Salmon with Sauce Gribiche

We like the Thomas Keller recipe for Salmon with Sauce Gribiche so much, we decided to make it again. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 4, 2016. Click the date to get the recipe. It is a delicious combination.

We started with a Nectarine Salad with Almonds and Prosciutto. The sun was just setting and we had some great shadows on the wall!

Salmon with Sauce Gribiche

We like the Thomas Keller recipe for Salmon with Sauce Gribiche so much, we decided to make it again. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 4, 2016. Click the date to get the recipe. It is a delicious combination.

We started with a Nectarine Salad with Almonds and Prosciutto. The sun was just setting and we had some great shadows on the wall!

Zuni Fish

We are trying to eat more fish. This recipe from Zuni Cafe is great one. Sea Bass with Leeks, Potatoes, & Thyme. It is definitely a one dish meal. We purchased the fish at McCall’s Meat and Fish. This would make a great dish on a cool night. You can get the recipe from our blog of: May 4, 2015. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a Salad of Avocado and extremely sweet Cherry Tomatoes from Cookbook in Echo Park.

Sea Scallops

We had some left over Risotto and decided to use it as the base for making Caramelized Sea Scallops. Tom and Scott joined us for dinner. This is a good recipe although we didn’t brine the scallops.

We completed the dinner with Peach Pie from McCall’s Meatand Fish (and bakery).

It was another warm night, perfect to eat outside on the deck.

Caramelized Sea Scallops

Ad-Hoc

Thomas Keller

2      cups kosher salt, plus more to taste

2      cups hot water

8      cups cold water

12    U7 sea scallops (about 1-1/2 pounds; see headnote), preferably dry-packed, tough side muscle removed from each one

About 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Clarified Butter

½     le mon (optional)

I always buy big scallops, graded U7, meaning there are 7 of this size in a pound, and for this dish, we brine them to season them all the way through. Scallops are great with sweet, earthy, or salty things, such as the Braised Pork Belly or Melted Leek Rounds.

Line a small baking sheet with paper towels Combine the 2 cups salt with the hot water in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add the cold water.

Add the scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes (no longer, or the scallops may become too salty).

Drain the scallops, rinse under cold water, and arrange in a single layer on the paper towels.

Heat the clarified butter in a large stainless steel frying pan over medium-high heat until it ripples and begins to smoke. (Although you may be tempted to use a nonstick pan, a stainless steel pan will produce a more beautiful caramelized exterior.) Sprinkle the scallops lightly with salt and add them to the pan, without crowding. (If necessary, cook the scallops in two pans or in 2 batches; if they touch, they will steam rather than caramelize.) Cook, without moving the scallops, until the bottoms are a rich golden brown, 3 to 3-1/2 minutes. Turn the scallops and caramelize the second side.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

We found this recipe for Buttermilk Roast Chicken in the New York Times. One of the advantages of the way that the NYT publishes recipes is that people comment on the recipes. Many of the comments suggested putting Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts under the chicken while it is cooking. The chicken drippings season the vegetables as they crisp up in the very hot oven. The skin (which I know I shouldn't eat, but love) got exceptionally crispy. This is a very good and easy recipe. Note you need to start a couple of days before you cook the chicken so that the Buttermilk and herbs marinade can penetrate the meat. We used only chicken thighs.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

New York Times

Nigella Lawson

Roast a chicken and you know you have a comfortable meal. Alter that a little by butterflying the chicken, a surprisingly simple task that can be carried out with a pair of kitchen scissors, and you have a quick dinner that carries with it the casual air of barbecue, without the bother. Here, buttermilk, which is usually associated with fried chicken, helps to tenderize the chicken and conveys the aromatics: you really get the full value of the rosemary, pepper and garlic. If you want to substitute maple syrup for the honey, you can. Best of all, you can leave the marinating bird in the fridge for up to two days; thus, it gets more tender and you know you have a dinner that needs no more than to be popped into the oven.

Ingredients

1       4-pound chicken

2       cups buttermilk

¼      cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2       cloves garlic, lightly crushed

1       tablespoon crushed black peppercorns

1       tablespoon Maldon or other sea salt

2       tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

1       tablespoon honey

1.   Butterfly chicken by placing breast side down and using heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut along both sides of backbone. Discard backbone, turn chicken over and open it like a book. Press gently to flatten it.

2.   Place chicken in a large freezer bag. Add buttermilk, 1/4 cup oil, garlic, peppercorns, salt, rosemary and honey. Seal bag securely and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

3.   Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade and place on a rack so excess can drip off. Line a roasting pan with foil and place chicken in pan. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Roast for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees. Continue roasting until well browned and until juices run clear when chicken is pierced where leg joins thigh,about another 20 minutes.

4.   Place chicken on a carving board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into serving pieces. Place a portion on each of four plates, and drizzle each serving with pan juices.

Moroccan Fish Tagine

Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomatoes, Olives, and Preserved Lemons is one of my very favorite fish dishes. It has it all. It is beautiful to look at with all of the red tomatoes and peppers. It has a fantastic aroma. It is a fish dish that can be reheated. We definitely like this recipe and frequently make it. You can find the recipe on our blog of: July 31, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Chicken Pilaf

We purchased a new cookbook: Flavorwalla. With a name like that it had to have great recipes. The author has a restaurant in Bombay called: The Bombay Canteen, that we have never been to, but on our next trip we will be sure to eat there. For our first recipe from the book we decided to make: Chicken Pilaf. Cathy halved the recipe and it still made enough for a Punjabi wedding! The rice is wonderful with all of its flavors. The leftovers (and we had lots) re-heated easily and were excellent.

Chicken Pilaf

Flavorwalla

Floyd Cardoz

This is a great meal for a crowd that can be pulled together quickly using pantry and freezer staples. Make sure that your liquid is hot before you add it to the rice, so that it will cook more evenly, and stir the rice very gently with a silicone spatula to keep the grains whole.

serves 12

2      13.5-fluid-ounce cans Chaokoh-brand coconut milk (stir well before using)

About 6-1/2 cups Chicken Stock

½     cup canola oil

2      teaspoons cumin seeds

1      2-inch piece cinnamon stick

6      whole cloves

4      cups finely chopped white onions

¼     cup minced peeled fresh ginger

6      garlic cloves, minced

2      tablespoons coriander seeds, finely, ground

1      tablespoon black peppercorns (optional)

2      teaspoons turmeric

2      bay Leaves

6      cups white basmati rice, rinsed, soaked, and drained

3      pounds/1.36 kilograms boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed, quartered

Kosher salt

1 cup thinly sliced wished and dried cilantro Leaves with tender stems (stack the Leaves a few at a time to slice), plus more for garnish

Pour the coconut milk into a large glass measure. Add enough stock to make 2-1/2 quarts. Heat the stock and coconut milk in a medium pot over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat and keep at a very low simmer.

In an 8-quart stew pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the cumin, cinnamon, and cloves and cook, stirring, until the spices are fragrant and little bubbles form around them, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened but not at all colored, about 3 minutes.

Use a silicone spatula to stir in the ginger, garlic, coriander, black peppercorns, if using, turmeric, bay leaves, and the drained rice, then stir to coat the rice with the oil and spices. Stir in the chicken, tucking it into the rice, and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Stir in the hot stock mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked, 15 to 20 minutes. Fold in the cilantro. Cover and let the rice rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a fork; remove and discard the cinnamon stick, cloves, and bay leaves. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve.

Cooking Time: about 55 minutes/ inactive time: 15 to 20 minutes for resting

Jar-B-Que

We call the Pork Chops recipe from Jar: Jar-B-Que. They call it Hosin-Marinated Pork Chops. No matter, it is excellent. We purchased beautiful pork chops from McCall’s Meat and Fish. We have made the recipe many, many times. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 30, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Pork Chops we had Creamed Corn  and Spinach, which was a leftover from an excellent dinner that we had at Terrine. Corn is just coming into season and it was very excellent. You can get the recipes for both the Hosin-Marinated Pork Chops and the Creamed Corn from our blog of: Sep. 16, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Salmon with Gribiche

We have been eating a lot of salmon and we found a recipe for Sauce Gribiche in Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook. It was delicious. It has all of the tastes of Provence that I love! We served the Salmon with steamed Potatoes. An excellent meal.

Sauce Gribiche

Thomas Keller

This sexy little number comes straight out of the French Laundry cookbook. Normally I wouldn’t reprint a recipe from a such a tome, just out of respect, however you can quite easily find this recipe via a quick google search – thanks to google books. So here goes.

This sauce is fantastic with anything that is rich and fatty – pork belly, leg of lamb – heck it might even work with some great black cod or salmon.

1       heaped tablespoon minced shallot

1-1/2 teaspoon finely minced capers

1-½   teaspoon finely minced cornichon

½      teaspoon Dijon mustard

1       tablespoon of wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

¼      cup extra virgin olive oil (use some good stuff)

1       heaped tablespoon of finely chopped hard boiled egg white

1       tablespoon of finely chopped hard boiled egg yolk

¼      teaspoon finely minced tarragon

1       teaspoon finely minced flat leaf parsley

½      teaspoon finely minced chives

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Personally I like to mix the wet and add the dry in. I also like to make this a few hours before required, just to let the flavors develop a bit.

Serve alongside the roast potatoes, or with the potatoes sitting on top of a pool of the gribiche.

Yakisoba

We purchased delicious fresh Cherries and Nectarines at the market and started with a Fruit Salad  topped with Burrata and Balsamic Vinegar. It was super refreshing.

We had lots of left over Pork Butt Ssam, so we decided to make Yakisoba. We like all Japanese food, so this was a no brainer! You can find the recipe for the Yakisoba on our blog of: March 7, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.