Getting ready to head out on the annual vacation – or what used to be the annual vacation, something we somewhat fell out of doing during that viral kerfuffle. Destinations to appear, magically, on these pages. But let’s wrap up the April and May dinners at Casa SaltShaker. And maybe I’ll squeeze in a Bite Marks before winging away.

I rarely post about the breads we make, which also change week to week. Here, a new focaccia recipe that turned out brilliantly – light, crisp on the outside, airy on the inside, and topped with a green onion and olive oil mixture seasoned with a little white pepper and some chicken stock powder for a real umami hit. Photo at the top of the post shows it cut up.

One of my longtime favorites, edited, we have a warm artichoke escabeche (shallow fried in olive oil with garlic and bay leaf, then tossed with sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper), served alongside a pecorino and lemon savory cheesecake with a cracker crumb, shallot, and garlic crust, topped with a green apple compote, and dotted with reduced Cynar liqueur.

Served with Bodega Salentein Brut Rosé

Hand-rolled fettuccine made with mixed whole wheat, pasta, and almond flours; sautéed endive, green onions, almond slivers, and crispy bits of guanciale, all in a taleggio cheese bechamel sauce with lots of black pepper and nutmeg.

Served with Cuchillo de Palo “Casa de Herrero” Rosé Pinot Noir 2023

I had a good amount of the berbere spice mixture from the Eritrean entry in our Bread & Soup Project. So I made a slow braised chicken dish – boned out chicken leg and thigh quarters, rubbed with the spice mixture, rolled, tied, and then cooked in the oven over a mix of chickpeas, carrots, onions, garlic, tomato paste, honey, and the remainder of the spice mix. Topped with a little “salad” of chopped orange segments and cilantro tossed with vinegar and salt.

Served with El Psicoanalista Petite Verdot 2021

This is probably my favorite new dish of the season – well, one particular part of it. It’s a filet of pork tenderloin, rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic, and sage, and seared in butter and olive oil. It’s served with pureed roasted squash flavored with a reduction of wine, cream, red onoin, sage, lemon zest, salt, white pepper, and tajín spice. On the side, a rocoto, garlic, and red onion puree with a splash of black garlic. But it’s that little garnish in the middle that I loved. I saw the idea on an instagram post – it’s a halved king oyster mushroom that’s been dipped in a rye sourdough starter, and fried. The combination of the flavor of the rye and the sourness with the mushroom is an amazing match. I’ll be doing something that features the mushrooms as the central element somewhere down the line!

Served with Salentein “Numina” Petite Verdot 2020