Hello! With this, our latest favorite and most photo-worthy eats, I thought I’d give you a little behind the scenes action. Quite frequently, if not every time, I set food on the dining table to snap a photo, this is what our intrepid pooch does. A longing look and gentle sniff, with the great hope of getting a bite or two.
This was leftover Christmas ham made into a delectable savory bread pudding. All the stars.
A batch of focaccia made to accompany a delicious fettucini alfredo, with seared scallops. The tops…
Last year, in keeping with my love for all things New Mexico, including wonderful foodways, I bought the Big Book of Hatch Chile. This was my first time making their red chile, which had such amazing flavor, and super easy, too! The tortillas are also homemade, but from Rick Martinez, whose Mi Cocina cookbook is also pretty darn fabulous.
In another effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we traded our gas stove, which had several annoying quirks I won’t get into, and generated a lot of indoor air pollution, with an induction range. There’s been quite the learning curve with the cooktop: heating VERY quickly, boiling water ridiculously fast, burning an item or two, but we are getting there, and could not be more pleased, overall. The oven part, which these chocolate chip cookies serve as testament, bakes quite perfectly and evenly!
Another oven success, a dutch baby! Look at the steam go… I made a sauce with pears, and Greg did a fine bacon frying job. Happy, happy!
A foray into Japanese cuisine, with an udon dish. We had no idea what to expect and found it somewhat wanting. That said, it was almost there. I’ve added notes and will make corrections next time.
Chickpeas stewed in onion, golden raisins, and Major Grey chutney, with a generous sprinkles of cilantro, pickled red onions, fresh jalapeno slices, and feta cheese. A lovely belly warmer on a freezing winter day.
Finally, a story at the end. While on our honeymoon, very many moons ago, we spent several days with a friend at her Grandmother’s home outside Helsinki. It was high summer, with very, very long days of the most exquisite light. We slept in the summer house, a basic, yet delightful bed in a shed, just steps across the garden. There were long days adventuring, nibbling currants in the garden, being introduced to Moomins via a day at Moominworld, buying two adorable, and still much cherished mugs depicting their adventures, unwinding (and very much getting hooked) in our first sauna, and traipsing around the city at all hours, including the farmer’s market along the waterfront on the Gulf of Finland.
As instructed by Grandmother Hanna, we bought new potatoes and onions, to which Greg and I thought, okay, fine. She prepared them for some lunch or dinner, looking similar to the photo above, only with golden potatoes of very round proportions, and the same generous puddle of butter. Not expecting much besides sustenance, Greg and I tucked in to the most truly amazing potatoes of our life. So creamy! So buttery! And that nice contrasting snap of barely cooked onion! How did they taste so special when all she did was boil them?! Initially, and for many years, we thought we hadn’t found the right potato. But after many tries, with truly great taters, we realized there had to be more to it.
After more than thirty years, I FINALLY found out! In another Libby library scroll, I found a New England cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase, an astounding 300 recipe tome, with a recipe for boiled potatoes. My ears perked up as I read the description of bites of ridiculously creamy vegetable glory, hearkening back to that wonderful summer meal. It sounded like it might just be the secret to Grandmother Hanna’s. And it was! Can you guess? Boiling two pounds of small potatoes, like fingerlings or new, or with even greater luck, Finn Golds, in six cups of water and a bananas six tablespoons of sea salt (the recipe calls for kosher, but I made adjustments). What a thrill to take that first very special bite. Exactly the same texture and wonderfully good flavor and a fabulous trip down memory lane. Oh, happy eating!
