Dinner! 2012

[Shelby]

Once again I'm envious of your tomatoes. Remind me to ask you where that market is

Makes me want a big bowl of 'mater soup!

[nikkib]

soba - your meals all look stunning! Simple, healthy and delicious i can imagine too - keep up the posts!

[SobaAddict70]

soba - your meals all look stunning! Simple, healthy and delicious i can imagine too - keep up the posts!

thanks Nikki.

I've started a project, I guess you can say. I want to see if I can blog if not continuously, then on a nearly every other day basis by cooking meals whose ingredients are in season. it's especially challenging in winter as you might imagine.

I'm sure that by the time March rolls around I'll be thoroughly sick of cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, carrots and leeks.

The temptation to buy a greenhouse tomato is really high right now. I'll get over it though.

[Franci]

Yesterday I picked up some calf's bone marrow at the butcher and asked to cut lenghtwise. I soaked them almost 18 hours in salted water and changed 2-3 times but still didn't get rid of all the blood.

I had a very tiny green cauliflower in the fridge with abundant long leaves which I didn't want to get waisted. So, I discarted only the hard stalks. I saute some of the leftover onion and fennel from yesterday side dish, added morsels of sausage, blanched cauliflower leaves, outer uglier leaves from little gems and swiss chards.

Husband declared he was still hungry and we opened a jar of foie gras we had in the fridge. I can never say no to that. It was so so. But I'll sacrifice myself and try to eat in the next few days

[Paul Bacino]

Franci

I give that butcher credit.. Slicing that Bone with a Band saw length wise.. Im sure would scare the heck out of me..

Paul

[kayb]

Once again I'm envious of your tomatoes. Remind me to ask you where that market is

Makes me want a big bowl of 'mater soup!

When you come down for the races, I will personally see that you have tomatos to take home!

[Norm Matthews]

The store had boneless, skinless chicken thighs so that made this dish a lot easier for me. I didn't have to get a couple of chickens and bone and skin them myself, but when I got home I discovered I didn't have jalapenos- used chili powder and pepper sauce. Doubled sauce recipe and added a dash of sesame oil cut back on ginger. Charlie noticed the missing jalapeno. This dish was concocted when we went to a Chinese buffet and son asked me to try to duplicate it. I was a little lazy and cut the pieces big and that meant they had to cook longer and got browner that usual but they were crispy and moist and not burnt. Vegetables were steamed then tossed in a sauce made with hoisin, soy, chicken broth and corn starch.

[SobaAddict70]

Penne arrabbiata, with pecorino cheese.

Originally this was going to be penne con aglio e olio but then I remembered that I had some Pomi chopped tomatoes that I had to use up, lest it spoil.

Voilà, dinner in 20 minutes.

[nikkib]

Soba - your penne with turnip is a little like a dish our chef at work is doing at the moment - herb gnocchi, panfried and served with baby carrots, turnip and fennel with a light goats cheese sauce - its completely delicious and very seasonal....Good luck with the blogging, i shall look forward to the posts!

[patrickamory]

Soba - the penne arrabiata - another fantastic photo. The colors just pop and you can almost feel the texture of the pasta, which looks just perfectly done (to my taste - slighty al dente). Also it reveals excellent tossing technique.

[ScottyBoy]

On a pasta kick, I like it!

[Franci]

Tonight we had stuffed veal breast

and some grilled endive

plus, some rice pilaf and chards

[rotuts]

sorbaAddict:

may I ask where you got that plate/bowl for the penne?

i sure hope its crate and barrel.

I now have all white plates.

i like that one!

[robirdstx]

A couple of recent dinners:

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Bar-B-Que Sauce and Green Beans

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce

[Rory Hart]

I just got a fresh meal solutions sous vide so of course everything is cooked sous vide right now.

Sous vide Lamb Shoulder Chops

Marinated in smoked paprika, lemon juice and olive oil for 30 mins.

Cooked sous vide in a zip lock bag for 23 mins at 61°C, then smacked on the grill for 30 secs a side to colour.

They were perfectly cooked but I've cooked chops on the grill to almost as good as this. Likely leaving them to cook for a couple of hours will tenderise them somewhat.

Served with minted yoghurt, leafy greens and some couscous.

Sous vide rolled Lamb loin

Cooked sous vide for 40mins at . . . I forget now and can't check Modernist Cuisine as I am at work. It was quite high however.

The loin unrolled as I seared the fat but didn't hurt the flavour.

Served with a red wine jus and roast vegies (roast potato cooked in goose fat FTW).

The plates I served it on were cold however so what warmth there was in the meat was gone very quickly, newbie mistake not made with the chops above.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Rory Hart (log)

[ddelima]

Tonight's dinner... seasoned with smoked salt and garlic and cooked 60hs at 133F plus 12hs at 144F.

72-Hour Sous Vide Short Ribs with Broccoli Salad

[mm84321]

Lamb shank.

[ScottyBoy]

UUUGGGHHHH! So much braised meat!

[SobaAddict70]

hi patrick. thanks for the compliments.

nikki -- I just saw your comment. can you please find out from your chef whether the herb gnocchi are potato-, chestnut- or ricotta-based? I may just make at at some point in the future, although I'll skip on the goat cheese. (not a big fan of creamy cheese sauces in general)

scotty -- I eat A LOT of pasta. I've been trying to make it a week without breaking open that part of my pantry, and failing. maybe, one of these days I shall succeed.

rotuts -- I felt I needed more neutral-colored plates for the foodblog, so I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond. my purchases reflect my bachelorhood -- two pasta bowls which also double as soup bowls or suitable serving pieces such as for the haddock dish, for example; a salad bowl, a square plate which I frequently use to showcase appetizers or sides, and a couple of saucers. in general, I prefer white-colored plates, bowls or dishes so that no other elements appear in the frame of the photo that would otherwise distract a viewer from the food.

I might have to pick up a couple more plates in the near future, along with an immersion blender. my regular blender somehow broke when the base became cracked. I don't even know how that happened. :blink: I really am clueless sometimes...

rory -- I really like the third pic, the shot with the salad and the couscous.

Edited January 13, 2012 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[percyn]

Great meals all! Could have used a braised beef dish on this cold windy day.

A few nights ago...

Goat Cheese Tortellini w/Chicken Marsala

Was at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC last week so had to stop at

Papaya King

and Shake Shack

[Franci]

Love all these meat dishes. They look fantastic.

Tonight's dinner... seasoned with smoked salt and garlic and cooked 60hs at 133F plus 12hs at 144F.

72-Hour Sous Vide Short Ribs with Broccoli Salad

Once I move I need to get into sous vide. So I can have short ribs like these

Today we have been to the market on the italian side, in Ventimiglia. So much better. We were so loaded.

I got some borage and made the frisceu, the traditional fritters from Liguria. I used a whole flour and they look a little darker than normal.

We had some fried local anchovies

and a mix salad with raw artichockes

[patrickamory]

Mmmm those anchovies look delicious.

[kayb]

Made my maiden voyage at okonomiyaki. It won't be my last. With rice and pickled cucumber and daikon.

[nikkib]

Soba - they are potato gnocchi, really fluffy and delicious but i'm sure it would work just as well as your amazing ricotta gnocchi (although there could be an arguement for potato being seasonal too i suppose...) Generally im not a big fan of creamy sauces - especially with gnocchi as they can get a bit "cloying" This dish is more about the vegetables and then about 25mls or so of the sauce to finish it off - the sainte mure with the turnip expecially is great!

[ddelima]

Sous Vide Pork Belly with Creamed Spinach

Seasoned with coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and red pepper flakes and cooked at 75C for 48 hours.

The good: pork was super tender, tasty and melted in the mouth.

The not so good: the combination creamed spinach and pork belly turned out quite heavy but that was what I had in the pantry ☺. Next time I will pair it with a light salad or white rice to better break down all the pork goodness.