Dinner! 2007

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

I used some bbq sauce from Corky's (Nashville, TN place) with the london broil - the spicy kind - it was great!

Whoa... when did Corky's expand to Nashville! I remember when they first opened in Memphis. Wish they'd expand to Virginia; you can't get decent Memphis style bbq here, even at a place that called itself "Memphis Barbecue!"

[laurelm]

Salmon with a simple marinade of dijon, soy sauce and garlic and my fave caprese salad.

I stacked them for fun, looks cute- flavor not as thorough as my usual though.

Also not pictured here quinoa with sauteed maushrooms, garlic, green onion and parmesan- delicious.

[Daniel]

So Miss Alicia and I cooked for some people this last weekend...

They started with a quick amuse..

A goat cheese mousse on a parm crisp.

They moved on to an apple Ruttabega Soup with Maple Syrup.. There was a crisp apple chip and some maple sugar foie gras..

w:Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Spätlese Weingut Ratzenberger 1999

Next was a Lobster Napolean on sweet potato crisps.. These shots were taken before homemade creme fraiche and caviar were placed on top.. Served on these cool slate plates..

Going back to the O'Connell well we went with a sesame scallop and cauliflower puree sitting on a wine/balsamic butter sauce..

w:Vouvray Aigle Blanc Poniatowski 1990

Next was crayfish ravioli with chantrelle mushrooms in a foie gras, truffle water crayfish mushroom sauce.. The dish at this point was not finished, but its the most clear shot we had.. This dish was redunkulous..

w:Bourgogne Domaine Jean-Pierre Diconne 2004

Palate Cleanser:

This was a Campari, Lemon, and Rosemary Sorbet..The rosemary was chopped very fine and finished the ice well..

For the last course we served them short ribs two ways.. Smoked and cooked for around 40 hours or so and along with braised for 18 hours in a wine sauce.. Served with truffled pastina (upon request) and a pea flan topped with a carrot pea green salad.

w:Indicazione Geografica Tipica Toscana Seraselva Poggio Al Sole 2003

We liked to do cheese courses however, we were asked not to do cheese.. We moved on to a hazelnut semi freddo..

Finally, a maple marscapone cheese cake.. It was served with maple whiskey topped with maple cotton candy..

Dinner was 3 hours long with 8 people.. It was a really fun night..

edit to add scallop photo

Edited January 24, 2007 by Daniel (log)

[laurelm]

This sounds absolutely delicious and such a simple idea

A goat cheese mousse on a parm crisp.

Recipe?

[Daniel]

A little guy of goat cheese mixed with heavy cream.. Thats all.. Added some chives.. The goat cheese was from Artisinal a little firm a little aged.. A fresh one would be great too..

Edited January 24, 2007 by Daniel (log)

[racheld]

We're having creamy cauliflower/cheese soup, with a little tray of greenery for grazing---some soft home-dripped yogurt with dill and chives for dipping.

Crisp-bottomed cornbread and little bits from one of those "cheese" boxes Chris got as a Christmas gift---little half-moons of Summer sausage and several wee packages of various cheeses.

Chris just called and said he picked up an ice-cream roll, so there's dessert.

Cold night, warm welcome.

ETA: I don't know HOW I missed that elegant mon-you you were serving Daniel---just lovely.

Edited January 24, 2007 by racheld (log)

[Ling]

Awesome meal, Daniel and Alicia! The plating looks really polished. How is the meat after smoking for so long, and then braising for 18 hours? Do you find a really big difference in such a long braise? The heat must be very low. How much liquid do you start off with?

Next was crayfish ravioli with chantrelle mushrooms in a  foie gras, truffle water crayfish mushroom sauce..  The dish at this point was not finished, but its the most clear shot we had.. This dish was redunkulous..

←

And I bet it was! Although how did you know it was delicious, Daniel, how did you know...are you cheating on your vegan diet already?

Edited January 24, 2007 by Ling (log)

[little ms foodie]

Wendy, so I guess you do like greens!

←

Green with CREAM & BUTTER!

[little ms foodie]

Daniel that all looks awesome, I'm loving your plates!

that amuse is one of my favorites to make- from french laundry yes??

I would love the raviolis! what a great combo.

[Daniel]

Awesome meal, Daniel and Alicia! The plating looks really polished. How is the meat after smoking for so long, and then braising for 18 hours? Do you find a really big difference in such a long braise?  The heat must be very low. How much liquid do you start off with?

Next was crayfish ravioli with chantrelle mushrooms in a  foie gras, truffle water crayfish mushroom sauce..  The dish at this point was not finished, but its the most clear shot we had.. This dish was redunkulous..

←

And I bet it was! Although how did you know it was delicious, Daniel, how did you know...are you cheating on your vegan diet already?

←

Hey thanks, Lorna.. What I tried to say was, one could infer that it was redunkulous..

With the short ribs, I think my description is a little confusing. What I did was smoke ribs and braise them for a day and a half ahead of the other ribs.. So the initial ribs would pretty much turn into liquid.. I then added a new set of short ribs that I would serve along with the shredded short ribs.. So there was a solid piece just falling of the bone as well as the shredded and super stewed ribs..

LMF, FL you are right.. I want to add a toro or venison tartare to the parm crisp next time..

Edited January 24, 2007 by Daniel (log)

[little ms foodie]

oh tartare would be awesome!!! or somekind of proscuitto 'salad' in minature with a drizzle of balsamic- just like in the old country............. haha!

[Pontormo]

Daniel, tonight this, at least, deserves applause! A very and intake of breath to Miss Alicia, too!!

Your new plates are trez whey quel--not just the things on them.

Yet, I persist, what the hell R U eating?

Inquiring minds wanna know!

* * *

As for you, Little Ms., we'll get you over to the deep dark green side yet....you and your little dog, too!

[markk]

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't cooked in a while (living on really horrible take-out and delivery ), but I've been watching here and loving everything you've all been cooking.

Finally, just to be sure I could still work the kitchen, I made duck breast with roasted Cremini mushrooms topped with a dollop of truffled foie-gras, brown and wild rices, and radishes cooked in Maraschino liquer. Naturally we snapped the photo before I poured the pan juices over the duck! (And I managed to get dinner served by 11 pm. )

[edited to swap photo]

Edited January 24, 2007 by markk (log)

[Ling]

What I did was smoke ribs and braise them for a day and a half ahead of the other ribs.. So the initial ribs would pretty much turn into liquid.. I then added a new set of short ribs that I would serve along with the shredded short ribs..  So there was a solid piece just falling of the bone as well as the shredded and super stewed ribs..

←

Ahhh...sounds heavenly!

[hathor]

Gorgeous meal Daniel and Miss Alicia!

I've been singing the praises of Compari and lemon granita for awhile...now, I have to add some rosemary to the mix. Great idea. (Try fennel and rum together....you wind us with some sort of butterscotch flavor, I don't know why, but it's a favorite when I serve it.)

Venison tartare? Somewhere in the back of my head is a warning about serving venison raw. Maybe it depends on the source.

edit to add p.s. to markk: obviously you still know your way around the kitchen! I might have to make some duck tonight!

Edited January 24, 2007 by hathor (log)

[sadistick]

Daniel those ravioli look and sound great...too bad its so difficult to get crayfish up here in Toronto.

[BryanZ]

So Miss Alicia and I cooked for some people this last weekend...

←

This makes me laugh. Cooking for people indeed.

Nice meal. I wish I had your access to ingredients.

[Daniel]

Yes, cooking for some people we certainly did.. Shall we call them new friends?

[Shaya]

Judith, I love your chicken and artichoke dinner. At first sight I thought it was something I had made; it's right up my alley. Great color on that chicken, too.

Daniel and Alicia, that dinner is OUTrageous. Wish I'd been there. Bravo!

Markk, I love your duck dinner. How do you get truffled foie gras - do you just whip it up or add something to it?

Chufi, that dinner looks great. I love the colors in the salad.

Bruce, regarding the Thai curry, I've been making it this way for years - it's got red curry paste, coconut milk, thai chilies, thai basil and fish sauce. Simple but really full of great flavors.

Last night's dinner brought back memories of flavors we used to eat all the time bk (before kids ). Very fresh and clean food, yet tantalizing to the tastebuds. Must do this more often. Both dishes have lots of the usual suspects: fish sauce, lemon grass, shallot, thai chilies, sugar, salt

Vietnamese Beef Lettuce Wraps

Mung Bean Thread Noodles with Lime Juice, Shrimp, White Asparagus and Peppers

[Darin Smith]

Simple dinner last night. Wife and I shared a whole chicken coated in olive oil, salt, pepper and hungarian paprika. Side was asparagus sauted in butter with carmelized onions.

Edited January 25, 2007 by Darin Smith (log)

[GTO]

Shaya: After roasted, like that, is my favourite way to eat beef. That looks so good.

[markk]

Last night's dinner was a platter full of sticky roasted pig's tails and thick sliced pork hocks. We had salad and no-knead bread to go along.

←

Dianne - are pig's tails an Ontarian thing? The only time I've had them whole like that (or even seen them on a menu) was in either Kitchener or Waterloo (can't remember which).

[markk]

Markk, I love your duck dinner.  How do you get truffled foie gras - do you just whip it up or add something to it?

Thanks. The truffled foie gras is a ready-made mousselike product from D'Artagnan called "Medallion of Foie Gras with 2% Truffles", 100% duck foie gras, black truffle, and Sauternes in a 6-oz. tube that looks just like a mini-tube of cookie dough. Luckily, my local supermarket sells it, (alongside the raw Moulard duck breasts). I got tired of eating it straight from the tube and decided to toss mushrooms with it for a try. I was otherwise just going to have seasoned the duck with truffle salt. My next try will be pasta tossed with the mousse.

[Octaveman]

Your basic pepperoni pizza with mozzarella and fresh basil. Suace was thinned out tomato paste with misc herbs added.

[Daniel]

Last night's dinner was a platter full of sticky roasted pig's tails and thick sliced pork hocks. We had salad and no-knead bread to go along.

←

Dianne - are pig's tails an Ontarian thing? The only time I've had them whole like that (or even seen them on a menu) was in either Kitchener or Waterloo (can't remember which).

←

Wow.. How did I miss that photo.. That looks really good.. What kind of sauce did you put on the meat?