baked orecchiette with mushroom sugo

baked orecchiette with mushroom sugo, originally uploaded by Russian Banana.

For the sugo:
1lb of mature mushrooms finely chopped
1/3cup of olive oil
1 tbs garlic
half of a small onion
1/2 cup of tomato paste (parmalat)
1/4 cup of cinzano rosso
1/4 cup water

Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When hot, add oil, and then sprinkle in the mushrooms. Don’t stir! Let the mushrooms sizzle and caramelize for 7 to 8 minutes. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute to release its fragrance. Add the rosemary and onion and cook for about a minute. Cook briefly to release their fragrance, then add tomato and cinzano and simmer until almost evaporated. Add water. Simmer until slightly reduced, 4 to 5 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and chipotle. . Sprinkle with the parsley.

Hot Smoked Salmon

Excellent hot-smoked salmon – 1.5 lb of skin-on filet brined for 2 hours in 2cups of water/1/2 cup sugar/1/2 cup kosher salt.
2/3 chimney of charcoal briquettes, 5 chunks of hickory/cherry wood. Smoke on non-direct for 20-25 mins skin-down. I used a cedar paper but corn husk or banana leaf should work too, and very convenient – no need to worry about sticking, just oil a bit.

A physical pleasure of books

caught my attention today – so beautiful…
”this is part of the attraction of a physical library for me: it’s a record of what I’ve read before”… in the bedroom, in our offices books are everywhere – on bookshelves, on random furniture, on the floor… – used to be annoyed by this mess but not more; it’s such a visual and tactile pleasure, a history of my past and invitation to my future interests…

File it under “The Best Food I Ever Ate”

File it under "The Best Food I Ever Ate", originally uploaded by Russian Banana.

this is what i call the accidental masterpiece…pretty much everything was in the fridge or pantry – i just got this gorgeous piece of fish. Dusted it with mexican oregano and green hatch chile powder and grilled in corn husks for 8mins(5-3)… Made a quick salsa of green mango, jicama, serrano chile and avocado… mixed farmers and jack cheeses together… heat a bit of olive oil in a small pan; set a corn (Maria&Ricardo – my absolute favorite) tortilla, sprinkled it with couple spoons of cheese mixture, topped one side with some flaked salmon, folded the tortilla in half and quickly cooked on both sides…

Nobu style shrimp, simplified

A great dish, featured in Nobu books in several variations.

My version was a simplified one from his first book.
mix a good mayo with some garlic/chile sauce.
Butterfly shrimp but don’t peel (1.5lb – 20cnt/lb)
Saute sliced portobello (3 large) until just limp.
Brush the shrimps just a bit of the sauce, layer a parsley leaf and top with a slice of mushroom.
Broil for 5mins or until shrimp is ready.

I served the dish with grilled asian eggplant topped with bonito flakes; romaine leaves and shredded jicama and green mango.

Return of Gyozilla!

Made two kinds – salmon/roasted garlic and crazy vegetables (shitake, tofu, raw cashew, sprouted beans, radish, carrot, napa cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds butter and soy sauce). Served with asian slaw and kimchi…

The vegetable ones were frozen overnight and boiled for breakfast. 8mins seems like a proper time. Also grilled mediterranean zucchini – sliced on diagonal 1/2″ thick, brushed with olive oil and grilled on high – 5mins on one side turning 90` once and 2-3 on another.

How about these eggplants?

“Slice in half, hache (cross-hatch) the interior, bend backwards to open the scoring, pour in shoyu (soy sauce) with some wasabi mixed in, push in a few slivers of garlic and ginger, cook in a grilling pan.”

from Jinmyo, on eG: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/3795-eggplants-and-aubergines/

Shrimp and feta stuffed peppers, walnuts/lovage tarrator…

Shrimp and feta stuffed peppers, walnuts/lovage tarrator…, originally uploaded by Russian Gambit.

An excellent dish inspired by Ana Sortun… I should have roasted the pepper shells longer… say 15-20mins in 425F convection…
The stuffing will be perfectly cooked in just 10-15mins and then you broil pretty close to the source of fire for additional 5mins rotating the pan several times…

Chickpeas roasted with lemons and spinach

Chickpeas roasted with lemons and spinach, originally uploaded by Russian Gambit.

Healthy breakfast:

Taza Aficionada

a slightly doctored version of the Repo Cup cocktail from the Cocktail 2010 book by increasing the amount of tequila to 2oz – otherwise Chartreuse is too dominant and you just can’t get any tequila…