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If you're in the path of Frankenstorm I hope you managing to weather the weather with the assistance of wine, milk for the kiddies, and candles.
Sucks to have had a storm so close to Hallowe'en.
Nonetheless, it is one of my favourite tmes of the year. For entertainment I have turned to my beloved Savage Chickens for some giggles . . .
. . . and nowhere would be more appropriate for enjoying it than Naples, Italy which seems to have a special affinity for the dark side of things!
North American chefs have become fixated on the foods of southeast Asia. More and more one finds the wonderful combinations of sweet, salty, sour, spicy flavours finding their way to the dinner plate. This dish is a perfect example of this.
This recipe, by chef Ryan Lowder, was from the August Food and Wine magazine. In it he modifies the classic norther Thai pork salad so that the average cook can make it at home. Wrapped in lettuce leaves, the delicious pork filling will put a smile on the faces of those who eat it!
This is one of our all-time favorite Thai dishes, and it is a very common dish served throughout Thailand as well as Laos. It's quick to make and often extremely spicy, but the lime juice and mint leaves make for an exotic and splendid combination. It can be found on Thai restaurant menus in America as "chicken salad Thai style", which might be the best description for this dish. Larb is pronounced "lawb" and that means salad. It can be made with beef (lawb nuea) or pork (lawb muu) instead of chicken.
Paul whipped this up as the first meal he made after he was out of work. When I arrived home form the office everything was chopped, sliced, diced, and measured. All he had to do was to cook it and we were enjoying a wonderful meal in no time.
If you're thinking of a nice wine to pair with your larb may I suggest a chilled, citrusy Grüner Veltliner . . . the vibrant wine from Alsace is perfect with Thai foods (as you can see by our glasses in the photo at the top!)
Pork Larb Lettuce Wrap
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pound ground pork or beef
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon long-grain rice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 Thai chiles, very thinly sliced with seeds
Boston lettuce leaves, for serving
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup torn Thai basil leaves
1/4 cup torn mint leaves
1/4 cup torn cilantro leaves
In the skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderately low heat, stirring a few times, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add 1 teaspoon of the sugar and cook for about 20 seconds. Add the ground pork and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the meat finely, until no pink remains, about 3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of the fish sauce and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium skillet, toast the rice over moderate heat, shaking the pan often, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the rice to a plate and let cool completely. Put the toasted rice in a spice grinder and grind to a powder.
In a small bowl, combine the lime juice with the remaining 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar, two-thirds of the chiles and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter with the dipping sauce. Reheat the pork. Remove from the heat and stir in the onion, basil, mint, cilantro and the remaining chile. Sprinkle the pork with the rice powder. Transfer to a bowl and place on or near the platter. Let everyone spoon the pork onto the lettuce leaves and season with the dipping sauce.
Batten down the hatches - it looks as if we're in for a hell of a storm.
I saw this on FB and had to share in an effort to assist with the storm preparation:
I can laugh since our presenter for Monday, who was to fly up from Boston Sunday evening, has changed her flight and will arrive before the store hits.
WHEW
This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'spooky'.
I debated posting a picture of my least favourite US Presidential candidate or the current Canadian Prime Minister for there are few more spooky than those two but I decided to keep things non-political for a change. *smile*
A few years ago when we were in Maine we hiked through a forest where we found this abandoned cemetery. We thought this was spooky!
Recently I went to the grocery and spied leg of lamb at a crazy low price. In fact, it was so low a price that the butcher thought it was a mis-print. I didn't care, flyer in hand, I got my lamb for $ 5.99 a pound!
I had the butcher butterfly it for me since I hoped to grill it. Having it butterflied ensures that the lamb cooks uniformly on the grill and you don't end up with some very well done while other pieces are still raw.
Before we headed off to the Berkshires we had our friend Leslie over for dinner. She was hanging with the cats for the long weekend and this proved a good opportunity to show her the 'tricks' of keeping the guys happy. Leslie is a HUGE lamb fan so I thawed that leg out and prepared it for dinner.
I have a recipe that I have been making for years but decided it was time to do something a bit different. I found this recipe in an old Gourmet magazine that was hanging around the den (yes, when one has 6 year old magazines hanging around it IS time to clean the den out!) and decided to try it out.
I was glad that I had saved the recipe because this made for a brilliant grilled leg of lamb. The flavours of the herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil came together and reminded me of the lamb we enjoyed in Greece a few years ago.
If you spy lamb on sale (heck, even if it is full-price) buy some and give this a try - you'll be a happy carnivore!
Grilled Marinated Leg of Lamb
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Greek), crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (4 1/2- to 5-lb) butterflied boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat
Combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in sealable plastic bag. Add lamb and seal bag, pressing out air. Turn bag to coat lamb, then put bag in a shallow baking pan and marinate, chilled, turning bag over occasionally, at least 8 hours.
Bring lamb to room temperature, about 1 hour, before grilling.
Prepare grill for cooking over direct heat with medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).
Remove lamb from marinade (discard marinade) and run 3 or 4 skewers lengthwise through lamb about 2 inches apart. Grill on a lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using gas grill, turning over occasionally and, if necessary, moving around on grill to avoid flare-ups, until thermometer registers 125 to 128°F, 8 to 14 minutes total for medium-rare.
Transfer lamb to a cutting board and remove skewers. Let lamb stand, loosely covered with foil, 20 minutes. (Internal temperature will rise to 135°F while meat stands.) Cut across the grain into slices.
When I was last cleaning out the freezer I was a bit shocked at the amount of salmon that I found in there. I decided that I had to do something about that so Salmon increased its appearance on our table for a spell until the supply and demand had reached a proper equilibrium again.
Mind you, it does not help that lovely fresh Atlantic Salmon (not the stuff fromt he murky waters of a farming operation) have been on sale. I see it, like it, but it. Then struggle with the too small seafood area of my freezer.
This was one of the recipes that we made - it was quick and easy making it perfect for a week night meal. Don't feel restricted by that thought - it would be great to serve company too.
We made two changes to the recipe. First, we decided to grill the salmon instead of cooking it on the stove - with the grilling season coming to a forced close by the onset of cooler weather I'm grilling until I have to stop! Second, we neither peeled nor seeded the cucumber. The photo attached to the recipe showed one of those tough field cucumber with a hard skin and lots of seeds. I used a soft-skinned English cucumber so I just left it as nature grew it.
All in all, this was a great dish!
Salmon with Spicy Cucumber Salad and Peanuts
4 cups sliced seeded peeled cucumber (about 2 large)
1/4 cup
seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons
chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons
sugar
1/2 teaspoon
crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon
salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon
black pepper
4 teaspoons
chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper over fish. Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 fillet in each of 4 shallow bowls, and top each serving with 1/2 cup cucumber salad and 1 teaspoon peanuts.
In spite of the recent lapses, a Guido Brunetti novel from Donna Leon is the literary equivalent of comfort food. They are familiar, reassuring, utterly reliable and always welcome. Beastly Things was comforting and disquieting simultaneously.
Food, of course, is a constant theme throughout the Brunetti series, which has become beloved of readers as much for the tastes and aromas of Paola Brunetti's kitchen as it is for her husband's cases. In Beastly Things, Leon takes the food theme one step further, placing Brunetti at the centre of a murder investigation that involves the processing of beef cattle for human consumption.
Set in Venice, Italy, the Commissario Guido Brunetti series takes us on tours of the city. Not just the tourist part, but the seedy back ends that bring in the murders and the victims. Here a body is fished out of a murky canal – a man who has been stabbed to death and who, as Brunetti discovers, suffered from a bizarre genetic disfigurement. As our Commissario and his sidekick, Vianello, investigate, they discover that in spite of his fearsome appearance, the dead man had a gentle nature. He was a vet with a devoted animal clientele. How could such a man have made enemies?
Quite easily, it transpires. He worked at a slaughterhouse, and Leon spares us nothing of the haunting sights, smells and sounds which the investigators encounter when they visit, shown round by an imperious and beautiful woman who has all the callous butcher staff in awe. The dead man's job was to certify that animals brought for slaughter were free from any disease that could be passed into the food-chain.
With the help of the ever devious Signorina Elettra, who has the tech skills of a hardened hacker, the team finds themselves slowly infiltrating the world of veterinarians and abattoirs. They soon realize there is an organised criminal side driven by human greed that may have something to do with the murder.
While Beastly Things deals with corruption in the Italian meat industry, but also blends in discussions on infidelity, Mafia, power, the horrendous Italian losses in the First World War and whose relatives and friends are more influential. All the main characters from the series, Paola, Guido, Vianello, Signorina Elettra and Vice-Questore Patta appear in the novel and by their actions or in-actions encapsulate the problem that is modern Italy.
One of my favourite things about Leon's books is the brilliant backdrop - Venice. The fading city is almost the main character of the books and the actual characters the backdrop. Beastly Things features the fascinating tension between Leon's deep-veined puritanism (here directed towards organized crime, the Italian government, and the food industry) and her exuberant subject - Venice. If sentiment unexpectedly breaks through at the end, it is exactly what Venice demands.
I was backing up some photos on the lap top the other day and realize that it was three years ago that we were in Greece. Where has the time gone?
I relived the trip through my pictures.
It seemed a good idea to head there for Travel Tuesdays as well . . .
Be sure to pop on over to Sandi's blog to see what else is happening on Travel Tuesdays!
We had four meals in Great Barrington - two at restaurants and two at home in the rental house. Paul took it upon himself to do the research for the second restaurant (the first being the Route 7 Grill). He e-mailed the owner of the rental and asked her for some recommendations - he let her know that we were looking for something local that adhered to a farm-to-table philosophy.
One of the finalists was Allium - located about 10 minutes from our house. We considered walking there but thank goodness we didn't because the rain was teeming down when we finished our dinner!
The restaurant describes itself as:
serving contemporary American cuisine with a varying seasonal menu focusing on local, farm-fresh ingredients.
We support independent local farmers and artisan producers to ensure quality ingredients and a stronger community.
Situated in the center of Great Barrington’s bustling downtown, Allium features an exceptional, well-chosen wine list to accompany seasonal dinner offerings and offers an extensive selection of cocktails in our popular, late-night bar. Selected as Editor’s Choice in Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England, Allium has also been awarded Boston Magazine’s Best New Restaurant.
It sounded right up our alley!
The menu was interesting - really featuring something for everyone with an interesting Asian influence.
We each ordered an appetizer, main, and Paul and I ordered dessert.
I went simple - a salad. Paul selected the Korean tacos with pork bulgogi, kimchi, sriracha, finished with garlic cilantro aioli. I knew right away that mom would order the buratta. It was served with toasted baguette from the Berkshire Mountain Bakery, smoked lardo, almonds, pickled vegetables, and apricot mustard. All three were great - yes, even my simple salad made with local greens.
Four our mains we went 'all over the place' so to speak. I selected the orecchiette which was served with a beef/veal/pork bolognese sauce. Paul ordered the roast pork loin and mom the chicken.
All three were excellent - large portions of flavourful, well-prepared food.
We were pretty full by this point but I wanted to try dessert. One of the features was a pear cake served with roasted plums. Hello - a wonderful fall dessert if I had ever heard of one!
Perfect!
Each item on the menu at Allium comes with a pedigree because the ingredients are sourced with pride from the fields and farms of Berkshire county. On a warm day, you can check out the Great Barrington street life through the open garage-door-style window at the front of the space. The bar is open late, so stop in for a nightcap. The wine list is varied, leaning towards Italian varietals,a nd the pours generous.
If you are in Great Barrington and looking for a nice dinner out you would not go wrong here!