No Posts. And a cheese tour.

Yes, we’ve been cooking A LOT at the Feral household. So why no posts? Because they all come from the same freakin’ cookbook. I feel like a jerk. I ain’t no freakin’ cheerleader. Ugh. To date I think we’ve made 20 recipes from the bookwhichwon’tbenamed. All pretty great. That’s enough.

This was last night (and today’s lunch). Miso-Curry Delicata Squash with tofu, potato, kale, cilantro & toasted pepita seeds. Warm and delicious. The pepitas add a nice crunch. Definitely adding to the rotation.

Maybe I should tell you about our mini cheese tour of Vermont. The best stop was Cato Corner Farm (in Connecticut on the way up to Vermont). But they were out of Hooligan, my favorite of their cheeses. Was there anything we found in CT/VT that we couldn’t get from Saxelby Cheese at the Essex Street Market? No, not really. But she doesn’t have animals in her stall. Or fresh air. Maybe we should take a field trip to her cheese cave in Red Hook. Who wants to go?

We also got apples and caramel and syrups and jellies. Mmmmm!

Curds for Dinner! No whey!

Ever since my very first poutine in Montreal back in ’07, I’ve been hooked. Traditional poutine uses beef gravy (as well as pork fat for the fries), but JA & I do a tasty version with mushroom gravy. A real winter treat. Tonight we are going to turn on the AC (and dust the cobwebs off of our stove) and try yet another version utilizing some of the crazy-colored carrots from the Farmer’s Market.

The recipe comes from a great blog called Everybody Likes Sandwiches, which of course, everybody does. We use frozen french fries. No shame in that. We changed the recipe quite a bit—the first try was too spicy and too thin. The second try was just right.

real poutine from Montreal

An early iteration. I can’t find a photo of our usual which is darker.

The cheese curds are from our favorite cheesemonger. Do they squeak? Probably not, but really yummy.

crazy carrots

Tonight’s veg’d up version. Mmm, mmm good!

The Verdict? It was good but I’m something of a purist. I missed my mushroom gravy. (Not shown)

Pizza night!

One batch of dough makes 4 pizzas, which is the perfect amount of pizza for 4 people. (Unless you invite my stepmother, then you can invite a fifth). I joke that pizza night is really easy and relaxing. It kind of is for me, JustAwesome does all the work. I usually get the ingredients. The trick is great ingredients. Thankyouverymuch.

Margherita ala JA

The History of Pizza (in our house)
JA took a class with pizza legend Mark Bello, pie pro and founder of Pizza A Casa, which was held at our local Whole Foods. Usually he hosts classes in his apartment but starting on April 15, he’ll be opening a school on our block. He’ll teach you how to make great dough, in a regular house oven, as opposed to a pro oven that goes up to a bazillion degrees. You’ll never order in again. Take this class, it is a tasty and fun way to spend an afternoon and it’ll change your life.

Pizza in Thoiry, homemade peel

The Competition
JA’s whole family is really into making pizza. From Edinburgh to Thoiry, France to San Francisco, great pizza is being made. JA made a batch in France last Easter, for which Cousin Dan made a peel in his private wood shop (in about 15 minutes!). These people mean business.

YUM!

On the Menu
We always serve a Margherita — fresh mozzarella, a simple, uncooked red sauce, pecorino and finished with basil. One of the pies is often a smoked mozzarella with sun-dried tomato and a spritz of balsamic. Usually, we have one or two “experimental pies.” My favorite is a white pie of sauteed potato and leek with pecorino, rosemary and finished with truffle oil. Last night JA went all Mario Batali and threw an egg on top (and fresh oregano). It was rich and yummy tasting. We’ll be doing this again. Our fourth had fresh ricotta with basil and the “good” olive oil. The ricotta hails from Salvatore Brooklyn. You MUST try. And try their smoked version. Anne sells it.

I like to throw arugula on my slices.

Finish

Wash down with wine or beer. Chase with gelato from the Lab. (The caramel was made 10 minutes before I bought it!)

Any ideas for future experimental pies?

A Season AND A Holiday!

Thoiry, France

JustAwesome’s colleague has a 4 year old daughter who after cheering about a big snowfall with her family said, “WAIT!! Is it a SEASON or is it a HOLIDAY?” She just wanted to get a handle on the situation... In the spirit of that excitement, we have a tradition of having fondue for dinner the night of a big storm, whether it sticks or not. Just because.

The very best way to do this, of course, is to go to a farmer’s market in France, talk to the cheesemonger and get him to put together a selection of cheeses for you. Through an interpreter (ok, cousin) we learned that we’re to rub garlic on the insides of the pot, stir the cheese in figure 8s, and add a little bit of white wine. Of course, smuggling cheese is a federal offense. I stuck it in JustAwesome’s suitcase. Near her socks.

Thoiry Sunday Market

The second very best way to do this is to go to Saxelby’s and have them select your cheeses. They even have a link to a good recipe.

Fondue Night!

We often take the easy way out. Buy a package from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s and plus it with garlic, nutmeg, pepper, kirsch, wine, whatever you have. Roast some potatoes and/or cauliflower, boil some string beans, thinly slice some apples, cut up some nice bread. Serve with wine. Voilà!