Quinoa Pilaf

I'm still looking for ways to use my preserved lemons, and I found this one on Food Network.  It's red and white quinoa (prettier than just one or the other) with olives, artichoke hearts, currants, and of course preserved lemons.  I liked it a lot and it was really quick and easy, but Craig did not like it so much.  Maybe I'll make it when he's not home.  The Swiss chard is from the coop, picked Friday  morning according to Brendan behind the counter.  Delicious--chard is definitely one of those things that's WAY better from the garden than the grocery store.

Chicken Alla Diavola

Cora and Mary Kate came down for the afternoon yesterday and we had such a nice time.  We lunched on salad made from CSA greens, and for dinner we had chicken alla diavola from Cook's.  It's a favorite recipe of mine.  The chicken is butterflied and brined, then you rub a flavored oil under the skin before grilling it.  We ate it with the rest of the saffron-red pepper rice from Wednesday and grilled asparagus.  Unfortunately, the camera we used to take pictures was Mary Kate's, so hopefully she'll send some shots for the blog.  The chicken was great though, I really recommend.

Shrimp with Arugula and Couscous

Our CSA started on Thursday!  We got a bunch of wonderful things, lots of greens and peas and radishes and garlic scapes, to name a few.  On Friday Craig made a recipe the CSA had sent us, couscous with arugula, and he topped it with grilled shrimp.  The arugula is sauteed and then added to the cooked couscous.  We agreed that the couscous needed more flavor, maybe by using broth, but the shrimp were really good, as were the asparagus and the snap peas.

Veal Chop

For Date Night last night I cooked grilled lemon-parsley veal chops with saffron-red pepper rice, both from Epicurious, with grilled asparagus alongside. The chops, from Bobolink Farm, were really good. They were marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, and some other good things, and topped with lemon zest and parsley. The marinating really helped get them tender and the lemon flavor was perfect. By halving the recommended cooking time, I managed not to overcook them. The rice was only OK, it's sort of a no-stir basmati rice take on risotto. I liked that it required so little of my attention, but next time I think I'll add some white wine and sage. It was nice with the veal though. Craig drank Trinity IPA, and I had Ipsum 2006, a Spanish white table wine.

Calamari Pasta

On Sunday I walked over to the fish market to see what looked good, and came back with some beautiful squid, which Craig was kind enough to clean. Since I didn't want to go to the store I had to make something up with the ingredients on hand, and it came out pretty well. I sauteed fennel seed, garlic, capers, raisins and prosciutto, then quickly cooked off the squid in the same pan. I served them tossed with whole wheat linguine and good olive oil. If I'd had anchovy it would have deepened the flavor I think, and I also should have cut some parsley from the garden, but overall it was tasty. Next to the squid is the not-so-tasty result of an impulse purchase, a stuffed artichoke. A pain to prep and totally not worth the effort, especially when you forget you're working with Hollie Hobbie and you burn it.



A postscript: It has been brought to my attention that I may have outfoxed myself with this blog. My intention was to share my love of food and eating with anyone who was bored enough to type in the address, an electronic equivalent of jumping up and down saying "Look at me! Look at me eat!" Middle child. An unforseen consequence appears to be that some people may not want to cook for me, because I'm so FANCY. So NOT--I like everything except hamburgers, and I love love love to be cooked for. Park me in your kitchen with a glass of wine while you bust out the fish sticks and I'm happy. And NOT fancy--Exhibit: My usual weeknight dinner, tofu, brown rice, kidney beans, and a minimum of two flavors of Newman's Own salsa. Sometimes if I'm feeling frisky I throw in a fried egg. Cook for me. I'll bring the tartar sauce.

Wisconsin Eats

Craig and I have been on vacation in Wisconsin for a week, and while we ate well, I didn't take many pictures of the food. Notably among the restaurants was Jolly Bob's, a Jamaican place in Madison that we went to with Mom. I had panfried catfish that had been coated in nuts and was served with avocado and mango chutney. It was like a fish cookie.

Below is an amazing BISON steak Dad and Craig cooked on the grill. It was so good I wish we could have managed to bring some back with us! Dad served it with grilled veggies, mushrooms, and mashed potato/rutabaga. Really one of the best steaks I've ever eaten.

And below, what Megan ate before it was filleted. Dad took us fishing in the northern part of the state, and we limited on walleye. I dredged them in flour and pan-fried them. YUM.

Veggie Stir-Fry

Last night for dinner I made a veggie stir fry from Cook's. I am really bad at making stir fries without directions, so I try to follow recipes. This one was good, but a little salty. They have you cook and glaze the portobellos, which makes them really tasty. I used fiddlehead ferns instead of carrots, not as pretty, but you can get carrots any time of year! There's brown rice under there somewhere.
I drank Sierra Nevada Wheat Ale, which I had been looking forward to for days, and I have to admit, I was disappointed--not my favorite wheat beer. Good thing I only bought one bottle.

Veal and Cheese

Last night I cooked veal cutlets that I had purchased from Bobolink Farm (www.cowsoutside.com).  The calves get to spend their short lives in comfort with their mothers, and the meat is rosy and delicious.  I used a Mario Batali recipe for veal pockets in the style of the Valle d'Aosta, an area of Italy Craig and I visited on our honeymoon.  The cutlets are wrapped around Emmentaler cheese and prosciutto and pan-fried, then the pan is used to make a sauce with white wine, butter, and sage.  I would have put sage inside the veal as well, and perhaps used a stronger cheese, but this was really good.  

I served it with braised baby bok choy and atop a pasta we brought back from Italy, angel hair with truffles, that I tossed in truffle butter.  The whole meal was quite easy and very nice.  We drank a wine Dave gave us, a David Coffaro 2006 unfiltered Escuro.  We both enjoyed the wine and liked the unfilteredness of it.

Henry and Marion gave us a gift certificate to an AMAZING gourmet shop in Cambridge, Formaggio Kitchen (www.formaggiokitchen.com) for our wedding gift.  Their website is great, but the shop in person is a little overwhelming, until you talk to the staff.  All I had to do was mention Craig's passion for blues and I was given a sample of Stichelton, an unpasteurized Stilton.  When I asked for help choosing two milder cheeses to offset the Stichelton, my new best friend had me try Brebis Pardou, a very mild almost sweet cheese from Aquitaine, France, with a texure similar to Gruyere, and then Meg's Big Sunshine, from Carlisle, MA, a wonderful grassy goat cheese that made me jump up and down, I loved it so much.  It's named really appropriately--it tastes like sunshine.  The cheese is built like a good Brie, getting progressively softer toward the middle.  We accompanied the cheeses with the rose petal preserves and a new condiment I got at Fromaggio Kitchen, a fig and grappa compote made somewhere in a German speaking country--the whole label's in German.  That was just perfect with the Brebis Pardou.

The Stichelton is front and center, the Brebis Pardou to the left, and Meg's Big Sunshine to the right.  I even still have some gift certificate left!  Thank you so much, Henry and Marion!