Whew, Where to Start

I started writing this post almost a week ago. I'm just going to throw it out there before this gets even more embarrassing.

The past couple of weekends have been all about cooking. The weeks have been all about writing (and a crappy but necessary work project). There's no "where I've been" post in two weeks now because I haven't been anywhere; I've been writing. That's good. I hope. Though it is making me cranky when I get pulled away from it to do other things, and I am consumed with worry that I am going to finish my outline far shy of the wordcount I want. I am discarding a fair amount of the alpha text as I rewrite. We shall see.

On to the food. I still need to type up some recipes, but I can at least get the links out of the way. I did indeed make chicken vindaloo, and it was awesome, very close to restaurant quality. I think next time I will use thighs on the bone, and I suspect that will make them ever closer. To go with it were Penang Pickled Vegetables, or as close as I could get with what I had on hand. Those were also very good. So was the Salmon Chipotle Chowder (as you can see, it was a spicy weekend!). I would make all of these again without hesitating.

The soup project has gone off the rails a bit, even though I got some pretty new bowls from Crate & Barrel. I may get back on track this weekend, but we shall see.

And a few more photos, to catch me up. I am a bad 365er; I have missed many days now, but I'm trying.

365 #23 Yet another view of Boston. I wanted to get the shadows, but I was talking to a co-worker and missed the time.

365 #24 Buying spree at Harvard Book Store

365 #25 Cheddar-Chive Bread via Dorie Greenspan - it rocks

365 #26 Dinosaurs

365 #27 New C&B bowls

365 #28 Days getting longer

365 #29 Miriam 4 months

365 #29 The trees can tell

365 #30 Public discussion on art restoration in the Red Line

365 #31 Mussel shell in a snowbank on First St., Cambridge. I have no idea.

Gearing Up for the New Year

The office last week was tomb-like, a handful of us sprinkled through the big room, trading "sure is quiet" "yep, sure is" comments when we passed. I have been tidying up old projects and giving some thought to new ones. Home has been noisier, but with nothing much going on in terms of the holiday. It's been an exciting year, and we just weren't ready yet to go out and do anything major.

The Weekly Recipe Project is giving me trouble; when I look at it under that name, it seems impossibly limited. Only 52 recipes? I probably have that many online recipes bookmarked, never mind a hundred-odd cookbooks and binders of clippings. How to approach the task of selecting my pool? I browse through blogs, look at files I have saved for years, visualize my bookshelves. Perhaps I should restrict the project to soup recipes, or bread, or desserts? Take one recipe from a different cookbook every week?

I was up early New Years day--for creatures that sleep so damn much themselves, cats don't grasp the idea of sleeping in--and decided to get the grocery list/menu planning out of the way. I already had one new recipe lined up for later in the week, but in the spirit of starting the new year right, I grabbed my new copy of At Home with Madhur Jaffrey and started with the fish chapter.

I made this pretty much as written, except I don't have any asefetida and my fenugreek is ground, not whole. I added more cayenne than specified, but that was by mistake--the result was intensely hot, and made me wish I had some naan. I served this with rice alone, but it would make a nice component in a multi-course meal. It came together quickly and without much fussing, and made a nice change from my usual fish standbys.

Fish and Peas in a Fennel-Fenugreek Sauce

1 lb fillet of cod, hake, or halibut, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp salt, divided
pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne, divided
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
3 Tbsp mustard, olive, or canola oil
1/8 tsp ground asafetida
1/4 tsp whole mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp whole fennel seeds
1/8 tsp whole fenugreek seeds
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely grated (I used a can of tomato sauce)
1 c fresh or frozen and defrosted peas

1. Sprinkle the fish on both sides with 1/4 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and the turmeric. Set aside 30 minutes or longer, refrigerating if necessary.
2. Put the oil in a frying pan and set on medium-high. Put in the asafetida, then the mustard, cumin, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. 
3. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, add the yogurt. Stir until it almost disappears.*
4. Add the tomatoes, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and more pepper if desired. Stir and cook for five minutes, until tomatoes thicken slightly. 
5. Add the peas, stir, and continue to cook another minute on medium heat.**
6. Lay the fish down in the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the fish and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and poach fish on medium-low heat until just cooked through, 7-10 minutes. Add water if the pan dries out.

* Mine did not disappear, but left little spongy bits like tofu behind. I used Greek-style yogurt, so maybe it had more solids.
** I added the peas near the end. Why would you cook peas for 10 minutes?

No pictures because my five-year-old camera died last week. I am trying to decide between size and features with a new one.

I am in the middle of a four-day weekend, trying to get the place back to some semblance of normality. More tidying than cleaning, trying to find homes for new things and continue whittling down the old.

On other resolution-related fronts, I sent Empire off to Dragon Moon Press, which was having an open sub month, and have put together a list of agents to query. The first chapter of Fury's Flight went to the writing group for crit, though I haven't psyched myself up sufficiently to read the feedback yet.

Three New Ones from Fine Cooking

After a dry spell, last week saw a burst of energy in which I tried three new recipes from the latest issue of Fine Cooking, a magazine of which I am increasingly fond:

•  Tilapia with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce -- Instant keeper. We loved this one, and it was quick and easy to make. I don't really like tilapia all that much, but this is a good use for an increasingly common and popular fish.
• Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass -- I still haven't found lemongrass around here, but even without it, this is a good soup. I'd make this one again.
• Chinese Egg Noodles with Five-Spice Pork -- The dud of the week's efforts, alas, this was okay, but not something I'd make again -- at least not without significant tweaks, the first of which would be to eliminate the bacon. This turned out on the greasy side.

I don't know if this blog is having an identity crisis or what. I don't seem to have the time to make a proper go of it--work, kids, writing, reading, to which will soon be added apartment-hunting and moving. Too many hobbies, not enough hours. I hate to abandon it, though. I suppose if nothing else I can keep it as a record of the few new things I try these days.

This next week is going to be full of veggies after a weekend that's been mainly carbs, but they're tried and true ones for us. I want spring!

Saffron Scallops on a Bed of Noodles

This was a spur of the moment selection, and I am happy to report that it turned out very well indeed. It is a simple recipe that takes little time to give you extremely flavorful results. I found mine enhanced by a sprinkling of sea salt at the table.

This is also my "cook from a book" recipe for the week, from Cara Hobday's 100 Great Noodle Recipes. I bought it remaindered, almost certainly more than ten years ago, so it's not something you're likely to find on a shelf these days.

1 tsp saffron threads, lightly crushed
2 Tbsp warm water
8 oz medium egg noodles
2 oz butter
16 large scallops
1 scallion, finely sliced
3 tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
pinch of salt

1. Combine the saffron and warm water, and leave to infuse.
2. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain well and keep warm.
3. Melt the butter in a pan just large enough to hold all of the scallops. Stir in the saffron liquid. When the butter is medium-hot, add the scallops, scallion, tomatoes, and chives. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 7 minutes. Season with salt.
4. Serve the scallops and sauce over the noodles.

Barefoot Contessa Seafood Gratin

For this week's "cook from a book" goal recipe, I turned once again to the Barefoot Contessa and somehow landed on this as something that would be different from my usual cooking, and somewhat fun to make. I was planning to work from home that day, so I would have the extra time to fuss in the kitchen.

I suspect that for most people, this is one of those "use every pot you own" type recipes--I certainly used most of mine, along with an army of prep bowls. The result, however, was probably the best thing I have made in months. This was, to my mind, restaurant-quality stuff. Maybe not the French Laundry, but a decent restaurant.

I made a fair number of changes. I don't like shrimp, and for only two of us 1 1/2 lbs would have been way too much anyway, so I used bay scallops and cod.  I wasn't about to go looking for fresh tarragon in January; instead, I sprinkled some herbes de Provence among the bread crumbs. And I don't own any gratin dishes, so I used a relatively small baking dish.

It was amazing. I took a picture, which I will add to this post at some point.

The only other thing I want to mention is that this is really, really, really rich. So if you're making it for a dinner party or something, make sure dessert is on the light side!


1 cup seafood stock or clam juice
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons good white wine, such as Chablis, divided
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half crosswise
8 ounces raw halibut, cut into1-inch chunks
8 ounces cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups julienned leeks, white and light green parts (2 large)
1 1/2 cups julienned carrots (3 carrots)
1 cup panko (Japanese dried bread crumbs)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place 4 individual gratin dishes on sheet pans. (If recipe is doubled serve it in a 14 by 9 1/4-inch oval gratin dish.)
2. Combine the stock, cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, the tomato puree, and saffron in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the shrimp. After 3 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl. Add the halibut to the stock for 3 minutes, until just cooked through, and remove to the same bowl. Add the cooked lobster to the bowl.
3. Continue to cook the sauce until reduced by half, about 12 minutes. Mash 1 tablespoon of the butter together with the flour. Whisk the butter mixture into the sauce along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saute pan. Add the leeks and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
5. Combine the panko, Parmesan, parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and mix it into the crumbs until they're moistened.
6. Divide the seafood among the 4 gratin dishes. Strew the vegetables on top of each dish. Pour the sauce equally over the seafood and vegetables and spoon the crumbs evenly on top. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot.

Brazilian Fish Stew

I can hear the jokes now--"wow, that's a lot of fish!"

This recipe comes from an odd little specialty cookbook I picked up, oh, ages and ages ago, called On Rice. It's short, and one of the most heavily used books I have. I do an awful lot of one-dish cooking, as you may have noticed, and there was a time when I did even more, because we had this teeny tiny apartment stove on which it was difficult to place more than two pans at one time. (This may be where my side dish blindness set in.) Last week I had the book out on the counter for some reason, D* flipped through it a bit and said, "Maybe we could have this sometime?" Always on the lookout for ideas that will fill the latter half of the week, when both my inspiration and my energy tend to be running low, I was happy to put it on the menu.

2 lb cod, scrod, or haddock fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 16-oz can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 c homemade fish stock or bottled clam juice
2/3 c canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1. In a medium bowl, toss the fish and the lime juice. Set aside to marinate while preparing the sauce.
2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens, about five minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, stock, coconut milk, and cilantro. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
4. Add the fish and marinating juices. Cook, uncovered, until fish is opaque and firm, 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and ground red pepper. 
5. Serve over rice. (They recommend coconut rice or steamed medium-grain rice.)

This dish felt unbalanced; even the pound and a half of fish that I bought turned out to be more than I think was really needed. If I make this again, I will cut the fish down to 1 pound and perhaps add some more vegetables.

I quite liked the ground red pepper, which worked with the coconut milk to give a relatively subtle heat. The recipe makes 4-6 servings, depending on appetites and what else you're serving with it. We had challah, which is entirely outside the cuisine, obviously, but also always good, and which will be the subject of another post I hope. On the whole, this didn't blow me away, but it's something I would be happy to make again should a space labeled "fish" come up on the menu.

Broiled Salmon Fillet with Curried Chutney

Chutney is a strange word to say aloud, isn't it? Chut. Ney.

I had a thoroughly delightful birthday, with cake from my co-workers, gifts from my family, and a dinner that managed to be slightly special and good-tasting with making me crazy on a weeknight. We got wild Alaskan salmon, put it under the broiler for a few minutes while the sauce cooked down, and there it was. I actually closed my eyes to concentrate on the sparkling collision of sweet and spicy over the depth of the salmon itself. After supper we had the usual Youtube viewing (she's still stuck on penguins, but we've moved to Surf's Up instead of Happy Feet), played with LEGO for a while, and I had a nice chat with my mom.

Plus, I gave JJ extra cereal last night and he's still asleep!

The Fish Dilemma

The problem has been around for years now. We're supposed to eat fish at least twice a week (gotta get those Omega 3s), yet the consequences of overfishing for both the environment and the individual food budget are increasingly well documented. Tilapia is supposed to be the "fix it" fish--easily farmed without the very fact of farming it causing new devastation and health hazards. It's a mild white fish, neutral in flavor--a bit too neutral, to be honest, but there are ways to deal with that.

This was a very good meal. The balsamic sauce is just about perfect (with that much butter, it ought to be!). You can go all-out and make your mashed potatoes with cream, but I generally use chicken stock these days.

tilapia with balsamic butter sauce, thyme mashed potatoes, and sugar snap peas

The only problem with this meal was that too much of it needed attention at the last minute. Otherwise excellent.

It was a good end to a highly productive day. A lot of errands got run, cleaning was done, and we took JJ to Babies R Us to buy yet another wardrobe for him, as he has outgrown most of his 3-6 month-sized clothes, and he needed some warmer-weather gear as well (on Saturday after we got to the park, we realized that he didn't have a sunhat; a good half-dozen knitted winter caps, yes, but nothing else). And L needed new sneakers (Dora the Explorer, naturally).

Flouder Piccata with Spinach

Someday maybe our daughter will eat this. For now, we're thrilled that she ate a hot dog, which was once on her "will eat" list, then disappeared for a good year.

Not such a good day on the home front, apparently, but food heals many ills. Cooking Light's "Superfast" column has been a steady source of recipes for many years now, and I think this one will go into the "tried and true weeknight" binder. It's a solid, basic recipe for nights when I have little time to cook and less to think about it. Aside from the fish, the ingredients are usually on hand, and the flavor is bright with lemon and rich with butter. Extra sauce went happily to the plain rice with which it was served.

I don't do sauteed spinach, though; I steamed some carrots. And even if I was going to make spinach, I wouldn't do it the way they tell you to (just use another pan for Pete's sake). And my store didn't have flounder, so I used some slim haddock fillet. I have omitted the suggestion of boil-in-bag rice from the recipe because I think that stuff is silly. Rice only takes 20 minutes to make. That's less time than the pizza guy will take to get there.

Flounder Piccata with Spinach
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 6-ounce flounder fillets
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp capers, drained, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
4 c fresh baby spinach

1. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper, dredge in flour.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan, cook 1 1/2 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily.
3. Add wine, lemon juice, and capers to pan; cook 1 minutes. Add butter to pan, stirring until melted. Remove fish and sauce from pan; keep warm.
   
4. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Add spinach to pan and saute 1 minute or until wilted.

Their serving suggestion is: Place 1/2 c of rice onto each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 1/3 c of spinach, 1 fillet, and 1 Tbsp of sauce. The results of this are a dinner with only 332 calories, which is good, because at those serving sizes you're going to eat two. Maybe three.