Dinner! 2005

[Susan in FL]

I've been taking in the views of everyone's dinners, and in awe of all of them, and slacking off in giving shots of mine.

Back at it tonight...

1st course plain and simple, and very delicious, we had wonderful prosciutto Parma and warm bread and butter.

I found a tri-tip in Florida! Publix had some, and with it we enjoyed Rebel Rose's Gorgonzola Potatoes. That would be from Mary Baker's cookbook, Fresh From Dover Canyon. I also followed the idea of her Asparagus in White Truffle Oil, except no Prosciutto because we had that first off.

Salad was avocado on mixed baby greens, tomatoes, etc. etc. etc.

Dessert was some goodies I got at the bakery from the store where I got the prosciutto.

[Susan in FL]

Catching up on some recent good dinners...

The Beaujolais Nouveau Dinner Thursday night:

Another night we had pinto beans and spare ribs, oven cooked the Russ Parsons no-soak-ahead way, and kale.

And another was Spaghettini with Potatoes, Sage, and Gorgonzola.

[hzrt8w]

Here is my main feature tonight: Lemon Chicken (Chinese style). Eat with lots of rice and some vegetables, of course.

I love Lemon Chicken. In China, Lemon Chicken is made with a whole chicken (skin and bones). In USA, most Lemon Chicken dishes are made with boneless chicken breasts only. In most of the Chinese restaurants that I ordered this dish, either they used too much batter, or that the lemon sauce had very little lemon flavor but lot of yellow coloring. I decided to make this with only a thin crust using corn starch, egg and breadcrumbs. The lemon sauce? Very simple... just use lemonade and reduce it, mix it with some real lemon juice and some sugar. Pour on top of the shallow-fried and chopped chicken.

For a step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to make this dish, click here.

[Daniel]

Looks really lovely Susan.. I really like those pots, are they cast iron...

Edited November 20, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Susan in FL]

Thank you Daniel, yes. Those two are our largest skillet and our Dutch oven. They are very well seasoned. I love cooking with cast iron.

[avocado]

Late-autumn dinner party for 5:

Chuck roast, braised all day in the Crock-Pot with carrot, celery, onion and Herbes de Provence; Yukon Gold garlic mashed potatoes; my special Brussels sprouts with bacon and orange glaze. For dessert, chai-spiced rice pudding and warm Tom and Jerrys. Perfect. At one point, my friend looked up from her pot roast, closed her eyes, and said quietly, "Mmmm, I am so happy right now." Couldn't ask for better praise than that!

[Susan in FL]

At one point, my friend looked up from her pot roast, closed her eyes, and said quietly, "Mmmm, I am so happy right now." Couldn't ask for better praise than that!

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You are so right. That is the ultimate compliment. Don't you just love it when that happens...

[Megan Blocker]

Wow, Susan - those dinners look amazing. The salad made me salivate!

Klary, hope you feel better soon - that meal did sound really good, and there's nothing worse than your food tasting off.

[Chufi]

still battling my cold so I can say I had an extremely lazy Sunday.. the only thing I did was cook a simple dinner for friends that were coming over..

starting with the last jar of terrine we brought back from France earlier this year, some gherkins and some Passensale cheese

I was inspired by snowangels Venison thread to make ome of my favorite braises, venison braised with port and beetroot

on the plate with celeriac gratin with walnuts and gorgonzola, and pumpkin/potato mash with garlic and sage

dessert: apple pie (shown after we had already devoured most of it )

[rooftop1000]

Tonight we had what we alternately call burritos or fahitas because it contains ingrediants for Both. Skirt steak marinated with worster, lime and Franks hot sauce pan seared...sauteed portabello mushrooms and onions...fresh guacamole...raw onions...tomatoes...lettuce...refried beans...cheese...salsa and warm flour tortillas. Put this whole mess on the table and roll your own

tracey

[Susan in FL]

Wow! Freezing gumbo does nothing but improve it, or at least so was the case for us tonight. Russ fixed dinner, which was heating up leftover frozen gumbo (which he made) from the end of July, and cooking rice and the fresh kale we still had on hand. This was wonderful! With it was Shiraz and the (last of the NASCAR season ) race in Homestead, FL.

Here it was the first time around!

[snowangel]

the (last of the NASCAR season ) race in Homestead, FL.

Diana and Paul mourned with chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers. I am celebrating because I will once again have a family on Sunday afternoons!

[Megan Blocker]

Tonight my little baby brother (ok, he's 23 and a good 9 inches taller, but whatever) came over for dinner. We had Klary's chicken braised in butter (DELICIOUS!!!), a leek, turnip and potato mash (good, not great - should have stuck with the parsnips!), and peas with butter. Pure comfort food.

I didn't get any pics of dinner (Jer likes to dig right in), but here's a photo of the potatoes I used in the mash...made a very successful visit to the farmer's market this afternoon!

For dessert, I made the same apple tart I made for the puff pastry party a few weeks ago - Jer was feeling left out, because I made it when he was in Scotland, so I did it again (with some of the pastry I had frozen) and sent him home with the leftovers. Again, no pics, but here are the apples I used!

[FoodMan]

I’ve never made Paella at home. Recently my father-in-law returned from a business trip to Mexico with a nice Spanish, about 18 inch, cast iron Paella (the pan) for me. So today was the day, the in-laws came over and I made my first Paella ever. I used Paula Wolfert’s recipe from her wonderful “Slow Mediterranean Kitchen”. I just used Texas Redfish instead of Tuna. The dish also had mussels, shrimp and artichoke hearts.

The mise for the Paella: fish and shrimp, mussels (already steamed in white wine), the base sauce (tomato, saffron, ancho chile, smoked paprika and garlic), scallions, Bomba rice from Spain and the artichoke quarters.

....Just added the rice

I was a little concerned that the rice was no going to cook in time but it turned out stunning both visually and taste-wise, served in the middle of our dining table. I am happy to say that there was virtually no leftovers. I actually planned on taking a “bite” pic a la Daniel, but again I forgot .

Dessert: Savarin with rum and cinnamon spiked syrup and chocolate whipped cream. Served with extra Rum on the side....Divine!

[Daniel]

Awesome foodman!!! Such a great photo.. I would take a Texas Redfish over a tuna in paella any day..

[FoodMan]

Awesome foodman!!! Such a great photo.. I would take a Texas Redfish over a tuna in paella any day..

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Thank you! Tuna was way overpriced and of questionable quality. The redfish was cleaned and filleted the minute I picked it. I made the stock from the head and bones

[Zucchini Mama]

Here is my main feature tonight: Lemon Chicken (Chinese style).  Eat with lots of rice and some vegetables, of course.

I love Lemon Chicken. In China, Lemon Chicken is made with a whole chicken (skin and bones). In USA, most Lemon Chicken dishes are made with boneless chicken breasts only. In most of the Chinese restaurants that I ordered this dish, either they used too much batter, or that the lemon sauce had very little lemon flavor but lot of yellow coloring.  I decided to make this with only a thin crust using corn starch, egg and breadcrumbs.  The lemon sauce?  Very simple... just use lemonade and reduce it, mix it with some real lemon juice and some sugar.  Pour on top of the shallow-fried and chopped chicken. 

For a step-by-step pictorial instructions on how to make this dish, click here.

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Thanks for the pointers Leung,

Lemon chicken is one of my childhood favorite comfort foods.

Zuke

[DaleJ]

I think that paella pic would make a great jigsaw puzzle!

[dockhl]

I think that paella pic would make a great jigsaw puzzle!

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DaleJ~

I have a program (BrainsBreaker) that makes jigsaw puzzles for your computer out of photos. I can send you this one if you'd like (anyone else who wants one, too, of course !). This one did come out very well

pm me....

Kathy

[Basilgirl]

Friday night my sister came over to spend the night. We (she) made white pizzas with tapenade, garlic/rosemary/sage/red pepper flakes/olive oil, fontina, aged provolone, mozzarella, genoa salami and garlic-stuffed olives. Salty and garlicky! We had Sierra Nevadas and Beck's while we (she) made the pies, and some Pinot Grigio called Voga (?) in a cool bottle that looks like a bong.

Saturday night I didn't have anything

Last night I made hot Italian sausage and lentil soup from the latest Best American recipe book, with Italian bread topped with olive oil and melted provolone.

[eje]

No real "cooking" involved.

A coworker brought me a fresh dungeness crab he caught himself off point bonita. Surprising amount of meat on it! Last week the folks I buy mangos from at the farmers' market told me they were gone for the year. Figured I would introduce the mangos and crab while their seasons were briefly overlapping.

Thai style salad with first of the season dungeness crab and last of the season mangos.

Yum!

[Alinka]

Can I set this as wallpaper on my desktop? Beautifully plated, beautifully photographed. The colors are so delicate but elegant, and the asparagus reminds me of ballerina's arms for some reason . The food looks delicious; I think the potatoes are very buttery and soft.

[Chufi]

Took a bunch of chickenbones from the freezer and made some stock. Infused it with loads of chillies, lemon grass, ginger, garlic, galangal. Strained and added coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice. A creamy white soup that looked dull but had a great kick to it - lovely, fragrant and spicy.

Also on the table.. noodle salad with the leftovers from Saturdays roast chicken. Flavored with shallots, ginger, garlic, lime leaves, chillies. Loads of chillies. Lots of chopped mint and coriander. Extra chili paste added to the bowl while eating.

Now if all of that doesn't clear up my sinuses, I don't know what will

[M. Lucia]

Last night I made one of my all time favorite soups:

Chestnut Soup with Armagnac Prunes.

I simplify the original recipe, and it is still outstanding. The house had this lovely mapley-woodsy smell to it.

Served with some rye toast and followed by some comte cheese.

Oh and Susan, the dark bread you were looking for (I think in the breakfast thread). Is it thinly sliced like the Mestermacher brand you buy here?

[Megan Blocker]

It's clean out the fridge night here! Dinner was penne with a quick sauce of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, fresh basil and fresh chives. On the side, a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and basil, with a champagne-shallot vinaigrette.

Edited November 22, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)