what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

last time i had tacos at a big table with everyone building their own half of us were on acid and i found it very difficult to construct one and put it in my mouth

Maybe I should just frame a pic of the couronne because that seems like too many variables in making it while trying to make other stuff. Hmmmm, maybe I will end up ordering some food again. That is kind of my specialty.
in orbit even when you came over once for that weird Harry Potter thing, I think I had ordered a bunch of brisket.

cut out the center of a cheese pizza, call it a couronne. put the picture of Paul Hollywood in the middle and find out who your true friends are.

lol I was just going to say that my large party go-to is actually Lechera's slow-cooker pulled pork recipe plus a red cabbage/carrot/sesame slaw and cornbread. You could sub in some kind of crusty rolls and have ppl make sandwiches but it doesn't help anyone who doesn't eat pulled pork.

THESE ARE NOT MY FRIENDS so maybe they only deserve the pic of Paul Hollywood.

I might make that couronne on my own time. I have never really made any bread thing with that much butter before.

we should all make french laundry brioche someday and report back

oh, would def try that.
dunno if you like this idea, Yerac, but the first one that popped into my head was some sort of grilled polenta app. one bonus here is you can make polenta in advance, cuz it needs to be cool to slice (3 parts water: 1 part polenta will give the proper consistency). then you can slice into little circles, squares, whatev, grill or saute or broil to make a little toasty, and top with just pesto, and maybe something else for color like roasted red bell? too much work?
i've done vietnamese spring rolls but not for that many people. little falafel balls are another idea, but maybe to much effort for that many people, eh.

Ohhhh that polenta thing sounds good. I will look for it in the grocery store (although I kind of think I have never seen polenta there but maybe I just missed it. It's on the early side so people might not even eat, so everything that's leftover will need to be ok for just the 2 of us to finish (i hate wasted food). I am already excited that I get to eat all the cheese and charcut that is leftover from my 'cheese by numbers' board.

I would make the FL brioche. I was looking up the recipe but the Bouchon bakery one kept coming up? Same?

I don't know. I thought we all had amazon prime access to the FL book. thought that gave us the gazpacho quarter from March to May.

this slightly annoying post claims to be from FL cookbook
https://marthameetslucy.typepad.com/blog/2012/03/thomas-kellers-brioche.html

i wonder why it is so different than the Bouchon recipe. i can't imagine either one is less than stellar anyways. . .

the ingredient list matches the FL cookbook

The texture of that brioche looks like this whiskey bread that I used to get in a restaurant that I loved and had a lot of whiskey bread babies with. I have never been able to find the right recipe online. Maybe I should try to modify it.

I could use some meal ideas within these parameters (for my husband’s lunch - he will cheerily eat the same thing every day for months, but it’s been months already of salad made from green peppers, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, vinaigrette):

- no meat/fish/dairy, eggs are ok, no tempeh since he already eats that frequently for dinner
- protein heavy
- not too carb-y
- pretty easy to prepare
- he’ll eat almost any vegetable

We sometimes will make a big base of quinoa (with tumeric, cilantro, garlic etc). on Sunday and then throughout the week in the morning add the larger vegetables and something like a veggie burger, falafel or some leftover from the night before. We usually will have a couple of tupperwares of things like large pot blanched broccoli, roasted brussels that we can add.

Oh and that gazpacho that is mentioned above actually is really good for lunch.

The last two days I have packed for lunch brown rice with the leftover smoked black beans and I add in fresh cilantro, scallions and an avocado in the morning with a lime wedge and some everything but the bagel sprinkling on the avocado.

My fave salad rn is raw corn cut off the cob, diced tomatoes, diced bell pepper, chives, basil, mint and a lemon juice dressing. I add feta, which kind of binds it all together, but maybe a tahini dressing would bring the creaminess minus the cheese?

Also pro quinoa.

Sorry, I missed the protein part of the brief, but chickpeas would prob go great in that also.

would a frittata go over, just1n3? could make one on the weekend to last for a few days. a little (or a lot of) chevre and maybe some zucchini and/or some other veg. i often take big sandwiches for lunch. if that isn't too much carbs. just a simple grilled tofu (which could also be done well in advance) and avo. and something green like baby kale or sprouts. also love those vegan sausages from tj's. fry them up with some onion and peppers (again, this could be a batch that lasts a few days), stick in pita/ciabatta/focaccia/bread of choice. (mayo and mustard are automatic sando. ingredients for me).
the grain salad idea sounds great to me, too. feel like i need to try to incorporate that myself.

tejal rao has a killer insta imo. this morning she posted a pic of this beaut https://ladyandpups.com/2017/07/14/chi-spaccas-focaccia-di-recco-or-the-closest-youll-get-to-it-at-home/ which i plan on bringing into my life tout de suite (that is, hopefully tomorrow). Chi Spacca is Nancy Silverton-related btw

i grilled some corn in the husk on the bbq last night. was p good even tho i kind of set a couple of them alight (despite using a medium heat and having soaked them in water for an hour before

unfortunately was a gas bbq which imo sucks. but it's in the common area of my building so shouldn't complain about a free amenity

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLhwIVhx69/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I went fishing this morning with my wife's father and her 89 year old grandfather on the grandfather's boat, in Lake Superior, where he has been fishing for 75 years, about a mile and a half straight out from my mother-in-law's house on the lake. I honestly feel that he knows he's getting too old and wants someone to know all his secret spots and techniques and his sons and grandson are not intersted, so it comes to me, an outsider, though I've known him for 25 years now.

We caught 8 lake trout in two hours (and lost another three) while trolling in 110-140 feet of water with elaborate setups of weights and lures and deep sea fishing rods with pulleys and metal line and it takes five minutes to reel them in and land them with a net. You then have to dispatch the wriggling fish with a small wooden bat that grandpa calls "The Headache Machine".

My wife and son met us back at the marina where grandpa keeps a blood covered table and old hydraulic fluid buckets and knives in some buddy's collapsed building, then we remove the guts, heads, and tails and dump them on the shore where flocks of seagulls fight over them and if you get lucky bald eagles are attracted by the noise and show up to eat whatever they want while all the seagulls retreat to the water.

We took six of them, gave two to friends, and I cooked the other four on a gas grill rubbed with salt and with slices of lemon wedged into slits cut in the sides and tarragon sprigs in the body cavity. Six adults and three children ate them with a tarragon / lemon / mustard mayonnaise and potatoes and corn and green salad and a blueberry pie that my wife made today with berries she gathered in the woods around the house. I'm going to have cold fish leftovers with toasted rye bread and greek yogurt for breakfast tomorrow.

I've been cooking his fish for years but this summer is the first time I've gone out fishing with him and it's surreal and violent and bloody and beautiful and all sorts of intense things related to eating animals for food.

that sounds wonderful. what a day.

beautiful post, thank you

That's what it's about.

great post!

Loved that, I hope you save it and share it with family!

Wonderful post. Sounds amazing!

if joygoat ever writes a cookbook, can put that post before right before the JOYGOAT'S SALT CRUSTED BRANZINO

i would watch a "fishing with joygoat" video.

me too!

i was planning on making a peach pie and/or eggplant parm this weekend but i had a big (hellish) week at work and i'm tired. but peach pie.

We were down at the beach in Delaware this week with my wife's family (same as every year). The farm stands had incredible peaches, tomatoes, and corn, so I made a really simple peach tart. I also made a nice corn and tomato salad that was as sweet as candy, but with a little lime zest to ground it a bit.

i got a bunch of peaches but they aren't ripe yet. i'll have to make it mid-week.

my peach tree needs thinning, it is absolutely bonkers with fruit

i love stone fruit season

i had the weirdest nectarine the other day - it *tasted* perfectly, deliciously ripe but the flesh itself was hard as a rock, like it was unripe. i cant quite wrap my head around what would cause that to happen.

nectarines are one of my favourite things about summer. they sell them year-round but they taste shite when not in season so I get into the habit of ignoring them on the shelves and forget until late into summer, then i buy loads.

We are growing raspberries too and they're really good!

gbx you should can some so you can have delicious peach items in the winter

I think I'm gonna! Or at least my housemate is, since she actually knows how

peaches ripen fast. they were pretty much ready so i made the pie. could have waited one more day. they were ripe enough to remind me (1) i hate peeling peaches, and (2) i hate handling peeled peaches. i have tried the blanching thing in the past but i don't find it more convenient. i just used a paring knife and lost a portion of the fruit. so slimy and drippy. i just took it out of the oven so i'll taste it tomorrow. also still trying to unlock the mystery of pie crust. i fail every time.

PBKR which beach?

Bethany. Wife's family spent a week every late-July/early August in OCMD from the mid-80s to about 2001; then in Bethany from 2003 to the present. I've been joining them more or less since 2000.

We rent two houses and have between 20-30 family members, depending on who can make it. Four generations this year (88 years to 5 months). It is a lot of fun, other than the drive from Long Island.

That's so great.

I think I was only on Bethany once or twice. We were a Lewes–Rehoboth–Cape Henlopen State Park family. The latter is a great car-camping place, nice beach, access to a World War II observation tower. I miss the Delaware shore!

Cool! You can see those WWII bunkers/turrets on the dunes in the state park between Rehoboth and Bethany. That might be the same ones. I always find it weird to think they were "necessary" at one time.

Bethany is very sleepy/family oriented - the bars in town close at like 10pm(!) which doesn't really matter since we spend most evenings at the houses and only go out for a lunch or two as a break from the beach. It's so wholesome down there it is ridiculous, but I've come around to it.

lately been eating very simple toast for every meal. Toasted sourdough, zahav hummus, 2 slices of heirloom tomato we picked (sprinkled with sumac, allepo, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper), zahav herbed labneh, microgreens

and a drizzle of evoo of course. I think stevie d recomended the tj's kalamata years ago, and I still buy that one.

and tomato seasoning is from the six seasons book. Been peeling and making concentrated tomatoes all day. Holy shit, tomatoes, basically

Your tomato bread sounds awesome. I am lazy and just make a huge plate of caprese. Lots of salt and good olive oil from Spoleto go a long way with tomatoes.