Dinner! 2012

[liuzhou]

I always use quail eggs for Scotch eggs. Those look lovely.

Here is one of the last batch I made. I used a mixture of minced pork and Chinese blood pudding (like a black pudding), plus lots of black pepper to make up for seasonings I can't buy here. My eggs were more hard boiled, as you can see. But I don't mind peeling them now that I found the knack.

Edited November 19, 2012 by LindaK (log)

[patrickamory]

Amazing scotch eggs, rro and liuzhou. Love the scoring on your duck robirdstx.

Kdra of chicken with pistachios, chickpea and lemon:

[Okanagancook]

My husband saw on a tv show where they used a blow torch briefly on the outside of an egg to make the shell easier to peel....just a short blast. Have to try that.

[SobaAddict70]

It's been a while, right?

Last night:

Crosnes and turnip green salad.

Crosnes are a tuber vegetable with a dull whitish color and a knobby appearance. They have a nutty, slightly buttery flavor and a crisp texture similar to water chestnuts. They're also quite expensive; Mountain Sweet Berry was selling them for $24/lb.

These were sautéed in unsalted butter, and seasoned with sea salt and black pepper; then combined with briefly wilted turnip greens and crushed deep-fried Chinese noodles. Lemon juice for a touch of acidity, and chives for garnish.

Pumpkin, with chiles, mint and poached farm egg.

This appears regularly on Babbo's and Otto's menus (which you may know as restaurants owned by Mario Batali). The poached egg is my own addition.

Recipe here: http://www.mariobatalifoundation.org/sauteed_pumpkin.htm

You can make this vegan by omitting the egg.

Spaghetti with pancetta, zucchini and onion.

Edited November 18, 2012 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[Mr Holloway]

Great meals everyone

With Ashen's help, my first try at peameal bacon

In the brine

On the Egg with some ham

Sliced

Some Eggs Benny

Yum

Shane

[sadistick]

RE: peeling eggs

If you add a bit of baking soda to the water when boiling, and then just peel the top and bottom of the egg, you can actually BLOW it out of the shell - super easy, just need some lung power!

[Keith_W]

peel the top and bottom of the egg, you can actually BLOW it out of the shell - super easy, just need some lung power!

ONLY try this with a hard boiled egg. I tried this with my soft centered eggs (the white is set, but the yolk still runny). I literally had egg on my face. My wife laughed so hard. Bad advice!!!

[mm84321]

Onion soup with Comté

Foie gras poached in Gevrey Chambertin

Pigeon, chartreuse of vegetables and foie gras, sauce pilée

[christine007]

Very nice, everyone! Such inspiration here.

Tonight, I made a quiche with two cheeses, parmesan and cheddar, and some really nice ham my sister gave us.

Note the turkey guarding it jealously. He figures if we eat quiche, he's safe.

Served with fresh sweet potatos. I didn't use to mind canned sweet potatos, but these have totally spoiled me now. Served to my son Ross, my best critic ( Because he loves everything.)

[C. sapidus]

Spare ribs, smoked low and slow on the Big Green Egg. We used Magic Dust on one rack, and Dizzy Pig Raging River on the other. We normally smoke with the Weber Smoky Mountain, but the Big Green Egg held steady at 225F for 6 hours.

Cowboy beans and salad for accompaniments.

Bark:

Moist and juicy!

[SobaAddict70]

Stufato.

The recipe is here, but you can vary it depending on what you have on hand: http://kitchenseason...ato-di-verdure/

The version pictured has onion, carrot, celery, fennel, garlic, celery leaves, fennel greens, zucchini, string beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, olives, herbs (oregano, Italian parsley, bay leaves), sea salt, black pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. Served with a baguette.

Edited November 19, 2012 by SobaAddict70 (log)

[patrickamory]

OMG Bruce those ribs look amazing. What are those rubs?

[liuzhou]

Re: peeling quail eggs

You can also soak them in vinegar or a 50-50 vinegar and water mix and the shells just dissolve. I use a very mild white rice vinegar, then rinse to get rid of any lingering vinegar taste.

[C. sapidus]

OMG Bruce those ribs look amazing. What are those rubs?

Thank you very much, Patrick. Raging River is a commercial rub produced by Dizzy Pig, a local company:

http://www.dizzypigb...agingriver.html

Magic Dust is Mike Mills' dry rub. We used the remainder from the batch we made for our last pork butt. Recipe here:

http://www.food.com/...bbq-rub-373437

Enjoy!

[liuzhou]

One of my problems here in China is getting hold of many (most) spices. Apart from pepper, cumin, cassia, fennel and star anise, pretty much everything else is impossible, unless I travel thousands of miles to Beijing or Shanghai.

So I was delighted yesterday when a friend showed up at my place with 500 grams of coriander seed. For some reason the locals eat coriander leaf (cilantro) all the time, but most don't even realise the seeds are edible.

My friend picked the seeds up for me at a local farmers' supplies market. They are intended for planting in order to harvest the leaf. Great care must be taken when buying seeds this way as many seeds are coated with germination accelerator chemicals. Not what you want to be eating.

So last night I made one of my favourites. I don't think it has a real name. I just call it coriander pork.

Cubes of pork are marinated in lemon juice and olive oil, with garlic, lightly crushed coriander seeds and salt. I usually marinate overnight, but yesterday only for around three hours - plenty.

They are then stir fried in Mr. Wok until cooked through.

I usually serve it on rice with stir fried green beans, but I didn't have any and it was raining and I was too lazy to go get any. Instead I served it with a simple tomato and red onion salad dressed with a rice vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Edited November 19, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[Keith_W]

Sapidus, those ribs look amazing. When I smoke them in my Kamado they never seem to turn out quite as juicy. Do you use a water pan?

Liuzhou, how long do you have to soak the quail eggs for, before they dissolve?

[liuzhou]

Liuzhou, how long do you have to soak the quail eggs for, before they dissolve?

Only a few minutes. Depends on the strength of the vinegar. I've never actually timed it. You can see the shells disappear.

Edited November 19, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[ScottyBoy]

So It's my 30th birthday today...could you overnight some of these right now?

[C. sapidus]

Sapidus, those ribs look amazing. When I smoke them in my Kamado they never seem to turn out quite as juicy. Do you use a water pan?

Thank you, Keith. No water pan, no mop, just indirect over a pizza stone at 225F, raised the heat to 275F for the last half hour or so.

BTW, kudos to all on the Scotch eggs - they look remarkable

[Nicolai]

Dinner tonight Salad with an "invented recipe"

- Artichokes

- Cherry Tomatoes

- Black Olives

- Pomegranate Seeds

Dressing:

- Apple Vinegar

- Mayonaise

- Basil

- Celery Salt

- EVO

- Black ground Pepper

- Pomegranate Molasses

Side:

- Pain de Campagne grille et gousses d'Ail confit

Wine:

- Pouilly Fume

Edited November 19, 2012 by Nicolai (log)

[Baselerd]

I recently made the Guinea Fowl dish from Eleven Madison Park, but with Chicken:

SV chicken breast with brown butter, dehydrated grapes, poached/glazed grapes, shallot oat crumble, trumpet mushrooms, parsnip puree, and chicken sauce.

[Norm Matthews]

I had some coconut shrimp at a restaurant that I thought was good so I tried to make it at home. I think it was a successful experiment. Along with it was a dipping sauce, rice pilaf, pineapple dak bulgogi and pepper steak.

[mm84321]

Dry-aged beef, red wine-braised onions, foie gras, sauce Bordelaise

[C. sapidus]

Gorgeous meals, all! More from the Big Green Egg tonight

Maple mustard pork chops

Maple mustard BBQ sauce, with bacon

Asparagus with lemon zest and garlic

[David Ross]

I had some coconut shrimp at a restaurant that I thought was good so I tried to make it at home. I think it was a successful experiment. Along with it was a dipping sauce, rice pilaf, pineapple dak bulgogi and pepper steak.

I love that platter. I haven't seen one of those in years, but I sure remember them from the good ol steakhouse days!