Dinner! 2012

[heidih]

The local version of pot-au-feu.

That looks like a lovely comforting meal to linger over. Were the vegetables and chickpeas served as a separate course from the meats? Also would bread be a standard at the table?

[EnriqueB]

Yes, in the standard version the vegetables and chickpeas are served as a second course, and the meats as a third. That said, every house has its own version and preferences. For example, onion "morcilla" is the standard, but I prefer the rice "morcilla" from a different part of Spain. Bone-marrow toast is pretty much non-standard, and I prefer myself to serve and eat all the vegetables, chickpeas and meat together in my plate.

It is standard to serve it with bread at the table.

[mgaretz]

It's been cold an rainy here, and my daughter who doesn't like mushrooms wasn't home for dinner, so I made mushroom soup with beef and barley:

[Paul Bacino]

EnriqueB..

Your Rockin.. very Nice

[EnriqueB]

Thanks Paul

[patrickamory]

Enrique - looks delicious! Seems like a very satisfying combination.

[Jmahl]

For today, Cochifrito de Cordero de Navarre or Lamb with Spanish Paprika and Lemon, riced mashed potatoes and warm asparagas salad.

Great company, a good bottle of shirez and fine weather. All in all a great Sunday.

[patrickamory]

Pollo alla calabrese. Someone in this thread hipped me to this recipe, which I think might come from Rosetta Constantino's My Calabria. The link I'd bookmarked was this:

http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/pollo-alla-calabrese-baked-chicken-with-potatoes-tomatoes-and-hot/article_1d170f8a-3322-11e0-bf7b-001cc4c002e0.html

I followed the recipe pretty faithfully, except that I added minced red vinegar peppers as well as crumbled dried red chiles. It's pretty amazing how crispy the chicken thighs get, and how thoroughly the glaze cooks down... while everything remains soft and juicy. I think it might be the combination of high heat and the pan sitting down at the very bottom of the oven.

[kayb]

PatrickAmory, that looks and sounds just absolutely marvelous. Do you think one could use canned tomatos, or are fresh ones required?

[robirdstx]

Pollo alla calabrese. Someone in this thread hipped me to this recipe, which I think might come from Rosetta Constantino's My Calabria. The link I'd bookmarked was this:

http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/recipes/pollo-alla-calabrese-baked-chicken-with-potatoes-tomatoes-and-hot/article_1d170f8a-3322-11e0-bf7b-001cc4c002e0.html

I followed the recipe pretty faithfully, except that I added minced red vinegar peppers as well as crumbled dried red chiles. It's pretty amazing how crispy the chicken thighs get, and how thoroughly the glaze cooks down... while everything remains soft and juicy. I think it might be the combination of high heat and the pan sitting down at the very bottom of the oven.

Hi patrickamory, I have made this recipe several times and last posted about it in February when I made it for Valentine's Day. I first heard about it from djyee100's post in this topic awhile back. We must thank her for bringing it to our attention! Your recipe looks amazing, and now I must make it again soon!

[Katie Meadow]

I've been meaning to make that same Calabrese recipe. I have two questions about it, not that this would stop me from making it, but since you're here, I'll ask. Did you you use fresh tomatoes this time of year? Or did you use canned? Next question: the direx call for starting the chicken skin side up, then turning it over. How does the skin get crispy that way? Seems like it makes more sense to start it skin-side down for the shorter period of time and then turn it and cook it for the longer time. What do you think?

[robirdstx]

Some recent dinners:

Pork Tenderloin Kabobs

Grilled Rib Eye

Crawfish Etouffee

[Paul Bacino]

Nothing Special--Except these are the best Rings I ever did:

Butter-milk/Sirracha/garlic powder-- double dip ( flour /salt and paprika ).

Fresh Ground Chuck burger with baby bellas!!

[patrickamory]

kaybee and Katie, I used grape tomatoes which I cut in half. I find these tomatoes to be relatively sweet and crisp year-round compared to larger ones, and they caramelized nicely. Canned tomatoes felt wrong for this dish - you want a little bit of that skin and pop.

And Katie, interesting point about the skin. It crisps so much during the first stage of cooking that it retained its crispness even after being turned over, though some of it stuck to the bottom. It might well be possible to cook it without turning at all.

robirdstx, it was definitely you or djyee100 who turned me on to the recipe. Thanks! and... awesome looking crawfish etoufee.

Edited March 26, 2012 by patrickamory (log)

[kayb]

Thanks, PatrickAmory. It's on my list to try.

RobirdsTX, that crawfish etouffee looks stunning. I can't get worked up to peel all the crawfish to make the stuff. And if I did, I'd probably stick to crawfish pie....But that looks lovely.

Some recent dinners:

Cajun boiled shrimp, with frozen maragaritas. Hard to beat.

Rendang. I know it's not as dry as it should be. I cooked it in the slow-cooker, since I was going to be gone, and it just stays more moist.

Butternut squash gnocchi in too-thin tomato sauce, with lots of grated parm.

Sous vide pork loin chop in dry rub, seared stovetop after 2 hours at 155F, baked beans and potato salad.

(Edited to add the right photos. Twice.)

Edited March 26, 2012 by kayb (log)

[SobaAddict70]

this past weekend:

Baked asparagus, with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Spaghetti with slow-cooked cabbage, onion and capers

Poached wild striped bass, tarragon butter sauce, spring vegetables.

[ChrisTaylor]

Yesterday I tagged along when annachan and her husband when they went to Costco (a fairly recent addition to the Australian retail scene). We found ribs. Now, this is unexceptional to many of you, but down here ribs are often cut very differently to what I've seen in pictures. You can get BBQ racks which are very expensive and contain very little meat. Or you can get spare ribs--and these, basically, are slices of bone-in pork belly. Sometimes very thin slices. These ribs at Costco, tho', were the real deal.

When I got home I hit them with a dry rub from Modernist Cuisine: the Memphis-style one, which is heavy on the paprika but contains no sugar (I chose this one simply because I didn't want particularly sweet ribs). I smoked them for four hours uncovered (during which I sprayed them every so often with Adam Perry Lang's apple juice and cider vinegar 'mop') and then wrapped them in a double layer of foil (which got a few generous squirts of the apple spray) and cooked them for a further hour. They were then glazed with a store-bought BBQ sauce (Australians might know of the Outback Spirit company, which also sells native herbs and spices), which was jacked with a little bit of mustard and chilli sauce and watered down some, and given another 20 minutes. My first truly successful batch of ribs.

[EnriqueB]

Indian-style curry and coconut prawn soup, adapted from a recipe in James Peterson's Splendid Soups. Homemade fish stock (Modernist Cuisine recipe), onions, carrots, tomato paste, curry, achiote, chili, coconut milk, prawns, bread.

Ibérico ham croquettes with salad

[Prawncrackers]

Wow the Dinner thread is a constant source of inspiration, I love coming back to it after a break. Iberico ham croquettas are so now it's unture, and those look awesome.

A few dishes from me from the past week or so. First up was pan fried Sea Bass, crushed Anya potatoes with Thai red curry sauce:

A friend got hold of some pigeons from a local breeder and wanted some help plucking and drawing them. I took two big ones in return for helping. He made a casserole with his but said the birds were a little tough as they were bred for racing. So he suggested making Pastillas out of them as he'd eaten them in Morocco and said they were an incredible dish. So that's what I did. First time eating these let alone cooking them so I have no point of reference but these may be the best things i've eaten so far this year. Wonderful dish!

I've been smoking my own beef cheek pastrami for Reuben sandwiches, I think I may be an addict.

[mm84321]

Oyter Gelée with Potatoes and Leeks

Soft-shell crab

Edited March 26, 2012 by mm84321 (log)

[rotuts]

The Rueben is one of my favorite sandwiches. Ive seen stellar Reubens at this site. Your 'cheeky' Reubens moves very close to the to of the heap.

Id love to taste it!

[Prawncrackers]

My apologies to the Reuben purists out there, but it is really great with beef cheeks. They have a sticky juicy quality that works really well with the crispy bread. I've been getting a few tips from the reuben thread and have been frying the sauerkraut first and trying to get the balance of components. It is a brilliant sandwich.

[Dejah]

Prawn: What exactly as beef cheeks? As in beef cheeks? I have never seen these, but they sound and look delicous.

[rooftop1000]

If any of you have thought to yourself...that 1.99 ready to cook corned beef is a good deal but I dont love corned beef.

I give you Saint Patrick's Pastrami

Seasoned with Coriander and Pepper

Smoked 5 hours, braised for 4 hours

A traditional Reuben

[Prawncrackers]

Yes as in one on each side of a cows mouth. They are a wonderful cut of meat, imagine your cow chewing the cud all day excercising these cheek muscles. They are similar to beef shin to cook with but have an extra gelatinous quality. I can get them from my local supermarket for £6 per kilo. A pretty good price.