Dinner! 2004

[Jinmyo]

Salumi with mesclun salad.

Pizzas. Lots of small thin-crust pizzas.

This is spinach and smoked mozz. Mine.

Also:

Fontina and bacon.

Mozz, asiago, fontina, fuilano.

As above but with anchovies.

As above but with arugula atop.

Chopped tomato and sopresseta with chevre and fennel seed.

Basil pesto and slivers of parm reggiano.

For 26.

markf424, I agree that Steve's smoked haddock and bashers with egg looks wonderful.

[Steve Martin]

I did one of my multi-course dinner parties the other night, but no photos.

The main course was breast of poulet de Bresse with mushrooms on a fondant potato, encircled by filo pastry. Chicken pie in kit form.

This came with a rich gravy from the chicken stock and two purées.

Pea and fried onion. Carrot and celeriac.

Here are the joints and left-overs the next day.

[Anna N]

...

This is spinach and smoked mozz. Mine.

....

Oh, Jinmyo, dawn has barely broken and I'm ravenous for a pizza like yours!

[calimero]

Olive all'ascolana (stuffed&fried olives Ascoli-style),

ravioli ricotta and spinaches,

Pollo ripieno agli asparagi (asparagus stuffed boneless chicken)

and tomatoes salad

[Suzanne F]

Mussels in Thai-ish green curry Sauce (coconut milk, cilantro, green onion, fresh green chile and pickled jalapeno, mint, recao, lemongrass, lime leaf, a tiny bit each of garlic and lime juice)

Sourdough baguette for dipping

Mixed salad with basil vinaigrette

Dr. Frank Dry Riesling (the last of our 2002; on to 2003!)

[Jason Perlow]

A leisurely lunch today of fried scallop sandwiches:

We fried these in various different ways -- panko and egg wash, flour and cornstarch with egg wash, and panko/flour/cornstarch/shaved coconut with eggwash.

The verdict was the panko/flour/cornstarch coating was the best, although the one with the coconut was a close second. The pure panko one was also good, but without the flour and cornstarch the panko tended to fall off and burn in the oil.

[Shannon_Elise]

I had takeout of fried chicken livers and Turkish flatbread from a local Turkish restaurant called "Cafe Istanbul", delicious.

I also made some Orange Saffron Butter cookies at home for dessert. A wonderful way to round out a great meal.

Shannon

[NeroW]

Geeeeez, I go away for a week and you guys cook your asses off.

Here was my week:

Friday night (April 23): "Family meal" at school. Wasn't too great as I was working FOH and of course the BOH ate most of everything good before they told us we could come eat, too. I think I snatched some rice pilaf and a coconut cupcake. But that's OK, spring break was just beginning. Drank a lot of Pabst.

Saturday night: at my dad's house, who is on Atkins, so . . . big-ass porterhouses, charcoal grilled, with much lemon juice squeezed over the top. Red bell peppers stuffed with grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, sauteed onion, basil, and Parmigiano. Served the steaks on a bed of arugula and shaved Parm. More grilled corn, on the cob. My dad said he'd make a dietary exception for the grilled corn.

Sunday: helped my boyfriend move into our new place, but I won't be there for another few months yet. Ate at a local restaurant. Starving. Ate an entire bacon cheeseburger, 4 potato skins, and half his fajitas.

Monday: first night in the new place and without most of my gear. Made an 8 or 10 egg fritatta in his lone pan--sauteed red bells, shallots, garlic, basil, and creminis. Grilled baguette. Chopped romaine with very basic vinaigrette.

Tuesday: dressed-up Muir Glen pasta sauce by slow-cooking it for hours with bacon fat, caramelized onion, and garlic. Served over cavatappi, and sided with roasted red bell and Asiago crostini (topped with chiffonade of basil), and more romaine with a roasted garlic vin. Mixed some good tuna into the pasta and topped with lardons.

Wednesday: Honey-Nut Cheerios. And Pabst. Then late at night I made scrambled eggs with sharp cheddar, potato-bread toast with butter, and bacon. And a few more Pabst.

Thursday: family meal at the country club where I will be doing my internship. I've been volunteering there over my spring break. It was so awesome, I completely forget what the hell it was. No, wait! It was chicken strips and curly fries. Aaaah. Chicken strips. I had one in each pocket, munching them whilst working the line.

Friday: made the family meal at the club, the chef gave me about 15 minutes to do it. "Surprise!" he said. I made a chopped salad with bleu cheese and apple, grilled bread with tomato/mozz, scallion, and angel hair with a mushroom-marsala-garlic sauce. My favorite smell in the world may well be a pan of mushrooms that has just been deglazed with marsala. Then for dinner we ate at a local restaurant. I had a fully unsatisfactory steak sandwich and a measly-ass amount of fries. But that's OK. I was eating largely so I could drink more alcohol.

Saturday: a Kentucky Derby party at my mom's friends' house. Shitloads of apps. I made phyllo "flags"--one with sauteed leeks, chevre, and bacon, and another with sauteed red bells, shiitakes, Asiago, and onion. All veg sauteed in bacon fat, naturally. Among other things, there were miniature reubens (I ate like 10 of those), several salmon mousses, a cheese platter with a loverly derby sage, Camembert, and smoked cheddar, chicken pizzas in a Thai peanut sauce, dessert platters (with nice mini cheesecakes, and not-so-nice baklava ), pork tenderloin and pesto roulades with a mayonnaise-ish sauce, a kick-ass tomatillo salsa, olives, nuts, etc., etc. And Jell-O shots. Holy shit. A LOT of Jell-O shots. My boyfriend and I ended up taking home a casserole dish full of the leftover shots, lying on the living room floor at 2 AM, trying to eat the shots without using our hands. Like a couple of dogs.

Tonight: had to tone it down, man. Only did one leftover Jell-O shot. Grilled 2 sides of salmon on my mom's convection grill, brushed with garlic butter. Also grilled (each skewered separately): cherry tomatoes, parboiled fingerling potatoes, shrimps, cremini mushrooms, and Vidalia onions. Cooked off some nice scallops in a cast-iron with a quick sauce of brandy, butter, and brown sugar. Very nice caramel.

Now spring break is over and I'm back to Chicago, where I will once again subsist on beer and whatever I can steal from the walk-ins at school.

[stephenc]

last night:

grilled cheese.

tomato soup.

[Jake]

Sunday night:

Tostadas with black bean mango salsa, strips of seared tuna topped with an avocado lime vinaigrette.

[reesek]

i'm still working on my fish taco technique - i'm completely possessed by them. these were the best yet - marinated halibut for about 30 min in olive oil, lime juice, cumin s&p and 2 homemade chili powders (ancho and chipotle)

sauteed filet in screaming hot pan - so hot it carbonized some of the spices - somehow this tasted grilled instead of burned. a bonus. served on (disappointing) corn tortillas with tapatio, julienned cabbage and creamy sauce i made by combining creme fraiche, garlic, lime juice and cilantro.

we also had chips and fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. i'm pathologically incapable of having 'mexican' food without making guacamole.

last night i made fresh rolls - saifun noodles (hopefully now i'll remember it's maifun!) leftover shredded cabbage, thinly sliced jalepenos, prawns, scallions, carrots, cucumber and cilantro and thai basil.

still fresh tasting, more substantial and much more flavorful than ordinary fresh rolls - the jalepeno was excellently hot.

[tastykimmie]

a medium porterhouse, cabbage and fried taters (in bacon fat of course)

[clothier]

We had family and friends over helping us build our deck on the house, so while they did whatever you have to do to build a deck (I am to home projects what Sonny Bono was to tree skiing), I kept them well fed.

Breakfast- doughnuts and bagels

Lunch- grilled pizzas, and garlic grilled bread sticks.

Much dips and dippers (hummus, articoke, feta)

Dinner - brisket (poor thing only spent 14 hours over the hickory), potato salad, cheap ass white bread, cole slaw, brownies and home made marshmellows (my mom's contribution, they were splendid).

Deck is half done, and i'm un-decided what to serve them next weekend as they finish up.

[Toasted]

Breakfast dinner tonight:

Scrambled tofu

Pancakes

homefries

toast!

Diced pineapple and mango

[Mayhaw Man]

Tonight

Baked Ham

Cheese Grits

Green Bean

French Bread

Ceasar Salad ( homemade, the real deal)

Strawberry Ice Cream (homemade) for dessert

[Susan in FL]

Tonight

Baked Ham

Cheese Grits

Green Bean

French Bread

Ceasar Salad ( homemade, the real deal)

Strawberry Ice Cream (homemade) for dessert

Oh yum, that dinner sounds good. We were in Pensacola for the weekend and I ordered cheesy grits with both dinner Saturday night and brunch on Sunday. They were both to-die-for dishes, and seemed better than what I make at home. M.M., will you share your usual recipe or description of how you make yours?

As usual, I am way behind on posting dinners, and we've had some good ones. I'll start with tonight in trying to catch up.

Edamame and Tin Roof Sauvignon Blanc

Grilled skewered pork (marinated in Mango Marmalade, soy sauce, garlic, and EVOO)

Warm mango and avocado salsa

Forbidden Rice

A good Spanish red wine, but I can't remember what it was and my husband already took out the trash for tomorrow's pick-up with the bottle in there

[redfox]

Before tonight, we'd been subsisting mainly on leftovers from a recent party -- eggplant agrodulce, roasted red peppers, white bean puree, that sort of thing. The best was a sandwich of the aforementioned eggplant with chipotle mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, and plenty of fresh basil on toasted whole wheat pita bread. It was a Good Combination, but now the ingredients are all eaten away. Today's dinner:

Olives and pre-dinner drinks

Ragout of canary beans and broccoli rabe with seeded crackers

Blackberries and quark for dessert

[Behemoth]

Today's was noteworthy:

BBQ ribs, my first attempt. Nice hot/tangy/slightly sweet sauce success though getting the fire right was a bitch.

ember-roasted sweet potatoes w/ cinnamon butter

wilted arugula salad with slightly salty queso fresco crumbled in

Negra Modelo beer

Making a run for Rum Raisin ice cream any minute now...

[DRColby]

Beef sweetbreads (can't get veal anymore) grilled and then addred to morels in a cream sauce, served over Greman egg noodles. Green salad from the garden with fresh herbs (cilantro, marjorm, mint and Italian parsley) along with a bottle of $6 red (Quivera) from Trader Joe's that was excellent.

Headed upstairs for my nightcap - ice cream.

dave

[Susan in FL]

I've lost track of what was when, but one recent dinner while I was on vacation was:

Clams Seviche

Grilled cajun style skirt steak with green olive relish

Potato, cucumber, & dill salad

Another was:

Shrimp Gazpacho

Cornish hens with vegetables

and I think this was the night we also had the salad of cucumber, onions, celery, and gorgonzola

[s'kat]

Pasta with smoked salmon, roasted red peppers, and a tidge of white truffle oil.

[eunny jang]

Spaghetti and big old meatballs

Garlic bread

Apple pie and ice cream for dessert (my first ever pie!)

Coffee-table food for a repeat viewing of the Sopranos

[FoodMan]

I still had a turkey in the freezer since this past December, and since it was approaching the 6 months mark I decided to defrost it and do something a little different. I’ve never made red mole before but have been meaning to try Bayless’ recipe for “Turkey with Red Mole”, what he claims to be the national dish of Mexico. So the turkey was defrosted in the fridge and was ready by Sunday. I removed the whole breast with the skin intact and cut the leg quarters off as well. I made a very good stock with the carcass and wings.

On Sunday I bought all the mole ingredients and in a couple of hours I had a wonderful pot of mole slowly simmering and filling the house with a wonderful aroma. The breast was seared and braised in the sauce in the oven. After tasting this dish along with some fresh corn tortillas I was amazed how tasty and complex the flavor of the whole thing was. I am not a mole expert but this was one of the best I have had, it was amazing and I still had more than two cups of sauce leftover which I froze (It CAN be frozen, right?). My wife actually wants me to make another batch this weekend and invite her parents over for some more turkey in red mole (they have a frozen one in the freezer as well ).

As for the leg quarters, I made them into chili last night based on a F&W recipe. We will be having Turkey chili and corn bread for dinner tonight since it is better after a good rest in the fridge. Nothing of this bird was wasted.

Here is a picture of the mole:

Elie

[curlywurlyfi]

- whisked up a dressing of cumin, honey, dried red chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt + evoo in a bowl

- tore in masses of Little Gem lettuce, added some chopped spring onions

- poached strips of chicken breast, some asparagus and green beans in a little chicken stock; drained, and whilst still warm

- tossed the whole lot together and topped with toasted almond flakes and a handful of raisins

- lovely South African Honey Tree merlot to drink

Nice, but needed something herby in the salad, sprigs of curly parsley or chervil, maybe.

[suzilightning]

I still had a turkey in the freezer since this past December, and since it was approaching the 6 months mark I decided to defrost it and do something a little different. I’ve never made red mole before but have been meaning to try Bayless’ recipe for “Turkey with Red Mole”, what he claims to be the national dish of Mexico. So the turkey was defrosted in the fridge and was ready by Sunday. I removed the whole breast with the skin intact and cut the leg quarters off as well. I made a very good stock with the carcass and wings.

On Sunday I bought all the mole ingredients and in a couple of hours I had a wonderful pot of mole slowly simmering and filling the house with a wonderful aroma. The breast was seared and braised in the sauce in the oven. After tasting this dish along with some fresh corn tortillas I was amazed how tasty and complex the flavor of the whole thing was. I am not a mole expert but this was one of the best I have had, it was amazing and I still had more than two cups of sauce leftover which I froze (It CAN be frozen, right?). My wife actually wants me to make another batch this weekend and invite her parents over for some more turkey in red mole (they have a frozen one in the freezer as well ).

As for the leg quarters, I made them into chili last night based on a F&W recipe. We will be having Turkey chili and corn bread for dinner tonight since it is better after a good rest in the fridge. Nothing of this bird was wasted.

Here is a picture of the mole:

Elie

OH MY GOD!!!!

though i really like green mole best - this was almost smellavision.

didn't think i would get any cooking done tonight since i was painting the house(outside) and the outside furniture today but about 4 pm i said *$#@ this and went inside. since i have to work the next two days 1-9 pm and john is working 9-9 i figured i'd do stuff so we could eat dinner together and have leftover for the next few days. i had a free range chicken so i made key west chicken - stuffed the cavity with my last 15 cloves of garlic and the rest of the key limes brought back from road trip 2004 - i'm still working on the food report from this and we are about to do our anniversary vaca next week . rubbed the outside with a mix of lemon zest, basil, thyme, kosher salt and pepper. what a glorious gravy though i hope my white lace top will recover served with yellow and green squash pan roasted with olive oil and german potato salad with green beans. for the next two days i made mac and cheese and buffalo burgers to take to work along with some mixed greens and for john salmon wraps(he is in meetings all day the next two and he needs stuff that can go with him and is hand friendly - to eat that is).

dessert for john was a chocolate covered cherry from rocky mountain chocolate company and a glass of marquis de la tour sparkling wine for me.