Well, we had a fun bash last Sunday. The family got together over at Jon and Ryan’s house for a late Father’s Day BBQ. And we did what we do best, prepare and eat far too much food. Jon made burgers and guacamole (best.guac.EVER.), Ryan prepared a summer fruit galette (excellent crust), Mom and Dad brought potato salad and baked beans, and I brought cole slaw and corn.

Jon had asked for a peanutty cole slaw, so I replaced the four tablespoons (two fluid ounces) of yogurt with a tablespoon or two of prepared peanut sauce. Yeah, I could have made it myself, but I had the bottle. Plus, when I make it, the results aren’t always consistent. I also scattered some unsalted, roasted peanuts over top of the dish (thanks to Rob for giving me those).

Went out to Sue’s Indian Cuisine on Monday night. One of my neighbors had been making curry earlier, and I was totally craving it. I got Paneer Tikka Masala, yum! So damn good. When I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday, I was still feeling the Indian, so I bought a box of TastyBite Palak Paneer. I’ve heard good things about the TastyBite foods.

I’d like to, if I may, give a shoutout to The Grub Report, a website run by Television Without Pity recapper Keckler. Give it a read. It’s good times. And my email to her got mentioned! I wrote to ask her the Nero Wolfe way to prepare corn. And then I didn’t do it, because a 525 or 550 degree oven on for about forty minutes in a non-air-conditioned house was not my idea of fun. So I did it the Cook’s Illustrated grilled way, which I can’t post right now since I’m not on Jon or Ryan’s computers. (They have the online subscription, you see.) But I will have to try it that way. And soon. Sounds like I’m going to have to make another trip to Sigona’s. Whee!

So, I went to Cost Plus yesterday to buy the aforementioned tahini. I couldn’t find it. I was annoyed. I asked the cashier about it. However, I had forgotten what tahini was actually made out of, so I said, “It’s a nut or seed paste that you use to make hummus.” She then told me that they only have it around the holidays. Because nothing says Christmas like hummus. I think she was thinking I meant marzipan. Which they did have. (And, ew.)

I brought biscuits to D&D last night. People seemed to like them (even though they were baked twice because I pulled them too soon when I first baked them and they were kind of raw in the middle). Huzzah! I brought my salsa as well, although I think only Rob and I ate it. Everyone else focused more on the Casa Sanchez Hot Salsa Roja, which I can understand, because it’s better.

Also, we killed a golem.

I’ve been eating out a lot this week. For lunch on Tuesday, Mom and I went to Bangkok Bay. She had pad thai; I had spicy chicken with basil. I really liked mine. They were not kidding on the spicy, which is really quite nice. A lot of restaurants say “spicy” when all they mean is “not bland.”

That evening Mom, Dad, and I went out to Cafe Vida, one of Menlo Park’s many French restaurants. We split a couple of appetizers- a plate of assorted charcuterie, and some scallops in a fresh tomato sauce. For our main courses, Dad had coq au vin, Mom had mussels, and I had boudin noir with apples. I thought this had been my first experience with blood sausage, but I was wrong. There was some on one of the tapas plates we had at Cascal a few weeks ago. I have to say- boudin noir was not the weird experience I was expecting. (Well, neither was pigeon, but I enjoyed them both thoroughly.) Natural casings- a lot of snap in the bite. Beautiful color. The sausage filling was soft and kind of crumbly. It was like… you know how in England, if you get anything made with ground beef, it’s a much finer grind than in America? Minced beef, perhaps. It was kind of like that.

On Wednesday, Rob came over and we went out for pizza and beer. Yum. I’m a fan. Last Friday we went to the Tied House in Mountain View, a local brew pub. Rob had catfish, and I had an elk burger. My first time eating elk! (Needed salt.)

Last Saturday, Rob and I and a bunch of friends went out for Thai food at King of Krung Siam. I would warn people away from the Angry Chicken- it’s not as interesting as it sounds. The rest of what we got (and we ordered quite a bit of food) was very tasty. Especially the duck. Mm. Afterwards, we went to the movies and saw The Stepford Wives. It was funny, but there were too many plot holes. Also, was it REALLY necessary to change the ending that much?

Well, salsa wins for this week, because I don’t have any tahini. I may stop by Cost Plus on my way to D&D tomorrow night to buy some.

I’ve been trying to make good salsa for a while now. In today’s attempt, I finally wrote down what I was doing. It didn’t turn out outrageously hot, for a change. I tried to limit my use of the chile peppers. Usually when I make salsa, I have to add a can or two of tomatoes because it’s so freaking hot. Seriously. My first try (about a year ago, if memory serves me right) used ten jalapenos and a quarter cup of chipotle/adobo puree. That was ridiculous.

I am not sure what I think of this yet. It needs to get chilled completely. I think I may have made it too sweet, somehow.

Shameless plug! Casa Sanchez makes wonderful chips. I recommend the thick ones. Their salsa is also pretty damn good. Very fresh tasting. I like the Hot Salsa Roja and the Garlic Salsa. I don’t know if Casa Sanchez markets their products outside of the SF Bay Area.

Salsa Attempt No. 1

6 smallish tomatoes

10 tomatillos

2 serrano pepper

2 Tbsp garlic

1 onion, in eighths

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

Juice of 1 lime

About a handful of cilantro

Salt

Turn on the broiler and move the oven rack to the second to the top position. On a broiling pan, arrange the tomatoes, tomatillos, onion pieces, and one serrano pepper. Place under the broiler and cook until pretty well browned or blackened, turning vegetables to cook evenly, probably 20 to 30 minutes.

Seed and de-membrane-ify the other serrano pepper. Put this pepper, the garlic, chipotle pepper, lime juice, and cilantro in a food processor.

Take the vegetables out from under the broiler. Cover for about five minutes. Take the skins off of the tomatoes, tomatillos, and the other serrano pepper. Seed the pepper as well as you can, and then put everything in the food processor. Puree until it reaches a consistency you like. Salt to taste. Chill before serving.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

1/4 cup minced onions

6-8 Tbsp butter (3+2+[1-3])

3 Tbsp flour

6 cups chicken or veal stock (or canned chicken broth with 2 sprigs parsley, 1 bay leaf, and 1/8 tsp thyme)

Salt and pepper

1 lb. mushrooms, separated into stems (chopped) and caps (sliced thinly)

1 tsp lemon juice

2 egg yolks

1/2 to 3/4 cup cream

2-3 Tbsp minced fresh chervil or parsley

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and cook until tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes without browning. Off heat, beat in the boiling stock and blend it thoroughly with the flour. Season to taste. Stir in the mushroom stems and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Strain, pressing juices out of mushroom stems. Return the soup to the pan.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a separate saucepan. When it is foaming, toss in the mushrooms, about 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and lemon juice. Cover and cook slowly for 5 minutes.

Pour the mushrooms and their cooking juices into the strained soup base. Simme for 10 mintues.

Beat the egg yolks and cream in a separate bowl. Then whisk in the hot soup by spoonfuls until a cup or two has been added. Slowly add the egg mixture back into the main saucepan with the rest of the soup, continually whisking. Stir over medium heat for a minute or two to poach the egg yolks, but do not allow the soup to come up to a simmer.

Off heat, stir in 1 to 3 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Serve the soup garnished with the fresh chervil or parsley.

So, the soup below is what I made last Sunday when Rob came over. It did not turn out great, but I’ve realized why. I put in eight cups of broth instead of six, which is why the soup was so thin. Also, I forgot about the butter at the very end. (Because Julia LOVES the butter.) If I had prepared this properly, I have no doubt it would have been excellent.

Jon is very keen on Julia’s French Onion Soup. The first time he made it, I cried. It was so damn good. I was hoping this would be a similar experience. Alas, it was not.

I also tried a new recipe for chicken stock last Sunday. This was from the Cook’s Illustrated book The Best Recipe. It was supposed to be a faster, easier way to get homemade stock. It involved me hacking up chicken carcasses with a cleaver. FUN. A mess, but FUN. My opinion of the recipe is that it is good, but it needs more cooking time. It turned out too weak at first, but after I boiled it down a bit, it was very good. I will make it again. The recipe is after the cream of mushroom soup.

Chicken Stock

The Best Recipe

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, cut into medium dice

4 pounds chicken backs and wing tips or whole legs, hacked with cleaver into 2-inch pieces

2 quarts boiling water

2 tsp salt

2 bay leaves

Heat oil in a large stock pot. Add onion and saute until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer onion to a large bowl.

Add half of the chicken pieces to the pot, and saute until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onion. Saute remaining chicken pieces. Return onion and chicken pieces to pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.

Increase heat to high, and add boiling water, salt, and bay leaves. Reduce to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until stock is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes*.

Strain stock and discard solids. Skim fat and reserve for use in later recipes (like croutons… yum). Stock may be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for several months.

* After I cooled and defatted the stock, I decided that I wanted it stronger. I brought it up to a boil for probably 10 minutes. When I make this again, I will increase the simmer time to about an hour, probably.