Summing up February’s Struggles
I felt February was a bit of lackluster month, as far as cooking went, maybe because at the end of the month we were all stricken with the flu and in no mood to think about food. Looking back, however, I find it produced a few new dishes—and the joys of a soufflé.
Keepers:
Coq Au Vin (white wine version using Pinot Grigio), February 17: This was pretty darn good, bistro fare, right in the home--though to heck with boiling and peeling real pearl onions; I think I’ll just buy a bag of frozen pearl onion next time, as Charlotte suggested in my comments. Unless that seriously damages the flavor, I doubt anyone will notice.
Cod Cakes with Scallion and Chile Pepper, February 13—So good. A little fish, a little potato. This is the sort of thing I could eat every day. Mark Bittman suggested using ginger, but I found ginger really wrecked the things. Scallions and a little bit of of minced hot red chile imparted a tasty flavor without overpowering the cod cakes.
Boned, Stuffed, Roast Cornish Game Hens, Feb. 24—I only made one, as an experiment, and I threw in a little Stove-Top stuffing for effect, instead of the wild-rice, cornbread stuffing that goes with the recipe, but I was still delighted with the result. The recipe is a bit fussy, boning four hens or so takes some time, and then you have to make sure you have skewers and string on hand, but after that, it’s easy. I’ll add the recipe to the repertoire, although, it may get bumped to a special “impress the company” list.
Roast Asparagus, Feb 16:—A new vegetable side dish, I’m always looking for those, and so easy, much easier than cooking green beans, because you don't have to trim the ends. Just break off the woody ends, brush with olive oil, add a little salt and throw in a hot oven for 12 minutes.
Barley with Cilantro and Cumin, Feb. 23:—Okay, I’m going to have to sneak this one into the repertoire. Dean will wrinkle up his nose at first, but maybe he’ll eat it if he’s hungry.
Cheese Soufflé, Feb. 2:—I’ll whip up another one of these and soon, but this time without the four different kind of sauteed mushrooms that were supposed to accompany the soufflé. It doesn’t need mushrooms, just a green salad.
Nothing to discard, nothing to try-try again. February was an efficient month, even if I never got to the osso-bucco. I will in March. I promise.
I guess I felt February was lackluster because, although I did a lot of cooking, I relied heavily on old stand-bys: Senator’s Bean Soup, Meatball Sandwiches, Chicken Wild Rice Soup, Grilled Polenta, Spaghetti a la Carbonara. But at least I have old stand-bys now, and hope, in time, I'll have even more of them.
4:46:48 AM 
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