Started with a beautiful Prather Ranch 18″ skirt steak, dried but without having marinaded or brined. Cut off two 5″ pieces and went for the double-dip breading with a touch of curry powder, buttermilk & egg. Then reduced down the cooking stock from my delicately poached oyster mushrooms (which was itself from my curried spinach), and thickened at last minute with the addition of the left-over spiced breading flour, brought to a boil. Ate with a lovely Vino V Syrah, 2006.
Lightly ground whole mustard seed, cardamom, and anise, and mixed in with salted curry powder for a lovely salmon spice mix. Roasted at 450F. Paired perfectly with a slow-cooked creamed spinach and a glass of Sancerre.
Lightly breaded the bone-in air-chilled chicken breast with about equal parts flour, curry powder, ground pasilla chili, and salt. Fried in a combination of peanut oil and rendered bacon. Once the chicken was done, I threw in the Choy Sum — great flavor.
Cheated a bit on Amanda’s recipe — no nutmeg so I did a touch of allspice and some cinnamon. Out of whole milk so I combined half & half and 1%. No confectioner’s sugar so I went with brown sugar — but still came out delicious. A touch of citrus (I used lime) really does make a difference.
Inspired by the shaved brussel sprouts at Noe’s own Contigo Kitchen & Cava on Castro & 24th, I pulled out the mandolin, thinly shaved over a dozen sprouts, and tossed them with a improvised dressing of the oil from my preserved Moroccan lemons, a touch of salt and fresh lemon juice, and shaved and toasted almonds. Drank down with the most fantastic, refreshing & balanced white wine from Copain, a favsie in Sonoma on Eastside Road. Roussanne, as I’ve since learned, is a Rhone varietal, and one of six white grapes permissible in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC.
Cleaned and patted ducks dry before scalding with a highly improvised lacquer of dark molasses, champagne vinegar, salt and boiling water. Left dried ducks hanging for 9 hours before pre-roasting (65 minutes) at 375 and then finishing in Dan & Kenny’s oven at 500+ broil for another 15 minutes. Ate with homemade pancakes, Hoisin and scallions. Fine pairing with light, citrusy beer.
