Dinner! 2005

[Staximo]

Frogs cooked by friends!

Fried Frogs and Frogs "alla cacciatora" (with a secret tomato sauce).

Edited July 27, 2005 by Staximo (log)

[Alinka]

Ann_T, Patrick S - I actually like tofu when it's prepared well. I like its tender texture...

Staximo, were they good? I wonder what frog legs taste like (don't tell me they taste like chicken ).

[Alinka]

Now, did I mention I was going to make pork chops for dinner? Here they are. And this is more like something I grew up eating in Russia (vs. tofu ): pork with mushrooms, sour cream and dill, with a side of stewed (red) cabbage.

[Staximo]

Staximo, were they good? I wonder what frog legs taste like (don't tell me they taste like chicken   ).

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They are very good, especially the "cacciatora" frogs: the taste is impossible to describe.

The fried frogs, for me, taste like sole but my boyfriend didn't agree... he said only that "frogs are good"

[Alinka]

"Sole" - as in, fish?

Cacciatore usually means a pretty assertive sauce with tomatoes, so I don't imagine you could actually taste frogs frogs in it?..

[Staximo]

"Sole" - as in, fish?

Cacciatore usually means a pretty assertive sauce with tomatoes, so I don't imagine you could actually taste frogs frogs in it?..

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My dictionary say:

sogliola = sole (the fish)

here is a photo

You are right, "cacciatora" frogs where made in this way: frogs were fried before and then put in a pan with a tomato sauce. The recipe of this sauce, unfortunately, is secret.

The sauce makes the frogs more tasty but don't "cover" the taste of the frogs.

[M. Lucia]

I made a courgette(zucchini) pizza last night, though I cheated and used store bought dough. Not as crispy-bottomed as I would like, but good none-the-less.

[Priscilla]

A piece of so-called London broil which had been marinating in soy, mirin, sesame oil, sliced shallot, big handful of chopped garlic. Crustified in a very hot cast iron pan outside on the butane burner, sliced thinly on the diagonal.

Remaining marinade simmered, reduced. Spinach seasoned with sesame spinach-seasoning packet. Carrot batons simmered in soy & sake & raw sugar, with a sizeable hit of Japanese mixed pepper. My own pickled napa, little soy sauce over for those who like that. Steamed rice from the old cooker. Cold sake.

[Chufi]

I had frog's legs in a Pouilly Fuisse cream suce in Burgundy this spring. I had never tasted frog before but I loved it. Very flavorful little things. I spent a lot of time licking the bones!

Our dinner tonight:

Veal sausages (from the supermarket, nothing special but it's organic veal) with a cheat's onion confit/marsala sauce

Gratin of potato, zucchini and tomato

Romaine salad with galric/mustard dressing.

Dessert: Delia Smith's plum cinnamon oat slices. They are delicious.. rich buttery oaty.. mmm

[bilrus]

Chicken Tikka with Raita and Garlic Naan (from Trader Joe's - shhh).

[SuzySushi]

Since discovering the Indian and Middle Eastern market in town, I've been experimenting with Indian spices.

Tonight's dinner was Grilled Salmon with Garam Masala; served with Roast Potatoes with Ajwain, Kalonji, and Black Pepper (my own invention -- I wanted to see how the spices would taste on something other than bread).

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The haricots verts were simply buttered, because I wasn't sure how spicy the other dishes would turn out. They ended up being just fine. Too bad the fresh mango I bought wasn't quite ripe enough for tonight's dessert.

[Pan]

Suzi, how did the potatoes taste with both kalonji and ajwain? I'm trying to remember if I've ever had a dish that used both.

[M. Lucia]

That's some very pink chicken, Bill. I hope it's the camera.

Last night dinner was provencale-style sole (tomatoes, garlic, olives, parsley) and a spinach salad.

Vegan coconut-pecan cookies (I was making them for a friend and they came out really well, I couldn't resist sneaking some).

[Chufi]

I forgot to mention what I had a couple of days ago.. fresh capucijners with crispy fried smoked bacon and fried onions.

I have no idea what capucijners are in English. In the pod, they look like green peas, only the pods are a dark bluish purple. The peas itself are grey-green. Their taste is more earthy and deep than green peas.. less spring-like.. but lovely.

Tonight I made a 'sort of nicoise': Romaine lettuce, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, tuna, anchovies, green beans.

And tagliatelle tossed with olive oil, ricotta, lemon zest and parsley.

[SuzySushi]

Suzi, how did the potatoes taste with both kalonji and ajwain? I'm trying to remember if I've ever had a dish that used both.

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They were delicious. It's a dish I'll make again, probably remembering to add garlic next time!

[bilrus]

That's some very pink chicken, Bill. I hope it's the camera.

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Nope, not the camera. It is red food coloring to give it the true Restaurant-style color.

I've never seen a real explanation of why Indian restaurants use coloring to make the chicken red (or probably more properly orange) linke that. But the one time I made this without the coloring, it tasted the same, but it just didn't feel right.

[Priscilla]

Last evening, late, hungry. Almost as if by magic I was served a delicious bacon cheeseburger by the man of the house. My contribution was pouring the inexpensive Syrah. Later, brandy and Ritter Sport biscuit.

[little ms foodie]

Tonight dinner outside again, yeah!!!

started with Lillet Blanc, melon with Salumi proscuitto, a chevrot and some rosemary flatbread

next up was grilled Mahi marinated with sesame oil, lemon, garlic, ginger, cilantro, etc. with cilantro lime butter, salad with avacodo and grilled Summer Corn bread with sliced red and green striped heirloom tomatoes with garden basil, salt and EVOO

desset was homemade ricotta whipped with honey and vanilla and topped with fresh blueberries

Bethel Heights chardonnay with dinner

[Staximo]

Grilled tofu, beet-roots, tomato filled with maionese-tuna in oil-capers, zucchini (squash (?) ) cooked in a pan with garlic, oil and maggiorana ( marjoram ? )

Edited July 29, 2005 by Staximo (log)

[M. Lucia]

Pre-football (soccer) game meal: Vegetable Quiche and Spinach Salad

[lexy]

I've never seen a real explanation of why Indian restaurants use coloring to make the chicken red (or probably more properly orange) linke that.  But the one time I made this without the coloring, it tasted the same, but it just didn't feel right.

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I don't know about the chicken per se, but I was in a Indian restaurant once, and our table had ordered a selection of curries, a few of which were dyed (the chickpea curry was rather an alarming red). We were wondering the same thing, so we asked our waiter. His explanation was that many of the curries look pretty similar when sitting in pots in the kitchen, and the chef dyed some of them so that when an order came in, he could be sure (without having to do a careful scrutiny) that he was serving, say, chickpeas, and not pork.

[FoodMan]

Wednesday:

A sort of Reuben sandwich on homemade onion rye (corned beef, mustard, saurkraut, swiss). The onion rye came out so damn good that any deli would be proud to have it. I made it without caraway seeds this time, next time I might add a few...just a few.

Served it with mediocre chips (that I did not eat) and a great Dogfish Head IPA.

Las night:

A Sunday dinner on Thursday !

Brined roasted chicken and a summer Parisienne herb gnocchi (sp?) with squash, toamtoes and sweet corn. Topped the chicken with a lemon butter sauce (chicken drippings, stock, lemon and a little butter whisked in). The recipes are based on ones from the Bouchon book and all are awsome.

Dessert: A Fig almond tart with lighlty sweetened (with vanilla sugar) creme fraiche.

Elie

[Grub]

I've never seen a real explanation of why Indian restaurants use coloring to make the chicken red (or probably more properly orange) linke that.  But the one time I made this without the coloring, it tasted the same, but it just didn't feel right.

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I don't know about the chicken per se, but I was in a Indian restaurant once, and our table had ordered a selection of curries, a few of which were dyed (the chickpea curry was rather an alarming red). We were wondering the same thing, so we asked our waiter. His explanation was that many of the curries look pretty similar when sitting in pots in the kitchen, and the chef dyed some of them so that when an order came in, he could be sure (without having to do a careful scrutiny) that he was serving, say, chickpeas, and not pork.

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That's a really interesting explanation of food coloring used in restaurants!

That stark color definitely has an important effect on the dish though -- I've also made some Indian foods without the recommended food coloring, and it just wasn't the same. Another time, I added food coloring to some plain rice, and people swore there was something different about it, and couldn't believe I hadn't added spices to it. It's pretty mindboggling how important color, and appearance is, to the final experience...

And these dishes all look absolutely amazing...

[racheld]

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner. We do that several times in Winter, but don't remember a Summer night breakfast. The weather is cooler now, and we were out and about in the sun all day. Had a cool nap when we got home, and while he slept on, I made: Potato/chive pierogi (we like the cabbage ones better, but these were what I had in the freezer) sauteed in butter with a sage leaf; soft scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, thick skillet toast, orange marmalade, Decker melon chunks, yoghurt with fresh raspberries. Friday night SciFi channel lineup.

[Ann_T]

Elie, that chicken and gnocchi look wonderful.

I made Tostadas, Tex-Mex tonight. Easy dinner because I had cooked a pot of beans yesterday and the chicken was poached and left to cool in broth so it was really moist and tender. Roasted some tomatoes on the grill to make the Salsa.

Ann