Marsala » Creative Comestibles

Creative Comestibles: The Food Diary of Observation and Experimentation.

Every cook needs a notebook of recipes filled with observations and time-tested helpful hints. Having deciphered my grandmother's hand writing in person, I decided to go the digital route. Let's see what havoc I can wreak upon the kitchen.

Coming Soon

Updates for lasagna.

Future Menu Items

Carrot Ravioli and Braised Lamb

Basic Dashi

Miso Soup

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Panna Cotta

Chocolate Mousse with Espresso and Rum

Japanese Curry with Rice

Spice-Rubbed Cornish Hens

Périgueux Sauce

Stuffed Eggplant, Tomato, and/or Zucchini

Black Bean Soup

Key Lime Pie

Tiramisu

Soufflé

Crêpes

Chocolate Mousse

Warm Tofu in a Spicy Garlic Sauce

Nectarine and Apricot Galette with a Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Pork Tenderloin with Burnt Brown Sugar, Orange Confit, and Thyme

Yellow Dahl

Fruit and Nut Pumpernickel

Clafoutis or Flognarde

Coconut Lamb Curry

Chickpea Salad

Quiche

Beef Bourguignon

Coq Au Vin

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Inspiring Links

Michael Ruhlman's Blog

No Jarred Pasta Sauce

Cream of Mushroom Soup

November 23, 2009

My usual procedure for developing a new recipe is something like this:

Research
Draft Recipe
Experiment
Reflection
Revision, Revision, Revision

That's practically the bastard offspring of writing thesis papers and lab reports, somewhat amusing given my background. But I digress. My recipes can spend anywhere from several months to a year in this cycle before I'm reasonably satisfied. Rare is the occasion when I create a recipe, execute, and say, "Damn girl! That's good" in the first trial. But this is one of those rare moments in the first experiment where everything behaves as anticipated, yielding lip-smacking results and a very gleeful cook.

Tags: celery root, comfort food, cream, favorite, leeks, marsala, mushroom liquor, mushrooms, parsnip, roux, smoked ham
Posted in Main Course | No Comments »

Chicken Marsala served with Penne Puttanesca

September 22, 2009

Chicken Marsala

Modern chicken marsala is usually prepared using chicken breast, which is then butterflied or pounded with a mallet. However, I find the richness and sweetness of the marsala wine perfectly complement the depth of flavor in dark meat; chicken thighs are also conveniently the right thickness for this dish.

4.64 lbs chicken thigh
1 lb 9.8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
homemade chicken stock
Florio sweet marsala wine
Ruffino Orvieto Classico 2008

Tags: basil, black olives, garlic, Italian, marsala, mushrooms, oregano, pasta, poultry, sauces, thyme, tomatoes, wine
Posted in Main Course | No Comments »