An Overdue Entry on Some Culinary Adventures
Marc and I like to experiment in the kitchen and given the exceptionally crappy weather in Seattle recently, we've been doing a lot of it. A friend of mine on Facebook responded to one of my statuses and complained that we make her hungry and jealous, which kind of reminded me that we're overdue on a 'home cooking' entry.
Another dish that we just made this week is Roast Chicken with Pancetta recipe in the most recent edition of Gourmet magazine. From the same edition, we also made Braised Cannellini Beans with Garlic, Marjoram, and Oregano - scroll down (you need to register on Gourmet's website - it's free - to get this recipe). I substitued in flageolet beans for the cannellinis to make this work and added in a little bit of mascarpone cheese to make this a bit creamier. Good stuff and both recipes are shown in the picture on the left.
Some recent recipes include Cinnamon Basil Chicken, Osso Buco with Pine Nut Gremolata and the Dry Aged Ribeye (a favorite of our guests) - those recipes can be found here in a previous entry.
We served Savory Potato Gratin from The Herbal Kitchen by Jerry Traunfeld with the osso buco. Even though I like Danny Meyer's version known as Creamy Potato-Gruyere Gratin, I happened to like Chef Traunfeld's version better because it wasn't as heavy.
Another dish that we just made this week is Roast Chicken with Pancetta recipe in the most recent edition of Gourmet magazine. From the same edition, we also made Braised Cannellini Beans with Garlic, Marjoram, and Oregano - scroll down (you need to register on Gourmet's website - it's free - to get this recipe). I substitued in flageolet beans for the cannellinis to make this work and added in a little bit of mascarpone cheese to make this a bit creamier. Good stuff and both recipes are shown in the picture on the left. We also made some homemade pizza that I'll let Marc talk about in terms of the dough, but I like to top mine with pancetta (bacon makes everything better), shitake mushrooms, spinach, and some of my Sottocenere al Tartufo. We've done a hybrid lasagna that does a little combo of Marc's favored lasagna recipe vs. my favorite lasagna recipe. More goodness to come out of the kitchen.
We've been busy conjuring up pairing ideas for our 2006 Purple Teeth Cellars Eaglepoint Ranch Petite Sirah. So far, we have two outstanding pairings that you should check out including a Pan-Seared Duck with Plum Sauce and Creamy Mascarpone Polenta recipe (pictured on right), as well as a Braised Short Ribs with Cocoa Powder, Assorted Spices and Scallions recipe.
Let's see... what else have we been cooking? Oh yes, the French Onion Soup from Tyler Florence's cookbook - Tyler's Ultimate. And from the same cookbook - the Ultimate Spinach Salad, which is quickly becoming a mainstay recipe in our kitchen.
Marc got us this awesome cookbook, which focuses on food pairings with Washington State wines - Cooking with the Wines of Washington. One recipe we tried recently, which Marc thought was awesome was the Fort Walla Walla Cellars Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs. If you want the recipe, just ping me - it was really simple, but really, really tasty!
On a recent plane ride, I picked up an issue of Saveur and decided to make a Hanger Steak with Bordelaise Sauce based on this recipe. Liked that. The Butternut Squash Puree that I attempted - hmmm.... not one of my better efforts. But Marc's efforts around the Herb Gnocchi from Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook led to great results.
So there you have it. Lots of cooking going on in the kitchen here in Seattle. Most of it successful, too! And of course, we have been drinking some great wine to go with these dishes. I think I'll have to recap that in another entry.
:-)