The Food Thread

Tonight: turkey burgers with balsamic bacon shallot jam and curry aioli; sauteed green beans

Tomorrow: fried buttermilk chicken sandwiches with Napa and carrot slaw; corn and poblano salad with smoked paprika

Thursday: I'll probably just tap back in to the bacon and do breakfast for dinner; it's D&D night so gotta move fast

Friday: I've got some rice noodles and Chinese sausage on hand, plus I'll have the Napa cabbage and some chicken, so probably an Asian noodle dish; just gotta figure out the sauce and other mixers between now and then

I actually noticed in talking food with coworkers that I'm almost always super impressed and excited about stuff that other people make, but can never summon that same passion for what I make. What I mean is, although I love my food, I never think of it as being anything special. It just is. Cooking the food that I cook has become a natural extension of who I am.

Of course this gently annoys my coworkers when I talk about what I'm making and treat it like it ain't no thing when to them I'm the fancy pants foodie guy.

Same here. (Or talking about it on offshoot boards, I guess). See, to me though, I made all that stuff over the weekend, when I had time to do it. But during the week, I'm eating all those leftovers. I'm more impressed with what you're doing because you're cooking something different every night of the week during the week no less! And it's more varied than that wall of Italian I'm making.

I agree; you need something vinegary/spicy/crunchy to cut through that luscious fatty goodness.

Giardinera would be a good compromise, though I struggle to call any sandwich without the olive salad a muffuletta. To me, that is the sandwich.

One thing I love about the muffuletta is that it is an inherently ridiculous sandwich for one person to order. For some reason it was agreed upon that the muffuletta by design would be too big, forcing single patrons to order half or even quarter sandwiches. There's a place near my work that serves a quarter muffuletta sandwich the size of my head, plus fries, for like 6 bucks. It's good, too.

Big Easy, at Park and Chisolm, right near 75.

Saw this in the latest Cook's Illustrated email newsletter, think I might try it the next time I get a potato craving (which probably won't happen until the fall, but whatever):

BRAISED RED POTATOES WITH LEMON AND CHIVES

For a simple, one-pot potato side dish that featured the benefits of both boiling and roasting, we had to get creative. We combined halved small red potatoes, butter, and salted water in a 12-inch skillet and simmered this mixture until the potatoes turned creamy and the water fully evaporated. In the then-dry skillet, the potatoes and butter were left alone to fry and develop great flavor and color. Subtle aromatics like thyme and garlic balance well with last-minute additions like lemon juice.

SERVES 4 TO 6

Use small red potatoes measuring about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved
2 cups water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1. Arrange potatoes in single layer, cut side down, in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add water, butter, garlic, thyme, and salt and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Remove lid and use slotted spoon to transfer garlic to cutting board; discard thyme. Increase heat to medium-high and vigorously simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until water evaporates and butter starts to sizzle, 15 to 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, mince garlic to paste. Transfer paste to bowl and stir in lemon juice and pepper.

3. Continue to cook potatoes, swirling pan frequently, until butter browns and cut sides of potatoes turn spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Off heat, add garlic mixture and chives and toss to thoroughly coat. Serve immediately.

Well?! what is it?

According to my cocktail app, there isn't one with just those two ingredients. There's other drinks with those plus champagne, or vodka, or rum, but not just those and soda. So name away.

One of our electric burners spit fire at me the other night. Surprisingly, this does not move us ahead on the replacement stove schedule.

Yikes.

This range is a complete piece of shit. "Magic Chef," my ass. The burners get way too hot, if they go on at all. The oven leaks heat like crazy; I finally bought a microwave in part because it won't bake the entire apartment when I warm up leftovers.

Wait... maybe the fire was just the magic bursting forth.

Some food photography I did.  phoodtphy









I have no idea what I'm doing.

I get so sad when there are no new posts on the Food Board.

So... um. Oh, I know. I'm making dinner tonight with stuff we have on hand, and I'm gonna use polenta and zucchini. Any favorite recipes? I'll look some up, of course, but I like all y'all's input.