Dinner at Heather and John's

Corn Muffin, Candied Bacon

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Puree

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Kale Caesar Salad

Salmon, Tomato Confit

Hoisin Glazed Ribs, Slaw

Dessert

Catching Up

Sorry, I've been delinquent in posting, however, I post to Instagram far more often:

https://instagram.com/steve_mcfadden/

With a near-empty fridge I pulled out some beef broth, 

Arborio rice, Romano cheese, garlic and the last of a bunch of broccoli. 

Paul made this cheese from yogurt so I roasted a few beets and sprinkled some oil on them.

Chicken and waffles at Cafe Meli 

(there is maple syrup that is not in the picture).

Four cheese pizza at Apart Pizza - an outstanding lunch on a cold winter afternoon! 

Richard found this several years ago and I have never forgotten it.

Highly recommended.

My family calls this Gunk-A-Zetti 

(I've probably posted this before but now there is the light box). 

Unlike the family recipe I par-boil the macaronis then fry them 

(and sprinkle asparagus on top).

Paul made this caramel / pecan ice cream and butter cream cake. 

Wow! He knocked it out of the park.

Pretty sure I've posted this before but there is the light box :). 

Mussels in coconut milk and curry with shaved (raw asparagus).

Paul found this salad recipe for Asian Pear, sprouts, celery leaves, parsley, scallions 

so I slowly poached a bit of salmon.

Light Box

I have a new light box for taking photos. Putting a dish under the kitchen light just wasn't working and it was apparent after the soup-a-thon with so many gorgeous dishes.

The dish is now under the same light but it is filtered. My buddy Heather suggested taking the photo over the dish rather than to the side and that has been huge, too.

Herewith, last night's dinner (fried lemon, chili flakes and fresh pasta):

If you like the new look, let me know! I'm not sure that anyone other than my sister (Martha) reads this.

p.s. the recipe calls for some parsley leaves. Heather said that the photo needed some...











parsley leaves!

Soup A Thon!

Seven friends on a cold winter night.

Six soups.

Fun, fun, fun.

Indian Spiced Carrot

Potato, Bacon, Oyster and Scallop

Chicken Tortilla

Mushroom and Bacon

Cabbage and Carrot

White Chocolate and Berries

I really need to work on my photo setup - or lack of. I know that I keep saying that but these could of been so much better.

Lemons

Oops - I forgot to take a pict until I was nearly finished so it is a little sloppy. Anyway, this is a recipe from the New York Times: Pasta With Fried Lemons and Chili Flakes.

I used Meyer lemons (75 cents each versus 50 cents for "regular") and they made all the difference. They are a cross between an orange and a lemon.

Quarter then slice the lemons. Boil in salted water for two minutes. Dry then fry in olive oil. Remove then add lemon zest, chili flakes and butter and cook until "fragrant".

Toss with cooked pasta (I used fresh and that was great too), lemons, zest, lemon juice, parsley (the recipe also calls for celery leaves but I didn't see the point in that) and (Romano) cheese. I had a taste before adding the cheese and thought that we would all go hungry but the cheese really transformed the dish. My only issue was that the oil for the lemons should have been really hot - think frying hot.

Meat Risotto

I was going to title this Dead Flesh Risotto but Meat Risotto sounds funnier.

Here is the story: on Saturday we had some friends over for (among other things) grilled lamb loin chop. The next night I threw four chicken thighs in the oven and one was left, the next night we grilled some flank steak. We normally don't have meat so often but it is what it is and there were leftovers.

With the cassoulet still in my head, I cut up all of the meat then made a beef broth risotto with some fresh parsley. I have to say, it was delicious.

Is That All There Is?

I started making this cassoulet at 11 am and it was finished at 8 pm. It really isn't as much work as that - you just have to be around your range and oven. Great for a cold winter day. The concept is to layer white beans and carrots with several meats (in this case duck, ham and pork sausage) then top with bread crumbs.

I was underwhelmed but - fortunately - four others disagreed (Cindy said that it was one of the best meals that she has had in a while - and she is the CEO of a company with plants all over the world).

Oops

I am a reasonably good cook, however, I made a big mistake last night and I am telling it to you, dear reader, so that you don't make the same horrible, life-shattering offense.

Soba noodles have salt in them. Do not salt the water so that it tastes like the ocean. The noodles will be inedible.

I roasted mushrooms, kale and shrimp (cover the shrimp in a separate dish with plenty of olive oil) then tossed everything in a delicious soy, honey, mustard, siracha sauce. All good but for the noodles. (:

Three Dog Night

Who would have thought that hot dogs could be so fun? Here are three (Hebrew Nationals) that I made for the family at  Labor Day.

The American (cheddar cheese spread, caramelized onions and spicy Rice Krispies):

The Italian (Rao's marinara sauce and shaved Romano - wish that I had snagged some basil):

The Asian (my favorite - Hoisin Sauce, cucumber, cilantro, scallion and Sriracha):

Surf and Turf

Another Stephanie Izard recipe:

Seared Arctic Char (except that I used Salmon), Lamb / Cherry / Pea Hash (except that I used Ground Sirloin) and Mint Yogurt. I had to pump up the flavor of the hash with more soy bean paste (which was supposed to be white miso) and it was delicious. Sounds a little strange but they all worked together.

Kale Chips

I heard this on NPR yesterday and happened to have a head of kale. 

Chop, sprinkle with oil and - in batches - microwave for 3 minutes. It took my expensive German microwave 5-6 minutes but so be it. Sprinkle with salt. I used a habanero sea salt that made it (them?) quite delicious. Accompanied with grilled Cornish hens (slathered with pesto) and kettle potatoes. Summer!

Summer

I don't remember if I have written about our go-to summer dinner: Caesar salad. Romaine (two heads), croutons (I make them) , a few splashes of Key West lime juice (my go-to citrus flavoring), Cardini's Caesar dressing (one of the better bottled dressings I think) and chopped anchovies (one tin for the two of us SOL).

New England

Two meals on the deck in Surry (NH) - it doesn't get much better than this.

Breakfast at Miss Bellows Falls (VT)

Cod and bacon and aioli and other stuff at Burdick's Walpole (NH)

Fried clams at Legal Seafood Boston (NA)

Oyster at a bar at Harvard Square (MA)

Romaine and kale Caesar salad at the same place

"Nicoise" salad, again at Harvard Square

Potato latkes at Zaftigs Brookline (MA)

Fran and Woody's table, Jamaica Plain (MA)

Very nice crispy, Asian style salad at Willoughby (OH)

Mexico

Excellent hotel food in Mexico City (Hotel Geneve) above.

This very authentic Mexican restaurant was written up by the New York Times - in the 1960's. Still very good (we went twice).

Hotel breakfast.

We arrived in Acapulco to a house party.

Joe had bought a goat.

Went fishing in Joe's mega boat (that's Joe on the left) and had it three ways for dinner

Light dinner the next night.

Hotel food in Mexico City (above and below)

Pulled pork and mole.

Breakfast before departure.