Trout Roe on Buttered Toast with Lemony Herbs & Smoked Trout with Mustard and Apples by Alison Roman

For the not-so seafood savvy like me, you might be wondering, what is trout roe exactly? Also referred to as caviar, roe is an unfertilized egg collected from a fish. Not exactly a description I call “appetizing.” I recognize that many people view caviar as a delicacy, but I’m not really a delicacy kind of person. Needless to say, I put this recipe off until I couldn’t any longer. 

Last week, I decided that it was high time to start crossing off the final seafood recipes. So I picked two: trout roe on toast and smoked trout with mustard and apples. Then I marched over to Whole Foods with determination and a tinge of dread. I found smoked trout in a refrigerator next to the seafood counter, but didn’t see the roe. I asked the seafood counter for help, and turns out, the roe was next to the smoked trout, but it was labeled caviar. Clearly I hadn’t done my research yet. They didn’t have trout roe, but Alison says salmon roe will do the trick, so that’s what I purchased. 

I paid for the products reluctantly (caviar is pricey!) and marched back over the bridge toward home. That afternoon, I popped a slice of sourdough in the toaster, smeared a heck of a lot of butter on it, and topped it with dill, lemon zest, flaky salt, and roe. And it wasn’t bad. It’s hard to mess with buttered toast and dill. Roe is very fishy, perhaps too much for my taste. But I could sort of convince myself that it was good. I still have much of the jar left, so maybe I’ll try it with potato chips like Alison does in the video she released today (I swear I’m getting more and more on her wavelength somehow). 

The next day, I pulled out the package of smoked trout and tried a small bite. Again, not terrible, but not something I’d normally choose to eat. This salad is a nice way to eat it though, with plenty of vinegar to balance out the fishiness. Sour cream smeared on the bottom of the bowl, mustard greens (I used arugula) and mustard seeds soaked in apple cider vinegar. Smoked trout, too. All in all a fine combination. Jordan and I ate this for lunch. Now that I’m thinking about, it would have gone nicely with some salty potato chips, too! 

If you like this kind of fishy food, I think you’ll love these recipes. If you don’t, feel free to skip them.

190 and 191 recipes cooked, 34 to go.

Persimmon Salads Two Ways: ft. Apples, Cheddar, Spicy Pecans and Blue Cheese by Alison Roman

Until these salads, I’m not sure I understood the purpose of the persimmon. They’re like a slightly sweet, mostly flavorless person at a party that always looks put together with their bright orange outfits and pretty little leafy bows on top, but when you talk to them, you realize that meaningful, deep conversation isn’t their strong suit. Perfectly pleasant persimmon, but does it really make the party a richer event? Alison sure thinks so. In fact, it’s the persimmon’s subtlety she praises. Perhaps I get what she means. 

When it comes to standard vegetable salads, there’s a wealth of virtually flavorless leafy options to populate most of the bowl: romaine, kale, iceberg, spinach, butter lettuce, the list goes on. The leaves give us something to dress, something to pair toppings with. When it comes to fruit salads, what options do we have? Very few fruits don’t make a statement. In fact, I can only think of the persimmon. 

There, that’s it! Persimmons can be the romaine of our fruit salads, at least for the two months a year when they’re in season! To take advantage of their limited seasonality, Alison provided us with two somewhat similar, but truly tasty salad recipes. Even Jordan said both salads top his list for the project. 

< Quick interjection about Alison’s salad recipes -- I think I accidentally chose to make the salads I’d like the least at the beginning. For the first few months, it felt like most every salad I made struck out. It wasn’t so much the recipes themselves, I can see merit to them and why they were included in the book. The flavors just didn’t do it for me. They were usually more acidic and less balanced with salty and sweet. I didn’t want to save the leftovers. But in the last two months or so, every salad has been a hit. > 

Both persimmon salads are lovely, I think I prefer the Persimmon and Pear one a bit more - I love the combination of sweet/spicy nuts and strong, salty cheese with crisp fruit. 

A few notes about Persimmon and Pear Salad with Spicy Pecans and Blue Cheese: 

• Be sure to buy Bosc pears like Alison suggests. They’re typically a firmer pear that keeps its shape - perfect for plating in a salad. They’re also perfectly sweet and tangy. 

• I’ve never liked blue cheese. The smell is too potent and the taste too funky. Alison calls for a firm blue cheese so I bought the smallest block I could find. Much to my surprise, I could tolerate, and even slightly enjoy, the thin shavings of this hard cheese. If you also have a hard time with blue cheese, maybe the stiffer kind will be better? (The smell is still awful though, be forewarned.)

• The pecans were easily the best part, and so easy to make. Saute pecans in maple syrup and Aleppo pepper until bubbling and sort of “fuzzy” in appearance (Alison’s term, not mine, but it’s true!). Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Chop once cooled. 

A few notes about Vinegared Apples with Persimmon and White Cheddar: 

• Not much different from the first salad, except no nuts, and less strong of a choice of cheese. If you’re super, super opposed to blue cheese, I recommend making the other salad and swapping blue cheese for sharp white cheddar. Now you’ll have the best of both worlds!

Both salads are doused with white wine vinegar and drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper, which, together, unify the other ingredients. 

182 and 183 recipes cooked, 42 to go.

Casual Apple Tart with Caramelized Buttermilk by Alison Roman

I grew up feeling rather ambivalent about apples. Apples and peanut butter, apples and caramel, or even just a plain apple - I wasn’t jazzed about apples. I did love to sing about them, though. My sweet grandmother who is now 92 years old, used to write original songs for her grandchildren to teach us important things. For example, she wrote a song about my home address and phone number so I could remember where I lived. She wrote a song about tomatoes and how delicious they are, which I credit as the main reason I’ve loved all things tomato from a very early age. She also wrote a song about how “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and yeah, I believed it. So I ate my apples, despite my lack of desire for them. 

When I came to college in the Midwest, I was exposed to the wonder that is the Honeycrisp apple. Which changed everything. Sophomore year, I started dating a boy (who is now a man and also my husband) from Minnesota. He wanted me to know that scientists at the University of Minnesota actually created the first Honeycrisp apple. He raved about them, like all proud Minnesotans do, and convinced me to not only eat apples, but to enjoy them. You see, a Honeycrisp is the perfect, and I mean perfect, balance of tart and sweet. It’s the juiciest of all the apples. It has the prettiest color. It is, no doubt, the most superior apple. 

Honeycrisps are the reason I was so excited to make this tart. Finally, an Alison dessert that could feature this most excellent fruit. Not to mention, it was another opportunity to try my hand at pie crust. Making pie crust is a true art form, and I find that I get better at it every time I do it. While I’m sure Alison’s “The Only Pie Crust” adds an even butterier element to this lovely tart, I chose to stick with King Arthur’s gluten-free pie crust recipe for personal reasons. I must also note that this was by far my most successful time making pie crust. The butter was the right amount of cold when I rolled the dough out, and none of it stuck to my rolling pin. A true win. 

A few more notes on the tart… This apple dessert - drizzled with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and ground ginger - was like an apple pie, but differently shaped and less fussy. I left it in the oven a touch too long, so the apples were nicely softened but the crust got a little too browned. I think the buttermilk coating on the crust added a nice touch (but it didn’t make or break the dessert). I sliced two pounds of apples, per Alison’s instructions, but could only fit 1 pound on the dough. I squeezed lemon juice over the unused slices, and ate them at work throughout the rest of the week. Finally, when Alison instructs you to sprinkle the tart with flaky salt and pepper, just do it. I hesitated, particularly over the pepper, but I admit it added a subtle, smoky nuance that only enhanced the final flavor. 

165 recipes cooked, 60 to go.

All-Out-Alison Meal with Turmeric-Roasted Lamb, Sour Cream Flatbread, & Apple and Endive Salad

Another All-Out-Alison meal is in the books. I love making All-Out-Alison meals - who doesn’t want multiple Alison dishes in one sitting? But on days when I make these meals, I find myself in the kitchen for a stretch of hours, flitting between tasks and ingredient prep, and it’s really quite an ordeal. Today’s post will document my process. I’m guessing at the timestamps, but they’re close to being accurate. 

To indicate which dish each step belongs to, I’ll label them with [lamb - Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder and Carrots with All the Fixings], [flatbread - Sour Cream Flatbreads], [salad - Apple and Endive Salad with Parsley and Salted Almonds], and [salsa verde - Another Salsa Verde]. 

Oh wait, one note before we begin. Alison’s lamb instructions suggest a 3.5-4 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, but I could only find lamb leg (similar cut) that was much smaller or much bigger. Since we were having company, I went with the larger 5.5 lb. cut, which meant that I used more garlic/turmeric for the marinade, and had to cook the lamb longer than instructed. More on that in a bit… 

Let’s make a meal, shall we? 

8:40am: [lamb] Remove the lamb leg from the fridge to let it finish thawing on the counter

11:43am: [lamb] Peel and dice the fresh turmeric and excessive amount of garlic cloves - I used 13

11:53am: [lamb] Create the marinade by combining the turmeric and garlic with olive oil and cumin

11:57am: [lamb] Salt and pepper the lam, then rub the marinade all over, getting in all the cracks. 

12:03pm: [lamb] Search for butcher’s twine in the craft box hiding in my coat closet. I find only crafting string, but decide that it’ll do the job. 

12:08pm: [lamb] Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of the lamb, so the whole thing can fold over like a book, allowing you to tie it like Alison says. 

12:09pm: [lamb] Use the found crafting string to tie the lamb, one inch apart. My hands get very yellow and oily from doing this. 

12:20pm: [lamb] Place the tied lamb on a baking sheet covered with tin foil and, with plastic wrap covering the meat, place it in the fridge to marinate. 

1:01pm: [flatbread] Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast together until the yeast dissolves. Add four cups of flour and combine until no major dry spots remain. Cover, and let sit for ten minutes to hydrate the flour. 

1:20pm: [flatbread] Add the melted butter, salt, and sour cream to the dough using your hands. The dough feels wet and slimy. The goal is to fully incorporate the sour cream. Once done, cover the dough and let it rest for two hours. 

3:20pm: [flatbread] Uncover the dough bowl and punch down the dough, knocking some of the air out of it. I hear the air escape and it's kind of thrilling. Cover the dough back up and let it sit for another two hours. 

3:22pm: [salsa verde] Slice a shallot in half. Reserve one half in the fridge and dice the other half into the smallest pieces possible. 

3:24pm: [salsa verde] Slice a lemon and squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice over the shallots. 

3:26pm: [salsa verde] Retrieve my herbs: cilantro, parsley, mint, and chives. Tiny dice two whole cups of herbs (which is a lot of herbs). Use mostly parsley and cilantro, but supplement with mint and chives. 

3:42pm: [salsa verde] Cover the bowl and store in the fridge. Alison’s Another Salsa Verde is complete.

4:00pm: [lamb] Turn on the oven. 

4:15pm: [lamb] Pull out the dutch oven and pour some oil into the base. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the fridge and place it in the dutch oven to brown the meat, turning the meat with your tongs every 4-6 minutes. 

4:35pm: [lamb] Place the carrots in the pot with the lamb, and toss the carrots in the excess fat at the bottom. 

4:40pm: [lamb] Lift the pot, with lamb and carrots inside, into the oven. Set a timer for one hour and ten minutes. Alison recommends one hour for a medium-cooked lamb. But given the size of the cut of meat, I know I’ll need more time. I just need to check and see how much extra time at the 1:10 mark. 

4:42pm: [salad] Quarter the endives lengthwise, and toss the leaves in a large bowl. Slice the other half of the shallot into very thin rounds, separating them as I lob them into the bowl. Trim several strands of parsley and mint, also adding them to the bowl. 

4:52pm: [salad] Pour out a pile of almonds on the cutting board and chop them into small bits. Place them into a bowl on the counter. 

4:58pm: CLEAN THE HOUSE - GUESTS ARE COMING OVER 

5:20pm: [flatbread] Pour the dough onto a cutting board, and using a dough cutter, create six equally sized balls of dough. Using just a modicum of flour to dust them so they don’t stick to your hands. Coax the first dough ball into a flat, mini pizza shape, letting the dough stretch over the back of my hands like Alison says. 

5:27pm: [flatbread] Get out the cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Pour out a bit of olive oil and lay the first dough round in there. I hear it sizzle, and within three to four minutes, just like Alison says, the dough is bubbly and golden. I flip the bread and let it heat for two minutes on the other side. Continue with the rest of the dough, rolling each one out just before the skillet frees up. Keep the flatbreads warm under two plates. One dish done! 

5:50pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb. Insert the meat thermometer. Oh boy, it’s still 95 degrees in the deepest part, and we’re aiming for between 145 and 160. Push it back in and set the time for another 30 minutes from now. 

5:56pm: [salad] Add olive oil to the bowl of almonds, along with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. 

5:59pm: [salad] Thinly slice the Honeycrisp apple into rounds. Then toss the apples with the endive and herb mixture, along with salt and lemon juice. 

6:05pm: [salad] Arrange the salad on a serving platter, then drizzle the almond mixture over the top. Quick! Take several fabulously lit pictures just before the sun goes down. Wrap the plate and place it on the table. Two dishes done! 

6:15pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and realize it still has another 15-25 degrees to go in several parts before it’s considered medium-rare. Slide it back in and set a new timer for 20 minutes. 

6:20pm: Get changed, remove your apron and brush your hair. 

6:30pm: Guests arrive! Friends from my hometown in Southern California. Marissa and Drew. Entertain them with a glass of wine (that they brought - it’s so good!). 

6:45pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and it’s done! Probably could have taken it out 8-10 minutes earlier… Oh well. It’s still soft and easy to chew. The flavor is incredibly rich but not too overpowering. The turmeric is less harsh and the garlic more potent than you expected. The lamb is delicious. A success! Just next time, try to get one in the right weight range. I think that’ll save lots of guesswork. 

6:50pm: Serve the lamb with garlicky yogurt, Alison’s Another Salsa Verde, and flaky salt. 

7:45pm: Transition from dinner to the gf apple crisp Marissa made, and enjoy every sweet bite. Even better? The company and conversation. 

I hope you enjoyed this play by play. Making meals can be a lot of work, but at least they’re rewarding. 

161 recipes cooked, 64 to go.

Bacon-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Caraway’d Cabbage and Apples by Alison Roman

Imagine you’re in a grocery store, and you’re tasked with selecting the most average, inconsequential ingredient for every type of food. I know it’s a strange hypothetical but stick with me here. 

Snacks: saltines, Cheese: swiss, Cookies: Fig Newtons, Meat: ground turkey OR pork tenderloin, Veggies: definitely cabbage

Apples and bacon are excellent, but still, I was quite skeptical. Oh me of little faith. Leave it to Alison to turn dull foods like pork tenderloin and cabbage into something so fantastic. I ate seconds and thirds. I’ve never enjoyed cabbage so much. Unless finely shredded, raw cabbage doesn’t do anything for me. Sauteed cabbage is limpy and sad. But a roasted cabbage head gets tender in the middle and crispy on the outside, now that’s the kind of cabbage I’ll eat weekly! Okay, monthly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. 

There’s not much more to this dish outside of the ingredients in the title, except for two that really pull it all together: caraway seeds and red wine vinegar. 

I must confess, I don’t remember ever cooking with caraway seeds, and I couldn’t have told you, even remotely, what they taste like. So I did a bit of a deep dive. According to Wikipedia, caraway is “also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin” and “is similar in appearance to other members of the carrot family.” Another site says it has a bit of an anise flavor. Based on those descriptions, I was even more confused. But when I finally got ahold of the seeds, I saw that they are practically identical to fennel seeds, just a darker brown and a bit finer. And as odd as it sounded on the internet, they did add a slightly cumin-y, licorice-y, anise-y flavor that complemented the salty pork, tangy apples, and bland cabbage. 

The final finish with vinegar, something Alison calls for a lot, made all of the dish’s elements feel lighter and brighter. It’s also what gave the cabbage the final flavor push it needed. (Small confession. In my old advertising job, I worked exclusively on a client that made vinegar. Their ads always talked about how vinegar could “brighten any dish,” and I thought it sounded like hokey advertising-speak, a little ridiculous. How could you actually “brighten” a dish, besides shining a flashlight on your food? But now, as I attempt to write about vinegar myself, I honestly can’t come up with a better word for how it transforms food. If salt makes flavors taste more like themselves, then vinegar brightens them. Fine, I was wrong!) 

This meal was the simplest main dish to assemble so far. Which served me well, since I needed to put it together quickly and transport it to a dear friend’s apartment to roast. Kailey and I spent the evening talking about how much this meal surprised and delighted us, among other fun topics like popular 90’s Christian rock bands. Jars of Clay, anyone?

15 recipes cooked, 210 to go.