Category: Cook

Ham shank, cushioned by kale, awaiting inbound turnip and apple. Dinner tonight.

This summer’s go-to dessert is semifreddo. It’s easy to make, but it does use a lot of bowls. But then, it’s all the more bowls to scrape and taste with the spatula. I sterilized egg whites and yolks, mixed with sugar, continuously beaten, in bowls over boiling water.

Tonight for dessert: salty caramel/Oreo Semifreddo. Heavy cream, crème fraîche, dulce de leche, salt, thin Oreos. The texture was quite decent without the egg custard and whipped egg whites I incorporated in last week’s Semifreddo. It’s dangerously too easy to make.

Deconstructed eggplant Parmesan while retaining most of the ingredients. I enjoy this dish, but would prefer the breading not to be soggy. Breading: Mixture of panko and grated Parmesan Reggiano. Red sauce addition: Crumbles of Montamore Cheddar from Wisconsin, providing more of a taste punch than mozzarella. At the table, knives and forks assembled eggplant… Continue reading Deconstructed, Reconstructed Eggplant Parmesan

Sometimes I feel we live in an alternate reality where “plate” is a culinary verb. Yesterday I made peanut-butter-flavored semifreddo. Tonight it was time to remove it from the freezer, plate it, then let it warm up a bit in the fridge. I had fun with The Smear, one method for plating a sauce. The… Continue reading The Smear

At the end of our walk, stopped in to Trader’s for enough fresh food to get us through the day. After 3 weeks of too much eating out, we’re craving veg-forward meals. Tonight: stir-fried veggies over brown rice.

I’m anticipating some meals with interesting ingredient combinations: we’re running the freezer down before a trip next week. Cue the song, “Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.”

Used up some items in the fridge and freezer, cooked up multiple meals: Braised radish and turnip greens with baby turnips, apple, …and ham shank; Kidney beans, mirepoix, …and ham shank, with (to-be-revived) polenta. There’s still more ham shank in the freezer.

Thanked a cutting board for its long service then tossed it. I should’ve done this a long time ago when the cracks appeared, but we have a history together going back 50+ years. Two replacement boards, one plastic, one teak, maintained a respectful distance.