The Best of 2013: Spring into Summer

2013 Roundup: April, May, June

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Turkish-spiced Halibut Skewers with Yogurt Sauce: Another winner from David Tanis' City Kitchen column, a 3-generation favorite.

Salmon Cakes with Capers: I used the Cook's Illustrated salmon cake recipe for a quantity of leftover grilled salmon, adding capers in place of pickle relish. Finally, a fish cake that meets with MZ's approval.


Smitten Kitchen Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint tasted as good as it looked, and held several days for a great addition to packed lunches.

Another winner from the Times, this time Lox Chowder from the estimable Russ & Daughters.  I made this with my dad's hot-smoked salmon, delicious!

Cod Steaks in Spicy Tomato Sauce (Timatar wali macchi) from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking.

Pork Neck Gravy, a long-cooked Italian style tomato sauce with pork neck bones from Linda's Tasty Pork.  I combed several recipes to come up with this one: Saute two diced yellow onions, 1 shredded carrot, 6 minced cloves garlic, oregano, thyme. Add 1 c red wine, reduce by half, stir in 1/4 c tomato paste, 1 c chix broth, 2 large cans roma tomatoes, crushed, and 2 bay leaves. Simmer to taste and serve over pasta or polenta.

Mark Bittman's Miso-Ginger (carrot) Dressing, a marvelous way to use a glut of carrots and excellent on salad, rice, summer/lettuce rolls or grilled fish.

I saw this recipe for a beet green and rice gratin in the Times and brought it to a school potluck. It was a great use of the Portuguese kale from my farm box, and a filling and tasty dish with the addition of 1.5 c cooked flageolet beans, if a bit too Moosewood for 2013.

And to welcome Spring, I made a variation on this soupe a pistou from the Kitchn, using leeks, snap peas, new potatoes, asparagus, and baby turnips, topped with arugula pesto.

May
Sarsong ka Saag: This Indian mustard greens dish from the Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook was delicious, one of the best greens dishes I have ever made. And that's saying something.

A friend made Roasted Lemon Chicken with Zucchini and Feta and it was delicious. She gave me the recipe, I can share it with anyone who wants it, but it's a photo of the page, so let me know and I'll email it.

Dinner a Love Story's Macaroni and Cheese: MZ generally despises homemade macaroni and cheese but she enjoyed this one, as long as her serving was completely breadcrumb free.

Okonomiyaki from Mark Bittman's Best Recipe in the World cookbook was enjoyed by all.

And the discovery of the month: Brining beans. Who new? It results in lovely tender beans. Brine 1 lb. dried beans in 6 T kosher salt mixed with 4 quarts water for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain, rinse and proceed with preferred cooking technique. Wonderful!

June
A Little Yumminess Curry in a Hurry: This recipe can be adapted to virtually any protein/vegetable combination. I am particularly crazy about this dish with thinly sliced new potatoes

Sumptuous Spoonfuls Candied Kumquats: I found myself with more kumquats than I could use and recalled a panna cotta recipe from a Splendid Table podcast that had my mouth watering on my commute home. This recipe was perfect with the addition of a split vanilla bean and two cardamom pods. I inadvertently cooked it nearly to the jam stage, but no matter, I'm enjoying it stirred into Greek yogurt and drizzled on ice cream, and maybe I'll even make that panna cotta before it's gone...

Cook's Illustrated recipe for Pan-Seared Scallops: Perfection.

Pioneer Woman Onion Blue Cheese Sauce: Decadent.

Pasta with Yogurt, Peas, and Chile: This is an Ottolenghi recipe riffed on the Orangette blog. The pine nut/Aleppo oil combination is delicious! I used edamame because I had them, and since they are more bland than peas, I added a handful of basil to the sauce, as well. This was unusual, delicious and made great leftovers for lunch. A keeper.

Japanese Cucumber Salad with a new vegetable from my farm box, oshiru uri, or Japanese pickling melon.  Since the melon has a more mild flavor, I added spring onions and ginger, and a teaspoon of dashi miso instead of the dashi granules. I might maintain all these changes for a straight cucumber salad.

Martha Stewart's Gnocchi with Quick Meat Sauce: A friend made this for dinner and it was definitely a keeper.

Smitten Kitchen Pickled Vegetable Sandwich Slaw: I made this with the random vegetables I had in the produce drawer before we left on vacation. I can't wait to try it with pulled pork or a fish taco!

Kale Salad with Chevre Dressing
Made this up with what I had in the vacation kitchen, based on a memory of a recipe I couldn't find anywhere. Here it is:
2-3 T red wine vinegar
3-4 T EVOO
1/2 t sugar
1 t mustard
2 scallions, sliced thin on diagonal
4 oz chèvre
1/4 c chopped salted roasted cashews
1/4 c dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds or diced cherries

Combine kale with 2 T vinegar, 3T EVOO, mustard, sugar and a generous grinding of salt and pepper. Massage leaves to tenderize them. Taste and adjust vinegar and oil as needed. Add goat cheese and scallions and combine until both are worked into kale mixture. Toss with cashews and choice of fruit and serve.