Marcella Cooking Stuff • May 17th - May 23rd

May 17th - May 23rd

It's time to address something that has been pointed out many times...yes, I wear ugly clogs all day, every day, and I love them.

We have had a no shoes in the house rule forever. Shoes go outside, outside is gross, the house is clean, no shoes in the house. To me, a clean freak, it's a no brainer. To me, the resident cleaning lady, it's also a no brainer. If we are not tracking dirt in the house from our shoes then the floors don’t get as dirty. I digress, you get the point.

We go through phases with what we wear inside. Forever Marco always wore socks. I have had a countless number of different slippers. In the summer we are barefoot because the fluffy slippers make your feet too hot. Now Marco wears slippers and we are that couple with matching slippers.

I have always worked jobs where I was running around on my feet all day, chasing children, running errands, and cooking. I used to have knee and hip pain but I assumed that was from my labral tear, which was corrected. In the last few months a new pain popped up...heel pain?! After hours of standing on my hard floor cooking in slippers or barefoot my heels were killing me. Does this mean I’m getting old?

I went through the closets looking for a pair of shoes I could make “house shoes” and found the big black ugly Dansko clogs. I got them for culinary school almost ten years ago. I wore them in class for two years and then never again. I didn’t get rid of them and they came with me when we moved across the country, why? I have no clue why I kept them but I’m so so glad I did.

They changed my life. They saved my heels!! They have arch support, the leather sole adds a little cushion, plus they are nonslip. They are still as ugly as ever. Hello they are c l o g s. But who the hell cares. I like them so much I tried to look for another “cuter” pair. I’m here to report back clogs don't get “cute.”

You've all seen me wearing them. The little black shoes under every plate of food. They make some of you laugh and I’m happy to bring you laugher. These clogs are here to stay.

Sunday

• Random Sunday Salad

• Gluten-Free Brown Butter Madeleines

Buckle up. Madeleines are here and we are just getting started.

I ordered a madeleine pan a few weeks ago and have finally gotten around to using it. When Marco saw the pan he demanded that I make them gluten-free. Sigh.

When you think of madeleines and their taste, what comes to mind? Starbucks? Yep, Starbucks has the best madeleines and we all grew up eating them. Little buttery sugary light cakes.

By now you know my feelings about gluten-free baking. I have learned with all gluten-free desserts that they will never taste like the “regular” version. You may get close but never the same. I went into these with zero expectations of a madeleine but with the goal of creating a tasty treat. I didn't originally post them on social media because I was sure they wouldn't turn out well. I was shocked by how delicious they were!!!

I used the usual Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour, goat butter, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, and lemon zest. I browned the butter because I love browned butter. I found the nutty flavor really tasty and the lemon zest helped balance it out. They were caky and light with slight caramelization on the edges. Well...the first picture you can see they got too dark but the second batch was better. The second batch could have used one more minute of baking for the center but after two batches we needed a break. I will revisit these next week and send out the recipe then.

*A note about butter - Marco is allergic to the protein in cow dairy. Not lactose. I use goat butter where a recipe calls for butter. The one we use is a European style, with higher fat content and is salted. It's delightful. Goat dairy has less lactose than cow dairy and its chemical make up is very similar to breast milk. If you're dairy sensitive, goats milk products may be a good option. If you see it at Whole Foods give it a try sometime.

Random Sunday Salad:

• Mixed greens

• Grilled chicken

• Grilled carrots

• Grilled bell pepper

• Grilled scallions

• Grilled tomatoes

• Snap peas

• Smoky almonds

I blended ginger, scallions, honey, tamari, rice vinegar, and oil to make a marinade/dressing. Chicken marinated in two-thirds of it and the rest went over the salad.

Marco rating: 7/10
"It's good. Nothing wrong with it."

I agreed it was good but didn't blow me away. The dressing was the best part.

Monday

• Herby Pork Larb With Chile

• Coconut Sticky Rice

This week we had a lot of dinner leftovers for lunch. I juiced up the salad with more veggies, avocado, and sprouts. We were out of dressing which was a bummer because it was so good. I was too lazy to make a new batch so I just poured some random things together in a jar. To be honest, it was gross. I didn't care to fix it and we just ate the salads as fast as possible 😬.

I have mentioned before how much I love the Night + Market cookbook. It's my go-to for anything Thai. Well I made Larb because it is fast and easy but not from the cookbook 🤔. I used an NYT Cooking recipe for Herby Larb with Chile and it was good. Not great but it was fine. Lacking some umph.

"I think you can come up with something better," Marco said.

I found the Night + Market Larb Gai recipe online here. We will try that next.

For dessert, we had Coconut Sticky Rice from the cookbook. They have an easy microwave technique for sticky rice and I am here for it. I was out of Thai glutenous rice so we used Basmati. The stickiness was lacking but we didn't care. After I added the coconut, sugar, and salt, I THEN remembered the recipe is super salty. So it was salty. Marco loves salt and didn't think anything of it. The sweetness of the mango helped balance it out.

I love coconut sticky rice.

Tuesday

• Challah - Live!

• Earl Grey Madeleines

• Braised Chicken with Asparagus, Peas, and Melted Leeks

I'm not quite sure what got into me but I made challah live on Instagram. Did you watch it? My grandma Marge did and she loved it.

I was kinda nervous. I make this challah all the time but it's weird having people watch you. Knowing that if I mess up I can't edit it out. And I did mess up slightly. I fumbled my words a few times, couldn't get the calculator to work and rushed through my braid making it uneven 😠. Words and numbers are hard I don't care about those but my braidddddddddd. Ugh. They have been so good recently and of course, the one where people are watching turns out uneven. It did taste great though.

I shipped half to my grandparents to try. My grandpa is Jewish. He knows challah well and this is what he texted me: "Toasted Challah with raspberry preserves was terrific. Reminds me of the Challah that my grandmother used to make on Fridays. She would make a couple of challahs and with the remaining dough make rolls, bagels, and danish. Something for everyone. Gramps"

Like his grandmothers!!!?? BEST COMPLIMENT EVER! I could cry.

And my grandma said it tastes as good as it looks. The best challah she's ever had.

Do you think she would tell me if it was terrible? Something like "Well Marcella, it looks good but was awful." Lol. She wouldn't.

I had to redeem myself from the ugly braid and I made Earl Grey Madeleines to ship to my mom with the challah. It worked and I felt better after because they turned out so well. They had the signature dome in the center, great color, spongy light texture, and a very pleasant taste. Again these are not traditional madeleines but that is totally fine. I have two things of earl grey. One that's super fresh which I use to make my tea with and a backup bag that is over a year old. I used the back up one because I didn't want it to go to waste. There's nothing wrong with it, it just loses flavor over time. The cookies lacked some earl grey flavor...probably because the tea lacked flavor.

My mom's comments were: "I thought they were amazing. They had sort of firmness on the outside and a softer tasty inside. The flavor was subtle but quite yummy. Probably one of the better cookies I’ve had. I think they would go great with a cup of tea. They’re not too sweet. The texture was exquisite. I loved the hint of Earl Grey of course."

She uses the iPhone voice diction and never reads over it before she sends it. I had to make a lot of edits to her message. Like changing "cuppa" to "cup of" lol.

When I was creating my grocery list last week, one idea I had was for a spring braised chicken. I have a good fall recipe with kale and herbs but was invisioning something lighter with asparagus and leeks. I went to Google and found a recipe for Braised Chicken with Asparagus, Peas, and Melted Leeks. Fantastic recipe. Marco and I were brainstorming on how it could be improved and the only thing was the cooking process. It uses two pans which I think is unnecessary. It could be simplified. Flavor was spot on though. Next time I make it I'll test out a one pan method, take notes, and report back.

Wednesday

• Greek Salad with Beans

• Coconut Not-As-Sticky Rice

• Sweet Potato Dog Treats

I switched up the house's favorite Beet Greek Salad. Dropped the beets and added great northern beans! It was a completely different salad but equally as tasty. We both liked the mouthfeel that the beans added. Plus it added more protein and made it a more filling meal.

"They are almost creamy?"
"That's because I cooked the beans well 😉."

Reheated the leftover Coconut Sticky Rice for dessert again. The texture wasn't great reheated but with ripe mango on top we didn't care one bit!

Petco stopped carrying the dog food we feed Josie. She is a sensitive flower (like her dad) and has a sensitivity to chicken. We have found that pork is the best for her. I ordered it on Amazon not realizing the shipping would take over a week! We needed it in about two days. We went into our emergency kit and got the emergency kibble. That covered 3 days. Then we were stuck with about two more days with nothing. One client in LA had me make fresh food for her dog weekly. That knowledge came in handy. I made Josie white rice, carrots, green beans, sweet potato, turkey, and scrambled eggs. She is one spoiled pup.

Her godmother, Jamie, gave her dehydrated sweet potato treats once and she loved them. I boiled half the sweet potato for her food and then dehydrated the other half for treats. Josie rates them 10/10 and says they are much fresher than the ones from the store.

Thursday

• Kale & Bean Shakshouka-ish

• Pork Marbella

• Tato Salad

We only had enough leftover Greek Salad for one of us. I threw together a little egg dish. Same concept as shakshouka but totally different flavors. Sauteed some onion. Added tomato, tomato puree, and kale. Stirred in the leftover white beans. Nestled in some eggs and baked until the whites were set. I'm calling this Shakshouka-ish. Same technique and concept, eggs cooked in a tomato sauce, but a different flavor profile.

Another cookbook everyone needs, you or your mom might actually already have it, is The Silver Palate cookbook. It's loaded with recipes that stand the test of time. Two of the best are the Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Chicken Marbella. Bon Appetit published a Pork Marbella recipe adapted from this cookbook. I have made it before and epically F-ed up. I completely missed a step, adding the marinade to the pan before baking, but it was still great. When I made it again this week I made it correctly and it was even better.

My mother in law, Julie, is a fantastic cook. One recipe in her usual rotation is a potato salad. Not a heavy creamy potato salad but one loaded with herbs and flavor. It's so good I used to request it every time we would drive up and visit her.

I was halfway into recreating it when Marco told me the recipe is Ina Garten's French Potato Salad. So I used it as a reference to finish out my version. My Tato Salad is similar but different. Both equally as good and I recommend you try both.

Friday

• Chovie Toast

• Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

• More Earl Grey Madeleines

I used anchovies in my Tato Salad and so of course I used the leftovers for Chovie Toast. I made a compound butter with goat butter, anchovies, lemon zest, shallot, and pepper. Spread that on toast and topped with a runny 6-minute egg. If you make anchovy butter use garlic. It's 10x better. Trust me.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. These are another one of my, I woke up with a crazy idea that happens to work ideas. I have made flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies for Marco in the past. We love them! I swapped almonds for hazelnuts and added cinnamon, ancho chili, and cayenne. It just worked 🤷🏼‍♀️.

"These need more spice."

2 minutes later...

"The spice hits you later."

I agree with Marco on both comments. They start off as a decadent chewy chocolate cookie and then the heat sneaks up on you. This is not bad, they were actually very tasty but I would like the spice to be more in your face.

I typed up the recipe as I made them this time. I'm planning to double all three spices the next time I make them. I added this note to the recipe and will report back after I try them.

We were planning on dropping some treats off to my friend Jordan for her birthday this weekend. The perfect time to test Earl Grey Madeleines again.

I made them exactly the same but this time I pulsed the tea in my spice grinder (coffee grinder designated for spices) and toasted the tea for 30 seconds. Thank you Sam for that tip. Dry pan on the stove, shake shake just until fragrant. I liked the finer tea in the cookie and this time the flavor was there. Very pleased with them.

Exciting things happened on Friday. We left the house and picked up dinner from Port Fonda. This was the first meal in 10 weeks that I didn't cook!!

Saturday

• Marco Friendly Pizza

Pizza is something we rarely eat because *good* gluten-free pizza is hard to find. CPK has a decent crust but there is no CPK here. A local chain, Minsky's, has a good GF crust but by the time Marco makes all his needed substitutions its a $40 pizza. Yeah, no thanks.

I used Gluten Free On A Shoe Strings recipe for GF pizza dough and made some adjustments. Added a little extra sugar and salt. Used a teaspoon of xanthan gum even though my flour had some already.

Remember all GF flours are different and will yield different results!

Made the dough in the AM. Did a cookie drop off to Jordan, swung by Whole Foods, and headed home to make pizza.

We made them in a cast iron skillet. I planned to use the grill because it can get extra hot. Heated the grill to about 700 degrees. Popped the first cast iron in anddd we ran out of propane 🤦🏼‍♀️. I turned the oven on as hot as it would get, 500 degrees, and we transferred everything inside.

One pizza was made of tomato sauce, anchovies, black olives, buffalo mozzarella, and basil. The other was tomato sauce, salami, goat cheese, and basil.

The dough was a little undercooked but overall pizzas hit the spot. No more $40 pizzas moving forward and hopefully we have enough propane to successfully cook them on the grill.

Random thing of the week:
There was a post on Nextdoor about a beaver, yes a beaver, walking down a street in our neighorhood.