Adventures with a Large Savoy Cabbage
For our final cooking adventure evening of 2018, Wendy and Rebekah made stuffed cabbage, created from a surprisingly enormous cabbage. A literal head of cabbage, which was bigger than either of our two heads!
We adapted a recipe from the New York Times Cooking (we used pork instead of lamb; the pork was tender and juicy): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013338-lamb-and-rice-stuffed-cabbage-with-tomato-sauce?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1.
Many thanks to the very helpful video about how to roll the stuffed cabbage leaves (hint: make little burritos!).
As you can see from this picture, we were also joined by special guest The Dumpling! Rebekah was totally prepared to drive Wendy to the hospital if she went into labor during the cooking adventure.
Wendy also added some herbs de Provence for flavor, which gave it just the right amount of spice/heat.
As a side, we made mushrooms poached in stout and fresh herbs, also from NYT Cooking (John Willoughby’s recipe): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013214-mushrooms-with-herbs-and-stout?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page®ion=all&rank=1
For dessert, Rebekah forgot all the delicious fresh berries at home in her fridge, so we made fresh slightly whipped cream (feeling lazy, we just shook it in a jar for awhile) over frozen blueberries with mini meringues.
Spoon Lamb
This is a recipe we’ve been wanting to try for awhile; it’s the first appearance of lamb at the cooking club! The recipe came via Rebekah’s friend Gian, and is Julia Moskin’s Spoon Lamb, available here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9184-spoon-lamb?action=click&module=Local%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1.
Rebekah is bigger on the inside, just like the Tardis. Haha.
The sauce was amazing - so rich but not heavy.
We also made “harmony quinoa” with toasted almonds and peas, as recommended by Gian.
Wendy demonstrates that the lamb was so tender that it could in fact be eaten with a spoon.
While it was braising, we snacked on a five-cheese tray (because you can never have too many different kinds of cheese), apple slices, and preserved plums from China.
For dessert, Wendy brought treats from her recent trip to Shanghai: red bean mooncake and sweet rice cake with osmanthus flour.
The To-Do List
Yottam Ottolenghi’s slow-cooked chicken and garlic with bucatini
Field trip to H-Mart and Hunan Taste
Swedish kardemummebullar (cardamom rolls)
Spanish night take 2 (September 12, 2018)
We made paella with chorizo and chicken thighs. We started with a sofrito (once we figured out what a sofrito is), and we used the saffron threads from Melanie’s travels (thanks, Mel!). We even achieved socarrat (the crunchy, not-quite-burned crust on the bottom)! The trick was to leave it alone, resisting the temptation to stir too much, and then turn the heat up for the last few minutes. For veggies, we used the sofrito (onion, tomato, garlic, with a little smoked paprika) plus peas and red bell pepper.
Recipe modified from New York Times Cooking:
For a side, we made roasted carrots with fried sage. It’s amazing what happens to sage when you lightly sauté it in butter and olive oil. It becomes crispy and delicious, like mini sage chips.
From Debbie Koenig at http://debbiekoenig.com/2009/10/30/pan-roasted-carrots-with-crispy-sage/
Pan-Roasted
Carrots with Crispy Sage
Serves 2, but doubles easily
1
tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
10 small or 5 large fresh sage leaves, slivered
4 large or 6 small carrots, cut on the diagonal into ½” slices
salt & pepper
In a large nonstick frying pan, heat oil and butter over a medium-high flame. When foaming subsides, sprinkle in slivered sage leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the color changes—shouldn’t take much more than a minute—then remove and drain on paper towel.
Add carrots to pan and lower heat to medium. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir to coat carrots with the sage-scented fat, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned around the edges. Add fried sage back to the pan, toss, and serve.
Fish tacos and tres leches
We were once again joined by special guest Melanie, which is why we have more pictures than usual - thanks, Mel!
Wendy made a fresh peach salsa.
For the fish tacos, we modified a recipe from NYT Cooking (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014775-family-meal-fish-tacos). We used red cabbage, radishes, and green onions. The chipotle chili adobo sauce was much spicier than we expected! Next time we might just skip the chipotle chilis and use sour cream. The spice rub was plenty of spice.
Enjoying tres leches on Wendy’s rooftop deck while the sun sets.
Panzanella with mozzarella and herbs
Recipe from New York Times Cooking:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017518-panzanella-with-mozzarella-and-herbs
Teriyaki salmon and risotto with peas and mushrooms
Steve Fowl’s teriyaki salmon
Take equal amounts of fresh ginger and garlic and sprinkle with some salt on a cutting board. Using the flat side of a knife, I rub the ginger and garlic into a puree and put that in a small flat container. Then add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey. Usually 2T of soy and sesame and 2t of vinegar and honey. Mix it all together and let the salmon sit it in for an hour.
Oven: 350 degrees (or
325)
Then bake – until fish is at about 130–135 degrees, approx. 15-20 min.
Steve recommends serving with a nice sauvignon blanc.
The anniversary dinner
To celebrate the beginning of the cooking club (which we decided was January 20), we made peppersteak using the recipe from Rebekah’s dad Chuck (thanks, Chuck!).
Chuck’s Recipe for Pepper Steak
Ingredients:
4 filets (3/4” to 1” thick). Use the best filet you can find (center cut prime if you can get it).
1/2 stick of butter
1 bottle Chutney (about 4 oz). I use Major Grey’s Chutney.
Lots of cracked pepper to taste. One-two tablespoons is not too much. I crack it using the flat part of a hammer, layered under wax paper. (Or, use a mortar and pestle.)
Two shots of brandy.
Cooking Instructions:
Melt the butter in a frying pan. Heat until bubbling and sizzling. The butter should not burn or smoke.
Add the filets and sear for about 2 minutes a side. They should be nice and brown. After you turn, sprinkle pepper on the top. Turn again and sprinkle more pepper. Turn heat down and cook on lower heat until done. Best way to determine doneness is to use a meat thermometer. Otherwise, cut into them. You can also tell by feel.
When they are nearly done, spoon chutney on top of filets.
Pour in two shots of heated brandy (heat about 15 seconds in microwave). Flame the mixture.
After flame dies down, remove steaks. Increase the heat and thicken the sauce a little.
Serve filets. Spoon the chutney and juices over the filets.
We cheated and had store-bought dessert.
