January 30, 2016 Lunch – Old Martina’s Hall, Dinner – Plank Grilled Salmon Filet, Stir Fried Vegetables, Steamed Red Rice, and Pineapple/ Mango Salsa
After a cup of green tea and Challah smeared with peach preserves
We packed up and left the rental house at 10:30. We stopped at the two Pieces second hand stores looking for a shelf for the utility room. We did not find one and then went looking for the flea market in Ranchos de Taos. When we drove into the center of Ranchos I recognized the name of the restaurant of the chef whose steak tartare I had enjoyed; Old Martin’s Hall. Since it was 12:00 we stopped and went in. We decided to eat and then find the flea market.
The menu looked wonderful. I chose a Cesar salad with anchovies and Suzette chose Fish and Chips with sweet potato fries. Both dishes were superb. My salad was 100% authentic in every respect plus the chef had made a special cheese wafer by melting Parmesan cheese in a frying pan until it fused into a solid wafer, a nice touch. Suzette said her fish, which was fresh Atlantic cod was the best she has ever had. We were mightily impressed. Then I saw the chef and waved to him and he recognized me and came over (it must have been due to the two or three times Thursday evening when I returned to his table for extra beef tartare appetizers. We complimented him on the menu and the food. Suzette asked if they had steak tartare on the menu and chef Damon said, “we do not have tartare but we had carpaccio, which is almost the same thing. Would like for me to prepare an order of it for you.” We said, “Yes.” Then when the server returned I ordered a glass of Chateau de Roch southern Cotes du Rhone red, lovely blend of 50% Grenache, 25% Cinsault, and 25% Syrah. The wine was smooth and not overtly tannic or dry. I enjoyed it with the tender beef lightly dusted with parsley, sea salt, and capers and garnished with a drizzle of not too garlicky aioli.
We loved this dish also. So Old Martina’s Hall is a major success foodwise. Old Martina introduced herself. The server told us it had taken over five years to renovate the building, which pre-dated the Ranchos church and was a defensive enclosure and garrison into which the settlers could herd their cattle and defend them during Comanche raids.
After lunch we walked upstairs and saw why Old Martina renovated the property. There is a third floor deck with a perfect view across the highway to the back of the Ranchos church. I can hardly wait until summer to return to eat on the deck for table side made paella on the deck on a Saturday.
We then drove to the flea market without difficulty with the instructions our waitress provided us. Suzette found a vintage mid-century modern chair and ottoman for $20.00. After we loaded the chair, we drove to Santa Fe and stopped at Cos-bar for Suzette to get some cosmetics.
Then Suzette drove us to Costco in Albuquerque, where we bought an Atlantic farm raised salmon filet ($8.99/lb.). We gassed up and drove home at 4:00.
I made teriyaki sauce with 7 T. each of soy sauce, Aji-Mirin, and sake plus 1 T. of sugar brought just to a simmer and then cooled. I put the salmon filet in a gallon freezer bag and when the teriyaki sauce cooled Suzette added it to the salmon and put the bag into the fridge to marinate.
Billy, Elaine, Rebecca, and Mickie stopped for a late lunch at the Range in Bernalillo at around 3:00, so they were not very hungry for dinner.
At about 6:00 Suzette began soaking a cedar plank in water in the bathtub.
Suzette and I delayed dinner, but around 7:30 we began cooking. I chopped a zucchini, the Bok Choy separating the white stalks from the leaves, four oz. of onion, 2 T. of ginger, and 1 T. of garlic. Then I sliced five mushrooms and put them with the Bok Choy leaves.
Stir Fried Vegetables
When Suzette put the salmon on the cedar plank and put it in the grill to roast I started cooking 1 cup of the red rice Rebecca brought us. I then turned on the heat under the wok and put two oz. of peanut oil in the wok and heated it for a minute or two. I the added the garlic and ginger for a minute to allow it to impart its flavor to the oil.
I then added the chopped onion and cooked at medium high temp for three or four minutes. I then added ½ T. of soy sauce and 1 T. of Chinese Rice Wine and the chopped zucchini and white portions of the Bok Choy.
In a separate bowl I made the thickening sauce by putting 1 ½ T. of soy, 2 T. of Chinese Rice Wine, 3 T. of water, ½ T. of cornstarch, and a dash of sesame oil.
In another five minutes I added the Bok Choy leaves, the PPI sugar snap peas from Friday night’s dinner, and the sliced mushrooms. I then covered the wok and steamed the mixture for about five more minutes.
While I was organizing my Stir Fry dish Rebecca and Mickie picked pineapple and mango chunks out of the PPI fruit salad and added a diced avocado, some diced fresh Pasilla chili, and lime juice to make a pineapple/mango salsa for the salmon.
When the fish was grilled to medium in about 25 minutes Suzette brought it in and I added the thickening sauce to the vegetables in the wok and stirred to coat all the vegetables with sauce until the sauce glistened which told me the sauce was well mixed and thickened. I added a small amount of water to adjust the thickness of the sauce and we were ready to eat.
We served the red rice, Stir Fried vegetables and salmon buffet style from the stove and board. Suzette made a pot of Lychee tea with the tea I bought in Xian’s Arab Market when we visited China and Rebecca put her salsa on the table.
The salmon was perfectly grilled. Smoky in flavor with a hint of teriyaki sauce and tender with most of its juices of the sea still intact and completely cooked to a light pink.
The vegetables also were well cooked, still fresh and tender, but having given up a certain amount of their juices that had been captured in the sauce. The salsa was refreshingly fresh and added a dimension of fresh fruit and a zip to the meal.
Although still a little wet the red rice was tender, perhaps because I did not measure when I removed some of the original 2 cups of water to add some fish stock for the 1 cup of red rice.
Mickie went back for seconds, which made me very happy.
After diner we thawed the Shed Mocha Cake and took out the birthday chocolate torte and Billy made decaf coffee and I opened the Bruenil 15 year old Calvados Billy had brought and poured us glasses of it with the dessert course. Billy and I both agreed that the Calvados was a bit harsh even after fifteen years. I guess I will put it in the basement for a few more years.
We all went to bed soon after dinner because Rebecca and Mickie were getting up at 5:00 for their 6:30 flight back to NYC.
Bon Appetit
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