Chicken and Turbans

Shumon was joining for dinner. We decided to cook with Barbara an old stand by: James Beard's Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic from a recipe in the New York Times. I probably haven’t made this in 20 years. The obvious joke is that with cooking the Garlic looses it pungency and 40 cloves of garlic are quite acceptable in mixed company.

To start we had an Arugula Salad with Dates and Parmesan Cheese. I like this salad, it is very tasty with the sweetness of the Dates and the tanginess of the Arugula. It is a nice contrast.

With the Chicken we made Potato-Parsnip Puree from the Food of Campanile Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton. This is a rich mashed potato Puree. The parsnips make it special. The recipe can be found on our blog of: May 10, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Shumon insisted on wearing a turban that he wrapped around his head. It must have been the effect of the garlic.

New York Times

James Beard's Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic

By MOLLY O'NEILL

INGREDIENTS

                  4 ribs of celery, cut into long strips

                  2 medium-size onions, coarsely chopped

                  6 sprigs parsley

                  1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

                  2/3 cup vegetable oil

                  16 chicken legs, any mix of drumsticks and thighs

                  1/2 cup dry vermouth

                  2 1/2 teaspoons salt

                  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

                  Freshly grated nutmeg

                  40 cloves garlic, unpeeled

                  French bread for serving

PREPARATION

1.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the bottom of a heavy 6-quart casserole with the celery and onions and add the parsley and tarragon. Place the oil in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces into the oil, coat all sides evenly and place in the casserole. Pour the vermouth over the chicken and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Tuck the garlic around and between the chicken pieces.

2.

Cover the top of the casserole tightly with aluminum foil and fit the lid over the foil to create an airtight seal. Bake for 1 1/3 hours without removing the cover. Check for doneness; return casserole to the oven if the chicken seems underdone. Serve the chicken along with the pan juices, the garlic and thin slices of heated French bread spread with garlic squeezed from the root end of the clove.

YIELD

8 servings

          

Barbara Cooks Risotto

Barbara was visiting us from San Francisco. She doesn’t cook a lot, and wanted to join us in the kitchen. She wanted to pick up some techniques (not that we know that many) and generally participate in the cooking.

Tom had grown some Jerusalem Artichokes in his garden and brought them over. We found a recipe for A New Artichoke Soup in Tender by Nigel Slater. We invited Tom and Scott to join in the dinner since it was from their harvest.

The soup is excellent. By the way it turns out that Jerusalem Artichokes have nothing to do with Jerusalem or Artichokes, it is a part of the daisy family. Who knew? The spinach topping on the soup really gives a nice kick to the recipe.

For the main course we made Sausage and Mushroom Risotto. We love the hearty risotto. Of course, we got the sausage from McCall’s Meat and Fish. The recipe is called Risotto con Luganegh (Risotto with pork sausage) and is from The Cuisine of Venice & Surrounding Northern Regions by Guisti-Lanham Dodi. This is our go to Risotto recipe. It is excellent! It can be found in our blog of: April, 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Tom brought dessert. Another sweet end to a great meal. Barbara graduated from being just a sous-chef.

A new artichoke soup

Tender

Nigel Slater

I have long made a simple artichoke soup by adding the scrubbed tubers to softened onions, pouring over stock, and then simmering until the artichokes fall apart. I often add a little lemon juice, bay leaves, and sometimes a thumb of ginger. I blitz it in the blender, then stir in lots of chopped parsley. Some might introduce cream at this point but I honestly don't think it's necessary. The soup is velvety enough. It has become a staple in this kitchen over the last few winters; its warm nuttiness is always welcome on a steely-skied January day.

Late in the winter of 2008, possibly having had one day too many of what Beth Chatto calls "dustbin-lid skies," I changed the soup's tone by adding a stirring of bright green spinach. As often happens, it came about by accident—a bowl of creamed spinach left over from a boiled ham lunch— added to the soup just to use it up. The magic in this soup is in the marriage of earthy cold-weather food and a shot of mood-lifting chlorophyll. Spring is obviously stirring.

enough for 4 to 6

large leeks — 2

butter - 3 tablespoons

Jerusalem artichokes -1 pound

bay leaves - 2

light stock or water - 4 cups

for the spinach

butter - a thick slice

large spinach leaves — 1 pound

creme fraiche - 2 heaping tablespoons

ground nutmeg

Finely slice the white and palest green part of the leeks, wash thoroughly in plenty of running water, then drain. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the sliced leeks, then let soften over low to medium heat for fifteen to twenty minutes. They need to remain green and white and shouldn't brown at all. I find the easiest way to achieve this is to place a round of wax paper on top of the leeks, followed by the pan lid. A regular stir will help.

 Rinse and coarsely chop the artichokes and add them to the leeks. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then add the bay leaves and stock or water, and bring to the boil. Decrease the heat so that the soup bubbles gently, partially covered. It will take about twenty-five minutes before the artichokes are tender. Blitz the soup in a blender until smooth. I should probably remind you not to overfill the blender container. Pour into a bowl.

Make the spinach cream: Melt the butter in the artichoke pan and add the spinach. Turn it from time to time until it softens. Press the spinach against the side of the pan and drain off the liquid. Do this thoroughly. Transfer to a blender and add the creme fraiche, a tiny pinch of ground nutmeg, and a little salt and blitz.

Warm the artichoke soup (it may be hot enough already if you have worked quickly), spoon into soup bowls, then add a couple of spoonfuls of the spinach to each bowl and mix the two lightly together as you eat. 

Spaghetti Bolognese

We made a Caesar Salad using the recipe from The Zuni Cook Book by Judy Rodgers. This is our all time favorite recipe. We modify it by throwing all of the dressing ingredients into a blender. It makes it real simple and works just fine. You can find the recipe in our blog of: July 25, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made Spaghetti Bolognese from Two Dudes One Pan. The cookbook is a fun cookbook with lots of easy recipes. 

Vinny’s Spaghetti Bolognese

Two Dudes One Pan

Shook and Dotolo

Jon: If you think that Bolognese is a tomato sauce with some ground beef in it, then you're in for a bomb-ass surprise! This sauce is tricked out with ingredients that combine to make it seriously delicious. Freeze whatever is left over and pull it out when you crave something really fine. When Vin steps up to the stove to make his Bolognese, I know to clear the area; he gets really intense when he's making it.

Vinny: I eat pasta Bolognese at least once a week; it's definitely my number one favorite pasta dish.

2         tablespoons olive oil

2         medium carrots, peeled and very finely chopped 1 small yellow onion, very finely chopped 1 celery stalk, very finely chopped

3         garlic cloves, very finely chopped

5         ounces pancetta, finely chopped

12         ounces ground chuck

12         ounces ground veal

12         ounces ground pork

1-1/2         cups dry white wine (such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)

5         tablespoons tomato paste

3         cups whole milk

1-1/2         teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

2         tablespoons plus

2         teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if needed

1         pound spaghetti

2         tablespoons heavy cream

1         tablespoon unsalted butter

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving

HEAT the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chopped carrots, onions, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until it is just starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the ground meats and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Pour in the white wine, bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and, once incorporated, add the milk, thyme, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low (the sauce should occasionally bubble) and cook until thick, about 1-1/2 hours, stirring often so the sauce doesn't brown on the bottom. Remove from the heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to the box instructions until the pasta is al dente; drain. Stir the cream and butter into the sauce until completely incorporated. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Place the pasta in a serving howl and toss with the sauce. Serve with lots of grated Parm.

SERVES 8

Black Rice and Tuna

We started with a pear and Pear and Blue Cheese Salad.

We saw a recipe for Tuna au Poivre With Red Wine Sauce in the New York Times and decided to make it. We invited Tom and Scott over to join us for dinner.

McCall’s Meat and Fish sells Black Rice and we thought that would be the perfect accompaniment for the tuna. It is very different from white rice. It is much chewier and slightly smaller. Once again we started with my favorite Bread from McCall’s: it is made with Bacon and Cheese it is only sold on the weekend and they usually run out by noon. It is yummy!

The sauce is for the tuna is delicious, and we ate every bit! We had purchased quite a bit of Tuna and I expected there to be leftovers. I guess it is a testimony to the recipe that we ate it all!

Tom and Scott brought an assortment of desserts from Proof Bakery.

Tuna au Poivre With Red Wine Sauce

By DAVID TANIS

New York Times

TOTAL TIME

40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

            1 1/2 pounds fresh tuna, cut into 6 steaks about 1-inch thick

            Salt

            2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste

            1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted and ground

            1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted and ground

            2 teaspoons coarsely crushed black peppercorns

            2 tablespoons olive oil

            1 tablespoon butter

            2 shallots, finely diced

            1/2 cup red wine

            2 1/2 cups chicken broth

PREPARATION

1.

Season tuna steaks with salt. Sprinkle with garlic, coriander, fennel and black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Rub to coat evenly with spices on both sides. Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 4 hours and bring to room temperature before cooking).

2.

Make the red wine sauce: Melt butter over medium-high heat and add shallots. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add chicken broth and reduce until 1 cup sauce remains, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, set aside and keep warm.

3.

Set a wide cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat (or use 2 smaller pans). When hot, lay in steaks and sear for 2 minutes, until nicely browned. Flip and cook 1 minute more for rare, 2 minutes for medium rare. Arrange tuna on a platter or individual plates. Spoon wine sauce over each steak.

YIELD

6 servings

Pork Braised in Milk

We love pork. Pork Braised in Milk, sounds so strange, yet it has it all: Easy to make, delicious, makes for good leftovers and easy to clean up. We have made this dish many, many times. The milk curdles as it evaporates creating a nutty sauce for the pork. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Oct. 17, 2011. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the pork, we traditionally serve Polenta. In addition this time we added a dish that we had at Chi Spacca: a Fennel Gratin. We liked this dish and will make it again.

Crab Dynamite and Kashmera Cooks

We invited Robert / Darryl and Tim over for dinner. Kashmera cooked two great Indian dishes for us. She started with a Bombay Street Food: Sevpuri. It is served on little crackers and with a vegetable topping. Tamarind water is poured over it with a spicy sauce and finally topped with sev which is a grated graham cracker. It is very tasty. Because she made the it from her head, I don’t have a recipe. But here is one: Sevpuri.

She then made Fried Shrimp (sorry Bea). They were exceptionally crispy and spicy. The trick is she used rice flour. They were both delicious. It was great of her to cook for us, and she had fun doing it!

We started with a Smoked Salmon Salad. We purchased the salmon at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.

By request (from Kash) we made Crab with Dynamite Sauce. The sauce is terrific but it MUST be made with Japanese Mayo. We started with a recipe that we found on The Fine Lobster Blog called: Creamy Spicy Lobster: a twist on a Nobu Classic. Everyone loves it! We served Japanese Rice with it. We purchased excellent  canned Lump Crab meat from McCall's Meat and Fish. Everyone and I mean everyone loves it! The recipe can be found on our blog of: Sep. 5, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Darryl and Robert brought dessert. It was fabulous. It was Baked Apples from a recipe by Suzanne Goin in The Sunday Supper at Lucques Cookbook. They were fantastic. We have never had them before. We look forward to making them!

Kash and Pasta

Kashmera was staying with us. She arrived from Mumbai and we were glad to have her as a guest. We invited Robert and Darryl over to join us for dinner.

We started with a Persimmon Salad with Spec. Interestingly, persimmons are unknown in India. Kashmera thought they were tomatoes.

For the main course we made Clam Pasta. We purchased the clams at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We really like this dish and it is delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Sep. 10, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe. The clam pasta recipe is easy and good. You should try it!

For dessert we purchased a cake at Proof Bakery. It was moist and delcious!

Provencal Beef Stew with Mararoni Gratin

One of my favorite cold weather dishes is Provencal Beef Stew. It is from the Patricia Wells cookbook: Bistro Cooking. The stew is all thrown in a pot, marinates overnight and cooks in the oven or on the stove top. One pot stew. It is delicious.

With the stew we serve La Macarona (Macaroni Gratin) from the same cookbook. After the Macaroni is cooked, you top with juices and cheese and broil till brown and crisp. It is perfect bringing back all of the tastes of Provence.

You can get the recipe for both of these dishes on our blog of: March 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Eggplant Lasagna

I remembered how much I liked Eggplant Lasagna, we had made it before from a recipe for Lasagna of Eggplant, Tomato, and Basil from Chez Panisse Cooking by Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters. This is a fabulous recipe! You can find it on our blog of: June 18, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

It reheats wonderfully. We served it with a Salad we picked up at Forage.

Rotisserie Chicken by Japanese Lights

Sunset over Los Angeles

Persimmon Salad

Chicken and Potatoes

Cheese and Bacon Bread from McCall's

The glow of the Japanese Lantern

We invited Robert and Darryl over for dinner. We have a Japanese Lantern that we have kept in our downstairs guest bedroom.  Perfect for using the Rotisserie outdoors and then eating on our patio overlooking the city. Cathy realized we should bring it up and use it. We took it outdoors for this dinner and it cast a beautiful light. It was a beautiful warm night in Silverlake.

We decided to make Rotisserie Chicken. We cooked the chickens over a pan of potatoes and shallots and let the chicken drippings flavor the potatoes. Cathy stuffed the two chickens using the recipe for Roast Chicken for Two and from The Balthhazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hansen. This is a great recipe that keeps the chicken very moist. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a Persimmon Salad with Speck and Almonds.

It was a great treat to be able to eat outdoors and enjoy the night.

Thai Fried Rice

Salmon Tacos from Forage

Thai Pork Fried Rice

Tomato Vegetable Salad from Forage

Desserts

It was a warm night and we decided to eat outside. Since we had left over pork, what is better that Thai Fried Rice? We have made it many times and it is one of our favorites. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. You can the recipe from our blog of April 4, 2013. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

With the rice, we picked up a Tomato Vegetable Salad, Salmon Tacos and Dessert from Forage.