#so its got some chili oil. rosemary. and garlic in it

[viscarrion]

made some bread earlier. its soft enough it was simply more economical to tear off a few chunks with my hands.

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Love at First Bite

Rayla is taken by a client to eat at the Italian-Korean fusion place in town and falls in love with the food, and later, the chef.

-------------------------------------------------

Rayla smiled at her client as they waited for their server to come.  Her boss had told her that they had to keep the contract with the client’s company no matter what, and if that meant going to a Korean-Italian fusion restaurant that would probably be too spicy for Rayla’s Scottish, fried-food-loving taste buds, so be it.  The client, Ms. Danvers, had been hyping the restaurant up all evening.  “You said you like potatoes?  This place as amazing kimchi-style potatoes and potato pancakes.”

Rayla nodded.  “My grandmother is Irish and there are always potatoes cooking in her house.”  Rayla subtly looked around the dining room. The walls were mostly white with a few panels a beautiful red.  There was artwork on the walls, ranging from sceneries to portraits.  They all looked to be done by the same artist but Rayla couldn’t place a name to them.  The air was warm and smelled of spices and herbs and cheese.  Rayla could see a row of cheeses on one of the shelves.  “Do they use a lot of cheese here?”

“Korean food pairs wonderfully with cheese.  There’s a rumor that all the vegetables here are from the local farmer’s market as are most of the cheeses.  It’s fusion, but it’s as domestic as possible, too.”

“You’ve really been talking this place up.”

Ms. Danvers flushed.  “It’s my favorite restaurant.  I come here for lunch once a week and get take-away whenever I’m having a bad day.  This place is known for Korean-Italian fusion, but they make a delicious Thai laksa and a vegetarian Tom Yum that is to die for.”

“Really?”  Rayla didn’t know that much about Asian food, but she knew that Tom Yum was common in Thai eateries.

“The chef is a quarter-Thai and a quarter-Korean, his grandparents being from Thailand and South Korea.  He knows the flavors well and plays with them, but when he goes authentic, he’s the best in town.  He will also make almost any dish vegetarian if you request it.”

“How accommodating.”

A server came up, a smile on their face.  “Good evening and welcome to Sarai’s Place.  Any wine to start this evening?”  Rayla shook her head, surprised when Ms. Danvers asked for Thai iced tea for the both of them.  “And what can I get started for you?”

“Ms. Burrows?”

Rayla looked down at the menu again.  “Hmm.  I’m not sure what to get.  I don’t have a very high spice tolerance.”

The server nodded.  “Scale of 1 to 10?”

“Maybe a three.”

“Do you like kimchi?”

“Never had it.”

“Then I recommend trying the kimchi potatoes, if you like potatoes, or the risotto, which features chopped kimchi, sesame oil, and garlic.  The chef makes two kinds of kimchi, one mild and one spicy, so he’ll use the mild for you.  For the main dish, if you enjoy cheese, a pasta dish that has mussels, a Korean chili paste and tomato sauce, and fresh parmesan.  Everything that can be local, is local and if you eat vegetarian, the mussels will be taken out and instead you will get mushrooms.”

“My grandmother is Irish so I’m very snobbish with my potatoes.”

“I would rate his potato pancakes a ten.  He takes the traditional Korean recipe and adds parmesan cheese and some rosemary and its cooked with the house chili oil, so when you cut into it, it’s cheesy and subtly spicy.  The house chili oil is made with both gochugaru and the type of dried chilis usually used to make olio di peperocino.”

“I’ll go with the pancakes and the mussels pasta you suggested.”

“Excellent choice.  And for you?”

Ms. Danvers smiled.  “Did he make Tom Yum or laksa today?”

“Laksa.”

“I will take a bowl of laksa while Ms. Burrows is eating her pancakes and I will also take the mussels pasta.  Can we also get an order of garlic bread?”

“Of course.  I’ll get your Thai iced teas ready.  Anything else today?”

“What’s the dessert of the week?”

“Since it’s summer, mango pudding, Thai coconut pudding, and strawberry-lime cheesecake.”

“We’ll each take a slice of the strawberry-lime cheesecake.”  The server nodded and walked away after reading back the list.  “I hope you don’t mind me ordering dessert for you, but he only makes that cheesecake when the strawberries are in their peak season and it’s worth it.”

Rayla nodded.  “No problem, Ms. Danvers.  I wouldn’t really know what to order otherwise.”

They chatted while they waited, pausing when the garlic bread came to the table.  Rayla had been expecting the kind of garlic bread Americans seemed to adore, buttery and almost artificially garlic-y.  Instead, they got small, fresh loaves that had pieces of roasted garlic and thyme baked into it, served with the house chili oil and garlic that had been cooked until it spread like butter on the bread.  Rayla was impressed with the flavor and how the pieces of garlic were not overpowering.

When the potato pancakes came, Rayla could smell the spice but trusted the server had not led her astray, eyeing her glass of Thai iced tea just in case.  One bite and she was in heaven.  The cheese and the heat from the chili only enhanced the potato flavor as did the light smattering of soy sauce and vinegar-based sauce.  Rayla almost ignored Ms. Danvers when the pasta came, inhaling the dish.  At the end of the meal, once the excellent cheesecake had been finished, Rayla was in love with the food.  “Well, Ms. Danvers, I suppose I should be thanking you for introducing me to my new favorite restaurant.”

Ms. Danvers chuckled.  “It’s good, isn’t it?”

“I would marry the chef in a heartbeat if I got to eat like this every day for the rest of my life.”

-----------------------------

Rayla brought all her clients and her coworkers to Sarai’s Place in the following months.  She tried almost everything on the menu, though she was still mildly terrified of the spiciness of the laksa if the smell alone was anything to go by.  Every Monday and Thursday, she got take-away and ordered the dessert whenever she ate in on Saturdays.  She was thankful she was single or else she would have to come here every week with someone and she liked dining alone in the quiet restaurant.

Sometimes, they played classical music, other times K-pop, and Rayla would always remember the night they had played an opera medley when several people with the Katolis Opera Company had dined that night.  The chef seemed keenly aware of who came to his restaurants at what dates and times and played music to fit their tastes but also made sense with the theme.

It was a popular spot with not only Foodies and high school kids, but a lot of Asian-Americans dined there.  Rayla had looked up the reviews and had seen it was highly recommended by the Katolis Korean and Thai communities, the Katolis restaurant circles, and the Commission for the Promotion of Local Ingredients and Farmer’s Markets.  No one said anything bad about Sarai’s Place without at least ten people defending the restaurant’s choices.

And now Rayla was sitting with her boss, Ahling Patel, and having to stop herself from inhaling the food in front of her.  The risotto was so satisfying and paired with chicken breast stuffed with kimchi, perilla, and ricotta.  “What do you think, Mr. Ahling?”

“It’s delicious.  I’ve always felt that fusion was a gimmick, but I’m sold by this young man’s food.  Young lady,” Ahling called the server, smiling good-naturedly when she nodded at him and finished up with her current customer.  When she came up to their table, she greeted them again.  “Is there anyway we can speak to the chef?”

The server blinked before nodding.  “I’m sure I can arrange it.  Dinner service is almost over and there are only you and two other tables.  Can I bring you dessert while I’m talking to him?”

“What do you recommend?”

“Our pastry chef made yakgwa, which are little honey pastries made with pine nuts, ginger, and sesame oil and they also made a yuja polenta cake and a play on Italian lemon cake, but with yuja.”

Rayla ordered the yakgwa and Ahling got the polenta cake and waited for the news.  Rayla couldn’t recall having ever seen the chef even though she came there at least twice a week, closer to three.  She hadn’t seen any pictures of him, either, surprisingly enough.  He was said to keep to himself and shunned the limelight, which is why he never made TV appearances.

A few minutes later, it wasn’t their server, but a man who looked be about 26 arriving with their desserts.  His green eyes were striking, as were his cheekbones and sharp jawline.  He gave them both an awkward smile as Rayla noticed his ring finger was bare and didn’t seem to have a tan line.  Was this the chef?  His coat would seem to say so.  “Nice to meet you both.  I’m Callum Evans, the owner and executive chef here at Sarai’s Place.”

Ahling smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you, young man.  I’m Ahling Patel and this is my employee, Rayla Burrows.”  Rayla nodded her head in acknowledgement.  “Your food is delicious.  How on Earth do you even think of this?”

The young man flushed, looking down at his feet.  “Um, I’m not that special.  Many people before me found that Korean and Italian food go well together.  Most of my recipes are riffs on family recipes and all my Thai dishes are family recipes.  I was originally going to go traditional Korean or Thai but there were no fusion places in the area and I’m part Irish and German on top of being a quarter-Thai and a quarter-Korean.  It felt…right, I guess.  I’m mixed and grew up with a variety of food cultures in my house, so why not do fusion?  Korean and Italian just made the most sense, so…”  He looked embarrassed at the praise, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rayla leaned forward a bit.  “I’ve eaten here at least twice week for the past six months.  I can tell you, without a doubt, it’s my favorite place to eat.”

“Thank you.”

Ahling cleared his throat.  “Are you single, Mr. Evans?”

Callum flushed even deeper.  “Ah.  Yes.  Being a chef requires long hours and running a restraint requires even more.”

“You need a good partner to help you find balance in your life!”

Rayla remained quiet as she watched them talk.  The only thing going through her mind was ‘I’m going to marry this man for his food.  I’ll eat well for the rest of my life.’  She stayed when Ahling said good night and while the restaurant emptied out.  Callum stayed at the table, fidgeting under her gaze.  “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“A date.”

Callum blinked.  “We have a sticky rice made with dates-”

“No.  A romantic excursion.  An outing.”

He gulped, looking her up and down.  “A date?  Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I fell in love with your food almost immediately after I tasted it and would like the chance to know the man who cooks it.”

Callum blushed.  “OK.”  They exchanged info and Rayla smirked as she left with his number in her cellphone.  There was no way she would be letting this one go.

------------------------------------------

After four months of dating, Rayla could confidently say that she was now just as in love with Callum the man as she was with his cooking.  Learning that his restaurant was named after his mother who died when he was in high school had endeared him to her, as had the knowledge that all the art on the walls were his paintings.  Was there anything he couldn’t do?

They were currently in Callum’s kitchen, him developing a new recipe while Rayla took down notes for him.  Even on his days off, he was always thinking about what he would do next and Rayla admired his passion to his craft.  When he brought her up to try the dish, she groaned.  “I will marry this man if it’s the last thing I do,” she muttered.

“I can hear you, you know,” Callum chuckled.

Rayla raised a brow.  “Then why haven’t you accepted my proposal?”

“Because you proposed to my food?”

“I hardly see the difference.”  Callum laughed at her, shaking his head.  “Hey, move in with me.”

“We’ve been together for four months.”

“Is that a problem?  Too short?”

Callum stared at her.  “You’re serious.”

“I told you; I fully plan on marrying you to eat your cooking ‘til the day I die.”

“So, it’s my cooking you love?”

“When have I hidden this?”  Rayla reached for his hand, pulling him closer.  “I’m serious.  Move in with me.”

“Why?”

Rayla shrugged.  “I’m happy when we wake up next to each other.  I like the idea of coming home to you or you coming home to me.  I don’t like sleeping alone, and, for the past month, the two of us have been alternating sleeping at each other’s places and it doesn’t make sense to pay rent on two places when we could be happy together?”

“That and I’m the only person willing to put up with your stubborn ass.”

Rayla gave him a mock offended looking, giving his arm a playful smack.  “You love my stubborn ass.”

“I do.”  Callum leaned down and captured her lips, letting her taste the dish he had been working on for the past hour.  When they pulled apart, he looked down into her eyes with his bright green ones.  “I think I love you.”

“That’s good, because I think I love you, too.”

Rayla would take that for now.  And in two years, when she would be standing next to him in front of their new house, matching rings on their fingers, and a very pregnant belly, she would remind him that he had his food to thank for their relationship.  “I fell in love with your food first.”

“I’m glad you did, because you kept coming back.”

“Lucky you.”

“Lucky me.”        

[mealsforsquares]

Grilled Half Chickens

Hey I had this all written up in the little doc thing that I use for this and it wasn’t even posted! Score!

More grilling of the chicken! This time I had also inadvertently gotten out an entire bird*, and was going to make sure that this time I got the fuel right. I mean, I got it right last time also, but this was a different thing and would require some attention to get right. 

I cut the bird in half by first cutting its spine out (which I saved for someday stock, which has not in fact happened yet), and then smooshing it down and cutting through the breastbone so that it was in two equal pieces. I then dumped it into a giant zipper bag and poured the remains of a thing of buttermilk over them, followed by the end of a thing of yogurt, which I then shook up with some salt, lemon zest, rosemary and thyme. I think I also threw a couple of garlics in there, but I don’t specifically remember doing it. It seems like something I’d do, anyway. Probably I did it. 

So I did the thing with the charcoal, then pulled the chicken out of the marinade and ran a couple of skewers through each half so that it didn’t do any additional separating as it cooked, then laid it out flesh-side down on the cool part of the grill. I flipped it after awhile then when it was up to temperature I laid it over the hot side to brown up on both sides. I added new coals after about forty-five minutes to keep the fire alive. Not much to it, really. 

While all that was going on I peeled a butternut squash, scooped the seeds out of the bottom, then cut it into dice, and got it in the microwave to par-cook. I blanched some peas, then got a pan heating with some oil in it. The oil definitely got garlic in it, then some chili flakes, then a minced onion. I added the parcooked squash to it, then the peas jus tto warm them all through and combine them. 

Because this was a lot of soft, hot food, I thought it would need a bit of freshness, so I made a quick salad out of some lettuce. This was for R and I, since A was travelling, so I grated a carrot over it, then tossed it with sunflower seeds and dried cranberries. I was going to bang together a ranch-style dressing, but I used all the buttermilk on the chicken because I’m dumb, so I dressed it with olive oil, black pepper and some lemon juice. 

The chicken came out well - buttermilk is as good a marinating liquid as is advertised, and the people that go on about it are absolutely right to do so. It came out juicy and browned up very well. It also held back some of its flavor and resisted being overwhelmed by the smoke, which was nice, as chicken can be easily overwhelmed by the smoke of the grill. Tasted good, though. THe peas and squash were as good as fresh peas can be - the squash was nice, but not entirely necessary probably. The salad was welcome, and everyone was happy. 

Or, at least, R and I were happy. I don’t know about everyone. 

* that’s not the correct phrasing. I had completely intentionally gotten out an entire bird, I just didn’t end up using it when I thought I would. 

[healthyeating43-blog]

Veg Out! 10 More Flavorful Recipes That Aren’t Salads

New Post has been published on https://dietguideto.com/awesome/veg-out-10-more-flavorful-recipes-that-arent-salads/

Veg Out! 10 More Flavorful Recipes That Aren’t Salads

You’re always asking us how to run more veggies into your diet without having to eat endless heads of lettuce. We hear you. As delicious as some salads can be, eating them for lunch and dinner, day in and out, can get tiresome. That’s why we created this roundup of incredibly delicious veggie dishesthat serve as the perfect nutrient-packed side to your main meal. Want even more flavorful recipes that aren’t salads? No problem.

Here are 10 more flavorful recipes to pump veggies into your day: 1. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Mustard Glaze >~ ATAGEND

This may become your new favorite of our flavorful recipes and your go-to way to eat Brussels buds: The touch of sweetness in the balsamic and bite of the mustard make an amazing glaze for these earthy veggies. All you have to do is saute the buds in margarine until the edges become golden brown, then add the vinegar and mustard and toss. A pinch of black pepper finishes the delicious dish.

2. Simple Pumpkin Soup >~ ATAGEND

It’s as easy to make as the name implies: Bring broth, pumpkin puree, ginger, curry and other tasty flavourings to a simmer, simmer, stir in milk, simmer a little longer and done. You’ll enjoy the rich flavor of pumpkin in each creamy spoonful. Build a bunch and freeze the extra so you cozy up to a warm bowl when the weather gets cold. On the Nutrisystem program, this soup counts as one SmartCarb and one Extra.

The Super Spiralizer: 6 Veggie Noodle Recipes You Require to Try

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3. Zucchini Fritter with Soy Dipping Sauce >~ ATAGEND

These little pleasures pack salty and sweet in each crispy bite. The fritters are made from grated zucchini, scallions and sesame seeds and crisped to a golden brown. The sauce combinings soy, honey, rice vinegar, sesame petroleum and chili garlic paste. And together the flavor is fantastic. Dip two fritters into a tablespoon of sauce for just 133 delicious calories.

4. Broccoli Slaw with Cranberries and Lime >~ ATAGEND

This is a far cry from your standard slaw: Broccoli and jicama make up the veg, cranberry and honey add in sweetness, and lime and cilantro bring some tang to this nutritious side dish that’s pleasing to every palate! On Nutrisystem, one serve counts as one SmartCarb and one Vegetable.

11 Instant Pot Recipes You Need to Try This Instant

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5. Sesame Soy Cucumber ” Pasta ” Salad >~ ATAGEND

Whip out your spiralizer to transform beautiful cucumbers into “noodles” for this super fresh “pasta” salad. Add in colorful bell peppers and green onions, toss with a decadent homemade dres of sesame petroleum, rice vinegar, soy sauce and chili snowflakes, and top with sesame seeds. It’s simple to make and refreshing to feed. It’s packed with vitamins and perfect as a side or main meal. And it’s only 40 calories per serving.

6. Zesty Tomato Soup >~ ATAGEND

Simmer together a can of diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, onion and garlic to create this classic veggie soup. To thicken it up, add a little almond milk. To enhance the flavor, toss in a bay foliage. And to make it fairly, top it with chopped basil. The attempt is minimal, and the savor is awesome.

Veg Out! 6 Simple Ways to Sneak in More Veggies

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7. Crispy Carrot Fries >~ ATAGEND

Carrots are good for your eyes, got a lot of filling fiber and make a great healthy stand-in for fast food fries. Just cut the carrots into fry-like strips, coat them in heart healthy olive oil, sprinkle them with some salt, pepper and savory rosemary, and cook until crispy. One cup counts as one Vegetable and two Extras on your Nutrisystem meal plan. If you love your fries with ketchup, feel free to dunk: One tablespoon counts as one Extra.

8. Easy Instant Pot Herb Roasted Potatoes >~ ATAGEND

This is one of our flavorful recipes classics, and if you don’t have an Instant Pot, this recipe may convince you to get one. That’s because this amazing kitchen tool allows you to construct perfectly roasted, soft and delicious potatoes in only seven short minutes. Just toss in some colorful fingerlings or baby potatoes, olive oil and Italian spices, and let the pot work its magical. Serve these tasty spuds with your favorite chicken dish, or enjoy them as a snack. Each serving is only 99 calories.

6 Veggies That Make Ridiculously Good Chips

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9. Spicy Sriracha Slaw >~ ATAGEND

Instead of using fatty mayo to coat the shredded green and red cabbage, these powerhouse veggies are mixed in a dressing made from nonfat plain greek yogurt, lemon juice and sriracha or hot sauce. The kick is surprising, so is the cilantro, which adds another layer of flavor. Take this dish to your next potluck BBQ for a guaranteed invite back.

10. Creamy Butternut Squash Soup >~ ATAGEND

With its smooth texture and rich, sweet flavor of butternut squash, you’ll be sampling this soup before it induces it to your bowl. Carrots and onions add flavor and non-fat milk constructs it creamy, without added calories or fat. Doubled this healthy recipe–you’ll want leftovers. On Nutrisystem, one serve counts as one SmartCarb, half of a Vegetable and one Extra.

The post Veg Out! 10 More Flavorful Recipes That Aren’t Salads seemed first on The Leaf.

Read more: leaf.nutrisystem.com

[jenguerrero]

Is there anything more wonderful when it’s cold outside than a nice hot bowl of soup?! I found the most amazing soup book, Soup: The Ultimate Book of Soups and Stews! It really is the be-all and end-all encyclopedia of soup. If you love soup, you need this. It has everything. It’s got easy peasy soups for kitchen newbies and fabulous gourmet soups for when you want to stretch your culinary muscle. The recipes are perfection.

The book itself is tremendously giftable. The cover and paper quality are fabulous. There’s three placeholder ribbons and metallic stitches in the binding that add to the decadent feel. It’s nice and heavy. There aren’t pictures for all the dishes, but the ones included have a lovely artistic flair.

I wish I would have had this book as a young mother. Soup used to be my cheat card with the kids. They smiled at soup bowls and didn’t scrutinize individual ingredients like on a regular plate. They’re teenage foodies now and loved everything in here. I’ll give you a little preview of what’s in it with my thoughts and pictures of the recipes we tried, but first, let me share with you the best french onion soup I’ve ever had. A big thanks to Cider Mill Press for letting me share it with you!

French Onion Soup

Yield: 4 servings Active time: 30 minutes/Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Should you only make one recipe from this book, let it be this one. I’ve yet to meet someone who dislikes this soup.

Ingredients: 5 onions, 1 halved, the remaining 4 sliced very thin 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil ½ cup sherry 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped 8 cups chicken stock Salt and pepper, to taste 4 slices of sourdough bread 1 ½ cups gruyere cheese, grated

1. Place the halved onion over an open flame and char. Set aside. <It’s not mentioned again. I sliced it and added it with the other onions in the next step. ~Jen

2. Place the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the remaining onions and cook on the lowest setting for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Stir the onions every few minutes and add small amounts of water when the onions begin to stick.

3. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until liquid has been reduced by half.

4. Add the thyme and stock and cook until reduced by half.

5. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to its broiler setting.

6. Season the soup with salt and pepper and pour into ceramic bowls.

7. Cover with a slice of sourdough bread and the cheese. Place bowls on the oven’s top rack and cook until the cheese is melted.

Continuing my review…..

Soup: The Ultimate Book of Soups and Stews By Derek Bissonnette Edition: Hardcover

1) Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Soup with Fall Spiced Cream – p 220. This is the perfect fall soup. The title could go either way, but this is definitely a savory soup. We loved the crispy fried squash garnish. 2-3) Pork and Crab Wonton Soup – p 149. The flavor on this is to die for. I made a lot more wontons to use up the wrappers, so there’s extra in the soup and I froze the rest for the kids to toss in boiling broth for 5 minutes before tossing into their lunchboxes.

      4) Swedish Meatball Soup – p 427. Wow. Great soup. There’s only a small amount of heavy cream in the soup, so it really is a combination of Swedish meatballs and gravy with soup. If you love Swedish meatballs, you will adore this one. The kids finished all of the extra soup in the pot right away. 5) Chilled Strawberry and Tomato Gazpacho with Roasted Strawberries – p 664. Divine. This is very much a savory tone. The strawberries add a sweetness in the background and amplify the tomato-y-ness of the tomatoes. The garlic flavor is very much there. If you don’t care for pops of raw garlic, you may want to use a few roasted garlic cloves instead. 6) French Onion Soup – p 238. The author says, “Should you only make one recipe from this book, let it be this one. I’ve yet to meet someone who dislikes this soup.” So I had to try it. Amazing soup! Hauntingly good. The table was quiet. This was the only one I found a typo in. You char one onion over an open flame and set aside. It doesn’t come up again in the instructions, so I let it cool, and sliced it thinly like the rest of the onions and added it along with them. 7) Rocky Mountain Chili – p 345 and Cornbread – p 367. Delicious, very mild chili on the healthy end of the chili spectrum. There’s ground turkey, 3 kinds of beans, and 3 layers of tomato (fresh, sauce, and paste) in the chili. The cornbread is very sweet with a fluffy moist texture. I gave it a quick blip under the broiler for a second to color the top at the end. 8) Old Fashioned Chicken Broth and Dumpling Soup – p 145. It’s exactly as the title promises. It is total comfort food. 9) Hot Chocolate Coconut Soup with Bruleed Bananas – p 695. Great dessert. It’s got a very rich, full chocolate flavor and it’s barely sweet. It’s hard to get the bananas to stand up. Lol!

I’m not even beginning to make a dent in the range here, but here are some others I have flagged to try: Homemade Meatballs and Conchiglie Pasta Soup – p 126 * Pork Teriyaki and Red Miso Ramen – p 151 * Portobello Mushroom Ravioli in Beet Soup – p 156 * Pot Sticker Broth – p 158 * Thai Coconut Broth with Lobster Wontons – p 170 * Avgolemono with Orzo Salad – p 174 * Chili Tortilla Soup – p 181 * Broccoli and Cheddar Soup with Parmesan Crisps – p 195 * Broccoli and Stilton Soup – p 196 * Caldo Verde Soup with Paprika Oil – p 199 * Caramelized Onion Soup with Baked Herb Croutons – p 205 * Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Curried Cauliflower Florets – p 225 * Eggplant and Zucchini Soup with Tzatziki, Mint-Pickled Cucumbers, and Pita Bread – p 230 * Mexican Sweet Roasted Garlic Soup – p 246 * Miso Broth with Fried Tofu – p 249 * Roasted Pumpkin Mole Soup – p 256 * Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup with Rosemary Crackers – p 257 * Sweet Potato Soup – p 268 * Watercress and Buttermilk Soup with Poppy Seed Yogurt – p 280 * Rutabaga and Fig Soup with Honey-Roasted Figs and Barbequed Chickpeas – p 293 * Cashew Soup – p 303 * Russian Pea and Barley Soup with Simple Country-Style Bread – p 328 * African Peanut Soup – p 337 * Chicken Chili – p 354 * Walnut Soup with Chive and Shallot Oil – p 356 * Butternut Squash, Quinoa, and Chicken Soup – p 359 * Chili Con Carne – p 363 * Mexican Beef Chili with Nachos – p 375 * Hungarian Goulash with Cucumber Salad – p 387 * Beef, Barley, and Portobello Mushroom Soup – p 393 * Chili Verde – p 415 * Indian Mulligatawny Lamb Soup – p 439 * Irish Country Soup with Soda Bread – p 472 * Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo – p 480 * Southwestern Chicken Soup – p 525 * Velvety Chicken and Chestnut Soup – p 529 * Coconut and Chicken Curry Soup with Naan – p 531 * Seafood and Sausage Gumbo – p 549 * Bouillabaisse – p 574 * New England Clam Chowder – p 582 * Crab Bisque with Caviar Crème Fraiche – p 590 * Crab and Oyster Gumbo – p 635 * Chilled Canteloupe and Ginger Soup with Champagne Espuma – p 646 * Chilled Cherry Soup with Brioche French Toast – p 677 * Chilled Rhubarb Champagne Soup with Lemon Poppy Seed Marscapone – p 679 * Strawberry Consomme with Cardamom Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Scottish Shortbread – p 683 * Acorn Squash Soup with Fennel Salad – p 719 * Chilled Honeydew Melon Soup with Crispy Prosciutto di Parma – p 720 * Cream of Tomato with Sourdough Garlic Bread – p 723

*I received a copy to explore and share my thoughts.

Need that book? I’m an Amazon affiliate. Any time you use one of my links to make a purchase, Amazon gives me a tiny percentage. Thank you!

Soup

Derek Bissonnette’s French Onion Soup recipe and Cookbook review: Soup: The Ultimate Book of Soups and Stews Is there anything more wonderful when it's cold outside than a nice hot bowl of soup?! I found the most amazing soup book, …

[food011-blog]

Awesome Lamb Kebabs | Jamie Oliver

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Awesome Lamb Kebabs | Jamie Oliver

Hi guys, okay so we're gonna do a really simple but delicious Lamb Kebab It's a really lovely ritual to make a kebab you can marinade it the day before, but I want to show you the ones that I like to do which is when you go for a walk in the park or if you grow it yourself get a rosemary skewer right and what you have here is a fantastic, natural skewer and what I want you to do is get a knife and at a slight angle, like that and happy days Okay so let's start with the marinade guys, this is gonna tenderize the meat, it's also gonna flavour it let's start with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of one lemon goes in I like to season it with a little salt and pepper herbs like bay leaf is really really nice, I just remove the little stalk like this and then these leaves, you pound those up there going to be amazing I want to put the rosemary in as well because we got the skewers I want to use a little bit of salt in there so its nice and abrasive and we're gonna smash that up to pretty much a pulp It's so nice, the smell is fantastic You have to have a pestle and mortar because this is what flavour is all about and it's literally the oldest kitchen gadget on the planet and you don't have to plug it in Couple cloves of garlic So just lightly crush those and then that will start going a little bit more soggy, so that's what it's all about, that will absolutely make all the difference and transform this beautiful marinade We'll mix this up I'm gonna put in some amazing spring lamb which is tender and delicious

They're cut into inch chunks, this is enough for sort of 4 to 6 nice size kebabs and at the same time I want to add some veggies So I love you know just having some nice red onions to cut them into quarters and what will happen naturally they just break off into little petals that you can have any coloured peppers that you want The lambs an inch then I'll go about an inch on the peppers and then its gonna sit beautifully on the skewer Got my little chili here just gonna remove the seeds, the hot part and I'll just cut that into two

So some lucky person will get that the one thing I forgot as well which is from the garden which is really really nice is Oregano When it flowers, cut it tie it in a knot, hang it up near a radiator or a window and you get this fantastic dried oregano We're gonna give this a nice little massage up So once you've mixed that up guys, I would love to marinate that overnight It makes all the difference I'm not going to do it today right it still tastes delicious but overnight makes all the difference, please do it So let's load up our wonderful little kebabs Hand mix it up, so meat, onion

I don't want to tightly pack it too much, I want the meat and the veggies to have access to equal heat and temperature So let's just load these up Just a lovely, simple kebab Of course you can make it with chicken, pork, beef different veggies Getting that on a plate is a beautiful thing So look I want something to put my kebab in and I want to do this lovely little flatbread For the dough recipe, click the i So here's the very simple dough and just cut it up into 4 so we got our kebabs, we got our lovely little flatbreads, so we have our regular BBQ here and then I want to mix it up because I'm gonna use just a regular metal bowl Put that on to the BBQ, that will get roasting hot very quickly and then what I want to do is just roll this out, you can roll this out sort of like a cm thick so because that metal bowl is quite thin it doesn't take much time to heat up at all, and we are just going to lay that straight over like that We are going to put our wonderful kebabs on So they will go straight on to the BBQ and we'll really take care of those and love them So let's have a little look at the bread You don't want to kind of rush it but it should just crack off

Look at that, it's like a little bowl of heaven So you can see how quick that was to cook I've just given it a little bit of heat on the other side Use rosemary's also not just for skewers, but use it as a brush, and does it make a difference? It absolutely does make a difference, it really does Look at that guys, it's beautiful, and then of course you can put in some salads and then I like the red cabbage, it just feels so vivid and exciting Some mint leaves are just little fragrant little surprises So the yogurt there just laced with mint, so good Delicious We wistfully remove the skewer leaving you with the wonderful bowl of goodness that you can just roll up and squeeze and squeeze and then put in your mouth and enjoy absolutely delicious Now guys if you want to check out a whole load of my cooking utensils and products that I've been using in this video, please have a little look we got some amazing stuff

Click the i and have a little look at Jamie Oliver's shop, It's lovely

[philmytummy]

Whether you’re looking for dinner in the Philadelphia suburbs of  Radnor, Glen Mills, North Wales, Harrisburg, and Moosic, PA or in the New Jersey suburbs of Moorestown, NJ; and even Delray Beach, FL,  Dave Magrogan’s Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar has got you covered. They’re serving up a few delicious quintessential fall dishes on their farm-to-table restaurant’s new seasonal menu which prides itself on serving healthy, organic, locally-produced and seasonal food to its customers. The menu changes every three months to celebrate the new flavors that accompany the change in seasons. They also offer 50+ wines by the glass, as well as a growing selection of local and organic beers.with most items being 500 calories or less.

Some classic fall dishes are back by popular demand, include the Warm Butternut Squash Dip starter with Asiago cheese, caramelized onions, sage, crispy kale, pumpkin seeds, and pumpernickel crostini; Autumn Grilled Salmon Salad with baby spinach, roasted beets, sheep’s milk feta, dried cranberries, candied pecans, apples, and a Honeycrisp apple vinaigrette; Seared Roasted Beet “Scallops” with spiced squash ribbons, kale, pistachio butter, and goat cheese crema; and of course, Pumpkin Ravioli with butternut squash purée, sage brown butter, dried cranberries, baby spinach, toasted pumpkin seeds, and gingerbread dust.

Photo credit @baris_belly

Photo credit @baris_belly

Returning for the 5th Fall season is Harvest’s most popular dish — a sweet and savory Butternut Squash Soup, which is a staple on the restaurant’s menu.  In addition, the restaurant’s Three Bean Turkey Chili is a perfect dish to enjoy during autumn’s chill, as it contains cannellini, kidney & black beans, smoked cheddar, sour cream and scallions.

“This wildly popular (butternut squash) simple soup recipe has been with me for 15 years, and it has become legendary,” said Executive Chef Josh Short. “I am always asked what the secret to making this soup taste so amazing, and my answer is simple: organically grown squash that we source from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. It’s so popular that we also offer it by the quart to-go, and a lot of people take advantage of that….( in reference to the chili) We are working with local farms around Lancaster County to source ground Heritage Bronze turkey meat, and it’s delicious.”

Other new entree additions to the menu include the  Warm Autumn Squash Salad with farro, red quinoa, lentils, kale, sheep’s milk feta, dried cranberries and maple dressing; Harvest Moon Chicken with sweet potato latke, brussels sprouts, apple relish, and cider rosemary reduction; Braised Short Ribs with roasted root vegetables, mushrooms,pearl onions, roasted garlic mashed ootatoes, and natural jus; Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl with ginger soy soba noodles, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, snow peas, cashews, cilantro, scallions, chili oil, sriracha salted lotus root chips; Barramundi Tikka Masala with pumpkin curry, Kashmiri pepper, toasted chikpeas, baby spinach, and coconut jasmine rice;  and Roasted Spaghetti Squash Pasta with roasted cremini mushrooms, fresh sage, toasted pistachios, garlic, truffle oil, freshly grated Lanchego cheese.

Photo credit @baris_belly

Photo credit @baris_belly

Photo credit @baris_belly

Chef Peter Chan’s created a special Fall Salad, which contains a delightful combination of frisée, radicchio, apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, aged bleu cheese and cranberry vinaigrette; Chef David Schorn allows guests to indulge in the ultimate in comfort food with his Bacon Wrapped Bison Meatloaf, which includes cauliflower purée, honey glazed carrots, mushrooms and Sriracha ketchup; and finally, last but not least Chef Jennifer Teti has crafted delectable fall desserts include a Caramel Apple Cobbler, which is made with local, seasonal apples, and her Pumpkin Whoopie Pie, which has a traditional vanilla whoopie pie cream and pumpkin spiced cake.

Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar believes that where your food comes from is as important as what you eat, which is why they champion the ideology of ‘know your farmer, know your food’. They work with over 75 local farmers to source the freshest and highest quality products available. Their mission of sustainability and green living is carried through every facet from our menu to our decor, and even the cleaning products that we use are eco-friendly. Reservations available for lunch, dinner, and brunch via OpenTable.

Additional images provided by @baris_belly

  Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar Whether you're looking for dinner in the Philadelphia suburbs of  Radnor, Glen Mills, North Wales, Harrisburg, and Moosic, PA or in the New Jersey suburbs of Moorestown, NJ; and even Delray Beach, FL,  …

[newzealandtop25-blog]

Ortega Fish Shack & Bar!

Ortega Fish Shack & Bar is the hidden jewel of Mount Victoria Wellington. Tucked away on a side street this restaurant oozes class, sophistication and fun. All this is perfectly balanced while delivering some of the most exquisite food in New Zealand. Read on to see why this unsuspecting restaurant is our winner this year.

Stepping inside, the space appeared a lot bigger than we initially thought, offering open space towards the back end of the building near the bar as well as on an unexpected second floor. We were absolutely blown away by the interior design: The blue/turquoise walls are filled with lots of photo frames and little paintings; the front floor is tiled in a quirky Jugendstil whereas the rest is kept in a darker wooden floor. Every piece of décor feels well-matched with the theme of a modern maritime shack with a hint of brights, creating a cosy, homely atmosphere with relaxing music playing in the background.

Davey McDonald, the co-owner, Maître d’ and manager of Ortega Fish Shack & Bar, welcomed us warmly to the restaurant and walked us to our table at the window. Whereas the curtains initially seemed unnecessary we noticed that they are actually perfect for giving customers privacy during their visit.

As the name of the restaurant already suggests Ortega is specialised in sea food; even with a couple of meat and vegetarian dishes on the menu be aware that the majority on the menu will be based around what lives in the sea. With a daily changing menu you are guaranteed to be presented with the freshest ingredients New Zealand has to offer.  

We started the evening with two Clevedon Pacific oysters, which were served natural with Sherry vinegar with chopped-up charlottes and ponzu, which is a citrus-based sauce mixed with soya sauce.  A classic pre-starter with a twist for that extra zap! You may like to pair the oysters with a Lastau Sherry: Puerto Fino or classic bubbles.

Clevedon Pacific oysters $4.50 each; served natural with Sherry vinegar with chopped up charlottes & ponzu paired with Lastau Sherry: Puerto Fino, from the town of Puerto de Santa María $8.50/g and Jean-Marc Vigreux-Frère Brut Champagne – France $16.50/g

One of our starters was the sautéed Paua, glazed pork cheek, XO sauce, pickled shiitake and bok choy with ginger wine dressing. We were first of all very impressed with the creativity that was put into the dish and the different elements. New Zealand’s paua are a unique species of abalone and are known for their amazing blue/green iridescent shells, with the muscle inside being a delicacy. Initially we were a little sceptical about this combination, however we trusted the chef’s, gave it a try and loved it. The paua was sautéed to make it nice and soft, the pork cheek was perfectly tender and the vegetables added a lovely lightness to the dish. Paired with a Colere Confluence Marlborough Pinot Blanc this is an excellent choice as a starter.  

Sautéed Paua, glazed pork cheek, XO sauce, pickled shiitake, bok choy, ginger wine dressing $24.90; Paired with a Colere Confluence Marlborough Pinot Blanc (at the moment this wine is also not on the menu, but there will be a different option available!)

The other starter we got served was a scampi ceviche with avocado, Vietnamese mint, shiso, lemongrass and scampi oil, which was probably the star between the two dishes. The colourful plate offered a wide range of elements that at first sight seemed quite overwhelming. The raw scampi was tender and combined with the other elements it actually created an exciting mix of textures and flavours. Spicy notes from the chili, creaminess from the avocado, more subtle and fresh hints from the mint and fried lemongrass came through while fish eggs were popping in our mouths. All of this amazingness happened in just one bite. Paired with a Wooing Tree Blondie, a White Pinot Noir this was an incredible, unique dish I will remember forever!  

Scampi ceviche, avocado, Vietnamese mint, shiso, lemongrass, scampi oil $31.90; Paired with a Wooing Tree Blondie, a White Pinot Noir (at the moment this wine is unfortunately not on the menu, but there will be a different option available!)

The first main course was the Gurnard with soft white polenta, diamond shell clams, herb velouté and curry oil. Especially the clams with the curry oil we loved because of their rich flavour. The fish itself was slightly crispy on the outside; the soft polenta and the herb sauce complemented the fish nicely without overpowering its fresh taste. Overall a very well-presented, light and classic dish. A glass of Tietjen Witters Chardonnay Viognier 2013 with its apricot notes this wine pairs perfectly with the fish.

Gurnard, soft white polenta, diamond shell clams, herb velouté, curry oil $36.90; Paired with a Tietjen Witters Chardonnay Viognier 2013 – Gisborne $11/g

The other main course was the John Dory on leek risotto with green beans, prawn anglaise, potato crisps and burnt leek. The risotto was cooked to perfection, the fish was tender and aromatic and the potato crisps added a special crunch to each bite.  As a matching wine a glass of Milton Riverpoint Voignier 2015 with notes of poached pear complements the course well.  

John Dory, leek risotto, green beans, prawn anglaise, potato crisps, burnt leek $38.90; Paired with Milton Riverpoint Voignier 2015 – Gisborne $11/g

As an additional side we had the duck fat roasted potatoes, rosemary, parmesan and black garlic aioli, which was really tasty and worked with both main dishes without distracting the elements of the main courses too much.

Duck fat roasted potatoes, rosmary, Parmesan, black garlic aioli $9.90

Last but certainly not least we had two absolutely divine desserts. The first dessert we’d like to introduce you to is the rosewater cream with lychee sorbet, raspberry gel, red berries and crushed meringue. Do we even have to say any more? We loved the subtle hint of rosewater coming through all the sweet and fresh elements. The dessert was paired with a dessert wine called Konrad “Sigrun” Noble Two Riesling Sauvignon Blanc 2014, which added a deliciously rich and awesome zing. The dedication to detail is unbelievable from the presentation to the taste and the perfect wine just knocked us off our seats.

Rosewater cream with lychee sorbet, raspberry gel, berries and crushed meringue $16.90; Paired with Konrad “Sigrun” Noble Two Riesling Sauvingnon Blanc 2014 - Marlborough $11/g

A great restaurant wouldn’t be a great restaurant without a chocolate dessert. We tried the chocolate mousse with dark Ghana & macadamia cream, chocolate crumb and espresso tuile. It was as amazing as it sounded. Paired with one of the owner’s all-time favourite Sherry Wines, the Lastau Pedro Ximénez “San Emilio” brings out the chocolaty flavours through its richness and notes of raisins. The dessert is an otherworldly chocolate-lovers dream. Phenomenal!  

Chocolate mousse, dark Ghana & macadamia cream, chocolate crumb, espresso tuile $15.90; Lastau Pedro Ximénez “San Emilio” Sherry 375ml – Jerez, Spain $12.50/g

A special thanks to our amazing waitress Grace, who was so lovely and charismatic. A highly professional and knowledgeable woman who made us feel comfortable and relaxed all evening.  Also a shout out to Davey McDonald who has proved us his exceptional skill at pairing the drinks with our meal.

When booking your table at Ortega Fish Shack and Bar you can be sure to be presented with the best of the best; whatever you will pick on the menu it will knock you off your seat. It is certainly not the bank friendliest place to eat however it is worth 100% worth it. Besides the menu descriptions being a little too complex at times we had excellent service, incredibly knowledgeable staff with a huge passion for food, drinks and hosting people. Everyone working there absolutely loves what they do and you can really see this the moment you step into the restaurant. There has been put so much thought and effort into the place from creating this brilliantly quirky interior to the leathery aprons with the metallic belts the staff wear. It is not hard to fall in love with this restaurant; there was simply nothing we didn’t like about it. The best dinner experience in the whole of New Zealand, making our number one in our Top 25!

Kiwi Scores: Location/Accessability: 5/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Staff knowledge: 5/5 Menu: 5/5 Presentation: 5/5 Value for money: 5/5 Uniqueness: 5/5

Useful Links:

VLOG: https://youtu.be/0ue1jVfdRMM

Ortega: http://ortega.co.nz/

[mealsforsquares]

New Year’s Day

After New Year’s Eve, of course, comes New Year’s Day, and with New Year’s Day comes one of the few times I actually get to host a giant meal. I love hosting a giant meal, actually, even though it stresses me right the heck out. Last year was the first year that we did it, in an attempt to spread around some of the effort of the holiday season. It was a fairly big hit, and it was nice to expose some more people to what it is I do in the kitchen*. Sinc eit worked out so well, and I had the operational business under my belt, it was time to move on and try to really knock it out of the park.

The crowd pleaser at last-year’s business was a serious eats-style all-belly porchetta. It was chosen for its relative simplicity - pork belly is a pretty hard thing to fuck up, as just about every restaurant in the world can tell you**, and wrapping it around some herbs and spices and slow roasting it is a pretty rock-solid thing to do. And I like things that are easy to do and impressive. They make me feel good about myself.

So I took a whole belly and laid it down, scored the skin deeply. I made a spice paste of juniper berries, allspice berries, coriander, cinnamon, and some sumac. I also made an herb paste of minced rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano and tarragon. I mixed the herb mince with the spice paste, oiled them up and ground them together a bit with a mortar and pestle. I mixed in some ground bay leaves and some brown sugar, and rubbed the whole mess into the pork belly. I rolled it up tight and covered the outside in salt into which I had mixed a bit of baking soda, then cut a bunch of lengths of twine which I used to tie it up. Instead of letting it sit with the raw herbs and spices overnight, I slow-roasted it first the day before, letting it go until it was a proper internal temperature, and then when it was done I pulled it and socked it away in the fridge until the next day when I would crisp it up. I threw it in a very hot oven about an hour before service, leaving it in there until the skin was hot enough to blister and turn brown, and then taking it out rest*** and then slicing it up, removing the string in the process

Last year I was further constrained by the two pickiest eaters (who are also members of my own family) being present for dinner, and having to make sure to include them in everything. This year, especially, R had to work, which meant that vinegar was much more on the table than it had been previously, so it was time to incorporate directly into the beans. Black eyed peas are traditional for New Year’s, which is pretty great, because it’s an excuse to make a mess of beans for a bunch of people to eat. In Jonathon Sawyer’s oft-aforementioned House of Vinegar, he mentions cooking lentils in red wine vinegar for a salad. I decided to run with that idea, except I would use black eyed peas. To preserve the color, and make them look less like brown glop on the plate, I decided to cook them in a mixture of white wine and white wine vinegar, so that I could more-readily play with colors and textures.

The theory was good, but in practice I forgot that cooking beans in acid is really hard. This is probably why the original recipe uses lentils and not a bean that requires more hydration. So I soaked the beans overnight, then poured in equal parts white wine and white wine vinegar, and let the beans simmer until they were soft. Or at least, I let them simmer for seven hours. They were softening (slowly), but they weren’t finishing. I had the idea that if I raised the pH a little bit they might find it easier to accept water into their skins, so I added a healthy pinch of baking soda. A couple of hours later, the beans were the perfect texture - the acid had enabled them to hold together pretty well without mushing out, and they did eventually hydrate fully to be tender. If I wanted a creamier bean, it might not be the way to go, but if I wanted a creamier bean, it wouldn’t be the sort of thing you’d want to make sour anyway.

The beans were actually pretty astringent, so the rest of the job of the salad was to mitigate the business. I cut some homemade bacon into cubes (I give away bacon as part of everyone’s Christmas basket), and got them working in a cold pan. As the pan heated up and the bacon started to brown, I would occasionally deglaze the pan with a shot of apple cider, which made a nice sort of apple-y glaze on the bacon cubes, which I thought would be nice for the salad, even as it did at another kind of pork to the proceedings. I made some bread crumbs out of some homemade tomato bread (not mine, but homemade in someone else’s home) by drying the bread out in the oven and then running it through the food processor, for a crunch and some texture. I diced the leaves off of a head of bitter endive or chicory or whatever you want to call it and mixed them in, then added a minced onion.

The question of dressing was an important one - it needed to augment the beans, but it couldn’t be too acidic or the whole thign would lose its balance. I kept it fairly simple. I poured out a generous half cup or so of olive oil, added a little less than a third as much vinegar, and a very generous dollop of dijon mustard, which can take the acidity and really add somethign to it. I also added a generous glug of pomegranate molasses, an ingredient that I’m relatively new to actually owning, but have wanted to start using for a long time. The end result was that the salad was magnificent, although I made entirely too much of it, ultimately.

Greens are also a standard-issue inclusion for New Years, so I decided to make some. . Into the dutch oven went a huge bunch of olive oil - this is an oil-intensive preparation****. I added one big onion and two small onions to the oil and let them cook while I did the rest of the thing. I mixed together a whole can of tomato paste with some cayenne and six or so cloves of minced garlic, which I then smooshed into the oil. I had  bought a holy firestorm of greens - a pound or so of collards formed the backbone, but also the rest of the head of chicory, some kale, some adult spinach, a head of dandelion greens, and a head of broccoli raab. I de-stemmed and washed all of these greens, then got them into the oil/tomato paste/garlic sofrito and let them get friendly. I added a healthy splash of water and covered them, letting them steam down for awhile.

When they had shrunk down a bit I added a couple of handfuls of adult spinach and gave everything a good hard stir. I salted them some more, and then added a huge glob of peanut butter and stirred them again to coat them in the peanut. I let them get friendly and salted and peppered them again. When they were tender, I squeezed the juice of a couple of lemons onto them to brighten them up. The effect is incredible - the effect is a bit like the greens in ground nut soup or peanut stew, only it’s a whole mess of them. It seems like an insane thing to enjoy, but it’s an utterly fantastic dish. IT was a big hit also, and it was designed to have a sort of savory, spicy richness that was there to compete a little with the pork and give everyone a break from pork fat, and also the astringency of the beans. It didn’t compete, in the savory slash unctuous flavor of the pork, but it augmented it, making it a nice little component.

Deciding that the bean salad would be lightly dressed and therefore that there might need to be a serious condiment, I made some cranberry mostarda. The day before new years I soaked a bunch of mustard seeds in some sweet wine. On the day of I heated up a bunch of fresh cranberries with a great load of sugar and a apple cider, to which I added the mustard seeds and their wine, some dry mustard, some red chili flakes, and a sachet made of some cinnamon, some cloves and some bay leaves. I simmered it until the cranberries were softened, at which point I smooshed them up and socked the whole thing away in the fridge. It set up more than I intended it to - there’s a tonne of pectin in cranberries - and made a kind of a jam rather than a sauce, but it did its job anyway, providing a nice sweet-tart condiment for the fatty, deeply-spiced porchetta.

Beans and greens aside, an actual salad-type vegetable with some actual salad-type flavor was also necessary. The Chinese believe that eating long food at new years brings good luck, and as it happens, I recently found myself in possession of a spiralizer. So the way through was clear: the way to go forward was to make the longest salad possible, out of a bunch of hard vegetables. It started with carrots - carrots are great with peanut butter, fantastic with pork, and enormously successful with vinegar*****, so it seemed it would be a slam-dunk to pair with the rest of the plate. To go with it was a daikon radish, which would be there for its spicy character but for also not being as funky and oppressive as other radishes can be (I like radishes, but they’re not a vegetable to spring on an unsuspcting someone). An asian pear was noodlefied and added to the thing to give it some crisp sweetness, and a cucumber was thrown in there for freshness and to help with the liquid content. It was finished with some parsley. For dressing some yogurt was compounded with some tahini and flavored with honey, then finished with some lemon juice and very lightly tossed with the mixed-vegetable salad.

Sauerkraut is also de rigeur with new years, and as it happens I had already made some suaerkraut traditionally in the leadup as part of the Christmas present. To make it a little more regular for the meal, I decided to church it up a little bit. I made both red and white sauerkraut. The white sauerkraut needed some real help - it was salty and crunchy and good, but it wasn’t great. So I poured the white out into a pan and added a little allspice, a few peppercorns, a couple of healthy glugs of prosecco vinegar, and a little bit of sugar to help balance it out. I let it get a little bit warm and loosen up a bit. It helped a lot. For the red I dumped that out and just added a bit of sherry vinegar and some red pepper flakes.

Other folks had provided some dolmades, white bread and beer bread (these all came from A’s dad) and also mashed potatoes (from A’s brother, who is a champion eater of mashed potatoes), and they were all pretty good. The rest of the food came out exactly as I wanted, and I was pretty happy with the way things turned out such that you could eat  abit here and a bit there from the various and sundry sources and end up with a non-exhausting plate of food. As feasts go, I was pretty happy with the way that things came together. Everything that had been a crowd pleaser remained a crowd pleaser, and the whole thing was filling and plenty feast-like without being overwhelming - I was full without being uncomfortably so, which I’m willing ot chalk up to it being mostly food that is actually not that bad for us. It’s entirely possible that I may do some more working with the sour beans to make them something that cooks even slightly quicker.

Oh, and I’ll have to work on quantity, because digging out from under the impossible, tremendous amount of leftovers was pretty oppressive. I will say this: a sandwich made of toasted bread, mustard, peanut greens, pickles and a slice of porchetta is a pretty incredible way to use up a leftover, all told.

Just eating the beans as a leftover was also pretty great, but it does seem to require that you like beans at least as much as I do to get through that many. I hope I can remember the next time I do it to make them into a croquette - fried pickled things are awesome, and I bet the fried sour beans would be equally incredible.

Or at least more interesting than other regular croquettes. But this is all turning into a digression for another time. So stay tuned. Maybe you’ll get to hear about it.

* I cook for the same three people, counting myself, most of the time, so it’s not common for people outside my household to eat my food - I’m not much of a host-er and prefer restaurants for socializing purposes, mainly because I don’t go to them that often - I’m cheap, and also I’m a better judge of how I want something to taste than someone I’m paying to do it. I’m generally a do-it-myself sort of person, and I tend to go out only for things that I don’t make often - organ meats are a tough sell for my housemates, and fish is expensive enough that I’m usually pretty happy to let someone with more experience do it for me, to name two examples - or where people want to go or whatever.

** restaurants, and especially mid-range ones, are sort of the silent partners in the pork belly explosion of a decade ago. That explosion has mostly died, and that’s great, because I was tired of being surprised and worn down by the constant baconification of everything, and it also means that pork belly prices are coming down a bit. I’ve been making my own bacon for a very long time, as well as my own pancetta, and obviously there’s a porchetta every year, and it’s great to not have to pay through the nose for it.

*** It probably didn’t have to rest, as the few minutes of very high heat wasn’t enough to stir up the interior juices, and so it probably wasn’t in any danger of that, but hey, it didn’t hurt anyway.

**** it’s also, weirdly, one of R’s favorite preparations, which is strange, considering his usual relationship to greens.

***** carrots are an all-time champion pickle.