Did he enjoy them?
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Sole Meuniere last night, very classic. Our fish guy had beautiful little Dover Sole (Jonathan complained they were too small), which we prepped from scratch and served with potatoes and spinach, both from Green Meadow Farms. A 2007 Dauvissat La Foret was premoxed, sadly, but this modest Montagny from PYCM was quite nice after a bit of air, if a little one note. If you like that note, who cares? 
The sole was perfectly cooked and very satisfying.
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He couldn’t stay for dinner. He had to head off.
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Made a almond/cherry tart with rye puff pastry. Used luxardo cherries and rehydrated some dried cherries in a hibiscus simple syrup.
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After a week on the road, followed by a superlative Spanish Sunday and its leftovers, then a dover sole interlude, we were happy to return to normal kitchen activities: roast chicken, salad, baby carrots cooked sous vide and then browned with butter and a pinch of sugar. Arugula and carrots courtesy of Green Meadown.
For wine, we chose to pull a couple of Bachelet wines from the “obviously awful” 2006 vintage to see how they are coming along. Both were, for us, very nice roast chicken wines, quite classic and representative of Bachelet’s style. While not dense or rich, they were balanced, open, and easy to enjoy, not thin or watery or underripe in any way. I did not find myself drinking them and thinking “these are good, but I really wish they were 2008s.”
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fabulous Albarino and Sherry right there! Meal sounds and looks delicious!
We had extra pork belly from the other day, so we rubbed it with our usual pork roast treatment of fennel fronds/pollen/seed, salt and pepper, and let it sit a few days, then oven roasted until crispy on top. We had pork stock on hand, so we sauteed aromatic, then simmered in the stock, then strained and reduced, finally goosed with a bit of pastis. Served with Kalibos Cabbage sauteed in bacon fat and manzanilla, and a compote of apple/fennel/golden raisins. I have to say, it was pretty amazing! The AJ Adam Riesling was a little simple, not as good as previous bottles, but still a decent match.
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Reverse sear on a strip loin roast.
250F until 115F
Let rest for 30 minutes
Broil at 500F for 2 minutes to crust the top
2020 Lewelling Wight Vineyard is absolutely perfect right now. Lucky to get this in the tank before the fires, what a great expression of the Valley floor.
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Breaded Cod Cheeks, Crispy Potatoes, Gai Lan, Garlic Harb Aioli
Upthread I talked about how much I love fried fish cheeks, and that opinion has remained steadfast, strengthened even. Typical 3 stage breading process with some extra goodies thrown in (homemade burnt allium ash in the four, lots of smoked paprika and Aleppo pepper in the breadcrumbs), potatoes roasted in black garlic butter, sautéed Gai Lan and an herb aioli that included parsley, cilantro, celery leaf, celery leaf oil. fermented green garlic and confit garlic.
This was my fishstick dreams come true!
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What’s the trick to the spectacular color on the sole if I may ask?
Those are some big cod cheeks!
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Practice.
I say this not to be flip, but because we had two pieces of sole, prepared in exactly the same way - same dusting, same fat, same pan (lazy non-stick), same temp - and we each cooked one. Jonathan’s came out better than mine. Mine was good, just a little less even and slightly darker. I always take a picture of the prettiest plate.
We do both like to use the finishing technique where you tip the pan and spoon the liquid fat over the top of the fish. It gives you good control of final color.
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These were from Atlantic Cod, which I believe is a bigger fish in general. Not the absolute monsters I get when my supplier has Atlantic halibut cheeks, but these were nice and meaty and very sweet.
There we are. That’s it. Thank you!
It’s just a little boost, it won’t save a poorly cooked piece of fish…
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Looks and sounds wonderful, and who could resist a vegetable course with chorizo?
Surely you want a little pork…
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It’s not a meal at Chez Kirschbaum/Read without at least a little pork
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