Dinner! 2005

[Susan in FL]

Here are some of the highlights from our recent meals. It looks like we've been on a beef kick. We've been eating quite a bit of chicken and pastas, too, but the meat has been more photogenic and I've been a lazy photograher lately. Lots of grilling is going on here, too.

A crab salad, using claw meat, preceeded one of these beef dinners, but I can't remember which one.

Here we topped sirloin steaks with Gorgonzola, and had grilled sweet onions and baked potatoes on the side.

This is one of my favorite recipes for hamburgers, Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers. We used kaiser rolls instead of foccacia, and Sonoma Cabernet instead of Napa. Guess they would be Sonoma Burgers.

Grilled prime rib, pasta, mushrooms, and a great bottle of wine were on the menu for a celebration dinner with Morten. This followed a toast with White Star at 7:19 PM... That was the time of his arrival at BWI on August 15, 1995, when we first met our exchange student from Denmark. He immediately became our Danish son.

One photo missing is the pork roast that Russ grilled in the rain. It was possibly the most perfectly cooked, juicy and delicious pork we've made. That was the night I found my camera battery was dead, and I was too hungry to wait for it to recharge. Last night's dinner was pasta with a sauce of veal, fresh peas, assorted fresh mushrooms and herbs, etc., using a good homemade chicken stock.

There, I'm caught up.

[Priscilla]

For various unserious reasons dinner plans were unsettled. Then all at once it became clear, it was SpagBol to the rescue.

Had a ragu Bolognese in the fridge, having ground a nice tri-tip for burgers the other day and used some (ground again; I like it really fine for ragu) for making sauce. While not passing Marcella Hazan muster, fat spaghetti is really good with r.B. Nice crispy salad mix dressed bracingly with Balsamic and olive oil. Bread. Bonny Doon Cigare Volant variant. MST3K's The Pod People. Good save!

[Ann_T]

Easy dinner last night. We had to leave early to watch a Ball Game so I just put together an antipasto plate of melon wrapped in Italian proscuitto drizzled with a little olive oil ,fresh ground black pepper, kalamata olives and gorgonzola cheese.

[Alinka]

Mmm... mmm... mmm!.. Ann_T, what a lovely plate! Mouthwatering.

My lunch today was not as beautiful, but did not taste too bad for something meatless and low fat:

Organic whole wheat penne with carponata-like sauce (eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, capers, balsamic vinegar, basil, etc.) and baked vegetarian "chicken" patty (ssh - from a box, don't tell anyone ).

[Megan Blocker]

Today was a use-what's-in-the-cupboard kind of night, since it's too hot and gross to venture out to the market. Made a sort of riff on coq au vin, using a dry riesling instead of a red wine, as well as some bacon, onions, garlic and thyme. Should have had mushrooms, but there were none in the icebox!

Forgot to snap a photo before chowing down; what you're looking at are the two pieces that will be dinner tomorrow night!

Edited August 22, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[little ms foodie]

no pictures.......you've seen it before.......brats done in beer and onions; mac and cheese; beers!

[dockhl]

Snowangel's Larb

preceded by an astonishing Cucumber Infused Gin and Tonic

I didn't think I LIKED gin...............!!!

[Alinka]

A friend of mine, Russian, is married to an Indian and lives in India. She shared this recipe with me. She calls it rajma (basically it is kidney beans curry) and says it is very poplular in Punjab. Lots of spices there! I served it over brown rice and with a dollop of sour cream on top (raita would've probably been better).

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Do you think you could share the recipe?

Sorry it took me so long to post the recipe. But - here it is!

[Basilgirl]

Friday night: leftover homemade pizza; brie on baguette; many beers while watching the Redkins lose again

Saturday: homegrown red & yellow peppers stuffed with moistened bread, bread crumbs, olive oil, anchovies, tons of garlic, chopped tomatoes, oregano, braised in tomato sauce; hot Italian sausage on the side

Sunday: Spicy gazpacho, sauteed corn with chiles and basil, pupusas from the Food Lion (actually from El Salvador)

[Priscilla]

Last evening, a thick slab of top sirlion which had been sitting quietly in the fridge for a day with rosemary, mint, sage, tiny bit of lavender, s & p added, on the old Weber over indirect heat.

Cooked to rare, sliced thinly on the diagonal and arrayed with risotto made with light beef stock that'd been simmering during the day, few crumbles of gorgonzola stirred through & Pecorino Romano. Beeyootiful salad of butter lettuce with (olive) oil & (Balsamic) vinegar. LBB sourdough. Not-bad old-vine Zinfandel.

[MarketStEl]

Okay if I crash this dinner party?

I finally whipped together something that was quick, easy, tasty and attractive enough that I felt I could photograph it and post it here.

Last night, I was futzing around trying to figure out what I wanted to do with what I had on hand and seized on nachos with steak strips--or fajita nachos, if you will.

I had some flank steak, sliced into thin strips, already in the freezer. I took those and seasoned them with about 1/2 tablespoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon paprika. Meanwhile, I chopped two tomatoes and simmered them in a mixture of one can tomato paste, 1/2 cup water and about 1 teaspoon basil. After simmering for about 15 minutes, I added 3/4 of a one-pound bag of frozen "Rancho Fiesta" vegetable blend (broccoli, carrots, white navy and red pinto beans, red peppers and peas) and simmered for another ten minutes while cooking the steak strips.

I then topped tortilla chips with the tomato-veggie mixture, the steak strips and shredded Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheeses thus:

Quick, filling and good.

Edited August 22, 2005 by MarketStEl (log)

[Alinka]

Okay if I crash this dinner party?

Yeah, with this dish that you are bringing - please do!

[little ms foodie]

LOVE nachos..... now I have a craving!

Greek night tonight....

tzaziki with grilled pita; butterflied leg of lamb marinated in oregano, lemon & EVOO; lentils with red onion, feta, mint and garlic. All served family style. Merlot in the glass.

Edited August 23, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[Basilgirl]

Tuscan canteloupe with prosciutto

Heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella & basil salad

Asiago cheese bread

Cheap Chardonnay

Edited August 23, 2005 by Basilgirl (log)

[Priscilla]

No crashing necessary, MarketStEl ... everybody's welcome! Esp. if they bring nachos.

Last evening, lovely pale bockwurst from the German sausage maker. Mild German mustard. Boiled buttered parslied yellow potatoes. Sturdy delicious slightly sour rye bread cut from the gigantic loaf at the sausage maker's shop, with saltylicious Kerrygold butter. Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Riesling.

Salad of beautiful butter lettuce whole leaves with a beloved dressing, Nero Wolfe's own (from The Nero Wolfe Cookbook), the one that he says should take 8 minutes to make, at table of course. I made mine shortly before service as a meal-staging strategy, but it was still so good. Wonderful to have fresh tarragon burgeoning in the garden, to be able to make this dressing, and to anticipate putting up lots of tarragon vinegar.

(Edited somewhat to revise Amazon link; the recipe is viewable with the Look Inside this Book feature, but I can't copy that exact link for some reason. It's on p. 209 of the current edition, p. 179 in my old Viking one. Searching for gherkins with the Amazon feature turns it up, too.)

Edited August 23, 2005 by Priscilla (log)

[shrek]

Barbequed chicken, french green beans, baby red potatoes, and tomato with buffalo mozzarella, dressed with basil, EVOO and balsamic vinegar. I took the picture of the tomato with my Palm, hope it is clear enough to see.

[Susan in FL]

To quote Wendy, "no pictures.......you've seen it before......." tonight we had Russ's Chicken, which was renamed Russ's Chicken Thighs, and then was renamed Russ's Famous Chicken Thighs, and now which we call Russ's World Famous Chicken Thighs.

Last night's dinner was really really good, but very very unphotogenic. I sauteed pork chops and made black and white rice and black beans to go with it. So picture this in your mind instead if you will... On the plate a serving of Forbidden Black Rice, with a serving of Jasmine rice alongside of it, and then a scoop of black beans spooned atop the rices -- propped against that a chop. I was going to mix the rices, but even after I rinsed the black rice several times, the water didn't clear, so I knew that even after being cooked separately, the black rice would bleed on the white rice.

On Saturday night we had a starter of melon & prosciutto followed by grilled goose Florida style (a creation of ours), with grilled Yukon Gold Potato slices and tropical fruit salsa. A tomato salad was meant to go with it, but I forgot about it, and there it sat in the fridge.

So we had the salad Sunday night with shrimp and cheddar cheese grits. These were the best grits I've ever made -- almost the best I've ever tasted. The shrimp were our local fresh shrimp, so I cooked them the way I've learned to be the best. I probably would not cook previously frozen or farm-raised shrimp this way. We peel them and put them in a non-stick skillet, no butter or oil or anything, and fire it up. Then when they are browned, turn them over and let the other side brown. They are cooked in their own essence just barely through. Before they would curl up, I add a little chunk of butter and maybe a tablespoon or two of stock, let that deglace the pan and bubble up, and serve. ...All that in probably five or six minutes at the most. On the side Sunday night were sugar snap peas.

[Patrick S]

A couple of recent meals:

French onion soup:

Cabernet beef stew:

Roast chicken, onions and potatoes:

Apple pie for dessert:

[Priscilla]

[...]shrimp and cheddar cheese grits.  These were the best grits I've ever made -- almost the best I've ever tasted.

Susan, could you detail your grits preparation? What made these sososo good? The whole shrimp & grits category is such a rich trove.

[SuzySushi]

Our dinners have mostly been very plain these past two weeks as I've tried to accommodate my daughter's new dietary restrictions, aseverything needs to be weighed and measured and carbs & protein calculated.

Last night, though, my husband and I had "breakfast for dinner": eggs scrambled with a bit of leftover smoked salmon, diced roma tomatoes, shredded spinach, and dill, served with German sunflower-seed bread.

Tonight was more exotic: Rogan Josh made with lamb, onions, baby eggplants, and carrots, served over cooked whole wheat berries. (I cheated and used a prepared spice paste from Asian Home Gourmet.)

Dessert both nights is fresh mango -- Tommy Atkins variety last night and Keitt tonight -- we're having a great mango season in Hawaii, after a terrible one last year. Yum!!!

[suzilightning]

last night:

cooked 1/2 lb of penne. while it was cooking away took two tomatoes and made concasse of them, thoroughly washed 2 bunches of arugula then cut into 1/2" chiffondade, a handful of capers, a handful of black olives, extravirgin olive oil, salt and white pepper. tossed everything together and topped with strips of parmesan.

after dinner made chicken chasseur. took the meat off the bones and put it back in the sauce. when i get home will reheat it and put it over some noodles. think i'll pull a packet of green and wax beans out of the freezer to go with it.

[Megan Blocker]

No pictures tonight!

Had a friend over and made chicken paillards with a warm tomato, corn and basil relish. Also had a tossed salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and romaine, dressed lightly with a red wine vinaigrette, as well as a small boule of French bread from Eli's. To drink, a white Burgundy.

Dessert was great - bread pudding (made with challah) with blueberries, topped with homemade whipped cream. The challah made it nice and light, and the blueberries were perfect!

Oh! Someone had seconds of the pudding, so I snapped a quick picture...

Edited to include new photo and a link to the bread pudding recipe.

Edited August 25, 2005 by Megan Blocker (log)

[Susan in FL]

Susan, could you detail your grits preparation?  What made these sososo good?  The whole shrimp & grits category is such a rich trove.

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I'm not sure what made them turn out so much better this time, but I hope I can recreate them next time! What I did: Cooked the grits (one cup) in reduced salt chicken broth -- I had one of those 32 ounce boxes -- and cream. I started with 2 1/2 to 3 cups of the broth and one cup of cream. I brought the grits, broth, cream, and a tablespoon or two of butter to a boil, whisking. Then I turned the heat down, covered it, and cooked until thick, stirring often and adding more broth as needed. At the end I stirred in sharp cheddar cheese. I'm sure the shrimp and their juices contributed to the rich flavors, too.

[Basilgirl]

I've been on a pan roasted chicken breast kick lately. It's so quick and easy to do after a long day at work. Last night's toppings were proscuitto, Saga Blue and basil. The Saga melted down into the chicken stock/lemon sauce so I threw some provolone on there too. Served with Asiago bread to sop up the sauce. Cheesy meal. And of course cheap Chardonnay.

[calimero]

Nopal cactus risotto

mussles soup and tiramisu