Dinner! 2005

[Megan Blocker]

Gorgeous, Susan. That looks like a delicious meal!

[Sottise]

It was just me for dinner last night, so quick and simple (lazy).

Part 1: Grated potato and courgette smooshed into a pan with the last floppy bits of broccoli, fried into some Frankenstein's monster-esque hashbrown creation. Topped with a fried egg with nicely drippy yolk.

Part 2: Sweet chili prawns with oyster sauce. The BF hates having to peel shrimp and whines when I make the heads-on unpeeled variety. Fair enough, more for me. Eaten at the sink, with various veiny bits going to the cat who was studiously attempting to climb up my leg.

Part 3: Memphis Meltdown 'Big Nuts' - huge wodge of icecream and caramel onna stick, covered in chocolate and nut chunks. Considering I was shouted pizza for lunch, this makes me something of a sinner. Oh well, lots of veges tonight.

[Chufi]

Oh great minds.............. lol!

←

Hee hee! I totally forgot about your penne, Wendy! So true, so true. We ARE great!

←

Hey girls.. I had penne carbonara on Tuesday!

I cooked it with a friend at his house (and showed him how to make carbonara without cream). We also tossed some rucola into it to pretend that we were eating a healthy dinner

I think I have come to prefer penne carbonara to spaghetti carbonara actually.

Here's a simple dinner that was so unexpectedly good that i have to share it, even if the pics aren't that great.

I was thinking that my Dutch applepaste would work great in a salad dressing, sort of like pomegranate juice.. and it did..watercress salad with smoked chicken, walnuts, apples, and the applepaste dressing:

and a celeriac fritata. Chunks of celeriac were roasted first, then cooked with the eggs.. there was also smoked bacon in it and a little bit of parmesan.. oh sooo good... I love celeriac

[avocado]

Oh great minds.............. lol!

←

Hee hee! I totally forgot about your penne, Wendy! So true, so true. We ARE great!

←

Hey girls.. I had penne carbonara on Tuesday!

←

I had penne carbonara TWICE last week! It's the perfect dinner for one after a long day at work. In a big bowl, hunk of bread, so comforting....

[Priscilla]

Oh great minds.............. lol!

←

Hee hee! I totally forgot about your penne, Wendy! So true, so true. We ARE great!

←

Hey girls.. I had penne carbonara on Tuesday!

←

I had penne carbonara TWICE last week! It's the perfect dinner for one after a long day at work. In a big bowl, hunk of bread, so comforting....

←

OK I know I didn't use penne, and I know I didn't post a picture, but I did have pasta carbonara this week too, AND Sangiovese! Doesn't that count for SOMEthing?

Last evening a very good pantry dinner, pasta carbonara.  If pantry can be assumed to include fridge, of course.  Beautiful crisp salad of autumn spring mix with the welcome seasonal increase in frisee, and LBB soudough with saltylicious Tillamook butter.  The Sangiovese again that the wine store guy recommended the other week.

←

[Daniel]

[

and a celeriac fritata. Chunks of celeriac were roasted first, then cooked with the eggs.. there was also smoked bacon in it and a little bit of parmesan.. oh sooo good... I love celeriac

←

Oh my goodness that looks good Chufi..

Edited December 2, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[little ms foodie]

[

and a celeriac fritata. Chunks of celeriac were roasted first, then cooked with the eggs.. there was also smoked bacon in it and a little bit of parmesan.. oh sooo good... I love celeriac

←

Oh my goodness that looks good Chufi..

←

yes it does, but it isn't penne carbanara and I think that is what this thread is all about right?

[Lori in PA]

No carbonara here, I'm afraid, but I did make a great sorta French braised chicken leg quarters with vinegar and tarragon and cream. (I had trouble making myself stop eating the sauce.)

[Chufi]

yes it does, but it isn't penne carbanara and I think that is what this thread is all about right?   

←

well, it does have bacon, eggs and parmesan.. I don't suppose we could call it celeriac carbonara??

[daniellewiley]

yes it does, but it isn't penne carbanara and I think that is what this thread is all about right?   

Are you all using the same Carbonara recipe? Cooking every night just for myself and my daughter, I'd love to join the Carbonara crew. She will eat any type of creamy pasta, and I'm trying to wean her off of the Annie's microwaved variety!!!

[Daniel]

yes it does, but it isn't penne carbanara and I think that is what this thread is all about right?   

Are you all using the same Carbonara recipe? Cooking every night just for myself and my daughter, I'd love to join the Carbonara crew. She will eat any type of creamy pasta, and I'm trying to wean her off of the Annie's microwaved variety!!!

←

Something makes me very happy, I dont know what Annie's microwaved variety means..

Edited December 3, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Megan Blocker]

I don't know if we're all using the same recipe (perhaps by accident!). Mine is a single-serving deal, so you might want t expand on it!

I let an egg sit out until it's room temp, then whisk it in a small bowl and add between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of finely grated parmaggiano, and mix that together. Set it aside...then I use about a scant 1/4 cup of slab bacon chopped into 1/4 by 1-inch slices and render that in a small skillet, until all the good fat is out and the bacon is crisp but not too done.

Then (and this is not totally traditional), I remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and put it at the bottom of a big bowl. I cook down a little bit of onion (maybe two to three tablespoons) and garlic (1 small clove) in the bacon fat, then add that to the bowl.

Meanwhile, I'm cooking the pasta to al dente. I reserve some cooking water, just in case I need to loosen the sauce at all. Then, drain the pasta, add to the big bowl, and pour the egg/cheese mixture on top. Mix it all together quickly (I use salad spoons for this!) until creamy...add pasta cooking water if needed, and season with tons of black pepper and more cheese.

Yum. Totally easy, and faster than some packaged mac and cheese recipes. The best part about this is that I do not need to chop a ton of stuff, because the German market across the street from my apartment sells little vacuum-packed packages of chopped slab bacon!

Edited December 3, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[percyn]

Susan...that lamb looks good. A few days ago, I too made lamb for dinner.

Lamb ribs (not from chops) 3 ways: (from the top) Tandoori style, Teriyaki glazed and Dry rub based. Each had their individual taste, but I prefered the dry rub and tandoori ones.

Also made some beef ribs (with dry rub)

Dinner sometime this week also included

Crab Cakes

Chinese Bun stuffed with minced pork(?)

[Daniel]

Marvelous.. I sir, am full of marvel at the marvels you have prepared.. Those lambs ribs look just perfect.. I felt my left arm go to reach out to grab that last rib.. It is now very sad to learn it was a photo..

Edited December 3, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

Beautiful, percyn!

[Susan in FL]

That lamb does look wonderful.

Megan, that is very similar to how I make it. About saving pasta cooking water, I have developed a habit of that, no matter what I'm cooking pasta for or whether I even use it. It's always available if sauce needs to be more liquidy.

Last night we ate Pizza and drank Yuengling from tap when we were out for Happy Hour.

[little ms foodie]

I make my carbanara just like Megan said only I don't use any onions or garlic. It is so fast and easy.

Last night a real dinner cooked on my new gas range! I've never had one before so I am learning it's heat, etc.

First up latka's with creme fraiche and caviar (fried in duck fat!). This was done as part of the cook off! We had Lillet blanc with these

Then pork chops on a bed of skillet corn with bacon and onion. Served with an 02 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Dessert was an Artesa Merlot from Napa and Fauchon coffee carmels

Edited December 3, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[noambenami]

Had some friends over for dinner last night.

Amuse:

Riseling polenta with balsamic maple

First course:

Celery root soup with toasted buckwheat and sunflower seeds

Main:

Butternut squash ravioli with brown butter-tomato-root vegetable caramel

Dessert:

Meyer lemon-chocolate mousse on lime-riesling gelee

Meyer lemon creme brulee

Homemade vanilla marshmallows

[little ms foodie]

absolutely gorgeous!!! ^^^

[M. Lucia]

^ What a lovely dinner!

It is nice to see some vegetarian fare here!

Dinner here was spinach, pea and red pepper timbales, radish/lettuce salad and potato bread

Dessert: milk chocolate ice cream and glaceed chestnuts (both homemade)

[Adrienne Carmack]

I've been reading this post with envy all week, wishing I had time to cook a real meal. Finally, today. Just something quick and simple for my husband and I. I'm cooking out of Ted Allen's cookbook, which, incidentally, I bought at the same time I bought Turning the Tables (and later learned of eGullet).

We had tuna tartare and sesame peanut noodles. The tuna was amazingly easy and tasted just like the stuff I've had at great restaurants (which makes sense, I guess, if you're both using great tuna). It was so soft and delicious. Mmmmm... I really can't believe it turned out so good. I guess the quote I have at the bottom is even more true than I thought.

And the noodles with it were great. I served the two together from the cookbook cause they had the same seasonings and they turned out to be a great pair. But in the cookbook he recommends wines with each dish, and one he rec'd for the tuna was a "very dry Riesling" and, for the noodles, a Riesling Kabinett. We happened to have a 2004 Oppenheimer Schloss Bacchus Kabinett on hand, so tried it with this. Delicious with both! The initally sweet Kabinett actually tasted more dry with the food.

Dinner was a storebought lime ricotta poundcake, which wasn't quite as good as it sounded, but good enough considering. It also happened to go well with the wine and brought out some citrus flavors.

Tomorrow, we're having my Hungarian pot roast (a recipe from a friend's Hungarian mother) because we have a 1992 Portuguese red that we need to drink and my husband thought the roast would be perfect. We'll see...

[Susan in FL]

I've been reading this post with envy all week, wishing I had time to cook a real meal. Finally, today. Just something quick and simple for my husband and I. I'm cooking out of Ted Allen's cookbook, which, incidentally, I bought at the same time I bought Turning the Tables (and later learned of eGullet).

We had tuna tartare and sesame peanut noodles. The tuna was amazingly easy and tasted just like the stuff I've had at great restaurants (which makes sense, I guess, if you're both using great tuna). It was so soft and delicious. Mmmmm... I really can't believe it turned out so good. I guess the quote I have at the bottom is even more true than I thought.

And the noodles with it were great. I served the two together from the cookbook cause they had the same seasonings and they turned out to be a great pair. But in the cookbook he recommends wines with each dish, and one he rec'd for the tuna was a "very dry Riesling" and, for the noodles, a Riesling Kabinett. We happened to have a 2004 Oppenheimer Schloss Bacchus Kabinett on hand, so tried it with this. Delicious with both! The initally sweet Kabinett actually tasted more dry with the food.

Dinner was a storebought lime ricotta poundcake, which wasn't quite as good as it sounded, but good enough considering. It also happened to go well with the wine and brought out some citrus flavors.

Tomorrow, we're having my Hungarian pot roast (a recipe from a friend's Hungarian mother) because we have a 1992 Portuguese red that we need to drink and my husband thought the roast would be perfect. We'll see...

←

That qualifies as a YUM. Welcome Adrienne, a Floridian, to the Dinner! thread!

[Adrienne Carmack]

I forgot to mention the noodles were soba. This was my first time cooking them. So I proceed to open the packet and dump it straight into the boiling water. And then I saw that there were three bundles of noodles, each wrapped with a little strip of paper in the middle. It was a mad rush to grab the bundles out with my tongs and pull the paper off, but it worked.

[edsel]

Late dinner tonight.

I baked (in a pullman pan) sourdough bread , which took it's sweet time rising:

put a pork loin in the smoker:

Bought some greens at the Asian market this morning. Baby bok choy? I don't read Chinese, so I just buy whatever looks good.

Pork loin comes out of the smoker:

Hope these pictures aren't too big (new camera).

[kiteless]

Thursday it snowed, and called for a comforting soup: coconut milk and chicken broth steeped in galanga, lime leaves, lemongrass and garlic; later I poached in the liquid thinly sliced chicken breast, and to finish added rice noodles and topped with a mixture of mung bean sprouts, julienned english cucumber and cilantro.

Saturday was another cozy meal: salad of parsley, shallots, baby lettuces, english cuke and blue cheese dressing, with sauteed quartered criminis, oven roasted baby yukon golds and more shallots, and a flat iron steak with thyme compound butter.