Extra Schmaltz!

$4.50/lb right now at Shuang Hur!

This is a pretty traditional preparation of mussels; steamed in white wine, shallot, and garlic. In this case I added tomatoes, which may or may not qualify this as moules marinieres depending on who you ask. This is pretty much a template recipe with infinite potential variation on flavors. If you like anis, substituting pastis or similar (ouzo, arrack, etc) for the white wine is very tasty. Your mussels must be clean, de-bearded, and alive. The best way to get beards off is a to do a twisting pull with a pair of pliers (demonstrated at about 4:45 in this video by Lil's favorite, Alton Brown). Definitely at no point should they be placed in water; this will kill them, and dead shellfish become poisonous very quickly. You can briefly rinse them in a colander however. Perfect cleanliness is neither possible nor essential, and being overly fastidious will likely just kill them. Let them sit out for half an hour or so before prep, so that the live ones close up tight. Sort through fo...

This, like most French foods, is a quintessential peasant food that, through whatever process it is that idolizes french shit, is thought of as something vaguely patrician. Fish soup is exactly what it sounds like; what poor fishermen and sailors eat when they arrive in port. This particular version is considered Provencale, originating in Marseille and the surrounding area. I guess northern sailors eat different stuff. Maybe whale. The basic idea is to take as many different kinds of the cheapest fish you can find, and cook them down whole with some veggies until its a mushy slurry, and then strain it finely so you're left with a super savory, fishy broth. I will demonstrate the traditional method of service as well. I found some french language recipes, and they all basically go like this: Onion Tomato Garlic Lots of different fish - only big ones gutted, small ones whole. Brown the fish bits, add veggies and sweat until clear, simmer the whole mess without lid adding water as it...

I often wind up with leftover pasta and struggle to find ways to use it. This recipe is a great way to use it with stuff you probably have around the house, and doesn't involve heating up the kitchen at all. If your noodles are stiff from being in the fridge, microwave them for a minute or run them under hot water before adding the dressing. I recommend using chunky-shaped noodles, but if you use spaghetti I would chop it up a bit first. If you don't have a green pepper, you could use celery or broccoli middles or any crunchy veg. Dressing : Juice of 1 lime or lemon 2 Tbsp. tahini 1-2 cloves garlic ~1/4 c. olive oil 2 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. white pepper pinch cayenne (optional) Salad : 2 -3 c. cooked pasta 1 can tuna, drained and in pieces 1 green pepper, diced 1/2 onion, diced chopped fresh parsley (optional but recommended) In a food processor or blender, blend together the lime juice, garlic, tahini, and seasonings (make sure the garlic is pulverized well). Drizzle in the oliv...

Behold my blurry food porn! Tonight's dinner, as Dan said, was "so good it would make Gordon Ramsay's bollocks tingle". After an exhausting trip to Chicago, eating overpriced and unwholesome food, I needed something to cleanse my body and soul. Something a bit fancy for Friday night, and a way to exercise my cooking muscles. An earlier meander through Wikipedia brought me to " dukkah ", an Egyptian condiment made of ground, roasted, seasoned nuts. I directed Dan to pick up whatever kind of fish looked delicious and he got some amazing ahi tuna steaks from Byerly's. Inspiration! I decided to combine the two. First I marinated the tuna in a simple combination of: Juice of 1 lemon 2 cloves crushed garlic salt and pepper dash of pomegranate molasses (you could use soy sauce + sugar) Meanwhile I made the dukkah: 1/2 c. nuts 2 Tbsp. raw sesame seeds 1 tsp. each whole cumin, corriander, fennel 1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper 1 tsp. dried mint 1 tsp. salt T...

At least one thing is cheap in (this part of) France: Shellfish! At 2E40 a kilo, mussels are a downright bargain. I actually went to the big fish farm at Sete where they are grown about an hour away from Montpellier so I can attest to their freshness. So last Saturday I threw a little party chez moi, where I fed 9 people with nothing but mussels (6 kg) and bread (and pasta for anybody who wanted it). Total bill for food: about 20E, making it approximately the cheapest meal any of us have eaten since we arrived. So, mussels are pretty damned easy, and I didn't actually get many pictures (since I was cooking batches as the party was in swing) making this a somewhat useless post. I do get to gloat, however. So here are all my ingredients for the mussel portion of the night's entertainment: Those are leeks, some kind of green onion thing ( I didn't even catch the name in french) lemons, and so many mussels my kitchen did not come equipped with a large enough container for them ...

A delicious and simple dinner idea--and with the benefit of requiring no wheat. I bread and fry the fish and serve it with corn tortillas, cabbage, avocado, and pico de gallo. Fish: Allow about 1/2 to 1/3 lbs. white fish per person. Shark or swordfish will be denser, cod or tilapia will be flakier, and halibut will melt in your mouth. 1/4 c. corn starch 1/4 c. yellow corn meal 1 egg adobo seasoning (I get it from Penzey's--one of my favorite spices!) ground cayenne or chipotle salt and pepper oil that gets good and hot (I use corn or grapeseed oil) Cut fish into 3-4" chunks that can easily be moved around in the pan. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle with seasonings to taste. Mix the dry ingredients in a pie pan, and beat the egg smoothly in another pie pan. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture and allow to sit for several minutes, while heating the oil good and hot. Dip the fish chunks in the egg right before frying. Fry 3 pieces at a time until brown and cri...