Dinner in Austin: Rabbit with orange glaze, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and pots de creme

We've spent the last week in Austin, TX. I gave a talk, we went to the LBJ Presidential Library, and we've tried to get work done. S has given us her house for the week, as she spends most of her time at her partner's place. They're great cooks, so we've happily eaten with them most nights, but last night we got to have them over and show off our own cooking.

Go to the Farmers' Market in Austin, and check out all the meat stands (there are many, especially in winter). Hopefully, you'll find Countryside Farm, where you can pick up a whole rabbit. Defrost it in a bowl of water in the fridge overnight. Also look for broccoli and sweet potato, which are available in February even after a week of frigid temperatures (this week has been in the 70s, but last week saw highs in the 30s).

Main: rabbit baked with orange-honey glaze

A few hours before you're ready to eat, butcher the now-thawed rabbit. We prefer smaller cuts, so ended up with eight pieces: forelegs, ribs, sides and belly, and hind legs. Be careful to find and remove and save the kidneys, liver, and (if you're lucky) heart. Lightly salt and pepper the pieces, and set them in a single layer in an oven-safe pan.

Meanwhile, reduce three cups orange juice to one cup, and then whisk in juice from half a lemon, ¼ cup honey, salt and pepper, and add thyme and four cloves fresh garlic. Pour the hot liquid over the rabbit, and let the meat marinate an hour. Top the meat with sliced oranges and more fresh thyme. The rabbit needs to bake 25 minutes in a pre-heated 400-degree oven.

Sides: mashed sweet potato with ginger and sage; baked broccoli

Cube sweet potato, and boil in salted water until tender, 20-30 minutes. Mince some fresh ginger and lots of fresh sage. Drain the potato, and mash it with the ginger and sage, a little salt and pepper, and some butter. Transfer to an oven-proof casserole with a lid, so that you can warm the potato back up near the end of food-prep.

Cut up some broccoli, pack it into a casserole with a lid (we used a terrine), and add plenty of minced garlic, juice from half a lemon, and some grated or shaved parmesan cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes, covered.

Dessert: pots de creme de chocolat

You should make the dessert first. Preheat the oven to 300°F, and also bring a teakettle of water to a boil.

In a heat-proof bowl or large measuring cup, place 2-3 oz chopped (or chip) milk chocolate. Then scald between 1 ½ and 2 cups cream, and pour over the chocolate to melt. Meanwhile, whisk together 3 egg yolks with ¼ cup sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Temper the yolks by whisking in a little of the hot cream, and then combine the cream and yolks. Whisking, heat the mixture over medium until it thickens enough to coat a wooden spoon.

Prepare a water bath by pouring the boiled water into a small lasagna tray or two loaf pans, just enough so that with four ramekins set in the water, the level is about 2/3 up the sides of the ramekins. Ladle the thickened egg mixture into four small ramekins, wipe down any spills on the outside, and place in the water bath. Bake 35 minutes at 300°, until centers are still a little jiggly. Cool a little on a wire rack, and then chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour — the centers will firm up the rest of the way.

For serving, whip some more of the cream and dollop on top of the pots de creme. Decorate with mint leaves if you have them.

Serving

Set the table lovely with dinner knife and fork on the sides of each plate, salad fork and dessert spoon above the plates, and white and dessert wine glasses. Also set out pads for hot foods. Time the baking so that you can remove everything from the oven a little after the guests arrive, or anyway to bring everything still warm out. (The casserole pans will hold their heat, and you really don't want to overcook the rabbit — it's ok if the meat cools a bit before serving.)

Begin with the meat and veggie sides, accompanied with a nice chardonnay. We discovered that Fall Creek Vineyards, a Texas winery, is quite good, and bottles are under $10.

Once everyone has eaten their full, remove the dinner plates and silverware and the food, and bring out smaller salad plates (we love salad between the main course and dessert; it's refreshing and light). Salad should consist of washed and dried red-leaf lettuce, dressed in something with plenty of minced shallots and just a little salt and acid (white wine vinegar or a while balsamic), with maybe a little honey mixed into the dressing. Salad's a great chance to continue talking, start digesting, and finish a second bottle of chardonnay.

Finally, remove the salad plates and forks to the kitchen. Whip the cream and decorate the pots de creme, and bring them to the table. Open a bottle of Fall Creek sweet moscatel, and enjoy the dessert slowly accompanied by good conversation.

Macaroni and cheese and mushrooms and broccoli in a cast iron skillet

Seared ahi tuna, steamed broccoli, and mashed potatoes with celery root

Birthday dinner: Broiled salmon, steamed broccoli, parsley mashed potatoes, and avocado mousse

My birthday was Friday. We've been having camera problems today — largely an artifact of my running out of disk space because I've been keeping all my photos on my laptop (I've decided to buy a new computer just for photos and mp3s) — so I don't have pictures to show you. Suffice it to say, B cooked me a dinner that was both beautiful and delicious.

For the main course, B baked thick fillets of salmon, which he had topped with some minced garlic and parsley. He baked the fish for 22 minutes, and it came out divine: cooked all through, but only just, and still tender and moist. Meanwhile, he reduced red wine with some more parsley and garlic on the stovetop, and used used it as a topping for the fish. As sides, he steamed broccoli above the pot of boiling potatoes. The broccoli he served unadorned, and the potatoes he mashed with butter, parsley, and a little garlic.

We finished the meal with red wine and a salad dressed in a "vinaigrette" made with salt, olive oil, a clove of garlic, and a touch of the red wine we were drinking, not the cheap stuff that went into the reduction.

For dessert, which we ended up saving until the next day because we were full, but it would have paired wonderfully, B made a phenomenal avocado mousse. You might not think "avocado mousse" would be a good idea, but it is. We first had an avocado mousse at Red Agave, a Latin American and Spanish fusion joint in Eugene, where we went for B's birthday last January. It is, in fact, a very Spanish dish: it's a foam. In any case, B made the mousse with avocado and vanilla, and egg whites and cream and sugar. Mmm hmm.

Pizza with sauteed onions, mozarella, romano, and broccoli greens

Broccoli flowers from the garden

We took out the broccoli last weekend and put in peppers: two sweet peppers and one spicy. There were few leaves left to eat, but we kept the broccoli flowers for a few days.

Cream of cauliflower soup with homemade baguette

B made this wonderful dinner for us and a friend of ours. He described the soup as "cream of everything in the fridge": after sauteing and boiling cauliflower, leeks, and celery, he blended the soup with the immersion blender. The cauliflower gets very creamy — no dairy necessary. We garnished the soup with parsley and broccoli flowers from the garden.

Rockfish with green garlic; steamed broccoli; sweet potato chips

Ladybugs!

We found ourselves with an aphids problem. Fortunately, the garden store sells tupperwares with 1500 ladybugs for $9.

Stir fry with shrimp, mushrooms, and broccoli

Most of our stir fries start with fresh ginger and garlic sauteed in a light oil; then the veggies and the deveined shrimp. We served this stir fry with brown rice and a French rosé.

First broccoli harvest

We let the broccoli go a bit too long before harvesting — when it starts to shoot up, it gets a bit woody. But what you miss out in tenderness you make up for in freshness, well worth the trade.

Sturgeon, baked potato, and broccoli

If like us you do not each beef, a very close approximation is steaks of sturgeon from the Columbia river. B cooked these in the broiler with minced garlic, steamed the broccoli, and baked a potato for each of us. Very little is better than a baked potato with copious amounts of sour cream and fresh parsley.

Sturgeon with potatoes and broccoli

Sturgeon with romanesco and baked sweet potato chips

Occasionally our fishmonger gets specialty fish from once-a-year harvests in Oregon and Washington. This sturgeon is from the Columbia river, and tastes remarkably beefy. I'm looking forward to next year's catch. To go with the sturgeon, B baked sweet potato chips with a dusting of salt and paprika.

Steamed broccoli with garlic, couscous with garbanzo beans and spices

The little heads of broccoli were steamed and topped with garlic. The couscous recipe is an old and easy standby from The Joy of Cooking:

Heat in a large skillet [I do the entire dish in our smallest saucepan] over medium heat:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Add:

• 1 cup sliced blanched almonds

Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Stir in:

• 1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce [I usually leave this out]

Cook until heated through, about 1 minute more. Stir in:

• 2½ cups chicken or vegetable stock of water [it's a flavorful dish; use water]
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (about ⅔ cup dried), rinsed and drained if canned [1 can]
• 1 cup chopped raisins or whole dried currants [or dried red peppers or...]

Bring to a boil and stir in:

1¼ cups quick-cooking couscous

Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes [or longer; it will holds its heat]. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Season with:

• Salt and ground black pepper to taste [or include some salt and pepper at the beginning]

Garnish with:

• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Steamed broccoli, baked potato chips, and tuna steaks with garlic and ginger

For the potatoes, begin by coating a rimmed cookie sheet with goose fat or oil. Sprinkle liberally with cumin, ginger, paprika, and garlic salt. Slice potatoes thin, and arrange in pan, turning them so that both sides get some fat-and-spices. Bake until tender and starting to crispen.

Coat another rimmed cookie sheet with goose fat or butter, and crush a garlic clove into the fat. Arrange tuna steaks in the pan, sprinkle lightly with salt and powdered ginger, and bake under the broiler 15 minutes.

Steam broccoli. Decide that you absolutely _must_ go buy yourself a bamboo steamer the next time you are in China Town. They work magnificently.

Serve with a Pinot Noir or light Zinfandel.

Meals before Christmas

Now the last of January, it seems appropriate somehow that I recap the meals. Let's then begin with the meals from around Christmas.

On Dec. 21, we had broccoli and purple cauliflower, wild rice, and salmon:





On Dec. 22, my family and I made pot stickers:



Christmas was a goose:



And Boxing Day was a seafood bisque. Begin by boiling crab shells (leftover from Christmas Eve), with some old carrots, celery, and onions, and dried peppercorn and bay leaf. Strain them, and bring the broth back to a simmer. Sauté a mirepoix of carrots, celery, and onion in butter, along with some clams (scrub them first), which will steam open and release their liquids. Remove from heat, and pick out the clams; make your little sister take the clam meat from the shells. Add the veggies to the crab broth, and blend until smooth with your brand new immersion blender that you received for Christmas. Add the clam meat, some leftover salmon, and the meat from the half-crab that you saved. Bring to a boil, stir in some heavy cream, correct the salt, and add just a little curry powder. Serve with parsley and a good bread.

Tuna with sweet potatoes and broccoli

Preheat the oven, and slice sweet potatoes. Set the potatoes on an oiled lasanga pan, sprinkle with paprika, cumin, ginger, and salt, turn them over, and season again. Bake until tender. Meanwhile, rub garlic, butter, and ginger over a small pan. Place tuna filets, toro-side up, on the pan, and cook under the broiler ten minutes. Steam broccoli along with its greens, and pour over it garlic mashed with olive oil, ginger, and salt.

Thai-Italian curry

Sauté onions and shitake mushrooms in olive oil with some salt. Add broccoli and tofu, cover, and steam until the broccoli is bright green. Add a can of coconut milk, some soy sauce, and a can of tomatoes. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and stir in one bunch purple basil. Serve over brown rice.

Pan-fried sole, broccoli, and rice