What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

That sauerkraut dish sounds like a variation on choucroute garni, my favorite Alsatian dish. I ordered it once at a restaurant in France and got a huge plateful--enough for four people! What immediately popped into my head was the title of a book of B. Kliban: Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head.

-Paul W.

That was precisely the intention. Just sauerkraut but dolled up to go with the sausage and be interesting in and of itself.

[Jenise]

Jeff, thanks for digging up the information on the delicata. Always great to know such things.

And Christina, neat way to handle the dill (I've never had it like that), and cool that you have THAT much!

I picked up a small Delicata last Saturday. The young man who took my money told me I picked out a good one. I asked him how he knew that and he explained to me about the orange stripes in the grooves all the way around the fruit. He said because the strips are all the way around, means that it is sweet.

Interesting. I did not know about the change in coloration. I've seen them from very pale to very robust yellow, with green speckle-y stripes and/or orange stripes.

I was judging ripeness in two ways: if the side give a little when squeezed, and whether it seems heavy for its size.

The one I selected definitely has the orange stripes in the grooves. Going to cook it tonight.. If I knew how to post pictures here, I would take a picture of it.

[Jenise]

Karen, I can't wait to look at the delicatas next time I'm at the market to compare colors. I'll likely buy two so I can test the flavor side by side.

Last night I made a lamb and oat meat loaf. Just 1 lb of meat bound oats, red wine and 1 egg, then seasoned with several pinches each of thyme and herbs d'Provence. I roasted several veggies at the same time though in a different pan so as not to soak up the lamb fat: fennel, carrots and baby white potatoes. Loved the flavor but later, when we went to bed, I hated smelling lamb fat (an aroma I'm not at all fond of). Will probably be awhile before I'm tempted to cook lamb again.

The very highest quality Sichuan pepper is qingzi gong jiao, or tribute pepper, so called because it used to be part of the annual tribute demanded by the Chinese emperor. I recently bought some from the Mala Market and I'll be trying it out this weekend when I make Sichuan dry-fried beef.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Let us know how that works out, Paul.

Not cooking today: will be having lunch with friends, and at best tonight the only thing that might interest me is an apple. (New crop of golden Opals in now, they're unbelievable.)

I have some extra sausage so thinking about going full Bavarian/Yiddish: sauerkraut and latkes. (Assuming I can find a fermented or sweet cabbage, rather than a pickled one.)

On the menu tonight is Coconut Shrimp with a spicy, sweet dipping sauce, Greek Potatoes, cooked in garlic, olive oil water, Turkish Oregano, fresh lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper. These potatoes are a favorite of mine, they cook at 440° for 80 minutes. They come out crispy, and full of lemony flavor. This came from a lady called Evelyn who lives in Athens and has many lovely recipes on recipe zaar. Veggies will be a mix of sliced Delicata Squash, Sugar Snap Peas, and an array of colorful peppers. Yesterday, I made. a pot of Royal Corona Beans, cooked with lemon, cumin, smoked paprika, and green onions. A toasted spicy mix with garlic was added during the last hour of cooking.

Slight change in plans. I'm not up to all the tedious shredding that's involved in dry-fried beef so instead I'll be trying out the tribute pepper in gongbao ji (aka Kung Pao chicken).

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Karen, would you share that potato recipe?

Karen, would you share that potato recipe?

https://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/evely ... ious-15995

[Jenise]

Thank you!

Yesterday's gongbao ji was a big success. The Sichuan tribute pepper is more aromatic than my usual Sichuan pepper (no slouch in itself) and has a lot more of the numbing (ma) zing to it. I had that wonderful mala (numbing-and-hot) glow in my mouth for a good half hour after dinner. I can see why the Chinese emperors specifically wanted this as part of the province's tribute.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, I have definitely never had szechuan peppercorns that gave off that kind of sensation!

Paul, I have definitely never had szechuan peppercorns that gave off that kind of sensation!

Now you've got me curious. Why not? Are they old or something else?

Tonight: another round of turkey cordon bleu, roasted teeny-tiny potatoes, and roasted red kuri squash (a.k.a., Hokkaido pumpkin).

Part of the seasoning for the squash was maple syrup. When I reached for it, in the back of the cupboard, there was a viscous film, some kind of 'mother', floating on top. I skimmed that off, boiled the remaining syrup, and put it back in a clean jar. Tastes fine and it's 8 hours later and I'm not dead so I think it's all good.

Most Sichuan peppercorns at Asian markets in the US are hopelessly stale. For many years the importation of Sichuan peppercorns to the US was banned, something to do with worries about introducing an insect pest IIRC. Then the ban was relaxed provided that the peppercorns were heat-treated, which ruins their freshness. The heat treatment is no longer required but it's still done a lot anyway. I'm lucky enough to live an hour's drive from a big Asian supermarket in Quincy MA whose proprietor is from Sichuan and who makes sure his Sichuan peppercorns are fresh. Nowadays I buy Sichuan ingredients from the Mala Market.

-Paul W.

Part of the seasoning for the squash was maple syrup. When I reached for it, in the back of the cupboard, there was a viscous film, some kind of 'mother', floating on top. I skimmed that off, boiled the remaining syrup, and put it back in a clean jar. Tastes fine and it's 8 hours later and I'm not dead so I think it's all good.

Maple syrup needs to be refrigerated. What you saw was a bacterial film. Maple syrup doesn't have high sugar concentration to prevent that. It's only about 1/3 water: 2/3 sugar.

Maple syrup needs to be refrigerated. What you saw was a bacterial film. Maple syrup doesn't have high sugar concentration to prevent that. It's only about 1/3 water: 2/3 sugar.

Now I know!

Tonight: black cod, dusted with ground fennel seed, ginger, and garlic; splashed with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar; sprinkled with panko, then seared in a cast iron pan. It's a great fish and I didn't ruin it.

Last night I made Beef Wellington For Four from ATK. I was disappointed.

First, four servings using the amount of beef is stretching it. I think 3 would be more correct. The flavor of the crust was not appealing and the texture was just wrong for BW. I'll have to find the recipe for the crust Katie made for this dish. It was perfect. Lastly, wrapping to beef and duxelles with prosciutto is just wrong. It added a flavor that just shouldn't be there.

I like BW so I'll go back to making it the way I did in the past.

[Jenise]

Dan, the proscuitto should have worked. I'm not familiar with the ATK recipe, but am aware of this technique and the purpose is to create a barrier that helps avoid the soggy crust that ruins so many a BW.

[Jenise]

Last night I made chicken in a black bean sauce. Essentially, velveted chicken breast, green bell peppers, slivers of red cocktail peppers for color, onions and fermented black beans dry-fried with a minimal amount of soy sauce and ginger. It's a favorite preparation that's especially nice to have now that we're not having wine with dinner every night. The black beans are not wine-friendly, good as they are alone they make wine taste dirty.