THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

Last Sunday's dinner was one of my better successes in creating an entire meal, by myself.  That may seem like a strange thing to say, but what usually ends up happening is that I choose a challenging entrée to which I must devote all my time and attention. When my husband gets home from work, then, the first thing out of my mouth is usually, "Can you make the salad?"  Just what everyone wants to hear when they get home from work, I know. (I'm hoping he remembers that time I did have a martini waiting for him when he walked in the door...that's got to be worth something, right? It happened once.) Now, the Lord of Shallots does not go to work on Sunday, but I really wanted to cook something new, but something easy that would allow me to concentrate on the entire meal. Enter sole.  Sole, like tilapia and other thinner fishes, is a great fish to cook when you don't have a lot of time. I had picked up some grey sole at the Farmers Market, and found this recipe ...

My husband arrived home from work one day with some smoked trout from a generous colleague. I had never cooked with smoked trout, but I figured it was a good bet that it could be used in similar ways to smoked salmon. We had it that night in a salad, and then for the next morning, Rebecca's Smoked Trout Scramble was born...and it was VERY good. Smoked Trout Scramble  Serves 2 INGREDIENTS: 4 eggs1 tablespoon of milk smoked trout (equivalent of 1-2 filets, deboned) fresh dill, chopped (1-2 tablespoons, depending on your taste) 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted), split into 1 tablespoon sections salt* (use sparingly, especially if using salted butter) freshly ground pepper  3 spring leeks, thinly sliced (white/light green parts only) fresh basil, 3-4 leaves thinly sliced into strips DIRECTIONS: In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, trout, dill, and salt & pepper (to taste) Sauté the leeks in 1 tablespoon of the butter until tender, with some of the outer l...

More Quinoa!  This was healthy, easy, and, "a way I actually *like* quinoa" as reported by my husband.  The recipe is here , and I made the following notes: stir the quinoa in the oil and leeks for 2-3 minutes before adding the broth definitely use low-sodium chicken broth---quinoa absorbs salt very well and I found that the regular chicken broth was too salty.  If you are using homemade stock or veggie broth, you are probably fine. I will add the snap peas last next time (with the artichoke hearts). I like my peas to retain their "snap." This is really a terrific meal for summer or to bring to a potluck.

Given how infrequently I bake, I'm always astonished when I try something that involves baking and it comes out perfectly the first time.  I found myself with some leftover buttermilk, and started with a search on AllRecipes.com.  Then I realized I also had fresh strawberries from the Farmers Market and whipping cream. There is absolutely no way I could have passed on the opportunity to make Buttermilk Strawberry Shortcake . I made no adjustments to this recipe , except to add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract in with the buttermilk. I have no complaints---the biscuits were airy, but full of taste and and texture, the strawberries were sweet but not overly sugared, and it really is one of the best strawberry shortcakes I've ever had. Just in case you need more encouragement, here's another angle:

Usually I prefer to consult recipes, then go shopping, then cook...in that order.  There's something about the logic of it all that I find comforting, let's say. This past Saturday, my trip to the Farmers' Market came prior to figuring out what I was going to make for dinner, so at 4:30 or so in the afternoon, I felt the familiar dread creep upon me. I hate cooking when I'm limited to whatever ingredients I have on hand, even when they are freshly purchased scapes, asparagus, snow peas, etc. After a brief perusal of past posts regarding scapes and asparagus, I decided I would roast both, even though I have never roasted scapes. I was also looking for an excuse to use some wonderful linguine al nero di seppia that a friend brought back from Venice, so the scallops seemed a no-brainer after that. Roasted Scapes and Asparagus 1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces (I used the tips only) 4-5 scapes, cut into 2 inch pieces (leave off the thinnest part of the...

Once again, I am indebted to the Food, Wine & Song Facebook page for motivation.  I was looking for something healthy and interesting, when this recipe from the NY Times caught my eye via Food, Wine & Song. I made no adjustments to the recipe, except that I skipped the goat cheese and I used sprouted quinoa. Sprouted quinoa, according to the box, can be eaten raw (simply rehydrated). I prefer cooked quinoa, so this was not an issue, but it did give me some flexibility with the cooking time as not all of the grains were evenly cooked.  This was fine. It has been awhile since I've made quinoa, and I forgot that it absorbs salt rather well. I went a bit overboard with the salt in the water, and was slightly worried (this is also why I left the goat cheese out).  Luckily, I let the salad sit for several hours and the radishes and asparagus took some of the salt. AND the dressing was a total lifesaver--the lemon buttermilk dressing hid the saltiness of the qui...

What is that?? That, my friends, is an omelet/omelette .  My FIRST omelette.  Now those of you who think I am some sort of gourmet cook will know the truth.  I have never made an omelette. We will address the fact that it looks like a burnt sock in the prose below. The Lord of Shallots is out-of-town and I haven't really touched the stove. I say that it is "cooking for one" that I find difficult, but the truth may be that I don't enjoy cooking nearly as much when the person who does the dishes has left the building. That said, while I've had many lovely dining experiences in the past week, including trying the brand new West Bridge with my friend The Hungry Musicologist ,  economics and the size of my waistline have motivated me to get back into the kitchen. I have long felt some fairly intense shame in not making omelettes.  My father, who in addition to being a brilliant biologist, is an astoundingly good maker of omelettes and he set the bar high. In...

I have been cooking. Promise. But finding time for cooking is not the same thing as finding time for blogging, unfortunately. For Christmas Eve dinner I adapted a recipe for pheasant with wild-rice stuffing from the City Tavern Cookbook and applied to it to three Cornish hens. I think it was ok, but the burgundy marinade was probably a bit overpowering for the hens. Here they are ready to be roasted: Finished product: The most ambitious part of that endeavor was my first try at homemade demi-glace. I'm not a patient person, and demi-glace requires patience. Let's just say that. I think mine was too watery, but it did taste good. What I'm really excited about, however, is the iPad I received for my birthday. I've used it several times already, along with the AllRecipes.com iPad application , which I really enjoy. Of course any user-upload site for recipes can be hit or miss, but I do find that the reviews on AllRecipes usually tell the tale pretty well. (Sidenote: If y...