chefmd

Yesterday's dinner was at the restaurant where we cooked part of the meal on the grill. The other part came pre-cooked. There were few plates on the table when we arrived. A very bad picture of a robot that delivered a couple of plates. It was mostly for show since waiters delivered majority of the food. Different spices and sauces for dipping

There were only eight people at lunch. I really hope that left overs were taken home. We left a little early to go back to the hotel since family had to plan the wedding. The amount of food served was beyond generous.

"Lettuce wraps" made with shiso leafs. At least I think those were shiso. Way better than lettuce. And easier to fold. Potato dish. Potatoes were somewhat al denter to my surprise but that is how it is supposed to be cooked. Home made dumplings that were boiled at the restaurant. Did I mention that my in-laws know everyone in town? And dessert was fried dough covered in melted sugar. Our hosts dipped it in beer. I tried dipping it and it was not bad at all.

More lunch dishes Whole fish Deep fried eggplant stuffed with pork Nice salad that is hiding glass noodles on the bottom Deep fried pork and peppers. This one was not sweet. Sweet and sour pork. Because you can never eat enough pork

OK, back at the computer. This was yesterday's lunch. Local beer is very light and goes real well with salty foods. And it flows freely during the meal. Tofu noodles. Probably my favorite dish. I did not know that you could make noodles from tofu. Seaweed salad Some pickled root. Tasted like parsnip.

@Thanks for the Crepes I do not know what the metal bar is for. Possibly for holding the vessel. I did not get a good look at it. @liuzhou Will try to take a look inside the refrigerator if we will go to the apartment again. Now I am curious if there is food in it. In Russia refrigerators are usually packed chock full. It is dangerous to open the door cause the food may start falling out.

@Smithy i agree that refrigerator decor is impractical. It is located in living room though and kinda matches the decor.

Will keep posting later. It is 8 AM here and Internet suddenly became very slow. Here is a picture of the restaurant where we had lunch.

Cooked food sold at the market

And even more market pictures. Fruits Ginger as big as my hand Fish Tomatoes Rice and corn Dried fish

More market pictures. Fresh noodles. Peppers Meat and offal. People were happy to pose for our pictures. Ferns and wild greens

Local market is a very happening place. I was insanely jealous to see the variety of food that is not available to me in the US. Fresh unpasteurized milk. Green eggs. Just add ham. Dried food Mushrooms, glorious mushrooms

In-laws have two refrigerators and a chest freezer. Refrigerators are decorated the same way they are in Russia with very thoughtfully chosen beautiful items. Freezer is full of home made dumplings some of which will make an appearance at lunch in a local restaurant later that day.

We checked into local hotel and took a short walk to in-laws apartment which is only a couple of blocks away. Both parents work for the local government and have lived in Yakeshi all their life so we got a five star treatment at the hotel and everywhere else in town. In laws building Welcome snacks. I am from Russia and my son was born there so our hosts provided us with plethora of Chinese and Russian snacks. Yakeshi is rather close to Russian border so it is easy to get that stuff. Bride and groom are going to have Russian candies as party favors. Far left bag contains extremely addictive sunflower seeds coated in some tasty substance. I had to be physically removed from it to stop eating. Very delicate green tea was flowing freely. Fortunately we did not have to do any more shots.

My son married a lovely young lady from Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, China. Mongolian: ᠶᠠᠠᠠᠰᠢ ᠬᠣᠲᠠ (Ягши хот); Chinese: 牙克石; pinyin: Yákèshí We had a wedding in the US but her family also wanted to have a traditional wedding in China. DH and I have never being to China so this was an exciting opportunity for us! We spent a few days in Beijing doing touristy stuff and then flew to Hailar. There is only one flight a day on Air China that we took at 6 in the morning. Yakeshi is about an hour drive from Hailar on a beautiful toll road with no cars on it. I wish we took pictures of free roaming sheep and cows along the way. The original free range meat. The family met us at the airport. We were greeted with a shot of a traditional Chinese spirit from a traditional leather vessel. Nothing says welcome like a stiff drink at 9 AM. We were supposed to have a three shots (may be they were joking) but family took pity on us and limited it to one only.

@DianaB i have a very limited experience with baking in general. It's the whole precise measuring thing that I am not good at. But my love of good bread trumps my dislike of measurements ;). I used a no knead recipe from King Arthur website and let the dough have second rise in the Emile Henry pan after about four days in the fridge. Baking at 450 degrees without steam fir about 45 minutes. It is magical. Really. Can not say that I was fully clear on the process. here is the recipe http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2016/01/01/no-knead-crusty-white-bread/ still prefer Forkish bread but it is much more involved and better left for when I have a day off. above recipe can be done on weeknight if u mix the dough a few days ahead.

And the first attempt at making bread in this beauty

Beef tendon and tripe in Szechuan sauce from Peter Chang restaurant in Arlington VA

@Shelby Bialys, you baked bialys!

Just bought this beautiful Emile Henry bread baker. My baking experience is very limited. I can make a Saturday loaf from Flou Water Salt Yeast ant that's about it. But I am determined to change it after drooling over the pictures in this thred. Can someone please recommend a recipe that can be made relatively easily? I like my bread savory, preferably without sugar added. Olive bread recipe would be great. Bonus: this baker fits in my Cusinart steam oven.

Chicken roasted in cast iron pan that was first preheated in the 450 degrees oven

Ribeye steak, rare, with pan seared button mushrooms and pan sauce.

How about adding it to mashed potatoes? http://www.fmitk.com/vanilla-bean-and-mascarpone-mashed-potatoes/ And you can infuse vodka with lefy over bean (after seeds are scraped out). btw, I am with you on not doing sweets.

What I found in the fridge. Hamburger bun, half of avocado, prosciutto that was briefly microwaved to make it crisp. Insanely delicious. Want another one.

Mad jelly. I am clearly staying at the wrong hotels. Three dollars will barely buy me a very pedestrian cup of coffee.