What a day I had today, for the first time in nine weeks, I did not cook!

Breakfast was McDonald's McGriddle, lunch was a Coney dog in Gary, Indiana and dinner was a Polish from Jim's Original.

In Indiana, I saw people sitting in restaurants and other places shuttered or no-contact delivery. Yet McDonald's was drive-thru only. I saw some police officers with no masks and no social distancing, but everyone else at this truck stop were wearing masks, social distancing and not allowed to dine in place. I did ask the officers if I would be in trouble, if I did not wear a mask. They thought I was funny. I just did not want to find myself on the wrong side of the law.

Yesterday I did finally crack open the #10 can of artichokes. It was loaded with quartered artichokes. When reviewing Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty, there was a recipe for Artichoke Gratin using 1.75 pounds artichokes. Since I had over three pounds to draw upon, I liked the concept of this recipe or at least the volume of artichokes it would use.

This was a very mellow preparation: artichoke hearts (I used quarters), sauteed onions, Béchamel (half milk and half water, though I use canning liquid), ricotta dotted on top (I used a mixture of whole milk yogurt and sour cream) and Parmesan on top. This was mellow teetering on bland, which is not exactly a compliment.


I am thinking of using the remaining 1.5 quarts artichokes with liquid (that may simply be drained away) for a classic baked dip with spinach, cheese(s) and water chestnuts.

Back to the shelter-at-home grindstone.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:What a day I had today, for the first time in nine weeks, I did not cook!

It's a weird feeling, right? An odd combination of relief and guilt.

With time and the necessary ingredients available, I decided try my hand at Eggs Benedict this morning . . .


Eggs Benedict
Not a true Benedict for a number of reasons. That's Smoking Goose (not Canadian) bacon and the eggs were not poached but cooked in egg rings, in a pan, in the rendered bacon fat, which was a nice adjustment (and one that resulted in fewer dishes needing to be washed).


Breakfast of Champions
This did not suck.

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Gary, the ketchup was photoshopped, right? right?

Geo

Ronnie,

Not sure if you made the hollandaise sauce by hand, but if so, I highly recommend this method: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/201 ... ecipe.html

After eating eggs Benedict many, many times in London ( my daughter has lived there for 7 years and we have spent a lot of time there ), we have come to realize that Canadian bacon is absolutely not necessary to excellent eggs benedict. Our favorite protein is smoked salmon. ( Your Costco smoked salmon works great ).

Homemade pretzels.

Wish I could remember how to post a picture... I've got a bunch of COVID pix. How come it isn't as easy as Facebook to post a pic here??! Huh??



Geo

Hollandaise seems to be on minds this morning from Ronnie's delicious looking Breakfast of Champions to my breakfast of Asparagus Eggs Benedict.





Asparagus Eggs Benedict, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:Hollandaise seems to be on minds this morning from Ronnie's delicious looking Breakfast of Champions to my breakfast of Asparagus Eggs Benedict

Nice, very nice. I woke up thinking I might also use asparagus in today's breakfast but when I opened the fridge, other items fell out, so that changed my plan.

lougord99 wrote:Not sure if you made the hollandaise sauce by hand, but if so, I highly recommend this method: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/201 ... ecipe.html

After eating eggs Benedict many, many times in London ( my daughter has lived there for 7 years and we have spent a lot of time there ), we have come to realize that Canadian bacon is absolutely not necessary to excellent eggs benedict. Our favorite protein is smoked salmon. ( Your Costco smoked salmon works great ).

Yeah, unlike Gary, I used a similar method to the one you linked to. Slightly different recipe, too. And having spent some time in NOLA back in the day, I added a pinch of cayenne, too. But yes, the 'yolks + stick blender + drizzled melted butter' method works very well and is a real time-saver.

For me, the local gold standard for restaurant Benedicts is Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, where (in non-pandemic times) a Smoked Salmon Benedict -- my son's favorite -- is permanently on the brunch menu. Great stuff!

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I made the NYT's Chicken Marsala Recipe last night, with pretty fantastic results. I reduced chicken stock by 90%-plus in lieu of veal glaze/Demi-glace and subbed b/s thighs for breasts, throwing some of the fat in the oil while cooking the chicken. River Valley criminis were perfect with the shallots and the reduction just added an intense savory flavor. I'll admit it didn't become as dark of a brown sauce as one may prefer, but this was better than any restaurant version I can recall. Need to take a photograph next time, probably around 10 days, after I buy more from River Valley Saturday knowing around a pound is earmarked for this.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yeah, unlike Gary, I used a similar method to the one you linked to. Slightly different recipe, too. And having spent some time in NOLA back in the day, I added a pinch of cayenne, too. But yes, the 'yolks + stick blender + drizzled melted butter' method works very well and is a real time-saver.

I've used the stick blender Hollandaise and it works well though, seems to me, slightly more aerated than whisk. Not necessarily a bad thing. Lately I tend to make Hollandaise by hand. (not that I make it all that often)

I use a 3/4s version of this recipe. More lemon juice than called for, sub powdered Chimayo for cayenne, add a slight squirt of Dijon plus a dusting of guajillo to finish.

And yes, I agree, Smoked Salmon Benedict at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook is the gold standard.

bweiny wrote:River Valley criminis were perfect . . .

Not surprising and the dish sounds very nice. I've had great success with River Valley's stuff over the years but this year, things from them seem particularly awesome. See below for more on this.

G Wiv wrote:I've used the stick blender Hollandaise and it works well though, seems to me, slightly more aerated than whisk. Not necessarily a bad thing. Lately I tend to make Hollandaise by hand. (not that I make it all that often)

Interesting. For no other reason than following my SOP, I had the stick on the lowest setting. Hollandaise didn't seem aerated and poured nicely from a spoon but I'm guessing you're probably right that by-hand produces the best result. Of course, if I had to do it by hand, I probably wouldn't have done it. Interesting that the recipe you followed didn't call for clarified butter (which I did not use, either). That seems to be a real eyebrow-raiser for many purists.

Following Cathy's lead, we had polenta tonight for dinner . . .


Polenta with Sauteed Mushrooms and Italian Sausage (and fresh chives)

Three Sisters Garden coarse-ground white cornmeal with sauteed River Valley Ranch creminis and Hot Italian Sausage from Sunset. I mixed a bit of grated parmigiano reggiano into the polenta and the whole dish was just awesome. With it we enjoyed a tomato salad that our neighbor made for us. Really, one of the tastiest, most satisfying dinners we've had since we've been sequestered.

For dessert, a homemade affair . . .


Oatmeal Rum-Raisin Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
I'll never be a Confectionista but these are pretty darned good. They won't be around long.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Interesting that the recipe you followed didn't call for clarified butter (which I did not use, either). That seems to be a real eyebrow-raiser for many purists.

I almost never use clarified butter for Hollandaise. Neither the Serious Eats immersion blender or Vitamix method call for clarified butter.

The method I referenced differs slightly in that quite a bit of whipping thickening is done before going on the double boiler heat source. Bit of water is optional, I always opt in for a bit of water added in minute amounts. This version holds well, I used the hollandaise around 30-minutes after making.

Might be my imagination but my whipping game dialed up after buying a few sizes of fairly inexpensive stainless steel bowls. (Restaurant Depot)

Oatmeal Rum-Raisin Cookies with White Chocolate Chips look fabulous!

ronnie_suburban wrote:

lougord99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:The Cubanos were very good but the Turano Sub Rolls we used were the obviousl weak link, and can definitely be improved upon. I have a promising recipe for actual, proper Cubano bread that I hope to make before the end of the week.

Do you have a recipe that can be shared online or do you have a link?

I have never made anything close to cubano bread

I've baked a lot of bread but never anything like Cubano bread. But when I try it, here's the (bread) recipe/method I'm going with. It's from Joshua Weissman . . .


How To Make Cubanos with Homemade Cuban Bread

The ingredient list is in the description section below the video (click 'show more') but watch the video for the method, which seems completely viable and doable. Personally, I wouldn't use any commercially processed lard. I have some homemade lard from a friend that I'm going to use.

Finally got around to it and the loaves look and smell great. Cubanos on the horizon . . .

Cubano Bread Loaves

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#uglydelicious fitting as my nori rolling skills leave much to be desired. #onigirituna has been on my short play list for a while, Tasty with a capitol T.



Onigiri, count me a fan!

G Wiv wrote:Onigiri, count me a fan!

Love it! Looks great.

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we made a pantry classic: carbonara. of course we think ours is best, but always amazed at the variation in approaches to this simple dish. where do you stand:

bacon vs guanciale vs pancetta
eggs vs yolks
parm vs pecorino
vermouth vs wine vs none
onions vs garlic vs both vs none
spaghetti vs linguine vs fettuccine
residual vs direct heat
parsley vs none
cream vs hell no

annak wrote:we made a pantry classic: carbonara. of course we think ours is best, but always amazed at the variation in approaches to this simple dish. where do you stand:

bacon vs guanciale vs pancetta
eggs vs yolks
parm vs pecorino
vermouth vs wine vs none
onions vs garlic vs both vs none
spaghetti vs linguine vs fettuccine
residual vs direct heat
parsley vs none
cream vs hell no

Hi,

My first introduction to Spaghetti Carbonara was after a visit to Italy by my Dad. I mentioned to my piano teacher who typed the recipe from a Time-Life cookbook. This was eggs, egg yolks, cream or evaporated milk, parmesan cheese, pepper and bacon.

When LTH was young, there was a thread on Carbonara initiated by Bill SF/NM who directed his question to Antonius. Later Antonius lectured Chicago Foodways Roundtable on Carbonara, this occurred about a year before we began recording for podcasts. I pretty much make the method he outlined, except I use bacon:

Sunday evening I made Spaghetti Carbonara in close proximity to Antonius' understanding of this dish. I state close proximity because I left the room briefly to get some water for him and may have missed something.

I fried to a crisp 10 ounces of unsmoked bacon (it's what I had). In a bowl I scrambled 3 extra large eggs, then added freshly grated parmesan cheese. Once the linguine (it's what I had in-house) was al dente, then I drained it and returned to pot it was cooked in. I tipped in some of the bacon fat to coat, then added the egg-parmesan mixture, followed by the remaining bacon and lots of black pepper.

I have been thinking about making Carbonara, so this helps to push it to the top of the list.

Thank you!

Regards,
Cathy2

LOL, did someone say Carbonara? Maybe that just popped up on my radar, too!

Tonight, it was some of the familiar and some of the old familiar, if that makes any sense . . .


Zucchini & Makoto AS Ryusei Gyuto, 210mm


Zucchini
Sauteed hot and fast in evoo, with garlic


Yogurt-Turmeric Grilled Chicken Thighs
One of my old stand-by's that I hadn't made in a while.


On The Plate
With Instant-Potted corn on the cob


Salad
Fava Bean Shoots from Nichols Farm and Salad Mix from Three Sisters Garden, Frantoia Unfiltered Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Nice and easy . . . aah.

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annak wrote:where do you stand:

bacon vs guanciale vs pancetta
eggs vs yolks
parm vs pecorino
vermouth vs wine vs none
onions vs garlic vs both vs none
spaghetti vs linguine vs fettuccine
residual vs direct heat
parsley vs none
cream vs hell no

Guanciale if you can find it, but pancetta is infinitely more accessible.
Yolks
Pecorino
None
Garlic, because I can't control myself
Bucatini
Residual
None
Hell no

I use the Jonathan Waxman technique of pasta water as a furtherance of residual heat, expanding the reach of the yolk. I also deviate in my preference for pecorino, but this depends on what you have available. I had just ordered some sharp pecorino from NY state, and was pushing myself to make pecorino dishes.

HI,

Maybe I am getting hopeful this shelter-at-home might end sooner rather than later. Or maybe I am reacting to summer springing at us, so long cooked meals are not as welcome. I did tin can triage on those cans if I do not use now, they will still be on the shelf this fall.

I did a deeper look into what to make with lotus seeds. I found an Indian curry. I found they could potentially be treated like garbanzo beans by baking or frying until crisp and season to eat out of hand. I found soups, too. While nobody made the link to use lotus seeds as garbanzo beans, I simply found recipes where I could easily envision substituting one for the other. What I do not wish to make with lotus seeds are any dessert. To force the issue, I opened, rinsed, dried and put the lotus seeds in the fridge. Now the clock is ticking.

I have not yet opened the lotus root can yet, but this is far easier to deal with. I found a soup where both lotus root and daikon radish were used. I am sure if I do not have enough lotus root for a recipe, I can add daikon, too. The Koreans prepare lotus root as a panchan. No pressure on using lotus root, but I know I could really drag my feet with the seeds.

I finally opened my last #10 can on the shelf: black olives. My Dad immediately filled a pint container to eat while watching tv. I added some to my jar of marinated olives after pulling out some green olives to use for lunch. I used more black olives making a one-pot Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.

One-pot was not what I was aiming for, but I saw a recipe that did. Saute onions and garlic until tender, then top with 12-ounces pasta followed by tomatoes, green and black olives, capers, artichokes plus some additional water. I might have added artichoke brine in addition to water, but I did not immediately think to add artichokes until later. This was finished with grated Romano cheese folded in.


Despite all the brined olives and capers, this was not a salt bomb as you might expect.

I still have about a quart of quartered artichokes with brine. I sawa potato and artichoke sidedish, where I could cook the potatoes in the brine. I would make dip, though I really want something lighter.

This long weekend during a long period of shelter-at-home, I spent most of the day thinking it was Sunday. Sometime in the late afternoon, I realized tomorrow is Tuesday and not Monday. Long weekend almost feels like a lost weekend.

Regards,
Cathy2

You can also slice the lotus root thinly and fry it to make chips.

bw77 wrote:You can also slice the lotus root thinly and fry it to make chips.

Thanks! That is good to know.

Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:
For dinner this evening, we had mushrooms and herb polenta. While I had all the herbs required, most were in dried form. Since they were applied more to the end with little time to rehydrate, they would not work very well. I used what I had available: parsley, green onion and tender interior leaves from celery. I also used Swiss cheese instead of Taleggio. For the polenta, I used Quaker yellow corn meal, because it was that or substitute grits.

Regards,
Cathy2

I did things a little differently as I did not have many of the specified ingredients.

I made the polenta from a Louisiana cornmeal that I purchased from Jungle Jim's. After it was cooked, I stirred in butter and scallions. At that point, I poured it into a 9" aluminum baking pan. I topped it with a sage sausage and sauteed mushrooms. I topped off this mixture with shaved Parmesan and shredded mozzarella,

This one is going into the rotation for a while as it is fairly simple to make and is quick.

Add that to a napa cabbage salad and fresh pineapple chunks and you have a nice dinner.

Monday dinner I made that all American memorial day classic Paella.

Chorizo from El Mercado on Southport, shrimp and chicken thighs.

lougord99 wrote:Monday dinner I made that all American memorial day classic Paella.

Nice!

I'm again enjoying my way through another pot of beans, mostly at breakfast. This time, it's pintos from Tracy Vowell's Three Sisters Garden . . .


Beans & Eggs
Three Sisters Garden Pinto Beans, Over-Easy Eggs, Cotija, Fresh Chives

And the other day, we finally finished off the last of those confounded skinless Nathan's hot dogs . . .


Nathan's Skinless Double Dog
Toasted Poppyseed Bun, Plochman's Yellow, Homemade Sauerkraut, Fresh Chives

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Spelunking #socialdistance style Grilled Cheese Stalagmites #homecooking




Grilled Cheese, count me a Fan!

CSA bounty for dinner last night. Pacific cod from Sitka, kale and mushrooms through Tomato Mountain. Lousy plating by yours truly.

Sorry, no pix--can't remember how to do them...

On the grill at our inn in Elizabethtown NY: Dakotas and Polish from Lockeford Sausage Co in Lockeford CA. Certainly some of the best tubular meat in N. America.
Onward into Summer, lockdown and all!

Geo

I may be going slightly off the deep end. Mac & Cheese, kimchi, natural casing hot dog, frozen peas/carrots. Dusting of chives, 'cause I'm a #fancylad

G Wiv wrote:I may be going slightly off the deep end. Mac & Cheese, kimchi, natural casing hot dog, frozen peas/carrots. Dusting of chives, 'cause I'm a #fancylad

F*ck yeah!

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