Dinner! 2004

[SethG]

Haven't been here in a while.

Tonight was in honor of Carb Awareness Day:

[Behemoth]

Oh, I haven't made pizza in a while...

We had lebanese "fast food" -- oven-roasted cauliflower (a lot like the eG recipe everyone raves about) with tahini sauce: tahini, lemon juice, cilantro and a little water & salt.

2 cans of Goya octopus mixed in a bowl with mashed garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and a little olive oil.

pita bread.

yum.

[ludja]

Yesterday night: Gnocchi alla sorrentina (gnocchi sorrento way - baked gnocchi with tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil

Saltimbocca alla romana (jump in your mouth roman style - veal, cured ham and sage)

Gattò di patate (potato pie: potatoes, parmigiano cheese, pecorino cheese, mortadella, mozzarella, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, eggs)

Great dinner calimero... and incredible photos.

I've had some recipes for Italian potato pie--but that sounds (and looks) quite amazing with the mortadella added.

[hathor]

Made my best salad ever the other night. Seared scallops over frisee and bacon. Made a vinagrette with some of the warm bacon drippings added to EVOO and Banyuls vinegar. Gave the scallops a squirt of lemon juice right before putting them on the salad.

It was a knockout if I do say so myself.

Thanks for the inspiration!! I made this salad last night...and I concur: "it's a knockout". Great harmony of flavors and texture. I did a slight variation using Ponzu in the dressing.

[Al_Dente]

Made my best salad ever the other night. Seared scallops over frisee and bacon. Made a vinagrette with some of the warm bacon drippings added to EVOO and Banyuls vinegar. Gave the scallops a squirt of lemon juice right before putting them on the salad.

It was a knockout if I do say so myself.

Thanks for the inspiration!! I made this salad last night...and I concur: "it's a knockout". Great harmony of flavors and texture. I did a slight variation using Ponzu in the dressing.

Cool! Thanks.

[suzilightning]

Rancho Zabaco Zin.

great wine.

friday night was meat free friday in our house again.

pizza - johnnybird's had some red sauce, artichoke hearts, olives, sauteed red and yellow peppers, onions and just a bit of asiago on it. mine was a mix of mozzarella, romano and asiago, red sauce, red pepper flakes and black olives.

salad of mixed greens with roma tomatoes that had been roughly chopped and marinated in a dressing of basalmic vinegar, evoo and minced shallot(no it is not the same as onion).

molson light with dinner

we are about ready for dessert which, since they are in season, my apricots stuffed with marscapone, nutmeg and honey. served with some of the prosecco the apricots were poached in and with a sauce of some of the extra apricots that did not pass the appearence test blended with some prosecco and honey. any one got any ideas for the leftover marscapone mixture? , , nudge, nudge

[SethG]

I made a very timid foray into Fergus Henderson's world last night: Boiled Chicken, Leeks, and Aioli.

No offal in sight, but very nice. His aioli is incredibly strong, but to my surprise it made a rather ordinary poached chicken into something really great and unpretentious. The leeks, simmered in the chicken broth, were fantastic, but I expected that.

Edit:

God, that Fergus recipe makes a huge pile of aioli. We had wonderful chicken sandwiches today on homemade ciabatta with aioli.

Then for an early pre-dinner graze I put together a vegetable "Grand Aioli" with asparagus, artichoke hearts, green beans, radishes, carrots, red peppers and zucchini.

But after much dippin' in we still have a ton of aioli left. Any other ideas? The stuff is real good.

Edited May 23, 2004 by SethG (log)

[NeroW]

Last night, 1 AM:

Angel hair pasta with butter, sauteed morels, shallots, and thyme from my herb box. Sage Derby and summer sausage alongside. A baguette I made earlier in the day. Olive oil and kosher salt to dip.

Orange-banana-strawberry juice.

Were going to have strawberry shortcake but we were too tired. Tonight!

[hathor]

Saturday night: grilled red snapper. I stuffed the snapper with some herbs from the garden (parsley, basil, rosemarry, oregano, thyme) and 2 orange slices. Served with an orange beurre blanc sauce. Very delicate flavors. The cat thought it was excellent!

[NulloModo]

Moroccan braised beef roast

Moroccan hot eggplant salad

[hathor]

Moroccan braised beef roast

Moroccan hot eggplant salad

What made it Moroccan? Spices? Cooking Technique?

[chefdg]

Thai lettuce wraps of beef and chicken with a chashew sauce. Healthy and easy.

[Suzanne F]

HWOE was away last night, so:

Hard-cooked egg on whole wheat toast with swiss cheese, dijon mustard, mayonnaise. Very satisfying. (HWOE does not like egg sandwiches)

[Susan in FL]

Lots of good dinners recently; here are some highlights.

Tonight:

Saltimbocca, a test recipe for Leite's Culinaria

Roasted Sweet Onions with Cabrales

Blanched Asparagus with EVOO, Sherry vinegar, and Feta

Salad of our homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers, and Vidalia onions, on mixed baby greens

Warm bread, Parm.-Reg. Stravecchio, and very old balsamic vinegar

Victoria Street Zinfandel

Last night:

Rotisserie beef on the grill

Corn and mango salsa

Caesar salad on a great big crouton (all homemade) accompanied by Saint Marcellin

Bogle Phantom California 2000

Saturday night after attending a cocktail party:

Duck and wild mushroom risotto

Argyle Pinot Noir

Recently:

Mustard-grilled salmon with lingonberry sauce

Truffled potatoes

Lots of fresh baby vegetables

Meridian Cabernet

Also recently, all grilled:

Mushrooms stuffed with Crab Imperial

"Surf and Turf", Rib-eye steaks and whole lobsters

Corn on the cob

Newton Merlot

[phaelon56]

I'm drifting in and out of this thread as time and opportunity permits. Friday I had time because one of my former GF's decided to cook for me. She routinely cooks only soul food but has branched out a bit partly for health reasons and possibly (I like to delude myself) by virtue of my influence. So....

Tri-color pasta salad with pepperoni chunks, broccoli and onion

Boiled spinach with cinnamon

Sweet potatoes baked with brown sugar and butter (I didn't say healthy - just healthier than before)

Chicken breasts breaded with Zatarain's mix and fried

The best part: I didn't have to cook!!! (I love to cook but also enjoy being served and it happens so rarely).

[eunny jang]

Last night I made a classic American lasagna, swimming in red sauce with lots of sausage, ricotta with spinach, and some good mozzarella and parmesan. Watercress with anchovies, parmesan, lemon and olive oil.

Boring, but lots of leftovers to get me through the week.

[Quish_Quash]

Last night was Beef Roast. It was brined in a Brandy-Curry brine for about 8 hours, then taken and slow roasted with assorted veggies. As a side dish, I made a new take on an old classic, Yorkshire Bread Pudding. All was excelent, with left overs for my wife to eat while I'm at work - she works days, I cook nights.

[NeroW]

Friday I had time because one of my former GF's decided to cook for me.

Dude, you seem to hang out with your former girlfriends an awful lot. And they all rush to cook for you. What gives?

[NulloModo]

Moroccan braised beef roast

Moroccan hot eggplant salad

What made it Moroccan? Spices? Cooking Technique?

I'd say the spices. The eggplant salad recipe is simply known as 'Morrocan Eggplant Salad'. I had it at a middle eastern restaurant that afternoon and liked it so much that I tried to recreate it that evening. If you do a google search for moroccan eggplant salad, you will get bunches of hits.

The beef roast was an on the fly endeavor, based on some spices I saw intended for a moroccan chicken dish. I took chopped shallots, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, soy sauce, rice vinegar, turmeric, some chiles, and some other assorted things (can't remember it all off the top of my head) stuck it in a dish and braised it while I let the eggplant salad (basically eggplant, paprika, cumin, and tomato with some other spices) stew down into the delicious soft mass it eventually became.

[fiftydollars]

Wagyu beef strip steak with a madeira veal glace.

[neep]

5lb pork shoulder (not lean. Not at all) braised in a Dutch oven (lid half on) @ 310 ish degrees for four hours. Braising liquid was orange juice 3 cups, dark brown sugar (2 tbl spoons), and Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce (half a small can), blended together. And for some reason a hand full of dried pineapple (unblended). Whatever was on hand, e.g.

worked out great, meat v. tender, and a thick sauce. Usually I'm not a big fruit in savory food fan. But pork responds well to sweet. It required v. little attention (although I had to make sure the liquid didn't evaporate.)

Next time I'll cook it longer with less heat, perhaps.

and perhaps finish it with a handfull of chopped cilantro.

[phaelon56]

Friday I had time because one of my former GF's decided to cook for me.

Dude, you seem to hang out with your former girlfriends an awful lot. And they all rush to cook for you. What gives?

You don't want to know.... on second thought, maybe you do

I don't drink so I have to make up for that with other skills...

Actually, it's usually just one of them that I hang out with and I generally do the cooking - that's why it was such a treat to have someone cook for me. As for the rest of the circumstances - not that complicated but belongs on a bio thread (or best left undiscussed ). I guess I should start a bio thread now that it looks like I'll be hanging around here for awhile.

[NulloModo]

Last Night:

Shirataki Carbonara (bizarre fusion or diet food: you decide)

Warm Spinach and Garlic Salad

[NeroW]

I don't drink so I have to make up for that with other skills...

You said it, O-dogg. Not me.

Last night's dinner was beer. My personal version of the high-carb diet.

I'm going home this weekend, though, and I'm bringing one of my friends from c. school, so I'm pretty sure we'll have something to post to this thread Saturday night.

BTW, Nullo, what is Shirataki? I'm too hungover to Google.

[Suzanne F]

Last night was the Roasted Beet salad I mentioned on the Grated Orange Zest thread -- damn, I wish I had a camera, it was beautiful, if I say so myself. Plus the usual mixed salad, and "Lamb Hash" with leftover roast lamb and baked potatoes all chunked up and heated with the last of my carmelized onions and some lamb jus. Salmon Run Pinot Noir.

The night before, I roasted a chicken after first smearing herb butter under the skin. Baked potatoes (with extra for last night's hash), steamed broccoli, salad, Wagner Reserve Pinot Noir.