Dinner! 2003

[bloviatrix]

Assorted left-overs...

Borscht

Plums

Grilled Chicken Breasts

[dumpling]

Afghan "snowshoe" naan, spinach cooked with a lot of butter, yellow beans, chicken under a brick. Albeti i Nova Tempranillo 2001.

Fresco-"snowshoe" naan ? The shape?

And what is chicken under a brick? Sounds interesting.

Monday dinner:

Bruschetta with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, baby bellas, cilantro, basil and garlic

Chicken breast with rosemary, capers, lemon and wine sauce

Penne al oglio with broccoli rabe and garlic

Chocolate souffle accompanied by black cherry frozen yogurt

[SethG]

Thanks for all the suggestions regarding the leftover dill, but after three bowls of cucumber soup in two days, I think I'm dilled out.

And Rochelle: thanks for your reply regarding the meat thing. Eating meat but in limited quantities seems to be the most sensible way to go through life. I only wish I had that kind of discipline! I have to think you'll come around to braises eventually. What's not to love? Have you tried a beer braise? Beef, onions, beer and four hours in an oven equal heaven, imho.

[fresco]

"Fresco-"snowshoe" naan ? The shape?"

Yup. Made with yogurt and hot water.

"And what is chicken under a brick? Sounds interesting."

It's one of those very simple cooking tricks that shouldn't make a big difference, but does, somehow. A spatchcocked chicken, salted, (or flavored however you want, but simple is good) grilled for 20-30 minutes a side under a brick covered in tin foil, so the brick dust doesn't rub off. Comes out falling apart, but still very moist and with most of the fat gone.

If you don't have access to a bbq, you can do it in a large skillet on a stovetop.

[dumpling]

Thanks fresco. Have to try it.

[JohnnyH]

Grilled ahi; green beans cooked in san marzano tomatoes and garlic.

[cheeseandchocolate]

Tonight's dinner:

Green salad with baby Diamond Gem lettuce (from Saturday's farmer's market), French feta, and a Dijon vinaigrette

Spaghetti with homemade pesto (with walnuts)

"Indoor s'mores"--s'mores made over candles, with dark chocolate...and a glass of cold milk. Mmmmm.

[NeroW]

Made a garlic-rosemary oil and roasted some baby eggplants in it.

Tossed with penne. Shaved Ricotta Salata. A little Parmigiano.

Foccacia with caramelized onions.

Dessert was (homemade, er, schoolmade) plum/blue/rasp/blackberry pie with streusel topping.

The end of a bottle of weird wine that's been sitting around for a week.

[Elissa]

my first post on this most intimidating thread....

lemon grass/ginger/garlic/cumin/tumeric/red pepper flake blend sauted alone then added whole pompano maybe 8 minutes; removed fish, added coconut milk and clams; reduced. returned fish to heat thru; served sauce over fish over rice sprinkled with cilantro/thai basil chop and toasted almond slivers

water cress + cuke + radish + scallion salad

papaya w/ lime dessert

[Varmint]

Lissome, in honor of your 666th post, I'll make you feel very good about yourself. I made nachos: Newman's Own Organic tortilla chips, tomato, avacado, scallion, some unremarkable cheddar, sour cream, and some datil pepper sauce.

[Elissa]

666? likely'd be best to quit while i'm ahead though doubt i will :muahaha:

Edited July 30, 2003 by lissome (log)

[JohnnyH]

Tonight, the lady and I made a beautiful chicken scarpariello (a la Lydia), with brocolli rabe and a really nice Bogle petit syrah (not at all expensive and totally recommended).

[whosrbud]

"Vous etes le maillon fort, Mademoiselle avec la baguette; vous etes le maillon fort!"

cheeseandchocolate,

your dinner sounded quite divine--especially the fresh pesto.

out of nothing but pure curiosity, i put your imprimatur through

the Babel translator. once in a great while it makes a plausible

translation. this was not one of those 'whiles'. it translated it

as...

You etes the strong link, Miss with the rod; you etes the strong link!

even with the 'etes' being 'are'...and the woman with the loaf of

bread, i still can't make sense of it. kindly, please, illuminate me.

-thanks,

michael

[SethG]

Last night's dinner:

Badaami Murgh-- chicken cut into serving pieces, braised for an hour with Indian spices, tomato, onions and almonds. It was my first time making an almond butter. Simpler than I would have thought.

And plain basmati rice.

[Jinmyo]

lissome, I'll answer your PM here.

The papaya salad. Hm.

Well, I had some pomegranate and bay reduction (reduce juice to 1/4 with bay leaves, pepper corns, salt at the end, strain) that I had used to sauce hiyayako tofu.

I cubed a ripe papaya. Rough chopped scallions. Diced oi sabagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi) and used some of the kimchi juices. A bit of a fresh tomato sauce. Diced some plum tomatoes. Mixed. Added some of the reduction, some ngoc mam, some mirin, some grapeseed oil.

I think.

[cheeseandchocolate]

You etes the strong link, Miss with the rod; you etes the strong link!

even with the 'etes' being 'are'...and the woman with the loaf of

bread, i still can't make sense of it.  kindly, please, illuminate me.

To clear up the mystery, Michael/Whosrbud...

Here's the lowdown. My signature translates (roughly) to "You are the strongest link, Mademoiselle with the baguette; you are the strongest link!"

More clarification: did you ever hear about that TV show "The Weakest Link?" I think that was the name, at least. It started in England, spawned a French version, and I *think* it came to the US as well. At any rate, it was a game show with a frighteningly abusive host (at least in England and France) who chastized losing participants by sternly declaring, "You are the weakest link! GOODBYE!" In French, that would be, "Vous etes le maillon faible, Monsieur. AU REVOIR!" The participant was to leave the stage promptly,with some severe-sounding drumroll accompaniment. The show was a little guilty pleasure of mine when I was living in France. I mean, I could write it off as a way of improving my French, right? Right.

So, the story: I was walking home from my favorite local boulangerie with a fresh baguette de campagne in hand, crossing a busy intersection. As I stepped into the street, I saw a Vespa with two male riders coming towards me. They were laughing and playing around, swerving down the street. As they passed me, one of them yelled, "You are the strongest link, Mademoiselle with the baguette; you are the strongest link!" It made me quite inexplicably happy. It was early evening; the workday was done; the sun was setting on my long narrow street; and two strangers were including me in their play. And I was in France. Ahhhhh, France. Ahhhhh.

Hope that clears it up a little. Thanks for asking.

And last night's dinner, just because:

Homemade chana masala (served on whole wheat couscous)

Indian-style fresh "creamed corn" with chiles and coconut (from the most recent Saveur)

Naan

[Toliver]

Whew! Is this the longest thread on eGullet?

I had avoided reading this thread since I've come late to the game and it seemed daunting to say the least. It took a week to read it all and I'd like to thank my boss for, unknowingly, allowing me the time to do so.

But like Hillary conquering Everest, I've slogged my way through each and every post in this thread and am humbled and inspired by the entries (hits and misses included).

Dinner last night:

Store bought chicken & spinach tortellini...Tried to make a nice red sauce to go with it but it just didn't get thick enough for my liking.

Green beans, lightly steamed then tossed with butter, minced garlic, a squirt of fresh lemon juice and S & P.

Along with a summer tomato salad made with chunks of gold & red tomatoes from the local farmer's market, tossed with thinly sliced red onion, lemon cucumbers and red radish slices as big as a 50-cent piece (surprisingly firm fleshed and not mushy) and smashed & pitted "mediterranean" olives, all dressed with evoo, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, pepper and kosher salt. Oh, and a smattering of basil chiffonade (sp?).

Accompanied by an ice cold Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock. Yesterday was our 15th day of triple digit temperatures so the beer hit the spot!

I looked in the eRecipes index but couldn't find a posted recipe for Basilguy's Walnuts that someone raved about (I hope I got the name right after so many pages of posts). Does anyone have it?

Edit: Forgot I had added olives to the tomato salad

Edited July 30, 2003 by Toliver (log)

[Basilgirl]

Tonight, the lady and I made a beautiful chicken scarpariello (a la Lydia)

That is my new favorite recipe. Sometimes I leave out the chicken and just make sausage "scarpariello" - must have foccaccia for dipping all that delicious sauce.

Are you using the recipe from her Italian-American book? If so, what others have you made? Everything I've tried from that book has been awesome.

[guajolote]

Gazpacho

Corn on the Cob

Grilled shrimp, marinated w/ garlic, jalapenoes, and lime zest/juice

Foccacia

Pink Wine

Ate this on back deck. Perfect summer meal.

[dumpling]

Wow Toliver what an effort! Welcome.

[JohnnyH]

Tonight, the lady and I made a beautiful chicken scarpariello (a la Lydia)

That is my new favorite recipe. Sometimes I leave out the chicken and just make sausage "scarpariello" - must have foccaccia for dipping all that delicious sauce.

Are you using the recipe from her Italian-American book? If so, what others have you made? Everything I've tried from that book has been awesome.

Yep, straight from the book. Actually, that's not quite true. I watched her make the dish the day before yesterday on her program; she does a couple of things differently than what she describes in the recipe. For instance, she doesn't remove the chicken pieces from the heat as they brown. She leaves everything in the pan as she adds garlic, vinegar, stock, etc. I ended up kind of splitting the difference. First time I made it, and it was unbelievable.

I haven't had her book long, so I'm only starting to work my way through it. So far, I've made the scaripiello, the short ribs with barolo, carrrots and onions, veal scallopini and a bunch of her sides.

Love her.

[torakris]

Back in the kitchen, we have been eating out a lot this week.

Weds dinner:

trying to clean out the kitchen before out 5 day trip to the beach on Friday

maguro tataki (finely chopped raw tuna) mixed with lots of negi (Japanese scallion) and soy sauce

miso soup with cabbage, satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato), tofu, onions, and aburage topped with a dollop of yuzu-koshou (citron-chile mixture)

simmered kabocha

grilled aburage (tofu pockets) topped with grated daikon and soy sauce

Japanese rice

Dessert:

ice cream

[tejon]

Tonight was grilled vegetable sandwiches - toasted bialy slathered with mustard vinaigrette, then topped with roasted zucchini, eggplant, red onion, and red bell pepper, then topped with melted jack cheese. Along side, cucumber salad with a spicy soy-chile dressing.

A favorite light summer menu - fast and easy, and good after last night's dinner, which was bratwurst and red cabbage

[SobaAddict70]

penne with roasted cauliflower, garlic, chopped Italian parsley, cracked black pepper and EVOO, topped with fried breadcrumbs

Evian

pound cake topped with roasted bananas, slightly sweetened Earl Grey-infused whipped cream, and chopped walnuts. (Need to tweak the recipe more. Maybe add roasted pineapple instead, and use a different flavoring agent for the cream. Maybe use creme fraiche instead. A little acid needed.)

Soba

[AlexP]

Wow!

I have discovered this site in the last week or so. I like it and find it pretty interesting, although I have a lot to read if I want to catch up . Anyway, yesterday night I cooked a couple Tortillas de Patata (Spanish omeletes) I usually cook them with just potatoes, onions, and a little garlic. Nevertheless, yesterday I included some peppers (green, red, and yellow) and some Spanish chorizo. They turned out well.

Alex