25 March Saturday

It happened again last night. I opened the fridge, pulled the last soldiers of various leftovers, put them together and what have you got? A great new dish. I had one fatty slice of corned beef left. It look as though it had been attacked by a dog and was salvaged at the last minute, but not without a fight. A half head of Napa cabbage. Some homemade frozen pierogi. I minced the beef into a paste tossed it into a hot pan. When it was browned, I tossed the chopped cabbage and let it cook. Then, I boiled the pierogi and a few minutes later, tossed them into the cabbage along with a little of the pasta water. Black pepper. Heaven. It´s a nice variation on Haluski. These impromptu meals have been going well. My refrigerator just keeps on giving.

Another first. Caramel corn. Why? I have a block of solid caramel that I´ve come in to, and popcorn and toasted pecans. It tastes really good, and has one HUGE flaw. I tossed the caramel into the bowl that the popcorn popped, not noticing that there were a lot of kernels at the bottom of the bowl. This means that everyone had to eat the corn, nuts, and caramel, and masticate the seeds into a bowl. Live and learn, I guess.

Which brings us to today. There is little doubt that I will make a bouillabaisse today. Of this we can be sure. I also have a number of apples, and wouldn´t mind a pie. Or what about a Tart Tatin? Hmmmm……I think that´s what we are going to do. A French day. Of course, I will make Rouille, that unusual mayonnaise that includes saffron and cayenne pepper. You plop some on top of a crostini, drop it in the soup bowl, and ladle the soup around it. The Bouillabaisse today will have shrimp, cod, scallops, and if they have, mussels or clams. Right now is not the best time to get shellfish, so it may be more fish based. Fennel, orange zest, thyme, parsley, garlic, vermouth, and my amazing shellfish stock.

I came back from the market, with one beautiful fillet of shiny white cod, and twelve beautiful fresh pearly white scallops. Trouble is, it´s getting late, I forgot to thaw the shrimp and calamari, and I will not make bouillabaisse for one. I will make the soup tomorrow afternoon, everything will be great. For a cold, windy night in the city, I will eat a hot dog and hit the hay.