Nishla

Bruce, those potatos look SO good! Megan, I just noticed your question from a while back...I believe perciatelli and bucatini are the same thing. This past Saturday we cooked for my cousins: We started with a beet, scallop and dill goat cheese napoleon, with some arugula salad on the side, and beet pureed with balsamic: Curried sweet potato soup with yogurt and scallion oil: We found ramps at the store that morning and cooked them with some bacon and browned butter, served over parmesan risotto: Then asian-style braised pork belly over picked cabbage (rice vinegar, sugar, salt, long pepper and sesame oil): My cousin provided a light dessert of cantaloupe, raspberry sorbet, passionfruit sorbet and moscato:

LMF, that egg and pancetta dish looks absolutely amazing. Kim, I may need to use that potato recipe...looks great Blissful Glutton, the gnocchi and poussin look perfect...mmm, crispy skin Here are a couple of dinners from the past week: Cauliflower soup with guanciale and sauteed chinese leeks: Pressure cooker shortribs with kohlrabi and carrots. Once again, I'm amazed at what the pressure cooker can do...

Damn, Shalmanese, that whole lineup is pretty impressive! Marlene, I want those brownies First, a couple dishes from last week: Green beans sauteed with garlic, chorizo and shallots: Avocado with sardines and sun dried tomato: The sardines were a bit fishier than I liked, but the whole salad was tasty. On the weekends, we've been trying to make dinners for friends. This past saturday, we had my officemate and her husband over: Started with fingerling potato skins filled with the potato innards mashed with cream cheese, bacon and scallions: Soup of white sweet potato and apple, topped with vanilla oil and apple skin crisps: Carbonara made with perciatelli (like very thick spaghetti with a hollow center): Steak with wilted arugula and mashed potatoes with lots of butter and cream We picked up this ribeye at Savenor's, and it was probably the nicest piece of meat I've ever purchased. Just seasoned with salt and pepper, then seared in a cast iron pan. Finished with bananas foster on vanilla ice cream, but it was devoured too quickly for photos

It's funny, when I was making the brussels sprouts and the kitchen was stinking of fish sauce (a little goes a loooooong way), I instantly thought of your Dinner posts These turned out really well. Let us know if you try it!

Ooooooh...cassoulet, clams, peasant soup all look so good... Yesterday we cooked a duck, along with a few other items: Started with a cheese plate: From top center to the right are asian pear with fresh goat cheese and long pepper, humboldt fog, and a pyrenees sheep milk cheese with figs soaked in sherry. We made confit with the legs and wings, and served it over frisee with dried cherries, pistachios and an orange/mustard dressing: Mushroom soup topped with a chestnut foam (wanted to play with the iSi whip!). Also in the dish are sauteed mushrooms, crispy shallots, thyme and strips of speck ham: Five spice duck breast with mashed white sweet potato (with ginger and cinnamon) and brussels sprouts with chili garlic sauce and fish sauce: We had this with a 1999 Zind Humbrecht Riesling, which I thought might be too old, but it was great with the ginger and other spices. My first attempt at creme brulee, this was flavored with earl gray (an idea I borrowed after having it at Eastern Standard) The custard wasn't as smooth as I hoped, but it tasted good

Thanks for the comments everyone! DG, after spending a week in YOUR kitchen through your blog, you're welcome in my kitchen anytime Here's a photo of the long peppers: They taste like a cross between a szechuan peppercorn and a spicy chili pepper. Very floral, a tiny bit numbing, and great with cheese and fruit (mashed up with a mortar and pestle). Racheld, the noodles were cold, and even better for leftovers the next day

Wow, wow, wow...I have a ton of catching up to do. Everyone's been making such great looking meals, I want to eat everything even though I just had dinner! A bunch of photos from the last week or so... Baked ziti with white sauce, mozzerella, bell peppers, onion, bacon and tomatoes: Broccoli cooked with garlic and chorizo: Very flat (but very crispy and tasty) potato latkes: Sesame noodles with cabbage and chicken. This was really good, with the sauce made from sesame oil, soy, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, chili garlic sauce and scallions: Apple slices with fresh goat cheese, long peppers (ground up) and olive oil. Keith found this idea somewhere on eG, but I can't find where. It was really, really good: Broccoli rabe and spicy turkey sausage: Chicken stew with lots of mushrooms, onions, bacon and carrots over polenta. This probably belongs on the anti-dinner thread since it looks so gross, but it was soooooo tasty! Finally, frisee salad with pistachios, bacon, and mustard/sherry vinegar dressing:

Last night I tried TallDrinkofWater's Old Potrero 18th Century sazerac, and it was really fantastic. I can't believe how it managed to mellow the stuff out, but still had great flavor from the rye. Tonight I made the following: 1 oz rum (Mount Gay Barbados rum) 1 oz sweet vermouth (Cinzano) 1/2 oz Marie Brizard Poire William 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice 1/4 oz homemade grenadine Shake and strain into cocktail glass. This was extremely good...the pear flavor really came through, and it was nicely balanced. I sort of got the idea from the Apple Pie Cocktail on Cocktaildb.com, with some adjustments

We made dinner for a few friends the other night. Also, I got a new camera, so hopefully better photos from now on, but I'm still trying to get used to it! Started with some chili: Beef, red beans, a little tomato, a mix of ancho, chipotle and arbol chilis, lots of garlic and onion, beer and lime. Then the potato/chorizo/egg dish from the Tapas cookbook. We made the eggs over easy instead of fried in olive oil (too much splashing last time). Warm spinach salad with bacon, blood orange and champagne vinegar: Pan roasted chicken with mango salsa and crispy skin. The salsa was really spicy with just one serrano pepper!

Last weekend I took my husband to restaurant dante in the Royal Sonesta hotel in Cambridge for his birthday. The restaurant is relatively new (less than a year old, I think), and I hadn't heard too much about it, but we wanted to try someplace we hadn't been before. We ordered the tasting menu, which is not pre-set. The chef (Dante deMagistris) comes out to ask what sort of meal you'd like. We didn't have any requirements, except we wanted to try some pasta and wanted a variety of dishes. Based on this, we ended up getting tastes of ~11 regular menu items and a couple of non-menu items, which was fine since we hadn't been there before. I'm sure if we had specifically asked for non-menu items we would have been accomodated. The wine list is quite reasonably priced, and there are a number offered by the glass (not super exciting, since I recognized or have had many of them, and I'm no wine expert). Our server paired a glass with each course for us, and though the wines were relatively straightforward, they complemented the food quite nicely. Course 1 Calamari stuffed with pine nuts and mint pesto: very tasty, tender calamari Squash soup with homemade maple pancetta: the pancetta was really good, and a nice salty bite with the sweetness of the soup Course 2 Oyster with beet tartare and chardonnay vinegar: the sweet crunchy beets went well with the oyster Spanish kingfish carpaccio with spicy ginger, yuzu, cucumber, baby greens: I don't remember this especially well, but it was good Flash seared tuna with egg white frittata, charred tomato marmelade, baby greens: a very thin slice of barely cooked tuna, I think with coriander seed on the outside. I normally fine tuna to be kind of boring, but this was very good. Course 3 "Fries with eyes": Fried strips of whiting, served with lemon mint tartar sauce. Yum Course 4 Vanilla parsnip pillows with roasted lobster tail and spicy broth: The "pillows" were tiny ravioli, with the thinnest skins and sweet parsnip filling. The lobster was perfectly cooked, and the broth had some ginger and asian aromatics. This was really tasty. Course 5 Ravioli with rabbit, fennel, olives and sour orange sauce: We both liked this dish a lot. The ravioli wasn't too doughy, and the sauce was pleasantly sour. Course 6 Angel hair pasta in tomato sauce, topped with a baccala meatball with pine nuts and raisins: I liked this better than Keith did...it was like comfort food with a twist. Course 7 Crispy branzino with manila clams, meyer lemon, calamari, fresh chick peas, and broccoli: This was a good dish, and again all the seafood was perfectly cooked. I don't think I'd ever had fresh chickpeas before. Course 8 Grilled salmon wrapped in grape leaves, saffron risotto, mint pesto: Even though this didn't sound that exciting on the menu, it turned out to be one of our favorite dishes. It had all the components of stuffed grape leaves (which I love), with the added flavors from the salmon and the grill smoke. I thought it was a clever interpretation, and really, really, delicious. Course 9 Coffee crusted veal with taleggio fondue: The fondue also had tiny sweet tomatoes, but I thought the cheese was a bit strongly flavored for the veal, which was good by itself. Course 10 Beef wellington with gorgonzola dolce, speck, fig, and fruit sauce: I think I'm missing a few components, but I was ridiculously stuffed by this point. The few bites I managed were quite good though! Course 11 Palate cleanser of riesling sorbet with dried edible flowers Course 12 Fritters with four sauces (passion fruit, raspberry, caramel and chocolate) Flourless chocolate cake with creme fraiche ice cream Hazelnut foam with chocolate bourbon ganache and crisp rice Eggplant and chocolate stuffed with ricotta, sponge cake and orange I really liked the eggplant chocolate dessert, and the creme fraiche ice cream was a great complement to the chocolate cake. Overall, we tremendously enjoyed this meal. Other than the salmon dish, we were most impressed with the pasta courses. The service is friendly, somewhat casual, and the restaurant looks over the river for those who care about the view. I think the menu changes periodically, and we would definitely go back again.

A new daquiri-like drink tonight: 1 1/2 oz Old Monk Rum 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz Marie Brizard Poire William 1/4 oz simple syrup (1:1) This smells really sweet and butterscotch-y from the Old Monk, but really doesn't taste that sweet. The pear flavor is definitely present without being overpowering. I'll certainly be making this again!

Blissful Glutton, those dinners look great! Yesterday we had braised endive (olive oil, butter, chicken broth) topped with speck ham: I really liked the sweet/bitter of the endive with the salty ham. Tonight, after getting home late, I made a quick pasta sauce with bacon, onions, sliced garlic, a couple fresh tomatoes (miraculously not gross in February), red pepper flakes, olive oil and finished with ricotta cheese: Done in the time it took the pasta to cook. My favorite kind of dish

Dayne, I'm definitely stealing your idea for the Old Potrero 18th Century sazerac. We've got a bottle of the stuff and boy is it tough to drink straight! Tonight Keith made a drink based on Murray Stenson's Chinese Cocktail from the latest issue of Imbibe Magazine: 1 1/2 oz Mount Gay Rum 1/4 oz Luxardo Triplum 1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur (Luxardo) 1/4 oz grenadine (homemade) 1/4 oz lime juice I thought the Maraschino was a bit too pronounced, but this is definitely worth a second try. It was very tasty with a cheese/nuts/cold cuts plate.

We got the goat butter at Whole Foods a while back because it sounded interesting, and mainly used it on toast. It's a lot more flavorful than regular butter made from cow milk/cream, and very white in color. It's got a bit of the gamey flavor like you'd have in fresh goat cheese, but it's subtle. I have no idea about the smoke point, but it melts nicely on warm toast!

This thread moves so ridiculously fast! Marlene, I love the idea of an all-crust gratin, and the chocolate mousse looks amazing. Bruce, your dinner sounds and looks delicious, as usual! First, a few pics to catch up: From the Jose Andres Tapas cookbook which we got for christmas, Keith made fried potatoes with chorizo, topped with a fried egg: Pizza (garlic, red pepper flake and rosemary crust) topped with a cheese blend and confit mushrooms with bacon and shallots: Chicken stewed with carrots, parsnips, red wine, thyme and tomato: We rendered the skin until it was crisp and ate it separately Today, we had our friends over for dinner: Started with a baby arugula salad, dressed with grapefruit/blood orange vinaigrette, tomatoes and a seared scallop: Next was homemade ravioli, filled with garlic sausage and ricotta. The sauce was roasted buttercup squash, onion, guanciale and sage: Lamb shoulder chops, topped with gremolata. Twice baked potatoes on the side (stuffed with bacon, scallion, yogurt and goat butter): To drink, we started out with some Moet & Chandon White Star champagne, and finished with a Seghesio Zinfandel. Now that we've mostly cleaned up, I'm sipping some Ron Zacapa 23 Anos rum

Megan, as with everyone else, I'm so excited to see you blogging. Your cooking always looks fabulous on the "Dinner" thread. Looking forward to a great week!

Okay, so The Big Lebowski may be my favorite movie of all time...I had to re-watch a few scenes to clarify this Almost every time The Dude asks for a drink, it's for a white russian, EXCEPT in one scene at the bowling alley, and in one scene at Jackie Treehorn's house where he appears to use "white russian" and "caucasian" interchangeably. In every scene you see the drink being made, there's Khalua involved. My personal favorite is when he makes a white russian at Maude's using powdered coffee creamer instead of cream ETA: By the way, this thread is awesome. I've learned so much from this already, and you're only on "B"!

I found another New England thread to revive from the dead After 9pm on Wednesdays and Sundays, Craigie St. serves what they call the Chef's Whim menu. For $40/4 courses or $55/6 courses, you get whatever the chef feels like sending out to you. (They will accomodate allergies and other dietary restrictions.) My husband and I went last Wednesday for the 6 course Whim: Pastis cured salmon with new potatoes, fennel, white beans and anchovy dressing This was a nice starter, and each of the components had a good flavor. Keith didn't love the texture overall, since every item was sort of soft (the fennel had been marinated or pickled, so it didn't have any crunch). It didn't really bother me, though. Mustard oil poached loup de mer with cockles, fresh Maine shrimp, lemongrass sauce, squid and fresh vegetable "noodles" I loved the flavors of this dish. The cockles were just barely cooked and perfectly briney, the shrimp were sweet, and the sauce had just the right amount of ginger. The fish tasted great, but was a bit on the mushy side (which didn't stop me from enjoying every bite). Quartre foie terrine, served with traditional accompaniments This pate had chicken, duck, quail and partridge liver, and was really tasty. I particularly liked the consistency--it was perfect for spreading on the toasted brioche. Boudin noir, rutabaga puree, farm fresh egg, foraged mushrooms and pecan oil This was really delicious--my favorite of the night. The boudin noir pieces had a very rich flavor which went great with the sweet rutabaga, earthy mushrooms and the runny yolk from the egg. Pomegranate glazed sweetbreads, pistachio and matchsticks of an unidentified root vegetable I love sweetbreads, and these were very good. The pomegranate was sweet and tart enough to cut through the richness of the dish, and the pistachios added a nice crunch. Sour milk vanilla panna cotta, blackberry coulis, poached quince and candied kumquat This was Keith's dessert, and was quite tasty. The sourness in the panna cotta was refreshing. Grits, poached fruit, hazelnuts and maple ice cream My dessert, and also very good...definitely a comfort food dessert. The maple ice cream was really good, and didn't bash you over the head with maple syrup flavor. I was pretty full by this time, so I would have preferred something lighter, but I managed to eat the whole thing For wines, we started with a half bottle of the Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emilie, and then had a full bottle of the 2004 Millot Savigny-les-Beaune. They were both very nice wines and complimented the food well, but if we were to go again, I'd probably just order two half bottles. We were practically chugging our wine with the main course Service was very friendly and knowledgeable, and our server seemed genuinely excited about the food. I would definitely recommend going for the Chef's Whim if you are not a picky eater, and you don't mind having dinner late on a weeknight. The food was a good value, and more creative than a lot of places around town. Other than the Whim, Craigie St. has some other weeknight deals, so I'm not sure I would ever go for a full priced meal (which appears to be pretty pricey). If you want more info, check out their website.

My second attempt at mapo tofu: I used beef instead of pork since that's all I had at home. I also added a red bell pepper, since I like the sweetness.

Last night I made a fairly tasty drink: 1 1/2 oz jasmine tea infused vodka (I would have used gin, but I was trying to use up extra vodka) 1/2 oz szechuan peppercorn infused vodka 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup 1 egg white Shake and strain We had a pretty potent batch of szechuan peppercorns, and the floral flavor was great with the jasmine tea. I think the ratio was good for just the right amount of spiciness.

I agree...we definitely need more Boston/NE activity! I like Wu Chon quite a bit, but haven't been there in a while. If anyone's interested, they have their menu posted on their website. I'm really interested to see what you think of Locke-Ober. I just can't decide whether I want to go there or not

Haven't posted in a while, and again, pages and pages of awesome stuff! Bruce, that topping for the fish sounds so good, I'm thinking of making a bucket of it just to have around. Wendy, I was just thinking that I haven't had egg drop soup in ages...you've inspired me to bump it up on my list of things to make A couple things from the last few days: Arugula walnut pesto with sausage, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese, topped with parsley. I had a pretty big batch of pesto, so yesterday I used the rest with some sauteed summer squash, grape tomatoes and onion. Butternut squash soup, with red pepper foam (sort-of) and mushrooms. The red pepper foam was an experiment with our new iSi whip, and I borrowed the idea from this post. It tasted really good, but didn't get exactly the texture I expected. Mushrooms were cooked with bacon, shallots, garlic and thyme. Mmmmmmm...

Last Saturday my husband and I shared the dessert tasting at the bar, and thought it tasted wonderful. While some of the combinations were certainly unusual, I thought everything was extremely good. We had the following: sweet potato ice cream--great flavor and textures white chocolate cubism--loved the chrysanthamum with the beer milk chocolate with shredded wheat, oat sorbet and sassafras--really good, toasty flavors wolfberry dessert--the wolfberry was less sweet than I expected, and went great with the citrus sabayon chocolate/pear dessert--again, nice combination of flavors. I was actually too full to thoroughly enjoy this one. One odd thing about the experience is that we asked the bartender for wine recommendations to go with dessert, and he couldn't give us an answer. He got the sommelier, who also seemed a bit confused that we were asking for something to drink with dessert. I was particularly surprised by this reaction since a) it's a wine bar, b) they have a pretty good selection of dessert wines and c) there are apparently wine pairings available in the dining room. Also, for a couple desserts the server just plopped the plate down with virtually no explanation. Anyway, I'm really glad we went since we definitely haven't had this type of dessert before, and we enjoyed ourselves very much despite a few minor service issues.

Thanks for all the compliments! The plates and bowls are from the Villeroy & Boch New Wave collection. We put a bunch of them on our wedding registry last year

You know those days where you're just craving certain foods? Today it was vegetables, probably because we've been eating out a lot, and missing our usual variety of produce. Tonight we had some friends over and had a veggie tasting dinner of sorts. This was NOT vegetarian, though (chicken stock, seafood and bacon were involved). We started out with sauteed mushrooms (chantarelle and shiitake with garlic, sherry, sherry vinegar, thyme and parsley) and creamed chevre on challah toast: My friend Sheri brought seafood risotto, which we served in individual portions, briefly broiled in the toaster oven: It had scallops, tilapia and mushrooms. Super tasty. Parsnip soup topped with pan roasted brussels sprouts and bacon: Wilted escarole dressed with champagne vinegar, champagne shallot mustard and olive oil. We also added sauteed onions and red pepper, white anchovies, pistachios, and topped it with a poached egg. Finally, "pasta" made from summer squash. The tomato sauce was simmered with red wine and anchovies, and finished with parsley and a splash of cream. For a mostly veggie dish, this was very rich and satisfying: