Dinner! 2012

[basquecook]

Leftover chicken in the fridge, a couple of cups of ricotta, i made a quick ravioli with a chicken drumstick. Pasta sauce was quick san marzano, salt, sugar and thyme. The snapper roasted for 45 or 50 minutes and I had the time so, I was able to make the pasta and stuff it and cook it in 25 minutes.

Quick steamed broccoli rabe, then tossed with garlic oil, anchovies, a little red pepper and parmesan.

3 pound red snapper roasted.

Edited December 20, 2012 by basquecook (log)

[ScottyBoy]

Roasted MC short rib pastrami, Manchego grits, veal demi = gut bomb!

[C. sapidus]

Bruce – the fettuccine with pink shrimp sauce looks and sound amazing! I really like the idea of thickening the sauce with pureed shrimp. Any chance of a recipe?

Kim, thanks! Recipe is readily available - just Google “Marcella Hazan” and “pink shrimp sauce” and it should pop right up.

Scotty - nice! Dare I ask why "gut bomb"?

Sookha keema, Julie Sahni’s version with ground lamb, brown-fried onions, ginger, garlic, chiles, and turmeric, finished with garam masala, lemon juice, and cilantro. I made a double batch – half for the office potluck, and half for our post-swim meet meal.

Rice with whole spices, pilaf-style. No basmati in the house so we used jasmine rice, fried in ghee with cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black and green cardamom, cloves, and black pepper.

Un-pictured salad

Edited December 20, 2012 by C. sapidus (log)

[dcarch]

Dazzling, spectacular, delicious, ------------------------- and fattening!! LOL.

Looking at all the amazing creations is like a kid in a toy store!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Playing with simple carrots.

Dcarch

Roasted duck with carats (carrots)

Shrimps with carrot hearts (cores)

Tilapia, carrot hearts (cores) and risotto made from plain rice.

[munchymom]

dcarch - that duck has me drooling, and the "carats" are adorable!

Chicken pot pie:

[rod rock]

Dcarch really, this is way too good!

[rotuts]

Im sure Im never going to be able to try the PB Custom blend #1 but I know that's got to be the best burger mix on this planet!

Kudos PB!

[ScottyBoy]

Scotty - nice! Dare I ask why "gut bomb"?

You eat a little bowl and it puts you straight to sleep......then wakes you up

[SobaAddict70]

so, it's been a while, right?

so hard keeping track of all the different sites I belong to, even though I spend the vast majority of my time on Facebook these days. Twitter and Pinterest can be addictive too, and don't get me started about G+.

but I digress...

some pix from the past few weeks:

Roasted carrot, pumpkin and oyster mushroom salad

Suvir's crispy okra salad

(I personally like my okra less 'crisped' so that there's more color and texture that remains, otherwise it's the same as what some of you have had at Amma, Devi and elsewhere)

Minestrone invernale

Cockles, arugula, spicy scallion broth

Insalata di funghi

Penne con le lenticchie (a/k/a penne with lentils)

and last night:

Sautéed mushrooms, with shallots and Cognac, served with farm egg fried in olive oil

Left: Brussels sprouts, braised with garlic and red wine vinegar

Right: Broiled shrimp, with seasoned breadcrumbs and shallot "jam"

tonight, I will be attempting homemade jiaozi with a decidedly non-traditional filling.

if you see nothing from me later on, you know that the Mayan god of destruction is responsible.

[patrickamory]

Ohhhh, I love chicken pot pie.

The pasta with the lentils is intriguing.

Bruce, we always make the Jaffrey kheema with fried onions, but Sahni's sounds intriguing. Will try it.

[patrickamory]

My second attempt at congee.

[basquecook]

the misses made dinner tonight. pretty short rib on potatoes.

Edited December 21, 2012 by basquecook (log)

[huiray]

My second attempt at congee.

Looks nice. I see "Tung Choy" and chopped scallions. What was the meat in it?

(For myself I might have considered adding a bit more water, but that's just me)

[huiray]

dcarch, munchymom, SobaAddict70, basquecook et al - wonderful meals.

SobaAddict - besides oyster mushrooms, what other fungi were in that mushroom salad? Those cockles did look a little different from what I know (mentally) as cockles... :-)

[SobaAddict70]

patrick -- thanks. begin with a battuto (onion, carrot, celery, celery leaves) cooked in olive oil over low heat. how soft you like it depends on how much time you have. I like my battuto cooked down, all the way down, until the vegetables are thickened ... almost like an aromatic jam or paste. low and slow is the way to go. this will take about an hour, but if you're short on time, then that's okay too. then add a couple of bay leaves, chopped fresh oregano, sea salt and black pepper, and cooked lentils. you can use lentils that were cooked with onion, celery and carrot (from scratch) -- and if I make them that way, sometimes I'll throw in a couple of bottles of Evian. other times I'll just use plain tap water. in this specific instance, I used canned lentils. then add some crushed San Marzano tomatoes and water. bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and cover. let that cook for an hour or until the sauce has thickened slightly. taste for salt and pepper once more, then serve over pasta. a little extra-virgin olive oil, Italian parsley and pecorino cheese does wonders.

huiray -- thanks. the other mushrooms you see in the salad are sliced white button mushrooms, the kind that you get in most standard American supermarkets.

dinner prep is currently in progress.

1: fried olives

2: homemade jiaozi with brussels sprouts, Cantonese roast duck and serrano pepper

3: probably fresh fruit.

I'm making dessert for my birthday party next week tomorrow night. there might be some leftovers ... as for what it is, stay tuned... it'll be one of the few times this year that I'm cooking for more than one person.

[patrickamory]

Soba, I'm definitely trying that, thanks. [edit: very rare to see a recipe call for fresh oregano. I actually grew it one summer and used it in salads and so forth - not so much for cooking.]

huiray, the meat is pork rib. Good ID on the tung choy (not that I'm surprised from your other posts). The only other ingredients were ground white pepper, salt and slivers of ginger. I agree that it got too thick - I wasn't very mindful while trying to maintain a simmer and accidentally cooked it too fast in the middle section. I used jasmine rice per Dunlop - next time may take your recommendation to try basmati.

Edited December 21, 2012 by patrickamory (log)

[SobaAddict70]

patrick -- I use fresh oregano (and other fresh herbs) all the time.

when I post the recipe for the minestrone later this week, you'll see that I call for a rather significant quantity.

[liuzhou]

When I lived in the UK, I grew oregano and used it all the time, too.

[SobaAddict70]

Pix from tonight:

Fried olives, baby mesclun

You need: pitted olives, 1 beaten egg, seasoned breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs, sea salt, black pepper) and olive oil. Dip the olives in the egg, coat in breadcrumbs, then fry in olive oil until golden brown.

This is doable in 10 minutes. The portion you see above is sized for one person.

Jiaozi filling

This is 1/2 cup thinly sliced brussels sprouts that was cooked in olive oil over medium heat, to which was added 1 minced serrano pepper, 1/4 cup shredded Cantonese roast duck (from a local Chinese takeout place), a pinch of white pepper and a scant pinch of sea salt. I had some leftover duck and wanted to use it in something other than fried rice, so I took a page from one of bleudauvergne's eG Foodblogs and the rest is history.

For 2013, I think I'll be teaching myself how to cook Chinese, since I really don't know anything of that genre.

Speaking of the eG Foodblog, maybe it's time to volunteer again....

Homemade jiaozi, with brussels sprouts, Cantonese roast duck and serrano pepper

The ramekin at right contains minced garlic, Chinese black vinegar and mushroom soy sauce.

What did Soba learn? He could have rolled out the dough thinner. He ran out of filling and so, has leftover dough in the freezer. One dumpling wasn't sealed tightly enough; otherwise 11 made it through. Overall, a success for a first attempt.

[SobaAddict70]

forgot to add ... that congee looks wonderful, patrick. I <3 congee.

[ScottyBoy]

Some 12 hour wagyu, and manchego grits

[liuzhou]

What did Soba learn? He could have rolled out the dough thinner. He ran out of filling and so, has leftover dough in the freezer. One dumpling wasn't sealed tightly enough; otherwise 11 made it through. Overall, a success for a first attempt.

Yes, the jiaozi skins look a bit too thick and you need to work on your folding skills, but they are a hell of a lot better than my first effort. Those were a total embarrassing disaster. 20 years down the line, I've finally cracked the technique, I think.

Your filling is a bit non-standard (Never seen Brussels sprouts in China. Sadly. I love 'em.), but why not? Sounds good to me.

I look forward to your 2013 Chinese cuisine project, but I promise you that you won't get through it in 2013. There is no one Chinese cuisine - there are hundreds!

Edited December 21, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[SobaAddict70]

well, I've eaten plenty of jiaozi but I usually don't cook with pork at home. I had brussels sprouts and duck on hand so I wanted to do something different and maybe teach myself something new in the process.

I want to start exploring Asian cuisine, so I thought I'd start with basic Chinese. especially since my family is ethnic Chinese and I'm ignorant of my heritage. have to do some research though first as to which region.

[liuzhou]

well, I've eaten plenty of jiaozi but I usually don't cook with pork at home. I had brussels sprouts and duck on hand so I wanted to do something different and maybe teach myself something new in the process.

I want to start exploring Asian cuisine, so I thought I'd start with basic Chinese. especially since my family is ethnic Chinese and I'm ignorant of my heritage. have to do some research though first as to which region.

I wasn't criticising negatively. Quite the opposite. I'd sell my grandmother for some duck and brussels sprout jiaozi, right now.

I look forward to the results of your research. Which region do your origins lie in? (If you want to share).

Edited December 21, 2012 by liuzhou (log)

[rotuts]

whats the temp and cut for that 12 hr W?

Yum!