Dgourmac's Blog

Grilled Tuna and Roasted Italian Vegetables

Posted on March 22, 2020 by dgourmac

Tonight was my kind of dinner. Gusty flavors, lots of vegetables, and rich, red wines.

The main event was a lovely steak of sushi-grade tuna, from Idylwilde, our local greengrocer and much more. This was done very simply, sprinkled with olive oil and Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt (thank you, Hank!), and seared in a very hot cast iron skillet.

This was paired with a sautéed/braised artichoke heart, cooked in olive oil, wild Greek thyme, and finished with a little butter (sorry, no photo).

The main accompaniment was a dish of oven-roasted Italian vegetables, compliments of a new (to me) blog, The Mediterranean Dish, and her recipe.

As side dishes just for me (Barbara does not eat peppers), I roasted on the gas grill and peeled one pepper, and I cooked three other colorful bell peppers in a sauté, Puglia-style, with onions, garlic, a little tomato, and chopped parsley. The roasted pepper was topped with Santorini capers and olive oil. Now, I am set with Bruschetta toppings for several days ahead.

Which leaves only the wine to discuss. Last night I had opened a bottle of Aaron’s 2016 Chimera, a blend of 1/3 Mourvedre and 2/3 Syrah from two different AZ vineyards. It was very good last night with the chicken and kugel Barbara made, and the remainder was perfect tonight with the tuna and roasted veggies. For my second glass, I opened a bottle of 2013 Linne Calodo Martyr, a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Tannat, and Cinsault, from Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast region. This was very good, too, but the Chimera was an even better match.

Posted in Food, Wine | Leave a comment

The Joys of Bok Choy

Posted on March 21, 2020 by dgourmac

Barbara got me started on this kick a few weeks ago. She had made a Turmeric-Ginger Dumpling Soup recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine. It featured Bok Choy and is made with frozen vegetable dumplings (ours are from Trader Joe’s). The dish was easy, delicious and quick, and it was just as good or better as leftovers the second day.

A few days later she invented an Asian-style vegetarian dish with some farm-fresh vegetables we had, using a perfectly-poached egg for protein and a sauce made with hoisin, shoyu, ginger, and black vinegar for depth of flavor. It was terrific.

Now that I have more experience cooking bok choy, I was inspired to try some dishes of my own. It also gave me a few opportunities to use a pot I adore — a wok bought in San Francisco’s Chinatown district over 40 years ago. Over the years it has become as nonstick as anything Barbara uses, but it heats VERY quickly and sears better than any coated pan.

On different days I made two variations — each with onions and bok choy, sesame seeds and that Asian sauce combo (above). One time I included sliced mushrooms (Shiitake and Cremini) plus chopped scallions. Both were enjoyable.

Some brief notes on technique:

I like to cut an onion vertically (in 6 or 8 sections, depending on its size) for cooking in a hot wok, especially when making a dish with vertically-oriented bok choy
I also cut the bok choy vertically into 4 pieces (6 when it is larger). Then I cut off the tops and separate them, so they go in last, because they cook quicker than the thicker base and rib parts.
Good safflower or peanut oil is essential; olive oil is also an option. Don’t be skimpy; the oil is critical to caramelization and for even cooking.
If adding mushrooms, slice and cook those first, then remove from wok and add back in later to the whole dish.
Cook in stages. First, the onion segments until browned some, then add the bok choy.
Add sesame seeds and stir-fry a little.
Now add the mushrooms, scallions or other ingredients.
Finally, add the sauce and stir until all is well-coated.
Can be served with or without, rice or noodles, and if noodles, then flour or beans

The sauce is rich in flavor, so I love a good red wine with these dishes. For the version that had the mushrooms, I chose a California wine from Bryan Harrington of Harrington Wines, a 2015 Mourvedre. It was spectacularly good. In fact, so good, I was inspired to call Bryan and thank him. When I looked up the number, I was very sad to learn that they closed up the business late last year. A real loss. Very good wines, made by a thoughtful, creative, and helpful entrepreneur. Good luck with your next ventures, Bryan!

Posted in Almost-Vegan, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wine | 2 Comments

Tuna Conserva

Posted on March 21, 2020 by dgourmac

A few weeks ago I went out for lunch (probably for the last time in several months). Aquitaine Chestnut Hill was conveniently located, and I had not been to a local bistro in some time. I chose a Salade Niçoise, mostly because I was interested in the “Tuna Conserva” mentioned on the menu. It was very good, so when I found a lovely small tuna steak at Legal Sea Foods, near the restaurant that afternoon, I bought the tuna. The next day I started researching “Tuna Conserva” on the internet. I had poached tuna in olive oil before, but what I found was even less complicated and time-consuming:

That night I made it for dinner, along with crispy sautéed fingerling potatoes, spinach with garlic, and sautéed carrots. Delicious, and we had a little left over for lunch the next day.

Realizing that the world might end later this year, I figured it was time to open a 1995 Gevrey-Chambertin from Alain Burguet that had been resting comfortably in my cellar for over 20 years. That was my best decision all week.

Posted in Food, Wine | 4 Comments

More Bruschetta

Posted on March 21, 2020 by dgourmac

My Field Blend #2 bread was so good, I defrosted the second loaf already and used it for all kinds of toast and bruschetta. Here are the two most recent:

Smoked Salmon and White Bean Purée

Grilled whole wheat bread
Cannellini beans, soaked overnight, simmered until tender the next day, sautéed in olive oil with chopped onion and garlic, and then pureéd with a little bean water and olive oil
Smoked Salmon from Whole Foods
small red onion sliced very thinly with a mandoline

Chopped Asparagus and Fresh Tomato with Bean Purée

Same white bean purée
Small asparagus spears, simmered until tender, then chopped finely
Fresh tomato, finely-diced
Chopped shallot
salt and pepper
all atop grilled Field Blend #2 sliced bread

Serve with almost any dry white wine.

Posted in Food, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wine | Leave a comment

Spring Fling

Posted on March 11, 2020 by dgourmac

I love when I have time alone to experiment in the kitchen. Yesterday, I made dinner — Baked Cannelloni with Spinach/Swiss Chard/Almond Milk Ricotta Cheese Filling. With just 190 grams of double-zero flour and two eggs, I was able to have 11 sheets of pasta (each about 4″ x 6″) to turn into Cannelloni (similar to an earlier post). Served with reheated green beans, it was a delicious meal for the two of us.

In addition, the process of cutting the pasta sheets to size left me with some odd-shaped trimmings for later use. Roughly approximating wide noodles, they were a perfect palette for the wild mushrooms I needed to use today — black trumpets and oyster mushrooms.

I did a little research on the Web to brush up on cooking black trumpets. Minimalist and easy is the answer. I started by chopping a small leek and mincing a garlic clove. These were sautéed in 2 Tbs. of sweet butter and 1 Tbs. olive oil, along with a few small fresh sage leaves. After setting a pot full of water to boil for the pasta, I shelled two pods of fresh Fave Beans, dropped them in the hot, salted water for 2 minutes, and peeled them before setting them aside. When the leeks and garlic were almost done, I added a glass of white wine to the pan and boiled it down. Then I added the mushrooms — the black trumpets (fresh) and the thin strips of oyster mushrooms (already cooked earlier in the week). These cooked with moderate heat in less than five minutes.

The final step was adding the Fave Beans, plus the boiled noodles and some of the pasta water, cooking it long enough to finish the noodles and leave a sauce. All served in a pasta bowl and accompanied by grilled Shishito Peppers and a glass of Nerello Mascalese Bianco by Valenti, one of Nick Mucci’s growers in Sicily. Perfetto!

Posted in Almost-Vegan, Food, Vegetarian, Wine | Leave a comment

Asparagus Bread Pudding and Mushroom Bourguignon

Posted on March 9, 2020 by dgourmac

With mushrooms at the markets providing the impetus, I pulled out two old but charming vegetarian recipes from our archives, and we enjoyed them for dinner and subsequent lunches. Originally, I planned to make them the same night and serve one for dinner the next evening. However, they both looked and smelled so good, we had some of each.

Posted in Almost-Vegan, Food, Vegetarian | Leave a comment

Bread, Bruschetta, and Brunello

Posted on March 9, 2020 by dgourmac

Over the past 4-5 months my bread-making efforts were dismal failures. The breads did not rise properly, they came out too flat and dense, and I became discouraged, because I was unable to figure out what was wrong. So I did what any normal person would do: hide. Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided to tackle the topic again. This time, instead of using any of the variations of bread formulations which had worked for me previously, I returned to a standard Ken Forkish recipe, Field Blend #2, page 158 in Flour, Water, Salt, and Yeast. I followed the directions precisely, and — although the timing required was longer — it worked perfectly, and my faith was restored.

Breads proofing in baskets, going in refrigerator overnight:

The next morning I baked the loaves and was happy again.

For the next week or two, we had wonderful Bruschetta on demand (e.g. white bean purée and sautéed beet greens):

Two accompaniments of note:

White Bean Purée from Rancho Gordo’s Marcella cannellini, made with chopped onion and garlic, sautéed, and mixed in food processor with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Charkhali — a Georgian-style Pickled Beets, with cayenne, salt, garlic, chopped cilantro, and red wine vinegar, from Sephardic Cooking by Copeland Marks:

Now a confession about the title of this post: I have only one bottle of Brunello left in the wine cellar and I’m not ready to drink it yet, so while I loved the alliteration in the title, I don’t have the Brunello to show you. However, two out of three ain’t bad, and I can recommend an excellent Rosso Veronese, Le Guaite, which goes very well with these dishes.

While we’re on the subject of this wine, it was a perfect accompaniment two days ago to a cabbage, white bean, and cavolo nero soup that I made from a Marcella Hazan recipe. Here’s what it looked like:

Posted in Food, Vegan, Wine | Leave a comment

Fabulous Frittata

Posted on March 9, 2020 by dgourmac

I don’t usually tout the recipes I create, but this time, I think I will.

Yesterday, our local farmers, Elena and Karl, had a pop-up farmstand where they were selling spinach, Swiss Chard, scallions, and cilantro from their high tunnel growing tent. I really miss good, fresh greens this time of year, so I was at the farmstand 3 minutes before they opened to make my purchases. They were all gorgeous.

After stripping the leaves from the chard plants, the remaining stems looked young, tender and juicy, so I decided to chop them up and save for dinner tonight. I wilted the spinach and chard in the remaining water that adhered to the washed leaves. Then I sautéed some large, thinly-sliced white mushrooms in olive oil. Removing them from the pan, I added one leek sliced crosswise and the chopped chard ribs, cooking them over moderate heat with salt and pepper. Then I chopped up and added a moderate amount (1-1.5 cups?) of both the wilted chard and spinach leaves. I added chopped scallions just at the end.

Now that the vegetables were prepared, I let them rest in a bowl while I shredded the cheeses (Jarlsberg, a Basque Brique de Brebis, and a pecorino) and put them in a bowl to combine later. The last step in prep was to beat 5 eggs with a little salt and pepper. To the eggs, I added all the cooked vegetables plus the cheeses, and let them all absorb the eggs for about 20 minutes.

I took my best heavy steel skillet, heated it on medium flame with 2-3 Tbs. of olive oil, and then poured in the vegetable/cheese/egg mixture. As the filling solidified, but while the eggs in the center and on top were still loose, I placed the skillet in a preheated oven with the broiler on high. That browned the top, melted the cheese perfectly, and finished the frittata to perfection.

In the meantime Barbara made a salad of sliced avocado, fresh orange and blood orange segments, and topped it all off with chopped cilantro. Colors and flavors were exciting, and the 2003 Barbera d’Asti complemented everything nicely.

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, Wine | Leave a comment

Two Simple & Delicious Spanish Dishes

Posted on March 1, 2020 by dgourmac

If you love tapas, as I do, you must have encountered this ubiquitous shrimp and garlic dish at some point. Known usually as Gambas al Ajillo, it is a wonderful first course or accompaniment to almost any meal. Tonight we made a quick journey to Spain for supper, starting with the Gambas, and making the rest of the meal from an outrageously simple vegetable dish of Potatoes and Green Beans Extremadura Style. Here’s how they looked on the plate:

Here are the recipes and associated cookbooks. Intriguingly, both were cooked in clay pots, and I think they are partially-responsible for the pleasing flavors and textures of the resulting dishes.

I already had a white wine open, so I finished it with this supper. It was a Garganega from the Veneto; not a perfect match but certainly acceptable.

Posted in Food, Wine | Leave a comment

Library Cookbook Club, and Experiments at Home

Posted on February 9, 2020 by dgourmac

We are always exploring about cooking and eating. Recently we joined a cookbook club at our town library. Once a month the members look at two chosen cookbooks, select a recipe they want to make, and bring it to a group supper. My wife and I each do a dish for the event. It’s fun, we learn some new recipes, and we get to try different things.

Sometimes, one piece of information leads to another, and we go off in new directions fruitfully. That happened last month after a cookbook club evening. We did some research in our food magazines (e.g. Fine Cooking), and the result was several new dishes in our repertoire. In particular, we liked Seedy Herbed Walnuts and Artichoke Galettes. I used the motivation to experiment with a roasted radicchio dish with sheep milk cheese and oven-roasted potatoes, as well.