THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

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...

This is the last of my Seafood Extravaganza posts (three total). This one is a lot shorter than the last . This recipe is, once again, from Barbara Lynch's Stir cookbook. This is a fantastic recipe (not reproduced verbatim here) and next time I'll be a little more liberal with the red curry paste...it was subtle and wonderful, but I'll be happy for a little more kick) Vinaigrette: chopped shallot , white wine vinegar , Thai red curry paste , grapeseed oil , crème fraîche Shrimp is lightly sauteed in olive oil, haricots verts are blanched, and hazelnuts are toasted in oven and chopped when cool (skins rubbed off with paper towel after toasting---neat trick!). Toss everything together with some sliced radishes and cilantro , and the dressing!

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 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...

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...

Saffron Risotto-stuffed Calamari with Tri-Colored Pepper & Zebra Tomato salad I picked up this little bargain cookbook quite awhile ago, and let me just say now, for the record, I don't know how on earth Amazon sellers would justify asking $57.95, and no...wait for it.. $135.71 for a cheap, paperback 64 page Könemann cookbook. That's disgraceful. I think I paid $4 at most. At any rate, I digress. I've made several recipes from Anne Wilson's Meze: Mediterranean-Style Eating , and while many of the recipes are labor-intensive (and some are missing list ingredients, ahem), most everything I've made has turned out well, including my first try with dolmades. So tonight I decided to try the Saffron Risotto-stuffed Baby Squid, given the presence of calamari in my freezer and my great love for risotto. I left out two of the main ingredients for the risotto (leeks and fennel) and substituted a few other ingredients: Saffron risotto-stuffed calamari (adapted from Ann...

One of my favorite pieces of mail is the monthly arrival of Real Simple magazine, courtesy of a gift subscription from my mother. My absolute favorite part of the magazine is the recipes which do tend to be simple and healthy. I like recipes that I can cook during the week, but are a little more exciting than dumping two cans of beans in a pot with some canned tomatoes and chili mix. In the past week or so, I made the following recipes: Tilapia with Peppers and Olives (Real Simple, October 2009) LESSONS LEARNED: tilapia + green olives + lime = awesome yellow cauliflower IS slightly sweeter than white cauliflower if you cook tilapia too long, it still tastes good, but it falls apart from the filet RATING: A- Seared Lamb Chops with Minted Spaghetti Squash (Real Simple, October 2009) LESSONS LEARNED: I don't like squash, in general. But living in New England in autumn makes one want to like squash. Not only did I like this squash, I'd make it again for a Thanksgiving meal. ...

Thus begins part two of our "It is hotter than Hades" food series. :) Today was so hot and humid I would have gladly spent part of it locked in a freezer. I hate cooking on days like this, but we've gotta eat. Since I also did not feel like getting in the car that has no air conditioning in order to go to the grocery store, I also had to play "let's experiment with weird random stuff in the fridge/freezer." Thus, I give you "Chilled Cajun Cod Nicoise Salad" which bears no real resemblance to Nicoise except for the green beans (which started off purple--see below). INGREDIENTS (serves 2) 2.5. filets cod or other flaky fish (I used frozen cod, but fresh would be better!) 1 Granny Smith apple purple green beans (incidentally, purple beans just turn green when you cook 'em, so don't bother unless you plan on eating them raw) red-leaf lettuce cajun spice (I used Penzey's , but you could also make your own) salt (enough for a rub--1 tsp s...