Dinner! 2005

[FoodMan]

Thank you! wonder why 'butt' though if it's the fore shoulder...? maybe something to do with its shape? thought it referred to - you know - ass...

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Nobody knows...

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Of course someone knows . Here is a quote from Alton Brown's "Q" episode of "Good Eats" in which he makes pulled pork.

AB: Hey, Ed, why do they call it boston butt?

EC: ' Boston' I'm not sure about. ' Butt' probably

      relates to the fresh ham, where the lower half

      would be, like, the picnic which is called the

      shank half and the upper half is called the butt.

AB: Oh, of course. It's just like a ham. The bottom’s the shank, top part's the

      butt. Exactly. Well, I need one.

EC: Would you like a whole or a half?

.....

BTW handmc that looks scrumptious...I have a nice shoulder in the freezer and the weather is just right for a nice long smoke. I need to get some logs and I am set.

Elie

[Jambalyle]

The kids chose last night...

Hebrew National Dinner Franks, Annies White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese, green grapes, and Girl Scout cookies.

It tasted wonderful, especially with my second glass of Mazzocco Zin.

[Ninjai Fanatic]

i made some chinese fried rice with heaps of butter and cilantro plus macaroni (beets, minced and toasted seitan, olives, and cucumber) which had a yogurt-pickle, mustard, honey and pepper dressing

[ellencho]

Ooh! I've been a long time browser here, but I just got a digital camera last week so now I can participate.

For dinner tonight we had a salad that I adapted from an Alfred Portale recipe I once saw him make on Martha Stewart. The bleu cheese crostini is something that I adapted from Tyler Florence. It's a pear and mixed greens served with a bleu cheese crostini.

Here's a pic of the salad without the crostini - I apologize for the gluetrap in the background - not very appetizing huh? Sorry about that :(

And here's a pic of the crostini -

[bakezoid]

Turkey cutlets dipped in dijon mustard/white wine then coated w/bread crumbs/ parmesan ; quick-braised green beans from the current issue of Fine Cooking ( I used the orange juice -balsamic variation and they were great); braised potatoes with garlic and bay leaves from Molly Stevens' All About Braising. And a glass of Tiefenbruner Pinot Grigio just for me.

[...tm...]

Thank you! wonder why 'butt' though if it's the fore shoulder...? maybe something to do with its shape? thought it referred to - you know - ass...

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The last time I was wondering this I managed to find this link. Although it is presented as secondhand information from the National Pork Board, which could be the last place to go to for straightforward information about pork, I like it for all the reasons false etymologies are usually liked: it conveniently explains everything and involves a bit of a story.

"In pre-revolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston Butt." This name stuck and today, Boston butt is called that almost everywhere in the US,… except in Boston.

This makes sense, but butt can mean so many things you could really make a number of explanations that do not include Boston fly. The top (shoulder (Boston butt)) is of course the larger or thicker end of an object. My favorite definition, related to the hog-packing barrel meaning, is the volume of two hogsheads, or about 126 gallons.

Keeping it low on the hog.

[SuzySushi]

Finishing up our culinary tour of Ireland:

Irish Soda Bread, hot out of the oven

and Beef Stew in Ale

[percyn]

Homemade Chicken Soup

Mushroom and Chive Ravioli - 2 ways

Following a tip in the latest Food & Wine, these Raviolis are made with wonton wrappers.

[Ling]

I baked four dozen chocolate chip cookies, and I ate a dozen. Does that count as dinner?

[SuzySushi]

I baked four dozen chocolate chip cookies, and I ate a dozen. Does that count as dinner? 

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It does to me! (Yesterday's lunch was literally an ice cream sandwich -- chocolate ice cream between two pieces of multigrain bread!)

[SuzySushi]

We've moved on to Russia in our culinary tour. Tonight's dinner was composed of three cold appetizers, two from the cookbook Please to the Table by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman:

Smoked Salmon and Potato Vinegret

Beet Salad (found online -- basically beets, carrots, and pickles in mayonnaise)

Asparagus in Garlic and Lemon Sauce

We especially liked the smoked salmon salad, which is a real winner.

Dessert was store-bought cherry pie.

[Ling]

I baked four dozen chocolate chip cookies, and I ate a dozen. Does that count as dinner? 

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It does to me! (Yesterday's lunch was literally an ice cream sandwich -- chocolate ice cream between two pieces of multigrain bread!)

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GENIUS!

Gotta try that now....

[peppyre]

I baked four dozen chocolate chip cookies, and I ate a dozen. Does that count as dinner? 

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For you it does sweetie!! You've got to figure that you're getting a few food groups in there. Fibre/Flour; Dairy/butter and chocolate chips; Protein/eggs..so the next time you want to have cookies for dinner, go ahead, it's a well-rounded meal!

Tonight my dinner was rather beige but it tasted really good. Cod coated in seasoned Panko flakes and baked in the oven with oven baked fries. I had a craving for fish and chips but there was no way I could do that much fat. This was really good and really easy!

[FoodMan]

Last night, I made a slow cooked beef stew with lots of potatoes and carrots and fortified with my latest batch of Demi Glace.

Served with crusty bread and white rice.

Elie

[Behemoth]

I was out of town for a while...spring break is almost over Yesterday was the most random assortment of foods. Baked two ciabattas. Made Pierre Hermes chocolate mouse. Made corn chowder which we had for early dinner. Then we had a can of tuna in olive oil with lemon & garlic, with pita bread and a glass of sauvignon blanc while watching john stewart. Today I'm making pizza, and I am defrosting some ribs for tomorrow, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

[legourmet]

Yesterday's lunch was well done tripes with dried morels in a creamy caraway seed sauce served with steamed potatoes.

The dessert served was a light chocolate mousse with a poached pear and the poaching wine sauce for decoration. Some sort of "Pear Helen" a famous french dessert.

[RonC]

Gee, my first contribution .... nothing too fancy. Salmon with a maple syrup, soy, brown sugar and mustard glaze and rice with roasted red peppers and pine nuts. These were my contributions. Later, we'll have wife's strawberry tofu pie. A nice Pinot Grigio for moi.

Going to braise tomorrow, maybe some pics will follow that.

SidecarRon

[jrt]

Tonight: chimicurri poured into a large-ish seeded baguette with thin slices of grilled top round, provolone, and sweet onion slices softed over low heat with sherry vinegar... a sort of nearly senseless interpretation of a steak sandwich. It performed very well.

[Adam Balic]

Pomfret with three flavours sauce, streamed rice, braised veg and prawn crackers.

[percyn]

Pomfret with three flavours sauce, streamed rice, braised veg and prawn crackers.

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Adam, where are you located that you were able to find Pomfret?

[suzilightning]

we had a late lunch so dinner was made up of some of the shopping we had done earlier in the day at Gary's Wine and Marketplace and Whole Foods:

Cashel Blue Cheese

Iowa Blue(not maytag)

Port Reyes

wild boar prosciutto wrapped with thin sliced swiss

water crackers

champagne truffles

3m (a german white wine) and charles de frere

[Chef Metcalf]

Homemade Chicken Soup

Mushroom and Chive Ravioli - 2 ways

Following a tip in the latest Food & Wine, these Raviolis are made with wonton wrappers.

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percyn

It looks like the first batch of raviolis is fried.

I don't have food and wine magazine this month but is the recipe similar to gyoza where the dumpling is fried and then steamed?

How did they taste?

They certainly look good.

I've used the ravioli wrappers in the past but found about a third of them would open up in the simmering water, thus losing the contents. I used an eggwash to seal them too. Any tips?

cm

[rooftop1000]

I am a few day past on this one but Monday the Thumanns guy brought me a nice pastrami brisket no top round... by Tursday I got around to popping it into the crock pot with a jar of pickle juice saved for the occasion and let her go all day on low after work made coleslaw and toasted some nice rye bread made up a pickle plate a basket of chips....ran the toast under the broiler with loads of swiss cheese and carved that moist fatty dripping steamy brisket all over it one toasty plate at a time ...no time for pics each diner had to come to the kitchen for their hot plate as it was carved

had to trim hubbys he doesnt do fat....isnt the fat the point

tracey

[percyn]

Homemade Chicken Soup

Mushroom and Chive Ravioli - 2 ways

Following a tip in the latest Food & Wine, these Raviolis are made with wonton wrappers.

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percyn

It looks like the first batch of raviolis is fried.

I don't have food and wine magazine this month but is the recipe similar to gyoza where the dumpling is fried and then steamed?

How did they taste?

They certainly look good.

I've used the ravioli wrappers in the past but found about a third of them would open up in the simmering water, thus losing the contents. I used an eggwash to seal them too. Any tips?

cm

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Chef Metcalf,

The Food & Wine recipe called for boiling the ravoli and topping them with browned butter and walnuts, but for some reason I felt like having some fried ravoli and since I had some garlic marinara sauce, I wanted to use up, I went for the second batch. I fried these straight in a pan with some EVOO. I think the wonton wrappers cook faster, so they were perfectly done.

To be honest, I have dough phobia, so this is really my first batch of ravioli and the only reason I tried it was to see how good of a substiture the wonton wrappers would be. My wife did not even realize these were wonton wrappers until I told her so. The secret to sealing the ravioli (I am told) is to run your finger along the edges after dipping it in some water, then carefully squeezing the air pockets out of the ravioli before completing the seal and crimping (or pinching) all around the edges. I also boiled these in some very gentle boiling water, so as not to man-handle them.

Maybe a real expert can share their tips, this was my first time making ravioli

Edited March 26, 2005 by percyn (log)

[Chef Metcalf]

Last night we had family from out of town come for dinner.

Being from Calgary, they requested fresh seafood.

We stared out with hor d'oeuvres...

Prawn Cakes with Cilantro dipping sauce

and

Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Aioli on Sesame Wontons

For dinner we had Butter Poached Lobster and Scallops topped with Shrimp and Pinot Gris Beurre Blanc (because you can never get enough butter ).

We then moved onto Amaretto Espresso Truffles and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries followed by a French and BC Cheese Plate with Fig Jam, Pecan Fruit Bread and Physalis. And of course we had to have a nice 10 year old tawny to go with it.

I have a picture of the cheese plate but it won't upload. I hate it when that happens. I keep getting this error message "The image upload failed, please contact the eG Forums team". I don't know why the first will load and then not another. Guess I'm a techno-peasant.

percyn

I vaguely remember trying it with water too and having about the same amount of luck (losing a third of the final product).

Anybody else have any bright ideas on making your wontons burst proof?

cm