Dinner! 2012

[Blether]

Kouign Aman' timestamp='1328557072' post='1861727']

... I was disappointed that I could not roll the pasta thin enough for decent ravioli. We made a few industrial strength ones for grins and giggles. They tasted ok, but there was just too much pasta. How do you all do it? Softer recipe? Special pasta roller ('cause I need a new toy in the kitchen), other?

My first hand-rolled ravioli were rustic, too. From the second time onwards, no problem - I'd gotten used to how much the pasta expands on cooking, and so knew how thin to roll it out.

I too wonder what kind of difficulty you had. I rolled mine out by hand on my 14" x 18" chopping board. I could have gone even thinner than ideal. Use plenty of flour for rolling ?

ETA: oh yeah, with only 14" x 18" to work with, judging the size of dough lump (small!) to pull off the mothership for each rolling was an important part of the learning process.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Blether (log)

[Kouign Aman]

The dough was very stiff & elastic, and we simply could not get it as thin as we wanted it, even before we constructed the ravioli. It wasnt a shortage of power; I ended up recruiting the piano mover to help roll.

One thing puzzled me - the first try I rolled per my usual practice between two sheets of waxed paper. The second shot (for the linguina) used plastic wrap, and went much more easily. Not sure the why of that, but perhaps the paper pulled out some moisture? Certainly based on the video recipe, we were a bit on the edge for moisture (we did add 2T oil and a bit of water, per the recipe and to pull the original dough ball together).

I have half the dough left, so will try again on the weekend to roll and roll and roll, perhaps while expounding in amused tones about the joys of working with dough. I have rolling pin envy. My dad offered to make me one of those years ago and I had no place to store it so declined. I wonder if he would do that now....

[Blether]

Kim,

...

...

Aaarggggh. Fantastic ! How was the football result for you guys ?

The lamb shoulder last week was follow-up to these previous posts - pictures and method. So it is actually roasted. Very slowly. All the shoulder's connective tissue turns the meat pervasively unctuous; the fat cap is a lush, golden savour-bomb parchment - "better than bacon" - and there's enough dripping to give plenty of well-flavoured gravy. 122yen per 100g, about 7 bucks a pound ? That's only 10-20% more than pork shoulder/belly/loin (though compared to lamb leg, of course there's more fat to pour off. Haven't yet figured out a use for much lamb fat).

[Dakki]

dcarch, just beautiful work, as always.

Blether, you've made my recurring problems with ensuring a constant supply of clean running water seem trivial in comparison to finding a local source for LAMB.

Kim, I hope you brought enough of that brisket for the whole class. And by "the whole class" I mean "me."

[Blether]

.. I just need to add a lot more time to roll the sheet out.

All that rolling effort sounds to me like, not enough liquid for the amount of flour. It should be more difficult to roll than shortcrust, but not crazy elastic.

[Justin Uy]

Really more of a pre-amble to dinner, but I thought I'd post it anyway:

Fergus Henderson's bone marrow recipe.

Oven Roasted marrow bones on toasted slices of baguette. salad of parsley, shallot, capers, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

This was my first experience with bone marrow, cooking or eating, but it definitely won't be the last! The marrow was super rich, and the counterpoint from the acid of the salad was perfect.

[kayb]

Kim, I used a pound each of ground pork and ground beef, and half a pound of bracon. Then, tonight, I found about 1/3 pound each pf pork and beef in the microwave,where I had put it to defrost (the frozen centers of the packages. Ick!). You could use a pound of eachand adjust the number of bacon strips accordingly. Both pork and beef were pasture raised, organic, from my CSA.

ETA:

That brisket looks amazing. My hat's off to Mr. Kim!

Edited February 7, 2012 by kayb (log)

[C. sapidus]

Kim – add one more “welcome back!” to the pile, and kudos to Mr. Kim on the brisket

Bisteces encebollados (steak with onions), adapted from Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook. Something this simple – sirloin steak, white onion, garlic, chicken stock, and roasted peppers – has no right to be this tasty.

Arroz blanco (white rice pilaf) has been a stone-cold family favorite for a long time, and for good reason. Jasmine rice, white onion, garlic, chicken broth, roasted Poblano chiles, and flat-leaf parsley.

[FrogPrincesse]

Crisp-skinned Chinook salmon with fresh peas and button mushrooms from my CSA, recipe from How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons.

I am just glad I was able to obtain perfectly crisp skin with this recipe. It was very good - my 5-year old daughter called the skin "salmon chips".

[percyn]

Amazing food all.

Kim, I have been contemplating a BBQ roadtrip to escape the cold weather, so your post of the brisket hit home (or specifically, my tummy) the hardest.

Here is a Paella made last week. It had chorizo, chicken, shrimp, mussels and squid.

On a less appealing front, yesterday we used up some leftovers from a Super Bowl party

Nachos

BBQ Meatball and Sausage sandwich with Coleslaw (a take on a pulled pork sandwich) - very easy to make. Simply add 1-2" cuts of smoked sausage, meatballs, cover with your favorite BBQ sauce and simmer in your crock-pot for 3-4 hrs.

[Kouign Aman]

Oh My. So much meaty fatty crackly beauty being posted. Where is that :lust: smiley?

Soft noodles with chicken and vegetables. The tiny bit of fish sauce makes a world of difference.

I enjoyed it and it was well received by the child, and my 'elder daughter', a teacher from near Tianjin, China who we are hosting (she doctored it with a serious decoration of sriracha).

[Rico]

Wow, this all looks amazing, but Kim, I've got to say that I am in awe of how that brisket turned out - especially done on a Weber instead of a purpose-built smoker! To me, that seems a very impressive feat - it looks delicious.

ETA: Just took a second, closer look, and realized that that is indeed a smoker and not a kettle. Regardless, it looks fantastic!

Edited February 8, 2012 by Rico (log)

[Dejah]

Cross-posting tonight's supper from the "Cooking for weight loss" thread because the salmon fillet was so pretty!

I usually cook this on the BBQ wrapped in banana leaf. A bit chilly at the moment, so the fish was done in foil in a 375F oven.

The fillet was sandwiched between layers of lemongrass, ginger, green onion, cilantro, chili pepper, lime slices, pepper, salt and sprinkled with olive oil. It was silky, moist, and no fishy tast or smell at all. I've been cooking salmon steaks and was ready to give up on salmon as it tasted fishy to me, no matter how I cooked it!

Prep. and ready to go into the oven:

[C. sapidus]

. . . The tiny bit of fish sauce makes a world of difference.

True dat. One of my favorite cooking quotes is "if in doubt, add fish sauce."

Dejah - what, no after picture!? Looks like it would be delicious.

Just younger son and I for dinner tonight so we kept it simple. He made the jasmine rice and I made dry-fried green beans, substituting bacon for pork.

Edited February 8, 2012 by C. sapidus (log)

[Dejah]

Here ya go, Bruce. Sure wish salmon didn't lose that beautiful colour!

[Rory Hart]

Mussels in beer broth

I blogged this one as it turned out so well: http://www.roryhart.net/food/mussels-in-beer-broth/

[Anna N]

Rory - what lovely, plump mussels.

Last night SV rib eye with roasted carrots and parsnips tossed with aleppo pepper and finished with some pomegranate molasses:

[deensiebat]

A Sephardic-inspired fish with olives, saffron, lemon, and tomato, served over couscous. Warm roasted carrot/chard salad on the side.

[Blether]

Those mussels are just perfectly done. And the rib eye and fish look delicious.

Here, UK home-style shepherd's pie, by shredding some of the cold roast lamb shoulder in the cup blender. But first, a wee seafood tartare with raw squid, lightly-salted sujiko (immature salmon eggs) from sockeye salmon (benizake), a dab each of miso and wasabi, minced negi (green onion), shiso and fresh red chilli and lemon zest & juice. Before adding the lemon:

and complete, topped with some uni and more shiso:

And since it's summer (in a greenhouse somewhere in Kyushu) strawberries & cream to finish, with some of the strawberries crushed and folded into the stiffly-whipped cream:

[ScottyBoy]

Yum, great stuff.

I just ate some time/temp experiments last night....

Lamb loin 30 minutes @ 135 and bone-in squab breasts 30minutes @ 136 both were a success. And will be part of tonight's dinner.

[Kim Shook]

Blether – thanks for the compliment and for the lamb info! We were happy with the game results. I am a Redskin fan and Mr. Kim likes the Steelers, so we weren’t wildly cheering, but neither of us like NE.

percyn - well, if your trip brings you anywhere near Richmond, let me know. Mr. Kim would LOVE to do another one! Your Paella is just beautiful!

KA – Your chicken and noodle dish sound delicious. I have started using fish sauce a lot lately. Along with Worcestershire sauce, it seems to add the indefinable ‘something’ that things sometimes need. Michael Ruhlman uses it in a LOT of his recipes and that’s what started me.

Thanks to everyone on the kind words re: Mr. Kim’s brisket. He was SO nevous and so happy that it turned out as well as it did. I’ve passed on all of your comments to him.

So does anyone ever cook with beef shank? I keep seeing it at incredible prices in the store and since frugality is the name of the game here now, I was thinking about braising.

Dinner last night was Mr. Kim’s chili and some leftover cornbread gems:

Mine’s the one with macaroni and NO jalapenos (Mr. Kim just rolls his eyes).

[mm84321]

St. Pierre with Black Truffle Mousse, White Asparagus, and Hollandaise Mousseline

Marrow Custard with Celery Root and Black Truffle

Pigeon with Black Truffle, Candelle Pasta Gratin, Brussels Sprouts, and Sauce Périgourdine

[percyn]

Marrow Custard with Celery Root and Black Truffle

O...M...G!!!!

Where can I get one of these? Is this in the EMP cookbook?

Great meals all.

Scotty, that lamb and squab looks excellent.

Blether, awesome tartare.

Kim, will certainly let you know if I am in Richmond and will make you the paella.

Bruce, nice looking green beans

Continuing the meatfest, I decided to make Momofuku's Bo ssam (except I could not get fresh oysters)

Cured and refrigerated for 12 hrs and after 1 hr in oven at 250F.

After 6.5 hrs in the oven

Digging in (or as David Chang says - "savage the meat with two forks")

Plated with lettuce, rice, kimchi, spicy sauce and scallion/ginger sauce

Close Up

ETA:

Dessert - A version of Pineapple upside down cake - OK, more like a rum and pineapple topped cupcake.

Edited February 9, 2012 by percyn (log)

[mm84321]

Marrow Custard with Celery Root and Black Truffle

O...M...G!!!!

Where can I get one of these? Is this in the EMP cookbook?

No. I can PM you the recipe, if you'd like.

[C. sapidus]

percyn – thank you! That bo ssam looks divine

Shrimp “scampi” with linguini – slivered garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, S+P, and a little smoked paprika. The boys reminded me, as always, that “shrimp is not their favorite.”

Braised red cabbage with onion – garlic, chicken stock, S+P, parsley, and balsamic vinegar. Boys liked this.