Sugar Snap Pea Salad

I'm back in the swing of things with this season's CSA. I received such a great selection of items the other day, I got bummed that I'll be leaving it for 6 weeks!

I received:
a half dozen farm fresh eggs, some of which I'll soft-boil for breakfast tomorrow.
a bunch of radishes, which I'll probably add to my breakfast with salted, buttered toast
a head of bibb lettuce
a head of red leaf lettuce
a bunch of kale
a bunch of rainbow chard
a bunch of cucumbers
a few zucchini
a bunch of parsley
a pint of sugar snap peas
four pints of cherries
and a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers and snap dragons



My boss will be out of town this week and I get to pick up her CSA as well! Eager to see what I'll get!

I made the most delicious salad tonight using some of my sugar snap peas. I actually lifted the recipe from an unforgettable dish I had at Roberta's recently. It's incredibly simple: cooked sugar snap peas with picked onions, topped with mascarpone. I used a lovely, oil-marinated feta that I had at home instead and it worked just as well. I also used this picked onions recipe from David Lebowitz, which was simpler than imagined and left me with a jar of picked onions I'm eager to devour. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo, just scarfed it down. It's really easy to try, though, so just take my word for it.

Recent Cooking

1. Mussels for One by Jennifer of last night's dinner. This was my first time making mussels and they were sumptuous. So much so that I made them twice in one weekend.


2. Spaghetti with Ramp Pesto, Asparagus, and Peas based on the Amateur Gourmet's recipe. Very simple, easy to make, and tasty. The sweetness of the peas is an amazing complement to the garlicky ramp pesto, which may otherwise be overwhelming. I love ramps! Unfortunately, this recipe is strictly seasonal.


3. Grilled Skirt Steak with Artichoke-Potato Hash & Black Olive Aioli from my favorite cookbook of all-time (thus far), Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. I've been wanting to make this for nearly a year now. It was incredible and well-worth it.


4. Moroccan Chicken with Carrot-Puree by none other than Suzanne Goin. I found this recipe in Saveur and decided to whip it up for myself one night, so I skipped the carrot puree for the sake of effort. This is one of my favorite new dishes to make. It is incredibly flavorful and complex for how easy it is to prepare. Now that I have a jar of harissa in my fridge, I plan to make it regularly.

Green Dinners

Last night, after a very fruitful and green grocery shopping trip, I successfully steamed an artichoke, drizzled it with lemon juice, and ate it with my first go at Alice Waters' lemon aioli.

Good thing I practiced! Tonight, to precede LOST, I'm finally trying Suzanne Goin's Skirt Steak with Artichoke-Potato Hash, served with a Black Olive Aioli.

Wish me luck!

Cooking show

So, this is my main source of inspiration for my forthcoming cooking show...

A Breakfast Feat

Citrus Salad with Ginger Yogurt

Breakfast Pizza

Meyer Lemon and Blueberry Scones

Plus rosemary and mustard breakfast sausages, then peach bellinis!

February is Ending

Tuesday night: Happened to have all of the ingredients to whip up this unexpected dinner. Thyme-roasted scallops over with sweet corn risotto topped with a bit of truffle oil. Adapted from this. And then I watched Lost!

Wednesday: My dear friend Maggie works at SoHo's premiere chocolate shop, Vosges and she was hosting a chocolate tasting party there for their new coquette collection of chocolates. H'or doeurves were served and truffles were paired with rose champagne, mezcal, sake, and rum. One of the truffles had oyster in it! I was very adventurous and I tried it--turned out I liked it... I had two or three. Although not my favorite of the truffles, I adored the presentation of the absinthe truffe paired with a fennel-mint-grapefruit "salad". Beautiful.



Weds continued: Jessica and I, decided to continue on to dinner despite having had our dessert first and being massively full. We went Sel de Mer in Williamsburg for some well-priced lobster, mussels, fries, and white wine. We cleared our plates!

Thursday: My evening class was cancelled because of the weather! Snuck home before the worsening of the winter storm. Made my favorite Sedona White Corn Tortilla soup, which I grew up on at CPK and then they took it off the menu! Adapted from here. Served with Monterey Jack cheese, homemade tortilla chips, and chives. Watched McCabe and Mrs. Miller--loved it!


Friday: Snow day. Watched Paper Heart. Meh. Recorded ADR at a fancy Manhattan studio for a project I was in. Went to a book release party at the beloved Gowanus Studio Space for How to Doodle, a book about doodling.


Saturday: Utilizing my new French Press this morning. Yearning for my NY Times. It never comes on time. Working at the restaurant later.

Our Sunday Supper

This weekend, I tried my hand at Suzanne Goin's actually famous braised beef short ribs recipe from my favorite cookbook, Sunday Suppers at Lucques. As expected, the ribs turned out splendidly, and the rest of the meal was a success as well. I was having my boyfriend's family over for dinner at my apartment for the first time, including his parents, his sister, and her fiance. I was prepping for the occasion all week, pouring over cookbooks, scribbling menus and grocery lists, and rotating between the kitchen for work and the couch for napping. I was very excited about my menu and thrilled to be cooking from Goin's book again, which I had previously taken out from the library and had a tough time returning it, even three months late. Anyway, I am still reeling off my exhaustion and am not keen on typing out the recipes here. However, I will gladly give them to anyone by request and can suggest you look at the re-typed recipes I found via google, although be warned that they are mainly adapted versions of the original.

The menu:

Wild Mushroom, Young Onion, Gruyere, and Applewood Smoked Bacon Tart (adapted from Goin's tart)
Mozzarella topped with Olive Oil and Sea Salt, served with warm, crusty bread (This was intended to be burrata, but it turned out that the cheese I had purchased was already spoiled! Boo!)
----
Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage-Hazelnut Butter
----
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Swiss Chard
Served with Root Vegetable Mash & Horseradish Cream
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Billy's mom brought an amazing Coconut Cake with Chocolate Chunks

Quick roasting cippolini onions with salt and thyme.

Seasoning the thyme-marinated short ribs with salt and pepper.

Browning the meat.

Caramelizing the mirepoix -- the base of the braising liquid.

Adding balsamic vinegar, red wine, and port to reduce, then adding beef stock.

Covering the meat in the braising liquids. Now it goes in the oven for 3 hours!

Wilting swiss chard with the cippolini onions.

Mashing the orange zest-flavored root vegetables.

The Italian diligently making pasta sheets after a failed attempt the day prior.

Breaking out the ravioli attachment for the first time! Pumpkin, parmesan, ricotta, and nutmeg filling.

Success!

The most delectable and surprising tart. Puff pastry topped with a ricotta-creme fraiche base, topped with sliced gruyere, then sauteed wild mushrooms, green onions, and thick-cut bacon.

Pumpkin ravioli topped with browned butter, crispy sage, hazelnuts, and parmesan.

Platter of ribs, sitting atop the chard and topped with the braising liquid.

Dinner!

The End.

Valentine's Day

This Valentine's day:

+I received the most beautiful flowers to this date in my life next to an old-fashioned looking love letter.

+Ate a crowded brunch at Diner.
+Played with puppies. Lots of expensive puppies.






+Strolled through a wintry Central Park and drank hot chocolate.


+Braved ice skates under the city lights.




+Ate the most marvelous dinner at Roberta's in Bushwick, aided by our waitress and dearest friend, Meryl. Spicy mixed olives, Italian meat plate, Pork Chop with guanciale and farro with winter greens, pizza with guanciale again and cheese and egg, and apple cobbler.

Boeuf Bourguignon

As promised, I finally made a version of Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon last night. In truth, I was afraid that I would not like it, having been averse to stews as a child and only recently coming to accept the texture of braised meats. This fear was particular striking since I was looking forward to this meal since seeing the film nearly five months ago. Plus, I had to set aside an entire evening to look after it. Fortunately, it was absolutely delicious and the most perfect, hearty blizzard meal a girl could think of. The best part about it? I decided to double the recipe to ensure left-overs!

The recipe I followed appeared in the NY Times Sunday Magazine a few months ago. It is from Judith Jones, who was Child's publisher. What follows is a pictoral retelling:

Cooking up the bacon.

Cutting up the boneless chuck pieces and rubbing with salt & pepper.

Browning the meat. (Made sure the oil was hot and the meat had been patted dry to get a good sear!)

Sauteing the onions and carrots until golden brown.

Making the herb packet. (My favorite part so triple pictures!)

A bay leaf, dried thyme, a few peppercorns, some fresh sprigs of parsley and thyme.

It looked so rugged and rustic!

Adding 2 cups of veal & beef stock (I used a glace de viande gold for this) and 2 cups of red wine. I chose a $14 red Burgundy from UVA to complement the dish made from pinot noir grapes, which are my favorite variety. The wine was called Mommessin, Bourgogne "Le Cle Saint-Pierre" 2006. We drank the rest of the bottle with out meal and it was lovely. You can't see it in the photo, but at the point I've also tucked the herb packet in.

Chopped up some fingerling potatoes, leeks, and whole baby carrots. I set these aside while the stew cooked.

And added them in after 2 hours.

And there you have it. Classic boeuf bourguignon, served with crusty French bread to mop up the sauce. Bon appetit!

P.S. My boyfriend was the sous chef. He did a good job.