Dinner! 2012

[heidih]

Been a busy Summer at work and I haven't done as much cooking as I would have liked, but tonight I got back at it. Fried Oysters, Hominy and Grilled Red Onion Salad, Remoulade Sauce-

I like the hominy - cooked from dry or canned?

[Anna N]

So many amazing meals. I have made copious notes to remind me of the things that I am inspired to try in the coming days. Here are a few of my recent meals:

Braised beef with daikon - thank you Hassouni

Kimchi fried rice topped with an egg

Skillet shrimp and orzo with tiny grape tomatoes

Pasta with shrimp, slow roasted tomatoes and peas.

[patrickamory]

Toothsome shrimp Anna.

I made the chana masala above, incorporating Soba's changes (using a panch phoran to temper the oil, omitting the paprika and garam masala). Also doubled the amount of ghee, and following a tip in the very interesting comment thread to that recipe, added a squirt of ketchup at the end for extra umami and sweetness.

Accompanied by aloo chat.

[Hassouni]

oh MAN your cholay looks awesome...

[patrickamory]

Thanks Hassouni - it's not there yet though! Jump in on the chole thread if you have any recommendations...

[Hassouni]

That looks better than any chole I've made. Is the recipe for that one in the thread?

[patrickamory]

It's linked above... Soba's adaptation of a recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

[sheepish]

My lung repertoire isn't extensive.

But chopped, simmered with some stock veg for about 90 mins. Then added to a hot and sour soup for a few mins. And served on rice noodles. I think anyone who says lungs are their favourite thing is lying, but this wasn't bad at all.

[Hassouni]

And that's why fuqi feipian was created, because that sauce could cover anything and I'd eat it

[David Ross]

Been a busy Summer at work and I haven't done as much cooking as I would have liked, but tonight I got back at it. Fried Oysters, Hominy and Grilled Red Onion Salad, Remoulade Sauce-

I like the hominy - cooked from dry or canned?

It's Bush's canned hominy. It's really tasty.

[Lady T]

The A/C's working, so I ventured to turn on the oven for a cod fillet baked in white wine with S/P and butter and parsley, along with some good asparagus I found at Whole Paycheck (steamed, S/P, butter, more parsley) and some truly nice boiled red potatoes. Cava to drink and homemade butter cookies for dessert. Mighty full, mighty happy, waiting to see just how much rain/thunder/lightning we get in the next little while.

[patrickamory]

I was trying to recall what the British word for lungs was when you cook it... finally got it via Google... lights.

[ScottyBoy]

OooOoohhh, do you have a picture os a slice?

[C. sapidus]

First dinner with elder son off to college was an I-don’t-feel-like-going-to-the-grocery-store affair, cobbled together from the freezer and garden.

Shrimp with garlic and lemon juice, with olive oil, red chile and smoked paprika, over fettuccini

Peas with onion and basil

[patrickamory]

Ruth Rogers' pasta with cherry tomatoes in two vinegars.

Tomatoes marinating:

Finished pasta:

[SobaAddict70]

very nice, chefmd.

I'll be borrowing that and expanding on it in an all-tomato dinner in late September.

for tonight -- leftover chana masala and:

Broccoli rabe, with chile pepper, garlic and lemon

Plum tomatoes, unsalted butter, sea salt, black pepper

ETA re the tomatoes: Chef Matt Hamilton of Lulu and Po (formerly of Uovo (New York), Pair of 8's (New York) and Belcourt (New York)) does something similar.

sheepish -- lovely.

Edited August 27, 2012 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Ashen]

OooOoohhh, do you have a picture os a slice?

I made it out to the pig roast and it was awesome. I am hoping Shane has some pics of the corn and corn cooker he had going out there too. The cob I had was a solid contender for the best I have ever had.

[mgaretz]

Kim, I thought of you when I made another meatloaf!

The whole thing, just out of the oven/broiler:

Slices from the leftovers the following night:

I made the glaze a bit differently - added a splash of BBQ sauce in with the ketchup. Everyone liked it, no one could decide if we liked it better or not.

[patrickamory]

I can SMELL that meatloaf.

[ScottyBoy]

Made some fried chicken. I used the spices that I cure my pastrami with, delicious!

Collard greens, cornbread with jalapeno-honey butter

[Pierogi]

Kim, I thought of you when I made another meatloaf!

The whole thing, just out of the oven/broiler:

Slices from the leftovers the following night:

I made the glaze a bit differently - added a splash of BBQ sauce in with the ketchup. Everyone liked it, no one could decide if we liked it better or not.

Mark, I may (ok, I *do*) need the recipe for that loaf. I made one a couple of weeks ago that a) nearly killed me (I unfortunately was boxed into making it on day with 100°-+ temps and 80%-+ humidity.....) and b) the recipe just sucked. No other words, just....sucked. Even the leftover sandwich a couple of days later was sucky. The 3/4 of it left went into the offering to the Trash Gods today.

It was bad. Even the vulture dogs barely ate it.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Pierogi (log)

[Mr Holloway]

ScottyBoy:Thanks, things got crazy after the slicing started, there were cameras flashing, just gotta find who took the pics

Ashen: Dave ,glad you guys made it out, got some extra corn, I will bring some in tonight. Thanks again for the cupcakes..AMAZING

Shane

[mgaretz]

Mark, I may (ok, I *do*) need the recipe for that loaf. I made one a couple of weeks ago that a) nearly killed me (I unfortunately was boxed into making it on day with 100°-+ temps and 80%-+ humidity.....) and b) the recipe just sucked. No other words, just....sucked. Even the leftover sandwich a couple of days later was sucky. The 3/4 of it left went into the offering to the Trash Gods today.

Thanks Pierogi. Here you go:

Mine is an adaptation of one of the many CI recipes for the "best" meatloaf (it kills me that they keep recycling the recipes claiming they are all the best!).

Ingredients:

1.75 lbs (or so) ground beef (I usually use 80/20)

1 medium onion - fine diced

1 medium carrot - peeled and fine diced

1 celery rib - fine diced

1 cup oatmeal (the regular stuff from the bulk bins)

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 tbs low sodium soy sauce

1 tbs honey mustard

2 tbs plus 1/2 cup ketchup

2 extra large eggs

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 tbs olive oil

3 tbs sugar

Prepare a broiler pan by covering the insert with foil and slitting the foil to match the insert. Preheat oven to 375^oF

Saute the celery, onions and carrots in the olive oil until the carrots are softened and the onions are just starting to turn golden. While you are doing that, whisk together the eggs, broth, soy sauce, 2 tbs ketchup and the mustard in large bowl (big enough to hold everything). Sprinkle the gelatin on the top and let sit for at least 5 minutes. For the last minute of the saute, add the pepper, thyme and garlic. Turn off the heat. Add the cup of oatmeal to the liquid and stir it in well, then add the veggies. (If you want to deglaze the pan, use something interesting like red wine.) Add the ground beef and mix with your hands or a spatula until everything is evenly distributed, but don't overdo it.

Form the mixture into a free-form loaf on your prepared broiler pan. I use a leave-in remote thermometer so I take the time now to make sure the probe is as close to the center as I can get it. Cook until the inside temp reaches 135^oF. It usually takes about 40 minutes for me.

While it's cooking, prepare the glaze by mixing the 1/2 cup of ketchup with the sugar. I use about 3 tbs but you can adjust this to your taste. If you like BBQ sauce you can substitute some of the ketchup with BBQ sauce.

When the meatloaf reaches 135F, pull it out, remove the probe and readjust your oven rack to broil (if necessary - I use my Breville Smart Oven and do everything on the middle position). Switch the oven to broil at 500^oF. Brush half of the glaze on the loaf and return to the broiler. Broil for about 6-7 minutes, just enough to start to darken (ok, burn) in spots. Remove and brush again with the rest of the glaze and back in the broiler for another 6-7 minutes. Remove and let cool.

If you slice it right away, it tends to fall apart, the longer you let it cool the more intact your slices will be. It's hard to wait because it smells so good!

Edited August 27, 2012 by mgaretz (log)

[patrickamory]

Wow, interesting, no ground pork in addition to the ground beef?

[patrickamory]

OK... the latest in my chole experiments... MURGH chana masala...