Dinner! 2005

[Ling]

Mmm...those scallops look lucious!

Tonight I had an avocado with lemon, and a steak (sirloin, seared blue) topped with anchovy butter.

[Jinmyo]

I want to know more about butter-frying tofu. It sounds delectable.

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Not much to it. This is a semi-firm tofu we get fresh from a local supplier. Saute in clarified butter, season with fleur de sel and crushed black pepper, spritz with lime juice and zest. Easy.

The outside of the tofu is crispy but not crunchy, the interior is similiar in texture to a apanese folded omelette.

Family style:

Chowder (clams and oysters in a leek and potato bisque) with saffron; smoked salmon and a spread of ricotta with minced red onion and assorted peppers; pain de Pepin (in-house country bread); roasted plum tomatoes; remoulade.

[Daniel]

This weekend we smoked two turkey breasts and two racks of ribs.. We used our own rub made from Paprika, cumin, a lot of cayenne, white pepper, black pepper, mustard, celery salt, brown sugar, onion, and garlic salt. It was a very spicy rub.. The turkey we put in a brine for 25 hours.. We soaked it in water, salt and our dry rub mixture.. The turkey came out very juicy..

We also made lobster mac and cheese from epicurious.. Here is a picture of the stock.. The final product had crab meat, shrimp and the meat of a two pound lobster.. We used fontina as the cheese.. With all the ingrediants being so good, we were surprised at how mediocre it came.

Another side was smoked gouda mashed potatoes.. This came out really good.

We baked a ciabatta bread for sanwiches for the next day.. It all came out really really good..

And for dessert we made pot de creme. Excellent.

Edited February 1, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[Jake]

Daniel, it all looks wonderful!!! It's making me very, very hungry right about now! Great looking bread, too. Do you bake a lot of bread?

[Daniel]

I dont really bake a ton of bread.. But after buying Beard on Bread and being really disappointed.. I wanted to buy a good bread book.. So i bought the Bread Bakers Apprentice.. The recipes are really comprehensive.. The instructions are easy, with terrific pictures... Its a awesome book.. So far I tried the Ciabatta and the Pizza Dough.. The pizza came out great too...

[Behemoth]

I dont really bake a ton of bread.. But after buying Beard on Bread and being really disappointed.. I wanted to buy a good bread book.. So i bought the Bread Bakers Apprentice.. The recipes are really comprehensive.. The instructions are easy, with terrific pictures... Its a awesome book.. So far I tried the Ciabatta and the Pizza Dough.. The pizza came out great too...

Daniel, that bread looks great. I love that book. I am thinking of trying the ciabatta next weekend, but the idea of accidentally spraying water onto a hot oven light is scary to me -- anyone know of a way to avoid the possibility of shattering the glass? Is there such a thing as heat-proof tape for non-NASA scientists? I saw your thread on the water bath -- maybe I should ask there.

I am currently eating my first meal of the day. It is 1:40 pm. Scary, huh?Croissant and milchcafe though -- very nice. No clue about dinner but it better not involve going to the supermarket.

Edited February 1, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[Daniel]

Wow.. Never even considered the oven light shattering.. In fact, i didnt have a spray bottle so i was just dumping water from a cup along the oven walls.. Wow, i wish you didnt tell me about that.. Now next time i am doomed for sure.

[M. Lucia]

Happy to see a few vegetarian meals up there.

I always prefer my scallops seared, but that picture may have inspired me to change things up.

Tonight:

Spinach curry (onion, tomato, spinach, curry powder, cumin, etc.)

channa dal (the yellow one)

handkerchief bread (like really thin lavash)

and the last of Herme's chocolate mousse

[suzilightning]

everything looks wonderful...

tonight was "date" night though someone came home late and drank too much alkeyhall......

started with some mushroom soup from the soup thread that was incredible

main course was duck breast that had been scored then rubbed with a mix of sea salt,white pepper and herbs(parsley, dill and tarragon) served with an apple pepper slaw made with red cabbage, red and green peppers, apple and a dressing of toffuti sour cream, miracle whip light, key lime honey, white pepper and sherry vinegar.

[little ms foodie]

tonight was 'start cleaning out the fridge for vacation night'

risotto with proscuitto, leeks and twice baked butternut squash filling found in the freezer. Lots of parm and Old Man. served with a green salad of mixed lettuce, scallions, celery and craisons.

WA Drop Dead Red as a very casual wine accompiament

Edited February 2, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[Behemoth]

Happy to see a few vegetarian meals up there.

You might enjoy this one then:

A holdover from my vegetarian days -- tempeh rueben. Would I be kicked of eGullet if I admit I prefer these to the real thing? Great rye, tempeh slices well-browned with onion & garlic, swiss cheese, russian dressing with homemade mayo, horseradish and (Jinmyo look away) a little ketchup. Oh, and of course saurkraut.

I get a serious jones for these every once in a while.

[bilrus]

I made soup over the weekend and pulled it out of the fridge tonight. Or rather I made Wegman's (grocery store chain) Red Lentil Chili. This is one of their regular prepared-foods items, but they had the recipe in their magazine and, of course, I like it even better out of my kitchen. The picture doesn't look too nice - just trust me that it tasted good. Pretty filling too.

[calimero]

Black truffles and pheasant risotto

Sweet and sour wild boar with baked polenta

[pattimw]

tonight was 'start cleaning out the fridge for vacation night'

risotto with pancetta, leeks and twice baked butternut squash filling found in the freezer. Lots of parm and Old Man. served with a green salad of mixed lettuce, scallions, celery and craisons.

WA Drop Dead Red as a very casual wine accompiament

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We had the same dinner last night. Although I used regular bacon and shallots in the risotto.

HUH!

[pattimw]

Monday Night-

Pork tenderloin, seared in a saute pan, then sliced, with a red wine-mushroom broth reduction. Sauteed mushrooms.

Roasted sweet potatoes with maple syrup

Blanched, then sauteed brussell sprouts with garlic and bacon.

Georges Dubeouf Beajolais Villages

Tuesday-

Butternut squash risotto with bacon and sage

Brussel sprouts (I am on a kick with these)

Mata Tua (Sp?) 2002 Pinot Noir, New Zealand

Stilton with a port wine syrup and glazed walnuts.

[NulloModo]

Last night -

Huevos Rancheros with a side of a couple habanero-chicken sausages

[little ms foodie]

We had the same dinner last night. Although I used regular bacon and shallots in the risotto.

HUH!

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I was planning on using bacon but found proscuitto! Also there is a half onion and a half large shallot, as I said we are cleaning out the fridge! haha!

[Susan in FL]

Wendy, did you use pancetta or prosciutto? It looks delicious.

Russ made us a spaghetti marinara last night. I cooked Thai the night before, and for tonight, we're not yet sure how we'll fix chicken.

[Jinmyo]

Soup and Sandwiches:

(Each sandwich is a quarter size, each soup a demitasse)

Tuna salad (ahi tuna, wasabi mayo, scallions) on onion rolls, tomato bisque with watercress garnish.

Shrimp salad (grilled U 15 shrimp with artichoke and asigao spread, a few blanched red onion rings) on toasted sourdough, seafood bisque.

Croque monsieur (ham, gruyere) on pain de Pepin, white onion miso soup.

Hot chopped chicken liver (chicken livers seared, bit of cognac, flambe, then cream, quick zap) with caramelized onions and a shmear of warm chevre on rye toast points, beef consomee with egg threads.

Salad of microgreens and soft-boiled quail eggs with champagne vinaigrette, mounds of frites with fresh horseradish mayo.

[M. Lucia]

A holdover from my vegetarian days -- tempeh rueben. Would I be kicked of eGullet if I admit I prefer these to the real thing? Great rye, tempeh slices well-browned with onion & garlic, swiss cheese, russian dressing with homemade mayo, horseradish and (Jinmyo look away) a little ketchup. Oh, and of course saurkraut.

I get a serious jones for these every once in a while.

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Absolutely not, vegetarian meals are something to be celebrated and a good vegetarian meal is better than a paltry meat meal anyday (imo).

Though I have eaten tempeh, I have never tried preparing it myself and that sandwich looks yummy.

[sadistick]

Soup and Sandwiches:

(Each sandwich is a quarter size, each soup a demitasse)

Tuna salad (ahi tuna, wasabi mayo, scallions) on onion rolls, tomato bisque with watercress garnish.

Shrimp salad (grilled U 15 shrimp with artichoke and asigao spread, a few blanched red onion rings) on toasted sourdough, seafood bisque. 

Croque monsieur (ham, gruyere) on pain de Pepin, white onion miso soup.

Hot chopped chicken liver (chicken livers seared, bit of cognac, flambe, then cream, quick zap) with caramelized onions and a shmear of warm chevre on rye toast points, beef consomee with egg threads.

Salad of microgreens and soft-boiled quail eggs with champagne vinaigrette, mounds of frites with fresh horseradish mayo.

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I must say, that I absolutely loved the idea for your chicken liver and goat cheese, I never thought of that!!! Some of your other stuff sounds extremely tastey, might i inquire, why so many variations? Do you work at a restaraunt?

I made some chicken livers seared with a reduction of balsamic added at the end, and some ground pepper...very nice as well!

Cheers,

-Justin

[Jinmyo]

I must say, that I absolutely loved the idea for your chicken liver and goat cheese, I never thought of that!!!  Some of your other stuff sounds extremely tastey, might i inquire, why so many variations?  Do you work at a restaraunt?

I made some chicken livers seared with a reduction of balsamic added at the end, and some ground pepper...very nice as well!

Cheers,

-Justin

Hi Justin,

This is a professional kitchen. The meal was for forty two people.

[little ms foodie]

Wendy, did you use pancetta or prosciutto?  It looks delicious.

Russ made us a spaghetti marinara last night.  I cooked Thai the night before, and for tonight, we're not yet sure how we'll fix chicken.

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Thanks for catching that Susan!! I edited my original post too.

It was prosciutto that I found!

[Susan in FL]

I made braised chicken with bay leaves from our herb garden and chickpeas, sort of inspired by this recipe, served with spinach and a salad. The salad had really good Florida tomatoes, some big ol' red ones from a produce market that is now open Thursday through Sunday and some little yellow pear-shaped cherry ones picked from our garden today. It's rainy, but it's the beginning of spring!

[jscarbor]

Tonight I made sautee halibut in a tomato basil beurre blanc sauce. It was devine. My very picky 20 month old son loved it. I was so proud. We served it with basic brocoli and mashed sweet and regular potatoes that were left over from last night.

Additionally it was my first consious very low sodium dish because of an ear problem my wife is having. We are big time saltaholics so this is much bigger than it seems.

this weekend could be carnitas weekend!?