Dinner! 2007

[scubadoo97]

No photos but I made braised short ribs and risotto last night. The short ribs were cooked with diced onions, carrots and celery and the risotto was made with sauteed onions. Green peas and fresh parsley were added at the end along with some grated parmesan cheese.

[Sararwelch]

I made this seafood stew a few days ago - mussels, squid, shrimp and scallops. It was my first time cooking mussels, so I was pleased that it came out ok.

[Priscilla]

Philadelphians: No weeniecello?

Last evening we had take-in sushi for 2, + sake.

[C. sapidus]

Pepper and salt shrimp with Thai basil; stir-fried cabbage with edamame and oyster sauce; cucumbers; and rice.

Edited to add basil.

Edited February 5, 2007 by C. sapidus (log)

[wattacetti]

I WANT that phone! The pictures are great, and the food is beautiful. Please tell, though, what the stalk-y greens are? I though maybe infant asparagus, but not like any I've ever seen. Beautiful, just beautiful!

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Sea beans if I'm not mistaken right? Although I think there are other names for them.

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Sea beans is right. Also known as sea asparagus, salicorne, slender glasswort, and (I think) samphire. Crunchy salty goodness.

Philadelphians: nice potluck there! I work with people from your area but all I can imagine them preparing is grilled chicken Caesar salad.

[sadistick]

Phili...everything looks great...

More cities should hold egullet dinners!

The real question is, what did you guys drink with all this great food

[little ms foodie]

Fried avocado?    How did that taste? I'm with you on the frying though. Anything fried is good!

Chufi they were really good! crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy inside. I would season more agressively next time with salt and maybe even a pinch of cayanne or something.

[Beebs]

I WANT that phone! The pictures are great, and the food is beautiful. Please tell, though, what the stalk-y greens are? I though maybe infant asparagus, but not like any I've ever seen. Beautiful, just beautiful!

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Sea beans if I'm not mistaken right? Although I think there are other names for them.

←

Sea beans is right. Also known as sea asparagus, salicorne, slender glasswort, and (I think) samphire. Crunchy salty goodness.

Philadelphians: nice potluck there! I work with people from your area but all I can imagine them preparing is grilled chicken Caesar salad.

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How do you prepare sea asparagus? These grow widely where my parents live, I've been interested in eating them (pulled up a sprig & munched it -- bleah too salty-sandy). Do you cook it? Or eat it raw? Can you eat it like a side dish or is it more commonly used for garnish only? Thanks!

[judiu]

Fried avocado?    How did that taste? I'm with you on the frying though. Anything fried is good!

Chufi they were really good! crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy inside. I would season more agressively next time with salt and maybe even a pinch of cayanne or something.

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One of the best seasonings for avocado that I've ever found was my Mom's favorite; Lawrey's Seasoned Salt. It has the perfect balance for the creamy yummy that is an avocado. Also any lemon and pepper that does NOT contain MSG.

[hathor]

It always amazes me what goes on when you can't check in on the dinner thread for a few days.

That was quite a feast in Philly!

We had some spicy pasta with octopus last night, and since we are at about 8500 feet, in the mountains of Utah, it was trickier than you might think. (The octopus was frozen, and came in my luggage, sorry...it wasn't local. )

[C. sapidus]

. . . spicy pasta with octopus . . .

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Judith: Ooh, that sounds really good!

I have wanted to try snapper for a while, so I was pleasantly surprised to see frozen snapper fillets in the store last night. We pan-seared the fillets and topped them with sauteed red onion, ginger, garlic, and chilies, with a glaze of soy sauce, black soy, black pepper, Chinkiang vinegar, and a pinch of sugar. This has become our go-to recipe for fish (chuan-chuan, from James Oseland’s Cradle of Flavor).

We also stir-fried Napa cabbage with chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, and sesame oil, a variation of a recipe from Land of Plenty. Simple and good.

[purplewiz]

I've been mostly lurking these days because real life has been kicking my butt and I've been completely uninspired when it comes to food. Fortunately I have all the pictures you guys are posting to remind me about what's still all out there . I did take pictures of three of the better meals to emerge from my kitchen over the past two weeks or so:

Chicken green chile stew with cheese, salsa, and a dollop of sour cream.

Grilled chuck eye steak with chive flower butter and cauliflower with cilantro lime pesto. The chive flower butter and pesto were both from home grown plants....last spring. This is why I have a freezer - because in the dead of winter I NEED this stuff.

Grilled pork chop with Penzey's Mural of Flavor blend and Shallot salt (a combination I like a great deal), sauteed spinach with garlic and lemon, and baked acorn squash with maple, cinnamon, and butter.

It's finally warm enough that the snow has melted enough that I can get to the grill without sliding all over....so grilled meats it is! I'll happily grill all year 'round as long as I'm not risking breaking my neck doing so.

Marcia.

[little ms foodie]

Fried avocado?    How did that taste? I'm with you on the frying though. Anything fried is good!

Chufi they were really good! crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy inside. I would season more agressively next time with salt and maybe even a pinch of cayanne or something.

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One of the best seasonings for avocado that I've ever found was my Mom's favorite; Lawrey's Seasoned Salt. It has the perfect balance for the creamy yummy that is an avocado. Also any lemon and pepper that does NOT contain MSG.

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noted! thank you!

tonight we both got home late so I made quick lamb curry served on rice with cilantro. syrah in the glass

[wattacetti]

How do you prepare sea asparagus?  These grow widely where my parents live, I've been interested in eating them (pulled up a sprig & munched it -- bleah too salty-sandy).  Do you cook it?  Or eat it raw?  Can you eat it like a side dish or is it more commonly used for garnish only?  Thanks!

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You can eat the stuff raw (which I did in my prep) or it can be blanched, refreshed and then used for other purposes. I've usually only served the stuff in small quantities (garnish or small component of a larger dish) primarily because of cost though there's also a question of balance. Can't really see anyone having/wanting a huge quantity of the stuff.

[ChryZ]

It's been a while since I had chili, so I made some:

It was the first time, that I tried to make cornbread. I liked it a lot!

[percyn]

Phili...everything looks great...

More cities should hold egullet dinners! 

The real question is, what did you guys drink with all this great food

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If I recall correctly... a California Zin, a Burgundy PN, Tawny and Ruby port, 2 brands of peach lambic and stoudt's double IPA. It was a night of light drinking.

[Nishla]

My second attempt at mapo tofu:

I used beef instead of pork since that's all I had at home. I also added a red bell pepper, since I like the sweetness.

[C. sapidus]

Nishla: Your mapo dofu looks delicious. I can see how red bell peppers would add a sweet crunch. What kind of tofu did you use?

Marcia: Nice looking dinners - I hope you can soon start kicking back at life. The baked acorn squash with maple, cinnamon, and butter sounds especially good – a vegetable and dessert, all in one.

Not the most photogenic dish, but we made Vietnamese chicken, lemongrass, and potato curry (ca-ri ga). Leftovers were wonderful for breakfast with a little sambal oleek and fish sauce. More info here (click).

To accompany, Mrs. C. made a salad and roasted asparagus with Poblano chiles and red bell peppers. Jasmine rice.

[Basilgirl]

I had some ground beef to use up so I browned it while browning onions, pancetta and pepper flakes in another pan. Deglazed onions with red wine; threw it all together with some Barilla garlic & olive oil tomato sauce, simmered, added a little oregano and cream. It tastes weird, too sweet (from the pancetta? the cream?), and too much like Italian chili

[hathor]

While everyone in the north east is in a deep freeze, here in the mountains, it's been sunny and balmy. Spring skiing in February, very strange. I'm craving a margurita instead of a hot toddy!

Monday night: braised bunny with a mustard sauce. Not pretty, but very tasty. This actually tasted like bunny, last time I bought a bunny in the U.S., it was a couture priced D'artagnan bunny that tasted like ....nothing. This came from Philly's Italian market, the butcher said he gets them from China, and I brought them to Utah. Talk about eating local.

Last night was an avocado salad and roast quail with pancetta type bacon on a bed of garlicy white beans. There is something symbiotic about quail and beans, they just compliment each other. Poor quail, they had no bones, but we managed to love them anyway.

Edited February 7, 2007 by hathor (log)

[zpzjessica]

does anyone have a fairly easy recipe for chili?

[Shaya]

Judith, you've been doing some beautiful cooking up there in those hills. That octopus swimming it its gorgeous sauce almost made me want to cook and eat again. Almost. Love the quail with beans idea, too, although they do look a bit - ah - lean?

Bruce I love the look of the fish dish. Too bad you couldn't get fresh snapper. I love fresh snapper (especially grilled ) but my husband finds it a little bland - I can only imagine the frozen ones didn't have much flavor. These Asian renditions are great though, as they add a ton a flavor. Tilapia has been my fish of choice lately for these dishes.

[Dianne]

Last night I made a riff on Andrea Nguyen's Chicken Stir-Fry with Lemongrass and Chile from Into The Vietnamese Kitchen, but I used thinly sliced pork butt instead of the chicken. And I didn't have curry powder; so I used curry paste instead. I hope I will be forgiven for bastardizing the recipe. But it was just delicious on rice noodles with a green salad.

[C. sapidus]

Shaya: Thanks! Even though the snapper was frozen, I liked the firm texture. I hope to find some fresh snapper this summer for comparison.

I hope you feel better soon.

Dianne: Curry paste sounds good!

We made stir-fried tangy beef with carrots and yard-long beans from Barbara Tropp’s Modern Art of Chinese Cooking (with a spoonful of sambal oleek for me). More information here (click).

Edited for manners.

Edited February 8, 2007 by C. sapidus (log)

[ChryZ]

does anyone have a fairly easy recipe for chili?

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My version is fairly easy, but a bit time consuming (3h minimum). You can check my blog for details. Other recommendable resources for inspiration are RecipeGullet or the Cook-Off XV: Chili thread.