Sunday, March 14, 2010

pimento cheese sandwiches and spinach salad with chorizo

This was our pre-work Friday lunch. Alex is still lamenting not making it to South Carolina for dad's birthday, hence the pimento cheese—an ode to the South. For the salad dressing Alex rendered some diced chorizo and used the remaining oil (in combination with some olive oil and mustard and honey) to make a delicious version of Kraft French dressing. We drank some rosé to bolster our spirits before heading to work.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

mussels, japanese sweet potatoes, and mustard greens

Last night we skulked around at New Seasons until we could be helped by the butcher we like. It shouldn't matter, but it does. We bought mussels and Spanish chorizo and apples and instead of creme fraiche we bought cultured sour creme (not the same) and Mama Lil's peppers and all the fixings for pimento cheese, mostly because I need another jar for spices and the pimento jars are the best ($40 a bag, these groceries). Before we left for the store, Alex made the dough for the galette. When we got home he assembled the whole concoction and got it in the oven. I made the fries and cooked the mustard greens and ate cheese and drank dolin blanc with a twist, often forgetting what I was supposed to be washing, cooking, etc. Alex cooked the mussels with chorizo and a mirapoix (only with leeks instead of onions) and some white wine and a secret ingredient he won't let me print here and finished it all with the Mama Lil's. The mustard greens were from crazy hair at the People's market, and they were so good they didn't get much beyond garlic and olive oil. The galette had apples and orange zest and orange juice and armanac soaked currants. The crust was half wheat flour and half white and got an egg yolk wash there at the end. We ate it with some '75 Armagnac and my god it was good.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

egg noodles with meat sauce and collard raab

Alex made boeuf bourguignon on Monday night and in the process realized once and for all that we need an oven thermometer. The next day we set out to Pastaworks to buy one, and instead came home with three bottles of booze and some kitchen utensils. We bought a bottle of Dolin Blanc, a rosé from the Loire, and a bottle of Chiroubles (the same one we had at Navarre last week).  I asked about apricot kernals which I need for amaretti, but they don't sell those either. The luxury foods spending spree continued the next day with Alex in the cheese department of New Seasons, home of 50 dollar per bag  grocery shopping. 

Last night's dinner began with a stinky raw cow's milk cheese from Virginia and Quadrello di Bufala, a soft ripe Italian buffalo cheese, served with Edgar's caramelized onion rye bread and the Dolin Blanc. Good for the cooking morale. For dinner Alex made fresh pasta (1/2 wheat flour, 1/2 white) and for sauce combined the rest of the beef stew with tomato paste and beef stock (tomato paste in a tube is incredibly convenient). The collard raab came from the crazy haired guy at the Wednesday People's farmer's market who thinks he recognizes me, that I am in some rock'n'roll outfit he goes to see. We drank the Gamay with the pasta . . .