Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Mixed veg with Thai red curry sauce: Cauliflower, kohrabli, onion, carrots, baby peppers, Chinese broccoli, oyster mushrooms, fresh Thai basil and cilantro. It was not really authentic but I needed to clean out a bunch of veggies and it tasted really good. (Actually, I could put that sauce on a paper towel and it would taste good!) Served with a new (to me) style of brown rice that I found at an Asian grocery: short grain! Wow, that stuff is especially delicious. If you don't think that you like brown rice, try the short-grain style. You might be surprised!

Since my sweetie has rehearsal on Tuesdays, I'm not doing "Spicy Food Tuesdays" with my friends (she can't take hot food).

Tonight was Seafood Gumbo, per Tom Fitzgibbons, with alterations for ingredient availability.

I forgot how long it takes to make a brown roux! Like, 35 minutes to get to "peanut butter".

I made and froze around four pounds of gluten-free gnocchi yesterday, then prepared a portion of them for dinner. They were briefly boiled, then sauteed in olive oil and butter. Half were served with Marcella Hazan's tomato butter sauce, and the other half with her pesto. The large box of basil, that should be outside in the garden, but seems to thrive in my living room, needed some hacking down, and this recipe allowed for that.

I served a salad of blanched haricots verts, red onion, grape tomatoes and feta in a balsamic vinaigrette. Lots of red and green on the plate.


Edited for grammar.

Lisa,

Gluten-free? What's the binder?

I add a dash of xanthan gum, but they're still quite tender, perhaps too tender. Which is why I always pan fry them. They're crisp on the outside, and creamy on the inside. I'm thinking I may need to add more xanthan gum in the future.

Incidentally, I make them with baked, riced potatoes, and a brown rice flour/tapioca starch/potato starch blend. I base them on a Lidia Bastianich recipe.

Lisa,

I have a friend who has celiac. I'd love to have your gnocchi recipe.

Amy

Hi, Amy --

It's basically this recipe, with the aforementioned changes. I also bake the potatoes for closer to an hour. I've made it three times so far, and started out first with no xanthan gum, then a little more, and a little more still. God forbid I wrote down how much. I *think* I must have added 1/2 teaspoon. (I tripled the recipe the other day, so I'm not exactly sure.) I think they could tolerate a bit more, but I'm afraid of making them too...gummy. These are very fluffy. I prefer my gnocchi to have some bite.

Yesterday was Geekboy's birthday. We had CC's Balsamic Steak Tips and Horseradish Mash, and CI's Salad with Roquefort, Beets, and Fried Shallots. Tres Leches Cake for dessert.

Fired up the smoker and did 4 racks of ribs, a 14# brisket and three rabbits. Not wantingbto overwhelm the bunnies they only got a few hours of smoke and will be braised before eating, but the ribs and brisket came out exceptionally well. I made a dry rub with salt, brown sugar and a small jar of a Spice House blend, then sprinkled the fat cap on the beef with garlic salt and black pepper. They went in the cooler overnight. Once the fire was right this morning I loaded the box. The ribs got about 8 hours and the brisket about 12.
While waiting for the meat I helped empty a room used as a dump for too long and build a new closet to hold most of the stuff. Framed, dry-walled and ready to tape. All in all a useful day.
Oh, and I made a tray of David Liebowitz's cheesecake brownies for dessert.

Tonight, had friends over, cooked from The Basque Kitchen. Marniated tomato/onion/pepper salad, oven-roasted whole sea bass with vegetables, white bean/rosemary/pepper casserole. Kris made olive oil/lemon cake for dessert.,