Leftovers

Mmmm, skate.


Skate, as I learned this afternoon, is a stingray-like creature. I bought some yesterday at the H-Mart because it was a nice compromise between the boring fish (tilapia) and the weird/scary seafood (snails, monkfish heads, LIVE tilapia), and I remembered my Bouchon cookbook has a few skate recipes in it.

This afternoon, went to cook it, only to be overwhelmed by ammonia. Considerable internet research allowed me to conclude that it (*probably*) won't kill me, and that soaking it in lemon for an hour will help.

In the meantime, a little food blogging about things Gen ate in the recent past:

[EDIT: skate=fail. It cooked beautifully, and I was so excited to try it. I'd sauteed some oyster mushrooms in butter rather than follow Keller's recipe, and it made a nice sauce. I lifted the first forkful of fishy goodness, and was (again) overcome by the smell of ammonia I thought I'd eradicated. It was too strong for even me to try. Lunch was sauteed mushrooms, boo.]


Crab.

This is the leftovers of a fabulous meal I made from scratch on Sunday. Homemade crabcakes on arugula with some goat cheese. I also made lemon-goat cheese biscuits (not pictured) as an adaptation of the biscuit recipe from my new cookbook, Beard on Bread. They froze really well.

Also in recent eating news:

Dolmades

Being the weirdo I am, I had this for breakfast a few days ago. Vegetarian dolmades from Phoenecia, with arugula and a poached egg. Like most normal people, I suck at poaching eggs. I was excited about the concept, dreaming of velvety poached eggs from brunches past, only to fail, again. I followed the procedure described in my circa-1960s Joy of Cooking, but got only watery egg drop soup. I tried again, with slightly better results, but had to fish slippery egg chunks out of the pot for my salad.

Finally, Mai's. I was really annoyed with their refusal to let me try anything interesting on the menu the last time I went, so it had been months since we'd visited. They did it again. I almost walked out when the waiter refused to let me order the salty limeade I wanted. We argued for several minutes, and he finally relented. I LOVED it- it tasted like lemon-lime Gatorade, or maybe Mountain Dew, but made with real juices. Sooo good after a hot day in the sun. After seeing me enjoy it, our waiter didn't even blink when I ordered the jellyfish salad.


It was the PERFECT summer food. I'd been craving jellyfish for weeks (I'm not kidding- it's actually delicious), and it was very different from the Chinese-style jellyfish salad I was used to, but it was awesome. It had jellyfish, tons of crunchy veggies, peanuts, spicy sauce, and fresh fried shrimp crackers. So now I actually like Mai's. But I wonder how much more business they would get if they would let their waiters let customers be adventurous without a fight.

Desperately Missing the Mediterranean

Tonight, I had sardines and baked eggplant for dinner, with a glass of Lebanese wine to drink.

I've been wanting seafood-heavy Mediterranean dishes for weeks now. I didn't discuss it here, but I had an unfortunate baby squid cooking incident a few weeks ago- basically, I was at the local Korean market, and they were handing out samples of the baby squid that was on special. The woman cooking made them taste amazing...even though I hate squid. It was awesome. So I bought two pounds of baby squid, and attempted to recreate it. Did not go well. Squid carnage:


I should have learned my lesson about non-traditional protein sources and ethnic markets, but no. Today, I found myself out at Phoenicia, the amazing market whose name I still cannot spell without help, again. I've been eying their fish for a long time. They sell inexpensive, underrated, but fabulous fish such as sardines, smelt, and the like. I bought a pack of large six sardines. They're perhaps six or seven inches long whole. I assumed they'd been gutted, but I got a fun surprise upon my return home...

I used to fish with my grandfather, but he always killed and gutted the fish for me. I dredged up whatever I remember from those experiences, plus the knowledge I've acquired from my habit of using cookbooks as leisure reading, and commenced the carnage. It was pretty gross, but logical. I always thought the fish blood and guts had to be removed quickly after death to prevent spoilage, so I hope I don't get ill.

I dusted their little carcasses with flour, and pan-fried them in a butter/olive oil blend. They turned out fine, but the little bones were distracting, and the cooking method added to their fattiness.

To complete the Mediterranean experience, I roasted some eggplant slices with Parmesan cheese. I was so overwhelmed with foodie joy at the visit to Phoenicia that I failed to actually plan for the eggplant, so my dish was rather sad- just cheese and eggplant. And the cheese? Let's just say that my cooking adventures have taught me Kraft sprinkle cheese is far more versatile than one would think.

The wine was also pretty good. It is labeled "Petit Noir", from Cave Kouroum in Lebanon, about $7/bottle.I'm not sure if "Petit Noir" is Lebanese for "Pinot Noir"? Google isn't helping, but it tastes heavier than a Pinot to me. It's also darker in color. Not bad, just a very dry, fruity red.

Kofta at Home

For dinner, I had some kofta with rice and a glass of red wine.

Everything came from Phoenicia Market, aka the greatest place on earth. Or at least in Houston. My shopping trip also involved picking up their yummy Armenian-style vegetarian dolmades, fresh hummus, whole-wheat pita made by the bakery down the street, Sicilian olive oil, za'atar, and more of my beloved Palestinian-style fava beans.

The kofta was house-made. I wish it had an ingredient list, but no. I think it was just beef, chopped onion, and some spices. We pan-fried it in olive oil until it was nicely browned. It was a little salty, but otherwise much better than kofta I've had at restaurants, which is usually very bland.

The rice was covered in butter and some sumac. I also bought za'atar today, which is a Middle Eastern spice blend that generally contains thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, coriander, and a few other things. It's really good on pita bread (like, addictively good with some olive oil), so I broke down and bought it. I thought about trying it on the rice, but didn't. Maybe next time.

The wine was pretty good, a Marques de Caza tempranillo, under $7. Just a generic and tannic Spanish red table wine.

Lunch at Phoenicia Market in Houston

For lunch, I bought an assortment of tasty groceries from Phoenicia here in Houston. It's a bit of a drive, about 10 miles from my house, but it is the absolute best mix of strange ethnic food, exotic produce, good wine, and expensive groceries I've ever seen. Their prices are also far cheaper than your typical posh grocery store...I had serious difficulty dragging myself away from the $12 liters of unfiltered Greek and Italian olive oils.

I bought all kinds of great things (handmade pelmeni) and passed up others (vaccuum-packed lamajun, italian orecchiette). For lunch, I settled on freshly made whole-wheat pita with store-made hummus and sumac, some store-made vegetarian dolmades, a roasted head of garlic, and some preserved lemon, with a sparkling pomegranate-lemonade of French origin to drink.

The hummus was nice and garlicky, with a great, mostly smooth texture. I think it's the first hummus I've had that includes yogurt as an ingredient. I would not have known, although I suspect that's where the great texture and depth of flavor came from. The dolmades were likewise very nice. The filling is a little chunkier than I'm used to- pine nuts, raisins, spices, and rice. I've never liked raisins in my dolmades, but these were really good. The preserved lemon and roasted garlic came from their $5.99/lb cold bar full of the staples and a few strange items (stuffed mini eggplant??). I'd never had preserved lemons before, so I don't know how typical these are...they would probably work well in a tagine, but by themselves are scary vinegary and scary hot. The soda, however, was fabulous. Made by Rieme Boissons, it appears to contain only pomegranate flavoring, making me question the "limonade" label. Despite the false advertising, it's flavorful and sweetened with beet sugar.

For further rhapsodizing about this wonderful market, check out this blog I found (and borrowed the pic from...)