I am having such a hard time keeping up/catching up with French Fridays with Dorie. This week's recipe was supposed to be a spice crusted tuna dish. Sounds good. I just didn't get there.
I have, however, made up a few old ones, which I promptly forget to blog about. I'm so irritatingly redundant. I apologize. I can't promise it won't happen again.
By substituting frozen shrimp for mussels, I managed to make last week's Curried Mussels out of items I had in my poorly-stocked kitchen after being in Siena for our 4-day weekend (Thanks, Martin Luther King, Jr.!) This was easy and totally delicious. I loved it. And it was easy enough to please everyone by cooking a few shrimp in butter on the side for Charlie. Shrimp is one of the few animal proteins he'll reliably eat. I really should cook them more often. This recipe will definitely be a repeat.
Before the holidays, I spotted Jerusalem artichokes at the Italian supermarket. I thought, "Ooh, I need to make up the 2 Dorie recipes soon!", but dawdled too long, and when I tried to find them, they were gone. However, I spotted one lonely package of them at the market last week, so I grabbed them, even though I couldn't remember what else went into the recipe for Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes with Garlic. Turns out, it's mostly just garlic and olive oil. Score. I had rosemary on-hand, but did not have thyme. No big deal. Due to their name, I shouldn't have been surprised that these sunflower tubers taste exactly like artichokes, but I was. I hate preparing artichokes, but really enjoy eating them. I'm on a new mission to substitute Jerusalem artichokes for every Italian preparation of artichoke that I've learned since I've been here. Next month's Italian cooking class involves a dish of artichoke, potato, and cheese, baked together in the oven. Sounds to me like that recipe was built for a Jerusalem artichoke substitution!!
A while back, I made the Warm Scallop Salad with Corn, Nectarines, and Basil. I had to use frozen shrimp, frozen corn, and frozen peaches. It was pretty flavorless. I hold it against my ingredients, not the recipe. If you don't have fresh food for this recipe, don't bother.
I'm certain that I uploaded my pics to my computer, but they're not showing up. No time to sort it out right now. Charlie's 5th birthday is on Sunday, and there is much to be done. (FIVE??? HOW IS HE FIVE????)
Good for you for all these make-ups! You'll get there! (PS: my sunchokes tasted nothing like artichokes! Glad you've found something to sub in for artichokes because, yes, they are a pain to prepare!)
ReplyDeleteOh, really?!? Mine tasted exactly like artichokes! Weird.
DeleteHappy birthday to Charlie!!! Great make up week---you'll have to try the scallop salad when you can get fresh peaches and corn. I loved it :)
ReplyDeleteWill do! The recipe sounds like it should be delicious. Fresh is best.
DeleteI'm with you on the artichokes, I love to eat them and hate to prepare them. And happy birthday to Charlie! Waht's on the birthday menu?
ReplyDeleteHa--the menu is an incoherent mix of food the boy will deign to eat: bacony oniony cheddar mac n cheese, spinach artichoke dip w/ assorted chips, gougeres, and assorted snacks and treats. Cheese seems to be the thing that all these foods have in common. If I have time, I'll do the croquants, too, b/c it seems like a good way to make them without eating them all. And he wants a "TRex cake." I hope he's satisfied when I stick one of his toys on top of a cake. Ha!
DeleteSounds like you had a good make-up week! Everything sounds delicious! Happy Birthday to Charlie!
ReplyDeleteMan, do you beat yourself up. I am enjoying all your pictures as you and your friends and your family take advantage of having this time in Europe. So I don't care so much if you get all your posts made and posted on time. Since Charlie eats shrimp and that's pretty much it for "animals", so to speak, it makes him a Pescatarian. I notice that he is wondering about that these days so I googled the answer. No, I cannot believe Charlie is 5. Of course, I cannot believe my Melissa is going to be 49 in February. Congrats on liking the Jerusalem artichoke recipe. Couldn't find them. Didn't make it. Harboring no guilt about it. Your many make-ups are commendable. Enjoy the party and the rest of your time in Italy.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a great job on catching up! I'm not at all sure I will do that. I've made the things that really interested me and the rest...... I haven't found jerusalem artichokes and after hearing their nickname, fartichokes, decided maybe I don't need to worry abut it:)
ReplyDeleteThat's an impressive triple catchup. Happy birthday Charlie!
ReplyDeleteGreat job with all that catching up! You almost made as much as Alice and I did this week. Ha!
ReplyDeleteAwww, happy 5th to your little one! You did a lot of catching up--how great! Also, those cooking classes sound like they are a lot of fun. I'm totally jealous. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Happy 5th to Charlie ! He is an utter doll and I have enjoyed seeing pics of my Dorista friend explore Europe with that lucky, lucky little boy. Now the recipes. Please know that I consider you a rock star for even continuing this adventure while you have the distractions and challenges of your tour through Italy and Europe. You put me to shame when I fuss at having to go one mile to Giant Market because Acme didn't have shallots. Yup. I need to get a grip. ROCK star.
ReplyDeleteGreat make up post, and a big Happy Birthday to Charlie. Where does the time go?
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Charlie!!!! And great job on the make ups. I think the Doristas that aren't based in North America have an extra shopping challenge every week. I give you credit for whatever you whip up, on time or not. Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteHHBD2U Charlie! Good job on the make-up dishes, sometime we get away with subs sometimes not... at least we tried!
ReplyDeleteShrimp is my daughter's favorite too. There's definitely no predicting what kids are going to like! Baked artichoke, potato, and cheese sounds absolutely delicious and--I agree--like it was made for a sunchoke substitution.
ReplyDeleteGreat make-up week. I liked the sunchoke soup so maybe when you need a hot soup try that one. I love shrimp and finally make the curried mussels with shrimp. Hope Charlie has a great 5th birthday.
ReplyDeleteCharlie can not be five.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the Jerusalem artichokes too - there is something about them that just sucked me in.