Dinner! 2007

[GTO]

Shaya, those hearts are just too cute for words.

Bruce, thanks for the compliments.

GTO, I was recently on an airline flight and saw this for sale in the onboard magazine.  I am almost inclined.  But I was wondering if it would be a good investment...people might think that I am starting to go a little nuts, if that was set up in my kitchen.

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73033.asp...ative=658794741

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I think that little studio is an absolute gem! I created a thread all about it a while back but it got deleted because it wasn't "relevant". Buy it! Buy it now!

[lucylou95816]

Shaya, those hearts are just too cute for words.

Bruce, thanks for the compliments.

GTO, I was recently on an airline flight and saw this for sale in the onboard magazine.  I am almost inclined.  But I was wondering if it would be a good investment...people might think that I am starting to go a little nuts, if that was set up in my kitchen.

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73033.asp...ative=658794741

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I think that little studio is an absolute gem! I created a thread all about it a while back but it got deleted because it wasn't "relevant". Buy it! Buy it now!

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I showed my bf and then mentioned that it would an excellent birthday gift for me in a couple of months!

Marcia, you are totally right, I think that next time, I may try adding a little cocoa powder to it, I think that would really bring it to a different taste level. I really liked the sauce too, however, I am not sure it turned out right, since the only rum I had was captain morgans spiced rum, I didn't have enough of the meyers dark rum that I thought I had alot of.

[Pontormo]

Shaya, welcome back! Gorgeous as usual, as well as charming. There is a string of skillful photography on this page, including Ann's, Chryz's, and Peter Green's stunning glossy jet-black squid ink strands. (PG, look for Hathor's posts when she gets back to NYC. I think she has the same tablecloth.)

Shalmanese, of course you have a following! Great Southern dinner, sort of like another one appearing in a different location in Seattle some time soon. Have you found yourself cooking differently since you've moved to the States?

Edited February 16, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[little ms foodie]

Hi girlie!  As you'll see, I just sent you a message about this....but I'll post it here so everyone can have the benefit of your input & wisdom!    I always think it might be tough (i haven't tried cooking it).  By tough I mean "not tender" but could be difficult as well.  How'd you cook it and how was it?

By the way, for a "first time" it looks like you've got it down great!

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I did the skate out of Bourdains Les Halles cook book- it was to be Skate Grenobloise but we had no bread so it was sans croute (is that the right word?)

[hathor]

Okay, I filled in the details. Your turn, Hathor.

P.S. Everyone's Valentine's dinners are just lovely!

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Huh? What did I miss?

GTO, I was recently on an airline flight and saw this for sale in the onboard magazine. I am almost inclined. But I was wondering if it would be a good investment...people might think that I am starting to go a little nuts, if that was set up in my kitchen.

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/73033.asp...ative=658794741

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I think that little studio is an absolute gem! I created a thread all about it a while back but it got deleted because it wasn't "relevant". Buy it! Buy it now!

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[shoutsandmurmurs]

long-time lurker here. i'm happy to finally contribute some pictures to this wonderful thread (even though it DID take me nearly an hour to figure out the picture-posting ). i don't know how often i will post, but i'm happy to finally leave lurker-dom. all the pictures i see here are amazing, as always--just lovely.

so here's what i made on valentine's day.

a simple salad with parm-reg shavings and pomegranate seeds

<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1171607687/gallery_26530_4238_2253.jpg"/>

filets with a wine-mushroom sauce, cheesy polenta and steamed french green beans

<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1171607687/gallery_26530_4238_79786.jpg"/>

espresso creme brulee

<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1171607687/gallery_26530_4238_113284.jpg"/>

[suzilightning]

icy cold here and a f*&$#!g flat tire and frozen drivers door this morning(thanks to my knight in dented armour, johnnybird, he got the tire inflated enough to get to where he could fill it with air then follow me to the garage so they could check it).

luckily i had started soaking some great northern beans last night. got up early to make his lunch and breakfast and simmer the beans till tender. when i got home i mixed up a batch of baked beans and popped them in the oven. about an hour before serving i'm going to drape the top with some duck bacon. there is some raisin brown bread steaming as i type - both recipes from my great grandmother's receipt book to my grandmother. i have some mixed greens about to go on....

really old style food for dinner tonight

[little ms foodie]

shoutsandmurmurs yum!!! we can't find pomagranates anymore

[Shaya]

Welcome, shoutsandmurmurs, that dinner looks really great.

Wendy, I've been enviously eyeing your cocktails for months, thinking just HOW FAR my sweetie and I have fallen from that lifestyle since having kids. So tonight hubbie broke out his new martini shaker and made us some raspberry martinis. I even managed to drain my whole glass, a small miracle these days. Just to show how life has changed, though, I left the background in place - note the crayolas, coloring pages, buzz lightyear cocktail napkin and little guy eating his appetizer of avocado with fleur de sel.

Then dinner, finally we were both home at a decent hour and ready to eat this moussaka that I had made earlier in the week. It was wonderful.

Moussaka with Greens with Roasted Red Peppers

[little ms foodie]

Welcome, shoutsandmurmurs, that dinner looks really great.

Wendy, I've been enviously eyeing your cocktails for months, thinking just HOW FAR my sweetie and I have fallen from that lifestyle since having kids.  So tonight hubbie broke out his new martini shaker and made us some raspberry martinis.  I even managed to drain my whole glass, a small miracle these days.    Just to show how life has changed, though, I left the background in place - note the crayolas, coloring pages, buzz lightyear cocktail napkin and little guy eating his appetizer of avocado with fleur de sel.

Then dinner, finally we were both home at a decent hour and ready to eat this moussaka that I had made earlier in the week.  It was wonderful. 

Moussaka with Greens with Roasted Red Peppers

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yeah!!!! great job getting that cocktail in, it is such a nice way to start an evening isn't it??

[Domestic Goddess]

Doddie was so kind to share her Chicken Adobo recipe with me, so I gave it a shot:

I loved it! Many thanks for the recipe again. IMHO it's an instant classic!

edit: spelling

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Beutiful Adobo Chris! I am so proud of you.

[Marlene]

Braised pork chop with mustard cream sauce. I served it with a baked potato and broccoli which I didn't photograph.

[prasantrin]

Beutiful Adobo Chris! I am so proud of you.

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Even though I still haven't made the longganiza, would you care to share your adobo recipe, too? I have a craving for it, but I haven't liked any of the recipes I've used in the past. Yours looks yummy! Or at least Chris' version of yours looks yummy!

[Domestic Goddess]

Here is the recipe Rona... hope others would like it too.

Chicken Adobo

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into serving sizes

1/3 cup soy sauce

2/3 cup white vinegar

1 head garlic, minced

1 beef boullion cube or chicken cube (if you don't have this, add a 1/2 tbsp salt)

6 peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl or container marinate the chicken with all of the ingredients except the vegetable oil. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for over an hour.

2. In a large wok, add the chicken and marinade and turn up the heat. Let the chicken boil in the marinade for 10 minutes then add 1 cup of water. Turn the the heat and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

3. Thoroughly drain the chicken, leave the marinade mixture in the wok.

4. In another pan, add the oil and heat it. Add the drained chicken and fry until the pieces are golden brown. Drain the chicken and add back to the marinade in the wok. *

5. Turn the heat up again and simmer the chicken pieces until the sauce thickens up. Serve over cooked rice or fried garlic rice.

*You can cut up potatoes in wedges or cubes and fry these too. Add the potatoes with the chicken in the wok to simmer it together until the sauce thickens up

Garlic Fried Rice

leftover oil from frying the adobo chicken

2-3 tbsp minced garlic

4-5cups of cold cooked rice

1. In the pan where you fried the adobo chicken, add the minced garlic and cook over medium heat until golden brown.

2. Add the cold rice and stir, mash and mix in thoroughly with the garlic and oil.

3. Continue stirring and mixing until the rice becomes a uniform golden brown color and the garlic has been thoroughly mixed uniformly throughout the pan.

4. Serve hot with the adobo.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[little ms foodie]

tonight we started with Tarleton's Resurrection

then duck confit, steamed broccoli and potatoes pan fried in duck fat

[Forest]

tonight we started with Tarleton's Resurrection

then duck confit, steamed broccoli and potatoes pan fried in duck fat

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Nice looking duck confit! i bought duck on the way home last night, too, but kind of wish I had let it marinate overnight, instead of just a few hours. Will try and post a pic later after I upload.

shoutsandmurmers: your filet makes my mouth water!

Shaya: I like the look of your moussaka, too!

As usual, lovely dinners everyone!

[ChryZ]

Pontormo, prasantrin and Doddie, thanks for the kind feedback

Here is the recipe Rona... hope others would like it too.

Chicken Adobo

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Let's pimp this some more, hehe ... I took some pics while cooking the dish and but them on my pictorial blog.

[prasantrin]

Pontormo, prasantrin and Doddie, thanks for the kind feedback

Let's pimp this some more, hehe ... I took some pics while cooking the dish and but them on my pictorial blog.

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I just, literally, put mine in the fridge to marinate. I was going to have it for dinner, but since it's already almost seven, I'll wait until tomorrow to cook it.

Chris--you made the full marinade recipe but only used 4 drumsticks? I have two boneless leg/thigh combos, and I wasn't sure how much marinade to use, so I used just under 1/2 of the original recipe. Maybe I'll go back and add the rest--the sauce is the best part, after all!

[sazji]

Today I made Greek style gigantes plaki ("giant" beans in olive oil and tomato). The dish exists in Turkey as well, but though the beans are available here, most people from outside Istanbul or Izmir don't seem to be aware of them. In Greece it's a fairly common dish, but here in Istanbul it's mainly a dish of the "tavernas" or "meyhanes" (which were mostly run by non-Muslims until the 50s or so). The cooked beans are huge, over an inch in length. After soaking a pound of the beans overnight and cooking at a bare simmer till nearly done, they go into a baking dish. Add salt, tomato puree (or 3/4 of small can of tomato paste thinned in a cup of water), a cup or two of chopped tomatoes (I used canned today), parsley, 4 medium cloves of garlic, two chopped onions and about half a c up of olive oil. (If it's to be used as a meze, make it richer with a cup of oil. Cubed carrots can go into it as well, as can Celeriac greens (and some of the root if you like).

Here they are ready to go into the oven.

Now after cooking for around an hour, adding water as necessary. I cook them in the same stove I use to heat the house.

And a close-up view of the first serving.

Fortunately a summer visitor from the States was kind enough to leave me a bottle of "Beano." So I can still go on a date tonight...

[Domestic Goddess]

Chryz, I am so glad you made the pictorial tutorial. I was gonna make one but you saved me from it. Maraming salamat!

Sazji - those beans are calling my name... drool... it's not fair making me hungry at 12:30 am

[Nishla]

Nishia: goat butter? Why do use it? What does it taste like? Melt temp? Burn? Where do you get it?

I've used goat milk...for making soap, but I've never even seen goat butter. Sorry, too many questions!

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We got the goat butter at Whole Foods a while back because it sounded interesting, and mainly used it on toast. It's a lot more flavorful than regular butter made from cow milk/cream, and very white in color. It's got a bit of the gamey flavor like you'd have in fresh goat cheese, but it's subtle. I have no idea about the smoke point, but it melts nicely on warm toast!

[ChryZ]

Chris--you made the full marinade recipe but only used 4 drumsticks?  I have two boneless leg/thigh combos, and I wasn't sure how much marinade to use, so I used just under 1/2 of the original recipe.  Maybe I'll go back and add the rest--the sauce is the best part, after all!

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I didn't gave it much thought. It's braising and a certain amount of liquid is necessary after all. I had some sauce left over, but that's okay ... it's in any case better than to have too little sauce or even worse too little braising liquid!

Chryz, I am so glad you made the pictorial tutorial. I was gonna make one but you saved me from it. Maraming salamat!

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You made me google for "Maraming salamat!". Proper reply: your're welcome

[little ms foodie]

Nice looking duck confit!  i bought duck on the way home last night, too, but kind of wish I had let it marinate overnight, instead of just a few hours.  Will try and post a pic later after I upload. 

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I made this confit I put it up back in early december and this is the first time we've raided the crock! It was quite good- usually I can't wait and we eat it just after a month, the flavor and texture were much nicer with the extra aging

[Kim Shook]

Wow, y'all! These are some fantastic meals that you are making. I actually have two egullet sessions open so that I can look and respond at the same time!

Marlene - it always occurs to me that were we to have an egullet progressive dinner, you would have to be in charge of the meat. I am always ready for a roast when I see your beef or lamb

Nishla - that chicken skin was amazing. It is really sad that there is no one in my 'real' life that would understand a dish of chicken skin on the table !

And your scallops are gorgeous!

Doddie - I like the idea of the crab and ham salad! I make a country ham and crab dish and I think the two flavors are perfect together. Would you mind sharing the recipe?

Judith - our dinner out was not as good as everyone cooked here, either. We went retro - a 'cool' new place called "Piano Bar" - supposed to be a rat pack kinda vibe - we had steaks, Caesar's, lobster, etc. very, very ordinary .

Dianne - your potato gallette is absolutely fantastic looking! And the crosini is just drool inducing!

Shaya - ooooh, time to dig out the Beard Pastistio recipe - that looked wonderful! What is the pasta you used. I usually use ziti, but I like the looks of that!

Shal - so glad to see your food. That roast pork and the greens were truly tasty looking! Thanks for sharing that!

Mr. Kim is on a diet, so I won't be cooking much for awhile, but I will continue to enjoy y'all's meals vicariously!

Kim

[lucylou95816]

So on Valentine's we had Steamed Dungeness Crab and Emeril's Hasselback potatoes...doesn't this crab look menancing?

Last night, my bf doctored up a box of Zatarans Gumbo with some extra veggies and spices and added chicken and sausage:

We have our monthly dinner club tonight, with the theme being Steakhouse. I just got through making 12 fairly large crab cakes...I am sure that the pictures from tonight will be great. I'll be sure to share if they are.