April 16, 2012

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