MENU FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 16, 2012
Sorry we‘ve been late in posting these last two
menus. Sometimes things get a bet crazy
around here – as in most other households.
To begin, Julia Child, our 12 year old spade “domestic
short haired” female cat has turned into a, well, excuse the expression, cougar. All of a sudden there is a very handsome
young tom hanging around and making loud, longing sounds in the middle of the
night. He bears a distinct resemblance
to our former cat, Escoffier and we’re guessing he is an offspring (Escoffier
was a very busy cat…) We don’t need another cat - Julia Child is quite enough
to handle.
She, now, has been energized by this new
conquest. We’ve never had problems with
her going after “people” food. Not so
anymore… Last week I had taken the still partially frozen fillet out to slice,
and having done so, left it on the counter to continue defrosting. We had a lot less fillet for our Shabu Shabu
that evening. And she was, well, sick as a dog.
I had also put a pound of shrimp out to defrost on
Monday for the Paella. She got a good
quarter pound of that – shells and all.
Needless to say, we are a lot more careful these days…
Food highlight for the two weeks as the lamb from
Jacques Pepin’s Chez Jacques. The weather did not allow for grilling, so
I simply roasted it and made a pan sauce out of the drippings, some lamb stock
(I could have used chicken or veal stock) and the addition of a little of the
reserved marinade. It was one of the
best lamb dishes I have done. The combination
of the balsamic vinegar and the hoisin sauce in the marinade worked
spectacularly well – I highly recommend it!
The Paella was also good, although it took a little
longer than the recipe implied. The trick as always here, is not to over cook the
squid. Something different for a week night.
The lettuces and arugula potted on the deck are
yielding our first spring salads and I have acquired some herbs to put out next
week – the next few days being cold again.
It is such a pleasure to go out with one’s colander and presto – there’s
dinner! I am attempting to grow sugar snap peas in the pots I use later for
cherry tomatoes. I am thinking that they will be happy attaching themselves to
the tomato cages. We shall see! Every Spring is a new adventure!
Mon. Jose Andres’ Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Calamari FW 5/10 66
Sautéed Kale with Garlic and Lemon
Tossed Salad
Tues. Balsamic Hoisin Roasted Lamb
Rice Pilaf with Onions and Mint
Sautéed Green Beans
Weds. Prep for Routine Colonoscopy. Need I say more….
Thurs. Chanterelle’s Chicken and Dumplings f/i
Tossed Salad
Fri. Anthony Bourdain’s Onglet Gaston (Hangar Steak) LHC
Oven Fries
Spinach Simmered in Yogurt FW 2/09
Sat. Pickled Herring with Crackers
Orange Soy Glazed Braised Pork Country Ribs GM 1/05
Steamed Rice
Sesame Asparagus
Sun. Shrimp Pan Cakes FWS
Cornish Game Hens with Fresh Thyme and Figs BA 10/81 74
Lemon Barley Pilaf BA 3/07 114
Sautéed Zucchini with Caraway
