hmmmmm … beans with black rice — that sounds interesting. I’m a fan of black rice (and wild rice, too!) — I actually think black rice is often a decent substitute for wild rice.
No photos, but it was finally chilly enough to have a tomato soup and grilled cheese extravaganza with some friends.
Grilled cheeses consumed were:
- American cheese, straight up as God intended
- White cheddar and pesto
- White cheddar, pickled apples, and arugula
- Ham, Swiss, and apricot preserves
- Havarti and blackberry jam
This is an easy meal to prep with a group while you’re all gabbing in the kitchen.
Served with 2016 Ladd Chardonnay and 2015 Ladd Zinfandel.
Mostly I put a lighter colored bean like cannellini with the black rice. Cook the beans up with something like sage and maybe a little garlic. I’ve also put black beans together with it to good effect but I don’t like the visual with it as much. Something brown like a pinto might work but the combo doesn’t sound good to me.
Speaking of black rice, I like to work it into desserts sometimes. Here with some strawberries and a very mild yogurt that’s almost like a thick cream. Can’t remember but I probably worked a little honey into it too.
Hmmmmm … an interesting play on rice pudding, kinda. I like it! (and while we’re on visuals — cool visual with the black rice in there, too!)
Zahav-ish lamb shoulder with chickpeas. 48 hour brine. 5 hours at 325, crank it to 500 uncovered for last 30mins. Should have got more of the stock on the plate for the pic.
36 hour sous vide porchetta that was deep fried to crisp the skin.
Made chicken and saag with collard greens instead of spinach. Simmered for about 1.5 hours to get it to the consistency I’m used to and like. Could have toned down on the chilis and spiciness but I love a really spicy saag. Next time I’ll take a stab at homemade paneer to go with it.
I did this once a couple years ago and it’s sublime. Also a little goes a verrrrrrrryyyyyy long way.
Yours looks great, Leslie!
Thanks! It was so good, but soooooo rich…
I remember when oxtail used to be cheap. Now I’m gasping every time I see at grocery store…
It’s putting a real damper on my Jamaican Oxtail stew predilection.
Roast chicken never gets old. Rubbed under the skin with mustard/thyme/lemon/salt&pepper and dried 3 days. Served last night with roasted romanesco and a salad of local young peppery arugula with some radicchio and endive. Simple jus of reduced juices.
Really it seems true for all of the off cuts / butcher’s cuts. Hanger, flat iron, bavette, etc. I don’t begrudge the independent butchers as it’s not like they’re driving Bentleys.
Got a nice size (5lb) whole rock sole, cleaned and filleted it, so it was 4 nights of fish since Saturday.
Sauteed with king trumpet mushrooms that were sliced and scored like scallops, piopinno mushroms, finished with a white wine tarragon sauce.
Donabe with farmers market veg. They had baby corn in the husk and used that with kombu broth. The corn silk strands were so sweet added a nice flavor. Really hope they have those next weekend.
Last 2 fillets, melted some homemade butter and slathered them with it, added capers and lemon juice and broiled.
Love what you did with those King Trumpets, Alex.
I can eat my own chana masala every other day without getting bored. I wish more of the household enjoyed them as much; their tolerance is maybe once a week tops.
That looks great. Don’t feel guilty about NOT overcomplicating preparation…the vast majority of the Indian diaspora are using off the shelf vac pac’d paneer when making this. If you are using fresh spices (ginger, garlic, cumin, etc.) all toasted/ground/bloomed you will pick up the bulk of flavor interest and complexity, versus spending time on the dairy component.