M. Lucia
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Posts posted by M. Lucia
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A friend of mine, Russian, is married to an Indian and lives in India. She shared this recipe with me. She calls it rajma (basically it is kidney beans curry) and says it is very poplular in Punjab. Lots of spices there! I served it over brown rice and with a dollop of sour cream on top (raita would've probably been better).
Do you think you could share the recipe?
The evening here started with crab and avocao bites for appetizers. Then dinner was tarte flamiche (leek tart) with a simple green salad and a tomato and basil salad made with beautiful zebra tomatoes.
Dessert was strawberry shortcakes (don't you just love homemade whipped cream?)
Two things I observed: one, it is a lot easier for me to throw together dinner for som friends than it used to be, all that ony took a couple hours after work. I think that my basic cooking skills have improved so everything is a lot less stressful, I dont have to worry about simple things like burning the leeks or overbeating the egg whites.
Second, one of my guest's brother works for Kraft and was telling us all about their products (pudding actually has no milk in it, etc.) And she said in taste tests an overwhelming majority of people prefer fake whipped cream- it's what their used to. Lckily, all my friends liked the homemade stuff, though many professed addictions to Sarbucks whipped cream.
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Sweet Summer Corn and Crab Risottto and Tomato Salad
We're really hitting the peak of summer produce- super sweet white corn, ripe red tomatoes, it's almost unnecessary to cook at all. Today was damp and cool so the risotto was a good option, jumbo lump maryland crab, sweet white corn, chives.
Homemade peach ice cream with basil syrup for dessert.
This stuff is fabulous- peaches, honey, milk, cream, ginger, triple sec. A simple syrup with basil to top it off. Great texture from my cheapo ice cream maker, too.
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lillet, cotes du rhone. moules and frites with a purchased lemon tart for dessert
The moules were provencale style- steamd with white wine, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs, and of course there was lots of bread to soak up the juices.
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I am jealous of those summer corn eaters, I still haven't had a really good ear of sweet white Maryland corn yet.
Dinner was late but very good:
Tomato and basil salad (the best tomatoes so far this summer), gruyere and parmesan souffle (so good!), and cumin and orange glazed carrots.
Dessert: blueberry crisp with a bit of almonds and ginger
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Wow, now I'm really craving shrimp and grits.
I copied a restaurant's dish: hitipiti- roasted red pepper and feta salad, and also had some grilled pineapple, corn bread, and then chocolate pots de creme.
My dinners are always sort of an odd assortment because I look at what's in the fridge and what recipes I want to make, but I don't always think how they fit together.
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Pre-football (soccer) game meal: Vegetable Quiche and Spinach Salad
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To the above question, yes use vegan chocolate and make sure whatever you use for the crust is vegan as well.
There is a little shop near me in nyc that does all sorts of vegan desserts (Jubb's Longevity) including pudding. The stuff is pretty good, but I think it is just a whole bunch of different variations on tofu. They are also kooky and it's really expensve.
Also, I don't know if you've seen the new dessert tofu in grocery stores? They have it with the other tofu products and it comes in fruit flavors like mango. I would just buy that if one of my guests were vegan.
coconut milk is good also, maybe a coconut creme pie, coconut ice cream, parfait, etc.
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That's some very pink chicken, Bill. I hope it's the camera.
Last night dinner was provencale-style sole (tomatoes, garlic, olives, parsley) and a spinach salad.
Vegan coconut-pecan cookies (I was making them for a friend and they came out really well, I couldn't resist sneaking some).
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Chocolate Silk pie
(my fall back vegan dessert that has won many non-vegan fans)
graham cracker crust (make with margarine)
12 oz silken tofu
12 oz chocolate
1/3 cup coffee liquer
tsp vanilla, pinch sugar
over a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the liquer to combine
whir together chocolate mixture, tofu, vanilla, and sugar in a processor until smooth
pour into pie crust, refrigerate several hours until firm and chilled
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I made a courgette(zucchini) pizza last night, though I cheated and used store bought dough. Not as crispy-bottomed as I would like, but good none-the-less.
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Saturday: courgette/parmesan fritatta with pecan/cranberry salad
Sunday bbq:
burgers, grilled sausages, eggplant sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, grilled veges, brownies, pecan pie, baklava...
i have lots of dinner plans this week but alinka has just inspired my next meal to be courgette pizza
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The most wonderful surprise:
Coming home late after work and class and starving to find my boyfriend cooking dinner for me. He refused to let me come into the kitchen (that's difficult), made me sit down and relax with a glass of Trimbach Riesling while he cooked.
An excellent shrimp pad thai for dinner and ice cream with homemade caramel is a sure way to win a girl's heart.
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I've been looking for picnic ideas too, so this thread is great.
One thing I do for sandwiches is pack all the ingredients in sep. baggies. That way the bread doesn't get soggy and everyone can assemble theirs to their liking.
It may sound fussy but it's actually easier because you don't have to put together a bunch of sandwiches and fun for everyone else.
Fattoush and panzanella are good options, different kinds of slaws, and generally anything that is finger food.
I recently made a beet/beetgreen/edamame salad from F&W that was great and am considering taking it to a friends cook out.
Crab and vegetable summer rolls (the kind with rice paper wrappers) are very portable. Pack them with damp paper towels and serve with a peanut dipping sauce.
There was a great idea in the Washington Post recently:
poundcake sandwiches
They used chocolate poundcake and sandwiched the slices with cream cheese frosting in the middle. This is great because I find cupcakes and cookies (even bar cookies) usually get smushed or crumbled. The poundcake sandwiches pack flat and you don't have to worry about messing up the icing. They're delicious, too.
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That is quite the sandwich!
Last night we had a picnic:
Hummus with tomatoes and pita
Sauteed Snowpeas with garlic
Pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, basil, olives, onion, balsamic etc.
Flank steak sandwiches (for the meat eaters)
Kahlua Blondies courtesy of eGRA
(Sierra Nevadas all around)
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I haven't been able to participate in the cook off as my ice cream maker is in storage, but I have been following closely being the ice cream fiend that I am. And because I have this problem with homemade ice cream.
I love homemade ice cream the day it's churned, great flavor, creamy texture.
However, I stopped making ice cream except a few times a year. It's because after a day or more in the freezer it's rock hard and then melts immediately.
So a major crystallization problem, I guess. And when I say time in the freezer, I mean any time longer than the couple hours or so after it's intially churned (just what it take to get it to firm up).
Is it my ice cream maker (an inexpensive one)?
How does the recipe affect this, eggs/no eggs/ how many eggs?
Or is it simply a matter of preservatives?
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Ling, I always make extra cream cheese frosting for my cake too. I think I consumed about a pound of it this weekend alone.
Klary, I love the idea of someone over on the other side of the pond raving over mole and dishing up refried beans (if you think of it as tex-mex maybe it will help improve the image of Texas overseas).
Anyway, inspired by my dinner out last night I made porcini risotto. It didn't come together as well as it normally does (I was using grocery store "risotto" rice, as opposed to bona fide arborio/cavolo nero), but some extra cheese fixed that.
A small green salad and then more carrot cake.
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Homemade waffles! with butter and maple syrup, juice, coffee
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Welcome back!
I am looking forward to your report. Did you actually go in the Barakat building- my friends and I snuck in one day and the inside is just as it was after the war, graffitti, abandoned letters, we even picked up bullets and grenade pieces from the war (you can read an article abut it here).
As to the eating schedule, I remember my friends mom would get up really early, around five, then sleep through most of the midday, and then get up and stay out very late. I don't think this is typical, but everyone tries to avoid the heat of midday. On weekends a big late lunch around two is the main meal of the day and then you would nibble in the evenings. Things don't get going in restaurants at least until after nine in Beirut.
I am really looking forward to your stories, as I will be back there in the winter. I've been in cntact with a lot of my friends there and reminiscing about 5 am snacks at zaatar wa zeit, etc.
That's a nice little tribute to Harriri, we are keeping an eye on political developments with our fingers crossed. And we used to joke about the gulfi influx that begins around now, but I guess it's good for the economy.
Hope you are adjusting back to the states in the meantime...
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My peach basil salad was very simple: just peaches, basil, lime juice and a bit of ginger.
yesterday's dinner: martini, cosmo, pastis...
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Even better: put a donut in a panini press.
Use one of those light glazed donuts like your basic krispy kreme. Press between grill. They wil be very thin, the outside of the donut will caramalize into yummy sugary goodness and they'll still have a bit of chewiness in the center.
Nice clear grill marks too.
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Sometimes I go back to old pages of this thread just to see how people's cooking and trends have changed. It is a great resource.
Anyway, dinner was crabcakes (I grew up in maryland, so I say they must be made with as little filler as possible- just a few crushed saltines, an egg and some seasonings), sides were sauteed snowpeas and a peaches with basil salad/salsa.
Dessert will be going out for ice cream (inspired by recent cook off, but also lazy).
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I do an eggplant(aubergine) involtini with slices of grilled eggplant- fill them with tomato sauce and basil leaves. Roll up. Stand the rolls on their ends and top each end with a piece of mozzarella. Place under the broiler until the cheese melts. Garnish with basil leaves.
A nice presentation for hors d'oeuvres, but you can also just put the mozzarella in the middle and bake them.
I only recently became familiar with the meat version, and your seafood creation sounds great.
As for cabbage rolls, I am reminded of lebanese cuisine, which brings me to one of my favorite dishes: stuffed grape leaves.
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Oh, Sicily. I love those Arab and mediterranean influences. Will you be doing couscous? And I do hope there will be cuccia.
Who knew ricotta was so easy? I'm inspired.
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I first discovered this dish in the cookbook "Cooking for Madam." I like to serve it with creme anglaise. Off-season I use those bags of mixed frozen berries to make the filling, though I adore currants when I can get them.
Dinner! 2005
in Cooking
Posted
Sichuan-style tofu (with garlic, green onion, water chestnuts, peanuts, etc.) served with rice and steamed broccoli.
The recipe is from Cooking Light (subbing tofu for chicken), thanks to Bill R.'s recommendation, it is quick and very good.
Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce for dessert.