Dinner! 2004

[Jinmyo]

Salad of seared Chinese long beans chopped and tossed with frisee and pecorino shavings and lardons, citrus vinaigrette.

Grilled shrimp with chile oil served on fresh corn tortillas chips.

Puree of Yukon Gold potatoes with fennel bulb, topped with sauteed catfish portions, fennel fronds, strands of radicchio.

Lemon dashi with scallops and scallions.

[helenas]

But I had this idea to use boiled Arborio instead, after the manner HelenaS got me onto months/years/whatever ago, and it was good. 

Priscilla, it's so moving you remember this. In fact, this is how i cooked Dal Roccolto arborio (my favorite rice brand) just yesterday. A dish in itself, nothing more than a good EVOO (or slightly salted italian butter) needed...

[ludja]

posole with pork and green chiles I smuggled back from New Mexico

green salad

cold beer

edit: oops, forgot dessert: sectioned oranges w/chile powder and lime juice

Edited January 14, 2004 by ludja (log)

[dumpling]

Tuesday

Going away for three days so made a big turkey that the assembled contingent can eat while I'm gone.

Roast Turkey and Cornbread Stuffing

Sour cream and chive Yukon Gold mashed potatoes

Brussels sprouts

Mint ice cream for dessert

Also left them an assortment of dumplings to chomp on-pork and bitter melon, chicken and vegetable, and fish dumplings. I am not Dumpling for nothing!

Edited January 14, 2004 by dumpling (log)

[Susan in FL]

It was quite cold here today, and I was in the mood to pretend it was colder than highs in the 60's. I love to cook stove top, so I made tonight's dinner of beef stew with shiitake mushrooms and baby vegetables. As far as I can remember, this was the first time I've made beef stew since 1997... that was the date of my note on this recipe which I adapted. It called for fresh shiitake mushrooms, but those in the store today were not good enough. I used dried instead, saving out a cup of the beef broth to warm and soak the mushrooms, and added the strained liquid later, and then the mushrooms toward the end of the simmering. I also threw in some wonderful sun-dried tomatoes at the end. With it was a salad of mixed baby greens, etc. with gorgonzola, and a bottle of 1999 Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Yum!

[Susan in FL]

posole with pork and green chiles I smuggled back from New Mexico

green salad

cold beer

edit: oops, forgot dessert: sectioned oranges w/chile powder and lime juice

That sounds so good. I love posole. I am assuming it was just the green chiles you smuggled and not the entire posole dish ...do you have a recipe to share or a description of what you did?

[Priscilla]

But I had this idea to use boiled Arborio instead, after the manner HelenaS got me onto months/years/whatever ago, and it was good. 

Priscilla, it's so moving you remember this. In fact, this is how i cooked Dal Roccolto arborio (my favorite rice brand) just yesterday. A dish in itself, nothing more than a good EVOO (or slightly salted italian butter) needed...

Helena, it is good to see you're still using this preparation, too! (I wondered whether or not as I stirred mine in the water.)

I buy Trader Joe's Arborio, ain't bad, good in fact, and the price is certainly right, although I don't any longer use it for risotto, because well because Carnaroli is so delicious for risotto. I will keep your brand of Arborio in mind if TJ stops carrying theirs -- they like so well to discontinue items that are popular with me.

Unbelievable extreme nuttiness, from just rice, in just boiling water. OK a little sea salt in there, but still.

If I can get it sorted I'll link to the earlier eGullet discussion.

[margaret]

Tuesday

The last of this weekend's borscht. I thought I'd had enough, but now that it's gone...

Shaved brussels sprouts with mustard seeds and dijon.

Roasted turnips, golden and red. One stray Yukon Gold tossed in for good measure. Olive oil, thyme, s&p.

Challah, first attempt from Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Some sort of salad, ubiquitous mesclun, I didn't make or eat.

Mattei 2001 Barbera, been showing up quite a bit lately around here.

[fimbul]

Pork tenderloin, marinated in a sort of ersatz barbecue sauce, pan-roasted, then glazed with a bit more sauce and run under the broiler.

amaranth, cooked risotto-style, gussied up with shallots, ancho chile powder, chipotle powder, and spinach leaves.

yellow squash, caramelized, tossed with minced roma tomato and cherry pepper -- not very seasonal, but a good way to use what I had.

served with Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA.

[pattimw]

My husband is on a business trip this week, so I am only feeding myself, which is fun, because i can eat all the stuff he doesn't like (polenta, tofu)

Last night, I did a pressed sandwich using some crusty bakery bread. I spread each side with some basil pesto, topped it with slices in fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers and grilled in butter with my cast iron skillet pressing it down. (I recently discovered Plugra butter, which they carry at the Trader Joe's....really really good butter!)

I also had a salad of mixed greens, cracked black pepper, and balsamic vinaigrette, which was a perfect companion to the buttery, cheesy, grilled sandwich: peppery, tangy, and slightly bitter.

Dessert was a baked apple, stuffed with dried currants, walnuts, coconut, flavored with lemon zest, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and basted in a mixture of apple cider and and vanilla.

[ludja]

posole with pork and green chiles I smuggled back from New Mexico

green salad

cold beer

edit: oops, forgot dessert: sectioned oranges w/chile powder and lime juice

That sounds so good. I love posole. I am assuming it was just the green chiles you smuggled and not the entire posole dish ...do you have a recipe to share or a description of what you did?

I only discovered posole in the last few years--during travels to NM. I really like that slight corn taste of the hominy and I'm a big chile fan...

I made this with canned posole b/c I couldn't easily find a frozen source and didn't have time to rehydrate dried. Only the green chile was from NM; a tub of Bueno green chile sauce w/pork.

I followed a pretty basic recipe (although I think red chile may be more traditional). Basically cooked up some pork shoulder (~1.5 lbs; in a couple of big pieces) by stewing at a slow simmer in enough water to cover for ~ an hour. Also in pot, onions, garlic, black pepper, whole cumin., salt. Skim off any scum. Let pork cool in stock. Remove pork and shred; strain stock and reserve. (Degrease stock b/4 use).

Saute chopped onion and 3-4 garlic cloves in oil. Add 2- 1 3/4 lb cans drained posole, shredded pork, reserved stock, 1 cup of the roasted green chile sauce, 1 minced serrano chile and some black pepper, cumin, cayenne and a pinch of cloves. Cook for ~ an hour.

In lieu of Bueno chiles (a nice product); roasted anaheims would also probably be good; although some other chiles would need to be added to have some heat... Also I didn't garnish the dish w/anything else although lime, cabbage, radishes are possibilities...

It was my first time making it but I was pretty happy with it!

I guess this would be another nice stew dish to help you weather the Florida winter.

Edited January 14, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Priscilla]

Last evening, Japanese-style marinated fried chicken, fileted thighs cut into strips. And, using available veg: Cucumber salad with rice vinegar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame seeds, sake-simmer julienned carrot, spinach seasoned with Torakris's sesame sauce, asparagus with red miso dressing, and Japanese pickled cabbage made by me. Nice rice from the cooker. Sake and mineral water.

[Toliver]

Last night, a quick stirfry using scallops (from Trader Joe's) and veggies from the Farmer's Market this weekend: Baby bok choy, young carrots (not baby but not full grown), spring onions and garlic. I added some sliced water chestnuts and used a soy-oyster-sherry sauce over everything. It turned out quite well.

[torakris]

Weds dinner:

pasta with baaaad tomato sauce, my MIL brought over a bag of bad tasting winter tomatoes that were way past their prime (if they ever had one) and tried to liven them up with lots of onions, butter and cheese. You could still tell they were bad tomatoes.... , that is a problem with being too cheap to throw anything away.

dessert:

ice cream

[laurel]

Using one of my Christmas gift cookbooks for a dinner for 4 on Tuesday:

Steamed Eggplants with Spicy Sauce:

Haricots Verts in Ginger Sauce:

Boiled Aromatic Peanuts:

Plate of Cold Dishes:

Dry-fried Bitter Melon:

Steamed Fish with Chili and Sichuan Pepper:

[Jinmyo]

Slow roasted tomato slices on garlic tuiles with a dot of creme fraiche.

Salad of stewed chickpeas and onions with marjoram in lettuce cups.

Braised beef ribs with leeks, soft polenta.

Tomato bisque with parmesan crisps.

Cheese course.

edit:

Good show there, laurel.

Edited January 14, 2004 by Jinmyo (log)

[ludja]

Slow roasted tomato slices on garlic tuiles with a dot of creme fraiche.

Salad of stewed chickpeas and onions with marjoram in lettuce cups.

Braised beef ribs with leeks, soft polenta.

Tomato bisque with parmesan crisps.

Cheese course.

edit:

Good show there, laurel.

sounds very nice

also; Will egullet be the reason (tipping point?) for me to get a digital camera???

I would love to see some your creations Jinmyo!

edited to take the 'mayo' out of Jinmyo

Edited January 14, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Arey]

Seared scallops with lemon zest on a bed of baby spinach sauteed with garlic, and for a veggie, roasted asparagus. Also had a nice Chardonnay with it. Simultaneously I cooked tomorrow's entree - a baked skinless chicken thigh.

[Susan in FL]

Using one of my Christmas gift cookbooks for a dinner for 4 on Tuesday:

Steamed Eggplants with Spicy Sauce:

Haricots Verts in Ginger Sauce:

Boiled Aromatic Peanuts:

Plate of Cold Dishes:

Dry-fried Bitter Melon:

Steamed Fish with Chili and Sichuan Pepper:

Laurel, your photos are very good. They are small enough to not be obtrusive or have to widen the screen like crazy to view them, AND they are clear, bright, and well captured images. You're an inspiration!

[Susan in FL]

Last night a friend invited us over and fed us in exchange for my husband's hooking up her new computer: Lentil soup, cornbread, chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla pudding, all homemade.

Tonight:

Starter, roasted sweet onions with Cabrales and pine nuts, dressed with EVOO (the good stuff) and Sherry vinegar

A chicken cordon bleu type thing I made up, using skinless, boneless thighs, Beaufort, Black Forest Ham, panko, etc. Panko is great stuff, isn't it? It browns so nicely.

To drink, Bordeaux.

Tomorrow I go back to work after several days off... Not sure what dinner will be, but then... it's the weekend!

[FoodMan]

Duck Confit Risotto:

Shredded the duck leg confit and reserved the skin. Used homemade duck stock and added some fresh thyme at the end. Crisped the duck skin and used them as the tastiest garnish ever and lots of fresh ground pepper. It was excellent.

Dessert: Dulce De Leche crepes using the Dulce De Leche recipe from "South American Table. It came out a little grainy and chewy, I might've used a little more sugar than the recipe calls for.

Elie

[SiseFromm]

Penne Pasta with Shrimp and Roasted Corn in Chipotle Cream Sauce

This dish harkens back to the Southwestern food movement of 1991, most notably at Kachina Grill in Laguna Beach and Zuni Grill in Irvine. This was lifted straight out of those menus during their heyday.

Edited January 15, 2004 by SiseFromm (log)

[helenjp]

My husband is off on business too, leaving me free not to cook rice!!! But on the way home from work, I dropped in at the fish shop, and they had some wonderful saba, the type called goma-saba (a type of mackerel), which for some reason is pooh-poohed here (softer flesh??) . So then I had to cook rice to go well with the strong tasting mackerel.

I pulled the mackerel into fillets, rubbed it liberally with mustard and put it in the oven sprinkled with ...er...stuff. Parsley and scallions, was it? For some reason, the mustard and the mackerel were perfect together.

Served with chingensai cooked over a dangerously high flame and some tiny shiitake (they go for 60 yen per hundred grams at our local grower), white rice, and a snapper head miso soup. One giant, fresh, delectable snapper head for 350 yen.

And Jinmyo, if you have supplies of snake beans, and actually get to cook and EAT them, could you either provide photos or just warn people not to read that part?! My garden is so shady that I have not been able to grow them since I moved here, though I try and sigh every year or so. I think that apart from really tiny runner beans, they are the tenderest and best green bean there is...

[NeroW]

Have been working on beef short ribs (braised). I dredge and brown them, then brown up a good amount of mirepoix, then add a good amount of garlic, a couple dried ancho (or guajillo) chilies, and a few anchovy fillets. Also about half a fresh pineapple. Then I deglaze with red wine, add some beef stock and some Dijon mustard, put the ribs back in the pan, add a good amount of fresh rosemary, cover, and braise. After a few hours I strain the liquid, reduce it down by quite a bit, mount in some butter, add some more rosemary, and eat. I like it with mushy things: polenta or mashed potatoes.

Tweaked this quite a bit. At first I thought the chile/anchovy/mustard thing was weird. It's actually quite good. A Korean friend of mine suggested the pineapple.

[Toliver]

A Korean friend of mine suggested the pineapple.

I first did a double take when I read "pineapple". Now it all sounds interesting and I'm beginning to salivate thinking of the taste combinations in that dish. As for the anchovies, how much?