Culinary Notes

It was Josh's birthday yesterday and I prepared for him some foods of his choosing. There was French onion soup, in which I used marsala wine to deglaze the pan. In the past, I've always used a white wine, but I don't think I'll do that again. It worked out very well to use a sweeter wine, and I think that a sherry or even a brandy would carry the same effect.

There was also bacala/bacalao. I took my inspiration for the dish from bacala, but I didn't use any dried salt cod. I used only fresh cod and garnished the whole thing with sea beans in order to get a salty taste. Bacalao is a Portuguese dish made with codfish in a tomato-based broth, and bacala is the Italian version of the same thing. I think that the Spanish also prepare it, but I've never eaten that so I can't describe it. Both of them traditionally use dried salt cod as well as fresh, but in my version, I use only fresh. I can get the dried stuff at Vace, but it's much easier to work with fresh. You don't need to soak it 6 times to make it palatable. Because my version is Italian-inspired, I start with a base of caramelized fennel, onion, and garlic, and then make up my broth out of white wine, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock. Last night, I put in some thinly sliced potatoes and then used them as the bed for the whole thing. I am thinking of using the leftovers tonight, but removing the potatoes and cooking some pasta in there to soak up the excess tomato broth.

Finally, Josh's requested dessert was chocolate brownies. I used the Ecuadorian baking chocolate that we brought back with us and the results were excellent. I have no complaints, and more importantly, neither did he.