Gio's Profile
June 2012 Cookbook of the Month: The Homesick Texan Cookbook, by Lisa Fain
Here's a link to the Recipe Index at the Homesick Texan's blog site...
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/p/recipe-index.html
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Soups, Vegetables, Starches, and Legumes Thread
THE FOOD OF SPAIN
Medley of Spring Vegetables, Pg. 256
(Minstra de Primavera - Navarre and La Rioja)
https://www.tienda.com/recipes/emails/041012.html
This is another complimentary combination of Spring vegetables that we both enjoyed. It's a flavorful brothy mix of peas, asparagus, and artichoke hearts thickened with a little flour and flavored with a full cup of dry white wine. .The details are in the link but to summarize: I had more than the 1/2 pound of asparagus but decided to use all of it. There's choice given between Serrano ham/prosciutto/bacon but I only had pancetta so used that. I think it worked well. The vegetables are cooked at staggered times in broth. In another pan the sofrito is prepared then poured into the vegetables. The result is quite delicious.
Although I could have eaten just the braised veggies with a slice of crusty bread and perhaps some cheese I wanted to use up the remaining pieces of roast chicken and that was fine. There's not a drop left.
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Tapas and First Courses Thread
Note to self... Read the Tapas chapter of the Spanish cookbooks. Now.
May 2012 Cookbook of the Month: "Food of Spain" and "Moro: the Cookbook"
To quote BigSal upthread, "My favorite COTMs are the ones when we delve into a specific cuisine."
Initially I thought I would absolutely devour The New Spanish Table, but when I read the recipes more carefully they just seemed too complicated the time frame I had. However, the recipes we cooked from The Food of Spain turned out perfectly. I love Claudia Roden's close attention to detail without making the dish more intricate, I have 3 other books of hers, so I was happy with just about everything. Since The Homesick Texan holds no special appeal to me I'll continue to cook from the Spanish books I have and also continue with The Olive and the Caper which we found to be very much to our liking. When our local Farmers' Market open in a couple of weeks I'm going to make a concerted to revisit Fish Without a Doubt... a family favorite.
In all fairness to HT, I did find a small handful of recipes on her blog, namely a few spice blends, chicken, and salads, that I'll try. And, as usual, I'll be reading the reports to see how all y'all are doin'.
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
LOL, SM. What will you loose if you cancel the trip?
I got the same e-mail. Now I'm paranoid because I can't remember if I ordered from both the UK AND Amazon US. I think I only signed up to be notified by Amazon US when the book becomes available here but haven't heard anything tho the web site states it will be available next year. I can cancel the US edition when the UK version arrives here, unless...
June 2012 Cookbook of the Month Nominations Are Now Open!
I'm so glad you liked it BR. For others who may be interested here's the on-line recipe...
http://www.thefoodmaven.com/diary/00000519.html
What cookbooks have you bought lately? Springtime edition, part 2
This is the lamb meatball recipe that led me to buy the book...
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2010/06/recipe_17.php
About those meat balls you made: It seems to me that all that butter, plus oil, plus hot sauce sounds like too much liquid in the first place, never mind the fat content. Glad they tasted all right though. Thanks for the warning...
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
With apologies to Mark Twain, "Every eye fixed itself upon it with parted lips and bated breath....."
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Fish, Poultry, and Meat Thread
Thanks, gingershelley. Good luck with it...
March 2009 COTM Fish Without a Doubt: Broiling, Grilling, & Smoking
Thanks Joan. I was thinking about revisiting the book as well Our local Farmers' Market begins in 2 weeks and there's a good fish monger who sells locally caught seafood of all kinds. They are there on Thursdays; that's our new "fish night." I'd rather buy from them than any other source so I'll be joining you.
March 2009 COTM Fish Without a Doubt: Broiling, Grilling, & Smoking
Thanks for reminding me that this cookbook is one of my favorites, Joan. We liked just about everything we cooked that month, including his sauces and side dishes. Now that I have a new broiler I'm going to have to delve into this chapter. Especially since our local market has been offering trout fillets. Your fish looks wonderful...
Links To Non COTM Cookbook Report Threads
Fish Without a Doubt by Rick Moonen & Roy Finamore - pre COTM
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/584841#4313265
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Fish, Poultry, and Meat Thread
Hmmm... I really don't know what to say also. As a discussion above describes some folks either like or dislike these recipes for whatever reason. Making substitutions is risky I think. One has to be aware of the subtleties and distinct character of ingredients in order to make alternative choices successfully. I'm not saying you don't Rella, but sometimes what we thought would be great... simply isn't. I'm sorry this recipe was not pleasing to you.
I must say, though, that we cook A Lot of chicken in many different variations so it takes a noticeable difference in a recipe for us to like it. In this case it must have been the load of garlic, the Chardonnay, homemade salt-free chicken stock, and the dry bay leaves... everything just came together to suit us very well.
What cookbooks have you bought lately? Springtime edition, part 2
Great Bar Food at Home, Kate Heyhoe, Alexandra Grablewsk:
No, I'm not using this book as a guide to bar-hopping but the recipes sounded so enticing in an article I was reading that I Had to have it.
The Meatball Shop Cookbook, Daniel Holzman:
Looking for a recipe for lamb meatballs I found one by Holzman, co-owner of the
Meatball Shop in NYC. The recipe sounded delicious as did other recipes I found after searching I Had to have this one too.
A Year in my Kitchen, Skye Gyngell:
This I Had to have because Greedygirl recommended it. LOL I've only had a chance to briefly scan it but I Love the seasonal chapters.
Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apuli, Patience Gray:
Boy I Love this book. The stories, the memories, the recipes (well, there'll be some I won't be cooking like tongue, and other really awful offal), and the delightful pen and ink sketches.
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Fish, Poultry, and Meat Thread
THE FOOD OF SPAIN
Pan-Grilled Fish with Garlic and Chile Dressing, Pg. 320
(Piscada a la Bilbaina - Basque Country)
This was delicious. Plain and simple. A hot skillet on the stovetop was the "grilling" method. I reversed the cooking order because it just made sense to me: Instead of cooking the fish first I made the sauce before the fish was cooked otherwise the fish would have cooled while the sauce was being made...
Monkfish is the fish she uses for the recipe but gives many alternatives so I chose haddock fillets, with skin left on.
The dressing consists of 5 slivered fat garlic cloves, and a dried or fresh small chile (jalapeno for me with seeds left in) that are simmered in EVOO, in a small saucepan, till garlic is golden, taken off heat then white wine vinegar and chopped parsley are added.
Season the fillets, add oil to skillet and heat, place fish in pan skin side down, cook till done. This doesn't take very long but depends on how thick the fillets are. Thin fish fillets are not turned over during cooking. Serve with the dressing poured over. Usually I would expect this to be served with lemon wedges but this didn't seem to need anything else, not even pepper. We loved the delicate garlic flavor with the super fresh fish.
Boiled potatoes are the recommended side dish. I steamed small red-skinned potatoes and served them seasoned with Maldon salt and FGBpepper and an additional drizzle of Spanish EVOO. I suppose some would like crusty bread to sop up the juices, but the potatoes were perfect crushed into the sauce. The simple salad Roden gives on page 225 (first paragraph) completed the meal. Great dinner all around.
What cookbooks have you bought lately? Springtime edition, part 2
Ostrich ferns are the ferns that are native to the Northeastern area of the country including maritime Canada and the ones we usually find at farm stands here. All ferns produce fiddleheads but many have health warnings so it's certainly wise to know what's OK to eat in your area. Also, it's important to know how to harvest fiddleheads: only three of the seven fiddleheads should be taken from any one plant... anymore than that will kill the fern plant.
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Fish, Poultry, and Meat Thread
Good morning Rella. I used Claudia Roden's recipe in TFOS and I used the 2 heads of garlic. In order to speed the process of peeling each clove I sliced off the root end, and holding the tips, I smashed the head with the side of my chef's knife. This doesn't take all the skin off at once but it gives you a good start. If you make this recipe I hope you enjoy it as we did.
Revere area Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Venue needed
Hi macca... when you look at the front of the church, on the right is an exit to the side street I mentioned. Exit, turn left, and Rt. 1 is at the end of that short street... at least it was last year.
ETA: OK.. my mistake, you're right. It's not Rt. 1. it's Rt. 60. Sorry. (I must drive too fast...)
Your directions are correct,
Why should I buy tilapia?
Whenever I want to find information about the best fish to buy and consume I first look at the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch reports and information charts to find the safest and most sustainable seafood that is fished or farmed.
Here's their page about tilapia...
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=69
Revere area Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Venue needed
Honestly, if I had to select a suitable restaurant for a rehearsal dinner I'd look into Donatello restaurant on Route 1 North in Saugus. It's a short drive from St. Anthony's. There's an entrance to Rt. 1N from a side street right beside the church. I've been there many times. The restaurant has a fine dining decor, the service is professional and food is very good. There's a function room upstairs. Here's the link...
http://www.wix.com/danieldicenso/donatellos#!
Local Asparagus
Tendercrop Farm, in Newbury (Rt. 1A), is showing "their own" asparagus is available.
http://www.tendercropfarms.com/
Verrill holds their asparagus festival on Sat. 26 May.
http://www.verrillfarm.com/events.html
May 2012 COTM: Food of Spain and Moro The Soups, Vegetables, Starches, and Legumes Thread
The Food of Spain
Mushrooms with Garlic, Pg. 269
(Champiñones al Ajillo - Mediterraean Spain)
When I first read the recipe through I realized that this is the way I've been cooking mushrooms since I've been married. This is the way my mother cooked mushrooms... exactly. I was just waiting for the chance to cook them again, and last night was it. Anyway, I used 5 garlic cloves, 2 T EVOO, 1/4 c of the optional dry white wine, white button mushrooms and added the red pepper flakes and chopped parsley... as I always do. Perfect accompaniment to roast pork, sauteed snap peas, and steamed rice.
May 2012 COTM Spanish Month Companion Thread
That sounds darn good, BC. I'm in on this one too...
Ideas for puff pastry appetizers?
Ina Garten has just such an appetizer, tomato and herbed goat cheese tarts. I've been meaning to try them... they just sound so tasty, and quick and easy.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tomato-and-goat-cheese-tarts-recipe/index.html
My cookbook challenge! (long...)
Mr. Bigglesworth, what an inspiring report. Thanks very much...!
Yes, I read the whole thing, and from your list of books I singled out several I'm interested in that I don't have in my cookbook library :
Tess Mallos: North African Cooking
Ellie Krieger: The Food You Crave
Barbara Lynch: Stir
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking
Now I'm on a mission to investigate them further, especially the Krieger.
May 2012 COTM Spanish Month Companion Thread
Hi SMT, glad to hear from you. I knew you had Daisy's book but didn't know if you'd be able to post reports from your vacation home. Starting a Daisy Martinez thread when you return would be great since you'd have been cooking with native/local produce. I've only chosen recipes from the book that have a Spanish reference, more or less, but I'd love to cook the other recipes as well. .
I wonder if that garlic you've been using is green garlic. The description you provided sounds similar. Hope you're having a good time.
January 2011 Cookbook of the Month: STIR-FRYING TO THE SKY'S EDGE
Your report is timely for me, Joan, thanks very much. G brought home several pounds of both sugar snap peas and snow peas and I've been on a mission to use them up before they go the way of all flesh. I'll have to dig around in the freezer for the chicken. I Know I have some thighs in there...
New Fuchsia Dunlop book
I'm thinking that if Greedygirl does in fact get her advance copy of the book Saturday she can confirm the inclusion of these recipes.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/786955#7344414
Also, upthread Lilham posted a link to other "new" recipes...
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/786955#6885393
