Dinner! 2004

[tanabutler]

Richard's dinner reminds me of my own... [no picture (good camera is in the hospital)]

Shrimp, garden heirloom tomatoes/shallots, big heirloom beans and sage. It was so good I forgot to put in the new Bravo Farms sage cheddar I bought yesterday at Ferry Plaza farmers market.

And that was supposed to be the whole point. The cheese.

[Dana]

Grilled Rib eyes with Penzey's Chicago Steak seasoning

Roasted corn on the cob

Slow Roasted asparagus from Paula Wolfort's Slow Food (delish)

Shiraz

[malarkey]

no digital so can't share pix... and what I made tonight was pretty!

BUT! I can tell you about it...I had Vietnamese Spring Rolls: butter lettuce, a bit of chopped mint, cilantro, and basil (went to 4 grocery stores looking for Thai basil and everybody was OUT and then I realized my little hunt was ridiculous so I settled for regular..) slivered green onion, alfalfa sprouts, some chopped roasted peanuts.. topped with the protein of the evening... duck confit. my own, homemade. Roll those suckers up and dip 'em in nuoc cham. YUM.

Edited August 30, 2004 by malarkey (log)

[Monica Bhide]

On the request of my five year old we had butter chicken last night - Chicken Makhanwala. I make mine with marinated chicken that is grilled and then simmered in a spiced tomato butter curry. We love it with plain griddle flat bread.. roti. I prefer using the chicken with bone. I think it add more flavor. And ofcourse on the side, sliced red onions and heaven fresh tomatoes sprinkled with a bit of black salt and touch of lime juice.

mm....

[Dana]

Monica, that looks just awesome!!! Can you share the recipe?

[Susan in FL]

Venison Sausage with White Beans, onion, garlic, oregano, and cilantro. S&P (white) and EVOO, of course.

Yum, that's one of those photos that makes me say gotta-have-it.

[Susan in FL]

Dana, glad you mentioned delish about Paula's Slow Roasted Asparagus. It's one of those things I've always wanted to try, but just haven't gotten to it.

M., going to 4 grocery stores looking for Thai basil sounds so much like something I would do!

Please continue to describe dinners, even if you don't have a digital camera. Sounds yummy.

[Laksa]

Susan, did you get your foie gras from NY or California? I've been thinking about getting some but have been hesitant, afraid of runing it because I've never cooked with it before.

Would you mind sharing some tips on how best to prepare it? Thanks.

How many meals can you reasonably make with a whole foie? By that I mean serving a large enough portion to feel satisfied, but not so much as to require open heart surgery afterwards.

[get in my belly]

monica please do share your recipie thats sound awsome . thanks

[malarkey]

oh my god, the picture of the butter chicken is killing me...

[Susan in FL]

Susan, did you get your foie gras from NY or California?  I've been thinking about getting some but have been hesitant, afraid of runing it because I've never cooked with it before.

Would you mind sharing some tips on how best to prepare it?  Thanks.

How many meals can you reasonably make with a whole foie?  By that I mean serving a large enough portion to feel satisfied, but not so much as to require open heart surgery afterwards. 

I order foie gras, the whole duck liver, from Marky's in Miami. I order quite a few things from them that I can't get locally. I've been happy with everything. I am charged less for shipping than I would be ordering from someplace in NY, since they are closer, but I am so pleased with their products, I probably would order from them regardless.

To them the foie gras I order is imported from France. I haven't tried their own brand, nor have I tried anything in tin, only raw.

I most enjoy the simplest of preparations, but when I buy a whole liver, I fix it a few different ways. The simplest preparation that we like is simply seared, and perhaps finished with some balsamic vinegar. It is easy to do. The only thing is to be careful not to end up with a very expensive puddle of melted fat in the skillet. Be prepared ahead and work quickly.

The higher the quality, the less there is to do (like removing membrane, etc.). It needs to be kept refrigerated and taken out of the fridge just before cooking, as it starts to melt quickly. I use our cast iron skillet, and although sometimes I use clarified butter or something else, most often I use canola oil. I heat just a little canola oil in the skillet over moderately high heat, until really hot but not smoking, and then I saute slices, about 1/2-inch thick, about 1 minute on each side, if that. After all the slices have been seared, and either plated or placed on a paper towel for a little bit, discard all but about a tablespoon of the fat in the skillet and add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and bring to a quick boil. That's the sauce, and I like to serve it on, or with a piece of toast on the side.

I've got a few favorite recipes of variations, with fruits and stuff for variety. I'll get back to you with some of those, if you're interested.

As for how many meals... I have never eaten it as a main course, except when we had the Tournedos Rossini (the foie gras with a filet mignon, a crouton, and truffles, etc.). We usually have it as a first course, and for the two of us with a whole foie gras, we usually have a first course about four times.

Some of my recipes are foie gras with figs, with grapes, with mangoes, with Port wine sauces, etc. I'll be in touch with you later, to see what if any of those recipes you might like to see.

I absolutely love this stuff!

Speaking of all this extravagant food, my vacation is now over and I go back to work tomorrow. So it's time for me to get ready to resume the usual routine....

Good night, all!

[Laksa]

Susan, thanks so much for your reply!

I order foie gras, the whole duck liver, from Marky's in Miami.

That is a revelation to me. I had assumed that in the U.S. one could only get raw foie gras from local sources; from a farm in California and one in the mid-Hudson valley, NY.

Have you ever had local/NY liver and how does it compare with the French product?

I think seared foie gras with balsamic sauce is the easiest option for me and that's the one I'm going to try first.

So except for the balsamic vinegar, the liver doesn't require seasoning of any sort, like salt and pepper?

[Jensen]

Ravioli and Greek salad:

Filling for the ravioli was pork, arugula, and a wee bit of quark, seasoned with herbes de Provence and finished with browned butter and toasted pine nuts.

(I used wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta though.)

[snowangel]

No time for a photo before dinner (hurry to go to a meeting), but we had BLT's with bacon from my favorite local meat market, brandywines, and romaine from the farmer's market on toasted sourdough and some outstanding sweet corn. This has been a very cool summer, and while we have not had very many tomatoes (none of mine are ripe), which is sad. But the upside is that the sweet corn has maintained that early season fresh crispness -- it has been just about the best every, especially for this late in the season.

A quintessential late summer meal.

[Susan in FL]

Monica, thank you for the mention of your salad of sliced onions and tomatoes, sprinkled with a bit of black salt and touch of lime juice! I have had that for lunch two days in a row, and plan to continue this kick for a while. I had some celeriac on hand and added a little of that julienned, and today added a little sliced radish and cucumber. I'm glad to have this discovery!

Laksa, sorry, I almost missed your question... yes, I do sometimes salt and pepper the foie gras and do so for the saute with the balsamic sauce. Salt and pepper to taste after cutting into slices, before searing.

My husband cooked after work yesterday and last night. He made a late meal of baked fish, black beans and corn, and salad. Tonight I work and we're doing take-out afterwards of Schawarma and probably Kibbe Balls, Hummos, and Baba Ghannouj. I've been wanting some Middle East food to go with the Dogfish Head Aprihop I bought!

[Jensen]

Dal with rice, garnished with tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos.

No picture tonight because I was hungry!!!

[joiei]

Creole Mock Turtle Soup (I had some left over country ribs from yesterday and picked up some Poches tasso at Heberts this morning) with a spinach and napa cabbage salad that had fresh roasted beets and tangelo supremes and toasted pecans.

[petite tête de chou]

Shredded chicken and green chili enchiladas

with lettuce, tomato, onion and sour cream

Tortilla chips and salsa. Cran/rasp. juice.

[eunny jang]

Old school:

Spaghetti and meatballs; winey, lemony, spicy, garlicky broccoli with a sprinkle of asiago; and a tall, cool glass of milk.

[Basilgirl]

Tyler Florence's pan roasted chicken with prosciutto, rosemary and lemon (from "How to Boil Water" on Food Network). I added provolone on top which then disappeared when I dumped in Barilla ricotta/asparagus tortelloni and some of the pasta water. Oh well. If you haven't tried the Barilla tortellonis you are really missing out. They are light as a feather.

[Malawry]

Last night:

The second-to-last rack of ribs of the season...pork spareribs, rubbed with a homemade spice blend and slow slow slow cooked.

Green slaw (no carrots or red cabbage)

Tonight:

Grilled (brined!) chicken thighs

Grilled vegetables...zukes, mushrooms, peppers, etc

A big salad with mustard vinaigrette

[chezlamere]

I opened a box of asst'd halloween chocolates and washed it down with a can or A&W root beer. There's a stack of chocolate bar wrappers beside me. ...burp

[Daddy-A]

Grilled Pacific Pink Salmon w/ fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano). Served with wild rice & apple/fennel Waldorf salad (made with a miso, roasted garlic aioli). Waldorf salad & aioli recipe came from Gord Martin's Tongue Twisters cookbook.

Cool thing ... kids (10 & 13) LOVED it.

Cooler thing ... salmon sandwiches tomorrow, complete with really good aioli.

Arne

[tanabutler]

Old school:

Spaghetti and meatballs; winey, lemony, spicy, garlicky broccoli with a sprinkle of asiago; and a tall, cool glass of milk.

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Hey, Eunny Jang, I really like how you're playing around with your photos on your new foray into digital camera world. I know people here might say, "Show us the food," but you're showing the food and the mood. I appreciate both. Especially because close-ups of meat so often look like scabs.

<insert new, improved emoticon indicating rueful hilarity here.>

[spaghetttti]

Looks mightly tasty, Eunny Jang.