THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

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...

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...

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...

So, given that I bought a large amount of scallions and scapes at this last week's Union Square Farmer's Market , I thought it rather serendipitous that this recipe from Elly Says Opa! should pop up in my Google Reader feed today! I had lamb shoulder chops on hand, so I figured, why not? I threw together a quick recipe for the chops that would balance the sour/savory qualities of the "chimichurri." I used about 4 scapes instead of 2, and I had some sort of semi-dried pepper in the fridge, so that got pulverized in the food processor as well. As for the lamb chops (serves 2): 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 high quality lamb chops (mine were from Stillman's Farm) 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sweet paprika 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar rub chops with salt and sweet paprika on both sides heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet/pan over medium heat pan-fry chops until cooked through (about 8 min each side, depending on thickness of chops) just before the lamb is done, pour ...

One might subtitle this post: Or, Why Not to Cook When You Don't Feel Well. It doesn't help that celery, fennel and leeks all begin to look rather alike--especially when cut into matchsticks. But have no fear--this "mistake" actually turned out well in the end...at least for the mussels While on "Spring Break" which I affectionately refer to as "Break from Teaching, but little else," I've been focusing on going trough my fantastic Stir cookbook by Barbara Lynch. After conquering clams the week before, I felt it was time to try mussels, which, frankly, are more of a pain to clean. I wish I had looked at Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris, because I just found a great description of how to clean mussels, but I managed. Mussels have these annoying "beards" that one must remove. I didn't soak the mussels as Garten recommends, and I wonder if this would have made the beard-removal easier. Moreover, half the beard stays IN the musse...

I've been on a seafood kick for the last two weeks, largely due to the fabulous seafood I can buy at the Somerville Winter's Farmers Market. I've never cooked shellfish, and I decided it was time to try. I started with some fresh littleneck clams and used this recipe that I found on Cookthink. I used gluten-free linguine (because I happened to have some), so it made this already healthy recipe even healthier. It was very tasty. I'd probably be more generous with the saffron threads next time (see more about that in my next post ), and if making it for company, I'd serve it with the clam shells (that I took the time to scrub!). It will make a lovely summer dish as well, followed by some kind of lemony dessert.

I will start with a confession. I don't like avocados. Yes, I am from California, and I do NOT like avocados. Ok, mash 'em up with lots of spices, lime juice, etc. and call it guacamole and we are all good. So...why I would make something with avocado for the first time now that it is winter in Massachusetts is beyond me, but this recipe from the March 2011 issue of Real Simple jumped out at me: Pollock with avocado relish and carrot puree (click link for recipe) I used these amazing carrots I bought at the Somerville Winters Farmers Market from Winter Moon Farm for the purée. Something about a mixture of kalamata olives and avocado appealed to me--I can handle avocado when it is in smaller chunks--it is the slices that trouble me. I didn't have pollock, but substituted haddock from Jordan Bros Seafood (also purchased at the Somerville Winters Farmers Market). This recipe was healthy, delicious, and colorful--and would be great for summer. I used the leftover carrot pu...

I have wanted to use a recipe from Barbara Lynch's Stir cookbook, almost as much as I've wanted to go to her restaurant, No. 9 Park . Most of the recipes aren't weeknight-type meals, but this one looked like something I could handle. I bought some great pork chops from Stillman's at the Turkey Farm at the Somerville Winter Farmers Market , along with some apples as well. I'm actually not a big fan of apples with pork chops, usually, but the caramelization did the trick here! Mmm....caramelized apples... Due to copyright, I won't give the amounts, but the ingredients are as follows: Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples, Celery, and Spiced Walnuts grapeseed or canola oil (I used grapeseed) pork chops, about 1 1/2 in thick salt and pepper Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apple (I used the latter) sugar (for caramelizing) unsalted butter (for caramelizing) chopped fresh thyme celery stalks, sliced very thinly on the diagonal whole parsley leaves (1/4 cup...quite a lot--...

I own many cookbooks. I enjoy looking through them and I'm a sucker for good food photography. However, after buying flounder at last week's Somerville Winter Farmer's Market, I discovered that I have a dearth of flounder recipes. It is only since moving to New England that I've been cooking fish regularly, so I'm still sort of shy when it comes to substituting one fish for another in a recipe (ok, except for whitefishes). So, I turned to The Joy of Cooking which remains one of the most inspiring cookbooks of all time and does so without the use of photographs (for me, this is saying a lot). First challenge was that the flounder is to be marinated in tarragon vinegar. No such vinegar was to be found at the store, so, I try to be resourceful: With that out of the way (I let the tarragon sit in white wine vinegar for a couple of hours until the vinegar smelled like tarragon (+ vinegar)), I could get going on the sauce. Ravigote Sauce is an adaptation of Velouté sau...

Potato-Leek Soup (The City Tavern Cookbook) and onion & garlic burrata on sunflower bread I had a lovely morning at the Farmer's Market, enjoying a chance to chat briefly with two fabulous people (hi, Alex and Claire!), and I headed straight for Jordan Bros. Fish upstairs, having enjoyed the scallops I bought last week. This week I bought some flounder (in addition to more scallops), which I will be making tomorrow night. Next to Jordan Bros. were two of my favorite Somerville companies: Taza Chocolate and Fiore di Nonno , so some 80% chocolate and Onion/Garlic burrata jumped into my bag. When I got home I realized I still had potatoes and leeks from last week's market ( Enterprise Farm ) that I never cooked, and the leeks still looked fine, so that was the priority for tonight. I wanted to make what is probably an amazing and fantastic potato leek soup from Barbara Lynch (as found in her book, Stir ), but a recipe calling for four cups of cream isn't really compat...

Somerville, MA is a great city. I love living here, and this year's new Winter Farmer's Market just added to my joy. It runs between now and March, and it has been inspiring to see people trudging out in the cold, ice and snow, to the Armory (yes, the market is inside). This past Saturday, I stocked up on locally grown leeks and potatoes, grabbed some hot Italian sausage from Stillman's , and then ventured upstairs to buy some FRESH FISH from Jordan Brothers Seafood. Yes, that's right: haddock from Gloucester, and scallops from Maine. Not frozen--fresh. When she showed me the scallops I might have cried, just a little. Oh, and I picked up a baguette, brioche, and potato bread. Scallops don't require a lot of fuss, but are easy to overcook. I pulled out my San Juan Classics Cookbook (San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, not Puerto Rico) and went straight to the shellfish section where I found a recipe for "Sautéed Prawns or Scallops" from Thibert...

I wouldn't classify myself as a huge carnivore, but when I do eat meat, I like it to be good quality meat. I buy most of our meat at our local farmer's market which a) keeps us from eating too much meat due to the expense and b) makes me much more conscious of the meat's quality, how I cook it, etc. These pork chops come from Stillman's Farm , and they were, like everything I've ever purchased from Stillman's, absolutely amazing. So, when meat is fresh and of high quality, I tend to go for minimalist recipes that enhance the meat's own flavor (sometimes a challenge with pork). I had some fresh sage that I picked up at the Farmer's Market, and so a little googling brought me to Josh Friedland's wonderful blog, The Food Section . Friedland summarized the recipe for the pork chops from Suzanne Dunaway's Rome at Home . I followed his directions with one tiny addition: white wine in addition to the lemon juice. I did need more liquid after the fi...

In my attempt to use up what I enthusiastically purchase from the Farmers' Market (not always recognizing that I am cooking for two--not a small army), I have started to devise multiple recipes that are "variations on a theme." Here the theme would be scapes and asparagus (asparagi?). For the second week in a row, I've come home with scapes and asparagus. Why? Scapes have a very short season and they are good. It is Spring and I can get local organic asparagus as opposed to asparagus that has been shipped from Peru (FAIL!) scapes and asparagi have similar textures/consistencies so they cook well together So, you may remember the Sautéed Asparagus and Garlic Scapes from my last blog post. This installment of Variations on a Theme brings you: Chilled Asparagus & Scape Salad one bunch fresh asparagus, with stalk ends trimmed 1/8 - 1/4 lbs. garlic scapes, cut into one to two inch pieces 3 tbls. olive oil salt to taste white pepper to taste 1/2 cup white cooking...

One of the great joys of summer here in Somerville is the Farmers' Market in Union Square. Yesterday was the first market of the season and I made sure to get there as early as possible in order to have the best selection and avoid the afternoon rush. I'm a planner, so it is rare that I like to shop without an idea of what I'm cooking, but the Farmers' Market is a great motivator. I just picked up whatever looked good and figured I'd be creative when I got home. Yesterday's purchases included: fresh brioche, strawberries, garlic scapes, asparagus, fresh parsley , kale, and hot Italian lamb sausage from Stillman's Farm . Since the kale will keep for a bit (and I'll probably just make crisps anyway), I prioritized the scapes, asparagus, parsley and sausage. The results are the following three recipes! Enjoy! Linguine with Hot Italian Lamb Sausage & Parsley Serving: 2 generous portions 3-4 links hot italian lamb sausage, sliced 2 tbls. olive oil 3 tb...