding or haggis pudding) but white instead and mainly oatmeal. Typical recipe here:

http://www.recipezaar.com/162127

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 20:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Thanks!

― Jaq (Jaq), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 21:35 (seventeen years ago) link

I am kind of a chicken hater but I think salting is unquestionably the way to go.

― Paul Eater (eater), Tuesday, 9 January 2007 22:35 (seventeen years ago) link

I got a mac-n-cheese cookbook for xmas and tonight I'm making a basic one. The sauce is a bechamel with 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 quattro fromaggio (because they came pre-grated from trader joes and it was EASY), the pasta is farfalle, the topping is bread crumbs of a wheat levain. Eating in 5 minutes. Mmmmmm.

― Jaq (Jaq), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 02:55 (seventeen years ago) link

WHOA paul i just had zuni cafe chicken at my friends' house last week!! i didn't even notice it was the zuni recipe until i clicked on your second link. it was AMAAAAAAAZING. but how weird!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 03:13 (seventeen years ago) link

There's a mac'n'cheese COOKBOOK? What do you need to know?!? Make roux, add cheese, pour over pasta, bake. The combinations are practically endless!

― Laurel (Laurel), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 03:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Ah, but the endless combinations - that's the thing. For instance, sweet noodle kugel - not your typical mac-n-cheese. It's full of regional variations, and I wanted it, so I'm happy :)

― Jaq (Jaq), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 04:55 (seventeen years ago) link

If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. :)

― Laurel (Laurel), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 05:02 (seventeen years ago) link

thanks! maybe I rushed /browned first @ 450 then 350 til "done"

The marvellous (though somewhat scary) Heston Blumenthal roasted his for four hours at 60C. N.B I am not suggesting you do this as he had to deep fry the damn thing to crisp the skin up afterward which is somewhat impractical, though you could brown it off in a pan. A couple of hours at a lowish heat, then a blast (He also brined it, boiled and refreshed the whole thing twice before roasting, this strikes me as being too much like hard work, and somewhat the antithesis of the whole idea of a roast i.e. lovely straightforward comfort eating). I find a salt/marjoram mix brings the skin up a treat (as nobly suggested by Paul upthread).

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 10:18 (seventeen years ago) link

last night was stuffed eggplants from the silver spoon book. they're great, but as usual the whole thing took much longer than the recipe indicated - about an hour and a half as opposed to about 45 minutes or so. why am i such a slowcoach in the kitchen?

p.s. - i am in love w/ silver spoon.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

I used my visiting daughter as my assistant last night ("Make bread crumbs!" "Stir this!" "Drain the pasta!" "Get the nutmeg!"). It was exhilarating and I was dizzy with power. Also, we got to eat before 8 pm. I think the amount of prep time for recipes is underestimated in most of the cookbooks I have.

― Jaq (Jaq), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 16:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, I am under the impression that every cookbook writer has 7 sous chefs running around assisting them because that's the only way most prep times make sense.

― AllyzayEisenschefterBDawkinsFlyingSquirrelRomoCrying.jpg (allyzay), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 16:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh, and yesterday it was Manhattan clam chowder, except the clams were augmented a bit with oysters as well.

― AllyzayEisenschefterBDawkinsFlyingSquirrelRomoCrying.jpg (allyzay), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 16:13 (seventeen years ago) link

i think i'm gonna order me a silver spoon cookbook.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 17:00 (seventeen years ago) link

I think the amounts of prep time assume that you have the recipe memorized AND can find every tool in yr kitchen with your eyes shut. Not so much when you're double-checking every ingredient as you go along plus your roommate used the spatula and it has to be washed.

― Laurel (Laurel), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:07 (seventeen years ago) link

It's not just prep time that's chronically misestimated! So many writers are guilty of the "saute onion 30 seconds or until translucent" school of how's-that-gonna-happen temporal confusion.

Judy Rodgers may be trendy but she's got a lot on the ball. Salting instead of brining works amazingly in many many meat situations.

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 20:59 (seventeen years ago) link

arrgh! re: temporal confusion - i've mentioned this before, but the ultimate example i've encountered is an otherwise excellent recipe for fish pie that instructs one to cook over low heat about a pound each of sliced onion and fennel for "10 minutes until well carmelized."

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 21:20 (seventeen years ago) link

I have half a brie and some cranberry sauce. I am leaving the country tomorrow. I am about to attempt to make little brie and cranberry filo parcel things then freeze them. Then forget all about them until Christmas, probably.

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh my god the amount of time cookbooks claim it takes to carmelize something is incredible in terms of how much of a lie it is. It used to drive me nuts, because I would get psyched to eat onion soup and then forget that it takes about 300x longer to make (properly) than any recipe will lead you to believe. Now I know so it's not so terrible but I can remember how frustrating that was. It's really no wonder so many people do not cook, I suppose.

― AllyzayEisenschefterBDawkinsFlyingSquirrelRomoCrying.jpg (allyzay), Wednesday, 10 January 2007 22:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I had a huge amount of leftover garlic mashed potatoes from the other night, so...shepherd's pie.

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 11 January 2007 03:51 (seventeen years ago) link

very much yes

― Matt (Matt), Friday, 12 January 2007 00:16 (seventeen years ago) link

Risotto heaven tonight: duck stock that had been simmering most of the day, chantarelle mushrooms, white wine, garlic, fennel, bits of chopped duck meat, a tiny bit of parmesan reggiano.

― Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 12 January 2007 03:09 (seventeen years ago) link

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