TWENTY-EIGHT & TWENTY-NINE : CRUSTED FISH IN ROMESCO W/ BAKED CELERY

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

MARCH 29 2012

TWENTY-EIGHT : PARMESAN-COATED FISH WITH WALNUT ROMESCO SAUCE
TWENTY-NINE : CELERY BAKED IN VINAIGRETTE WITH PANCETTA & SHALLOTS
 
Why, oh why am I so darn bad at cooking fish?!? I can't understand it. Am I using the wrong pan? Is the pan not hot enough? Do I need a fancy fish spatula? I was determined not to mess up the fillets for dinner tonight. "I can do this! Just use lots of butter and get the pan super hot." Fish into the pan with a reassuring sizzle. Okay, lets turn these babies. AAARRRGGHHH!!! It's all sticking and falling apart and I start panicking and... ugly, ugly, ugly.

TEN : BUCKWHEAT BLINIS W/ SMOKED SALMON

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

FEBRUARY 11 2012

TEN : BUCKWHEAT BLINIS W/ SMOKED SALMON, CREME FRAICHE AND DILL
 

Blini, blini, blini. They just look so cute and innocent sitting there. As if they were no trouble at all to make. Well, don't let their crispy edges and adorable miniature size fool you. These babies really make you work for every bite.

EIGHT-ONE - EIGHT-THREE : NEW YEARS EVE!

DECEMBER 31 2011

EIGHTY-ONE : SPAGHETTI WITH CRABS
EIGHTY-TWO : SLOW-ROASTED RIB EYE, SLICED COLD
EIGHTY-THREE : VANILLA BEAN CREME BRULEE

New Year's Eve demands decadence... and we did not disappoint. Surf 'n turf, baby!

First I have to admit that I did not exactly follow the the recipe for the rib eye. Sorry Frankies, I just can't shell out $60 for a beautiful rib eye roast, cook it to perfection, then just shove the whole thing in the fridge to be served cold, hoping it is worth it. I just can't. Not even for "thoroughbred roast beef". I also did not roast it at the temperature they designated. Last year I did a super, super slow roast that was amazing so decided to do it again this time. So, instead of cooking it at 325º, it spent over 4 hours in the oven at 200º which makes it exactly medium-rare through the entire thing. I did use the fantastic herb rub from the recipe which smelled like heaven while it was cooking.

Phew.. now that I've got that off my chest, I can tell you all about our New Year's Eve feast :)

SEVENTY-THREE & SEVENTY-FOUR : SARDINES TWO WAYS

DECEMBER 13 2011

SEVENTY-THREE : SARDINE, BLOOD ORANGE & PUNTARELLE SALAD
SEVENTY-FOUR : GRILLED CURED SARDINES

Here fishy, fishy! I love me the fishiest of the fishes and these sardines fall squarely into that category. Mackerel is another oily, super-fishy, fabulous one that I love, love, love!

These babies had been curing since Friday in a lovely blend of olive oil, lemon, garlic, parsley. When I started the curing process, I had planned to enjoy them Sunday as a nice, light lunch. But we were both sooooo stuffed after feasting the night before that lunch never really happened. So tonight, I pulled them out of their oil bath and got to work. Truly, the painful part of these recipes is the curing process. Once that's done, everything else come together very quickly.

SEVENTY : CURED SARDINES

DECEMBER 9 2011

Fresh sardines are a pain in the ass! My first attempt at this recipe, I didn't ask for them to be pre-cleaned and, halfway through the job, couldn't take it any more and just thew the whole batch in the trash. This time, I was smarter (or so I thought). I thanked the fishmonger at New Seasons for cleaning my requested 8 sardines and he said "no... thank YOU" like I had just made this the worst Friday of his entire life. Well, thank YOU, dude, for just barely removing the insides and still leaving me with the task of filleting all these mini fishes.

But I am determined to soldier ahead and rip the spines out of each and every one of these little fuckers.

SIXTY-EIGHT : SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS

DECEMBER 7 2011

DECEMBER! OH CRAP! I was already stressing about getting everything done before the gluttony of Thanksgiving and a lovely trip to Cali delayed me even more. But, rest assured, it was totally worth it. I mean, I love Thanksgiving leftovers more than just about anything so no way I'm cooking anything else. And seeing my little sis graduate from grad school was just about the best thing ever and fully worth any delays (love ya, sis!).

But that leaves me with less than a month and, after today, 27 recipes. EEEP! We can eat nothing but Frankies from now on! I am reserving 9 of them for the Grand Finale Sunday Sauce Party, so will not worry about them right now. (Yep, I am already planning Sunday Sauce. Even got a schedule...)

Today I picked a quick and easy pasta dish I could toss together after work with little stress. This clam pasta can supposedly be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

SIXTY : BAKED CLAMS

NOVEMBER 10 2011

Well, now I know. Clams are a pain in the ass to shuck! I consider myself a pretty darn good oyster shucker, so thought these little guys would be a cinch. But that was not the case. The shells don't have much strength so start crumbling as soon as any force is applied. Then, once I got the thing open, I basically mutilated the clam itself trying to unattach it from the other side. I still feel pretty bad about my total butchery. Luckily, they will be covered up with seasoned breadcrumbs so no one will know (except all of you because there is photo evidence).

come on, mother shucker!

FORTY-TWO : GRILLED SQUID

SEPTEMBER 21 2011

I love squid. My usual approach is to stuff their little bodies with sausage and simmer in tomato sauce for an hour or so until tender and luscious. Yum! This is a new one for me, flash grilling them until just cooked. The recipe had one problem. It is intended to feed "about a dozen".  I had hoped to save it for a party or gathering, but it had basically come down to now-or-never as it's in the Summertime Grilling section and I want to avoid standing over the BBQ in the dark and rain.

And today was the day... no plans after work and it's a hot, sunny afternoon. I did my best to cut all the ingredients by about 1/3, giving us each a healthy portion. Luckily our neighborhood New Seasons cleans their squid so I didn't have to "Pull off the head, squeezing it just above the eyes... Cut off the eyes and discard. Squeeze out the beak... just like you pop the head off a dandelion." Blech!

FORTY : SICILIAN TUNA

SEPTEMBER 5 2011

The high quality ingredients really make this sandwich something special. My usual reaction to tuna sounds something like "meh", but this tuna sandwich was actually quite delicious. The only deviation I made from the recipe was to use a lovely local Albacore tuna instead of Sicilian tuna (I just couldn't resist!). I am confident that it was still just as good :)

local tuna for the TLT sandwiches