Dinner! 2005

[percyn]

It does look good and what a beautiful presentation.

I'll direct you here to read about our Shrimp Etouffee dinner last night.  I described it there, after all the help and support I got on that thread.

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Susan,

That Etouffe looks excellent....when should I expect my care-package of Etouffe?

[Daniel]

Tonight we made a recipe from our new Rick Bayless book, Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures.. We just received it the other day and we saw a recipe titled, The World's Best Chili.. Now, I understand its a pretty big claim, but they were pretty close. It uses a paste made from Ancho Chiles, Tomatos, Cumin, and Garlic.. We added pinto beans, beef, and onions. It was quick, easy and really good. It certainly didnt hurt that it calls for frying the meat in bacon grease. We baked it later in a gratin and dipped chips in it..

[Susan in FL]

Susan,

That Etouffe looks excellent....when should I expect my care-package of Etouffe? 

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...All that etouffee for the four of us, and there weren't enough leftovers to fill a pint container!

We baked it later in a gratin and dipped chips in it..

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Speaking of leftovers, what a great idea for chili. Thanks!

[The Hersch]

Indonesian Beef Stew

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Thanks! I note that your recipe includes no "exotic" ingredients hard to find in the US. Was this adapted for western supermarket shopping, or would you make it exactly this way in Indonesia?

[spaghetttti]

Indonesian Beef Stew

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Thanks! I note that your recipe includes no "exotic" ingredients hard to find in the US. Was this adapted for western supermarket shopping, or would you make it exactly this way in Indonesia?

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The stew is simple, home cooking. I guess the most exotic it gets is substituting thinly sliced shallots for the onion. Although I sometimes add chunks of potato and a chopped, medium-sized tomato for a thicker, richer sauce/gravy; so yes, this is pretty much how it's made in Indonesia.

Edited January 24, 2005 by spaghetttti (log)

[pattimw]

Chufi - those lemon puddings look awesome!!

We are (literally) snowed in here - big ol' blizzard is slamming Boston right now.

I made some "little dishes" last night.

A visit to whole paycheck resulted in  a dozen oysters which we ate with cocktail sauce. They were really fantastic - sweet and briny at the same time. They really tasted like the sea, which may seem like a given, but these were exceptionally flavorful. 

We drank a Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs with it.

We followed up with popcorn- wanted something else to go with the sparkling wine.

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I think you must be my long lost sister!!! That is my perfect meal! We call it whole paycheck and that is the champagne we keep on hand all the time. And I love pop corn with bubbles!!

Fantastic!

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LOL, little ms. foodie! My husband had never been to a WF before (I call it Whole Paycheck too) this weekend and he was amazed- he has vowed to go back. He never understood when I would come home raving about it.

Loved the Domaine Chandon - what a great wine for $15!!

[lovebenton0]

Delicious dinner pics and reports over the past few days, folks. Mouth is watering especially over your Shrimp Etouffe, Susan (one of my fav dishes), thanks for the link to that thread. And that Indonesian stew is marked for a go soon, spaghettti, very nice presentation too.

Saturday night I par-baked tatuma squash halves, seeds scooped out to form edible cups for pork-stuffed squash. Seasoned shredded pork butt with ground cumin and garlic, cilantro and MX oregano from the garden, salsa verde. Baked again, then topped with crushed corn tortilla chips coated with ground garden MX chile and fresh lime juice for the last few minutes. Served with Spanish rice with corn and flour tortillas. Salad of green leaf lettuce, pummelo slices, avocado, and scallions, drizzled with pummelo juice/ground red MX chiles and cilantro (no photo for salad). Dos Equis cerveza for DH, NA and lime for me.

Last night was a simple lamb stew made with a very meaty leg of lamb bone saved from Xmas roast. Stew was rich and delicious with lots of fresh-picked thyme, dried garden cinnamon basil, garlic and fresh ground black pepper, onions, baby carrots, red potatoes. But I took a lousy photo of that so I'm not posting it. Served with a green leaf and Romaine heart salad with Jonas Gold apple, dried red flame grapes, sliced scallions, and crumbled bleu d'auvergne Miramont. We drizzled that with Brianna bleu cheese dressing, which is fairly sweet but was very nice with the crumbled bleu to snap it up on the fruity/oniony salad. Sourdough Limpa muffins -- rye, orange peel, a touch of brown sugar, but really not sweet. An old recipe I ran across again looking for something else in my files -- these I will make again, very easy and versatile.

[fimbul]

Haven't posted to this thread in ages, but I'm trying to find some way of memorializing the better meals I cook. I'm tired of vividly remembering the failures and also rans while the good meals are relegated to some dim half-life in the back of my mind.

I've been on an Indian spices jag of late, so last night was

1/2 rack of lamb marinated in yogurt spiked with blood orange and cardamom, seared and roasted in a hot oven, and served separated into four, pretty, rare chops

over

basmati rice with bay and cloves

alongside

yaller squash, spiced with coriander and fenugreek, with "brown-fried" onions, ginger, garlic, and chiles

all served with

a chile-garlic tomato relish, the cooking of which cleared me out of the kitchen, nearly killed my girlfriend in the dining area, and forced the resident feline to hide, yowling, in a closet. Very spicy chiles, methinks.

...I would change the formatting of this post, but pretend I'm William Carlos Williams for the day.

[Basilgirl]

Chicken olio aglio, braised fennel, Sardinian bread casserole - all Lidia

Also made a big pot of lentil soup with a homemade tomato/sage sauce stirred in, and did a ginger/rosemary rubbed pork loin in the Set It and Forget It. Dinner is ready for the rest of the week

[hathor]

Saturday night snowstorm potluck:

Caviar with some blinis, Proseco for some, Cosmos for others

A spicy fish soup finished with lime juice. Really wanted to 'spritz some lime oil' on top, but wasn't really sure how powerful the lime oil flavor would be. Will have to experiment when I'm not feeding a crowd.

Sirloin steak with garlic butter

Roast sirlon with potatoes and carrots (I said it was a potluck!)

Ceasar salad

Poached pears and vanilla ice cream

You need lots of protein before going out to shovel!

Sunday night we took a walk around the neighborhood returning dishes and got treated to a chicken caccitore dinner along the way. What good luck!!

[pattimw]

Dinner last night was:

Butternut-Carrot soup (with lots of spices- cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne)

Panini - mozzarella, sliced and roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, basil leaves.

Casa Lapostolle 2003 Sauvignon Blanc

[baranoouji]

This weekend, we walked to the grocery store in the middle of a blizzard and bought some items for a meal in our new apartment.

On sale: chicken thighs, potatoes.

We also bought: wine, olive oil, sea salt, pepper grinder.

I threw the potatoes into the oven to bake. Learned that our fire alarm is exquisitely sensitive. I stationed my sweetie under the alarm with a fan, and cranked on the vent and the windows.

I boned the chicken thighs and saved the skin/fat for rendering, and then chopped up the meat into 1" cubes. I threw some OO (not EVOO, to be honest) on a wok on medium high. Added the chicken cubes, and then some Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce that had survived the move with us. Stir-fried the chicken to completion, and let the OO and Mae Ploy combine into a sauce.

Served up both items -- the chicken was delicious, though rice would have been better than potatoes. I just hadn't really thought the whole thing through. I told him to pretend we were eating fusion cuisine.

[FoodMan]

Friday:

Penne with tuna and tomato sauce. Made it with good solid tuna packed in olive oil.

Saturday:

Chicken Larp, served -very untraditionally I guess- on top of galss noodles that have been tossed with palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce. Topped the whole thing with peanuts and chillies. Maybe untraditional, but it was heavenly.

Dessert: Thousands of miles from Thailand, Southern Spice cake with Thick Caramel frosting. This cake is divine if u like your desserts sweet and love caramel. The thing even gets better with age as I am still eating from it today.

Sunday:

Moghrabiah

Dessert: Per the wife's request, I baked chocolate walnut brownies

Elie

[Susan in FL]

Moghrabiah

It all looks wonderful, but the Moughrabiyah/Moghrabiah has me salivating for it. Is that Israeli couscous? Sorry if I missed that detail in either post. I want to make that...

[Ling]

Spaghettti, your stew looks fabulous and the recipe is so easy! I'll have to try it this week.

I had a fantastic meal last night, at West restaurant in Vancouver.

Terrine of Berkshire Pork, Carrot, Foie Gras, Flat Leaf Parsley, Cauliflower Piccalilli

12 Hour Braised Marinated Veal Breast with Crispy Polenta, Olive, Tomato and Basil Jus

Dark Chocolate Bavaroise with Raspberry

Ganache Swirl Ice Cream and Chocolate Wafers

(And then I ordered a delicious trio of chocolate desserts--white chocolate ice-cream, chocolate parfait with sour cherry sauce, and a banana and dark chocolate cake!)

[FoodMan]

Susan-

check out this thread for more details about this. Very similar to Israeli couscouse but with larger "beads".

Elie

[sadistick]

Some great ideas here guys and gals!!! That indonesian beef stew looks yummy...perfect for the -30 degree temps up here in butt-cold-canada!

Unfortunetly I didnt get to do as much cooking this weekend as I would of liked...

I did make a mushroom butter (great for steaks, risotto, pasta, toasted breads!)

Very easy, I took about a lb of shitake's - cut em in strips, then seared them in a really hot pan, near the end added some salt, pepper, shallots, garlic, and thyme...

Put all that in to a food processor, then added the butter...little lemon juice, salt a pepper...voila!

I want to make some jumbalaya (sp) soon...I will have to look on these boards for a good recipe since I have no clue!

[Susan in FL]

Elie, many thanks for the link to the Couscous thread. I just finished reading it, and now I'm tracking it... so much to learn!

[spaghetttti]

Dinner tonight will probably be the last one I make in the States (til the next trip back) so it's Clear-out-the-fridge lasagna .

Hope y'all like the Indonesian stew, I forgot to include "adjust seasonings and add salt to taste".

Edited January 25, 2005 by spaghetttti (log)

[M. Lucia]

Elie, could you share your recipe for the caramel cake? It sounds like something I'd like.

Sweet Potatoes stuffed with raisins, pecans, and butter

Spinach/ Mandarin Orange salad

more choc. pudding cake

[Jinmyo]

Nice plating, spaghetttti.

Vegetarian menu:

Congee with sliced shitakes, made with a coriander, lemongrass, and green chile broth.

Steamed baby Shanghai bok choy and assorted steamed vegetable (scallion and gai lan, daikon with chile, cress, etc) dumplings with black vinegar.

Grilled pillow tofu on skewers with roasted chile sauce.

Salad of Romaine lettuce and endives with a sesame and lime vinaigrette and sesame tofu strips.

Kimchi pancakes with ten assorted kimchi (purchased from local supplier).

[reesek]

Nice plating, spaghetttti.

Vegetarian menu:

Congee with sliced shitakes, made with a coriander, lemongrass, and green chile broth.

Steamed baby Shanghai bok choy and assorted steamed vegetable (scallion and gai lan, daikon with chile, cress, etc) dumplings with black vinegar.

Grilled pillow tofu on skewers with roasted chile sauce.

Salad of Romaine lettuce and endives with a sesame and lime vinaigrette and sesame tofu strips.

Kimchi pancakes with ten assorted kimchi (purchased from local supplier).

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yum. as usual. jinmyo, is your pancake batter made with rice flour? a friend made korean food the other night and i loved the elasticity of the batter, but it didn't brown as well as pancakes i've had in restaurants...i don't know her full recipe, but wonder if you use a combination of flours...baking powder etc? thanks

also - you note that this kimchee was purchased - do you (all) ever make your own? i've been curious, but don't know anyone who's done it.

my latest...saturday night i made a scallop/apple/watercress starter - inspiration from andy lynes blog. i followed that up with a chicken tikka masala of sorts. i used prepared paste, onion/garlic puree, butter, tomato puree and yogurt. served it with my attempt at polow.

last night made flank steak with pureed cauliflower and a tasty mushroom/red wine sauce.

i also roasted a butternut squash and a bunch of garlic and onions. i simmered all that with some veg. broth and the rest of the apple from the salad the night before. pureed the lot then ran it through a food mill. dinner tonight is either flank steak larb or soup...depending on when rob gets home.

[Susan in FL]

A soup from dried chick peas I cooked today, leftover kale, turkey kielbasa (we're calorie cutting during the week), orzo, etc.

[redfox]

Tonight I went on the cooking-ahead spree I meant to go on yesterday, which means that tonight's actual dinner is a little ad hoc. I think we'll have roasted cauliflower (seasoned with *cough* Spike, mmm!) topped with poached eggs and accompanied by my favorite of many excellent recipes from Suvir Suvan's Indian Home Cooking, the grated carrots with curry leaves, cumin, various other spices and lime juice. It's rapidly becoming a prominent staple at our house -- it keeps well and is so very good cold, easy to make in quantity, and cheap! So nice for suppers that want a little something extra or for brown-bag lunches.

[Jinmyo]

Nice plating, spaghetttti.

Vegetarian menu:

Congee with sliced shitakes, made with a coriander, lemongrass, and green chile broth.

Steamed baby Shanghai bok choy and assorted steamed vegetable (scallion and gai lan, daikon with chile, cress, etc) dumplings with black vinegar.

Grilled pillow tofu on skewers with roasted chile sauce.

Salad of Romaine lettuce and endives with a sesame and lime vinaigrette and sesame tofu strips.

Kimchi pancakes with ten assorted kimchi (purchased from local supplier).

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yum. as usual. jinmyo, is your pancake batter made with rice flour? a friend made korean food the other night and i loved the elasticity of the batter, but it didn't brown as well as pancakes i've had in restaurants...i don't know her full recipe, but wonder if you use a combination of flours...baking powder etc? thanks

also - you note that this kimchee was purchased - do you (all) ever make your own? i've been curious, but don't know anyone who's done it.

Yes, rice flour. Sometimes with barley flour. Browning is generally a matter of heat. Must be hot. But we use a flat top griddle that is just that, a pro griddle. A pan just doesn't do the same thing.

I've made kimchi for many years but these folk are the real deal. They have the stinkiest fish sauce ever and grow their own vegetables so I bow on my knees and press forehead to the floor to their ultimate stinkiness and great vegetables.

Folks. make friends with your Korean grocer, then make friends with their suppliers, then zone in on the kimchi folk.

Actually, my best advice is to just make friends.

That's how you get the best kassler.