What's cookin', good lookin'?

[IrisAlthea]

Danish rye bread with cold cut danish pork roast and tomatoes.

 

[DiskoTroop]

salmon cakes on microgreens

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

A friend is making me goat curry tonight. Should be interesting! I do love cabrito, but have never had a goat curry.
Hmmm... white wine or red with that?? Probably red?

 

[Primalex]

A friend is making me goat curry tonight. Should be interesting! I do love cabrito, but have never had a goat curry.
Hmmm... white wine or red with that?? Probably red?

Both actually work.

For a white wine I would go for a Sauvignon Blanc, if you can from New Zealand or Sancerre. Or a Traminer, but getting a proper Traminer is rather difficult.

For red wine I would suggest a Tempranillo from Rioja.

If it's really more an Indian-style curry, I would go for a white wine though. It's not the meat that counts, but the spices.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

I made an interesting casserole. It has ground pork, broccoli, tomato, onion, soy milk stew base, cheddar and avocado in it. Cream would have been a better choice for the sauce because this is a little thin, but it came out tasty anyway.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Both actually work.

For a white wine I would go for a Sauvignon Blanc, if you can from New Zealand or Sancerre. Or a Traminer, but getting a proper Traminer is rather difficult.

For red wine I would suggest a Tempranillo from Rioja.

If it's really more an Indian-style curry, I would go for a white wine though. It's not the meat that counts, but the spices.

Somehow, without seeing this, I ended up with a Spanish Tempranillo

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

My friend is giving me a chocolate mint plant. I have only ever used regular mint, and I'm not sure what to use chocolate mint in? I mean, it seems like it would be weird in tea. How should I use it? Ideas?

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

Chocolate mint is really nice as a garnish on almost any ice cream that would go well with chocolate. It's not so much a flavor as it is a scent, so it's not overpowering.

I'm very fond of apple mint and pineapple mint (both are great in iced tea). I used to make an annual trek to a beautiful herb farm in northern New Jersey that had so many mints I'd never even thought of! And scented geraniums, ohhh my. I wish I could get some to settle here.

I thought I should add a link to the herb farm. They do mail order in the US. They have just about every culinary and scent herb you could think of.

http://www.wellsweep.com/

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

Desertslave we have so many garden loves in common, I love scented pelargoniums too! I have to have them in pots inside ( too cold and wet for them outside). But better than cut flowers.

It's just so much fun to walk past them and fondle a leaf...ta-da! free scent the rest of the day.

Dinner tonight (at last) was linguine with white clam sauce. Sort of a standard here, except I haven't done it in ages. Judging from Master's repeated thank you's & yummy noises, it was much missed and much appreciated. My thanks to my able-bodied sous chef (kiddo) who had to finish it for me. I deeply resent not being able to stand up long enough to make a simple "dump this stuff in" sauce! (I was knackered at 7 minutes. Feh! Tylenol for dessert.)

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[desertslave]

Here's my recipe for linguine with clam sauce

1 lb cooked linguine

3 Tbs good olive oil
2 Tbs butter
2 anchovy filets
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 cans chopped clams (don't drain)
2 cups of artichoke hearts (drained and quartered)
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (in oil, drained on a paper towel, or decrease olive oil)
2 medium zucchini, peeled, sliced and quartered (optional, but adds a nice texture)
1 cup good white wine
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil

2 Tbsp capers
8-10 chopped black olives
5-6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (cut into ribbons)

Heat olive oil and butter in a very large skillet (the pasta will end up in it and need to be tossed)
add anchovy filets and garlic, warm on low-med heat. The anchovies will dissolve and the garlic will begin to color up.

Add the clams and juice, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and zucchini. Stir well and bring up to a simmer. Add the wine and herbs, let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in linguine so it's well coated. Add the capers and olives. Plate it and top each serving with some of the fresh basil.

Serve with a good bread to sop up the juices.

 

[IrisAlthea]

That sounds great DS!

We had fish au gratin with cauliflower.
It was supposed to be with fennel and sauce hollandaise, but the fennel had gone bad so I had to get creative.
I used an old basic recipe for the sauce, starting with a roux, adding a mix of white wine and lobster broth spiced with fennel seeds. Then I added cream, an egg yolk and Pernod and balanced with some salt and a touch of honey (a bit too much wine).
On top of the cod, cauliflower and sauce, I shredded sharp cheddar.

This one is going to make repeat visits on the menu!

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

Mister is coming home late again tonight. I'm making chirashizushi so I prepared all the toppings in advance. I'll make the rice just before he gets here.

It's hard to see how thin the egg sheet is in this picture, but there's the sheet and then the toppings all cut up.

I've decided to make inarizushi too because I'll have the rice available.
＼(^o^)／ Its my favorite. I'll come back with pictures.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Mister is coming home late again tonight. I'm making chirashizushi so I prepared all the toppings in advance. I'll make the rice just before he gets here.

It's hard to see how thin the egg sheet is in this picture, but there's the sheet and then the toppings all cut up.

I've decided to make inarizushi too because I'll have the rice available.
＼(^o^)／ Its my favorite. I'll come back with pictures.

Ok. Let's forget just a moment how thin the egg is, and I ask you, how is it so square?

I also have a mushroom question for you, Meeks All else please feel free to chime in. As I stated a while ago, I like to cook a bunch of little things and have them for dinner. Rice, crab bits, and things not cooked, avocado, cuke, etc. But I always like to have a bit of cooked mushroom with it. Chestnut, crimini, or baby Bella, whichever you know it as, or even just button mushrooms. I usually saute them in a bit of garlic,or just salt. So on to the question. What's a great way to cook and season them just to eat as is? Any seasoning suggested is good, as I have.. almost everything. I think Thanks!

 

[Primalex]

What's a great way to cook and season them just to eat as is? Any seasoning suggested is good, as I have.. almost everything. I think Thanks!

Thyme or rosemary. As the latter becomes bitter after some time, as sprig you should remove it after a few minutes or otherwise only add the last minutes.

You can also add some butter at the end or deglaze with some white wine.

The most important part is to not cut them too small.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Ok. Let's forget just a moment how thin the egg is, and I ask you, how is it so square?

I also have a mushroom question for you, Meeks All else please feel free to chime in. As I stated a while ago, I like to cook a bunch of little things and have them for dinner. Rice, crab bits, and things not cooked, avocado, cuke, etc. But I always like to have a bit of cooked mushroom with it. Chestnut, crimini, or baby Bella, whichever you know it as, or even just button mushrooms. I usually saute them in a bit of garlic,or just salt. So on to the question. What's a great way to cook and season them just to eat as is? Any seasoning suggested is good, as I have.. almost everything. I think Thanks!

I like button mushrooms cooked a la greque (no, this is not a political statement) with garlic, lemon and black pepper.
You can either sautee them in butter and season with the above and then add a bit of good olive oil before serving or marinate them overnight in the above and olive oil.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[MeekMe]

Ok. Let's forget just a moment how thin the egg is, and I ask you, how is it so square?

Square pan.

I also have a mushroom question for you, Meeks All else please feel free to chime in. As I stated a while ago, I like to cook a bunch of little things and have them for dinner. Rice, crab bits, and things not cooked, avocado, cuke, etc. But I always like to have a bit of cooked mushroom with it. Chestnut, crimini, or baby Bella, whichever you know it as, or even just button mushrooms. I usually saute them in a bit of garlic,or just salt. So on to the question. What's a great way to cook and season them just to eat as is? Any seasoning suggested is good, as I have.. almost everything. I think Thanks!

I really like using balsamic vinegar on mushrooms. Sauté in a pan with salt, pepper, garlic, and a little vinegar. It's yummy.

(-｡-; Mister didn't come home until really late last night, so I fell asleep before eating or getting pictures.

 

[Collar_N_Cuffs]

Thanks for the mushroom tips everyone!

Meeks, it looks as though a single celled organism has eaten your Av

 

[seela]

I'm drowning in rhubarb and I'm leaving tomorrow for long enough that I have to deal with it all today, because it's already been sitting in my friend's fridge for a while before I got it. Grrrh. But yay. But grrrh.