Back in the Kitchen: What We Had for Dinner

Now that renovations are done, it means we have the kitchen back!  I've been cooking quite a bit -- I was a little bit worried at first that I'd be really rusty and cut my finger off or start a fire or something, but luckily there haven't been any disasters yet.  So here is the beginning of the "What We Had for Dinner" series. 

First Night back in Action

Melissa Clark's Pork Chops with Kimchi with spicy cabbage slaw and big ole pieces of buttered baguette.

The pork chop recipe is very easy and comes together quickly.  I realized almost too late that my chops were way thicker than the 1" babies the recipe calls for, so I had to throw them back in the pan to finish cooking through.  I'd have liked a little more of the kimchi sauce, but there's a good chance I didn't make enough to begin with.  The best part is snacking on bits of kimchi while prepping.  And I was thrilled at the lovely sear the new range gave:

The cabbage salad is also very easy:

1 small head cabbage, quartered, cored and sliced thin
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
a handful baby carrots (or 2 medium carrots), cut into matchsticks
8 small scallions, thinly sliced
a handful cilantro, chopped
1/4 to 1/3 cup cider vinegar
up to 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt

Place cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt and let it rest for about 10 minutes.  This will help it release some liquid and reduce in size -- if necessary, do this in 2 batches.

Add jalapenos, carrots, scallions, and most of the cilantro and toss to combine.

Drizzle with vinegar, toss, and taste for desired puckeriness -- the measurements here are very imprecise.  Add until you like how it tastes.  Drizzle with EVOO and toss.  Season to taste if necessary.

Baguette: toast, slather with butter, devour.

Second Night: Cooking for Mommeekins

My mom braved the humidity and thunderstorms to come over two weeks ago for dinner -- thanks, Mommee! I love cooking for people but always get a little nervous, and this is especially true with respect to my mom, who is a really amazing cook and from whom I pretty much learned everything I know, kitchen-wise.  The good thing is that just like with crappy school art projects (I LOVE MOM spelled in elbow macaroni, anyone?) and the like, your mom will love everything you make because you're her kid (and who cares if you're almost 30, right?).

The menu: Rachael Ray's Sea Bass Puttanesca.  Again, super easy and comes together fast -- you can do all the prep work and pack it up in its foil pouch, and when you're ready to cook it just stick it in the oven.  I used cod, which I didn't think had quite the right flavor for the dish; I also used whole chopped tomatoes, which made the sauce really nice and juicy.

Also, another Melissa Clark: White Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip to serve with cocktails (T improvised a very refreshing Pimm's Cup).  Another easy yummy recipe that whips up in seconds.

I used the rest of the garlic scapes (which I overheard a woman at the Greenmarket call "garlic scraps" - so cute!) for a green bean, potato, and garlic scapes salad. 

10 or so garlic scapes, cut into appx. 2-inch pieces
1/2 pound green beans
1/2 pound baby red potatoes
dressing: finely chopped shallot, lemon juice, dijon mustard, EVOO, salt + pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil; salt well.  Blanch beans and scapes for several minutes until crisp-tender; fish out and blanch immediately in ice cold water.  Boil potatoes in same water until tender.  Let cool, add to drained beans and scapes, dress, eat.

Finally

I also made orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, one of my all-time favorite meals.

Boil water and salt well.  Add one pound orecchiette and cook according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat a good few glugs of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Saute 5 cloves sliced garlic with a healthy sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  Add 1 pound sweet italian sausage, squeezed out of its skin (this is fun in a gross kind of way) and separated a bit.  Brown sausage, breaking up into smaller chunks.  Add 1 bunch broccoli rabe, still damp from being rinsed, stir, cover, season with plenty of salt and pepper, and reduce heat.

Add cooked pasta to all the good stuff in the skillet, stir to combine, season to taste, serve.  With parmesan cheese if you like.  (I like.)

Comments

[Trey]

Needless to say these were three of the best meals I'd had in months. Pics were taken in anticipation of my debut as a poster (and food critic) here, but since I wasn't able to criticize any of these first three meals (or others since), I'm going to just hang out in the comments for a while longer before authoring my virgin blogger entry. Anyone curious about new recipes, go for any of these, assuming you can rock them like my beautiful cooker of a wifey did.