Fluke, Flounder?

Does it matter? We'd pull up flatfish the size of doormats back east. Didn't take much effort either. But that's not the case here. At least the fresh stuff is for sale (Kate's).

First the pasta. The sauce was super finely diced, rendered homemade guanciale (Tea Hills--this recipe), reduced white wine, and some butter. Simple sauce for some whole wheat pasta (truth be told, I like the regular noodles better). Beefed up with julienned yellow squash (gotta use that garden produce) and parsley. Lots of salt and pepper.

The fluke (or flounder) was folded GHT style, seasoned, and then baked for a few minutes in a 425 oven.

This works for me. It uses up some awesome fresh squash (the yellow stuff can be so good), addresses the whole starch with fish thing, and was light and slightly porky at the same time. Good stuff.

Shoreway Gardens

They're everywhere. That map is just the start. The CFT survived being on the tour. Served sweet tea infused with a few types of basil, thyme, and mint. And the chickens didn't maul any children, making it a complete success.

Food posts soon.

In the meantime, some whitefish. Because it's summer. Smoked, it'll be available at Kate's.

Recovering

From 20 hr days at the Beef Barn, having lived the dream of being a short order cook. Festival cooking is no joke, but neither is the Heron. I've never been to a more beautiful place, and for two and half days it was like we were at the only place on earth.

Luckily, we were set up next to the zydeco dance tent. The hours of constant unchanging rhythm drove the small crew of coworkers nuts, but I can't think of better music to work to. And while we wrapped up around 2:30, the dance tent was open until around 6, closing just in time for us to start making breakfast.

Also luckily, Southern Tier had a beer tent right down the way from us. The nectar of NY.

After a few days of that, and a short box truck drive back to Ohio, I'm beat. Energy only to make a little pasta with sausage (Tea Hills), cream (Snowville), chix stock (Plum Creek bird), garlic (Snake Hill), and garden herbs (basil, parsley, and thyme). Pasta wasn't available at the Heron.

Beans to Go

Black beans cooked with lard sweated onions in lamb stock, seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, tomato paste, and lime juice. Over basmati rice and topped with crème fraîche and cilantro. Not soupy, but not as stiff as it looks in the picture. File under: simple and good.

And no posts until after the holiday, as The CFT is off to play carny for the weekend at The Great Blue Heron Festival, slinging grass fed meat in western NY. File under: why the hell did I agree to do this, and cross reference to: I have to stop committing to do things while drinking. But a promise is a promise, and at least I'll be well fed.

And a Sensible (vegetarian) Dinner

Simple meat free weekday meal. A response to the meat overload that I'm slowly recovering from. In the past few days: hanger steak at Cento (flawless); lamb leg feast at home w/ good company and too much wine (and marrow); ridiculously good short rib and chef-made andouille at an Urban Landscape dinner; and a nice tartare w/ fries at Greenhouse for lunch. That list should scare off any vegetarian readers, so now to the meatless dinner, which could easily be veganized (rumor has it all the cool kids are vegan-curious).

Pictured above is the most basic of pastas. While the high quality dried spaghetti was cooking some butter was melted in a separate pan with just a bit of fresh oregano. A little oregano goes far, and too much could really ruin things. The pasta was drained and added to the butter/oregano sauce along with some salt and pepper and that was it. Topped with the tiniest amount of sheep's milk cheese, it was addictive. Not necessarily a dish I'd make for company, but it may become a go-to summer meal until the veggies start pouring in. Refreshing in its simplicity. Feeling vegan? Sub olive oil for the butter and fine bread crumbs (toasted or not) for the cheese.

And the salad. Fresh from the garden (mostly). During the aforementioned lamb feast a guest, and the guy who was doing the lion's share of the cooking, made an awesome, simple salad. Nothing fancy or crazy, but different in that he added tarragon and basil to the greens. Not much of either, but enough to know they were there. And the vinaigrette--the guy's a retired French trained chef--not much else to say. So pictured above is my paltry knockoff.

Lettuce, basil, tarragon, and radish from the garden and some store bought carrot (wouldn't have done the carrot normally, but after having some in a delicate, old school salad at the Fig I've been craving them). For the vinaigrette, dijon, salt, pepper, honey (Lucy at Ohio Honey, Shaker NUFM, has some great new stuff), sherry vinegar, and olive oil. Pretty standard, really. Still wanna be a vegan? Maple syrup instead of honey (lovingly called bee vomit by an old friend).

It's nice to eat a meal and not wind up in a food coma from time to time.

In Case the Last Post was too Much

Leftover skirt steak (Millgate Farm), cilantro, onion, tapatio, thinned crème fraîche, and some lime.

That's all.

Tacos Sans Frontiers

Cross-ethnic tacos are so 2006 (according to this pretty funny list, kind of), but still, it's been a few days since a post and this was ridiculously tasty. The title was going to be "Getting Religious About Tacos," but The CFT shies away from creating controversy.

Simply a pair of corn tortillas filled with just a little cream cheese, sorrel, and cold smoked sockeye salmon. Thinking about it now, this is more of a quesadilla than a taco. Whatever it is, sorrel, salmon, and dairy usually work out well together.

And for tribespeople who take things more seriously than me, I've heard rumors that corn may be K for P. If so, here's your alternative to the standard Sunday fare come that special time of the year.

Seriously, this was very good. That's why I had to take a picture after the first bite (of the second one).

Steak and 'Shrooms

Seared Millgate Farm grass fed skirt steak (black and blue, seasoned with salt, pepper, and minced rosemary) and Killbuck Valley oyster mushrooms sauteed with shallot and simmered in pork stock (seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme).

Salmon X 3

Is this blasphemous, taking Cleveland's most carefully sourced Copper River King and concocting all sorts of crazy little things with it? If it is it shouldn't be. I mean, Sockeye tastes better, at least to me. It looks prettier too, again, at least to me. The King is like the beauty pageant contestant--all shiny and gussied up, impressive at a glance, maybe, certainly usable in a pinch, but lacking any real substance in its almost abnormal proportions and unidimensionality.

The Sockeye, on the other hand, is like a close friend. Your friend might not look her best every day (though she usually looks just fine), but she's always there when you need her. And while she'll take a fair amount of abuse, at the end of the day you need to treat her respectfully. Not because you have to, but because you want to. It's just the right thing to do.

When you're out on the town your friend may not get as many head turns as the pageant contestant, but being familiar with her less obvious beauty and sophistication makes your relationship that much more special. It's like you're in on her secret--you've taken the time to learn how great she really is--and because of that your relationship is even sweeter.

Let the pageant contestant get her free drinks and superficial praise from the masses. That's fewer people intruding on your evening out with your friend. And for those brave folks who come over and take the time to be turned on to your friend's special charms, there's no going back. They're in on the secret too, and you're all better for it.

But really, enough of that. This is fish, not a friend. One of the best things to do with fresh Sockeye is to make fish and chips. I really hope you wouldn't do that with a friend. A pageant contestant . . . . No, that's not okay either. No matter how much you may want to. Sicko.

Pictured above is a funky salmon ceviche. Little pieces of salmon marinated in lemon juice for about 5 minutes. To that I added a bit of the vinaigrette described below, some thinly shaved bunching onions (Urban Growth), cilantro, salt, and pepper. Served over very thin slices of day-old OTR baguette, this was really, very good.

The only thing better than enzymaticaly cooked fish is raw fish. Here it's crudoesque atop some carmona red lettuce (fresh from the garden) and dressed with an everything but the kitchen sink vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is olive oil, dijon, lemon juice, shallot, coriander, salt, pepper, honey, and lime basil (tasty plant, not much of a grower though). That vinaigrette got whisked with a bit of crème fraîche and it was good to go. A light toss with the lettuce, and a spoonful over the fish.

A nice little salad.

And now it just gets over the top. I heart sushi rice, so something like this had to happen. The rice was some short grained rice cooked like any other rice, then stirred with some extra salt, sugar, and vinegar. Just an approximation of sushi rice.

The small piece of salmon loin was rubbed with salt, pepper, and a little grapeseed oil and placed skin side up under the broiler. Once the skin was crispy the fish was pulled out of the oven.

The sauce was a little silly. A good deal of chopped Vidalia onion was sweated in butter with just a drop of chili flakes. That went into the blender with some OJ. The puree was put back in the pot and brought to the boil with soy sauce, honey, and a pinch of powdered ginger. It was then reduced a little. Next, about three parts of the sauce was whisked with one part Kewpie mayo.

Awesome. Just wish I wasn't out of sesame seeds. It would have been a nice little garnish.

Couple of Sandwiches

I grew up in the land of the pork roll, and while I'm more of a bacon, egg, and cheese kind of person I'll always have a soft spot for the Jersey delicacy (and that term is used very loosely). It's unclear whether proper pork roll is available in Cleveland, so the pictured breakfast sandwich will have to suffice.

It's pancetta (get it: rolled pork. that's very funny, I know) that was made with Tea Hills whey fed pork, a Plum Creek egg, some sort of young pecorino type cheese a house guest left in the fridge, and some dijon. Bread = On The Rise pullman loaf.

Along with a double espresso from Gypsy Beans, the day was off to a good start.

And here's a pancetta, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. While The CFT is not likely to enter the big contest (not that this sandwich would be eligible), I was ready for one of the early OH tomatoes, and what better way to enjoy it? The bread was toasted in the pancetta fat, and the mayo was Kewpie. Lettuce from the yard.

Between the MSG in the tomato and the mayo, this was truly a flavor enhanced sandwich.

Pork King of Ohio

I wrote a nice little post for this one but accidentally deleted it. So for now: fusilli in a hot sausage tomato sauce. Pork from J.B. King's King Family Farm. Even after a long sojourn in the freezer the meat still gave its all.

This Isn't San Diego

Fish tacos in the Great Lakes style.

Roasted walleye (Kate's), tartar sauce, and some homegrown cilantro. The fish was just broiled, broken up into pieces, and then lightly stirred up with some salt and olive oil.

I was going to go with a thinned out crème fraîche sauce for the tacos, but since fried walleye is so good with tartar why not use some for the roasted stuff? The tartar is 1 egg yolk (Plum Creek), grape seed and olive oil, diced bunching onion (Urban Growth), diced gherkins, lemon juice, dijon, parsley, salt, and pepper (forgot to add a drop of hot sauce).

Only thing missing was a lime (and the Tapatio).

Walleye

Walleye (Kate's), beurre blanc, risotto (a little stiff).

That beurre blanc is just butter whisked into a reduced white wine, lemon juice, shallot (Snake Hill) mixture. Stock for the risotto from a Plum Creek chicken.

For a fresh water city, we do okay.

Sunday Breakfast

French toast made with leftover baguette soaked in cream, cinnamon, and eggs (a little salt and sugar too). The sauce is just halved strawberries cooked in a saucepan with a touch of sugar and finished with some lemon juice.

Normally I'd cook the sauce down more, but the texture of the cooked through but shape-holding strawberries was a nice alternative to the more ubiquitous jam. It'd be a shame to cook the hell out of such a great product. Overall, a pleasant little meal.

Sources:

Bread - OTR; Cream - Snowville Creamery; Strawberries - Buster at the Shaker NUFM

Tastes Like Chicken

Tacos again. Leftover roasted Plum Creek chicken sauteed with sliced red onion that was slightly caramelized in schmaltz (to make sure the tacos were kosher). The mix was put on a tortilla and topped with some Snake Hill cilantro. Only seasonings were salt, pepper, and some Urban Herbs chili pepper mix.

I haven't found a taco in town that really satisfies my craving for a taquería taco, so until then I'll keep making them at home. I'm not a stickler for authenticity. Just want something simple and tasty. Plus, the tortillas I purchased came three dozen to a package, so there's no end in sight.

No leftover is safe.