February 11, 2014 Enhanced Pizza

February 11, 2014 Pizza

We did not want to cook tonight.  At 5:00 when Suzette called to say she was on the way home, I had not eaten lunch, so I simply went to Little Cesar’s and bought a cheese and a pepperoni pizza for $5.00 each.  

When I got home Suzette had still not arrived.  I sliced up four baby portabella mushrooms, 1 shallot, took the grilled yellow peppers in olive oil into the house and opened the new package of genoa salami.

We each garnished our pizzas with the ingredients we each wanted and we heated the pizzas in the oven for about ten minutes at 400˚.

I fetched another bottle of the Marchesi Chianti Superiore and made a salad, using the PPI one from last night and adding fresh greens and fessed it with the Cesar salad dressing and we ate a lovely dinner.

This is one of our favorite no cooking dinners, although it is a little heavier than we are used to.  I saw a statistic on TV last evening that 1 in 6 men eat pizza every day.  I don't know how they do it because pizza is so filling.   

Bon Appétit

February 10, 2014 Dinner Party at Palmers Sautéed Rib Eye Steak, Roasted potato wedges, steamed Broccoli and Asparagus, Béarnaise Sauce, Salad and Red Velvet Cookies and Ice Cream

February 10, 2014 Dinner Party at Palmers Sautéed Rib Eye Steak, Roasted potato wedges, steamed Broccoli and Asparagus, Béarnaise Sauce, Salad and Red Velvet Cookies and Ice Cream

As often occurs when we eat dinner with the Palmers we end up with two dinners as neither Susan nor I are particularly good at menu control and both end up cooking overlapping parts of dinner.

Tonight was no exception.

I wanted both salad and asparagus and Susan agreed to roast potatoes and ended up cooking broccoli also.  

So we had three green vegetables.  Aside from that dinner, was great. Susan sautéed thick Choice rib eye steaks we had bought at Costco in butter and thyme and garlic and steamed asparagus and broccoli while I made a béarnaise sauce and made salad with Cesar salad dressing.

Susan also served cheeses and lax and cream cheese for appetizers. We took a bottle of a silver medal winning Coteaux de Langedouc ($7.99 Trader Joe’s).

Susan made wonderful red velvet Butter Pecan cookies with a Duncan Hines boxed cake mix, pecans, butter.  We ate them with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and Susan's freshly made chocolate sauce.

So it turned out to be such a food feast that I got only four hours of sleep, although I thankfully was able to see the episode of Downtown Abbey I had missed from 2:00 to 4:00 a.m.

Bon Appetit

   

February 12, 2014 Dinner – Pork Confit with pasta and steamed cauliflower

February 12, 2014 Dinner – Pork Confit with pasta and steamed cauliflower

Suzette drove to Santa Rosa and back today and did not return home until around 7:00.  I worked at home and rode ten miles and made chocolate chip, raisin, cookies after my ride and ate a few, with lychee tea I had bought in the Muslim Market in Xian, at 5:00.

I went to meditate but it was a no show so I returned home around 7:10 to find Suzette home and hungry.

We discussed what PPIs we needed to eat.  She mentioned the PPI Pork confit and I mentioned the large head of cauliflower.  Suzette asked ”Do you want pasta or potatoes?  I said, “Pasta.”

So I picked out an open bag of Casarecce pasta and handed it to her. Suzette then said she would like to drink a Spanish red, so I fetched our last bottle of La Granja from the basement.  And de stemmed the flowerets of cauliflower from their base and put them into the steamer with water and put them on the stove.  Suzette started a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta.

When the pasta was put into the boiling water and had cooked for a couple of minute, Suzette put the PPI pork confit and the PPI mushroom and yellow bell pepper pesto tapenade into a large skillet and started to warm them.  Then we started steaming the cauliflower.

When the pasta was cooked, Suzette drained it and placed about two cups of it into the large skillet and tossed it with the pork and tapenade.  I poured the wine and we were ready to eat.  Suzette filled our plates with the pork pasta tapenade mixture on one side and the lovely white cauliflower on the other side of the plate. 

The La Granja Spanish wine was a little bitter at first but soon opened up and became the lovely 50/50% blend of tempranillo and grenache juices we are familiar with in this wine. La Granja is grown and produced in the Careniña region of Spain on a tributary of the Erbo located downstream (toward the Mediterranean near Zaragoza) from the more famous Rioja region. 

It is hard for me to tell it apart from a simple Rioja, so a pretty good value at $4.99.  The grades of Spanish wines in ascending order, care in processing and price are; simple regional wine, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva.  The best value in Spanish red wine I find in Albuquerque at the moment is Eguia Reserve 100% tempranillo at Costco when it is on sale for $7.99, which is grown in the Rioja Region.

Another simple, quick and delicious meal created from PPIs.

Bon Appétit

February 8, 2014 Dinner – Fried Oysters and Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce and Sautéed Spaghetti Squash and Brussels sprouts Hash

February 8, 2014 Dinner – Fried Oysters and Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce and Sautéed Spaghetti Squash and Brussels sprouts Hash

 Suzette made burritos for brunch with sautéed Pork Confit, onion, potatoes, eggs and a dash of red chili sauce.

For dinner we decided to fry our second jar of oysters and I decided to add 8 large shrimp.

We decided to shred some Brussels sprouts and sauté them with the PPI spaghetti squash.

I removed the tough ends from the Brussels sprouts and Suzette shredded the Brussels sprouts in the Cuisinart and then added them to the spaghetti squash in a large skillet with some butter and made a very simple hash.  The Brussels sprouts was a little bitter, so Suzette added some brown sugar.

Suzette ladled a pile of Hash in the center of each plate as I peeled and sliced an avocado.  Then she laid the fried oysters and shrimps on the side of the pile of hash for a very attractive plate of food.

I had gone to the cellar and found a 2006 Fetzer Gewurztraminer.  We loved the slightly sweet wine with the slightly greasy oysters and shrimp.

Bon Appétit

February 7, 2014 Lunch – Noodles in Thai Red Curry Shrimp Curry soup  Dinner- Fried Oyster Poor Boys

Mike came by for lunch.  I made a great noodle soup.  I used instant dashi because I wanted to make a seafood oriented soup.  I added one large shallot and one large shitake mushroom and then I put in three different dried noodles; a bean thread, a rice wide noodle and two bundles of vegetarian noodles and four leaves of Napa Cabbage sliced thinly.

Then I put in four Pollack fish balls and thinly sliced three slices of Lebanon Bologna and put that.  When I looked for white miso I found PPI coconut milk so I decided to make a red Thai curry soup with shrimp.  I added four shrimp and 1 tsp. of red Thai curry with coconut.

Finally I sliced two green onions into thin slices and got out the Hoisen Sauce and fresh cilantro.  When Mike came around 1:00 we were ready to eat.

The coconut milk gave the soup body and flavor.  I loved it.

For dinner we decided we needed to eat the oysters I had bought on Wednesday.  This fit perfectly with my buying a French baguette from Fano Bakery on Wednesday.  Suzette and I looked for our mini-fryer but could not find and settled on using our electric fondue pot.  She filled the fondue pot with canola oil and then made a coating for the oysters of crushed bread crumbs using panko and a bowl of egg mixed with a bit of milk.  She dipped the Oysters into the milk and egg and then the bread crumbs and then dropped them into the hot oil to fry.  I found a large bottle of bread and butter pickles in the fridge and we decided to eat those with dinner.  Suzette made a tartar sauce with horseradish, mayo, lime juice and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Suzette fetched the lettuce from the garage and spun several leaves of it. When the oysters were cooked and drained of oil, I spread tartar sauce on toasted slices of baguette and then we laid lettuce leaves on the bread and topped them with oysters.  i ate mine open faced and Suzette ate hers like a true Poor Boy. We enjoyed the bread and butter pickles with the Poor Boys.

We drank beer with our simple and delicious dinner.

Bon Appétit 

February 6, 2014 Middle Eastern Dinner Party at the Baker’s Lamb Kabobs, Eggplant tapa, Tzatziki, Salad, honeyed carrots, Greek Baked potatoes, and Pear Cake

February 6, 2014 Middle Eastern Dinner  Party at the Baker’s  Lamb Kabobs, Eggplant tapa, Tzatziki, Salad, honeyed carrots, Greek Baked potatoes, and Pear Cake

We were invited to Crystal and Doug Baker’s house for dinner. We had discussed drinking our older wines, so I took a bottle of 1994 Fetzer Vineyard’s Valley oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, that had been given to me in the 90’s by an appreciative restaurateur for the review I did of their restaurant.

I had some sediment but Crystal decanted it.  After it sat for about ½ hour, the tannins and fruit came into exquisite balance.  It tasted clean and light.

After sitting in their living room for a few minutes Janice and Tom La Fontaine joined us.  We all talked and sipped the lovely Cabernet Sauvignon and ate a very interesting appetizer: thinly sliced eggplant brushed with olive oil, smeared with lavender honey, sprinkled with manchego cheese and baked.  It was sweet, but pleasant.

After we finished the bottle of 1994 Fetzer Valley Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, we moved into the dinette beside the kitchen and the dining room that sat six comfortably for dinner.  Doug and Crystal had opened a bottle of2009 Chateau Bourdicotte Bordeaux Superieur that seemed to have a lot of Merlot in it.

Here is some information on Bordeaux Superieur, which is an interesting appellation.

Bordeaux Superieur Wine

Bordeaux Superieur is an appellation which covers the whole of the Bordeaux region, from Verdon-sur-Mer at the north-western tip of the Medoc to Sainte-Foy, 80 miles (130km) to the east.

A St Emilion vineyard in Bordeaux
© Wikimedia/davitydave

Rather than being a sub-category of the generic Bordeaux appellation, Bordeaux Superieur is a title in its own right, specifically covering both red and white wines. The reds have a slightly higher alcoholic content than standard Bordeaux, are aged for longer in oak barrels (12 months minimum) and are produced from older vines. The whites are distinguished from standard white Bordeaux by their higher residual sugar levels, which make the wines anything from semi-sweet to liquoreux.

Bordeaux Superieur wines are produced from the classic Bordelais grape varieties. The reds are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot (proportions vary according to vineyard locations), and generally tend to be a little richer and more complex than regular Bordeaux. They also, theoretically, offer better ageing potential, but this can be down to the winemaking. The whites are produced from Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Semillon and Muscadelle. They also tend to be a little more complex, due to the slightly lower maximum yields dictated by the Superieur production conditions.

About a quarter of the vineyard coverage dedicated to AOC Bordeaux wine production is given over to Bordeaux Superieur. It is spread across the region, with a bias towards the areas north of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol where more location-specific appellations are not in force.

Dinner included a platter with a couple dozen lamb kebobs, seasoned with cinnamon, cumin, and several other Middle Eastern spices.  There was a bowl of Tzatziki, a large bowl of Middle Eastern salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, olives, etc. dressed with a rather vinegary vinaigrette.  There were honey flavored carrots, and a long skinny plate of Greek Roasted potatoes,  

We ate and talked and drank the Bordeaux.  The lamb was tender and delicious, yet deceptively pungent with spices, so I dipped each bite into the Tzatziki to balance and subdue the spices. The tzatziki was my favorite because it was made absolutely perfectly with very fresh dill, slivered green onio, good yogurt and olive oil.

Crystal mentioned that they had sourced some of the ingredients at the Istanbul Market, which I think is our best Middle Eastern Grocery Store.

Finally after a lovely dinner Crystal went to the kitchen and cut slices of fresh pear cake and served each with a dollop of whipped cream and we continued to sip wine and eat Italian Pear Cake.  There were sliced pears on both the top and bottom of the cake.  The ones on the bottom were soft and ones on the bottom were hardened to chewy.  The cake was a mildly firm and not too sweet white cake.  I could have been in on the veranda of an Italian villa next to a pear orchard.  It was a lovely cake.

I am glad to be the recipient of the benefit of Crystal’s recent retirement from her career as an escrow officer for a title company and Doug and Crystal’s ongoing improvements to the lovely old house they bought in our neighborhood and to be able to count them and Janice and Tom among our friends.

Bon Appétit

January 7 and 8, 2014 Posole and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce.

January 7 and 8, 2014 Posole and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce.

Yesterday we were both sick and did not want to cook so we heated and ate bowls of posole for dinner and enjoyed a hot delicious meal without any effort.

On January 8, 2014 I was still getting over my infection and did not wish to cook lunch and wanted to eat some vegetables so I went to East Ocean Seafood Restaurant at 3601 Carlisle and ordered Moo Goo Gai Pan because it contains lovely lightly cooked chicken breast and lots of vegetables: bok choy, onion, corn, Snow peas, zucchini, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots served with fried rice ($5.50).

The waitress looked surprised when I did not order my usual, scallops in lobster sauce.  While I ate lunch I decided that I would try to make shrimp in lobster sauce with the thawed out shrimp at home.

After lunch I stopped at Seattle Fish to inquire about their retail seafood sales program and found out that it is just now being rolled out.  They will offer on line ordering of fresh fish but the decision of how to deliver it has not been made yet, other than at the Downtown Farmer’s Market on Saturdays in the summer.  The website appears to be either www.netfish.us or www.facebook.com/netfishseafood.

I spoke to one of the owners who told me that high quality fish that is raised and fished sustainably is getting harder to find and more expensive.  The price of shrimp has tripled in the last three years, he said; mainly due to the evidence that high volume farming occasionally causes large die offs and the increasing demand in China.

When I got home I looked in the Chinese cookbooks and found a recipe for Lobster Sauce on page 35 of the 1000 Recipe Chinese Cookbook by Gloria Bley Miller and a recipe for Stir Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce on page 506, so I had the two recipes I needed. 

Since I was going to meditate, I did some of the prep before leaving to meditate.  I made the sherry and cornstarch sauce to marinate the shrimp in and shelled the shrimp and laid them in the marinade and tossed them to cover them with the marinade.  I also chopped two cloves of garlic and started simmering one cup of rice.

When I returned I completed the dishes, but instead of the dark soy I should have used white soy because the dark soy darkened the lobster sauce to a muddy brown color.  East Ocean’s lobster sauce is beautifully transparent.  You clearly see flecks of pork and egg and slices of green onion in it.

On my way home from meditating at 8:30 p.m. I picked up one lb. of ground pork at Lowe’s to complete the ingredients.

When I got home I made the lobster Sauce using lobster broth instead of water and deleted the black beans, because we do not like them or eat them and do not have them in the house.

The dish turned out fine but can stand some improvement.  I learned that the sauce is thickened with cornstarch, which is the key to binding the disparate ingredients.  I need to work on the timing so that the ingredients have their desired delicacy in the final sauce.  I fried the shrimp in a skillet instead of stir frying in a wok, so next time I might reverse the order of things and stir fry the shrimp first and then make the sauce in the wok and then add back the shrimp, which seems to be a more fruitful approach.

Here are the recipes and pictures of how it turned out.

 Rice on left plus Shrimp in lobster sauce on right equals a delicious dinner plus few leftovers.

I admit that the dish looks like a terrible mess but you must remember that it is a delicious union of pork and shrimp with egg clouds at its best.  I think East Ocean uses their chicken stock egg drop soup which is a cornstarch thickened soup, as a shortcut, to which they simply add stir fried shrimp or raw scallops and chopped up pork, so the dish can be very easy and quick to make.

Bon Appétit