Dinner! 2003

[HungryChris]

Cubed, seasoned pork sauteed in evoo with shallots and garlic until browned. This was set aside and into the pan juices more shallots, garlic were added and sweated down a bit. Then white wine, diced tomatoes fresh basil and chopped capers were added along with a couple tbs of Sriracha for some heat. The pork was then readded along with drained angel hair pasta which was finished up in the sauce and the combination served as a main course accompanied with an endive and water cress salad with mustard vinegrette, garlic bread and Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon.

I was quite happy with the mix.

[paul o' vendange]

Chris - sounds great. What is evoo and sriracha?

[HungryChris]

Chris - sounds great.  What is evoo and sriracha?

Paul,

EVOO is extra virgin olive oil and Sriracha is a hot chili sauce made by Huy Fong Foods. It come in a plastic squeeze bottle with a rooster on it. No kitchen is complete without it IMHO.

[paul o' vendange]

Chris -

EVOO, thanks. I used to cook alot more asian than I now do; I used sriracha alot when making Thai, if it's the stuff like a thinnish-paste, with some (yellow) seeds still intact, if memory serves?

[Xanthippe]

By the way, funny you should mention corn pudding...my wife and I were at a farmer's market today (Evanston, Illinois - we hail from Chicago), and head a really nice breakfast of eggs sardou - eggs atop artichokes with hollandaise (again, not exactly "FCI's Salute to Healthy Cooking"), both atop corn bread croutons - man, good! 

Where did you/your mom's corn pudding hail from?

Hey, paul o'!

Just getting back to you after an insanely busy day.

Thanks so very much for the Richard Boyer wines link; I shall definitely try to get some, starting with the pinot you mentioned.

The French Culinary Institute, eh? Wow. Good for you! And you'll be meeting St. Jacques as well as Andre Soltner?? Double wow.

As to corn pudding, my mama's hails from the great South. She was born in Virginia and raised in North Carolina; after marrying, she and my father (whom she met when he was a student at Duke) headed west and ended up in California. My two sisters and I were born and raised here. From the Monterey area originally, we grew up in Silicon Valley. My parents used to tell us about driving up to the valley in spring, just to see the fruit orchards in bloom. This was back when it was nothing but whistle stop towns and those fruit orchards; sadly, those days are long gone.

[Richard Kilgore]

Lunch - radish sliced very thin on buttered baquette.

Dinner - simple frittata with onion, garlic, and potato sauted and sweated; very small amount of sausage, Mexican zucchini sliced very thin, poblano with a little adobo sauce topped with Parmagianno.

Today for tomorrow - a Mexican version of a French daube with onion, carrot, garlic, cilantro, two poblanos with adobo sauce, two minced jalapenos, can of chicken broth, and 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Cooked in the crock pot - about two hours on high, and five hours on low at this point. I plan to serve it with rice. I'll let you know if there are any casualties.

Edited June 9, 2003 by Richard Kilgore (log)

[hjshorter]

Trip to the farmer's market yesterday.

Frittata with peppers, parmeggiano and lovely fresh arugula

Greek salad with wonderful tomatoes, cucumber and local feta, evoo and red wine vinegar

Cherry and blackberry clafouti

[fimbul]

So, my girlfriend and I catered a party for my mother on Saturday night. It was a fairly big to-do, and beside the ham biscuits, cocktail shrimp and sauces, and cheeses she'd put out, I served:

- Grilled, marinated duck breast served on cilantro biscuits (marinated duck breast in rum, mint, tamarind, and habanero; biscuits were buttermilk biscuits spiked with ancho and cilantro)

- Phyllo triangles filled with chicken and preserved lemon (poached chicken legs ground with caramelized onions, raz-al-hanout, and preserved lemon wrapped in phyllo and brushed with clarified butter)

- Goat cheese tartlets (a custard of goat cheese, cream, egg, and shallots in a prepared phyllo cup)

- Cucumber cups filled with feta and mint (er, what it sounds like)

- Tomato, mozzarella, & basil skewers (absurd & precious, but people loved them: halve a grape tomato, run one half on a tooth pick followed by a piece of basil and a piece of cheese; add second half of grape tomato to make a more or less whole tomato on a stick. Repeat one gabillion times)

- Vanilla truffle squares (white chocolate. butter. vanilla. gah.)

- Mexican dark chocolate truffles (dark chocolate. orange. cream. butter. dusting of cinnamon.)

- Hazelnut toffee (butter. butter. butter. sugar. chocolate. hazelnuts.)

- Black pepper & almond biscotti (er... an experiment. I forgot I hate biscotti.)

...It occurs to me now that cocktail fare may not really belong in the dinner thread, but for most of the guests, this was indeed their evening meal, so I guess it counts.

Last night we cooked more simply:

- pasta with a North African take on pesto (mint, sheep's milk cheese, marjoram, etc.)

- sirloin steak marinated in preserved lemon and yogurt, with a yogurt sauce on the side

- squash sauteed with garlic and a chile or two

- green salad with a white wine vinaigrette

Then we fell over.

[paul o' vendange]

Xanthippe - thanks for the idyllic description of the valley in another time. Growing up in Ventura, a town then, if memory serves, of about 60,000, great memories of a backyard loaded with peach, satsuma plum, orange, tangerine, and avocado trees. Ah, to be in a fruit basket! From your post, I gather you're in California, now? Berkeley's my alma mater. If in California, please say hello, will you?

My wife grew up in Atlanta - her dad was finishing up his PhD, they lived in no less than Margaret Mitchell's old home while there, she remembers that time with great fondness.

Made the duck roulade last night; came out really wonderful. The last minute addition of brunoise (turnip, carrot, leek), minced shallots, chives, italian parsley to the morel/duck sauce was not only beautiful to look at, but absolutely flavorful. Enjoying the hell out of the French Laundry book. Anyone else out there working through it? If so, care to share your experiences?

Edited June 9, 2003 by paul o' vendange (log)

[MatthewB]

Saturday night

Curry- & ginger-rubbed grilled lamb arm chops w/ apricot-lime-mint bbq sauce

Parsley salad w/ tomatoes & bulgur

Strawberries with Cointreau Cream (Thanks, Marlene!)

Sunday night

The SO has been asking me to cook a Vietnamese meal, so . . .

Ga ngu vi huong (Grilled five-spice chicken)

Com chien (Vietnamese fried rice)

Dua leo ngam giam (Cucumber salad)

Nuoc tuong pha (Soy-lime dipping sauce for the chicken & the fried rice)

[Jinmyo]

Return of Gyozilla!

(Nearly all dumpling menu)

Lobster broth with lobster claw meat wontons and a drizzle of chile oil.

Fried lamb and shitake stuffed gyoza with a mint and pozu dipping sauce.

Chicken liver and toasted pine nut shu mai with onion relish.

Steamed steak and kidney gyoza with a mustard sauce.

Shrimp shu mai set on toasted nori.

Hiyayako-tofu (chilled rounds of silken tofu surrounded by a coffee sand mirin emulsion).

10 kinds of kimchi.

Seaweed salad (wakame, kombu, black moss, slivered seared huagu, slivered scallions) with a light sesame dressing and gomasio.

[paul o' vendange]

Jinmyo - yikes! Where/when do we sign up?

What is "coffee sand?"

[SobaAddict70]

Friday:

the soppressata turned out really well. I think the fact that I went overboard and let things sit in the refrig an hour or two more than normal had a lot to do with it. took me two or three tries getting the damned block out of the pan though, I ended up whacking the pan on the counter. Sliced thinly and served with shaved fennel, EVOO and lemon juice. Made for a great appetizer. Think I'll have some with pasta tonight.

penne, with pureed roasted cauliflower, EVOO, sauteed garlic and anchovies, Italian parsley

Evian

raisin biscotti, vanilla ice cream

----------

Saturday: dinner at Craft. Read all about our hijinks on the NYC board.

---------

Sunday:

was supposed to do dinner at China 46, but had a domestic crisis at home.

congee, topped with minced pork stir-fried with fermented black beans, minced ginger and scallions.

jasmine tea

seedless green grapes

Soba

[Jinmyo]

Paul, no. Just a reduction of a good French roast whipped with mirin, seasoned with a bit of salt and fine ground white pepper, strained, then whipped again and poured into the (black bowls) before setting in the slices of round tofu. Topped with crushed coffee beans mixed with toasted sesame and a few strands of fine lemon zest.

Did I mention this menu was for 32 people? I had two assistants.

[jackal10]

Picnic, while listening to Madrigals sang on the river.

(high protein for some Atkins followers)

Tea marbled quail eggs

Local Asparagus, sea salt

Gambas and smoked salmon en bloc

Chicken legs and thighs marinated in soy, chilli and yogurt, then grilled

(white and blue new potatos for those who could)

Strawberries and cream

Champagene

Blossom Hill Zin 2000

Rolly Gassmann Gewurtz 2000

Coonewara Botrytis affected Gewurtz 95

[paul o' vendange]

Nothing big - the aforementioned duck leg confit in a mesclun salad, sherry vinaigrette, apples, roquefort; sorrel soup. Rheingau riesling.

Edited June 9, 2003 by paul o' vendange (log)

[NeroW]

Last night:

Broke, tired, no groceries in house, braised garlic in butter (no EVOO ), fettucine, balsamico. Parmigiano-Reggiano, managed to grate some of my thumb into the cheese as well. Roommate brought home a chocolate-cherry cake from her mom's house.

Tonight:

Going grocery shopping and no school tomorrow. Yay! Two friends coming over: one is the boy in my culinary classes who doesn't know this yet, but he has a future as my personal chef. Let's see what he comes up with, hopefully I will have something more substantial to post tomorrow.

[torakris]

Monday dinner:

BIBIMBAP!

with

binchou maguro ("white tuna")

carrot namul

spinach namul

bean sprout namul

egg threads

topped with a dollop of kochujang

shiso tofu (this was tofu infused with shiso essence--wasn't as good asi thought it would be) topped with scallions and tamari

dessert:

a gorgeous musk melon

[FoodMan]

Saturday:

-Beer Braised brats, then grilled and served in buns with homemade roasted tomato/onion ketchup.

-Grilled butterflied chicken al Mattone (sp??) . Marinated chicken in garlic, evoo, and lemon juice. right before grilling I inserted basil leaves and thinly sliced lemons under the skin. Grilled over charcoal weighed down with a brick.

-Potato and mushroom salad. potatoes were boiled, the mushrooms grilled along with sweet onions. All tossed in a tangy mustard vinaigrette.

-Watermelons for dessert.

Sunday:

-Rolled pork loin with plum sauce. thinly sliced pork, pounded and rolled around a filling of homemade plum sauce (plums, ginger, anise, cloves, sugar). Steamed and served with scallions, cilantro and white rice.

-Dessert: Homemade apple pie with Vanilla Ice cream.

The Pork loin:

FM

Edited June 10, 2003 by FoodMan (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

It is probably too much to call my daube a Mexican daube. I'll settle for Daube de Tejas. No one died or had to go to the ER from the heat. It toned down overnight to warmth and more complexity with a reduction of the sauce mixed with sauted onion and potato served with warm flour tortillas. Have a little left that I will try another way also.

[SobaAddict70]

Monday:

tomato confit (this was served as an appetizer, along with some torn basil leaves and sliced fresh mozzarella)

penne with tomato oil (from the confit), sauteed garlic, oil packed Italian tuna, Gaeta olives, and chopped Italian parsley. This was topped with some fried breadcrumbs.

Evian.

macerated strawberries over mascarpone. (Slice and hull strawberries, toss with sugar, add a splash of cassis and macerate for about 20 minutes to half an hour. spoon over ice cream or mascarpone cheese, in wine goblets or dessert bowls. also good with poundcake, shortbread or biscuits, along with unsweetened whipped cream.)

Soba

[fimbul]

Monday night's dinner was produced in about 5 minutes after a long, long day. It was:

- Roasted pork tenderloin that had been quickly marinated in hoisin and chipotle Tabasco sauce with shoyu, ginger, and rice vinegar thrown in for fun

- asparagus with balsamic - tomato - red onion vinaigrette

- green salad with white wine vinaigrette

With a bottle of Greek white wine.

Eh.

[torakris]

Tuesday dinner:

fettucine with shrimp, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, lots of garlic and basil

cucumber and red onion salad with white wine vinegar and EVOO

dessert:

another delicious melon

[sparrowgrass]

Vinegar chicken--legs and thighs cooked with red wine vinegar, some anchoveys, lots of garlic, rosemary from the back yard. Jasmine rice. The kid is eating the leftovers as we speak.

[J Acord]

Okay, okay, I know that this is supposed to be about what we cooked last night, but I have just got back from my America holiday where I threw a dinner party at the in-laws house, and since they have a snazzy little digital camera I took some pictures and just wanted to share them with y'all.

Starter - deconstructed gazpacho (no picture). Clear tomato water with a stack of julienned tomato, yellow squash, zucchini, red pepper and jicama and a brunoise of apple, plum, red chili, advocado, tomato and cucumber. Also had a few cherry tomoato halves (both red and yellow) floating around in it. Looked very pretty and also tasted quite gazpacho like when a mouthful of the vegetables was taken with the tomato water.

Main - Pepper crusted seared tuna, red wine sauce, caponata, and papperdelle coated with a rosemary infused cream sauce.

Dessert - White chocolate mousse on a sponge base (fresh raspberries inside the mousse) topped with glazed raspberries and surrounded with a decorated dark chocolate band. Set on a sauce of creme anglaise and raspberry coulis.

Was all good fun, and surprisingly, considering it was all cooked in someone elses kitchen, an un-stressful experience!

Edited June 11, 2003 by J Acord (log)