Dinner! 2005

[avocado]

When I read Chufi's story about what she had for lunch yesterday, for some reason it made me so nostalgic for my childhood food (by the way, pancakes are also eaten for dinner in Russia, and also eggs, omletes, hot cereals)... So I made borsch, the way mom used to make it, not very thick, and without beets (no matter, I did not have any anyway ). The borsch I cook is more traditional: thicker and more filling, with meat. Mom's version is much lighter, with crispier cabbage and lots of bay leaf, dill and parsley. When I opened the lid after letting it sit for a while, there it was - the warm aroma from my childhood! (I've noticed I've been cooking a lot of Russian food lately - is it time to go home for a visit? )

It's eaten with sour cream, rye bread, and (preferably) fresh garlic and salo (salted pork fat). Well, no bread or SALO, so I just had a little sour cream .

←

Mmm, Alinka, that looks so warm and comforting. Any chance you'd share the recipe, or an approximation of the method? Seems like just the thing for a gray, raining fall day like today.

[Alinka]

avocado, it's interesting that you say that it is good for the cold weather. Actually, this is kind of "summer" version, thin and without much fat. Usually I make borsch more savory and filling, with more meat and fat, basically . I was reading Bourdain's Cook's Tour recently, and he gives a pretty good description of a "proper" Russian borsch. I should cook it up and show some time.

Meanwhile, here is the recipe for what you see on the photo. It is very approximate, of course, since I usually go by "a pinch of this, and handful of that" .

Summer borsch

For about 4 servings

6 cups vegetable, beef, or chicken stock

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 medium cabbage head, shredded

1 tablespoon rendered bacon or chicken fat

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste OR 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

3 tablespoons fresh dill

Freshly ground pepper

Sour cream for serving

Cook potatoes in stock until partially cooked but still firm. Add cabbage. Meanwhile, in a skillet sauté onions in fat until translucent, add garlic, carrots, celery, and bell pepper, saute 2-3 minutes, add tomato paste or tomatoes, saute for about 2 more minutes. Add the vegetable-tomato mixture to the soup, bring to boil. Add lemon juice, herbs, and pepper. Remove from heat, let stand covered for a few minutes. Serve with sour cream, sprinkled with more fresh herbs. Eat with rye bread (rub the crust with fresh garlic) and - if you're lucky enough to have it - salted pork fat (salo) .

[Susan in FL]

It's eaten with sour cream, rye bread, and (preferably) fresh garlic and salo (salted pork fat). Well, no bread or SALO, so I just had a little sour cream .

←

WOW. That is truly beautiful, Alinka. Sounds delicious - and what a great shot!

←

WOW. What she said.

Hot soups are one reason to hope for a few weeks of cool weather during the winter, even here. I've never made borscht of any kind. I have to add it to my never ending list. Is it served chilled sometimes, or did I dream that? I love beets.

[Daniel]

Made short ribs braised in porter ale... For dessert burnt caramel ice cream from Chocolate Obsessions book...

burnt caramel ice cream.. The best ice cream I have made.. In taste and texture..

Edited October 13, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[little ms foodie]

I love carmel ice cream, yum!!! what kind of ice cream maker do you have daniel??

and jack, I now have to serve soup out of a pumpkin!!!

We had carbanara with bucattini noodles, side salad capresse like the other night

Edited October 14, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[Daniel]

Dinner tonight started with garlic soup with those french cheese puff guys that start with g..

Mussles and clams served cold with shallot in a sherry vinaigrette...

Then buttered P-Dutch Egg Noodles with rabbit braised in Reisling with bacon and 4 diff. mushrooms.. Fantastic..

For dessert from the Cake Bible made the White Chocolate Cake with lemon buttercream..

These recipes were from Patricia Wells Bistro Cooking..

Edited October 15, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[dockhl]

Dinner tonight started with garlic soup with those french cheese puff guys that start with g..

Gougere.........YUM !

Then buttered P-Dutch Egg Noodles with rabbit braised in Reisling with bacon and 4 diff. mushrooms.. Fantastic..

It all sounds good but thise noodles are, for me, the ultimate comfort food.....a little P. Dutch way back in the ancestry !

←

[Megan Blocker]

Dinner tonight started with garlic soup with those french cheese puff guys that start with g..

These recipes were from Patricia Wells Bistro Cooking..

←

Les gougeres sont difficiles, n'est-ce pas?

I love that cookbook - gorgeous meal, Daniel.

Edited October 15, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[Chufi]

Dinner last night

we started with filopastries with pumpkin and goatscheese. The recipe is from Claudia Roden's Tamarind & Saffron.. I used Kabocha. No pic..

Then chicken red wine stew flavored with bay and orange, with herb dumplings.

I also made oatmeal rolls and it was served with buttered cabbage

Dessert: quinces in vanilla syrup, they were served with (store bought) pecan icecream.

[lesfen]

Daniel... that is, by far, the most mouthwatering thing that I have seen in a looooong time. Gorgeous.

[Theven]

Dan your garlic soup picture alone deserves an award!!! Great job.

[Sid Post]

Soba noodles with pork and spring onions, flavored with lots of ginger, garlic, chillies and a little bit of hoisin sauce

←

That looks wonderful and sounds delicious. I think I will go the market and see if they have those ingredients. That should go well with a cool morning as I watch the Hummingbirds in my yard and sip a good cup of coffee.

[rooftop1000]

I didnt want to defile the pastrami thread with this

Which was very hard to get and has been stashed in the freezer for a while. Defrosted it for Friday's dinner. Many moons ago I worked at a German deli where the owner held the Pastrami for service in a steam table pan with pickle juice until it was all soft and melty so in Mr Wilkes honor

Had to cut it in half to fit the crockpot ...and to show all those ribbons of fat, leftover juice from a jar of pickles and its all set for an afternoon of braising/steaming. Four hours later we get..

to be made into

Pastrami and melted swiss on rye with tater tots, pickles and cole slaw.

It was a beautiful thing and very hard to convince the Thumans guy to find the "real" pastrami the one with the fat in it

tracey

[suzilightning]

tracey- so funny. looks good - wouldn't eat it for anything.

got home about 630 pm edt - had made gumbo but not interested in eating.

used some leftover whole wheat noodles, johnnybird's supersweet tomatoes, some olive oil and some butoni pesto( hey, it was on sale with triple coupons and i've never made pesto). local redleaf lettuce with some dressing i'd made yesterday and voila - johnnybird's dinner

i had some 100 and 150 grand marnier. i am happy <where is the sleepy smilie?>

will suck something good down for breakfast, though since i have to be on the watch by 0730 bird time(0830 human).

[Daniel]

Wow... That pastrami looked great, the sandwich looked even better.. What kind of pickle juice was that..

Edited October 16, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Megan Blocker]

Wow...  That pastrami looked great, the sandwich looked even better.. What kind of pickle juice was that..

←

Ditto! Looks delish, Tracey. I'm salivating here!

[Susan in FL]

Oh happy day! I didn't even realize it until I walked into the seafood market looking for lobster... The first day of stone crab season!!! These succulent babies were swimming yesterday. They don't get much fresher than this.

So we slightly modified our dinner plans and had an unexpected icy cold first course.

We have been doing lots of recipes lately and had decided we wanted to go for an old familiar classic tonight, surf & turf. So at the seafood market, since I happened upon the stone crab claws, I went for small lobster tails instead of whole live lobsters as we planned.

There are leftovers!

Today was also the first day that it's been comfortable enough to turn off the AC and open windows. ...Much to celebrate at dinner tonight.

[Megan Blocker]

There are leftovers!

←

I'm impressed by your restraint, Susan! I don't know if I could have left any behind - it all looks delicious!

Today was also the first day that it's been comfortable enough to turn off the AC and open windows.  Woo Hoo!

←

So many reasons to celebrate - yay for cooler weather AND stone crabs!

[rooftop1000]

Wow...  That pastrami looked great, the sandwich looked even better.. What kind of pickle juice was that..

←

Vlasic sandwich stackers - kosher dill.......Mr. Wilkes used Sunshine from Paterson NJ

T

[percyn]

Good looking pastrami and dinners all !!

Yesterday we saw the sun again after 12 days, so we decided to do some grilling

Hamburgers - Home ground from 50% chuck and 50% ribeye

Along with some BBQ chicken and smoked pork chops

Burger assembled - with some local raw milk blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled red onion and fried egg.

With the egg yolk running over the burger

Enjoyed with some "Bulls Blood" (red wine) I brought over from Hungary and Granacha

For dessert - Mini Twix bar sprinkled with fleur de sel. The salt really brings out the flavor and adds another layer of complexity.

Cheers

Percy

[Daniel]

←

Wow.. That looks great.. The second course is a feast alone.. Dont know what I would eat first..

[Patrick S]

For dinner last night, we had simple, soul-nourishing cheeseburgers. The patties were 50/50 chuck and sirloin, formed thin (~1/3"), and topped with cheddar and balsamic glazed onions. Trying to please the little one who loves fast-food burger, we used a seasoning that is supposed to be that used by McDonald's: 4T salt/2T Accent/ 1t black pepper/ 1/2t onion powder. I have to admit, they were good!

For dessert, we're still eating the brownies I made a few days ago.

[Daniel]

Patrick, Patrick!!!

Those burgers look sooo good... What kind of bun was that..

[Patrick S]

Those burgers look sooo good... What kind of bun was that..

←

Thanks, Daniel!

The buns were nothing special, really. Sandwich buns from Kroger deli. They're 25 cents a pop, always fresh, taste and look good. They've always worked great for all my "squishy bun" applications. I sliced and toasted them on a 350F griddle with a teensy bit of butter, with a ramekin sitting on top of each slice.

[jennahan]

OK. Here goes my first post (no pictures as my meager skills would definitely not do what I ate justice)...

It's Vacherin Mont d'Or season again! To celebrate, I greedily ate a huge plate of succulent, sweet fresh figs, warmed up just a bit so they would be extra soft, covered in a mountain of runny, warmed Mont d'Or, topped with toasted almond slivers. This was accompainied by a large glass of hearty but fruity Primitivo.

I'm going to have the other half for lunch tomorrow as an impromtu fondu: warmed with slivers of garlic and a splash of calvados. I'll use sausage slices, apple, and bread as my dippers. YUM!