March Missive!
Cabbage, The Food Lab and A Star is Born
A few recipes and ruminations before the start of spring…
Slaw Season:
Yes, coleslaw feels peak summer, but its ingredients are in season now! Making a cabbage slaw refreshes any dreary winter’s day. I volunteer at The Stop, and one winter’s lunch side dish was a multicoloured slaw packed with veggies and herbs. Crunchy and bright, a rainbow reprieve. I have been making an assortment of cabbage salads this winter, such as this cold, crisp and spicy one, this creamy Japanese cabbage salad, and Gỏi Gá, a Vietnamese chicken and cabbage slaw.
Here is my The Stop-inspired winter slaw:
Ingredients:
For the pickles:
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the slaw:
1/4 head green cabbage, sliced thin or shredded
1 carrot, peeled and grated
6 small radishes or 1 big watermelon radish, sliced thinly
1/2 a cucumber, or two mini cucumbers, sliced thinly
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4-1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 bunch mint chopped
juice of one lime
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Place red onion and jalapeño into a glass jar, or other heatproof vessel. Heat water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a small pot and bring to a boil. pour over jalapeño mixture and make sure all the veg is submerged under the pickling liquid. Leave for at least 20 mins.
Add everything else to a large bowl. Mix together lime, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over veggies and toss. Taste and re-season to your liking.
Add in some pickled onion and jalapeños, plus a splash of the pickling liquid. Mix again.
Enjoy! Buon Appetito!
If you’re salivating for more slaw, try my apple kimchi version from fall 2023.
Meat Mondays:
In an effort to better ourselves as cooks, Rosalind and I have occasionally instated “Meat Mondays.” We cook meat on Mondays and gab; gourmet girl time. A spiritual opposite to the Catholic Fish Friday.
Our first beginner level meat project was completed on a Sunday evening (holy). Jacques Pepin’s chicken liver pâté. Simple and fun to make, I froze the rest of mine. To serve, I topped it with apricot jam and thyme leaves, and ate it with crackers.
One book has been particularly indispensable for Meat Mondays: The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt. This book is a tome, a textbook. Cooking methods for many different cuts of meat are explained, enhancing ones knowledge and confidence. And knowledge + confidence = delicious Monday night meat.
Meat Monday Menu 1:
Maple Mustard Glazed pork tenderloin (from The Food Lab)
Mashed Sweet Potato (roasted and mashed with butter, and garlic and thyme infused milk)
Apple Fennel Salad (mandolined apples and fennel with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper)
Meat Monday Menu 2:
Seared Ribeye with Red Wine Pan Sauce (from The Food Lab)
Radicchio and Fennel Salad (try one of my combinations here)
Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream, Green Onion and Salmon Roe
Meat is the star. Simple sides round out the meal.
Popcorn
I recently re-watched Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Leo’s whiskey sour scene is some of the most brilliant comedic acting I have ever laid eyes upon…
I have officially seen all 4 of the A Star is Born movies. The first two (1937 & 1954) are extremely similar, with all the same beats (although the second is a musical with Judy Garland, and the first is a perfect American Dream movie starring Janet Gaynor). My favourite moment is after Janet and Judy (both playing Esther Blodgett) have achieved fame, and are experiencing marital bliss: eating sandwiches made by their husbands whilst kissing them!
Sexy Little Snack
Martha Stewart is constantly posting pictures of baked potatoes with caviar. So for my Christmas dinner, a baked potato with salmon roe was my sumptuous side dish. And for a Meat Monday menu! To have a tin of salmon roe in the fridge as a luxurious accent, truly a sexy little snack.
Ciao! XOXO!!