Chicken and Figs

Wine: petite rousse 2005

Fig Season is very short. We purchased figs for the last couple of weeks and usually ate them with prosciutto.

We decided to make one of favorite recipes from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers: Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar. The recipe is straight forward, although like most cooking the better the ingredients used the better the result. I went to the Santa Monica Farmer’s market and purchased some figs that we added to a few we had purchased over the weekend at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. The main reason I went there was because I wanted to go to Vicenti Market to purchase Smart Chicken. We think it is the only market that currently sells Smart Chickens in Los Angeles. I don’t know if the smart refers to the Chicken, the butcher or the owner of the company, but the chickens are good!

We started with a salad made from Fresh Apricots (stone fruit is in the market now). We made a sauce of Mexican Crema and Saba. To the salad we added Prosciutto and Almonds that we bought from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.


CHICKEN BRAISED with FIGS, HONEY & VINEGAR

Learning to identify good figs is an annual ritual at Zuni. As each year's fig crop appears, I always ask the new cooks if they have eaten many before. Often, particularly from those new to California, the answer is, "Not really," and I envy them the pleasure of what lies ahead.
"Look at them. Feel them. Plump can be good, but not unless they are really heavy for their size and they need to be tender."
A tentative squeeze.
"Taste it. How is it? And that cracked one. It's kind of light, but check any¬way. How about that one, it looks flawless, and it's heavy, but it is kind of hard. Taste it."
After a wary nibble, "It's not that great."
"Now look at that one. Shrunken and wrinkled is actually good, as long as it is heavy. 'Pristine' isn't usually a good sign. If you look for pretty, you may miss the best ones. Just keep tasting until you can tell. And then try to remember how 'that look' and 'that feel' taste."
This last applies to all produce, all meat, all fish, all cooking.
We use a lot of figs at Zuni, in every course. This dish is Greek in inspiration, and it is a crowd pleaser. We use fleshy Kadota figs, syrupy and with a blush of pink in the center when ripe, though you can use Smyrnas {re-christened "Calmyrna" or "Calimyrna" when grown in California}, Excel, Adriatic, or plump-ripe Black Mission figs as well. Use wildflower or chestnut honey. The fla¬vor of lavender honey is too persuasive.
We sometimes serve this dish with a salad of raw fennel ribbons and frisee or arugula, with wedges of fried pizza dough to sop up the sauce. Grilled bread is a fine and practical alternative.

FOR 4 SERVINGS:

4 chicken legs (8 to 9 ounces each}
Salt
About 2 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1 medium yellow onion {about 8ounces), root end trimmed flat, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges
About 1/2 cup dry white wine
About 2 tablespoons dry white vermouth
About 1/2 cup Chicken stock
1 bay leaf
A sprig of fresh thyme
A few black peppercorns, barely cracked in a mortar
About 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
About 1 tablespoon honey
8 to 10 ripe fresh figs - Kadota, Smyrna, Excel, Adriatic, or Black Mission

Seasoning the chicken {for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 12 to 24 hours in advance}:
Trim the excess fat, then season the chicken evenly all over with salt {we use a scant 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken. Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Pat the chicken legs dry; this will make them less likely to stick. Heat a scant
2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, then add the
chicken legs, skin side down. The oil should sizzle, not pop explosively, when
you add chicken. Adjusting the heat as necessary, cook until the skin is evenly
golden, about 8 minutes. Turn the legs over and color only slightly on the other
side, about 4 minutes. Pour off the fat.
If your skillet is ovenproof, arrange the onion wedges in the spaces between the chicken legs; otherwise, transfer the chicken to a shallow flameproof braising dish that will easily hold the chicken and onions in a single layer, and add the onions. Add the wine, the vermouth, and enough stock to come to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer and add-the bay-leaf , thyme, and cracked black peppercorns.
Place, uncovered, in the oven, and cook until the meat is tender but not quite falling off the bone, about 40 minutes. The exposed skin will have turned golden and crispy; the liquid ought to have reduced by about half. Remove from the oven and set on a slight tilt so the fat will collect at one side of the pan.
Combine the vinegar and honey and warm slightly. Taste. The vinegar should dominate, but without making you squint. Trim the stems and cut the figs in half.

Skim as much fat as possible from the braising liquid, then set the pan over
medium heat. Bring to a boil and swirl as you reduce the liquid to a syrupy con¬sistency. Distribute the figs evenly around the pan, add about 2 tablespoons of the vinegar-honey syrup, and swirl the pan to diffuse the bubbling, amber syrup without smashing the tender fruit. The sauce will be glossy. Taste - it should be rich and vibrantly sour-sweet. Add more, or all of the syrup, to taste. The vinegar adds a bright but unstable note of acidity, which will fade with boiling, so sim¬mer for only a minute or less.
Serve each chicken leg with 2 wedges of sweet, soft onion and 4 or 5 fig halves, bathed in a few spoonfuls of the sauce.

Eating in Support of Amnesty for Immigrants

We decided to have a cook and re-create a Mexican dinner that we often ate at The Border Grill. I am sure almost all of the staff are illegal immigrants. The recipes are from: Mesa Mexicana by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.

We started with a Fresh Summer Salad.

We made Grilled Turkey Breasts with Vinegar and Cracked Pepper. The breast is sliced very thin like a scaloppini and quickly grilled. It served on a bed of Seared Greens.

We made Baked Yams with Lime and Honey to accompany. Mexican Crema is poured over the Yams as a garnish.

It is a great meal and re-heats well!

Slow Cooked Copper River Salmon

We went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market and purchased lots of vegetables. Just before we left we noticed the fish monger was featuring Copper River Salmon. It would be the last week it would be available. We changed our dinner plans (we had plan to go out) and purchased the salmon so that we could enjoy it one last time this year. We again used the slow cooking method, cooking it at a very low temperature on a bed of onions. We seasoned it with the Okinawa Salt that we had purchased in Japan. It is the best salt!

We grilled Corn on the Cob, and Asparagus as side dishes. It was a warm summer night and we started on the deck with a great plate: Fresh Black Mission Figs, Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake, and Cheese. We had a bottle of Les Arnevels Rose Cotes de Provence - 2006.

For desert, we had purchased a box of Cherries at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, we pitted them and baked them with butter and a little sugar. We then served them over a Brownie from La Brea Bakery. Decadent but delicious!

Steaks: 2, 3, 4 & India Mango

We had three more steaks from Harvey to eat. One steak was previously cooked. We grilled the final two. We made some great salads. One was made with Corn, another with Almonds, Saba, White Nectarines and Prosciutto. For dessert we had the Fresh Mangoes we had purchased at the Indian Market. They are fabulous. If you like mangoes go to an Indian Market! You can read about them here.

1st of 4 Steaks

Wine: Notari Micodemi Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 2004

Cathy is extremely busy with a rush project at work. We wanted to make an easy dinner. Grilling steaks sounded like the best plan. I went on Monday to our favorite butcher: Harvey Gussman. I arrived just as he was closing, but had pre-ordered 4 aged porterhouse steaks. Sorry Brett, know you wanted them, but I ordered them on Friday!

We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market on Sunday, for the first time since our return from Japan. It was loaded with early summer vegetables. We bought a wide variety of tomatoes, potatoes, porcini mushrooms, corn, etc. The plan is to serve the steak in four different ways on four different nights. One steak each night.

For this first night we grilled two of the Porterhouse Steaks. We will only eat one, on Tuesday night we will serve the second steak room temperature. We Grilled Corn on the grill, much more than we would eat, because we plan to make a salad with the grilled corn and tomatoes on a subsequent night.

On Sunday night we went to Mozza, and they were jammed as usual. Matt helped us score some food to go. We watched the second to last Sopranos and had Italian food. How great is that? Will Tony get wacked in the finale? We only ate half of the chopped salad.

For a first course we had the other half of Mozza Chopped Salad.

We grilled the corn by smothering the corn in butter, salting then wrapping individually in aluminum foil. When the steak is almost done we throw the corn cobs on the grill. We remove the steak and tent. When you hear the corn begin to sizzle, with tongs we remove the aluminum foil and grill directly to finish.

We also made Corina’s Potato / Fava Bean Hash. It is served at her restaurant: Canele, the best restaurant in the Silverlake area by far! We have previously described the recipe (look at post of April 2, 2007 for recipe). It is great. The recipe calls for fresh mint, the one thing we didn’t have. I went to our local Indian market: India Sweets & Spices to pick up some mint. The United States has never allowed India Mangos to be imported. They just changed the law. The market had fresh Mangos from India. They had just arrived. They are supposed to be the best. I bought one, will report soon!

For desert we had Budino, which is a butterscotch like pudding from Mozza. It was great!

Munch Munch is Cooking Again!

Wine: Fili Di Seta 2003 – Rosso Di Toscana

We have returned from Japan and because we were still Jet Lagged we decided to cook an easy dinner.

We made a salad and followed it with a simple chicken recipe from the River Café. This recipe is fast to make and delicious.

Roast Chicken Vermentino
2 1/2 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) dried porcini mushrooms, or mixed dried mushrooms
1/4 up extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 4 1/2 -pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 pounds waxy boiling potatoes, like Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 cup Vermentino, or other crisp, citrusy white wine, like Pinot Grigio.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 1 2/3 cups water to a simmer, and stir in the porcini; soak for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving both mushrooms and broth. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the mushroom broth, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, so that it reduces by 1/3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Trim off excess fat from the chicken pieces. Rinse and pat dry. Place the chicken, skin-side down, in one layer, in a large roasting pan. Tuck the potatoes and mushrooms around the chicken. Sprinkle with the rosemary, wine and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over, season with more salt and pepper and continue cooking until the chicken and potatoes are lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes more. Serve with the vegetables and the juices from the pan. Serves 4. Adapted from ''Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe,'' by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers.

Off to Japan and Okinawa

Cathy and I have left for a vacation in Japan and Okinawa you can follow our journey here.

Spring Lamb

Wine: Pago Florentino Tinto 2004

We started with a Baby Artichoke Salad with Lemon Arugula and Pine Nuts based upon a recipe from Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. It is easy and very tasty.

For the main course we made the Rosemary Leg of Lamb recipe from Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton at Home. The lamb is often on the menu at Campanile. We purchased a large leg from Harvey Gus Meats. The recipe calls for a lot of rosemary twigs. Luckly we have several rosemary bushes in our backyard. I picked at least 30 large twigs.

After the meat is browned, you remove the lamb from the roasting pan line then line the pan with rosemary. Replace the lamb on top of the rosemary and completely cover the lamb with additional rosemary. You cook the lamb uncovered in the oven. When the lamb is done you take it outdoors, and light the rosemary surrounding the lamb. It quickly ignites in a blaze. Once the fire is going you put the lid on trapping the smoke in the pan with the lamb, giving it a great taste. Be sure not to burn the house down, or light it indoors!

As a side we once again made the great Fava Bean Potato Hash from Canale Restaurant.

Great dinner! Lots of leftovers.

Shaved Artichoke Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese
Adapted from Zuni Café

10 small artichokes
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons pine nuts
½ radicchio thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black Pepper
¼ cup thin shavings of Parmesan Cheese

1. One artichoke at a time, peel away outer tough leaves
2. Cut off stem and spiny tops of leaves
3. Cut artichoke in half lengthwise a remove fibrous choke
4. Slice artichokes as thinly as possible place in bowl
5. Squeeze some lemon juice over the cut artichokes and toss well
6. Repeat process for all artichokes
7. Add parsley, pine nuts and radicchio to bowl.
8. Pour olive oil over mixture, and sprinkle with salt, pepper.
9. Toss to coat salad
10. Add cheese and gently toss



Click below for a quick movie with sound, of the fire!

Mark and Nancy Together Again

Wine: Domaine de Piaugier Gigondas 2004

We had been to Campanile and had some left over Steak. In addition we had been to Mozza and has some leftover Chopped Salad. It was only natural to put them together as an appetizer.

We had seen two interesting recipes for slow cooked seafood. Previously we make the Slow Cooked Salmon. Now it was time to make the Slow Poached Shirmp. It was very easy to make. After a cleaned and de-veined the shrimp they are put in a plastic baggie and dropped in boiling water. The only addition we would make to the recipe would be to put some sliced garlic in the bag. It is a great and simple recipe.

We served the Risotto we made from the Vignole as a side.

We had been to a new new bakery called Milk. We brought home some small chocolate candy that we had for desert. They were very rich.

Slow-Poached Shrimp
===================

Total time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: This method is based on a recipe from "Small Bites, Big Nights" by Govind Armstrong.

1 pound medium (26 to 30) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or other herb (or 1 teaspoon fennel seeds)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground white pepper to taste

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices

2 cups cooked rice (such as basmati; follow cooking instructions on the package)

1. Bring a large pot of water to 150 degrees, just below a simmer.

2. Pat the shrimp completely dry. Place in a bowl and toss with the dill, salt and pepper until the seasonings are well dispersed. Transfer to a quart-size resealable freezer bag. Add the butter. Fold the bag over to force out as much air as possible, then seal.

3. Check the temperature of the water with an instant-read thermometer. Lay the bag into the water and cook 5 minutes, then turn the bag over and continue cooking until all the shrimp are just pink, 3 to 7 minutes longer. Turn out into a shallow bowl. Serve over rice.

Morels and More

Wine:
Domaine Raymond Dupont-Fahn - 2005
La Deveze 66 Cotes du Roussillon Villages

In the morning I went to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market with our friend and neighbor Billy. I purchased some morel mushrooms from David, our favorite mushroom provider. I also purchased asparagus and cipollini onions. We love both of these spring vegetables and look for them when they come into season. From there we went to Santa Monica Seafood. Billy had never been there. It is a great fresh seafood store that also sells to many Los Angeles Restaurants. I purchased Salmon, Indian Candy, Smoked Mushrooms and large Shrimps. Billy purchased skate wings and crab meat.

We went to a meeting at our Los Angeles City Councilman’s house: Tom LaBonge. Our neighbor Bea was there and we invited her to come over for dinner.

We served the Smoked Mussels and Indian Candy as appetizers as we drank wine and jointly cooked. Indian Candy is a sweetly smoked salmon chunks. It is very addictive.

For a first course we served Asparagus with Morel Mushrooms. We cleaned and cooked the Asparagus and topped it with the morels cooked in butter with cipollini onions. It was delicious!

The Los Angeles times had a very unusual recipe for Slow Cooked Salmon. We made it and liked it. It is very easy.

To accompany the Salmon we made a Risotto. We ground up Prosciutto and Parmesan Cheese we had purchased from The Cheese Store of Silverlake we then added the Vignole we had previously made.

The risotto was wonderful and lead to some great leftovers!

Slow-Cooked Salmon
==================

Total time: 10 to 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting

Servings: 4

4 wild salmon fillets (5 to 6 ounces each)

Coarse sea salt

Olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fines herbs (equal parts tarragon, chives, parsley and chervil)

1. Sprinkle the salmon evenly with sea salt to taste, about one-fourth teaspoon on each fillet. Set aside for about 30 minutes to bring to room temperature.

2. Heat the oven to 225 degrees. (If your oven does not allow that, set it at 200 or 250 degrees.)

3. Brush about 2 tablespoons olive oil over a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the salmon in one layer. Strew the onion slices over the oil. Brush the fillets lightly with olive oil (about 1 teaspoon per fillet) and place them on the onions, skin side down.

4. Bake until the salmon is done to your taste. If you like it almost raw, it will be done in about 10 minutes; cooked through, it will take up to 30 minutes (a thin-bladed knife inserted into the thickest part will penetrate easily).

6. Remove the salmon from the oven (you can discard the onions). Sprinkle the salmon with the chopped fines herbs and serve hot or cold.

Spring is Green

Wine: L'automne Pinot Noir 2005

We went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market and bought lots of green spring Vegitables: Fresh Fava, Fresh Peas, Fresh Asparagus, Baby Artichokes.

For a first course we made Vignole from the Italian Country Cookbook, by the owners of the River Cafe in London. Vignole is a kind of stew of peas, fava's and Artichokes. It is stewed with a thick slice of Prosciutto (we purchased it at The Cheese Store of Silverlake). The stew is flavored with Mint, olive oil, butter and mint. We served with the Vignole mini Cheese Rolls from The Bread Bar. These are our favorite rolls!

The dish is easy to make, once the prep is complete. The prep in this case is the double peeling of the fava beans, the shelling of the peas and the blanching and cutting up of the artichokes. The dish has a great taste with the many green vegetables blending together. We had lots of left overs and plan to make a risotto next week with the vignole as the base.

For the second course we made Asparagus Pasta. We really like this spring pasta. It is very simple and rich.

Asparagus Pasta
===============

1. Break Asparagus stalks where they naturally break towards the stem end
2. Wash and shave the stalks lightly if you wish
3. Cook the Asparagus for about 3 minutes in boiling water till just tender
4. Meanwhile brown butter in a small pan till bubbling and brown
5. Cook Pasta, we use a cork-screw pasta
6. Rinse Asparagus in cool water to stop cooking, cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces
7. Combine Asparagus, Brown Butter and Pasta in dish mix well
8. Top with grated Parmesan Cheese


A great spring dinner with lots of leftovers!

Brisket as Pasta Sauce

Wine: Portal N Sra Porta Tera Alta Roble 2004 Pinot

We have been on a Bollywood movie kick especially watching lots of Shah Rukh Khan movies. To add a culinary flavor, and because we like it we once again made the delicious dish: Grandmother’s Cauliflower from Madhur Jaffrey memoir: Climbing the Mango Trees. It is wonderful!

We decide to make a variation on Mark Peel Pasta Sauce that he serves at Campanile. We use the leftover Brisket. It turned out great! We shredded the brisket and combined it with the leftover brisket gravy with the carrots and onions. It was easy to make and delicious.

Passover: the One Question

Wine:

Chateau Sainte-Marie Entre-Deux-Mers 2005
Saxum Broken Stones 2004 Paso Robles from Bea


We reduced the 4 Passover questions to one: Do you want Red or White Wine?

I went to Jerry’s Deli in the Valley and picked up some Creamed Herring (I love it, no one else in our house does). I also picked up Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls.
They turned out to be quite light and good. I also picked up some Coconut Macaroons at La Brea Bakery.

We exchanged potatoes for the turnips in the recipe. One thing we definitely discovered was that the meat was even better the second day! We had purchased the Brisket from Gus Meats and it was one of the best briskets we have had in a long time.

The previous Friday we had been to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Canale. We noticed a side dish on an entrée that we didn’t order: Fava Bean Hash.

We ordered it as a side for our dinner, and it was great.

At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market on Sunday we had purchased fava beans with the intention of making fava bean puree sometime this week. I decided to stop by Canale to ask Corina for her recipe for the Fava Bean Hash. She graciously gave it to me. It turned out that the leftovers vegetables from the brisket were the beginning of the hash. All we had to do was to separate the carrots out from the Cipollini Onions and Carola Potatoes that we had used for the brisket. We added some olive oil, the mint and the beans. We warmed it in the oven and it was great! Thanks Corina.

For a first course we made a great spring salad from The Zuni Café Cookbook. We never had made it before. The title of the salad tells it all: Mixed Lettuces with Mandrins, Hazelnuts and Hazelnut Vinaigrette. It is made with fresh slices of Pixie Tangerines that are just arriving in the market, we surrounded the salad with Manchego Cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. I liked the idea of a salad with fresh fruit in it.

We were basing our Brisket on a recipe from the Los Angeles Times

Braised Beef with Turnips and Onions

March 28, 2007

Total time: About 1 hour, 40 minutes, plus 4 hours roasting time, plus 24 hours marinating time

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: Adapted from "The Cafe Boulud Cookbook" by Daniel Boulud

1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket

2 cups white wine

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

4 sprigs thyme

4 bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups beef broth

24 pearl onions

4 medium to large turnips

1 cup apple cider

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1. Place the brisket in a shallow pan or container that will hold it snugly. Mix the wine, brown sugar, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and pour over the meat. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning the meat once.

2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lift the brisket from the pan and scrape off the garlic and herbs, adding them to the marinade. Save the marinade. Pat the meat dry and season it with three-fourths-teaspoon salt and one-half-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper on each side. Warm the olive oil on the stove at medium high in a Dutch oven that fits the meat. Brown the meat evenly and carefully for 7 to 10 minutes. Add the marinade and bring to a boil. Pour in the beef broth to cover. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and cover. Braise in the oven for 3 hours.

3. While the brisket is in the oven, bring a small pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the pearl onions, and blanch for about 1 minute. Remove the onions and shock in cold water. Cut off the ends of the onions, and squeeze off the outer skin. Peel, trim and quarter the turnips lengthwise.

4. Remove the brisket from the oven. Add the onions and turnips to the meat in the pan, spooning liquid from the pan over the brisket. Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour more, or until the turnips are fork tender.

5. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, slice it against the grain in thin slices and place them on a warm platter. You will need a large spatula, as the meat may be starting to fall apart. Spoon vegetables around the meat, removing bay leaves and sprigs of thyme. Cover loosely and keep warm. Put the pan with the liquid (you will have about 6 1/2 cups) over medium to high heat. Add the cider and cider vinegar, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and reduce for about an hour until the sauce coats the back of a spoon (this makes a little more than 1 cup sauce). Taste and season the sauce as needed with salt and pepper.

6. Strain the sauce over the meat and vegetables and serve.

For dessert we had Strawberries macerated in Balsamic and a little Sugar with Coconut Macaroons.



Fava Bean Hash from Corina at Canale

Portions according to taste
====================

Carole Potatoes Quarter then Slice
Cloving Green Garlic – Confit it
Cipollini onions
Salt
Sauté all in ¼ olive oil

Add to Pan
========

Double shucked Fava beans
Chopped mint leaves
Cracked Picholine olives
Warm through and serve

Fava Bean and Asparagus

Wine: Portal N. Sra Portal Terra Alta Roble 2004

Spring is here! First Strawberries at the Farmer’s Market. First Asparagus. First Fava Beans!

We made Fava Bean Pasta, one of our very favorite pasta recipes. It reheats well, always an important aspect for us.

We bought lots of asparagus and decided to make two different recipes on two different days.

The first night we made Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese. The recipe is from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan. The Asparagus is first cooked in boiling water until still crisp. The asparagus is then removed from the water and put in a ceramic dish. It is then sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese and topped with butter. The dish is placed in a very hot 450 degree oven until golden brown on top.

On the second night we made Asparagus, Florentine from the Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli. It is a great recipe, the asparagus is sautéed in butter (Cathy browned the butter first) with parmesan cheese then removed from the pan. Eggs are lightly fried in the remaining butter and then placed on the asparagus and served. It is very rich and good.

For desert we served the fresh cut Strawberries, I topped mine with Grand Marnier.

Bacon and Fava Bean Pasta
======================

1 lb. Linguini
1 ½ Onions
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Pounds fresh Fava Beans (start with about 5 pounds pods)
½ Cup White Wine
½ Pound Bacon
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Hand full of fresh chopped sage

1. Prepare the fava beans by removing all beans from the pod. Then blanch beans for 1 minute. Then peel the skin from the blanched beans. Discard the skin.
2. Chop bacon and sauté but not too crisp
3. Remove bacon from pan, pour off bacon fat
4. Add olive oil and sauté onion and garlic till soft and translucent
5. Add wine, boil till almost all evaporates leaving ¼ cup of liquid left in pan
6. Using wooden spoon scrape and deglaze the pan retaining the brown bits from the bottom of the pan in the liquid
7. Add chopped sage, peeled beans, and bacon and sauté until hot
8. Toss with cooked pasta and add grated parmesan cheese

Serve and enjoy!

Risi e Bisi

Wine: Coto De Imaz Rioja 2000

We started to see fresh peas at the Farmer’s Market and on menus. So we decided to build a dinner around fresh peas. That ALWAYS for us means Risi e Bisi. That is an Italian dish made from Pea Stock, Peas, Rice and Prosciutto.

On Sunday at the market we bought lots of unshelled peas and some freshly shelled ones. In addition, we went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake and Chris generously gave us the end of a piece of Prosciutto and we bought a couple of bottles of what Julian described as the “Fabled” Coto De Imaz to drink with the rici e bisi.

We definitely cooked the dinner in stages.

On Tuesday we made the Pea stock from the peas.

On Wednesday we ground the Prosciutto and cooked it with the garlic and onions. We then left it on the stove and we went to a wine tasting at Silverlake Wine, for a great high-end (for us) wine: Behrens & Hitchcock. We really enjoyed the wine, and bought a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2004, which we will save for a special night.

When we returned home, we heated up the remaining Cabbage Pizza as a first course and then proceeded to make the Risi e Bisi. We once again used the recipe in Bugialli’s Italy. The Risi e Bisi was great, and we look forward to the leftovers.

Once again for desert, we had the Carrot Cake from Literati II, that Martin had given us.

A perfect meal!

Chicken Vermentin

Wine: Shotfire

We always look at the recipes in the New York Times but very rarely find one that interests us. We did see, however a recipe that really looked good: Roast Chicken Vermentin. We made it and it was excellent. We will definitely do it again! I suspect that the reason that we liked the chicken so much was that the recipe was from one of our favorite London restaurants: The River Café. We also have several of their cookbooks, but not the one this recipe was from.

We started with some of our leftover Asparagus Pasta.

We had heard of a brand of chicken called: Smart Chicken. We were told it is exceptional and they use it at Campanile. We arranged to get some Smart Chicken from Campanile and used it. The chicken really tasted like chicken. We will always try to buy it in the future. We need, however to find out where to purchase the chicken at a retail store. I have a call into Smart Chicken and will try and find a local outlet.

Our friend Martin had been telling us how great and large the Carrot Cake was at Litteratti II. He brought us a piece and we decided to have it for desert. It was so large, we split the piece in two saving a piece for the next dinner. The ½ of the piece we then split between us! It was excellent carrot cake, surrounded with actual carrots.

Roast Chicken Vermentin
===================
2 1/2 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) dried porcini mushrooms, or mixed dried mushrooms
1/4 up extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 4 1/2 -pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 pounds waxy boiling potatoes, like Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 cup Vermentino, or other crisp, citrusy white wine, like Pinot Grigio.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 1 2/3 cups water to a simmer, and stir in the porcini; soak for 10 minutes. Drain, reserving both mushrooms and broth. Roughly chop the mushrooms.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the mushroom broth, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, so that it reduces by 1/3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Trim off excess fat from the chicken pieces. Rinse and pat dry. Place the chicken, skin-side down, in one layer, in a large roasting pan. Tuck the potatoes and mushrooms around the chicken. Sprinkle with the rosemary, wine and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over, season with more salt and pepper and continue cooking until the chicken and potatoes are lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes more. Serve with the vegetables and the juices from the pan. Serves 4. Adapted from ''Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe,'' by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers.

Pizza, Pasta and Mah Jong

Wine:
Cottonwood Canyon 2000 Estate Pinot Noir
Shotfire 2005 Barossa Shiraz
Amador Foothill Sangiovese 2003
Terre Di Tufi Toscana Bianco 2004

Billy had returned from South East Asia. We decided to play Mah Jong on Saturday night. Billy had requested we make the Cabbage Pizza with Pancetta. Billy had read about the Pizza on the blog while traveling. We get our Pancetta at The Cheese Store of Silverlake – it goes great with the Cheese and Cabbage. We made the cabbage pizza and once again it was a hit. Kevin brought over the first printout from his on-line wine catalog. It was quite impressive to see how the program organizes and catalogs there wine storage.

Spring had arrived early at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and they had lots of young Asparagus. It gave us an opportunity to made one of our very favorite pastas. It is from Chez Panisse Pasta Pizza & Calzone by Alice Walters. Asparagus Pasta is amazingly good and very easy to make.

For desert we served Cookies from Clementine & Dolce De Leche Ice Cream

We played Mah Jong till after midnight, when we decided to end the game!

Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan & Fettuccine
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1 ½ pounds Asparagus (recipe calls for white, but we use green)
½ cup sweet butter
Fettuccine for 4
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Peel Asparagus
Heat the butter gently until it starts to turn golden brown
Cook the Asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes until they are cooked but not overly soft
Drain Asparagus and add to brown butter and coat well with the butter
Cook the pasta drain and return to pot
Add the Asparagus and any remaining butter to the cooked pasta
Season with salt and pepper, mix well.
Serve the pasta topping with grated Parmesan Cheese

Arista

Wine: Shotfire

We made a salad made from Bitter Greens with Hazelnut-Gorgonzola Vinaigrette from the cookbook: Cucina Simpatica. The salad wasn’t to our taste. Oh well, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose.

The main course made up for it! We made the Arista – from the Zuni Café Cookbook. It is made from boneless pork. It marinates in the refrigerator with great spices for 2-3 days. It is cooked on a bed of potatoes, fennel and garlic. It is a great dish and the leftovers make fabulous sandwiches!

A Winner and a Loser

Wine: Beaumes de Venise Domaine de Fenouillet 2004

We had previously made a Cauliflower dish from Madhur Jaffrey’s memoir of her life in India: Climbing the Mangos Trees. The very delicious recipe is called: Grandmother’s Cauliflower with Cheese (Vali Cobi). The dish is wonderful. It is one of our favorites.

We love a dish we make called Pork Braised in Milk. In the new On Top of Spaghetti cookbook there is a recipe called: Pappardelle and Saffron-Scented Milk-Braised Chicken. Because we like the Pork in Milk we decided to make this new Chicken dish. The chicken was made with saffron, so we figured it would go well with the Indian Cauliflower dish. We made the chicken but found it bland compared with cauliflower. I don’t think we will be making Milk-Braised Chicken again. However, there will be lots more Grandmother’s Cauliflower in our future!

Grandmother’s Cauliflower With Cheese (Vali Gobi)
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SERVES 4-6

I don't have my grandmother's exact recipe. I never asked her, being too young at the time to know better. But the recipe here is a good approximation (as Jimmy Durante, the American come¬dian, used to say, "Da nose knows") and utterly delicious.

Do not use jalapeno or serrano chilies for Indian dishes. They have the wrong texture and flavor. Green bird's-eye chilies or any long, slim, thin-skinned variety, such as cayenne, are ideal. If you can't find them, use 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper instead of 1/4 teaspoon.

2 tablespoons olive or other vegetable oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 1/2 pounds (8 cups) medium-sized cauliflower florets, cut so each floret has a stem
1 3/4 cups grated fresh tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons heavy cream
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated to a pulp on the finest part of a grater or Microplane
2 fresh hot green chilies, cut into slim rounds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 cup coarsely grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Pour the oil into a large, preferably nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. When it is hot, put in the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 10 seconds. Add the cauliflower florets, and stir them around for 2 minutes. Add the grated tomatoes, ginger, chilies, cayenne, turmeric, ground coriander, and salt. Stir to mix. Stir and cook for 5 - 6 minutes, or until the tomatoes are almost absorbed and the cauliflower is almost done. Add the cilantro and mix it in.

Put the contents of the pan into an ovenproof dish about 8 inches square, add the cream, mix, and sprinkle the cheese over the top. Put in the top third of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and developed a few light brown spots. Serve hot.