Dinner! 2004

[little ms foodie]

mmmm ludja your party sounds great too!!! Love the trio of salad idea!!

Dinner tonight- easy peasy!

leftover shrimp ceviche on greens, grilled salmon with cajun rub and roasted delicata squash with chili lime butter

[Behemoth]

Last night was a laid back tapas/mezze for six:

chorizo in white wine

octopus stewed with onion

shrimp with garlic, paprika and hot pepper

white canelli beans stewed with garlic & olive oil, served over braised radiccio

gratineed belgian endive halves

salumi platter

olives, black oil cured and spanish garlic stuffed

eggplant caponata spread

multiple cheeses

roasted red peppers with anchovies

red potatoes that were boiled, the tossed in very hot olive oil with sea salt and cracked black pepper, served with alioli

a great portugese white wine, a great spanish red, and arak for those who wanted it

lasted 7 hours (a feat in the midwest...)

[percyn]

We had a really fun dinner party for 8 last night.

..

No pictures as I was busy plating and serving!!

CA sparkling served at the door

Amuse of vanilla foam with potatoes

Menu

..

Shrimp Ceviche with Fennel

and Pomegranate

Frisee Salad with Lardon and Quail Egg

Pinot Noir

Garlic Soup with Gruyere Crouton

Butternut Squash Flan with

Parmesan Sage Sauce

..

Dijon Crusted Rack of Lamb with Potatoes

Joel Robuchon

Cheese Plate (Brie, P'tit Basque, New Amsterdam)

Wine Poached Pears Filled with

Mascarpone in

Caramel Sauce

McCrea Late Harvest Viognier 02’

A friend brought an Okanogan Ice Wine which we also drank! YUM!!

←

WOW !! I wish you did take some pictures.

Better yet, I wish I was there !!

[hillvalley]

Made my first stew of the season. I tried to hold out until the weather really got cold but I just couldn't wait any longer I braised some short ribs in fire roasted tomatoes and a cabernet-sauvignon with lots of shallots and garlic. I am trying to empty out my cabinets in preparation for a move and tonights dinner used up a ton of stuff.

Only four more cans of tomatoes to go

[lovebenton0]

Rainy all day and a big lovely head of cauliflower . . .

Cauliflower soup with curry oil a la slkinsey's Thanksgiving thread. I cooked the cauliflower in milk and actually used the immersible blender in pot to puree. Not the two layer full-on Thanksgiving Day version, but a velvety smooth and rich cauliflower cream soup drizzled with curry oil. I prepared my curry oil with red curry paste in EVOO, then marinated some golden raisins in a tbsp of the same after plumping in a bit of white wine, to float in the drizzle, (raisin idea from MobyP comment on the same thread). Rye bread fingers from a half loaf made earlier and saved for croutes, buttered and toasted for croute dunkers. That's all as we had snacked late in the afternoon.

This soup is a definite keeper, going in the have again and again file. Very simple, white velvet. We ate large bowls of it as it was the meal and were quite satisfied, but in small portions just the thing to kick off a nice dinner. The raisins were good but not necessary -- I ate my soup in two smaller portions, one with raisins and one without -- I didn't miss them in the second portion.

[Ling]

hanger steak marinated overnight in red wine, worcestershire sauce, garlic and shallots, zucchini, and pan-fried polenta topped with melted cheese

and then half a pan of tater tots, edamame, and 2 frozen bananas as snacks

[curlywurlyfi]

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!

indeed you did! and you were not wrong. with a spoonful of muesli it was very good.

last night's dinner was super-amplified since I managed to sprain my ankle (no flowers please) whilst going home on Saturday night, so as I couldn't leave the flat all day Sunday (I'm up four flights of stairs) I had nothing to do but cook. Fortunately I had people coming over for vidspud anyway, so they got:

shepherds pie - minced lamb with onion, thyme, carrot, red wine, garlic and my secret ingredient, two teaspoons of Marmite. also found some lamb stock in the freezer and boiled that right down and added it. Mash on top had mustard and spring onions through it. Served with mashed swede (or 'suede' as my friend Tom styled it) and buttered caraway cabbage.

then the products of the afternoon's baking frenzy: coconut cupcakes inspired by this comment in the cupcakes thread. Hmmm. I was underwhelmed by these; didn't think the cream cheese icing complemented the cakes. Still, they were eaten. Also Anzac biscuits (coconut oatmeal biscuits with syrup, which I reminded myself of in the Lyle's Golden Syrup thread. and what are popularly called amongst my friends "Jane's Chocolate Brownies To Die For", after our friend Jane who hit upon the excellent notion of crunching up a bar (or more!) of both white and dark chocolate and stirring this into the brownie batter before baking. Outstanding, and I think she should get a Nobel Prize For Services To Calories.

oh, and Roquefort and walnuts in case anyone felt they had a little corner left to fill.

[Basilgirl]

Friday night: Sierra Nevadas

Saturday night: Dinner for my boyfriend and his 11-year-old son: Shrimp steamed with lots of crab spice and lemon, celery, bay leaf, etc.; really good frozen chicken tenders (Weaver? blue box - honey battered) for the kid (he didn't even eat ONE!); Extra Crispy Tater Tots ; La Brea baguette with Boursin.

Sunday night: Ragu Bolognese from the Babbo cookbook, tossed with spaghetti and lots of Pecorino

[Susan in FL]

Last night we had a sampling of the many goodies Russ brought home from the Delmarvalous peninsula. The first meal of oysters was raw, dipped in sauce of shallots, white wine, white wine vinegar, and black pepper.

That followed snacking on some of the treats from Beautiful Foods, which is in Rehoboth Beach: Prosciutto which might be the best we've ever eaten; sun-dried tomatoes, which Russ said are the best he's ever eaten; a goat cheese which is not only the best goat cheese I've ever eaten, but also the best cheese (I did not know goat cheese could taste like this and be this creamy); the best aged gouda we've tasted; delicious little tiny olives -- the label reads "Mas Portell Arbequina" -- new to me; and excellent Roquefort with Asian pears. The pears were not from Beautiful Foods.

We also had vodka and tonics using Blue Hen Vodka made by Dogfish Head, and one of the wines he bought, 2003 Three Theives California Zinfandel which came in a liter jug!

I'm not sure what form tonight's oysters will take. Russ has to take it easy. He came home also with a flare-up of his gout, and as anybody who suffers from gout knows, shellfish is one of the leading offenders.

Edited November 22, 2004 by Susan in FL (log)

[tanabutler]

With the windy weather, I really felt like wintery comfort foods while we watched the late game on ESPN (yay, Packers).

I slow-cooked chicken legs with shallots and baby potatoes and rosemary (heaven). Roasted beets, sautéed with the beet greens in aged balsamic. Stuffed mushrooms with sun-dried tomatoes, herbed bread crumbs, and pine nuts. Bob's girls stopped in with the baby, and that little Muppet ate an entire stuffed mushroom (a huge one) despite the cayenne and spices in it. MY mushroom!

No photos: babysitting and cooking were enough of an occupation.

[reesek]

last night I cooked from Suvir Saran's book Indian Home Cooking.

I made Tandoori Prawns, Curried Black-eyed peas & green chutney. Served with steamed basmati and TJ's tortillas. and Peachy Canyon Zin. Oddly - a very good combo. Very well-received!!

and i made turkey stock for the stuffing i'm bringing to TG dinner.

[peppyre]

You know Ling, I am very impressed, for a very, very, very tiny girl, you can eat me under the table!!!

Sat. very bad Thai experience. Delivery. It was a crime against Larb.

Last night, Prime rib broiled with carmelized onions and mushrooms and baked sweet potatoes. All went with a wonderful red wine that I helped press 2 years ago

[rhodegirl]

My husband and I hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends on Saturday night.

Smoked Bluefish Pate with Crackers (full disclosure: not homemade, but from Whole Foods)

Roast Pork Loin (from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home)

(pork rubbed with herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper, sear on top of the stove – remove from pan, spread apple slices in one layer in pan, place roast on bed of apples. Roast 50 minutes to 1 hour)

Sausage, Potato and Bread Stuffing

(Slightly altered version of my great-grandmother’s recipe, which I believe is French-Canadian in origin)

Roasted Carrots and Turnips

Cranberry Sauce with Dried Apricots and Toasted Pecans

Green Beans Sauteed with Red Peppers

Green Salad

Pumpkin Crème Brulee

Apologies for no photos – I’m a a bit of a Luddite compared to most of you, as I don’t own a digital camera yet.

[Ling]

You know Ling, I am very impressed, for a very, very, very tiny girl, you can eat me under the table!!!  

Sat. very bad Thai experience. Delivery.  It was a crime against Larb.

Last night, Prime rib broiled with carmelized onions and mushrooms and baked sweet potatoes. All went with a wonderful red wine that I helped press 2 years ago 

←

I eat a lot when I am nervous about midterms/papers. OK that's just an excuse... but I do try to work it off on my elliptical machine during the week. I actually omitted some of the food I ate last night because I didn't want to disgust anyone. You can add salt and vinegar chips, BBQ chips, Rainforest crisps, and the last of these weird-looking Asian spicy peanut things that are covered in flour and fried (they are large and oval-shaped) to my after-dinner snacks.

I had a light breakfast of 2 oranges and a pear because when I woke up, I was still full. After my midterm and my other classes today, I'm going to make BEEF BOUGUIGNON again--bigger pot this time. However, since it has to sit in the fridge overnight, I'm probably going to grab samosas and a date square from school for dinner.

(Prime rib is one of my favourite foods...especially the meat around the ribs. I love baked, then mashed sweet potatoes with some butter mixed in!)

Edited November 22, 2004 by Ling (log)

[FoodMan]

Saturday:

a sort of put-together-from-whatever-I-had-around dish: Rigatoni baked with roasted butternut squash, sausage, mozzarella and feta cheese. the whole thing was layered with creamy bechamel sauce. It was very good with and seemed perfect for a rainy day like saturday.

Dessert: buttermilk pie

Sunday:

Laban Ummo, a wonderful middle eastern beef stew with yogurt.

Dessert: A fluffy light bannana souffle (I had a lot of bannanas lying a round and some extra egg whites.)

[Ling]

That's a perfect souffle. I am in awe. Your buttermilk pie looks good too. I've never had that before...must find a recipe and make it soon!

[percyn]

←

Did you wrap a foil around the ramekin for that height?

[percyn]

I had a light breakfast of 2 oranges and a pear because when I woke up, I was still full. After my midterm and my other classes today, I'm going to make BEEF BOUGUIGNON again--bigger pot this time. However, since it has to sit in the fridge overnight, I'm probably going to grab samosas and a date square from school for dinner.

(Prime rib is one of my favourite foods...especially the meat around the ribs. I love baked, then mashed sweet potatoes with some butter mixed in!)

←

Man, I wish I ate like that when I was in college And you get somosas at school?

I am making up for it now, but so is my waist-line

[Ling]

I had a light breakfast of 2 oranges and a pear because when I woke up, I was still full. After my midterm and my other classes today, I'm going to make BEEF BOUGUIGNON again--bigger pot this time. However, since it has to sit in the fridge overnight, I'm probably going to grab samosas and a date square from school for dinner.

(Prime rib is one of my favourite foods...especially the meat around the ribs. I love baked, then mashed sweet potatoes with some butter mixed in!)

←

Man, I wish I ate like that when I was in college And you get somosas at school?

I am making up for it now, but so is my waist-line

←

Thanks! I just recently started experimenting with different recipes since I moved into my own apartment 2 months ago.

The place that sells samosas also carries different types of curries, butter chicken, soups, sandwiches, sushi, and a bunch of sweets. It's cheap too! My favorite place on campus to eat.

[lovebenton0]

More rain, more soup. Just seemed the perfect thing to do while I was making stock for t-day uses anyway.

First we had avocado salsa verde with crispy fried corn tortilla chips.

Then tortilla soup mounded with shredded chicken I sizzled with roasted red and green Anas from the garden, avocado slices and sour cream. Beer to drink (NA for me).

Latte and oreos for dessert.

[Toliver]

Last night:

Rare bone-in Rib Eye Steak

Roasted carrots with dill, salt & pepper and evoo

A baked potato slathered with rosemary butter and grated parmesan cheese that was quite delicious and worthy of being a meal unto itself.

[percyn]

The place that sells samosas also carries different types of curries, butter chicken, soups, sandwiches, sushi, and a bunch of sweets. It's cheap too! My favorite place on campus to eat.

←

You are making me consider enrolling in school again....reminds me of the "Back to school" movie with Rodney Dangerfield

[little ms foodie]

hubby made a really excellent thick winter minestrone last night!! mmmm, so good. Served with crusty rosemary bread and roasted garlic butter and a nice red wine!

pumpkin cookies for dessert!

[FoodMan]

←

Did you wrap a foil around the ramekin for that height?

←

Nope. No foil around the ramekin.

Elie

[Behemoth]

I'm currently in Florida visiting Grandmother Behemoth. The food situation is rather dire. Yesterday afternoon I made a stealth run to publix for some sushi. Shh...

Elie, I must complement you on the "Laban Ummo". The onlt versions I ever had involved greyish overstewed mutton and curdled yogurt, so I never bothered to try it at home. Your version looks complelling enough to make me want to give it a shot.

Did you ever do a CGI or post about shish barak? That is a great dish. I was making raviolis a while back and was thinking it might be fun to do this dish as an alternative. The only thing is I really love it at room temperature, over cold rice mujadarra -- might be too weird for western company. The again, I'm not sure I'd be willing to share.

Now I must plot a way to steal the car and make a pizza run or something