Snake Surly

October 21, 2008

spaghetti with brown butter and sage

(no kittens in this post)

When life gives you butter, spaghetti and sage, you should melt the butter, throw the sage leaves into it and cook until the sage gets crispy and the butter becomes browned. Then you toss it with some cooked spaghetti and you have the easiest, most delicious dinner in the whole world.

Okay, I lied. Boris likes to look at pictures of himself on iPhoto.

Posted by Kate at 10:32 PM | Comments (1)

September 26, 2008

Miso-and Orange-Roasted Pork Belly

So Nathan's birthday was last week, and I shamelessly used it as an excuse to buy Jennifer McLagan's Fat book. It's really sort of the greatest thing ever, and we decided that we should cook everything in it.

I came home last night with a nice big slab of pork belly and got to work.

The fat on the top of the belly was scored, then I made and applied to it a paste of red miso, honey, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and orange zest. The belly got a blast of heat in a hot oven, then roasted it slowly.

It was almost brainlessly easy, and totally delicious. I served it with mashed potates and some steamed bok choi. I'd thought about making rice, but was glad I hadn't, as the pan sauce made the most kickass gravy for the potatoes. The clean, bitter bok choi was a perfect foil to the sweet, unctuous pork and its crispy, fragrant crust.

Taking the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" path to food and wine pairing, we had a 2007 "Jean Baptiste" Gunderloch Riesling Kabinett recommended by one of my peeps at the Oxbow Wine Merchant. It was sweet but nicely acidic, and the fruit flavors were lovely with the orangey pork belly.

Afterward, we passed out on the couch in a porky stupor.

January 31, 2008

cassoulet, re-ducks

Oh, hey, remember when I could have been more effusive about the duck confit in our cassoulet? Well, it turns out that the duckie legs just longed for more heat. The whole cassoulet got cooked in the oven on Monday (leftovers part 1), and again last night (leftovers part ducks). The two extra hours in the oven got rid of every bit of connective tissue on the duck legs. They were phenomenal.

Thanks to Tony for the recipe. I would make this again and again. The groceries weren't dirt cheap, but we had this for dinner three times and we each had it twice for lunch. It wound up being quite economical.

The only thing I'd do differently would be to get different sausages. The Toulouse sausages didn't quite work. I think the grind of the meat wasn't fine enough for that kind of slow, prolonged cooking. We had two extra sausages, and two nights ago I browned them in a pan and then finished them off in a braise. They were *heavenly* - moist, tender, and incredibly fragrant. I think for the cassoulet next time I'll try something a little less delicate.

Oh, and hey, I totally baked. I made Marion Cunningham's Refrigerator Rolls. They were great. I still can't believe I actually made something with yeast that turned out. And last night, I made the most amazing apple cake I've ever had. Is there anything in the world with a more amazing aroma than a fresh jar of cardamom? I think not. Anyway, the cake was ridiculously good. It was, hands down, the best thing I've ever baked. (That's not saying much, as I'm a notoriously crappy baker, but still, it was terrific.)