What did you cook tonight?

Don’t know if y’all know this but the great thing about bone-in ham is that there’s a bone in it. Thank you! I’m here all week.

Lentils with ham bone.

Considering we’ve got about 6 pounds of ham left, I’ll throw some chopped ham in there at the end. Right now, this is simmering in veal stock with a little bit of mirepoix, garlic, bay leaf and pepper. Once it’s done simmering, I might throw a little dijon mustard in there along with the chopped ham but I’m still unsure.

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A quick lunch. I often like to do things one isn’t really encouraged to do so here we have pork shoulder done in a pan instead of roasting and then cooking everything in the same pan to arrest and preserve all of that tasty fat as well as minimize the clean-up. Nothing was planned. Just opened the fridge and made use of what needed to be used.
Seared all sides of the shoulder at medium+ heat then lowered to about medium with a slight cover. Added cauliflower later then a few minutes later mixed in some leeks. A few minutes after that the beans.
Pic of the pork in the pan is a little deceptive as it is standing precariously vertical at that point.
Happy with all of it. Pork very juicy and tender. Served with just a little mustard on the pork. The cauliflower kicks ass.



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Speaking of things made unconventionally and making pasta: Not sure if everyone here is familiar with gnocchi alla romana. I wasn’t until I lived in Buenos Aires where it is spelled ñoquis alla romana. Easy to make from scratch. Traditionally they are baked in the oven. As you can see here, I like to cook them in a pan. Ideally you want them tender and fluffy on the inside and a little crunch on the outside. I screwed up a little here and didn’t put enough butter down so they kind of slid apart. Easy to find recipes online. Made with semolina and I find it digests slower than semola so there isn’t as much of a sugar/carb crash.


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Really good with a braised meat sauce, oxtail or beef neck work great.

Looks amazingly tasty! Nice work with the Estratto. Brings such a nice depth to pasta sauces!

I love that stuff!

Don’t eat much filet but made au poivre and mixed it with sauteed miatake mushrooms, steamed rapini. I think I got a weird cut based on that cross section but it was tasty… Opened a 2014 Jonata Fenix (50%+ merlot, ~20 cab & cab franc, pv) which is in a great spot now, much better than I remembered about 5-6 years ago.

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Back to the diet after a few treats in San Francisco: Middle Eastern Spiced Lamb Patties with yogurt/lemon/dill/garlic sauce. Nicely rare in the center, the way I like it. Roast broccoli and salad on the side.

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Reset 2025 - Day 35: Dinner - pressure cooker curried lambshanks over cauliflower rice, using the tail end of our homemade curry paste, some fermented salted red jalapeño paste, coconut milk/cream, lemongrass and a few other odds and ends. The pressure cooker is an amazing tool for cuts like this.

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Made two of the dishes for last night’s dinner for a couple of family friends visiting from London.


Roasted Dutch veal marrow bones. Excellent simply atop Melba toast, and sprinkled with sea salt.


Roasted herb-crusted racks of lamb.


Cheers!

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Such an easy, delicious and satisfying dish. Even, when braising beef shanks, I have to buy extra bones so my boys and I get our marrow fix!

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We have marrow bones most often in a local (Tagalog) dish called “bulalo” which is a rich beef broth with marrow bones, beef cuts (I personally use flank; but others use other cuts), cabbage, carrots, potatoes, bit of onion, etc. Similar to the French pot au feu; but served all in one pot. In the province of Cebu, they add corn on the cob. Another province, Iloilo (wherefrom my late mother’s family hails), they add certain fruits to lend the broth a mild sour note.

Though I like all the local versions in varying degrees, bone marrow simply roasted, put on a baguette or Melba toast, sprinkled with sea salt is, indeed, one of my most favoured simple pleasures.

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Leftover Smoking Goose ham steak al pastor with sautéed peppers and onions. The peppers and onions were only seasoned with black pepper, as the steak marinade was so flavorful I didn’t want to hide it.

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Chill evening with my wonderful wife and kids. Everybody clamored for apéro. I obliged:

Common cockles. Easy-peazy. I served them with water crackers and butter. A little cracker, a little butter, a couple of cockles, joy.

Following this, we did a Mont d’Or fondue (i.e. baked in the oven with white wine). I’m keeping on keeping on posting ugly pictures hoping to win some kind of anti-award.

I forgot to snap the Mont d’Or so here’s the aftermath:

Well done Phil, well done.

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I HEART Vacherin Mont d’Or.

Funny story - after gorging on it for two years while we were in France, I had a work trip to Munich and found some at an outdoor market. It was 30 degrees outside and I grabbed some Mont d’Or, and loaf of bread and a beer…, and ate the whole thing, seated at an outdoor table :slight_smile:

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I received a message from my loyal fish pusher yesterday morning, he found me a 3kg monkfish.

Sice i love monkfish, i couldn’t say no.

Prepared it very simply. Gently stewed, with evo, a quarter of small chili pepper from Calabria, garlic, taggiasca olives, and a splash of organic tomato passata.

Wonderful recipe and very easy to make.
I paired the dish with the declassed domaine Aligoté from Tino Kuban. Still young, but already a great wine.

Cheers :clinking_glasses:



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A long time ago I worked on a commercial fishing boat and we brought in quite a few monkfish. I do not have a love for monkfish but I would dig into that dish, looks fantastic!

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Never fished it, but it’s as ugly as it is good!!!
Very lean meat, juicy and tender.

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I want the ankimo!!!

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One of the best sushi dish you can have in Japan …

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