Dinner! 2005

[Jinmyo]

Dial-up.

/shudder

[NulloModo]

Inspired by the Cookoff III Thread, last night's dinner was Gumbo:

[Jinmyo]

Roasted tomatoes with faba beans and artichoke hearts and crostini.

Roasted asparagus with balsamico and slices of Meyer lemon and grated pecorino.

Tortellini with ricotta in a chicken soup with red onion, celery, and collard greens.

Sautéed cardoons (boiled first, then egg and then gram flour) with chickpeas, walnuts, and a few slices of lamb rack.

Caccitore piquante salumi "medallions" with slices of mozz topped with a purple basil leaf and a shaving of parm.

[spaghetttti]

Everyone had their own activities to tend to, so I enjoyed dinner alone. Tofu frittata with chopped cucumbers & bean sprouts dressed witha roasted peanut, shallot & garlic sauce topped with golden fried garlic flakes.

[suzilightning]

wow- some beautiful food though susan in fl's chicken sounds especially good and that tofu frittata may just send me into the kitchen to make some basic eggs...

got sent home from work as being "contagious"(started sneezing a tiny head cold but the powers that be are ruthless this year and your supervisor has the power to send you home). no real appetite but have been drinking red grapefruit juice and seltzer, earl grey and made some foccacia with garlic, sea salt and fresh herbs for john when he gets home.

[M. Lucia]

finger food served as dinner:

sage derby cheese

steamed asparagus with lemon

smoked tofu cubes

mini walnut boule

[Susan in FL]

Yetty, that looks delicious! ...not to mention what a beautiful photo it is.

Hope you get feeling better soon, Suzi. If I could, I would bring you homemade chicken soup from last night's leftovers.

[Bella S.F.]

Had the day off yesterday for Asian New Year. As we finished one meal I was planning or starting on the other. (Do you ever drive anyone crazy talking about the next meal while still eating one?)

For breakfast bagels, chive cream cheese, sliced sweet purple onion, sliced cucumber, and really good Canadian wild smoked salmon.

Lunch, had leftover oven roasted potato wedges. I cut them up, made a hash in a big cast iron skillet with the potatoes, onion wedges, and slices of orange cranberry sausage.

Dinner was a pot of chicken chili with a really flavorful broth with Monterey Jack cheese melted through at the end. (It is not like cheese melted in a soup; it becomes one with the broth. Throw some sliced scallions and diced avocado on top. Yum!

None of the meals celebrated Asian New Year, I just realized. I will have to do something about that this weekend.

[Susan in FL]

I don't know what I was more excited about tonight, how the ravioli turned out or the edible flowers we picked from our garden! This year they have been thriving better than any I've planted. They are as full of color as they look in the photo.

I had never made ravioli with the wonton wrapper thingies before. I was surprised at how good they were. This was pork chops and vegetable filled ravioli, with cider-sage cream sauce underneath, and salad of mixed greens and salami on top of a crouton. Good dinner!

Edited February 11, 2005 by Susan in FL (log)

[spaghetttti]

Suzi, get well soon!

Susan, absolutely stunning! It's dreary & rainy here in Java, your dinner really brightened up my day! Thanks

Edited February 11, 2005 by spaghetttti (log)

[DTBarton]

Fried oysters chinese style. I ripped off the presentation from a great Chinese restaurant that unfortunately is no more in my former home town of Hampton, VA, the Ming Gate.

Crisp fried oysters served on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. Dress the whole thing with an asian dressing of soy sauce, some brown vinegar and rice wine vinegar, a little fish sauce, a little fresh diced garlic and ginger and a nice healthy dose of diced chile peppers and cilantro. Make the dressing early in the day, it gets better and better. One of my favorites and the Chesapeake Bay oysters were really good (not a given, sometimes they're watery). The texture in this dish is fantastic.

[DTBarton]

Fried oysters chinese style.  I ripped off the presentation from a great Chinese restaurant that unfortunately is no more in my former home town of Hampton, VA, the Ming Gate.

Crisp fried oysters served on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce.  Dress the whole thing with an asian dressing of soy sauce, some brown vinegar and rice wine vinegar, a little fish sauce, a little fresh diced garlic and ginger and a nice healthy dose of diced chile peppers and cilantro.  Make the dressing early in the day, it gets better and better.  One of my favorites and the Chesapeake Bay oysters were really good (not a given, sometimes they're watery).  The texture in this dish is fantastic.

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I forgot to mention, the dressing needs a shot of sesame oil (hot or not as you please) for viscosity. So Solly!

[Jinmyo]

Chinese long beans cut into six inch lengths, tossed in taramasalata made with Meyer lemon juice and topped with chives and salmon roe.

Oyster mushroom strips sauteed with curry leaves placed in a clear mushroom consomme (made with collected soaking liquor from reconsituting porcini used to simmer shitake and hua gu stems, strained, seasoned, thickened with demi glace).

Pakoras with a thick yogurt and green chile dipping sauce.

Deep-fried panko breaded "tandoori" chicken thighs, spritzed with lime, with a salad of small red potatoes and scallions with an aioli and asiago dressing.

Cheese course/"pizza" things: Cubes of paneer melted on small naan with a smear of roasted tomato chutney with much black pepper, garnished with a few sprigs of coriander.

[Ben Hong]

Jin, is you middle name "fusion"? Your menu is one of the reasons that I come on this board. You've given me some great ideas.

[Jinmyo]

Hi Ben. My middle name is Rose.

Thank you. That's why I post: in case something is useful to someone.

[Behemoth]

Hi Ben. My middle name is Rose.

Dude, so's mine! Best middle name ever. And I also made paneer pizzas with a tomato chutney once. But I think that's about where the similarity ends. (I will treasure these brief encounters with greatness, though... )

I didn't cook for the last two nights, though I really wanted to. But I did prepare my biga for Ciabatta last night, so it wasn't a total loss.

[Milt]

I enjoy reading these posts for many reasons. I am a rank amateur when it comes to cooking, but it is enjoyable - and I am learning. Here is where I am reminded constantly that dinner does not need to come from a mix. It also does not need to be picked up on the way home. Most of the people we know eat much more simply than we do. I like to think that they don't eat nearly as well, either. I try to balance nutrition, health concerns, and taste. It doesn't matter how high in fiber or low in fat the dish is if no one eats it.

As a rank amateur, I suspect that there are many others like myself who only dream of being able to prepare the dishes so beautifully illustrated here. The series of posts if full of dreams and goals for me. In the meantime, I do prepare a winner from time to time. I like to think that this is occurring more frequently now. In my dreams, my son tells me. Just the same, this morning he asked me to add last night's dessert to the "ok to repeat" list. He doesn't do that very often.

For the other amateurs among us, last night's dinner was chicken and dumplings from a Weight Watchers cookbook. Salad was iceberg lettuce with shredded carrots and a little red cabbage with a choice of three bottled dressings, along with croutons and almond slivers. The dessert came from the internet a couple of days ago. It consisted of cherry pie filling, shredded coconut, flour (I slipped in a couple of teaspoons of soy flour), and margarine.

Tonight's dinner will be identical to last night's - then start again. The plan next is to do a brisket, along with a Cooking Light dish of tortellini, corn and grape tomatoes. Both of these are from that short "ok to repeat" list.

[therdogg]

Hi Ben. My middle name is Rose.

Dude, so's mine! Best middle name ever. And I also made paneer pizzas with a tomato chutney once. But I think that's about where the similarity ends.

Well, you also both used to be vegetarians.

[Behemoth]

Hi Ben. My middle name is Rose.

Dude, so's mine! Best middle name ever. And I also made paneer pizzas with a tomato chutney once. But I think that's about where the similarity ends.

Well, you also both used to be vegetarians.

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Oh, I didn't know that. She was also the only person I know to have heard of Junichiro Tanizaki. Maybe she is my (better at cooking, not to mention wittier) alter ego. Or perhaps, she is a daydream of eGullet members, come to life. I think my blood sugar may be getting low right now, I am starting to get loopy. I need some toast.

[therdogg]

[she was also the only person I know to have heard of Junichiro Tanizaki. Maybe she is my (better at cooking, not to mention wittier) alter ego. .

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You've heard of those studies of identical twins, separated at birth who have uncanny traits in common once adults? Maybe it's time to pm each other photos. Hmmm....

[zeitoun]

She was also the only person I know to have heard of Junichiro Tanizaki.

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Sorry for going off topic here:

You are the only fellow country(wo)man I ever met who knows his work!! I loved the Makioka Sisters

[Behemoth]

This deserves a whole new thread

(After I run a few errands though )

[M. Lucia]

Inspired by Chufi's Belgian fries, I am making Cook's Illustrated oven fries (or a version thereof), a good dose of starch and salt. A big plate of pan-seared brussel sprouts and shallots alongside, some briny black olives and 2001 Powers Chardonnay.

(I will have to look up Mr. Tanizaki)

[Jinmyo]

Some Prefer Nettles.

[Behemoth]

Dim-somewhat. Scallion pancakes, pan-fried dumplings with mushrooms & cellophane noodles, blanched baby bok choy with a little soy and sesame oil (I'd run out of oyster sauce) and egg drop soup. Oh, and beer. We watched BBC news. RIP Arthur Miller.

Sorry about the weird lighting, the spouse ran off with all the dishes so I had to chase him into the (dark) living room with the camera. Yes I felt a little silly.

I see I have a lot of reading to catch up on, I've only read the shadows book and the short stories. I am getting the new Murakami from amazon soon though, so if you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know what happened.