The Last Thing You Put In Your Mouth....

My wife made chicken ala king over rice tonight. Loved it.
Got a free chicken at Costco.

Great minds...

Coffee. I bought decaf by mistake, but it still tastes good.

ya cant taste the caffeine. Anybody that sez so is BS ing.

The only difference in flavor is th difference between robusta and arabica beans. Arabica is smoother and less sour

What do you think if Id complete this with a long simmered ham broth with potatoes (to add some thickening and more Wo-MOMMY)??

I didn't know that since I rarely have ordered or bought decaf. I've liked both Robusta and Arabica.

roasted beet borscht made with ham broth/taters? sounds like it could work

it would definitely be rich in texture and flavour

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I might try potato starch (I pick some up during Passover every couple of years) as a thickener and have potatoes on the side - if I wanted some potatoes for leftovers

my gramma's borscht had a veal, ham and chicken (goldina yoich) base. Its a Jewish recipe and the ham is a goyam addition (obviously less than kashreth)

to get a similar richness to ham/pork, roast the chicken bones before making chicken broth

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hmmm roasted chicken bone broth
roasted beets

that would be one rich, autumnal , soup

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my shopping list just changed

forgot about the petrushki (nowadays we use celeriac root rather than celery root, which could be way more bitter than we lliked)
I grow celeriac and fennel for making "beds" over which Ill plqce a meat dish (like a butter n cream sauced sauteed pork medallion) or a little different "steak diane" fennel root sauce insted of bernaise

yeh we usually roast the bones. (My wife got that from a Julia Child book about making flavorful soups. It really works, big fan.

My wife is roasting the turkey this year, because her sister did it every year, but gets tired easily from heart problems. She's looking for the roasting pan, but can't find it. I guess we'll be going shopping today.
When my wife used to cook the turkey, she put it into a paper bag to keep the juice inside the bird.

fennel beds = best

I've become a big fan of all things fennel. I like it in slaw, in omelettes, under pork/chicken ... such a terrific ingredient.

then you must be familiar with the bulbous base of the fennel plant. You cut it into slices that look like slices of potato or othr root veggie, then they are sauteed with mushrooms and a teeny bit a garlic and salt.They create a really nice base sauce upon which you can lay any piece of meat.
We prefer dry pack scallops that are seared, or sliced pork rib medallions, or really tender beef. CHicken parts (the deboned thighs or even legs work and they must be just browned and then braised in a "punch " made of apples and mirin and soy
(Its alwys a special meal because it makes a really rich main entree, so we usually serve sweet potatoes or yellow beans with dill weed.

Making me revise my grocery list. I used to grow fennel but don't often see it here. I think it reseeds, forget how I handled that. Picked the flowers at the right time..

Apples, Mirin, and Soy - I've run out of Mirin, so it goes right to the list.

fennel ROOT is harvested from a plant left to fully mature, then the "root end" is just above the soil (I really think its an expanded part of a stem that becomes like a balooned up plant base).
Its delicious. The Italians use it on plates with sausages (Finnochio is their term from my days in Trecate).
PS, it will reseed, it becomes almost an invasive licorice field around
here. It acts as a home base plant for Black and the blue swallowtail butterflies

Fennel slaw from one of my favourite Canadian chefs

http://chefmichaelsmith.com/recipe/lemon-fennel-slaw/


1 bulb fennel
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 tablespoon honey
a few splashes olive oil
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Procedure

Remove the stalks from the top of the fennel bulb. Cut the head in half through the core. Carefully trim out the woody core and then slice the remaining bulb as thinly as possible. Alternatively, shred it through the large holes of a box grater.

Whisk the lemon zest and juice, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper together in a nice salad bowl. Toss with the fennel and then grab some forks!

Specialty kitchen stores sell a fancy French slicing tool known as a mandolin which the pros use to slice fennel, onions and potatoes paper thin. It’s nice to have one, but if you don’t no worries the salad still tastes awesome.

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Variation

For lots of fresh herb flavour, toss a handful of cool mint leaves, sharply sliced chives or aromatic basil leaves into the salad. You can also toss in the feathery fronds from the top of the fennel. This salad may be made well in advance and tossed again at the last second. Its texture will soften a bit but it will still be bright and vibrant.

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he prepared this at a fair we went to - everything he made was quick and super-flavourful

I had one plant at a time, so I could watch it, it never took over. I think they are "pretty".

chef Michael is now in my files; he'll stay a few days on the desk top, so I can check out more.

(I like the fronds too)