Monday : October 1, 2007

Peppery Salad

Arugula and tomato salad. Good on some crusty bread.

Friday : September 28, 2007

Midnight Baking

There was a little cookie baking emergency at my casa the other night. Some of my pantry items were past their prime, so the first round didn't come out as expected. A trip to the store, fresh ingredients at hand, the job was done in the early A.M.

Thursday : September 27, 2007

Triangle Market

The downtown farmers' market location has never really done it for me. A little too static. But, now they have a new location at the Triangle in central Austin. Set in the greenspace of this new mixed-use development, the farmers' booths line the winding sidewalk through the park. Kids running around, people talking, eating and drinking. What could be better?

Wednesday : September 26, 2007

Hanging Herbs

We are starting to cut-back the herb garden. It always feels nice to have home grown herbs on hand. It's like money in the bank.

Tuesday : September 25, 2007

Eggs and Shallots

I have used shallots, but never really tasted the magic. That is, until this weekend. I wanted to do a simple egg dish, and I had some shallots hanging around, so I started off with them. I kept the rest of the dish simple which let the shallots shine through. The onion-garlic flavor was wonderful.

Sunday : September 23, 2007

Frank's Place

My friend Frank was coming by and I offered to fix a lovely, quick meal. I had some pasta that I had made a few days earlier, so I said, 'how about some pasta?'. My friend Frank, liking pasta, and, who is a witty writer says 'sure'. I say 'chicken?'. He says, 'sure'. I say, 'olives?'. He says 'sure'. We had a lovely meal.

Sunday : September 23, 2007

Homework: Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

I was up and down with reading the new book about Chez Panisse, but the message rings true. Get good ingredients and don't screw them up. A good reminder that all the heavy sauces in France can't save the mutton. The few right ingredients, prepared properly, are a wonderful thing.

Today we have Halibut with a beet and avocado citrus salad (page 10 of the book). The avocado, cooked beets and dressing all have to be right, and if they are, the thing rings true.

Friday : September 21, 2007

A Woman's Place

Every so often my wife will come into my office (kitchen), push me to the side, and make a slam dunk dish. Well, it just happened again. Take it away Jamie...

Friday : September 21, 2007

Steak Sandwich

I have been eating a lot less meat the last couple of years, but now and again, damn! I need some steak. Nice and rare. Cooked up in a hot skillet. Make a simple sandwich with tomatoes and salt.

This, obviously, is the before picture.

Thursday : September 20, 2007

Frozen Summer Food

This is more of a cold weather dish, but as it starts to cool off a bit (low 90's), I start thinking about
Fall. I still had some Bolognese sauce in the freezer so I decided to do a Fall preview.

Roll out some fresh pasta, reheat the sauce, grate some cheese, turn up the A/C and put on a big sweater. It's Fall!

Monday : September 17, 2007

Turn Down the Heat: Braised Ligurian Chicken

Over the weekend, I was reading an article about how home cooks can improve their technique. The best was 'turn down your heat'. Besides 'High', people forget that there is 'Medium' and 'Low' (and a few in between). The above dish taught me that lesson. You start by browning chicken in a pan. Each time I cooked this, as a experiment, I would use a lower heat than the previous time. It is skinless-boneless chicken, so the lower heat helped keep the moisture in, and the crust improved every time. I now cook this dish on 'Medium'. After the browning, garlic, rosemary, plum tomatoes and olives go into the pan and the dish simmers while it makes it own sauce. I serve it with truffled mashed potatoes.

Monday : September 17, 2007

Paper Inspiration

Lately, I have been reading books about people who cook (just finishing up 'Alice Waters and Chez Panisse'), but am looking around for some new cookbooks. Anything from your shelves you would recommend? If so, drop me a line and let me know.

Friday : September 14, 2007

Fish Tacos with Green Fruit Dip

OK, I found something else to do with the guacamole. Hit some fish tacos with it. Tilapia, lightly breaded with flour, paprika, garlic and chili powder.

Friday : September 14, 2007

Book Report: CookWise by Shirley O. Corriher

A friend turned me on to this book and I really like it. I like books that show the process of cooking. Getting a handle on those core skills makes you a better cook at the end of the day.

Thursday : September 13, 2007

Lamb Loin Chop with Tomato Tart

Pan-seared lamb with a white wine sauce of thyme and shallots.

I pre-roasted the tomatoes and put them in ramekins with garlic and thyme. Topped with puff pastry and baked. After baking, there was still too much liquid, so when I flipped the ramekin over, the shape didn't hold. It was tasty, though.

Wednesday : September 12, 2007

Green Fruit Dip

Avocado tastes so meaty to me. I need to figure out other ways to use it besides the obvious. I make my guacamole with white onions, tomatoes, lime and jalapeno. Mix with a spoon till it is almost creamy, but there are still chunks of avocado. Letting it sit for an hour helps the flavors combine.

Tuesday : September 11, 2007

Goat Cheese Salad with Wild Mushrooms

The only food that was strange to me as a kid were mushrooms. I think it was a texture thing. Plus, white button mushrooms are not very exciting. Stores now have many different fresh and dried varieties to try. These are Shitake along with a Pure Luck goat cheese salad. (Pure Luck just received another national honor.)

Tuesday : September 11, 2007

Pasta Aglio Olio Peperoncino

Very satisfying, simple, bright dish. Moderating the peppers and garlic dials up or down the heat. Pasta with olive oil, garlic, parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes and parsley.

Monday : September 10, 2007

Sea Scallops, Risotto and Peas

I like to cook the scallops in clarified butter. Clarifying raises the smoke point of butter. Otherwise, the neighbors will call the fire department and that really screws up the dessert course.

Friday : September 7, 2007

Summer Grill Days

Labor Day has come and gone. The kids are back at school. That can only mean one thing. Not a whole lot of time left for that classic American art of backyard grilling. Preferably done with lump charcoal on a cast iron grill.

I present you with a twist on a classic. Bison and lamb burger with red onions and Worcestershire sauce. Built on sourdough with homemade mayo and yellow tomatoes.

Thursday : September 6, 2007

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant coated with Panko breadcrumbs with fresh pasta and a mix of mozzarella and parmesan.

Wednesday : September 5, 2007

Chef's Choice

I keep seeing this in print and I must agree. A common response when a chef is asked about what they like to eat, the response is commonly 'bread with a little butter'. I like the rosemary sourdough from Whole Foods and Falfurria's butter.

Tuesday : September 4, 2007

Burnt Cheese

This is a great, quick meal if you have all the ingredients at hand. Shredded chicken, onions, white cheddar cheese and corn tortillas. Season with chipotle powder, garlic, salt and pepper. The best part of this is the inevitable burnt cheese that creeps out onto the hot pan. What a wonderful accident.

Monday : September 3, 2007

Tasting Proves Testing Works

Remember when I made lemon confit? Yeah, me too. It didn't come out exactly as I thought. It got better with age, but never got it to where I thought it should be. The recipe was from a wonderful cookbook from a prominent chef (I'm not naming names). It called for you to let the confit sit for three to four days in the fridge. I just found another recipe that calls for it to sit for three months! And the joke is I think the three months version is correct. I am not really down with making something that takes three months, but at least they can give me the correct information. Did they think that the 90 days would scare me off so they just told me three? I am amazed how many cookbooks have misinformation in them. No wonder people get frustrated cooking.

Monday : September 3, 2007

Hot Tacos

This is another quick dish to make in the A.M. There are only a few components, so they all need to be high quality. I buy the tortillas from Central Market. They are made fresh daily and they are not very expensive. I just started using a new hot sauce, Crystal, from Louisiana. It is not as harsh as some of the others (I'm talking to you Cholula), so more of the flavors come through.

Friday : August 31, 2007

Roasted Chipotle Ketchup

I have been working on making ketchup lately. There seems to be a thousand different ways to make it. The good news is that there is no shortage of tomatoes this time of year. My current method is to roast them, to get the right consistency, then spice them up with some chipotle powder.

Tuesday : August 28, 2007

Restaurant: Balthazar

Balthazar in New York City. This restaurant has been around for a while and now I know why. Wonderful food and a great atmosphere. On a Monday night at 7:00 PM the place was packed. I had to sit at the bar. The bar was wonderful so it wasn't that bad. I had the Duck Shepherds Pie and chatted up one of the regulars.

Friday : August 24, 2007

Salami Melt

A quick grilled sandwich for lunch. We found this great 8 grain German bread at Central Market. Add some salami, swiss cheese and Bingo!

Friday : August 24, 2007

Our Girl Friday

See how I did that! It's Friday, and the headline is "Our Girl Friday". And It's Friday. Anyway, It is fun to read a cook book from someone who actually knows how to write. Paula Disbrowe if a freelance writer who lives outside of Austin (via New York City). Good book on dishes local to Texas.

Thursday : August 23, 2007

Manly Slice

I usually make pizza with simple toppings, or lack there of, to show off the crust and cheese. I went the other direction with this one. Tough-guy pizza. Porcini mushrooms, salami and oregano.

Wednesday : August 22, 2007

Grilled Pesto Chicken

Hardwood grilled pesto chicken with a vinaigrette dressed vegetable pasta salad.

Here are the said vegetables getting ready for the grill.

Wednesday : August 22, 2007

Switch-a-Roo

For some reason, over the last year, I have switched from yellow to red onions to start many of my dishes. Not sure why. Maybe it is because they look prettier in the pan.

Tuesday : August 21, 2007

Potato-Vegetable Latkes

I used to make these with matchstick size cuts of all the vegetables because I liked the texture, but it wasn't creamy. So now, I grate the potatoes and then cut the zucchini and squash in long matchstick pieces. Drop those suckers in a combination of vegetable and peanut oil, garnish with fresh garden chives and sour cream.

Monday : August 20, 2007

Garden Update

I spent some time this weekend in the garden, weeding and planting some new herbs. All the rain has made it a little wacky. The tomatoes were slow to ripen, the rosemary and sage died back. But, for some reason the thyme loved it. I planted more basil and parsley. We'll see how that holds up.

Monday : August 20, 2007

Cuban Cocktail

Sticking with the 'points south' theme, I whipped up some Mojitos. They seem to be the drink of the moment again. I am not much of a Rum drinker, but these are a good excuse to start. Begin by muddling: smashing mint, sugar and lime in a glass. After destroying one of my nicer glasses, I went with a different approach. I made a simple syrup infused with the mint, added lime, rum and soda.

Saturday : August 18, 2007

Chiles Rellenos with Beat Up Corn

Chicken Chiles Rellenos with Pure Luck goat cheese and mashed up corn off the cobb. This is a variation of the original, though I did go through the step of making the chili paste. For the corn, I grilled it, removed it from the cobb, then put half of it in a blender with some milk to thicken it up. On a side note, Pure Luck just placed 1st in a national cheese contest for the goat cheese.