Dinner reviews from our Casa SaltShaker evenings
Pretty as a picture, no? Basically, prawns/shrimp, five ways. Risotto of shallots and dried baby shrimp, made with broth from some prawn shells. Finished with a little butter. Ají de langostinos – the same yellow chili sauce we use to make ají de gallina, with prawns sauteed at last moment and then tossed with the… Read More Plate by Plate: All Prawn All the Time
Several people have complained that I no longer do full write-ups of our Casa S dinners, having opted for a scattering of more detailed, individual recipes of dishes that have been particularly successful. On the other hand, when I was doing full write-ups, roughly the same number of people (possibly the same people, now that… Read More Ay Sea Phood
A ficelle, or really, a ficelle picarde, is a type of stuffed, rolled crepe, coated in grated cheese and broiled. Since a ficelle is also a type of bread loaf, similar to a baguette but much thinner, I assume the etymology of the name relates to the shape. Literally, I guess, the word means “string”,… Read More Plate by Plate: Mushroom Ficelle “al Ajillo”
We’re calling this our “Textures of Artichoke” plate, a very modernist sort of name, no? But it goes along with past “textures” plates of tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, and corn. This could almost count for one of our lexographic vegetable cookery posts, given that it approaches the vegetable in four different ways – “A” is for… Read More Plate by Plate: Thistle Me a Tune
We all know the daikon, or, as it’s generally called here, nabo japonés (japanese turnip), from the shredded stuff that comes with our sushi. Most of the time we just ignore it and it goes back to the sushi bar or kitchen, hopefully being discarded and not rinsed and reused. I’m just sayin’. On and… Read More “N” is for Nabo (Japonés)
Although I’ve given this soup a bit of a write-up in the past, I’ve never really laid it out step-by-step. It’s one of our favorites, and it’s actually quite simple to make, and you can vary it quite easily. It’s our version of Timbuche, a traditional soup of the Peruvian Amazon basin. Variously, it’s described… Read More Plate by Plate: Amazonia in the Soup Bowl
A private party this last week for a friend of mine celebrating his 80th birthday. Some spectacular wines from Spain that he provided for his guests. And a request that we, more or less, suspend our usual style of cooking and go more with inspirations from classic Spanish dishes. It was kind of fun to… Read More Plate by Plate: Lemme Smoke a Clam
Chocolate Star Anise Tart Crust: 150 gm pastry flour, 120 gm butter, 90 gm sugar (5:4:3, a ratio I learned years ago), pinch of salt – all rubbed together until it’s the texture of crumbly, slightly wet sand. Add 1 egg yolk and knead briefly, just long enough to get it to come together. Chill… Read More Plate by Plate: Starring, Chocolate