Dinner! 2005

[Susan in FL]

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.

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That looks so good! And "Dim-somewhat".... I love it!

[percyn]

Philly Cheesesteak (Wiz Wit)

This is a remake of what we had on Superbowl Sunday.

Topped with sauteed onions and the original cheese topping - Cheesewiz !!

Washed down with some Rouge Morimoto Hazlenut beer.

[His Nibs]

Hmm....

Just finished a delicious dinner of steamed Dungeness Crab.

Bought it alive and kicking at Ranch 99 ($2.99 a pound! with membership of course!)

Butchered it and then steamed it with a ginger/cognac infused solution.

Delish!

Edited February 13, 2005 by His Nibs (log)

[Susan in FL]

Seared Sea Scallops in a Lemongrass Broth

Mixed Grill: Bratwurst, Strip Steak, Hoisin Marinated Duck Legs, and Portobella

White Truffle Risotto

(and there was a side dish of baby carrots with horseradish sauce which didn't make it to the photo)

Store-bought Cream Puffs

Last night the Bud Shootout was on TV, which is the beginning of a series of romantic eat-in-front-of-the-TV dinners. For those who aren't race fans: it is "Speed Weeks" here in the Daytona Beach area. They used to call it "Speed Week," but now it is three weeks or longer of race events, culminating in next Sunday's Daytona 500. Even though we are about five miles from the Speedway, we don't go because we love to watch races on TV. In Florida, for us the first day of spring is Daytona 500 Sunday. Even though the weather has been good enough to eat some meals outside on the porch, we hold out on that until next weekend, and we make it the annual start of our porch season.

As they say unless there are any female drivers in a race... gentlemen, start your engines!

[suzilightning]

speed week(s) - so who are you hoping to see do well at daytona, susan( sorry i'm a watkins glen girl myself). loved the mixed grill, though... i could sink my teeth into that

percyn - cheeze wit not withstanding beautiful(good luck next year)

jin - i now have some new things to work on before johnnybird comes home later this week...merci

still feeling a bit puny but really craved a denver egg sandwich on toasted whole wheat english muffin. john is having some mac and cheese with ham and swiss chard with garlic in order to finish it off before he goes off to ft. lauderdale for the week...

[Behemoth]

jrt, always glad to hear there's another Murakami fan around here

Last night my husband's GA & roommates invited us over to dinner. I must say these students really outclassed most faculty members around here in terms of hosting & cooking skills. Very nice evening. I made my first Ciabatta, but (thanks SethG) I think the dough wasn't wet enough and I may have overkneaded. I feel bread baking is going to be a life-long obsession. There's an intensely satisfying manual "craft" to it that I really miss in my day job. I can't wait to try my next loaf.

Today we had white bean and escarole soup, with particularly good pancetta. Then we went for a run (first time in a LONG time), and now I am eating peanut butter and jelly. I always crave peanut butter after running, for some reason. I am looking forward to losing my midwestern winter pudge. Sigh.

Susan, love the lemongrass broth. It looks like you are getting really fluent with the thai flavors.

[Daniel]

Lamb Burgers with rosemary mustard,brioche, onion, and goat cheese.. Chocolate panna cotta pictures to come hopefully if they are worth it.. Eh, i will post my screw up also i guess

Edit to add:

Made a chocolate panna cotta.. Came out really good however, we just made it a couple of hours ago... We cheated and ate one early.. It will be more firm tomorrow. Used Shcarffenberger bittersweet.. We have had nothing but great results with their chocolate. Amazing! What could be wrong with chocolate, marscopone, heavy cream, and a little gelatin.

Edited February 14, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[bilrus]

I've been one of the sick people this week and haven't been cooking well or eating well. I tried to get back in the swing of things tonight by trying to make something simple and satisfy my craving for cranking up the grill. So I made chicken kabobs. Of course my grill ran out of gas midway through so I had to finish them inside on the grill pan.

I started with a very garlicky marinade and just toasted some store-bought flat breads and threw some onions, lettuce and grape tomatoes on top.

I tried to make a low-fat version of the Lebanese restaurant-style garlic sauce. I ended up throwing low-fat mayo with garlic and lemon juice in the food processor. Turned out OK to put some zing in the sandwich, but obviously not like the real thing (all oil and garlic with a dash of lemon).

[Mooshmouse]

After being sidelined from cooking last night with this horrendous cough, I figured that comfort food was in order for tonight's dinner. A thick and rich beef stew with pureed roasted tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and celery. Served with a sliced mini-loaf of artisanal multi-grain bread for sopping.

Behemoth, you go with that peanut butter and jelly!

Great looking sandwich Bilrus... garlic is good for what ails you. Daniel, sign me up for one of those burgers.

And Susan, your sea scallops in lemongrass broth look and sound delicious.

Get well to all those (including me) feeling less than perfect!

[hathor]

Just worked up the courage to fire up the dial up to see what I've been missing!

Susan: I love eating flowers...I think I may have been a deer in another life. Nasturiums are my favorite, so nice and peppery.

And Cheez Whiz is traditional on a cheese steak...along with copious amounts of grease.

Yesterday for lunch we had some delicious tortellini in brodo, followed by a salad of arugula, sliced blood oranges and a little bit of breasola with a raw garlic vinegarette. We had the blood orange/garlic combination at a pizzarea nearby...its an unusual but very good combination. Worth experimenting with.

Dinner was an assortment of salumi and prosciutto and a hunk of semi-dry pecorino.

ciao tutti!

[Susan in FL]

speed week(s) - so who are you hoping to see do well at daytona, susan( sorry i'm a watkins glen girl myself).

Jeffie Baby has been my favorite since his rookie year. At first it was because he was cute, but it continues because he's damn good!

Today we had white bean and escarole soup, with particularly good pancetta. Then we went for a run (first time in a LONG time), and now I am eating peanut butter and jelly. I always crave peanut butter after running, for some reason. I am looking forward to losing my midwestern winter pudge. Sigh.

Welcome back to running! Congratulations. It's interesting what we crave. When my run is coming to an end, I crave a cold fresh orange. Maybe it has something to do with what our bodies need...

Made a chocolate panna cotta.. Came out really good however, we just made it a couple of hours ago... We cheated and ate one early.. It will be more firm tomorrow.  Used Shcarffenberger bittersweet..  We have had nothing but great results with their chocolate.  Amazing! What could be wrong with chocolate, marscopone, heavy cream, and a little gelatin.

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I have some Scharffenberger Natural Cocoa, with nothing added, and have never made panna cotta... Think maybe that could be used? It HAS to taste good!

That's a great idea, looks so good. That will fit into our weekday calorie cutback. Thanks!

I hope you who haven't been feeling well are all better soon, and thanks to all for the kind words on my lemongrass broth and dinner. I worked up enough confidence with Thai to create something Thai-style myself, without a recipe. We were both pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was.

All the meals are looking good! Comfort food has been ruling.

I love eating flowers...I think I may have been a deer in another life.

That is funny. I love them too. I'm going to be picturing that in my head next time we eat some.

Photo coming soon... Nasturtium leaves were a major ingredient in our salad last night.

Hathor, I love to eat like the lunch and dinner you described.

[pattimw]

this was a great cooking weekend for me. Did a lot of cooking from cookbooks.

Sat night's dinner-

Roasted pork tenderloin with wine, fennel, rosemary, and bayleaf (from Jamie Oliver)

Roasted Potato Galette with Thyme

Frisee Salad with Sage Croutons (both from Amanda Hesser's The cook and the Gardener)

Argyle 2003 Pinot Noir (my new favorite Pinot, and can be obtained from Costco at a great price )

prepped dinner while watching "le Divorce" - anyone else watch movies while cooking? I set up my laptop and some small speakers in the kitchen. It's fun, since our kitchen is so separate from other rooms and I need to keep myself company.

Sunday night - Dh and I celebrated Valentine's Day.

All recipes from Andrea Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine

Warm Crispy Goat Cheese Canapes (sliced goat cheese and breaded with crumbs, sauteed and served atop melba toast, topped with a slice of sun dried tomato)

Voss 2003 Sauvignon Blanc

Churrasco Style Steak - rib eye marinated in paprika, cumin, garlic, cayenne, parsley, olive oil, and sherry vinegar, then grilled

Creamed Spinach

Spicy Fruited Couscous (couscous cooked with a curry powder, then pine nuts, diced apricots, and cranberries and cilantro stirred in)

J Vineyards Brut Rose (never knew steak and rose sparkling wine would be such an amazing combination, but the wine was perfect with the spiciness and enhanced the steak, rather than drowning it in a strong, tannic Cabernet)

Dow's Late Vintage Bottled Port -1997

homemade truffles made with Valhrona and chambord

[sadistick]

Well, saturday night I decided to try my hand at Beef Bourginon, which turned out fantastic, however, I took some ideas from Bourdain's recipe, and I wouldnt add water, I would put in more wine...as the wine flavor was there, but not prevelent enough for my taste...but it was sooo yummy...served with some EVOO mashed potatoes

Sunday was having boys over for the Pro Bowl, so I whipped up a big batch of chili, nice and spicey! I actually used Chocolate in it, which really rounded out the flavor nicely, and cut the harshess of the spice quite well!

[Daniel]

Made a chocolate panna cotta.. Came out really good however, we just made it a couple of hours ago... We cheated and ate one early.. It will be more firm tomorrow.  Used Shcarffenberger bittersweet..  We have had nothing but great results with their chocolate.  Amazing! What could be wrong with chocolate, marscopone, heavy cream, and a little gelatin.

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I have some Scharffenberger Natural Cocoa, with nothing added, and have never made panna cotta... Think maybe that could be used? It HAS to taste good!

I dont really know.. Not if its unsweatened.

Edited February 14, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[jmcgrath]

Inspired by a Tapas article in the NYT, "Dining In" section 12/29/04, Linda and I had a Tapas potluck today. We invited three other couples and asked each to bring three Tapas, with an emphasis that the portions should be small, only a few forkfulls per person. we started out with

Olives, roasted peppers, marinated artichoke hearts (NYT) and mellon with prosuitto.

We had crab balls

Baby potatoes with saffron mayonaise (NYT)

Beef

Beans

Shrimp

Scallops wrapped in pasta, sangria

and, frozen mango souffle for dessert

[Susan in FL]

It seems that a lot of our recent dinners have had stories to go with them. This is one I want to share with you, too.

Since Russ and I have been together, 20-some years, I have been meaning to make him steak and kidney pie. He hadn't had it since he was stationed in England, way before we knew each other. So after all these years, the time came last night. He really liked it. So did I, more than I expected to. Here it is, in progress.

The salad to go with it was strawberry, Stilton, and still more nasturtiums.

And the final presentation... with mashers and peas, but of course.

[Chufi]

That's a very tasty looking steak & kidney pie Susan! What kind of crust did you make for that?

Today I made stamppot, a traditional Dutch dish that consists of potatoes and.. anything you might want to mash into them

This one is made with raw belgian endive, sauteed spring onions and chopped hardboiled eggs. Topped with chorizo and bacon gravy.

[SeaGal]

It seems that a lot of our recent dinners have had stories to go with them.  This is one I want to share with you, too.

Since Russ and I have been together, 20-some years, I have been meaning to make him steak and kidney pie.  He hadn't had it since he was stationed in England, way before we knew each other.  So after all these years, the time came last night.  He really liked it.  So did I, more than I expected to.  Here it is, in progress.

Susan: What a nice gift for your Valentine. It looks wonderful. I'd love to make this for my guy. Would you care to share your recipe or point me to it's source?

Jan

Edited February 14, 2005 by SeaGal (log)

[M. Lucia]

1 lb extra firm tofu $ 0.75

1 bunch snow peas $1.18

1 container mushrooms $1

a quick and satisfying dinner: priceless

I marinated the tofu (from chinatown) in some soysauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic. Then I stir fryed the tofu, mushrooms and snowpeas over high heat and added the marinated the make a sauce. Fast and good.

Dessert will be marble cheesecake.

[Susan in FL]

That's a very tasty looking steak & kidney pie Susan! What kind of crust did you make for that?

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I cannot tell a lie. "Pillsbury Pie Crust New! Just Unroll!"

Just kidding about not wanting to tell that... I make no claims of being a baker of any kind. It was good crust. I brushed it with milk and put sea salt and freshly ground pepper on it before putting it in the oven.

MMMMmmmm that stamppot looks yummy. That is new to me.

I'd love to make this for my guy.  Would you care to share your recipe or point me to it's source?

Jan

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I am happy to do that... will be back with it shortly.

Tonight, farfalle pasta with:

I roasted halved grape tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, crushed red pepper, and S&P; added some fresh oregano after taking it out of the oven; added kalamata olives, capers, and reserved pasta cooking water when mixing it with the pasta; and sprinkled toasted pine nuts on top just before serving.

Excellent quick and easy dinner!

[Behemoth]

Seared lamb chops -- local grass fed, raised for 4H. Amazing. Pan deglazed with shallots, wine, mustard, a little butter. Fried eggplant slices with aioli & a little parsley. Nice and quick.

edit: oops.

Edited February 15, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[Jake]

Valentines dinner:

Breadsticks and 24 mth old parma proscuitto to start with champagne.

Followed by pan seared elk tenderloin with a pan jus (wine, demi, butter) with roasted russet potatos in duck fat, maple glazed carrots with frizzled leek and teeny tiny baby bok choy in citrus butter. (The bok choy was in the fridge we're leaving on vacances and I wanted to use it up. It went surprisingly well with the dinner mostly due to the fact that they were very small, and very sweet.)

Dessert later will be simple -- some wonderful white nectarines, some chocolate for the guy, a cup of chai tea for me....

[scd98]

Lentil soup with leeks and tomatoes. Served with toast.

Edited February 15, 2005 by scd98 (log)

[bilrus]

Chinese Chicken Salad with Red Chile Peanut Dressing , a recipe from everyone's favorite Iron Chef - Bobby Flay.

The recipe seems like a mess but it comes together pretty well.

[Ling]

Vacherin Mont-d'Or with scallion walnut bread

braised lamb shanks

chocolate ganache cakes