Cliff and Cathy Dinners

Welcome Michael and Tamara

2011-12-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Michaeland Tamara were visiting us from Minneapolis and we decided to have a dinnerfor them. Robert and Darryl joined us.

Westarted with Mini-Potato Pancakes topped with smoked Salmon and Caviar and Crème Fresh. This is an easy appetizer made even easier by using frozen potatopancakes! We used Linda’s Gourmet Latkes. We purchased them at Whole Food. Notas good as homemade, but a whole lot cleaner, with no splattered fat from thefrying.

Forthe main course we started with Butternut Squash AndTomato Soup from The Foods of Morocco by Paula Wolfert. This is an incrediblesoup. Everyone swoons over it. It has the flavor of butternut squash but iskicked up to an entirely different level by the addition of the Harissa Spicemixture that we bought at McCall’s Meat and Fish. You just keep adding the Harissa until youreach the level of heat that you like. You can find the recipe for the soup inour blog of Nov. 5, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

For the main course we served: LambSteamed With Preserved Lemon And Cumin from Moro The Cookbook by Sam & SamClark. This is one of our all time great Moroccan recipes from a favoriterestaurant in London. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Feb. 10, 2010.Click the date to get the recipe. We served it with couscous. The lamb wasperfect. This is one of those slow roasted dishes. We simply put the meat in aclay pot with the spices and put the dish in the oven for over 7 hours. Themeat was succulent, falling off of the bone.

For dessert we served our annual dessert: MaryAnn’s Fruitcake from: Craig Claiborne’s TheNew York Times Cookbook. This cake is great. Everyone loves it. We usually makeit the first week of December then and start to eat it around Christmas. Itkeeps well, is great toasted and also freezes. I also like making it, because Iwork the dough with my hands and it is like playing with putty. This is awinner! You can find the very easy recipe in our blog of: Jan. 1, 2011.

Click the date to get the recipe.

Veal Pasta

2011-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

PatricaWells is one of those cookbook authors you always go back to. She has never hada restaurant and isn’t a professional chef, but her recipes are wonderful. We decided to make: tendons de veau le chameleon. Thisvery fancy named dish, is a veal pasta dish that is incredibly rich. We use the bonemarrow to make it even richer and then to take it over the top in depth we addveal glace that you can buy at McCall’s Meat and Fish. It is frozen and youjust take out a few pieces to add to a sauce. The veal of course we bought atMcCalls’s.

We made a firstcourse of a great salad from the Zuni CafeCookbook: Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs andAnchovy Vinaigrette. It is an excellent salad and easy to make. Therecipe is can be found on our blog of: Jan 31, 2007.Click the date to get the recipe.

tendrons de veau le cameleon

Le Cameleon's Braised Veal withFresh Pasta

From Bistro Cooking by PatriciaWells

In France, one of the mostpopular cuts of veal for stewing is tendron, the portion of the breast thatcontains the cartilaginous rib-like portions that visually resemble pork spareribs when cooked. For this recipe, you can choose from any number of good cutsof stewing veal, including the breast (known in France as poitrine or tendron),the short ribs (haut de cotes), veal shoulder and shoulder chops (epaule orcotes decouvertes\ and the heel of round or shank (gite a la noix or jarrei).This is one of my favorite bistro dishes (both to prepare and to eat!) and Iorder it often when I go to the popular Paris bistro Le Cameleon. With it, Iusually drink the fruity red Saumur-Champigny from the Loire.

2 tablespoonspeanut oil

2 poundsbreast of veal with the bone (ask your butcher to cut across the lower breast portionto make several strips of equal width) we use Oso Buco

Salt andfreshly ground black pepper

1 cupdry white wine

4 mediumcarrots, peeled and cut into rounds

2 mediumonions, cut into rings

4 garliccloves, coarsely chopped (or fresh thyme)

2 importedbay leaves

1 teaspoondried thyme (or fresh)

1 largecan Italian plum tomatoes, with their liquid

1 poundfresh fettuccine Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely

1. Heat the oil in a nonreactive, deep-sided, 12-inch (30 cm) skilletover medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, begin to brown the veal in batcheson both sides; do not crowd the pan. Be patient when browning; good browning isessential for the veal to retain all of its flavor. The meat should take about5 minutes to brown each batch. Carefully regulate the heat to avoid scorchingthe meat. As each batch is browned, remove the veal to a platter and season generouslywith salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. When allof the veal is browned, pour out the fat from the skillet. Return all of themeat to the pan. Add the wine, carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, andtomatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmeruntil the meat is very tender and the liquid is transformed into a thick,delicious sauce, about ll/2 hours. Keep an eye on the pan, making sure theliquid remains at a quiet, gentle simmer.

3. Meanwhile,bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water, add the pasta,and cook just until tender. Drain. Place the pasta on a large, warmed servingplatter.

4. Using aflat metal strainer, remove the veal from the pan; place on top of the pasta.Strain the sauce through a sieve. Pour the sauce over the veal. Sprinkle on theparsley. Serve immediately, on warmed dinner plates.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

What in the Hell is Poha?

2011-12-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

This is Poha!

We have never eaten, made or even viewed Poha. But we decided to make it! It is always tricky to make something that you have no experience with, but the ingredients looked interesting. Poha is often served in India as a breakfast dish. It is shaved rice. The recipe from American Masala by Suvir Saran turned out delicious and it makes a great appetizer. We will make it again! Some times the risk of trying the new works. This time we won!

shrimppoha paella

AmericanMasala

SuvirSaran

SERVES 8

2 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Juice of 1/2 lemon plus 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/2 teaspoons turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground peppercorns

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

24 curry leaves, roughly torn (optional)

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 large red onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1-1/2 cups frozen peas

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 cups poha, rinsed in cold water and drained

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Lemon wedges, for serving

Place the shrimp in a large bowl and mix them with the lemonjuice, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 teaspoon of the turmeric, and the groundpeppercorns; set aside.

Melt the butter with the curry teave (if using), mustardseeds, and cumin seeds in a large pot or wok over medium-high heat, strringoften, until the cumin begins to darken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion, theremaining 3/4 teaspoon turmeric, and remaining tablespoon of salt and cook,stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the frozen peas and cook for 2minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in thecayenne pepper and poha and cook for 1-1/2 minutes. Drizzle the water aroundthe edges of the pot, reduce the heat to medium-tow, cover, and cook for 7 minutes.Remove the cover and fluff. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with the choppedcilantro.

Serve with lemon wedges.

POHA RICE PASTA is the Indian version of instant UncleBen's. Made by pressing grains of rice flat, it is a wonder starch that cooksquickly, like couscous, but has a beautiful fluffy lightness that isincomparable to any other starch. I grew up eating With poha in your cupboardand shrimp in your freezer, you can make this meal in 20 minutes.

Cooking with Konbu

2011-12-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Awinter night, Glazed Short Ribs, what could be better? We purchased somebeautiful short ribs at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We found a really interestingrecipe for the ribs in Home-Cooking with Jean-Georges. What made this recipeespecially interesting is that it called for using Konbu. Konbu can be found ina Japanese grocery. It is a kind of seaweed and adds a layer of taste. Theresult was a great sauce and wonderful tasting meat.

With the ribs we served another Jean-Georges recipe:honey-glazed parsnips. These were wonderful. I loved the combination of limeand honey. The flavors played off each other. We don’t often make parsnips, butthis is a good recipe.

glazed short ribs

Home-Cooking withJean-Georges

Ilove meaty short ribs, but i don't want the fuss of browning the ribs beforebraising them at home. To get that same rich, caramelized flavor, I simply cookthe beef with konbu. Notable for its umami, this one ingredient can deliver thesame depth of flavor that comes from searing meat, I do labor over these ribs,though; at the end, I keep glazing them until they shine. Serve with Honey-GlazedParsnips for an inspired combination.

Serves 5

3 cups dry red wine

7-1/2 pounds bone-in shortribs, separated into whole ribs Kosher salt 2 whole heads garlic, cut in halfthrough their equators

5 large fresh shiitakemushroom caps, halved

2 carrots, peeled andchopped 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered

1 small celery stalk,chopped

4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeledand sliced

1 whole allspiceberries, lightly crushed

1 cinnamon stick

1 (6 x 5-inch) sheetkonbu

½ small bunch freshthyme

10-1/2 cupschicken stock,preferably homemade

6 tablespoons red winevinegar

Preheat

Preheatthe oven to 325°F

Bringthe wine to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Boil rapidly untilreduced to 1/2 cup.

Generouslyseason the ribs on all sides with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Transferthe ribs to a large roasting pan, bone side up. Scatter the garlic, shiitakes,carrots, onions, celery, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, konbu, and thyme on top ofthe ribs. Add the stock, vinegar, and reduced red wine. Cover the pan tightlywith foil, crimping the edges around the rim of the pan. Transfer to the ovenand braise until completely fork-tender, 3-1/2 to 4 hours.

Removethe ribs from the oven and carefully remove the foil. Raise the oventemperature to 375°F.

Whencool enough to handle, carefully transfer the ribs to a dish. Remove anddiscard the bones and any bits of vegetables or herbs clinging to the meat. Seta fine-mesh sieve over a large measuring cup. Carefully pour all the liquidfrom the pan through the sieve; discard the solids. Let stand for a fewminutes, then spoon the fat from the juices, discarding the fat, or use a fatseparator. Pour the juices back into the roasting pan.

Returnthe ribs to the pan in a single layer and straddle the pan between 2 burners.Bring the liquid to a boil, then transfer the pan to the oven. Cook, bastingfrequently, until the ribs are glazed with a shiny coat, 5 to 10 minutes. Theglaze should be saucy and cling to the ribs, but not sticky. And you shouldhave at least 2 cups of it remaining for the serving.

Servethe short ribs topped with the glaze.

honey-glazed parsnips

Home Cooking with Jean-Georges

to bring out the best in this snowy white rootvegetable, I simmer it in honey and citrus. A little heat balances the luscioussweetness.

Serves 4

2 poundsparsnips, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 5 x 1-inch batons

2 cupsfresh orange juice

½ cupfresh lime juice

½ tablespoonshoney

10 tablespoonsunsalted butter

Gratedzest of 2 limes

½ freshred Thai chile, thinly sliced

Koshersalt

In a large saute pan, combine the parsnips, orangejuice, 1 cup water, the lime juice, honey, butter, lime zest, and chile. Seasonwith salt, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer over low heatfor 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until theparsnips are very tender and glazed, about 15 minutes longer.

Braised Pork Ribs with Polenta

2011-12-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Wehad a great winter meal. I decided to bake a Bread, using the very easy NewYork Times recipe. I have made it many times and it is impossible to screw itup! The next time, however, I will try enhancing it turning it into amulti-grain bread. I really like the La Brea Bakery multi-grain and I am goingto try to replicate it. The New York Times recipe can be found in our blog of: Dec. 11, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Ihate to be definitive, however, if you like Polenta and we do, especially inwinter, the Rustic Coarse Polenta Integral (Yellow) available via the internet from Anson Mills is without a doubt the best we have ever had. It is very course andtasty. We served sautéed mushrooms over the polenta. We use the recipe from theZuni Café Cookbook. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Feb. 22, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe. For the maincourse we served Braised Pork Ribs with Polenta, from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rosetto Kasper This is my kind of dish. Ilove anything with Olives and Pork. It reheats really well. Delish!

Puntine di Maiale con Polenta

The Splendid Table

Lynne Rosetto Kasper

Braised Pork Ribs with Polenta

Puntine di Maiale con Polenta

The Splendid Table

Lynne Rosetto Kasper

Mounding tender chunks of pork ribs over steamingpolenta is a winter specialty from Ferrara. Tomato, olives, and basil addespecially rich flavors to the meaty ribs. A thick beef chuck blade roast canbe substituted with great success. With either mvat, this dish evokes snugevenings in Ferrara farmhouses, when everyone gathers around the big kitchentable for hours of good talk and good food. Serve this on the first really coldnight of winter, if possible in front of an open fire.

The Ferrarese claim that their pleasure in polentacomes from their proximity to the cornmeal-loving Veneto region. Just acrossthe Po River, the Veneto is a long stone's throw from downtown Ferrara. Polentawith braisings like this one, often made with salt cod instead of pork, areeaten all across the Veneto plain.

Serves 6to 8

5 poundslean country-style pork spareribs (cut from blade of pork loin) or beef chuckblade pot roast

3 tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil

1 largeonion, minced

4 tablespoonsminced Italian parsley

2 largeCalifornia bay laurel leaves

1 largeclove garlic

1/8 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper

1 cupdry red wine

2 14-to 16-ounce cans tomatoes, with their liquid

½ cupsmall Ligurian or Nicoise black olives, pitted

3 tablespoonschopped fresh basil leaves or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil

Generouspinch of ground cloves

Generouspinch of ground cinnamon

Generouspinch of ground allspice

Salt andfreshly ground black pepper to taste

CreamyPolenta

Method WorkingAhead: The pork or beef can be cooked 1 day ahead; cover andrefrigerate overnight. Gently reheat before serving. A little water or brothmay be needed to moisten the meat.

Browning the Meat: Trim excess fat from the meat. If pork is in onepiece, separate into pieces by cutting between the ribs. If you are using thebeef roast, cut it into pieces about 1-1/2 inches long and 1 inch thick. Heatthe oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the meat in a singlelayer. Take about 20 minutes to brown it slowly, until dark brown and crusty onall sides. Remove the meat to a platter.

Braising: Keep the heat at medium as you stir in the onionand parsley. Cook 10 minutes, or until golden brown, taking care not to burnthe brown glaze in the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently. Stir in the garlic,bay leaves, and spices. Return the meat to the pan, turning to coat it with thevegetables and seasonings. Pour in the wine, adjusting the heat so it bubblesslowly. As the wine cooks down over 10 to 15 minutes, use a wooden spatula toscrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Break up the tomatoes as youadd them to the pan. Stir in the olives, and bring the mixture to a very slowbubble over low heat. Cover tightly and cook over low heat 1 hour. Add thebasil, cover, and cook at a gentle bubble another 30 minutes, or until the meatis tender. Season with salt and pepper. Skim any fat from the surface of thesauce before serving.

Serving: Spoon over the hot polenta on a heated serving platter.Serve at once. ions Wine: This dish takes to a quaffing wine—generous in fruit,soft, and easy to drink. In Emilia-Romagna it would be a Barbera dei ColliBolognesi di Monte San Pietro, or a Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva. From otherparts of Italy drink a fruity Piemontese Gattinara, a Merlot from the Veneto,or a Salice Salentino Rosso of Apulia.

You Got to Have Sole!

2011-12-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Wedon’t often cook a whole fish. We like to cook so that we have lots ofleftovers. However, McCall’s Meat and Fish had Dover Sole, and we decided tomake it. We used a recipe for: Sole A La Meuniere from The Balthazar Cookbookby Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson. The fish was beautiful and veryeasy to cook. Of course the hard part was filleting the cooked fish.

Wemade fantastic Oven-Roasted Potatoes. They turned out extremely crispy. Theyare delicious. They are from The SplendidTable by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. This is a fabulous recipe. They areeasy to make and we HIGHLY recommend them! You can find the recipe in our blogof: April 10,2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the fish and potatoes we served: Garlic-Sauteed Cabbage also from The Splendid Table. It is a great preperation of cabbage.

SoleA La Meuniere

TheBalthazar Cookbook

KeithMcNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson.

Ingrediaents

6 Dover sole fillets

1-1/4teaspoons salt

½teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus more to taste
3/4 cup flour

6tablespoons vegetable oil

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsaltedbutter

Juiceof 2 lemons (14 cup)

¼cup flat-leaf parsley

Theperfect sole meuniere is golden brown, which is a result of a harmoniousbalance between the brown butter . and the lemon. It's a fast and simple dishand characteristic of classic bistro cooking.

Preheatthe oven to 300°F.

Drythe sole fillets and season both sides with % teaspoon of the salt and thewhite pepper. Dredge the fillets in the flour and shake off the excess.

Heat2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick saute pan over a medium-highflame. When the oil smokes, add 2 fillets and cook for 3 minutes on each side.• Transfer to a baking sheet, place in the warm oven, and continue with thenext 2 fillets. Add oil as necessary, heating to the smoking point beforeadding the fillets. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets.

Transferall the cooked fillets to the oven and wipe the saute pan clean with a papertowel. Add the butter to the pan over a medium flame. It will melt, foam,subside, and then begin to bubble again and turn a nutty brown. Add the lemonjuice, parsley, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and several grindings ofwhite pepper to taste. Serve the fillets on warm plates with the sauce spoonedover.

Garlic-SauteedCabbage

Cavolo conAglio

TheSplendid Table – Lynn Rosetto Kasper

This old-fashioned dish from Romagna is a garlic lover'sdelight. Slow cooking in olive oil turns the garlic nutty and golden. Cookedcabbage is then browned in the garlic oil. Serve it with roasted meats andpoultry. A dividend of the dish is how good it is tossed with fresh pasta

1 large head green cabbage (about 2 pounds – we use SavoyCabbage

Salt (optional)

4 to 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 largecloves garlic, cut into

1/4-inchdice Salt and freshly ground black

pepper

Method WorkingAhead: The cabbage can be boiled early in the day, and the garlic can be sauteedthen too. Refrigerate the cabbage, covered, until about 1 hour before sauteing.Keep the garlic covered at room temperature.

Cookingthe Cabbage: Cut off any bruised outer leaves of cabbage. Trim away thetough base, but leave the core so the wedges remain intact. Cut the cabbagevertically into eight wedges. Bring a 6-quart pot of water to the boil (adding1 tablespoon salt, if desired). Drop in the cabbage and boil, uncovered, 10minutes, or until the core is barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain ina colander, rinsing the wedges with cold water to stop the cooking. Then spreadthe wedges on paper towels to dry.

Sauteingthe Garlic: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over the lowestpossible heat. Cook the garlic slowly, stirring frequently, 8 minutes, or untilpale gold on all sides. Do not cook to dark brown, or it will turn bitter. Liftout the garlic with a slotted spoon and spread it on a plate. Reserve.

Finishingand Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Chop the cabbageinto bite-size pieces. Turn the heat under the saute pan up to medium-high. Addthe cabbage and saute about 10 minutes, turning with two wooden spatulas. Usehigher heat if necessary to brown the pieces. Once it is browned, season withsalt and pepper. Stir in the reserved garlic, and cook a few seconds to blendthe flavors. Turn the cabbage into the warmed bowl, and serve hot.

Parsifal and Polenta's Birthday

2011-12-03T05:45:00.000-08:00

It was Parsifal and Polenta’s 7^th birthday. Wewent to Gelson’s our neighborhood grocery and bought them some freshly cooked Turkey (theirfavorite food) and I bought a Cream Puff and had it decorated. I knew theywould lick the cream.

For us, for dinner, I made a seasonal favorite. Every year,just once, in December, we make Risotto of the Vigil, from a recipe by LynneRosetto Kasper from her cookbook: The Splendid Table.

Cathy has enhanced the recipe with marrow we get from marrowbones (naturally) and this time we added veal glace that we purchased fromMcCall’s Meat and Fish. This is a very hearty risotto. We love it and itreheats wonderfully. You can get the recipe from our blog on December 22, 2009.Click the date to get the recipe.

Indian Cookery

2011-11-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Our friend Shumon came to our house and cooked a Bangladeshi treat his mother makes for him in when he is home: Chicken Methi. The Methi is a very earthy tasting green leaf. The chicken was delicious. We loved the sauce. We both chopped for Shu as he created the dish. We made the Rice in typical Indian fashion oiling it rather than steaming as the Chinese or Japanese would do. Even the cats enjoyed the chicken as SRK looked on. No recipe: I think you have to be Indian or Bangladeshi to make this dish authentically!

Turkey Leftovers

2011-11-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

What do you do with left over turkey? We did two things.Wonderful Turkey Sandwiches, on Brioche Rolls from Proof Bakery, with Turkey,Bacon, Avocado and Japanese Mayo (Kewpie – our favorite). This is the one timeof the year that I eat Potato Chips. Something about Turkey Sandwiches callsout for Hawaiian Chips!

We also made Turkey Tetrazzini from James Beard’s cookbook; American Cookery.Lots of turkey, mushrooms and sauce. Turkey Tetrazzini gets a well deservedreputation as a college dorm food. I don’t think we will repeat this dish nextyear!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:02:00.000-08:00

We were invited over to some friends for Thanksgiving Daydinner. We subsequently were invited to other dinners, which we refused becauseof our prior invitation. At the last moment due to unforeseen circumstances theoriginal dinner was cancelled. We didn’t feel comfortable calling up thefriends whose invitation we turned down and re-inviting ourselves, so wedecided to cook. We invited Robert and Shu who were also left stranded on t-day. All is well that ends well!

We started with a Fall Salad: Persimmons, Pomegranate Seeds, Arugula, Saba and Almonds. A very refreshing salad.

Cathy found an unusual and what turned out to be a deliciousrecipe for Turkey Breasts from Ottolenghi the Cookbook. We really liked this dish and itwill become our Standard Turkey preparation. It is marinated and then a sauce is made from the marinate. It is a Green Herb Sauce made with lots of Lemon. It is excellent, andthe turkey is much moister then a traditional baked whole turkey.

With the turkey we served Thomas Keller's absolutely deliciousand wonderful Leek Bread Pudding from his cookbook: Ad Hoc at Home. This is FAR better than ANY stuffing. Wepurchased the brioche at Proof Bakery. Their brioche is wonderful. The recipe can be found on our blog of: Dec. 2, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Robert brought an Onion Focaccia Bread that he baked. It wasexceptional. This is one bread I want to try to make. I toasted some of theleftover bread and made incredible Turkey Sandwiches on it. Shu brought us abottle of Indian Wine hand carried from India. Bet you didn’t knowthat India grows wine.

For dessert we had a Chocolate Pie from Proof with Whipped Cream laced with Grand Mariner.

For an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner (actually for anyThanksgiving dinner) we had a great meal.

Marinated turkey breast with cumin,coriander and white wine

Ottolenghi The Cookbook

Ottolenghi

Althoughturkey is more frequently associated with a sweet red relish, we serve it herewith a lemony sauce of herbs and cumin. It is enormously popular aroundChristmas and Thanksgiving, as it is both traditional and original. The samesauce would work very well with lamb. You can serve this dish either warm or atroom temperature.

serves4-6

4tbsp mint leaves

4tbsp parsley leaves

4tbsp coriander leaves •1 garlic clove, peeled

60mllemon juice

60mlolive oil

125mlwhite wine

½tsp ground cumin

½tsp salt

½tsp black pepper

½small organic or

free-rangeturkey breast (about 1kg)

1. Put all the ingredients except the turkey breast in a food processor orblender and process for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth marinade. Put the turkey ina non-metallic container and pour the marinade over it. Massage the marinadeinto the meat, cover the container and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. Makesure the turkey is immersed in-the sauce.

2. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gds Mark 7. Remove the turkey from themarinade (keep the marinade for later) and put it on a roasting tray. Place inthe oven and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/GasMark 6. Continue to cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature again toi8o°C/Gas Mark 4. Cook until the turkey is done - another 30-45 minutes. Tocheck, stick a small knife all the way into the centre; it should come out hot.If the meat goes cfferk before it is ready, cover it with foil.

3. To prepare the sauce, heat up the turkey marinade in a small saucepanand simmer for 15 minutes, until reduced by about half. Taste and season withsome more salt and pepper.

4. Remove the turkey from the oven and \e\ it rest for 10 minutes. Sliceit thinly and serve with the warm sauce.

5. To serve cold, leave the meat to cool completely and then slice. Adjustthe seasoning of the.sauce once it is cold and serve on the side.

Roasted Veal

2011-11-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

Cathy was getting sick but she pulled together a roasted Stinco Veal dinner from a recipe by Angelini Cafe that was printed in the Los Angeles Times. The veal was from McCall's Meat and Fish. The Polenta that we served it with is absolutely the best polenta. It is available via the internet from Anson Mills. We get the Rustic Coarse Polenta Integral (Yellow). This was a hearty dinner. Cathy recovered from her bronchitis and is ok now.

Right Tools, Unappreciated Recipe

2011-11-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

We made a recipe from Paula Wolfert's new cookbook: The Food of Morocco. We got to use again the Tangine Dish that Courtney had given us. Good news: it is fun to cook in and makes a wonderful presentation. Bad news: we didn't particularly enjoy the recipe. It might be perfect, but it wasn't to our taste. Oh well, sometime the magic works, sometimes it doesn't.

A Winter Classic

2011-11-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

We love the Estouffade Provencale (Provincial Beef Stew) from From Bistro Cooking by Patrica Wells. It is a classic that we serve over and over, especially on cold wintery nights. It is always served with Macaroni. The gravy pored over the macaroni makes a delicious combination. The recipe can be found in our blog of March, 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. This is a dish that only gets better with re-heating. We love recipes that gives us several dinners. This is one of them.

We started with The Hungry Cat Salad. The recipe can be found in our blog of: Nov. 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe and the story of why we call it The Hungry Cat Salad.

Welcome Back Billy

2011-11-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Billy returned from his trip to Southeast Asia and we invited him and Kevin over to hear Billy's stories of his trip. We started with Paula Wolfert's recipe from her new cookbook: The Food of Morocco for Butternut Squash Soup. I really like this Moroccan Recipe, it can be quite spicy and rich. It is a great soup!

For the main course we served a Pork Tiella with Wild Mushrooms and Potatoes from another Paula Wolfert Cookbook: Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. This is a hearty one pot meal. The potatoes are cooked with the meat and mushrooms and later removed and layered on top of the dish. They are then topped with Parmesan Cheese. It makes for fantastic dish with a great presentation. You can get the recipe from our blog of Dec. 5, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had a Chocolate Cake from Proof Bakery.

BUTTERNUTSQUASH AND TOMATO SOUP

The Foodsof Morocco

PaulaWolfert

Here is a family favorite inspired by the winter soupsprepared in the Rif Mountains, soups that keep both body and soul warm, asFatima, our housekeeper, liked to say.

1 yellowonion, coarsely chopped (l-3/4 cups)

Coarse salt

1-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin oliveoil

2 pounds butternut, kabocha, orcalabaza squash, halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-1/2 inch chunks (about6 cups)

2 tablespoonstomato paste

1 teaspoon La Kama Spice Mixture

½ cup heavy cream or creme frache'

¼ pound shredded or crumbled aged goat cheese orgoat gouda

1 teaspoon or more to taste harissa paste (seeSources)

Salt andfreshly ground black pepper

Toss the onion with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and the oil in amedium casserole, preferably earthenware or enameled cast iron, cover, andsteam over medium-low heat until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the squash, cover with a sheet of parchment paper and alid, and steam for 20 minutes.

Add the Tomato paste, spices, and 4 cups hot water and bringto-a boil, then cook at a simmer until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Removefrom the heat.

Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and puree untilsmooth; add the cream, three-quarters of the cheese, and the harissa to thelast batch of soup and puree until velvety.

Return the soup to the pot and season with salt and pepperto taste. Ladle the soup into warm bowl and top each portion with a light sprinklingof the remaining cheese.

La Kama Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon each ground ginger and ground tumeric

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

½ teaspoon ground cinnanmon

½ teaspoon cubeb pepper (optional)

A good pinch of grated nutmeg

Mix all together

My Favorite Chicken

2011-11-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely my favorite roast chicken. The combination of crispy skin with the preserved lemon and breadcrumbs tucked underneath are perfect. The combination of the onions, and roasted potatoes baking under the chicken and getting marinated by the chicken juices is a real winner. The recipe is: Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons Adapted from Laurent Tourondel. It is a wonderful one-dish recipe. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Jan. 23, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made a first course of a great salad from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook: Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs and Anchovy Vinaigrette. It is an excellent salad and easy to make. The recipe is can be found on our blog of: Jan 31, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

Calamari Tangine

2011-10-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

We decided to make a Tagine of Baby Calamari with Red Pepper and Tomato from Paula Wolfert’s newcookbook: The Foods of Morocco. Some people find squid kind of yucky to clean.The cephalopods, like squid, have obviously never done Pilates. Theydoesn’t seem to be any any muscles in them, just the outside, gunk and a sort ofclear plastic like spine. I don’t mind cleaning them, but Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish, said he would clean them for us.

Squid can be rubbery, but these weren’t. Once acut them into ringlets and we cooked them in the sauce they were delicious. Weserved them over Cous-Cous from the newly liberated country of Tunis.

We started with a recipe from Nancy Silverton’snew cookbook: The Mozza Cookbook. We love her salads and her Tricolore With Parmigiano-Reggiano And Anchovy Dressing isfantastic. I especially like the Cesar Salad dressing that is made in the foodprocessor. The last time we made the salad, it was a little salty for us, so wedid not salt the lettuce like the recipe calls for. It was great!

Tagine ofBaby Calamari with Red Pepper and Tomato
The Foodsof Morocco
PaulaWolfert

CHARMOULA

¾ teaspoon cumin seeds, preferablyMoroccan

3 garlic cloves

Sea salt

1 tablespoon saffron water

1 teaspoon groundginger

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon groundturmeric

½ teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil

1 pound babycalamari (l2 pieces), cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces, washed,

presseddry inpaper towels to remove excess moisture, and placed in a bowl and

refrigerated until ready to use

2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup peeled, cored, and dicedred bell pepper

1 pound red-ripetomatoes, peeled, diced, and drained

2 teaspoons sugar
Salt

2 Tablespoons freshlemon juice

2 Tablespoonschopped cilantro

Cayenne

To make the charmoula: Toast the cumin seeds (not necessaryif they are Moroccan) by tossing them in a hot dry skillet over medium heat forabout 1 minute. Pound the cumin seeds, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt to a pastein a mortar. Dilute with the saffron water, then add the spices and olive oil.Toss with the calamari, cover, and refrigerate.

About 1-1/2 hours before serving, set a 10-inch flamewaretagine, Spanish cazuela, or heavy-bottomed straight-sided skillet overmedium-low heat. Warm the olive oil, then add the onion and cook until soft,about 5 minutes. Add the chopped red pepper, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Addthe seasoned calamari, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, untilmost of the moisture evaporates.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, half the lemon juice, andhalf the cilantro and bring to a boil. Lay a sheet of crumpled wet parchmentdirectly over the contents of the pan, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to asimmer, and cook for 1 hour, or until the squid are tender (no longer chewy).Transfer the hot tagine to a wooden surface or a folded towel to preventcracking.

Correct the seasoning as necessary with the remaining lemonjuice, salt, and/or cayenne to taste. Scatter the remaining cilantro on top andserve with rice.

TricoloreWith Parmigiano-Reggiano And Anchovy Dressing

The MozzaCookbook

NancySilverton Matt Molina

for the dressing

5 anchovyfillets (preferably salt-packed), rinsed and backbones removed if salt-packed

1-1/2 tablespoonsred wine vinegar

1 tablespoonfresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 large garlic clove, finelychopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus moreto taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground blackpepper, plus more to taste

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

for the salad

3 large heads red Belgian endive,or 1 large head radicchio leaves, leaves torn into large pieces

3 large heads frisee

6 cupsloosely packed arugula (preferably wild arugula)

Kosher salt

¼ cup + 3 tablespoons

freshly gratedParmigiano-Reggiano

The red, green and white tricolore salad, traditionallycomposed of radicchio, frisee, and endive, is just one of the many ways thatItalians celebrate their flag. I like tricolore salads, but this version, whichis tossed in an anchovy-enhanced dressing with lots of gratedParmigiano-Reggiano, was my way of sneaking the flavors of a Caesar salad ontothe Pizzeria menu without calling it a Caesar. In the rare instance that aCaesar salad is done well, it is one of my favorite salads, but Caesar salad issuch a cliché on Italian-American menus—and it's not even Italian; it wasinvented in Tijuana—I could never have put it on my menu as such.

Serves 4 as a Starter or 2 as a Main Course

To make the dressing, combine the anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice,garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metalblade or the jar of a blender and puree. With the motor running, add the oliveoil in a steady stream through the feed tube to create an emulsion. Turn offthe machine, taste for seasoning, and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, ifdesired. Use the dressing or transfer it to an airtight container andrefrigerate for up to three days. Bring the dressing to room temperature, whiskto recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before using.

To prepare the salad, discard any brown or unappealing outerleaves from the endive and frisee. Pull the leaves away from the cores, puttingthem in a large, wide bowl, and discard the cores. Add the arugula, sprinklewith salt, and toss gently to combine the lettuces and distribute the saltevenly. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the dressing, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano,and toss gently to coat the lettuce leaves with the dressing. Taste forseasoning and add more salt or dressing, if desired.

Pile the salad on a large plate or divide it among fourindividual plates. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of theParmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Moroccan Night

2011-10-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

Billy was travelling and we wanted to make sure that Kevinwas not lonely so we invited him over for dinner. We also invited Tim. We madea fantastic soup from the new Paula Wolfert Cookbook: The Foods of Morocco, ButternutSquash And Tomato Soup. It was thick, and rich and spicy. You control the heatby the amount of harrisa that you add. The sprinkling of the smoked GoudaCheese gives it a multi-layered taste. It was a big hit.

We followed that with a Beef Tagine With Roasted Cauliflowerfrom the same cookbook. It was great. Nate at McCall’s told us a great chef’strick when braising short-ribs. We would have cut the ribs apart into 2 inchchunks before braising. He suggested not cutting the meat and braising theentire short rib. That way the meat doesn’t fall off the bone. Good trick. Weserved it with couscous from Tunisia. The Tangine was wonderful.

We had a Savory Tart from Proof Bakery and also purchased a great Cake fromthem for dessert.

We spent lots of the dinnertime video conferencing with Billy inThailand. It is amazing that you can have a virtual guest. The good news isthey don’t drink a lot of your wine.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND TOMATOSOUP

The Foods of Morocco

Paula Wolfert

Here is a family favoriteinspired by the winter soups prepared in the Rif Mountains, soups that keepboth body and soul warm, as Fatima, our housekeeper, liked to say.

1 yellowonion, coarsely chopped (l-3/4 cups)

Coarse salt

1-1/2 tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil

2 poundsbutternut, kabocha, or calabaza squash, halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into1-1/2 inch chunks (about 6 cups)

2 tablespoonstomato paste

1 teaspoonLa Kama Spice Mixture

½ cupheavy cream or creme frache'

¼ poundshredded or crumbled aged goat cheese or goat gouda

1 teaspoonor more to taste harissa paste (see Sources)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toss the onion with 1teaspoon coarse salt and the oil in a medium casserole, preferably earthenwareor enameled cast iron, cover, and steam over medium-low heat until the onion issoft, about 10 minutes.

Add the squash, cover with asheet of parchment paper and a lid, and steam for 20 minutes.

Add the Tomato paste, spices,and 4 cups hot water and bring to-a boil, then cook at a simmer until the squashis tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the soup in batchesto a blender and puree until smooth; add the cream, three-quarters of thecheese, and the harissa to the last batch of soup and puree until velvety.

Return the soup to the potand season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into warm bowl and topeach portion with a light sprinkling of the remaining cheese.

La Kama Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon each ground gingerand ground tumeric

1 teaspoon freshly groundwhite pepper

½ teaspoon ground cinnanmon

½ teaspoon cubeb pepper(optional)

A good pinch of grated nutmeg

Mix all together

Beef Tagine With RoastedCauliflower

The Foods of Morocco

Paula Wolfert

Beef tagines can be very goodindeed. After hours of slow simmering, the meat comes out buttery and soft, andthe sauce acquires excellent flavor. The spicing in this dish follows the Marrakechstyle, while the particular preliminary browning of the meat is Tetuanese.

Serves 4 to 6

ROBUSTMEAT TAGINES

Thesehighly aromatic tagines, flavored with paprika and cumin, are sturdy dishes,nourishing and thick, especially good in winter—satisfying to weary travelersand men who have done hard physical work, or to folk who have just come off theski slopes an hour outside Marrakech. Though they are not among the mostelegant of dishes, these hearty stews are truly toothsome.

Coarse salt

½ teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoonground turmeric

5 tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil

3 poundsbeef short ribs or 2 pounds bone-in beef shoulder, trimmed of excess fat andcut into 1- to l!4-inch chunks

1 teaspoonsweet paprika

½ teaspoonground ginger

½ teaspoonground cumin, preferably Moroccan

1 mediumwhite or red onion, grated

2 tablespoonsfinely chopped cilantro

2 tablespoonsfinely chopped flat-leaf parsley

One 2-pound cauliflower

Pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne, or to taste

12 ounces Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled, halved,seeded, and chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat a tagine, preferablyflameware, set on a heat diffuser over medium-low heat until warm. Mix 1teaspoon salt, the pepper, and turmeric with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the olive oiland add to the warm pan.

Add the beef and saute gentlyuntil golden on all sides. Place a crumpled piece of parchment directly overthe meat, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes, without lifting the cover.(The meat will cook in its own juices, drawn out by the salt over low heat; donot add water.)

Add the paprika, ginger,cumin, grated onion, half of the herbs, and lli cup water. Cover again with theparchment paper and the lid, and simmer gently for 3 hours, until the meat isvery tender and has fallen off the bones.

Meanwhile, preheat the ovento 400°F.

Cut the cauliflower in half,then cut each half lengthwise into ½ inch-thick slices. Lightly brush ajelly-roll pan with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix the remaining 'Atablespoon oil with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes andgently toss with the cauliflower. Spread the cauliflower out in one layer onthe pan and roast for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to turn the slices over androast for another 15 minutes, or until lightly caramelized. Remove from theoven, cover loosely with paper towels or a kitchen towel, and set aside.

Remove the meat from thetagine and remove and discard the bones. Return the meat to the tagine andlightly brown in the fatty juices. Tilt the pan and spoon off and discard theexcess fat. If necessary, add a few tablespoons water to make a smooth sauce.

Scatter the cauliflower,tomatoes, and the remaining chopped herbs over the beef. Bring to a boil toreheat. Correct the seasoning with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, andthe lemon juice, and serve at once.

Pork Braised with Milk and Two Types of Polenta

2011-10-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Pork with Polenta

The other Polenta

It is getting cool in Los Angeles and it was appropriate forus to cook one of our favorite pork recipes: Pork Braised in Milk from . If you have never made this dish,or if you are not a cook this is the dish for you! This is a no fail, easy,delicious, surprising dish.

Pork Braised in Milk and Polenta

This was one more dinner we made in thepost holiday vacation. This is one of our all-time favorites. It was one of thefirst dishes that we jointly made, years ago. It sounds weird to braise pork inmilk, but is an excellent preparation. The milk eventually boils off, creatinga dark thick sauce as it combines with the pork drippings during cooking. Therecipe we use is from Marcella Hazan: The Classic Italian Cookbook. Matt Molina whoused to cook at Campanile, and now is the executive chief at Mozza,served it once and made an addition that we have incorporated. He added sautéedonions, garlic, lemon peel and sage to the recipe. It was a good addition tothe recipe.

1. 2 tablespoons butter

2. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3. 2 pounds boneless pork loin, with somefat on it

4. 1 teaspoon salt

5. freshly group pepper

6. 2 ½ cups milk

7. 2 chopped onions sauted with choppedgarlic and sage leaves and lemon peel

Use a casserole pan slightly larger thenthe pork. Heat the butter and oil and brown onions 1 or 2 chopped garlic clovessome fresh sage leaves and lemon peel. When golden remove from pan.

Add the pork and on a medium high heatbraise on all sides till brown. Reduce the heat and slowly add the milk andsalt and pepper. Bring to boil then reduce heat to medium and cover with lidslightly open. Cook 1 ½ to 2 hours turning the meat every 30 minutes. By thetime the meat is cooked, the milk should have evaporated, leaving a brown nuttysauce. Remove the pork and add the onion and garlic to the sauce in the pan andheat.

Let the meat slightly cool, slice andserve with sauce.

We have always read about what is supposedly the best polenta in the world (other than our cat named Polenta). It is from Anson Mills in South Carolina. We finally bought several bags of the Polenta and this is the first time that we had used it. It is good, and has a rougher texture than the traditional Italian Polenta that we use. We recommend it.

Chicken Moroccan Style

2011-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

We made another dish from French Country Kitchen by James Villas. This is a dish that I don’t think we will repeat. Ithink we executed it correctly, and we loved the potatoes, but the chickenturns out to be between a boiled chicken and a stewed chicken. It was not veryexciting or bright. Oh well, if we don’t try them you don’t find out. An interesting aspect is that when you cook a dish that you have never eaten, you really don't know if it is well executed and tastes as it should. You only know that if you like it or not. I actually would make the potatoes again. They were great.

Poulet ala Mentonnaise

French CountryKitchen

JamesVillas

Chicken with Mushrooms, Potatoes, and Olives

Like most travelers, for years I considered Menton littlemore than the last stop on the French Riviera before crossing the border intoItaly, a charming but rather nondescript town whose major attraction was alively Saturday market. One day, however, we were forced to garage the car forrepairs to a bum clutch; when we ventured back into the Old Town, we lingeredfor almost two hours over this wonderful chicken ragout at a homey place onSquare Victoria called La Calanque. What made the dish so glorious were thefresh herbs, but each time I asked Madame to specify which ones, she wouldsimply shrug her shoulders and respond, "Herbes de Provence, Monsieur;tout simplement herbes de Provence."

5 stripsbacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ cupolive oil

3-1/2 poundchicken, cut into serving pieces

2 garliccloves, chopped

¼ poundfresh mushrooms, cut in half

1 cupdrained small black olives cured in brine, pitted

2 largeripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped mixed freshherbs (thyme, tarragon, rosemary, parsley)

¼ cup Cognac

salt and freshly ground pepper totaste

1 poundtiny new potatoes, unpeeled

2 teaspoonssugar

In a large casserole, fry the bacon until half cooked, pouroff the grease, and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the chicken andbrown it over moderate heat on all sides. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cookfor 2 minutes. Add the olives, tomatoes, herbs, Cognac, salt, and pepper. Stir,cover tightly, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a skillet, add thepotatoes, and brown lightly on all sides over moderate heat. Add the potatoesto the chicken, cover, and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until the chickenand potatoes are tender. Transfer the solid contents of the pot to a heatedserving platter, add sugar to the sauce, stir for 2 minutes, pour the sauceover the chicken and potatoes, and serve.

Show me your Mussels Big Boy

2011-10-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Robert and Darryl combined forces with us for a dinner. Wedecided to make Cote De Boeuf. Nate at McCall's Meat and Fish convinced us that we should buy separatepiece rather than one larger 2 bone steak. It was delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Jan. 15, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. It is one of the few steak recipes that are best roasted in the oven and not grilled outside.

We got a White Truffle from Italy from Palate Food and Wine, and we wanted to show it atits maximum flavor and intensity.

Robert and Darryl brought us two starters both made with mussles: a Mussel Saladand Baked Mussels. They both were delicious. It was great having them asappetizers. They not only were excellent, but they were dishes we wouldn’tmake. They really have a knack for making mollusks.

With our meat we made Mashed Potatoes from a recipe that didn't work. Don't know why but it would seem like it would be difficult to botch mashed potatoes, but it happened. Both dishes were toppedwith Truffles Slices. The truffles compensated for the lack of consistency of the mashed potatoes!

For dessert another fantastic Cake from Proof! We are luckyto have such a good bakery so close to us.

Honey-glazed Pork Roast

2011-10-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

We had left over lamb, so we started with a Lamb Salad. Norecipe just sort of played with good salad ingredients and Feta Cheese.

Our favorite Indian cookbook author: Suvir Saran, of Devi Restauranthas a cookbook of Indian American Indian inspired dishes. His cookbook is called: American Masala. We love his New York Restaurant. On our recent trip to NYC we ate there. The cost for the dinner was $100 a person. This is not at all out of line for a top notch NYC restaurant. However, when we mentioned to our Indian and Bangladeshi friends we paid $100 each for Indian dinner, they couldn't believe it. They sort of said you could cater an Indian wedding for this back in India. We made Honey-glazed Pork Roast with Vegetable Confit.It is a good recipe. Lots of great leftovers. Of course we purchased thebeautiful pork at McCall’s Meat and Fish. The Glaze made for a delicious crust!Our kind of food!

Honey-glazed Pork Roast withVegetable Confit

American Masala

Suvir Saran

SERVES 8

1 center-cutpork loin roast, trimmed

FOR THE SPICE PASTE

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons balsamicvinegar

2 tablespoons finelychopped fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried)

2 tablespoons finelychopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 tablespoon groundpeppercorns

1 tablespoon plus 1teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

FOR THE VEGETABLES

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoonextra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon finely chopped freshthyme, or ½ teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoonkosher salt

2 teaspoons ground peppercorns

4 large redpotatoes, coarsely chopped

2 large redonions, halved, thickly sliced, and chopped crosswise

3 bell peppers,red and/or green, cored, seeded, thickly sliced, and chopped crosswise

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and place the porkroast on top. To make the spice paste, whisk ail of the ingredients together ina medium bowl, then rub into the pork roast, taking care to get in between thebones and meat. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1hour, or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450°F and grease a sturdy roasting panand roasting rack with i tablespoon of the olive oil. Prepare the vegetables:In a large bowl whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil, balsamicvinegar, thyme, salt, and ground peppercorns. Add the chopped vegetables andtoss to coat. Remove the roast from the refrigerator, place it on the greasedrack, and roast it for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F andremove the roasting pan from the oven. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from theroasting pan and add the vegetables to the pan. Stir to coat with fat and placethe roast fat side up over the vegetables. Roast for an additional 1-1/4 to1-1/2 hours, or until a meaty part of the roast reaches 155°F. Cover the roastwith aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes (the pork's internaltemperature will increase to 16o°F to 165°F). Carve and serve with thevegetables on the side.

Devi Dinner Re-Created

2011-10-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

When we were in New York lastweek, one of the best dinners that we had was at Devi. It is a wonderful IndianRestaurant.

We decided to make two of thedishes that we had that night with Ferris an Courtney. We started with a recipethat I had seen in the LA Times: Palomino Restaurant'stomato and feta relish. Using freshheirloom tomatoes, it made a great bruschetta. I knew I would be grilling thelamb chops on our Weber, so that it would be easy to rub fresh bread with oliveoil and garlic and also grill the bread.

We started with RoastedManchurian Cauliflower, adapted from a Devi recipe. The Cauliflower that we hadat the restaurant was deep fat fried with a crispy coasting. This version isbaked, just as good, and healthier.

We then made TandooriLamb from a recipe that can be found in our blog of July 16, 2008. Click the date to get therecipe. With the dinner we served Garlic Tandoori Naan, which we purchased at Gelson's our neighborhood market.

It was an amazing warm night without wind, and after dinner we enjoyed drinking on the deck actually looking at stars in LA (the ones in the sky, not the acting types).

Palomino Restaurant's tomato and fetarelish: Culinary SOS - latimes.com

Total time:20 minutes plus chilling time

Servings:Makes about 3 cups relish

Note: Adapted fromPalomino Restaurant in Westwood. The recipe can be made using fresh tomatoes.Substitute a generous pound (about 7) of plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded andcrushed with juice.

1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice,crushed by hand with juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Pinch kosher salt

1 tablespoon julienned fresh basil

2 tablespoons pitted and coarsely choppedKalamata olives (several olives)

1 tablespoon finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Sliced ciabatta, for serving

In a large bowl, stirtogether the crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, basil, chopped olives,onion, feta and red wine vinegar. Cover and refrigerate overnight to give theflavors time to marry. Stir again and taste, adjusting the seasonings andflavorings, if desired, before serving. Serve with sliced ciabatta bread.

Roasted Manchurian Cauliflower

This side dish has origins in Chinese cooking (hence the name) and istypically fried. This version roasts the cauliflower instead to intensify theflavor, and the spicy tomato-based sauce reduces with the vegetables. Servewith a simple cooked spinach side, a mild curry with potatoes and peas, andplenty of flatbread (naan) to scoop up the sweet-salty sauce.

YIELD: 9 servings(serving size: about 1/3 cup)

COURSE: SideDishes/Vegetables

Ingredients

51/2 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 large head)

2tablespoons Garam Masala

1/4teaspoon kosher salt

2teaspoons canola oil, divided

Cookingspray

1/2teaspoon black pepper

8garlic cloves, minced

3/4cup ketchup

1/2teaspoon ground red pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients and 1 teaspoon oil in a large bowl; tosswell. Place cauliflower mixture in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated withcooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes.

3. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet overmedium-high heat. Add black pepper to pan, and sauté 1 minute. Add garlic;sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.Stir in red pepper; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until thick.

4. Remove cauliflower mixture from oven. Stir in ketchup mixture. Bakeat 425° for an additional 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender, stirringafter 10 minutes.

It's Kosher!

2011-09-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

Nancy Silverton and MattMolina have a brand new cookbook called (naturally) The Mozza Cookbook. Theyhad a wonderful event at the restaurant where they gave us a copy of thecookbook and served lots of food from recipes from the book. We asked Matt whatwas the first recipe we should make and he suggested: veal breast stracotto.

We called Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish and tried to order a veal breast, however, he informed us heneeds a weeks notice to get fresh veal. He highly recommended NOT getting frozenveal. I thought it would be easy to find fresh veal and called all of the majormarkets. None had fresh veal, only frozen. Finally from the recesses of mind, Isort of remembered that Kosher butchers would have fresh veal. I called one andhe said they had it. On the internet I found one: Doheny Glatt Kosher Meat.

Since we were planning to goover to the west side of LA for a Doctor appointment, we decided topick one up there. Oye, a new problem! It was Friday and of course a Kosherbutcher shop closes early, so they can be home before Sunset. We prepared todash over and then received a call from Robert, he was independently of usplanning a veal dinner and he could not get fresh veal. Nate must of told himwe were in the same boat. He called us, and we volunteered to pick up his meat.

When we arrived at thebutcher shop, the first person we talked to tried to sell us frozen veal. I wasdevastated we had driven all the way over and now they didn’t have fresh veal.What a bummer. I said I had talked them over the phone and they said they hadfresh meat. He told me to speak to the owner. Easier said than done. I hadnever been there before and had no idea who the owner was. Meanwhile the clockwas ticking towards their closing and Cathy’s Doctor appointment time. Finallya man said, he remembered the call and would get us fresh veal. He made a phonecall and a few minutes later a man walked into the butcher shop with a half ofveal slung over his shoulder. They then carved out a beautiful breast for us.He did say that if we only wanted 9 pounds he wouldn’t have gotten the veal. Ohwell. Now I know where and when (not late Friday afternoon) to get fresh veal.

This was a dinner that kepton giving! The original serving of meat and Vegetables were delicious, but alittle salty for my taste. Cathy figured out how to dilute the saltiness. Weshredded the meat and used it to make a Bolognese Pasta sauce. Weused the recipe for Garganelli with Veal Ragu On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen andGeorge Germon. This is an excellent ragu recipe. You can find the recipe in ourblog of: Feb. 28, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. We still had pastaleft over! We then converted it to a Baked Pasta, by mixing fresh BurrataCheese and topping with Parmesan Cheese.This expensive veal gave us a lotof dinners. As I am writing this we still have leftover baked Pasta and plan toeat it tomorrow night!

We started with: Tricolore With Parmigiano-Reggiano And AnchovyDressing from the same Mozza Cookbook. This is a great recipe and tought me wecould make Caesar Salad Dressing in the Magimix!

veal breast stracotto

The Mozza Cookbook

Nancy Silverton

One of my favorite daytripsfrom my house in Italy is to the town of Panzano in Chianti, to visit theworld-famous butcher Dario Cecchini. Dario has been covered by every foodpublication imaginable, and since Bill Buford wrote about him in his memoir,Heat, Dario's shop has become a mecca for foodies traveling in Italy. To meetthe demand of his fans, Dario now has three restaurants that people can visitwhile they're there: a steakhouse serving prime cuts, such as bisteccafiorentina, a classic preparation of a T-bone or porterhouse grilled over awood fire; a hamburger restaurant, Dario Plus; and my favorite of the three,Solo Ciccia. This restaurant, whose name means "only meat," offerslesser cuts of meats prepared in a variety of ways, many of them cooked longand slow, or stracotto, like this dish. Veal breast isn 't something you '11find at your average grocery store, so you '11 have to get it from a butcher,and you will probably have to special-order it. Ask the butcher to save thebones he carved the breast from, as you '11 use those to make the stock in whichthe meat is braised. While you 're at it, have him roll and tie the breast foryou, too. Even though this might be out of your ordinary shopping routine, thegood news is that you'll end up with a rich, luxurious veal dish for not a lotof money.

for seasoning the veal

1 4-pound boneless veal breast, bones reserved

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

for the veal stock (optional)

8 cups Basic Chicken Stock

1 leek, cleaned thoroughly and roughly chopped into 1-inchpieces

1 large Spanish onion, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces '

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces

for braising the veal

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound prosciutto, ground or finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 large carrot,peeled and finely diced Half of a large Spanish onion, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste

1 750-ml. bottle dry white wine 1 quart veal stock or BasicChicken Stock , warmed if gelatinous

4 turnips,halved or quartered depending on their size, or 8 baby turnips (about 2pounds), or whole unpeeled baby carrots with 1-inch greens attached

for the garnish

3/4 cup whole fresh Italian parsley leaves

3/4 cup whole fresh celery

leaves (only pale green leaves from the hearts)

Zested strips of 3 lemons

1 tablespoon finishing-quality extra-virgin olive oil

Maldon sea salt or another flaky sea salt, such as fleur desel

To season the veal, placethe breast in a nonreactive baking

dish and season it all overwith the salt and pepper, using approximately 1 teaspoon of salt per pound ofmeat. If your butcher did not roll and tie the veal breast, roll it tightlylengthwise into a long log shape and tie it with kitchen twine in five or sixplaces along the roll. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigeratefor at least I hour and up to overnight.

Meanwhile, if you are makingthe stock, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to325°F.

Place the veal bones on abaking sheet and roast them, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking,until they're evenly browned, about 1-1/2 hours. Remove the baking sheet fromthe oven and transfer the bones to a large stockpot. Add the chicken stock andbring it to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the top.Add the leek, onion, and carrot, reduce the heat, and simmer the stock for 1hour, skimming as needed. Remove the stock from the heat, pour it through afine-mesh strainer, and discard the contents of the strainer. Use the stock, orset aside to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container andrefrigerate for up to three days.

To braise the veal, adjustthe oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cut the veal in half, ifnecessary, for it to fit in the pan. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-highheat in a large Dutch oven or large, high-sided saute pan until the oil isalmost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the veal inthe pan to sear to deep brown on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the vealto a plate.

Add 2 tablespoons of theremaining olive oil to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the prosciutto,and cook, stirring constantly, to render the fat but not to brown theprosciutto, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the remaining ¼ cupof olive oil, and warm the oil for a minute or two before adding the celery,carrot, and onion. Season the vegetables with the pepper, and saute until thevegetables are softened and slightly caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. Add thegarlic and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent it from browning.Move the vegetables to create a bare spot in the pan, add the tomato paste tothat spot, and cook for 1 minute more, stirring, to caramelize the tomato pasteslightly. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and boil until it reduces byabout half, about 5 minutes. Return the veal and any juices that have collectedon the plate it was resting on to the pan. Pour in enough stock to come half tothree-fourths of up the veal breast, about 4 cups. Increase the heat to medium highand bring the stock to a simmer. Turn off the heat. If you have industrial-strengthplastic wrap, which won't melt in the oven, cover the Dutch oven or pan tightlywith plastic wrap. In either case, cover tightly with aluminum foil and placethe lid on if it has one. Place the veal in the oven for 2 hours. Remove thepot from the oven and uncover it. Add the turnips, nestling them in the sauce,return the lid to the pot, and place it back in the oven for about 1 hour,until the meat is fork-tender and the vegetables are tender. Remove the vealfrom the oven and remove and discard the foil and plastic wrap (if you used it)from the pan, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam that will risefrom the pan. Allow the meat to cool in the braising liquid for at least 30minutes. You can prepare the veal to this point up to five days in advance.Cool the meat and turnips to room temperature in the braising liquid. Removethe vegetables and transfer them to an airtight container. Cover the pot withplastic or transfer the veal with the liquid to an airtight container and refrigerateuntil you are ready to serve it. (You will proceed slightly differently.) Ifyou have prepared the veal in advance and are rewarming it, preheat the oven to350°F. Remove the veal and turnips from the refrigerator. Remove and discardthe fat from the liquid and pour it into a large Dutch oven or stovetop-safebaking dish and cook as directed below to thicken. Remove the string and slicethe veal as directed below and lay the slices in the sauce, resting them on topof one another, domino fashion. Nestle the turnips around the veal and placethe dish in the oven for about 30 minutes, basting the vegetables and the vealwith the sauce occasionally, until the meat is warmed through.

f you are serving the dishthe same day, remove the veal and turnips to a plate, skim the fat from thebraising liquid, and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heatand simmer the liquid until it is the consistency of a thick glaze or thingravy, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the pan; it willbe thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

To make the garnish, combinethe parsley leaves, celery leaves, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Drizzle theleaves with the finishing-quality olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and tossgently to combine.

To serve, cut off anddiscard the string from the veal and cut it into eight slices of eventhickness. Lay two slices of veal on each of four plates, resting one at anangle on top of the other. Nestle the turnips around the veal, dividing themevenly, and ladle the sauce over the meat. Pile the garnish on each serving,dividing it evenly, and serve.

Tricolore With Parmigiano-Reggiano And Anchovy Dressing

The Mozza Cookbook

Nancy Silverton Matt Molina

for the dressing

5 anchovyfillets (preferably salt-packed), rinsed and backbones removed if salt-packed

1-1/2 tablespoonsred wine vinegar

1 tablespoonfresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 large garlic clove, finelychopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus moreto taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground blackpepper, plus more to taste

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

for the salad

3 large heads red Belgian endive,or 1 large head radicchio leaves, leaves torn into large pieces

3 large heads frisee

6 cupsloosely packed arugula (preferably wild arugula)

Kosher salt

¼ cup + 3 tablespoons

freshly gratedParmigiano-Reggiano

Serves 4 as a Starter or 2 as a Main Course

To prepare the salad, discard any brown or unappealing outerleaves from the endive and frisee. Pull the leaves away from the cores, puttingthem in a large, wide bowl, and discard the cores. Add the arugula, sprinklewith salt, and toss gently to combine the lettuces and distribute the saltevenly. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the dressing, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of theParmigiano-Reggiano, and toss gently to coat the lettuce leaves with thedressing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or dressing, if desired.

Pile the salad on a large plate or divide it among fourindividual plates. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of theParmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

Lentil Pasta

2011-09-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

In the summer when tomatoes were at theirbest we made several batches of Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes from:The ItalianCountry Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. We then froze thetomatoes for use in the winter when delicious tomatoes are hard to come by.

We used the frozen tomatles for our maincourse: Lentil Pasta. The Italian Lentil Pasta from therestaurant Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles is one of the best. It is so rich, youwould swear it was made with meat. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 22, 2008.Click the date to get the recipes for both the pasta and the tomatoes.

I can’t say enough aboutLentil Pasta! It is one of our favorites and we have made it many, many times.It is a vegetarian dish that tastes like it has a meat sauce. But that isn’tthe secret. The secret is it is DELICIOUS! Try it.

We served a simple salad of Tomatoes, Burrata Cheese, Olive Oil, Fresh Herbs, Olives. It was a perfect accompaniment to the pasta.

Crab Salad and Bangladesh

2011-09-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

We invited Shu over for dinner. We had a can of Crab meatthat we had purchased from McCall’s Meat and Fish. Previously the crab was fromIndonesia. They now are canning good old American Blue Crab. We decided to make a Crab Louie.

We knew immediately that we would be usingMark Peel’s recipe for Russian Dressing from his cookbook: New Classic Family Dinners. It is the bestRussian Dressing! You can find the recipe on our blog of: July 4, 2010. Click the date to get therecipe. The way that we assembled the salad was also from a Mark Peel recipe inthe same cookbook: Shrimp Louie replacing the shrimp with crab. You can find the recipe in our blog of: August 19, 2010. Click the date to get therecipe. Thank you Mark!

Shu had discovered a new BangeldeshiRestaurant: Meghna Restaurant on 3rd Street and Hobart Ave. and he wanted to bring us a first course. The dish is called Parata, we had never had it before. It was delicious.

Truffle Mania Part Deux

2011-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to repeat the Truffle dinner when we were informed bySteve at Palate that they had more truffles.

We invited Billy / Kevin over for the dinner. We started with avery unusual pairing: Truffles served on top of Shredded Brussel Sprouts. The Brussel Sprout recipe was from City Cuisine by FenigerMilliken.

The thinly sliced aromatic truffles contrasted with the sproutsbitterness. It was a wonderful combination we would never had thought of. Stevehad suggested it. This is an excellent recipe for Brussel Sprouts, try it if you are not an aficionado of the small green cabbage.

The second course was a Egg Pasta with Truffles. This is one of ourfavorites. Lots of butter, salt pepper and sliced truffles on top, sprinkledwith chives.

The third course of truffles we served was Fresh Scallops, from McCall's Meat and Fish seared to barelywarm under the broiler, smothered with Truffles and Chive Oil. Chive oil isvery intense and easy to make in a blender. The recipe can be found in our blogJune 4, 2011.

For the final truffle course we had delicious Chocolate Caramel Trufflesfrom Valerie. They are the best!

It was a great dinner, with fun conversation. We definitely gotour truffle fix.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts

City Cuisine

Feniger Milliken

1-1/2 poundsbrussels sprouts

4 tablespoons(1/2 stick) unsalted butter

½ teaspoonsalt

¼ teaspoonwhite pepper

2 teaspoonswater

juice of 1/2 lime

Soak whole sprouts in a large bowl of cold, salted water toclean. Then trim and discard ends and any bitter outer leaves. Cut each in halflengthwise, then slice thinly across width.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sautesprouts with salt and pepper until they start to brown. Add water and cookuntil barely limp, about 4 minutes. (The water changes the action fromsauteeing to steaming.) Stir in lime juice and serve immediately.

6 to 8 Servings

Labor Day Savings with the Magimix

2011-09-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

ForLabor Day we decided to use the Egg to Smoke a Sirloin. We invited several ofour neighbors to join us. Tim, Bea, Claire, Robert and Darryl joined us. Clairebrought flowers, Tim prosciuto and Bea some great wines.

Wefollowed a recipe for Horseradish-and-Cumin-Crusted Whole Smoke-Roasted Sirloinwith Mustard A'ioli from License to Grill by Schlesinger and Willoughby. Wepurchased the Sirloin from McCall’s Meat and Fish, and it wasn’t exactly what Iexpected. It was a very large roast. Because the meat was of an irregular shape I didnot think that it would cook evenly. I was afraid the narrower parts would bewell done, the thicker parts rare. Nate assured me that if I cook it, low andslow (about 200 degrees for 4 hours in the egg) it would be evenly cooked. Hewas right! The A'oli was mustard tasting with a perfect cconsistancy. I wondered how cooks could make a sauce that thick before the invention of the Magimix!

Themeat was covered in a horseradish and Ararat Herb coating that we had alsopurchased at McCall’s. It smelled just wonderful as it smoked. The smokepermeated the meat and most of the horseradish covering cooked off in the egg.It was an amazing piece of meat.

Itwas a warm night and we started with drinks on the patio overlooking the city,before going to the dinning room.

Wemade a Watermelon and Feta Salad from Plenty by Yotam Otttolenghi.Amazingly this is the first watermelon that Cathy and I ever bought. We havenever previously served it! This salad was delicious and super easy to make. I recommendit!

With the Smoked Sirloin we served a Fennel, CherryTomato and Crumble Gratin also by Ottolenghi from his first cookbook: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi Sami Tamimi. This is a wonderful gratin and wentperfect with the meat. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 24, 2011.Click the date to get the recipe.

The entire dinner became a testimony to our newMagimix. This Cuisinart-like device really was helpful and chopping, grating andmixing the food as we prepared the many courses. I am really glad we boughtthis device!

Darryl and Robert brought a Polenta Cake that theycovered with Fresh Strawberries prepared with Wine.

This was a memorable dinner and it provided us withgreat leftovers.

Watermelonand feta

Plenty

YotamOtttolenghi

Thisyou must eat on the beach, or at least outdoors, on a hot day, with the sun'srays unobstructed. It reminds me of hot sweaty nights on the seafront in TelAviv, when everyone is out enjoying beer, loud music and often a heatedconversation. The sweet juiciness of the watermelon and the crumbly saltinessof the feta give this salad all its character. So make sure you choose the bestpossible of both.

Serves4

10oz feta

41/2cups large chunks of watermelon

3/4cup basil leaves

1/2small red onion, very thinly sliced (optional)

oliveoil

Slicethe feta into large but thin pieces, or just break it by hand into roughchunks.

Arrangeall the ingredients, except the olive oil, on a platter, mixing them up alittle. Drizzle over some oil and serve at once.

Horseradish-and-Cumin-Crusted

WholeSmoke-Roasted Sirloin

withMustard A'ioli

Licenseto Grill

Schlesingerand Willoughby

SERVES 10 TO 15 AS ENTREE

Save this one for a real banquet. It's big and it'sexpensive, but the taste and texture of a whole roasted sirloin is bothimpressive and unique, as you would expect from this cut which is almost alwayscut into sirloin strip steaks. Because the piece of meat is so large, achievingthe proper state of doneness can be something of an issue. I advise you to geta good meat thermometer (the small instant-read ones about the size of a penare the most convenient), because this cut of meat is best—depending on your taste,of course—when cooked on the rarer side. I pull mine off the grill when it'sanywhere from n8° (way rare) to i24°F (starting to get medium-rare). Make sureyou're taking the temperature down in the middle of the meat, or you're notgoing to get the reading that you're looking for. If you take the sirloin offthe grill and then find that it's rarer than you like it, you can cut it intothickish slices (one to two inches), grill them as you would steaks, and tellyour guests you're serving them unique "smoke-roasted then grilled"steaks. I would definitely have some toasted crusty bread with the beef and themustard mayo, a combination that gives a whole new meaning to the term"roast beef sandwich."

1 10- to 11-pound whole beef sirloin (ask yourfavorite butcher)

For the Spice Paste

1-1/2 cups grated fresh horseradish (or substitute lcup prepared horseradish)

1/2 cup cumin seeds, toasted if you want, or 1/4,cup ground cumin

1/2 cup minced garlic

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup freshly cracked black pepper

For the Aioli

4 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1-1/2 lemons)

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 cups olive oil
Salt to taste

4 bunches watercress, trimmed and washed

1. Start a small fire in one half of a large covered grill, using aboutenough charcoal to fill a shoe box. Let the fuel become completely engulfed inflames, then wait a few minutes for the fire to burn down a bit.

2. While the fire is getting going, trim any areas of thick fat off thesirloin—but don't remove every speck of fat, because you will want to leavesome to add flavor to the meat.

3. Make the spice paste: In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients andmix well. Rub the sirloin generously with this mixture, then place it on thegrill over the side with no fire, being careful that no part of the sirloin isover the coals. Put the lid on the kettle with the vents open about a quarterof the way and cook for about 1-1/2 hours, adding charcoal as necessary to keepthe fire going. At the 40-minute mark, turn the sirloin around, changing theside that is closest to the fire.

4. At the 1-1/2 hour point, begin checking the sirloin with aninstant-read thermometer: Remove from the fire at 118°F for very rare, 122°Ffor rare, 126°F for medium-rare, and so on, adding 4 degrees for each level ofdoneness. Let the sirloin rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

5. Meanwhile, make the aioli: Combine all of the ingredients except theoil in a food processor or blender and blend well. With the motor running,slowly drizzle in the oil until just incorporated. Place the aioli in a smallbowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Make a bed of the watercress on a platter or individual plates, slicethe sirloin, and place on the watercress. Serve with the aioli on the side.

Crab Pasta

2011-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

The New York Times had arecipe for Spaghetti With Crab Meat, Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula. We decided tomake it. It is an easy recipe. All you need is canned crab. We called Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish and he said he was getting anew Canned Crab that was better than the Indonesian crab that he had previous carried. This was US Domestic Blue Crab. It was sweeter.We liked the Spaghetti and will make this recipe again. One thing we did, wasjack up the flavor by adding some crushed red pepper. I love toasted breadcrumbsas a topping for almost anything, and the breadcrumbs added a lot to the dish,giving it a great crunch.

Spaghetti With Crab Meat,Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

New York Times 8/31/2011

There was plenty of warmsunshine in the dry rieslings from Alsace. These were not the first rieslingsthat suggested crab meat to me, or the first time that mellow crab meatsuggested riesling. Several weeks ago, before the ballet at Lincoln Center, Icleaned my plate of spaghetti tossed with crab meat, tart-sweet cherry tomatoes,arugula and bread crumbs at Nick & Toni’s Cafe. About a week later, therecipe in hand, I served it at home with Alsatian riesling for an elegant pasde deux.

Spaghetti With Crab Meat,Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

Adapted from Nick &Toni’s Cafe, Manhattan

Time: 45 minutes

1 cup loosely packed dicedsourdough country bread

1/3 cup extra virgin oliveoil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 pints cherry tomatoes(about 50)

1/4 cup sliced garlic (5 or 6cloves)

Leaves from 6 sprigs freshoregano, chopped

12 ounces spaghetti

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat

1 bunch arugula, heavy stemsremoved (about 2 cups).

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.Toss the bread cubes with 2 tablespoons oil and the chopped garlic. Spread in asmall baking pan and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes, tossing fromtime to time. Let cool.

2. Turn heat up to 450degrees. Place the tomatoes in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the sliced garlic, 2tablespoons oil, a pinch of chopped oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.Spread in a baking pan and roast about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start toburst. Remove from the oven.

3. Bring a large pot ofsalted water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente. Meanwhile, grind thebread cubes in a blender to make crumbs. Heat the remaining oil and the butterin a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook untillightly colored. Add the roasted tomatoes and their juices, reduce heat to lowand cook for a few minutes. Fold in the crab meat and remaining oregano.

4. When the spaghetti isdone, remove a cup of the water and add to the tomatoes. Drain the spaghettiand add it to the pan. Adjust seasoning. Fold in the arugula, toss thespaghetti well, transfer to a large warm bowl or individual plates, dust withthe bread crumbs and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Expatriate Chicken

2011-09-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

We decided to make Expatriate Chicken. This is one of ourfavorite Chicken Recipes. It is easy and delicious. I love anything made withOlives and Preserved Lemons. The Chicken is cooked in the oven over a waterbath filled with Chopped Onions. The water evaporates keeping the chickenmoist. The drippings from the chicken cook with the onions creating a greatsauce. We serve the Chicken with Couscous from Tunisia with the sauce andpreserved lemons and olives. Yum! The recipe, by Paula Wolfert, is from theSlow Mediterranean Kitchen can be found in our blog of: August 2, 2008. Clickthe date to get the recipe.

Truffle Mania

2011-08-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

We purchased a black truffle from Palate Food + Wine and decided to havean all Truffle Dinner. We invited Robert and Darryl over to share the fungusfrom Italy. We planned to make Risotto with truffles followed by Eggs with Truffles. We talked to Steve at Palate and he said he would join us for dinneran gave us some recipe ideas. Unfortunately he was ill and couldn’t make it.But we did follow his advice, completely changing what we were preparing to make.It was a wise choice; his ideas for cooking truffles were great.

We started with the simplest of Truffle Pasta. Egg pasta,butter, salt, pepper combined with chopped leeks that were slow cooked inbutter, sprinkle with chives then shave the truffle over the pasta and - enjoy!

We then made Scallops with Truffles. We purchased beautiful ones at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We split them in half and put them under the broiler for about30 seconds on each side. We covered with Chive Oil and served with BriocheToast. It was delicious. We purchased the Bread from Proof in Atwater Village.The recipe for Chive Oil can be found in our blog June 4, 2011. Click the dateto get the recipe.

To complete our Truffle Dinner we had to have ChocolateTruffles for dessert. The best in the city are the caramel filled ones from Valarie Confections.Luckily the small artisanal chocolate maker is near us. It is fun to visit thestore and see the chocolate making.

Chicken and Fig

2011-08-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Figs are in season and we decided to make Chicken with Figs. This is a delicious dish. It is started on the stove top then finished in the oven. You can get the recipe from our blog of June 23,2008. Just click the date to get the recipe.

It's Alive!

2011-08-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Robert and Darryl decided to combine courses with us and create a joint dinner.

We were planning to make a Mushroom Lasagna from a recipe from our new cookbook: Plenty by Ottolenghi. We had purchased a lot of Chanterelle Mushrooms at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. We knew it would be great! We modified the recipe and substituted pecorino cheese for the parmesan. It worked out just fine.

Robert and Darryl brought 2 courses: a Fish Salad with Baby Squid that was light and very tasty. They also brought fresh shrimp. Real fresh shrimp. Extremely fresh shrimp. When Robert opened the package of shrimp he screamed as the not so small shrimps started walking around. They were still alive. He didn’t get the shrimp he thought he was ordering. He got live Santa Barbara Spot Prawns. These shrimps think they are lobsters. Some of them had roe, which I love, and they had lots of meat on them. We sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and pepper and gilled them on the barbeque for 2 minutes on each side. They were perfect! It was fun using our hands to shell them and get to the meat and roe. Robert and Darryl took the shells home to make shrimp stock.

We had eaten a Chocolate Caramel Cake from Proof Bakery and just loved it. We decided that we wanted it for dessert. After Pilates we went to Proof arriving there at noon and they didn’t have one. They know us there, and we asked if they would bake us one. We knew they closed at 4pm. Incredibly they said they would bake it for us just return in 4 hours. I can’t think of another bakery that would do that. The cake is amazing! I am really glad they baked it special for us. Just look at the caramel!

Mushroom Lasagna

Plenty by Ottolenghi

It took the aid of Cook's Illustrated, a magazine for food nerds like me, to enable me to crack the secret for a perfect cheesy lasagne. Serve this with an arugula and tomato salad.

Serves 6-8

1-1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1-3/4 cups lukewarm water

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp thyme leaves

1-3/4 lbs mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced if large

2 tbsp chopped tarragon

4 tbsp chopped parsley

salt and white pepper

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small shallot, chopped

scant ½ cup all-purpose flour

2-1/3 cups milk

13 fl oz ricotta

1 large egg

5 oz feta, crumbled

6 oz Gruyere, grated

1 lb dried spinach lasagne

5 oz fontina cheese (or mozzarella), grated

½ cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover the porcini with the lukewarm water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl, squeezing the mushrooms to remove all the liquid; reserve the liquid.

Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. When foaming add the thyme, porcini and fresh mushrooms. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened and exuded some of their liquid, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, stir in the tarragon, parsley and some salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Use the same pan to make a bechamel. Put the butter and shallot in the pan and cook on medium heat for about a minute. Add the flour and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes; the mix will turn into a paste but shouldn't color much. Gradually whisk in the milk and porcini soaking liquid, leaving any grit in the bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue whisking until boiling. Simmer on low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickish. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl mix together the ricotta and egg, then fold in 3 tablespoons of the bechamel and the feta. Add the Gruyere to the remaining bechamel in the pan and stir well to get your main sauce.

Pour boiling water over the lasagne noodles (do this a few at a time so they don't stick together) and soak for 2 minutes; remove and dry them on a tea towel.

To assemble the lasagne, pour one-fifth of the sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish that is about 10 x 14 inches. Cover with lasagne noodles. Spread one-quarter of the ricotta mix on top, scatter over one-quarter of the mushrooms and sprinkle with one-quarter of the fontina. Make three more layers in the same way, then finish with a layer of pasta covered with sauce.

Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and cover loosely with foil (don't lay it directly on the surface of the lasagne). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the sides. Lift off the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the top turns golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

My Favorite Summer Pasta!

2011-08-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

We started our dinner with appetizers from Spain. We love Cristina's From Spain!

By looking at the previous dinner you know we are NOT vegetarians. But there are many fantastic meals that contain no meat. We made Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar From: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook. I can’t rave enough about this simple to make pasta! It is fabulous! It is rich! It will make you a vegetarian! You MUST try it. You can get the recipe for it from our blog of: Oct. 26, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

What a Bone!

2011-08-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Cathy and I had been to a new to us restaurant named: Salt’s Cure in West Hollywood. We had a pork chop and it had an incredibly long bone. I thought it was an amazing presentation. I took the bone home and showed it to Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish. He said he could butcher meat like that. We returned to McCall’s one Saturday and saw a Rib-Eye Steak with the longest bone I had ever seen. Although we had dinner reservations for the next night, we cancelled them and bought the dinosaur-like steak. It was great tasting. If only we had a dog! It did fit (just barely on the grill).

To start, I made Bruschetta by coating bread with olive oil and chopped garlic, then grilling on the Weber next to the steak. Chopped tomatoes, basil, red onion, salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil made for a tasty starter. Next time I will add some capers.

We made fantastic Oven-Roasted Potatoes. They turned out extremely crispy. They are delicious. They are from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. This is a fabulous recipe. They are easy to make and we HIGHLY recommend them! You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 10, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fresh Corn on the Cob completed the dinner. We folded back the husks buttered the corn, added salt and pepper then squeezed fresh lime juice over the corn. We then folded the husk back up over the corn cob, covered each ear with aluminum foil and through it on the grill, rolling it around for about 5 minutes until all sides were cooked. It was perfect!

Shrimp

2011-08-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the Farmer’s Market in Atwater Village and saw a new stand (for us at least) that sold imported food products from Spain called: Cristina's from Spain. Now that I think of it, I don’t understand how they can sell their products at a local farmer’s market, but that is another story.

We started talking to the salesperson, Tony, at the stand and he was fun to talk to, highly enthusiastic and charming. The products he sold turned out to be excellent - Manchego and Blue Cheeses, Iberico, and the best Manzanilo Olive I have ever eaten. We also bought a very sweet cracker from him that was great with the appetizers. It was perfect for a hot night with rose wine.

We had the leftover home made polenta that was so good, and I suggested that we make shrimp to go with it. We picked up the shrimp at McCall’s and made our new favorite shrimp recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook: Buttered Prawns with Tomato, Olives and Arak. I love this dish, and it goes perfectly over the polenta. You can find the recipe for the the shrimp in our blog of: July 16, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe. You can find the recipe for the sweet corn Polenta in our blog of: August 11, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

Welcome back Shu

2011-08-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our friend Shu had returned from a vacation in Italy and we decided to invite him over for dinner. One of our favorite summer soups is a Fig and Tomato Soup from Moro East Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark. It is flavored with cumin, as absolutely wonderful. Most people when they first hear about it are very dubious. The idea of a soup with figs is not natural to them. Once they taste the soup they definitely change their minds!

We are continuing to cook our way through the two cookbooks by Ottolenghi. The vegetarian recipe we made for the main course was from the Plenty Cookbook. We made: Sweet Corn Polenta with Eggplant. This was an exciting dish for us to make. We have made polenta dozens of time, but we have NEVER made fresh Polenta. We have previously always made it from a box. This was made from fresh corn ears! It was fantastic and sweeter than the polenta from the box. The addition of the feta cheese gave a tangy / sour taste that was a revelation. This is an only in Summer dish, when corn is at its peak sweetness!

Sweet corn polenta with Eggplant

Plenty by Ottolenghi

Polenta made from fresh corn is almost like baby food, but in a good sense. It is smooth, sweet and soothing, a bit like a chunky savory porridge. It is my ideal heartwarming supper meal. Just keep in mind that it is nothing like regular polenta made from cornmeal - it is softer and not as substantial.

This dish is a variation on a recipe by two inspiring Israeli food writers, Haim Cohen and Eli Landau.

Serves 4

Eggplant sauce

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice

2 tsp tomato paste

¼ cup white wine

1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)

6-1/2 tbsp water

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

1 tbsp chopped oregano

Polenta

6 ears of corn
2^-1/4 cups water

3 tbsp butter, diced

7 oz feta, crumbled
^¼tsp salt

black pepper

To make the eggplant sauce. Heat up the oil in a large saucepan and fry the eggplant on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until nicely brown. Drain off as much oil as you can and discard it. Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir with the eggplant. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, water, salt, sugar and oregano and cook for a further 5 minutes to get a deep-flavored sauce. Set aside; warm it up when needed.

To make the polenta. Remove the leaves and "silk" from each ear of corn, then chop off the pointed top and stalk. Stand each ear upright on its base and use a sharp knife to shave off the kernels. You want to have VM lbs of kernels.

Place the kernels in a medium saucepan and cover them with the water. Cook for 12 minutes on a low simmer. Use a slotted spoon to lift the kernels from the water and into a food processor; reserve the cooking liquid. Process them for quite a few minutes, to break as much of the kernel case as possible. Add some of the cooking liquid if the mixture becomes too dry to process.

Now return the corn paste to the pan with the cooking liquid and cook, while stirring, on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to a mashed potato consistency. Fold in the butter, the feta, salt and some pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Divide the polenta among shallow bowls and spoon some warm eggplant sauce in the center.

Tomato soup with cumin and figs

From Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark

This soup is based on a recipe from Fra Juan's restaurant in the monastery of Guadalupe. It is strictly a summer dish, an interesting Spanish twist on a classic tomato soup. While serving this soup at the restaurant, a waiter overheard a customer say it was the best tomato soup she had ever had. Of course, it was a moment when the ingredients did shine. It was at the beginning of August, after a heat wave, and British tomatoes tasted as good as they get. The allotment figs were superb, too. It's a thrill to find recipes that have been cooked for hundreds of years, but in the end this means nothing unless the ingredients are at their peak.

Serves 4

6 tablespoons olive oil 1kg flavorful tomatoes, roughly

1 medium onion, chopped sliced

1 green pepper, chopped 150-300ml water

3 garlic cloves, chopped a little caster sugar (optional) ^

21/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly 5 or 6 ripe, plump fresh figs, finely

toasted in a pan, then crushed diced

400g tin of chopped plum tomatoes, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil,

drained of juice to serve

lOOg dried figs, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and green pepper with a good pinch of salt and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and continue cooking until sweet and golden brown. Add two-thirds of the cumin and cook for 1 minute more. Now add the tinned tomatoes and dried figs and simmer gently, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, stirring now and then. When the mixture is rich and concentrated, put in the fresh tomatoes and increase the heat slightly, then simmer for 15 minutes more. With a handheld blender, whizz until smooth, then pour in enough of the water to achieve a consistency like double cream. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar if necessary.

Stir half the fresh figs through the soup and use the rest to garnish each portion in the bowl, along with the remaining cumin and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Veal Chop

2011-08-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

I had wanted for sometime to grill Veal Chops. We finally purchased them at McCall’s Meat and Fish. Of course, they were excellent. Veal chops don’t have a lot of flavor so the key is what you serve with them. We knew that veal does not have a lot of flavor, so we decided to make a Vinegar Butter for it from The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook. It is a great sauce for Veal Chops.

We had previously had grilled corn, so I cut the Corn from the cob and added Avocado, Diced Red Onions and made a Fresh Corn Salad. It worked out exactly as I planned it was excellent.

Robert and Darryl had just returned from London and while there had seen a recipe in the Guardian Newspaper for Baked Tomatoes by our favorite: Ottolenghi. Apparently the Guardian prints many of his recipes. We made it as an accompaniment for the veal. It was delicious. What goes better than good bread and tomatoes?

We cooked extra chops and had them as leftovers. We made a Salad with White Nectarines, Hazelnuts, Saba and Prosciutto. Easy and just yells of summer fruit.

Baked tomatoes with baguette

Ottolenghi (The Guardian Newspaper)

It's hardly news to point out that tomato and bread make one of the best of all food marriages – that's why pizza margarita and pan con tomate are so popular. That said, using a chunk of bread to mop up tomatoey juices from a bowl is one of the most gratifying end-of-meal rituals I know. This dish maximises that effect. To make it vegetarian, omit the anchovies and use another hard cheese instead of parmesan. Serves four.

2 tbsp double cream 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 1 tsp brown sugar 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed ½ sprig rosemary, finely chopped 1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the croutons 50g finely grated parmesan 900g top-notch tomatoes of as many colours and sizes as you can get 1 small French baguette, half to make croutons and half to serve 2 tbsp picked oregano leaves

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. In a small bowl, mix the cream, anchovies, sugar, garlic, rosemary, oil and a third of the cheese. Cut larger tomatoes widthways into 1.5cm slices and halve smaller ones. Put them in a bowl and pour in the cream mix. Gently combine with your hands, so the tomatoes are coated, then place cut side up in a 22cm x 26cm ovenproof dish; bake for 15-20 minutes, until their edges start to crisp.

Meanwhile, cut the crust off half the baguette and tear the bread into rough chunks ranging from small crumbs to 1cm pieces – you should end up with 80g of croutons. Toss them in a tablespoon of oil, spread out on a baking sheet and bake alongside the tomatoes for seven minutes, until dry and lightly golden.

Remove both trays from the oven and spread the croutons on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and the oregano, and bake for seven minutes more, until the cheese has melted. Remove, set aside for 20-30 minutes (the flavour intensifies), then serve with the rest of the baguette.

Vinegar Butter

The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook

1 large shallot minced

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup zinfandel vinegar or strong vinegar

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup veal demi-glace

Place the shallot in an enameled, stainless steel or other non-reactive saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté it for a few minutes over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, then reduce it to 2 tablespoons. Add the wine, reduce by half, then add the demi-glace and continue to reduce the sauce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.

Whish the remaining butter into the sauce, a little at a time, over low heat. When all the butter has been incorporated, season the sauce with salt and pepper and keep it warm

Spoon the sauce over the grilled veal chop.

Heirloom Zucchini Pasta

2011-08-03T17:32:00.001-07:00

One of favorite pastas is Zucchini Pasta. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market for a short time in the summer we can get heirloom Zucchinis which have a fabulous taste. We made the pasta from a recipe by Mark Bittman in the New York Times. This is an amazing dish. The zucchinis are sliced thin and browned making a delicious sauce. We had recently purchased a French Magimax that has a slicer attachment and it made quick work of the zucchini. With the addition of eggs and parmesan cheese it is like a Carbonara.

It is very easy to make and delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of: June 19, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Welcome Back

2011-07-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Robert and Darryl had just returned from London and we decided to have them over for dinner, figuring they would be too tired to cook.

We started with drinks in the front yard on a beautiful Los Angeles summer night.

For a first course we served Turkey and Sweet Corn meatballs with Roasted Pepper Sauce from Ottolenghi the Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi Otttolenghi The Cookbook. We all loved these meatballs. It is a great recipe!

We cooked a Herb-Crusted Roast Pork Loin from a recipe in License to Grill by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. We had purchased the pork at McCall’s Meat and Fish. This is a great recipe to cook on the egg. It turned out perfectly! You can get the recipe from our blog of July 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Pork we served another recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook. This is really a great cookbook. We are really getting into it. We made a Fennel, Cherry Tomato and Crumble Gratin. This is a tasty recipe. I really liked it and will definitely make it again. I like the contrast of the fennel and the sweetness of the crumble.

Fennel, cherry tomato and crumble gratin

Ottolenghi The Cookbook

Yotam Ottolenghi Sami Tamimi

Considering the colossal amounts of food coming out of our kitchen in Notting Hill, visitors are always astonished to see how small it is. Sharing such small quarters can lead to extraordinary kinds of personal interaction, with the occasional tense moment between the savoury chefs and the pastry department.

On a culinary level, this yields some unusual hybrids. Using the pastry department's crumble mix for this gratin was originally Sami's revenge for some freshly squeezed lemon juice that was 'stolen' by a pastry chef to make curd. It turned out that the creamy sweetness of the crumble offsets the dominant savoury tones of the fennel and the acidity of the tomato to create a most comforting experience.

You can have this ready well in advance and put it in the oven at the last minute.

Preheat the oven to 400. Trim off the fennel stalks and cut each bulb lengthways in half. Cut each half into slices 1.5 cm thick, Place in a large bowl with the olive oil, thyme leaves, garlic, salt and pepper and toss together. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and pour the cream over the fennel. Mix the crumble with the grated Parmesan and scatter evenly on top.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and arrange the tomatoes on top. You can leave some on the vine and scatter some loose. Scatter a few thyme sprigs on top. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. By now the fennel should feel soft when poked with a knife and the gratin should have a nice golden colour. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley over and serve hot or warm.

Crumble mix with your hands or an electric mixer fitted with the beater attachment to work it to a uniform breadcrumb consistency. Make sure there are no lumps of butter left. If using a mixer, watch it carefully. Within a few seconds, a crumble can turn into a cookie dough. (If this unpleasant scenario happens, roll it out thinly, cut out cookies, bake them and half dip in melted chocolate.)

2 Transfer the crumble to a plastic container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or for ages in the freezer.

300g plain flour

100g caster sugar

200g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 Put the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and

Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce

Ottolenghi the Cookbook

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Now you see them, now you don't. That's the fate of these meatballs in our Ledbury Road branch. As soon as we bring them out to the shop they disappear, as if by command of a magician's wand. They are that good!

serves 4

100g sweetcorn kernels (fresh or frozen)

3 slices of stale white bread, crusts removed

500g minced free-range or organic turkey breast

1 free-range egg

4 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 2-1/2 tsp ground cumin

1-1/2 tsp salt Vz tsp black pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed sunflower oil for frying

Roasted pepper sauce 4 red peppers

3 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt

25g coriander, leaves and stalks

1 garlic clove, peeled

small mild chilli, deseeded

tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. To prepare the peppers for the sauce, quarter them with a sharp knife and shave off the white parts and the seeds. Put them in a roasting tray and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, then roast in the oven for 35 minutes or until soft. Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl and cover it with cling film. Once they have cooled down a little, you can peel them, although it isn't essential for this sauce. In any case, place them in a blender or food processor with their roasting juices and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Process until smooth, then tasteand adjust the salt if necessary. Set aside.

1. 2. For the meatballs, place a heavy, non-stick frying pan over a high heat and throw in the corn kernels. Toss them in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes, until lightly blackened. Remove and leave to cool.

1. 3. Soak the bread in cold water for a minute, then squeeze well and crumble it into a large bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the sunflower oil and mix well with your hands.

1. 4. Pour a 5mm depth of sunflower oil into your heavy frying pan. Allow it to heat up well and then fry about a teaspoonful of the mince mix in it. Remove, let cool a little and then taste. Adjust the amount of salt and pepper in the uncooked mixture to your liking.

1. 5. With wet hands, shape the mince mix into balls, about the size of golf balls. Cook them in small batches in the hot oil, turning them around in the pan until they are golden brown all over. Transfer to an oven tray, place in the oven at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and cook for about 5 minutes. When you press one with your finger, the meat should bounce back. If unsure, break one open to check that it is cooked inside. Serve hot or warm, with the pepper sauce on the side.